52 Weeks to Simplify Your Life: Week 1

I have been pondering the idea of starting a blog for a while but up until now, my apprehensiveness & my lack of confidence have stopped me. I finally decided to bite the bullet & just go for it thanks to Deb over at Home Life Simplified who has kicked off a 52 week challenge to simplify your life. So here goes for the Week 1 challenge:

What Went Right in 2011

2011 was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me, but the whole point of this challenge is to look at the positives. I must admit that I cannot recall much that really energised me - being pregnant for a good part of the year & then having a newborn (Master T) while also raising my toddler (Master N) was (& still is) very draining both physically & emotionally. We also moved out of a unit & into a house while I was 7 months pregnant - the move was very draining, but living somewhere where we have more space, privacy & our own yard for the kids to play in makes it all worthwhile - seeing Master N's face whenever he is out in the back yard just melts my heart. The happiest day of 2011 was definitely the day I gave birth to Master T in September, despite some (not too serious) health issues that developed for both him & myself. He spent his first month struggling to put on weight, but is now as healthy as he could possibly be, which I am so very grateful for.

I was diagnosed with PND when Master T was only about 7 weeks old, at which time we also decided to wean him onto formula. I was a bit worried about formula feeding after breastfeeding Master N for 7 months, but as time went on, I felt more at peace with our decision as he began growing at a more acceptable rate & I was given a small break as hubby could feed him sometimes. It also allowed me to tag along with hubby as he travelled to Melbourne for a conference while my parents baby-sat the boys for a few days. This was a very exciting mini-holiday for both of us for several reasons - I had never flown in a plane before, it was our first holiday with just the two of us since having children, hubby had never been to Melbourne & I had only been once before on a school trip, & it gave me a couple of days to explore & shop on my own!!! I am still so very grateful to my parents for agreeing to have the kids for that time even though they had some idea as to how tiring it is with two under 2.

In late 2011, I decided to take the plunge & get back into my studies...but had to take it one step further. I will be returning to uni externally not only to finish my science degree but also starting an arts degree. People tell me I'm crazy but I am choosing to take it on as another challenge for 2012 :-)

To finish off this week's challenge, I would like to share some things I learnt in 2011:

• I can't do everything on my own - as much as I wish I could sometimes
• Communication is a vital tool for relationships & change
• It is okay to reach out when you need help & support
• No one is perfect
• There is a difference between blood-relations & family
• Balancing different aspects of life is so important to each & every one of us

So it turns out 2011 wasn't so bad after all for me & my family - we have many happy memories which will hopefully outlive all the negativity (which I really did try to avoid in this post...)

Take care,

Kelly xoxo