New year & back to the blog….

Suddenly 2015 is upon me and maybe it’s the beginning of the new year but I feel like I’m drawn back to my blog and writing who knows what to who knows who.

The advent of a whole new year stretching out in front of me always makes me look back at what’s gone before. Ollie and I have a tradition of rating the previous year out of 10 and take a little time to reflect on the ups and downs the past 12 months. We don’t always agree on the final rating but it’s interesting to look at the year from your partner in life’s point of view too. In January last year I started a memory jar and throughout the year I scribbled snippets (mostly about Georgina’s achievements!) on scraps of paper and popped them in the jar. On New Year’s Eve we opened the jar, read through my notes and smiled, laughed and felt proud of the memories I had written down. This year I have vowed to fill the jar with even more moments, feelings, achievements and things I feel thankful for.

I am still dealing with the after effects of what happened to us in Papua New Guinea on a daily basis. It has affected so many parts of my life and has changed how I go about even small everyday activities. I am so proud of how Georgina has tackled these feelings and take my lead from her to be brave and look forwards with positivity. She faces so many challenges with a smile on her face and even when I feel like I’ve come up against a brick wall she reminds me I can do it. When I’m feeling particularly anxious or stressed I know that my parenting skills take a downward turn. I hope Georgina remembers the positive moments and manages to forgive me when I know I’m not doing my best.

One of the techniques I use to keep me positive is to think of things in my life I can be thankful for. These can be small things such as the sunshine that day that has warmed my face when I had to push myself out the house to walk the dog, or bigger things such as the very fact I have home in a country of safety, when we see everyday on the news how many people in this world don’t have a place to call home or anywhere they feel safe.

Starting this new year I am particularly thankful for my loving family, including the Wood Family who welcomed me in to their fold 10 years ago this year and have never made me feel like an outsider, even when the family has been under the strain of illness, emotional upheaval or any of the trials and tribulations that a family can face in 10 years. We sadly lost the patriarch of the Wood Family just before Christmas, Grandpa Wood was 101 years old and I am extremely thankful to have known him and also that Georgina had the opportunity to spend time with him. I am resolving to make sure we spend lots of time with our families this year, whether that be celebrating birthdays, achievements or just because it’s special to be together and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

I am also beginning 2015 thankful for the community in which we have now found ourselves living. Everyone has been so welcoming to us and sometimes a smile from a friendly face and a quick chat while I’m doing the ‘school run’ has brightened a dark day for me. I hope to spend more time this year getting to know some new friends better and helping Georgina strengthen her new friendships too.

This year will also see us catching up with some good friends we met in PNG. They are visiting us and I can’t wait for them to arrive, give them all hug and show them some of the special things England has to offer. Georgina is excited to see her friends too and I know watching the little ones rediscover their friendships will be special.

The second half of 2014 saw us make some big changes to our diet and lifestyle in an effort to improve our health (& shrink our waistlines!). We have made some great progress but the journey is by no means finished so that is another focus for our year ahead. I have learnt a lot about nutrition and am now a lover of green smoothies, although I can’t get Ollie to drink one…!

There are a lot of changes planned for Family Wood over the next couple of months, it will take some readjustment and a great deal of planning but I’m hoping the rewards will be great. Watch this space!

Word of the Week – 27th June 2014

Thanks to a tweet from The Reading Residence I’ve been prompted to join in with Word of the Week again after yet another break. To be honest I have quite a lot to write about since my last post a month ago but that’s all for another post.

This week my word is parenting

I don’t think I ever truly realised how challenging parenting would be before Georgina arrived or even when she was a baby. And yes the toddler stage is tricky sometimes but we haven’t experienced too many temper tantrums or the like. In fact I’m really not a fan of the phrase ‘terrible twos’ because I believe it really does two year olds a disservice. They are learning & developing so much in this time period it can be overwhelming for them & that’s where the tantrums etc come from, but it’s up to us as parents to gently guide them through it & help them find their way.

This week has been a real rollercoaster of emotions for me with Georgina and it has served to remind me how difficult a job parenting can be. It’s hard to get it right all the time, sometimes I think I’m doing the right thing or dealing with something in the right way but it turns out I’m really not. Other times I know I’m not doing my best, I know I could be handling the situation differently but I’m tired, upset and my reserves are empty. These situations really make me question what sort of parent I am, but as my sister in law reminded me not that long ago sometimes children need to see that you as their parent are an actual person, who can have a bad day, can be feeling ill or are just generally all out of ideas. It doesn’t make you a bad parent, it just means you’re human. Plus (as a friend said to me only 2 days ago) tomorrow is a whole new day.

Georgina has had a crazy 18 months, with amazing highs & difficult lows. She deals with most things with a smile on her face & she inspires me almost every day to be a better person & a better parent. Many people we meet are surprised she’s ‘only 3’ because she’s articulate, confident in most situations & she’ll literally strike up a conversation with anyone (today I turned around in the supermarket & when I turned back she was chatting to a member of staff & giving them a high five!) because of all these things I know that Ollie & I as her parents & other people often expect too much of her. She is after all ‘only 3’ & still so little.

As a family I know we sometimes need to slow down & assess what we need to do make sure Georgina is on the right path & to make sure we’re fulfilling her needs. This can feel overwhelming but that’s all part of the parenting role, it shouldn’t be taken lightly & sometimes we need reassurance that we’re doing ok! On top of this I know I need to make time to look after myself too because how can I be doing my best if I’m running on empty. So many things to think about & work towards all add up to make parenting (in my humble opinion!) the most difficult job in the world.

Word of the Week – 23/05/2014

Once again I’ve been MIA from the blog for a couple of weeks! Life has just been so busy (nothing changes does it!) settling in to the new house, making new friends, gardening (actually lots of gardening) & new experiences for Georgina.

My word of the week this week is Ponies 🙂

Georgina has been asking for months to start horse riding lessons but we were unsure seeming as she’s only 3. Since moving I found Langtoft Stables which is about 15 minutes away & they run Young Stock Club for 3 & 4 year olds.

I took Georgina for the first time last week & she absolutely loved it! Grooming, mucking out & an introduction to riding – she even managed to trot on her first lesson 🙂

This week the stables & school had been flooded in yesterday’s storms so they couldn’t ride but they got stuck in to the mucking out with gusto.

I think it’s safe to say Georgina is now smitten & I’m quite sure there’ll be many many more hours spent ‘horse bothering’ as Ollie puts it & of course we’re waiting for… ‘Daddy can I have my own pony?’ 😉

Please do have a look at the other wonderful blogs that link up with Word of the Week here – The Reading Residence

Word of The Week – 3rd May 2013

We’re back from France & I’m once again linking up with The Reading Residence for word of the week & this week my word is Home…

After 5 months living with my parents, either in the UK or France, and our house in Wiltshire still not sold, we decided it was time to find a place of our own. Everyone was in need of their space back.

Pickings were slim but we’ve managed to find a lovely house to rent, near to the village we have started to feel is home & near the friends we have started to make.

It’s not where we ever thought we’d end up living, it’s not where I envisage spending our future. But it’s home for now, we can unpack our container, Georgina can have her toys back & we can start to feel like we’re settling back in.

This is our 7th home since 2006 (including a move to the other side of the world & back!) & Georgina & I have lived out of suitcases & travelled from country to country & house to house for the last 9 months. It’s safe to say we’re all in need of a rest of some sort, to just breathe & to spend some time together as a family.

I’ll quote a beautiful song called Home by Gabrielle Aplin from her album English Rain…

“‘Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
Is where you go when you’re alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It’s not just where you lay your head
It’s not just where you make your bed
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?”

Our little Frenchie :)

Our little family holiday has come to an end with Ollie heading back to UK yesterday & Granny arriving back in France.

We’ve had a great week (despite Ollie being ill for a couple of days & Mr Fox making off with a guinea fowl) mostly involving soaking up the sun, eating as many Easter eggs as possible & a little lamb arriving.

Georgina has once again been a star amongst the French locals & seems to make an impression wherever she goes with market stall holders giving her strawberries, free drinks in cafés, sweets from shop owners & chocolate from the neighbours.

Georgina & I have got 5 days left in France so for now I’ll let the photos do the talking…

Le Soleil, Le Soleil!

The sun has got his hat on hip hip hip hooray….! Yep, the sun is still shining in South West France & Family Wood are soaking up every last ray of it. The last few days have involved a delicious lunch in a beautiful setting beside the Canal Latéral à la Garonne, bouncing on Georgina’s new trampoline, zip wire fun, wandering the market in Aiguillon (including the obligatory coffee & pain au chocolate) & a visit to the play park, pizza from the weekly pizza van in Buzet & a little shopping trip to the village boutique 🙂

Mum & Dad headed back to the UK yesterday for some family celebrations so Family Wood are now home alone. There are three sheep left to lamb so we are on amber alert – expect some sheep related posts in the next couple of weeks! Georgina is enjoying being ‘in charge of chickens’ & has Chloe the chocolate Labrador hanging off her every word.

Tomorrow we have another market trip planned & of course plenty of sun worshipping!

En France :)

After an extremely busy two weeks involving a new job, our container arriving, a trip to Yorkshire, a christening, fun with cousins, a theatre trip & a children’s workshop at Peterborough museum we are now in south west France staying with my Mum & Dad!

Regular blog readers will already know how much Georgina (& Ollie & I of course!) love being here & we’ve been lucky enough to spend over 2 months here in the last 10 months.

We had a nice easy journey – taxi, train, plane, car! – & the weather is lovely & warm so fingers crossed it lasts for us 🙂

Georgina already has Granny wrapped round her little finger as usual & has spent most of the day playing in the garden.

I’m not planning on writing too much over the next 16 days (yes, lucky us 16 days!) but I thought I’d share plenty of photos.

I’ll get back to Word of the Week & Old, Borrowed, New on my return to the UK.

So for now here’s a flavour of the first day of our holiday (& I can get back to the rosé!)…. 🙂

Old, Borrowed, New – Amy & Louis

Once again I’m linking up with Farmer’s Wife and Mummy to share my book of the week & my category this week is New.

I mentioned last week that whilst we were in PNG I was able to buy Australian books via the International School in Kimbe. One of Georgina’s favourites is a really lovely book called Amy & Louis by Libby Gleeson & Freya Blackwood.

The story is about two children who live next door to each other. They are best friends, do everything together & play wonderful imaginative games. They build towers, dig holes & see dragons in the clouds. When one of them calls with the special words Amy’s mum taught them, “Coo-ee, Lou,ee”, the other always comes to play.

But when Amy moves away, to the other side of the world, their lives lose all their colour & fun. Amy & Louis are very sad & struggle to understand how far away from each other they are now.

That is until Louis discovers how to reignite their very special bond…

“So Louis spread his arms as wide as he could and threw back his head.
Coo-ee Am-ee
His cry rang out across the yard, across the street and past the edge of the town.
Louis fell back and stared up at the sky
where clouds were making strange seahorses
and wild, wild dragons.
Across the ocean,
in a city where tall buildings
stretched to the sky,
Amy woke and came sleepily
to breakfast.
‘I had a lovely dream,’ she said.
‘I dreamt about Louis and he called me.’

I really think this book has helped Georgina be able to process the fact that her friends in PNG are still her friends even if she is ‘half the world away’. I love the children’s wonderful imaginative play, just how children should be free to play, and the illustrations are just beautiful.

And of course everyone loves a story about love and friendship 🙂

I would love to hear about any of your family’s favourite children’s books – old, borrowed or new – and please do pop over to Farmer’s Wife and Mummy to read about her book of the week too.

My Mothering Sunday

What a lovely Mothering Sunday I’ve had 🙂
A lovely present (even though I said ‘no presents’), a wonderful card written by Georgina herself & a day at my favourite beach in the world!

Family Wood just love North Norfolk & our favourite beach is Brancaster. It’s the perfect mix of sand dunes (although the awful storms in December have damaged a lot of them), wide open space, big blue skies & the fact there’s a great (clean!) toilet block & kiosk selling the obligatory beach items is an added bonus. Oh, and not forgetting the ‘pirate’ shipwreck!

We have holidayed on the North Norfolk Coast lots of times now & will try & get to the beach for a day trip as often as we can, summer or winter we’re not worried about the weather! I spent quite a bit of time in this area as a child too, spending some of the summer holidays in a caravan at either Hunstanton or Wells next the Sea with my maternal grandparents. So lots of the things we do now with Georgina bring back childhood memories 🙂

Today, despite it being March, we managed a picnic on the beach, we made a sandysauraus dinosaur & Georgina had her first go at flying a kite. We did have to buy hot chocolates to warm up at one point but soon after that the sun really shone & it was just glorious.

I hope you’ve all had wonderful weekends too! 🙂

Word of the Week – 28th March 2014

Two weeks ago my word of the week was ‘Positive’ & I said I was hoping for more positive news soon. Nearly eight weeks after returning from Papua New Guinea Ollie has finally landed himself a job, and an exciting (& we’re expecting pretty challenging!) job it is too. So my word of the week this week is CELEBRATION 🙂

This feels like our first real move forwards leaving our life in PNG behind. We can now start making plans for our future, looking for a new home, furniture shopping (any donations welcome….) & start to feel like we’re settling back down again. Georgina & I have started to make friends in the village we’re currently staying in with Grandad, so we have decided we will try to stay fairly local to here so we can continue to build these friendships. Georgina will start school next year so that’s another thing to consider. So many things to think about!

Our container is slowly making it’s way back to the UK too & is due to arrive in Felixstowe on Monday. We can’t unpack our things until we have a house of our own, purely because we don’t have anywhere to put anything, but there are a few things we want to dig out. That is if Ollie can remember where he’s packed any of it! I have a feeling that unpacking the container will be quite an emotional time for me. In my minds eye I can still see our house in PNG, filled with all our belongings, & feel as if it is there still waiting for us to come back. I know this is because I left in such a hurry & I haven’t been able to yet gain any ‘closure’ in this respect. I basically went downstairs to get the washing off the line & then didn’t go back except for 5 minutes the next day to chose a few things to bring back to England. I am hoping that all these new beginnings will ease the feelings of loss that are still hanging around.

Tonight though is about this…