Will Dig Life

This has been a year when, on the surface of it, not much happened. No new babies, no moving house, no international travel. It was a year of establishing and growing. A good year. The highlights... Building works.  When the year started, our front yard was a messy slope with random weeds; lots of work and sweat (by Mr.) later, we have a fully functional car parking space. He literally filled up the slope one wheelbarrow at a time, with the soil he dug up from the back garden. Meanwhile in the back garden, Mr dug out the foundations for our extension and late in the year, the builders began work. As at the time of this writing, the wall is about knee high - hopefully by the end of January the shell will be completed. Front: the beginning Building a wall Filling in Got the kerb dropped! The finished product. Extension plans A digger in the garden!! Apple tree had to come down Digging Foundations Today's status. H...

I share a lot of cute kids snaps on social media, as well as the occasional funny anecdote, but beyond that I rarely share about what my mothering experience is really like. Because it would sound like bragging. Even though it's anything but... it's me standing amazed at the awesomeness I never expected. On social media, at least in the places I go, you get a lot of support if you share your struggles. But it's exactly that supportive environment that makes it hard to share the positive - because I know there's someone out there who's been dealt a different hand and is having a terrible time, and the last thing I want to be is smug. But because my heart is just overflowing with joy, and because I'm keeping this blog at least in part as a sort of diary which the kids will be welcome to read later, let me share a few honest thoughts about this mothering thing. Joyous thoughts. I fall in love with my children more every day. That's no exaggeratio...

N is now 4 and a bit, and it's coming up to a year since I put her in nursery (for the free hours only, initially two mornings a week and recently changed to 3 3-hour afternoon sessions). The small nursery is everything I would look for. No coercion to do anything (just invitations to play - a Reggio Emilia approach), lots and lots of outdoor time, even actual forest school sessions! However, right from the start N has been saying she doesn't want to go. At first I took that as separation anxiety, maybe just a need for her to get used to it; I did see her develop and grow in independence and confidence - she always protested that she didn't want to go but would come out saying she had lots of fun, and the staff would tell me she was content and happy the whole time. So I stuck with it. Every time we were getting ready to go she would tell me she really didn't want to go... not always with tears, but she was always clear. And I always thought I knew better than h...