The Year that was 2012

I truely believed that 2012 was going to be THE YEAR, the best year ever.

WHY? Because 12 is my favorite number :) Pretty corny hey?

While 2012 threw me a few curve balls, it has been a year of learning, growing, tears, sadness, strength, madness, change and a lot of growing up.

I realized that I am more vulnerable then I thought, but have more hopes and dreams for the future then I could ever imagine.

 *We started our jounery as a homeschooling family. I will spare you the rose tinted version, and just let you know that it hasn't been the wonderful new adventure I thought it would be. At time its was pretty shit. But then there have been the good times and those little moments that made it worth while, and we're committing to another year, so it can't have been shit all the time :) lol. While I had intended to go it 'alone' and register with the HEU, I was finding it hard to find some social outlets for my bigger kidlets. So after a midyear crisis I registered with a distance ed school who are very supportive of homeschooling families. And while it hasn't ironed out all our homeschooling issues it sure has helped us form a supportive base for our homeschooling jounery.

*We welcomed a new addition into the family, Danion (my 7th child) in April. This little guy was not on my to do list for this year, but I'm sure glad he chose to be :) I went into labor 2 weeks before the scheduled c/s date which threw any plans of preparation out the window. I had a hard and painful recovery, as I had adhesions which required repairing and of course my 5th c/s to recover from. Luckily Danion was a great baby from the get go and he fitted in just right :) A great sleeper, feeder and all round happy go lucky baby :)

*Now with 3 children under 3 and also having the older children to homeschool, life felt hard. I could manage, just, keeping it all together but life was hard. I was always on the go, the little guys were bored and getting into things while I was helping the older kids with their schoolwork. It was after going to an art gallery excursion and ending up in tears because my little guys were, you know, being little kids and touching things, and having 2 babies having a crying fit together that I needed to get help. Not because I couldn't cope, but because I couldn't do it all, all the time. So I decided to get a in home day care lady, Miss D. The kids adore her and they have a the best of me as well as keeping busy with Miss D.

*In the 2nd half of the year, we were struck down with illness, tonsillitis of all things. I fell sick first which is strange as I usually feel sick after caring for everyone else. I thought that I had just a sore throat/flu thing, but after being really sick for 4 days and loosing a few kgs because I couldn't eat or drink I knew I was sicker then I have ever been. Then everyone else started getting it, it would take a week for them to get better then the next one would get sick. Poor Callum and Livia had it twice!! It took a month and a half for everyone to finally get over it. We also had Silas go to hospital to have dental surgery as his back molars decayed and broke apart, my only child with teeth problems, I felt like a horrible mum :( Then Aliya was admitted to hospital for a kidney infection, Braith was admitted to hospital for a week as he had gingivostomatitis. And then Livia was admitted to hospital with appendicitis. And thankfully it wasn't something more serious for my little guys. We have recovered. And apart from the odd kid with a tummy bug we have come out the other side.

*After our run of illnesses I decided to commence study in an area of interest that I had been wanting to study since my teen years, Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy. Yes I am crazy lol. But as I am studying via online distance ed, it has been flexible and manageable. I am also able to VET fee the course so its not a financial burden on the family :)

*I also joined a gym :) I really feel my best when I'm more active, I have more energy and feel calmer if I'm working out regularly. I've been aiming to go every other day for 1hr and I have been feeling great. I also have a goal of loosing 10kgs in the next few months, but I'll be doing it by clean eating and regular exercise.

*I made a effort to maintain family and friendships this year, I can be a bit of a hermit but have really come out of my 'shell' so to speak and I'm glad I did. Just the little acts of picking up the phone, replying to messages, and just making an effort to say hey, has really maintained and strengthen the few but valuable friendships I have. I traveled a few times to meet up with family this year and had family stay with us :) Not as much as I would have liked but more then the previous year.

*I became a single mother to 7 children. It wasn't a shock, it was something that had been on the cards for awhile. I was hoping that perhaps marriage would happen, but Mike and I have some hurdles to get over first. He moved out but lives close by which has helped the kids adjust quite well. We have had a very civil separation and still see each other nearly everyday which I guess is weird for some but it is working for us. I'm not sure where things will go from here. We were together for nearly 14 years, nearly half of my life.


So there you have it, so much more had happened in 2012 but atm these are the most pivotal events that come to my mind at present.

I'm hoping for a blessed and adventurous 2013 :)