The one thing I can never get enough of…

Time.

If days were twice as long as they are now, I know I could fill that time with things.

At the moment life is just so unbelieveably busy, there is just never enough time for anything.

I have so many things in my mind that I want to find time for at the moment, loads of personal things with or for the family, and lots of creative energy buzzing about my brain for the things I want to do at work, professionally… but my time is just filled with the day-to-day tasks needed to keep us all going!

The trouble is, there are just so many of those day-to-day things. Making bottles, washing bottles, making purees, making dinners, meal planning, shopping, washing, ironing, school and nursery bags to prepare, lunches to make, stuff to do. And that is all around working full time, and hubby working full time, and on shifts.

By the time I’ve done all my jobs I only have time to snatch a little TV time and maybe get a quick glance at twitter before I’m dozing off on the sofa!

I am NOT complaining (really), I know this is a totally manic and crazy phase of our lives with three such little children, one a baby, and by my logic, surely, things will only get easier and less busy as they get bigger.

But I would so love to have some time to while away the hours just doing fun stuff, some of the things I have in my head that I’d like to do – some of it minor stuff like make pretty boards on pinterest, or read a few blogs. I’d love to start a work-related blog and I’d love to post a bit more regularly on here, and keep up with my twitter friends a little better. I’d love to read books. I’d like to learn more about what I do for a living and get better at it. I’d like to spend a few hours putting photos in albums. I need to spend a good few hours putting loads of baby clothes on ebay.

But I know that, for now, life is just a bit too crazy. And I need more hours in the day to fit in any of that stuff. But I’m hopeful that, one day, (soonish), it’ll come.

 

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Things do when your baby is four days old…

1. Decide (once again) to move house!

Yes, our house move is back on and this time we are so INCREDIBLY EXCITED about it all because the house which popped up for rent when Eve was 3-days-old was in our most favourite part of our most favourite road and it had everything we wanted but thought we would never get - three bedrooms, utility room, downstairs loo, large kitchen diner AND seperate dining room, garage, large garden and even an en suite in the master bedroom.

It was so perfect that the very next day there we were with our 4-day-old baby, having a look around and signing up to move in in just 3 weeks time!

I know lots of people think we’re crazy! But this house really feels perfect for us. It is literally a stone’s throw from what will (hopefully) be Lilly’s new school come September, and it offers us the space we have been craving for so long. It is so much better than the house we nearly went for a few weeks ago.

There are only a couple of negatives – some of the decor isn’t to our taste and the kitchen is a little dated. And we are stretching ourselves to the upper limit of what we can afford. But we both feel confident that it is going to be so worth it.

Now we just have to find somebody to rent ours out – the house is back on the rental market – and of course we have to pack up our things and move!

And, in other developments, it looks like hubby may be going back to work for a bit – while I’m off on maternity leave. We got home from viewing our new house and he had a call out of the blue from his old boss offering him some work. We hadn’t really planned for him to actively job hunt (he is the stay at home parent now, and I will only be off work until June) but we feel that we’d be stupid to turn down an offer of some additional income at the moment. We are now waiting to finalise the details, but it looks like I may be flying solo with the three girls in a few weeks time – which makes me nervous and excited in equal measures.

So, there you go – Things to Do When Your Baby is 4 Days Old: Move house and get a new job!

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We’re really moving house…

Well, since I blogged a week or so ago that we had decided our need for a bigger house could wait no longer, we have only been and gone and done it – we are really moving house.

As of this morning, we have signed an agreement on a rental house and our house is now officially up for rent.

We viewed the new house last night, agonised over our decision for a good few hours lurching from no to yes and back again, before finally coming to the conclusion that yes, we are going to go for it.

The new house isn’t massively bigger than ours. But it does have space for a family dining table, a conservatory, a lovely sized lounge, fitted wardrobes giving plenty of storage space and, critically, three bedrooms. It is also beautifully decorated and furnished, and seems clean and ready to move into.

The second bedroom, which will be the girls’, is a little smaller than their current room, if anything. However, it has fitted wardrobes with more space for their clothes and toys, and because we have wardrobes in our room they won’t have to have any of our clothes in with them, like they do now. Unlike now, their bed and cot will have to alongside each other, and they will probably feel in closer confines with each other than they do now. And once the bed and cot are in there won’t be much room for much else.

But there will be plenty of storage to keep toys tidy and we may even use the conservatory as a bit of a playroom, we will have to see.

And there is a crucial third bedroom, which is small but just the right size for the baby’s cot once she gets big enough to move into her own room.

On the downside though – there’s no dishwasher, and no room for one either!!!! I must confess to having had a major paddy mild panic about that one… but hey, we managed without one at Center Parcs… it’ll be just like being on holiday, right?!?!?!?!

Anyway…

Now we wait to hear from the landlords about when we can move in. The latest this will be is February 14 – one day after my due date. There is a possibility it may be able to be earlier, depending whether the current tenants want to leave a little earlier.

Either way, we will have a new house in at least 12 days, and a new baby in at least 23 days. I just hope they are in that order!

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Time to move on

Would it be crazy to try and move house at exactly the same time as our third baby is due to be born?!?

Because it looks like that is what we might be doing!

We have lived in our small two bedroom house for eight years now, and for a long time we have been very much outgrowing the space it has to offer.

The girls share a bedroom and there is just about room for a toddler bed, cot & 2 wardrobes in there. Our bedroom fits our double bed and a chest of drawers & will also be where baby will sleep once she arrives. But the time has come when we can put it off no longer: we need more space.

Over the last few weeks we have been weighing up our options – to sell the house or to rent it out. We have fluctuated between the two. Banks being what they are these days we aren’t too hopeful of being offered a bigger mortgage when I am on maternity leave and hubby isn’t working any longer. And we are lucky enough to be on a mortgage with a great rate, the like of which no bank is going to be giving out again in a hurry.

Today we had a local estate agent round to talk us through our options and it looks like we have decided: we are going to rent out our house and rent something bigger ourselves.

It is a scary prospect: neither of us really want to be ‘landlords’ and we have heard so many stories about tenants from hell who don’t pay the rent or cause damage or both.

But, this is a plan which allows us to move into a bigger house quickly, whilst still staying on the property ladder.

While we have been busy weighing up our options, we have been working our way through the to-do list of house jobs that we have been putting off, some of them for years! There has been painting and fixing and facia replacing and cleaning and de-cluttering and all kinds going on. Luckily, considering I am eight months pregnant, hubby is an excellent and very thorough cleaner!

The agent has advised us that our house is likely to let extremely quickly, being located in a “sought after” area. So her advice is to find something we like and then put ours on the market. Once that is done, the moving could be a matter of weeks.

Baby is due in 2 weeks, 3 days. Allowing for going overdue and getting to induction that is 4 weeks, one day. So, if we do manage to find somewhere in the next few weeks, we could be moving just around the time of the baby’s arrival.

Are we crazy?!?! Maybe. But we are also quite excited!

 

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As soon as I’m not pregnant I’m going to…

• Eat a plate of pate and indulge in a goats cheese topped pizza
• Sit with my hubby and toast our family with a large glass of gorgeous vino
• Get back on the WeightWatchers and try and get back in the zone before the summer
• Ditch the frumpy PJs and try something a bit more stylish of an evening
• Be in with a chance of getting comfortable on the sofa once again
• Go hours on end without needing a wee
• Spend the run up to all future Christmasses drinking copious amounts of Baileys and munching my way through a cheeseboard
• Be helped through the torment of Jools Holland on New Year’s Eve with several large glasses of white wine
• Forget how Gaviscon tastes
• Not allow my belly to be used as an object of amusement by Isla, who currently thinks it is hilarious to pat it
• Get into normal jeans asap – I look like Jim Royle in my baggy maternity ones – AND they keep falling down
• Buy a fitted coat – my maternity winter coat may be warm but it also makes me look like a small detached house on legs

But I know I’ll also:

• Miss those baby kicks and wiggles
• Feel sad at the thought that I’ll never give birth again
• Have no excuse to constantly munch on chocolates and treats
• Be forced to hold my stomach in, rather than proudly sticking it out

But I think after three pregnancies I can safely say: my work here is done

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Reviewing my goals for the year

Last year, as I prepared to return to work after maternity leave with Isla I posted about my goals for the coming year. As 2011 draws to a close I thought I’d have a scan back and see how I got on.

As far as teaching Lilly to read is concerned – perhaps this was a bit of an ambitious one! I have come to realise that reading is something we can’t force on her or rush, at the risk of turning her off. She is a rather stubborn personality and doesn’t take kindly to not being able to do things! However,  she does know all the letters of the alphabet and what sounds they make and she has begun to write her name, if you give her dots to join or lines to follow. I think the plan now is just to take things at a pace she is comfortable with and I am sure that, once she starts school in September, things will come on naturally.

We were lucky to enjoy lots of lovely holidays in both France and Center Parcs. But we didn’t manage to book another foreign holiday. We thought about it (lots) but everytime we did the sums it was just too expensive. And our trip to Kenya for 2012 (sister in law’s wedding) was cancelled too once we discovered that we were being joined by another little bundle of fun! But because the time away we have had was so lovely I don’t think we have too many complaints. Oh, and as far as brushing up my French was concerned, I didn’t do as well as planned. And there was a very embarrassing moment when we went through the McDonalds Drive Thru and I had to ask for “deux happy meals”… I am still cringing! We were also lucky to go on plenty of nice family days out during the year, some of which I have blogged about. Hopefully this will continue next year as I am off on maternity leave for a large chunk of it, and now that hubby is at home I can use my leave (which is more generous than his was when he was working) to spend some quality time with them all.

I didn’t really get around to tidying up all my recipes and updating my recipe database, although I have continued to collect them. Lilly and I have done some cooking together, although I’d always like to do more, especially getting her involved in cooking savoury meals, not just cakes and biscuits. I have though, been really good at meal planning, and my biggest success in terms of goals for 2011 was losing weight. I started Weight Watchers at the end of January and lost almost three stone before discovering I was pregnant in June. Obviously the weight loss has had to take a back seat now (!) but once the baby is here I intend to regain my focus as it felt fabulous looking and feeling good in my clothes again. Hubby also took up the Weight Watchers life a month after me and has lost somewhere near four stone… so hopefully he will help me keep on the straight and narrow next year!

One of my immediate goals for 2011 was to be superorganised to help the transition back to work. We didn’t have much choice on this one, it HAD to happen! And it is funny how much our domestic arrangements have changed since January last year. Hubby is now a full time dad and I am a full time worker (or at least I will be until I go on maternity leave in four weeks!) The new arrangement is working well, we are happy, the kids are happy and we are managing with money. Hopefully we will make it through the five months of maternity leave without going bankrupt and carry on as we left off. It isn’t going to be easy but we have to find a way to make it work for our family.

I didn’t quite get round to the first aid refresher, so need to think about that for 2012. The kitchen table remains Clutter Central, to my shame. I did take up swimming again, and I did use my Wii Fit more, as part of my weight loss, but both have gone by the wayside now I’m pregnant. We didn’t take the girls swimming very much, and I’d still like to do this. However, we will soon have three so it will be even more logistical!

Moving house. We knew a year ago this was unlikely to happen anytime soon. We could not have dreamed we would be planning to welcome another member of the family into our already too-small two bedroom house! But we have done lots of the practical jobs that needed doing to get the house into a state of readiness for going onto the market at a time in the future when things are more favourable. However we have also come to realise that we should be very thankful for what we have in this current ecomonic climate – we have a roof over our head and a manageable mortgage. Tony isn’t working any longer and that is ok, because we no longer pay childcare and we can manage our finances. But we can’t yet stretch ourselves to a bigger mortgage or the cost of moving, so although we both dream about the day we can move somewhere bigger (a third bedroom! Downstairs toilet! Garage! Conservatory! Big garden! etc…) we are also realistic. But the house is looking pretty good now and we have finally decorated every room… the last being our bedroom, which looks fab now.

I also managed to keep my job – just as well really. And I must make sure I can do the same next year!

And oh! How I laughed to remember goal no.15 – spend more time with hubby (alone!) I think i said we would aim to have one night out at least every six weeks. Well, that hasn’t happened. We have had a couple of nights away in a hotel, including for our anniversary but we have not done this nearly as much as I’d like. I am so lucky to have a husband I adore and whenever we spend time together, just the two of us, it is so brilliant. We MUST find a way to do this more in 2012, especially because even though we will be parents of three very soon!

I had my new camera for Christmas last year and I vowed to learn something about photography – well, I have enjoyed playing with it but the photography book I got with it hasn’t had much of a look in yet. I did do plenty of shopping by App – Amazon remains my favourite and (expensively) Next.

Keeping family photo albums up to date – I am generally quite good with this but as I speak there is a bit of a backlog (to about July…) so that is a major job to get done in the New Year, maybe during those first few weeks of maternity leave while I inevitably wait for this baby to be horrendously overdue like her sisters! And in terms of being a better blogger, well… I don’t think I realised how much time going back to work would take up! So my posting has not been as frequent as when I was off on maternity leave. However, my main aim with this blog is to record our lives as a family and to document some of the events in our children’s lives that they won’t remember when they’re older. And I think, generally, I have done ok at this one. Without lots more time to play with my blog I don’t think I will ever be driving huge amounts of traffic, or appearing in any Tots 100 lists, but those things really aren’t the reason why I write this blog. So, I think I’m doing ok. I am also realistic enough to realise that, at some point in the future, real life friends and family will probably discover this blog somehow or other, and I have to keep that in mind when I am writing it!

Goal 21 was to help nurture a good relationship between my girls – Well, I don’t know how much credit we can take, although obviously we have done our best, but (touch wood) the girls seem to have a great relationship so far. Obviously they have their moments but Lilly is a doting big sister and Isla loves spending time with her. The dynamics will all be rearranged again when number three arrives, but so far it has been such a joy seeing our two girls laughing and playing together.

And in terms of goals for 2012 – well, having another baby and adjusting to life as a family of five is probably a big enough one to get on with! And of course, Lilly will be starting school. At some point we will probably think about re-introducing Isla to nursery, perhaps a couple of sessions a week. All quite big things. And we have to survive fincially while I am on maternity leave.

So, I think that, if the kitchen table remains cluttered, and the recipes remain un-filed, it won’t matter too much, will it?

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Working towards my goals

14.5.11

Back in January I wrote a post in which I set out some goals for myself for 2011. I promised that I’d review them every so often to keep on track of how i’m getting on, so here is the first of those tracker posts.

1. Teach Lilly to read - I have bought a set of Usborne Read at Home books and somebody in work has lent me another set of learn to read books. We haven’t made a proper start on this yet. However, Lilly is getting good at recognising the letters of the alphabet and she can spot her own name easily – even in the credits of programmes. Sometimes she will see a word starting with “Li” or ending in “lly”and she’ll say “that’s like my name!” So I just need to capitalise on this natural enthusiasm to learn I think. She has also started spotting squiggles that look like letters and numbers in her drawings and then tells me: “That looks like a 6, doesn’t it!?” And again I think it is time I started helping her with some basic writing too.

2. Book another holiday for us – We had a lovely holiday in Center Parcs at the end of March, and we’re going to France with the inlaws in a couple of months, which we’re really looking forward to. Finances are a bit tight so we’re not sure whether we’ll get abroad next year, but I think we’ll decide nearer the time. Mind you, there are some early plans for Tony’s sister to get married next year, possibly abroad, so if she goes ahead with that, that’s the decision made! 

5. Be superorganised to help the transition back to work – We had just about settled into our routine of Tony on morning duty and me on afternoons / nursery pick up, when his shifts changed at work and everything had to be juggled about again! Now he works early morning into early afternoon – so the half days are out of the window, and instead I work four full days, monday to thursday. Nursery had no extra days for the girls though, so at the moment me and MIL are using leave to cover the additional Tuesdays with the girls. This will probably be until August, and in a way, it’s a real blessing as I get more summer days at home with the girls this year!

7. Keep the kitchen table clear of clutter – Not been doing too well with this one. As we speak there are piles of laundry ready to be ironed and bottles of water etc living on the table. Maybe I better go and clear them off in a minute…

8. Swim a bit more -  Two weeks ago I swam twice before work. I didn’t manage it this week for one reason or another, but the intention is there and I have worked out how to fit it into my week. So now I just need to get on with it…

9. Lose weight – Probably most successful one to date… I have lost nearly 2 and a half stone since the end of January by joining Weight Watchers online. Honestly the best thing I have done in a while! I could rave about it but that’d be a whole seperate post… but I have dropped two dress sizes so far and hoping to go down one more before my holiday. Hubby joined in too, when he saw me losing weight, and he has also lost over 2 stone. Magic!

10. Use my Wii Fit more – Actually I probably use it less, as hubby is home in the evenings now so we tend to flop out and watch TV before getting an early night ahead of his 3am start! But if I keep up with the swimming, the lack of Wii-Fit won’t matter, will it?

11. Get ready to move house – This one is probably on indefinite hold! Finances just couldn’t stretch to a house move at the moment. There are some jobs we need to do around this house, but in reality I think we’ll be staying here until both girls are at school.

13. Brush up my French – French holiday coming up very soon and French still in need of a “brushing” 

14. Make the most of my afternoons off – Well, it’s day/s off now. We have had some really great days out and (most) of the time we’ve managed to do more than just errands and trips to the supermarket (although that’s exactly what we did yesterday, hehe!)

15. Spend more time with hubby (alone!)  – We haven’t done too well. No trip away for our anniversary of meeting. But we did have a really amazing night out in Liverpool in, erm, January, and treated ourselves to a stay in the Malmaison. And we have booked it again for our wedding anniversary in July. But a definite ‘could do better’ on this one…

16. Use my new camera and learn something about photography – I am using it, but I don’t know if I’m getting better. The photography book remains unread… maybe on holiday…

17. Cook lots with Lilly – Hmmm, no, need to do better… problem is, being on Weight Watchers, we’re obviously eating a lot less cake! But I wanted to get Lilly more involved in general cooking, and I still need to make more of an effort here. 

19. Go on more family days out – and blog about them. Go back to our favourite places and discover new ones. Make the most of our weekends – Yep, I think we’re doing well, no complaints!

20. Weaning Isla – She has come on well with her eating now, it was a slow start but we now have successful toast and sandwich eating, and she is better all the time with lumps. She still does the occasional terrifying gagging thing that scares me to death, but it is much less frequent now.

21. Help nurture a good relationship between my girls – Not sure how much credit I can take but I am very happy to say that, at the momement, the girls have a really lovely relationship and genuinely seem to adore each other. Everytime they’re laughing at each other, or kissing and hugging each other it makes everything worth it! 

22. Keep our family photo albums up to date – Move along now, nothing to see here…

23. Be a better blogger - Actually I’ve found it difficult to be even just as good a blogger as I was last year. There just aren’t the hours in the day / week for all the things I’d like to do. But essentially I’m writing this blog as a record for my children and us in the future. So I am trying to make sure I record all the really lovely things we do, the important milestones and funny things, the development of the girls. If I get any spare time I’ll think about all the other things I’d like to add too. Still need to remember to date my blog posts!

24. Revisit my goals regularly to see how I’m doing – Well, this is the first time i’ve done it, so not exactly monthly! But its the thought that counts…

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The Gallery: Trees

Here is my effort for this week’s Gallery theme, Trees - taken in our local park at the weekend.

Now why not pop over and see the other entries…

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Addicted to multitasking

I used to consider myself good at multitasking, because of my work.

As a journalist, and later as a PR officer, I was never allowed the luxury of doing one thing at a time.

I’d be working on one story or press release, when somebody would ring up about another, I’d also be drafting an urgent statement on some other issue while trying to chase information on another.

Yes, I was used to doing 2, 3, 4 things at I time, and I was ok at it.

Then I had a baby. And I started to see what multitasking really meant.

I think most mothers would agree with me. I’d be amusing a baby while sorting the washing, making bottles, freezing baby purée, ironing, tidying, burping, changing, soothing, photographing, organising, planning & feeding. Now I was really multitasking. And when I went back to work, juggling two or three pressing work tasks was a piece of cake in comparison.

And then i had another baby.

And so I had a toddler AND a baby.

And now I really, really know what multitasking means. It is heating baby food while cooking a toddler’s dinner while fending off 20 requests for a biscuit while comforting a grumpy hungry baby while making drinks for both children while taking toddler to the toilet while putting a wash load on while strapping the baby in the highchair while answering the phone while feeding the baby while picking out the onions from your toddlers dinner because she doesnt like them today while stopping the baby from spraying water all over the house while warming her pudding while taking the toddler for yet another wee while soothing a crying baby while saying “sit down at the table Lilly to eat your dinner” while wiping the baby’s face while finding the toddler a pudding while cleaning the highchair while helping the toddler to scrape the “last bits” from her yoghurt pot while putting the baby down for a nap while putting on CBeebies while clearing up food from the floor while topping up toddler’s drink, while going back to comfort a crying baby, while answering the door to a delivery man while switching off Ben & Holly cos it scares toddler while making a nice strong cup of coffee…..

Is it any wonder I need a nice, cool class of Sauvignon Blanc at the end of the day?

As a result of this constant multitasking, I find it very difficult not to do more than one thing at once. I can’t really ”do nothing” anymore. I can’t just sit and watch tv. Because while I’m watching TV I can’t stop the nagging feeling that I could actually also be ironing or doing the grocery shopping online, or reading a magazine or sorting the washing or(as now) writing a blog post.

If I’m ever in a job interview in future and I’m asked to give an example of how I might multitask I think I’ll just tell them I’m a mother of two. If I couldn’t multitask, I’d be pretty stuck. In fact, I think we should just put that on our CVs. And I would imagine the more children you’ve got, the more multitasking you’re able to do. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it!

I remember reading that if you do a lot of multitasking it can actually make you more suseptible to dementia in your old age. Probably because your brain is inevitably going to shortcircuit somewhere along the line. So, keep drinking the pomegranete juice and doing the crossword, mums.

There are only a few things in life that I can really switch off for and concentrate on one thing at a time: mainly cooking, driving (when the girls aren’t in the car) and watching Coronation Street. Simple pleasures.

Is it just me? Or are you also “addicted to multitasking?”

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Goals for 2011

Jan 4, 2011

I know everybody is at it at this time of year, but I’m going to be another one to jump on the New Year bandwagon. I may be a little late with this, but our New Year was kind of dominated by third birthday celebrations, so we didn’t really get too much time to think about the dawning of a new year (or decade, as some people think of it).

I started writing down a few basic goals, but inspired by Tiddlyompompom‘s Day Zero posts and Pumpkin and Piglet’s recent post but here are some of my personal goals for 2011. Some are bigger than others!

1. Teach Lilly to read - or make a start, at least! I’ve already started helping her learn letters and showing her the odd word. She is really good with all this and seems to pick it up quickly. I was reading well by the time I started school, thanks to my mum teaching me, and I want the same for Lilly. I’ve got to make sure this year that I put in the time and effort to make this happen. By the way, can anyone out there recommend me children’s reading books? I’m looking for the modern day equivalent of Peter and Jane? Also any tips from mums who’ve done it would be MOST welcome!

2. Book another holiday for us – Either Center Parcs or (preferably) foreign sun. Either March/April or December/January. We have our holiday to France with extended family, but want to get away, just the four of us. Problem is, I’m fussy and want a) sunshine b) somewhere to stay with a separate bedroom / living area (so the kids can sleep while we stay up supping wine!) c) some basic cooking facilities to make baby food and store milk in the fridge whilst also staying somewhere with d) half board, at least, so that I don’t have to cook for us all while we’re away. Gran Canaria or the Canaries probably. I’ve had some suggestions on twitter, please feel free to send any more!

3. Tidy up all my recipes and update my recipe database – I am a geek and love collecting recipes from magazines, putting them in folders, and making lists on my computer of the recipes I have, so that I can meal plan. I haven’t tidied up my recipes for about six months, so I have a lot of magazines and pieces of paper hanging around that need sorting, and a shiny new folder, waiting to be filled!

4. Meal plan and create weekly plans I can go back to to save time - I do do this, but I still think I could be more efficient.

5. Be superorganised to help the transition back to work – Military precision is going to be involved. Everything that can humanly be done the night before, is going to have to be done the night before. How on earth am I going to leave the house by 7am everyday????

6. Remind myself of some first aid – I did a course at school, but my memory is terrible. Every so often I look at my first aid book to try and remind myself of things. It would be great to do a refresher course, to help it all finally sink in. In the meantime, I pray I won’t need it…

7. Keep the kitchen table clear of clutter – It has become a dumping ground. It is a victim of Small House Syndrome. But a clear kitchen table just makes so many more things possible – eating together, cooking with Lilly, painting, arts and crafts, blah blah blah. I aim to tidy things off it each day.

8. Swim a bit more -  this will be a hard one as it’s a case of finding time. Ideally I’d like to take the girls swimming more, and also go by myself too. This was one of my goals for maternity leave – Lilly and I went once in that whole time, not including our holiday in Center Parcs. So, we will see if I can manage this one while working five days a week…

9. Lose weight – Sure I am not alone in this one. I have very little will power. But I MUST try…

10. Use my Wii Fit more – In relation to the above

11. Get ready to move house – Our house is too small. We need to move. But we probably can’t do it this year, for a multitude of reasons. So, with the aim of moving in 2012, we need to carry out some decorating and maintenance – e.g. new facias, decorate our bedroom, fix our bathroom shower and extractor fan. What fun.

12. Keep my job – I work for a local authority, so in this current climate, nothing is assured. When I return to work next week I intend to do my job as well as I possibly can, to make myself as indispensible as I possibly can.

13. Brush up my French – We are going on a holiday with extended family to France in August. Between now and then I want to brush up my (very) rusty language skills so I can at least understand SOME of what is said and written.

14. Make the most of my afternoons off – My new working hours mean I will have two afternoons a week off with the girls. I want to make sure I fill this with ‘quality time’, not just additional time to do housework. I’m thinking trips out, cooking, painting, playing. All the good stuff.

15. Spend more time with hubby (alone!)  – We have willing Grandparents living a short walk away. We don’t take advantage of them often enough! I would like hubby and I to have one night out at least every six weeks, even if we only go to the local pub for a few hours. The ultimate would be to have a weekend away, although not sure if we’ll do that this year while Isla is still so small. We have talked about going to York together for a night to mark our 10th anniversary of meeting in March, and I’d love us to do that.

16. Use my new camera and learn something about photography – I got a new camera for Christmas and I am slowly working my way around all the settings. I love taking photos, I love looking at photos. Maybe I’ll even join in The Gallery this year…

17. Cook lots with Lilly – I love cooking, and I want my girls to grow up eating healthily and enjoying cooking too. Lilly and I already do a bit of baking together, which we enjoy. I bought her a children’s cookbook for Christmas, and I want us to try making some more adventurous things together. Cass at Frugal Family has just started a regular Cooking with Kids challenge on her blog, perhaps we will join in with that this year.

18. Shop by App – I love my Iphone. And one of the best things about it is that you can shop online now, for food and clothes, via the comfort of an app. I did 90% of my Christmas shopping on the (brilliant) Amazon.com app. My back to work wardrobe was mainly purchased via the Debenhams, Very and Next January Sales on their apps. Instead of shopping lists, I’ve started using the Tesco app to add items to my basket as and when I think about it, saving a lot of time when it comes to doing my online shopping. So basically, retailers, if you want my custom in 2011: Get an app!

19. Go on more family days out – and blog about them. Go back to our favourite places and discover new ones. Make the most of our weekends.

20. Weaning Isla – Yes, I know I haven’t got much choice on this one! But it’s still a big project for 2011. I love cooking meals for the girls, and am armed with my trusty Annabel Karmel books, so hopefully it will be fun for both of us.

21. Help nurture a good relationship between my girls – Like any parent, I want my children to get on and have a good relationship. They’re fairly close in age, so hopefully they can grow up as good friends. I am also realistic, I know there will be times when they will fight, but I am hoping I can encourage them to be thoughtful and kind to each other, and help their relationship along the right lines… how I’ll do this, I’m not sure!

22. Keep our family photo albums up to date – A job I love, but a time consuming one. I’m not doing to bad, I’m up to date to the end of September. So just a few months to catch up with, and then try and keep on top of it.

23. Be a better blogger - I’ve really developed this blog over the last year, and I love writing it. My aim is to create a record of our family life that I can look back on, and the girls can look back on when they’re older. The fact that people read it is a bonus, but it’s nice to know what I’m writing is interesting and hopefully well written. So, in the interests of ego, I’d like more people to read my blog, and more people to comment. I must not neglect my blog when I go back to work. I won’t have as much time but I want to make sure I carry on reading other people’s blogs, and comment more. I also want to remember to date my posts, so that when I archive them one day I’ll know when I wrote them.

Oh, and if anyone can tell me how to add a badge to my wordpress blog / change the picture above to one of my own, I’d be grateful!

24. Revisit my goals regularly to see how I’m doing – Perhaps, like Tiddlyompompom, I could come back to this list every month or so, and see how I’m getting on. That might help me achieve more of these goals.

So, that’s it for now. Better get on with it….

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