Getting organised

The school year has just begun and im thinking about the end already. I bought this chart to stitch for Caleb's teacher. Knowing how long it takes me to stitch anything i thought i'd just get organised and start now in the hope that it'll be stitched and finished into something by the end of June :) I can do that, right?!

I haven't posted in a few weeks mainly because we were without internet at home for over a week. I sure realised how much i rely on it; for food shopping, paying bills, contacting friends....i was lost without it!

Lets see, what have we been doing...

I ran another 10K race and got a new PB! 60minutes 7 seconds. Im documenting it here so i dont forget. I have no more races planned until May now.

We took a long weekend break to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary back at the beginning of the month. We travelled just an hour over the water to Drimsynie and had a nice wee time together. The views were beautiful and it was nice to break the cycle of the norm! 4 days was enough though, we started to feel a bit cooped up in the caravan with 2 small kids.

I completed my Jogscotland Jogleaders training and i am now qualified. I have started up my own business called Just Jog and am starting my first running group on Monday. Lets hope some people turn up! See my previous post for the link to the facebook page, go like it :)

I have some work on the horizon which i am super excited about; some sessional work with a charity that encourages active/healthy lifestyles through jogging. Totally perfect for me! Ive had a year off now and im ready to do something else. 1 or 2 days a week would be good.

Caleb is enjoying his new nursery and ive made a great new group of mummy friends there. We've got lots of social things planned in the next few months as a group; dinosaur digs at the science centre, a disco/party night for us mums, a party with Santa at the famous toy store Hamleys for mums and kids. Its gonna be great.

Its my baby boys 1st Birthday 2 weeks today!! Where has that year gone? I am having a 1st Birthday party lunch for him and other wee baby friends so i need to start thinking about that.

So thats about it. Apologies for this rather bitty post, ive written it over the course of about a week, adding a few lines here and there. Have a good weekend :-)

My New Venture

I will be back with a proper blog post soon but please take a look and like my new venture!

Just Jog

I am now a qualified Jogscotland Jogleader and will be leading beginner walk-run jogging groups in the West of Scotland!

Start with courage, Finish with Pride

Im in that crowd somewhere! On Sunday i ran the Great Scottish Run 10K In Glasgow and achieved a PB! 10K (6.2miles) in 1 hour 1minute and 59 seconds. Im very proud of myself! 

Im pretty sure i would've broken the hour had i not been stuck in this crowd heading up St Vincents Street in Glasgow City Centre. I just couldnt get going and i think that cost me a few minutes!

Here i am at the finish! Number 5936, hands on hips, blue tshirt. Ignore the clock, the start is staggered so we dont all start at 0. 8000 people starting all at once would be slightly chaotic! There was a chip on the back of my number which gave me my actual my time. 

My dad took me up to the city centre, waved me off and waited for me at the end. I loved the morning and the slogan of the race was very apt; Start with courage, Finish with Pride.

Birth Sampler

To show that i do stitch, here's my latest progress on Aaron's birth sampler. I'd really like to have it finished for his 1st birthday in October but im thinking that might be too optimistic.

Im suddenly having a panic about my nephews birth sampler that i put into the framers over 2 months ago! I just remembered. I have got to chase that up this week. Imagine they've lost it or something horrifying?! Eeeek.

Caleb has started his preschool nursery year and his first week was a big success. He loves it. Mummy loves it.

Summer wrap up

We've made it!!! *cheers* The end of the summer holidays. I am so very very glad. That was a long 7 weeks trying to entertain two small children. Caleb needs to go back to nursery; he's bored, Aaron annoys him and his behaviour has gradually deteriorated through the course of the 7 weeks. Last week was a hellish week i have to say (he wasn't well). He's excited about starting his new preschool nursery and seeing his friends. I am excited to be getting back into a routine and not having to come up with morning and afternoon activities day after day (he's only there 9-11.30, but it's a great help!)

After saying all that, we have had fun and kept very busy.

We spent a lot of time:

At various parks

Out walking

In the garden

In the sunshine (there was some sunny weather!)

A few trips (to Loch Lomond and the Fire Engine Museum)

And to the local soft playcentre (which made a small fortune through July with all the wet weather)

Of course we also spent a lot of time at friends houses (i'd have been lost without my friends Bev and Becky this summer), had people over to play, got to know our neighbours better and spent time with family.

This week Matthew is away on business so im prepared for a busy, exhausting week ahead but at least every morning will be tantrum-throwing-toddler free! Now just to off load the baby somewhere ;-)


p.s Do you know how hard some of your blogs are to comment on? The settings are crazy and the cryptic word codes impossible to read at times!

50 things to do before you are 11 ¾.

"Research shows that fewer than one in ten of today's children have played in a wild place compared to half of their parents' generation."

Daily Mail online

Isnt that crazy? And sad? 

Here's the National Trust's 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾ list designed to inspire both parents and kids alike. I like it!

For Caleb (age 3), we're doing not too bad....

1. Climb a tree

2. Roll down a really big hill

3. Camp out in the wild

4. Build a den

5. Skim a stone √

6. Run around in the rain √

7. Fly a kite

8. Catch a fish with a net

9. Eat an apple straight from a tree

10. Play conkers 

11. Throw some snow √

12. Hunt for treasure on the beach √

13. Make a mud pie

14. Dam a stream

15. Go sledging √

16. Bury someone in the sand

17. Set up a snail race

18. Balance on a fallen tree

19. Swing on a rope swing

20. Make a mud slide

21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild

22. Take a look inside a tree

23. Visit an island √

24. Feel like you're flying in the wind √

25. Make a grass trumpet √

26. Hunt for fossils and bones

27. Watch the sun wake up 

28. Climb a huge hill 

29. Get behind a waterfall

30. Feed a bird from your hand

31. Hunt for bugs √

32. Find some frogspawn

33. Catch a butterfly in a net

34. Track wild animals

35. Discover what's in a pond

36. Call an owl

37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool

38. Bring up a butterfly

39. Catch a crab

40. Go on a nature walk at night

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it √

42. Go wild swimming

43. Go rafting

44. Light a fire without matches

45. Find your way with a map and compass

46. Try bouldering

47. Cook on a campfire

48. Try abseiling

49. Find a geocache (this weekend hopefully!)

50. Canoe down a river

We're off to Loch Lomond today to have some more outdoor adventures!

Moany mum

As of the end of July, the wee one was crawling. Boy, does life get harder! Suddenly i appreciate how much easier newborn babies are. Sitting on the couch, watching tv and feeding baby for hours sounds like total bliss now. This crawling/pulling himself up to standing/falling over/bumping his head and crying coz that hurts phase is sooo hard! I cant divert my eyes for a minute. He's also at that age where i cant be out his sight for 30 seconds without starting to moan, crawling to find me and climbing up my legs until i pick him up (which sounds quite cute now im writing this but is actually a pain in the butt when im trying to make lunch or dinner etc) Plus he's teething, which doesn't help. He has 4 teeth now, the last of which just came in this week and i thought we'd get some respite before the others start to arrive but no, today i see more coming along the bottom. Give me strength. In addition to all those moans, the older one has been hard work, probably because so much of my time/attention is taken up dealing with Aaron. Im glad nursery school starts back next week, we are in need of our routine back again and Caleb needs more stimulation.

Oh and im still up through the night with Aaron and he's been waking for the day at 5.30am which, quite frankly, is killing me and turning me into a grumpy cow by 7pm. On the plus side, both my kids were sound asleep by 6.30pm tonight which is great. Shame im too tired to do anything with my time though....

Moan, moan, moan.

However, im grateful for my boys and i love them very much. Look at these faces! Too cute. Im just tired, busy, hormonal and grumpy :)

edit: My moaning must've been heard. Aaron slept alllllll night and mummy slept 9.30pm-6am! Hurrah