The British Homemaker - One day at a time

Meet Lillie-Mai… Who came into the world on Thursday 5th April 2012 @ 2.28am weighing a whopping 9lb 11oz! A younger sister to the funny Bailey Boo… Who loves her baby sister soooo much! But she sleeps. and sleeps. and sleeps. For now!

12 years ago today my older boys and I were baptised. I don’t believe I’ve ever made a better choice aside from having my children. Let me take you back… A little over 13 years ago my lifelong friend died suddenly in a motorbike accident. Mark was 33, father to two and husband to 1. Mark and I had a bond that was more than partners, more than best friends, more than brother and sister, yet was never confused or complicated with crossing ‘the line’ {you know what I mean there, right?} Mark was a man of presence, one of humour and strength. His life had been full of good, bad and all in between. When he died he wasn’t talking to me! I was ok with that though, he was sulking because someone else had fixed my computer and I hadn’t called on him…I’ve always laughed at that because I knew how our friendship was. I know how much I meant to him and I know we are eternal friends. I won’t go into how I learned of his death, it was rather traumatic but I will say it took me 5 years t...

I love the hymns we have available to us, I love to flick through the book and sing away {did I already mention that I am tone deaf and can’t sing for toffee?}. This time of the year I find I listen to them more, I make up my own cd and play it till its worn out, my kids are not always amused either because it takes away their choice of what goes in their ears but they end up singing or humming along, win-win I say! This year I find myself  humming this one below, I don’t know all the words but I’m pretty sure I will by the end of the year! 1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King! Let ev’ry heart prepare him room, And Saints and angels sing, And Saints and angels sing, And Saints, and Saints and angels sing. 2. Rejoice! Rejoice when Jesus reigns, And Saints their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, r...

We all carry our own deal in life according to our choices, reactions and abilities. In many cases we carry the effects of others decisions too and it’s tough to get through the fog in life.  I’m a firm believer that we are only given the challenges that we have the ability to cope with ~ with the assistance and guidance of Jesus Christ. I admit to failing more often than I’m proud to admit and this morning was no different. Sat in Macdonald's with my journal I mulled over the last few days and felt myself just sink into submission. An off the cuff remark yesterday in a business group cut me to the core, my exhaust dropped off the car, a hole was made in it and I now have an added bill of over £100 to get it sorted. Bad timing. It was very late when I got home from the forest of dean and all hell was breaking lose at the place where my kids were. There was no point me trying to explain or defend myself so we just left. Living out of a B&B isn’t the hardest thing to do, but ...

Being homeless has many levels of meaning and circumstances. After two stints I do not believe it is something to be taken lightly. I have seen people around me this last two weeks who walk round this hotel looking like they have the world on their shoulders. There is no typical person to fall prey to the situation either. I chat with a couple of people who have obviously had the daylights knocked out of them primarily because of a relationship breakdown of some form and through mean and sometimes spiteful choices they can’t control and are out on the streets whilst their partners are in the home…the shocking thing is the people I am referring to are mothers with young children. It breaks my heart that my kids are going through this again, through no fault of theirs or mine but to see a 2 and 4 year old come out of the bathroom freshly bathed and in their pjs I wonder what effect it will have on them in the future. I look at the mom, say hi and stop to chat for a few minutes and I de...

I am not the typical homeless person because I have some very caring friends and a good supportive mother who sees me through what I need. However, there are a few things I’ve come to realise about not having your own home: Your routine and comfort zones no longer exist, no matter how hard you try. You spend more than you would running a house. Mentally you are always aware of someone else around you in a very different way, not always in a good way. Your friends jump on board with you and keep you going, the most important way is emotionally. Suddenly mopping floors and cleaning baths become a dream. Dodging traffic wardens becomes a new hobby. En suite becomes a multi use room: shower, wash, wash up, change. Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night {because its down the hall} becomes a mini trip…door key, light, loo roll. Everyone seems to need your address, only when you don’t have one to give they have that ‘look’ in...

The last time I posted here I was in the middle of moving house. This time I post and I’m living with my mom! So what’s the deal? It hasn’t been an easy few weeks but it is by far the worst too. The day I moved from the house the one I thought I was moving to fell through. That left us, once again wondering where we were going to drive off to once we were in the car! De je Vous? For sure! Thankfully my mom came to the rescue and invited us to stay with her till I secured something else. I also hit other obstacles, the kids school, my work and the group I was involved with for the course I’ve not long graduated with. What I didn’t know is how much my life was about to change. For the next three weeks I found that I was kind of lost. So many hours to fill and nothing to fill them with. I helped with the housework, I read, I set my computer up, I read the scriptures but it was very unnerving for me to not have school runs, my own routine, some privacy and toys all over the place...

 

This house move has become a nightmare. Last week I went on complete emotional meltdown and all but give up on the whole deal. I haven’t cried so much in years, as one door closed two more slammed. By Sunday I had lost all hope that God even knew I existed, much less cared so I went into church after sacrament to speak to my branch president. For me to miss church there has to be a good reason, this week, I just couldn’t feel it. {I also had ear-ache through the night but it wouldn’t have stopped me going if I could just get my mind/heart in some hopeful place}. Three hours later I walked out of his office feeling worse than before but more in control of myself. I say worse because while I was in there many things were covered that I hadn’t mentally processed. It’s always good to have another persons opinion. Later that afternoon I sent a message to my two fellow admin on my Facebook group offering to resign from my status. Long shot of it was, Alex called me to cheer me on and gen...

A couple of months ago the Relief Society and Young Women sang in sacrament. The chosen song, Lighthouse in the night, is  a young woman song but when you listen to the words they are so powerful and uplifting I dare anyone not to raise a tear. As a mother of a teenage daughter, my heart aches that she no longer comes to church with me. I allow her the free agency her Father in Heaven gave her and while she still lives many of the principles she’s been taught and isn’t against the church or doctrine, I do worry that she is missing out on the wonderful messages that young women her age so need in this world. This song was sang where the RS sang to the YW then the YW sang the chorus…in confirmation of them knowing who they are, why they are here and just how precious they really are. Take a listen…..you wont regret it…but just go grab a tissue or ten first!  

There are certain times of the  year that just don’t ‘do’ it for me. I mean, some events are just fun for the day but the day after it’s all over with, such as Valentine’s day, Pancake day etc. We {the kids and I} make novelty things to decorate the table, we have fun foods symbolising the theme etc but I can’t say I get super excited about them. However, Easter is my ultimate favourite celebration of the year. I.Love.Easter! For the last 2 years I have done a scripture chase with my kids lasting approx 3-4 hours each. In between each scripture they’d get a clue for a hidden egg, small gift and a scripture they had to learn and tell back to me as well as what their understanding of it was. The first year we done this we watched a range of Lds childrens scripture cartoons in between and/or some talk from the General Conference. No matter how many times I hear Elder Jeffrey R Holland’s talk, I am consumed with emotions. Shame, love, humility, gratitude and a deeper ...

A couple of posts ago I talked about Charley probably being dyslexic. While he cant officially be assessed till he turns 7 in September, his teachers and I have been trying out some things that are commonly used for dyslexics and amazingly enough they are making his life a whole lot easier. Dyslexia is a broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or accuracy in being able to read, speak, and spell. Dyslexia does not affect a human's intelligence in how they learn or memorize information. {taken from Wikipedia} Because a few people have asked how the tinted strip was going for him I figured an update is required! The strip is proving to be priceless, Charley will now sit and read for hours using it. He is eager to do his reading and words after school, he will read most of the book at bedtime and he’ll sit happily on his bed and read whatever he fancies. There are words that are just not in his age capability to read yet but he is showing ...

After doing the majority of refunds on Saturday I was getting confused why the total amount wasn’t going down. It wasn’t till I checked my email that I found that the donations/sponsorship money was being returned back to me! The over all decision was that I was being urged to keep hold of the money and use it to donate to any charity I chose. I was very touched and very humbled. 18 lovely people left messages of support and apologies for the breakdown of this event. Previously it was friends that called to ask what happened but soon I didn’t want to get into it, the attitude was not productive. My Facebook friends are the ones that reminded me that all is not lost and there is still something I can do, just without the drama and abuse from Daisy’s mum. So I’m going to spend a few days thinking out what the next move can be and who the money’s shall be going to. Thank you so, so much for your generosity, I underestimated the readership here, my friends and business contacts s...

How many times do you hear that word? How many times does that word apply to you? I think it applies to almost everyone (at least who I know) but it definitely applies to me, and I reluctantly admit that! Through Sunday’s church meeting we talked about sacrifice, temperance and patience. By the time I got home I realised that the other events that occurred during the meetings that frustrated me was the perfect example of my lack of sacrifice, temperance and patience. You see, I was released in my calling as Branch Activities Chairperson and was called as Relief Society Teacher. Again. Now back in the day I loved this calling, both times I was called. I loved that I got to know the sisters that little bit better, I got the perfect opportunity to learn more than I could teach and I loved that I was part of a pro-active Relief Society. I also loved that by working on a lesson I was able to get closer to my Heavenly Father and  understand Him so much more. Then why does this ca...

I forgot to share my before and after Christmas tree eh? Well here it is now, better late than never, as they say. Before: After: I sprayed it with snow spray (which I don’t recommend because it smells awful for a couple of days after) then only added homemade decorations. Between sewing, hot gluing and paper crafting we decided to not over do it this year. There are 4 sets of lights on there but erm, they seem to have gone shy! ;) Well, it’s now almost 6am and Santa has been. This is how I know: ended up as this: I also found a half eaten carrot in the hallway! ;) Charley will love the fact that all his chosen goodies were eaten, Santa remembered to bring the key back indoors and he even has  a letter and chocolate coins from the man himself! Steal! Jay, Tara and Bailey managed to get here as planned on Wednesday, I can even begin to describe how chilled and happy my gorgeous granddaughter is. She laughs, she giggles, she watches and she takes it all in. I love t...