Second times

Second times are great. I can say that now I am back at Uni and survived the first time of learning online. What a steep learning curve that was! A change in lifestyle has led me back to study. My partner and I ditched the small business to save sanity and regroup. “Who are you?” Seriously, don’t ever laugh at people that say they are like passing ships in the night. We were like that. Everything was done in shifts for 3 long years and I am so very glad it is over (so are the children!).

This will also explain why I have been MIA for the past 6 months. What a huge adjustment it has been, full of constant shift and change. I am actually looking forward to Christmas for the first time in 3 years. Working 7 days a week and trying to raise a young family is just not conducive to relaxation and enjoyment. I must have often looked like a frazzled, crazy woman ranting and raving her way through each week with favourites such as, “Have you done your homework/washing/cleaned your teeth/made your bed/and anything else I can get into one sentence in one breath?” Children insert eye roll here.

Now, it’s all about taking time to enjoy our family and each other. Making an effort to do family activities or simple things like read to the children. Master 6 actually cried the night I read him a book after so long ( later, so did I!). I am trying to find the positives in each of our children, rather than focus on the bad points as a behaviour management system because, quite frankly, they are out of control! I know I have a lot of hard work ahead, but we are getting there.

The past three months have been intermittent research on food, behaviour, learning strategies and anything else I could get my hands on that I felt would be helpful to knit our family back into the cohesive unit it once was.   As I write this post, Princess is in the kitchen with her father making sushi and Red is off to work. Master 6 and Beiber are upstairs playing a game on the Xbox together. The house is peaceful ( other than the ranting of “You ARE buying me a better sushi mat”) and enjoyable…until the next uproar.