S is for. . . School

Im back to school, its was the strangest thing being back in a classroom after a few years. Even stranger to be enjoying it! That never happens.
I am doing my Bachelor in Midwifery. And so far (all be it, i've only been there 4 days) I am loving it. Its hard work, but thats why i'm enjoying it. Its pushing me to get my brain working and learning again, its such a great feeling. I never though in a million years I would ever say that!

Its a LOT of hours though, Im there every single day. Which I was not expecting when I first applied. I had an 8 hour day today which killed me I am exhausted and so is Ethan. Its hard work but I know in te end it will be worth it. And I do get to come home and nap with my little man.

I am also very lucky and have the ability to leave Ethan with wonderful people in my life. My nan is watching him on a Monday and Thursday. Toms mum is watching him on a Tuesday and he is going to daycare on Wednesday.
And then Friday my amazing friend Jess will watch him for a little until Thomas gets home from work.

Its a huge commitment! One that I have struggled with, seeing my little mans face as I leave him every day is breaking my heart. I miss seeing him giggle and smile all day, I miss him pulling my hair and playing with my fingers. But at the same time, I know he is well looked after and that makes everything ok.

So I have traded in my slippers and pjs, for jeans and a tshirt.

I have traded in my cup of tea and toast for a coffee on the go

I have traded in my hours of breast feeding, to pumping in the car on my way too and from uni

I have traded in my poppy nappies and vomit, for lectures and tutorials

Even if it is just for a few hours a day, I miss everything and am always so eager to get home!



But I am so happy and its making the time I am home with Ethan even more amazing. Im appreciating every second like I never have before and its just wonderful to come home every day to his smiling face and knowing that he has had a great day, and i'm following my dreams.

If nothing else, thats what i'm getting out of this. That I hope one day Ethan can look back on this and see how hard I worked to achieve my dreams and goals and how anything is possible as long as you set your mind to it!

So today for Thankful Thursday I am thankful for so many things, for my wonderful family who have stuck by me and made all of this possible, for watching Ethan and being as amazing and supportive as they have been. I am thankful for the ability to be going to Uni to study Midwifery and the ability to achieve my dream! 

I'm also very thankful to the wonderful student who stopped today to give me her parking ticket so I didnt have to buy one, Thank you kind stranger, I will pass on the favour!

Its times like this I realise how truly lucky I am and how blessed I am to live this life. 

Of course I'm linking up with Leigh at "Six by the Bay" for Thankful Thursday! What makes you thankful? Head on over and link up, it will change your day, promise! 

W is for. . . Walk in her shoes

Ill be honest, every other week Thursday is my most favourite day, I love looking at the positive side of my life, picking out all the wonderful points and sharing them with you. I will admit though, today I struggled. I have ended up in a bit of a slump the last few days and struggled to find something positive to share.

I have been thinking all day, Its now 5pm and I have finally realised there is no point in feeling sorry for myself. No point in focusing on the negative things have have happened over the last few days.

How many people would love to live my life?

Would love to have 3 meals a day and a roof over their head.

Would love to have the amazing support I have from my partner and from our families.

Would love to have a healthy and safe lifestyle.

And they don't.

So who am I to complain and the things in my life, that would be so small in comparison to some peoples problems.

So instead, today I am thankful!

I am thankful to have 3 meals a day and a roof over our head

I am thankful to have amazing support from both my partner and our families

and Im thankful for the healthy and safe lifestyle we have


To prove how thankful I am, I am going to join "Walk in her shoes"  Where I will commit to walking 10,000 steps a day from March 18-24.

Because I don't have to walk for Km's each and every day, just to food and water, just a few steps to the fridge.

My aim is to raise $500! But I would love to raise more. Ill be promoting through my blog and social media, the more money raised, the more girls we can help, spend more time in school than having to walk every day!

You can donate to here

Or you can register for yourself here, It costs just $15 and they will send you out a pedometer so you can keep track of those steps!

I know there are other bloggers walking as well

BabyMac

Essentially Jess

Any other bloggers who are doing this, please let me know and i'll list your names! I think its such a wonderful cause.

No matter how bad life can get, how dark and gloomy, there is always something to be thankful for.
This Thankful Thursday may have been a little harder than other, but after a little soul searching, its easy to see all the wonderful things I have been blessed with. And I hope I can make some people's lives, just a little bit brighter.

Of course I'm linking up with Leigh at "Six by the Bay" for Thankful Thursday! My weeks just wouldn't be the same without it!

S is for . . . Seven

E is seven months old today, seven! How on earth has seven months gone past so quickly? Its just the blink of an eye, and he grows.
I had heard about his for years, people say, enjoy them while they are young, they will grow up before you know it. I could never believe that. That cant be true?
well they were right, its so true.

Its such a bizarre feeling. As he grows up, i'm sad that he is closer to a toddler than the tiny little newborn that I bought home.

7lbs 5oz. He was much smaller than my giant belly lead me to believe I was carrying. I was expecting a 10 pounder!

I get sad because I miss being pregnant. It was just the most wonderful experience and i'm so lucky to have got to have a little person grow inside me.

But I can also see the amazing, happy side of this. The fact I have grown a little person inside me, who I birthed, and have then helped grow, helped learn about the world.

I cannot believe the changes in him in the last couple of months. He has gone from a baby who layed on the ground for 10 minutes then ate and slept. 

To a little person who is all about exploring the world.

He scoots around, plays with toys, he entertains himself for at least an hour. I love watching him discover things, seeing him pick up something and examine every crease and every shine. He is amazing, he learns so fast, it blows my mind!

He is eating real food now, pretty much whatever we eat, he is learning to pick things up and eat them himself, hold his sippy on his own and chew with his sharp little gums

He is even standing holding on to things, no crawling as yet, but he still gets himself around! He is just clever and we have been blessed with a wonderful baby, who is happy and healthy and generally smiley and wonderful!

So today, the day he turns 7 months, I am totally thankful to have such a clever, happy and healthy little person! I'm thankful I got to carry him around inside me for 9 months.

Im even thankful for the 60 hours of labor that got him here safe and well

and im happy that I have been the very best mummy I can be, and made sure that he is safe and enjoying life, to the very best of my ability.

But all in all, im thankful he is growing up! As hard as it might be i'm thankful for his wonderful ability to learn and grasp new concepts and his curiosity to discover new things.

Its "Thankful Thursday" people! My favourite day of the week with my favourite blogger Leigh over at "Six by the Bay" what have you got to be thankful for? Go and share!

H is for . . . Happy

I have been down and out. I have been to the lowest of lows. I have felt like the world was over, my world was over.
Being a teenager is hard for everyone, I felt this, maybe harder than a lot of people. I also felt this way for bits after E was born.
Many people suffer Post Natal Depression and I wish it upon no one. I felt useless, helpless, like I was doing everything wrong. When I was there, in that darkness, I felt as though there was no end to the sadness. But one day, the sun came out and I felt better.
It still strikes every now and then, in much smaller doses. But I feel 100 times better than I did, and for that I feel Happy and I feel thankful.

Today my little family went for a visit to the beach. It made me think about how lucky I am, today, in this moment and in that moment, I am happy. From the very bottom of my heart to the tips of my toes, I am overwhelming happy with life! I feel so blessed to have everything I have, and even with a little man who is seriously unhappy about his upcoming teeth, I am happy.

So linking up on my most favourite day, with my most favourite blogger "Six by the Bay" For Thankful Thursday, I am so very thankful to be happy!

What are you thankful for?

B is for. . . Boyfriend

Boyfriend, I hate saying that Tom is my boyfriend, it sounds so juvenile. But if I call him my partner, I feel like I'm old. I guess technically he is my defacto but I have never really heard anyone refer to their other half as their defacto, would that be weird?

Anyway he is the other half of me, the one I love. And today on "Thankful Thursday" I am so happy and thankful to have him in my life.

I mean , no doubt he drives me crazy and we have our ups and downs. But without him I don't even know where I would be. He is so supportive and he is always there when I need him and he would do anything for his family.

He really is fantastic.

The other night I had a migraine and he came home from work, ran me a bath and made me a peppermint tea and let me relax to try and make me feel better.

He makes me cups of tea, pretty much on demand. And has even been known to bless me with breakfast in bed, pretty much every weekend. And he helped me create a pretty perfect little person, who is a Mini him all over,

He is there with hugs when I need them, kisses when I crave them and support when I feel hopeless. He mended my heart, opened me up to what real love is all about and taught me to be confident and proud of who I am as a person (trust me, that was not an easy job) I am new and improved since he entered my life and I honestly can't imagine a day without him by my side.

I mean sure, he leaves his socks on the floor, leaves the toilet seat up and forgets the dishes every now and then. But I can forgive him, because he is pretty much amazing, and every night when I lay down to sleep, I thank the world for letting me have him.

So that concludes a super soppy blog post from me. I just hope he knows how much he means to me :-)

Happy "Thankful Thursday" everyone. What do you have to be thankful about? Link up with "Six By The Bay" because she is amazing ;-)