A – Z Blogging Challenge

I’m not sure where I saw a link to this as I saw it whilst TJ was burning up on me so can’t credit them (Sorry)! However, it is a challenge to write a post everyday in April (except Sundays) and each day you use a different letter of the alphabet as a theme for your post.

I have been struggling recently with what to write, even though I have wanted to write, so I thought this would be perfect for me. I hope that I manage to complete it as I have not had any time to prepare for it!

If you want to take part in the A-Z Challenge here is a link

 

Grooving on a Wednesday?

Kate has taken it upon herself to confuse me this week by having her Groovy Mums post on a Wednesday, she has sighted a ‘Twitter Party’ that apparently trended in the UK at number 2, she has said that there was a lot of discussion going on about mums trying to find their groove. You could take a look at this post where she talks a bit more about it here Twitter Party.

I am of course not being serious, Kate has been great at setting up Grooving Mums and it was brilliant to be involved with the party and see it trending at number 2, in 6 short  months Kate has helped herself, me and several other mums start to think about themselves rather than just being a mum. For me she really made me think that there is more to life than just being a mum and that thinking about yourself can actually help everyone within the household.

So to me; after having a major blip in my recovery recently I am pleased to say that I am finally starting to feel more positive, and with this comes to the ability to see things in a better light. I am sure that it is no coincidence that this has come at the same time as this wonderful weather we have been blessed with, as I am sure that most people are given a mood lift when the weather is so good and there is more chance to get out in the open.

I am trying to take one day at a time, I am aware that last time I started to feel very positive I took far too much on too quickly, thinking that I was much better than I was, I am sure this did in part lead to my recent downfall. I am not going to go headlong into anything, I am not thinking about the future (such as a career) but I am thinking about my garden, I have spent several hours over the last few weeks weeding the very overgrown flowerbeds, and it is very satisfying to step back and see a tidy bed, even if there are no new plants in it. I have plans for the different flower beds I have and I hope that by the end of the summer I will have managed to sort out the garden, as last year it was sadly neglected!

I am also going to try to make time for me to blog, I really enjoy writing and putting down how I am feeling or talking about events that have happened. I also enjoy reading other blogs, but need to give myself time to read them without children wanting me for various things, which means I never get round to commenting.

I think that is two good  ’groove making’ things for now, taking one day at a time, and I hope I will finally start to see an improvement in my mental health and possibly a sign that I can start to live with and move on from this illness.

Now to Kate’s challenges for the week (if you want to know more about Groovy Mums click here )

1. Body – Are you looking after yourself enough?  I am aware that I am really neglecting taking steps to deal with my pre-menstrual tension.  I am sure lots of mums have stuff that they really should do to care for themselves better.

I wasn’t taking care of myself at all for a while, it was especially food related, I was eating everything and anything that was sweet, and most of the time I wasn’t even hungry! I was eating biscuits, chocolate, Nutella sandwiches and when it came to meal times they were often full of processed type foods and fruit and vegetables were an alien concept. I  realised that things had got very bad when I was peeling a carrot for the kids dinner and also peeled one for myself to eat raw, my body was craving healthy foods, and from then on I have been much better. I have now cut out all the rubbish, I am managing to not eat biscuits unless I really want one, (which I haven’t) and have snacked on fruit instead. I hope that this has contributed to my improved mood, it has as yet not helped with how tired I keep feeling.

2. Mind – What are your current thoughts and feelings about the Groovy Mums blog hop and/or the Twitter party.   Blog about it or leave a comment.  I sense we are moving into a new era with new participants and want to ensure we keep on a track that is still positive for people.

I love the Groovy Mums linky, it helps me keep focused on the journey I should be taking and where I am up to, I know I don’t always link up, but that has been when I have been in a really bad place and words are just not forth coming. I like to have challenges or questions each week as it gives me something to focus on, but I am quite relaxed about what form they take.

The Twitter Party was brilliant (I think I’ve already mentioned that!) and would love to see another one, but I think monthly would be enough as it is time-consuming and its going to take me a few days to read back to catch up with the parts I missed, I also think monthly will keep people looking forward to the next one, rather than something that becomes a chore.

3. Spirit – Do people find the spirit challenges helpful?  They are quite hard to come up with and I am aware that some find them uncomfy particularly if they do not have a faith.  What do you think?

For me this is a take it or leave it question, I think I have left a reply most times I have joined in, but it’s not necessarily something I would miss. I think many people could find it difficult if they are not religious, especially if they are very anti-religion.

4. Blogging – Please do take a look at the Brilliance in Blogging Awards shortlist over on Britmums.  I found it lovely to discover blogs that I did not know about.  We can all learn from and with each other.

I have been pleasantly surprised by how many new blogs I have seen by reading through the short lists for the BiB’s, and that was just with a quick look through some of the categories. I need to go back now and have a proper look. I am sure that there will be some that I will being to follow. Congratulations to everyone who was short listed.

5. Charity Connections – Do think about supporting National Daffodil Month and raising funds for the Marie Curie nurses. http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-gb/fundraising-volunteering/great-daffodil-appeal/

I have been very fortunate so far in life that no one close to me has been diagnosed with Cancer, however I have heard so many stories of people struggling with Cancer that I always like to try to support  a charity like this one where I can. I won’t be making ny grad gestures, but will look out for the daffodils on sale and get myself and maybe the children one too.

6. Special Days – How are you sleeping?  It is National Bed Month and you can find out more on good sleep by clicking here http://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk/about/

For me sleep is drug induced, which on the surface sounds good, but in reality it is not. I still wake feeling rubbish, especially if I have a night full of weird dreams. I can take a while to drop of now my body is used to the medication and I also keep waking in the night (something I used to do pre-medication). At the moment I don’t think there is much I can do except try to clean my mind before I go to bed.

7. The Big Question – Why do you set limits for yourself?  Are you setting them too low?  I ask this as over the last 6 months I have realised that when I start to reach out, good things come my way.  That can happen for you too.

Not sure on this one, not sure how to answer. I have found that when I take on too much at the moment I tend to crash and burn, so I think I need to set myself limits to ensure that I can stay healthy mentally. I hope though that as my mental health improves so will I be able to increase any limits I might have set myself.

That’s me this week, I hope you have been inspired to join in, but if you are still unsure then take a look here and see what Groovy Mums is all about.

Do you think I am MAD?

I’m not sure if I am awards material, but I just thought I would highlight the MAD awards, which celebrate all that is good about mum and dad bloggers.

There are loads of great blogs out there so it is always hard to decide who to nominate, but if you think I am worthy of a MAD then please nominate me, whilst you are there why not nominate some of your other favourite blogs.

It’s only a Mile

This is a guest post from NJ about the Sport Relief Mile.

I decided to take part in the Sport Relief mile after hearing about John Bishop’s ‘week of hell’, it didn’t so much inspire me to do it, just brought home that I could do something to raise money too.

I thought I would enter with our oldest (AJ) who is 9, so that it could be something we could do together. We don’t get much time together as she does a lot of gymnastics every week and we have to split our time between all three of our children.

It’s only a mile and if we raise a few pounds along the way it will be worth it, we set a modest total of £50 to start with and have so far raised £200 which is fantastic. What I had forgotten is that I haven’t done any exercise since coming out of hospital nearly 5 years ago. I still have trouble in a morning with my joints, especially my knees and hands so started to worry that I would only be able to walk round, when I wanted to run!

With a couple of weeks to go I wanted to start a bit of training, a mile doesn’t sound much, but if like me you spend most of your time either driving or sitting behind a desk, a mile is actually a long way. Just to make things more difficult, I got a virus, along with 4 out of the 5 of us in the house, which meant I couldn’t even walk a mile let alone run.

With a week to go I decided if nothing else I had to try to walk at least a mile on a lunchtime, just to get my legs used to it. I am after all an overweight 40-year-old who was running with his ultra fit and slender 9-year-old. It isn’t a race or a competition; I just didn’t want to be left behind.

The day came to pull on the Sport Relief socks and t-shirt (don’t worry I supplied my own shorts) and run 2 laps around the playing fields at Holmfirth swimming pool. A bit of a walk round and a little light jogging, chasing after our hyperactive 2-year-old and I was ready to go. However, the organisers had other ideas and laid on a fitness instructor to lead the warm up.

Five minutes later and with burning thighs we were ready to go, no hanging about and we were off.

We hadn’t got far when the fit and spritely 9-year-old had to be asked to slow down to let her old dad catch up! After the first lap the darling child had left her old dad to it so that she could run at her own pace. It’s not the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was tough.

The weather didn’t help, blazing sun on a lovely March day may have been nice standing watching, but running in it was draining. Never mind though it’s only a mile I kept telling myself and no matter what and how much I had to walk, I was going to make it all the way round.

I spent a few moments trying to catch my breath with a little bit of a walk, when I could hear a pushchair coming up behind me. The indignity of it, not only had my own daughter given up on me and charged off, I was being overtaken by someone pushing a pushchair. That only served to spur me on even more and I started to run again, one last push and I would reach the finish line, imagining myself laying on the grass, but it never happened. A quick jog on, some fast walking and almost a run and it was over, we’d made it to the end.

We’d finished, I was only a couple of hundred yards away from my 9-year-old who had also walked a bit, but well and truly kicked her dad’s ass all the way around.

We stayed around for a while, my daughter’s friend was running in the next mile after ours so we met up with them and watched them go through the same warm up and run as we had done.

A nice atmosphere, lots of families, people not taking it all too seriously and great weather made for a very enjoyable afternoon out, even if my thighs are still burning several hours later.

One final thought on the way home, would my wife and our son be running next year? “Sport Relief is only every two years” came the reply, so until then…

 

Thanks to BritMums and Kate on Thin Ice who heads up the Charity Connections NJ & AJ were lucky enough to be kitted out with T-shirts, socks, water bottles, wrist bands and Deely Boppers!

I am really proud of what they have done, if you haven’t managed to sponsor or donate any money to Sport Relief then you can always add to NJ & AJ’s total here http://my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/dadandanya.