#31DayMarch - Day 31

So, here we are at the end of the challenge.  I feel like I've failed terribly at this challenge!

Day 31: Self Portrait and Explain What You Liked Most About This Challenge.

This is me, right now, enjoying
a lazy Easter Sunday morning!

I have really enjoyed this challenge.  Now that I'm working full time, I have found it much harder to blog, but this gave me a reason to keep coming back to my blog, even if it was erratically!

I have enjoyed reading the other blogs in the challenge and have even found a local bloggers group from it!  I have also enjoyed the different outlooks on life and the different backgrounds.  I love that with challenges like this one, a group of people who wouldn't normally mix with each other all have this in common.  It's a great way to meet new bloggers and to read blogs you wouldn't normally come across.

I would like to thank Tiffany for hosting this blog challenge.  I have loved posting up with you every chance I could. :-)

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Days 22 & 23

Day 22: What Do You Do When You're Home All Alone?

Well, as a working wife and mother, this is a very rare occurrence   I am often on my own in the evenings with the kids in bed and hubby has gone out.  Does that count?

On those evenings (usually once a week), I will catch up on my soaps.  I tend to record them during the week and try to catch up on a Friday night and over the weekend.

Before I started working full time, I would get a couple of hours to myself each morning while Noah was at nursery.  Those mornings were filled with doing any errands that I were harder do while having the boys under my feet, such as the weekly shopping or doing the dishes!

Day 23: Do You Have A Hobby?

I guess technically I do.  I obviously write my blog, which can be put down as a hobby.  I also love to read.  I am taking part in a #50Books2013 reading challenge through Goodreads and with Mama Owl.  I've gotten a bit slack with my reading and have only just finished my 7th book of the year!  I really need to sort that out if I want to hit my target of 50 by the end of the year!  I am also logging my reading progress with a short book review on my other blog.

As well as the blogging, reading and of course watching soaps on tv, I play darts on a weekly basis. I play for a local women's team.  For us, it's more about getting out once a week and having a laugh.  If we win, then it's a bonus!  I'm not a great player, but I was pretty pleased with myself when I scored 100 with 3 darts on Tuesday!  I just need to work on my adding up now for when I have to do the scores.  We're not allowed to use calculators, so it has to be done in your head, which I really struggle with!

So, what are your hobbies?  Don't forget to pop by Tiffany's blog to see the other entries for today's linky!

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Day 21: What's Your Biggest Fear?

I am such a big old scaredy cat and I'm scared of quite a few things.  My sister has actually found it quite amusing that I get scared at so much.  I get very claustrophobic in tight crowds and hate being on a crowded tube train.  A mixture of crowds and enclosed space really freaks me out.  We went out to London for the day back in January and I ended up having a small panic attack from going on the tube.  I also hate downgoing escalators.  I'm ok with ones going up, but the ones going down really freak me out.

I've always been afraid of heights, but the last few years I realised that it's more a fear of falling that I have.  If I'm on a secure surface (and can't see down and nowhere near the edge), then I'm fine being at heights.  When I went to South Africa last year, my sister got married on top of Table Mountain.  I loved being up there and looking at the view, but couldn't go anywhere near the edges.

I'm also scared of insects and bugs.  They really freak me out.  Along with spiders, that includes ants, bees, moths, beetles.  Near enough all creepy crawlies!

But, I think just like millions of mothers out there, my biggest fear is something happening to my children.  We've already had to deal with my 14 year old getting mugged, which was awful and still affects us today.  If we ever had to deal with a major illness or worse, I don't know if I could find the strength to cope with that.

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Days 19 & 20

Well, here I am playing catch up again!

Day 19: List 5 Blogs You Read on a Regular Basis and Why?

Only 5, really?? lol.  Ok, so my top 5 blogs would be (in no particular order):

1. Thirty Mummy.  It is partly through Lisa that I first became interested in blogging.  She wrote on our baby forum group about her blog and I loved reading it and the idea of writing a blog.  Through the blog and also the forums, I feel like I know Lisa just as a friend, even though I have never met her. 
2. Views from The Spectrum.  This is another baby forum friend of mine, this time from my other son's birth group.  Stacie writes mainly about her experiences with her 4 year old ASD son.  Having a son the same age who is also possibly Autistic, I find Stacies experience and advice invaluable. 
3. Tired Mummy of Two.  I started reading this blog as she is the sister of my 14 year old's best friend.  The more I read of Laura's blog, the more I was hooked.  Laura is an amazing mum to two little girls, one of which is fighting against Leukaemia. 
4. Mama Owl.  I 'met' Julie through a blog challenge that I took part in last year.  I have been reading it ever since.
5. Ok, I'm going to cheat here as I'm torn between two blogs, so I'm going to list them both.  BusyBeeMummyBex and Shay & Family are both mums from the same forum as myself and Lisa.  Again, through reading their blogs, I was inspired to start writing mine.  The four of us all took part in the May Blog Challenge in 2012 along with Julie. 

Day 20: What Do You Collect?

These days I don't really collect much any more.  I used to collect Piggins and I still have some put away somewhere.  Every birthday or Christmas I would get a new pig, but when the little ones came along and we had to baby proof the flat, they ended up getting put away.

I do like to get a fridge magnet when we go somewhere new, so I guess you could say that I collect them now.  I have to keep my 'good' or breakable magnets at the top of my fridge freezer though, as the boys love to play with them!

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Day 18: Where Are You Happiest?

If I had to choose one physical place in the world, then I would say Cape Town, South Africa.  Since moving to the UK at the age of 2, I have only been back three times, but I feel so at home there.  Alot of that is to do with the fact that I have loads of family out there and I think it is more their presence that makes Cape Town such a happy place for me, although the sunshine might have loads to do with it as well!

Cape Town - Photo taken from Table Mountain

Even at home here in the UK, I would say just being with my family makes me happy.  Having suffered from PND the last few years, I sometimes forget this, but seeing my boys happy makes me happy.

Don't forget to pop by Tiffany's blog to see what makes everyone else happy in the link up!

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Day 17: Why and When Did You Start Blogging?

Well, I have been absolutely rubbish at this blog challenge haven't I??!!  I was going to do a catch-up post with all the days that I have missed, but decided that would be too long, so I will just pick up where we are at now.

Well, I started blogging a year ago (almost to the date)!  My first 'official' post was on the 19th March last year!  A couple of my online baby forum friends write blogs and after reading their blogs I felt inspired to do one of my own.  Initially it was somewhere to post about my crafty makes and bakes, as I felt I was bombarding my facebook friends with them (not that it stops me, but I can go into more detail here).  I was also on a diet at the time and hoped that my blog would give me the push I needed to continue.  Unfortunately, the dieting didn't work out for me and I ended up only doing 1 weigh in post!

Through my blog and mostly through the Blog Challenge I took part in last May, I have found some great blogs/bloggers that I love to read.  There is a whole community of bloggers that I never knew about before.  Now my blog is a bit more random and I just tend to write about anything and everything that is going on in my head!

Jackie. x

Silent Sunday

Sharks and Dinosaurs

A week last Sunday we decided to take the boys into London and visit the Natural History Museum.  The boys are dinosaur mad and one of hubby's colleagues had told him all about the dinosaur section of the museum.  As we were going into London anyway and having Merlin Annual Passes, I really wanted to visit the Sealife Centre as well.  So, off we went with the boys being told that we are going to see some dinosaurs at the museum and to find Nemo and sharks at the Sealife centre.

One of my worries was how the boys would be on the train and tube.  I am very nervous around the tube and the last time I went into London with my mum and sisters I had a mild panic attack while on the tube.  I needn't of worried though, the boys absolutely loved it and enjoyed the adventure.  They were hopping on and off the escalators with no fear at all!

After a bit of checking on our phones as to which station we needed (for Scout leaders hubby and I aren't very good at advance planning!! lol), off we go.  We went to the Natural History Museum first and after getting off at South Kensington station, we realised that there were two entrances to the museum.  We went to the first one that we could see off Exhibition Road.

Still, we had a good morning.  The little ones didn't really get most of what the displays were about as we worked our way through the Red and Green Zones, but they enjoyed pressing buttons on the interactive displays.  I found the fossils fascinating, but didn't get much of a chance to fully explore.  The boys all went off to the Creepy Crawly area and I got the chance to rest my feet a little.  By the time we'd reached the central hall, the boys were getting a little bored.  They loved the Diplodocus skeleton there.  It was at this point that we realised that we had used the wrong entrance for the dinosaur display.  As there was a queue waiting to go in and the boys were getting a little restless, we decided to leave it for another day.  


After a search for the nearest Maccy D's, we set off to the Sealife Centre.  As annual pass members, we bypassed the ticket desks and went straight into the Sealife Centre.  The downside to this was that we didn't get a visitors map, so were going round a little blindly.  The first thing that we came to was a glass flooring where you walk over the aquarium.  You then come to a lift, where you go down two floors and work your way back up.  I absolutely love aquariums and could spend hours there.  The boys however, had a more direct attitude, especially Aled.  Once he had seen something, he was ready to move on.  Quite often I found myself left behind as hubby and the boys had moved on to the next display without me!

My favourite tanks were the rays and sharks.  There is something about them that is so fascinating.  Seeing the giant turtle swimming around with sharks and rays was amazing!  The walkthough tunnel was also fantastic, but a little too short and crowded.  

All in all, a great day was had.  The boys behaved relatively well and I think even PJ had a good day!

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Days 3 & 4

I was doing so well, then we had a family day out yesterday and I didn't get the chance to blog.  Instead, you get two days for the price of one today!

Day 3 - What Makes You Happy

Naturally, as a parent, seeing my children happy makes me happy.  I love it when the play together with no fighting or squabbling!

Other than that, I would say getting some 'me' time.  That could be getting a couple of hours of total peace to be able to relax and read a book, or spending time with friends or family.

Day 4 - Best Childhood Memory

That one is a bit harder for me.  I can't think of any one time that really sticks out for me.  Before my dad died I remember having a really happy childhood with snippets here and there of the things that we did.  When I get together with my cousins we can talk for hours of the things we got up to as kids.

I remember going abroad on Keycamp holidays with my cousins and getting up to all sort of mischief.  One time, we had gone to Spain on a Keycamp holiday and on exploring the campsite, my cousins and I had found a gap in the wire fence to the deserted campsite next to ours.  We decided to climb through the fence and explore the other camp.  We probably would have gotten away with our adventure if my cousin hadn't cut her leg open on the fencing on the way back to our campsite!

Sorry for the short and sweet post tonight.  I worked on an extra couple of hours this evening and I am exhausted!

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Day 2: Favourite Quote(s)

I've never really been big on quotes until recently.  Last year I saw a picture of a quote on Pintrest which I was determined I was going to have tattooed.  Here is my Harry Potter quote tattoo:

It says 'The ones we love never truly leave us'.  I love the saying and it's so true.

I want to get a similar style tattoo on my other foot, but with a line from Breaking Dawn saying 'In our hearts we'll always be together'.  

Jackie. x

#31DayMarch - Day 1: Self Portrait & 5 Random Facts

Day 1: Self Portrait and 5 Random Facts About Yourself

Well, it's the 1st of March, St David's Day for all my fellow Welshies and also the first day of the March Blog Challenge!

Well, as I can't draw for toffee, instead of a stick person drawing, I will post a photo of myself.  As it is St David's Day, here is a picture of me as a child in my Welsh Costume!

5 Randoms facts about me....well that's a hard one trying to find ones that I haven't already posted about before, but I will try!

1. I have a scar on my chin from when I fell over at school and whacked my chin on the tiled floor. 
2. The first ever pop concert I went to was in 2007.  I was 27 years old, 6 months pregnant and was to see Take That's Beautiful World Tour!  I have been almost every year since to see them!
3. My name is Jackie and I am a chocoholic!
4. I have 3 boys, am the eldest of 3 girls, my mum is one of 3 girls, my dad is one of 3 boys and I have 3 stepbrothers!
5. I play darts for a local women's darts team.

Well, there we are.  A little late in the day, but I managed to get the first day done!! I look forward to reading everyone elses answers. 

Jackie. x