Mad Blog Awards 2016

Last year I was extremely lucky to make it the Mad Blog Awards Ceremony as a finalist.  I didn’t care that I didn’t win, there are so many blogs out there just being chosen as a finalist is a wonderful experience.

The Blog Award nominations are open for this year and of course I’d love to be nominated again. I think my blog fits nicely into the School Days category with my having three school aged kids.

I will be thinking long and hard before making my nominations, but I already have a few favourite bloggers that have me reading all the time so I do hope they are taking part. Conditions of taking part can be found on the Tots100 blog, so do make sure that if you want to take part you have added a badge or e-mailed Sally at Tots100. Good luck everyone!

Let me tell you a bit about my blog and what I’ve got up to over the last year.

Well, I turned 50!! Yes, I know, I’m officially half a century old. I was in a panic about it all year, but when my birthday arrived in November, I had a wonderful day and was spoiled tremendously by family and friends near and far. I even had two new pets for my birthday, Doc and Marty my dwarf hamsters. I don’t feel 50, in my head I’m still stuck around my early 30s, but that’s ok, with 3 young kids to keep me busy I don’t want to feel too old just yet.

We spent last summer owl hunting! The Birmingham Big Hoot had us on an adventure trail that took us several journeys to spot all the owls. Then in September we went to a big exhibition of all the owls to say goodbye to them. We didn’t find them all, but we did have lots of fun.

In June I took part in the Race For Life and raised money for Cancer Research. The race was started by my Little Man’s friend who is now two years in remission. It was a brilliant day, the atmosphere was amazing. I’m just really sad that I can’t do it again this year.

In August I took Boo to London for a special cookery class with the lovely Bee Berrie. We had a fantastic day despite me having a migraine hangover. Boo really is in her element when cooking and has ambitions to be a top chef when she grows up. She wants to own her own hotel with bedrooms on the top floor, a restaurant in the middle and a car park underneath, she has it all worked out!

Then in September it was time to go back to school as usual. It was the first time that I was saying goodbye to all three of my children at the same time. The year before Star had not been well enough to return to school and the year before the Little Man was too young. So now we are child free all day. This year Star goes to Secondary School and this has been a huge worry for me. I had already decided which school I wanted her to go to, and I’m pleased to say she did actually get a place there. I will be writing again soon about how we are going to handle this transition.

We had a nice but quiet Christmas but shortly afterwards our lives were about to change drastically forever. First the kids Grandad passed away quite suddenly while I was taking him to hospital for a routine x-ray. This had a massive impact on us all and it was a very sad start to the year.

My start to the year was also very dramatic when I became paralysed within a few hours on New Years Day. I am still unable to walk properly and have to deal with pain on a daily basis. I am recording my journey here and you can find posts on the above tab, Transverse Myelitis.

Last year I promised to write more personally, and I’ve made an effort to do this. You can find all my thoughts, opinions and basically more personal posts but clicking the  My Musings tab above.

I love my little space on the internet which is my blog. I hope you love it too, or at least like it a little. I know I’m not the greatest of writers, or the best in photography, I don’t have the wit to make you laugh out loud when you visit, the greatest of recipes for you to try or the best crafts. What I do have is a record of my life, my family and hopefully something you can relate too when you join me on my journey.

To Vote in the Mad Blog Award please click the following badge and first vote for your blog of the year before being directed to vote for your favourite blogs. You only have one chance to fill in the form as multiples can not be accepted, so be sure you know who you are voting for before you go.