Welcome back to Tutus and Mud, it’s been an absolute lifetime since I posted anything here, so I thought I would post a little life update / catch up before throwing myself back into blogging.
Baby Number 5
Our 5th little bundle has just turned 5 months old and I have know idea where the time has gone. We named him Jasper and he is everything our family needed and more.
I haven’t shared his birth story but it was everything that I wouldn’t want a labour to be. I ended up having an induction on my due date which resulted in a 13 hour labour, an epidural, an episiotomy and forceps delivery. Whilst previously I’ve had 4 incredibly empowering and beautiful births (3 of which were at home) Jaspers turned out to be extremely medical and traumatic; it’s taken me a long time to process it and be ok.
We very nearly lost him and I blame myself for that, for not trusting my body to birth how I usually do, and for being completely overtaken with fear during my pregnancy. Whilst however everything seemed to go against us during Labour, I delivered the most beautiful baby boy who is now a healthy, thriving and extremely happy little blessing.
At 4 months old, Jasper is now smiling, giggling and rolling all over the place. He doesn’t go 2 minutes without being cuddled and the older children have been amazing with him. He has slotted into our family with ease and it definitely feels like he has always just been a part of us. Whilst I didn’t have a particularly positive pregnancy, or labour I would do it all over again, every single day of my life if it meant having him here.
Allotment Life
As you may remember back at the start of the year we were offered an allotment plot. We had an allotment during our 18 months living in Dorset and it became something that as a family not only taught us so so much, but brought us together. It gave us a joint interest, a reason to go out everyday during the second part of the pandemic, and a real focus when it could have been an easy time to become lost. Upon leaving Dorset we were devastated not only to loose the beautiful coast, but our beloved plot.
As soon as we had our new posting and address confirmed I applied for a local plot. I didn’t think we would get one being 59th on the list but one year and many emails badgering the council later we were offered a perfect half plot within walking distance from our house.
Much of our free time since April has been spent on the plot. The passion for growing is still there and as this one was a completely blank canvas it’s given the children the opportunity not to just grow but to also design and create the plots layout which has added another dimension to their learning.
Even though we are not where I would have liked to be with the plot by this time of year, I am desperately trying to remind myself and teach the children the importance of not comparing ourselves to others. There are many truly beautiful plots on our site, many plot holders who have been working on their plot for decades and are now retired and can spend every single day there. We however started working on our plot with a newborn baby and at the time I had to come to the plot and sit on a cushion leaning sideways to avoid putting any pressure what so ever on my episiotomy wound. I was unable to dig or plant, or even stand for long periods of time so we definitely got off to a slow start. Some days I spend more time breastfeeding and trying to get Jasper to sleep than I do actually working on the plot. However regardless of the challenges we’ve had, we are still coming home with regular harvests – sometimes from our plot and sometimes from very generous plot neighbours. It’s our little paradise and just like Dorset when it’s time to leave here and move to our next posting in 2024 we will once again be devastated to say goodbye.
Home School.
As I write this we are in early August and taking a break from the books. Whilst many home educating families – particularly unschoolers school year round, this summer I decided we all needed a good break and time to reset, to become excited about the year ahead and for me to reflect on our home education journey so far and decide where I wanted to go with it next. The 2022-2023 school year wasn’t a year I will look on with great love and affection, it was a year that was just about getting by. I spent almost 6 months being sick and some days it was hard to leave the bathroom let alone teach 3 children and entertain a 3 year old. Whilst there were many highs – particularly watching Oliver absolutely thrive in his first official home school year, I feel like it wasn’t one where we got to be really creative with our studies. It was more school at home. Using curriculums and workbooks that whilst got the job done we’re not particularly inspiring. Things were also a little up in the air as we considered Noah starting secondary school this coming September. We were as a family extremely torn with what to do for the best and I always had it in the back of my mind that he may go back to a traditional setting. Due to I wanted him to stay close to the national curriculum so that on his return he wouldn’t feel “behind” in any areas and would start school feeling academically confident. However after much consideration and even accepting a school place for Noah, and viewing a school and pre school for Phoebe, Oliver and Heidi we’ve decided that home educating is still definitely for us. As a family it just works, the children are doing well and we love it. I am excited to go into September not being tied to the national curriculum, not having to wonder if we are doing enough and learning the right things, I’m looking forward to feeling well enough to go on field trips & make the most of being in close proximity to London, to attend more homeschool meets and groups and to find the children’s passions keep that fire in their bellies burning.
Generally life has been as you would expect it to be for this season – busy, tiring but full of love.
I plan to start sharing a lot more of our home educating journey on here from September with the hope of creating a community of like minded families, and also helping those of you who are perhaps just starting out or are considering home education for your family. If you have any questions – home education related or otherwise please don’t hesitate to ask xx
