Life is a journey, treasure it…..
Enjoy the little things in life because someday you will look back and realise they were the big things.
What a beautiful weekend, so happy to spend it with my family doing things at home. There are many moments that will forever be embedded in my mind.
Home is something that is so very important to me, a place where as a family we can be and feel, safe, happy, sad, warm, laugh…….it’s made up with not just the bricks but our love for each other.âď¸đĽđ
Any day spent with you is my favourite day. So today is my new favourite day. – Winnie the Pooh –
My beautiful baby boy đŚđź is growing into a handsome young man. I treasure each and every day that I have with you â¤ď¸
On this adventure we were back in Wales đ´ó §ó ˘ó ˇó Źó łó ż supporting Children in Need. It was a great adventure, meeting so many wonderful people.
The National Slate Museum is a great place to visit with the family and is free.
This morning I walked to the end of the garden to watch the sun rising. I took this moment for me, just a few quiet moments. This âme timeâ sometimes is just a few minutes but can be hours just depends. Thatâs ok, you need you time without any explanation.
Our mental health is so very important and no matter what anyone says life just isn’t easy.
I am so very guilty of overthinking, trying to make everyone happy, thinking am I good enough? can I do better?…..the list is endless. What I would say is, we all feel these things at sometime and sometimes it’s easier to dismiss them than other times. I can also assure you that although it’s sometimes hard to chat about what we are feeling, that once we start discussing our thoughts we find often find out others are feeling a very similar way.
Sometimes it’s just the simple things.
Put your feet up grab a drink you like and cheers to the fact that you smashed Monday.
Dreams donât work unless you do – John C. Maxwell
I do what I do because in my mind I have dreams. Dreams of what I would like to be, do, have and achieve.
I dreamed that I would have a home for my family. As a family we worked hard to build and renovate the home we now live in.
I dream that I can make a difference to someone’s life. Every day in my day job I work to make a difference and to make things better for people.
I dream to explore the world. I explore all the time, when I am traveling for work and when I have any spare time.
None of these dreams are simple, none of these dreams are wrong, these dreams are my reality. And I have many more dreams that I will continue to try to achieve.
Look at your dreams, I am sure that you have achieved so very many and I am sure you will continue to.
I am a firm believer in balance in many ways in my life.
I try to make sure that everyday I spend time with my boys and husband chatting about the day we have had. I try to make sure that we get some time together as a whole family regularly and one on one time.
I try to make sure we have a varied diet and have treats occasionally. I believe that if we have some of the things we like (and maybe a bit naughty) our craving tends to go away and we enjoy it more too. I recently thought I didn’t have enough recipes that we could alternate so we don’t get bored with the food we eat. I surprised myself when I wrote down all the different meals I can make 30+, still love to try new making new things though. I think that so many times my Dad cooked the same meals (they were lovely) it’s made me conscious to have lots of variety (sometimes to much, when I cook 3 different meals to make everyone happy)!
I have learnt that a job is not everything and that you must be happy in the job you do. I believe that most people will not enjoy absolutely everything in their job, there is always the things we would rather leave as long as we possibly can. I believe if you can do a job your passionate about and it will be, challenging, rewarding, testing, make you happy, make you frustrated…..the list is goes on.
The most important thing for me is to remember that balance is not easy, balance is a skill we learn. We balance so many things in our lives and so often we forget how dam good so many of us are at doing it. Take a moment to think what you have balanced in you life today.
Some family time exploring the villages near Canterbury.
How lucky am I to have these two amazing boys? They make me proud every single day â¤ď¸
It’s been a busy week of school, work, grief and injury in our household this week.
I received 3 calls from the school this week and I cried once, was understanding on another and worried in the last.
One concerned a young boy who decided it was appropriate to first use vial language about a girl in his year, then it was targeted at my son’s oldest sister. The young boy claimed not to know that my sons eldest sister died, well true or not the language was so foul it would make anyone’s skin crawl. I am lucky that my son conduced himself with dignity and that he has a large group of good friends that supported him. It showed that many don’t believe that the language used or the behaviour of this boy is acceptable. And I thank my eldest son for supporting his younger brother.
Secondly a call about one of my son’s not concentrating in class due to being distracted by friends. The teacher also teaches my other son and said that she was so happy and impressed with his dedication and work ethic already this year. The son who has been distracted agreed and said the teacher was fair in what had been said and that it wasn’t good enough ‘I know it’s not acceptable and I’m sorry, I will make sure I will concentrate in class and put all my effort into my work’.
Lastly call saying ‘Evyn has been in an accident and we think he needs to be seen in a&e – we think he might have dislocated or broken his thumb’. So jumping in the car, cancelling meetings and a visit to minor injuries later we were on our way home. Luckily just soft tissue damage so strapped up and told to keep in for the next few days.
All this as well as the standard work week fun.
My boys are a credit to me, they understand right and wrong, they accept when they are not trying their best and act to put it right and I am one lucky mum. The only one thing I would ask is that they try not to injure themselves and send my heart into meltdown!
Oh and we are only on Thursday! Happy parenting one and all. 
This evening as I pulled into the car park at Herne Bay sea front the sun was setting, I saw my friend that I hadn’t seen in person for so long. I pulled in to a space near by opened the door, jumped out and hugged her, my heart full of happiness.
We went to a stylish Turkish restaurant where the food was delicious and I was able to see the sunset in the distance from our table. 
We met when we both worked at a big high street company back in 2012. Today we reflected how our lives have changed since then and never did either of us think we we be where we are now.
I am so proud of my friend and her achievements, a next chapter for her starts soon and I am so excited for her and I cannot wait to catch up when she is back. This evening she brought happiness into my day and that’s what true friends will always do.
My friend booked A La Turka – Herne Bay which I would highly recommend. Oh and I loved decor and lights.
In my life,
Iâve lived, Iâve loved, Iâve lost, Iâve missed, Iâve hurt, Iâve trusted, Iâve made mistakes, but most of all,
Iâve learnt âshitâ happens.
Try not to pay attention to the bad things and try not to dwell on the sad times. Focus on the good things, the things that you have achieved, how often you do things for others and how much you care.
I am often guilty of trying to things that make everyone happy and forgetting about myself. But that’s not always healthy, I must look after myself too.
There are many types of family and I can assure you that there is no perfect family. What is seen on social media is a tiny snap shot of mainly the good times. Unfortunately in my social media history not all my posts are happy – if you read them and not just look at the pictures.
I had my first son at 19 then my second at 21 and had 3 step children the entire time. My choice and I wouldn’t change it for the world. The 14 years since my first son have been a rollercoaster of, good times, ok times, bad times and awful times. That’s life, we have to take every moment as it comes.
To give someone a piece of your heart, is worth more than all the wealth in the world – Michael Jackson –
You see as much as we like to believe that people want our love, so often it’s the material things that matter. But what have they got to show?
Over the years I have worked incredibly hard to make my way up the ladder to get a good position at work. It’s not been easy and the higher you go the more responsibly that goes with it and often the hours get longer. I decided that I would not over work and that I would try and make that ‘perfect’ work life balance. Meaning for me to stop always wanting that little bit more, to just relax and enjoy this time with my family.
Traveling is something that brings us together as a family, from a walk up a mountain to a family vacation abroad. Things don’t always have to cost the earth, it’s about having no distractions, and having each other. For me love is priceless, it’s shown in the way we treat each other. No matter your job or your money remember love is free.
My Jones Life 