2018 So far… Looking forward to this year’s adventures! And my thoughts on what has lead our family to appreciate all that we are and all that we have…
I can hardly believe that we are almost half way through this year! Where the year has gone I have no idea… It feels like I blinked and we went from welcoming our precious son Oscar in to the world and now, here he is at 6-and-a-half-months-old. Despite him arriving a little earlier than expected after going in to labour naturally and then having an emergency C-section and little Oscar spending the first half of his day on earth in special care, I feel so very blessed that we are now a little fam bam of four. My dreams of becoming a mum are now reality. It wasn’t an easy journey to get here but boy oh boy, it was oh so worth every single moment and I wouldn’t change a thing.
It’s been over four years since we first started trying for our family and with two little angel babies always watching over us, and two gorgeous boys safely earth-side, I will never forget the experiences which have led us to exactly where we are right now.
Ollie turns three this July and the same month, our first little son, “Chickpea” would have been four. l often wonder what he would have looked like. Would he be big and tall like his little brothers and share their beautiful blue eyes and heart-warming smiles? Christmas of 2013 truly was the hardest month of my life, we lost our first child weeks after seeing and hearing his heartbeat. It made it even harder being days before Christmas and having celebrated only a couple of weeks earlier with special Christmas baubles for our family to surprise them that they would be too welcoming our little one in to the world. Sadly, the timing wasn’t meant to be for us. It was my first ever operation and something that I know will never leave me.
I never knew what gender our second loss was (it was an ectopic pregnancy and I ended up being rushed to emergency of the nearest hospital as I had experienced a ruptured left tube), but in my heart I have always thought a little girl. My heart still hopes that maybe one day in the future we perhaps will be blessed with a little girl, but we only ever really imagined two children. Life though, doesn’t always work out how you plan it.
So who knows what the future might hold… I feel so beyond blessed and know that our two sons are meant to be. They bring so much joy in to our lives each and everyday and to everyone who meets them.
I am the first to admit, the past four years have changed me. Despite the adversity that we faced as a couple before being blessed with our gorgeous boys, I know that we have to accept our experiences shape us. As hard as they are at the time, they make us stronger people. As a Mum, I like anyone, have my good and my bad days. We want so much to be the perfect Mum, the perfect Wife, the perfect Daughter, Sister and friend… But fellow Mummas, we are all each and every single day doing the best we can to be the best version of ourselves – and that’s all that we can ask of ourselves.
I am so looking forward to heading back to university in July also. It will be 17 years to the month that I first started studying. The same month, I will also turn 34 and tick off a special bucket list wish of seeing Celion Dion with my Mum Live, right here in the heart of Bris-Vegas! Not to forget my annual high-tea birthday celebrations with my beautiful girlfriends! Pink, pretty florals and bubbles is a must, oh and lots of giggles and good company!
First time round with uni, I began studying Journalism. This time, I’m enrolled in Business. When I was a school-leaver, I had enjoyed half a gap-year in the UK, living and working in my hometown. This time round, my gap-years have seen me travel the world, get engaged, meet the love of my life and raise our family together. With over 10 years industry experience in marketing, I’m really looking forward to putting my hands on experience to the test when it comes to applying those skills to returning to the books. I am so lucky too that the subjects which I’m enrolled in, (social media of all subjects), will allow me to study online.
Social media has evolved so much in my lifetime. When I met my husband at uni, Facebook was something that was only just becoming more popular. All these years later, it’s still going strong and Instagram too is a platform, which is readily used everyday by people worldwide. As a new Mum, I love how social media allows like-minded people going through the same stage of life as you to connect, whilst still allowing you to connect with old-friends who know you from when you were younger. Being from the UK originally, I am so blessed to also be able to connect with my soon-to-be 92-year-old Nan who is now a converted FB user! Not to forget my beautiful little sister who is newly married and lives on a beautiful rural farm interstate and my besty who also lives in London and travels the world, so I can enjoy special photos and share photos of our family to our nearest and dearest. It’s so refreshing making new friends online too. I am lucky that overall my experience has been a positive one with social media. A few years ago a minor incident, which I felt invaded my privacy at the time, saw me take a short break, but since returning, I make sure that the people I connect with are those who I would want to be friends with in the real world. People with the same morals, values and interests, whilst still respecting those with different opinions.
I am slowly getting back into blogging and look forward to you following my journey and thoughts along the way. It’s Saturday night though, so I’m going to enjoy precious family time, being present and indulging in some Mumma relaxation time – complete with reality TV and magazines, (with Cadbury choccie on-hand) and a (Lipton Peppermint tea, my all time fave!) – the days of my vodka sodas are now replaced with the occasional pink bubbles which of course must come out for every special occasion – cue the recent Royal wedding of course! Might even pop some Apple Music on to enjoy some of my go-to songs and run a nice, relaxing bubble bath. I feel very rich in life right now, with gorgeous family and friends to surround myself with. Tomorrow is new day and I look forward to seeing what the sunshine brings…Winter, I think this year you are going to be a special one! (And perhaps a chilly one from what the last two nights have been, brrr…)
Feel free to drop me a line or connect with me on Instagram. There are so many inspiring Mums out there, who I truly admire. Everyday, I love hearing real-life stories of everyday people doing extraordinary things!
Lots of love and light and wishing all of my fellow Pink Jubilee readers an awesome rest of the weekend and week ahead!
Rachael Elizabeth.
xo