Busy Feet

Salam everyone!
As I mentionned in my last blog, I wanted to talk about something important that we have been doing lately : keeping fit and having  a healthy lifestyle.

The children and me are enjoying a new healthy lifestyle, not that it was particular bad before, but it just got better!
Child 1 being finally 3 has started swimming lessons on her own ( without mummy yayyyyyyyyyyy). She loves her swimming lessons, she already enjoyed swimming as I had been taking her since she was only 2 months old, but now she's experiencing life without mummy and her nursery teachers who she knew very well for  about  a year now. She looks forward to it every Monday, no matter how tired she is after school, bless her. Having witnessed how the council handled pre-school and beginners swimming lesson, I opted for private swimming lessons. There is actually nothing wrong with the way the council teach them swimming, I just think where Child 1 is going now is more appropriate. The council offers the children who are not very used to water and swimming, a kind of building self confidence lesson, they play in the water, they have toys etc, but they don't really swim. Child 1 is already confident in swimming pools, so that would have been pointless for her. I was actually surprised by the private swimming instructor, as soon as Child 1 got into the water for the very first time on her lesson, they made her swim on her own from one side to the other on her front, and swim back on her back, so brownies for them lol! Plus, parents are not allowed in swimming pool area. It's only a few pennies more to have private instructors compared to a council one, and I think it's worth it.
Now, I emailed  a guy who offers karate lesson , and he asked me to bring her around for a free trial. i wasn't sure if she was ready for it or not, but it was free! lol. Anyway, we went to the trial, but she was not really interested, the only things she liked where the 'kia' cos she thought they were shouting of joy. The man was really nice and kept coming and tried to get her to kick and punch but i think I was right, she is too young for it. Maybe in the future, a very near one :p Child 2 loved it, unfortunately, she's not even 2 yet and cannot join the lessons, she was doing all the kicks and punches and was annoyed with as i did not put any trousers on her so it would be easier for her to kick and punch like the other kids  o_O.
Activity number 3: I had been taking them to the park a lot lately, and I noticed Child 1 enjoy playing on the big kids toys! She loves all that includes climbing, walking on ropes etc. Also, she managed to walk on the ropes unaided all the time, was climbing frames which even older kids couldn't climb. I thought maybe that's her thing:  gymnastics! So, gymnastics it was! She loved it! It was really interesting cos it was aimed for toddlers, they do some climbing, some jumping, some coordination, and singing as well! Compared to the karate lesson, where it wouldn't have been a smooth transition, with gymnastics, she could still identify with it: it was colourful, it made them sing songs they knew etc. so, we had a winner! What I did not expect though was that I would have 2 children going for gymnastics, Child 2, wanted to try it, even though she was not always successful, she seemed to enjoy it. I forgot to mention we have 2 taster sessions with gymnastics, which is brillant! I have decided to keep them both in gymnastics since they enjoy it both.

That was a bit my now grown up kid life! Coming back to our family life, we have made some changes too. As a mum, I have always been careful about what they eat and rink: no fizzy, no sweets, no snacking unless fruits etc, making sure i cook balanced meals for them and they did not skip meals. Unfortunately, I cannot say I was leading by example, I am a not so great healthy eater. I skip breakfast, I love my carbs, not  a big fan of oil, but i love my chips, and mentally allergic to fruits! I have decided to change my eating habit, so now I eat the same way i want my kids to eat, no junk, eat all my 3 meals, balanced diet. It actually makes me feel better about myself and makes me realise how it's not only my choices influencing their lives, but their lifestyle influencing mine, it's a win-win situation.  On top of that, we have a daily exercise routine, I make them join me when I work out, and they know it's exercise time, and they enjoy it. We also go for walks at least 3 times a week. We choose a park, where there are animals, mainly ducks, a very long path and a playground in some corner. And we all walk, I must say I am very proud of us, especially my babies who walk for about a kilometre without complaining. The most important thing is we enjoy the walk and are also exercising. On  a side note, i think my biceps are getting stronger, as I am now fully trained and experienced in pushing 2 swings at the same time!
Child 1 is in nursery now, so I have more time 2, so I would put child 2 in her pushchair at least twice a week and go for power walks, it makes me feel better about myself, we enjoy spending time together but it also helps me exercise more. I would then stop at a children's playground and let child 2 play, while I carry on walking around the playground as a mad woman. I probably look crazy to some people, a Muslim woman dressed in an abaya going around in circles. But who cares?!
And, on Saturdays, we go to a paddle for £1 session, run by the local council, where kids o and play in the swimming pool with their parents fully dressed!
Now, I actually feel I earn the chocolates and crisp I occasionally snack on, and I do not need to feel guilty. who wants ice-cream?
We certainly have busy feet :D
oh, and from next Monday we are joining a movement session run by the local surestart!

My successful life of being a Single Mum

I often get asked how do I cope being a single Mum. The people who ask me this question are all genuine, they seem to find it hard to cope with raising a child even with a husband around and/or other family members around to support them.
I think the answer is probably the most simple one, it's not easy but you know if you don't do it, nobody else is going to.
I have probably been a single Mum since my first child was only about 3 months old, and I was pregnant with my second child pretty soon after that, probably when child number 1 was about 5/6 months old. Neither of my children were planned but they were fondly expected by me. My marriage was always rocky and the biggest blow came about when child 1 (Fafa) was only 3 months. My second child (Sana) was conceived during a brief moment of reconciliation with my now ex-husband. So, my whole second pregnancy went as a lone parent as well.
I sometime think what my life would be like without my children. I probably would have been further ahead in my career, might be I would be travelling ( I love travelling and visiting new places). Maybe I would have had a happy life filled with excitement and surprises or maybe just a dull life centred around my career. But, there is no point in dwelling too much on this. What I do have, is a life definitely full of: excitement, surprises and never a dull moment!
I have been through a fair share of hardship and it is still not over but I also have had a lot of fun all along. My daughters are amazing, and I guess all parents would say that about their kids. Mind you, I am not the type of person who go on about their family and kids 24/7. People who know me personally would actually tell you I very rarely talk about my kids unless its a milestone they've crossed. I just find it really annoying when you meet someone and all they talk about is their husband/kids. Like seriously?! Is it all you've got in your life. Certainly my kids are the most important people/things my life, but I am also me sometime not only Mummy-me.
I think some people find it hard to know who they really are after becoming a wife/mother. It's like they forgot about what they used to like/do before they got married or had kids. Anyway, I think it's important to find yourself sometime, otherwise your duties as a Mum/wife may become a burden, a burden you find hard to carry. It doesn't need to be like that. I barely have any spare time to spare for myself but the fact is though I am very rarely having a dull time. I enjoy every moment I spend with my kids, instead of making all their activities fit into mine, I try to find a balance so some of their activities are fitted around mine and vice-versa.
My children are probably the most known kids in our local surestart centres, we are there almost every day of the week at different sessions, yet I also make sure all my housechores are done. I hate feeding them take aways or ready meals, I try as much as I can to cook for us. Yet, on top pf all of that, I can still squeeze in my activities, such as performing my prayers, doing my personal research and work, my workout exercises and much more. A lot of the activities that I do for myself, I actually am able to get my kids to join in, so it becomes our activities. In a way you can say it is not only me compromising but them as well.
I think if I didn't have them today I would have had a flourishing career, but probably that's about it. The satisfaction my children to me, no career in the world could. And, my career is waiting ahead for me, I have already started working for it. As they say, slowly but surely. So, surely I will get there, and I am already on the way. I probably can also say that I am satisfied as to where my career is heading and I know I will go further by God's will.
I used to read about how some women felt incomplete, although they had everything except for a child. I think if I just had my career, they would still have been avoid in my life, which my children fill to the brink. I am a much stronger person than I would have been without them. I want to thank my cutie pies  for making me who I am today.
Proud_Mum
PS: I hope you like the elephant pic as much as I do x