Brave New World

I've set myself some ambitions for this year and one of those is to be more true to myself. I started this blog because when I look back at the adventures I've had since becoming a mum I realised that I've been braver than I thought I could be in so many things. I always wanted to learn trapeze, but didn't have the guts to despite taking impro classes in a venue called the circus space. It wasn't until I was on a mini cruise with Brown Bear that the opportunity to learn trapeze was there. He decided he fancied the kids club and I was left with nothing to do so I wandered to the sports deck and gave it a go. I was terrified. It was the least easeful thing ever if I'm honest, but I'm so proud to be able to say I did it.

Don't be fooled - I was shaking like a leaf !! 

The other day me and Brown Bear were watching Blue Peter and he said, "Look Mummy they're going skydiving like we did." I hadn't exactly forgotten, but it had escaped me how momentous that was. Not least as he was only 4 when we did it. It wasn't out of a plane - I wouldn't push my 4 year old out of a plane, I'm not a sadist - it was in a wind tunnel thing. We both had a go and it was exhilarating and exciting. He was the youngest child there and so brave to have done it.

On our summer holiday in Cornwall last year we had a surfing lesson together. I'd wanted him to have a go for ages and when he turned 5 he was old enough and he asked me to go with him. We had such a blast.

Since then we've done a park run - which he did not enjoy, but I held his hand so he could get all the way round and he was very proud to finish. He hasn't wanted to do it again though so clearly not a runner.

The bonding that comes from doing these things together is great. As well as being active and having fun we also now have in-jokes that he drops into conversation when I least expect them. It makes me smile when he does that.

I wasn't a risk taker as a child. It's not something that was encouraged in my family so I didn't really try new things or consider myself capable of doing much. I take a very different approach with my children. They are already so much braver than I've ever been and it's made me more adventurous as a result.

I am so delighted when they try something new and succeed at it. They do all the things I wish for them and more. Things like:

Dance freely and without inhibition

Enjoy the outdoors in any weather

Draw without any fear of it not being 'right' or 'perfect'

Choose clothes that they love and wear them until they are wet, filthy and (usually) full of holes

Make friends with children they've just met and play with them like old pals

Run up and give me cuddles and kisses when they feel like it and shake their heads vigorously when they don't want to

So this year I'm taking a leaf from their book. I'm going to be brave and silly and I'm going to enjoy being Mum.

I'm a walking, and a swimming and a cycling...

I've decided to do the full moonwalk in May next year - the last time I did the full walk was the year before I was pregnant with Brown Bear. The following year I had a place, but couldn't take part because I was way to big to walk 26 miles comfortably. Then I did the half moon with my lovely pal Soraya two years ago to mark her recovery from breast cancer. It's taken me a while to figure out that I need to do this because in my head I have a few things I want to do before I'm 50 (and that's closer than I want to admit !)

I'd like to be able to complete a marathon - I have no idea if I'll be able to do it as a run, but walking is a pretty good start. I've not had the best health in the last year - nothing serious, but just a series of annoying things seem to be going wrong. So I've decided to take a long term approach to getting myself fit. In the spirit of this I went on a training walk this afternoon and I'm happy to say I made it and enjoyed it too. Bonus !

My other ambition is to take part in a triathalon. Even if it's a really small one I want to at least give it a go. I swim a lot, I mean 4-5 times a week and pretty much always smell of chlorine. I know, sexy right ? I'm working on my stamina to get to a stage where I can swim and still be fit to do another event. At the moment I go full pelt then clamber out of the pool ravenous and wanting to wash my hair. It is definitely within my sights though.

Get back into cycling. I used to cycle a lot. At uni I used to have to balance my shopping bags on the handlebars and tuck my long goth skirts into boots to cycle home. If I was lucky my friend Neil would cycle home with me and I'd peddle behind him to help with the steep climb back to our shared student house. I'm forever grateful he'd wait for me going at old lady pace as he would have got home so much earlier if he'd gone on ahead on his sporty bike. I used to cycle to work when I was lived on my own and loved my sit up bike with a basket on the front. Nothing too fancy.

Before Christmas Hubbie said he was going to start cycling to work and I laughed so hard I actually had to cross my legs so I wouldn't pee. Oh stoppit we all know even a cough will make you wet yourself once you've had kids. Well, he's shown me as he's still going strong and even got me a bike to encourage me to get back to pedal power. Typically I've gone shopping to get some pretty things before I will actually get on it. It's the bike mother-in-law used to ride to work and is pretty sturdy, but not pretty. Well, once I've pimped it out with all these lovely Orla Kiely accessories I'll be the belle of the bike fraternity. Or something.

My gorgeous Orla Kiely cycle accessories from Halfords

So, I'm putting this here as a statement of intent. The walking is underway. Hopefully the cycling will be soon as well. I have visions of me and Brown Bear cycling to school in the mornings and me putting Blue Bear into a child seat to travel to nursery. I'm not promising that will happen but it's good to visualise isn't it ? I mean I always wanted to have a go at trapeze and never really believed I'd get to do it. Well here is the proof that I did. I have to look at it to remind myself it actually happened.

Adventures don't always have to involve being far away from home. Some of them are simple and achievable. I hope these are for me. Keep coming back to see how I get on.

This is me - I was terrified ! 

On being brave, not boring

Until I had my boys I had no idea how brave I could be. How having children would awaken the daredevil side of me. Now I realise that there is so much I am willing to do in order to give my sons the experiences that I didn't get to have as a child. A year ago me and my older boy were invited to try out one of the largest cruise ships in the world, Anthem of the Seas. On board we skydived and I fulfilled one of my lifetime ambitions to try a trapeze. It was terrifying and what you can't see in the photos is how much I was shaking the whole time. I did it though, and that is the main thing. I tried.

Yep that's me - terrified on the trapeze

On holiday in Cornwall last month I booked a surfing lesson with my 5 year old - having bottled out of a surfing course I booked many years ago. He wasn't too sure about doing it on his own and I thought, "Ok why not ?" He was, of course, so much better than me, but that didn't matter. We had fun. Isn't that what it's all about after all ? Creating happy memories for our children so that they can look back and recal how much fun it was being a kid ?

My boys on the beach

So that's why this blog exists. It's to share the adventures we have and to give you some ideas of fun, brave and plain crazy things to do with your kids, or on your own. I'm not judging.

Who said that being a Mum meant being boring ? It wasn't me that's for sure.