What a year 2018 has been! Full of ups and downs as most years are. A year of juggling motherhood and homeschooling with being a blogger. A year of meeting new people and making connections. A year of reflection on the past and starting to understand what I want out of life and where I want to be.
The year began with us getting used to being a family of six. Asiya was born at the end of 2017 and it took a lot longer than I thought for our homeschool to start functioning the way I intended. Let's face it, it's not as easy as you think to homeschool multiple age groups as well as look after a baby - but I got there in the end!
My blog really started to take off in 2018 giving me the opportunity to start working with brands and getting paid for my work! Finally, it began to make all the effort I put in seem worthwhile. I worked with Sainsbury's, House of Fraser and Ella's Kitchen as well as some amazing smaller companies. I love to support those who are starting out as I know how difficult it is to begin a new business.
While this year has been all about motherhood and homeschooling, now that Asiya is getting older I do feel like I can start to branch out on my own and do some things for myself. My new years resolutions reflect this shift.
Read More
Reading more was one of my goals at the beginning of 2018 but I let it slip after a while. I wrote an article with tips on how to read more so I will definitely be revisiting this and following my own advice!
Plastic Free
In 2018 I was shocked to learn about how plastic in damaging our environment. The BBC documentary 'Drowning in plastic' was a real eye-opener. I was close to tears at the thought of all the animals that are injured or dying as a result of our plastic use. The fact that all the plastic that has ever been created is still in the world somewhere is absolutely astonishing. Just think of all the single use plastic products and food packaging; the amount is incomprehensible.
In 2019 I will be making a conscious effort to reduce and eliminate my use of plastic wherever possible and I welcome ideas for this. I will be sharing my plastic-free journey along the way in the hope that I can encourage others to do the same. I am educating my children to also be conscious of the effect plastic is having on our environment and to be able to choose other alternatives.
In 2019 I will be making a conscious effort to reduce and eliminate my use of plastic wherever possible and I welcome ideas for this. I will be sharing my plastic-free journey along the way in the hope that I can encourage others to do the same. I am educating my children to also be conscious of the effect plastic is having on our environment and to be able to choose other alternatives.
Cut down on sugar
I have been conscious of the bad effects of sugar for some time and I tried to reduce our families intake of the sweet stuff some years ago. I began to bake my own goodies using healthy sugar alternatives. However, years of pregnancies and mothering young children have often left me exhausted and reaching for the easy option that comes in a packet.
In 2019, I want to bake and make my own snacks again and I will be getting the children involved in the cooking too , after all, it's quite educational! Snacks tend to be my downfull and I often feel hungry as I am still breastfeeding Asiya. I need to get used to making some healthy snacks to satisfy my cravings and that of my childen.
Minimalism
Minimalism is something I have been thinking about for around two years, ever since I read the book 'The life-changing magic of tidying up' by Marie Kondo. At the time that I read it, I was so inspired to tidy my house and minimise everything. I went through my wardrobe and managed to fill around two huge bags of clothing to take to the charity shop. I also managed to declutter the toys and even some books (although, as a book lover, I will always have too many books in my house). However, that is where it stopped. I still have bits and bobs all over the place that probably do not need to be there. Therefore, my aim this year is to declutter and minimalise properly. I always feel better when there is less stuff cluttering up the space so I think it will be valuable for my mental health and the way my family uses the space in our home.
Get fit
Getting fit is something I haven't thought about for a long time. Perhaps it is because I do not need to lose weight, however, fitness is about more than that. I have not properly exercised since before my eldest daughter was born almost nine years ago! However, being a busy mum of four means I am doing a lot of running around!
Before I became a mother (and a Muslim), I used to do a lot of dancing. I went to dance classes around four times a week and even taught some of my own classes. I spent my childhood learning everything from ballet and tap to ballroom and latin, but my favourite by far was bellydancing. I never liked the gym, I found it boring, but dancing was something I loved. Therefore, I think it will be the way for me to kick start my exercise regime. In 2019 I hope to get on my dancing shoes again! Another thing I would like to try are some more gentler forms of exercise such as yoga and pilates.
Do something for me!
I was blessed to have four children in the last decade so I spent a lot of time in my twenties being pregnant or caring for a newborn. While I absolutely loved that phase of my life, this year I feel it is time for me to start doing things for myself again. Blogging has been one way for me to do this, but I have struggled to find the time and energy to be as consistent as I would have liked. I also have a couple of other projects I am working on which will require some of my time. I need to find a way to get some time for myself to focus on these things in order for them to come to fruition. I am hoping this year I will be able to do that.
So there you have it, my six new year's resolutions for 2019. As you can see, they are a mixture of improving myself and our family unit as well as one big change that will hopefully have an impact on the whole world. I am passionate about helping to improve society and educating my children to be world-conscious citizens. I hope to encourage others to do the same.
I have a lot of exciting things planned for this year and I will be sharing them with you in due course. Thank you for following me over the last 12 months and I hope you will enjoy sharing the next 12 months of my motherhood and homeschooling journey with me.
What are your new year's resolutions?
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