Learning how to balance....Life & Blogging!

Sigh..."Really! Didn't I just clean you bathroom? I don't want to scrub toilets I want to blog!" (insert bratty 3yr old tantrum here) Actually when I think about my day and the time spent, it is usually filled with brain-numbing chores that will only need to be re-done again tomorrow. Things that will be messed up or eaten, not meaningful things that I can look back on in a months time and admire. But then who actually admires a newly cleaned toilet anyway!

Insert flower photo here. It is a garden blog after all...lol!

So there lays my problem! Balance, there has to be some. One of the reasons I started my blog was a personal way to have a creative outlet and provide some "Me" balance in my days. Write, garden, photography, meeting new people, all things I love to do, so it was a perfect coming together of my interests, not to mention I really LOVE it!! It was a great balance...kind of the, Stay At Home Mom by day, Wine Drinking Garden Blogger by night. Sounds great hey!

Then walks in summer vacation...oh joy! Now don't get me wrong, I love being a mom with the many fun and exciting moments and I love my kids more than life. My two boys 6 & 8 are the sweetest, funniest things you will ever meet. But seriously, 10 weeks of no school is beyond a form of "cruel and unusual punishment" for a stay at home parent, its enough to drive me to drink (oh already there) its enough to drive me completely insane...lock me up!! Goodbye blogging...sniff sniff! Goodbye gardening...sniff sniff! I just couldn't do it with so much else that needed doing....the guilt of giving my time to blogging, putting it before the kids, house or the husband, it was killing me!

My days were now full of not only the brain-numbing chores but now the insanity-inducing entertainment, chauffeur driving, my wish is your command, 8yr old boy type of day!! (Although I have learnt how to defeat Bowser in Super Mario Bros, so not all is lost) With my days now so full, by the time the boys were finally in bed for the night, so was I! To tired to finish the laundry let alone do any blogging or god forbid...garden! Agh the neglect.

Insert another pic for my garden blogging friends here!

So the lesson that I have learnt this summer....DON'T do it ALL! You will seriously go crazy and then nothing will be achieved, except in my case where I helped stimulate economy with my wine purchasing!
I have had to put aside the idea that I am a supermom and can do it all! I have tried to do that to only burn myself out or neglect areas in my life that need me. Time to re-prioritize and let go of guilt and pressure...ahh its freeing! My blogging is me, its what I do! If my kitchen is messy it wont kill anyone if it is put it off for a bit while I get my post out.
Balancing has to be done and blogging is one thing I can not do without!

How do you balance your life and blogging? I would still love any tips or tricks as to what can help...thanks!!

gardening equals sanity!!

Hi, my name is Julia and I am a....gardener! Isn't that how most addict meetings start? Gardening is my therapy, maybe even my drug of choice! But one thing is for sure, its my sanity!

The escape of a quiet garden, the feeling of accomplishment, There really is no greater feeling than to have an idea and see it come to fruition, even if it is just clearing a garden bed of weeds or turning the compost over. Seriously, when you stand back and see the finished result, the feeling and "high" of achievement is amazing! Ahh, the tranquil, soul filling me time without interruption...priceless!

Yeah right!! Mom, whats for dinner? Mom, Thomas is looking at me funny! Mom! Mom! MOM!
Is it wrong to admit that there are days all I want to do is lock myself outside, to escape with my plants in a moment of peace. To ignore reality and retreat into my simple joy!

I really do love my boys, more than I ever thought possible! I have been blessed with two of the sweetest, loving, caring little guys...Thomas 5 and Harrison 8. They really are the joys of my-life (most of the time! And when they're not, wine helps too...lol!)
Last year, Harry my oldest was diagnosed with Autism after years of uncertainty, its been a crazy time to say the least. My life now revolves around the many needs and constant learning that comes with this diagnosis, to the point were it was becoming my identity too. I seemed to have lost who I was, I had no time for what my passions and interests were/are anymore. I was being swallowed-up and disappearing by this thing called Autism. There was very little sense of accomplishment, always feeling like I was failing my son, not to mention it was unpredictable, irrational and totally impulsive with lows and lower lows...depression sunk in!

Time for a change...Getting back to my love and finding balance in life once again. Now, when I am not enduring enjoying the craziness. From the highs of sweet moments filled with love, laughs and smiles to the lows of the torturous screaming, tantrums and messes.
You will find me out in the garden as a gardener...escaping the later and doing something for the sanity.

To me, gardening is rewarding in all the typical ways, seeing something grow, creating something beautiful...etc, But it is also (and I'm sure for so many of you) something a lot more. It is who we are! It is our happy place! Its our identity and our passion! Its were you can be you, with no feeling of failure, no constant demands, with no never-ending messes created by others to be cleaned...It provides a sense of accomplishment, It fulfills us!

.....Its pure, Its simple joy and its my sanity!