Busy! Busy! Busy!

Photo: Jake on his first birthday

Photo: My mum, mother of 6, grandma of 19, and great grandma of nearly 9.

Photo: A ring in. In the middle, Sinead (Bethanys best friend) joined us for Jake our newest nephew's Ist birthday. Bethany and Jake share the same birthday.

I can't believe it is April already. Adam and Eva have been away 8 months already. We had Bethany and Hannah's birthday over the last few weeks..... 6 and 4 respectively. The excitement that builds up to their birthdays is incredible. Maybe because they are only 6 days apart. It was also our son-in-law Raffs birthday on saturday he is a little older than the others. What a lovely guy he is.


Photo:My little brother Damien with Tanya and Jake
Our newest addition to our family Jake also turned one . We celebrated with a birthday in the park . It was a fantastic day. Jake is adorable and much loved by all the family and their friends. We were lucky to have Ella ...nearly 5 and Charlotte.. 2 come to stay overnight. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to have that special time with them.

Photo:Hannah our catering queen wearing her apron made by her Nanny.

We don't have Rachels kids over now because they are at their Dads most weekends. That is continuing to work out well for all concerned. I have been quite unwell lately. Top to toe has been affected.. brought on mostly from the stress we have been under, trying to find a solution to keep both Mum and Dad happy while dad is undergoing some very drastic changes. Mental health is a huge problem to deal with within a family and even though there is support, at times I feel I am going it alone. Everyone else is busy with their lives and only can do so much. I had, what I call a meltdown which made me realise I can't do everything without something giving way. I am going to counselling to try and get some help emotionally. I don't know how I would get by without my darling Nick. He is always there and very understanding. Maybe it is good practise for him if I go like Dad as I get older. The mental health system here is fantastic and everyone always calls me back and have a lot of empathy. Mum is slowly coming around to the fact that dad really needs some serious help and will need hospitalization very soon. She is an incredible person my Mum, what an inspiration in selflessness. I want to keep both of them happy but I fear my dad is not going to like our next move. I hope that we all can be at home for Easter Sunday to show support for Mum. It would be the best if our brother Tony and his wife Cheryl would come to complete our family. Heres hoping. Happy Easter everyone