A Year in Review (Happy Belated Blogiversary!)

Throughout the busy-ness of winter, I missed my blogiversary! It was on March 25th, but I was in the middle of my TESL course at that time. So, without further ado; happy belated blogiversary to me (cue the party streamers and confetti)!

As I look back over my second year of blogging, it's with some regret that I didn't stay fully committed to my blogging goal.
I did however, manage to get twenty-five posts written for my Not Being Able to Speak series and I'm proud of those posts.

It was around this time last year (June to be more specific) that I stopped contributing to my Not Being Able to Speak series. I blamed summer because let's face it, when you've got three kids around all the time it's more challenging to get anything done let alone be able to write on a regular basis.

Then came my 40th birthday (yes, I'm that old!), and with it a renewed desire to do something more with my time. I volunteered, I job searched; I even submitted a few resumes, but to no avail. And then I made a very last minute decision to go back to school in January.

I finished my course on April 11th and successfully obtained my TESL Certificate for teaching English as a second language. While I would like nothing more than to move on to the next stage of my plan (get a job), we are once again at that time of the year when I will soon have three sets of feet stomping through the house; three active children out of school and looking for things to do. So, I'll continue to be patient and hopefully find employment in September.

People always say how time flies and it's true. Through this brief overview of my year from March 2013 (my 1st blogiversary) to March 2014 (2 years since I started this blog - unbelievable!), I've realized I don't alway recognize the changes (big or small) that are happening around me until I consciously reflect on things. I'm grateful that this blog forces me to do some purposeful reflection because it helps me to see the progress that Carter has made. He's come a long way.

Carter has been in his new school for three years now and he continues to surprise us with his accomplishments. He's becoming quite a young man whose sociability continues to grow. He wants to be included in everything and he loves it when he is.

A huge highlight for Carter this year was being part of Jack's hockey team. The team got him a jersey with his name on the back and he was given #10 in honour of his tenth birthday. His job was to high five all team members before they went on the ice at home games. He loved it and so did I.    It. Was. Awesome.

Here are a few more pictures from some events with the kids that I didn't get a chance to post:

Adapted skiing. Cool helmet Carter!

(hockey boy bleached his hair for play-offs)

Happy 9th b-day Jack. Leafs vs. Detroit

Picture day for dance. The big recital is coming up.

Lawn mower season is back! Sweet new lawn mower, Carter!

Best pals.

Big B spent a lot of time in various arenas this winter - that look says it all (bring on summer already).

The 3Ps of My Writing, My Blogiversary and What's to Come?

It's been three weeks since I wrote my last post. Three weeks! To be honest, I haven't been feeling very inspired lately. 

I blame the 3Ps for my absence. 

• Perfectionism 
• Privacy 
• Procrastination                                           

It goes something like this: 

An idea forms in my head (Yes! I'll write about that next), and inevitably one (or all) of the 3Ps does a slice and dice on my idea before it has the chance to travel from my brain to my keyboard:

1. My perfectionism has  me talking myself out of writing about my idea. I become convinced that I won't be able to write anything interesting on the topic so why would I even try?

and / or

2. My privacy monitor has me questioning whether I should share certain information here on my blog.

and always accompanying 1. and 2. the mother of the 3Ps

      3. Procrastination. Of the three, she's the most self explanatory. I'm sure some of you are familiar with her. Toilets glisten, kitchen appliances shine, even Carter's talker screen, caked with crusty bits of last night's dinner, gets a good cleaning yet, my computer screen stays blank and another day passes.

My blogiversary falls toward the end of the month. Roughly one year ago I created More Than Words. I set up this blog platform,  pecked out my first blog post and clicked the publish button on March 25th, 2012, officially staking my claim to a minuscule piece of the densely populated blogosphere.


During my uninspired three week hiatus, I mulled over the status of my blog: Have I accomplished my goals? Where do I want to go from here?


I started blogging because I love to write. I'd written for the Waterloo Region Family Network blog and I'd done some guest posts for Holland Bloorview's Bloom Blog. More than once I was told that I should start my own blog. When we moved to our new home, I finally decided to go for it. I would share  how everyone was doing after our move (and how Carter was doing at his new school)  through a blog.

Once I got started, I realized that I wanted to offer more. I wanted to use my blog as a platform to talk about Carter's unique form of communication. I wanted to connect with others, to offer them our story in hopes that it might be helpful. 


Have I accomplished what I set out to do? 

I've told Carter's story. I've shared. I've connected with others. I'd like to think that what I've offered here has been helpful, maybe even a bit entertaining. So, now what?

There will always be things to share about Carter's challenges and triumphs and I'll continue to share them here (not to worry, I'll also continue to share pics of the kids). My original goals have not changed, but my creative side is feeling a bit stifled. I think it's time to change my approach and try doing things a bit differently. 

How will I do that? What will my future blog posts look like? Stay tuned. You won't want to miss what's coming next at More Than Words!