So somehow I've managed to get to the middle of January without a blog post. Without a round up of last year, or an introduction to this year.

To be honest, life has been a little crazy since September. For those that missed the news, Mr Sconch had a change of career. He was made redundant from his job in finance in the city, and decided to use the opportunity to begin teacher training. He started the course in September, after a summer course to top up his knowledge in his chosen field, Physics. In addition to this, he began music tuition in the evenings. For those of you that are not familiar with teacher training, it means NO SALARY. And to burst the bubble that is the fantasy that many of you have of running a wool shop, it pays a pittance, and as I am still in the first few years, I don't actually take a wage, as we reinvest back into the business. So in order for us to eat, he's working in the evenings.

In addition to this, we were both appointed directors of the new Halstead Community Choir. Crazy idea, with our lack of time, but a paying job nonetheless.

I also took on Panto. I'm the lead, the choreographer, and in charge of pubicity for the club. That was actually a crazy decision. But fun, and a distraction which has actually been good for me, despite how it has caused a slight strain to my face. And my mind. And my body (turns out I can't lunge in quite the same way as I could when I was 21...)

So on top of running the shop, it was always going to be a bit crazy.

But of course the biggest change was with the Sconchlet. Not only was she starting nursery 2 days a week, but she was now to be with me all hours she was not at nursery - a big change from largley being with Mr Sconch, who often worked from home. A big change for all of us.

My hours at the shop had to change, as I can't keep the little one at the shop for the sort of hours I used to pull in order to keep the online business running smoothly. So basically I've slashed my hours. Which means things have fallen over. Jobs have been left to slide. Luckily, Angela has picked up the reigns in the shop, and I couldn't have done it without her. But largely, I have been barely keeping my head above the water's surface.

The flip side, and it is a big flip side, is this face:

This face...

 

I spend more time looking at these cute cheeks than I ever have, and it is awesome. I feel like I am a mammy again.

But with that comes all of the strains of being a mammy. The anguish, the anxiety (more on that in another post coming soon. One I keep starting but never quite finishing. It's a tough one to write), and for me, the never-quite-being-on-time-to-anything-and-always-having-to-apologise-for-missing-play-dates-and-not-calling-back scenarios.

 

We took our first longer-than-a-weekend holiday with the Sconchlet over Christmas. And this happened:

Disneyland...

Oh, and we had another epic and rowdy Christmas social for the evening Craft'n'Cake ladies...

 

Drunken knitters...

And in early January, the Sconchlet turned three. THREE. It only seems like a few months ago I wrote this blog post.

 

And before September? Well I am pretty sure stuff happened. There was a Yarn Shop day in there. A World Wide Knit in Public Day. A trip to Olympia and the Handmade Fair (ok so that last one might have been September). An ever growing Craft'n'Cake population. But as I sit here writing this, I can't think of a time before the running back and forth to nursery constantly, and the going to bed at 1am every morning, combined with the Sconchlet waking up at roughly 2am every night as that apparently is her new wake up time... And I am not sure if that is terribly sad or a sign that life has just got very exciting since September.

 

So let's go with the second. And raise a glass to the next exciting year, and to thank all of you for keeping us here.

And also an advanced letter of apology for all the things I will fail at, and all the deadlines I will continue to miss, and all the people I will inevitably let down.

And finally a white flag. To surrender to it all, and to try and accept that it is what it is, and to remember that I am doing the best that I can.

 

Sam x