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What Mother’s Day Means To Me

Mother’s Day – I have to admit it’s one of my favourite days of the year. And not simply from a ‘everyone needs to buy me chocolate and treat me like a queen’ point of view, but more because it’s actually a day to celebrate what I would consider to be my greatest achievement in life – being a mother. And to also take the opportunity to celebrate other mothers around me. Because, let’s be honest, on a day to day basis it’s very easy to forget to celebrate all of the things that mothers do for everyone around them. I find myself so caught up in every day life that I hardly ever stop and realise quite how much I do for my children. At the end of the day I often wonder what I have actually achieved, but even on those days I’ve kept my babies alive, well and happy – which is a great achievement in itself! (more…)

Why We Chose A Forest School & Our Experience So Far

Whenever I mention forest school, whether that be ‘in real life’ or online, I am always met with questions. ‘What do you mean they are outside all day?’ ‘What about when it rains?’ ‘Does she enjoy it?’ ‘Like seriously, outside all day?!‘ You can imagine! So I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, in the hopes that it can be helpful to anyone considering a forest school setting for their child, or just to satisfy the curiosity of anyone else. Darcie has been going to forest school for four months now, and is a third of the way through her time there (sob!), so now seems like a good time to write this. We’re settled in, and we’ve basically got to grips with forest school life – by which I mean the mud – so here I am to spill the beans on what it’s really like to have a child at forest school. (more…)

~ collaborative post ~

A Big Change

Now we are in February, I’m acutely aware of how late I am for posting all about my goals for this year, and also my reflections of 2019. Do not fear, those posts are on the way (for now you can read last years goals and my round up of 2018 if you’re feeling nosy) but for now I just wanted to write about one of the biggest changes that the last six months has brought me. Confidence with driving! I know, I didn’t ever think I’d be writing that down either but here we are! if you’re a long time reader or a follower on Instagram, then you will know all about how much I have struggled with this. Driving has been my biggest fear I’ve ever had to overcome, I’m not sure I’ll ever totally do it but my confidence compared to this time last year is amazing. (more…)

Two New Toys For Ernie | Review

Ahh the second child! The impossibly hard to buy for child. Am I right? Anything Ernie could possibly want or need, we generally have already somewhere either in a toy box or stored ready and waiting for him in the garage. I’m sure this will change as he gets older and his own tastes and preferences start to develop more, but currently I really do find it an impossible task to choose him anything new. But I’m also very aware that although at 18 months old, Ernie couldn’t care less whether he is getting something new or a hand down from his sister, I don’t want Darcie to think the world totally revolves around her. She needs to know that her little brother deserves presents too. (more…)

There Is Nothing ‘Just’ About Being A Mum

Whenever anyone asks me what I do I say ‘Oh, I’m just a mum’. As if there needs to be more to it than that. As if being a mum isn’t a valid use of my time and energy. Why do I do it? I don’t know, but I do know that it’s not just me. I’ve heard countless other women say it too. So this is to all of them, to me, to you, to anyone who needs to know that there is nothing ‘just’ about motherhood –

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When You Don’t Have A Village | Childcare.co.uk Review

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but these days having a ‘village’ around you isn’t as common as it used to be. We are lucky to have a handful of family members close by, which is more than a lot of my mum friends can say, but it still doesn’t feel like a lot. Gone are the days of families living on the same street and juggling childcare between them. If you’re in a situation where you don’t have anyone to call on for childcare it can be really overwhelming to try and work out where to go to get some help once in a while. That’s where childcare.co.uk comes in to rescue anyone who finds themselves in this position. (more…)