I’ve received a lot of parenting advice over the last year, from the downright ridiculous to the insanely helpful. Some things I’ll be wholeheartedly ignoring but one thing that has really stuck with me is when people have told me to pick my battles and learn to let the little things go.  (more…)

I’ll be the first to admit that some days I don’t want to be a stay at home Mum, it’s definitely not the easy ride that a lot of people perceive it to be and nothing grinds my gears more than when stay at home mums are talked about in a derogatory way. There are days when I would love to swan off to work in the morning, wear smart clothes, drink hot coffee and talk to adults and then come home to my beautiful daughter who has been worn out all day by somebody else. Ninety percent of the time though, I absolutely love being a stay at home Mum and these are some of the reasons why. (more…)

It’s funny how Motherhood changes you. I was ready for the physical changes, I was expecting stretch marks, saggy skin, bags under my eyes and I was bracing myself for a blow to my body confidence. Miraculously I seem to have got away pretty easily as far as the physical changes go but that hasn’t meant I’ve come out the other side with my confidence in tact. I’m not talking body confidence or confidence in myself as a Mother, that’s a whole different issue, I’m talking the main stage, real deal kind of confidence. Your basic ‘Who am I and what do I even want?!’ kind of situation.
Disclaimer: If you’re not in the mood for a pretty deep, soul searching kind of post then I would suggest you click away now, if you are planning on sticking around then I would suggest a large glass of wine and a good pile of snacks. (more…)

Home is something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently. As we prepare to move house for the fourth time in five years on Saturday, I’ve been feeling thoughtful, and wistfully longing for a ‘home’. A family home that is ours, somewhere that we can raise our family and make memories in, somewhere we will stay for a long time. (more…)

Saturday the 13th of May 2017 was Darcie’s first birthday party. Even as I write this a few days later I still can’t get my head around the fact that my baby girl has turned one and had her first birthday party. It was a really lovely afternoon, we had our close family and friends round to our house and had lots of food and entertainment from the guest of honour herself. All of the excitement of her birthday the day before and of the party preparations had meant that her naps were all out of their normal routine but she was still in such a sweet mood and was happy to see everyone who had come. A few weeks ago a big group of people like that would have been really intimidating to her so I was really thrilled with how well she coped with all the attention. Coped is the wrong word, she loved the attention! (more…)

My little Darcie May,

One year ago you were one day old, tiny and helpless in my arms. I feel like I’ve blinked and the last year has whizzed by me and you are now a confident, sweet and funny little girl. I’ve savoured every second of being your Mum so far but still it’s like a whirlwind and I can’t quite keep up. Looking back through photos I realise how much you have changed and then I realise that is because you are not a baby anymore. I still call you my baby girl (and I probably will until you are 21 years old!) but you have lost some of that baby look in your face, your features are distinct and we can see the little girl you are becoming. More and more people have started referring to you as a toddler, I wasn’t ready the first time it happened and I didn’t realise they were even referring to you. Surely my baby girl isn’t a toddler already? (more…)