Thoughts on becoming a mum of two

I know this is probably a blog post that has been done about a million times, but aside from loving reading other peoples (particularly, I loved this post from Lyndsey who is expecting a second little girl about a month after me, and this post from Naomi, who is expecting twin girls in May) I find it super cathartic to write some of my thoughts on this blog.

To be honest, I'm already kind of feeling like a mum of two, in the sense that I already feel pretty split between them.
I've talked previously about how much harder this pregnancy has been compared to with Henry, and that has really taken it's toll on my guilt levels. Which in turn has made me worry a little for the future.

Why reading is my favourite self-care therapy

Even since I can remember I've been a bookworm. I've always been the one in our family with my nose in a book. However for some years I kind of lost my reading mojo in favour of hours of mindless scrolling and binge TV watching.

Last year I started to make a real effort to read more, which started well but did slow towards the end of the year. This year, again, I'm trying to continue my reading efforts, and broaden my horizons. With one very important reason behind my decision.

I realised towards the end of the year that reading was part of my own self-care regime, and a really big part of it. I think it really hit me when an old man on my bus stopped to talk to me on his way off the bus to say "you're never alone with a book". And he was right. That's why I find books so important for my personal mental health and wellbeing.

22 things to love about autumn

I love a little light-hearted band wagon, and I don't really know if you can call yourself a blogger if you don't do one of these entirely pointless, but nonetheless really fun lists!

Bloggers love autumn, even though the evenings get darker faster which means photography gets infinitely harder, and lazy, unproductive days in bed seem far more appropriate than spending a day working on blog content, but we still love autumn.

Personally I've always been a big fan of autumn, even before my blogging days, but that might have more to do with presents than anything else.
So what's to love about autumn?

Why I blog and share our life on social media

Often when I'm having a bit of writer's block, or a lack of inspiration for new content, or just generally feeling uninspired, I like to sit back and think about why I blog.

What's the reason for wanting to write about my life, share our stories, for the whole (well maybe not the whole) internet to see. Why do I spend a good percentage of my free time working on new content, taking photos, scheduling social media?

I do it all because I want to keep a little diary of our lives. 

My favourite posts to write and put together are always our family adventure posts. Posts, where the photographs come easily, and tell a story all on their own, and the words just flow into a tale of our latest discovery. A new place that we love, or a revisit with a new pair of eyes.

Talking all about my tattoos + VIDEO!

I'm often asked all about my tattoos. How many do I have? Most painful one? What ones do I actually have? Where are they all? 

I've covered a little bit about them on my "about me" page, but I figured as I've started a Youtube channel, it was the perfect time to go the Tattoo Tag and really talk about all my tattoos and some of my favourite tattooists.

At the end of this post you'll find my video, but I thought I'd also include some photos and links here too so you can have a good look!

Why Hampshire is Home

I moved to Southampton in September 2008 to start studying for my Journalism degree.
A little known fact, Dann actually moved down to Southampton in June 2009 so we could move in together. Since then, Hampshire has been our home away from home. We're both originally from Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire (there's some question as to what county Dann's home village is actually in). We met in Bucks, and 90% of our family is still in the county, so you'll often hear us say we are going back home for a weekend.

But it's a sentence I am planning to drop.

Don't get me wrong, I love my old home. I think I might even love Dann's old home more than my own. Our visits there always stick with me, and we have some of our fondest memories there - including our wedding which was in the church in Dann's village, and the reception in my favourite local town.

But it is no longer really home.
It was a home. But our home is now in Hampshire.

Thank You Notes #3 - the mamarazzi edition

June, you have gone by way too fast!! 

We're now fully over half way through 2017 and it's been quite the year. 

This month has of course been a pretty big one, with us celebrating Henry's birthday!! Plus I've gone back to work. So a big one, with lots of change, which always brings about a little thankfulness. 

So here's my June (or no.3) thank you notes...

28 parenthood confessions

We all know that parenting is hard work. And we all know that there is no real right or wrong way to bring up a child - with a few exceptions of course. But it's really easy to get bogged down with the perfect appearance of parenthood that is broadcast across social media and blogs. Hey, I'll even admit that I don't exactly publish posts on all the crappy bits of having a baby. I want my bit of the internet to be as positive as possible, but I also want to be realistic.

I've made a lot of mummy friends through this blog via social media, and they are all great girls. I'm loving see all the new babies joining us month by month (at getting mildly broody too - my tiny baby is getting big very fast!). One thing I've noticed though is that we don't always share the little secrets of parenthood.

So today's blog post is a little, ok, maybe a bit of a large list of confessions from my six months as a parent. None of them of really big issues, just little things, that I';m sure many parents have experienced, or that new ones are going to shortly. The secret side of parenting.

Seven good moments of motherhood

Motherhood is damn hard!
I knew it was going to be hard, but I guess I kind of under-estimated it, but, boy it is it worthwhile.

Sometimes it's really easy to get bogged down with all the bad stuff. I mean it's always easy to let the bad times over-rule good things in almost any aspect of life, but combined with sleep deprivation and a steep learning curve, it'seven easier to focus on what isn't right, than what is.

So to help me, and hopefully you, I'm sharing seven good moments from my motherhood so far!

LIFESTYLE: Look around my home

My little flat shared with my husband and two cats is my favourite place to be. It is filled with mementoes from our lives together. As we are currently looking for a new house to buy, it seemed the right time to share what my last rented flat looks like, before we take the leap to a grown up house!

I like to think of my flat as a cross between an art gallery and a natural museum. Of course we have the usual family photographs, especially from our wedding and bits and pieces from our travels.