April 8, 2017 at 7:20 am by Angela
I’m a blogger, a techie, a mum and a commuter. So I think it’d be a safe bet to assume I own a smartphone. To me these amazing devices are a blessing and a curse. They are a distraction when I need to kill time but also when I should be focusing on more important things. They have helped me out in a scrape on more occasions than I can count, yet make me too quick to turn to Google for help. They have allowed me to capture so many pictures of Little H growing up but to the extent I have more than I know what do with!
April 5, 2017 at 6:25 am by Angela
Every month I share my ‘Five Favourite Finds’ for the month. They can be absolutely anything new that I have come across. The challenge: making sure I find five each month. Some months really do prove tougher than others but there is lots of fun had in the search. I’m using it to try encourage myself to find new things and also share my finds with you all to save you the leg work! So without further ado and in no particular order…
April 1, 2017 at 7:00 am by Angela
So I was delighted to see a tweet from the lovely Lucy at Home earlier this week, nominating me for The Blogger Recognition Award. I love Lucy’s blog and I am a huge fan of the new linky she runs with Wendy from Naptime Natter – #BlogCrush. I was really excited to be nominated and that Lucy thought of me when compiling her list of nominations!
A massive thank you to you Lucy for the nomination and for reading the posts I share!
Lucy has some great advice in her own ‘The Blogger Recognition Award’ post so I’m going to have to try my damned hardest to come up with something good too! Let’s see what I manage…
March 29, 2017 at 6:35 am by Angela
What a month we’ve had Little H,
All three of us have had a tough time, but you more than most when you were struck down with chickenpox. You handled it all so well and then you really took it in your stride when mummy got sick immediately afterwards. In spite of itchy little spots and quarantine, we’ve had a good month!
March 25, 2017 at 7:00 am by Angela
Today is exactly 10 years since I wrote my first – less than inspiring – blog post. Ten. Whole. Years. Wow that time has flown by. Yet so much has happened! When I started blogging Sam and I had been living together in our little one bedroom, ground floor flat in West Kensington for 6 month. Flash forward to today and we’re no longer in London, are living in our second house, married and with Little H. Life couldn’t be more different. And the more time that passes, the more I appreciate my blog and the fact I can dip back into life as it was over that time.
March 22, 2017 at 6:25 am by Angela
It’s February 2016 and I’ve been back at work after Maternity Leave for about three weeks. One of the female managers who I don’t really know asks me how I’m getting on. I’m honest and say it’s good to be back but it’s a bit of a shock to the system and I’m still finding my way. She nods empathetically and then says to me “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t have it all. You can. I’ve never met any group of people more productive than working mothers.”. It was meant with a helpful and supportive sentiment and it was a positive thing to hear. However, I’m not sure if it was necessarily the right thing for me to here. You see, in the last 14 months I have pondered a lot on life and balance. And on that phrase that gets thrown at all new mothers:
“You can have it all.”
March 18, 2017 at 7:30 am by Angela
I have kept a Gratitude Journal since the start of 2016. Over that year it made a MASSIVE difference to my mental attitude; I now more naturally see the positive in things. My blog is a place to share thoughts and opinions. But more than that, it’s a place I record life so I can look back in the future and remember how things were. Whilst I will always have my private journals, I also decided to take a leaf out the books of other bloggers and create a monthly gratitude feature.
This month has been another challenging one with yet more illness and various breakages costing us money (including the microwave, the handheld hoover and, worst of all, the 16 month old BOILER, argh!). So focusing on the little things really has been necessary. Here’s what I am grateful for this month:
March 15, 2017 at 6:35 am by Angela
So this one had me stumped. I sat and pondered over it for ages and ages. There are lots of celebrities that I find interesting and if I happened to ‘bump into them’ in soft play or something then it would be great to have a chat. Nor do Sam and I go in for those ‘Freebie Lists‘ of ‘Friends’ fame so no motivation there! After much reflection, I decided there wasn’t a single celebrity personality that I would really want to meet if I had the opportunity.
March 14, 2017 at 9:41 pm by Angela
The recap
Back on Day 0, I spotted some dubious spots on Little H as I was putting her to bed after nursery. After a visit to the doctor the following day, it was confirmed she had the dreaded Pox of the chicken variety. Quarantined followed and you find us in the thick of the illness with one very unhappy and itchy little toddler. (If you want a blow-by-blow account then by all means pop over to part I first!)
Day 4
I expected Little H to wake a lot overnight so I’m quite surprised when I wake to her grumbling and it’s already 4am. She falls back to sleep (as do I) but I have to briefly go into her at 5am. She settled back down well after some bonjela, water and a cuddle. We all end up sleeping until 7:30am, which we all needed.
March 13, 2017 at 6:15 am by Angela
Day 0
Little H is splashing around in the bath after a busy day at nursery. I come in to get her out and my Mum-Senses are immediately drawn to some spots on her shoulders, lower tummy and back. Much to her annoyance I proceed to examine them. I’ve convinced myself Little H has chicken pox on several occasions that turned out to be nothing. This time though, my instincts tell me this was the real deal. Without a doubt the spots are blistery. There just aren’t many of them which leaves me doubting myself.
Bedtime complete and Little H all tucked up, I consult the trusty NHS site. The pictures of chicken pox look exactly like what I had seen. That night I can’t settle to sleep and feel really anxious. I have a strong feeling I’ll be staying at home in the morning. But knowing I’ll have to get up and get ready like normal before I can get Little H up to confirm one-way or the other makes me bizarrely unsettled!
