Mum Life Meets Fashion: How to Keep Your Style Sharp Amidst the Chaos

 

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{This is a collaborative post}

Being a mother is no small feat. From changing nappies to attending PTA meetings, the tasks and responsibilities are seemingly endless. In the midst of this dispersed routine, it's common for mums to lose sight of their previous way of life - one that included taking time to get ready and putting together stylish outfits. 

However, retaining your sense of style doesn't necessarily mean you have to forego your mum duties. With a little bit of thought, planning, and stocking up on some key wardrobe essentials, you can keep your fashion game on point, even amidst the chaos of motherhood. Let’s take a closer look at how to effortlessly balance motherhood while maintaining your personal style. 

 

Find Balance Between Fashion & Function

Embracing the mum life doesn't mean sacrificing your style. You can still look chic while staying comfortable and practical. Invest in good-quality basics that offer both style and ease, like stretchy jeans, flowy tops, and comfortable shoes. Don't forget to pack a few matching bikini sets for those family beach days, which provide both comfort and flair. A pair of easy-to-throw-on sunglasses and some simple yet elegant accessories can also instantly elevate your outfit, ensuring you feel stylish without compromising on function.

 

Easy-to-Style Wardrobe Essentials

Maxi dresses, loose-fitting cardigans, and wide-legged pants are fantastic pieces that are easy to put together while remaining stylish. Also, consider investing in some high-waisted jeans. They are fashionable and serve as a tucked tummy shield during those playground frolics. Versatile items like button-down shirts or knit sweaters can be mixed and matched leading you to look photo-ready at all times. 

 

Don’t Shy Away From Colours & Patterns

Dressing up as a busy mother doesn't have to mean sticking to boring, monochromatic outfits. This is where you can take out those matching bikini sets that have been waiting to see the light of day. Bright, bold colours and vibrant patterns not only add a fun element to your outfit but also cleverly disguise any accidental spills or smudges. 

 

6 Worthwhile Hobbies That Every Mum Should Consider

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{This is a collaborative post}

Mothers are usually never off their motherhood duties, which can feel a little all-consuming. It's very easy for a mother to forget about herself and focus on meeting her children's and her family's needs. In such instances, mothers can experience intense burnout that keeps them away from the one thing they cherish the most; mothering. It is time to evaluate how you spend your time as a mum and how to factor in taking care of yourself. This post brings to light some worthwhile hobbies you can start in the comfort of your home.

Crafting

Yes, every mum has a child who comes home with one or two craft assignments. Some mums love doing these crafts even without their children having them as homework. Such mums will have a great time picking up crafting as a hobby. This helps to give you a worthwhile creative outlet. Some great crafting hobbies you can easily take up include how to crochet, painting, pottery making, refinishing furniture, calligraphy, and card making, amongst others. The best part about these crafts is that they can be sold online for some supplementary income and double as great gift options for loved ones. 

Gardening

 

Gardening as a mother is an enjoyable experience. Indeed, trying to tend to a garden while caring for a newborn can be a lot, as you might hardly have time for watering your flowers and taking out weeds. Expert plant mums who are actual mothers, too, suggest picking gardening as a hobby after your kids have matured a little. When your kids are old enough to entertain themselves, you will have more than enough time to take care of your plants. Gardening is known to be highly therapeutic, and it's also known to be a great form of exercise. Lastly, growing things in your home is a great way to inspire your kids to eat more organic foods while helping you save money on grocery shopping. 

How to Take Care of Yourself In Pregnancy

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{This is a collaborative post}

Finding out that you're pregnant is a special time in any woman's life. Ensuring that you're taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do to ensure that you deliver a healthy baby. 

You also want to make sure that you are in the best shape possible during your pregnancy. This will not only be beneficial to you but your child as well. However, taking care of yourself during pregnancy can be challenging as your body is changing dramatically. If it's your first pregnancy you may not be aware of some of the things that you need to do to take care of yourself. 

Even if you have been pregnant before it is still worth reminding yourself of all the things you need to do to keep you and your baby healthy. Here are some of the most important things you need to do and know about to care for yourself during pregnancy.

Your Diet

When you are pregnant, having the proper diet becomes even more important than ever. Whilst there may be several cravings that you encounter throughout your pregnancy, ensuring that you eat the right things is essential. You need to ensure that you are getting enough of all the proper nutrients, as a lack of any one can cause problems with the growth and development of your baby. 

Try to eat healthily, using the healthy plate model, with a good balance from all the food groups and particularly a lot of vegetables and fruits. Rich sources of protein are also really important as these are the building blocks of our bodies.

If your doctor has given you a specific dietary requirement for your pregnancy make sure that you are following their instructions as this will help to ensure that your pregnancy goes smoothly.

How To Be A Happy Mum

{This is a collaborative post}

Being a mum can be a hard job. We often feel as though we are being pulled in dozens of different directions all at once, and it can seem like, no matter what we do and what choices we make, someone is judging and telling us it was the wrong decision. This can lead to unhappiness, and that is a shame. Being a parent is such a wonderful thing that letting others dictate your happiness means you miss out on the enjoyment of being a mum. Therefore, it needs to stop, and here are some excellent ways you can be a happy mum, enjoy your children, and forget about everyone else.

Find The Right Balance 

Motherhood is a balancing act between being with your children and taking time for yourself, between working and staying at home, between being ‘you’ and being ‘mum’, and so much more. What works for one person in terms of balance might not work for another, which is why it is essential you work out what suits you. Then, of course, be willing to flex this in time if you need to. 

For example, you might choose to work full-time, part-time, or not at all. You might work from home or prefer to go to an office. No matter which you choose, you will have your reasons, and you will work out your happiness from it. Don’t listen to anyone else about this; you need to do what’s best for you and your family. As time goes on, you can easily make adjustments depending on where you feel you are needed most, so remember that nothing is set in stone, and you can change anything that needs to be changed. 

5 Big Challenges That Mums May Face

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{This is a collaborative post}

Everybody knows that being a mum is one of the hardest jobs there is, and many feel like they are out of their depth. They think that the challenges they face every single day are unique to them and that all of the other mums out there are handling things a lot better than they are. But that isn’t true at all and the reality is, it’s a steep learning curve for everybody and all mums face the same set of challenges every single day. If you are feeling overwhelmed, have a read through this list of some of the biggest challenges that mums face, and know that you aren’t the only one.

Judgment From Other Mums 

This is a big problem and even though we don’t mean it, we can all be guilty of judging people from time to time. When it comes to parenting choices, everybody has to decide what they think is best for their own child, but this can lead to a lot of judgment from other mums. Things like breastfeeding, for example, can be very controversial and mums that choose not to might feel judged. If you feel that you are constantly justifying your parenting choices, you need to change the way you think. The truth is, there is no right way to do things and if you are doing what you genuinely think is best for your child, you’re doing enough and it doesn’t matter if other people don’t agree with your parenting style. 

Being Ignored 

Kids all go through those stages where they will ignore whatever you say, and it’s so frustrating. A lot of mums worry that it’s their bad parenting and they haven’t done enough to discipline their child, but that's not the case, kids are just difficult sometimes. Check out this list of funny things that mums say to their kids and you’ll realise that you aren’t the only one that is constantly saying the same things over and over, only to have it fall on deaf ears. It’s so frustrating, but you just have to keep going and eventually, you will get through to them. They all grow up in the end!

What do you Love about Mummy?

Earlier this week I went to an event at a local church, it was run by a charity called Care For The family and was called Mums the Word. It was sold as a night for mums to come together, have fun and be inspired. The speakers were Diane Louise Jordon, who you may know from TV and surely from Blue Peter if you are anywhere similar in age to me and also Cathy Madavan, who you might only know if you are a Christian.

I've heard Cathy speak a number of times at Spring Harvest and always really enjoyed her natural and friendly style; she doesn't fail to make you laugh. Add Diane into the mix and you have a great combo, the two of them genuinely seemed to get on like a house on fire and had a lot of parenting wisdom and humility to share.

There was far more content in the three hours than I could ever share in one post, so you can expect some more parenting/mums type posts over the next few weeks and that is no bad thing when I am still classified as a parenting blog but in recent times I've noticed that the subject is dwindling.

I like being Mum

It is all too easy to get wound-up by the little things. Yesterday JJ sat at the kitchen table once he arrived home from school and he was delighted that his Beano comic had arrived in the post.  He ripped the cover off quickly and sat there having his snack and avidly devouring his weekly dose of old-skool humour.

After about 15 minutes he headed upstairs to get changed and I suspect turn his laptop on for a short play before swimming lessons. As I turned round I noticed on the table the wrappings from his Beano and I tutted to myself and wondered why it was beyond his grasp to just throw it in the bin a few steps behind him.

I then had a choice - I could call up the stairs and ask him to come back and do it or I could just be loving and throw it away. I choose to just bin it, as in that moment I remembered how much I like being the one who is relied upon and needed to do these things. This is just part of being Mum, tidying the little things after the kids.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a mug. My kids are generally very good at pulling their weight, especially if I ask them to help out, in fact I’m really quite pleased that at practically 11 years old I don’t get any lip from JJ when I ask him to set the table or do the recycling.

This small thing did set me thinking about how much I like being Mum and what being Mum means to me. I fully believe it is different for everyone and that there is no wrong or right, only your wrong or right. As Mum I cook the bulk of the meals, do the washing, keep the house clean and tidy, put the plasters on the grazed knees, sort out the school clubs, do the shopping and generally keep things running for our family on a day to day basis and I feel immensely happy to be able to do that.

This time last year I had just given up my well-respected job and I did not know what the future held for me. There have been a fewwobbles in the last year as I have realised the enormity and changes that come with moving from being a work out of the house mum to a stay at home mum who volunteers and does a bit of paid work on the side.

I have to admit that I’m happier now, I can go for a long walk if I want to. I can read a book if I so desire, I can go to an exercise class in the day time and I can take a midday bath if that is what I fancy. I have boundaries and mostly they are school hours but within those I am my own boss and I have found that I have grown in humility, serenity and thankfulness since our life changing move last July.

Thank you Jesus, that you have given me this time to just be and to allow me to rest and restore ready for the great adventure that I feel you have next in store for our family.

I’m listening and I’m ready. Call me when the time is right, your time.

Mich x

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Being grateful for every moment

Tonight I am feeling a tad overwhelmed, overwhelmed with gratitude, the kind of way I imagine people might feel when something big has happened in life or they have just received really good news. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened to me recently and that is OK as I am really enjoying the ordinary and being thankful for everyday life.

Last night I went to bible study and we talked about gratitude and what a difference it can make in your life. A friend said she has heard someone talk about 'being in the moment' for a full day and literally praising and thanking God for every little thing as you go through your day. It takes some effort to remember to do that and some might feel a bit foolish to be thankful for waking in the morning, clean running water, the birds singing and all the other things we take for granted but just one full day can change your whole outlook and tomorrow I'm going to do it.  For me I will be thanking God and directing my gratitude to Him, for you it might be different and you might just be being thankful in general. Both ways will work.

How I love this bunch of nutters!

Today I am been feeling immensely grateful to be a parent and not because of the nice and fluffy side of parenting, days like Mohering Sunday or lots of hugs. It is actually the harder parts of parenting that I have been really grateful for as I feel those are the ones that will pay dividends and my tough love in putting Miss M to bed early tonight will pay off when she remembers that there are boundaries and it is not OK to do as you please and not listen to Mum. Also, my tender love with Miss E tonight when she wet the bed and was mortified that it happened, those gentle words and just quietly changing her bed with no fuss will, I hope, help her to be more confident and less embarrassed in the future.

A bit of a different post for Reasons to be Cheerful this week, but then I have always said that this linky is one with no rules and we can all interpret it as we see fit. As long as the post you link up is cheerful/ grateful/ thankful/ positive then it fits the bill!

Clare at Seasider in the City is hosting Reasons to be Cheerful for the next couple of weeks, so pop over and see her and link up and could I pretty please ask you to leave her a comment as the host. Last week I had about 25 posts linked up and only about 8 people left me comments, it does feel a bit disheartening if I'm honest. In real life you would not dash in a persons house and not say hello, or would you?

I'll be over to visit anyone who leaves me a comment and I'll try and stop by a few more as well. I think I managed to get around everyone last week which was good.

Wishing you a fabulous week.  Mich x

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#ONEMums Lend Us Your Voice Meme

I've arrived!

Well I have been in Addis Ababa for a couple of hours now, I received a wonderful welcome at the airport, I've breakfasted on pancakes and syrup and now it is time for an hours snooze because sadly I did not get any sleep at all on the plane but it was an enjoyable journey as I spent it reading up on Ethiopia and the exciting things I will see here and in the dead of the night I just sent some downtime with God. Perfect!

When I got on the plane 11 hours ago the first thing I wanted to do was join in with Clare's #ONEMums lend us your voice meme. Here's what I typed then - I am at this very moment typing this sat on my plane ready to depart for Addis Ababa and I am not quite sure how I feel about this incredible journey I am about to embark on. I know I am grateful that the seatbelt fits round me and that I have plenty of leg room on a very surface level and perhaps in denial that I really am heading for Ethiopia on a much deeper one.

I have seen Jen briefly and we have said hello but unfortunately we are not sat together so we will have to start getting to know each other properly tomorrow when we meet the rest of the Ethiopia #ONEMums #ONEMoms team. I have no concept of what to expect on this trip, I am learning that it is to be different to many other blogger trips as I will mostly be visiting successful projects and seeing the living proof that international aid is making a difference and that ONE's campaigning is helping. I was also a little shocked to find that I am anything but slumming it when it comes to my accommodation, another difference to other trips I have followed in the past, but I'll come back to this another time.

#OneMums lend us your voice meme

Now onto the meme - it is nice and simple so hopefully lots of people can join in. Clare has set the challenge for us to use the letters in OneMum as a starter to 6 words or sentences about how we feel about being a mum. Or if you are a dad and would like to join in then please use OneDad as you dads do just as much as us mums. Here we go –

O verflowing - with love, never did I think I wanted kids and then I found a man I wanted to marry and things changed.

N atural – until I had JJ I had hardly held a baby and had an irrational fear of babes but then in the dead of that first night as I fed my babe I fell in love and it has all been natural ever since.

E hilarated – They take me on an emotional journey like I have never known before and boy the highs are good!

M aking it up as I go along – these babes do not come with a handbook! Oh learn, you learn on the job with this parenting lark, thankfully I am tuned into my mother’s intuition and I know that what I feel is best for my babes, really is best.

U nder the thumb – ohh yes they have me where they want me! I am no easy target but my heart just melts when their little lips quiver and the tears flow.

M agnificient – There is nothing else quite like it!

That's it, easy peasy! You can make it one word or long sentences, serious or jokey, Clare does not mind what you do, just please take time to think about what it means to be a Mum and join in!

You can join in too....

Do you fancy joining in with this meme and passing it on?  Please do, it would mean the world to me and more importantly it will be spreading awareness about the wonderful campaigning and advocacy organisation that I have travelled to Ethiopia with, ONE.org.

I’m going to tag  a few people and I hope you will do the same, here are mine –

Chris at Thinly Spread

C at Looking for Blue Sky

Kylie at Not Even a Bag of Sugar

Dara at Mum of all Trades

Becky at Baby Budgeting

Kate takes 5

Hello Its Gemma

Quick reminder - What do you have to do?

• Complete the ONEMums acronym style meme and link your post up at Clare's
•  link to ONE so people can join up if they wish to read more about ONE
• Sign up to ONE to give your voice if you so wish
• Tag some other bloggy friends to join in with the meme, so it spreads like wildfire!
• Then if you can share this on any of your social media platforms too that will be perfect.

Thanks so much, Mich x

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 If you think others will enjoy taking this journey with me, then please share this and my other ONE Ethiopia posts and don't forget to sign up to ONE and offer your voice. I am taking this journey with Jennifer Howze of BritMums, so do follow her journey too and follow #ONEMoms #ONEMums on Twitter.

I am currently in Ethiopia travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world.  And it is about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs.



Harder than I thought (Ethiopia - Part 4)

A least a couple of times a year I go away for a night or two, be it with work, girlfriends or to a conference, so my children have grown up with me doing this and have always seemed really happy to be left with their daddy.  My husband is a super hands-on dad and this makes it very easy for me.  I don’t have to worry about whether they will get fed well or go to bed on time.  He has it all in hand.

In fact the kids normally have a ball when I am not there as dh organises to do fun stuff with them.  He seems to come alive when I am not there and they disappear off to have fish and chip suppers down at the park and a quick paddle in the river, on a school night! Does he think to do these things when I am about? oh no,  I have had the odd jealous moment in the past where I have wondered if they have more fun with him than me. It’s not helped by them sometimes asking me when I’ll go and stay in a hotel again so they can sleep downstairs with daddy and watch a DVD and have popcorn.

I realise now though that I need not worry. Mums seem to hold a very special place in their kid’s hearts, whilst they want me to go away for one night to a hotel; it is a completely different thing when I am going away for a week and on an aeroplane.  I’m off to Ethiopia in just under 2 weeks and the kids have known about my trip for some time and everything has been going along as normal.  Then in the last week both of my girls have said they do not want me to go.  I was mock packing my case yesterday to try out the weight and unprompted Miss E came up and got in my empty suitcase and said ‘pack me, I’ll go with you Mummy’.  I explained I was not going on a kid-friendly trip and she would have much more fun at home with daddy but she told me with quite a lot of passion that she did not want me to go, she loves me and I’m her mummy, not other children’s.

I instantly realised that she was referring to photos of dh that the kids saw when he came back from his mission to India a couple of years ago.  There were loads of photos of dh playing with the kids at the orphanage that he stayed at and they all looked very happy as he gave them gifts of pencils, small cars and balloons. But I remember at the time the girls being quite adamant that he was their Daddy and not other children’s.

Miss M is my tougher twin and will often go to her dad rather than me but again yesterday after we had said family prayers at Church she said to me that she would miss me whilst I was away and of course I reassured her I would miss her too but the time would be over in a flash.  She then said ‘I did not miss Daddy when he was away, but I’ll really miss you Mummy’. Very heart-warming to know I’m loved but a bit heart-wrenching to leave my little ladies when they feel  like this.

Luckily for me JJ seems much happier about me going away; I suppose those extra four years make you a bit more secure.  He knows I’ll still come back as their Mum and we’ll still swim, play games together and do the fun stuff that we like to share.

People kept saying to me to prepare myself for when I go away but I thought they were talking about being prepared for when I am in Ethiopia, not prepared to leave my babes. I will miss them, of course but I know that it is right for me to take this journey and to do what I can to help put an end to social injustice and extreme poverty.

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If you think others will enjoy taking this journey with me, then please share this and my other ONE Ethiopia posts and don't forget to sign up to ONE and offer your voice. I am taking this journey with Jennifer Howze of BritMums, so do follow her journey too and follow #ONEMoms on Twitter.

From 6th October I'll be travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms to Ethiopia as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world.  And it is about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs.



Silent Sunday - My Chosen Photo From The Week

Not Yummy, Not Scummy, Just A Mummy!

I have been wondering recently why it is that women want to segregate themselves into two very distinct camps. First, we have the yummy mummies, you know the ones - perfect hair, perfect kids and perfect homes.  Think Stepford wives and the typical commercial housewife of the 1950s. Then come their polar opposite in the scummy mummies - these are the mums who feel they can never quite achieve yummy mummy status and therefore why bother with the effort, just label yourself a scummy mummy and you have a get-out clause to not worry about the house or your personal appearance.

Well, I refuse to fall into either one of these categories.  You can just call me 'A Mummy'.  Sometimes yummy, when I have the energy and can be arsed to make an effort and sometimes my house is completely scummy, like at those times when life just gets on top of me and I know the best thing to let go of is the housework. No one is going to get hurt because my shower needs a jolly good scrub after all!

Yes, that really is my scummy shower before I spent over an hour on Monday with a brillo pad

and a jar of astonish - it worked a treat!

So why do we label ourselves? Where does this pressure come from? Why can't we all just be mummies together and accept we are all unique and imperfect beings. Are labels like this ever helpful? I seriously doubt it.

I expect some of the pressure is media-induced, of course, celebs exasperate the situation by pinging back into their size 8 jeans a week after having their babies and the addition of a chef, housekeeper and nanny would all make the aim of being a yummy mummy considerably easier. But really, do we have to buy into this media rubbish?  Well, our lives are considerably better if we live in sterile beige homes with kids dressed in Boden and mummy is a beautiful slim walking advert for Gap?

NO. I am making a stand.  I refuse to be labelled.  My name is Michelle and I am a real person, a real Mummy.  Sometimes I am brilliant, you can call me SuperMich and my kids must think all their Christmases have come at once and other times I am absolutely crap and I just want to stay in my PJs and slouch for the day.  

Do you know what they call that?  Normal, average, OK, regular, run-of-the-mill, mediocre and they all work for me.....

Who are you?  Have you thought about that lately?