Kids have honestly made me more creative. That's a fact.
I was of course creative before kids working as a screenwriter, director and magazine editor...you get the picture. I was born creative, baby.
Hear me out though, those kids took my creativity to another level.
Throughout history (and I've found throughout my life so far too), creativity arises and thrives within limitations, be it time, budget, tools/access, they exist and are are actually vital in making creativity happen.
Saturday night was spent with old friends for a girly dinner at one of my parent's restaurants The Olive Tree, catching up, enjoying great Greek food and the odd glass of Prosecco too.
Nothing of course replaces healthy, seasonal food-tonnes of fruit and veg, lean meat, pulses (you get the picture) but vitamins help ensure I get everything extra I need, especially at times of sleep deprivation (always), times of PMS (oh those dreaded days come weeks) and much needed sun rays in a bottle when Blighty can't provide the real thing!
Mother of three, Annabel Karmel MBE is the UK's number one parenting author, best-selling international author, and expert on devising delicious, nutritious meals for babies and children.
Little Oliver (just 4) takes after my brother, his (not so little) Uncle Solos (31) who I'm currently calling Naughty Uncle Solos as he usually arrives to see the kids with bags of sweets on the naughty list (which aren't on the list to be fair), toy guns (definitely on the naughty list) and ice pops-mostly in the winter. Le sigh.
I cannot believe Alexander is 16 months already, time sure is flying! I feel like I'm enjoying every second with this little one too. I found first time-motherhood tougher, a foreign world in many ways, a shock to the system (amazing too of course) but I'm a seasoned pro with my second son now!
Life is always busy with two kids and a freelance career but I pride myself on having the children in a routine-not a super strict, crazy routine but a healthy one where dinner is at a similar time each night, where we sit down as a family to chat, laugh and sometimes shout (it's the Greek way of talking) before we start winding down for bedtime.
I'm one lucky lady with parents who own three award winning Greek restaurants in Leeds (The Olive Tree) and a brother who owns an incredible Italian Giorgio's too.
We never go hungry here!
With stunning handmade pasta, pizzas, grilled fish, steak and a Special Board to please everyone, we basically LIVE in Giorgio's!
...OK I'm British Greek but you get the picture and I must say, true to my roots, I can't live without my Ancient Greek style sandals in summer and I'm currently waiting anxiously for the sun to shine or even better, a Greek family holiday so I can put my best foot forward in them! Opa!
Let me start by saying I do, some of my closest, most valued friends don't have kids (and several are free and single bad-ass ladies to boot), but some ladies without babies, ones I thought would stand the test of friendship time have fallen by the wayside since little people have arrived and well, it makes me a little bit sad.
If there wasn't enough anxiety-filled pressure when you're pregnant (big bump, little bump, too much weight, not enough) once you pop that baby out or have him airlifted as I did twice, first an emergency, second an elective (the latter a whole other set of pressures, of which I ignored wholeheartedly) you are quickly, at least with first baby anointed with parenting pressures.
Hayley Goleniowska is Mum, blogger, speaker, writer and advocate for those with Down’s syndrome. She aims to gently change perceptions of the condition from within hearts through her inspirational blog.
I'm not a doctor but I sure am (sadly) an expert on sleep deprivation. Give or take 4 flipping whole years of it. Don't be fooled by the picture above, they nodded off together but were soon moved to their own beds and both woke up at least twice that night. Le yawn!
On last week's date night, Peter had to share me with 8 others (hey, not like that you naughty ones at the back)...we were invited along with several other food bloggers to review new Leeds eaterie COSMO which opened in November 2013...
