Saturday evening saw me take out my favourite lady, my Mum, for a night at the opera-Opera North's 'The Marriage of Figaro' to be precise for a spot of culture in a spotty dress!
Sleep-deprivation isn't just for parents of newborns, I'm still waiting for my 5 year old, Oliver to sleep through the night, every night. Really.
Both he and Alexander are light sleepers like their Mama and both will usually wake up at least once a night if not more. Good times.
...And it's not just us who are suffering, the majority of parents I've asked recently, seem to be too. It appears we are all relentlessly searching for the holy grail of consistent sleep-argh remember the full 8 hours pre-kids. It's but a distant memory for myself and so many.
Ava Brown is an author and mother of two children, 16 year old Chardonae Elizabeth and 3 year old Mikhel Kai. As well as her focus on the writing, she also works tirelessly as a speaker, coach and trainer.
The Jamaican born author's book 'Bamboo & Fern', recounts her story of growing up in one of the poorest areas of Jamaica, going from a 'country girl to a corporate queen' from selling mangoes to an MBA and finding global success.
Welcome to my new monthly feature-Who's The Daddy!
A huge fan of blogs penned by fathers, I wanted to showcase the rich, insightful and damn right captivating male bloggers who share their point of view on all things parenting and beyond, right here on my blog, once a month with a guest post from each contributor.
I'll be tweeting about it using the hashtag #whosthedaddy too if you want to get involved!
To brighten up this Monday, I have an exciting competition for all your Shaun the Sheep fans out there-this Sunday (25 January 2015) you could be walking the red carpet with your family at the the world premier of Shaun the Sheep Movie.
On Saturday, my eldest son, my floppy haired, bright eyed Oliver turned 5. I actually can't believe I'm typing this out-5, it sounds so, well grown up.
The family got together for a little New Year's Eve shindig at our house this year which was just so relaxed and warm, and well, overflowing with laughter and love.
A mush-ball of a sentence I know, but so flipping true.
The theme of Christmas this year seemed to be relaxation for us-pure uninterrupted family time, with a self imposed social media silence allowing me to focus solely on the little ones.
So yesterday saw me head to Manchester for a special meeting with renowned modelling agency Nemesis. One of the biggest modelling agencies in the UK, they discovered and made so many of today's British stars, famous: Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow, Melanie Sykes, Vernon Kay, Michelle Keegan and as of today, they're representing little old me!
Last weekend saw us pack up our bags and wrap up warm for two nights at Cowslip Cottage in the quaint village of Sleights, one of many luxury cottages within the Gorgeous Cottages portfolio.
Oh the irony that this in itself is a commissioned post (!) but it is of value to you and my tips will hopefully help you too get work.
You see, I'm a full time professional blogger and have been for over 2 1/2 years, working with clients and brands both big and small that fit my blog and importantly my audience: you.
If they're of interest and use to me, products and services I would use myself, then I'm happy to endorse them on this blog here and mummysgotstyle.com, my style blog.
Here are my 5 tips for freelancers juggling work and kids. It really is a juggle too but hopefully these tips will help make you feel empowered and less alone!
It's a common misconception that being kind to yourself is well, a little self-indulgent and ridiculous but it's quite the opposite when you think about it, the kinder you are to yourself, the more accepting you are of you, the more energy and time you have for others and the happier life can be.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving for my US and Canadian friends and I'm proud to write that a large part of my readership are now actually based in America. I've always had an affinity with Americans, my closest friends at Uni were from LA, New York and Chicago and I miss them all madly (thank goodness for FB and the rare London or LA get together).
