Gillene Butterfield is an Opera Singer, who works full time for Opera North. She became a Mum in September 2014 and lives in Leeds with her husband Nick, who is also a singer.
Gillene returned to work in March this year after her maternity leave, to take on the lead role of Julie Jordan in the revival of Carousel (13-23rd May) at the Grand Theatre Leeds and on tour.
We're Greek Orthodox here (I was born in the UK, both my parents are originally Greek Cypriot), and as the Greek Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter falls, not the Gregorian, our Easter fell last Sunday just gone, a week after English Easter.
This weekend was gushingly one where I literally kept thinking, 'Wow I'm so happy, I'm so lucky'...stick with me...You see we are all so busy rushing around aren't we, running from here to there, working, hustling, multi-juggling that these last few days went by a bit slowly in comparison and allowed me to truly take stock.
The weekend was one relaxing affair, we stayed at my folks' house, the home I grew up in on Saturday night so Peter and I could enjoy a rare date night, and all woke up to buttery warm bagels and the best babysitters in town. Bliss.
My own Mum is my biggest inspiration, the smartest, most selfless woman who did a cracking job of raising my brother, Solos and I and offers me crucial childcare, support and love in raising my own two sons. I literally don't know what I would do without her.
I always try to make sure my mum knows how much I appreciate her. From simple spontaneous texts telling her that I love her to glamorous nights out at the opera.
However, I still like to make a big fuss about her on Mother's Day. Yes its driven by commercialism but who cares! It's the one day of the year that I can dedicate to the number one woman in my life!
I didn't think my mum could be more amazing if she tried, but she has surpassed herself and is kindly offering one lucky reader the chance to win a £50 voucher for my family's multi-award winning restaurant The Olive Tree to be used this Sunday (15 March 2015) as an amazing Mothers Day treat!
The fabulous folks at Opera North kindly invited me to review their new show, a double bill of the operas La Vida Breve and Gianni Schicchi but unfortunately, my kids still weren't 100% after all the bugs we've been enduring, so I had to trade tenors for Calpol and my parents headed to the opera instead of me (the perks of being the parents of a blogger huh!)
My most favourite opera of all and the very first my mother saw in her teens, made for an extra special evening at The Grand in Leeds for Opera North's epic operatic and most tragic love story, La traviata.
My husband Peter is pretty much a genius behind the camera, this much you probably know (well those of you who follow my blog regularly at least).
I'm not too shabby myself, but work life sure is easier with a personal paparazzo to snap away for this here blog. No selfie-sticks needed here!
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!
Although I was born in Leeds and we've now lived in Leeds for nearly 4 years after many years in London, we are still discovering new happy-making places in this beautiful part of the world for all the family.
So we'd not attended a film premiere for a while (hard life huh) and then two come along at once! I know!!!
We attended the glittering world premiere of Paddington last week at the Odeon Leicester Square and before even hitting the publish button on the post about it, I'd received an invite for the Get Santa premiere, the following Sunday!
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).
This Sunday I turn 34 and on the 10th my blog turned a whopping 4! Honest Mum was officially born on the 10th of November in 2010 but like to celebrate my very FIRST POST along with my birthday!
