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The Year That Strengthened The Bond Between My Boys

April 18, 2021

How this year strengthened my sons' bond.

Loosening the Apron Strings

October 7, 2019

WAIL!

About me

Hi, I’m Vicki Broadbent, a lifestyle blogger, parenting expert and bestselling author of Mumboss (UK)/ The Working Mom (US and Canada). I’m a regular contributor on the site Bored Panda which has a monthly audience of 125 million.

If you would like to work with me, please email me at mum@honestmum.com.

You can read more about me here.

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@honestmum on Instagram

I’ve influenced myself, and twice! After directi

I’ve influenced myself, and twice! After directing and appearing in some campaign films for @mazda_uk last year, I bought my Mum @honestgrandma one for her big birthday and I plumped for a matching red Mazda 6 last week for myself (so we’re twinning 👯‍♂️ 🚗 🚗). Huge thanks to @mkg3000 in Twickenham for the wonderful service and discount too. Smooth, economical, spacious and beautiful inside and out, I’m in ❤️ with it. Do you guys like it? #carsofinstagram #carsofinsta #carstagram #cars #filmmaker #blogger #redcar

(Ad) In 1983, SOCKSHOP founder Sophie Miriam famou

(Ad) In 1983, SOCKSHOP founder Sophie Miriam famously said, "People should be able to buy socks as easily as they buy newspapers" and thanks to this iconic store, they were able to do just that and continue to, today.
@sockshopuk's online store is currently their biggest to date with over 90 brands available including their own eponymous label of course, as well as Pringle, Jeff Banks, ELLE, Happy Socks and many more! Here you'll find the kids and I rocking a collection of socks from statement ELLE slipper socks to vibrant David Bowie Happy Socks, statement Pringle socks and sustainable Bamboo socks you'll simply love. Excitingly, you can also win £100 to spend on SOCKSHOP, over on the blog. Link in the bio. Good luck my fellow sock-lovers!
#PutYourFeetUp #competition #style #fashion #comfort

(Ad) @Hottershoes asked me how I felt turning 40 a

(Ad) @Hottershoes asked me how I felt turning 40 after their latest research found it takes reaching the age of 42 for women to finally feel comfortable in their own skin and age 40 for them to be content in their careers.
Turning 40 has been a rite of passage for me, a turning point in how I felt about myself and my life goals. We are our values after all, and by 40 I felt keenly aware of my own, and who I am. I like myself, people! It feels liberating to be able to fully lean on myself and not others for my sense of self-worth; to know how to exercise boundaries and limit toxicity, to prioritise meaningful relationships and to finally achieve, after many years of hard graft, that all-important life/work balance in a job that I love. By 40, we've been around the block haven't we, we've overcome adversity, experienced loss and pain but also unbridled joy and hopefully unconditional love thanks to the people in our lives: our partners, friends and children, if we became parents. We know what we want from life and who matters most. I'm hoping my own children reach this level of happiness far earlier than I did: to build an emotional first-aid kit to help boost resilience, empathy for others, and trust in themselves. I'm making that my life's work. How did you feel when turning 40? #style #fashion #over40style #over40 #over40fashion #over40andfabulous

Rare selfie with my camera-shy husband, Peter as w

Rare selfie with my camera-shy husband, Peter as we’ve had some precious time together this weekend now the children have started tennis and swimming lessons again. It’s been a year of very little childcare, zero date nights and a lot of quantity over quality time. So good to hang out and pretend we’re 22 again (when we met): a few more lines and grey hairs but in the right light ☀️ we almost look the same ❤️❤️❤️ #husbandandwife #couple #couplegoals #parents #honestmum #mom #dad

Sharing an extract of my latest blog post, ‘Has

Sharing an extract of my latest blog post, ‘Has the pandemic changed my personality’ below. Let me know if you relate. Full disclosue: dear reader, please prepare yourself for some possibly nauseauting navel gazing Carrie Bradshaw style as I self-indugently muse over whether this pandemic has resulted in me undergoing a personality transplant which is really not important in the context of this devastating time but does feel rather odd to me as I ponder whether perhaps I was always an introverted extrovert and didn’t realise it, or maybe I’m in the midst of a premature midlife crisis rn since turning 40 in November (rn is the abbreviation of right now-see: MIDLIFE CRISIS).
Having been informed since birth (basically) that I’m ‘loud’, ‘talkative’, ‘sociable’ and later, ‘the life and soul of the party’ to see a quieter, more guarged, less chatty version of myself emerge over the past twelve months have been a head f***. Has ‘the real me’ let loose or are these changes symptomatic of being somewhat institutionalised at home and less exposed to events/ taking on the role of the people-person I used to be.
We all know that the more you push yourself out of your comfort zone, be it bungee jumping or appearing on the BBC, the easier it becomes. After giving something a real go (it’s easy to dispand after the first jump, literal or metaphorical) but if you give it a good go, you’re usually able to establish if it brings you joy so you pursue it and that’s where confidence grows.
Inevitable nerves are there for good reason (you’re often scared because you care) but exercising those creative muscles repetitively and over time with the consistent rewards that is joy, often sees fear dissolve.
But what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Do you need to be built a certain way in order to chase riskier, more adventorous pursuits in the first place or do chance encounters affect your personality?...
(Read the rest at honestmum.com) #parenting #blogging #honestmum #blog #newpost #lifestyle #opinion #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writer

Little extract from my latest blog post, ‘The ye

Little extract from my latest blog post, ‘The year that strengthened the bond between my boys’. You can read the full piece at honestmum.com or click the link in my bio☝️. ‘Oliver has naturally hit puberty and it’s not just me who has noticed-a tween girl literally danced around him in Tesco the other day trying to get his attention, not that he noticed (‘I’ll have a girlfriend when I’m 16 Mummy, I need to concentrate on my studies’ he replied when I questioned if he’s considered a girlfriend. I, on the other hand, dated twins at 4!
I’ve relished in introducing him to the joy of comedy series such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Eating with my Ex and Modern Family, and in turn, he’s taught me everything he knows about physics (self-taught) with a special interest in space demonstrating excellent memory retention, problem-solving and enthusiam, and I hope he achieves his dream of working for NASA, one day. The sky’s not even the limit, son!...
Xander, 8, is sensitive, spiritual and philosophical (my friends call him Angel Baby): a typical empath like me, and Oliver is more rational, firm in his manner and easily irritated (expecting every child to be like him: a 40 year old trapped in a tween boy’s body). Oliver’s tough love approach towards his deep-thinking brother has often been ill-received over the years, causing tension between them as they often clashed. With more time together and far less competition for their time and energy from friends has proved to be a blessing.
They have slowly learnt to respect one another’s differences and accomodate each other more. Xander is far less triggered by Oliver’s criticsm and no-nonsense approach to life and in turn Oliver has stopped lecturing him regularly (he has a keen sense of justice but can be too hard on Xander, at times). So in the midst of this pandemic, they’ve met somewhere in the middle, connecting in a way they haven’t in years. More fun, fewer fights... #parenting #honestparenting #kids #honestmum #moms #momlife #siblings #brothers

🌺 Friends reunited 🌸. Nothing sweeter than f

🌺 Friends reunited 🌸. Nothing sweeter than fun in the sun with my mates and our kids (who were too busy playing for a photo op). Have you guys been enjoying quality time with your pals again, too? I’ll never take this for granted again☀️ #friends #ruleof6 #windsor #mums #berkshire

Really enjoyed being interviewed by @vernonkay and

Really enjoyed being interviewed by @vernonkay and @hollyamackay in @avivauk’s 5th podcast episode where I discussed how to talk to your children about life’s big issues. Here’s a clip. Check out the full episode @avivauk (link in my bio). #parenting #honestparenting #motherhood

<Extract from my latest blog post-read the full pi

<Extract from my latest blog post-read the full piece at honestmum.com as the word count is too long for here>. I’ve been meaning to blog about what life has been like lately but I’ve frustratingly not had the time or headspace to be honest as moving house with two kids in tow has been pretty intense to say the least (one, I was still homeschooling due to school renovations), but today, the sun is out and I feel calmer than I have in weeks so I thought I’d fill you in a little.
So, we sold our house in Collingham as well as a flat we owned in Horsforth, Leeds too (which all went surprisingly smoothly despite the current crisis) and we finally bought our first home in Windsor, Berkshire.
Peter and I have taken this Berkshire move far more slowly than we have historically, after switching cities fairly frequently over the past decade from London to Bristol to Leeds and then back down South to Windsor, so we decided to rent at first here, enabling us to get a real feel for the area: the schools and community, new friends and the commute into London, really taking our time to question whether a permanent move to this Royal Borough in Berkshire was what we wanted long-term, before selling up in Yorkshire, where my family and many of my close friends live.
Peter and I are pretty spontaneous people (we’d move abroad in an instant if it was right for us all) so I’m proud of the time we’ve spent carefully considering this final move and settling here, and feel grateful for the perfect storm that arose in us buying our dream home in Windsor, after the original house we plumped for, fell through at Christmas.
There are several changes we want to do with the place and the builders start soon (all being well) but it’s a beautiful South-facing house full of sunlight, space and warmth.
Rather like our first day living in Windsor, we felt instantly happy and settled, here. It was meant to be.
My Mum always says, ‘When you know, you know’ and rather like finding the right person to settle with, ‘You only need one partner, and one house that’s right’. Mum’s one wise owl! <Read the rest of the post at honestmum.com>.

I baked this vanilla and raspberry beaut of a cake

I baked this vanilla and raspberry beaut of a cake with the kids (obvs the control freak in me, didn’t let them decorate it, though)! Why not make it over the Easter holidays ❤️
Ingredients:
For the sponge cake:
175g softened unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
3 large free range eggs
175g self-raising flour, sifted
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 punnet of fresh raspberries (you can use frozen if you like)
handful of flour. For the buttercream icing:
600g icing sugar, sifted
300g unsalted softened
drop of vanilla extract
freeze dried chopped raspberries for decoration.
Method:
Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease an 18cm (7in) round cake tin with some of the butter/and add parchment paper.
In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients bar the raspberries which I like to add in last. Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon or add into a mixer until it’s completely smooth.
Next, place the raspberries in a bowl and add a handful of flour so they are covered. This will protect them once in the batter. Add the floury raspberries into the mixture.
Then, carefully pour the mixture into the tin, smoothing the top with a palette knife so it’s even. Bake for 45 minutes until golden. To check it has baked all the way through, insert a skewer and if it’s clean, it’s ready!
While it cools, make the buttercream icing. This must only be added once the cake is completely cool, though.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sifted icing sugar together or whip in a mixer until smooth. There shouldn’t be any lumps. Add a few drops of boiling water if the mixture looks too thick. I sometimes place the butter into the microwave until it’s softened, not boiling before beating into the icing sugar if I’m in a rush.
Next, fill the icing into a piping bag and spread onto the cake with a palette knife until smooth, working on the edges gently, too. Use a star nozzle if you want to create a cupcake style piping design or detailing on top of the cake. This one is smooth with freeze dried raspberries scattered over it and a small tower of fresh raspberries in its centre.

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