Why I aspire to be like my mum

My mum and I are very close. Since I was a child we've been as thick as thieves and as I got older I came to consider her as a close friend. Even now with us living miles apart, over an hour's drive away and in two different counties, we speak everyday one way or another and regularly meet up in person at least a couple of times a month.

She is my rock. She's been there for me during the good times and the bad. There for me during all the momentous milestones of my life.

I think my mum is awesome and in many ways I aspire to be like her. If I could be half the woman she is I would be happy. Here are just a few of the reasons why I aspire to be like my mum.

Birthday wish list.

This month is my birthday. In a matter of a couple of weeks I turn 32.

Whilst I love celebrating other people’s birthday’s I have never been that fussed about making a big deal of my own, especially as I shy away from the limelight…..the thought of a surprise birthday party with all eyes on me fills me with dread.

As such I am happy with a low-key birthday and don’t desire or expect a big fuss or lots of gifts. Even more so since becoming a parent. Since I joined the ‘mum club’ I would rather our money be spent on the kids rather than Lee and the boys spending money we cannot afford on things I don’t really need. Homemade cards and gifts me the world to me and I love to receive them.

Even though I love homemade gifts and don’t want the boys to spend much on me, as Bug has gotten older and noticed us buying gifts for others - I dread to think how many presents we’ve bought over the last few months for his friends when going to birthday parties - he has been expressing a wish to go shopping with his dad and little brother to buy me something special. I know how sweet and lucky I am to have such a thoughtful young boy?

Why I love my mum.

With mother’s day fast approaching my thoughts have inevitably turned to thinking about my mother and my late Mamgu (grandmother) who I thought of as my second mum. Whilst we do not really adopt the commercial aspect of mother’s day with gift giving, the day is a good reminder to appreciate, enjoy quality with and thank my mum, as well as remember my Mamgu.

As a number of my friends sadly no longer have their mums in their life, I find myself being extra grateful that I am fortunate enough to still have my mum.

And when I Wynsors World of Shoes got in contact about their Mother’s Day campaign to celebrate the relationship I have with my mum and how her and her style have inspired me I got thinking about how my mum has influenced both me as a person and my style. With that in mind I have been thinking about some of the many, many reasons why I love and appreciate my mum.

Style

I love my mum’s style and admire how she is comfortable and confident with how she looks. I often use her style as inspiration for outfits for myself and ask her opinion on what I should wear or whether a particular item looks good or not.

Five minutes for mum.

It’s not always easy being the mum in a household, especially if you’ve got young children at home with you in the daytime. You can feel like you’re being pulled in all directions – with the kids to think about, the house to keep in order. That would be enough to keep anyone busy, but most of us have to add work into the mix too; whether it’s working from home or going out to an office.

What lots of mums do, though, is try to battle on throughout the day without a break. And, though you may think this is a way to keep on top of everything, what you’ll actually end up doing is running on empty. We all need a break now and then, and if you can only take that break five minutes at a time, it’s still definitely worth doing.

So how can you spend those five minutes of relaxation? Here are a few ideas:

Play a game

Smartphones and the internet make our life so much easier! You can login to a bingo site like Tidy Bingo or Costa at any time and join in a game for a few minutes of fun and distraction from the routine. Bingo’s a great choice as you don’t need to work hard to play – you simply buy a ticket and watch what happens as the software daubs the numbers for you. If you visit Costa bingo you’ll find that there are lots of free games on the schedule, so you don’t even have to pay to play. Of course, there are no guarantees that you’ll win, but you’ll still have a few minutes of fun from playing.

MuTu System birthday flash sale.

For one day only, the 6th July 2014, MuTu System are offering customers a special discount.

To celebrate her birthday MuTu System’s creator Wendy Powell is offering customer a whopping 43% saving on a MuTu System online program with the birthday flash sale.

A little about MuTu System -

"MuTu System was created by Wendy Powell a British mother of 2 and pre/postpartum fitness specialist for the last 12 years.

MuTu System is an international best selling, industry acclaimed, holistic, realistic and supportive postpartum exercise and recovery program for Moms that truly works.

Sul y Mamau.

Mecca's Mother's Day Memories.

 My mum means everything to me; she is my rock always there for me.  She gave my sister and I a brilliant childhood filled with lots of fun, happy and memorable memories.  I cherish the childhood I had that was jam-packed with lots of love, hugs and kisses.  Now as an adult and a mother myself she is my best friend, there in the good times and the bad times. 

Whilst all the days at home filled with adventures outdoors, arts and crafts, baking and play with my mum was lots of fun and are precious memories I particularly loved the holidays she took us on.  Every year we would go on a holiday in the UK and we often visited our family in Hereford, where the picture of my sister and I in the collage was taken, and I have fond memories of the adventures we had holidaying and caravanning across the UK.

Another memory from my childhood that I love is from Easter when every year my mum would create an Easter egg hunt for us, with clues and eggs hidden all over the farm we lived on for us to hunt for and find.  The Easter egg hunt she created for us was so much fun and it felt like a huge adventure searching the farm for clues to find more yummy treats.

Strawberry Shower, Scrub and Soften Set from The Body Shop - review.

When I was a child every year just before Mother’s Day my sister and I would head to the shops with our Mamgu to buy our mum a gift to go with the homemade card and gift we had made together to give her on Mother’s Day.  For a number of years in a row in-spite of looking elsewhere we always ended up buying her a gift from The Body Shop, creating a little family tradition of buying a gift from The Body Shop for Mother’s Day.

Now whenever I visit The Body Shop fond memories of browsing the store with my sister and Mamgu looking for a gift for my lovely mum to give her for Mother’s Day come flooding back.  When I think of The Body Shop I think of family, love and pampering.

Now that I am a mum even though I do not need a gift for Mother’s Day as the cuddles, love and joy I get from my son is gift even for me, remembering the excitement and happiness I felt as a child to be able to pick a gift to give my mum on Mother’s Day to help show her my love and make her feel special I realise how important it can be for children to experience gift giving.

With the fond memories I have of The Body Shop and love for their products I was delighted when they sent us a gift set.

Gift Ideas for Grandmothers this Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day is a day that we celebrate our amazing mums and all the hard work and love they’ve given us over the years, but it’s now become more than that.  It’s now also a day to say thanks to our grandmothers too; after all, they’re pretty amazing too!

When my Mamgu (grandmother) was alive I was very close to her and thinking of her and my Dadcu (granddad) as my second parents.  I have such fond memories of my Mamgu and loved spending time with her; she was a tremendous support and loving influence in my life alongside my amazing mum.  I loved showing my appreciation and gratitude to her whenever I could and every year on Mother’s Day we would buy or make her a gift alongside a gift for our mum.

My lovely Mamgu.

Now that I am a mother myself I am keeping the family tradition of giving a small, meaningful gift to grandmother’s on Mother’s Day by helping Bug make a homemade gift or buy a personalised, thoughtful gift for him to give to his Mamgu and his Nana (on his dad’s side of the family) this Mother’s Day as a symbol of his love.

As Bug’s Nana lives over 200miles away she loves receiving his loving gifts in the post and especially loves the personalised gifts he sends such as the home decorated flower pot for the beautiful blooming plant we got delivered for her on Mother’s Day last year and the personalised calendar and mug she got sent the year before that with photographs of Bug emblazoned upon them.

If you want to get a little something for your grandma this Mother’s Day, here are some great gift ideas…

Asda Baby and Toddler Event August/September 2013.

Asda’s popular Baby Event is back, with fantastic discounts on a selection of baby products and treats.  The event offering amazing bargains on leading baby brands and exclusive new products has been running in-store and online since the 26th August and lasts until 15th September in-store and 16th September online.

Asda’s Baby and Toddler event offers parents and parent-to-be savings on a huge array of products including feeding, changing, sleeping, clothing, toys, travel, nursery and safety products.

Pink Lining Blooming Gorgeous Green Dragonflies tote bag review.

Since having Bug and entering the world of Motherhood my handbag has been banished to the wardrobe and a changing bag has taken its place.  In place of using my beautiful purple handbag to safely keep my keys, purse, phone and other ‘essentials’ needed when out and about I now keep them in the changing bag amid all the billion things needed for Bug.  I have a couple of changing bags but the one I use the most is a boring plain bag because it is the bag that best needs my needs in regard of size and extra pockets to keep things separate.  As the changing bag I use the most is a far from being a pretty bag I was keen to test out another changing bag in the hope that I could find a bag that meets my desire for a practical, useful bag that is also pretty and stylish.

Having previously admired Pink Lining changing bags I was thrilled to be sent one of their bags, a Blooming Gorgeous tote bag with Green Dragonfies print.  I must admit when the bag arrived initially I was not keen on the green dragonflies as I do not really like the colour green and I love the design of the Blooming Gorgeous Pansies bag so much I found it hard to be swayed to love another design.  The bag is a great size and large enough to accommodate all the baby/toddler essentials needed when going out and about with your little ones.  I love the fact that the canvas exterior of the bag is laminated with EVA coating allowing you to wipe clean the bag.

Baker Days Letterbox Cake Review - Mothers Day Treat.

I have a fondness for a tasty slice of cake….I simply cannot resist a delicious looking cake.  Most of all I love my mum’s cakes, she is a whizz in the kitchen and bakes delicious cakes and treats masterfully and with ease.  I enjoy baking myself but my cakes are never as tasty and scrummy as the cakes my mum bakes, even though this is mainly due to the fact that my mum is a natural at baking and without fail always creates delicious cakes made with love, I think the fact that I enjoy eating her cakes more than my own is because they have been baked by someone else.  Apart from when my mum bakes it is not often that I get to enjoy a yummy cake that I have not baked myself.

As I love cake, especially cake that I have not baked myself I was pleased when I was offered the chance of reviewing a cake from Baker Days.   Also with Mother’s Day this month I was delighted about getting a cake that I did not have to bake as a treat for myself.

Baker Days provide customers with “quality cakes from artisan bakers”.  Their vision is to create unique and personalised cakes that do not cost a fortune and can be ordered online and delivered through the post straight to the recipient. 

My Interflora Creation - creating a beautiful bouquet for Mother's Day.

I love flowers and love how they bloom beautifully.  I adore seeing flowers growing wild, blossoming beautifully in nature and admire gorgeous blooms being grown in gardens that have been tended to with love and care.  As well as appreciating beautiful blooms growing as nature intended in the wild, admiring fantastic flowers on our walks in the countryside, I also love receiving and giving flowers (even though it is rare that I receive flowers....hint hint Lee).

As I love flowers and enjoy gifting flowers to my loved one I was interested in learning more about a new online tool by Interflora UK, ‘the flower experts’.  Interflora have created a new application on their website called ‘My Interflora Creation’ that allows people to create their own special, unique bouquet of flowers or a hamper.

Visionary Soap Company Lip Balm and Soap Review

I like to use great quality products that are produced by companies who have strong values about how their products are produced and the ingredients that go into them. I have only recently heard of the Visionary Soap Company, having heard about their marvellous values for producing Fairtrade products and their belief regarding social responsibility I was pleased at having the opportunity to test their products.

Visionary Soap Company produce a variety of Fairtrade soap and body care products and their entire range carries the Fairtrade mark. Established in May 2005 they were among the first companies selling body care products using Fairtrade certified ingredients and they are currently the UK’s leading company in this industry to use Fairtrade ingredients in all of their products. Their range of products are handcrafted here in the UK and abroad with ingredients from Fairtrade producers in Palestine, India, Ghana, Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa. All of their products have been created to contain a very high percentage of Fairtrade ingredients, all products being well above the minimum set requirement for certification. As Visionary Soap Company state “when others do the bare minimum, we strive instead for the maximum.”

Teething Bling Pendant Review

Bug is currently teething and suffering with it. He is constantly dribbling and chewing on anything he can get his hands on. I am constantly on the look out for anything that will ease his pain. We have numerous different teethers, but I was very interested in Teething Bling as it’s not just a teething aid for Bug.

I was over the moon when Lynne Churchill from Smart Mum offered a Teething Bling® Pendant for Bug to test for a review. As stated on their website, Teething Bling is the original teething jewellery and their teething jewellery allows mums who have stopped wearing jewellery because their curious babies love to grab and chew to have some beautiful jewellery to wear again that is safe for babies to handle and chew.