All Mum Said

Telling it like it is...

Liebster Award!

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It’s about time I got my big arse into gear and started sharing the award love around. I have received 3 Liebster Awards in the space of a month, ok maybe 2 tops. But as you know I have been a bit busy with holidays and all.
A big thanks goes to awardee #1- Liz from Bizzy Dayz,
Awardee #2- Cass from TheFlying Drunken Monkey and
Awardee #3- Mummy’s Miracles.  
Now that I’m getting back into my blogging routine it is the perfect time to share the new recipients of the Liebster Award. But first you may be asking what the hell is a Liebster?

Well…. I did some googling and it turns out that it is a way of sharing our favourite bloggers or more of a showcasing of our favourites that have less than 200 followers. It is a way of sharing them around with everyone else so we can all enjoy them. Upon accepting the award the recipient must pass it onto 5 more bloggers. It sounds pretty good doesn’t it!

So here are the rules for the Liebster Award!

*Copy and paste the award to your blog.

*The recipients must have fewer than 200 likers.

*Thank the person who gave it to them.

*Link back to the blogger who gave you the award.

*Present to 5 more blogs.

*Let them know you have awarded them.

The 5 bloggers I have chosen to pass the award onto are:

*MrsD’s Maunderings

*Drivelology

And that concludes my 5!!

I love them all for different reasons but every single one is worth a look at.

GUEST POST – Not So Stereotypical……

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A big thank you to Lisa for her guest post today.

What do you immediately think of when you hear “Minister’sWife?” If you are like me, you might think of the overly social women whose house is always perfect and whose children are always well behaved, or the dowdy and dull little mouse who locks her kids away from those “other”children.
When I started writing my blog, Mummy’s Undeserved Blessings I wanted to create a blog where I could show other mums that even the perceived“perfect mummy”, the minister’s wife, didn’t always have it all together. A place where my honesty would allow others to feel they too could be honest about their struggles.
Most people who meet me for the first time are actually quite surprised to find out that I am a minister’s wife. I guess I don’t come across as either of the two stereotypes. I openly admit I am not perfect and my kids are far from perfect.
Some days, I would love to be the stereotype of the perfect mum with the perfect house. In reality I am the mum whose house is cluttered with toys and has crumbs on the bench. I am the mum who yells at her kids, then regrets it. I am the mum who (mildly) injures her child’s shoulder by yanking them when they were walking too slow (Yep- that happened!). I am the mum who spends too much time on the Internet and not enough time playing with her kids.
I think it is so important to be real with people. Too often we compare ourselves, or our skills as a mother to other people based on what we perceive them to be like. If I was to portray myself as the perfect mother with the perfect house, then I could never really be able to relate to others who might be struggling with self doubt or feelings of failure.
As mums our role is to love our kids and do the best WE can, too often we are trying to copy someone else and be the mother we THINK they are.
I think it is important to admit where you are failing (or feel you are failing) to others. It has a twofold effect as firstly it shows them that you are real, and secondly it allows them to admit where they are struggling to you without fear of judgement.
It is important to me to help other mums realise that it is ok to make mistakes. I remember times when I had been honest about how I was feeling towards my kids and the response was silence (I may have imagined some crickets). Instead of feeling heard and told it was normal, I mind-read the silence as judgement and thought “Maybe no-one else feels that way? I must be a bad mother”.
All it takes is for one person to say “I know how that feels”or even “that must be really hard” and immediately the weight is lifted and honesty can flow.
So I started Mummy’s Undeserved Blessings to show who I am,an imperfect mother learning how to best love and appreciate her children. They are blessings that I did nothing to deserve but that I want to do everything I can to appreciate. If I fail a little (or a lot) along the way, that’s OK I am still learning.
Lisa and her gorgeous family!
Author Bio: Lisa is a mum to three beautiful girls, under four years old. She blogs about her struggles and successes as a mum, her passion for cooking and whatever else is on her mind.
You can find Lisa at her blog Mummy’s Undeserved Blessings sharing her wisdom and knowledge and also on her facebook page.

GUEST POST – Welcome to the ‘hood’

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A big thanks to Leigh for writing this guest post.

Welcome to the ‘hood’
By Leigh from Six by the sea

My friend has recently had her first child and as we do, we’ve all surrounded her with congratulations, oooooh, aaaahhhhs, gifts, tilted, loving heads, admiring eyes….. All that is lovely about a new baby and a new mummy.

Welcome to the hood sista! Im penning this for you. Read it when you are good and ready……. For the rest of us old hands, lets rejoice in everything ‘motherhood’….. ready, lets go……

So my darling friend, do you like roller coasters? Well hang on tight cause this one is going to be the fastest, longest roller coaster you’ve ever ridden, choc a block full of unexpected twists and turns! Its will begin the moment you give birth… hang on, scrap that, it actually begins once that precious seed is planted! Your body, your mind, your plans are no longer in your control. You may be pregnant and tired but you ain’t getting to sleep! But when you finally do get to sleep, heartburn or cramps are going to kick in and make sure that you wake as though you never rested!!!

Once that beautiful baby is in your arms life as you knew it will never be the same. Yes, yes, you can keep telling everyone that you aren’t going to change your ways to suit the baby but what you don’t realise is, is that the baby has an agenda and you are under its spell! Here are some tips to help you out..

Lesson number 1: Don’t EVER verbally praise your baby, somehow they understand all that you have said (even if they are in another room) and from that moment on they do the opposite to what you’ve singed their praise for! This is my solemn promise……. Never ever verbally praise….. you will be sorry!

Lesson number 2: Never leave home without a spare set of everything! Make it 2 spares. There’s a theory. If you are prepared for it, it wont happen. Don’t even tempt fate by being unprepared, you don’t want to have to put yourself through the turmoil!!!!

 Lesson number 3: Don’t book or plan anything for the first 6 weeks. You can be guaranteed that any time you choose to meet a friend or make an appointment, will definitely not suit! This may seem a little dramatic but I swear to you, its true. Fly by the seat of your pants for a while, be spontaneous, take each day as it comes. Others will understand. *** This lesson seems to carry on throughout the child’s life as you can bet that if you have had something on the calendar that you have been looking forward to, you wont be going due to reasons that you cant control……. I dare you to challenge this one!***
 Now, don’t take it all as a negative thing. There are many wonderful moments along the way, I promise. Once you get beyond the tantrums, teething, bed wetting, biting, hitting, attitude, talking back, embarrassment, hormonal teenage years, driving, clubbing and dating, then should come marriage and with any luck, this is the chance to step back and start enjoying your life again.

So, go forth, Revel in your new role as a mother, and although it may seem otherwise, I can tell you with all of my heart, never have I achieved something in my life that has given me so much joy, love and pride…… I say this to you with abundance of truth and not a word of a lie, and I am happy to say you are now officially a member of the ‘hood’. Enjoy xxxx

Author Bio:  Leigh is a happily married mum to four boys, a nurse who is considering a future in midwifery and a lover of life and all of its future adventures. Leigh’s ultimate dream is to have a regular gig writing a column. She blogs over at Six By The Sea and can be found hanging out on facebook here.

The Big Question – G or E?

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My 5 year old has become very inquisitive lately and has begun asking a lot of questions that I didn’t think I would have to have an answer for, well many years to come.

There has been one stand out question though that required an answer I couldn’t give with 100% certainty. He asks – If there used to be no people in our world where did we come from? How did we get here?

Yes that’s right – from a 5 year old! Where did he even come up with this question – it was 7am for crying out loud.

Now I don’t generally broadcast my belief system as I don’t want to sway my kids in any which one direction. I am an Atheist or at least I think I am. It’s not that I don’t believe in God, it’s just that I don’t think I do either. I am a fence sitter. I’d like to believe there is something whatever it may be!

I was always given the choice growing up to join a religion or to not and I never felt the need. I have also felt that it is not my place to say my kids can’t believe in God just because I’m not religious. Mr 5 asked if I could show him a church so I did and explained all about God to him (to the best of my knowledge that a 5 year old would understand). So when the question of how did people get here arose I faced it front on with an honest answer and sleep filled eyes.

My response – No one really knows for sure. It is a great mystery but some people think that God made people when he was making everything else like the trees, butterflies, beaches and everything else we have. The other people think that over a really really long time monkeys started to change into people. I then showed him a picture of the evolution chart to explain it a bit more clearly.

Image Credit

He did have a question that made me laugh. “So when Nanny was a baby was she a monkey?” ‘Nanny’ is only 45 she is nearly old enough. I tried to explain how long ago it was and the best description I could come up with was just after the dinosaurs died.

I felt I handled this question without any persuasion of beliefs. It is ultimately his decision and when he is old enough he will make it. Until then I will continue to answer and encourage any belief or curiosity he may have.

Now I understand religion and beliefs are a tough topic to talk about so I understand if people don’t agree with my method (or have even read up to this point) and I want to say that that is OK. I encourage everyone to believe in what they want regardless what that may be and to not feel judged or pressured.

How do you think I handled the big Q?

What questions have you been surprised by?

    

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