The Only Girl in the House

A Little Photo Book Magic from Ella’s Books

A Little Photo Book Magic from Ella’s Books

What I’m about to tell you is a true story – and while parts of this tome may ring true with families across the world, there’s a happy ending and a solution to this universal problem. Intrigued? Read on!

It was back in August when I received a delightful (that’s not a word I use lightly in 2017, so trust me when I use it!) email from Ella of Ella’s Books. Sat on Brighton beach, in the summer sun, watching the boys throwing stones out to sea (not at each other for change, which made this moment particularly blissful!), I read Ella’s invitation to have one of her bespoke photo books made using our family photos. Now, let me tell you – as a family blogger with a shed load a kids, I get a lot of offers for photo books, none of which have tickled my pickle in the slightest – they’re glossy, mass printed, badly bound tripe (sorry, I feel strongly about this, can you tell?); but from the moment I clicked through to Ella’s Books site I could see and feel the difference. The attention to detail, the care she pours into every book and the personal touches – really make a huge difference. So, I said “yes” within a matter of minutes.

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Meet The Jams | The Financial Truth

Meet The Jams | The Financial Truth

I’d be fibbing if I said The Mumsnet thread hadn’t rocked my somewhat rainbow hued boat; or, at least temporarily punctured my Instagram-bubble of confidence in people’s kindness. I’d managed to learn from its well-hidden teaching with regards to a layperson’s understanding of all the garb surrounding #ad or #gifted and adjust my posts to ensure no one was left unclear as to whether money had changed hands, I’d been sent a freebie or if it required #Ipayforshittoo! I’d taken the constructive feedback and managed to move on to a more positive place, until the subtext of that thread was thrust back in my path amongst the comments on my instagram, similar to a mouthful-of-Weetabix sneeze coming your way – it was unexpected, a bit grainy and not wholly welcome.

It was a well-meaning comment on an average Instagram post; the image is irrelevant to this tome, but the comment, in part, tickled my goat again.  It’s the perception that ALL “insta-mums” are “well-off/middle-class” and occasionally flouted as “elitist” that irks my tits.

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Summer Holiday Wardrobe With Fat Face #Ad

Summer Holiday Wardrobe With Fat Face #Ad

It’s at this time of year, with 5 more weeks of school holidays ahead of me that I start to assess how woefully ill-equipped I am for the parental mountain ascent that lay before me. My fridge stores are taking a battering, my sanity is being tested and my patience road-tripped to its outer most boundaries in a shabby, floorless tuk-tuk. But one thing’s for sure, while I slowly tear my hair out and thank the child-rearing gods that we’re all still alive at the end of each day, I’ll be suitably, and hopefully stylishly, dressed for my mission! It’s no secret that my love for Fat Face runs deep, so I teamed up with them to ensure my clothes were the least of my worries from morning through til night this summer hols.

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My Utility Room of Dreams | John Lewis AEG Washing Machine & Tumble Dryer #AD

My Utility Room of Dreams | John Lewis AEG Washing Machine & Tumble Dryer #AD

One of the things I love about being a blogger is the weird and wonderful stuff that comes into my inbox; from offers of lube reviews to can I make pet insurance an exciting content matter? (The answer was NO!) But sometimes, some brands just ‘get me’ – get my blog, my family and come up with a collaboration that’s so god damn on point even I recoil in amazement. When John Lewis asked if I’d like to try out their new AEG washing machine and tumble dryer, it was as if all my parental dreams had come true! Needless to say, a family of 7 gets through a shiz load of washing and for anyone who follows my insta-stories, you will only be well aware of the drama it causes when one of my trusty washing steads fails me.

For a long time, as a family of 7, it’s been necessary to have two fridges, two lounges, two bathrooms (even two houses in the beginning) so it seemed almost a natural progression to upgrade my domestic goddess-ry to two washing machines and tumble dryers. I’ll be keeping my old work-horses (for now) as it seems a travesty to be loading the new shiny machines with muddy football boots and questionably stained bed sheets!

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The Loneliness of Being the Mum of a Naughty Boy

The Loneliness of Being the Mum of a Naughty Boy

Motherhood is a lonely gig. Day after day, dropping off, picking up, feeding, making chitter-chatter with the smallest of people, there’s no beating around the parental bush, it’s isolating. Mind you, my loathing of church hall baby groups, coffee shop meet ups and general “not great with real people” attitude (one might go as far to say anti-social, but that might sound like I’m on the brink of an ASBO – which I’m NOT!!), were nothing in the social spectrum of isolation I’ve experienced since being the mum of a “naughty boy”.

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