Faeries, birthdays & memory making..

We have had the most beautiful few days adventuring to our first festival and celebrating little bears 4 years earth side.... I never want this beautiful vibe to end!

 Our visit to The Legendary Llangollen Faery Festival brought so much delight to my little Cubs....their little faces in awe of the colourful stalls, magical & beautiful outfits & most importantly it allowed them to be inquisitive children. They poured over the crystals and absorbed the energy & power each one harnessed. They experienced Henna tattoos and played freely with stilts, hoops and balance beams. The experience truly captured, for me, the beauty and innocence of childhood....something I want my children to embrace rather than try to 'grow up' too quick like most of society appears to do.

 Little bear turned 4. While it was a truly special day filled with laughter, love and happiness a small part of me felt sadness...sadness that I feel in a blink of an eye he has gone from baby to school age. Part of me feels I missed out on some aspects of his first year due to potential post natal depression & with his complex needs engulfing most of his first year. I won't get that time back, I won't be able to rectify and embrace the moments I may of missed....but....I can cherish every moment from now on & even more than I did before I can watch this little human flourish as beautifully as his sisters are doing so. We may of had moments missed due to hospital visits and treatments but, these things have made him what he is now. A beautiful soul and I am so proud of him and my girls.

Children grow so fast, it is important to cherish every moment with them 💕

Society and Beauty

I posted this photo this morning on my Instagram....I felt instantly compelled to apply filters to eradicate my imperfections, my flaws, the very things that make me, well me. 

The pressure to look flawless, perfect & 'beautiful' is taking away the very things that makes us unique and different. Our individuality is dissipating....slowly we are all becoming the same.

Don't get me wrong, filters are brilliant...I love them, I love experimenting and using them to enhance and get the very best out of my pictures. It's ok to tweak a picture, to take a selfie and enhance it. That's ok....but for me, I felt scared to post the 'real me' for fear of negativity. I forgot who I am, what makes me, me. My eyes are tired and have bags....but I should be proud of that, for that is down to pouring every bit of energy & love i have into my children and my partner, ensuring they're OK, fed and loved. My skin has imperfections, blemishes and scars from acne that decided to surface in my early twenties...I can't change them, they're here and are a part of me and my journey. 

 My partner didn't fall in love with a filtered version of me. He's seen me in the mornings, at my worst when I'm tired, frustrated and a complete emotional wreck. My children love their Mama....for however I look. 

 So while I enjoy playing with filters....I must remember to love the real me. I need to stop being scared of not looking or being perfect for society. I need to believe in my favourite notion that we are all beautiful....because we are. Beauty is skin deep.

So here is me trying to enjoy a morning coffee....tired eyes, blemishes the lot. This is the me I should love more. This is the me I shouldn't be frightened of and hide away 💜 

Summer Holidays

Summer holidays.....entertaining little ones for 6 weeks can be incredibly daunting. In past years when my focus wasn't as balanced & open as it is now I would dread the time off. This time around I have genuinely been looking forward to the virtually uninterrupted quality time with my babes. 

 The holidays can incur a financial hit for parents as days out can be costly and typically prices are hiked up. I've spent the last few days looking at how I can give my tribe a fun filled six weeks at a  low cost...there are many organised free family fun days in our local park, along with low cost cinema nights outdoors, free dino hunts through the city etc....their main 'expensive' treat is tickets to The Legendary Faery Festival which has cost me no more than £20 but is going to be ultimately the most magical experience for them. 

 We have dusted the bikes down and have ensured they are all ready for these holidays so we can go on adventures...again low cost and my babes love exploring, they most definitely have a sense of wanderlust swimming through their veins. 

Most importantly the holidays have given me a small feeling of freedom. My children aren't regimented to school hours, we can be free spirits and have some extra time together to do things we aren't usually able to do. The stress that usually tries to engulf me has been lifted slightly and I am no longer having to battle it, time limits have somewhat dissipated and there isn't as much of a rush to have things completed by a certain hour....we are able to be fairly relaxed.

Memories can be made without breaking the bank. Love, laughter and smiles are free &, at the end of the day, are what we remember most 💜

Off Grid Parenting

I recently watched an interview with Matt & Adele Allen on their "off grid" approach to parenting, where they were interviewed with their two young children.

 The public backlash this couple have received has truly saddened me. There were aspects of their chosen lifestyle I truly admired and felt inspired by, and yes, there were some issues, such as, not vaccinating that I personally didn't agree with...but that is my personal opinion & in no way did I feel compelled to take to social media to voice my disagreement. Debate is healthy, disagreement is healthy, what isn't healthy is proclaiming that their children should be taken into the care of Social Services, that they won't live to their teens, that their parents should not of been blessed with these two beautiful souls. What gives those individuals the right to make such hurtful, evil comments? 

 Vaccinations will forever be a controversial subject, some parents vaccinate, some don't. It's a personal choice & we should respect people's choices not hang them at the first available opportunity.

 Adele and Matt, in my opinion, were highlighting a lifestyle which could contribute to a more sustainable future for this planet. The world has developed into a fuel guzzling, environmentally harming, selfish, technology ruled, frightening place...(in my eyes) many have forgotten the simple fun, the homemade, the creative and the excitement of exploration and adventure. Children seem to be forever confined to computer games, mobile phones and imaginative play outdoors seems to be seen less and less. Even my children occasionally are guilty of this. 

 Although I am far from achieving a fully off grid lifestyle, we as a family, try to be as self sufficient as possible, which in this current social climate can be hard to achieve. 

 Adele and Matt's children were branded as feral and uncontrolled....I wonder had the line up of the show not branded them as 'off grid parents' would they have received such a negative response to the behaviour of their children. I fully believe that viewers were instantly homing in on the children to watch how they behaved in order to dissect reasons as to why one 'wet themselves' and why the other was excitable, blaming it of course on the parenting practises of Adele and Matt. The children were 5 & 1 years old & in a completely alien environment, with cameras, strangers, bright lights....I would imagine for such little babes it was completely overwhelming. 

 The children of Adele & Matt are loved, fed, cared for & are experiencing a lifestyle that is truly beautiful. They do not need to continue this lifestyle when they're older, as stated by their parents, they have the freedom to reject it should they wish, but I believe most importantly they will be able to reflect and appreciate that they were lucky enough to experience it. 

 We have no right to judge people on their way of life, it works for them and that is what is important.

Gender Neutral Parenting

Gender Neutral.... As a child I despised being girlie. I liked grunge alternative clothing in colours that were for both girls & boys. Occasionally, now I'm an adult, I will experiment with feminine looks but 99.9% of the time I will go with what I as an individual feel comfortable in.

 When it comes to raising my future warriors I allow them to wear what they feel comfortable and happy in, whatever colour/style. My son regularly joins in dressing up and will often don a Disney princess dress while one of his sister's dresses up in a racing driver suit & no one bats an eyelid in this household. 

 Shopping, particularly, grates on me. When meandering  round the clothes section boys & girls items are clearly defined and irritatingly stereotypical...blues for boys & pinks for girls... Toys, even some nappies,  appear to be specifically catered for either boys or girls! 

 People laugh if I say my son watches Barbie (a personal favourite of his), he's happy, he's content and quite frankly that is all that matters, after Barbie he might watch something to do with dinosaurs..... Who cares?! He isn't hurting anyone. There is so much emphasis on gender and what a boy should do and what a girl should do that happiness is overlooked. If your child wants to wear a dress, a pink top, football boots, a racing driver suit, let them! Their happiness, confidence and character are what defines them....don't mould them into a stereotype let them be free! My children are free to be the people they want to be, wear what they want and play with what they want & they should be able to do that freely without question from the ignorant. 

Changes....

At the beginning of 2016 I made a promise to myself that as a family we will be more frugal, self sufficient, green & as cruelty free as possible. So far we are making small changes, small changes that are making HUGE differences. 

 We, wherever possible, avoid buying our fruit & veg from supermarkets therefore supporting local fruit & veg shops. Our laundry & household cleaning products are sourced from cruelty free brands....including our toiletries & baby essentials. We are making a start & boy do we feel good about it.

 Today we sourced some planters & have began our journey of growing our own vegetables. We grow peas & strawberries every year & I love watching my children go out into the garden & eat the fresh produce straight from the plant. We have chosen to give carrot growing a whirl, along with a variety of herbs & some broad beans. Our next project is to try growing rhubarb again as last years ours sadly failed to flourish. 

As the weather is gradually warming our excitement to get out in the open on our bikes & explore is mounting. 

I feel, this year, is potentially going to be full of adventure as we embrace our new way of life ☮🕉

Children

I am guilty of neglecting my blog of late but motherhood has been demanding every ounce of my time (& energy) recently, not that I'm complaining as I love every second of it!

 My mind has been wandering lately, primarily based around being a mother & whether I am doing this immensely important 'job' properly.....whether my Cubs are happy? Are they eating enough? Do I spend enough time with them?  Are we making enough memories? As parents I think we are all guilty of being plagued with these sudden random worries. Children, unfortunately, do not come with instructions and we sort of 'wing it' in the beginning (especially with first borns although I found myself in the same position with my third) until we start getting the hang of it. Becoming a parent is literally an avalanche of emotions; utter happiness, complete fear & realisation that this small bundle is your responsibility for the rest of your life. That fear never really disappears, we always worry whether we are doing this parenting malarkey 'right' & it's perfectly natural. They're our Cubs, our worlds, we strive to ensure they are happy and have full tummies. But what we must not forget is love. Cuddles, praise, kisses, silly moments etc. I believe the greatest foundation of ensuring we are doing this parenting 'job' right is to ensure that the time spent with our children is filled with laughter & love. 

Life is short. Incredibly short, we cannot predict what lies ahead & our children will soon grow up....