For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a Mum, I didn’t have any grand designs to be a popstar, a Doctor, a vet or a policewoman. Family is what matters to me, always has, always will. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have personal ambitions, I worked hard at school, I signed myself up for lots of different adult education courses so that I could keep learning and expanding my horizons but the one thing firmly in the centre of that was to be a Mum.

One of the lucky ones

Yes that’s me, I’m one of the lucky ones because there are so many women out there who never get to experience that feeling of a baby growing in their tummy. I’ll be the first to admit that when I fell pregnant with Lillie, I just assumed it would happen. Sure I didn’t expect to fall pregnant quite as quickly as the end of our honeymoon but I was grateful that I did. Years later when I suffered my first miscarriage, I was heartbroken. How come it wasn’t so easy second (and then third) time around? How can you fall and carry a baby so easily with one and then have failed pregnancies after that? For some women, they only ever know the heartbreak of miscarriage so I know how lucky I am to have my beautiful babies.

A stay at home Mum

Something else I consider myself to be lucky for. I always thought that I would have to return to work once Lillie was born but with the help of blogging and the odd work-at-home jobs I have found myself over the years, I have been a stay-at-home Mum throughout. This means I get to take my children to school every day and pick them up every afternoon, I can attend all of their performances and activities and I can be the one to nurse them when they are poorly.

School Holidays

Like any Mum I have days where the children argue non-stop or drive me up the wall with their boisterous behavior but on the whole I love having my children at home. We plans lots of activities, camping trips and holidays because we love to get out and explore together. Seeing the world through a child’s eyes is always so much more magical and interesting.

They make me laugh

Having children is like having your own stand-up comedian on call. The things they do and the things they say just can’t be scripted and I so often wish my superhero power was to be able to video things with my own eyes and beam them straight to my computer for safe keeping. They do say laughter is the best medicine and they certainly have the ability to turn your frown upside down (or the other way from time to time).

The best hugs

An impromptu hug from your children is just the best! Children are very intuitive and have that knack of knowing when a hug is needed. They don’t even need to say anything to make things better, just the hug says it all. Even better is watching them hug each other – now that’s priceless.

Character building

Nobody ever said that parenting was going to be easy but as the saying goes “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. We have had our fair share of troubles with the children, especially with Lillie’s eating (ongoing) and Albie’s #problemswithpoop. There are times when you hit rock bottom and you think to yourself, “I can’t do this anymore” but just like at that moment in the delivery room when you think you have given your all, you dig deep and push through.

What makes you proud to be a Mum?