I was tagged in a bloggers meme on Monday by Mummygadgetgeek to answer some questions all about being a Mum… I enjoyed reading her answers so thought I’d have a go myself, just in case anyone is interested!
So, here goes…
1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum? A bit of both! I work 2.5 days in an office, do a little freelance writing and coaching (yes that is a shameless plug!) and spend some quality time with Mushroom on my ‘SAHM days.’
2. Would you have it any other way? I think I have a nice balance at the moment but would eventually like to work for myself full-time, so that I can have the flexibility to work around Mushroom when he’s at school. But we’ve got a year and a half until then so let’s see what happens!
3. Do you co-sleep? No. Well, not usually. Mushroom has been in his own room since he was quite young as he and Mr B are both very restless sleepers and just kept waking each other up. And I didn’t sleep at all. However, if he wakes in the early hours of the morning, or is sick, he gets in with us and stays there.
4. What is your one must-have item for your baby? Muslins. You can never have enough of them and we still use them for everything from cleaning up after accidents when we’re out and about (we wash/use wipes first!) to as a sunshade in the summer (all five days of it).
5. How many kids do you plan on having? Well we planned to try for one and see what happened. We got Mushroom and feel very blessed to have him! For now, he’s my one and only…
6. Date night? How many nights per month? Haha! Actually going out? It’s probably once every few months but we have movie nights at home more often and try to at least eat dinner together most nights (even if it is in front of the TV!).
7. Your childs favourite show? Ben and Holly, Peppa Pig and Bubble Guppies. It varies but current favourite is Bubble Guppies. It’s mine too – at half an hour I get to do stuff! Or we watch it together… Did you know elephants are Pachyderms? The Bubble Guppies do, and now so does Mushroom! And then there’s the catchy in-show tunes… It even has rap “Come on everybody line up line up…”
8. Name one thing you bought before you had your baby and never ended up using? Nothing! Not that I remember anyway. We actually ended up buying more stuff that we hadn’t thought of after he was born.
9. Your child’s favourite food? Mushroom will eat anything but has a particularly sweet tooth so his favourite would be a toss up between chocolate and ‘sweeties.’ On the healthier side, he loves mangoes, grapes, noodles and olives. But not at the same time.
10. How many cars does your family have? None. We walk, or take the bus or train most of the time but do take the occasional taxi. Mr B used to have a car but I still can’t drive! I started taking lessons when pregnant with Mushroom but got too big and have not gone back to my lessons since he was born. It’s on my list to do if/when we get another car, which is highly likely if we move out of London at some point.
11. Weight gain before pregnancy, during and after and now? Before pregnancy, I had just lost almost two stone and it took me two years… So when my pregnancy weight gain reached two stone I stopped paying attention. After Mushroom was born I lost a stone overnight! Breastfeeding saw to the rest and then some but I have put it all back on now, and more. I probably need to do something about that, my clothes are getting a bit (all right, a lot) tight.
12. Dream holiday with your kids? Mushroom has never been abroad – he’s not even been to the seaside yet so a beach holiday where he can swim in the sea and meet other kids his age would be perfect for his first holiday – which we hope to do this year! Later, I think something more adventurous would suit him better and I would love to go back to places I’ve been to show him and see them with fresh eyes.
13. Dream holiday without your kids? My honeymoon is Malaysia was my dream holiday pre-Mushroom and I’d love to go back. Before that my favourite holidays were in Morocco and Sri Lanka. There are so many places I would still like to visit – I guess my dream, if time and money were unlimited, would be to travel the world
14. How has your life changed since your baby has been born? I might seem stressed out often but I’m actually a lot more laid back than I was. I have less time but am more focused than I was when I had all the time in the world to make things happen (what was I doing with all that time?). I am worse off financially but emotionally, I feel extremely wealthy.
15. Finish the sentence: ‘It makes my heart melt to see …’ Mushroom taking care of his friends and family, and even his toys. When he says things like ‘Chicky (favourite soft toy) is a bit sad today. She needs a cuddle,’ then puts her down and says ‘don’t touch her Mummy, she’s a bit too sick. She’s my baby. I come back with medicine in minute.’ He’ll make a great daddy one day.
16. Where do you shop for your kids? I buy most of Mushrooms clothes from markets and supermarkets but if we’re splashing out we’ll go to Next or TK Maxx. Mushroom prefers Next, he loves to go and even asks to try things on! he can spend ages there – just like Daddy (I’m not so big on shopping). TK Maxx is more of a challenge as he likes to run around and play ‘hide and seek.’ Not ideal.
17. Favourite makeup and skincare products? Make-up? Haha! I spashed out on some Dior for my wedding day and have barely used it since. For day to day use, I keep it simple with E45 cream and vaseline. That’s it. I might wear bronzer, a bit of lip gloss and mascara if I’m going out but I’m not fussed on brands.
18. Huggies or Pampers? For nappies it was Pampers but once we went to pull-ups we switched loyalties. However, we have tried several supermarket brands and found them to be a close second so only bought the named brands if they were on special offer.
19. Have you always wanted kids? Yes. And I am very thankful for Mushroom, I never assumed it would be a given.
20. Best part about being a Mum? The chance to see everything for the first time all over again and the constant reminder to try be a better person, for his sake and mine. Also, a different understanding of our capacity (as humans) for love.
And now it’s my turn to tag… Mummymishaps, Redpeffer and TheBoyandMe … You’re it!
