Hi, I hope you’ve all been enjoying the bank holiday weekend, despite the not so summery weather. Way back in January when I offered to host one of the Britmums Carnivals August seemed such a long way off but this year has flown and I can’t quite believe that it will be Autumn next week.
Thank you so much to the lovely bloggers who have sent me their links, so without further ado, let’s get cracking.
Kicking us off is a post that as an (almost) mid-30’s mummy I could completely identify with. Tas from Not My Year Off lets us know about the Things She Has Learnt In Her Thirties. If only we could go back and have a word with our younger selves to stop worrying what everyone else thinks! Although, that’s all part of growing up isn’t it?
Next up is one of my absolute fave bloggers, the lovely Sian at Potty Mouthed Mummy. Her post is a lovely letter to the man who lives across the road from her, someone who I think we’d all love as a neighbour and is a stunning example of a fab Dad.
Another of my regular blog reads is the gorgeous Kerri-Ann from Life As Our Little Family. I love this post How Young Is Too Young For Technology? As a teacher I’m very aware of the effects technology can have on our kids and worry about it constantly with O. In the day we live in it’s impossible to keep our kids from technology but it is so important that they learn how to use it responsibly.
O does love time on Mummy’s pad but he also loves reading books and I love watching him as he fetched book after book for us to read. Books can be so useful in helping kids start to identify with what is happening in their lives (seriously I will be forever grateful to Pirate Pete and his Potty) so when Catherine from Story Snug sent over their review round up of starting school picture books it seemed the perfect post to include as the summer holidays are rapidly coming to a close. Good luck to those new starters (and their parents) next week.
One of the loveliest things about hosting the Britmums Carnival is coming across new blogs and one of those was Goblin Child. I rarely write about our two little pooches but they are a very big part of our lives although it was a huge adjustment for them when we brought O home from the hospital. I love these top tips from a fellow dog owner about how to handle the new arrival for the benefit of all members of the family.
Sticking with a doggy theme Colette from We’re Going On An Adventure has been celebrating her dogs birthday. As mentioned above we have two Lhasa Apso’s and we always try to celebrate their birthdays. Mo’s is easy, she shares the same birthday as me, but we do tend to forget Roxy’s. Oops! No such worries for Thomas, he looks like he has been completely spoilt!
One of my regrets is not finding this post from The Train Drivers Wife earlier about how to keep little people amused. As we are approaching the end of the summer hols I could have used some of these hints a few weeks ago. Some great ideas to keep little people amused to stop them climbing the couch and crayoning on your walls!
If you want to get out and about instead check out this post from Mummy Melton about her day out to Dunstaurgh Castle. Gorgeous castle, fab views and a beautiful beach, I only wished we lived a bit closer as it looks a great place to visit.
One blogger I’ve admired since I started a year ago is Amanda at City Girl Gone Coastal. I love the beautiful photos in her blog so I was delighted when she emailed me a post to include. This is such a sweet post and one us mums of little boys will be having a smile to.
After spending the first half of this week sorting out some of O’s tiny baby clothes, and at 5lbs 12oz he was a tiny baby, it was lovely to read this poem from My Life My Love to her 6 month old daughter. Those days seems such a long time behind us now but they were so special and like Ali and Lola we loved mummy and baby cuddles too!
I remember reading Nell’s post from Pigeon Pair and Me a few weeks ago and meant to go back and comment but you know how it is, life gets in the way and you forget. So I was pretty chuffed when she tweeted me the link to include in the carnival. Swinging through summer is a lovely post about not forcing our children to grow up too quickly, I couldn’t agree more!
At BlogOnMosi this year I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Lorraine from The Uncheshire Mum. The post she sent over to include in the Carnival, despite being a sad one, was so touching in the way the exes can still find a way to put the important stuff first, and be a part of each others lives in a positive way.
Another blog that is new to me is Laura Evelyn Bee but I’m a bit gutted I haven’t come across this before. Her post on the The Six Sisters of Motherhood is fab and I’m sure every mum will be nodding along with all 6 points. At the moment I’m completely with her in the pride phase when your toddler tells you “I need a poo!” In fact, I was a bit teary this evening when my little man plonked himself on the potty by himself to do a big poop. Not quite so proud when I had to dispose of the stinky mess!
One of my fave posts was the one sent by Betty and the Bumps. I know I’m so guilty of giving my hubby a hard time and most of my focus goes on the little guy in our lives, but he is a star and I don’t give him enough credit. So, let’s take a bit of inspiration from Betty and Let’s Hear It For The Boy.
I was totally jealous when I read this post from The Life Of Spicers about swimming with dolphins. It has been on my to-do list forever and is one of those things I would just love to do. Dolphins are beautiful animals and I loved reading this post and seeing the fab photos.
Taking a minute before we finish to take a more serious turn. Another of my fave bloggers, Lauren from The Real Housewife of Suffolk County tweeted me a link to a post she wrote in the wake of Robin Williams death. I had previously read it and it is so beautifully written and honest and talks about her own struggle with depression. I’ll let you read it because she puts it a lot better than I ever could but it is so true that you never know what is going on behind the cheery face some people put on.
Lisa from Hollybobb’s was also prompted by Robin’s death to talk about her depression and ME. Lisa gives us a small insight into how these invisible illnesses can take hold, and asks for a little more acceptance from those around us. I had very little experience of ME until a member of my department developed chronic fatigue syndrome two years ago. Watching such a bubbly, full of life lady change to a shell of her former self was shocking and now, 2 years on, she can only manage to work a couple of hours a day, 2 or 3 days a week. Anything more than that and she is wiped out for days!
I’m going to finish with this post from Life, Ninja Killer Cat and Everything Else…because whilst as bloggers we spend a lot of time online it is so lovely to take a step back from it all and appreciate what we have going on in our “real lives” too.
Have a wonderful last few days of summer (I’m hoping there’s still a few days left at least) and thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed reading these posts as much as I did.
What a fab round up of posts. Thank you for hosting the Carnival 🙂
Catherine @ Story Snug recently posted…Audio books for long journeys
Thank you for hosting the Carnival. What a great mixture of blog post topics. I’m looking forward to going through and having a good read of some lovely bloggers who I read regularly and some new blogs to add to my list. Thank you for including me also! Enjoy the rest of your Summer, everyone. Ali xx
Ali recently posted…Slow down, Summer
What a brilliant round up x I will be taking a read threw them all x
Thank you so much for including me!!
xx
Betty and the Bumps recently posted…August Bank Holiday (The Ordinary Moments #4)
Some good reads in here – you’re right, August has come round soooo quickly! Thanks for including mine.
Nell@PigeonPairandMe.com recently posted…Summer snapshots
Thanks for including me and your sweet words you lovely! Going to take a peek at the others now! xx
pottymouthedmummy recently posted…Wicked Wednesdays #6 | Under the Bed
Thanks for hosting the carnival, and great to find some new blogs to read.
Angela Spicer recently posted…Are You Ready For Back To School?
Such a great round up. Thank you so much for including my post, and for your kind words xx
Wow a great list here, I am just working my way through now lovely. Thank you for adding me to this collection and for the things you said. x
life as our little family recently posted…My Sunday Photo {31 August}