This weeks theme for The Gallery is 'Chilled Out.'
There are many ways in which I personally like to relax and unwind- lying in a nice bath with candles and reading my book, watching television in the evenings while cuddling up to Mr E, getting into my dressing gown super early and having a large glass of white wine. I could go on. I think I am most chilled out when on holiday, I am happiest in the sun, lying on a sun lounger, reading my book with a cocktail in my hand. All the stresses of life are forgotten when you are on holiday. Although I realise it won't be quite as relaxing now Mads is on the scene!
Which is why I couldn't pick just one photo for my post this week when I have two which perfectly sum up the theme in my eyes.
The first...my 'old' life...travelling is one of my passions and I honestly enjoy nothing better than having the sun on my face. (although I have recently started getting the dreaded crows feet so ought to reign it in a little!)
The second...my 'new' life which I would not change for the world. Mads is a very chilled out baby who can sleep anywhere. In this photo I put her down for about two minutes to put some clothes away in her wardrobe and this is what happened! (I put her in her moses basket after taking the photo- I am not that cruel to let her sleep on the carpet!) I know it will change as she gets older but it never ceases to amaze me that she can sleep anywhere and through anything! We went to a charity pub quiz with all my family a couple of weeks ago and were going to leave early but she ended up sleeping under the table. I am very lucky that she is a 'chilled out' baby who rarely cries. (although she does have her moments!)
So there you have it. Two very different interpretations of 'chilled out' but both perfect in their own way.
Now head over to Tara and check out the other entries...
So the theme for this week over at Sticky Finger's is April.
Normally I associate April with the dreaded April Showers, a time when it is not yet hot enough to go without a coat and when the rain makes the days seem a lot more dreary.
However this April we have had some beautiful weather, and it feels like Summer well and truly hit the streets of Britain. Although I draw the line at seeing men with their tops off walking down the street (nor in August either please- its not nice trying to do my shopping in Tescos and seeing white pasty torsos with moobs!) I do love seeing us all get excited about the hot weather and I made sure my toes were nicely polished ready for the return of my flip flops from the back of the wardrobe!
April marked a few firsts for my new little family of three but there is one photo that sums up our month- below is a photo of our first picnic together. For me picnics sum up summertime and also family fun, it is a low cost, lovely way of getting outdoors and enjoying Britain and being together as a family. I am looking forward to doing many more as Mads gets older.
Apparently July and August are going to be a washout (don't they always say this?) so I think its good we are getting these in these Summery activities now. Of course we also had other firsts...both mine and Mads first Royal Wedding, our first Easter as a three, and Mads first trip to the seaside. We also had two lovely bank holidays to enjoy.
All in all April has been rather lovely!
Now head over to The Gallery and see what April meant to some other lovely bloggers...
So the theme for this weeks 'The Gallery' is 'Green.' I actually thought this was tougher than the previous two weeks themes, mainly because I wanted to do something different than take a nature shot. (Basically because I am a terrible photographer it would pale in comparison to some of the amazing ones I am sure we will see this week!)
Therefore I thought I would do my own interpretation on the theme.
Yes that is me. It is the most hideous picture I could find. I was drunk at the time but thats no excuse.
Green eyed monster. Jealousy. Envy. Green with envy.
However you say it, we have all been jealous at times. It is human nature.
I have found recently that my green eyed monster has come out on several occasions, always at the same subject and it is not something I am proud of.
Going back to work.
I have been lucky to meet some lovely friends since having my daughter, mainly through my NCT classes and going to local baby groups. I have met people from all walks of life, but a lot of the women that I have met do not have to go back to work and are going to be Stay at Home Mums.
I always thought that I was quite career orientated but since having Mads I have absolutely no desire to go back to work until she is older and goes to nursery properly. It's not that I hate my job, its just that I want to be at home with my daughter and not have to leave her with someone else when she is less than a year old.
Don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against people who go back to work full time or people who choose to stay at home full time- it is their choice. But I want to be at home with my daughter. Not all the time, I do still want to go back to work a couple of days a week. It isn't the fact that they are off work all the time that gets me jealous. It is that they have the choice.
We are very lucky to have a wonderful home which I am very proud of. Unfortunately with said home comes a massive mortgage and a lot of outgoings. Basically we have issues every way you look at it. We can't afford for me to go back to work full time due to the cost of childcare and travel. We can't afford for me to go back to work part time because my part time wage won't even cover the cost of my half of the outgoing bills. And we most certainly can't afford for me to be making no money at all.
And thats why my green eyed monster comes out. Just because I wish for once we didn't have to worry about money. Compared to a lot of people I know we are so fortunate, we both earn decent wages and have a lovely home, but unfortunately all our money is tied up. In a few years it will be fine but not at the moment. I just wish I could afford enough to spend time with my daughter and not worry about every single penny.
So thats what is making me 'green' at the moment. A slight different interpretation on the theme I know.
Head over to Tara's blog 'Sticky Fingers' to see some more normal green themes.
P.S I am going to win the lottery so don't feel too sorry for me.
P.P.S I don't look like that in real life....honest.
This weeks Gallery is the theme 'My Blog.'
I am very new to the world of blogging, having only had my blog for around a month. However even in the first week I was enjoying it so much I knew that it was going to be a big part of my life.
I have always enjoyed writing but since having Mads 16 weeks ago, I decided that I wanted a place to document her life growing up and a means to chat to other people going through the same experiences as me.
When I first started it was really going to be just a place for me to write, I had no idea about the world of parent blogging but after starting to look at some blogs online as inspiration, I realised just how many mummy and daddy bloggers there were out there, and that was it, I was hooked.
Primarily this is the reason why I blog! For my little family. To document my daughters life as she grows up. For me. I find it therapeutic typing away and socialising with other mummy bloggers. I want to make friends. I want people to accept me.
I love it when my blog gets comments and I love getting followers. Its nice to know that people are reading what I am writing and when they comment it is even nicer because it means I have written something that they want to reply too.
I want to shout to the world how much I love my little family and I want to learn from other more experienced mummies about how to raise my daughter and what has worked for them.
I know just from being part of this world for a few weeks that it is a very close knit community but I hope that I will be able to be a part of it.
If I can achieve these things from 'My Blog' then I will be a very happy girl.
