Growing A Mother

Motherhood, veganism, raising strong girls and much more

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Motherhood
    • Post Partum
    • Letters to my children
    • The Toddler Days
    • The Baby Days
  • Personal Growth
    • Zero Waste Journey
  • Poetry
  • Veganism
  • Contact

Poetry

Is it just me?

1 Comment November 6, 2018 Being Your Mummy

Is it just me who loves being a Mum
But also wishes I could have more fun?
Is it just me who finds it so tough,
Day in day out, it can be so rough. Read More

A bed time poem

Leave a comment October 24, 2018 Being Your Mummy

Bed time has lost its loveliness

Bed time has lost its loveliness, I’m really sad to say,
I’ve started to dread that time that comes at the end of every day
I used to read books to you, sitting together on your bed
Now that’s been replaced with lots of tears instead. Read More

Growing A Mother

Search This Blog

Top Posts

  • An over-watered flower doesn't bloom
    An over-watered flower doesn't bloom

Follow me on Instagram!

I’ve been sat in a coffee shop since 12pm writing a blog. It’s more than a blog though, for me at least. It’s been a labour of love and a total self therapy session that has left me wanting to sit here behind my laptop and have a big old ugly cry. I felt like giving up on writing it numerous times, unable to quite express myself and feeling increasingly vulnerable and exposed as I wrote. Like no one would understand or that if they did, I’d be judged for it. Urgh, that shit gets so tired. Now that I’ve hit “publish” I feel a million times better. It’s through writing that I found the answers I knew I needed. The wisdom that lives within ME even though I’m always looking outward for help. I know what I need to do and I’ve known it for a while, just waiting until some form of breaking point was reached. I need a BIG OLD PAUSE (and a big ugly cry) from digesting all the content that is put out into this sphere and others each and every day. I have reached a point of saturation and there is only space left now for specific guidance, practice and turning inward. Then I came across this beautiful quote by @emilyonlife and I burst out laughing because it could not be more fitting to what I’ve just written all about. The pain of growth. If you have 5 minutes, I’d love for you to read it (link in bio) but equally, it’s really fine if you don’t, because I’ve written it for me and I’m now feeling great! 😂 Thank you Universe for allll the lols you provide me with. #personalgrowthquote #growth #growthmindset #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #life #thankyouuniverse #growingamother #veganmother #spirituality #spiritualgrowth #lols #motherhood #morethanamother #guidance #spiritguides #serendipity #momentsinlife #epiphany #ahamoment #repost #quote #inspirationalquote #funnyquotes #veganmama #veganmother #blogger #ukblogger #writer Vegan Ramen Recipe: This de-li-cious hot soup is perfect for these colder days and in essence, it’s a big bowl of broth filled will loads of veggies and tofu bites, garnished with coriander, sesame seeds and lime! I’m not a professional recipe writer and nothing was measured here but I will tell you all the ingredients that I used! To make the yummy broth: - add chopped garlic, ginger and miso paste to a pan and then add boiling water and a stock cube (or whatever you use for veggie stock). Add soy sauce for colour and flavour too. To the broth you can add any veggies you want but we used: - red onion - carrots - red pepper - broccoli - pak choy - tofu bites (we use @cauldronfoods ready made tofu bites) In a separate bowl prepare the rice noodles (we used brown rice vermicelli) and then add these to the soup too! In the oven we then cooked sliced Portobello mushrooms with a soy sauce glaze. When these are cooked, add them to the soup or use to garnish. When everything is cooked and hot, stir in some coconut milk and a big squeeze of Siracha sauce if you like a good kick! Serve with chopped coriander, sesame seeds and a generous squeeze of lime. It sounds complicated but it’s really so easy and the best way to get in LOADS of veggies and plants. Did you know that it’s recommended to eat up to 30 different plant based foods a week? This meal gets you off to a very good start! Any questions? Let me know below! #vegan #veganfood #veganrecipe #veganramen #whatveganseat #gamechangers #eatmoreplants #plantbased #wholefoodplantbased #veganforthem #veganforlove #veganforhealth #veganforanimals #ethicalvegan #veganmama #veganmother #veganmummy #thefeedfeedvegan #eatingforchange #meatfree #dairyfree #homecooking #thefutureisvegan #tofurecipe These two and their birth order give me so many questions, with Summer getting older and showing us more of her unique personality and Jasmine continually adjusting to not being the only child. I often wonder how they would be if their birth order had been the opposite with laid back Summer coming first and everything Jasmine is coming second! Summer is a classic second child in many ways, far more tolerant of things that don’t go her way and has learnt to share her parents and her things from day 1. She’s always had far less one-on-one time and we have far fewer photos and videos of her than we have of Jasmine at the same age. (Hiiii mum guilt). She’s less of a talker and far more of a mover/shaker/explorer but perhaps she’d be like that anyway. Jasmine is the classic first child too, used to being the centre of attention and having almost everything go her way. She’s learning some tough lessons at the moment, namely that her younger sister isn’t as much of a pushover as she may have once thought. She’s become far more attached to Daddy over the past year and says words like, “Mummy, Summer wants you,” more times than I’d like to admit. Strangely, I miss both of them at the same time but I couldn’t imagine the family dynamic any other way. Their sisterly relationship is pure and gorgeous, yet it’s certainly being tested too. I’m thankful for Summer and the way she breaks tension with her silliness, her playful spirit and her ability to make Jasmine laugh. I’m grateful for her uniqueness and her easy-going (yet still clingy) nature and I’m thrilled by her zest for life, dancing, exploring and being highly mischievous. And her appetite, which is bigger than mine. I’m thankful for Jasmine and the way I can see her brain working as mine does too. I’m grateful for her intelligence, her clever questions and her incredible attention to detail and ability to remember things. I’m grateful for her mix of introvert and extrovert and for her interest in all things princesses and high heels. My two girls....thank you for choosing me 🙏🏻 Do you ever feel like time is not on your side? That if you just had more time you’d be able to do all the things? That if time could just sometimes slow down or sometimes speed up, you’d be OK? This morning as we left to take the girls to Nursery, I looked around the house, each room in a state of relative chaos compared to how I’d like it to be, if I only had time. Then I thought to myself, “how is it so difficult to stay on top of the food shop, the laundry, the tidying, life?” In theory we should have time on our side, being a two parent family, working from home, having some childcare, and yet, like so many families, we constantly want more time. I’m a classic for starting big jobs but never finishing them (sorting out 3.5 years worth of kids clothes being one of those things) and finding my life to do lists almost too overwhelming to start which means I rarely tick off the BIG jobs, just the little ones. Anyone else?! And then, add to the mix the things I’d really love to do with my time. My blog, growing my own veg (and learning how to), reading all the books on my list, sourcing amazing second hand furniture to make my dream-boho-sustainable-Pinterest worthy home, trying new recipes, attending activism events, making photo albums starting with 2013 and you can see how time starts to run out before you’ve even covered the basics. So although it is factually correct that we all have the same number of hours in the day as Beyoncé, I think it’s safe to say that often the best thing we can do for ourselves is to acknowledge our achievements, know that it’s OK to not be doing everything and honour exactly where we are at this point in time. Maybe I will never be someone who ticks through all the life admin or maybe I will. Maybe the baby clothes will sit unsorted and in a mess in the spare room for another 6 months. Maybe I’ll write a blog once a month and not once a week. It’s all OK. Time...I’m learning to try and work with you here! If you have great tips for managing time, I am alllll ears. #time #vegan #veganfood #veganbowl #veganmama #veganmother #plantbased #motherhood #workingmama #workingmother #workingfromhome #selfemployed #eatingforchange Yesterday, Summer and I went to the local forest for some quality one on one time without big sister Jasmine (who was sadly poorly at home) and we had the most wonderful time together. It’s not often we get special time like this, just us, and it felt like a romantic date...me showering her with attention, kisses, love and pure adoration. I think the feeling is mutual too 🥰 Summer is very much the second child and although we spend a lot of time together joined at the hip/boob, our quality one on one PLAY time is much rarer. I so loved taking her into the woods to explore, to find muddy puddles on the path and then to have the park all to ourselves! We talked and talked and talked and she was the centre of my world. Love bombing....I think that’s what they call it. Anyway, I highly recommend it! How do you love bomb on your second / third / youngest child? #summerjacqueline #lovebombing #lovebomb #growingamother #secondchildproblems #raisinggirls #girlmum #veganmama #vegankid #vegankids #veganparenting #childhoodmoments #bedfordshire #outdoorplay #intothewoods #natureexplorer #playoutside #lovehersomuch #nature #earthmama #magicalmoments #childhoodunplugged #acupofmotherhood #joyfulmama #ukmummy Happy World Vegan Day everyone! And for once....that is all! #vegan #veganfood #worldveganday #veganfoodshare #veganmama #veganmother #veganfamily #veganparenting #veganchildren #eatmoreplants #plantbased #eatingforchange #climatecrisis #veganfortheplanet #veganfortheanimals #veganforhealth #ethicalvegan #veganactivist #veganactivism #beingkindtastesbetter #crueltyfree #meatfree #dairyfree #ditchdairy I’m home and reunited with these sweet cherubs who are thankfully now tucked up in bed trying to sleep off their excitement from a day of fancy dress at Nursery and Mummy walking in the door just before bath time. Yay! I missed them so much but I’m grateful that these rare moments of time away are beginning to feel easier again and it’s so nice to re-connect with a different side of myself too. We do, after all, wear many hats as Mamas. Fridays are always special for us and we make it very much a family day. Jasmine has her ballet lesson which is her favourite part of the week, we see friends and then round up the day with the Shabbat candles, wine and challah bread, purely for tradition and as a way to mark the end of the “working” week. I can’t wait for some quality time to play, read books, hunt for Autumn treasures and generally soak up hugs and kisses from my two favourite girls. Urgh, I kind of can’t wait for them to wake up, except that I can because 4.30am is not an acceptable time to start your day. I’m so grateful for having gone away (I learnt so much by the way) but I’m even more grateful to be back at home and ready to dive in to Mama mode! #growingamother #jasminehannah #summerjacqueline #mumofgirls #motherofdaughters #raisinggirls #raisingthefuture #raisingfeminists #workingmum #workingmama #veganmama #veganparenting #veganmother #vegankids #veganchildren #spinningplates #sisters #joyfulmama #acupofmotherhood #abeautifulchildhood #childhoodunplugged So it’s a double whammy of spaghetti meals on the grid but come on, well all know spaghetti is the ultimate carb! This is a lil lunch I threw together for myself yesterday (lunch for one again 🙋🏻‍♀️working from home life) but it was super quick, full of veggies & flavour, really easy and just used up what I had in the fridge! - fry some onion in a pan with olive oil (I used red onion as my Dad gave me some he grew at home...thanks @chardburn) but white onion would work too - add chopped mushrooms and red pepper and fry together until soft - boil spaghetti and 5 minutes before the end add a cup or frozen peas and some kale (spinach would also work) - to the veggies add some chopped sundried tomatoes (my fave) and then stir in a big spoonful of dairy free pesto - drain the spaghetti and greens then mix together all the veggies and sauce - add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast (cheesy flavour, no harm to cows) and salt and pepper and more pesto if needed (isn’t it always?) - serve with a squeeze of lemon if that floats your boat 🍋🍋🍋 And that’s it! It’s basically pesto pasta with added veg 😂BUT dairy free pesto jars are available everywhere now and of course you can DIY pesto but if you don’t have time, it’s a super simple swap to make and it tastes GREAT. I don’t think you’d know the difference! What’s your favourite spaghetti dish? #eatingforchange #vegan #veganmama #veganmeal #veganmother #growingamother #veganforthem #veganfortheanimals #plantbased #poweredbyplants #eatmoreplants #veganrecipe #veganfoodshare #veganprotein #veganwomen #whatveganseat #veganfamily #veganparenting #meatfree #ditchdairy #ethicalvegan #freefromharm #freefrom #glutenfreevegan I had a really good “aha” moment today and one that I’m really thankful for. I’ve spoken more recently on here about how I’ve been finding aspects of my eco-vegan-learning journey really challenging, particularly when mixed up with my tendency to think and feel things so deeply. It’s been a messy time in some ways and I’m having to continually work hard to pull myself out of a slump and see the bigger picture in things (not the bigger climate crisis picture because that one is bleak). Anyway, I was speaking to a friend today (so grateful to have amazing friends who will kindly listen to my ramblings for half an hour plus) and I realised that although allll my feelings are valid and although all my concerns are real, the big fact is: If my biggest problem in life currently is having too much time on my hands to a) learn a lot of important stuff and b) worry about what to do with that information and c) feel an enormous responsibility to act....I’m sitting in a pretty good tree. These are relatively good problems to have and the reason that these are my problems as opposed to other things is because I have privilege on my side. My biggest concern is not the health or safety of my children, where I’ll sleep tonight or what I’ll eat for my next meal. My biggest concern is not how Brexit (or lack there of) will affect me or how I’m going to pay my bills. My biggest concern is not how I’m going to afford my child’s new Winter coat or how I can fight for my rights as a citizen. You get my point. Of course everything is relative and eco-anxiety is reaaal. But, in order to use my privilege for good and to drive change, I need to be able to pull myself up. In order to not to consumed by it all to the detriment of myself and my family, I need to be able to pull myself up. Knowing that I’m not alone helps. Knowing that my feelings are valid helps. Knowing that I have the luxury to take time for me and to dabble in all the things that make life more fun and enjoyable helps too. Am I making any sense? What I’m trying to say is that sometimes reframing our problems as good things and constantly keeping our eye on perspective can really help to make a shift. You get me?

Select Month

Follow Growing A Mother via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Powered by WordPress.com.