Growing A Mother

Motherhood, veganism, raising strong girls and much more

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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

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    How going vegan has transformed my health
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My little big girl showing her rescue cat the apples she found at the playground! 💗 . Our cat, Tofu, doesn’t feature much here as he’s more often out and about than in but whenever we walk to the local park, he follows us. Every step of the way he follows us. . The girls love Tofu a whole lot more than he loves them but it’s definitely a happy relationship to watch. Jasmine is asking us daily for a dog though 🤪 . . . . #jasminehannah #rescuecat #catsprotection #vegansofig #vegankids #veganfamily #joyfulmama #joyfulmamas #mindfulmama #mindfulmoments #joyintheeveryday #raisinggirls #loveanimals #animallover #veganfortheanimals #momentsinmotherhood #mymotherhood #gentlemama #gentleparenting #respectfulparenting #slowliving #ecomama You may have noticed more vegan food pics appearing on my grid recently and I know that’s a pet peeve for some. Bare with me though... . I don’t have a fancy camera to take these photos of my meals. I don’t dress the photos up or have studio lighting and I don’t have all the pretty bowls and backgrounds that the pro foodies do. What I’m here to do is to share simple and yummy vegan food ideas with you and show you that eating vegan meals is SO delicious, healthy and doesn’t mean you miss out on your faves! . Before going vegan I used to hate tofu. I used to think it was the most tasteless, bland food and I would properly turn my nose up at it. Now, when @bearded.vegan.dad makes it like this, sticky, full of flavour, crispy but soft, I can’t get enough! Vegan food opens your eyes (and mouth) to so many new things and that is such a JOY. . This space here in my insta is evolving with me. It used to be more motherhood and I kept my vegan life separate but the two are so intertwined. We are a vegan family raising vegan kids and sharing our passion and dedication to this lifestyle is wrapped up in our everyday. So when you see vegan food pics on my grid, it’s not just a “here’s what I had for dinner,” photo, it’s (I hope) a chance to learn more about #whatveganseat and perhaps inspire you to add some vegan meals into your week if you don’t already. . This bowl was inspired by @happyskinkitchen whose photo is way better but I bet ours tasted equally as yummy! . Would you eat this bowl of deliciousness? 😋🌱😋 . . . #veganfood #veganfoodshare #whatveganseat #vegandinner #veganfamily #veganmama #veganmum #veganmummy #plantbased #poweredbyplants #meatfree #crueltyfree #dairyfree #ditchdairy #glutenfreeandvegan #veganfortheplanet #veganforbeginners #veganmealideas #veganfortheanimals #veganforhealth #eatmoreplants #tofubowl #govegan #ukvegan #greenmama #ecomama #vegansofig #veganfoodshare #thefeedfeedvegan Oooh today was a hard one! Anyone else feeling a heavy energy today, like a big old “meh” was hanging in the air? Who knows what it was but thankfully by mid-afternoon and after a trip out the house, which is always a good remedy, we turned our day around. I think sometimes, Fridays are just meant to be slow and simple and sometimes not everyone is on their A game (or in our case today, none of us were) and that’s also OK. . I have been very go go go recently and I feel like I can’t keep up with the things I want to be doing with my time (and that doesn’t even include my actual work or the fact we’re moving house soon). The learning I’m doing is exhilarating but it’s strangely exhausting too. Every day I feel like I’m redefining my goals, my dreams and this version of myself. I’m shrugging off what doesn’t serve me but shedding those layers takes work too. Everyday I am creating, writing and dreaming (classic Pisces) but everyday I worry about not doing enough or being enough for my girls. I worry that chasing my dreams NOW will take me away from them, now, in this time of their precious early years. But then I also know that it’s haaard work now and that when you look back at times gone by with kids, the difficult moments aren’t there anymore but that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist. . I do better with time away, time for me. I crave alone time and I use it wisely. The time I have for me is to create the best life for us all and that is time well spent! . Anyway, I’m totally rambling because as ever, I have enough thoughts to fill a book but in essence this is another reminder that it’s OK to pause and slow down. It is OK to have bad days and feel tense and stressed. We paid attention to those feelings and did some yoga, made a curry and had a huge long deep and meaningful about our life! . This day has ended so beautifully and I’m off to journal the waterfall of words I have buzzing around my brain right now. If you’ve felt meh today too, I’m with you 😘 . Namaste 🙏🏻 What’s on the menu in your house today? I’m craving leafy greens, avocados and basically allll the plants. We’re also going to be making our own flour wraps and turning them into vegan cheese quesadillas....watch this space! . Are you eating vegan today? Whatcha having?? 😋😋😋 . . . . . #veganfood #veganfoodshare #whatveganseat #vegandinner #veganfamily #veagnmama #veganmum #veganmummy #plantbased #poweredbyplants #meatfree #crueltyfree #dairyfree #ditchdairy #veganfamily #veganfortheplanet #veganforbeginners #veganmealideas #veganfortheanimals #veganforhealth #eatmoreplants #buddhabowl #govegan #ukvegan My big one 💖 I love this girl with my whole heart and more. Each and every day she blows my mind with her ideas, her kindness and the way she sees the world. Recently, her younger sister has been getting a LOT of our attention. Not only because it was her birthday and because she’s at a ridiculously cute age, but also because she’s becoming more demanding of our time, wanting us to walk her everywhere, hold her, show her things, play with her, respond to her babbly shouty sounds....you get the idea! . They say the second child becomes the “tolerant one” and whilst that’s true in many ways, I can’t deny the fact and Jasmine has to tolerate Summer getting a lot of attention too. For the most part Jasmine copes with this remarkably well and I always try to involve her in what Summer is doing and explain the reasons why she needs my attention at the times when Jasmine would certainly like it too. It isn’t perfect and I become acutely aware of Jasmine’s longing looks when I’m absorbed in something with Summer. Sometimes Jasmine pretends to be a baby too, saying “dada” or grunting away and do you know what, I just go with it. I let her relish in being a pretend baby and I give her the baby tickles and talk to her in the baby voice. It makes her giggle and feel special and the last thing she needs to feel is forced into being the big one. She’s showing me her desire for attention. She’s showing me she understands that the baby is cute too. These kiddos aren’t stupid! . Nowadays my one-to-one time with Jasmine is so special and I long for it too. She’s at such a gorgeous age and her learning is going at full speed these days. We sit and do puzzles, drawing, letters, counting, play shops, build marble runs and all sorts of other fun. . The dynamic between sisters, the splitting of my time, the uniqueness of two girls, the constant changes, the easy and the difficult...I could go on. Maybe I will 😂 . Jasmine, thank you being my best big girl and the best big sister. I’m so incredibly proud of you, never more so than when you insisted on putting your party dress on to use Summer’s new birthday present! 😂 I never made the decision to go vegan for health reasons but what I’ve written about in my latest blog is just how much veganism has transformed my health and cured me of digestive issues I suffered with for years. . If you suffer with poor digestive health, IBS, lactose intolerance or anything else, perhaps a vegan diet could help you too. Read about my experience in my blog and as always, get in touch if you have any questions. . Link to blog in my bio 🌱 . . . . . #vegan #veganfood #buddhabowl #veganforhealth #IBS #lactoseintolerant #lowfodmap #lowfodmapdiet #meatfree #dairyfree #vegetarian #veganfoodshare #feedmevegan #veganforlife #veganfortheanimals #veganforthem #plantbased #wholefoodsplantbased #poweredbyplants #veganmama #veganmum #veganfamily #eatingforchange #ukvegan #vegansofig #eattherainbow #healthyeating #govegan If your child doesn’t eat the lovely dinner you made them, don’t take it personally. If your child doesn’t want to give you a hug or a kiss, don’t take it personally. If your child hits you or shouts at you, don’t take it personally. If your child stops playing the game they asked for after two minutes, don’t take it personally. If your child ignores you over and over again, don’t take it personally. If your child does the opposite of what you say, don’t take it personally. If your child breaks something of yours, don’t take it personally. If your child screams because you did something wrong, don’t take it personally.... . Part of being a mindful parent is noticing when our child’s behaviour is triggering something in us. An emotive reaction, rather than a proactive response. When we take the time to cook for our kids or play the games they begged us to play and then they push the plate away or become quickly uninterested, we can so easily fall into that place of feeling hurt or disrespected, like our time has been deliberately wasted. But kids, and young kids especially, are just being honest and authentic. They don’t go about their days trying to make us feel bad or hurt our feelings but instead are just being their truest selves, not conditioned to think, act or behave for anyone else. It’s likely that there’s something else going on beneath the surface and it’s our job to tune into that. . Of course it sucks to have your meal rejected or to have to take the brunt of the kicks and screams that get hurled our way, but it really isn’t personal. Finding that way to understand and tune into your child’s behaviour and work out what is going on for THEM helps curb that feeling of wanting to react. Resist the urge to say, “but I just spent ages cooking this for you,” or “you asked me to play so I am playing,” and replace those words with your observations instead. Be proactive, not reactive. Ask yourself why that behaviour is there. . It’s not easy and there are many times when things really do feel personal but this practice, this ability to be mindful, it makes everything feel calmer and more peaceful overall. 🙏🏻 . Does this resonate? Share with me 💚 Pimp that pesto! 🌱💚🌱 . I think pesto pasta is a staple meal for so many busy people, particularly on those days where you only get back from the park at 20 minutes past tea time and rustling up something quick is the one and only thing you need to do to prevent two hungry kiddos asking for snacks (again) before their “proper” food is ready! . I love the convenience and ease of pesto pasta fo sho but I add a few cupboard staples to ours to up the nutritional value and therefore up my Mum points for the day. Here’s what I used today: - spaghetti (at Jasmine’s request!) - @sacla_uk dairy free green pesto - a BIG spoonful of hummus for added creaminess, protein, iron...you get the idea. - frozen peas (add to the spaghetti 5 minutes before it’s done) Portion of veg ✅ - 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds. Complete protein source and Omega source but blends in with the pesto so no-one would ever know! - nutritional yeast - b12 hit and a cheesy taste too (if you haven’t tried it, don’t let the name put you off) . For the grown ups, I like to add a bunch of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper and a big squeeze of lemon too. . Pesto pasta for all the family made in under 15 minutes. Now I just need to ignore the chaotic mess in the kitchen and the pieces of discarded spaghetti under the high chair and I’d call this an all round success! . How do you pimp your pesto? . . . . #veganfood #veganfoodshare #whatveganseat #vegandinner #veganfamily #veganmama #veganmum #veganmummy #plantbased #poweredbyplants #meatfree #crueltyfree #dairyfree #ditchdairy #pestopasta #veganfortheplanet #veganforbeginners #veganmealideas #veganfortheanimals #veganforhealth #eatmoreplants #whatvegankidseat #govegan #ukvegan #vegankids #vegansofig #veganmother #growingamother #eatingforchange #climatechange “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” - Lao Tzu . My intention for the week is not to rush. To slow down, trust the process and take more time, not less, over the things I want to put out into the world. Over the weekend I had a big dose of frustration, feeling stuck and not good enough. My inner critic was out in full force telling me that I still procrastinate too much and that I could have done and could be doing so much more. . But then I realised I was falling down that dangerous hole of comparing myself to others and that immediately stole my own joy. The joy I get from jotting ideas down on paper. The joy I get from learning new things. The joy I get from being a Mother and how some days, that is more than enough. . It’s an exciting place to be in to realise you have so much more to give to the world but impatience comes with that too. Now I can see that the impatience can be reframed as passion and the “procrastination” can be reframed as trying to achieve some form of balance whilst spinning plates. . Sometimes we need to fall down to rise back up higher, wiser and stronger. Peaks and troughs. Ups and downs. You know how it goes. . I’m easing into this new week with ideas but my focus is to be mindful. To sit with ideas for longer and see what else might arise. To trust that the words that really mean the most to me won’t disappear and that everything does have its perfect time and place to be shared. . What is your intention for the week? Do you need to slow down too? . . . . #growingamother #creativity #creativemotherhood #writer #writing #intention #settingintentions #slowdown #slowliving #simpleliving #naturelover #veganmum #veganmama #veganfamily #raisingthefuture #strawberrypicking #laotzu #positivestart #mondaymotivation #personalphilosophy #naturedoesnothurry #personalgrowth #dontrush #motherhood #morethanamother #motherlikenoother #ukmumblog #ukmumblogger #passionproject

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