Mum life is busy, chaotic and constantly changing. We all need simple tips and solutions to make things easier, faster (or in some cases slower!) and less stressful. Here you’ll find inspiration and tips to help you manage the practical things in life better, so you can get on with the things you love and feel happier and calmer.
Perfectionism is patterns of thinking and behaviours driven by the constant need to be or appear perfect (without flaws). It could also be described as the need to avoid being inadequate (anything less than perfect). For many years I proudly called myself a...
When my son was 4, he was playing in the playground after kindergarten and decided to give the monkey bars a try. He always watched the other children swinging across but still liked me to hold him as he moved his arms from bar to bar. This time he wanted to do it...
This is part 2 of a two-part series on navigating your return to work. You can read part 1 here. Welcome back to this blog series on navigating your return to work! Returning to paid work (even if it's a job you love) can be a challenging and emotional experience....
Before motherhood, I loved my job. I willingly put in long hours and massive amounts of effort and commitment to do a good job. I travelled regularly, took work home and derived a lot of satisfaction, pride and also a sense of identity from my paid work. As the...
Letting go is a lesson and practice we live through over and over again. Life continues to present us with new opportunities to let go and sometimes we have such a tight grip on things, it takes several attempts to fully release. I love this quote from Ahjan Chah: “If...
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link, and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a small commission if you decide to purchase after clicking through the link. I’ll only ever recommend things that I love and believe will help you, and the decision to...
When my son was about 16 months old, I started to think about returning to work. I'd always expected I would return to the demanding corporate job that I loved. That’s what career women do. I expected I would place my son in childcare. That’s what working mothers do....
I know that we’re expected to be loving motherhood, sailing through each day with a smile on our faces. That’s the myth of the perfect mum. In reality, we all have bad days and we don’t have to pretend that everything is wonderful when it’s not. Allowing ourselves to...
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link, and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a small commission if you decide to purchase after clicking through the link. I’ll only ever recommend things that I love and believe will help you, and the decision to...
I’m fascinated by volcanoes. My heart raced with excitement and awe when I stood in the hot steam rising from the ground, walked across kilometres of lava rock, and flew in a helicopter over the crater of the active volcano in Hawaii. When...
Balance. It can be a tricky topic. Some women idealise the concept of balance and are constantly trying to achieve it. Others reject the idea that it’s possible and refuse to use the word at all. Some prefer to call it integration or harmony. Let's have a quick look...
In this blog, I'm delighted to introduce you to Hayley Thiele, mum, step mum and Founder of She Can Thrive. Hayley was thrown a curve ball in her motherhood journey and is now using her experiences to help other mums who are craving connection with someone who...
Many mums have told me that while they know exercise is important for wellbeing, they struggle to make it a part of their regular activities. That's why I've invited Claire Cole, Personal Trainer and Founder of Movement for Mums, to share her insights into how to make...
Ever thought about journaling but don’t know where to start, how to find the time or how to get it right? Maybe you're reluctant to confront those emotions and thoughts you’re currently keeping under wraps? Maybe you’ve tried it, and weren’t able to be...
Do you feel like you’re constantly comparing yourself or being compared to the ideal of a perfect mother? With so much information and advice out there “helping” us to get things “right” so that our children will be the most intelligent, happiest and the most...
When things aren't going the way we want them to, or we aren't coping as well as we think we should be, we can get caught up in criticising and judging ourselves. This can seem like a helpful and productive way to motivate ourselves to better actions and outcomes but...
Alone time is an important part of caring for our wellbeing. Having time to just be who we are, to rest and relax, helps us feel happier, healthier, more energised and refreshed. Without it, in the long run, we can start to see negative impacts to our mental,...
There's something important you need to know about your brain. It likes to be right. Being right feels good (thanks to the chemicals released in your brain) and it takes way less energy than always challenging your current view of the world. This means that, thanks...
Do you ever wish you were a calmer parent? A more connected parent? I think we all have moments where we miss the bar we set for ourselves in these areas. Parenting challenges us in ways we've never been challenged before and with every new child, and every new...
Since late last year, I’ve had the privilege of looking after my stepdaughter’s beautiful baby girl once a week. It’s a pretty fortunate position to be in; I get to enjoy all the cuddles, smiles and fun, and build a lovely connection with her, but then (providing my...
When you think about your life as it is now, how do you feel? How do you want to feel? How similar or different are your two responses? I don’t know about you, but motherhood was not quite what I thought it would be. Somehow, I thought it would be easier and...
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link, and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a small commission if you decide to purchase after clicking through the link. I’ll only ever recommend things that I love and believe will help you, and the decision to...
From mid December and all the way through January we are surrounded by messages about reflecting on the year that is coming to an end and creating new year's resolutions. What did you achieve? What didn’t you achieve? How will you improve? What will you do next? Who...
It’s nearly the end of the year and many of us are reflecting, thinking about what we’ve accomplished (or not quite achieved), enjoyed, found challenging and what we want to be different for the coming year. How has 2019 been for you? Has it fulfilled you? Brought you...
The Christmas season provides plenty of opportunities to go beyond your usual limits. For example: How much you spend How often you socialise How much alcohol you drink How many responsibilities you take on How much sleep you get What you eat Who you spend time with....
“How are you?” “I'm exhausted all the time” “Well, that’s to be expected, you’re a mum!” Have you ever had a conversation like that? It seems to be a commonly held belief that once you enter motherhood, you are destined to be exhausted for a looooong time. At...
In my previous blog post, I wrote about how to say no with kindness and respect. While exploring the reasons that saying no is difficult, something came up that really resonated with the More to Mum community – people pleasing. I received numerous messages from mums,...
I get asked for advice on how to say no all the time and I realised I hadn’t actually written a blog about it! So, here we are. Do you ever think “no, no, no, no, no “ and then hear the word “yes” slip out of your mouth? Or, do you say yes, and then spend ages feeling...
Have you found your tribe? "You know, the ones that make you feel the most YOU. The ones that lift you up and help you remember who you really are. The ones that remind you that a blip in the road is just that, a blip. They are the ones that when you walk out...
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I'll earn a small commission if you decide to purchase after clicking through the links. I'll only ever recommend things that I love and believe will help you, and the decision to...