'Comparison is the thief of joy'

I was having a bit of a moment last night...you know...39 weeks pregnant...hormonal...our eldest starting back at school today! 😢 I've been fairly organised but by the time last night arrived the uniform wasn't ironed (no names in either!)...no bag packed...I realised we hadn't actually done the home learning over the holiday even though I did mean to! I started to overthink everything......'I've let him down'; 'His shoes don't fit properly'; 'I'm always so unorganised compared to other Mums'. I was really taking so much responsibility for everything and being way too hard on myself. And then after a couple of little pep - talks it occurred to me......
                        
Don't you think there is so much pressure on Mums (parents) to be 'perfect'? The world wants us to rush around...be organised...feed our children the best stuff...get them to behave in a certain way...whilst managing to keep on top of everything!  I'm not one for following the norm most of the time but sometimes my confidence in myself falters slightly! I love this phrase I found recently;

'Comparison is the thief of joy' 💛 (Theodore Roosevelt)

And isn't that so true?! So today lovely people, hold your head up high and congratulate yourself on doing your best! Focus on everything you do achieve, be yourself & have confidence in who you are 😊👏

Gemma xx

Oh what to do at 2 am when you're wide awake!

This is my 3rd pregnancy and I'm nearing the end (39+2 to be precise!). I knew when we went to bed tonight that I didn't feel *that* tired but it was 'bedtime' & we are going out tomorrow and I knew I needed to rest. And yet here I am, laying wide awake (yet yawning!) feeling like this might be one of the longest nights ever! I feel so restless and headachy and heartburny......the body can be so clever yet feel so cruel at the time when I surely need my sleep the most!

Still I must focus on what is important......it won't be long now until we meet the new little person in our lives and whilst with this comes anxieties about what our other 2 will think and how they will cope, it's all very exciting too! And I really haven't faired bad overall this pregnancy for heartburn and some of those other yucky symptoms. I am lucky that I can mostly look back at all 3 pregnancies and remember them fondly (or with rose tinted specs on the tough days!).

So what to do now it is 2.05am? Well I've tried Facebook...I'm not a huge fan of social media on a personal level...it doesn't always make me feel very good and I often feel it's a bit of a waste of my time. Even in the middle of the night with nothing to do! Endless hours of nosing really! I do love Instagram but everyone is asleep...! At least all the UK accounts I follow. It's a friendly place is Instagram and so inspiring. I think I have discovered at least 5 new accounts to follow today and almost ordered several prints for the baby's room! (Hmm......shopping has to be high up on the pregnancy insomnia to - do list!)

So that just leaves blogging (doing it!!) & Pinterest. Ohhh...I had sort of forgotten Pinterest in my busyness of late! How could I?! It's a giant pinboard of fantasy wants, wishes and dreams! If I can't dream for real (in my insomniac state!) then I may as well satisfy my dreams elsewhere.

(I also love the fact that as I lay here typing this rather random little note, now and then after I write a word a smilie pops up in the predictive text! I must use a lot of them and therefore smile a lot [in my head at least!] which makes me smile again!)

Sweet dreams xx

Gemma

P.s. Please please please can I go back to sleep, I'm going to look like death tomorrow, I can tell!

P.p.s. Oh gosh I've just realised I had a load of chocolate before bed! I wonder if tonight it could be that?? Oh bum! It was yummy too!

A rainy August day & a baby shower!

Yesterday was full of surprises! I wasn't expecting the rainy day for starters! I'm not sure why I was surprised when I opened the blinds as it's been so unsettled lately - a typical British Bank Holiday perhaps :-) To be honest it's the perfect fresh weather for pregnant ladies! I feel so thankful I have mostly escaped struggling in the heat! Although come on September, you can bring us an Indian Summer after the 11th ;-)

Rain or no rain I had a baby shower to go to!

My first ever as I didn't have one for my other 2 pregnancies. I was left well and truly stuffed from all the cake and other food! Below you'll see them playing guess the bump size! Most had gone way too big - thanks girls! :-D

 

For any of you that might not know I'm vegan (& so is Mum) so I was totally overwhelmed when one of my very dear and talented friends created this masterpiece for me! 

She already runs a small part - time business making cakes (I will make sure I share details with you as soon as her Facebook page is back up and running), but I now intend to badger her with lots of ideas and advice!

They also surprised me with a really unusual hamper from Flowbox! 

There are so many vegan treats in it! Things I've never heard of! I'm trying my best not to indulge yet......I'm pretty sure I'll be needing all of it after the birth! Mum actually spruced it up in her usual creative way finding the basket at our local antiques place. Even better - another basket to add to my collection! You can truly never have too many baskets in a home :-)

So here we are now...first day of September...10days to go...big eeeeek!

Gemma xx