WOMENS CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

It's the most wonderful time of the year! It really is, and my absolute favourite. I've been so excited to get stuck into these guides as during the festive period I am always searching blogs high and low to see what things they would recommend, especially this year as I've found a lot of my family really hard to buy for. Everybody is at that age in their lives where if they want something, they buy it so it's definitely tricky. In my life there are a lot of boys and me, so as you can imagine I don't get to think much about what to buy for women, but these pieces I've definitely thought carefully over. Here's to the first gift guide of the season and I can't wait to show you what else is in store.

SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE

Life at the moment is a little bit crazy, I feel completely consumed by tiredness most of the time. In fact, I don't really recall the last time I didn't feel tired. I'm sure that's a standard for most parents, but it's engulfing me lately and I can't see a way out from the tiredness cloud that hangs over me every single day. I work 32 hours a week, I'm a mother of two and I blog in all of my spare time, that's probably a good indication of why I'm so tired but none of those things are going to stop, so what does that say for this permanent state of exhaustion?

THE YELLOW COAT

I think Autumns yellow coats, are the summers inflatable flamingo trend - are you really a blogger if you haven't captured a snap of yourself in one? I don't think I can scroll through my instagram feed without a flash of yellow, usually accompanied by the breton strip inner. I'm not complaining, I love a good trend and I'm definitely a sucker for them so as a standard of course I have a yellow coat, as do both my children. I feel that I miss out a little bit on the whole twinning situation due to the fact I have two sons, Next even rub salt into the wound by ensuring Mums and Daughters can have matching pyjamas and swimwear, whilst the mothers of boys are cast a side a little. However, I've become imaginative - you have too and by taking our accessorises such as hats, shoes, coats, I've slowly but surely found a way to be 'that' mother who matches with her children. And am I ashamed? Absolutely not.

REINTRODUCING DAIRY

I hadn't ever thought about reintroducing dairy to Patrick, certainly not this soon after we took him off it altogether. I knew he had an intolerance but I'd never really thought about the fact that the intolerance could be temporary, only when speaking to other people who had been through similar did I start to believe this was exactly what had happened to Patrick. He had been poorly with a bug, and this could have more likely than not, triggered his intolerance to dairy, he needed it out of his system before he could properly recover. Simple enough, though it caused weeks of hell for everyone. Now that Patrick has been well for some considerable time, it's time to bring back the dairy.

I LOST MY INSTAGRAM LOVE

I've spoken about Instagram a lot on here over the years, it's definitely my favourite form of social media and I liken it to a teenage relationship, one moment I'm immersed in it and can't get enough of it and the next I don't want to even see it for five days. It's frustrating, it's hard work and it isn't always fun, I guess for an ordinary user it probably is and the problem is more so with me than with Instagram itself, but my word has it driven me up the wall lately.

MY TRAVEL BUCKET LIST, FOUR PLACES IN FOUR YEARS.

I love travelling, it's always been a huge part of my childhood with my parents insisting that we left the country every year to explore the world. In my youth, there wasn't much I hated more than being dragged on those coach trips in countries a bit nearer to the equator, with less than desirable air conditioning to visit a monument or wonder of the world that I couldn't have cared less about at the time. But in hindsight, it was invaluable, I'm a firm believer that travel broadens the mind and whether you're heading to your local seaside resort, the lake district or half way across the world on a plane, each place you visit always learns you something new.

SOMETIMES BLOGGING SUCKS

I love being a blogger, it was a complete hobby move and the reality that it's now turned into an income is still astonishing to me. It's never something I'm complacent about and I'm more than aware that the income stream could slip away at any point - that's one of the downsides of being a blogger. One of many, just like any other job there are things that happen that I really, really wish didn't and in those jobs you generally just have to keep quiet and plod on as to not put your workplace into disrepute. However with blogging it works a little different doesn't it? I can quite openly express every little thing that really grinds my gears in the word of blog and I'm sure I wont be the first or last to encounter these issues.