If you’re following my Instagram account, you will know about the ongoing issues I have had with Munchkin no2’s speech.

I initially thought there was a problem when she was around 2 years old. She had a very limited vocabulary and would only say “Mamma” although she had previously said other words, such as “Dadda” and “Nanna”.

I asked for a hearing test to rule out any hearing impairments. It took a long time for her to receive this, and I had to chase it up several times both with my GP and my health visitor. When she eventually did have a hearing test, they diagnosed glue ear and told me that she wasn’t hearing lower-level frequency sounds. They advised me that this may correct itself as she grows, however if it doesn’t then she would need to have grommets fitted.

A follow up test a year later showed that the glue ear had cleared up on its own and she passed her hearing test. By then her speech had improved slightly, she was using a wider range of words and her sentences were less broken, however the pronunciation still wasn’t improving, so I asked about what else I could do, and they suggested I ask for a referral to speech and language. I requested a referral through her nursery.

Speech and language was a lot quicker, they got in touch within a couple of weeks and an assessment was set up an over zoom. The therapist held up pictures and asked Munchkin No2 to say what she saw so she could assess her speech and then she made up a plan of what we could do moving forwards.

The report stated that she is doing 4 things:

Voicing: This is when a quiet sound is replaced by a loud sound so for example instead of saying “pig” she says “big” replacing the p with a b sound.

Backing: This is when a sound produced at the front of the mouth is replaced by a sound produced further back in the mouth. For example, instead of saying “dummy” she says “gummy”

Emitting fricative sounds: She misses out sounds in the middle of the word. For example, instead of saying “Elephant” she says “E-y-unt”

Final sound deletion: she misses out the end of some words for example instead of “glove” she said “glu”

She replaces a lot of sounds with “g” for example “Topsy and Tim” becomes “Goppy and Gim”

I was informed that there were no therapy sessions taking place at the time, due to Covid restrictions, so I would be implementing the therapy at home instead. I was already home-schooling both munchkins on and off during the various lockdowns, so that coupled with now having to try do speech therapy was very daunting and overwhelming.

I was sent a lot of information via email, including flash cards which I printed off and laminated. I researched and made up games with them, but it was hit and miss as to whether she would engage, I really must make activities fun, otherwise she loses interest quickly.

We were sent the information/activities in December and since then I have kind of been left to it really, without any further contact from the speech therapist. I emailed once to clarify something and never received a response.

A few weeks ago, I spoke on my stories about how I have been struggling to keep on top of the speech therapy as well as home-schooling and trying to prepare her for school in September. I felt as though I was failing her from every angle and have been really worried about her starting school in September.

Then 2 weeks ago I received a phone call from speech and language informing me that they would be giving Munchkin no2 four speech therapy sessions via video link before she starts school. To say I was relieved was an understatement. I shared my concerns with the lady I spoke to and felt heard and reassured. I am so glad she is going to have some professional assistance now, rather than me fumbling my way through.

Munchkin no2 has been amazing all the way through, she has been trying so hard and I have seen many improvements. She has so much patience with people when they are struggling to understand her. She repeats herself several times and even does little actions to help them grasp what she is saying! She has also started finding other ways of saying what she means if people aren’t quite getting it.

I really feel for her, starting school after having so many gaps in her nursery life due to Covid, and then with a speech disorder on top, but I am feeling more confident now that her speech therapy sessions are in place.

I will keep you updated as we go along.

Thank you for reading X

I started working as soon as I left school, right up to having children, when, unfortunately my career took a pretty steep nosedive.

I was a first line manager when I had Munchkin no1. Not long after returning to work I switched to a job closer to home. Sadly that also meant a substantial drop in pay.


When I had Munchkin no2 I returned to work again, only this time part-time, taking another drop in pay.

I’ve always worked in quite stressfull environments and my last job was certainly no exception!


Eventually it became too much and my husband suggested I give up work altogether to stay at home and look after the children until Munchkin no2 was at school. I wasn’t bringing in much of a wage, so it made sense financially that I stayed at home, freeing him up to do overtime when it was available.


It took me a long time to actually hand my notice in. I liked earning my own money and didn’t want to rely on my husband to be the sole provider.


But it worked out to be the best thing for the family all round. My husband and I always worked opposite shifts and opposite weekends to cut down on childcare, but it meant that one of us was always away working, so we were getting very little time together as a family, at one stage we were only getting one day off a month together!

2021 brings me to a crossroads. Munchkin no2 will be starting school in September which means I will be entering back into the work environment.

Hubby has suggested I look for a job in a supermarket or shop, working around school hours and part of me knows that’s a viable option.

Another part of me really wants to do something I’m passionate about and already enjoy doing.

Those of you who have followed me for a while will know that I went on some creative writing courses at the begining of the year, which really sparked my enthusiasm for writting and spurred me on to start editing previous work and continue working on a book I’d started.


I was so excited and planned to schedule time in during my child free days on Thursdays and Fridays to work on my projects.

Then covid hit and I became a home schooler, with absolutely no time for myself. My dreams and aspirations were pushed to the side and I didn’t do any of the work I’d planned to do.


I’ve still be writting most days in the form of my blog on Instagram and Facebook, which I really enjoy.


What I would really love is to have a permanent job in writing or media, but with no formal qualifications that might be difficult to secure.


I’ve started looking into apprenticeship schemes in media and jounalism, which could be a good fit as I will be earning whilst gaining qualifications.


I am mindful that since having children, although I have also worked I have become the primary care giver to the munchkins, meaning that I am first and foremost there to look after them and my worklife now has to fit around that.

Quite unfairly, my husband’s worklife hasn’t been affected since bcoming a father, however my career now has a set of restrictions in place so that I am available for the children when they need me, I.E before and after school.


I kind of feel that I’ve been on hold for the past few years, serving the needs of my family before my own, which I know is a common feeling among women after having children .


Now the time for me to return to work is approaching I feel a little overwhelmed with the potential options that are available to me, but I also feel that I shouldn’t waste this opportunity. We spend such a lot of our time at work, it makes sense to do something we really enjoy doesn’t it?


So the question that I’m sending out into the abyss is, do I settle for a job that fits in with schooling and earns me a regular wage so that I can try and persue my interests and dreams in my free time, or do I strive to make a career out of something I already enjoy doing – which may mean longer working hours and possible retraining? X

This is a slightly re-writen post from something I wrote on 1st November:
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Boris’ announcement yesterday brings more unrest and uncertainty to our country, and I’m sure a lot of us are feeling dissapointed and deflated that we are having to go back a step.
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Statistics show a rise in domestic violence reports and more vulnerable children are suffering from malnourishment. There have been job losses and financial difficulties for many.
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But, although we face more tough times ahead, and a Christmas unlike anything we could have imagined I want you to also try to remember:

💖 We came together as a country during both lockdowns, albiet in different houses, we were united in our goal to protect the NHS and save lives – and we were successful!

💖 We spent time with our family unit/children that we wouldn’t normally have had.

💖 We did have some good times through all the shit this year has thrown at us all, and we will again.

💖 We made pictures and plaques to remind us of this time.

💖 Some of us made lifestyle changes for the better thanks to all that time at home.

💖 Some of us finally made that move to open their own businesses they’ve been longing to open.

💖 Some of us had career changes and are now helping others in the community.

💖 We already know we’ve gotten through worse, so we know we can get through this.

💖 We now have a vaccine so are closer than ever to finally getting ahead of this virus.
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Of course, it hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, there have been some really tough times for all of us, but now more than ever I think we need to try and focus on the positives, (I know I do!) we have gotten through this once and made a difference to this damn virus and we can do it again! X

It was a frayed afternoon in the Munchkin maker household yesterday.

The munchkins seemed to rub each other up the wrong way from the moment they got in the car after school, and it continued right through to dinner and beyond.

It appears that if Mummy isn’t sitting with them at all times, they are unable to control themselves. The minute Mummy steps away to…. I don’t know…. have a wee, it starts!

Mummy was trying to be super organised and simultaneously cook the munchkins’ dinner, pack lunch for the next day and cook a curry from scratch for her and Daddy to eat later.

“She’s taken on too much” I hear you say – and you would be absolutely right!

Mummy likes to have the radio on when she’s in the kitchen, but there was no need for that as she couldn’t hear it anyway over the the sound track of the high pitched screams coming from Munchkin no2! That and the intermittent arrival of each of them in turn to “tell” on the other!

It was a modern day miracle, but Mummy finally managed to get the munchkins’ dinner cooked and sat them down, so thought she’d concentrate on finishing the curry as they ate.

However the munchkins had other ideas and decided to take it in turns to pretend to fall off their chairs, enlisting the help of the other one, who was to run round the table to “rescue” her sister.

After going back and forth from cooking and reminding them to sit nicely and eat their dinner, Mummy turned to see them both looking at the floor, between their chairs. She followed their gaze to find half of Munchkin no2’s dinner scattered beneath them!

Both munchkins did a stint on the quiet spot before dinner was over, then mummy ushered them into the living room.

Daddy, who was upstairs trying to fit a new bath panel heard all of the commotion and stepped in with his “big voice” as mummy tried to reason with them about tidying up the living room and how much it would help her out if they just did what she asked.

Mummy finally gave up and allowed them to go on their tablets, while she ranted about how she never gets to do anything she wants to do, because she’s always either having to sit with them and act as a referee, or is cleaning and doing all the things she can’t get done during the day, when they’re in bed.

Feeling defeated, Mummy went and angry cleaned the kitchen, but later joined the munchkins in the living room, where they both promptly sat on top of her, watching their tablets and she was forced to watch an episode of “pointless” because she couldn’t move to reach the remote!! X

When I started blogging it was something that I had wanted to do for a long time. Something that I wanted to work hard on and be proud of. I was clear from the start that it was something I was doing by myself, for myself.

I knew that I wasn’t going to go down the brand rep line. I sometimes think it’s a little unfair on the children that are being dressed up and photographed while their parents make money. I’ve worded that a little harshly and there is of course other brand rep opportunities out there that don’t involve your children. I don’t judge parents that do go down that route, I just knew that I didn’t want that for my children.

I am very aware that my children currently don’t have a choice what I share about them. I have spoken to my eldest about the videos and photos I take and asked her what she thought about it, and she said “good, but I don’t always want to be in them”

Regarding photos, I try to choose photos that obscure their faces, either slightly or fully. I never use their real names, they are “Munchkin no1 and Munchkin no2” on my blog. Videos are a little harder to obscure, so whenever I do a video I ask my eldest first if she wants to be in them and if she doesn’t I make sure I keep her out of it, if she does I still try not to get her face in it.

With my youngest, she’s a bit less aware and just wanders in and out, so I try to keep her face out of it as best I can, but sometimes it can’t be helped. When she’s older and understands more I will do the same as I do with my eldest.

I am the opposite with my personal social media. I have higher security settings on my accounts, so know that only people I have accepted are able to see the photos and videos I put on, I also call them by their names on my private social media.

Obviously the aim of writing a blog is to build a following, which means you can’t truly vet who is following you, yes you can have a quick browse through their account, but when some of them are private it’s hard to do unless they allow you to follow them back. The more followers you get the harder it becomes to keep track of everyone. Therefore I have taken as many steps as possible to protect my children as much as I can, whilst still talking about family life and life as a mummy within my blog.

If I want to make a go of this, and hopefully somehow, somewhere down the line monetise my blog, (I haven’t figured that part out yet!) then my reasoning is this:

In a “normal” job role I would go out to work on my own, and that part of my life stays completely separate. I wouldn’t take my children to work with me and my colleagues would only know what I told them about my children, in some cases they may never meet them, or even know what they look like.

I feel like I should take a similar approach to my blogging. I am conscientious when it comes to job roles, so I should be conscientious when it comes to blogging. I am very aware that I am putting myself out there, and it is my choice to do so, it’s not my children’s choice.

That in itself brings challenges and means that I have to take a little more time before posting, to make sure, firstly that their faces are obscured, but also that there is nothing in the background with their names on, or anything else that could identify them, or our neighbourhood. (I once watched someone’s story, they were out walking near where they live and I saw a street name) It makes it all more time consuming but, as I said above I am trying to be conscientious with it.

Some of you might think I’m being over protective, some might do the same, and some might be the opposite. Whatever you choose to do with your social media is your choice.

So I ask you, fellow bloggers, to share or not to share? What is your approach to blogging? Do you share anything and everything or take measures to obscure your children’s identities? x

 

I posted on my instastories a few weeks ago that I had been struggling a bit recently. Particularly at work. I had become very self-conscious and lacking massively in confidence since returning to work part time, after having Munchkin no2.

As time has gone on, my confidence hasn’t improved and I have been finding myself feeling demoralised at the end of most shifts, questioning my decisions, and even my ability to do the job. I have always been confident in my job roles, so this is completely alien and uncomfortable to me.

The night before a shift, without fail I sleep poorly, and am then tired and anxious before going into work, already playing scenarios out in my head and trying to figure out what the appropriate way to respond to each situation could be. I then go on to spend the shift overthinking everything, even down to which conversations to get involved in.

After a lot of long discussions with hubby, and overcoming my reluctance to admit defeat, we have decided that it will be better, both for me and the family if I give up work all together until Munchkin no2 is school age and then look to go back to work then.

Currently hubby and I work opposite shifts and opposite weekends, which means that at the moment, unless one of us takes annual leave we have very little time together as a family, it’s always just one of us at home while the other one works. We also don’t get a lot of couple time together.

I have spent the last month working my notice. I have 2 shifts left to work. I am nervous and excited, in equal measures. I am nervous as the last time I had a long period of time off, I was on maternity leave. I suffered terribly with anxiety, which began when Munchkin no2 was 4 weeks old. It hit me like a bolt out the blue and left me battling physical symptoms.  I am telling myself that this was all due to my hormones and it will not happen again.

I have also started to put things in place, such as writing in my diary every night, finishing off with 3 things I’ve handled well that day, or 3 things I’m grateful for. I’ve also been going over my CBT notes again to re-enforce the messages I learnt back then. Just doing this over the last 2 days has boosted me, I think knowing that I am doing something to help myself is enough to calm me.

I’m excited about spending more time with the Munchkins, in particularly no2. As no1 is at school now, no2 is getting the one to one time that she’s been missing out on, having an older sister and all, so I am looking forward developing her speech with her, and doing more activities, just the two of us.

I am also hoping to expand on my blogging somehow. I really enjoy it, and have met some really lovely people, it is something that I have achieved by myself, for myself, and I am proud of it.

So that’s my big announcement! From this Friday I will be a stay at home mum. It’s been a big decision to make, but I think it is a positive move for the whole family.

Thank you all for your continued support, and thank you for reading! X

First of all I thought, “Should I choose someone famous?” But no-one really sprang to mind as someone I admire above others. So then I started thinking about someone closer to me, a friend or family member. I didn’t have to think for very long. The answer was staring me right in the face.

Hands down, the person that I ultimately truly admire is my husband. I know it’s a cliché and you probably think it a bit of a cop-out, but it’s true.

I wrote a long WordPress post about my miscarriage in 2013. We lost identical twins. In my post I talk about my husband and how he was there for me at that time.

No amount of words can describe how I feel about him now that we have been through that together. I always loved him, right from the start, but something changed. I saw him in a completely different way. My love for him changed. What I feel for him now is far deeper than love. Up until then we were ticking along nicely in our little relationship together. We had not faced anything like this before, nothing had really tested us as a couple.

I had no idea how something like this would affect me, until it happened. The only word I have ever used to describe how I felt was broken. I was completely broken and I was unable to fix myself. For a long time it felt like everyone else had moved on around me and the world had kept on spinning while I just stood still. Everyone else got on with their lives. Everyone else but him. He stayed with me, he stayed right by my side, patiently waiting for me to catch up.

He was hurting too, but he selflessly put his own feelings aside and looked after me. He understood that I had the physical side of things to deal with as well as the emotional side. He understood that this happened to my body, and that what needed to happen next would happen to my body and that is was my body that would feel the after effects.

My husband always said that he would only ever get married once. It was a big deal to both of us to make that commitment to each other, and he has more than held up his end of the bargain. I know he will always be there for me and for our children. When things get tough, he won’t just walk away, and he will stand by my side and face them with me. When I need his advice, I know he will be honest with me. When I need his love, I know he will be gentle with me. When I’m over thinking I know he will rationalise my thoughts, with one sentence. He is the calm in my storm, he is my clarity and my constant.

So there you have it. The person I admire above all others and why.

Thank you for reading my soppy love story! X

 

My morning routine:

Both of my munchkins are early risers, and I find it so hard to pull myself together in the morning, when they’re both full of beans. I really struggle just making the breakfast sometimes, let alone hold down a conversation!

So I bought myself one of these clocks that has a sunrise setting on it. You set your alarm to the time you want to wake up and it starts the sunrise setting 30 minutes beforehand, allowing you to wake up gently and naturally. I’ve been using it a while now, however made the crucial mistake of setting it for the time I’d like to wake up, and NOT the time my munchkins actually get me up!

Ideally 6:30am is the latest I’d be able to wake up and still be on time for the school run, it’s also the absolute earliest I’d want to wake up, so naturally I set my alarm for that time. Unfortunately the munchkins have other ideas!

My youngest is usually up from 6am onwards, 6:10 if I’m lucky, so that’s 10 minutes into the sunrise setting and 20 minutes before my alarm actually goes off. After a few weeks I reluctantly adjusted it to 6:15am, to try and get a bit more sunrise!

This morning, however, she excelled all expectations and woke me up at 5am. 5AM!!!

Once she’s up, if my eldest is already up, I’ll lay in bed and scroll through my phone, while she goes into her room and climbs in her cot with her, and they play with their dollies for a while. If it’s really early (like 5am!) I’ll go and get her and either take her downstairs or bring her into my bed so she doesn’t wake up her sister, who needs her sleep for school, although she’s not usually far behind her!

My routine depends on what my husband is working. If he’s on nights I have to be up and showered and out of our room early (we have an en suite) so that he can go to bed as soon as he gets home and I don’t disturb him by coming in and getting ready. I’m also conscious of the girls making a lot of noise upstairs when we’re getting ready for school and he’s trying to sleep. If he’s on days he’s gone by 5am so I’ve got the run of the house and can take my time a bit more

Once I’ve had my shower and got dressed, (usually jeans and a vest top) I go down and start breakfast. The first thing I do is put the radio on. I like having the music on and listening to the presenters talking. I’m on my own with the girls the majority of the time, so that’s about the only adult conversation I have in the mornings until the school run!

I boil the kettle while I get the munchkins breakfast ready. They either have cereal and toast of scrambled egg and toast. Once they’ve got everything they need I do mine and we all sit at the table and eat. When we’ve all finished its upstairs to clean teeth, wash faces and get dressed.

Once both girls are washed and dressed I do my eldest’s hair. They then play while I clean my teeth, do my hair and make-up and put a jumper on. (Depending on time, sometimes I don’t get time to do any of that and end up just putting a tinted moisturiser on and scraping my hair back!) By this time I’m getting anxious about the school run and the parking situation. So I’m beginning to get a bit snappy when the munchkins aren’t listening and getting ready.

We head downstairs to have one last wee before we go, get shoes and coats on and I pack my daughter’s book bag for school. If I’m going shopping or out straight after the school run I get the changing bag ready.

Sometimes I have time to clean up after breakfast, which is putting all the plates and bowls in the dishwasher, washing up the girl’s drinks bottles and re-filling them. Washing down all the worktops and the table. Cleaning the coffee table in the living room, plumping the cushions, and wiping down sticky marks on the sofa and then hoovering through downstairs. If we are running late I do this when I get back from the school run.

I’ve usually got a load of washing to do, hang up, or sort and put away. Again my housework depends on what shifts my husbands is doing. If he’s on days I will clean upstairs daily, make the beds, tidy and hoover the rooms, and keep on top of the bathrooms cleaning wise. When he is on nights I try to avoid being upstairs too much so I don’t disturb him. I make sure the downstairs is clean daily. I tidy the girl’s bedrooms in the mornings, but leave my room as hubby just gets straight into bed more or less as I get out.  Cleaning our en suite will wake him up, so I leave it and give the whole room and en suite a deep clean once he’s finished.

I give munchkin no2 her lunch at around 11:30 and she’s usually in bed having her nap by 12. I make my lunch at the same time as hers, but I eat it when she’s in bed and I can actually enjoy a hot cup of tea! I usually sit for about half an hour and catch up on some TV while having my lunch, then I’ll prepare dinner for the evening, or get some other jobs done, like blog posts, phone calls I need to make, or other admin bits that I can’t do with a toddler around!

So that’s about it, a rough insight to my morning routine. I find the build up to the school run to be the most hectic part of the day, and breathe a sigh of relief when it’s done!

I’m looking forward to reading your routines! X

Today’s subject is:

Your zodiac sign and does it fit your personality.

My zodiac sign is Cancer. It is considered to be one of the most nurturing signs of the zodiac. I did some research before writing this post. I read a lot about the cancer sign being incredibly loyal and loving with friendships and relationships, and that they suffer deeply when things go wrong, or this isn’t reciprocated.

This is me in a nutshell! I am fiercely loyal, and would do anything for my family and close friends, however I have often been left disappointed – usually by friends, when they have done something to me that I would never have even imagined doing to them, or when they haven’t reciprocated my loyalty.

I also read a lot about cancer signs having trouble letting go because we are so sensitive. They’ve been described as suffering for a long time after an event, remembering it over and over, forgiving but not forgetting and retreating back into their “shell”

Again, this describes me pretty well! I am very sensitive and often read a lot more into a situation than there actually is. I have cut myself off from friends in the past after they have treated me badly, when I have been loyal to them. When I have felt their treatment of me to be unfair and unnecessary. I suppose that is me “retreating into my shell” of security where no-one can hurt me again.

Cancer signs are also described as having a thick outer shell, but a sensitive body underneath. They can come across as moody and hard to get to know. This is true of me. I have been told by a few people that they didn’t think I liked them when they first met me, however we have gone on to be great lifelong friends.

I was pleased to read that my perfect love match is Taurus. Which explains why hubby and I get on so well. I can honestly say we have been together for 12 years now and have never had a full-blown argument. We squabble and bicker, but have never had a proper fight or made each other really angry about anything. We’re just able to talk about things, even if we have differing opinions, we listen to each other’s side and make a decision together.

I used to be really into my horoscopes as a teenager, and would regularly read them, but I’ve kind of fallen out of that habit as I’ve gotten older. This has been a nice little research task for me tonight!

Thank you one again to Kathryn for coming up with the idea! x

Yesterday a blogger I follow, Kathryn Hendry, AKA the Mother Hen set up a 14 day blogging challenge.

Her Instagram page can be found here:

https://www.instagram.com/the_mother_hen_/

She has set the challenge to try and combat her own writer’s block and fall in love with writing again, and to also encourage others who want to join in! We are using the hashtag #motherhenblogchallenge for our posts.

 

So here goes, 10 interesting facts about me……

1. I have a modern apprenticeship in aircraft engineering. I had no direction when I left school, I sort of knew what I might like to do, but my careers advisor basically laughed me out of the room. My older brother suggested an apprenticeship, and after a year of college I applied for one and got through. On my last year I received the apprentice of the year award, which was a massive deal for me at the time because I was one of only 4 women working on the shop floor in a factory of around 400!

 

2. I no longer work in engineering! After 5 years I moved on, mainly due to one of the managers there not allowing me to expand my knowledge by working in different areas. Looking back I feel that he held me back. Every 6 months he’d come up with another reason why I couldn’t move areas. I’ve come across that a few times during my career, there is always someone else (usually a manager) making decisions about what they think is best for my career, Deciding when they think I’m ready for the next step, and in the meantime keeping me interested by dangling a carrot that promotion is on the cards, when in actual fact it never was (Not that I’m bitter or anything!)

 

 

3. I’ve always wanted to be an actress, but never pursued it. When I went on maternity leave with my eldest I finally took the plunge and went on an introduction to acting course, which provided us with feedback at the end. I really loved it and it spurred me on to join my local theatre group. I’ve been in 2 plays with them and then took a break to have my youngest daughter, but am chomping at the bit to get back into it now she’s older!

 

4. My biggest regret is not following my heart when I was younger and allowing myself to get directed into getting a “normal” job. I wish I’d studied drama at college when further education was free, now I have to pay for expensive adult education if I want to have any chance of following my dreams. I am realistic though and fully aware of how hard it is to get into acting professionally, and with a young family, it’s even harder, so for now I’ll stick to my little theatre group, then when the children are a bit older I can look into doing some more courses.

 

 

5. I spend the majority of the time on my own with our 2 children, my eldest is 4 and my youngest is almost 2. Hubby works long hours, both day shifts and night shifts. When he’s on days he goes out at 5am and comes home at 7:30 – 7:45pm, so he doesn’t see the girls at all. When he’s on nights he goes out at dinner time and comes home at breakfast time, so he sees a bit more of the girls, but we don’t get a lot of time together. When I’m not with the girls I am at work myself! I work 2 days a week, and they slot in with my husband’s shifts, so that one of us is always at home with the girls.

 

6. I chose my blog name because I always called my eldest daughter “My little munchkin” and then when my youngest came along it changed to “Munchkin no1” (my eldest, no1 because she was born first) and “Munchkin no2” Therefore it made sense call myself the Munchkin Maker, and Confessions of a Munchkin Maker had a nice ring to it!

 

 

7. I’ve been married to my husband for almost 11 years. We met in Feb 2007, moved in together in July 2007, got engaged in September 2007 and then married a year after that.

 

8. I was in one other long term relationship and a couple of “flash in the pan” relationships before my husband. The long term one left me with very little confidence. It started off well, and I really thought we would always be together (I was only 19 at the time though, he was 6 years older than me!) however after a car accident he became very controlling. He cheated on me, more than once, and would often compare me to other women in the street “why don’t you do your hair like that?” “Why don’t you dress like that?” you get the picture! He never hid the fact that he was checking out other women when I was with him.

 

Anyway, it took me 2 years to finally break away. I’d keep leaving, and then he’d reel me back in, he even told me that no-one else would ever love me if I ever left him, and that any other man I met would just use me for sex. Wow! That got serious pretty quickly didn’t it! Anyway, I had a couple of miss matches and then met my husband, who is hands down the best man I have ever met! He behaves in such a manner that I never have to question where he is, or who he’s with, he treats me with so much respect, he still carries the bags when we go shopping! He has so much patience with our girls, it is absolutely heart melting to see their bond. He has given me my confidence back, he tells me I’m sexy when I think I’m frumpy and that even after all these years he still find me attractive.

 

9. My husband and I lost identical twins in April 2013. I did write a WordPress blog post about it, if you want to read it. All I will say is that it broke me, completely, and it was my husband that got me through. I have even more respect for him now, knowing how he can selflessly step up for me and put his own feelings aside, when I was unable to do the same for him at the time.

 

10. I am really enjoying writing! Blogging is another thing I’ve wanted to do for years, but held myself back whenever I thought about setting a blog up. I’d tell myself I wouldn’t be any good at it, it’s too technical, I wouldn’t know how to get started, etc. But then late last year I finally gave myself the push I needed. I set up a WordPress blog, then an Instagram and FB page. I did make mistakes to begin with, during the set up, but I am taking my time with it and learning new things as I go. I’m getting braver and trying out different techniques, media and filters, and I am loving every minute of it! I’ve met some lovely supportive people and am slowly gaining followers. I look forward to posting every day, and love reading what everyone else is up to!

So that’s my 10 interesting facts, I hope they were interesting! It was actually was easier than I thought it would be. Once I started tapping away at the keyboard there was no stopping me!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this, and thank you to Kathryn for coming up with the idea!

 

Bye for now! X