Guest Post...Delicious Designs - I Am Work In Progress

So, it's that time when I hand my blog over to some totally awesome new bloggers so they can introduce themselves to you.

First up is the lovely Jill who blogs over at Delicious Designs and Gluten Free Living Our Story. Jill is a Mummy of 2 gorgeous girls and a graphic designer. She loves creating printables, cards and cake. Her and her youngest daughter both suffer from coeliac disease and Jill has great stories, recipes and help on gluten free living and some great advice for parents. 

I didn't know Jill before this post, she responded to my plea for new bloggers who wanted to get involved. I'm glad she did as I loved finding out more about Jill's journey and I hope you do too...

I Am Work In Progress

I am totally new to the world of blogging. I have always loved the thought of starting a blog but had no idea of how to fill it, or when. All the blogs I have seen just look so professional and a lot to live up to! However, after spending most of my thirties being Mum to two beautiful girls (now five and eight), I decided in April (with my forties bearing down!), that maybe it was time to do a little something just for me, and after some encouragement (or should I say mild bullying!), from my colleague and friend PR wiz Emma Collins, I decided to take the plunge.

My sole aim of blogging is to find my self-confidence, which went on a trip around the world after I had kids and never came back. I want to remember a little of who I was before I had children – not that in any way I want to wish the last eight years away – they have been the most amazing and special ones of my life. I recognise that I have changed as a person, my kids, and all the experiences they have brought with them, have moulded me into someone different. I feel like my life has more depth and meaning because of them, but I also feel I am now at a cross roads where I need to make myself stronger emotionally again.

Before my girls came along, I had a very fulfilling job as head of the creative department at a craft distributors. I had confidence by the bucket-load. I could make presentations, head up meetings, demonstrate our products to roomfuls of people – I held my own, in and out of work. Even when I was pregnant I had the vision that I would find motherhood easy, how hard could it be?! I read all the books, knew how my baby was developing each week, read Gina Ford cover to cover. I felt armed and full of knowledge, but what the books don’t prepare you for is how you will feel emotionally – nothing could have really prepared me for the reality of my first baby.

I remember the first night we brought Beth home. She was such a tiny little dot, wrapped up in her car-seat, wearing a little homemade hat that we had been given by the hospital staff. We put her down in the middle of our lounge floor and just looked at each other, the sheer force of the HUGE responsibility came crashing in and I simply panicked – I felt like I had no idea what to do. I struggled with breast feeding (then felt guilty for months after when I stopped but that's another story), got so bogged down in the restrictive Gina Ford routines that I felt like I was going mad. I felt out of control and in the process I waved goodbye to me.

Eight years on, after being sucked into a whirlwind of nappies, housework, work, school applications, homework, juggling, juggling, juggling like all Mum’s do, it is now time to claw myself back, to be stronger. As being creative is what I have always done best, I am going to use that as a tool to do it.I have noticed a difference already. My blog has given me the incentive to stay up a bit later and simply MAKE stuff, cards, cakes, sketches, paper designs – I love the fact that there is such a massive, friendly blogging community out there, it has really opened my eyes. I wish I had used the internet more when I was struggling, I think I would have found comfort in it, knowing I was not the only one. I feel like my eyes have been opened and I am appreciating everything around me more. Blogging, I have discovered, is a little bit like free therapy!

A friend once said that she read a quote about how a mother needs to be like the trunk of a tree – she needs to be strong and healthy so that she can support all the branches and leaves that grow out of her. I totally relate to this and am a work in progress. I want to be a better person for my girls. I want them to feel like they are capable of taking on the world and never feel like they are anything other than special and loved. Thank you Heather for the opportunity to guest post, it has been a great experience!

Jill x


You can find Jill here:
http://deliciousdesignsbyjillpryor.blogspot.co.uk
http://glutenfreelivingourstory.blogspot.co.uk
www.twitter.com/@jill_evepryor