"What Do You Do?"

It's a question the rears it's ugly head once in a while.

It's a question that I sometimes answer with a passion. Ready for a fight that never comes.

It's a question that I sometimes answer with weakness and dread. Then I kick myself for not being proud and not fighting my corner when that question I dread is asked of me.

"What do you do?"

Such a simple question.

It should be a simple answer.

"I'm a stay at home mum" comes my reply.

It's either met with enthusiasm or jealousy...

"Oooh how fabulous!"

"You're so lucky! I wish I could afford to stay at home with the kids - they are only little for such a short time"

...Or it's met with misunderstanding or ignorance.

It happened to me again the other month.

An older brother of an ex-boyfriend I hadn't seen in years.

"So what are you doing now?" he said eagerly.

"I'm a stay at home mum".

"Ooooooh" he laughed "A lady of leisure!"

"Ha, yeah" came my feeble response as I wasn't prepared for a fight…but then I never am. "I wish!" I added on the end and then quickly changed the subject.

I'd like to think I would be ready to stand up for myself but I never am. I then spend the rest of the year month week day kicking myself for not being stronger and standing up for something I believe in. Something I love.

It makes me feel like crap.

But...

Why should I have to explain myself?

Why should anyone judge me for giving up a career to be with my kids?

Why should anyone think that being a stay-at-home-mum resembles the lifestyle of a WAG?

I don't judge women who return to work. In fact I salute them. I'm not entirely sure I could do it, especially full-time.

But this isn't going to be one of those posts that gives all the pros and cons about working versus staying at home. It's been done thousands of times over and the same divides remain. It's quite tiresome actually.

I just know that I hate being judged for the decision I've made. I hate people thinking I swan around each day meeting friends for coffee, having my nails done or going shopping.* It can also make me feel like some kind of second class citizen. Like I don't belong if you know what I mean?

The fact remains, I hate the "What do you do?" question and I don't think that feeling will ever change.

However, I love being a stay-at-home-mum (the clues in the blog!). I love that I am here for my kids and I can watch them both grow. I know that I have these feelings on my side and all the people who are ignorant to my decision can, quite frankly, do one!

If they want to think I lead a WAG lifestyle then let them. The thing is, I lead a lifestyle far more richer than any WAG. I lead a happy and healthy lifestyle with my children and that's something I'm mightily proud of.





* I still have spa vouchers I was given as a gift in March that I haven't used yet!

I'm Going To BritMums Live!

You know me? Always late to the party, especially recently.

In fairness though, this linky made an appearance a couple of day before my extended holiday and, what with drowning in boxes since my return 11 days ago, I'm just glad I'm able to get this up 4 days before the event.

Yes, I'm going to BritMums Live!

Yaye!

I booked the ticket when they first came available. In hindsight, had I known I would be going to Orlando for over 3 weeks and moving house at the same time, I probably wouldn't have signed up.

But I'm so glad I did!

It's going to be stressful and I'll probably be completely knackered (I'll be the one snoozing in the corner), I haven't even glanced at the agenda yet but I can't wait to wrap my arms around some old friends and meet some new ones. There are people going that I have known for over 2 years in the online world who I class as 'friends' but I've never actually met in person. How mad is that?

Anyway, enough ramble. Here goes with the linky...

Name: Heather

Blog: SAHM Loving It

Twitter ID: @sahmlovingit

Height: Just under 5ft 6" (the good thing about moving house is there's a tape measure to hand!)

Hair: Longish - highlighted. Probably with roots as I won't have time to get to the hairdresser.

Eyes: Two. Brown.

Is this your first blogging conference?
No, but it may as well be as I didn't attend any last year so it's 2 years since my last one.

Are you attending both days?
Most definitely - the more days I can avoid packing boxes, the better.

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live?
Giving very special people very special hugs. I'm also looking forward to staying in a luxury boutique hotel with my lovely friend Photopuddle (we both deserve a treat) and I'm looking forward to meeting her - although it seems like we know each other inside out pretty much. We have separate rooms but will probably be in and out of each others. I may take some wine to calm our nerves before the conference.

What are you wearing?
Clothes. Whatever hasn't been packed for the move!

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live?
Apart from meeting old and new friends, I'm hoping to reignite the spark I had for my blog sometime ago. The two of us have become quite distanced from each other in the last 6-12 months.

Tell us one thing about you that not everyone knows
That's a toughie as I think I've blurted out lots of secrets on this blog. Erm, ooh I know...I can't stand it if there's a plug socket with no plug in it but the switch is on. It makes me twitchy.

Teatime's A Treat With The Cosatto Noodle Highchair

I've already mentioned on my blog that I was picked to be a Cosatto Brand Buddy which means Tiny Ched and I have the honour of bringing you our reviews of some Cosatto goodies over the next 6 months.

Our first product arrived last week. We were very excited!

The Cosatto Noodle highchair couldn't have arrived at a better time as TC turned 6 months a couple of weeks ago. We couldn't wait to set it up and give it a test run. It took me just under 20 minutes to set up the highchair from it's box to TC being sat in it which was great.

The gorgeous Tiddely-Om-Pom-Pom design

We were sent the Tiddely-Om-Pom-Pom design which is just gorgeous. It really brings a huge spark of colour to our kitchen and Matt and I loved it straight away. The red and white stripes of the seat pad are a real treat. They are also lovely and padded which means TC is extremely comfortable. The 5-point safety harness is in blue which stands out from the seat and looks great. For me, the seat pad is easy to remove which makes cleaning a breeze but the wipe clean fabric is superb so you don't really need to remove it.

As soon as I sat him in it I could instantly see that the whole seating position was much more supportive than our previous highchair. The seat is really secure and the plastic support between the legs means no more baby slipping down. Also, the seat is adjustable to 6 positions which means whatever height you prefer, the chair can be adjusted to suit. There is also a 3-position seat recline so if TC nods off at the table we can tilt him back for a snooze.

I'm baby-led weaning (a whole new experience for me) and the highchair it also prefect for this as the 2 trays can be completely removed so TC can join us at the table for family mealtimes which is great.

TC the Toast Monster. Tiddely Om 'Nom Nom' :)

The Noodle highchair is one of the lower priced highchairs that Cosatto make - I actually found one for £65 online* - but it's certainly not low quality. It also comes in 4 fabulously funky designs!

You know what I love most about Cosatto products? They all come with a FREE 4 year guarantee** That's just how confident the company is. So when you buy you have peace of mind that you are making a good purchase.

Let's face it...weaning can be a nightmare. It can also be great fun too so what better way than to get a great start to weaning than the fabulous Cosatto Noodle highchair.

It definitely gets the thumbs up in this house!






* Prices correct at time of publishing. Prices from approx. £65 to £100 available in 4 designs
**UK and Ireland only


Here's our video review of the Cosatto Noodle highchair. Enjoy!

This is not a sponsored post.  

We were sent the Cosatto Noodle highchair to review 

but all photographs, video, words, views and opinions are entirely my own.