Balance... life seems to be accelerating as a busy working mother and then there are the curve balls that life throws at you as well. About 2 months ago, life threw me 3 big punches. Just 1 could knock me off balance and send me into a spiral of stress and negativity, and I had 3 to handle. Amongst it all I kept my balance and in doing so, I kept my sanity and was able to be the best version of myself for me and those I love. I spoke with Anna Hodges from Purple Squirrel Recr

Dear Frazzled Mum, You may look fine on the outside but inside.... things are not what they seem. I see you and I feel it: The tightness in your chest as you catch your breath realising that you've forgotten yet another thing… The weariness in your bones from bearing the physical and mental burden of making sure everything gets done. The tension headache as your brow furrows from remembering everything on your mental to-do list… And the heaviness in your heart as you worry if

This morning I awoke to realise that my mobile phone was out of charge - the consequences of late-night scrolling I guess. I usually go for a walk in the morning and watch the sunrise. Today I debated whether or not to do so because I couldn't take the phone. Yes I actually thought about staying home with my phone - sad but true. However, I had a firm and caring conversation with myself about self-care and decided that it was a beautiful morning; the dog was barking; and I wa

Fill your own marble jar - love this phrase by Brené Brown. When you trust and honour yourself, EVERYTHING changes. To do that, you need to fill your OWN marble jar with sparkling, colourful, solids and swirls marbles. Self-trust, self care and self love are all topics we discuss as "thinking women" on the Balanced Babe Retreat. It is profound what women figure out about their own self-sabotage when in a safe space (a vault!) surrounded by like-minded women for support. Amand

As mums, we achieve amazing things almost every day. Sometimes it is as simple as keeping it together on a jam-packed day and sometimes it is as big as … who knows! Sky is the limit! We need to celebrate our achievements. That is important to our self-care. Celebration is very important in our self care because celebration causes you to focus on what is good and what we pay attention to grows. However many mothers don’t pay attention and/or stop to celebrate ourselves. Why do

Everyone says “just practice gratitude and it will be ok.” It’s is a bit more than that… But gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools that we all have access to every day. Gratitude is about being thankful and having a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Gratitude is key to self-care for mums. When you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, remembering what you are grateful for can trigger positive, calming reactions in your mind, body and soul.

This is the second in a series of 5 self-care rituals to help you BE IN BALANCE. The rituals will come out on #selfcaresunday. As a mother, “Maintaining the basic day-to-day with NO extraordinary circumstances, keeping all those balls in the air, is a really demanding endeavor, and it leaves very little time for moms to be able to have fun, relax, rest and have downtime,” says Aimee Danielson, director of the Women’s Mental Health Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hosp

I am reposting this again and will do every year at this time because we can all use a reminder in the rush up to Christmas. At this time of year it seems that mothers are in a pressure cooker situation. Everything seems to be more intense in every area of life. The strain between work and family is more pronounced as work increases pressure to be at work for deadlines or parties, and family wants you at home - especially the kids who bombard you with demands for gifts, food,