
Once nominated for this award the blogger is required to write a post in which they:
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Thank the blogger who nominated them and link back to their blog;
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Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated them;
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Nominate 11 other blogs and give them 11 new questions to answer;
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Notify your nominees and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post!
My Answers
Alyssa set the following questions, so here are my answers.
1. Why did you start your blog?
Great question! I started this blog, Spirited Mama after the Munchkin was born. It was a traumatic birth and I needed a place to talk about that. I also hoped that by sharing my experience I would be able to help other women avoid the sorts of experiences that I went through. It’s evolved a lot since then!
2. Did anyone help you when you first began blogging? If so, who?
I began blogging back in…. oh, about 2006, I think! I didn’t know anyone else who blogged and it was really just an online diary at first. I wasn’t in any way thinking about it as a way to make money.
I guess I really only started learning more about the craft and professionalism of blogging a few years ago. I learned from other bloggers, such as Suzie Speaks.
3. Tell us a bit about your family!
My parents run Washburn Books, a bookselling business and are really supportive and lovely. I have a big brother who lives in Australia with his wife. My hubby is a software engineer and we have two kids, the Munchkin and the Monkey (formerly “Bean”, but he’s a great, galumphing 5 year old now, so that hardly seems appropriate!) who are home educated and obsessed with Minecraft. We have two fur babies too, two cats, Misty & Jemima.
4. What would you do if you won a million dollars?
Well, that’s about £800,000, so it’s not such crazy money these days. So I wouldn’t do anything that extravagant! I’d want to buy a nice little house and a new car, take the family to Florida and put the rest away somewhere to earn a little interest.
5. Do you have any pets?
Yep, our fur babies, as mentioned above 🙂
6. If people could know one thing about you just by looking at you, what would it be and why?
Ooh tricky one… that I clearly love my chocolate! I’m carrying more than a little extra weight these days!
7. What do you like most about blogging?
I like connecting with other people. That’s ultimately why I do it. The blogging community is so warm and helpful and I love my readers to pieces too. I hope that I am serving them well with my posts.
8. What is one food that everyone loves but you hate?
Garlic? I’m really not a fan. The smell makes me queasy! But not many people seem to feel the way I do about it.
9. If you could only bring 3 things with you to a deserted island for the next year, what would they be and why?
My bullet journal, a pen, and my Kindle (with a magical, infinite battery!) I have to be able to read, or I’ll go crazy. Likewise my bujo, I need to be able to write and create.
10. What is your absolute favourite beauty product?
I’m not that into beauty products really, but I do love a nice spritz of perfume. Nothing fancy, my favourite fragrance right now is White Amber from Next.
11. What do you do to relax when you’re stressed out?
Read, or hand lettering. I almost always read before sleep as it helps me unwind and unplug from a tech-intensive day. I love to get my brush pens out and write out a beautiful quote if I’m feeling super stressed though. I also love mindful colouring. I’m actually giving away a stunning colouring book on my Facebook page right now! Shameless plug alert!
My Nominations
So now I get to spread the sunshine and nominate some other beautiful bloggers for this award. Here goes:
- Boho Berry
- Tiny Ray of Sunshine
- Disney Tourist Blog
- Diary of a First Child
- Attachment Mummy
- The Blossom Edit
- Suzie Speaks
- But I Smile Anyway…
- Art and Soul
- Journey to Ambeth
- Wendy Fairy Art
The Questions
So, the 11 questions for my nominees to answer are as follows…
- Where do you come from?
- What inspires you?
- What is your favourite book, and why?
- If you could travel to any one destination, where would it be?
- What is the one item you can’t stand to be without?
- Who are you closest to?
- Why do you blog today?
- What do you want to do with your life when you retire?
- If you could be 16 again, would you?!
- Do you do most of your internet browsing at home or on the go?
- What’s your morning routine like?
Thanks!
Thanks for reading. Thank you again to Alyssa for nominating me and for spreading the Sunshine. I hope you enjoyed reading and will go check out some of the other bloggers! When people support one another we all benefit 🙂






This month, I decided I would start doing 
It’s been a very Minecraft-focused period for the Munchkin and the Bean, they are obsessed and learning so much. I am bowled over constantly by how creative they are becoming. The Bean also turned 5 a couple of weeks ago! How crazy is that?! Of course, he had to have a Minecraft cake, and I confirmed, yet again, that cake decorating does not come naturally to me!
This time five years ago, I was heavily pregnant with the Bean – wait, what? Was that really five whole years ago? Where has the time gone?! Three years before that, hubby and I moved 220 miles when I was 26 weeks pregnant. I really don’t recommend doing that! It’s been a few years since I had a tiny baby, but I remember it pretty clearly and have definitely learned a lot since then. You find that parenting is rather like being on a swing. It takes a bit of effort to get going and coordinated, but once you’re in the swing of it, you forget the effort it took and it becomes second nature. I hope that some of these tips from a wise old bird will help a few new parents this winter.
Layer up! Obvious really, but this is my number one top tip. I didn’t really get it the first time around. I kept wearing the types of clothes I had worn pre-baby and was forever the wrong temperature! Nursing burns serious calories (so go ahead and let yourself have a slice of that home made cake at baby group), and in your hormonal post-partum state, you may get hot flushes. You’ll want to wrap up against the cold, but then when you arrive at your destination, be prepared to shed layers to be comfortable.
in a good carrier…. or six! I know not all parents will agree on this one, and each to their own, but I find a pram or buggy totally impractical in winter. I’ve never figured out how the parent holds an umbrella while pushing a pram, and the thought of slipping on ice and a pram rolling away down the steep hill that we live on is unthinkable! The Munchkin was in a pram a fair bit when he was little, but it was spring-summer and I hadn’t yet really discovered babywearing properly. We did have a sling, but I didn’t get on with it. It took me a while to get to a sling library and find a better carrier. He was ten months before we ditched the pram and started wearing him exclusively.
Don’t over-do things! If you are just about to have a baby, or have recently given birth, for goodness sake, don’t try to take on too much this festive season! It’s not worth it. Take it easy. Nest, or snuggle into your “babymoon” and enjoy your new baby. Get help in for Christmas, from family or friends. Don’t feel you have to cook a huge feast for all of your extended family. Traditions are great, but they can wait until next year if they involve a lot of effort. Let yourself have this pause from the hectic hustle and bustle of the season, your body will thank you. Stock up the freezer with easy-to-heat meals; get shopping delivered instead of traipsing around a supermarket with a baby; say no to the invitations that you know you need to skip this year; keep it simple. I had the Bean at the end of January, so Christmas 5 years ago was a fairly low-key affair. I was waddling everywhere and unable to sleep comfortably due to my huge bump.
