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    • Posted on April 12, 2018April 12, 2018
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    • byChloe
    • Posted on March 31, 2018April 2, 2018
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Work / Money / Budgeting

7 posts
  • Work / Money / Budgeting

On insta-mums, #AD, and the call for clearer disclosure

  • Posted on March 31, 2018April 2, 2018
  • No comments
  • byChloe
It’s the morning after a family wedding and as I write this I’m pretty certain I still have prosecco flowing through my veins. Over the last few days I have…
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  • 8 min
  • Baby
  • Motherhood
  • Work / Money / Budgeting

Maternity Leave – Will I get it ‘right’ this time?

  • Posted on May 13, 2016May 15, 2017
  • 4 comments
  • byChloe
In terms of work/life/childcare balance, this last year has been the best I’ve ever had it since having children. When Rory started preschool, it was the first time I’d had…
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  • 6 min
  • Life
  • Work / Money / Budgeting

Deciding to Move House

  • Posted on November 1, 2015February 2, 2018
  • 19 comments
  • byChloe
On our 10 year anniversary, we bought a house. (Well, sort of, it’s in that stage before exchange where it could all balls up, but let’s just pretend that it’s…
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  • 5 min
  • Life
  • Motherhood
  • Work / Money / Budgeting

When Your Partner Works Away From Home

  • Posted on October 4, 2015January 25, 2018
  • 13 comments
  • byChloe
Sam going on work trips has always been a thing. Usually for a week or ten days at a time. I remember the first trip after we became a family, Arlo…
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  • Work / Money / Budgeting

Getting prepared to buy your first property – My top survival tips for a first time buyer

  • Posted on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015
  • 3 comments
  • byChloe
We went to look at a house recently. A proper family house. The sort of house that would make me feel like a grown up. A house with a porch,…
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  • 4 min
  • Campaigns
  • Work / Money / Budgeting

On saving money – in my teens and in my ‘grown up’ life

  • Posted on February 10, 2015February 2, 2018
  • 2 comments
  • byChloe
I’ve teamed up with Natwest to write about my saving experiences – past, present, and future, whilst also letting you know the help Natwest offer when you are working towards…
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  • Motherhood
  • Work / Money / Budgeting

Life in the ‘Squeezed Middle’

  • Posted on March 12, 2013February 2, 2018
  • 15 comments
  • byChloe
Thank you for the feedback from this post. All of those blog post ideas will most likely get published at some point anyway, but it has proved motivating to know…
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Sorry About The Mess
Hello! I'm Chloe. I live in South London with my three children and their dad. I love storytelling through film-making and photography - cameras have made me happy ever since I was a child. Click below to read more about our story:
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A mini-break to France – Lot et Garonne and Aquitaine

  • Posted on May 1, 2017January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 5 minute read
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Our California Adventure – LA, Santa Monica, Encinitas

  • Posted on June 25, 2015February 5, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 4 minute read
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A Cornwall Summer Holiday

  • Posted on August 4, 2016January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 6 minute read
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A winter trip to New York

  • Posted on April 27, 2015January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 3 minute read
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Exploring Suffolk | A family holiday to Walberswick and Southwold

  • Posted on August 9, 2015January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 3 minute read
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In case you missed it, check out "On insta-mums, #AD, and the call for clearer disclosure" https://t.co/uU9TIEuiPe https://t.co/N1tXA33g3S
2 days ago
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  • It’s school offer day today. This time last year I was absolutely in denial about my second child, Rory, starting school. He is a summer born and just seemed way too young and I resolutely just DID. NOT. WANT. him to start school. They spend so much time at school, in the beginning it can seem like school takes them away from you. That’s why I love the school holidays so much. Then you see them flourish. Make friends. Love their teachers. Learn to read. And it’s all OK again. Another thing I’ve learned in my time as someone who began her school mum career in an ‘inadequate’ rated school that is now rated ‘Good with outstanding features’ and is such a lovely environment, is that the numbers on paper are only such a small part of it. So if your child hasn’t got into an Ofsted outstanding rated school, or you just don’t have any of good rating nearby, and you are feeling deflated, please don’t! Striving schools are a great place to be. A happy school is the best place to be. And that’s something that can’t be defined by Ofsted.
    453 14
  • We’ve just had the loveliest week away in Devon staying with friends at their family’s holiday house. (You can see the whole trip in my Stories highlights). Now it’s back to refereeing football disputes whilst I try to work in the same room (for some reason the family room has become a football pitch because “the pitch is too small in our bedroom” 🙄😂 ) I love having all of my gang at home during the school holidays, and it always makes me extremely thankful for the flexibility of my job and being my own boss.
    468 6
  • For #autismawarenessweek, a few things I’ve learnt:

1. Language is important. “That’s something that they do, isn’t it?” There is no THEY. There’s no us and them. A simple choice of words can give someone individuality, or it can take it away. 
2. Autism might not appear how you think it would. “Autism? Really?!” He seems so well adjusted” “But she’s so loving and affectionate”. “I’ve never seen him have a meltdown”. Many people wear their struggles and anxieties on the inside. What happens if we minimise their experience? 
3. The saying: ‘You’ve met one person on the autistic spectrum. You haven’t met everybody on the autistic spectrum’ is really important to keep in mind. 
4. A person is not defined by autism. “I HAVE autism, I AM NOT autism”. Traits do not make an individual, individuals make themselves because of who they are innately. 
5. Autism doesn’t mean NOT caring about or thinking about others. 
6. I really like the ‘Autistic not Weird’ website and Facebook page as a positive resource for people on the spectrum, their friends and families, and anyone wanting to learn more about ASD @autisticnotweird
    437 10
  • This morning I wrote a blog post titled: ‘On insta-mums, #AD, and the call for clearer disclosure’. It was fuelled by a prosecco hangover (why do all the thoughts come at the weirdest of times? I’ve felt uninspired to write for ages until this) It’s all the thoughts I’ve had mulling in my head about how disclosure and brand relationships might be perceived to people who aren’t privvy to the industry - our ‘audience’ and the people we should be valuing the most. There’s also a hefty dose of reminiscing about how my own working relationships with brands has evolved over the years, and hopefully some clarification on what’s involved in a brand / influencer relationship and how it all works. It’s a long read, but if it’s a subject that interests you, I’d really love to hear your thoughts. You can find the link in my profile. PS This photo was taken yesterday, before all the prosecco was drunk. Rory’s bow tie 😍
    325 25

When you can’t think of a baby name – Our experience

  • byChloe
  • Posted on November 20, 2016January 31, 2018
  • 8 minute read
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A Birth Story Part 1 – Being diagnosed with Obstetric Cholestasis

  • byChloe
  • Posted on July 14, 2016January 31, 2018
  • 5 minute read
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The Last Baby – Will I ever be ‘done’ having children?

  • byChloe
  • Posted on June 29, 2016January 31, 2018
  • 3 minute read
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OUR FAMILY STORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzBvBnGNT7w
mumsnet bloggers network
  • It’s school offer day today. This time last year I was absolutely in denial about my second child, Rory, starting school. He is a summer born and just seemed way too young and I resolutely just DID. NOT. WANT. him to start school. They spend so much time at school, in the beginning it can seem like school takes them away from you. That’s why I love the school holidays so much. Then you see them flourish. Make friends. Love their teachers. Learn to read. And it’s all OK again. Another thing I’ve learned in my time as someone who began her school mum career in an ‘inadequate’ rated school that is now rated ‘Good with outstanding features’ and is such a lovely environment, is that the numbers on paper are only such a small part of it. So if your child hasn’t got into an Ofsted outstanding rated school, or you just don’t have any of good rating nearby, and you are feeling deflated, please don’t! Striving schools are a great place to be. A happy school is the best place to be. And that’s something that can’t be defined by Ofsted.
    453 14
  • We’ve just had the loveliest week away in Devon staying with friends at their family’s holiday house. (You can see the whole trip in my Stories highlights). Now it’s back to refereeing football disputes whilst I try to work in the same room (for some reason the family room has become a football pitch because “the pitch is too small in our bedroom” 🙄😂 ) I love having all of my gang at home during the school holidays, and it always makes me extremely thankful for the flexibility of my job and being my own boss.
    468 6
  • For #autismawarenessweek, a few things I’ve learnt:

1. Language is important. “That’s something that they do, isn’t it?” There is no THEY. There’s no us and them. A simple choice of words can give someone individuality, or it can take it away. 
2. Autism might not appear how you think it would. “Autism? Really?!” He seems so well adjusted” “But she’s so loving and affectionate”. “I’ve never seen him have a meltdown”. Many people wear their struggles and anxieties on the inside. What happens if we minimise their experience? 
3. The saying: ‘You’ve met one person on the autistic spectrum. You haven’t met everybody on the autistic spectrum’ is really important to keep in mind. 
4. A person is not defined by autism. “I HAVE autism, I AM NOT autism”. Traits do not make an individual, individuals make themselves because of who they are innately. 
5. Autism doesn’t mean NOT caring about or thinking about others. 
6. I really like the ‘Autistic not Weird’ website and Facebook page as a positive resource for people on the spectrum, their friends and families, and anyone wanting to learn more about ASD @autisticnotweird
    437 10
  • This morning I wrote a blog post titled: ‘On insta-mums, #AD, and the call for clearer disclosure’. It was fuelled by a prosecco hangover (why do all the thoughts come at the weirdest of times? I’ve felt uninspired to write for ages until this) It’s all the thoughts I’ve had mulling in my head about how disclosure and brand relationships might be perceived to people who aren’t privvy to the industry - our ‘audience’ and the people we should be valuing the most. There’s also a hefty dose of reminiscing about how my own working relationships with brands has evolved over the years, and hopefully some clarification on what’s involved in a brand / influencer relationship and how it all works. It’s a long read, but if it’s a subject that interests you, I’d really love to hear your thoughts. You can find the link in my profile. PS This photo was taken yesterday, before all the prosecco was drunk. Rory’s bow tie 😍
    325 25
  • Get a haircut and they instantly look like a teenager - does anyone else find this? The kids broke up for Easter today (always feel like SUCH a grown up when I say that 😂) Our Easter holidays involve a family wedding and a trip to Devon - lots of fun things to look forward to. Hoping for a bit of down time in the second week though! What are your plans?
    495 7
  • It’s OK not to have a tangible ‘mum village’ in real life. It’s OK to feel isolated in parenting and that everyone around you has solid friendship groups where you might not. I don’t have mum friends. I’ve been a parent for almost 8 years and I’ve never had that group of local mum friends to hang out with and do stuff with. The closest I got was NCT with my first child, but people move away and go back to work. I’m an introvert so I find the initial effort of making new friends exhausting. It doesn’t come easy to me. I live in a transient part of London, meaning many friendships have come and gone. Looking back, there are friendships I wished I’d taken more time to nurture and grow. But parenting, working, staying afloat, is exhausting. It’s really hard to do it all. (Work, friendships, family - you can focus on one or two of those areas but it is impossible exceed in all 3 areas at once - who was it that said that?) My point is that this is the norm for many parents and if you’ve been reading all this stuff about mum villages and feeling like you don’t have that, you aren’t alone. #iminyourvillage 
Part 2. THE INTERNET MUM VILLAGE: I am so thankful for my really close knit group of school and uni friends. But when I became pregnant at 24, I knew no one else with babies or young children. I joined pregnancy forums. I started my blog with the specific idea of connecting with other parents. Twitter was amazing. And then, a few years later, instagram arrived. Thanks to the internet, I’ve always had a ‘mum village’ online. Even if I technically can’t call you friends in the traditional sense of the word, even if I’m not close enough to pop over for a cup of tea and a chat, throughout the last 8 years there have been many times and many conversations through many evolving social platforms that have helped make me feel less alone. I love the internet.
    551 52
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Recent Articles
  • the ordinary
    The Ordinary skincare – 6 products I use and how I combine them
    • byChloe
    • Posted on April 12, 2018April 12, 2018
    • No comments
  • On insta-mums, #AD, and the call for clearer disclosure
    • byChloe
    • Posted on March 31, 2018April 2, 2018
    • No comments
  • Haiku Stairs Stairway to heaven Hawaii
    13 amazing things to do in Hawaii
    • byChloe
    • Posted on March 6, 2018March 6, 2018
    • No comments
  • Why can’t I remember the toddler days?
    • byChloe
    • Posted on March 2, 2018
    • One comment
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