Parenting the Shand Princesses

Moving home is never easy and especially when you have a 4 month old baby in tow. After spending the last few weeks looking for our new home,we were split between the final two. We eventually decided on the house we liked. We made an application to the estate agents and when we were approved, I felt ecstatic! The day came for the move and I had butterflies in my stomach and questions rolling in my head such as “will may may settle here?” “is it going to be too far to get to work? “ But I knew that this was for the best. Me, mics and her parents started packing. On the day, the removal men called us while we was at the estate agents, saying they were outside the house. They were two hours early! So we made our way to the house and quickly helped to finish the last of the packing and stored it into the back of the van. When we got to the house it was a great feeling to unpack our stuff into our new home. It is so refreshing to know now that May-May has more space to play and a

As you all know, I am part of a fabulous group of mums called The Business Mum Network  This group has grown so quick in such a short amount of time! There are now over 1000 members in the group and it is growing from strength to strength. To celebrate reaching 1000 members, I thought it would be great for the lovely lady who started this group, Sher Hopkirk, to do a guest blog on why she decided to start the network.  Guest Blog by Sher Hopkirk  Why BMN?   Before I dive into my background and tell you how the idea of how the 'Business Mum Network' came about, I first want to thank the amazing Michaela Dyer for not only asking me to guest blog on her wonderful Mum Blog 'The MummyBou Chronicles' but for her contribution to the BMN community. Michaela is an absolute star and I can't thank her enough for being one of my Head Hustlers and supporting other Business Mums at every opportunity. There is no doubt in my mind Michaela's new events venture will

I heard that Mics cousin Sasha was planning to put together a band for Huddersfield Carnival called Majestic Mas a few months ago. So I asked if I could join as Mics and May May were going to perform already. I had never played at a carnival before and I have always wanted to perform.  So Sasha and her family started to create the costumes for us, working tirelessly to make sure everything was perfect. The theme for this was Black Panther Children of T’Challa. I was immediately sold with this as I’ve always been a massive fan of comic book superheroes and this felt natural for me.  So it came to the week of the carnival and I was feeling so nervous about playing in front of such big crowds. But I didnt want to let Sasha down as I fully support what she was doing. I tried my costume on and it felt amazing on me.  On Friday night before carnival me and my family went to a Glow street party, which is the night before the big day. I  absolutely loved the atmosphere and music th

Every time I think about my engagement, I get so excited! Let's set the scene. Me, OJ, my parents and sister had taken a holiday to Benidorm for the Christmas and New Year period. I was 7 months pregnant and we thought we would take one last holiday before May-May made an appearance. On our second day there we took a walk to the beach front and sat down. We chilled on the beach, everyone with beers, me with orange juice (how fun) and had a laugh. This was OJ's first time abroad so we were in a very excitable mood. But that day he seemed a bit anxious, however I didn't take much notice. He had been doing some research and he wanted to go to the lovely courtyard that looked over the sea and was very eager to go there. Hmmm! The view from the courtyard 😍   After 2 hours at the beach, we walked along the beach front, taking in the sights and atmosphere. We made our way up the courtyard and my dad started to tell OJ about our previous holidays. I took a few pi

Today was the day we took May-May to our first play group. I was feeling anxious as I've never been to anything like this before. When we got there it was like I stepped into another realm where kids had space to run and play and parents got to interact with each other in a open environment.  The staff that work there are so friendly and approachable. I found it easy to talk to them and they made everyone feel welcome. May-May enjoyed the baby play area where there were sensory  and age appropriate toys for her to play with. The parents were also welcoming and made me feel at ease with the surroundings. I was one of two dad's there and it didn't feel as if I was alone. He spoke to me about the group and it was really natural and simple, especially as it was my first time.  The games and songs that the staff used were fun and easy to follow. May-May was engrossed with the staff member with the guitar and could not stop smiling as they went through the songs. Ther

When we started this journey as parents I felt there was a shortage of information or resources for new dads in preparing for a new child. It always felts when it came to dad info it would be very generic and stuff that was common sense. That's when the idea came to me that this needed to change because dads are just as important as the mother and it doesn't help when the materials that's out there is minimal. Plus it's great to have a fathers opinion and feelings in regards to the greatest experience anyone can go through. In a Dad Way is a outlet for me to connect and share my thoughts on being a dad. I would like it to grow into a popular blog for dads and parents alike to connect and share our experiences as fathers. May-May is my world and she is my motivation, my sunshine on a rainy day and I cannot imagine my life without her.

Ah the immunisations! I dreaded the jabs from when I was pregnant. Even when May-May was born and they had to do her heel-prick test, I was so worried! I'm okay with injections - probably because I have had so many! - but the thought of my little girl getting them broke my heart. So to think she needed 7 injections in the space of 16 weeks made me quite anxious! I was already on the fence about giving her the jabs in the first place. So many people were against them. But if we didn't do it and something happened I would never forgive myself! Me and OJ discussed it and decided we would let May-May have them.  The first set were at 8 weeks and I made sure I booked an appointment so my mum could come with me. There was no way I could hold my poor baby whilst they stuck needles in her legs. Luckily we had a really nice nurse and May-May was smiling. But I could see the 3 injections just waiting and I couldn't relax. The nurse gave May-May a liquid to drink, which she

Just over a week ago, I joined a Facebook group full of motivational but down to earth mothers called Business Mum Collaboration Network   This group is for mums who have their own business or blogs and have come together to support each other, share tips and advice and build a great friendship. Since joining this group, so many positive things have happened. My blog is increasing every day, I have been asked to plan some great events among other things. Surrounding myself with positive people really has changed my mindset and shifted my focus. I have always dreamt of having my own events business, but didn't see it happening until after I got my degree. But being in this group, I see mums with their own businesses, all doing so well and I thought why do I have to wait? Why can't I start something now? I have been made redundant, I want to provide for my family too and now is as good as time as any.  These mums are working so hard on a daily basis and I know it isn't e

I'm completely  new to this blog writing lark but I feel I have so much thoughts and feelings I want to share that I could not keep it in anymore.  My life changed forever when my beautiful fiance Michaela (Mics) showed me the positive pregnancy test in the early hours of the morning. Mics couldn't believe it herself and asked me to confirm whether the test was positive. I said that it was and that was the moment my whole life changed to thoughts of our baby gracing the world and how protective I was going to be. It didn't sink in for me for a long time, like winning a award or trophy, when in your mind you never thought you could win it. It was overwhelming and that rush you feel knowing this tiny human being was going to make our family complete. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops, but we decided that we would wait for the 12 week scan before we revealed the news. As you can imagine this was not easy at all. I wanted to tell my friends and family, to see thei