Musings on Motherhood-Life with Peyton & Oaks
iCandy is delighted to be collaborating with real life mums to bring a series of motherhood musings to the iCandy Life Blog in celebration of Mother’s Day! The iCandy MiChair is at the centre of many family homes and our second guest blogger, Hannah, shares her Mother’s Day plans around it, fuelled by arts & crafts and a home cooked meal...
Mother's Day as a single parent
Hello, you may or may not be following my journey through motherhood on my Instagram page @lifewith_peyton_and_oaks but with Mother’s Day approaching this Sunday I thought I’d take some time out to talk a little bit about what this day means to me as a single mum.
My name is Hannah, I am 27, from the Midlands and have a daughter, Peyton, who is almost 3 and a son, Oakley, who is approaching 18 months old. I am a trained teacher but am currently taking a break from this and working part time in a day care nursery where I am lucky enough to also have my little ones attend too!
Having two toddlers just 16 months apart means life is ALWAYS busy, ALWAYS crazy but ALWAYS full of so much love. When I became pregnant 3 years ago I often imagined what the days in the future would consist of. How I’d spend Mother’s Day snuggled up in bed with my little treasures whilst my partner brought me a hot cup of tea with breakfast and a little bundle of gifts, as that’s what I’d spent years seeing flood social media on these special occasion days...but it didn’t quite turn out that way!
To me, Mother’s Day is about the memories we make as a 3. The three musketeers as I’ve called us since we started this journey together. Motherhood is hard. Motherhood is one of the most challenging journeys we will ever go on in life but it is also without a doubt the most rewarding experience of my life. This year is my first Mother’s Day as a single mum, and as Peyton and Oakley are too young to understand the importance of the day, I will be making sure it is a super special time spent with our closest family.
Growing up, I was raised in a single mother household so after being brought up in the same situation I know how strong it can makes you as a person-my mother is my idol and my complete rock! I am incredibly close to my mum, even more so now, as during my childhood I spent a lot of my time with my Nan when my mother worked long hours, but when my Nan passed away, it made our bond stronger than ever before.
We needed to lean on each other to get through our hardest times. This is one of the reasons why I feel I need to make Mother’s Day just that extra bit special. This year for Mother’s Day I have planned for myself and the children to cook dinner together for my mum. Peyton is starting to really enjoy getting involved with helping out in the kitchen with little jobs so my aim is to get both Peyton and Oakley involved in the preparation process in the hope they will try more at dinner time!
My family and the iCandy MiChair
One thing that is always so important is quality time together, time to slow down and reflect on the years as they pass in the blink of an eye! I love the iCandy MiChair as it is so adaptable and fits into the home in some many beautiful ways. It’s super stylish yet completely practical and grows with your child, meaning it’s good value for money and can be treasured too. I am all about sustainability and saving money where I can. As a single parent I have to budget carefully and that’s why the MiChair is perfect as it’s not only a highchair but something that will grow with my children over time.
The MiChair fits beautifully into my home and what I love about it is that you can make it your own with the different colour ways. I selected the grey for our home as the large majority of our décor is neutrals with a touch of grey. The MiChair is currently in the children's chair configuration which fits perfectly at their little craft/snack table.
This week we have been doing a lot of craft activities and the MiChair has been amazing. If you’re looking for something meaningful and affordable then handmade craft is the way to go because in all honesty, is there anything better than something made by the kids?!
Below I’ve attached some steps on how I made a little keepsake for my mum from the children for this Mother’s Day. I chose this activity to share as it’s something that I did at school when I was just 4 years old (in 1996!) and it is still hung up on my Mother’s wall all these years later as something that makes her smile and is a lovely keepsake.
1. Use a simple piece of white card and a selection of paints (any colours you like.
2. Paint your child/s hand and print a hand print around the edge of the page one at a time.
3. Allow the paint to dry and then either type, print and cut out or write out the following words:
‘Mummy,
You always clean the hand prints I leave upon the wall.
I seem to make a mess of things because I am very small.
The years will pass so quickly, i'll soon be grown like you
And all the little hand prints will surely fade from view.
So here are special hand prints… a memory that is true.
So you’ll recall the very day I made this just for you!’
4. Use a hole punch to create two little holes at the top of the card and a bit of ribbon or string to create a handle to hang it on display! (if you have a laminator you could laminate to help keep it perfect.)
