motherhood

Things we’re doing to give our children a bit more autonomy

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Things we’re doing to give our children a bit more autonomy

For context, my husband and I have 3 children. Our two sons, 12 and 15 years old, and our daughter who is 5 years old. In this post I’ll explain some of the things we’ve decided to do to allow them to become a bit more autonomous, as we slowly detach ourselves from the tight grip of “micro-parenting”, as I like to call it. You know, that tendency to always be on your kids’ backs, checking everything they do, monitoring every move… We found that micro-parenting was having less of an impact as our kids started to grow, so our approach to raising them really changed over the last year or so in order to accommodate their need for independence and autonomy.

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Lifestyle

8 Steps to help you take back control of your life

by Waiki2 Comments on 8 Steps to help you take back control of your life

At the end of 2022 I wrote a very depressing post about the type of year I had just had. I was in a bad place that day and there was nothing anyone could have said to make me feel better – I really was just as miserable as the post sounded. I felt like my life had spiralled out of control and I quite frankly lost hope. But the moment I published the post, I knew I had to come back at the beginning of January, revisit these thoughts and force myself into a more positive outlook for the new year. So here I am, and this is what I plan on doing to regain control of my life after such a disappointing year.

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Lifestyle, Tried & Tested

Christmas gift wrapping inspiration | A simple and sustainable approach

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Christmas gift wrapping inspiration | A simple and sustainable approach

Christmas is approaching and I’m trying something different this year. I wanted to wrap the gifts with a more rustic, sustainable type of wrapping paper so I opted for this roll of eco-friendly brown ‘scrap’ paper. I thought it would work with my simple, low-key theme I have going on this year for Christmas.

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Stories

End of year reflections | A disappointing 12 months

by Waiki1 Comment on End of year reflections | A disappointing 12 months

My end of year reflections this year are so difficult for me to type, let alone share. I’ve had the worst year and as 2022 slowly comes to an end, all I want to do is erase the past 12 months and start on a fresh clean sheet. As much as I believe in drawing lessons from every bad situation, I could have done without “learning” anything at all this year, had I known it would cause me this much pain.

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Lifestyle

Instagram: The app we love to hate, and hate to love.

by Waiki2 Comments on Instagram: The app we love to hate, and hate to love.

This was initially meant to be an Instagram caption but the latest update and horrible new layout doesn’t make it easy to read captions anymore. So here we are. And I guess this is also why I want to talk about my relationship with Instagram: it is very much a mixture of love and hate, and I’m still trying to navigate this dynamic.

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Lifestyle

Why your empathy shouldn’t be at the expense of your wellbeing

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Why your empathy shouldn’t be at the expense of your wellbeing

A few months ago a stranger sent me the most beautiful, thoughtful and encouraging message after I briefly shared about my struggle to stick up for myself whenever I felt let down. I kept the message in my notes and still occasionally read it when I find myself in that same predicament.

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motherhood, Tried & Tested

AD – Turning bath time into a playful adventure with Matey!

by WaikiLeave a Comment on AD – Turning bath time into a playful adventure with Matey!

I remember that day like it was yesterday. My daughter Maelys looked at me with big bright eyes and a huge smile. She held the beautiful black doll I had just bought for her, touched her curls and beamed. It was such a precious moment, and one that repeated itself over and over again, as I continued to introduce more objects, books and even TV shows that featured characters that looked just like her.

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motherhood

Five things I’m learning from my children

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Five things I’m learning from my children

One humbling aspect of parenting is realising you can learn just as much from your kids as they can learn from you. Whether it’s small reminders or entire life lessons, children really have a way of teaching you important things, and usually at very timely moments in your life.

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