Mummascribbles – Mummascribbles meets…Sons and Sauvignon – Mummascribbles

This week me meet the lovely Clare from Sons and Sauvignon. Thanks so much for taking part Clare  

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family
I am a mummy to three little monkey’s Hayden who is 5, Ellis who is 3 and Kinley who is 1. I’m married to the love of my life James, and we also own a chocolate Labrador called Koko. We live on the north Essex coast about 5 minutes from the beach. Hayden our eldest son has Autism, which was diagnosed last November after a 3 year battle to obtain the diagnosis. Before starting my SAHM journey in 2014 I was a manager of a well known branded restaurant, and had worked my way up the career ladder in catering for 11 years previous to that.

What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging?
To be honest, blogging is my favourite thing to do. But if I had to pick something else I enjoy shopping (alone-I hate shopping with other people!) or just chilling in front of the TV with a nice big glass of wine and one of the many series I like to watch. I’m into things like CSI, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods etc

What is your biggest achievement to date?
I would have to say my third labour. I did it without any pain relief whatsoever and managed to handle the pain enough that I didn’t go to the hospital until an hour before I gave birth. And was home 2 hours later. That and the fact I managed to breast feed for 4 weeks before it became too much for me. I hadn’t got the hang of it the two previous times.

From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part?
The most rewarding part has to be the unconditional love those little people have for you. Their cuddles are the best cuddles in the world, and hearing I love you makes me melt every single time. There are so many hard things about parenting but for me, it is handling Hayden’s Autism alongside having to parent two other small children, especially on a bad day. Having three young children is tough for any parent but add additional needs on top and some days can be a huge challenge.

Parenting in itself is no mean feat; how do you juggle everything you need to in order to get everything done on a daily basis?
I’m not sure I do to be honest. House work is always the first thing to slip though. I also don’t think I would have anything together if it wasn’t for James. He works a lot of hours but he will still get up with the boys if he is home and he does the bedtime routine most nights he is here. That allows me to spend time blogging, catching up on sleep or doing a bit of housework. If the house is particularly bad at any point he will take the boys down the beach so I can get on with hovering and mopping etc.

Why did you decide to start blogging?
Originally I started blogging to raise awareness and understanding of Autism. It very soon became a place where I could process everything we were going through at the time. I got the bug! I didn’t want to talk about just autism anymore, I wanted to talk about other things too so I set Sons, Sand & Sauvignon up last May to sit alongside my ‘autism blog’. Keeping up with 2 blogs was tough so I combined them both and now talk about everything in one place.

Tell me a bit about your blog?
Sons, Sand & Sauvignon is a parenting, lifestyle and wedding blog. I talk about everything from Hayden’s autism, to my own mental health blips and literally anything and everything in between. I worry sometimes my subjects are too varied, but I’m a bit scatty too so it suits me perfectly. I run a linky on a Sunday for other ASD bloggers to share their stories, and run a series asking bloggers how they manage their time. I really do love my little space on the internet, I don’t think I could ever give it up!

What do you want your blog to achieve and where do you hope to see it go as it grows?
Right now growing my blog is really important to me. In October last year I decided to up my game and had a huge redesign that I still love (very unlike me) and since the New Year I have worked really hard on building my social media channels and increasing my stats. It is a long slow process but worthwhile. I want it to become somewhere I can make a fairly decent income but remain at home with the boys.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog?
Do it! It is one of the best things I have ever done (other than James and the kids of course!). Chances are you wont have a clue what you are doing in the early days but that’s part of the fun I think. The friendships and opportunities blogging gives you are just incredible. Also don’t compare yourself to anyone. There will always be someone better than you, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you too!

If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
I hate questions like this as I always overthink it. My 3 people would be:

1. James Corden, because I think he is hilarious (and a little bit fit-sorry!)

2. Holly Willoughby, because she seems like the most down to earth woman ever, and  

3. Channing Tatum, do I even need to explain that one?

I imagine a dinner with those three would be funny, relaxed and a little bit boozy! My ideal dinner

Tell me three random facts about you
1. I had singing lessons as a teenager and got up to grade 8 in musical theatre exams. Now- I can’t sing for toffee!

2. I am the worlds grumpiest morning person, especially if I’m not woken up gently. How many three year olds wake up their parents gently?!?! 

3. In the last 12 years I have lived in 9 different towns/cities

   

Along with her blog www.sonssandandsauvignon.com, you can also find Clare over at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.