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    Our Visit to the Brighton Upside Down House

    20th June 2019

    Our experience of trying out the new Upside Down House in Brighton.

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    Our Review of Fort Fun, Eastbourne

    11th June 2019

    Our experience of spending time at Fort Fun in Eastbourne. A review of the activities they provide for families.

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    School Holiday Activity Ideas

    20th August 2018

    This time last year I was struggling from what I like to call School Holiday Syndrome, but this year so far it seems to have been a lot more enjoyable. Now don’t get me wrong it’s not been a breeze at all, but I have tried to be a bit more creative in finding things…

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    Are You Suffering With School Holiday Syndrome Too?

    19th August 2017

    After speaking to other parents and looking at online parent groups, I’ve noticed I’m not the only one so I’ve decided to call it School Holiday Syndrome. This is how it’s looked to me so far:

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    Surviving The School Holidays: Guest Post by Vivienne Smith

    17th June 2015

    I recently met fellow single parent Vivenne Smith at a recent Uflourish Pregancy & Family Fair as she was talking about ways to reduce stress as a parent.  She has written a book called The Single Mums Survival Guide which uses some NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) techniques as well as including useful tips on how to…

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About Me

Hiya, I'm Claire..

Mum of one, step mum of two and dog mum to Yogi. A veg-growing, food-loving, trashy TV addict. I write openly about life, parenting and my quest to be healthier in mind, body and bank balance. Now a bride to be!

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singleparentpessimist

💪🏾Mental Health | ADHD | ASC | Fibro | Endo | PCOS Warrior
🎙Podcaster @mindvoxpod
👩🏾‍🎓Blogger
💚@mentalhealthmumday creator

Apologies for these reels but I need an outlet to Apologies for these reels but I need an outlet to verbalise this pain and hopelessness
#griefdiary #grieveoutloud #grievingprocess
A rare less heavy moment #griefjourney #widowgrief A rare less heavy moment #griefjourney #widowgrief #mumgrief
#griefandloss #widowshelpingwidows #mumloss #griefandloss #widowshelpingwidows #mumloss
#widowssupportingwidows #griefandloss #griefdiary #widowssupportingwidows #griefandloss #griefdiary
#griefjournal #griefdiary #cumulativegrief #griefjournal #griefdiary #cumulativegrief
#losingmysoulmate #Losingmymum #griefjourney #losingmysoulmate #Losingmymum #griefjourney
Im heartbroken I cannot ever recover from this Im heartbroken 
I cannot ever recover from this
Grief journal attempt 1. Only way I know how to ge Grief journal attempt 1.
Only way I know how to get feelings out, so only watch if relevant.
#griefjourney #griefandloss #audhd
My beautiful, strong, amazing mum died today, on h My beautiful, strong, amazing mum died today, on her birthday, before any of us could get there.

She held on to meet that milestone and defy the 3-6 month odds she was given 2 years ago. 

I just wish she waited a few more hours, minutes so we could have held her hand and told her we loved her.

The pain is unlike anything ive ever felt, knowing the one person i was formed inside, birthed from and who i knew every day of my life so far, is never going to be here again.

Its been a rough last few years for her and our relationship,  and I can never make that right but I just hope she knows how much she will always mean to me and my son. 

I dont know how to walk this Earth without you, and I dont want to.
But I have to. You would want your grandson to be supported through this so I will try to stay for him and see if we can navigate life without you.

Love you mum and miss you already and always.
Ad|~gifted Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD), aka Ad|~gifted 

Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD), aka Self Harm Awareness Day, was this month (1st March). This global awareness day aims to break down stereotypes, reduce stigma, educate the realities of self-harm, and encourage people struggling to seek help.

Self-harm can show up in various different ways that many dont realise; from expressing emotions in ways that cause pain/rejection, overeating, physical injury, to putting yourself at risk sexually and many more.

Many of us in the neurodivergent community can self-harm due to sensory overwhelm, dysregulation and as a way to cope in a neurotypical world.

This year's theme is Connection Is Coping, because finding support together and using co-regulation is a great way to help navigate through this complex coping mechanism.

Co-regulating with your child or teen can include helping them find ways to help themselves calm. 

Packs like this crisis kit from @peersunited.ltd are what I use with my teen (and myself) as they have a variety of self-soothing and grounding activities to minimise the use of other more harmful strategies to manage distress.

The pack has instant ice packs to trigger the dive reflex that helps get your nervous system out of the 'danger mode' response.

There's also stickers to help with calming breathwork, sweets and shower steamers for sensory grounding and fidget toys/activities to soothe & distract.

I role model using these tools when overwhelmed and we do activities together which helps my teen feel supported.

I love diamond art and fidgets!

How do you support yourself and others to reduce anxiety, self-harm and overwhelm?

#selfharmawarenessday #selfharmsupport #prproduct
Happy Pancake Day! Made a dog friendly pancake for Happy Pancake Day!
Made a dog friendly pancake for this pooch as hes finally getting back to himself after a rough week.
Recipe is simple- 1 mushed banana, 100g flour and an egg. 
Fry lile regular pancake with little olive oil or coconut oil.
Added peanut butter on top (made only from peanuts and nothing else as other versions are harmful).

He loved it! 

#dogsarebetterthanpeople #dogrecipes #dogrecipe #pancakeday2026 #pancakerecipe
ad|~ You may have noticed I've been quiet lately. ad|~ You may have noticed I've been quiet lately. 

Life is very hard at the moment so I've had to step back in some areas, and sadly online is one of them.
When I feel ready, I will write about these last two years, so keep an eye out!

Christmas is always a stressful to organise at the best of times, but when I'm this overwhelmed, gift guides can be so helpful.

Despite my current chaos, I've started to compile gift ideas for adults, teens and kids on my website. If I can help anyone who may be as overwhelmed as me at the moment, then it's worth it.

There's even a discount code or two to help ease the load, and feel free to add any other codes in the comments to help our community!

Check out the link on my bio to find the guide.

Some of my great finds include:

Personalised Jewellery from @bellefever - 15% DISCOUNT CODE is SPP15

@BOBOVR_official charging docks for VR gamers

Clever gadgets from @Krafted.tech

A great range of toys from @Argos

Games and Consoles for gamers

And lots more!

(Some items were gifted, some I bought and others have aff links, stated clearly in the article)
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