Thank you mummy

from Cherubs Magazine - Spring Edition 2022

Living

“Thank You Mummy”

Merci Maman, is a timeless brand offering original and charming personalised jewellery and has won the hearts of many all around the world with their sentimental pieces. Merci Maman translates to ‘thank you Mummy’ in English and the founder’s aim was to celebrate the bond between mother and child through the brand. This spring, they have brought together five women, including Cherubs editor Sevim Safer, to share their journey through motherhood, the challenges, the rewards and most of all, what motherhood has taught them. Sevim was extremely lucky to have been part of this whole campaign, and she felt honoured to be telling her story alongside four wonderful and inspirational women.

Merci Maman have a range of pieces from £39, to be hand-engraved. Purchase online at mercimamanboutique.com

Here, Cherubs presents abridged versions of interviews with the five mums, conducted by Merci Maman’s Eve Langhorn. You can also read the full versions on the brand’s website. Enjoy.

E. Please introduce yourself

K. Hi I’m Kelly Knox, I am a model and activist for the representation of disability, in fashion, beauty, motherhood and all about that self-love. @itskellyknox

E. So how did you find your journey to motherhood?

K. Motherhood is the most magical, beautiful, exhausting, challenging journey ever. I feel so blessed and so grateful to have my two children. Children have a really clever and unique way of showing you ways where you need to show up more, and heal, and they just give so many gifts. Even though when you give birth to your children, you’re also being birthed as a mother, and that’s a very precious and beautiful thing. I absolutely love being a mum and I’m loving this journey, I just feel that it’s very emotional knowing that these two little people are going to be on this journey of life with me forever. It’s all about love and kindness, and care, and nurturing, and I feel so happy and lucky – no matter how hard it is at times it’s always so precious.

E. What is the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspect of motherhood?

K. I think the most challenging thing is the

Kelly.

no sleep bit, because when I miss out on so much sleep it really does affect me, I can feel quite anxious, my mind plays tricks on me, but when I’ve had that nice bit of sleep I feel like ‘right I’ve got this’. I think with my first born he wasn’t keen on sleeping from the get-go, so that was a massive ‘oh my god, is this what it’s going to be like’, so the second time round I was completely prepared for the same. But with Elsie she was totally different, like we all are, a completely different baby and she slept from the get-go. I thought ‘is this how babies are meant to be sleeping?’ until she got to about four months and teething happened,and then it all went downhill. Even now, the other night there were four of us in the bed together with Jensen we co-slept for a very long time but I think it’s nice because I breastfed him until he was two and I feel like having that time together in bed, and feeding and bonding was so rewarding.

So, even though it is a massive challenge missing out on all that sleep, it’s also the most rewarding because I just feel like having that time together, being up all night, plus the feeding, has given us that bond and that love.

E. What has being a mother taught you?

K. We’re just capable of so much more than what we believe, and everything and anything is possible.

I think we’re chosen to birth because we have the magic and strength... mothers are the only beings who can transport a soul from one plane to the next - isn’t that just magic?

E. Please introduce yourself

H. I’m holly from @thebodypositivemum, I’m 34 and from Portsmouth.

E. So tell us about your journey to motherhood?

H. It goes back a little while! My eldest is 13 years old, I was 21 when I had him, so I was a very young mum and maybe not in the right position, but with my first I felt like I had to get everything right, I felt like everyone was watching me. I’d say I was quite a strict mum, there was a routine for everything, and it felt like I was doing everything wrong, and I couldn’t get anything right. I had a huge age gap between by second and my third, so I’ve got an eight-yearold and a four-year-old. With my eight-year-old he was planned, and I wanted him so much that it was no pressure, I felt like if I got it wrong it was okay. I didn’t care what anyone thought so there was no routine. When I had my eight-year-old we coslept, there was no routine and I felt like I got it right and I’ve noticed a huge difference between the two and the way they love. Sonny, my eldest is very reserved, won’t really open up whereas Luca is very affectionate and loving, and I knew that I had to change how I parent as I got older. And then finally Roo is four, he still sleeps in my bed, but like I said with motherhood I have learnt so much along the way. I don’t regret anything I’ve done but I feel that I’ve learnt lots along the way. My children literally complete me, they grow me massively as a person and they’ve sculpted me to be who I am as a person today. Everything I do is for them, so I always want them to be in a world that accepts people for who they are. So although they are boys, and you kind of forget about boys when having these conversations, I want boys to see women of all shapes and sizes and be like ‘that’s okay’. one thing I will always teach my children is always to be super kind, that’s my biggest thing. You can be annoying, you can be rowdy if you want but just always be kind.

E. What is the most rewarding and the most challenging aspect of motherhood?

H. I’m going to start with the challenging one first, so for me it’s to get my children

Holly.

to like each other. The screaming and the shouting, the fighting, it’s relentless. I think with three boys there is a lot of testosterones in one room. Especially with such big age gaps, if I’m planning a day out not all of them are going to enjoy it so that’s the most challenging for me, something that we can all enjoy but also finding tasks that we can all do together and connect with each other I find that really difficult. One on one time, that for me is so hard to get and one thing I struggle with. Rewarding, the most rewarding thing is when I wake up in the morning and Roo is just lying there and he smiles up at me. He’ll look at me or brush my hair, he doesn’t even need to do anything but it’s just the way he looks at me, my eyes, I can see how much he loves me. And that for me, that’s my morning, it sets me up for the day to power through and go ‘right let’s do this, let’s get on’. So, it’s not anything that they’ve done in particular for me, it’s the love that they show me, it’s the perfect thing about motherhood.

E. Summarise motherhood in one word for me

K. Rewarding.

E. Please start off by introducing yourself

S. Hi! I’m Sharlene, my Instagram is @curlylittledreams. I’m a mum of two boys and I’m also a stepmum. My stepdaughter is 15, I’ve known her since she was three years old which is crazy. My boys are four and nearly two.

E. Tell us about your journey to motherhood

S. It’s been good! Having my first son, I think I was really lucky as the birth was amazing with him. I felt like I got into the swing of things quite quickly. Breastfeeding, that was tough, even with both my children but I think overall I am doing okay… maybe ask me that later on at school pick up!

E. What is the most rewarding and the most challenging aspect of motherhood?

S. Definitely the most rewarding is just seeing them grow and develop. Their personalities, starting to see that come through and see who they may be is just wonderful. Hardest is lack of sleep! Trying to have your own life as well as being a mother, I find that balance quite tricky. Personally, I feel like I lost a lot of that and I’m trying to get my confidence back. It’s a juggle, a big juggling act for me.

E. What has being a mother taught you?

S. Patience, definitely! Before motherhood I had absolutely no patience at all. It’s weird because I know I’m still quite impatient but when it comes to my own children I’ve learnt how to be patient. Don’t get me wrong, there are days where I definitely want them to do things faster but I’ve learnt patience. Also when it comes to my children, I feel extra protective as I think most mothers do.

E. Summarise motherhood in one word

S. Juggling.

Sharlene.

Helen.

E. Could you introduce yourself?

H. I’m Helen Addis, I’m 43 (eeek), a mum of three kids (Archie 12, April 10 and Belle nine) and features editor at ITV Lorraine. I’m also founder of a social enterprise business called The C-List, which is a cancer community support platform. It has lots of tips and tricks videos to help patients get through their treatment as well as a curation of cancer-friendly beauty products. @thetittygritty

E. Tell us about your journey to motherhood?

H. I always wanted children. I wanted five until I had my first and realised what hard work it is. I decided to have my guys close together because I knew that it would be easier in the long run to get the hard bit all over and done with at once. I was so fortunate that I fell pregnant very quickly each time. I am forever grateful for that because so many others aren’t so lucky. So, in that respect i’m very lucky. I recently went through a cancer diagnosis which was a tough time for my whole family. It was hard to navigate with such young children and it was hard for them to see me so ill. We got there though and my advice on that is that communication is key. Kids are very resilient but they’re also very perceptive and the more I tried to hide things the more anxious they got. So, I made sure I was open and honest at all times with them.

E. What is the most rewarding, and also the most challenging aspect of motherhood for you?

H. The most rewarding time is seeing my children happy. I cannot get enough of them laughing and joking. My biggest fear is them suffering from mental health issues or being bullied at school. Sounds extreme but you hear such awful stories. I’m just desperate for them to be happy in life and happy in the skin they’re in. To me, the most challenging is chilling out. Sometimes I feel all I do is yell at them. The juggling is really hard, being a fulltime working mum, and I sometimes need to be more in the moment and savour my time with them.

E. What has being a mother taught you?

H. Motherhood has taught me not to sweat the small things in life. It’s not possible to be perfect at everything. It’s also made me appreciate the world and nature. There’s nothing better than just staring up at the trees and making up weird and wonderful stories (with the kids... not on my own!)

E. Summarise motherhood in one word.

H. Everything.

E. Could you introduce yourself?

S. Hello lovelies, I’m Sevim (best known as Sev) as when my full name is called I feel like I’m in trouble. I’m also known as The Mrs, Daughter, Sis, Oi, the Cook! However, the best title I could have ever wished for is mummy to twins! I am the Publishing Editor of this very magazine – Cherubs, which is the must-have parenting publication in the UK and I have built this business all around the above titles to what it is today.

E. Tell us about your journey to motherhood? E. What is the most rewarding, and also the most challenging aspect of motherhood for you?

S. After being told (in my early 20s) that having children was not really going to happen for me and I would really have to explore different avenues into having them in the future if it was something I wanted, you can imagine the feelings I felt as a woman. Not only that, trying to explain that to my now husband on our first date was a very interesting conversation and thankfully he was game and a huge support when it came to exploring our different options. By a miracle, and I mean miracle, while going through all the research, I fell pregnant naturally with twins! It was a very touch and go pregnancy as my health issues were playing a huge part in me being able to carry them safely, in fact I spent a majority of it bed-bound. But if that’s what it meant to have them safely, then that’s what I did. I spent seven months feeling fearful every day, were they ok? Was I going to be able to look after them? Two babies, how were we going to do it? Afford it? How was I going to work? Everyday, there was a different thought and every day I grew more afraid. I went into labour six weeks earlier than planned and to say the labour story was dramatic would be an understatement, but hey, that can be another time. Safely delivering a boy and girl, knowing they were both ok and safely in my arms, I found all those fears I carried with me during pregnancy slowly left my mind. As parents we continuously think about the future and how we will handle certain things, but you make it work and becoming a parent is more about the here and now. When I think back to my 20s with the knowledge that I would possibly never have my own children, the feeling gutted me every day. However, now, despite going through a really difficult and challenging pregnancy, the end result was pure magic. My journey to motherhood was definitely a story, but one I love to tell time and time again because of my happy ending.

S. I find the unknown challenging. Of course, there are the everyday challenges that being a parent throws at you however, I do find myself getting on with it because you have no other choice. Not being able to fully know what is going on in the minds of the two people I would give my life for scares me. By that I mean, the unknown on how they’re feeling at school, problems with friends, school work, is there anything they worry about, are they unwell and they don’t know how to express it? All those things challenge me every day as a parent because it’s beyond my control and I’m not always able to deal with it when it needs the attention. I’m rewarded every day just by them calling me Mummy. Even though they over use that word more times than I can deal with, it’s a wonderful feeling. Watching them master small challenges, draw a picture, say a new word, even putting on their own socks gives me pure joy and I wouldn’t change that feeling for anything.

Sevim.

E. What has being a mother taught you?

S. That my parents were always right, even when I rebelled and they came at me with lectures and unlimited hours of debates, they were right. Even when they camped outside the nightclub waiting to pick me up at god knows what time in the morning, they were right to do so (even though I could have used a whole different vocabulary at the time.) They did the best they could do to keep us as safe as they could and for that I owe them everything. That only registered when I became a mother and I only truly appreciated the lengths they went to protect us. I will do the same for mine… with the safe knowledge that they too will appreciate it some day in the future. Additionally, mothers rock. There isn’t a time in our life where we only have one thing or person to think about (how nice would that be?) We should have a standing ovation every day for everything we do (don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way saying dads shouldn’t) however, we turn this world around and for that, I’m highfiving every Mama out there doing her utter best to keep everyone going.

E. Summarise motherhood in one word.

S. Miracle.

Let’s make the origami flower!

Spring is definitely the season for pretty colours and glorious flowers. The masters of kids craft toucanBox share a step-by-step on how to make your very own origami flowers.

You will need:

A square of coloured paper. Your hands of course. And that’s it!

Instructions:

Start with your square piece of paper as shown.

1. Fold the square in half, to make a triangle. 2. Fold the triangle in half again.

5. Repeat step four. 6. Turn your flower over. 7. Fold back the sides of the flower as shown. 3. Open the fold you just made and make sure the folded line is facing upwards. 4. Fold the points on the base of the triangle upwards as shown.

8. Repeat step seven. 8. Turn your flower over and marvel at your pretty origami creation!

ToucanBox is an established crafting and creative thinking brand in the parenting and children’s sector, delivering hand’s on crafts to children through the letterbox, and championing the need to introduce science, tech, engineering, art and maths to children from the ages of 3+. Something for every little one to enjoy!