It's hard being a parent. I think it always has been hard being a parent. Even with the village. Sometimes because of the village. These days it's hard because mostly, parents have to wade that ocean of raising their children alone. Inevitably, we look to the "golden olden" days where babies were passed from mother,…
There are a plethora of kid's books out there, though not all are equal. Here on The Modest Life we'll be sharing our favourites for children (and adults as well), in terms of educational value, pure enjoyment, endearing qualities and beautiful illustrations. Our first book in the series fulfils all of the above criteria and…
I have always been insecure about my appearance. Being of Uyghur/Uzbek descent, culturally Turkic groups located in Central Asia wedged between China and Russia, my features are decidedly 'Asian'. I carry my ethnicity on my face, for all the world to see, to puzzle over, or to label prematurely, ignorantly. I grew up in the…
Yes, I went there. I know that this Disney film has taken on a status as a movie phenomenon mainly due to its song "Let it go" and Queen Elsa's characterisation as endowed with magical powers that allow her to create sparkly ice/snow. And yes, given the hype of it all, when it came out…
Parenting is one of those things that can spectacularly divide people, like Pokemon Go, or the colour of some dress. Ok, maybe the parenting divides can be a bit weightier than those. The nature of parenting is so personal that the moment you begin to discuss some aspect of it, such as food, or television,…
Before I became a mother, I was one of those people who emphatically claimed that my children would NEVER watch TV. Well, two babies later the reality of how ridiculous that claim was made itself painfully apparent. When it was just one child, sure, it was easier to avoid the TV. But even then, as…
When I woke up I knew it was going to be one of those days. I felt unsettled. On edge. In fact I'd been struggling with these feelings for a few days. I was feeling that constant niggling frustration that comes from being a stay-at-home mum, by dealing with two highly illogical mini-humans with strong…
My daughter is not what you’d call a “good eater”. In fact, the year she turned two, I don’t think she ate much at all. The. Whole. Year. My parents would berate me about it every time we went over for dinner. And over the phone in between visits. Although my daughter was a chubby…
Continue reading ➞ The ‘P’ in ‘Parenting’ is for Perseverance
I’ve been a mother of two little girls under the age of 4 for around nine months now. I always knew I wanted children close in age so, hopefully, they would be good friends as they grew older. I myself have a sister two years younger than me and she is basically my best friend.…
Giving birth is utterly heart breaking... Yes birth is all kinds of crazy/incredible yet simultaneously it can be totally heart breaking. When I came home from the hospital, I’d sometimes find myself in tears for (seemingly) no reason. I simply couldn’t cope with the enormity of what my body had just been through and the…
Continue reading ➞ What I’ve learnt (so far) about Motherhood