YOU VOTED on the colours for my book and I LOVE them, thank you! See the last reel and video to hear me talk more about my book and the heart behind it. This isn’t a parenting book. This is a book about YOU. Because as you gain balance, headspace and confidence by lessening guilt, anxiety and burnout, then YOU will flourish. 
And the wonderful side-effect of a woman stepping into herself, is that her children benefit too. We are more able to anchor, nurture and instil confidence in our children, when we have these things for ourselves. And we’re deserving of them for our own sake. Preorder my new book on @waterstones or @amazon now! ‘Raising a happier mother: How To find balance, feel good and see your children flourish as a result’ Preorders take a minute or two, but they secure a first copy, and support me as an author in getting the word out there (algorithms n’ all that!). Thank you so much and I can’t wait for you to have it xx @penguinukbooks @penguinlifebooks @bevjamesmanagement @dundascomms

Grab a ribbon and share the square! The ribbon says: - I am open to you offering me some kind words or support - I’m here if you need some kind words or support It’s also for those who’ve messaged me to say that they’ve been offered support before, but said they were ‘fine thanks’ when they weren’t. So it might a statement to yourself that you’re stepping out in letting others step towards you! This will either rocket, or flop, and I’m okay with finding out and looking like a plonker if it doesn’t work. If you want something a bit more official, thanks to lots of you, I have discovered that @amotherplace and @stacieswift created some amazing ‘Yo’ buggy tags and pins a couple of years ago which you can get on @amotherplace website. They that you’re open to having a chat or helping a fellow parent. I will link those in stories for you! All proceeds go to Pandas. So let’s see ribbons and tags all over the place 🙌🏼

This isn’t a book to read front to back. Simply pick the relevant feeling from the list (anxiety, hormonal, boredom, loneliness, overwhelm, insomnia, rage, social anxiety….etc) and turn to the right page for some warm words of support and clarity. They’re the words I’d say to you if I came round for coffee, or you were sat on my therapy sofa. I can’t wait for you to have it. Here are some questions I got the other day when I put a box in stories: 🙋🏽‍♀️ My kids are older now. Will this be helpful? I’ve focussed on the first years due to the intensity of emotions but absolutely. There are some references to sleep deprivation and hormones, but each chapter untangles an emotion you’ll feel at any stage of motherhood. 🙋🏽‍♀️ My colleague is going off on Mat leave. Would it be appropriate to give this to her as a gift? Absolutely!! It is very approachable and warm. It touches on many emotions through the highs, the midways and the lows. My first 2 books go into depth on anxiety and self-worth whereas this touches on a bit of everything. 🙋🏽‍♀️ Will you do one for dads? Ooh there’s an idea! However, someone who read the manuscript said they’d be sharing chapters with their partner to help them understand different emotions they’re experiencing. So, it could be beneficial! Let me know if you have more questions and I’ll answer in comments ❤️❤️ Thanks so much to @bevjamesmanagement @penguinlifebooks @mothers.wellness.toolkit for making my dream a reality xx

I shunted aside the thoughts of the ‘yeah but the floor, yeah but the washing’, and initiated a water fight. Watching them run around the garden in soggy school clothes squealing in delight was wonderful. But witnessing their utter delight in the fact that I was screeching around the garden with them, was priceless. We facilitate so many memories for our kids, but the best memories for them are often the ones we dive into. And yes the floor needed mopping and the clothes needed drying, but it was worth it for every soaking second and every happy scream. When was the last time you threw away the ‘yeah but’s?

A little overview of today’s episode of The Therapy Edit. What would you add? Have you listened to todays episode and are you enjoying the pod? There are around 200 super short episodes. Pick them to suit how you’re feeling and the encouragement you need. Please put your topic requests in the comments. Each week my bitesize newsletter (sign up in the bio) and podcast follow a theme. This week is overwhelm of the general never-ending to-do. Xx

Do you feel suffocated by a sense of overwhelm? Is your to do list so big that you just don’t know where to start? Do you have something big on the horizon that is making you feel totally out of your depth and causing you to panic? Sometimes it’s hard to see the wood from the trees, to see what actually matters amongst a sea of WhatsApps and favours asked at the school gates and diary reminders and responsibilities as a parent, a partner, a child, a sibling, a member of a community. Today I’m here to help! Take a listen to The Therapy Edit to hear my 5 tips on how to see the wood from the trees. I so hope it helps and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast as it so helps us to help others who are feeling overwhelmed too. Anna x #overwhelm #stress #mentalhealth

#fathersday My heart always sits with those who lingered longer in the card shop.

With Father’s Day this weekend, we couldn’t think of a better time to invite you to listen to the wise words of Gordon Dowall-Potter, the founder of @MANtenatal , with a father’s point of view about how co-parents can transform the way they communicate and move away from the misery of nagging, or feeling like you’re nagging, and move towards mutual respect and clear expectations. Gordon created MANtenatal after attending two ‘traditional’ antenatal courses. The courses were ok, but they never seemed to give any real focus on preparing men for the amazing and sometimes difficult journey to fatherhood. So, Gordon set to work in creating something to work alongside them. MANtenatal is a fully digital platform, designed by dads and endorsed by the NHS in the UK, along with Midwives & Doula’s from around the world. You get to select the course format that works for you. ... when you join MANtenatal, you automatically become part of a global squad of guys who can openly talk about MENtal health issues impacting dads too. This is a safe space and nothing is taboo! We hope you love this chat. Please join us in spreading the word if you find it a help. Anna and Gordon x #TheTherapyEdit #Mantenatal #mensmentalhealth #parenthood #maternalmentalhealth

A little line inspired by Monday’s episode of The Therapy Edit, and Monday’s bitesize newsletter (sign up in bio). Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be present? Pursuing being more present sure helps us be more present, but it’s natural for our minds to move to focus on other things! Listen to the 10 min pod for more of the nuance. Listen to the pod for tips… ANDDDDDDDDD I’ve just been told that I’m going to get a HOLD of my NEW BOOK next month!! Physical copy in the flesh!!! Have you pre-ordered ‘Raising a happier mother’ yet?? Preordering means you get your hands on a first copy, secure the lowest price and help the book’s launch into the 🌍. Thank you so much for ordering early! I never realised why it helped authors so much until I became one! Anna xx

I have been learning something new and it has brought me so much joy! A few weeks ago, my sister in law plaited my daughter’s hair. I’ve always been able to do it haphazardly but decided I wanted to learn. One quiet afternoon (with the aid of the tv for F) I learnt some skills. They were wonky and uneven, but on holiday she let me do it each day and I got better and more creative. It’s bringing me so much joy. It’s not just about the skill, but the journey of learning something new and the pride I feel seeing my confidence and creativity grow. It’s a little thing really. But it’s not insignificant. Us mums often focus so much on facilitating growth, learning and creativity for our kids and there’s a reason for that. It’s fun. It’s good for them, their brains, their self-esteem and development. It never stopped being good for ours too! Have you tried anything new recently? If you dabbled, what would you like to dabble in? @braid_maidens have given me a code to share. Use ANNA33 to get 33% off all their amazing online tutorials. NOTE - dug this out from down the feed as I did one today and I’d forgotten about how easy and pretty they can be! Axx

Here we go! A little carousel to go with the theme of Monday’s podcast episode of The Therapy Edit? Have you had a listen? Thank you for your lovely messages, it’s such a common source of guilt for us mums and I felt it needed some words of clarity and encouragement - for you and for me! I also wrote about the pressure to be ‘present’, enjoy every moment and make the most of ‘our 18 summers’ with our kids, in my bitesize Monday newsletter (sign up in my bio to join the wonderful 17.5k of our community!) Which one did you need to read the most? Anna xx

‘You are stinky’ ‘I’m not stinky, my poo is stinky’ I witnessed this exchange as I sat on the bathroom floor the other day. Simple wisdom from the mouth of my kids. How often do we make statements about the entirety of who we are? Our hearts hear the words our minds and mouths speak. Reaffirming half truths until they become the way we view our whole. You’re a good person, having a tough time, a challenging day or a messy moment. So, the next time you catch yourself saying or thinking I’m a failure I’m a rubbish mum I know nothing I am lazy I am impatient Think about my kids. I’m not a failure, I failed at something I’m not a rubbish mum, I had a bad day I don’t know nothing, I’d benefit from learning I’m not lazy, I’m unmotivated today I’m not impatient, I have a short fuse right now You’re not stinky. You’re not a failure. You’re not rubbish. We all do stinky, failing, rubbish stuff. Those are labels for behaviours, and stuff, not people xx #motherhood. NOTE. Scrolled down to find this post after something threw my mind back to it today! Thought I’d dig it up from the feed x