Thursday 30 April 2015

Matalan and My Modern Family

Hello everyone,  so if you don't know already I have got a bun in the oven.  Whilst writing this post I am 36 weeks.  We are having a boy and god have I been doing some serious shopping.  So much my partner has put me on a spending ban until he's born....opps.  One of the many shops I've brought Kai clothes from is Matalan.  Admittedly I didn't think of looking in Matalan until someone else mentioned it.  This is because my local shop is kind of out the way behind a Sainsbury which is a shame because I forgot what a great shop it was!  I used to visit the shop all the time with my parents when I was in school.  So when I was approached by Mumsnet if I would like to post for Matalan of course I said yes!


Matalan have conducted research and has noticed how family life has changed and is no longer straight forward.  This is of particular interest to me as I'm actually studying Social Science and this is basically what Matalan have researched into.  This is what Matalan have to say 

"the definition of 'family' in the 21st century is not straightforward; as the Facebook status might suggest, "it's complicated". This doesn't mean that the idea of family has become any less important however, it simply means we are seeing that family today comes in many different shapes, sizes and forms. Our research revealed some interesting and surprising insights about modern family life."



So what does family life mean to me?  Well at the moment family means a lot more to me now then it used to when I was younger.  I am very grateful for how things have turned out.  When I look back and think about my childhood I realise just how lucky I was and how grateful I should of been back then.  My parents are still together and I had a great childhood.  I never moved once and the neighbourhood I was part of was lovely.  Infact when I talk about the games I played etc with my neighbours people are often jealous.  However my family life now is very different to what it was back in my childhood.
Me and my brother
I don't have a very big family (I don't think I do anyway) but I love how close I feel to all of my family even though I don't see them as often as I'd like to.  Infact I really want to organise a family reunion.  All my grandparents have sadly passed, the one I miss the most is my grandad David Kingsley Lote.  I have lots of happy memories with him most of them being funny.   I still cry sometimes that he's gone (tears up when writing this) and what better name could I give my first born then his?  I don't believe in god that much though I like studying religion but if what they say is true that god will bring back people from the dead then that couldn't come sooner.


I have a wonderful son called David.  He is the light of my life, even if sometimes he drives me up the wall.  Sadly me and his father didn't work out.  It was a messy break up but it was caused by simply not feeling the same way anymore.  Though I'm sure other people have their own ideas because lets face it people are nosey and love to make up stories.  Although me and his father do have are moments David and him have a really good bond so I am a very lucky mother.  I did feel like I let down my family a lot though as I was the first one in my family to ever break up with their partner once having a child.  This wasn't something I planned or hoped for but sadly needless to say it happened.  We have a good routine in place and David see's his dad once a week Thursday 11am - Saturday 5pm.   When I tell teachers and other people they are very surprised (in a good way) that David see's his dad that much.

My old family with the ex
2 years on after that happened I am now with someone else called Matthew.  We also have a baby on the way called Kai.  I get on VERY well with his family so much so I think I actually talk to his family members more then he does ha ha.  There very lovely and so like my own family which is probably why I get along so well with them.  He also has family in America which I'm just dying to meet.  We are all very excited for the arrival of Kai but I will make sure my first son David doesn't feel left out.  I'm very anxious to find out how David will react.

the photo of David and Matthew are rare as Matthew hates his photo being taken
I live about 15 minutes away from my parents and although I want to move to a bigger house I really don't want to move that far away from them as they are such a big support to me literally I couldn't ask for better parents, there always there when I need them and I'm very grateful.  So I will end the blog here on a high and ask you share your favourite family photo with Matalan - click here

someone was very ticklish lol


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