My name is Jeanie. I’m a 30-something,  writer, wife and mom (or mum – take your pick) and I’m Canadian.

I’m a Canadian, married to an Aussie and together we’ve produced a beautiful British baby boy.

Yes we live in England – the land of gorgeous countryside, cozy pubs, high tea and Downton Abbey. I love this country. I came here on a holiday 5 years ago and knew instantly that it was home.

So I’ moved here.

I took my very established life in Canada and completely uprooted it. It wasn’t an easy decision. I LOVE Canada. The amazing friends and family I left behind are missed on a daily basis. But they’ve also been my biggest supporters and many of them were the first to say, “go for it!”

So, I quit my job, sold my car, gave away my furniture and most of my clothes and rented out my house. I fit everything I owned in to two suitcases (not an easy thing to do for a 29 year old professional with an extensive wardrobe). I didn’t have a job lined up…I just had a 2-year visa and a gut-instinct that I was making the right move.

It turned out to be the best move of my life.

I’ve had some of the most incredible moments since moving here. I’ve met incredible people, worked for some deeply inspiring organizations and pushed myself beyond what I thought were my limits, time and time again.

So fast forward a few fun-filled years…

In October 2013, I found out I was pregnant.

To say I was shocked was an understatement.

I mean, my husband and I had started doing that typical couple thing where we weren’t really “trying” but we weren’t “not trying” either. It’s like all of us get to age 30 and instead of putting our foot down and saying, “we’re trying for a baby”; we instead dance around it and try to act like we don’t understand the consequences of unprotected sex.

Well, that being said, I was still shocked.

I had just gotten through a nasty bout of pneumonia and I was finishing the antibiotics when I got the news.  How could a little being survive in a body filled with stress, antibiotics and to be perfectly honest a good dose of wine from a recent trip to South Africa?

It was at that moment that I became a feminist; a champion of all of us women who work hard, balance everything and raise kids at the same time. Think about it – we have the ability to grow human beings within us!

We work, we have children, we nurture, we’re strong, we’re sexy and we get it all done with a great degree of grace (well, most of the time).

Once my boy was born – 7 weeks premature but healthy and strong – I have watched him completely change my life.

I know it’s a cliché but it’s true. I was all about my career, and living my life for other people, and not in a good way. I was (and admittedly still am to a point) a people pleaser. For many years, I was making decisions based on what I thought would please or impress my friends and family. I was working my butt off in jobs that were interesting but they weren’t my true calling.

Then this little boy came along and forced me to reprioritize.

What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? I had a duty and the complete privilege to figure this out.

On a side note – I must say that I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of my husband. He’s an amazing man. I have the ability to be a great mum because I have a strong man as my partner and as our boy’s dad.

But this blog isn’t about my husband and in many ways, it’s not even about my son. It’s about me and my deep respect for mums everywhere; whether you’re a single mum, juggling jobs and kids, or the queen of the yummy-mummy crew. I respect all of you.

I started this blog to share my experiences, the knowledge of mums smarter than me (there are quite a few) and to share all the things that I find to be inspiring and interesting – not only as a mum but as a woman.

Being a mother isn’t easy. So I want to celebrate what can be a very hard job.

It takes strength: the ability to still look good after a straight week with no sleep; grace to hold your head high when the glamorous world of post-work martinis is replaced with a room full of plastic toys and a wardrobe full of milk-stained clothes; and above all, power to push through the tough bits, when we question ourselves and doubt our abilities.

It’s a tough role…but we mums power through.

So from this mum to you, happy reading.

JB x