ENGAGEMENT OVER FOLLOWERS

As a full time blogger a large portion of my job requires social media activity, I'd probably guess it around half. Whilst the likes of Instagram and Facebook are a bit of fun for most people, it may seem that it's the 'easy' part of the job, but you'd be mistaken for thinking that. Posting a quick photo with a seemingly fitting caption isn't the hard task, though capturing said photos can be, it's building a loyal and engaging following - that's the difficult part. There may be a small amount of social media influences who gained a following quickly and authentically for one reason or another, but the majority have to work hard at it day after day, and it can be a pretty gruelling task, especially today in a era of bots and fake followings.

CHERISHING MEMORIES WITH TIMESPRING

I think as parents it's part and parcel to feel bittersweet as you watch your babies grow. I'm always so scared of missing moments that I'll never get back or forgetting the way their voice sounded at a certain age. Whilst there is so many key points that stand out from the past four years of motherhood for me, there are so many that don't too, it doesn't mean they weren't as important or valuable to me, but that's just how life works.

STRAWBERRY PICKING - DAYS OUT WITH KIDS

If you've been around for a moment, you'll know that strawberry picking was on my summer bucket list for the year. Nothing pleases me more than ticking something off pretty promptly, so we decided to do that by heading to a local pick your own farm in the East Midlands. Our farm of choice was the School Farm near Retford, after visiting last year on our second pumpkin picking mission, we noticed that they were opening for the strawberry season and we couldn't resist. I wasn't sure how much they'd have and if there would be any that were truly pick-able, but thankfully the ripe strawberries were plentiful and we managed to fill our baskets up with ease.