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24.01.2022 New workshop coming! It’s been a year since I ran my own in-person Lost in Motherhood workshop. In that time, the same 6 women have come together every 6-8weeks. My intention had only been to run one workshop but we are still coming back together. Why?... - the same, small group every time - Real conversation about what we’re struggling with or celebrating - Being really listened to - no interruptions, no talking over, just calm listening - Laughter - oh the laughter! - Knowing that you can be 100% yourself; ask the questions you need to; say the things you might not have anywhere else to say them. My next Lost in Motherhood workshop will run on 9th May - just before Mother’s Day. Click here to book: www.notjustmum.com.au/events There’s only 5 spots left & I would love it to be you. Not on the Gold Coast, Australia? DM me and let me know where you are - and we can find a way for you to get access to this workshop. Love, Amanda

24.01.2022 Every 6-8 weeks for the past year, the same 6 women have come together to sit me with me and be supported through their motherhood journey. What started as a one-off Lost in Motherhood workshop has become the most supportive group of women and friends. It’s been a huge year together - talking about everything that has come our way in life. It’s a really, really special place to be, and I want to extend it out to you. ... This Mother’s Day, I’d like to open up the opportunity for 6 more women to join me in my Lost in Motherhood workshop. I only plan to run this workshop once this year and I would absolutely love you to join us. So, if you’re looking for real conversations about motherhood, life and work... this is you place. Click here: https://www.notjustmum.com.au/events/ Can’t wait to see you there. Amanda

23.01.2022 Next level cuteness... end of a week of hanging out with CatBoy. Mixed feelings about returning to work tomorrow - looking forward to the familiarity of routine, all the exercise I have planned and coaching gorgeous clients. But also, the to-do list is long. The backlog of emails will be waiting. I read a quote tonight that helped:... Saying ‘no’ to what isn’t good for you frees up the space to say ‘yes’ to activities and opportunities that bring you joy. (From WE: a manifesto for women everywhere) If you think my Lost in Motherhood session might be a yes, click now on link in bio to book your ticket. It’s on 9th May 7-9pm on the Gold Coast, Australia. Only a few tickets left and I’d love if they went to you. Love, Amanda Another example of the paradoxes of life. #sundaynight #sundaynights #workingmum #workingmums #workingmumslife #goldcoastbusiness #goldcoastwomeninbusiness #entrepreneurlife #toddlerlife #toddlermomlife

23.01.2022 Grandparents. They are one of the reasons we moved home. In a way, I’m scared to even write anything about having access to loving grandparents as I know so many of you live away from home, have lost your parents or don’t have access to them for some other reason. I used to read posts about grandparents and feel a bit heartbroken. There was one on Motherly that went viral a while back, and it broke my heart: I wouldn’t have that support and my son wouldn’t have that consist...ent love that I knew he could. Last night, after my son had a little poo incident at the end of a week that included buying a house and long (dark) commutes, my mum looked at us and said, Want to leave him here tonight? I felt so relieved. Not only because of a full night’s uninterrupted sleep but because we would also get a slow Saturday morning. The kind where you get to stay in your pjs drinking tea. Loving grandparents = time + headspace + physical space So, thanks mum and dad. You are truly loved and amazing. I will now drink my tea on the sofa. Love, Amanda

22.01.2022 Can you spare some nappies? Get in touch with Baby Give Back. This is such a great charity supporting looking GC families.

21.01.2022 This is Nicola from @nicola_laye She’s a special person. On Saturday morning, I text her at 9am and asked Can we come round? 20 mins later, my son and I landed into her place. She and her girls welcomed us with excitement, huge hugs, lots of toys and basically, a lot of love.... I don’t take this for granted. This is important. Two hours later and we were peeling ourselves away from peace (the kids were entertaining themselves), great conversation (and from some of the remaining crackers and hummus that we hadn’t eaten) to move on to the next part of our day. It was bittersweet. We knew that time together was special. It filled me up so much. As I sat down to think about my upcoming workshop next week and what I could share with you that would capture what happens there, all I could think of was Nicola. She helped me set up the first one last year, has come to every event I have held since, taught me how to breathe properly, engage my core and helped me rebuild my body after pregnancy and a c-section. But she has also given me a lot of faith that I can build the types of long-standing friendships that I cherish from my friends in Northern Ireland. I met Nicola at Pilates. She was the teacher. If I hadn’t gone to that session, our paths my never have crossed. I am so grateful they did. So, no matter whether you come solo next week or are coming with a friend, I know that you will meet women who you can walk away from and think I LOVED THAT! That’s my hope for you. Join us next Thursday 9th May at Whole Health Studio, Gold Coast. Click here https://www.notjustmum.com.au/events/ - only a few tickets remaining. Love, Amanda Want to more about @nicola_laye? Jump onto her insta and come breathe with us on Sunday. #goldcoastevents #goldcoastlife #goldcoastmums #goldcoastmumsandbubs #workingmum #firsttimemum #workingmom #toddlermum #goldcoaststyle #goldcoastliving

20.01.2022 How has it taken me so long to read this book?! Sorry @happymamawithamy Just read this quote that Amy shares from @gabbybernstein I will be loving and I will be kind, but my energy is mine. ... Amy shares this as a strength-finding exercise where you wrap your arms tightly around you as if putting on a big cloak and say this quote to yourself either in your mind or out loud. There’s just something about this quote that really sticks to with me. You can still be loving and kind but boundaried about what you give away of yourself.

20.01.2022 Getting ready for their holidays... oversized sunglasses and all. #holidays #holidaystyle #holidaystyles #toddleractivities #toddlermumlife #toddlermomlife

19.01.2022 Apparently today is flexible work day. I didn’t remember that when I woke up this morning and decided I needed a day with my main man. I worked a few hours this morning before he woke up, an hour while he watched Frozen and another couple just now. No shorter or longer than my average 5am wake-up to 9pm downtools but just a different combination of time spent. We had the best day. It was a bonus day together so no jobs to do, nowhere to be. I asked him several times Do you w...ant to do something now or stay here and play with your toys? Every time he came back: Stay here and play with toys. And so we did. I know I am incredibly privileged to be able to decide on a whim to change my work day, and not worry to much about the potential financial implications. I wonder what the world could be like if everyone had access to true choice about how they combine work and family? Love, Amanda

17.01.2022 Nobody prepares you for what it’s like to become a mum. It’s phrase you’ll hear a lot before you become a mum, and you might feel a lot after you become: Nobody told me it would be like this. They told me I wouldn’t sleep but I didn’t know how much that lack of sleep would scatter my brain and make me feel like I wasn’t good enough.... They told me I wouldn’t be the same again but they didn’t tell me what that really means: the feelings of being lost, being so lonely, of grieving my life at a time where I ‘should’ be happy. They told me there was no going back but they didn’t say how it felt to see that responsibility day in, day out stretching out in front of you, thinking I don’t know how if I can do this. They told me to book in a date night but they didn’t say to work out how you’ll communicate in the middle of the night, or how you’ll co-parent that new person. They told me my career would be there but they didn’t say that I might not want it, or I’d change so much I’d want something completely different. They told me your body might not be the same. They didn’t tell me how to rebuild it, to work through this new way of being. They told me to bounce back. They didn’t tell me there is no back. You will change and you can’t go back, no matter how much you want to. They didn’t say that all of this is completely and absolutely normal and ok. You are not broken. You are not doing it wrong. You are exactly where you need to be. They didn’t say that you might need help. And you do. So reach out. If you feel like you could be suffering from post-natal depression, see your GP. If you feel like you need a safe space to speak with other women about all of this lifelong change, join me at my upcoming Lost in Motherhood workshop on 9th May on the Gold Coast to connect in with other women on this journey: https://www.notjustmum.com.au/events/ Love, Amanda .... Thanks to @nicolejoyinspire @natkringoudis @lisabondarenko_ @belly2birth @the_anxiety_wellness_queen for organising last night’s Becoming Mum event and all the real mummas who contributed last night. You re-ignited in me the need to have the real conversations that I always want to have in my life.

13.01.2022 So proud to be featured here on Balancing Bravely today This is the go-to place for evidence-based info on worklife balance for women.

12.01.2022 I spoke with a client today and suggested that maybe she exercise just for fun. For the sheer joy of doing it. Not to ward off future health concerns. Not because it’s something she should do. Just because it’s something she enjoys. She paused on the line. No words. I am going to sit with that. I could hear the a-ha! A relatively simple reframe that made her feel so much lighter. She wanted to exercise. She knew she enjoyed it. But amongst everything else in the calendar..., it was the thing that got lost. We then moved into the practicalities of how to make it happen. She finished feeling relieved and excited. This week, and for the foreseeable future, I have returned to outdoor running and strength training in the gym - two things I wanted to do for the sheer joy of doing them. I have blocked out the time in my calendar and feel solid in committing too them. It’s not too much. It’s just the right amount. So, what can you do for the sheer joy of it? How could would it feel? What would the right amount of it look like? Love, Amanda me in my happy place on my bike at 7am looking out over Burleigh Heads with @abody2fit

12.01.2022 2 years on and daycare drop off is still as physically painful as ever... that cry! #newmummonday #mondayblues #istheweekendovermum #workingmumma #workingmum #workingmom #workingmoms #workingmomlifestyle #workingmomproblems #workingmumproblems #heartbroken

12.01.2022 What a night! Supporting women in science with @franklinwomen . It was amazing to be on a panel with some fantastic people this evening. As I read through the twitter comments, I thought I sound quite wise! So here are some of the best quotes from myself and others from the night: 1. Courage is a practice (stolen from Brene Brown) 2. Polite persistence: the art of asking for something for nothing, repeatedly! 3. Failure is going to happen, you learn things from it, something else was meant to happen and it was a failure (you aren’t!). 4. Characteristics of entrepreneurs: curiosity, creativity, courage, grit (from @bluechilligroup)

06.01.2022 It’s been 7 months since I shared anything here. I stopped because I always write authentically and at that point I was starting to work through some major life change that I wasn’t ready to share. We moved back to the Northern Ireland last month. Anyone who has been following along for a while knows that we nearly did it the year before. It’s hard to explain why you would leave the sunshine and your Australian life to move back to Northern Ireland. ... The best way I have figured out is to imagine being on holiday and the thing you really look forward to on the way back is your own bed. That is the feeling of nearly 6 years away: looking forward to your own bed, the comfort of your family and close friends & the promise that you can be your full self. I carried with me a deep sense of grief during my time in Australia that I mostly pretended wasn’t there. Every time I said goodbye, a little crack of heartbreak would open a bit wider and I would shove it down a bit more to stop the pain. Until it became unsustainable and I realised (through some great coaching) that I wasn’t shoving it down, it was coming up again and again, on most days. My mind asking me: Can you really live your life here forever knowing what you have at home? And what I have is amazing: family who care about us (& will fly to the other side of the world to help us move back), aunts/uncles to our son who have endless patience to play with him, deep and supportive friendships, and a sanctuary in my parents house (where I have just escaped to to have a full night’s sleep). We began this process last July and arrived home in December (only telling our families 6 weeks before). Moving across the world (again!) is no joke. It’s also been completely the right move. So, what pain / struggle / heartbreak are you pretending isn’t there? Can you find a way to acknowledge it and see what it’s trying to tell you? Love, Amanda our son on holiday in Donegal with his broom (aka stick)

06.01.2022 Celebration! That’s the face right there! 2 days until my Lost in Motherhood Workshop. Only two tickets left. Two! Do they have your name on it? I hope so. Click www.notjustmum.com.au/events to book, and a tag a friend to go with you!... Love, Amanda

03.01.2022 I’m really excited to start this strengthening programme alongside my triathlon training this week. Aleana has 1 spot left starting on Wed. Anyone on the Gold Coast want to join us? Aleana is all about proper movement tailored to your level of ability - meaning no matter where you’re starting from, she’ll work with you. Send Aleana a DM if interested. (N.B. This training isn’t suitable for those immediately post-partum - check in with Aleana if you are unsure whether it might be the right thing for you)