I seem to have turned a bit of a corner, this week (watch me as I jinx myself): I feel as though I’m more on top of things in my life, more in control. Back to being me. There’s probably going to be a whole slew of posts about this, because I have quite a lot to say on the whole “work/life/new mum” subject, but I suppose I wanted to mark the occasion, so to speak, so that I could look back and pinpoint the days when things started to get noticeably easier.

Or I shouldn’t say easier, really, because trying to work full-time from home and look after a baby is anything but easy, and it gets more and more hectic the older she gets, but I’m definitely learning to be at peace with the situation. I seem to be developing a sort of mental flexibility that allows me to think calmly and in a more detached and unemotional way when the going gets tough. Pre-baby I used to have minor breakdowns (think crying, hives, the odd little wall-kicking session) on a regular basis – I worked from about 9am until midnight most days (poor Mr AMR) and I didn’t ever really feel as though I was getting anywhere. It was just a big, perpetual hamster wheel and I constantly felt as though I wasn’t doing enough. Now, armed with my myriad of lists to hand (oh lists, where have you been all my life?) I am ticking off jobs as I do them and even if I only tick off the smallest and most insignificant tasks, it makes me feel good and satisfied at the end of the day. I’ve found that the trick is to write absolutely everything down on my lists and then there’s more to tick off! Ha. Remember to put on the tumble dryer. Tick. Eat the avocado before it turns for the worse. Tick. Put on bra.

So you’ll excuse me, I hope, if some potentially schmaltzy and soulful posts pop up – I promise they won’t be illustrated with those curly-writing pastel-coloured motivational quotations that the world is so keen on. They honestly give me the rage – it’s the mental equivalent of being fed a cake that is 80% icing. Oh hold on, that’s a cupcake. Don’t even get me started on cupcakes. I mean, I’ll eat one, don’t get me wrong, but that’s about all. I don’t particularly get turned on by photographs of them. Anyway: soulful life posts coming up, but I’ll try to keep them brief. I wouldn’t want you thinking I’d gone soft…

You can read more Mum and Baby posts (and loads of stuff about my breasts, weirdly) on The Uphill.

Ooh, before I forget: NUDE skincare winners! You’ll be contacted directly by the brand so keep an eye on your emails, but the following readers can do a little excitement dance;

Nippy34@xxx.com – Sarah

lu82.lu@xxx.co.uk – Lu

ca_greenwood@xxx.com – Kate

alison@xxx.net – Aliss

glenka@xxx.co.uk – Kelly

laurastewardcomp@xxx.co.uk – Laura

ellishakellett@xxx.co.uk – Laura

Abbiehughes2592@xxx.co.uk – Abbie

alicahopkins@xxx.com – Alica

Aoise-marea@xxx.com – Aoise

snowqueen@xxx.co.uk – Sabika

georgie.boy23@xxx.co.uk – Liam

eclarke@xxx.co.uk – Emma

only1mickey@xxx.co.uk – Micky

Esme.w@xxx.co.uk – Esme

Well done, enjoy your Fizzy Washes – do let me know how you get on.