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Finding Joy

Seek out and celebrate the joy in every day | A blog by freelance writer, Joy Adan

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The forgetful parent’s guide to going out with your baby

7 June, 2017 By Joy Adan Tagged With: mum life, parent guide Leave a Comment

The forgetful parent’s guide to going out with your baby

This post was brought to you by Curash, who have been providing expert skin care for over 35 years. Using local expertise and in consultation with Australian mums, Curash has continued to develop the range from nappy rash treatments to shampoo, soap free bath washes, baby wipes and more. You’ll find plenty of useful things to keep in your baby bag – check out their range in baby stores, major

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Juggling when you don’t know how to juggle

30 March, 2017 By Joy Adan Tagged With: lettering, mum life, qotd Leave a Comment

Juggling when you don’t know how to juggle

I’m having one of those weeks where my to-do list is growing at a rate that I can’t keep up, and right now I’m feeling completely under-accomplished and the voices of doubt keep telling me that I’ve bitten off way more than I can chew. I am juggling so many things at the moment, and fear that I’ll drop them all any second. I called hubby on the way home

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The “Big School” Hustle

9 February, 2017 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life, school Leave a Comment

The “Big School” Hustle

Mr 4 started school last week. I’m still in denial about the whole thing. As it turns out, so was he, because he hated saying goodbye in the morning and burst into tears during several drop-offs last week. I know that it takes time for kids to get used to the whole idea of “big school” and I absolutely expected there to be tears. But knowing this didn’t make tearing

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Hello 2017

4 January, 2017 By Joy Adan Tagged With: mum life 12 Comments

Hello 2017

Welcome to 2017! We’re 4 days in and I’m already exhausted. We’re 4 days in and my four year old has already surpassed his screen-time quota for the whole month of January. What can I say? When your toddler has a high temperature, snuggling in bed and watching reruns of Paw Patrol and Voltron is the best cure (and possibly the only way to stay sane while also caring for

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There’s a traffic jam in my head

19 October, 2016 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life 8 Comments

There’s a traffic jam in my head

It’s early. Eddoes is already on his way to work but the rest of the house is fast asleep. Well… I can hear Mr Z stirring in his room. I need to drink this coffee and eat this bacon and egg roll quickly or else it’s going to stay here abandoned on the kitchen bench for the rest of the day. Mr 4 has already woken once and I managed

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The postpartum conversation that should have happened

24 September, 2016 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life 22 Comments

The postpartum conversation that should have happened

Last week I went to visit a female GP for my 6 week postpartum check-up. It was weird. Even though she wasn’t my regular GP (ours is a dude and I wanted to talk female to female), I went in thinking I’d at last get a chance to talk to her about how I’m going physically and emotionally after labour. Either I have warped memories or things have changed drastically since

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Dealing with doubt

14 September, 2016 By Joy Adan Tagged With: inspiration, motherhood, motivation, mum life, reflection 6 Comments

Dealing with doubt

I’ve spent a fair bit of time over the last couple of days wallowing in self-doubt. Up until Thursday I was ok (in fact, better than ok) but the precarious walls of my “confidence” came tumbling down over something really dumb. The embarrassing part about this is what triggered the self-doubt. It was a LinkedIn request from someone who had a really impressive profile and about a gazillion articles and publications to their

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Preparing the heart for a second baby

28 July, 2016 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life 12 Comments

Preparing the heart for a second baby

I’ve been sitting in the baby’s room, rocking back and forth in our brand new antique white Valco baby nursing chair for the better part of an hour. Instead of writing anything down (something I’ve been wanting to do for days), I’ve found so many other things to do instead. I’ve checked and responded to my emails, continued the process (a surprising and painstakingly long process because I always forget how

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Cloudy, with a chance of pregnant girl problems

17 June, 2016 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life 5 Comments

Cloudy, with a chance of pregnant girl problems

Mr 4 has fallen asleep and I’m really tempted to nap too. It’s a cloudy, cold afternoon here in Sydney and all the weather reports are telling us to prepare for another weekend of severe storms. Nothing quite like storm weather to get me in the mood for sleep. Although really, it doesn’t take much for me to want sleep… I love sleep. Even more so now that I’m 32

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When a food baby is not quite (just) a food baby…

23 February, 2016 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life 7 Comments

When a food baby is not quite (just) a food baby…

Uh… so I ate a lot over Christmas, and gained a few kilos as a result. Actually, if I’m honest, despite my attempt to get fitter and healthier by exercising everyday, I’d already started gaining weight in October. I had to buy pants the next size up because the button of my work pants literally burst off. It probably doesn’t help that hubby and I went on a (*ahem* unintentional) food safari across

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Trains with Mr Three

3 November, 2015 By Joy Adan Tagged With: motherhood, mum life 3 Comments

Trains with Mr Three

 

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Avoiding screen-time (and maximising play time!) with my toddler

21 August, 2015 By Joy Adan Tagged With: craft, motherhood, mum life 2 Comments

Avoiding screen-time (and maximising play time!) with my toddler

I am a bit of a tech addict. I work in front of a computer all day, and when I’m not at my desk I’m usually reading an e-book on my iPad or checking social media on my mobile phone. Obviously this is in part because it’s my job to check and manage social media, but I am also conscious that life goes on (and can be, in fact, much more

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Hi

Joy Adan

I'm Joy. I'm a 30-something, storytelling, coffee-drinking, book-devouring, ocean-obsessed, traveller, freelance writer and digital creative. You'll find some of my stories and art here, along with my advice about attempt at balancing the creative career + family life hustle.

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