This month we came back from a winter break spent in Ireland

Our family of five spent the first few weeks of the year in Dublin and Galway, where the kids caught up with cousins, explored outdoors and we largely ignored all school work.

Instead we visited places we’ve never been, took them to places important to us and our history, learned through doing and spent a LOT of time together.

I didn’t log on to social media or write a newsletter during this time. I guess it’s called ‘unschooling’ or ‘homeschooling’ for the kids.

We drove a 9-seater mini van on the opposite side of many narrow and winding roads, cooked using a turf fired range, drank cup after cup of tea, played and watched football and GAA, listened to live trad music and walked over 5 kms most days…usually uphill or against the wind.

Castles! Fairy forts! Green grass! Scones with clotted cream! Open fires!

It sounds magical but of course there were many stressful kid and travel related logistics issues and problems that occurred. More on that another day.

For now, these are the things I actively practice when travelling with kids under age 10, which can conveniently apply to attending events with your kids (something I do often):
• 🚼 Pack one diaper per hour of travel/time away from home in a carry on bag (this was finally the trip when we needed them all)
• 📰 A roll of paper towel/tissue and extra garbage bags tucked into your stroller or bag in case of emergency
• 🍎 Non-perishable snacks and fruit with peels for unexpected breaks or waiting times
• 👕 Extra change of clothes, the one who’s least prepared shall endure the most spills (I believe this is an unwritten rule of parenting)
• ⚠️ Get comfortable with asking for help and accepting it in all forms when it arrives
• 😱 Deep breathing is wonderful but sometimes you need to do a silent scream in a public washroom stall when plans go sideways…repeat as needed.

Moving abroad or travelling as a means to redesign your work, your life and prioritize your needs as a family?

This article from Romper features American families who’ve recently moved to Europe and Africa. It spoke to me and I wanted to share it with you if you’re thinking of changing your work/home location…or travelling in future with young kids!

As a mother of three Dual Citizen kiddos, partner and sponsor of a newcomer to Canada, we’ve relocated multiple times before kids and with a baby to Australia, Ireland and England.

All have required different sponsorship, visa and immigration applications and procedures. Since returning to Canada, we’ve travelled to reconnect with family when our kids were babies, toddlers and now school age kids.

Why should you care? Many parents attending my babies and business meetups and events over the years have relocated from another city or country, people I’ve met and connected with doing remote work or running their own business have shared their personal approaches to schooling or unschooling their kids, structuring their workflows and home life. These things are often intertwined.

Coming back from a longer break spent focusing on my health

I’ve paused writing on this blog since March 2022 – our youngest is now a little over one year old and I’m slowly reconnecting with others but there are many things I did both offline and online in 2022 which I will elaborate on in future posts.

It often seems like not much in the moment but as I reflect back on what I learned, who I met, how I showed up, I’m proud of myself as I didn’t get access to a maternity or parental leave program or entitlements.

As with my first, I was freelancing and working on my business while pregnant but in between being quite sick throughout trimesters and having two older kids at home for some weeks in the summer and working around school, this also meant I didn’t know what the year would look like.

For a while there it felt like I was holding tight, trying to get by, minimizing what I could, wishing my body would let me know what the bigger issue was/is.

It may appear to others in my life that I am always there for my kids or at home, or maybe busy, busy, doing lots of things. But there have been many days and nights where I was lying in bed and my husband is taking care of it all. And oftentimes my mother and father were dropping by or staying over to help us.

In spite of the health challenges and unpredictability of life with three kids under age 7, here is what I got up to this past year:

– Participated in an online mastermind hosted by WE-CAN Project at Queen’s University from January through June 2022
– Presented an online workshop for Worldskills Employment Centre in March 2022 in between newborn feeds
– Took two wheel throwing 5-week pottery courses in May and October 2022 to get our third baby used to being looked after by others, giving my body a break, working with my hands, relaxing my mind and enjoying being in creative flow
– Produced Season 4 of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast, interviewing guests from April to October, then editing, promoting and releasing mini episodes from October through December 2022
– Attempted to write bi-weekly newsletters from Spring 2022 onward, for parents interested in entrepreneurship, flexible and remote work with kids
– Spoke at the Running Remote Conference in Montreal in May 2022 (while babywearing)
– Spent summer with all three kids at home some weeks and the older two in camps during others, visiting a cottage, water park, ‘camping’ in the backyard, hosting birthday parties
– Attempted to sand and repaint our house’s front door and trim during Fall 2022 before it got too cold outside…then the weather turned and only the trim was finished! So this spring I’ll be sanding and painting again
– Watched as our second child started JK at school, joining his older brother as part of a big community of local kids…hard to believe he is turning 5 soon!
– Signed our oldest kid up for hockey and rekindled my relationship with skating for the first time in over 14 years, when he decided he wanted to learn how to skate…which involved getting the whole kit out, finding old ice skates I could use and taking him and the other two kids (including a stroller!) out on the ice to practice during family skate times
– Designed and hosted a Parentpreneur Lounge at Startup Canada’s Conference in October 2022, where I met a few new parents and reconnected with other community leaders
– Hosted two Mixing Babies And Business meetups at Bayview Yards in October and December 2022 for parents and their kids
– Started working part-time in person and remotely for a local bricks and mortar business I’ve been helping over the past few years, once my husband took time away from work to care for our baby from November 2022
– Turned 37 in Toronto with a good friend from college, where I also caught up with a childhood friend and her husband, a new connection made during Collision Conf in 2019 and explored the city…on my own…childfree. Eating, drinking, walking, perusing art exhibitions to my heart’s content
– Celebrated baby’s first Christmas, New Year’s Eve and birthday in our home with his siblings, after getting snowed in! It was a magical few weeks spent relaxing, skating, drinking hot chocolate and marvelling at how much things have changed over the past year

This all seems quite amazing to me reading it back. I was full-time parenting our youngest until mid November and I was sick throughout my pregnancy and postpartum period as I have been since my late teens with migraines, which I’ve had medication for as needed over the past decade.

I’ve spent the past few years switching up the food and drink I consume, focusing on wellness, less screen time, more outdoor time, tracking moon cycles and I don’t often need to track weather changes as I feel them coming. But add in pregnancies, breastfeeding, hormone changes, it’s been a hard time on my body, my mind and it’s also been difficult to manage as a family.

The past few months I’ve been trialling preventative medication which seems to be helping so far but hasn’t eliminated my migraines altogether. It is, however, a huge difference to me right now and I am hopeful about what I can say ‘yes’ to in future.

For now it’s small steps, incremental changes and practicing consistency over intensity.

Is there anything you’ve noticed that you’re doing differently this year or since having young kid(s)?

For us it’s been how we work, how we travel, when we go, where we go, how we spend our time, what we eat, how prepared we are, how flexible we think we are, how willing to accept change and roll with things but there is always something new to unpack and try out.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, I’m happy to hear from you – comment on the post or get in touch using the links below.

– Amy (+ Family) xx
Founder of Mixing Babies And Business™

📬 If you’d like to keep in touch with me:

• Sign up to or stay on my email list (linked below, sent monthly but newsletters will slow down until April)
• Follow the Mixing Babies And Business™ Company Page on LinkedIn
• Follow / Subscribe to the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast

Looking for more info about Flexible + Remote Work?

I’ve steadily chugged along to 60+ episodes of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast (hosted and produced by me, Amy Lynch, from my home during the pandemic).

Download the free template:
Remote Work (With Kids) Time Blocking Made Easy [DOWNLOAD]

Subscribe to receive my free monthly Work + Life newsletter focused on travel, international family life, creativity and flexible work: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews

I wrote a book:

Startup Blogging: Validate A Business Idea and Build Your Audience is based on my journey as a blogger, writer, founder and parent to date.

You can download the Amazon Kindle app for free from the Apple Store and Google Play.

You can then purchase, download and read the eBook version of my book from your mobile, tablet or device!

Eight weeks into the fourth trimester with baby number three and this is how I #breakthebias with my current home office setup.

I have a nursing couch, change and sleep station alongside my tech supplies. 🚼📊

Much of my work is done in 10-15 increments from my phone unless someone else can hold the baby but I’ve been able to:

• participate in bi-weekly mastermind calls with WE-CAN Project at Queen’s University;
• do my bookkeeping;
• organize Startup Canada sponsorship for Season 4 of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast; and
• am working on my first live workshop for World Skills Employment Centre later this month about remote work with kids.

I’m not commuting anywhere, meeting in person at coworking spaces or hosting parent-friendly meetups (yet) but it’s amazing what you can do with an internet connection while babywearing these days.

If you’d like to explore my flexible work resources (podcast mini episodes, time blocking template, babies + business mini guide, remote work retreat course, startup blogging book and ebook), you can find them all here:  https://mixingbabiesandbusiness.vipmembervault.com/

I’d love to keep talking about flexible work over the coming year, if you know of any organizations seeking to provide fresh content around creative workflows or more inclusive business solutions for parents, please do get in touch with me by replying to this email or simply visit the website: mixingbabiesandbusiness.com/contact

Happy #internationalwomensday2022 – I hope you celebrate every day you wake up towards designing a life that works for you and your family.

– Amy (+ Family) xx
Founder of Mixing Babies And Business™

📬 If you’d like to keep in touch with me:

• Sign up to or stay on my email list (linked below, sent monthly but newsletters will slow down until April)
• Follow the Mixing Babies And Business™ Company Page on LinkedIn
• Follow / Subscribe to the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast

Looking for more info about Flexible + Remote Work?

I’ve steadily chugged along to 40+ episodes of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast (hosted and produced by me, Amy Lynch, from my home during the pandemic).

Download the free template:
Remote Work (With Kids) Time Blocking Made Easy [DOWNLOAD]

Subscribe to receive my free monthly Work + Life newsletter focused on travel, international family life, creativity and flexible work: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews

I wrote a book:

Startup Blogging: Validate A Business Idea and Build Your Audience is based on my journey as a blogger, writer, founder and parent to date.

You can download the Amazon Kindle app for free from the Apple Store and Google Play.

You can then purchase, download and read the eBook version of my book from your mobile, tablet or device!

Happy New Year (I’m a bit late to the party).

But it’s because during the first week of 2022, we welcomed our third baby to the family! I’ve attempted to write this in my head a few times. But then I get distracted and delay it another week.

I’m almost halfway through the fourth trimester and trying to relax as much as I can. We’ve all been home for most of January, everyone is well thanks to help from family and friends and we’re getting used to our new routines.

Although I will say despite my setting up out of office responders, letting people know I’d be offline, going off Facebook and Instagram in 2021 and wrapping up the podcast, I did have an email response the morning of his birth to something I’d been exploring for over a year – I’m not sure what will come of it but it seemed fitting and like a good omen. It also reminded me of the fact, you can’t plan for everything!

Since then, I’ve been living in a haze of medicine scheduling, cluster feedings and slowly building up to more activity each week as it was also my third c-section.

I don’t often write about the logistics or health procedures behind my pregnancies, deliveries and postpartum periods but all of my pregnancy experiences have had some form of complications, so I’ve gotten used to going with the flow and taking it slower than I’d like to.

All lessons I can apply in other areas of my life and work.

When I had my first baby overseas, I was working remotely as a freelancer and felt I could do more once I was six week postpartum. I was full of ideas and it was a time of inspiration, new connections, research and exploration, when I participated in a weekly startup program.

When I had my second baby, I had wrapped up a temporary contract and was prepared with a launch plan to test and validate my ideas, taking action through showing up, accidental activism and creating new experiences for others, working during the naptime routines and on weekends.

Between then and now, a lot has changed. I don’t think I need to elaborate when it comes to current global and local events, workforce participation and the uptake of remote work technologies but I’m proud of what we accomplished as a community leading up to 2020 and since then online.

BUT throughout this pregnancy I have felt the need to recalibrate.

Recalibrate my work, routines, ideas, theories, a number of things big and small that I felt I had outgrown, were no longer working or were not serving my highest good when it comes the health of my body, baby and this business.

When I tried to do things the same way, this baby and my body challenged me to try otherwise. Now that he’s arrived, it’s clear the way we previously ran our household will no longer work (for the time being) and we need to test out a few different ideas, approaches or perhaps…reinvent who I am as a parent altogether?

Or put more simply, to do less, not try so hard and take my cues from others (mostly under the age of six) for the time being.

One thing I did remember from my previous experiences: It’s hard to type while holding or feeding a newborn! And in these early days, they are held and fed a lot. But I’m trying to be more present and in the moment, so many of my thoughts as it relates to work are getting shelved or put on hold for now.

I guess I could have tried dictation but in the end I’ve settled for standing at the kitchen counter (a favourite writing spot), wearing him in the baby carrier and typing while the oven fan runs for white noise.

Hopefully I will be able to resume a somewhat regular writing schedule after the fourth trimester ends but until April, this is as best I could manage.

In the meantime, if you’d like to explore my flexible work resources (podcast mini episodes, time blocking template, babies + business mini guide, remote work retreat course, startup blogging book and ebook), you can find them all here:  https://mixingbabiesandbusiness.vipmembervault.com/

I’d love to keep talking about flexible work over the coming year, if you know of any organizations seeking to provide fresh content around creative workflows or more inclusive business solutions for parents, please do get in touch with me by replying to this email or simply visit the website: mixingbabiesandbusiness.com/contact

If you have a moment, please let me know how your first few weeks of 2022 have been,

– Amy (+ Family) xx
Founder of Mixing Babies And Business™

📬 If you’d like to keep in touch with me:

• Sign up to or stay on my email list (linked below, sent monthly but newsletters will slow down until April)
• Follow the Mixing Babies And Business™ Company Page on LinkedIn
• Follow / Subscribe to the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast

Looking for more info about Flexible + Remote Work?

I’ve steadily chugged along to 40+ episodes of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast (hosted and produced by me, Amy Lynch, from my home during the pandemic).

Download the free template:
Remote Work (With Kids) Time Blocking Made Easy [DOWNLOAD]

Subscribe to receive my free monthly Work + Life newsletter focused on travel, international family life, creativity and flexible work: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews

I wrote a book:

Startup Blogging: Validate A Business Idea and Build Your Audience is based on my journey as a blogger, writer, founder and parent to date.

You can download the Amazon Kindle app for free from the Apple Store and Google Play.

You can then purchase, download and read the eBook version of my book from your mobile, tablet or device!

Five years ago this month, I was wandering around London with my friend Carla and our babies…hard to believe!

Although I still have the kid (he’s much bigger), jacket (stored in Ireland for now) and boots (only ones I can get on at 33 weeks pregnant).

And we only donated the diaper bag recently to get one with more pockets. 😂

Our days were filled with rambling walks, lots of outdoor time, stops for coffee, feeding babies and talks about creative projects.

As two women working remotely from home, who were both Permanent Residents in the UK but not Citizens, navigating a new health care system, giving birth to overdue babies born days apart, without a local support network…we had a lot in common!

Life in London

At the time, I was working remotely as a freelancer, far from family and friends, and wasn’t entitled to any paid parental leave.

My husband and I had been living off of one income for a while, as we had spent a few years living and working in Australia, before relocating to Europe, and were saving up for our first home…eventually in Ireland or Canada.

When I became pregnant in London, we decided to apply for his Permanent Residency in Canada and play it by ear, as the approval timelines were anywhere up to two or three years before we’d be able to all move together as a family.

Many police checks, a medical exam and lots of document filing later, we submitted the application, I kept growing our first baby and working remotely.

Much to our surprise, we were granted his PR in under six months, before the baby was due and were able to start thinking about our next move…with a kid in tow!

That summer, our first son was born, we began looking at wrapping up our time in London around our lease end date the year after and planning what to pack (very little).

Let’s talk about parental leave (or the lack of it) baby

I was able–I don’t want to say ‘lucky’ because it was something we planned and made sacrifices for–to take the time over those early months to learn how to care for a newborn and participate in a program with Google for Startups from the time my baby was 7 weeks to 4 months old.

We took a few vacations in between to Ireland and Canada, before we began preparing for the final overseas trip (and move) to Ottawa.

It all seems very adventurous now, jetsetting with a baby on board, when the last time we travelled as a family (again to Ireland) was in early 2019!

When I was headhunted for a role in Ottawa, I decided to look around at my other options and applied for a contract maternity cover, which I brought my then toddler to the interview for.

I got the job and it was during this time that I also became pregnant with our second son, finishing my contract role the month before he was due!

This enabled me to qualify for paid parental leave in Canada, where I took a year with him as a baby and kept the toddler at home part-time, focusing on validating my business idea, writing, continuing my parentpreneur activism and networking.

I’m due to have a third baby soon (again in Canada) and this time around, both kids will be in school–fingers crossed they stay open–but I’m not entitled to full maternity / parental leave.

I’ve spent the past three years working in remote part-time and project based contract roles, with my other paid business projects in between.

The irony of looking after the kids full-time during 2020 and part-time in 2021, while working on my business, doing remote freelancing, temporary contracts and the like, has restricted my hours.

And you are only assessed on the 52 weeks prior to applying. If things were assessed based on insurable income earned as opposed to hours worked, it would be a different story.

When I had my miscarriage two years ago, I again wasn’t entitled to anything because I didn’t miscarry after 19 weeks of pregnancy. Sorry Service Canada but women’s bodies don’t always meet your revenue/insurable earnings timelines!

Recently, I had a nice conversation with a Government service agent about my maternity and miscarriage circumstances but it didn’t result in anything other than a few kind words and commiserations.

Unless the Federal Government in Canada adjusts their parental and other leave policies or entitlements, I believe many women may not be receiving any paid leave as they will fall within these gaps in the system.

My partner is entitled to take parental leave based on his role and hours worked, however, not all workplaces encourage it or offer top ups, so the weekly/bi-weekly benefit payments aren’t sustainable for our soon-to-be family of five.

Again, I am able (not lucky) to take time off from my paid contract and project work to care for a newborn and I am open to starting paid projects and client work sooner in 2022, however, I’ve learned the hard way to leave myself commitment and obligation-free until I am up to it!

This is depending on how I feel, the recovery process, what kind of baby this new kid will be, my mental health…I’ve learned to go with the flow.

⏰What I’ve been doing over the past few weeks to prepare:

• Tech nesting: OOO responders, blocking calendars, updating web pages, Ts&Cs, renewing IT subscriptions
• Networking: For booking speaking arrangements for the second half of 2022
• Wrapping up: Client/project work and communicating my timelines and lack of availability
• Publishing: Final production and promotions for Season 3 episodes of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast
• Bookkeeping: Working through my finances before tax season visits us in Canada
• Unplugging: Preparing to go offline from most social media in early 2022

👀 Curious to know:
Is there anything you did before your baby’s arrival that you found helped you feel more prepared going into the next phase of the fourth trimester?

I’d love to hear your feedback and personal experiences if you’re open to sharing them.

📬 If you’d like to keep in touch with me:

• Sign up to or stay on my email list (linked below, sent monthly but newsletters will slow down from Jan-Mar)
• Follow the Mixing Babies And Business™ Company Page on LinkedIn
• Follow / Subscribe to the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast

I’m preparing to go offline and won’t be using IG/FB. Most of you are in my snail mail address book, digital contacts or readers of this blog! 🐌

If you’d like to keep in touch, keep your eyes on this blog and sign up for my monthly-ish work and life newsletter focused on creativity (linked here). 📮

In 2022, I’ll be focusing on sharing the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast and resources with listeners and community members in different ways. 💡

I also want to create space for more time in nature with family (haven’t been able to walk much or go many places over the past eight months!), art, reading, good food and doing things that light me up! ✨

Best wishes for a restful and hopeful winter or summer season, depending on your timezones.

Photo by the lovely @carlaastronomo 💚

– Amy (+ Family) xx
Founder of Mixing Babies And Business™

Looking for more info about Flexible + Remote Work?

I’ve steadily chugged along to 40+ episodes of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast (hosted and produced by me, Amy Lynch, from my home during the pandemic).

Download the free template:
Remote Work (With Kids) Time Blocking Made Easy [DOWNLOAD]

Subscribe to receive my free monthly Work + Life newsletter focused on travel, international family life, creativity and flexible work: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews

I wrote a book:

Startup Blogging: Validate A Business Idea and Build Your Audience is based on my journey as a blogger, writer, founder and parent to date.

You can download the Amazon Kindle app for free from the Apple Store and Google Play.

You can then purchase, download and read the eBook version of my book from your mobile, tablet or device!

Continued from: Just a pregnant woman, trying to embrace Autumn while keeping her blood pressure down. [An Autumn Pregnancy Update]

Here are some things I did to spark joy, keep walking as slow as a turtle, avoid the nausea, stay calm and rest while in upright motion, to balance out the work, (minimal) childcare and (maximal) baby growing I did.

Carving pumpkins while looking like one

It was my husband’s first time carving a pumpkin (he’s not from North America).

I freestyled mine, it didn’t go well.

Kids lost interest 5 minutes in and played tag in the leaves instead.

I then painstakingly de-pumpkin pulped the seeds, washed, seasoned and baked them.

Managed to convince kids it was like popcorn.

They lasted about one week before the kids caught on that they weren’t really like popcorn.

Kept track of the kids’ growth milestones via corn stalk height

We didn’t really record the measurements.

But every time we went back to the farm, it was fun to stand against them.

Bought myself almost weekly bouquets

My Venus is in Scorpio, of course I like to treat myself to small pleasures, stare at and smell the sea and talk about all things taboo.

They smell lovely, look wonderful and make me happy.

A small distraction from the acid reflux and sporadic nausea.

Went to a park and leaned against a tree

Sun bathed for an hour.

No jacket required.

Kiddo played in the sand.

Thank you Mother Nature for toasty November days like these.

Taking photos of things which make me smile

If it brings me delight and joy, then perhaps others will find some too?

I’ve always snapped photos of everyday things in the places we’ve lived and shared them mostly on this blog or social media.

It feels nice to capture moments in time and connects me to the places I explore.

Hope you’re doing okay wherever you are reading this from. 💚

– Amy (+ Family) xx
Founder of Mixing Babies And Business™

Looking for more info about Flexible + Remote Work?

I’ve steadily chugged along to 31 episodes of the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast (hosted and produced by me, Amy Lynch, from my home during the pandemic).

Download the free template:
Remote Work (With Kids) Time Blocking Made Easy [DOWNLOAD]

Subscribe to receive my free monthly Work + Life newsletter focused on travel, international family life, creativity and flexible work: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews

I wrote a book:

Startup Blogging: Validate A Business Idea and Build Your Audience is based on my journey as a blogger, writer, founder and parent to date.

You can download the Amazon Kindle app for free from the Apple Store and Google Play.

You can then purchase, download and read the eBook version of my book from your mobile, tablet or device!