Pick Me Up! 06-Feb-2020

This week, we’re recognising the amazing work of Abbie Coleman, 41 from Chesterfield. She wrote to say… Returning to work just six weeks after giving birth to my son Kimi, now six, I was doing what I felt was right. At the time, I was running my own recruitment company, so I knew I couldn’t take a long maternity. However, I soon realised that now I was a mum, everyone perceived me differently. ‘You’re going to be a part-timer now,’ clients would say, as if it was a disgrace I’d had a child. One day, when I was feeling particularly down about it all, a client gave me some wisdom. ‘Now you’re a mum, your world is going to change,’ she told me, bluntly. I soon realised she was right.…

Getyour hands on this Are your kids into wildlife? We’ve got the perfect gift for them. The Birds at the Bottom of the Garden, The Birds Down the Lane, What’s in the Wood Pile? and What’s that Coming Over the Hill? are the first four volumes in the British Wildlife Tales series – crafted by author Carl Mynott. Through a series of engrossing stories, wild adventures and dozens of playful characters, young readers can learn to identify over 40 species of birds, bugs, mammals and more. It’s part of a wider project to excite British children about the amazing wildlife that live in the outdoors, and empower them to embrace conservation of these wonderful creatures. • £5.99, britishwildlifetales.co.uk Have you heard of this? There’s nothing quite like the miracle of…

Send us your stories and photos, including all namesand ages, a daytime phone number and full address. E-mailhello @pickmeupmag.co.uk WRITE TO Pick Me Up! Media Centre, Emma-Chris Way, Abbey Wood Park, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7JU PHONE 01174400607 FACEBOOK facebook.com/pickmeupmag SEE OUR WEBSITE lifedeathprizes.com TI Media Limited reserves the right to reuse any submission sent to Pick Me Up! magazine, in any format or medium. Unfortunately, we can’t return photos without a stamped sae. Letters/photos must not be sent to any other publication.…

My daughter Niomehy and our doggie Sasha are inseparable, even at bedtime! Kate Clayton, Kettering I went on a girl’s night out recently to a cute little cocktail bar. Check out these quirky drinks! Amanda Hadley, Cradley Heath My granddaughter Mia was in heaven meeting Rapunzel! Carol Adams, West Midlands I reckon my boy Amari, 4, has found his calling in life! He looks very at home. Sian Salsbury, Cradley Heath My daughter Kayla asked to be a unicorn at a party and this is the result of the face painter. She wasn’t impressed but I couldn’t stop laughing! Karen LTB If your letter makes Star Letter of the week, you will receive some beautiful blooms from Flying Flowers. With over 30 years’ experience of helping celebrate life’s special moments…

Kicking his legs in his highchair, my little boy was all smiles. As I tried to spoon food into his mouth, more of it was spilling onto his bib than anything else. ‘Mummy,’ he squealed, grinning proudly and reaching to me with his chubby arms. ‘Yes, that’s right!’ I smiled, kissing his head. ‘I’m your mummy!’ It was May 2014, and at 10 months old, Reece was just learning to speak, and it made me so proud to know that ‘Mummy’ was his first word. When Reece was born in July 2013 at Raigmore Hospital, weighing 6lb 3oz, he’d been perfectly healthy. Bringing him home, he was such a happy baby. I was a single mum, but my daughters Courtney, then 20 and Alexandra, 10, were on hand to help…

Flicking off the TV, I headed upstairs to bed and quietly climbed under the covers. ‘Night,’ I sighed, giving my partner Steven, 55, a kiss goodnight before drifting off to sleep. It was like any other evening in May 2019, when I was suddenly woken in the middle of the night by a sharp pain in my stomach. ‘Argh,’ I screeched, clutching my side. The sharp, stabbing sensation was like nothing I’d ever experienced - so much so, it woke me and my partner from a deep slumber. ‘Are you OK?’ Steven asked, still groggy. ‘I’m fine,’ I replied unconvincingly. I hoped the pain would go if I got up for some water, but it kept getting worse. It felt like a dagger to the gut. Steven grew concerned when…