What a week. A bit of a baptism by fire, in terms of mothering and also in terms of work, because I had to leave Baby AMR for the first time and attend my first “public” event since giving birth, and sleep has been very scarce recently. I think that by Thursday I was at my very pinnacle of stressed-ness! Needless to say I haven’t yet written any Christmas cards or done any shopping. Though I did just order Mr AMR something and got a whacking great £240 off the total because I had saved up so many Tesco Clubcard vouchers. What a result – I’ve been meaning to spend those bloody vouchers for about two years. Half of them were about to expire, so it was obviously fate that I stumbled upon the particular thing I stumbled upon. (Obviously I can’t tell you, because Mr AMR does sometimes have a little read of the Sunday Tittle Tattle. Mostly, I suspect, to see what I’m saying about him and gauge my general mood.)

Baby AMR is now six months. Six months! You can read my “baby and body” update over on The Uphill. If you don’t already follow that blog then take a  look – posts are rather erratic, but if you like to read my more informal stuff then I think you may enjoy them.

Talking of erratic (erratic, erratic put your hands all over my body… lame joke for Madonna fans, there) posts will not be up on a daily basis between now and the new year. I have posts scheduled and some videos, too; but they are rather haphazardly scheduled, hence the “erratic”. I am at the end of my tether, in terms of brain capacity, and although I usually work through the Christmas break, this year I want to enjoy the holiday with my newly expanded family.

Those still hunting away for presents, make sure you take advantage of my Gift Guides – I’ve also just spotted a lovely deal on Neal’s Yard Remedies, with purchases of £50 and over getting a free “Balance” gift worth £15. I particularly love their Radiant Rose Collection, pictured above, which includes the Rose Balm, Rose Body Cream and Rose & Pomegranate Bath Oil. I also very much enjoyed using the “Mother” kit when I was pregnant, I wrote about that recently here.

A random beauty discovery: the Molton Brown “Vintage with Elderflower” range. I have the festive-bauble-filled-with-body-wash version (neat!) but I was just really struck by how much I instantly liked the scent. It’s fresh and sort of summery; very uplifting and fizzy and happy. I shall be using this all up over the holidays. You can find the bauble online here.