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Wednesday 30 March 2016

Easter Bonnets and Family Time.

Firstly I hope you have all had a lovely Easter!

Sorry the blog has been a little quiet over Easter but we took advantage of some much needed family time to just chill out with James home from school and Frank home from work for a whole week over Easter!

James had his Easter bonnet parade at school on his last day before they broke up for the Easter holidays here he is with his bonnet me and him made together, the tree idea was all his!


He also took his Easter bonnet along to a Easter egg hunt we took part in a few days later at our local park. He actually won a prize in their little Easter bonnet parade and here he is collecting his prize from the Mayor!

(Thank you Viccy for capturing this photo!)

We also spent time with both our families over Easter as well as some chill out time at home. We did make the big decision that Evelyn is going to move from her cot to her bed and went out and ordered bunk beds for her and James. Keep an eye out on the blog as I will be sharing their room makeover here once it is finished!

Today was the last day we have together until Frank returns to work tomorrow so we decided to go bowling (James is always asking to go!). He loved it and was actually pretty good!


We finished today off with a meal out at a local family restaurant near us called The Fox. Both James and Evelyn were really well behaved and it was a lovely end to our family time. Of course James is still of school for another week and a half yet so I still have lots of days to fill but it was nice to spend some time together as a family of 4 without all the interruptions and ciaos of school and work.

I hope you have all had a lovely Easter and are surviving the school holidays with as little stress as possible.

xXx

Thursday 24 March 2016

MyKidEcoRoom - Kids bedroom makeover wish list!

When we moved house, I was 7 months pregnant, and decorating was the last thing on my mind!

Unfortunately, this meant the walls in the kid's rooms were painted white and furniture was placed in there for practicality rather than looking good. However now we have been here for almost 2 years and Evelyn and James are both growing up we have decided to make their bedroom a lovely space to be in rather than "just a bedroom".

I got online and started looking for inspiration when I discovered the website MyKidEcoRoom.



MyKidEcoRoom is a beautiful website dedicated to offering exclusive eco-friendly furniture for babies and children. The website features a wide range of children's bedrooms and baby's nursery furniture and accessories with sleek lines and contemporary design there really is something to suit all tastes. 

Whether it's a classic solid wood look, modern sleek lines or bright bursts of colour you are looking for you will find it at MyKidEcoRoom! 

Gro-To-Bed bedding **REVIEW**

**AD - Review**

Moving a child from their cosy cot into a big bed for the first time feels like such a huge step. I remember the day I first moved Evelyn and it felt like such a big move, not to mention how small she looked in the big single bed




Thursday 17 March 2016

Invisible Mum

When I first fell pregnant I was just 18, it certainly wasn't a planned pregnancy and I was in full time work and living the life of any other 18 year old.

Of course when I fell pregnant those boozy nights out with friends stopped and as my growing bump grew and became ever tired I seemed to slip further and further away from my friends. Being just 19 throughout most of my pregnancy meant none of my friends had any children yet, in fact I think it may have been the furthest thing from their mind!

As my pregnancy progressed I began feeling more and more lonely and when I finally finished work for maternity leave, my last point of daily contact to other adults, to my friends ended. At the time I buried my head in to preparing for the arrival of my newborn, setting up a home that we had not long moved in too and nurturing my growing bump. I had convinced myself that once baby was here I would be able to get out more, see friends more and all would return to normal.

This was totally naive from my point and not the case at all. Of course when baby first arrived people came, they wanted to meet baby and offered advice and help and reassured me they would be there if I needed anything. As most mums will know after that initial"new baby rush" of visitors they begin to thin out, people return to their normal lives and you are left alone trying to adapt to having a new baby and becoming a mum.

I was scared, I felt alone and whilst I had my husband he was at work a lot of the time and the friends I thought would stick around had pretty much forgotten about us. I knew that whilst I could still stay in contact with my old friends they were now leading a different lifestyle to me, following a different path to me and my baby.

I had read and seen all of those stories about mum groups and meeting for coffees and play dates, mums nights out and this amazing support network which I assumed would just happen, it doesn't! Attending mum and baby groups is of course a great way to start in making new friends but these can be daunting and scary too and it doesn't just happen. I suffered with post-natal depression with my first baby which made going to groups even harder, a lot of days I didn't want to leave the house and when I did I just didn't have the confidence to throw myself into groups and conversations to make friends.

I quickly got disheartened when I would see groups of mums together and would feel I didn't really fit and its hard to feel confident especially when you are juggling a newborn and still finding your feet as a parent. It took time but I soon realised it was better just to be myself rather than trying to be the friend I thought everyone wanted to be. I took time away from others to become confident in my parenting and in myself and then went back to groups with a new attitude. Most people who attend these groups are just like you they join them to make friends, they probably have questions and worries just like you. Be yourself and relax us mums need to stick together on what can already be a very lonely journey.

I have been so lucky this second time round in that I have found some lovely friends who are parents themselves and it really does make all the difference. Knowing I have friends to turn to who know exactly what I am rambling on about when I talk about no sleep, cleaning wotsits from the carpet and the colour of poo and not think i have gone mad!

Being a parent is tough and its not all plain sailing and play dates, its hard but there is a light at the end of the tunnel we just have to want to see it. Don't put to much pressure on yourself to make friends just be yourself, those who are worth being friends with will accept you for exactly who you are sleep deprived rants and all.


Did you find it difficult to make friends when you first became a mum? Any tips or advice for new mums?

xXx

Monday 7 March 2016

Snackeez Cup **REVIEW**

Snackeez is a brand new all in one solution to drinks and snacks on the go.

The clever design which features a flip top snack container inside a drinks cup means kids can take their favourite drink and snack out and about in one handy cup. 

The flip top snack container which fits snugly within the cup holds around 115ml of your childs favourite snack, whilst the cup itself holds up to 450ml liquid. 


Those of you will know that when heading out with kids ensuring you are armed with snacks and a drink is essential and this cup means you can do both in one handy container. James attends several after school activities such as swimming and Beavers and there is often little time between school and these clubs but he is always hungry! The cup has been great for ensuring he can grab a quick drink and snack before heading of to his next activity.


The only downside we found was that the cup is quite large, James is 6 and found he had to hold it with 2 hands however there is a very handy grip to help children keep hold of the cup securely. The lid for the snack section is easy to open and close and James was able to do this by himself with ease. The straw is a hard plastic straw and we personally would have preferred a softer/bendy straw with a lid to keep this safely closed, this is just a personal preference for us though.

Taking apart the cup for washing is easy and as it all comes apart in sections you can get to every bit of the cup to ensure it is thoroughly cleaned, it is also dishwasher safe for an easy clean. The only part I couldn't get to fully was the hard plastic straw but as James only has water in his it wasn't to much of an issue, however this may become an issue if you were to use it with juice or milk etc.

James gave the Snackeez cup a big thumbs up! He loves that he is able to have his snack and drink in one place without the need for multiple bowls and bottles etc. We loved that the cup was large enough to fit a substantial snack and drink inside meaning it would last a good duration without needing refilling. As a parent my only real concern with the Snackeez cup is the washing of the straw section but this aside I think they are a great idea! We have also used the snack bowl by itself for Evelyn and its a great size for popping it  a bag without the drinks cup attached.


Snackeez are available to purchase from Character Online and are priced at £9.99 which we thought was a very fair price for a cup which can be reused time and time again.

Do you think your child would find a Snackeez cup useful?

xXx


**I was not paid for this post, I was sent this item in return for an honest review. 
All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own and written by me. **