Friday, 9 December 2011

Christmas Traditions



With Christmas almost upon us again it got me thinking about Christmas traditions. We all had them as kids, some we carry over into adulthood and some we don't. 

Christmas eve was my favourite day when I lived with my parents. My older siblings popped in and out, my mum spent the day in the kitchen baking. Homemade mince pies and sausage rolls straight from the oven are the sole reason I now visit on Christmas eve. The build up was incredible, excitement and anticipation in the air....Christmas day for me was always an anticlimax. Maybe because I never had a siblings close in age to play with I don't know. I'm hoping it won't be the same for my boys. Unfortunately I didn't follow on the tradition of Baking, probably because I can think of a million other things I'd rather do than spend all day in the kitchen.

Christmas day always followed the same format. Presents, cooked breakfast, sister and kids come down. Dinner. Then we'd go for a walk around the village, the only time we ever went on a walk and I remember always enjoying it greatly. 



We haven't got many of our own traditions yet, I'm sure they'll come as the children get older. We do spend Christmas day at home with no visitors. I know for lots of people Christmas is enjoyed as a big family occasion with everyone around. For me its a time to spend with my husband and kids. No interruptions, just us at home enjoying each others company. It's not often we get quality time like that, there is always something to do or somewhere to go so we really embrace this time together. 

We started the tradition of new pyjamas for the children last year. On Christmas eve they will go to bed in brand new pyjamas and probably stay in them half of Christmas day. Opening presents wrapped up in our dressing gowns...perfect. 

So what traditions do you have? I'd love to hear them? 

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Happy First Birthday



This time last year I had a 4 day old baby, now I have a one year old. It all seems a little crazy to be honest – time has never gone so fast as it has the past couple of years. R didn’t stay a baby for long enough at all, he seemed in a hurry to grow up and be like his brother. Army crawling at six months and walking a week before he turned ten months.

He should have been called daredevil, he has no fear at all and seems to cause injury to himself regularly. Usually his face and as you will see from his birthday photos he managed to graze his face. Does it make me a bad Mummy if I say I have no idea at all how he did it? There was no tears, and one minute it wasn’t there and the next it was.
As you can see from this photo he was a poorly little boy on his birthday :(


His actually birthday morning was quiet and like any other morning, I was desperate for it to be 10:30 and for husband to get up so we could open his presents. 10:30 arrived and R was fast asleep, so I set up his presents, banners and balloons much to J’s excitement. Once R woke up we gave him a snack and then encouraged him to get stuck into his presents. He didn’t care at all and didn’t open a single present – he snuck off to steal his brothers kinder egg while J got stuck into ripping open the presents. He got some lovely bits and we had a little play with his toys, he likes to use his activity cube to climb on – I should have foreseen that really since he climbs on everything. It was then time for lunch.




After lunch we took the boys to soft play, where we were meeting three friends and their children. J’s best friend and then two children similar in age to R. Of course R being R he wanted to play with the 2 years olds and was off with his daddy on the big slide. It was a lot of fun playing with the children and catching up with some friends I don’t get to see very often. An added bonus was that soft play was really quiet, so our children had almost free range of the place.  R had a brilliant time and was fast asleep in the two minute drive home. He had a sleep and then my parents and sister came over with more presents for him, just something small as we’d asked for money for his savings account – we just have too many toys already. He played with them before we did the cake – J was incredible impressed with it. Even more impressed with the sweets that were on it and both of them were stealing the sweets before the candle had even been blown out.
It  was a fairly quiet day but lovely none the less, we don’t do parties for the boys because we think it would be completely overwhelming for them and stressful for us. So the next day we took the boys to the sea life centre in Birmingham – R loved it. Pressing his face up against the fish tanks and grinning at them. We let the two of them lose and they loved it, running around and peering into the tanks. It’s so not worth £18 and adult ( I don’t think so anyway) Thankfully we had a two for one voucher. We then went for a wander through the German Christmas markets –R zonked out in the buggy at this point.
We had a lovely couple of family days, I’m still struggling to get my head around the fact that my baby is one and getting less and less baby like every day. He’s definitely a toddler but I am struggling to let go of him being my baby. It's been an incredible year and my love for him grows more each day! 


Thursday, 17 November 2011

Teaching a toddler to share


Facing another parenting difficulty these days and its driving me slightly mad. I have absolutely no idea how to deal with it, or fix the situation. As far as I can see it’s purely a case of riding it out.

It sharing – toddlers don’t understand the concept of sharing and obviously anything anyone else has is the best thing ever and they have to have it right that second.  In that case I usually remove the item and give it back to whoever had it first and explain they need to share and take turns. They look at me like I am insane and continue to fight usually with the offending item being removed. It’s difficult because R is really too young to understand.
The hardest situation is when J is sitting nicely playing with ‘HIS’ toys and R decides that he wants to join in. Resulting in J getting very defensive and upset at R taking his toys. I completely understand J’s frustration they are his toys and at that moment he doesn’t want to share and I feel that he shouldn’t have to. As well as learning to share they need to learn a sense of self of worth too, and that something’s are theirs. How do you deal with it though? R is at that age where he is getting difficult to distract and he just wants to play with his brother. There is nowhere for J to go that is safe, he used to be able to play on the sofa but not since R can now climb up there to.

Has anyone got any advice on how to deal with this? 

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

This isn’t goodbye, even as I watch you leave…



… this isn’t goodbye. I swear I won’t cry, even as tears fill my eyes. I swear I won’t cry’

Last week the news broke that Westlife were calling it a day, after 14 incredible years they’d decided to quit while they were at the top of their game. Spend the time they so deserve with their families, I couldn’t spend as much time as they do away from their children so I can completely understand why they are doing it.
I’m sad because it means things have to change, there will be no more ticket stress, no more planning and excitement about our tour adventures. No more albums to discuss or videos to drool over. Westlife have been a huge part of my life, I’ve been in love with them twice as long as I have my husband. They’ve been in my life longer than most people have (family excluded.) People don’t really get it and I understand that. An outsider can never understand.

‘Always you’ll be a part of me’

The music has been there to help me through the highs and lows that life has brought me over the years. I’ve laughed to it and cried to it, and even though we won’t be getting any new music I won’t stop listening to the albums they’ve already given us.

‘You’ll find it in the deepest friendship, the kind you cherish all your life.’ 


Without Westlife I would never have met so many amazing people, I’ve spoken to people from all corners of the world. As far away as Mexico and Australia, to people in the next town from me. Gathering in Dublin I stayed in a hostel with a girl from New Zealand another from Canada, fans from all over gathered for a 10 year celebration in Croke Park. I was excited to meet so many people who I’d spoken to but never had the chance to meet before.

I’ve met two of my closest friends thanks to our shared passion for Westlife. I met T in the latter part of 2007 – I do believe we bonded over BBMak and our shared love for Mr Filan. We met for the first time in June 2008 and there has been no going back. She’s now proud god mother to Riley and knows far too much that she could bribe me with. She’s bloody awesome and Westlife is such a small part of friendship but at the same time the biggest part because it’s what brought us together.
I met another girl way way back in the very early days of Westlife, she’s never been able to get rid of me. She may have tried and we didn’t talk as much for a while – life got in the way, but we found our way back to each other . I still look back on our early friendship, millions of texts, letters and late night phone calls that went on for hours. She was my Jellybaby Rachie Ra – we are possibly still as bonkers now as we were as teenagers.

I’m lucky enough to have met these amazing girls and we are going to share the last tour together and make it one to remember.

The end of Westlife does mean that we need to use our imagination a bit more in future when we plan meet ups – although we are already planning a bit of Buble action.

‘You’re gonna say goodbye, I wish I could stop you, but you’ve made up your mind. I beg you don’t go, but  I already know you’re leaving.'

I would like to thank Shane filan, Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan for giving us an amazing 14 years – possibly the hardest working, nicest guys in pop. They’ve given us an amazing run, 100’s of memories and more joy than they will ever realise. Whatever they decide to do next I hope for nothing more than that they are happy. 

Monday, 24 October 2011

Dummies, sleep and sharing rooms


Well I have been totally lame on the blogging front over the past month or so, I’ve been suffering from bloggers block or something. So I think it’s time for a little update on my boys. We’ve actually made a few big changes in the last month.

We got rid of J’s dummies, it wasn’t planned. We had thought about the dummy fairy, sending them away to santa, cutting the ends off – all the options were considered and we hadn’t really decided on how or when.  Then one morning I was sick of hearing ‘dum dum’ repeated over and over, he was like a stuck record. So I got the dummies handed them to him and marched him to the bin and told him he was a big boy and it was time to throw them away. He did it while sobbing his little heart out, I felt like an evil cow. So I took him to the sofa, we sat down and had big cuddles and I explained that he was a big boy now and he didn’t need dummies anymore. R would be keeping his because he was a baby. Then I told him if he went all day and then went to bed without a dummy Mummy would buy him something.  He had the choice between a new toy or something chocolate and he requested a ‘Choc choc egg.’ (a kinder egg). So kinder eggs were purchased and he was rewarded the following morning.

He did amazing, had a slight wobble just before bed when R was given his dummy but he’s doing really well – no battles at bedtime and he sleeps perfectly fine without his dummy. I’d definitely imagined huge tantrums and battles at bedtime and we had none.

The second massive change happened in the same week – I had a week off work and I’d decided it was time to get my room back. So we moved R in with his brother, completely moved the bedroom around and hoped for the best. It’s been a bigger success than I ever imagined. As you all know R was a rubbish sleeper, never sleeping through, battles at bedtime etc etc.  They have been sharing now for 3 weeks and only one night did R put up a fight and that was only for about 15 minutes. He’s also slept through the night every night apart from three. I feel like a new woman, I’m not sure what to do with all the sleep I am now able to get (if only I went to bed a bit earlier.) I’m wondering now why I didn’t do it months ago? Probably because it wouldn’t have worked, maybe I was just lucky that I got the timing perfect? Maybe it was fluke, or maybe he is just happy because he likes someone being in the room with him?

He actually does wake up, but he only moans a bit (hubs has heard him when he gets in from work) but he doesn’t cry enough to wake anyone up.  He then puts himself back to sleep, whereas when he moaned in my room I would wake up and deal with him, when I probably didn’t need to as he could have put himself back to sleep.

So anyone who is worrying about taking the plunge with something I would say go for it, its never as bad as we imagine it’s going to be. At least in my experience. 

Friday, 21 October 2011

Feel Good Friday




Well I haven’t written one of these in ages, I won’t add a link up but if anyone writes one then please do let me know so I can come and read.

It’s been a strange week and it would be easy to focus on all the sadness, I’ve never had a week with so many ups and down – I could make a rollercoaster out of them.

So to focus on the happy things. My friend finally had her baby girl on Sunday – she was 9 days late and I was almost as desperate for her arrival as her Mum was. I got a tiny bit over excited in Sainsburys when I was looking for a cute outfit – seriously boys stuff is just not quite as cute as girl’s things.
It’s actually only Thursday as I write this because I am not around Friday to do it, but hopefully by the time some of you read this I will have had tiny baby cuddles. Yes I get to go meet baby girl tomorrow, I am so excited and a little worried about how incredibly broody it is bound to make me. Just remind me of the sleepless nights please.

Also my wonderful friend @chatty30 has someone managed to get us front row tickets to Westlife, which brings us much happiness and excitement despite the fact that it will be the last time we see them in tour. What a way to end an incredible 14 years though!

Edit: Also managed third row tickets today - which was definitely another feel good moment :)

Sunday, 9 October 2011

Being Lucy



Friday night I had a proper girls night out, the first time I’ve been out on the town in years. Somewhere along the lines I got old and stopped enjoying such activities. I’ve spent the last two years being Mummy and even when I’m not being Mummy I’m talking about my children. Friday night I managed to be completely me, very little talk at all of babies.

As well as looking forward to the night I was slightly apprehensive. What do people wear these days? What would it be like? Could I handle my drink? The first dilemma some of you may have followed on twitter, I apologise if I drove me mad – I drove myself slightly mad. Three purchases later I was happy with my outfit. First I bought a black dress; I looked like a beach whale in it. Second outfit I loved, but it wasn’t to be. The third and final outfit I loved and was rushing around the day before buying…even though we had planned the night for about six weeks. It was a top I settled on, and then new trousers, and of course jewellery – thankfully I had the perfect pair of shoes already. My £25 budget some became £40  I absolutely love it though, I felt completely comfortable and I'll wear the clothes again...Wednesday night in fact. 

I bought the top, got home noticed it was snagged and had to return it. I was praying they would have another...as luck would have it they did. So after weeks of stress I was sorted. 

'The Outfit'



I did my makeup at my friend’s house with our first drink, before collecting her friend and hitting Leamington. I’ve never been out there before but have always heard great things about it. There was laughter from the beginning of the night until we stumbled into bed (well my friends sofa...yes all 3 of us slept there.) 

We consumed a lot of vodka and a couple of shots, I'm surprised I was still standing...but I fine, drunk but fine. We drank, we danced, we flirted...there was even chest hair and nipples involved at one point and I have absolutely no idea why. Best I'd all we laughed, we laughed so much. 

'Unable to keep a straight face for a picture'

I pulled too (well I could of but obviously I'm married so I didn't) but it’s a strangely nice feeling to know that I've still got it in me. I stopped feeling attractive a long time ago, maybe since having children I don't really know. Guys always want my friend...who ever she is. So it gave me a real confidence boast in myself to be told 'I really fancy you...I need to go home because I want you and you're married.' He wasn’t beating around the bush about it was he? He left, came back for a kiss on the cheek then really left.
Perhaps it’s because I've not really been out for those kind of nights since being with A, so when your single your trying to impress. I didn't care I was just out to have a good time who cared if a guy found me attractive it really made no different to me. That’s clearly the way to go, because my friend was the same and she got lots of attention to. Or maybe we just got hot!!

I've honestly not had such an awesome night in a long time. Maybe it’s because I don't do it very often or perhaps it was who I was with. Either way I say roll on next time.

Sunday, 25 September 2011

I have two toddlers!!



How the hell did that happen? R was ten months old on Friday and he has upped his walking somewhat. He is now walking as much if not more than he is crawling. Today he mastered standing up without climbing something first, and stopping to bend down and pick something up before carrying on walking. Definitely a very proud Mummy, makes me go all gushy.

I know J walked at 10.5 months but I am still finding it all a little insane. Why do my babies insist on growing up so quickly? Am I supposed to call him a toddler now? I guess so since he is toddling. I don’t want to though, he’s just my tiny little baby.

Look where I found him this evening….


… He was looking very pleased with himself. Nothing is safe any more, most of all R. The chairs are definitely going to have to be put out of the room when not in use, because disaster is looming. I have visions on him climbing up and the chair tipping forward and him landing on the laminate. He has no fear, he’s turning into a proper little dare devil.

He’s also started with little mini tantrums. Screaming and arching his back when he doesn’t want to go in the car seat/pushchair.  Throwing himself face down on the floor if something doesn’t go his way, or something is taken away from him. I am so not prepared for this, one toddler is about as much as I can handle some days. Toddlers are like minefields, one small step in the wrong direction and everything explodes. I will never master toddlers, they completely baffle me. Complicated little things with strong personalities … at least my two are.

If you find me rocking in the corner one day, then it’ll be because the children have driven me completely insane.

Has anyone got two toddlers? How do you cope with them? 

Sunday, 18 September 2011

A - Z of Me

I haven’t blogged in a while, no particular reason but I have been tagged…twice actually. Firstly by @MyLittlefamily at Ponderings of a first time Mum  and then by @plasticrosaries over at the pieces of me.

So here is my attempt.

ANORAK…Do you have a sad side? 
Some would say my love for boybands is sad, in fact my husband tells me this regularly.

BODY…What physical attribute would you most like to change?  
My height, I'd like to be slightly taller so that buyer trousers the right length wasn't completely impossible. 

CELEBRITY…Which one would you most like to date and why?  
Shane Filan, because he is bloody gorgeous! I could listen to him sing/talk all day.*swoons* I've also been slightly in love with him for about 14years. I’d run away with him tomorrow if he asked.

DEBUT …Tell us about your first ever blog post. What made you start blogging? 
I can't remember, it was on a blog I no longer have the link for. However on my old blog the first post was a reflection of my miscarriage, which led me to carry on blogging. A couple of years later I started my mummy blog.

ERROR …What’s been your biggest regret?  
A stupid drunken New Year’s Eve kiss many years ago with a friend that nearly cost me everything. Although it’s in the past now, and all parties involved have forgiven.

FUNNY – who’s making you laugh? 
My boys, they crack me up. The latest on is J saying to his little brother ‘Stay there…boy.’ Cracks me up, I don’t know where he gets it from.

GRAND…If we gave you one right now what would you spend it on?  
Difficult. So many things I want to do, buy new clothes. Decorate mine and the boy’s room, save and go on holiday. I'd probably spend a small amount and the rest would go to savings. Boring I know!

HOLIDAY… What’s your favourite destination?   
Tough one, but I'm going to go with Ireland. I always feel relaxed and like I've come home whenever I go there.

IRRITATE… What’s your most annoying habit?  
Probably having to know every tiny detail in advance of going somewhere. When we need to get up, when we need to leave, when we will arrive, lists of lists of stuff we need. I drive hubby slightly mad.

JOKER…Whats your favourite joke {the one that makes you laugh everytime you hear it}? 
I don't have one, I don't tend to find jokes that funny.

KENNEL… Do you have any pets?  
A four year old Labrador we've had since he was a pup. A cat we adopted and two anti-social rabbits! 

LOVE…Are you single, married, engaged, living with a long term partner?  
Married.

MEAL… Whats your ultimate starter, main and dessert? 
I'm not really one for starters; I like to save room for pudding. We usually have cheesey garlic bread. Then I'd love a nice duck breast, followed by crème Brulee.

NOW…If you could be anywhere right now where would you be and who with? 
I would be in a cosy cottage in the Irish countryside with my husband and two babies. 

OFF DUTY…What do you do in your spare time?  
Read. I love reading, there is never enough time for it though.

PROUD MOMENTS …What are you most proud of?  
My children!
QUEASY …What turns your stomach? 
The smell of sick...makes me want to throw up. Mould growing on food makes my stomach turn to...eww!
  
RELAX…How do you relax?  
Hot bubble bath with a good book. Completely unwinds me and allows me to relax.

SONG…What’s your favourite song of all time?  
That's a really hard question. I'm not sure I have just one, I have different ones for different times in my life. Bran Adams 'summer of 69' comes very near the top though.

TIME …If you could go back in time and relive it again, when would you choose?  
I'd go back 9.5 months to when R was born and try to savour the moment a bit more. Life was completely crazy and I look back and remember very little. The first months past in a blur and it makes me sad because I remember every tiny detail of J’s first weeks.

UNKNOWN…Tell us something about yourself that no one else knows?  
I'm not sure there is anything than no one knows and if there is it’s that way for a reason. So I'll pick something not many people know. I once went on a date with a hot fireman.

VOCAL…. Who is your favourite artist?  
I love Shane Filan’s vocals. I also adore Pink.

WORK….. What is your dream job, and are you doing it now?  
I don't know what my dream job is, but I know I'm not doing it. Being a mummy is about the best job going though.

XRAY…Any broken bones? 
None!

YIKES…What’s been your most embarrassing moment?  
Grounding a speedboat comes pretty high! 

ZOO…. If you were an animal, which one would you be? 
A Lion.

I'd like to tag @chatty30, @F_a_B_ and @rachelbeasley of course you don't have to do it 

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

A letter to my nine month old..

Dear Squidlette,

You're nine months old today, I can hardly believe it. I know everyone says it but in all honestly it feels like just the other week that you rushed into the world. We've laughed and cried together and I've loved every minute of it. Well maybe not all the sleepless nights but I wouldn't change you for the world. Although if you want to celebrate being nine months by sleeping through mummy wouldn't mind at all.

Look how you've grown...

30 minutes old

1 Month old

2 Months old - Happy Chap



3 Months old - Tummy Time


4 Months old - Out for dinner

5 Months old - Enjoying the sun

6 Months old - getting too big

7 Months old - Playing outside


8 Months old - Where did my baby go?

I love you big cheeky grin, and how you have the biggest giggles for your brother.
I love how you rub your ear when you’re tired and how your favourite place to sleep is in mummy’s arms.
I love watching you learn, watching you climb and get into mischief.
I love how you always want to come back to mummy after cuddles with anyone else.
I love watching you play with your big brother, I can see how much you adore him and he adores you.

I love everything that you are and everything that you do.

I miss you when we're not together; coming home after work is my favourite time of the day. Seeing your little face light up when you see me.

Love you forever
Mummy
Xxx

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

The Perfect Relationship


What is it? I’m not sure they exist, what may look perfect from the outside is seldom perfect from the inside. No relationship is free from struggles, fights or issues, it’s the way you handle it and knowing that you want to stay together and make it out the other side that is important.

All around me it seems people’s relationships are falling apart; either people are having babies or splitting up. It seems to come out of the blue, what I thought was a happy perfect relationship obviously wasn’t as happy or perfect as it seemed. It’s very easy to put on an act for other people, but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. It’s easy to judge but we shouldn’t, everyone’s relationship is different. It set me thinking, are they empowering each other? One person splits up, shows us all that it can be a good think, a positive thing and it sets everyone else thinking. We actually all sat and had a chat about it today, it seems all of us had something to moan about. Proving that no one has that perfect relationship.

Everyone has an idea of what the perfect relationship is, but the reality rarely lives up to it. We all want a relationship with zero pain, we want to share everything equally, be respected, be adored, have no arguments etc etc. It’s an unrealistic approach; no one is perfect therefore how can a relationship be perfect? If you ask a couple who’s been married 50 years if the perfect relationship exists they will tell you no, however strong successful relationships do. Maybe a successful relationship is a perfect one? I don’t know, I certainly don’t have the answers. I’m not even going to pretend my relationship is anything near perfect… it’s merely a work in progress.  Compromise plays a bigger part in a relationship than I ever thought it could, sometimes small compromises sometimes big ones. It’s not always easy, sometimes it’s incredibly hard but it’s very important.

Are we fooling ourselves with the idea of the perfect relationship? Is this why relationships break down so easily sometimes? Relationships are hard work, sometimes you need to fight for them but I think you should only keep fighting if you are happy. Life’s too short to be unhappy. It’s never going to be easy walking away from a relationship especially a long term one. It’s got to be even harder once there are kids involved, but we only get one life, one chance of happiness and we can’t let that slip away from us. Ultimately only we can make ourselves happy, it’s foolish to place all our happiness in other people’s hands.  It may sound selfish but we have to do what’s right for us, we need to put our happiness first.

So what are your thoughts?

Friday, 12 August 2011

Feel Good Friday

I’ve been slightly rubbish just lately, last week I didn’t even get my blog post up and today I’ve been beaten to it by two people. I’ve having problems with my link up tool though, so I’ve been trying to get that sorted before I post. I hope it works, if you have any problems let me know.

I went back to work this week, after nine months off I was dreading it – however after three days it feels like I have never been away. I guess that’s a good thing though. It’s amazing how quickly everything comes back to you. Going back to work isn’t my feel good moment though. Returning home from work Monday I couldn’t wait to see my boys, I spotted them through the window and got huge grins from both of them. Opening the door I’m greeted by a little voice shouting ‘Hello,’ then I hear him jumping down from the dinner table to run and give me a big cuddle. The reaction almost made being away from them worth it. The hour I get with them before bedtime, which has to include the end of dinner and bath time is sudden very precious. Many times I’ve been wishing for 6:15 to arrive so I can start the bedtime routine, but the three days I was a work the time came round too quickly. I wanted to cuddle them and play for a lot longer.




So my feel good moment is cuddles from my boys.


Feel Good Friday





Wondering what 'Feel Good Friday' is all about, take a look at the original post


Thursday, 11 August 2011

Review: SnoozeShade for Infant Car Seat



I received a Snooze shade for a car seat from @SnoozeShade to test and review. It arrived last Friday but I didn’t have the opportunity to try it until today.

Taken from the Website:

SnoozeShade for Infant Car Seats can help if:
• Your baby needs to switch off from outside distraction
• You would like to encourage good sleeping habits and better napping when baby is out
• You have older children whose schedules conflict with new baby’s naptime
• You prefer other people not to disturb your sleeping baby

It’s the simpler, safer, lightweight and secure alternative to draping blankets, muslins or other items over an infant car seat – and it’s great for holidays, in restaurants or anytime you have to go out during baby’s naptime.

SnoozeShade for Infant Car Seats:

• is made from a double layer of soft dark breathable fabric which blocks 94% of light
• in full sleep mode, cuts out visual stimuli to help babies get the sleep they need
• makes transporting baby from car to pram or pram to indoors easy
• can be used to provide extra shade when in hood-extender mode
• provides a shady and well-ventilated sleep environment
• has elasticated top and sides with easy-to-attach Velcro straps to ensure SnoozeShade fits easily to most popular infant carriers with upright rigid handles
• enables you to check quietly and easily on baby via SnoozeShade’s 'sneak-a-peek' front access
• is compact enough to keep with you at all times; it folds into a small drawstring bag to pop into your change bag, handbag, hang off travel system’s handles or store in your travel system’s basket
• protects babies from the sun with the highest sun protection – UPF50+



I was taking my oldest to soft play this morning to meet a friend and we were due to arrive right about the time I would normally be trying to put baby down for his nap. So I popped the shade in my bag and off we went. By the time we arrived he was fast asleep as I expected, so I slipped the snooze shade onto our Graco car seat. I was impressed at how quick and easy it was to do, literally just slips over the frame of the seat and then Velcros to the handles. I got into the building, placed him down on the floor to pay and ‘bang’ he was awake. So nap time failed, I didn’t for one second put that down to the product, more to a fault with my baby. (He doesn’t do sleep – his naps are rarely longer than 20 minutes).

I was talking to my friend about it, and we both agreed it’d work brilliantly for a smaller baby. She is due her second in October and I have said I will pass it over to her, as it won’t be much longer before we have to switch to the next stage car seat.

Baby was shattered by the time we left and fell asleep on the two minute drive home, so I figured I had nothing to lose in trying again. So on the shade went and we made it in to the house, set him down on the floor (the point he normally wakes) and by some miracle he stayed asleep. I felt like rejoicing, but I was anticipating him waking up quite quickly. So when half an hour later he woke I felt like dancing for joy around the house.
This product gets a big thumbs up from me, it definitely works. Even as a small baby we struggled to move from car to house without waking him. He was a winter baby so the drastic change in temperature woke him. I wish I’d discovered the snoozeshade a long time ago; it would have made my life a whole lot easier and prevented baby from being disturbed.

Baby sleeping in his car seat

The snoozeshade comes in a small mess bag, and it’s the perfect size to pop in your changing bag/handbag and take out with you. There is a small peep hole on the front, so you can open and take a look at baby to check they are still okay, I didn’t actually dare to open the zip as I feared the noise might wake the baby and knowing mine it probably would have.

If I ever have another it’s definitely something I will be using often.


Monday, 8 August 2011

What’s new Pussy cat…


Well I’ve been officially rubbish at blogging this last week, I got caught up in something else and found myself unable to drag myself away from it. So I didn’t even get to write my Feel Good Friday. If I had written it, I would have celebrated the fact that I bought a pair of size 10 trousers and a size 10 top. I honestly cannot remember the last time I was in a size 10. I think I was a 12 when I started seeing Ant nearly seven years ago…so it has been a long time. I am so incredibly happy; I just hope that I can maintain it.

In other exciting news R learnt to clap today, he was sat on my lap and J was playing with a singing cow and R suddenly started laughing and clapping along. It was so cute. He has been hitting objects together for a week or so, so he has been doing the clapping motion – today was the first time he did proper clapping though. Daddy was pleased to report that he’s been sat clapping and chanting ‘dada dada dada,’ all day. I absolutely love watching him learn new things, but with each new thing there is a pang of sadness that my baby is growing up.



In the past week we’ve had two teeth cut through, first the top one because he likes to do things different, then one at the bottom. I think the other two will come through relatively quickly, maybe then we’ll get a little more sleep. Or perhaps that is just wishful thinking.
J is coming along brilliantly with his speech now, after all my worrying and fretting he seems to be learning a word a day at the moment. It’s as though something has just clicked and he realises talking is good, we are getting less tantrums and I think this is because he is able to communicate better what he wants. If he wants food, or juice, or up etc then he can now tell us. It’s amazing seeing him learning so much.

He had his first hair cut on Sunday *cries* he still has his curls though, my big sister just gave his fringe a little trim (albeit slightly wonky) because it was getting in his eyes and annoying him. At some point he is going to have to get a proper haircut, but I can’t bear to do it. He’ll lose his curls and the last little bit of babyness; although he’s long stopped being a baby. It’ll change the way he looks so much and I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet. Twenty five months and no haircut, that’s impressive isn’t it?



I went back to work today, I’m not sure how I feel. It felt strange and it’s definitely the longest I have sat in one place for a very long time. I don’t even get six hours still in bed, never mind sitting down at home. Does this mean I’m going to get fat? Will I have to work extra hard to keep the weight off? I am walking to work and back, it takes me about 12 minutes to walk and that’s a brisk walk. Pretty much as fast as I can walk, and I use the stairs at work so that should help right?

I think that’s all the updates I have.

Friday, 29 July 2011

Feel Good Friday

It’s that time of week again; it seems to come round quicker and quicker. Looking forward to reading about what made you feel good this week. I’d really love to see some new people joining, so don’t be shy.

If I am honest I struggled to find something this week, not because it’s been a bad week. It’s been very pleasant and enjoyable, maybe that’s why I’ve struggled because nothing stands out. I decided my wardrobe was long overdue a sort out, so I made a start on it on Wednesday. I didn’t get very far as the children didn’t permit it. However I managed to sort out all my trousers, once I was finished I was only left with four pairs. Whoops, none of them are the perfect fit either. All the others were huge though, some of them would literally fall down if I walked across the room. That definitely felt good, these clothes fit me before I got pregnant, some of them even fit before I got pregnant the first time.

Its proof that I have definitely lost quite a lot of weight. I just wish I had some money to be able to go and buy some clothes; I’m quite excited at the prospect of potentially fitting into size 10 trousers.




Feel Good Friday






Wondering what 'Feel Good Friday' is all about, take a look at the original post

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

The End in nigh

It is 11 days until my maternity leave is over and I am back to work, I’ve been trying to ignore it. Living in denial that it’s going to happen and all of a sudden it’s right around the corner. It all became ever more real this afternoon when I went for lunch with my boss so he could discuss what I would be doing when I go back.

Where has the last 9 months gone? It doesn’t seem two minutes ago that I was heavily pregnant and getting excited about going on my maternity leave and now I have an eight month old baby and I’m due to return to work. I’m not jumping for joy at the prospect, given half a chance I would stay at home with my boys until they started school. However in order to keep a roof over our head and food on the table then I need to go back to work and contribute to the bills. Dam the ever increasing price of every god dam thing.

We have fun, we go out lots and the boys love our outings the same as I do. I’m going to miss spending so much time with the boys. I won’t be starting till 11am but it’s going to be hard to fit in much before work. By the time we have done breakfast, got dressed, made my lunch for work the morning will practically be gone. I’m going to have to try and be super organised some mornings though, even I just take them for a walk. I’m not going to be able to go to any groups or anything on the three days I’m in though, but I intend to fill Thursday and Friday with as many activities as I can to make up for it. I’m encouraging A to take them out, but I know I will then feel jealous and sad that I am missing out on the fun they are having.

The three days at work I’m not going to see A; he will get up I will leave. Then I will get home and he will leave. We will be like passing ships in the night; communication will be a quick conversation in the doorway as we pass or little notes. I’m under no illusions that it is going to be easy, but I really really didn’t want to go back to work five days a week and this is the only way that I could fit in enough hours to allow myself a couple of days off.

It won’t be as bad as I’m expecting, I know I will soon get back into the routine and the adult conversation will be really nice. I definitely have one of the nicest bosses ever and work with a lovely bunch of people so that’s one bonus. It still doesn’t mean I want to go back though...

Friday, 22 July 2011

My Bucket List

'And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.'
                                                                                                                 
I’ve never thought of writing one before but after doing some random googling (google is my friend) I decided it sounded like a good idea. A list of things I’d like to do with my life, some only small things, some much bigger.  If I don’t achieve them all then it’s not the end of the world, I might never have enough money for some of them but I like the idea regardless.

It was actually quite hard to come up with ideas, it’s taken me over a week to write it but finally I’ve finished. As I was writing it I realised how much I have achieved already, if I was writing the list five years ago I would have had a lot of things to add – but I’ve done them now. 

I would have had:
  1.  Get married
  2.  Buy a house
  3.  Start a family
  4. Swim with dolphins
  5.  Visit mexico
  6. Drive a Speed boat
  7. Visit the Cliffs of Moher
  8. Go to Edinburgh

I’ve done all these in the past five years and it puts a little smile on my face.

I’m not going to post my bucket list, because people probably don’t want to read it anyway – there is nothing personal on it. So if people are interested I can show you. I will probably blog when I achieve one of my goals though.

I will review my list every now and again as the things that are important to us change, so there may be things I’ll choose to cross off or others I want to add. It’s not a list of how I have to live my life, or a list to dictate the things I must do. It’s more a reminder that I want to accomplish something from my life, live my life with meaning and not let it pass me by in a daze.

Does anyone else have a bucket list? Did you find it hard to write? Have you ticked many off yet? 

Feel Good Friday

This week started as rubbish as last week ended, I was (still am) full of germs. I’ve never felt so ill with a cold and not getting sleep or time to rest just makes you feel even worse. So I was beginning to wonder if I would find a feel good moment this week.

However my best friend since forever – well since we were about seven has returned from Canada. She has been over there for nearly four years, but is back for a year. Not properly back unfortunately, as they are going to be living in Wales. Wales is million times closer than Canada though, so it’s very exciting. I last saw her at Christmas when they came back for a holiday and seeing her and then her leaving makes you realise all over again how important they are. I’ve seen her twice since she came back on Monday and it’s been wonderful. It’s never awkward; she just slots straight back into our lives. Although J is a bit wary of her, but he’ll soon warm to her I’m sure. I’m so glad to have her back in the same time zone, even if it’s only going to be for a short while.



Also I lost 1lb this week, that’s 3lb in the last two weeks. I’m getting closer and closer to my target weight and having the ideal BMI for the first time in a very very long time.


Feel Good Friday






Wondering what 'Feel Good Friday' is all about, take a look at the original post

Monday, 18 July 2011

Sleep…sleep….sleep…..zzzzzzzz



Just lately I seem to be spending far too long either thinking about sleep or talking about sleep. More to the point what I have done so wrong? How have I ended up with two children who don’t sleep through? J can sleep though, he can sleep for 12 hours but he likes to wake up once a night –if Daddy goes to him (which only happens at weekends) then he goes back to bed. When I go to him he holds me hostage, by threatening to scream the house down if I leave the room. Now I have no problems with leaving him to scream and kick up a stink because after ten minutes max he will go back to sleep. However I’m very reluctant to allow it to happen for the fear he will wake R and then I will be dealing with them both awake.

I can’t remember the last time I slept for a full night, by the time J was sleeping through I was pregnant and having to make loo stops in the night. So it’s possible that it’s been over two years since I had a decent stretch of sleep.

R doesn’t need milk during the night, and he’s proved that a few times – however it’s too easy to offer him boob and know the will fall back to sleep. While co-sleeping of course. When he woke Saturday night I sent him down stairs to his daddy and the pair of them slept there. So even though I woke a dozen times because of my cold, it was heavenly to just be able to roll over and go back to sleep. Not attempt a dummy search, while holding a baby and trying to keep him quiet so he doesn’t wake his brother.

R won’t sleep for more than three hours at a time; sometimes he will wake for 5 minutes other times 2 hours. It’s wearing me down and with the imminent return to work I need to try and fix it. I need a plan, I need to stick to it – however I really don’t know what to do. There are so many types of sleep training but most of them seem to involve leaving the room. I don’t want to leave my room at 3am in the morning. If we are doing control crying, where do I go while he’s crying in my bedroom? How the hell does it work? Has anyone done any kind of sleep training while sharing the room with their baby? Or have you just had to grin and bear it?

Eventually he is going in with J, and it’s very tempting to just move him. Face the fact that I’m going to have complete and utter hell for a few weeks but solve the problem eventually. It seems mean to disturb J though with R’s night wakening’s though. I’ll have horrible nights and horrible days, as lack of sleep makes for a very grumpy toddler. HELP!

Friday, 15 July 2011

Feel Good Friday

This week is an easy yet slightly cheesy one. My feel good moment was Sunday evening just before bed; my two boys were playing together so nicely. It’s rare at the moment with J hiding toys or pushing his little brother around. I think they were playing chase, it was completely adorable. J was running over to R and saying ‘Raaarr,’ before turning and running away giggling, R grinned his head off and crawling after him. As soon as R got close to J he would giggle and run away again. I was too busy gushing over it to take any photos or record a video.

My heart melted and all the tantrums, sleepless nights and jealously were instantly forgiven. All the hard work was suddenly completely worth it, having them close together is definitely going to pay off. It gave me an insight into what good friends they are going to be.

This is a photo of them together earlier in the day.





Feel Good Friday







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Monday, 11 July 2011

Review: B – Organic Soothing Balm

I was asked to via twitter to review this Soothing balm, it is suitable for eczema and as I’m not keen on the cream we have received from the doctor I was more than happy to try this.

Taken from the website



Product Description
Winner of TIPS "Editors Choice" Award
Our most loved Soothing Body Balm is handmade with certified organic ingredients without any chemicals. It only has good oils that help to soothe and feed the skin whilst regenerating skin cells. Our Balm is so gentle and mild that can be used on 1 month old babies and adults with severe sensitive skin to any essential oils. It can be used on face and body.
It soothes Eczema, Dermatitis. Skin irritations, Sensitive skin and Nappy rash.
Please read our reviews on this balm, it works wonders on the skin!
100% Organic & Natural with no chemicals.

My first impression of the product was that the jar was quiet small and I couldn’t see it lasting very long. I applied a small test patch and there was no reaction so the following night I was able to apply a more liberal amount to my baby.

I’ve never used a balm on my children before, only creams and oils so I was interested to see how easy it was to apply as it is much thicker. I am pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised, the balm rubbed in quickly and easily. The cream I have from the doctors takes a lot of massaging before it soaks into the skin, so this balm is perfect. It’s near impossible to try and massage cream into a baby that keeps trying to escape, so the fact this balm soaks into the skin with ease is a huge bonus.

Almost instantly you could feel the difference, his skin felt silky smooth without being greasy. I even applied some to myself because I liked how soft it made him feel.

I used the cream on him each evening after his bath and after three nights the two patches of eczema had vanished. It works much better than the cream I have been using and it’s much nicer to use. You don’t need to use a huge amount and as I am only applying to his driest areas it will last me a while.

One evening he was very sore in the creases of his legs and the only cream I had to hand was the balm, so I applied some. Popped his nappy on and put him to bed. The following morning he wasn’t sore at all. I was very impressed.

The only negative about this product for me could be the price, at £13 a pot it’s more than I would normally pay for a skin product. However the website often runs promotions so I would be very tempted to buy some more along with the body wash which I’d love to try.

Overall I found this product brilliant and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a skin condition. I love that it’s a multipurpose balm and can be used for skin irritations, sensitive skin and nappy rash and that it works brilliantly.

Now I will show you some before and after photos just to prove it worked. Please excuse how bad they are, I was struggling to get him to keep still while I took them.

Before:

After: 



The difference is perfectly clear.

Friday, 8 July 2011

Feel Good Friday

I was thinking the other day about how I don’t spend enough time thinking about the things that make me feel good, instead reflecting on the things that annoy me. This isn’t how it should be, we should all focus on the good things and do more of them because let’s face it feeling good is wonderful.

I thought it would be a nice idea to create a blog link up, where we can all post our feel good moments. 

So if you would like to join the rules are simple:
1. Write a blog post about something that’s made you feel good this week, it can be anything, big or small.
2. Add the badge below, just copy and paste the code onto your blog post - you can find the code on the left hand side of my blog.
3. Add you link below my post.
4. You don’t have to join every week.

My Feel Good Friday

I’ve never been a girlie girl and I’ve never been one to wear dresses, when I first met my husband I didn’t own a single dress and my first dress was my wedding dress. Now I have a couple in my wardrobe that never get worn because they are to dressy for everyday wear.

It was my nieces 20th birthday party on Saturday and I feeling a bit sorry for myself because I had nothing nice to wear. Even though it was only in my sisters garden, so I could have just gone in jeans and a vest top if I had wanted to. I didn’t though, so I headed for Asda and grabbed myself a couple of cheap dresses. Six pounds – bargain.

Wearing a dress made me feel pretty and feminine; in short it made me feel good.




Feel Good Friday