My husband steals my toothbrush...

My Husband steals my Toothbrush

You know the scenario, (or maybe you don't, in which case - read on...) you're X number of years into your relationship with 'Mr Perfect'/ 'The One'/ the 'love of your life forever and ever', when suddenly the teeny tiny little things that you'd completely glazed over whilst wearing your rose tinted glasses, they start to...shall we say, become less invisible?

I love you - say the words

Did I trigger my child's separation anxiety?

Those of you who follow my social media pages will perhaps have gathered by now that at the (current) age of 17 months, Arthur has never once slept a whole night - and as a result, neither have I. At every 'milestone' we have waited and hoped that 'tonight will be the night'. We have looked for reasons as to why he may have had a difficult night: teething, growth spurts, development milestones, over-stimulation, shorter daytime naps, longer daytime naps, too many naps, not enough naps...everything feels like a possible reason when you are sleep deprived and desperate.

One thing that has become obvious to us lately though, is the fact that Arthur CAN sleep, just not when he thinks he's alone, and we can pin point the EXACT day this started and the possible 'event' surrounding this change - which leaves me wondering...is it all connected? Did I trigger this separation anxiety?

A Liverpool Hen-do: Nude life drawing hen party - plus photos!

Planning and booking a hen-do can be a bit of a minefield! Making sure you find quality suppliers who won't let you down, finding activities to suit every age within the group or even just agreeing on a date where everyone can attend can be tricky! 
 From wine tasting experiences to nude life-drawing classes - organising the perfect hen-do for the bride to be can feel like quite a responsibility. Here is my experience, with details of the companies I can recommend and those that I absolutely CAN'T recommend...don't get burned like we did...

For the most part of this year I have been working hard preparing a hen party for my twin sister in Liverpool! The hen do finally took place in April and yes, true to my usual form for special occasions, I managed to fall ill and miss the entire thing! I have some great photos though, plus some helpful info, advice and feedback for anyone looking to do the same (plan a hen do that is, not fall ill and miss it!)

Am I a parent or a child? - dancing with a toddler

Arthur dancing on my feet

Every now and then in life we have those moments when we don't know whether we feel more like a child or a parent.
This was one of those moments...

Children Changing Careers p5: Vicki Psarias from Honest Mum

Welcome to part 5 of the blog series 'Children Changing Careers' - A series for parents who have pulled off a career change after having children!


This week's post features award winning film maker, Blogger and mum of two, Vicki Psarias from Honest Mum.

Our day filming for bareMinerals SkinSorials campaign in London

A few months ago I was invited to take part in a skincare trial for the new bareMinerals skincare range - SkinSorials, and then review the products ahead of their launch (review available here). I was also given the opportunity to go down to the London Head Office and meet and have lunch with Lee Etheridge - the International education director for bareMinerals, have my makeup done by one of their makeup artists and then shoot some promotional videos on my experience of the SkinSorials skincare range.Now my blog post title says 'our day' because the only way I could manage to take part in this amazing opportunity was to take Arthur with me!

bareMinerals SkinSorials skincare Review. Skinlongevity. #SkinSoGood

A few months ago I was given the opportunity to test and review the new bareMinerals skincare range, SkinSorials, ahead of shooting some promotional videos at their London Head Office ready for their launch in June.
Now anyone who knows me well can attest to my absolute obsession with the bareMinerals brand, so this project filled me with a lot of joy and excitement (and quite a lot of nerves for the filming part!) The hardest part was keeping it under wraps, as the moment I started using the new products I really just wanted to tell everyone how amazing they were! I am very lead by my nose when it comes to most things and so the minute I opened the products and realised how wonderful, but also natural, they smelt - I knew I was onto something good!

Cake from BakerDays for Father's Day (or just for yourself!)

This week BakerDays contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing one of their 5” Letterbox Gift Cakes and holding a Competition for one of my lucky readers to win one too!

Clearly, all I had to hear was the word 'cake' for my tummy to seal the deal, before my brain even had a chance to think about the important questions, such as, " how quickly can it be here?!" - turns out THE VERY NEXT DAY is the answer! - a good job too, as we were in desperate need of cake today in this house, and it left me just enough time to write this post ready for #FreebieFriday!

Changing Careers | Dani - Deluxe Blooms | from Head Receptionist to Faux Flower business

If you would like to purchase the beautiful blooms shown here you can do using this link (affiliate):

faux roses with eucalyptus in a vase. 

Welcome to part 3 of the blog series 'Children Changing Careers' - A feature for parents who have pulled off a career change after having children!

This week's post features Dani, who's former career was Head Receptionist. She now runs her own business called Deluxe Blooms.
Dani came into contact with me through Instagram, and amazingly, we soon realised that we had already met as she lives next door to a little boy who I look after twice a week! such a small world!

Ilkley Beauty Clinic - CACI facial and Bare Minerals make-under review

It is no secret that I am a little bit obsessed with Bare Minerals makeup, (in fact anything beauty related!) so when Zoe from Ilkley Beauty Clinic contacted me and asked if I would like to try out their CACI non-surgical facelift facial, followed by a Bare Minerals make-under....how could I possibly refuse?! Throw in the fact that the salon is a 5 minute walk away from my house, it was a no brainer really...plus the results were actually amazing! Before and After photos included...

Children Changing Careers p1: From Menswear Buyer to CEO of Little Hotdog Watson childrenswear

Welcome to week 1 of the blog series  'Children Changing Careers'! A feature for parents who have pulled off a career change after having children!

Perhaps you are thinking of doing the same and would like some inspiration, some insight or even just some good old advice from someone who has taken the plunge? Remember: It's never too late to be what you could have been...

This week we are joined by Emma from new childrenswear fashion line - Little Hotdog Watson 

I first came into contact with Emma via Instagram last year when she was looking for product testers for some of her amazing children's hats. Arthur still loves to 'test' his hat out now and I am so excited that these products are now available to buy and I can finally post a photo of Arthur looking cool in the hat that Emma sent us to try out! Here is her career changing story:

Naptime cheat - why it's ok to cherish the moment

Naptime cheat...because sometimes it's ok to just think 'stuff it' - I'm tired too, and this won't last forever. One day I'll wish my arm would go dead from the weight of his little sleeping body as he snores away on my shoulder. The washing can wait. The parcel I just missed can wait. Even I can wait, because soon he will be an hour older and that hour will turn to days, days to months and months to years...and I'll probably wish I'd just spent a little bit more time just doing this: Nothing...and everything X 

Why not read some of my other posts:

Dealing with colic and reflux in babies

For all the Mummies going back to work...this one's for you

Having a baby - the things they never told me about pregnancy, labour and motherhood

The diary of a 9 month old escape artist

Arthur's 12- 13 month toddler update

Arthur has just turned 13 months, so I thought it was about time I did another update (I'm sure I'll be looking back and comparing when we have more children!), although 'time' isn't something I have had much of lately! From a nasty winter cold to his 12 month jabs, 2016 so far has been full of snot, sniffles and separation anxiety!

Mums on Facebook! (That's us btw...)

I will admit right now, the title of this blog post is actually stolen from a comment one of my NCT/mummy friends made whilst we were all trying to organise a night out (through Facebook-obviously!) and until this point, not once in the last year had it even occurred to me that I am now one of 'them' - you know, *whispers* "mums on Facebook!"

Presents suitable for travelling - babies and toddlers

Whether you're booking a birthday trip to the Algarve, or if you are spending Xmas day away from home this year, it can be tricky trying to work out which gifts to take with you - particularly so if you are flying anywhere! 

Airlines often have strict luggage weight and size allowances, not to mention babies and young children often don't have their own luggage allowance, so you are already sharing a suitcase. Whatever your mode of transport, it can be hard to find gifts that are exciting for little ones, whilst also being lightweight and flexible!

Here are some of the gift ideas I came up with for Arthur - luckily he can't yet read so this wont spoil a thing!

There are also some great tips for memorable travel with children here. 

Arthur's 10 month update

Arthur at ten months

 I had intended to do one of these every month - but that didn't quite work out, so I'm starting at double figures! I'm am sure when it comes to having baby number 2, I will wish I had the other updates to look back on, but better late than never!

Car safety - our cargo is too precious to forget these important points!

Years ago I was involved in an accident. I wasn't driving a vehicle at the time. I was a pedestrian crossing a zebra crossing, along with a friend,and we both got hit. She stepped out first and I tried to grab her. I suffered from broken ribs, but she had much more serious physical injuries. Thankfully she recovered and is now married with a child, but the experience affected me more than I realised at the time and the effects have been long lasting. 

Visiting Ilkley Cinema - Europe's smallest Ultra 4k Cinema

This weekend we took a trip to Ilkley Cinema - a boutique cinema based in the building of a former nightclub, it is the smallest ultra 4k cinema in Europe!

This was also the first time we had left Arthur in the care of someone else during the day, so I guess you could call it our first 'date' post baby! We went to see the new Bond film at a 12.45pm showing - here is how we got on...

Danger - please share - choking hazard

Danger-please share:

(Originally posted on Facebook )

Please think about biting or cutting raisins in half as well as grapes before giving to your baby...

In the small hours of this morning Arthur started gasping for breath and choking in his sleep. After getting him upright and trying to help him breathe he vomited up the blockage - 5 raisins which had rehydrated and swelled up with water, increasing to their previous size of a (slightly squashy) grape. He had eaten them 12 hours previously after his tea.

I know we all think about choking hazards when giving our baby food to eat, and I'm sure most of us know the dangers of giving whole grapes to babies and small children - it had never crossed my mind that I would have to consider the choking hazard of food such as this if it comes back up in the other direction!