Dear Darcie,

Being your mum is so bittersweet. I’m constantly torn between adoring you at the age you are now and wishing you could stay small forever and also being so excited to see your future. I write this blog and I document our lives on Instagram because I’m so scared of forgetting it all. Scared that I’ll remember the big details like your first steps and your first Christmas but forget some of the little details along the way. Like the way that you always smell faintly like strawberry yoghurt and the way that your little hand slots perfectly into mine as you skip down the road. I’m scared I’ll forget the first ever dance routine you made up (right leg like a flamingo, left leg like a flamingo, squat, twirl, tada!), the way you say DinosaurTops instead of Triceratops and how you pronounce water with a G. (more…)

Being a second child, Ernie often finds himself (for want of a better word) plonked places. On the floor, in a bouncy chair, on a play mat. He spends a lot of his time just being somewhere while I deal with whatever crisis his older sister has created. He is a very laid back, easy going kind of baby so generally he’s quite happy just lying and looking around until I can come back to him. But as he is getting older, he is also getting more and more aware of his surroundings and so I’m starting to build up a collection of things that are just his, to entertain him in moments when I can’t. The current favourite ‘place to put Ernie’ is the Musical Newborn Cosy Gym from Taf Toys which was kindly sent to us to try out. There are so many things I love about this play mat so here are my thoughts on the product: (more…)

As you may have seen on my Instagram, Dan and I celebrated our six year anniversary a couple of weeks ago. When you get to six years together, it can be hard to know what to do to celebrate the day. As we are currently unable to leave Ernie (my gorgeous little bottle refuser!) we were planning a cosy evening at home and some quality time together just to mark the occasion. A takeaway, a film on the sofa, what more could you want? Well, that’s when bakerdays got in touch with me to see if I would like to review one of their letterbox cakes and that just became the perfect finishing touch to our day. I have such a sweet tooth so a cake through the post is quite literally my dream scenario! (more…)

To My Second Child,

I’ve been wanting to write this since your birth, wanting to find the words, to explain how I feel. But something has been stopping me; I wasn’t sure exactly what it was that I needed to say to you and I haven’t been sure how to put into words the way I have felt since you arrived. But I’ll try.

My second child, you are so very different to my first. You are calm, quiet, easy to make smile. You are the very definition of an ‘easy baby’, although I hate to use that term for how it implies your sister was something else. Your laid back nature and currently simple needs mean it is very easy to leave you to one side, to put you on a play mat while I focus on your sister. Her needs are so much more complex than yours and her toddler ways take up so much of my time. I give you what time I have left, but it never feels like enough. It pales in comparison to the twenty four hour care and attention that I was able to give to your sister, my first child. (more…)

Being a parent can be stressful, I don’t think anyone would deny that. Raising kids is a full time occupation in itself and as they grow and develop there are always new challenges to face and phases to get through. Being a parent forces you to make huge, important decisions about how you want to raise your children which is why it is important to learn to let go of some of the small stuff. If you’re stressing over big decisions and also allowing little everyday things to add to your stress levels, then chances are that before too long, you will explode. And no one wants that. I’ve always been a very relaxed and calm person but having children took even my stress levels up a notch. I’ve made several conscious decisions and changes to my mindset to help retain my sanity and I thought I would share them with you all, in case they can be useful to you too. (more…)

I don’t know about you, but as soon as the weather turns cooler and the evenings get darker, I start pining for hearty stews, casseroles and soups. There’s just something so comforting about cosying up in the warmth at home and enjoying a proper home cooked meal. I absolutely love cooking but having a toddler means I often find myself in an endless routine of nuggets, fish fingers and sausages. When I actually cook a hearty and healthy meal that the whole family enjoy it is such a wonderful feeling! I’m on a bit of a mission to try to get Darcie to eat a wider variety of foods and this time of year just feels like the perfect time to do that.

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