Anyone that knows my daughter in real life will know that she spends ninety percent of the day with a snack in her hand. She is the true Queen of Snacks so who could be better to recommend our favourite toddler snacks to the internet, than her? She’s never been one for big meals, preferring to constantly graze throughout the day, for this reason it’s important to me that the snacks I am giving her are healthy and nutritious. She’s constantly on the go and all these snacks are great for giving her the energy she needs. So, in no particular order these are my toddler’s favourite snacks. (more…)

Bonfire night. Some people love it, some people hate it and some people really couldn’t care less. I’m firmly in the first category and would even go so far as to say that it is pretty much my favourite night of the year.

There are so many reasons that I love Bonfire Night but here are my top five:

1. The cold, crisp air and everyone getting all bundled up in coats, hats and scarves.
I don’t particularly feel the cold and so it is often one of the first times in the year that I really pile on the layers. It’s the perfect night to wear that massive fluffy hat that feels a bit too excessive for everyday wear and the best night to wear your chunkiest knits and your thickest and warmest socks under your boots. (more…)

I loved writing last weeks round up of things that made me happy and so I thought I would do it again. I’ve actually had a tough week in some ways with lots of little things going wrong and my brain just totally malfunctioning and forgetting everything that I needed to remember. But I want to focus on the good things that have actually made this week pretty good despite the many little blips. (more…)

From the moment I found out I was pregnant and thought about life with a baby, I knew that I wanted us to be a family that reads. I was read to a lot as a child and grew up loving reading; settling down with a book and being transported to another world. Somewhere along the way I started reading less and less, I suppose life got busy and reading books slipped to the bottom of the priority list. But now that I have Darcie, I’ve pushed it right back up again and I am determined for her to be a child that reads. As it happens I actually haven’t had to do much to encouraging and she has developed a real enjoyment of books. We’ve always usually read a book at least once a day and if I’m ever stuck for gift ideas for her I always suggest a book, but aside from those things she just seems to naturally enjoy books. She loves to go to her shelf, choose a book and go and sit herself in the corner of the sofa turning the pages, lifting the flaps and chattering away as if she is reading.  (more…)

Darcie will turn 17 months this week, so to say that this post has been a long time coming is an understatement! The details of my labour and her birth are becoming less and less clear in my memory all the time and so I want to write it all down before I forget any more. I saw a video on Facebook about a woman who had so much pain relief that she forgot giving birth to her baby and while the video was comical, I can’t help thinking that I would be sad to not have a memory of the birth of my child. Although there are parts you’d rather not dwell on too much it really is an amazing experience and not one I want to forget.

I have to warn you that this is a long one; I’ve written down as much as I can remember mainly for my own records, so feel free to skip ahead to the parts that interest you the most. When I read this to Dan for him to fact check the sections which are hazy to me, he said ‘Is anybody really going to read all of this?’ Quite possibly not, but it will be nice for me to look back on if nothing else. They take away your pregnancy and birth notes to keep on record where we live and I think it’s such a shame to not have them to look back on! (more…)