When I say thank goodness for dry shampoo I mean thank goodness for all the mummy life savers I have discovered along the way that have saved me from sticky situations, quite literally!

If I hear a friend is pregnant I can’t wait to share all the helpful tips I learnt when Emma was little, does anyone else feel this? I think back to what I did when Emma had colic or what white noise app I used to get her off to sleep etc, and I just love sharing this with new mamas to be, and you do genuinely feel you can solve their problems or worries with this advice! Not always true but nice to think it, haha! I bought a sleepyhead when Emma was little and although it was expensive it really was amazing, I would definitely recommend that to any new mums. It reduces the space in the cot so babies don’t feel overwhelmed by such a large area, and I found this really helped Emma to sleep as well. It was also great just for lounging around the house, I would just pop her in that whilst I got on with other boring things, like cleaning! I also love all NUK products, they are meant to be the best teats to replicate mamas boobie, so if you do combined feeding like I did they were great, the dummies are also amazing too.

Now Emma is 2 the things that save me are more like hairdryers, wipes and dry shampoo – the dry shampoo is for me! What would we do when you’re on the 3rd outfit change of the morning as they have basically tipped the entire contents of your kitchen over their outfits, or you almost lose the plot as you are about to leave the house and you hear, “mummy, uh oh!” Or you look down at your jeans to see a wipe or flannel has been squeezed onto your newly washed jeans… out comes the hairdryer! I don’t think there is anything I haven’t hair dried actually!? Why is it that toddlers find the only wet patch in the house and sit in it, just as you’re leaving the house?!

Dry Shampoo is the ultimate saviour, and I am sure most mums will agree! I remember I used to wash my hair every other day, hairdry it, and style it nicely, but since the world revolves around our babies there is little, to no time for self maintenance, and so dry shampoo comes in really handy. I use Batiste and I don’t think it is too bad for your hair either, which is a bonus.

I am always looking for tips and new mummy hacks that will help everyday living with a toddler, so any helpful tips other mamas have please send them my way!

Thanks for reading,

Amy xxx

 

I absolutely love everything about Lavender, I’m completely obsessed with it’s smell! It’s not only beautiful, but it also has some great health benefits too, which I learnt about when we went to the Lavender Fields in the Cotswolds.

They use a ancient traditional process called steam distillation to obtain the oil, and use rainwater they collect to turn into the steam, so no chemicals are added in their distillation process, making sure their oil is a pure essential oil.

I don’t claim to be an expert in this at all but a few health benefits we learnt about whilst we were there are;

Induces Sleep

I think this might be my favourite one! I recently purchased a Neal’s Yard Lavender pillow spray and use it every night, I think it is the best thing ever and it really has made a big difference to my sleep. You can also put a few drops of lavender essential oil onto your pillow at night and that also works. I often spray it around Emma’s room to help her sleep, It doesn’t always work on her though!

Relieves Anxiety and Stress

Lavender has a natural calming scent, so because of this, people who are struggling with anxiety or stress benefit from smelling the essential oil to allieviate their symptoms. It is said to improve brain activity whilst reducing mental exhaustion, great for exams and other stressful situations! Lavender oil is one of the best essential oils to reduce stress.

Improves Skin

Lavender also has a calming affect on your skin counteracting all the pollutants your skin is exposed too on a daily basis. Adding Lavender oil to your daily routine will help to cleanse your skin and protect it. It is also great for spots, it has anti-inflammatory properties so can reduce the swelling of the infected areas. The oil is also antibacterial.

Pain Reliever

Lavender essential oil can be used as a massage oil and has been found to reduce pain to swollen muscles and painful joints. Using this oil on its own or even combined with another oil would be extremely beneficial to relieve pain.

Eating Lavender

Lavender can also be edible, something I didn’t know until visiting the Lavender farm in the Cotswolds. Lavender contains Vitamin A which has many benefits, some of which include; maintaining healthy skin, eye health and preventing eye dryness, It also contains Iron. Lavender also reduces fatigue and nausea and is a great source of calcium. I’m sure we have all heard our parents say, “eat this, it’ll give you strong bones!” Well Lavender will certainly contribute to it.

So not only does Lavender smell and look amazing, its also very good for you!

I have included a few pictures from our first visit to the lavender fields when Emma was younger because our visit this time with a 2 and a bit year old was nowhere near as easy! She wouldn’t go near the lavender because she was petrified of the bees! She also screamed the majority of the time (lots of stares and judging faces) if you are a mum you know exactly what I mean! The only time she was quiet was when we were in the café and she was eating an ice cream…standard Emma behaviour haha.

I hope you enjoy reading

Amy xxx

 

 

 

 

We took a much needed trip to the seaside and to Emma’s new favourite place in the world…Peppa Pig World! I have lost track of how many times she has shouted “pig’s world” over the last week, she will even sit quietly and watch a YouTube video of Peppa Pig World she is that obsessed! I thought it was going to be hard work there, with the theme tune on repeat all day, the lines and screaming kids, but actually, it was so fun! The lines were in fact not too long at all, I think the longest we waited was 30 minutes for ‘George’s dinosaur’ ride. It was a lot bigger than I anticipated too with lots of things to do, not just rides but games and play areas too. I actually won a big princess Peppa for Emma, which I cannot believe as I never win anything like that, I have wasted many pennies playing those ‘claw’ games at arcades! This game you had to throw a ball into a bucket without it bouncing back out, as I watched no one was winning so I almost walked away, but something made me give it a try and I won! The game was £5 and in the shop they were £24.99!! So happy! Probably the highlight of the day…haha not really but it was a pretty amazing moment!

Emma was so great all day, I’m sure it had something to do with the fact she was so distracted with everything going on, she didn’t even have a nap! There is a little train that runs along the outside of Peppa Pig world and some more of the park which was so fun, Emma absolutely loved it and now keeps insisting we go on another train ride. It was overcast and a bit chilly the day we went which was actually perfect because I don’t think we would have coped as well if it had been as hot as it is now because there is not much shade when you are waiting in line for the rides. There are buggy parks where you can leave the pram, but I would definitely recommend taking some water and maybe a snack for the little one because I found it quite difficult to keep Emma distracted in the lines.

We ventured around the park a little more and we came across the dinosaur area where there are quite a few ‘grown up’ rollercoasters so we took it in turns to go on by ourselves (losers) I watched Emma while Clyde went on, then we swapped. I was sat next to a little girl who was also going on by herself and she was as calm as a cucumber so I had to pretend I was so cool with it and not scared and second guessing myself… “I have a child, I shouldn’t be riding a rollercoaster!” Anyway I put all that to the back of my mind and went on. As we started the ascent I thought, oh this is so tame, no worries at all! Then it got to the top and I thought, what the hell am I doing! Then it was too late, within a split second the ride was over…so glad I did it haha!

After a long day we left the park and drove to our Hotel, I chose Bartley Lodge Hotel, this was from a list you could choose from when I booked Peppa Pig Short breaks. The hotel was so lovely, I booked it mainly because it said it had a pool so I thought it would be lovely to take Emma swimming. The room was lovely too and so were the grounds surrounding it. The pool was quite small but perfect for what we wanted.

The next day we headed out to Bournemouth as it’s so close to where we stayed it made sense to make a day of it! We did have free return tickets to the park but I definitely think one day was enough, for now anyway! Emma absolutely loved the beach! She wanted to strip off immediately and get in the water. I was so surprised seeing as this was her first visit to the beach! The day was perfect as well, not too hot, so we could stay on the beach without burning up. We ate lunch at a restaurant on the pier called Aruba, it was so lovely! The food was amazing and if you get a seat next to the window, the view is great too. There is an arcade on the pier too, not my kind of thing but it was packed, and my husband is obsessed with arcades so we had to spend some time in there too. Unfortunately my luck didn’t carry on from Peppa Pig World, we didn’t win anything!

Our trip home was so easy, and Emma had been so great the whole trip. I love going away and seeing her so happy it makes it all worth it. It’s just so annoying that it goes so fast, our trip was over in the blink of an eye, so I am busy planning our next one….Caribbean….haha I wish, somewhere in the UK probably!

Hope you enjoyed reading.

Amy xxx

This is a phrase I have struggled with since becoming a mum, “at least you don’t work”, or “Yea but you don’t work”, or “you’re so lucky to have all this time to yourself”. I get it, the pictures and the videos look like we are having the best time and to be honest we are, but it’s also extremely hard work. The days out and the mummy meets are great fun and are always beneficial to Emma, we always go to a ‘baby-friendly’ place, with a kids menu, a playground or soft play are and better yet, animals! So you can imagine the grown up talking is very much limited by interruptions from our little ones. I am so grateful for my mummy friends, to have someone you can talk too and who are going through everything at the same time as you is so comforting and lets you know you are not alone in this incredible journey. Being a mum is definitely a full time job, I generally start my day early and don’t sit down until 9:30 at night, on a good day, and we also have to take into the account the amount of time Emma wakes up in the night, so when someone says to me “at least you don’t work”, it’s confusing because, actually I do work! Motherhood is the hardest but best job of all.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my ‘job’ and count my lucky stars that I get to wake up with this little beauty everyday, however, there is no instruction manual or training guide before your baby comes into this world, there is no one to tell you just how hard it is or how lonely it can be at times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Emma is 2 now and I do two days a week of work to cover the cost of her nursery, but I am getting to that time now when I am thinking should I be working more now? What do other mums do at this point? I know circumstances are different for everyone and some mothers have no choice but to work to support their family and they, for sure, have the toughest job of all! I have all the respect for the single mums out there who are doing it all on their own, girl power!! A few single mamas I am following right now are Mama_unexpected,  Thesinglemumsdiary, and Everthedaring such a bunch of inspirational mamas 🙂 They have shown that even facing adversities they blossomed and have become the best mums to there little babes.

Raising Emma has literally been the best thing ever, it has definitely had it’s ups and downs but I wouldn’t change a single thing, as long as she is happy I am happy.

Thanks for reading,

Amy

xxx

 

I love summer! It makes everyone happier and everything easier, especially dressing little ones! Although I have noticed I have literally no summer clothes, and I’m wondering is there any point buying things when we have no guarantee to how long this summer will last, thanks to the lovely British summers!! So I took to eBay hoping to get a few bargains, I ordered a couple of dresses from China, so goodness knows when they will come or whether they will look anything like they do in the picture.

This dress is from Jack Wills, I don’t usually go for the shorter dresses but I loved this one so much I thought why not?! It’s funny, since becoming a mum I am much less confidence in the things I wear. I don’t like getting my legs out, hence why they are so pastey, (why isn’t there a fake tan filter?) and I don’t tend to wear figure hugging things, do any other mums think that since having a baby? I must have changed 2 or 3 times before leaving the house, debating whether to wear this but I thought it’s so hot I can’t cope with anything heavier. Emma has on a gorgeous dress from Marksies, again it’s cheesecloth, so in love with that right now! And her little sandals are JoJo Maman bebe, they were in the sale and the last ones in her size so I grabbed them.

I have seen a lot a women wearing lovely linen dresses for summer and I’m desperate to get my hands on one, but just haven’t found the right one yet at the right price. I saw such a glamourous older lady wearing a long linen dress in town the other day and I wish I had asked her where it was from, but she was on the other side on the street, and in this weather there is no way I’m walking faster than a snails pace, definitely regretting it now!

These culottes are also from Jack Wills and they are super comfy, and such a lovely light material for summer, but they are such a pain to iron and I really hate ironing at the best of times. The top is my sisters from River Island. My sister bought me the headband from Barcelona and I love it so much, the colours are perfect and go with so many things, I wasn’t sure how to wear it at first but I think once you have a play around with it you get used to wearing it in different ways, it looks great with you hair up too.

I will keep you posted on the hunt for a linen dress and more summer outfits I find, I hope you are all having a lovely summer so far.

Amy

xxx