London, From A Mum's Point of View

I loved London. The Big Smoke was one of the few cities in this country that I would have relocated to. Had the opportunity arose, I would have packed my life away and joined the rat race without giving it a second thought.

That was then, and now you couldn't pay me to give up my lovely home, or my beautiful son. Because living in London for me will mean leaving my son behind. Sounds harsh doesn't it? Well that's the conclusion I've made after my first trip to the city with my little boy. The mad rush, the escalators, the stairs. Where are the lifts? Forget people with pushchairs for a second, how do wheelchair users get around? Elderly people? Pregnant ladies! Is there a secret fund that pays for them to be chauffeured around the city? Oh wait, there's buses. You don't fit the criteria of the underground so you can't get to your destination as quickly as the rest of us. Go plonk yourself on a bus and see you in an hour. 

I don't expect most people to see where I'm coming from, especially as I'm only seeing it now. I was one of those blind dumb asses running around madly in love with London. Then I opened my eyes. I realised how rude people are, how inconsiderate they are. All they care about is getting on that damn tube and reaching wherever they need to be. 

My mischievous little boy must have picked up on the fact that mummy was stressing, so he was on his best behaviour. In actual fact he wasn't even bothered by London and slept through most of his trip, very unusual for him as he loves new places. Not so fussed by this one though. 

My rant aside, we did manage to make it to the Magnum Store in Covent Garden where we personalised our own Magnum ice creams. I went for brownie, honeycomb and coconut flakes. 

Baby A decided to wake up for M&M  World which he thoroughly enjoyed and we brought him a teddy bear from Harrods as a souvenir. 

Overall a good family trip away, just a shame that I didn't find the people of London and the city itself very child friendly. 

H x 

The Birthday Blog

I've been eager to upload the birthday blog for a few weeks but haven't been able to get round to it. Thank God for the wet Bank Holiday, now I can share the birthday bash of the year with my followers! 

Baby A turned one on August 15th and we organised a Minion themed party for him. The dress code was yellow (this goes without saying) his friends from play group were invited, outdoor soft play was hired, as well as a minion costume and a bouncy castle. We went all out, after all my boy will only have one first birthday party. 

Even the weather held out! After a week of non-stop rain I didn't think we'd get the garden party we had hoped for. Typical British summer....

The showstopper of the day had to be the amazing cake(s). Five individual letters spelling out birthday boy's name, also adhering to the minion theme. We had so much cake leftover that we were still giving it away a week later. I managed to save a letter for us though, the sponge was so soft even a week later, and the raspberry buttercream filling was scrumptious. Just thinking about it now has triggered my craving for a slice accompanied with a warm cup of coffee. 

I'm digressing now. Ok so here's few tips if you're struggling for party ideas for young children. I guess it will get easier as they get older. 

What do you put in favour bags for one year olds? Here's the answer; 

*Rubber duck 

*Bubbles

*Baby reading books 

*Bouncy balls 

*Baby colouring books with crayons 

How do you avoid feeding babies crisps and snacks that you would usually avoid? 

Don't let them miss their lunch. Start the party at 12pm which is lunchtime for most babies. Prepare a pasta bake in the morning and bake it in the oven before guests are due to arrive. Upon arrival serve up, and keep in the oven so it's warm for late arrivals. If the little ones are fed on time they will have enough energy to enjoy the soft play and bouncy castle. There were all played out and from what I hear most of them were fast asleep before they made it home. 

Keep some baby biscuits to hand so that suitable snacks are available should Baby  need a nibble. 

Is it a good idea to invite babies under one to a party? 

Of course it is. Just have plenty of activities to keep them busy and don't make the party last too long. We invited six babies, seven if you include birthday not himself. Babies arrived at 12 pm, family arrived at 2pm after which the cake was cut and most babies left as they needed a nap. Then the party continued with fault members. 

Hope this helps with organising your first birthday parties. For further info on the cake, bouncy castle, outdoor soft play and minion mascot please get in touch. 

H x 

Calling Brummy Bakers!

Help! I am really struggling to find someone to bake a birthday cake for next month. I don't want to risk booking someone who's cakes look great on Instagram, but don't actually taste very nice. So I'm enlisting the help of my social media friends and fellow bloggers. 

Wanted: a fantastic Birmingham based baker with great reviews. I require two cakes for Baby A's birthday in just over a month. 

Can you please share/tag/forward to any recommended bakers so that I can discuss further details with them. 

Thanking you in advance. H x 

Life Changes: Returning To Work

Some of you may know that I am due to return to work shortly. This means that like most working  parents, we now face the difficult decision of who will look after our little gremlin while we are at work. 

We've explored most avenues and hit many brick walls. There's the busy grandparents who are adamant that they will be having bubba, but at 10 months old he is everywhere, and therefore can be quite a handful. Ask me, I spend my days chasing around after him and taking a breather when he finally goes down for a nap. 

We've spent weeks going round in circles. Yes he's definitely going to nursery, but then again maybe he'll be happier with the grandparents...but it will restrict them from going out and doing their things. My head has been a total mess these past few weeks. I knew we'd be taking out a second mortgage by sending him to nursery, and that's only part-time. So we bit the bullet and started settling him in at nursery two weeks before he would start, and what an emotional roller coaster that has been. For myself and my poor little boy! Five sessions later and there's still tantrums and years, from mother and baby. 

How can we justify paying a fortune for childcare when the little gremlin doesn't even settle. He's the happiest little boy who can entertain himself very easily at home. Always exploring, climbing things, going for all the things he shouldn't be going for, but never screaming and crying the way he does when he goes to nursery. Apparently this will happen for a good few weeks, or even months before he finally adapts to life at nursery. How cruel is that. As a mother I can't sit there and listen to my baby crying, I can't drive to work without worrying about how upset he is, let alone completing a full day's work and then getting back to collect him. 

I know that all mums go through this when the returning to work transition begins, I just don't know how they do it. I'm very weak when it comes to my son, I've even thought about packing in nursery altogether and relying on family members to pull together and look after him for a few days a week. That's fine as a temporary arrangement, but after a few weeks or months temporary arrangements just won't cut it. 

Nursery offers me the stability and guaranteed childcare, that's why I refer to it as a second mortgage. I just wish it didn't have to upset my little bubba so much in the process. 

I hope he can forgive me for abandoning him while he's still so young. 

H x 

Shake it like a polaroid picture

I signed up to Printl last month, I read about them on Miss Mulberry's blog and thought it was a great idea. Thanks for the recommendation!

I love pictures, despite the odd upload on Facebook, Instagram etc I don't actually have as many printed pictures as I would like. Printl link to your Instagram account and will post your top photos direct to your door every month. Also, delivery is free of charge. How great is that! These are my snaps from my first month, a random selection of a snapchat screenshot of the lovely Jose, photo collage from my lovely friend Katie's wedding last month, and a rare appearance from Baby A on my Instagram account. You may have noticed that I don't share pictures of my son in my blog, well I've also limited the pictures I share on my personal Facebook and Instagram profiles. I have my concerns about the privacy policy on social media. 

Anyway, enough about me and my concerns. Sign up to Printl today to receive your top Instagram pictures direct to your door. 

Happy snapping! 

H x 

Beauty product of the month

Brace yourselves ladies, I'm about to introduce you to a product that has the ability to transform your skin like no other toner can. If you haven't already heard of pixi glow tonic, then here it is. Avid beauty fanatics/ bloggers are more than familiar with this toner. 

An exfoliating toner which leaves you with glowing skin with regular use, need I say anymore. I've even had makeup-free days since I've been using the toner regularly, thanks to my sis for treating me to yet another pixi product.

I know the title of this post suggests that it is my product of the month, the results suggest that I will be using this more often as I am very impressed to say the least. 

At £18.00 it's slightly more expensive than other toners on the market but definitely worth it. Once you see the improvement in your skin you'll wish you had discovered it sooner.

Get yourself some pixi glowing skin online (pixibeauty.co.uk) or visit their lovely boutique on Carnaby Street. 

Happy beautifying bloggers!

H x

I'm The Mum Who....

Thank you to firstooth for nominating me to write a post titled 'I am the Mum who...'

So here it is, dedicated to my little boy who in the space of 10 months has turned the least maternal person into the most devoting mum.

I am the mum who:

• Said I wouldn't spoil you, and then I took you to Toni and Guy for your haircut when you were just a few months old.

• Wasn't prepared for motherhood in the slightest, and now I can't imagine my life before I became a mum. 

• Cooks all your meals from scratch because I don't want to feed your jars 

• Cried with you when you had colic and were teething 

• Speaks to you when we are out, and people think I'm talking to myself, oops. 

• Is battling this separation anxiety so that we are both ok when I go back to work

• Has become a rubbish wife/sister/daughter/Aunty because I want to be the best mother

• Misses having a spotless house 

• Wondered what I did with all my time before you came along...?

• Forget to eat because I have 101 things to do that are more important 

• Is still baffled as to how a tiny being can impact our lives so much. You can't even speak yet, how do you influence my daily activities you little gremlin! 

• Hope you fulfill your wildest dreams, and even some of mine that I probably won't get around to fulfilling! (No pressure) 

• Finally understands what unconditional love is.

Most importantly, I'm the mum who now appreciates what my parents went through whilst bringing up me and my siblings. I now understand that when my rents say that parents only want what's best for their children, they actually mean it!