Monday, 30 July 2018

Mummy and Me July 2018

You may have noticed I have been a little quiet on the blog lately, firstly it was because I got pretty busy and secondly because we went on a family holiday. Going on a family holiday meant that I got some nice photographs of Lily and I and so also got some nice ones to share with you on this blog post. 

The first is from the day we went to the paddling pool. Lily was quite clingy that day and wasn't in the mood for paddling, hence the picture of her in my arms in the pool. But I made it as fun as possible for her and eventually got her paddling. 



The second picture, I got took because we were doing the exact same as the year before. Were heading out for a meal and I even had the exact same dress on, so I decided I wanted the exact same picture taken as last year only with Lily a year older. 

So here is last years and this years photograph. 



Hope you like this months mummy and me photographs. 



Wednesday, 25 July 2018

Our Weymouth Holiday 2018

It has been 11 days already since we have been back from our holidays! And Wow do I wish I was back there. Each year we head to Weymouth for a Holiday and this year I was lucky enough to get 2 weeks there! 

I was lucky enough to win a weeks stay in a holiday house for the first week and as we already had the second week booked in a flat on the harbour it meant we could have 2 weeks in weymouth. 

We really did have a great 2 weeks, with only 2 cloudy days and no rain the weather was perfect. Unfortunately for the first week Lily was ill, which lead to her being tired mostly and not wanting to do things but we made the most of it and still found things to do. 

There really is to much to write about for a 2 week holiday, so I am just going to write about some of our highlights and things we did over the 2 weeks. 


Our Holiday House - This was the lovely house we got to stay in for the first week. It was situated in a little private courtyard and so was really nice and quiet. But the house was lovely, really big and so cosy and had 3 bathsrooms! It was somewhere I could of easily lived in as it felt like home to us the entire stay. We were really sad to have to leave. It would definetly be somewhere I would think about staying again.


On our first day we went to the beach. I was hoping to spend many days at the beach for Lily but as she was poorly and the heat was so hot, we didn't manage many. But the days we did Lily enjoyed building sandcastles and digging holes and making mud pies with sand and water. In this picture Lily wasn't ill, we thought it may have been sun stroke which made her ill but as it lasted a full week of being ill we now know it wasn't. I did cover her in sun cream all day, made sure she drank and she had a hat on all day so we was surprised when we thought she had caught sunstroke. 


The next day was just as hot as the one before. So even though lily was a little ill, we decided that she needed to cool down and so we went to the paddling pool. Lily really wasn't in much of a mood for playing in it unfortunately and took a lot of convincing to even get in and paddle. Though I must admit I enjoyed cooling down in the pool that day.


Another highlight of our holiday was the many afternoons we spent crabbing. Lily was still a little ill, though mostly just tired and did a lot of sleeping in the afternoons in the pram. Which meant me and my partner could relax by the harbour and catch some crabs. We caught loads and even caught some fish. This was the biggest crab we caught and he didn't want to let go of the bait. We of corse returned all of the crabs back to the harbour. 


Another thing I enjoyed while on holiday was getting to do some photography, we had some lovely sunsets and some really nice skies and so I made the most of this and took some great photographs. I hope to write some photography posts about this soon.


By Thursday Lily was feeling a lot better, we went to the market which Lily enjoyed waking around and she finally started to eat again and had a hotdog. We then went to the park, which is one of Lily's favourite things to do. Lily was still tired by the afternoon though and again spent a lot of it sleeping. 


Between Lily sleeping off her illness though we tried to have as much fun as possible, lots of ice cream and cake to keep Lily happy and lots of relaxing for mummy and daddy. The great thing about Weymouth is you really don't have to go to far to have a nice time. There is plenty to do and plenty of nice things to see right by the harbour and seafront. 



One of the things we love to do as a family is go to the arcade. Most nights Lily was to tired and she was asleep by 6.30pm and so we didn't get to go, but towards the end of the holiday we managed to go and she really enjoyed it. Her favourite thing to do is the 2p machines, but she also showed some interest in other arcade games this year like the Ice Hockey game above. She of corse won and obviously didn't cheat at all by stopping it going in the hole with her hands. haha.


By the last day of the first week of our holiday, Lily was much more herself, though a little moody. We decided that we would go and play crazy golf. At first Lily didn't want to join in but as soon as she saw how much fun we was having she wanted to join in and loved it. I think this was one of my favourite things we did during this week and we all had loads of fun together. Later that day I decided to take a boat trip. Lily didn't want to go on a boat so I went alone. It was probably the most relaxing part of the holiday so far. 

Unfortunately my partner could only stay one week, as he had to get back home to work, so he left us the next day and my parents joined us for week 2. We moved out our holiday house and into the flat on the harbour that we had rented for the week. 

It was nice that Lily had perked up this week, but she was still moody and tired. I think the illness and the heat had really taken it out of her and being away from home when your ill and tired is never what you really want. 


 We had a few more mornings on the beach this week as Lily was feeling better. She loves playing on the beach with her nan, her nan is a big beach fan so they love digging together and going hunting for shells and dipping their feet in the sea. 



One of the highlights of the week for me was when we took a drive out of weymouth to visit West Bay. This place is so scenic and it is somewhere I have only ben as a child and so couldn't remember it. I love visiting new places and so it was a great day out. The cliff you can see in the first picture I just had to climb up with my dad. My mum and Lily stayed on the beach below and we walked it all the way to the top. There was some great views from up there.
After this we went onto the next bay a little down the road. Here was a lovely little beach restaurant where we had a cup of tea and then Lily played with her new truck in the sand. It was a lovely day out. 



The next day we decided to take a long walk along the seafront. It takes over an hour to walk, but is a really nice walk to do. At the end of it was a beach bar with a sand park. This kept us all happy with me and my parents having a cool drink, and Lily getting to play on the park. The park had all sorts including this really cool swing you layed back in. We would definetly visit this park again. 


This week was mostly spent relaxing and so you would find us chilling in quiet places like this little cove. Which was perfect for us to relax and perfect for Lily to spend throwing rocks into the water with her Grandad. I also spent some time taking my net to the rock pools and catching baby crabs for Lily to look at which she enjoyed seeing. 


We had a great second week and over all the 2 weeks holiday went so far and now seem like it happened ages ago. This photo above is my favourite from the holiday, seeing Lily so happy with her water and mint. Which was a pretend Mojito as she saw me drinking one and wanted the same as me. Which obviously she couldn't have.

We really did fit in lots over the 2 weeks but there is always so much more we could do too. I can't wait to go back next year. 

Have you had a summer holiday yet? Where did you go? 


Monday, 23 July 2018

Infacare Bubble Bath Giveaway

Isn't it great when you find the perfect bubble bath for your babies and kids to use? 

Infacare is one of my choices of bubble baths that I have always used since Lily was a baby. It has always been really kind to her skin and always smelt great. I still use Infacare for Lily for her bath times and also my mum also uses it as she has sensitive skin. This really does show how gentle Infacare really is. 

Thats why I have teamed up with Infacare to offer one of my readers a chance to win 2 bottles of Infacare!

Here is a little more about the 2 bubble baths up for grabs. 




Infacare Night Time Baby Bath and Infacare Ultra Mild Baby Bath 

InfaCare baby bath does more than just clean gently, it helps care for your baby's skin too.
Using a specially selected, safe and gentle fragrance to help baby relax in the bath, the InfaCare night-time bath is ideal to use as part of baby's bedtime routine, just in time for a restful night's sleep. Clinical testing proves that InfaCare is gentle on the skin and is suitable for babies and children who may be prone to dry and sensitive skin. Dermatological and pH balanced, InfaCare night-time is mild enough for babies aged from 1 month. 

Infacare can be bought in 400ml bottles or 750ml bottles and from leading stores such as Tesco's and Superdrug. 

Enter Below on the Gleam app for your chance to win - 

Win 2 bottles of Infacare Bubble Bath

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Lily's Summer Fashion Wardrobe

If you have been following my blog for the fast few years, each year I do a new summer collection of the clothing I have bought Lily for her holidays. It is one of my favourite things to do is shop for pretty summer little items and accessories and is a great opportunity to buy Lily some new dresses. I never go mad with buying but of corse, each year she gets a little bit bigger and so each year I need new things. 

So, here is the selection I have bought Lily this year. 

1. New Summer Hat and Shoes. 
The hat, Lily spotted at the counter as we were paying for something in Primark, she just picked it up and said mummy please can I have this, and she looked so cute in it that I could just not resist saying yes. It was only around £3.50 to so a bargain and I just had to get it. As for the little shoes, Lily has now gone up a whole size into 7's. So that means a whole new set of shoes. I got these ones from Show Zone for £7.99.


2. New Sunglasses 
Lily does love her sunglasses, but they are also one thing that I can never find around the house. So I have bought her 2 new pairs of sunglasses from Primark. The white ones are plastic  so then they don't get damaged on the beach and then the others are for nice walks and times we are not going near sand. Both pairs were only about £3.50.


3. Mermaid Hat  
Okay so Lily already has a hat but this one suited her so much that we just had to buy it. It works nicely with her colourful summer clothing she has and will make a nice alternative to the other hat. This was also bought at primark and was also around £3.50


4. Socks
Its a new summer essential to buy new socks for a holiday right? Lily likes wearing socks, even with sandals she wants to have socks on. So I picked up lots of pairs of socks that would look great with trainers and sandals for the summer. Again, another Primark bargain with some only being £2.50 a pack. 


5. Vests 
A lot of Lily's vests are all getting very small and also show under a lot of her clothing, thats why I have bought these thin strap vests. Again from Primark. They are thin enough for under her outfits and also perfect for sleeping in if she gets to hot. I love the colourful designs on them too. 


6. Dresses 
 Finally something to show you from another store. I picked up these 2 cute dresses from Boots. It was 3 dresses for 12 pounds and so bought these 2 and the other in the second photograph. I loved the colours in them and the blue works nicely for a night time dress as well as daytime. The thing I like about the style of the first 2 dresses is that after she has grown out of them as a dress, they work perfectly as a top.
The third dress I loved because of the seaside scene at the bottom. It is perfect for out holiday as we are going to the seaside. 



7. Shorts  
Lily still fits into a lot of her shorts from last year, but she chose these ones because she likes the ice cream design on them. These were also from Primark, i'm not sure how much they were now but they were only cheap and so perfect for playing on holiday in. 


8. New Hoodie 
Last but not least is a new hoodie. We always have one or 2 colder days on holiday and there is always the sea breeze to contend with. I loved the nautical feel to this hoodie and thought it was perfect for the holiday. This cost me about £5 and was from a local discount store. 


Have you got some new clothing for your child's holiday? 

Which of the above items do you like the best? 

Thursday, 5 July 2018

Fab Labs Festival Face Tattoo Kit and Tie die Kit Giveaway

The tie dye look has made a triumphant return, with vibrantly tie-dyed clothes featuring all over the NYFW, Milan and recent fashion show runways. Proving the trend is taking the UK by storm, Interplay’s FabLab Designer Tie Dye set has more than doubled in sales this spring.

Available for only £9.99rrp the FabLab Designer Tie Dye set has ingredients for 5 t-shirts with 4 bright colours. Going to a festival this year, then add real sparkle to your look with the FabLab Festival Face Tattoos. With 12 gorgeous temporary designs, you can apply intricate and beautiful looks in minutes. 

The FabLab Festival Face Tattoos are easy to apply and remove again – so you can switch from tattoo styled to a natural with ease. The perfect look to complement your latest tie-dye fashion creation! 


FabLab Festival Face Tattoos - £12.99rrp 
• Get the latest festival look with this new FabLab set. 
• Contains over 12 gorgeous temporary tattoo designs especially formulated to be easy to apply and easy to remove with the tattoo removal oil provided. Also includes glitter tattoos to add sparkle and to customise your look! 
• Great fun to do and perfect for festivals, parties and sleepovers! 
• Contains no harmful chemicals. Fully tested and 100% non-toxic


FabLab Designer Tie Dye set - £9.99rrp 
• Create the latest cool fashions by adding vibrant and trendy colours to clothes and accessories with Interplay’s Designer Tie Dye Kit. 
• It is fun and easy to do and the 8 page instruction booklet explains the techniques to get the latest trendy looks. 
• The Kit contains 4 dyes in applicator bottles, rubber bands and PVC lab gloves. There are enough ingredients to dye the equivalent of 5 T-Shirts.

Which of the sets do you like the sound of? 

Enter below on the gleam app for your chance to win both kits!!! 2 Lucky winners will be drawn at random to win both of them. 

the tattoo removal oil
provided. Also includes glitter tattoos to add sparkle and to customise
your
look!
Great fun to do and perfect for festivals, parties and sleepovers!
Contains no harmful chemicals. Fully tested and 100% non-toxic
Win a Fab Lab Face Tattoo Kit and Tie Die Kit

Monday, 2 July 2018

Monthly Book Roundup - What we have been Reading in June

Each month I write about which books we have been reading during the month. I usually introduce Lily to 4 or 5 new books each month while at the same time reading some of our favourites. We have story time each night and always read 2-4 stories, depending on how tired she is. 

You can read all the other book roundups from the last 2 years here

Another month and so here is another selection of books.

This month we made sure there was one book all about dad in the selection due to having Fathers day this month. But the rest were chosen by Lily. 



1. Shopping with dad by Matt Harvey 
This was our favourite from this months selection. The story is quite a comical story all about dad getting sent out to the supermarket with his daughter and a shopping list. While they are there the daughter causes all sorts of chaos which lands dad into trouble. But dad doesn't mind as he finds all his daughters antics funny. The book has great rhyming to it and after you have read it a few times, it gets easier to read, as to begin with some of the sentences were a little tricky to roll off the tongue. Lily really enjoyed this and though lots of it was funny. She asked me to read this story many times. This is a really good book for fathers day if you are not looking for a lovey dovey type dad book. My partner enjoyed reading this story to Lily just for that reason. I picked this book up on a book stall at a market but it can be bought online. 

2. The Amazing Journey by Cheryl Hawkinson & Mary Eakin
This is a great story that is perfect for bedtime. It is all about a little boy who is about to go to sleep and starts to dream all about the toys around his room coming to life. He then has adventure after adventure with these toys including his favourite stuffed animal dragon that flies him through the sky. It is a great story for any child with a great imagination. The illustrations are also really colourful which also help keep a child engaged in the story. Lily enjoyed this story and thought it was excited that the toys were coming alive in his dream. I got sent this book by Igloo Books and you can buy this from their website. 

3. Superworm by Julia Donaldson 
I had heard really great things about this story and Julia Donaldson is one of our favourite authors but I must admit I wasn't carried away with this story. It is all about Superworm who is great at doing lots of things, and his friends all love him. He gets captured and then his friends go to rescue him. I didn't find the storyline as exciting as I had with other Julia Donaldson books and Lily didn't either. She didn't seem to understand the storyline and kept asking questions all the way through the book. Mostly asking why all the time. I find at bedtime it is better that Lily can relax and sit back and enjoy the story rather than having to ask questions. But just because Lily didn't like or understand the story doesn't mean other children wont. I have heard that it is some children's favourite book so it may be worth giving it a go. You can buy this book at most story book retailers. 

Which of the above stories do you like the sound of the best?