The Ordinary Moments #3 Park Fail

Yesterday was the first Saturday we've been at home for a couple of weeks as we've been looking at properties outside of London.
We wanted to have a fairly chilled day and our main aim was to get to the park so Eliot could have his first experience on a swing. We've planning to do this for weeks but due to weather and other factors we haven't got round to it. It may sound a bit silly but it's also something we want to do as a couple.
When we woke up this morning the sun was shining and I thought this would be our day. Then all of a sudden the weather changed to pouring rain. It was on and off for the rest of the morning but cleared after lunch so we ventured out. Typically on route the heavens opened again.We took shelter in the library which we were planning to go into on our way back as I needed to return some books.
I was pleased we popped in when we did as we caught the end of a story and song time which was fantastic. The guy telling the story had one prop and changed it to represent the characters or parts of the story. He was amazing and had the children totally captivated. Eliot was too young to appreciate it fully but did enjoy the singing at the end. We took out some more books and could see the rain had stopped  so we headed to the park.
It was ridiculously windy so I had my reservations but by the time we got there Eliot was fast asleep in his pushchair. Massive park fail! We turned back and went for coffee to warm up. Hopefully we'll manage to get him on a swing soon!

Silent Sunday 9/2/13

The Mummy Tag

I love these types of tags where you get to know a bit more about fellow bloggers, so thank you to Polly from Polly's Little World for tagging me! I tag all of you to take part in this fun tag! I've also tagged four more lovely mums at the bottom!

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum?

Currently I'm  on maternity leave but have just sent my formal request to return to work part time in April :(

2. Would you have it any other way?

In an ideal world I would be off work until Eliot went to nursery but unfortunately bills etc need to be paid! I will miss him immensely but I think it will make me appreciate our time together even more.

3. Do you co-sleep?

No, Eliot slept in his crib since we returned from hospital and has recently moved into his cotbed and own room. There have been occasions when we've bought Eliot into bed and it's been lovely to snuggle!

4. What is your one must-have item for your baby?

Hmm this I hard! I would have to say our pram. Eliot was 9.5lbs when he was born so has always been a big boy! Now he is far too heavy to carry round for long periods. 

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

I would like one or two more children. If we were to have another boy I think we would go for number three as I have always wanted a little girl but obviously ii's not that simple! I do want Eliot to have brothers/sisters as I have half siblings but grew up as an only child.

6. Date nights? How many do you have per month?
We've had a few date nights since Eliot was born but they haven't been monthly. We should try and make more of an effort as 'us time' is important.

7. Your child's favourite show?

Eliot loves the Abadas on CBeebies, which has just stopped being shown. I have to admit I love the character song and can't get it out of my head!

8. Name one thing you brought before you had the baby and never ended up using?

Pram shoes, I bought four pairs from the Boots mini club sale and only ever used one. Now the others are too small.

9. Your child's favourite food?

Anything! Ha, he loves his food but his faves have to be banana and yoghurt.

10. How many cars does your family have?

Just the one.

11. Weight gain, before pregnancy, during, after and now?

I don't weigh myself as I know I won't like what I see! I was on a weight loss spree just before I fell pregnant with Eliot and was doing quite well! I was taking my measurements rather than getting on the scales! I had weight to lose then so there's definitely more now!

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

Florida to do all the Disney & Universal Studio visits. I always wanted to go and my parents took me when I was 15. Also the Disney cruise, it looks amazing for children.

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

There's so many! Places I've been to already and would like to return to and places I've not been to. So I will say Thailand as I've wanted to go for years!

14. How has your life changed since having kids?

In a way I don't believe people will understand unless they have their own children. It's changed a significant amount but for the better!

15. Finish the sentence "It makes heart melt when..."

Eliot giggles and laughs, it's the most heart warming sound!

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

I have a ridiculous amount of clothes for Eliot so really I don't need to shop for him for a long time  but I love Next, George, F+F , Sainsburys and Boots.

17. Favourite make-up and skincare products?

Gosh I don't wear a lot of make up these days even though I love it. I would have to say Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation. Skincare I love a good body lotion/cream, I'm a big fan of Soap & Glory's Smoothie Star and for cleansing my face Bioderma.
.
18. Huggies or Pampers?

I've never tired Huggies, they don't sell smaller sizes in UK anymore do they? I like Pampers Baby Dry but have found Tescos Ultra Dry just a good!

19. Have you always wanted kids?

Yes!!! I've always wanted to be a mum!

20. Best part of being a mum?

Watching your baby grow and learn new things, it's all utterly amazing!

I tag...

Sarah from Toby Goes Bananas
Chantelle from Seychelles Mama
Emily from Petit Canard
Rhiannon from Life And Times Of Mummy Morkus

'Huggy Love' by Eliot Jude, age 7 Months. ELC Valentines Art Competition

When I received an email giving bloggers the opportunity to participate in the Early Learning Centre's Valentines Art Competition I was keen to take part. I haven't really done many creative things with Eliot so I thought it would be nice for us to take part in the challenge.

I got in touch and was sent these lovely bits to use on our collaborative 'masterpiece'.

 

Let me tell you the 'Collage Toolobox' is a treasure trove!

All these bits are a teacher's dream!

First of all I put some of the card down for Eliot to pick a colour. I also put some PVA glue in an old pot but had to improvise for a spreader as I didn't have one. So it was one of the lollipop sticks from the toolkit. On closer inspection of the lovely collage bits I also found a little glue pen, perfect for small hands and less mess! I used both in our creation.

 

 

I'll let Eliot explain the rest :)

 

I'm Eliot and I'm seven months old. I love having cuddles and have just learnt how to give kisses, so mummy and I thought it would be nice to create a card that represents these things. As my fine manipulative skills are not like mummy's yet, she had to do all the sticking and cutting but I chose the collage bits I wanted to put on my special card.

First mummy put me in my high chair to get cracking on our valentines art competition entry. I chose yellow card to for mummy to stick all the bits on.

Here I am, raring to go!

'Yes I'm sure I want yellow mum, now lets get started!'



Next mummy put some foam shapes on my highchair. I liked them all so mummy stuck them all on the yellow card.

 

Helping mum pick up a foam heart.



So this is what it looked like after we stuck the foam shapes on.

After that I needed to choose which eyes I wanted to use. I chose medium, they weren't too big or too small.

 

Next we used pipe cleaner to make some 'huggy' 3D arms and some legs. I really enjoyed exploring the feel of the pipe cleaner and how it twisted.

'Huggy arms'

Then I chose a shiny pom pom decoration.



Next Mummy let me explore the foam letters and she spelt out 'Love' & 'Hug' before sticking them on.

Here's how it looked...

It was getting close to bottle time!
 



Then it was time to choose a gem to add some more detail to the card.

 

 

 

I thought it was a good idea to fill in the foam heart in the middle. The shredded tissue paper looked excellent for this. Mummy put some glue in the middle, scrunched up some shredded paper and stuck it down.

Until it looked like this! Then she used the red glitter pen to add a mouth to our 'huggy heart'.

Finally she used the glitter pen to add more detail.

And voila...we were finished!

I think I will give this to my grandparents!

What do you think?



1st GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED) VTECH 'Moosical Beads' toy

I'm very excited to be hosting my first giveaway as a thank you!

Are you a parent of a baby, expecting or know someone that does? Then this is perfect for you!

The vtec 'Moosical Beads' is one of Eliot's favourite toys he received as a gift, so I thought buying one for my first giveaway would be ideal :)

The competition is open for two weeks and will close at midnight on the 19th February.

UK entries only

Don't forget to enter daily to maximise your chance of winning! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway