Winter Warmers

Well for all my mummy to be friends (seem to have quite a few of them now) the lovely Becky, Beckie, Kate & Kate funnily enough! Also Kirsti and of course anyone else that might be reading and expecting, I had another browse for some maternity wear today especially with the cold weather setting in! 

I was focusing on warm jumpers or long sleeves tops specifically with winter nearing closer and closer!

So here are 2 of my recent finds firstly is a snug casual jumper from H&M, its a nice stone washed pink shade with a print on the front. 

Unfortunately I cannot see this jumper on the H&M website so if you like this one you might need to pop into store to see if its in stock.

This is quite a causal jumper but was only £14.99 which isn't bad for a maternity jumper, I know a lot of people sometimes just buy larger sizes when they're expecting but I find my bump specifically blossoms in one area so if I just up a size the clothes sometimes  swamp me or make me feel frumpy and not really 'me'. Some of the maternity lines are nice because they just have larger space where bump should be, so the items feel a little more flattering.


So here's me in the changing room trying on some bits! The print is quite non offensive and lists some cities on a white background.


And here I am trying it on in the comfort of my own home hence the more confident pose! 

This is quite snug and cosy, its not a long jumper, just standard length I'd say and is kind of like a jersey jumper.

My second choice was a long sleeved top in a very similar colour, I'd describe it as pastel pink though. 


What I really liked about this is that its thinner in material but still keeps your arms covered and warm. It has a lovely lace style trim around the arms and I would feel happy wearing this out in the evening as something a bit more dressy. It has a nice feature with the lacing detail added. 





I've tried to zoom in a little on these pics so you can see the detailing on the arms.

The only downfall I found of the long sleeved tees are that they wrinkle and crease a bit along all your nasty lumpy bits ;) 

I find myself pulling the tee down as it can ride up and as you can see from the pictures it is a little longer than the jumper . It also appears a little see through, I can definitely see my maternity jeans over the bump section underneath which looks a bit odd.

It is also £14.99 so I feel a little more to splash out on for just a long sleeved tee but perhaps you're paying for that fancy edging!

The plus of a long sleeved tee though is that if it gets a bit hot in the office with the heating on, or if you're out for a dinner and its a bit warm or cosy then this is a lot cooler and lighter than the jumpers.

I must be honest there's not much extra on the maternity lines since I last visited in store. There are some lovely fur trimmed parka coats available now but they're extremely spacious! I felt lost in them, I also noticed a small range of maternity bras at H&M something which I really need to start thinking about as I still have a wired one (naughty) 

Hope you're all keeping snuggly and warm whatever you're wearing :)

Christmas hand print baubles

I've seen a few hand print ideas on Pinterest and wanted to have a go! So here's our (mine and Oscar's) attempt at making some festive crafts.

I love hand print ideas as they make beautiful keepsakes and remind you of how tiny your little ones prints were in years gone by!

My favourite were the snowmen baubles! So here's what you'll need:

1 pack of baubles. (any colour you desire) make sure they're the right size for your little ones hands to grasp.

1 tube of acrylic white paint.

Some permanent pens. (we choose black, red, orange and green)

Newspaper.

Egg cups.

A small plastic tub.


1. Firstly you need to put down some newspaper to protect the area in which you will be painting, this activity can get messy especially with toddlers involved!

2. Empty some acrylic paint into you small plastic tub (one big enough for your toddler to out his hand in- we used an old takeaway tub from the Chinese)

Spread the paint around to evenly cover the base of the tub.

3. Dip your child's hand into the paint ensuring the base of their hand is evenly covered.

4. Place a bauble in your child's hand and press to get a hand print, remove their hand carefully.

5. Place the bauble upside down in the egg cup so it can dry.

Tip: We left our baubles overnight to dry.

6. Decorate the little hand prints using your permanent markers. We drew on little hats, carrot noses, scarfs, bow ties and buttons :)

Your baubles are complete! Hang on the tree to enjoy a timeless and unique keepsake.



You can customise these even further by adding small snowdrops using the acrylic paint, also if you buy a tube of glitter you can sprinkle on the snowdrops to add some sparkle and then allow to dry.

Top tips:

Make sure your little ones hands are evenly covered with the paint, I just dipped Oscar's hands in and forgot got to check! 

If your child has excess paint on there hands print a first hand print on the newspaper and then the next hand print onto the bauble to avoid messy smudges and too much paint transferring onto the bauble!

Shop around for baubles! We went The Range and they'd run out of blue baubles, the selection was not great for crafting, we then popped to Tesco and found the same, a very limited selection of baubles! 

We ended up buying 2 packs of midnight blue frosted baubles and pink shiny ones! (Not the usual tree colours) but they were only 50p for a pack of 3 and I thought they'd be good for practising on :)

Don't worry if your hand prints aren't perfect! This is he whole joy of home made crafts! It's fun! They don't have to be perfect and each is unique! Just enjoy making them :)

Hope you've enjoyed reading and this has inspired you to make some fun festive crafts with your kids!

Crafts at Christmas time




So Christmas is nearing and I'm rummaging through my brain what to get everyone! Money is tight with a young family and another addition on the horizon so I'm leaning towards making things for family and friends. I've always loved crafts and think its wonderful giving someone something you've put your time, thoughts and love into rather than just swiping another item on to the credit card especially during the season of good will.


A friend of ours has recently had a newborn (congratulations to Heather & Al) on the arrival of baby Lucas! He is simply adorable! I was delving into idea of making my own word art having seen some beautiful pieces online that I just can't afford. So this was the perfect opportunity to have a go and make something unique in good prep for my festive crafting ventures.

Firstly I had a google of 'word art' to see what its all about. Word art is using words, dates, places significant to you and transforming them into a shape or symbol of your choice to create something you can put on the wall as a piece of art you've made.

I'm a complete novice so I had a search for a programme or software that could help me create my art. This is when I came across Tagxedo. (If you don't get on with Tagxedo there are other word art generators online including worditout and wordle amongst others)

Tagxedo is really straight forward to use, there are options to change fonts, colour schemes, words, and most importantly you can upload your own shape, so only your imagination is a barrier in creating whatever you desire on Tagxedo. If you want to keep things simple though you can stick to an array of set templates, including a footprint, heart, star, apple, dove and many more!


Here is the Tagxedo 'create' page. You can click on Load... to enter your own words.

(Tips: separate words with a comma, use ~to keep words together I.e Husband~and~Wife, to enable use of numbers click on Options> Word/ Layout options> Word>  Numbers> yes)

I wanted to make a family tree of life, so I found a template image of a tree I liked online and uploaded this.

(Tip: options> shape> add image)



I wanted an autumnal look to reflect the season so choose browns, yellows and reds for my colour scheme. I choose to use names, date of birth/ arrival, and themes such as family, love, mummy, daddy & son to make it personal.

Once Tagxedo has created your word art you can save it in numerous sizes. I saved mine in the largest size possible so that the image was great quality and then resized it down to A4 dimensions in Photoshop.

You can leave your artwork here and print it of and mount it or you want to can customise it even further. I decided to add some autumnal leaves to mine and some cute little tweet birds nestling in the branches. This was all done in Photoshop (my best friend for a lot of my milestone and keepsake arts) 

Once I was happy with my artwork I sent it over to my local printers to be printed on a laserjet, they print on a gorgeous 250gsm paper and the colours are very vibrant.

Some of the branches on my tree needed joining so some gem stickers from hobbycraft helped complete the look. Again autumnal colours including golds and green were used to keep in theme. You can buy these in little packs of 100+ pieces for £2 :) the ones I got were sticky backed so you just press them into place firmly.

Once your artwork is complete and you're happy with it pop it into a frame. I used a plain white frame that can be standing or mounted to the wall. Perfect for a new nursery!

The beauty of wall art is you can make it whatever you want it to be. You choose the words, the design and shape so the possibility for gifts is endless. Because they're personalised they're are all unique and so much fun to design.

The only downside is Tagxedo requires you to have a commercial license if you wish to sell your designs, they do offer this on a one off basis or per project basis if you contact them directly. 

This one was my first piece and only took me a day to make from scratch, and that's whilst learning how to navigate the software. 

I'm really pleased with it :)






What do you think?

Keep your eyes peeled for more craft ideas and updates coming soon...

Everyone say hello to BunBun! ( The favourite toy)

Everyone knows that a lot of children have a favourite toy, that one they carry everywhere, the one they snuggle into or that comforts them when they're feeling poorly! 

Well, Oscar doesn't have one...I've tried buying him countless cuddly toys, comforters, taggies he's not fussed with them! He recently has taken a little liking to Alfie the singing bear, presses his buttons, bops along to his tunes and kisses him on the nose but he has nothing cuddly he is attached to.

I really was hoping Oscar might have something he liked with him, purely because I am not always around, when I'm at work, when he starts nursery soon and for those occasions when he's looking for something familiar in a not so familiar place I think having a favourite toy he could seek comfort from would be nice. I'm not saying this is something he needs to become reliant on but its just a nice thought of him having something he likes with him if he feels the need for it.

So I've been on the look out for something super soft, of a nice size and of good quality that will last being carried around day after day by a little rascal ;)

Today I came across a Jellycat bunny with a gorgeous greyish brown colour fluffy body. I debated over buying it for a good 10 minutes due to the price! This thing cost over £15!!! Not cheap! But so far its been worth it! Bun buns as he is now called has been a real hit today! Since I bought him Oscar has snuggled asleep with him, carried him around for short periods, cuddled him in the car and stroked him and has had the biggest beaming smile across his face! I've never seen him respond so well to a soft cuddly! It's rather cute to see!

I'm planning on taking Bun buns everywhere with us now, to the Grandparents, on days out, in the car and in bed at night ( I was hoping If Bun bun smelt slightly of mummy and daddy then this would be soothing)

Bun buns is currently in Oscar's cot and they are asleep, so far, so good :)

Does your little one have a favourite toy? What is it and what are the perks and perhaps the negatives of a favourite toy?





Mummy I made this! :)

Well its my second week back at work following maternity leave and naturally I miss my baby boy! I am enjoying having some time back in the workplace and have returned part time so still get a wonderful 4 full days with Oscar, for which I am very grateful.

I always wonder what he is getting up to during the day and am fortunate that he is currently with his Grandparents pending his nursery placement commencing soon. Because of this I get lots of lovely photo updates of how he is getting on during the day which put a big beam across my face!

Yesterday Oscar went to playgroup with Granny and they made me a wonderful snowy pine cone with little boggly eyes! It's adorable and although something so small truly made my day :)


It is proudly being displayed on my desk at work, 1. because its cute and 2. because my son made it for me (with a little help) which is the most heart warming thing in the world! 

This is the joy of play groups, not only do the babies get a chance to play, sing, have story time, messy play and other fun activities they get to explore, learn and spend time with other children. 

They usually get the chance to make, decorate or paint something which are beautiful keepsakes for family too!

Play groups are normally really good value too, sometimes only £1 or £2 per family, the mixed age range means its fun to take siblings along too, something I've been thinking about recently with bump on board.

Here are a list of local play groups I am aware of this includes church stay & play sessions. Why not pop along and see what you think? :)

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The Creation Station - Art and Craft Activities.

Book and Fun Time - Stories, rhymes and colouring @ Fareham Library. (Monday's 10am)



Fareham library also run toddler time Thursday's 10.00am-10.30am and  Baby Rhymetime 11.00am-11.30am.


Hedgehogs Parent and Toddler Group Locksheath, Tuesdays @10am above Locksheath Library.

Busy Buddies Soft Play Group, Abshot Community Centre, Tuesdays 10-12 noon.

Bumble Beezz Soft Play Group

Little Fishes Toddler Group - Free play, arts and crafts, ride-ons, stories and singing. Holy Trinity Church, Fareham. Wednesdays 9.30am-11.00am.

Active Antz- playtime activity for under 5's including soft shapes, tunnels, ball pools and bouncy castle. See here for more information on activities at Fareham Leisure Centre and for timings)

Noah's Ark Toddlers and Babies - Free play, arts and crafts, songs and story (term time only) time.
Duncan Road Church, Park Gate, Thursdays 10.00am-11.30am.

St Marys Church 'Stay and Play' Thursdays at 1.30pm-3.30pm.
http://stmarywarsash.org.uk/families-children/ 

Custard Club - messy fun sensory class. High Slope Community Hall - Carlton Road, Portchester, PO16 8JH. Fridays 10 - 11 am and 11.30 - 12.30 am.

St. John's Stay and Play. St John's Church Hall, Church Road, Locks Heath, SO31 6LW. Fridays 10.00am-11.30am.

Lockswood Library, Locksheath 'Storytime. Free storytime for under 5's - Thursday 11.00 - 11.30 during term-time.

Monday Mini's Play Group , Whiteley.

Fareham Childrens Centre (Timetable)


Session Times: Wednesday 13.15pm - 14.15pm, Thursday 14:00pm - 15:00pm, Sunday 09:00am - 10:00am and 10.10am - 11.10am - See more at: http://www.everyoneactive.com/Centre/Fareham-Leisure-Centre/35/Activities#sthash.8jnFooRQ.dpuf
Active Ants is an exciting playtime activity for the under 5's at Fareham Leisure Centre! These fun playtime sessions include, soft shapes, tunnels, ball pools, slides and the big bouncy castle. - See more at: http://www.everyoneactive.com/Centre/Fareham-Leisure-Centre/35/Activities#sthash.8jnFooRQ.dpuf
Active Ants is an exciting playtime activity for the under 5's at Fareham Leisure Centre! These fun playtime sessions include, soft shapes, tunnels, ball pools, slides and the big bouncy castle. - See more at: http://www.everyoneactive.com/Centre/Fareham-Leisure-Centre/35/Activities#sthash.8jnFooRQ.dpuf
Active Ants is an exciting playtime activity for the under 5's at Fareham Leisure Centre! These fun playtime sessions include, soft shapes, tunnels, ball pools, slides and the big bouncy castle. - See more at: http://www.everyoneactive.com/Centre/Fareham-Leisure-Centre/35/Activities#sthash.8jnFooRQ.dp

Rock Up! The latest soft play in Town.

So this afternoon we decided to pop along to 'Rock Up' in Whiteley, Hampshire.


We walked past last week and saw the climbing walls (which by the way look awesome!) but didn't realise it was a soft play centre as well until we heard from a neighbour.

This was just what we wanted to hear! There are no soft play centres where we live, the nearest being a good 25 minute drive to Gosport or Fareham.

Rock Up is literally 12-15 minutes drive for us and is at a really central location of Whiteley shopping outlet, so there's lots more to do there including shopping, dining and a new cinema being built. There are parking zones with 3 hours free parking on top of this, a real bonus as this makes a trip to the soft play centre really affordable.

This review is purely of the soft play, not the rock climbing facilities, as we were not visiting for this purpose.

Tariffs:

On entry we didn't have to wait long, the tariffs for soft play are divided into peak and off peak charges and categorised for <6 months, pre walkers and walkers. 

<6 months are free
Pre walkers £2 
Walkers are £4 (off peak) or £5 (peak).

Peak times according to their website run from 3.30pm on a Friday until 6pm Sundays and on all bank holidays and school holidays.

The play area:

The soft play area is divided into two clear areas, the baby area which is from 0-2 years and the remaining area which is for those aged 2-5. The two areas are clearly marked with a big sign to highlight the baby area. Because Oscar is only 13 months I will be concentrating my attentions on the baby area as this is the part we used.



The baby area included a hovering ball feature, soft play foam pieces with various textures and patterns, some puzzles and books inside the play area, a ball pool and a slide (Oscar's favourite)






The baby area is nicely separated from the other area which is a real bonus. The area is not too large so you can easily keep an eye on your babies without having to enter the soft play yourself.

The only problem we had is that despite the areas being clearly labelled older children were entering the baby area, at times Oscar could not explore and play because older children were running up and down the foam slide stairs and circling the apararatus. On occasions I had to literally intervene to make sure he could use the facilities. There did not appear to be anyone monitoring the baby area to ensure age appropriate children were playing in there.

To be fair this is a problem we have seen in every soft play we have visited. Older children who are confident in the soft play seem to explore all areas of and don't appreciate that younger children in the baby and toddler sections might be a little more unstable. If parents do not ensure their children are playing in the correctly designated areas this can limit the experience for babies and toddlers who have their designated area of play especially at busy or peak times. Parents can of course accompany their little ones into the soft play which helps to alleviate this somewhat.

Facilities:



Rock Up had a cafe opposite the baby area which we just had to try having spotted a large chocolate fudge cake on the counter. We ordered a drink to share, some Pom bears for our little rascal and 2 large slices of cake (perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon!)




Service was very quick, the assistant was friendly and efficient and recommended the chocolate fudge cake. We found a table easily and there were plenty of high chairs to use. It was nice not to have to search/ look around for a high chair or have to pinch one from someone just as they're finishing their food. There were lots of high chairs available and they were neatly stored just adjacent to the cafe.

The cake was delicious! (if you're going along please try it) a goey chocolatey melt in your mouth cake with lots of chocolate buttercream. Yum!

The cafe was serving numerous hot cooked meals listed on the blackboard, paninis in in the counter and crisps, chocolates and snacks as well as a range of Ella's kitchen baby food pouches. So you could easily enjoy a lunch here as well as a visit to the soft play. There would be no need to venture outside of Rock Up to have lunch if you didn't wish to.

There was plenty of seating between the soft play and the rock climbing areas so you can watch the children play or climb the walls (whichever activity you're there for)

We didn't use the toilets or baby change so I cannot comment here.

Overview:

All in all we throughly enjoyed our visit to 'Rock Up', it's so nice to have a soft play centre nearby so this is definitely now our 'local'. The prices are competitive and a real plus is the location, there is 3 hour free parking (so no additional hidden costs to your visit) shops and restaurants are on site as 'Rock Up' is located inside the Whiteley Shopping Village. The luxury here is you can combine a soft play session with a trip to the shops or a lunch out with friends, 'Rock Up' is not situated on it's own or away from other facilities but is in the centre of the hub of Whiteley within the local community.


It makes a lovely place for families to meet and is refreshing to see such a fun and unique facility right on our doorstep. They're open as late as 6pm so perfect for a late afternoon play session (I've found most toddler groups run in the mornings or around lunchtime but haven't found much to do later in the day so a local soft play centre open until the early evening is ideal to make a fun filled afternoon)

They also offer children's birthday parties too!
http://www.rock-up.co.uk/parties/

'Rock Up' certainly gets the thumbs up from us! Welcome to the neighbourhood :)

Maternity wear- My favourites

We had the exciting news that we are due a new addition recently and since bump has been growing I've been on the look out for winter maternity wear which is both comfy and a little bit trendy (I hope).

When I was carrying Oscar bump was at it's largest over the Summer months so the majority of my maternity wardrobe is floaty dresses and loose tops. These were perfect teamed with leggings over Autumn however as Winter has come upon us it's just a bit too nippy.

So I needed some staple pieces to switch up and interchange, something a bit warmer. My trusty shop last year was definitely New Look. New Look have a pretty good range of maternity clothes available online and in store at West Quay shopping centre. However currently they are undergoing a refurbishment and their maternity line has been withdrawn in store. 

The tough thing I found with maternity wear is I needed to try things on, your body is undergoing a lot of change and is not quite the usual shape you might be used to, ordering online, awaiting items in the post and returning things became a bit tiresome.

So my recommendations for your winter wear for you and bump come from H&M (Whiteley) and secondly Peacocks (Fareham and Shirley branches both stock maternity wear )within he Southampton area. You can actually visit in store and try garments on for size and fit. It's so nice to be able to still go shopping and treat yourself to something and to be able to feel like you have a few outfits to choose from.

So here are a few of my favourites:

H&M MAMA Jacquard- Knit dress & Super Skinny Fit over the bump jeans
                     H&M MAMA Fine knit jumper with lace arms
Blooming Marvelous Stripe jumper (Mothercare- from last season) & H&M slacks
Speedo Grace U back maternity costume in pink only £10.50 from Wiggle

Peacocks Maternity Ponte leggings £16 are also a nice staple to mix and match, these are a little thicker fabric than standard leggings to keep you snug and warm on those chilly days!







I must be honest these leggings are not quite as nice fit as some previous leggings I have, the aren't as flattering but a huge plus is the thickness (no see through to your pants issues here!) and they have a lovely fashion trim to them :)I have found myself edging towards over the bump leggings/jeans as I find it comfortable to have support for bump any under the bump trousers I have tried tend to dig in and cause discomfort, but this is a personal preference and I encourage you to try things on to see what works for you .

If you're reading this from further a field I thoroughly recommend New Look stores, H&M and Peacocks for more affordable maternity style all of which have their ranges online. 

Debenhams also have a reasonable range of maternity wear, Red Herring have some trendy jumpers and tops and Topshop also stock their own range for mummy's-to-be however I've personally found them to be a little on the more expensive side.

Clarks- First shoes experience

I must be honest it took us a bit by surprise how soon Oscar began toddling. One minute he was crawling, coasting along the furniture and standing independently and over the next few weeks he mastered his first steps, it didn't take him long until he was walking and we've now just recently bought a harness so he can walk outside in play parks and on the grass. He loves it! 

So it was time for his first pair of proper walker shoes and a friend of ours recommended Clarks shoe shop and their first shoe experience.

We had an allocated appointment in the Clarks branch in Whiteley (Hampshire) and Oscar had his feet measured, we were then shown to a collection of first walker shoes with about 12 pairs to choose from. We picked out about 3 pairs we really liked but when the assistant returned none were available in his size. There were however two styles available which we hadn't picked out one of which was a cute little pair of brown shoes with a velcro fastening.





We both loved them and he tried them on, they were an instant hit! Our little boy stomped around the entire store about 3 times giggling and then had his photo taken as part of the experience, this was a polaroid and was given to use in a little card to keep.

Thoe shoes were a bit on the expensive side at £32 but we've been kindly informed that Clarks have an outlet store at Gunwharf, Portsmouth. So get those little feet measured and then pop down to the outlet store for some retail therapy that's not so hard on your wallet ;-)

To find out more about the Clarks first shoes experience check out the link here:

Keepsakes

With our baby boy's 1st birthday rapidly approaching back in October I wanted to make something special with all the little reminders of his current milestones.

I love the retro vintage theme that is sweeping the craft world so decided to go for a chalkboard look edited with different fonts and dingbats. What I came up with was a print that once finished with a rustic look frame could be free standing or hung on the wall as a reminder of your little one's special first birthday.

They've been really popular and are a lot of fun to make, here are a few examples I've made as gifts. They come in black and white or colour.







Family friendly Fireworks celebrations!

We weren't too sure what to do for fireworks night this year, last year it didn't really hit the radar as our baby bear was less than a month old but this year being a year old we thought there are ways to include your little ones in fireworks night.

Many local toddler groups run bonfire night themed sessions including sensory play with light tubes, projectors and other light themed exploration. 


Oscar attended a play group at his local church and made a firework themed painting, simply lots of pots filled with various coloured paints,  wooden pegs (yes the type to hang your washing) with sponges and various materials pegged onto the base for the little ones to dip into the pots and splodge the paint on to your hearts content. Other materials can include, pieces of kitchen foil (nice and reflective), coloured tissue papers, glitter cards and sequins (make sure there is adult supervision with small pieces, glue and paints)


This piece of art is now proudly being displayed on our fridge ( reserved solely for Oscar's artwork and creative pieces) and we added some colourful hand prints for extra messy fun, Oscar's art work never fails to put a smile to our faces every time we see them!





I also spotted a family friendly fireworks display locally at St Anthony's Catholic School in Titchfield, (Hampshire) what was refreshing to see was the timings of the event. Most displays are much later in the evening which aren't always suitable for families with young children. 

At St Anthony's display celebrations started at 3 pm and included fairground rides, circus school, a fire performer and a pumpkin competition all ahead of the fireworks display which started at 6 pm. Time for your little ones to be back home and tucked up in bed for 7 pm perfect! There is also a hog roast and bar for the not so little ones! Tickets were available in advance or at the gate, £5 for adults and £4 for children.





Unfortunately we didn't make it along due to the rainy weather and a teething toddler but I wanted to share, as I think events like this are fun for all the family, well done St Anthony's! 

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