pampering and preening

now that the kids are older and i have a bit more time to myself, i have decided to start doing more things for me... things that i used to enjoy before having kids.  i go swimming. i take a pilates class. i take long baths and as the evenings are getting longer and warmer, i have started taking the dog for walks after bedtime. we live near a fairly quiet beach, which is so lovely after a busy day rushing about.
so, with this new take on life ~ looking after me ~ i have invested in a few new beauty products.  i have incredibly sensitive skin so i decided to test a few before committing to buy. here are my favourite finds...

kiehls skin rescuer ~ i loved the kiehls counter, the lady was so friendly and helpful and really seemed to want me to get a product that worked for me {and not just make a sale} so she gave me lots of wee pots to try and this is the one that i liked the most.  it combats the daily stresses on your skin to prevent redness.  This is a big problem with me and i found this worked wonders for me. often i need to apply a moisturiser more than once to feel that it is helping my skin. this did the trick with one small application!
she also recommended using some water and a bit of rose essence in it every day as a facial spray/toner and i have to say this is the best bit of advice ever. i love how refreshed my skin feels and all for the price of a spray pump bottle from superdrug and a bottle of rose essence.

kiehls bb cream ~ again this did not dry out my skin, it made my face look even and smooth ~ any kind of tinted moisturiser or foundation has dried out my skin in the past, and i always ended up with dry flaky bits on my nose. but not with this cream.

forever living aloe bb cream ~ i love this bb cream, in fact this is the one i decided to buy {they are all similar in price} mainly because it felt so light on my skin but still gives it great coverage without drying it out. and it's an aloe product... and i love aloe!

temple spa be calm face mask ~ this mask is amazing as it is perfect for sensitive skin but it also exfoliates gently with fruit acids. it is such a lovely product, i use it once a week while soaking in the bath. the best part about temple spa products is that they are so niche that they don't make them in bulk meaning there is no need for parabens or other nasties.

i also highly recommend the kiehls centella calming facial cleanser, this was amazing to use and my skin felt soft and so clean afterwards. the forever living tooth gel is great too, it doesn't contain fluoride so is a great alternative, plus it actually makes your mouth feel so clean and fresh... even the morning after!

connecta, osha or tula?

since the devastating news story about the baby who died in a baby wrap recently, i have seen so many articles blaming babywearing and making out that it's dangerous etc etc.

one even stated 'your baby will die if you use one of these baby wraps'!! i mean... come on! sadly, babies die in cots, beds, cars and prams all the time, a lot of the time for no real apparent reason. there are no scaremongering articles slamming parents for using them!

now i'm not disputing that it can be dangerous... as can many things involving small people. but when done safely and responsibly, babywearing is positive and calming for baby and mum {and dad too!}.

i have various slings, baby carriers and wraps. i use them all depending on where i am going and what i am doing...

i have a ring sling which is an osha woven wrap. i use it for the school run for quick ups and downs. being one big length of fabric means it will grow with baby and can be worn in different ways to suit mum/dad/granny etc and of course baby.

i have a full buckle carrier which is a tula. i use this all the time. it is great for front and back carries, is fully padded along the waist band and straps so is comfortable to wear for a long time. it has a sleep hood which is detachable so perfect for snoozes! it is stunning in grey zigzags and is by far my favourite go to carrier.

i have another full buckle which is a connecta. this is my emergency carrier. it comes on the dog walk, trips to the park and food shopping! it folds small so fits in my bag or under the pram for that emergency carry when little legs can't carry on. it has a sleep hood, but as it is not as padded as my tula {and i should note, i have jaggy hips} it's not as comfortable for two hour long naps {although these are rare!}

i have a back pack style one and a baby bjorn style one. but these don't get used at all and don't come close to the ones above. the narrow seat in these mean baby hangs off me and makes my shoulders sore within minutes. the wide seat of the above carriers {and others in that style} spread baby's legs in the most supportive way {for baby and mum} that it makes babywearing not only convenient but comfy and enjoyable.

there needs to be so much more information available to new parents with regards to babywearing... i meet so many mums who think wraps and stretchys are primitive! or some who have only ever seen the high street carriers and didn't know there were other options...

my advice? buy a good quality carrier, use your instincts and follow the TICKS guidelines :)

upcycling and vintage chic

i love all things vintage, all things home made and all things crafty. lets be honest here, who doesn't? well, probably a fair few folk, but not me! so when leafing through last weeks sunday paper, i happened upon a feature about vintage wallpaper and fabric and ways to upcycle them around the house. weeeellll, did i not just die and go to heaven right there and then. i panicked a little as i had fears of the small people in my house wakening and ruining my moment... just five minutes little ones, mama needs just five minutes. i have saved it for future perusal, but for those five minutes, i poured over the pages eyes agog at all the lovely ideas! ahhhh, where will this feature take me i wander.  just as soon as i get a few spare hours in the day i am going to get cracking on those ideas.... just watch this space...

easy peasy bread

well, my little munchkin and i decided to make a loaf of bread this morning and i came across this super duper recipe that was so easy and quick that we had it proving within the hour! so not as much time killed as i had hoped but good messy fun all the same!

this is it, served up with poppys soup (also home made!) for lunch.

so here it is... i will also outline it on here to make it even easier -

mix 500g strong white flour in a bowl with 2 tsp of salt and 7gs of fast acting yeast in a sachet. then make a well and add 3 tbsp olive oil and 300ml water and combine to make the dough... then kneed for as long as your little ones arms can manage - preferably until it is satin smooth!

leave it in a warm place for an hour in a lightly oiled bowl to rise (or overnight in the fridge is good as it makes it taste nicer!)

give it a bit of a knock about then shape it and put it on some baking paper and leave to prove for an hour to rise again.

cross the top with a sharp knife and bake for 25-30 mins in a preheated oven at 220C...

voila! delicious!

this is one that is going to appear on the breakfast table a lot in future! 

caravans and seagulls

well, we are just back from a family holiday to a very well known family holiday caravan park... sounds a bit like heaven!! ahhhh, eight adults, six kids and two caravans... who could ask for more!?!?

it was actually a very lovely holiday, if not a bit cramped in places! plenty to keep our little bear entertained - from doting cousins to a massive soft play and swimming pool... and it was sunny!  unfortunately, it meant a very tired girl and often a bit of a grumpy one too (and that was just me!) but i would do it again... i think. well, i would do it again but not while pregnant - that i definitely do not recommend!

we mostly ate in the vans, which was a bit of a logistical nightmare but not half as bad as trying to get 16 meals ordered by 5pm on the dot with out one of our little people wandering off somewhere... or one of the older ones sneaking off to the slots with a pocket full of 2penny pieces.

the pool was the best bit, and the soft play - both of which were free! the joys of having an under 5! we did spend a a few pounds on some rides and a swan pedalo (which is essential for any caravaning holiday, i think)

after an entire week of extreme playing and constant attention from numerous adults and older children, poppy is taking sometime winding down now we are home - i am a slave to her pretend play and book demands. for now at least, until she bores of me and wanders off into her own play world again...

travel tears

it has been over two years and we have tried all the tricks in the book to help poppy travel 'better'.  she was a car snoozer when she was really small so we thought - as we tend to travel about a lot - we were set! but it was not to be... as soon as she stopped the long newborn naps and entered into baby-dom, we hit problems.

big problems.

travelling quickly became a real bug bear of hers. she would moan and cry and whinge for the majority of any journey with the odd exception when she would snack or nap. our first family holiday to tiree will always be remembered by one baby einstein cd on repeat and a whole lot of screaming.

now two years on, we have finally and reluctantly, admitted defeat... we bought... wait for it... an in car dvd player. gasp.  now i would always have been a big childless judger in the past. lazy parenting - yup. spoilt child - yup. but it's really not the case, let me tell you. or not so in this case at least - this case is for the sake of pure safety. driving along a quiet road with a screaming, moaning, whining child is hard enough... add in a whining dog and some manoeuvres and you are asking for an accident! so we did it, and although it has not been needed quite as much as we had originally thought - it has changed car travel for us completely!

so that is why we loved 'going places'!! ahhhh, now i remember.

birthday girl

well, poppy turned two last week and to celebrate we had a few friends over to play... 20 to be exact! yikes!
I made a delicious carrot cake with pink sprinkles and some blueberry muffins, rocky road (for the grown ups!) star shaped sandwiches and other snacks and tasty treats. a stressful day or two to organise but well worth it to see her playing with her buddies... albeit primarily playing side by side with them instead of 'together'.

lots of food was eaten, plenty of toys unwrapped and tea drunk (again... the grown ups!)

needless to say it was a lot of fun and poppy treated us to a two hour nap that afternoon to recover!

yummy snack

i thought i would share with you one of my absolute favourite things i like to do as a mummy... bake for my little girl!

she was baby led weaned and so i started with finger food straight away and these banana biscuits were life savers... and still are!

take one very ripe banana and mash it with some fine oats and a bit of milk if you need to make it softer, add a handful of raisins (optional) and mix together.  let it all soak in together till it makes a bit of a thick gloop. then form it into round biscuits, or use cookie cutters, and bake in the oven for 8-10mins at 180ish... yum.

healthy. tasty. wholesome.

don't be fooled - these will not be tasty enough for grannies, aunties, friends or older kids... so make some rocky road... also incredibly easy!


melt some good quality chocolate and mix with bashed up biscuit like digestive then stir in some raisins (we go through a lot of raisins in our household!) and marshmallows - you can also add maltesers and cherries too. then put into a shallow baking dish and leave to set.








enjoy...

red cheeks and gondolas

we have just been on a lovely little jaunt up to the mountains! it was very cold but also very beautiful... i found a pretty little play park for poppy and me... and the dog of course! but our cheeks went white

 it was pretty chilly up there! the gondola ride was the best bit and we even managed to get a bit of skiing in one morning thanks to a willing babysitting/dog walking auntie and uncle!

i love that feeling you get on the way back down when you have been completely blown about by a strong wind... i think it might be 'refreshed' but it feels more like 'cleared out'!

back into the thick of it again now... home and back to working through the nap and late into the evening. so many little things that i keep forgetting to do. why is that? i cant possibly still have baby brain, surely? maybe it has developed into toddler brain.

hello this is my first post so i thought i would introduce myself... i am a stay at home, self employed mum to poppy and our hairy dog, lily.  we dont do much really; we play, we walk and we chat.  we rarely stay in.  in the evening, i work.
when i got pregnant and found out we were having a girl, i was over the moon.  i am not into girly things and when i started to shop (which i did almost straight away!) i got worried.  i realised that i was going to have to work hard to find things that were not all pink, frilly and covered in disney... so i went online.
i also like to craft! no that's not true... i love to craft! cross stitch, decopatch, knitting, card making, cushion covers... i will try my hand at anything.
so, this is my blog... it will be a bit about me, lots about poppy, a wee bit about lily, crafting and photography but most of all it will be about my daily finds, inspiration and just lovely things!