'Party Boat'

'Party Boat' is what my son calls the Nottingham Princess river cruise boat that carries passengers along the River Trent.

We celebrated my Mum's 'big' birthday on the Princess with family and friends and we had a great time. The tables inside the boat were set beautifully and we all sat down for a yummy meal once the boat had set sail. We travelled along the Trent passed some beautiful scenery starting at Victoria embankment and cruising all the way towards Stoke Bardolph.
The journey takes you passed Colwick Country Park and Holme Pierrepont so there is lots to look at.

Our little one was very excited about being on a boat with his family and we shared our time between sitting inside the comfy restaurant/bar area and standing on the deck taking in all the sights and spotting wildlife. Our toddler loves anything to do with pirates so you can imagine the games to be played!

I also had my hen party on the Nottingham Princess and had such a great night. The cruise included lovely food from the BBQ, a disco and then transportation from where the boat docked to a nightclub in the city centre. I couldn't have asked for a better night. It was such a good laugh including some rather silly dancing, lots of yummy cocktails and some embarrassing impressions of the 'I'm the King of the World' moment from Titanic!

The above link takes you to the Princess River Cruises website where you can see all they have to offer. I really can recommend these cruises, either for celebrating a special occasion or just for a different kind of treat for the family.

Family Favourites

Entertaining children at the same time as enjoying yourself can sometimes seem impossible.
You'll find here some of the places we've been to and activities we've taken part in that have proved to be sources of great entertainment! 




Jo Jingles


I took my oldest son to Jo Jingles as soon as he could sit up and we sang and danced away until pre-school and baby number two meant we could no longer attend. I can't wait to start classes again very soon with my youngest.
It was always a close call between who enjoyed the class most -me or my son. The classes are age appropriate and involve singing, dancing, musical instruments and games.
The above link will take you to the Nottingham Jo Jingles page where the classes are run by the lovely Gaynor and her ladies. Classes can be found throughout the UK and Ireland and if you've got little people to entertain its well worth giving them a try.




Center Parcs


We have had some of the best family holidays to date at the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs. Our toddler has been lucky enough to visit the winter wonderland at the village a few times and last year we had both boys to share the fun with which was fantastic.
Despite the fact that we have been a number of times the holiday never seems to lose its magic.


There are so many activities to get the family involved in such as swimimng, ice skating, pony rides to santa's grotto, pantomime, disco's and lots more!


The accommodation is lovely and last year we stayed in one of the two-storey lodges complete with games room and steam room!


Center Parcs has never failed to provide us with a holiday full of happy little faces and fun-filled memories to keep forever.

Easter cometh...

Our eldest monkey man hasn't started 'big school' yet (although September is getting far too close for my liking). 

Despite him only attending pre-school three mornings a week, without those sessions the thought of keeping him entertained (and looking after a baby) during the holidays can be rather daunting. 

Having said that I do get rather giddy when it comes to any sort of holiday/celebration and Easter is no exception. It's almost the start of the Easter hols so the chocolate nest cake making has begun! We couldn't decide which was better - chocolate covered rice krispies or corn flakes? So we went with both. Yum.

This is the first year I have been challenged to help the toddler make an Easter bonnet for preschool. He was told he would get a certificate so there was absolutely no getting out of it! I chickened (sorry) out a bit and bought an Easter bonnet making kit from The Range. The kit came with a ribbon to go around the bonnet and egg and animal stickers to stick on. Simple enough, I thought, until I saw the pipe cleaners and the tissue paper. I was instantly intimidated! It's not a secret that I have never been the most artistic person and my brain failed to conjure up any new life related creative masterpiece using said materials. 

However, I reminded myself that it was all about the little man and let him loose with the kit and and some glue! The outcome was this triumph of a bonnet and I was very proud. The chick sitting on top of the hat scares me a little but he was very pleased with himself. The hormones kicked in once again when he sat in front of his class at pre-school with his bonnet on and got a round of applause (weep). Seriously starting to be concerned about how many tears will be shed on a daily basis with all school related experiences and achievements. 

As a family we love our day's out and will hopefully sneak a couple in over the Easter break. I picked one of these booklets up the other day and I think it is going to be a valuable resource in our house for the year to come. I think often we overlook the places closest too us when it comes to planning a day out. It's surprising how much there is  to see and do so close to home that we didn't know about.

We have started filling our Easter weekend with family visits and egg hunts which will be lots of fun.

 I did have a thought whilst making the nest cakes with the toddler today though - I haven't actually talked to my little man about the reason for why we celebrate Easter. He is nearly four years old and no longer just accepts that things are the way they are, he wants to know why. The embarrassing truth is I'm not sure I could explain to him in any kind of coherent detail why we have Easter. Other than when I was in the 'Brownies' and Girl Guides' Easter has only ever been about the chocolate eggs and the time off school. 

It made me wonder how many of us without looking it up would be able to explain the origins of Easter to our children?

eau de baby...

I love the dramatic change in seasons that we see here in the UK. 


My favourite season is autumn with the smell of the fallen leaves bursting up when we're crunching through them hunting for chestnuts. Spring is pretty amazing too, the sunshine arriving bringing with it all the scents of the new flowers, the cut grass and even the odd brave soul firing up the BBQ!


This post is all about smells because I have made the executive decision that baby smell, if bottled, would be a world wide best seller!




Having children in the house can sometimes be a bit of an assault on the nostrils. Little ones can produce some rather unpleasant odours! 


I still love the smell of my toddler obviously but he doesn't have the baby smell any more and I wonder at what age kids lose this?




When our baby was born last year and had to stay in hospital for two months I remember being convinced that I wouldn't get to know his smell and that he would lose it by the time I got him home.

This is what our littlest one smelt of for the first eight weeks of his life. Stellisept.


I (or the nurse) had to squirt some of this into some warm water and use some gauze to clean our tiny little man twice a day. It doesn't really smell unpleasant but I felt like I was washing away his natural baby smell. 
Usually we give our babies a bath in some lovely soft bubbles which just adds to the deliciousness of their odour but I'm afraid this stuff just didn't have the same affect. 




I made the mistake of opening the bottle to have a whiff when I took this photo. Its amazing how our sense of smell can provoke such strong memories and emotions in an instant.


Thankfully I was very wrong and when the happy day arrived when we could take our baby home I learned his smell in no time. 
I think being on solid foods slowly starts the process of them losing their baby smell and our little guy is seven months old now so I'm making the most of it while it lasts.
What makes babies smell so yummy?
Maybe a combination of the sweet smell of milk and the gentle products we use to keep their skin lovely and soft? 


I genuinely wish that it could be bottled so I could always have it to remind me of when the boys were just chubby little bundles of loveliness. 

How not to be a domestic goddess...

Recently I have received compliments from a lovely lady regarding my ability to keep on top of all things domestic whilst looking after two young boys (always lovely to hear).


Previously when someone was praising this ability of mine to my hubby his response was: "It's like the whole swan thing - she may look calm on the surface but I get to see the mad effort going on under the water to keep things going!" 
As much as I would like to deny it the other half was spot on. I'm not afraid to admit I'm an organised person and like to look completely in control at all times. The truth of course is that the majority of the time at home I'm flapping like a maniac just to get the necessary done! 


Here are my tried and tested methods of ensuring a complete disaster on the domestic front..


  1. Tidy the house and hoover through just before a scheduled play date at home with friends. Toddlers tend to be tidy when in groups.

 2. Ignore the bad smell coming from the kitchen. It will rid itself eventually.

 3. Let your toddler roam free around the house with jam sandwiches. Jam wipes off very easily.

 4. Repeatedly ask your other half to help with jobs. They will be done immediately and in exactly the same way you would do it. 

 5. Ignore your instincts that the cat is acting strange. Its very unlikely she has bought a mouse in the house.

 6. Leave the water on when you go away. The chances of there being a leak are very slim.

 7. Omit to put the sugar in the fruit cake. It tastes lovely without it anyway.

 8. Begin some arduous domestic task when the baby is taking a nap. They always stay asleep until you have finished the job in hand.

 9. Use polish to clean the laminate floor. Kids are born with grippers on the soles of their feet now aren't they?

10. Never remind yourself that looking after children is a full time job. 


Even superwoman would struggle to keep little ones entertained whilst maintaining a tidy house and getting tea on the table on time!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Children's birthday parties; fun and exciting or just hard work and expensive?


Boy numero uno is going to be four this year and as he grows so to does my concern for how to celebrate his next birthday.


Since starting pre-school the toddler has been invited to and we've attended numerous birthday parties and the invitations keep coming in. The boy always has fun at these parties and we're so grateful to be invited but I do sometimes wonder why as mum's we put ourselves under so much pressure to entertain other people when its our little persons special day?


Since our eldest was born we've been invited to parties of all sizes for children as young as one. Most of these parties are held in church/community halls, leisure centres or at home. Some have been lovely and simple and fun whilst others have been rather hectic and exhausting (Obviously the scale of loveliness is down to my own personal preference and I appreciate everyone likes different things).


My perfect kids party consists of the classics: cheesy kids disco music, balloons, sandwiches, jelly and ice cream, pass the parcel and a party bag!
Give a child a balloon on a ribbon and shove on the bob the builder theme tune and usually they're running round chasing each other having the time of their lives.




We live in a lovely family friendly town and everywhere you are look there are young families which is perfect for us. This does however seem to increase the pressure we put upon ourselves to provide a party of Elton John post-Oscar proportions for a grumpy toddler who would probably be having more fun playing on the garden with a few friends.


The cost of holding these big kids parties is as much a reason as our personal preference for why we have so far only had small gatherings for the toddler.  


This summer we are having a naming ceremony for our littlest one and we have invited family and friends that are coming to join us afterwards for a picnic on the park. I can't help but feel like its a bit of a cop out on my part though! This ceremony isn't until later on in the summer and I'm already stressing about what people will think about the fact that we aren't putting on a party. It seems crazy but it comes back to the pressure we put on ourselves to 'keep up with the Jones's' in a sense.


It really should all come down to the child who's birthday it is. What they enjoy doing and their character. Our toddler is a sensitive boy who will join in but it takes him a while to come out of his shell in situations that are out of his comfort zone. I've seen so many children look completely overwhelmed by the drama and excitement going on at their own party and more often than not this leads to tears and them not wanting to join in. 


Holding a 'joint party' is something I've been involved with every year since boy number one arrived. I met some lovely ladies at the local antenatal class I attended when pregnant first time round. We've done the joint birthday party thing but it proved very difficult to find a date that everyone could make (ten families!). We have continued to have a joint Christmas party every year which is always completely hectic but lots of fun. Sharing the responsibility of putting on a party takes the stress away brilliantly. I have to say though since the majority of us have had second children we have opted for the soft play organised party option - the food and entertainment is provided and we don't have to tidy up! 






At four years old I know our biggest little man will be more than happy with his birthday celebrations as long as it involves the following: close family and friends, a birthday cake with candles, being sung happy birthday too (most likely twice if not more), lots of sugary treats and the obvious one - brightly wrapped presents!  

I love you as much as a cupcake...

My Mothers Day Weekend


We have an unwritten rule in our house that special occasions must last longer than a day. It's the law. So, mothers/fathers days are worthy of a whole weekend, you get a week for your birthday and the build up to the next Christmas starts on Boxing Day.


This is my first mothers day as a mummy to two little monkeys rather than one. Given the trauma of our little fighters arrival last year I don't mind admitting that I felt like a bit of spoiling (of me) was completely necessary and deserved.

I haven't been disappointed and the loveliness started on Friday when the hubby arrived home from work with a big bunch of mumsy flowers complete with 'Mothers Day' helium balloon! The toddler has found much delight from walking round the house with 'my' balloon bobbing above his head.














Toddler had a birthday party to attend Saturday lunch time. Boy numero two has been a bit grizzly of late. The prime suspect for the cause of his distress being some teeth trying to poke their way out. It was thus decided that I would take toddler to the party and hubby would stay at home with the grizzly one! This meant I got to spend a couple of hours just be and boy number one which was a rare treat.


My folks came over Saturday afternoon and enjoyed some cuddle/play time with the boys. Being the lovelies that they are my Mum had made me a card thanking me for being a great Mum to their grandsons (weep) and they also gave me a book called I want my Mum to read to the boys. Mum had seen the book and thought of me. The Little Princess's favourite saying of "I want my Mum" reminded her of both my toddler, who is very much a mummy's boy but also of me (very much still a mummy's girl). At the end of the story the Little Princess is finally brave and leaves her Mum for the night which causes the Queen (Mum) to say "I want my Little Princess!" Ha so true!


Saturday afternoon quickly turned to Saturday night (as it usually does) and once the boys were in bed it was curry and booze time. After far too much curry and far too much wine and far too much reminiscing about embarrassing drunken youth behaviour and far too much losing at the game of perudo (on my part) it was time for the parental's to go home (obviously my dad being the designated driver had not participated in the far too much wine). It was a great night. 


The boys were obviously unaware that mothers should get a lie in on mothers day and were awake before six Sunday morning. However we did manage to get them to stay in their own beds till almost seven. When officially allowed to be awake the toddler gave me a big kiss and cuddle and a bag full of mothers day goodies which included...

            Breaking Dawn, chocolates, sweets and wine!!! They know me so well. Was rather pleased. 


It has been the most bizarre day weather wise and we woke up to heavy rain which turned to snow but that did not put a dampner on the morning as we spent the majority of it in our pj's and enjoyed a lovely later than usual breakfast. 


When the sun decided to show its face we got out for a nice walk...




I shed a few secret tears when I was getting baby boy dressed this morning. Seeing his surgery scars just reminded me of how close we were to losing him and how different mothers day could have been. These moments don't last long though when there is a toddler running round playing 'Lightening Mcqueen'  you are quickly thrust back into the present. Thank goodness for that. 










A perfect mothers day weekend.


p.s. 'I love you as much as a cupcake' because that's what one of the stickers said in my lovely mothers day card decorated by boy number one and it made us both giggle!