Having it All

Now I really believe that we can have it all . . . just not all at the same time. I think there is more pressure than ever to be perfect now, there are pinterest boards full of how to have a beautiful home, and instagram only backs up the fact that everyone else has a tidier house than mine.  There are blogs full of perfectly dressed, well behaved children, facebook shows me craft projects and baking that other parents have done with their children and of course these children are running around outdoors, getting their daily quota of vitamin D and fresh air.

All the while, the parents hold down a job, a marriage, friendships and have hobbies.  It must be easy to have it all, or that is how it can sometimes feel.  

The thing is, there is usually more to it than that.  Those stunning instagram images of breakfast in bed usually have the child who is bouncing on your feet cropped out, as well as the pile of dirty washing.  Well, they do in my house anyway.  I record the things I want to remember, I write a blog so that my children can look back and see the good times, the happy faces, the adventures we had together.  The washing up is real enough every day that I have no desire to record and talk about it online as well.

Last month, we hired a cleaner.  I have always wondered what kind of people have a cleaner and I now know exactly who - real people.  I have three small children, only one of which is old enough for an education, I have a job, and a blog, and a social life and a relationship and all of that (plus a love of Netflix) doesn't really leave any time for scrubbing my bathroom tiles and cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.  The washing baskets are overflowing, there is often crumbs under the dining room table and my boys want to go out and explore.

I admire the mothers who seem to do it so well, and I remember what I am good at.  Art in my house consists of water painting, colouring in and other less messy pastimes.  Baking is not a word the children understand.  They do know adventure though, they know we will always go out, that I would pick the park over painting anyday.  They know they are loved more than anything and really that is the most important thing.  There are many boards on pinterest that I flick straight past, but there are plenty that I use for ideas  and inspiration too.

My house is never going to be tidy, it looks 'lived in' at best, but it is our home regardless.  It is full of our clothes, toys and the remnants of our fun.  It is slowly getting better now though (with the help of a cleaner for a couple of hours on a Tuesday morning!).

I can't have it all, at least not right now, but I can have enough.

Do you have a cleaner?  Would you if you could?

Read more ⇨

Merino Hospitality

Now that there are 5 of us, we don't always fit neatly in a single hotel room, and with three under the age of five, their bedtime is significantly earlier than ours.  These things combined mean that when we are looking to stay away from home we often have to chose somewhere outside the centre so that we can have some extra space.

It was brilliant to discover that Merino Hospitality offer accommodation perfectly designed for families like mine that is not only spacious, but in an amazing location too.  A couple of weeks ago, we headed up to London for the weekend and arrived at a converted coach house in the Bloomsbury area of London.  With a tube station around two minutes walk from our front door, a shopping centre even closer and our own parking space as well, it seemed too good to be true.

The personal service meant Andres was there when we arrived to give us a quick run down of the apartment and to leave us with a lovely welcome basket that contained snacks and everything we needed for breakfast too.  These little touches make things so much easier when travelling with young children.

It was dark when we arrived, but I wanted to get some pictures of the rooms before 5 people had crashed in the beds and thrown the pillows everywhere so I took some quick phone snaps.  The apartment had two double bedrooms, both with themed walls making you feel somewhere far more exotic than London.  Each room had ample storage and space as well as towels, dressing gowns and jugs of water at the ready.

The bathroom had all the usual toiletries that you expect alongside plenty of things I didn't, like a his and hers shaving kit, a shoe shine box and a bath bag.  

The living area was compact, but with everything we needed and plenty of space for the five of us.  When we booked we had been offered a cot, highchair and buggy and the highchair was set up at the dining table ready for Finn.  I was surprised about how well stocked the kitchen was, with every kind of pan and gadget we could need meaning anything was on the menu if you wanted to cook at home.  The boys loved the fact that there was a full fruit bowl on arrival and they managed to get through quite a lot of it!

The biggest hit had to be the 'den' on the top floor.  A hidden space with coloured lights that can be controlled by the children and stocked full of Lego.  The blackboard wall at the back was mostly neglected by the boys as the Lego was more than enough to entertain them for a few hours.  The bloke and I loved that we could spend a bit longer in bed knowing that they were happy playing, and they are desperate to create something similar at home.

We really enjoyed our stay with Merino Hospitality and I would definitely consider re-booking for a future trip to London as it met all our needs.  The bloke found the mattresses very firm, but that is his only complaint and all three boys made themselves completely at home.  It made all the difference having our own space to stay up once the children were in bed, with a huge TV and our own wifi connection.

Thanks to Merino Hospitality for our fantastic stay.  You can find out more about their properties and options over on their website

Read more ⇨

9 Months

Finn is now nine months, or three quarters of a year.  He has officially been on the outside longer than he was on the inside and he has come so far from that newborn it felt like I had only yesterday.

Nine months in to our journey with three children, and things are getting ready to change again,  Finn isn't particularly mobile yet, although he can spin in a circle, but he is desperate to start crawling and I don't think it will be that long until he is off.  His balance has improved so much and he can now correct himself after reaching for things and he has recently learned to sit up from lying down, although he has only managed it a couple of times.

He has finally found an interest in food and weaning is going well after a slow start,  I was confident we would get there eventually and at 9 months I think we have cracked it (for now).  Rice and blueberries are a favourite (not together) and he isn't too keen on sweet potato, much like his eldest brother.  His fine motor skills are improving as he handles smaller food items and this month we will be giving him more sweetcorn and small vegetables to try and perfect that pincer grip.

Whilst he is eating so much more, he isn't willing to really cut down the milk and he still has around 5 bottles per day, with one of those being in the night.  Sleep has been all over the place recently, mostly terrible but we seem to be back to one wake up a night.  I have a feeling there may be an egg intolerance so I will be cutting that out to see if we can stick to just one wake up per night.

Finn is still in our room and still comfortable in his Snuzpod co-sleeper crib but now that he can sit himself up, I think we need to look at building his cot and getting him somewhere bigger to sleep.  I don't really want to move him out of our room ( it is far too cold to be wandering out in the middle of the night to go and feed him) but I am starting to wonder whether he would sleep better without our noise as we go to bed.

Finn is comfortably in 6-9 month clothes despite a huge weight gain over the last month.  My little chunk is now 18lb 10oz and he looks and feels so much sturdier.

The boys are still so close.  Dylan still clings on to Finn's hand when he comes out of school, Archie still gives him the biggest cuddles with his arms thrown around poor Finn's neck and he is desperate to join in with more of their games.  Dylan loves sharing his food with Finn and he has been brilliant at checking this is ok (we have tried to drum the Dairy Allergy into them) and is constantly sneaking bits from his plate onto Finn's mat.

As we head towards Finn's first Christmas, I am loving watching my littlest guy grow and change, and watching his brothers help him along the way.

Read more ⇨

A Cloud Nursery

Baby Nursery, Cloud theme, grey, white and yellow, neutral nursery theme

Before we even knew if Finn was going to be a boy or a girl, I had started planning his nursery.  I had such fun choosing themes and little details for the other two, I wanted him to have a space that was all his own too, whilst keeping his room simple and light.  It began as a grey white and yellow colour scheme, but evolved as I found more little items that I couldn't resist.  The final nursery isn't as co-ordinated as some, but everything was chosen especially for it, and I love his space.

At nine months, we have decided it is now time for Finn to upgrade the Snuzpod for his big cot and for the last few nights he has been sleeping in here.  He seems happy in his own room (although he still calls out for a visitor and some milk every night).

When we moved into our current house, we were pregnant with Archie, who we thought may be our last child and the bloke and I both had jobs outside the home.  Over the past three years our family has grown by an extra member, and both the bloke and I have changed jobs so that we both work from home.  Combined, this has meant that Finn's nursery is a multi purpose room, and opposite the cot is a desk where we can work during the day.  This isn't a long term solution, but for now the room is big enough and Finn is small enough for it to work.

White wooden furniture set - Mamas and Papas
Colourful cloud cushion - Tiger
Grey cloud cushion - Ikea
Fitted cotbed sheet - Etsy

Blanket - Mamas and Papas

Letter bunting - http://thismodernlife.co.uk/This Modern Life

Cloud cushion - Farg and Form at Decobaby
Chevron cushion - Amazon
Camera cushion - Mamas and Papas

Cloud bunting - Mama Designs

Star bunting - a local folk market
Grey and white chevron toy storage - Minene

Dream big mobile - We are Scamp

Wooden Rainbow - Sainsburys

Sleeping bag (Babasac) - Mama Designs
Cot bed Mattress - Little Green Sheep

Personalised framed name - Forever Bespoke 

Postcards - This Modern Life

 The lighting isn't great along the back wall, which is why some of the photos look a little less white than others.  I love the calmness of the room, the subtle pops of colour and the little features that make it Finns.  Whilst we paid for most of the items pictures, there are a few things that were sent to us to help complete the nursery and I am very grateful as they are exactly what I was looking for.

I think this theme is completely unisex and as we have kept most of it quite plain, it should be easy to update as Finn grows too.

Read more ⇨

What the Boys Wore - Lottie and Lysh

One of the best things about blogging, is the opportunities to discover small companies that make amazing children's products.  Lottie and Lysh are one of these finds, and they create beautiful leggings, jackets and bibs in a variety of fun fabrics.  Everything is handmade in the UK (down in Cornwall in fact) by Lottie, a mother of small  children just like mine who need fun practical clothes.

Foxes seem to be everywhere this season which I love as they look so sweet on kids clothes.  These leggings are a perfect fit on my dinky one, with plenty of stretch as he grows too.  The cotton is thick and soft and he has the matching bib as well.  

These cloud leggings are so bright and wonderful and they go with so much of his wardrobe as well. 

All the leggings Lottie and Lysh make are completely unisex and perfect for little babies and active toddlers.  They seem to be hardwearing and incredibly comfortable and Finn's look great after several washes too. Our wishlist seems to be growing daily and the new collection launches this week so make sure you go and check them out!

Thank you to Lottie and Lysh for sending these gorgeous leggings and bibs - we will definitely be buying more!

Read more ⇨

Me and Mine - November

You can probably guess by the fact this is a bad quality phone selfie that November has gone by too fast and we have left things until the very last minute.  This was just before we started getting the boys in their pyjamas tonight.  I didn't want to miss a month though, and I realised my camera battery was flat so this is us, this month.

I can't tell you much about what we did in November, but I know that it has been pretty busy.  November is always a bit of an awkward month, with the coldness of winter but not yet the sparkles of Christmas and we have had more illness in the house than ever before (evident in Finn's rather sorry looking eye) . I never seemed to get on top of anything this month (- blogging, the washing, the housework . . .) and there was more time spent on the sofa than any other month.  

This is us, a little blurry, stuck with terrible lighting as there barely seems to be any daylight left and all looking a little tired. 

This month Mummy is loving going on a photography course, watching Prison Break on Netflix, giant Warburtons Crumpets and hiring a cleaner.

Daddy is loving his new computer screen monitor (apparently he needs two), taking the boys to London, Fallout 4 and watching Dylan learning to read so well

Dylan is loving writing sentences for us to read, learning songs for his school Christmas play, playing advent calenders with his toys in preperation for next month and seeing his little brothers at the school gates.

Archie is loving dressing himself every morning (usually in shorts), snuggling under blankets on the sofa, Henry Hugglemonster and calling everyone Booboobutt (The book with no pictures).

Finn is loving raspberries and alpro yoghurts, being able to reach more things without falling over, being in his own bedroom and chewing Duplo bricks.

I can't wait for December although I am not even nearly ready to say goodbye to 2015 yet.

Read more ⇨

A Weekend Away in London

We just love getting away and I will never get bored of visiting London.  There is always something new to see and we revisit the same places because they are just magical, especially as Christmas draws closer.  

We drove up to London last weekend after Dylan had finished school and the bloke had finished work and found the gorgeous converted coach-house that we were going to stay in.  Having three children means hotel rooms aren't always practical and Merino Hospitality offer serviced apartments in the very heart of London.

The boys were sleepy, but excited to be somewhere new so they ran around exploring before climbing into their bed.  The bloke and I weren't far behind as we were looking forward to an entire day exploring on the Saturday.

There was a basket of food waiting for us when we woke up alongside the fruit bowl that the boys couldn't leave alone.  One of my favourite things about staying in an apartment is having breakfast at your leisure, usually in your pjs.  We had a blogger event to go to first thing to celebrate the book I had helped create with HP and we so we headed across town.

The event was brilliant with the illustrator Tom Percival reading the book for all the children and little animals for them to see and pet. They loved colouring in and the inflatable lightsabers that they discovered and we all enjoyed some lunch.

After being inside for the morning, the boys were desperate to run around and the event was only metres away from the Diana Memorial Playground.  I have been meaning to visit for so long and it didn't disappoint.  A giant pirate ship set in the biggest sand pit and surrounded by climbing frames and little areas to discover, it was a dream park for the boys.  There was a cafe serving delicious hot chocolate and indoor toilets and changing facilities which made the visit easier too.  It was so much colder than we were expecting, but the boys didn't mind at all with so much to explore.

I love Covent Garden all year round, but there is something so special about Christmas there so we walked that way.  All three boys fell asleep on the journey over - something we don't get very often now so the bloke and I decided to sit down and enjoy some cheesy fries and shakes from Shake Shack.  I can't go to Covent Garden without having their fries and I love sitting in the very centre and watching the world go by.

We let them all have a good rest as we wandered.  I don't normally let Dylan nap for long, but as we only had one full day in London, a good sleep meant we could break the routine and stay out later, enjoying the wonderful sights by night.  We had a wander around a few shops and stalls, and then decided it was time to find somewhere to eat.

What we didn't think about was the fact central London on a Saturday night is pretty busy, and getting a table for five people wouldn't be easy!  We gave in at Pizza Express and decided we would just queue and thankfully it wasn't too long.  The big boys love their pizzas and Finn had some plain pasta to munch on, as having a dairy allergy in a Pizzeria isn't easy!  They were all so well behaved and we had wonderful comments from people on the tables around us.  Dylan spent most of the meal writing sentences for us to read and Finn spent a long time studying the menu!

As the boys had been asleep the entire time we were at Covent Gardens, we went back that way to show them the giant Christmas tree.  It really is spectacular and they were in awe of its size.  They were completely captivated by the street performers and whilst we would normally walk straight past, we stopped to watch two whole shows as they sat on the floor staring up.  

We went inside to look at the giant ivy lights on the roof and to watch more of the street performances and all three were smiling away.  Although it was already past their normal bedtimes, their naps had meant they were coping well and we went window shopping at the Disney Store and the Bear Factory.  Everywhere has such colourful displays and very few shops were still open which made it easier to walk past.

 When we were all getting a bit tired, we decided to head back to the apartment and it was amazing to see it was only a 20 minute walk away.  We could easily have gotten on the tube, but with a double buggy it is often easier to walk and the twenty minutes went fast admiring all the lights along the way.

We arrived back with three tired babies who went straight to bed and we stayed downstairs for a while.  The living area had a huge TV (with Netflix) and it was lovely being away from home and still able to keep the lights on and talk at a normal level even with the boys asleep!

We woke up for another leisurely breakfast on Sunday and the big boys loved playing Lego in the 'den' upstairs. There were no doors between our bed and the den despite them being on different levels and it meant we could lay in bed for an extra hour whilst they entertained themselves up there.

It was so lovely being able to explore London from the centre and we had a tube station only one minute walk from the house as well as a shopping centre practically on our doorstep.  We have never driven into Central London before but it only took around 2 hours to get home.

We are feeling ready to get into the Christmas spirit after all the wonderful lights and sights, although I am refusing to get too festive until at least December 1st.  Thank you to Merino Hospitality for our stay and to HP Instant Ink for putting on a great event.

Read more ⇨