Our Family in May

May has been a fun filled month ending with a week in France with the extended family and we have entered June ready for the summer.  Due to a couple of laptop disasters, one the result of bad luck and one the result of a bad temper (not mine), nothing has been done on time and for the first time I am writing my monthly photo post 2 days late! The photos were taken in May though, in the pools at Centre Parcs in Paris where you are allowed to take in phones. This was where the kids wanted to be and so it made sense to get a quick photo here!

This month I have loved seeing Take That (twice), a week away with all my family, doing the tree tops trek at Centre Parcs and a night out at an Indie Disco with friends.

Ed has loved going on holiday with a better adult to child ratio,  teaching himself to swim, attempting the ninja course at Centre Parcs and anything with halloumi in.

Dylan has loved getting muddy at Lidl Mudder, having one on one time during our trip away, moving up a lesson at swimming and his school trip to Harry Potter Studios.

Archie has loved his first experience of big water slides, after school beach trips, staying in a house next to uncle Oli and a school trip to Pizza Express.

Finn has loved Thunder Mountain at Disneyland, lots of birthday parties, burying himself at the beach and driving a mini jeep.

Cora has loved 'fluffing' all the animals at the farm, her new leopard print shoes, spending lots of time at the beach and Aunty NatNat

Read more ⇨

What the Kids Wore // Reima

I very rarely dress the children entirely matching because their personalities and style is just so different that there is very little they all suit but I love co-ordinating them and finding things that look a bit similar or in the same print, partly because they look fun but also because it makes tracking down a lost child a lot easier! I usually have them in at least the same colour for travelling and airports!

I am going to be working with Reima this year, a brand we have loved for years since we first discovered their amazing ski wear and all four children needed a raincoat for the spring so I couldn't resist getting them matching coats in different colours. It means they still get to look unique but they look like a walking rainbow when they are together and I know the quality is outstanding.

All the coats are completely waterproof, windproof and dirt-repellent as well as being lightweight and fleece lined and perfect for spring showers or autumn winds.  (You can see all Reima's softshell collection here).  It has been wonderfully sunny this past week but I don't trust the weather not to change and these sizes should take them through to next Autumn at least! Reima sizing is based on height rather than age and all four children are wearing the size that corresponds to their height with just the right amount of growing room!

You will be seeing lots more pictures of the children in Reima clothing over the coming year and not just their outerwear! We are looking forward to trying out their swimwear and casual clothing too!

Read more ⇨

5 Ways We Recycle Outside of the Council Bins

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Those are the first rules for looking after our planet and her resources. For the things I haven't managed to reduce or re-use, I am looking for ways to recycle and these are five ways I recycle outside of the council provided bins

We use the food bin for cooked food, meat and dairy but we have our own compost bin in the kitchen and a big compost bin in the garden for fruit and veg scraps, toast crusts, used coffee, garden waste, hair I have pulled from the hairbrush and brown paper. It means there is less in our council food waste and that we have wonderfully rich compost each year for planting seeds and looking after our garden.

Terracycle operate recycling schemes for certain products and they collect them up to make them into garden furniture, water cans and other things. We collect crisp packets for one programme and they pay a small amount of money to Archie's school for each box we send in. I am in charge of collecting them up from the school and friends to send in a big box. There are other schemes including biscuit wrappers, trigger heads for cleaning sprays, babyfood pouches and more and you can check out the Terracycle website to find your local drop off.

All of our clothes get reused or recycled including those that are heavily stained. The charity shops do accept damaged clothing that they can sell as 'rags' but I also cut up the school polo shirts that are so far past useable to use as wipes around the kitchen and in the house.  All outgrown clothing is recycled or reused though and we never put any in the bins.

Did you know that anywhere that sells batteries has to accept them back? All shops that sell batteries of any kind will have somewhere you can return used ones and the shop will send them back to be recycled. This isn't just Tesco, this is your local corner shop too and some schools even have battery recycling points.

Based in Portsmouth is a company that collects milk bottle lids, breaks them down into plastic pellets and makes children's toys with them. It isn't local for everyone and I don't know if there are other companies doing this around the country but we save our milk bottle lids and pass them on to someone who visits Portsmouth and takes them with her. You can find out more here.

We are so far from perfect but we are trying to recycle wherever possible to help reduce the amount of plastic that goes in  our black bin. Next up is looking into ecobricks! Do you have any great recycling tips?

Read more ⇨

Our Family in April

Our April photos are taken on the same beach as our March ones but we have exchanged the long sleeves for short and the trainers for bare feet.  We have migrated down the stairs and are dipping our feet in the sea, anticipating a summer spent splashing through these waves and dancing in the sand.  The weather has been up and down as it always is at this time of year but on the whole it has been pretty lovely and I am glad we got our April photos whilst the sun was shining (these were taken on Easter Sunday)

April was a month for beach days barefoot and umbrellas in the storm, two weeks off of school which comprised of a quiet week recovering and a week of fun day trips and days out.  We have had a good one and we are excited for the next.

This month I have loved doing my first 10k 'race' in Hyde Park, Going in the Crystal Maze, watching Glow on Netflix and my Fitbit.

Ed has loved the Easter beer festival, a child-free night whilst the children had a sleepover with the grandparents, going to London to see the Dropkick Murphys and a family day out to Deal.

Dylan has loved making obstacle courses in the back garden, wearing pink (and asking me to buy him more pink clothes), eating the biggest dessert at his friend's party and watching Spy Kids.

Archie has loved going to the skate park with his friend, practising stunts on his scooter, Easter egg hunts and having two weeks off school.

Finn has loved his first trip to the circus, hunting for fairies at his friend's birthday party, kinder eggs and 'twirling like Elsa'.

Cora has loved colouring in her face, planning her birthday party, 'fluffing' every dog she can find and choosing her own outfits.

Read more ⇨

What the Kids Wore // Alba

Growing up, we had a blossom tree in our garden and it always felt like the flowers came from nowhere.  All winter the tree was empty and then almost overnight we were greeted with this spattering of pink on the tree and all over the grass.  It meant Spring was here and all around colours and life would be sprouting. It still makes me excited now when I see the park lined with pink blossom trees

I have been buying the children clothing from Alba since Finn was a baby and I was really excited this summer when they sent us these outfits for the children.  Their clothes are inspired by Majken's (the founder) own childhood and I love the retro vibes, the bright colours and the super soft organic cotton that is it all made from.  Everything is soft and stretchy and designed for children that love to move.

I want my children to have a similar childhood to mine where they are free to run barefoot in the garden, climb trees and play outside as much as possible and we love living so close to this beautiful park.  There is a lovely little nature garden where we can watch the tadpoles swim and turn into frogs, where we can look for plants and flowers and bugs and talk about the world.  

You have to feel these clothes in real life to know how soft and comfortable they are because I can't get it across in a picture but I think you can see how much the children love them.  Cora gave her dress a cuddle before she put it on and announced ' I love pink, I love my new dress, I am so lucky today!' and Finn asked if I could wash it straight away so he could wear it the next day.  

Read more ⇨

What the Kids Wore // 3fnky kids

I don't often dress all four children in matching because they all have such unique personalities that it doesn't usually make sense but I love them to all have at least something matchy or co-ordinated as it makes travel and big days out so much easier! We were recently offered some clothing from 3fnky kids and I chose items for the little three as their sizing covers ages 2-8 but when it arrived we found the trousers so generous that Dylan could join in too.

The green and black stars are fun and gender neutral and come in a variety of garments which means they all look a little different.  Archie has the long sleeved top and joggers with black pockets, Finn and Dylan have the all over print joggers and Cora has the dress and hat.  Cora's dress is meant to be more of a tunic length but she is a very petite nearly 3 year old and so it fits pretty big! All three boys are wearing trousers in the size smaller than what they usually wear but the two boys have the tops in their usual sizes.  

All the starred items are snuggly thick with a fleecy inner and were perfect for our day out on a hilltop castle! Finn's top is also from the collection and has a unique shape that is lovely for boys and girls.  He loved the animals on it and the colours and I think it really suits him.

The clothes are now available on Amazon (prime) and the jumpers, joggers and dresses are each priced around the £20 mark with the t-shirts all under £15. I think for the quality, fit and style this is a great price and I will definitely consider buying more, especially for Archie as it fits his style well.  There are a few more pictures below from our day out with the 3fnky kids clothes and I will pop the sizes the children are wearing incase you need any sizing help!

 Dylan is a tall 7 year old (137cm tall) and wearing the age 6-8 joggers

Archie is an average sized 6 year old wearing age 6-8 tops and age 4-6 joggers

Finn is an average sized 4 year old wearing age 4-6 tops and age 2-4 joggers

Cora is a petite 2 year old (88cm) wearing age 2-4 dress and hat

Read more ⇨

Pregnancy Health

Advertorial

Whilst I really miss the days of being pregnant and get more broody when I see bumps than newborns, I think I often forget how hard pregnancy was both physically and mentally. 

Just as we forget the all consuming exhaustion that comes with having a newborn once those days (weeks, month) have passed, I think I have glossed over the back ache and stress that came with growing a baby for nine months.  

I was pretty lucky with the three boys that everything was quite straightforward but it was the fourth one that changed everything.  I think one of the reasons I knew she was a girl was that everything was a bit harder with her in every sense.  Finn was only 7 months old when I fell pregnant and I think my body was still recovering from him.  I wasn't planning another baby but early November I had a little belly growing that wasn't budging and I decided to take a test - positive.  The tiredness that I had attributed to jet lag wasn't going anywhere and we had another baby to prepare for.

I grew quickly with Cora, too quickly for the charts which meant I was tested for gestational diabetes three time between 21 and 36 weeks to try and explain my (and her) size.  Thankfully I didn't have this complication because it can cause baby to grow too quickly and need to be delivered early. I did get more backache though which makes sense considering I had put on a lot of weight and my centre of gravity had changed so dramatically. I started doing an aquanatal class that helped (something I hadn't done with any of the boys) and I loved having some time to focus on me for a bit and to relieve the weight of my growing belly.  

I was so much more hormonal with my last pregnancy and whilst I didn't suffer from antenatal depression, I did find it emotionally hard and I needed more time to myself to help me feel sane.  I did have four children all under the age of five during the pregnancy so that definitely didn't help matters! Emma's Diary have put together an infographic on pregnancy health with some of the most common complications. I think it is important to be aware of these things so that you can report symptoms to your midwife as soon as you notice them!

Did you have complications in your pregnancy?

Read more ⇨