Treat Yourself Mama

I'm always racing around, with a million and one things to get done before work, during my lunch break and in the evening when I return home. The past year has been exciting yet tiring and I have at times felt a bit like a sack of potatoes.

A facial isn't something I'd ever really considered. I know that as a gal I'm supposed to love having body massages and things like that, but treatments that I've had previously made me feel a bit anxious and self conscious.

My dear little sister, Claire is a trained masseuse (she is brilliant and works absolute wonders) and gave me a voucher for a Neal's Yard facial for my Christmas present. As you can see it's taken me six months to get round to using the voucher, but man, was it worth the wait!

I took a half day from work yesterday and wandered across the road to the Neal's Yard store on Whiteladies. I've never been in there before as I knew it was expensive and didn't really feel like I could justify that kind of expense.

I'm so lucky that they are just across the road from my work. A lady called Chris did my treatment. She was really nice and I felt completely at ease. She cleansed and exfoliated my skin along with a head, neck and shoulder massage. She used their Rose balm on the top of my chest and their Frankincense range on my face - which is good for skin, over the age of 30.

I fully enjoyed the experience and particularly loved the Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Facial Mist. She told me to breathe in as she sprayed it over my face at the beginning and end of the treatment; it was simply wonderful.

Frankincense Hydrating Facial Mist

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/skincare/organic-facial-skincare/facial-toners/0354.html

Afterwards I felt so full of energy and ran down the road to catch a bus to the harbour where I met my sister and her little boy Jago. We had a chat and treated ourselves to tea and cake. I felt a bit greasy out in public, as I had oil in my hair and a shiny face. It's best to let all of the products sink in to your skin and not wear any make up afterwards.

When I woke up this morning my skin felt incredible. It's a lovely treat, and something I will consider once or twice a year, pennies permitting. It costs £35 for half an hour (which is what I had), or you can pay £70 for an hour treatment and have a face mask, with a hand or foot massage included). 

I'm not feeling like such a frumpy old mummy now; a little bit of pampering is definitely good for the soul.

Have a look to see the other therapies that Neal's Yard offer:

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/our-therapies

Playgrounds and Meltdowns

Eve playing in the newly redesigned playground in Perrett Park

We had some sunny days last week, so Eve spent a lovely time playing in Perrett Park with Daddy during their mornings together.

This weekend we've spent our time mainly at home, pottering about, playing and going to the park. The weather was set to be rainy on Sunday. We planned to drive into town so that Sam could spend his birthday voucher from October (this is how much we don't go shopping!) He bought a smart mod suit which will be really nice to wear when we have some events to go to that involve dressing up. 

Ready with her lunchbox to go shopping

Shortly after finishing our shopping Eve woke up in her pram, she hadn't slept very long and was woken up by loud music in a shop. She had a great time walking about Cabot Circus; in and out exploring shops and saying hello to passers by. 

I thought I had a good idea for lunch and headed to Bella Pasta (not somewhere we would usually go), thinking that a nice bowl of pasta would be perfect for Eve's lunch. She was given crayons and a colouring in sheet and some bread sticks to munch on. She was happy enough but seemed a bit on edge and wanted her lunch to arrive. I think I put her bib on a little bit too soon, so she started getting agitated wanting to know where her lunch was. When the waitress brought out her pasta and put it on the table in front of her, we suddenly realised how low the 'high' chair was. The high rimmed bowl was almost as high as her face so she couldn't feed herself as her hands were too low down. She immediately started crying. We tried placing something under her to raise her up, but she had already started getting very upset. We then tried to sit her on our laps so she could try to eat like that, but this method didn't work and she proceeded to scream down the restaurant.

Moments before meltdown

Thankfully as we were inside the shopping centre, I took her, screaming very loudly, outside to the restaurant tables which are undercover. Eve proceeded to writhe around as I desperately tried to feed her something - she wouldn't touch a thing. In the end we gave up trying to give her anything to eat and tried to calm her down looking over the balcony at all the people below. I must say that the restaurant staff were incredibly nice to us. About six waitresses came rushing out, following us to a table outside with our various plates, drinks, and bits and bobs.

As Sam was walking her about, they bumped into Emily; who is the girl in charge of the baby room at nursery. Sam says that Eve stopped crying and even said 'bye bye' to Emily as she wandered off. From there things improved slightly.

Sam and I took turns bolting down our lunch to make a quick retreat. Paying for this awful experience at the end of the meal seemed to be the cherry on the cake. When we got home, Eve calmly walked over to her highchair; I put her in it and she started eating straight away. The poor girl had been in such a state and slept for almost 3 hours after she finished her lunch. 

Enjoying Thomas the Tank Engine in Broadwalk shopping centre.

We didn't need to put any money in it, Eve was happy just standing pushing the buttons.

When Eve woke up around 4pm yesterday, Sam went upstairs to get her. He said that she was clearly trying to say 'sorry' to us both as she was hugging and stoking him and kept asking for me: 'mummy? mummy?' When he brought her downstairs I gave her a hug and she curled up on me and just stayed there silently for a few minutes - something she's never done before. It was very endearing. We had told her throughout the situation that it wasn't her fault and tried to reassure her. I feel that there is always a positive to be taken from a negative situation. I for one will definitely research a restaurant a bit more in the future. It just didn't dawn on me that a restaurant might not have high enough highchairs/or that the tables just didn't work with the chairs.

Mummy and Eve in Perrett Park

I emailed Bella Pasta yesterday to thank the staff for their help and also informed them that this is something they might want to take a look at. I should imagine that by the time a child is big enough to sit in the 'high' chairs there and reach the table, they will be big enough to sit on a seat instead.

I picked up this cute hat for £1 in a charity shop the other day, 

after seeing them online for £14 - happy bargain shopping

Frenic Monomyth T-Shirts - Ordeo Clothing

After the great success of my lovely husband, DJ Frenic's last tour of Greece, Monomyth T-shirts are now available to buy online.

The T-shirts are made from organic cotton and show the image from the Monomyth album cover. Sizes available are Medium, Large and X Large.  They are on sale at the moment for £15 (reduced from £20) and will be sent to you including a free boxed copy of the full album.

If you haven't heard the album yet, you are certainly in for a treat when it arrives on your doorstep.

Delivery costs are only £3.49 for the UK, and £6 for International shipments. You can't go wrong peeps, get one today or buy one for a friend!!

Click the link below to get involved:

http://www.ordeoclothing.co.uk/product/frenic-monomyth-tee/

A walk in Wedmore

Daddy and Eve - Westhay Moor Nature Reserve, Somerset

The weekend started with laughter, as I went out for Ocky's 30th birthday in Bedminster. The weather was good so I walked from my work in Redland across town and over the harbour to South Bristol. My sister had given me keys to her house. I arrived about 5.30pm and let myself in, whilst she was upstairs bathing Jago and putting him to bed.

I had a pleasant welcome, finding lovely homemade hummus waiting for me with some tasty olives, and lotions and potions for my face. I had a relaxing time getting ready for the meal. Sitting down in front of a mirror, quietly doing my make up and hair was quite a revelation. It's certainly been quite sometime since I straightened my hair and wore heels.

http://www.fever-tree.com/

Once Claire had put Jago to bed we had a chat and she made me a much needed gin and tonic. I've had Fever Tree tonic a few times at festivals and things. I'm not usually a big fan of tonic as I find it too sweet, but this stuff is the absolute bomb! Definitely transforms a g and t that's for sure.

We spent a few happy hours in Zazu's Kitchen in Bedmo; the food was great and seeing the gals was even better. Ocky has been such a good friend to us over the years and it was fab to see her celebrating her 30th birthday with her pals. It was really good having some girly chats. Of course I missed Eve loads, but I knew that Daddy would do a excellent job with bath and bedtime.

http://www.zazuskitchen.co.uk/

I arrived home, and the spaghetti bolognese sauce that I was going to make on Saturday morning for Eve's lunch had already been made. This was great news because it meant that on Saturday morning I could spend my time cleaning and rearranging the kitchen. Eve's flapjacks and snacks have had to be moved to a secret location!! Plus, she's now enjoying getting into the cupboards, so I moved cleaning chemicals to higher shelves, out of reach of her little hands. A good bit of spring cleaning done.

Eve played downstairs whilst I was cleaning. Daddy shouted to me to come into the lounge. Eve has been running at the sofa for a few weeks now, laughing wildly as she hits the soft cushions. She's been climbing down from sitting on our laps for ages, but on Saturday she climbed up onto the sofa and sat on the edge to watch tv next to Dad. It was very cute.

In the afternoon we had fun in our little courtyard garden playing with the bubble gun. Eve loved trying to catch the bubbles before they popped.

Grandad Col and Jeggsy's Garden

During Eve's nap on Sunday morning we drove down to Wedmore (45 minutes from Bristol) to visit Sam's Dad and Jeggsy for lunch. We had a lovely time wandering about their garden, which is under construction but already looks fantastic. After a yummy spring lunch of salmon and veg we played with Eve outside on the grass. The garden is quite steep so Eve found it a bit tricky staying upright, but it was great fun kicking a ball about and watching her interaction with their golden labrador, Saffy.

Touch Down!!

The weather brightened up in the early afternoon so we took a quick 5 minute drive down to Westhay Moor Nature Reserve. Daddy put Eve into the baby rucksack and off we went.

We had a great ramble around marshes, reed beds and lakes. As my father-in-law was telling us about a rare species of bird called the Bittern (a thick set, brown Heron), and was explaining how they made a sound kind of like when you blow over the top of a glass bottle; we suddenly heard one somewhere in the reed bed. They are a secretive bird so we didn't see it, but hearing it was quite thrilling. It is a red list species and is one of the most threatened in the UK.

Watching the wildlife

Cotton Grass in a stream, in the old peat works

Daddy and Eve enjoying a cool bird sculpture 

Westhay Moor Nature Reserve for more information:

http://www.somersetwildlife.org/westhay_moor.htmlgclid=COLHocDAy8UCFWmx2wod0WAASQ

Grandad Col in the bird hide

Daddy and Eve in the bird hide

Eve enjoyed singing her way around most of our walk and seemed to be absolutely delighted to be wandering about in such beautiful surroundings. She's so communicative now, it's exciting to hear her repeating words that we say.

The end of a fab outing

Eve has been blowing kisses for a couple of weeks now, and this weekend whilst playing with Mrs. Tiggywinkle, Daddy told Eve to kiss her; and she was off trotting round the kitchen kissing Mrs. Tiggywinkle non stop!

The little Mrs. Tiggywinkle that Eve plays with belongs to me. I've had her for years, and couldn't bare to give her away, as she's always been my favourite Beatrix Potter character.

Potty Training Prep

The BabyBjorn Potty Chair 

Thoughts on potty training have been crossing my mind for a few months. Eve will be 1.5 years in a few weeks time. I received an auto email this morning from a company about discounts on potty training equipment, which prompted me to start looking into this further.

First of all I reviewed best potty's and potty products, along with tips and advice on potty training. Some ideas work for some people and different ones for others. I'm open to potty training, but mainly I want to stay well clear of disposable pull up pants if we possibly can.

I've been reading online that parents in South East Asia, South America, parts of Africa and Eastern Europe use a bare bottom technique from an early age or start potty training far earlier than we do in the west. Within the bare bottom culture of some countries, disposable nappies are seen as unnecessary and even disgusting. It makes total sense to start earlier if it's possible, as you will then decrease the amount of disposable nappies going to landfill. Also, the older a child gets, it becomes more difficult to change their habits. 

Bum Genius cloth nappies - a fantastic product, I could not fault them

We used Bum Genius cloth re-useable nappies from 1 month (Eve was too small to fit in them until that point) until 9 months. Around the 9 month mark we had been travelling lots, had recently moved house and Eve was suffering with her teeth very badly. This upheaval meant that I was up sometimes 4-5 times a night and she was getting through a crazy amount of bottles - sometimes 5 of them. At that point we had to ditch the cloth nappies as there was just too much liquid to be held in them (even if I changed her in the middle of the night).

I felt bad about using disposables, but there just wasn't a way around it. I was worried about the amount that Eve was drinking through the night, but thankfully as she became comfortable with her new surroundings, started eating more varied food; and when she finally got used to nursery things started getting better during the night-time. 

I've got to say I'm glad that stage is over. I went back to work full time in October and was completely exhausted by the end of December, but then things finally started to improve. Eve hasn't been drinking milk at all during the night-time for the past couple of months. She now just has a little bit of water before bed and that's it. She's sleeping through the night fairly often, except when another tooth is coming through, then I'll get up and give her medicine and a bit of water in the middle of the night when she's in pain.

                                                The BabyBjorn Potty Chair in turquoise

From what I could tell, though fairly expensive, the BabyBjorn potty chair seemed like the best potty to go for. It has a high back which makes it easier for toddlers to get on to, and a high front pee guard. It seems easy to clean and has a rubber bottom to stop it from slipping. We are lucky with hand-me-downs and most of Eve's clothes, toys and bits and bobs I buy from charity shops, so I felt that I could justify the cost of the BabyBjorn items, which will have a lot of use.

Have a look on this link for more information. They come in lots of different colours, which is quite fun too. I chose the turquoise shade, mainly because it was on offer on a website. BabyBjorn also make a smaller toilet training potty that could be used at a later stage.

http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/bathroom/potty-chair/

I also figured that I would buy a safe step at the same time in a matching colour. I know that Eve probably won't be able to use it for a while but I think it's probably a good idea to have it in the bathroom where she can sit on it, climb on it, play with it and generally get used to it.

http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/bathroom/step-stool/

If you're interested, here is information on the 'Potty training in three days' strategy outlined in Julie Fellom's Diaper Free Toddler program.

This link below gives step-by-step instructions on how to make it work for you. There are of course pros and cons, but I think we will give this a go when we know that a warm weekend is coming up.

The technique involves no pants, and being naked from the waist down as much as possible. I know that potty training may take some time, but I'll remember to speak to the nursery staff to find out what is allowed and what they will work around.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-in-three-days-or-less_10310078.bc?page=1

                                        I found this potty training do's list quite helpful too:
                                       http://happilyevermom.com/potty-training-must-dos/

Sunshine Sandpits

I've been waiting for a sunny day to come along for a while now, as I wanted to take Eve to the sandpit in the park near our house, to build sand castles.

Today has been the nicest day for a while, and though I was happy to go off to work this morning and leave Daddy and Eve to have a good time; part of me felt disappointed that I couldn't be with them.

The photos that Sam sent me made up for it though. It fills my heart with joy when I see pictures of Eve enjoying herself.

The little kid in the background doing yoga looks like he's having a good time too!

Eve has been trotting off to grab her socks and shoes when Daddy tells her to for a few weeks now. As soon as she's had breakfast each day she usually brings Daddy's shoes to him as well, as she is so desperate to get out the door to nursery. We both chuckled this morning when he asked her to get her shoes. She went and got them and said very clearly, 'Shoes!'

Daddy and Eve

Finnish Baby Boxes

I read about this online today and wanted to share it with you. It's such a fantastic idea.

Finland has one of the lowest rates of infant mortality in the world. Every expectant mother is given a box filled with all the necessary things a newborn baby needs. Finland's government has been giving these boxes for the past 75 years. Some parents even use the box as the newborn baby's first cot, as the base itself is a mattress with a sheet and sleeping bag included. 

The box includes things such as cloth nappies, breast pads, condoms, teething toys, inner and outer wear for the baby, towels, scissors, hairbrush, nappy cream, bath thermometer. Read the link below for more information.

A photo from the Finnish Labour Museum from the 1930's. These boxes were at first only available to those on a low income, but in 1949 they became available to everyone.

There is a short news clip at the bottom of this link if you fancy watching it:

http://www.idealistrevolution.org/every-newborn-in-finland-sleeps-in-a-cardboard-box-for-the-most-brilliant-reason/