Review: David Charles Partywear For Girls

There are some beautiful clothes out there for girls and finding the right party dress can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. I tend to turn to the usual supermarket find or maybe a trip to Next or Monsoon. However from time to time I do like to splash out on something extra special and when I was looking for a dress for Holly that would be suitable for her birthday and into the Christmas party season I was really thrilled when David Charles Childrenswear got in touch.

An Eighth Birthday Party

The week before Christmas was Holly’s eighth birthday. This year she opted for a karaoke party and a minibus parked itself on our drive for two hours whilst the children sang their hearts out to the likes of Little Mix and Greatest Showman, much to the delight of our neighbours I’m sure!

Happy 6th Birthday To My Boy!

I say it with every year that passes, as I'm sure most parents do (including my mum despite my sister and I being in our thirties), but I can't believe my boy is six! Whilst the days can sometimes drag by, the years have flown and it only seems like yesterday that we brought our little man home from hospital, with his crinkly old man face, in a car seat first used by his big sister to a lovely welcome from my sister and my mum who had been waiting all day for us.

A Fifth Birthday

December is always an exciting month as we are definitely a family who loves Christmas and all its magic, however there is another reason we celebrate the final month of the year and that is our little lady's birthday. This time she turned five years old, which seems so huge to me as it doesn't feel like that time since she was that tiny baby in my arms.

Four Years Old

I am about a month late with this post, but back in December our little girl turned four. FOUR. Every parent says it, we hear it from our own parents, but I cannot believe how quickly these years pass by. The day she was born and those newborns days are still so firmly etched in my memory that I feel I can almost touch them, and yet here we are four years on.

Planning A Birthday Party

Like many parents, I look forward to my children's' birthdays tremendously, but also slightly anxious about the preparation these celebrations take to put together, especially as the children get older and the requests more demanding.

It is good to know I'm not alone as a recent survey revealed 42% of parents also feel this pressure. Steve Duggan, party planner to the stars including Elton John, has shared his top tips for throwing a stress-free and budget friendly party for your little treasure.

Birthday-Versary 2014

Every year myself and Mr H try to do something on our to celebrate both my birthday and our wedding anniversary - which are on the same day. Sometimes it's a weekend away, sometimes it's just spending the day together quietly at home. This year we hadn't planned anything in particular so when they day came we decided to have a quiet wander around the nearby village of Knutsford and then visit Tatton Park.

Beautiful Knutsford

I can't do too much walking and the gardens at Tatton were quite enough for me, but the weather held out and it was a really lovely day. I even managed to peruse a crafty shop or two and, of course, make some purchases.

My purchases

It's now been eight years since the day we took our vows and celebrated our special day in front of all of our family and friends. Several moves and two children later we are still going strong. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for this man. Happy Anniversary to my darling husband. May we still be just as crazy in another eight years!

Baby J Turns Two!

It is the eve of my little man's second birthday and I am feeling a range of emotions. Excited for him to see the Fireman Sam trike we have bought him and I'm pretty sure he will love! Proud of the little boy he is becoming - he is so charming, cheeky and still just as cute as ever. And just a little bit sad that the baby days are officially over. He is no longer in a cot, he can feed himself, he is walking, talking and paddying like the two year old he almost is. Those days of midnight snuggles and just watching him and basking in that new-parent glow are gone.

Three Years Old

For H

 Yesterday, my love, you turned three

Our baby girl has grown

Three! How could it possibly be?

Since the day we brought you home

Seems like only yesterday

That I cradled you on my knee

Oh I can't believe my eyes right now

My little girl is three

Since then we've watched as you have grown

From first smiles to laughs to strides

It wasn't long before we knew

You'd stolen our hearts inside

Now today you run and play with friends

I can feel the tears run free

Oh I can't believe my eyes right now

My little girl is three

We will watch you close and pick you up

We'll forever be there for you

Through first friends, loves and broken hearts

You can rely we'll see you through

So believe me when I tell you now

We are so proud of all you can be

Oh I can't believe my eyes right now

My little girl is three

*This is my interpretation on 'A Song for my Daughter'

The Hunt for the Perfect Present

Two weeks ago I turned 30 and the question on my mind has been for some while, a gift? I'm not really one for surprises when it come to gifts, especially big ones, I'm a bit of a control freak! After getting an iPhone two years ago and then an iPad not long after I really fancied a MacBook. My laptop is so slow and drives me crazy when I'm trying to upload photos, create collages and write blog posts in the same session. After about half an hour of usage it would just go painfully slow and trying to load photo-heavy pages such as webstagram or snapfish would take an age.

The old laptop had to be used in sync with the iPad

Having not owned a MacBook before I was a bit unsure, so turned to Twitter for some advice. Anyone who owned one instantly said it was the best thing they had bought, so I was convinced!

After doing a lot of research, including visiting Which? for their opinions, asking the techy gurus for advice and sourcing the best prices for laptops and netbooks, I decided on a MacBook Pro 13" with 8MB memory and 750GB hard drive. I take so many photos a week I really need something that can hold a high amount of data, so to me the extra £250 was worth it.

My Macbook arrived two days after my birthday (note: if you know a student, they get 15% off) and it is beautiful. It's lightweight, especially compared to my old laptop, it is shiny and the buttons light up - what more could a girl want?? On a serious note, it is super fast and the picture quality is amazing, everything is so sharp. It may be an expensive present but i know I will get so much use of it, it will definitely be worth it for years to come.

Now I just have to get to grips with a completely new platform!

*This post is brought to you in partnership with John Lewis

Here's To Turning 30

This weekend I celebrated my thirtieth birthday in style. On Friday we hired a barge for the day, the sub came out and we had a beautiful day sailing down the canal. We sipped bubbly, we pretended we were on the Titanic ( it has to be done right?), we raced down the side of the boat and we all laughed lots.

Baby J's Choo Choo Party

At the weekend we celebrated Baby J's first birthday. After seeing a great priced train table on EBay and knowing J's love of anything on wheels, I decided to throw a train themed party. In the end it wasn't easy to source everything I needed, pirates seem to be the trend at the moment so many train things weren't in stock. However after some sourcing I managed to put it all together.

 

 

The Last of the Baby Days - A First Birthday

As I write my baby boy is toddling around the house. He took his first steps only ten days ago but with every day he gains confidence. He is a toddler.

Happy Birthday Little Star

Today a beautiful little girl should be turning one. She should be celebrating an amazing year. Her family should be having a party, buying balloons and eating cake. Instead her family will be saying goodbye as her ashes as sent out to sea. It is a terrible tragedy; it is so unfair.

Today I would like to send all my love to Jennie and her family. We will be remembering Baby Tilda today and I will be holding my babies tightly.

Sometimes life is far too short.

Happy Birthday Baby Tilda, you have inspired us in so many ways.



On 11th May until 20th May an auction to remember Matilda Mae's will be held. All funds raised will go to The Lullaby Trust in Matilda's name and there have been some amazing prizes donated. Head over to Edspire and Ghostwritermummy for more information.

Happy Holly Birthday

I realised today that I never posted about Holly's first birthday party. Being only six days before Christmas, it went by so quickly and since then it's totally slipped my mind! Well, today is the day, so here it is!