Littlemummy.com

I’m at that stage of parenthood where people often ask ‘when will we have another’, ‘how many do we want’, ‘what about a brother/sister for Erin’?
Prior to having Erin, our answer to question two was, “two”, “maybe three”…
Since Erin was about six months I have felt that perhaps three is the magic number, no, not three children, a family of three, Erin, Alex and I. Erin certainly hasn’t put me off having more, in fact, she’s the best daughter I could have hoped for, funny, laid back, loving, sociable …

One action that can have such a big impact.
One action that has no monetary cost.
It’s so easy that everyone could do it.
Once you’ve started it would easily become a habit.
After a while (or perhaps immediately), you will enjoy it so much you’ll never want to give it up, in fact there’s a danger you may become addicted…

This action takes 30 minutes and barely any effort at all. Take action now in 3 steps.
1. Put the answer phone on, turn the …

I finished up the part-time job on friday with a sigh of relief, it was a tad too much trying to make it work around Erin.
Saturday I had an all day girly shopping day, amongst the purchases, new jeans, pink stilettos (!) and some stripey vests, call me a bad mother but I managed to avoid all child related gear for the day!
This week I’m testing patience as my new habit, it’s already been tested this morning when Erin refused to put on the really cute sandals I …

I’ve decided to test a different habit each week to see what sticks and what can improve my life. Why write about? Well, I’m a parent and want to test these habits to see if they work for me, if they do, you may want to try the new habit yourself. Some habits may be really beneficial for parents whereas others will flop for one reason or another.
The first week’s habit was getting up early, I’ve tried this habit before and it doesn’t really work. The …

You thought breastfeeding/making up bottles was hard, and then you have to feed them ‘real’ food with mixed success. Bread and fruit have been Erin’s staple during the lean times when nothingelse would pass her lips.
Fruit ticks the big three;

Quick To Prepare
Easy (for them) To Eat
Healthy
My top five are as folows;
1. Grapes
In first place, grapes, Erin’s favourite. Pull off the stalk, rinse and serve (chop in half if you must).
2. Strawberries
In season, half price in many supermarkets, and another hot favourite.
3. …

1. Penny Toss
Provide pennies and bowls, mark a shooting spot on the grass, every penny in the pot wins a prize. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]
2. Penny a Weed

We did something similar with snails when I was younger! Two pence for a snail though, it’s a dirty job.
3. Peanut Hunt
Buy a pack of monkey nuts, mark some ‘winning’ nuts, and then hide all the nuts. Give prizes to any kids who find winning nuts. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]
4. …

Having worked as a nursery assistant for a brief spell before having Erin, I have been fortunate to see ‘the other side’ of the care provided. Don’t panic, I have no horror stories, if you choose with your instinct you are 99.99% likely to choose an excellent nursery with caring staff. Your nursery will accomodate you as much as possible, here’s a few tips for how you can help them.
1. Do not send your child with any other clothing than that you are happy to get …

I’ve been tagged by Kimberlyn to give my favourite restaurants in my local area.
I live in Edinburgh, Scotland.
My Five Favourite Restaurants (in no particular order)

1. The Guru Balti
For indian, the Guru is simply the best. The decor in the restaurant can be a little drab and I probably wouldn’t take Erin there(lack of facilities for kids), but the food is amazing. My favourites are the Chicken Dopiaza and the special Chicken Tikka Korma. Best korma ever. It’s extremely reasonably priced and as the menu …

I’m pretty lucky, Erin asks for nothing more than the odd biscuit or grape at the moment. In a few years, it will be a completely different story, “mum, can I have” will be the war cry. The summer holidays will be yet another financial event to be budgeted for.
In the past (dim, and very distant)when we’ve gone abroad I’ve tended to budget by the day. For example I work out a daily budget, multiply it by the amount of days and I know that’s …

Just a quick post to let you know I completed the above titled book. I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction recently and this was a welcome change of pace. As good as the previous shopaholic instalments, it covers the story of Becky Bloomwood pregnant and ready for life as a mother, many twists, turns and ‘laugh out louds’ later the story ends happily (as always). This is a coffee and slice of cake read…you know, that twice yearly event when you miraculously get five minutes to …