User-agent: * Allow: /. Would Like To Be A Yummy Mummy: January 2012

Tuesday 31 January 2012

31/366 - Delicious Macaroons

Each Tuesday we head off to a toddler Group at Poppy's School. The girls love it and I enjoy myself too. This morning Poppy asked if she could make all her friends some cakes, so we all made these  lovely coconut macaroons. Even Rosie helped:



They were a big hit and Poppy enjoyed sharing them.

Karen x

My Bump Diary - 15 Weeks



Wow, 15 weeks already. The weeks are flying past.

Luckily for me I am feeling pretty good. Still a little tired and the odd queasy day but generally pretty good.

Apparently my baby is now the size of an orange and almost the length of a Kit Kat finger. It really is growing quickly.



Baby's legs are now longer than its arms and it is moving around a lot more. I can well believe this is true because I can feel him or her wriggling around lots, which is kind of nice and very reassuring.

My tummy is starting to sprout a little now. If you didn't know you wouldn't assume I was pregnant but Husband and I can tell. I have tried to weigh myself but the scales are broken so I have no idea how much weight I have put on but to be honest I wouldn't have thought it was that much.

I must admit I have had two weeks where I haven't eaten quite as well as I was.  I have put this down to the queasiness and wanting to graze on carby things like bread. I am trying to eat little and often and am eating lots of  fresh fruit and some yoghurt too but am not craving anything in particular. 

I have had a little indigestion this week, something I didn't get with the girls (maybe a boy?). I've also noticed my tastes have changed too. Baby doesn't really like curry, cheese and onion crisps or vegetables (except sweetcorn) but it does like salt and vinegar crisps, Haribo and fresh fruit!

All in all, I am pretty well and cant wait to my 20 week scan on 6th March. We are hoping to discover the gender then too...how exciting!

Karen x

Monday 30 January 2012

30/366 - Teeth Time

My girls love cleaning their teeth and get very excited when I say "teeth time" so here they are:

Karen x

Pretty Little Things - Coming Home Outfit

My regular readers will know that I  am a very girly girl and love all things pretty, so when I noticed this linky at Mummy Daddy  and Me Makes Three and Dear Beautiful Boy, I just had to join in.

This is a new linky and this weeks topic is coming home outfits.  I tried really hard to find a photo of either of my girls the day they came home but they are all wrapped up in blankets. Anyway this is Poppy at 2 weeks wearing the dress I brought.

It was a gorgeous pale pink cotton one from the Disney store and has a little Eyeore on the bottom. it also has little white knickers with tiny pink spots on..so cute. 

I loved it so much and it had such little wear that I decided to put Rosie in it too when she came home. Both my girls were Summer babies so it was perfect and I just couldn't find anything I liked as much. This is a very special dress to me and I haven't been able to give it away....luckily as baby number 3 is also going to be another Summer baby and we don't know if its another girl yet!


Looking forward to sharing lots more pretty things.



Karen x

My Week That Was ....

Wow, the weeks really are flying by at the moment so I am so pleased I decided to join in with this fabulous linky. With my ever increasing baby brain its nice to be able to look back and remember what we got up too.


On Tuesday we skipped the usual toddler group and headed off to visit friends we haven't seen in ages. We were supposed to be meeting in the park but as it was so wet we went to her house instead and another friend turned up too. It was lovely for me to catch up with them and have a girly chat but it was lovely for Poppy too as she got to see two of her friends she hasn't seen since before Christmas.

Thursday afternoons have once again become Mummy/ Poppy time whilst Rosie naps. On this day we did baking and produced all of these delicious looking cupcakes and cookies:


Poppy is once again thriving with the attention so I am so glad we have reintroduced this special time.

Also the girls new shoes arrived and they loved them.

Before I knew it, it was Friday again.  Today was an extra special day as I had officially been blogging for one year!

It was also time for another music group. I think it went pretty well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. As Rosie has been toilet trained for 3 weeks, I dared to leave her nappy off and took her little toilet seat out instead. I was really impressed when she went for  a big wee before the group started and as soon as it finished! She really has done well bless her. Despite being out for 3 hours in total...no accidents! I think I can safely say she really is toilet trained.



Saturday was a busy day. We had Poppy's usual ballet lesson first but then had to rush off to buy a present as Poppy had been invited to a party today on Thursday and we hadn't had a chance to go beforehand.  Then it was the party in the afternoon which was held at a soft play area. She enjoyed it but by the end of the day became unwell and very whingy. I was left feeling tired as well as a little hard done by and unappreciated.


Sunday was a very lazy day indeed. Poor Poppy was not well at all and wanted to be cuddled up most of the day on the sofa and have lots of cuddles. Obviously I had to join her, give her the required hugs and keep her warm and cosy...being pregnant it was quite nice to have a rest and we even managed to watch Ella Enchanted! Lovely. Oh and Rosie is 19 months old today...so grown up!

Heres to another happy week and hope my little girl feels much better.
Karen x

Sunday 29 January 2012

29/366 - Bath Time Fun


I love bath time shots and think this is a very cute one of Rosie. Poppy is unfortunately a bit poorly and grumpy and didn't want her picture taken.

Karen x

Husband Strips Off!

Husband and I get on really well and do not really argue about anything but there is one thing that we can never agree on and that is the temperature of the house.

I am always cold...honestly! Even when pregnant I never get that feeling of being too warm I read about. Husband on the other hand is always hot. As you can imagine this causes a few problems.

I love to have the heating on, can often be found snuggled up under a blanket and live in my thick ski socks.  He, on the other hand comes home moaning and to make a point strips down to his pants!

Take this picture for example, it was taken on one of those evenings. Husband had cycled home so was quite warm when he arrived. He walked into to a warm cosy house and told me it was far too hot so stripped off:


He argues that I have the house unbearably hot so he is uncomfortable. He claims if  I am cold I can pile on the layers but he cannot take any more clothes off. I on the other hand find it unbearable being cold. I put the heating on to warm the house up, I do not have it on all day....so who is right?

The girls tend to take after him and don't feel the cold but if their skin feels cool or they are not hot then surely it cannot be too hot?

Its worse in this house because there is no thermostat so we can not keep the temperature at a happy constant..instead it is either on or off.  Maybe it will get easier when we move again.

Until then I guess we both try and compromise.

Karen x


Saturday 28 January 2012

28/366 - Party, Calpol and Whinging



Today has been one of those days and I have decided that children can sometimes appear to be very ungrateful.

I have been running after Poppy all day. I have taken her to her ballet lesson, taken her shopping for a birthday present and card for her friend and then taken her to her said friends Birthday party. Basically I have been running around with her all day.

She enjoyed her lesson, picking the present and the party but since she was told it was time to go home she has done nothing but whine. That was at 4pm and she didn't stop until she went to bed at 6.30pm.....it has driven me crazy.

She does have a bit of runny nose but no other symptoms, so maybe she is coming down with something...still, sometimes a simple thank you would be nice!

Karen x

P.S Don't worry, I do know she is only 3 and doesn't understand but this is my blog and I just wanted to offload!


Pretty New Shoes

The girls new shoes have arrived and I am so excited I wanted to share them with you. I must point out that this is in no way a sponsored post, we brought these shoes with our own money but love them.

These are barefoot shoes and if you haven't heard about them before you can read all about the foot health benefits and science behind them here.

I first heard about barefoot shoes when I wrote a post about how confusing it is buying little ones first shoes these days. It led to us buying a pair for Rosie's first shoes.

Not only are they better for children's feet, they are no more expensive than traditional shoes companies and they come in a variety of bright and funky colours and styles. The girls love them and cant wait to get them on. They look comfortable, are very soft and are much lighter than traditional shoes. They really do feel like the next best thing to bare feet.

We love them and can't wait to see what they bring out for the new Spring/Summer range.


Karen x

Friday 27 January 2012

27/ 366 - My Little Andrex Puppy

Rosie is a complete nightmare when it comes to toilet roll. She is forever pulling it off the toilet, usually trying to distract her Sister and make her giggle when she is using the bathroom.

Last night she took it to a new level though, pulling the toilet roll from the toilet all the way into the living room to show Daddy and I:


The cheeky little monster.

Karen x

My 1 Year Blogoversary - Wow A Real Achievement

Wow I can hardly believe that I have been blogging for a year and what a year it has been.

A year ago I started writing a sort of journal for my family to see. Never in a million years did I expect anyone else to be interested, that so many other Mums were doing the same thing, that I would actually get to meet other bloggers in real life or that Companies would send me things to review.

I started writing with little idea of the direction it was going to go in. I knew I wanted to write about my family and what we got up to and perhaps about my mission to become a yummy mummy. At the time My Husband had been away for a while and I was shattered. I looked old, tired and neglected and wanted to feel yummier again. I started reviewing health and beauty products and within a year lost a stone, a dress size and regained my confidence and sparkle again:



Blogging has given me a feeling of purpose. I am recording some wonderful memories but it oh so much more.

Back in July 2011, I discovered the power of blogging - how it gives us a platform to make our voices heard, I think that was when I realised this was more than I ever imagined it would be.

These days I have my mojo back and I am a happy confident Mummy ready to go on with the next chapter of our lives. This year everything is changing again as our family of four becomes five!

Regular readers may have noticed my blog has changed recently and so is the direction. Much happier with the way I look and feel now,  I am moving away from trying to be more yummy and am instead focussing on my new pregnancy and sharing my parenting tips.

This doesn't mean I am going to go back to the old me...no way. I have just discovered a few products I can use and now realise its okay to spend a little money on clothes for me as well as the girls. I am not going to neglect myself any more...if I feel good so do my family.

So this year is all about our growing family, wish me luck.

Thanks for all of your support and I hope you continue to read. I am looking forward to seeing where this year takes us and meeting some of you again at events this year!

Karen x




Thursday 26 January 2012

26/366 - ipad Story Time



Poppy loves Daddy's ipad. Luckily he lets her share it and has downloaded a range of games and stories for her.  They can be found quite often cuddling up for a bit of quiet time and a story and if Poppy is very lucky she gets to have one before bedtime.

Karen x

We've Been Baking!

After a difficult week last week I realised how much Poppy values our special Mummy/Poppy time when Rosie is napping. Due to toddler groups and Preschool commitments we originally set aside Thursday afternoons for this special time. Over Christmas we were away so this kind of stopped and I didn't get straight back into it either...but now I have.

Thursday afternoons are once again time for baking and creating. A special time where we make lots of mess, eat treats we make and generally enjoy each others company.

Today we baked. We had lots of fun making chocolate chip cookies and fairy cakes. Poppy is becoming very independent now and wants to do everything herself. Here's what we did:

Chocolate Chip cookies

Ingredients

75g margarine
75g caster sugar
100g self raising flour
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
120mls milk
50g chocolate chips

How we did it

1.  First we preheated the oven to 180C

2.  Next we put the margarine and sugar into a large bowl. We mixed them together together with a wooden spoon until they were light and fluffy.



3.  Next, sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and stir into the mixture with the wooden spoon:


4.  Add the milk and chocolate chips to the bowl and mix together well:



5.  Spoon the mixture onto your baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes. Once in the oven you can lick the wooden spoon and bowl:



Cupcakes

We made the mixture and then split it into two bowls. One half we made into cherry coconut cupcakes and the other into chocolate chip. You could do what ever you want...let your imagination run wild!

Ingredients

8 oz self raising flour
3 oz margarine
3oz caster sugar
1 egg
3-4 floz milk

For the topping

Cherries
Coconut
Icing sugar
Water
Crumbled flake

How we did it

1.  First we turned the oven to 200C

2.  Sift the flour into the bowl and add the margarine. Rub the mixture between your fingertips until it becomes crumbly. Add  the sugar and mix in:



 3.  Add the egg and just enough milk to make a stiff mixture:


3. We added a handful of coconut and chopped cherries to half the mixture and a handful of chocolate chips to the other to make them a bit more interesting:



4. we then spooned into cupcake cases and  baked for 15 minutes:


We made two bowls of icing sugar for the toppings. In one bowl we added a little vanilla to the mixture whilst to the other we added some cocoa powder. We spooned it on top of the cupcakes  and added grated flake to the chocolate ones and coconut and half a cherry to the others...delicious:



 The end result:

 
 Poppy had great fun and enjoyed her yummy cupcake this afternoon. She can't wait to show Daddy when he gets home now.

Mummy is wondering if we could freeze some of these or we are going to get terribly fat!

Looking forward to lots more fun filled Thursday afternoons.

Karen x








Wednesday 25 January 2012

25/366 - Rosie Loves Dressing Up

Both girls love dressing up and we have a gorgeous range of costumes including Tinkerbell, a bumble bee and a range of very pretty tutus and fairy wings.

Rosie however, favours her Sisters clothes! Whenever Poppy takes something off, Rosie is right behind her trying to put it on. Here she is trying on her Sisters school skirt:



I know its two pictures rather than one really but I couldn't pick so combined them together!

Karen x

Tuesday 24 January 2012

My Bump Diary -14 Weeks



I cannot believe I am 14 weeks and in my second trimester already.

I have found this amazing little video to show you how my baby is growing.  Everything is apparently in place now, he or she is the size of a peach and can pull all sorts of faces:


I am supposed to be feeling at my best now but this has actually been the first week I have felt a little dodgy. I have had extreme tiredness, have been starving constantly and have also felt a little queasy at times.  I have noticed though that if I have a little snack with the girls around 3.30pm then it helps.

My waist is starting to disappear now and I have a teeny tiny bump...well actually it looks like I have been eating a few too many biscuits rather than a bump. My size 12 jeans are now a little tight so I have stopped wearing them. I am at that annoying stage where you just feel a bit fat but my size 14s are still way to big. Luckily I have a few skirts and dresses that are comfortable and make me feel pretty.

I have looked at the huge pile of maternity clothes my Sister has given me back recently. With the two of us having four pregnancies between us the bag has got bigger. However I have noticed a few things I want to treat myself to.

I think I need a nice new pair of indigo skinny jeans that will fit me from now until the end.

I would like a new denim skirt, my non maternity one still fits well but when I grow out of it, the maternity one we have is pretty old and faded now.

I would also like some navy blue leggings and some tights.

That should be enough to carry me through as we have quite a few tops, skirts and dresses.

All in all I am feeling good. I have found I have been wanting a few more carby things this week like bread and crackers and I have also been eating a lot of cherries too. I am making sure I drink lots of water , put my feet up when I can and take my vitamins.

Karen x





24/366 - Stroppy Poppy

Poppy loves pulling faces and showing me  her happy face, sad face etc. Here is her stroppy face:


She really is a cheeky monkey. Luckily we don't see it much or at least not for long. Usually she can be easily swayed and made to smile again...especially if you tickle her!

Karen x

Shopping For Girls....So Many Pretty Things!

With two little girls I have started to wonder what baby number three is going to be.

Husband is convinced it is another little girl but i'm not so sure. We don't mind either way though as long as it is healthy.

I always wanted a little girl so am over the moon to have two. I am so girly I must admit that first time round I did want a little girl to dress up in pretty dresses and to go shopping with when she's older.

It would be lovely to have a little boy to complete our little family but if it is a girl at least we already have lots of pink and girly things. If its a boy I guess I will just have to get shopping (what a shame haha).

The one thing that does worry me though is that there is so many more cute things for girls than boys. Why is that? Everyone I know who has boys is always complaining about it.

Shopping for girls is so addictive, there are just so many things to choose from.  I am a huge fan of pretty dresses with matching knickers and as they get older dresses with brightly coloured tights.

I was just going through lots of old photos today and wanted to share a few of them with you.

So many beautiful outfits:



We have to wait until February to find out what the next one will be but I guess its not that far away. Will keep you posted.

Karen x

Monday 23 January 2012

My Week That Was ....

Another week has flown by and its that time to recap. Its been a bit of a mixed one really with highs and lows and quite a few toddler groups too.

For the first time ever we had a bit of a difficult week with Poppy crying when she went to Preschool. It started on Monday and carried on until Thursday when we managed to solve it. On that day, she ran into School telling her Teacher if she was good and din't cry she was going to make chocolate brownies.

On Tuesday afternoon I took the girls to a toddler group at the School, which we all enjoy. The girls get to play and do crafty things, I even get to join in too before having a coffee and chat with the other Mums! It really is lovely.

Wednesday I took Rosie to a toddler group at her Daddy's work. It was the first one since Christmas so was lovely to catch up with the other wives and their children. Especially the babies, if I wasn't pregnant already I think I would be broody again. I took this photo just before we went out and realised how grown up Rosie is looking lately:


Thursday Poppy and I enjoyed some quality Mummy/Poppy time whilst Rosie was napping. I realised that the getting upset at School thing was attention seeking behaviour so gave her lots of attention. We made chocolate brownies, played jigsaws and games and even did some sticking. I think it did her the world of good:



Friday we went to the music Group I now run.... Singers & Stompers! It was quite a good sized group and we all had fun. I hope it continues to go as well and that even more people come. In the afternoon I had a midwife appointment. It was a routine one filling out all the paperwork but now its all done, so next time I hope to be able to hear the babies heartbeat and stuff!

Saturday was a very quiet lazy day. Apart from Poppy's ballet lesson we did very little. It was just nice being a bit lazy to be honest and all being together.



Sunday we went to Torquay for the morning. It was pretty windy but quite warm so it was nice to walk along looking at the boats and we stopped for lunch at the Harvester where we finished off with this yummy pudding:



All in all (except for the Poppy thing) a pretty normal week.



Karen x

23/366 - Through The Looking Glass

Little Miss Rosie is growing up so quickly. Turning into a proper little girl now, she loves the colours pink and purple, tries to copy her Sister doing ballet and generally smiles and giggles a lot. Here she is with a bit of a serious face after I put her hair in bunches.

She really is checking herself out in the mirror before we go out:



Karen x

Fabulous Pampering Ideas For Valentines Day

Now that Christmas is over it appears that everyone is getting ready for the next big event... Valentines Day. Have you started to think about it yet? Well if not don't worry I have a few pampering ideas for you and your loved ones.






I have just been sent some fabulous looking  Kyoku for Men products for Husband to trial and review. Although he has not tested them yet, they  look lovely and smell gorgeous so I am sure they would make fantastic  presents for the man in your life:




We were sent:
Kyoku facial moisturiser 100ml 
Kyoku Eye Fuel 20ml
Kyoku Exfoliating face scrub 50ml

There are a number of other products available including a fabulous looking gift box and they are available from Boots Nationwide

If you wanted to drop some hints for presents for yourselves then Saks hair and Beauty have a wide range of treatments including exotic wraps and massages.  Just imagine leaving the children for a while and indulging in a bit of pampering.....perfect present I would say. 


Finally Ministry of waxing are offering heart shaped Brazilian waxes priced to get you in the mood.  Not really my thing (sounds far too painful) but if its yours then they are available for £55.


So there you go, pampering gifts to get you prepared for the big day or to treat yourself or loved ones. Enjoy.


Karen x







Sunday 22 January 2012

Lost - Finally Watched The Final Episode

A few years ago Husband and I were really into Lost. Remember that American Drama Television series about the survivors of a plane crash landing on a dessert island?

Half way through Series four Poppy came along and for one reason and another we missed the end of the series. Maybe it was on too late or we went to bed earlier tired after having a baby, I don't know but after that we never seemed to catch up.



We somehow went on to miss series 5 and 6 too but then just before Christmas we discovered we could watch all the episodes on BT Vision. How have we not noticed this before? We have only had BT vision for a year!

Anyway, since Christmas Husband and I have really got back into it again. We have rushed to get the girls to bed each night only to settle back in front of the telly and catch up with the rest of the World. We started at Series 4 , worked our way through to series 6 and finally watched the last episodes tonight.

You would think after six long series of a programme it would all make sense at the end, so did it.......No it didn't.

I think the second to last episode was brilliant and you began to feel like you are almost there, like it was all starting to make sense and then came the last one.

Well lets just say it was a let down.

A bit of tear jerker yes but did it answer all those unanswered questions....NO, did it feel like the ending suitable for such a brilliant series...NO! In fact I have been left feeling a bit deflated, a bit let down and even more LOST than ever.

Is that what the writers wanted?

If you have never seen it before then it is definitely very good, addictive viewing. However, the ending was just not good enough...it needed something a bit more dramatic.

Sorry just had to get it off my chest.

Karen x


22/366 - Look Mummy Ice Cream!

After a lovely walk along the sea front today, we stopped at  The Harvester  for lunch . We all enjoyed ourselves and topped it off with a delicious naughty pudding. We did get four spoons though and share it between all four of us so it wasn't as bad as could have been.

This photo made me laugh as Poppy was so busy colouring she didn't notice the Waitress had been but Rosie certainly did!


Karen x

Does Size Matter?

Okay so I am talking about the size of children here....nothing else!

Last week Rosie was off her food and after a few days I became quite worried - not because she wasn't eating but more that she was losing weight.

She is already pretty slim but when she was getting ready for her bath I noticed you could see all her ribs and it made me feel quite sick.  Luckily she began to eat again the next day and has since made up for being off her food.  It was scary though.

Poppy on the other hand was always a chubby baby. Although not fat she still has a little extra on her now which means when she is sick she has a bit to fall back on.

With Poppy, I always worried I was feeding her too much and have probably been more strict with her diet than I might have been if she was smaller. For example, at three and a half  she has never had chips or crisps...she thinks they are for grown ups. She doesn't have sweets.

Snacks in our house tend to be fresh fruit, dried fruit, yoghurt raisins, bread sticks or rice cakes. Very occasionally she might be allowed a packet of chocolate buttons or cakes/cookies if we make them at home. However, looking at her you wouldn't believe it.

The girls eat the same as us, normal family meals, with fruit, yoghurt , rice pudding or the occasional bit of ice cream! Both have good appetites and are not that fussy. I would say that Rosie eats more than Poppy though.

So does it matter at this age what size they are? Surely the important thing is that they eat a healthy balanced diet? How big are your children and do you worry that they are too big or too small?



Karen x

Saturday 21 January 2012

21/366 - My Dancing Ballerina



Poppy loves her ballet lessons, pretty tutus and ballet slippers. She likes to dance, spin and twirl all day long.

Karen x

Saturdays Are Ballet Days

Poppy has been doing ballet for a year now and absolutely loves it. At three she is not graceful yet but she does not stop dancing all day long. She spends day after day pointing her toes whilst spinning and twirling with her arms above her head:


She loves getting dressed up and has a range of pretty tutus to wear. Since doing a show at Christmas she now asks for a bun in her for her lessons too:


She really does enjoy it and now has some ballerina stories which we have to read each evening.  Its lovely seeing her enjoy something which is good for her too.  At the start she used to run around the room giggling with her friends but now she listens, concentrates and tries really hard:


I think you can see from these photos how much she enjoys it.

Rosie can often be found trying to copy her big Sister so I think she might like to try it when she is a bit bigger too.

Karen x

She