Rock And Roll Baby World

Saved from Fashion Disaster

2012-02-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Rock Baby I put on nearly 4 stone as most of us do second time round! I spent the next year slowly losing the weight and when I returned back to work only to be surrounded by skinny model esque looking girls I started to have a fashion crisis.

In my line of business (I'm a PR) image is important and its not like going to a traditional office where you can wear smart suits and a good trip to Next can sort you out. The girls in my office are into cutting edge fashion, they are out most nights partying and a far cry from my world of screaming toddlers, sleep deprivation and the juggling act of trying your very hardest to hold down a full time job, act the role as a yummy mummy (I hate that term btw!) and remaining calm and collected and in control.

So after a particular miserable week feeling like a granny, dressing like a granny I called in a professional. Forget Gok Wan you need Bev Briggs. Bev is a friend and she started up her B Yourself personal styling business just over a year ago after many years of being a personal shopper for a leading high street fashion store.

I rang her up and explained I wanted to look smart, but not officy smart, more trendy and keeping to the latest fashion but pieces for my wardrobe that would last me a season and what I could mix and match, throw on really quickly without thinking and look at least a little presentable! I gave her my measurements and also told her I loved Fearne Cotton's style so that was the brief!

Bev went out and did a pre shop for me, taking all the hard work out for me by spending the day in Cambridge looking in all the shops I liked and putting aside key pieces. We then met up in Cambridge a couple of days later and she took me round the shops and showed me some of the things she had chosen, she pushed me to try on things which I perhaps wouldn't have thought to have tried and gave me really handy tips about my body shape and what would look good on me and suit my shape which is apparently pear.

I found out things I didn't realise such as I should wear chunky necklaces instead of big chunky bracelets as that draws the eye line down to my hips which unfortunately for me and I'm guessing loads of other women out there, this is where my weight likes to sit.

Bev managed to find me all the things I needed, I had given her a budget I wanted to stick to and I walked away with several items including a winter coat, shoes, bag and numerous tops and jeans. It was just so useful having someone there to focus me and just luxury having a very rare day to myself to actually thing about what I needed to buy rather than just a quick dash to the shops and panic buying something i thought I needed but then only ever wear once or twice.

I had a brilliant day and it gave me a real confidence boost! So I wanted to write this post to say a big thanks to Bev.

If you are a lady based in and around Cambridge and feel like you need a fashion make over then get in touch with Bev and check out her website here B Yourself

And to finish a picture below of me in some of my new clothes, its not the best shot of me no idea what my hair is going but the clothes look good! It was taken at a launch I went to in London last week for a fabulous kids project I am looking after called The Land of Sometimes.

That's me on the far right!

Bad Mum of the Week

2011-07-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

This week saw me in the usual unorganised chaos of family life.

Pop Princess goes to nursery on Wednesday mornings and last night about 10pm I realise that her uniform from last week is still in the wash!!! aagh, could I get away with her wearing her polo shirt again? I rescued it from the laundry basket for an inspection, it smelled delightful but there were paint marks on it there was no other way round it I had to stick it in the washing machine on a fast wash.

Cursing myself that I had left it too late and should really be organised and thinking what a bad mum I was to contemplate sending my child to school in a rescued shirt from the laundry basket, I waited till the washing was done, and then hoped it would be dry by the morning,

This morning came and result it was largely dry but the collar was still damp! so there I was drying the collar with my hairdryer!! 10 minutes later and it was dry as a bone.

Panic over.

Can you spot Pop Princess above on her Sports Day (in a clean uniform!)

Glorious Weekend

2011-06-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

We had a brilliant weekend as my best friend from university came to stay with her family and now we have moved into a new house we had room to move and spread everyone out.

Although Pop Princess ended up sleeping in with us as her and Ollie, my friends little boy who is 4 just wouldn't settle in the same room and every 10 minutes they were downstairs giggling saying they needed a wee or the last excuse from pop princess was that she wan't feeling very well.

The kids had great fun in the garden and we got some brilliant pictures

Happy Days!

My Absence and Moving House

2011-06-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

I have been a little quiet of late, you may have seen me pop up on twitter now and again mostly chatting about work stuff, looking for other bloggers to review things and get involved in campaigns.

But my own blog has been neglected again, I am finding it increasingly hard to find the time to write and when I was off on maternity leave with Rock Baby it was a lifeline and I really enjoyed it.

Life has now gone back to normal, juggling work with family life stretching myself in more ways than one the usual moan. Actually I don't want to moan as life is pretty good at the moment and it is as they say what you make it.

We have just moved to a beautiful house in the country. This is Rock Baby and Pop Princess in our old house, they had just come home from nursery to find pretty much everything gone, which they found very exciting.

I now have my own office over looking fields with sheep and horses. It's very quiet....very quiet! When you are used to living in the middle of a town with the comforting sounds of boy racers whizzing up your road, the occasional drunks falling out of the pubs singing on a Friday and Saturday night and where your next door neighbours are just about the only people you know. Country life will take some getting used to but lets face it that's not a chore!

The Girls will have a much better quality of life, they now have a garden to play in instead of a postage stamp courtyard. Mummy and Daddy can work from home more and hopefully be less stressed and we can spend more quality time together. Pop Princess said again today she wanted to go home to the house with the blue door (she means our old house) but instead of crying this time when I told her there was a new family in our house she simply said 'OK Mummy that's fine'. We had had a few tearful episodes over the last two weeks but we have now turned a corner. Rock Baby couldn't care less and has taken it all in her very laid back style.

Oh and Finnie, yes the dog our other baby is in heaven she patrols the back garden ever night keeping the sheep in line in case they dare to get too close to the fence!

Who knows we may even start growing our own vegetables!

Just need to get myself a nice pair of wellys, size 6 Hunters in Aubergine. Very specific I know.

I'll check in again soon I promise.

Earth Friendly Baby Competition and TePe MiniT Review

2011-03-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Our bed time routine has been made a little more pleasant of recent weeks thanks to the arrival of some new bath time bubbles / hair and body wash from Earth Friendly Baby

We were sent the Earth Friendly Baby Organic Mandarin Shampoo and Body Wash. It smells gorgeous and I really liked it as it instantly lathered up when you put it on the girls hair, it also washed out easily and didn't irritate their eyes. Pop Princess has really long hair and it left her hair shining and in lovely condition. Rock Baby's is still growing but she smelt like a lovely mandarin after her bath!It promises to leave your baby smelling sweet and smiling and it certainly fulfilled these promises. The Shampoo / Body wash is priced at 3.99 for a 250ml bottle and is available at selected Waitrose Stores and good baby and health stores.

We were also lucky enough to be sent some new toothbrushes from TePe MiniT by Molar Ltd all of which are British Dental Health Foundation approved. Rock Baby has not long started having her teeth brushed and Pop Princess is pretty good at brushing her own, obviously supervised and with a little extra help scrubbing them from me!

We had a yellow and pink toothbrush, they have long handles a bit like weaning spoons, which I found brilliant as it is a lot easier to clean Rock Baby's teeth with them, the bristles are also soft and as a first toothbrush I think its probably one of the best I have tried. Pop Princess wanted the yellow one, which had a little teddy design on it, she has a tendency to chew on hers so its looking a little worst for wear now but she is 3 and so it probably isn't as suitable for her as it is Rock Baby. I would thoroughly recommend them as a first tooth brush though. They are good value to at only £1.99 and available from all leading pharmacies.

Competition Time!

If you would like to win some Earth Friendly Baby products, we have 3 chances to win the shampoo and Body Wash:

Go to the Earth Friendly Facebook Page and Like it
Follow me on Twitter @rockbabyworld
Follow my blog
Cut and Paste 'I want to win the Earth Friendly Goodies' in the comments box below

Competition to open to UK entrants Only
Winners will be drawn using random selector
Competition closes on 27th March

A Woofing Fantastic Time at DFS Crufts

2011-03-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday I was invited to attend DFS Crufts as a VIP Mum along with my hubby, the girls and my dad and step mum.

We had a brilliant time, a big thank you to the lovely Maria and Holly who organised a stress free and very enjoyable family day out.

We arrived about 11am and had time to walk around the many different stalls, and various dog displays that were happening, Pop Princess had her face painted at the Samsung Stand, whilst Rock Baby was happy to take it all in from the comfort of the buggy! She was also thrilled when a very friendly golden retreiver came and said hello!

I was in my element looking at literally every breed of dog you could think of, many of which I had never heard of before. The breeders were very friendly and willing to answer any questions, we made a bee line for the Griffon Bruxellois Stand as 'Finnie', our 'other' baby is the same breed. It turns out the lady running the stand knew the breeder who we got Finnie from and was actually her mentor.

We knew it may happen and it did and we all fell in love with one little dog, the smooth red haired Griffon which was just like Finnie. She was amazing and she is going to have a litter this summer, so we took details and plan to stay in touch as we would love another addition to the family!

Just before lunch we headed over to the press room, where we met the other lovely bloggers and their families which included Roz from Kin Hodgkins, Fi from Childcare is Fun, Liz from Me and My Shadow and Maria from Mummy's Busy World.

It was so nice to meet some other bloggers in person as you tweet and email all the time and so its great to put a name to a face. We met Holly the head of marketing for The Kennel Club who was so lovely and then we were all taken for lunch which was scrummy and by the time that was finished it was starting to get a bit late.

The queue was already starting to grow for Best In Show and the girls were starting to get grouchy but we wanted to see the arena so we tried to entertain them whilst waiting (thank god for child friendly Apps on the iPhone!). When we got in we had brilliant seats and Pop Princess loved the agility show and the music she was so excited and even Rock Baby joined in for a bit of clapping!

by 6.30 we had to leave as it had been a long but brilliant day for them. DFS Crufts is a great show if you are dog mad like me, it does get very busy though and you need to keep eyes everywhere in case your toddler goes wandering, thankfully we had grandparents on hand to help us with the girls! It was a shame the main shows were in the evening so we couldn't stay so not really great timing for those with really young children like ours. It didn't matter though as we all had a really enjoyable day out and we would definitely go again.

We also recieved a free goody bag crammed with dog treats and toys which Finnie was very grateful for!, key rings, pens, books and leaflets. Thanks so much to The Kennel Club for inviting us!

The Guilt of a Working Mum

2011-02-21T12:23:00.001-08:00

Poor little Pop Princess has come down with the sickness bug now, bless her she looks so poorly. Rock Baby on the other hand has bounced back and is happy as Larry now!

My dad who looks after the girls for two days per week has also been struck down, he has been very ill and I feel so bad for him, he is no spring chicken and he recently gave up smoking which I have been so proud of him for, but it has seemed to have had the opposite effect in which he seems to pick up all manner of bugs and his immune system seems so low. You think after kicking a 40 year smoking habit he would be so much healthier. We think it's the years of tar being cleaned out of his system.

One of Rock Baby's little friends who we saw on Thursday has also been sick today, this was after we saw them 48 hours after her last bout and when I believed she was on the mend, but actually she was still infectious obviously.

So it's a waiting game to see if me or my hubby get it! Not something I am looking forward to.

We had to come up with a solution to Pop Princess's distress when it came to Rock Baby screaming when she was ill. PP hated it and would scream at RB to be quiet and was getting herself in a right state as she couldn't handle the noise, she was really sensitive to it. Thankfully one of our friends works in Formula 1 racing and he had got some ear protectors for his little girl for when she went to the races and suggested we borrow them. As you can see from the pictures below they worked a treat and PP was a much happier little girl!

With illness comes all the juggling with trying to get alternative child care sorted out, having to leave work earlier to attend to sick children and some days not being able to go in at all as they are simply too poorly and only want their mummy.

I was supposed to go the The Baby Show last week and also had a big meeting in London, thankfully they understood when I had to rearrange which was great and I have a very understanding boss. Hubby had to take the day off work today to look after the girls as my week was quite disrupted last week so we are trying to share the load, whilst the girls get better and my dad recovers. Nursery is also out for Wednesday but luckily my in laws are helping out.

It's been a usual mix of emotions like it is for many working mums with Guilt being the biggest.

Guilty for leaving them when they are poorly to go to work and feeling that was wrong

Guilty for letting work down and having to rearrange meetings and for not being able to make it into the office

Guilty for my dad getting poorly and Rock Baby's little friend

There is always something to worry about but when they are ill it makes everything that little more stressful!

Win a Family Ticket to DFS Crufts 2011

2011-02-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

It's Competition time!

As you know I was very lucky to be selected to attend DFS Crufts 2011 as a VIP MUM by The Kennel Club. The whole family are really excited to be attending and we will be going on Sunday 13th March as its the best in show day! Its also the toy dog day so we are hoping to see lots of other Griffon Bruxellois like our dog Finnie.

Crufts promises to be a great family day out and I will be reporting back with how our Crufts experience goes.

I am very pleased to be in a position to run a competition on my blog and one lucky winner will win:

A family ticket to DFS Crufts and personalised children's shirts. Like the ones below:

The winner can choose the style that they like the most. They have some great limited edition merchandise available this year including this rather lovely hoody which has the 120 years logo on it (can you believe the show has been going for that long!)

To enter this competition all you have to do is answer the following question:

What day and year was the very first Crufts event held on (quick tip go to the DFS Crufts home page for help!). Just put your answer below in the comments box and tweet the following:

I would like to go to #DFSCrufts2011 I've entered with @rockbabyworld

The Competition closes on the 26th February and the winner will be randomly selected.

If you would like to find out more about the event go along to their facebook page here and follow them on twitter @KCLovesDogs

It would also be lovely if you could follow this blog!

Good Luck everybody!!!

Silent Sunday - Poorly Rock Baby

2011-02-13T05:20:00.000-08:00

Silent Sunday - Poorly Rock Baby

Thursday my day off!

2011-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Thursday today which means my only day off with the girls, this morning we went to the hospital so Rock Baby could have her check up for her birthmark and they are really pleased with her, its almost gone and they think she will only have to be on the medication for a few more months!

RB has been really grizzly today and she was up from 12 to 3 last night teething, and we are so not use to it so I was walking around like a zombie this morning. We have been extremely lucky with both the girls, who have always slept from a very early age from 7 to 7! Its more likely to be pop princess waking me up than RB, she us up at least once a night either needing a wee or wanting to be tucked back in or she has lost mickey mouse. Its almost like automatic pilot now and 9 times out of 10 I will be the one to get up whilst my hubby snores away, I do give him the obligatory dig in the ribs when I collapse back in bed though!

PP had her swimming lesson this afternoon, its only her third lesson and she is already swimming all on her own with a tummy band and arm bands, so proud of her as I am a bit rubbish when it comes to taking the girls swimming so she hasn't really been that much. I just find it so stressful, its always boiling and the whole getting undressed, dried and dressed again is like an assault course. Now PP is 3 she can have classes on her own whilst RB and I watch her progress from the nice dry and stress free viewing corridor.

PP also started her new nursery this week, she is in kindergarten and has a uniform to wear, she looked so cute and so grown up it was like the first day at school! She had shiny new black shoes to wear to and was so excited, she bounded into her new class and was so confident and happy saying 'hello everybody!' and then sitting herself down and helping herself to toast with all the other children and hardly a second glance back at me!

Finally I'll be putting my competition up on Monday for one lucky person to win a family pass to DFS Crufts so watch out for that...

I'm Going to DFS Crufts 2011!

2011-02-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

I had some very exciting news this week I have been selected to be a Crufts Mum and have been invited by The Kennel Club to attend the DFS Crufts show 2011, on Sunday 13th March. I am so excited! Its going to be a great fun family day out and the girls will love it especially Pop Princess. The show is in its 120th year and will take place 10 – 13 March at the NEC Birmingham

I've always been a big dog lover, I've had a dog in my life ever since I was born. They have always been treated as a family member and Finnie our little dog was our baby before the girls were born.

Finnie above when Pop Princess was a baby!

We searched high and low for Finnie, she is a Griffon Bruxellois and we knew they were great little dogs, with an infectious personality and highly intelligent. We had a dog of the same breed called Cora when I was younger and she was bought for my mum as an anniversary gift, she was an amazing dog and soon attached herself to me. Shortly after we had Cora, we got Bess a German Shepherd a much bigger dog but completely soft as anything and great with young children. At the time my mum used to look after my two little cousins whilst my Auntie went to work and we have pictures of them when they were babies sitting in Bess's basket when she was a puppy all curled up together.

When we lost Bess and Cora to old age my dad was devastated as was I. Those two dogs were the stability and loving presence my dad needed when my mum passed away. They would not leave his side and seemed to understand what we were all going through.

We have been invited to DFS Crufts as a family and my dad and his wife will be coming with us and it will be fantastic as its also my dads birthday the same day too. We are going on the Sunday which is the Best in Show day.

For anyone that is thinking of going to DFS Crufts this year more details can be found at their website www.crufts.org.uk but if you would like the chance to win a family ticket to the show, please keep checking back as I will be running a competition very soon!!

As well as the competition I'll be running a guest post by Louise Glazebrook of The Darling Dog Company, who is a well respected dog trainer and dog behavioural therapist and she will be writing a post with advice on introducing children to dogs.

Silent Sunday - We meet Ben and Holly at the Toy Fair

2011-01-30T11:53:00.001-08:00

My little ballerina

2011-01-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share some adorable pictures with you of Pop Princess taken before her ballet lesson this week, she is the cutest thing ever.

Unfortunately they didn't have the ballet shoes in her size so she is looking super trendy in her little ugg style boots which are made by Babies in Sheeps Clothing, who I look after in my consultancy role. They have a 50% sale on at the moment and as I know how good their stuff is I bought these boots for Pop Princess and even some little ones for Rock Baby! I would never normally mention any clients within my personal blog, but I am friends with Lysette who runs the company and she is a fellow mum too trying to juggle everything so we have a lot in common.

Today I have been to the Toy Fair in London, but in my usual working mum role trying tying to juggle everything, I was racing around like a headless chicken. This morning Pop Princess had her induction at her new nursery. The visit went really well and she loved it there, all the kids seemed happy and really relaxed and the staff were brilliant with her. She starts the week after next and even has a cute uniform to wear!

So after the visit finished I dropped her home and dashed to London on the train, eventually got to the Toy Fair, zoomed round it, had a quick meeting with some lovely ladies who I hope to be working with soon and then hot footed it over to Tottenham Court Road for a music project and then had to zoom back to Kings Cross to get the train home.

I arrived just in time to relieve my dad who had been looking after the girls this afternoon and it was a quick wash, brush teeth, milk and story time for them both and then in bed.

And now here I am checking emails, writing proposals and sneaking a little blog out.

I am a Glee Mama!

2011-01-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

Its been a really busy week this week, work has been crazy. I was in London on Tuesday for meetings and I also went to a trade show called Top Drawer and I met some really lovely people and companies most of which were children's and Baby brands just starting out, so I'm hoping that in the next few weeks I will get to work with some of them.

Today is my only day off so we try and make the most of it and the girls and I have had really lovely fun packed day. It started at 9 30 with Frog's Chorus run by a fab lady called Duvessa who sings and plays the guitar and the kids think she is brilliant. Rock Baby was shaking her little hips, clapping and grooving away and pop princess was on fire running around the room and singing along.

Straight after we darted to the dentist for a check up and I have to admit I am a total wuss when it comes to dentists but obviously can't show any sign of that in front of pop princess who went first and promptly received her sticker for being a good girl. Me on the other hand has to have two fillings, I quickly told the dentist that I would have it done next time, if only they knocked you out like the dentist in Glee this week.

Talking of Glee I am an official Glee Mama! thanks to the great idea of Little M's Mummy over at Mummy's Busy World.Yes it may seem sad but I love the show and it seems I'm not alone there seems to be a little Glee Mama recruitment frenzy going on so if you want to join the gang hop over here and you can be the proud owner of a badge like this:

This afternoon Pop Princess had her first swimming lesson on her own! I was nervous for her but she loved it, and the teacher gave her loads of confidence and I'm sure in no time at all she will be brave enough to let go and have have a swim on her own.

Tomorrow I am off to London again to a video shoot, with a lovely client who has an album on in March, so the girls will be dropped off to nursery and then I'm driving down to the city.

Nip + Fab Review

2011-01-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

NIP + FAB CELLULITE FIX REVIEW

Shortly before Christmas I was lucky enough to trial a new Gel with the aim of banishing cellulite! Hey I’ll try anything that promises me that. I have never been over weight and eat fairly sensible but I think down to genetics more than anything else I have always suffered with the dreaded orange peel look on my thighs and bum.

Its been a year now since I had Rock Baby and Its finally dawning on me that I actually have to get my butt in gear and get down to some serious exercise to shift the last few pounds and to really tone up and I will take any help I can along the way!

So I trialled NIP + FAB Cellulite Fix Body Sculpting Gel, it comes in a 150ml tube and is a fresh smelling gel that melts into your skin for targeted and fast action on your cellulite.

My skin felt lovely and smooth after using it and wasn’t sticky and did actually melt straight on, which when you have to get ready in super quick time in the mornings with two little ones hanging around your legs you need something that is going to dry very quickly.

It said on the tube to use twice daily, I managed it at least once a day first thing in the morning but found I had to use quite a lot, maybe because I have a huge bum?! So actually the tube only lasted for about 3 weeks but I did notice my skin felt smoother and tighter.

However as we all know you need to eat healthily, exercise, dry body bush and drink tons of water and when you combine these things whilst using the gel I’m sure that after time you would see the results. As Dulwich Mum put it so well on twitter this week when we were tweeting about tummy fix’s ‘if they had a gel to cure it then it would be on prescription!’

I would definitely buy the gel again and if you want to find out more you can visit www.nipandfab.com or buy it at Boots. It retails at £17.95 for a 150ml tube.

Silent Sunday - A dog's Life

2011-01-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

My first Silent Sunday Post....

It's a hard life...zzzzzzz!

Rock Baby's Birth Mark Has Almost Disappeared!

2011-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Rock Baby will be one tomorrow, unbelievable that the year has gone so fast in a blink of an eye. Its also been 5 months since she started treatment on her birthmark which as some of you may have read on previous posts it was a worrying decision for us to make, whether to go ahead and let her be part of a new drugs trial using the drug propronal.

However now we are very pleased we made the decision to go ahead and I wanted to post a picture of Rock Baby below when her mark was at its biggest and a picture taken just last week. The change is amazing.

The above picture was taken about 6 months ago

This Picture was taken on Christmas Day! We are all so happy it was definitely worth the worry :)

Christmas - A Mixture Of Emotions

2010-11-25T12:50:00.001-08:00

It's nearly Christmas and I have not even started my Christmas shopping yet but I'm determined to try and get organised this year.

Christmas is a funny old time for me. It used to be for many years a time of sadness.

The last Christmas I had with my mum was in 1995, I was 17 and I remember Christmas day that year with all my family rallying round trying to make it as normal and happy for me and my brother as possible. My mum was upstairs in bed and I had only been told a few weeks before this that she had lost her battle against skin cancer and she didn't have long left, the doctors had hoped 3 months at least.

My boyfriend at the time who is now my husband was amazing, my total rock and even though we had only been together a month he supported me through one of the hardest times of my life. He had bought me a necklace and I had taken it upstairs to show my mum, she tried to focus on it and we chatted a bit. I'd been told to be strong and as such had tried not to cry in front of her but it was difficult and as the tears came flowing she held me and said 'I'm your mum, I'll always be your mum and nothing can ever take that away". She was so brave and she died not long after on the 29th December.

Since having Pop Princess and Rock Baby Christmas's are now something to look forward to. Pop Princess will no doubt be charging around the house, totally hyper darting from one present to the next. Rock Baby will be more interested in tearing up the paper than the actual toys and I will be watching it all and smiling with my husband (who continues to be my rock) by my side.

This year will be Rock Baby's first Christmas! so it will be even more special. I can't wait to take them both to see Father Christmas, hope RB doesn't get scared, her sister below was not that impressed on her first visit...

I better actually start getting organised as so far I haven't bought a single thing!

When Innocent Play Goes Too Far?

2010-11-15T14:08:00.001-08:00

Well its been a wash out of a weekend. I've been in bed most of the time while my star of a husband has been entertaining pop princess and bringing me cups of tea whilst I have been coughing and spluttering everywhere!

Rock Baby went to the doctors last Thursday as I thought she may have a chest infection, but apparently she was fine but I was told to keep a close eye on her. However every time the calpol wore off she had a low fever and has just been so unhappy and just wanting to be cuddled. Today I had to swap my days around as my dad who has been looking after the girls on a Monday and Tuesday for me has also had flu so couldn't look after them today so luckily now I'm freelance it means I can juggle my days in work around. So I was at home today and Rock Baby seemed to be getting worse so I got her into the doctors this afternoon and it turns out she has an ear infection in both ears! poor thing so now she is dosed up on antibiotics and hopefully should be feeling a lot better in the next couple of days.

Pop Princess (touch wood) has escaped the cold germs so far so fingers crossed she doesn't come down with it next.

I had a scare last week when I had left Rock Baby and Pop Princess playing in the lounge to go into the kitchen and I could hear PP giggling away, when I went back in not even a few minutes later I found Pop Princess smothering RB with a big pillow which I had left behind her in case she fell backwards. It's the second time this has happened, the last time was a few weeks ago when PP took a cot sheet out of a drawer in RB's bedroom and put it over her face again in just minutes of being left alone as I was running the bath for them. I'm not sure where she has picked this up from but she obviously thinks it's a game and I have tried to explain to her why it most definitely is not and she could have really hurt her baby sister, but I'm not entirely sure it went in as she just goes onto the next exciting game or subject in her life. Poor RB she has gone from her big sister not wanting to know her for 9 months then in the last month she has gone the opposite way and now won't leave her alone!

I can't help thinking what could have happened if I had not gone back to check sooner, but I guess a lesson learned and I simply can't leave them on their own together so I am making sure I take one or the other with me when I go into a different room. If anyone has had anyting similar happen and have any advice please do let me know!

Sorry Blog I have neglected you!

2010-11-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

My poor blog have not shown you any love or attention in nearly a month!

Life has been slightly crazy and I'm sorry.

I've been setting up a new blog for the company I have sent up aptly called Rock and Roll Baby World, having logos designed, sorting out the paperwork to be officially self employed (gulp) and gearing up to being back at work.

Its my first week back and my week is now split by 3 days per week in Cambridge working for my previous employer as a consultant, 1 day per week at home with the girls and on a Friday I do half a day from home.

I've been exhausted! Its going to take me a while to get back into the swing of things and get more organised which is not one of my strong points.

The Girls are having to adapt to a new routine and Pop Princess in particular has been struggling. I have been really lucky with child care as my dad who is retired is looking after them for two days per week and the rest of the time they are in nursery with one afternoon being looked after by my hubby's parents.

Its a lot of juggling and on Wednesday when I came home from work they both wanted to sit and cuddle me and when i picked one up the other started crying, so I was trying to console them both but I think by the end of the 3 days of not seeing me much they had decided that was enough. Then you have the old story of feeling guilty for making them feel unsettled and they have had such a lovely year with me whilst I was on maternity leave and now it's all change again.

Today we have just been to the park and stayed in the rest of the day just playing with toys, making cakes and thank you cards for pop princess's birthday presents. Just trying to spend some quality time together.

I promise not to leave it so long next time, I leave you with some photos taken of our recent holiday in Norfolk, we went about 3 weeks ago and it was freezing!

Pop Princess 3rd Birthday

2010-10-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Pop Princess turned 3 on Wednesday, where have those 3 years gone?! my little girl is not quite so little any more. On the eve of her birthday when her daddy went to kiss her goodnight she announced "Daddy, tomorrow I will be turning 3" in such a matter of fact kind of way.

We had decided on a cup cake themed party as she is mad about cakes. So preparations started the week before and as well as the traditional Pass the parcel, we were also going to do pin the cherry on the cup cake, cake decorating and have a cup cake pinata.

So PP and I got to work on the pinata which was paper mache moulded around a balloon for the top and a flower pot for the bottom, which we then stuck together and painted. We also made paper chains to decorate the room and bought some large pink card to draw the cake for the pin the cherry on the cupcake game. It was great fun making them together and as the weather was so awful in the lead up to the party it gave us a great activity to do whilst it rained outside.

I was trying to be as organised as possible this year but as usual with a husband that unfortunately works late and had big deadlines to meet I was having to organise most of it by myself. I thought we were doing OK but on the morning of the party I was racing around like a headless chicken, trying to entertain PP and Rock Baby, tidying the house, setting up the party, getting myself ready and preparing the food. The party started at 3pm and at 2.45 we were only just doing the sandwiches for their tea! thank goodness one of my good friends offered to come over early and she was a life saver helping to get the food done.

I felt a bit bad though as my husband had taken the day off work and I was getting myself in such a flap I was just barking orders at him all day, I bet he wished he had stayed at work!

We had 8 energetic 3 yr olds for tea and 4 babies and it was a great afternoon. My step mum made the most amazing cake which went down a storm. She is so clever, I only wish I could make things like that.

Pin the cherry on the cupcake was a non starter as they didn't want to be blindfolded! and pass the parcel was hilarious as each of them was holding onto the parcel for dear life or just unwrapping it regardless of whether the music stopped!

The Pinata looked fab although they each pulled a ribbon but the damn thing didn't fall apart like it should have done so I ended shaking it and ripping it a bit and ended up with the top half of it on my head which the kids found hugely entertaining.

PP favourite present was her pink microphone and she was doing her best Liam Gallagher impression on it.....maybe she will take after me and work in the music industry!

The Work Experience Girl

2010-10-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well I drafted in help this week to help me get the ZingZillas Album out in the post to all the lovely bloggers who had requested copies for reviews.

Although she did have to keep stopping for breaks to suck her thumb!

Pop Princess's first ballet lesson!

2010-10-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Pop Princess had her first ballet lesson, she had been excited all week about it. When we got there she marched straight into the big hall and started immediately chatting away about anything and everything. The teacher was cracking up I think she couldn't believe how confident and forward she was; seeing as she didn't know anyone else there. I am so proud that she isn't fazed by new situations and I really hope this stays with her as she gets older.

I was allowed to sit in the corner of the room and watch and we were about ten minutes into the lesson when the kids and the teacher were prancing around the room and the teacher who is lovely (and has the patience of a saint), was telling Pop Princess what to do with her feet and toes. PP stood there with one hand on her hip and the other hand wagging her finger saying 'no I'm not going to do it like that, look I Will do it like this'. As I shrank into my seat the teacher was looking bemused and her brow started to crease.

Five minutes later PP left the group and at the top of her voice said 'Mummy I need a wee', so off we went to find the toilet, got there but no she did not need a wee now so we went back to the class.

Another five mins later and an obviously distracted PP was looking uncomfortable and again 'Mummy I need a wee'. Off we trotted again and this time after what felt like ages holding her over the loo she was done.

She went storming back into the class and announced to the class at the top of her voice 'Wait for me everyone' she then said 'I've just done a big poo'.

By this stage I was cracking up and wiping tears from my eyes. My daughter who is 3 next week is quite a little character and certainly makes an impression where ever she goes and I wouldn't want it any other way! Hopefully we won't be banned when we return next week!

My cheeky madame above!

Win Nip +Fab Products!

2010-09-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

I was asked to review a new range of beauty products being launched TODAY! at Boots called NIP + FAB. It didn't take much to convince me! As a mum yes I have the dark circles under the eyes, cellulite around the old thighs and lines starting to creep up all over my face! That's what two babies will do for you so every girl needs a helping hand to at least attempt to look half human.

The NIP + FAB range sounds fantastic......

NIP + FAB, a new collection from Maria Hatzistefanis, beauty expert and celebrated creator of global bestselling brand, Rodial launches.

Tipped to be the hottest launch of 2010 and with a growing list of celebrity fans (Denise Van Outen, Olivia Palermo, Alexandra Burke, Kimberley Walsh, Diana Vickers and Ellie Goulding), Maria created the range of mass market skin care products, with premium credentials for customers who want measurable results but at prices that don’t cost the earth.

The clinically tested range for the face and body delivers 11 targeted treatments from eye brightening and skin plumping to cellulite and nipple smoothing, and is crammed with breakthrough natural and technologically advanced skin smoothing, boosting and firming ingredients.

Each hardworking, no nonsense product “does exactly what it says on the front” and will deliver exceptional ‘targeted results and instant fixes.’ Housed in fresh, stylish packaging and with brilliant product names like Tummy Fix, Lip + Nip Fix, Bust Fix and Eye Fix, this ‘must-have’ range already has a growing waiting list of people desperate to get their hands on these savvy buys.

To celebrate the launch in Boots, we’ve got 10 x NIP + FAB Eye Fixes, worth £14.95 to give away to 10 lucky winners. So if you fancy winning just become a fan of the NIP + FAB Facebook page and quote on it’s wall ‘rockandrollbabyworld’. The 10 lucky winners will be picked at random and contacted by NIP + FAB via Facebook.

I'm looking forward to receiving the products to review and will be reporting back to you all with my findings!

My two girls FIRST ever 'Smile' - The Gallery

2010-09-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

I have been absent from The Gallery for the several weeks, shame on me and I so enjoy the weekly prompts but life has sort of got in the way, however this week I am back!

This week's Gallery theme is 'A smile'. I have chose two pictures of the girls and these pictures were their first smiles caught on camera, both were around 4 weeks old.

With pop princess (in the pic below) I remember running to get the camera when she first smiled then coming back and waiting for ages whilst I pranced around in front of her to try and get her to smile again. The result was this picture:

We loved it so much we used it as our new birth announcement cards.

The second Picture was Rock Baby's first smile. This was caught using my dad's camera when we were staying over his house and she was laying in her moses basket chilled out as usual and I was cooing over and then this lovely little beam came back at me. It's not the greatest shot picture in the world but it did catch the moment.

Don't forget to visit Sticky Fingers to check out the other entrants!

Another year another birthday party to plan!

2010-09-20T14:38:00.001-07:00

It’s that time of year again when party season begins and with that it brings the pressure each year to put on a party for pop princess. I really thought the whole party thing wouldn’t start till they reached school age but when she was 1 we decided early on that we would just have family over for a little tea party for her, but then we got invites from all our NCT friends to their children’s parties and these ranged from large gatherings at their houses to people hiring out halls!

I couldn’t quite believe the huge effort and planning some of my friends put into these parties after all they were 1 and would not remember. Then I ended up feeling guilty, perhaps I was a bad parent for not making the same effort and not having that same thought process to do anything big for pop princess.

Then last year when she turned 2 me being the rubbish organiser that I am hadn’t even thought what we were going to when invites came flooding in from her friends. These invites ranged from a party on a farm, a hall with children’s entertainer, pottery party etc etc. So not wanting PP to miss out and determined to plan something we went ahead and decided to book a hall and got a little bouncy castle, had music, colouring areas, food, and a lady called Coco came along and did songs on her guitar which was great. It was a lot to organise but PP just loved it, and thank god we had her grandparents to help who dutifully helped set up and clear away. It did end up costing a lot of money but we thought it was worth it as she hadn’t had anything big the year before.

Next Month PP is 3. So far we have been to two of her friends birthday parties who both had a bouncy castle, which seems the most popular choice for 3 year olds and we have also been invited to a soft play party and a swimming party. It seems each year the parties get bigger and there feels like pressure to keep up with her friends so she doesn’t miss out and if you don’t have a party you feel like you have to explain you’re not having one for fear your friends think that their child hasn’t been invited!

So this year PP is having 6 of her closest friends over in our very small house to enjoy a birthday cup cake themed tea party with her. We are going ‘old school’ and having pass the parcel, sleeping lions, a little buffet and music they can dance along to. Plus some cup cake themed games like pin the cherry on the cup cake and I am going to make a paper Mache cup cake piñata! It’s the sort of party I used to have when I was younger and I always enjoyed them!

There will be no pottery, farm, swimming, pony grooming big party this year. Just yummy food, good friends and family and hopefully no stress! Although I’ve already started to worry about it, will PP enjoy it? will it be special enough? and I know I am being stupid because of course she will enjoy it but I just want to do a good job for her, do you know what I mean?

(Above)PP enjoying her party last year

Rock Baby's Strawberry birth mark the progress so far

2010-09-12T13:17:00.001-07:00

On Friday we went back to the hospital so that Rock Baby could have a check up, they showed me the picture they took of her on her first visit and in just 7 weeks since we started the medication there is a great improvement in her birthmark.

It is less red and now seems flat against her head where as previously it was very raised. They are very pleased with her progress and after all my worrying I feel so much better as I am now confident the choice we made to go ahead with the new procedure was indeed the right one.

Rock Baby was not born with the birthmark it gradually appeared after about 4 weeks after being born and then gradually got bigger and bigger as she got older. So I have put a series of photos together below so you can see the difference.

The pictures above are from birth up to about 4 months, the ones below are from 5-7 months, the second one in was taken on the day she started the medication.

The picture below was taken over the weekend and you can see the difference very clearly.

Rock Baby gets weighed and has her blood pressure checked on her monthly reviews at the hospital. Thankfully she has has no side effects from taking the drug Propronal and its obviously doing the job it's supposed to.

The last few weeks!

2010-08-18T12:17:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks have been hectic! My husband has had two weeks off on holiday and this is the first year we didn't really plan anything, we had the last minute panic of should we book something abroad or even a cottage in the UK but in the end decided against it.

I'm really glad we didn't book anything as we have had a fab few weeks, and the girls have really enjoyed having their daddy around as have I. He works long hours and so in the week he is rarely home to say goodnight to them and with Rock Baby he has struggled to bond with her.

Over the last few weeks I have seen their relationship blossom, RB has been taking much more interest in her daddy, he has been feeding her and giving her her bottles, giving her baths and playing with her and its made me so happy to see this. Pop Princess has been full of beans and making her daddy read 'just one more book' every night before bed.

Me and my husband have also managed to get some quality time with each other, enjoying our first night away since Rock Baby has been born to celebrate my birthday. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel in Cambridge (Hotel Du Vin), had a fantastic room with baths at the bottom of the bed!! My husband spoilt me rotten and we had time just to talk without being interupted and able to concentrate on the conversation and more importantly just to laugh together. We also slept in till 11am the next morning woo hoo, it was amazing.
The girls stayed with Nanny and Grandad for the night and had a whale of a time, feeding chickens, making me a birthday cake and eating ice cream. My initial worries of leaving RB for the first time soon disappeared with my stepmum giving me regular updates by text!

I'm really lucky that my dad found a lovely lady to remarry and she has has accepted the girls as her own grandchildren and they love her to pieces as they do their Grandad. They are always around to help us out and we do manage to have the occasional night out and lay in the next day thanks to them.

We've had lots of day trips including one to Wimpole Home Farm, with my sister in law and her husband and their three children. Pop Princess adores her cousins and they dote over her and Rock Baby. We also went to stay with our close friends in Oxford who have children about the similar age to us. We have been friends with them for over ten years and I used to live with Rebecca when we are at university. We had some mad times together from mud infested Glastonbury to raving all night till 6am the next day. Obviously life has changed a great deal and we were just pleased we managed to drink a bottle of wine and not feel too grotty the next morning when the kids were up bright and breezy at 6.30am!

I can't cook!

2010-08-09T06:31:00.001-07:00

I can’t cook to save my life, I’ll give things a go, I want to be a good cook but guaranteed every time something will go wrong.

When I say every time, I mean every time. My mum was a rubbish cook too so I definitely inherited her genes, it meant I never learned any cooking skills growing up and the very little I did learn came from my Nan.

Pop Princess loves to cook and make cakes and I do try my best to do this with her, she often gets bored half way though and wonders off and leaves me to it.

Cooking is not something I enjoy probably because it nearly always ends in disaster. Now as I start to wean Rock Baby I feel like I’m pinned in the kitchen constantly and even her food goes wrong, for instance today I made her Leek, pea and potato puree but I forgot it was on the stove and when I realised the water had all gone and the vegetables were starting to burn on the bottom of the pan!

I tried to make rice pudding in the week in the microwave and the pudding rice and milk spilled over the bowl and exploded everywhere leaving a huge lumpy mess. I tried to make custard but that went lumpy and horrible when I was heating it up and then today a simple thing like baby rusks, I added milk and it still went wrong and wouldn’t go into a smooth paste. All my friends and family keep saying just blend up a bit of the food you are having for dinner but it’s not as simple as that.

I don’t cook in the traditional way, I often cut corners like tonight we had lamb chops, potato rosti’s and Mediterranean Vegetables. However the Rosti’s were frozen and the veg were ready to roast in a tin pre prepared so they just needed to be stuck in the oven. Pop Princess is a really fussy eater and I’m almost certain it’s because she doesn’t have a massive variety. She loves pasta and I can make pasta sauces and things like macaroni cheese but her food is very basic and traditional and I often cook for her and myself as my husband is really, really fussy.

I will eat anything but he is a real English traditionalist when it comes to food (meat, potato and veg), he is also often home very late from work so it’s easier for pop princess and me to eat together earlier.

When it comes to dinner parties it gets me in a right flap. Most of the time I will chicken out and we would order takeaway in but I would love to be confident enough to have a go and cook a really nice meal for my friends without getting into a state about it!

I talk about this with my friends and family and they all make a joke about it and say you can cook, of course you can but I really can’t and it does get me down as I would love to be able to have that natural flair but its something I lack so if anyone has any suggestions on how I can improve or simple recipes that I simply can’t get wrong then let me know!

Update from Monday's hospital treatment on Rock Baby

2010-08-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Rock Baby went into hospital on Monday to start the treatment for her birthmark, as you may be aware I was so nervous about this and was really worrying as to whether we had made the right decision to go ahead.

We arrived at 11am and she had her ECG, blood sugar test (heel prick), blood pressure and blood tests and she coped with these amazingly she obviously cried when they took the blood but no way near as much as I was expecting she was so brave. At 2 pm they gave her the first dose of the drug Propronal, which in effect is a beta blocker which constricts blood supply to the birthmark. They have to test blood sugar and blood pressure 45 mins after administering it and again 2 hours after.

Her blood pressure was notoriously hard to find, the automatic machines would not pick it up as she was just too small and when they did it manually they were struggling to hear so what should have taken minutes ended up taking longer making her very uncomfortable. When they did the heel prick two hours after her blood sugar level had dropped so they suggested giving her some food and milk to see if it would pick up. When they retested it had dropped even lower, not dangerously low but low enough to cause concern.

So when they gave her the second dose at 6pm they only gave her half a dose and they did yet another heel prick and her levels had returned to normal. We were getting her ready to settle her down for the night when the nurse came in and said she had spoken to the doctor and they felt that she should have a cannula put in just in case the sugar level dropped in the night and she needed a drip.

When we were weighing up the pros and cons of having the treatment this was never mentioned that this could be a possibility, so it was a shock to hear she would now have to have the cannula. I just couldn't understand it as her blood sugar was normal as was all her other vitals but on the safe side they wanted it in. In one respect I can understand why as its much more difficult to get a cannula in when something does go wrong but on a 6 month old baby I feel they could have waited for just another hour to see if anything had changed then made the decision as to whether to put one in.

I couldn't go in with her, I watched my husband carry her into the room and as I paced around I thought I was going to be sick as I could just hear her screaming whilst they put it in. It was heartbreaking and as if I didn't feel guilty enough this was the limit for me and I was so upset at putting her through it.

She came out of the room shaking and sweating it was awful her little hand was in a splint and all bandaged up but its amazing how quickly she settled and started smiling again. We got her to bed about 8pm but they had to wake her up every hour till 2am in the morning checking her blood pressure etc.

None of the nurses could get a reading on the blood pressure so what should have taken minutes ended up taking forty minutes and in the end they had to call the doctor to take it. 2am she had the last dose and then they left her alone till the morning.

She had another final dose at 10am the following morning and then we were allowed home. They got the student nurses to take out the cannula and do one last blood pressure check which did annoy me as they really hurt her and I know students need the practice but they knew the blood pressure was hard to get and the nurse was under pressure to get a reading and ended up leaving marks on her little arm where it was done up too tight.

I was just really upset by the whole thing, I just feel we weren't properly briefed as to what could happen i.e the likelihood that she may need a cannula and the amount of monitoring that was required. As we left we were also told she would need the medicine 3 times a day and it had to be spaced out every 8 hours, which means giving her a dose at 11pm at night. I wasn't happy about this as she has just started sleeping through the night from 7pm to 7am and the last thing we wanted was to disturb her and muck up her sleep.

However we tried last night and even though it did wake her a little she settled straight back down but if it does start becoming an issue I'm going to see if they can sort the dose out so she can have it 3 times in the day.

I think in the end she must have had about 10 heel pricks and in the night they were using her fingers, but you know she kept smiling and beaming at them in between the bits when they were hurting her. I couldn't believe how well she coped with it all and she already seems to have forgotten about the whole thing.

We were glad to get her home, she hasn't been unsettled and on Tuesday she slept for most of the day. I now just hope that it was all worth it and that soon we should see her birthmark reducing in size.

(Above Pic) - Recovering at home the next day

Nature - The Gallery

2010-07-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

Its week 21 of The Gallery and this week's theme is 'Nature'.

This week Pop Princess, Rock Baby and I went for a walk to the local park and we went on a little nature trail. Whilst Rock Baby snoozed in the buggy, PP set about collecting as many fir cones as she could and she found a handy little hiding place for them in the tree.

We don't have a large garden, its more like a concrete slab the size of a postage stamp so we are lucky to have a beautiful park and river right on our doorstep.

Here are some pictures from our recent outing

Don't forget to pop over to Sticky Fingers / The Gallery and check out the other posts.

Rock Baby Starts Treatment on Monday

2010-07-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Rock Baby is booked to go into hospital on Monday as soon as I rang up this morning and confirmed the appointment I felt sick and I have a strange feeling which just won’t go away.

I also feel guilty as to what I am about to put her through. She is going in to hospital to start treatment to remove her strawberry birthmark which is on her forehead. She has to have blood tests, ECG’s, organ function tests etc to check that she is able to cope with the medication.

They then administer a drug called propranolol at 2pm, the first half hour is the most critical to see if she has a reaction. If she is ok she is given more doses at 6pm and 10pm then 6am and 10am the following day. If all is ok she will be allowed home and then we continue the treatment three times per day until the birthmark disappears. They estimate worst case scenario it can take up to 9 months.

Apparently the results are almost immediate with a reduction in the birthmark as soon as the next day. Propranolol has been used for up to 40 years and is more commonly used for treating high blood pressure.

We are very lucky in that our local hospital has become one of the first in the country to have a paediatrician that specialises in this treatment for birthmarks as the usual route is laser removal. However with Laser there is a risk that the laser will not go deep enough to the roots of the haemangioma.

We have obviously weighed up the pros and cons of this treatment and agonised whether to go ahead and after two consultations with the specialist we decided to have the treatment. I am obviously worried in case something should go wrong and there is no medical reason for her to have it and it is more cosmetic. I think we have made the right decision and I just hope it all goes ok.

Secret Post Club

2010-07-25T13:17:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I took part in my first ever Secret Post Club which is the fantastic idea of Heather over at Notes From Lapland. The idea being you take part in an international secret Santa type swap and you get to receive a lovely surprise present though the post and get in contact with fab new blogs.

Mine came through the post and the post mark on the front was from Hawaii!! It’s the first time I have ever received anything from Hawaii and it’s a place I would so love to visit we were thinking of going there for our honeymoon at one point but settled on Mauritius in the end.

Inside my parcel was a gorgeous necklace with a shell on it and a big pack of chocolate Macadamia nuts which are apparently the taste of the tropics, and my were they tasty! Pop Princess and I devoured them in just two days!

The Parcel was sent by a lovely lady called Sarah Mae who blogs over at www.sarahmaelennox.blog.com and www.littlestitchesfromsarah.blog.com. If you get the chance pop over and read about her recent move to Hawaii!

I've solved the crime!

2010-07-22T12:38:00.001-07:00

The other baby in my life Finnie went for her check up at the vets recently and we were told she was over weight and would have to go and see the weight watchers nurse and join the disgraced dog club. We got a lecture and went away with slapped wrists to try and sort out her weight ourselves without her having to endure the humiliation of weekly weigh inn's.

The Wii Fit has come in very handy and we have been keeping tabs on how much she is losing on a weekly basis and she has been doing really well..... until recently.

We could not work it out. She had been on daily walks, her food has been cut down by half and she has not been getting any treats. She started off sulking and looking at her dried food in disgust to see there was no fresh ham on top like we used to give her but just recently she has a certain sly and happy look on her face.

By a strange coincidence Pop Princess has been eating all her lunch and dinner and after notoriously being a fussy eater seems to have turned a corner and for the last few weeks I have been praising her so much when she looks at me so delighted and chimes "I've finished, look I've ate all my dinner!"

Mmmmm something doesn't add up here does it?!

Finnie keeps sloping off licking her lips at every meal time and with further investigation Pop Princess's little hand disappears as quick as a flash under the table I'm no Sherlock Holmes but I think its now dawned on me I have a clever little toddler and a very cunning dog.

Finnie is now banned from the dining room at meal times, so she is back sulking again and Pop Princess? well she has become fussy once more.

My Breastfeeding duties are coming to an end...

2010-07-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last few months in a state of breastfeeding limbo. I have been whittling on and on about how Rock Baby would not take a bottle and how it was making me feel trapped and restricting me from getting on with my life.

I tried every bottle out there and all reduced her into a screaming mess so I gave up on bottles last month and instead have been trying her with a cup. This has been more successful and what began as most of the milk going down her top she is now managing to take about 5oz so I have now dropped her 11am feed and replaced it with formula from the cup. Today I have started to also cut out her 3pm feed and replace that with formula too so in effect I will only be BF her first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

So I should be elated she has finally accepted that there is another alternative to me feeding her and I can see me getting back to normality. Why then do I feel incredibly emotional about it all? It's after all what I wanted but for some reason I feel upset and confused by this.

The same thing happened when I switched over with Pop Princess. I said with her and the same with RB that I wanted to BF till she was 6 months exclusively and then cross over, she was easier as she took a bottle with a little less fight but the transition seemed smooth.

BF has such a powerful hold over me its by far the greatest bond making factor for me personally and it's the one area of total control I have, I am or was the only person that could provide her with what she needed and now that's slipping away. But more deeper than that I guess its the fact that she isn't that little newborn any more like her sister before her she is growing up fast and she may well be the last baby I will have.

I have enjoyed BF for the most part but I know I am now ready to move on and as she is no longer crying when offered an alternative to me feeding her I know she is ready too.

So as I write my boobs are sore and huge, I am feeling every so slightly hormonal and I hope I'm not being too selfish for wanting to give up and have my life back. But yes the time has come and I hope that this time next month when she will be weaned off me completely that I wont' be feeling as guilty and I have one happy little baby.

Unfortunately I'm going to need to keep covered up for the next few days as I look like I have a pair of water melons growing out of my chest!!!!

The Gallery - Can you see what it is yet?

2010-07-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

This weeks Gallery theme was Can You see What it is yet?

It was supposed to be a photograph of an every day item, taken at a funny angle now I did try but everything I took was so obvious! So I came up with this picture of pop princess playing on her bed with her teddy bears take a close look all is not as it seems!

Hope I haven't bent the rules too much and get booted out now of next week's Gallery!

If you want to check some really good pictures of people that have stuck to the guidelines hop over to Sticky Fingers NOW!

Further to the above I would like to add another picture yes I think i have been clever now and this is from the same shot as above

I got there in the end!

Decisions, decisions......

2010-07-11T11:36:00.001-07:00

Its been an interesting week I have made a lot of decisions in the last month about returning to work. I have been incredibly lucky as I have a very supportive boss and after meeting him this week I now know what I am going to do and its very exciting.

I'll be going back to work in November but will be employed as a consultant, I'm going to be doing PR again for established acts and celebs but more excitingly I am allowed to also set up my own company. Rock and Roll Baby World will also be a specialist marketing agency specifically related to mummy blogging!

Over the last week I have been so bowled over with the amount of support I have had from fellow mummy bloggers. I've been picking their brains, sending them questions and they have all come back so enthusiastically and with feedback and advice which will help set me up and I can't thank them enough. If I've had any questions they have been answered straight away and I just feel extremely lucky that I have come across so many genuine people that want to help. This just doesn't happen in the 'real' world but I really feel that the mummy blogging community is such a special place and its great to be part of.

I hope I can now repay the help and support I have received with some great products / exciting trips and acts for them to meet. If you want to know more about my venture and be involved click on my mummy blogging database at the top of this page.

Being a consultant and having my own company will mean I can work from home more and spend more time with the girls and have an added flexibility to my work hours which is really important to me.

So now I am in the midst of setting up a website, designing logos and putting together company information and I feel so excited and positive for the future. Being a mummy blogger and pr I hope will set me in good stead to build on the already fabulous relationships I have made already.

On another note I am back to the hospital tomorrow for our second visit about RB's birth mark. Its a bit more complex than I had originally thought and I have lots of questions still but tomorrow we make our final decision as to whether to go ahead with it.

PP has just spent the weekend with her grandparents and had a lovely time. She adores it over there as my dad has a big garden with chickens which she loves to feed and chase! We don't have a big garden its more of a court yard so she has great fun over there. Soon RB will be able to go too when she is less reliant on me feeding her, but she has been doing so well recently taking milk from a cup and I can now leave her for half the day!

The Gallery - Holidays

2010-07-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

This weeks The Gallery theme is holidays. As I don't have a scanner at the moment I had to use what pictures I had on the computer already and so I've chosen this one:

It shows me and my hubby and our little dog Finnie. This was taken pre children on a holiday we went on in Devon about 5 years ago. I chose it as that was our little family us and our dog who we treated like a baby (still do!). We look younger, happy, relaxed, not too many lines under our eyes and it just feels like a life time ago. So much has changed since then, we have two beautiful daughters now, we have a mortgage, we have responsibilities. We are proper grown ups now!

Don't forget to hop over to Tara at Sticky Fingers to check out the other posts!

We survived the POX!

2010-07-05T11:45:00.001-07:00

A quick post just letting you all know what’s been happening at Rock HQ these last few weeks.

Well Rock Baby did indeed get the pox and oh my gosh she got it bad! As a second time mum I really should be used to illness now and have an inbuilt rational switch that comes in to play when they do come down with something.

However I do not. RB was so poorly, she was covered from head to foot and I thought babies under 6 months were only supposed to get a mild version, this definitely wasn’t the case.

She was so uncomfortable one night at 2am in the morning I was on the phone to NHS Direct as she wouldn’t stop screaming and was thrashing around in the cot as they were so bad on her lower back and nappy area she was trying to move around to rub them and was very distressed.

This was a week ago and now she is back to her bright and cheery self and the spots are beginning to fade. So it’s been nearly a month inside in isolation, so been a pretty miserable time all round!

Today we have been to the hospital about RB’s birth mark and had our first consultation with the paediatrician who will do the procedure, we saw pictures of other babies before and after and the results are really great. However it will involve blood tests, an over night stay and putting a drug in her body for the next few months and so we are now weighing up the pros and cons of everything. On one hand it would be good to wait for a year to see how much it goes down on its own but on the other if we do wait she will be pop princess’s age and would remember the procedure and get quite distressed at least now she doesn’t really know what’s going on.

On a brighter note we are looking into holidays for a last minute break end of July and boy we need the break! I’m also having my first tattoo next Monday I’ve been in to see them today and they are designing something for me, I am following the old celebrity band wagon and opting for one on my wrist and its going to be an amalgamation of the two girls names, I was nervous as soon as I set foot in there today so goodness knows what I’ll be like next week when I go in to have it done.

The Gallery - Emotions - Goodbye Nan

2010-06-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

This weeks gallery post is a special one. The prompt is emotions but this week its linked with Josie at Sleep is for the Weak and her Writing Workshop. I have not particpiated in the writing workshop before but I am so glad Tara at Sticky Fingers has introduced me to it and I will definitely be taking part in the future.

I always knew if anything were to happen it would be me that would find you, I had run the scenario through my mind several times but then when I came round one day and discovered it had actually happened my reaction didn’t quite fit what I had pictured.

I was scared, no terrified I knew something was wrong when you didn’t open the door and the curtains weren’t open, we had joked the night before on the phone how you would need to be up early as after a year off whilst I was on maternity leave it had also been a year since I had used you as my dog sitter.

You adored Finnie and it gave you something to look forward to, something to occupy your lonely days and a friend to talk to. It was Finnie that I sent it when I cautiously opened the door and peered in. I could see you on the floor in the lounge your legs just in sight.

Panic, screaming and my heart feeling like it may explode. I called out to you to see if you would move before I approached. You didn’t. Finnie tried to stir you but you wouldn’t move.

As I got closer I could see you had gone, even as I called the ambulance and they were talking me though CPR I knew there was no point that was obvious enough.

You had the phone in your hand, even now I wonder did it happen after we spoke on the phone or were you trying to call for help.

My emotions? Panic, terror, sorrow, grief, emptiness but now peace. I’m glad I was the one to find you that day 2 years ago but I do miss you Nan.

Creatures - The Gallery

2010-06-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Its another Gallery post prompted by Tara at Sticky Fingers, and the prompt this week is Creatures.

This is my little dog Finnie with Pop Princess when she was a few weeks old.

Finnie was my first baby and if anyone has seen the film 'Marley and Me', you may understand the attachment we have to our dogs. Like the film life has been a little stressful for Finnie of late, with the birth of Rock Baby in Jan she has now been pushed back to third in line in my priorities, she gets moaned at, she sometimes doesn't get her walk every day and she does get on my nerves when my patience is wearing thin.

So Finnie this is for you, you are an amazing dog, you love pop princess and rock baby dearly even though they have taken my attention from you. You are still totally obsessed with me, you would follow me to the end of the Earth and even now as I type you are sitting under my chair waiting for me to go up to bed so you can sneak in the bedroom with me. We love you, you are so special.

Don't forget to pop over to Sticky Fingers on Wednesday to check out the other posts

Sick of the Pox!

2010-06-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posts over the last week, life has been slightly stressful.

Pop Princess has had chicken pox and when people talked about their children having this horrible illness I just thought it was just one of those childhood illnesses, you get a few spots but no big deal.

Well I was wrong, the spots came out last Saturday and it was fine, no need to panic off I trotted to the chemist to stock up on Calpol, Piriton and Calamine lotion. Saturday and Sunday were not too bad the spots were coming out but she was not covered although she was sleeping in the afternoon which hasn't happened since she dropped her daytime nap about 6 months ago. Me and the OH were thinking this isn't actually that bad but by Monday she was going downhill and then the fever started, by the afternoon she was burning up and delirious I was starting to panic as I had never seen her look that ill and I was wondering how I was going to manage looking after her with Rock Baby in tow. Then half way though her deep sleep she was moaning and I went in to check on her and she had blood all over her face as she'd had a nose bleed and had smeared it everywhere, staying calm I just said its OK and cleaned her up and she went back into her deep sleep.

On the outside I was cool as a cucumber but the nose bleed tipped me over the edge and I called the doctor for some reassurance that this fever etc was normal. He said it was and I felt better. Now the countdown is on for Rock Baby to pick it up although there seems to be two debates ongoing one saying she won't get it as I am still breastfeeding her and so my immunity should protect her and the other saying it will be two weeks after pop princess got it which should be this Saturday. So we will just have to wait and see.

Other than Pop Princess's chicken spots (that's what she has been calling them), Rock Baby has started weaning and its so exhausting! Once the girls are in bed I have been chopping and pureeing vegetables for her and putting them in the ice cube trays and it just takes ages, so once that has done, the sterilising is done, and I've managed to cook something for me and the OH, Rock Baby is ready for her night feed at 10 30 and then its bed time! phew....

Sorry for the moany post, I just feel so tired at the moment and have cabin fever from being stuck in with the pox and a very highly charged emotional toddler! Plus the realisation that I am not able to make it to cybermummy something I really wanted to go to, just to be able to learn more about blogging and how to make my blog look better and to meet some other mummy bloggers who I have been chatting to. Its not possible for me to go as Rock Baby will not take a bottle and whilst we have had some success with a cup she won't take that much and I can't leave her for the whole day at this moment in time.

At the same age Pop Princess had been smoothly passed over to formula feeds during the day but this isn't happening this time with RB and I am starting to feel very trapped by it. There is so much support for mums who want to breastfeed but very little if any if you want to stop.

If you've read to the end of this post I must apologise for the down beat nature of it and promise next time I will try and be more uplifting!

The Gallery - Motherhood

2010-06-15T05:18:00.000-07:00

This week is my first week taking part in Tara's Gallery and this weeks theme is motherhood. I would have loved to have posted a picture with me and my two girls but I am still to get a shot of all three of us together! So narrowed it down to two pictures

The first one is of me and Pop Princess when she just a couple of weeks old I love it as it shows how completely in love I am with this new little person that I created!

The Second one is of Rock Baby only a few days old grasping onto my finger for dear life, she just wouldn't let go and I feel it symbolises her attachment to me as her mum.

Rock Baby's Strawberry Birth Mark

2010-06-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Next Week Rock Baby is going back to hospital to see the paediatrician and the consultant about the strawberry birth mark on her head.

When she was first born I noticed a very slight stork mark and by the time she was 5 weeks old it had grown into a very pronounced strawberry birth mark right above her right eye.

I questioned it with the health visitor and got dismissed as soon as I mentioned it and was made to feel that I was being silly and irrational to even worry about it, as everyone was saying it would fade by the time she was 7 years old. But I was worried, Rock Baby obviously isn't she doesn't have a clue its there so was my worry really down to my own vanity and my own insecurities of people looking at my baby and sighing 'That's a shame that's there' (yes this has happened with strangers in the street!)

Adults and parents who know what it is sympathetically bring it up, young children point and whisper to their mummy's 'has she hurt herself?' or 'What's that?' and their mummy's do their best to explain what it is.

As Rock Baby gets older and starts pre school and then school she will herself have to start answering these questions and by then she will either be so blase about it as it won't be an issue or it could become an issue, something that could make her lose confidence.

It was a risk I didn't want to take. In her 6 week check the Doctor said that they would not do anything about it and to leave it and see how big it grows but insisted it would fade. So I went away again thinking there were no options.

Last month I booked another apt with a different doctor after doing lots of research I discovered there was a doctor who specialised in this type of birthmark at our local hospital and he had helped hundreds of babies and children over the years and it seemed that laser treatment was possible. So armed with this information I told the doctor I wished to be referred so I could at least discuss if there were any options available to us rather than be dismissed again I wanted to speak to a specialist who could tell me what could be done if anything. Luckily this doctor was more sympathetic and agreed to refer us.

So we saw the consultant a couple of weeks ago and discovered that we did indeed have options. Option one was to have laser but it could require general anaesthetic which I was not happy with given the risks in one so young or the second option was a new treatment only discovered in the last 2 years which is a syrup they give in the morning and evening and then we continue it at home. I don't know the complete ins and outs of this treatment but we are going on Thursday to learn more. Apparently this syrup has amazing results and within 3 weeks the birthmark would have shrivelled up and disappeared. She will be in no pain, there has been no side effects in all the babies and children they have treated and no nasty scars.

So this is the road we are now on, it looks like Rock Baby will be having this treatment and its obviously something that the GP's and Health Visitors are unaware of. I'm just so glad I pushed it and got referred and now RB will be birthmark free within the next few months. It just goes to show you have to fight for what you want for your children, if something is bothering you and you want more answers don't give up until you have explored all the options. I will let you know how RB gets on and it will be really interesting over the three week period to see how the birthmark goes down so I will keep you updated with pictures.

The Picture above is a recent one and shows the size of her birth mark now

Sometimes it's OK to give up

2010-06-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Pop Princess is 3 in October and after a lot of pushing from nursery, last week I decided it was time to get her potty trained. I had been leaving it and leaving it as her world was turned upside down with the arrival of Rock Baby, and its something she has really struggled to come to terms with and even now she has not accepted the fact there is a new little lady in the house.

However we are 5 months in after RB's arrival and I thought this was enough time to now try her with the potty training. So off we went together to buy the big girl knickers with Peppa Pig and Dora emblazoned on them, the floor wipes and ample kitchen roll. We had already got the pink Peppa Pig Potty some time ago and she had been sitting on this on and off over the last few months.

So Day One was obviously not that great very few wee's actually went in the potty but by the end of the day she was getting the idea and the bribe of a chocolate button after each time she successfully got one in the potty seemed to work. However this was only working when she had nothing on and as soon as you put her big girl knickers on she struggled. She also hated the toilet and seemed really scared when she did do a little trickle!

Day two - Actually quite a good day, she was still not saying she needed to go but I managed to catch her with the potty before most of it went on the floor. Lots of stickers and buttons later I was really hopeful she was getting the idea. It did appear though she was struggling to get on and off the potty as its so low to the ground and she was tripping up when using it which seemed to knock her confidence.

Day three and four - total disasters now fully clothed with knickers and little skirts or loose leggings she was still not saying she needed to go, she was wetting herself and not caring, she just wasn't that interested and more interested in playing rather than noticing she was wet and only actually managed to use the potty once. Every time I asked her if she wanted to go she said no, when I tried to put her on the potty every half hour she didn't want to.

By Thursday night I was wondering if she was actually ready and everything was pointing towards this

She didn't once tell me the whole week she needed to go for a wee wee
She seemed scared of the toilet
She didn't seem bothered when she wet herself, more interested in playing
She wasn't excited by her potty and really had no interest
She couldn't pull her knickers on and off by herself

I could feel myself starting to get frustrated and I didn't want this to pass through to her and set her back so that night I rang my Auntie who is a midwife and she has always given me great advice and she said put her back in nappies, don't make an issue out of it, I was the one who had decided it was time to be potty trained not Pop Princess it was not her choice and she obviously wasn't ready.

So after a week of frustations I decided it was best for her and me to stop and try again in a month or even two months or three whenever PP showed more signs she was ready and asked about her potty.

Since being back in nappies she has not asked or mentioned the potty once another sign she was not ready.

So this episode has now taught me to go with my instincts more, she is my daughter and I know what's best for her, it doesn't matter that she is the last out of all her peer group to be potty trained, it doesn't matter that she has not met the target the nursery have on their charts and it doesn't matter that she will be 3 in Oct. She is just not ready and I need to listen to her more and go with what's best for her.

I need to remember she didn't sit up on her own until she was 9 months, she didn't crawl until she was 13 months and she didn't walk till she was 19 months, even now she can't competently run, is constantly tripping up and stumbling and hence was always physically slower than all her friends and potty training is going to be no different.

The biggest lesson is giving in is not failing, sometimes its ok to back down and give up if its in your child's best interest. I do feel very guilty now that I pushed her so hard, given her age I just assumed she would have had it cracked in a few days as we had waited that little bit longer but I was wrong and she is much happier so for now that's all that matters to me.

Eek yes I am a PR!

2010-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a great fellow blogger Karin at Café Bebe who recently wrote a post titled PR Wish List in which she talks about her experience with a PR and a call out asking what bloggers expect from PR’s.

I read this with great interest as being a PR myself who is currently on maternity leave I stumbled across the world of mummy blogging thanks to a good friend of mine who is also a PR who told me all about a lovely lady she had met who had set up a fantastic networking site called British Mummy Bloggers.

The lady she had met was Susanna Scot the founder of the site and she also blogs at A Modern Mother and she told me it was something I should really look into. I think she could see that whilst I was enjoying my maternity leave, I was missing interacting with mums in a similar position to me, just having my second child, feeling slightly lost and adjusting to being at home again full time. I was struggling and I needed something to focus my mind on in the evenings and just to start talking to new people as I missed the banter and chat with journalists and work colleagues.

So I checked out BMB and started my own blog, having no technical experience at all and really being totally clueless when it came to anything blog related I have slowly been finding my feet and finding interesting mums to talk to through twitter and reading some fantastic blogs and posts from women from all walks of life.

I have entered a world in which as a PR more used to dealing with national papers and magazines than bloggers I have now realised how important and influential the blogging community can be. I know I have been very slow off the mark with this realisation.

I have been guilty in the past of getting a journalist’s name wrong, mostly by typing far to fast racing to meet a deadline, trying to get as many emails out as quickly as possible, and like many pr’s had the panicky feeling literally the second after hitting the send button and realising what I had done. I would always email straight back and apologise but mistakes do sometimes happen, pr’s after all are human but the good ones should at least acknowledge their mistakes.

I have also been guilty of using PR tools that bring up huge lists for you and let you email hundreds of people at once, we were taught to do this as the first stage of our campaign from a 100 people you may get at least 10 strong leads back, and then from those 10 people you research them a bit further and go in for a more detailed pitch. This is lazy PR but it does happen a lot and is very standard in most campaigns.

At some point in your career though you get to a point when the clients get bigger and you earn the respect of the journalist community and they start approaching you instead of you constantly hounding them.

Whenever I have trained new people I have always taught them the very simple basics:

Do you research – get their names right, look at the magazines and the different sections, make sure what you’ve got to say is relevant and of interest to them before you contact them.

Blogs are becoming a very popular way for PR’s to gain their clients coverage and when I return from my maternity leave in November I am going to make sure that I incorporate blogs into my campaigns.

I want to be accepted by the blogging community; I don’t want them to by cynical just because I am in PR. I am a mum who loves my little girls, I love meeting new mums, I am loving blogging and I’m hoping that in the future I am going to be able to bring my new found friends some great free products to test and trial and of course keep!

In the mean time I am going to enjoy blogging, meeting new people and joining in more of the great blogging activities such as Guest Post Day which I recently took part in and this was the fantastic idea of Erica at Little Mummy.

Guest Post Day by The Mad House

2010-05-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Its Guest Post Day and I was teamed up with the very lovely Jen AKA Mummy Mad at her blog The Mad House. Check it out its fantastic.

So here is Mummy Mad's Post

My youngest child MiniMad will be starting school full time in September and to be honest I am a little frightened. Not frighten for him, no he will be fine, he has his brother in the year above and he loves Preschool and has been asking to go for about 4 months.

No it is me I fear for. You see I have really enjoyed the last 5 and a bit years, which have been spent at home looking after my children, enjoying their company, getting messy, crafty, playing trains, making dens, just being a child with them too.

I fear that the time has come for me to re-enter the real world, don't get me wrong, being a mummy full time is the hardest job I have ever had. All the responsibility and accountability without any recognition, appraisals or real feedback, but stepping back in to the world of paid employment scares me.

It feels me with dread and terror, but it needs to be done, as the Mad Family finances are demanding it. But what can I do. We relocated back to the North East of England when Mini Mad was born, so I don't have an employer to go back to. I was a Facilities Manager for a large software firm in Berkshire pre minimad, not something that there is a great need for here in our little patch of the North East.

The area has just been blighted by the closure of the local steel plant and any employment is hard to find, let alone part time, ideally term time only employment. I have been discussing this with MadDad and have even approached the local Tesco, Morrisons etc, but they don't have any positions available and they just keep saying I am over qualified.

Yes I could work in admin in a school, but how many of those positions are they available, nothing, but I keep asking and I keep looking.

But somewhere along the line my self confidence has eroded and a fear of the workplace has taken its place. Where has the successful self assured business woman gone. Left in her place is a bumbling nervous wreck. It shouldn't be like this. The skills I have learnt as a mother as possibly the most important I have every picked up and include

Peace Negotiator - ever tried dealing with two boys 15 months apart?

Domestic Engineer - feeding four people each and everyday, negotiating the fickle likes and dislikes of toddlers.

Interpreter - Oh yes school gate politics

Project Manager - so many activities, so little time

How to Manage a budget

Negotiation skills, ever tried getting a child to bed.

Patience - I have the patience of a saint now, much more than before children.

Yes these skills are transferable to the real world of work. they become, decision making, independent thinking, negotiation, budgeting and book keeping, multitasking, and time management skills, but I am still filled with dread at the prospect of putting myself out in the real world again. Fear of rejection, fear of being dismissed as a waste of space.

I want to shout out to any prospective employers out there, I have been busy doing the most important job in the world, raising my children, being their main influence and running my household. I have been busy being a mummy.

Mummy Mad
The Mad House
Muminthemadhouse@orangehome.co.uk

7 Interesting things about me!

2010-05-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was tagged in the Kreativ blogger meme by the lovely Mellow Mummy so thank you so much and the rules state:

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link the person who has nominated you for the award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate other Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the blogs you nominate.

7. Let the nominated victims bloggers know they have been tagged.

So here are 7 things you may find interesting about me:

1. I have looked after many celebrities in my job from A list to Z list. Biggest name I guess would be Russell Crowe when I looked after his band and got to do a press morning at the Berlin film festival with him and ladies he winked at me!

2. I blush a lot its even more noticeable on me as I have pale skin and red hair! When I looked after Sir Cliff Richard, I was utterly charmed by him such a lovely man but to this day he is the only celebrity that I have turned the deepest shade of red to and I really don't know why! I blush a lot and I hate it, most of the time there is no reason for it and it just happens even though I feel confident its something I have no control over.

3. I hate hoovering it gets me totally stressed, hot and bothered and I'm like a grumpy bull charging round the house dragging the Dyson behind me. Beware those that talk to me when I am in the hoovering zone.

4. I have joint hypermobility down one side of my body which means my joints are super flexible and can move in and out of their sockets sounds like I should be good at yoga but i'm not - quite the opposite. My knee cap once dislocated around to the back of my leg and I ended up in plaster for 6 weeks. Ever since I've not been able to run or do any high impact sports as I am terrified of it happening again.

5. Pre children I was always going out and getting hammered! Normally something eventful would happen to me such as slipping a disc in my back after a drunken mad moment on a trampoline, nearly launching myself on Simon Cowell and Westlife at the Music Week Awards some years ago (thankfully a work colleague got to me just in time!), partying with strippers and Peter Stringfellow at Stringfellows to waking up up with literally a bush in bed with me which I must have fallen into the night before. Shameful behaviour but now I am a respectable mum (cough, cough) these things rarely happen.... well only very occasionally!

6. I have a great little dog called Finnie, she is a Griffon Bruxellious, which you don't come across very often. She thinks she is human, totally obsessed with me and the kids love her. Pop Princess has now started to dress her up and the other day I found her with all my necklaces round her and Pop princess laughing in the background.

7. I have lost the three strongest female role models to me, my mum who died from Skin Cancer when she was just 38 and I was only 17 at the time. My Nan on my dads side who I was very close to and came to look after her as much as could when she needed help in her 90's. Unfortunately I was the one to find her passed away in her flat an experience I still struggle to come to terms with and finally my other nan on my mums side, who I adored more so as she was my link to my mum and stepped in when she passed to give me that motherly role model in my life.

So there you have it 7 hopefully interesting things about me! Now I have to pass this challenge on to some other bloggers so I nominate:

Sunny Day Today Mama

Mummy's Shoes

What's In Your Bag?

2010-05-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

This has taken me some time to get around too so I must apologise for my slackness, but a lovely new blogger Serenity Now tagged me in my first ever meme with the topic What's in your bag?

Now because I have not long had rock baby and have a toddler in tow too I have stopped using my real life bags and go everywhere with my trusty changing bag which is now doubled up as my day to day bag. Having experienced this happens to you once you've had a baby I was determined this time round to have a more stylish changing bag.

So for Xmas my OH bought me a pink lining bag which I had been cooing over for a while, I just loved the fact that it was pink inside and the changing mat had little cup cakes over it.

So here is the contents of my bag which unfortunately is not that exciting!

The normal changing bag items: nappies, wipes, nappy sacks etc. Plus Anti bacterial wipes and hand wash. It drives me mad when you go to cafes or restaurants and they have dirty, scummy looking high chairs so the wipes come in very handy.

My Iphone - Which I am in love with, its changed my life which is so sad thanks to the iphone I am now a twitter fanatic, and I am forever checking emails and facebook plus a great advantage of it is you tube. So whenever pop princess looks like she may have a melt down or I need her to sit still to have her hair done I bribe her with the phone and let her watch an episode of Peppa pig. Works like a dream every time.

My vanity stuff - Lancome Juicy Tube, Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream both to make me look half human when I'm functioning on 5 hours sleep. Perfume Caroline Herrera 212 which I love and I know its something you had when you were 14 at school but I still love the impulse sprays!

Camera - to catch the key moments of Rock Baby developing and in the hope that Pop Princess will have a change of heart and give her a cuddle which I can catch on camera. I still haven't got a photo of them together!

Diary and Notebook - to jot down my very important social dates with other mums, play dates, lunches the usual essential dates you make when on maternity leave. The note pad is for all my wacky ideas, or my get rich quick schemes none of them have worked yet I have to add but one of these days one of them will!

Sun cream / Sun Hats / and not seen in this picture but countless snacks and juice for Pop Princess.

Oh and how can I forget my purse and keys. Unfortunately my purse is not bursting at the seams with my paltry maternity pay :(

So folks that's it not very exciting but that's my bag for the moment! The other part of this challenge is that I have to award the Sunshine Award, and the rules are:

* Put the logo on your sidebar, or within a post
* Pass the award onto 6 bloggers
* Link the nominees within your post
* Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
* Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

So thank you Serenity for making me part of this and I am going to nominate the following:

A Matter of Choice
Pumpkin's World
A Dad’s perspective on family life
Diary of a young mum
Max & Co
Cheshire Mum

Tips for going on holiday abroad with a baby

2010-05-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

A lot of people are starting to talk about holidays and so I thought I would write a post about my top tips for travelling with a baby under the age of one. Next post will be tips about travelling with a toddler (eek!)

Another reason for writing this post is to do my homework as I am currently receiving weekly instructions from fantastic fellow mummy blogger Erica at littlemummy.com who has a great mummy blogger e course which I’ve signed up for and this week’s lesson is all about links.

We went away to Cyprus when Pop Princess was 10 months and we were initially really worried with all the usual fears what would she be like on the plane, what if she was ill, would she eat anything, how would we make bottles up and so forth.

1. Book child friendly accommodation – sounds obvious but there are certain holidays and companies that really go the extra mile if you have children. After doing some research we decided to book The Almyra Hotel in Paphos. They provided a service called Baby Go Lightly which meant we were able to prebook all the baby essentials we could think of. Most were free such as activity mat, baby walker for the room, changing mat, baby bath, Avent Steriliser, arm bands and for a price you could also pre order things like nappies, baby food, wipes etc. We pre ordered all the free stuff and the steriliser in particular really was fantastic.

2. Do some research into your hotel, villa etc as in its location and where the closest supermarkets are, don’t make the mistake we made and take with you all the nappies and swim nappies you need as you can buy these when you get there. I emailed the hotel and they put my mind at rest and told me the supermarket which stocked pampers nappies etc was less than a 10 minute walk away

3. Look into what formula is available in the country you are going to before you go and take it with you if you have any doubts. Also what brand of baby food is readily available. Most have their own versions but you obviously won’t understand the labels. We took with us a few Orgnanix and Plum pots that weren’t too bulky just in case PP was having an off night and wouldn’t eat anything off the menus as she was only just having more lumpy foods.

4. On the plane most airlines let you take the buggy right up to the plane when you depart but it could be some time that you get it back the other end so be prepared to carry your little one for a short while. We found PP slept on the plane on the way out we were lucky and had seats with loads of leg room right at the front so she could sit on the floor and play with her toys. We took things like biscotti biscuits and rusks which she could nibble on whilst going up and down to help her ears with the pressure and tried to get her to drink milk or water on the ascent and descent.

5. Between 6 months to 12 months take toys that are light and compact like stacking cups, crayons if they are old enough, we took some of those wooden shape and animal puzzles as well as her favourite cuddly toy for night.

6. Pack a light tog gro bag, they come in 0.5 tog for really hot climates

7. Don’t forget trainer seat inflatable which are great for the pool and arm bands if they are not provided at hotel.

8. UV suits are fantastic in the sun and cover your little ones up and baby sunglasses like baby banz are a good idea too.

9. We bought a Shade A Babe which was fantastic as it not only protected her form the sun in her buggy but acted like a mosquito net for the evenings.

10. PP wasn’t crawling when we went to it was a lovely time to go as she sat and played mostly on the sun beds which were like big double beds! But we did put her in the crèche a couple of morning which was run by powder Byrne who are fantastic so do check the facilities and standards as soon as you arrive and again do your research on them before you leave.

11. In terms of making up bottles we used mineral water you just need to check the sodium level that it doesn’t exceed 200 mg per litre (NHS has good guide lines click here) and boil it in the kettle and make them up like you would at home. The hotel was great and a kettle was also waiting for us when we got there.

12. Don’t forget snacks for when you are there like biscotti biscuits, raisins, Ella’s kitchen fruit pouches are always good too – all great for the beach bag.

13. We had one visit from the doctor as PP had a temperature and was really cranky and as we were abroad I was even more paranoid so the hotel called for one for us it was really expensive and as it was there was nothing wrong with her as the next day she cut a tooth!! But make sure you have those European Health Cards just in case as well as Calpol in the sachets and thermometer.

I can’t recommend the Almyra Hotel enough we went in August 2008 and it was expensive but it was a hassle and stress free holiday and as we were quite nervous about going abroad with a baby it really did make the holiday staying somewhere where all your needs were met. They had thought of most things the children’s menus were split into pureed meals, lumpy meals and then toddler meals and if your child was eating normal food they served a kids buffet earlier in the evening. They even had a massive awning over the main pool so the little ones were kept out of the sun!

The prices have gone up incredibly high since we went so we probably can’t afford to go again now we have 2 children. Hopefully my tips will help anyone going abroad it won’t be nearly as bad as you think and you will have a lovely time with a bit of forward planning. Please leave any tips you may have in the comments below.

Introducing Pop Princess and Rock Baby

2010-05-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to give my two little girls code names and with my music roots I decided on Pop Princess for my 2 1/2 year old and Rock Baby for my 17 week old. So you can follow my journey and learn more about me and my girls here is some more info for you on them!

First let me introduce you to Pop Princess

Seen here on the left. She entered the world in Oct 2007, with a huge mop of dark brown hair. She was a dream baby only really cried if she was hungry, tired or windy. She slept though the night from about 5 months and was always really forward in the way she communicated and we could tell early on she was going to be a right little chatterbox. Physically she was a lot slower she didn't crawl until she was 13 months old! and she didn't walk until she was 19 months. This is in part down to me as I have joint hypo mobility on one side of my body where as PP has it all over her body. It simply means all her joints are super mobile and she now sees a podiatrist regularly and wears little insoles in her shoes to help stabilize her. She is a little more clumsy and prone to tripping up more so than other children the same age, but what she lacks in physical prowess she makes up in her effervescent personality. She is super confident, loves to be the center of attention, is rarely shy and dominates a room when she enters. Her energy levels are though the roof and she doesn't stop talking! She is a lovely bubbly little girl (although I would say that!) and has an enviable lust for life. She keeps us on our toes, bosses us around and knows exactly what she wants and what she doesn't want hence many tantrums occur daily and we are trying to help her come to terms that there is a new little miss in the house and her baby sister isn't going back to the stork in the sky and is here to stay!

This Brings me on to Rock Baby

Seen here on the right. She entered the world in Jan 2010 and I just knew when we had the scan that she was a girl. Me and the hubby were both over the moon, I had always pictured myself with two girls. My pregnancy with RB was very different I felt very sick and washed out and developed SPD when I got to about 32 weeks. I was induced at 38 weeks a bit of a shock as had no idea this was going to be an option but I was under a consultant at the hospital as I had a 3rd degree tear when PP was born. The Induction went well and active labour time was just over an hour so very very quick! she came into the world with red hair just like her mummy and looked very different to her sister. She has blue eyes for a start where as me, my husband and PP all have brown and after about four weeks she developed a large strawberry birth mark on her forehead which we are now waiting to see a specialist about. You can't see it in this picture as her very cool glasses her covering it, it doesn't bother her but I am even more protective over her because of it and you won't believe the amount of people that comment on it.

We are still learning all about RB but she is a happy little soul, very smiley, rarely fussy and is happy as long as she is fed and put to bed when she is tired. She loves her cot, she loves her naps in the days and going to bed at night. She greets us each morning with huge beams from her cot and excited jiggles of her legs and arms, she thinks she is hilarious and it feels like she is laughing at her own little jokes. She also is a chatterbox and has her own fantastic language. RB adores her sister and is always trying to catch her eye, desperate for her attention. She is currently struggling to the switch from mummy's boobs to a bottle or cup not impressed at all when we try. Stay with me as we go on the journey to discover what sort of little character she will turn out to be.

So there you have it, my two girls hope you enjoy learning more about them over the coming months.

Is it possible to have it all?

2010-05-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

This week I have been trying to decide when I want to return to work and what hours I would ideally like to do, this has been prompted by a meeting with my boss that has been arranged for Monday. He wants to know what my intentions are as he needs to plan, with RB just four months its really hard to know for definite what I want to do.

Some days I feel like I could return full time just to have my identity back, have some time to myself, have a lunch hour to muse around the shops and grab a Starbucks, go to London for meetings and feel like I still have another role in life other than 'Mummy'.

But then RB is starting to develop and blossom into a real little character, every day she is doing something new and she constantly beams and coos to me and the love I have felt for her since the moment she was conceived is now being more visibly reciprocated. She adores me I am her whole world and with each day that passes I adore her even more.

PP with all her tantrums, her dislike for RB (she is still coming to terms with the fact she exists!) and her trying toddler ways has over the last few weeks settled down and she is more at ease and obviously adjusting and loving that her mummy is there for her again every day. As I teach her new words, shapes and colours and see how she is developing at such speed, it feels me with immense pride at the child she is becoming and then sadness that my baby is slowly disappearing. I can pretty much have a conversation with her now and she understands when she has done something wrong and can sense if I'm feeling down. She will say 'Mummy I'm sorry' or 'Mummy are you sad? big cuddle?' and my eyes fill up as I realise how amazing she is and I start to wonder how her life will map out and if her dreams will be realised.

I picked her up from nursery today and I always feel excited when I pull up as she practically bursts when she sees me, and comes charging over screaming to everyone 'that's my mummy!, oh mummy' and you get the biggest cuddles in the world every time. Its a special time of the day and I look forward to it.

So I am now wondering can I dare to have it all? Could there be a possibility of me doing the job I love, perhaps working from home a bit more so I can be around for the girls and coming up with a PR service which would not mean me having to stay out all hours in London? I need to put some options to my boss so better get my thinking cap on. Any ideas anyone??

I'm right where I'm supposed to be.....

2010-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

This week I have been wondering if quite frankly I'm just not very good at doing the whole yummy mummy stay at home domestic goddess routine. Most of my new mum friends seem to have embraced their new role finding it easy to multi task, keep their house clean, keep on top of the ironing, cooking wholesome healthy meals for their kids from scratch, baking cup cakes and organising play dates and coffee mornings.

These new breed of super mums and the yummy mummy phenomenon really does make it difficult for us mere mortal mums to live up to! My huge pile of ironing that was mounting on the dining room table how now been moved into the utility room ( I can't see it there), I managed to clean the bathroom today whilst hubby took out pop princess for a trip around Sainsbury's and I even managed to get a roastie dinner on the go, I flicked through Annabelle Karmels book and looked at the cup cakes and even texted some of my mum friends to arrange a day out. So I'm getting there :)

I was on facebook in the week and saw my office were looking after Stevie Wonder I felt my heart sink as I knew that it would be me looking after the project if I was back in work and I began to wonder what else I was missing out on. But then I caught pop princess standing on my bed, with one of my hats on, holding my deodorant can and singing to herself in front of the mirror oblivious to the fact i was watching her and then rock baby woke up and when I went to get her out of her cot she was beaming at me from ear to ear and kicking her little legs in excitement and I knew then I was exactly where I was meant to be.

Sleep Deprived!

2010-04-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

My week started rather smugly with me feeling totally delighted with myself that I had managed to fit back into my pre pregnancy skinny jeans, the elated feeling only lasted an hour when I realised the post pregnancy bulges were starting to hang over the sides of my jeans and they were pretty much cutting off my circulation!

My concealer has become my new best friend, hiding the circles under my eyes that seem to be getting darker each day, but luckily this week I've not managed to lose my keys or leave them in my car!

We've had lots of early morning wake ups these last few weeks from Pop Princess who has always slept through the night till seven in the morning but recently she has been waking anytime between 5 30 and 6 30, which when your used to a more civilized 7am start it is some what of a shock to the system. Someone suggested buying one of those bunny clocks which tells the child when its time to get up, genius idea I thought so off I went to purchase one. The first two mornings we thought we had cracked it as 7am sharp we could hear squeals of excitement with Pop Princess shouting "mummy, mummy the bunny's awake!". However the novelty has now worn off and it doesn't make a scrap of difference.

This morning she was up at 5 45am, she happily trotted into our room, "Mummy the bunny's asleep but I'm awake!" Not impressed I marched her straight back to bed. By the third time of putting her back I had thrown in the towel as by then it was 6 45am and she was bouncing off the walls and clearly no amount of persuasion or bribery was going to keep her in her bed.

Talking of bed, mine is calling. I've just dream fed Rock Baby so I think I roughly have 5 hours if I'm lucky to sleep before the next feed. All the late nights with work, going to gigs and work functions in London till the early hours of the morning has been excellent preparation and training for having two young children.

Gross Mummy!

2010-04-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Its been an interesting few days - I've been telling Pop Princess just how lucky she is to have a baby sister and trying to persuade her she is adorable. Just when we were making headway Rock Baby thought she would test her sister to the limit by releasing a mega poo whilst they were in the bath together. Cue Pop Princess's look of total disgust and shrieking look mummy that's gross yellow poo! Rock Baby was beaming from ear to ear obviously very pleased with herself. It did me a favour though Pop Princess has never got out of the bath so fast.

On Friday we were walking to town when we were stopped by a film crew for Sky News who wanted to interview us about the election and how social networking is playing a big factor in getting more votes from younger people. After years of setting up interviews in front of the cameras for other people why is it that when one is pointed in my face i turn into a blundering wreck?! After churning out some babbled rubbish and looking like a total idiot my only saving grace was that I had at least managed to straighten my hair that morning and Pop Princess and Rock Baby were acting like little angels in their buggy.

I've spent this weekend in a daze, the tiredness definitely catching up with me. Rock Baby has been on a 2 hourly feeding schedule which has been totally draining. I decided that we must all get out in the garden and sort the growing jungle but then decided i was too tired after digging up just one weed so hubby had to continue the job. I had a text message from a friend asking when were arriving, which spun me in complete panic as i had totally forgotten we were supposed to be visiting her for the afternoon; after much grovelling i think she forgave me! Then later that day a set of car keys came through our front door, puzzled I went to pick them up only to panic once again as they were of course mine, I had obviously left them outside on the wall and some kind Samaritan must have spotted them and posted them through the letter box. Phew! my brain is definitely frazzled hence why its only 8pm and I am writing this from my bed with my pjs on, a nice cup of tea and packet of chocolate biscuits by my side. A perfect end to a hectic few days.

2010-04-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well we are now 3 months in after the arrival of Rock Baby and she has now started developing a really lovely personality, smiling, cooing and babbling in her own little language. Pop Princess still doesn't seem that impressed with her, someone told me its like your husband bringing another woman home and telling you that you are all going to live together, i know i wouldn't like that so have no idea what Pop Princess is going through.

I am adjusting to life being at home again with the two girls and even though I am enjoying it part of me still misses work and sometimes I feel all I ever do is change nappies, tidy up and live from one feed to the next!

At the moment we are trying to get Rock Baby to take a bottle, but she is point blank refusing and gets herself into a right state! hubby has tried and friends but she def knows her own mind already and is insistent the bottle is not for her!

On Friday we are going to the doctors as Rock Baby has a large strawberry birthmark right in the middle of her forehead after reading up on it they are supposed to stop growing by the time they are 6-9 months and disappear by the age of 7 but because of where it is I am quite worried so we are going to ask to be referred to a birthmark specialist to see what the options are.

This week Rock Baby has been wearing a gorgeous baby romper by a company called Animal Tails who specialise in baby and children clothes featuring endangered animal species, I looked after them at work and Annette the founder kindly gave me some clothes for Pop Princess and Rock Baby. Pop Princess has a cute pink t shirt featuring an endangered Zebra. Check them out at www.animaltails.co.uk

Contact Me

2010-03-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

If you would like to get in touch please email me at louisemolloyuk@yahoo.co.uk

hello blogging world - my first blog!

2010-03-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Its just gone 8pm and by some kind of miracle I have managed to get Pop Princess who is 2 1/2 and Rock Baby (ten weeks today) into bed and asleep leaving me able to set up a blog and enter the world of mummy blogging!

I am enjoying my second stint of maternity leave having left my job as a music pr just before Xmas to have my second daughter Rock Baby. My days of dealing with the national papers, pop stars and celebrities seem like a lifetime ago, my glamorous days of lunches in Soho, photo shoots and high powered meetings have been put to one side so i can look after my two daughters.

Having gone back part time after having Pop Princess I have had a massive shock to the system as in no one told me how hard it was going to be looking after two, I've had to readjust to looking after a tantruming toddler full time again and having a newborn. So thought i would write about the highs and lows of my new routine!

Life has been pretty hectic of late but i am just about getting into the swing of play groups, lunches out with friends (normally with my boobs out having to feed Rock Baby who is now refusing to take a bottle of expressed milk!!), coffee and cake (lots of Coffee!)

Today Pop Princess has been at nursery so I was very optimistic of a chilled out day cooing over Rock Baby, whilst trying to tidy up the mounting mess around the house and the huge pile of ironing but Rock Baby had other ideas literally feeding all day on and off and grizzling in between which must be another growth spurt! I think i have nearly convinced hubby that we need a cleaner, must work on that more when he gets home from work.

Anyway i am going to blog out now as prob like hundreds of other women out there who can hopefully sympathise with me, its quite hard to sit still for too long at the moment as i am sure Rock Baby must have given my tail bone a huge kick on her way out so going to chill out before i prepare for the dream feed tonight. Still debating as to whether I should completely wake up Rock Baby tonight at 10 30 so she feeds properly or just try again with the dream feed which she never really wakes up for. The holy grail of a full nights sleep surely must be getting closer. Will tonight be the night?!...........