The NSFW side of CBeebies

If you live in the UK have a pre-school child, chances are that you are well acquainted with CBeebies. Astonishingly, some mums (and dads) actually start to have a bit of a thing for some of the characters. Mrs Helicopter is no stranger to these feelings (don’t read if you’re faint-hearted, or weak-stomached for that matter!) While I’m absolutely certain I’ll never be one of the “tumble tarts“, (women who would actually like to get together with Mr. Tumble for some fun), you do find that your brain seems to try and find ways to make it more interesting. After all, it’s quite mundane having the same old brain-numbing thing rotated three times a day and seeing the same episodes every couple of weeks. I’ve noticed that on occasion, things are said that sound quite dirty out of context. Sometimes it could even be misconstrued within context! I like to think that they throw these things in to keep us on our toes and see if we’re actually listening.

Autumn’s 1st Birthday Party

We’ve just reached a big milestone, as Autumn has recently turned 1 year old! Many people seem to think that this is the age where they transition from being a “baby” to a “toddler”. However, I don’t feel ready for that change in title. Even though I’ve savoured the last year, knowing how fast it would pass, it’s still gone much too quickly for my liking!

Although she’s a bit young to really understand what’s going on, I think Autumn had a lovely birthday.

Blog On Xmas 2017 Highlights

I’d heard a lot about Blog On before buying a ticket, not least the rumours about amazing goody bags! I’d met a few bloggers before at the press launch of This Morning Live, but I hadn’t been to a blogging event as such. It was a long  7 month wait for Blog On Xmas after buying my ticket in February, but it didn’t seem to take long to come round!

I was racked with nerves as I left my hotel to go to Hotel Football for the conference, but I needn’t have been as I had one of the best days ever! I’ve never been ‘oop north’ before, so that’s something ticked off of my list of things to do before I’m 30! It was totally worth the 5 hour journey from Kent, even though I did get home past midnight and felt an absolute wreck the next day. If you are thinking about going to a Blog On event next year, I wholeheartedly recommend it and was glad I chose it for my first blogging event. Here are my highlights of the day:

Sunday Review: For Aisha baby food

If you’ve weaned a baby in the last 2 years, or have recently started looking at what foods are available, you may have heard of For Aisha. They create baby food which is bursting with flavour, taking inspiration from around the world. They are also ideal for Muslims, as their baby foods are halal.

I started weaning Autumn shortly before  6 months and started off gently. However, now I am always looking for new flavours and foods for Autumn to try. I thought that these pouches would be a great way to introduce her tiny tastebuds to some more exotic flavours. Whilst the usual baby foods such as cottage pie, spaghetti bolognese etcetera are great, I thought it would be good for her to try something a little more interesting.

Sunday Review: Bodyform Black Pantyliners

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends went to Bluewater and saw the following advert for black pantyliners in a changing room:

bodyform-black-liner-advertisement

She took a photo of it and sent it to our Facebook messenger group. A whole conversation ensued. Why were Bodyform making black liners? It almost seemed like it was something that could be an April fool. However, it is actually a real product!

A husband’s view of paternity leave and returning to work

Going back a couple of generations, looking after the home and children was very much thought of as “women’s work”. However, with the rise of stay-at-home dads and dads seeming to be more hands-on in general, I wondered what my husband’s thoughts were. He’s wonderfully hands on with Autumn and has expressed in the past that he is worried about missing her doing different things like crawling and walking for the first time. I thought I’d do a little interview with him about his thoughts on paternity leave and working, leaving his baby at home.

Tudor falconry at Dover Castle

On Saturday (9th September), Dave and I decided we’d visit Dover Castle with Autumn. Birds of prey, particularly owls, are one of my many interests. As such, I really wanted to go and watch their historic falconry displays. Whilst I’ve watched several displays before, this one is different as it looks at the historic elements of falconry. In this case, the focus was Tudor falconry.

How to choose the perfect baby name

Contains sponsored link¦ With a third royal baby on the way, baby names are a hot topic right now! Choosing your baby’s name is fun, but can also lead to some stressful moments! My husband and I didn’t do too badly, but I’ve heard of couples having full-blown arguments over choosing their unborn child’s name. Luckily, we only had a couple of minor disagreements.

My husband thought it was quite ridiculous at times where I sought baby name inspiration from. However, I think it’s good to take inspiration from all kinds of sources!

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and Charity

Less than a year ago, I had a seriously ill child. I know first hand just how awful it is to be in that situation as a parent. You just feel so helpless. In many ways, I expect it’s worse when your child is older and actually aware of everything that’s going on.

I’d like to bring your attention to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the amazing work that they do. They care for over 270,000 young people and their families each year, as well as carrying out important research. This research includes children’s medicines, infection, inflammation and oncology.