Fashionable Friday (on a Saturday)

This weeks 'Fashionable Friday' is another wanted post. The summer is edging nearer and I'm beginning to tire of seeing all Freddie's maroon, navy and reds adorning his wardrobe. I'm looking forward to replacing them with lovely summer brights, especially so for our summer holiday to Cape Verde. 

Here's our first additions to the summer wardrobe:

The Checked Shirt looks lovely teamed with the green Skinny Jeans and finished off with the cool sunglasses! The Windbreaker Jacket is perfect for when it's a bit chillier and we'll be taking it on holiday with us for the airport and the evenings. I love the colour combination of this look and we'll probably add a cute straw sun hat to complete the look.

These are all available from Gap.

Books are Brilliant: Where to buy them.

We have built up quite a collection of books since Freddie was born and to add to these, we were lucky that I had a vast collection from my teacher training. 

Although I think 'Books are Brilliant', I also think they can be expensive. We have our favourite books, the ones that we repeat over again but then we also have ones that stay on the shelf forever more after one read.

Whilst Freddie is still young, I'm also worried about him ruining books with his over-enthusiasm and heavy hand, especially ones that were expensive. Try as I might to teach him to 'soft touch' (similar to petting the dog,  that doesn't work either) books and treat them with respect, it doesn't always work and we quite often end up with torn pages or chewed cardboard.

To combat this we now have two book collections; one is stored away for bedtime reading and the other is encouraged to engage with as he wishes and if that results in rips then so be it. 

To do this, I looked at ways in which we could find cheaper books which I didn't mind getting man-handled.

Supermarkets
Often supermarkets have books on offer. Tonight I bought Peppa Pig: My Granny from Sainsburys for £2.49 rather than the RRP of £4.99. They often have offers such as 2 for £7 on favourites such as Julia Donaldson.

EBay
You can normally pick up refurbished books from numerous sellers on the auction site for much cheaper than new. I bought Freddie a selection of Sam Lloyd books at Christmas for pounds and you couldn't even tell that they'd been used. Look for sellers with good feedback for peace of mind.

Charity Shops/Car Boots
Our local charity shop sells children's books for 25p each. Bargain! For that price, I really don't mind if Freddie rips them accidentally as they literally cost pennies. It also feels nice to have donated to a wonderful cause and done a good deed.
             
                


Gumtree/Freecycle/Facebook Selling Pages
Look out for people giving books away that they no longer use. I like to give them a quick disinfectant wipe and they are good as new. 

The Library
I have just joined the library with Freddie (look out for next weeks post) and was pleasantly suprised at how different it was to when I was a child. We got lots of books out on loan and even though we can't keep them, it was a perfect opportunity to find new authors that we may enjoy.

Play Time: Sensory Baskets

Today's 'Play Time' is a blast from the past so before you're wondering,  No, Freddie hasn't been hammering the Oil of Olay, he's only 8 months in the photograph! 

We are talking about Treasure Baskets or Sensory Baskets or even Baskets of Crap as Mr C refers to them. 

They are quite simply, baskets of 'treasure' for your baby. Although before you rush to empty your family heirlooms, let me explain. They are full of items that your baby can use their sense to explore.

We first discovered the idea at our locals Children's Centre where we learnt about the Monteserri Education Theory that children learn using all 5 senses rather than just listening. It makes lots of sense if you think about it.

You can put a range of objects in a sensory box and you can even adapt them to particular themes such as nature, seaside, colours, kitchen items etc. 

Or you can do what we did and throw bits of everything in. As long as things are safe & non toxic then there's is no reason to not chuck them in. Things with different textures to touch, are ideal as they stimulate the senses. Items such as loofahs, sponge, silky material and pine cones are wonderful.

Take care to ensure that there objects aren't sharp or choking hazards to baby. Items that make different sounds provide great entertaiment and keep them amused for a long time. I'd recommend objects such as sets of measuring spoons, keys, rain sticks (homemade with a sealed beaker & rice) and hand bells.

I used one basket with around ten items in which I changed every few days as Freddie got older. I found that changing the items was like giving him a new toy every few days without the cost and inconvenience of having to shop for them.

Being a first child and grandchild, he had lots of toys but treasure baskets were by far the best.

This Article provides lots of useful information and an extensive list of items to include.

I'd really recommend making a treasure basket for your baby. It's cheap & cheerful, provides hours of entertainment as well as stimulating baby and aiding their development. 

Review: Blade & Rose Pirate Boys Leggings

You may remember a few weeks ago that I was lusting after some Blade & Rose Pirate Leggings in my Fashionable Friday post.

Well we have some! 

We chose the pirate design from a shop that is local to us called Daisy and Sam who also sell online. The shop is lovely and the owner is extremely helpful and very friendly. They specialise in Children and Babies Clothes, gifts and accessories and ship their lovely products throughout the UK and Europe. 

We chose the Blade & Rose Pirate Leggings but they also do a range of designs such as Princess, Rabbits, Owls and Dinosaurs. They are incredibly reasonably priced at only £10. 

I originally thought that Freddie would only wear them as lougewear because they are lovely and soft as well as comfortable but as you can see from the photographs, he has wore them today with his Converse hi tops & a cable knit sweater and they look adorable. 

I don't always like him to wear jeans as I think they are quite restricting when he's trying to dash here there and everywhere but I also aren't a big fan of tracksuit bottoms. These are a perfect medium as they are fashionable but comfortable at the same time.

They also double up to provide an extra layer underneath trousers when it's particularly cold.

They have been a massive hit so far and we've had them on lots so they've already sustained quite a few washes. They have washed lovely although you are advised not to tumble dry which we didn't as I find these things bobble easily. 

We chose age 3-4 and they fit F (18months) well although he's got lots of growing room in the legs. I'd say you can get away with buying bigger as they are stretchy and they fit well but allow for growth so that they last longer.

Who says that we should restrict leggings and tights to just for girls? They are perfect for protecting Freddie's knees whilst he's attempting to get into all the things he shouldn't! 

We have linked up with #TriedTested over at Going on an Adventure.

Our Week in Photographs (8)

17.2.14 - Selfie

18.2.14 - Playing football in the park with Mummy

19.2.14 - Cheese!

20.2.14- New Old Man Pyjama's

21.2.14 - Feeding the Ducks in Hebden Bridge

22.2.14 - Flamingo Land with the Family

23.2.14 - Looking cute in Blade & Rose

Top 5 Children's Books

I have started my 'Books are Brilliant' feature this week and as luck may have it, the Share It Sundays link theme over at Oh So Amelia is 'Top 5 Children's Books.'

Our top 5 children's books are:

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Calm Down Boris by Sam Lloyd

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

That's not my Dragon by Fiona Watt

Room on a Broom by Julia Donaldson

Check out my reviews over the next coming Thursday's in my 'Books are Brilliant' feature.

You can read the posts so far;

First 100 Words

Guest Post: The Swan Project

Books are Brilliant

My 2014 Bucket List.

1. Blog at least once a week.

22.2.14 - I've established a proper 'Blog Schedule' now and I am blogging at least 3 times a week. 

25.4.14 - Failed! I've been AWOL for a while but I'm beginning to get back to it now so hopefully I'll hop back into the swing of things pronto.

2. Get to my target weight at Slimming World. 

22.2.14 - I haven't yet got to target but I'm the lowest weight I've been at for a long time and I am only 14lbs away from target. I'm aiming to be there by 01.08.14 - The wedding! 

24.4.14 - After messing about with my diet since Christmas and putting a couple of pounds on, losing a few etc, I am now the lightest I've been in my adult years and 13lb off target.

3. Have a facial.

22.2.14 - Booked in for 26.2.14. 

25.4.14 - I never made my appointment for my facial so I'm still needing to book one. I actually have a gift voucher for one but I haven't got round to it! 


4. Pay off the outstanding overdraft on Mr C's bank account.

22.2.14 - Still not got round to this one although we've set the money aside from what Mr C is due so hopefully it'll be paid by end of April. We have done some balance transfers on credit cards so we are getting a much better deal on those too.

25.4.14 - DONE! 

5. Take Freddie to at least one playgroup session a month.

22.2.14 - We went to two different sessions in January & February. The second wasn't particularly brilliant but we will continue to go and see if it improves. 

25.4.14 - We have been regularly attending a Weeny Boppers session in our local community centre and I've found Freddie's confidence and social skills have blossomed greatly. Next week were starting a toddler music & dance based class and resuming our swimming lessons.

6. Begin to learn Spanish.

22.2.14 - To be completely honest, I'm not very inspired to do this. It's something that's been on my list for years and I never do anything about it. I need to have a serious think about whether we want to move abroad and if we do, I need to look into this as it'll be incredibly beneficial.

25.4.14- Even after being given a Rosetta Stone trial, I still need a kick up the bum to do this as I've not even started yet.

7. Do at least one nice thing each month which will make a positive impact to someone else's life.

22.2.14 - I think I've definitely done this. I've tried to be kind, helpful and supportive. I've offered help to a lady who was struggling with her trolley and donated some of Freddie's things to charity so far this year. 

25.4.14 - I like to think we've been doing lots of nice things for people so far this year. Today's good deed was surprising my Mum by paying for her nail appt in advance and having choccies and a card for her to thank her for being lovely.

8. Exceed my amount that I raise for charity on last year.

22.2.14 - I have been buying from charity shops and we are planning on donating money to Alder Hey Children's Charity in memory of Mr C's late sister for our wedding favours. I am also going to hold a MacMillan Coffee Morning at work again (I raised over £230 last year) and also run the Race for Life this year.

25.4.14 - We donated £25 to Breast Cancer Care.

9. Try a food I've never eaten before.

22.2.14 - Not yet. 

25.4.14 - I still haven't got round to this, any ideas what I should be trying? 

10. Visit the dentist. 

22.2.14 - This is my favourite accomplishment so far this year. I've been, twice!! I am booked in for my treatment doing in March and I'm well on my way to overcoming my phobias. You can read about it HERE and see my inspiration HERE.

25.4.14 - After 5 treacherous hours, DONE!!