I skipped last week's meal planning as I was super busy leading up to my Mum's wedding at the weekend. But tomorrow is May and I'm back on track aiming for a really healthy month leading up to our holiday in less than 4 weeks time!

Here's what we are eating this week...

Well, didn't April fly by! I’m really enjoying creating these post capturing memories of the past month. For me it was definitely a month of two halves: Easter holidays and my Mum's wedding. So the early part of the month was days out with my girlies, cinema trips on wet days and fun in the garden and park when the sun showed up. We also went up to London to see the latest Disney on Ice show at Wembley. And the back end I was completely absorbed in making my Mum's wedding cake which was a huge challenge for me and I was super pleased with the results. Esspecially as I made all the sugarpaste flowers by hand. The wedding was beautiful day. May holds the countdown to our holiday! Woo hoo!

A week without a blog post! But do not fear, I have returned. What happened? Well after 15mths of intense planning my Mum got married yesterday. And I was surprised by just how much I have been knocked off course the past couple of weeks. I managed to keep my head above water with work and the kids but everything else, the house, the washing, the blog went on pause. But I'm back with a surprisingly calm brain and I feel more relaxed than I have in years. Clearly all the wedding planning and cake making was getting to me more than I realised.

Seeing my Mum so happy yesterday was amazing and made all the hard work worthwhile. It's gonna take a while getting used to her new surname, not that she's had the same one as me for donkeys years now but it's a change and I tend to get anxious when anything in my life changes course. But if anything was going to prove how much we mean to each other planning this wedding did just that. I love being her rock even if I am exasperated sometimes by her and she by me!

Love you Mum xx

From ‘Hygge’ to parenting, the Danish way of doing things is often widely talked about and it would appear, that bedtime is no different. The Children’s Meditations in My Heart is a collection of meditations designed to help children drift off to sleep within minutes and is beginning to change bedtime routines the world over. I have two copies of this revolutionary bedtime book to giveaway to lucky readers!

You may have noticed there hasn't been any Meal Planning posts over the past couple of weeks. This has been due to a mixture of the kid's school holidays, wedding prep for my Mum's upcoming wedding at the end of the month and a nasty case of tonsillitis (which hit right after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend). But with the kids deposited at school this morning and just two weeks until the big wedding I am firmly back on track. Here's what we are eating this week...

It's quite likely you have heard of Steig Larsson's Millennium series and his anarchic anti-hero Lisbeth Salander, the originalz Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Sadly Larsson died before a single word of his 80 million copy selling trilogy had been published. After a long drawn out legal battle between Larsson's family and long term partner for control of his literary estate, a new Millennium book was published 11 years after his death - but it isn't the continuation of the series Larsson had planned and has been heavily criticized by his partner.

So what do I make of this 4th novel? Is it a welcome addition to the Millennium Story or would it have been better to allow the series to die with Steig?

Are you raising a future environmental steward? While you may value measures that seek to preserve this wonderful planet, it is essential to begin teaching your children those same values early on. Even though issues of recycling, global warming, and pollution can seem like complex topics to explain to your little ones, there are easy ways to help them understand the importance of taking care of the environment. You can also empower them with ways to actively learn about and work toward a better future for the planet. Not sure where to get started? Discover three ways to help your children become environmental stewards as they get older.

Safeguarding our children's health is super important for parents and I'm always looking for helpful products to make the parenting adventure that little bit easier. I am giving away a fantastic oral health kit from baby healthcare experts  Bickiepegs, who also make the revolutionary Doidy Cup, to 5 lucky winners to help them on their weaning and teething journey.

March was a very social one. It kicked off with a huge dump of snow on World Book Day. Then we struggled to Birmingham for My Mum's hen weekend. We celebrated the world's first Auntie's Day with my Besties and their kiddies but then Mother's Day was cancelled due a poorly Little I and in turn a poorly me! Then we celebrated my Gran's 80th with yet more snow. Nieces and Nephews visited and we enjoyed the run up to Easter. Phew. Bring on April and the wedding!