I was super lucky to receive tickets to see Moulin Rouge the Musical for Christmas from my lovely Mum. I’d heard rave reviews about the show currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End based on Baz Lurhmann’s iconic film. Now, I hold my hands up and admit Moulin Rouge it isn’t one of my favourite films (mainly because I’m not a Nicole Kidman fan) but I was super intrigued to see how such a visual movie would transfer to the stage.

Little I is off on her first school residential next week. She will be spending two nights away from home staying in a yurt and having loads of fun with her school friends. This seemed an apt time to share the tips and tricks I have learnt over the past few years when packing for her big sister's residential trips.

My blog is now 10yrs old, which seems impossible but it is true! I've also hit another big milestone this month - 1000 posts!

The adventure began as a pregnancy diary during my second pregnancy. I was battling to get an elective C section approved and I was struggling with anxiety. This blog was a place to vent and also gave me something else to focus on, a welcome distraction.

Over the years I have been very lucky to link up with some fantastic brands including Chicco, Tesco, Amazon, Aldi, Maxi-Cosi, Disney and Smiggle to name a few. Little E and Little I loved being Baker Ross bloggers throughout their toddlerhoods (there were a couple of years where every surface had a fine haze of glitter on). We've been on some amazing press launches and had lots of fun trying new places, foods and experiences. I've written a ton of gift guides yet I'm still surprised when new ideas get pitched.

Slowly my blog has become less about the kids antics and more about the things I enjoy, like reading and Netflix binges. Lately it has touched upon my struggles with long covid. Hopefully my posts have been for the most part either educational or entertaining - perhaps sometimes both.

Little E and Little I are no longer little but they will have a lot of memories to look back on and show their own kids perhaps one day, In another ten years (or 1000 posts) they will be adults (at least according to the law) and this blog will have changed again. Bitter sweet is a great way to describe parenthood when you love watching them grow but also want to freeze time.

One of the first books I reviewed on the blog was The Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series which I read mainly at night on my phone whilst breastfeeding. I've been waiting a decade for the next book in the series and refuse to watch the TV show. The big question is will George RR Martin actually finish the books before this blog celebrates another decade?