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?

And with a blink 2018 is over. It was a busy one for be both professionally and personally with a Summer heatwave to remember thrown in for good measure. This time last year I set 18 work and blogging goals for 2018 and I can hardly believe it is time to look back and see how the past 12mths shifted and shaped my expectations and what I am still working towards in 2019.

Today my blog turns 5yrs old. FIVE! Crazy. This has prompted me to stop and take a look at my year so far and see if I'm on course with one of my 18 goals for 2018 - to write more opinion pieces and generally have more of a personal voice and presence. After all this started as a pregnancy diary where I bared my soul, it needs to reflect me.

One week into 2018 and I finally feel the Christmas chaos is behind us and we are back into our routine. I'm not usually one for setting resolutions - before the kids I managed to stop taking sugar in my tea but that's about it. This year is different. 2017 was a great year for us overall. We moved house. The kids settled well in school/pre-school. But while my business exploded and my blog grew, I very much felt like it was all happening without any control. This year I want to steer it down the right path. Sophie from Life as Mrs D has written her 18 goals for 2018 and I've been inspired to write mine to help keep me focused this year.

My blog is fast approaching 3 years old! How time flies!

With time comes change. My 2 girls are growing up. Little E has just finished her first year of Reception and Little I is a very feisty 2 year old. And of course baby number 3, this blog, has changed with us. We are still reviewing prams, cribs, bottles and all things baby through little nieces and nephews who are lighting up our lives. But closer to home we are enjoying finding new places to explore, places to eat and the best toys to play with.  We've been lucky enough be part of the Baker Ross blogger progamme for the last couple of years and Little I is starting to love arts and crafts as much as her big sister.

And a big change has occurred; I'm working again. Freelance from home and even though I am too busy to dust (who dusts these days right?) I'm loving the new challenges and I feel a bit different about life, appreciating having the skills to be able to work for myself and give the girls a few special treats. But, naturally, It can be a struggle to juggle it all at times and get the balance right. Finding time for me is still important and I love writing book reviews and sharing my favourite recipes. Afterall we are all so busy we don't want to waste time on the duds!

​I hope you continue to enjoy reading my blog and share the experiences of our changing family. I certainly love having you visit and a big thank you to all the brands who I have collaborated with over the past few years. There are some brilliant products out there and I love sharing my finds with my readers.

​xxxx

One year ago today I published my first blog post! 

I was 20 weeks pregnant with my second child and I wanted to share my experiences with other parents. It began as mainly a pregnancy diary where I vented about SPD, the trauma of getting an elective C-section on the NHS and heartburn! Little I completed our family on 18th February 2014 (on Husband's 30th birthday) and the blog focus has shifted with her arrival. The reviews of maternity clothes and C-section support belts have morphed into prams and highchairs. Running alongside it all 3yr old Little E's adventures have been charted. The good, the bad and the downright awful moments of life with a Threenager!

I've just hit 20 weeks pregnant with my second baby (bump as she/he is unimaginatively yet affectionately referred to) and it has occured to me that  I will not have my best friend and gaggle of NCT buddies on maternity leave in the same sleep deprived boat this time around. So I need somewhere to vent about life with a two, going on 22, year old and an ever expanding waistline which will soon result in another little bundle of personality.

I have also learnt a lot raising my little girl, who i shall refer to as Little E for purposes of this blog, to toddlerhood. So it is nice to imagine I can pass a little of that on to other mum's of somewhat hyperactive, clever, exasperating and extrordinary children.

I hope you enjoy reading, laughing and probably crying a little along with me.