On our family trip to Florence at the end of November 2025, we stayed at Hotel Kraft, located at Via Solferino 2 in the “Centro Storico”, a quieter, more residential pocket of the historic centre. It offered the perfect balance of calm surroundings and walkable access to the city’s main attractions. The Arno river was just a few minutes away, the Ponte Vecchio was an easy 15 minute stroll, and it was also around 15 minutes from Santa Maria Novella train station, which was incredibly handy as we took the train to Pisa one day. For families or travellers planning day trips, this proximity to the station is a real bonus.
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Embracing the Great Outdoors: A Palette of Possibilities. There's something truly magical about the great outdoors, a vast canvas where nature's hues blend seamlessly with the laughter of children and the gentle whispers of the wind. It's here, amidst the rustling leaves and under the vast, open sky, where developmental journeys unfold in the most unexpected and delightful ways. 

In this digitally fueled time, taking care of your kids is crucial, especially when you are trying to make them tech-friendly while teaching them the actual value of using technology. However, it can be difficult to manage everything without compromising on their real mental growth. 

Technology can do both things; it can make things easier and can also distract you from all the important things in life. It is important to teach your kids to use technology in a healthy way and develop habits that can make them successful in this digital world. 

However, kids are so smart today that they quickly learn how to use electronic gadgets, be it smartphones, laptops, or tabs. But some kids don’t know how utilise their devices properly. In that case, it is important to teach your kids how to use their devices more efficiently. 

Here are some of the methods to teach your kids to be more tech savvy

Looking back at some old posts I realised now the kids are bigger I''m sharing less and less about our day to day lives, which is a shame as I originally started this blog to document my pregnancy and our lives beyond. To remedy this I have decided to resurrect an old post style where I share the highlights from my phone camera roll from the past month.

April was a busy month as we made our first trip abroad since Covid, hopping across to France on Le Shuttle and spending a week with Husband's family chilling and visiting some of our favourite places including Dennlys Parc - which is a french version of Chessington but without the massive queues! Even though it was French school holidays the longest we queued for any ride was about 3 minutes. 

We also made the most of some windy weather to get the kite out, saw most of our family over the Easter weekend (and ate lots of cheesecake and chocolate) and Mum and I saw my teen idol Marti Pellow in concert in Guildford. The last few days of April saw us clearing out the office to start our latest renovation project which is quite exciting (but the house is now a bomb site!). 

Not many photos of me as I'm dealing with a freak rosacea flare up which I've never experienced before - now you are all caught up!

The kids are FINALLY both back to school in a couple of weeks and now we know what they are and aren't allowed to take in with them we made our annual pilgrimage to Smiggle to chose some fun back to school essentials guaranteed to make the school run a little brighter. 

My kids grew up watching Paw Patrol, Shimmer and Shine and Dora the Explorer (my eldest spent most of her younger years shouting 'Backpack! Backpack!') so it is safe to say Nickelodeon is a firm favourite in this household. How wonderful it would be if those shows could be brought to life... Enter Nickelodeon Adventure which has just opened at Lakeside, Thurrock. We were very lucky to be invited to celebrate at the launch event of this brand new play space along with our Paw Patrol obsessed nephew Little A.

Can you believe the school holidays are nearly over?! Remember back to mid July when the weeks seemed to stretch ahead and now here we find ourselves starting a fighting over a seat in the shoe shop and googling which lunch boxes are heat/water/yogurt proof - which may be how you found this post. Here are my top back to school essentials to ensure a smooth return to term time routine.

It may seem like an obvious choice when you need a new car that you simply go out and buy one. You shop around and try to get a good deal. Buying is not always the best option. Sometimes it makes more sense to lease your next vehicle.

The reasons could be financial, as in you may actually spend less money. Lifestyle, personal preferences and practicality also come into play in the decision making process. When you are in the market for a new car then keep an open mind to leasing. We leased our last car and it was a great option for us.

Here are some of the advantages to leasing a car.

Little E turned 8 last month and there was only one thing she wanted to do for her birthday: Go Ape.

We have a Go Ape centre close to us at Tilgate Park, Crawley and the Tree Top Junior course is suitable for children over 1 metre tall. E had chosen two of her school friends, two cousins and her little sister to join her on the course. For every two under 6yr olds one adult is required to participate. As Little I had just turned 5 Husband volunteered to join in the fun. You have to pay for parking at Tilgate Park so make sure you have change and allow plenty of time to find a space as it can be very busy at the weekends and during school holidays.

Little E turned 8 and Little I turned 5 last week. I kinda need to do away with the ‘Little’ now don’t I?! Perhaps just for E as I can’t cope with the thought of my baby getting big! Within the space of 6 days we celebrate the following birthdays: Both my children, my Husband, my StepDad, my Dad and my Mum. Yes. I am speaking the truth! The rest of the year feels like a holiday in comparison to that one week in February...

Requested cakes this year were ‘a brownie tower’ and ‘orange with a horse on top’. I think I nailed both and I actually got to bed before midnight so I’m winning!

Happy Birthday my beautiful girls.