Hands on

I love the hands on approach of my toddler. The spirit of 'I'm going to do everything and I'm going to do it right now' is amazing! She wants to touch and pick up everything, see what noise it makes, find out what it feel like and what it can do. You may have seen this photo before from my post about our trip to Italy so apologies for using it on the blog again, I'm not being lazy but for me it summed up this week's Sticky Fingers blog gallery theme 'hands' perfectly!

We were in Pompeii and had just spotted the first lizard of the holiday scuttling along a wall. She was so amazed! After he scurried off into hiding Squiggle announced she must make a stick lizard, (as if it was obvious and exactly what anyone else would do after seeing one). She gathered some sticks and using her very own little hands and big imagination, made her very own lizard on the path. She was very pleased with herself when he was done and skipped round it in delight! This is one of those occasions where her imagination really just caught me by surprise and is a memory I'm going to treasure.

Why why why?

My little girl hasn't quite reached the why stage yet, which is a stroke of luck, as I am not one of those people with a bank of general knowledge. I'm also not really a why person, I think as I was growing up the general theme was – well life's not always going to be fair so make the most of it – which is what I do, and enjoy it! There are somethings in life though which just shouldn't be and do deserve a massive, hands on head, "but WHY????"

Mummy Central started this great meme: after endless why's from her little ones, she's now bombarding them with some questions of her own for a change. It's our chance to join in, here are the rules:

1. Post your whys – as few or as many as you like

2. Link up your post to Mummy Central, and it would be great if you could leave a comment too

3. Tag 5 bloggers to keep this going

4. If you’re not a blogger, leave your whys as a comment below. We’d love to read them

5. Show your support by reading a few others and commenting on them

I was tagged by the lovely Debra at 'My Darlings and Me', you should really go and read her 'whys', they are fab and I could have just copied and pasted the lot as I agreed with them all! She may have noticed though, so here is my very own unplagiarised list:


For my daughter:
Why... do you take food off my plate when I have served you your own plate of the same dinner?

Why... did you tell me you didn't need a wee over and over when is soon became clear you did?

Why... is it funny to hit the telly with lego bricks / toy animals / fairy wands? You love the telly!

Why... do you love me so much when I'm always telling you what you must not do? (She is amazing, I'm such a lucky mummy)



For life in general:
Why.... after a rainy weekend is it always sunny on a Monday morning?

Why... are the baby / child sections in shops always upstairs?

Why... can I never find my keys? (I have caught my daughter playing 'I can't find my keys' a few times – that's how bad it is.)

Why... am I scared of spiders?

Why... is Piers Morgan on the television?


Too pass on the fun I tag:
Momma of Mojo
The Chaos Queen
A Mummy's View
Cupcake Mumma
Busy Bee

Why? Because I thought it might give you a giggle x

Styling my tot from the gorgeous Next collection

This is my entry into the Next competition being hosted by the fantastic 'All Baby Advice' blog. The challenge? To style an outfit from this season's Next's maternity or childrenswear ranges. As I'm not pregnant I have chosen to style an outfit for my little girl – it was so had to narrow down my choices as the range is full of beautiful items!

This is my chosen outfit and it's ready for anything the British summer might throw at us! I've had so much fun doing this, I hope you can tell! x

Why I love this outfit

Navy Spot Playsuit

I fell in love with this playsuit as soon as I saw it, it is perfect for messing about in the garden or for a family day at the seaside. I love how it is all about fun and has a casual feel, but at the same time it is really stylish and super cute! It has gorgeous detailing around the buttons and looks like it would be really comfortable, which is very important when you're busy playing. As much as I love girly clothes it's nice to see something still really pretty that isn't necessarily bright pink. It's perfect for little adventurers like my gorgeous girl. Spot on Next!

Ginger Straw Trilby

Truthfully we're not great with keeping hats on but this one would definitely be worth the risk. It's amazingly cute isn't it? I can't think of a better way to keep the sun off in style!

Navy And White Stripe Cardigan

Ah fun summer days and long lazy evenings... you know when you've been out and about all day at the beach playing and then you get back to the campsite in the evening and the sun is starting to go down? I just want something really soft and snuggly to put on my daughter and this cardigan would be perfect! It's made of 100% cotton so you know it is going to be great quality and lovely and soft. My little girl is pretty argumentative when it comes to coats but if you present her with a 'jacket' she's happy as anything, so this would work really for us. Am loving the cool nautical look it has going on too, it really has that summer feel!

White Trims Pumps

I have been looking for some little runabout shoes that I can keep by the backdoor so that Squiggle can pop them on quickly when she wants to go out in the garden. These have Velcro straps which are perfect as she loves putting her shoes on by herself at the moment and these would be really easy to manage. The bow makes them very sweet too and I think they would go really well with any summer outfit, not just this one!

 

Yellow Duffle Coat
Well this is England and although we hope for sun, there's bound to be some rain and plenty of wind – this mean a coat is an essential item for any outfit. I wish I could have this coat for myself, I wouldn't mind putting it on when it's so sunny in yellow. It is simply gorgeous and would cheer up any dull day. It feels me with a nice sense of nostalgia – we were always dressed in little duffle coats when we were younger and I really love these timeless styles. Plus yellow just happens to be Squiggle's favourite colour and yet something that isn't in her wardrobe!

Union Jack Wellington Boots

What's the up-side of rain? PUDDLES! Puddles bring lots of smiles and giggles to our family so we always have to have wellies on hand. These boots are perfect for getting in the spirit of things, what with the Jubilee and the Olympics I think it's time to splash the Union Jack a little. Perfect for all round fun!

I hope you like my choices, I've absolutely loved putting the post together. If you are a parent blogger you should really have a go too, there is an unbelievable £500 voucher up for grabs. No really! I find Next clothes great value so this would go such a long way. I'm off to have a look at t I've absolutely loved putting the post together. Iet some more inspiration.

I'd love to hear what you think of my dream shopping spree. x

Scummy Mummy

Hurrah my kind of meme... Miss Cisco at The Ramblings of a Formerly Rock 'n' Roll Mum is uniting us slightly more scummy than yummy mummies in her alternative meme. I just filled out the Yummy Mummy meme the other day which was great fun too but I couldn't help feeling my answers weren't too high up there in the glamorous stakes.

P.s. I too had no idea what a meme was when I entered the world of blogging... I guess I still don't, but look at me – I'm meme mad I tell you!

So here it is, don't judge me:



5 Things that make me a scummy mummy

1. You'll see me on the platform in the morning looking in awe at all the ladies with their straightened hair. I'm the one with the wet hair (or icicles in the winter) who doesn't even attempt to dry it before I leave the house. By the time I reach the office, I'm the one with the frizzy mop, which is then promptly swept up in a pony tail when I catch an 'eek' glimpse in the mirror.

2. I've always got a grotty hair band around my wrist 'just in case'. Have been thinking about upgrading it to a scrunchy so as to relive my eighties days.

3. Our ironing board has been broken for well over a year – should give you a rough idea of how often I iron my clothes.

4. I've left the house a few times without realising I either have stickers stuck to my bottom, or worse, a pink bunny rabbit clip still in my hair.

5. When other lovely ladies pay me a nice compliment and ask what make my top is, I usually reply "no idea, have a look" and then bend down so they can see the label. Pretty confident that's not the work of a yummy mummy!


I can't blame being a mummy though, I have always been like this... apart from the rabbit hair clips.

Does being a little bit too lazy to think of anyone to tag right now make me scummy too? I tag anyone who reads this post and is struggling to narrow it down to 5 like I was! x