Friday 31 July 2015

Bambino Mio swim pants Review 2 - We went swimming



If you missed the first, click here to go back and read it. 

Going swimming has now become part of our weekly routine. So having reusable swimming pants for Ru has really cut the cost down!


Not only are they cost effective they are super adorable, Ru has yet to have a number two in then but I'm very certain we wouldn't have any leaks if it did happen.


Pretty and functional!!

They have a drawstring tie around the waist so that you are able to make sure they fit your baby and don't come off whilst in the pool! As babies don't always come in one size! 

Because they don't hold onto the wee you aren't hit with it when you take it off. Which has happened a few times when I've taken off the twins disposable swim pants. Not something I want to happen when I'm trying to get dressed!

Now every time Rupert sees the pants he knows where we're going and gets all excited! 

You can check out all the swim range over at http://www.bambinomio.com 
They are a great price at £8.75! 

Thursday 30 July 2015

A look around Ru-Bear's bedroom



When we moved into the house, Rupert's room was the one I was most excited about doing. I had great plans ... It didn't go to plan as his room was used to store the boxes we hadn't yet opened and literally you could not get past the door it was stuffed from floor to ceiling with boxes! 

We worked our way through the boxes, not as fast as I would have liked but months and months later, his room is box free and probably my favourite room in the house. We still want to re paint, but that can be done when we do the rest of the house. 

I hope you like the photo tour and once the other boys rooms are looking as nice as Ru's I'll be doing more room tours :)! 


Ru's cot with a selection of special teddies! 

A chair my mother gave us has turned into our nighttime feeding and cuddle chair, before I put Ru into his cot. 

Ru's collection of books and Sonny Angels 

These special little guys have been in all the boys rooms. I got them when I moved into my first house with Noah's dad and No was going to have his first ever room. They are their little guardians.

Jon bought this beautiful seat from the local toy shop by our old house. It was too lovely not to purchase it. 

These are my favourite paintings in the whole house. Again these were bought for Noah's new room when I moved into my own flat. They have since been in the Twins room and now they are in Rupert's!

I found this on Amazon and I just loved the colours and the fact it was different to most baby mobiles

Finally Ru's gorgeous wall stickers, I came across these on Amazon and couldn't resist. I was really pleased with the quality as soon pervious wall stickers I've purchased haven't been all that! 

I hope you enjoy having a peek into Ru's room, next I'll be doing a post on how I eventually want Noah's room to turn out!!

 



Wednesday 29 July 2015

Planner love

Another post about my new obsession!!!

I was enjoying my little Amazon planner so much that Jon treated me to a pretty pink Webster's Pages colour crush personal planner! 


I've become a tad obsessed at watching the many many videos you tube has to offer on decorating your planner and such.

Also I've come across a few lovely etsy shops that sell gooorgeous goodies to pop into your planner to give it a personalised touch! 

They are also feeding my addiction! 
Dangerous times!
My names Hannah and I'm a stationeryaholic.




It may seem silly and strange but it is so relaxing, sitting at the table and making something look pretty. 
It really is a way of de stressing. 
Well for me I find it is. 
I guess it's taking a time out to focus on something for me rather than the others.



My mum has just bought me the perfect desk that is going to fit nicely on the landing between mine and Ru's room, Jon is going to pick it up tomorrow and Friday will be spent putting it up.

It will be nice to finally have somewhere for all the stationery I've collected in the last few months to go and somewhere I can be creative with out taking over the dining table and getting in everyone's way. 

Photos will follow once the desk is up and running :) 

But I want to run mummy....

On Monday morning we went for a stroll along the sea front and Oscar was standing still and looking so I went to capture it with my phone but of course he moved as soon as he saw me. I asked him to stand still but he wasn't too impressed and demanded that he was allowed to run off!


Still not a bad picture minus the grumpy 3year old :D
brummymummyof2

Monday 27 July 2015

Baba and Boo cloth nappy loveliness - Review





When I started my cloth journey back when Ru was a few weeks old I was pointed in the direction of  baba and boo and since then I've never looked back,

I can proudly say I have most of the B&B collection in my stash!

A couple of weeks ago Ru was sent three nappies to test out and I was thrilled to be able to pick which ones I wanted to review. 
** a happy dance was done when I received the email**

Baba and Boo nappies are pocket nappies which are a two part system. You have your inserts and then the nappy. With each nappy you are sent two microfibre inserts. You have a choice of buying more inserts if you wish. They stock a charcoal boosters which are great for heavy wetters or nighttime use! 


The nappies are fit right from birth (8lb) to potty (35lb), so they can grow as baby grows, they have poppers on the front to help adjust the size accordingly.
This is a cost cutting incentive as you'll only need to buy them once! Rather than unlike some other brands on the market where you have to buy bigger sizes once the baby has grown! 

If you are new to the cloth world they offer a trial scheme where you can purchase one nappy try it out and then if you enjoy it ... Which you will, You can go back and order more!!
They have a range of Bundle kits  to suit everyone's budget. Or you can just buy single nappies.
I found the Bundle kits really helped when I was starting out. 
They have a fantastic range of designs which I know like me you'll have a hard time picking which ones you want and end up wanting to have them all! 
The customer service is one of the best I have experienced and they are happy to answer any questions you have. 

The nappies always washed up well and I've never had a problem with stains on mine. 
I always start with a cold pre wash then on to a 40 then do an extra cold rinse.
If it's nice weather they will go out on the line, which is something I always enjoy doing. Or if the weather is being particularly British I pop them into the tumble dryer on a low heat.

When I first started cloth I thought the washing would be an issue but it really isn't. In general if you are using cloth full time you'll need around 15-20 nappies, which will mean you'll need to wash around every 3 days. 
Though the more nappies you have the longer you can go between washes. I generally wash every 3 days as the bucket can get rather pongy!!

We've tried many other brands of cloth, which we like but baba and boo is what we reach for the most. 
They're one of our favourite brands! 

You can check out their website http://www.babaandboo.com
And follow them on their social media sites twitter,  instagram and Facebook 



**we were gifted the nappies in exchange for a review, all thoughts are my own!**

Sunday 26 July 2015

A look back #1

I've decided to make a weekly photo
 post, I take so many photos and many of them never get put into posts. 

So I'm going to be taking a look back through my phone and picking my favourite pictures from the week. 


Noah had a fun day at school

Ru enjoying the white car at morrisons 

Chunky chalk fun

Our brilliant car boot find has now been turned into a super cute coat rack for the boys, I'm so in love with it! 

The twins in new vests! 

Shampoo fun in the bath 

Sheldon found his way up onto our bed and indie was right there making sure he was ok <3

This week has seen my hair go from yellow, to blue to purple to red!

I learned how to make paper ninja swords......it was a great idea at the time.

Ru's new thing is to put his hand over his mouth when he does something cheeky and say 'oooh'


Friday 24 July 2015

How I stay organised.

When I had Noah I decided to become super organised and have a diary and a wall Calendar so I could write down all his doctor appointments all the play group times down and anything that I needed to remember. 
Even when all my bills were going out so id know and not get behind on them.

It's a well known fact I have a memory like a fish and should have been keeping a diary well before having Noah.

Then when I became pregnant with the twins i really needed to be on top of things as I had twice as many scans and doctors appointments and then once they were born they had lots of check ups and other bits and bobs to keep on track with but it got too much and I let the diary keeping organised Hannah slip away.
I kept a note of things but not really in an organised way. Which resulted me in missing things and having to ask other people when and what was happening.

Fast forward to today, I have four boys and a blog to keep on track off. 

So I decided to buy myself a planner.


Which in doing so re kindled my love for stationery!

Back in my early teen days I remember going to Kingston every weekend to go into a shop called Morning Glory - which was a Korean stationery shop, it was my teen heaven and I loved going their to top up my stash.



I use my planner to reminded when I have post deadlines, when the boys have groups on or school things I need to remember.
I also use it to write down to do lists and plans 


I just took part in the #BringBackPaper stationery swap and in the amazing package I got sent was an awesome note book that I really can put to use as it has sections for to do lists, ideas, wish lists and so on. 


Every morning when I'm having my bowl of coffee I go through my planner and check what I have to do and add any updates. 

Once my coffee is finished I feel ready to take on the day and know exactly what is meant to be happening. 


My planner has become like my bible! 
It comes everywhere with me and I'm very proud of it.

I'm back on the ball and I haven't missed a deadline yet, of forgotten someone's birthday - which has happened a fair few times! 
Fish memories suck! 

I've become so planner obsessed that I find myself wasting hours on line hunting  for other pretty planners or funky stationery that I haven't yet added to my box of joy. 


How do you guys stay organised? 
Do you have a planner obsession like me? 

Thursday 23 July 2015

The pros and cons of being a grown up!



As a child you want to wish away your childhood and become a grown up! 
You think by becoming a grown up you'll get to do much cooler things! 

Well how naive we were!



Being a grown up does come with many many benefits but it also comes with many responsibilities that children just don't/shouldn't have to deal with

Being a child you are free and not tide down with responsibilities, we shouldn't rush our babies to grow up but let them enjoy being a child for as long as the need, and when they moan about how the wish they were older we should explain their world is much more magical and fun than the adult world! 

Cons 

• No one tucks you in at night with a nice bedtime story 
•You just can't scream for hours on end without someone questioning your sanity.
• Father Christmas, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy .... Need I say more?  
• Not being able to see adventure in everything you do. A trip to the supermarket is exciting for children, for us adults it's just something that needs to be done. 
• Smiling cutely can't get you out of trouble! 
• Midnight feasts - now you see it's just as a snack if you're up late.
• laundry 
• housework

Pros 

• You can buy what you like, when you want and not have to beg for it - this probably eliminates the screaming for no reason in the middle of the shop! 
• Bigger beds!!! 
• Coffee
• Wine
• Eating endless amounts of chocolate with out someone saying No! 
• Coffee, yes I know I've already put this on but come on, I looooove my coffee! 



If you have anything else to add to the list comment below :) 

Wednesday 22 July 2015

The Parent Agency - Book Review!


The Parent Agency by David Baddiel has to be one of the best books Noah and I have read.

It had us gripped from the start and in stitches of laughter!

It's a heartfelt book that will reach out to everyone, young or old!

Barry's parents aren't as fun, cool or as rich as his friends so Barry has made a list of why he hates his parents.

Stranges going ons find Barry going into a parallel universe and ending up in The Parent Agency, where he can pick his perfect parents! 
He goes through his list to try and find these "perfect parents" which he is desperate for.
What he finds out is actually it isn't always greener on the other side!


It was nice to read it with Noah as I know he sometimes wishes we were like other people's parents and we aren't cool enough for him and we don't let him do the things his friends parents let his friends do but only we can love him the right way for him.
I could see his little brain working this out as we went on with the book.

This book is a must read! 


You can view the YouTube trailer here -> http://youtu.be/sUMyICBQ7uc 
If you want to purchase the book, you can find it on Amazon here -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Parent-Agency-David-Baddiel/dp/0007554508

I will be running a competition over on my Facebook page Hannah and the Mini Beasts to win yourself a copy of The Parent Agency!!
While you're there why not give my page a like :) 


My Dream Bathroom


Our bathroom isn't a complete disaster but it is on our to do list!
We only moved into the house back in March and are currently working our way through that list, but now Jon has re hurt his back and is back off work the bathroom has been pushed to the bottom of the list.





The one thing that I dislike about our family bathroom is the lack of style and that it has no storage. 
Everything is out on show and because of that it looks slightly cluttered.

I have always dreamed of a beautiful girly bathroom where I can relax and soak my stresses away. 
As running around like a headless chicken after the four boys does leave me rather frazzled. 
I think a bathroom should be a tranquil place where you can escape for a moments peace!
You could say a perfect bathroom would be rather spa like. 
I guess I can dream! 

The hammered blue mix glass mosaic tiles would give the room a girly mermaid/seaside feel and being blue they would be boy friendly too!

The Nectar Square Shower Bath Suite  would be great for a growing family and give the added bonus of having a shower. 
This will give the boys a choice to shower once they are old enough to want that little bit of independence. 
Boys tend to shower more once they turn into those teenager things that mope around and not want to wash, as it's a lot easier to get them to jump into a shower than to soak in a tub at the end of the day, so this would work well for our family.  

I like the Lux Bathroom Suite as it gives you the storage benefit which is something I'm looking for as it would solve the clutter issue that our bathroom is facing at the moment! Also having the storage would mean I wouldn't have to share the bath with Spider-Man and ironman, I could pop them away and not feel like the were watching! 
 The suite also looks very swish and gives off that spa look I long for! 

 This is my Pinterest board, if you click on  the link below you'll be able to see more and find out why I like each one! 



You can see my board in all its glory here .... Follow My board here http://pinterest.com/hannahbanna85/my-dream-bathroom/