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They grow up so quickly!

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However, kids designer clothing is not about dressing children beyond their years: clothing from designer ranges is instead intended to be cute, practical, smart and age-appropriate. Take Roberto Cavalli for example, whose racy and eye-catching dresses have turned heads on the red carpet for many years. The designer has created a children’s range which will make children feel grown up, but not make them look beyond their years. Cavalli’s trademark leopard prints feature in the collection, but always look cute rather than tacky. A high-neck dress with a frill hem detail is perfect for a party, whilst the leopard print leggings will instantly jazz up any of your daughter’s outfits.

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Affordable gifts that are Heaven Sent

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There is a real trend for shabby chic at the moment and although it is not my style, there are some aspect of it I love. However, sometimes shabby chic, is not shabby cheep and you can be charged through the eye for this style.

So when I saw these fab items from Heaven Sends at Gifts from Handpicked I thought they were great value.

I love these you and me hooks which are one of the more expensive items in the range at £29.99. These would be fantastic in our conservatory for the boys to hang their dressing up outfits on. But they would also make a great coat hook too.
I adore this Portraits de Famille Box (£22.99), which is brilliant take on a photo album, which holds holds 288 photographs across 12 labelled holders. I think this is a super way to look at your families photos rather than just keeping them digitally. It is beautiful enough to keep out, rather than put away in a cupboard and just think of all the memories you could keep in those albums. This is something that we seriously need in The Mad House!

Now this Heaven Sends Carte Postale Chalkboard would look perfectly at home in Cass from The Diary of a Frugal Family’s Kitchen or entrance hall. I really love that it comes with three mini pegs so you can hang the chalk up and other important things such as pretty postcards etc! Even better it is only £12.95, so I will have to remember that when it is her birthday.

I also like this wooden Heaven Sends Laundry Drop Your Pants Sign, which is less than £6 and would be perfect for our fulility room (the name for our unity room as it is never ever tidy).

I also adore this Heaven Sends I Love You To The Moon and Back Sign, which reads “I love you all the way to the moon and back again” and is £6.95. This is going on to my wish list for Mini’s room as it is something that we say to each other every night before bed. It would be the perfect new baby gift or even baby shower present if you do not know the sex of the baby and really reasonably priced too. I love that it is not to babyish and will last a long time and not date like some nursery decoration does.

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Free things to do in London over the Easter break

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As you may know London is Mini’s favorite city in the whole wide world (his words, not mine). So we can often be found hopping on the train when we can grab an inexpensive fare and doing some sight seeing. Also one Maxi’s school friends still visits a Dentist in London to have their invisible braces looked at (they used to live there) and they are going back over Easter and we are possibly going to London Zoo for an event too, so will need some other things to do too.

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Spring Clean your Children’s Wardrobe

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taking place.

I have a list of items that the boys need for next season or even in the next size in the back of my diary and I keep an eye out in Charity shops or any other shops that are having a sale. I work on making sure that each boy has at least 10 pairs of underpants and 14 pairs of socks (school socks, boot socks, trainer socks and regular socks!).

Now the boys are both at school they need much less clothes that what they did as preschoolers. They have at least five of each of their school uniform (trouser, shirts, jumpers and three pairs shorts for the summer.

The only time that they really need lots of extra clothes are during the holidays. I only wash twice a week and Mini is certainly a muck monster. So he needs more clothes that Maxi.

Now is also the perfect time to keep an eye out for thermals for next year. Both the boys wear thermals during the winter and they wear under layers when playing football in the winter.

Also why not keep an eye on the charity shop for winter coats for later in the year, as many people will be doing a spring clean and sending their children’s outgrown clothes to the charity shop, making it the ideal time for you to stock up.

Ella at Purple Mum has recently done a great post on how many clothes a child needs. I have top admit that I am guilty of over buying for both the boys and this is something that I am going to tackle this year.

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What to look for in a family car

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My boys are growing up and are now eight and nearly seven and what we need in a family car has changed dramatically since they were newborns. However, it is not always financially possibly to buy a new car at every stage of childhood, so I thought I would put together a guide to what to look for in a family car detailing what we needed and why at what age. At the moment I am lusting after a new Honda CRV, especially after being in a friends on Mothers day at Maxi’s football match!

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The Fatherhood Remix

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MadDad may not have driven Maxi around each night to get him to sleep, but he did carry him everywhere! I know that the thing we both found hardest was the lack of sleep. MadDad found it really hard to wake up in the night. He had a “dead to the world” time between 12 midnight and about 4.30am, when he just couldn’t be woken. This was made all the worse when Maxi got unwell and I stopped sleeping as I was so worried about him. In the end it was suggested to him by our amazing baby massage coach that he slept in the same room as Maxi on a Friday night and hopefully by the proximity and the fact that he didn’t have to get ip in the morning he would wake before I did. And you know what, this was a real turning point for both of us. It meant that I got one nights great sleep a week. He managed to wake up before my “mummy radar” kicked in and the pair of them were often to be found in Salisburys outside the Starbucks concession as it opened on Saturday morning.

So for all the Dad’s out there, this one is for you. Enjoy

The Fatherhood Remix Read More »