No evidence of Mummy.

How is it that as parents we have hundreds of photographs of our children and hardly any that include us mums? I take photographs daily,on my phone, so you can imagine how many photographs I have in total. Even if i took only one photo day, thats 365 pictures in the year. Thats without days out and special occasions where we all get snap happy! Of course these snaps are our precious memories caught on paper. There forever for us to look back on, and how amazing is it that we have the technology to take these photos and share with the world at the click of a button! What I dont have is pictures of me, as a mother, plenty of selfies, but not in my natural role. Why is it that us Mums are always in the background? We are like the foundations of a building, holding it all together but not seen. I'm making it my challenge to have more photos taken with me in. Of course I am usually always the one taking them, but I dont want my children to grow up and not have their childhood captured with me in it! So what my hair needs a wash, so what I'm carrying all that extra weight, so what I'm not wearing any make up. The next time we have a family day out I will ask that person behind me to take a family photo, and the next time someone takes a natural shot of me I wont ask for it to be deleted because of my make up free face. From here on I am going to embrace the camera and capture even more memories of my children AND their mummy.

What I wore

I thought I would show you my go to, school run mum, outfit choices. When you are a mum on the go its hard not to get stuck in a rut of "ease dressing". By that I mean just chucking on whatever is clean. I have definitely been guilty of this for a while but now that the baby is a bit older and more confident, I am trying to take a bit more care of myself ( as well as everyone else!)

Here is what I wore on Wednesday.

My top is from George at Asda
My jeggings are NEXT
Boots are good old Primark
Lastly my navy lightweight jacket is from M&S

Mum to be Birthday Gift Idea.

Yesterday was my close friends 29th birthday. She is also 30 weeks pregnant. Usually I would buy her some flowers and a bottle of prosecco, but obviously this time alcohol was out of the question. I popped in to my local Asda supermarket and found her this gorgeous mum to be pack from Nspa.

This gift set contains Nipple Balm 75ml, Nourishing Stretch Mark Oil 150ml, Moisturising Bump Butter 200ml and Beauty Rituals Deep Cleansing Mud Mask 15ml.

To go with this, I also picked her up one of the Home Inspiration candles by Yankee

My friend absolutely loved her gifts and for a pregnant woman, you cant go wrong with candles and smellies!

Lets get organised!

Since I became a mum of 3, 16 months ago, my life has become chaotic and unorganised. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't change my little family for all the neat filing systems and empty washing baskets in the world but I do always wish my life was a bit more organised. Purely for the fact that if everything was planned in advance and in order, then I would have more time to spend doing the things that my children and I love to do. Somehow though, every time I try to get order in my life I always end up back where I started. I have enlisted the help of some fellow bloggers to make myself ( and you!) a list of tips to keep on top!

• So, firstly, from Jen over at Just Average Jen "Write coffee at the top of your to do list and then it is easy to do at least one thing."
• Rebecca, over at The everyday mummy says "get things prepped the night before"
• Mummy Gummie Blog's Lisa says "write a list with only three things a day, that way it isn't daunting and you get the satisfaction from having a completed list"
• Birthdays and parties are always sorted last minute in my house. When I say last minute, I usually mean a mad dash to the supermarket half hour before the party starts! Hannah from The Amphletts buys cards in bulk, including a variety of aged and plain ones so that she never gets caught at last minute like I always do!
• When working or getting important stuff done, Louise over at A strong coffee to go says " don't have Facebook or twitter on! So easy to get distracted!"
• Lastly, Hollie from thrifty mum says "Before bed, visualise the next day and write a list, get out anything you can prepare in advance and then get a good nights sleep. You'll feel mentally and physically rested that way and therefore more able to take on the day."

With all of this in mind I have made packed lunches and laid out uniforms and bags and coats for tomorrow morning. Here's to an organised week!

Mrs Hx

Teeth Whitening at home

Recently in Superdrug I purchased this "1 Week Tooth Whitening Kit" by the brand Brilliant

It was on offer with a 1/3 off the original price, so I thought I would give it a try. As someone who suffers with weak enamel and dull coloured teeth I thought it was worth a shot! On the box it states that the "Enamel friendly formula" can get your teeth "4 shades whiter in 1 week", so as of today (Saturday 22nd April) I will be giving this a try. Next week I will do a full review, with before and after photos and my honest opinion of the product and how it worked. Keep an eye on this blog and my Instagram page.

Mrs H x

The Mum Tag

So here is the mum tag. 20 questions about the kind of mum that I am.

1. How many children do you have? 3, two sons one daughter.

And how old are they? 8, 5 and 16 months old.

2. What are your proudest and most frustrating moments as a parent? I couldn't possibly pick one moment where I've been most proud. They make me proud every day! Most frustrating moments are when they just don't listen.

3. How do you discipline your child/children? I take things away eg no treats or computer time

4. Do you co-sleep? not intentionally. If one of my children cant sleep and they get in my bed then that's fine.

5. What is your one MUST HAVE piece of baby equipment? A dummy. All 3 of my children have had them, none have teeth problems or had problems getting rid of them.

6. Name one thing you bought before you had your baby and you never ended up using? Top and tail bowl.

7. Have you always wanted kids? How many more do you plan on having? No more for me. I always wanted four but they are too expensive lol.

8. Do you think your relationship with your spouse has changed since you had children? Better or worse? Completely changed.

9. Date night? How many nights (or days) per month? Hardly ever.

10. How is your relationship with friends since having a child? Still really good. we have dinner once a week.

11. How many cars does your family have? 1

12. Dream vacation with your kiddos AND one without the kiddos? Disney with the kids and a city break without

13. Where do you shop for your kids? Usually Next or the supermarket brands

14. Favourite mommy makeup and skin care products? Estee Lauder double wear foundation and body shops vitamin e range.

15. Since becoming parents, do you notice you act more like your own mother (for mom) / father (for dad)? Definitely. Its like a switch that's gone off haha.

16. Piercing a baby’s ear: do or don’t? My view on this has completely changed. My first two children had them pierced and my first son took his out at 3 and never put it back in. My daughter pulled hers out a month or so later and never went back in. I wouldn't even dream of taking my 3rd to get that done and tbh I don't know what I was thinking doing it the first 2 times!!

17. Bath or shower? (for you and child/children) bath for me and baby, shower for older kids.

18. Is mom back to her pre baby weight? HAHA NO!

19. College dreams: Do you expect your kids to go to college? Or would you let them decide for themselves? I will let them decide for themselves ultimately but I do have big dreams of college and university for them all.

20. Finish these sentences: “you know you’re a mom when you___ can function on broken sleep for years!!

I  would love to read other peoples answers to these questions. I'll add them in the comments below. Please let me know if you decide to do this yourself!

Mrs H x

What is happening to Carshalton Ponds?

For a while now, I have noticed the water level in our beloved local ponds getting lower. I kept thinking to myself it couldn't have been from rain levels. I mean I know we are having a lovely spring so far but a drought, in April, is just unheard of!
This week my 3 children and I ventured in to Carshalton as we do weekly to burn off some energy in Grove park and feed the ducks and squirrels. As we got to the river, we noticed that the water was down by at least 2 foot. The birds were literally walking through sludge. Smaller ones able to float, just about, but the geese were just wading in the mud. It was hard to watch I have to admit. So we took a walk up to the main pond, which may as well be called Carshalton Puddle at this moment in time. It was empty! Apart from the small amount of water in the centre, it was completely drained. Birds that should be nesting were without their home, some sat on concrete ledges and a lot of them huddled together on the Wilderness Island.
I cant believe the state that the pond is in at the moment and it is so sad to see the wildlife suffering like this in their natural surroundings. I for one, hope this gets fixed as soon as it possibly can be. Those ponds are the heart of Carshalton, one of the few things left around here that holds the village's heritage and history.