Summer is here! (sort of)

Summer is here ..... well, summer is here for me in a way. Soon we are off to South Africa to visit my in-laws with the baba. At the moment the temperature there is about 27C, so a little different to what we are experiencing here. This has thrown me into a panic slightly as to how I will dress the baby. All the clothes that fit him at the moment are very wintry - think lots of fleece and long sleeves. 27C is hot, like proper hot. We're planning a mad dash to the shops the day we get there to stock up on some cheapy shorts and t-shirts.

What this means for me is that I can get some of my summer stuff out a bit early this year. I have also made some recent purchases in anticipation of the warmth I will soon experience. I don't know why I do that, seeming as when we go to South Africa I tend to do a good bit of shopping anyway.

First of all I bought these bistro crop trousers from Boden.

The Boden catalogue arrived in my post box recently and I have been drooling over the contents since. I had my eye on the Bistro crop trousers but I wasn't sure about spending £59 on something I might not get to wear much. Then I was browsing the clearance and realised that a lot of last years Bistro crop patterns were on sale, some for as little as £17.70. Bit of a bargain.

Worn here with my Warehouse gold pumps and a new necklace from Oasis (a little birthday treat!)

At the last minute I decided to order a pair in petite size and I'm so glad I did. I think the regular length would have just looked like I was wearing trousers that had shrunk in the wash. I think I'll actually end up wearing these a good bit once the weather warms up a little. They are surprisingly comfortable.

A current trend that I'm not too sure about is pastels. I am as pale as the driven snow and I just think pastels wash me out. I love them on other people and some of the pastel styling I've seen recently is fab but I'm not sure about it for me.

Again, I found a way to give it a try by finding something on sale. I bought these shorts from River Island for €12.

I was impressed that River Island now deliver to a store for you, even in the Republic of Ireland (we always get excluded from that kind of thing) so you don't have to pay for delivery. Worn here with my navy Toms, white t-shirt from Gap a new scarf from Penneys (Primark to those of you in the UK!)

I really love these, I think the fact they are mint green as opposed to very pale green really helps. I am very much looking forward to getting my poor white legs out for the sun. Vitamin D - I need you!

My last purchase is this dress from Asda for £14.

I had to order something from there recently for J and of course that meant Mummy needed a little treat too. My crazy cat lady persona couldn't resist this!

I actually wore this out last weekend for a night out so it's not really just a summer thing but I'm thinking with a pair of sandals it will a great casual summer dress.

Also, in this picture is my new bag from Boden - the Canonbury Clutch. I bought this as kind of an afterthought when ordering the crop trousers and when it arrived I wasn't that impressed, but I am in love with it now. The leather is so soft and it is the perfect size for purse, phone and things like lipgloss. I've been wearing it all week. I can see it getting a lot of use, especially as it can be converted to a clutch bag. When I checked yesterday, only the leopard print was in stock but the black seems to be now back in stock (a return maybe?)

So, bring on the hot weather please!

N
xxx

Kids Clothes

No, this is not a post about baby clothes or how I style my little 7 month old (God forbid, he is too often covered in spit-up and yoghurt to even think about that). No, this is a post about buying childrens clothes for myself.

I supposed you could describe me as a "petite person". I'm 5ft3 and generally wear a size 8-10. I don't think of myself as particularly slim or anything (especially recently) and I do have a generous enough pair of boobs but I guess I'm just "small". Generally, this is a pain in the arse (I'd love to be taller) but it does have it's benefits, I can wear very high heels and don't have to worry about being taller than everyone else in the room, I am good in caves and I can fit into childrens clothes.

Shopping in the kids section means things are a lot cheaper and embarassingly, the trousers there fit me a lot better. I regularly hit up the kids section in H&M and Gap.

Gap do up to an XXL (13 years +) in their kids clothes. I haven't braved trousers or leggings from there yet but I love the t-shirts and tops. I find even an XXS in the adult tops are not that fitted, which is annoying when you want to buy plain tops for layering.

I recently bought this t-shirt dress in Gap for the summer for €24.95 (with 25% off due to a promotion - bargain!). I had my eye on a long-sleeved version from Boden but this option was a lot more affordable.I'm on a budget here!

This is it in the XXL and is not too bad a fit, if I do say so myself!

I've also recently bought some leggings and tops from H&M. Their sizes go up to 170cm or 14y+. I'm presuming the 170cm refers to height, and as I'm 160cm this works well for me, even if it is a bit depressing to think that there are 14 year olds out there who are 10cm taller than me.

I have two pairs of their Jersey leggings (€9.95)

The pink top is also from H & M kids section.

Obviously some of the stuff for kids is going to look ridiculous on a 30 year old woman but there are some real finds, especially for basic items.

Zara also do kids clothes with the biggest size being 164cm, Their kids shoes also go up to a size 5. Zara is not a shop I'm keen on, I never find much I like on the odd occasion I do venture in there, I always feel like I have to trawl through the place a bit, but I'll definitely be popping in soon to in take a look at the kids section and see if anything interesting pops up.

Marks and Spencers do kids stuff too and their largest size is 14-15 years which is quite generous. I was in there recently and had a quick squizz around. There were a lot of One Direction themed items but I did come across one interesting t-shirt:

How could I resist?!

N
xxx

Meow Meow Meow

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a full on crazy cat lady. Lots of other bloggers with babies post birth stories (I'm not sure anybody would want to read that, to be honest) but instead this is the story of how Murdoch came into our lives. (His picture graces the banner at the top of this blog)

We always had cats growing up and I can't imagine not having one in the house. We had a much loved family cat who died when he was 16. I had him from the age of 8 to 24 so really, we grew up together. The day he had to be put down was a sad day for our family and years later, we all still talk about him regularly.

About a year after that cat died, I became desperate for a cat of my own. I was like a broody woman wanting a baby. At the time, we were living in New Zealand, where cat ownership is high (much to the detriment of the local wildlife!). There were cats everywhere and the day that Mr HNW caught me trying to tempt the neighbour's cat to come in to the house with a saucer of milk was the day he realised we needed to get a little cat of our own. Our big concern was that we knew we were not going to be in New Zealand forever, but after some discussion we decided the cat would just have to come with us when we left and that was that.

One Easter weekend we went to the Wellington SPCA. The staff were very busy because it was an "adopt-athon" day and there were lots of prospective cat and dog owners in. They asked us four or five questions and then instead of bringing us into the main cat area brought us into the administrative office. There were so many kittens that needed homes that there were two cages in there with a litter of kittens in each one. They pointed us to one cage, said these cats love people and left us to it. I opened the cage and a little black and white cat crawled up my arms and fell asleep in the crook of my elbow, purring loudly. I knew then that this was my cat and Murdoch has been with us ever since.

When we left New Zealand, Murdoch came with us on a three day trip across the world to get him home to Dublin. The trip involved two long car journeys, three flights and a ferry crossing and it cost a small fortune to bring him back but it was worth every penny. It's a story for another time I think.

When I got pregnant a lot of people advised me (aka told me what I had to do, in a way anyone who has had a baby is familiar with) that I would have to "get rid" of Murdoch when the baby arrived or that it was madness to have a cat and a newborn in the house. These were people who did not know me well and it infuriated me. Obviously, I wasn't going to let Murdoch babysit and it's not like cats steal babies souls or anything. I know toxoplasmosis can be an issue but it is rare and there are normal, sensible precautions you can take. People said that Murdoch would smother the baby because they like the warmth or that they can smell milk. To be honest, that's nonsense and people who say that must not know cats well. Cats, in general, do not like things that move when they are trying to sleep on them (as you will know if you have a cat and get up while they are on your lap and have experienced the "death glare" for disturbing their slumber.)

I discussed it with my vet who said that as long as Murdoch was fleaed and wormed regularly and we watched to make sure Murdoch didn't get into the cot on top of him then it was fine. In fact he said that there are studies showing that babies who grow up with pets in the house are less likely to be asthmatic (unless the mother is actually asthmatic herself). We "cat-proofed" J's cot before he was born but Murdoch, of course was having none of it. We found him in there on top of the cat-proof netting so many times that we gave up and just did our best to keep the door closed. He had some kind of cot sensor though and would manage to get in there all the time. He still sneaks in there whenever he can and gets shouted at a lot for taking naps in there (after I took pictures of course because it is bad, but also kind of cute!)

Murdoch, is in fact, very good with J. He is a gentle cat at the best of times but now that J can grab and move about he really has a chance to show that. When they are near each other I watch them carefully in case Murdoch suddenly turns but he just walks off when J gets a bit rough. If J is crying Murdoch will come and sit next to him and give him headbutts (cat kisses) and when Murdoch walks past J starts giggling like it is the funniest thing he has ever seen. I know some people will probably think I'm a terrible mother for letting J and Murdoch sleep like in the photo below but it works for us and I just think it is the cutest thing ever.

So, there really is no reason that pets and babies are not compatible. J and Murdoch already have a little bond and  it's lovely to see them together. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if J's first word is Murdy. As long as you are smart about it and take a few precautions what''s the problem? If I could get ten more cats I would but Mr HNW has vetoed it. Apparently 11 cats, one baby and two parents in a two bedroom apartment is "not a good idea". We'll see!

N
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Tots Bots Bamboozles - Cloth Nappy Review

So, back to the cloth nappies! I had a previous post on the brand of cloth nappies we mainly use but I have started to branch out a bit to other brands.

The holy grail of cloth nappy wearing seems to be how to keep your little baba dry all night. I have to say, we haven't found it too hard, although from speaking with other cloth nappy mums it might prove more difficult as he gets older. There was one night were I foolishly put a brand new cloth nappy on him without washing it at all first. You need to wash cloth nappies a few times before you use them to make sure they are absorbant. I think, in my sleep deprived state, I read the instructions that arrived with the nappy and promptly chose not to follow any of it - because who needs to do that? I've totally got this cloth nappy thing. It was a disaster. J wet through the nappy as if he wasn't wearing one at all, necessitating a frustrating night time change of all of his clothes and the sheets of the crib while myself and Mr HNW blamed each other for not putting the nappy on correctly. Luckily it hadn't reached the mattress and harmony was restored to the HNW household soon after.

At the moment, our night-time nappy of choice are Totsbots Bamboozles. They are a two part system (as opposed to the Baba and Boo nappies which are pocket nappies). So, how do they work?

The Bamboozles themselves are very thick and stretchy and are made of a kind of towelling material. They need to be paired with a waterproof wrap. They really are very hard wearing, we have never had a leak once in them and even though it is a two part system, they are very easy to use. We have a few different brands of wraps (they are great to wear over disposables or other cloth nappies for extra protection) and the Blueberry wrap is definitely our preferred option. It has a bit more give in it. The totsbots ones are sized and the one we have only goes up to 20lbs, the blueberry wrap is btp (birth to potty).

The Totsbots website advertises them as good for heavy wetters and describes them as "slim fitting". I'm not sure how big the people in Totsbots HQ are but slim fitting does not come to mind when he's in them. They give him an absolutely massive arse. Like he's in the video for Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot (and yes, I may sing that to him on occasion when he's in them) As for heavy wetters, I wouldn't fancy them for daytime use at all. Bulkiness is fine at night when he is just lying down (well, in theory that's what babies do at night, J does not always subscribe to that concept) but during the day I think it would restrict his movements too much and would also make a lot of his clothes very tight on the bum region.

Here is my willing (and gorgeous) model, demonstrating them with and without the wrap.

We boost these nappies, meaning we add extra inserts to make them last a bit longer at night (We use these baba and boo bamboo ones). This only makes his arse bigger. In the photos here, the nappies are unboosted.

The other con, for me, is the smell. Compared to other nappies and particularly disposables the smell of ammonia off these in the morning is eye watering, even if you are washing them correctly. The outer wrap is quite thin (although it is waterproof) and underneath it's just like a big towel soaked in baby pee, a towel that is lying in your bed right next to your nose. Using these at night means he needs to be changed the second he gets up or else I start to gag - not the best way to start the morning.

All in all, they are a great option for night time. They keep him dry for almost 12 hours and he seems happy enough in them. We boost them with one insert which suffices for us but I know it could be boosted more, if required. They are a popular choice for night-times and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to someone looking for a safe night-time option.

N
xxx

When Good Skirts Go Bad

One current trend I've been wanting to try out is the midi skirt. I love skirts and pre-baby I wore them nearly every day, including at the weekend. I thought the midi skirt might be a good casual option, especially for the summer. After a lot of searching online I settled on this option from Asos for €39.33

I was thinking it would look like this on me:

and was full of plans to wear it with flats in the summer and ankle boots until the weather got warmer. Sadly, it wasn't to be. In my enthusiasm for ordering the skirt I neglected the fact that I am a short arse. The skirt arrived today and looks ridiculous on me. Really ridicoulous. Like I was wearing my granny's skirt or I've turned Amish. It's just way too long. I don't know how tall people at Asos think the average woman is but while I am short (5ft 3) I'm not Kylie Minogue or anything. The model in the picture must have had a good 7/8 inches on me.

I was home alone today so had to do a mirror shot (in our very narrow mirror), so apologies for the photo. I tried it on with a few different things but it only got worse from here. It's definitely going back and I'm not happy about it. Asos do have a similar skirt in a petite version, but of course, most sizes are sold out, perhaps because other people have had similar problems. I'm so disappointed, especially as since I bought this skirt a few days ago it has gone on sale and is now €27.39. That just adds insult to injury.

I'm not sure whether or not to continue the search for a similar skirt, or where else does a good petite range (Topshop?) but this skirt is most definitely going back!

N
xxx

Hitting Thirty, Birthday Blazer and Getting The Chop!

I mentioned in my last post that it was my birthday this week. It was a bit of a depressing birthday, I am now no longer in my twenties. Sob! Does anyone feel great at hitting thirty though?

As part of my new 30 something mummy persona I've had my hair chopped.  I have a bit of a fear of getting my hair cut short after a bad experience when I was 13. I went to a hairdresser with a picture of a short, funky crop thinking I'd be only gorgeous only to have my hair completely butchered. It was so bad, at school the next day, the class smartarse asked in front of everyone if the hairdresser had decided they didn't like me anymore and walked off before they could finish cutting my hair. Hilarious. It took years (I'm not joking) to grow back and look remotely decent again. I also had a pob (yes, a posh spice bob) done about 6 years ago and it just made me look like Moonface from Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree books (link here if you somehow bypassed this during your childhood). So all in all, getting the chop has not worked out well for me in the past.

However, recently, my hair had just gone out of control. It took ages to dry and straighten, was constantly getting in giant knots and had become J's favourite plaything. A 7 month old is surpisingly strong, and vicious. Anyway, I went into the hairdresser optimistically armed with a picture of Heidi Klum. Luckily, this time, hair disaster was avoided and I love the new cut. It's already proved so much easier to manage and style and I feel ten times better when I look in the mirror. I know now why lots of women get short haircuts after having a baby, it's a combination of having less time to look after yourself and also of wanting less hair to tempt vicious babies to pull or to get covered in petit filous.

Obviously, another great thing about birthdays is the presents. I got some birthday money and vouchers and have been having some fun hitting the (virtual) shops. My favourite purchase so far, is this jersey blazer from Mango for €49.99.

I have a black jersey blazer from Penneys that I've been wearing to death so when I came across this I knew I'd get a lot of wear out of it. It appears that now that I'm thirty I'm making sensible purchases! I bought a medium as the small was a little bit tight around the button and it looks a bit more casual worn a bit bigger. If it's too fitted I think you can end up looking like you're going into the office.

So, short hair and blazer are on display here. Worn with Topshops Baxter skinny jeans and a pink paisley print scarf. I wore this walking around a very grey and wet Dublin today and I was definitely warm enough. There was no need for another coat or jacket which for January, is pretty impressive.

The Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies

In a previous post, I mentioned my love for all chocolate based desserts. I really am a chocolate fiend and that was my downfall when I stopped breastfeeding, I continued eating chocolate like it was going out of fashion and ended up a bit more "curvy" then I would usually be. I had to forgo the chocolate for a while after that.

Chocolate brownies are pretty high up on my list of nummy nummy treats and they have become my "thing" - the item I always bake for get togethers or dinners with friends. If I was on Great British Bake Off it would be my signature bake, if they weren't so ridiculously easy to make (you just melt everything and mix it up in a saucepan). Paul Hollywood wouldn't be very happy with me at all!

My brownie recipe is adapted from a BBC recipe I found a few years ago. I've just made a few tweaks. A good friend, Kristie has Ceoliacs disease and I used to make these for her all the time. I actually prefer the gluten free version myself.

If you are in any way watching your weight these are possibly the worst things you can eat, they are basically made of butter and sugar with a bit of chocolate and flour to hold them together. That's probably why they are so tasty, who doesn't love lots of butter? Also, I don't approve of nuts or anything like that in brownies. Why would you do that and ruin the chocolatey goodness? It's just wrong, wrong wrong.

Today I had a serious brownie craving. It was my birthday this week and as birthdays go, it was wasn't one of my better ones. Amongst other things, it was a day J was being difficult and this resulted in me being punched in the face and there may or may not have been blood. So, I think I deserve some brownies, all to myself - no sharing.

Ingredients:

• 450g caster sugar
• 225g butter
• 135g of caramel chocolate (dark or milk) - I use Galaxy caramel chocolate.
• 5 eggs
• 110g rice flour (this can be bought in some supermarkets and health food shops. Plain flour is fine for a non gluten free version
• 55g Cocoa - if you are making a gluten free version make sure the cocoa doesn't have any gluten in it. Some of them have fillers that do. I use Bourneville cocoa which is fine.

Method:

• Melt the sugar and butter together in a large heavy bottomed saucepan
• Add in the chocolate and when this is melted, take off the heat

• Add the 5 eggs to a bowl and beat until they are mixed well, add this to the chocolate mixture, a small amount at a time
• Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix very thoroughly (if you don't you will be left with brownies that look marbled with white and milk chocolate but in fact just have clumps of nasty flour in them)
• Pour into a high sided dish (you can use a cake tin either)
• Bake for about 35 minutes, checking every so often towards the end. A skewer inserted in the mixture should come out clean but if you overcook them the brownies will be horribly dry
• Allow the brownies to cool and cut into squares
• Dust with icing sugar if you want a bit of decoration. 
• Try not to eat the entire tray in one go

N

xx