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So Riley is 4months old as of yesterday and seems to want to eat like us, every time we sit to eat in front of him he is mimicking our mouth movements and gives his hand/blankie or dummy a good suck lol

So we bought him a high chair I found this Joie Mimzy Snacker Highchair – Alphabet Soup, while browsing Argos https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5828005

Under advice from health care professionals we are starting a slow baby led weaning month.. this week it is 3 – 8 tiny spoons of baby rice click the button below to see how to make it.

So far he loves playing with the spoon, but not sticking it in his mouth.

1. To begin making the Homemade Rice Cereal, first wash the rice. Drain off the rice completely in a colander. Spread the rice on a clean white cloth. Leave it to air dry or fan dry for 30 to 50 minutes.
2. Once the rice becomes completely dry, begin roasting the rice. To roast the rice, place a pan on medium heat. Dry roast the rice on low flame for 5-7 minutes. Gradually the rice will begin to pop and splutter. Turn off the heat and let the rice cool.
3. Once the rice is cooled, put it in a clean mixer jar and grind it to a smooth powder. Your Rice Cereal is ready. Store it in an airtight container and use as required.
4. To prepare the Rice Cereal, place a saucepan on medium heat. Mix one tablespoon of rice cereal with 1/2 cup water in a bowl. pour the mixture in the saucepan. Stir continuously and let it simmer on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
5. Transfer the Rice Cereal in a serving bowl and feed it warm to your baby. Mix it with some milk or formula for added taste. Adjust the consistency of the cereal by adding little or more water or milk.

14 weeks and 1 day ago we welcomed Riley into the world and our mad house and although we are all slightly worn out it has been the best thing of 2020.

After 4 Girls people would always ask me if i was trying for a boy, truth be told, I always wanted a boy, Girls are mini versions of me and oh my are they a handful! I wouldn’t change them for the world, but there was only so much sass i could take, i needed a little prince to dote after.

I had always been the kind of person who would rather be in a room full of babies than adults, I love everything about them, but honestly with every child I’ve had I’m come to appreciate the small things so much.

Take my first Daughter Lottie i was only 16, things were tough, i knew nothing about being a mum. Everything made me anxious, I even put little mirrors in her cot and had her attached to me via a sling 24/7 just so i can make sure she was breathing. I jumped at every cry & cried at every smile. I missed out on some of the joys and ended up with PND (postnatal depression)..

Seven years later I had Grace, this was strange to me, I kinda knew what i was doing, but I had a active partner and In-laws, this time I was nervous, pressure was on me to do things a certain way, and i had anxiety about making sure I didn’t have another bout of PND, when my waters broke at 28weeks, I was a mess. But thank fully she was ok, although Breech and born at 37Weeks.

Within a few months i was pregnant again with my Third Daughter, Bethany. This time i suffered with Prenatal depression, the support i had around me was low, I was called mad for having another child so close to my last, we were made homeless within my first 12 weeks of pregnancy and my relationship hit the rocks hard. Along side my depression, i also developed pre eclampsia, this meant that yet again, lots of hospital visit, anxiety and a early birth at 37Weeks. 

But she was perfect and my depression slowly dissolved and i got into an amazing routine with all three Girls, unfortunately I didn’t spend as much time as i wanted doting on Bethany as Grace also needed attention, there birthdays were 11days apart and Grace hit milestones alongside Bethany’s, up until 3 years ago they shared there birthdays and Bethany does not have as many pictures of her as Grace does. 

Skip forward 5 years and I was separated from their dad, when i was told my ovaries needed removing due to PCSO but first I wanted another Baby. Selfishly I became pregnant with My fourth Daughter Sophie. Although things went smoothly with her pregnancy, my history meant lots of hospital appointments, My marriage completing ended.

This was after much build up of stress, I got extremely ill and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and an autoimmune disease. This meant that the first 3 years of Sophies life, I needed a lot of help to look after her and that fell on my oldest Lottie and my mum. (As well as people like my best friend Nicki)

Which brings me to 3 years later, I got divorced, went to CBT therapy, saw countless doctors, Moved out of London, met a new man and from there my life became changed, I no longer needed countless medication to get thru the day, My children were Happy and i started to notice so much more.

We tried just over a year to get pregnant, i needed the help of medication, suffering 3 chemical pregnancies and a miscarriage.

But yay! On the 2nd January 2020 I found out I was pregnant again, March 2020 we went into lockdown and the whole world changed, August 2020 Riley John was born at 34weeks and 3days by Caesarean Section, spent 8 days in neonatal and has been filling this house with joy ever since.

This time its all so different, I get to watch him grow, I get to treasure the small things, There is no pressure, no stress, i have so much support it’s unbelievable, My partner Alfie is a great dad, he cooks, cleans, takes the other kids to school, runs me baths, does the shopping and makes sure i get as much time to enjoy all of the kids as much as possible. 

I’m sad I didn’t get to be this mum for my Daughters, but I’m ever so happy that i have been giving the time and support to be The mum i always wanted to be to all of them now. 

I know we are only 14 weeks into this but for some reason I feel like things will only get better. 

Watch this space! X

In our house Christmas starts November 1^st, I sat on the sofa with my brother Riley he puked all over me but I didn’t care. As one of the cats were between my legs and the other was beside me, my mum, my stepdad, and my sisters were getting the Christmas trees from the Attic.

(Did I mention we have 5 or 6 trees in our house!)

My Stepdad was ordering our Christmas Food shopping from Morrisons, can’t wait for it to get here, it looks delicious! We probably ordered way more than we can actually eat, but hey we will try.

The next day we had to go back to School and NONE of us kids were happy about it. I normally love school but I really wanted to prepare for Christmas more!

After our first week back at school had just ended, we decorated the trees, one was already done that was the kids tree in the dining room and the other was my favourite tree and that was in the living room, we always have had it decorated the same, champagne gold with white and glitter, it looked perfect that was the one we called mums tree!

The following weekend we made more decorations and hung some around the other rooms in the house and upstairs, we then decorated our own mini trees for our bedrooms! We hung some fairy lights in the conservatory and up the hall way, put snowflakes on the windows and got out the red throw overs and cushions. more lights on the doors and moved furniture around It was so fun! I CANT WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS!

I always walk my brother Riley around the house when mums busy cooking and he wants attention boy does he love the lights…. And there were Lots of lights all over the house and ornaments it is awesome and as its Rileys first Christmas its sure to be greater than the others!

Our stepdad got our dog honey a new jumper and the cats new toys like a little battery mouse even thou he knows me and mummy hate mice SO much! Lol

I would say the worst thing about Christmas is the cleaning, We always clean! All year round, i feel we clean more than other children do, mum says its because we are messier than other children, but i do not agree with her, Especially as I’m the 2^nd oldest and have to do more than the younger two, I still help though.

School was getting better because I was at the top of the class I normally come home saying how bad it was but this term has been great so far, I’ve actually wanted extra homework but only because I wanted to get everything done so that Christmas came quicker!

I’m still writing this in Drafts, but check out the next blog from my daughter Gracie , she wanted to give her opinion on Christmas in our house and wrote a little something.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who grew up in a house without Birthdays, Easter, Halloween or even Christmas!
Let’s not get things wrong here, She was a happy little girl and most of the time she didn’t miss the celebrations because she still got presents and more importantly she still got chocolates.

It was only as she grew up and had a daughter of her own that she was introduced to the world of Christmas movies and wow 😍 she was in love…

Unfortunately every year things never seemed to have the magic she longed for… people were always ‘Scrooge’ about the whole thing, a family member always fell out with someone else, some years she settled for a simple roast dinner, no extras, a few times homeless, One year she was even mugged whilst out Christmas shopping!

Fast forward to 2015, that girl was me & I had found the magic!

I had learnt how to create magic, by this time i had a 13 year old, 6 year old & 5 year old, i was pregnant with number 4 and here is how i did it…

• November 1st – Christmas decorations & Tree. Change the home furnishings to the Red & Gold, change the bedding to brushed cotton and get out the Throws, winter was coming!
• November 8th – we wrote letters to Santa!
• November 15th – The Christmas Fairy’s letter and a to do list arrived. ( How to decorate store bought cookies, Make Hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream, give away 5 toys to charity and chuck five toys away)
• November 22nd – Decorate the tree, prepare for the Elves to arrive, make sure things were put away in there right place as the elves had away of hiding or collecting things left laying around.
• November 29th – Write Christmas cards out, buy an advent calendar, Buy a plan white plate & Mug and some sharpies.
• December 1st – Elf’s arrived on doorstep with a note from Santa, explaining who they each were names, ages, likes and dislikes. There was even a warning, the elf’s would behave how you did, for the 1st two weeks, the opposite to you last 2 weeks and you were to say good bye the night before Christmas Eve.
• December 8th – Decorate Santa’s cookie plate and Hot chocolate mug.
• December 13th – Fairy’s delivered 12 books to read each night on lead up to Christmas Eve.
• December 20th – Go Christmas shopping for sweets and treats over Christmas, try and sneakily buy extra presents without kids finding out. Visit Santa’s cousin in a grotto, get a picture with him.
• December 23rd – Pack up elf’s, write a note to Santa with comments on their behaviour, adding a p.s telling him that they really have to stop wrapping up the fridge and TV it’s annoying and would he mind not leaving crumbs on the sofa this year!
• December 24th – Fairy’s have left Christmas eve boxes, a pair of socks, pair of pyjamas, book, chocolate bar and a new hair band set and toothbrush, and note telling them to get to bed as soon as possible and to not forget carrots for the reindeers.
• December 25th – Christmas Day, Santa left one present each, usually the cheapest from their list and crumbs from his cookie fest night before, fairies & elf’s had filled the stockings each with a Terry’s chocolate orange at the very bottom. the rest were from me. Turkey dinner and lots of music…. oh and crackers!
• December 26th – Boxing Day, usually seeing other family members and eating more food.

So that was a short list of how we do things, as i go thru my preparations for this year, feel free to ask me questions.