kids

Edinburgh Family life in a Ford EcoSport

FORD ECO SPORT PEOPLES EDINBURGH

We were recently asked to test drive the Ford EcoSport to see how it stood up to family life in Edinburgh. I don’t cover a massive amount of mileage a year around Edinburgh but equally I wouldn’t survive long without a car. A car is crucial for our school-run and getting the kids to all their various activities throughout the week. So, I have three key features that I look for in cars – safety, comfort, and coffee cup holders – the more the better.

Early on Saturday morning, I took Katie and Ben off to Peoples Ford Edinburgh to pick up the Ford EcoSport. We had arranged to meet Marc Jacobs who would show us round the car and get all the tech sorted.

For fear of looking like I knew nothing, I had swotted up in advance. But on being shown round the car, I quickly realised that the main thing I had noticed was the colour availability. There was a lot more than I realised.Read More »Edinburgh Family life in a Ford EcoSport

Design: Smiggle

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Smiggle before our visit, but given I’m not one to turn down an opportunity – last Saturday I found myself with Ben and Katie, ready to explore the newest stationary shop to hit Princes Street.

Following our visit, I can thoroughly understand the catchline ‘Smiggle – where a smile meets a giggle!’ Read More »Design: Smiggle

Food: Baby-led weaning muffins

I’ve been reminded recently of the Burn’s quote, the ‘best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray’. I had in my mind that introducing food to Baby T would be a doddle – I waited until he was six months, I attended a brilliant and informative class… but he really was not interested in anything I was giving him.

Stuff on a spoon was met with disgust and something put on a tray quickly discarded. Obviously, I kept trying but really we were making very very slow progress,  if any. Thankfully, I got in touch with Tricia from Nurture Me – I’ve written about her class before – but I was reminded of how reassuring she was and how good it can be to have someone to turn to for advice.

Tricia suggested that I try offering Thomas food at different times of the day as we had been generally trying only at dinner time. This made sense as we were all at the table eating, but I had totally failed to take into account how tired he was by this point in the day.Read More »Food: Baby-led weaning muffins

Ultimate Home Easter Egg Hunt

This past weekend, my friend Megan and I were looking for a suitable activity for our moody threenagers. It seems like they are going through that common phase where life seems utterly unfair at all times. I’m fully aware that often Katie’s difficult mood is entirely my fault – if only I would let her drive the car or play with the gas hob things would just be wonderful!

After some consideration, we set about looking for something active, preferably outdoors, and that didn’t require lots of sharing!

I was very surprised to find that there we were not inundated with adverts for Spring walks or Easter egg hunts. It seems that all of those are actually on Easter weekend and no one is cashing in early!

With nothing else to lose, we knew it was time to get our Pinterest research hats on and create our own Instagram-worthy egg hunt going.Read More »Ultimate Home Easter Egg Hunt

Activities: Three Craft Ideas for Spring

Katie had surgery last Friday to fix an umbilical hernia she had been born with. The operation went really well and we were home by Friday afternoon.

Thankfully we had Ben for the evening, who was amazing at sitting with her – and has a MUCH higher threshold for Paw Patrol than me. But by Saturday she was insisting that ‘flying’ i.e. jumping from the coffee table was a good idea!

On Sunday thought that she would go camping.

Although this was obviously a great sign that she was healing, it caused me no end of worry that she would do herself harm! She’s still incredibly bruised and having regular doses of Calpol and Nurofen which seems to turn her into Superwoman. I just wish she was at an age of appreciating naps!

My usually smiley boy, decided to scream the street down on Friday night and by Saturday morning had reached banshee level. My appreciation for the NHS increased further still after getting an out of hours appointment an hour after calling NHS 24. Suspicions were confirmed and he’s now on antibiotics for a nasty inner ear infection – screaming quite understandable!

The last few days have involved a LOT of time at home indoors and I have had to work on getting Katie to take it slowly. After exhausting all patience with the offerings of Netflix and Disney, I turned to Pinterest and our small collection of craft books for some Spring craft ideas.Read More »Activities: Three Craft Ideas for Spring

Visiting Dynamic Earth with Kids

Dynamic Earth has always been on my list of places to visit, but I had never quite gotten round to it. I was never quite sure how to navigate there by car and I wasn’t quite sure Katie was old enough. However, when a fellow Mum from school suggested a play date there over half term – it was obvious that the time was right!

Dynamic Earth is probably the most accurate educational experience I’ve visited  in some time. Years of Geography lessons started hurtling back towards me as the kids started playing with an exhibition designed to show how rock changes as it’s compressed. As the first voice-over began, I started to recall helping my University flatmate revise for her Geology exams – and in all honesty, I thought I had been a bit too tired to take any of it in!Read More »Visiting Dynamic Earth with Kids

Craigmillar Castle

Craigmillar castle is a favourite of ours for a number of reasons. In my mind it looks like a proper ‘castle’ type castle, complete with big walls and winding staircases. From the castle ramparts there are amazing views over the city and the surrounding area. All with the added bonus of being three miles south-east of the city centre – so within very easy travelling distance.

With the weather has been rotten recently, the benefit of Craigmillar castle being close to home means that it’s not a big deal if you only go for a short time. However, there are a number of rooms that are well covered – with proper windows and doors!Read More »Craigmillar Castle

Things to consider when scheduling children's activities

Parenting: Scheduling children’s activities

A question I often ponder is how much I should schedule Katie’s life -or indeed whether she is over scheduled! As I cajole her to get ready for one activity or another, I often wonder why I bother when she would rather stay home and watch CBeebies.

Last summer, as I embarked on maternity leave with Thomas, I realised aside from having a new brother, Katie’s biggest adjustment would be not having full time nursery care. As Mike and I work full-time, Katie had been in nursery five days a week, often from 8am until 5pm. Aside from having a whole heap of children to play with, this also meant that she was used to a lot of organised activity.

Super-Mum I am not. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to match the speed at which Katie had moved from activity to activity, nor did I have the ability to provide the same range. Aside from anything else – I don’t have soft play in my house!

But I also was faced with a big question. Is this much scheduled activity actually a good thing? It struck me that there’s some key things to consider:Read More »Parenting: Scheduling children’s activities