TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #59

Gosh the stress this week has been slightly overwhelming at times. I just seem to have so much to do. I get up at 5.50am and don't go to sleep until 10..30pm, which is really late for me. In that time I'm either working, commuting, putting Isabella to bed or blogging. It has been constantly and I'm starting to burn out. So next week I plan to try and take it all a bit slower, stop stressing about the mountain of work I have to do and try to just enjoy the moment. The problem is I'm one of those people that usually only relaxes once my to-do list has been ticked off!

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TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #58

This week has been crazily busy with so much to do, a toddler to entertain and guests over. This has meant that the week has passed in a flash, with not a moment to relax. I've also been having car issues, long story short my car is old and I need a new one. However, the worrier in me is really scared about driving another car so I'm putting it off. Resulting in a trip to the garage and a loss of £50. I need to be brave and go and buy a new car, but which one? Do you know of any good small/medium (but big enough for a car seat in the back and pram in the boot) family cars?

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TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #57

Happy September everyone! That's summer over with for another year and we're into my favourite season, autumn. I can't wait for hot chocolates, playing in leaves, crisp mornings and chunky knits. I also need to get a new coat this year, so if you have any recommendations or places that are good for coats let me know :) I can't wait to dig out Isabella's autumn clothes, but she needs to do some growing because 18-24 months is far too big on her still!

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TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #54

I managed to put Isabella's hair into a pony tail for the first time this week! It wasn't easy with a wriggling toddler (how old are they when they'll sit nicely to have their hair done?), but I managed it nonetheless and she looked so grown up. Now to look forward to doing plaited bunches in the next year or so :) My husband and I actually had our first night away from Isabella this week. We went to London to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the Westend and it was amazing! Highly recommend it - the stage is so clever, actors/actresses so talented and I'd say it's on par with my all time favourite show, Matilda. It was nice having time with my husband, but I missed Isabella like crazy and I really hate the emotions of missing someone. She had a lovely time with her Grandparents though, not bothered at all!

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TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #53

What a week. An emotional roller-coaster to say the least, but it's the weekend now! We've been enjoying the sunshine by going to the farm, meeting fellow mummies in some beautiful botanical gardens and playing the in the garden. I've much preferred the weather this week, as it's been that bit cooler. On a side note - if you're looking for some toddler/baby bargains then it's well worth shopping around at the moment. A lot of stores have further reduced their clothes, some of my favourites are: Zara, H&M, Mothercare and JoJo Maman Bebe.

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TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #52

We have had such a lovely week this week - I got a lot of work done, we visited the farm and have done loads of cooking. I'm usually quite apprehensive about taking Isabella out on my own these days, dealing with the tantrums alone is quite daunting. However, I put my worries aside and we had such a fun day at the farm. Last time we went there Isabella couldn't walk, so she loved running around looking at the chickens, goats, sheep, duck, rabbits etc. She enjoyed riding on some toy tractors, playing in their huge sandpit and staring at all of the other children there. Does anyone else's little one do this? She'll stand and stare for such a long time if I let her, it can get a bit embarrassing! Anyway, our day out has encouraged me to do it more often :)

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TODDLER: Summer Sale Shopping 2016

It's that time of year again...summer sale shopping! Like most, I love sale shopping and especially when it's for Isabella. The older she gets the harder I'm finding it to buy her clothes that aren't branded with a tv character or Disney - she's not into any of those things so I don't really want to be paying the premium. If you have any good shops/websites that sell non-branded toddler clothes then please let me know below - I'm on the hunt! I've picked all of the items below up over the past week, so hopefully they'll still be in stock if you want to grab a bargain yourself.

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #46

Another week has flown by and yet it still doesn't seem like summer! When will the sunshine make an appearance and stay?! Trying to keep Isabella entertained inside has its limits, so I can't wait to be able to get back outside more. Isabella's comprehension and vocabulary has improved so much recently, she can now say 'duck', 'hello', 'muma', 'dada', 'kisses' and 'gone'. It's so strange hearing her say actually words, she just seems too small to be able to understand! We've been preparing for Father's Day all week, with various card making activities, cooking and wrapping presents. It's harder now because I organise my husbands Father's Day as Isabella is clearly too young, as well as my own Dad's. Splitting our time fairly is a big cause of guilt for me, but guilt just seems to be a 'thing' once you're a parent...oh joy.

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BABY STYLE: A week of outits #43

Aside from work, this week has been filled with exciting preparations for Isabella Mai-de. All of my plans, products and spreadsheets are ready to go, so it's now a waiting game until the launch date - Wednesday 25th May 2016! I will be selling my hand stamped children's clothing on the isabellamaide Instagram account and via the Isabella Mai-de tab here on my blog. I'm so excited (and extremely nervous) to share the designs and receive feedback. There may be a sneak peek of one of the trial designs in this post, but I'm not saying anymore than that! You'll have to check back on Wednesday 25th May to see the whole collection :)

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BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #42

This week has been a VERY big week - two very exciting things finally happened. Firstly, the plans for starting a new venture are really starting to take shape now. I will be selling selected summery designs from my hand stamped baby and toddler clothing range!!! I can't believe I've been brave enough to take this leap, it's very unlike me. I'm just so excited to start creating new designs, making unique hand stamped clothing for your lovely little people and seeing the way you style them. I have been working hard on the summer collection this week and without giving too much away expect bright colours, fruity designs and nautical themes. I hope you're as excited about it as me - if you want to follow the journey and be one of the first to find out when the selling begins follow the 'isabellamaide' instagram account where it will all be happening! 

The second exciting thing that happened this week is that this blog finally became self hosted, now it's www.treasureeverymoment.co.uk. It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time, so pleased to have finally ticked it off the to-do list. Now to work on increasing my DA! 

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BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #37

I've been back at work again this week and I'm completely exhausted! Reality has hit that when you're a parent there is just no stopping. I leave the house at 6.50am, go to work, pick Isabella up from nursery at 5pm(ish) then go home where I bath her, feed her and put her to bed. Then I have work to do and I'm sometimes able to sneek some blogging in too. By 9pm I'm so tired and have to go to bed, that's my day. No 'me time', time to relax or even time for a hot cup of tea. I feel very lucky that that's only three days a week and not full time, but it's exhausting nonetheless. I have really enjoyed being back at work though - I treasure the time with Isabella more and have liked testing my brain again.

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BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #35

This week Isabella started her settling in sessions at nursery, which thankfully went really well (you can read all about them here). We didn't leave a very long period of time to settle Isabella into nursery, about 2 weeks, so it's such a relief she is enjoying it. One day when I went to pick her up she had a completely changed outfit, due to trying to dive into the water box! Apparently many of the other children then tried to follow her in, causing havoc and a lot of outfits need changing. Whoops! All good fun though. I've been using this time to do work, blogging and most importantly preparing for Isabella's first birthday party...one week to go :)

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BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #34

I've completed/survived my first week back at work after maternity leave! It's been a busy, tiring yet good week - I didn't find it half as hard as I thought I would, though Isabella was with family and not nursery. We start her settling in sessions next week, but I'm feeling positive about them. She didn't cry once when I left her this week, so I'm hoping she continues this attitude when at nursery otherwise things could get harder. It was nice being back with my friends at work and getting stuck into all things work. Looks like I'll be going to be at 8.30pm on work days now though!

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BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #31

This week starts the 'standing up' outfit photo - I can't believe it! When I started this series I took the photos while Isabella was in the bouncer and now she's standing at the end of her cot, crazy how time flies. We've had a poorly week mostly spent indoors, as Isabella has had an awful cold and I've had a bit of a cough. We were both just about ok to make it to Wriggly Readers at the end of the week, which was a nice excuse to get out of the house and catch up with a friend over hot chocolate. I've also been doing more preparations for Isabella's first birthday, excited doesn't cover it! 

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WISHLIST: Marks and Spencers Spring/Summer Baby Collections

These posts are almost becoming a bit of a tradition, mainly due to my love for Marks and Spencer's baby clothes. I actually wasn't all that keen on their last autumn/winter collection (thank goodness - my bank balance needed a break), but they've just bought out their spring/summer collections and I'm in love again! There's lots of colour, floral patterns and finally new bib sets, which I've been waiting for for what feels like forever. Last week they had 20% off everything online, so I seized the opportunity and picked up a few of my absolute favourite pieces. 

FAVOURITES: January 2016

 

January was a funny month, one that I had dreaded as it bought in 2016 but it actually ended up being a lovely month filled with so many happy memories. We had almost every weekend free to do what we wanted as a family, a rare luxury these days. We filled them with swimming, wandering around cute towns, sale shopping (much to my husbands delight), countryside walks and visiting friends. Absolute bliss.

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #26

This past week has been one both full of worries and lovely times. The worries are mostly related to my return to work...nothing new there! So now that I don't have long left of my maternity leave I'm really treasuring every single play date, of which we had a couple of fun ones this week. It's so heartwarming watching Isabella play with other babies and makes me so proud (and a little bit sad) when she crawls off and plays without me. It won't be long before Isabella goes to nursery and it's reassuring to know that she can play happily both on her own and with other children. 

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BABY: Boxing Day Online Sale Shopping #1

Though I do love a bargain I'm not willing to always battle the crowds with a pushchair in tow, so this year a lot of my sale shopping was done online on Christmas Eve. It's so much easier and with free click and collect you often don't even have to pay anymore. Also, if you buy online you have the right to return the items but you don't as easily if you buy instore. Basically, there are a lot of advantages to shopping online! As I mentioned in my 'instore sale shopping' post (see here) I've mostly bought Isabella clothes in 18-24 months, so that they're ready for next autumn/winter. I also picked up some really cheap clothes for when she starts nursery, as I don't want her nice outfits ruined there. I've worked at a nursery and know the messy play that goes on!

Polar bear t-shirt - Marks and Spencers - £4

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #25

This week was back to normal with my husband back at work and all festivities over, which was both nice and sad. I've loved having two people on the parenting job, but I was looking forward to having mine and Isabella's little routine back up and running. Now that we're into 2016 it doesn't seem that long until I return to work so I'm determined to make the most of every single day. We've spent so much time playing this week with all of Isabella's new toys and enjoying being out and about now it's quiet again. Quality Mummy and daughter time is the focus of the next few months!

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BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #22

So it's only 2 weeks until Christmas Day now - how?! Though I've finished all of my Christmas shopping I still feel very unprepared. The to-do list just keeps getting longer with wrapping presents, festive baking, family get togethers, handing out Christmas cards and inevitably helping my husband sort out his families presents too...there's not much time! Yet I find myself painting my nails ready for my work's Christmas party while Isabella naps, not the most essential job but a relaxing one nonetheless.

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