Saturday 31 August 2013

Baby Shower Cupcakes

My wonderful niece Madison is going to a baby shower today and asked me if i'd make some baby cupcakes like i did before for her to take with her.

I love making cupcakes and making cupcakes for a present are the best type!!!

My favourite cupcake books are "Hello, Cupcake!" and "What's New, Cupcake?" by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson.



This is so effective and super easy too!!! They are just 2 cupcakes (a small one and a big one) sittin on top of each other.

So once you've made your 15 cupcakes and 15 mini cupcakes here is what you need from the book



The book goes into great detail on how to make them but this is what i do as i like simplicity

I make the safety pins from candy melts and place them in the fridge - i simply draw a shape to the size i want and place it under greaseproof paper and just trace it 12 times (or however many you need) and simply go over them with the melted candy melts in a ziploc bag and pop half a mini marshmallow on each one.

Ice all the cupcakes flatly (i do mine all the same colour)

Then i cut the mini marshmallows in half and place them on the mini cupcakes

I then use melted chocolate for the eyes but you can cheat and use the Dr Oetker icing pens and draw the eyes on the cupcakes

Then i get Fruit or Honey Loops and strawberry shoelaces and make the dummies on each mini one

The safety pins should be all set to pop on the front

Then i place the mini cupcake on top and ta da!!!!!

I like all my cupcakes to look the same, but obviously you can jazz them up with decorations and different coloured cases etc.... you can add milk bottles, booties, names etc...

Here are mine for the Baby Shower today



I also can't wait to make these Christmas delights for our Christmas Party!!!! 




Happy Baking
Love J x 




Friday 30 August 2013

Fashion Shoe Friday!

So if you know me you know i'm all about shoes!!!! I love new shoes! and I love how a pair of shoes can completely change an outfit!!

Whilst researching this weeks Friday blog I was searching the web and came across a couple of pics of Miranda Kerr and Sandra Bullock - both yummy mummies!




So i was going to do a blog on day time/ night time classic easy looks when i suddenly noticed they are both wearing the same shoes in both pictures!! Which completely proves my point above!! 

I love these looks! I mean with Miranda - everyone has surely got a floral tea dress in their wardrobe and she has teamed it with dalmation print heels - it just goes to show patterns don't have to be matchy matchy and i really don't think they clash i think they look super chic!!! And also a blue bag when the shoes have black in them! I was always led to believe this was a fashion faux pas but alas this is untrue!  Miranda's shoes are £425 from Bionda Castana but i love this pocket friendly option too from Topshop for £60 




Sandra - wow shes 49 don't you know!!! And she looks amazing!! I love both these looks!! I would happily wear the cobalt blue outfit to any event! Great for a party/Christening look.  Sandra's shoes are L.A.M.B and are $240 however again a nice alternative are these from Dune which i'm loving (they also come in Pink and Blue) and are £89 from Dune there are also these fabulous ones from Zara from £79.99 and they also do them in black for £59.99 with a black dress or jeans they will look amazing! 



Dune £89

Zara £79.99

I'm not sure which pair to run out and buy now!!! Think the Zara ones in black are my fave!!! Always remember if you carry yourself right and your confident your look will always feel better! Be comfortable but love what you wear too!!! 

In the words of Marilyn Monroe 



Happy Shoe Shopping

Jade xxx 

Thursday 29 August 2013

Weekend Trip to Belfast

One of our lovely friends Kim lives in Belfast.  So lee and I decided it was time to go visit her and see what Belfast had to offer!

We flew Friday night and after a few hours in Duty Free a child free wine full dinner my flight was boarding and ready to go! Lee arrived a few hours after and after a cup of tea and some Santa worthy cookies we went to bed ready for a big day Saturday!

We took the train to Belfast (so we could have a cocktail lunch)- the country side and sea side view was just beautiful! Kim said she had never been to St Georges Market before so we decided to start there! WOW - what a little treasure trove of loveliness - food, cakes, art, gifts and treasures - a man singing live, a coffee shop - it was simply brilliant!!



We had a shop and then went for lunch - we went for a lovely cocktail lunch at The Apartment - the view of the Town Hall is lovely - and they have deck chairs outside and a huge tv! (i know they have these in London but its so much better on holiday haha)






After more shopping and realising once again we are too old for Topshop we decided to head home to glam up! We used He-Shi for an instant sparkly tan to our sun deprived legs and started on the Strawberry Daiquiri's at Kims friends house.  Well the girls in Belfast are soooooo friendly! They instantly made us feel welcome and they were all so lovely and bubbly! Our cabs arrived and after the mandatory mirror pose we headed out.



We went to a club called Ollies VIP'd up with our gold wrist bands! There was live music outside and inside was really cool too! Great music and no queuing for anything - not even the ladies toilets!!! We drank, we sang, we danced and we drank some more!






After the club we went for a real life midnight feast at Dragon Rendezvous - yummmmmm sweet and sour chicken at 1.30am is delicious!! I still can't get over how friendly everyone is! Like theyve known you forever! I wanted to bring Jim our cabby back to England with me haha!

Sunday (home day) - even the talk of a fry (fry up) didn't help our hangovers! We packed and decided we would head to The Titanic Museum for coffee.  It was simply breathtaking! Like there was an eery silence - the sheer size was amazing! Of course we had to go the Gift shop! we bought the girls a "heart of the ocean" necklace each and the boys a pop gun!  





It was finally airport time - Lee was at International and i was at City (we didn't know there were 2 airports haha) After another duty free shop and a slice of pizza i was on the plane and then back in Gatwick with 3 very happy faces greeting me at the airport!

I'm not sure what i expected Belfast to be like but my expectations were exceeded!!

It was super clean, great shops, market delights, but the biggest and best thing was just how lovely and friendly everyone was! It really does make a big difference!

Will we be going back to Belfast? You can bet ya bottom dollar!!!

Thank you Lagan and Gardner family for having us

J xxx

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Presents for birthday parties

Party season is fast approaching here at a little mummy magic as our little girls and their friends turn the big 4! So this means we need to find presents for their little friends to take to their parties.

I dont know about you but i always feel a bit stressed about party presents. The average i would spend is about £10-£15 which to be honest doesn't stretch amazingly far these days and you don't want to buy something thats a bit rubbish and going to end up in the bin in a months time broken!

So here are my top picks for party presents...














I hope this helps if you were struggling for ideas! I think a classic game is always a good shout if your in a dash to buy something! You cant beat playing games with your family!

Love 
L xx




Tuesday 27 August 2013

DIY Fairy doors

Well i'm back again with another Fairy related post! This time its fairy doors! They are super cute and add a bit of magic to your little ones bedroom!

www.notonthehighstreet.com


Now to be honest i have found the fairy door to be somewhat of a life saver. Say what you like about 'bribery' as a parenting skill but in my house its under rule number 17 of 'how to survive everyday life with your toddler without loosing your mind' book (please note this book doesn't really exist so please don't check amazon as i have already looked high and low).

I put Sienna to bed at night and tell her if she doesn't go straight to sleep the fairies are going to come through the door to check on her and if she's not asleep they will go and tell santa and she wont get any christmas presents. This works a treat as she definitely doesn't want to be without presents and she goes straight to sleep!

It also works as an alternative reward chart.

If Sienna is a good girl or she doesn't exhibit any unacceptable behaviour (like hitting her brother) the Fairies will bring her a special treat over night. This is usually a chocolate coin or something similar and she is so happy to have had a treat from the fairies it really encourages her to continue with her good behaviour. I find it works best if you work on one issue at once!

So here is Siennas Fairy door its fixed to the wall resting on her skirting board in her bedroom.


This is actually really easy to make! Even if you're not very crafty you could easily make this. The actual door and frame are from a dolls house. So if you search on google or go to hobbycraft you will find a whole array of different dolls house doors that are unpainted so you can customise them as you like. I also bought a door knock and a door handle for Sienna's. All i did was paint the door and the frame in my choice of colour and then i spray painted the door knock and handle silver as it was brass and i preferred silver but you can do any colour you like. I then added Siennas name with some letter stickers i picked up in hobby craft and also added her age at the time as the door number. Then i just stuck it to the wall with my glue gun! 

Its so simple to do and it really looks so sweet in their room! 



Let us know if you plan to make a fairy door too or if you already have one!

Love 
L xx


Monday 26 August 2013

Guest Blog... Lucy - Count the Kicks


Hello, my name is Lucy, I'm a wife and Mummy to three gorgeous boys, two of which keep me on my toes and one that watches closely over his younger brothers from up above.

It is my first son, Roan, that is the reason I am guest blogging today.

Four years ago I was heavily pregnant, cankles the size of elephant legs. I used Baby centre as a place to meet other ladies online who were pregnant and due in September 2009. That is where I got to know Jade and Leeanne and many other lovely ladies.  We shared pregnancy highs, growing bumps, scans; and pregnancy lows, morning sickness, cankles.  You name the worry, someone else felt it too, you really felt supported.



My baby was due on 4th September 2009, I was pretty sure I would go overdue and laughed and joked about it with the other ladies. I was over the moon to be pregnant, a baby that was so loved and wanted already.  I was excited beyond words.

But.......on 29th August 2009 something would happen to change all that! I woke that morning realising my baby had not moved through the night. I ate my breakfast expecting my baby to kick the bowl off my belly as usual, but nothing..............

Panic phone calls to midwife and hospital were followed by the longest 12 mile journey of my life. Every mile willing my baby to move, just once.  Then the long walk to the hospital ward, the silent CTG, the look on the midwife's face, the doctor arriving, the doctor leaving, the consultant arriving, the long motionless scan, the words "I'm sorry" that will forever haunt me.  The day that was to change me as a woman forever!!! 

Roan George was born on Tuesday 1st September weighing 7lbs 1/2oz. He was perfect in every way, the image of his Daddy, but there was no first cry, no Mummy and baby moment, just silence. My perfect little boy lay silent.

Leaving hospital without Roan was the hardest moment of my life. Every ounce of the Mummy in me desperately didn't want to leave him, it was my job to protect him, care for him, nurture him, not leave him. 

The grief that followed was all consuming, my heart was broken in a way that would never be repaired. The person I was prior to 29th August was gone only to be replaced by someone I didn't recognise or want to be. 

It was in my darkest days that Baby Centre helped me again, it is where on the Stillbirth Support group that I met some truly amazing and strong ladies.  Ladies who knew exactly how I felt, ladies who knew what it felt like to have your arms physically ache to hold your baby again, ladies that also had a terrible longing to nurture the baby that they had grown inside them and gave birth to.  Those ladies were my lifesavers and to them I will be forever grateful.

One of those ladies, Sophia, was not only amazing but a true inspiration, she used her grief to set up a truly wonderful charity, Count the kicks, www.countthekicks.org.uk. The charity raise awareness of stillbirth in the hope that at least one family are spared the heartbreak of having a baby born still. If you are pregnant or know anyone who is please direct them to her website, it may just be the most important thing you do. Awareness saves little lives. 



On Christmas Day 2010 our gorgeous Rainbow baby Evan arrived into the world and cried the most perfect cry.  Two years later on 17th January 2013 our second Rainbow baby Noah arrived and again cried the most perfect cry. They are beautiful, cheeky, loveable boys who have taught us to smile again and mean it. 

What I have discovered is that time does not heal the grief, but allows you to learn to live with what has happened. It may not be visible to anyone, but I will always be a Mummy to one more child than you can actually see and he will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Roan should be turning 4 on 1st September, so this blog is in memory of him and all the other little ones that never got a chance to come home. Wherever you are sweetheart, Happy Birthday. 

Thank you for reading my blog, I hope I have not upset or offended anyone, it was not my intention, only to raise awareness of a subject that is still taboo even in 2013. 

Love Lucy x

Sunday 25 August 2013

Elf on the Shelf

Ok so don't hate me but its 4 months today until Christmas day!! And in the Tsamplakos and Andrews houses we LOVE Christmas!!!! 

One of our ways to build excitement and good behaviour in our homes is "Elf on the Shelf"  Ours is called Elvis and Lee's is called Buddy. 

So our Elf's arrive on 1st December from Lapland - sent directly from the big man himself Father Christmas! Elvis flys off to Lapland every night once the children go to sleep to report on their behaviour and inform Father C of any naughtiness. Elvis then flys back to our house in the early hours of the morning and causes havoc in our house!! The children then have to find him the next morning! On Christmas Eve the children say goodbye to Elvis and hope they made the good list and Elvis goes home - to return the following year! 

Its all about mummy survival and childrens imaginations and the excitement on their faces! The simple words of "Elvis is watching you" makes Honey instantly rethink being naughty haha!!! 

So the world is your oyster when it comes to creating fun scenarios for your elf!!! 

Here are a few of mine from last year












We've seen that theres going to be a Birthday Elf which is released in October!!!! We can't wait for that!!! 

Do you have any fun traditions that you do with your children?

Have you already got Elf on the Shelf - share your best pics xxx

Happy 4 months to go 

Love J xxx

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