Mummy and Me June 2016

I want to join in with Mummy and Me, after having seen a link to it on Twitter late last night (when I should have been sleeping).

I want to record these precious days/weeks/months with my babies, before Aaron becomes a tween and refuses to pose for shots as he already sometimes does of late.

So without further ado, I want to share some pics and hook up with Mummy and Me over at Life Through My Eyes.

This first pic is us on Sunday morning, when we were enjoying a very lazy day. That is until I decided to mow the lawn, to save Daddy a job on his days off. 

Lottie is refusing to look at the camera and as it was in selfie mode I knew that but took it anyway, to document the real life, which is that she is easily distracted and therefore hard to capture. So this is it, our everyday. Except it's the weekend so there are no school uniforms or school runs. Except that reminds me, it got to about 4 p.m. and I realised I had not washed it all, so a small load was put on an economy wash, and then out on the line at 6 p.m. Despite it being a scorcher of a day, they were cold to the touch when the sun went down (as the washing line is in a shady part of the garden) so my mistake and tardiness meant they got finished in the tumble drier, which I didn't regret as folding them straight from there means NO IRONING and I am all about the time savers and life hacks!

This next pic was taken Saturday 25th June on the way to BritMums Live (#BML16). We had travelled to Paddington where my Aunt met us. I left Lottie with my Aunt whilst Aaron and I ran to the public pay loos. We were meant to be continuing on with the next leg of our journey, Underground, to the 5 star Montcalm London City Hotel (Moorgate) no less (thanks Coca Cola), but I saw this stand and couldn't resist a shot so that I could hashtag and tweet it.

So I ran, despite being under pressure for time, grabbed lil Lottie and the lovely lady on the stand recorded us for posterity. Always time to squash in a photo, especially when you are a blogger who likes to capture everything.

It was an early start so we also have a selfie on the train and that was the second train of the journey. How I did it with 6 year old, suitcase, buggy and baby I will never know but I am so very glad I did. I did learn though that a case being on wheels is no help, as it is the old sort where it angles to the ground and as you are wheeling it you feel like you are carrying it too, which meant it was too heavy for Aaron, so despite the smiles you see here, I was exhausted as I was wheeling buggy with the right hand and pulling a suitcase with the left hand. I really, at this late age of 43, need to learn how to travel light! Will I ever I wonder. Regular trips to Ireland with their strict luggage restrictions was getting me there but it's over a year since I've been. I digress, but my Mummy I miss you. Now that's a post/pic I would like to see: MY Mummy and Me.

The last one from #BML16 I promise. This was when I changed into a shoulders out top (which I now know are all the rage) for the Bibs (blog awards, nothing like the Tommee Tippee one Lottie is modelling here). No need to change into a dress, but what I loved about this was, it's a crop top, so not much fabric to be lifted for breastfeeding and I had a Bravado Nursing Tank (Vest) underneath which means I wasn't showing my midriff and back off to everyone. 

The top is from Primark (current range as I only bought it Thursday 23rd June) if you fancy it and it was on Sale, so there may not be many left.

People around me had a good view (which is why I was self conscious about breastfeeding but I got there and for someone who wouldn't feed in public as recently as February it is a huge achievement) as I was at the very front, so as to record all of the Bibs. I actually ended up loading them onto YouTube as 14 separate videos. They're worth a look if one of your favourites won something and just to get an idea of what the vibe is like. Very very snazzy (Susanna and Jen and the stage looked amazing), but people didn't applaud nearly enough or nearly as much as bloggers attending normally do and I have been to every single BritMums Live.

As you can see from the pic, Lottie was just mesmerized. She was pretty much like that all day. Either looking at bright lights or being fussed over by people. Taking her was definitely 100% the right decision.

As you will know from my last blog post, Lottie didn't just accompany me to #BML16, she also joined me for an evening at Brooks Guesthouse which means she is now the youngest travel blogger I know. She was a very good girl and I now feel confident that I can literally take her anywhere.

Being a Mum for the 2nd time is so less daunting as you're so much more likely to be flippant about the worry of what you can and can't do. Which means you're way less likely to get that penned in, cabin fever feeling, of being isolated at home. It is so so liberating. It's also lovely when people don't mind her being there and actually embrace it. Gives me a real warm fuzzy feeling all over. Me and my girl. Oh I have waited many many years to say that.

The sling you see here is a Rockin Baby one called Rose of My Heart. The photos on their website don't really do it justice though. It is a ring sling and the loose fabric that dangles down (that you pull to tighten) has a zipped pocket in it, which was FABULOUS for keeping my smart phone close to hand and readily available (and safe) at #BML16. Trying to find that link, just had me reading the description and I have discovered that the polka dots are not just a lining and it is in fact reversible. No idea what Lottie would look like with a black and white polka dot sling instead of our usually rosey pink floral affair but I am willing to give it a go (watch this space ha ha)!!!

I never ever used ring slings with Aaron (but am now a convert) and in fact only had one baby wearer back then 2010/2011, which was a Moby Wrap. I never use my Moby Wrap now with Lottie as I upgraded to the Wuti Wrap from We Made Me which is way more breathable and much lighter. Sorry this pic was meant to be photo heavy and text light but it just hasn't worked out that way. 

Anyway I will end with this Mummy and Me pic. Daddy is there too, with an arm :-) but we printed the full unedited (uncropped) pic in all its glory on a Moonpig.com card for Father's Day...