I thought i'd share this with you even though I made it for my hubby for christmas. It's an ideal present for this upcoming valentines day and was made with everything from http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk. It's the letters A & K which I then painted and covered in black and white photos of us.
The letters are mache letters which are available in 2 different sizes. Mine are the larger of the 2 as I thought it would be easier for putting the pictures on. You can buy the large ones for £2 and the small for £1 each. Here's a link to them so you can see, Large Letter and Small Letter. For this weekend you could do the same as I did with initials or make the word 'love'.
I knew I wanted them a black and white theme to match the other pictures on our wall so I decided to paint them black all over. I bought the ready mix paint from Hobbycraft for £2 and it worked fine, Paint. You could paint them any colour or get mache paper and glue that on.
Then once they are dry you can then cut and glue your pictures on. This part I found the most tricky seeing as I didn't plan what pictures I could put where. Luckily I printed off about 50 so I had a good choice. I just used a normal glue stick to get them on which worked perfectly. If you use a wet glue it will become lumpy.
The letters are mache letters which are available in 2 different sizes. Mine are the larger of the 2 as I thought it would be easier for putting the pictures on. You can buy the large ones for £2 and the small for £1 each. Here's a link to them so you can see, Large Letter and Small Letter. For this weekend you could do the same as I did with initials or make the word 'love'.
I knew I wanted them a black and white theme to match the other pictures on our wall so I decided to paint them black all over. I bought the ready mix paint from Hobbycraft for £2 and it worked fine, Paint. You could paint them any colour or get mache paper and glue that on.
Then once they are dry you can then cut and glue your pictures on. This part I found the most tricky seeing as I didn't plan what pictures I could put where. Luckily I printed off about 50 so I had a good choice. I just used a normal glue stick to get them on which worked perfectly. If you use a wet glue it will become lumpy.
Have you done anything like this? What have you got planned for Valentine's day?
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Valentines day is creeping up on us fast with less than 2 weeks to go. Arwyn and I never used to bother with it until we had Eva. We've realised that it's a nice way to spend some quality time together remembering all the good times we had as the two of us and how we have now become a family.
I was delighted to be asked to take up Photobox's valentines day challenge which was to show the story of our relationship on a cushion. I couldn't wait to jump at this opportunity as it gave me an excuse to browse all of our photographs which was a great experience in itself. There were a lot to look through seeing as we've been together 9 years. I've chosen some pictures that hold fond, fun and laughable memories. If you scroll down to the individual pictures, i've explained the story behind them. They aren't in chronological order.
This picture was taken on the first proper night out that we had together after our daughter was born. I'd breast fed for 9 months so we hadn't really gone out for long periods of time or drank a lot. This was after a couple of bottles of red wine! It was a very well deserved night out.
This was taken at a friend's wedding. It was a fab wedding and we were dancing to a band that were later to play out our wedding. I remember the exact song which was a version of mia's paper planes which is a rap, hip hop song. Arwyn hates this type of music where as I love it. This was me winding him up rapping and playing out the actions in the song 'bang bang bang'. Anyone that knows us will know that Arwyn gets highly embarrassed by me dancing to rap and my choice in music.
This was taken at the first party we threw in our first home that we bought together. Those days of partying hard are long gone. Although i'm pretty sure all we did was play on the wii fit and do the limbo.
This picture was taken when we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro with the charity scope. We had the most amazing time and bonded so well with our group. We actually got engaged here and ended up having the most fun engagement night as everyone was on a high from climbing the mountain and then seeing us get engaged. We'd love to go back in the future.
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Just incase you can't guess, this was at our wedding. It holds a very special place in our hearts as I was actually pregnant and we'd only found out 3 days before hand. It was very difficult keeping it from everyone.
This was taken on our honeymoon at universal studios in LA. I find it hilarious that 2 grown up people were so desperate to have their photo with spongebob. What a pair of idiots.
This was taken on a trip to Paris very late on in my pregnancy for Arwyn's 30th birthday. I suppose it was a bit of a babymoon too. We adore Paris and try to go whenever we can. This was on a horrifically high big wheel which I was rather petrified of.
Finally this picture was taken on a boat trip on a holiday in Turkey. I love it as someone managed to catch us having a tender moment.
The cushion is such a fab gift. I think photo gifts are the perfect way to remember special moments in time. I've loved this challenge as it has made me laugh hard, giggle often and also cry a little.
You can create your own cushion on the photo box website by following this link, Cushion. There are also a huge range of other photo gifts you can choose from. I'm really happy with how the cushion has turned out The quality is really good and it's actually very comfy. It'll take pride of place on our bed to make us have something to smile about every-time we look at it.
Have you created any photo gifts? What have you got your loved one's for Valentine's Day?
Love Kerry xx
If there's one place in the world that Arwyn and I love, it's Disney!! We can't get enough of it so an obvious weekend break away for us was to take Eva to Disneyland Paris to see their christmas festivities. To see how we travelled there, read my post called Travelling to Paris.
We booked to stay at the Dream Castle hotel which we have stayed in on a previous trip before Eva was born. We managed to get a fantastic deal by booking it as a top secret hotel on http://www.lastminute.com. From the description of the secret hotel we were 95% sure it was the dream castle and just went for it and thankfully are guessing and daringness paid off.
Previous hotels we have stayed in at Disneyland Paris are the Radisson and Disney's Kyriad. I have to say the worst one of the lot was the Kyriad, it was overcrowded, horrendous breakfasts and pretty rubbish rooms.
The Dream Castle hotel is fantastic. It's a brilliant family friendly hotel which still feels magical when you are not at the park. The rooms are a really good size and come with tea and coffee facilities, which lets face it are a massive must when you are waking up early and facing a very, long, tiring day. The breakfast buffet was tasty with a varied choice of foods to suit everyone. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The only downside I would have to say and this is by no means a criticism of the hotel itself, are the free shuttle busses back and forth to the park. When you are travelling with a baby or toddler and a pushchair these can be your worst nightmare. At very busy times I felt particularly unsafe with all the hideous parents pushing and shoving to get on the buses. They literally turn into animals. Anyway we braved the bus into the park but at night when we were tired we just paid for a taxi back which didn't cost much at all and was well worth it to avoid the hassle of the mad parents at the shuttle.
A top tip that I can give all parents before going to Disneyland is to book your restaurants in advance. This saves a lot of queuing and disappointment when you are there. You can do this by going on the website and ringing the bookings number. We booked to eat at Cafe Mickey which is one of the most popular restaurants in Disney village due to the fact that you can dine with the characters. Various ones pop around to every table while you are there. This seemed like a fantastic idea although as you can see Eva was completely unimpressed with Pluto. Thankfully Mickey came out shortly after to enlighten the mood. The restaurant itself is severely overpriced for what you actually eat and I found the children's menu in particular very poor. However, disney for children is all about meeting the characters and for this reason, this place is a must. I've been told you can have breakfast there so perhaps we'll try that next time.
We also booked to eat at the Blue Lagoon restaurant. This is a favourite of ours and we eat there every-time we go. It is actually inside the pirates of the Caribbean ride so it all feels very authentic. Eva thoroughly enjoyed seeing people going passed on the ride and really enjoyed the food.
My top tip for visiting disneyland at christmas is to pack lots and lots of layers. It's fairly chilly as you can imagine and if you are waiting for rides and just standing still, it feels like you are stood in the arctic. I'd advise lots of thin layers, especially for children which can be taken on and off to adjust to the varying temperatures of being indoors and then outdoors.
My top tip for visiting disneyland with toddlers is to make sure you carry plenty of things to entertain them in the queues seeing as they become bored so easily.
Have you been to disneyland Paris? Have you got any top tips to share?
Last month we went to Paris for the weekend to see the christmas spectacular in Disneyland. Arwyn and I went to this a few years ago before Eva was born and loved it, so we were desperate to take Eva there. I will blog about our time in Disney on a separate post and dedicate this one to how we travelled there.
We booked the Eurostar to the centre of Paris during one of their sales and managed to get the return journey for £59 each. All children under the age of 4 can travel for free if they are willing to sit on your lap. They currently have a sale on now, so make sure you check out any offers, Eurostar. Also from May they are starting trains to the South of France, so this is definitely something we will look into later on this year.
Our train was departing at 8.31am so we new we needed to stay as close to St Pancras as possible as we didn't want to contend with attempting to travel across London during the peak morning rush to work. I have to say the thought of doing that with the suitcase, pushchair and Eva really wasn't very appealing in the slightest.
We booked to stay at the Premier Inn St Pancras which is a fairly new hotel. http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONSTP/london-st-pancras. It cost £130 and it was well worth the money. We didn't arrive until 11pm at night (we had to drive from Cardiff to London after work = nightmare) and by this point we were desperate to get a good nights sleep. When we arrived the staff were super friendly and so helpful. They attended to us as you would expect to be attended to staying at a 5 star hotel. They helped us use the self check in machines (very easy) and supplied us with all the information we would need. I honestly haven't come across such nice hotel staff in a long time.
The room itself was perfect. Stupidly I didn't take any of my own pictures (probably due to how late it was) but it does look exactly as it's shown on the website. We booked a double with a cot. The room was quite large which is great when you are traveling with little ones as let's face it, you need all the room you can get as their stuff tends to take over. There was a tv and tea and coffee making facilities (always a bonus!!).
We'd run out of milk for Eva, so Arwyn went downstairs to see if we could get some. Again the staff were attentive and very efficient and got us some free of charge.
The location of the hotel is absolutely perfect for travelling from St Pancras as it is literally on the doorstep. It probably took us about 4 minutes to walk there and that includes walking with the suitcase, pushchair and waiting for the traffic lights. The entrance to the station just so happens to be right infant of the entrance to the Eurostar. It couldn't have been better. We will use this hotel every time we travel on the Eurostar as we were so impressed with the experience and value for money.
The Eurostar is the ideal way to travel especially when you have children. Check in is usually fuss and stress free. The only thing you have to contend with is slight queues. Eva loved the journey. She loved being able to look out of a window (we played eye spy quite a bit). She also loved the fact that she wasn't constrained to such a small area and was able to walk through the cabins when she was getting bored. This is one of the positives of train travel over an aeroplane. We packed the iPad, books and colouring materials also to keep her entertained.
The train we took arrives in the Gare De Nord but you can get one that goes directly to Disneyland. It's normally slightly more expensive to go straight there. We wanted to go to the christmas markets that are at the start of the Champs Elysees. If you are ever looking for a christmas market destination, Paris would be a high recommendation from me. It's simply beautiful and i'm sure there are many others across the whole of Paris.
We booked the Eurostar to the centre of Paris during one of their sales and managed to get the return journey for £59 each. All children under the age of 4 can travel for free if they are willing to sit on your lap. They currently have a sale on now, so make sure you check out any offers, Eurostar. Also from May they are starting trains to the South of France, so this is definitely something we will look into later on this year.
Our train was departing at 8.31am so we new we needed to stay as close to St Pancras as possible as we didn't want to contend with attempting to travel across London during the peak morning rush to work. I have to say the thought of doing that with the suitcase, pushchair and Eva really wasn't very appealing in the slightest.
We booked to stay at the Premier Inn St Pancras which is a fairly new hotel. http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONSTP/london-st-pancras. It cost £130 and it was well worth the money. We didn't arrive until 11pm at night (we had to drive from Cardiff to London after work = nightmare) and by this point we were desperate to get a good nights sleep. When we arrived the staff were super friendly and so helpful. They attended to us as you would expect to be attended to staying at a 5 star hotel. They helped us use the self check in machines (very easy) and supplied us with all the information we would need. I honestly haven't come across such nice hotel staff in a long time.
The room itself was perfect. Stupidly I didn't take any of my own pictures (probably due to how late it was) but it does look exactly as it's shown on the website. We booked a double with a cot. The room was quite large which is great when you are traveling with little ones as let's face it, you need all the room you can get as their stuff tends to take over. There was a tv and tea and coffee making facilities (always a bonus!!).
We'd run out of milk for Eva, so Arwyn went downstairs to see if we could get some. Again the staff were attentive and very efficient and got us some free of charge.
The location of the hotel is absolutely perfect for travelling from St Pancras as it is literally on the doorstep. It probably took us about 4 minutes to walk there and that includes walking with the suitcase, pushchair and waiting for the traffic lights. The entrance to the station just so happens to be right infant of the entrance to the Eurostar. It couldn't have been better. We will use this hotel every time we travel on the Eurostar as we were so impressed with the experience and value for money.
The Eurostar is the ideal way to travel especially when you have children. Check in is usually fuss and stress free. The only thing you have to contend with is slight queues. Eva loved the journey. She loved being able to look out of a window (we played eye spy quite a bit). She also loved the fact that she wasn't constrained to such a small area and was able to walk through the cabins when she was getting bored. This is one of the positives of train travel over an aeroplane. We packed the iPad, books and colouring materials also to keep her entertained.
The train we took arrives in the Gare De Nord but you can get one that goes directly to Disneyland. It's normally slightly more expensive to go straight there. We wanted to go to the christmas markets that are at the start of the Champs Elysees. If you are ever looking for a christmas market destination, Paris would be a high recommendation from me. It's simply beautiful and i'm sure there are many others across the whole of Paris.
To sum up we were so happy with how Eva behaved during travelling and would recommend the Eurostar and Premier Inn St Pancras to anyone. We can't wait to use both again.
Have you ever been on the Eurostar? Can you recommend any small products to entertain toddlers? Any recommendations for how best to pack hand luggage for Eva when we fly long haul to Dubai and Australia in April? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
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Love Kerry and Eva xx
We've been huge fans of sleeping bags for Eva as we have used them since she was born. We swaddled her for the first few weeks and then put her into a sleeping bag at night. Therefore, we were delighted to be sent a bag to try from 'grobag'. Grobag were the original makers of sleeping bags for babies and toddlers and safety and comfort are what they pride themselves on. They start at sizes 0-6 months and even go up to size 6-10 years in a range of different togs to suit different temperatures. You can view the full range here, Gro Bags.
We were sent this lovely style for Eva tor try which is a 2.5 tog in 18-36 years. Eva is coming up to 2 next week and this size is ideal for her. There is still plenty of room for growth and even though it seems very big at the moment, she moves very well in it at night and it doesn't seem to restrict her or wake her up. The tog is perfect for most nursery's as it suits a standard room temperature and therefore can be used all year around. This particular style is currently on sale, Candy cloud go bag.
I'm so pleased with the product. Even though we will soon be moving Eva from a cot to a bed I will still use Grobags for along as I can instead of a duvet. I find them the safest option for baby and toddlers to sleep. Eva has always slept exceptionally well in a bag so I don't feel the need to change, even as she grows older.
We took a few photo's, unfortunately Eva has a pink light shade in her room which seems to create a horrendous colour so please excuse the quality of the pictures.
Anther product that I think would be perfect for Eva is the Gro Clock. It's a sleep training and learning clock. Eva will be 2 next week and is starting to learn and understand more on a daily basis. This product would be fab for teaching her when she should wake up and also start teaching her the time. It will be a useful tool for when moving Eva from her cot to her bed. Let's cross fingers that it keeps her in her bed and not wandering around!!!
There are also 2 products that i'd like to point out to any new parents or parents to be and they are the Gro Swaddle and the Gro Hush. I was useless when it came to swaddling with an ordinary blanket and really wish I had known about these!! They are top of my list for when baby number 2 comes (I am not pregnant yet!!). The Gro hush also seems like a genius idea. It's a little device that plays white noise which is perfect for mimicking being inside the womb. I wish we'd have had this for the early months with Eva. Make sure you check it out.
Have you used Gro Bags? Do you use duvets? Have you got any other Gro products?
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Love Kerry and Eva xx
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