I read Helloitsgemma‘s post that she did for Kate Takes Five‘s fab wedding listography theme in honour of the upcoming Royal Wedding. I love anything with a wedding theme, so here are my 5 things I’d change about my wedding day.

I’m a complete perfectionist (borderline bridezilla) and my day was near perfect. That said, I would change a few little things. Here are 5.

1) Veto the guest list and make sure husband-to-be’s teenage cousins weren’t on it so they couldn’t a) trash my 7-tier wedding cake or b) spill red wine all over my beautiful dress.

2) Make sure my work colleague didn’t throw herself at my father (he was single I might add, but still!).

3) Make sure guests weren’t left to help themselves to an unlimited supply of wine and champagne after the bar staff finish, so we ended up with hundreds of open half drunk bottles going to waste.

4) Avoid hidden surprises. When we arrived at our reception we were greeted by someone dressed up as Toad from Toad Hall (yes, there is a link – we got married in Henley, where there is a Wind in the Willows exhibition). Here’s a photo of Mr Toad himself, in all his splendor.

5) Buy 5 different Ian Stuart wedding dresses to wear on the day, as they are all so beautiful (obviously I’d need a bank loan to do this).

PS If any family read this, please don’t be offended

I am not one bit interested in the upcoming Royal wedding. Unlike many, I haven’t been gripped by wedding fever, perhaps due me now living abroad. This spoof video that’s doing the rounds on the net did make me laugh and I thought it worth sharing. I can’t believe how alike Camilla on the video is to the real thing. Good job T-Mobile.

One of my friends is getting married in a couple of weeks. Talking to her about all her plans has made me think about my wedding nearly five years ago. I know it’s a cliche, but it really was the best day of my life. At her hen night, most of the group were married. The subject of wedding dresses and what we did with them after we got married came up.

The dress I fell in love with was by Ian Stuart, an amazing designer. It was called ‘Florence’. His dresses are unique in that they are all slightly unusual, and some are totally OTT . Every year he continues to design so many stunning dresses and I’d love to get married over and over, just so I could wear them all.

I’m not one for hoarding things so I decided to sell the dress soon after the wedding, it took up a lot of space and I’m not hugely sentimental either. Unfortunately, I got considerably less for it than what it cost.

Now there is part of me that wishes I hadn’t sold it. It was the most expensive thing I have ever worn, so maybe I should have kept it and maybe it would have been nice for my daughter to see it when she grows up, but then again someone else had the chance to wear a stunning dress, instead of it lying in a box and gathering dust in the attic.

I’m sure there’s a tradition in Denmark that when there is a royal wedding, married women put on their wedding dresses and everyone has a party. Perhaps they should do something like that over here.

As for me, I’ll just have to keep looking at the pictures.

How sentimental are you? Did/would you keep your wedding dress?

One of the biggest issues when planning a holiday with a baby or toddler is flying. Many parents decide to avoid getting on a plane because of the potential stress it might cause. However, I firmly believe having a young child shouldn’t hamper your travelling plans and there are plenty of things you can do to minimize the stress.

Here are some tips for stress-free flying with young children to ensure you arrive fresh not frazzled.

Top tip (tried, tested, and very sneaky!) If you can’t face the thought of your baby on your lap for the duration of the flight but don’t want to pay for an extra seat, check in online before you fly. Go for a row of three, and leave the window seat empty. Single travellers tend to give families a wide berth. Also, once seated you can put your child in the spare seat for as long as possible whilst so people think it’s taken. You may be lucky enough to get a free seat, even if the plane is nearly full.

Other top tips:

1. Book a night flight if possible
2. Allow plenty of time for check in, there’s nothing worse than rushing with children!
3. You don’t have to check in your buggy, you can keep it until you board
4. Whilst bulkhead seats have more leg room, the seat arms don’t go up, so it’s not so comfortable. I don’t like them at all!
5. Pack sensibly for the journey, I used to take so much crap with me and could never find anything!
6. Take plenty of food, snacks and treats – Bring enough for the journey. Remember, because of security, if you have any purees, you’ll be required to open them and taste them. So the best thing is to buy them once you’re in the departure lounge.
7. A bottle of milk/juice drink for older ones is really useful for take off and landing (to help their ears). With the current security restrictions, you will have to taste the milk yourself. If you use formula cartons, buy them once you’re in the departure lounge.
8. Bring a few favourite (small) toys and buy a few new ones to bring out one at a time if your child is getting bored! Pocket books, colouring books and crayons are useful.
9. A portable DVD player/Ipod with video is useful, so toddlers can watch their favourite DVDs!
10. Take a change of clothes and enough nappies – a rough guide is 1 per hour of the journey.
11. To minimise jetlag switch your child’s routine to the new time, even if it’s in mid air.
12. And remember, try to relax. You’ll get through it!

It was a mummy friend’s birthday recently. We went for Afternoon tea at the Mandeville Hotel in London, along with a couple of other mums. It’s in a great location in Marylebone Village and not far from Selfridges, so you can hit the shops beforehand (shame I didn’t have the time). It used to be one of my favourite haunts for after work cocktails BC (before children). But, this was an entirely different experience.

Afternoon Tea sounds very grown up (but then again I’m getting older). It was very quiet, in fact we were the only people in the restaurant, although I’m sure this had something to do with it being a Monday afternoon, straight after New Year! Tea was served in dainty Royal Doulton china teacups, two three-tier cake stands were filled with all sorts of sandwiches (no crusts), scones and tempting cakes. Bang went my New Year’s healthy eating resolution, only three days into it! It was all ‘delightfully’ presented and there was plenty to go around. Check out the Menu.

It was fun because it was different, although it was definitely missing a glass of champagne (we didn’t have the champagne option). We did, however, go to the bar afterwards where the birthday girl’s non-mummy friends soon arrived and we celebrated until late.

This perfect ‘Mummy Only’ treat to do with a friend (shopping first of course) or a fabulous gift for Mother’s Day, in fact I’m going to take my mother there.

Traditional Afternoon Tea £23.50 Champagne Afternoon Tea £31.50

The Mandeville Hotel
Mandeville Place
W1U 2BE, London
T: +44 (0)20 7935 5599
E-Mail: reservations@mandeville.co.uk

If you think your child is ready for potty training and you’ve got all the bits you need (see Potty Training Part 2 for a list of essential items), here’s some tips to help you get started. Signs they are ready to start potty training, include telling you they’ve done a wee or asking to do a wee. Click here for a readiness checklist. The older they are, the easier it should be. It’s not a good idea to begin training during a time that the child might feel stressed. E.g. Starting nursery, moving house, new baby.

I started potty training just before my daughter was two. We went on holiday in September, so it was the perfect time. It meant she could run around outside with little/no clothes on, so accidents did not matter. I didn’t bother reading any of the potty training books out there (which was very unlike me) and decided to rely on common sense alone.

3 weeks after starting my daughter was fully potty trained (during the day that is). She used the big loo or potty, asked us when she wanted to use it, wiped herself and washed her hands afterwards.

Top 10 tips for potty training

Wait until the weather is warm if you can - they can run around in minimal/no clothing without getting cold. Alternatively turn the heating up!

1. Stock up on underwear/casual clothes – Make sure you have a good supply of underwear and casual clothes ie leggings/tracksuit bottoms that are easy to put on/take off quickly.
2. Be consistent – Once you’ve decided you’re going to begin potty training, take off their nappies when they get up and leave them off until they go to bed (except sleep times), otherwise it will confuse them.
3. Be patient - You need a ton of patience. Go at their pace. Be prepared to sit by them whilst they’re on the potty and sing songs, read book after book, hold their hands. There may be countless false alarms too.
4. Offer loads of encouragement and praise – every time my daughter used the potty/big loo, we would do a ‘high five’ and shout lots of hurrays! She now runs around and shouting ‘I did it’! She especially needed encouragement to do a poo. This is apparently very common especially with girls. She was scared of going and could hold it in for a good few days. Anything you can do to build their confidence will be a big benefit.
5. Keep positive - however frustrated you might be if your child has an accident, say for example just as you are enjoying a coffee with a friend, don’t get angry or punish them. Remember they are learning a totally new skill. If you get angry you run the risk of setting them back and affecting their self-confidence. Instead calmly clear it up and suggest they use the potty next time.
6. Reward success - Try anything from gold stars to an extra trip to the park and even the chance to watch an extra episode of their favourite TV show. At the beginning we rewarded Isabella if she sat on the potty for a continued period and then when she successfully used it.
7. 2 hands better than 1 – Get Daddy on board too. It will be much easier with his help!
8. Don’t give up – if you think they’re ready, i.e. asking for the potty and they know when they’ve done or about to do a wee or poo in their nappies then they probably are. We nearly gave up at one point, but didn’t want to ruin all her/our hard work. Isabella had been doing really well all week (about 2 weeks into it) but it all went wrong at the weekend. She refused to use the potty and would hold it in until she complained of a sore tummy! She would get upset, and it was difficult to know what to do (she didn’t want to put a nappy on either). It took a lot of patience and encouragement and the next day she was back on track.
9. When travelling – sit them on a towel in the car seat/buggy in case they have a mishap when they’re sleeping.

Last year for Christmas, I bought my Grandfather some Paté. He raved about how it was a lovely present – better than getting books, ties, hankies etc. And I got maximum brownie points (yes, for some reason it’s still important to curry favour with the Grandparents).

This year I counted on the fact he’d have forgotten I bought it last year, and in a bid to once again claim top spot as best grandchild (not that I’m competitive at all), I got some for him again. However, my brothers also clearly remembered his enthusiasm and all had exactly the same idea. He ended up with EIGHT lots of the stuff!

Need cheering up this winter morning? This made me laugh out loud when I saw it on Parent Dish!

I’m one of those people who loves Christmas. Some people go on and on about how commercial and rubbish it is, and that it’s just a big marketing ploy to get us spending (I love spending). It’s a very British thing to moan. Well Bah Humbug to those people, It’s FUN (and I love spending)!

I love the sparkly street lights; cheesy music like Slade’s ‘This is Christmas’ playing in the shops; present shopping; singing carols; decorating the Christmas tree; mulled wine and mince pies; festive parties (although I’m not so keen on the hangovers and having to get up at 7am, regardless) and catching up with friends.

For the first time, my two year old is beginning to show a proper interest in Christmas (the present part, at least). She wants “a bike present under the tree”, she loves singing Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas (her versions) and I took her to see Santa Claus at Selfridges. She keeps eyeing up the presents under the tree and somehow managed to find the ones waiting to be wrapped I’d hidden away. Her enthusiasm is magical and infectious.

The best thing by far is being with all my family. Christmas is never really the same anywhere else. This year, there’s nine of us. We open the mountain of presents one at a time and it’s takes hours, but noone minds; play silly games after a delicious lunch; laugh, shout and dance to cheesy music (we’re a fairly loud family); relax infront of a log fire and take long walks to work off the tens of thousands of calories consumed. My daughter is the only little one so far, can you imagine how spoilt she gets? It’s no longer ‘All About Me’, it’s ‘All About Her’!

Even before Christmas Day arrives, it makes me sad to think it will soon be over. And when the festive bubble bursts, gloomy January will be upon us. I’m going to put that out of my mind for the minute and concentrate on enjoying myself for the next seven days.

Happy Christmas everyone!

At my 2 yr old’s nursery in Fulham, the children will be singing Christmas songs at their Christmas party. One of the songs is When Santa Got Stuck up the Chimney.

I had no idea of the words, but I have found this fun You Tube Video, so I can practice it with her

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIY-V2efNW8]