People who do not have children think it is easy. Before we had children, I envisioned being dressed in a flowing white gown, rocking a perfect, rosy-cheeked baby as she slept soundly in my arms (or something along those lines anyway).

This fantasy was intact for about 20 minutes after I became a mum. Soon I realized the flowing white gown was impractle and gave it up for t-shirts that could easily double for a burp cloth and sometimes a tissue.

The rosy-cheeked little bundle of joy could break the sound barrier when teething, and the rocking chair was exchanged for a battery operated swing that you hope keeps the baby quiet long enough for mum to grab a shower at least every couple of days.

Now that I am an experienced parent, I have learned the meaning of the word multitasking. I will share a couple of ideas with you.

Celebrations

Birthday parties, sleepovers, and holidays are not always easy to manage. But I have learned the easy way to handle a celebration is to set up a candy buffet. This takes the place of snacks and pastries. You simply need a table, table covering, clear vases or jars, and a theme. You order your candy based on your color scheme from an online supplier like Sweet Services.  

This makes a beautiful setting for any celebration. And everything is reusable. For your next celebration, you simply change the theme and colours of the candy. The candy is shipped directly to you just in time and there is little set up. Perfect for busy mums with little time to spare!

Keeping your child active

There is nothing more important to you than the health of your child. This means you watch what they eat and you give them planned activities that keep them moving.

Having been a dancer growing up, I love the idea of dance class. This is great exercise and it gets the kids out of the house for a while.

To make the most of your child’s dance class experience, be sure to provide them with proper dance clothes. This is as much a mental exercise as a physical one. It signals your child to know it is time to get busy, and they look really cool at the same time.

Balancing home repairs

Being a family that includes children puts a strain on the household. Though we may want to live in a perfectly clean, well maintained and modern home, achieving that goal is not always easy.  Put major remodeling jobs on hold until the children are old enough to be expected to take care of their space. Until that time, repair that which is broken as needed and keep things as clean as you can and hope for the best.

One way to keep your property value is to keep the basics up to date. It is safe to do smaller remodeling jobs such as replacing floors, updating cabinets, and replacing the sinks with modern sinks and vessels. These type of repairs allow you to maintain a better standard of home and protect your resale value.

Final Thoughts

It is not easy being a mum, but no matter how exhausted we are, we know that it is a job worth every effort. The key is to keep your sense of humor and roll with it. Soon enough, there will come a time when the kids are out creating their own world. Until that time. Enjoy every moment with your kids. That is all that matters.

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The big one-two! Sure, as a child, each and every birthday is exciting; but my eldest is on the edge of tweendom, and there’s much more to celebrate.

Turning 12 seemingly marks a significant step-up in the world for children, but also the end of an era for us as parents. As they wave ‘goodbye’ to the primary school playgrounds, and take a leap out into independence, there are certainly perks to turning 12.

1. Tween, not teen, and not a littlie either

Not quite an unbearably moody monster teen, but not a little child either. As a tween, you get the best of both worlds. Fancy staying inside and watching Netflix under a blanket? Sure! Want to head to the park with the littlies and enjoy an ice-cream? Yes! Do both. You’re a tween.

2. Parents as pals

As emerging pre-teens, it’s likely that you will still spend much unforced family time together. That time is well invested in reshaping your relationship to reinforce any friendship vibes. Something that can hopefully carry through into the teenage years, making life a little more bearable when the going gets tough.

3. A whole new world of cinema experience

Compulsory guardian accompaniment to 12As are gone! Being 12 means you get to hit the flicks with friends. And that’s essential tween activity.

4. There’s no age limit on the outdoors

While it’s sometimes tempting to hibernate with a box set, picnics by the pond, walking through woodlands, and lakeside adventure sports, are just a cool for tweens as they are for young children and adults.

5. Shaking off the old school

The jolt up to secondary school is a daunting prospect. That said, after those initial, unsettled first months, high school is an opportunity to figure out what you like to learn. What subject does it for you? Whether it’s Phys. Ed. or Physics, get to know what subject suits you.

6. There’s independence ahead

12 is when independence begins to trickle in hard and fast. Perhaps mini shopping sprees, swimming pool sessions, pizza parlour dates with friends… it’s all to come.

7. That surging sense of humour

Laughing isn’t exclusive to tweens, but it is when you see a development in their individual sense of humour. Conversation are more casually peppered with sarcastic swipes and witty one-liners. Family fun takes a new angle.

8. The emerging fashionista

Discovering your style is a key ingredient of tweendom. Browsing outfits online or picking and choosing a little more when out shopping. It’s all part and parcel of creating an all-important identity.

9. Height restrictions? A thing of the past!

It’s a biggie… being 12 pretty much grants you access to all theme park rides. Enough said.

10. Finding firm friendship groups

While friends are fickle and flitter between each other at primary school, your tween and teen years are a chance to find some firm friendship groups. It may just be one or two people, just like you, who’ll stick with you through thick and thin.

11. Getting tech savvy

Tweens, right now, have the growing up alongside today’s extraordinary technology. While this may seem like a hindrance at times, there are undoubtedly benefits too. Instant access to limitless information, extra safety when out and about, means to make money using YouTube, and opportunities to enhance CVs through online charity activities.

12. Learning what you love

Style, friendships, school subjects, it’s all important, but what is integral to any tween’s agenda is knowing yourself. This is the time to learn what you love, and what you think. Get to know the world and your place in it, just that little bit.

So as sit here wondering how on earth I am old enough to "own" a 12 year old daughter, I think I will celebrate surviving 12 years of motherhood and (despite the dent it has made in my bank account) all the great things it has taught me too! 

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I love a good wedding and although our wedding seems a distant but romantic memory, we still love talking weddings, so when we were asked to host a guest post about weddings, we jumped at the chance.

The bride of today designs her own wedding. It is not the wedding of her grandparents. She fuses the traditions of weddings past with her idea of the perfect wedding and sets her own wedding etiquette. Most of us do not even know what the traditions stood for. Here are some examples of outdated tradition and why we feel it is time for a change.

Something old, something new

The old English wedding rhyme, “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” still finds its way into the weddings of today.  

The rhyme was from 1898, and while it is fun to incorporate into our modern-day ceremony, most people do not understand it.  Something old was something handed down in the family to show the bride that they would always be with her. Something new was a symbol of the new life the couple expected to have. Something borrowed meant the bride should find a “good wife” that had a “good marriage” and borrow an item from her to use so she would share in the success of accomplishing the task of being a “good wife”. Finally something blue meant purity.

The bride normally wore blue (not white) in those days as a symbol of her pureness. As you can see, the meaning of the rhyme has gotten away from us over time.  If a bride wants to hold to firm tradition, she can. The final line of the rhyme is “with a sixpence in her shoe”. The sixpence was a British coin worth about six cents that would ensure she would never be poor.  Good luck finding one.

Never wear white, never wear black

Tradition states that you never wear white to a wedding, because that color belongs to the bride. You never wear black, because it is the color for grieving. Neither of these traditions are held tightly today, While wearing a pure white dress is in poor taste, a bridesmaid dress with white in it is acceptable.  Black is the color of elegance and class and is used in many modern-day weddings. Better bridal stores carry black bridesmaids dresses, and mother of the bride dresses. Black is no longer off-limits. It is up to the bride.

Create a registry and stick with it

While some brides do create a traditional wedding registry, many guests do not like to use them. Sometimes guests do not enjoy making purchases from them. The bride may choose items like a $50.00 serving spoon and put it on her registry. But who wants to purchase a spoon as a wedding gift?  Fortunately, today’s bride has better options.

Today’s bride has the options of creating honeymoon registries. She may want funds to go toward the honeymoon, an event at the destination, or even home improvements. The couple sets up their registry at a site like Honeyfund, and your money combines with the gifts of others to make their wishes a reality.

Some couples are already financially settled and they choose to set up free fundraising sites for a family member or friend who is experiencing hardship. Instead of gifts, they could set up a Plumfund account to make it easy for guests to contribute to a worthy cause (which means something to them). The couple is happy. The guests are happy and never feel uncomfortable with the amount they choose to contribute.

Some wedding traditions are here to stay because they make sense. As an example, if you are invited to the wedding, you are expected for the wedding, not just the after-party. It is noticed and it is unacceptable to show up for the reception without attending the ceremony.

If your invitation has only your name, you are not permitted to add a guest. There may be seating issues, food issues, and limits set for friends due to the family members who are attending. Adding a boyfriend or girlfriend is not cool. If there is only seating for 200 and 25 guests brought an uninvited partner, this makes an immediate problem.

We are a people of tradition, merged with technology. We communicate via social media. RSVP is allowed electronically if the bride gets the information. By the way, it is never okay to post unflattering cell phone pictures on social media of the bride or her party.

The wedding of today is fun and romantic. The bride and groom get to make the rules and anything goes as long as it is okay with them.

Author Bio

Wendy Dessler

Wendy is a super-connector with Outreachmama.com who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.

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My girls love to build dens and we all know that children of various age love to play with tents and forts. Children have the most spectacular imaginations and can come up with the most amazing stories and adventures playing in their tent. 

We have had one of the The Monster Factory tents for some years and I was going through some old photos and came across this one of my youngest daughter playing in her VW Tent when she was a toddler. We still have the tent now some 3 or 4 years later which just goes to show how versatile they are .... even if it does get put up in my lounge at times!

The Monster Factory have some fantastic tents for all ages and they have announced that the London Underground Tent has arrived. You can let your little ones take control of their very own underground station with this creative ticket office and tube train. From working in the ticket office to driving the train, let them decide what their next job will be! 

The specifications are fabulous too!

• UV Protection
• Fire Retardent
• Waterproof
• Durable lightweight construction
• Officially licensed London Underground product

We are therefore really excited to share the chance for you to win your very own London Underground Play Tent and all you need to do is enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Terms & Conditions

The Prize: The Monster Factory London Underground Play Tent
The winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by email
By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
There is no monetary equivalent.
Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
End Date 13/05/2017 at 12am

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