Fancy Dress for Kids

The words "fancy dress" can strike fear into some mum's hearts but I am one of those embarrassing types who uses any excuse to dress Elliot up! I love fancy dress myself so it came as no surprise to my friends and family when Elliot spent much of his first Christmas in an elf costume....or a reindeer...although I resisted the Christmas pudding one ;)

So here is a selection of some of his amazing outfits he has worn over the last 2.5 years....

Top Row, L - R

- The outfit that started it all, a Christmas Elf baby!

- A sleepy little reindeer 

- Celebrating the Royal wedding with a patriotic babygrow and a crown

Middle Row

- Elliot the baby Elephant

- Blending in with the background at our local farm

- A bumblebee (I adored this little outfit and was gutted when it got too small!)

Bottom Row

- A fearsome pirate for his 1st birthday party

- Little vampire for the toddler Halloween party

- Another Elf, this one at 13 months!

Top Row L-R

- Another day, another pirate party!

- In his Planes outfit

- About to measure up as Bob the builder

Middle Row

- The Gruffalo's Child at his 2nd birthday party

- 2nd Halloween, 2nd vampire costume! 

- Yet another Elf, this one 25 months

Bottom Row

- Elmo, this outfit won his best dressed at a birthday party!

- My favourite costume, Farmer Elliot! The ginger sideburns looks AMAZING!!

- Dressing up as a knight for World Book Day - he loves this costume as you can see from the big grin on his face!

As you can see, we're quite fond of the Elf costumes....I'm wondering how long he will let me dress him up for, you don't see many teenagers dressed as Elves these days!

Are you a fan of fancy dress or does the mere mention of it make you feel stressed?!

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My Week in Pictures

I have seen a few other bloggers do summaries of their week using photos and I think it's a lovely idea, as my husband says, a picture says a thousand words! (Plus,it's been a busy week....not sure I have time to write a thousand words!)

Top Row

- What kid doesn't love a water table?! I haven't got round to buying a paddling pool this year yet so this is a good little substitute on warm afternoons. It keeps him quiet for ages, especially if he's allowed to put some of his dinosaurs in the water!
- Elliot normally runs a mile when I do the hoovering (he isn't scared, he just feels the need to stand on the sofa!) but this week I let him have a go. Our Dyson is pretty heavy so he couldn't move it too far but give it a couple of years ;)
- We love opposite a Costa which is brilliant for afternoons when we have no plans - a babychino and a cake = one happy boy!


Middle Row

- This was before I'd even thought about breakfast, Elliot decided to build a "traffic jam" ...not sure where they were all going!
- We had a lovely playdate a friends house and Elliot spent most of the morning diving into the paddling pool!


Bottom Row

- This is what Elliot (ie me!) got his dad for Fathers Day - funnily enough he was most interested in the Minions sweets and poor Daddy didn't get a look in with those ;)
- Thursday was spent at our favourite local attraction Farmer Palmers - a group of us met up for a picnic but the toddlers were more interested in chasing each other than eating the food!
- We received a brilliant travel centre in the post today which I will be reviewing soon - Elliot was so excited when he saw it and asked if he could go to bed in it!

So that's a snapshot of our week - we have been very fortunate with the weather and hope to have more sunny days this week :)

What did you get up to this week?

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Being a Blogger...

The lovely Laura over at Life With Baby Kicks recently wrote about being a blogger and has created a "Being a Blogger" tag and has tagged me to write a similar post!

Being a Blogger is.....Not being to visit anywhere without thinking, hmmm this would make a good blog post! I love doing days out reviews and I purposely visit new places now so I can include on my blog

Being a Blogger is.....taking dozens of photos of everything, incase I ever need them for a post! Although most of the pictures on my phone are of Elliots face, he loves taking a selfie :)

Being a Blogger is.....Learning how to use the posh flash on my camera so I can take professional looking pictures for reviews. It's amazing how much difference it makes to pictures


Being a Blogger is..... Having a dedicated blogging notebook for my to do lists and blog ideas. I like to have a daily "To Do" list where I can make a note of any linkys I need to link up to, or any promotion I need to do for my own posts

Being a Blogger is.....working away on the laptop all evening while my husband works his way through Netflix. It's quite rare for me to sit down and watch anything these days..and if I do I usually end up falling asleep!


Being a Blogger is.....getting some amazing opportunities such as a holiday in Bluestone, Wales, what an amazing place! We've also been able to meet Mister Maker and see Mr Tumble live - things that wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the blog.

Meeting the very friendly Mister Maker at Butlins

Being a Blogger is.....meeting some fantastic new friends online and feeling like you've known them forever!


Being a Blogger is.....working with some brilliant brands such as Caboodle, Horns N Halos, Hotter shoes and Argos, I have been very lucky. Well, Elliot has also been very lucky because he has benefited from all these lovely products! (Apart from the Hotter shoes...they were all MINE!)


Being a Blogger is.....keeping my brain ticking over! It would be very easy to get bogged down by CBeebies and poo talk but blogging helps me explore my creative side and actually use my brain a bit more


Being a Blogger is......feeling proud when you meet people who tell you they love your blog. When I first started blogging I wasn't sure if anyone would read it (aside from family!) so it's lovely to hear positive feedback


So there you have it, my contribution to the Being a Blogger tag! I need to pass this on now so girls, it's over to you....

Jeni  - Poole Mamma 
Sabrina - The Mummy Stylist
Fiona - Dolly Dowsie
Dawn - Dear Mummy

Linking up to..

The List with You Baby Me Mummy

Caboodle Everyday Baby Changing Bag - Review

My husband thinks I have a bit of a problem with bags because my wardrobe is full of them - I just love them, and the more pockets the better! When Caboodle offered me the chance to review one of their lovely changing bags from the Everyday range, I jumped at the chance. I've only ever had the changing bag that came free with my pram so I thought it would be great to use a proper changing bag...with lots of compartments and pockets!

Although Elliot is no longer a baby, I do still need to take a bag out with us. You'd think that the older they get, the less stuff you need but I find I probably need even more things now which means I need a decent sized bag to carry it all in.

I was sent the Caboodle changing bag in grey/raspberry and first impressions were good. I love the design, it's a bit different to my old black changing bag and the colours aren't too girly which is good for me! The inside has a cute starry print which I love.

The bag has a large inside compartment with a divider which is great for organising your bits and bobs and also features lots of compartments - yay! It has two outside pockets on the front, a zipped pocket on the back, and then inside has another zipped pocket plus three compartments. As a parent we need to carry so much stuff and you don't necessarily want everything jumbled into the same section so it's really useful to be able to separate things.

The bag comes with a changing mat , a bottle bag and a grubby stuff bag which will be so useful, I've lost track of the times I've had dirty clothes and just had to wrap them up or put them in a carrier bag.

The quality of the bag feels really durable and unlike some bags, the zips are really chunky which is perfect for a bag such as this. I don't know about your children but Elliot is always fishing around in my bag for snacks and I would be happy for him to open/close this himself without worrying he would break the zip.

Another reason I like this bag is because the strap is really long - it can be shortened and hung on a buggy of course but for a mum on the go, being able to wear it across my chest is a definite bonus!

I've been using this bag for the last week or so and it has been very usable and perfect for my needs. There is plenty of space for all the items I need to take out such as spare nappies, snacks, toys, books, spare clothes etc. Right now it is packed and ready to go for a day out tomorrow and I've even managed to fit in a towel and swimming shorts for Elliot!

Overall, I would definitely recommend these changing bags if you are in need of a new one - and right now, they are on offer at £24 on the Caboodle website which is a bargain :)

Disclaimer: We received the bag for the purpose of this honest review. All views are my own



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Love Where I Live Linky #1

Welcome to a brand new linky - Love Where I Live!

Love Where I Live is a new linky where you can shout about all the things you love locally.  Maybe you have some stunning photography you want to share, or maybe you want to tell the world about a fun local attraction you recently visited. Maybe you've got a favourite cafe, or a favourite shop you want to blog about. Anything goes really, as long as it's about where you live!

Feel free to tweet me @eelliotblog using the hashtag #LoveWhereILiveLinky and I will retweet your posts. I will also comment on each one.

Each week I will pick my favourite post :)

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Rules

There's just a few rules to abide by: 

• You can link up however many posts you like (old or new) but please make sure it is relevant and about your area
• Please display my badge on your post
• Make sure you comment on at least 2 other blogs, more if you have time! 
• Don't forget to comment using the hashtag #lovewhereIlivelinky so people know where you found them

The linky will run from Thursday 12.01am until Sunday 11.59pm. 

An InLinkz Link-up

10 Things I Never Expected To Do As A Mum

Before your kids come along, you have all these grand ideas of what kind of parent you'll be and what you'll get up to. Sadly, things don't normally happen as you imagined them! Here's a look at 10 things I never expected to do as a Mum...

• Using the TV as a babysitter -  I never thought this would be me but sometimes it just has to be done. I'd never be able to have a shower or cook tea otherwise!

• National Trust Membership - I always thought NT was for retired people who liked visiting gardens but this is our second year with a NT membership and we love it! There's so many lovely locations scattered across the UK and we love taking a picnic and exploring. NT seem to have had a bit of a makeover in recent years and I love how kid-friendly they are now.
• Leaving the house with snot on your jumper - substitute snot for sick/milk/food/drool, it's amazing how messy one small person can be and there has been countless times where I've just wiped it down with a wet wipe and got on with my day!
• Post countless baby photos on Facebook - I used to roll my eyes at parents doing this on Facebook and I vowed  to not be "one of those mums". Now? I'm totally one of those mums!! I love posting pics of Elliot on social media and it's a great way of sharing his life with family who we don't see very often. If people think it's boring then they know where the unfollow button is ;)
• Talk about poo on Facebook - Following on from the above point, I didn't expect to be talking about poo so openly but sometimes, a toddler poo story is just too funny not to share!
• Wear leggings , a lot - Prior to having a baby, the last time I wore leggings was probably 1992 but the first year of Elliot's life saw me wear leggings on a daily basis. Comfortable, and that elasticated waist was also good for all the cake I consumed in the early days!!
• Gossip magazines - Never thought I'd stop buying Heat or Closer magazine but these days I'm more likely to pick up Bob the Builder weekly. It does mean my celebrity knowledge is a bit crap nowadays though - I can name every one of Peppa Pig's mates but ask me who's Number One in the charts and I'd struggle!
• Bribery - I never thought I'd have to resort to bribery but sometimes the lure of a kinder egg is the only thing that works! "Swim on your back and we can visit the sweet shop" - <--true story after a particularly stressful swimming lesson!
•  Go out in public with crazy hair and no make up - Pre-children my hair was always straightened, I always wore make up and I actually made an effort to look half decent. Nowadays, we have swimming on a Monday morning and I spend the rest of the day with a big frizzy curly mop and with no make up on. And I go out in public...and sometimes even meet friends - gasp! I'm sure my Mummy friends have seen worse than my bare face and actually, sometimes its quite nice to not have to spend ages straightening my hair!
• Secret eating - Toddlers have amazing selective hearing, ask them to tidy their toys and funnily enough they don't hear you. Rustle a bag of sweets and they come running! Which is why sometimes its absolutely neccessary to hide in the kitchen and stuff a biscuit in before you're caught!

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A Riverside Stroll - Wareham, Dorset

Sometimes I take it for granted that I live in a beautiful part of the world and it's too easy to rush about and not enjoy what we have on our doorstep.

Last weekend after a day out at a local farm, we decided to have a spontaneous stop at a place called Wareham for a little walk and an ice-cream. Wareham is a historic market town here in Dorset and the area has some beautiful scenery.

**Sorry, pic heavy post!**

We started our walk on the Quay with our ice-creams - I meant to take photos of the ice-creams because they were so good but we were too busy stuffing our faces to get the camera out!

The weather was lovely and warm so there were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine - the Quayside was really busy with tourists and there were boats and kayaks bobbing along on the river.

Elliot kept stopping to pick up sticks and he was pretending he had a magic wand. We've watched a lot of Harry Potter recently and he tries to do the "Expelliarmus" spell but it ends up sounding like he's shouting "smelly armpits!"....which he find hilarious! He did however find a bit of dog poo and started poking it with his stick - what is it with boys and poo?!

Elliot had lots of fun running along the river side path trying to spot the wildlife he saw on the information boards. We didn't see any animals but we did see a Mummy swan with her babies!

We finished up the impromptu walk with a visit to one of the pubs on the Quay for some dinner. If you're ever in the area then I highly recommend The Old Granary - the burgers were fantastic!

I'll leave you with some photos of Elliot that we took along the way - what a cheeky face!

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