This day I love.......: nursery

As my girls get older their individual personalities begin to show more. I love watching them change and develop, from babies to toddlers to little girls. As they grow their tastes begin to change and from liking everything pink they now like everything blue. I think mainly influenced by the blue dress that Elsa wears.

As they grow and start to form their own opinions they want more personalised spaces in their bedrooms. It is however not very economical or practical to decorate every time they discover a new like, but what can be done simply and easily is add wall stickers to add personalisation.

My eldest daughter is currently having her room decorated, it was done nearly 4 years ago when she was 2 years old and so is very much in need of a refresh. We have just changed the flooring in her room to a wooden floor, which hopefully will help with her eczema, and are now wanting to update the walls. The walls are going to be kept neutral and we intend on having a nature theme, as she loves the outdoors. One of her walls has been painted different to the others in order to create a feature wall, and we intend on using a nature themed sticker to create this feature in her room. Her favourite is this one:

I have to admit to really liking it too, as it not only is in keeping with the theme it will also last her as she grows.

My youngest daughter does not need her bedroom painting but she could do with the theme of her room updating, as it is currently very nursery orientated. Her loves at the minute are butterflies and birds but yet would not want a nursery sticker. The sticker would need to be more tailored towards a child.

What is great about wall stickers is that you can lay them out on the wall in your own design. Even though the design might be similar to this

We could choose not to use the cat sticker and reposition the butterflies on her wall in our own pattern. This would make for a perfect design for my youngest

Wall stickers are a great way to add a touch of personalisation to a room, in an economical way. They can be changed as often as needed which is perfect for children as they grow up and their tastes change.

This is a collaborative post

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Spring is in the air and with it the desire to clean and unclutter. The house begins to be filled with the warmer spring air and the house is seen in a new light. A desire to update, or simply refresh is felt and we begin searching for the latest trends.

I’ve been looking around the internet to see what modern room themes could work for my home and whether it’s the latest industrial kitchen chic, or even the luxurious range of TV beds, it looks like there’s lots of fun to be had.

Keeping it minimal

With the imminent arrival of Thing 3, I have been trying to have a bit of a declutter. Tidying each room and donating to charity unused items. A third child means more clothes, toys and baby items and so space is at a premium. I have tried to keep the nursery as clutter free as possible and make best use of the space available.

Making a statement

One of the big things about modern interiors is the way that they’re not afraid to make a big statement through a particular piece of furniture or aesthetic motif. For example, this bedroom uses just a few bold items such as a bright red bedside table and a striking contemporary painting to provide bursts of colour against the cool and classy decor. There are, of course, few better ways to make a statement than by investing in a modernist piece of furniture. It could be a striking bedside cabinet or a fun globe chair, and also there are cheap TV beds available at the Bedstar website that are the perfect example of how modernist furniture can be seriously luxurious, as well as stylish and chic.

Futuristic themes

Implementing technology in a thoughtful manner is another way to give your decor a modern revamp. Whilst I hate endless cables and power adaptors trailing over our living room, by narrowing down all of the clutter into a few multipurpose devices, it can suddenly make our homes feel a little more modern.

I would love a new kitchen but it is a little out of our budget at the moment, I do love this modern kitchen that features industrial touches such as shiny metallics that are nicely contrasted to the retro mint green lamps.

Whether it’s a nice and bright new colour scheme, or even an extravagant new TV bed, there’s much that can be done to give our homes that extra special modern touch!

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Apologies for the lack of posts recently but this week has been rather a strange one. Apart from Monday I have had every day in either the Dr or hospital with various blood tests, physio appointments, vaccinations and allergic reactions. It has been one of those weeks that once I pick my youngest up from school all we both want to do is chill and watch TV. I am also guessing that 5 posts about how I love to spend time with my youngest and just chill, and am so grateful that, at 3 years old, she has such a caring and understanding personality, would probably get a little repetitive. I will save the details for the hospital appointments for my pregnancy round up this week and instead continue with the rest of the week.

After the girls were finally allowed to open up the box, Laa Laa seems to now accompany my youngest everywhere. My youngest and I are enjoying our time together before we pick up her sister from school, but I do wish I could do more with her without so much pain. It won't be long now before her younger sibling makes an appearance and we are making the most of our time together.

I have spent my mornings finishing off the nursery for Thing 3 and am so pleased with the final outcome. I am just in love with the room and cannot wait for Thing 3 to arrive. It feels as if a huge wait has been lifted now the room is complete. There are of course a few bits and pieces that could make the room even better but these can be done once baby arrives.

After a few weeks away I finally felt well enough to volunteer at parkrun again. I have really missed it and it was good to be back. My eldest came with me to help and we had the important task of collecting the finish tokens.

parkrun, the tokens, the bump and the eldest

I do feel this week has gone rather quickly, perhaps it is with keeping busy in the nursery. The girls seem to be settling back into a routine this week, which is always good. Am just hoping they let me have a bit of a lie in in the morning!

This day I love getting back to the routine

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We are very lucky that when we found out we were expecting Thing3 that we had enough bedrooms. It did mean that I had to give up my office, but this has now been relocated. My office walls were decorated recently in Graham and Brown wallpaper and it was decided that rather than removing the paper we would instead paint over the top to brighten up the room.

I wanted to keep the nursery neutral as we do not know if Thing3 is male or female and I settled on Ammonite and Dimpse, from Farrow and Ball, for the walls. These colours both have soft natural hints to them and as this is a little room I thought it would be perfect for adding in light. Dimpse has a subtle grey tone to it and Ammonite has more a natural fossil colour. I felt the two would compliment each other really well.

I was really pleased that the paint covered the walls well and only needed one coat. Farrow and Ball paint has a real luxurious touch to it, which you can see when you paint. I wanted to ensure a good coverage over the wallpaper and therefore Farrow and Ball was the paint of choice. In certain lights the walls change colour slightly, with the feature wall becoming darker and the other walls becoming closer to white and then sometimes grey. I think it depends on the light from the window and if in natural light or artificial light. I love these subtle changes to the room. The room feels really warm and welcoming, and the natural tones on the walls add a calming effect to the room.

The carpet in the room was the original black carpet from when we moved in. This has been in need of replacing for some time and converting the space into a nursery seemed the optimum moment to do so. I settled for a hardwood floor, as it is much easier to keep clean, plus it is then in keeping with the rest of the house. Once the flooring had been laid it was a case of adding in the furniture.

The room has a fitted wardrobe, so all that was needed was a cot and chest of drawers. The drawers I already had, and the cot we painted from a second had cot which I bought online. I made sure it met all current safety standards and had the required stamps before purchasing. It looks brand new and I am so pleased with it.

There was originally a sofa in my office and I decided to keep this in the nursery for night feeds. We all love superheroes in our house and I thought this, along with Dr Seuss would be perfect for the theme for the nursery. I came across a batman cushion online and knew the second I saw it that it had to be in the nursery.

I had had a canvas shopping bag which the handles broke from Cosatto and by sticking velcro in the top I converted it to a cushion cover. Perfect for the nursery. The sofa has been used to create a reading corner. We have a real love for books and reading in our house and we are hoping Thing3 develops this same love. As this is only a small room I purchased a tidy books book case in white to help display all the wonderful books for Thing3. The girls both have tidy book cases which I have also purchased for them and they take up very little floor space, along with giving easy access to the books.

The girls have their scan pictures displayed on the walls in their bedrooms, and I found the hanging frame in Asda in the sale. It is the perfect size for adding scan pictures to.

The reading corner is finished with my beautiful wooden print from Imprify, which of course is of the girls in their superhero costumes.

I would love a superhero themed rug and blind to go in the nursery but have not yet managed to find one, but these can be added once Thing3 arrives.

I really love the nursery and the way the room has transformed from my office to a room filled with love ready for Thing3 arrival.

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We have been saving for some time to replace the flooring in my eldest daughter bedroom and the room that is going to be the nursery. When we moved the flooring was carpet one was black, which we could never get clean and the other cream but it was covered in stains. We struggled for some time as to what to put down, hard wood flooring like the rest of the house or replace all of upstairs with the same carpet. Eventually we decided upon hardwood flooring

Flooring does not come cheap. Whether you are going for carpet or tiles, or another option and to be honest, hardwood floors are no different.. Real hardwood floors shouldn't break the bank, a quick google search can list some affordable sellers, such as Ted Todd hardwood flooring.

For us personally hardwood flooring looks fantastic. The colour of the wood and the sheen of the surface make hardwood flooring the most aesthetically pleasing option on the market. They just do not appear as stained or dirty as carpet can. If you want style over substance, hardwood is a great choice.

Unlike the majority of flooring options, hardwood floors are easy to clean. After all, they don’t have thick pieces of fabric that trap dust and dirt and, they don’t stain as easy because the surface is a lot smoother and harder to grip. At the end of the day, all you need to clean a hardwood floor is a spot of detergent and a mop. In fact, warm soapy water will be enough for most hardwood floors.

Hardwood floors also cannot trap dust and bacteria like a carpet. A carpet can easily play host to a variety of different bugs and viruses that can repopulate the house. At the very least, a dirtier carpet can affect the air quality in your house, which can be hazardous to your health. With my eldest daughter suffering with eczema we wanted to ensure her skin was given the best chance it could be given in order to stay eczema free.

The house suddenly feels a lot cleaner now we have removed the old carpets and replaced with hardwood floors. I love how our house is becoming our home, with our personality.

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I decided to combine this weeks update and things for Thing 3 post as it all seems to fit together. This week has been an emotional week as I was advised by physio to stop running. I saw the physio at 23+1 for the pain I have had in my abdomen. The extreme pain when walking has been getting worse and physio was in many ways needed.

My physio has diagnosed a 3.5cm distasis recti and hip displacement. On top of this I have also torn and done damage to my lower abdominal muscles. This week has been focusing on doing my exercises in order to prevent and further damage and try to make every day tasks like walking less painful.

I am not allowed to lift anything. Lifting s bowl of cereal hurts. I cannot do the ironing or vacuuming and some simple tasks like putting on shoes really hurts. However I am determined to keep going and am doing everything my physio had advised. My husband has been great at helping with housework and my Mum has been a superstar too. I do feel really frustrated and guilty because they are such simple tasks and pregnancy should not be an illness or an excuse to not do things. Unfortunately for me the damage to my muscles is saying otherwise.

Thing 3 gave me a scare mid way through the week after having a very quiet day, but soon made up for it with some strong kicks. I am loving all the wiggles and kicks and they seem to be getting stronger every day. I am looking forward to hearing Thing 3 heart heart at the 24 week appointment with the midwife.

One of my friends has very kindly given me some baby clothes for Thing 3 which I am incredibly grateful for as I had given away all of the girls things. This week also saw the paint arrive for the nursery. I have gone for neutral colours as I do not know the gender and also chosen paint from Farrow and Ball. I wanted good quality paint that I knew would withstand daily life with a baby and farrow and ball met this criteria. I shall be writing up nursery ideas in a few weeks and sharing with you the finished nursery. I am currently looking at flooring and blinds and then it is a case of putting it all together.

As the pregnancy progress I am also making decisions towards birthing plans and how I will feed Thing 3. I am hoping to share my decision as soon as I have made one. Whatever I decide I know that Tommee Tippee have a range of products to help me and my work with then as a mumbasador helpfully will continue with Thing 3.

To celebrate my partnership with Tommee Tippee I am giving away a box of 20 breast milk storage pouches. The pouches fit most brands of pumps so you can express directly into them, meaning no more spilt milk. A single pouch can be used to express, warm the ouch directly and then feed direct from the pouch. All you need to do to be in with a chance is follow the instructions on the widget this also shows full terms and conditions. Giveaway closes midnight GMT on 18th December 2015.

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I have spent this morning in the attic with my Mum looking through [and tidying] the baby items. I had begun selling baby things but was pleased to see I still had a few bits a pieces left. Sorting the attic had me and my Mum reminiscing about the different stages the girls went through and the stages we are about to go through again.

We discovered that I have no toys for the new baby, so this is something in the New Year I need to look at. This means looking for a bouncy chair, and play mat as well to give baby tummy time. A friend of mine very kindly gave me some newborn clothes and another friend has given me a Moses basket so I do at least have a start for when Thing 3 arrives.

Something that was clear, however, was the amount of products that I own [and have purchased] from the Gro company. Gro have things from birth right up to my eldest daughter using the Gro clock. Gro seem to have grown with my girls and as we start to look forward to Thing 3 will be starting the journey with them also.

A new product from Gro is the Gro-Snug. My eldest daughter started as a newborn in a gro-bag and my youngest daughter began her journey in the Gro-swaddle. Thing 3 will be starting theirs in the Gro-snug. The Gro-snug is a combination of swaddling but with a Gro-bag. It gives babies the feeling of security that swaddling does, but with the space of a Gro-bag allowing babies to lie in the natural frog leg position they enjoy. There is also the options to have arms either in or out. Which is great as my eldest always wanted her arms out and youngest arms in!

I also found my Gro-egg in the attic which was an item I purchased several years ago for my eldest daughter. Neither girl needs this now but in the early days it was really useful to know the temperature of the nursery. The colour changes also gave a quick clear indication if the room was too hot or too cold.

Once the nursery is decorated and the new floor has been installed I shall begin adding the finishing touches, including the gro-egg, into the nursery. I cannot wait to show you the room once finished.

If you would like to win a Gro egg for a nursery I have a giveaway open until midnight GMT on the 8th December to win one. Simply follow the widget below, where you can also find full terms and conditions. Good Luck

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I have attended the Baby show in the past but have never visited the Baby and Toddler show before. With Thing 3 due next year I was keen to attend. Huggies Pull Ups and Huggies wipes were both exhibiting and they invited me along to attend. After an hours drive I arrived on the other side of the Pennines and was keen to get inside and take a look around.

Huggies were right at the front of the exhibition and it was lovely to meet some familiar friendly faces before heading further in. I loved listening to the Huggies team demonstrating the benefits of Huggies pull ups and the enthusiasm on the faces of the parents as they realised that the new learning liner would really help them with potty training their toddlers. The toddlers all seemed to love the Disney characters on the night time pull ups and all were interested in the videos. The stand was constantly busy. I had a great chat with the Huggies potty training expert, Amanda, and we shall be featuring an interview with her shortly. I do not want to say much more on it at the moment, but keep your eyes on the blog.

With the arrival of Thing 3 next year it was great to have a chat with the Huggies wipes team. A lot has changed since the girls were little and it was great to hear how Huggies wipes are made from natural absorbent fibres for healthy skin and are free from parabens, alcohol and phenoxyethanol, and kind to baby's skin. This is perfect for me as another brand of wipes [who will remain unnamed] caused an allergic reaction to my skin and since then I have been very careful over baby wipes. Huggies were demonstrating the different types of wipes in their ranges:

- HUGGIES® Pure Wipes provide gentle cleaning just like cotton wool and water and are perfect even for newborns

- HUGGIES® Natural Care Wipes are made from natural absorbent fibres and Aloe Vera to help prevent the cause of nappy rash

- HUGGIES® Soft Skin Wipes are made from natural absorbent fibres, are delicately fragrances and formulated with Shea Butter and vitamin E

The HUGGIES® Style on the Go Wipes would also be perfect for us when I start running again as I can have them clipped to the pushchair or bag and would be very handy when out and about. I think if I had the girls with me they would have been very interested in the Frozen design wipes.

The exhibition was divided into three main areas. The catering was in the centre forming a square shape. 3 sides of the outer of this square was general nursery stands exhibiting everything you could think of. Stands of all sizes and colours

It was great seeing new inventions and talking to those I have known for some time. The bottom side of the square was full of pushchairs and car seats. This was perhaps the busiest area of the exhibition and there were lots of queues waiting to talk to someone. I did get to have a good chat with Kiddy and I got to see Cosatto Wonder in person. I cannot believe how beautiful the Wonder is in real life.

I did not spend too much time here as it was busy with people wanting to ask questions but I did enjoy walking round the other stands.

The Baby and Toddler show was a great experience and next year I will be taking Thing 3 with me! I cannot wait!

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A few weeks ago we received confirmation that my youngest daughter had secured a place at the nursery attached to the school my eldest attends. At the moment she is in a private nursery but she is so desperate to be at school like her sister that this will be a great start for her. Her starting nursery brings about a whole new challenge as she will now need a school uniform and with it that school uniform will need labelling.

Her latest trick at her current nursery is hiding her shoes and we often spend a good hour hunting for them before we can leave, I have a feeling she will continue this at her new nursery. Hunting for a pair of shoes similar to all the other children's though is going to present a new challenge. I am going to be labelling clothes and her shoes.

Whilst iron on name label are going to work well for her uniform they will not work too well in her shoes. I am going to need a stick on name label to securely attach to the inside of her shoe. Pen and ink tend to smudge after time as feet get hot and I am hoping this will provide an alternative.

Along with her uniform comes the other items she is going to need, a water bottle for example. Her elder sister in the summer months has been asked to take sunglasses and a hat all labelled. If you have ever tried to label a pair of sunglasses you will understand the problems faced. Personalised labels are the only way forward as the space is too small to write on.

Petit-Fernand UK offered a solution to all of my labelling problems with a school labels pack. The pack contained:

Shoe labels (10)

Iron on label (40 with 1 line of text)

Small sticker label (40)

Stick on labels (30 1 line of text and 20 with 2 lines of text)

All the labels are washing machine and tumble dryer resistant and sticks onto garments within 12 seconds. The school pack arrives in a handy book, all the labels are therefore kept together so you do not have lots of sheets scattered around the house. I know how frustrating it can be when you cannot find the name labels. I store the label book on the bookshelf and I therefore know where it is, rather than lots of pieces everywhere.

It took less than 10 minutes for me to personalise the name labels and place my order. Delivery was free and the labels arrived within a few days. For £30 I find this incredibly good value for money and they are of a great quality.

I am pleased to offer 1 reader a voucher for £30 to spend at Petit-Fernand UK. Full terms and conditions are on the widget. Good Luck.

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At the moment I feel rubbish, not in an ill way but emotionally. I started my eldest daughter at nursery when she was 11 months old, 2 weeks before I went back to work. She really hated it. Screamed every time I dropped her off, was always red eyed when I picked her up and never wanted to go. She is a different story now and often asks to go and play. She talks about her key workers and tells me about her friends at nursery. I feel much better about her going as I think she enjoys it.

I said when my youngest was born that we would start her in nursery at a younger age and with much more time before I went back to work. My husband and I decided 9 months old. Today she had her first afternoon visit. All was fine for the first hour as I sat and played with her. I think she enjoyed that no one was taking her toys and she could explore new surroundings. It was then decided that I leave to let her explore and settle on her own.

I felt so mean and horrible. I feel like I am the worst parent in the world. I know she is looked after. I did so much research on nurseries and child minders and nannies, I spent weeks reading offstead reports and looked round all the local nurseries before settling on the one she is at. So I know its the best care other than her family but I still feel rotten.

I came home and unpacked some boxes. We moved house in May and there are still loads of boxes to unpack, I just never have the time. I organised and put things away and kept myself as busy as possible to take my mind of it as best I could. It felt good unpacking and sorting but all the time it did not feel right, like something was missing.

I clock watched and as soon as it was time I set off to pick my girls up. My eldest came with me to pick up her sister, she did not know she had started at the same nursery. My youngest was so happy to see me that she cuddled her head into my chest. Nursery said she had been brilliant, ate all her dinner, drunk her milk and had a nap, so I think she is going to be ok.

My eldest told her Daddy that baby has a room at nursery and how she picked her up. My youngest would not let me go, she was my little koala bear. I know it has to be done because I have to go back to work. Not that I am complaining about work given the current economical state I am more than happy to have a job, let alone be lucky enough in one I really enjoy. It doesn't stop the guilt though and the pain. The feeling of am I doing the right thing or the worry. It definitely does not get any easier with your second. I am just glad I had those boxes to unpack to keep me busy else I think I would have sat outside in the car and just waited.

This day I love Keeping busy.

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