My name is Malgorzata and I work as an Insurance broker and also a part time freelance photographer. My instagram handle is @tinywellies

I love exploring the great outdoors with my family and our energetic working cocker spaniel called Rio.

I wanted to get involved in the Mother’s Day X iCandy campaign to highlight the importance of slowing down and spending more time with your loved ones and to share a few simple gift ideas that won’t break the bank and will make wonderful alternatives to store bought cards and novelty gifts this Mother’s Day.

This year for Mother’s Day we’re planning on a big family breakfast first thing in the morning followed by a trip to Hengistbury Head. It’s one of my favourite local beaches surrounded by beautiful nature reserve. It’s also a special place to us as this is where my fiancé, David, proposed to me.

This is a perfect day for me as a mum – lovely walk down by the sea, watching kids and the dog enjoy themselves, having a spot of lunch at the beach, taking it slow.

I like to keep it simple for Mother’s Day. In my opinion the best Mother’s Day gifts are the ones handmade by children. Handmade card, painting, cake or cookies – you name it! 

I love receiving homemade treats! My favourite is shortbread (and if you’d like to give making it a go, I’m sharing the recipe at the end of this post).

As a little girl I used to make cards for my mum with my dad. Me and my dad would spend hours painting, cutting out flowers and writing a personal message for my mum.

Now each year I encourage my children to do the same for me. Handmade cards make my kids proud of themselves at what they’ve created, and to me it means I have a lovely keepsake to cherish.

Another weakness of mine when it comes to presents are flowers. I think a beautiful bouquet of flowers never gets old and it’s something I really really enjoy.

I think MiChair is perfect for us. It will bring my youngest, Dexter, right to the table and make him feel part of the family meals and other activities like arts and crafts.

I think eating together is a really important thing. As a child I always sat down at the table with my parents and there was absolutely no option of taking your meal to your room or eating it on the sofa while watching tv and I want to cultivate this tradition with my own family.

When you have a new baby there’s temptation to buy lots of stuff. We’ve been trying to keep it minimal and focus on quality rather than quantity. I like things that will last.

When it comes to my style around home I’d say I like it minimal, scandi, with natural wood and earthy colours and lots of light.

I love everything mustard, rust and pink coloured, so you will see pops of these colours around our house.

We’ve developed a more eco conscious way of thinking in the past years and try to do our best to reduce the waste, so using less plastic, using reusable nappies, composting, buying second hand or buying things we know will last and can be either used for a long time or passed on.

I like the idea of MiChair because it’s designed to last you from newborn all the way until they are older. It’s not just a high chair. 

The modern retro design fits effortlessly with our home style and I think the combination of wood and metal looks really nice. I’ve decided to go with the russet coloured comfort pack because it compliments our dinning area beautifully, and in the future I’m sure it will look equally beautiful in Dexter’s room as his little rocking chair.

Wishing all mums and mums to be a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Lemon Shortbread

You will need…

4oz Plain Flour

2oz Cornflour

4oz Butter

2oz Caster Sugar

Grated rind of 1 Lemon

Caster Sugar for decoration

Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Mix flour and cornflour together. Cream the butter and the caster sugar together until well mixed. Add the lemon rind then work in flour mixture a tablespoon at a time.

Roll the mixture out to 1cm thick and cut into shape of your choice. Transfer to grease proof lined baking tray and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes, then bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Cool on baking tray for a couple of minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool fully.

A few months ago we transitioned Dexter from traditional swaddle blankets to the Ergopouch zip up swaddle. Such a brilliant invention! No more tricky folding and wrapping (it was getting more and more challenging with a wriggly baby) just pop them in, zip up, job done!

Dexter is used to being swaddled; we did it from day dot. Normal sleeping bags are not working well for us at the moment so the Ergopouch was ideal!

This bamboo cocoon swaddle from Ergopouch is lovely – breathable and lightweight, keeps him snug and secure. It’s hip friendly, with a two way zip for easy nappy changing and can be converted into a sleeping bag by opening the arm poppers! Genius!

Dexter’s bedroom is always very warm so we went for the 0.2 tog option and I have to say this tog is also lovely for daytime naps! Ergopouch swaddles are also available in 1 and 2.5 tog.

Visit https://www.ergopouch.co.uk to see full range of swaddles, sleeping bags and more!

RRP of the Bamboo cocoon swaddle bag in waves 0.2 tog is £23.99

Swaddle was kindly gifted.

A few weeks ago we were kindly sent a Bumbo floor seat and tray to test and review. I’m genuinely excited to share my thoughts on this one with you as it’s been a real game changer for us!

Packaging

The Bumbo floor seat came with very minimal packaging (no bulky box, just a cardboard sleeve) and didn’t require any assembly. The straps are already attached, the only thing we had to assemble was the tray, but it was a simple click in job.

Bumbo floor seat and accessories

Bumbo floor seat is contoured to offer best support and maximum comfort; the deep seating area and leg openings being slightly higher gently reclines the baby toward the center of the shaped backrest, which eases the baby into an upright position. Perfect for the first experiences of sitting.
The seat comes in three colours – grey, pink and aqua, a three point safety harness is included. You can also buy a tray, suction toys, playtop and floor seat covers (all sold separately).
Bumbo floor seat is made of soft foam, the leather like outer skin can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth. Tray is made of solid plastic. The seat is light weight and portable; can be used anywhere around the home and is perfect for travel.

Age suitability and uses

Bumbo recommends their floor seat for babies aged 3-12 months. Baby must be able to support their head. Bumbo floor seat should not be used for prolonged periods.
Dexter is 5 months old and can’t sit by himself yet but can support his head so Bumbo offers him the much needed change of perspective and allows him to interact with family members. Also, I found it very helpful with reflux – placing Dexter in Bumbo floor seat after a meal reduces chances of him being sick.
We’ve also been using Bumbo seat for playtime – the tray is a very handy addition (sold separately) we put selection of toys on the tray for Dexter to pick and play with.

Personally, I have found Bumbo to be perfect for weaning as well. At this stage Dexter can’t use his highchair yet so having Bumbo is a real life saver! And it’s ever so easy to clean after the messy meal times – we wipe the seat with a damp sponge and the tray can be taken off completely and washed in the sink – easy peasy!

Visit https://bumbo.co.uk/ to see the full range of their innovative products.

Bumbo floor seat RRP £52.99

Floor seat tray accessory RRP £9.99

Available from buggybaby.co.uk 

Recently we’ve been kindly gifted a selection of products from the new collection by Done by Deer called Tiny Tropics.

Done by Deer is a Danish brand specialising in modern lifestyle products with beautiful Scandinavian look and feel. All Done by Deer products are designed in-house in Denmark and comply with European safety standards. With a strong focus on detail all Done by Deer products are both stimulating and plaful.

The Tiny Tropics collection features beautiful muted greens and has this very trendy botanical touch, we love it! We found their toys are just the right size for the little hands to practice grasping and the fluorescent labels on each toy are very eye-catching. The muslins are beautifully soft and have whole array of uses – from something to swaddle the newborn baby to a handy cloth to wipe any mess while feeding.

I’m absolutely in love with the whole collection. It’s a real treat to any lover of Scandi designs and natural touches in baby’s nursery.

Visit https://www.donebydeer.com/ to browse the Tiny Tropics collection.

Today we’re playing with the big box of colours from Djeco. This amazing set contains 18 colouring pencils, 16 felt tips, 18 wax crayons, 14 pastels, 8 watercolour paints, 2 paintbrushes, 2 pencils, 1 sharpner and one rubber. The art set comes in  sturdy case adorned with beautiful nature inspired illustrations for your little one to colour in. Big box of colours is guaranteed to keep any budding artist occupied for hours!