Thinking about Mess and Home Decor, Meeting With Friends and a Trip to Brick Lane

Posing against wall art just off Brick Lane

Time To Decorate The House?


I don’t know whether it’s the influence of Instagram or if it’s because my family is now complete, but my thoughts have recently turned to my house and making it somewhere I am really happy with.

My house is never going to be tidy; I am a bit of a hoarder and keep things just in case. Then there are the bazillion toys that my children have. I know it’s too many, I know that children play better the less they have, but we just don’t seem to be able to get rid of them. I kid myself that as Baby Boy grows out of toys we will start to clear them out and have less, but we keep getting more for all 3 children so until the time they stop wanting toys we will always have a lot.

The situation isn’t helped by everyone in this house being messy. I spend the most time tidying and my children the least, yet it’s them that make the most mess. They are so resistant to tidying and my eldest will even burst into tears of frustration at the request to tidy up what she was playing with.

I’m resigned that there will always be mess, but underneath the mess I would like the rooms to be something I like. So I wrote a list of all the bits I want to change, even though I don’t quite know how yet. I’ve started in the living room and bought new cushions and a rug. I like our current rug but it’s too small for the space so I finally decided “better the devil you know” and I’ve bought it in a larger size. I'll share a picture next week when I manage to have the room tidy.

I’ve nearly decided what to do with our biggest empty wall in the living room and I’m shopping around for what design will work best. Then there is the blank wall in the kitchen which I'm struggling to choose between paint and wallpaper for. I'm also wondering if it will be a mistake to get rid of my one white wall which works as a good backdrop for photographs.

The list of things to change will gradually be worked through when I find inspiration and money.

It’s interesting that we rarely see what other people’s homes are really like. You would think in these days of blogging and social media that we would be able to banish the idea that others live in spotless show homes while we live in a hovel. But even on unpolished channels like Instagram stories people are careful to film at angles that hide the worst of it: that big pile of laundry, the washing up, the unmade beds, the toys strewn everywhere and the dust under the sofa. My house is worse than many, but a couple of honest conversations recently have revealed that mess is more commonplace than the current speed cleaning and Hinch army would have us believe. Especially amongst those of us with children.

There is likely to be a growing trend over the next few months where people show the reality more on social media. It’s not that the slummy mummy is rising again where we revel in our hopelessness, it’s not about boasting “my house is worse than yours” it’s just about saying I’ve had enough of this, I’m not going to keep shifting my piles of stuff around to hide it from the photos.

Little, Baby Boy and the Jelly Cat Elephant

Meeting with NCT friends and Visiting Family


On Wednesday I met up with Little’s NCT group to say goodbye to a family moving to Australia. There are 6 members of our group and this will be the second person to move to the other side of the world, a third family will be moving away later this year, but at least they will still be in the UK. It’s sad to lose the mum friends that were there at such an important part of my life, but I’m so happy for them being able to move in pursuit for a better life for them and their children.

This week has seen a lot of grandparents gracing my house with my outlaws looking after Little on Thursday and my Mum (normally a French resident) staying for a few nights. This has given me a bit of a break and Little some more attention.

Spending time with Little


Little has a bit of a cold again, which she has kindly passed onto her brother thanks to her inability to stop kissing him. At least she hasn't got in badly this time so on Saturday morning I took the opportunity to go swimming with her before my gym membership finishes at the end of the month. Little has been asking to go swimming ever since she found out that Baby Boy and I have been made Baby Swimology Ambassadors with Konfidence. It was lovely to spend some time focussing on just Little as I don’t get much of a chance at the moment.

Baby Boy at 9 weeks


Baby Boy has had some really unsettled days, but also some decent cot naps last week. He seems to be forming a bit more of a routine with more awake time in the mornings and a bigger nap in the afternoon. When he is awake he is starting to show an interest in the world around him including interacting with hanging toys on his play gym and bouncer chair. 

Looking at a Vegan Rainbow Cake at Vida Bakery Brick Lane

Sunday visit to Brick Lane and Spitalfields City Farm


Instead of my normal Sunday spent cleaning, the four of us: Baby Boy, Little, me and G (M was at her Dad’s) headed to Brick Lane. I wanted to try out the cakes at Vida Bakery which sells Vegan and Gluten free cakes. It was all very pretty and I especially enjoyed wandering around some of the market stalls selling handmade produce and looking for wall art aka graffiti.

Goats at Spitalfields City Farm under a gloomy sky

The combination of crowds and constantly being told not to touch anything was pretty hard work for Little so we headed over to the Spitalfields City Farm. This gave us a chance to say hello to the rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep, ducks, geese and cats, as well as a chance to run around in a safe environment. It’s only a few minutes from Brick Lane and free so a handy place to stop by if you are in the area with kids.

Little looking at the lid of a Logan's Plate meal

Busy Post Week


This week we have received a few items to review: 

  • The Perifit Pelvic Floor Trainer which communicates with your phone to record progress and so you can play games.
  • Glam Goo, which you can read more about in my Glam Goo review.
  • The Playmobil Summer Villa (Affiliate link) which M will be setting up and letting me know her thoughts on.
  • Some fresh toddler meals delivered from Logan’s Plate which Little is currently enjoying.

I’ve also finally published my post about the KGHypnobirthing online course I studied while pregnant and updated my post about Easter Egg Hunts in Essex this year.

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