Darcy Does My Makeup

Aloha Sprinklerinos, 

How are your day's going? Mine is going well but I'm sooooo sleepy. I'm battling the urge to nap on my laptop!

Earlier this week I uploaded one of my most requested videos, 'Baby Glitter Does My Makeup'. It was an absolute hoot to film. Have you ever let a 4 year old loose with a whole load of colourful makeup and glitter? You should. Just to say you've experienced it!!

(Source)

Darcy really enjoyed the opportunity to make Mummy's face 'beautiful' and be in front of the camera- she's such a little ham. 

I definitely need to make more fun videos like this. Sometimes you can fall into the trap of trying to make serious or information-y content but this just-for-the-jollies piece was so worth the time and mess! I love hearing her little voice and all the strange little things she said as she was creating. 

(Screenshot from the video. What does this even mean??? Ha)

If you have a spare 5 minutes, please do go over and check the video out, it's suuuuuuper cute!!! You can watch it HERE or I have embedded it below (fingers crossed technology favours me!!)

Toodlepip! 

xx

This Child Of Mine

Aloha Sprinklerinos, 

Thank you so much for all the love on my last post. It's nice to know that even though I left you for a while, you are still here. You're a good lot. 

This week I have been thinking a lot about Darcy. I think about her a lot every week but this week, the week before her 5th Birthday, I have been thinking about the bond we share and about what it means to be her Mother. 

I feel very grateful to have been given this sweet child. Any Mother is obviously biased towards her own but honestly, we suit each other. We get on. If I had to trial out being a Mother to a few different kidlings, I'd pick her, haha. 

I love a lot of things about my Darcy. I love the sound of her voice when she says, 'for real' with the most earnest eyes as she tries to impress upon me the validity of whatever she's saying, I love the silky feel of the palms of her hands when she strokes my arms as a comforter whilst she watches her programmes, I love the way she shuffles into her little seat at dinner time and I love the way she called me her 'princess queen' when I tuck her into bed at night. 

I love the way we live. We feel like a team. It's my mission as a Mummy to try and fill her days with as many golden childhood memories as possible. These early years are so precious and so fleeting that if I can find a way to inject magic into a day, I'll do it. 

We have friends over (I have a lot of Mum friends with young children now so we're never short of a playmate), we go to adventure playgrounds and ice cream parlours and tiny cafes that my Mum used to take me to. We sing in the car, we make things at home, we have a LOT of parties (our favourite is a fish finger party like THIS one) and we celebrate anything we can think of (Easter, Valentines, Spring, the weekend)!! I can sense a great love of life in her. She is a forward marcher and wants to enjoy these experiences with me. We are both positive thinkers, we both love home comforts (this kiddo would opt for a luxury hotel above camping any day- just like her Mama!), we both love to snuggle with blankets and we both love to dress up. A lot of people tell me she is a mini me and I tell you, that makes me smile so much. 

As for me as a Mother of a 4 year old, I'd say I'm fairly relaxed. I'm pretty strict on manners and bedtimes and trying hard at school work but I'm pretty lax on things like the time (picture above) she found her face paints and gave herself a 'makeover'. I want her to be free. I want her to experience childhood with the wind in her hair and glitter in her imaginations and to all the time feel safe, knowing that her Mummy is watching over and loving her. 

This little girl, this thing that messes up my house and tires me out and demands so much, makes my life so full. She allows me to love her unconditionally and feel her love back. It's blissful. 

I've had her now almost half a decade- how time flies. I hope each day goes slowly and each memory is cherished and each giggle and cuddle and sweet look is remembered because being this baby's Mama is my most favourite thing. 

Toodlepip!

xx

Playtime with Darcy

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

If you've read any of this blog before, you will know that I love me a list. Like seriously, I freaking LOVE writing a good list. 

With Spring in the air and Summer fast approaching I thought I would share a few of the things I like to do with Darcy round this time of year that I know she enjoys too. 

This is the first year we will get to enjoy our new decking in the sunshine (it was completed in Autumn last year after all the good weather had left us dagnamit) so we plan to - 

Race toy cars.

Play make believe in the wendyhouse.

Plant flowers or veggies in the flower box (that currently has only weeds and pinwheels).

Eat outside for every meal!

Try some new craft projects. 

Colouring (I want to order some adult doodle books to enjoy too).

Make good use of the trampoline.

Have friends over, big and little. 

Install a lot more outdoor lights so I can sit out at night. 

Have the paddling pool out. 

Pick flowers (if we manage to grow any!) and make posies for the neighbours. 

Hulahooping.

Sweet sweet evening cuddles in the beanbags with netflix on. Bliss. 

What makes you excited for this time of year?

Toodlepip!

xx

Our Easter Weekend and Decor

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Spring is definitely in the air and this weekend we had the double whammy of celebrating Darcy's birthday AND Easter.

I bought this little peachy/champagney dress in the Monsoon sale at Christmas. It was £50 down to £35 which I still think is a lot for a dress I know she won't get a lot of wear out of but it was just too adorable not to pick up. The white cardigan is from Primark (oh man that thing is soft), socks are from who-knows-where and the white shoes are from Clarks (and she has already scuffed them grrr). 

These photographs were taken outside our Church and all the old dears who doddered past commented on what a sweet child Darcy was and what pretty pictures we would have. Kinda warmed my heart a bit. 

We are Christians so for us it's a celebratory time but even if believing in the big JC isn't your thing, everyone loves chocolate eggs!

Our church had the children go round offering treats to us afterwards so we combined both Easter traditions!

Darcy loves her Nanny Tina. I am constantly amazed by how much love Tina pours into our family. She deserves some kind of medal. I've said it plenty of times before but I am so thankful that she came into our lives just as Darcy was born because Darcy will only know a loving family unit and won't have any idea what it was like before. 

 Oh hai, I like to pose by the gates! My Auntie had stopped to talk to one of her friends from Alpha and Darcy swung about by the wall and I couldn't resist snapping her. I REALLY should carry my big camera with me more often!

When we got home Darcy had lunch and headed straight out with her Dad so she could spend the afternoon with her paternal grandparents which I know she enjoyed- they spoil her so much, it's lovely. 

I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the Easter decor we have in our home. I don't usually bother but this year I saw so much sweet stuff that I thought it would be nice to celebrate and fun for Darcy to be involved too. 

Clearly I spent waaaayyyy to much time and money on this but it made me smile every time I saw it and lots of people commented on how lovely it was. The honeybee vase was from Asda and all the other decorations were from a garden centre near my house. The twigs are from my garden. 

Painted baubles float my boat. Egg shaped painted baubles float them even more. 

A sprinkle of glitter in our easter display. See what I did there??

Bunny love. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend too. I'm so glad to see Spring on it's way in. Winter felt very, very long. 

What did you do last weekend? Do you celebrate Easter? Do you have a different religion or culture, if so, tell us about what kind of things you celebrate round this time of year- it's interesting to hear and learn about things like that. 

Toodlepip!

xx

Baby Glitter Update

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

That tiny little birdy legged baby I carried home from hospital a few years ago is a toddling child now. This sentence is a big deal. She walks and talks and laughs and sings and imagines and these are not the things of babyhood. We have no more bottles, no more tiny romper suits, no more bumbos and playmats, no more lay-flat pram. We have a child. 

Darcy is blossoming into the most beautiful spirit and I wanted to give you an update on her. I hope that I look back on this in the future and feel glad I documented all her small ways and feel, if possible, even more love for her than I do now. 

They say children are your greatest joy and they are not wrong. The love you feel for your child is so much deeper than the love you feel for friends and spouses and one you know that if it had to, would completely over rule everything in your life. 

Darcy is a little dreamer. She prefers imagination games over structured play and loves to serve us pretend cups of tea or slices of cake. She cares for her dollies like the mumsiest little 3 year old you ever did see and talks a lot about princesses. She enjoys building beds, houses, caves and nests out of whatever us to hand (usually huge piles of blankets and pillows) and it's a joy to watch her mind tick over as she constructs them.

Jokes and humour are big on the agenda too for my little treasure. Hide and seek is always a hit, as well as physical jokes like poking your head round a door and shouting 'boo!'. Thankfully for our well documented lifestyle, the camera is loved and I'll often find her standing somewhere she thinks interesting (like next to a bin haha) saying, 'Mummy, take-a-pictoor!!'. My phone is full to the brim. 

Her Mum's stubborn streak and Dad's temper are very much there too. Eep! If little madam doesn't want to do something, she's going to let you know about it, loudly. We're hoping this is just a case of terrible twos and the threenagers and that she is a more placid 4 year old!! 

There are also of course all the usual practical 3 year old things like what food she loves (cheese, ham, pasta, fruit, ice cream) and food she struggles with (greens *sigh*), potty training (still on going) and sleep routines (usually 1 afternoon nap and a solid 11-12 hours at night), but it's the little characteristics I want to remember the most.

Watching her grow is bittersweet. I want to keep her a tiny baby forever and never want her to not like being cradled and smothered in kisses, but on the other hand I'm excited for what's round the corner and the child she is becoming. 

If you have little ones or are close to a special tiny person, let me know what you treasure most about them in the comments and we can have a smoosh-fest together. Awww.

Toodlepip! 

xx

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5 Things About Motherhood

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Today is a day for limited pep and zizz (I'm writing this a week before you see it, such is the nature of scheduling your shiz) and I thought I had nothing to offer. Until, that is, I wrote on my Facebook Page about my mojo loss and somebody asked me to write about Motherhood.

I contemplated writing a beautiful ode to my child and about how Motherhood is my defining moment of glory and how I now feel at one with the universe but then realised that would be very short lived and a load of tosh.

Instead, I thought I would take a light hearted approach and share with you 5 things that have been revealed to me since bringing that little person into the world.

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1. An Hour Is An Eternity

Back in the olden days, before I had made the miracle of life etc, an hour could tick by in an instant and I had no idea what I'd wasted my time on. Flicking through trash TV, wallowing in the bath, fiddling about with emails all seemed like hour long jobs to be luxuriated in. Fast forward to an era with a small dependant human and you find that when they give you an hours rest bite (all hail nap time), you become some kind of productivity typhoon. Dishes get done, laundry is folded, emails replied to, showers, hair, makeup ticked off the list and all whilst having a conference call with your manager. When you are deprived of so much time, it's almost incredible what you can squeeze into 60 focused minutes!

2. You Do Not Need An Alarm Clock

Remember the days when you had to use a little machine to wake you from your slumber? I don't. Now I have a much more organic alarm clock called Darcy, who promptly on the dot of 8am will shout, 'Muuuuuuummmmyyyyyy'. Previous alarm tones featured, 'waaaaahhhhh' and 'urrrr-urrrr-urrrr'. I prefer this upgrade but look forward to it installing a 'snooze' mode. So far it is basic yet effective. 

3. You Learn A New Language

I don't know about other Mama's out there but I find myself constantly moonlighting as Darcy's official translator. Her gobbledegook makes perfect sense to me. 'When ee weak oop and the tangold an miwlk an ceweal', clearly means, 'Mother, when I wake up I'd like to watch Tangled and have some milk and cereal', but combine that with her chattering at high speeds whilst jumping about makes for a lot of, 'oh she means..'. For now, I quite enjoy my role but do hope she doesn't need me forever!

4. You Can Do Anything One Handed

A classic. Need two hands to carry your baby, handbag, car keys, grocery shopping, nappy bag and push a trolley back to the trolley-bay? No. Absolutely not. You can do all of that one handed whilst balancing baby on hip and look glamorous. Ok, maybe not the last one (queue one red raw hand, sunglasses dangling perilously from the back of your head, almost being choked by your oh-so-fashionable scarf and some dribble/snot on your shoulder) but still, it can be done. 

5. You Have So Much More To Give

It's been an 18 hour day, there is food mashed into the cream carpet, the washing machine is beeping to be emptied, you're wearing your grey PJ bottoms for the fourth day in a row and you haven't had a moment to think let alone indulge in a bit of instagram or Pinterest. And then your sweet baby cries and you feel like crying with them. Instead though, you tenderly pick them up and make those soothing 'shushing' noises you can't help but do and feel a huge surge of love for the little rotter that takes up all your time, effort and money. Just when you were about to throw in the towel, you don't. You had more in you than you thought. 

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I'd be really interested if any of those rang true with you or you have experienced anything similar. Apologies to those of you who this post doesn't apply to, hopefully it still gave you a warm fuzzy!

If you'd like to see my wonderful (lol) Mothering in action, you can follow me HERE on Instagram or click HERE for a 'Day In The Life' video. 

Toodlepip!

xx

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A Millionaire's Party

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

I promise I'll stop soon and tuck my joy quietly in a box, but just for one more day I'm still celebrating. Last week my YouTube channel reached 1 million subscribers and if you think I was happy (oh man I was so happy), it was nothing compared to my family!

My Dad and Tina (stepmum) threw me a last minute party on NYE with all our relatives from both sides and a few friends too, champagne, balloons, food, cakes and candles. It really means so much to me to have such a supportive network of people that are as pleased for me as I am. I am very blessed. 

I must apologise for some of the shots being out of focus, my little sister isn't quite familiar with my new camera! 

I spotted these balloons as we drove up to the house and was overwhelmed at how much effort they'd all gone to. I thought it was going to be a glass of bubbly with the famalam but nope, a full blown party with giant inflatables instead! Yippeee!

 Woop, Dad cracked open the special bottle!

Sneaky little candid shot there. 

My little lady who thought the party was for her and delighted in having cake before dinner. 

French Fancies which I am re-naming 'Darcy's Delights' since she loves them so much. I may buy her a box especially soon and have a tea party with her. Little girls are the best!

She might not have been feeling it but I certainly was!

My Dad did a really funny speech about the number 1,000,000, Tina kindly cooked up a feast of nibbles, family travelled from a far, bubbly was drunk, kiddies played, friends laughed, it was the BEST. 

I know I'm not the first to reach this milestone and most definitely won't be the last, but to me, it was such a special moment and I am so thankful that my lovely peoples understood and celebrated with me.

So, one last time, yay a million! The end! Haha.

Have you celebrated anything special lately (for yourself or someone else)? Tell me in the comments so that we can all celebrate with you. <3 p="">

Toodlepip! 

xx

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Quiet Monday Update

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

It's been a little over 10 days but I feel like I have been absent for eons. It feels really weird to not be blogging regularly because whilst to you it is just a bit of text and an image on a screen, to me it is a constant thought process, always being aware of possible photo opportunities, thinking how my life can tie into something I might like to share or document and then all the techy stuff like editing and uploading. Blogging is a big deal.

(A little bit of recent baby love. Look at that little hand sneaking round. I love being her Mama)

I haven't been away for any terrific reasons, other than I have been focusing my energies in other directions. I thought I would hop on today, whilst the house is quiet and my brain is ticking over and update you on all the things happening around here. Therapeutic for me, informative for you. Win win. Shakes booty* with excitement.

Where do I start? Let's go in catagories. 

YouTube

This month I committed to doing Vlogmas. Vlogmas is where you upload a video (vlog) every day of Christmas, which in Vlogmas terms is the entirety of December. So far I have averaged about 1 every 3 days and I'm pretty cool with that. I just wanted to capture sweet little moments of my favourite month and I think I have done that. Videos are going up on my second channel, Sprinkle of Chatter.

I am still uploading regular weekly videos on my main channel, Sprinkle of Glitter, and am pleased to notice that I am nearly at 1 Million subscribers over there. If and when that milestone is reached, I will do a dedicated post on what it means to me. Spoiler - It will mean A LOT. If you'd like to help push me there, feel free to SUBSCRIBE. *blushes at cheeky little plug*

Social Media In General

Well, I've been a bit meeehhh with it. For the most part I love being tuned in to twitter, facebook, instagram, pinterest, bloglovin etc, but for a few days I have enjoyed stepping back and experiencing the moment. I have watched Darcy do things with my actual eyes, rather than the view finder of a camera and I have just eaten meals, rather than snap pictures for an insta. It's kind of nice just to be in life rather than constantly documenting it. That's not to say I won't tune in again, but like waves on sand, my interest in social media ebbs and flows. 

Also, at this most festive time of year, a lot of our activities centralise round friends and family who are not as keen to be on the internet as we are. 

Family

As always, Darcy is being the delight and dream of the month. I uploaded THIS video of her being a Lookbook wizz and am glad to see such positive feedback. 

She is learning to grasp the concept of Christmas and is loving all the paraphernalia that runs with it. We bought her a little nativity set as we are Christians and want her to value the birth of Jesus, but she keeps making jet ski barbie ride the lamb, so it's an unusual setup. 

Matt and I haven't spent a lot of time together recently but have made plans for all kinds of things over the next fortnight. It's funny how you can live in the same house as someone and not really speak too much. It's true when they say you have to work at a relationship. I can't wait for all our Christmas plans and to keep up with our family traditions. I've mentioned them before but with any luck I will do a separate post on them again this year. Yay. 

Personal

Still blonde, still a bit of a chub, still loving anything that sparkles. I'm adoring all the glitzy statement necklaces that are in vogue at the moment and relishing in the excuse to wear as much glitter as possible and label it 'festive'. 

I'm drooling over pinterest and wishing I had the motivation to make my house look as amazing as the ones on there. 

I picked up a couple of new dresses from the Molly range in Oasis yesterday and was pleased as punch that the size 16's fit. I'm usually an 18 and this means Oasis is a shop I don't find much in but that was a happy surprise. This past weekend excluded, I have been working on eating less junk food and fuelling myself with good things. In the new year I plan to go full steam ahead and learn much healthier eating habits. Not necessarily to loose weight, but to feel fitter, fresher and to go cray cray in more clothes shops haha. 

Last week I bought a new camera so once I drag myself out of this fug then I'll be snapping away like there's no tomorrow and you'll be wishing we were on a blog break again!

And that about sums things up. Nothing drastic, nothing wild, just my little glitter life. Ooooeeeee I do love a good catch up post! I have a few exciting things planned for 2014 so I'm looking forward to sharing those with you, but in the meantime, keep an eye on my twitter and youtube channels to keep up with everything going on and thank you from the bottom of my little pink heart for being such wonderful Sprinklerinos.

Tell me in the comments what you have been up to this last few weeks or what you have planned between now and Christmas Day!!

Toodlepip!

xx

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Florida 2013 in Photos

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

It's been a long time coming but at last, I have edited the snaps I took during our family holiday to Florida a few weeks back. Considering my passion for photography, I took surprisingly few pictures because I chose to focus primarily on experiencing each moment (and, of course I filmed it too haha) so this is just a glimpse into all the fun. 

I would quite happily book another holiday and spend every minute taking pictures of every little detail the whole place was so amazing. I can absolutely see why families spend thousands of pounds every year to go.

Warning - not all the pictures are in order. Sorry!

This is my favourite picture from the entire batch so of course, this had to go first. Watching Darcy enjoy the day time parade was my absolute highlight of the trip. Seeing her face delight in all the familiar characters and watching her tiny hands wave and point in glee was just one of those moments that as a parent you treasure for always. She still talks about seeing 'Sinnerwella' and I still smile. 

Despite a decade age gap, me and my little sister (or Lister as I like to call her) are just as much friends as sisters and I love being on holiday with her. I hope we carry on doing things like this in years to come. This is us waiting for I think the ET ride, which Lister hated. She can watch the most scary films but put ET on and she's outta there!

Oh hai there that man I married. How charming you look in glasses.  

Darcy meeting Curious George and thinking he was the coolest thing ever. She went straight over and was happy to sit on his lap (with dolly and blankie too of course). 

Tina (Dad's partner) and Ben (Tina's son and so my step-brother) having a moment with George.  

I have no idea who this was meant to be but she was so sweet to Darcy (no pun intended) and totally rocked pink hair.  

After a day in Universal Studios (highlights including Darcy meeting Dora the Explorer, Matt enjoying the Transformers ride and me eating my weight in popcorn *drools*) we meandered out of the park and to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. If you ever have the opportunity to go, do. I'm not really a music person (I like it on the in the car and such but I couldn't tell you anything about who does what etc) but I thought the atmosphere was really good and the service was excellent. Also, I'm told it's a Christian British company- who knew? Not me!

What I love most about the above is the lady in pink living it up there. Haha. 

Be still my beating heart, it's Disney. Main street is MAGICAL.  

My little bug watching the Good Morning parade thingymajiggy.  

I could have spent all day just looking at things in main street. Every tiny detail was beautifully done and cared for. More time please! 

Matt took this from across the road as we watched Mickey and a few other characters come down on floats. Oh, and the random native american guy there. You might have noticed Darcy's costume change too. We forked out the $64 (whhaatt?!?!) to buy her the most beautiful Ariel dress and honestly, her reaction when we put it on her in the shop was worth $6400. She was THRILLED and pointed it out to us ALL DAY. What made it even more special was that all the disney cast members greeted her as 'Ariel' as we went round the park and really made Darcy feel amazing.  

Mosiac inside Cinderella's castle. Again, something to spend more time admiring in the future.  

I love this shot of Darcy, my Dad and Tina. She is a very well loved child.  

This is Hollie our new(ish) step-sister. Her and Tiyana are so close in age and get on perfectly so they were often in their own little world of searching out free wifi (seriously, they're obsessed) and going on rides.  

In America they have these cereal/snack bar things called 'Cliff Bars'. Next time I'm out there I'm stocking up because she bloomin' well loved them and they were the perfect treat to tide her over between main meals. Also, we told her they were biscuits so she thought she was getting lucky. Mwahaha.  

'The Kids' (who aren't really all kids) waiting for the parade. We guarded that scrap of pavement like crazies.  

Gargh I wanna squish all 4 of those sweet faces! 

Yeah, I know, super close up. I wanted to crop out all the other random people and I couldn't leave this picture out because LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THEY BOTH ARE. That is all.  

Darcy's most special moment. Cinderella looked right at us and waved. Darcy squealed. I die.  

 My most specials. 

Splash Mountain was shut and so the rest of our group went off to go on something else (I forget what). Top tip for you though, if you walk past the entrance to the ride, under the bridge there is a little kiddie play area in the shade which is a welcome break for tots who have been in the sun all day and a great place for parents to sit down and take a breather. Right round the corner (by the loos, benches and drinking fountains), there were Jesse and Woody meeting guests. It was well tucked away so the queue was small and it was a great way to spend an easy 30 minutes before we joined up with everyone. 

 I'd heard that if you shout, 'Andy's coming!' then the Toy Story characters drop to the ground and play dead. Not true anymore. They had to stop that for health and safety and the line is, 'they know Andy is at collage now so it isn't an issue anymore'. 

Waiting for the evening parade and fireworks display.  

Amazing. I took over 100 photos but didn't want to throw them all on here but seriously, it was the best fireworks and lights display I've ever seen. Darcy was enthralled, happy and ready for home. 

Being the science geeks we are, Nasa Kennedy Space Centre was our next day out. If you are into things like this, I'd really recommend making the drive and going out there. You can take a bus tour all round Cape Canaveral and drive right up to (and get out to photograph) the real launch pads, buildings the space craft are assembled in and listen to talks from retired astronauts.  

It's not a day for rides and popcorn but it's so interesting and I think it's important to know about the developments we are making in space exploration and to appreciate the work that NASA does. Also, the centre is a lot less busy than the theme parks so if you need a bit of chilled time, this is the place to go. It was one of my best days. 

This part is where I should be showing you pictures of our day at Seaworld. I recently put a snap up on Instagram of Darcy looking at a polar bear and the comments section went wild with debate over whether Seaworld is ethical. I have since done a little bit of research and have decided not to feature any Seaworld pictures and will not be returning to the park. I am glad they seek to provide a message of education and promote ways to protect the oceans but feel deeply sad for the way the whales were captured in the 80's and don't think it's right to keep wild animals in tanks. We don't visit zoos for this same reason. I'm not sorry I went there because if I hadn't have gone I wouldn't have had an opinion but I don't think I will be returning. 

Anyway, serious part done, Islands of Adventure!! 

Matt and is ultimate hero.  

Honeydukes in Hogwarts.  

A rare find- healthy food in a theme park. If you are travelling with littles and you want them to eat healthily (Darcy doesn't have pizza, burgers, chips etc which is mostly what was on the menu) then pack plenty of snacks/sandwiches and keep your eyes peeled for the fruit stands. The fruit we bought was fresh and cold and lovely.  

We on the other hand didn't eat so healthily. Churro after being soaked on a water ride anyone? 

Darcy feeling very daring in a flying fish.  

And then on a flying pink elephant.  

My little photographer back at the hotel. 

And then it was a few last shops (sweets are essential you know) and back to the airport.  

Darcy found a unique place to hang out whilst we waited to board, haha.

And that's that!

I want to write a whole post on Travelling with Toddlers in the New Year (December is fully booked with Vlogmas- eeep!) and of course there will be the Florida vlogs but for now, those are a selection of our snaps.

Ermigerhd that was the BEST holiday ever. I've been to America with my family many times over the years but due to the nature of my turbulent childhood family life, it was always with different mother figures or siblings and there were always rows or disagreements or horrible feelings. Living in a 'blended family' (I LOVE that term) can be really challenging and pose a lot of problems (as I have well experienced) but at last, after twenty years, I think our family is happy and peaceful and as it should be. I couldn't be more thankful for Tina, Ben and Hollie, especially as they arrived just as Darcy did and so Darcy will only ever know the good times and will never have tasted the bad. Long may it continue!!

I'd love to know your experiences of holidaying in large groups or with families, or with littles like Darcy! Tell me in the comments!

Toodlepip!

xx

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