35/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...


Esme was born on her great grandmother's 90th birthday, and this year they turned 8 and 98. The cake was decorated by the GraceFaith girls, and is the art project that we have most enjoyed this week in August 2016.

34/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

Princess Peppa's Carriage - A toy review

We stop to watch her if we catch her on TV. We've seen her on stage (cue the Bong Bing Boo song), and we would give anything to head back to her theme park once again... so just what is it about the pink phenomenon that is Peppa Pig? 

33/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

BONDING WITH YOUR BABY

BONDING WITH YOUR BABY

Sometimes in life, things just don’t go as planned. But when your firstborn suddenly ends up in special care… well no one plans for that. Here, writer Emma Oliver remembers bonding with her baby and speaks to a baby wellness and childcare expert...

32/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

Fia designs (has designs) on a mobile



Esme designs (has designs) on a pair of shoes

The Olympics (then and now)

On the day that Rio held its 2016 opening ceremony, we are excited. In our house we love the Olympics. We love the chance to enjoy the world's greatest sporting extravaganza, and to settle back together in awe of the 10,500 athletes from 206 teams competing in sixteen days of world class sport.

FRAMED - This time four years ago

SISTERS

Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories - A book review

With featured artists including European greats like Michelangelo and Rembrandt, as well as global art visionaries such as Katsushika Hokusai and Frida Kahlo...

DETAILS:

Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories

Author: Michael Bird

Illustrated by: Kate Evans

For: children aged 9+

Published: August 2016 by Laurence King

Available from: All good bookshops 

Priced: £19.95

ISBN: 978-1-78067-614-2

31/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER…

…and the holidays are happening. Here’s how to keep the children engaged on your trip away (and consequently, how to keep the whole family happy).

Want to make the most of your family holiday and enjoy the chance of all being together? Planning not pressure is key. From travelling with tots to finding a break that will suit all the family, the holidays ought to be fun for everyone. Follow this helpful guide to make your break away, the best it can be…

30/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

Fia's first and last day at pre-school

From this...

To this...

i-spy ON A CAR JOURNEY - Book review

Wanting something to keep the children occupied that doesn't involve a screen? These timeless classics have been around for sixty years and two weeks ago were newly released by Collins.

29/52 The GraceFaith year long project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

Toilet musings of a 4YO (Warning, not for the faint hearted)

S: Mummy, my poo looks like a giraffe.
E: (Rushes to see) Oh my gosh, it really does.
S: Esme, take a photo.
E: (Uses my phone) Look Mummy...

My guilty pleasure

E: Mummy, we haven't had music for ages.
M: I know, but as Daddy got the stereo down from the loft yesterday, tonight after school we can dance to S CLUB 7!
E: Okay. I meant music at school.

28/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

Intrinsic Toffel Sandal by ECCO - a review

DETAILS

Available online: ECCO website

Price: £45

Colours: Black, White, Coral Blush, Fuchsia, Fanfare and Cobalt.

Material: Nubuck leather with salt water resistant properties.

It's always a bit of a gamble when you set off to work wearing a brand new pair of shoes isn't it? But that's what I did. Because you see that morning, I woke to blue skies and sunshine and a pair of newly delivered Ecco sandals sat winking at me. And as the colour complimented my top perfectly, what else was I supposed to do? Wearing them up to the big smoke and back for review purposes, seemed a logical move. Even if it was a four-hour door to door round trip.

Induction day at infant school

It's an odd thing. But today our little ones began an adventure that will take them all the way to adulthood. I've been wondering how it would go for a while now, imagining Fia would take it in her stride, stepping up through the doorway into school; the year 'R' entrance where they are so carefully welcomed in.

Accompanying her into the room that will be her home each and every week day come September, I watch as she looks about her class, settling down on the floor amid the bricks. Here she will be nurtured and taught all the exciting stuff that lay ahead. You know, life. This is where it all begins.

A quick kiss and a promise to return soon and I wipe back the tear that has caught me off guard. But you know, it seems only yesterday that I was doing this with Esme.

Parents are gathering and many as excited and eager as the children they've moments before walked away from. Not many anxious faces, lots of familiar ones. A tea or coffee sipping group stood snatching glimpses of those they recognise but don't yet know. It's so much easier for our children isn't it? Just down from where we are in the hall, they're getting on with it. Thrown together to learn, to play, to begin anew. School life.