19 Months!

The boy turned 19 months on Friday. All I can say is that he's a tantruming, naughty, cheeky, pushing his damn luck little 19 month old... But man, I love him!

Stuff he loves

1. Drawing on the walls
2. Sleeping horizontally in mummy and daddy's bed
3. Lots of hugs and sloppy kisses
4. Trying to put his shoes on
5. Not eating his lunch OR dinner and instead smooshing it in his hands!
6. Giving a cheeky smile when he's being told not to do something...
7. ... Continuing to do what he's being told not to!!
8. Dancing, dancing, dancing - he's a dancing machine
9. Running up and down the hallway
10. saying 'I love you mama' (or his version of it) *my heart bursts!

I love you more than anything bubba. Keep growing strong.

Mummy. Xxx

New style alert! - Leopard & Roses

Our new Leopard Print Bows have just gone live! Check them out here as well as our Rosette Clips shown below.

Leopard Bows. Available in 5 colours; Baby Pink, Hot Pink, Cream, Purple and Blue Leopard.

For every budding fashionista out there.
A super cute leopard print bow. Handmade from high quality leopard print grosgrain ribbon.
Measures at just under 3 inches wide (approx). Perfect for trendy toddlers.

Available in five colours.

Rosette Clip. Available in 22 different colours; White, Ivory, Latte, Lemon, Yellow, Tango(orange), Salmon, Pink, Candy, Red, Burgundy, Blackcurrant, Liberty, Lilac, Sky(blue), Cornflower, Sapphire, Royal, Navy, Forest, Chocolate and Grey.

A beautiful rose. Handmade from high quality Berisford grosgrain ribbon. Finished with spring green Berisford grosgrain leaves and lined alligator clip at back.
Approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter (not including leaves and clip)

Available in 22 different colours.

We will be back with more new designs soon.

Mwah. xx

Very Bad Blogger :(

I'm ashamed by the amount of time I've been away from the blogging world *hangs head in shame.
I have come to a realisation though. As much as I would love to be able to write a new post everyday, I just don't have the time. At the moment I can hardly keep up with my emails and tweets, so blogging doesn't even come into my mind.
In the past I have felt really guilty about not keeping up to date but I have now come to the realisation that with everything I have going on at the moment, this blog is just going to have to take a back seat.

Nooooo! I hear you cry (well maybe not, but let me dream a little) don't be alarmed, I will continue to write. I have set myself a target of one post a week, any more than that even better, but I no longer want to stress about it and let's be honest I don't think there has ever been a consistent stream of posts since I started. Lol!

So anyway, A flash update on goings on

1. The weather has been crap! (but you knew that already didn't you)
2. I celebrated a birthday and therefore am now one year older
3. E is now 18 months, had his first haircut and I think I can now say he is definitely getting into the 'terrible twos' - can anybody say tantrum? He also has 8 teeth coming through (four pre molars - which are pretty much all out now - and four canines)
4. There have been lots of goings on with napmit and there will be some new designs on the site soon - post on this soon.
5. We have just come back from the BEST holiday in Spain ever! Lot's of sun, food, family and naked babies!
6. The Olympics are starting soon! (of course you know that too) We were lucky enough to get some tickets to go to the rehearsal of the opening ceremony and will be attending this wednesday. We also have some Olympic inspired bows available - post to come.

Well I think that's it - I said it was a quick round-up!

Speak soon. xx

Jubilations!!

So this weekend our queen would have been in rule for 60 years. God save the queen and all that Jazz.

I'm not complaining. I like the fact that we have a monarchy, well I more so like the fact that the rest of the world like the fact that we have a monarchy. Kinda makes us seem rather civilised, don't cha fink!? ;)
I'm also not complaining that we have a very long weekend and an excuse to celebrate. I, myself have no plans to do anything extra-ordinary. Just watching films, eating food and lounging around.

The festivities have sort-of inspired me. These are a few things I have been working on.

Best of British gift box. Includes Satin Ribbon Toddler Hairband, Jubilee Pin Wheel clip, British Rosette Barrette, Vintage Union Jack Boutique Toddler Bow, Tuxedo Toddler Bow in Royal Blue and Baby Boutique Bow in Ivory.

All of these new designs will be on the site soon but if you would like a gift box, please get in touch by emailing info@napmit.com.

Enjoy the fun this weekend, I know I will!!

xx

The sun has got his hat on...

Hip-hip-hip hooray!

These are belated celebrations of course because as I write this the scene outside is rather grim. 

I know I am forever saying it but I have been SO busy! Hence the reason why I haven't had any new blog post for like a millennia.

I have to confess though that my workload hasn't been the sole reason I went AWOL. The wonderful weather has meant that any spare time I had was taken up by trips to the park, restaurant living and lot's of general outdoor fun.

Here's a round-up of our summer adventures.

Summer snoozing; feet in the grass; Munchkin shades; Dirt; Following the leader (Ettien); A munchkin face!

E's a winter baby and used to really struggle in the sun but since turning into a toddler he loves being outside. Of course we have the usual cheeky behaviour of running away in the park and refusing to hold our hands on the road but apart from that he has been pure bliss.

Sun come back, we miss you already! :(

In other news my munchkin E turned 17 months last weekend. 

Stuff he loves

1. Dancing, dancing and more dancing!

2. Still pointing to everything and saying 'What's that?' - although he can answer his own question now.

3. Naming the animals and making their noises.

4. Singing the wheels on the bus, wind the bobbin up and twinkle, twinkle little star.

5. Custard creams biscuits.

6. Playing on iPhone's and iPads.

7. Kisses!

8. Eating all of mummy's breakfast, lunch & dinner.

9. Running around outside.

10. Night time cuddles.

He's growing up SO fast! He's so much fun and is my favourite person to be around. I love him so much!!

We are LIVE!!

Okay this isn't the first launch date for the website but I've decided it will be the first OFFICIAL launch date.

So here we are... WE'RE LIVE! Yippee, Hurray, Whoo Hoo...

It's been a lot of hard work and quite a few hiccups, but finally I can say that my website is up and running and working, hopefully.

Luxury Baby & Toddler bows by napmit. 
Classically beautiful, yet modern and stylish.

Please go and check it out, you never know, you might see something you like!

I'm currently looking for spokes'people', so if you fancy getting a free baby/toddler bow (or two) drop me an email. You don't have to do anything, if you like the bows, just tell all your friends!

The Natural History Museum

Wow it's been a long time since I blogged! So much so in fact that for a minute I actually couldn't remember how to create a new post. Shocking!!

My dizziness is still with me but I've been prescribed some medication which helps, but doesn't get rid of it entirely. I'm trying to get on with things (obviously I HAVE to go to work) cos I can't lie on the sofa all day, everyday - well I could but I might get sore :) and I don't think munchkin E will let me.

So what's been happening I hear you cry.

Well, On the first weekend where we actually got to see the sun we decided to take munchkin E to the Natural History Museum.
side note* - i'm going to be calling Ettien munchkin E as Ettien sounds too formal today and well, he is a munchkin and his name begins with the letter E! Ha! 

It wasn't really very warm even though it was sunny, so it seemed like a good idea to go somewhere that would be fun but also indoors.
Munchkin E LOVED it! When we walked in, the first thing he said was 'Ooooow'(which is how he says wow) and according to him every animal was a dog and they all say 'woof, woof' :)

A dog. This dog says Raaaaaaaa!!

another dog

I think this one is actually a dog. Might have been a wolf, wolves are dogs...right?

yep, you guessed it, a dog :)

Hippo says 'woo woo' (woof woof)

talking to Elephant's on the phone. D'you think there are pachyderm iPhones? (terrible!)

We had a really great day and I think E did too as he refused to hold our hands and wanted to run around everywhere!

Next on our list this summer are The London Aquarium, Science Museum and London Zoo. Look out cos little Munchkin E's coming for ya!

xx

Dizzy

I had some good posts scheduled to put up today.
Unfortunately though I was diagnosed with having Labyrinthitis yesterday - an deep inner ear infection - one of the main symptoms being severe Vertigo. So to limit the room spinning, or feeling like I'm going to throw up, I'm giving the computer a rest for a while and concentrating on getting better (I say that but don't be surprised if i'm back here tomorrow!)

Anyway, I'll leave some images of recent things...

Packaged bows my website has a few bugs that are being fixed as we speak but I'm happy to take any email orders or send samples.
The baby bows come in packs of two. Feel free to choose two different colours. You can see all available colours on the website here and here.

I have been working on making roses (modelled by E again. Lol!). I'm still finalising the design but they should be on the site soon.

Hope you have better bank holiday weekends than I'm due to have :(

xx

Tales from the tube

I promised this would be a weekly post didn't I?
Unfortunately though, the tube has been pretty uneventful lately.
The only things I've seen recently are a middle aged couple having a full one make-out session on the northern line and a lady falling flat on her face at embankment station - neither of which I could really take a picture of. What a weirdo I'd be!

Anyway I came across this on my way home the other day.

really?

I'm sorry but isn't this a bit of an oxymoron?? I mean, doesn't having your bike on the tube kinda defeat the object of HAVING A BIKE?? So, by this guys philosophy could I drive my car on to the tube? At least with having your car on the tube you might say that there was far too much traffic and you had a very important engagement to attend. But the bike?, there are bike lanes! Come on man!!

Saying all of that though, his (what looks like) clay encrusted trousers did kind of intrigue me. What does this guy do for a living?
My mind wanders into the areas of undertakers and grave digging.
I'll leave it at that!...

Cold front

Engineers have been doing maintenance on the heating here for the last few days. It hasn't been too bad because the weather has been rainy but not too cold and we've made use of portable and fan heaters when needed.
Today though, when Ettien and I went to have breakfast I noticed that the vents were blowing cold air! As you can imagine the whole place was freezing cold within an hour!! To stop Ettien from getting a chill (his nose is already running) and allow him to have a full nap I moved his cot into the hallway.

I could hear him laughing and talking to himself when he woke up and when I went to get him he was full of smiles and giggles.

I remember being small (obviously not as small as he is) and being thrilled when I could roll around on a bed my mum had moved out from its normal place so that she could change the sheets. It felt like a mini adventure.
Kids are sad! :)

16 Months!!

Alongside his teething problems, my little man has turned 16 months today.

I'm telling you he has never been so much fun! This is definitely the best stage he has been at yet - admittedly I've said that about every stage, as and when they have happened.
He's such a joker and he has started to do these naughty/cheeky little things that have me busting a gut trying not to laugh whilst asserting my authority and trying to discipline him :)

His speech is coming on leaps and bounds. It seems like everyday he's saying something new or saying words clearer than he had been before.
He has started to call after his dad when he leaves the room and when he wants something from him (no, 'mummy' calling yet though. Hmpf!). His little voice melts my heart!

So here he is, that boy of mine, at 16 months.

Stuff he loves

1. 'Tighter, tighter' hugs (he clenches his bum instead of squeezing tighter. So funny!)

2. Constantly saying 'Who's that!' and pointing to inanimate objects.

3.  Eating mummy's breakfast after he's just finished his own.

4. Kissing mummy to wake her up (lovely!)

5. Sitting on mummy's tummy to wake her up (not so lovely!) 

6. Pouring EVERY bit of his drink onto a surface and then spreading it around with his fingers.

7. Pinching mummy - he laughs hysterically when I squeal.

8. Bath time.

9. Cuddles with mummy when he's going to sleep.

10. Dancing & singing 'The Wheels on the Bus'.

It feels like I did his 15 month post a day ago. Go easy father time!

Love you more and more everyday Mr!

Keep growing,

Mummy. Xx 

An update

I haven't been around lately have I?
Even worse than that is the fact that I can't even remember the last post I did *jaw drops!


So here's a round up...

A LOT, has been going on.
Craziness at work that isn't even worth mentioning and a problem with the site which has had me pretty agitated for most of the week.

I have so much going on at the moment, my brain feels pretty scrambled - expect a ton of waffling and spelling and grammar mistakes in this post. Apologies.
The biggest thing to happen this week, and the biggest reason for my fried brain is that Ettien is teething. He has been waking up a few times a night for the past week, crying screaming, and when he is actually asleep he's so restless that he's tossed and rolled right off of the bed! (no Ettiens were hurt in the making of this post)

the culprits!

miserable

more misery. 

We've had many tears and tantrums and he's not really eating his food - which means those teeth REALLY must be bothering him!
He's also continued his 'waking up at the crack of dawn' routine. It really doesn't work for me to have him wake up at 6/6.15am when I have to get up at 6.30 :(

The other morning when I came out of the shower I noticed he was no longer in the bed (he's taken to being in our bed as its the only way we can get him to sleep for longer than an hour and anyway I love having him cradled in my arms!)
I walked into the living room to find this;

I guess, like mummy, he had a lot of work to do that couldn't wait!

Everything and nothing

Have you ever had one of those days where you have everything to do, but nothing gets done? Well, that was me on Friday. I had a million things to do, but managed to do none of them!

I had even used Thursday to prepare things that I thought might help me to get things done as I knew Ettien would try his best to make it difficult for me - my son's 'difficult' times always seem to coincidentally coincide with me trying to do something important. In this case, a presentation to do for work, a report, a whole bunch of bow making and other stuff for napmit.com and a thousand bits of housework which are not worth going into any details about - I figured that I'd have at least four solid chunks of time where I could cram some stuff in, his morning nap, lunchtime, dinner time, then of course after he'd gone to bed. I made him some mini quiches and a vegetable lasagne on the Thursday in hopes that he'd sit nicely feeding himself them for lunch while I worked away.

broccoli and tuna & sweetcorn quiches and vegetable lasagne

Of course when Friday came Ettien decided he wanted to spend the whole morning sitting on my lap, annoyingly pressing the keys on my laptop each and EVERY time I made a feeble attempt to type anything. And when nap time came, a usually 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap was only 20 minutes!! Grrrr.
Lunchtime was a total disaster, he'd eat neither the quiches (deciding he'd make crumble mix with them instead) or the Lasagne (which he just spat out).

I decided I'd give up for the day when he started throwing the portable heater around the room (don't worry it wasn't on, and yes it was very entertaining watching him) and lay down inside the shelf of the TV stand. He ended up falling asleep in my arms and I took the opportunity not to do some work but to have a cheeky snooze myself.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! (and oh how good it felt)

Xx

Easter

What a fantastic long weekend we had! The weather was a let down but I think we've been spoilt by the unusually sunny and warm days we've been experiencing lately so I really shouldn't complain.

new shirt & easter lipstick | A teething Ettien | Mummy's easter card from the baby | Yummy Easter cupcakes! | trying to get a picture of his outfit | zonked! (look at those lashes)

Ettien ate far, far, faaar too much chocolate! I was trying to play the responsible mother and limit how much chocolate he was having, but every time I turned around he was being given more by somebody different! Sigh* I
n the end I just gave in and prepared myself for the consequences. I figured by the evening he'd be either a) bouncing off of the walls from sugar rush or b) screaming with stomach ache. To my pleasant surprise neither happened and the only problems we experienced that night were down to his lower lateral incisors coming through (I sound smart don't I!)

As well as chocolate we were lucky enough to be given the cutest (see above picture) - and most delicious - Easter cupcakes from Dream cupcakes. Check out their website they have some amazing flavours and the sweetest names. The 'Oscar Oreo' cupcake is my FAVOURITE.

Another highlight from the weekend was having the opportunity to dress up. I decided I'd wear a new graphic floral shirt I bought from work and dusted off my MAC 'girl about town' pink lipstick. My look didn't hold up for long of course (having a baby means that smudged lipstick and bogey, food and drool stained shirts are common occurrences) but it wasn't through lack of trying.

Our Easter was filled with Family, Friends and FUN. Just the way we like it.

Hope you had a nice Easter too. x

London Stinks!

Is it just me or does this city really pong!?

When I say 'is it me' I mean, am I the only one that thinks that?, but to be honest I'm starting to wonder about the other meaning too. I feel like everywhere I go I smell something horrible. So maybe it is me??...Nah!
It's definitely London, don't get me wrong, I love this place. I'm was born and bred here, but man London ya' do reek sometimes.



A random pic of my shoes. They are nice though! :)

  I left work yesterday marching furiously blissfully skipping home and as soon as I stepped into the tube station I was greeted with the smell of old dirty feet. Yuck. I foolishly had hope that once I was on the train it would go, which either it did or it remained but had been completely overpowered by the overwhelming smell of body odour! My second train journey was even worse. I had to endure the 15 minute (a long time in the world of bad smells) journey home trying really hard not to gag at the smell of stale deodorant and garbage mixed with a woman eating what can only be described as 'cat pee' flavoured snack'a'jacks. (*note to snack'a'jacks. please, please, please discountinue the cat pee flavour of your crisps or atleast add a disclaimer to the packet advising people not to eat them on public transport)

I ended up fleeing as soon as the train arrived at my station - imitating Violet from Charlie and the chocolate factory after she chewed the experimental gum that turned her into a big blueberry - cheeks puffed out and bright red from lack of oxygen I fumbled through the crowds and out the station to the wonderful smell of fresh air...hold on...wait a minute...fresh air? Think again, more like the wonderful aroma of sick and stagnant beer!

London I luv ya' but ya do 'alf reek sometimes!!! (pinches nose with thumb and forefinger)

*it's quite fitting that this week a colleague at work sent me a link to a really great blog shitlondon.co.uk. Go check it out, it's very funny! 

15 Months!!

 My little man turned 15 months this week! Wow time flies.

Stuff he loves

1. Kissing mummy to wake her up in the mornings.

2. Sitting in paint at nursery instead of using it to for painting.

3. Singing twinkle, twinkle little star.

4. Eating!

5. Body slamming mummy to wake her up (unimpressed)

6. Stealing spoons from the cutlery draw and then losing them (we have to buy spoons almost every month)

7. Eating!! (yes, worth mentioning again)

8. Screaming.

9. Special Agent Oso (I'm a bad mother who let's her child watch TV! Gasp*covers mouth w/ hand*) 

10. Turning lights on & off.

Love you Munchkin Face.

Mwahh!!

Last week

I've been MIA for a while. The weather has been so nice here and we've been out enjoying it, couple that with having to go to work and I just haven't had the time to post anything new.

So what's been happening in the world of Napmit? Well, lots of days in the park with the boy and enjoying the sun. On Saturday we went to my mum's and hung out in the garden with my little brother.

 Ettien had a great time playing. He wasn't feeling very well AGAIN (when they say it's a nursery curse they're not joking!) but he soon perked up when he realised how much fun eating grass and throwing sticks can be.

Sunday was another chill day for us all. And then the dreaded Monday morning came again and I was back at work. It wasn't all bad though, the days have been so nice that it actually feels good to get out of the house in the mornings.
Everyday after work we let Ettien run around in the park. He's not yet very fond of the slide and detests the swings so he just runs around with his hands waving in the air screaming. Funny boy.

And in other news...
My business cards arrived this week. I was so nervous about them not being very good (I did all the artwork myself on photoshop) and when they arrived I wasn't initially that thrilled with the results, but after fiddling around with different packaging methods I'm really very pleased and proud of the outcome.
I'm so excited to start sending them out!!

Business cards and swing tags.

So, so, soooo pleased with how these turned out. Eek!

Speak soon,

napmit. x

Mother's Day

It was Mother's Day on Sunday. After having a crappy saturday having to stay in due to an upset stomach I was really looking forward to going to spend the day with my mum.

Ettien's card he made at nursery. A flower made of his hand prints. My boy's so clever! ;)

I really can not believe that I am a mother too now.

I woke up in the morning to a lovely surprise...

please excuse the mess on the table. Bow making and toddler feeding get very messy sometimes!

Orchids are my favorite flowers ever!! It's a shame i've managed to kill every one i've ever had. (Too much light, not enough light, too much water, not enough water...I mean gheez!, Sooo temperamental!!! Lol)

Then we were off to visit my lovely mother and spend the day with her and my little brother.

I bought my mum and auntie boxes of chocolate and a beautiful lavender bush for my mum's garden along with cards 'to mum' and 'to grandma'. We sat around chatting, eating food and watching crap on telly. Absolute bliss! Love my mummy SO much!

Happy Mother's Day!

New colours Part II

Remember those new colours I received recently?

Here they are in all their looped glory.

Toddler Boutique Bows; Black, Dusky Pink, Sage, Ivory, Lemon & Royal. 

We also have two new Toddler Tuxedo colours; Chocolate and Navy which aren't quite ready yet.

Hope you like. x

Sick and the city :(

What a beautiful day we had today in London. After the months of doom and gloom and miserable weather we've finally started to get snippets of spring setting in. Today was a whopping 20 degrees! Okay, not exactly a scorcher but for March?, little blessings eh!

Unfortunately Ettien has ANOTHER cold! I swear, he's had a cold (what seems like) every week since he started nursery and that was in Jan!!! We usually get away with him having a 'chronic' runny nose but yesterday evening I noticed his cheeks were flushed and he was being rather irritable so I suspected he was coming down with something. What is it about kids getting sick at nursery?? I was warned by the nursery nurses when Ettien started that it was likely that he'd keep catching colds. They called it the 'nursery curse' but come on, what is it?. I wonder sometimes whether it's one sickly child infecting all the rest or whether they just keep infecting eachother. I know it will help him to build up his immune system but, Poor Boy!

Anyway, because the weather was so nice today we thought we'd chance it and take the boy for a brief session in the park. Of course, he was totally not up to it and I felt bad watching his poor little eyes and nose running so we only stayed out for 20 mins.

Here's our day,

A rough night :(

...but a better morning :)

Poor baby!

Tower Bridge.

'please take me home'

 He's nicely tucked up in bed now. Hopefully he'll be a little better in the morning, I'm anticipating a bad night though. Fingers crossed. x

Mummy Fridays!

Today is Mummy Friday, Whoo! Well actually its Wednesday but seeing as its my last day of the working week, 'round ours we call it 'Mummy Friday'.

Man, won't this day end!!

I'm sat here at my desk literally counting the minutes until this day ends and I can go home to give my little boy a big cuddle. They say 'time flys when your having fun'. True. But time acts like a snail on downers when your not having fun. How can a 9 hour day feel like it takes 30 hours to end!?

Anyway (exhale)... its Mummy Friday *smile*.

Tails from the tube.

I was thinking that this could be a good segment to have on the blog every week.
I take the tube to and from work Mon to Weds - two tubes in fact and the things I see whilst I'm travelling. 'oh, the things I've seen!'...

I HAD to blog about this picture I took this afternoon. As soon as I saw it I almost laughed out loud. Come On, you know what I was thinking...do you wanna say it or should I?
Is that a banana in your pocket or... Hahahahaha!
But come on though. The guy that's in this picture must have known what people would think! I bet he put it in his pocket as he left work thinking this will get some laughs. I bet he got home and told his wife that he had a banana sticking out of his pocket on the tube ride home. I bet it even made her chuckle.
A massive thank you to the banana man on the tube, you made my evening!