This Peter Pan outfit from the Disney Store is gorgeous! I remember my brother having a make shift outfit as the film wasn't popular enough when he was little to have merchandise. He would kill for Max to have this (and I would to as it seems like it's so beautifully made!) This Mike outfit is really similar to Max's Kermit one. this means it's great for little kids tow hip off if they get hot and also pop to the toilet so you inevitably don't have to deal with accidents. I also love the way that it's the character but the child can also wear something that is more comfortable underneath as some kid's don't like the feel of costume lining.

Hello folks, Fri-Dad has come around I hope your week has been a fun one. I'm unfortunately not here right now, I'm in London at a screenwriters festival where I'll be talking, drinking, pitching, drinking, networking, having a scene of my script performed...and drinking.

This weeks topic is failure...but wait, isn't Fri-Dad supposed to be an uplifting post every week before the weekend?
It is, but let me elaborate. 

Parents young and old, together or separated and even just single parents all have a duty, take care of you children.
All of us live and die by different morals, have our own beliefs and live different lifestyles. It's highly unlikely that we will all follow the same path in parenthood. One thing that irks me about parenting is that it can be universally rounded. There are books about parenting, child minding and how to control your kids.

Every parent learns very quickly that their child isn't the angel they always assumed they'd raise and that it is a ton harder than imagined. Children can misbehave and you're in charge of how they live their lives...for so long anyway. We all come from these different social, cultural backgrounds and all perceive life in different ways. I am going to make a great assumption that we all didn't have the exact same birth plan, feeding regime, bedtime routine, diet, exercise and discipline system. We all do it differently, yet there are people that choose to scorn and single out families that don't go by the book or think differently about routines. 

What bothers me about this is, those judging aren't necessarily right. Because the one thing I learned about parenting from a good friend that I'd like to share with you all. He said to me "there's one thing you need to remember about parenting. You can do it or you can do it really, really wrong. There is no correct way to be a parent". And he's right.

Books and family and friends and carers and doctors and anybody can suggest things, but it doesn't necessarily work for everyone. Why? Because you know your child better than others what works, what doesn't, what you have tried and what you haven't. Don't be thought of as wrong because you do it differently, just know you do it differently.

The requirement that must really remain in any form of parenting is that you nurture and love your children and raise them to hold the morals you feel are important.
As long as you are doing that much, no book in the world can correct you. No person pointing the finger is better, because you both are doing the same thing, loving and raising your children in the way you feel is right.

So in conclusion of what feels more of a rant than a post: books, people, television shows, blogs and all sorts can say what they want about parenting. You can take advice if you need it and avoid it if you disagree, you can even disagree with what I'm saying right now. The most important thing is you're doing what you feel is right for your children because you love them. They will know that you love them and why you made the choices you made. All I'm saying is don't be the person that knocks another for their parenting, it's not necessarily wrong because there really is no right.
You're all doing a splendid job I'm sure and when you see that smile in their beautiful faces, you know that you've done something right...you've shown them the love they need.

As always, thanks for reading and have yourself a great weekend.

• Primary Colours Multi Fun Bead Toy - This was one of Max's favourite types of toys up until recently. It really helps define his fine motor skills but was also great with teaching colours and shapes whilst giving them a puzzle to solve.
• Neat Nursery Baby Box - I wish that we had invested in something like this. We found ourselves going through so many plastic tubs, wicker baskets and other various storage devices when really this was all we needed to keep things neat and tidy. I'm also a bit of a organisation freak. If there's a compartment to use I will use it.
• FuzziBunz Cloth Nappies - Thinking about the amount that we had spent on disposable nappies makes me cry when I think we could have invested in some cloth nappies for a fraction of the price. These nappies are great as they grow with the child so you won't need to buy any more (unless you see that cute Gruffalo one!).
• Lumilove Hippo Night Light - We invested in a night light as we have recently found Max has been waking with night terrors and thinking there are monsters in his room. A night light has helped reassure him that the monsters are locked in the cupboard in Monstropolis and also helped guide him to bed those times he's rolled out.
• Oxo Tot Feeding Set - This is still one of our favourite cutlery and feeding sets. Max still uses his to this day and I think it was invaluable for him learning to scoop with a spoon and stab with a fork. The curved training ring of the plate helps guide the food onto the utensil whilst the utensil is curved to catch it all. Less mess and tonnes of style.
• Dry Like Me Potty Book - Having just successfully potty trained Max in the day all I can say is a book is so important to help reassure you that things are going okay and also guide you if you think things are going slightly wrong.
• Chillipeeps Teats - How I wish these were around when Max was using bottles! These screw onto any screw top to turn it into a bottle. So no need to fret about bringing six bottles of water for everyone, now you can share with this awesome device.
• Cosatto Ooba Travel System - Cosatto are consistently pulling these amazing designs out of the bag. Not only is this wonderful pushchair practical it also looks gorgeous and unisex meaning it can be passed onto any future children you may have... (only me dreaming of another?)
• Gro Company Bundle - We love Gro in our household. Back in our last flat we weren't allowed to add blinds so used the travel blind in this pack to help Max sleep better. Also the gro egg just looks so cool and innovative you will want it on display all the time!
• Trunki - We LOVE our Trunki. We use it every trip, whether that be to nanny and grandads for the weekend or to Butlins on our ambassadors trip. This suitcase is not only cute, but also stores so many things and is perfect for the little kids that just want to have fun when checking in is just way too boring!. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to the I Love My Post blog hop where we invite you to link up your favourite post of the week, to show it off and hopefully receive some love from the others partaking in the hop!

If you are yet to participate in a hop they are really simple to get the hang of all you need to do is 'hop' around, hopefully finding some new great reads!

The Rules are simple! Have Fun, click around find some new blogs to read and share the I Love My Post LOVE! And if you fancy being a co-host with us! Give Sarah an Email: sarah@lifeinabreakdown.com

Your Host’s this week are: Sarah from Life in a Break Down Bex from Futures and our lovely co-hosts are: Mellissa from Dairy of a Jewellery Addict Laura from Max and Mummy Donah from Sweet Jelly Bean

I would love it if you would tweet, share on facebook or place our button on your blog, the more sharing we can get happening the bigger this hop can become!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href=" http://www.lifeinabreakdown.com/tag/i-love-my-post/" title="Life in a Break Down"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img268/1971/ilovemypostnew.jpg" alt="Life in a Break Down" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

This week's Featured Blog is: The Ruffled Stitch If you have been featured grab our button!

<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.lifeinabreakdown.com/tag/i-love-my-post/" title="I Love my Post"><img src="http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/6545/featuredb.jpg" alt="I Love my Post" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

If you fancy being next week’s featured blogger make sure you follow all the rules give you hosts and co-hosts a follow and Sarah could be calling on you next week to come and feature with us.

It's Fri-Dad again folks, fuel for the weekend or the cherry on top of the week. This week is something I want to propose a toast to as parents.

There is a wonderful side to parenting that truly goes unnoticed. It resides as something stored from your youth and it is the wisdom you possess to make being both a mum or a dad so wonderful. You may not notice it, but I bet your kids do. It's the ability to be creative, no matter what the situation is.

When you were child, you yourself have memories of games you played, thoughts you had and things you learnt that made situations and tasks fun. It could be wet weather games, indoor games, travel games, ways to eat vegetables, reasons to do the menial tasks you do without that creative edge.

Now you're an adult, that side of life is a little distant from you now, especially since you're a mum or a dad. There's no time for creativity or fun, you have a responsibility to raise another human being. Anything beyond the norm is considered incorrect. Right? WRONG! Here are a few examples as to why:

This is where that creative youth and wisdom combine for you to flourish as a fun and inventive parent. If it's raining outside and Welles are scarce, no big deal. You have the frame of mind to pick a new game or activity time after time to keep your children active. It can be educational and valuable, it can simply be exercise to lead up to that nap they have so you can crack on with work.

Parents can be creative at dinner time whether it's presenting the food to look like their child's favourite character, sneaking veg into meals, making food playful...it's endless. You know how your child thinks and you have thought of a way to make dinner an easier process. Same with brushing teeth, getting dressed, bedtime, bath time and trips to the doctors.

I remember very strongly how much I wanted to be like Scott Tracey from Thunderbirds as a kid. My mum never really had much money, but she did have a few pens, some paper, the logos and she knew I had all blue clothes. Some magic Christmas morning I was astounded to find my mum had made my very own Scott Tracey outfit. It was the best gift ever. Of course it broke and it was sad, but I soon learned how clever it was of mum to make something that simply wouldn't of been the same bought.


Before this explanation leads on into next Fri-Dad, which it could give yourself a second to think of what you do to be a little creative to make your children smile. You don't notice it at first, but it's time to accept there are brilliant ways you can improvise around a problem and find an exciting and ingenious solution.

So I'd like to ask all you fantastic mothers and fathers to raise the drink you are holding (that's for you don't just raise a sippy cup or a boob) as I'd like to say cheers and congratulations as I close Fri-Dad for the week. Parents are what mould the minds of our future and prove what a fantastic group of people we are (even if we think we aren't creative).

To parenthood! Have a great weekend!

• Turning the tap off while you are washing dishes, brushing your teeth and doing your daily routine. Do you really need the water running when you are scrubbing away at those wonderful teeth of yours? Of course you need to use it to rinse but by turning it off when you don't need it running allows you to save up to 36 litres of water a day. Also by taking short showers or if you can, turning it off when you are using your shampoo etc will save litres of water a year! We have a timer that we use to let us know how long we have been in the shower/how long we have been brushing our teeth etc. 

• Use a water calculator to see how much money you could save making simple changes. Having a visual way of seeing where your water (and money) is going means that you can see what you can do to change. Even if you see you can save a few litres here and there it will all help at the end of the day.

• When using a dishwasher or washing dishes scrape all the food off the plates as if there are still bits left on the plates you will use more water trying to get rid of them. If you don't have a dishwasher, then use a bowl and wash the lightly soiled stuff before the heavily soiled dishes so that you aren't constantly using new water. 

• Only use your washing machine when it is full. Using it with only half the linen in there still uses the same amount of water. So it makes logical sense to wash your clothes when the machine is full. If you have lots of coloured items then it's worth putting a colour catcher in there to catch any of the leaked dyes. Add a scoop of stain remover too with your washing powder or liquid so it cleans those stains at the same time. 

I wanted to share with you some of the best new releases coming out for children of all ages. Whilst we all have our favourite timeless classic, a new book is something of wonder and adventure. There are so many amazing ones being released that for once the Gruffalo can be put away for at least a while!