Our holidays at my parents' weekendhouse in the Czech Republic!

When I was little I used to spend every weekend, every public holiday and most of my summer holidays there. I used to love it, because the weekend house is surrounded by beautif ul meadows, forests, and fields. There is also a beautiful reservoir just a 10 minute walk down the hill. We used to go swimming there, the water was so clean. Unfortunately you can't swim there theese days as some kind of algae are present in the water and it is not safe. Shame, hopefully the municipal council will do something about it. I would love to take my darling Isabelle for a swim in the reservoir.

What do I love about this place? There are so many things. First of all, I love it as all my family gather here when we come for our holiday from Uk. Isabelle loves spending time with my parents, her cousins, uncles, aunties and all our friends who come to visit us there as well.

During all these years my parents have changed the place so much. They grow so many different vegetables, fruit trees and you can definitely see they love doing all this. I love gardening, but mostly growing flowers, maybe i will grow vegetable one day too.

Another memory from my childhood is about going mushroom picking. That's what many Czech people do in summer. There are so many different types of wild mushrooms, but after years of doing it, you jut know which ones to pick. The smell of fresh mushrooms is amazing and the taste? If you like mushrooms, wild mushrooms are 1000x tastier!

Don't forget to come back to find out what we are doing on our Czech holidays!

Personalised apron from Thecleverbaggers!

Just before going on our holiday I was given a personalised apron for a review. Isabelle was so happy when she saw one of her baby pictures on it and it fits her so well. The aprons come in different colours, are made of poly cotton and the size is 35 x 45cm. I think it can be a great gift for your little chef!


For more information or to check out other products, visit www.thecleverbaggers.co.uk

The Gallery - Nature!

Do you like my little butterfly?

This week's gallery theme is NATURE. I have to admit I love taking pictures of plants and flowers, and have always been interested in botany. When I studied biology at grammar school, I knew so much about so many of the plants, learnt the Latin names, structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development. I always had an excellent mark from this subject. Then I decided to study to become a language teacher. Don't ask me what I remember from my botanical studies now...

Digitalis purpurea

Rosa

Carduus crispus

Can you help me with the rest of the latin names?

Please don't forget to check out the rest of the gallery posts!

Fitness Tuesday - Week 1!

I am so excited about our Fitness Tuesday. I have been thinking about it for quite a while, but I can't believe we are actually doing it. I believe it's great we are doing it together, that should be a real drive for us all.

So what exercises have you done in the last week?

I suggest doing the following exercises every day until next Tuesday. It will not take you long, you don't have to do them all at once. If you feel comfortable doing more, do it, if you feel you might need to do less, don't worry, do less this week and do more the week after. I am not a fitness instructor, I am here to encourage you to do some exercises to get fitter and hope you will be there for me too.

I suggest doing the following for the next week:

• 25 sit ups (towards both knees)
• 25 sit ups (touching your left knee)
  
• 25 sit ups (touching your right knee)
• 10 push ups
• skipping for 30 seconds (roughly 1 turn per second)

If you haven't got a skipping rope, please invest in one. Skipping is really a great way to improve your fitness.

So what do you think? If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please let me know.

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday afternoon and add a link to your comment on how it went and please visit as many of the others' posts as you can. We are here to help each other. Can't wait to see all your comments ;)

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So far so good. . . at two become four! Not going so well at MummyMishaps

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My Review of Willvin Swedish Changing Bag

I cannot wait to share my review of this very stylish changing bag with you. Say goodbye to cheap, bulky and unfashionable changing bags! I was approached by Willvin, a Swedish company designing changing bags, to check out any of their bags. I was so excited as from checking the website I saw so many I liked. At the end I asked for a WILLVIN Magnificent Leatherette in beige colour as I had't seen many changing bags in that colour and I love beige!

When it arrived it was all nicely wrapped and I couldn't wait to explore all the features it has. It has a few pockets inside and a special compartment underneath, which I think is a great idea. You can store some nappies and wipes in there or things you need to find quickly without going through all your stuff in the changing bag. It also comes with a changing mat, a nylon nappy/clothes bag, zip bag and a matching bottle holder.

The changing bag is made of artificial leather, which makes it much lighter than real leather. Some of you might think that beige is not very practical colour, but I can assure you, it's very easy to clean. Isabelle touched it after eating some chocolate and I had no problems cleaning it just using some wet wipes. It also comes in brown, if you are not a big fan of beige.


I will be soon blogging about how to get your hands on one of these great changing bags for free! Don't forget to come back to find out how to enter my latest giveway.

The Gallery - A Novel Idea!

Photo 1


Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

This week's gallery has been the toughest one for me. I read many English novels when studying English literature at university many years ago, but as most pictures I take are of Isabelle, I couldn't associate any of them with any of the novels I have read. Then I thought, this would be the first week I would opt out from the gallery. And I can tell you, I would really hate doing that. But then I remembered I also have many pictures from travelling around the world and the idea was born.

I loved this novel when I was a little girl, a teenager and I still love it. Can you guess? It's Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. What do you think, would one of these be a good photo for the book cover? Which one would you pick?

Don't forget to check out the rest of the gallery entries!

Fitness Tuesday!

I have had this little Twitter chat to Karin from @Cafebebe and Maria from @verybusymama this morning about post pregnancy fitness in the UK. I have been thinking about this topic for a while as I managed to shed 20 kilos (44lbs) after having Isabelle. It took me a little while, nothing like the celeb mums, whom it takes sometimes just 3 months ... 3months??? Maybe if you have your personal trainer, childcare, your own chef and focus only on you and your body. But who wants to do that? Also as I was breastfeeding for almost a year, I had to eat properly, and the myth that breastfeeding helps losing weight....I don't think so!

So here is what I thought of doing. From my personal experience it is important to do some kind of exercise every day if you are serious about losing some weight and being fit. Also it is very important to make little changes to your diet. I still eat chocolate and cakes, but I have them in the morning, so the body has plenty of time to use the extra energy. But the golden rule for me has always been, not to eat big meals in the evenings! Before having Isabelle I was very strict and didn't eat anything after 6pm. These days I have to admit, I am not so strict and if I feel hungry in the evening, I have something little, but always check how many calories are in it, and have no more than 200Cal. Drink plenty of water, I mean PLENTY, and when you feel hungry, have a drink of water! Drink before your meal, during your meal and after your meal. Eat a lot of fruit and green vegetables!

But back to the exercise bit. If you are reading this post, you are a mummy and you know that even if you want to do some exercise, it's not always possible as you have the little one/ones to care for. But what works well for me is to do it at home. Everyone can do a few sit ups a day, skip in the back garden, do some push ups or use a hula hoop. Do 20 a day of each for a week and you will see how much better you will feel the week after. If you can't do it one day or forget, don't give up! Do it the next day! Then come back every Tuesday afternoon and add your link to comment on how it went. Every week add a few more of each exercises, let's say 10 ( but do only as many as you feel comfortable with, don't kill yourself!), and one day we will be talking in minutes!

I was also thinking that doing it together at the same time (unfortunately not at one place) would be very encouraging for many mums, so I would always remind you on Twitter (@Kahanka) about the exercises and we could have a chat about it on Twitter too. This should also be great for sharing your tips on how to get back into shape, so please, feel free to comment and add your tips. Looking forward to have fun exercising together!

As this is the first time I am mentioning our "Fitness Tuesday",
I would like to find out who is in and what you think about it? If you are interested I could also add some exercise plan for each week every Tuesday. So who is in?

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Maria @ verybusymama All Baby Advice @ Kahanka Rebecca @ twobecomefour Mummys Shoes Titchy Talk Cafe Bebe Emma aka b4kersgirl @ Mummy Musings

Mummy Mishaps aka Jenny Paulin no more excuses and 1 more means four. . . and 1 more Monogrammed Tote Bags Photo Throw Blankets Snaffles Mummy Im in This linky list is now closed.

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Goulash with Traditional Czech Bread Dumplings!

I have to admit I don't cook as often as I would like to, but when I do, I really enjoy it. As you might know, I am Czech and have to admit that I don't cook Czech cuisine very often. Czech meals are quite heavy and not that easy to make, but from time to time I make them.

Last Sunday morning I decided it had been a very long time since the last time I had cooked goulash ( beef stew). I know my husband loves it, so when he took Isabelle swimming, I had plenty of time to prepare this delicious meal.

It's quite easy to make, the difficult part is making the traditional Czech bread dumplings. I have to admit I can't make them without my mum's help. Luckily they can be frozen and we ALWAYS have some in the freezer. As I will not be describing how to make these this time, I would suggest to use boiled potatoes (in skin) instead or just with fresh rye bread.

Ingredients (4 portions):
500g diced beef
500g peeled and finely chopped onion
1 clove of garlic
1-1.5 litres of boiling water
salt
pepper
2 tbs ground sweet paprika or smoked paprika
1 slice of bread torn into little pieces
oil
new potatoes

First brown the chopped onions and garlic, then add the diced meat and cover to simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. It's important to have as much onion as much meat to make really tasty sauce. Then add all the spices (salt, pepper, sweet or smoked paprika). When the meat is softer, add the boiling water and leave to simmer for another 30-50 minutes until the meat is tender. At the end add the pieces of bread and mix well to thicken the sauce. It should be served hot with boiled potatoes or fresh rye bread.

As we say in Czech: "Dobrou chut!" "Enjoy your meal!"

Testing Graco Nautilus - Part 2!

This is the second part of testing the new Graco Nautilus car seat. From the video, which was taken by me (using one hand!) and also by Isabelle, you can see the installation of the car seat was very easy and took literally just a few minutes. Don't forget to read the instructions properly before, and you will see for yourself.

I love the part when Isabelle took over and was recording all by herself and commenting at the same time. I was asking her what she thought about the car seat and if you listen properly, you can get the answer in our video clip.

I think this can be a brilliant car seat not only for parents, as you can be using it from 9 months till 12 years of age, but also for grandparents. This would mean just one investment rather than buying a new car seat every time your grandchild needs a new car seat. Also, it could be used for all your grandchildren of different ages!

For more information go to the official Graco website. I can only say: "what a brilliant product ", and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Fluke Kids reviewed on All Baby Advice!

Just before going on our holiday to Crete, I was sent the most adorable girls striped playsuit and ruffle neck cardigan from Flukekids.co.uk for a review. I can't tell you how exciting the opening of the parcel was. I saw the items on the website before reviewing it and couldn't wait to see my Isabelle wearing the outfit.

I was very impressed by the packaging, and also loved the printed dollies on the wrapping paper, ( I saved it for Isabelle so that she can cut them out and colour them in), a very clever idea.
Both products look gorgeous, of very high quality, the fabrics are so soft, both samples fit her so well. She absolutely loves the cardigan, as it is pink and wants to wear it all the time now, and there is always someone making great comments on it. Just have a look at the pictures, isn't it just gorgeous? I would love one for myself!

By the way, they have a sale on and both items are HALF PRICE now!

What is going on?

Last few days, I should say nights, have been very exhausting for me. Isabelle has never had any problems with going to bed, never protested or moaned she didn't want to go to bed. That has changed recently. We used to read her one story and then off to bed, a good night kiss and a good night song (very important!!!). Last few weeks we had to read two stories and even after that she complains she wants more...

That is not the only thing that has changed. Isabelle has started waking up at night, not once, not twice.... On Monday night it was 8 times. I ended sleeping in her bed at 5am. Can you imagine what I looked like in the morning? I am not used to this and am really worried as I cannot calm her down. She would cry and cry and cry, would not want me to cuddle her, but would not let me go away either. What to do?

I've tried talking to her, asking her if she had a bad dream... she just doesn't answer. I had a few responses from other mums on twitter, suggesting she is realising she is dreaming now or maybe having nightmares, maybe she is just scared of darkness. As she doesn't say, I have tried putting another night light in her bedroom, by the way a very bright blue light... cannot imagine sleeping in her bedroom with this light on, but she loves it. She has asked me to leave her bedroom door open.... which we never did before, but if that helps....

What do you think? Any suggestions? How do you deal with your child being scared of darkness and having nightmares?

My Review of the Kurtis Baby Peace!

When I was contacted to review a Kurtis Baby Peace, I was spoiled for choice. It took me ages to decide which one I liked the best. At the end I suggested a few and was sent a grey one with the tiger design. One of my friends helped me with testing it, as it is mostly suitable for babies to help them to settle and go to sleep in their buggies or car seats.

It is a very clever Swedish product, which means you will not need to cover your buggy with a muslin square or blanket, but you can use this stylish curtain. It has 3 plastic ring attachments, which can also be attached to a car seat and two tie strings on the side. It can be used to provide more warmth for your baby or protect them from sun.

It is made from 100% organic soft Jersey cotton and is machine washable. I think it's a great product and looks cool. Just check out the prints and all the colours it comes in!

And if you are still reading now, I have a little giveaway on my blog, that has been sponsored by Kurtis Baby Peace. You can win one of the curtains of your choice!

The Gallery - Can you see what it is?

This week's theme has been the toughest one for me. Also, I have left it till the last minute and today I was exhausted after getting up for Isabelle 8 times last night... being scared of darkness and bad dreams have entered our lives!

But can you guess what it is?

And the correct answer is GLASSES :)

I bet you would love to test one of these!

This is the first time I will be testing and reviewing a car seat and am very excited about it. I came across a Graco competition on Twitter and was chosen as one of the lucky 25 parents to be testing the New Graco Nautilus car seat.

Before I decided to test it, I found out it was suitable for the age groups 1-2-3, which means for children from 9 months to 12 years old. And I thought wow, that would be great, as we would soon need another car seat for Isabelle and this one could be the last one ever needed.

I sent in my application and got the response quite quickly. The car seat arrived in a huge box last Saturday. At that time I was just hoping that putting all the parts together would be easy enough for me to do, as I didn't want to ask my husband to do it. It's me and Isabelle testing only. Check out the result on my video recorded with my new Flip!

Part one: Graco Nautilus Car Seat Has Arrived!

Features we liked and many parents will appreciate:

• Cup holder
• Little storage space inside one of the arm rests
• Two copies of very clear instructions to follow and a plastic pocket underneath the car seat where you can store one copy
• Very easy to assemble
• Reclining postion

Don't forget to come back and find out about
the next stage of testing!

Why do I blog?

I started this blog in March 2009 as I thought it could promote my All Baby Advice website, which I created from scratch. I had to learn the html code and master the Joomla software. I can tell you, I almost experienced a nervous brake down when I created the website and then spilled a drink on my laptop...everything was gone...Would you believe it? It took me a few days to start again. From then I remember to back up all my work... This sounds like the situation with Carrie from The Sex and The City.... not so funny when you experience it in real life! Then I had everything ready, but couldn't put the website online... After two weeks I found a web hosting company and they helped me with that.

I spent 6 months creating it. It wasn't easy, but I really enjoyed it. My mum was living with us at that time and helping me with tiny Isabelle, 6 months old at that time. Can you imagine coming to a foreign country, not knowing the language and leaving your husband, my father, behind to spend a few months with your daughter and granddaughter? I love my mum and thank her so much for doing so. I think my parents are the best parents in the whole world and only wish I will be such a great parent to my darling Isabelle.

Then somebody told me about blogging. So I started this blog and thought it would bring a lot of traffic to my website. That didn't happen. And do you know why? I think the main reason was that blogging was not very important to me at that time, I just used it to introduce new voucher codes, introduce new products and it was all very impersonal. Then something happened. Thanks to Twitter I came across a few mummy bloggers and started reading their posts and really enjoyed it. That's when I realised that was what I wanted to do too. Share my live with other mummy bloggers. It has been only a few months since I have been blogging "with my heart", but I have to say I am really enjoying it.

Last Saturday I went to Cybermummy and met some of you, mummy bloggers, and it was very emotional for me. I was so excited about it, I felt sick before going, but will never forget my first meeting up with the mummy bloggers and tweeps. Now I feel I am a real mummy blogger and cannot imagine being without it.

John Lewis Christmas Preview!

I was of the lucky mummy bloggers to be invited to the John Lewis Christmas preview. Originally I thought I would not be taking Isabelle with me, but then I decided to bring her along and I am glad I did as there were so many activities for her to do (face painting, decorating Christmas cards, decorating cupcakes )

It was very easy for us to get to the venue, it took us about 40 minutes by tube. When we got there, the first thing me and Isabelle both spotted were tiny bubbles flying around, reminding us of snow on a very hot July morning. At the reception we were greeted by lovely Tim and all mummies were given a Flip each, which Isabelle grabbed straight away and was showed how to use it. Here is the first video, recorded by Isabelle.

Then we were cruising around in groups and admiring all the stuff John Lewis has to offer this Christmas (fashion, homeware, toys, gifts, children’s clothes). I can tell you, I love summer, but after seeing so many great things they will be offering this Christmas, I am very excited about it now and it's only July! Just check out my videos and am sure you will agree.

Another great thing about this event was that I managed to talk to some other mummy bloggers I met at Cybermummy last Saturday and also some I didn't get a chance to talk to at the conference. Isabelle loved it very much and didn't want to leave the children's bit with all the exciting new toys, and also showed her musical talent. Just check out the video.

At the end all the mummy bloggers and also their children were given a goodie bag each with some fabulous gifts. I just hope John Lewis will be organising more events like this for mummy bloggers as I believe we all had a great time.

Trying to be creative with Isabelle!

Monday is usually the day when I go to the gym in the morning and see our friends in the afternoon. As it has been very hot lately, I have stopped going to most of my fitness classes (except spinning class and running). That means I have to think of what to do with Isabelle in the mornings I used to go, as she was playing at the leisure centre creche while I was doing exercises.

Isabelle is very creative and loves painting, drawing, playing with play dough and sand. I used to be like her when I was little (according to my mum), but now I am a mummy and hate mess. It is a bit unfair, but I am very happy she goes to the local nursery two days a week as they do all the messy stuff plus baking, which she also loves. But this Monday morning I was in a very good mood after a great weekend (Cybermummy conference and meeting my friends on Sunday), so I decided we could do some finger painting. Isabelle was delighted and agreed we would do it outside as it was such a nice day.

Everything went well, according to my plan, until I had to leave for a few minutes. It took her two minutes to cover her legs and arms in paint. When I saw her.... I really had to hold my breath and control myself not to scream.... that would be my normal reaction. I didn't which was a surprise to her as well. I started to laugh and we both laughed together. I put her straight in the shower (which she didn't like) and washed all the paint off.

To be honest, I have really tried, but will probably not do any finger painting with her for a while...

In The Night Garden Live!

If your children love this show, I have some great news for you. This is the first time that you will be able to see the iconic In the Night Garden and meet its much loved characters Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and friends in a live event. The characters will be brought to life with full-size costumes, enchanting music, magical puppets and spectacular panoramic projections, creating an immersive theatrical experience to make audiences feel they are actually entering the magical world of In the Night Garden.

• Sefton Park, Liverpool (17 July – 1 August)
• Meridian Gardens at The O2, London (14 August – 30 August)
• Glasgow Green, Glasgow (11 September – 26 September)
• Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham (9 October – 24 October)

The show domes will have all the facilities of a regular theatre (in the smaller dome) – including box office, toilets and catering points – but these will be uniquely family-friendly with buggy parks, baby-changing areas and microwaves to heat up baby food. The auditorium (in the larger dome) will have just 500 seats, providing excellent sight-lines and proximity to the stage for all audience members. Families will have the choice of two shows, each with a different story, during the run, with up to five performances a day to suit every family’s schedule and a highly competitive ticket-pricing scheme from £5 - £20.

For more information or to book tickets go to www.nightgardenlive.com

Isabelle's favourite character

This can happen to anyone!

About two months ago, our neighbour's house was on fire. It's as simple as that. It was around 10.30 pm and my husband was having a bath in our family bathroom upstairs. I was tiding up some Isabelle's toys downstairs, when he called me to come and have a look. I am not a really nosy person, but I went.

When I got upstairs, he just pointed to the light coming from our study. We didn't know the next door house was on fire until I had a good look out of our window in the study. I couldn't believe it. A few seconds later I realised there was a fire engine there already and in a bit I saw so much smoke coming from there I couldn't see their house anymore. I was panicking a bit, as I was scared the fire could spread onto our shed and house. After a while I could not see any more flames and soon the smoke disappeared as well. I just hope they had any home and contents insurance.

I didn't sleep well that night and kept on waking up and checking on Isabelle. Thanks to this experience I realised how easy it is to lose your house or have it badly damaged. I also check the batteries in our smoke alarm much more often than before, it's definitely not worth risking it!

The Gallery - Holidays!

This week's theme for Sticky Fingers' gallery is "Holidays". Could there be a better theme at this time of the year? I don't think so.

I am sure that we all love holidays, who wouldn't! When we lived in Australia, we were spoiled for choice when deciding where to spend our holidays. Australia is a huge continent with so many different places to visit. Not only it has the most beautiful white sandy beaches in the world, but you can also go skiing and diving. It's true, it's not like skiing in the Alps, but the most important is you can go and enjoy skiing in a long sleeved t-shirt!

Also going on holidays before having Isabelle was completely different. I can't say I don't enjoy family holidays better, it's just different. I have to admit I still love going on short holidays just with my husband. Please, don't hate me for that!

Me skiing in the Austrian Alps

Cyprus family holiday

Cook Islands - Raratonga

Cook Islands - Me collecting coconuts

Great Barrier Reef

Whitsunday Islands - Us diving & snorkeling

Whitsunday Islands - A boat trip

Isabelle's footprint - Crete holiday

Crete holiday

Skiing in the Czech Republic