I am absolutely delighted to be able to share with you that Water Babies Midshires are my sponsor for Britmums this year.

It is no secret that we LOVE Water Babies and the skills they have taught not only the little one but us too, so it seems a natural fit for an event where I am going to learn more skills that Water Babies would be my sponsor.

Britmums is a 2 day event that is designed to unite, develop and engage a community of bloggers from all walks of life ..... it is not just about Mums but many do bring babes in arms. Older children are not allowed at the event, as much from a safety perspective (than allowing mums to have time to learn and socialise) but again safety is top priority for Water Babies so it is the perfect partner.

Water Babies say:

Our Water Babies are precious so we take every aspect of their safety very seriously. When it comes to child protection, all the Water Babies teachers are DBS-checked and they are fully insured, making sure they do everything they can to make sure everyone is safe at all times — in, under and out of the water. All of their teachers are qualified life-savers and they’re all trained to carry out infant resuscitation.

Water Babies are huge supporters of National Safety Week and I am thrilled to part of the Water Babies family.

If you see me at Britmums, please come and say hello ...... and feel free to ask me anything about baby swimming!

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Mighty Moments! We have lots of them, whether it is learning to walk or talk, to the smaller things of mastering a word or drawing a smily face so when I saw the competition with Tots100 to celebrate Plum Baby's Mighty Moments Challenge, I knew that the toddler and I wanted to get involved.

The Challenge : To create a superhero with healthy powers.

So, I decided to try and explain what a superhero "might" look like (admitedly I never took art at school). Unfortunately the 2 year old was not so keen on my drawing :

So I asked her what she would like to draw and she talked of strong teeth and sleep.

So her healthy superhero family sleep in the day time (to get their energy of course)

They come out at night time to look after everyone while they sleep. (hence the moon and owl stickers)

They have super strong teeth! She really tried to draw teeth here and we all know that strong teeth and bones come from a healthy diet!

They all have magic wands (what 2 year old girl doesn't think everything can be fixed with a magic wand).

The Snappy Happy Superhero Family have been born ..... they never bite off a challenge that they can't chew!

This picture is our entry into the Tots100/Plum Baby Mighty Moments challenge but we have had a magic moment creating the Snappy Happy Superhero Family.

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I was 9 years old.

I was sat on the floor with the rest of my class having an eye test at school.

It was my turn.

The optician or nurse or whoever it was (I was 9, I wasn't really paying attention) asked me to read the bottom line.

I couldn't.

She asked me to read the next line up.

I couldn't.

She asked me to start from the top and work my way down (cue sniggers from the rest of my class).

My parents were called and told to make an immediate appointment at the opticians where I was told that I shouldn't be left to cross the road alone as my eyesight was so bad.

20 something (ahem) years ago, the glasses choices were as bad as my eyesight.

I spent many years resembling a younger version of Deirdre Barlow. Here is a snapshot of my teenage years. (My other half can't quite believe I am sharing this publicly).

Thankfully when I was old enough to pay for my own glasses, my choices were much more on trend!

That didn't mean I wasn't subject to years of taunts of "four eyes" "penfold" and "speccy". It certainly meant I saw certain people differently. 

So when my 9 year old asked for glasses, my heart sank a little bit. Was she struggling? Was she getting headaches? She insisted that she needed them so I took her to the opticians for a check up.

As it happens, her eyesight was perfectly fine. She just thought it was cool to wear glasses. How times have changed?

I have lived with my glasses for 25 years and whilst I may joke that I am "blind as a bat", I am lucky enough to be able to go to the optician and get glasses that suit me (well in recent years anyway). My glasses mean that I can see the expressions on my girls faces, I can see to type this blog post and I can see to cross the road. That is not the case for lots of people across the world. 

80 per cent of all blindness could be prevented or cured. That’s over 31 million people, most of whom live in the poorest countries in the world who go blind unnecessarily. And with poverty being both a cause and effect of blindness, a cycle is created that can be hard for communities to break out of.

SightSavers can break this cycle with straightforward operations costing £8-£28 or annual doses of antibiotics costing 7p-35p per person. 

If you’re moved to give someone their sight please visit www.sightsavers.org.uk/donate.

Thank you for reading (and hopefully not laughing too much at my photo!!)

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I *may* have mentioned that we are getting married this year, so honeymoon destinations are currently on my radar.

When I say radar, I *may* actually mean that I am becoming a honeymoon obsessed crazy person .... but shhhh that is strictly between us. 

I have always dreamt of Italy, for me it is the perfect honeymoon destination. There is no disputing that Italy is considered as one of the most romantic places in the world. It has picturesque landscapes, it is seeped history and art, and I am reliably informed that the food and wine is divine, which makes me just want to get lost in the warmth and passion of Italy’s culture. 

Am I rambling? Yes I am rambling ...... I just got lost in the daydream again.

I may have also got a little lost in Pinterest too after seeing this fabulous competition on Love Chic Living with Cunard 

I hope this Pinterest board epitomises the romance and honest beauty of Tuscany in Italy and if we do or don't decide on this as our destination ...... maybe I will just decorate our new marital bedroom with Tuscany inspiration.

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