Author: Oana

Blog Your Heart Out!

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I have been tagged and challenged by the lovely Sophie at Franglaise Mummy to blog my heart out. I need to basically answer five questions that will allow other mummy bloggers to get to know me a bit better. Then I will tag five other mummies and challenge them to reveal a bit about themselves too. I love the challenge in light of the decision I made last week to write a bit more about myself, not only about reflux and sibling issues we are facing at the moment, since they are temporary and will go away sooner or later. So, here goes: Who/What encouraged you to start blogging? I started blogging in 2012, when we moved home. It was a very confusing time in my life, we had just lost our home, moved into rental accommodation and away from familiar surroundings and people. I found myself stranded and lonely and decided to pour my heart out into this blog, as a means to release my pent-up emotions. How did you choose what topics to blog …

Sterimar Congestion Relief – Review

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Spring usually brings longer and warmer days, tree blossoms but, unfortunately, for our family, it usually means stuffed noses and sniffles…This spring has been no different, with hubby constantly exhausting the tissue box supply and Emma bringing in all sorts of nasties from playgroup. Even as I write this, she is down with an ear infection, bless her! You can imagine anything that can bring relief  to the situation is highly welcomed, so my excitement was justified when we were offered the chance to review the Sterimar products. I got really excited knowing that of all the congestion relief products available on the market at the moment, Sterimar would do no harm to either my baby nor to my ever-so-health-conscious hubby since it is 100% natural sea water, hence the name! Hubby was actually over the moon when he realised what Sterimar Congestion Relief was as it reminded him of his home country, Greece and the sea dipping Greek people do when they have a cold, since they believe the salty water clears mucus naturally …

Remember Who You Are – Coffee For Your Heart

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This post is a response to the prompt given by Holley Gerth this week. And boy, can I relate to it! The last nine weeks have been a HUGE emotional roller coaster, with the blessing of a new baby being replaced by the terror of baby reflux and then the settling into the realisation that this too, no matter how tough it is, shall pass… And yes, just like in the prompt, I do struggle to dissociate myself from the circumstances. Yes, indeed, I am the mother of a second reflux baby, I have PND, once again and  I did need mum’s help, just like last time… BUT, in the same time, I am myself, Oana, a person who loves reading and blogging, who is passionate about social causes, who likes pizza and going out for a good cup of coffee and a strawberry and white chocolate bun. I make mistakes, just like anyone, but have learned to live with the consequences. I would love to make this blog do even better and am in …

Hotel Chocolat: Easter Range Review

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So we got very lucky and we were approached by Hotel Chocolat with the request to review some of their Easter range products, to the delight of my Emma, who is an absolute chocolate addict! If you have lived somewhere in isolation and don’t know much about Hotel Chocolat, let me give you a brief introduction: it is a small enterprise that started 20 years ago out of passion for quality and ethics. Their chocolate is home-grown, so to say, by small producers in Saint-Lucia and Ghana. The business has slowly but steadily expanded to comprise its own unique plantation hotel and restaurant and has reached the States from 2011. Their motto is: “less sugar, more cocoa” which reassures me, as the mother of an avid consumer of chocolate 🙂 The Easter range has great options for every taste and budget. I was seriously tempted by their Easter Pick Me Up Gift Bag as it offers a selection of 6 White Praline Bunnies, 6 Salted Caramel Egglets, 4 Raspberry Zinger Egglets. For a lover of …

Word of the week: Upheaval

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I have been praising my older one for being so accepting and understanding of the baby situation. But I suppose everything and everyone has a limit and she reached her acceptance and tolerance level this week. It didn’t happen all of a sudden. The tell-tale signs had been there: clinginess when going somewhere; unexplained tears and moods. But at the beginning of the week they took a turn for the worse with her waking up at 5.30 on Monday and telling us she didn’t want to go either to playgroup nor to the childminder. On Tuesday it all culminated with floods of tears on the way to the nursery and her telling me: “I want to hide, mummy…so you can’t find me…and send me to the childminder…but you can find me so easily…”. My heart broke. Right there. I knew I had to amend this situation. So I called the childminder and explained. Then we took time, just for the two of us, on Tuesday after playgroup. She wanted McDonald’s for a treat. And a …