family-road-trip-travel-tips
family, Parenting, Real Moms Who Travel, Travel

Top 10 Things To Pack For A Family Road Trip | #RealMomsWhoTravel

momoftwolittlegirls

As the first post for our #RealMomsWho travel series, Jean from Mommy Explores and I wanted to share with you some top tips to ensure you have an awesome family road trip with kids!

My husband and I have done quite a few long distance road trips with our kids. Actually, before we were parents, but now that I’m a mom I realise that those trips don’t count when it comes to the essential requirements of a successful family road trip.

The number one rule: Always Be Prepared!

Road trips are actually my favourite form of family travel. Most of these trips took place when we were living in Zimbabwe and South Africa and frequently travelled between the two countries, most often via Botswana. But I do vaguely remember some of the tips we took when we lived in the UK … BK (Before Kids)! I think the one that will always hold a special place in my heart is the one we took through Scotland in July 2007!

We packed our kit bag each for a four-day trip, threw in an extra jacket even though it was ‘summer’ and off we went.

However … AK (After Kids), a family road trip, and everything else in life, takes a bit more planning, preparation and space!!!

So with the knowledge of hindsight and experience, here are my top 10 things to pack for a family road trip, no matter where you are in the world, or what the weather!

Continue reading “Top 10 Things To Pack For A Family Road Trip | #RealMomsWhoTravel” →

living-an-intentional-life
Parenting

Intentional Living – The Challenge

momoftwolittlegirls

I have been inspired recently to live a more intentional life. What that means to me is that whatever I decide to do, whatever life throw at me, whatever I choose to do, I need to do it intentionally. Intentional living is when you consciously choose to do whatever it is with the intention of throwing yourself at it wholeheartedly, as best you can!

I decided to launch the #IntentionalLivingChallenge on Instagram and encourage people to join in with the challenge. It has been so inspiring to hear everyone else’s interpretation of the themes I set for each day. Continue reading “Intentional Living – The Challenge” →

how-to-keep-the-kids-busy-over-the-summer-holidays
family, Holiday, motherhood, Parenting, Stay-at-home-mom

Keeping The Kids Busy Over The Summer Holidays

momoftwolittlegirls

This summer the UK weather is fluctuating … a lot! From extreme heat to rain, and now cooler days. Let’s see what happens next week! I had forgotten how hot it can get in the UK, and as everyone keeps saying, no, there are no air cons here! With that said, it’s also a LOOOONG holiday too and I for one, just don’t want to have to spend money every single day on keeping the kids busy over the summer holidays.

I wrote a post over a year ago based on keeping kids cool in the summer. This was written whilst I still lived in South Africa and was focused on keeping kids cool and out of the sun but also occupied at home during the long December holidays – the South African equivalent of the 6 or 7 weeks of hell UK summer holidays.

Now that we are based in the UK, I thought it would be a good idea to do a new post along a similar theme which is ideas on keeping the kids busy over the summer, no matter the weather, whilst also trying to keep a grip on your budget! Let’s face it, I’m not Rockefeller, I’m the other fella. No, I’m not original either!

The point is, budgeting is important!

Continue reading “Keeping The Kids Busy Over The Summer Holidays” →

Introducing-real-moms-who-travel
Parenting, Real Moms Who Travel, Travel

Introducing #RealMomsWhoTravel

momoftwolittlegirls

I have some super exciting news to share with you all – introducing #RealMomsWhoTravel!

Myself and Jean from Mommy Explores have decided to team up to bring our readers some tips, advice and stories about travelling with kids, as real moms.

Introducing #RealMomsWhoTravel

We have both travelled extensively before we had kids, and now as moms..

We have travelled with our kids, within South Africa, regionally in Southern Africa, and internationally. We have decided to collaborate on informative posts, stories, tips, tricks, hacks and advice that can help other moms who travel with their kids. And so #RealMomsWhoTravel has been born.

Not only do we travel as moms, but we have other things in common as well that you might see as a theme running through our posts. We both spend a lot of time solo parenting due to our husband’s hectic schedules. We both love wine! We both have wanderlust blood in our veins, and the kids aren’t going to stop us travelling this beautiful world.

To kick things off, we thought it would be fun to interview each other as a way of introducing our new mommy-in-travel to each other’s audiences. Continue reading “Introducing #RealMomsWhoTravel” →

july-instagram-roundup
Days Out UK, family, Instagram RoundUps, motherhood, Parenting, Travel

July Instagram RoundUp

momoftwolittlegirls

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month and I’m kicking it off with my July Instagram RoundUp which is basically filled with reflections of our first month living in the UK since returning from South Africa.

It’s been a great month, the girls have settled really well, and we are currently enjoying our summer holiday break. Week one has been good, just five more to go. Wish me luck! For now, let’s see which were the most liked pictures in my July Instagram Roundup.  Continue reading “July Instagram RoundUp” →

summer-staycation-bucket-list
Days Out UK, education, Holiday, motherhood, Our Relocation Journey, Parenting

Our British Summer Staycation Bucket List

momoftwolittlegirls

I have decided to put together our British summer staycation bucket list, as we settle in to our first proper summer holiday. When I lived in the UK previously I was a completely different person. I was a young twenty something in a relationship, basically playing at being an adult, but not really embracing it to the max. Now that I am back living in sunny (for now) Yorkshire, as a mom of two little girls and a bonus daughter. I almost feel like I am somewhere completely new to me. One thing’s for certain, I am a different person to who I was back then.

I am a more confident person, a more secure person. When I lived here previously, I was also a step-mom. Every second weekend my bonus daughter would come stay with us, and it almost felt like I was play acting the role of a mom. We used to try get out as often as we could, but we certainly struggled a lot financially back then.

Being back in North Yorkshire, memories from that time have come back to me. Days out and the fun things we used to do as a much smaller family. Two adults and children, vs the reality now which is two adults, one teenager and two little girls. Continue reading “Our British Summer Staycation Bucket List” →