Hello everyone,

Today is the last day to get your entries in for our Studioworks Photography Competition.

The prize, €150 Studioworks Photography Voucher to be used for a family photo shoot and a CD of all your best images. To enter read the blog 'Studioworks Photography Competition' and leave a comment, we're searching for your best travel tips.

The winner will be announced on Saturday with this weeks review of a family friendly and very funky Mexican restaurant in Dublin City Centre!

Good Luck and have a lovely day, Love the Yummy Mummies and The Jetsetting Babies

xxx

Free Play Day in Merrion Square 3rd July

On Sunday 3^rd July Dublin City Council presents their annual Free Play Day in Merrion Square Park.

We got a sneak peak of the fun and activities on offer at the Street Performers World Championships last weekend.

The event runs from 2pm – 5pm and promises to be ‘an event with a difference – it’s all about ordinary basic play that children love. No expense, fancy equipment and no sitting an watching other people doing things, the event is about active fun that everyone can join in on’

Amelie really enjoyed the arts and crafts activities and I watched as she glittered, glued and painted her masterpieces which she then gave to her daddy on Fathers Day. Don’t dress your children in their Sunday best for this family event… they will get messy!

The volunteers helping with he event were just lovely and made every child feel welcome… we wouldn’t miss this event for the world, so who is coming?

Big Toddle Success

Dear sunshine, thanks for coming out for the hour or so we needed to for the Big Toddle for Barnardos yesterday, we would love to see more of you so don't be shy!

Here are some photo's of yesterdays Big Toddle that we organised at our local Cuidiu playgroup. What a great day it was, the sun came out from behind the clouds and the rain held off just long enough for us to have some fun. A big thank you to all the children who participated, you are all stars and excellent toddlers! 



Also to all the Yummy Mummys and Hunky Hubbies who helped out we coudln't have done it without you. inally to all the parents who fundraised for their children the hundreds of dollars raised will go a long way between Cuidiu and Barnardos.... We are so excited for next years event it will be bigger and better! Yay!

Enjoy this gorgeous weather today.

Love the Yummy Mummies and the Jetsettig Babies

xxx

Guinness Book of World Recodrs, Here we come!

The Jetsetting Babies will be joining hundreds maybe even thousand of others this year and getting a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records to support the charity Africa Aware. We will all dress as Wally's and a very high crane will take an very high resolution photo to create the first ever Where's Wally live photo to be taken. All the proceeds raised from the sale of Wally costumes will go to keeping the Street Performers World Championships here in Dublin and to the worthy charity Africa Aware. Africa Aware brings much needed assistance to orphans whose parents have died of AIDS and to abandon children all over Africa.

The Street Performers World Championship will be held in Merrion Square in Dublin between the 16th &19th of June. There are also events to be held in Cork &Port Laoise. There will be fun for the whole family from 12 - 7:30pm daily. For parents I recommend avoiding the massive weekends crowds and getting in on the Thursday or Friday. The line up for the event along with timetables and information on the world record attempt can be viewed at http://www.spwc.ie/.

I am most looking forward to seeing the Australian renowned street performer and Former World Record holder The Space Cowboy who makes me flinch so much it is amazing I even see his show. Also this year I am looking forward to seeing Lindsay Benner who's show promises to 'fashion a tale of love, longing and juggling from an excessively large and vivid mind' and is promised to be fun for the whole family, that what we love! From memory last year the food stands sold some really good organic burgers and tasty treats that you would happily share with your little ones but it is best if you pack a picnic and come prepared

Amelie at last years SPWC we took Amelie on the Thursday and while there were a few schools to contend with the crowds we small enough for us to soak up a bit of sun and really enjoy the day, a highlight for us was seeing a quick change act, it was brilliant. 

Hope that you all pop in to Merrion Square and enjoy this amazing family event.

Love the Yummy Mummies and The Jetsetting Babies

xxx

Go the (insert bad word here) to sleep... One for parents eyes only!

I recently read this children's book for adults - 'Go the Fu@k to sleep' I would say there are a lot of parents out there who could relate to where authors Adam Mansbach's head was when he got his inspiration for this book... a simple Facebook status update when he was desperately trying to get his daughter to sleep inspired his book which has become an internet sensation and a bestseller and I am sure made him a great deal money. Kudos to a Dad who took his frustration and made it fun for us all, well done and really very funny!

Publisher "Akashic stresses that it is “definitely not a book to read to your child”, but says “it will resonate with anyone who has ever spent 20 minutes, 40 minutes, four hours, reading ‘just one more bedtime story’ ”- from The Irish Times, Saturday 4th June - Read full article

This could be a great gift for Fathers Day...

Love the Yummy Mummies and The Jetsetting Babies

xxx

Review # 18 The Leopardstown Inn

A: The Leopardstown Inn , Brewery Road, Stillorgan Co Dublin

T: 01 288 9189

E: info@leopardstowninn.ie

W: www.leopardstowninn.ie

The Leopardstown Inn is located on Brewery Road, Stillorgan and is a vibrant fun venue which incorporates a lounge bar where you can order from the great bar menu or tuck in to the delicious carvery and Greens Restaurant on the second floor serving a full al a carte menu, if you happen to leave the kids at home the revolving cocktail bar is definitely a must.

The carvery is great and it is impossible to leave hungry, I asked for a small serve and my plate was overflowing, I had Lasagna and He had the Roast Beef we both had a little of all the vegetables on offer and were very satisfied. Amelie wasn't with us on this occasion but we will be returning with her she would have loved sharing our carvery.

What really caught my eye was the children's menu, Sausages, Chicken, or Burgers 'n' Chips... served get this inside a toy car.. yes that is right an 'Auto Classic Cruiser'. I thought that it was a fun and unique way to serve up a children's meal and keep them interested while you are out and about for lunch or dinner. The decor is very kitsch, vibrant and fun I just know Amelie would have been wide eyed and highly impressed.

 There are clean and adequate changing rooms, plenty of room to park your buggies and very friendly and outgoing staff. This is a great place for a family lunch or dinner and would be ideal for large family functions and special occasions.

High chairs - Y

Baby Changing - Y

Children’s Menu - Y

Kids Activities - Y

Read other reviews by the Yummy Mummies and the Jetsetting babies by visiting our Review Page, or if you wish to contribute a review visit our Contribution Page for more information.

Have a lovely weekend

Love the Yummy Mummies and The Jetsetting Babies

xxx

Welcome to Holland - Emily Perl Kingsly

Hi Everyone, I recently have decided to 'hit the books' as they say. I have embarked once again on study and I am hoping to achieve a diploma in early childhood development and i will share more with you in posts to come. Today during a discussion one of my lecturers felt compelled to stop mid sentence and share with us a piece written in 1987 by Emily Perl Kingsly about having a child with a disability. . I am glad she did, it stirred emotions within me and really got me thinking. So in turn I would like to share it with you...

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandt's.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Love The Yummy Mummies and The Jetsetting Babies

xxx