Tips for Travelling with Kids


This week I thought I'd share my tips for travelling with kids, being that last week was our big road trip to Ireland. We drove 5 hours from our house in Surrey to Wales, then took a two hour ferry to Dublin where we stayed for four nights. After that we drove 2 and 1/2 hours to Cork where we spent three nights. The most difficult part of the journey was the drive back as it involved a 5am start from Cork, 2 and 1/2 hour drive to Dublin, 90 minute ferry trip, followed by the 5 hour drive in the UK. Poor Jonathan was exhausted! :( But honestly it was so worth it. Having our own car, not having to deal with the stress of airport security, arriving way ahead of time, the flight itself and so on...I definitely recommend driving if you can manage it!  

I am by no means an expert on travelling with children but we do it quite a lot and everytime I feel like I learn a little more. So here are my tips for now on what I've learned and what works for us!  

1. Make a packing list for each child. This was something I covered in my packing video so if you want more detail on what I do you can go ahead and watch that! I seriously can't stress enough how much a packing list helps...and not just one massive list. You need to make one for each child otherwise it gets overwhelming. What I like to do is refer back to previous lists everytime we travel because they almost always end up being very similar. If it helps you can also bring the list with you on holiday so that you have it to use when you're re-packing everything back up. That way you won't forget anything or leave it in the hotel! 


2. Bring a sh*t-tonne of snacks. Like, seriously...I mean loads. Believe me when I say they will run out and it will happen fast! I would say about half an hour into our road trip my two had already devoured almost half the stash I brought! Thankfully I packed way more than I originally had anticipated bringing so we were okay but by the time we reached Ireland everything was gone! What I really should have done is re-stocked in a Tesco or Dunnes Stores on our visit but I stupidly kept forgetting to! On our way I had packed fresh and dried fruit, Organix snacks, YoYos/bear paws/dino paws (fruit snacks) and water. Oh and another thing to remember when packing snacks? The BIN BAG and some wipes!! Because there will be a lot of waste and sticky fingers ;)  


3. This is a hard one but my advice is to try and keep the routine as much as possible. I know it's so much easier said than done, trust me. But even if you try to just keep bedtime and wake-time the same as normal it helps a lot. Otherwise you're just going to have two (or however many kids you have!) very cranky, whingey children which isn't nice for you or them! We've had trips when the bedtimes have just got out of hand, so I speak from experience and I know how difficult it is! But I think if you're quite strict about it from the get-go and just explain to other family members/friends how important it is that they're in bed by a certain time they will definitely understand. Emilia and Eduardo are over the napping stage which makes it a bit easier as we don't have to adhere to that schedule anymore but I've found that if your baby/toddler naps you can get away with doing that in the buggy/car or on the go. 

4. Don't overpack toys, books and things they use at home especially when you're going to be doing activities and/or visiting family. Obviously this is different if you're getting on a plane, train or bus where you'll need toys and things to distract them on long journeys (though iPads are a life-saver for this!). But I have made the mistake of over-packing toys far too many times...then we visit family & friends, the kids get loads of presents and we're left with zero packing space. Oops. Even this time, I brought far too many books. Once we're on holiday the kids are often so exhausted by the time bedtime rolls around that they don't even want/need a story. The key toys I bring are the comfort ones they sleep with for bedtime, some sort of entertainment for the journey (we had our car so we brought DVDs) and that's it.


5. This tip may only apply to me, I don't really know. But if you're anything like me and tend to sometimes stress about the kids' healthy eating going out the window whilst on holiday...don't. It's not worth it. I used to get so upset when they wouldn't eat certain things or would revert back to all of a sudden being fussy eaters at mealtimes in restaurants or hotels. Now I know it's normal and sometimes when their routine is all out of whack, all kids want to eat are the same three foods over & over. And that's okay. Something I've learned is that if you are getting stressed out and it's affecting your mood & holiday, just drop it. I'm pretty sure there were days in Ireland when my two didn't consume one vegetable. But now that we're back home and their routine has gone back to normal they are good little eaters again! I think part of it is a comfort thing; everything else is out of the ordinary so they only want certain foods that they are used to and anything else seems scary or unfamiliar. I mainly try to keep their snacks to healthy fruit (like at home) if I can and then I don't stress too much about the other stuff. 

I hope these tips help you! I tried to think up what would genuinely help me if I was looking for this kind of information...travelling with kids is not easy but if you're a tiny bit organised, pre-plan some stuff beforehand and commit to enjoying yourself as a family & not getting stressed out you will be fine :) 

Third Trimester Pregnancy Vlog


Here is my third and last pregnancy vlog! I am currently approaching the last leg of this journey and as much as I appreciate it & do love being pregnant, I'm ready for it to be over! Being that I got pregnant in March 2016, miscarried in May and then found out I was pregnant again in July this means that I feel like I've literally spent the last year pregnant! It's been a tough old time with lots of highs & lows but I think I'm ready to be done. Having said that I do still enjoy carrying babies and I'm not going to lie, I have been lucky enough to remain low-risk every pregnancy with very minimal symptoms. In other words, things could be a lot worse! But every woman who has experienced this knows that the last few weeks are the slowest, longest and probably the hardest! Here are a few of the symptoms I've been experiencing this trimester:

- bleeding gums
- heartburn (really bad!)
- leg cramps
- insomnia
- shortness of breath
- change in hair type

I go into more detail on each symptom in my vlog, and also show you the belly shot at the end as well as talk about weight gain, stretch marks and all the fun stuff that goes along with pregnancy! :) Hope you enjoy! If you have any questions, just leave them down below and I will try to answer them! 

Throwback Thursday: Valentine's Day


This week I thought I'd take you for a walk down memory lane and I rooted out some OLD Valentine's Day videos that I made for my channel back in 2011 and 2012 (pre kids!). These gave me a good laugh to watch back and hopefully you'll be as entertained as I was!

Valentine's Day Makeup
The first one I filmed was Valentine's Day makeup tutorial in 2011. This is pretty bad...well, the eye makeup is okay. But can someone say EYEBROWS?? And the frosty lip colour...nooooo! Hahaha but I'm sure I thought it looked good at the time and that's all that matters, right?!


Valentine's Day Outfit Ideas
This video is pretty cute actually - I show you three Valentine's outfit ideas all featuring a red and black theme. I thought this was sweet, especially since February is always freezing cold in Ireland/England and you can tell I tried to keep that in mind with the tights and layering...hahaha! I also can't believe I was that tiny!!


Vegan Valentine's Cupcakes
I clearly was on a roll in 2011 because it seems these Valentine's videos were a three part series! Now I'm lucky if any themed videos go up ever! This recipe was a bit of a disaster...in fact, remembering back to it I'm pretty sure it was a complete disaster! Hahaha! Vegan baking just never seems to go right for me! Also I'm wondering why on earth this was filmed so late at night as it's pitch black outside?!


Red Velvet Valentine's Cupcakes
Fast forward to 2012 when I was pregnant with Emilia and clearly ditched the vegan baking idea! Another midnight cooking session it seems (once again...why?!) and this time they seem to have turned out okay but unfortunately for me the icing looks like a beige-y brown runny slime. Hahaha...oh dear! I hadn't realised how far I've come with my cupcake baking skills! Not that I'm a pro or anything but...you know. These all look quite terrible! 


Valentine's Day Vlog 2011
And finally here are some Valentine's Day SacconeJolys vlogs! Fun and little known fact about this oldest one from 2011 which I hardly feature in AT ALL...is that Jonathan and I had a massive fight this day! Hahaha! I got him a card and chocolate and he completely forgot to get me anything. We both still remember it and laugh about it now, but that's the reason why we got pizza and didn't bother going out or doing anything special. It seems those outfit/makeup videos were all in vain!!


Valentine's Day Vlog 2012
I think this vlog makes me laugh the most because it's clear that Jonathan learned his lesson from the previous year as he actually remembered to get me flowers this time! And good thing he did because I was pregnant (though early on) with Emilia!


Valentine's Day Vlog 2013
Our first Valentine's Day with Emilia, and how things have changed! I got upgraded to flowers, a card AND pancakes too! Also my hair was so short! 


Valentine's Day Vlog 2014
Life got a lot busier in 2014...Emilia was a toddler and I was heavily pregnant with Eduardo! We were in Dublin for Jonathan's birthday and visiting family. Not a lot of time for romantic stuff as we were obviously very much in baby mode! But I think this was one of the most fulfilled/happiest I've felt on V-day!


Valentine's Day Vlog 2015
We had moved to the UK in this one so a different house and new setting. I find it funny that as life progresses with two small kids, these Valentine's Day videos become less and less Valentine-sy! This vlog had little to no mention of it at all and was more about the fact that I had gone with a friend to get her a new puppy! 


Valentine's Day Vlog 2016
Last year's vlog was quite a sad one in that we were leaving Ireland after our visit there for Jonathan's birthday and the kids never like saying goodbye to my mum :( Again there's hardly any mention of V-day but as date nights are normally limited to once a week we had used up that token on Jonathan's birthday which is the day before! However my hubby is a smart guy and remembered to get me a Valentine's card...hahaha!

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane! I think it's always fun & interesting to look back on the last few years to see how much has changed and how we've grown as people! Enjoy the videos and hope your Valentine's Day is extra special this year :)

What I Ate Wednesday {7.2.17}


8:40am
Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast made with almond milk, salt & pepper. I also had a bottle of water and black coffee. 


11:30am
I got my nails done in the morning and by the time I was finished I was hungry again. Thankfully I packed a snack in my bag (for once...I usually forget!) so I had this apricot & chia seed flapjack by Doves Farm. This and the apple & sultana one are my favourite flavours! 


12:40pm
Lunch was a pretty simple but yummy salad made with chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, salt pepper and olive oil. I also had another bottle of water.


4:30pm
Later that afternoon I made myself a snack of chopped up pear with almond butter (such a good combo!) and a black coffee. 


6:30pm
For dinner we had one of our usual midweek meals - baked salmon with sweet potato, parsnips & carrots. These are roasted in the oven with some olive oil, salt, pepper and dried parsley. It's such an easy, healthy yet delicious meal and thankfully the kids love it too! With my dinner I also drank another bottle of water. 


8:45pm
We are currently watching Frequency (just finished it last night) on Netflix so I made myself a little evening snack of an almond milk chai tea latte and some Green & Blacks almond & milk chocolate (I just realised how many almonds I consumed during this What I Ate Wednesday...hahaha! That was not intentional, but I do really like almonds!). After this I had another bottle of water, and yes that does mean I need to wake up to pee multiple times a night...so annoying! But this pregnancy is making me thirsty!


Check out my vlog of today above! Featuring the baby bump & Emilia and Eduardo being cutie pies at breakfast :)

What's in Baby's Hospital Bag


In today's video I show you what I packed in baby's hospital bag. The changing bag I used is the PacaPod Madison in Tan. I love all the little compartments/pods that you get inside this bag and how it keeps you organised! Here are some other products I mentioned:




Hope you enjoy the video! I know I probably over-packed but I'd rather have too much than too little!

What's in my Hospital Bag


This has been one of my favourite, comfiest outfit to wear at this stage of pregnancy. The leggings are my Isabella Oliver over-the-bump ones which I am tempted to buy another pair of as I love them so much! These are the BEST fit & quality ever! The grey v-neck t-shirt is not maternity but just a basic from J.Crew I got last year when we were in America...and I only noticed after taking these pictures that it's got a few stains on it - oops! Probably either from food (the bump tends to get in the way!) or bio-oil! My shirt is from All Saints and I honestly didn't love it when I first bought it but I think it looks a lot better when worn open like this. The quality is nice & silky but the way it buttons up isn't the most flattering on me. My boots are by YSL.


Today I also filmed the highly requested What's in my Hospital Bag video. Here's the list I got from my hospital which a lot of you were interested in on Snapchat. 


Some other items I mentioned in the video are:

Chloe Gownie from Baby Be Mine


I hope this video/post helps if you're packing your hospital bag too! 

Throwback Thursday: My Mummy


Today's throwback isn't of me...it's of my cute little mummy! So many of you have already commented on how similar she & Emilia look, well I think this photo just proves it even more! She reminds me so much of Emilia in her baby pictures (I think it's the eye shape and hair colour). 

I actually have a picture of Emilia wearing a similar style of dress to this in a very similar pose which I did a side-by-side comparison of but unfortunately the dress she's wearing is her summer school uniform so I can't share it! :( But they both look so alike! What do you think?! 

I also secretly would love to have added a bow to my mum's hair but my granny is really anti-bows (even on Emilia...and she has no problem telling me, hahaha) so I doubt she ever wore one!

What I Ate Wednesday {31.1.17}


8:45am
Breakfast this morning was plain yoghurt with fresh blueberries under my favourite granola. This is the Nature's Path Nice & Nobbly organic granola with berries and yoghurt chunks & it is so yummy! I also had my usual coffee (black) and bottle of water. 


12:30pm
We had a doctor's appointment in London so afterwards we went for lunch in The Natural Kitchen. I ordered the "Antioxi" smoothie which has banana and mixed berries in it (really delicious) along with a bottle of still water. 


I also got the halloumi cheese salad with quinoa, baby spinach, red peppers and broccoli. This was good but not the best salad I've ever had. I'm not sure if I like halloumi this way - I'm used to having it grilled and a bit less tough! 


4pm
After we got home, I made myself another black coffee and my favourite snack: a Pink Lady apple and some peanut butter! I'm really loving almond and peanut butter lately...I don't know why but I can't get seem to get enough of it! I also had another bottle of water.


6:30pm
We had prawn curry with rice for dinner which is one of our family's go-to's as everybody loves it. The curry is made with coconut cream, leeks, onions, red peppers and curry powder and the rice is risotto/arborio rice with frozen mixed veggies thrown in (sweetcorn, carrots, peas). With this I also had another bottle of water...I was SO thirsty! 


9pm
I was so tired I ended up falling asleep at around 7:30pm after putting the kids to bed...oops! I did wake up and take a shower though, got into my pyjamas & watched Homeland with Jonathan! I also made myself a chai tea latte with almond milk and had two of these Biona blueberry cookies. These are quite big and more like 4 biscuits as they're sort of like two sandwiched together with blueberry jam. Yum! I drank another bottle of water too which comes to five bottles today! I'm not usually that good with water but I think at this stage of pregnancy my body is craving more!


If you'd like to watch my vlog of the day where I talk about getting teary at our baby scan (I was so emotional!), you can catch up on that here!
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