As a mamma of a little girl I have to really resist the swathes of pink and dolls every time I visit a toy shop.
I’m not against her playing with ‘Girls toys’ but sometimes the pink aisle is very overwhelming!
Luckily my daughter wants to be a fire woman and her favourite colour is blue so I think she knows her own mind anyway!
Read MoreCalifornia is considered by some to be the most beautiful state in the whole of America. You’ll find plenty of amazing places to visit, great food and drink and all sorts of different activities to get involved with. That’s why it’s such a great destination for a family vacation. It’s ideal for all age groups and you’ll always be able to find something to please everybody. If you’re planning a family trip to California, these are some of the best things to do while you’re out there.
Read MoreBuying for children is always a balance between what they want; usually something noisy and plastic! What their friends are allowed, Xboxes, and the gifts you would like to give them!
Then throw in the over generous, well meaning relatives and no wonder we all get stressed about this time of year!
Read MoreHere at Mammaprada we’ve recently launched our own SHOP!
Filled with T-Shirts for men women and children, we looked long and hard for super soft tees in gorgeous colours, printed in the UK and with quick shipping times!
Although we’ve created Italian slogans for many of our designs everything is customisable.
Buying for a ‘Foodie’ is pure joy this time of year!
Although it comes with the added issue that you might be tempted to eat your gifts before Christmas Day arrives!
Read MoreI know I am one of those women who loves a great surprise gift at Christmas. Something unusual, well made, an item you are desperate to wear or use!
I also know I don’t like to leave the purchaser so completely to their own devices that the gift is, well disappointing! So this probably makes me and other women like me a bit of a disaster to buy for!
Read MoreI have a Husband who is a bit of a scrooge! He’s not THAT into Christmas although he enjoys the eating part!
He comes from a family not big on gifts, and Italians I find are much less commercial than the UK when it comes to this celebration.
Read MoreIf like us you’re trying to find new programmes and films to watch now the weather is getting colder, I may have just the thing for you!
We are always on the lookout for a great Italian TV series or movie, something not too dated and perfect for a Saturday night in.
Read MoreAs most of you will know in September 2017 our then 2 year old daughter was taken ill and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
I don’t really write about her condition as it wasn’t why I started Mammaprada and it’s still very raw. However given the significance of today and maybe in the hopes of raising awareness of Diabetes and especially about Type 1. I thought I’d share how we are getting on.
Read MoreWith the most joyous time of year approaching for family occasions, festivities and fun. Some of the cultural differences for the merriest time of the year vary between England and Italy. If you have an interest in visiting either country, here are some of the cultural traditions you can expect or may even wish to use on your stay. Alternatively, you may also decide to use the below as inspiration for your own Christmas traditions.
Read MoreThis week the wonderful author Martha Miller has shared her Italian story with us. Martha and her Husband, John sold everything and moved to Italy! How many of us would be that brave?
They were searching for adventure, but also the desire to feel settled in their community. To have a truly authentic experience not touristic one. So off they went!
I love this story and am slightly jealous we haven’t done this yet!
Read MoreThis week I'm delighted to welcome Gemma who blogs about parenting and lifestyle over at Yorkshire Mum of 4!
Gemma and her gorgeous family have ventured round Italy and loved it, but their hearts are well and truly rooted in beautiful Yorkshire. Read all about it here
Read MoreI remember growing up some well meaning relatives telling me that the only important thing in life was your health. Obviously I nodded and promptly ignored this! It’s something you just can’t comprehend when you’re young.
Now having just turned 40! Being a mother and having one child with a long term illness it has become glaringly obvious that this is something we all take for granted.
Read MoreToday is a rather splendid day. It’s World Pasta Day! Some of you may be surprised that such a day exists but pasta not only is a staple of almost every Italian meal time it has become a firm favourite outside of Italy as well.
Read MoreI’m sure many of you will feel you know exactly where your family origins lie. Maybe you’re aware of many interlocking layers of language, culture and nationality. Maybe you are convinced that you are 100% British/French/Chinese.
I love hearing stories passed down through families where one Grandma, like my own was convinced that there is a Spanish connection and no one. Not even her own Brother agrees! I always wonder how much of this is true?
Read MorePre-children Hubby and I used to travel A LOT! We do it much less now but there was a time when we would rather travel than do much else with our spare time.
I remember 2010 it got to Christmas and I said to my Husband that I didn’t want to go anywhere, I was so exhausted. He agreed we would do nothing for Christmas and New Years Eve. Then at the last minute we booked a quiet trip to Cornwall. I guess this is what people now call ‘FOMO’ meaning - Fear of missing out!
Of course this is what life can be like when you’re young, spritely and both earning a salary without any kids in tow.
But that doesn’t mean we always got things right then, or now!
This month on the Dolce Vita Bloggers linkup we are all writing about ‘Hilarious travel mishaps’.
Read MoreThis week on Bilingual children I’m sharing a document I’ve created on levels of fluency.
It’s very easy to have in your mind that you would like your child to be bilingual without maybe considering what this really means.
If you think long and hard about how you would like your child to use a language; where they will use it? How well they will speak it? This will help you decide how much learning and effort needs to go into the process.
Read MoreWe all know even the best of travel plans can (and do) go awry. Tell us about your travels gone wrong (even if it’s only hilarious in hindsight).
Read MoreThis week on our Bilingual Children series I'm focusing on German resources.
This is actually a language I studied at school and although I'm very rusty, I'm considering introducing it to my son as his third language.
Read MoreThis week I'm delighted to welcome Rochelle Del Borrello from the wonderful blog Sicily Inside & Out Rochelle is an Australian with Italian heritage and lives in Sicily. She is married to an Italian and has been raising her little boy with her native English from birth. I love that she explains so well the real daily challenge of raising a bilingual child. You do need to be persistent but the rewards are immense! I’m very excited to look for podcasts for children as well!
Have a read of her lovely insights into raising a child in the minority language but in an area of Italy where English is not widely spoken.
Read MoreMammaprada features: Raising Bilingual Children, Italian culture, Italian travel, Italian Food and Posts in Italian/ Italiano. We also offer Bilingual Resources for language learning, such as bilingual books, bilingual audio CDs and DVDs,. Other topics we write about are Parenting and Lifestyle.
I’m Kristie Prada & here you'll find our family’s experiences on travel to languages, parenting, recipes & much more. Thank you for visiting!
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