So shoot me, I’ve started the Christmas shopping already. I may be a freak of nature when it comes to organisational matters, but I’d rather be on the ball than flapping about when it comes to Christmas. I usually start making idealists for each of the kids at the start of September. I keep wish lists on Amazon for each of the children which I update regularly with their ideas and suggestions to give me some guidance when it comes to purchasing presents. Later in the year, I ask the kids to scour through the Smyths catalogue for final ideas, which I then collate with my original ideas to create a final list from.…
We are now midway through September and although it’s only been a few weeks since the kids started back at school, already they are surprising me with their sudden spurts in growth and independence. I cannot believe quickly our little ones are growing up; J has now started walking home from school with his friends which has taken me a little getting used to, though he’s ten now and can be trusted to walk sensibly and hopefully safely home. Once home, J helps out around the house, he then practices on his drums before entertaining himself and his sister with games and activities such as chess, drawing, building circuits or Lego.…
It’s been a while since the kids have been on their scooters and skates at the local roller disco. Now that we are back to school and routine has returned, we are back to our boots and scoots of a Friday evening. E was given a brand, spanking new pink, light-up scooter for her birthday which she was delighted to take with her this week and once the lights are out, you can certainly see her coming now! The kids tend to switch and swap between using their scooters, swing scooters, rollerblades, roller boots, and Healeys depending upon what they fancy riding at the time.…
I haven’t taken a huge amount of pictures this month, as since the kids have returned to school things have been a little hectic. I’d forgotten how hard it was to fit a million jobs into the space of an evening, thus I’ve had to let a few things slide, shooting pictures being one of them. This photo was taken earlier this week whilst the kids busied themselves with building Lego. I love how easily they can entertain themselves and each other with simple toys. I find the more basic the better when it comes to toys and kids’ activities. Kids don’t need complicated or complex, neither do us adults for that matter as an easier life is a far happier one… …
Welcome to this week’s edition of the #MySundaySnapshot blog series, a blog-linky simply to share snapshots that you are more than welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. Over the past few weeks, I have shared a number of snaps, which were taken whilst we were spending time away with family. As our trip to Alton Towers was probably the highlight of our summer, I decided to post a final picture of our view from the castle, back on that sunny day in August. The temperature has certainly dropped since back then as we no longer are basking in the sunshine.…
Although I take a keen interest in all things spooky, I’m not the superstitious type. I’m therefore not too worried by the idea of it being Friday 13th, though given that we plan to go skating later, I’ll be sure to be careful! After a wet, windy and miserable week weather-wise, the sun is now shining ready for the weekend. According to the news we are hoping for a late September heatwave, I’ve still got gallons of factor fifty to get through so BRING IT ON! Paul and I have plenty to be getting on with over the next two days, I’ve got all sorts of errands to run, so many little things to get sorted which have been waiting for a while now, though I’ve got very limited time to do so.…
People need to have that education in order to get through life as smoothly as possible. Some are able to walk through everything without a shred of schooling, but most of us need to be taught stuff if we’re to get anywhere in life. If you have kids, then you know full-well that it’s pretty vital that they learn a thing or two. They’re pretty naïve and inattentive, so they’re going to need all of the tutorings they can get! Getting kids interested in learning about certain things is a pretty tough task, though. Again, some kids out there are naturally attracted to picking up knowledge and taking in lots of info.…
The kids are now back to school and back to the regular routine. It’s been less than a week but already summer feels like it was a million years ago. J is now in the final year of primary school, I cannot believe how fast time has flown! He’s grown into such an amazing young man; he’s independent, responsible, helpful and caring, I couldn’t be a prouder parent. Given that he’s now double digits, I’ve finally loosed the leash and allowed him to walk home from school with friends, it’s a twenty-thirty minute walk along a busy road but I trust him to be sensible and to stay safe.…
There’s been very little time this week to sit down, never mind to sit down with my laptop and the time to write a post or two. Don’t get wrong, I like keeping busy – it keeps my mind occupied and active, which I find far healthier than the alternative. I thought I was all ready for the kids to return to school, I’d got their shoes, their uniforms, their bags, and everything sorted as far as I was aware. As it turned out, I’d missed a few essentials from the list and have since had to carry out a last-minute run around collecting new trainers, new coats, new sports shirts, and yet more stationery.…
Welcome to this week’s edition of the #MySundaySnapshot blog series, a blog-linkup to share snapshots that you are more than welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. Summer may be done and dusted but we’ve got plenty of happy memories from the holidays to look back upon. Our trip to Alton Towers still remains a firm favourite, it was an awesome day out which I wish we could do all over again. Autumn has now arrived and I’ve already started putting plans together for up until Christmas. Paul and I have two gigs booked – Freya Ridings and Russell Kane, I’d also like to make a return to the ‘the Towers’ for an adults weekend away.…
Whilst I returned back to routine on Monday, the kids had a further two days off before starting back at school on Wednesday. They were more than ready to return, six weeks is a long time and boredom had begun to set in… J is now in his last year of primary school, whilst E is in her last year of the infants, time sure flies by! This time next year J will be heading off to senior school and come Monday, the admissions system opens and it all becomes a little bit more real… Although the early get-ups have been a bit of a shock to the system, we’ve just about got back into the swing of things.…
I was flicking through my photos of the kids earlier today and came across these two shots snapped over the summer. I suddenly realised how much the kids have shot up; our little lady no longer looks quite so little and our big boy is becoming a teenager before his time. Not only in terms of appearance but also in his attitude… Our Big Girl & Her Big Bunny Mad For Milkshake – A Teenager Before His Time I cannot believe J is about to start year six, his final year at primary school, following which he will move up to secondary school whilst E will become a junior!…
I’ve always been an adrenalin junky when it comes to rides and rollercoasters. My husband, on the other hand, isn’t that keen on coasters but has shown willing to give the white knuckle rides a whizz with his wife. I remember spending our honeymoon in Florida as a single-rider for the majority of the coasters. He simply wasn’t interested nor comfortable riding the likes of The Hulk, Space Mountain, The Kraken and such-like. Paul was quite happy to sit it out with a beer whilst I got my kicks on the coasters; I cannot get enough when it comes to rollercoasters, in the words of a true legend “louder, faster, harder!” Last weekend my family and I visited Alton Towers theme park, it has been donkey’s years since I’ve been there and during that time there has been numerous new rides added to the park which I was itching to ride.…
Welcome to this week’s #MySundaySnapshot post, part of a blog-linky series to share weekly snaps which you are more than welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. This time last week we were southbound as we traveled around Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Staffordshire. We had the most glorious weather, with temperatures rising over thirty degrees in places, it got a little hot around the collar at times but we managed. Although I love living in the Lake District as I believe it is one of the most scenic spots in the UK, I have to say that I fell hook line and sinker for Derbyshire.…
After a splendid six week holiday, summer has come to a close, as has August. We’ve certainly had a super-busy, fun-filled month. Here are just a few of the highlights which I have #LikedandLoved during that time. Crete Although it wasn’t the holiday we’d expected, we made the best of a very bad situation and after hiring a car (and getting the heck out of the hotel) we enjoyed beach strolls, evenings out and hopping around Hersonissos. My Thirty-something Birthday I’ll be honest; I wasn’t entirely happy about turning another year older. I’m creeping far too close to forty for my liking.…
August has certainly flown by, it’s been busy, busy, busy in our household with holidays, birthdays, celebrations, meals out, trips away and family visits. We’ve not really had much time to stop, that’s kind of how I like it though! Here’s some of my #LittleLoves from the past month… Read Forgive me for I have sinned, I haven’t read a single book this month. I’ve flicked through plenty of magazines, blog articles and such-like, but haven’t picked up a book as I’ve just been way too busy! I have however been reading books to the children before bed; J is currently reading David Walliams ‘Gangsta Granny’ whilst E is reading the first book from Pip Bird’s ‘The Naughtiest Unicorn’ series.…
With it being the summer holidays, I have been willing to do almost anything to keep the kids entertained and happy. I’m not a huge fan of mess or goop so I must admit I was a little dubious when agreeing to review ‘The Hangrees‘ – the latest range of parody snack-based, slime creation to hit the market. The kids, however, were overjoyed at the chance to get their hands a little sticky and of course to take a look at some new toys. Snack Attack We received a large box filled with goodies including a range of snacks, each wrapped in comedy packaging: Doritos became ‘Diaritos’, Reeces became ‘Reek’s’, Pringles became ‘Poo-ringles’ and a Burger King pack was renamed as ‘Booger King’.…
It’s the final week of the summer holidays and as we swing out of summer, the weather seems to have followed suit. Gone are the glorious sunshine days as the grey skies and the drizzle have returned – it feels very much like autumn has made an early arrival! We’re just about sorted for the upcoming school year, I just need to add name labels into the kids’ uniforms, pick up a new school bag for E and to check that their PE kits still fit. As for me, I’ve got a brand new diary, a brand new bag and I’m currently awaiting the arrival of some new work pants.…
Our little lady was busy devouring her dinner when all of a sudden she let out a scream and ran to the living room. Paul and I jumped to attention, presuming that she’d bitten her tongue as a steady stream of the red stuff ran down her chin. As it turns out E’s tongue was just fine, upon inspection we found that our little lady was missing her first tooth! E must have been super hungry as it seems she has swallowed said tooth along with her pancakes, leaving us to write an explanatory letter for the tooth fairy this evening.…
Having driven down to Derby in what turned out to be a heatwave, and according to the records – the hottest bank-holiday weekend of all time, we thought what better to do in thirty-degree heat than to visit Alton Towers?! Having filled ourselves with a scrummy hotel breakfast and lathered our bodies in factor fifty, we set off early to meet up with family outside of the Alton Towers park. We arrived before opening but already people were pouring into the park and it was set to be a busy, blistering hot day. We began by talking a stroll around CBeebies land and queuing for what felt like an eternity to ride the Postman Pat ride.…
