Welcome to this week’s #MySundaySnapshot post, which is part of a snap-sharing-blog-linky series that you are very welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. Despite the sniffly noses and hacking coughs, we got ourselves out to the local Dickensian Festival this weekend. Having finally found a parking space we tootled into town to take a look at the local stalls and shops. Paul and I had a mulled wine or two whilst the kids enjoyed the fairground rides and attractions which were dotted around the town. Once we’d seen everything we felt we ought to visit, we finished up by taking the kids to visit Santa.…
Excuse the blurry photo which I’ve used as part of my #LivingArrows post for this week, only it’s tricky getting a decent photograph of these three together without one or the other looking in the wrong direction or worse – moving from the shot entirely. Each and every evening my living room becomes a playground for our pooch and her trusty pals – the kids. I swear, our dog is more human than hound, it’s almost like having a third child, only without the bottles, nappies and the sleepless nights. This dog of ours has her own spot on the sofa, she even has the cheek to steal my cushions and will often be seen snatching blankets from the kids to keep cosey while they watch television whilst under her weight.…
Having enjoyed a bit of a lay in bed this morning, I felt the need to make up for my extra ‘mattress time’ by getting a few jobs around the house done and quite literally dusted… Whilst Paul and E were out at swimming lessons, I busied myself with sifting and sorting through three months worth of paperwork. I’m proud to report that the filing cabinet is now in perfect order and all remaining rubbish was thrown into the burny-bin, which was lit earlier this afternoon. I then cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed downstairs and even managed to complete putting together two family photo-calendars ready to be printed closer to Christmas or whenever Vistaprint lower their prices to an acceptable amount.…
Welcome to this week’s #MySundaySnapshot post, which is part of a snap-sharing-blog-linky series that you are very welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. It’s that time of the year when it’s dark when you wake and dark by the time you come home from work. Should you be lucky enough to manage to get out during the day, then the likelihood is that it’ll either be throwing it down with rain, blowing a hooley, or flipping freezing. I tend to spend November to January hibernating at home, I would usually say that ‘home is where the heart is’ but I’ll be frank, right now home is where the heating is and thus where you’ll find me.…
It hasn’t been the nicest of November’s so far what with the wet weather, a sickness bug and the dark nights but we’re marching through the month as best we can. It’s just been too wet, too cold and too dark to play outside which has lead to us suffering from a serious case of four-wall-fatigue. I quite like snuggling on the sofa watching television with the twinkly lights shining, a candle burning and the heating on full but I can only hack the winter hibernation for so long. The kids are worn out bless them, they’ve had so much on recently with school and all their extra-curricular clubs and activities that by the weekend they’re just too tired to tango.…
Whilst some weeks seem to whizz by, others are a real trudge as I feel as if I’m literally wading through the week. As I mentioned in my previous post; the kids weren’t so well over the weekend, thus they didn’t do a whole lot unlike Paul and I who spent almost every second of every hour cleaning, cooking or waiting upon our little lovelies. Don’t get me wrong, I love having kids and I love being a Mum but it can be really tough at times, especially so when illness occurs. As you can imagine, I’ve not exactly been snap-happy this week with being confined to our four-wall-fortress (aka spew city), thus the photo used this week was taken a few weeks back whilst out on a walk.…
Well that was a waste of a weekend! Our little man hardly ever gets sick but during the early hours of Friday, he was struck down with a horrid stomach bug. This resulted in the poor mite plastering his high sleeper bed, his desk, (and his brand new laptop), the full length of the corridor, the top of the stairs, our bedroom and both bathrooms with vast amounts of vomit. I’ve never seen so much sick if I’m honest and neither Paul nor I quite knew where to begin with the cleanup. It was quite literally up the walls! I’ve never been so thankful to have a vax carpet cleaner in my life, let’s just say if it wasn’t for that magnificent machine, I suspect that we may have been ordering new carpets for almost the entirety of upstairs.…
Welcome to this week’s #MySundaySnapshot post, which is part of a snap-sharing-blog-linky series that you are very welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. It may be cold outside but there’s one thing sure to lure me from the warmth of my four-wall fortress and that’s fireworks… They may slightly dangerous and a little on the loud side but I just love watching fireworks, always have and always will. There’s something really romantic and mildly magical about seeing sparkles in the sky. We usually visit two fireworks displays each year: one just by my parent’s place, which is a small but special event (as the pyrotechnician behind the magic just so happens to be the very same man who made the fireworks which we watched at our wedding), and the other, much bigger event takes place just down the road from where we live.…
Bonfire night came early for us this year, as we visited a very short but sweet local display over the weekend. We’ve stocked up on sparklers and are all ready for round two tomorrow night, here’s hoping that the weather stays on our side and that we can enjoy the display without getting drenched. Once over E was a massive fan of fireworks, so much so that when my Dad had asked her what she wanted for Christmas, her answer was simply “fireworks Grandad, I want fireworks!”. Thankfully my folks didn’t buy our then two-year-old fireworks for Christmas. However, shortly after (on New Year’s Eve) they rocked up with a box of you guessed it… fireworks.…
Our little lady has been in need of a new bed for a short while now. She’s been after a desk bed for months and given that we are planning to buy her a television for Christmas, we thought it best to find a surface for it to live upon (ideally a desk) before Santa pays us a visit. She inherited her original Thuka bed (with a castle, tunnel, tent and a slide all of which we recovered in pink) from her brother and after noticing eight years worth of wear and tear, we decided to sling the slide in exchange for an almost new Thuka high sleeper bed with a desk, toy box and sofa (which doubles up as a futon should E fancy having a friend to stay overnight).…
Welcome to this week’s #MySundaySnapshot post, which is part of a snap-sharing-blog-linky series that you are very welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. It has been the most wicked week, ridiculously busy but all the more awesome for everything that we have achieved. We began the week with a return to routine following a rather relaxed half-term. We’ve since been busy with school, homework, gymnastics, Music lessons, day-trips, evenings out, playdates and of course Halloween. We have had the best Halloween this year; J and I spent the day at the marvellous Muncaster Castle making lanterns, looking at the spooky decor and getting in the mood for All Hallows Eve.…
We have had such a wicked Halloween this year! J and I spent the afternoon at Muncaster Castle which was filled with all kinds of terrifying treats. I’ve never been to Muncaster at Halloween before, I’ve always presumed it would be too busy and probably a little too on the expensive side but it’s so worth the visit and I’ll be sure to return with both the little ones next year. E meanwhile went to her Nana and Grandads where she got dressed up as a vampire all ready to go out trick or treating. After getting home we filled our faces with fresh bread and hot, steamy soup before heading out with the kids and the dog styled to scare.…
And just like that October has come to a close. It’s been a busy and extremely expensive month for us but we’ve sure had some fun – here are a few of the things that I have #LikedandLoved during the month. The Half Term Holidays Autumn brought the half-term holidays, a much-needed break from the daily grind. Whilst we didn’t do an awful lot, we had a wonderful week filled with rest, relaxation and family fun. The Bling Is Back! Back in September I discovered that I was a diamond down. My husband very kindly took my wedding ring along to our local jewellers and a month later my bling is finally back.…
With just a few days to go before Halloween finally arrives, the children are all set to scare as they each have brand new costumes at the ready. Having spent the past three years dressing as a witch, E decided that she fancied a change and so opted to become a Vampire… as you do. Vamperina J meanwhile has continued with his beloved ‘Bendy and the Ink Machine’ theme, this year though we aren’t just going with facepaint but we now have a clingy costume with a matching latex mask to complete the look. Our Boy As Bendy The kids have already had the chance to dress in their outfits, as their Nana and Grandad very kindly took them along to a Halloween / Bonfire party at the weekend.…
Monday is almost upon us which marks a return to the routine, the half-term holiday may have only been for one week but it was certainly a welcome break. We’ve enjoyed walks out, swimming, playdates, Halloween parties, fireworks, films, meals out, baking, board games and all sorts of family fun. Both the kids and us adults really needed the rest, I for one have appreciated the time to relax and to recharge. It’ll be another eight weeks before we have the chance to spend such a length of time together as a family and before then we have Halloween, Bonfire Night and of course the countdown to Christmas to look forward to.…
Welcome to this week’s #MySundaySnapshot post, which is part of a snap-sharing-blog-linky series that you are very welcome to join. Click here for further information and guidelines upon this linky should you wish to take part. I’m all for blue-sky thinking, it’s great to be positive and I’m sure that it works wonders for many. However, I find realism a lot less disappointing to deal with. My husband is forever telling me that I’m too negative, whereas I prefer to consider myself as prepared. It’s all very well looking at your glass as ‘half full’ but it’s even better to have another bottle in the fridge ready to refill that ‘half empty’ glass.…
I’m not sure whether it’s just me but October has felt like a really lengthy month. Saying that we’ve done a fair amount throughout the month and to celebrate the highs (we’ll leave the lows as to be truthful there’s been far too many of those) here are a few of my #LittleLoves from October. Read I haven’t read an awful lot this year, I simply haven’t had the time nor the inclination to sit back with a book. This month, however, I came across Sophie Kinsella’s ‘Surprise Me’ and being a chick-lit fan I knew that it would be right up my street.…
Too many people think that educating our children is only a task for teachers. Of course, as it takes a village to raise a child, no one set of people can do everything alone. In fact, as a parent, there are plenty of things you can do to help them get the most out of their education experience. Some of the most effective of which are discussed below. Invest in educational toys One smart way parents can boost their child’s education is to invest in educational toys. In fact, there are several advantages to doing so. The first being that by practising specific skills like reading, math, or writing at home, your child will have more of an opportunity to improve.…
It has been the most awesome autumn afternoon! Despite being chilly out, the sun was shining which made for a warm walk to the park with the kids and the hound. After a quick play with her brother, E shortly made friends with a little boy and they proceeded to play together for the next hour or so. I sat with the dog enjoying a little downtime whilst I watched E befriend the boy, it took her less than five minutes before she’d established his name and was bossing him about, though in the kindest way possible, god bless her. E is such a sweety, she makes friends so quickly and should anyone ever be hurt, upset or lonesome, she will be sure to be by their side, offering her friendship and encouraging them to engage within whatever fun and games she can find.…
We are fairly rigid in our routine, especially so when it comes to bedtime. We usually give the kids their supper whilst they watch a cartoon or two on the couch, they then have their baths and get ready for bed before settling down with a book or two. This evening, however, we mixed things up a little and it’s been quite nice to do things a little differently. The kids had an early supper followed by a quick shower, whilst I got busy with the vacuum cleaner. Having scrubbed and shined themselves, the kids then came downstairs in their pajamas and proceeded to build Lego models from their latest kit, before eventually tiring and making their way off to Bedfordshire (aka their beds).…
