It’s a bit blinking nippy outdoors now that it’s November. As much as I bang on about how kids need to get outside, it’s currently a bit brass monkeys for bouncing on the trampoline or running around the garden. The fact that our garden seems to turn into a quagmire doesn’t help matters during the Winter, we still try our hardest to ensure that the kids get some fresh air by wrapping them up warm and walking the dog, having a quick blast around the park or weather depending. Winter Walks As much as I promote the outdoors to my little ones, there is nothing quite like keeping warm and snuggly indoors playing traditional games together.…
I am incredibly lucky to have two beautiful children, in the words of Buzz Light Year I love them to infinity and beyond. I was blessed with having ‘one of each’ and that is simply lovely jubbly, I have the perfect balance, the perfect age gap and as far as I am concerned, the perfect family. Surrounded By Bumps & Babies It seems like I am surrounded by bumps and babies yet I feel nothing, not even the slightest emotion other than relief that I never have to go through all that again. I love our children dearly but two kids are enough for me, one to hold each hand, one of each flavour, one of each types of birth, two polar opposites that I love to the moon and back.…
E adores Bonfire Night, unlike her older brother who stands nervously, hands over ears flinching each time a firework so much as fizzes. E has absolutely no fear, she is totally unfazed by all the loud bangs and will happily stand twirling her sparklers whilst watching the fireworks. Last year E enjoyed the event so much that she would spend hours laid awake talking about the colourful patterns in the sky, the noises, the smells and anything else firework related. It went on for months and in the end my Dad decided to treat her to a small display for News Years Eve, E was over the moon and stood by the window whooping and clapping at the display.…
Welcome to this weeks #LittleLoves post, once again I am late to the party due to a rather poorly little E and a late bar shift. However, I am here and I have once again listed the little things which have struck me as particularly lovely this week. Read Christmas is in the air and also in the post so it seems as I received the Christmas edition of the ‘Ideal Home‘ magazine this week. I stuck the kettle on, grabbed a brew and had a good flick through all their festive ideas which were of course well out of my price range but still fairly inspiring.…
Let it be tomorrow already, Jesus Christ what a day! I woke up early, the sun was shining and I had numerous things to get done all of which I assumed would be fairly easy to achieve, WRONG! I kept E off Nursery for the day so that I could take her to the local GP for some advice on her recurrent coughing and spluttering. The GP no longer operates normal appointments and I was advised to attend a ‘walk in’ clinic between 9.30am and 11.30am. I arrived early and found myself in a queue stretching to the outside doors, I decided to wait it out and patiently stood entertaining my toddler until we were able to speak to the receptionist and book ourselves in.…
What with all the activity surrounding our new extension, we’ve learnt a thing or two about how to make the most of space in kids’ rooms. Until our master bedroom is well and truly ready, we have a little bit of a squash. E’s bedroom is going to become a study, but it is a rather small space. Here’s how my family have managed to store all the kiddy stuff in tiny rooms! Bunk beds This is the classic “my kid’s room is too small!” solution: put your dear child on a very high ledge, wall them in with some railings, and pray to whatever god you believe in that they don’t fall out!…
Ahoy Matey! Welcome Aboard #TuesdayTreasures Welcome to this weeks #TuesdayTreasures blog linky share. #TuesdayTreasures is for bloggers from all walks of life, whether you are a parenting, lifestyle or any other type of blogger you are welcome to join in and to share your posts new and old. The Blog With The Booty Each week one post which has been added to the #TuesdayTreasures linky is selected by myself to share with you all. There are so many things I wish I had been told prior to having children myself, Tamsin from ‘Chasing Esme’ shared ten of these things in her recent blog post ‘Ten Things I Wish I Knew Before I Had A Baby‘. …
Happy Halloween and welcome to this weeks spooky spectacular #LivingArrows post. Halloween has finally arrived and the kids have enjoyed every moment. Halloween finally arrived after weeks of random parties, discos and dress up days. The kids have both had a fantastic amount of use from each of their costumes this year, the outfits were both certainly money well spent! Despite not feeling 100% I managed to walk around for an hour or so with the kids as they collected bucket loads of sweets and treats. The weather was fairly warm considering we are into November tomorrow, a perfect evening to stroll around with skeletons and such like.…
Theres nothing quite like the sound of stepping on crisp, autumn leaves. The vast array of colours, the faint smell of chimney smoke in the air and the dark nights creeping in. Autumn is the most beautiful season of the year, it’s time to don the welly boots, pull on your hats and gloves and head out into the World as it changes right before your eyes. Life Changes Change is all around us. There are moments when we feel as if the World that we know has suddenly stopped. The truth is that the World will never moving, never stop changing whether we are here to see it or not.…
I was so busy yesterday that I completely forgot to post my #LittleLoves post, excuse me for being a little late to the party! My head was a bit of shed to be honest, I’ve had a lot on my mind with one thing or another and rather than getting home from a late bar shift and sitting down with my Macbook I opted for a hot bath and bed. Read My pocket essential whilst in London was of course, a Tube map. I spent a fair amount of time listing landmarks, tube stations and mapping routes for travelling around the city.…
Following my return from Blog On last month I promised you all a post packed full of all the things that I learnt whilst I was there. There is so much that I learnt and have since used I found myself having to write separate lists for each session. What I Learnt About The Blog On Conference I realised that it doesn’t matter how significant your presence on the internet, Blog On welcomes all bloggers no matter what your DA, PA, Klout, Tots or whatever other score may be. You may have been blogging for a matter of years or days, it doesn’t matter either way as Blog On is beneficial to all that attend.…
We are now back from the city after an amazing weekend in London. We somehow seemed to fit all of the activities planned and more into just two days which is no mean feat for a family of four. I am so very proud of the kids for coping with the journey, it was an incredibly long drive and they both behaved impeccably, especially considering that we spent almost two hours sat stationary in traffic. I will be sure to purchase an IPad headrest holder for the next time we plan to travel so far, there is only so long I can lean against an IPad case without getting a sore neck!…
Ahoy Matey! Welcome Aboard #TuesdayTreasures Welcome to this weeks #TuesdayTreasures blog linky share. #TuesdayTreasures is for bloggers from all walks of life, whether you are a parenting, lifestyle or any other type of blogger you are welcome to join in and to share your posts new and old. The Blog With The Booty Each week one post which has been added to the #TuesdayTreasures linky is selected by myself to share with you all. Before becoming a parent I said so many things that I have had to rethink since actually having children. The Butterfly Mother has listed ‘Ten Ridiculous Things I Said Before Kids‘ which had me nodding and agreeing throughout the post.…
Welcome to this weeks ‘Live From London’ edition of #LivingArrows. We have had a fairly exhausting weekend rushing around trying to see and do as many things as possible. Here are a few snaps from today. The Boys On The Bridge Monumental Moments It’s our last evening ‘down South’ before we embark on yet another long drive. I’m looking forward to my own bed and a decent brew tomorrow evening. It’s been a total blast, lots of memories have been made and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat once we have had chance to get some much-needed rest after battling the hustle and bustle.…
Welcome to this weeks #MySundayPhoto, we’ve made it to London after a rather lengthy journey (mostly time spent waiting in traffic jams on the M6) and so I thought I’d share some ‘snaps from the city’ with you. We took the train out into the city today, we then spent two hours or so handing our hard earned cash over to Hamleys Toy Store, the kids loved every moment. We then jumped back onto the Tube for something a little more educational. We managed to squeeze in a visit to both the Natural History Museum and The Science Museum before heading back to our hotel.…
I am afraid it’s going to be a bit of a rushed #LittleLoves post, I am half way through packing for our mini-break to London and have yet to tick numerous jobs off the list before bedtime. I somehow seem to fitting more and more into each day than seems humanly possible. At some point by mid-December I may possibly collapse from exhaustion but until then I will soldier on somehow. Read The majority of my reading this week has either been blogs, catalogues, news articles or to-do lists. I have simply been too busy to read anything of any length.…
With Halloween approaching I have been making some plans for crafts with the kids. Whilst there is the obvious pumpkin carving I would like to include some alternative activities for the children over the half term. We were very kindly sent a ‘Gel-A-Peel Colour Pack‘ to sample and review, this seemed like the perfect product to use to create some Halloween themed jewellery and accessories with the children. What Is Gel-A-Peel? Gel-A-Peel is a coloured gel which is applied to a plastic sheet and left to set to create a range of jewellery and accessories including earrings, bracelets, mobile phone cases and more.…
Our little lady E has a bit of a thing for small, plastic toys such as Shopkins and other mini-figures. She was therefore delighted when we were sent The Num Noms ‘Diner’ and ‘Pizza Party’ set to review. What are Num-Noms? Num-Noms are cute, scented, collectible figures based upon food and flavours. “A cupful of cuteness and a spoonful of surprise make Num-Noms. To create your own flavour fusion mix a Num and a Nom. It’s a recipe for mischief with so many wacky combos. The Num Noms are the cutest, mini dishes! And, they smell so delicious!” Opening & Investigating the Num-Noms After opening the ‘Diner Num Noms’ set we realised that there was also a ‘mystery’ Num Nom toy to add to the excitement.…
It’s been ten years since we last visited London, a lot has changed since back then. We are now married, have moved house and are parents to two beautiful children. I can’t wait to show them the big city, especially to take them to the all-famous toy shop ‘Hamleys’ and watch their jaws drop at the sheer size of the place never mind its contents. We are planning to drive down with as many stops as possible considering that we have a rather travel sick little lady. Hopefully we can ‘skip the sick’ and make it through the journey without any Dramas, wishful thinking hey?…
Ahoy Matey! Welcome Aboard #TuesdayTreasures Welcome to this weeks #TuesdayTreasures blog linky share. #TuesdayTreasures is for bloggers from all walks of life, whether you are a parenting, lifestyle or any other type of blogger you are welcome to join in and to share your posts new and old. The Blog With The Booty Each week one post which has been added to the #TuesdayTreasures linky is selected by myself to share with you all. This week I really enjoyed reading Mandy Charltons post on First Dates. It took me right back to those early days when Paul and I first got together, those leg wobbling moments girls you know what I mean... Based in Newcastle, Mandy is a Photographer, Writer and Blogger. She is also a keen dog lover, having her very own beagle called Holly Bobbins which also features on her post 'First Dates, My Story So Far'. #TuesdayTreasures 18/10/2016