Thursday, 31 March 2016

I Bloody Love Spring!

Right now things are pretty much all over the place in our little lives, almost sold out house, have no where else to go after the gazumping dabacle, work/ study / life balance is well.....unbalanced and little legs has decided that rather than sleep she is going to cry every 20 minutes unless she has a dummy in her mouth and one in each hand. All in all this has left us stressed, fed up and knackered!

However I woke up this morning to blue skies and an undeniable feeling that Spring is on its way and it just made everything feel a little lighter.

Yes we may have to stay in our little 2 bed abode but D loves the idea of bunk beds and it really is an awesome house.

Yes I feel stressed by working, studying and looking after the kids but it's temporary and will hopefully pave the way for a big changes and a much more home focused future 

And yes we're knackered but I'm pretty sure most parents of 18 month olds are knackered as well. I've been here before, I know it will pass and I know in my heart that she's not doing this to deprive her poor parents of much needed sleep, she's having a hard time and needs us - its just a shame she needs us all night long ZZZzzzzzzz




Thank you spring sunshine, thank you new flowers, thank you ice creams as big as our heads and thank you for the prospect of summer! we all need a little perspective sometimes

Sunday, 27 March 2016

Little Pip is 18 Months old

Miss Freya Pearl

You're 18 months old today and I thought I'd take the chance to mark you officially becoming a mini person and sob quietly that you're not my tiny baby anymore

When i found out we were having another girl,I just presumed we'd have a mini version of D but I couldn't have been more wrong, you're Freya and although you couldn't be more different from your big sister together you're both pretty perfect!

you are so lucky have D as your big sister, she loves you so so much and she's going to no doubt bail you out of trouble for the rest of your life, she'll be the one holding the window open for you to sneak through when you come home late, she'll be getting you out of trouble, covering up for you - She'll have you're back no matter what. D loves being your big sister, she's flourished in the role and you've given her so much confidence watching how she plays with and looks after you is the best thing in the world


You on the other hand are cheekiness personified, you have a huge, fearless, funny character. You drive D crazy sometimes, you want everything she has, won't cuddle when she wants to, will definitely cuddle when she doesn't! But its so clear you simply adore her and I hope you'll be best friends forever.


I'm so proud of you every single day and I love watching the little person you are becoming.

You are funny, love attention and can be a stubborn, independent little lady when you want to

Your favourite place is the swings and you will sing and dance until you fall asleep (literally)

You love books and drawing and baby Jake and Igglepiggle are your current heroes

You LOVE cake especially chocolate cake and will eat spaghetti Bol every day of the week!

You stand on everything, climb on the unclimbable and it is an absolute miracle we haven't had any visits to A&E yet!

You're becoming so so clever, you can say so much and I know you understand so much more. I was going to list your words but you can say so much now it would go on forever!

You're amazing, you make me laugh constantly and I really do love you more than chocolate!

Happy 1.5 birthday Baby Pip



Thursday, 17 March 2016

Boots Opticians Launch New Eye Test Storybook - Zookeeper Zoe

BootsUK have launched a brand new exciting eye check story book this week called "Zookeeper Zoe" 

Developed with the National Literacy Trust and in collaboration with Celebrity Dad Peter Andre, this is a story book with a difference. Throughout the book there are a number of interactive eye check activities which will help parents to identify if their children require an eye test. Aimed at Children aged 4-6 it tells the story of a little girl called Zoe who during a trip to the zoo ends up being a zookeeper for the day. For Animal crazy Zoe this is a dream come true and she has a fun filled day with the animals helping keep the zoo open. 



The eye checks are integrated within the story so children will enjoy taking part in the activities without even realising they are doing so, meaning parents can work through them in a fun and interactive way. 

Mr R wears glasses and has done since childhood do it's something I'm aware of for my little ones, this is a great way of keeping an eye on the children eyes while indulging our love for books!

As part of the Launch of Zookeeper Zoe Boots held a fantastic Animal themed party at the St Martins Lane Hotel in London and invited us along to join them. We had a brilliant morning and there was so much to keep the girls entertained, from facepainting (a particular favourite of Daisy's) a very popular balloon modeller, craft tables for mask making and colouring and not forgetting real life animals for the children to meet! Daisy loved saying hello to the snakes, parrot and Lemur and even at one point had a huge snake slithering over her as she lay on the ground!



There was also a wonderful comfy area where we could sit and read the book have our photo taken with some of the Characters - Freya was particularly keen on the Gorilla! I loved the green screen where the kids could have their photo taken and have it made into an identity badge for them to wear during the day - Daisy loved hers and it's a great memory of a fun morning. 





The entertainers on the day were truly brilliant, so friendly with the children and even had my normally shy girly dancing round like an elephant. The magic show even had us grown ups amazed and they ended with a lovely picnic together while the adults enjoyed a few glasses of  fizz and canapés. 



All in all a brilliant morning and a suitably fun filled way to launch a great idea and great book. Ours has definitely become a bedtime favourite!




Zookeeper Zoe is available free from BootsUK and Boots Opticians stores while stocks last. It can also be found online at www.zookeeperzoe.co.uk


Sunday, 6 March 2016

5 Ways to Make your Mother's Day the Best Ever, with Champneys

We all hear the same things every year, people saying how they don't need a special day to enjoy motherhood, remind themselves their a good parent or be treated kindly by their family and yes this is all well and true but in reality it's just nice! As a busy mum it's lovely to have a day where we remember who we are, think about how much our families mean to us and be appreciated for how hard we work and if alongside that we get a bit of relaxation along the way whats there to complain about!

So when Champney's got in touch and asked if I would like to join their challenge to blog about 5 things which could make Mothers day the best ever I thought why not - it's good sometimes to remind ourselves we doing a good job of the hardest job in the world! 

So here's mine.........

1. A bit of peace and quiet. As mums we all have our own expectations of peace and quiet. For some it might be a weekend away or a spa day but for me, a lady of little pleasures just a wee alone without the toddler attempting to 'help' or a cup of hot tea sitting down without a four year old declaring 'mummy I'm princess Fiona - you be shrek!' is an absolute treat.

2. A meal out. Technically for me this is simply anything I haven't cooked and more importantly I won't have to wash up after. The fact someone else has the pleasure of picking up the toddler debris really does make it Mother's Day heaven!

3. A lie in. There aren't many parents (at least those telling the truth) who get enough sleep at night so the thought of a little child (and husband) free extra sleep in the morning is the perfect Mother's Day treat. And when I say lie in I really only mean till 7am I'm not greedy! 


4. A long hot bubble bath. Okay maybe a long hot shower, bugger I'll take a super quick Luke warm shower if I could only get away without shave my legs with little eyes peering at me, a toddler scaling the loo to eat the toilet roll and the foreboding knowledge that at any second your mobile phone/clothes/hairdryer/fully dressed toddler might join you

5. If none if the above are possible then you can always rely on the fail safe, always a winner, Mother's Day treat and bring me a large cold G&T - perfect



I'm pretty lucky and I'm happy with my lot in life but a little bit of time alone to relax would never go amiss. So when Champney's asked if I'd like to try their A little something special gift box it sounded like a lovely excuse to take a bit of time to myself. The set comes in a beautiful sunny yellow box with a real feeling of quality and the products smelt amazing as soon as I opened the box. The box contains:

  • Citrus Blush Enlivening Shower Cream
  • Citrus Blush Enlivening Daily Scrub
  • Citrus Blush Enlivening Body lotion
  • Summer Dream Rewarding Bubble Heaven
  • Summer Dream Rewarding Candle
All the products are full sized and it feels like a real treat to receive, I can't wait try out  them all out and give myself a little time to relax after a fun filled mother's day. 

I was sent the Champney's gift box for the purposes of this post but all words and opinions are my own. 

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

So, we got gazumped.... and the rest........

To the scumbag who committed to us buying your home and then went and exchanged with another buyer did you realise or care.......

We have 2 young children

We work bloody hard to make ends meet and have put everything we have financially into buying this house

We started to plan a future there for our children and shared our exciting plans with our equally as excited children.

We were looking forward to an exciting year building our forever home.

We've already spent thousands on fees, surveys and solicitor costs

I used to see the positive in people and believed most people were essentially good but now I'll forever be wary and sadly consider everyone's greed and self centredness before seeing the good 

And most importantly, you made my 4 year old cry - You're a dick

I'm no housing expert or indeed conveyancing solicitor but it's worth knowing that in England Gazumping is very much a thing and perfectly legal - in a sellers market its often used to put buyers up against each other to get the best deal. However what isn't ok is what happened to us - our seller's solicitor issued 2 contracts and placed us in a contract race without us being made aware. Contract races, where 2 buyers literally race to exchange first, (although clearly bonkers) are legal but each party needs to be aware and in agreement which wasn't the case for us. Don't worry it's being pursued by our solicitor.........

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