A Little Update August 2020

It feels like such a long time since I last typed up a blog post, other than a few brand campaigns that were agreed at the start of the year I haven't blogged much this year. With the coronavirus pandemic taking hold it did not feel right for me to blog about days out or product reviews, it all seemed a bit pointless when so many people have lost loved ones, jobs or businesses. I had been following the pandemic since earlier this year and was worried about it - I think I drove my husband and teen mad talking about it, but I don't think any of us realised just how bad things would get. I suffer badly with anxiety and it was just too much for me, I even took my children out of school almost two weeks before they officially shut as the whole thing scared me. 

Having the children home for such a long time has been challenging at times, I suck at home-schooling and I will be honest we didn't do an awful lot of it. The teen had online lessons (she is studying for her A-Levels) but the little two didn't do a lot. We baked, we watched films, we went on family walks, the children played. Sophia has flourished and enjoyed being home, Jacob not so much as he has missed school, his friends and football. It has been very chilled out and it has been so lovely to have all three children home and to have a break from normal life, after school clubs and busy weekends. 

I just feel very lucky that my husband still has a job and none of our family has been affected by the virus. 

Getting Crafty This Christmas With Design Bundles

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Being on 'lockdown' seems to have made so many people reassess their life and discover or re-discover hobbies that they never knew they had. There has been a huge rise in the number of people baking, decorating, gardening and crafting as people look at new ways to keep occupied as they finally have the time to do things that they have put off. I know of so many people who have discovered new skills and have used the extra time at home to be creative in all sorts of different ways, as not only does it keep you occupied but doing crafty things yourself often means that you can save money too, or you may even learn a new skill you can sell and make a few extra pennies from. Super important at this uncertain time in the world.

A few friends that I know have recently started up little craft businesses selling personalised items, prints and even clothing. My own teenage daughter is one of them, as she sadly recently lost her part-time job due to the lockdown impact on her workplace (she worked in hospitality). As she is studying art for her A-Levels she has put her artistic streak to good use by setting up a handmade gift company - with a little help from me of course. It is still early days and we don't have the website or Facebook page up and running yet as we are busy making stock but we will hopefully be launching it in August. We will be selling mainly handmade wooden and clay decor gifts and of course some Christmas items. 

We Got A Puppy

We got a puppy! Everyone meet Teddy the Poochon puppy (his dad is a toy poodle and his mam is a bichon). He was only two weeks old when we reserved him and we have had him since he was 8 weeks, he is now 13 weeks - we have had him for 5 weeks but it feels like he has been part of the family forever. 

Yep I know it sounds like such a lockdown cliche as apparently everyone is buying puppies at the moment (have you seen the price of them? people are charging crazy prices now), but we actually reserved him all the way back in March. The kids and husband have always wanted to get a puppy and I have always said no as the teen is allergic to dogs. Late last year we heard about poochons which are hypoallergenic dogs - they don't shed hair and are great for allergy suffers. So we agreed we would get a poochon puppy this summer after our holiday, in March our holiday in May was cancelled and the same day we found out about a litter of Poochon Pups and we ended up with Teddy. 

Things I Loved May 2020

It feels like forever since I sat down and typed a blog post, with everything going on in the world it did not feel right for me to be blogging about days out, reviews or any of my usual topics. I have had a super long break from blogging and social media (apart from two blog campaigns I agreed to pre-lockdown). The break has been lovely and just what I needed, I think I am one of the few people who actually likes 'lockdown' as it has been nice spending time at home with the children and having a bit of a break from the chaos of normal life. 

So much has happened over the past few months, I was so unwell all of February and some of March with my first ever chest infection - it was the most unwell I have ever been (I do wonder if it was corona) and I am still not 100% months later. It has been challenging at times having three children at home and I will be honest not a great deal of homeschooling has gone on, but that's ok the kids are happy and healthy and that's all that matters. Obviously, we have had holidays cancelled and press trips cancelled but we luckily managed to get our money back from TUI. The other half is still working so thankfully our finances haven't been hit like a lot of people, so I am feeling very fortunate. 

Banishing Boredom With The MAOAM Mischief Hub

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Hands up if your children are getting a little bit bored? Mine are now that the novelty of staying home during the pandemic has worn off. My children are 6 and 5 so they don't really understand what is going on and they are missing their friend, school, and after school clubs. Things are starting to get a bit mundane now as I am starting to run out of ways to entertain everyone, as we have played every game we own, watched lots of movies, spent hours in the garden and in the kitchen baking alongside our daily learning. 

May is also a tough month for us as we have had to deal with cancelled holidays abroad and cancelled birthday parties (the 6-year-old is turning 7) so I have been looking for fun ways to try and cheer us all up. So when I heard about  MAOAM's new Mischief Hub (yep the yummy sweets) that launched last month - I knew this would be something my own family would enjoy. The MAOAM Mischief Hub is home to 'Mischief Maker', Max, who is a bit of a tinker (very much like my own children). 

The MAOAM Mischief Hub is, as you expect, full of mischievous content for families to discover and learn some new pranks, get creative and take part in mischief missions, perfect whilst staying at home. Mischief Maker, Max, is joined by kids favourite, Dick and Dom, to help families embrace their inner Max from the safety of their own homes. I don't know about your children but anything involving pranks, mischief and family participation gets the big thumbs up from me. 

Gigantosaurus Nintendo Switch Game Review

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For Christmas, my five-year-old son got a Nintendo Switch and plays on it for an hour most days, especially now that we are home during the pandemic. He currently only has two Mario games for his switch so when we were offered to review the new Gigantosaurus game (which is released next week) I knew he would be happy. Gigantosaurus is based on the Disney jr animated series of the same name, which is super popular with dino mad children. The game is available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC and you can download the game to your device, perfect when we are all at home. 

My Teen Is Learning To Drive and Finding Out The Most Expensive Cities To Own A Car

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My seventeen-year-old daughter is currently learning to drive, she has had just over 20 hours worth of lessons so far so hopefully, she should be passed before the summer. She is really enjoying learning to drive and as it won't be long before she is on the roads we have started looking at first cars for her and looking into insurance and how much it is going to cost to run her car. Whilst searching online I came across a report by Kwik Fit on the Most expensive cities to own a car and luckily Newcastle was one of the least expensive cities to own a car in the UK. 

The report found that Birmingham was the most expensive with average running costs such as fuel, insurance and parking totalling £3,326.87 which I found surprising. Newcastle was around £1,879.11 and Exeter was the cheapest at £1,675.75.