Pampers Wonder Week Of Deals

Having a baby is truly amazing and even though babies are tiny they can be so expensive! You think once you have decorated the nursery, brought your pram and filled the wardrobes full of cute little outfits that the expensive part is over, wrong! Baby's grow out of clothes so quickly I am forever buying my son new clothes and then I also have to buy nappies, baby milk and toiletries for him every week and it all soon adds up. 

So when I heard of Pampers Wonder Week of deals I thought what a fantastic idea as it is sure to save us parents some money on baby essentials like nappies in the run-up to Christmas. As let's face it we will need to save all the pennies we can so we can ensure Father Christmas spoils are little ones on Christmas morning. 

Tips For Coping With Two Children Under Two

My youngest two children are only 14 months apart age wise, I know I'm crazy. Having children so close in age meant that I had two children under two years of age for ten whole months. This meant two lot's of nappies to change daily, two lots of little ones to entertain and look after every day and many sleepless nights. Having children so close in age can be amazing, but it can also be so incredibly hard. I thought that it would break me on many an occasion, sometimes I went day's without showering or getting dressed, the house was a mess, I cried most day's due to exhaustion and rarely drank a hot drink.

But it is not all bad as your children will have an amazing bond and grow up together, you also deal with all the sleepless nights and nappy changing all in one go. It also gets easier, it really does, you learn to cope and find way's that work for you. My children are now 13 months and 2 years 3 months old and I miss those crazy early days of having two under two. So here are a few tips I learnt on how to cope with two children under two. 

Christmas Stocking Fillers From The Works

This year seems to have flown by so fast and now that the children have been back at school a few weeks and the weather is getting colder and the nights darker it can mean only one thing, Christmas is coming! I love Christmas and being a mum of three I start planning what I am going to buy months in advance, in fact, we have already started shopping for gifts for the children.

Each Christmas they get one big present and then smaller ones and I also like them to have lots of stocking fillers too. I normally really struggle with buying stocking fillers as I am so disorganised I normally leave them until the last minute and then never know what to get so just end up getting lots of sweets.

This year I plan on being more prepared though and have already started planning what I am going to get my two toddlers, my teen and my partner in their stockings this year after rediscovering The Works. Where I use to shop all the time for books when there was a store local to me and which stocks a great selection of stocking filler gift ideas at fantastic prices. 

The Marriott Hotel Beamish Package

Living in the North East we are lucky to have so many great attractions but my absolutely all-time favourite has to be Beamish. I have been visiting since I was a child and never get bored, If you are unsure of what Beamish is then it is an open-air working museum based in Durham telling the story of what life was really like in the North East in the 1820s, 1900's and 1940s. So when Marriott hotel got in contact to tell us about their new Beamish package and invited us along to try it out how could I say no?

The Beamish package is available at four Marriott hotels in the North East until 30/11/2015 and it includes one night in a Marriott hotel with breakfast and day tickets to Beamish museum. It is the perfect package for someone visiting the region looking for a great day out. 

My Sunday Photo 27/09/15

Last week my eldest took part in Gung-Ho the fun 5k inflatable obstacle course when it came to Newcastle racecourse. I love this action shot of her jumping down from the climbing wall. 

Slimming World Week 21

Last week I was feeling a bit down that I had gained weight, as I really wanted to lose weight each week so that I would get my two stone award by the end of the month. I was feeling a bit demotivated this week but I did stick to plan and did not turn to comfort food like I would have done in the past. I think after following the plan for so long now I have broken the comfort eating cycle, hooray.

Anyway, on to this week, I meal planned once again and I tried some new meals this week and I also had an SP day which basically means that you just eat speed foods (fruit and veg) and protein-rich foods, so no rice or potatoes. I thought I would find it hard but it was really easy and I found that I was still really full from my meals. I had fruit for breakfast followed by a big fry up for lunch and swede topped Shepard's pie with vegetables for tea. 

my meals this week

Potty Training With Thomas And Friends Review & Giveaway

My toddler Sophia was two at the end of May and I had it in my mind she would be potty trained by her second birthday, just like her older sister was. She is not her sister though she is a completely different child with a different personality, so I waited until I knew that Sophia was ready. We knew that it would not be long before she was ready for potty training as she was starting to tell us if she was wet or dirty and wanted her nappy changed. We went out and brought her a potty which has been in the lounge for a few months so she got used to it and we also brought her some pull-ups and big girl knickers, which she liked to wear over her nappy and tights like Superman. 

Two week's ago we knew the time was right to just go for it and give potty training a go. We had two accidents straight away and then she would start to wee, stop say "oh no" and run and sit on her potty and have a wee. This went on for a day or two and then she just started toddling off and using her potty herself whenever she needs a wee. 

Gung-Ho Came To Newcastle

On Saturday, September 19th Gung-Ho the fun 5k giant inflatable obstacle course came to Newcastle. If you are unsure of what Gung-Ho is where have you been hiding? as it has been all over social media and the press for weeks. When we were invited to take part by the super lovely Alex Winters (yes the CBeebies presenter ) I knew that we had to go as my daughter and partner were eager to take part and myself and the little two children tagged along to watch. 

Gung-Ho is like nothing you have ever seen before it is a 5k run but it is not any old run, oh no this is a 5k run that is an obstacle course and the obstacles are giant inflatables that are seriously fun. I am not just talking bouncy castles either they are really impressive huge inflatable obstacles that are fun for adults and older children. When I first saw them I really wished that I was taken part myself as they looked amazing. There was a climbing wall, giant ball pool, foam filled maze and the giant Thriller which is a 5 storey high slide, which is Europe's biggest inflatable slide. 

Slimming World Week 20

I am now on week 20 of the Slimming World plan, it seems so long and if I am honest I am feeling a bit deflated and disappointed that I have not lost more weight then I have so far. I have only lost one and a half stone and dropped a dress size, I can't help thinking that because I have a lot of weight to lose I should have lost double that in this amount of time. I know that I only have myself to blame though as I missed week's over the summer and did not stick to plan 100 % and if I had of stuck to it and not missed groups I could have lost more weight. 

Anyway, what is done is done and there is no point in dwelling on it as the past can not be changed, as long as I commit myself to go to my new group every week and try my best then I will lose weight. It might just take me a bit longer then I hoped it would. 

Ready For Pre-School

My toddler Sophia turned two at the end of May and I kept hearing of children her age going to pre-school or nurseries between 2-5 times per week. At first, I had no intention of sending her to pre-school, we don't need to send her as I am a stay at home mum now, and I will be at home looking after her younger brother even if she was at nursery. I just did not see the point in sending her when we did not need too.

 Also, she is only two to me that still seems so young, she does not fully understand everything that you say to her and she has no concept of danger. I was also rather nervous at the idea of leaving her with people she does not know, she has never been left with anyone other than her grandparents and aunt and uncle which is very rare. I did not know how she would react being apart from us, what if she missed us or got hurt and just wanted her mammy and daddy.

A Collection Of Nursery Rhymes : Book Review

Back in June when I was lucky enough to attend Britmums Live  I got talking to the lovely team from Parragon books. I was lucky enough to be given some of the little learner's books for my little two to review, and they absolutely loved them. So when I was offered the chance to become one of the Parragon book buddies I jumped at the chance as it means I get to review a Parragon book each month on my blog. I adore reading and hope that my love of reading gets passed down to my own children. 

The first Book Buddies book that we were sent was an adorable book called A Collection Of Nursery Rhymes from the cute as a button range. As the name suggests this book is a timeless selection of over 100 nursery rhymes, many of which I remember fondly from my own childhood. With classics such as round and round the garden, three blind mice, hush little baby and my children's favourite Their was an old lady.

Slimming World Veggie Deluxe Recipe Book Review

As regular readers will know I am following the Slimming World plan and I blog each week about my weight loss, in the hope of shifting my baby weight. I was doing well on my diet and then kind of fell off my diet over the summer, but now I am firmly back on track and focused on the plan and have lost another half a stone in the last two weeks. 

A while ago I was offered the chance to review the fairly new Slimming World recipe book for vegetarians called Veggie Deluxe. I am not actually a vegetarian myself but you really don't have to be to find this book full of mouthwatering recipes. I often get bored of eating the same meats over and over so this book was a nice refreshing change to the normal chicken and lean mince I have with most meals. 

Secondary School

Starting secondary school is a bit of a nerve wrecking time for us parents, as well as our children. This time last year I vividly remember waving my eldest off for her first day at secondary school. She looked so smart and grown up in her new uniform, but she also looked so young and innocent at the same time. She was excited about starting her new school, not at all worried or nervous, her only concern was in case she got lost. Me on the other hand, well I was a bag of nerves. She may have been eleven, almost twelve but she will still my baby girl. 

Slimming World : Week 19

After last week's amazing 5.5 lb weight  loss I was feeling motivated and back on track with the Slimming World plan this week. I have been fairly good this week, we have had no meals out or takeaways and all of my meals have been S.W friendly. 

However, I did have one day where I was not on plan at all and had toast for breakfast and lunch and chicken nugget and chips for tea. Simply because Jacob is still not sleeping and had me up all night and I was exhausted and carbs and coffee were all that got me through the day. 

S.W Meals

Slimming World Week 18 - The One With The Shock Weight Loss

After joining my new Slimming World class last week and finding out I had gained 4.5 lbs after not attending a group for a few weeks, I was secretly hoping that I could lose the weight I had gained and get back on track. I started off the week well by sitting down and planning all my meals for the week and decided to try some new meal ideas and get out of the rut I was in of always having the same meals over and over. 

I was full of good intentions to stick to plan 100 % after leaving group on Monday night feeling full of motivation, but I hold my hands up and admit I did not stick to the diet completely. We went to the beach and I did have Fish and Chips and I also had Spaghetti bolognese out of a jar, with three slices of garlic bread. But apart from those few hiccups, I did stick to plan for the rest of my meals this week. 

My meals for this week were 

August 2015

I can not believe that it is the 1st of September already, I really do feel like this year is going by far too quickly. With that in mind, I have decided that I am going to do a post each month looking back on the previous month, a bit of a monthly round-up type post. I am hoping that these posts will not only highlight my blogging month but also a snippet of our real family life too. After all, that is why I started this blog in the first place to record our family life, so that we can look back on it in years to come and my children can remember their childhood. 

So here is a look at what August 2015 had in store for us.