Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring Blogger Mummy Lauren

Welcome back to another week of my guest post series Other Bloggers Family Lives. This week I am featuring one of my favourite blogging friends Lauren from Blogger Mummy Lauren - a fellow Geordie who I had the pleasure of meeting at Britmums last year. I love Lauren's blog as it is full of family life, her son who has had ASD, her adorable little girl, reviews and I love her new kids photography linky.

So lets find out a bit more about the family behind Blogger Mummy Lauren. 

Getting Summer Ready With Gillette Venus

Now that June is almost over and it will soon be July I have started wearing all of my summer clothes again, when it is not raining that is! I have packed away all my jumpers and long sleeved tops and welcomed back my dresses and vest tops, which I can hopefully start wearing once Mr sunshine decides to make a rare appearance here in the North East. I always panic when I wear a pretty dress or a vest top as I like to have nice fuzz free legs and armpits, lets face it stubbly arms and legs are not a good look. 

Since becoming a mum I openly admit that I have let myself go a bit, as I simply don't have the time nor the money to spend on pampering myself. One beauty ritual that I always make time for though is shaving my legs and armpits as it is quick, simple, affordable and can be done from the comfort of your own home. Plus I am a bit of a wimp and not a fan of waxing etc as it hurts. I am a big fan of the Gillette Venus range of female shaving products, they are the only brand that I use and I even buy them for my teenage daughter as they are kind on her sensitive skin. 

#EnjoyMoreWater This Summer With Robinsons Squash'd

As I am back on a diet and trying to lose weight once and for all I have been making an effort to try and drink more water. I do actually like water and will often buy a bottle if I am thirsty and we are out, however I hardly drink any at home. I am all to aware that my children copy what I do so I need to keep reminding myself to eat healthy and drink more water so that they do too. 

My little boy Jacob drinks lots of water and is forever asking for a drink in his sippy cup. However my two girls are like me and they don't really drink a lot, if you asked me how much my children actually drank each day I honestly would have no idea how much they drink. It seems that I am not alone in not knowing how much water my children drink as 64% of parents surveyed by Robinsons did not know either. The survey also found that 42% of parents said that their children find the taste of water 'boring', a phrase that my own teen mutters often.

Thing's I Loved In June

As it is nearing the end of the month I thought that I would write about things that I have been loving this month. I love writing these posts as they are always full of happy memories and are nice to look back on. I know I say this every single month but it really does not seem like it was so long ago since I was writing last months post. 

June has been a fairly quiet month for us, we have not had any big days out, events or anything important happen. It has been nice to just relax and spend time at home and in the garden and have lots of family time and local days out. 

So let's have a look at what I have been loving in June. 

Taking back The Kitchen And Baking Brownies

When I was a child the kitchen really was the heart of are home, my mum came from a family of bakers and she was always baking pies and cakes for people as well as delicious homemade meals for us. I have such fond childhood memories of baking cakes, jam tarts and eating marzipan as she iced Christmas cakes. I have not inherited my mums love of cooking and baking though, I never bake with my own children as I hate the mess. 

Recently I was contacted to see if I would like to take part in a Take Back The Kitchen campaign which is part of the bigger #LittleKitchen campaign by Wren Kitchens. The campaign came about when they surveyed 2,000 parents with children aged 0-16 and found out that 3 in 4 parents admitted that they could be eating better as a family, something I am sure many families can relate to my own included. The survey also showed that 1 in 10 parents admit to cooking from scratch and sitting down to eat only once or twice a month! 

Trolley Bags - Review

Since having my littlest two children I rarely go food shopping these days as I find it so much easier to just order it online. However sometimes when the other half is off or if we just need a small shop we head to the local supermarket or aldi to stock up. Every single time I go shopping I forget to take bags with me and end up having to pay for plastic ones which I throw away as soon as we get home, which I know is bad for the environment and a waste of money. I also hate plastic bags as they always seem to rip, don't hold much and they are just a pain to carry when full. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring Nomipalony

Welcome back to another week of my guest post series Other Bloggers Family Lives. This week I am featuring a fellow North East blogger the lovely Nyomi from Nomipalony. Nyomi only started blogging a few months ago but her blog is full of parenting posts, restaurant reviews and family days out and she also makes lovely vlogs too. 

So lets find out more about the family behind Nomipalony. 

Education Quizzes - Helping Children Learn At Home

It was a long time since I was last at school and so much has changed since I was a student back in the late 90's, so much so that I don't even understand what some of the subjects my teen is learning about. I often find myself having to google what her homework means when she asks me for help, as I simply don't understand some of the subjects she studies. My youngest daughter will be starting primary school next year and I don't want to be googling her homework too, hopefully I am smarter then a 5 year old.

So when I heard about Education Quizzes a brilliant site that has quick fun quizzes for all children from key stage 1 (reception age) right up to GSCE age I just had to have a look and see how much of the curriculum I actually know. The site is nice and colourful and super easy to use and is broken up into individual sections such as key stage 1, Key stage 2, 11 plus, Key stage 3 and GCSE. When you click on each section it will give you a description what that section is about and then a list of subjects for you to choose from and then you can start the quizzes.

Falling In Love With The Teletubbies Again

 When my eldest daughter who is now 13 was a baby she absolutely adored the Teletubbies, she watched them every single day on Cbeebies and would get so excited when it came on TV. She was such a big fan that she had all four characters in ted version which she would take to bed each night. Now she is a teenager and her Teletubbie days are long behind her but whenever I hear them mentioned I always remember them fondly and they instantly remind me of her toddler days.

Third Time Lucky With Slimming World ?

Everyone who knows me in real life and who has been reading my blog for a while will probably know that I have joined and failed at sticking to Slimming World twice in the past year. Last spring I joined and I did actually go on to lose almost 2 stone and I was feeling amazing, however having a baby (he was 8 months old when I joined) that did not sleep kind of made me lose my motivation as I was knackered and just wanted sugary coffee and choccy biscuits all day. I stopped going to group in the October as I just did not feel like it was the right time for me to lose weight as I was exhausted. 

Fast forward a few months and a few days after new year I once again re-joined group and got off to a good start losing 4lbs in the first week but I was not staying to groups, I was not checking my syns and writing things down and the weight was not coming off. I gave up after a few weeks and stopped going to group, in hindsight I was doing the typical new year thing and trying to change so many things all at once and I ended up failing everything. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring Keeping Strong & Moving Forward

Welcome to another week of my guest post series Other Bloggers Family Lives. This week I am featuring one of my very good blogging friends Nikki from Keeping Strong & Moving Forward, we actually both started blogging on the exact same day two years ago! I have met Nikki twice in real life, I spent most of Britmums with her last year and I met her and her two boys when she was in Newcastle a few months ago too. She is really friendly, happy and lovely and I always read her blog which is about life as a family of 7, fun days out as well as raising awareness of down syndrome. 

So lets find out more about the family behind Keeping Strong & Moving Forward. 

Father's Day Gift Ideas From House Of Fraser

This Sunday the 19th June is Fathers day, I am sure that you are all well aware as the shops have been stocked with cards and gifts for weeks now. However even though the shops are filled with gifts I actually really struggle on what to buy my own dad and my partner for fathers day, let's face it their is only so many beer glasses and coffee mugs with 'dad' or 'grandad' on that they need. So I have decided to scour the net and find some brilliant gift ideas for the special man in your life, luckily I found plenty from House Of Fraser.

I do like spoiling my dad on fathers day as I no longer have a mum so my dad is like a mum and dad all rolled into one, he is always helping myself and my brother out and we are very lucky to have him. I also like to spoil my partner as I don't normally buy him much for fathers day as it is his birthday two day's beforehand so he normally gets a bit neglected on fathers day, bless him.

I have found a few things that I know they would love to receive on Sunday morning for Fathers day. 

May 2016

I feel like it has been ages since I last wrote a monthly round up post, probably because I normally post them on the first of the month and this month I am very late. I am not sure if it is because the sun is shining and I want to be outdoors more or what but lately I have seriously been slacking on the blogging front. I have hardly blogged, I have been quiet on social media and have a review list that is shockingly long, my stats are dreadful too. You know what I honestly don't mind as sometimes I think that it is nice to take a little break from blogging and just enjoy life. 

Anyway enough of me babbling on here is my little monthly round up of what we got up to in May. I love writing these posts to look back on what we have been up to as a family. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring Babi a Fi

Welcome to another week of my guest post series Other Bloggers Family Lives. This week I am featuring Jess from Babi A Fi a blog that I only discovered a few months ago but now read all of the time. Jess's blog is full of blogging tips, reviews and life with her adorable little girl Marianna.

So lets find out more about the family behind Babi a Fi.

Jacob's Summer Of Firsts

Being a mum of three I understand all to well how quickly children grow up and change. As my little boy Jacob is my youngest and most likely my last ever 'baby' I try and saviour every single one of his first experiences. Last year was a big year for him as he celebrated his first birthday, took his first steps, ate his first foods, got his first tooth and said his first words, among so many other wonderful first moments. However last year he was still so very young and he won't remember any of the experiences himself. 

This year however things are different he will be two at the end of August and he is now an adventurous little boy with a mind of his own and the world at his feet. This year Jacob understands everything that is going on around him and he understands and soaks everything in like a little sponge, it is a joy to watch him discover things for the very first time. 

The Ultimate Camping Guide By Halfords

I will start this post off by saying that I have never actual camped before in my life, so you are probably wondering why on earth I am writing a post about camping ? Well the thing is as a family of five we have been looking for weekends away and we have found it really hard to find a room that will actually sleep all five of us and often we have to book two rooms instead of just the one. My partner suggested that we go camping as it will be a lot cheaper and it will be an adventure for the children as all three of them adore being outdoors.

 My dad goes camping every June in France when he attends the Le Man's car race for a week and he loves it and is always recommending it. I honestly would not know where to start with camping though, we don't own a tent and I would have no idea which one to buy. I don't know what camping equipment we would need and also I would not even know where to go camping or how to find a campsite. 

Animal Inside Out At Life Science Centre Newcastle

On Saturday we were invited along to new Animal Inside Out Exhibition at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle. I will be honest and say that I had no idea at all what the exhibition would be like and it has been a long time since I last visited the Life Science Centre, so I visited with a totally open mind. I decided to take my two girls with me who are aged thirteen and just turned three, I thought my one year old would probably be a bit too young. The exhibition is aimed at children aged 8 + so I was really unsure about taking my three year old but she absolutely loved it!

Num Noms Review

Have you heard of Num Noms yet ? They are the new craze that is sweeping the nation as adults and children both fall in love with these cute little scented collectables. My three year old daughter seen them advertised on TV and instantly wanted some as soon as she seen them, I don't blame her as they do look rather cute! So imagine her delight when we were sent some to review. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring DIY Daddy

Welcome to another week of my guest post series Other Bloggers Family Lives. This week I am featuring Nigel from DIY Daddy who you may recognise as I featured his lovely wife Emily from Twin Mummy & Daddy a few weeks ago. I think it is really nice when a husband and wife both blog as it is nice to find out what they both think of something.

So let's find out a bit more about the family behind DIY Daddy.