9 Months Until I Say I Do - Starting To Panic

It is now only nine months until I get married and I am starting to panic slightly! When we booked our wedding last summer we had two whole years to plan our wedding and for the first year, we pretty much did nothing as we thought we had ages of time. Earlier this year I booked all of our main suppliers such as the photographer, cake maker etc. Since then we have also booked the florist, videographer, sourced stationery and give notice of marriage at the registry office. 

But we still have so much to do and now it is only nine months away I am majorly starting to stress out! I still don't have a dress, rings or suits, we haven't had the menu tasting yet and we haven't written a guest list. I still have so many decor bits to source and arrange and we have so much saving to do too as we are paying for everything apart from the venu hire and cake, which were gifts from our parents. 

Things To Do In Santa Ponsa Majorca With Children

Back In May, we went on holiday to Majorca, staying at the Pirates Village hotel in Santa Ponsa. The main reason we decided to visit Santa Ponsa was that we loved the look of the Pirates Village hotel, we had spent hours searching online for a small child-friendly hotel and the reviews for Pirates Village looked great so we booked back in June 2017. We had no idea what Santa Ponsa was like as we had never been before, although I have previously been to Alcudia in Majorca. Santa Ponsa is a smaller resort so I was a bit worried that there would be nothing for children to do, especially as it is fairly close to the party resort of Magaluf. However we found Santa Ponsa to be great for a family holiday, there was a real mix of people holidaying in the resort from stag and hen parties to couples and lots of families. 

We spent a week exploring the resort and we found it really family-friendly with plenty to keep children and adults entertained. So here are some things to do with children in Santa Ponsa, Majorca. My friend Sam from Travelling With Our Kids has a great post on 5 Things To Do In Majorca With Kids if you fancy exploring the island. 

Pirates Village Hotel In Santa Ponsa Majorca Review

Back in May, we went on holiday to Majorca, staying at Pirates Village hotel which is located in Santa Ponsa. We booked a package deal online through Jet2 and paid £2450 for the five of for a week all-inclusive, this included one free child's place and we had paid extra for pre-booked seats on the flight and an extra £120 for a ground floor terrace room. I wrote about our holiday back in May and since writing about my holiday I have had six people contact both myself and my partner saying they have booked this hotel after seeing how much we enjoyed it, So I have been meaning to write this review of the hotel for a while. So eventually here is my review of the Pirates Village hotel in Majorca. 

Flamingo Land Theme Park Review

In August my little boy turned four and to celebrate we decided to have a family day out at Flamingo Land theme park in North Yorkshire. This was the first time we had taken the little two (aged four and five) to a theme park before so we were unsure if they would like the rides or not and picked Flamingoland as it also has a zoo and other things to do as well as the rides. Flamingo Land is somewhere where both myself and my partner had both visited as children ourselves and is somewhere I have taken my eldest in the past. 

We visited on a Sunday during August and arrived at around 10.30am, it was a two and a half hour drive from our home in Tyneside. We were expecting it to be really busy as we were visiting during the summer holidays but it was not to bad and we were through the ticket barriers in no time at all, we had already purchased tickets in advance.

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Series 3 Review

My 5-year-old daughter loves Hatchimals, last Christmas she got the big twin Hatchimals and some of the little CollEGGtibles which she really likes. This Christmas she has added more of the CollEGGtibles to her Christmas list as she loves hatching the little eggs and seeing what Hatchimals she will find inside. Like most children, she loves the surprise element of opening these toys, thanks to YouTube videos. Hatchimals have a Series 3 collection out in time for Christmas with over 100 CollEGGtables to collect in this series. 

Sophia was lucky enough to be sent some Hatchimals CollEGGtibles series 3 to review from Spinmaster, she was so excited when the box arrived and could not wait to open them up and see which CollEGGtibles she would find to add to her collection. We were sent the one dozen egg carton which looks just like a box of dozen eggs, a four pack a two pack with a nest and a blind bag. 

A Family Meal At Frankie & Benny's Metrocentre

As a family, we often dine out and one of our go-to places has always been Frankie & Benny's. When my eldest (now almost 16-years-old) was younger I always took her to Frankie & Benny's for breakfast or lunch during the school holidays and we have celebrated many of her past birthdays there too. My younger children have been visiting since they were toddlers and always think it is a treat when we visit for a meal as they love the food and laid back atmosphere, perfect for family dining. 

Last weekend we were invited along to Frankie & Benny's in the Metrocentre to try out the new menu and to see what we thought of the restaurant after its recent refurb. Arriving at lunchtime on a Sunday the restaurant was fairly busy, we were showing to an upstairs table and managed to bag one of the coveted corner booths. The restaurant was bright and welcoming with a more modern look since we last visited. 

A Pizza Party At The Astley Arms

Recently my little boy turned four and as part of his birthday celebrations, we headed to our local Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery pub The Astley Arms, in Seaton Sluice. Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery have recently launched Pizza Parties which are the perfect way to celebrate a child's birthday as it is something a bit different and lots of fun and we were asked if we like to go along and try them out - perfect timing.

As a family, we often visit The Astley Arms for a carvery and my brother visits often for buffet breakfasts, it is a lovely pub opposite Seaton Sluice beach and play park. 

Disney On Ice presents Dream Big

Like a lot of families, Disney On Ice is something we look forward to each year. Every year the show tours UK arenas and it is once again heading to Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena this October. I have been taking my children to see Disney On Ice for over ten years now, I used to take my eldest when she was small and now I take my younger children who love it just as much as their big sister did. Each year the show is different and this year it sounds like it is going to be extra special as Disney On Ice presents Dream Big.

This year Moana takes to the ice for her European debut and we are super excited, my children (like so many we know) are huge Moana fans. Taking to the ice alongside demigod Maui I am sure she will have the audience captivated and we can't wait to see how she manages to swap the ocean for the ice rink. It sounds like it will be spectacular and not only will the show be featuring Moana but it will also feature eight tales of courage and heart, including Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Tangled. 

Things I Loved August 2018

September is a month of big change in our household as my youngest will be starting school, for the first time all three children will be in full-time school. I have mixed emotions about this as Jacob has only just turned four so will be one of the youngest in his year group, however, I think he is ready for full-time school and that he will hopefully enjoy it. He is doing two weeks of half days to settle in and get used to his new teachers and classroom and then he will start full-time. My eldest has also started year 11, her final year in school and her GCSE year so she also has a big year ahead of her and Sophia has gone into year 1. Hopefully, I will have more time to blog and keep the house tidy now the children will all be in school. 

Anyway, let's have a look at some of the things that I have loved from the month gone by.

10 Months Until I Say I Do

It is now only ten months to go until my wedding date, I really can't believe how fast it is coming around! We booked our wedding with two years to go and naively thought that we had loads of time so didn't really do much and now I am majorly regretting that as we still have so much to save up for and I am panicking about losing weight to fit into a dress! 

This month we have done a little bit of wedding planning, we have booked the last of our suppliers which is a relief. I really wanted a videographer for the wedding and I finally talked the other half around into booking a one, yay! I spent hours looking online at videographers and eventually found a one that was in budget, that I liked the style of and where you actually got lots of footage of the day as some you only got a very short video from. So I have managed to get that sorted and booked and deposit is all paid, I think I will feel nervous being on camera all day but hopefully, I won't notice after a while as I think it will be nice to have a video of our big day to look back on.