/

Saturday 31 December 2016

Happy New Year!

As the new year count down nears and 2017 is just hours away I wanted to wish all of my readers a

 Happy New Year!! 

I am sure for many of us this year like many others has had its up and downs but as the year comes to an end I have been focusing on the positive things I will be taking out of 2016. I chose not to really set any resolutions last year and just focus more on spending time with my family. This definitely gave me some perspective about what really matters. 

I am a worrier, I get anxious over the smallest of things that I seem to have the ability to make in to a huge issue in my mind. So in 2017 I will be really focusing on trying to to let these things get to me so much. 

I have joined a local gym and have been looking at joining up at a beginners yoga class which will be a big leap for me but one I have been thinking about for some time and this year I want to push myself to take that leap and do something new. My weight is something I have been unhappy about for some time and so I will be setting myself smaller monthly goals each month in the hope that by the end of the year I will be much happier with my weight. 

I also want to get outdoors more and have more "adventures". We have just purchased a WWT wetlands membership for the year to encourage us to get outdoors more. I will be writing up a "wish list" board with the kids of things they want to do this year, then we can tick them off throughout the year as we hopefully get through them. 

For me its not always about the big fancy moments or the huge achievements we may or may not have reached this year. For me its about those ordinary moments I am grateful to have been able to have. Its about the memories that we made and that I will treasure in my mind for a lifetime. Its about being grateful for the simple things, for life and enjoying it. 

Whatever you are hoping for in 2017 I hope its a happy, healthy and memorable year for you all, for all the right reasons! 


Do you have any hopes, wishes or resolutions for 2017?

Happy New Year and thank you for taking the time to read my blog! 


xXx

Friday 30 December 2016

Motherhood - A lonely journey.

There are many things our friends, family, health professionals etc tell us about and prepare us for during pregnancy and once we have a new baby. But for me the feeling of loneliness was one I was definitely not prepared for nor did anyone tell me about.


When my first baby arrived I would trap myself in the house, it was my safe place. A place where I didn't have to pretend to be happy and perfect, I didn't have to pretend to have it all under control. I could stay in my pyjamas and feel safe and un-judged. The days were long, really long and I would be counting down the minutes until my husband would walk through the door from work and I could speak to another adult and I was no longer "alone". It was like this wave of relief would hit me as soon as he walked in the door. Another person to talk to, to help, to understand how utterly daunting this journey is and to almost pass the reins on to each evening.

I felt ashamed that I often resented the life I had. I struggled to adapt and questioned whether parenting was really for me. I knew there are people out there who would give the world to have a baby and here I was wishing my days away until my husband would get home, struggling with something I had been led to believe would come naturally. I guess its hard when you just want to give this new baby everything and all the love you have, to find time to love yourself and give yourself a bit of TLC.

In the beginning just after my husband went back to work, adjusting was hard! I had suddenly gone from working 6 days a week surrounded by adults and having a role and an importance to being a mum in what felt like an isolating and lonely place. For a while being a mum felt like the most difficult job in the world and I was a complete novice, except unlike in a job where someone was there to guide you I was alone in a scary, new situation.

Whilst the daunting fear of looking after a new baby did go and it did get a little easier once we had found some sort of routine, the loneliness was still very much there and now a new feeling had crept in, I was jealous of my husband! Yep as crazy as that sounds I was jealous that he got to leave the house, alone! He got to have some Independence at work and talk to other adults, he got a break from the nappy changing, the feeding and the constant need to care for someone so dependent on you. I became resentful and at times it would feel like I had cut the raw deal out of this parenting malarkey.


Parenting is not always the easy journey so many programs and people make it out to be! For some people that love is instant but for others it takes a while. For some people they slip in to a routine and have it all under control. For others like myself it takes time, there are other feelings that seem to overwhelm us like the fear or the loneliness.

James is now 7 and Evelyn 2.5 years old and it has most definitely got easier. I still get a little jealous that my husband gets to get out of the house and have some time away but I certainly don't resent him anymore. The loneliness is much easier too, I definitely found with my second baby that I had more confidence to approach mums and just be me, I felt more confident in my parenting choices which certainly helped me doubt myself less too. I worried less about being the perfect mum and focused more on just being the mum I wanted to be and not what I thought I had to be.


Mums and Dads there is no right or wrongs to parenting, that's why there's no manual or guide (unfortunately!). Each journey is unique in its own way and we will all encounter a rocky path or mountain we need to navigate at some point. It doesn't mean we don't love our kids any more or less, it doesn't mean you are any less a parent or that you don't deserve it just as much as anyone else.

This is our journey as totally exhausting, lonely, emotional and magical it may be. Don't be afraid to speak out, ask for help or just shout from the roof tops just how your feeling! Those feeling of loneliness are totally normal and caring for a tiny new totally dependent little person is draining more mentally and physically then we can ever really prepare for.

Sometimes we just have to remember to cut ourselves a break and give ourselves a little bit of that love too!


xXx



Friday 23 December 2016

Vileda Windomatic **REVIEW**

Cleaning the windows is one of the jobs I really hate!! Our windows seem to get really wet from condensation too, especially in the winter when its cold outside and we have the heating on inside. Meaning they need wiping over on a daily basis, which in itself is a pretty tedious job and I never seem to be able to get the windows smear free when I do this.

So when we were recently offered the chance the give the Vileda Windomatic a try I was intrigued to see if it would really work and if it could help make clearing the windows a little quicker in the mornings!

The Vileda windomatic comes as one whole unit with a detachable container that collects the water. The windomatic charges via a cable (you need to charge it for 6 hours before the first use) and gives up to 20 minutes cleaning, meaning you don't have to worry about changing batteries etc.

The Vileda windomatic is lightweight and easy to hold and the wide vacuumed rubber blade makes quick and easy work of cleaning windows, it also tilts and flexes by up to 15 degrees to ensure you can get in to all those tricky to reach corners. But that is not all it can be used for!

As well as cleaning windows here are just some of the things the Vileda Windomatic can be used for -

- Clearing condensation on windows
- Cleaning up drink spills
- Clearing your car windscreen of moisture/condensation
- Cleaning mirrors

I can honestly say since using the windomatic clearing the windows in the morning now takes mintues and isn't a job I hate! Its quick, easy and leaves us with clear, dry and smear free windows every single time.

Here is our windows before and after and this took under 2 minutes!



As you can see they are totally clear and dry too. In the spring I will be getting my husband out on the ladder to clean the outside with this too, meaning it will save us money on having to hire a window cleaner too.

The Windomatic has been great having around for when the kids are eating too. Evelyn is currently moving from drinking out of a beaker to a cup and as I am sure you can imagine we are getting quite a few spills. The windomatic however makes light work of sucking up the spilt drink leaving the table clean and dry in seconds.

The Vileda Windomatic is priced at £49.99 and in my opinion is totally worth that! It has several uses and we are using it daily making it really worth while and a household gadget that now I have I don't want to be without.


I would give the windomatic a 4.5 out of 5. The only reason its not a 5 is because of the usage time. 20 Minutes is fine if your just using it to clear condensation of a morning. However if you wanted to tackle a bigger job like cleaning the windows I would be worried about running out of charge before the job was done.

Are there any cleaning jobs you really hate?

xXx



**I was not paid for this post, I did receive the windomatic free of charge for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thursday 1 December 2016

Christmas Traditions, Keeping traditions alive!

There is something so magical about Christmas that totally love, even more so now we have children to enjoy it with! 

When I was little, I always remember the little Christmas traditions we had as a family and how special and exciting they made Christmas. It was the little things such as every Christmas me and my sister would take it in turns 1 person chose things for Santa and the other for the Reindeer. For Santa my dad always used to take us to this little shop in the high street to choose a little miniature bottle of alcohol (my sister once picked the Tequila with the worm inside!) I bet my dad was thrilled!

Another tradition we had as kids was on Christmas morning. Once we had woken up my dad would go downstairs and "see if Santa had been", he would then bring our stockings upstairs and we would open them on mum and dads. Eating our obligatory piece of fruit found in the bottom of our sticking before heading downstairs to discover more presents! 

I adore thinking back to our little traditions and have really tried to carry these on with James and Evelyn now, along with making our own of course.