Keepin em busy!

Well......the school holidays are here and our wedding is all done and dusted I figure that its time to plan some activities for munchkin while hes off school!

Its easy to get carried away within your day as a mum, cleaning, tidying, washing dishes, hanging the washing, etc etc and if your children are anything like mine they are constantly nagging... 'mummy! come and do this!' 'mummy can we play games?' 'mummy can you play with my cars' and at times I do find myself saying ' not now babe, Mummy is busy' so I'm making it my aim to do as many daily activities other than free play as I can with him. Here is what we ideas we have so far....

• Painting
• colouring
• Playing games
• Playdoh
• Music & Dance
• Cooking
• Role play (shop, house, hair dressers, picnic)
• Face painting
• Water play
• Sand play
• Gloop play
• Bubble blowing through a straw
• Making spider web around the living room
• Cutting and sticking
• Make fruit kebabs
• Fly a kite
• Feed the ducks
• Go on a treasure hunt and collect pine cones, etc
• Trip to the library

Obviously these are just some of the things we have come up with but you can find loads of activities on pintrest (yes I'm completely obsessed with pintrest).
I would love to know all of your plans with your little ones throughout the summer holidays!

Car boot sales! My top 10 tips

Evening all,
As many of you would have read in my recent blog post we are short on money and I've been trying to make as much money as we possibly can.
So my alarm was set and the boxes were ready to load into the car for an early morning car boot sale.
I'd managed to smuggle some toys away from munchkin as he has way to many that he doesn't play with and my inlaws had given me some bits and bobs of theirs to get rid of.

Soooo.....perching your bum inside your open yet uncomfortable car boot while in a muddy field, with bitter winds at 7 am in the morning isn't my idea of a lazy Sunday morning but hey! Somethings gotta give if we are gonna get some money.
My plan was to keep low prices to sell more! My dad came and had a cuppa with me and to my surprise hubs-2-b brought munchkin up for a walk and to see all the toys I'd secretly robbed from him his mummy!

Munchkin found it amazing to be able to wander around in the boot of the car and put people's money in our cash box (he's convinced that the money is for Butlins).

Anyways lots of things sold....it amazes me at what people will buy at boot sales. It is defiantly true that 'one mans junk is another mans treasure'. When sorting through the garage I'd found a cutlery tray that didn't fit in our draw in out new house. The woman gave me £1 for it and all I could thing was.....you could probably get a brand new one in the pound shop! But she was happy...and so was I.

We found ourselves drooling over all of the passersby with huge burgers and hot dogs....a handful of times I nearly gave into the temptation of a dirty treat but kept thinking of the money.

The joyful time came for me to pack up and go home (Yey!) couldn't wait to warm up and have a nice cuppa.
After getting home munchkin hindered helped while I counted my money. After taking out the cost of the pitch (£5) and my float for the cash tin (£20) we actually earned £120 which I'm really pleased about because when my alarm went off I was considering hitting the snooze button and going back to sleep! So I'm glad that I dragged myself out of bed.

I would really recommend doing a boot sale to get rid of items while earning some cash. Here are my 10 top tips!

1) Do your research into good boot sales in your area

2) Box up items in advance and stick prices on them

3) Take plenty of carrier bags

4) Take a cash float of change

5) wrap up warm or take sun cream depending on the weather

6) Take a flask and some food so that your not temped to spend your earnings on the burger van

7) Take a sturdy table. Papering tables are good but use something to support the middle underneath

8) Be prepared for hagglers....it's a boot sale....it's gonna happen

9) If you're going for a walk don't take too much money, that way you can't be tempted to buy loads.

10) Make sure all disks, CD's, games & DVD are in their boxes.

I'd be interested to know all your thoughts, feelings and experiences with car boot sales.

Children & The small things!

Over the past 2 years I kept thinking of how to create memories with Munchkin. I dreamt of Disney world, driving to the biggest zoos available etc and lately Ive come to realise its not always the big things that stick in children's mind but the small things that sometimes seem meaningless to you and I.
Surly not?!?.....the biggest safari park with the most amazing creatures?! that's gonna create memories right? well yes of course obviously depending on the child's age!

We have gone to lots of zoos etc and Munchkin has loved it however after returning home and giving it a day or so he doesn't mention it any longer.
Its not that i begrudge paying for day trips etc however we aren't exactly flash with the cash and have had to cut down on the day trips lately, this is what has let to me discovering 'The small things'.



We took a walk as a family one day and took a blanket, ball, and a little picnic....we stopped where ever we wanted to sat and had our picnic and picked daisy's and munchkin has been on about this little adventure for ages!
When i started to think about the little things i started to do more 'little things' that munchkin has loved and he still talks about them now....i watch him and he laughs a different laugh and smiles a different smile! Something I don't see of hear when we visit zoos etc.



Today we went up to a local favourite of mine! It's a huge wide open space with amazing views! (Joys of living in Wales), a cycle track, woodlands and wetlands. It's so open we can let munchkin run and we can see him. No matter what time of day or year we go up there, there is only ever a hand full of people so it's lovely and peaceful. Today we decided to explore the wetlands. Loaded with our net and bucket I could see the excitement on munchkins sun creamed sweet little face! We got to the little pond and pool areas and even thought we didn't find anything with out nets we spent ages watching some huge beautiful dragonflies dart around above the water. They were so colourful and something that munchkin had never seen in real life! We soon came across lots of other little surprises like butterflies, frogs, hares, grass hoppers...and wait for it.....pine cones (a favourite of munchkins). This afternoon out cost us nothing yet it's something that I would have taken for granted in the past.

I'm going to list some of the 'little things' we really enjoying doing as a family! they are all things that cost nothing or very little! this list are things that some of us may dismiss as silly things that children wont be interested in! think again!

1. In the autumn... collect different leaves! even have a kick about in them!
2. Plant potatoes and a potato sack! great fun digging around for them when they are ready!
3. Go and collect pine cones/acorns
4. Fly a kite! (poundland sells a 2pk of kites for £1)
5. Go to the local garden centre to look at the fish (some will even let you feed them)
6. Go to your nearest lake/pond and fish for tadpoles
7. Chalk on the pavement/paving slabs
8. Picnic often!
9. Make a fort with your sofa or clothes horse
10. Boot sales! fab exercise walking around and kits can get a cheap toy if they are well behaved.
11. Build sandcastles at your local beach
12. Turn up the music and dance together!
13. Bowl of soapy water, plastic plates, a sponge...pop it outside in the nice weather and let them get on with it!
14. Finger painting! yep it can be messy but nothing that cant be cleaned (as long as you get the right paints)
15. Cheerio threading....thread cheerios onto string! amazing for fine motor skills.
16. Swim...my local leisure centre don't charge for children under 5 (i think! could be older)
17. Brush! this goes for sweeping and brushing hair! all children love brushes!
18. Water bombs! my local B&M Bargains sells 2 packs of 100 watter bombs for £1. fab fun!
19. Bubbles! Munchkin loves loves loves Bubbles!
20. Feed the ducks with your left over stale bread

These are just some of the fun cheap things that we like to do

Mum without a Mum

After losing my mum very suddenly a few years ago it tore my world apart.

Mother Day is always a difficult time of the year for me as Ive lost both my Nan and Mum and seem to get emotional at the simplest of things for example this morning we popped into Asda and while waiting to pay i went into a world of my own watching people busily rush by then I noticed a woman who had the biggest bunch of roses from the shop....her partner said 'by god Hun.....they are £30' to which she replied 'only the best for my Mum'.  She was right! Mums deserve the best!

That triggered me and i could feel myself getting all tearful as i started to look at everyone buying flowers for their mums and Nans.....Why was mine taken away? I want to give my Mum the biggest bunch of flowers and watch her smile with joy when i hand them over to her followed by a huge cuddle and kiss...but i cant. Yes i could put them on the grave but its not the same.

I get envious of women that i see with their mums and i get angry at people who don't respect their Mums. They aren't going to be there forever and i certainly didn't expect to lose my mum before she was 50.

If you are reading this and you have lost your mum you will know exactly how i feel. We would give the world to see them, cuddle them and kiss them and chat to them about girly things and have them there to give advise.....but our opportunity has gone.

If you are reading this and you are lucky to have your mums and grand mothers here this is what my advice would be...

• Don't be embarrassed to tell them you love them as often as you can. It can never be said too much.
• Its easy to say don't argue but having a few cross words is part and parcel of parent and child relationships, however make up before you go out or before you go to sleep. I argued with my mum before she dies and unfortunately didn't get change to say sorry and make up.
• Treat her....take her our shopping..even if its just for a browse, treat her to afternoon tea or lunch or even just a girly night in with a bottle of wine.
• Don't wait for her birthday, mothers day or Christmas to let her know what she means to you! 

I'm not telling you how you should manage your relationship with your mum I'm just letting you know about the things i wish I'd done more and i wouldn't have lived with regrets and guilt after i lost her.

I cant bring my Mum back but you can make the most of your Mums before something happens to them and your chance is taken away.

To everyone whos Mum has passed away.....Keep their memory strong, keep your head and chin up (even if it falls from time to time), make the woman who you called Mum so proud. Treasure each moment you shared together. Cry tears because they arent here and miss them with all your heart. Its good to let it out.

Stay strong

All my love!

If anyone is in the same situation as me and would like to talk please feel free to email me

mywouldandme26@gmail.com 

Early Easter Gift

Having some sunshine lately has put us all in a good mood right? Well it has for me! 
as the sun comes out I started to think of the garden and tidying it up as we not long ago moved in and out last house didn't really have a garden. 
Last Saturday my inlaws came down for the day and came in with a large box and told me and hubs that this was our Easter present and that we could have it early.....after turning the box around I discovered that it was one of those green houses with plastic covering and it was a nice big one too!

I love putting stuff together so it didn't take long before I was excitedly unboxing it (excited over a green house?!?...yes this is what my life has come too). I put it together and we moved it into position in the garden!
 
It came with selves on one side and pegs to peg it down as these can be known to fancy a fly around the streets so we also put some paving slabs on the bottom bars inside to keep it secure! It has a zip door that you can roll up if needs be.

My inlaws also brought down some seed....i forgot to take a picture but they were aubergines, tomato, lettuce, strawberry, sweet pea, and some flowers for munchkin to grow like sunflower seeds.
We decided we would plant them in April. 
Its safe to say that munchkin loves it and calls it his play tent.
The next day we wandered on down to the garden centre to have a look at what other seeds and things we could consider growing. Munchkin was happy because they had a funky trolley with a car attached.....he thought this was amazing and keeps asking to go to the garden centre (undoubtedly to ride in the car)
I was so overwhelmed at the amount of seeds available.....so many different ones! As a beginner its all trial and error for us! We ended up coming away with Mint (I love mint), Cabbage, peppers and leaf salad.

There is something about wandering around a garden centre on a Sunday that i really find satisfying! I don't know why because I'm not a big gardening person but growing up nearly every Sunday me and my parents could often be found walking around a garden centre!

Munchkin has fallen in love with a Robin ornament that is in the Local garden centre. Ive gotta admit its pretty damn cute! Ever since we bought our bird feeder for the garden we get so many birds but we have two little robins that come onto the feeder very often and hes named them Robbie the robin. So every time he insists on going to see Robbie in the garden centre! I think we are going to have to buy it for him as we have probably spent more on petrol going to see 'Robbie' than what he actually costs to buy!!

Later that day Munchkin was excited to plan some of his sun flower seeds so we trundled up to the greenhouse and he had great messy fun putting the soil into the pots, planting his sun flower seeds and then watering them (and himself) with the spray gun!
I also couldn't wait until April to plant some thins so I planted a few of the seeds! I'm not sure how they are all going to turn out but i guess we will find out! I will keep you posted!
Its become our little hobby and even we don't get anything from it at the end we will have had fun as a family in doing it. Hubs is wants munchkin to have hands on experience in growing things from scratch so obviously this is a learning experience for him too. I would highly recommend getting one for your garden! You can bigger or smaller ones than the one we have.

The 'boring' non drinker

Me:- Are you going on Saturday?

Friend:- yeh!!

Me:- fab I'll pick you up if you like!

Friend:-What?!...Are you not drinking??

Me:- No, I don't drink do I?

Friend:- Ahhh you are sooo boring!!

This is just one of many conversations that happen regarding me not drinking alcohol!

Why is not drinking alcohol such a big deal???

In my younger years (oh don't I just sound like a little old biddy) I would really enjoy going to a friends house to get ready before our big night out in the City. We would drink whatever we could even if we hated the taste of it!! Then we would head into the City and all of the night clubs and drink whatever took our fancy. We would flirt with men and have a right giggle and often get so drunk that we would never remember it the next day. We would be left with the worst hangover!

This was something I used to brag about!

Just before my 21st Birthday my mum passed away suddenly and it tore my world apart and I began to look at many things in life differently.

I realised that in the past I'd be drinking on the weekends just to get drunk! I hated the taste of alcohol so why was I drinking?? It was just to get 'smashed' as we used to call it.

I began to look around at people who believed that they needed to get drunk to have a laugh and be stupid. people who would make themselves sick at the end of the night so that they wouldn't have a hangover the next day.

Pic taken from Personalised pretties

Next time you speak to a friend or family member who doesn't drink alcohol don't call them boring! There maybe a reason they don't drink alcohol....health reasons, personal reasons or even just because they don't like the stuff!

Do you call vegetarians boring because they don't eat meat??

I have had people in my life who rely on alcohol and I've seen the impact that it can make. Obviously I'm not saying that everyone who drinks is an alcoholic!

Ive always wanted to be the person who cracks open a nice bottle of chilled rose and sits down after a long day sipping away at rather large glass of wine.....however I can honestly say i don't enjoy alcohol what so ever! I would rather sit there with a nice glass of coke!

Why do you have to have a drink to be more confident and have a giggle?? isn't this relying on alcohol to become a person that your not!

Why is getting pissed an important part of your night??

I'm now 27 and other than very special occasions Ive not had a drink. Now I have a Fiance and a baby I hate nothing more than going out with friends to nightclubs! I'm over that and I more than happy to stay in with my little family with a nice cuppa tea, if this makes me a 'boring tea drinking' then so be it!

Maybe next time someone say 'ahhh your sooo boring' i should reply with 'ahhhh your just a saddo that needs alcohol to make you happy'

List Lover

This is such a random post but I prayed thought alot of you would be able to relate.

SO in my house i seem to have a growing collection of note books! Some are a4 size and some are tiny little ones that I always buy because they are 'handy to just pop in your bag' however once i have purchased these tiny ones i soon decide that they to small to be of use to me! So this tiny notebook will get thrown into a draw, bag etc And in a few months i will end up giving it to munchkin to play with!

New time I visit a shop that stocks stationary i will instantly feel the pull towards the stationary area....and I will most likely definitely end up buying a notebook of which will probably be a tiny cute one (that I will never use again)

I do however find a use for my larger note books! and that my lovely friends is......LISTS!!!

Yes you heard me ladies! What lady doesn't love lists!

I love reading them, I love making them, I love allocating them!

So My list obsession began when I was pregnant with munchkin! Lists of names we liked, list of things we needed etc!

So at this point it would only be right for me to make a list of my current lists!

A list of what lists I need to make

Food shopping lists

To do lists

what to pack (for holibobs!) 

Wedding planning list

Guest list (wedding)

home improvement list

I think I'll stop there

I'm even as bad as too write a list then write it out again so that its 'final draft'.....am I organised or obsessed???

Please tell me I'm Not alone!!

Who else is a #listlover

Giving my attention

Its been a lovely week so far! The sun has been shining which always puts me in a good mood. There is something about the sun shining through my windows, the birds tweeting that just makes me want to open every window in the house open all the doors and get some fresh air flowing through the house and get my washing out on the line.

As soon as the sun began to show itself, I got this urge to clean.....I don't mean just running the hoover around I mean totally blitzing the house....more of a spring clean!

Ive not had a urge to clean everything like that since I was pregnant with munchkin. (I'm defo not pregnant).

I made myself a cleaning rota which i printed out and laminated. I used white board markers to tick when i had done that job and then i just wipe it away ready to start the next week! 

Over two days I totally organised and cleaned the whole house thoroughly! Taking breaks in between to pop out with munchkin to feed the ducks, take a walk around the pond etc. While i was cleaning Hubs kept him entertained by playing in the garden etc.

Hubs-to-be and I decided that we would focus more of our attention on Munchkin and pay less attention to our ipads and phones. We also planned to do more things as a family....things that don't necessarily cost anything but yet they create memories.

We went to have a nice long walk around the lake and fed ducks (that weren't interested in being fed)

We visited an amazing ice cream parlour a few miles down the road! They have toys outside like scooters and ride ons for the children to play on....and the ice cream is to die for.

We have also been to the park several times as munchkin has a new love for swings and slides (which he hated before)

I also loaded the garden full of Munchkins ride ons, footballs, water tray, sand pit, slide, chalk and bubble maker. It was so lovely and Munchkin jumped around the garden so excited saying how he was a 'Happy boy'. I loved watching him play and laugh and giggle at things we were doing together. My Happiness turned to guilt and i started to question.....'do I give him enough of my time?' the previous week he just seemed to be naughty all week and i kept having to tell him off and sit him in time out.

Maybe all he needs is some more quality time??

 

Today we drove to Caerphilly castle to feed the ducks etc, The Birds always flock around! Loads of them! It was cute to see Munchkin eating the bread that he was suppost to feed the ducks. Hearing him belly chuckle because one of the larger birds came and took the bread out of his hand

Its been a lovely week so far and all three of us have had fun and bonded even more as a family

Picking Wedding flowers

This week I had an appointment with a florist regarding flowers for the wedding!

All i could think was.....how can I explain to someone what i would like when i don't even know myself!!

Since we got engaged in 2012 my tastes have changed so much! I say 'my' like its my wedding but please don't get me wrong! I go through everything with Hubs-to-be and see what he likes and what he doesn't but I'd like to think he trusts me to choose (or in fact he doesn't really care lol)

So i went to the consultation alone as i left hubs and baba to play. The lady was lovely and we chatted through some things that i liked and what i didn't like. 

I was convinced 2 years ago that i would have a tight rose bouquet....just off white roses with no greenery.....now I'm liking different flowers and I've fallen in love with peonies!

I love the way they almost look fluffy and light!

So during my consultation we talked about my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets and buttonholes etc but so many other things got asked that i wasn't expecting!

Did i want flowers for my cake?

Did i want a bouquet just to do the 'toss the bouquet'??? WHAT?? (£35 by the way!)

Did my mother in law want a corsage or a female buttonhole! (now i got confused)

At this point i just began nodding along while looking a bit dazed.

I asked for a quote on some centrepieces.....just basic tin milk jugs with flowers...

Later that day i received my price quote from them....

I was happy with the general price of the bouquets and buttonholes etc however...

I nearly spat my tea everywhere when i read £50 per centrepiece! 

So I think we are just going to book the bouquets for the time  being as £50 x 8 - 10 Tables = a lot of penny's! I'm quite creative so it looks like I'm going to be doing the centrepieces myself.

This wedding is coming around rather quickly!!!

My 'woman on a mission' week

so....the last few days have seen me spending a lot of time in the kitchen! Hubs-to-be is off work for a little while and its safe to say he loves eating biscuits, cakes, muffins and is a fan of pastries! I'm no Jamie Oliver but i like to have a dabble!

Earlier in the week I did a post about some yummy biscuits that I made! you can find the blag post along with the recipe here Butter Biscuits

Yesterday I decided to make corned beef pasties, pies and bakes! Ive gotta be honest, I enjoyed making these as its something different from what I usually make and they tasted amazing (yep I'm on my diet and should have had any but hey ho)

I cheated and used the ready made puff pastry and just as in the name it puffed up a right treat!!

Here is a pic of how some turned out (some were still in the oven)

Basically I cooked some potatoes and Mashed them then added a tin of corned beef, mashed it in and let it cool.

I rolled out the puff pastry and placed a side plate on top and cut around it, then put some of the corned beef mix into the one half, pupped some whisked egg around the edges and folded it over creating a semi circle, press the edges down firmly with your finger tips to seal. 

Using a pastry brush, brush some egg onto the top of the pasty to create a golden brown colour once cooked. 

Pop in the oven until golden brown!

Yum Yum!

Oh you can also see some mini ones I made too!

We moved into our new home back in September and we cant wait to sort the garden!

So last week I decided to buy a jet washer as we have been going on about cleaning the Patio ever since we moved in!

We decided to buy the Black and Decker pressure washer on sale at the moment at £59.99

Its safe to say that I'm getting on with it a right treat! Here is just 2 BEFORE pictures (I will post some after pictures once I've finished it all)

So as i said this is the before pictures and it was that kind of task you look forward to getting stuck into but half way through you just want to give up and go for a nice cuppa!

I also underestimated the amount of mess it would create of ME.....I mean i knew there was a risk so i popped on a pair of my old jeans.

This was me half way through..........

So its going to be a wellington job next time!

I know people may say....'jet washing your patio in February??? Basically its never been done in 17 years so i wanted to get the hard work done now and then it may only need a quick wash nearing summer!

I also gave the shrubs and bushes a trim back and changed the bulbs in the water feature in the garden!

Woman on a mission!!

Oh, and I started to paint our en suite!

So if you haven't gathered by now....Andy will do things when its essential (that's not me saying hes lazy because he isn't....if i ask him to do something he will do it (within a few days or so))

But me.......I get an idea in my head and I've gotta go and do it! Andy knows not to stop me when I'm on a mission :-)

My next blog is going to be about how we keep out son entertained as he is on the go all the time! and every now and again really need that structured activity to calm him down a bit!

Catch up with you soon 

xx 

Tasty Tuesday! Butter biscuits recipe

So....Years ago I got into making biscuits and cakes....I made biscuits from soooo many different recipes and they never seemed perfect....they were either too hard, too dry, not tasty enough, soggy etc...

However....a year ago i came across a recipe for biscuits and OH MY GOSH the biscuits are soooo yummy! my boys cant get enough of them.

Basically the only way i can describe them is a mix between a butter biscuit and shortbread and they stay nice for days (hmmmm probably longer if i could keep my boys paws off them).

Ive posed the recipe at the bottom of this blog post!

I used my Russel Hobbs mixer (which is a god send when making large batches) I doubled the amount in the recipe as I usually make biscuits and freeze the rest of the dough for a later date. I also put milk choc and white choc chips in.

I rolled my dough out on a floured surface, the shape cutters i use are from Asda £1 for a bag of 20 (The Tom and Jerry ones are from a friend whos Daughter had the in her happy meal) Once I cut out the shapes I put them on baking paper on a baking tray and pop them in the oven until they turn a slight golden brown.

I even got hubby-to be joining in! seen as our little munchkin didn't want to make them (Happy to eat them tho!)

This wasn't even half of what I made as there were more in the oven and the boys pinched some too.

So here is the recipe!

Butter biscuits

1 cup butter

1 cup caster sugar

1 Egg

1.5tsp baking power

1tsp Vanilla essence

3 cups plain flour (extra for dusting)

MAKE SURE YOU GO AND TRY THESE OUT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! ME AND MY FAMILY LOVE THEM! 

XX

Starting at the Very beginning....

Hi....
I'm Kristy! Fiancee to my lovely sole mate Andy and Mummy to our 2 year old son - Rohan.

So basically me and Andy met through a mutual friend.....We soon hit it off and He moved to Wales a short time later :-) There is a 10 year age gap between us....but age is just a number to me. (maybe that's because I'm the young one lol)
We moved in together within 6 months of getting together! We have been together every day since.

A few years into our relationship we decided to try for a baby! and POW! we were so so so lucky and were pregnant within a month!
9 months later our little munchkin was Born! The absolute highlight of my life!
The feeling of the very first moment you set eyes on your baby is so unreal! the tears fell down my face without me even realising it. I will never in a million years forget the moment our son was born! 
Even now my son is my world I'm obsessed with him! 

Andy works shifts and I'm home with Rohan. I make craft items to earn a few extra pennies! I'm usually found doing painting, chalking, sticking or play dough with my little munchkin as it keeps us both happy!



We are getting married next year! I cant wait! I'm trying to lose all of the weight that i gained when i was pregnant and just after (I'm not blaming it on pregnancy or baby weight...I'm literally confessing to eating like a pig during that time) Anyways so far I've lost 4st 1lb and it feels soooo good as I'm getting my confidence back and I'm finding 'ME' again!

This Year we have so much coming up! We have a holiday to Butlins Minehead (which i will blog about and do a review).
My life isn't about lots of money, posh cars, expensive clothes. We just about get by on what we have so you wont find MAC makeup tutorials, or clothes Hauls from Gucci......it will be more like clothing hauls from Primark and food shops from Asda!

If there is anything you would like to see a blog on, please message me because I would love to hear your requests!

Tune in for daily life!

xx