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 

Primark shopping haul

So Primark happened this week!....I'm happy to confess....I love Primark. You can get clothing cheap, fashionable and lots of variety. Like many Muns I'm sure you will agree that you would rather spend money on clothing etc for your little ones. I'm not one for branded items plus i don't have the money to go and buy branded items willy nilly!

So as I'm going on holibobs soon I wanted to pick up a few bits! So here is what I got!

I wanted to get munchkin his own character towel for when we went swimming, so I found this cute Mickey Mouse towel! 

Only £4

This Chunky knit cardigan is a cream/stone colour and i bought it for when it gets nippy! I love a nice cardigan! Doesn't everyone?

This was only £10

I also needed to get a large beach type bag for using when we take munchkin swimming and I also wanted something big enough to put munchkins bucket and spade for when we go to the beach as well as all the snacks etc. This is a nice large one and it has a zip. It was only £4! Bargain!

I also got sucked into the 'near till purchases'.....and ended up picking up a hand sanitiser which I thought would be handy to carry around while out and about on holibobs.

It was only £1

A bit of sun and the flip flops are out!! If it wasn't so cold in the winter i would happily wear flip flops all year long!

I got these nude coloured flip flops with a cute bow on each! They had them in lots of other colours like a lovely Coral and a nice turquoise but i think i will go back for those another time!

Believe it or not they were only £2.50!!! total bargain.

Staying on the shoe front I picked up these beauty's! They are a nude colour with black toes and bows and they are so soft and comfy. They have a quilted effect to them.

Only £4!!

Its that time of year when you realise you have lost all of your favourite cheapy primark glasses from last year but your not really bothered as its an excuse to buy some more. I picked up these tortoise shell sunglasses....they are darker lenses than shown in the picture below as the sun was shining through the window in the photo. They also came with a fabric glasses case with drawstring top.

Only £1

I needed a swimming costume because I've not bought one since losing 4 stone and i didn't want one that was really expensive because I've still got weight to lose. I have real difficulty finding swimsuits as my clothing size is 12 however my 'top half' (if you know what i mean) Is larger than a size 12 so I went for a size 14 and hoped for the best.

It has tummy control which is a must for my Mummy tummy! The straps are also removable. 

£13

Last but not least was this lovely cream quilted design make up bag! It has two zipped compartments and was only £3

So That's if for that shopping trip! just some bits and bobs that I needed

I love looking at Primark hauls so if you have one on your blog let me know in the comments below

Optical express childrens book review

A week or so ago I was contacted by Optical Express who have recently helped children's charity Children 1st to produce a book aimed at detecting visual problems in children.

They asked if I would do a review on the book and I jumped at the chance because Munchkin loves books! and a book that can help detect visual problems too!!! I couldn't wait to receive it!

The book arrived (much to mine and munchkins delight)

The book tells a story about a troll hunting in the highlands.

All proceeds from the book go to Children 1st and the book is available on Amazon click here to be taken to the page.

The book has a lovely glossy cover and the illustrations are colourful and clear. The book encourages counting (munchkins favourite) 

At the back of the book you will find detailed instructions on how to carry out the visual assessment. You will also find a handy little pocket in which 3D glasses can be found!

I love the fact that the 3D glasses add a fun aspect to the book and children are unaware that there is another reason behind the use of the glasses.

I have never seen a book that can help detect visual problems in children and I think its a very cleaver idea!

Munchkin loves the book however he is a bit of a diva and asks Daddy to hold his glasses to his eyes while he reads the book!

This review is my own views and opinions and I've not been paid to do this review

Please pop over to Amazon to buy your book as its for a very worthy cause! and best of all its a lovely book.

Please note:- This book is not to be used as a full eye test, please see your optician if you believe there may be an issue.

Also a big thank you to Optical express for allowing me to review this lovely book!

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