Pamper Evening

Yesterday I went a on a bit of a cleaning frenzy!

I decluttered, 

Washed all the sheets,

Alex's duvet,

Made cushion covers,

Cleaned all the doors, 

Gave all the boys new bits and bobs homes.

So after doing all that I was feeling a tad grimey and thinking a very much needed pamper evening was called for! 

Before I ran my bath I washed my hair with my new favourite shampoo Schwarzkopf shampoo Gliss  - only £1 a bottle but it has worked wonders for my damaged hair! 

Then I massaged in my Aussie Hair -3 minute miracle reconstructor conditioner and left that in for the whole of my bath then washed it out!

My face was feeling pretty frightful so I used a Nivea nourishing Honey Mask to help give it back some oomph!  

For my bath I picked a Luxury Pud BathBomb from my Lush  basket.

The day stress just floated away.

You really can't beat a Lush bath! 

To finish off, I lathered on the Nivea body moisturising lotion and lavender & Tea Tree face cream from  www.aaskincare.co.uk then I treated my nails to some Nail Kale (which I got in a nail gift set for Christmas) my nails are shocking at the moment so hopefully it helps them.

The hair Oil is from Jenny as she left it for me when she last cut my hair.

Perks of having a bestie whose a super hair dresser! 

Using the above hair products for the last couple of months have really help bring my hair back to life after I completely destroyed it turning it from black to pastel purple!  

I can't currently colour my hair due to using Henna, so I'm trying to grow it out and I'm rocking my greys proudly!

(My silver highlights) 

Grey hairs the fashion these days so in sure I fit right in!! 

I finished the evening with a nice cup of  Pukkaherbs  Nighttime tea 

Happy New Year's Eve people! 

Hope you have a good one xxxx

4 Boys and a Empty Park

.....Is just heaven, specially after spending a few days inside on sugar and present highs! 

Yesterday we had no plans so I took the boys off to the local park! 

Just as we got their a bunch of teens were coming out which was lucky as it meant we had the park to ourselves. 

Oscar and Ru enjoyed the swings, ale. And Noah had fun on the roundabout and they all ran around like crazy whilst I froze my bottom off.

It was lovely and sunny when we headed out but as the time past it because rather over cast and chilly!

The boys are all out doorsy types so it didn't put them off, they were quite happy to stay and play in the rain.

Ru's a big fan of puddles so every puddle 

On the way home we had to stop and splash in everyone.

Getting them all out of the house worked wonders as once home we had a nice warm lunch of TMNT pasta shapes on toast and then settled down to watch Big Hero 6. 

I didn't do much house work yesterday, I had planned too but taking the boys out took priority. 

Of course that came around a bit me on the bum come bed time.

I walked into the twins room and it stank ..... Turned out Alex had seriously wet his bed and all over his duvet and it smelt like an old persons home!

So today my washing machine will be working over time and their room will be having a good air out and a mega deep clean!

X

December Makes & Bakes

This month I decided to be a little bit more creative.

I put Pinterest to use and found some fun ideas that I knew the boys would love and I'd enjoying making!

I'll start with the foodie bits first : 

• Mince pies - first time making and first time tasting! 

•Strawberry Santa's with cream

• Rice Krispie Christmas Puddings bites

• Santa Star biscuits 

I really enjoyed getting creative in the kitchen and the boys loved eating the end creations. Something I'll keep up in the coming months! 

The last few days before Christmas I realised we hadn't got any presents for the extra members of the family that we were going to be seeing, so Pinterest to the rescue again and I made some....

Homemade Clay Bunting!!!

They were really easy to make and everyone loved them!

I'm thinking about making myself some as I really love them.

All you need is 

• Cornflour

• PVA glue 

• Cookie cutter

• String

• Red pencil or pen!

I'll do a full blog post on them once I've made them again!! 

As a Christmas activity we took the boys to Little Potters in Sittingbourne to enjoy a coffee and to paint some plates and tree decorations. 

 

This was before they were put in the kiln, we collected them just before Christmas.

They have turned out great and will be fantastic keepsakes.

The star plate is currently being used as a fruit bowl! 

Did you make or bake anything different this month? 

 

Christmas, Bank Holiday Monday and New Year.

Christmas is over and now everyone is looking forward to the new year!

New beginnings,

New Years resolutions,

Diets....

You name it they all get started in the new year! 

I'm not planning on setting solid resolutions this year, as I always seem to fail a week later, but I'm going to write a list of things I'd like to achieve by next year!

Such as :

I would like my long hair back - so I've bought some Biotin hair growth vitamins after reading some great reviews. 

I'd like to become a bit more active, maybe try and do those 10,000 magical steps a day.

Beat my depression and slowly come off my medication (all subject to terms and conditions) 

Pamper myself a more, get myself back to being a well oiled machine!

Give Crochet another go.

Have more fun and stop stressing so much!

What are your goals for the coming year?

Christmas was fun but it was also extremely stressful.

Ru doesn't seem to cope too well out of his environment and isn't a far of too much craziness. 

So he cried, screamed, banged his head a fair bit.

He also poo'd and threw up all over me!

Alex left a pen on Nana's cream sofa - not a washable one either!!!

Next year we are defiantly staying at home and having people come to us.

The boys can run a riot and I won't be too worried about them breaking/ruining things they shouldn't! 

It's also probably about time we hosted a Christmas! 

The boys presents are still all at Jon's parents and my parents as we couldn't fit them in the car along side us, the dog and all our clothes, from staying over at Jon's parents for 3 days.

We need to upgrade the car to a van to accommodate all of us and our things.

So hopefully in the next few days Jon will be going back to collect them and bring them home for them to enjoy again! 

How was your Christmas, did Santa 

bring you everything you wanted?

Bank holiday Monday calls for a walk along the beach or maybe up in the woods.  

Our lungs are calling for fresh air and our legs are longing to be stretched!

Are you up to anything fun? 

Our Christmas So Far.....

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas!

I don't usually post too much around Christmas as I take the time to enjoy my family rather than stress about getting the perfect picture and get the blog up and blah blah.

But seeing as it's not even 7o'clock and its only me and Ru up, I thought I'd quickly pop on and do a festive update. 

We came to Jon's parents on the 23rd so we could be here and have a mini Christmas morning on Christmas Eve as Jon's sister was unable to stay till Christmas Day.

The boys loved seeing their cousin Sam and spending some time with him.

We had special Christmas Eve presents after dinner -

Christmas pyjamas,

Slipper socks?

Special cups with festive pictures on,

Dashing Santa bathbomb from Lush,

And a Christmas activitie pack. 

I gave Jon's sister Sam's so he could open them once he got back home.

The boys all had a magical time yesterday and Santa utterly spoilt them.

Favourite presents of the day were probably ::

Ru - Mr Tumbles Spotty Bag 

He didn't take it off all day, he loved it!

Noah - WWE world championship belt.

Again like Ru it was slung over his shoulder for most of the day!

The Wildlings - a toss up between ironman costume and a TMNT costume.

They were in and out of both since they were unwrapped.

Myself - YSL black opium 

It's such a lovely smell and I haven't had perfume in such a long time!

Jon - New Beard Oil 

Anything to improve his beard is a hit to our bearded bear! 

The boys all got piles of really lovely lovely stuff! 

We are going to have to have an even bigger clear out of their old toys just to fit in all the new ones. 

We're heading over to my mums today to do it all again.

I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and having some of my family Christmas traditions. 

My friend is also popping by so it will be lovely to see her too.

Our special Scout Elf has now left us, we had some great fun with her and we really can't wait to see her again next year!!!

How's your Christmas going?

Did you get everything you wanted?

‘DOWN TOWN BABBY’: A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS FILM LAUNCHED EXCLUSIVELY BY ELLA'S KITCHEN IN SUPPORT OF SAVE THE CHILDREN

• Don’t miss the highly anticipated Christmas special, ‘Down Town Babby’, from Ella’s Kitchen^®brand, as part of its festive partnership with Save the Children
• A comical Christmas film with a cast of the tiniest aristocrats and even featuring Tess the dog!

Spreading smiles this Christmas, leading kids’ food brand, Ella’s Kitchen, has released its own festive special – ‘Down Town Babby’ - packed with family fun and drama and in support of children’s charity, Save the Children. 

The exclusive film has been created to celebrate Ella’s Kitchen’s partnership with Save the Children where 30p from the sale of each jingle belly Christmas Dinner pouch will be donated to Save the Children’s award–winning Families and Schools Together programme 

(FAST).

Taking place on Christmas day, ‘Down Town Babby’ sees the Crawling family face the prospect of no Christmas dinner thanks to a cold oven and forgetful characters. Cue much alarm and all hands on deck to rescue the day! Will they be able to enjoy Christmas turkey with all the trimmings, or will they have to accept that this year, there just won’t be any Brussel sprouts?

Set in a grand, stately mansion, viewers will be treated to a troupe of little ones all dressed up in period costumes and playing a host of whimsical characters. From a busy family cook and her head-in-the-clouds assistant, to the haughty, formidable matriarch and a recently-returned relative back to save the day, the period film adds a little bit of magic to the festive season.

So gather your little ones and settle down together on 8 December when ‘Down Town Babby’ will be available to watch. Search Ella’s Kitchen on YouTube to see the magic unfold and be sure to share your thoughts with us on Twitter 

@EllasKitchenUK and @SaveChildrenUK

.

Christmas Cleaning with Dettol!

I've said before how I like keeping the house clean with Dettol.

Nothing really comes close at keeping the house sparkling and germs away more than Dettol does.

When it comes to Christmas the house can quickly become rather messy and teeming with germs! 

With all those visitors popping over,

The kids wiping their sticky hands everywhere.

Christmas dinner prep,

Christmas baking,

The bugs people are so very kindly sharing,

The list is endless.

So Dettol have come up with this  handy Christmas cleaning guide to keep the house clean and germs at bay! 

Clean- Keyboards, door handles and chopping boards are among the most germ ridden items in the home. Give all surfaces a clean before guests arrive - anti-bacterial wipes will save time and give you peace of mind.

  

Hands – Christmas can be a busy time from answering the door to carving the Turkey, it is easy to forget to keep hands clean. Using an anti-bacterial hand wash will help keep hands bacteria free.  

  

Reduce – Reduce the risk of spreading germs by keeping items such as dirty tea towels and dirty underwear separate in the wash load. 

  

Include- Include an anti-bacterial laundry cleanser in your wash alongside your normal detergent. Dettol Anti-Bacterial Laundry Cleanser allows you to wash at low temperatures, whilst killing 99.9% of bacteria. 

  

Swap- Ditch the dish cloth and use anti-bacterial wipes to clean down surfaces. Home hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley explains: “The cloth is often the dirtiest item in the home. We have found billions of bacteria on cloths, including those which could cause illness, and those that indicate faecal contamination”. 

  

Thaw –Defrost your turkey thoroughly. Some turkeys can take up to 48 hours to defrost dependent on size so make sure you plan well in advance. Never rinse your turkey under the tap as this can spread harmful bacteria such as Campylobacter which causes food poisoning. 

  

Mess – The warm, humid atmosphere in bathrooms is a breeding ground for bacteria – not just around the toilet but lurking on handles, bins and baths. Prevent a messy bathroom by using a bathroom spray like Dettol Power & Pure Advance Bathroom, with no need to rinse it also kills 99.9% of bacteria. 

  

Air – Freshen the air around your home with a disinfectant spray. Not only will it leave your home smelling fresh it will also help prevent the spread of seasonal sickness bugs. 

  

Store- Store your turkey and other raw meats in separate containers and keep at the bottom of the fridge. This will prevent meats and their juices mixing and limit the likelihood of cross contamination and food poisoning

I was very kindly sent some samples to help me with my Christmas cleaning, which just happen to be Some of my favourite products that I regularly buy when I do my weekly shop. :) 

Dettol Power & Pure Advance Bathroom Spray RRP £3.49 (available nationwide at all major supermarket stores) 

Dettol Surface Cleanser Wipes RRP £2.03 (available nationwide at all major supermarket stores) 

Dettol Anti-bacterial Laundry Cleanser, 1L RRP £3.99 (available nationwide at all major supermarket stores) 

Dettol Anti-bacterial No Touch Hand Wash with E45 250ml RRP £2.49 (available nationwide at all major supermarket stores)

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

The boy who started it all.....

My baby turned 8 yesterday! 8 that's just crazy.

So much has happened in those 8 years, we've moved 6 times, we went from being a twosome to a threesome and then very quickly to a fivesome then finally on to a family of 6! 

Noah has been great throughout. He's had his ups and downs and that's completely understandable.

Noah coming along when he did was a silver lining, I was heading down a path of destruction and he changed all that and gave me a purpose! 

He had a great birthday and said it was the best day ever! 

He received some lovely pressies,

Minecraft story mode,

Minecraft creeper backpack,

Minecraft Lego farm and the snow one 

Star Wars Lego,

Minecraft nightlight,

Enough money to buy himself Lego dimensions for the ps4.

(That's if he doesn't get it for Christmas!)

He had a McDonalds for his dinner and then we played Zelda Monopoly once the little ones went to bed and snacked on popcorn! 

  

Today we came to my mums and Noah had two of his best friends over and he's two cousins Isla and Esme were here.

So they all played like crazy people and stuffed their faces with pizza and Star Wars cake! 

Rice Krispie Christmas Pudding Bites

Today I decided to do some more Christmas baking, plus being Noah's birthday it made sense to make something yummy!!!

I saw this recipe on the Morrisons website and thought they looked AMAZING!

What you'll need::

100g mars bars

1tbsp Single cream 

1tsp Coco powder

75g Rice Krispies

50g White choc

12 red smarties 

Muffin trays 

Sunflower oil spray!

Melt the mars bars, cream and coco powder, then add the Rice Krispies.

Pop in the fridge for two hours.

Then melt the White chocolate, spread over the Rice Krispie bites and add the smarties!

Pop back in the fridge until the white chocolate sets!

Enjoy!

:)

My first attempt at a video ..... It's completely missing an ending so I'm sorry for that! 

30 really isnt as dreadful as you think!

So yesterday I turned the grand old age of 30!!

To say I was dreading it would be an understatement.

The reality of turning 30 really isn't as dreadful as you think its going to be!

30 is the new 20!

Ru was ready to party at 4am and that was very closely followed by Noah who decided it was a good day to be sick!

Jon and the twins joined us around 7 ish and they bought my presents and cards along with my morning coffee.

I'm over the moon with what I was given!

A lot of it was from my My 30th birthday wishlist  post.

Plus some lovely surprises and a AMAZING cake!!!

My parents sent me a lovely balloon bouquet which made all the mini beasts very jealous of so I had to take them upstairs so they wouldn't keep crying about them.

I pretty much did a Carlton Banks happy dance when I unwrapped my Selfish Mother top. I've wanted one for a while but the one I wanted has always been out of stock, Jon's sister was obviously had luck on her side when she got it for me :)

I took the mini ones to soft play with my friend Serena who has a blog over at serenachristina.blogspot.co.uk. My aim was to give them a good morning as in the evening I was taking them to get their pre-school boosters done.

So not only did I have a fab day receiving all my lovely presents and eating yummy cake, I won not one but TWO competitions!!

The first was a Twitter comp to win a picture book - Big and Small

The second was to win a OYOY adventure rug from Deco Baby.

I also found a rare two pound coin in my purse which I saved for Jon as it was for the WW1 anniversary in 2014, he then went on to google it and found they are selling on EBay for up to £90!!!

The wildlings were very brave at the doctors, I really have nothing but praise for the nurse who did their jabs.

She sat in front of them and explained what she was going to do and what they would get afterwards, rather than telling them not to look and jab them.

They cried a little but then were back to there normal crazy selves, picking out two stickers each and a bag of sweets!

A Christmas gift guide for pet lovers and their pets

Are you a crazy pet lover?

Or know someone who is?

Stuck for what to get them for Christmas?

Well look no further! 

I decided to do this post as i was browsing the web for things to get Ray, it's his first ever Christmas in the UK and with us so I really wanted to spoil him!

Also it wouldn't be fair to leave Indie out come Christmas either!

I came across some lovely bits and thought it might be helpful for others who are on the hunt for similar things.

The first gift ideas are from www.reallygood.uk.com 

I'm really loving  the The Bright Side tins and pet bowls!

I was very kindly sent some samples -  

This lovely tea towel is by Fritz and Dina.

Its super soft and very stylish!

The Bright Side cat bowl is just perfect for Indie as she really is queen bee of the household!

For the dog walker and dogs in your family you should really check out

www.ampet.dog - our-range - DOOG

my favourite's are:

These beautiful Beaded Leather Collars  from Simba Jones are just fantastic and will make any dog feel special

For some great pet stocking you can find some great bargains over on Amazon

Thanks for looking!

Wicked Uncle - The Home Of Brilliant Children's Presents!

I was lucky enough to win a chance to review Wicked Uncle over on Twitter. 

The prize was £40 to spend and then in return for that review the website on the blog!

Keep reading to find out what I made of The Worlds Best E-Toy Shop!

You are greeted with an easy to navigate page .... 

You simply pick boy/girl/unisex then the age of the child you are looking for and then BOOM a beautiful list of fantastic toys appears!

You can either go by age or you can go by interest!

Adventurer,

Brainiac,

Outdoorsy,

Creativity and so on! 

They aren't your typical toy shop categories which is what makes Wicked Uncle really stand out on its own!

The only thing I found tricky about the Wicked Uncle website was what to pick!!!!

I literally spent the whole day going through all the categories and looking through the girl toys, then the boy toys.

Then trying to decide who I was going to buy for. 

In the end Ru-Bear was the lucky one.

I fell in love with the two toys that I picked for him and I kept going back to them everytime I went to look at what else was about so obviously they were the clear winners! 

I picked .... The Magnetic Stacking Rocket  and the Brio Magnetic Wooden Blocks 

I think the rocket really will just be for me to ahh over just because it's so cool, the magnetic blocks will be great for Ru as he likes holding on to small objects. So these should be a hit with him!

You will find it very very hard to find your average toy shop plastic crap on the Wicked Uncle site!  

Once you have picked the toy of the century you then have the option to have it gift wrapped, not only that but you can pick which wrapping!!!

I'm not sure if it's just me but I found that amazing!!

 As you can see from the pictures I found that too hard to resist and picked a different wrapping for each present.

The gifts are packed with great care and sent out asap! 

My parcel turned up two days after I had checked out. 

Along with the presents it comes with a super dooper thank you postcard!! 

Which can be named and addressed so that the child can send it back to you thanking you for the awesome present you got for them!

Brilliant....no?

I know as a mum I always make promises of sending thank you cards after birthdays and Christmas but it just never happens, life just gets hectic and I forget all about it! 

So these pre written postcards are just a fantastic idea! 

The little touches really really stand out and make Wicked Uncle a website that I'll return to time and time again.

Great prices,

Fantastic choices 

And best of all No plastic tat!!!

So if you still have nieces, nephews, granddaughters, grandsons, God children's, heck even your own children to buy for head over to www.wickeduncle.co.uk NOW!!

You really won't regret it!

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Santa Claus and The Night Before Christmas **Review**

It’s Christmas Eve and whilst most children are hanging up their stockings, there are a few boys and girls who are not! They don’t believe in Santa and with Christmas morning fast approaching cheeky elves Charlie and Kara must help Santa prove that he is indeed real! With magic tricks, songs and stories, can they make them believe before it’s time to board Santa’s sleigh and deliver the presents?

 Photo Credit Craig Sugden

An ideal introduction to theatre, this interactive show is a must-see over the festive season. A truly unforgettable experience which includes bubbles and the magical moment when snowflakes fall over the audience – a guaranteed white Christmas at every show!

As an added Christmas treat, all of the good boys and girls in the audience will meet Santa after the show and receive a special present of their own. So don’t forget to bring your camera to capture the magical moment when your little ones meet Santa Claus for the very first time.

I was very kindly gifted some press tickets for the Fairfield Halls show in Croydon, I was slightly wary about what the twins would be like as this was the first time at the Theatre for the twins.

The small stage, the cast of three and the involvement of the crowd really hit the spot! 

To say they all enjoyed it would be a complete understatement! 

It was just fantastic! 

The show was enchanting, magical and brilliant. The twins were captured by the magic as soon as we sat down!

Kara and Charlie came out into the audience before it started to say hello to the boys and girls and ask them what they were hoping for, for Christmas and if they were excited about seeing Father Christmas!

The show was full of songs, magic and laughter. The kids also got involded in the Panto by having to help throw snowballs at Santa to help get him out of a chimney! 

We were snowed on and had magic bubbles appear from no where! 

The boys faces throughout the show were of pure enjoyment! 

After the show every child in the audience got to go up on stage and meet Santa and collect a present! 

A brilliant show to introduce children to the world of Pantos! 

Will I go again??

Most definitely!!

 I'll take Rupert along next year and I know all the other boys will want to come along too! 

Photo Credit Craig Sugden

A definite must see for the whole family! 

If you fancy going to see Santa Claus and the Night Before Christmas here are the listings!!! 

 Tuesday 1 – Thursday 24 December 2015

NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE

Box Office: 0844 871 7646 | www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-studio/

Friday 4 – Thursday 24 December 2015

EPSOM PLAYHOUSE 

Box Office: 01372 742555 | www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk

Saturday 5 – Thursday 24 December 2015

CROYDON FAIRFIELD HALLS

Box Office: 020 8688 9291 | www.fairfield.co.uk

Wednesday 9 – Thursday 24 December 2015

GUILDFORD G LIVE 

Box Office: 0844 7701 797 | www.glive.co.uk

www.santaclausonstage.com