Me and Mine - April

This month has been a busy month with daddy being away for a few weeks, 

finding time to take our me and mine photo has been a bit difficult. 

Even though we were away we were to busy to take a photo.

So we thought why not take one as we are.

Us as a family of five, us being us. 

Our life is sometimes so busy but its nice to be together.

We sometimes don't do it enough weekends can be overtaken 

with football and church and before we know its Monday again, 

and Pants is at school Daddy at work. 

This month has been different with daddy being away we have realised how much

we all much in together and we missed him lots. 

All the children had a sickness bug whilst he was away and a couple of nights

were spent up with one of the three comforting them whilst they were ill. 

So here we are, not the most exciting of photos no sand in sight will try harder next month. 

Why not join in or see all the other lovely family portriats click on the link below to find out more. 

Baby led weaning or purees - our weaning journey

Were now at the stage where milk isn't filling little bear up and has been wanting to feed all day if he could. With Pants I went down the puree route having not known about baby led weaning (BLW) and that worked fine, he would and still will eat anything. Never was a fussy child and loves to eat. So when Ami came along I loved the idea of BLW and she took to it well. Enjoying feeding herself and slowly introduced foods. I didn't completely go down the route as would feed her porridge in the morning but as soon as she could she wanted to do everything herself. She has the most amazing appetite of a toddler I have ever seen. She can polish of dinners fit for a child twice her age and even eat a huge range of foods. So with all that what to do with Little bear. 

 At 16 weeks when Little bear was going through his I don't like to sleep phase I was desperate for him to sleep, he wouldn't take formula and I just needed sleep so I tried to give him baby rice. No success he didn't like it and I let it go. I tried again a few weeks later with something else, still no joy so I left it again. Wondering what route to take shall I just wait for him to show interest in food or go with my instincts. The other two seemed to love food and I didn't really have any issues.

Little Bear can sit unaided for quite some time which is usually a sign that they are ready for food, so I sat him in his bumbo with the tray and placed some broccoli on there and he went mad. Gummed that bit of broccoli as much as he could. He also got cross when I took it away. I can see why he watches his sister eat and always seems to reach out for what she has. I even started to give him some thing for breakfast which he eats of a spoon. So for now I am mix feeding him a puree and proper food for tea. I will slowly introduce lunch but I am in no hurry as it means more stuff to sort and whilst he is happy with a bottle at lunch then I am a happy mum. 

Here is a little Video of him gumming some vegetables. 

Medela - Breast Care Set Review

Medela - Breast Care Set Review

When you are pregnant you have 9 months to prepare for a new bundle of joy who will change your life and make your realise what love really means. For every parent there is the choice on how to feed there baby when they are born. For mums wishing to breastfeed this little set is perfect, in it contains everything you will need for those first few feeds (or first many feeds if your my babies). There is also a lot of pressure, so this set is aimed to relieve some of the pressure and help new mums. 

What is in the Set?

• 1 Tube of Purelan 110 – this baby-safe cream protects nipples against any dryness during breastfeeding without the need to remove before feeding baby

• 2 Hydrogel Pads – these cooling pads provide relief for and cracks or soreness of the nipples during these first few feeds

• 15 Disposable Bra Pads - specially designed for excessive breastmilk leakage. The bra pads adapt to the shape of your breast and their thin breathable material gives added comfort

• All of this comes in a pretty yellow makeup bag that you will want to continue to use beyond breastfeeding

The great thing about this little set as it can be put in the hospital bag all ready for when the baby comes, It is handy as its all in one place as I have found things end up all over the place in those first few weeks as tiredness takes over and before you know it your putting the remote in the fridge. The little bag can then be later used as a make up bag or even in your nappy changing bag. 

The products are small enough to get a good try before buying the product. Although the price is £15.99 available from Amazon, I think it would make a lovely gift for any new mum who wishes to breast feed.  

You can steal a laptop but you wont steal my joy!!

Last week was a rather odd yet gutting week, somehow you put your life on a laptop. You take photos and save them, write things down and live your life through them. You come to rely on this machine, don't think anything of it then all of a sudden its gone, taken and you hurt. You hurt alot, you hurt because someone took your photos of your babies, someone took your videos without any thought. Any thought of who it belonged to, a selfish act.

Sadly this was the case for my poor husband last week. It was more than pictures for him it was his lively hood. All his work gone, all those late nights wasted for someone taking it to make a few quid out of someones misfortune. My husband carried round a huge laptop which he had hard drives, notes and everything he needed in order to work. So the other day he was loading the kids into the car and put his laptop bag by the car and with the stress of babies crying just drove of leaving the bag behind. Once he realised he came back and it was gone. Devastated and with a glimmer of hope he knocked on all the doors to find nobody had seen a thing.

It was absolutely gutting, my husband is one of the hardest working people I know and to see 5 years work and much more gone, I can't describe. I was cross, so angry with someone so selfish to see a bag that had someones notes in, business cards it was obvious it was much used taken. It makes me so sad. Whats worse there was pictures of our children, videos my husband had made of the children. Precious times that are easily forgotten, and mean so much to us. My husband had scripts and his own videos that he will never get back, its heart breaking and sad.

Thankfully we are part of an amazing community with our church who rallied round to generously raise some money to get Matt back up and running again. We are so blessed, so so blessed, we are overwhelmed by our friends. Overwhelmed that they see Matt's talent, they want to help and that was amazing. So with all my that there is some good, as its alot of pressure with Matt being the inly earner in the house at the moment. With all that it has also been a lovely few days my husband has had some time off with no pressure so can't complain alot. So now to start again, learn to back up on more hard drives, clouds etc, and move on. Start afresh and hope that the person who takes the laptop is blessed with the money they get for selling it, because as gutting as it is it is only stuff. My husband could have been at knife point and we could have lost him for that I am grateful. So here is to a chilled out week.

My Sunday Photo - 27/04/2014

We do not remember Days We remember Moments linky- April

A few years back Pants really wanted to go to Disney, went on and on and on about meeting Mickey Mouse and goofy but we really didnt have the means to go on a holiday to Dinsneyland. Then one day we saw an offer in the Sun to go to Disney for £20 we thought why not collected the tokens and planed a day trip for the following February. So one day we woke Pants up and rather than getting ready for school we got him dressed at 1 in the morning and took drove to Dover, we hadnt told him anything and waited for him to see the signs saying Disneyland. It was a lovely day and we had a great 24 hours and loved surprising Pants.

Why not join in and link up a memorable moment by clicking the badge above and heading over to the lovely Life as mum blog to find out more :)

Days at the park in photos

 Nothing beats a day at the park at a Sunny day.

An empty park where two toddlers can wander and explore. 

Swinging, sliding and spinning all alot of fun.

Ami and her little friend NB and dont forget Little bear watching from the side lines. 

We are loving the sunny days I love getting out and being outside. 

The kids love it and we all feel so much better.

So here is some photos of the little ones. 

H&A Hair care range for Kids Review and Giveaway

As you may as know we recently became bath time ambassadors and our first challenge was to review some haircare products from the H&A range. We chose the ariel detangler and minnie mouse shampoo. Ami was so excited when we recived the spray she is a little to obsessed with hair products and I must have sprayed it in her hair about 20 times that day. 

Ami has very Curly and often very messy hair and the detangler worked by helping smooth out the knots that have formed from getting food/play dough/ general toddler mess in her hair. The smell wasn't too bad either and still her smell still has the fragrance for a few hours after the spray had been applied. The smell although after a few uses was rather unpleasant but that's only if your toddler wants so much spray they look like they have come out of the bath. 

The Shampoo sadly wasnt a hit, although this little girl loves bathtime she hates having her hair washed. The shampoo was a hit with me, the best thing being the bottle. The lid is hard to open (toddler proof) and only a small amount just the right amount comes out when squeezed. My children seem to love making little potions and cocktails in the bath often with expensive shampoos so nice to know they wont use it all up so quickly (if they can get into the bottle). The shampoo smelled lovely too. 

Both the delangler and shampoo retail at £2 each and can be found in any Tesco. Very reasonable price for both of the products for the quality of the product. Why not join the bath time buddies facebook page to see what is going on and also find them on twitter.

Giveaway

Now for the fun part (well if you haven't enjoyed the review already) your very own chance to win a minnie mouse and ben 10 shampoo from the H&A product range. Enter below and dont forget to share. 

=a Rafflecopter giveaway

The things that Ami Says - April

After Little bear was poorly I was talking to Ami whilst changing a nappy

Mummy: Ami who do you love

Ami: I love poo poo 

Mummy: no you dont

Ami: No mummy poo every where

Mummy: Ami what football team do you support

Ami: I support Arnel (arsenal) 

A little while later after being at the park

Daddy: What football team do you suport

Ami: Bailey support tott, daddy love Arnel

Mummy: where is daddy

Ami: Daddy gone back morrow

Mummy: do you miss Daddy

Ami: Ami miss daddy morrow

Whilst holding Little bear Ami came up to me

Ami: put sun sun down

Mummy: where 

Ami: In there (points to the floor)

Ami: Cuggles I love Daddy

Mummy: who else

Ami: I love Adon (Pants)

I love Son son 

I love football 

Daddy; if you dont start behaving I have to tell naughty dog dog

Ami runs and hides comes back in 

Ami: bad daddy 

Pants kept on picking Ami so she shouted at him

Ami: Adon Dont like it

Ami: sorry Adon

Annual Blossom walk - 2014

Since my son was at nursery we walked down this road and shaked the trees and seen the blossom fall down. There is a lovely road not far from where we live that is laden with blossom trees and the road looks so beautiful every springtime. 

As my son is getting older these things sometimes do not compete with minecraft or other cool things that all 7 year olds do. This was one thing he loves maybe because it reminds him of sunny days walking home from nursery when it was just the two of us. One time a car beeped us thinking we were young people causing mischief I hid!

We had alot of fun shaking the trees, and Pants even filled my sleve with blossom so when I put it on there loads of blossom would fall out. I loved spending time with him outside we never spend time the two of us, with three kids sometimes my time is spread between the babies and less with Pants as he is self sufficient. He deserves my time and I must make more time for him.

So there we are annual blossom walk of 2014 if we are lucky we may manage to shake a few more trees before all the blossom falls.

Down Days

Sometimes being a mother is so difficult, it can sometimes be that you have no rest, no sleep and no chance of getting things done. When those days are hard the idea of going to bed and sleeping forever are broken by a baby waking up lots in the night. It becomes a constant battle and before you know it your exhausted and sometimes can see there is no hope, you think this is your life now. For me this is where I am on my bad days, I never thought I could feel like this, I ve always been so happy and see the positives but someways the dark tries to win. Sometimes I am so tired I let it, I listen to lies that I am a bad mother and hide away. I am short with the kids, I am cross with the husband not letting people close for fear they will see me fail. Its hard. 

The health visitor suggested I talked to my doctor about it, but I am too scared I dont want to be labelled as having Postnatal depression, not that I have anything against that I'am just a little fearful it may be. I generally think its lack of sleep, some nights with Little bear I have been up every 2 hours then dealing with a busy toddler in the day, its enough to wear anyone out. I am not one to ask for help, I often bumble along getting cross with myself that I do it on my own. 

I havent the energy for much and can see the old me backing away, I sat down to write a post about me and Im lost. I dont know where I am going. I am just a mum, just a mum who hides behind the kids. A mum who loves her kids lots but would like to sleep. I need to focus on the positives, see how blessed I am, because I sure am. That actually my life isnt too bad and wont let like this forever. When that tooth comes through or that cough goes away all the sleepless nights will be forgotten. 

So here I am holding my light on the hill, showing the darkness you have no hold on me. I am a capable mum, I am a good mum and I am trying the hardest I can to stay afloat. 

Me and You - April

This month my Husband was away for a few weeks serving at an event called Spring Harvest so talking to him was either later at night or sometime when he was free. I really miss him when he is away and sadly all the kids were ill whilst he was away so made it a little worse. Its funny it sometimes can only be when they are away you can see how much they actually do. I must make sure I let him know I may nag nag nag but I do really appreciate it. Sometimes when he is gone I watch videos of him short films he has made might be a bit sad but its become a little thing I do. 

Excuse the chest hair it wasnt a dodgy pic, he had just made a video for the children and was mid getting ready for the day and was running late. Also this month we finally went out on a DATE hurrah. Only to the local Indian but the time flew by and we went for a little walk hand in hand laughing like new lovers, it was SO nice. We had not been out for six months so was defo a special night.

Why not take part in the months Me and You - Photo portrait find out more by clicking the badge above. 

My Sunday Photo 20/04/2014

Walks in the Sun (when it was out)

I love getting out when  it is sunny, I kind of feel cheated if I am stuck indoors. I stand by the window and pine to get outside, but sadly the kids were all ill so when they felt a little better we went for little walks around where we live. We live close to the sea but it was very chilly and the tide was in so we just stuck to the prom. 

 We showed Ami a dandelion and she tried to blow it, but managed to get the dandelion all over her face. Was very funny she didn't mind, it took us ages to get anywhere due to her wanting to touch every one we went past.

We stopped for a little picnic which was lovely Ami didnt wander far so was nice to be chilled out and then enjoy throwing all that was left for the seaguls. Pants then hid in the bushes to jump out on the seaguls, but they outsmarted him and didnt come down. He gave up and walked away and they swooped down on the food.

We finished our little walk by picking some daisys, and playing football (of course). When you have been stuck indoors getting outside is so nice. I loved that it was warm and feeling the sun on my skin. The kids enjoyed them selves beats playing minecraft anyday.

I look forward to lots more adventures although the sad thing we always go to a little cave round here but some people had been there and smashed lots of bottles which meant we couldnt play there. Thinking of making a sign and sticking it up, but that might be a bit sad. One time me and my son went round picking the unsmashed bottles left there and took them to the bottle bank because I was sick of all the glass.

A good afternoon all in all. 

Little Bear you are 5 months

My little baby you are growing up so fast

5 months has just flown by 

although it seems like you have always been here 

I still wish the time would slow down and I can keep you small 

You are learning new things every day 

you started to take a dummy this month

and now like to sit up most of the time

you hate to be lying down like to be able to see 

you love to watch Ami especially see what she is up to

you hold things well and reach out for things 

especially things your sister has 

you went on the swings which you liked

you also went swimming for the first time 

you enjoyed splashing around and being splashed

You love attention and will cry until held

but we dont mind its nice that you love cuddles

you still are all over the place with sleep 

some nights are good and some nights

 we pace around trying to get you back to sleep

You sit well and you are mastering the art of balancing well

you had first tastes of food but sometimes unsure of it

you also have had some bottles you come and go weather you like them or not

you also went on your first holiday been a busy month

So another month older 

We love you lots little Bear

Siblings - April

I tried my hardest to take a nice photo of the three of them together whilst away but I never got round to it, Pants wanted to play football and just the business of being on team got in the way. I they are all so special and all so different. I even stuck sometimes with Little bear even though he is my third he is so different to the other two its lovely. Ami loves to follow Pants often thinking she is 7 and Little Bear loves to watch and copy his bigger sister. This month he now laughs at her shouting rather than crying were getting there its taken nearly 5 months for him to get used to noisy siblings!

I had a 2 second time frame before Ami ran away 

my monkeys 

So here is this Months photos, I will try harder and use the proper camera one month I am sure!

Why not join in yourself by clicking the badge below.

My Sunday photo - 13 - 04 - 2014

All is fixed by a day on the beach

Sometimes days can be long especially when you have been stuck indoors on your own with the children. If its raining and horrible sometimes the last place you want to be is outside. I often find if we opt for a pajama day I am itching to get out and this week with my husband being away I was feeling a little down so we decided to go for a walk. Our walk took us to our usual route along to the batcave but we couldn't play there the local youth seem to enjoy it there too and smash loads of bottles, Ami had here own ideas and escaped down the hill towards the beach. So of we went for a play on the sand, me and Pants played building competitions and Ami chased dogs, Little bear enjoyed a nap it was good fun.

We are so so blessed to live in such a beautiful place I love the beach. I love to go down there alot that even my son says not again. Even today we walked past the sea and Ami was so upset that she wasn't aloud out the pushchair to go on the beach. Its nice to be able to go down there when ever, its free and alot of fun.

I write about the beach alot its home to me, as a teenager my friends called me stig of the beach. I love that the nights are getting lighter I long for evenings down the beach, nothing but some spades and a ball and hours of fresh air joy. Roll on warm evenings!