2015


2015 is coming to an end and I thought it would be a good idea to write a post and gather all the main things that have happened through the year. There hasn't been a lot of change through 2015 but there has been some exciting news to end the year. We came into 2015 with snow and it doesn't look like it will be the same this year. We have done many things and found out some amazing things through 2015 and it will sure be a year to remember just like all the other years.

Thailand
Visiting Thailand was such an amazing experience. It was the first time ever for me and the girls to travel abroad and I was worrying like mad because of the flight being roughly 12-13 hours long, never mind the taxi drive on top (extra 2 hours)! But in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought. The girls really did behave. We spent 3 whole weeks in Hua Hin, Thailand with my partner, his parents and my girls and we stayed in my partners parents' house. It was amazing. Mia had the chance to play football with an elephant. I could honestly write so many posts and go on and on about my time and how amazing it was there but I would be forever. If you do fancy having a read you can read all my posts about my time at Thailand here.


Elliw Learnt To Swim
When we went on holiday to Thailand there was a pool outside the house and that is where we taught Elliw to swim within a few days. At first she was petrified of coming into the water but we kept encouraging her. Sometimes we would just get hold of her and bring her into the pool. She would cry sometimes but that would always turn into laughter and a good couple of hours of fun in the pool. She loved it. In the end she always moaned because she didn't want to get out of the pool! 

Elliw's 3rd Birthday
We actually celebrated Elliw's 3rd birthday in Thailand a few days before her actual birthday because we knew we would be too tired to do anything on the actual day. We invited a few family members over and just had a relaxing day. You can read about Elliw's birthday here.

Family Adventures
One thing I love doing is going out for walks and adventures with the girls and family/friends. I haven't been on as much as I would of liked this year but I hope to go on a lot more next year. You can see all of our family adventures if you click here.

Not Speaking To My Mother
It's not really a happy thing, it's quite upsetting. Although I have found myself much stronger this year. I haven't seen my Mother for nearly a year up until Christmas Eve. I went to her house Christmas eve for 20 minutes to give my brothers and sister their Christmas presents. She didn't ask me once how my girls were or how any of us were doing and I kind of just ignored everything she talked about because it was mostly about herself (as usual). I concentrated on what the kids were saying instead. I do think I will be a stronger person in dealing with my Mother going into 2016 and that is one thing I am proud of.

Mia Turned Six Years Old
I still honestly can not believe that I am a Mam to a six year old little girl. How is that even possible? We had a fun relaxing day with some of her friends then we went to take her to the playcentre for a good few hours.

Christmas Concert
Elliw starred in her first ever Christmas concert this year. She was absolutely amazing, just like her big sister. They did fantastically well and I was so proud of them both. They weren't in the same show this year but next year they will both be on the same stage which will be more exciting. You can read the post about their Christmas concert here.

We Are Expecting Baby Number 3!
On the 30th December I announced to everyone that we are expecting baby number 3! So this blog will be changing to a pregnancy, parenting and lifestyle blog through to 2016 :) I can not wait. Read our pregnancy announcement here.

We Have Some News! - Pregnancy Announcement


I was due on 1st November and I didn't come on. I had negative tests and a negative blood test from the doctors but 16 days later, I just had that feeling. So I took another test and that was when I had the positive test! Yup!

We are expecting baby number three!

I will be writing how I have been feeling the past 10 weeks, along with a video of telling the girls that there is a new baby coming (Mia was not happy!). I can not wait to write my pregnancy journey. I am currently 10 weeks 3 days pregnant and estimated due date is 24th July 2016.

Our Christmas 2015


First of all, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. My girls have been super excited for Christmas this year. Mia has really understood Christmas and Santa a lot more this year. I finished my wrapping around 12:30am Christmas early morning. We were then woken up at 6am by Elliw then at 6.30am by Mia. They saw their filled stockings hanging on the side of the bed so they both went into Mia's bedroom and excitedly opened them. We all then went downstairs by 6.45am. The girls were super excited to see so much presents.

We let them open a few presents then we had a break for breakfast. Then they carried on opening the rest of the presents. After they finished opening the presents in the living room we took them into the front room which had their new kitchen, easel board and a really cosy huge cuddly caterpillar.

 

Just Another Linky #35


W E L C O M E
Welcome to #justanotherlinky week #35! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! I also hope everyones keeping safe from the floods! I was supposed to spend Christmas with my side of the family today but the floods are awful where they are so we have decided to keep safe and stay home!
So here it is, week number 35! The next time we will see you it I will be the new years so I hope everyone has a brilliant happy new year 2016 and we will see you on the 1st January 2016!

THIS WEEK ONLY WE ARE OPEN SUNDAY 26TH DECEMBER UNTIL TUESDAY 29TH DECEMBER 11:55PM!
The Rules...
• #justanotherlinky is open Saturday morning until 11.55pm Monday night.
• If you are linking up please make sure to take the time to read and comment 2 other blogs.
• If you have the chance, if you could comment on both host's posts that would be great.
• Feel free to tweet using the #justanotherlinky (We will both re-tweet)• Post no more than 2 posts.
• Old or new posts.
• Link up no more than two posts per week
• Sponsored posts, review posts and giveaways allowed.
• By linking up you are giving me and Kirsty permission to take a photo if you are being featured the following week.
 
YOUR HOSTS
 
HOST - Beth | Life-As-Mum | @lifeasmumblog
 
CO-HOST - Kirsty | Somethingcrunchymummy | @crunchy_mummy
 
 
 FEATURED POST
 
 
----

 
------------
 - GRAB THE BADGE -

Making Your Home 'Rainy Day' Proof

 
Kids love to be entertained at all times, whether it’s glorious sunshine or a dismal downpour that won’t let up. The great outdoors generally provides its own entertainment with parks, beaches and shopping centres taking the ‘entertaining’ pressure off you, so it’s sensible to have a backup plan in mind for when the weather isn’t playing ball.

This means that you need to get creative in your own home to make sure your little ones keep out of boredom-induced mischief. Here’s a list of methods to make the most of your space for those miserable, rainy days.

A tiny hideaway

It takes a small amount of effort and money to spark the imagination of children. Adults in this day and age grew up with very little in the way of technology, having to rely on overactive imaginations and being easily pleased – wouldn’t it be nice to take your children back to simpler times? Minus iPads, mobile phones and Peppa Pig?

This is where making dens comes in…


Whether they opt for a kitch tipi made from old bed sheets and anything to hand that can hold it up, or a tower of cardboard boxes to hide from the world, this will occupy their minds for a few hours leaving you get some stuff done or put your feet up!

Junior GBBO

What’s not to love with baking? With enough ingredients in your cupboards, you could spend an entire afternoon attempting fairy cakes, cookies or even a fish pie! The eager anticipation of watching something rising in the oven will have the children excited and hungry for the tasty treats in store.

Dreambaby® Adjusta-Car Shade Review


Keeping baby and child happy in the car is a bonus when you are planning to travel with car. Especially during those sunny summer days where the sun is really shining through the car windows. It's a great idea to buy a car shade for the back windows for baby and/child. We were recently given two car shades to review from Dreambaby®. The Dreambaby® Adjusta-Car Shade™ Stretch-It, Shape-It, Fit-It™ is a new car shade which is a little different to all those other car shades.

Vine House Farm Bird Feeder Review and Giveaway


It's always nice doing things together as a family, especially during the holidays. We were given a box of DIY Bird Feeder from Vine House Farm to review. The weather has been pretty awful for us recently so I have decided to wait until after Christmas to do the bird feeder with the girls, so we can put it outside for the birds.

There are many activities you can do as a family and one activity I don't often think of is to do things for the birds outdoors. I think the girls are really going to enjoy themselves making their own bird feeders. Some parents find doing activities with the kids pretty stressful at times but if you prepare before hand then it can be a little less stressful. My top tips to have a fun family activity is:

1. Add some jokes and make it fun. Have a giggle and a laugh with the kids.
2. Plan and prepare before the kids get to the table! Kids hate waiting.
3. Ask them some fun educational questions about the activity.
4. Make sure you have enough time and not rushing the activity.


Included in the box was:


Now here is the great part for my lovely readers. Vine House Farm is giving one lucky reader a chance to win their very own DIY Bird Feeder. If you are interested in winning one all you have to do is enter below and read the Terms and Conditions.


Terms and Conditions
1. One winner gets one prize (Bird Feeder)
2. Winner will be notified within 48 hours
3. Giveaway ends 1st January 2016 at 11:59PM

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown


When Mia was born in 2009 she was only 20 days old for her first ever Christmas. All she did was sleep, feed, cry, dirty nappy and sleep again. That is all she could do. She had lots of cuddles off family though. This year has been different. She has actually started a countdown. First off she counted down to her birthday, which is on the 5th December. Every single morning when she wakes up she will tell me how many days we have left until Christmas.

I am kind of looking forward to actual Christmas night. I am looking forward to see if she did the same as me when I was a child. I used to write Santa a letter and I used to wake up a few times during the night. Although I am looking forward to see if she has gotten to that stage, I am not looking forward to it because I know I will just be shattered the following morning. We will see!



It is really nice to see that Mia really does understand Christmas this year. Although, I have said it the past 2 years. I've thought she understood Christmas for the past two years but this year she is totally different - which is good! There is only 4 days left for Christmas and although I am not properly in the Christmas spirit yet, I am really excited for the girls to open their presents Christmas day.

#VeryMeThisChristmas


I was contacted by Redrow to see if I wanted to take part in their #VeryMeThisChristmas campaign. They wanted me to share a post and a photo that captures the story of my blog. I love telling people how and why I started blogging. It has changed my life. So if you are interested in my story, then read on.

I started blogging in May 2013. I had been following one UK Blogger at the time. She lived not far away from me and I was always reading her posts on a daily or weekly basis. I had also seen adverts on TV about it but I had no clue that I would come this far and earn money through my blog. I started blogging primarily to blog about family days out and writing updates about my girls, Mia and Elliw.

When I grew up I always loved writing. My favourite presents on birthdays and Christmas was always pens and notebooks. When I found out about blogging, I was really interested to try it out. It's been a place where I can share my tips, advice and some personal stories. I have had the fantastic chance to work with some amazing companies and I am very grateful.

Blogging really has become a big part of my life. I have written many posts such as my weight loss updates, my parenting tips, holiday to Thailand and much more. I like to help people out and that is one of the main reasons I love to write out tips and advice to people. I have also loved taking photos and I do think my photo skills have gone better since I started blogging, I am still learning but I am getting there!


My Sunday Photo


Just Another Linky #33

Welcome
Welcome back to week 34! How exciting this is the last linky before Christmas and we have one more until 2015 ends! How mad is that? I hope you have all had a fab week and finished your Christmas shopping! I would also like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope you all have an amazing day!

Seeing as our next linky date falls on Boxing Day, me and Kirsty have decided to open Sunday until Wednesday next week instead!
 

 
The Rules...
• #justanotherlinky is open Saturday morning until 11.55pm Monday night.
• If you are linking up please make sure to take the time to read and comment 2 other blogs.
• If you have the chance, if you could comment on both host's posts that would be great.
• Feel free to tweet using the #justanotherlinky (We will both re-tweet)• Post no more than 2 posts.
• Old or new posts.
• Link up no more than two posts per week
• Sponsored posts, review posts and giveaways allowed.
• By linking up you are giving me and Kirsty permission to take a photo if you are being featured the following week.
 
YOUR HOSTS
 
HOST - Beth | Life-As-Mum | @lifeasmumblog
 
CO-HOST - Kirsty | Somethingcrunchymummy | @crunchy_mummy
 
 
 FEATURED POST
 
------------
 - GRAB THE BADGE -

Life Just Gets In The Way

You may have noticed in the past couple of months I haven't been posting as much. I usually post on a daily basis but the past couple of months my posts have been a bit everywhere and they are mostly just reviews and so on. Life simply just gets in the way sometimes. It won't sound big or important to anyone else but to me, I am stressed. I feel everything is getting on top of me. I have had days where I was to pack in my blog because I don't think my blog interesting enough for people. I sit and wonder if anyone is taking the p*ss out of my blog, do they find my blog boring etc? So many thoughts have gone through my mind.

Since school I have been the quiet one. The one that doesn't really say anything or doesn't show her personality until you really get to know her. I'm not quite sure why I have always been that type of girl. A part of my thinks its because my Mam didn't want to know me. She didn't want to hear my problems, she didn't want to listen or see me. So why would other people? I've had people make up rumours about me, rumours that were not nice and untrue. I've had someone call me 'boring' and similar things behind my back. I won't show who I truly am until I feel 100% comfortable with someone. It doesn't really bother me that some people find me boring because everyone is boring at times. No one is happy chappy constantly through the day. I am shy. It takes time for me to get comfortable with someone. I can't do anything different. If you don't like me, just go.

Why have I written this? I think it may help me get my 'urge to blog' back again! Get back to writing posts and scheduling them in a months advance. I have learnt a few things the past couple of months though. I am going to stop accepting so many reviews - especially product reviews that I don't really need. It really is getting on top of me at the moment, but also on top of everything else.

There is one thing I can not speak out. Not for a while yet anyway. Another is family. Why do they have to be so damn difficult? It was Mia's birthday not long ago. Did I get a text off my own Mother to wish Mia a happy birthday? Of course not. But Mia doesn't know the difference, she doesn't know she has another Nain/Grandmother because I simply can not call her that. She isn't a mother to me so why should she take up the grandmother name. It does hurt but I am slowly facing up to the fact that she will never be there for me or my family.

Like I mentioned in this post earlier, this all may not seem important or bad at all and I will probably think the same in a few months time but at the moment I am finding it difficult. I do find it hard to get out of bed in the morning. I am finding it hard motivate myself to do things in the house. I am just simply finding things hard at the moment but I know things will get easier. Everything gets easier in the end doesn't it. It's just a phase and I will be fine.

Christmas Concert

This year is different to any other school year. This year is Elliw's first ever Christmas concert. To think last year she was sat in the pram watching Mia and this year she is a part of it. But it was a little different this year. I was really looking forward to watching both my girls on the same stage on the same day and night, but the school decided to do the Nursery Class concert separately. Which did work out better in the end, even though we had to spend more for tickets.

The first concert was Mia's on the 10th December. Mia had been going on for a while that she is an alien in the Christmas concert. I wasn't quite sure why there were aliens but it was a part of their show. I must admit the show was fantastic. The singing was great - they also sang their own version of the famous 'Let it Go' by Frozen. Fantastic. They also sang the welsh version of 'Hallelujah' which was fantastic and gave me goosbumps. The only downfall was Mia was stood behind some really tall kids (a year older than her). It was a shame because I couldn't really see Mia singing or take proper photos of her either. There were some times when we couldn't see her at all because the children in front were so tall and actually stood right in front of her. But other than that, the show was fantastic.

 

Pampers Baby-Dry Pants Review


There are many choices of nappies and pants to choose from for our babies and toddlers these days. We all want the best for our children and from my experience, nappies are different for every child. Many parents have to switch nappies because of leaks and the nappy not being able to hold the baby's or toddlers pee/poo. Especially when they are on the go with crawling or learning to walk it's important to have the right nappy for our child.

When the child is on the go you can start using pull up pants. These are much easier to get on and a help for the start of toilet training. We were given a pack of size 6 Pampers Baby-Dry Pants for us to try out and write a review. With the stretchy and soft material these pants sure are comfortable for toddlers on the go. We chose a size 6 for Mia. When she wore pants to bed she would pee quite heavily during the night and we had always bought another brand so I was interested to see how these Pampers Baby-Dry Pants would hold. Mia said they were very comfortable on her to wear and she had no leaks during the time she wore the pants.

Elena Miro Top House of Fraser Review

I was recently sent a lovely from House of Fraser. The top is from the plus size range on their website. With 3/4 sleeves and a lovely design flower pattern on the front. House of Fraser offer a good choice of plus size clothing on their website. I would personally say you would need a thin vest top underneath the tunic top because the silk-type material in the front is pretty thing. The back of the top is grey and a bit thicker material and so are the sleeves. The back is longer than the front of the top which is something I always look for in a top.

Our Weekend Away in Birmingham with Travelodge


My partner and I went to Birmingham for a long weekend to review the Travelodge hotel. Birmingham is around 3 and a half hours away from us so we didn't arrive at the hotel until around 8pm. On our way down I phoned Travelodge to tell them about our late check-in and the woman behind the phone was really nice and said it was fine and she would check us in then.

When we arrived in Birmingham we parked in the multi-story car park which costs £15 every 24 hours. Travelodge gives you discount if you park there and stay at their hotel. We were there for two nights and the ticket cost around £11 instead of £30, which isn't bad. When we finally arrived at the hotel, which is a two minute walk from the multi story car park, we were greeted by a friendly man behind the counter. He gave us the cards for our room and explained to us about breakfast times.


We had to use our cards to go in the lift. Our room was a decent size with the usual double sized bed, desk with kettle, cups, tea and coffee, a place to hand your coats and clothes and a flat screen TV on the wall. The bathroom was the usual toilet, sink and stand in shower. We did notice there was no air con in the room, so we did have the window open most of the night as it was a bit too hot for us. Before we settled in for the night we decided to go downstairs to the bar for a drink and something small to eat. They offered a late night menu which included things like chips, pizzas and onion rings etc. We didn't really enjoy the pizza but I guess everyone has different tastes in what they like.

Twistshake-Bottle Giveaway


There are so many bottles to choose from for your baby these days. We all want the best for our little bundle of joy don't we? Twistshake bottles want you to be able to give your baby the attention and time he/she deserves. The Twistshake bottle contains an innovative mixer next that dissolves clumps in your baby's formula. These bottles come in great colours and very easy to clean. Life-As-Mum has teamed up with Twistshake Bottle and giving one lucky winner a chance to win x1 Twistshak bottle with the included powder box and mixer. They are also giving away an extra 2 pack powder box.

For your chance to win this amazing bottle all you have to do is enter the raffecopter below and read the Terms and conditions.

Terms and Conditions
1. Prize is x1 (one) twistshake bottle, powder box, mixer and an extra 2-pack powder box.
2. Giveaway ends 16th December at 11.59pm.
3. Winner will be notified via e-mail within 3 days.
4. No cash involved.
5. Prize is provided by Twistshake.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just another linky #33

WELCOME
Welcome back to week number 33! We are getting so close to Christmas! This week, again, has been a very busy week for me! I've tried commenting a few posts. But I have read all, so don't worry :)! I hope you have all had a brilliant week. Me and my partner are off to Birmingham to review a hotel from Friday evening until Sunday, come back on the blog early next week to see!
 

 
THE RULES
• #justanotherlinky is open Saturday morning until 11.55pm Monday night.
• If you are linking up please make sure to take the time to read and comment 2 other blogs.
• If you have the chance, if you could comment on both host's posts that would be great.
• Feel free to tweet using the #justanotherlinky (We will both re-tweet)• Post no more than 2 posts.
• Old or new posts.
• Sponsored posts, review posts and giveaways allowed.
• By linking up you are giving me and Kirsty permission to take a photo if you are being featured the following week.
 
YOUR HOSTS
 
HOST - Beth | Life-As-Mum | @lifeasmumblog
 
CO-HOST - Kirsty | Somethingcrunchymummy | @crunchy_mummy
 
 
 FEATURED POST
 
 
My Featured post this week is Oh sh*t moments for new parents in year one!

 
------------
 - GRAB THE BADGE -

I've Been A Mam For Six Years


My eldest daughter turned six last Saturday so that means I have been a Mam for just over six years. I honestly can not believe how fast these six years have gone. Many things have happened in between the years. I was a single mam then I met my wonderful partner when Mia was roughly 15 months old. Before Mia turned two in December, me, Mia and my partner moved in together in October time as I had fallen pregnant with my second daughter, Elliw.

I am not going to lie, moving away from my home, my family, was hard. Maybe if I could drive it wouldn't have been so hard - but I was also excited having my own place and paying my own way even though I did pay rent and council tax at my Dad's too. My partner works 40+ hours a week and up until the end of December, I was going to work too. After December it was nice staying home with Mia but I suddenly got quite fed up because I wasn't sleeping due to the condition I had when I was pregnant (Obstetric Cholestasis) and Mia was going through her terrible two stage. I fell into depression from 30+ weeks but that was no surprise since I was absolutely shattered getting no sleep, still having to wake up to Mia each morning, scared because I wasn't quite sure how I could share my love between two kids, struggling with severe back pain and the itching caused by OC. I struggled badly to keep on top of the house work and I stopped going out because I nearly had a break down in a local shop because Mia threw the biggest tantrum EVER! Since then I did not take her to the shop without a pram by myself during my pregnancy.


A couple of weeks after Elliw was born we moved house because our contract had ended, plus we wanted a bigger house. It was kind of stressful but I was perfectly fine after having Elliw so I could move about just as normal. A few months later I fell into depression again. It was a little worse than the last time - I ended up on anti-depressant tablets from the doctors and I went to appointments to get reviewed a couple of times but after a good year, I took myself off them. I started walking and going out more, loosing weight and I do think that really did help me.

I won't lie to anyone. Being a Mam is not easy but it honestly is the most rewarding thing you can be. Being a parent to a little child - a mini me - is amazing. It can be tough when they go through these certain phases and when they do go through these phases, you do panic and think they will never grow out of it but eventually they do. Every evening before I go to bed I have to give each girl a kiss and cuddle before I go to sleep, otherwise I can not settle.

My two girls were completely different with their sleeping. Mia slept pretty much all night from a couple of months old and I co-slept with her. From 7 months onwards I ended up putting her back into the cot - which was a battle! But I got there in the end with the help of my Dad. From then on she woke up between 1am - 3am each night until she was 2 years old. Since 2 years old she has slept the whole night. Elliw on the other hand didn't have her first full night sleep until she was 7 months old. From 7 months old she slept all night for a couple of months and then she started waking up in the night wanting juice or milk. Silly us gave in and since then she has been on and off waking up most nights. We have only recently stopped giving her a bottle during the night and when we put her in bed, instead she has her last drink with dinner. She has been sleeping through the night since! YAY!


I have been a stay at home mam since I left my job back in September 2013. I do miss working from home but I have had the amazing opportunity to be able to spend every minute at home watching both my baby girls growing up to be little girls. Some days are hard, Some are good, Some are extremely stressful and emotional but as said above, raising your child is very rewarding. I have had so many fond memories of my girls by being able to watch them smile, giggle, crawl, sit up and walk for the first time, along with many other first-time things.

My life sure has changed - but for the better - since I became a Mam. Within the six years I have been called many different names by my girls such as Mam, Mammy, Mum, Mummy, Mama and I have been called by my real name (which I don't like!) too! Being able to wake up each morning to my happy (sometimes) little girls is something I am very grateful for. I wouldn't change them for the world. I love being their Mama.




Lush T-shirt Review

I recently received a black t-shirt with the words 'Eat Sleep Blog Repeat.' from Lush T-Shirts. I felt that the t-shirt suited me well seeing as I am a Blogger. The t-shirt cost only £14.99 and comes in various colours such as Pink, White, Blue, Red and Black. Sizes are Small - XXL. The t-shirt is 100% cotton, fitted and true to size t-shirt.
 
Lush T-shirts have many funny slogan t-shirts available for men and women, not just for Bloggers. Lush T-shirts offer different themes such as funny, slogan, football, offensive and more. They also offer some custom designs for Stag & Hen nights and Girls & Lads holiday. I would definitely recommend Lush t-shirts if you like funny words on t-shirts and vests. Perfect for a Christmas present.
 
You can buy yours on Lush t-shirt website here.
 

Stocking Fillers Under £10 For Kids

This year I have decided I am not going to buy cheap small toys for stocking fillers. I am going to concentrate on buying things they will use and get plenty of use of too. I have gone through a few sites and have gathered a few bits that will be great for stocking filler gifts for kids and all under £10.

Small Cushion Tooth Fairy House
Egg Cup
DIY Banner
LED Pear Light
LED Rabbit light
Monochrome Cup
Buddy + Bear Monochrome Bowl Plate
Owl Snackpot
Black Lego Storage Box
Buddy + Bear Storage Sack
Plastic Tumbler Bear
Toy Stroller Flashcards












Plans For Our Kitchen in Future

 
When my partner and I started looking for a house to buy we knew we wanted a decent sized kitchen. We have private rented two houses and both kitchens have been a pretty good size. The house we have bought and living at now the kitchen is smaller than the two previous houses but we are hoping that we can plan to extend the kitchen and dinning room to be one big kitchen diner. My dream colour theme for the kitchen would be black and white gloss.

Ideally we need to replace most of the items we have in the kitchen. They are all either very mix-matched or very old. My partner has always wanted a combination microwave oven. We are yet to buy one but our microwave is starting to end, not surprised since it is over 10+ years old! The kitchen in our previous private rented house also had a place we could keep our washing machine and tumble dryer out of the way. I would like to have an utility room somewhere in the kitchen in future.

In the kitchen I love to have family time on the dining table and baking cakes and sweets with the kids. Although our kitchen at the minute looks a decent size, it can get over crowded if we are all in here at once. I think if we knock two walls down and extend it to the same length as the dining room it will be big enough and won't feel as crowded.

Have you re-done your kitchen recently or thinking of doing it in future?

If you are interested in working with me, check out my work with me page.

EYFS Resources Review


EYFS Resources offers many things for an early years setting such as resource packs, accountant help and much more. EYFS Resources also have other services such as a childcare start-up package, nursery school work and product branding and much more. EYFS Resourceses offers childminders, nurseries and pre-schools:

EYFS Resources offers childminders, nurseries and pre-schools:
  • Help with Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) standards and inspection
  • Early years provider resources and paperwork with your branding
  • Curriculum mapped toys, equipment and lesson plans
  • Early years setting business support and quality improvement
  • Specialist childcare accountancy services
  • Training to meet the care and development of children under 5
  • A virtual community to support, inspire and educate
  • Help with going on-line
FROM THE WEBSITE*
 
 
I recently received one of their packs related to Christmas. One pack was called 'Christmas Resource Pack' and the second pack was called 'Elfis' Christmas Travels'. Both packs were very full. Each pack came with a sheet of 'planning' and many different activities.
 
Christmas Resource Pack
This pack includes many activities to do with young children through the Christmas season. The pack includes:
 - Christmas planning sheets
- The Nativity Scene
- Christmas Pudding Number Cards
- Santa Acrostic Poem Worksheet
- Our Exciting Plans for Christmas
- Mark Making & Activity Worksheets
- Christmas themed Playdough mats
- Colouring Sheets
- Christmas Counting Sheet
- Christmas Matching Game
- Christmas Threading Cards
- Christmas Recipe Cards
- Interactive Stable
- Christmas Size Sorting Sheet
- Nativity Cut Outs
- Christmas Flashcards
- Christmas & Nativity Keywords
- Christmas Song words
 
As you can probably guess from the list above, there are many things in the pack for children to do. You can photocopy the worksheets so all the children can be involved. The kids sure will have a lot of fun with all of these activities through the Christmas Season.
 
 
Elfis' Christmas Travels
If you are doing Elf on The Shelf then this pack would be great! This pack includes:
- Planning Sheets
- Welcome to Elfi's Christmas Travels
- Elfis' Number Cards
- Mark Making Sheets
- Elfis' Colouring Sheet
- Playdough Mats
- Elfis' Counting Sheets
- Elfis Threading Card
- Elfis Recipe Cards
- You Found Me Cards
- Make Your Own Elfis
- Elf Size Sorting Sheet
- Elf Map
- Decorate Elfis' Face
- Cusive Writing: Elf
 
Each pack contains many activities for young children from pre-schools, nurseries and child-minder settings. EYFS Resources do monthly packs which are filled just like above. Be sure to check them out on the website and sign up if you are an owner of an early year setting.
 
If you run an early years care setting I would recommend EYFS Resources. You can visit EYFS Resources Ltd here.
 
* I was sent these packs free of charge in return on an honest review.
 

My Sunday Photo

Just Another Linky #32

WELCOME
Welcome back to week #32! I can not believe this linky is on its 32nd week! Time really has flown by. Right I have a confession to make... I am really behind in everything. I haven't had time to read posts this week due to personal reasons. Things haven't been good this week BUT I had the end of a bad week turned into a good start on Friday! So I am back working as normal and catching up on everything. So my side of the linky will be back to normal from next week with favourite posts etc. I will also read everyones posts from last week and this week during the week. Hope you all understand. Thank you everyone. X

I would also like to wish my beautiful daughter, Mia, a happy 6th birthday today (5th December!)
 

 
THE RULES
• #justanotherlinky is open Saturday morning until 11.55pm Monday night.
• If you are linking up please make sure to take the time to read and comment 2 other blogs.
• If you have the chance, if you could comment on both host's posts that would be great.
• Feel free to tweet using the #justanotherlinky (We will both re-tweet)• Post no more than 2 posts.
• Old or new posts.
• Sponsored posts, review posts and giveaways allowed.
• By linking up you are giving me and Kirsty permission to take a photo if you are being featured the following week.
 
YOUR HOSTS
 
HOST - Beth | Life-As-Mum | @lifeasmumblog
 
CO-HOST - Kirsty | Somethingcrunchymummy | @crunchy_mummy
 
 
 FEATURED POST
 
 
Sorry no featured post this week guys.

 
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 - GRAB THE BADGE -