Mia was in her Dad's over the Easter weekend so I had decided to do a small egg hunt indoors on the Tuesday morning for both girls. I told them on Monday evening that we were going to have an egg hunt and they got super excited. Tuesday morning came and they were so excited. We had a lazy but fun morning, both girls played nicely and I managed to have a little lie in bed whilst the girls played. For some reason this week has been exhausting for me, I blame the pregnancy!

Early pregnancy symptoms can be very similar to period symptoms, which can be quite confusing. There are many early pregnancy symptoms and the main one is a missed period. However this isn't always the main symptom for some. Some (lucky) people don't suffer with any symptoms throughout their pregnancy but some of us women do.

Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted kids of my own. I always wanted that 'family life'. Growing up with a single Dad was amazing, don't get me wrong but I always longed for that Mother and Father kind of family. But life never plans out like you want it too, does it? But I believe everything happens for a reason.

Welcome back to week #4 of Pregnancy & Beyond. I am actually enjoying doing this linky each week. I have put a lot of thought into it and decided to add more information into the actual linky post each week. Seeing as it is a Pregnancy and Beyond linky I want to add some information/facts abou…

One thing I love about this time of year is the long weekend we get to spend as a family. Although the rest of the weekend hasn't really gone to plan with my partner because he had to still work in the evenings until 4-5am as we need money, we still had a great weekend. On Good Friday the sun was shining, the kids were well behaved, I had a small lie in and I felt good! I chose the perfect place to visit and couldn't wait to take the girls there.

Llanberis is a place my Dad took me and my brother quite often when we were children so being able to make memories there with my girls means a lot to me. The last time we went to Llanberis was roughly two years ago and you can see the post I wrote about the day, here. I am not quite sure why we had left it so long to visit again because it isn't far from us. Anyway, we all got ourselves ready and made our way there.

The Easter holidays are coming up for us in the UK and the girls are super excited. I have got a few things planned for the next two weeks but one of the things I am really looking forward to is a family movie night. The girls can stay up late, eating pizza and whatever other junk they want! One night off. Seeing as it is Easter, I have thought about watching a couple of Easter related movies.

Easter is a really exciting time for all children. Not only do school children get two whole weeks off school, they also get treated with lots (and lots!) of Easter eggs, chocolates and other treats. Mia and Elliw are super excited to receive their Easter presents and doing many Easter crafts over the next couple of weeks.

This week for Weekly Moments is a little different. We as a family haven't done anything outstanding or very special this week but the girls have actually learnt how to play games on my laptop. You may have also heard that it is blog awards season! The 3rd thing that has been a change this week…

 W E L C O M E
Welcome back to week #47. I can't believe we are already in week 47! It's going so fast, isn't it? Thank you so much to all of you who linked up last week. I do have to apologise and let you all know I didn't get time to comment and read all of your posts, so I am go…

HOW I AM FEELING
I've been feeling pretty good this week. Not to stressed like I have been the past few weeks. On Thursday I felt a lot more tired than usual but it may be because I didn't move around so much and I haven't had brilliant sleep all week either, aswell as the early wake up calls. I am feeling a lot more prepared this past week as I have been given many clothes for Baby boy. He is so spoilt! I have received some exciting e-mails and I am now crossing my fingers (and everywhere else!). The only time I remember being a bit sad this week is with the midwife appointment and my current situation with Obstetric Cholestasis, which you can read more about, below. So I think this week has been a pretty good week.

When I found out I was expecting baby #3 my first thoughts were the girls. How would they react? How would Mia react in being a big sister again? and how would Elliw react being the middle child and a big sister for the first time? All kinds of questions were running through my head. It was hard not to mention it in the first 3 months, especially with the scares and worries.

I remember that first blog post I wrote - a letter to my youngest daughter - I didn't stick to blogging then. It wasn't until May 2013 that my blogging journey truly started. You can read all my posts from my first month of blogging here. Looking back really does make me cringe because of the way I wrote and how short my blog posts were (and many other reasons too!). I do think my photography, words and posts have improved since and I hope for them to improve again in future.

Being a parent can be very expensive, especially if your children are like mine and love to eat (and waste) everything that is in the fridge. But there is much more than just buying food for children when you're a parent. You need to keep a roof over their heads by paying rent and bills, buy new clothes, school uniforms, school trips, birthdays, Christmases and so much more. On average a parent can spend over £11000 per child each year, according to Telegraph.

Seeing as raising a child or more can be expensive, most parents choose to go out to work. But if you are a couple it can be pretty difficult for both parents to go out to work. The same with single parents, it can be difficult for them to go out to work too. I am in a relationship and one of my reasons for quitting my job when I finished my maternity was because I just could not afford paying the childcare and that is why I decided to quit my job of two years.

I have been a blogger for nearly 3 years now and I knew from the start that I wanted to be a parenting/family blogger. I learn many things on the ways such as taking better photos, writing better and learning how to write better posts. I do think a part of my learning is because I have read and st…

As the girls have grown older they have stopped watching Cbeebies and the 'baby' programmes and turned into Nick. Jr lovers! The programme they absoloutely love and watch every single day at the moment is Paw Patrol. Paw Patrol seems very popular at the minute with a lot of children. I have started to see many stores all of a sudden selling Paw Patrol items, which is great! About time I say so.

I don't think there is ever a right time to be 'ready' for another baby. I am going to have a lot of hospital visits and scans through this pregnancy and have already got 3 appointment letters come through the door last week to see a consultant and for a scan. So I am counting how many weeks I will be and I am just seeing this pregnancy fly by, which is making me a little sad to think about.

It’s well known that most of us love a deal. However it appears we are willing to put in the work to hunt out the best bargains too. It was recently suggested that the average Brit spends just under 200 hours every year checking prices on the internet or at the shops in a bid to find the cheapest p…

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for linking up last week. I would love it if any of you could spread the word of this linky. That would be fantastic! Thanks in advance if you do. This week has been pretty stressful for me pregnancy and parenting wise and I do hope I get a chance one day this week to…

It's really scary how fast this pregnancy is going. Too fast! One minute I want this pregnancy to hurry up so I can meet my little boy and then the next I was it to go slower because this will be the last time I will be carrying a child inside of me. The last time I grow a baby inside of me. It saddens me to think that but I have decided I really do not want anymore children.

The past week has been extremely stressful and hard. It's been full of arguments, tears, stress and more tears. My youngest daughter, Elliw has been a right little madam. I am not quite sure where she has got this phase from or how it even appeared but her behaviour and attitude was so difficult to cope with. It started all of a sudden and it didn't help that I have also been struggling with aches and pains from pregnancy symptoms too.

I had only gotten over the stress I had the previous week because of my eldest. So to all of a sudden be stressed again, did take its toll on me. All week I have been feeling shattered and all over of the place. Elliw is only part-time school, so although I had a couple of hours break when she was in school for 2 hours, it did go too fast as I always had something to do. I fell back with housework but I have finally gotten on top of it. I fell back on blog work too but I have gotten on top of that too - which I am glad and proud of.

 W E L C O M E
Welcome back to week #47. I can't believe we are already in week 47! It's going so fast, isn't it? Thank you so much to all of you who linked up last week. I do have to apologise and let you all know I didn't get time to comment and read all of your posts, so I am go…

This is my 3rd week of #weeklymoments. I am really enjoying talking about the most important things that have happened during the week. I always struggled sticking to saying what I did every single day, or a photo a day as I would always forget. This week is all about the kicks, hospital visit and family time.

Kicks
My partner finally felt Baby boy kick for the first time on Tuesday night whilst we were in bed! Baby boy's kicks are so hard now and I can feel him stretching and moving so much during the day and evenings now. Before it was mostly the early morning or evenings. I have noticed he doesn't move or kick as much when there are loud noises but loves kicking and moving around when it is quiet. He will have to change that around when he arrives because my girls are not quiet, ha ha.


Family Time

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?
This week is a little different and it will be different each week from now on. Last Saturday I went into hospital to take my bloods for Obstetric Cholestasis and on Sunday I went back in for my results. The midwife and doctor confirmed that I am now diagnosed with Obstetric Cholestasis, for the third time! The itch is bearable and I have been given some cream to help any itch that feels unbearable but I don't think it is anything I should complain about right now because I know it can be ten times more severe and constant than what it is now. I now have to go in for weekly bloods and keep an eye on my bloods. I haven't had my bile acid results yet just my ALT and a few others. My ALT bloods are raised, normal is 33 and mine have raised to 55. At the moment I am not getting monitored or on medication because I am under 28 weeks. I think from 28 weeks they may take it more seriously, I hope. But baby is all healthy and kicking like mad the past week. You can read more about my diagnoses with Obstetric Cholestasis here.

Since I have been pregnant I have realised I do sit down a lot more and just think about things. Most of the things I think about is my girls. Sometimes about all the memories we have already, the new ones which are too come and that guilt. The guilt that most parents experience. If you haven't experienced it yet, I am sure you will soon enough.

I should really get more involved with the Sibling monthly project but I have been so busy recently, I keep forgetting. The past week or so I have been capturing a lot more photos of the girls together. Just a few weeks ago I was looking through my photos on my phone and albums and realised I had …

Finding out you are expecting a baby, whether it is your first, second, third or more is an exciting time. Knowing you are growing a little one inside of you is amazing. Another thought when you find out you are expecting is, a lot of things are going to change. You have 9 months to prepare yourself for the baby's arrival. It can be all so exciting but it can also be pretty stressful!

Before baby arrives make sure you get as much rest as you can. If you are expecting your first then I would advise you rest as often as you can. If you fall pregnant again, it's not so easy to rest because you are still having to look after your other child/children. It's important that you still get that exercise in daily, so don't forget that either.

Firstly I will explain a little about what Obstetric Cholestasis means as it is a rare pregnancy condition that not many people know about. The main symptom for Cholestasis, also known as OC, is itching. Not many people know the high risks that come with OC in pregnancy. Here is a little more about OC:

Itching can be very common during pregnancy but the itch for OC is a little different. It can be so severe that you itch yourself so much you make yourself bleed. The main places you itch is the palm of your hands and bottom of your feet. The itch can be all over your body too. The itch usually isn't something you can 'cope' with. It can drain you as it is constant.

Easter is soon coming up, a little early this year but that's no excuse not to treat someone to something special. Easter is mostly about chocolate but there are some people out there who dislike chocolate (shockingly!) and maybe there are others who just prefer to spend money on things that wi…

Hello! Welcome back to Pregnancy and Beyond week #2! This is the linky where you can link up to 3 pregnancy and parenting related posts. So if you love reading pregnancy and parenting posts, just like myself, this is the linky to join! Thank you so much to everyone who linked up last week. I really…