British Chesterfield Sofas....sigh!

Before meeting Lee and having Bug, pre-parenthood, my living room was mess free, without a toy in sight and filled with gorgeous furniture and beautiful ornaments.  I loved filling my home with things I loved the look of, following no particular style or theme I simply wanted to surround myself with things I considered gorgeous and appealing to my eye.

After a few terrible years suffering from depression I was finally enjoying creating a space I loved and wanted to spend time in.  I loved searching charity, brick-a-brack and antique shops for beautiful items to add to my home.

When I was attempting to create a beautiful home, I had my heart set on getting a new sofa to replace the tatty old, second hand sofa I had.  I was slowly saving up to buy a stunning Chesterfield sofa to be the heart of my living room.

I was still saving up to get my dream sofa when I met Lee.  During our whirlwind romance my plans of saving up to buy a Chesterfield sofa was abandoned and I put my ‘sofa fund’ money towards adventures with Lee.

Utterly adorable Ibis Snuggling Bunnies.

We have stayed at Ibis Hotels a number of times, especially when visiting Lee’s family in Leeds.  We have always found Ibis to be pleasant and affordable accommodation that is perfect for our family’s needs.  Ibis Hotels are perfect for our budget and we have found their cosy rooms to be ideal for relaxing in and getting a good night’s sleep after a busy day visiting family and having adventures. 

Bug loves staying at Ibis, his first ever experience of staying at a hotel was at an Ibis Hotel.  He loves snuggling to sleep on the comfy mattresses and having a little holiday away from home.  Even though the affordable prices, comfortable rooms and yummy breakfasts are appealing a big bonus for us that has helped keep us returning to stay is the friendly service we have experienced during every stay at Ibis.

As we stay at Ibis often I was excited to here that they are introducing new beds at their hotels.

After seeing Ibis’ new advert ‘Ibis Snuggling Bunnies’ I could not resist sharing such an adorable advert which stars a number of snuggly, fluffy bunnies. 

Watching the video with me, Bug declared that he wanted mummy to get him a bunny and with the stars of the advert being utterly irresistible I am more than a little tempted to get an adorable fluffy bunny for me him.

As Bug has watched the uber-cute bunnies in the video a number of times now (and I can foresee a lot more requests to see the snuggly bunnies) the only problem now is that when we stay at Ibis he will be expecting to have lots of cute bunnies to play with and snuggle to sleep with during our stay.  

*  Sponsored video posted on behalf of Spreaditfast *

Munchkin Monsters Toddler Dining Set Review.

We love Munchkin; their colourful and fun bath toys are great for water babies who love splishy, splashy bath time fun and their Click Lock cups are invaluable leak and spill proof cups.  We fell in love their Click Lock cups when we reviewed them and they are now the only cups we use; Bug loves the bright colours of the cups which are a great shape for him to hold and drink from and I love the fact that even after being excessively used over a period of many months they are still 100% leak and spill proof. 

As we love Munchkin we were excited about Munchkin’s exciting news that they have teamed up with Disney Baby.

“Munchkin Celebrates 

The New Disney Collection

It’s the little things® that make these products magical

It’s finally here… the highly anticipated collaboration that’s set to excite and delight children and parents across the UK. The exciting worlds of Disney and Munchkin, Inc., the international baby and toddler brand, have teamed up to create a fun, clever and exciting new dining range for children. A beautifully designed premium collection of feeding products and Click Lock™ cups, the Disney Collection for babies integrates the rich Disney heritage, known and loved by generations, with Munchkin’s award-winning and innovative feeding products. Each item features a little something extra to help make parents lives easier and more enjoyable, whilst making meal times exciting for children.”

Information provided by Munchkin.

Little green fingers.....little green watering can (Project 365 - 177/365).

Blooming roses (Project 365 - 176/365).

Wedding outfit shopping.

With an upcoming family friend’s wedding on the horizon I have been on the hunt for some outfits for us all to wear on their big day. 

As the wedding is quite a posh do, with the couple having a white wedding in a chapel and the reception being at a splendid venue, we can’t just go in our everyday clothes so I need to get some smart outfits for us.  Thankfully it is not an overtly grand wedding so I do not need to go over-the-top with our outfits but I would like us to look nice.  I would normally wear something I already own but unfortunately I do not have any smart clothes that would be suitable for a wedding which fit, especially as Lee and I have not been for a night out since before having Bug I have not had a need for smart, going out clothes……so shopping is a must ;-)

I had hoped to get a full day with the car to go shopping further afield to have more choice of shops to look for outfits but with Lee busy working overtime the chances of being able to have a full day at the shops and some retail therapy is looking less likely before the wedding.

As I am struggling to be able to get to the shops to buy us some outfits I have been doing some online shopping instead. 

Blooming foxglove (Project 365 - 175/365).

Tips for credit card use.

Family life can be a juggling act at times, busy and complicated.  Family finances can be especially difficult to juggle, you have to take into account all bills and living costs when budgeting and make sure you can get the money to stretch for the whole month until the next payday.  For most families their budget is very tight, with only just enough money to cover bills and basic living expenses.  With restrictive budgets even the best budgeter can struggle when faced with unexpected bills.  Many families who are already struggling with their budget and then are hit with unexpected bills are looking at credit card options to help them deal with unforeseen costs.

The topic of finances, debt and credit cards is a delicate issue.  Even though we would all love to have no money worries and live a debt-free existence this is only a dream for most of us and with the number of families struggling financially and living with debt increasing every year poor finances and money worries are sadly a fact of life for most of us.

Mucky messy gardening #KidsGrowWild

Bug was more than a little excited about getting outdoors with his new gardening kit from BritMums and MoneySupermarket.com for the #KidsGrowWild challenge.  With his gorgeous gardening kit to hand we headed out to the garden to start on our plans for green fingered fun.

The gardening kit is uber cute and perfect for little gardeners with little hands.  Inside a sturdy gardening bag was a little green watering can, packs of lovely flower seeds, a pair of gardening gloves, a trowel and a fork.

Bug was delighted with his new gardening kit and was keen to take a look at his special new gardening tools.  He was especially interested in the watering can.

Plans for green fingered fun #KidsGrowWild

Bug loves being outdoors.  He is in his element playing in the great outdoors.

He loves going on country walks.

He adores playing in the mud and making a muddy mess.

A busy week of visits.

Amid Bug being ill and being busy with lots of chores this week I have also been dealing with pre-arranged visits from our landlord and a few builders/professional workmen.  Thankfully I had not had to do much apart from welcome them in, providing them access to our home to allow them to see and discuss a few issues with the property.

Sleep aid study with Silent Night.

A number of years ago, before meeting Lee and having Bug, when I was suffering from depression I suffered from insomnia.  All I wanted to do was curl up under my duvet and hibernate, the longing to get some sleep was excruciating.  My dark thoughts and mind filled with worries banished sleep from my life.

“The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep”

W.C.Fields.

Thankfully as I overcame my depression, feeling better in myself and stronger mentally and emotionally the sweet relief of sleep was once more in my life.  Getting a night’s sleep was pure joy and it felt amazing to wake up in the morning after having slept rather than have spent the night wake in desperate need of sleep.

Since that dark period of my life my sleep has improved but I do find that at times when I am worried about things in life I struggle to get to sleep, allowing the worrying thought race round my head instead of relaxing and letting my worries slip away as I fall asleep.  Thankfully my sleeping issues never get extreme anymore and even though at times I struggle to get to sleep I do not spend the night awake and always drift off to sleep without being awake for too long.

The responsibilities of owning a car.

Even though it is great to own a car; being able to go anywhere, anytime without having to rely on public transport or lifts from friends and family, owning a car costs a lot and brings responsibilities and obligations.  When owning a car you have to deal with the service, maintenance and repairs of the car, MOT, car tax, insurance plus fuel costs; all of which can be quite costly.

Living where we live, in the rural countryside where public transport is miles away, having a car and being able to drive is paramount.  I have been driving since I was 17 and when I met Lee I had a funky VW Mexican beetle.  When I met Lee he did not drive as he was living in Leeds and did not feel it necessary to drive as public transport was in abundance and all amenities were in walking distance.  After moving to live with me in Wales Lee was eager to pass his driving test and get on the road especially when we found we were expecting Bug as he wanted to take the pressure off of me driving with my ever expanding bump. 

Lee soon passed his test and relished being able to drive.  At that time we still had my VW Mexican Beetle but when we were offered a more practical car for free from a family member we decided with the impending arrival of Bug it would make more sense to take the VW Mexican Beetle off the road and have the new car especially as we were already concerned how we would fit Lee, Bug and I in the VW along with a pushchair.

Megson "When I Was A Lad..." album review.

Both Lee and I adore music and enjoy a wide range of different genres, as such we hope to pass on our passion for music to Bug.  We think it is important to expose Bug to different experiences and in relation to music we think it is important that he is introduced to a wide variety of music; as such we listen to an array of different music with Bug, spanning a wide range of genres. 

Even though I think it is important that Bug listens to nursery rhymes and songs and songs for children and have embraced children’s tunes, children’s television themes and classic children songs for his sake and enjoyment I do find the cheery, bubbly songs annoy me and for the sake of my own sanity I often revert to my own music. 

Wanting Bug to listen to children’s songs as I do think they are beneficial to him I am always on the hunt to find music for children that he will enjoy that will also not drive me crazy.  When I was recently offered the chance to review an album of children’s songs I was keen to give it a listen to see if it would be the answer to my quest for children’s songs that are enjoyable for Bug and importantly different to the standard chirpy children’s songs that annoy me.

Arriving in a shiny silver parcel I was excited about listening to the CD were sent, Megson “When I Was A Lad...”.  Megson are husband and wife duo Stu and Debbie Hanna who after forming 8 years ago took a break in 2011 to welcome their little baby girl Lola Wren into the world.  Drawing heavily on their Teesside heritage Megson create a unique brand of folk music that has seen them nominated 3 times in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and being double winners of the 2011 Spiral Earth Awards. 

Conquering Cilgerran Castle.

Last week Bug and I headed out for the day for a little adventure.  Whilst in the area I decided to pop in to see a National Trust property, Cilgerran Castle which is in the guardianship of Cadw (Welsh Assembly Government’s historic environment service). 

Having not been to Cilgerran Castle for many years since I was a child our little trip there was an adventure for both Bug and I.   After realising the castle has no parking we parked up on a side street and walked to the castle.

Once we were at the castle grounds I was immediately in awe of the striking 13 th century castle.

Go green in your household.

There are a number of benefits available to homeowners who are considering making the switch to a greener lifestyle.  One is that they can feel a little better about the impact they are having on the environment and secondly – and perhaps more importantly to some – it can reduce their level of expenditure. Here are a few simple changes that could go a long way.

Ensure your boiler is functioning correctly.

A faulty boiler can prove dangerous and release emissions into the air, so ahead of any problems arising why not make sure you have boiler cover in place so any issues can be rectified quickly and easily?  Ensure any worked carried out is done by an engineer that is Gas Safe Register approved.  A properly functioning boiler can lower both your carbon emissions and bills.

Reduce your water usage.

Saving water around the home could be an easier task than you think.  Simple lifestyle changes such as only using as much water as you need when filling the kettle, opting for a shower instead of a bath, using a bowl while washing up and turning off the tap while cleaning your teeth can all make huge difference in the long term.  It is also worth tightening up any leaky taps and ensuring that water pipes are in the best possible condition to avoid potentially damaging leaks.

Hazardous play.

On one of our recent trips to a park I took Bug to a park that he has never played at before, a park where I used to play often as a child but have not been there for many years.  When we arrived at the park I was surprised with how run down and dishevelled it was looking.  Even though all of the park play apparatus’ were different to the ones I played on when I was a child making them newer additions to the park compared to the ones that I played on nearly 20 years ago they all looked worn, sad and tired.  Unfortunately there was also a lot of graffiti all over the play apparatus which added to the run down appearance of the park.

Even though the park has seen better days and the play apparatus on offer was not exactly toddler friendly I did not think it was fair on Bug to simply leave without a quick play at the park.  Looking through Bug’s child eyes all he saw was a park to play at, with adventures to be had and apparatus to play on and conquer; he did not see the dishevelled state of the park, his eyes did not care for the graffiti and he did not see apparatus that were not toddler friendly instead he saw things he wanted to play on in spite of them being too big or too tricky.  Taking a leaf out of Bug’s book I overlooked the grimy, run down appearance of the park and tried to relish being outdoors with Bug and enjoy playing with him, helping him master the apparatus.

Quiet time snuggled on the sofa watching cartoons (Project 365 - 168/365).

Dreaming of a family holiday to London.

Lee and I share a desire to travel and a passion for experiencing different adventures and experiences.  We both hope to travel to an array of countries across the world and experience and learn a about different cultures.  We both have a strong desire to travel abroad and get married in south Africa on a beach and enjoy a honeymoon slash holiday with our little family with one of the highlights of the holiday (apart from the wedding of course) being a safari so see animals in the wild.  Even though the idea of holidaying abroad is tempting there are also lots of places in the UK that we both want to visit and hope to holiday at as a family over the years.

One of the places in the UK we both want to visit is London.  I have been to London once before many years ago but would love to go back and Lee has never been before and is passionate about experiencing the big city with his little family.  As Lee is eager to holiday at London we have been putting a little money aside in a holiday money fund for a short trip to London.

Daddy's Day Chocotastic Card (Project 365 - 167/365).

Making daddy a choctastic daddy's day card (Project 365 - 166/365).

The Adventures of Abney & Teal time (Project 365 - 165/365).

Village park play.

Last week we got out of the house for a little bit for park time play at the park in our village.  Bug delight in running around the small park, exploring the area before some serious play.

#23 Visit a Farm. Ranger adventure - 50 Things To Do Before You're 11 ¾

After exploring the 18 th century house, walled gardens, grounds and lake atLlanerchaeron we visited the home farm there for Bug to complete his first 50Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾ adventure; #23 Visit a farm from the Ranger category of adventures.

The home farm at Llanerchaeron has been resorted to its former glory with its impressive range of traditional, atmospheric outbuildings now being used as a working organic farm with Welsh Black cattle, Llanwenog sheep and rare Welsh pigs.

Bug was super excited when he realised we were headed to see some animals as he loves animals.

In the stone cobbled farm courtyard we explored the stone outbuildings in the hope of seeing some animals. 

A day out at Llanerchaeron.

As I am hoping to encourage a natural childhood of playing in the great outdoors for Bug and keen to record his 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾ accomplishments when we recently had the car on a lovely sunny day I thought it was the perfect time to get out for a day out, play outdoors and attempt a #50 Things task.

With the National Trust Wales promoting the 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾ campaign I thought it would be great to go to a National Trust Property so Bug and I headed to Llanerchaeron in Ciliau Aeron, near Aberaeron.  As my mum has wanted to go to Llanerchaeron for a walk around the house for ages I thought it would be the perfect chance for Bug and I to spend some quality time with her on a family day out.  I also hoped that it would be the perfect day and place for Bug to complete 1 of the 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾ adventures.

Bug was super excited about his day out with his Mamgu and raced off to explore the 18 th century Welsh gentry estate.

First we decided to have a look in the house which was designed in the 1790’s.  The Llanerchaeron villa is according to the National Trust website is the most complete example of the early work of John Nash. 

A day out at Dinefwr Park and Castle.

As I believe in a natural childhood with playing in the great outdoors being an integral part of growing up I was keen to keep having outdoors with Bug and encourage him to complete tasks from the 50 Things list.  With an action plan arranged to get Bug started on his #50 things adventure, Bug and I recently headed to a National Trust property to set about get at least 1 thing ticked off of his 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾ list of challenges. 

After browsing the National Trust Wales website for the perfect property to get Bug started on his #50 things adventure I thought I had found the perfect place that would allow us the chance to at least complete 1 of the tasks.

With a number of spare hours and the car at our disposal Bug and I headed to Dinefwr Park and Castle in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.  

As we headed off from home the sun was shining beautifully in the blue sky and I had high hopes of a relaxing, fun filled day in the sunshine, exploring the 12-century Welsh castle, historic house and 18th century landscape park that encloses a medieval deer park.

Bye bye camera....sorry you were overworked (Project 365 - 164/365).

Recording 50 Things To Do Before You're 11 ¾ adventures.

As I mentioned in my post Natural Childhood – playing in the great outdoors, I am excited about recording Bug’s accomplishments off the challenges from the 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾ list. 

I will be recording and capturing his achievements with photographs and video as well as writing about them on here, sharing some of my favourite photographs of his accomplishments.

As well as recording his adventures on here and with photographs we are also using the brilliant, colourful 50 Things website to record his achievements.  You can create an account for your child/children on the website where they can keep a virtual record of their accomplishments, with challenges that completed being ticked off from the list.  On the website children have their own little Outdoors Explorer to help them complete the challenges with rewards available to personalise their Outdoors Explorer for completing each of the 50 adventures.  There are also hidden secret challenges for children to find on the website.

Father's Day inspiration for retro gaming dads.

With Father’s Day fast approaching I have been browsing the internet for creative gift ideas for Bug to make for his daddy as well as looking to see if I can find any interesting, original gifts that we could buy.  

Normally daddy only gets treated to handmade gifts and small, affordable gifts for Father’s Day but with daddy being extra busy at work and hardly home of late due to lots of overtime I thought it would be nice to treat him to an extra special gift this year.  Even though I know he loves the handmade gifts Bug makes him and cherishes the love that has been put into lovely sentimental gifts made by his son’s fair hands I thought it would be nice to see if we could get him a gift that he could use on the rare moments he has at home, providing him with a way to relax and enjoy during his downtime.

Natural Childhood - playing in the great outdoors.

Having grown up in the country in Wales and lived on a farm for most of my childhood, most of my childhood was spent outside enjoying the great outdoors and experiencing nature at its best.  I would spend hours and hours outdoors with my sister and friends, having fun and playing in the surrounding countryside.  We would play outside all through the year, enjoying what the great outdoors had to offer over the various seasons. 

We loved trawling the countryside picking blackberries, damsons, apples and lots of other fruit flourishing in the beautiful countryside to take home to mum for her to use when cooking with us to make gorgeous treats.  I also have fond memories of scouring the fields looking for mushrooms to pick.

I loved spring time where the air was fresh and the flowers starting to poke their heads out from the ground.  After hours spend playing outside I loved running home with a bunch of freshly picked daffodils or snowdrops to give to my mum who had been busy working on the farm.  I also loved seeing the new lambs in the surrounding farms; I have one particularly fond memory of feeding a new-born little lamb by hand with a baby bottle at a family friend’s small holding.  Another fond memory I have is going on Easter egg hunts on the farm at Easter, following clues my mum had left across the whole farm for us to follow to find chocolaty treats.

During the summer holidays our outside adventures would flourish as we had full days throughout the whole week to explore outside and have lots of fun doing so.  Even though we would enjoy the outdoors and going to the beach throughout the year in various weathers, in the summer we would enjoy the visiting the beach very often.  I have an array of memories that I cherish of trips to the seaside.  We would dig in the sand, build sandcastles, bury each other in the sand, explore rock pools and climb the rocks, splash and swim the sea; bob along on the sea in dinghy’s and enjoy bbq’s at the beach in the evening.

Reminiscing with old photographs (Project 365 - 163/365).

Crafting a creative bedtime story.

Bug and I often enjoy getting creative, having lots of messy fun painting and being crafty.  Even though we partake in messy, crafty play a few times a week and I usually take a photograph or two of our creative play I never seem to get round to writing about it and sharing the photographs.

Bug thoroughly enjoyed getting creative with mummy when we recently crafted a creative bedtime story together called ‘Goodnight little chick’.

As always Bug delighted in getting messy painting, enjoying using a rainbow of colours to create his lovely painting for our little story.

Father's Day 2013 gifts from Asda.

Even though Bug does not understand the concept of Father’s Day he loves buying daddy gifts.  Bug gets very excited if we pick up a little treat for daddy, for example he always gets excited if we pick up a packet of biscuits for daddy when shopping intuitively declaring them as “daddy’s biscuits”.  With Bug’s excitement and glee at buying daddy little gifts and treats so strong of late I know he will thoroughly enjoy treating daddy to a little gift and lots of cuddles this Father’s Day. 

As I know Bug will be over the moon at giving daddy a little gift this Sunday I have been on the lookout for some lovely Father’s Day gifts that won’t cost the Earth.  Bug is going to get creative and make daddy a Father’s Day card and we plan on going on a little shopping trip to buy a gift for him to give his daddy on Sunday.  As we got a few bits and pieces for Father’s Day from Asda last year I have been browsing their website for Father’s Day gift ideas in preparation for our shopping trip in the next couple of days.

Weeeee!! Spinning the wheel (Project 365 - 162/365).

Hiya mummy! (Project 365 - 161/365).

Paddling in rock pool puddles (Project 365 - 160/365).

Swimming in the sand (Project 365 - 159/365).

Spring riding (Project 365 - 158/365).