Collaboration
Showing posts with label Collaboration. Show all posts

Halloween - Don't Get Tricked By Treats

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Halloween in almost here and just like the kids I am really excited. I love Halloween and for us it's the start of the countdown to Christmas, Halloween, then Bonfire Night and then before you know it Christmas is here. Although Halloween is lots of fun with chocolate and sweets you will have to make sure your little ones don't get tricked by treats
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Pampers Unicef Partnership - Wishes

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If someone asks me to make a wish I always think about my boys. I never think about myself and what I want my thoughts go to them instantly. Being a parent you put your children first always. I have been following the Pampers Unicef Partnership - Wishes campaign recently and my one wish is always, that I want the best for my boys. I want them to be happy and healthy. I'm sure all parents think alike but not everyone gets their wish. 


Pampers Unicef Logo BAdge
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Daddy Changes Nappies Too.

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I honestly cannot remember changing big J's nappy when we were out and about, it was 13 years ago and I can't remember whether there was a problem or not. Nowadays I am so aware that some changing room facilities are only located in the ladies which can cause a problem for Daddy when he is out and about. Daddy changes nappies too so its surprising how many places just don't cater for this.

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Pumpkinanza October Half Term

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Discover the 4 corners of the Greater Yarmouth borough on the Pumpkinanza Trail on the last weekend of October half term! Join in on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November.

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Pampers Wonder Week

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The 1st October 2015 at 10am marks the launch of Pampers Wonder Week and I am really excited. You all know I like looking for deals and bargains and I am always happy to 'stock up' if the price is right. So when I heard about Pampers Wonder Week I was keen to find out more. Pampers are offering amazing savings for a whole seven days, with wonderful deals that shouldn't be missed.

Pampers Jumbo Pack
 I buy jumbo packs which can help save some pennies

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How To Make Sure Your Children Are Healthy And Happy

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Disclosure - this is a collaborative post

When you’re raising children, regardless of how old they are their health remains a top priority. A child’s health encompasses many things: their diet, exercise as well as their emotional wellbeing. It can be tough to juggle these concerns simultaneously and yet by managing to do so can only mean that you are doing the best for your child. Like anything else, practice makes perfect and parenting offers lots of chances for practice!

Here are some tips for ensuring your little ones stay fighting fit.

boy and man painting



Encourage them to eat their vegetables from a young age

It can be tough getting your children to take an interest in healthy eating if you don’t start early. A fun way to ensure that your little ones enjoy their food is to make sure that you yourself don’t see healthy eating as a chore, but rather something that can be fun and enjoyable. Cutting their vegetables into funny shapes can help when they’re reluctant to try something new. Similarly, appreciating the various colours and textures of vegetables can help – if your children don’t like peas, try something else! There’s no point trying to force them to love something but with so much variety of vegetables available, there’s bound to be something that they will enjoy!

boy on an exercise machine
Keep an active lifestyle 

Whether it’s walking to school instead of driving or treating yourself to a quick swim in the evening it is vital that your children learn the importance of keeping active from a young age. If they show an interest in a sport or hobby, encourage them to practice it and take an active interest in it yourself. This will not only help them develop confidence but will also help your relationship as parent and child.

Have their own mind

Unfortunately as our children get older they can become involved with smoking, vaping and other things. However schools are taking this seriously installing vape detector to try and minimise this. 

Follow your own advice

Like any of the ideas I’ve listed, the key to making sure your children realise the wisdom behind them is to employ them yourself. There’s no point asking your children to be active and conscientious of other people’s feelings if at the end of the day you ignore your own advice!



*collaboration*
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September, The Beginning Of My Year

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For me the beginning of the year is never January its always September. I think because big J starts his new school year September and my work year starts in September it just feels right. So with September here its time for me to start planning. They say there are 3 types of people, a past person, a present person and a future person. I am definitely a future person. I'm not truly happy unless I am planning something.
The iPhone calendar is a great way for me to keep on top of what I need to plan for.


So every year around this time I start thinking about the year ahead and what I need to plan and usually it involves working to a budget.
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Time To Freshen Up Our Home

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I recently mentioned that our bedroom needs a makeover but after sitting back and thinking about it the whole house does too. We got a double extension on our house back in 2007 and we decorated from top to bottom. Since then it has only been painted once. I think when we found out we were pregnant with little J we didn't want to decorate then as it meant lots of work and we didn't have the time or money as we were saving for a new baby. Then it got to the point were we thought we don't want to decorate when he's a toddler because he will be drawing on the walls and getting up to all sorts of mischief. Actually little J is a very good toddler and I don't think he will have the 'terrible twos' at all, *fingers crossed* so we have decided to decorate the whole house.

The beige coloured walls and dark furniture were great at first but now its time to add a bit of colour.
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5 Reasons To Get A Dehumidifier For Your Home

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Daddy and I have been thinking about giving our home a makeover. It's in desperate need of a  Spring  Autumn clean. There are a few items we want to get too including a fan. Our home gets so warm during the evenings and I suspect we may have an Indian Summer so I am expecting it to be warm in September. Also we want a Dehumidifier. I actually didn't even know these excited until recently but after reading the benefits we want one. They are a cheap but excellent addition to your home. They come in different sizes and can stop many problems.


Here are five reasons to get a dehumidifier for your home.

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Our Bedroom Makeover With The Yorkshire Linen Company

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There is one thing about me that you possibly don't know yet but I love sleep. I have always loved sleep and if I don't get enough I get very grumpy. When I was younger I loved my bedroom it was the one place in our house that was mine. Okay my Mum and Dad technically owned it really as it was their house but it was decorated the way I wanted it and my bed was always so comfy. Now I share the bedroom with Daddy and it isn't as cosy as I suppose it could be. Our room can become messy quite quickly especially with little J wandering in early in the morning carrying various toys and teddies. Also our duvets are in desperate need of a change and so are our covers. Sometimes I find it very hard to drift off to sleep and I'm wondering if my surroundings have anything to do with it.


Our current bedding set is very dark and although its New York (which we love) the colours don't really reflect our personalities. We need something a bit more bold and bright. The Disney cushion is years old as you can probably see. Daddy uses this if he is reading or playing on his phone or computer.
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Qwiddle - The Online Piggy Bank For Children

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I recently wrote a post about pocket money and how we should let our children manage their own pennies to help them understand the value of money. Since that post I stumbled upon Qwiddle. Qwiddle is an online piggy bank for children and even better that unlike most things nowadays its FREE.


So after reading the 'About Us" and 'How It Works' sections I was confident that this would work for big J. He does have pocket money which we give him as cash each month. Then he usually spends most of it online either buying Xbox credits or iTunes. So we then usually pay for it out of our bank or PayPal and he gives us the cash back. To save any messing around he could do it all himself via his only Paypal account thanks to Qwiddle.

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Buying Our Trampoline

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Trampoline in a garden
My regular readers will know that I recently had to buy a new trampoline. Our old trampoline was years old and had seen better days. I did ask some companies over on twitter for some advice on what trampolines were best to cover the age difference between my two monkeys. I wanted a trampoline suitable for both little and big J to play on separately but also together too. You wouldn't believe how many different trampolines there are nowadays, they come in all different shapes and sizes. I got some amazing advice and I was able to put it all together to choose the correct trampoline for our needs. I have also since found Jumpster which is an amazing website designed to tell parents everything they need to know about trampolines.
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Keep Your Pet Healthy With Frontline Spot On

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When I was little we used to have two dogs. I loved them so much and they were big part of our family. I loved taking them for a walk and I remember how much fun i had playing with them. Obviously there is a lot more to having a pet than just playing with them, its important to make sure you take care of your pet and keep them healthy. FRONTLINE Spot On have teamed up with the lovely Ruth Langsford to host a series of videos including hints and tip on how to keep your pets healthy and happy this summer.


This campaign is very close to Ruth's heart as she is the owner of Maggie a rescue dog.
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Reviewing Nutmeg - Thinking About Pensions

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Okay so this may not be something that you stop and think about every day - but there are some startling facts around about the UK's general pension provision.

Nutmeg offer an easy to use, intelligent approach to pension planning.

*image credit to Nutmeg*

They offer an expertly managed pension fund that you can tailor make to suit your overall attitude to investment risk, and they will rebalance this on a regular basis as part of the service - with surprisingly low annual management charges.   Rebalancing helps to keep your plan at the risk level you choose, and encourages selling investments when they are highly priced and using the funds to buy other low pried investments, with a constant view on enhancing the value of your pension pot, whilst ensuring that your risk level doesn't go above what you have chosen.
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The Value Of A Parent

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I have almost completed my first year back in work after being on extended maternity leave. As many will know you only get 9 months maternity pay so for the extra year I took off I had no income at all. It was a hard choice but as little J had so many hospital appointments Daddy and I decided it was best to stay at home and take care of little J. 


Our Boys
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It's National Picnic Week

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This week is National Picnic Week. We love picnics and try and have one as often as we possibly can. Whenever we head to the park or beach we always take a packed lunch with us. It's something we have always done since big J was a baby. There is something special about enjoying your lunch on a nice tartan blanket in the great outdoors. The best thing about a picnic is that you don't even have to leave your home to enjoy one. We have had many garden picnics, teddy bears picnic and even a carpet picnic on a rainy day.



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#BPDriveInDineOut With BP And Pizza Express

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Spending time together as a family is very important to us and I hope that shows on my blog. As there is an eleven year age gap between my two it is important that we make sure we do things together that interests both my boys. It could be just watching a movie together, visiting a theme park or eating out. Both my boys love visiting restaurants and while sometimes it can be manic dining out with a toddler its always worth it.

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The Puberty Talk

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I may have already mentioned it a few hundred times already but I still can't believe I have a teenager. Its crazy as I still think I am a teenager at times and especially with my obsession with Disney I'm like a big kid. I know we will have to tweak our parenting skills a little over the next few years because being a teenager is hard work and I know big J will say and do things he won't mean. We will have to remember that his body is going through massive changes and this will effect him emotional, mentally and physically.

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Date Night With Calamity Jane

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My favourite night out is definitely a trip to the theatre. I love watching stage productions and my passion started when my Mum and Dad took me to watch Grease. I was mesmerised from start to finish and I have enjoyed going ever since. Daddy booked me tickets to see Calamity Jane for my birthday. I absolutely love Calamity Jane and I used to watch it all the time when I was younger. When I read Jodie Prenger was Calamity Jane I was so excited. I watched Jodie win the role of Nancy in Oliver on BBC One show I'd Do Anything, I would have loved to see her in that.

Photo thanks to Calamity Jane Stage Show
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Meal Times With A Toddler

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We are one of those families that all sit down to eat together at the same time at the table. It's just something we have always done and to be honest I enjoy it. I like to hear about big J's day at school, Daddy's day at work and I talk about what little J and I have been up to. Even when little J was a newborn we would bring his bouncer chair in to the dining room so he could be with us and now he is older he has his highchair just by the table so he can join in on family meal times.

Looking back 2003 - Big J enjoyed his beans and mash
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