First Day Of Our Holiday

I have been looking forward to this holiday for so long! We have been so busy with preparing the house for putting it on the market, my husband working long hours and just general day to day stuff getting in the way. So we were well in need of some family time.

This time I have been a lot less stressed about the whole packing malarkey. Usually a week before we are due to go away I am stressing about what we need to take and making sure nothing is worn that is going to be taken on holiday. But this time, I have been pretty chilled. I even left all of the to do’s and things to buy until Sunday, and we were leaving Monday!! I did make a list, but that was late on Saturday night and only looked at it before we left on Monday. The fact I wasn’t stressed worried me a little but I think with the boys being older, if we forget something it doesn’t really matter as it would be easy to buy if we needed and I think really we could get by without whatever it was.

So the car was packed, stress free, this morning and off we went. We have taken two cars as we wanted to bring the bikes and we were a little worried my cars suspension wouldn’t take them and the roof rake, so we played it safe. We set off and I was chilled and very excited for our week away.

Then half an hour into the journey it started. ‘Are we there yet?!’ seriously – Finley is 3, and then Noah copied him. It was then repeated with ‘Are we are holiday yet?’ and ‘Where is daddy?’. These were all questions that got repeated by my youngest so it was like having a parrot in the car.

Thankfully Noah decided to take a nap and quickly followed by Finley. I then had to stop and meet Mark as I was desperate for a drink and a wee. I was hoping they would stay asleep but no such luck. But we did enjoy a Costa with the hubby at the services before getting on the road.

Then my satnav took me in the wrong direction!! Then it didn’t tell me for 5 minutes that we were heading in the wrong direction. And the whole time the boys were asking questions and Noah was getting annoyed that he had taken his shoe off, yes that’s right, he had taken his shoe off lol!

Back on the road and they were now getting bored. I can’t blame them really as 2 ½ hours in a car is a long time for a nearly 2 and nearly 4 year old!

Finally we arrived at our destination but couldn’t get into our accommodation for 4 hours!!!!

Luckily there was plenty to do, but first we needed lunch. Well anyone with toddlers knows that eating out is pretty stressful and with no highchairs as we thought we would be clever is was pretty stressful. And they were tired and then my hubby announced he had left his wedding ring on top of the car, as he had taken it off while putting sun cream on the boys!

 

Wedding ring found and order resorted with a trip to the park we headed to the soft play so we could have a cuppa and a sit down. This was stress free and lovely. The boys had a ball and played lovely together.

Once finally able to get into our accommodation we unpacked and headed out with two hungry and tired boys to see a big, furry, dressed up human as a bee. They loved it and they held hands watching the buzzy bee. Noah even stood away from us which is a huge thing as he is normally really shy. They had the best time running around playing a game they didn’t quite understand but still had a blast. But when we went to leave they were two very unhappy toddlers. And in the supermarket while choosing tea, they had a few raised voices and if I’m honest they just wanted their bed.

 

Once again, order restored with two hungry toddlers fed and some time playing football with Daddy, it was onto bath time. Our home for the week has no bath, just a shower. Cue the tears as they don’t really like showers. After this trauma was over, for me, they were tucked up in bed, waiting for milk and ready for their bedtime story.

After a few getting out of bed for a cuddle, kiss and thirst they finally went to sleep with the promise of a walk to the bakery in the morning for a cake for breakfast, it is our holiday after all.

I have a feeling tomorrow will be better as we have loads planned and there is no traveling involved.

Bring on the rest of the holiday!

Paddington & Minnie Mouse T-Shirt's from Vanilla Underground - A Review

When I was contacted by Vanilla Underground last week and they asked me if I would be interested in reviewing some of their children's and women's clothes I was pretty excited. And obviously my answer was yes.

Vanilla Underground are an online company that sells t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, dresses, accessories, toys and gifts for men, women and children. Their products are dedicated to fans of movies, music, TV, art, gaming and comic books. This made me pretty excited as we are huge movie fans in this house.

They offer FREE worldwide delivery which is always a bonus when you are ordering online.

The site is very easy to use and navigate with the search bar at the top giving you options in the drop down box of which category you would like to look at.

The Children's T-shirt

I will start of with the children's t-shirt for Finley. This is my obvious place to start in any shop, on the high street or online. Since having the boys I will find myself being diverted to the children's clothes and oohing and ahhing over them.

So as I was browsing the children's section they had some great items because if every child is like mine when they see a character or anything involving a film they have seen they get so excited and repeat the name over and over again. Everything looked great and I had a hard time choosing what Finley would love. Then I saw it, a Paddington Bear t-shirt.

He hasn't seen the film but we do have the book and ever since we read it he has been pretty much obsessed. And then on my recent trip to London I got him some Paddington Bear stuff. So this t-shirt was perfect for him. So I ordered it and couldn't wait for it to arrive.

It arrived in the post 2 days later and was packaged so well that both t-shirts, in the same package, could be delivered through the letterbox.

And I wasn't disappointed, the Paddington T-shirt was fantastic and such great quality. I showed Finley and he couldn't wait to put it on.

I am very particular with the clothes that I buy for the boys and I like them to be soft and good quality. This is so that they last and they are nice for the boys to wear. This t-shirt is so soft and I can tell it's going to be hard wearing. I ordered a 3-4 years and I was worried he wasn't going to get much wear out of it, as Finley is 4 in September, but I was pleasantly surprised as it is very spacious on him and has plenty of room for him to grow.

It is a grey t-shirt with 'Please look after this bear. Thank you' on it with a great sized Paddington Bear on. The writing is big and bold, with lovely colours and it really suits Finley. It is so cute and I know it is going to be a favourite of Finley's this summer and one that will be worn by Noah next year.

It has now been washed and is in the case ready for our holiday this week.

The Women's T-Shirt

I also got to choose a t-shirt which I was excited about. I love Disney so when scrawling through the women's section a bright yellow Jack Of All Trade Minnie Mouse Words T-shirt stuck out. I continued to look but I was drawn back to the yellow t-shirt. I ordered it in a size small as I am a size 6-8 in most high street shops.

Again I was very impressed when it arrived and couldn't wait to wear it. Like the children's t-shirt it is great quality and very soft, just what you want in a t-shirt. It has a Minnie Mouse figure on it and the figure is filled with words such as 'Cute and Funny' and 'You Make Me Laugh'.

It fitted perfectly and I teamed it with my green jeggings which I think went really well. Perfect for a warm sunny day.

I really do love it, it is bright and bold which is something I love in a t-shirt. And my boys love it too.

Reader Discount

Go, check out Vanilla Underground and until the 7th July 2015 you can enjoy 15% off with the code CRUCNHY15. Click here to see their website.

*For the purpose of this review I was sent two t-shirts.

All views and opinions are 100% my own.*





A Granola Take on Flapjack

When my Deliciously Ella book arrived I was so excited and I couldn't wait to get baking. The first thing I made was her Delicious granola. My first attempt was great and it tasted amazing. I had it every morning for nearly two weeks with a few blueberries and almond milk. When it was all gone I was a little disappointed so decided to make some more. But the second attempt didn't go too well, I burnt it!!

I tried it the next morning but I had really burnt it. But I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. I was saying to a friend that I wanted to make something with it like flapjack and she said banana acts just like golden syrup. So today I decided to give it a go. I made it the same as flapjack just replaced the golden syrup with bananas. I was expecting a disaster but I was pretty impressed with the finished product. So I thought I would share it with you.

It's delicious but very crumbly, so you definitely need a plate when munching on it.

Ingredients

125g butter

125g light brown sugar

2 bananas, mashed

300g Deliciously Ella Granola (click the link for the recipe)

Recipe

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tin. I have a fan oven so not sure what temperature for other ovens.

Melt the butter and light brown sugar in a saucepan. Once totally melted and combined add the mashed banana and then the Deliciously Ella Granola. Combine it all until all the granola is coated.

Put the mixture into the pre lined baking tin. Level all the mixture out and make sure it meets the sides.

Place into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Once golden brown take out of the oven and leave to cool completely.

It is very crumbly so make sure it is completely cool before you cut it. I tried to cut it into triangles but none of the slices look the same size or shape.

Enjoy!



My Sunday Photo 28/06/15

This weeks Sunday photo with OneDad2Girls is from yesterday while we spent the day with my Nan. She still lives in the little village that I grew up in. It's a beautiful little village and is like the villages you see in films with one grocery shop, one pub, gorgeous church and a market house. It is also home to the common, which is the huge green open space you see in this photo. 

Yesterday we took a walk to visit my gramp's grave with some flowers which to get to you  walk over the common. We took the football and Finley got to kick the ball and run in the sun, fresh air and amazing open space. He even said to me 'I do good football don't I mummy'.

I love this photo as it reminds me of my childhood and the boys are so happy here. One day I would love to return and live here.

My Week at a Glance 21/06 - 27/06

 

I haven't done a My Week at a Glance with Working Mummy and Wife for a while as things have been so busy. But this week I have decided I am going to start it up again as its a great way to round up our week.

 

Last Sunday we spent the day with at my Mum's house and Finley was doing some fixing after seeing his Grampy using the screw driver to fix a toy, so everything got 'fixed' that day. While at Mum's I took a walk to get Noah to sleep in my bright pink espadrilles which I found in my wardrobe after buying them last year, so comfy! Finley decided that while food shopping with my mum he wanted to 'relax' on the floor of the supermarket.

 

On Monday I decided to do some decorating, you can read about it here Who Said Women Can't Decorate.

 

We enjoyed a bike ride/walk on Wednesday early evening after a lunch date meeting some old school friends. We went and visited the ducks and the boys bonded by riding on Finley's bike together. Such a lovely bond to watch grow.

 

While Finley had preschool on Thursday and Friday, Noah and I had some time at home where Noah enjoyed watching TV led on the floor while playing with his blow up ball, funny child lol.

 

To end the week Noah tried out his new bike seat that we fitted just in time for our holiday to Bluestones next week and I enjoyed a run, first in 2 weeks and it reminded me why I love running so much.

 

This week has been a busy one but it has been full of fun and laughter with the boys. I can't wait for our holiday to Wales next week - some much needed family time.



 

                   

My BritMums Live 2015 round up and (loads) of pictures

And so my BritMums journey began

This was my first BritMums Live and my very first conference. I was pretty nervous but so excited. I was going to just do a picture round up but then go carried away and it turned into a picture and words essay lol!! I got on the train on Friday morning, with my ridiculously heavy suitcase and my can of pimms for dutch courage.

As I said I was pretty nervous but had arranged to meet up with Emily from Twin Mummy and Daddy and Sarah from Run Jump Scrap at Paddington. This made me feel a lot less daunted as I would have someone to walk into The Brewery with. They are lovely and made me feel a lot less nervous straight away. We then made our way to the London Eye, to grab some lunch and then to do the Instawalk that OneDad3Girls had arranged.

We grabbed some lunch in Subway where Sarah decided to drink some random lady's water lol!

With Emily from Twin Mummy and Daddy & Sarah from Run Jump Scrap

My introduction to BritMums

They started the weekend with an icebreaker which was a Guinness World Record attempt and it was so much fun. We had to make as many Mummies as we could! And we did it with 51 mummies.

While at The Brewery



I met some lovely bloggers throughout the weekend that I had been talking to online for a while and I also met new bloggers and discovered their blogs. I went to as many sessions as I could and spoke to all the brands that were there. I got lots of freebies too to take home for the boys or for me to try. I was given a cup from Munchkin and Noah absolutely loves it!

My friend Freddie Bear

With Parragon books

Fellow bloggers who I met

During the two days I bumped into some familiar faces and was so lovely to have a chat with them in person, Beth at Twinderelmo, Ems at Its Mostly Okay, Lisa at Mummascribbles, Sarah at Four for the Road, Sarah at Sussex Mummy and so many more that if I mentioned you all it would be a post of fellow bloggers.

I got a bit star struck when I saw Emma at Brummymummyof2 as I have read her blog for a good year or so and I love it, so honest which I totally admire. I had to go up to her and act like a stalker and obviously ask for a selfie!

The venue

The brewery is a beautiful venue and BritMums had done amazingly in making it look gorgeous. The decoration in the two tents outside were just stunning and the perfect setting for the Friday night drinks before the BiB awards.

With Sarah from Run Jump Scrap

Our Friday night Nando's

Friday night after the BiB's, Martyn from Inside Martyns Thoughts had very kindly arranged for a few bloggers to go for a meal at Nando's, Lime Street, where we enjoyed some yummy food. During the meal I met Kaz from Ickle Pickle Life and Travels, Zena from Zena's Suitcase & Cathryn at Cardiff Mummy who I spent a lot of time with on the Saturday.

The learning aspect

The sessions I went to were very informative but I think because I was so nervous about the whole thing I didn't take in as much as I could have had I not been so nervous. So I think next year will be the year I learn a lot. The one session that I found really useful was 'Turning Pitches into Profits' by Emily from A Mummy Too. I did learn a lot from Emily at Twin Mummy and Daddy as I asked her so many questions throughout the weekend, so thank you lovely!

With Emily from Twin Mummy and Daddy

Onto day 2....

On Sunday morning we had the photo that every BritMums attendee has to have, the photo by the Brewery sign. Followed by the keynote from Carol Smillie about her brand, Diary Doll. This has to be one of the highlights of the weekend as I also got to meet Carol. Diary Doll are pants that have a secret waterproof panel for women. They are amazing! 

L-R : Zena from Zenas Suitcase, Kaz from Ickle Pickle Life and Travels, Emily from Twin Mummy and Daddy, Me & Cathryn from Cardiff Mummy

New shoes!!

I had to get my new sandals into the post as I love them and they were a total bargain at £19 from Kurt Geiger!

Homeward bound

On Saturday evening I was lucky enough to have a train time very similar to Emily, Kaz and Cathryn so we all travelled back to Paddington together.

With Emily from Twin Mummy and Daddy, Kaz from Ickle Pickle Life and Travel & Cathryn from Cardiff Mummy

What BritMums did for me

So to simply round up the weekend it was amazing. It has built my confidence and I met so many lovely people that I would now class as my friends. I hope to meet up with them all at some point but if not I will see you next year! It has also inspired me to crank up my writing on the blog as I just love to write!

What a fab goodie bag