Beat The January Gym Rush

It's January and a New Year! I can tell.....You know how I can tell??? There's suddenly NO space in the car park at my gym, nor is there a locker or treadmill free!

Now I'm all for people bettering themselves and changing their lives etc....I mean that is what we are all there for, but I'm sure regular gym goers will agree with me its incredibly frustrating when there isn't a machine free!

So here are my ways to deal with the post Christmas rush:

* Change your schedule!

Yes I know its annoying but lets face it it is only for a few weeks! I've started going at 3:30pm to avoid the after work tea time rush! Now I know i'm lucky as I've finished work by this time, but if you're not as lucky try going early in the morning - there won't be that many people that are dedicated enough to go at that time!

Alternatively go later in the evening. Usually after 7:30pm is a good time as all the after work stragglers have gone home!

* Change Your Routine

A change is as good as a rest or so they tell us? Why not use January as the perfect time to get yourself out of an exercise rut and try use some of the other machines that you wouldn't necessarily use?

As a regular gym user you've got the benefit of your years of knowledge! 

Using a treadmill, cross trainer or bike is the easy option for the newbies. Why not use what you've learnt to do a cardio HIIT workout in a matted corner rather than waiting to get on your usual machine?

* Get Outside

If cardio is your thing, why not get outside? Yes it's colder than being inside, but grab some warm weather gear and hit the streets. You can still get in a good cardio workout at your own pace and avoid the masses.

* Offer to Help

Controversial I know but offer to help any new starters looking a little bit lost! Remember back to when you first set foot in your gym and remember how intimidating it was trying to find your way around all the equipment when the world and its wife already looks like the know what they are doing?

You'll feel good for helping and all being well by showing new starters how to use things properly it'll speed things up and you'll get on the equipment quicker! Win Win!

* Be Patient 

Probably the crappiest piece of advice anyone could ever give but it might actually work! After all this is January just 4 (long) weeks. By the end of the month resolutions will have ended and normal service will be resumed!

Do you have any January gym tips?

P.S Dry January still going strong! Not one drop of alcohol has touched my lips!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

It's 2016 - Time for Resolutions

I can't believe it's 2016!

I also can't believe how long it has been since I lasted posted on this blog.

Christmas has been and gone in a flash, seriously it went by crazy fast. I ate and drank far too much and seriously enjoyed some family time with the kids!
I'm really gutted that the holiday period is over, it's been so nice not having to get up but it will be nice to get back into the normal work routine from tomorrow.

My New Years eve was spent at home with the kids having a quiet night - not a drop of alcohol touched my lips. New Years Eve has been spent this way for many years now and although I sit here looking at other peoples instagram shots wishing I was out having a party, I wouldn't change my New Years Eve for anything, and the added bonus no hangover for me on New Years Day!!! BOOM.

Whilst I was sat waiting for the New Years Fireworks to start I got to thinking about what my resolutions should be?
I try make them every year, but like most people I tend to fail so this year I decided to do something a little bit different.

Resolutions

My first resolution this year is simply to BE HAPPY - This is something that I seriously struggle with. I suffer with anxiety and depression and although I am working hard to sort through my issues happiness isn't something that comes easily to me.
As I'm sure anyone with depression will tell you allowing yourself to feel that you deserve to be happy is a really tough thing!
So this year I will be working on it. I'm well aware that it is going to take time, but hopefully more often than not there will be good days.

My second resolution this year is to stop trying to make year long resolutions. Overall I would like to be happier and healthier in 2016 so I plan on making 12 month long resolutions that will hopefully lead to healthier habits for the future.

So January will be dry January!
I know a lot of people are doing this as a detox after the festive season. I don't really tend to drink a lot but I'm as guilty as anyone of having a glass or two after a long day at work!

So wish me luck......January could be a seriously long month!

How do you feel about resolutions and have you made any?

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Real Chick Fitness!

I can't believe its been nearly a month since I last posted.
Things have gotten busy in my little world but I will be back more regularly now. I've said it before but I do really miss blogging when I don't do it for a while. I find it a bit theraputic, and whether anyone is reading or not it does help me to get a few thoughts out of my head and to document what is going on in the right now!

Anyway.......

For the last few years i've been following Erica Fit Love on Insta!
I've seen her weight loss and seen how amazing she now looks.

Erica has her own program for women to sign up to and when I heard she was taking on clients I couldn't resist!

I will post official starting photos in another post but I am so excited to get started. You all know I lost a lot of weight over the last year or so but now I really want to step it up and lose the last amount.......

Fingers crossed here goes!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Weekend Happiness #3

This weekend was supposed to be another chilled one, it didn't really work out that way.
There were a few things planned for Saturday which meant that inevitably Saturday became a whirlwind of taxiing one child or the other from one activity to another.
As a result I seemed to manage to not take one single photo the whole day! This doesn't normally happen!

Anyway things making me happy this weekend:

PT - I'm not going to lie I totally forgot about booking my PT session and went into a total meltdown when I realised that I'd scheduled it for 5pm on Saturday afternoon after running around all day.
I did sit there for half an hour swearing blind I wasn't going, only to have a change of heart and run upstairs to get changed. Anyway I'm glad I went - Need to get my ass back in gear. It can't only be me struggling after the summer?

Family Camping - My kids go to a really small village school. Its pretty perfect as far as schools go and has a real "family atmosphere". Every year the School Friends committee arranges a family camping event on the school field.
This year the highlight of the evening was snuggling up with Madam in the school woods under a blanket watching Paddington on the big screen. It was so lovely!

Magazine & Cake - After a really hectic Saturday I really needed to chill out and relax for an hour so I picked up a magazine and a box of my fave cakes and chilled! It was fab!!!

Photo Fun - I have a lot of photo frames in my lounge. Most of them don't contain photos yet. So on Sunday afternoon we headed to the common to play with the horses and take some photos. We had a great time and got some beautiful photos - I love making memories with the kiddos.

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Autumn Fashion Wishlist

I love Autumn so much! Long walks looking for conkers and crunching through the leaves, but more than that I love the fact that Autumn means more clothes!
There are so many options when it comes to fashion in the Autumn and this year I'm making it my resolution to wear my fedora hat without feeling like a total idiot!

Anyway I've been having a look and here are my favourite Autumn finds so far!

1. Boho Blouse M&S

2. Tan Tote Handbag

3.Chunky Ankle Boots

4. Oversized Woven Checked Shirt

5. Imitation Suede Coat

6. Tassel Trim Cardigan

7. Faux Fur Gilet

8. Camel Trench Coat

9. Knitted Gilet

Shame pay day is such a long way away!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Weekend Happiness #2

Sticking with it!!

This weekend was a really quiet one. It was always meant to be really.
The kids went back to school last week so it was decided that we would have a relaxed weekend in order to avoid them becoming over tired.
I'm so glad we did. Both were tired enough without us adding anything else into the mix.

So to the things that made me happy..........

Autumn Boots....I know, I know I'm a walking contradiction! Last week I was so happy with my new purchase of summer shoes and this week I am so glad to have gotten my boots back out of the cupboard.
Truth be told I have been totally freezing this week. In fact my heating has made an appearance a couple of times. So when we did venture out this weekend I was thrilled to dig out my comfy boots!

Sunday Breakfast. This week the kids and I got snug and cosy and had a lazy sunday morning watching kids TV eating hot buttered toasted tea cakes and drinking lots of tea (well me...)
I am so ready for Autumn now and can't wait to do this most weeks!

Horse Riding Saturdays. I've mentioned this before but every Saturday the little Miss goes riding. She hasn't been going long but this week they put her on a really big pony. I was fairly certain this would be make or break. I was convinced she would freak out at how high up she was and refuse to do the lesson....I'm happy to say I was wrong! Turned out to be one of her best lessons yet.

Show jumping. Even though we decided to have a quiet weekend I took Little Miss to watch the show jumping at the show ground. We are so lucky to live in the country side and be able to watch these events.
It certainly cemented the little miss' love of horses and made her want her own......OH DEAR!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Den Building an Adventure in The Woods

Confession time now.....My kids have never had a proper summer holiday let alone one abroad. We've never really been able to afford it. So to make up for this fact we've always spent a lot of time having days out and being in the outdoors.
I know they can't miss what they've not had but in all honesty I think they would much prefer being outdoors and playing to sunbathing on a beach all day. They are just not that kind of kid.
One of the days out we took part in this year was Den Building at Clumber Park.

Clumber Park is a National Trust property not too far from us on the outskirts of Nottinghamshire. Earlier in the year I signed up as a member of the national trust so the day out cost me a grand total of £5.00 for a few bottles of pop!
Over the course of the holidays as part of their 50 things to do before 11 3/4 campaign Clumber Park held a series of events for children to attend a knock a few activities off their list.

When we arrived we were guided into the woodland area, where we were greeted by a burning campfire and assured we could toast marshmallows later on.....cue to very excited kids.
All around the wooded area there were piles of stick, leaves etc that the rangers had collected and placed for us to use.
We were told we could build any structure we wanted, the only stipulation was we had to use all natural materials and anyone who helped build the den had to be able to fit in!

It was great, the kids loved working together to build then den. We had a few tears when one of our neighbouring den builders stole one of our seating logs but that was settled pretty quickly with the promise of toasting marshmallows on the fire.

Based on our experience I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with young children. My eldest is now 12 and really loved the day. The rangers were really lovely and helpful.
Pretty great day had by all really!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Weekend Happiness #1

For the past couple of weeks I've been doing a weekend round up post. Over this weekend I've spent a lot of time thinking about what makes me happy and therefore decided to combine the two in a new blog series each week and call it "Weekend Happiness".
Basically it's all about the things I've done at the weekend and all the little things that make me happy!

This weekend was bank holiday and therefore naturally flew past! It was the last weekend of the summer holidays and whilst I'm seriously going to miss the little ones I can't help but crave some more routine and structure for our lives. I'm not going to lie I'm not really looking forward to the early mornings and lack of duvet days but it does mean that Autumn is well on it's way and I do love autumn (eek).......

New Shoes! Yes technically they are summer shoes but I'm guessing we will have a few days of sunshine left before I need to dig the winter boots out of the wardrobe. These little beauties were in the sale at Primark (£3.00) and are so comfy. Perfect for walking around seaside towns!

Breakfast out with the kids. I've been meaning to try this new cafe in town for a long time - well all summer really and we finally made it! The waffles were lovely and it was so nice just to sit and have a relaxed lazy breakfast without any washing up.

Walking in the Yorkshire Dales. This weekend was Mummy Son weekend. We went to Malham Cove in the dales and went hunting waterfalls. I am going to do a post on this but I don't think I have ever enjoyed a weekend so much.

Steampunk. This isn't something I actually understand if I'm honest but the steampunk festival was in Lincoln this weekend and it really is an amazing sight to see!

Whitby Sunsets. For me this really marked the end of the Summer. After our waterfall hunting trip we headed to the seaside for fish and chips and met this gorgeous sunset. It was so beautiful and really made me appreciate just how much I've enjoyed being at home with the kids this holiday.....arguments and all!

Right time to crack on with the uniform naming and ironing. Wish me Luck!!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Things They Don't Tell You About Having A Newborn

On Wednesday night I went to our weekly Bake Off night! I ate far too much Oreo cake and washed it down with huge amounts of tea....it was FAB.

Anyway whilst there we obviously sat around chatting like old hens. There were 5 of us there this week plus little Miss.
Two of the girls are pregnant and one has a 10 week old baby. Naturally the conversation turned to birth stories and it got me thinking that not many people tell you really what happens in the first few hours and days with your newborn. We spent a good hour talking about our "first times" with our babies and imparting our wisdom on the two pregnant chicks so I thought I would share our wisdom with you too.

Yes the euphoria takes over and you're suddenly overwhelmed with a lot of visitors but what next??

1. Nappy Change....Happens Quickly & You Won't Be Prepared.

Yes the first nappy change can happen pretty quickly after birth. Its disgusting you are never prepared for it! How something so small can produce something so vile is beyond me? Anyway I can virtually guarantee you won't have everything immediatley to hand. You will then spend 10 mins deliberating how to get from the side of the bed to the cupboard without shit going everywhere!
Top Tip sleep with nappies, wipes, spare babygrow under your pillow!

2. Getting to the Shops = Scary!!

You spend 3-4 days holed up in the house after the birth. You've had your fill of visitors cooing over the baby and decide you need to shift the cabin fever and take your new pram (obvs needs showing off it cost like £2987892748973498) to the shop.
Suddenly what should be a 10 min walk takes 2 hours.
The baby needs feeding before you go then winding and changing. You set off to the shop changing bag ready under the pram and you realise you can't get anything else in the pram!
Heave forbid you should actually drive......try find a parking space big enough, assemble the pram and get baby out.......Yeah good luck there.....by 8 months you might have it figured out!

3. Unreasonable....You....Never??

You suddenly spend hours on end losing precious precious sleep over the most ridiculous deathly scenarios......I mean obviously an eagle will swoop through that slightly open window and steel your baby in the 30 seconds it takes to make a much needed cuppa!

4. Not One Mother Knows What They Are Doing

Everyone starts off in the same boat! Sure you'll get visits from well meaning friends and relatives telling you how they did things and you "really" should do it their way!
You want the truth? What works for them probably will NOT work for you!

5. Sleep!!!!

Yes you will sleep again! I know it probably doesn't feel like it but you will...however I can assure you, you will probably not sleep in the same way as you did pre baby until they are 18+.....I know i'm still waiting 12 years on!!!

August Pinterest Worth Home Wear

It has been a while since I did a home wear wish list, So I thought it was time for a new one.
I know summer is all but over - if the weather here is anything to go by summer was done before it actually started.
But when trawling the internet for some cute home wear I came across some of these cute summery items that could pro long the summer at least inside for a little while longer.

1. Ceramic Plant Pot H & M

2. Large Wire Basket H & M

3. Everything is Fantastic Cushion

4. Hello Sunshine Banner

5. Flamingo Tumbler Marks & Spencer

6. Pineapple Candle TK Maxx

7. Fashion Coffee Table Book TK Maxx

8. Mexicana Cushion Amara

9. Copper Lamp Oliver Bonas

10. Metal Basket H & M

11. Flamingo Cushion Asda

12. Lemon Grass Candle TK Maxx

13. Pineapple Lamp Oliver Bonas

Bake Off is Back

I'm a little late with this post this year but THE BAKE OFF IS BACK and I for one am so bloody happy!

I blogged about my love for the Bake Off Last year and I can safely say I'm no nearer learning to bake than I was then. Admittedly eating and baking cakes isn't good for my on again off again sugar free diet.

Over the course of this year I've made some really amazing friends! One of whom can bake!!!! Pretty sure she is the only person I know that can! Anyway. It was decided that every week the bake off is on we would have a little tea party at my friends house complete with vintage china and cake!
It has been lovely so far this year.

Made even better by the fact that there is no alcohol involved and Little Miss D gets to come with me every week!

At the moment I'm feeling really grateful for having such amazing people in my life - and amazing Cake!

All About The Weekend #2

This weekend was a little different for me.
O went away for the weekend with his dad climbing in the Lake District so it was just me and the Little Miss!
I've never been in this situation before and its not often that D and I get to spend time together without having to dash off and pick O up.

Saturday started with a gorgeous lie in and a lot of time spent on the sofa re watching Pretty Little Liars! We've started again from season 1... purely because after seeing the finale I wanted to pick holes in the plot!

We then went horse riding in the afternoon followed by a girlie trip to the beach with some of my friends!

We had a great evening eating chips, ice cream and waffles and going on all the rides at the amusements,
I'm not usually a big fan of Skegness but it was fun as a little treat for D.

On Sunday we went up to Filey to get our boy back!
We spent the afternoon on the beach hunting for fossils and playing in the sea.

It was great as the kids had obviously missed each other and actually got on with each other for the whole day! It was lovely to see them playing together and actually being friends!

Next weekend I plan on relaxing! School starts again soon and I don't feel like we've stopped since they broke up yet!

Preserving Memories

Since I had the kids we've been taking photos of them almost daily. I love documenting them growing up and seeing how much they've changed. It's also nice to look back on days out and remember the good times we've spent with them.

I have loads of files on my laptop just full of digital family photos, and other than print and frame the odd few I've never done anything with them.

A couple of weeks ago I was trawling the internet and saw that Photobox had an offer on printed photobooks.

I've been thinking about buying some coffee table books for a while now but never gotten round to it and thought this would be a nice addition when I finally do get round to buying some.

So I spent some time sorting out my photos - trying to get an even number of each child included in the book - No need to cause more arguments, and set about uploading them. 

This was a fairly easy and painless process. The difficulty came in deciding which picture should go where.

I was fairly sure it would take a while for the book to be delivered, there was a lot of pages (100+ I think) to print but it arrived pretty quickly - within about 4 days I think.

The quality of the pages is lovely! Some of the prints have come out a little bit blurry but you can only really tell if you look super closely. Baring in mind these books aren't really meant to be studied too hard you really wouldn't know.

Overall I am so happy with the quality and the service provided by Photobox. I'm hoping the book survives sticky fingers and becomes a piece of family history that the kids will one day look at and remember the good times.

What I Did In The Gym

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you will know that i've really been struggling to get myself motivated and to start smashing it in the gym again.
Therefore I have decided to keep a "diary" on my blog. This is partly so I can see what I'm doing and can keep an eye on my goals etc but this is also to keep me accountable.

Today I had a session with my personal trainer. We focused mainly on back and legs....there was also a small amount of HIIT in there......I hate cardio with a passion so I wasn't best pleased.

Exercise 1 - Deadlifts
4 x 45kg for 10 reps

Exercise 2 - Box Lunges Followed by Plyometric Squat Jumps
4 x 10kg (each hand) for 10 reps per leg
4 x 10 Squat Jumps using body weight

Exercise 3 - Assisted Pull Ups
4 x 54kg for 10 reps

Exercise 4 - Seated Cable Row
4 x 30kg for 10 reps

Exercise 5 - Reverse Fly
4 x 5kg for 10 reps

Exercise 6 - Upright Row
4 x 7kg for 10 reps

Exercise 7 - Side Raise
4 x 4kg for 10 reps

HIIT

2 min warm up walk
1 min jog
30 sec sprint
1 min recovery
1 min jog
30 sec sprint
1 min recovery
2 min jog/run

I'm not sure when I'm next getting to the gym but will keep updating - even if it is just on the bottom of another post.
I'd love to know if you have any other back exercises that you recommend?

These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things

What would you take to a desert island? You will no doubt have been asked this question in the past. It makes a great ice breaker when you meet new people.
Obviously after you've thought about taking your kids, other half, cats, dogs etc you can turn to thinking about material things that you would take with you.

I decided to give some thought to this question,
I would obviously want to take photos and memories with me, but it was more interesting to answer this question thinking about the items I use in my day to day life that I couldn't possibly live without.........

1) My Laptop (praying there was a random Wifi connection - yes I know unlikely)
I have a pretty basic laptop not a fancy Mac one but I do LOVE it. I use it everyday, mainly for watching Pretty Little Liars on Netflix (WHO IS A????) but it also gets used for work and blogging. My laptop contains all my photos and music and therefore most of my memories from the last few years,

2) My IPhone.
I mean....obvs.......I'm ashamed to say it but I am fairly glued to my Iphone. I'm always checking Instagram or Twitter for work and pleasure. I use the camera on an almost hourly basis and of course it contains all my fave workout playlists for when I'm hitting the gym.

3) Orange Camera/Handbag
Technically this bag isn't a camera bag, but I find it the perfect size to carry my camera, spare lens and still fit my purse and phone in.
I do really need to buy a camera cube to protect my camera when I'm out and about.

4) DSLR Camera
This is a fairly recent development. I bought my camera not to long ago for blogging purposes. To be honest at first I found it a bit embarassing taking such a big camera pretty much everywhere with me let alone whipping it out in some pretty random places but now it's become like second nature to me......"Blogger Problems"

5) Rimmel "Kate" Lipstick in Shade 40.
Another recent development. I've started wearing Lipstick. I'm not sure when this started to be honest but I can't get enough of pretty nude colour lipsticks. For either day time or a night out this has to be my absolute favourite.
It's moisturising and pigmented giving a nice natural colour.

6) Garnier BB Cream.
I've mentioned this before and would be a must if I was left on a desert island. It contains SPF and provides amazing coverage but isn't too cakey. Perfect for hot summer, beach weather!

What would you need to take to a desert island?

All About The Weekend!

Weekends are always a bit challenging in my household. Not only have I got two kids at two very different stages I also have to factor in all the activities the kids want to do.
Saturdays are usually spent acting as a taxi and ferrying one or the other around whilst trying to feed and entertain the other.

Anyway.....

This weekend was a little bit different.
Usually O goes cycling on a Saturday morning and me and D are left to find something to do for 2-3 hours before we pick him up. This week however cycling was cancelled so I took the opportunity to take the kids to the Saturday morning kids club at the Odeon!

Films tend to start at 10am and with tickets only costing £2.50 each I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.
The Odeon in Lincoln only shows one film for the kids club and this week they were showing Home. Neither of the kids had seen it and both really enjoyed it. I do usually find it hard to find a film they can both watch and enjoy due to the large age gap between them.

Saturday afternoon saw the usual routine of D at horse riding!

Saturday evening was different this week. We were invited to a friends field party. I forgot my camera and therefore forgot to take any photos but it was fab. The kids played on the bouncy castle and water slide whilst we ate BBQ food and drank champagne.....very civilised.......I might have managed to nip out for a sneaky cocktail or two as well......

Sunday morning started as a lazy morning with teacakes and lots of tea!

We decided after lunch we'd head to Belton House for a coffee and a play.
Despite the moaning it was a really lovely afternoon.

Whilst it may not be very exciting I think I like documenting the weekends. I might carry on with it. Lazy weekends and time spent together is what I want to remember of the kids growing up!

15 Seriously Cute New Term Stationary Must Haves!

It has been a while since I did a home wear wish list or a haul post. This is in part due to a serious lack of funds and due to the fact that I've really fallen out of love with my home.
This tends to happen every summer. I guess my house is really an autumn/winter house. I love making it all cosy with candles and throws but can't seem to make that translate through the summer months.

So given that the school holidays have just started and it'll be soon time to stock up on stationary for the new term ahead I thought I'd do a post featuring my favourite items online. Whilst I'm certainly not starting a new term I do like to get my shit organised when the kids go back to school.

There are some seriously cute and sassy bits and pieces around online at the moment! Perfect for making your desk look like it has sprung straight from a Pinterest board.

1. I'm So Happy You Were Born Card from Southwood Stores

2. Ohh Deer Saucey Notebook

3. Ohh Deer Mean Girls Pencils

4. Marks and Spencer Wooden Stapler

5. Marks and Spencer Camera Design Notebook

6. Kate Spade Phone Cover

7. Kate Spade Business Card Holder

8. Marks and Spencer Geometric Notepad

9. Watermelon Parcel Tape

10. Deal With This Sticky Notes

11. Russian Doll Crayons Southwood Stores

12. Wooden "Note" Pegs From Southwood Stores

13. Get My Arse into Gear Note Pad

14. Self Help Tape

15. Concrete Ampersand

Five Shows To Watch On Netflix When You Have a Hangover

I spent a lot of yesterday lying on the sofa with a stinking hangover - I know it's not big and it's not clever but hey what can you do?
I was determined to not let the day be a complete waste of time so I decided to do some "research" for this blog post.

I mean I'm sure there are better ways to spend a hungover day but I am yet to find one! So I curled up on the sofa with bucket loads of tea, hobnobs and Netflix! Perfect.

If like me you love a lazy day here are my top 5 box sets to watch on the UK netflix. I'll be honest none of them are particularly high brow but when hungover I completely lack any mental capacity!

1. The Vampire Diaries.

I've commented on this before and made no secret of the fact that I love the vampire diaries.
I was mega late to the party with this one. In all honesty I don't like watching anything that is particualrly scary - especially when i'm on my own however you quickly get used to the blood and throat ripping.

2. The Originals.

Spin off of the Vampire Diaries. Its fairly similar to the above. Once you get past the seriously ropey English accents it's not a bad watch.

3. Call The Midwife.

Again I was late to the party with this one and didn't watch it when it was on TV.
Being a big lover of programmes like Downton Abbey I thought I would give it a try and it didn't disappoint. It was a bit gory in some places but if you've had kids it shouldn't bother you!

4. Suits.

I've just started watching suits.
Its a really funny show that you could curl up and watch with your other half. Its not soppy or too actiony (?)

5. Pretty Little Liars

I started watching this when season 1 came out but soon stopped as couldn't get my teeth into it. After hearing and seeing all the hype on Instagram and the internet I thought I would give it a second chance and this time I'm well and truly hooked!

Family Fun - Rain and The Beach

This weekend saw the first weekend in what seemed like forever that we finally had the chance to relax a little and spend sometime with the kids. After much arguing we all settled on a trip to the coast.
Now living in Lincolnshire we aren't exactly near any nice beaches. I mean there are a couple on the way to Skegness and then there is Skeg itself but honestly I'm not a big fan.
So we headed up to an old family favourite of mine - Filey!
The weather forecast was checked multiple times before we left and all looked good.........

Not quite the case when we arrived. We ended up spending a lot of time sitting in the car waiting for the rain to pass!

Eventually it did pass and we had a gorgeous walk on the beach.
Little Miss Cartwheeled the entire length of the beach, The boy took his new camera with him and spent ages taking photos of the scenery and the rock pools.
All in all a great time was had, even if it was only for a couple of hours!

Ear Piercing!

When I found out I was having a baby girl I was over the moon - I mean I would have been if I was having a boy but there's something special about the bond between a mother and her daughter. Yes that bond can be tested a lot - mine never more so when my then 5 year old announced on Christmas Eve that she wanted her Ears Piercing!

This wasn't something I was ready for.....I was sure she'd be a lot older when ear piercing became an issue?

Cue a lot of stressing by me about what the best age was in order to let her get her ears pierced - the next thing I know we're off to the shop to get them done as an extra Christmas present!

To be totally honest there wasn't an awful lot of time to create a reasoned argument in my head. My initial thoughts were if Little Miss can remove them for PE, the ear rings are not very big and is willing to sit and have them done without it causing world war three then why not?

In actual fact I was hoping we'd get there and little miss would change her mind - Clearly not!

Dice Ear Rings

So.....when these super cute little dice ear rings came through my letter box courtesy of the Body Jewellery Shop, Little Miss snapped them up straight away! They happened to arrive the same week as her Birthday - who am I to want them anyway!

In her defence they do tick all the boxes. They're made from Sterling Silver with butterfly back, are super tiny so as not to impact on any of her daily activities! How could she resist?