Pass the Love Picnic from Persil and Netmums

Today we held our Pass the Love Picnic with a few of my children's friends and their mums.

The whole idea was to get some friends together, bring some unwanted teddies that have plenty of cuddles left in them and wash them in Persil's new 2in1 with comfort so they are ready to donate to Oxfam.

We got the picnic started with a few snacks and the children had a few fun games which involved hide and seek and fun in a tent!

We collected up the teddies and popped them in wash and added the new Persil 2in1. It smelt nice when i opened the bottle, a nice subtle fragrance which wasn't overpowering or overbearing.





Next the teddies went for a nice soak in the washing machine and came out smelling fresh and soft. After a stint on the washing line in the lovely weather we had today, they were ready for the oxfam bag ready to send to children who need a bit of happiness in their lives.

All in all we had a fantastic day and it felt even better knowing that we were doing a great thing for not so fortunate children.

The Persil 2in1 did a fantastic job and the fact that you only use a small amount even in a large wash is impressive and economical. I'm also looking forward to doing the rest of my washing in it and looking forward to not buying washing liquid and softener which i normally do, which should hopefully save me some money too.

I am a member of the Netmums Parent Bloggers Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team from our database to review products and brands on their behalf. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time (and childcare if the fee is big enough!) but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

The beginning of the end

After 6months the headstone is now onmy grandparents grave with my granddads details on it. I went to see it today and it seemed to cause a fresh wave of grief.

It's gorgeous where they are buried in knutsford, a picture perfect church off a main road surrounded by fields and woods. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing the leafy green trees causing it's rays to dance around the branches like fireflies, it so quiet there, the sound of the breeze dusted the air as we made away the soft lush grass. The headstone looks fantastic yet I was overcome with emotion....that is it....its all over. The headstone is the final nail in the coffin as odd as that sounds. They are gone forever and I guess it hit me again today.

I stood there for a while whist pud danced around the other graves watching the clouds float across the icy blue sky, her laughter drifted around the cemetery and I wished my grandparents could be part of their great grandchildren's lives.

We moved to a bench as she toddled around, the sun warmed my skin and my mind swirled with random memories of them, I looked at the church, I'd be going alone to the Christmas service this year as grandad and I went most years together, this year I will still go and then put a nice wreath on the grave.

In light of the tragic events with Norway, china and the sudden passing of Amy winehouse it's easy to forget how fragile life is.....we should enjoy life to the full and I know I'll be holding my loved one that little bit closer tonight and every night from now on.

Much love to you all xxxxx

Dog tired

*twitter party has been postponed due to the tragic events of Norway, china and the sudden passing of Amy winehouse, I think we should all hold our loved ones a bit closer tonight, much love to you all, Amy xxxxx*


This week has been busy, I've done a lot for the first time since I broke my ankle I think I feel back up to speed. I've been driving, walking and getting stuck into the housework. My ankle has complained but I've pushed through and with another week left of my sick note I'm sure I'll go back to work without having to worry about pain...hopefully.

My extra activity has come at a price......I'm shattered!!! Every night I've been going to bed feeling like I've worked a 20hrs day, I fell asleep on the sofa the other night and hubby had to wake me up and send me to bed.

Like I say I've done lots sorted out the house and generaly acted like I have a fixed ankle so I'm bound to feel tired or maybe it's because I'm approaching 26....to the wrong end of my twenties....I'll be closer to 30 than 20 soon eeeeek!! That was a slight joke I am just dog tired.

So tonight I'm child free and I'm blooming well putting my feet up!!! I'm picking up the babies at 12:30 tomorrow so I'm have a big fat lie in and tea and toast in bed!!

I hope you all have a fab weekend, a couple of my tweety friends and I are having a twitter party at 8pm till 10pm saturday night all you have to do is answer the question......

What is the funniest thing you have done after a #bucketofwine ? Tweet using the hashtag or leave a comment the funniest will win a bottle of wine!!!!

Have fun and let me know your silly drunk stories xxxx

End of term and the unknown

End of term is nearly here in our household and to be honest I think the children are ready for the break. They are tired, grumpy and moody something that some time away from school might help with. In September my eldest moves up to year 2, my other daughter into year 1 and 3yo has another term in nursery because she doesn't turn 4 until October.

3yo has just finished a 6week one to one speech therapy course and she is improving slowly, we have been referred to the welfare team to apply for DLA (disability living allowance) I hadn't thought of this before, I didn't even know about the benefit until I spoke to a very nice lady who thought that 3yo would qualify for it due to her deafness.

I've never claimed for anything other than tax credit and child benefit so all this is new to me, i have a welfare lady coming round on Friday to fill out the application form for me whilst I go and collect letters and reports showing 3yo diagnosis and other needs.

I have mixed feelings about applying for the benefit

Positives

1) if we get extra money I can start her private speech therapy again.
2) I may be able to think about dropping a shift at work so I'm around more to give her more support at home
3) apparently it can open doors up to other things that she will benefit from

Negatives

1) I don't want people to think I'm just trying to live of the state....I never have or will

Any advice about going down this route would be appreciated

Do you or your child claim DLA?

All I know is that I want to get her the most support I can give/supply her with and if this helps then it can only be a good thing.

Once again I'm stepping into the unknown but for my 3yo I would do anything to make her life easier xx

Silent Sunday

Money money money, must be funny, in a rich mans world

Money is always something I'm going to worry about. I remember living at home and getting my first pay check and it was £74 I thought I was rich!!! All that money just to spend on myself i was in heaven.

After college i decided to work full time and I enjoyed being paid a full time salary and just enjoying the money, whether it was going on holiday or buying myself clothes.

Today most of my money goes on food shopping and diesel for my car. I might go out for dinner maybe once a month and treat the children now and again but that's about it. I've not increased my debt for nearly two years now and I don't live off credit cards yet we only just scrape by.

The day I get paid a week later it's all gone on direct debits, yes I know it's life and we all do it but damn its depressing.

My congratulations goes out to the lucky couple who won the £166m euro millions I hope they have a fabulous life, I did a couple of lines in hope of a win, I'm not greedy I would have settled for just 100k just for a fresh start lol.

Sometimes I think life would be far more enjoyable without money and I know we can still enjoy life with the things that come for free like love and our children but right now I'd love to sit back and not count every penny.

What would you do if you won the lottery? I always said that if I won a silly amount I would clear my friend's mortgages and set them up for a carefree life.

With the school holidays looming I know we're planning as many free activities as possible with the children, do share your best tips I'll be very grateful for them.

Hope you all have a great non expensive weekend xx :)

the one where i had my cast off

So yes I am cast free yaaaaay, well it's a yay and a nay really, i'm still in quite a bit of pain with the dam ankle.

It was interesting getting it removed though.. firstly the fracture clinic is in the lower ground floor of the hospital miles away from the entrance, must have been a man who designed that..anyway i arrived to find there was an hour delay for everyones appointment....turd.

So i pulled out my book and started reading, i was summoned around 45mins later into to the plaster room. Unfortunately its just a big room where you get your limbs frozen in colourful bandage,,not a room made of plasters....anyhoo.. i hop onto the bed to be presented with a large tool that looked like a mini saw.

'it doesn't hurt at all' said the nurse as she brandished it like jason from halloween...
'look it just vibrates to break away the fibres..see i can touch it with my hand' i winced hoping that she wasn't lying..i didn't fancy a one handed nurse cutting my cast off..this wasn't the case and it did just vibrate like one of ann summer's finest.

So she starts cutting the cast off and the vibration are quite intense..it makes me giggle as i have ticklish feet and legs...after the cutting she whips out some scissors that are well..scary

she wrestles with the bandages and the scissors and runs them up my shin
'ouch' i yell
'it's ok it's just a sharp end...see' she points at the end of the tool that has a rubber protection thingy on it..not my blood....honest.

Finally its off and OMG my leg resembles a yeti...hairy isn't the word and it looks pale and scrawny. she leaves the yeti leg out whilst she goes to find a wipe to clean my leg whilst the rest of the nursing staff get a good look at my hairy leg. Once she wipes it i pull down my leggings super fast and limp out of there as fast as my one leg can take me.

the consultant said it's fine treat it as a sprain now and keep moving it..and off i went two legged into the world again.

So here i am foot loose and fancy free...i can dance..i can sort of walk and steps are still very painful but hopefully in 3weeks i'll be back to running...... :) xx

Birthday week

This week my two eldest girls turn 6 years old and 5 years old.

It's always a busy fun packed week because their birthdays are on the 6th and 7th, i couldn't have planned that if i had tried and both were born at 38+2 weeks gestation too.

They have always been close and it's been a joy watching them grow together, seeing them at school and knowing they always have a friend in each other is just lovely. Of course they fight like cat and dog but they also are so lovely together, chatting on the top bunk of their beds until late, playing games together even helping each other with writing and reading.

I'm so proud of my little big girls and i always get all emotional and blubby around this time. I always remember being very pregnant in the blistering heat just waiting to meet my babies.

6years ago i was only 19 and i look at how far i've come i feel really proud. I hope i am doing a good job of being a mum and raising my children well.

So on wednesday and thursday i'll spend the day with a tear in my eye..one of joy and pride and one of sadness of my babies growing up so fast.