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GET CHRISTMAS READY WITH ZAVVI

Hello lovelies, again I've been missing in action for a while again but want to come back as more of a hobby this time as I missed writing but I never seem to have the time at the minute. I've had family in hospital, Dan working away, working full time with being a mother too can be rather hard! It's almost half term though thank god and I have a few blog posts planned for you all! But today is all about the C word and not the horrible one thats ruined the last year and a half the good C word haha! CHRISTMAS! I know it's a bit early to talk about Christmas but with the delivery problems were facing atm why not order early?! Zavvi very kindly sent the boys two gorgeous Christmas jumpers with their favourite things on them. They have such a large selection for you to choose form to suit everyone! - Christmas Jumpers.
The boys absolutely loved their Christmas jumpers and can't wait for Christmas jumper day at school so they can show all thier friends! Lawson said it's so soft inside. Oscar's usually really fussy with jumpers too and he thought it was super comfy! I would highly reccomend checking out their selection of Chrismtas jumpers and they also sell so many items perfect for Christmas presents so why not treat yourself or family and friends this Christmas. Let me know whats your favourite design they do!

VALENTINES CHOCOLATE HEART PUFFS

 



Hello lovelies, I thought I would share with you a super simple 'bake' you could do with your children this valentines. You could make these as a dessert or a valentines breakfast.

All you will need is -

A roll of puff pastry
Chocolate spread
An egg
Baking paper
Heart cookie cutter or cardboard heart to cut around.

Pre heat your oven to 180
Start of by rolling out your puff pastry sheet then cutting into it with your heart cookie cutter.
You should get 12 hearts out of the roll of puff pastry at least. Start of with the six hearts on your baking paper on your baking tray


Now cover those six hearts with chocolate spread trying not to go too far to the edges.



Now cover your hearts with the remaining six hearts from earlier and pinch the sides together then coat in egg wash.


Now bang those in the oven until golden an crispy for 15-20mins or so. 


Voila, super easy chocolate heart puffs! I covered mine in icing sugar and some in jam but it didn't look very photogenic! But you could top yours with whatever you fancy. My kids absolutely loved these so I shall definitelybe making these again. 


I hope you enjoy them if you make them! I did a little reel on my instagram, tag me if you make any.


 


LIVING ARROWS 5/52

 


Hello lovelies, I know these posts are mainly for just sharing the children and their little snippets but I adore this picture of the boys and their dad! The pictures shared today are from our lovely family walk in the forest we took on Sunday. 




Dan/Daddy is always playing about, he keeps us on our toes and gets us to do the daftest things. The boys love this part of the forest as it has in their words an 'epic' rope swing! It was so nice to enjoy the fresh air as a family and just have a bit of normality for an hour or so. It gives us hope for when the world does start to return to a bit more normal times! We miss going to fun new places but were so lucky to have our gorgeous forest on our doorstep. 





JANUARY ROUND UP

 


Hello lovelies, wow what a month! Usually January feels like a life time and its been a bit of a mixture the first half of the month dragged then it was all of a sudden over. I really never expected us to be where we are again but at the same time its kind of taught me not to expect anything. That's pretty hard coming from someone who likes to have a plan ahead! But I've sort of been trying to just live every day as it is and take the most form it. I've really struggled with homeschooling this month when I previously really enjoyed it, the first lockdown we sort of had free reign though and I loved it. Now its boring worksheets, not the same! The kids have powered through though bless them, I'm so proud of them. I've cried a lot this month but who hasn't? Haha. I know were all struggling in or own ways we just have to look for the positives and keep going. 

I've baked a lot again! Cookies, cakes, homemade pop tarts, cinnamon rolls and cake pops! Oscars been helping me prep dinners and made his own bacon twists, he loved that. I even got to try some gorgeous cakes from a lovely local baker 'mummy bakes and me'. They were gorgeous, check out my Instagram!

We've been crafting loads, we subscribe to 'muddy and bloom box' they're fantastic, every month you get some flowers and veg to grow, crafty bits and activity cards. This month we made clay hedgehogs and the eye of god with cotton and sticks. We've also been doing lots of 'Draw with rob' and 'Art for kids hub' on youtube. Lots of lego building and enjoying our family walks on weekends. The kids also tend to forget about their toys and interacting with other things than their switch/tablet so I've limited the time on those and set up some role play tables for them, this week I've set them up a Vet role play area and they've been absolutely loving it, sneaky maths and english in there and of course drama. 


What products I've been loving in January -

I haven't switched up many new things but I've really been loving the Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey shampoo and conditioner, they leave my hair so soft and it smells gorgeous! I asked my hairdresser friends which store bought hair products I could try after she sworn me away from my usual favourites! She said Garnier ones were ok, I'm so glad because they're only £2 a bottle and my hairs been loving it.

I've also really been loving the Body Shop Drops Of Youth Youth Liquid Peel, I feel like this stuff really helped clean up my troubled skin area around my chin and nose, I haven't had any new spots since either touch wood. 


What I read - 

Louise Pentland Wilde Like Me - I give this book 4/5 stars! Very easy read and I felt like Louises personality really shone through this book if you know her you will understand. I loved Robin and Robin in New York more! A story of a single mum in the 21st century looking for love. It's funny, fast paced and could easily devour it in a day. 

I do really want to read more, I need to stop scrolling and more reading. I'm currently reading Where The Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens.




What I watched -

SERIES
I''ll start with the last thing we watched in January and by far the best! 

It's A Sin - Channel 4. Wow! It was beautiful and heartbreaking all in one. I haven't sobbed like that since my mum died and I was full on crying, ugly crying like a baby at the end of this. Me and Dan turned it on one evening at 8.30pm and we was in bed for 1.30am after devouring it all in one siting! It was that addictive. Its a five part series based in the 80's where five friends are tested through the shadow of AIDS, the acting is phenomenal! I want Jill to be my new best friend, she really was the glue of the group. But I loved each and every one of them in their own way! Me and Dan both broke our hearts watching it but thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend everyone to watch it!

The Serpent - BBC iPlayer - I had to watch this alone because Dan saw 8 eps and gave up after episode 1! I couldn't turn it off after I started watching this. I could have easily binge watched this win a day but kids to look after... Haha. Its based on a true story of a murderer, thief and is actually still alive and in jail now! Alain/Charles is a gem dealer and will kill anyone in his path if they don't do for him what he asks, he has two accomplices his girlfriend Marie and friend AJ. I can't say too much without giving it away but a very good watch!

The Wilds - Amazon Prime - I watched this after seeing Emma (Brummy Mummy of 2) Instagram stories, I really didn't think this would be Dans cup of tea, a group of girls deserted on an island in the middle of nowhere but he does like survival things and I think that is what he was clutching on to! We both actually really enjoyed this but wasn't happy with the ending! It has some twists here and there and Dan guessed them every time, I hate it when he guesses and gets it all right, anyone else haha? 

Lupin - Netflix - Another one Dan gave up on, this one only has 5 episodes too! He kept getting lost in it all, it doesn't take too much bless him! But I really enjoyed it. It was an easy quick watch and a smaller version of money heist! I loved Omars acting in it.

The Pembrokeshire Murders - ITV Player - Another true story based on the Welsh murderer John Cooper, its a nice quick 3 part series so it doesn't get dragged out. Dan enjoyed it more than me but it was an easy watch.

Back to Life - Netflix - I watched this on a whim all in one night! I didn't know what to watch and it was newly added to Netflix I think so I clicked on it. I liked parts of it but the ending really annoyed me and when/if you watch it I think you will share a bit of the frustration with me why the poor girl got so much shite when she come out of jail and it was just a bit disappointing when the story all unraveled. 

Headspace Guide To Meditation - Netflix - I'll be honest I've only watched the first episode so far but I really loved it and I need to make some more time for myself to complete this! A massive goal for me is to find time for myself and I'm already failing that haha, there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day?! But I'd highly recommend trying this out! I love the headspace app. 

MOVIES

The Lie - Amazon Prime - Me and Dan only seem to ever watch Netflix so we went over to Amazon and tried to find a film on there, I don't know if its because were so used to Netflix but I just love how they're things are all set out great, I find Amazon Prime a bit al over the place and quite hard to find a film but we were scrolling through and found this! I really liked it at the start and it had a few shock moments and made you think but in the end it was a bit like a teenage book turned film.

Black Box - Amazon Prime - Luckily this film turned it around for us after watching The Lie! This film is about a widowed father who goes under an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is and my word does it have some twists and turns in! Its a bit of a thriller and has you on the edge of your seat in some areas and I think I cried near the end, not like me! (inserts roll eyes emoji) but me and Dan really enjoyed this film.

Instant Family - Netflix - I pretty much cried through-out this whole film! I put it on thinking it would just be a comedy film. This film is also based on a true story which made me even more emotional. This film is about a middle aged couple who adopt three children, well ones a teenager! So they obviously put them through their paces and I think it just gives you a little insight through what people go through who do go through adoption and it made me so proud of every single person out there that adopts children, gives those children a chance and a happier life and some stability. It has some really funny scenes and a lot of tears if you're an emotional person like me anyway! Was beautiful. 

Peanut Butter Falcon - Netflix - Dan is literally the worst and picking films so he said you choose one night, I honestly didn't know what to put on but fancied something different to our norm so I put this on. 
Its a gorgeous film based on bromance between a young man with down syndrome and Shia LaBeouf, this young man with down syndrome is stuck in an elderly care home and craves an adventure. He sure gets that with crabbing and wrestling along the way. Its a simple story but a beautiful one. 


Aside from binge watching series, baking, bullet journalling, homeschooling and lack of sleeping I've been wanting to try Yoga again as I failed massively in the 30 days of yoga in January and I also want to try the couch to 5k again, need to find myself a good supportive bra first though!
Hope your January wasn't too bad. What have you been watching?




LIVING ARROWS 4/52



Hello lovelies, these photos were taken on Monday morning at 8am. We were so thrilled to have the snow back on Sunday, we wasn't expecting it at all! It really lifted our spirits after being stuck in the house with non stop rain. Our daily walk is something we really look forward to, so we had a fab family walk on Sunday then Monday I decided to make the most of the snow and took us out again bright and early before homeschooling down the hill on the sledge and there wasn't another soul in sight! It was perfect and the kids had so much fun.


Oscar had so much fun throwing the snow in the air, chucking snowballs at everyone and thinking he was an extra on the cool runnings bob sleigh team! 


Lawson isn't a fan of how terribly cold the snow is haha and we had quite a few moans Sunday so I decided to try out some washing up gloves over his normal gloves and it really helped! Not any moans of cold hands until we was about two minutes away from our house haha. I'm not a fan of how cold it is but the snow does make me happy, it makes everywhere look so much more pretty and seeing the kids happy is priceless. 

Have you had any snow and been enjoying it?

SNOW PAINTING

 


Hello lovelies, have you all been enjoying the snow? I know it can be a pain for a lot of people but it really lifted our spirits yesterday when it snowed heavy and stuck! We headed out on our sledges and had a really fun family day and the world almost felt a little bit normal. We even went out again in it early this morning before homeschool because the kids had so much fun. It was so nice to see their big smiles and doing something fun for the kids with not being able to go anywhere at the minute. 

So with all this snow I thought why not share with you all a quick simple and easy arts and craft activity you can do with all the snow! 

All you need is -
Snow obviously, food colouring, a little bit of water and some tools, preferably a pipette or a paintbrush. 

Get some snow and put it into a tray or bowl.
Simply add some food colouring into a little dish and add a dash of water and mix.
Apply the pipette or paintbrush to the food colouring mixture and paint away, make a pretty picture.







Or you could make homeschooling fun and do your phonics in there, learn to write your name, shapes, colours. Whatever helps your child out and makes learning fun! Tag me on Instagram with your creations if you have a go. 

LIVING ARROWS

 


Hello lovelies, I've wanted to join Donna's 'Living Arrows' posts forever! Now I finally am, I love the concept behind it all. Just sharing a couple/few photos once a week to look back on. 

   “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” 

This week I've chosen some photos from yesterdays walk, a beautiful place we found in the first lockdown on a random walk! If you're local to Rugeley its called The Heritage Trail, if you follow the path you come to this gorgeous waterfall, if you keep walking you will come to another one! Just not as pretty then carry on walking and you will get to the Chase. The kids absolutely love this walk and its become our bit of sanity in the craziness of corona and homeschooling. It's so nice to just get outdoors and make your own adventure. 







NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS

 


Hello lovelies, Happy New Year from my family to yours.

Well what a year we just had right? I won't even go into 2020 but it defo had some ups and downs and has still left confusion, bit of worry and a lot of anxiety going into 2021 but we just have to take it day by day at the minute right?! 

So I don't know about you lot but I thought I'm not setting any New year resolutions because let's be honest do we ever stick to them? Plus if this year is anything like last year I'm defo going to be eating my body weight in all the cakes I'm baking, completing Netflix and the only steps I'm taking is to the fridge and back to the sofa.

But with that in mind its good to have some yearly goals to try and work towards, here's mine -

1. Making better choices, with health in mind I don't make the best food choices at the minute. I'm still scoffing share bags of crisps/chocolate and definitely not sharing them. I'm not moving my body as much and just generally feel sluggish and lazy so I need to make better food choices and get my heart rate going.

2. More self care, I focus so much on other people and looking after them I always put myself low on the to do list so this really needs to change! More pampering, looking after me and finding me again.

3. Read more, I say this every year but I love reading I just never find the time to do it, but that's really excuses! I can easily spend an hour or two scrolling on Insta or get lost in a TikTok hole! So surely I can read.

4. Be less of a hermit, obviously rona isn't helping this goal just of yet but last year truly made me realise how much of a bloody hermit I am haha! I need to socialise more, get out the house more and just try and enjoy life out the house a bit. My family is my everything but I need to get a bit of the old me back and look for some hobbies!

5. Get back into blogging, well I'm here so that's a good start right? I used to love blogging back in 2013/14 where everyone was super friendly and got on! I want to get back into it and find those like minded people again. I also love looking back on old blog posts for memories.

6. Travel, again when rona clears away and we all get the jab and the world is hopefully a bit more 'normal' we can go to more places! We did actually buy a caravan in the first lockdown and its been the best thing we bought, a great escapism and have truly loved local holidays last year. We really want to go to France, I mean I'm dying to go to Disney and we've seen some gorgeous camps with swimming pools and everything. Me and Dan both share a passion for travelling and want to take the kids on adventures with us and show them the world/more of Europe haha. 

So there is some of my goals for 2021, have you got any?