Getting Ready for the Next Christmas You’re looking out at the sky at 5.00pm now and it’s actually still light… Christmas is long over, you survived January and now you’re looking forward to spring. Spring is followed by summer, then comes autumn, then another winter, which means…another Christmas! You know when it is – December 25 – and you know that it happens every year. So why, then, do you find yourself scrabbling around for presents in November and wondering how on earth you’re going to pay for it all? Every year. Not this year, though. This year it’s going to be different. ...
Thank You National Lottery
Like many other households we spend many a Saturday night on the edge of our seats waiting to see if our lives are about to change. I may have spent the day dreaming of our Tuscan cottage retreat, our Californian beach-house and our latest apartment in Manhattan. Not to mention planning our round-the-world cruise. Whilst we are yet to see our six lottery numbers be drawn I fear this dream is still utterly beyond our reach but, hey, Devon is not so bad. Yet, whilst caught up in the excitement of it all I, like most folks I imagine, forget the amount of good causes that the National ...
With a little bit of luck…
"Nobody gets justice. People only get good luck or bad luck." - Orson Welles Do you believe in luck? In some ways I think I do. I definitely think that some people are naturally more lucky than others. Take my mother, (Please, take her, my Dad would say.) She is definitely lucky. She has this uncanny knack of picking the most unlikely looking winner at the races simply because she likes the colour of the jockey's hat or the horse's name. She doesn't study form, she is often not at all bothered by the odds but she will say she just 'had a feeling.' Mr B on the other hand is the ...
Killing Me Softly With Football…
" 'Killing me softly with football, Killing me softly, With football....' How did I end up married to a football fan?" Such was the Facebook status of a very lovely family member recently, yes YOU lovely lady who shall remain nameless, when the reality of the remainder of this summer dawned upon her. She is Welsh you see and grew up in a family who prefer their sport with a ball more ovoid in nature, and men with bigger thighs, so her (English) husband's obsession with the great game perhaps has left her somewhat bewildered. To be fair he is also a Cardiff City fan so I am sure ...
A Survival Guide To Driving With Kids
So, you thought getting out of the house was tricky with kids? You have already packed a million and one things for just two nights away. You have defied the laws of physics and somehow managed to squeeze both the bouncy-chair AND the buggy into the boot. The kids have been wrestled into their car seats and, belts having finally been retrieved from toddlers mouths, beneath bottoms or detached from coat-linings snagging fabric along the way, (delete as applicable), they are actually strapped in too. Now you are faced with a two and a half hour journey, traffic allowing, just you, ...
The Pros and Cons of Owning a House
One of the biggest decisions that you will make in life is whether or not to buy your own home. Like most things in life, there are both advantages and disadvantages to owning a home. The decision is made even more difficult with today’s unsteady housing market. Everyone has heard the horror stories of how the bottom dropped out of the housing market and people were left with a debt greater than the resale value of their home. Conversely, we have also heard the stories of housing investments that have created a huge net profit for home owners. A good way to make this very important decision ...
DIY Dad and the Decorating Disaster
I began the new year setting out some fairly straightforward resolutions and am pleased to say that I have started off fairly well. Mr B and I managed to avoid opening a bottle of wine until the weekend and we completed four sessions of Insanity so, although I have not yet stepped on the scales, I am feeling hopeful that the dreaded flab will be somewhat diminished. Today we managed to pick up some brand new pillows so I plan to pop out and get some protectors tomorrow and we can finally be rid of our stinky old ones. With my birthday not too far away new bedding is now at the top of my ...
Sponsored Post: Four Tips For Organising Family Fun Nights
We believe in good old family fun and we think it’s time to get planning on ways you can increase that very special quality time. Buy in those biscuits grandma likes and stock up on fizzy pop for the kids. Here are 4 smart ideas for family fun on a shoestring… 1. Movie Night It’s not the most original idea, certainly, but it is a tried and tested classic all your family members can enjoy. Whether your Nan loves horror flicks or your other half secretly enjoys a soppy rom-com, you can spend your Nectar points on tickets, VIP seating, or to splash out on popcorn and much ...
Out with the old…
At the beginning of the new year I am once again in resolution mode. I fear my resolutions are pretty much the same each year but I guess now is as good a time as any to make a list. So for 2014 this is my plan: Out with the old... Time to shed the baby-weight. I am not doing too badly as am now only half a stone away from my weight prior to getting pregnant with Little Miss but, ideally, I would like to get back to my weight prior to being pregnant with the boy. I am an extra stone away from that. I am really, strangely, enjoying the Insanity workout though and aim to continue ...
A Squash And A Squeeze
No, this is not a review of the Julia Donaldson book, although it is one that we love, I have simply stolen her title. That is allowed right? You see we are lucky enough to live in a decent sized terrace, three bedrooms, one bathroom, and do not have to accommodate a pig and a cow and a hen. It is just me, Mr B, The Boy and Little Miss. And we fit just fine, most of the time, although sometimes another bathroom would be extremely helpful. But what if we WERE to add one more. I am not saying we WILL, just hypothetically. Things look a bit more...well...squashed. And squeezed. ...