One proud Mumma

This is a little late really.... but since Easter isn't until tomorrow I suppose it's still worth posting. 

My gorgeous little buddha and I went to a Easter morning at his nursery last Saturday. It was great! They brought in little lambs that have been brought up around young children so they got to go in a pen one by one to stroke them... Clearly the highlight of Alexs day. 

Alex with the lambikins

It's funny because for such an outgoing child who spends quite a bit of time at nursery he was really shy. I had trouble getting him to have an easter cupcake and juice! Weird!! We ended up chilling in the book corner choosing a book to buy and having a read. He ended up choosing a super hero colouring book - go figure. Luckily this did the trick and he wanted to start playing with me... we went to do an easter egg hunt - I think this is my favourite thing to do at easter and the buddha loves it too. 

My favourite part of the day however was watching him write his name for the first time. Can't even say how proud I was - well I did a little squeak and the nursery teachers looked at me as if to say 'he does this all the time here'. You see, my little Alex hates sitting down and learning with us... we have to do numbers by counting how many 'nee noors' or diggers we pass on the way home and we might be lucky enough to hear him do shapes and letters when watching a educational kids program on the TV. We do try to sit with him... but will he do it, nope! If we do educational things it's through play, he  just loves joking with us and just won't take it seriously. I don't mind too much as we know he's not behind and nursery have no concerns. In fact they just put it down to his outgoing and playful personality and tell us not to worry as he's where he should be for his age. So when we made an Easter card for Mummy, as she was at work, I was amazed when he wrote his own name with no help. We wrote the normal things inside (I helped with that bit) and then said to him.... 'here you are mate, write your name' and he did! He just picked up the pencil and wrote it. I mean, it's barely legible and the pencil was rubbish but the movement of his hands were clearly writing his name and he wasn't copying anything! I couldn't have been prouder!!

Sunday we had a proper family walk... lovely

5 Packing tips for moving house

So after my little rant in my last post I thought I'd do something constructive and write a few tips on packing... I found being organised was essential in making this a less painful experience and came across a few that I wish I had done but didn't.

  

1) Label your boxes - keep it simple. I found the room I was getting the movers to dump them in was the most practical way of labelling. I know the first time I moved I titled them all sorts of different names which became really unhelpful.

2) List the contents of your box - some people prefer to label their boxes by numbers or letters and have an list of contents on a separate bit of paper. Great idea, however I will sure lose that and be looking for items that are in the very last box. I decided to tape a bit of A4 paper onto the box with the room name in large letters then in the right hand corner list the items. That way I shouldn't (I say shouldn't loosely) lose the information. Also make sure you list where you put leads, screws etc for big items as those little rascals, I find, are the first thing I lose. Sandwich bags are good for keeping them together

3) Find a room to start piling boxes - I started with boxes in all sorts of places around the house when I decided to start packing. Although many people say start with one room and work your way around the house it's not alway possible or the easiest way of doing things. For us it was starting with the items we use least often (old towels, spare bedding, your out of season clothing etc) was the easiest way of working but it meant  random boxes everywhere. This wasn't a problem to begin with but the more we packed the less we could see what we had left to do. I moved them all into our dining room which we had cleared and this meant we could see what needed done elsewhere.

4) Throw things away, take them to charity, give it away!!!! - Use this as an opportunity to get rid of things you don't really want or need. We moved 2 years ago to the house we have just moved out of and I remember looking at things and thinking 'why did I even bring this with me, it's still in a box untouched'. BIN! We ended up with 5+ bin liners and 4+ runs to the tip in our estate car. It's amazing how much stuff you get rid of when your being ruthless. Even look in the kitchen... You'll be surprised at how many things are in the cupboards that are out of date. The last thing you want to do is clutter your new place before your even settled.

5) Make a 'Essentials' box - I was going to do this and I think its the most useful tip I had but as we are now at my parents for a couple of weeks thats the stuff we took with us. In this box put all the things you will need in the first couple of days... For example:

1. Bedding - One of the first things you will do is build your bed, make sure you have something to go on in. The last thing you want to do is rake through boxes trying to find it. 
2. Tea bags / coffee / sugar - I'm sure you will unpack a kitchen box within the first day and I know I would be annoyed at myself if I'd misplaced my cuppa essentials. 
3. Mug - for the tea to go in
4. Clothes to last those first few days
5. Phone charger
6. Toilet paper
7. Dish towel and cloth
8. Basic cleaning supplies 
9. Pet food 
10. Mug, plate, knife, fork, spoon for each member of the family
11. Scissors
12. Bin bags
13. Toiletries - only the essentials 
14. Numbers for takeaways 
15. Something to keep kids occupied
16. Snacks - especially if you have little uns 

So that's it, 5 of the most helpful things that I used in the move and would use next time. Hopefully they will help someone else. I wish we had done certain bits in different ways but we had short notice and a tight schedule but it should make a massive difference at the other end and made it a much less stressful situation. If you can think of anymore let me know and I'll add on... Always handy to have more advice for next time :) 

House is sold!

This is another rant... sorry I know it's not an interesting read but I needed a space to get it off my chest and here is a good place to do it.

A little bit about myself as it will put things into perspective.... I consider myself pretty laid back, sometimes to the point I'm laying down. It takes a lot to wind me up (unless your unfortunate and get the odd day of the month) and stress me out. Sometimes I see how stressed my partner gets when something went wrong with the house and a plumber / electrician needed to be called or something needed fixed and I think to myself 'o well, we can't do anything about it, lets just get it fixed.' and think to myself why does it have to make someone so stressed? I'm not saying I don't get stressed... well actually I have never felt the way I have done in the last week and a half and I hope never to feel it again. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts we were selling / had sold our house and moving to a new one. Even with such a big stressful event, I was feeling pretty calm. I am also overly organised and have been known as the 'list queen' by many, I think this is why I didn't stress, I plan everything and take the time to see how we can make things work and do things without having to leave it until the last minute and prepare beforehand. We had also been prepping the little Buddha for the move - he knew exactly what was going on... maybe better than I'd have hoped. We had been prepping him since moving into the house, he had always wanted a doggy but the old house wasn't suitable. We said that when we move into the new house we could get one. When we finally sold the house we told him and he said 'does that mean we can have a doggy like dottie now'. We explained the process and he knew what he was doing, he was happy. He was looking forward to putting his stuff into his new bedroom that he wanted decorated in Batman stuff. He was so good especially for only being 4 years old.

We had been told we should complete on the 4th April and that we were aiming for this date although our purchase, the ones that initiated this date, weren't being fast enough to meet this target. We received a phone call Friday evening at 5pm from the estate agent explaining that we had to complete by the next Friday or the buyers of our house were no longer going to buy... this was earlier to the previous date and did I mention only giving us 5 working days notice to sort things. They weren't bluffing either... so we were left with a 4 bedroom house, two full time jobs and a 4 year old and now only 6 days to pack up our lives and get out.... and no new house to move in to.

This wasn't even the end...

As you can imagine it was a very stressful 6 days and I don't even want to think about how Alex (the little buddha) felt. He was so panicked and upset... he couldn't understand what was happening and thought his mummies were leaving him. One of the days he came home and threw everything of his he could find into a box shouting he was coming too. Heartbreaking!! He wouldn't sleep anywhere bar our bed and it became even more difficult with how clingy (understandably) he was. 6 very stressful days later, a removal van and lots of packing meant that everything went into storage and my little family standing at my parents door.

I am very grateful to my parents for giving us a roof... not so much to the mortgage company and other people that are holding up the purchase of our new home and putting us in this situation. At least we can all relax and my little buddha is feeling safe again. O and did I mention... THIS MEANS WE GOT RID OF THE OLD HOUSE!!

Yay!!! No longer on market after completing

Weight loss update - Week 2

I am a few days late for this post but will still just go from Tuesday-Tuesday.

 So last week I did great - my main aim throughout all of this is to continue eating meals with family and not having to miss out when my family do nice things which includes foods. That I managed... some of the evening meals may not have been the healthiest as far as diets are concerned but smaller portioned and lots of salads / vegetables etc meant that I could enjoy these non the less. 

So my goals from last week were....

- to stick to it 100%:

This I did and I felt so much better for it. Funnily enough I have notice many differences all ready. For example:

               I think I have a little intolerance to potatoes, bread, pasta etc. I haven't had very much of this, maybe one or two nights... but when I have I certainly notice the difference. I bloat, feel all sluggish and just a little meh and my energy goes out the window. Although that's my favourite food group =( its nice to know that it does make a difference and I'm now aware of that. I'm not going to illiminate them but I will certainly reduce my intake. Before now every meal included one of those foods... that is not the case any longer.

              I have much more energy!! Yay. I severely lacked this before. Most evenings I would end up on the floor asleep by 8pm ish. I don't know if this is my new eating or whether it's because I have been taking multi vitamins with iron in ( I was a little anaemic before)

              I am NOT craving sweet stuff... This is absolutely amazing for me. I have no problems sticking to my planned healthy snacks and meals. I am normally ALWAYS wanting sweet things and usually gave in, not good I know. 

              I am not hungry. The smoothies and snacks are more than enough during the day and they are delicious. That along with my family meals in the evening makes a perfect way of living for me. 

- Enjoy our Sunday outing... EXCITED 

We had a lovely day! The weather was beautiful which makes a massive change to recent months and the kids loved the chance to play without there coats and wellies. A fairly healthy picnic (I had a few Pringles which is the fairly bit =D) and a gorgeous walk. PERFECT! 

- go for a run at least 3 times this week 

This one I failed miserably at. I didn't even make one run, how terrible is that? Exercise is definitely a goal for this week... suppose we cant be perfect.

This weeks results...

Weight loss: -1lb 

Body fat: -1%

Metabolic age: -3 years

Hydration: +0.8%

Muscle: +1.2lbs

Chest measurements: -2cm

Waist measurements: -3cm 

Hip measurements: -1cm

Thigh measurements: the same

Overall results 

Weight loss: -3lbs

Body fat: -1%

Metabolic age: -3 years 

Hydration: +0.8%

Muscle: +1.2lbs

Chest measurements: -2cm

Waist measurements: -3cm 

Hip measurements: -1cm

Thigh measurements: the same

As you can see it's all going in the right direction and I have 5 more lbs to lose by April 1st as my 1st months target... Will I make it?

Next weeks goals:

- to exercise at least 3 times this week. 

- to enjoy my hag night out Saturday 

- to stick to the plan 100% 

- to make sure I take my vitamins daily. 

Happy sunshine

I'M SO HAPPY THE SUN IS BACK....

It's about time, don't you think. After this horrendously wet winter it feels like I have't seen the sun in ages and today, I'm hoping, is the start of a sunny year. A little optimistic I know.

I couldn't stay in on a day like this... especially as it was the first. So me and the little buddha took a trip. My cousin had a table at a craft sale raising money for cancer research in Cornwall so we took the ferry over. I love days like today, random days, days where you can just relax and have fun without a care in the world. We decided to walk to the ferry, jump on and nip to the park on the way home. The buddha loved it. He was so funny... we skipped, jumped, hopped, run and occasionally looked normal and walked. It was a proper little adventure and the looks we were getting was hilarious. 

I also got my first purchase for the new house which is really exciting. Just a little something for the kitchen. I thought it was really cute and I am a HUGE fan of tea =)

Weight loss update... 1 week complete

So I said last week that I am going to use my blog to keep me accountable and help me get to my goal weight. I had my first weigh in yesterday :)...

 I only started the program 4 days ago although I have been 'being good' for a week so wasn't expecting massive changes. I managed to lose 2.5lbs in that time. My water levels were still the same so at least it's not just water that I'm losing, although I shouldn't hope so considering how much I'm drinking. The scales I am using track metabolic age, body fat %, muscle weight along with weight and various other things. I'm hoping to see these all go in the right direction.  

Fingers crossed that this loss only gets bigger but for now I am happy with getting my goal loss of 2lbs a week and aim to lose another 6 by the first of April. 

My aim alongside this is to continue living a normal family life. Therefore family meals are going to be included (our family meals are normally quite healthy anyway) although some little alterations may be made if it fits and if we have play dates or family things on the weekend I'm fully joining in. I have no intention of being miserable and cutting everything out of my life to be skinny. This week I am going to be enjoying my Sunday with another family at a national trust park (we have just become members which I'm super excited about). There is a cornish festival on for St Pirons week which normally include nice cornish food. I WILL enjoy this but will also be starting to build in exercise this week and will continue the rest of the week at 100%. 

I do have before photos but there is no way they are being posted until I see significant changes... Then there might be a comparison. I have also taken all my measurements so fingers crossed the inches will start falling off. 

Goals for this week:

- to stick to it 100% 

- enjoy our Sunday outing... EXCITED 

- go for a run at least 3 times this week 

2.5lbs down, 29.5lbs to go... 

My Fiancée 30th Birthday

This was ages ago now, last November to be precise, but I thought I'd blog about it because people have pinned bits of it and I wish I had something like this when I was looking...

So it was my fiancée's 30th Birthday and I wanted to do something big for it. Her birthday usually gets missed due to the huge number of birthdays we have in November and its our sons birthday then also. I browsed the internet and looked through the shops but just couldn't find anything that would be any different from a normal birthday. Then I had an idea.... its her 30th birthday so how about 30 ideas in 30. I don't know how to word it very well but you'll get the jist in a minute.

I planned a whole weekend for her. Starting with the Thursday...

I worked Thursday morning but I left it so that she had nothing to do... what a great start that is. No cleaning, ironing or any housework in any way, shape or form. Her favourite food is Antipasto so I got every cold meat, cheese and crackers going with some lovely fresh bread. A candle lit dinner - gorgeous.

The lady herself and of course our gorgeous little boy

During the meal I gave her this... 

Cuddle kit

I made her a 'Cuddle kit' hamper and this was what I put in it....

• Champagne - since it was for a special occasion. 
• DVD 
• Scented candle 
• Hot chocolate with all the trimmings (marshmallows, chocolate chips, and cream) 
• Bar of luxury chocolate 
• Ferrero rochers 
• Popcorn 

And that was our evening sorted... PERFECT.

Friday - HER BIRTHDAY <3 

I had quite a lot up my sleeve for today as I wanted it to be perfect and I think I can safely say I gained a few brownie points. 

So morning, pressies.... as I said earlier, I came up with this crazy 30 plan. This is where it starts to make sense. So to start... a little about her. Apart from being the most beautiful lady and great mummy... she is also Scottish and very fussy (EVERYTHING depends on mood). This covered it all, I also made her a scrap book which incorporated some the ideas. 

1. I love you in 30 languages (inside scrap book)
2. Happy birthday in 30 languages (inside scrap book)
3. 30 reasons why I love you (inside scrap book)
4. 30 things that happened in 1983 (inside scrap book)
5. 30 random facts (inside scrap book)
6. 30 people you share your birthday with (inside scrap book)
7. 30 personality traits of a scorpio 
8. 30 pic and mix sweets
9. 30 photos (I made the frame and photos were attached, photo to follow)
10. 30 IOU's 
11. 30 pairs of socks (we always argue over socks, well we used to)
12. £30 worth of lottery tickets
13. 30 chocolate bars (to cover every mood) 
14. 30 things of scotland... this one was hard but I did it and was so proud here are a few things I did: I got her sister to send down loads of traditional scottish food, bought her a scottish children's book to read to alex, we want to climb the Munros so got her a book about routes, scottish dvds etc. 
15. Flashdance movie (came out in 1983) 
16. 30 Hershy kisses
17. 30 tea lights
18. 30 places we are going to / have been (I bought a vintage map, attached it to cork and framed it before putting pins in 30 places - photo to follow) 
19. 30 Balloons
20. 30 year old bottle of wine
21. 30 random things
22. £30 amazon voucher 
23. 30 cans of fat coke (her favourite) 
24. 30 flowers
25. 30 cupcakes
26. Percy Pigs (her favourite plus she was born in the year of the pig) 
27. 30th Birthday card
28. A new Ipod with 30 songs on it
29. 30th Birthday cake
30. A spa day which included, with the rest, a 30 minute treatment at the Scarlet Hotel 

She loved it, she couldn't believe how much effort I had put in. 

It didn't end there either... she was feeling particularly homesick before her birthday probably because she was hoping her parents were coming down for it. The nearer we got the less hopeful she was. Well SURPRISE... I had organised for them to come down and meet us at a restaurant. She had no idea, she said that after I gave her the spa day, which was for the following day, she never thought they would be down because of the lack of time. Well she was wrong and she was chuffed. We had a pretty chilled afternoon before a few of her friends and my family joined us for a little birthday buffet. 

It was a great day and am so happy she had an amazing few days... o and the Spa was GORGEOUS.