How To Bag An Electrical Bargain!

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Making large purchases can be a bit scary, especially when it comes to appliances or technology. There’s a lot to take into consideration and you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your money.

Do you want to make sure you’re getting the right item for a decent price? Here’s my top tips!

Decide what you want!

This sounds obvious but if you want a fridge, is that all you want? Do you want a fridge freezer? Do you want an ice maker? If you want a washer, do you want a washer dryer? Should it come with a child lock and a timer?

Making Moving Home A Little Less Stressful

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Are you about to move house? Are you preparing to uproot your entire life and move across a street, town, city or maybe the country to make a new home elsewhere? When you've got a family take care of at the same time though, its a lot harder to do than some people realise, but it doesn't have to be an impossible feat.

Living DNA

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Family history and your ancestry can open up a door to the past that you didn't know existed. 

Tracking your ancestry through resources like birth, marriages and death records though can be costly and time consuming. You can sometimes only get so far and if you have a common surname there can be some stumbling blocks too! An alternative to the official records is an obituary search, which can often give you more information than just knowing when your ancestor died. For instance, you can find out how they lived, loved, and how they were remembered too. 

This is where DNA testing can help. A simple swab can give you a deep insight into your family tree. Living DNA goes deeper than any other company I've ever come across and can breakdown ancestry to 80 worldwide regions including 21 within the UK. 

Summer Spotters

Here in the UK we have had a super hot summer but the nights will soon start to draw in and the weather will cool. Before the fun in the sun is all over though here's a little activity for the kids, Summer Spotters!

This is an ideal activity if you're going on a long journey or just want something that is free to do! 

So, can you spot the 10 signs of summer?

1. Clear skies and sunshine!

The UK summer isn't all clouds and rain, can you spot a clear sky and sunshine?

Keeping The Cost Of The Family Holiday As Low As Possible

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Summer vacations and holidays with the family are not cheap, are they? 

It's not just the cost of the vacation to think about, but also the spending money for when you are there, the holiday clothes and accessories, as well as the toiletries you'll need.

South Lakes Safari Zoo

Based in Cumbria, South Lakes Safari Zoo offers an experience different to many other zoos! Walk around many areas of the zoo and the animals will walk alongside you! Without fences!!

When we planned our visit to the zoo I wasn't really sure how I'd feel with the animals walking around, especially some of the larger birds and kangaroos, but our 4 year old was really excited about our latest adventure so I just had to be brave! 

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

My husband is a huge fan of lemon cake. Unfortunately though, due to a strange allergy I have, lemon cake is something we rarely have in the house.

Back in May when I attended BlogOn, a bloggers conference, we were gifted a pouch of the Cake Angels lemon icing and when I got home my husband's eyes lit up! He's waited a while but I've finally got round to making some lemon cake!

You'll see from the recipe that there's no lemon zest or juice and that's so I can avoid handling it. I went with lemon curd as an alternative and easy option for lemon flavouring. 

These are the results and according to my husband they are the best cakes I've made! EVER!!! I will admit I had some help from our 4 year old though!

Cost-effective Alternatives To Wood Flooring

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For many people the height of interior design comes with the elegance of wood flooring. Whether you prefer a contemporary style or a more traditional decor for your home, wooden wooden floors can make all the difference.

There's no denying though that buying wood flooring can be very expensive!

3 School Prep Activities

It's already August and the new school year is just around the corner! For many of us it will be the first ever year of education for our children as they head into Reception class.

My last post about getting ready for Reception, Preparing Your Child For School, was quite popular so I thought I'd do another! 

These activities are aimed at helping your little one be ready and maybe a little more confident for starting school.

1. Writing and recognising their name

As I mentioned in my last post, teachers, teaching assistants and nursery staff have all told me that it's ideal if a child can write and pick out their name. That way they can name their work, sign themselves in on a registration board and pick out their school jumper from a pile.

Mud & Bloom

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With forest schools and mud kitchens, outdoor play is becoming more and more popular. Getting outside in the fresh air can help you get active and encourage creativity in your little ones. 

What if though you struggle with activity ideas? Maybe your outdoor play activities only go as far as mud pies and jumping in puddles in the winter and sandpits and paddling pools in the summer! 

This is where Mud and Bloom can help. 

Sizergh Castle

Nestled in the Lake District, Sizergh Castle is a stunning medieval home and estate maintained by the National Trust. With the Strickland family still resident the property offers a mix of modern and old.

Picking The Perfect Rug

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There's lots of finishing touches when decorating a room that can really complete it. Pictures, photographs, candles, cushions and rugs can all help set the scene for a warm and welcoming home. 

Picking a couple of cushions and framing a few photos is easily done and doesn't involve a huge amount of money but picking something like a rug takes much more consideration.

Rose Gold Letters

After the results of JJ's Marvel letter I've been really tempted to try a more grown up version and with the bedroom makeover on the horizon (yes, its actually happening!) now seems a good time!

As always I'm sharing this with you so you can try it for yourself! These are so easy you will definitely want to!

Penwizard Personalised Books

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We love books, but I'll admit that we love TV too! Combine the two and what do you get?

Well, the team at Penwizard have the answer!

A super cool personalised book with your little one featured in the book as a main character, alongside their favourite TV star! There are lots of characters to choose from including Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly! 

I chose Blaze and the Monster Machines! 

5 Family Friendly Things To Do In Lanzarote

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Holidays. Summer Holidays. Laying by the pool with the sun on your skin, chlorine in your hair, relaxing, may sipping a cocktail (or 3) can be amazing. 

One of my favourite holidays was doing just this and is also happens to have been our honeymoon! Our two weeks in Lanzarote were so blissful and holds many happy memories for us.  

We'd love to go back as a family and see what Holiday Gems Lanzarote has to offer. So I've done a little research into the top 5 places to visit in Lanzarote as a family!

1. Aqualava Water Park

Tidy Stuff - The Cupboard Under The Sink!

I don't know about anyone else but the cupboard under our sink is a dark and dreary place. There's things in the wrong place and you can guarantee when you open the cupboard something will fall out and land on your foot!

I've recently mentioned on Instagram stories that I've been getting organised in the kitchen. I've joked that cleaning out two food cupboards has changed my life. I realise this is a little over the top BUT we are no longer routing through the cupboard looking for snacks we haven't got and disappointing the four year old, and we don't find ourselves missing dinner ingredients when we were sure they were there, somewhere behind the 5 bags of flour!

With those now done I decided to tackle the cupboard under the sink and as someone who pours over home organisation on Pinterest, I thought I share what I used and how I got organised!

Grofresh Kitchen Garden - Setting the seeds

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Ever since we took part in a sustainable living program we've been very conscious of waste. We've also wanted to grow our own veg, fruit and herbs but having very clay soil brought that hope to a swift end.

We've just managed to grow some rosemary in a pot but there's been little more success. So, when I was offered the chance to try the Grofresh Kitchen Garden I jumped at the chance!

Hill Top

Regular readers will know that I love a day out! Especially a National Trust one!! On our recent holiday to the Lake District we put our membership to work and visited three places in five days!!

My favourite though has to be Hill Top, the former home of Beatrix Potter. The 17th century farmhouse is a time-capsule of her life and gives a true insight to both Beatrix and her home.

Flower Wreath

Visit any homewares or interiors store, or even an interiors blog, and the chances are you've seen a wreath similar to this one.

The No More Worries Kit

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Growing up should be worry free and full of fun but for more and more children this is simply not the case.

More and more children are suffering from anxiety and have too many worries for their little selves. 

To help children deal with their emotion and worries, and to also open up conversation between parent and child, The Irish Fairy Door Company have created The No More Worries Kit.

Fabric Decoupage Letter

Ever since I first came across Pinterest I've wanted to try decoupage. I've had friends try it with some success but I was really concerned that I'd end up with a Pinterest fail! 

After spotting some wooden letters whilst out shopping and knowing I had the fabric at home, I decided to give it a try, and it was a success!! So I'm going to share with you how I did it. 

Preparing Your Child For School

I know people say time goes quickly, even more so when you have children, but where have the last 4 years gone!

It seems like yesterday that I waddled across the hospital car park, as Daddy carried out new born in his car seat, yet here we are preparing our little one for school!

CanvasChamp

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Photos. We taken them at any and every opportunity, but how often do you print them off? Frame them?

So many of our memories are stuck on our phones. How many do you flick through and feel a rush of emotion when you see a favourite. I know I do!

We still have pictures from our 2016 trip to Disneyland Paris that we haven't printed off! After our most recent trip I wanted to make sure to print off some of our favourites.

Regular readers will know we've had work done to our house and redecorating our bedroom is the next job. I planning a photo shelf and Disney photo is a must for us! In preparation for our newly decorated room, and as a reminder to the husband to get the paint brushes out, I decided to start picking which photos I wanted.

One of my favourite photos of our latest Disneyland Paris trip is this one.

Fair Squared

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Soap, shampoos, gels and creams are just some of the toiletries we use everyday. Their daily use is probably something we take for granted, unless of course, you have a problem.

In November of last year, and again this January, I was the person with a problem! On both occasions I had an allergic reaction to shampoo, with each being well known leading brands that I'd used before and boasted about new formulas!

My face was a horrible red colour, like I had severe sunburn, swollen and tight. I was prescribed steroid cream by my GP and swigged antihistamines from the bottle! Not one of my finest moments!

Since then I've avoided anything with a massive amount of chemicals or a formula change and more natural products have become my go-to.

So I've recently tried Fair Squared shampoo, along with their shaving treatments. Fair Squared products are made using fairly traded natural ingredients and are suitable for vegans.

4 Fantastic Outdoorsy Activities To Keep The Kids Cheery This Weekend

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Are you are over the age of technology?

Maybe bringing up your kids in a world full of iPhones, internet and social media isn’t what you had envisioned for them. In order to prevent them from becoming addicted to the online world it is important to give them outdoor experiences to enjoy and remember. This weekend why not try and aim to have a technology free weekend and take in the wonders of the outdoors in the sunshine.

Whether you’re looking to have a fun filled family day out or stay at home and simply enjoy each other’s company. These super fun ideas will make your kids forget about television altogether!

1. Classic Camping

11 Years Of Marriage

OK, so I probably should of wrote a really soppy blog post last year on our 10 year anniversary but I never got round to it and suddenly here we are another year on.

I'm sure with all of our bickering plenty of people thought we wouldn't get to 11 years of marriage. Some certainly thought we were too young to get married, yet here we are.

Party Bag Tips!

Party bags can be a bit like wedding favours, in that they can sometimes be forgotten about until the last minute and if you rush them they can be very expensive!

When our little boy recently turned 4 he had his first proper big party. The venue provided the room, soft play and bouncy castle but we needed to provided food, cake and party bags. As I started to price things up I was concerned about how much filling the bags would cost. With just a few of our family and friends at his first few parties I hadn't really thought much about the cost but with well over 25 children in attendance this time I would need to give it a bit more thought!

With a bit of planning this is what I put together for £1.14 a bag!

Proceive Advanced Fertility Supplements

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Fertility, for those that don't know, is the very reason that I started this blog.

An outlet for emotions and a diary of experiences, starting the blog then called Katie C, was like therapy for me. After 6 years of trying to conceive, miscarriages, Endometriosis diagnosis, two laparoscopy, a tube flush, a batch of Clomid, multiple admissions for reduced movements and a traumatic birth, we have our boy! Woohoo! And he's now 4!

Sadly, though we haven't been blessed with anymore. Even after two rounds of Clomid there is no little brother or sister for JJ. 

I'm always keen though to try something different and in finding a natural approach to my Fibromyalgia works well, I've started to feel that it could be the way to go for our fertility too. 

So when I was asked to try the natural fertility supplement Proceive, I obviously said yes! 

Home Ed - What's The Story?

Recently I've become more and more aware of the amount of people that have chose to home educate their children. Whether it be in person or online there are certainly more people home educating than I first thought.

As our son's first year at school approaches, like many parents, I'm concerned about what school life may hold for him. If it doesn't workout for him, I don't know really know much about home educating.

My Fairy Garden

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We are big fairy fans in this house! Yes, we believe! 

So, when I came across the My Fairy Garden range I was keen to have a peek!

Down By The Riverside Festival

The Down By The Riverside Festival is a annual family friendly event based at Dolphinholme, Lancashire. In it's second year, the festival is extremely popular with locals and the buzz of the event has started to spread.

Top Ideas For A Hot Summers Day

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When the weather gets hotter, it can be a great time to be outdoors instead of being stuck in the house. You'll want to have some fun in the sun with the kids and enjoy the weather while you can.

Not all the games that you normally do in the summer though are a good idea when the weather is exceptionally hot!

Here are a few ideas for those that want to play in the sun!

Go to the beach!

Creating A Peaceful Bedroom

Your bedroom. When you become a parent it’s no longer just yours. From the newborn days of being up and down every hour, to the toddler days when little ones sneak out of bed and into yours, which usually results in elbows in backs and feet or even little butts to your face, your bedroom is overrun with little people.

For the times that you do have it to yourself, your bedroom could be the ideal place to relax and have some quiet me time. Having somewhere to relax after a busy and stressful day could help put you at ease and allow you the time to regroup. Maybe even close the curtains and have a sneaky nap!

Budget Wedding Favours

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Put the word wedding in front of anything and it quickly triples in price. The smallest and simplest of things suddenly become more expensive. Wedding flowers, wedding cake, wedding favours.

The latter of these is often forgotten about until the last minute but they can very easily escalate in price.

First, though do you know what wedding favours are? 

Traditionally wedding favours are given to each of your wedding guests as a souvenir of the day and a gesture of thanks for their attendance.  The act of giving wedding favours dates back for centuries, with trinket boxes containing sugar cubes. This moved on to almonds and then to sugared almonds.

Now though, wedding favours come in sorts of shapes and sizes and vary massively! Candles, chocolates, biscuits, shots and even the traditional almonds make an appearance.

Still have no idea of where to start or what to pick? Maybe you’re on a tight budget and looking for ways to save wedding budget? Well, here’s a selection of cheap wedding favours ideas to help!

Sweet Jars

Decorating Ideas For Your Child's Room

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Children’s rooms can sometimes be difficult to decorate, especially as their tastes and hobbies change as they grow.

Unicorn Sundae

The world is a little bit unicorn obsessed right now and that has now spread over to food! A quick flick round the internet and Pinterest will fill you full of ideas and hunger!

Inspired by all things unicorn the other day I created these!!!

Letterbox Cake by bakerdays

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Those that have read my blog since the fertility days or follow me on social media will know I love cake. Like really, really love cake. When dieting I've been know to skip meals to try and justify a dessert of, you've guessed it, cake! 

So, when I was asked to try the letterbox cake by bakerdays I jumped at the chance! A cake that fits through the letterbox!! Yes, through the letterbox!!!

Staccups

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Evenings in can get a bit repetitive! A movie here, a Netflix binge there, it's easy to end up doing the same things over and over. You might be a  bit bored. You might even contemplate doing the ironing!!!

Stop! 

There's much more to be done. After our recent fun with Yeti in My Spaghetti we decided to give another board game a go. This one though is for 8+ so is more for the grownups, so JJ sat this one out but he's keen to give it a try!

Staccups by University Games is a four player game, that sees you race against your opponent to stack all your cups first. 

Top 5 Must Haves For A Disney Day!

So you've saved and saved for a trip to Disneyland Paris but as it approaches you realise you're not sure what you'll need and what to take into the parks! As a Disney fan and having visited Disneyland Paris, as well as Walt Disney World, I am often asked what people should take with them into the park.

Our Favourite Book - The Ugly Duckling

It's time to share another of our favourite books with you!

We have a lot of different books in our collection. Classics, brand new and lots and lots of hand me downs!

This month's favourite book is The Ugly Duckling.

Yeti in My Spaghetti

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Our little boy is now 4 and the type of toys he plays with are changing. Suddenly he seems very grown up and he's started to take an interest in board games. As he does with many of the adverts on TV, there's lots of  'please, I have that' when he takes a shine to one, but with when it comes to board games I really felt he was just too little.

Recently, though I was offered the chance to review Yeti in My Spaghetti. 

Today You're 4

So many people that have had children say time speeds up on their arrival and I never believed it but looking at you today I know how true that is. 

Today you are 4.