Just when we thought trips to the hospital because of Asthma was a thing of the past . Last weekend I ended up in hospital not because of Ava having breathing difficulties but because Alby was. I will take you back to when it happened. As I know people have said in the past they have found it handy me describing to them what happened. The thing is with Asthma it can flare up at any time and knowing the signs that something isn’t right can really make the difference. I had been out at a physio appointment and had come back in to both children snuggled up in blankets having…

Alby is now fully potty trained . It’s been pretty plain sailing . I was actually really worried about potty training Alby as I heard so many times that boys are harder to potty train than girls . Don’t know why but so many people I know have said their boys just seemed so much more laid back and weren’t bothered by potty training. Our potty training journey with Ava was so easy like too easy . I think she only had maybe 2 accidents. Non of which were poo accidents so that was amazing . If I’m being honest she has more of an issue with toileting now at 4 then…

Coronavirus has made me very nervous about taking the kids anywhere there may be a large number of people. However, we wanted to celebrate my birthday last week and also do something nice for the kids. So we went to Dudley Zoo. Before going we took a quick look on their website to see what their new procedures were for booking. As I have seen many places are now only taking online bookings. Dudley zoo is also only taking online bookings. You also have to pick a time slot you want to go to. You have to arrive at this time but you can stay as long as you want.…

Both my children are book lovers. From a young age, we have read to them and looked at different printed media. Working in the Early Years for many years I have learnt why books are so important. Children can learn such a lot about books. Most of the time they don’t really realise they are learning. I have recently been gifted some new books to add to our collection and they are series one of Dougie’s Diary by Mandy Khaira. There are 5 books in the first series of Dougie’s Diary which covers a wide range of different topics from how important it is to say thank you to everybody…

Fitness for me has never been the top of my priority list even though it should be. I always thought for me to get fit I needed to go to the gym or differnet classes.With Jordan working shift patterns and me working part time and having the kids. It something that I never got the time to do. For a lot of people being in lockdown has given them the time to do things that they have been putting off. We no longer have the excuse of not having the time anymore. At the start of lockdown I was loving running I was doing couch to 5k and really enjoyed…

Near the end of my pregnancy with Ava I was in an out of hospital a lot with reduced movements. It was such a scary experience. Thankfully as soon as I got on the monitor at hospital she would always wriggle around and I felt like I could breath again. I would always worry that the nurses at the hospital would get sick of seeing my face. Which they didn’t of course they were always so reassuring and lovely. It’s only been just over 2 years since I was last pregnant and the different products that have come out in that time are so different to what I had during…

Schools have been doing some great work over the last is it 8 weeks sending things via email or online portals for parents to do . Many of what I have seen have been worksheets . I guess these are easily accessible and they can be send to a mass amount of children. Is the the way all children learn though ? I have seen via social media parents finding it hard to get their children to do these sheets sent from school . Mainly because they find them boring . Which results in everyone getting frustrated with each other and doesn’t make for a very nice learning atmosphere. Some…

I have now been furloughed from work and it’s causing me some really mixed emotions . There hasn’t been a time apart from being on maternity leave . That I haven’t worked since I was 16. Well actually before I was sixteen as I used to help at a dance school every weekend when I was younger than that. I’m one of those people that actually likes going to work . I always have done . I haven’t really had a time where I didn’t want to go .Working in the childcare sector you have to love your job otherwise you wouldn’t do it . More so since becoming a…

What are we on now is it week seven of lockdown? I’ve not seen my parents in 9 weeks which for me is a long time. As they were on holiday before lockdown. Well I say they were on holiday they had one day of a holiday then the hotel went into lockdown. So they had to stay in their room and be escorted to get food. My Brother and Sister in law had a baby in January. I love being an aunty it’s such an amazing thing. I am so sad that I’m missing her reach her early milestones . She is so different to the last time I…

Keeping two kids entertained all day whilst in lockdown is hard work. We do try to have a good routine which does help a lot . Most nights though I’m tapping away on Pinterest trying to find something that will keep them both entertained. With them being 2 and 4 they are at different stages of their development . Ava will happily sit and concentrate on an activity for a good amount of time . Where as Alby looses attention pretty quickly if it’s not activity he likes. With Ava starting school in September I’m trying really hard to make sure she is school ready. Majority of the important things…

A week ago I really wasn’t too worried about the coronavirus. As this week has gone on though I have got more and more worried. Working in the early year sector my week has been taken up by putting together documents to ensure everywhere is cleaned multiple time a day . What staff can do if we have to close and contingency plans. It’s really been a full on week . I know it’s going to be like this for a few weeks. By which time I will need a holiday or even just a break . A darkened room by myself is pretty appealing at the moment. One of…

This is a collaborative post To claim that any crafty hobby is “the best” is a bold claim, but before you start shaking your knitting needles, do bear in mind that this is all opinion. However, it is one that’s substantiated with plenty of evidence. So, if you’re looking for a new hobby to pick up and you’ve never tried sewing before, here are a few reasons that it might be worth taking a closer look at. You can get so much better at mending and repairing nowadays, if most people see a hole in their skirt, they’re likely to simply toss it out. If you ask anyone of the…

With Ava starting school in September we have started to do things to ensure she is ready for school . Now when I say school readiness most people think . Being able to write their name and all the academics aspects. Well I’m in fact not bothered about the academic side of things . Not because she is a super clever child but because that’s what schools are for . To teach children how to read and write and all the other educational things. When I say school readiness I mean these things below Being able to wipe her bottom. Being confident to ask adults for help. Using her cutlery…

Organising your life can be hard especially when you are a family. With birthday parties, clubs and playdates to keep on top of. I was finding that I would agree to do things pop them in my diary and never look at them again until it was too late. Not that long ago I completely forgot it was my friends little ones birthdays until she rang to ask me to pick something up on the way. AHHHH we were all still in our pj’s and no way near ready to leave the house. Something had to happen to make me more organised. My phone calendar clearly wasn’t working for me.…

Last week we got a letter that I have been waiting for, for a while. So in November we started to notice that Ava’s eyes were . How do I put it …… not as they should be. Basically no matter how hard she tried to look straight at me her one eye would look to the side. Between the adults in our family we described it as her eyes were a little wonky. To start with I wasn’t sure if she was putting it on. As she would laugh and then do it. Then as the weeks went on I started to notice that she was doing it more…

Since moving to our new house all the children’s books have been up in Ava’s bedroom . The only time we look at these books are at bedtime. Reading though the children’s progress reports from nursery made me think that I need to make these books more accessible to them. So that they can explore the printed materials by themselves. I wanted to make a reading snug. I wanted this area to be like a snug . A place they could feel calm away from their toys and the telly . A space where they could sit and relax and enjoy looking at all the lovely books that they have.…

When we moved house I took the opportunity to look at if we could save money on any of our household bills. Even if you can save a few pounds on each bill it really does make the difference. Just think the extra money could go on days out . Or give you a bit more financial freedom. One of our biggest outgoings was on our Tv and broadband. So this was one of the first areas I looked at. Here are some of the things I took into consideration What deals match my household needs Some broadband deals may look amazing but If you’re a family that uses a…