Relaxing on holiday

Family holidays growing up were always caravan holidays as it was all my parents could afford at the time and we would always have to go away in term time. Schools were a little less strict about people taking time off back then. Since I’ve grown up we’ve enjoyed holidays in hotels, tents, chalets, lodges there is something for everyone in this country and I personally think there is no place like the UK!

Maxwell enjoying the UK sea

We love to go on august breaks when Liam was little we always used to go to Butlins at Ingoldmells with my sister Cathy, we had some really fun times! Liam used to go on about the ‘white tent’ for months when we got back! There was so much for the kids to do on the camp that we rarely ventured off it! The great thing about Butlins is you don’t really have to worry too much about the weather, if it’s pouring with rain you will always find something to do there! I’m really hoping to go back sometime very soon!

Butlins is great for all the family so maybe this year we will head back to Butlins just like the good old days!

I have made a promise to myself now that at least once a month I am going to get the big guns out and start taking beautiful photos instead of just poor quality instagram snaps!

Here are the first two that I wanted to share that I took this week, nothing really special but just my kids how I know them today.

These capture them both so well and I love them! I’m redoing my gallery in my dining room and these are the first two that will be going up on the wall!

I’m so excited to have rediscovered the love for my camera again – I lost it for a while, it just became work, and I didn’t want to bring work home with me if you see what I mean.

These two photos just inspire me to take more, so hopefully I’ll be sharing lots more with you soon xxx

]]> http://thismummyloves.com/capturing-my-children/feed/ 6 http://thismummyloves.com/day-162-167-2013-a-year-in-pictures/ http://thismummyloves.com/day-162-167-2013-a-year-in-pictures/#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:39:30 +0000 Sonia http://thismummyloves.com/?p=7470 Here’s the latest from our 365 project! It’s been a busy week and it appears Maxwell took most of the limelight this week. Maisie has been so busy at school and playing with friends, hopefully I’ll get some nice ones of her this next week

Day 162 – Showing off his gorgeous new t-shirt from KyNa Boutique

Day 163 – Sand pit time

Day 164 – Cheeky boy in the bath – finds it very funny to squirt Mummy

Day 165 – Showing off another gorgeous new t-shirt we bought from KyNa Boutique!

Day 166 – Night night little man – Sleep tight!

Day 167 – Giving daddy his cards and presents in bed this morning for Father’s Day!!

Love their new t-shirts!

GLOWkids was the idea of Caroline King, a mother of two boys and a graphic designer. GLOWkids is transforming children’s basic safety wear into a brand that kids don’t find embarrassing to wear with its child attracting themes – all designed to capture children’s imagination whilst also increasing their understanding of the importance of being seen and visible whilst outside.

GLOWkids is basically high visibility children’s wear to MAKE THEM SEEN, MAKE THEM SAFER! GLOWkids have some really fun designs which Maisie & Maxwell really enjoyed choosing for themselves. The t-shirts are 100% cotton, lovely quality and nice & soft! The shape of them seems really good too – we have washed them once so far and they didn’t lose any shape and the seams are all still in the right places!

Front of boy’s snail design t-shirt – Yay he loves it!

Back of boy’s snail design t-shirt

As you can see Maxwell really loves his new t-shirt! This is a size 3-4 years and I have started buying 4-5 for him now as he is getting such a big boy, but this fits him lovely so I think they’re quite generous sizes. Maxwell’s t-shirt would have cost £12.00 which I think is a really good price for a good quality t-shirt like these! I’d happily buy him more!! I was really surprised at just how effective these t-shirts are; they really do make the kids stand out from the crowd, if you’re going to a busy place then I think they are perfect!

Front of girl’s POW design! Not sure what was so funny

Back of girl’s POW Design!

Obviously Maisie had to go for pink The style & fit is a little different on Maisie’s t-shirt but still the same great quality, This one is a size 10-12 which is a little big but she will soon grow into it. She was originally sent a 7-9 years which was a little on the snug side. She is a big girl for her age, she will be 7 this year but most clothes I buy her now are 9-10 yrs. This t-shirt will fit her for a good year or two so at £14.00 it’s a pretty good price!

So I really love the GLOWkids range, they have some fab designs over on their websites; they also do hoodies and appliqué designs. We have all had those heart stopping moments when you turn round and can’t see your little one; these certainly will help you spot them sooner if they are within viewing distance

Check out the GLOWKIDS website for more information… http://www.glowkids.co.uk/

Even though these shirts are more informal than the long-sleeved variety, you still need to make sure that they fit properly and are well made, using good quality fabric. That way, they will last longer, look better and give you great value for money. You don’t need to worry about collar size, as most short-sleeved shirts tend to come in traditional sizes – small, medium, large and so on. That means you should be able to find the perfect fit and, because you’re unlikely to be wearing a tie with your shirt, you will be really comfortable around the collar line.

Just like traditional shirts, short-sleeved shirts should still be well tailored and show some attention to detail in order for you to look your best when you’re wearing them. Always look for the type of fabric – 100% cotton is good for all shirts, but you may find a fabric mix where the shirt has been designed to be particularly soft to the touch, needs a little stretch or uses contrast material as part of the design. You also need to look at smaller details such as pockets, buttons and collar quality to be sure that you’re getting what you pay for.

And, of course, what you pay does matter. There are plenty of very expensive designer short-sleeved shirts around, but it’s perfectly possible to pay much less and find great quality shirts. As always when shopping for clothes, look for multi-buy offers, bargains and sales, where you can find really good quality for less than you think. By setting a reasonable budget and looking for well-priced, well-made shirts, you can make your money go much further.

So, if it’s time you stepped into some summer wear, check out the colours, styles and prices of short-sleeved shirts online or on your local high street. As all stores have now got  their full summer collections on display, you’re bound to find something that suits your style, your wardrobe and your budget. Click here to see more shirts for men from Cotton Traders.

This is a Featured Guest Post

Maisie was an absolute trooper – she loved every minute of it, buzzing the whole way round! I’m so pleased that I let her do it! Below are a few photos of our day…

Our Numbers

Maisie just after we set off!

So pleased with herself!

We did it!! :O)

If you wanted to sponsor us but missed out then you can still do so by clicking on the below banner – A HUGE thank you to everyone that sponsored us especially Brioche Pasquier for sponsoring us to take part and providing us with very yummy treats at the Race!

The delicious baked biscuits provide all the good stuff of Weetabix fuel and are great for eating on the run, but have less fat, sat-fat, sugar and salt than the average breakfast biscuit.

The new Weetabix on the go breakfast biscuits come in fruit and fibre, apple with a hint of cinnamon or milk and cereal.  One pack provides all the fibre, vitamins and minerals of two Weetabix.  Each box contains 5 packs of 4 biscuits or they can be bought in single 5og portion packs. The RRP is 55p per single pack and £2.19 for a box

The Daddy Pig product range which is now on sale exclusively at Asda stores nationwide until 17th June 2013. The exclusive range of all-new Daddy Pig products includes -

• My Daddy book (£5.99)
• Champion Daddy Pig DVD (£5.00)
• Father’s Day cards (£2) and giftwrap,
• Cufflinks (£5), ties, handkerchiefs, lounge pants, pyjamas, trunks,
• Slippers (£10),
• Mugs (£4),
• Keyrings (£1)
• Boxers (£6).

We have been sent the Champion Daddy Pig DVD and My Daddy book to take a look at, Maxwell is a huge Peppa Pig fan and has 3-4 DVDs and a big selection of Peppa books already. So these have gone down a treat!

The DVD has 10 great episodes -

1. Champion Puddle Jumper
2. Secret Club
3. The New House
4. Basketball
5. Horsey Twinkle Toes
6. Naughty Tortoise
7. Shadows
8. Mr Fox’s Shop
9. The Blackberry Bush
10. Mummy Rabbit’s Bump

Running time is 60 minutes.

The My Daddy book is a hard back book with 16 pages. Peppa is telling the story of all the things that she loves about her Daddy! It really is a lovely little book and Maxwell has enjoyed it for the past few bedtimes with his Daddy.

I really wanted to get the mug and cufflinks for Maxwell to give his Daddy for Father’s day but our local Asda has sold out… so if you do want to purchase any of these products make sure you get yourself to Asda ASAP

Weekend Box is a revolutionary new concept for having Healthy, Green and Creative activities for your children aged 3-8 delivered right through your door every fortnight.

Each box contains 4 categories: Something to EAT (a healthy recipe with accompanying secret ingredient), Something to MAKE (a craft kit with all the materials required), Something GREEN (some seasonal seeds to plant or something to make with recycling/rubbish material) and Something to READ or WRITE (a creative story writing game, for example).

Our boxes are sent out (with free delivery) in time for the weekend every fortnight and since everything’s included in the box, you can focus on spending time having fun with your little ones.

Some of the contents of the Weekend Box

The weekend box comes with 5 activity cards and various bits and pieces that you will need for each activity! The activity cards are great and make it very easy to follow and give tips and advice, they list everything that you will need for each activity so it’s really simple to get prepared before you start!

Firstly we made Pop Pom Pig & Sheep, everything for this activity was included in the box – it’s very simple, you basically just have to glue the faces on to the pom poms. It took Maisie about 5 minutes but she did enjoy it

Maisie with her Pom Pom Pig & Sheep

We then moved onto the ‘Beautiful Basil’ card which is basically grow your own basil – everything you need for this activity is provided except the plant pot! Maisie really enjoyed doing this, especially watching the compost pellets expand in the water! She can’t wait for her basil to grow!

Beautiful Basil activity

That’s as far as we have got so far, so we still have three more activities to go, Patchwork Letters is next, we need to print off some letters using the PC  for this task and find a cereal box other than that everything is included.

There is also a recipe to make Carrot Soup which looks yummy and very simple too, Maisie is looking forward to making this after school one day this week – we have all the ingredients in the house without having to make a special trip to the shops and there is also a special weekend box spice mix to add!

The other activity is a Build a Story. The card gives you characters, a setting etc and asks you questions and you write a story!! I think this is a lovely activity and one which Maisie will enjoy – she loves to write and often gets a bit stuck for inspiration so this is perfect for her.

We love the Weekend Box and are sure that you will to! A one-off box will cost you £10, a monthly subscription (2 boxes per month) is £15 or a quarterly subscription (6 boxes) is £42!

If you’d like to give the Weekend Box a try then if you use WBSONIA at the checkout you can get your first box for £5.00 including delivery!

You can find the Weekend Box at the following places -

http://weekendboxclub.com

http://www.twitter.com/weekendboxclub

http://www.facebook.com/weekendboxclub