Mothers Day '16

So I have a confession to make. I had my Mothers Day on the 28th February. Not yesterday. Daryl had to work away this weekend so we decided to celebrate as a family early instead of separately on the 6th March. However I'm still going to show what we got up to because it was as lovely a day as the actual Mothers Day would have been!

I woke up to a lovely card and presents picked out from the kids. Jonathan chose Mummy Pig as he is in love with Peppa Pig at the moment. Which I thought was cute of him. Keira chose the fluffy owl called Grace. She knows I have a soft spot for owl related things, it was sweet of her to remember!

Later we went out for a meal at our local Harvester. I must admit, we ate our meals without even a second thought about taking a picture. It was so good. The kids both had sausage and mash while me and Daryl decided to head down the burger route. Needless to say my diet was ruined for that day so we decided to have desert. Oh my, it was totally worth it!

The kids both had a make your own Sundae. I think they enjoyed playing with the toppings more than actually eating the ice cream.

I had a childs Rocky Horror. I don't think my stomach could take a full size desert. I was already ready to burst as it was!

Afterwards we decided to stop by the park to help burn off some of the food we had just eaten! It was a lovely sunny day but my goodness it was cold! I think my hands almost dropped off from pushing Jonathan on the swings!

Overall it was a lovely day. I'm glad that we got to do it together even if it was earlier than everyone else. Hopefully next year will be back to normal though! I did feel a bit like the odd one out! Thats life I guess but were just rolling with it. 

 

I F**king Hate Mondays!

Its exactly how it sounds. Mondays are the worst day of the week. Many people probably agree. Some people will disagree, if you don't have kids and is your day off, good for you!

Waking up to my son playing with his non stop barking 'robo dog' at 6:30 am was not a good start. Especially when he shoves it in my face saying 'mummy looooooook, doggy!' No time to wake up slowly in this house! But, of course this meant the kitten knew we were awake and started his 'meows for freedom' from the living room/ kitchen. Which meant my son opened the door and the cat makes a bee line for my bed. The hair attacking begins. Why are kittens so fascinated with hair? It can't be fun, right? I mean it stinks of hair straighteners and probably doesn't taste much better either.

Time to wake up my daughter for school. Who doesn't want to get out of bed. She's only 7. The teenage years haven't even started yet and I'm dealing with a pre-teenage strop. Oh, how I wish it was last week still (half term). So, bit of a back story, I told my daughter YESTERDAY to get her stuff ready for school so that it makes the mornings easier. Did she do it? NO. Which led to mayhem and shouting and running around, not what you want first thing in the morning. People will say 'why didn't you check she had all her stuff ready last night you horrendous mother?' Well, to be totally honest, sorry Jonathan, my youngest was severely constipated yesterday and I spent hours rubbing his back, giving him plenty of water and taking him to sit on the toilet. So excuse me that I was distracted and forgot to check. I'm human, deal with it.

On a positive note, Jonathan's outfit is super cute today! Do you want to see? Well, you have no choice, here it is!

Top- H&M

Jeans- H&M - Link here
Minion socks- Sports Direct

H&M is one of my favourite places for children's clothes, both my son and daughter have a lot of clothes from there and will be getting a lot of their 'Summer holiday' clothes from their too. Maybe I'll post a little haul once I have been.

I promise I'm not a moody bitch. Just a normal (read fucking nuts) mum keeping it real. Also currently typing this with a cat trying to sit on my boobs and failing to fit successfully on my C's. Sorry Stark, yes I named my cat after Iron Man, my boobs will not make a comfy bed.

Where have you been?

Well hello there! This is a very long overdue post but I think its the right time to post it. As you can see I haven't posted on my blog for almost a year! I know right? A year. Well let me tell you what has been going on!

In the space of the last year I have, moved house, changed my daughters school, lost weight, started going out again, sorted out the relationship between me and my daughters father, (me and Daryl are still together). Just generally sorted out my life to make me a happier mummy. I feel great and have so much weight lifted off my shoulders that I feel able to blog again.

Now, this blog may still have a few beauty posts and probably some fashion as well, however it will mainly be a place to blog about whatever I like. Whenever I like. A lot of bloggers now days feel the pressure for constant content that they lose the motivation and love for blogging. I have always loved writing, essays at school and writing the beginning of 'novels' have always been my favourite. I say beginning because I never get past the first few chapters!

Another reason I decided to take a break from blogging was an e-mail I received from Bloglovin. They had said that bloggers who had gained the most followers would get rewards. To me that wasn't right. People shouldn't write with the thought of becoming famous! People so do it for the love of writing and putting their ideas out there! It took me aback when I saw that e-mail and really didn't want to be any part for a company essentially putting bloggers in competition with each other. People should read who ever they want and not worry if the writer is 'popular' or not.

I hope everyone is doing well and I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the blogging community again!

MUA Sweet Sheen Lip Balm in Coral Reef Review.

I've seen so many new make up collections being released recently that I have no idea where to begin.  As I always wanted to try the Revlon Lip Butters, but never seemed to pick one up, I saw while scrolling on Instagram that MUA (Make Up Academy) had recently released a new product called 'Sweet Sheen Lip Balms'. The look of them instantly reminded me of Revlon Lip Butters so I knew I had to try at least one.

I picked up the colour 'Coral Reef' as I thought it would be a nice colour for spring. I must say I really like the colour and the fact that it is a lip balm as well. The colour is buildable so you can wear it subtly or a bit bolder depend on the look you're going for. It goes without saying that if you like matte lip colours these won't be for you. However I find I have quite dry lips and am forever struggling with lasting lip colours. These may just be the answer I'm looking for!

The 'Sweet Sheen Lip Balm' collection are available from Superdrug and are an amazing £2.00 each! For that price you could own the whole collection for very little. There are 6 shades to choose from. I ended up picking my Mum up the shade 'Rouge Rumba' because I thought they were so good, plus she always ends up wanting my make up anyway, haha. (Aren't I such a nice daughter?). 

 (Swatch of 'Coral Reef') 

These could be a very hot product this Spring so I would pick them up before they sell out. Not to mention its Mothers Day this Sunday, so why not treat your Mum to some lovely new lippy! 

This review is not sponsored. All the opinions are my own and have bought products with my own money.

Nutra Nail Gel 'Not So' Perfect Manicure Review.

Being a very busy person, sitting in a salon and having my nails done is a VERY rare or even unheard of occasion. So when in my local B&M Bargains store I came across the Nutra Nail Gel Perfect Manicure sets. This instantly caught my eye as I am forever chipping my nails while doing my daily chores and wanted something longer lasting.

With the packaging claiming 'Sets Rock Solid in 5 minutes to a Patent Leather Shine' I thought it would be the perfect long lasting nail set for my lifestyle. Oh how I was wrong....

After following the instructions in the packaging about how to apply and allow to dry I was optimistic. I went to bed feeling really good about my fresh long lasting nails. Woke up the next morning and jumped into the shower, when I got out I already had multiple chips in a few of my nails. The worst part was that when it chipped it left a horrible white residue on my nails that looked like nail glue. So naturally I tried to take the nail gel off my nails before my nails became too damaged. Unfortunately it was too late. I had to cut my nails down as short as they would go because, even with using nail polish remover with acetone, my nails had horrible white patches and were left in awful condition.  

Not only had the nails not even lasted for a day but they had completely ruined my nails in the process. This was about 3 weeks ago and I'm still having to wear nail varnish over the residue because my nails just look awful. A lot of people will say not to put nail varnish over the top and give my nails a break. Honestly though I can't stand to look at them so damaged and am now just waiting for the damage to grow out so I can cut them off and give my nails some proper care again. 

Bloggers beware, do not use this product if you value the health of your nails. 

Jonathan's 18-24 Month Wardrobe Picks.

*Having a Mummy moment* I can't believe my little man will be 18 months in April. Where has the time gone? However, with a new age group to shop for and a new season starting it means I get to shop for all the cute clothes out there again! I've done quite a lot of Jonathan's wardrobe already but with this being the last month to get most of the essentials in, its crunch time. 

Recently I've been absolutely addicted to H&M's children's clothes. I've already spent so much on Jonathan and Keira in H&M and there is still so much I want to get them. I'm tempted to sell all their old clothes and deck them out with completely new wardrobes purely from H&M. So I thought what a better way to make a shopping list for Jonathan then to make it into a blog post and share the cuteness with you! These are just some of the picks I have chosen for Jonathan's 18-24 month wardrobe. 

2 Pack Tiger T-Shirts

 Striped Trousers/Shorts

 Stripped Treggings

 Sailor Sweatshirt 

Dinosaur Pajamas 

Patterned Cap

 Croc Star T-Shirt    

How cute is all of it though, seriously. If I could afford it, I would probably buy the whole shop out. In every size and colour. (I don't think Daryl would be too happy though, ha.) Where are your favourite places to shop at the moment? I quite like Primark for myself but H&M is a definite winner for the kids. 

5 Things I Would Tell My Teenage Self.

My 14 year old self (one on the left). *giggle*

I've noticed a lot in the media lately that more and more stories are about young people becoming ill while trying to fit into the 'perfect' category. Eating disorders from trying to be 'the right size'. Skin cancer from trying to have 'the perfect tan'. Botched and sometimes fatal plastic surgeries to 'fix' what is 'wrong' with you. Mental health problems from bullying. Sometimes I wish I could go and talk to teenagers and younger people and help them feel better about their natural selves. So here are 5 things I would tell my teenage self today!

The girls that make fun of you because you don't wash your hair EVERY single day and your skin wasn't perfect, they'll be nothing but memories once you leave school. Best thing to do is ignore them. They'll soon find something else to do other than put others down. Most of the time bullies turn on each other anyway, soon they'll see how it feels to be in your shoes.

Focus on school. I know its said a lot, 'if I could do school again, I would do it so much better'. It's true though. Are all those old MSN conversations more important now? They may have seemed so then but when you're older and need those high grades for a job you want, you won't even remember what those conversations were about.

Don't worry that you don't have all the new stuff that everyone else has. What does it matter if your 'friend' has a better phone than you? Just be grateful for what Mum and Dad have given you, they work hard for their money. You'll understand when you have your own family one day.

Join in. You loved playing hockey and netball but you never joined the clubs. You'll regret it. You could have made so many more friends and experienced so much more if you had just put yourself out there a little bit more. Push yourself.

Boys are not important. Girls calling you 'frigid' just because they have 'done more' than you is not an insult. Be proud that you value your body. Spend time on yourself and the boys will come and go but when its right, it'll happen. You don't fall in love at 14,15,16. It's 'puppy love'. It sounds harsh but it's true. When you're older you will meet Daryl, keep a hold of him. He's the best thing that will happen to you (apart from your kids).

If I knew what I know now, then, I think my life would be totally different today. I've been on antidepressants since I was 18 years old because of the things that have happened in my life. I won't go into it as that would be an extremely long post! 

If you are in school now try giving the 'quiet' girl/boy a compliment. Say you like their bag or how they've done their hair that day. It takes seconds for you to do but I guarantee it will make their whole day.