Family
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Buying second hand – Being environmentally friendly, money conscious and giving a helping hand
If you’ve got children you won’t be surprised with the fact that they grow out of everything in a blink of an eye. Spike is a slow grower and when she turned 5 she was still in mostly 3-4 or 4-5 year clothing. Then she shot up another 5cms and I was pilling up the clothes that didn’t fit. Thankfully I’ve found something that helps the wallet when these growth spurts happen… buying second hand clothes. Needing a whole new wardrobe after a growth spurt As I put clothes to the side that she was growing out of, the drawers started to thin out. With my furlough wages I couldn’t…
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Being prepared on a day out – dealing with the inevitable with a little help from Safe and Sound Health
This post was written in collaboration with Safe and Sound Health, but all words and pictures are my own. Spike is so accident prone. She falls on also every day out we have. So in addition to the standard lunches and water bottles, I like to be prepared with the essentials like kids plasters whenever possible. Our trip to Grizedale Forest Last week we made the most of the sunshine and headed to our nearest Forestry Commission Forest, Grizedale. We’d spent New Year’s Day here and loved it. We spend a lot of our weekends travelling out to places like thi. Spike loves to explore and me and T like…
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Our July in Pictures
Last month I thought Lockdown had gone quick. It’s nothing compared to how fast the last two weeks had gone. I’m back at work, Spike is back at kids club. It seems like two minutes ago when I was collecting our June pictures together. July just wizzed by. July 2020 We managed to fit a fair bit into July. Visiting friends. Spending some time in a coffee shop. Climbing a big hill. paddling in rivers. Visiting one of our favourite day out locations in Cumbria, Lowther Castle. We had a week where my sister stayed to look after Spike while I worked so she got to explore amazing trees. Plus…
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Our plans for Summer 2020 – What we’ll be doing during Spike’s first summer holidays
Summer 2020 was meant to be Spike’s first proper ‘summer holidays’. With me and T both working full time we arranged a week at Spike’s aunty’s for her, and a week off work together for a holiday. With the rest of the summer spent at kids club for Spike. But of course, because of Covid-19, things were a little up in the air. Now though, it seems to have settled and as long as a second wave doesn’t arrive we’ve got things sorted – though they have changed. Working full time in school holidays We always knew that having full time, 9-5 jobs meant that some of the summer would…
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Our June in pictures
I think time sped up when lockdown begun. Do you agree? I can’t believe we’re at the end of June. But with lockdown no on the wind down and me facing the prospect of returning to work, I thought I might start reflecting on our months. June 2020 June was a lot of the same as previous months. We worked on our lockdown project a little. Spike started playing with some friends on our estate and because social bubbles are a thing we got a visit in with Auntie K and a socially distanced garden day with grandma. Natures playground We have made the most of the slow pace and…
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Our favourite North West Days out around Lancashire and Cumbria
Lancashire and Cumbria are awesome places to explore and while a lot of attractions are currently closed, it still has a whole host of places to enjoy for walking and playing in nature. We’ve been talking a lot about our favourite attractions and walks in and around Lancashire lately, to put onto our Lockdown wishlist and I thought it would be good to do a little round up of some of our favourite Cumbria and Lancashire days out! Free days out I’ve a whole blog post about free Cumbria and Lancashire days out from a few years ago, but to be honest we hadn’t even gone that far when I…
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Sitting down together at the table for mealtimes – what we’ve noticed since we changed our ways
Growing up our dining room table wasn’t used. It was an extension of the shop that my parents owned. Often covered in newspapers, magazines or stock that needed to go out into the shop. I think I just about managed to eat breakfast on it most mornings. But that was it. And I can only remember eating together as a family around it at Christmas. Breakfast would often be eaten alone, tea time was spent in the living room around the TV. Or in my bedroom. Even when I spent mealtimes in the living room, my meals were often at different times to my parents once I was in my…
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Our Post-Lockdown Wishlist – Days out and things Spike is looking forward to when we can start the new normal
Early on in Lockdown Spike was asking a lot of questions about the things that we could not do. It was devastating to hear her ask to visit people, see friends and go on her favourite days out and have to say no. While the questions have stopped, the wishing has started. Spike refers to the lockdown period we are in as the ‘Nasty Bug Days’. She often wishes to do things as soon as these days are over. I have told her we’ll keep a list of all the things she wants to do and try and get to them as soon as we can. Here’s just a few…
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Meal planning to save money, stress and time – feeding a family of three including one fussy eater
As a working woman in charge of cooking and food shopping, I learnt early on that meal planning was the way forward. It saved my sanity and stopped arguments almost instantly after me and T moved in together way back when. Why meal planning is important Meal planning for me means I know what to buy when I go food shopping. I do my plan before I write my shopping list on a Saturday morning. Because of this it saves us money too. When I am working, it means that I don’t have the stress of coming home and figuring out what to cook. Not that that matters at the…
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A Letter to Spike – on your 5th Birthday
Dear Spike, Well this year’s birthday is a little different isn’t it? Yesterday we went for a socially distanced walk with Auntie K. At some point today or tomorrow, Grandma is driving up to drop your presents off at the end of the drive. Your birthday will be mostly celebrated with mummy and daddy at home. There are no fun days out. No birthday parties and no friends to have over for tea. Your past 12 months This year couldn’t be more different from the last 4. But we’ll make the most of it and you’ll end the day with a smile on your face just like you usually do.…
