Blog

Massive radio silence from me so far this week, mostly because it’s been so manic I’ve not had chance to sit down and pour all of the thoughts into a post before I either fell asleep or needed to get up to do something else!

As most of you who read this through Instagram will know I’ve had the most exciting week! I took part in the Style at Home Magazine Christmas tree challenge. This was an absolutely amazing experience that involved being treated like a star guest along with six other lucky and lovely ladies. We had so much fun, got to style and decorate a Christmas tree, mine with George Home from Asda decorations which are absolutely stunning, I cannot wait to get some in store, had make up done by a pro, got a training session in how to wrap the perfect present and make embellishments, got to have photos taken by a professional photographer with my tree, met all the amazing ladies from the magazine, got treated to a hotel stay (Citizen M Bankside, if you haven’t been, go it’s so good!) a gorgeous dinner with fizz at the Swan at Shakespeare’s Globe, think twinkly fairy lights, history and gourmet food, it was gorgeous! Then a day around London being a tourist, enjoying the sights and all topped off with first class train travel!

I realise I am a very lucky girl and I can’t wait for everyone to see the finished pictures. Style at Home is such a wonderful magazine and all about their readers. What a pleasure!

I also met some lovely like minded people who like myself read the magazine. These women both new friends and the team of amazing people I met have inspired me a bit this week. They were all elegant, brave, dynamic and doing things they love but also that scare them a bit. Some were mums, some undergoing huge renovating projects in their homes, some working as well as starting up a new business, some starting a new business from scratch. It really made me think that I should do more of what scares me.

This moves on to some other exciting and scary news, I have pitched an idea to the editor of the local Whitstable Times and Canterbury Times newspaper who also runs the local news website. He liked the idea and is going to give me a chance to write a monthly column! It will be very similar to my blog and mostly focusing on my life as a local mum with kids. I would love it if you could read it and I will of course share the link when it becomes available.

So….. The big question is, are you going to do anything this week that scares you? 

Xx 

I hope everyone reading this has been having a fantastic weekend. Mine as per normal has been really busy but lots of fun.

With the children being on school holidays weekends tend to become a bit like any other day especially for us as both weekends and week days are often working days for us.

We get a couple of weekends off together as a family in a five week period. These as you can imagine get booked up quite a way in advance. I love that we have things to look forward to whether it be meeting up with friends, seeing family, children’s party’s, outings (you get the drift!) I also would imagine that there are many families who are exactly the same as us and the weekends are just as manic as week days! 

This being our first weekend at home and off of the summer having not seen many friends while we were away we had lots of plans. It started with a community fun day where I helped along with the face painting along with my mum. I’ve always been relatively skilled in the past however I felt that the children expected more this year and I had a couple of ‘well that’s not very good’ moments. What do you say?! I tried the ‘ha ha, I’m not a professional’ which was met with even more funny looks as the particular small girls who had an issue with their frozen tiaras walked off. 

There was a game of rounders which was fab although I managed to fall over while trying to get to fourth base before Nate, my eldest. He of course out ran me and then laughed as I did a comedy style commando role across the grass. Needless to say that despite being a runner I am still a bit achey this morning.

We then met up with some fantastic friends of ours on the beach at Whitstable for fish and chips. We came equipped with a bottle of prosecco, some beer for the boys and some children’s plastic cup (poor preparation I know!) when we got there it was literally blowing a gale. There were still people everywhere but you could see that it wasn’t the best time to be sat in the middle of the elements!

So my friend and I let the husbands take the children (my two and their twins) onto the beach and we sat in a wooden shelter huddled up and drinking prosecco from a scooby doo cup and a dinosaur cup. It was one of the best times I’ve had all week. I won’t go into the lovely but extremely noisy fish and chip dinner we had after or the faces of all the other people who had come in for a ‘quiet and peaceful’ dinner.

We ended up going back to our house which resembles something out of a crime scene and sat amongst the piles of toys and drank some more and laughed. What lovely friends that they will happily sit in your house surrounded by stuff and still smile with you!

Today I’ve done some tidying, done the children’s party for the day, been and bought a couple of outfits for the London trip (this week eeek!) and now catching up with family I’ve not seen in years. 

I have felt strange watching the news, full of hope and happiness with the Olympics and then sad and disheartened when I see the image of the small boy with a head injury in the back of an ambulance in Syria after an air strike. No one hugging him because there were so many others to help. How scared must that boy have been? How much hate can there be in our world! It made me think that we should all try and be a bit nicer to each other. What good does it do treating others badly? Whether you are sat in a shelter with a friend or making bugs and junk modelling with your children, running a marathon or out working to pay your bills I hope you have plenty of love this week. I really do think our world needs it xx

Hey all, how is everyone?

I’m back from my holiday now and feel a little bit like I never went away! Three weeks literally went by in the blink of an eye!

I have some really exciting things coming up, some I will keep as a surprise but others I am very excited to share with you.

As you all know I am a lover of all things interior and home and am lucky enough to have been selected for a national magazine and will be travelling to London for two days next week to take part in a piece that will be included at some point in the future (I’m not going to ruin the surprise just yet!) needless to say I am a massive mixture of extreme excitement, nerves and disbelief!

I have never travelled to stay anywhere overnight on my own before and thanks to my amazing parents for helping with childcare I am off on a very special adventure.

I will of course share my time with you all and can’t wait to visit some spots in London I’ve never been able to before!

Today however I am sat with the boys on my first day off of the week (who goes back to work the day after a transatlantic flight, me that’s who!) I still feel massively jet lagged and we are watching a programme called Marry Mum and Dad which involves children planning surprise wedding themes for their parents. Nate has suggested that if he had been able to plan ours the theme would have been bugs! Can you imagine! This episode is Georgian themed and the wedding feast involves cod brains and cheeks!

Have a great day lovely people xx

Hello you lovely people, how are you?

Last full day of the holiday today, mixed feelings. We have had a wonderful time but I always love going home. 

I have been thinking a lot about my dreams, my ambitions, what I want for the future. This has been thrown into the forefront of my mind as a friend of mine has just made a huge decision to move with her husband to start a new life in a new country. This has been a dream of theirs for many years and they have both been working extremely hard to save all they can to make the transition. Due to some unforeseen circumstances their decision has been made earlier than anticipated and they will soon be off.

I am of course massively sad as it means that my friend won’t be around in the same way I have known her since we became friends four years ago however I am over the moon that she and her husband can follow their dream (we have been invited out for a holiday too so I get to visit!)

It made me think about how many of us if we could would change something in our lives entirely in order to follow our dreams. For some I suppose it’s easy, striving for the better, getting something amazing. But what about when our dream involves giving something up or selling and buying houses or moving across the world? Would it be so easy a decision? 

My dreams have always been relatively transient. I am a very creative person and they have always followed that side of things but I’ve never had a particular dream to emigrate or do a parachute jump or anything like that. 

My dreams for the last few years have involved being able to work in the creative world. To write, draw, photograph, to make beautiful things and make people happy. In turn that would allow me freedom around working hours and my boys and make me a much happier mum. A world in which rushing around was on my terms as opposed to work would be amazing but then of course back to earth with a bump. What about the mortgage? The lifestyle we are used to? Would I be able to sustain that for my family? Alas the answer is no. That is why of course it’s a dream!

To be able to blog as a career would be amazing, to have the followers on Instagram that mean that I could advertise my blog well enough and take that giant step to stop my boring, conventional job would be life changing however even some of the women who inspire me most in this area are still having to work In order to maintain their homes and bills. Me with my 650 followers on Instagram has a lot more to do to become anywhere near one of my blogging heroes.

I am quite sure though that a year ago if you asked my lovely friend whether she could live out her dream anytime soon she would have laughed and said no and look at her now. 

Just shows you never know what’s around the corner!

What are your dreams? 

Much love xx

Yesterday we went to Universal Studios with the children to check out the new Harry Potter part of the park.

Karl and I had been fortunate to have gone the day before child free as my parents very kindly had the boys for the day so we could have a day to ourselves (I think my mother was generally concerned at our alcohol consumption and thought we needed a break!)

I won’t spoil the surprise for anyone who hasn’t been but essentially you can spend time in Diagon Alley before taking the Hogwarts Express to the park next door ending up in Hogsmeade. There are rides, shops, street shows and a number of places you can buy butterbeer (yummiest drink in the world, I recommend the frozen kind.) 

When Karl and I walked into Diagon Alley I wish someone could have taken a picture of our faces. It’s overwhelming, the books come to life, the films come to life and I felt like a child again, excited and a bit too enthusiastic, so much so that Karl kept losing me as I buzzed around looking from shop to shop! Every fine detail had been given attention to so much so that you could spend hours just looking. 

I was amazed looking around, it was like some kind of magic spell had been cast over the hundreds of grown adults around us. There were people just like us everywhere staring in wonder, shrieking as things moved in the windows and the dragon breathed fire from overhead. These people like us probably have quite serious, responsible jobs on the outside world but there they were reliving parts of a series of books they have treasured and literally getting lost in the world of their imagination.

It occurred to me when do we lose this? When do we go from viewing the world with wonder and wide eyes to being cynical and seeing only the ordinary and not the potential in everything around us?

My question was answered when we were queuing to get onto the Hogwarts Express with the boys. Both Nate and Leo got themselves into a real tizzy at the prospect of a visit from the dementors on the train. So much so I ended up walking them to Hogsmeade and letting the rest of our group go on the train. No mean feat in 40 degree heat with two moaning children but I digress!

We encourage our children to use their imagination, to see the beautiful around them and never to think they can’t do things. Use your imagination and anything is possible, so why then as adults have we forgotten this? Of course we have the boring things to contend with, bills, work, cars, childcare, cleaning (yuck) but everyone of the adults yesterday allowed themselves to rise above that and just let their imagination run wild just like they did as kids.

Now I’m not saying we should all throw our responsibilities into the wind and become fairy princesses but how much lower would our blood pressures be if we for an hour or so each week allowed ourselves to see the magic all around us? 

Have a try and let me know what you think. You may just surprise yourself! Xx

Hey all! Hope you are all well!

So I’m currently remembering what it was like to be a teenager, full of uncontrollable emotions, anger, sadness, love, happiness, feelings of inadequacy, confusion (you know them, you’ve been there!) Thank goodness those days are over…… WRONG!

Today is my youngests fifth birthday. My darling little Leo who makes me laugh daily and who also drives me to drink nightly. I had all sorts of mixed emotions when he was ripping open his parcels this morning with a beaming face and tired eyes from the early start due to pure excitement! I however was eating key lime pie at midnight to keep the sugar rush up for the energy to finish wrapping said parcels. 

I felt happy that this amazing little man is mine and a whole year of his life we are celebrating once more, sad that he is growing so fast and not a baby anymore, worried as Nate his older brother seemed sad as he wants it to be his birthday too and old (not really an emotion but I’m sure you get it!)

I then had an hour of hurt as someone I care about hurt me, it was a stupid thing and I should let it wash over me but as many humans do I’m sometimes not very good at doing what’s good for me! I felt tired, sad and angry. This was closely followed by inadequacy and disappointment (all about me, okay maybe a little about them!) 

I then moved onto the whole I am a strong person who won’t let the shit get me down side of thinking and became empowered, forthright and a bit happier. This was helped massively by my amazing friends and their words of kindness and love (you know who you are!)

I ended up here, sat on the bed needing to have a shower so we can begin Leo’s birthday day out. Thinking thank goodness those confusing times of being a teenager full of mixedupness is gone and then realising that actually I’m just as bad only now I worry about more serious things than will the girls in the class like my new trainers, when will my mum let me shave my legs (I’m a grown up don’t you know) and will the woman at Tesco think I’m old enough to buy ten Marlboro lights (they always did, I was lucky to be one of those tall, lanky teenagers!)

Have an amazing day you lovely people and never forget….. Stars can’t shine without darkness.

 

Hey! How are we all?

So we are still on holiday, it’s very hot and very lovely but even though we are on the ultimate child friendly holiday I am still finding myself getting to the end of the day frazzled and in need of chocolate, alcohol and three days of sleep!

How is everyone else’s summer holiday going? Sometimes I wonder if I am totally nuts. I absolutely long for quality time with my family where we can bond more and spend time just us, then when I actually get it I find myself full of all of the anxieties I get but usually put down to shift work, home stresses and life in general.

What can my excuse be here? We have Disney, we have Universal Studios, we have now moved to a villa with its own pool so we can swim at our convenience, we don’t have to rush off anywhere unless we want to and we are mostly eating out. Oh and there is a dishwasher here! Do I simply need to acknowledge that having children is the most happy, rewarding and fulfilling experience but it’s also the hardest, most frustrating and tiring experience you will ever have too? 

My boys make me laugh every single day and I cannot describe the joy I have watching them and how excited they get viewing the world around them and all the amazing things they do. I however do not enjoy the laying on the floor tantrums, the total tired flip outs when it all gets too much and having to try and move a four year old who has anchored himself to a lamp post to avoid going on the direction I am going in!

So this is me, accepting that life is beautiful, wonderful and amazing and it’s also hard, tiring and not always the way we would choose it to be.

Let’s enjoy it anyway!

Much love xx

Hey all, not many blog posts at the moment due to being on holiday (I’m sure you have noticed all the Florida spam on my feed!) 

We are this week staying in a Disney hotel, which is an amazing experience, it’s also a very eye opening one and has had my mind whirring since the second we got here. 

I don’t know how many of you have been fortunate enough to visit a Disney in whatever country it may be. It’s a unique experience and absolutely magical for children. I was lucky enough to be bought here by my parents as a child and recall how amazing I found it. This time I’m here with my children and my parents.

The thing I keep thinking is how everything in the world of Disney is perfect. From the second you drive onto the large expanse of Florida land space there is no mess, everything is beautifully manicured, colourful and bright flowerbeds adorn outside spaces and the walk ways of the parks have no rubbish, no spilled drinks, no homeless people, no nasty smells or swearing. Just a world full of happy people wearing Mickey Mouse ears and enjoying themselves.

The thing is though there is literally an army of people who make Disney the magical place it is. Legions of workers who clean, cook, polish, smile, keep an eye on things, help people, scan tickets, serve food and drinks and literally make the magic happen.

So if Disney has a problem or an issue surely with their armies of dare I say hundreds of thousands of workers across the whole of the Disney corporation they can combat it and get a resolution quickly and soundly? Disney can’t give up, how could they? Well the answer is yes they can. 

As an adult the massive logistics of the place fascinates me, I have been reading a lot about how the place has evolved and the history that has made it what it is today. One of the things that massively interested me was when I read about two abandoned parts of the parks that have been left to the elements. One being a water park and the other a mini zoo area. I have no idea why they were closed, I would imagine progress and modernisation but it did make me think. 

Urban explorers have been banned from Disney forever for managing to venture onto the islands off the main lagoon you travel across to get to the Magic Kingdom because they published apocalyptic style pictures of what they found. Disney like most of us don’t like being seen on their less polished side.

I have been giving myself such a hard time this week about my poorly behaved children and questioning my abilities as a parent. I have been struggling with that feeling that I can’t undo my poor work and will end up with two boy versions of Veruca Salt (another Roald Dahl shout out).

But then I thought, if Disney are happy to keep some of the bits they are not so proud of and simply let them go, why can’t I? I can’t be a terrible mother surely, I provide for my children and they are happy and secure. Okay they can be terrors but we really do try. 

I don’t have an army of cast members to help me keep everything running, to smile and make it all look okay all of the time, to be behind me sweeping up as I go, some sort of device to transport me wherever I want to go whenever I want to go there and I don’t have a genie, a Tinkerbell or a fairy godmother. Do any of us though? 

It’s okay to leave the washing hanging out when you leave, if you haven’t quite had time to do the washing up, if you haven’t done your make up before the school run (you get my drift.)

If Disney can open every day knowing things aren’t quite the way they want it to be with their cast of thousands then I can hold me head high walking out of the door, unkempt, sweating, messy, cursing under my breath and needing a cider.

We are all human, we are all who we are and we can only do so much. 

Please don’t forget that. You are amazing, no matter how rubbish you think you are doing give yourself a break xx

Hey all, how are we? 

Just a quick one today as I’m meant to be holiday packing and house tidying, blogging is so much more fun! 

Who is heading to Whitstable for the Oyster Festival this weekend? We will miss it this year but was so exciting to see all the hustle and bustle in the town this morning as everyone was preparing for the busiest time of the year.

It’s a hot topic in my home town about the increased numbers of people who flock to the coast each summer to relax and enjoy all Whitstable has to offer. It’s hardly surprising that many people have chosen to stay and now call Whitstable home too. 

The festival is mainly based around the harbour and beach areas but the town itself takes on the festival. Window displays are themed for the oyster festival and awards given to those who create the best. Cafes, bars and local shops come to life and often you can’t move let alone find a table!

There are beautiful fireworks, activities for the children all day, music, food, drinks and usually lots of gorgeous sunshine.

Some of my favourite spots all year round are just as lovely during the festival. I would definitely recommend The Forge which is a wooden shack on the front between the Native Oyster Restaurant and the Lifeboat station. They serve oysters, fish and chips, all manner of locally caught fish, ice creams (to die for),  fresh donuts and all manner of lovely alcohol. The staff are friendly and a bit kooky but that’s what we love!

The Whitstable Harbour Village is also well worth a look, lots of little stalls full of crafts, food, drinks, photography and many other treasures. Such a nice place to have a walk around.

The Handsome Sam micro pub is along the other end of town but well worth a stop. It’s just after the railway bridge across Oxford Street. The owner is fab and they not only serve the usual micro pub drinks but also have a great range of wine and have a gorgeous prosecco for only £15!

Crabbing is an absolute must at the Oyster Festival and you must go to Georges Mini Market in the town for all the bits. Georges was where I spent my pocket money as a child and I love that my boys now do the same. They have a huge and eclectic range of souvenirs, hardware, toys, beach gear, you really must have a look! 

Food wise Alimo which is under the railway bridge is amazing, they serve Moroccan food mostly but it’s so yummy. There are also plenty of little cafes, my favourite being the Beach Cafe near to the bowling alley. 

The Offy too are fab, they are on the high street and charge reasonable prices so you can pop in for a bottle to drink on the beach without paying pub prices. There are some lovely pubs too but I love just sitting on the beach!

Have an amazing weekend whatever your plans hold xx

Hey all, hope you had a fantastic weekend in the sunshine!

My weekend as per usual was manic but I managed to spend it with lots of people I love so I couldn’t ask for more.

This post is dedicated to my Sunday and is all about children’s birthday parties.

A great friend of mine who I met through Nate and her daughter being in the same swimming lesson asked me a few weeks back to help her with her daughter Evie’s 6th birthday party. I of course said yes and was excited that it fell on a weekend when both Karl and I were off so we could go along as a family.

As they do the plans evolved and my friend text me enquiringly whether I thought it would be mad of her to have the party on the beach. They have a beach hut at the Tankerton end of Whitstable and could set up everything on the beach itself. It was ambitious (being responsible for a load of six year olds is hard at the best of times let alone surrounded by water) but I figured we could pull it off.

I was totally amazed by the organisation and the massive effort that went into it by my friend and her lovely hubby and I have to say it was one of the best parties I’ve been to in ages.

Being Whitstable residents our lives revolve around the beach, it plays a huge part in our children’s lives and we are so proud to call it home. One of my favourite things to do is let the boys scoot to school while I run behind and we go through the harbour and up across the beach. We see lots of other families on their way to school and it reminds me just how lucky we are to have such a gorgeous place to live.

So yesterday morning at ten we got to the beach. It was already packed, their was hardly anywhere to park and families were already all set up for their day of fun in the sun. 

We managed to find a beach that was free and began setting up, I could not believe the array of delights my friend had bought, we had the longest bunting I have ever seen, which we ran across some of the beach to almost cordon off where the party would be so the children wouldn’t wander off. There was a gazebo, banners, balloons, inflatable Dolphins, flamingos, seagulls and water rings. 

My friend came equipped with a staple gun, more scissors than I own, string, staples, knives, platters, jugs, buckets for cold drink storage, tables and blankets for a seating area.

There was a limbo game, pass the parcel, two large paintings of a boat and sea scene minus the sail which were attached to the groins (with the very handy staple gun) that became pin the sail on the boat, there were funny contraptions that blew up twenty water balloons at once with large tubs to store them in for the water fight planned for later. I was massively impressed with all the work she had done.

There were Hawaiian floral garlands, crazy sunglasses and more cold drinks than some of the shops had. 

Children and parents started to arrive and many parents stayed. It became a giant beach party with music (yes they even had a generator). The children swam, played and had an amazing time. They all sat on the blankets and ate their party food and no one wanted to go home.

We had a few very well deserved glasses of prosecco on the beach when everyone had gone home and Karl gave rides on his Kayak. All the while looking out over the gorgeous sea.

The party will have of course cost money, the effort that went into it as well as food, party games and drinks but far less than paying for a party at a play place or activity centre. There was no bad behaviour and all I saw were smiles. How amazing is that?

Such amazing parents doing a great job of showing their gorgeous daughter how special she is and using our home to do it. 

I hope you had a lovely weekend with amazing friends too xx