It’s that time of year when we perform the exasperating task of preparing our homes for the spring. From shooing away dust bunnies to taking an inventory of your spring and summer wardrobe and picking out pieces to donate or give away, spring cleaning consists of many ‘must-do’ chores in order to prepare your home […]
So tonight, I took myself off for my bath with my Eye & Brow perfector and the Vanilla Coke that I bought in Boots earlier today on my first Social Shopper insights study for Cbias. Yes I did say Vanilla Coke, I did a happy dance when I saw it as It was and still is my favorite soft drink.
There is something really decadent in doing something for yourself that you wouldn’t normally do. I would usually have a bath after the boys were safely tucked up in bed, but having one when it was still daylight was lovely as was laying there with the perfector on my eyes. I have not had a reaction and they feel soft, but only regular use will tell if it works for me instead of mascara.
I think I really deserved a bath on my own after taking the two boys to Boots during the holidays, why not take a look at my Google+ Album to see how we got on.
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #CBias #SocialFabric.
When other parents, inevitably the ones with school age children would tell me they looked forward to the holidays I would inwardly wonder if they were mad!
However, I couldn’t feel any different now they are both older and in school full time. I long for the holidays. For the lack of routine and the ability to relax and slow down. I love the fact that there is no rush in the mornings to get ready and get to school. That we can be a little more relaxed about bedtimes and really enjoy each others company.
I love the thought of not having a week of activities planned and being able to just go with the flow. If we fancy fish and chips at the beach there is nothing stopping us. Want to try a different park? Yep lets just jump in the car! We all love getting so engrossed in an activity that the hours role by and we have no where we HAVE to be.
In fact the longer the holiday the better. One week is too short, it takes a week for the boys to decompress and stop fighting with each other. The second week is much better, they learn to make there own fun. To cooperate with each other. They start to get into the groove of playing out with friends and making their own games.
But what do you think? Are you a school holiday lover or hater?
Treat yourself to a movie. There are a lot of advantages to going to the movies by yourself. You don’t have to grapple over which film to see (no more animated kids movies, please), and you don’t have to share your popcorn. This is exactly my idea of fun and entertaining ‘me’ time.
Living an ecological family life
An environmental mindset has become stronger in society. Two main reasons are moral as well as cutting back on costs. For that reason, it is also the duty as an adult and guardian to demonstrate the importance of an ecological way of life at home and to pass-on these habits to others. The following tips may help families introduce some easy and some more sophisticated aspects in order to keep the home green.
Switch off the lights: Whether it’s forgetfulness or laziness, a lot of households aren’t too bothered with switching off the lights and multimedia devices when they leave the room. It can save a lot of energy which tends to grab people’s attention when they see how much they save on their electricity bill. With children, it is easy to raise awareness at an early age to make them care about resources later on as well. By regularly showing them to save electricity or water, by switching off the light (or turning off the tap), they will adopt this habit quickly.
Isolate the house well: When building or buying a new home for the family, it is sensible to look into the house’s insulation. Windows and walls alike should be strong in keeping the cold outside and saving the warmth inside. In that respect, heating costs can be reduced as heating won’t need to be used as much.
Separate the waste: City councils around the UK have implemented recycling into their waste collection strategies, so separating your rubbish is not a foreign routine. We know to separate glass, paper and plastic and – if possible – food scrapes for the compost. When everyone does their part to separate their recyclables properly, then we make the work of local waste management services more efficient. Labelling bins for children with images or colours showing what rubbish goes where is easy to do and also helps to train the importance of recycling. Going a step further by finding creative ways to reuse can also make for fun DIY projects as well. Sites like Pinterest have very creative craft sections for both adults and children, which heavily involve reusing and recycling. Careful though, there are so many ingenious projects that can make scrolling addictive!
Produce energy: It still might sound futuristic for some, but it is definitely possible to produce some energy with the right technology. As shown by solar businesses, an installation of their panels on the roof of your house is very energy efficient. As their technology has advanced over the years, they are now able to produce more energy than it makes to make them. This then makes the technology more appealing to purchase with their pros becoming a lot stronger than their cons.
However, kids designer clothing is not about dressing children beyond their years: clothing from designer ranges is instead intended to be cute, practical, smart and age-appropriate. Take Roberto Cavalli for example, whose racy and eye-catching dresses have turned heads on the red carpet for many years. The designer has created a children’s range which will make children feel grown up, but not make them look beyond their years. Cavalli’s trademark leopard prints feature in the collection, but always look cute rather than tacky. A high-neck dress with a frill hem detail is perfect for a party, whilst the leopard print leggings will instantly jazz up any of your daughter’s outfits.
Fancying winning a 3 night weekend or 4 night Midweek break with Haven Holidays? I thought you might…………
All you have to do is share a picture of one of your Haven holidays saying why you think nothing beats a holiday by the seaside using through Haven’s Facebook app before 14 April 2013.
Then Rory the Tiger will choose a winner and they can either have a 3 night weekend or 4 night Midweek break in a Deluxe caravan for up to six people before October 2013 (but this excludes July and August).
Now I know that I am lucky to actually live by the sea, so I am biased, but I also know that nothing beats a seaside holiday. There is something about the sea that makes me and the rest of the family relax and feel grounded. The boys adore the sea. They never seem to feel the cold of the water until they get out! They love digging and making sandcastles and honestly nothing beats fish and chips out of the paper at the seaside.
When I was growing up even though we lived by the sea, most of our family holidays were taken in our touring caravan at the great British seaside resorts. In fact look at the photos my brother found of one of our holidays!
I love the fact that no matter how hot it was my Grandad would be fully dressed!
I love reliving my holidays of past with my children, so why not enter and see if you can win a seaside holiday.
For full terms and conditions please see the Haven Facebook app page
MadDad and I have been together over 19 years and have been through many ups and downs, but how well do we actually know each other. I like to think that we know each other pretty well, but Osbornes Solicitors asked us to put our knowledge of each other to the test with their new app For Better or
We are a family that loves making and receiving homemade cards and I adore crafting. However, I am aware the boys are getting older and I want to keep their enthusiasm for the homemade and very amateur cards. So I thought I would share with you the cards I made for Maxi this year and
