#MatalanSummerTips Twitter Chat

Next Thursday Matalan are hosting a twitter chat all about travelling and going on holiday with children. As we are driving six hours down to Cornwall in a mere four weeks, I for one will definitely be taking part and on the look out for some tips!

If you are planning a trip this year and need some advice, or if you've travelled with children and can offer some perils of wisdom then join in at 8pm on Thursday June 5th. Oh and there's ten £20 Matalan vouchers up for grabs too! Don't forget to use the hashtag #MatalanSummerTips!

M.E. Six Months Down the Road

It has been six months since I was officially diagnosed with CFS/ME and back then I was at possibly my lowest with the illness. I was sleeping a lot, constantly exhausted, had no energy and was feeling emotionally a wreck. Mr H was having to take over all my responsibilities, my mum covering my slack and the children were getting too much for me to handle.

Six months ago

From North To South

In July our little family along with some friends will be travelling the six hour journey from Manchester to St Ives in Cornwall. I have to say, it is a journey I am quite daunted by as we have never driven so far with the children and I just hope we can keep them entertained.

Baby J Turns Two!

It is the eve of my little man's second birthday and I am feeling a range of emotions. Excited for him to see the Fireman Sam trike we have bought him and I'm pretty sure he will love! Proud of the little boy he is becoming - he is so charming, cheeky and still just as cute as ever. And just a little bit sad that the baby days are officially over. He is no longer in a cot, he can feed himself, he is walking, talking and paddying like the two year old he almost is. Those days of midnight snuggles and just watching him and basking in that new-parent glow are gone.

The Baby Show 2014

Last weekend I attended The Baby Show in Birmingham. Myself and Pippa from Red Rose Mummy travelled down, along with the gorgeous L, for a day of browsing and chatting to brands and fellow bloggers.

Ready for the day

The Finishing Touch

We moved into our house eighteen months ago and were very fortunate to have saved up enough money to be able to treat ourselves to some new furniture. One of the main things we needed was a new sofa - at the time we had a dark brown L-shaped sofa and whilst we loved it, it simply wouldn't fit into our new house.

Why I Agree With Lily Allen

This week Lily Allen was in the media for admitting whilst on a radio show that she feels children are boring. Many parents out there were outraged, believing this to be the statement of a mother who does not deserve her children and obviously does not appreciate them. Some even suggested she did it to sell records, thereby exploiting them for money.

This Year's Reality

It's getting the that time of year when everyone goes banana's for reality TV. Beginning with Britain's Got Talent, we then go right through to Christmas with Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor, I'm a Celebrity and Dancing on Ice. I do love a bit of reality and for years I was a huge Big Brother fan, even down to watching the live streaming into the wee hours.

Low Energy Play: Sticky Art

This month's low energy play post is an idea that has been all over Pinterest for quite some time and I thought it would be perfect for play for those of us who don't have the energy or time for lots of messy play.

Bento Bashing

Ever since I joined the blogging world over three years ago I've come to know it as an incredible support network. One of the things I love about our community is how so very different we all are and how we come together to celebrate and support those differences.

In today's society we women can be known for being jealous, cruel and downright bitchy towards each other. Where men can have their spats and leave it behind them, women can carry on the dispute for weeks, months and even years. I, for one, am proud to be part of a community that does it best to support each other and encourage the diversity we have.

For the most part.

Tonight I read a post that really saddened me. For some reason one blogger decided to downright attack another blogger for seemingly no other reason than she did not enjoy doing what said blogger did. And she did so on an incredible open forum with no provocation. The topic in mind was Bento Boxes - a recent trend for creating enticing lunchboxes that has become increasingly popular. This harmless hobby, which encourages children to break bad eating habits and try foods they wouldn't normally, was the cause of one woman to viciously attack another.

I realise that because we put ourselves out there for the world to read, we also put ourselves out there for criticism. And I am fine with that - not everyone can agree with each other and I wouldn't want them to. But this article went past 'I don't like this because...', it became personal. Comments such as 'has she no life' and 'Get.A.Job.' are plain derogatory. Whether you agree with someone or not, whether you enjoy the same hobbies or not, what gives any of us the right to go out and attack someone else for something they enjoy? And who are we to judge one anothers skills as a parent? It all seems very playground nastiness to me.

I think as mums we all have enough pressure on us, not mention the inevitable mummy guilt, that the last thing any of us need is pressure from one another. I have found so much support doing something I love, I would be mortified to find it torn to pieces by another blogger for no reason at all.

I really feel that this is something that should not be accepted or tolerated. If you have an opinion, fine, but can we not learn to deliver those opinions in a constructive way that does not rip somebody else's personality to shreds? I really don't see what anyone gets from this kind of article apart from negative attention and a bitter aftertaste.

Blog On MOSI 2014

Last weekend I attended the Northern blogging conference, Blog On, organised by Laura from Tired mummy of Two. This was my second year attending, and the second year of the conference, and after thoroughly enjoying it last year I was looking forward to it again. I met up with my now close friend, Susanne from Ghostwritermummy, for a coffee beforehand and we also bumped into Bex and Tina so all had a natter before heading into the Museum of Science and Industry - our hosts for the day.

Me & Mine April

I seem to have missed a month of Me & Mine and am also late on April's update, but here it is, better late than never! I actually managed to kind of stage this photo, a little at least! It certainly doesn't meet a lot of other bloggers standards but it was about to rain so we had to get it in quick!

Here is this month's update:

Little H

Now my little lady is three years and four months and seems to grow up more and more each day. She amazes me sometimes with the things she comes out with and she soaks so much up around her. We are having to be more careful about what is on the TV or what we say as one of these days I know she's going to come out with something - I've already heard her say 'this is rubbish' and 'you're doing my head in' which makes me hang my head a little, but also try and hide a smile as it just sounds so funny coming from her!

Bed times are up and down, some days she goes without a word, some days I am up and own the stairs ten times trying to placate her. My mum watched them on Saturday night for us and so H was up at 7 with her, and then daddy let her out of her room early on Sunday to stop her screaming, so this morning she didn't want to stay in her room until her Gro Clock came on. She gets out of routines so easily we really have to try and stick to them, otherwise she just melts down.

She is absolutely loving being in the garden with me and has become my little helper. We go out most evenings to water the plants and she has helped me plant some bulbs and flowers. She watches me intently when I'm trimming plants and tidying things up and I think as she grows she will explore this more, and I am so pleased about that. As a little girl I spent many hours in the garden with my dad, watching and learning and it makes me happy that she seems to love it too. The other day she spotted a ladybird on our butterfly bush and was so excited, moments like that make me smile.

Baby J

Not a baby for much longer, our little man is two in just three weeks! He is definitely well into the terrible twos, though, much more than H ever did, and he certainly makes his presence known! For a long time he was so chilled out and content but recently he is all over the place, demanding this and that and paddying and screaming when he doesn't get it. I know he is just testing his boundaries and this is the time for us to be firm and set the rules down now, but he really does test our patience!

He absolutely dotes on his big sister and follows her everywhere. She bosses him about but he doesn't seem to mind, and doesn't hesitate to stand up for himself when he needs to. He does know how to wind her up already though, and I am often settling disputes throughout the day whilst he shouts  'no' at her and she screams 'mummy he's saying no!!'

His interest for Fireman Sam has turned into an obsession over the last two months! Woe betide if there is anything on the TV except Sam, he now has a full range of figures and fire trucks as well as a soft toy Sam, magazines and puzzles. So of course his birthday party will have to be fireman themed in some way just for my little hero next door! It is very cute when he is stood in front of you demanding 'Am' or 'Tam', he's not quite got used to saying his S's yet!

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This month's photo was taken in our lovely garden in front of the tyres which I am so proud of, although they are a bit hidden. Last year we spent a lot of time and energy transforming our garden ad the children absolutely love being out there, so this month's photo is to celebrate that!