CRACKED NAILS & SPLIT ENDS
The blog
Real life. Real challenges. Real stories.
Welcome to my Lifestyle Parenting Blog, where I explore topics related to chronic illnesses such as ME/CFS, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia while embracing a passion for yoga, books, and blogging.
Our Walk
Every weekend, we take the kids and the dogs out for a walk, no matter the weather, come rain or come shine, we love to venture out. I love to take my camera and capture as many moments as I can. That same evening I will sit down and upload all the photos I took and go through each one. With this post, I'm sharing my favourite photos from our walk last weekend.
National Handwriting Day
I am a very sentimental person and I love to keep my memories, especially the memories I have of my children.
I keep all the kid's drawings, birthday cards, school work and anything to keep as a cherished keepsake; a collection built up over the years as they grow. Not only do I keep items that they themselves loved and cherished, but also items that remind me of them. Something I store safely away in the loft, memories being stored.
Christmas 2016
The past couple of months has had a lot going on for us, one bad thing after the other at the moment, and Christmas 2016 already seems like a lifetime ago. It was a Chrismas full of new adventures and a few challenges thrown at us. Most importantly It was a great day, we got to spend and enjoy the day with family.
Happy 7th Birthday Jacob
Last week was my youngest son 7th Birthday. How time has flown.... it only seems like yesterday when I found out I was pregnant. My 3rd child, my 3rd boy. He came into our world, a bundle of joy.
The youngest of 3 boys, and the cheekiest, the loudest, and tough as nails (all that play fighting with your brothers).
The Rat in the Loft
Last Christmas, hubby and the kids were getting the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the loft, when I heard hubby shout in alarm, I came out of the kitchen to see the kids scrambling and hubby shouting 'mouse'. It ran down the stairs and past me into the lounge. We cornered it and I said 'that's a big damn mouse'. We opened the doors and it ran out. That was that... so we thought.
Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake - Canderel Sugarly Taste Test Challenge
We made two of the same cheesecakes, one was made with Canderel Sugarly and the other regular sugar.
We were sent all the ingredients to make 2 Lemon and Blueberry cheesecakes, one to make using Canderel Sugarly and the other using regular sugar, with the challenge we took the taste test to see if we could taste the difference!
Keeping a Bearded Dragon #TropicalChronicals
We are a nation of animal lovers, and whilst cats and dogs may be the most common choice of animal companion, the prevalence of more “exotic pets”, like reptiles, rodents, and birds is growing each year. These pets may seem like a cool alternative to cats and dogs, but they do require more specialised knowledge and care, not to mention equipment, to live happily alongside their hooman owners.
Bruschetta With Tomato Salsa and Basil
Fresh, flavorful, and delightfully simple, the sun-kissed Italian cuisine is heaven on a plate.
One of my favourite things to eat is Bruschetta, whenever we go out to eat, if Bruschetta is on the menu I order it. The bruschetta, with its history spanning centuries of Tuscan tradition, may seem like just a slice of garnished bread, it is actually a light, flavorful, enjoyable dish - many would say, the perfect starter.
SCA Summer Cleaning Challenge
If you are a regular reader you will know that we are currently having a lot of building work done to the house - I've gone on about it enough. We had an extension built, then we had walls knocked down, steals put in, and now we are currently having the walls plastered. Next, it will be the garage conversion.
Back to School and One at College
After a super school holiday (we squeezed loads of fun stuff in), with some bumps and bruises along the way, the kids are back into school and so far so good they seem settled and content.
Caribbean Food Week with Grace Foods'
It's Caribbean Food Week the 22nd - 29th August. During this week we celebrate all things Caribbean food. And, Grace Foods, the UK’s number 1 Caribbean food and drink company, is at the forefront of celebrations. This year Grace Foods UK is holding its first ever Caribbean Food Week Food Festival at Windrush Square in Brixton, London (Friday 26th – Saturday 27th August), featuring Caribbean street food, live cookery demonstrations, music and more! It's a free event and perfect if you want to join in the celebrations and try some yummy Caribbean food.
Crikey Bikey - TEACH YOUR KIDS TO RIDE A BIKE WITHOUT STABILISERS
We bought Jacob a bike for his birthday last year, but he refuses to ride it as it doesn't have stabilisers, 'I'm not riding my bike without stabilisers', and that was that - he was adamant that he would fall, he can't ride his bike without his stabilisers. No matter the encouragement his bigger brothers gave him, or me and his dad, nothing, he simply wasn't going to do it.
London Tower Bridge - Family Trail App
We were invited to take the family to visit the London Tower Bridge, to give the Trail app a try.
The Family Trail app is an app designed to complement your visit to the London Tower Bridge. It gives you an interactive experience allowing you a chance to explore the bridge and its workings in a unique and fun way. The app has an educational angle so you can learn lots of interesting facts and history about the bridge.
Vanilla-Filled Chocolate Cookies – A Delicious Hummingbird Bakery Recipe
The Hummingbird Bakery, famous for their Red Velvet, have been bringing us the finest authentic American cakes and desserts to London since 2004. They are six The Hummingbird bakeries across London and serve traditional American cupcakes, layer cakes, brownies, pies, tray bakes, cheesecakes, whoopie pies and many more delicious and unique desserts.
Rock Pooling in West Runton
Haven Holidays want to encourage you to get outdoors this summer, thus, they have designed an activity guide full of exciting and fun ways to do just that. We were approached by Haven Holidays to choose one activity from their 2016 activity guide and to share our experience.
The End of Yet Another Era - Teenage Son Finished School
The end of yet another era. They come thick and fast, too fast.
It only seems like yesterday when he was my baby boy, my first baby, oh how I used to just cuddle him hours and hours on end, never wanting to let him go or let him out of my sight and now he's a fully fledged grown up. Whilst there's apart of me that's a little sad, I'm also incredibly proud of him and excited. I am excited for the future, his future, and I can't wait to see what he does with his life.
Life Lately
Life lately has been an amalgamation of GCSE's exams, work, visits to A&E, business travel, building work, weekly family walks and illnesses - and rubbish weather.
What do you do if your school application is rejected
Summer starts full-time school this September. My little princess is going to big school.
She already attends nursery every morning at the school in which I would like her to go to Reception, the same school Jacob goes too. However, this school is out of our catchment area (only by a few meters), so there is a chance that our application will be rejected.
Dear father of the boy that....
You turned up at my house in the evening when it was dark, when I was alone whilst my hubby had gone to the gym, banging on my door so hard and loud it shook the house. I knew instantly who it was. Who else would knock on my door like that?