Just give me 5 minutes……pleeeeeeease!

Welcome my lovelies and I’d like to begin this blog post with a big up to all mummies who relate to this topic as it is you who will truly understand the notion of not getting five minutes piece where kids are concerned. My lil ninja has always been very demanding since she was a baby, from needing the boob so nonstop I would feed her whilst feeding myself, a talent you learn as a new

mummy (that’s after dropping your plate off the chair arm a good few times first), to now at eight years old with ‘mummy can I have, mummy will you play.’ Hence the title of my whole blog ‘Welcome to my Whirlwind.’ Life just does not stop when you have kids and they do become the forefront of everything, we as mummies do. Even when the ninja is in bed I just can’t settle due to the fact that she sleepwalks and talks and screams although the night terrors have pretty much subsided (seeing her walk to the fridge to ‘get back in bed’ was just the cutest). So from all those times she has called upon me as a baby to a toddler to a small child to a mini ninja you’d think that now at 8 years old I would start to get a little more me time……..wrong!!!!!!!! She has this amazing ability to remember every little word I say to her for example ‘make sure you take your things upstairs when you go’ and low and behold what feels like the whole contents of her bedroom is still downstairs (like a page of where friggin wally!)!

So, when questioned the reply is simply ‘I did take my things up’ meaning her slippers as they are classed as things to which my reply is ‘no, everything’ which then I get back (and breath) ‘well you didn’t say everything!’ ha ha classic the lil sassy monkey. This I find all very interesting as she will remember this (selective hearing much) but when I ask her to give me 10 mins for meditation, its almost like she has interrupting Tourette’s! seriously I can get in the bath and ask for just 20 mins of quiet time and within what, five minutes she is sat on the loo at the side of me having the world’s biggest stinkiest poo!!!!!! (orrrrrr maaaaan!!!!!!!) pleeeeeeease!!!!!!

As a mummy you have to expect that you will be tugged here, there and everywhere ready at their beckon call and even now at 8 years old the lil ninja is still very much demanding! If I am not needed to play games, it’s to now practice make up (which OMG I thought the day would never come, bless), or make breakfast, (although she can make her own including fried egg sandwiches!) make lunch and dinner and with this always always always comes ‘is it ready yet’ (awkward giggle) ha ha ‘yes of course it is I’ve almost done peeling the spuds they will cook and be ready within ten seconds or absolutely here is a bowl of dry pastsa!’ Then there is the can you come upstairs scenario when she wants to nip to the bedroom or the loo because its dark. Ohh and don’t forget the sneaking downstairs after bedtime because she can’t get to sleep so then comes yet another chapter of whatever book we a reading at the time. Plus there is also the classes!!!!!!!! Depending on what tugs their interests be it ballet, swimming, football, drama, music, gymnastics, cricket or taekwondo, the latter for me has me rushing that one night a week to get to the session on time or playing punch bag on an evening when she wants to practice. But this to be honest only skims the surface of the time needed to be a mummy (or daddy) as some of you will already know and have experienced this ‘no time’ situation.

We all rush around wishing we could have ‘more time’ thinking if only I had an extra two hours a day instead of actually cherishing the time we do have. Yes wouldn’t we all want to have that five minutes of ‘chill out’ (without being poked and prodded)

just five minutes of silence to catch your breath but when you have kids your world does change and you have to account for that. However, I still believe that a good balance is what keeps you happy in life. So, make sure you have that quality time where you laugh and make memories but also make sure that you put aside some alone mummy time to do something that keeps you happy and positive…….and don’t feel guilty for it! How do it do it?????? That’s for yet another blog post.

Thanks for reading

Big lovely hugs xxxxx

Valentine’s Day, smooch or sham! (oooooh controversial)

Hello my wonderful possibly loved up lovelies. So, the big ‘love day’ is once again upon us and it’s only a matter of time before the shops are selling out of the cheap chocolates (because everything else has gone and you have left it too late) for the ever so anticipated Valentine’s day. This is a topic where I must say I’m an absolute fence sitter (boooooooo hisssssssss). Here is my reasoning…

Sham!

I believe that over the years (and I’ve seen a few of them) this particular celebration of love has become more about the products you buy, with these getting more and more ridiculously pricey and outrageous,

 than the actual celebration of love itself. It can be a way for products in the shape of love hearts to be re sold just because they have now taken on this new shape.

however, the actual story of Valentine’s day and St Valentine is much deeper than gifts and cards (you should research if you don’t already know it’s quite interesting) which are mass produced to make lots of money. Personally, I don’t celebrate the day itself by purchasing cards and presents as we tend to do much of this throughout the year anyway as I do truly believe those showing their love for each other for the one day should be doing (wait for this this old cliché) it every day with smiles, laughter, cuddles and shoulders to cry on.

Smooch

So here is my other end of the argument (full on debate with myself right here, LOL). I nipped to the shops last week and low and behold there is a huge section of love hearts, chocolates, wine, slippers, etc etc etc etc etc etc!!!! and the ninja picks up some chocolate hearts and says ‘mum can I please get these’ (for her boy-‘friend’) I MY heart literally turns into one those chocolate hearts and begins to feel like it’s one of those lost chocs that you find you’ve sat on for over an hour on the sofa! In the words of the wicked witch ‘I’m melting, I’m melting.’ Wow she has such an ability to do that on many occasions (insert love heart eye emoji here). I obviously say yes and they are currently perched on the kitchen side waiting for that all important day.

I think as I’ve been with my hubby for nearly 14 years this kind of celebration becomes less important when you have wedding anniversaries to look forward to as they are so much more personal. So, we tend to focus on this now however we still have an annual get away with a few friends for a ‘valentines’ meal (which consists of food with the names of Aphrodite’s seafood delight, Romeos beef, Juliet’s stocking filler, Casanovas ménage a trois, oh my god stop me now! LOL) which is always so much fun. If I was to purchase gifts, then I would go for something much more personal and cutsie (not sure this is a word as my spell checker won’t change it!). Recently I have been checking out a gorgeous new online shop called http://hettyandbetty.com/ as it has the most beautiful gifts which are what I call oldy-worldy if you like that sort of thing. This cute little

love heart is one of them priced at £8.99 which is going to look amazing in my conservatory as this is the kind of décor I have in there. Please go check this store out for more amazing gifts and homeware ideas, I think me, Hetty and Betty are going to get along famously.

See I told you…total fence sitter as I can see both sides of the argument. But whatever you are doing whether that be celebrating or boycotting, have a great time and remember saying ‘I love you’ and meaning it, costs absolutely nothing.

Thank you for reading.

Sending big love hearts and a happy Valentine’s day to all. XXXX

How to survive a birthday sleepover with 8 year old girls!

Well hello there my lovelies let me start this blog post by saying welcome back if you are a fan of my work (she bows delightfully) and also welcome welcome if you are a mummyvslife virgin (errrr let's go with...) newbie. The topic today is kids sleep overs which is surprisingly interesting to find out that many mums dare not to venture into this world as it can be a little scary being a mummy and letting your little girl sleep out at a random lady's house (FYI I'm no random and I was actually good at this shiz). Luckily for me, the ninja has been sleeping 'out' since she was a baby which I think is part of the reason she is so independent.

The main detail of this little gathering of girls is ORGANISATION (all shouty and stuff) because without it (warning light on and beeping madly) you've got no chance of survival! So  Morrisons it is, as they have a new amazing party section where I was able to pick up 12 amazing cupcakes for £6, red plates, cups and straws (ninjas fave colour) minion party bags and the little treats to go inside.

(https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/category/Party-Zone-Party-Food/105651-162462-162457).

Ooh and also frozen pizza and chips for the party tea (oven shove and it's done, no faffing!). So the little beauties arrive around 6pm on the Friday (a little later shaves off that extra couple of hours) with lots of smiles and a couple of panicked mums who clearly are reluctant to step back out of the door. Then once all have arrived you just send them 'off' to play while you cook tea (don't come in here while I'm cooking, it's hot blah blah blah). Once done and you shout that long awaited 'its ready' (after each and every one of them have peeped around the door and asked 'how long' like a cheeky little game/trick they are playing (#dontwinduptheladywhosfeedingyou!!!)

they all come crashing through the door and plonk themselves at the table. Done! For now and I escape, once again to the living area (insert posh voice here) where I sit in solace for....about 5 minutes! (Better than nothing). Then it's a bit of dancing and singing in the kitchen and to be honest 'twas immensely fun and the girls loved it with me joining in, apart from yep, you guessed it... the ninja, (tut) who just looked in disbelief at the disgrace of her 'mother' with an alarming 'roly-eye' syndrome which was clearly stating the 'please don't' warning! Oops my bad (off she scurries back to the sofa lol).

So we are now at a reasonable hour to start settling down so we get comfy in front of the TV and put on a kids film which they ALL (sooo important unless you want a stray child asking to go upstairs on their own or play with your hair ...errr nope) can engage in. Yes! Done I am legend, quiet girls, watching a film some falling asleep so I suggest we get ready

for bed by taking apart my whole living room and creating a giant floor bed which FYI looks pretty amazing and is truly exciting for all. Again they are done, pj's on, teeth cleaned, settled in 'bed' and continue watching the film. Again I escape to the.... kitchen.... yes, it's like a game of musical rooms (see, fun for all).

Wow! 20 minutes gone and they are quiet…….oh crap…… spoke too soon…..yep….here it comes….. that ever anticipated……….SECOND WIND!!!!!!!! They are jumping all over the ‘bed’ of cushions, giggling from how much fun that is, just embracing their age and loving life and why not and I love it!

When morning hits (because they did eventually get to sleep) I walk into the kitchen to find them all sat together having breakfast at the table which is the most adorable thing. The next plan is to get them out of the house now so its dressed, ready and to the park where I witness the most treasured friends looking out for each other as well as myself falling for the old ‘push me, help me’ routine. So there’s me running from child to child pushing on swings, carrying across monkey bars and generally chasing around but again, I suggest you get involved as the time flies and actually it was great fun and even the ninja was loving it.

Overall the key points to surviving a group sleepover is organisation, preparation, get involved, lots of cushions andblankets, and have options (and also a good bottle of wine for the chill out the following night).

I hope you learnt a little, thank you for reading.

Big big hugs xxxxx