My emotional ball of greatness!

Well hasn’t it been a while my lovelies, and I wish I could go into detail as to why blogging has not taken priority but the whole blog would be about that! Let’s just say life, work stress and kitchen ceilings have been the main reasons. I actually wrote this post a while ago and just not posted it. It has some similar content to the last but I’m posting it anyway. I look 10 years older than the last blog and feel like I’m living in a 90 year olds body sometimes but onwards and upwards it is…….

Even in the craziness I can always count on the ninja to keep me going with smiles, giggles, cuddles and the ever so wonderful face farts!!!!!

So how did this little human become so sensitive and mature enough to deal with and understand even the most difficult situations that life throws at you?

As a parent, I have always said that I would always be honest with the ninja (obviously, this does not include the whole Santa, Bunny and fairy events as I believe these should be kept going for as long as possible #contradiction oops!) as I would always want her to be honest with me. I strive to be the type of mum that she can turn to when in need which you would think would be an easy task….pah yeah right!!!!! If she doesn’t want to tell me something she will not (thanks for the stubbornness dad!) which absolutely breaks my heart to think she thinks she can’t. All this being said, she is very in touch with her emotions stemming from suffering the loss of a close family member at the age of 4. We were so open with her explaining very carefully the situation answering all of her questions until she was content with the answers. She would get very upset on many occasions (and still does) and sometimes closes up then other times wants to speak about it. Luckily school offered a little counselling group which was amazing and let her open up about how she felt and since then we have been harvesting this little emotional (far too old for her years) ball of greatness!

It is now becoming increasingly apparent that these emotions are manifesting and now the questions are nonstop (very much like the teen attitude) and she is no longer content with just the one answer, she now has to reword the question about three times but I can start to feel my voice getting louder (please just give my ears a rest babe!).  These emotions she is developing are like a little homing beacon for when I am not feeling my best as she can sense whatever it is I am feeling (which has been like a rollercoaster recently) and within a split second she is tending to my needs (bless!). 

Out of all the jobs I am currently holding/starting, this is the one that I live for, the one that makes me whole and the one I will strive to do my best at.

I get everything from cuddles to what’s wrongs to can I helps to the sad little eyes at the thought of mum being upset but at the other end of the scale I also get the I’m not doing that’s to its not fares to for god sakes (just delightful).

I have a little rollercoaster in the form of an 8 yr old ninja and there’s nothing I can do about it except continue to love her the way I do. (Insert love heart emoji eyes here).
Not sure whether I’ve mentioned this before but I’m going to say it again and that is being a mummy is the hardest job in the world yet the most rewarding amazing job any woman could ask for.

Thank you for reading beautiful people.

Big hugs xxxxxxxx

How to Cope (or not) with Children’s Ever Changing Moods and Emotions

Hello my lovelies, first of all sorry it’s been a while, work and life has taken over a little recently. Secondly, welcome back if you’ve been here before or welcome, welcome if it’s your first time to my mummy blog. So, todays post is an interesting one in the respect that it’s actually a little more serious than my usual posts however I will endeavour to maintain the light-heartedness my posts provide.

I always say being a mummy is the best job in the world yet, as most mummies will tell you, it’s also the hardest job in the world which goes for parenting in general. We all know about the terrible two’s and the dreaded teens, but what about the years in between? I for sure thought I might have had a break from 3-12 yr of age from the tantrums, attitude and total (although only occasional) resentment you receive from your little ‘darlings’ …….ooooohhhhh nooooooo! No chance! I’ve experienced some full force absolutely gob smacking episodes that the writers of Emmerdale would be proud of.

When it comes to real life I truly believe honesty for kids is the best policy (but this does not include the magical elements of life like the tooth fairy and Santa as lets face it how amazing is it to see their little faces light up when they truly believe that shiz). I have always strived to be honest with the ninja and always said and still do ‘if you have any questions about anything, I will always answer them for you.'

Now just over three years ago, we lost Grandma (my mother in law) who the ninja was very close to and we always said as parents would be totally honest with her in the hope that she would be the same throughout her life. This sparked a lot of thinking in that little overworked brain of hers and she began to say things like ‘mum if you die I will never stop loving you’ and ‘you’re getting old, will you die soon?’ (errrr not old thanks!). It was becoming clear that she had lots of questions and was a little confused about it all and this then lead to her becoming frequently upset as she clearly didn’t understand. As parents, we tried to remain open with her and answered any questions as honestly as we could but something was building and building inside her so I began to ask her school teachers how she was at school. They said she was doing fine but also offered a place in the Sunbeams club during school hours which was like a mini counselling group for children coping with loss. WOW! I was amazed! What a fabulous group to be a part of and somewhere the lil ninja could finally open up and learn about her own emotions.

This little club was the best thing at the time as how do you get children of 4 years to open up about loss and feelings…. with homemade puppets and stickers of course and I can’t thank the school enough for providing such a lovely idea as this definitely opened up the ninjas mind to being ok with having different feelings, sharing them, and also managing them.

She is now of an age (and has been for some time, oh the ongoing drama – insert hand on head and slight wilting of the body here) where she is fully aware of how her emotions work and what she is feeling. So how does a mummy cope when their eight year old child catches themselves in the mirror and says ‘mummy I think I’m fat’ or turns and says ‘can you kill me, I want to die so I can be with Grandma’ (I did warn you at the beginning) or starts to pack her suitcase stating ‘you are the worst parents in the world so I’m leaving’ (my reply to this last one ‘take a coat its cold!’ LOL) Seriously! I myself am an emotional person so here is how I react, I stay honest with her, I cry if I feel like it, I explain in as much detail as I can about the situation, I give her confidence by telling her how amazing she is and how much I love her but I don’t like how she is acting sometimes because it upsets me, I hug her as much as she needs and I ask her to remain grateful (as gratitude is something I believe should be practiced in life to help keep your mind positive). Sounds simple, right? (pah sod simple it’s like a bloody roller coaster and I don’t mean get on ride and it stops, it’s more like queue for hours in the pouring rain and face smacking wind then once you’re on……..YOU ARE TRAPPED in a world of never ending ups and downs that will have you hurled all over from feeling sick to peeing yourself from laughing too much! – anyone fancy a ride???? Eeeek)

Obviously, these are the more intense things the ninja will say and hopefully by talking and communicating I am setting her up for a life of open mindedness and understanding of the world. She can also say the most amazing things (and not even when she wants something) like ‘mum, (whilst holding my face) you are just so beautiful’ and ‘I love you to grandma (in the stars) and back and more than chocolate’ and get this one ‘mum you look a bit old there’ oh wait that one belongs in the I wish my kid wouldn’t say these out loud in public category! DOH! My point is she is developing this emotional and brutal honesty which I can’t recommend enough as it helps me keep on top of how she’s feeling giving me insight to how her mind works enabling me to support her in the best way I can and the only way I know how. To fully understand the ninja, I have to fully trust and listen to what she is telling me giving her full control of the situations and yes there will be times when this doesn’t happen but that’s life. But by giving her the power of control it makes her trust me more and with that trust then comes the honesty and I have dealt with situations where dishonesty has come into play for the tiniest of things but because I have questioned and expressed my feelings, this then results in the ninja feeling guilt leading to more openness and honesty in the future. (WINNER!!!!) The power of control is also great when she is having one of her I’m not doing anything you say moments and this has now worked for a number of years where I give her two scenarios both leading to the same outcome, for example, I mentioned she needed to get in the

shower the other night and she was having a bad day so her reaction was ‘no, I’m not having a shower’ (this is when I get roly eye syndrome thinking here we go). So, I instantly check out the situation by asking why? From this I, can gauge the type of mood she is in so when she says ‘I’m just not having one nope nope nope’ I think ok ……CODE RED full on mardy monkey entering the house. So, the scenario I give is ‘ok you can get in the shower and wash your hair or get in the shower and put your shower cap on and not wash your hair as it was done yesterday so it doesn’t really need doing’ and at this point I’m still full on calm, cool collected mofo!!

LOL this gives her total control of the situation leading to her believe she has decided on the outcome where in actual fact the outcome is still the same as the grotty little ninja has now been in the shower!!! RESULT!!! Relationship is saved, ninja is clean and mum is happy.

I hope this read served you well and you take something from it.

Thank you for taking the time my lovelies

Big hugs xxxx

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

How not to handle the school performance!

The scene is set, the school hall is crammed with awaiting parents, (who have seriously been there an hour early and saved seats for a party of ten) teachers are flapping around trying to find that lost child who has only nipped for a nervous wee. That's it we are ready, we are steady and...... the kids enter the hall from the furthest door away from the stage because there is nowhere else to put it except against the back wall. It's a mass of craning necks and straining arms trying to catch a glimpse of their child the star, it looks like a new form of yoga or a Kylie video! 

Then comes the vigorous waves from both parents and kids and yes, I'm seriously considering joining them. Do I, dont I,do I (my hand starts to lift dubiously)and she clocks me and oh no it's too late.....there I am joining in, in all the glory waving like a mad women (looking like I’m trying to swat an army of flies) at my little ninja all dressed up

and ready to perform for the first time on stage. I'm beaming from ear to ear, loving her outfit, makeup, and the fact that she is even ok with actually performing in front of this huge audience. This is truly a proud mummy moment and there I am camera in hand and I'm talking the big boy camera and wait.....what the..... oh crap the battery dies! Bloody typical that, so now I'm rushing around the camera bag searching, hoping, praying that I have a spare........woop woop I have a spare! But I have now drawn attention to myself with the use of nearly profanities (obviously remembering where I am, as I'm such a good mummy) that I think to myself, do I just smile and look apologetic or do I just pretend it wasn't me? Errr definitely the first because I do feel a little bad.

The show has started and I'm still craning my neck due to the giant of a man sat in front but wait I just slip over to the spare chair next me and crisis averted. I can now concentrate on the lil ninja who is now what looks like to be loving her role as Maleficent in this ‘Goodies vs Baddies performance.

She delivers her lines confidently, in character and also sings all of her songs amazingly (and even slips a cheeky grin and wink at her mummy) and yep, I'm starting to fill up! Hold it together you total typical mummy and I do just because I know the ninja would be the first to tell EVERYONE! #grass!

I think it's difficult to understand the power of a school performance especially when you have the teachers at the back of the hall reading along and doing all of the actions (be careful on that chair!) unless you are a proud parent of a child taking part. The unity that came together at the end of this was unbelievably euphoric and it was clear (even with the teachers responsible shedding every tear in their body) that the children had worked so hard. To see my lil ninjas face holding her friend’s hands, knowing these friendships are there to last, is just so rewarding and they have been brought together even more by the power of performing arts. Something which (as a teacher of it myself) I truly believe can have the most uplifting effect on anybody's life! I'm so proud of my warrior for stepping up and performing so well. (Little tear developing). 

Thank you reading 

Biggest mummy hugs xxxx

Taboo or not taboo that is the question?

Hello lovely people, reading today might make you feel a little squeamish, off or downright itchy mcitchyson! (currently sat scratting at my head as I type- she shudders). So, the subject of this blog post is Pediculosis capitis or headlice, nits, bugs or in my house ‘unwanted visitors!!’ (URRRGHHH!) this is the type of subject which understandably, every parent wants to brush (no pun intended) under the carpet, however it is just one of those things that happens in life especially if your child goes to school and mixes with others. There are so many facts and myths regarding this subject and as a mummy I just learnt as I went along, let me explain…

…so the first time the ninja was ‘visited’ by these ugly (and I mean URRRGLY!) little creatures, I panicked uncontrollably and just thought which scruffy (my small mindedness creeps in here) offspring has passed these to my adorable little girl? I later realised through my own research that any child can accrue these little blighters but it just so happens that my child has the type of hair that they seemed to absolutely lurrrrrve with all of their being #typical!!! LOL. So, what did I do? Well like I said the first time I panicked as I just had no idea how to approach it. I remember ringing my mum and crying down the phone as the first time the ninja was completely riddled with the creeping, crawling unsightly beasts and at the time she was only 4. My hubby ran to the chemist to buy the most medicated shampoo he could find, a metal comb and a skip full of conditioner. We must have been in the bathroom for 3 hours, washing and medicating and combing and all the while pulling out my own hair still panicking that these nasty little buggers were going to eat the ninjas brain. It even got to the point where hubby was sat on the loo (seat down of course) with the ninja on his knee and me picking out the left-over eggs one at a time with my nails just to get rid of them and this poor little girl was so tired she fell asleep in daddy’s arms. So, the question is, who was most stressed? Very clear, yes very clear indeed.

I soon got into a routine (less stressed every time) where, when the ninja was in the bath and I would wash her hair using tea tree shampoo (I decided to ditch the expensive medicated stuff as it just wasn’t needed) and condition it with tea tree conditioner leaving in a huge chunk because apparently, the bugs stick to it when combed. So, with the hair lathered I would comb it through in layers from the bottom, wipe the excess on a baby wipe on the side of the bath then rinse the comb in a sink full of water and just repeat the process until I could see no more crawlies (I would even crunch the big ones under my thumb nail just to make sure 1: it was a bug and 2: they would not be visiting again which was extremely satisfying!). This is then repeated every three days as this is when the new eggs hatch and begin their reign of mummy stress.

Even now the ninja is 8 I will still comb her hair through once every few weeks just to be sure however we have not had ‘visitors’ for quite a while now which could also be due to school hair consisting of a make shift face lift it is pulled so tight, and now we spray, spray and spray again with the magic of Insette hair spray which was always known when I was a child to make your hair feel like cardboard…ITS AMAZING!!!!!!!

I hope this has been helpful in some way even if expresses the fact that this is absolutely nothing to be worried about as a mummy and remember that the majority of kids will have them at some point and operation headlice is actually very easy.

Thank you for reading my lovelies.

Bug hugs oops I mean big! xxxxx

My Christmas essentials for the new year

Hey my lovelies and a happy new year to each and every one. So, I thought I would kick off this year with a Christmas essentials post as in, what I thought would be essential to me this year. I have also included my awesome advent calendars in this as these contain such lovely mini make up and beauty product essentials some of which are an absolute must as a mummy.

You see before you in this picture right here,

a tiny selection which I thought would be mummy useful this year which includes a huge box of Foxes biscuits, and as most mums will know a trough of some glorious crunchies with a cuppa for brunch is an absolute must when all you’ve had in a morning is brush the teeth, brush the hair, dress the child, can’t find this and can’t find that, oh look it’s there, nope gone again, where’s my keys, have we got everything and let’s go! Phew! So sitting and chilling with a good bicci to dip in your cuppa is pure heaven. Then we have the perfume which after all that rushing around can keep you feeling just a little fresher than you would without it! This Ga Ga Fame is also a new scent for me and I find it very fresh and even a little fruity which serves great as a ‘day’ smell (that’s if like me you have separate day and night smells – it just makes sense!). Next, we have a cute little pin cushion, something which I have never owned before which is surprising since I love to sew. For the past 2 years, I have just been using my fingers! Yes an absolute must for sewing lovers and now I can safely pop my pins in this beauty without losing them all over the floor for my feet to find. Woop woop!!! Glasses are next and these are just divine. I actually already have them with a black and white frame and now I have this brown and beige frame too. They are to be worn watching TV, at night and working (computer style) including on the sewing machine so now I have better eyes too (no sewn fingers for me!). The fake eyelashes can help awaken my tired eyes on bad days, hangover days or if my eyebrows fail at least I can stick them on as replacements, right! (you’d get this is you’ve read the eyebrow post). The last three items including colouring book and pencils, quote cards and stress balls are all hopefully going to help LOWER my stress! Yep that’s right I’m going to be totally stress free from using all of these (yeah right), working a full-time job, being a mummy and a wife does not allow for stress free living yet I would not have it any other way.  These gifts however will provide me with outlets for relieving stress and focusing on positives which is what I am all about. Plus the emoji stress balls make me giggle just a bit!

Moving on now to the advent calendars which I got to open every day in the run up to Christmas,

which was soooooo exciting considering I NEVER (notice the accent) get calendars for Christmas. So day by day I loved the little treats in each one. The NYX products provide you with a range of colours from the Wanderlust eyeshadow and soft matte lip cream products (all of which add to my war paint efforts to looking younger). The colours and brilliantly accurate from the colours they show and the best bit is the ninja is such a tomboy, she’s just not interested in pinching it (result)!

The ASOS calendar includes such a massive range of different products from Batiste to Nip + Fab and Elemis to Tony and Guy. It covers moisturisers, to hair products, firming products (ha yes at last I will be firm again) and even a cute little mirror and nail art. The point of this is that if you want to be a little spoilt over the Christmas period then why not treat yourself, you totally deserve it!

I love the fact that I can have this stuff just for myself, well maybe not the biscuits but the ninja will have to get her fight on if she wants the chocolate one’s cos I’m fast! Other than that they are a top shelf job,

(mummy 1 ninja 0….oh wait she can climb! Oh crap!) sharing it is then, oh well.

Thanks for reading my beauties.

Make 2017 a positive

Big hugs xxxxxx