Family Time is My Favourite Time!

Summer has finally arrived and me and Ben have made it our bid to start getting out way more with Oliver on Ben's days off! Ben doesn't get to spend as much time with Oliver as I do as he works full time providing for us and to give me the opportunity to be a stay at home mumma to our boy which I am truly grateful for. 
Today we kicked out off our new plans with a trip to our local park, fields and woods! Not the most exciting for some people but Oliver loves it! Oliver was even a daring little explorer and went down the biggest slide in the park with Daddy which he completely loved! squealing with excitement and joy! Grinning his little face off! These are the exact moments that I live for and enjoy so much! 

After the wake of recent events both personally and globally it has really made me realise the importance of family and togetherness and how I think we need to spend more doing things that we love together and with our friends and family,.

I hope you've all enjoyed my quick little post about our little adventure today! 

Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens

Hello everybody! Welcome back! I think that I should start off saying that It has been a little while since our visit here but I ended up planning to write this but ended up getting caught up in doing things for our holiday and other projects! So here it is better late then never and I mean the pictures are just to lovely not to share! 

We ended up going with my dad, his girlfriend Sam, her son Greg and 2 of her Grandchildren Ted and Jasmine. We had the loveliest day Oliver literally didn't stop all day, he was running around the park shouting whats this and pointing at everything. He was completely in his element even having a quite big tantrum over us trying to put him back in the buggy.

As well as obviously having all the animals, the train and lots of things to do for the children they also have the most beautiful gardens. We were lucky enough that when we went everything was in full bloom! 

We also took a picnic as there are plenty of open spaces and picnic benches and it was lovely, hot and sunny to just sit down whilst the children ran around in all the space playing and having just such a lovely time together. 

All in all we had the most lovely day filled with fun and giggles. It was just so lovely to see Oliver so intrigued and interested in everything and just loving life! 

Hope you've enjoyed this quick little post! Thank you so much for reading! 

Amy 

x

Butlins! Minehead Just for Tots Review!

Butlins Minehead Just For Tots Review; Our Experience

So as some of you may know or remember me writing that we off to Butlins! on a just for tots holiday from the 1st to the 5th of May. This was our first proper holiday as a family this year so we were extremely excited to take Oliver on his first holiday! Just for tots are 4 night 5 day breaks designed for children under the age of five and we though that this would be a brilliant holiday for us to try and enjoy with Ollie it meant that we wouldn't be away for home too long and there would hopefully be plenty to do! 

Accommodation 5/5

During our stay we stayed in the Standard Apartment during our stay but unfortunately I completely forgot to take some pictures of the apartment for this post ooops|! When we booked the holiday we thought that we had only booked a standard room for the week but were pleasantly surprised to realised that we had a whole apartment for the week. As you can tell by the accommadation title it was quite basic in areas. We had 3 bedrooms which all had a built in wardrobe and a set of draws in each and the master bedroom had a added extra of a big mirror. The kitchen was pretty standard which included a cooker, microwave and plates, cutlery, cups, and tea making facilities, we were also given a little roll up of cleaning cloths and a tea towel. We also had a utilty cupboard in the hallway with a broom, dustpan and brush and ironing board and iron! We also had a living type area which had two sofas, a dining table and a tv with built in freeview. 

Food 3.5/5
I've only given the dinind the review that I have because of Oliver's allergies. We chose to add the Premium Dining package to our stay, which was breakfast in the morning and an evening meal at night, you can choose to dine at either The Deck or The Yacht Club. Breakfast I couldn't fault there was plenty of variety for both us and Oliver to have and they were also very accommodating by providing soya milk for any cereal Oliver had. Tea time however was a bit more difficult with a lot of the options for little ones containing milk so therefore Oliver was unable to have them, so for pretty much the whole week Oliver ended up eating either chips, plain pasta, sausages and salad. We also chose to dine out at one of Butlins onsite restaurants The Diner; The food and milkshakes Ben and I ordered for ourselves we could not fault! Oliver's food however was awful, we ordered him a pasta dish which was rubbery and scalding hot when it came out. We gave it the benefit of the doubt a left if for a few minutes to cool down and entertained him with some colouring whilst we waited. We then let him have some of his food which he spat back out in disgust and started screaming and grabbed his drink. So I checked his pasta again and it was still scalding hot. We tried to complain to the staff but they didn't seem to very helpful or very interested in what we had to say so we begrudgingly paid the bill and left. Although we've booked to return next year we have decided that the food packages aren't really worth the money for us due to Oliver's allergies and it feeling like he or anyone else with similar allergies to him isn't really catered for so we've decided to go with Self Catering next time.

Activities 5/5
There are so many activities and things to do on a Just for Tots break! It's just knowing what to do first! I think though I'll start off by saying that although we weren't short of anything to do or see there were a few things that Oliver couldn't do because of age restrictions. I don't think that we got around to doing everything we wanted because there is such a lot available. We ended up seeing a fair few of the skyline gang shows and the Teletubbies live show as well as attending some Art and Crafts slots, Swimming at Splash Water World and the Tots fairground although Ollie was still a bit too little to go on a few of the rides but was aloud on the little train they run and in the soft play area just to name a few. No wonder he was asleep as soon as we put him in the travel cot! 

I hope you've enjoyed my little review of our Just for Tots break! Thank you for reading! 

Oliver's 18 Month Update!

Hello Everybody! So it's time for Oliver's 18 month update! How is he 18 months already?! Literally where has that time gone! 
Well firstly we'll start with his height and weight, I have been a slightly naughty mummy and he's not been weigh since Christmas (Ooops!) or has he been measured height wise for a while! I really must put that on my to do list! But he is definitely growing well, he's never really been a chubby boy but he is definitely lanky just like his daddy! 
Routine is getting better day by day, if we're lucky we manage to get him to have a nap after lunch which at the moment has been ranging from anywhere from an hour to two! He has a bath near enough everyday as part of his bedtime routine to help him relax he'll then go down to bed at about 7 - 7.30 and we're managing anywhere between a 5 - 7.30 wake up which has been a huge improvement, I do think that Ollie starting to walk properly has been tiring him out more. 
Eating and Drinking we're quite lucky that Ollie isn't really a fussy eater he does get a bit fussy when he's teething and doesn't tend to eat much when he's cutting teeth, drinks wise we've managed to cut down to one bottle of milk for bedtime and he no longer has the dummy he's not had a dummy for about 10 months now if I'm honest. 
Teething! Where do I start?! Its all that seems to be going on at the minute! We've finally cut those pesky molars on the plus side though! We don't really give him anything when he's teething aside from calpol because of him being  lactose intolerant a lot of the teething products contain lactose.
Walking he doesn't stop when we're at home he tears about the house like roadrunner! He's not quite confident enough for walking outside at the moment, we've brought him one of those little life dinosaur backpacks with the detachable reins. We have tried taking him out around our road and up to the playing field up by our house but we only seem to get a few steps before he sits down and he tries to crawl haha! 

Oliver's speaking is coming along great as well, he seems to be coming out with new words more and more and often amazes me with what he comes out with. He's getting really good at communicating with us when he wants some things he'll pick up what he wants whether its a toy he wants us to play with him with, a DVD he wants us to put on for him or a book he wants to read and says "This" and waves it at us! 
I hope you've enjoyed Oliver's 18 month update and I'l be back soon guys!

Love Amy 

x

A Lovely Spring Day!

It's definitely been feeling a lot like spring lately! So what better time to get out and blow the cobwebs away! So we took Ben, Nanny and I took Oliver out on his trike to our local garden centre webbs! The sell just about anything you could want they also have a massive hobby craft and a lovely big park made out of logs! The sun was out and Oliver had a lovely time! I'd say he was walking about but he's not quite confident enough on his feet yet although he has been tearing around the house without even thinking! He really is absolutely full of energy and squealing with delight as daddy pushed him down the slide and I caught him at the bottom and he enjoyed it so much that he decided that It was an amazing idea to try and crawl back up to daddy! 

I really do cherish days like this especially with Ben working the long hours that he does to provide for us and its just so lovely for him to spend time with Ollie and to see them so happy together and I don't think that I could ask or wish for anything better! 

(got to love those cheeky grins and that belly flash!)

I hope you've enjoyed this little short but sweet post! 
Love Amy x

An Evening with Giovanna Fletcher

Last week I managed to get the rare and wonderful thing of a night off of mummy duties and went to go see the wonderful Gi on her book tour for her new book Happy Mu, Happy Baby! I went with my lovely friend Kirsty and we made a night out of it a went for some food and such, we ended up eating in Ed's diner, I have never been before and the food was just so nice! I had a burger which came with Fries, Onion Rings and Coleslaw but I did end up having to leave some because there was just so much food, I also had a Nutella Shake which was just to die for and I mean that probably didn't help with making me feel so full either really tbh! We then had quick mooch round a couple of shops before heading back to the venue ready for when doors open. When we got inside we were given a lovely bag that had a copy of her book, some postcards with some amazing quotes on and a lovely little bottle of burt's bees cleanser and well I love me a good cleanser! 
Th evening kicked off with a Gi talking about her book and just about being a mummy in general! She is literally just such an amazing woman, I laughed, things got a bit emotional and I felt so honoured to be in a room with such a genuine lovely lady! We then got the oppotunity to ask Gi some questions about the book and such and I got a little bit shaky and upset but I did it! Once the Q & A had finished we then were allowed to line up and meet her and have our copy of book signed which was absolutely lovely!
All in all I had an absolutely amazing night although I missed Ollie so much and it was really quite weird to be away from him like it always is!

Shopping Trip Haul!

Today was one of those days where I probably spent more than I intended too! (Oooops!) Today's haul is mainly Primark but my trip into Primark did actually have a purpose so all my purchases were not just impulse purchases well not all of them anyway! I also went to Poundland, Superdrug and Tiger so I'll also be popping about them on the end so let's jump in and start with Primarni! 

First off I fell in love with this grey pleated skirt and decided that I maybe needed it and picked that up, the material is quite thick so but its also quite flowy so I figured that I could wear it now with tight and some nice boots whilst the weather is cooler and I could also wear it in the summer with some nice sandals and it was only £8 which I thought was an absolute bargain! 

I also purchased a pair of new shorts because we're going on holiday to Butlins in May and we're hoping that it might be reasonable warm so I wanted some new shorts that I would be able to wear to go for a paddle in the sea although I am currently wearing them whilst I relax and write this hehe! They're a cotton type material and they have like a lacy type detailing on them down the sides and around the bottom of the legs and they were only £4 which was such a steal! 

I also purchased a new candle..... I literally cannot go into anywhere without finding a candle that I like the smell of and buying it! (ooops!) this one is a raspberry and vanilla scent and when I smelt it, I immediately thought about burning it on a lovely summers day because the smell reminded me of ice cream! I will say though that Ben was maybe not too impressed that I have added to the ever growing collection tbh. It comes in a reasonably sized jar and was only £2. 

Now for the things that I purchased for Ollie -I did go a little bit mad here I'll admit that but we're going on holiday in May and he needed a few bits and bobs ready for our holiday! First off I picked him up some swim shorts because he hasn't been swimming for a little while and he's grown out of them so I got him these lovely red ones which came in a 2 pack and they were only £4 which is amazing value for money! I then got a few t-shirts for him ready for when we go away and I think the most I paid was £2.50 which all in all wasn't bad value for money, I also picked him up a pack of sock because Ollie is forever losing socks and I am always forever having to replace them! They were only £2.50 for a pack of five! I also picked him up a hat for the summer he doesn't really like to wear hats so I didn't want to spend too much money on hat that he probably won't wear so for £1 you can't go wrong really! 

I also picked up an few bits from superdrug I got the Garnier Beauty Oil body scrub with Argan, Macadamia, Almond and Rose oil which smells amazing and that was on offer for £1.79, I also picked up a coconut & orchid body lotion which was superdrug own brand and that was only £1.45 and then because I had purchased 2 skin care products I got a free Versace bright crystal mini! 

I hope you enjoyed my mini haul!

Love Amy x