Counting My Blessings - 9 October

This week I'm thankful for...

• Sorting the hats and gloves just in time for the change in weather
  
• Running further than before
  
• Cycling on my beautiful bike
  
• A start date to rebuild our house
  
• New books
  
• Old friends
  
• Cheese scones with pumpkin seeds on top
  
• Handed down clothes (thank you bestie for my boden mac xxx)
• Discovering a new park
• Making plans
• Kisses from my man
• Autumn sun
• Efficient utility repairs

 

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Silent Sunday, 5-October

20 Steps To Get Ready for A Night Out

OK the youngest is now in a good routine and you have no reason not to enjoy a girls night out. It's been months since you had one but it's so much preparation, can you manage, do you have the energy?

 

Can you remember those Saturdays you spent mooching round town choosing an outfit buying expensive make up, then having a nana nap, a leisurely shower and taking time over your makeup? You do? Well put those thoughts to the very back of your mind. You have kids now, things are VERY different.

 

Here's my easy guide to getting ready for a night out when you are responsible for 3 children ( this actually applies to almost any number of children but I'm crazy enough to have three !)

 

1 Set your alarm early so you can shower before everyone gets up. Wash your hair, this may be the only shower you manage today MAKE IT COUNT. If anything needs shaving (personal choice obviously) do that now. If you are wearing jeans/trousers etc you can skip the legs. I mean winter is coming so why bother right?

 

 

2 Get the kids some breakfast and dry your hair while they are eating, you'll probably have to do this in the same room as them in order to look like a responsible parent.

 

 

3 Weigh up these options... you can either straighten your hair and pray for dry weather or twist it into pin curls and look like a loon all day but have lovely curls tonight...

 

4 Entertain the children for the morning with some crafts, whilst they are distracted destroying your dining table with glue and glitter, paint your fingernails and hope the kids don't require any assistance until this coat is dry. Please note if you are given the luxury of pooing without company, this is the perfect time to paint your toenails! Multitasking is the name of this game!

 

5 Make lunch and apply a second coat of nail varnish to fingernails whilst children are eating.

 

6 Take the kids out to let them run wild, this will ensure they fall asleep quickly tonight and you can sneak out.

 

7 come home and cook something for dinner that will not leave a lasting odour in your hair! Waffles and nuggets whilst holding no nutritional value fit the bill!

 

8 Get your partner to bathe the children and go put your makeup on, if you have to bathe the children yourself please do this before any attempt at makeup. They wil sense your upcoming freedom and sabotage you with a face full of water.

 

9 Realise you haven't checked your outfit for fit, cleanliness or need of ironing.

 

10 Realise it doesn't fit has snot on it and looks like it's been tied in knots

 

11 Select another outfit.

 

12 Spot another snot stain.

 

13 Select another outfit and lay carefully on bed.

 

14 Take eldest children to bed with promises of sweets and treats if they go straight to sleep.

 

15 Settle the baby to bed

 

16 Creep out of her room and sneak to your bedroom putting on your third choice outfit, grab your shoes andhead stealthily out the door whispering last minute instructions to whoever is in charge ( this will no doubt be your partner as no one else is mad enough to volunteer to babysit 3 children)

 

17 Discover a baby related stain on your outfit and simply wipe it with a baby wipe you've past caring and there are no more options left.

 

18 Put your shoes on outside (so the kids don't hear the clip clop of you heading down the hall) and run, run to your rendezvous point ringing your friends en route to pre order your drink so it's ready.

 

19 Arrive at your night out and realise any (or worse ALL) of the following things....

 

Your shoes don't match (each other or your outfit)

You miss your kids because you are insane.

You didn't put any lipstick on and your beautiful jewellery is exactly where it's been for the last 11 months, in the jewellry box!

You didn't manage that second shower you still have glitter and glue on your elbow, and your bag isn't big enough for baby wipes!

You can't walk in heels anymore.

 

20 Relax and try to enjoy your night, the kids are fine and your mobile IS working. Now get another drink and start having a gossip.

 

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#Mummymakeover week 1

You may have already seen my post about being sugar addicted? As my effort for Stoptober I have given up sweets and cakes and chocolate. I've blathered on all year about losing weight and getting fit, yet I'm still no further forward, so October is the month that things change...

1st October

Today is 'mummy morning running' a local group of mums who meet up then try to run a bit longer/faster/better than they did the week before. It starts straight from school and I'll be honest I normally have to fight the urge to stay at home and eat a family sized bar of chocolate! I've made myself get up and dressed in my running gear (that's 2 bras under anything that hides the wobble !) and I'm determined that I'm making a difference this month.

I'm pleased I went though, the other mums are lovely and there's a few I know  from outside the group. Today I ran with a lovely lady called Lorraine and we've spurred each other on to go a bit further than normal and we've ran over a mile! Now for those of you for whom fitness comes naturally this may not sound like a big deal but I'm over the flipping moon! It's not the easiest thing to run with a pram, especially one that's not specifically a running pram but I'm out there and I'm doing it and it feels quite good. It's also not easy to run when your lady lumps are as big as mine! Yes folks I've been blessed (I actually mean burdened) with boobs that have simply grown with each child and never shrink back to normal! So where once I was a nice 36D now I'm a humongous 38G! Yuhuh that's a G cup meaning running is a feat of engineering and I wear 3, yes that's  THREE,  bra's

I can feel my body aching with the effort and that just helps me keep motivated, that ache has to mean things are moving towards firmness right? 

2nd October 

So on top of the usual running around today I danced and jumped around like a loon to burn off some calories. Termite thought it was great fun! 

I'd love to pop along to an exercise class but I have termite in the day and then the kids have activities 4 nights a week so there's little chance of that, but tonight, with no persuasion and of my own choosing I took The Golden Child  to his afterschool activity on my bike AND picked him up again. Now I didn't think it would be so far but it's actually 1.6 miles! I'm feeling very pleased with myself. Even more so because there are sweets in my house! Yes actual sweets actually in my house! I haven't are them! Yay me!

3rd October 

Termite, Peanut  and The Golden Child took turns last night to wake me. I've slept 2 hours! TWO!!! I'm so exhausted that from first thing  I just want sugar, any sugar at all. But I keep telling myself I won't cave, I can't. I've said aloud that I will give up the sugary treats. But it's so hard. I'm proud though that I said a firm no to cake at Playgroup. I'm not so proud that I may (totally did) have caved in and ate an icecream bar this afternoon. 

6th October

We've had a lovely weekend with lots of walking and no chocolate! I even resisted the skittles that the kids had for movie night.today has been miserable to windy and wet and cold! We've had the heating on and temptation was strong to eat chocolate and drink tea, but I stayed strong left the actual chocolate alone and have allowed myself a low fat hot chocolate drink. I also had some yummy cabbage and potato curry which is so easy and good for you too.

7th October 

More walking today and I'm feeling fab,I've  resisted chocolate and done plenty walking where I can.   I'm not looking forward to Running club tomorrow though, infact I think I've thought of about 670 excuses to not go.... It's weigh day as well !

Thankful Thursday - 2 October

Hello again, well I have created a whole new badge this week and whilst it still looks the same it points to my new web address so if you would like to add it to your post and help me spread some Thursday Thanks that woud be just peachy.

I can't wait  to catch up with you all again this week, if you are just new here then the info below mught help

Thankful Thursday is my weekly linky for us all to share our silver linings, brags, boasts or just something that made us smile. Be it a picture, a word, a sentence or a great big essay lets share what we are thankful for this week. It can be a new post just for this linky, a picture, a video, one word or a thousand this linky is all about thankfulness so whatever has made you grateful this week I would love to know.
 

If you would like to link up I would love for you to grab the badge below and spread a little linky love to some of the others taking part, and don't forget to spread the word, invite lots of people and help me grow this and make Thursdays a happier place.

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<a href="http://blog.monkey-feet.com/" title="Adventure of a Monkeyfooted Mummy"><img src="http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab203/Karen_English_Pt-vip/a31fbba4-ad8e-4a22-938f-50b7765ce356_zps48c213b3.jpg" alt="Adventure of a Monkeyfooted Mummy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Sweet Pea Pantry Review and Giveaway

We love to bake so I was thrilled when the lovely people at Sweetpea Pantry got in touch to see if we would like to review for them. One look at thier website an I knew I was done for! There are so many gorgeous kits I just couldn't decide so I asked for a surprise. We got our beautiful package containing a Playful Pizza Dough Kit and a Ginger Giggles kit. Now as you know we've been struck by disaster and sadly the kitchen has seen the worst of that so we weren't able to get stuck in right away.  But my oh my it was worth the wait.

What They Say

Two ambitious, hardworking, fun loving career girls, on a mission to eat and drink their way around the world in the bars and restaurants of Sydney, New York and London. Suddenly, brakes, big brakes. (That would be the children - one for Philippa, three for Tanya).

As food obsessed parents, we couldn't find any great baking mixes on the shelves that we felt comfortable feeding our children. We both loved to bake but didn't always have the time, energy or range of ingredients. So with a flash of inspiration, we decided to put our time and energy into making sure all busy parents had access to great tasting, easy options for baking with or for their kids. Mixes that weren't defined by sugar, that had fibre, nutrients, texture and flavour.

Having known each other since we were 5 years old making mud pies in the backyard, the recipes bit was easy, and we had lots of willing participants to trial all the products. With a little bit of support from some amazing mentors in the industry and a lot of research, Sweetpea Pantry was launched with five products and a lot more in the works.

TANYA
Mother of three girls, ex-luxury hotel sales, keeper of lists, perfectionist, food designer, busiest calendar ever!

PHILIPPA
Lover of sleep, good food obsessed, bossy, ex-wino marketeer, dreams of sunshine and passionfruit cocktails.

What We Say 

I really liked the feel of this company, they are friendly and passionate and really beleive (rightly so) in thier product.

The packaging is beautiful and the kids were immediately keen to get stuck in, In fact they had to wait as our goodies arrived right before holiday, then we returned to disaster  so it was a wee while before we got into the kitchen. Let me tell you though, the kids were asking to make the Ginger Giggles EVERY SINGLE DAY. I love how there's lots of extra goodness in the mix like whole grains , rye and barley.

So after much anticipation we set off with the mixing bowls and ingredients.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow you just add a couple of basic ingredients and mix and the biscuits turned out really well. All three kids enjoyed baking these and we all enjoyed eating them. 

I'm normally not a great biscuit maker, cakes I rock at but biscuits are never quite how they should be. I was however pleasantly surprised they came out just delicious. They are Just the right balance of chewy and crunchy and had a really lovely texture which i think i can attributed to the rye and barley. They certainly were a huge improvement on my boring and a bit rubbish ginger bread men! The kits are priced at £5.95 each but they make a massive amount of biscuits, 3 baking trays full, so they are good value for money and if you get 

I love that there has been thought put into every ingredient, a nutritionalist has helped figure our loads of great stuff to add which have brilliant benefits and really make these a more wholesome snack, plus you wouldnt neccessarily have these ingredients in your cupboard or think of adding them to biscuits.

I can't wait to get stuck into the pizza dough and I'm excited to get my hands on one of these beautiful gift sets for Peanut's birthday in december, I think she will love it.

And because those lovely ladies at Sweetpea are indeed very lovely, they have offered us a 3 month subscription to give away, you know the drill, fill in the rafflecopter and we will pick a winner from the correct entries.GOOD LUCK

Dont forget to show some love over on Twitter and Facebook and why not have a mooch around their  website to look at all the other lovely mixes you can get. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This weeks reasons to be thankful...