Birthday escapades

My little grumble about parenting being hard work, completely overlooked the post that should have been about my glorious birthday escapades.


Well lets rectify that shall we?


Right, well first off the weather was fabulous. The sun shone ALL day. The sky was blue and the clouds were fluffy and white it was divine.


The other half did disappoint me though *sigh*.  As usual I had to ask him a million times to help with the children and everything else blah, blah, blah. Really what is it with men and simple tasks??


He sort of redeemed himself when he and the kiddies gave me birthday cards and this yummy chocolate cake.

Birthday cakie

Then he ruined it again by complaining about, having a headache then not coming with us to church or the restaurant I had booked for lunch, so that left me quietly seething for a few hours. I suppose if you're sick, you're sick but his timing is appalling. At least the sun was still shining though. Unlike my mood. 


So after church my children, my nephew, sister, brother, parents and I went to Browns by Tower Bridge for lunch. We couldn't find any street parking so had to pay £3.50 an hour for a car park. Three cars, three hours. £10.50 each. Ouch. Better than getting a ticket or worse getting clamped I suppose.


I love this branch of Browns, the location is great ( the other half proposed along the river here), plus the food is hearty.  Unfortunately I have no photos of what we ate, because I was too pre-occupied with overexcited children to be able to think straight. 

Chaos

I had cheese and rocket flat bread with hummus for a starter which was scrummy, followed by crab and prawn linguine which was bland, but a bit of salt livened it up, and then I had a ginger and chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I also treated myself to a cheeky birthday mojito which was nice but had a ton of crushed ice, so you don't get much bang for your buck. Lol.


Then back to my mum and dad's for a bit where my sister presented me with my lovely presents. Some eye-shadows and lip-gloss. She knows I want to begin taking make up seriously so she got me a few pieces for my make up bag, bless her. She'd also noticed I'd been eyeing up some cute rose bud earrings she has, so she got me  a pair too. Finally I've been hankering after satin pillowcases to help with my natural hair (It helps to reduce the friction of my hair on the pillow), so she bought me a lovely satin duvet set. I love practical presents. I'm so Taurean and my sister hit the mark with all of her fabulous gifts. Thanks sis. Mwaah.

The other half perked up, so I went and picked him up from the station and off we went to Upper Street in Islington for my second meal of the day. I was still stuffed from lunch, so wanted something light. we opted for a lovely Thai restaurant Isarn. Again I forgot to take pictures of the food. What's up with that??


I had garlic prawns for starters, the other half had crispy duck with pancakes and plum sauce. One word. Delicious. For main I had the baked Sea bass with herb sauce and jasmine rice. The other half had swordfish with a salsa type accompaniment and coconut rice. The food was gorgeous and I was gutted I had no room to finish it all or properly enjoy it because I wasn't overly hungry. We had raspberry bellinis which were really tasty and refreshing. Think the bubbles went to my head a little because I got a bit giggly. Ooops.

The other half got the bill and rather cleverly they split the cost of the meal for you, so you don't have to faff about working it out . I haven't ever seen that before and thought it was a really good idea (splitting a bill between two isn't rocket science, but for bigger parties you can see where this would be super beneficial). Obviously going dutch didn't apply to me on this occasion. Heeheee

We then mosied onto a cocktail bar called Ladybird where we had a chilli cocktail to share. I didn't like it because it really tasted of chilli. Funny that. And it was warm and fiery at the back of my throat. It was a very weird sensation. I'm used to eating hot food, but drinking it is altogether a different experience.


Then we made our way back to my folks to pick up our children. What a lovely day.

Hard work

Not a happy bunny

After the glorious sunniness that was my birthday. Today I'm being brought back to reality with a short, sharp, thud.


Being a mother is hard work. Hard, hard, hard, hard work. 


As I type this my daughters are bickering for the millionth time today - *yawn* and I've just about had enough of the squealing, shouting, moaning and crying. My son has had the odd whinge and crying fit too but that was easily solved with a bottle of milk and some food. Boys are so different.

My three year old on the other hand is such a little madam. She is by far the cheekiest and most challenging of my children. (I think it's a second child thing because my mum seems to have or has the same issue with my little sister - sorry sis.) 

 My angelic faced daughter can be a complete nightmare sometimes and her behaviour pushes me to the edge of my parenting ability. Lately the terrible two's seem to have transformed into the equally if not worse tedious three's. The number of meltdowns this child has had in the two weeks she has been three is a joke. Albeit an unfunny one. 

Most of the time she is completely sweet and funny and does as she is told and other times she will look me square in the eye with all the confidence and will in the world and point blank refuse to do as she has been asked. 

When she was younger I believed it was her age that was responsible for my inability to reason with her, now I know that not to be the case and have come to realise that she is simply a headstrong, defiant and intelligent child. She can see through anything. 

If her dad and I threaten to take something away or stop her from doing something if she doesn't do A, B or C, she knows it is a threat and I have often overheard her say to her big sister 'Mummy/Daddy didn't take away such and such or stop us from doing such and such last time, so we can do that if we want' Can you believe it? Three?

Deep down I am rather impressed that my three year old daughter has the tenacity to see through things and challenge them, but as it's her dad and I on the receiving end we need to manage it or she'll be running rings around us in no time.

Since she can quite clearly identify if a threat is empty or not, we have had to be extra vigilant and make sure that we follow through on everything we say.  It's tough because you don't want to deny your children, but if their behaviour is not up to scratch and they refuse to listen then it's the only language that is understood in our household these days. 

It's draining, frustrating, repetitive and boring, but I guess that's the beauty of parenting. I'm trying hard to keep my cool but it's not easy. All the bribing, disciplining, shouting and pleading is incredibly trying but hey this too shall pass. 

I hope.

Silent Sunday

Dr Organics - Virgin olive oil face scrub and day cream

I have started using the Dr Organics face scrub and day cream and I have to say it is glorious.


I particularly love this range because of all the natural ingredients and general loveliness. My old face cream had yucky parabens, which are chemicals that are used to preserve many different types of cosmetics and toiletry products. It is thought that parabens cause certain types of cancers. So I'm choosing to steer clear of them and use hair products, toiletries and cosmetics which do not contain this potentially harmful chemical.


I first came across the Dr Organics range in Holland and Barrett a few months ago when I started using the tea tree shampoo for my little boy. A few days ago I discovered additional products in the range. I've been on the look out for new face creams and scrubs and I liked the look of the ingredients, so I thought I'd give them a try. The scrub was £6.19 and the day cream £8.19, so the prices aren't the cheapest. 


I started using the day cream straight away. It left my skin feeling really soft and supple without feeling greasy. It also gave my face a nice glow. The cream has a very lovely, subtle scent too. It doesn't smell much like olive oil which isn't necessarily a bad thing, although I do love using olive oil straight out of the bottle on mine and my children's hair and skin.


I used the face scrub for the first time this morning and I was very impressed with it. Face scrubs I've used in the past have often felt harsh and overly scratchy with a scent which left a lot to be desired. The granules in this scrub do not feel too abrasive and the creamy consistency makes application easy. My skin was left feeling super soft and invigorated. After rinsing I applied the day cream and I was totally fresh faced and ready to begin my day. Fabulous.


It is early days but I'm really pleased with these products so far and I would definitely recommend them.

This isn't a review post. It's simply me sharing the products I find, use and enjoy, with you : )

Another year, another birthday

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It's my 33rd birthday on Sunday. I do not know where the time is going. 


This time last year we were living in Leeds, I was 34 weeks pregnant and one day away from beginning maternity leave.


Now we are back in London, My little man is nearly 11 months. He is walking, babbling and so completely adorable. The other half and I are getting married next year. My eldest starts school in September, my second daughter will hopefully start pre-school too, so that will give me more time to do more of what I want to do.


I must confess at 33 I thought I'd be more ahead of the game in terms of owning a house instead of a flat, earning stacks of money and generally being more comfortably off, but I can no way grumble about where I am at AT ALL.


God has blessed me with three, beautiful, healthy children, when I thought I would have none. I have a wonderful fiancé, who although has plenty of annoying habits, is the love of my life. And by this time next year I'm certain to be or just about to be a 'Mrs'. I was made redundant at the beginning of the year and although worrying at times, this has been a blessing in disguise because I am able to be with my children whilst juggling things I love, such as my blog, meeting up with friends and family, starting some kind of keep fit class (must find one and enrol immediately) etc, etc, etc.


On my birthday last year the fiance and I went to Carluccio's in the Trafford Centre for lunch. The food was amazing, so I think we'll book a table in a London branch this weekend. Plus I'll be having a meal out with the family too.


When I sit down and think about it the world really is my oyster, I can do whatever I choose if I put my mind to it. Sometimes this can feel impossible, but as long as I put my faith in the most high whilst remaining focused and organised great things can and will be achieved.

Save the date?

I've got a question. Are save the date cards a 'must' when planning a wedding?

The date for our forthcoming nuptials looks set to be Saturday 11 May 2013. Only a year to go...eeek. I really want to send save the date cards to our family and friends in the next month or so to;

 a) Give them the heads up and let them know to save the date in their diaries (obviously) 

and

 b) It'll make everything start to feel more real for me. Like this thing is definitely happening and the wheels are in motion.

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These cards are rather lovely.

I guess the truth of the matter is that I feel like everything is losing momentum a little and I want to keep my foot on the gas. Plus my Mum told me a few days ago that one of my male cousins is getting married in May next year too, so it'll be prudent to let people know our date, so they can make the necessary arrangements required to juggle two weddings. 

I'm not close to this cousin, but it still feels like a little spanner has been thrown in the works and the exclusivity of our wedding has diminished slightly. To be honest we haven't even properly announced to the family our plans, so it all still feels surreal and I want it to start feeling REAL!!!

Anyway getting back to my cousins wedding, the plus side to that is, this may mean our guest list may reduce slightly. May sound harsh but both of our families are huge and having to leave people out feels awful, so this may ease things a little....?? Probably not.

The other half doesn't seem too fussed. I think he is dragging his feet a little, but then that's men for you. He seems to think there's no urgency and there is no way we need to send out save the date cards. May I add this is a man who is ridiculously laid back full stop,  and doesn't seem to understand the amount of planning that goes into making an event run smoothly.

He says we can leave the planning until a few months before the wedding. I say NO WAY and want to get things like the reception venue and church booked now, so at least we know the main elements are taken care of and everything else can be planned around them. He thinks I'm being too hasty and we'll end up paying over the odds if we book now, I guess he has a point, but what if we end up not getting the date we want if we wait?

To say I'm getting a little frustrated with all these annoying factors is an understatement, and we haven't even properly started yet...I've got a sneaky feeling this whole process will end up being quite painful and I had such high hopes. Groan....

Anyone else think I'm being too hasty? Should we be sending save the date cards soon, if at all? And should we get the church and reception venue booked while we're at it too?

Help...??

Meerkats

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We were at the park feeding the ducks and out of nowhere my eldest daughter (who, may I add is only four and a half) said to me; 

"Meerkats exist". 

Now I love Meerkats, they are so cute, but I'm not sure why she said what she did, but then that's kids for you.

"That's a big word". I responded. "Do you know what it means?"

Without a moments hesitation she replied "It means they are real."

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "High five."  Deep inside I was beaming.

Children can be so darn cute and clever sometimes.