Competition giveaway....

I'm really excited to announce the launch of my first ever competition giveaway courtesy of Busy Bee candles. Busy Bee candles are producers of a range of amazing scented candles, handmade in the UK. All candles use soy wax and the very finest fragrances available. Even a dragon thinks they're the bees knees

“Busy Bee Candles better then Yankee” – Theo Paphitis (Entrepreneur & star of Dragons Den)

The prize for the lucky winner is a stunning mini me gift set worth £16. The set consists of four mini me candles presented in a gorgeous crystal clear box.

The mini me gift set

So to be in with a chance of winning this fabulous prize, all you have to do is follow my blog by signing up through google friend connect, and appearing on the right hand side of the page under my follower gadget, and like my Facebook page; the link is on the top right hand side of my blog page.

Feel free to also follow me on twitter and blog lovin, although you will also have to do the blog follow and Facebook like to be entered into the draw. And that's it!

Those who are already following my blog via google friend connect will automatically be entered into the prize draw, as long as they have liked my Facebook page too! The closing date is midnight on Thursday 1 March 2012 and the winner will be announced shortly after.

Good luck!!

Terms&Conditions

1. You must follow this blog via google friend connect and like my Facebook page for your entry to be valid.

2. The closing date is Thursday 1st March at Midnight. After that your follows will not count.

3. The winner will be picked at random.

4. My decision is final.

Too fast

Image from notonthehighstreet.com

My little boy is pulling himself up and standing lots, he never seems to want to sit down .

He will be walking before we know it. My nephew started walking at nine months and I think my boy is on track to do the same.

Maybe it's because he's my youngest but he seems to be reaching these milestones so fast.

My baby has all but gone...*sigh*

The big chop

Image from theprojectsco.co.uk

I've been made redundant.

It was a hard decision to make because I could have stayed if the situation was right. But it's not.

I was three quarters of the way through my maternity leave, so I was pretty much out of the loop so it does make things a little easier.

I truly believe everything happens for a reason. Having three kids and having to pay for three lots of childcare would've been impossible. I'm consoling myself with the fact that children grow so quickly and now I'm a full time mum I can watch my children grow.Sometimes I feel like I'll lose my sanity but we all spend so much time together now. These are days I'll never get back so I'm enjoying making these memories with my children.

As one door closes another opens and although it may get tough, I know there are exciting times ahead. 

Be happy

I've been inspired by a project that Kate, at the 'Kate takes 5' blog has been mulling over. She questions the concept of happiness, and what really makes people happy. She reaches the conclusion that asking your children what makes them happy produces the best results. Thus the 'happiness project' was born .

Kate has decided to run a blog hop, so all the wise responses can be pulled together into a big smiley rainbow of happiness. I asked my girls and kind of guessed for my baby boy, but I'm sure if he could talk he'd agree lol. Their answers made me laugh out loud and grin from ear to ear.....

My eldest
Ice cream & lollipops

My middle child

Orange squash & beans

My baby

Crackers, fruit purée and silly faces

 Just goes to show that happiness is very easy to achieve....when you're a child at least.
 

If you want to join in just click here to find out more. Be happy!!

30 things about me (part two)

Image from mythirtyspot.com

Welcome to the second instalment of 30 things about me. If you missed the first set please feel free to click here to get up to speed. OK, let's go;

11. I believe that good manners go a long way.

12. I can't stand cucumbers.

13. I suffer from hayfever - very annoying and inconvenient.

14. I love to sing.

15. I Passed my driving test at 17, the second time around.

16. I've had three serious relationships in my life. The first two were very regrettable. Third time extremely lucky - yay!!

17. I went to Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen' restaurant for my 30th and loved it. I wanted to go to Hawaii but I'd just given birth to our second daughter 11 days earlier.

18. Barbados is one of my favourite places in the world.

19. I have a fear of dying (but this fear is also motivating me to live for the moment and not sweat the small stuff).

20. Currently a self confessed blogger and twitter addict enthusiast......

Look out for the third and final segment.

What random things can you tell me about you? I'm all ears... :  ) 

Blogs I'm loving - week one

Image from vayapeliculas.com

Welcome to the new feature I've decided to include in my blog. Being new to the world of blogging I am always on the lookout for a good read. Of course it's nice to connect with people on the way too. In my eight weeks of being a blogger I have come across some great material, so in order to keep track and share my findings I'll be including this feature detailing my favourite blogs of the moment. Enjoy!

Slugs on the refrigerator

A beautiful blog where a mum of three juggles motherhood with her breathtaking photography and excellent knitting/crochet business. Her children are a similar age to mine, which is why I'm so drawn to her musings. Her designs are stunning and unique and I'll definitely be passing on her patterns to my mum and mum in law so they can have a go at making these gorgeous pieces for their grandchildren *wink, wink*. Slugs on the refrigerator.

Cheeky pink tulip
A lovely blog where a newlywed writes about anything that tickles her fancy. Beautiful and lighthearted this blog always makes me smile. Cheeky pink tulip.


Eat pray bake

Bailey Ana is a fantastic baker and she creates amazing sweet treats. She is a brilliant photographer and her blog is adorned with her gorgeous works of art be it cakes or photos. A blog I simply can't get enough of. Eat Pray Bake

Hope in high heels

If you want to know what life would be like if you lived in New York, then this is the blog for you. I have visited NY several times and I'm always in awe of this fabulous city. A combination of stunning photography and amazing story telling, depict the journey of a Melbourne career girl who upsticks with her hubby to embark on a new life in the big apple. Hope in high heels.

Feisty tapas

I came across this blog yesterday, after the writer left a comment on one of my posts. I must say I love the title alone. One of her posts talked about decluttering and since that seems to be the bain of my life these days I felt an instant infinity and will be going back for more. Feisty tapas

So those are my favourites for now, keep posted to find out which blogs have caught my eye in the weeks to come.

What blogs are you loving? It'd be great to check them out.

Wonderful world, wonderful people

Image from petsfoto.com

Just when you think the human race has gone to pot, along comes someone who makes your day.

After a few days of hibernation due to a stressful week, the children and I ventured out. It's always an effort to get out and about with three children and no car, but with resolve in my heart, and a positive attitude I bit the bullet and we left the house.

I took them on a long walk showing them the route I used to take to school. My middle daughter is two and a half and I make her walk much to her dismay. I do feel guilty because she is only little, but it's so much easier pushing the baby in the Maclaren rather than using our bulky double buggy. You can't get it on trains, buses or through doors. Plus getting the monstrosity into a car boot is a nightmare not to mention the lack of storage space at the bottom, so there's nowhere to put your shopping. No disrespect to the buggy because the design is fab and I wish I could use the thing, but it's just too much grief. Better designed for the countryside I think.

Anyway we took the long walk at snails pace and even then my middle child was moaning that she was tired. I gritted my teeth, this was painful, it was bitterly cold and we were only halfway into the journey. Finally we reached the warmth of the local chip shop and sat down for tasty fish and chip lunch. Next onto the soft play area, then into Morrisons to get some bits.

As we left the supermarket I braced myself for the walk back home, at this point both girls were whining lots. I put on a brave face and gave words of encouragement. Ahead of me I saw a lady loading her car, her smiley face looking warm and open. I smiled back outwardly, my face probably failing to hide my inner angst, or maybe she could tell through 'mummy intuition'. As I got closer I saw she had three boys not too much older than my three children. She sympathised with me as she could see my girls were struggling. She asked where I was going, when I told her she balked. She knew I still had a way to go.

Then to my amazement she told me to wait whilst she asked her neighbour to look after her boys so she could drop us home. I was lost for words, here was this wonderful stranger offering to take us out of the cold, out of our misery and give us a lift home. It was so unexpected and I was so extremely grateful. There are wonderful people in this world who seem to pop up out of nowhere to make our day brighter.

Not only was she my lifesaver, but I've made a new friend and already we're planning to meet up with our children for a play date. What a beautiful world we live in!

Thank you Nicola. May God richly bless you and your family x