Missing in action ...

Why hello there everyone, sorry I had been m-i-a.  My last post was about hospital visits and that we had one that next day and well the appointment went against that post and we actually came away with a few more answers.  It appears that my son is on the autism spectrum and although it was something I had known for a little while it was still hard to hear from his paediatrician.  That label has been slapped on him and I don't like it, but what parent would?  I just hope it means more support for him and hopefully more understating.

Image found: http://epilepsyu.com/blog

This post is a bit of an update really with what has been happening over the past few months I have been away.  Jydon has been struggling in school for some time now and that is not down to the school not trying, on the whole I feel the school get him and have tried everything and put into practise all the suggestions made by the various different people involved with his care.  Towards the end of last academic year the question was asked "is this the right setting for him?"  Lot's has happened on that front, unfortunately it is not as easy as just moving schools, so many things need to fall into place.  I will do an separate post on this issue later on, hopefully when I have more information.





Our little girl turned 7 in October, I still cannot get over that, where have those years gone?  I would very much like time to slow down, I'd also like a Harry Potter style pensive so that I can relive all those precious memories.





It's November and the Christmas season is well and truly here.  Are you a lover or a hater of all things Christmas?  I for one love it and I am excited to make it a magical time for my babies, I have no idea how much longer they will believe in Santa, I just hope they continue to believe in the magic of Christmas for as long as they are walking this Earth.

I shall sign off for now and wish you all a glorious Monday, here's to the next post.

Take care.

Lisa x

Hospital Appointments

Is there anyone else like me and when your child has an appointment with their doctor, in my son's case his paediatrician, get excited at the prospect of what might happen?  Maybe excited is not the right word, hopeful might be a better word.  Hopeful for answers and solutions.  As a mother I pin so much hope on these appointments and they can be a major let down.  That's not to say our paediatrician is not great, he is amazing and I am super glad my son is under him, he just gets him and it's wonderful.

There have been many an appointment where not much has happened but like most things it is a journey and a long one.  Some might say a battle and I would agree.  Everything is a battle and you can't sit back and wait for things to happen.  We as a family are so guilty of doing this and it gets you nowhere.  We would never do that if we had a complaint about a large company, we wouldn't sit back, wait and see what happens, we would be knocking down doors and making ourselves heard.  So why do we not do this for our son?  Our own flesh and blood who we want to give the world to?  We decided a few months ago that we are going to start knocking on doors and fighting for our son, because let's face it, if we don't, who will?  

Back to these wonderful hospital visits, we think that things are going to change as a result of one appointment but that is not the case, like I have already said it is a journey and a long one.  Test's take time, referrals take time and assessments take time.  It can be so frustrating but it has to be done, you have to think of the end goal.  Now what is the end goal you might ask?  That is a question I ask myself daily, what do I want for my son and the answer would be: to be happy, it's as simple as that.  You would be forgiven to think "is he not already happy?  How can a five year old boy not be happy?"  Many ways, many indeed and for those who have an understating of children with additional needs will know that the smallest of things can make a big impact on the daily life of a child.  The wrong colour cup, a bad smell, that sound is just not right, a forgotten coat or water bottle and it send's them on a whirlwind of emotions.  Each child reacts differently and that far from a comprehensive list.

So on the eve of another appointment I am willing myself not to get my hopes up that I will have answers.  I will settle for a plan of action, rather than a we should just wait and see.  The time for waiting has passed and my son needs answers and support now.  He has just embarked on a new school year and as each day passes he falls further and further behind his peers and his walls are going up and I want to rip them down and have my happy, smiley baby boy back with me.

Lisa x

My Back to School Disaster

So I will be honest, back in July before the kids had even broken up I had the majority of their uniform all sorted, with just a few bits left to get, I was feeling pretty smug.  I thought I'd sort it all out the penultimate weekend of the summer break and get it all washed and labelled up, yes I left this a little late, but I was too busy having fun with my mini-me's!  I wanted to check and make sure everything was an okay fit and adjust anything that needed it.

Can you guess what happened?  Both my kids have shot up over the summer break, I mean seriously had a growth spurt, I don't know what I have been feeding them.  You'd be forgiven in thinking I have been making them go to sleep in compost.  Well it's not the end of the world for my daughter, her items still fit for now.  My lad on the other hand, the trousers do not fit.  It would be seen as child cruelty if I made him wear those trousers.  They are the kind of tight where you have to do a dance to get them on and suck it in, in an attempt to do them up.  Perfect I thought, that wiped the smugness right off my face.

I was now one of those parents scrambling around the shops discovering that every man and his dog wanted grey trousers in my son's size.  Finally found some black one's in Tesco and actually discovered grey in Morrison's, which I was not expecting in all honesty.  Got my little miss a few items as well (not that she needed them, I mean who needs 4 school dresses and 5 skirts).  Crisis averted thankfully, at least he can go to school in uniform for the first few days. 

Moral of the story, don't be smug.  Well you can be smug, just make sure you dot the i's and cross the t's so to speak.

I hope your back to school adventure was smooth sailing.

Lisa x

Summer Holidays 2016

The summer holidays can strike fear into any parent. Yes it's great as you don't always have to get up and mobilise the kids to be on time in the morning but stress levels go up, your costs go up and kids don't always cope well with the freedom the holidays can give. Add into the mix a child or even children with additional needs who need the routine and you have a recipe for disaster! So whilst teachers are celebrating come the end of July, parents are apprehensive about the upcoming six weeks and how much wine they will need to consume in order to survive.

Now I am one of those parents who is kind of looking forward to relaxing a bit and not having to mobilise the troops but yes dreading what kind of time we will have together. Making sure I have enough food in the house incase and apocalypse strikes and not wanting to drive us all crazy at the same time. I have a 6 year old girl and a 5 year old boy who has additional needs, so sometimes planning activities for the both of them can be hard, especially if I am on my own.

We have just over a week till the schools are back and in all honesty I am dreading it! I have loved having the kids at home and we have done quite a bit over the holidays but also spent a good chunk at home, which my son prefers as he has more control at home. We haven't had much of the inevitable breakdowns, the sibling fights or the constant moans they are bored, it has been a revelation. This might be down to the fact my son has attended a summer club, four hours twice a week. Not loads in the grand scheme of things, but enough of a separation for him and for me. Which in turn has allowed me some quality time with my daughter doing things I wouldn't be able to do with the both of them. We have been swimming lot's, we even managed to have a trip to the cinema, a mummy daughter date and it was fab. Now she hasn't missed out, she got to stay at Grandma's for the week which then in turn meant I could have some quality time with my boy. I honestly feel that both kids will have had a great holiday and I am looking forward to next week sorting out their summer diary's for school homework so we can look back at all the things we have done. I wonder what their favourite part will be? Will it be the tip to Disneyland, Paris or will it be more simple like strawberry picking, or the trip up north to see family?

I hope your summer holiday has been filled with lovely memories and batteries are recharged for the next chapter of our children's life, another school year. I am truly blessed to have two amazing children, even though they are both crazy and drive me up the wall, I wouldn't have it any other way? Who would?

Lisa x x

Me And My Big Ideas - MAMBI - Create 365 - Happy Planner

So rewind to that lull between Christmas and New Year, I am bored on youtube looking for new people to watch and I find two UK based ladies that I really enjoy watching.  So over the months I am watching their videos whilst also looking back at their old ones and I come across Mikhila aka Miss Budget Beauty and Diary of a Spendaholic review/haul on the Erin Condren life planner.  I have never seen anything like it and I love the horizontal layout, so off I pop to the website and take a sharp intake of breath when I see the price.  Ah well I thought another item to add to the want pile, $55 plus shipping from the US to the UK was just more money than I wanted to spend on something I liked and didn't really know if I would use.

I went on with my life but couldn't get the planner out of my head to I started searching for planner video's on youtube.  There are thousands and somehow I came across the MAMBI (me and my big ideas) happy planner.  I'd love to link who first introduced me to it, but in all honesty I can't remember.  So anyway after doing loads of research online I thought that the happy planner looked like a great option to try and it wouldn't break the bank if it was something I disregarded when I got bored.

So amazon to the rescue and I found a US seller that offered free UK shipping and I paced my order.  I opted for the gold spot planner, but the great thing about the disk bound system was that I could always change it to whatever I wanted.  The shipping didn't take too long in the end, I did have a few missing items and some damage, so it was a pain but I cannot fault the service from the amazon seller in the end.

Isn't she pretty?

I love the heart detail on the rings.







Each month has it's own colour style, so it get's switched up so you should never get bored.  It also has a month to view and space to write important things/dates for that month all in one place.  The month is tabbed and that is laminated so they should hold up to everyday use, given it does stick out from the normal pages, but not the cover.




I did pick up some other things from the amazon seller and also off good old eBay.  These include two packs of stickers, to do/shopping list things, a six month expansion pack, some dividers and also lined and squared paper.

I am so happy with the planner.  For those who don't know it is a 18 month planner and it expires December 2016, which is not that far away now, but I had a good 12 months when I purchased the planner and I also bought the six month expansion pack so I could string it out a little longer if I wanted to.  MAMBI have brought out a number of new designs for the new planner so the one I have is probably incredibly out of date now, but I don't care because I love it.  You can use it as much or as little as you want, the world is your oyster and the great thing is there is no right or wrong way of doing it.

The first week I decorated was back in March and I decided to dedicate it to my son who has epilepsy as the 26th March this year was Epilepsy awareness day, in fact March might be Epilepsy awareness month.  For my first attempt I was super thrilled, it's not perfect but for a novice I was pleased.

I found a free printable online and printed on A4 sticker paper.  The printable was from cute daisy, she has a range of different printable's on her website.

Lisa x

Avon Advanced Techniques Professional Hair Colour

Like a lot of people out there I love to dye my hair at home and always looking for a good, affordable brand.  I do prefer to go to a professional hair stylist but let’s be honest sometimes we don’t always have the time, or even want to spend the money it can cost.  Especially if you are like me and change your mind every time the wind blows.  Add to this the very bad experience I had when I was 21 and I don’t go to the hairdressers as often as I’d like or need to.

So as I am flicking through my latest brochure of Avon I come across their own hair dye and it is on offer. So I decide on a colour, (5.65 - deep red mahogany) and fill out the order form and think nothing more of it. A few weeks later and I have the hair dye in my hands. I think it take me a few more week before I actually use the dye. The first time I used this my hair was a lot longer and as I have masses of hair I need two boxes the first time and I was really impressed with the outcome. I have now used four boxes of the stuff, the first time I used two boxes but then the next two times I only needed one box a time as I have had my hair cut shorter and basically just topping up the colour and retouching the roots.

So in the box you get the usual, disposable gloves, instructions, conditioner, the colour, the developer location and you also get a pre treatment.  Now I am not 100% sure what the pre treatment does, but I think it is to protect the hair and lets face it any protection we can get the better.  Just follow the instructions and way you go.  I am not going to insult anyone’s intelligence and go through what to do as the instructions are super simple to follow.  Just make sure you do the patch test 48 hours prior to dyeing your hair to make sure you don’t have any reaction.

So I did really enjoy the dye and colour, the only reason I haven’t bought more is the fact that I am wanting something different now.  What did I tell you?  Wind has changed so I want something new!!  The colour took to my hair really well and given it has a red tone lasted quite well.  My hair smelt lovely from the conditioner and actually softer than it has felt in a while.  I didn’t have the product run all over place and stain everything in sight so that is always a bonus.  If you are looking for an affordable at home hair colour then avon is just as good as the leading brands out there and certainly gets my vote.

Welcome

Why hello there and thank you for stopping by today.  As this is my first post I thought I would start off by introducing myself.  I am Lisa, a 28 year old (almost 29) stay at home mum and housewife.  I am one lucky person as I have a wonderful husband and two amazing children (like you didn't already know I had two kids right???).

Anywho, I just wanted to say hi and welcome.  You will hopefully find a range of different things on this blog, anything and everything, if it interests me it will probably make it onto this blog.  Maybe as time goes on it will have a more specific theme, but to be honest I just want to get things going and see how it grows naturally.  Well fingers crossed I can put out content that people want to read and come back and see me again.

I hope you enjoy your stay and don't be a stranger!

Lot's of love

xxx