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.