(AD) Paperless Post

These days everyone is all about doing things online, and paper invites or cards can be ignored. So when Paperless Post got in touch with us to see if we wanted to try out their service we jumped at the chance. 

 Paperless post is all about sending cards, invites and even flyers by email. You can send all sorts of cards, invites, flyers etc by Paperless Post. 

When you register on the site you get credited 25 coins and more coins can be purchased, starting at £8. 

We decided to use Paperless Post to design an invite to a tea party for Freddie's up coming fourth birthday to send to Nana and Gaga.

The design we looked at first was baby shark, but we then decided to go for something different. We then chose a space themed card which was fantastic! Freddie absolutely loves rockets and most things space related!

As you are making edits to the card, in the top right hand corner it shows you how many coins your card will cost you to send to each recipient. So the invited we designed for Freddie's birthday would cost 6 coins per recipient.

Over all we really enjoyed trying out Paperless Post. It is such a good idea, I've lost count of the amount of times James has been invited to parties and we have ended up losing the invite!! At least with using Paperless Post the invite will stay in your email inbox and you can set reminders for it!

And since we have some coins left over from making the invite for Freddie's birthday, We will use them to make some Christmas cards since we are so lax at actually writing and posting them to our friends and family!

**We were credited with Paperless Post Coins in exchange for this Review**

James is Turning Five - The Party Haul

So with every party, you need a good party haul on stuff for the party! So this is our first haul for the Spiderman Party to celebrate James turning five!

First off we have the Spiderman party bags! These were £1.50 for eight at Tesco, who also have all their party stuff on offer for 5 for the price of 4! So four packets of party bags were purchased.

Next we have the Spiderman happy birthday banner. This was also from Tesco in the 5 for the price of 4 offer.

We have the number 5 candle for James cake! Last year we had candles spelling our James on the cake and they were such a pain to light so this year we have gone with just the number!

We also have some mini sparklers for the cake! James had sparklers on his first birthday cake so when I saw these at Tesco I knew I had to get them!

James is after a pinata so I'm on the hunt for a Spiderman one!! If you know where I can get one from please email or leave a comment below!

The next haul will be on the party bags and what is in them!

James is Turning Five - The Invites!

So James is turning five and he asked for a Spiderman Soft Play party at our local sports centre!

So the first thing mummy did was jump on the internet and start looking at spiderman party invitations and to be honest none of the ones I looked at jumped out at me.

So I decided to take the plunge and design something myself!

By doing this I could put all the important information on in the design process saving myself time writing it all out!

When you have a class of 30 children plus friends with children its an awful lot of invites to write giving yourself a very sore hand!! So by putting all the main information on in the design process, all I actually needed to do once they were printed and cut out was put each child's name onto the invite.

So mummy sat down one morning while Freddie was having a nap, jumped onto the internet and found some great Spiderman images and imported them into Paint Shop Pro and away I went and this is what I came up with:

Not bad for a morning nap times work!

5th Birthday Plans for James!

So my baby is turning five! Like seriously it does not seem five minutes since he was this tiny helpless puking newborn and now he's this handsome, grown up little boy about to turn five!

James birthday is actually bank holiday Saturday in August so we knew trying to have a party then would be a no go. 

Last year we had his party the week before his birthday and to be honest it was not too good as hardly any of his pals were there due to holidays. I think there was about ten kids there including James and Freddie!

So this year we have decided to have the party the weekend after his birthday, so that will be the first Sunday in September right before he goes back to school. So hopefully more of his friends will be able to come! 

So what sort of party are we planning? First off we have a lovely little sports centre five minutes walk from our house with a fantastic soft play that all his pals love, so for second year running we booked it!

James is absolutely Spiderman daft at the moment so I think most of the table wear will be Spiderman themed! 

So Pinterest has become my best friend! I have a whole board dedicated to Spiderman parties! 

First off mummy has designed some cool Spiderman invites! I had been looking online for weeks for some Spiderman invitations but none of the ones we saw were all that nice, so I decided to take the plunge and design some myself on Paint Shop Pro. By doing this I have been able to put all the information for the party i.e. date, time, venue and of course the all important RSVP information on so all I will need to do once we have them printed is actually put them into envelopes and put the names on!

James has had one request - a Spiderman Pinata! EEK mummy is going to have to embrace the inner hidden artist to make it haha!

I cannot wait to post more nearer the time about things we have done for his party and what we do on the actual day!

Daddy's ten days off!

So daddy has had this week off work. It's been so great to spend a big chunk of time together as a family. So what have we done this week!

Monday started with a trip to Pikku in Gosforth to get James hair cut. He was such a good boy we then took him to captain teds soft play. Then it was home for lunch and a chilled out afternoon before tea bath and bed!

Tuesday started with daddy giving mummy a lie in before breakfast and daddy finishing off painting what will be baby boy number twos bedroom. Mummy was downstairs sorting out the washing on the dryer while James drove his man car around the kitchen floor! Mummy then sorted out the baby clothes we have so far while daddy played with James. We went for a walk to local shops in the afternoon before daddy sorted out the shed and mummy started preparing her half of the tea.

Wednesday was a chilled morning after a disturbed night from James. We then went to meet nana and gaga in town for a bit then we came home. Mummy was ordered to rest while daddy and James watched cartoons and a Thomas film. James didn't nap so was in bed fast asleep by quarter past six.

Thursday started early with James waking up at half five. Daddy took James downstairs to watch milkshake at seven am n told mummy to have a lie in. Next thing mummy knew it was eleven am and James was having a nap. Rest of the day was spent chilled out at home watching TV.

Friday we got up and had breakfast before jumping on the bus to meet nana and gaga at the metro centre before going to IKEA to get some bits and pieces we needed for the nursery and other storage for the alcove at top of the stairs. 

Saturday started with a Tesco food delivery. Then mummy popped into town to pick up a birthday present for a friends one year old. James decided to stay at home with daddy and mummy got home to find fireman Sam on. Then our IKEA delivery arrived and the rest of the day consisted of flat pack hell!

Sunday was a chilled out morning before a yummy roast chicken dinner. We then spent the afternoon at the 1st birthday party of my old school friends little girl Bella, who was born at 23 weeks. We had a brilliant time. James and his gaga met Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the party but James was a bit scared of them up close.

Monday James woke up after seven for first time in ages! Nana and gaga picked James up about 11 so mummy and daddy could finish the flat pack without little hands and legs in the way. Baby boy now has a wardrobe and a kallax unit in his bedroom and clothes have started to be put away. We spent the afternoon once James was home watching Thomas tale of the brave again! 

Tuesday an early start from James of 0530am. We went into town to get James outfit for my friends wedding n start looking for mine. Found nothing for me but James got shoes trousers & shirt. We bought a few more bits for baby boy too. 

Wednesday this is daddy's last day off so we walked up to the retail park to go yo a few shops and pick up a few bits for the baby from TK Maxx and Matalan. Then it was home for lunch and Ben and Holly on TV for James. Mummy made a lovely chicken curry for tea. Then it was bath and bedtime for James!

We have had a lovely ten days with daddy off work and we are really going to miss him when he's back at work.