Living Arrows 2018 2/52

So its another week of Living Arrows and what a week it has been for us! Daddy has gone back to work after being off for New Year so it's just been mummy, James and Freddie for a few days till the weekend and now James is back to school today and boy is Freddie missing him!

James got a light up Spiderman mask for Christmas so this weeks photos of him is him wearing it and of course doing his latest posing smirk! He kept trying to make Freddie wear  the mask too, but he was not impressed and kept taking it off!

While James was messing around wearing his mask, Freddie was being his normal cheeky self and posing for the camera shouting "Cheese!" 

'm really hoping I can complete Living Arrows this year as last year I totally failed after about three or four weeks! We are in for a stressful few weeks so I'm really hoping I can write and keep this going!

YourGoodSkin #28daychallenge Results

So I have finished my #28daychallenge with YourGoodSkin. I am over the moon with the results. My skin has never felt better! 

I used the Pore Minimizing Tonic twice a day, morning and night. Seeing how much grime came from my face from just over night shocked me as I was cleansing before bed. The Pore Minimizing Tonic left my face feeling so soft and feeling fresh before bed. 

The Instant Dryness Rescue has definitely got to be my favourite as we have had some bitterly cold weather up here in the north east and by bitterly cold I'm meaning the temperature was in the minus figures when I was going out on the school run at half past eight in the morning. So putting this onto my face once I came back in from the school run made my skin feel so much better and I was able to get on with my day! I have also been putting on the Balancing Skin Concentrate which again has left my skin feeling amazing! 

I don't generally wear much makeup but when I have I have used the Oil Lifting Make Up Removal wipes to remove it before bed and then used the Tonic to cleanse my face before bed along with using the Instant Dryness Rescue again. I never have enough time when I come in from an afternoon school run to put it on once I am in, So I put it on after cleansing before bed.

I have really enjoyed taking part in this challenge and I'm already planning a trip to Boots to purchase some of the other products in the YourGoodSkin range!

**Disclaimer: I was sent the products from YourGoodSkin free of charge to test out for the #28daychallenge. All views are my own!**

Goals for 2018

So I am not that good at setting New Year Resolutions! So instead this year I have decided to set my self some goals!

Number One - I want to try and cut down the number of cups of tea I drink in a day! At the moment I am drinking between five and ten cups a day so I want to try and bring it down to at least three! So far I have had a minimum of seven a day!

Number Two - I want to try and read at least 12 books this year! Before I had the boys I used to love reading and would be buying a new book every week! To help me with this I have joined a facebook group with some other mamas I know to discover new books and chat about them!

Number Three - I want to spend more quality time with James! Since he has been in school, I very rarely get to spend quality time with him as normally Freddie is there too trying to pester us! But while Freddie has been napping or if he has been in bed early then I have made a big effort to either read with James or play one of his games that he got for Christmas! His latest favourite is snap!

Number Four - I want to try and tone up a bit! Since I had Freddie by c section I do have a bit of an overhang on my belly, so since we are going on holiday in nine months time I'm making that my goal!

and finally Number Five - I want to get out of the house for a long walk every day! It only takes me five minutes to walk to the school from our house and once Freddie is in playgroup I will have half an hour between his pick up and James so I will be using that half hour to go for a nice walk with Freddie!

I really hope I can stick to these goals, although I am already failing on the cups of tea!

Travel Tips For Families

We have just booked our first family holiday abroad for October 2018 and to say I'm apprehensive about flying with the boys goes without saying! 

 I asked some of my fellow bloggers for any tips and things we should do while in the air! We will be sat two and two, so I will have Freddie who will be almost three when we go and Andy will have James who will be six.

Amy from www.thesmallestofthings.com said - Take lots of snacks because the airport and airplane will be very boring for young children!

Elaine from www.entertainingelliot.com said - Sticker books! I literally don't travel without them, they are a brilliant boredom buster!

Kati from www.howtorockatparenting.wordpress.com  said - With babies and toddlers, have plenty to drink, a dummy and lots of food and toys to entertain them. It's easier with older children, especially once they get off your lap. Colouring books, books in general or a little homemade 'I spy' booklet is plenty, as long as the first flight isn't too long. 

Sarah from http://surreymama.com/ said - Take snacks and when you think you have enough, take more. They can help with sore ears (Ella’s smoothies for example), they can prevent a tantrum and if fussy eaters keep them going until the next meal 

Kelly from http://www.reducedgrub.com has been a stewardess for over 20 years and has wrote this fantastic post on traveling with Children! I can see this being read and reread before we go away! 

Thanks for all the tips folks! I can see us using a lot of them on our upcoming travels!

The Octo Dummy Clip from Nibbling

When Freddie is teething, he likes nothing more than shoving things in his mouth. His favourite thing to chew on was actually the ribbon on his dummy clip which I would have to keep changing as it would get very soggy, very quickly!

That's where the Octo Clip from Nibbling comes in! Made from 100% food grade silicon its perfectly safe to be in a little mouth 99.9% of the time! When it gets dirty it can be just washed under the tap and handed back to the child, where as the ribbon ones we have been using since Freddie was born would have to go into the tumble dryer or on to the radiator! 

Mummy absolutely loves this clip so much and I think it is the perfect gift for a new mummy and baby! I would have loved something like this as a present after either of my boys had been born!

Freddie is two and he absolutely loves putting things in his mouth! I would rather he had the dummy clip in his mouth than one of his big brothers toy cars!! He has been teething badly since just before his second birthday so it wasn't unusual to see him with the silicon beads in his mouth rather than the actual dummy!

The poor boy was actually ill on his birthday and so was sick numerous times and all that we needed to do was wash the beads in hot soapy water and rinse well and place a new dummy on the end and then give it back to Freddie and he was a happy boy again!

This is definitely something I would buy for a baby gift for a new baby as it is suitable from birth upwards!

**I was sent this clip free of charge in exchange for this review, all words and pictures are our own!**

Living Arrows 2018 1/52

So it's another new year and here I am attempting to do living arrows again! We didn't get very far last year, but I am focused and determined this year to do it!

So my boys are now five and two, Freddie (2) is a menace but he absolutely adores his big brother! James (5) does love his brother, but at times finds him annoying! 

My Photo of James this week was taken at the hotel my parents have been staying in over Christmas and New Year. They chose to stay in a hotel in Newcastle to be closer to us for the holidays meaning they would be able to see more of us as they would be a bus ride away rather than 40 minutes in the car!

The beds in the hotel are quite high off the floor, and James thinks its hilarious to go underneath and hide from us all!

My photo of Freddie was taken on Christmas Day. We were having lunch at my parents hotel this year, and the hotel had made a real effort with decorating the table and putting out party hats which Freddie was loving! He was more keen on using them to shout through than actually wearing on his head!!!

I really hope I can keep up this linky this year!!

Happy New Year!

Just a quick post from us here to wish you all a

A hope you have all had a wonderful christmas and that 2018 is a fantastic year! We have a lot planned for this year as a family and also as a blog! 

There is going to be a relaunch and a new domain coming soon!