What a week! Not a bad week, just a busy week!!
Here are my reasons to be thankful this week.



Firstly, we had a wonderful half term last week, it was really nice to have a break from the school routine. And to spend time with the little's. I really enjoy having them home, I miss them dearly when they are at school. I am however grateful that we are back into the school routine. I really DO love routine a lot, especially our school routine. I thought it would take us a week or two to get back into it but not the case this time, the kids fitted right back into it! I do not like the early mornings, I must admit but all is good :)

I'm also thankful that I have my fitness mojo back. Not gonna lie, I lost it for a few days and got a bit lazy. I still worked out - half heatedly but none the less, I am back to enjoying it again! I've been eating really healthy too. Lets hope I can reach my goal by the summer!

I am happy that it's my birthday this weekend. The big THREE ZERO! Still can't believe I'm going to be 30 years old, haha. It will be nice to have a relaxing weekend though. To be honest, I'm more excited that I get a child free night tomorrow night! The boys will be at there dads house and E will be at her friends sleepover. Woohoo. I'll indulge in a nice, long, hot bubble bath with one of my beautiful bath bombs and a good book! 


What are you thankful for this week?

Sarah xXx

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Now, one of my goals for this year is to make more of an effort with myself. That includes make up and making myself look presentable. Just because I'm a mum doesn't mean I can't make more of an effort with myself! I get so wrapped up in getting the kids ready and rushing around doing this, that and the other, that I actually forget or don't have time to bother with myself. Me of all people know how hard it is to find time to do hair and make up but if getting up a little earlier means I can make myself look nice, then so be it! It also makes me feel better about myself and more confident when I've made an effort with myself, you know? So when Direct Cosmetics asked me if I'd like to review some make up, I of course jumped at the opportunity.

I was kindly sent the W7 cosmetics in the buff natural eyeshadow palette.


I really like the packaging of this eye palette, it's a metal case with a foam inner section which the eye shadows sit in. The palette contains twelve eye shadows with a combination of shimmer ones and matt ones, too! Personally My own personal favourites are the 'Earth' and 'Dust' shades.The palette includes the shades 'Buff, Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate, Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder and Oynx' There is also a small eyeshadow brush that comes with the palette. This fits perfectly in place and is perfect for applying the eyeshadow.


This is a really lovely natural palette that creates a natural look. The eye shadows seem to stay on the eyes for a good few hours without coming off and fading. This product is currently priced at £4.99 (at the time of writing this review) and I'd say it is worth the money.


The 'Elizabeth Arden Advanced Eye-Fix Primer' is an eyeshadow primer in a natural colour, which means it can also be worn on it;s own, for a natural look. I find a little bit goes a long way. I applied a thin layer to my eyelids and then applied the eye shadow. I did find that the eyeshadow was easier to apply after priming my eye lids with this primer first, I also found that the eyeshadow blended easier, too! My eyeshadow stayed on my eyes a lot longer than usual! It also Also provides a barrier to prevent moisture loss. This product is Dermatologist, allergy and clinically tested.



I was also sent the 'Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara' in the shade 02 black brown. Which is currently priced at £10.99 on sale. The first thing I noticed was the packaging, I love the packaging a lot. I also like the bottle the mascara comes in, it's a really pretty gold and has a metallic look and feel to it. The mascara itself is a really smooth texture and comes with an amazing brush. The mascara goes on so, so smoothly, it separates my eye lashes really well and has a very natural look in my opinion.


This mascara is infused with Ceramide Triple Complex and Keravis which helps to lengthen and strengthen eye lashes. I really, do like this mascara very much and would totally recommend this mascara. 



I also really liked the L'Oreal Visible Lift Instant Lift Foundation. I've used this foundation a few times now and I do find it DOES give an instant lift, it also leaves my skin looking more smoother and younger. The foundation also contains an anti wrinkle formula which is always a plus. However, personally I think this shade (130 golden beige/natural dore) would suit my skin tone better when I have a tan, I'd probably find that it leaves my skin looking more radiant if I had a tan, with it being winter, I am quite pale at the moment. It's quite a light fluid textured foundation but I do like the texture and how it leaves my skin feeling. Again, I find a little bit goes a long way but then I don't like to wear too much foundation any way. I'm confident that I'll be using this product a lot during the summer, when I have a tan.


Again, I really like the packaging. The foundation is contained in a glass bottle with a gold plastic rim. I like the fact that it has a pump, which makes it much easier to pump out of the bottle.


Overall these products gave me a lovely natural look. I am not one for going all out there with colours, mainly because I've never really tried. Nor am I a makeup expert. I really do like these products, especially the mascara.

Direct Cosmetics sell a very wide range of beauty products and fragrances. They are all very, very reasonably priced, many on sale at the time of writing this review.
You can also follow Direct Cosmetics on Twitter.

What is your favourite make up product? Let me know in comments, I am always looking out for new products to try! Especially as I'll be making more of an effort with myself this year. :)

Sarah xXx

I was sent these products/samples for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own, personal, honest opinions. I was no paid to write this review. All photos were taken by myself! Please ask permission if you would like to use them.

We had such a lovely half term last week. We managed to get out quite a bit and enjoy the mild weather. I am so thankful the weather was really mild during half term. We went to the park and for a long walk through the meadows and on a different day we took a lovely bus ride to a different area! We enjoyed a small walk in the words and fun on two different play parks.






 The little's also enjoyed a game of football on the big field and then we stopped for a snack! Yummy.




We also took a lovely stroll along the river bank and saw the swans and ducks! It's such a beautiful place! We can't wait to go crabbing here again in the summer time. Charlie found the boats rather fascinating!


The swans decided they were going to cross the road which Ellie thought was dangerous but hilarious at the same time! "The swans are holding the traffic up" she giggled. She thought it was so funny that the cars had to wait for the swans to finish crossing the road. Thankfully there are warning signs to alert the drivers.




 We spotted half of an old water pump the other day when we went for a walk but this time, it's fully intact, the kids and I found this very fascinating and talked about how in the 'olden days' the local people would use this pump to collect water! 


By the end of the day we were all tired and ready to get the bus back home! It was a very lovely day though and we hope we can do it again soon!
We are all so, so excited for spring and the better weather that comes along with it! :)

We spotted some flowers to remind us Spring isn't far away!

I hope you all had an enjoyable half term. We sure did!

Sarah xXx

This is the kids meal plan for this week! I'm on a 'diet' so I won't be having the same as what they eat.
I also have bits that need using up in the freezer.. like chicken! 

Monday - Sausage, egg and home made chips with baked beans.

Tuesday - Home made Lasagne with turkey mince, fries and garlic bread.

Wednesday - Chicken curry with rice and naan bread.

Thursday - Beef stew (slow cooker!)

Friday - Pizza day! (A selection of pizzas)

Saturday - Chicken Korma with Pilau rice and naan bread.

Sunday - Sunday roast dinner.

What's on your meal plan this week?

Sarah xXx

Yellowmoon sent us these lovely Birdhouse kits to review! Now, most of my regular readers will know that my children and I love arts and crafts, it is out absolute favourite thing to do on a rainy day. My children were ever so excited to get stuck into these bird houses.


The foam birdhouse kit contains all the materials you need to make two birdhouses. Each kit contains thick foam templates that slot together nicely, making it easy for children to put together themselves. C & E had no problem at all putting these together themselves, they very much enjoyed doing so, too. The kits also contain some foam self adhesive stickers for decoration.


E was all "It slots together, kind of like a jigsaw puzzle only easier" Bless her. C got right stuck into his and slotted all his pieces together within ten minutes, he couldn't wait to decorate his bird house!
The foam is lovely and bright and very thick making it good quality!


The foam stickers stick really well to the foam birdhouses, they are easy to stick on! This was C's  favourite part - decorating it! "It's so fun doing this, I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished" C declared! E liked the fact that some of the stickers were glittery and sparkle! Ha, she does love her sparkles, bless.


This is a lovely little spring/summer arts and crafts, my children thoroughly enjoyed making these and are now prooudly sitting on my kitchen windowsill to remind us that spring isn't far away!
The size of the bird houses are (aprox) 14cm x 12cm x 7cm and are suitable for children aged 5+


The foam birdhouse kits are priced at just £3.75 from Yellowmoon and in my opinion are well worth the money. They're good quality and are fun and easy for children do by themselves.

What's your favourite arts & crafts project to do with your children?


Sarah xXx

I was sent a sample of this product for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own, honest, personal opinions. I was not paid to write this post.

My first reason to be thankful this week is... HALF TERM! I am so, so glad it's the half term. It's lovely having a break from the school routine. The kids have been really good, too! So far this half term we've been to the park and for a very long walk. We've been shopping, we've done some arts and crafts. We have also had a really lovely bus ride and visited family, fed the ducks, walked along the river bank, been for a walk in the woodland (where my family live!) and visited more parks/play areas! It's been a busy one so today we're having a (what I call) lazy day.


The second reason to be thankful is the weather! It's been really mild, especially for this time of year. We've had a couple of sunny days too which is always a bonus! It is however raining today, at least we have made the most of the weather while it lasted! Maybe it'll be nice tomorrow and we can get back outside again. We are so outdoorsy people, hehe. I am also thankful that my children are indeed outdoorsy like I am! They don't mind long walks, as long as I keep it fun and interesting of course, bless them.



I'm very thankful for my Valentines gifts from my fella. He bought me a lovely bunch of flowers and some chocolates. I hadn't had chocolate for such a long time because I'm trying really hard to loose weight, so those were an amazing treat! I feel very lucky and blessed ♥

What are you thankful this week?

Sarah xXx

Last Friday the little's broke up from school for half term. It's lovely to have them home and spend time together, doing family things. So yesterday we decided to venture out to the park and ended up going on a very long walk! (Four miles to be exact!) It wasn't very sunny or bright but the weather was so mild, a bit chilly but not cold like it has been!


They all enjoyed a game of football, even Ellie joined in! After ten minutes of running around, they got hot and off came the coats and hoodies. They all had rosy cheeks and were having the time of there lives running around in the fresh air!


We ended up at the park where the kids enjoyed playing on the play park equipment. Ellie has finally learned how to swing herself on the big swings, as you can imagine, she is very proud of this achievement! Bless her.



They all had a wonderful time! We walked the extra long way around, like 4 miles the long way around, haha. The kids really enjoyed it. We spotted birds nests, birds, squirrels and even an old water pump/lamp post, we're not really sure what it was but it was very old!



They got rather muddy playing football and running around but it's nothing that hasn't come out in the wash, hehe. It was a fab day! We all had a lovely time and now we are ever so excited for spring.


How have you been enjoying the half term so far? We hope you all have a fab one and enjoy the weather! :)

Sarah xXx

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