I can not believe how fast this year flown. It truly has gone so, so fast!!
2013 hasn't been a bad year I guess. It's had it's up and it's had it's downs. Full of smiles and of course, frowns, too!

In January, we had lots of snow!! The kids loved the snow

We also decorated the kids bedrooms. Harry and Charlie's room in a pleasant sky blue colour and Ellie's room in pink! Also, we organised them a lot better, too!




February - We were blessed with some really lovely weather! We went for lots of walks... walks a long the seafront and walks to the park! We thought spring was on it's way but we were wrong! We got a lot more snow!! We also made some homemade Valentines Day Cards which was good fun! Hehe.

In March, I turned twenty eight years old (I'm getting old, lol!) We also got A LOT more snow. We thought Spring was never gonna reach us, lol. We did have good fun in the snow though. Yay!
The home made Easter basket's we made turned out great!

Our Easter baskets.

In April there were finally signs of spring. Blue skies and pretty flowers, about time too, after all that snow, spring was VERY welcomed. We also went to Liverpool for a few days. We love Liverpool! The boys went to an under 18's football match at Anfield, which they loved! A trip to Liverpool city was amazing! We went in the 'World Museum' which was really good fun, also on the Mersy river ferry! Yay! That was pretty awesome.

Enjoying the lovely weather. Spring 2013.

Liverpool 2013

When we went to the seaside.

June summer sun set!

July - such a busy month! Charlie turned EIGHT years old. I still can't believe he's eight to be honest... Eight and a half! Kids grow up so fast don't they?! We also got to enjoy lots of really lovely weather.

A photo I took on my phone.

Also it was the end of the school year. Woohoo.Lots of school activities going, and of course sports days! Harry won a silver medal for coming second in running, that was a lovely proud moment! Ellie's team won sports day, which was another proud moment! And Charlie won a race too - so proud of him! Aww.

Summer 2013. Lol @ Charlie's face when he opened his present!

In August we finally decorated the front room! Woohoo. In greys, white and black! The laminate flooring looks SO much better than the shabby carpet! So much more hygienic, too.
We also went to Liverpool again, which was awesome!! We went on a day out to Southport - somewhere I had never been before! It was great. The kids had a wonderful time, they went on a few rides and we had chips along the seafront. Such good fun!

Southport. August 2013.

At the end of August, early September, we got a new kitty! Yay! His name is Lenni!
The kids also went back to school in September. Ellie started in year one, Charlie in year four and Harry in year five! And Ellie turned SIX years old, wow.

Lenni, out new fur baby! Awww.

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Back to school. September 2013.

October - Harry turned TEN. A whole decade old, eek! I feel old :-p
Lots of signs of Autumn, too. I love Autumn, I think it's my favourite time of year.
It was also Halloween! Harry dressed up as a werewolf, Charlie as a scary clown and Ellie as a black cat. Aww. Lots of Autumn arts and crafts were also created in October, hehe.

It's almost Autumn..

Ellie's Autumn finger print tree

Guy Fawkes night 2013

December is probably the busiest month of all. I think it's the same for everyone. What with the holidays and everything...
December I attended the kids school plays and singing concerts, which were really lovely. Lots of proud mummy moments there.We did lots of Christmas arts and crafts and put our Christmas tree up! We love Christmas so much!!

Christmas 2013! Exciting times!!

We are very much looking forward to 2014!The kids turn a year older, I turn a year older (boo!), hopefully we'll have some good luck and good health! We're looking forward to the spring and lots of ourdoor activities, trips to the beach, visiting family and friends up north (hopefully!) and so much more. It'll be Harry's last year at Primary School starting in September. This time next year I'll be preparing for him to go up to high school - now THAT is a scary thought, but exciting at the same time!

Look out for my Goals in 2014 post in the very near future.

Sarah xXx

Lotti, our big fur baby - about 14 months old. Summer 2013.

This post is linked up with In the play room, Emmys mummy and also mummy mishaps linkies :)

Phew! It's almost the end of the week, thank goodness. I am really looking forward to a nice chilled weekend, no major plans, just gonna chill and hopefully do some 'Autumn Art' with Ellie this weekend, yay! Love this time of year.
Anyhow, here are my reasons to be cheerful this week.

1) My cats are finally starting to get a long better. I mean, the adult cat (Lotti) still hisses and growls at our new kitten (Lenni) but they DO play or rather... chase each other, but only on Lotti's terms.Which si better than her constant growling and hissing. Lenni is SO mischievous.

2) Charlie's reading has come a long really, really well! He is still a little behind but not by much. I am really pleased with his reading! I am certain it has something to do with him reading a lot more on his tablet (just a cheapy tablet but it does the job!). Ellie has also made progress with sounding out words and spelling which I'm impressed with. Harry has been helping Charlie with his homework which is really lovely to see.

3) I love this time of year! I know it's chilly and the weather can be a little unpredictable but I don't care. I love seeing the leaves change colour and the smells of Autumn. I've even made an Autumn bucket list.

Tomorrow is Friday! Yipppeee. Love Friday's. Although I have no plans, I just like Friday's. End of the week which means everyone can chillax and have a break from school (and school runs!) Lovely :)
I hope you all have a great weekend.
What are your reasons to be cheerful this week?

Sarah xXx

Wow, I just gave my blog a makeover, thanks to my friend Mama Owl for the banner etc and I finally have my own button. I can not thank Julie enough!! I still need to add a view things, links & sort the background out. One of my goals this year is to blog more, I also would love to do more reviews, I really enjoy writing reviews.

While we're on the subject of goals, with it being a new year here are my goals for this year:

• Blog more. I love blogging, sometimes though, I get lazy and think that I have nothing to really "say", although there is always something I could blog about! 
• I really want to redecorate the front room and sort the kids rooms out. I need to this in order to help me with my next goal (more on this in a moment). I know that money is always tight but I have so many cheaper ideas (thanks pinterest!) that it really IS doable. 
• To be more organised - Yes. I am very unorganised  If I can get this house re decorated and some more storage space (mainly the kids rooms), then I know I *can* and *will* be more organised! 
• To budget better. I did this for most of the year last year (up until around September, when I started the Christmas shopping) I did really well with budgeting, I really want to get back into the swing of things. 
• To lose a little weight/tone up + Eat more healthy I was doing well with this too. I lost around 8lbs before Christmas... then the holiday season kicked in and I put the weight back on. Not saying I'm fat because I'm not... I am quite a small person, probably around 9ish stone but I look 4 months pregnant. (Too many chocolates and yummy deserts over the festive season) So perhaps just lose a few lbs and tone up! Cutting out the fizzy drinks again would really help! I'd feel much more confident in myself and i'd fit perfectly back into size 8 again! Which is about right for my frame and height. I'm going to get back into making all my own meals again. I slacked a little on this last year, I did have rather a lot going on though. Got a recipe you'd like to share with me? Let me know. =] 
• Read more! I love to read, I really want to participate in the 50 books challenge. (book suggestions are welcome!) I will be writing a post on this and linking up sometime next week, I need to decide which books I'd like to read :) 
• Be more positive. I am WAY more positive than I was this time last year! Sometimes my anxiety gets the better of me, I need to beat that! 
• MOTIVATION - Stay motivated! 
• Take more photos (Because I got a new Nikon camera for Christmas, omdz! I love it!)

So those are my goals for this year. I know they might seem a bit high and a bit much but I know I can achieve them all if I put my mind to it! It's just a case of staying motivated to be honest. I can do it though! Also hoping to see some improvement with my brain condition (Idiopathic intracranial hypertension). Although my headaches haven't been as bad the past month or so, sometimes I do end up having to lay down. Also have bad days with my eyes, where the light hurts my eyes or my vision goes a little blurred/out of focus. I'm going to keep a proper log of that this year, too.
I have a few ideas on day trips for the kids, low cost, too. I really need to start planning those. I live right by the seaside, 2 mins on a bus... We need to go to the beach more this summer. And swimming, family tickets are cheap on certain days! I also live right by the park where they have AstroTurf and basketball courts, the kids love those! And a nature trail track.. I really slacked last year but this year is going to be different.

What are your goals for 2013?
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Sarah xXx