Goodness, it has been such a long time (or so it feels) since the last time I blogged. I've been MIA for a while, I took a break from blogging but it feels good to be back! Here are some of the best and worst moments lately.


Negatives:

• I've been poorly a couple of times and my headaches have flared up a couple of times since the last time I blogged but I'm feeling ok now. 
• I've been so busy and haven't had any time to actually blog properly and now I do have time, my mind has gone blank! I had so much to write about. 
• The weather has turned cold again. We were enjoying the sunshine and the mild days. Still though, Spring is not very far away. 

I'm just going to go straight onto the positives because there are SO many positive things to write about and I really don't think I need to focus on anything negative when there are so many positives!

Positives: 

•  I've lost a whole stone since Christmas! Or just before Christmas! A STONE! I've been eating healthy (mostly) and working out. I've still been attending the free fit club once a week, too! My stamina is the best it's been for a long while, I'm more determined than ever to be in those size 10 shorts this summer! I am so proud of myself! It's not easy, not easy at all but it'll be so worth it. I need to do more leg workouts though.
• I've been decorating the front room. Hoorah! Hopefully having the laminate flooring laid this week, again, HOORAH! The front room is now a dark shade of grey on the bottom with a wooden white border (day dough rail.. How do you spell that? haha) in the middle and a pale grey on top. Now I need to save for a new sofa because mine is currently falling apart... 
• Harry's parents evening - I am SO proud of Harry. He is in the top set for English, Maths and will be moving up to the top set for Science next term, too! He's doing incredibly well and has just picked his GCSE options (that's a whole other blog post in itself.) He's doing amazing at school! 
• Ellie's parents evening also went extremely well. Her teacher left Christmas and she has a new teacher. I was a little worried about the change of teachers but I needn't have worried, she's doing great although we do need to work on her times tables and division a little more at home but apart from that, she's settled into year 4 amazingly. 
• The weather has been lovely (minus the last couple of days). We've been to the park a couple of times. 

• I've read a total of thirteen books so far this year. This is such good going for me! Yay! 
• I've been doing some organsing and getting rid of things we don't need. Can't believe how much the kids have grown since Christmas! They're all going to need to be kitted out for summer. Thank goodness for the new Primark! 
• I am still journaling and keeping trackers and lists, which help keep me inspired and motivated! I have quite the pen collection, haha. 
• I celebrated my Birthday at the beggining of March and received some lovely gifts and was spoiled rotten. I feel very blessed to have such an amazing family!  

Things to look forward to:

• Charlie has his parents evening this week! I am of course looking forward to hearing how he's doing at school (Hopefully all good!).
• I am also looking forward to having the laminate flooring laid... I can't wait for that to be done with. 
• Half term and Easter! Not long now, less than two weeks until the kids break up from school, it'll be a well needed rest and break from the school routine. praying for some lovely mild weather, hehe. 

What are your best or worst moments lately? Or what are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments :)

Sarah xXx

Phew! January is almost over (This is a scheduled post) and I am really glad to see the back of January. It was a hard, busy and stressful month. Anyway here are the best and worst bits from the past week or so.


Negatives:

•  I weighed myself last week and I was not impressed! Not at all. More on that in a minute though. 
• I had a bit of a low day on Saturday. I just felt really deflated and down. My weight issues didn't exactly help. 
• My tumble drier has packed up. With some googling and reading comments, it sounds like it's the thermostat. *sigh* 
• Not looking forward to Ellie's dentist appointment on Friday but I know she will do great! 

Positives:

• I went to my very first (free) fitness class last week. I am so proud of myself. Not only is this the first step to loosing weight BUT! I also overcome the anxiety I was suffering with in the lead up to going. I was dreading working out in front of people, I very nearly didn't go but I needn't have worried. It was actually really good and I can't wait to go again. I am really going to try and beat this anxiety, I can't go on being anxious about everything. Yes, it'll be hard and it certainly won't happen over night but I NEED to do this! I CAN do this!
• I have done amazing with my eating. Had a bit of a bad eating day Saturday but apart from that, I've been eating really healthy and properly! I'm also enjoying green tea again, yay! 
• I've been a lot more sociable this month. Which is another huge step for me! I set myself some goals at the start of this month and one of those was to be more social. I've been more sociable with family and I've also started to get to know my neighbour better! She's a really lovely lady, we've been going to fit club together! I'm really proud of myself. I am not a sociable person, I like my own company and talking to people just makes me anxious, so another goal I have achieved and again, over come the anxiety a little. I still like my own company and I still feel anxious about being sociable but I do think this is a step in the right direction for me. Little steps is the key.
• Ellie is really enjoying cheer leading (an after school club) once a week! I am very proud of her for giving it a go! 
• I've been saving (for a long time!) so that I can re-decorate my front room! Hopefully by the end of this month, I'll have started it! I can not wait for it to feel homely and cosy. 
• Ohhhh and I also have a really awesome giveaway running at the moment for a hot dog maker. You can enter here.

Overall, the positives defiantly out weight the negatives, which is always good! Hopefully February will be a much calmer month.

What are your best and worst moments this week?

Sarah xXx

I have been MIA when it comes to blogging and social media and just the internet in general really. January has been a rather difficult month for my family. I don't really know where to begin. The word stressful isn't enough to sum it up. So in a nutshell... I thought it would be easier to just share the best and worst moments lately and hopefully I'll have more time on my hands for my blog and the lovely blog community.



Negatives:

• My Grandad was taken into hospital with pneumonia. He is alright, he's his usual chatty self. Still doesn't stop me worrying though. I really hope and pray that he will be allowed home soon. 
• My mum is going through a very hard time right now and I'm trying to help and support her where and when I can. There's way to much to go into. 
• The IIH (headaches/visual problems and everything that comes with it) has not been great lately and I haven't really been able to sit at a computer or really do very much at all. The IIH seems to have calmed down (knock on wood) the past couple of days though. Thank goodness. 
• My Nan is staying with my mum whilst my grandad is in hospital. She worries me because she's old and can't really do much for herself, plus she has her own health problems and what not. I wish I could do more to help, I really do. 

The word that would sum up how I'm feeling today is HELPLESS. I feel helpless that I can't help and support my mum more and I feel helpless that there's very little I can do for my Nanna because she can't get about, if she would just accept that she needs some assistance!! I do what I can though. (I do wish she would accept a carer and some support). 

Positives: 

• My grandad IS on the mend and he IS in the right place. He's in a lovely hospital and they're really looking after him. That of course is very reassuring. I just hope he's home soon. 
• Charlie achieved 100% attendance last term, yay! He's doing great at school. I am truly very proud of Charlie, he really enjoys high school now.
• Ellie has settled into the school routine with her new teacher, who she really likes. So happy about that because she wasn't too keen on the idea of a new teacher at the start of this term. Very proud of her! 
• Harry has gone up a set in English and Maths, he has worked very hard to achieve going up a set. Also very proud of him. 
• The weather has been beautiful. Cold but beautifully sunny and blue skies which always helps my mood!  
• I actually had a chance to blitz my house properly yesterday! It's a good feeling knowing my house is clean and tidy! I also managed to get in almost 16k steps yesterday! YAS! 

I am really hoping I'll have more time to blog now. I have A LOT of catching up to do. A few review posts coming up and some family posts, updates on the kids (I am so very proud of them!) and lots of photographs too! I do think blogging will help take my mind off of everything that's going (I will elaborate more in future posts)..

How has your January been so far?

Sarah xXx

Oh my! I don't think I have ever been so busy in my life. There honestly aren't enough hours in the day. I knew that the build up to Christmas would be busy as it always is but this year? This year is a whole new level of stress and being busy. I'm busier than usual. This is the first time in a couple of days that I've had a chance to sot down and write a blog post (I should probably be doing housework instead. I just need a while to sit down haha). I always find that reflecting on the best and worst bits helps me realise that there positives (usually) out weigh the negatives and I really NEED that this week. Here are this weeks best & worst moments.

Negatives:

• The build up to Christmas is busy and stressful and very tiring. But. It's really worth it. We are SO looking forward to Christmas. I'm just finding it hard to get into the Christmas Spirit. I was feeling Christmasy when we put our Christmas tree up but now? Not so much. I'm sure I'll feel it when things calm down and the kids break up from school next week.
• I feel like I need an extra three pairs of hands along with being able to split myself in half and be in two places at once, hahah.
• I haven't been sleeping very well because I've had so much on my mind. 
• I still haven't finished my Christmas shopping, I'll be doing some Christmas shopping again next week. Hopefully. 
• Really praying that the post office/postal service don't strike. I still have gifts waiting to arrive! Eek! (I don't know much about the strike to be honest, I haven't had time to read/watch the news properly). 
• I keep getting this really cold shivery feeling and I can't seem to shake it off! I am really hoping I'm not coming down with something. I'm sure it's just because it IS actually cold, haha. Does anyone else ever get that shivery feeling? It like runs right down my back, it's so odd! 
• I haven't had much time to do anything around the house but the bare basics. Which means I have a lot of deep cleaning and blitzing to do today! I'll be fine once I've started it but right now I am procrastinating. 

Positives:

• I went to my nieces nativity play yesterday, it was SO cute! She was an angel and it was actually a tradition nativity, too! Unfortunately Ellie's class didn't participate in a Christmas play this year BUT! (see the next bullet point!)... 
• Ellie has a Christmas carol service at the church next Wednesday afternoon. I love how her school have a traditional church service/carol service. It's so lovely! I am really looking forward to hearing her sing in church. 
• We put our Christmas tree up! Yay! I decided on a red, rose gold and rose theme. It needs a little more tinsel though.  

• The boys have had charity week at school, which they've really enjoyed! Lots of activities and yummy food. They've really enjoyed this past week, which makes me happy! They didn't want to wear there Christmas jumpers (WHY!?!!) so they're going to take part in dressing up (or non uniform) day tomorrow. Yay! 
• Speaking of tomorrow. It's Ellie's Christmas dinner and Christmas jumper day tomorrow, which she is excited about! 
• We've all been working really hard on a fairy tale box for the Christmas fayre. It's a competition. We decided on a Hansel & Gretel theme. It's something really fun, creative and just lovely to do as a family. We need to finish it after school & hand it in tomorrow.
• We are also taking part in the 'Bake Off' for the Christmas fayre, too! Christmas themed cupcakes! We are looking forward to making those this evening ready to be handed in tomorrow. (SO MUCH TO DO!) 
• Oh yes! Santa came around on his sleigh (Just like last year!) Santa and his Elves were helping collect for charity. The kids love seeing Santa. It was great fun, hehe. 

• I finally found us an Elf! I kept meaning to order one from eBay or wherever but I honestly just forgot and because I haven't had time top spend on social media, I totally forgot to order one. I found an Elf in the card factory. We've named him Elfis and he's been getting up to all kinds of a mischief! Ellie ADORES him! She's been wondering if an Elf would visit us. She truly believes in the Christmas magic and it's so, so lovely. I tried to convince Charlie but he's eleven now, still though, he thinks our Elf is funny and rushes down in the mornings to see what our ''elf'' has done during the night, haha. Harry (teenager!!) just thinks (in his words) "You're actually bonkers". Still though, he goes along with the magical elf who goes back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa, for Ellie's sake.  



A photo posted by Sara ♡ (@sassyserz) on Dec 13, 2016 at 9:45am PST



• I went Christmas shopping this past Tuesday. Still have so much to buy though. 

Things to look forward to:

• The Christmas Fayre on Saturday! I'm sure that will help me feel festive, hehe. 
• Looking after my baby nephew Noah one day next week while my brother and SIL go Christmas shopping!Baby cuddles are the best.
• Ellie's Christmas church service. Aww. 
• The kids breaking up from school! 
• What I am mostly looking forward to though, is having all my Christmas shopping DONE and the stress to be over, haha. 

Wow, the positives really do out weigh the negatives this week! And there's a lot to look forward to! Ahh, I feel a bit better now I've reflected on the positives.
What are your best and worst moments this week?

Sarah xXx

November didn't start off too great. My brain condition (IIH) flared up which resulted in headaches and just not feeling too great. One of the symptoms of IIH is numbness and tingling, my arms and legs went very numb for a while but as the month went on, I have got a bit better. Thankfully. I've also felt rather anxious on and off but enough of that now, onto the good stuff!


 During November I went to Ellie's parents evening, I enjoy parents evening and hearing about her progress and looking at all her lovely work. She's getting on very, very well at school. I am super proud of her.

Charlie really knuckled down and has settled into year 7 now. He's also got use to the homework, he still struggles sometimes but overall, he's much more settled. It helps having his big brother there too!

Harry's also getting on well and has been enjoying lots of sports and what not. I'm really proud of them both!
I'm not really sure we actually got very much of our bucket list ticked off this month but that's ok! I'm sure I'll do better in December.

The last weekend of November. Ellie and I were both poorly. It's to be expected this time of year though. Still sucks though. Thankfully, the boys haven't caught it. Touch wood. 


We've had some lovely things to review, lots of lovely festive arts and crafts items and we love the BB-8 and Thunderbird inflatable remote controls, they're super fun!

Other things I've loved this month include, The Walking Dead, reading (You can read my monthly reading wrap up here) I think my favourite book last month was Behind Closed Doors by B.A Paris. I've also started working out towards the end of the month! In hope to loose a few pounds before Christmas - Wish me luck!

I've also been organising for Christmas and planning. I still have A LOT of presents to buy but I am getting there slowly. We have lots of exciting things coming up in December. Ellie has a nativity play (although I don't think she's got any lines to say or anything) and a school carol service, school trips and Christmas jumper days. I think the boys have there school Christmas activities, too! And of course Christmas! We are super excited! I can't wait to put the tree up, hehe.

How was November for you?

Sarah xXx

Well, we are over half way through November already! This year has gone SO fast, I honestly can't believe it. It doesn't feel like a year ago that I was planning last Christmas and now it's time to start planning for THIS Christmas. Craziness! Anyway, I thought I'd write a 'Life Lately' post.

I don't know why but it feels like November has been a really stressful month for me. I think with having the brain condition I suffer with (IIH) flare up and just everyday life, it's been hectic and hard. I've been suffering with numbness, feeling sick and headaches for pretty much most of November - All due to my brain condition. My medication has been increased so that's helped a bit. It seems to have settled down now though (I hope I haven't jinxed myself!) and I've even started working out again. I'd like to loose 10lbs before Christmas but that might be a little ambitious. We'll see how I go and it really depends on how my head is.


The kids are all doing fantastic. They're all doing really well in school. I had Ellie's parents evening last week and she's doing AMAZING! I am so very proud of her. We're working on division and reading at home. She's a really good reader and quite a fast paced reader like me, hehe. Bless her.
I'm waiting to hear about when the boys parents evenings will be, I dare say they'll be soon! I am looking forward to seeing how well the boys are both doing. I think Charlie has got the hang of high school now, with lots of help from his big brother. I'm very proud of them both.


This up coming week I am hoping to do some Christmas shopping and get a big chunk of it done next week, all going well. I need to come up with some ideas for Harry, he's thirteen years old and so hard to buy for, he's so fussy with clothes, too! I also need to fish my Christmas tree out of the shed and bring that inside (I'm not putting it up anytime soon though! My cats will destroy it).

A photo posted by Sara ♡ (@sassyserz) on Nov 8, 2016 at 11:59am PST

How has November been for you?

Sarah xXx

I'm finding it really difficult to find the positives this week. It's not even been THAT bad of a week. I'm just not sure many positive things have happened... I think I'll start with the negatives and work my way through.



Negatives: 

• This is one of those negatives and positives. Ellie will have to have a brace. Her top two teeth are biting down on her bottom teeth which is causing problems. She's only nine years old. Although this is also a positive because it's being sorted out sooner rather than later so it isn't really a bad thing. Except she's terrified of the thought and I feel for her. I really do.  
• Ellie has also been poorly with a cold and sore throat and running a temperature but she seems to have improved so fingers crossed she can go to school tomorrow!  
• Harry has broken his bed. No idea how he's managed it but perhaps it's fixable! I hope so because he's only had the bed 18 months! 

Positives:

• My headache is much better! Thank goodness and touch wood. I suffer with a brain disease "IIH". I've also had some severe numbness in my hands and arms, especially the left side of my body but that seems to have improved. 
• I've recently finished reading "Behind Closed Doors". Very good book! Although it does touch on some very difficult topics it is a great read if you like thrillers! (Book review here if anyone is interested)
• We were lucky enough to be sent some lovely bath and skin care products for children to review! The kids LOVED them. You can read our review here

• I saw my mum briefly last week, which was lovely. She works a lot so I don't often get to see her so when I do see her, we have a really good catch up and chat. Always makes me smile, hehe. 
• The kids are all doing well at school. Charlie especially has been making a really good effort with keeping on top of his homework. He was struggling to begin with. High school is so much harder than primary school but he's getting the hang of it now.

 Things to look forward to:

• The upcoming parents evenings. 
• All the Christmas festivities which seem to be starting early this year! 
• Doing more Christmas shopping this week! I really NEED to be organised this year. 

There seem to be more positives that I first thought and I'm feeling much more positive after writing them all down! The positives out weigh the negatives again, hoorah!
What are your best and worst moments this week? Or what are you most looking forward to?

Sarah xXx

I am SO behind on everything, blogging, emails... LIFE! I've been trying to take it easy as much as I can and also spend less time on the computer as I have had really bad headaches recently and my vision hasn't been 100%. I really don't want to have a lumbar puncture to release the pressure/fluid on my brain and behind my eyes. So I've been trying my hardest to avoid that! I'm so sorry I am behind on blogs and everything else! I'll catch up... eventually.


Anyway here are our best and worst bits this week.

Negatives: 

• See the first paragraph of this post! 
• Being behind on everything truly sucks but my health comes first! 
• They say things come in three's.. First my washing machine had something stuck in the filter. The washing machine was full of clothes. And water. I ended up with a very flooded kitchen! I fixed that. Then my hoover started playing up and my hair straighteners won't heat up. Awesome. *note sarcasm* I thankfully (touch wood) managed to sort the washing machine out! Phew. It's not the time of year (is it ever?) for expensive electronics to be breaking! 

Positives:

•  I started my Christmas shopping. Hoorah! I've only bought small things but it's start. I really need to be more organised this year! 
• I am loving the walking dead! The first episode of season seven was utterly... Heartbreaking. That was to be expected though, I think everyone knew something terrible was going to happen. Loved the second episode though, Carol is awesome, haha. 
• We had a fab Halloween. It wasn't quite the same with the kids being at school and all but they had fun trick or treating! 
• The dentist hasn't cancelled Ellie's dentist appointment this week! They usually cancel last minute but so far, so good. I just need all this dentist stuff to be over. For her sake.
• I read "Behind Closed Doors" yesterday! What a fantastic book. Review coming soon. 
• Charlie got a certificate for all his 'house points' as he got more than anyone else in his form! So proud of him! 
• Harry's been really helpful the last few days, bless him. I know I say this all the time but I honestly can't believe he is 13 years old. How am I mum to a TEENAGER?! How does that even happen, haha.  

• The kids and I carved a couple of pumpkins, we were aiming to do a cat but I went wrong so we just turned it into a spooky face lol! Ohhh and we also baked some epic Halloween cupcakes. All three of the kids enjoyed helping and decorating them. 

Things to look forward to:

• Well, we have Guy Fawkes night coming up. We don't have any plans. We're not huge fans of fireworks but we do have some sparklers and we'll probably watch some fireworks from the garden or the window. I'll make a special dinner, too! 
• I am looking forward to all Ellie's dental appointments being over! Although , sadly I don't think they will be for a while as she's going to need a brace (she's only 9!) and she has some hereditary thing that I'll find out more about today. It's nothing to do with the condition of her teeth, the condition of her teeth is actually pretty good as the dentist told us last time! 
• The weekend! I am SO looking forward to the weekend and just relaxing. It's nice to be back in the school routine and all but the early mornings... Especially when it's cold... I struggle, haha.

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! And have a safe Guy Fawkes night!

What are you best and worst moments this week? What has made you smile recently?

Sarah xXx

Gosh, half way through half term already! Where does the time go? The days seem long and yet when I look back, time has flown by. I know that makes no sense but it's true.
Anyway, here are this weeks best and worst moments & things to look forward to.


Negatives: 

• It totally sucks that Halloween falls on a school day this year. We'll have to have a build up to it over the weekend. We usually spend the day doing Halloween arts & crafts and watching family Halloween movies. I shared a few of our favourite Halloween movies here: 
• The dentist has cancelled Ellie's appointment AGAIN! We've two appointments out of the four, the other two have also been cancelled. This appointment was a rescheduled one and it's been cancelled again. I understand these things happen but I prepare Ellie for it (because she's been referred to a special dentist as she has a phobia and we have to go at an Ellie speed pace) and then have to prepare her all over again when it's rescheduled. *sigh* It's just one of those things and I know I shouldn't complain about it but eh. At least she's had an X-Ray and we have established that she is going to need a brace and probably quite soon.
• My headaches have still been quite bad but not as bad as it's been in the past. I'm going to the doctors Friday. I know he won't be able to do much because it's a rare brain disease (although I prefer the word condition over disease!) but I do need for it to be logged just in case I end up needing to see the neurologist. 
• Because of the above reason, I have failed blogtober. Boo! I did well at the start of the month though. My health has to come first! 

Positives: 

• We have had a fairly chilled half term so far. We went to town yesterday so the kids could spend there Birthday money! Harry decided on some points for the XBOX, Charlie picked an XBOX game and Ellie picked a little doll set. We enjoyed a lovely lunch - hot sausage roll and I treated the kids to a cake. They've been really well behaved this half term. (Touch wood, haha). I'm actually not looking forward to them going back to school, I will miss them.
• Ellie got all her answers right for her telling the time test! I am SO proud of her, she worked so hard on learning to tell the time. She can actually tell the time but gets a couple mixed up. 
• I found some bargain books for 20p each again. Including Fangirl, I can't believe it was only 20 pence! Bargain. I'm having a little break from reading now though because of my headaches.
• We have my niece around to to play, it's nice for Ellie to have someone to play with. We have spent the morning colouring in Halloween pictures that I printed out. 

• Harrys 13th Birthday last week - I still can not believe he is THIRTEEN! He had a lovely Birthday though and got some really awesome gifts.
• We also decorated this epic skull mini gift bags for Halloween!! Aren't they fab? 

Things to look forward to:

• Halloween!! And everything that comes with it. Halloween baking, the movies... Trick or Treating and so on! The kids are super excited too. Must pick up a pumpkin or two at some point. 
• Having Ellie's dentist treatment over and done with. I feel for her. 
• Parents evening is next week, I am looking forward to that, too. I think the boys parents evening is probably coming up to :) 
• Starting Christmas shopping. I haven't bought a thing yet. Eek. 

So those are our best and worst moments and bullet point update on life! How has your week been? I hope you've all had a wonderful week with more positives than negatives.

Sarah xXx

The weeks are really flying by now! I can't believe we are over half way through October already. Craziness. Anyway, here's this weeks best and worst moments and as always, things to look forward to.


Negatives: 

• The brain disease I suffer with has flared up again. (It causes headaches, numbness, neck pain and just feeling generally not very well) Although, it's not that bad and it's certainly been a lot worse, it's still a pain to have to deal with.. It isn't easy. 
• I failed 'blogtober' because of the above reason. I hadn't scheduled blog posts and was finding it difficult to sit on the computer and focus on anything. I only missed one post so I shouldn't beat myself up too much! 
• The dentist cancelled Ellie's appointment again last week. She needs quite a bit of treatment, I do wish they'd stop cancelling the appointments and just get it over with. I guess these things can't be helped though. (Ellie has dentist this week instead!)

Positives:

• I am feeling much better than I was. Hopefully the headache stays away! 
• Ellie had her harvest 'assembly' in the church the other day. So sweet hearing all the kids sing. She had worked hard both at home and at school on memorizing all the lyrics to each song, bless her! My favourite one was "No I mustn't forget to say a great big thank you..." I'm sure you all know... 
• Charlie has got into the swing of high school properly now. I am trying to help him become more organised. There's been a couple of times were he's left his pencil case/books in his locker. I think he's got the hang of it now though. 
• I've almost bought all of Harry's Birthday presents! Just as well because his Birthday is this week... I left everything until last minute but I'm finally ready. I think. 
• We also enjoyed a lovely Autumn walk the other day! I can't say this enough but I adore this time of year! 

Things to look forward to: 

• Harry's 13th Birthday - Yes, you read that right THIRTEENTH! I can't believe he's going to be a teenager. It's madness. 
• Half term! It can not come soon enough. A break from school routine is well needed. 
• Hopefully we'll have some nice weather during half term as we have plans to find a huge leaf pile and jump in it, haha. 

Those are our best and worst moments this week! What are your highlights from the past week? Let me know in the comments :)

Sarah xXx