Gosh, December is flying by so fast. Too fast! I am still not ready for Christmas. Nowhere even near. I have so many gifts to buy still. I know it'll all work out in the end and Christmas isn't just about gifts and what not but even so, it's stressful! I'll start off with the 'not so great' things that have been going on lately.

Firstly, we've all been poorly with one thing or another. We just start getting better and then one of the kids come home from school with yet another bug or virus. I think the kids have had two stomach bugs since October! Harry last week was vomiting and then this weekend, Ellie came down with it and now, Monday morning... Charlie is puking. It just seems never ending. I'm certain it's this time of year and being ill comes with the colder weather, also Harry starting high school and a lot of new bugs and germs are going around but shesh. It's just been one illness after another, quite literally! Time to get the Detol and cleaning products out again. (I feel like I'm constantly cleaning and the amount of disinfectant I've gone through, trying to prevent these bugs! I guess my mums theory is right "If you're gonna get ill, you'll get it regardless! Still no harm in trying to prevent it though, right?) Hopefully all will be over with by the time Christmas rolls around. Which is eleven days away! EEK!
I've still got that wrapper lodged in my throat. I need to go back to the hospital for a scan but with the kids being ill and I've been ill, it hasn't been possible. It's not causing me any distress, it's just annoying. I can barely even feel it today so perhaps it's making it's way down (touch wood and pray!)

Anyway. Onto better things.


We've put our Christmas tree up and it looks lovely, I do need to get some gold ribbon though, just to finish it off. I've decorated the tree in a theme this year, silver, rose gold and gold with a tiny bit of black (because the baubles are SO sparkly, I HAD to use them lol). I wasn't quite sure how it would look but it looks really nice, the pictures do it no justice. I'm avoiding tinsel this year as my cats like to try and eat it and I certainly don't want it causing them any injuries or health problems. I've also put the Christmas lights up around the window and the look lovely. I think I'll be more into the Christmas spirit once the Xmas shopping is complete.
Ellie and I took a trip to the local garden centre which was so festive and lovely. We had a great time.

Oh and Santa came around our street on his sleigh (raising money) which was amazing!! Truly, I was amazed as were the kids. What a festive way to get people into the Christmas spirit! We stood and waved and Ellie even went up to the sleigh and said hello and wishes everyone a merry Christmas. I wish I had of taken better photos but I was just stood there in amazement, haha. That really made mine and the kids week last week :)

How has your week been? Are you all set for Christmas?

Sarah xXx

The whole of November has been a bit... crap really.
I feel like a bit of a plonker sharing this story.

It started off with me swallowing a piece of sweet wrapper. I was eating one of those little sweety lolly's, I was half way through it when I started choking, I managed to choke up a lump of sweet wrapper, a little bit still went down though. It appears that the wrapper was (I don't know how to explain this) melted into the actual lolly pop itself. After a lot of coughing, eating bread, drinking water and fizzy drinks to try and help it either go down or cough it back up, I realised it wasn't going to be that simple! It's so uncomfortable, I can't even explain it. It feels like I've got a lump in my throat. You know when you're trying really hard not to cry and you get that awful lump in the back of your throat? It feels a bit like that but not quite. I thought perhaps it was the scaring and grazing from all the choking. Only scars and grazes don't move and I could FEEL this wrapper moving around. Not a nice feeling at all.

I'm not one for going to the doctors unless I absolutely need to but I gave in. I've been to the GP who told me to go to A&E, I finally went to A&E yesterday after keeping putting it off because I really, really wanted it to dis lodge itself and not have to go through six million procedures to try and get it out. I was dreading it. I went though and after the ENT specialist looking down my throat with his torch, he told me he couldn't see it. I had no choice but to have the camera scope thing put up my nose and into my throat. I was really anxious and not looking forward to this! I had tried so hard to avoid this, I'd tried EVERYTHING imaginable (and more!) to try get it out myself. After a few minutes he informed me he still couldn't see it but I can feel it. He did say he can see there has been something there recently, it's scarred and it's grazed. He said it will eventually move on it's own. I'll probably swallow it and it'll go down into my tummy. Or perhaps I'll manage to cough it up, who knows! All I know is, it sucks. It's not so bad today, it's right at the very back of my throat, I can barely even feel it, which is of course good! Please pray it goes down (or comes up!) very soon because quite frankly, it's making me miserable.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? 
I'm going to write a formal complaint to the lolly company because I had no response from my email. I just think they should be recalled and checked before being sold. Imagine that happening to a child? I now it could happen with any kind of food, nothing is ever perfect but gosh!!!!
Please be careful people.

I've also spent the whole entire month (so far) of November ill. I've had a rotten cold/flu thing, blocked ears and a sore throat (probably due to the above), which all went to my chest but I think *touch all the wood in the house* I am finally getting over it now. Finally! I also had a stomach bug inbetween all of that, too. The kids have also been ill with bugs and what not but they seen to bounce back well. Thankfully. I know being ill comes with this time of year but when it all happens at once? It's even worse. Hopefully we'll all be healthy in time for Christmas! (Lets hope I haven't just jinxed myself)

On a better note. The kids have all had school trips and are doing wonderfully at school. Ellie got star of the week a couple of weeks ago and Charlie has been working really hard and went to homework club after school. Harry's plodding a long at high school and really enjoying it!
We made a lovely Chicken Rogan Josh meal together, which was amazing! We've also enjoyed a couple of movie nights and lots of cosy nights in. I love those kind of evenings. We're so excited for Christmas now, we've done some Christmas arts and crafts and been looking at ideas for our Christmas tree. Hopefully I'll get a good chunk of Christmas shopping done before November is over. I really do need to be more organised than I am.

I finally, finally got my laminate flooring laid in my bedroom, yay! I've lived in this house since April (and love it, I might add!) and had no flooring down in my bedroom, due to finances but I got a good bargain and fond a discount code online. I'm really happy to finally have nice flooring in my bedroom. All three bedrooms are done now, yay! It looks lovely, I shall be sharing photos very soon. So November hasn't been all bad.

How has your November been?

Sarah xXx

It has been one heck of a week. Again. It's been full of sickness and poorly children, which has sucked. I need to remind myself that there ARE reasons to be thankful because this week has been super chaotic and a bit blah if I'm honest.

So here are my reasons to be thankful this week.


1) I am thankful that we are slowly all getting better. I just can not wait until we are all better. Poor Harry has a horrendous cough and is just not himself at all. Thankfully the school are understanding and they know he is genuinely ill because he never, ever has time off school. He loves school!

2) I am thankful that I live in a house with heating. We take these small things in life for granted. Before we moved into this house (almost three years ago), our house had no heating and it was absolutely bitter cold during the winter. I used electric heaters which were very expensive to run and as soon as they had been turned off, it would freezing cold again. I am SO thankful for central heating.

3) I've finally made a (small) start on my Christmas shopping. I am thankful I am able to do this. I don't have a lot of money but at least I am able to buy a few bits here and there. So many people can't and so many people will go without this Christmas and that saddens me so much! I will be donating to the local food bank and donating some of the little's old toys that they longer play with, to a local charity.

We are seriously so lucky. I'm feeling very grateful and blessed :)

Sarah xXx

It has been a mad 10 days or so. Everyone has been ill and it has really sucked. Badly.
First last week, I had such a bad headache for a few days. I think I need another lumbar puncture to drain the fluid from around my brain but honestly, I want to avoid that if I can so I am trying other (natural) things instead. Like laying flat at night, without a pillow, loosing weight and so on. Harry was next to come down with an illness, the dreaded sickness bug that's going around (noro virus possibly), he was really ill for three days. Then I came down with earache and a sinus thing, which I am stil not over (almost a week later!). Harry was getting better and then Charlie caught Harry's bug, although he seemed to be over it after twelve hours, which was good! And now Harry has this sinus thing and it has hit him so hard. He's really not himself at all! I took him to the doctors today, although his ear is a little pink and he does have an annoying (dry) cough, he doesn't need antibiotics (unless he gets worse), which I'm glad about but I do really hope he's better soon. I feel so helpless and sorry for him.
It's just that time of year, there is so much going around. The ladies in the office at school have said so many kids have had bad colds, coughs and the tummy bug that seems to linger. Lets hope it all passes asap!

Needless to say, I haven't really had much time for anything and when I have had time - in-between tending to sick children and cleaning like a crazy woman - I've needed to rest because I am still not 100% myself! I have gone through a lot of Zoflora, Detol, anti bacterial sprays and what ever else, trying to prevent germs from spreading... If I never see another bottle of bleach again, it'll be too soon, haha. Or until tomorrow at least.

Apart from all of that though and onto better things, I attended Ellie's parents evening last week. I am really pleased to report she is right where she should be in all subjects, her reading has come along wonderfully and her hand writing is ever so neat, especially as she is only seven years old. I'm super proud of her! She does have her moments where she looses focus and concentration but overall she's doing splendid. I love those proud mummy moments.
Harry's not been at school hardly at all the last week so I don't have much to report on him when it comes to school, we've been reading together though and practicing spellings when he's felt like it.
Charlie is doing great at school! He impressed with his fractions homework, I was never very good at maths (I'm still not good at it) so it's refreshing to see him doing so well with it! He actually was teaching ME about fractions last week, bless him. I'm really pleased and proud of my little's :-)

So that's our lives lately!

We are very much looking forward to Christmas. Although, I haven't bought very many gifts yet or thought about the food side of things (mainly due to a past chaotic couple of weeks) yet, I am starting to get organised, I've at least bought the kids a couple of stocking fillers and wrapped them, a small start but better than none at all! I think once Harry is back at school and we're over our illnesses, I'll get stuck right into the Christmas spirit!

Sarah xXx

I feel like I don't have enough pairs of hands to go around lately, does anyone else feel like this? lol.

The past few weeks, Harry (my eldest - he's 10 years old) has been getting headaches quite a lot. Last week I took him to the opticians to have his eyes tested to see if he needed glasses. His eye sight is fine and he doesn't need glasses so that rules that out. I also took him to the doctors who did some tests, checked blood pressure etc. He's give us a 'Headache Diary' to keep track of Harry's headaches but he isn't concerned. Harry hasn't been ill or anything just a dull ache (as he describes it) but with my history of intercranial idiopathic hypertension, I thought it was best to getHarry checked out.
Harry is still playing sports and doing great at school (and of course bickering with his brother and sister, lol!) so I don't think it's serious but still, it doesn't stop me from worrying! I've been making sure Harry drinks enough water and he takes a water bottle to school with him, too. He really does drink a lot so I know it's not dehydration. We'll see how he gets on. Hopefully the headaches subside.

When I went to collect Ellie from school today, I got called into the class room because she had literally just been sick. All over the floor in the class room and all over herself! The teacher said there was no warning - she just vomited! (Which I can quite believe because that's usually what happens when Ellie isn't well. Just in time for bank holiday weekend! Typical). She was sobbing her little heart out, bless her. I think she was embarrassed. Bless her. She's currently laying on the sofa, in her PJS (She had a quick bath) watching cartoons on the T.V. She feels quite warm. There is a tummy big going around the school apparently so I guess she's caught that. I feel really sorry for her. She is drinking plenty of fluids. And I am really hoping and praying that I don't catch it because, well, lets face it, the hole house will come to a stand still if I'm ill! Hopefully the boys won't catch it either. They're off to there dads house tomorrow for the weekend, hopefully it'll be over with by the time they get back.


I am really glad I used the slow cooker today, I don't have to worry about cooking dinner because it's already done. Love it!! I really didn't stick to the meal plan this week as I had bits in the freezer that I didn't know I even had. They needed using up. I'll certainly be using my slow cooker more often, it's great! 

Well, I'm gonna go and try to make Ellie more comfortable, she insisted she didn't want a bed made up on the sofa. I'm also going to disinfect everything and go crazy with the detol spray & try to prevent this bug from spreading (try being the keyword) - I know how to party on Friday night, eh?! Haha.
I think an early night is in also in order for me tonight. *Yawns*

Have a fab bank holiday weekend.

Sarah xXx

I haven't done reasons to be cheerful for a while now and I really miss it! Sometimes I NEED to remind myself of reasons to be cheerful and today is one of those times. I've had a really bad week this week and thought I'd remind myself of all the reasons to be cheerful by joining in this lovely linky which is hosted by Lakes single mum.

Beautiful evening sky!

1. It's the first day of spring, finally! Yay! You have no idea how glad I am that it is finally spring. The sun is shining today and the weather is quite mild. I can't wait to get outside more with the kids, go on picnics and achieve some of the things on our spring bucket list! Such fun, hehe. 
2. Ellie has been feeling under the weather but seems a little bit better today, thank goodness. She's had a high temperature for two days but it seems to be going down now, thank goodness. Hopefully she'll feel 100% herself, soon. So my second reason to be cheerful is that Ellie is getting better! *knocks on wood* 
3. My third reason to be cheerful is that I am going to sort the boys room out today! I finally have there new bunk beds. Today's task is taking the old ones down and putting the new ones up. At last! It's taken a while to save for but so worth it. Wish me luck, I'm doing it alone :/ It's gonna look a lot better in there room with new bunk beds and a nice new canvas wardrobe. 
4. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday! I am looking forward to nice relaxing weekend (hopefully headache free). Perhaps even a lie in on Sunday! We shall see. 

What are your reasons to be cheerful this week? Why not join in the blog hop below and share your reasons to be cheerful :)

Sarah xXx 

It's been one of *those* weeks this week!
Everything has gone wrong.

Charlie jammed his fingers in the door last night, his little finger and the finger next to it on his left hand are really swollen and bruised. He was so lucky that it's not broken or anything! I feel so bad for him though, it looks so painful and sore. His nail has gone all black :(
Ellie is poorly, she has a temperature and hasn't really eaten very much, she's drinking plenty of fluids though. It's weird because usually when she's poorly she's usually still quite active but not this time. I feel so bad for her too! It's horrible when the kids are ill, I feel so helpless.

I have had zero motivation this week and have a headache for a couple of days. Blah! I've also had a clumsy week, broke two plates, a glass and a candle holder thing, that is just so typically me, lol.
I can't wait for this week to be over. Perhaps next week will be a better week?

The boys are dressing up as there sporting heroes (footballers) for sports relief on Friday! They are really excited, aww. I'm not sure if Ellie is dressing up or if her school are doing anything in aid of sports relief, I should imagine they are but because she hasn't been today, I've not had any letter yet.

I've not got any plans for this weekend, we were suppose to visit my grandparents but because Ellie's been poorly, I think it's best we leave it a week or so, just in case she's contagious. We don't want to spread any germs, my grandparents are old!

Hmm, I can't think of much else to type! I jus twanted to write a general update on life, lol.



Sarah xXx

So back in September we got a new kitten. We got him from a cat (charity) rescue place. He's been absolutely fine until the last month or so. A little on the small side but healthy and happy.
We think he had cat flu, got antibiotics for that. He seemed to get better but as soon as the antibiotics ran out... he was poorly again. Back to the vets. More antibiotics and blood tests and we still don't know what's wrong with him. We (as in the vet and myself) think it's something to do with his liver. Also, he now has to have senior cats diet or low protein. Poor kitty! He's five months old but the size of a 10-12 weeks old kitten. He is TINY! He's now on more antibiotics and medicine. He may need more tests after Christmas. Just see how he is after the meds and antibiotics.


I really hope he's going to be ok. I can't imagine life without him. Now, I know that sounds totally daft to some people because he is "only a cat". He's actually like part of the family now. The kids adore him, too! He does seem to be getting better again, running around like a loony and chasing Lotti, our big cat around the house, lol. It's nice to see him getting back to his old self again. He's so affectionate and loving & things would certainly not be the same without him.

So, it feels like I am coming down with a cold, at least I hope it's just a cold and not flu! Eugh. 
But of course, there's no rest for the wicked. Life goes on. I don't have a chance to sit back and relax. I have piles of laundry to wash, hang out, fold and put away. There's school uniforms and packed lunches, hoovering to be done and dishes to be washed, dried and put away. Dinners to cook and kids to pick up from school (except today because there was no school. It's May day and therefore a bank holiday. Thank goodness). I had an unsettled night last night, I don't know if it's because I changed my bedroom around and so the bed is in a different spot in the bedroom or because I just wasn't really feeling tired. Or maybe it was because I am coming down with a cold or something. Who really knows?! It was just one of *those* nights where I kept waking up and was up and down. It didn't help that the cat was meowing because she needed the litter tray and couldn't go because the door closed. Then she processed to be a pain in the behind and carried on meowing because she wanted t o go outside. 3am is not a good time for her to go outside, especially as one of the neighbours cats has gone missing (he's been missing since Friday night/early hours of Saturday morning. I really hope he turns up). 

I just hope tonight is a better night. I also hope that I feel better tomorrow. Or at least my throat doesn;t hurt so bad. 

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day but to be honest I could do without going. Not going to happen. Obviously we have to eat and so I shall plod on and go to Morrisons, get a weeks worth of groceries and go pay bills and whatever errands need to be done. Must remember to put the prescription for my medication in at the doctors!  
I can't complain too much because the kids aren't bad and they do try to help me if I ask them. Sometimes though, it would be nice just to have a break from everyday things, especially when I am feeling not so great. 
Chance would be a fine thing, eh?!  A woman's works is never done. 

Anyway, aside from that the weather has been amazing. Warm and sunny, lots of blue skies. The kiddies have been able to play outside in our large back garden. We're really fortunate to have a large back garden. the weather is suppose to be nice again tomorrow, if I'm feeling up to it maybe we could have a BBQ after school. Best make the most of it because after tomorrow it's suppose to be overcast and not as warm. Still, it beats winter, lol.

Anyway this post isn't really going anywhere, I just needed somewhere to whinge and whine, lol!! We all have days like that, right? 

Sarah xXx 

I liked up with the lovely Mich over at Mummy from the heart.

It's been a bit of a hectic week again, not as bad as last week though, thank goodness. Here are my rasons to be cheerful this week: 

1) January is almost over. I seriously dislike this month. It's always depressing after Christmas, no one has much money and everything is a little blah! Not to mention it is the coldest month and everyone here has been so poorly. It seems that Jauary has really dragged. Last day of January today, thank goodness. 

2) I'm feeling a little better. I mean, I still have a cold and a cough but not half as bad as I was a few days ago! Perhaps I'll be better by the weekend? I hope so! At least the sore throat has gone now. Of course I have the usual headache but I can deal with that! I'm just glad I am feeling a little better. The kids are also better, just my eldest has a bit of a cough. 

3) It's sunny today! Ok, so it's still cold, not as cold as it has been though! It's so nice to see the sunshine, it defiantly makes me happy! Also, the daffodils on the kitchen window ledge (that my daughter, who is in reception planted at school and gave them to me as a gift!) I love daffodils, so pretty! And a reminder that spring is not far away, yay!