Me and Mine: A Family Portrait Project - June 2014

I'm (very) late to the party on this one, but this month I've decided to join in for the first time with the Me and Mine family portrait project. 

On the last day of every month, I will now be sharing a family photograph that we've taken some time throughout that month.

I'm pretty excited to be taking part, as it does seem to be such a rarity that all three of us appear in one photograph together. Seriously.. Family selfies are not easy!

So here is our photograph for June 2014.. 

We are at the beach in West Bay, Dorset at the end of our second day of our holiday. We'd just eaten lots of chips! (Simply because sitting on the beach eating masses of chips just has to be done!) And we'd had lots of fun been splashing our feet around in the sea. It was Ethans first proper time at the beach and he was so excited. This picture makes me smile and miss our holiday every time I see it.

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Keeping him Safe

Keeping E safe is my job, it's my first and foremost responsibility. Whether we're out and about or at home in the 'safety' of our home.

 

To tie in with child safety week, I thought I would just quickly post a few snaps from around our home (and our car) to show the different items we have that help keep him safe.

 

 

We use a Lindam safety barrier on our back door - it lets the fresh breeze from outside in when it's hot and stuffy but prevents any danger of E falling out onto the hard concrete.

 



 

A door stop on our living room door to prevent it slamming shut on tiny little toddler fingers. 

 





 

We use table corners to cover sharp edges to reduce the risk of a bumped head.

 

 

We have two stair gates in our house to provide a play space for E where he can play safe.

 

 

Sun shades in both of our cars help block those pesky sun rays out.

 

And lastly, we use an extra mirror in the car so that we can keep an eye on what a certain someone gets up to whilst we have out heads turned.

 

All of the mentioned items are from Lindam. They are a brand I trust completely and I am a proud ambassador for them.

 

 

 

Food Kids Seem to Love

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We all know that children can be picky eaters, but there are several meals that just always seem to be winners. If you’ve just got in from a long day at the office and the kids are ready to eat, the dishes below will certainly put a smile on their faces:

-Grilled Cheese Sandwich

America’s favourite grilled cheese sandwich is never turned down by an adult or a child. This gooey sandwich is nothing but bread, butter and cheese grilled to golden perfection, which can be dressed up with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil for something a little different. If you’re holding a birthday or Halloween party, these will go down a treat. Click here for halloween party ideas from Kraft. 

Tips for Buying Last Minute Birthday Gifts

3 Tips for buying those last minute birthday gifts!..

No matter how organised we like to think we are as individuals, anyone who claims that they have never forgotten a birthday or important special occasion is likely to be lying. When you consider the sheer volume of capital spend on gifts in the UK throughout the year, it stands to reason that a reasonable percentage of this should be invested into last-minute gifts and express delivery services. While having to generate an innovative gift idea and get this to the recipient within a short period of time can be stressful and demanding, however, there are ways in which you can simplify this process whilst also reducing cost. 

With this in mind, what practical steps can you take to easily select, purchase and ship a last minute gift to a loved one? Consider the following: 

How Incredibly Surreal | Brit Mums Live 2014

Brit Mums Live 2014 

I think the term introvert would sum me up quite nicely. 

Not one for groups, not one for huge cities crammed full of floods of people scurrying busily about their day. 

The hustle and bustle of places like London somewhat scare me. And a familiar feeling of dread overcame me as I stepped off of my train at Euston yesterday morning with my ever-supportive Husband in tow, who was very tightly holding on to my hand as if to say, 'you'll be okay' which at that particular time, I really needed to believe. 

I don't know if you ever noticed or not but everyone seems to walk so quickly in London. And it's kind of catching.. I felt my own legs start to ever so slightly speed up as I made my way to my hotel, totally full of nerves which at that point seemed to be rapidly overcoming me.

Having my Husband, Adam, there with me really helped to keep me grounded. His support in everything that I do is just completely invaluable and I am eternally grateful to him for it. 

I know that it can't have been the most exciting experience for him waiting around in London for me all day whilst I rubbed shoulders with fellow bloggers and brushed up my 'skills' in a field that I feel very passionate about. But returning to the hotel later that evening and seeing him after a very surreal, somewhat exhausting, first day at Brit Mums was quite honestly - just the very best feeling.

One of the things that struck me the most about the many things that us bloggers take away from events such as these, is that we learn so much about ourselves. It's a hard to thing to sit and try and explain but I really feel that I have discovered a lot more about who I am, what I want and even how to achieve it.

I've learnt that it's okay to have, 'I'm an absolute emotional-mess' days, that it's okay to feel nervous and ask for help from people when you don't know something.

I've also learnt that I need to stop picking myself apart as much as I do, that I should believe in myself and my blog a lot more and that I have the ability to be a lot more confident than I thought I could be. It's all about self-belief I guess and the last couple of days has taught me the absolute value of what it is to have belief in yourself.

I've also learnt that I want to be more in control of my blog. And by that I mean when it comes to the paid work or working with companies for promotional purposes, it's going to have to fit with me, my blog, my content and my readers. I will now be consistently asking myself the question, 'What would I want to read about?'.

In regards to fellow bloggers who I was so very fortunate enough to meet. There's only one word I can use to describe how I feel about some of them and that is just phenomenal (okay, I suppose that's technically two words!).

People like Katie from Mummy daddy me and Charlotte from Write like no-one's watching inspire me beyond the word inspiration.


They are not only brilliant blog writers/photographers/Mums, they are brilliant, genuine and kind people.

Spending as much time as I did with Charlotte today was such a highlight to my time at Brit Mums. And though I'd never met Charlotte before, I somehow managed to feel an almost instant connection with her. I guess you could say that there are just some people in the big wide world who at some point in time you are supposed to meet. And as surreal as it was, I will always look back on our chat over our cardboard boxed lunch (and wine!) with a big smile on my face.

There are so many other wonderful and kind bloggers who I met over the last couple of days that I could quite honestly just sit and write and write about until my fingers turned numb. But asides from having what would be very sore fingers I know I'd never make it into bed tonight. So I'm just going to mention a few very special people that made my first ever Brit Mums Live experience that much more wonderful and memorable..

Hayley, Emma, Emily - such wonderful, hopefully lifelong friends. Charlotte - who is apparently just as mad as I am and who made me laugh, quite a lot. Kerry - who is so incredibly sweet. Michelle - who is just as lovely. Lucy - who is unbelievably inspirational and also very pretty. And also Lucy from dear beautiful - who seems so genuine and warm. James - who I find as a daddy blogger, very inspirational and kind. Bex - who I found to be so lovely to talk to. Vikki - who I would liked to have spent more time with as she seemed like such a lovely person.  And lastly my last special mention is to Kelly who apart from having incredibly great taste in names for little boys is just such an absolute sweetheart.

If I have missed anyone, I am really sorry! Please don't take it personally. There really are just far too many people to name. To every single person that I had the absolute pleasure of meeting over the last two magical days.. thank you for making my experience what it was - so incredibly surreal! 

And just before I retire myself to bed for the night, I'd like to say the biggest thank you to the absolutely lovely and very gorgeous girls who were over at the Spatone stand yesterday and today.

Without them I wouldn't have any of the amazing memories that I now have from the past couple of days.

So thank you to the team at Spatone for getting behind me and my blog. It has really meant the world.

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Days Out at the Beach with the Kids: What to Wear and What to Take

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One of the best things about summer is the increased chance of enjoying the great outdoors. When the kids aren’t in school, getting out and enjoying yourself as a family is a great way to spend your days – after all, who wants to be cooped up inside when the weather is so glorious? Obviously, English weather can be turbulent at times and you can’t always guarantee bright and sunny days, but when the sun does shine, make the most of it while you can! 

Wherever you are in the UK, escaping to the seaside for the day is a possibility, particularly if you’re lucky enough to live on the coast. Whether it means a bit of a drive to the closest resort or you just have to enjoy a brief walk to get there, the seaside is a place of fun and quality family time. Planning on spending the day there? Think carefully about what you wear, and what you take with you, especially if there are limited facilities once you have arrived. 

How to get the job you want

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1. Figure out what is you want to do. It's never too late to figure out what you really want to do. If you're not sure when you leave school and head into college/sixth form - why not do something like IT that will set you up with a good all round qualification that you will use in pretty much anything you do decide to go into. There are cheap on-campus colleges that offer short-term programs you can choose from depending on your interests.
2. Know your strengths. What are you good at? What do you enjoy? Why not make a list of things you do well in or have skills in. Writing them down on paper is a good way to collate information and  determine what type of person you are. There are also tons of personality quizzes you can do online to help with this. 
3. Research. Once you think you know what you want to do or you've narrowed it down - do your research. Go and speak to people that do the job, ask for their opinions, ask what the training's like, the money, the shifts. Ask as many questions as you'd like to know the answers to. No question is a silly question. 
4. Volunteer. It can be time consuming and nobody really likes working for free but it gets you a foot in the door. It gets you seen by potential employers and you'll get a feel for the type of work and working environment. 
5. Stay determined. If a job doesn't arise through volunteering, don't feel disheartened. Search job boards and get your CV containing all of your volunteer experience skills out there to potential employers. 
6. Be realistic when it comes to qualifications. If you need qualifications for the job you want to do, you'll need to consider going back to college or doing an open university course to get them. You can't expect to get the job you want in a day. Stick at it and keep focused. 
7. Don't limit yourself. If you want to do something - apply your mind to it and do what makes you happy.
 

5 Pregnancy related things I would have liked to have tried

Life Lately

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I haven't written one of these posts in a while, but sometimes it's nice to just take a moment, sit and re-cap..!

So lets do just that..

Where to start..? Ah yes - we're booked in for a holiday in Dorset a week from today (we are reviewing for Parkdean) and we're SO looking forward to it! Life's has been so hectic lately, it has been probably ever since we moved house. Sometimes Adam and I feel like we have such a lack of time, sometimes we just really want to sit and do, well.. just nothing at all. Asides from taking care of Ethan, the cats and the house, it does seem to be a case of if Adams' not at his full time job, I'm at work, if I'm not at work, he's working on his business, if he's not working on his business I'm working on my blog. So a holiday at this particular moment in time is very much welcome. 

And what else.. oh! - I recently had a scan on my stomach (nooo, not pregnant, before conclusions are jumped).. I had been having quite horrible pains on the left side of my stomach quite low down and I was thinking the worst (and Googling a lot - as you do!). Fortunately, the scan came back as all fine which was obviously a relief but I did get to find out something else.. Apparently I have a womb that is tilted backwards! (Who knew?!!) Apparently it's very unlikely to cause me or any future baby (or babies?) any issues, so nothing to worry about there!

Did you know.. the one thing (or one of the things) I've always wanted to do is to see Eminem live - please don't all boo at once haha! He's a very talented man and also perhaps rather quite scrummy! ;) (Yes - I did just say that!) Whilst having my scan actually, I received a text from my service provider to say that there were additional tickets going to see him live in Wembley. Being that I absolutely HAVE to see Eminem live and in the flesh at some point in my life we decided we'd go. Sadly when we got home all the best tickets had gone and with the ones that we're left he would have looked almost pea-size. So we decided to leave it! And try again next time.! Ah well..  there's always the next best thing, Lee Evans at The O2!

And what else? Oh yes - we are loving our new car! Which I posted about a week or so ago. It was a nice little upgrade to our Astra and a nice reward for my Hubby who'd wanted it for a long time and has worked so hard building up his side-business.

Oh and I can't go without a special mention to Game of Thrones.. it's been AMAZING this series..! And I am SO looking forward to the season finale tonight! Have any of you been watching too?

   

To the proper 'Dads'!

 

Happy Fathers Day to all the proper 'Dads' out there!

Especially to my wonderful Husband Adam who is the most fantastic Dad to our amazing Son. Ethan is one lucky boy to have a Dad like him!

 

The lady in the red and white dress

Last night we attended a barn dance for my Husbands Granny's birthday (Ethans Great-Granny). It was pretty fun actually. But that's not what this post is about..
There were many people there last night, but one person in particular caught my eye. There was a lady there wearing a pretty red and white dress who I'd heard had recently lost her Husband. She seemed sad and nobody on the table she was sat at seemed to be talking to her much. She wasn't making much conversation with them either, but you wouldn't really have expected her to would you? 
Looking at her, I felt such sadness and I desperately wanted to start talking to her to try and cheer her up. But then, she didn't know me and what would I say? I went over the things I might say in my head a few hundred times, but each time I shook my head. She probably didn't want my pity, especially not from someone that she didn't even know. 
I looked at Adam a million times and imagined my life without him. I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought tears to my eyes. I don't know if I would have the strength to carry on without him. Not without the person who I've grown up with and shared every single thing in most of my life with. He's not just my rock, he's a huge part of me. 
Ethan was the only baby or child there last night and his sense of curiosity saw him crawling around the hall like a crazy runaway train, with either Adam or I (or his Grandparents) chasing behind trying to keep him out of mischief. 
At one point he crawled right over to the lady and she seemed to like him, her face lit up and we got chatting for a few minutes. Mostly about Ethan but it was enough to make her smile. And well .. that was enough for me. 
Life is so precious and the people we love are even more so. So look after them :-)

What's in our swim bag?

Hi guys!

Today I thought I would give you all a little look inside of our swim bag! Because, well, why not!? :O)

As part of our Konfidence Swimologist role we go swimming on a Thursday morning with a local baby swim club called SwimKidz! It's really helping to build Mr E's confidence in the water up as well as mine! I would never have taken him swimming by myself before we started on the course - but look at me now!

If you don't already go to a baby swim club, but you're thinking about doing it.. I totally recommended you to go! It's so much fun!

Here's what we take to swimming every week...

As we are Swimologists for Konfidence we pretty much have everything by them - I absolutely love and recommended their products! I can't actually believe we didn't own their stuff before we started our role with them!

From them we have a Roll & Go babychanger, which I lay Ethan on to get changed and dressed (it's non slip and much more hygienic then just using the standard baby change table!), a body warmer (my fave item - it keeps Ethan warm and looks super cute!), and two swim nappies which all nicely match ;) If you're looking for swimming gear for your own little one I seriously do recommend you visit http://www.konfidence.co.uk and have a little look at what they've got to offer. I couldn't imagine using any other brand!

Asides from that I have my swimming costume which is really nice if I do say so myself! It's from M&S and was about £35 or something like that. It's reeeally nice on and the ruffles in the stomach area hide my little mum tum!

I also take nappies, wipes and nappy bags to change Ethans nappy! And some snacks in the form of rice cakes and a drink for after his swim! Apart from that I take my phone, underwear for me (nice!) and a pound to use the locker! Oh and my purse - for if I fancy a tea/coffee after. So pretty minimal stuff really!

The bag is from The Camouflage Company, they kindly sent it to me a while ago and I think it makes a perfect swim bag. (though it can be used for pretty much everything!) The bag is water-resistant and easy to wipe clean hence why I use it for swimming! There are pockets inside which I use to store my phone in and my pound coin! The bag I use is this this one!

So there you have it - that's what's inside of our swim bag!

Cool Clothing Ideas for Kids

One of the best things about being a parent is that you get to dress your kids exactly how you want to. That is, until they reach the age where they officially become embarrassed by your sartorial choices and decide to take control of their own apparel But until then their wardrobe is in your hands, and what better way to dress your kids than in some of the coolest styles around.

 

Urban Apparel

If your little one is a budding skater or graffiti artist in the making, you’ll more than likely want to dress them to impress when they’re hanging with the local art crew (read: finger painting) down at the play park. There’s only one way to do urban apparel for kids, and that’s by heading over to Skate Hut to check out their awesome line of wheeled trainers and alternative sporting goodies.

 

Hipster Chic

Hipster fashion has been all the rage for a while, but it’s the daring parent who raises the style stakes for their little hipster by dressing them in the fashion of the decade. But don’t go full hipster if you can help it – this fashion can be a little extreme at times and some of the styles, such as full beards, might not suit a toddler. Instead, think lumberjack shirts, braces and logo tees for effortless cool mixed with a healthy dose of cute.

 

Suit Jacket and Shorts

Believe it or not but short suits are actually coming into fashion for big men as well as little. Wearing a pair of tailored shorts with a matching suit or sports jacket is the perfect way to transition formal wear into summer style, providing the perfect blend of both couture and cool. If you’ve got a snazzy party to go to, why not try this style out on your little one? They’ll look totally adorable running around in their very own short suit.

Skater boy/girl

If you're child loves all things skating, then skates.co.uk will have them covered! Not only do they sell skate-inspired clothing, they also stock heelys, inline skates, ice skates, skateboards, helmets, pads and more! So if you've got a skater boy or skater girl on your hands then be sure to check them out. 

Animal Onesies

There is literally nothing cuter than animal onesies, and the best part is that adults can wear them too. Animal onesies are the perfect choice for just about any activity a person can think of, from lounging around at home to attending sleepovers, playing at the park or going to fancy dress parties. For an extra dose of uber-cool, make sure your kid is wearing what’s known as a ‘Kigurumi’ – this Japanese word refers to the traditional costumed theatre performers who would represent animals on stage, and is also now the term for a particularly awesome style of Japanese animal onesie.

 

 

*Guest post

North vs South | Edinburgh vs Buckinghamshire

I live in the south of the UK in a place called Buckinghamshire, or Bucks for short. Living in Buckinghamshire has lots of advantages - we get the great countryside views but we're also close enough to London for a day trip! (About an hour on the train!). Overall I'm really happy with where we live, but the UK is a big place and I sometimes wonder what it's like to live in the north of the country in somewhere like Edinburgh for example. Today, in association with Hotel Direct, I will compare the two and see what the differences are between the North and South!

 Where to stay

Rocco Forte Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh is a place I would LOVE to visit! 

It's full of history and includes a clock tower that has run three minutes fast since the hotel's opening in 1902. I am such a fan of places like this, the history of buildings really interests me and I know I could get taken in with this place for a day or two. Asides from it's obvious beauty and historic tales, it's a 5 star hotel and includes a sauna, indoor swimming pool, a gym and massage rooms! Kinda' hard to beat!

In terms of accommodation in Bucks, we do have some lovely manor and stately homes so in this sense we're pretty similar. Hartwell House (pictured above) is one of my favourites - it's a country house in the village of Hartwell in Buckinghamshire. in Historic terms - the property was first mentioned in the Domesday book and belonged to an illegitimate son of William the Conqueror!

Where to go shopping

Princes Street in Edinburgh has one of Europe's most impressive settings, enjoying as it does a visually stunning and uninterrupted panorama across Princes Street Gardens to the majestic Castle and Old Town. It is along Princes Street that the main department stores such as Jenners, House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, British Home Stores and Debenhams are to be found, together with a wide range of other shops, hotels, coffee shops and fast food restaurants.

In terms of shopping in Buckinghamshire, personally, I think the best place to head for is Milton Keynes! (Unless you make the hour trip on the train to the capital - London of course). The centre:MK is a huge state of the art modern shopping centre and has pretty much any single store inside that you'll ever need. It isn't however located right next to a castle, unlike the shopping in Edinburgh is- boo!

Must see attraction

For over 44 years Britannia served the Royal Family, travelling over one million miles to become the most famous ship in the world. To Her Majesty The Queen, Britannia proved to be the perfect royal residence for glittering state visits, official receptions, royal honeymoons and relaxing family holidays. For Great Britain, she was a majestic symbol of the Commonwealth and a proud ambassador. For the Royal Family and dedicated crew of Royal Yachtsmen, she was home.The Royal Yacht Britannia, berthed at Leith, Edinburgh is now a five-star visitor attraction and an exclusive evening events venue. As a huge fan of the royal and of course history, I would love to visit this yacht!

Here in Buckinghamshire we sadly don't have royal yachts to visit but we do have Bekonscot model village which is the world’s oldest original model village. It was opened in 1929 and it’s a great place to bring the family and stomp around like giants! There are six model towns, a huge Gauge 1 model garden railway, ride-on railway, remote-controlled boats, castles, lakes and industries in 1.5 acres of award-winning gardens.It's a great family day out, and it's your chance to be a giant in a miniature land of adventure, hidden away in a 1930s timewarp. 

So there we have it -- just a few differences between right here in Bucks and up north in Edinburgh. As much as I love Buckinghamshire, I now have such an urge to book a mini-break to Edbinburgh - purely for the amount of history is has on offer!

Have you ever been to either?

* PR collaboration

Cheap and Cheerful Father’s Day Gift Ideas for a New Dad

Father’s Day 2014 will be a monumental day for all new dads as it will be the first opportunity for them to get a card and gift from their little one, showing them how much they’re loved and how much you both appreciate him.

It’s of course not about how much you spend or where you get the gift from that matters – therefore I've put together a list of some lovely things you can get the first-time dad for his first father’s day that won’t break the bank but that will definitely put a smile on his face.

-A photo mug with matching coaster

You can make your own mug at My Photo Gifts and other great photo sites that enable you to upload your very own photo and put them onto a mug. You could even add a message too from the two of you. You could opt for a photo just of the little one, or one of dad’s favourite picture of them together, or even one of the ultrasound. The possibilities are endless! You could also make him a matching coaster to keep your coffee table safe, too.

-A special personalised wall print

Why not give dad something to brighten up the walls for father’s day? You could purchase a special wall print or even make your own if you’re watching the pennies a little more. You could frame a picture of baby’s feet or hands and write their date of birth on it, along with the date of dad’s first father’s day. You can buy baby printing kits quite cheaply too, and then all you need is a nice frame which you can even pick up from pound shops!

-A personalised baby grow for the little one

Let baby tell daddy (sort of!) how much they love them all by themselves? Let their baby grow do the talking with thispersonalised ‘I love daddy’ baby grow. You can even add a name onto it for extra personalisation which is really sweet. You can take some photos of them together whilst baby wears it which will be lovely. It also gives dad something really special to keep forever, too. At £6, it’s a fab price as well. You could even get them a matching piece of clothing, like a matching or coordinating top which would be really sweet!

-‘Dad and me’ themed books for bed time

If dad loves nothing more than tucking baby in at night and reading them a bed time story, a special book that’s just for the two of them would be a really sweet idea. There are lots of different ones available, some that you can personalise and some that are all ready to go. This one titled ‘Daddy is my Hero’ is a great choice and is a nice price too. There are lots more on that website which would fit gifts from a baby boy or girl, as well.

- Daddy Dinky Frame by Spaceform

This gorgeous glass Spaceform dinky frame from Born Gifted makes the perfect gift for any daddy this Father’s Day. Just add a passport-sized photo of daddy’s little girl or boy and they can proudly display this in the office or home.  Presented in a stylish Spaceform box.  Price £12.99 with Free Delivery. Available to buy at Born Gifted

Whatever you choose for Dad - Have a wonderful Fathers Day! x

                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                   

I'm actually a Mum of ..5!

Adam and I were 19 years old when we moved out together. We decided to start renting our own place and begin 'making it on our own'. Both being the huge animal lovers that we are, we adopted a crazy little tabby cat who we called Sammy - she was our first little baby. After a while we decided that Sammy needed a friend / sister.. and that's how Sooty came about. Shadow, I rescued from the place I was working at the time - Tesco. She'd been living in the back yard, was completely filthy, severely underweight and pregnant - and so .. that's how Shadow came about! Charlie, we rescued a few years later from the RSPCA.. I'm convinced he thinks he's a dog, he's got the best personality I've ever seen a cat have and he is a complete and utter softy!

So there we were with our 4 cat babies! (yeah - that's quite a lot of cat insurance!!) By then Adam and I, along with our small army of cats had moved into our next house and we're thinking lots and having many a discussion about trying for our first 'real' baby!

And as you all know those thoughts and discussions soon turned themselves into a gorgeous little baby boy named Ethan. So now I'm a Mum to 5!

5 little beings rely on Adam and I - that's kinda a big thing! I mean.. when did we get so grown up?! It's crazy to think that we were just 14 years young when we met and fell in love - just babies ourselves! And now he we are.. a full mortgage, 4 cats, 1 child, 2 responsible jobs, and 2 side businesses and we're even looking forward hoping that soon we'll be fortunate enough to conceive and have another child! Which will hopefully make me a Mum of 6!  

     

 

Our new car!

Today was the day that we purchased our new car! And so I thought I'd dedicate a little blog post to it.. well, it's not like you buy a new car everyday now is it??! 

We'd wanted a new family car for a while now and Adam had his heart set on the Audi A4, which I very quickly came round to! With it's LED headlights, fantastic sound system and the amount of space inside - how could a gal say no?! 

We absolutely love it! It's the perfect family car for the modern family I think! :)

The headlights are my fave!

One v.happy Hub'! 

There's no harm in asking

We've all been there - too scared too ask. Whether it's because we feel too embarrassed or silly to, or because we think we know that the answer will be no. We've all had several points in our lives where we've let opportunities go, sometimes opportunities that we didn't even know could of existed (because we never took the chance to ask). Most of us regret not asking and some of us get on with our day and tell ourselves that we did the right thing by steering clear of any sort of awkwardness.

By why do we assume that it'll be awkward? How would we know, unless of course, we asked?

Take for example my Husband and I. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll be more than aware that my Husband Adam and I got together when were just 14 years old. Now I know I was a child, but I'd more than 'liked' him for a long time. You see, when I first saw him I felt something special, call it love at first sight if you like, all I know was, it was something special and I couldn't get him out of my mind. That's romantic and sweet and all, but I did nothing about it. I'd sit in assembly every single day straining my neck trying to find him amongst the faces, I knew his timetable inside out, I tried desperately to get to know his friends in the hope that perhaps he'd notice me. I'd do everything possible to be near him, but yet for some reason I never did the most simplest thing of all - ask him out - and I was convinced I never would. One day my best friend at the time very randomly, probably fed up with me obsessing, told him how I felt and to my utter shock he agreed to go out with me. Could it really have been THAT simple? - As simple as just asking?

And my point here is... what if she'd never asked.. what would my life be like?

I'm 25 (and a half now), I went on to marry that guy, to have his baby, to build a life with him. A life where we are pretty much inseparable. This is the same guy I was convinced wouldn't want to go out with me. The same guy that I'd told myself would make me feel awkward if I asked him out. If in that split second she'd decided not to ask, among everything else, I wouldn't be a Mum to Ethan and I wouldn't be sitting here writing a blog called Bump to Baby. It was at that moment in my life that I realised - 'well - there really is no harm in asking'. That one second question turned into a lifetime of happiness.

Lets fast forward 11 years.. and put that 'there's no harm in asking' phrase to the test..

So I don't know about you, but I always record shows that I want to watch on TV only to find that I never get a second to actually sit down and watch them. Our box downstairs lets us record but our box upstairs doesn't and I find that I get to watch more TV when I get in bed at the end of the day as that's my time to properly 'switch off'. The problem with that is, all my recorded shows are downstairs and I'm upstairs. So a couple of weeks ago I decided to go about enquiring about getting a new box. At £199 these boxes aren't particularly cheap, but I wondered if because we'd been loyal customers for a good few years maybe the company might be nice enough and upgrade us for free?

Okay, perhaps a little ambitious you would think? It's easy to assume that the answer's going to be none other than a big fat no. But when you think about, really what harm is there in asking? How could we know that it's going to be a no before we even ask the question? So with this in mind and as cheeky as I may have sounded I dug deep down found some confidence and made a phone call, which, just so happened to result in a new box - which by the way, didn't cost me a penny.

Getting a free box is nice, but it isn't the point I'm trying to make here. The point is - never be afraid to ask! Because in reality, you can sit thinking about whether or not to make a phone call, ask a guy/gal out, approach someone about a job, whatever it is, you can sit thinking about it for a very long time but you will never know the answer until you ask. A little confidence, a belief in your self and the ability to take a chance can sometimes result in something you never expected but that you really wanted.

Something we all need to remember a little more is - the future isn't something already written out, the future is something that WE create!