lifestyle blog posts focusing on home, lifestyle, parenting, pregnancy, family life and home and style. Home decor and working at home, working at home as a self employed freelancer and blogger. Family lifestyle blog posts including family reviews, family products and saving money as a family. Being a more eco friendly family.
Disclosure: I received some samples of Humbles bamboo brushes, snuffle babe and fish oil in exchange for this feature.
Evie was back to school for 3 days before coming down with a sickness bug in the early hours of Sunday morning, the first weekend of the school year. Then I got ill and then of course Adam and Felix were unwell. It was horrible and not the start to september anyone of us wanted. We are now faced with Adam returning to University and I want to make sure he is doing all he can to avoid getting ill during the first semester.
Humble bamboo toothbrushes
Thankfully, we had some unopened The Humble Co bamboo toothbrushes available so as soon as the bug was out of everyone’s systems we ditched the old brushes and have begun using these. I love that they’re made of natural bamboo, they brush well and the kids version has super soft bristles too which is great for Felix. It’s a good size for him to hold and get used to too, of course being only 11 months we help him with the brushing now he has enough teeth to cause a bit of a painful bite! (Usually on me!)
I am fully stocked with snuffle babe products which are my favourite for helping Felix through a cold and ridding him of decongestent. We all had a bit of a summer cold so these really came in handy. The vapour oil is great for just putting a few drops on a tissue and then placing in the cot for a bit of time before bed. I then move it out of the cot and place it close by but out of reach of tiny hands.
Vitamins and supplements along with a freezer full of preprepared slow cooker meals with loads of vegetables is my next line of defence in keeping colds at bay. It feels good knowing that everyone is getting the dose of vitamins they need and I’m really trying to learn more about nutrition so that we are all getting the most out of our meals. The slow cooker fills the flat with lovely smells of deliciousness throughout the day too and I’m really enjoying out autumnal casseroles, stews and chilli’s so far.
Prevention, when it comes to colds, is the best thing and whilst sometimes you just can’t help getting sick, getting the right vitamins, some fresh air and encouraging good hand washing practise goes a long way in helping to make sure we stay as well as possible. And of course getting loads of vegetables into eat of our meals is going to help too!
With a young baby in the house one of the things I’ve been trying to do is find a washing detergent that works for all the family. I’ve recently been trying out the Ecover ZERO range thanks to recieving a sample as it’s supposed to be great for sensitive skin containing 0% fragrances and 0% colourants. I received the sample of Ecover ZERO liquid non-bio in exchange for this feature.
ecover ZERO sensitive non-bio laundry liquid contains no colours or fragrances and is suitable for sensitive and allergy prone skin.
Ideally I am wanting to be more eco concious so I’m interested in brands that have a eco consideration to them as well as products that are good all rounders for the family. Ecover ZERO is from an eco concious company, suitable for all the family and vegan friendly. The bottles are made from a minimum of 25% recycled plastic with the rest formed of PlantPlastic, which is reusable, recyclable, and renewable and reduces the need for fossil-fuel based plastic. The bottle isn’t something I could reuse personally, however, Ecover are available in a lot of refill shops which is great so it’s good to know this is a brand that can work with these small businesses to help eliminate some plastic bottle use. There is however, a box of non-bio available which is of course much more environmentally friendly.
The ZERO range has plenty more to offer too, not just detergent but a multipurpose cleaner, fabric softener and dishwasher tablets amongst others. It is good to see a good variety in these ZERO products which are designed for a greener clean and to minimalise allergies. This has been approved by Allergy UK. With the detergent we can maximise this as our washing machine has an allergy setting. No one in the home suffers with any obvious skin allergies but we do have sensitive skin and a baby to think of. I know sometimes harsh fragrances can be too much for babies and this has no fragrance added at all.
This does mean however that the clean laundry doesn’t really smell of anything. I do miss having a lovely fragrance, especially on the bedsheets but it’s not really an issue especially as theses fragrances can be quite harmfull. I was really suprised at the lack of any fragrance to be honest. Compared to other fragrance free brands this really does not have any scent whereas others have had some kind of chemical clean scent. Hopefully this is just because its a greener clean and trying to make this as suitable and eco friendly as possible.
The best thing about the Ecover ZERO laundry detergent is that a capful cleans a full load of washing and no one has had any reactions to this detergent. It’s a brand I would use in the future however I would more likely opt for the box next time rather than the plastic bottle as I always feel I get more for my money when it comes to detergent powder rather than liquid.
Ecover have some fantastic aims that they want to reach by 2020 to try and continue being as green as possible.
By 2020 Ecover aims to only use 100% recycled plastic (PCR) in all its bottles
By 2020 Ecover aims to trial the use of alternative biodegradable and bio sourced packaging
Disclosure: I received a sample of ECover ZERO washing detergent for the purpose of this feature. All opinions remain my own.
This is a collaborative post
Planning a family garden party is a lovely way to get together over the summer holidays. You don’t need a reason to have a family garden party either it can just be a nice way to make the most out of this lovely warm summer we are having. Family garden parties do not have to be an expense either, it’s something everyone can equally contribute to to make sure the whole family have a really lovely time together.
My parents usually have a lovely family garden party on the August bank holiday weekend so that they can enjoy everyone’s company. It usually involves a lovely big BBQ, sitting around in the garden until late into the evening chatting, laughing and listening to music. Having a gazebo or even an outdoor party tent set up gives you a great hub for a family garden party too. Something else to consider could be renting a social photo booth which are a great way to get some fun photos, especially if it’s a special occassion. There is bound to be one available in your area such as Photo Booth Rental Fort Worth
another fun feature if you have a family could be adding a hammock. this could be a great thing for parties and family gatherings to keep kids amused but also used when the sun is shining for reading and relaxing. there are a great range of hammocks available online like hammock giant.
Here are some of my tips to consider making your family garden party a fun occasion that everyone remembers and to really celebrate the summer.
Will you have a theme? There doesn’t really need to be a big theme for this type of party or get together as really you can just use the season as the theme. For me summer just means lots of lovely ice cold drinks, BBQ and picnic food, plenty of places to sit outside and lots of smiles and laughter. As it’s a family garden party you could add in a paddling pool or maybe even a hot tub if you’re lucky enough to own one!
Consider the food. For me summer food is all about grab and go. Having a good mix of hot and cold food usually caters to everyone. Grilled meats and BBQ food can be paired really nicely with salads, cold meat platters and cheeses. Children seem to love a buffet so things like cocktail sausages, crackers and crudites are great options. Summer, for me, is all about colour so when planning a family garden party you might want to feed the family a rainbow. When it comes to desserts you could do something really fun like a chocolate fountain with fruit kebabs which children just seem to absolutely love.
Budgeting the family garden party. It doesn’t have to come with a big price tag and there are plenty of ways of reducing the cost right town to create a lovely family garden party atmosphere. Getting some battery operated tea lights or fairy lights are a lovely way to decorate the garden if you don’t want to use candles. You could also ask family members to bring a favourite dish or bottle of drink to share.
Extra celebrations. If you have lots of things to celebrate over the summer break having one big family garden party might be a really nice way to celebrate everyone together, especially if there are lots of birthdays in a short space of time. Or perhaps lots of family members have graduated or finished school and you want to celebrate exam results together. A family garden party is a really lovely way to mark the occasion and spend time celebrating together. If you have anyone that is expecting a baby perhaps throwing a garden baby shower party would be something you could organise?
Plan ahead and get your invites out. With social media and technology these days it’s really easy to organise a family event and make it known to all that you want to invite. You could send around a group message or text or even create an event online and invite people to join with all the information. I find setting up an event on social media like this an easy way to include as many people as possible and get all the information across easily.
So there are my tips for planning a summer family garden party. Do you have any you would like to add?
I have always had big boobs. Always. From about the age of ten. It’s been a huge burden, something I’ve been bullied about, teased and sexualised because of from a young age. My bust size has made me self conscious, it’s affected my ability and confidence to breast feed and it’s made bra shopping an absolute nightmare. I have never liked my boobs.
Clothes shopping has always been hard and I’ve only been measured three times, once during pregnancy, and I think only once was it correct. I am putting a lot of time, effort and energy into ridding myself of the diet culture industry, the body positive movement and what it’s like to be a fat woman living in a fatphobic world. Clothing has been a huge eye opener because I want to wear nicer things that fit me properly. I want to wear clothes that look nice and make me feel good.
One of the first things I have done in an effort to feel better about myself and be more comfortable when it comes to fashion is to get an accurate bra measurement. It helped watching a feature on daytime TV the other week featuring Strictly dancer Oti Mabuse who had self concious feelings about her boobs. I had also heard a lot of fantastic things about the online calculator Boob or Bust and decided to give it a go.
Boob or Bust measure differently to any other way I’ve done before and actually get you to provide 4 measurements as well as you’re dress size to help them give a recommended bra size. I’ve been trying to squeeze into cheap bras from Asda for years because the bigger the bra the bigger the price tag and so have mostly been guessing my actual size.
Since having my second baby and despite not breastfeeding I was recommended a 46H. At first I worried because I just imagined the money I would have to spend to find one plain black, white or beige bra in that size to fit me. I know there are places for bigger busts specifically but I know they are expensive and often I just couldn’t justify the cost. I ended up just searching 46H bras on google and had a few sites come up to shop from. I felt a bit better knowing I had some options and could just go with as cheap an option as I could find.
Thankfully, Simple Be had the answer and I purchased a multipack of two pink bras in the recommended size in the sale. I can not moan at £23 for two bras and I’m so glad it’s on a website that has a lot of plus size fashion available. I was really happy with them when they arrived. The are comfortable, colourful, fit well and have made a huge difference to making me feel supported.
Last week we had our usual summer holiday caravan trip at Thorness Bay holiday park on Isle of Wight. It’s our third time there and we still love it. It was really nice to explore a different part of the island too. We had a day out in Shanklin which is a beautiful seaside place to visit and a day out at Blackgang Chine which is a small theme park on the southern part of the Island close to Ventnor.
Thorness Bay had everything you need really but it’s not a park I want to return to. It’s not that anything was bad as such it was just a park in the middle of nowhere. It felt a little bit too quiet for us as a family and I think we prefer the resorts on the eastern side of the Island. However, it was a nice break away and had what you would expect on site including an entertainment lounge, bar and resturant, swimming pool, play park and multisports court. There was also walking access to a private beach and bay.
Driving there from the east cowes ferry terminal was fairly straight forward and took around 30 minutes or so. We got to the park, checked in around 3.30pm and unloaded the car before heading back into Newport and going to morrisons for a quick food shop. We also had some dinner in the cafe there as we were all pretty peckish. We decided to skip the evening entertainment on the Monday night as Felix wanted to move around the caravan. We also had trouble fitting the travel cot in any room other than the living room so we had to co-sleep on the first night then we made a sort of makeshift bed on the floor for him. He actually slept pretty well, it’s just a shame Adam and I didn’t.
The surrounding countryside was beautiful to wake up to I have to say and the whole park was really quiet which was nice. We had an early drive down to Shanklin in the morning for a walk along the beach, had fish and chips for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Sandown zoo. We got back for some time at the indoor swimming pool which Evie and I did alone as Felix wanted to move around again after lots of time in his car seat and then push chair. We went to the evening entertainment that evening after dinner and it was nice to have a little stroll around the park.
Wednesday was spent on site, we had a pretty chilled out morning and then a late morning swim. Felix had his first time in the pool which was really nice for him. He really enjoyed being in the water. I liked the fact that you could walk down into the pool using steps rather than trying to climb down a ladder with a baby in your arms. He had a lot of fun splashing about so we will be taking him swimming again.
We headed back to the caravan for lunch and some chill out time watching TV and giving Felix some time to crawl around on the floor. Holidaying with a baby requires a lot of chill out time really as they get overwhelmed quickly and where crawling and cruising is so new for him now he’s nine months being stuck in a pushchair is just the worst and I don’t blame him really. We then headed back to the resturant for dinner and a bit of the kids entertainment. Evie spent a lot of time in the park and a bit of time in the arcade too.
Evie struggled this holiday. Her behaviour was not perfect and there was a lot of slamming doors and stomping. It was the worst behaved she’s been on holiday and it sort of ruined it for us actually. We really try and put the most into giving her a good, fun summer holiday every year that’s within our budget and the lack of gratitude was really hard to deal with. I know kids don’t see the behind the scenes stuff like the cost and time and effort planning but she was incredibly vocal about how disappointing it was. I am sort of at my wits end with her extra challenging behaviour these days and I’m not quite sure where to turn.
The last day was spent at Blackgang Chine on the south side of the Island and it is a lovely, fun day out. We got there for 10am opening and started walking around. The backdrop is absolutely stunning views of the sea and there is loads to look at. Evie even braved a few of the rides and Felix had his first Mr Whippy ice cream (well, he finished off mine!) We also purchased Trevor the Sloth.
The holiday was fine but it wasn’t the break I was desperately hoping for if I’m honest. It was nice to get away but the holiday park was too quiet with not enough friends for Evie to make which frustrated her. Our caravan was too far from the park so we couldn’t really let her just go off and play to burn off some steam as it was too far for her to go on her own. The beach area was nice but not really ideal for babies. I think it just wasn’t the holiday park for us really. However, it is always nice to have a break and see a few new things and it was full of plenty of firsts for Felix as well as getting loads of lovely photos. We also got a little video of our time there.
