What We're Reading

I've always been an avid book reader. I love getting cosy with a snuggly blanket and getting lost in a new world, so i knew that when i had children i wanted to pass on my love of reading.
I read James his first story when he was 4 days old and i think from them on we read almost every day. Now he is 4 he loves books. I'm sure i have spent a small fortune on our book collection, and now Matthew is starting to enjoy them too.

I wanted to share with you the books we are enjoying at the minute. Some are bed time stories and others are just books we enjoy together.

Barry the Fish with Fingers by Sue Hendra

This is probably the most read book in the house. We bought our fist copy for James and he just loves it. Considering fish fingers were his favourite food, he found it very funny. Then we found out that Barry was a series of books so we bought the second, Barry the Fish with Fingers and The Hairy Scary Monster. This one is Matthew's favourite, we have read this one every night this past week. The stories are written so well and gets the children engaged. Matthew loves to look at the pictures and point out Barry's fingers.

Jack and The FlumFlum Tree by Julia Donaldson

Andy has read this to the kids that much he knows it of by heart and could sit a recite it to you without looking. The kids enjoy the comedy of this book and i like the way it rhymes. The repeated verse that jack says to his friends is james' favourite part as he knows when its coming. Probably my favourite of all the Julia Donaldson books.



The Dinosaur that pooped.... by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter

The Dinosaur that pooped is a series of books written by two of the lads from Mcfly, James was given two for his birthday, the dinosaur the pooped a planet, and the dinosaur that pooped the past. These books are fantastic, they are so funny and the rhyming is amazing. These are probably my favourite books in our collection and cannot wait to get the rest.

I would love to hear what your kiddos favourite books are?

Train Track Tree

Iv been on a mission lately to get the house looking how i want it, I'm always scouring through pintrest for ideas,
I came across this amazing idea of putting a train track in the shape of a tree on the wall. As soon as i saw it i knew it would be perfect in our playroom/dining room.
We have a huge box full of tracks that the boys don't even touch and the more i thought about the more ideas keep popping up in my head so i set bout getting the tracks out and assembling my tree.

Firstly i started out with figuring out how big i wanted it so began putting it together on my table, once i was happy with the look of it i made a start transferring it to the wall. As i wasn't able to glue it being in a rental i used blue tac which works amazing!!!

So i had the basic skeleton now to decorate. I had a bunch of chipboard letters so i decided to cover them in paper and add them to the tree.

But something was missing so i added leaves.

I love the finished look and now the kids have something to decorate through out the seasons, I cant wait to see all the things we can create.

Top 5 Cleaning Essentials

I think every ones first thought after Christmas is about getting the tree and decks down and giving the house a really good clean so i thought id share with you my top 5 cleaning essentials.

1. Antibacterial wipes.

I love these things!! they are so versatile and you can use them everywhere, the kitchen, bathroom, lounge, on doors, on TVs, the list is endless.
I always like to have 2 packs of these, I keep one with my cleaning supplies and the other in the bathroom. As I am the only female in the house they come in handy to give the toilet and quick wipe after one of the boys has been in.
I also like to use them on door handles, remotes and light switches as these are the places where most germs like to live.

2. Zaflora.

Oh zaflora, well iv only recently learnt of this miracle product from a facebook group i belong to. The ladies on there were raving about this does all liquid so i thought id have to give it a try. Well it is amazing and i would never be able to be without it now. Here is a list of things you can do with zaflora : Dilute into an antibac spray
              Add a cap ful into the mop bucket
              A few drops into the washing machine and your clothes come out smelling amazing
              A few drops on a cloth a rub over radiators and light bulbs (both cold) and when heating and light are on the smell will fill the room

3. Hoover.

I live to hoover. I must say it is by far my favourite cleaning task. I find it so satisfying (sad i know). My hoover at the moment is the trusty Dyson which i love. The extender on it is so long so it fits my needs perfect, and it is brilliant with picking up the animal hair and sawdust from the gerbil.









4. Steam Mop.

Again another versatile product i just couldn't live without. Not only does it effortlessly clean my floor with no need for harm full chemicals but i can take it apart and use it to clean my windows, my shower, hob, oven, sink and so on. My steam mop is the H20 X5 and was a very reasonable price when we bought it. Here is the link to where you can buy one:







http://www.thanedirect.co.uk/h2o-x5-steam-cleaning-system-614?gclid=Cj0KEQiAtri0BRDLoaCF95e7o_sBEiQA_pgRQ7evO3qdKhUhVAgCn7JLceNKXJOsVpjLQ0ZDhwDxZNEaAkOo8P8HAQ

5. Oxy Stain Remover.

Now if your like me and have messy children then this is a must. just one scoop in your wash and it keeps your clothes stain free. I have tried the more expensive brands but i have found that this works just as good. Also its very good at cleaning rugs and carpets too. Just add a scoop or 2 to some warm water and work it into the stain, leave for 10 Min's then rinse.






I couldn't do a cleaning post without mentioning bi-carbonate of soda and white vinegar. These two product you should always keep in your kitchen as they can be used for so many things. bi-carb is a deodoriser plus an abrasive so is good for cleaning out fridges and bins. W
hite vinegar is good for cleaning windows and mirrors and cutting through grease. I will be doing a separate post on natural cleaning product so keep and eye out for that.

Id love to hear what cleaning essential you couldn't live without!

2015 Reflection

Happy New Year!!!!

I feel the new year is a time everyone is setting goals for the year ahead. The normal of no more chocolate, stopping smoking and more exercise. me however, I like to take the time to think about what iv learnt in the past 12 months.

This year has been a challenging one when it comes to James. At the start of January he was a cheeky 3 year old with the normal behaviours of a toddler but as the year went on he seemed to change. His behaviour become more challenging. he stared to back chat and deliberately do things he knew he was not allowed to do. Some days i felt like i was at the end of my tether and just was at a loss with how to control his behaviour. I turned to a method that his nursery was using.

It was a visual aid of the sun, a cloud and a rain cloud. every day he would start on the sun, if he did something he knew he was not aloud he would be moved onto the cloud, if his behaviour persisted he then moved onto the rain cloud and a toy or privilege was taken away from him for a period of time. he then had to work his way back up to the sun. it took a while to get it right but once we did it helped so much and things with him got better. i think the type of child James is he needs constant stimulation or he just gets bored and starts to create.
So that is one thing i learnt this year, to stick to your guns and be consistent.

The second thing i learnt was to take time for myself.
I am a big people pleaser and find it hard to say no. I'm not saying that is a bad thing but sometimes putting everyone else's happiness first can be draining. I work hard to raise my boys, look after my husband to be and run my home. I was finding that i was running around every day doing things for everyone else,  getting run down. I wasn't looking after my body or mind and you could tell. Most days i should not of left the house!!. After i got ill for a few day i realised i needed to start taking some time for me, if that was reading a book for an hour or having a shower in peace or even going to bed early to paint my nails.It really helped lift my spirits and gave me the chance to start feeling like Tara again and not just mum.

So why don't you take the time to reflect on the past 12 months and think about what you have learnt!!