Happy Camping!

So, this week we embarked on our first camping trip.. with the dog! After a successful camping trip with the kids back in July, we decided to take along our border collie Taz, as he loves being outdoors.. not to mention it saves us the £30 kennels fee!!

We went to a camp site called New Farm Holidays near Boston, and it was fab! There was lots of places to walk Taz, and the husband was happy as he got to have a proper campfire, and the kids were more than happy running around!

As you can see.. Taz loved every minute!!

We also took the opportunity to visit the farm where Taz was born, as he was bred in Boston. It was lovely as he got to run with all the other collies, including his Mum and Dad, and the kids loved being around the dogs (especially the puppies!!)

Overall a great holiday!! So great we have already booked again for next year :)

My £1000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer!!

Well hello there! It seems I have been away from the blogging world for a while.. Being back at work seems to have taken up what free time I had! However from today I am determined to get back in on the action, so be prepared for lots of new blog posts ;)

So yesterday I signed up to Breakthrough Breast Cancers £1000 challenge.. So basically I have challenged myself to raise £1000 to help fund their valuable research, and to hopefully make life a little brighter for some of the men and women who are battling Breast Cancer, or know someone who is. I have two family members who have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, but thankfully neither of them are terminal cases, unfortunately I have friends whose loved ones are not so lucky..

So my first event to raise some cash is an online auction which will take place on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Laceyschallenge this will be on October 29th 2013 so please if you would like to donate an item, or would like to bid come over and give us a like!!

I am also hoping to do a sponsored 5k swim, time and place to be confirmed but I will keep you posted!!

If you do fancy donating (give generously guys its a fabulous cause!!) Please visit my Just-Giving page at http://www.justgiving.com/Lacey-Young

A birthday, and a new bedroom!!

This week has been really hectic! I feel like I've not had a minute too myself, the builder started on Monday, converting our bedroom into two rooms to finally give Sky her own space. The builder is a friend so at least we didn't have strangers in the house all week.

Tuesday was Sam's third birthday, I really can't believe he's three, the time has gone so quickly, we went out for a meal at lunch time, and then had a proper party in the evening. He loved every minute, especially playing pass the parcel which he had been begging me for!!

He was very lucky and had two birthday cakes, one from Asda, and one made by my friend Stacey's very clever Mummy!

On Wednesday we went out too spend his birthday money, he bought lots of dinosaur train toys from Argos, even though he has never liked the dinosaur train TV series, he absolutely loves the toys! They are quite large though, and along with all his other presents the house is very full!

On Wednesday, Sky and I also went to baby massage, it was our second week, and Sky is really enjoying it, she loves being with all the other babies and she constantly stares at them and makes lots of cute noises. It's nice to get out and talk too other Mummies too. Today we decided too practice some of our massage and I think its safe to say Sky enjoys it...

Sky's bedroom was finished this morning, and we've just got too paint and decorate now! I can't wait till its all finished! Our room is quite a bit smaller but is still plenty big enough for us, and Sky's room looks much bigger than we expected! I'll be sure to get pictures up as soon as its finished!!

It's been a while..

Once again life has gotten in the way of posting! A lot has gone on since my last post so here goes...

Firstly, our lovely little guinea pig Coco died :( I don't know why, he seemed a bit quiet and when I picked him up he was making a funny clicking sound when he breathed in. Thinking maybe he was just annoyed at being picked up, I put him back in the hutch, and left him thinking if he was still the same that afternoon I would make an appointment at the vet. Well by the time I had been out to walk the dog, he had passed away :( I came in, and saw him laid flat out, with Pop sat next to him, and knew straight away, as they didn't often sit together during the day. So, since we'd only had him a week, we took both guinea pigs back to Pets at Home, just in case it was something infectious, we didn't want to risk infecting another guinea, and anyway it was unlikely Pop would accept another male. 

I had phoned beforehand and was told we could have another 2 guinea pigs, however when I got there they said they only had 1 for sale, and he was another male, so we wouldn't be able to introduce him to Pop so we returned both guinea pigs. While waiting for them to sort out a refund, I had a wander around, and in the rehoming pen (they rehome some pets for a local centre called 'The Ark') was 2 beautiful baby bunny rabbits named Bubble and Squeak, they had been left as part of an unwanted litter, and needed a home together. Well I have always had a soft spot for rabbits and 1 of them (Bubble) is almost identical to Thumper, the bunny I had growing up, so I decided to take them instead. They are now very settled and happy in their new home, and yesterday we bought them a big playpen to attach to the hutch so they can get a stretch of their legs even when we're not around.

In other news, I got the results from my first assignment on my Open Uni course, I scored 90 out of 100!! I am really pleased, as wasn't sure how well I'd done and was half expecting to fail! It has motivated me to keep going, as I had lost the enthusiasm for it a little but I am back on it now!

We have also just started to wean Sky, which has been lots of fun, she absolutely loves her food! So far she has had baby rice, a Veg and rice mix baby food, mashed banana, and a bit of toast. She is doing really well, we got her weighed yesterday at 21weeks and 2 days, and she now weighs in at 14lb 7oz.

She really isn't as chubby as she looks in this picture, she had a dress and 2 cardigans on as we had been for a walk and it wasn't very warm!

Lastly, I booked tickets this morning to see 'Within Temptation' Joe really likes them, and it's a but of a surprise, I haven't told him I booked tickets yet.. well he reads my blog so if your reading Joe, SURPRISE!! 

First Assignment down!

Last night, I went to my first tutorial for my Open University course. It really made me feel a lot better about the whole thing, as after reading through the materials I was feeling a little out of my depth but I feel a hundred percent better about it now. I think I was just trying to study with the kids in the background, or after the kids were in bed and I was too tired to concentrate, but after having a couple hours to really concentrate properly I am feeling much more confident!

So today, with all my new knowledge fresh in my brain I sat down to write my first assignment, it was only 750 words, but when you haven't written an essay in nearly 8 years its really hard to know where to start! It took me nearly 2 hours but I got there! All ready to submit! Here's to hoping for good results! Fingers crossed!!

Pictures as promised!

As promised, pictures of our new arrivals Coco and Pop :)

New Additions!

We have some new arrivals in the Young household!! Today we bought 2 baby guinea pigs, that Sam has named 'Coco' and 'Pop'. They are adorable!!

It started on Saturday, when Sam said he wanted to go to the petting zoo.. so I chucked both kids in the car and took him to Pets at home, (much cheaper than the petting zoo! Or so I thought..)  So we were looking around, Sam liked the rabbits, and the hamsters, and kept dragging me back to the fish.. (Fish don't survive in our house, we are fish killers no matter how hard we try to keep them alive) Then he spied the guinea pigs, and was quite fascinated. So I grabbed a leaflet about them for him to look at and thought no more about it.

Then he started asking for a guinea pig, and me being an animal lover and unable to say no, thought it would be quite a nice little addition to the household, so started work on Joe.. By Sunday night, he had given in, and we found a nice little hutch with run online, and ordered it. It was a bargain at £49.99 as we've seen hutches half the size at the shops for a lot more!! We then put it on the back burner, as the website said allow 3 working days for delivery, so we thought at least Sunday. But this morning, a parcel force van pulled up, and there it was! So Joe put it altogether, and since Sam (not me honest...) was so excited, we went out to buy our guinea pigs!

We have 2 Pets at home stores near us, the first only had 1 guinea pig left, and as guilty as I felt not buying him, we'd read they prefer to live with other guinea pigs, so went to the other, I had fingers firmly crossed all the way there as Sam was in the back of the car saying 'We're getting some guinea pigs mummy' and I didn't know what I was going to do if they didn't! But they had lots! The first guinea pig we picked was a grey one, and he was beautiful, but unfortunately when he had his health check they found an abscess on his face, and so they couldn't sell him and he was in for a trip to the vet! So instead we chose a tri-coloured who was very friendly and has become Pop, and a chocolate brown one who has become Coco.

I will get some photos uploaded tomorrow, as we are letting them chill out and settle in before we do too much with them! I am so excited for tomorrow!!

'Movie Sunday'

Apparently my Sundays have become 'Movie Sunday' Joe stays in bed as he's on nights all weekend, and me and the kids sit and watch films for about 6hours!

So I thought I'd share my line up with you..

First..

'Flubber'- I finally convinced Sam to watch this, with the promise of flying cars! To be honest I think he found it a bit boring but I love this film!!

Secondly..

'Toy Story'- Now we have only seen this film about a thousand times, but Sam loves it!

And then..

'Toy Story 2'- Yes apparently the first film did not satisfy Sam's Toy Story cravings so we're now watching number 2..

Ok so next week.. I'm hiding the Toy Story box set...

Yay!

I got some absolutely amazing news today!! I have been approved for my student loan, so I can do my Open University course and it won't cost me a penny! (Well until I pay it back but that's not until I earn more than 17k) In short, I am a VERY happy bunny, and can finally get my head down and do some work! I know it sounds silly but I was kind of put off starting properly for fear that they would ask me to pay too much towards it and I'd have to drop out, but now it is all systems go!

On a bad note, I have a water infection :( I know I have an infection, I get them often enough, but my silly doctor won't give me a prescription for antibiotics as even though I am showing signs of infection there wasn't enough to prescribe anything, so here I am having to wait until it gets worse before they'll do anything! How is that a good idea? It also meant me missing swimming with Sam this morning, I felt awful as we were all ready to go, and I decided I wouldn't beable to go, Sam cried his little eyes out so in the end I just dropped Sam and Joe off at the pool, gutted!

Tantrum!!

After he was starting to get better with his behaviour, Sam decided today was the day to have a MASSIVE tantrum! It lasted almost ten minutes, ten minutes of screaming, crying, shouting, rolling around on the floor and generally being a git! The reason.. Jacket Potato...
Yes obviously I am the worst mother in the world because hidden beneath his beloved tuna and cheese, was a jacket spud. We took the skin out in the end, and he ate the lot, well lets face it he certainly built up an appetite for it!!! He is now wrapped in a blanket on the sofa watching Toy Story.. think he's worn himself out!!

On the plus side Sky slept right through it, which was a miracle, as I think everyone in a 2 mile radius must have heard him!!  I'm hoping his third birthday in a couple of months will be the end of the terrible two's but something tells me I shouldn't hold my breath...

So cold!!!!

Oh my God! I am freezing!! I dread our heating bill, we can't turn it off for more than half hour without the house getting cold again!! If not for the kids we would probably just sit in jumpers and a duvet all day..Of course breastfeeding doesn't help, its sodding freezing and I have to get my naked boobies out to feed Sky.. 

We took Sky swimming for the first time on Thursday, Sam absolutely loved it, he was a bit nervous last time and just wanted to get out but this time he really enjoyed it and we had to bribe him out of the pool with the promise of McDonalds.. Sky on the other hand, while she didn't cry, and was quite contented being carried around in the water, it was far too cold. The heating wasn't brilliant at our local pool, and the air temperature meant she was shaking by the time she'd been in for ten minutes, so I took her out and got her dried and dressed and we sat and watched Joe and Sam in the pool for another half hour. (the lifeguard said before we got in that because of the cold he wouldn't last more than 20 minutes, but he certainly proved him wrong!)

I really want to take Sky out for a walk in my new stretchy wrap too and can't because of the snow, well I could take her but I'm too scared i'll slip, managed to take her round Asda in it yesterday, and she has been chilling out in the house in it..

For those who are wondering it came from Snugiwraps and they are fab! (Oh and do excuse the flat hair and the lack of make up, we'd just got back from swimming)

Sorry!

I'll start this post by apologising for the lateness of this post, I don't seem to have had much time to post recently! Then again, it's my blog and i'll post when I want! So there!

On Wednesday, Sky and I went out with a friend and her little boy, we went to Frankie and Benny's, it was yummy, I've never been before, and was quite surprised at the price, I expected it to be much more expensive! Sky slept through the majority of it, falling asleep about five minutes after we left the house (it was a 30minute drive) then not waking until we  had just about finished eating, she woke up for a feed and fell asleep again on the way home bless her. It was nice to have a bite to eat and a catch up without being interrupted every 2minutes! (Sam stayed home with Joe).

Then on Sunday Sam went to visit Grandma (Joe's Mum) and stayed there until this afternoon when we picked him up, giving us an opportunity to go to town and get Sky's bank account set up. We even managed a sneaky visit to Starbucks for a yummy hot chocolate (which I had to make my lunch due to it having 320 calories!!) I also bought Sam and Sky some swimming gear ready for when we go swimming on Thursday!! I'm very excited! Also managed to get Sky some new trainers at an absolute bargain price of £1 from the Mothercare sale!

In other news, ITS SNOWING!!!! I'm sure even if you haven't looked out of the window, you will already know this purely from the amount of status updates on facebook telling you that the magical white stuff is falling from the sky, but just in case you live in a hut with no windows and are one of the very few people who don't have facebook..ITS SNOWING...LOTS!!

So I plan to hibernate for the next few days... in fact.. sod it wake me in the spring!!

It's all coming together!

I finally posted off my application form for my student loan today! I feel like i'm 18 again! My Open Uni application is all finished, and i'm enrolled! Can't wait to get started. I'm doing a BA/BSc 'Open Degree' so I can pick and choose different subjects in each module (just in case I decide my chosen subject was the wrong one) I'm starting with 'An introduction to the social sciences'. Who knows in a few years time I may be a qualified psychologist eek. 

In other news, Sam was a very poorly boy yesterday, with a runny tummy, and a temperature of 38.1!! He was dosed up on Calpol and spent his entire day under his blanket (with which he was inseparable) watching Disney films. He made me watch 'Toy Story 3' twice, and then I talked him into watching 'Finding Nemo' he loved it, so we had to watch it again today (along with Toy Story 3 AGAIN!) He's lots better today, he has been pretty much his normal self, and is making up for not eating much by eating everything in sight!

Sky is growing up so much everyday now, she has started reaching for toys, mainly her lamaze penguin, and a mouse teddy with crinkly ears (they're her favourites). She is grabbing her feet with ease now, whereas before it took lots of effort and she 'talks' away to herself all day! She is also getting a little clingy, she hates being put down, and if I leave the room she cries. She does settle with Joe but think she prefers Mummy (which I secretly enjoy, well its only fair Sam preferred his Daddy at that age!)

Other than that it's been pretty uneventful, but looking forward to being a lady who lunches on Wednesday with my friend! Well I'm not much of a lady, but Joe is staying here with Sam, so only Sky to compete with!

Ooh and before I go, my first weigh in since my diet started last week is tomorrow, and I've had a sneaky jump on the scales and it's a loss ;) 

A bit of a Reminisce...

This week has been a little bit of a let down, not a great start to the new year. Both Sam and Sky are poorly with colds, Joe has caught it too. I seem to have escaped it with just a bit of a runny nose, (which seems only fair considering I've had colds twice already since having Sky)
Sam has been waking up lots during the night coughing, and last night we had to break out the calpol at 11pm to settle him, well I say we, Joe was at work so just me!

On a happy note, I discovered Disney rewards yesterday, and dug out all the voucher codes we had lying around in old DVD's and games, and had enough points to get Sam a new DVD! Its all very exciting. I am now trying to talk hubby into buying new DVD's for us, as I used to have all the old Disney films on video, and I feel the need to watch them, but most of my video's have gone missing in one house move or another, or have stopped working, and well, even if they were in any fit state to watch we no longer own a video player so its all pretty irrelevant!

My favourite's were Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King, they were the films you could watch over and over again without ever getting bored. Although, I remember being very disappointed with my Little Mermaid video. For those who remember one of the adverts used to show a family sitting down to watch it, and at the bit where Sebastian is singing to Ariel when in the boat with Eric, bubbles came floating out of the television screen, and the kids jumped around popping them, and then a Disney magic advert for Disney land came on. I was so excited expecting bubbles to fill the room, but alas nothing :( False advertising or what! Who knows maybe give it another ten years it might just be possible.

I just can't wait to share all my old favourites with the kids, Aladdin, Peter Pan ooh I'm quite excited!!

Happy New Year!

Well, i'll start by saying 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!' I hope you are all nursing hang overs today, although I escaped the hangover by not drinking, our little family are all completely full of cold, so even Joe and I were fast asleep by 11pm.. 

So today, I decided it would do us all good to go out and get some fresh air, we all wrapped up, Sky went in her sling so she was snug cuddled up to me, and we walked for an hour with the dog. Sam was exhausted and just as we turned onto our street he started to ask if Daddy would carry him bless him, but he made it home, and we celebrated with a nice warm hot chocolate, and Sam got a kinder egg.

I have just finished planning tonight's tea, a task that took some planning, since I am determined to stick to my resolution of losing weight and being back to pre Sam weight! I should be well within my calorie goal today! My other resolution is to start putting money away and finally have some savings, something we are usually useless at, as we always end up spending on take away, or buying for the kids! (Well we can at least cut out the take away's..)

Here's to hoping 2013 is a good year! I plan to start it by planning Sky's Christening, oh and really must get my student loan application sent off!!

I hope you all have a fantastic year!!