Anyone who knows me knows that planning parties is totally my ‘thing’, it’s just something I love doing. This weekend we celebrated Florence turning two with a fun filled farm themed birthday garden party. This year I also put a lot of emphasis on the […]
We woke up early on Friday morning and waved Sean off to work. It was grey and miserable outside and despite having had more sleep the night before than I’d had in weeks I was in a terrible terrible mood. You know one of those […]
There’s no doubt about it, life changes a whole lot the second you become a mother. Your days are suddenly split into four hourly chunks of changing dirty nappies, feeding the baby and tiptoeing around the house in the hope that they’ll nap for just […]
*This Strawberry & Raspberry Play Dough Recipe contains affiliate links. With the winter weather meaning we have a few more home days just recently I’ve been reaching for some easy indoor activities to keep the littles occupied. Our tub of homemade play dough has been […]
One of the things I really want to do here on the blog this year is showcase some of our favourite family friendly days out and attractions in our local area. I’ve previously shared our day at Kent Life Hops ‘n’ Harvest Festival and our […]
I don’t usually post this sort of thing but it was something I googled quite a lot in the lead up to Florence’s first nasal Flu Vaccine and frankly I was none the wiser by the time the appointment came around. Florence is quite wary of doctors etc and It would have been really helpful to have an idea of what was going to happen so I could prepare her for her appointment and put her at ease a little. That in mind, I thought I’d share our experience in case anyone else was wondering what to expect.
I didn’t tell her about the appointment until that morning. She really protested about it all morning so I was a bit apprehensive before we got there.
We were called in by an extremely ‘sunshiney’ young nurse who immediately started chatting away to Florence. I haven’t seen her at our surgery before (I’ve a sneaky suspicion she’d been called in especially for the flu vaccinations) but She clearly had a knack with children and knew exactly how to make the whole ordeal a lot more fun.
When we were in the room she explained to Florence that she had some magic spray in her draw and that she needed to put it in her nose. It would give her magic powers that made sure she wouldn’t get any nasty flu bugs that would make her poorly.
Once Florence was a bit more relaxed, she quickly ran through a questionnaire about Florence which asked about allergies, current medications and whether anyone she lived with had any severe medical conditions or was undergoing any intensive treatment. She let me know that she might have a few cold symptoms in the week after the flu vaccine.
Once she knew that I was happy to go ahead, her attention went back to Florence. She showed her the special tube which had the magic spray in – a clear tube probably the same size as one of those tiny perfume tester bottle – and then told her again what she was going to do.
While a bit hesitant , Florence sat super still on my lap and let the nurse insert the tube into her nose. A quick spray in each of her nostrils and it was all over!
The nurse told Florence what a good girl she’d been and gave her a ‘special magic tissue’ to wipe her nose with.
That was that! Such a straightforward, refreshing appointment and it might just have changed Florence’s whole outlook on any future trips to the doctors!
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I honestly never know what is going to come at me each day. My days are filled with random occurrences, challenges and tasks that sometimes you just have to roll with it. Today as I was walking back from the doctors with Florence my sister […]
Life with a young family is unsurprisingly busy and keeping on top of all the playgroups and appointments and work bits can be a bit of a challenge, especially when baby brain comes into play. I have been using my phone diary for a while […]
Our budget is really tight this month what with Christmas just happening and S going from weekly to monthly pay in his new job so I’ve been really focussed on trying to make sure we are as efficient with our money over the next month as possible and finding ways to make what we do have go that little bit further. My main concerns were making sure the bills were all paid and that we could put food on the table. With the bills taken care of, my attention turned to the grocery shop and making a plan to see us through the month.
I always find that shopping for two weeks at a time tends to work out more cost effective in the long run. I’ve taken it a little further this month though, and stretched it out to make a whole months worth of meals.
I actually really enjoyed the planning process. We all sat round one evening and offered up suggestions for things we might like and it’s given me so much more inspiration for dinner ideas. Plus, having over 30 different dinners already listed and allotted to certain days has taken away the whole having to decide what we’re going to have each night and turning to the same old thing because it’s easy and you know it’ll get eaten.
Usually, my weeks shopping bill for 5-7 of us comes in at around £120. This time, it came in at just under £300. For a whole month worth of meals.
If you’re looking to do something similar or just after some different dinner ideas for your family I’ve popped our meals for the month in a list below!
Wednesday: Roast Chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots).
Thursday: Chicken Fajitas (using leftover chicken) with rice. Plain chicken, veg & ricefor the children.
Friday: Scrambled Eggs on toast
Saturday: Picky Picnic Tea – sausage / cheese rolls, chicken nuggets, sweet potato wedges, crudités
Sunday: Birthday Dinner out using taste card 2 for 1
Monday: Chilli Con Carne with rice, garlic bread / Oven baked cod with rice and veg
Tuesday: Beef / Chicken burgers, homemade ‘slimming world’ chips & salad
Wednesday: Ham, Egg & Chips with baked beans, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms / V without the Ham
Thursday: Pizza night!
Friday: Cottage Pie / Fish Pie, carrots, peas & brocolli
Saturday: Tuna Pasta Bake
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Spaghetti / Vegetable Bolognese (My Recipe here) 
Tuesday: Leek & Potato Soup & Crusty Rolls
Wednesday: Chicken / Cheese & onion Pie & Mash with vegetables and gravy
Thursday: Chicken Paella
Friday: Burritos
Saturday: Salmon, tinned Potatoes & Veg
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Chicken Curry
Tuesday: Beef Stew & Dumplings
Wednesday: chicken and broccoli pasta bake
Thursday: Jacket Potatoes with Cheese & Beans
Friday: Fish, Chips, Peas and grilled tomatoes
Saturday: Tacos & homemade wedges with salad
Sunday: Peri peri chicken, sweet potato mash & homemade coleslaw
Monday: Sausage & Mash
Tuesday: Breakfast for tea – a Full English!
Wednesday: Chicken Kiev’s, boiled potatoes, peas & brocolli
Thursday: Easy Cheesy Pasta
Friday: Vegetable Stirfry
I’ll be sharing some recipes for some of these easy family meals over the next month and will come back and add links to them as I go. 
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I love writing this little round up of our Christmas each year. With it being William’s first Christmas and the first one Florence really understood the whole magic of Santa, this Christmas was a really special one for us. I tried to fill Advent with […]
Following on from my post yesterday about what Florence is getting for Christmas, I thought I’d also share with you the things we have bought for William this year. With it being his first Christmas I have been so excited to choose the perfect gifts […]
