A Student Mum ....and Good old Guilt

The washing has almost grown legs and the ironing is overflowing, where's mum ? Oh she gone to school! No time for cleaning or washing or planning Annabelle carmel dinners, beans on toast will do tonight! Every morning at half 5 mums up, packs the lunch boxes along with her books, walks out the door and run's for the number 9! Lilah couldn't stop me even if she tried she practically drowning in the piles of washing ! 

Any one else feel the guilt of it all?!?! More then anything right now I want to be a midwife but that doesnt stop me feeling guilty about leaving lilah to go study! Shes is that bit older now which does make it easier but still that longing to be that brilliant mum AND a midwife is a bloody pull!

But as they all say its the future I need to think about and its true, I want to inspire Lilah, I want to watch her face admiring me on my graduation day, I want her to see she can do anything, when you put your mind to it.

Iv got an image in my head, a picture of me standing under a tree on a sunny day, in my graduation gown, Jordan in a suit and Lilah in a dress ....... half the time, picturing this is the only thing that makes me stick at it.

I'll get there...... we'll all get there :) 





SO tips for a Student mum.....

Don't multitask We all know women can do it all. That doesn't mean you have to do it all at the same time! Dont trying to study while you make dinner, check your emails, chatting to the girls. If your brain is busy doing other things, you'll miss half of what you should be taking in. So make assign time to sit and do little bits at a time and do them in a certain area you made for your self to study..... I upcycled an old bureau to sit at.

The hardest part of studying is always getting started. Create a schedule for studying. If you sit down to study at the same time every day, it'll be easier to get into study mode.

And just don't punish yourself or make yourself feel awful about something that slipped your mind....things will be late and you will miss things and making your self feel worse about this is not going to improve it

xx

Seasonal Children's books

So I had a light bulb moment while drinking my Tea! 

I wanted to introduce Lilah to reading a bit more than just a bed time story. So we pulled out her book case and revamped it! 

Because I am slightly obsessed with the autumn/ winter months I thought it would be a good idea to teach Lilah about the season's through books. Trailling through Amazon I found some beautiful books all to do with Fall/autumn, pumpkins, foraging, Halloween and Thanksgiving (have always wanted to celebrate this) !

We then went to the park near us and collected conkers, acorns, and leaves to decorate the book case with.

Cuddling with your kids, watching them become engrossed in a story told to them from their own parents animated character vocie, is a priceless experience. More and more studies are proving how beneficial reading with a parent is for developing children. 

A child who has been read to will want to learn to read herself. She will want to do what she sees her parents doing. Reading increases a child's attention span and a parent's own cognitive ability, It is one of the most essential and valuable activities kids can inherit from parents simply by observing them being engrossed in a book or magazine. 

When we pack away the Halloween decorations this year, I will be pulling on the Winter/Christmas books to re doctorate this book case with. I wanted to conitue to rotate this books throughout the year with New year, Valentines day, Spring, Summer and so on 

The books in this picture were all purchased on Amazon:
Maisys, Trick or Treat
Beware Beware 
Let it Fall
The Berebatain Bears - Thanksgiving 
Pumpkin Soup
The haunted House
Squirrel's Autumn Search
Halloween Surprise

A Love affair with Autumn

Hellooo out there! 

currently sat at the laptop annoyed that iv left it so long since the last post... really need to get on top of the blog post's and make a schedule now I am back at university! However here I am with cuppa tea beside me ready to spew out the latest of my, away with the fairies nonsense!

First of all hope your all having a beautiful beauitfullll autumn! What have you all been up too ?! This time of year, through till after new year is by far, BY FAR my favourite time of year,  and this is my favourite autumn snap this year !

My Beautiful Lilah after our autumn forage 

One of the best days this autumn was Jordan winning tickets to go see an American football game in London, It was the Miami dolphons vs Oakland raiders. There was a competition on twitter for who twitted the meaning of NFL would win four ticket, a meal and cocktails at coast to coast. Jordan enter not thinking much more of it... but a few days later he actually won! being the first thing he had won since a tidy room competition at school! 

It was amazing, we have always wanted to see an American football game, its on the lists of things we need to do but don't have the doller for right now. 

Still till this day I watch at least an episode of Friends everyday, every night I put one series on to watch and drift off to sleep watching, so I loved pretending in my own little head that I was in america back in the 90's, at thanksgiving watching the game .... I know sad right ?! but so time;s I so wish I could have lived in new york in the 80's/90's    

So here are the pictures hope you're all having an amazingly beautiful Autumn/Fall 

Bramble Ramble

While I sat drinking my tea and eating my porridge full of blackberries, that we had foraged for when we where camping, i smiled because the itv news did a piece on foraging for fruits and veg of the British countryside, Sooo I thought this would make a good blog post, sooo here you goo :) ....

The British countryside is the best supermarket of all, healthy, sustainable and free!

Every year since I was a young, as the summer begins to wind down and autumn begins, we go foraging! Early autumn is one of the most productive times, from apples and blackerberries to the last of the plums meeting the first of the pears and we collect the lot, walking down the country lances, baskets, buckets and containers in hand ready to fill to the brim.

Once we even found and entire field of pumpkins! It was so beautiful iv never forgotten it. Bright big orange, shiny pumpkins as far as the eye could see. We grabbed a few and used our jumpers to craddle them in, to carry them back home.

The caravan's are packed up and the jumpers are pulled on as we leave the country side after the summer holiday's and the buckets and bags of berries, apples, plums and pears are pushed in to the car boot ready to come home with us..... then though tout the year mummy bennett pours blackberries in our porridge every morning, and the apples and pear's are pulled out of the freezer ready to be peeled and chop and put in to a hot pie ready for the Sunday roast.

So go for a walk, take a basket and keep your eyes open. Any trees or brambles hanging over a footpath or right of way are yours for the picking.

Camping and Scrumping

Ever since I was kid we have spent most of the summer holidays camping, when we was young there was a whole gang of us cousins, that explored the entire day, riding round on ours bike, fishing on the lake, making a lemonade stand to sell on the beach, crabbing off the pier and then saving our pennies up so we could run along the beach to the shop to buy prank jokes and plot our next trick on the grown ups.

And even the days when the rain poured and the mud tracks would fill up with water and create puddles that were deep enough to reach our knees, we loved it! and once the rain had stopped and the mud would start to dry we would be lined up one by one, taking turn's to stand in a baby bath while my mum hosed us down.

It will always be the fondest memories of my life growing up, even now all us cousins have grown up we are forever talking and reminiscing about it. 

I was so determined that my girl would also have this up bringing, to be a real kid with no electronic's, and mud across her face.

We've spent the last few weeks there, strolling down the country lanes, pick apples from the apple tree's, black berries from the bushes and potato picking in the fields. The little ones love it, I love watching them fall in love and make memories with camping like we did when we were young. The plan is still get out there and camp throughout the autumn and the odd winter day to get the most out of this year as we can because we not quite ready to say good bye to camping and getting away from the rat race for this year just yet. 

Meet Pip! My 70's Ride

At this moment in time, I am sat in bed grinning like a cheshire cat....

1. because I am cosy in bed with a cuppa

2. because its cold enough to put my cosy winter onsie's back on andddd

3. meet Pip... 

Pip, I Love Her!

Today started of as a pretty poo day, just one of them days where there is so much to do and soo little time to do it so everything goes wrong! but then my mum rang me to ask if I had seen what my twin brother had brought home ...I searched the garden and the alley but there wasn't anything but she kept telling me to keep looking then the phone lost signal, so I chucked it down and went to answer the back door and my brother was stood with this little beautyyyyyy !

I have been wanting a vintage folding bike for donkeys years!! But the last few nights I have been especial obsessed with getting one, dropping off every night with my phone screen full of picture's of them! 

It was a bit spooky actually out of nooo where my auntie rang my mum this morning and asked if she knew anyone that wanted a vintage folding bike because she had just spotted one in an old shop, not actually knowing that I wanted one, out of everyone she rang my mum!.........Its because me and Pip were meant to be ;) 

At first I was looking at a pastel coloured one, or even white but Pip is a cherry red and she is so much better then one I would have picked!  

I have many plan's for my little Pip.....some new cherry red paint, maybe a wicker and bell! so watch out for her in future posts :) x

Sea Shell's and Rain Storms

Evening beautys! 

Something you may not know about me I am totally, completely obsessed with winter! Don't get me wrong I do not want to wish the summer away for you summer babies and I do enjoy it but I wish that it could be boiling hot for 6 weeks of the year then freezing, cold, grab your coat and hot chocolate for the rest of the year. At the moment I am lovingggg the weather, it may be only august but its been feeling slightly autumnal these past few mornings, which has sent me running to the garden, with my cuppa tea for the last few mornings to grab a feel of that crisp autumn air feeling! It is only august but I cant wait for the real autumn to begin! 

The last few days has been a mixed bag of sun, cloud and rain so on Sunday morning I was looking forward to putting the pjs on with the famalam and enjoy a cosy Sunday with films, chocolate and a roast but first I thought it would nice for Lilah beau to have a quick walk to the park, get muddy and be home in time for the pjs coming out the tumble dryer  but all did not go to plan.....

As we walked along to the park with nanny in toe, we could see the beach was full of families going on long walks all wrapped up, so we thought it would be nice to grab an ice cream from the park cafe then take a quick stroll down to the beach.... we ended up getting totally lost in the sandy moment, walking right along until we reached the next town !! We stopped by the beach huts to grab a cuppa when we realised it was half past 3!!

Realising the time we walked up through, to the top of the cliff where the park is, deciding to walk through the park home. Part of the park is a forest, and as we walked past this area lilah squealed that she had just seen a fairy inside so we must go in and find more. Me and mum giggled as we played along rattling bushes as we went past them insisting there must be fairies inside. Then out of no where the heavens opened and my lordy did pour down! We where sopping wet but the tree's did give us a slight shelter so we camped out in there, under our umbrella until it past.

 It was a beautiful unexpected Sunday, one which I hope sticks in Lilahs memories as she grows up.