Charity shop Haul.

I do love a charity shop! My town has loads of them, which is lucky really. Going shopping I'm always suprised by what people "throw out", children's clothes are always my best buy. Anyway, this week I headed into town to do a little Charity shop haul, I ended up spending just over £18 on items that would cost (brand new) almost £60! I am very impressed with myself.

Something for me.

 A box of six of these gorgeous bath petals cost me 99p. They have the most beautiful lavender scent. Link here if you want to buy your own. I cannot wait to try these out in a nice bubble bath, they look so pretty!

Something for Eva.

 Pink top cost me £1.75 is from Next, it has some lovely little details like glitter on the girls dress and a bow on the rabbit. Eva loved it as it's pink. The yellow time which just screams summer to me is from George at Adsa and cost me £1.95. 

Something for Archie.

 Blue monkey top cost me £2.25 which is quite expensive for a charity shop, however it's in such a lovely top plus it's next that I think it's still a good bargin. The grey Jogger's are from George at asda and cost me £1. I am a big fan of the George range, your notice Archie own's alot of their Joggers, these are the disney one's which he doesn't have. They are such good quality, wash really well and are hard wearing, perfect for Archie who spends most his days crawling around. 

Books!

Hungry Hen - 50p.

Tell the time with Croc and Bet - £1.99

Aldo - 99p

Animals of Farthing Wood - 25p

Dr.Seuss "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" - 99p

Jane Green "Mr Maybe" - £1.50

Photoshop Elements 8 - £2.50 (This is my biggest bargin of the day, new this book costs £22.99)

The magical Mermaids Jigsaw story book - £1.99

 

Degustabox - June.

After reading reviews for this box I decided to order my own, for £12.99 with the option to cancel at any tiem I decided to go for it. I have to say, I'm glad I did. I was very surprise by how fantastic the box was, I'd have never brought any of the things in this box myself which made it even more fun. We worked out the total cost of the items in the box was over £22. That's saving of over £9!!

9 yummy items were inside..

 1. Estrella Damm

I don't drink Lager so I gave this to Sean to have. He's not a fan of beer out of a can but gave it ago anyway. When I asked him what he thought of it he replied with "It's alright". Probably the best I'm going to get out of him to be honest. I don't think this will be replacing his favourite beer any time soon.

 2.Elizabeth Shaw (Milk chocolate flutes)

I had a few of these while Archie took his nap I have to say they are very moreish. Nice chocolate flavour with a back note of Amaretto.. Perfect. I finished the rest of in the evening while reading a wedding mag.

 3. Urban fruit.

Dried fruit is normally a big hit in this house, I tend to pass them off as sweets when Eva is asking for some. When I tried these I have to say I was very disappointed. They tasted quite sour and were very very chewy. On opening the packet they were all stuck together in one big lump too. They were okay, but not my fabourite I have to say.

 4.Bear (Alpha bites cereal)

Eva had these for her breakfast this morning. She wasn't a fan saying they tasted "discusting". I had a bowl after her and actually they weren't that bad. Nice and crunchy with alot of flavour in them. 

 5. Veetee (Basmati and wild rice)

I have to say I was very pleased to see rice in the box as it's one of my favourite foods not only that but I had just had a moan before the box arrived because I had no rice to go with my lunch so yes, I was very pleased to see this. Very quick and easy to cook and had a lovely taste. I added a tea spoon of cold water to the rice before cooking (a trick I learnt from using these sorts in the past) and on tasting it straight from the mircowave it needed a little salt and pepper. Over all though, I will be buying this on in the future.

 6. Dr. Oetker (Madagascan Vanilla grinder)

I'm yet to use this, but I use alot of vanilla in my cupcakes so when I next make cakes (at the weekend) I shall be giving this a whirl.

 7. Lambrini

I am not a big drinker mainly because I am breast feeding but I love drinks that are strawberry flavour so after work I treated myself to a small glass of this and oh my! It was lush!! I will have to treat myself to some more of this tonight also. Perfect for summer I think with a lovely sweet flavour.. it reminded me of a alcholic cherryade.

 8. Be-fast

I had a bottle of this on the school run this morning. It tasted like banana milk shake and was quite creamy. I really liked it, perfect for those mornings when I I am rushing about.

 9. Tyrrells popcorn

I am not a fan of popcorn at all, infect I normally hate the stuff however I thought I'd give these a go and I am very glad I did, they were moreish. I loved the sweet crunchy one's the best but the salty ones were also yummy. They really worked well together, I am going have to buy some more!

Get your own Degustabox here

*I have not been paid for this review. All opinions are my own* 

20 things about me.

1. I am carly
2. I got my nickname 'Bee' from a family friend
3. I am twenty five years old.
4. I have one older brother, Mark
5. I began dating my boyfriend on 04.05.06
6. We've been together 8 years.
7. I have two children, Eva and Archie
8. and two pets, Kiara (rabbit) and Frankie (budgie).
9. I read alot.
10. and love to write.
11. I take far too many photos.
12. I like watching The Big Bang Theory while drinking a cup of tea and eating Galaxy chocolate.
13. I work two jobs.
14. I no longer have red hair.
15. I couldn't tell you what colour it is now!
16. I'm stubborn / positive / impatient
17. My fears are driving next to lorries, being in a shop at closing time and spiders.
18. I want to be a police officer 'when I grow up'
19. I have a slight obsession with cleaning.
20. I spend too much time dreaming.

A Crocodile for Billy.

Eva came home from school on Mnday with a book, I was confused at first to why she had two books in her bag (normally she has a reading book for homework in her book bag), then after a little conversation with Eva it seems it is her's to keep. She's never been given a free book before so stright away I was interested in finding out what the story was about, and I have to say I was more then surprised by this book.

The book is written for LloydsTSB bank, it's basically to encourage saving. I myself thought this was a brilliant idea. We've been trying to get Eva to understand money more, and wanting her to save her pocket money (she currently get's £1 every week) so for us this book is going be very helpful. Eva's told me they already read it at school, which is very encouraging to know they are teaching her about saving money there too.

Inside the book was a savings chart and some stickers - which great if you have a child who likes stickers, I however don't - The saving's chart however, is and will be very useful. Now we aren't with LloydsTSB bank, but this is still a fantasic idea. I did pop over to the website (here) but it seems it's since been closed down, which I am rather confused about. It would have been nice to get some more information about it.

(Update) : The book is available on E-book here.

Back to work.

After 39 weeks off work, 31st May marked my first day at back at work *sigh*. Actually I was quite looking forward to it, don't get me wrong I love being at home with Archie all day everyday but I am one of those people who has to work, I think I'd go mad if I didn't. That's probably why I took a second job as well - working from home though so I don't have to pay for child care (score).

My first day back was tiring to say the least, after a 5 hour shift I was shattered, covered in blisters and my feet ached (I'd forgotten just how much walking was invovled!!) After a week, I'm glad to be back. I've meet some lovely patients and feel back in the flow of working. It's been a bit of a nightmare for a few days getting used to leaving early and having the children ready at the same time, but we're getting there. I'm quite proud of the fact that I am still working. It's got me thinking more about what job I want in the future, something from home full time would be perfect but for now I am happy working two jobs, spending every spare second with my children.

Homemade icecream

Perfect for weaning babys to keep them cool.

You will need :

Bananas

Milk (optional)

and a flavouring of your choice (I choose Nuttella)

1. Chop your banana's up.

2. Add to a sandwich bag a freeze for 2-3 hours (I did mine over night in the end)

3. Take banana's from freezer, allow to soften for a minute. Pop into a blander or food prosesser and blend until smooth. I added a little milk to mine to give it a more creamy texture. Add a few table spoons of nuttella and mix through.

4. and there you have it, homemade icecream. It's healthy and very yummy.

I missed out the nuttella and milk in Archies and he just had the plain banana. He loved it!

My current top five Websites.

1. Amazon

Amazon has to be my most used site. I love it! With everything from clothes and books to games and highchairs, it has everything you could possibly want. This is the main reason I like it so much, searching the internet for that one item you want can be hardwork but I find amazon so easy. Amazon has to be my "go to" website when it comes to buying peopl gifts, I love that it offers so many deals which is perfect for christmas when Eva is after the lastest gadget. 

2. Not on the high street . com

Not on the high street.com is currently one of my little loves. I visit it 2 or 3 times a day and come across so many things I want / love. Its the most unique, well thought out website I have come across in a while. It's the first site that came to mind when buying boyfriends father's day gift (I will pop a father day gift post up once it arrives) some items can be quite pricey but the quality it amazing, honestly it's worth spending that little bit extra. I am currently loving the wedding section.

3. Sainsbury's little ones

Sainsbury's isn't a shop I normally shop at, we don't have one locally and I find them to be a little more pricey however Sainbury's little ones is one website I continually go to when I want to try out a new meal and I also find it very helpful with weaning too. They have recipes suitable from pregnancy to preschool which works really well for me as I don't have to cook Archie a separate meal. It also offers alot of information on motherhood / baby / pregnancy and even has a forum for those who like to chat  and meet other mums.

4. Pinterest

I'm pretty sure that everyone is aware of Pinterest and what you do on there, if you don't click here. I am huge fan of this website, I'm a newbie to it so my Boards are very small but give me a week.. At moment I am obsessed with looking at weddings or anything to do with weddings, this website allow me to have my little fix which is really good. I love the idea of it and the ease. Follow me on there here

5. Bloglovin.

I was made aware of Bloglovin by Heather over at Pretty little teacupp (thank you to her for that) Since then I have spent most of my days searching for new blogs to read and loving being able to keep up with the blogs I love. At some point I will do my top 5 blogs from this site but that's for another post. Follow me here

Co-sleeping.

Co-sleeping, sleep-sharing, bed-sharing, what ever you want to call it, has been one of the most debated subjects when it comes to newborns and motherhood. I have found myself in many discussions about it and have found alot of people aren't educated enough on the subject, they simply make things up or go from guidelines without researching the subject at all. I myself have to research something before I can put my view across I like to see something from both point's of view before making my mind up on where I stand with something. It's something I did before I gave birth to Eva and something I did again before having Archie. I was amazed at the difference from then to now.

Note : Eva did not sleep with my covers over her.

Back in 2009 when I first looked into co-sleeping almost every website highlighted all the risks and how you shouldn't under any circumstance sleep with your baby. I struggled to find any websites that offered advise about the subject. I think this was why my view for a while was "why put your baby at risk?". Of course I no longer think this way, but at that time I did. I was completely against the whole thing so when I began co-sleeping with her I felt awful and vowed not to do it the next night. Over time this feeling did go and we got into a good bedtime routine (although the first night she slept though aged 9 weeks I woke every hour) I had the full support of my health visitor who then was quite pro to the whole idea of co-sleeping which made me feel a whole lot happier about doing so.

 
When it came to Archie I was set once again that he wouldn't sleep in my bed, but breastfeeding at night meant it was just easier having him in my bed with me rather then having to take him in and out of the cot to feed him. As i said in my breast feeding post, I found it very painful for the first week or so and laying down on the bed was the only way I could feed him at first. He'd fall a sleep and having to move him back to his own bed would wake him up and I didn't see the the point in that. He's 8 months old now and still in my bed with me. I do of course plan to get him into his cot soon, I want to do that once I stop breast feeding which I am currently in the process of stopping.

Everything has changed now that attachment parenting has become more popular. These days if you search the internet (as I did before writing this blog post) you will find almost all co-sleeping information positive information about the subject. It talks about both sides to allow you to make your own mind up about where you stand about it, and over all it's a much more helpful and accepting view. I am not pro co-sleeping nor am I against it, I believe completely that as parents we have the right to choose what's best for our children without having to get into silly arguments about it all.