Dreaming of A Jet Plane

I am sure that I am not alone when I say I am sat dreaming of hotter climates while I spend a lot of time on the commute because as all know January is a month where most of us travel when it is dark in the morning and arrive home when it is again dark. Without factoring in the weather, we have had snow, ice and rain already this month. Some of us can not wait to have some sun on our backs in the summer in the UK is not guaranteed, and it seems months till people jet off on their summer holidays. Why should you have to wait that long when your children's have a break from school next month in February or are you lucky like us and are not tied down to school holidays yet.

I am dreaming of jetting off on my a holiday soon because it is dark as I have mentioned when I am commuting it is always dark which never makes you feel amazing. I have a hell of a lot of work which is causing me stress because as some of you know, I am only around 4 months away from completing my degree. I feel like being able to spend a week with Jess and having a lot of quality time would make me feel less stressed and I could always work when she is sleeping on a night.  I also need to make sure I take a break because otherwise, I will become ill when I finish because the amount of stress will come down fast. This is something which happened at Christmas which is never good because it almost ruined quality family time which is never good and increase my mum guilt. 

It was not until I actually thought about it we have not been on a family holiday as a family of 3. The first summer Jess was born we went to Norfolk with Joes's parents so even though this was a holiday it was not a pure family holiday. Then last year because Joe was deployed we did not actually have a family holiday this is something which I really want to change very soon. I feel like we would have a lot of family time which would create some amazing memories which we could treasure for the rest of our lives.  Of course, this would be Jess's first time on a plane and I have not been on a plane for over 5 years which is not great when you love to travel and explore new places. 

Just because it is February does not mean that you have to travel hours on a plane to somewhere like the Carribean for hot weather which you might not want to if you have young children. This for sure is not something which I would want to do with Jess yet because I know she would not sit for that long.  You do not have to break the bank either February half term holidays deals can be found I found a holiday to Crete for only £123pp with the weather likely to be double the temperature of the of the UK. I think that travelling in February/March time is a good time to travel as it will not be as busy as in the summer which may night suit you should you have young children like Jess.  Also, it will not be too hot which could be a problem should you go in the height of the summer.

Have you ever travelled in a half term?

Charlotte xxx

This post is sponsered by Holiday Gems

Commuting With A Toddler

For most people this week will have seen them getting back into their routine which means that everyone has to be a little bit more organised as we all have to be out of the door with our children at some crazy early time. As some of you may know if you have read my blog for a long, you will know that I go to university an hour away from my house and commute on the train. This is something which common for some people because house prices are so high in York that it is cheaper for a lot of people to commute into the city.

Something which may shock you I take my two-year-old Jess on the commute as well the reasoning behind this is because I have lectures which start at 9 am and currently have to get the train around 6.30-7.20am depending on which station I get on at. If you have children who go to a private nursery, you may know that you can struggle to find one which is open before 7 am I think the ones around here there is only one of them which I know about. Another factor is that I can have lectures until past 5 pm and would have to ask a member of my family to pick her up which would make me feel like I was not part of her nursery experience. Whereas at the moment I can pick her up most nights and her Daddy works in York so can pick her up if I am unable to due to finishing too late.  

Of course, taking your toddler on the commute comes with challenges, of course, one of the first ones is that you have to make sure that she is ready in the morning which can be hard when she wants to stay at home and play with toys. Instead of getting ready for nursery which is not going to arrive at for a couple of hours but I think at the moment she is pleased to do it because they have a lot more toys there that I can ever give her at home. I know this is something which could change because at the moment loves going to nursery but over the summer when Daddy was away this is something which she struggled with.

Regarding being able to keep her entertained while she is on the train of course when it is bright which at the moment is it not very often, we can play games like what can we see outside the windows. We are lucky there are some different places which have animals on the side of the tracks so we know where to look for horses, sheep and chickens this is a game which Jess loves to play. Of course because some of the year like at the moment when we get on the train it is dark and this is not a game we can play we play peek a boo where she throws a blanket over her head and pretends that’s she can not see me which is always a fun game.Sometimes this can go on for the whole hour, and we have even had people who sit next to us join in.

Since she has gone upstairs into the big room singing is something which they do a lot more of so, of course, we have to have renditions of songs such as the wheels on the bus and old MacDonald. She does seem to get very annoyed if I get the words wrong I love been able to watch her grow up and learn more new songs some which I am surprised she can sing as they are complicated. Once she even got a random lady who was sat a few rows behind us kept joining in on the songs. 

Apps are another great way to keep her entertained at the moment she is still really enjoying playing on the Appelsin Town app which I reviewed way back in the summer. She has now learnt how to do more things on the app which means she is enjoying it a hell of a lot more than she was previously. I am always looking for apps which are educational for her I have an iPhone so it does mean that she can play on my iPad which means she does not drain my battery or use my data because for sure I know she would try and get on youtube or Netflix and watch either Peppa or paw patrol.

Do you commute with your toddler or frequently do train journey's how do you keep them entertained.

Charlotte xx

Dreaming of Winter Sun

This week I have been lucky enough to have a week of university so you would think that I have been doing fantastic days out maybe even taken a trip on a plane to somewhere warm. No instead I have been cooped up in the library trying to get ahead on assignments to take a little bit of a break for Christmas to enjoy it with friends and family and not be as stressed out as usual. I hopefully will be able to study a little bit less when Joe comes home next week you have him to thank for the amazing picture in this post. I am not jealous at all he got to meet penguins. My parents have also just returned from a week away in Lanzarote, and they have come back so suntanned I look like I don't belong in their family. It's hard to believe as a child who travelled abroad so much every single year I was lucky to be jetting off to a warmer climate it had been 7 years I think now since I left the UK.

This is something for sure I want to change next year I would love to be able to take Jess on her first holiday abroad and feel some of the  Sun on our backs. I am sure she would enjoy the pools because she really does seem to be such a water baby.  That reminds me we should take her swimming a lot more when Daddy is back, so she gets used to it again. Recently as my stress levels have risen and the temperature has plummeted, I have found myself dreaming of warmer climates. It is so tempting to take a week of uni and just go let's forget I don't have a valid passport at the moment.

The best thing about being able to go on holiday is that I could have so much fun in the pool with Jess and actually spend some quality time with her something I feel like I haven't done since September.  I might actually be able to read something which is not academic and do it for pleasure I think I have around 200 books to read and I plan on moving house hopefully next year, and that's going to be a lot of transporting.

Places such as Tenerife, Lanzarote are places which I would love to visit. I have been to Tenerife multiple times as a child and had so much fun over there. Visiting places such as Loro park and Siam park is something which I would love to do as it is something I haven't done in the past. I think I would be tempted to only travel a maximum of around 4 hours at the moment on a plane because it is a whole new venture for Jess.

I can keep dreaming about the winter sun because currently, I have no time to pack my bags and jet off. Fortunately, I do have a weekend away break coming up in around a month, and it will be amazing to escape everyday life for a few days.

Many 2018 will be the year I get a new passport and one for Jess and explore the world again. For now, I am going to stay focusing on my studies and exploring places a little bit closer to home.
Have you got any winter sun breaks planned if so where? Or are you super organised and already booked your summer getaway for next year?

Charlotte xx

LittleLife Toddler Daysack Review

Ever since Jess had started to crawl I said at when she started walking would be purchasing her a rein bag the reason behind this is because it still allows her to be independent and if you knownJess you will know how indepdant she loves to be even nursery have commented on this. So Jess thinks that she is actually walking and been a big girl without having to hold my hand unless she is crossing a road and I can still control her which means that she can not run into the road or get into any other danger.

I remember around November time when Jess had started walking and started to want to go explore more I purchased her the Littlelife daysack because I knew that this was something that I had been looking for. They do as range of different animals so there will be one which shit your family they now even do character ones I have seen the gruffolo and Minnie Mouse. In hind site I kind of wish I had got the Minnie one because Jess has become obsessed with her in the last few months.  The Daysacks have the removable rein which means when Jess is a little bit older we can use it as a small backpack which has enough room in for her drink and a few other things such as snacks. Having the option  to remove the rein means that when she is in a huge open area such as the park you can remove it and let her run free without. Her thinking she is too free as she is still wearing the backpack. This is something which we have done a number of times now and is seems to be something which she seems to enjoy because she is more independent.

You can also adjust the chest pads which means as Jess grows the bag will still be able to fit her I think it is till age 4 you can use this little bag however I am sure a lot of that would be just using it as a normal bag. The shoulder pads are actually pretty thick and soft which means that it is comfortable for your child to wear which is something that you want should they be wearing this for a long period for of time. 

I have used this bag so much I have purchased a similar one for the car so that we always have one should we need to take s last minute journey and do not have this one Jess is still able to walk,.  We have used this bag in a number of places from the town centre, parks, seaside and farms. At all of them we have never found that we have had an issue with the bag. We even took her to the rugby at Easter with it and the security were amazed with it they said however I looked like I was controlling a drunk person.

It is not just me  who has used the bag obviously Joe has used it with her and both sets of grandparents have actually used it. It was his nan though who could be a little bit sceptical  about things like as she is usedmtomdoing what they did back in the day when she was bringing children up who even stated that they are a good idea and she wishes that they had them when Joe had been growing up. 

The bag is something which I could not be without now because we get so much use out of it. I think this most be one of the best £20 I have ever spent.

Do you have one of these bags, would you use one? Let me know in the comments 

Charlotte x

Phinexi Iphone Charging Case Review

A couple of weeks back I was contacted by the lovely people at Phinexi who are a new company who are a technology company who have just launched an iphone charging case. As someone who is constantly on my phone when I am commuting from either playing paw patrol to keep Jess quite, checking social media and also sending emails either academic or blogging wise. My phone is known to die a lot because of the amount I am on it which means I have to carry a charging cable all the time but sometimes am unable to actually use it as I am not near a power source.

This is where my phinexi iphone charging case comes in because I am now never either left without a phone because it's dead or the fact I need the battery which I have later because I may need to make an important call.


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Living Arrows #5- Week of Fake Pox

This week has been one of the toughest as my life as a parent this is because of the fact that Jess got sent home from Nursery on Monday and was not allowed to return and she was fine the next day, She got sent home and we got told we needed to get a doctors appointment for her because she was covered in a rash according to them. When we got her to see a doctor we found that she had an eye and ear infection as well a common cold and Chicken Pox. Yes, she was a walking infection as one of my friends described her.  This meant that she had to spend a bit of time with Daddy because of the fact I still had to attend my lectures but everyone else was at work and of course he is lucky to get time off when Jess is sick and need looking after.  Would you believe the fact this picture above is taken a day after she got this diagnosis she does look a little poorly but I think in total she managed to get about 5 spots so we are unsure if it was actually chicken pox or if it was a viral infection.


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Emergency Travel Sickness Bag

 

Hi Guys

Today I thought I would share with you a bag which I have created an named emergency car sickness bag. This bag is all the essentials minus nappies and clothes due to them always been in my handbag. We have found that Jess can be sick if the car is too hot or if she has had too much juice or food before travelling.  We plan on doing a bit of travelling in the next few months  as I am sure some of you will be due to school holidays.

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Top 5 Future Holiday Destinations

Hey Guys

January is the month when people start planning where they are going to go on their summer holidays this year. I will not be going abroad this year due to the fact that I have Jess and it will be really hard but I think I am going to have a couple of weeks away in the UK with family. These are places I have dreamed about going to before Jess was born,

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