Fifteen Minutes of Peace and Tranquility.

In a house of nine, you can imagine, quiet and calm are not words used frequently to describe our lives!!
Every morning I set the alarm for 6.45am I go downstairs quietly so as not to wake anyone else.
I put the kettle on, then depending how tired I am I either sit and stare at the kettle in zombie like fashion or unstack the dishwasher from the night before.
Once the kettle has boiled I make a pot of tea for the children and leave it to brew, whilst I make myself a nice hot cup of Coffee, it is the only time of the day that my drink is ever hot!

I have two special mugs, one is a Large Tigger mug that Asa and the children bought me for my 30th birthday when we went to Disneyland Paris and the other, Lochlan `decorated' for me on 26th March 2004, Xene and Neva made a plate and bowl to match.

My two special mugs

I love traditional coffee and always try to find something new and exciting to keep me awake!! My favourite at present is Caffe Cagliari, which is a 100 year old Italian Family company. The Grand Espresso has a strength of 6, so not too strong but enough to kick start my day. The fab thing about this particular brand is that the capsules are Nespresso compatible which means it is always available at the touch of a button!
If you are looking for a new coffee to try, why not pop over and give their facebook page a like.

Once those fifteen minutes have gone (they go surprisingly quickly!) I pour the children's teas and a coffee for Asa, if he is still in bed and slowly make my way up the stairs, ready for the chaos of the day to begin.....

So, how about you, do you have a morning routine that involves any 'me' time or a special time of the day to sit and try to drink a hot drink ?

this is a sponsored post, but it is the best fifteen minutes of the day!!

What Time Is It ?

Since having the children, my time keeping has become, lets say a little worse!
Before I had the children I would always be on time, or even a little earlier to every appointment or meeting, but the last sixteen years I have been no quite so prompt...
Nearly every year Asa or my parents buy me a watch for Christmas or Birthday, some people I know have the same watch for years, however I do have a tendency to destroy them, either smashing the glass or finding it in the washing machine/tumble drier.

So when someone mentioned The Watch Hut I decided to take a look, I know Christmas is quite far away and I have already had my birthday, but its never too early to start dropping hints!! 

I love bangle/bracelet type watches, although I do struggle with the size as I only have little wrists and some do just slip straight off.

My favourite watch is a DKNY Roundabout, which is available is four colour choices, not only that but The Watch Hut has a free bracelet sizing option, you just put what size bracelet you require in the comments section, so no more loose watches!

They have some amazing watches for Men,but completely pointless in our household as Asa has NEVER worn a watch since the day I met him, incredibly he has a fantastic sense of time and can usually give me the correct time, with no watch or clock in sight!

The girls LOVE any kind of jewellery and accessories. and the choice of girls watches on the website is great, from Hello Kitty to Snow White, with lots of girlie patterns in between, the boys watches are bright and colouful and perfect for the younger children to learn to tell the time.

So, until Christmas I guess I shall keep TRYING to get to places on time, but eventually maybe someone will take pity on me and buy me a new watch, like the ones above hint hint.

However the five biggest children are always at school on time, even if I never have the yummy mummy look, I call it the `just got out of bed and haven't had time to do anything other than get the children ready' look....

This is a sponsored post, but I really would like that watch for Christmas!!

Easter Egg Hunting with Waitrose

Every year the Easter Bunny leaves the children's eggs hidden throughout our garden, regardless of the weather and the children LOVE it, they search everywhere, because they never know how tall the Easter Bunny has grown and if they may be on top of tall places like the chicken coop.
If your children enjoy hunting for their Easter Eggs, or even just a treasure hunt around the garden or in the house, Waitrose have the perfect hunt to give you a helping hand.
Its all about new life and Spring. The children have to find the question and matching answers that you have hidden (maybe with a little chocolate treat).
You can find it here.

As we were kindly sent the Game and some Easter treats a little earlier, the children used the game as part of Neva's 11th birthday party.

They had great fun, although they can get quite competitive!

Kaide was the best at finding the Questions and matching them with the answers.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE xxx

#WIn Family Ticket to See Scooby Doo-The Mystery of The Pyramid on 10th April

Hex Mum and Big Family Little Adventures are running an amazing giveaway at The Lowry.

Scooby-Doo and the gang are back by popular demand and with even more Spooky Mystery and fun - this time in the Pyramids - Warner Bros’ Cartoon Classic Comes to Life!

Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne arrive in Egypt where they must solve the mystery of Pharaoh Hatchepsout’s Pyramid.  Easy, you say?  Not if the gang has to deal with mysterious mummies plus the wrath of the Pharaoh who will transform anyone who dares to approach the pyramid... into stone!

With hilarious physical comedy, popular tunes and special effects, the whole family will enjoy this new episode Live On Stage.

Listings Information 

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Of The Pyramid

Thu 10 – Sun 13 April

Times Thu 7pm, Fri & Sat 2pm & 7pm, Sun 2pm

Tickets: Children £17, Adults £22.50 (includes £2 booking fee)

Family Ticket £64 (includes £4 booking fee)

Box Office Information

Tel 0843 208 6005

The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ

www.thelowry.com

We have a family ticket for up to four people to go and watch Scooby Doo-The Mystery of The Pyramid, on 10th April at 7pm, just fill out the Rafflecopter below.

Good Luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cudl up with the world’s first tablet made-for-two

In today's digital world, Brits are spending more time online at the expense of shared moments with loved ones. In fact, research shows that couples are spending up to a third more time on their devices than with each other, with their digital journeys literally taking them into separate rooms.

With this in mind, Tesco's tech teams have come up with the best thing for relationships since the Finest dinner-for-two deal.

Introducing the Cudl

Say hello to the Cudl, the 7-inch HD tablet system based on the award-winning Hudl, but now enhanced by a unique coupling tether using our groundbreaking, “springback” technology.

This revolutionary new concept in tablet-to-tablet shareability has been specifically designed to put relationship harmony at the heart of your digital life.

The Cudl has all the power you need, with super-fast 1.5GHz quad-core processor and dual-band Wi-Fi. The 243 pixels-per-inch HD display is perfect for enjoying HD movies side by side, and with up to nine hours of battery life, it's a great way to spend a romantic night in.

Linked by a soft but durable tether, the tablets-for-two solution is the perfect way to turn online time into quality time, allowing you to capture and share special moments from two unique perspectives. After all, what's more fun than a selfie…? A double selfie!

Lucy O’Leary, Director of Springback Development at Tesco commented: “We’ve combined the brilliance of the Hudl with the intimacy of a cuddle to put relationship harmony at the heart of your digital experience.”

So, synchronize your keystrokes and turn a digitally shared first kiss into a real lip-smacking moment – you’re never more than a Cudl away.