Cowboy Boots and Inexpressible Longing (Cowboy Boots 5) by Natalie Acres

I NEED some new Bras and Pyjamas !!

I have just turned 26 weeks pregnant, so only about 14 weeks left till the big day, as you know this will be baby number seven, so I guess you could say I have had plenty of practice and have lots of baby stuff left from the previous ones, the truth is, the only items that I still have are my Maternity and Nursing Bras and a few pairs of pyjamas.
The only reason that I still have these items are because I only stopped feeding Tyrus a few months back, and I already knew that I was pregnant by then, so i thought that I could keep them for Wiggly.

However, whilst getting dressed yesterday morning in a sleepy daze, something made me look down at the current underwear I had put on, and made me shudder!!

The Maternity Bras that I imagined were still bright and fresh with good support, are in fact extremely tatty and I really cannot see them lasting me until Wiggly arrives, so today I have been looking for some new Maternity and Nursing Bras.

As most of you know I am chair of our local NCT Branch, so I like to source anything that I can that helps them with their fundraising, therefore my first stop on my bra search was the NCT Shop.

They have a vast array of Nursing Bras to choose from, the decision of course is which ones to choose from!!

Whilst looking at the choice of Nursing Bras, I decided that a couple of my Nursing Pyjamas and Nightdresses could probably do with updating too, in fact some have become so stretched throughout my previous pregnancy I am having trouble getting them to stay up, but the Maternity Nightwear has some lovely items to choose from.

My only dilemna now, is which ones to choose...

Portable DVD Player Review - Inspect A Gadget

We were given the opportunity to review a portable DVD player as part of the Money Supermarket Inspect-a-Gadget Campaign.

The Portable DVD player arrived very promptly and all of the children were very impressed. When we go on long journeys in the car, we connect up a two screen DVD player, however, since the family has increased and we have so many different aged children, it has become increasingly difficult to accommodate all of their needs.

This has certainly provided a great solution, it is extremely lightweight, with a great 7" inch screen, it has the option to use headphones, so it now means that one of the older children can sit and watch a slightly more suitable film by themselves in peace!!

Priced at £49.99, I think that this is excellent value for money and it has certainly increased the amount of peace and quiet we have on our long car journeys!

However, it is not just used in our house for long car journeys, as it is so lightweight and portable, it has come in very handy for keeping the little ones amused whilst I am busy doing chores, although I do need to update their children's collection of DVDs, there is only so many times I can listen to the Timmy Time theme tune!! The remote control is great, as it means I can have the controls within easy reach, without having two demanding children yelling "Mum, Its gone off"

This is a perfect piece of equipment for holiday journeys, or visiting relatives, but just as useful around the house. It has a two hour battery charge, but if you require longer, there is a plug adapter and a car charger, meaning that you never run the battery down, the only thing I did purchase was a double adapter for the car so that we can charge this DVD player and the double screen one at the same time.
I would certainly recommend this to families with children that take long trips, it has certainly kept me sane!!

Pregnancy Diary Week 24 Hex Mum v Consultant Round 2

This week I have reached 24 weeks and I feel enormous!! Back Pain and loose ligaments are a common twinge daily.

As you will know at my 16 week appointment I was told by my consultant's registrar that a homebirth was out of the question and they would not allow it.
Although I knew, that regardless of what he said I would be having a homebirth, it did annoy me that he refused to listen to anything I had to say.

As the weeks went on I decided that I wasn't happy with the decision, I am very fortunate that our local hospital has a fantastic team of Supervisor Midwives, who are responsible for dealing with any queries or complaints. After speaking with them, I spoke with the Clinical Manager of the Antenatal Clinic about my situation.

I am very pleased to announce that after discussions with the Consultant, and reviewing my situation, they have now decided that although they think I am slightly higher risk, they are willing to support me having a homebirth, which is wonderful.

So Wiggly is moving around lots, each of the children have felt him kick them and found it either hilarious or fascinating.

I have been looking through baby name books, but as yet have not found a name that I would consider, I may have to get an updated book, as we are still working from the one we bought before Neva was born (she is now 10!).

Heartburn is impressive and wallowing in the bath has become my favourite past time, so much that I may even consider a waterbirth this time, something I have yet to experience with any of the other births.

Butlins Skegness Part One.

It was like an entire little village!

When we found out we had been chosen as a Butlins Ambassador, we were very excited, it was somewhere the children had spoke about, due to many of their friends going but we had never been.

Our first decision was which Butlins Park we would stay at, after much discussion we decided that Skegness was the nearest and would mean the children were not stuck in a car for a long journey, which you can imagine isn't pleasant with six of them!!

Asa had been to a conference at Butlins Skegness last year and had spoken very highly of it, so that was decision one made, next, which accommodation to choose and when to go!

We usually go on holiday off peak and in the cold weather as we prefer quieter surroundings and a nice cosy cottage, so we made the decision to do the complete opposite, a busy holiday park in the middle of the Easter holidays!!
Now that we have four children in school, the choice to go during school time has diminished to virtually non existent.

We decided on the second week of the Easter holidays from 8th April until 12th April, which meant we would be home ready for Neva's birthday on 13th.

Decision on date made, we then looked at what accommodation was available, having such a large family, we could either have two apartments, or a cheaper alternative of room only, which would sleep all eight of us in four rooms and have premium dining, as the room only option literally was just four bedrooms and a bathroom, no lounge or kitchen, the thought of a holiday without cooking was quite appealing and the thrifty mummy in me thought that the room only option was a good price for a large family, maybe if we are lucky enough to go again we can choose something more luxurious, but to be quite honest we never really spend much time in the accommodation when we go to holiday parks as there is too much to keep the children occupied.

So that was decided, Bedrooms only, with Premium Dining and all in together.

We arrived just before check in time, which was obviously our first mistake, all of the regular Butlins visitors had arrived hours before which meant that they managed to get a good car parking space, close to their accommodation, we were quite a trek from ours, luckily I had a strong husband and two teenagers to help with carrying all of the bags.

My second mistake was not requesting (for a small charge) a ground floor room, when we arrived ours was up a flight of stairs. Once the luggage was in the room, it wasn't a problem, however a pram for Tyrus was essential, due to the distance from our room to all of the facilities. Asa and Xene got quite good at working as a team to lift the pram up and down the stairs!!

It was a Great View from the first floor!

First impressions, the rooms were very clean and tidy, all beds were made up on arrival and all four bedrooms had a television and tea and coffee making facilities, on closer inspection our `little house' as the children named it, was in fact two smaller holiday homes, opened up into one larger one, our number was 109, but on the other side of the staircase, we also occupied 110!! This meant that we also had two bathrooms which was great with eight of us.

Whilst unpacking I noticed that I could not see the Travel Cot we had ordered for Tyrus, I found the paperwork and there was a text messaging service that you could send any problems or queries to, I send a text with my name and  holiday number, within ten minutes there was a knock at the door and a travel cot had appeared, an excellent service.

Tyrus trying out the desk and chair!

Eowyn snuggled up in her bed!

Neva and Lochi's bedroom

Xene had a double bed to herself!

Once we had unpacked, we went for a look around, to see what there was on offer and to locate the Dining Room that we were designated for our breakfasts and Dinners.

On arrival at the complex, it was huge! With so much to see and do, they younger children became quite overwhelmed, luckily it was just about time to eat, so we wandered over and were shown to a table (it is quite difficult to find a table for eight with no assistance!) The very friendly staff showed us the various stations and the different types of meals on offer, they found us a highchair for Tyrus and away we went!!

The food was of a very high standard and there really was something for everyone, even fussy teenage girls! In fact, I was amazed throughout our stay, just how much food each of the children ate, it was also lovely to see that with such a choice of menu, they were able to make sensible choices and I was quite a proud mummy when they ate mainly healthy food!

Overall First Impressions : Very busy and crowded, not our normal type of holiday, but lots of things to keep the entire family occupied, friendly approachable staff that knew the answers to any questions or queries we had.

Part Two coming soon: Activities and Entertainment!