4 Reasons to encourage your family to be active

Perhaps you’re frustrated that your family has fallen into some bad eating and exercise habits, or maybe you’re desperately trying to get your family to take on some healthier habits in order to get fit. Whatever the situation is, it’s always a good idea to try and get outdoors and active together so that you can live a healthier (and often cheaper) lifestyle. It also brings the family together which is fantastic if you’re struggling to rekindle a family bond or want to spend a bit more time together with your kids. So to help convince you, here are a couple of good reasons why you want to get your family in shape. It can be a fun way to get the family together Whether it’s getting together to repaint the house , go on walks or even play sports together as a family, getting fit as a group is a lot of fun if you can approach it with the right mindset. Not only is it a great way to stay healthy together, but you’ll find that you can also use it as a way to bring the family together s......

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Top tips for dressing your baby happy

In recent years kids clothing has really boomed, with so many amazing companies popping up as well as established brands redesigning larger collections plus a huge influence from the Scandinavian market has seen more prints, patterns and colours come into our children's lives. There really is no longer an excuse not to have fun with fashion no matter what your age although as you may find dressing a baby can come with some difficulties, for one they don't sit still, in fact my 8month old is the king of the wrigglers at the moment it such a battle just to get a vest on him and the eldest one is adamant of what he wants wear so enjoy the period when they are happy for you to dress them in your choices because it ends all to soon. Baby G in a vintage style Powell Craft sleepsuit  The main thing when it comes to dressing a baby though is practicality and comfortability and good brands often manage to combined this with fun and flare. I found the newborn stage and fi......

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Don't Fear the Mess

Babies make mess, it's a fact of life, from the moment they arrive they throw our homes into a happy state of chaos but as long as you make sure they are well fed, loved and changed than you really don't need to get to hung up on the mess in the early months, just enjoy your time with your little one. If you have those key basis covered then generally babies are jolly little things although of course when teething or nappy rash or any kind of skin irritation appears it can cause a normally happy smiley child to become grumpy and miserable. We try and keep our routines simple and use as many nature products as possible although when Pampers asked us to take the #PampersPooFace challenge and to show that their new sensitive baby wipes are milder and more PH balanced that cotton wool and water as well as being dermatologically accredited by the Skin Health Alliance I was at first both apprehensive and curious and was keen to know more and take the challenge. So watch......

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Making the kitchen the heart of the home

Mr A loves baking helping me in the kitchen We spend a lot of time in our kitchen and it really is the heart of our home, it's the place we all come together in the morning and evening, where we discuss things as a family or hear about what each other has done that day, a place we love to bake goodies and where I make our meals. We are also lucky to have a larger kitchen in this house than our last, it has not only a kitchen island but also space for dining table and chairs and double doors out onto our garden and it's somewhere we enjoy being. Saying that there are a few improvements we need to make before putting our house back on the market and I am not just talking a new lick of paint but a total decluttering of the surfaces, replacing the barstools, the ones that came with the house have never really been our taste and the other is the built in Fridge needs to be replaced. This has also made me think about what I would like my dream kitchen to look like and I am ......

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Instalife

I thought it was about time I did a little instagram roundup of what we have been getting up to the past few weeks. Since having the baby and my time recovering we have been trying to take things slow and enjoy all the simple pleasures such as the changes of the season, good food and min family adventures. 1. Indulging in some Easter egg crafting 2. The two boys having fun 3. Treated myself to "The Art of Eating Well" by Hemsley Hemsley 4. Daffodils always mean spring to me...I love having flowers in the home 5. My favourite breakfast smoothie - Banana and Oat 6. Cherry blossoms in Roath Park 7. Brotherly love 8. Homemade veggie soup for the soul 9. This little guy is growing fast ...

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Instalife

So it's been a pretty busy past few weeks, with the date for the new arrival fast approaching it's also been a pretty exciting time for all of us, plus trying to get organised and on top of things before our life changes forever (again). I thought I would put together a few instagram pics of things that have been making us happy over the past two weeks 1. Kale, beans and egg salad - so simple and so good 2. Looking back at some of the amazing travels we had in 2014 - the two boys on the Left bank Paris 3. A beautiful morning spent in Tenby, West Wales 4. Falling in love with Almond butter 5. Exploring the Welsh coastline 6. Enjoying some yummy breakfast at Premier in on our recent mini break to Tenby 7. A beautiful sunset on a chilly winter evening 8. Me at 38 weeks pregnant 9. Comforting porridge with seeds and cranberries - great way to start the day What have you been getting up to this week? ...

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Not all dogs are the same...

I love this custom dog seat in the home of the owners of Bone & Rag More and more dogs are being put into rescue shelters due to their owners deciding they no longer want them. As a result, dog lovers are being urged to adopt a rescue dog – rescue dogs are the perfect addition to any family. In fact this is a view shared by the infamous ‘most unwanted dog’ owners of Jed who has finally been adopted by a loving family and is thriving. Jed who has appeared on our TV screens over the past few months pleading for a new owner after 17,000 rejections has finally been taken in by a loving couple; but there are still more dogs out there. Choosing to adopt a rescue dog is the perfect solution for five main reasons: Give them a chance of happiness By adopting a rescue dog from shelters such as the RSPCA will give you the opportunity to allow that dog a chance at happiness in a loving family. All dogs want to be loved and cared for – and rescue dogs are no different. Animal shelt......

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Making Memories 2/52

So as some of you may know I am participating in the 52 memories challenge with The Mumdrum which encourages people to take photos and make at least one visual memory a week. Now this photo above is certainly not the best quality wise but was taken on one of our wintery outdoor adventures and it was such a simple but wonderful day that it felt natural to capture that moment. I took the little man down our local cycle path with Sam the dog, we jumped in puddles and kicked up leaves and was a wonderful way to let off some steam it had been raining on and off during the week so having a fairly dry day was blissful even though it was only 5 degrees. Here is to lots more memories this year....

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2014 a Year full of travels, interiors and good times

I don't know about you but our 2014 was pretty action packed, filled of ups and downs (mainly ups) including some amazing adventures including a City Break to Brussels, exploring Paris and the French Riviera, flying off to Amsterdam, glamping it up at Beyond the Border festival and camping with friends in West Wales among other various mini trips. We also enjoyed many a muddy day exploring the countryside, learning news things, making dens and climbing trees. We baked various "healthier" muffins and cakes with varying results and we all turned a little bit older, John hit 35, I celebrated my 30th and Mr A turned 4. We found out that we were going to be expecting our second little one, on top of trying to finish redecorating and renovating our home. It seems like it's been non-stop but this year we have all agreed to have a level of slowing down while still enjoying life, as I think the chaos and excitement is part of the journey and enjoyment that makes up the tap......

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