5 trick or treat safety tips

 Hey readers, 

Trick or treat night is on the 31st of October and your child may want to engage in this fun Halloween activity. So this might be important information on how to keep safe during the fun celebration. What are my safety tips you ask well check them out down below? 

1. Accomy your child. 

Obviously, little ones will be with a guardian but older children may want to go alone but it might better be depending on the area and time to accompany your child under the age of 12.

 Therefore giving you the reassurance of knowing your child is safe especially when it gets dark and late.

 Another great tip is to pin a piece of paper on the back of your child's costume with your name, address, and the number just in case.

2. Set ground rules.

Make sure rules are said at the start of the evening so everyone is clear on the dos and don't of the night. 

 Highlight making sure that the child should stay with the group they are with. Plan a familiar route so your child is familiar and set a time with your child as to when it will end. 

Make sure that the child is aware to stay on the pavement and hold hands. When crossing the road make sure you check before walking into the road is clear to cross.

 It is best to only approach houses that are well lit. It is important the child knows that they should not go into someone's house or car for a treat. 

Make sure you check for cars before walking on the drive of someone's home. Be careful when approaching a drive with a car to make sure that it is not running, make sure to walk slowly. Make sure you have a torse so that if the driver is in the car they can see you in the dark night. 

3. Brightness. 

It is important to wear bright coloured clothing or put reflective tape onto the costume so that people can see you especially when it is dark at night you need to be able to see the child. Or other items such as hi-vi jackets, glow stick necklaces that kind of thing. 

4. Sweets.

Always check the sweets before letting your child eat them. Chuck away sweets that are damaged whether a sweet is opened or has a hole in them.

 Only accept sweets and chocolate if they are fully wrapped. Don't accept any homemade sweets if they are not made by someone you know. If you have young children don't give them gum or hard sweets as there may be the potential of choking. 

5.  Face paint.

Use face paint instead of a mask and make sure you use non-toxic face paint so no risk of causing a reaction.  

Using face paint is safer and less obstructive with their view. Also face paint helps reduce the risk of them having distractions because of the mask falling or any falls because they are preoccupied with adjusting the mask to fit on the face. 

What are your safety tips when going trick or treating? Have I missed anything off the list? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X 

5 ways to use up leftover pumpkin.

Hey readers, 

Many people this month with be carving a pumpkin for Halloween but you may be one of those people wondering what to do with the leftovers. 

Here are five ways you can use up a pumpkin and reduce the waste that happens after Halloween. 

1. Feed the birds. 

A great way to use a pumpkin is to make a bird feeder.

 All you need to do is clean out the pumpkin. 

If the craving is a bit wonky on the pumpkin cut that out and make it into a bowl shape. 

Poke a dowel into the pumpkin a few inches down from the top edge you just cut.

 Push it straight out through the opposite side of the pumpkin. 

Poke the second dowel through the pumpkin so it crosses just under the first dowel. 

Cut the twine into four equal lengths.

 Tie a strand to each dowel. 

Then tie the loose ends together in a large knot at the top.

 Fill the pumpkin with birdseed, and then hang it up for the birds to get out. 

2. Pumpkin Pie. 

A classic recipe is, of course, the humble pumpkin pie that will be a hit for the sweet tooth people out there. 

Here is a brilliant recipe from BBC Good Food that keeps it simple and a classic formula to follow which makes the perfect sweet treat during October and November.

3. Pumpkin compost.

You can use pumpkin on the compost.

 If you don't have a compost pile already then find a dark and shady spot in your garden to place your hollowed-out pumpkin. 

Smash up the pumpkin with a hammer as breaking the pumpkin up into smaller pieces helps speed up the process of compost. 

Loosely place some materials such as leaves, sawdust, or wood chippings over the pumpkin. 

This will help protect the pumpkin from pests and insects whilst airing it out.

Finally, let mother nature take her course and take a few weeks for the pumpkin to turn into nutrient-rich compost for the garden. 

Then you can spread it on the plants for a winter treat. 

4. Plant it. 

An alternative way to use up the leftover pumpkin is to plant with it succulents and a great way to use as autumnal decoration for the home. 

All you need to do is clean out the pumpkin and dry it off. Then fill up the pumpkin with soil and place succulents into the pumpkin, such a fun and clever way to use a pumpkin. Below is a fun example of how to do it from Succulents and Sunshine. 

5. Arty.

If you have children then using the leftover pumpkin as a material to use to make art with them. 

While it’s still firm, you can use the inside flesh to make a stamp for children to take pictures with, using the seeds to add to the patterns.

What kind of things do you like to do with a leftover pumpkin? I love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X 

My Sunday Photo 03/10/2021

 

31 cosy autumn activities - October bucket list.

 Hey readers, 

It is officially autumn and I thought as October is on the horizon a put together a list of some cosy activities you can do by yourself, with your partner or family. 

1. Locate knitwear.

2. Warm up with a fire in the garden.

3. Burn candles and gives a cosy feel especially when you turn down the lights.

 

4. Pick a pumpkin at a pumpkin farm. 

5. Make a pie such as an apple pie, pumpkin pie, rhubarb pie. 

6. Go trick or treating with your kids.

7. Go stargazing now that the nights are getting darker. 

8. Make some toffee apples. 

9. Watch a film with a blanket. 

10. Make hot chocolate. 

11. Go for a walk and kick the leaves. 

12. Swap over your clothes for warmer items such as long-sleeved tops, jumpers, and heavier coats.

 

13. Go for a walk through the woods check out local woodlands close to you here.

14. Make some soup. 

15. Make some cider. 

16. Go on a bike ride. 

17. Do something crafty with pinecones. 

18. Go apple picking.

19. Go puddle splashing. 

20. Make plans for winter.

21. Carve a pumpkin. 

22. Go for afternoon tea. 

23. Make an autumn wreath for your front door. 

24. Take some seasonal photos of the family outdoors. 

25. Plan a Halloween party.

26. Go conker picking.

27. Fly a kite on a windy day.

28. Toast marshmallows on a fire.

29. Go to a fright night. 

30. Decorate your home for Halloween. 

31. Go to the autumn fair.

What do you think about my list? Anything that caught your eye? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X

Floating hand punch for Halloween recipe

Hey readers, 

Looking for a show stopper for Halloween then you need to make these floating hand punch.

 What you will need. 

*  2 plastic latex gloves. 

  

*  Fruit punch.

*  Raspberries.

*  Small tray. 

How to make the floating hands. 

1. Turn the gloved inside out and wash with hot water to get rid of the powder residue. 

2. Fill the rubber gloves with water and then tip them at the top. 

3. Place inside the freezer making sure that fingers rest on something so they won't bend or get broken off. 

4. Make sure that there are no gaps of air between the fingers and palm as fingers won't be attached. 

5. It could take a few hours so might be best to leave overnight so the hand becomes solid in ice. 

6. Get a small tray pour in some fruit punch, fill, it up high, and then put in some raspberries. 

7.  Once the hand is frozen solid cut away the glove carefully with scissors and remove it away from the ice hand. 

8. Place the hands in the tray and there you have a creepy ice hand perfect for the Halloween celebrations. 

Happy Halloween.

Cheers for reading X

My Sunday photo 26/09/2021

10 non-carving decorative ideas for your pumpkin!

Hey readers,

Looking for simple and effective pumpkin decorating ideas without carving then look no further as I have 10 ideas to get you feeling creative. 

  

1. Black. 

A cute idea from Lovely Indeed with small pumpkins is to paint black and write words such as boo, or even someone's name to give a personal touch. What is even better is you don't have to carve the pumpkin so super easy to do at home.

2. Confetti. 

Check out these confetti pumpkins by Mod Podge Rocks which are perfect for a Halloween party decoration perfect for children, no glue gun and uses modge podge which is suitable to use with children.

3. Mummy.

A simple but this idea looks really good are these mummy pumpkins. All you need is a cheesecloth, a glue gun, and googly eyes. Check out Mother's Niche who tells you step by step how to make this masterpiece. 

4. Dotty.

Go dotty with this pumpkin and all you need is a black sharpie and draw dots all over the pumpkin. 

5. Flirty.

This next idea comes from Hadley Court with this flirty pumpkin. You need to draw some eyelashes with a sharpie pen and spray paint the stork with glittery silver paint and there you have a fun pumpkin on your hands. 

6. Witch.

Inspired by The Craft Patch with this spooktacular idea with simply getting the old black sharpie out draw eyes and put a witch hat on, boom no stress!

7. Eyes on you. 

A very straightforward idea you paint the pumpkin black, then get different shaped googly eyes and glue them onto the pumpkin and you have this spooky pumpkin. 

8.  White.

Idea from Oopsey Daisy Blog where you either buy a white pumpkin or spray paint the pumpkin white. Then buy a spider jewel sticker and place it on the pumpkin. Next, you will need some black jewels you can stick on above the spider to indicate it's a trail.

9. Jack Skellington. 

Spray paint the pumpkin white and then paint the stork black. Next, get the trusted black sharpie pen and drawn the big circles for the eyes, little ones for the nose, and then copy the mouth. There you have your own Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas. 

10. Gold. 

A simple but effective one is to spray paint your pumpkin with gold spray paint and looks really effective I think. 

Do you like my list of non- carving pumpkin decoration ideas? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X

The best kids activities to do this Halloween.

Hey readers,

I have scrolled the internet to find my favorite Halloween activities that can inspire you this Halloween.

Halloween Slime. 

The first port of call has to be slime, I mean what child doesn't like slime. 

But this is special slime because not only is it slime but it is Halloween slime making it much spookier. 

This will keep your little darlings entertained for aggggggeees. Also, before I forget this Halloween slime recipe has 3 easy ingredients which means we are winning. 

Thanks go to the brilliant The Best Ideas For Kids for an amazing recipe so go check out their Halloween slime.

Halloween Scanavager Hunt. 

A fun-filled activity to do is Halloween themed scavenger hunt where you find Halloween-themed items on a list and tick them a pumpkin. 

Kids love being active so this is one that will be a big hit. 

There are so many free printable ones but I particularly like this one as it is not too complicated and is lots of fun from Growing Healthy Kids.

Apple Bobbing.

Of course, a classic game that is still ever popular to this day is apple bobbing. 

What you have to do is get some apples and put them in a washing-up bowl full of water. The object is to get the apple out of the bowl with your mouth and not use your hands. 

Frozen Statues.

There are plenty of playlists on Spotify or Youtube or you could have your own cd of Halloween hits to hand.

 To play the frozen statue game kids have to dance to the music but when the music stops everyone has to stay statue-still.

 The first person who moves is out. Carry on with the format until the final person who stays statue still wins. 

Halloween Tic Tac Toe. 

The classic game of tic tac toe is to get three pieces in a line diagonal, straight, or across wins.

 This Halloween they come with a twist as you paint stones monsters (green), ghosts (white), or devils (red) and use orange washy tape on the floor as your markers for the game. 

You can check out the amazing smashedpeasandcarrots who explains and does a brilliant job to learn more. 

Trick or Treating. 

One of the most popular children's Halloween activities is to dress up in a scary outfit and knock on neighbours doors saying trick or treat.

 Then the neighbour will either hands out treats or asks for a dare (much more likely the dare occurs these days mind).  

It is just a fun way of engaging with the community and people dress up the homes to make them spooky. 

Pumpkin Carving.

A lot of people buy pumpkins from a pumpkin patch or their local supermarket.

 Then they gut out the insides of their pumpkin and carve the pumpkin to look fun or scary.

I also have a post called 5 ways to use up leftover pumpkin may be of use if you are not sure what to do with leftover pumpkin.

 There are many free resources online to help you feel inspired such as the one below taken from loads of Halloween stencils curiosity of Pumpkin Lady.

What is your favourite kid's Halloween activity? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X 

Aspie burnout.

Hey readers,

As someone with autism, I have many a time experienced a phenomenon called burnout.

What does autistic burnout mean? 

To put it simply an autistic burnout is when you are exhausted mentally, physically, or emotionally (sometimes all of it sometimes some of these elements). 

It comes about as an autistic person you are making much more effort to navigate in a neotropical world, sometimes you have to put more focus on trying to get thinks correct and that takes a lot of energy out of you.

 Over time it climates vary decries but there are times when your body and mind need a rest because it gets too much and you simply need a break from constantly second-guessing, remembering how to behave in certain situations that don't come naturally to you.

 Autistic people (myself included) are very good at masking i.e faking it as most things don't come naturally to the autistic person they just learn A LOT.  This like I said is very exhausting work. 

 That is how I feel today, I am shattered beyond belief even after six coffees (that is correct) just this morning.

I think because I am more involved socially with taking my both boys to school. It involves going into two different environments and trying to remember all the social rules when dropping my children off. 

Then again collecting them is very tiring for me socially. I feel so guilty as I am getting worn out from it all and I just want to shut down and not think about anything but rest. 

I can handle about three hours max at the moment going out and then I am exhausted. I find it hard to focus on conversation, eye contact, dealing with social situations where I don't automatically know what to do. I get very dizzy and lightheaded. 

Particularly yesterday I went to a new place and got overstimulated. It causes friction between me and my partner. He wants to know why, why, why and all I really wish to do is scream or hide wide which I can not do either, doh being an adult sucks!

My eyes find it hard to focus after intense periods of time out where I am constantly working and focusing all my energy on being 'normal '. People don't know when they see me. 

I am constantly consciously aware of my environment and what I am doing. My body aches from all the tension as I am hyper-alert that I should be playing out this role of mother. Not to mention if a child accidentally touches me, it freaks me out inside. God, I feel so lonely and sad.

Today I hate being autistic and when your husband hints that your child may be autistic. As the older, he is getting the more traits there are that could be hinting towards Autism. God, I don't want my children to have Autism. 

OK, there are some positive autistic traits such as we pay attention to detail, loyal, and intelligence but it all comes with a price. I'm scared as sometimes I look at my oldest and he is so like me. I wish it was just him mimicking my behavior.

Cheers for reading X

My Sunday photo 19/09/2021

Husband found some gremlins in the back of the boot 😂 

My Spooktacular Wishlist for Halloween 2021!

 Hey readers,

It is nearly time for the spooky season so thought I would devise my Halloween wishlist for 2021 of things that want for Halloween, check it out below. 

1. Halloween mug.

How cute are these Halloween mugs from Poundland and even better still they only cost £1, what an absolute bargain! There are two varieties one is the orange pumpkin-shaped mug and the other is a black cup with gold stars and moon on it.

2. Socks.

How cute are these bat socks from Shein

for £1.50. They are so cute with bats and the orange and yellow section make them a spectral delight. 

3. Pumpkin ornaments. 

These pumpkin ornaments are not your normal variety but black which is quite nice for something a bit different. One pumpkin is fully black, the other is black and white stripes and the final one is white with black spots. They come as a pack of 3 from Next for £10.

4. Horror bath bombs. 

If you are into your horror films and like bath bombs this is perfect and for £2.29 from Etsy I think is good. It comes with a selection of four bath bombs with one nun, clone, ouija, and skull. Something a bit novelty to have in the bath. 

5. Sign. 

I liked this when I first saw it made me laugh and that would be fun to hang on a wall for Halloween. It comes from Gothic Gifts

 for £3.95.

6. Candles. 

There is something sinister about candles that weep out the wax down the candles. Amazon has these candles called vampire tears candles that black taper candles that 'bleed' when lit. These cost £7.43 from Amazon. 

7. Skull wreath. 

A great way to decorate your door for Halloween is with a wreath and it is perfect because you can't have Halloween with good old skulls. This wreath came from Halloween Costumes for £17.99.

8. T-shirt. 

Perfect for a Halloween party is this black t-shirt with red lips and words saying boo at the front. Comes from Next and cost £18.00. 

9. Pumpkin string lights.

As the nights get darker these cute Halloween pumpkin string led lights will create a cosy flow to your room. They come from Lights 4 Fun for £6.99.

10. Gonk. 

How cute is this Halloween gonk with a body, it is small but it is fun to have on your shelving for the Halloween vibes. It comes from Fab Finds for £3.99.

What do you think of my Halloween wish list for 2021? Anything that catches your eye? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X

How to deal with chickenpox.

Hey readers,

In this post, I am going to be talking about how to deal with chickenpox in a child. This may be useful if you have never experienced chickenpox before and want to know how to treat the infection. 

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a common infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Chickenpox is common and is mostly affects children, although it is catchable at any age.

  Chickenpox is highly contagious and causes an itchy spotty red rash and blisters.  Other symptoms are fever, headache, and loss of appetite. 

It normally gets better on its own within a week. After classic symptoms occur (headache, temperature, loss of appetite) the rash will occur.

3 stages of chickenpox.

1. Red or pink bumps develop over the body.

2. The bumps become blisters filled with fluid that leaks. 

3. The bumps become crusty, scab over, and begin to heal. 

As chickenpox is contagious and literally can catch chickenpox in the same room you will need to stay away from school, nursery, or work for 5 days after the spots appear.    

Stay away from pregnant women, newborn babies and people with a weakened immune system as this can cause serious problems being around people with chickenpox. 

When to speak to a doctor. 

If you are unsure if your child has chickenpox.

Your child is dehydrated.

If you feel worried that the situation is getting worse for the child. 

How to treat chickenpox. 

Drink plenty of fluids so that the person does not get dehydrated. Try things like lollies as well can also increase fluid levels and help fight the infection. 

Wear comfortable clothing that is not too many layers so that it the not cold or overheated. Cotton clothing is suitable as is cool and breathable material for the skin. 

Painkillers such as child's medication in liquid form are perfect as it helps bring down the temperature of the child, it does not cure the fever element but it just makes it more comfortable for the child. 

It isn't a good idea to use a fan as it provides too much cool air. Instead, have a window open to allow gentle airflow through the room. 

Keep fingernails short to stop the child from scratching their skin. 

Calamine lotion is good to use to help soothe the itching of the skin. 

You can also speak to your pharmacist about an antihistamine medicine to help with itching which is good to take at night when the child is struggling to sleep with the itchy skin. Alternatively putting socks on the child's hands at night can help stop the child from itching.

Please do not give ibuprofen to the child as this could potentially cause serious skin infections. Also if a child is under the age of 16 years age then they are not allowed to take aspirin. 

Take regular cool baths and pat the skin dry but do not rub as this can irritate the skin. 

Cheers for reading X