guilt over every moment.

Hey readers, 

 I have a kind of confession to make and that is when someone says, time goes fast embrace every moment of your child or similar times of things. 

But the whole idea was that I should embrace that moment. Maybe I find it difficult because I am autistic and I take every word literally. I feel stressed or guilty because I don't embrace every moment.

 I might be selfish may be preoccupied. I just feel suffocated with this feeling of trying to encapsulate and treasure every moment.

 This is the side of social media that I found not helpful for parents and truth be told adds more pressure/guilt. It really can drag your mood right down and feel not good enough.

 I bet if I weren't around in the social media time it would be a lot less stressful and less pressure to be perfect and enjoy every moment of my child. 

 The thing is life gets in the way, and sometimes I really can't wait for my kids to go to bed, does this make me a bad mother? Of course, I love my children dearly but life isn't always peachy.

 I just get so bogged down with the guilt about not enjoying every moment or not fully occupying my time with my child. 

But when I reflect I don't miss it. I don't miss the times I had. There are fun times, sad times, anxious times. 

It is an experience and something I am glad that I have experienced but would I seriously want to encapsulate that if I had the magic powers to make time stop? 

Honestly no I wouldn't. I am trying to let go of the guilt, I make mistakes and coming to terms with that and accept I am only human. 

I can't stop time or my children growing up that is just the nature of the beast. I do weirdly actually like seeing the change and growth in my child's development. 

Seeing them grow and become their own person in their own right. 

 Motherhood is tiring and challenging and all the other emotions are attached to it. 

I am trying not to be hard on myself and just take each day as it comes. 

As long as my children are happy, healthy, and achieving the best they can that is the goal for me. I need to accept my best is enough. 

 Cheers for reading X

reasons to love summer!

Hey readers,

It won't be long now till summertime so let's get celebrating this hot season. Here are my reasons why I love summer.

Washing.

As a parent, nothing excites me more than to put out the washing on the line, to have that fresh feel when you bring it down. 

Nothing gets me more excited than getting four loads of washing washed, hung, got down, and put away in a day - that my friends are some achievement. 

 Not to mention the buzz you get of feeling all domesticated and winning at life.

Al Fresco.

Eating outdoors is ace when you have children because you can leave all the crumbs behind and don't have to hoover. 

It is fresh air and being around nature is no better place to be when eating. I found having picnics less stressful than eating at home, maybe kids too and they seem much more relaxed with this option to the alternative eating at a table.

Outdoors.

With the above point about picnics, this can be incorporated with going outside, as I have young children it tends to be the park, which that it was my children every really wants to be honest. 

They can burn off steam while I can get a moment to read some of my books, it is a winner and everyone is happy. 

It is also a cheap day out, the kids get sleepy and everyone is happy to come home and chill out. Going outside mess less bickering and the boys get on better without each other wanting to pull each other hair out.

Schools out.

During the summer period of late July and August, the boys have broken up from school and nursery.

It feels much more relaxed because there is an unstructured schedule but that sense of urgency to do homework or get out of the door early in the morning. 

It allows my eldest to be a bit calm as he hasn't got the added anxiety of spelling tests (this might not affect every child, however, my eldest is autistic and performance activities affect him greatly).

 If we have a day out somewhere on a Sunday or during the week we can take our time without having the thoughts in the back of the mind that we need to get home so the boys don't get tired the next day for school.

Holiday away from home.

Of course, holidays tend now to occur during the summer holiday as it is the best time to break up the six weeks of summer holidays. 

Getting away from it all, exploring new surroundings, and taking trips to the beach all makeup create memories for the family.

Food.

Summer normally means warmer weather, therefore the choices swing to lighter meals and anything that is cool to help get through the heat.

 I spend a fair amount of money stocking up on the ice creams and lollies, of course, a magnum or tip top are signs that summer has officially arrived.

What do you enjoy about summer?

Cheers for reading X

quirky kitchen gadgets that are useful.

Hey readers,

I will confess I love something novelty but even better when it actually really does a good job at doing the job, result. Here are some ideas that have been proven to be fun and work amazingly well as well. 

1. Warming butter knife - Trouva.

Is this warming butter knife the dream, there is nothing more frustrated than trying to cut butter from the fridge and it is rock hard. The knife is self-heated with a heated edge designed to curl up and soften cold butter. 

2. An egg timer - Car & Kitchen.

I actually have an egg timer and it is a useful item to have in the kitchen. Basically, the idea is you put the egg timer in the water with the eggs and you cook your egg according to how you like your eggs.

 The egg timer has three markers soft, medium, and hard and you wait until the egg timer changed from its original colour to white when it hits the marker you take the eggs of the pan. I can confirm it works a treat!

3. Claw-shaped meat shredder - Shein.

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This is a fab accessory, the shredders fit into the hand making it study to shred your meat, useful especially during the summer if you are having a bbq. 

3. Jumbo cutlery drainer - Red Candy.

This is a funky little holder called the jumbo cutlery drainer. Not only could you hold your cutlery but you could also use it to hold your toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom. I like the fun design to add character to make you smile. 

4. Vegetable spiraliser - Amazon.

To add quirkiness to your dinner you need a veggie spiraliser, the hand one is good because it is less faff. You can make carrot or courgette noodles, for example, it is a healthier alternative. It is also small and easy to store don't need to use any electric power and can all be done by hand. 

 5. Prawn shell remover- Shein.

This is a nifty little gadget where you can de-shell your prawn in on go. It is so easy, convenient, and saves a lot of time. 

6. Never soggy cereal bowl - Obol.

This is such a brilliant idea if you hate getting your cereal soggy this bowl is a must. It is designed so that the cereal is separate from the milk. Then you can take your time and still enjoy your cereal firm with the sogginess that you get quite quickly with cereal. 

7. Corn on the cob stripper - Amazon.

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This is a practical solution to stripping the corn off the cob in one great big pull. Makes life so much easier if you want to lose corn fast. 

8. Multi-purpose kitchen shears - Kitchen Knives.

I love using kitchen scissors and one of the most overused items in my kitchen if I am honest. The above pair not only scissors but in the middle have a nut opener and a at the bottom end of the scissors has a bottle top opener, perfect pair there. 

What do you think about the items on the list? Are there any that you have already? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X

My Sunday Photo 25/04/2021

peppermint creme recipe

Hey readers,

A perfect treat to do in the kitchen is these peppermint creme treats. Easy to do and kid-friendly as well.  

Things you will need.

250g of icing sugar.

1 egg white.

Few drops of peppermint essence.

100g Dark chocolate.

Method.

1. Sieve the icing sugar in a bowl. add a little of the egg white and a few drops of the peppermint essence and mix really well. 

2. You will need to get the mixture into a soft dough, then keep adding little bits of the egg white until this happens. 

3. Add the peppermint essence try it every couple of drops so you get the strength of the peppermint right for your tastes. 

4. Break up the dough into small balls of dough then flatten them out with a disc of something, we used the bottom of a cup to flatten evenly. 

5. Put baking parchment onto a tray and space out the discs.

6. Next break up the chocolate into the bowl and place it into a microwave for intervals of 30 seconds and stir each time before placing back in the microwave. The chocolate needs to be melted thoroughly. 

7. Leave the chocolate out on the side for 5-10 minutes to enable it to cool down. 

8. Once the chocolate is cooled down, one by one get each disc and dip them into the chocolate so that they are half coated. 

9. Once all the discs have been covered you will need to leave them for 3-4 hours or overnight so that the mixture is set. 

Cheers for reading X

Auntie Anne's Too Good To Go Review

Hey readers,

I like to save money where I can and one thing I spotted recently was people talking about an app called Too Good To Go. 

So, I downloaded and bought my first magic bag the other day and in this post, I am going to review the app Too Good To Go and tell you all about it. 

What is the Too Good To Go app?

It is an app where restaurants and food places can instead of chucking out food at the end of the day bag that food called a magic bag which is available on the app at a reduced price.

 Therefore this cuts down food waste and also gives another a bargain of an item at a reduced price, so both the buyer and the seller are getting out of it. 

On the app, you can select between a 10m - 30m radius of places to check if the bags are available in the area. 

The prices vary depending on the shop and what the content is. 

The places for example that participate in this scheme are Greggs, Morrisons, |Spar, Auntie Anne's, Costa, Sainsbury's and some local places too. 

You do need to be quick,  I got my Auntie Anne's bag the day before. They do have a certain amount of bags so it will be on a first come first serve basis. 

Every day there are new goodie bags to purchase so always good to check the app frequently.

To pay for the magic bag you can use your card details, Google Pay, and PayPal. You can pay straight away. 

Once you have made payment there is a window of 2 hours where you can cancel the payment if you change your mind.

When the payment is made you will get an email of confirmation.

On the app, you will have an order number saved under your orders. 

When you go to collect your goodie bag you can show a staff member as proof it is a goodie bag you have purchased.

If you regularly use the app you can save your favourite places by hitting the heart button on the box where the place is that you like. 

The next time you open up the app you can quickly get to view your favourite places and what they have available. 

Auntie Anne's magic bag.

 Like I said earlier I placed an order the day before (4pm) and I needed to collect the order the day after between 2.00 pm - 2.30 pm.

 It will say on the app the time to pick up your magic bag as it is different each time. 

So, the cost of Auntie Anne's goodie bag was £3.59 and it does on the app what the equivalent amount of food you get for that in the original cost.

 So, my bag should come to normally about £10.00.  

As you can see I have a saving of £6.41 because I am buying food that is on a date but sadly it would end up in the bin because it is best before as the food is fine to eat but won't be at its best. 

Also, remember to make sure that you are on time. 

I just went to the serving desk and said I wanted to pick up a too-good-to-go magic bag showed the confirmation order and she gave me the bag. 

No problems waiting around and the food was formed when I collected so still fresh and on a date.

Of course, the thing about magic bags is you won't know what is in them until you get the bag because it will depend on the day and what food is left over.

In my bag, I got three big cinnamon pretzels from Auntie Anne's and the original prize is £4.40 for 1 cinnamon pretzel and I got three which I think is a good saving. 

They taste really good, fresh and I can't complain. 

I will be trying out different places to see what they are like but overall can't fault the app and think it is a really good idea to save money and food waste.

Cheers for reading X

Why it's good to cry

Hey readers,

I really struggle with my emotions at the best of times but there is one thing that I always find helpful when dealing with my emotions and that is to cry.

Before, I used to hate crying, as I felt so weak and a useless lump. However, my mindset has shifted as I got older and I came to the firm conclusion that I do enjoy a good old cry. 

It might not come to any solutions on how to deal with the problem but the feeling of when you cry feels like a cleaning of my motions, which I think is good for me mentally.

A lot of the time when I cry it occurs when I have had a build-up of all the frustration and believe me and I get frustrated A LOT. 

I am autistic and struggle with seeing the world in a non-autistic way,  therefore I feel at times really angry and sad. 

That is why it is also important for me to find an outlet to get the feelings out in the open so they don't get so overwhelming and interfere with my life too much.

Therefore, I appreciate it when I cry, it is my body and mind telling me to let go, just let it all out and to me, it feels like all the tension floating away. 

The after-the feeling of crying is what I enjoy the most, that transition where I can think clearer. I might not have any power to sort out a problem, nevertheless, it helps make me think a bit more logically.

I see crying as a healthy way to manage my emotional response to a problem. we all cry whether we admit to it or not. 

We should celebrate crying more and view crying as a natural reaction to situations when we feel sad.

Research has highlighted that crying actually has a chemical response in the fact that we reduce our manganese levels.

 It has been found that when we cry the mineral manganese affects our mood and it is 30 times greater concentration in tears than in the blood serum.

Crying gives us more control as we are actually physically doing something to help ease the pain, acknowledging the feelings and in a sense has been a way to helps humans survive in life.

What are your views on crying? Love it or hate it? Look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X