My Sunday photo 7/7/2019

Hot

Hey readers,

My word of the week is:

I will be honest I am not a fan of humid weather and was it hot on Saturday. We did go for a walk, 

 and park in the heat so spend a lot of it hiding in the shade 😂

I much prefer the cooler breeze that came on Sunday.

I helped my son do his homework and it was about when he had a day at school called special values day.

He needed to write about that day. He said his favourite part of it was stroking the dog as it felt like a silk throw on him, which I just loved that description and wanted to share it in this post.

We had a meeting with the psychologist about ds1 and low and behold they said there are some things but not enough to take action. To be honest, didn't expect much cause let's be frank now as school has a tight budgetx and my son doesn't display overt behaviour at school.

My youngest went on a another school trip this week. I swear he goes on so many and has another one lined up next week. He is happy though as he got to play at a play village where it all pretends to play.

Hope you have had a good week.

Cheers for reading X

How to help a child read.

Hey readers,

My youngest has started to read and bring books home. So, it inspired me to write some tips that have helped my eldest and youngest to read.

Read at home.

I think the most important thing to do when it comes to encouraging your child to read is to just simply read to your child and get them involved with listening to the story. This is a great way to get your child familiar with books, it is also a great way to bond. Reading books at bedtime is important to incorporate as it is relaxing and can help get your child to sleep. When reading to your child or getting them to read to you dot pressure them too hard, make it light and fun - they are more likely to want to do it.

Talk to your child.

My second tip to help get your child to read is to talk to your child about the book and let them tell you what the story is about, you could ask about their opinion of the book.

Wordless books.

Wordless books are a great tool to help with introducing reading to your child, they can talk about what is happening on the pages and it helps familiarise with reading.

Think positive and encourage praise.

I know it can be frustrating when you want to do something and want to get your child to meet the expectations. But don't worry, think positive that they will learn but don't aim for them to do such and such with regards to reading at such a certain time. It is important to be laid back, encourage praise because children can sense the negativity especially when you are short tempered. If it is relaxed they are more likely to enjoy reading and want to do it all by themselves.

Be interested in what they are reading.

When listening to your child take an interest in what they are reading, encourage them by asking questions and how they feel or rate the book.

Library.

From a young age, you can take your child to the library and get them interested in books. There are free music and story time books allowing them to have fun and it is something free to do with your little one. Also, during the summer there is the reading challenge where you read x amount of books and receive stickers, activities at the end of a certificate and medal. A great encouragement to read. Another thing to do at the library is to let your child pick out books that interest them, it is free to borrow them. There is a wide selection of books, fiction, and non-fiction.

Space.

When your child is reading to you before jumping I and helping them (which is all too easy as I am guilty of this one) allow them the space to try themselves to break down the word and say it. Sometimes the best way to learn is through practicing yourself and getting familiar with words.

What things have you learned to help your child to read? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. 

Cheers for reading X

Cafe Rouge Groupon review.

Hey readers,

The other day I treated my husband to a meal out to Cafe Rouge in Coventry. If you haven't heard of Cafe Rouge it is a chain of French bistro and they have 70 restaurants in the UK. 

 

I also need to mention that I love a good old bargain so took the chance and brought a 3-course meal for two from Groupon for £23.00 which saved me 60% of my meal, yes, please! 

**Just to be clear this is not an AD, I just love a bargain and thought people might find this helpful.**

The menu includes:

Starters: French onion soup | garlic mushrooms | pea and mint tortelloni | breaded whitebait | breaded camembert.

Mains: poulet Breton | Moules marinière | steak and frites | duck confit | Leffe beer battered fish | summer salad with chicken | Croque Monsieur | pea and asparagus risotto | boeuf bourguignon | omelette | chargrilled chicken burger | black Angus burger.

Desserts: beignets | chocolate tarte | crème brûlée | tarte au citron | ice cream.

Also, note that you have a link after purchasing the coupon from Groupon that directs you to the Cafe Rouge website. It is important for you to book the table with a time that suits you.

Review of the restaurant. 

We arrived at Cafe Rouge at 12.30 on a Monday so luckily fairly quiet. We were quickly greeted by a member of staff who told us to chose any table we wanted, we went for the table near the window as we are nosey, like people watching hehe. 

We were asked for drinks - now here are the catch drinks aren't included. However, we ordered anyway as I was parched. Hubby ordered a flat white coffee and me a standard diet coke.

Hubby thought the coffee was really good quality and had lovely art decoration on top. 

Next, we ordered food and started with our start. I ordered garlic mushrooms on sour toast whilst my husband ordered breaded whitebait (which game with mayonnaise to dunk the fish in). 

 

We didn't have to wait for ages (though I don't mind as we didn't have kids so we could actually have an adult conversation).

The food tasted fresh and really good flavours.

The waitress cleared our plates and was super friendly and helpful. She then took got our next meal the main. 

I had a black Angus burger with fries whilst hubby had muscles and fries. Oh, my word people, myself and hubby assumed he would get a small dish of muscles however it was a massive dish of muscles (as you can tell from the photo below). 

 

Again, the food was fresh, though I didn't like the smokey flavour fo the burger, that is just my taste. One downfall with the fries is they did taste a bit undercooked for my liking as I like the centre of a chip soft fluffy. But can't really fault it because of the meal.

Soon the waitress took the plates away which we didn't have to ages like some places. We then asked for the dessert menu and I chose the chocolate tarte whilst husband picked the crème brûlée.

My chocolate tarte was beautiful, dark not too sweet and the cherry morello coulis really complimented the chocolate flavour. 

Husband really liked his crème brûlée though cold (but this might the norm in France) but he really enjoyed the taste and texture. He was a bit sad that it didn't crack when breaking the top.

The waitress got our receipt and we paid the extras for our meal. 

Overall, cant thought it and a fab deal via Groupon. Staff were friendly, polite and did a really good job of service. 

The place its self was clean, the staff kept on top of the tables so there weren't leftover plates from previous customers. The ambience was relaxed, the music was chilled and overall an excellent experience. 

Would I recommend getting a Groupon voucher? yes, I would but the only thing I would highlight is to make sure you clear in what you're getting and be mindful that drinks aren't included in the menu.

Cheers for reading X 

My Sunday photo 30/06/2019

Assortment

Hey readers, 

My word of the week is:

This week has been very much a mixed bag of emotions. I have had some good and some hard times. I treated my hubby to a meal at Cafe Rouge on Monday whilst the kids were at school. Which was lovely, as it was more relaxed and we could actually talk. 

My eldest this week moved up to stage 7 which I am really proud because some of the stuff with coordination is really difficult.  

Both my boys did really well on Friday with sports day and my youngest got first in the 20m and my eldest got second in the xxx metres. 

I have been struggling with my obsessive thoughts which have caused me to have quite a bad meltdown. I really struggle with the social aspects of things, I just remind me of childhood and I guess also upsets me.

I won't leave this post on a negative point because I feel guilty for sharing my thoughts. So, at the weekend the sun was out and we had a lovely picnic in the park and the boys loved having a runaround. 

Hope you have had a good week. 

Cheers for reading X 

How not to lose your sh*t during Summer holidays

Hey readers,

It soon fast approaching the summer holidays where my boys have no school for SIX WEEKS, eek! Now, as much as I love spending quality time with my boys it can be hard work and be exhausting to keep them entertained and deal with the bickering/ boredom that occurs when during this period.

So how do you manage to keep your cool and not lose it?

Well, I  think one technique for me is to walk away and have my time out in the bedroom. I need quiet time as an introvert and space are important to me. Luckily I have a supportive husband who takes care of the little darlings and vice versa as well. I think you can feel guilty for not permanently wanting to look after your children yourself but I have learned that it is much more important to have time out away from the carnage. 

It makes the family home a much calmer environment.

I feel getting outside can help, breathing in the fresh air especially if you are like me and not in a position to have a garden. I take my boys out locally and get them to scoot about. This helps burn some energy and it is fairly simple to do. 

Alternatively, hitting the park for a picnic is a great way to have a day out and enjoy the outdoors.

On the other hand, it is ok to have chilled times at home and whack the babysitter tv on. I have a motto you do what you can in a situation and sometimes we all need to just relax in front of the old familiar place. Previously, I used to feel so guilty about putting the TV on but not anymore, I am thankful for it.

 It has saved my sanity and it is good to relax and not do a lot. That is what a holiday is for right? It is also ok not to be busy 24/7 as much as Instagram would like to tell us. It is much better to be relaxed and just enjoy the time, it is ok to simply do nothing. It is ok to allow your child to rest, remember they have worked hard all year at school, it is time for a break.

Don't always try to find things for your kids when you are bored. I know for a long time I felt I had to instantly deal with the dreaded statement, "I am bored" but do you know what it is good for kids to get bored. This time when your children are under-stimulated is a life lesson on trying to find ways to deal with the problems and enhance their creative skills.

It is ok for parents to let their hair down when children are around. I know shocking right but is not healthy constantly having to deal with the requests of the children. Sometimes you have to give your children that independence to learn to make decisions about their problems.

Cheers for reading X