Story Starters

My six year old is forever asking us to make up bedtime stories for her.  I don't know about you but this is something we find hard to do in our house.  Maybe it's just lack of creativity on my part or maybe it's just down to tiredness and other daily pressures but I confess reading direct from a pre-written children's book is the way we go.  

However if you are feeling creative or regularly make up stories for your kids and would like some new ideas here is a list from www.storybramble.com to give you some inspiration! There are 21 great ideas for story starters which may help take you and your child on a wonderful adventure: 

Once upon a time there was a…..

1. A magical toy shop that knew exactly which toy was perfect for each child

2. A Pirate who was afraid of the water

3. A King and Queen who were trapped inside their enchanted castle

4. A troll who lived down a well

5. A girl who ate too much jelly

6. A dragon who liked lollypops too much

7. A baker who always burned his cakes

8. A girl who would only ever read books that were coloured red

9. A little star that wished he was bigger

10. A snail called Cedric who wanted to win a race

11. A bear who was scared of the dark

12. A wizard who lived inside a tree in a magical forest

13. A friendly lion with no friends

14. A rusty old car that nobody wanted, except for one little girl

15. A worm who wished he could fly

16. A boy with very big feet

17. A school for monsters

18. A very friendly postman who delivered letters in a very unfriendly town

19. An Elf who protected the forest

20. A witch called Griselda who wanted all the power in the world

21. A school where little boys and girls trained to be Knights

Girls Hairstyles - High Bun Using Donut

This is a simple but really effective hairstyle to achieve and is fabulous for ballet, school or weekend wear!

1) Pull the hair off the face into a neat high pony tail at the centre of the head and tie with a hair tie.

2) Take the hair donut and pull the pony tail through the middle of the donut.
3) Starting from the top push the hair over and around the donut and pin as you go to keep the hair in place. 
4) Once the donut is covered neatly with hair take the ends of any length of hair left and wrap around the base of the bun pinning in place.
5) Choose any ribbon of your choice and wrap this around the base of the bun using pins if required to keep the ribbon in place.  Tie Ribbon into bow.

It's almost winter..time to buy some Boots!

Now winter is on the horizon the new footwear season is out there and I have been on the look out for some new boots! This is what I have found!

I love these Knee Length Boots from H&M such a Bargain at £34.99!

Great value Biker Boots from George at Asda at only £26.00!

These Limited Edition Western Ankle Boots from Marks & Spencers are great and look fab dressed up or down at £45.00, they come in black too!

Next have a great range of 'Slouch' style boots these are real leather and come in at £75.00!

These Block Heel boots from New Look are real leather and a great price of £64.99 - Love them!

These are just a few of the gorgeous boots on the market right now perfect for yummy mummies to wear on the school run, shopping or evenings out without the kids! - Happy Shopping!

Jillian Michaels Work Out Review - Banish Fat Boost Metabolism

Banish Fat Boost Metabolism is the first Jillian Michaels DVD I ever bought! It is a great starting place for anyone fairly new to exercise and also new to Jillian Michaels. There is no equipment required to follow this workout apart from an exercise mat and a TV and as it is currently only £6.92 from Amazon it is a total bargain.  For the same cost as one exercise class at the gym you can get unlimited workouts from this DVD!

Banish Fat Boost Metabolism contains only Cardio exercises and only one section of mat work which I quite like as you are not constantly scrambling around trying to get into different positions. Jillian is very motivational and also makes me laugh.  The music is nothing to write home about but to be honest you will be working so hard you probably won't even notice! The entire workout is broken up into 7 sections/circuits and you repeat the circuit twice in each section which keeps you from getting bored.  There is also a 5 minute warm up and cool down which I find quick and easy and doesn't take up too much of your time especially when you have finished and want to get on with the rest of your day/evening!

Section 1 includes a bit of kick boxing, side kicks, jabs etc. and basically gets you warm for the rest of the workout. 

Section 2 contains a lot of plyometrics which means jumping training so the moves include burpees, single leg jumos and 180 degree jumps.

Section 3 is mostly calisthenics intended to increase body strength and flexibility. The moves include butt kicks, high knees, jumping jacks and standing crunches.

Section 4 is all mat work including, crunches, walking planks and mountain climbers which all target your core.

Section 5 is my favourite section and gives you a slight break by taking you back to kick boxing including back kicks, knee crunches, punches and swing kicks.

Section 6 I feel is actually the hardest section of them all containing more plyometrics.  The moves include mountain climbers, scissor kicks, squat jumps and running man.

Section 7 is the final circuit and is slower than 6 presumably to start cooling down your body.  The moves include jump twists, standing pikes, knee crunches and small jumps.

Although this may appear like a lot of exercises the DVD run time is around 50 minutes and it goes really quickly. Jillian also shows variations on every move for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels which you can attempt whichever you like depending on how you feel.  As I have mentioned in my previous post Keeping Fit, Active & Healthy I work out 3-4 times a week so I would rate myself as fairly fit, however Banish Fat Boost Metabolism really makes you sweat and gets your heart rate up, by the end of this work out I always look a bit red in the face and feel like I have really worked out hard!  If you find this work out hard please stick at it, if you do it several times a week you will find you improve massively and be really surprised with the results and changes in your shape.

There are over 200 reviews on Amazon for the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism workout so check them out if you want more reasons to buy this DVD!

Please share my review with your family & friends and let me know what you think!

Coconut Cherry Choc Tray Bake

I tried this recipe at the weekend and not only was it really easy with only 5 ingredients but also really tasty too! Thanks to http://mummyheartsyou.wordpress.com/ where I originally found this recipe. You can also find it at BBC Good Food!

Ingredients:

200g desiccated coconut
85g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
200g bar white chocolate, roughly chopped
85g glacé cherries, halved

Method:

1) Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 20 x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment.

2) In a large bowl, mix the desiccated coconut, sugar, eggs, white chocolate and glacé cherries until combined.

3) Cook for 20 mins until golden brown and set.


4) Cool in the tin before slicing into bars.

Girls Hairstyles - Side Lace Braid

This is a side Lace Braid which is great for keeping a fringe/bangs out of the face and also gives some real interest to any type of hair!

1) Make a side parting and take a small section of hair from the front.  
2) Begin to plait/braid as if you were making a French braid but only add in hair from the top into the braid. 
3) Continue braiding taking only hair from the top until you have reached the crown.
4) Finish off with a simple braid/plait securing at the end.

Laser Eye Surgery - My Experience With Optimax! Post-Surgery

Post Surgery:

After I left the Optimax surgery my eyes were quite sensitive and blurry it was almost as though I could see like I had my glasses on but my eyes had been white washed!  I couldn't see fine detail at this stage but I could see better than when I didn't have my glasses on before the surgery it was just very hazy.  We got in the car and I took some paracetamol as I had a slight headache (probably caused from all the stress and tension).  After about 15mins into our journey the anaesthetic must have worn off as my eyes started to sting and water a bit.  It felt a bit like I had been chopping onions, nothing terrible but uncomfortable.  

Once I got home I took shelter in my bedroom with the curtains closed.  My husband put some anaesthetic drops into my eyes as they were more painful now and I had a little rest while he collected the children from school (Optimax give you anaesthetic drops to use for 24hours if needed).  For the first night I had my husband apply the eye drops for me, there were  two different types (anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic) which had to be applied in a set order.  You apply both drops four times a day for a week then for another three days you apply just one bottle of drops four times a day. Optimax also provided me with two boxes of freshening eye drops called Refresh which you can use whenever you like (unbelievably these are actually cheaper from Optimax at £5 then anywhere else so its worth stocking up on these). During the course of the evening I got out of bed and sat in the living room with my husband, I felt fine and ate dinner.  We had the lights switched off but the TV was on and I could see it, be it a little blurry. My eyes were still light sensitive and I listened more than watched at this stage.

While you sleep you have to wear plastic eye shields every night for a week which make you look like a bug but although they look uncomfortable I slept perfectly well in them.  

When I woke up the day after surgery I opened my eyes and couldn't believe it I COULD SEE!!!! I had a check-up at the Optimax clinic that morning and when I got there I had a quick eye test and had my eyes checked over only to find I had better than 20:20 vision!  I couldn't believe it!

The following week I found my eyes were quite dry and I was using the refresh drops quite often but as I could now see without glasses for the first time in 18 years it was no compromise.  

It has now been three months since my surgery and my eyes feel fantastic! I have been for two more check ups and my eyes are still better than 20:20 which is a fantastic result!  I have now been dscharged from Optimax but they provide a lifetime guarantee so you can go back to them any time you like if you feel you need to. I hardly use the refresh eye drops any more and cannot believe how incredibly lucky I am to be able to see without glasses I thank my lucky stars every day -  I am so pleased!! 

Please ask me any questions about my post as I am more than happy to share my experience.

See Pre Surgery & Surgery Day for more!