Silent Sunday!

Our 1st Camping and Caravan Club Rally

A few weeks ago we made the decision to join the Camping and Caravan Club as we love our tent that we purchased a couple of months ago, and we have really embraced camping. The Camping and Caravan Club costs around £45 a year to join, and you can get many benefits including discounts in shops, special rate campsites, and access to campsites only open to members. When you join you're assigned to a local district. The individual districts hold rallies throughout the year, some based on themes and others just to get together.

I noticed on our area's website that they had planned a family oriented rally and we thought this would be a great opportunity to meet up with other families; I have to say the weekend did not disappoint at all. 

On arrival we were warmly greeted and showed to our pitch, we were also given a welcome pack with all the activities that were planned for the weekend as well as some modelling clay that was to be used to build a children's character model, with a prize for the best one.

Whilst my hubbie and I were pitching our tent, Ruby and Lottie went on the bouncy castle and happily made friends with some of the other children. We then cooked dinner before it was time for the girls to go off to the disco; the girls had a lovely time dancing the night away and there was even a Disney quiz where we had to link the soundtrack to the Disney movie. The more answers we got right, the more tokens we were given to be used on the final day for a mini fair!

Come 9pm and both girls were very tired so they went to bed whilst hubbie and sat drinking hot chocolate under the stars. 

We were up very early on the Saturday morning as the campsite was near to where the girls have swimming lessons, so we decided to venture off site to take then to their lessons. When we arrived back at the campsite the marquee was set up with various different craft activities and then a movie was played to keep the children entertained.

On Saturday afternoon the sun was shinning; the decision was taken to get out a roll of plastic and several bottles of washing up liquid and bath bubbles to make a water slide. I'm not sure what was more entertaining, watching Ruby slide down, or seeing fully grown adults trying to compete to see who could travel the furthest! 

Saturday evening was fancy dress and party games time, Ruby had so much fun, especially during chocolate bar game where you have to eat as much chocolate as you can whilst wearing winter clothes. By 8pm Ruby was saying she wanted to go to bed so we headed back to the tent before she quickly fell asleep, I don't know about you, but Saturday nights are not the same at the moment unless you are watching X Factor, so we watched X Factor in our tent! I was amazed how well the tiny TV and portable aerial worked. It was really lovely to be snuggled up in blankets with a hot chocolate and the TV on :) 

I really don't like the morning of the last camping day, as it means packing everything away! So far, every time we have had to pack a wet tent away, well this weekend was a 1st time we had a dry tent! It made packing away so much less stressful. 

At 11am it was coffee morning in the marquee so we all went up for a hot drink and a chat with people before the mini fair opened.

 
There was numerous games that both girls had fun playing; the organisers made sure that every child won a prize!

I think it's easy to say we can't wait to be back out with our local branch of the Camping and Caravan Club, we were made to feel really welcome and Ruby certainly wanted to stay longer; I could have done too! 

Silent Sunday!

Baby Show Olympia London (24th-26th October 2014) - Giveaway

Back in May I was kindly invited to attend the Press Day at The Baby Show in Birmingham, I had a wonderful day and even got to interview Michelle Heaton. You can read about my day here.

The kind people behind The Baby Show have offered you, my readers, the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to The Baby Show Event at Olympia in London. You can find details of all the retailers who are exhibiting as well as all the experts and celebrities on their website - http://www.thebabyshow.co.uk/

Its very simple to enter, all you need to do is tell me why you want the tickets. Please leave your reason in the comments section of this blog post and be sure to enter your details into the Rafflecopter widget; Each additional step you complete is another entry into the raffle. Terms and Conditions are also on there and the final closing date is Midnight on Monday 29th September 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silent Sunday!

An Open Letter to the Media about HG

Dear Media,

Are you a print or broadcast journalist? Have you or are you writing or recording a piece covering the news of the pregnancy of the Duchess of Cambridge? Or are you someone who wants to know more about Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or should I say "morning sickness" as some of you call it? If so this blog post is for you. 

Firstly let me start off by thanking you for reading this post and I hope what I have to say will help you with your understanding of Kate's condition. 

There is one point that I think is so very important to raise from the start, Hyperemesis Gravidarum is not morning sickness, nor acute sickness, nor is it a normal aspect of pregnancy. You wouldn't say to someone with cancer they just have a lump, so don't label a person with Hyperemesis as having morning sickness, the two are very very different!

Morning sickness is common during pregnancy and can sometimes make it difficult for pregnant women to eat; it commonly occurs in the morning, hence it's name.

Hyperemesis on the other hand is debilitating and can take hold of you before you even know you are pregnant. As a result of Hyperemesis, I had to announce my pregnancy to my family and friends before the all important twelve weeks, as I couldn't hide being sick all day every day, feeling totally washed out and unable to do undertake basic tasks like having a shower or doing the washing up. I was unable to eat and was hospitalised and pumped full of drugs and fluids. I had a scan shortly after I was admitted to hospital that confirmed my pregnancy, and my baby was measuring just 0.5cm! 

Hyperemesis can affect anyone, it doesn't occur any more frequently if your having a girl or even carrying twins. 

I have somehow, although I don't really know how, got through two Hyperemesis pregnancies! I feel so very sorry for Kate, as at a time when you should be excited about being pregnant, you actually just want to break down and cry. I've heard mention on some news programmes that when she reaches 12 weeks she will be better, this is not always the case, Hyperemesis can and does in many cases affect the entire pregnancy. 

If you only take two things from this article, firstly please stop calling Hyperemesis, "morning sickness" or even "acute morning sickness" as it's not, please don't trivialise Hyperemesis. Secondly if you want to know what Hyperemesis is really like, imagine having food poising 24 hours a day 7 days a week non stop and then you'll get the idea of what its really like to suffer from this awful condition. 

If you would like to know more, I have written several other blog posts on my experiences with Hyperemesis, you can read them here.

Silent Sunday

Back to School - Dear Ruby

Dear Ruby

Where has the time gone, you turned 5 at the end of July and now you have returned back to school for the start of year 1. The last year has gone by so very quickly and I remember feeling sick as you started in the foundation stage at school, and this past week I have felt exactly the same emotions.

Waiting to start her first day of Year 1

I know that you are were so excited to return to school, and I have no doubt you will be fine and have lots of fun, however as your mummy I am finding it hard to accept that you don't need me as much as you once did and I almost feel I'm losing my little girl. I know you will always be my daughter and I your mummy, but I want to keep you my little girl for just a little bit longer. I want to be able to wrap you up and cuddle you like when you were a newborn. 

Ruby I am so incredibly proud of you and everything that you do, you really do bring so much happiness to my life, more so than what you would ever realise. 

I hope you continue to enjoy your time at school this year and it's filled with lots of fun and laughter, and as little homework as possible! As your mummy I know it's important to help you learn, but you are also a child and need a childhood filled with lots of fun and enjoyable times too. 

Please stop growing up Ruby and be my little girl. I miss you each and every day you're at school and I look forward to the weekends.

Lots of love 

Mummy xxx