Quantcast
Channel: Frugal Adventures In WebsterLand
Viewing all 129 articles
Browse latest View live

Not So Sweet Dreams

$
0
0
The last couple of weeks have seen us venture into new territory with Daisy, she has started remembering her dreams which has brought with it some bad dreams that have woken her up.

Daisy has such an active imagination, she loves playing pretend, making little stories up and telling us all manner of tales, couple that with her starting to understand and question more about the world around her, it's no wonder her little brain is processing it all in her sleep.

Last week she dreamt that fluff was on her and she didn't like it, then last night I found her at the end of her bed crying, when I asked her what was wrong she said that crabs were pinching her, this is a reoccurring dream which has meant that her Peppa Pig Summer duvet which I think is the culprit (beach scene with crabs on) has now been retired to the bedding box.

Although it's awful to see her frightened she does usually settle down really quickly with a reassuring cuddle & kiss, and of course there are plenty of nice dreams to offset the bad.


I don't know about you but I have always had strange dreams, most nights I remember my dreams and there are several themes that have reoccurred since I was small, I have looked into dream interpretation before but I'm not sure what I believe to be honest, I think it might just be my minds way of processing the events of the day.

Here are some ideas you can use to help your child if they are suffering with bad dreams.

Reassurance

Reassure them that they are safe, a cuddle and a soothing tone of voice goes a long way.

Listen

Let them tell you about their dreams, don't dismiss them as silly, use the opportunity to open up a dialogue with your child about their fears.

Avoid Scary TV & Books

Keep all bedtime TV shows child friendly and age appropriate, choose books that don't contain anything a child might find scary or that they don't understand, most nightmares are caused by anxiety.

Night Lights

I hated the dark as a child and some of my adult life too, Daisy has never had a fear of the dark thankfully and doesn't like the landing light on but some children find the soft glow under the door reassuring.

There are also some brilliant night lights for children on the market, Daisy has a go-glow night light which doubles as a torch and once charged last a good few nights.

 
Do your little ones have nightmares ? how do you help them to cope ? leave me a comment below I love hearing from you.

Angela x




Jake's First Birthday

$
0
0
Yesterday was Jake's first birthday, it's surprising how quickly the year has gone by, children really don't stay little for long, although when you have been up several times every night with a newborn you do wonder in your sleep deprived state if this will ever be the case.

We decided to have a quiet family day at home for Jake's birthday, he opened his presents with the help of his Daddy and enjoyed playing with the balloons.




We decided not to go mad on present buying as he already has so much, he shares Daisy's toys as well and I don't want him to be overwhelmed.


We chose mega blocks for him as they are so chunky and are great for developing his fine motor skills as well as his imagination, he has had great fun trying to put the blocks together and has succeeded several times which makes him clap his little hands in delight.

We had a small family tea party, Jake wasn't impressed with the finger food and preferred his usual dinner but of course he didn't turn his birthday cake away !





I love this next stage of development, he will soon learn to walk and his understanding of everything around him will explode, I love watching my children learn and grow into the little versions of the people they will become.

Angela x

What's Cooking At The Webster's - Banana Muffins

$
0
0
For the last few weeks Daisy and Jake haven't been eating the bananas I buy, Daisy goes through phases with fruit loving something one week and barely touching it the next and Jake has never been a banana lover and I was getting fed up of wasting them so I've been looking for ways to use them in recipes instead.

I found a really simple recipe for Banana Muffins, Daisy helped me make them and both the little ones wolfed them down afterwards.


RECIPE

200g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large mashed bananas (over-ripe are best)

150g caster sugar

75g melted butter

1 egg

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & the salt
  • Combine the egg, sugar, mashed banana & melted butter then fold in the flour mixture
  • Spoon evenly into muffin cases (I use silicon ones because they are brilliant)
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes (they should spring back lightly at touch when ready)


The muffins turned out really moist and very tasty, you can store them for up to five days in a sealed container.
 
Do you have any great recipes or ideas for using up bananas ? , leave me a comment below I love to hear from you.
 
Angela x

Falling Out Then Falling Back In Love With Freecycle

$
0
0
Regular readers of my blog will know that I love a freebie, for me this extends beyond getting samples in the mail , I'm not ashamed to admit I get excited by hand me downs, I'm not too proud to accept them and I really do believe in the saying 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'.

I am constantly surprised by the quality of items that people no longer want or need, I did a post last year which you can find here showing just a small amount of the lovely things I have been gifted from Freecycle, Freegle and some of the local Facebook Freebie pages.

I'm also donate a large amount of things every year using the same method as I think it's important to give back that along with the fact that I love de-cluttering and having a good old sort out.

Late last year I started to fall out with Freecycle and the like, it started when I had a huge clear out, listed the items, sifted through loads of responses and allocated new owners several of which didn't turn up to collect the items and didn't bother to email to apologise or let me know they weren't coming, that along with emails stating 'I'll have it' and 'can you deliver', in the end I boxed the whole lot up and took it to a local charity shop.

The final straw came when I was told I could have two sets of drawers, one was ready for collection that day ( Chris has a van and we are always prompt at collecting) and the other set would be ready the following day, they were a matching set from Ikea and we were desperate for drawers, Chris collected the first set but said the lady was a little odd towards him, later that evening I received an email saying she was going to give the other drawers to someone more deserving ! not sure what she had based this on as Chris was perfectly polite as he always is. I know the decision was the ladies to make but promising something then retracting is a little rude in my opinion and a few weeks later she emailed to ask if I wanted some bedside tables so maybe her conscience got the better of her, who knows !


After a few more frustrations I decided to have a break from looking on the sites, a lot of people are choosing to sell all their unwanted items which is understandable in the current financial climate so the few items being listed were whipped up almost immediately.

Last month I decided to put my big girl knickers on, toughen up and throw myself back in the game,  I keep a list of what items we need/would like for each room of the house to look out for, I've also been purging our clutter again (seriously where does it all come from????) and offering it on the free sites.

Of course there have been a couple of no shows who I have made a note not to offer to again but I have also got some brilliant things in the last two weeks, I check the sites at least once a day now and things seem to be picking up as the weather changes and people are having a good old spring clean.

I got two duvets sets which were in immaculate condition, the lady had even ironed them she had changed her colour scheme, it's always worth asking for bedding if you feel it's in an unusable state it can always be donated to an animal shelter or used as dust sheets for decorating.


This toy box and book shelf are in fantastic condition and were just what we needed for Jake's room, they also had a matching wardrobe but it was too large for us to collect, what a shame.



I also got a Breville/Antony Worrall Thompson hand mixer it's in brilliant condition and has all the attachments with it, appliances can be a little hit and miss but it works perfectly.

Do you use Free sites like the ones I've mentioned ? I would love to here what goodies you have managed to find, leave me a comment if you like.

Angela x



Bumper Webster's Week In Wins 22nd March - 12th May 2015

$
0
0
It's been a while since I've shared with you the prizes I have won, freebies I've received and the vouchers/cash I get for completing surveys or product testing so I thought I would do it all in a bumper post before I get back to sharing more regularly.

I love seeing what other people have won or got for free, it inspires me and I like to think someone might get inspiration from me by sharing.

We made the decision for me to be a stay at home mum and the extra little treats I get for free make me feel like I'm still contributing to the pot so to speak.

Compers get a bad rap nowadays which is a shame we are not all greedy grabbers who want to win anything and everything the majority of us are lovely sharing and kind hearted, pleased for others as much as ourselves when we get a win.

Comping and looking for freebies has been my hobby for almost fourteen years, probably longer although I didn't take it up seriously until 2001, I've won some amazing prizes, had some fantastic experiences and met the most loveliest people who I consider my friends.

Anyway enough of me blithering on about my wonderful hobby, here are some photo's of the goodies from the last month or so, a few things are missing as I've put them away for Christmas and I've had some Amazon vouchers from cashing out on the survey sites.
















I will be back to posting more regularly as long as the goodies keep on coming of course, I hope so as I've been comping my socks off just lately !

Angela x



This Week At The Webster's - Cutting Baby Curls, Exam Fever, Mummy's Scary Night Out & An Unexpected Blood Test

$
0
0
This week has seemed to drag on forever, Chris has been in Wales for work this week so he's had really long days and I've been really busy at home, I'm in full Spring clean and purge the house mode, comping my butt off, survey filling and looking for ways to fund Christmas, as well as all the mum things I do.

Jake had his hair cut this week, it grows so fast and although I miss his curls it looks a lot better, he's really losing his baby-ness now and is looking more like a little boy.


My eldest lad Scott started his GCSE exams on Monday, I'm nervous but also excited for him, he's going to college in September and in August when he turns 16 he's determined to find a job, I love seeing him so motivated, I can't believe my lad will soon be a man, I'm excited to see what the future holds for him.

I had a rare night out this week, I went to the cinema with my cousin Lisa and my eldest daughter Jess, we watched a horror called 'Unfriended', I used to be Lisa's horror buddy but in the last few years I've become a real wuss about watching them.

I liked the film, it was quite different and I enjoyed the concept, it did make me jump a few times and elbowLisa in the ribs, she's suggested we sit one two chairs apart next time!
We also got a great bargain as we only paid £12 for all three of the cinema tickets, making it a budget night out.

I had a routine appointment at the doctors this week, if you have been reading for a while you will know that my health hasn't been so good this year so I've become a regular at the doctor's surgery much to my annoyance, after having had two lots of blood tests already I've had another one this week to test for Coeliac disease, please keep your finger's crossed for me because as much as I want to know what's wrong I'm really hoping it's not this.

The children have been busy playing and learning as usual and I will include some photo's below, the weather has been a mixed bag so we haven't spent as much time in the garden.





How has you week been ? Do you like horror films or are you a bit of a scaredy cat like me ? leave me a comment below I love to hear from you.

Angela x

Frugal Spring Cleaning

$
0
0
The last few weeks I've been in full on Spring cleaning mode, I've got a new daily cleaning schedule in place and everywhere has been decluttered within an inch of it's life which has meant I can look at each room in the house and list the niggling little jobs that need doing.

I'm working on the bathroom this week and one of the things that drives me nuts in there is the shower caddy, it's a wall mounted chrome double tier and is constantly rusting up (chrome might look pretty but it's porous and impractical) , I didn't want to spend a fortune on cleaning products so did a little research for cheap homemade alternatives.

I made a cleaning paste by mixing  half a lemon and a few tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda, I added water until I got a paste consistency.


I used a piece of scrunched up foil on the caddy first to remove and flaking bits of rust then applied the paste generously over both tiers, I left the paste on for twenty minutes.


                                                                      Before


                                                                    After

        
I wiped the paste off and used a scouring pad to remove what was left and I'm really pleased with the results, apart from a couple of hard to reach nooks it's worked brilliantly.

Not wanting to waste the other half of the lemon I popped squeezed the juice into a bowl of water and put it into the microwave for ten minutes, the steam makes those stubborn flecks of food lift off really easily and it leaves the kitchen smelling lovely.     

Do you have any frugal cleaning tips to share ? I would love to hear them, leave me a comment below.

Angela x                                 

Webster's Week In Wins 13th-17th May 2015

$
0
0
This week has been a good week for prizes and freebies, I've upped my game recently entering more comps than usual and filling in every survey that's landed in my inbox, last year I managed to almost pay for Christmas with prizes and vouchers and I'm determined to do even better this year.

I had a lovely winning email on Thursday for some books that I really wanted for Daisy, it's brilliant when you win something you were going to buy.

I won this Swing Ball set from the daily Highland spring competition, it's still open for entries you can enter here until June 29th.

I also won a smoke alarm, not the most exciting prize but very practical.

 

This selfie stick was a surprise, I'm not sure where I won it from but it will be great for entering photo competitions.



On the survey side I cashed out a £15 Amazon voucher, a £10 Argos voucher from Consumer Pulse and £8 cash from Pinecone, all of this goes towards the Christmas pot.

Chris won a £10 M&S voucher from work so we've added that to the pot too.


I'm really enjoying challenging myself to pay for Christmas, I will be back next week to share with you again.

Angela x


A Simple Sunday At The Duck Pond

$
0
0
Today has been one of those days where everything seems right with the world, the past few weeks I've really got on top of all the niggling little things that have been bothering me for ages, the house has been cleaned and decluttered within an inch of it's life, I'm up to date with all my comping, paperwork and financial bits and pieces and I'm feeling more productive than I have in a long time.

This afternoon we decided to have a walk to a local pond to feed the ducks, Daisy was so excited and it just goes to show the most simple inexpensive things make little ones happy.

Our car isn't on the road at the moment which means making the effort to get out as a family even more important, we are lucky to live in an area where there are lots of green spaces right on our doorstep and I'm determined to make the most of them this Summer.

We spotted a couple of different varieties of ducks at the pond, saw two squirrels and enjoyed the Spring flowers that are still in bloom, Daisy loved feeding the ducks and Jake enjoyed eating the bread instead of sharing with the ducks.





It's been a lovely end to a relaxing weekend and I'm ready to see what his week will bring.

Angela x

Money Mondays - Cashback Websites

$
0
0

Being the money saving bargain hunter that I am I never buy anything without first checking if I can get a discount and if I can by it through a cashback website to earn some money back.

I also check the cashback sites regularly as they have great offers to earn cash without spending a penny.

I thought I would tell you about two of my favourite cashback sites, TopCashBack and Quidco .

Online Cashback

If you sign up with TopCashBack at the moment they will give you 500 free Tesco Clubcard points.

They claim to be the UK's most generous cashback site and some of the offers are fantastic, you can also register your credit or debit card for cashback on your in-store purchases too !

I love Quidco

I love Quidco because you can cash out anything over £1, last year I saved up all my earnings and bought some Christmas presents and I also paid for Daisy's Halloween costume.

The site is really easy to use and has lots of brilliant offers, one of my favourite features is the ClickSnap feature where you can earn cashback on your grocery items.

Do you use cashback sites ? If not then what are you waiting for !

Angela x

*Disclaimer: This post contains referral links*

Don't Replace It Repair It !

$
0
0
Although I try to live a frugal life there are always areas that I don't quite get it right, I've been working on improving those areas.

I used to be the kind of person that if an appliance broke or wasn't working how I wanted it to I would replace it, usually using a credit card (slaps hand) but not anymore ! My new motto is repair, repair, repair and ONLY replace as a last resort.

I've had my Dyson vacuum cleaner for around four years and last year I noticed it wasn't picking up as well as it used to, on top of that the extendable cleaning hose got a tear in it which I patched up with masking tape, every time I got the hoover out I would grumble about how rubbish it was, it got to the point where I would dread hovering and I even started looking at buying a new one and trying to justify adding it to the already over-stretched credit card.

After months of griping about it I had a light bulb moment, instead of moaning I knew I should do something more pro-active and set about searching online for a solution, I feel like an absolute idiot for not doing this sooner. I found a tutorial on YouTube which explained that the first thing I should do with loss of suction was to check for blockages and remove the filters and clean them, I'm ashamed to admit this but I didn't even know my Dyson had filters !

                                       Image courtesy of Smarnad at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After doing what the tutorial suggested my vacuum is now back to picking up brilliantly and I've learnt a very valuable lesson about being more clued up about the items I own and how to maintain them.

The next part of my light bulb moment was finding out if the hose was replaceable as by this point it had that much masking tape on it was in danger of not fitting back onto the main body of the vacuum anymore, after a quick search and comparing the best price I found the right part and paid £16 which is far better than the hundreds I would have paid to replace the whole thing.

I feel very proud of myself for taking a step back, thinking logically instead of impulsively and being pro-active instead of reactive.

There are of course times when repairing isn't possible or the most cost effective thing to do, our oven recently broke and after doing some research we discovered that it would cost only £10 less to replace the part than to buy another oven, sometimes situations like this can't be avoided but you can give yourself peace of mind by exhausting every avenue first.



Have you been in this situation yourself ? How much have you saved by repairing ? leave me a comment below I would love to hear from you.

Angela x

The Dreaded Threenager !

$
0
0

I used to be one of those people who'd roll their eyes at the trendy 'in' words, this was no exception when I first heard someone use the word 'Threenager' I remember thinking how silly once you get past the terrible two's it's all plain sailing.

The sixteen year age gap between my youngest and oldest must have dulled my memory because I had totally forgotten about this stage, where your lovely sweet toddler becomes a demanding unreasonable diva in the blink of eye for the most bizarre of reasons.


                                     Image courtesy of Clare Bloomfield at FreeDigitalPhotos.net


At breakfast time all hell could break loose because you only put 16 Cheerios in the bowl and they wanted 17 or you brought the wrong spoon, only the special one will do which you spend 10 minutes looking for only to realise you didn't do the washing up last night, or they want to wear a swimming costume and wellingtons to nursery even though it's December and the coldest day of the year so far !

You spend all afternoon arguing about the fact that your threenager needs to see the moon, all the assurances that they can see it once it's night time are just no use they NEED to see the moon now because someone at school saw the moon so they must do the same right this minute.

You try so hard to stifle your laughter, because no matter how demanding they are being some of their theories and demands are highly amusing and quite cleverly thought out.

They insist you must leave them alone to go to the toilet by themselves even though you must be accompanied to the bathroom at all times.

You get told at least five times a day that you are a 'naughty mummy' and the phrase 'I want' is replaced with 'I need'.

You will be amazed and horrified at the extent of their over active imagination, they will tell people that you left them in the road on the way home from school or that you left them at home alone (true story).

When you ask for a cuddle they will insist they are a big kid now and you can't have one, this of course does not apply if they require a cuddle.

I've found that the best way to navigate this stage of parenting is with good humour and infinite amounts of patience and of course to keep a record as proof for when they are grown up and have kids of their own.


Do you own a threenager ? what's the funniest thing they have ever done or said ? leave me a comment I love hearing from you.

Angela x

The Money Shed

$
0
0
I'm somewhat reluctant to write this post as part of me wants to hide this absolute gem of a website away and keep it all for myself but the owner Jon and his fantastic site The Money Shed  deserve to be shouted about.

If you are looking to work from home and make some extra money online then this is the site for you, you won't find any dodgy 'fill a million envelopes for a quid' type work, only real genuine earning opportunities, and like minded people sharing their experiences, advice and ideas about earning online.

I could absolutely kick myself for not finding this site sooner, I always thought I was pretty clued up on survey sites, I even managed to pay for most of last Christmas between surveys and competition wins but I could have paid for Christmas twice over and kept our car going if I had signed up for all the opportunities I've found in one week alone on The Money Shed !

The forum itself is a friendly place and not intimidating at all, I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the online earning community, the owner is really friendly too and the site is an absolute credit to him, he also blogs with some great advice at The Money Shed Blog 

I'm feeling very excited and motivated about online earning, now I just need to find the spare hours in the day to keep up !

Why not pop across to The Money Shed and have a look around, if you like what you see sign up and start your online earning journey.

                                                                     Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Angela x


Webster's Week In Wins 18th-23rd May 2015

$
0
0
This week I've been a little distracted from comping, I found a brilliant online money making website which you can read about here so I've been busy with lots of new survey sites.

I have had a few little prizes and freebies arrive, the books for Daisy that I mentioned winning last week came and Daisy loves them.


Technically not a freebie but an absolute bargain, I signed up to the new Zeek app where you can buy and sell unwanted gift cards and vouchers, I got £10 free for signing up and bought this H&M £15 gift card for £4 !


This book came from the Mumsnet book club, I just have to leave a short review on the forum when I have read it, been ages since I read a physical book so really looking forward to it.


I'm testing these new Microfibre clothes for Spontex as part of their 'Real Cleaners' campaign.


My Tesco Orchard vouchers finally arrived, the theme this time is Tesco favourites, after using the vouchers and my Clubcard points I paid in total only £1.46, the steak is for our wedding anniversary next week.



I also had this free sample of Emergen-C which also has a £1 coupon on the back.


I'm still hanging in there for that elusive big prize but all the small ones are keeping me more than happy.

Have you had anything nice in the post this week ? leave me a comment below, I love to hear from you.

Angela x

This Week At The Webster's - Money Making Missions, Tonsilitis, A Musical Baby and Boy Meets Cat

$
0
0
Last week I found a brilliant online money making website, I've dedicated lots of time this week to getting signed up with new better paying survey sites, money making apps and focus groups.

I'm on a mission to pay for the whole of Christmas using only prizes and vouchers from surveys and the like, you are probably thinking I'm crazy as it's only May but when you have six children between you and a grandchild you have to get organised !

On Wednesday morning Daisy didn't seem very well, she was running a temperature and just wasn't herself at all, I kept her home from school and by Thursday she was worse and complaining of a sore throat and ear, a quick trip to the doctors confirmed our suspicions of Tonsilitis, poor Daisy hasn't done a full term at school yet since starting, thankfully this time she hasn't been as bad with it and is on the mend.

Jake had fun playing with the guitar, I think he wants to be like Daddy when he grows up, I really hope he inherits Daddy's singing voice too.



Most of the week it's been raining here in the North West but today has been absolutely beautiful, hot and really summery, this afternoon we spent some time in the garden, Jake was very taken with our cat it's the first time he's been close as our cat won't come indoors anymore, he always comes back for his dinner though !



This week coming up is half term for Daisy and I'm looking forward to a more relaxed morning routine, I think trips to the park and the library are on the agenda so I will be back next week to tell you about that, what have you got planned ?

Angela x

Money Monday - Spring Clean Your Finances

$
0
0
I don't know about you but I do enjoy a bit of Spring cleaning, there's nothing like dusting off the cobwebs and making everything clean and shiny in preparation for the bright Summer days ahead, this is no exception when it comes to finances too.

No matter how frugal and money saving you think you are you should always do a Spring clean on your finances, here are some of my tips for getting started.

Where's Your Money Going ?

The easiest way to actually see where your money is going each week or month is to go through your bank statements and highlight any spending that wasn't for essentials, can you spot a few fast food outlets on there or lots of little transactions at the local convenience stores ? add all the unnecessary amounts and you will probably be shocked at the total.

Also make sure you are not still paying monthly for things like subscriptions to a magazine you never get time to read or for the gym that you never visit.

Written Monthly Budget

Once you have figured out where your money is going  you need to sit down and write a budget, get all those figures down on paper in front of you.

Start with all your outgoings and be honest, if you have a haircut each month or need to buy a birthday gift then make sure you include it in that months budget.

Compare your monthly outgoings with your income to make sure you are not over budget, if you are then start looking at ways to shave some money off or decide if you need to make some extra money that month to cover the extra expenses.

                                                                    Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Compare, Compare & Compare Again !

Make a list of all your utility bills then use a comparison site to see if you could be paying less, if you could then seriously consider changing your supplier, you could always use a cashback site like TopCashBack or Quidco and earn a little extra money for your budget.

If you are stuck in a contract then make a note of end date and be sure to revisit a comparison site before you renew.

Organise Your Paperwork

Get yourself a ring binder and some clear A4 plastic wallets and organise your paperwork into groups for example, gas/electric, insurances, phone/broadband this way you will always be able to find what you are looking for quickly, you could also make a note of any renewal dates.

I hope some of these tips have helped you, let me know in the comments below how you Spring clean your finances I love to hear from you.

Angela x






Sort Out Those Niggles !

$
0
0
I don't know if you are the same as me but sometimes (ok actually a lot) something will be bugging me for ages and instead of doing something about it I will grumble, sigh and ignore it and get on with my day until the next time I notice it.

I think of these things as niggles, the intention to sort them out is always there at the back of my mind and nothing ever gets done about them, but just lately I've been forcing myself to get off my bum and act on them immediately instead of writing them off to the land of tomorrow (never comes).


                                                           Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here are a few examples

Problem:Jacob The Explorer

Jake like any one year old loves exploring, which means that every time the living room door gets left open he's off into the hall or the kitchen where his favourite things to do are to lick the wheels of the buggy, attempt to remove the bin bag from the bin while the lid is on and open the cupboard and munch on a raw potato, you might think closing the door behind me is the solution but no, Jake will pay you back by sitting right behind while you suck your gut in and try and squeeze through the gap in the door whilst trying not to squash his chunky little digits in the process.

The Solution

Daisy had a safety gate on her room but we also have one at both the top and the bottom of the stairs so it wasn't really necessary anymore, I could kick myself that I didn't think to bring it downstairs sooner.

Problem: Addicted To Wires

This one involves Jake again, I don't know how but his little baby brain has memorised every area in the house where a stray wire might be accessible, despite moving our bookcase as close as we can to the wall his little hands were still able to reach in the gap and access the holy grail of wires and plugs, of course we would move him away and tell him no which would be met with a look of absolute disdain and no sooner had we sat down again he was back at them.

The Solution

After the above situation had been going on for months I finally realised that if I turned the bookcase at an angle he would no longer be able to get to any of the wires or plugs, mum 1 baby nil !

Problem: Too Many Toys

I don't know about you but one thing I really struggle with is deciding how many toys are too many, Daisy and Jake are at the age where they get more fun from strewing the toys all over the floor than actually playing with one thing at a time, this is fine in their bedrooms but in the living room it's getting quite dangerous, we don't have a huge amount of space and navigating mega blocks, books and dolls is becoming a very frustrating challenge.

I'm an advocate of toy rotation and not over facing children with too many choices at once so I'm quite cross with myself that this problem has developed.

The Solution

This solution actually came from Daddy, he suggested that we take almost all the toys out of the living room and let the children choose a couple of things a day to play with, these will then be put away at the end of the day.

Why is it that we let things niggle us for ages?, why don't we just solve the problem straight away ? who knows ?

Do you find yourself doing this ? leave me a comment below I would love to hear from you.



Angela x



Webster's Week In Wins 24th-30th May 2015

$
0
0
It's been a rather slow week mail wise, I've not dedicated as much time to comping as I usually do as I'm concentrating more on the survey and online earning side of things at the moment.

My instant win prize from SuperSavvyMe arrived this week, I can't remember the last time I actually paid for a cleaning product and I've always wondered about those magic erasers so I'm looking forward to trying that out.


I thought I was applying for some tanning lotion when I saw this freebie advertised, turns out it's a free tanning session and a sachet of tanning lotion to use at the session.


Chris hadn't ever used his TopCashback account so he took advantage of this offer he was emailed about, Big Hero 6 on DVD for free, we were going to buy it anyway, bonus !


I also had an email to say I've won a book for Daisy and Jake, I will show you that when it arrives.

I will be back next week to share what goodies I've got with you.

Angela x

This Week At The Webster's - Windy Walks, The Dentist's Chair, An Anniversary, and a Little Boy Joins The Library

$
0
0
This week started off with a bank holiday which meant that Daddy was home which is always a treat for us, we spent the day at home pottering round getting little jobs done.

We all had an appointment with the dentist this week, I've finally registered us all at a local one, I loved my old dentist and have been very reluctant to change but it makes more sense to find one closer to home.

 Daisy loves going to the dentist and had no problem climbing into the big magic chair and letting the dentist look at her teeth, Jake was not very happy about having a strange man poking around his gums but I think it's really important to take little ones so they get used to going.

The weather has been strange this week, pouring with rain one minute, sunny the next so we took advantage in between the showers and went for a walk, it was my favourite kind of weather, very windy but warm, we found some wooden climbing activities along the way which Daisy loved climbing on.




Before I had Jake Daisy and I used to visit the library every few weeks but I'm ashamed to say that we haven't been since Jake was born, we are really lucky to have two libraries close to us and getting to one involves a lovely walk through a park so we chose that one.

Jake is now the proud owner of a library card and had a great time crawling around choosing books from the shelf, Daisy wanted to borrow about thirty books but we settled on four.

Today is mine and Chris's third wedding anniversary, we've had a child free afternoon and have enjoyed a steak for our tea, we don't get much time on our own so it's been lovely.

I will leave you with a couple more photos from our week.



Hope you have had a good week, I will be back next week to share ours with you.

Angela x

Bargains I've Bagged this Week

$
0
0
As you should already know by now from reading my blog I love a bargain, I thought I would start sharing any bargains, offers or deals I come across or buy.

I love seeing what bargains other people manage to bag, it gives me inspiration and ideas for my own bargain hunting, I'm planning on making this a regular feature and hope you enjoy reading.

Here are this weeks bargains.


This lovely frozen lot cost me £5 from the co-op, I'm not sure how long the deal is on for but it only went live last week so stock up while you can !


When I saw Crabtree & Evelyn tweet about this mega bargain at Boots I couldn't ignore it, I usually treat myself to the body lotion once a year as it costs £16.50 a bottle but is my ultimate favourite, I was thrilled that this beautiful box was on sale for £15 !!!! reduced from £50. What's even better is that the lotion is twice the size of the one I usually get.



On Thursday the Daily Mirror had some Aldi coupons in, I took advantage and got this little lot for £3.89 the original cost without coupons would have been £7.60.

Feel free to leave me a comment and share any great bargains you have found, I love to hear from you.

Angela x
Viewing all 129 articles
Browse latest View live