The Only Girl in the House

Sonic’s Back | SEGA x Amazon {Sponsored}

Sonic’s Back | SEGA x Amazon {Sponsored}

“Boys, do you know what SEGA is?” I asked with nostalgia quite literally pouring from my eyes. Surely, this was a no-brainer; like asking anyone if they’re familiar with the work of S-Club-7 or The Back Street Boys; if they know the moves to The Macarena or how to play POGs. So, imagine my bitter disappointment when the reply was, “A saga? Yeah, it’s a Viking story, isn’t it?!”

Rewind 26 years and my envy of anyone with a SEGA Mega Drive was raging. Sure, the ‘super Italian brothers’ (who shall not be named) were great an’all, but they were nothing compared to Sonic’s speed, the graphics of the SEGA and the unforgettable “S-E-G-A” as the – now “retro”- console whirred into life. Even if you don’t remember looking at Charlotte G with green eyes, as she shared her tales of ‘bonus levels’ and stomping out the evil Dr Robotnik, there are fewer games characters as iconic as the speedy blue hedgehog – Sonic.

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The Only Car Seat You’ll Need

The Only Car Seat You’ll Need

As my third and our collective fifth, it would be an understatement to say Cas has been the King of Hand-me-downs; if ever there was a kingdom of second-hand garms, spider ravaged garden toys and over-bounced jumperoos – Casper would reign supreme. So, when it came to his car seat, it was no different – out came the biscuit encrusted throne from the shed, complete with the musty smell of a bygone childhood. Not only was the hand-me-down ethos we’d adopted for our latest bundle of joy friendly on the pennies, but I convinced myself it was saving my sanity – after all, who wants or needs to learn how to install yet another car seat?

Then, the kindly folk over at GB (Good Baby) seemed to take pity on little Cas and offered to send over one of their rather trendy Vaya i-Size car seats form their swanky Platinum Collection. If ever there was an excuse to finally clean out the family car (aka The Dump Truck) a brand new, gorgeous cars seat is it! We opted for the lux-black, with a Saville Row inspired pin-stripe – if it was just down to how it looked, it gets top marks from me!

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Home at my Fingertips With Honeywell Lyric #Ad

Home at my Fingertips With Honeywell Lyric #Ad

It’s no secret that autumn days at home with tea-on-tap and onsies-clad are my favourite; but with 5 boys, football season in full swing and non-stop birthday parties between now and Christmas… most of my days are either spent at work, the football side-lines or taxi-ing to and from a 10 year old’s rave-up. But forever the optimist, while carrying out my front-line parental duties, I still daydream of getting home, slipping on my sheepskin slippers and that renowned cashmere jumpsuit!

We all know the dread of getting home cold and a bit soggy, to a dark, nippy house or discovering the home-alone teenagers munched all the snacks, which is why I’ve teamed up with Honeywell to ensure while I’m shivering my ears off at the park, (building up an appetite) my peace of mind is kept intact! They kindly sent over a selection of busy-family friendly gadgets from their smart Lyric range – the Lyric T6R Smart Thermostat, Lyric C1 Wi-Fi Security Camera and Lyric W1 Wi-Fi Waterleak and Freezer Detector. The team over at Honeywell, with over 100 years’ experience, are making family life just a little bit easier with their Lyric products and app – helping busy mums (and dads) be in control of their home comforts wherever family life takes you! 

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Our Stay at Ladram Bay, South Devon Family Holiday

Our Stay at Ladram Bay, South Devon Family Holiday

A modern home away from home, private beach and a plethora of activities for the kids… I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for a break with the 5 boys in tow these features rate highly.  “Staycation” can induce the fear that the weather won’t cooperate like a petulant Greek demi-god with an attitude problem. It can bring back memories of glamping with two toddlers in 2010, having to purchase our own body weight in fleece lined goods and thermals, hearing the words “I can’t feel my toes!” before they’ve even got out of bed. But after a week at Ladram Bay at the end of August and summer holidays, it’s fair to say the aforementioned positives far outweighed my initial meteorological woes. It’s no mean feat to find a holiday destination that keeps our all our brood, dare I say it, happy – but I’d go as far as to claim that Ladram Bay not only kept the kids entertained and well fed, but us adults relaxed and de-stressed, without a scary price tag!

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My Utility Room of Dreams | John Lewis AEG Washing Machine & Tumble Dryer #AD

My Utility Room of Dreams | John Lewis AEG Washing Machine & Tumble Dryer #AD

One of the things I love about being a blogger is the weird and wonderful stuff that comes into my inbox; from offers of lube reviews to can I make pet insurance an exciting content matter? (The answer was NO!) But sometimes, some brands just ‘get me’ – get my blog, my family and come up with a collaboration that’s so god damn on point even I recoil in amazement. When John Lewis asked if I’d like to try out their new AEG washing machine and tumble dryer, it was as if all my parental dreams had come true! Needless to say, a family of 7 gets through a shiz load of washing and for anyone who follows my insta-stories, you will only be well aware of the drama it causes when one of my trusty washing steads fails me.

For a long time, as a family of 7, it’s been necessary to have two fridges, two lounges, two bathrooms (even two houses in the beginning) so it seemed almost a natural progression to upgrade my domestic goddess-ry to two washing machines and tumble dryers. I’ll be keeping my old work-horses (for now) as it seems a travesty to be loading the new shiny machines with muddy football boots and questionably stained bed sheets!

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