20 questions: Getting to know the Blogger

Welcome back to another installment of 20 Questions : Getting to know the Blogger. This week we're talking to Laura over at love, life and little ones. A busy Dublin based Mom of 2 with another one one the way. Blogging about all things beauty, parent and lifestyle related.
Be sure to like her Facebook page to keep up with her blog.

Hi, My name is Laura Doyle and my blog is Love, Life and Little Ones. I am a 28 year old mum of two (three in March 2016) and part time beauty therapist! I have a 6 year old son and a 17 month old daughter. Married to the love of my life and blogging about all things beauty, parent and lifestyle related.

Favourite childhood book. 

Growing up I was the biggest book worm out there- I remember being told it was bedtime and lights out growing up but reading under my covers with a little torch! I don't get to read as much now being a busy mum but I do when I can! I loved Jacqueline Wilson growing up so anything by her was always my favs!

Favourite quote. 

"Where there is a will there is a way" 

Nothing is impossible in this world and that is definitely a quote I live by!

Favourite clothing store.

For myself I love Zara, h&m or penneys!! 

For the kids next and h&m!

Favourite song/band. 

At the moment I am loving Adele and Justin Bieber but I am a big Lana Del Ray fan too! 

Biggest fear. 

Death. 

People in my family dying or me dying and not being around to raise my kids. It gives me a lot of anxiety but I try not to think to much about it!

Any piercings/tattoos.

So in my time I've had a lot of piercings. Ears 4 times, inner ear, top of my ear, tongue, lip, belly button and nipple 🙊 and I have two tattoos!

Weird quirk of mine.

I get really anxious when something is lost so toys or clothes or jewellery or anything I like it all to have a specific spot. I like category's of toys in my sons room in separate boxes! 

Something I like to collect. 

As a kid I loved to collect call cards! 

Favourite comfort food.

I am 8 months pregnant so right now everything. Carbs mostly. But everything from fruit to sweets to crisps to choc just everything!!!! 

Dream job. 

I always wanted to be a singer growing up. But literally I am doing my dream job as a beauty therapist I really love it. 

Favourite thing about me.

I am very thoughtful and caring towards others especially my family. I wish more people were like that. 

Worst habit.

Not cleaning as I go!! It does my husbands head in! 

Guilty pleasure. 

Pretty Little Liars! 

Something you miss.

Weekend lie ins!!!!

3 things you would take to an island

My family!

Books! 

Sunscreen!!

Last time you cried.

We had a little scare with the baby last week so I cried all day! But everything is fine. This pregnancy has me crying a lot! Happy, sad or otherwise!!

If I won the lotto.

I sound naive saying this but I wouldn't want our lives to change too much. Obviously I would by a huge house in the area I aspire to live in one say. 

What makes me feel better, always.

My husband. As corny as it sounds he is my rock. He is like my councilor. A hug from him and a chat to talk something through and everything is all better, always.

Where I most want to travel.

The Maldives! It just looks like the most beautiful place in the world!! I will go, someday! 

Where I want to be in 10 years. 

In 10 years I want to be happy and healthy. Such a cliche answer I know but your health and family are really all that matters in this world! And I couldn't be happier than I am now. So I hope I am just as I am in 10 years... 

**Calling all bloggers, moms, small business owners or anyone that's interested**

If would like to answer these questions and be featured on my blog, leave a comment below with your email and I will email you the questions. I'd love to make a little series out of this to get to know more of you lovely people and share your blogs and/or talents.

Shoot me an email at mycountrygirlramblings@yahoo.ie 

 FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM

20 Questions :Getting to know the Blogger

Welcome to the first installment of 20 Questions: Getting to know the Blogger. This week were talking to Ellen from Bumps and Roundabouts. A busy mom of one with another on the way. Follow along on her adventures in parenting on her social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 


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Hello, I’m Ellen and I blog over at Bumps and Roundabouts. I am Mom to one toddler, with the ability to smell out biscuits from over 5 miles. I am also due his partner in crime in March this year. I blog about everything and anything from parenting to baking, make up to TV shows, all the bumps and roundabouts I encounter in life.

Favourite childhood book.

Granny Perkin’s thinking cap – My mom would read it to my cousin and me when we were growing up and it will always be the book that I think of when I think of my childhood. Sadly, I never held onto my original one but luckily I tracked one down a few years ago and have given it to my Mom to read to Aidan as he grows up.

Favourite quote.

“Everydays the first of the rest of your life”

or “Tigers don’t concern themselves with the opinions of sheep”. It really depends what sort of mood I’m in but those two are ones I tell myself a lot.

Favourite clothing store.

Penneys! I think all girls love Penneys (Primark). The trouble is I go in for socks and come out with three full bags and one empty purse.

Favourite song/band.

I got ahead of myself I see.. As I said above my favourite song is ‘Angels on the moon’ by Thriving Ivory. Who would also be one of my favourite bands. 

Biggest fear.

Coffins. I can’t see one without panicing and usually crying. Strange, I know. I don’t have a fear of dying – just coffins. I want to be burned and put into the bin when the time comes.

Any piercings/tattoos.

I had my ears, tongue and bellybutton pierced but I have let them all close up. I have 5 tattoos – my arm, back, neck, side and ankle.

Weird quirk of mine.

All the hangers in my wardrobe have to match. I bulk order hangers from Amazon. Metal ones with different coloured handles. Aidan’s wardrobe also has matching plastic hangers I bought from Tesco. Clayton’s wardrobe gets all the mismatched hangers! 

Something I like to collect.

Cleaning products. I will always have an unopen 6 pack of sponges, scouring pads, 2/3 extra bottles of bleach, extra bottle of fabric softener, floor cleaner. You name it, I have spares. 

The more of these questions I am answering the weirder I am sounding, right?

Favourite comfort food.

Anything with sugar – chocolate, jellies, biscuits!

Dream job.

Being paid to be a parent? Right now there is no job in the world that would trump getting to stay home with Aidan. However, when the time comes I hope to use my Chemistry degree and work in a research and development lab.

Favourite thing about me.

They say Irish people can’t take a compliment so how do they expect us to compliment ourselves? Can I say I like my top and then follow up with “This? Penneys €4!”

Worst habit.

Procrastinating. I have been meaning to get my flu injection for about 6-8 weeks now and make an appointment to get my haircut for about 6 months. If it’s not for Aidan or absolutely necessary I tend to keep putting it off. 

Guilty pleasure.

Big Brother. Although I am not too interested this year compared to other years.

Something you miss.

Living at home, baby free, not knowing anything about bills or budgeting. Don’t get me wrong if I had to move back in with my parents I would probably cry but I do miss the easier days of having someone else paying the bills, making the dinner and tidying the house.

3 things you would take to an island

Assuming all the important people are already there… my phone, tea bags and Dettol wipes. Aidan will sniff out any food that may be present anyway!

Last time you cried.

The other night when I watched ‘Dear Zachary’. It is of the same genre as Making a Murderer but if you’re going to watch it DO NOT Google it first. It’s on Youtube, but be prepared you will cry.

If I won the lotto.

The usual stuff – buy a house, a new car, give money to family, help charity and go on a crazy spending spree! Ideally, I would also love to buy one of the many ghost estates around the country to help with Ireland’s ever growing homelessness issue.

What makes me feel better, always.

Aidan. One smile can fix anything.

Where I most want to travel.

Bora Bora. It is self-explanatory surely. It looks so beautiful and relaxing.

Where I want to be in 10 years.

I want to have a happy and healthy family. Anything else is a bonus.

**Calling all bloggers, moms, small business owners or anyone that's interested**

If would like to answer these questions and be featured on my blog, leave a comment below with your email and I will email you the questions. I'd love to make a little series out of this to get to know more of you lovely people and share your blogs and/or talents.

Shoot me an email at mycountrygirlramblings@yahoo.ie 

 FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM

Blog Resources

I've been blogging for over a year. A whole year. I didn't think I had a week of writing in me let alone a whole year. Before I started blogging, I spent hours looking at all these amazing blogs with beautiful template designs, social media buttons and beautifully edited pictures.

How was I going to do this? How was I going to be able to afford all these things? 

After a bit of research and a few hours on Pinterest and Google, I found a world of pins and sites that offer free blog templates, buttons and loads more stuff.

Yes, I said free.

And seeing that we are all trying to make our blogs as good as they can be, on a shoe string budget or no budget at all, like me, I'm sharing my fabulous little finds with you.

Templates

This is one of the most important things on your blog. This is what sets the mood on your blog. It needs to represent you on your blog. Blogger and Wordpress offer a wide range or templates that you can edit to suit your blog. I used these for awhile and there great to get you started. But they never really the perfect fit for my blog. I did a Pinterest search for "free blogger templates" and there hundreds popped up.

I found my free template design over at Loving Life Designs. I love how it turned out and you too can find something that fits your blog. You just have to dig a little. Just make sure you get it from someone who is trusted. some of these free templates come with malware and things you don't want on your blog. It's also a good idea to set up a test blog so you can test things out and not destroy you lovely blog.

Social Media Buttons

Another important thing is making people can connect with you. And a cute and easy way to do that is through social media buttons. Great fun 4 kids blog has a tonne of cute button to suit every kind of blogger. And if you get board you can just pick a different design and change it up.

Pinterest

Pinterest is great. It a little goldmine. You can find anything you want there. If your like me and you craft/cook/bake/DIY, Pinterest is for you. You can pin your photo to your boards and it will be there for people to find. I needed to make it easier for people to pin things from my blog. So I installed  pin it mouseover button. This allows people to mouseover my blog photos and a "Pin it" button appears in the corner. It's easy to do and it worth it if you use Pinterest.

How to add a Pin it Mouseover button to wordpress blog images.

How to add a Pin it Mouseover button to Blogger blog images.

Pic Monkey

I love this simple online photo editor for three reasons: it’s (mostly) free, they continue to offer new editing options (including holiday-themed stuff), & it helps me create great blog images without the use of a downloaded program. It's really easy to use too, so don't worry if you're not tech savvy.

If you haven’t discovered this little picture-editing gem yet – go there right now!

Blog Lovin’

Blog Lovin’ is a blog reader, like Google Reader or an RSS feed. I have used Blog Lovin for awhile now. With Google reader gone this is the next best thing. I think it even better.

Blog Lovin’ also provides page views for posts you look at, whereas other readers don’t. This is huge if you’re a blogger because it means you’ll get more traffic!

Overall, this reader is pretty, easy to use, and generally more appealing. If you’re in the market for a new blog reader or don’t currently use a blog reader, I’d highly recommend it.
You can follow me on Blog Lovin’ via the link on my sidebar at the top of my page.

Blogger Groups

When I started out I was on my own. I had no one to ask questions. No one to ask for advice.
It was a bit daunting.
Then one day I found Irish Parenting Bloggers Facebook Group.
These strangers have become a family that I can turn to for anything blog related.
I can pick their brains about blog templates, buttons and why this or that or everything isn't working for me.
They are a huge resource for any blogger starting off.
Search for one in your area and you'll be surprised how quickly you'll learn and share.

I hope these tools that I've shared help you to take the next step in starting your own blog or improving the one you already have.

Thanks for reading.

Back to School : The Hidden Costs

Some of the other bloggers over at the Irish Parenting Bloggers were talking about the hidden costs of going back to school. It turned out that between all of us over there, there was a huge difference in what we all had to pay. We have started a blog march were each day new blog post will be linked to the march.

Today it's my turn.

I wasn't sure how I would approach this. 

I mean how many times can you read about the cost of going to school.

But as I read the other ladies posts, I realise that we are all in different situations.

A lot of the Irish parenting bloggers live in Dublin or in bigger towns across Ireland.

I live in the countryside in Limerick.

The difference in what we all have to pay based on where we live was crazy.

Some of the Moms were paying a contribution of €140 per child per year.
We even have an Irish Mom in the US blogging about how the state pays for all there school books.

It made me realise that I am SO lucky with the school my daughter goes to.

There is no big payment at the start of the year. Nothing!

Here are the costs for me this year.

Photocopying : €8

That's the only thing that I will have to send in with herself on Monday.

Books : €40

I only had to buy 4 school book this year because of a book rental scheme, which made everything alot easier. This price also includes copies, project books, folders, pencils, twistables and a pencil-case.

Book rental : €10

The school are doing a book rental scheme for the English readers and one other book.

They are also offering to photocopy the first class book for one subject so we don't have to buy it.

Uniform : €30 so far

The only things I had to buy this year was a new jumper, socks and polo shirts.

Crested Jumper : €25, Shirts : €2.50 (Tesco) Socks : €2.50 (Lidl)

 The pinafore that I got last year is still perfect.

It was so big for her last year that I had to take it up 5 inches.

I'm just going to let it back down again.

Her pants are still fitting her but I will have to buy some later in the year.

I also have a winter coat and shoes that still fit her.

I'm not including these in the price for school as I would need these even of she didn't go to school.

School bag and Lunch box :€24

Total : €112

Some of the other costs through the year will be 

Art and dancing : €4 per week

School tour : €5 (last year)

Swimming: ???

I don't mind paying for these things. If I only have to pay €4 a week of these things I'm not doing too bad.

They would cost a whole lot more outside of school.

The school will have non uniform days and fundraising days through the year too.

I will happily pay for these too.
They don't set a donation price so you give what you can afford.

I love this school.

The school has been open since 1904

The past 4 generations of my family have gone to school there and I will do whatever I can to help out.

We have a newly built school with amazing facilities and teachers.

They have huge over heads and they are still doing whatever they can to keep the costs down for us.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not well off. I will find it difficult to find money for these things around Christmas. But I will make it work. I have to. I will do it for my daughter.

I am so lucky with my school in comparison to some of the other Moms and Dads out there.
I know that there are parents out there that are wondering how they will cope.
Families on social welfare will get €100 for children of national school age.
That won't even begin to cover the costs if you're child is starting school this year.

How does your school fit in?  Do you have to pay a huge contribution?
Can our government do more to help them out?

Let me know what you think!

 Leave a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Below is a list of the other Bloggers that have joined the blog march.

Be sure to go have a read of them.

Sunday, 25th August: The Clothesline – It All Adds Up

Monday, 26th August: The Mama’s Hip – Homeschooling haul and chatter

Monday, 26th August: Awfully Chipper – Back to school in America

Tuesday, 27th August: Learner Mama – Back to school – A costly business

Tuesday, 27th August: Office Mum – School Costs & The Double Income Contradicton

Tuesday, 27th August: Musings And Chatterings – Crests and costs – starting big school part 1

Wednesday, 28th August: Serious Wagon – Back to School Costs

Wednesday, 28th August: Dreaming Aloud – Changing Gear