Favourite Things Friday

Hello Friends! And welcome to another week of Favourite Things Friday.

I'm so glad that you are enjoying these posts.

It makes me feel a little better about all that time I spend looking at Pinterest.

I don't spend that much time on it. I swear. Ha!

Anyway the first thing I'm loving this week are you guys.

Thank you for you comments, emails, likes and follows.

I'm so glad that my ramblings are being read by someone.

I am thankful for everyone of you and for the people I have met, even if not in person, through blogging.

Favourite Kids Look

My little guy would look so cute in that puffer vest. Need to get on ASAP.

Favourite DIY

I wish I had one of these in my room but I might have to settle for my Daughters room.

Next DIY maybe??

Favourite Hack

If this works the possibilities are endless.

Favourite Valentine photo

How cute is that??

Favourite Laugh

This right here made me laugh out loud.

And because it's FRIDAY and I'm HAPPY and I want you to be HAPPY

I give you.

Favourite Video

ps. I love me a little Pharrell. HOT!

Happy Friday lovelies!

Have a great weekend.

Get Fit, Stay Fab : A weekly fitness linkup

Welcome back lovelies!

I'm late with this post today as my internet has returned to the stone age and has been acting like a bipolar nut. It's either really slow or just won't work at all. But I'm here and I ready to report.

Last week I announced this little link up and why I wanted to start it.

I feel like I need somewhere to report to. Somewhere that I can see if I'm pulling my weight.

I don't know if anyone will link up and that is worrying but I hope if you have any fitness goals and want someone (namely me) to help you stay on track.
Then join in!

Ok, so I'm doing the Fab ab challenge and it's going good. I'm doing the exercises and I feel ok so far.
I'm feeling a little burn but nothing I can't handle. Next week could be a different story. If you want to join in on the challenge, I've posted a picture below.

I thought alot about my diet over the past week and I figured out I'm not that bad when if comes to my main meals. We have a home cooked dinner at least 6 if not 7 nights of the week and there iv always veg on my plate. I't my snacking where I have a problem. I have a problem with sugar.

Hi.
I'm Caroline.
And... I'm addicted to sugar.

This might seem funny but it's no joke. I gave up cigarettes easier. I tried to cut it out completely since the start of February. Not a good idea. I swear I had with drawls and everything. I was not an easy person to live with either. Sorry Hubs. So instead I'm going to try wean myself off it slowly. I'm going to cut back on the sugar I add to things and cut back on the lovely cream eggs.

I don't want to stop having nice thing all together. I'm not that good. I like cake and cookies and chocolate and sweets and eclairs... ok you get the point. I know giving up all of these things will make me want them more and make me more likely to fail. So instead I'm going to treat myself each day with my sugar fix and fell ok with that.

Everything in moderation.

Iwas doing some research on at home workouts and things that I can do when my kids are around.

I think I've found the perfect thing and person the inspire me.

The transformation this woman has undergone from hard work and dedication is ah-masing!!

But, You'll have to check back next week and see what I'm talking about.

I have some more research to do.

Until then...

Oh, don't forget to follow me on Instagram and use the #getfitstayfab4life to see how I'm doing.

6 things I wish someone told me about Motherhood

I didn't expect some of the things I've gotten so far from Motherhood, but it doesn't seem to care. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I'm surprised again. Here are some of the biggest surprises to date.

Gaining alot of weight after my pregnancy. I excepted the weight gain while I was pregnant. I mean there's the 7-8 lb baby, some fluid and other stuff, so we're looking at 15 lbs tops, right? Wrong! No one told me that it stayed there. No one told me about how easy it was to gain weight after you had the baby. I'm talking a stone weight. I guess all that sitting around cuddling a new baby and drinking teas and eating cupcakes didn't help. Be careful! It creeps up on you.

Just how little sleep I would get. It's not much people. There aren't even any good, long stretches. No such thing as a lie in either. If someone doesn't first wake you up, you're waking up to make sure everyone is breathing. Don't laugh! When they do finally sleep through, you too will check if the baby is breathing. When my daughter slept through for the first time, I panicked and thought something was wrong. I put a mirror under her nose to see if she was still breathing. She was. So I didn't touch her. I'm six years in and still rarely sleeping through the night.

How difficult it is to change a nappy. Between the belly button and the fact that they're so small and fragile, the first couple weeks of nappy changes were life-changing events. By the time you've got everything cleaned, creamed, and replaced, it was time to start it all over again. And that's just the girls. Add the boy pee-stream in your face and it just gets better. Oh, but wait. Wait till you have a 2 stone, 2 year old who's favorite pastime is to kick and wiggly his way through his nappy changes. My floor and clothes have seen more poo than they ever wanted to.

How long it takes to do...everything. I can't really tell you exactly what I do all day now. I just know it involves lots of preparing meals, cleaning meals up off the floor, butt wiping, breaking up fights, 10 times more laundry than before, and picking up toys that are pulled out at twice the rate I'm cleaning them. And don't even think you can "run in" anywhere. What was once a five-minute run to the shops will literally take 30 minutes with kids. And that's just to get them into the car. Seriously! 

That my children would ever be those children. You know those kids. The kids that are sitting on the floor screaming because they can't go on the train at the supermarket. The ones running wild like the only meal they had that day was a bag of sugar. The ones that can be heard over every other kid at the playground. Those are my kids. And one day it will be yours. Why? Because it's payback! We were once those kids.

That my kids will make my heart burst with love.  I took my kids to the park for a picnic during the summer when we had the weather for it and on the way home my daughter said " Mom, You're the best Mom ever. I love you!" . That right there, melted my heart. All the drama in the supermarket and the lack of sleep was all forgotten because of that. That is why we become parents. That is why we do it.

Being a parent has been, by far, the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Some days? I'm so done. I'll be the first to be honest and say those days where there were no kids? They were way easier. I never thought I was loosing my sanity from lack of adult conversation. I never found myself crying and asking my husband to take them back. But life has never been as full of joy as it is today. It may be crazy, loud and grey-hair causing, but it's completely wonderful and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Motherhood is hard but the rewards are worth it. Big time!!

Thanks for reading!

You make my Heart Glow : Free Valentines Printable

Happy Monday Friends!

How was your weekend?

It was a dreadful one here weather wise.

But we made the most of the break we got yesterday.

Back to the Rain again today, so I'm sharing a little something to brighten up your Monday.

Last Monday I shared a craft and free printable with you guys.

This week I've got another.

I love designing and sharing my printables.

It's become a real passion of mine.

I hope you enjoy them.

"You make my Heart glow!"

I had a few glowsticks left over from my daughters birthday.

I got something like 20 for €1.49 in Deals.

Deal, right?

I don't want to give my kids a whole lot of chocolate for valentines.

I want to give them other things that they can enjoy.

And a cute printable to tell them how much they mean to me just make it even more special.

So here you go.

Just save the picture to your computer and print away.

Just print them, cut them out and punch two holes to hold your glowstick.

It's that easy.

And there you have it.
Another cute non chocolate idea for valentines.

I would love to see if you use them for your kids.
If you use them and are on instagram, tag your photos with #CGRprintables .
Or tag me on my Facebook page.
I'd love to see how they turned out.

Thanks for reading!

Katy Hopkins : I am an Irish Mammie

I normally don't post on a Saturday but something inside me had to write this.

If I left it too long, I was likely yo burst.

Katie Hopkins is a woman I never knew existed until her outrageous interview on ITV's This Morning show.

She was on the show talking about how she decided who her kids can play with on the basis of their name or where they live. After watching this interview I was appalled that someone would judge children like this. 

Their CHILDREN for god sake.

I'm not naive. I do know that this happens. I know that in every town, there's "that" part of town. Or "that" family. But would you really stop you kids from playing with them because of that? You should judge people by their actions and words not their name.

If I were to judge Katy Hopkins on her name alone, I would not have much to say really. Pretty normal name. But I would be sorry for doing that. Her actions on The Late Late Show were horrible. She didn't hold back when it came to talking about “full-time mummies” as she sarcastically called them. Tubs, who I love, did try to give as good as she did and stood up for Irish Mammies but she was a woman on a mission.

 "They drop off their kids in their pyjamas or their onesies. They slop off home in their Ugg boots. They meet for coffee, they compare breast sizes [because of breastfeeding]…and then they go back and they pick up the kids. I mean really. That’s it."

Katy  Hopkins, I am a full time mummie as you put it.

I do not pull up to school to drop off my kids in my pj's.

I do not own a onesie.

I do not have time for coffee and comparing boob sizes.

I cook.

I clean.

I wash.

All the time.

I spend time with my children.

We play, craft and sometimes do nothing together.

I do not judge people based on where they live.

I do not pick my friends based on their name.

I do not have pictures of myself naked in a field.

I do not spend my evenings on national tv insulting the people of the country

i'm in.

I do not spend time being a judgmental, prejudiced person.

I am a mother.

I chose it. I did not just become a mother.

You also chose to be a mother.

But for some reason have decided it's better to criticize others.

Maybe it's to make you feel better about your short comings. 

Maybe it's because you want the attention.

Maybe you feel the need to justify what you do.

I should not have to justify why I am a full time mother.

Not to you.

 Not to anyone.

And I will never do it again.

You are forgetting that people do judge others by their actions and words and one day your children will see what kind a person you are. 

I have pity for you when that day comes.

PS. Irish Mammies Rock!!