Ben's 2nd Birthday presents from Friends and Family

I believe we now have all of Ben's presents from friends and family, well apart from the one that is apparently staying round Steve's parents house, that is from Uncle Matt, and apparently a wooden train with stacking blocks - that I believe he got him for Christmas, so probably good it's staying there! Haha! Ben's Great Nan also got him a play BBQ which is staying there as well. I hardly ever go over there by the way, as Steve and Ben go round on Sundays whilst I'm at work.

These were from our friends and work, the Busy Book is from Emily - Ben loves the little figurines that come with it, though he did start biting them, so he doesn't have them right now. And the little activity box is from Sharleen, CJ and Alissa.

The dumper truck and blocks were from my cousin Tom and his Wife Becky and their son Jacob. And the puzzle is from my Aunty Susan and Uncle John. What would they be the Ben? 2nd cousin and Great Aunty and Uncle? So confusing!

These are from Grandma and Grandad (my parents), as well as some money. A game that is for when he's a bit older as it says it's for aged 3. An Alfie book, and a Pillow Pet that is from QVC (it says on the label).

These are from Aunty Weeza (my sister). A little doctors set.

A few books from relatives in Steve's family.

His first football boots and proper football, from Uncle Ian (Steve's other brother) and Aunty Lucy. He obviously won't be in these boots for a while, but they were the smallest size.

Lastly this little selection came from Aunty Julia and Dave (my sister and her boyfriend). Some more Duplo, a book and a cute t-shirt and shirt set from Tu at Sainsburys. I always find Tu runs super big, so he probably won't be in this just yet.

He also got loads of money/ We will be using some of it to buy some new shoes. Going to take him to Clarks at the beginning of May to buy some. The rest will be going in his bank account.

Crafting - Cross stitching Update #2

I felt like showing you how much stitching I've done on my current go to project.

As this is going to be my grandparents Christmas present, I want to make sure I get it completed. I'm hoping to have this first half completed by the time we go on holiday which is 6 weeks away. Before I sit down to do some I do make sure I've done my workout, and housework that needs doing, so I can fully relax.

Ben's 2nd Birthday

For Ben's birthday, as Steve was working we spent the day in, and a few people came over Emily (from work), Aunty Weeza, and Grandma and Grandad (my side of the family). Ben opened his presents and cards - well I did! He still doesn't quite understand them, hopefully by Christmas he will! And will actually want to open them himself.

I only took a few photos on the day, but thought I would share them with you anyway.

Ben's 2nd Birthday Presents from Us

I cannot believe that Ben turns 2 on Tuesday. It really is true that time flies by and you need to cherish every moment.

I'd thought I would show you what Steve and I have got him for his birthday in one post, and show his other presents from friends and family in another.

His main present is a Cozy Coupe by Little Tikes. I always wish I'd had one of these as a toddler, so I decided a while ago to get him one for his 2nd birthday. As it falls at the perfect time when it's just starting to warm up. I just hope he actually wants to sit in it, as he is in a bit of a strange mode at the minute.

Next up we have smaller items, starting with these number & shapes and letter puzzles. Again these are something I've wanted him to have for a while. I picked these up in a two for £10 deal from the Early Learning Centre.

Some skittles. I have been looking for a cheaper set of skittles for a while. saw these in ELC (I love that shop!) and at just £6 they are a bargain. They're made of plastic, but I'll be using them both inside and outside.

As Ben is getting older and starting to understand more, I really want to start getting a collection of games together. Not many are suitable for his age, but I found this one, called Snails and Spots in ELC and it should help with his counting.

I think I've said before that we always try and get Ben some books for presents, as he loves them. I first saw these a while ago in Waterstones, and took note of them for when Ben got a bit older. They have lift up flaps which again Ben loves. I chose the Farm one because of family background and the Night time one because he loves the moon.

Ben's already got some playdough, and he seems to love playing with it. This is The Early Learning Centre's own version. I actually bought this set when it was half price so it was a bargain. I just need to purchase some kind of plastic mat so we can play with it on the floor and maybe a cheap chopping board to make it easier to roll out.

Ben's birthday is on Tuesday. Daddy is at work so Ben and I are just going to spend the day together, playing together. Ii'm going to make up the Cozy Coupe when he's in bed on Monday, and have it in the lounge and surround it with his other presents. So when he gets up they're all there. I've just got to get Steve up earlier so we can open them together. And hopefully I'll remember to take some photos. I'm also going to make a birthday cake. The chocolate cake that's in the Ella's Kitchen the cook book the red one, if any of you have that.

Mission Bikini Body Update #1

I thought I'd update you all on my bikini body mission, it's just under 2 months until we go, and I'm getting more excited as it gets closer.

I've upped the exercise I am doing now that I've been doing it for a while, and my body was getting used to what I was doing. I have decided to follow Blogilates Beginners Calendar 2.0 and the 30 Days to Sleek Arms Challenge. I will be taking weekends off from the Beginners Calendar, but I will carry on with the Sleek Arms Challenge, and squeeze it in somewhere. And as new videos are released on Monday, I will try them out on either Monday or Tuesday (because of time difference it may not be out when I workout on Mondays). I really look forward to working out each day now. And although I'm getting less sleep at night because Ben is waking up earlier I am not feeling as tired. Which is great, especially when I wake up at 6:30am and have to work in the evening till 9 or 9:30.

I've also added some new healthier foods into my diet.

I picked these up in Sainsbury's - Linwoods Milled flax, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds and goji berries, Agave Nectar, Meridian peanut butter (100% peanuts) and coconut oil.

I've wanted coconut oil for a while, but it is rather expensive. I now use it to cook my eggs in for breakfast and also have added a bit to my porridge the last couple of mornings, along with the Linwoods mix and some agave nectar. The peanut butter is great with apples for an afternoon snack.

I've also started using my Nivea Good-bye Cellulite Gel-Cream after I shower as well.

Ben's Easter presents 2015

I have decided against doing an Easter basket for Ben, although I love the idea. When I was younger my mum would hide all mine and my sisters Easter Eggs around the house for us to find. I really want to start doing this with Ben, but will be starting next year as he's still a bit too young to grasp the concept of finding them. Instead I'll be leaving out all his Easter presents on the floor in the lounge for when he get's up. I'll probably pop down on Sunday morning to get them out as I am at work till 8PM tomorrow. So I'll literally eat then get in bed and watch Casualty.

Firstly we have some chocolate, a Milkybar Farm which has a chocolate egg and cow, a small Freddo faces egg, and a pack of Kinder Mini Eggs.

Then we have the pack of First Fabulous Facts book, that you may recognise from my previous post. Along with these we've also got Ben a dinosaurs colouring book that was from Sainsbury's and an Easter sticker book by Usborne. Usborne do a fantastic range of sticker and activity books. And we will be taking some on holiday with us. so I thought I'd get him an Easter one so he can grasp the idea of what to do before we go.

The Book People Purchases and Review

I'd been considering placing an order on The Book People for a while, ever since my mum mentioned it to me over a year ago! I do however like to look at books or at least read review before purchasing, which is where Amazon and my local Waterstones came in handy.

This is what I decided to buy. Delivery is £2.95, or if you spend £25 or over it's free. So I decided to spend enough to get the free postage and packing.

I decided to pick up these First Fabulous Facts by Ladybird to give Ben as part of his Easter present. He is to old for the facts now, but I thought they would help in teaching him what things are within each book.

I remember the Alfie books from when I was little (or maybe my sister I can't quite remember) but I always wanted to get them for Ben. I'm going to keep these back and give them to Ben as part of his Christmas present.

Something else I really wanted to purchase was wipe clean books to help Ben to draw and write. So I added this set to my basket.

I was looking around for some books to help with teaching Ben more new words, maybe some unusual words, and also thinking about keeping Ben busy whilst traveling on holiday. I'd heard of the Richard Scarry books but never looked in them, so took a trip to Waterstones to have a look. I liked the look of them and so did Steve so I purchased the set of 10 as well as A Day at the Airport.

We received great service, and the books were dispatched really fast. They use the courier Hermes (or at least did with me), and my local Hermes drivers always seem pretty good. I believe I made an order on a Wednesday and they got delivered the following Monday.