Tag: Summer

Erin sat on the beach

The Cost Of The Summer Holidays

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

AD | Collaborative post With the summer holidays coming up I am personally thinking about what we might like to do and more importantly, how I am going to make our money stretch for 6 weeks. Up until now, I don’t think I really thought about how much Erin being off school for so long would affect our finances. When Erin is at nursery I know that she has a good breakfast beforehand to get her set up for the day. During the nursery day Erin has a snack in the morning, the packed lunch

Beach

Summer Holiday Bucket List 2019

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

I can’t quite believe the summer holidays are only about 4 weeks away. The last half termSummer Holiday Bucket List 2019 only seemed like yesterday and I thought I would have plenty of time to get planning some activities for the summer holidays. That time seems to be running out really fast though and I’ve hardly planned anything. 6 weeks is a lot of time to fill and I’m so used to Erin being at nursery for 4 days a week now that I’m not quite sure how to make it fun all the time

Celebrating Summer With A Beer52 Subscription

Celebrating Summer With A Beer52 Subscription

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

AD | Paid collaboration It has been said that Britain is set to experience another heatwave this year in the form of a Spanish plume. The Met Office have said that although we won’t see the warmth in the next week or two, it could be here are early as the end of May. It looks like we’re set to have an early start to summer this year. As soon as the weather is even some kind of nice we tend to head out into the garden as a family. Our house has quite a

Staying Sun Safe With Solero

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

We have been very lucky to have had a fantastic summer this year. We have seen regular temperatures of 25°C and some days have even reached 30°C here in Norfolk. We have spent so much time outside in the back garden, at the park or just walking to and from nursery and in times like this it’s so important to remember about sun protection. We have used so much this summer so when LloydsPharmacy got in touch about their own range of sun care I couldn’t wait to try a couple of their products. Sometimes, it can take

Practical Ways To Save Money This Summer

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

The summer holidays are now in full swing and after a couple of days of rain, we are due nicer weather again for at least a couple of weeks. Even though Erin goes to nursery throughout the summer there is still the temptation to go for days out, spend money on doing things here and there and generally spending more money than normal. So, here are some practical ways to save money this summer with help from some great bloggers: Packed lunches – It’s so easy to give in to the temptation of eating out

Kids love gardens! They’re a great place to play in and explore, at least as long as they’re kept safe. It can be a bit tricky to pull together a garden for the whole family, but it’s definitely possible, and with a bit of advice from Olive Grove I’ve been able to narrow down 7 ways to get the perfect family summer garden. Get the kids involved! A garden for the family should be planned by the family, not just by the adults. Let your kids get stuck in and give them time to find “their” area (the bit they like to play in the most) so you know not to cover it up or pave over it. If they’re less of the playing type, why not let them help plant seeds or ask them what kind of thing they’d like to play with in the ‘new’ garden? Be careful with water Accessible ponds and natural pools can be a lovely decoration, but they’re a big danger to children and family pets. A few inches is more than enough for a child to drown in, and even if they’re just sitting in the water, it could end up being really really cold! That’s not to say you should get rid of all the water, but you should definitely make it inaccessible to younger members of the family. Bordering off a pond or capping a water barrel can go a long way to keeping your garden safe. Always have a shared space It can be tempting to split your garden into the ‘play area’ and the ‘adult’s area’, but it’ll do your family no harm to mix them together a little bit! Putting most of the seating in the middle of the garden might help here, since it’ll draw the whole family towards the same area. Guests should also be considered – they might not be comfortable staying in a defined area, so it’s important to accommodate everybody in each area of the garden – even something as simple as some children’s chairs near the adult’s tables or a bench near the children’s area could work just fine! Get involved in DIY DIY projects can be a great way to make your garden a more accessible space – building a treehouse might be a bit out of your league, but you could always make a wooden shelter for your children to play in and around. For the adults, you could try making a canvas shelter sail to give you more protection from the rain, or some entirely DIY furniture that everybody could help build! Use suitable surfaces Gardens are never just grass – you’ll have patios, stone paths and dirt areas, all of which are a lot less soft. Kids might like playing on something that’s a bit more solid, but falling over could seriously hurt them! If they’re adamant about fooling around on your patio or porch, give them a thick blanket to try and break their fall. Even if they still hurt themselves, at least they won’t get splinters or cuts: just a little bump. Don’t overextend your ideas If your garden is too small to use as a full-sized playground for your kids, try giving them something a bit more improvised. If you’re adding a lot of hedges, you can turn it into a hide-and-seek area (or bring out the water pistols when summer rolls around)! That’s not to say you should try something more exotic – plant some palm trees or add some foreign decorations and give your garden a unique twist! Spend time out there The most important secret to a good family garden is to keep using it – family members, both children and adults alike, definitely benefit from the time they spend together, so using the space as often as possible makes a huge difference. Plus, it gives you an excuse to change things around now and then. Let your children grow up alongside your garden, and eventually it might become more important to the household then the living room!

7 Ways To Get The Perfect Family Summer Garden

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

Kids love gardens! They’re a great place to play in and explore, at least as long as they’re kept safe. It can be a bit tricky to pull together a garden for the whole family, but it’s definitely possible, and with a bit of advice from Olive Grove I’ve been able to narrow down 7 ways to get the perfect family summer garden. Get the kids involved! A garden for the family should be planned by the family, not just by the adults. Let your kids get stuck in and give them time to find

5 Ways To Spend A Summer Evening With The Family

5 Ways To Spend A Summer Evening With The Family

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

We’re are in the middle of a pretty hot heatwave (or, you know, that thing called summer) at the moment and sometimes, it’s just too hot to go out in the middle of the day. As much as Erin would love to be out playing in the garden or at the park all of the time, it’s just not practical. If you have children that are old enough to stay up maybe that bit later, early evening is a much more comfortable time to be outside. Here are 5 ways to spend a summer evening

Marques De Caceres

Making time to relax together as a couple

By : Lyndsey OHalloran

AD | Collaborative post When you become a family it’s easy to let time get away from you. Being so busy all of the time means that it’s hard to switch off sometimes. Both John and I are guilty of not taking enough time for ourselves and we certainly don’t take enough time as a couple. Now that summer has finally arrived we are trying to make the most of being at home together as we’re not able to go out on an evening when Erin is in bed. The evenings are much lighter during