Young mum stigma!

Why? Why is it ok for strangers to say "oh you look too young to have kids" and give you a disgusted look on their face!?

I get it all the time at work, customers who I get talking with, my heart fills with joy when I talk about my kids, and then a remark like that just pops my little bubble of happiness, what is the correct response to this? Because I have no idea. I mean, just imagine if I approached an 'older' lady as a customer and said "oh, you look too old to have kids" there would be outrage! So why is it ok to do it to 'young' mums?  What makes us any less capable to be good parents at 18 compared to 25+? 

18, the age i was when I had Lexi, we did everything on our own, yes with a little help from the government, we got ourselves a council flat, and received benefits on and off. I started my job at tescos when Lexi was 11 months old, Craig got a perminant job, and we were off of benefits (yay) and we haven't gone back since! Lexi was potty trained by 2, says please and thank you and is the happiest little girl, we decided on another baby after we got married, baby Jake arrived, is now 8 months old and a happy little chappy! Him and his sister are always laughing and playing together and I am immensely proud! Don't get me wrong though, they have their moments, but discipline and consistancy means I am always in control in stressful situations! 

So tell me now that young mums aren't capable? Because even if I do say so myself, I've done a pretty good job! 

6 months!!

Jake is now 6 months!?!? Where did the time go! He has grown so much and has an amazing little personality that makes me smile every day! 

He is now sitting up unaided and eating all sorts. I sat down next to him to eat my salad earlier today which my dad kindly made us for lunch, well it was a huge mistake, as soon as I sat down there was a chunky little hand in my potato salad! I ended up with potato salad and coleslaw all over my lap!! He loves his food! 

He laughs at everything especially when Lexi plays with him, and his favourite game is peek-a-boo! He fits perfectly in his 6-9 clothes, can't see them lasting very long! He got very excited today when I stood him up on his feet and he was taking little steps around my front room! It was adorable! 

Next steps will be crawling, then the fun begins! 

We are loving the summer holidays, although my car broke :( so we are saving for a new one which means we can't get to many places.

Lexis most favourite thing to do at the moment is ride her bike!! She rode all the way to my dads today, we are still working on using the breaks!

She is still a little performer, singing and dancing everywhere we go, at her recent parents evening they said she just sings all the time, and that she is too independent, which I take as a compliment! Her first ever school photos arrived as well, which is so cute!
Lexi was recently a bridesmaid at my cousins wedding, they all looked adorable and the bride looked amazing! Lexi loved wearing her "princess dress" she wore it the next morning till lunch and wouldn't let me take her hair out! 

As for me, well, I've been really tired lately, I can't seem to snap out of it. My mum told me to go to the doctors, because there is a history of vitamin b12 deficiency in my family. I just think I am tired from the kids and work! You know how it is, never ending, but it's the best! 

:) xx

I may be wrong but....

Marriage is hard, like algebra hard! Craig and I have been Married two years and we are still learning how to be married!! I thought you just got married, said I do, and went on your merry way! It isn't until recently I though that actually, you have to learn, and work with each other to make a marriage work! 
Don't get me wrong, I love being married, and I don't see it as work, but when I look back at all the things we have already over come I just think to myself "wow, we have really done well" 
Just because you love some one and know someone well enough to get married, doesn't mean that you don't still have things to learn, because believe me, it all about learning about each other and knowing each other literally inside out!  
I love Craig very much and can't wait for our journey to continue, and to learn together how OUR marriage works! 

:) xx

Strawberry picking

Strawberries are Lexis favourite thing to eat! Every day after nursery on the way home she says, Can I have strawberries for lunch? She would eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner if she could! So today when my friend Kristy rang and said "let's go strawberry picking" I was more then up for it!!

I told Lexi we were going to pick strawberries with Kristy and Oakleigh, Oakleigh is Kristys little boy, so while we was waiting to be picked up she was chanting "strawberries with Oakleigh, strawberries with Oakleigh!" 

We got there and the kids ran ahead holding hands (aw!) we picked up a basket each for the kids and off we went! Both Kristy and I said how lovely it was to let the kids have some freedom and run ahead without constantly shouting "wait for me, slow down!" Lexi was well impressed when she noticed the strawberries, and once I showed her you could pick them, off she went! She got so excited when she picked really big ones! Jake had a little strawberry in his nubby net, looked like a vampire by the end of it! Strawberry juice everywhere!

I would recommend doing this if you are wanting to get your kids interested in fruit. Oakleigh isn't interested in eating fruit, bit as we were walking round we saw him try a strawberry! Which is brilliant! So definitely find your nearest farm and take the kids! They absolutely loved it!  

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@stacylealea

Let's catch up :)

I feel like I haven't posted for ages! But I don't think it has actually been that long! So just thought I would show you my recent pictures and videos of the kids, so you can see what they have been up to :) 

Jake and his Grandad in the sunshine

Lexi loves a car selfie!

Bath time is the best time!

Lexi loves to feed Jake now!

Jake is becoming so much stronger, holding himself up in his walker really well!

Jakes first taste of a strawberry, he loved it, and the Nuby net made sure it was safe :)

We have been practicing sitting up!

We took a trip to London, I had to get my passport urgently, but I thought what a great opportunity to take the kids to see London! we sat and had lunch, and saw Buckingham palace, which Lexi Loved!!

I think Lexis favorite part was being on the underground! She was so happy and excited to be on there!

It was a long day and Lexi did get fussy, as to be expected, I think I am going to take them to London around Christmas time to see the lights, and stay in a hotel so that we don't have to battle the tube at peak times, that was not fun!

Jake was so good the whole day and enjoyed having the freedom of his buggy, instead of being in his car seat! He was going crazy kicking his legs!

aaaaaaand a cheeky video of the kids! Lexi loves singing and dancing! It's all she ever does and I love watching her! In this video she gears up for the world cup! Jake and Lexi play together so well now, always laughing! Enjoy :)

Turning 22

I recently had a birthday, it was the 1st of June and I turned 22! Exciting! I didn't want to do anything for my birthday, all I wanted to do was sit at home with Craig and the kids and that's exactly what we did! Craig and I have been working so much that we are hardly all together at the same time! So it was lovely! I did however have a night out the night before with my friends, which was fun! 

Just a short post to show you what I got :) 

If you hadn't noticed, I asked for candles! The Yankee candle has to be my favourite it smells delicious! 

My converse :) 

What I wore on my night out, loving the high pony at the minute! 

:) xx

Graces gladiators

I have this friend, known each other since we were young, and last night she made me so proud. She was run of her feet, sweating in places you don't even want to know, and dressed as a clown (which is quite standard for her actually) all for cancer research, and a special little lady! 

My friend is called Kristy... This is us back when we was around 14ish on holiday in Malta. 

So Kristy's family looked after a little girl called Grace, and when ever they were looking after her and I was at their house, she was such a happy bubbly little girl who loved to sing wind the bobbin up! After many many years of Grace fighting through so much, last year she sadly lost her battle to leukemia. 

Kristy is part of the relay for life that is held at a local primary school every year, the team this year is called Graces Gladiators. Kristy organised a charity night, to raise funds for cancer research, and to remember Grace, and boy did she do well. There was an amazing turn out, lots of people dressed in fancy dress, a live band, food, raffle and various stalls. For most the night she was running around like a headless chicken, but I managed to pull her away to have a dance to the bands version of wind the bobbin up, which was brilliant! Kristy made such a lovely speech, which I know was hard to get through for her, but she managed and just needed a little cuddle afterwards, and there was plenty of people there for her. There was a moment, that nearly had me down in tears, when Kristy and her mum, Cheryl, hugged each other so tight and just cried, it was a sad but beautiful moment seeing them two there for one another. 

Every one involved did an amazing job and the final total of money raised was £1870.50! Which is just unreal! 

So really this is just a special blog post to say well done to my girl, and that a lot of people are proud of her and everyone else that helped towards the night.

I could go on and on, but I won't, because I am sure people reading have kids screaming at them in the back ground, so I will just finish by saying...

Good job. 

:) xx