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  1. Home improvements are usually to boost the value of your house, adding a patio or improving your garden space, or painting your home a more aesthetically pleasing colour. But, what home improvements can your whole family enjoy? The kids aren’t going to care about many of the improvements you make for your home, however, there are some ideas and projects that the whole family can enjoy in the garden.

  2. Blogging can be tough sometimes.  In an online world where we are opening ourselves up to constant criticism we didn’t ask for, trolls and unwanted advice, it can be quite draining and negative sometimes.  Plus there’s so much advice out there, you might be confused with how to blog or what to blog about.  It might all seem a little overwhelming.  But I say, to hell with this!  Blogging should be positive.  More positivity please!

    Let’s build each other up, not break each other down.

    Let’s ignore all the unwanted advice and follow our own dreams.

    Let’s do what we want to do because we have the freedom to and it makes us happy.

  3. Technology always moves so fast and it’s crazy to think when I was a child there were no iPads, no iPhones, not even a computer!  Yep, you might be thinking I’m ancient by now, but I’m only 32.  I didn’t have a laptop or the internet until I was in my twenties!  We never had one at home when I was growing up and it was all kind of a new thing.  Even my senior school had only just started putting in computer rooms and most of us were like ‘why would we need to use a computer?’ Ha!

    My children are already whizzes on the iPads at ages five and two.  It’s quite crazy, but also a sign of the times as no doubt it’s going to be imperative for most to know how to work them.  I’m sure they’re going to take over our lives even more in the future, which we’re already beginning to see with the likes of voice-activated home hubs like Alexa.

    There’s also a lot of negativity around children using technology so much.  We sometimes depend on it a little too much to entertain our children.  After all it’s an amazing way to keep them entertained and calm them if they’re being crazy!  We still encourage our children to get outdoors as much as possible.  It’s important to keep in touch with nature and for the children to invent their own games as well as keep active in the fresh air.

    Outdoor activities don’t seem to have changed too much since I was a youngster.  There are those crazy hover board things, which don’t actually hover, but that’s all I’ve really noticed that’s any different.  It’s still kind of a skateboard, just with a few additions!  I wonder if technology will ever catch up and take over outdoor play with some crazy inventions, or perhaps the good old fashioned ways to play outdoors will always remain.

    Here are outdoor activities I enjoyed as a child and my children will too:

  4. We all know how interior design presents us with plenty of weird and wonderful ways to decorate our homes. And whilst a bedroom should always have the basics of a mattress and somewhere to store clothes, there are also lots of fun ways to add a personal touch to our sleeping spaces. So what are the most popular bedroom designs out there, and what it is about these designs that make them so attractive?

  5. It’s no surprise that becoming a parent takes up a lot of time and doesn’t provide the flexibility you once had to partake in exercise.  However, it’s a common misconception that parents are too busy to exercise or don’t have the time.  It’s entirely possible for anyone, whatever their circumstances, to squeeze 10-15 minutes of exercise into each day as a bare minimum.  Plus this can easily be done with the children if need be and there are plenty of affordable options, some are even free.

    Here are 5 ways you can keep fit (and squeeze it in around the children):

  6. Being healthy is one of the most important things to me.  Becoming pregnant with my daughter six and a half years ago really inspired my healthy journey once and for all.  Before this I was always sort of healthy, or so I thought.  I’d get my five a day, so that was healthy right?  I’d regularly eat vegetables and salad, so that was healthy too right?  I’d go for runs, they were healthy, yes?  Only thing was I’d usually head to the pub after the run and have a couple of pints of cider and black, a few cigarettes and a 99p chicken burger on the way home.  Nice.  Nowadays I can’t believe I used to do that!  I probably undid all the goodness I was giving myself as I was equally as bad with naughty snacks, way too much sugar, smoking and regular drinking, including binge drinking at the weekends.

    Over the past few years I’ve become more and more healthy and I feel impossibly better for it.  I never get sick and if I do it’s perhaps once every couple of years for a day or two.  I no longer get a winter cough or cold which I was guaranteed before.  My skin is clearer and softer than it’s ever been.  I feel lighter and cleaner.  I rarely have any medical complaints.  I truly believe what we do to our bodies both inside and out really effects our health and mental wellbeing, much more than most of us realise.

    Here are 7 ways I ramped up my healthy lifestyle:

  7. One of the biggest struggles we’ve faced, whilst doing up our home for three years, is not being familiar with the true cost of building work and home improvements.  Not knowing anyone personally in the trades we’ve needed, has meant we have to take the word of the builders who provide us with quotes.  With programmes like Cowboy Builders in the back of our minds, we’re always sceptical of what we’re told and whether we are being ripped off.  This is the first home we have bought and renovated so we feel very naïve and have nothing to compare anything to.  Luckily there is a brilliant UK based website called Job Prices who provide a comprehensive online guide into home improvement pricing.

  8. The kitchen is often considered the hub of the home. It’s one of the most used rooms in the house, so it makes sense it’s one of the first rooms homeowners consider renovating.

    However, kitchen renovations aren’t cheap. So, if you don’t have a few thousand pounds to spare, you may think you don’t have the option to decorate. The good news is, it’s possible to completely revamp your kitchen with just a few new accessories. This means, even those on a tight budget can do something right now to improve the look of the room. 

    Below, you’ll discover some of the best accessories to invest in if you want to revamp the kitchen on a budget.

  9. There seems to be a common complaint amongst parents that they don’t have enough time for exercise once they have children.  While that may be true to a certain extent and we parents can no longer partake in the long after work gym sessions we enjoyed before children, we just need to be inventive and realise ways we can exercise with our children instead.  Here are some fun ways you can keep fit with your young kids.