-
Catch up! What have I been up to? June 2022
Well hello there dear! I haven’t created a new post for a little while so thought I’d catch you lot up with what I’ve been up to. I haven’t had much time for myself lately hence the lack of content from me but life is like that sometime. We all have busy periods – baby or no baby. So let’s get to it – where have I been? Center Parcs At the beginning of May, myself, Andy, Holly, and my immediate family all went to Center Parcs at Whinfell Forest. We went Monday to Friday but if you’ve been to Center Parcs you’ll know you can’t get in to your…
-
Disneyland Paris Travel Options – North East England 2022
We are planning a Disney trip later this year and I have explored every option I can think of to travel to Paris from where we live in County Durham, North East England. To figure out the best overall option for us (two adults and a one year old) I’m looking at prices, travel time, flexibility, accommodating travelling with a baby and luggage restrictions and thought I’d share my research with you lot. That said, I’m not going to include prices in this post as I’ve found that prices vary massively depending on your travel dates so there’s no way I could capture the spectrum of cost variation. What I…
-
One year old baby update: eating, drinking, crawling and sleep!
Our baby daughter Holly is one and I can’t believe how much of a journey we’ve been on in only a year. In some ways it feels like it was only a few months ago that I wrote the ‘Look what we made’ blog post when Holly was first born – one of my first ever write ups – but then in other ways, it feels a lot longer. Read on for my one year baby update and like with a lot of my posts, I’ve split this one up in to different parts so you can skip to the bits that interest you. I’ve chosen to write about Eating…
-
Amazon Prime Benefits – Free Delivery, Amazon Fresh, Prime TV, Reading and more!
What would we do without Amazon? If 2020 proved anything to me, it was that Prime was worth every penny. During the time that we were housebound in lockdown when most shops other than supermarkets were closed, online shopping became more of a necessity than ever. I mean really, how many people do you know who regularly use Amazon – everybody loves it! Free next day delivery for Prime members and Prime TV is enough to sign up to the subscription right? Well, yes that’s true BUT if you are a Prime member, you get access to a whole lot more and many people just don’t make the most of…
-
Reviewing Amazon Fresh – North East England, Amazon Prime Benefits
I am a big fan of grocery home deliveries – I couldn’t live without them! The thought of struggling with a baby, shopping list, reusable bags and a trolley brings a sad little tear to my eye. No thank you, not today Satan. I would much rather sit in my pyjamas on an evening to order my shopping – I can even walk to the kitchen and double check what we’ve got/need if I want to. Then I can have my order dropped at my doorstep at a convenient time. Hands down, love it. But my pretties, all is not well in the online grocery world. Due to the demand…
-
MoneySavingCatherine: Part Two – The January Pinch!
Hello money savers! I did intend to post this just before Christmas but I’ve found myself with very little free time lately. I’m sure we will get back to a regular bedtime at some point but little Holly has been keeping us on our toes since November now (NOVEMBER!!!). Anyway this isn’t a baby update, this is another money based blog post containing a few tips and tricks that weren’t included in part one and January is actually a pretty good time to look at your finances. I’ve split this post in to two parts to make it easier to access – ways to save money that you already have…
-
Harry Potter Forest Experience December ’21 – My First Night Away Baby-Free!
Can you believe that in the nine months that my baby girl has been alive, I hadn’t spent one single night away from her? Me neither, but now that’s changed as I had a much needed girly night away to visit the Harry Potter Forest Experience in Arley Hall, Cheshire. It was well and truly needed to give my tired brain and body a rest from Mam-mode and allowed me to breathe again without worrying about bottles, baby food and nappies. I was only away for one night and approximately 24 hours but it was enough to reset myself somewhat. The Experience and Hotel I’m not going to prattle on…
-
Local Christmas Gift Guide 2021 Supporting Small Businesses
Ho ho ho! It’s November so you know what that means, Christmas is just around the corner! This year it would be great if we could all support North East small businesses and give back to our local retailers. Let’s help support the dream of a real person and not just a faceless business. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Amazon as much as the next person but for Christmas and occasions I try, whenever possible, to find gifts that are a bit different and that have been made with love rather than a mass produced present. I’ve cut my introductory waffling short for this one so make your…
-
MoneysavingCatherine: Ideas to raise money for Christmas on Maternity Pay or Low Income
I am so excited for Christmas this year but as much as it will be a different experience for me now that I’m a Mam, it will also be very different financially as since University I’ve always worked full time. We have a lot of people to buy for and now our dear little Hollypop is here, she has catapulted our budget out of the window. I thought I’d share my ideas on how to raise a bit more wonga and how I plan to make my measly maternity pay stretch a little bit further. If you are in a similar situation or find yourself a little low on cash…
-
Baby Sleep Routine at Seven Months Old
Holly is now seven months old and her sleep routine and night feeding pattern has changed so much from when she was a newborn – praise the Lord! Night-times are a lot more structured now and I thought it would be a good time to do a round up of how her habits have changed across the months. If you have a younger baby and want an idea of what to expect then by all means, read on but remember this very annoying and infuriating fact – babies are all different and tend to do things at different rates. Some babies sleep through the night from the get go (don’t…