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Simplified Mum Life

Nina A Spencer – Motherhood Mentor – Simplifying the every day for busy overwhelmed mums -Mum Of Twins Twice! Placenta Accreta Survivor, Mental Health Champion, On my own simple living Journey filled with adventure and travel . Embracing The Imperfectly, Chaotic moments of motherhood.
#StayHome Lockdown

Returning to a new normal – Life after lockdown. Was it a waste?

This was going to be an instagram post but I went over the letter limit so here we are A new blog post! Today we head into a new normal. After weeks and months of lockdown shops and restaurants and pubs are reopening. Returning to a new normal – Life after lockdown. Was it a waste?

a new normal

Returning to a new normal – Life after lockdown. Was it a waste?

I know the epidemic is far from over but today we are heading back to some kind of normal.
Most kids are still off school and some business are still not allowed to open up yet (I want my gel nail fix damn it!!) and It still looks like my 40th will be spent without a big group of friends but instead be lots Of little celebrations. But a new normal non the less.

During this strange time I have been feeling like I’ve missed the opportunity to change/ improve/ learn during lockdown. Like I’ve missed moments that could have been great memories made. That my house is still too cluttered, and worn out.
However it’s not until you look back you actually see how far you’ve come.

Memories Made

Some days may feel hard, and long and you may feel broken by the end of the week.
But memories have been made, the kids I’m sure will still look back at those walks around the block, the nights spent playing uno, the movies & box sets we’ve watched. That time when daddy was home every day, those times when they played hide and seek over a video call.
The festival we had, the stay at home road trip we didn’t go on. The lazy mornings without me hollering about finding shoes, homework books and pe kits.

I may not have decluttered very much in fact some would argue our house looks fuller than ever, I may not have redecorated the kids rooms like I’d hoped, I may not now know Swahili or the full Latin alphabet. Or lost 4 stone or found myself.

But…..


I’m living through a pandemic. I’m bringing up 4 kids, one has potty trained himself. I’ve “taught” and learnt about angles, verbs, white privilege, black history.
I’ve planned meals, cooked meals, ate meals.
I’ve found places to visit, activities to do and planned events at home.

I’m not rushing out shopping any time soon nor am I planning to visit our lovely lanzarote for this year at least.
But new adventures are coming. New places are going to visited and my hair will be less grey this time next week!

What I’m trying to say in this post too long for instagram is..

You do you!

Know that looking back you will have made some good memories, you will have achieved something! Ok you may not come out of lockdown with a degree in astrophysics and you may still be baffled as to what a frontal adverbial is. But you are alive! There is a whole world to explore and opportunities are out there. Now it just a case of looking in the right place and taking that step.

You do you!

There is no harm in taking baby steps back out in the world as Ive said earlier on in this long winded rambley post. I wont be heading to a shopping centre any time soon. I’m not sure how long it will be before I feel comfortable heading to the airport again. But baby steps to our new normal.

No Judgement (Unless you are a covidiot)

Some people will be heading out today. Rushing to the pub, heading to primark, let them! as long as they are not putting other people lives in danger by doing so let them. they may need that bit more normal in their life! You do you!

Right

Now

Go!

Go make some memories , Go be You!!!

If you have got this far well done you’ve earned another brew!

Returning to a new normal - Life after lockdown. Was it a waste?

Nina xx

Collaborations

EasiYo! – Making Yogurt At Home Easy! – Gifted Review

How many times do you hear Can I have a snack during the day? Especially since the kids have been off school. My four love to grab a yogurt for a snack. Ive never really thought about making our own as it seemed too much of a faff. Then I came across the EasiYo! EasiYo! – Making yogurt at home easy!

*This post is a a gifted review meaning I was sent the product free of charge to complete an honest review of the item. The post may also contain affiliate links *

EasiYo! – Making Yogurt At Home Easy!

With 4 children to entertain and home school it can be hard to fit in time or find headspace to make anything some days. However the EasiYo! arrived and my big girl (8) asked straight away to make some homemade yogurt.

So we set to opening the box and choosing which flavour we wanted Obviously we chose the banana and strawberry!

EasiYo!

EasiYo Is branded as a stress free yogurt maker and I can tell you that even with a million things on my todo list the easiYo really lives up to its claim.

It was designed by a school teacher from New Zealand with 8 children of his own. And I thought I was busy with 4 running a-mock around the house!

He was looking to feed his family something nutritious. Yogurt is a firm favourite the world over but shop bought versions often have preservatives and additives. Looking for something a little more fresh and natural he set about making his own and EasiYo was eventually created.

EasiYo! – Making Yogurt At Home Easy!

It couldn’t be simpler to use. There is a simple 3 step process.

EasiYo! – Making Yogurt At Home Easy!

Easiyo! A Healthy treat

There are no artificial colours or flavours and no preservatives in the EasiYo products. They are packed with good bacteria to help those gut bacteria which is thought to help boost our immune system!

Final thoughts on EasiYo!

I was sceptical at first, as to if this was as easy as it claims but honestly it really is. Even my little twins (almost 3) can get involved in making this yogurt. M (8) managed to do most of it on her own.

The yogurt is super think and creamy and it taste delicious! We often have yogurt and fruit on the breakfast table and I think the EasiYo homemade yogurts could be our new go to yogurt of choice.

We have so far tried the strawberry flavour yogurt which is delicious but I’m going to be looking at buying some more at just over £3 a packet this is a super affordable healthy treat.

I can’t wait to grab a few more flavours.

Nina x

EasiYo starter kits and yogurt mix packs are available from lakeland, amazon, and The Range .

#StayHome Lockdown

Travel & Days Out At Home

While we have been living through a pandemic there have been a number of events and travel plans that have been disrupted due to being in lockdown and things getting cancelled. However being kicking in my creative side and not wanting to put a hold on adventures all together I have come up with a few ways to get a bit of a travel vibes from right at home! Travel and Days Out At Home really are the way forward.

First of all the epic road trip that got cancelled through Europe was transferred into a learning opportunity and a at home. Complete with Flight attendant, and gondola rides!

Next up is Festival Season. We love to attend Glowworm Festival each year and soak up the atmosphere. But how are we going to get those Festival Vibes at home?

Watch a vlog from our Festival weekend over on our YouTube Channel

Watch this Space to for more at home adventures coming soon.

#StayHome Lockdown

Festival Vibes At Home Inspiration and ideas for your own at home festival

*This ‘Festival Vibes AT Home Inspiration and ideas for your own at home festival post contains affiliate links which help in the upkeep of my blog and feed my ever growing kids!*

The festival season is upon us except there are no actual festivals happening due to the current pandemic. There are however several music events and camping festivals happening online. But how can we get those Festival Vibes At Home?

Festival at home

Festival Vibes At Home Inspiration and ideas for your own at home festival

Decorations to get that festival vibe

Decorating your space ready for your stay at home festival can really create that happy atmosphere and get you in the mood for your festival. There are many ways to decorate your space including:

  • Bunting
  • Banners
  • Pom Pom’s
  • Tassels
  • Flower garland
  • Lights
  • Bubble Machine.
  • Flower lettering
  • And more..

To add to the festival feeling I even made some wristbands just like you would get at a festival. I used canva to create them and then printed and laminated them so we could keep them afterwards in a scrapbook!

Music

You cant have a festival without having a playlist loaded up and ready to go. We often use Spotify to create playlists for our events and parties.

There are many festival playlists already on Spotify but we have an eclectic mix of music tastes so we created our own. Its your festival so make it your own ask the kids for input too they will love picking songs for you all to dance to!

Activities

Activities could be as simple as having a kitchen disco to a full on weekend camping set up in the garden. Here are some ideas for some inspiration.

  • Camp in the garden Put up the tent grab a few blankets and create a festival little retreat on your lawn.
  • Fire Pit S’mores / Toasted marshmallows – Is there anything better than sitting out toasting marshmallows on the fire pit or BBQ?
  • Midnight Movies – Grab yourself a white sheet or screen and a portable projector and create a little outdoor movie theatre to enjoy some classic movies after sundown.
  • Hot Tub Glow Stick party – Wait until the sun goes down and through a few glow sticks in the hot tub or pool. My kids really enjoyed this. we put some chilled out music on too to create a fun activity for them.
  • Flower Crowns – This is such a nice activity to do. grab a cheap bunch of flowers or pick some of your own form you garden. Add some florist tape and wire. then you can just tape your flowers to your crown. So Simple looks amazing for your festival at home event though.
  • Kitchen Disco – We invited our friends to join us for a kitchen disco via zoom. we all picked a few tracks each for our play list and we danced together in our kitchens together yet apart. It was one of the best nights. Of course you don’t have to invite anyone else if you don’t want to be sure to get dressed up for your disco you could even add some sparkle to your outfit by adding some face glitter.

Food

Festival at home food doesn’t have to be all about dirty burgers and cheesy fries though they are a great place to start.

Camp breakfast- Bacon sandwich, campfire breakfast casserole , Pancakes.

Camp Lunch – Picnics, bbq,

Dinner – BBQ, Hotdogs, Pasties, Pizza,

Snacks – S’mores, Tuckshop sweets, Popcorn (For Movie nights),

light up sign saying festival vibes
Girl drinking from a wine glass festival with a festival outfit on
8 year old girl staring at a toasted marshmallow outside with blue sky behind her
mum and daughters all wearing flower crowns
two girls with flower crowns on

Online Festival

There have been a bunch of online festivals popping up during the pandemic with activities such as camp outs, craft lessons, talks, concerts and more. If you do a little search online (Youtube/ facebook) I bet you could find some things you could incorporate into your festival at home.

Festival Vibes At Home

I hope this has given you a little bit of inspiration for your mini at home festival. If you dont already follow us on Instagram I would love you to pop over and say hello. I am on there every day with our daily adventures.

Nina x

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#StayHome Lockdown

7 Weeks of (Home)School Left!? Goals & Plans & May Updates

So today the lockdown has been eased a little bit. We can now head to our friends or families gardens as long as there is no more than 6 people. We are already a family of 6 so it looks like we aren’t going to be meeting up with anyone anytime soon. More than that though I’m not sure Im even ready to head out and socialise just yet. I mean I know life has got to return soon but lets wait until the daily numbers are at least down to double figures rather than the treble figures they are now.

We have been taking advantage of being allowed to head out for the day though. We have had some great walks and picnics in and around our local area. Is now the time to head further afield? The seaside maybe?

This is our goals and plans right up to the Summer School Holidays.

Goals & Plans June / July 2020

Home School

  • School Sent work We will be continuing to work through Maths and Phonics that school send through as its just one less thing that I have to think about creating.
  • Puffin Festival Of Dreams – 8th -14th June – We will be taking part in this festival by joining in with the competitions and watching the live streams and videos on their social sites. I think it’s so good to mix up how we learn just to keep our learning fun. Not just for the kids but for me too.
  • Mathletics – We have let mathletics slip for the past couple of weeks but hopefully we can get back on top of it this Half term.
  • Reading – I will be trying to get the kids to read on their own in an afternoon and to me just before bed.

Health, Fitness & Movement

Last month I failed to commit to my these goals but I can feel my mental health slipping back so Its going to be important to pick up some Movement again thats just for me. So I will be aiming for:

  • 3 x 20 min walks a week – On my own.
  • 2 online fitness classes a week – either yoga, pilates or zumba.
  • Cut back on junk!! I have to stop reaching for the easy options and the snacks at nap-time/ Bedtime. I had got into better eating habits at one point cutting right back on snacks. But lately Ive been reaching for the sugar, chocolate, caffeine yet again.

Home

Yeh Last month I was positive I could get back into a routine to keep the house in some kind of order. It’s not too bad however It does feel like a constant battle to keep up with keeping everywhere clean and tidy.

So Back to the drawing board and I will try to get back into creating my Household binder.

I also want to work a bit more on our finances. Create a budget, and save a little for a rainy day.

Work

It’s so hard to find the time and energy that I need to concentrate on work. I do a little and I have a few plans in mind for my blog & Vlogging that I want to do but for now concentrating on surviving with the kids home is my priority.

having said that I do have some work obligations.
As businesses start to open i have a little bit in the social media manager side of my work to get done. I already run a couple of things for different people and have offered bits of advise here and there So i need to get back to running their social media calendars for the next few month.

Other Adventures

Last months adventures were amazing. We had VE day and an epic festival at home. We also had a few adventures out and about. We have started Geocaching again and the kids have been loving it.

June and July have a few birthdays we would like to celebrate in one way or another. Firstly its my Mums and chris’ dads at the end of June I mean fingers crossed we may be able to celebrate together but I think we will still be social distancing by then. I think maybe we may have to have a birthday dinner with a difference.

Then It’s my Big 40 at the end of the summer term. We normally use my birthday as an excuse to have a big BBQ party in our garden. This year being my 40th I had wanted a Christmas in July Birthday party. We love Christmas. I am hoping this could be our first proper gathering so finger crossed.

I have been thinking about having a bit of a Disney at home day. I’m not sure how this will go down but I think we need a little bit of magic. I have been looking at vlogs for ideas Watch this space.

I would like to have a bit of a celebration to mark the end of the school year. Things have not been easy and not at all like I had hoped for the kids school year but that’s why I think it is important to celebrate how much we have achieved.

Will we also get chance to get some vitamin sea before the summer holidays hit? We are allowed to travel for leisure now restrictions have been eased but I also want to respect the people who live by the sea. I want to respect social distancing and it seems hoards of people are flocking to the beach. However the seaside is my happy place. The sea air. the sand in my toes. Even without the donuts and fish n chips the seaside seems to pull me in!

Where to next?