Clinique Bonus Time

Just a really quick post today, but I just had to share this Clinique Bonus Time offer with all my Clinique loving friends. 

The offering is a cute make up bag filled with mascara, face wash, 2 moisturisers, tinted moisturiser and a lovely pink nail polish. Free with the purchase of two products. The offer is on until the 16th of August, so you have two weeks to stock up ladies. 

Ladies, Never Ever Travel Light

This week we have spent a three days in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Whilst packing for the weekend I decided not to overdo it with shoes, and stuck to 3 pairs of sandals; huge mistake. Why? On the fist day we were ready to walk into town for our dinner, Jack was walking behind me, stood on my shoe as I was walking, and completely broke it argh. I managed to stay calm, especially as I loved my pavers daisy chain Sandals, they were so pretty. But now beyond repair. Off I went to our room for a change of sandals Panic over, I Still had two pairs. 

My replacement sandals

On day two we went to the park for a picnic, I decided to put my new sandals on, they were so pretty with diamante detail. By the time I had walked to the park 2 large diamante had disappeared. They are now safely stashed in my suitcase waiting to be returned to the shop. So frustrating, so here I was one pair of sandals left.

I mentioned a shopping trip to replace my 2 pairs of sandals. You would have thought I had suggested they all cut a leg off with their reactions. So I hastily bought a pair of backup sandals for the rest of my trip. 

But trust me, that is the last time I ever pack light. And I will be buying more sandals this week.

Coping with Diabetes on Days Out

I was so proud of Jack last week; I feel he really took a positive step towards accepting diabetes. We have been very positive and pro active in managing his condition. We have drummed it into him he is no different to any other teenager, but does have a few restrictions around consumption of food and drink and how he approaches sport and activity. 

Don't get me wrong he manages it extremely well. He plays in sports teams weekly and pushes himself physically to keep fit and healthy. We couldn't be prouder. But we are behind him most of the time, reminding him to check his sugar, sometime recognising hypos before he does.

However last year we had visited Blackpool pleasure beach with friends, it was a very hot day; which does make his sugar levels drop quicker. We were queueing for a ride, and the queue was huge, when he had a hypo. It was one of those hypos that came with no notice, the type he cant eat during. I had snacks on me but no lucozade. To be honest it was a total nightmare getting him out of this long winding queue, Jack displaying his full hypo strop. Now this is a rare incident but does happen, and mostly when we are out. Once we had returned Jacks sugar to normal he was more upset we had had to leave the queue when we were nearly at the front.

 

After the event a friend told me that if you had certain disabilities or conditions you could get a special pass type ticket at most UK theme parks, that would Allow Jack and, one other person to use the fast pass line. It is not something we have tried since, as we are a family of four we choose to ride together. And if we are with him we can deal with hypos, whether its a case of treating in the queue of leave the line altogether. 

However last week, Jacks school had arranged an end of year trip to Blackpool Pleasure beach. Jack was really excited planning what rides to visit with friends. But I could see something was on his mind. Then the night before, during dinner, he told us he was worried about having a hypo in the queue. And wondered if it was OK to get a fast access pass. We discussed it and agreed that if he felt safer, then yes he should.  

It was so hard as I wanted to ring the school and the Pleasure beach for him, to make all the arrangements. But I knew in my heart he had decided to take this step, and had to follow it through alone. I know he is only 13, but one thing about having a great diabetes team behind you is; as a parent they educate you, your child has to learn to take a level of responsibility for their condition. 

The next morning off Jack went to Blackpool, he text to say he was there safely but other than that I never heard from him all day. When I collected him at the end of the day, he was buzzing he had, had a great day. He talked about the rides he had been on, told me funny stories of things that had happened, but never mentioned the fast pass or his sugar. Once he had told me all his news, I asked if he had gone to customer services for a pass. And hurrah yes he had, he had asked his head of year who had agreed, and off he had gone with his diabetes card to get the pass.

I am so so proud of him, he took responsibility for his sugar levels yesterday, he came home with near perfect levels and had enjoyed a great day, without having to worry about what happens if he has a hypo in a queue. Well-done Jack today was a massive step for you, accepting your conditions and taking precautions to ensure you are safe. 

Coconut Rum Lollies Mmmm

After my success with my lovely refreshing Pimms Lollies, I decided to try Coconut rum Lollies. I love Malibu and Bounty Bars so thought I would try to make something of a combination. 

You will need 

• One small glass of coconut Rum
• 50g of desiccated coconut
• 500g of fat-free greek yoghurt with a touch of honey.

Method

These were so easy to make, 

• Mix the honey and coconut together until all combined
• Then add they rum
• Mix together and fill the lolly moulds
• Put in the freezer

Verdict;
They taste great, just the texture I wanted to achieve. They are more of an  ice cream consistency than a lolly, so were quite filling. The Pimms Lolly is much more refreshing, where the coconut lolly felt more indulgent.

Sweet Treats, My Sunday Photo

This is the sweet table from a Wonderful  Wedding I recently attended. The Bride and Grooms attention to detail was phenomenal. It was such a beautiful wedding. 

Aston Hall, Sheffield.

At the weekend we attended a beautiful wedding at the lovely Aston Hall Sheffield. It is a stately home that was built in 1772 which is now a Best Western Plus Hotel. I must say the building is so impressive as you draw onto the beautiful grounds; you really get the feel of being in an English Stately Home.

The staff in reception were extremely helpful and efficient and very quickly got us checked in, it is a huge thing to me how I am greeted in hotel, it really gives you a feel for the place you are about to stay in. I must say the warm welcome was much appreciated after many hours sat in traffic on a boiling hot day. 

Nivea Protect & Refresh Invisible Cooling Sun Spray

I just had to write about this Nivea Sunscreen, as it is just amazing, A bit like a sun cream peacekeeper. 

I first started having sun cream issues when Jack was 2, we had travelled to Mexico for a family holiday and it was hot, hot, hot. When you have a child all you do is worry about them burning? We were conscientious like most parent are and bought gallons of factor 40 and 50 sun cream, to keep our little angel protected.

 But as soon as he saw the sun cream bottle he turned it a demonic little maniac. It quickly turned into regular fights every time we had to apply sun cream, no one said in the 'baby manual, you would have to rugby tackle your child to the floor and pin him down to protect him from the sun.' It was so hot that he had to have the cream on, yet he was adamant he wasn't.  It became so stressful, by the time we left our air-conditioned room we would be sweating and stressed, and head straight to the bar for a cocktail.

Calf Diet Week 13

Whoah , I actually can-not believe I have lost .5lb this week. Why? We went to a wedding at the weekend.  It was beautiful. But involved a 2-night hotel stay, 2 nights eating out and copious amounts of wine and champagne. 

I know I harp on about making the right choices, but when we ate in the hotel restaurant on Friday night I was so close to ordering a burger, the problem is you have no idea how they are cooked, are they fresh beef or frozen burgers ughhh. So right at the last minute I changed to salad. I could see the waitress, although she was very polite was on the verge of hitting me with her notebook. But at that point I felt like I couldn't face another salad. I don't know why because I love salad. Thank goodness the angel on my shoulder made me say salad right at the last minute. I just goes to show, the right choices do help. 

However I am no angel as I did drink quite a few glasses of wine, but did substitute lemonade for soda, as pubs and restaurants rarely serve diet lemonade. 

On Saturday the starter and the main meal was healthy, but pudding was Eton mess. Oh it was just delicious and when it was in front of me in a lovely china tea cup, there was no way I had the willpower to push it away. Then there was all the wine and champagne. The rest of the week I stuck to the calf diet, but two days is a large chunk to not follow 100%

So when I stood on the scales I braced myself, I actually got off and back on again when I saw the 2. I still stand by my resolve that I just want to maintain for the next 2 weeks. But what a great start. Lets hope I am not throwing the scales out the window on my next weigh in.

The Countryfile Calendar

We all really enjoy Countryfile in the Christie household, it is something we all sit down to watch. Joe especially, he loves wildlife, insects and animals. In fact I would not be surprised if he one day becomes a farmer, last year he won a competition to spend a day on a farm and he absolutely loved it. 

This is another of the pictures we took on our walk.

Joe noticed on Sunday night whilst were watching Countryfile, that they were running the competition for the 2015 calendar. He was so excited; he was so cross at me last year when we missed the deadline. He really believes we are in with a chance of winning! Fortunately we had recently had a walk through the fields and taken lots of photos. All we had to do was decide which one to send in. 

Boys, What Isn't in the Baby Manual

I am so lucky to have 2 wonderful healthy boys. They make me so happy on every level. Even their strops make me smile some times. However I really had no idea what I was getting into when I brought Jack home from hospital. Now I am not generalising, this is based on facts and experience of learning the ropes as a Mum with my 2 Boys. So here are the 10 things that no one ever mentioned when I brought my new clean baby boys home from hospital.