Staying active whilst in Quarantine

                                         Keeping Our Children Active


It has been hard on all of us with everything going on at the moment, we are all struggling whether its financially or physically. It's hard to stay positive through this ordeal because of us not knowing how long we will have to live like this, with our children at home for the foreseeable future keeping them active is important. I have 2 children aged 11 and 6,  I know that trying to find ideas to keep them active and interested is sometimes hard but here are a few tips to help keep children active at the same time keeping them safe.



Here is just a few ideas that may help whilst at home  with the children, the most efficient way to make sure my children are staying active is to limit their screen time. I'm sure I'm not the only one that is  guilty of this but my boys have a console of some kind and if I was not a little more strict on-screen time they would probably be on them all the time, however, limiting screen time encourages my boys creativity and  keeps my children physically active


Here are some activities to consider for you and your children to keep busy during Quarantine.





. Baking. Enjoy messy fun in the kitchen, Let the kids take it in turns cracking the eggs and mixing the ingredients in the bowl, let the kids choose how to decorate the cake once it has cooled down. I know my boys always dip their fingers the empty bowl to lick the leftover mix. Enjoy your cake after dinner as a little treat for the whole family.







. build a den. What better way to watch Disney plus than get creative and build your own hideaway, grab your favourite snacks and a drink, My children standing at the top of the stairs throwing their pillows and covers down for mummy to catch. Zachary always brings down most of his teddy friends to enjoy our cosy afternoons watching all our favourite Disney films
and shows. You can find most of what you need lying around your home. We always find sheets we use our stairs and clothes rail. Many hours of fun building our new den and it's just as fun tidying it all away by turning it into a game. (let's see if we can clear away in 5 minutes) me and the boys charging around the house like a stampede of elephants trying to find homes for everything we used to build our den. I wonder why it doesn't take us long, hours later and I find everything stored under the sofa.


                       

. Grazeboard. I needed to add a  favourites thing I like to do because even thou I enjoy making a mess and getting creative with the kids it is still nice to have a little bit of you time in the evenings, I went into my fridge and had a selection of cheese &  ham. I also included some fresh fruit as well, enjoy with a glass of wine however me and my partner enjoy with a booster tea which can find the recipe for in one my posts down below. we decide on the film, light our candles, finally in our comfortable clothes and have a cuddle on the sofa. Everything I used I already had in the fridge so we could still have a date night at home.










.  arts and craft. Nice big space in the kitchen, we decide to cover the floor with covers and head over to the kid's art cupboard, we use this time to make an art project. old boxes, toilet roll tubes, paper, glue, paints, pens, tissue paper. We can spend a full afternoon making a mess and the kids really enjoy it. n this occasion we decided to make a boat big enough for both boys to sit in, once we completed this and it was dry we decided to play, mummy the shark in the sea and both boys are pirates.




. fresh air. Even thou we are in quarantine the guidelines at the moment says as a family you can go out for a walk, as long as you social distant and stay together in your family from your household, We enjoy this time, Zachary loves to make maps, he can spend hours drawing and colouring out maps. We will follow Zachary's map all around the park opposite our house. Fresh air is really important as long as you wash your hands and stay together following the guidelines, getting outside and stretching your legs for an hour really helps

. games. I'm sure you have many games. board games scattered around your home somewhere, we enjoy connect four, twister, kids cludo, pie face even a pack of cards. We enjoy playing snap, hours of entertainment and kids are smiling.

. staying in touch with family and friends. We spend time on live chats with our family, we have a big family and its always important to stay in touch, the boys enjoy speaking to their cousins and sharing what the have been doing throughout the day, also playing games against each other on Facebook messenger live chat.

. disco. Dancing around the living room, the kids and I love to dance, choosing a playlist and switching Elexa on, Put on the spotlights and even have a dance-off ( mummy always loses) when we start to feel tired we decide to sing along to the karaoke, we turn on the T.V and put on the music channels select subtitles and sing our hearts out. You really don't need an actual karaoke system to have fun singing along to your favourite tunes.

A little message from me to you, please stay safe keep in contact with family and friends, keeping by the guidelines. It really is not worth risking your health, your loved ones and everyone else's. All frontline workers are doing an amazing job working stupid hours to protect and care for everyone else. everyone working in the supermarkets keeping shelves stocked, Nhs, care assistants and support workers you are all beautiful souls. ( please be kind to each other, its times like this we all need each other.) 

with love sharleeigh xxx 

how are you find the situation we are dealing with at the moment? what activities have you been enjoying with your children?

#IdontSUFFERinSILENCE

                             MONDAY FEELING



How is everyone's Monday going so far? This blog will probably be me speaking about everyday struggles, Sitting at my desk whilst the rain pours outside hitting against my window sill a little jazz playing on my record player and the sweet scent of misty watermelon candle flowing in the background,  have you ever just sat for one moment when it's all silent and thought about things in depth, when your mind works overtime, it's easier for me to write it all down step by step to work out the best actions to take to make things better again, everyone has struggles whether it's health, breakups, family law matters, social services, debt life can be a minefield of stresses, most people will look at me and either see a Closed book or a happy full of life lady who wears a smile every single day, however, this is not correct actually it's far from it I have my weaknesses I have my moments where I feel as though everyone has failed. I feel as though no one understands as though I am at war with everyone, fighting against the clock to make sure things return to normal because 6 months ago they were. Before this everything was perfect well as near to perfect as they can be.  now I'm trying to get that back, stress to me is feeling defeated every single day it plays around in your mind overthinking things, feeling drained and exhausted because the situation a person can be in. Stress can make you ill if you can't manage it right. A support network helps manage stress which helps me make peace with stress,
I am just an ordinary person with two beautiful little boys always busy and taking time to make sure others are okay, never thinking I would be sat here now explaining to myself where things went wrong. LIE  is the big key here to work out how to make all the wrongs right. because this is exactly what happened someone lied and I had to suffer which is easy to fix because the person came forward so that can be marked off, however, what if it's too little too late? this is exactly how things are now was too late these people had an opinion. People fail all the time when They don't do what they have learnt to do be professional. there are so many people out there going through such a bad time at the moment I needed you to know your not on your own. people suffer In silence because of guilt or feeling embarrassed whatever the reason and how stress is affecting your life we should be able to fight it together. I was writing this today for myself for no one to read it or to judge me but after realising I have nothing to hide or to run away from my blog is all about me the goods and the bads if I were to erase this now then I would be setting the wrong example I would be FAKE which I am not I was told not that long ago that speaking to a stranger sometimes helps more because they don't know you and easy to switch off and return to normal life. so by me expressing my feelings to hundreds of strangers because then I can switch off, I can return to my day to day life without worrying that I have upset someone or someone I know is judging me.Its been six months since I started writing this and for some reason, I switched off I went blank I lost all motivation, I did not believe in myself anymore and that is the problem if you can’t believe in yourself  no one else will, there are so many people today who feel alone, worried, stressed even scared and it’s worrying to think how many people today actually have support, Through my journey, I have met some incredible people who once upon a time did not have support struggled on their own self doubting their selves see life is a pathway and a lot of the time people Get stuck they freak out and change the direction. the problem there is they end up on the wrong path even through no fault of their own. just to reach out to one person and ask are you okay? It only takes a few seconds to ask that yes you may think it’s simple and easy but to others it’s actually the start to a new beginning  why you may ask, well that’s because a few years ago everything was bottled up so much over such a long period of time that I was never asked that simple easy question and then one day I was asked are you okay for a moment it was silent but for that one person asking me if I was okay made me realise sit back and think my reply was no I am not  it was then that I realised that actually I am not on my own even though  I felt I had been for so long, that was the start of my beginning he remains in my life to this day and has always been that  one person who can sit in a silent room but Just him  being there makes it a lot more Exceptable, I except that not  all things can not be fixed however you can appreciate life to the your best ability and work alongside things instead of against them, I am not perfect and I have messed up just like everyone else has but my problem is I hate on my self and can’t get over things unlike some people can, I could lock my self away and hide which I did do on some occasions when I thought it was easier to do so, it is sometimes good to take time to your self enjoy your self  find that inner friend in your self so it isn’t always a negative being on your own, I can be on my own and enjoy my own company doing things that only I like to do with out any hassle. But now looking back I believe I was truly blessed because in April 2009 my whole life changed for the better and Actually looking back now I actually lead a boring life because I’d prefer to spend all my days with my little darlings than by my self, life experiences can only make a person stronger He made me feel unconditional love, he made me feel worried, anxious he made me feel tired as well as so much joy and happiness he made me a mum and for that, I am truly blessed. Even the hardest times around our little bubble would never stop that feeling and bond a mother and child have it just makes the mother protect and fight that little bit harder and boy I certainly did that, and to think in 2013 I was blessed again by my youngest child, I always think what did I do to deserve them they are just perfect little beings, see self-doubt again. I could talk about my children for hours because together they make the perfect brothers look out for one another, the oldest sibling always looking after the youngest sibling, playing nicely together I could sit and watch them play for hours before I jump in and ruin it by being an annoying mummy, that happens quite often but I can not help my self lol. see if I were to say now if I could go back and change the past then know I would not because if I did then my little boys would not be here today I’d take it all again because I know they are my future, things happen for a reason and I would like to think good things happen to those who wait,  life isn’t easy and sometimes things get worse before they get better but life is how you make it I believe that now. No one needs to feel as thou they are on their own because you don’t need to be there is always a listening ear if you want it, but you need to want it first believe me it can take a long time to reach out but a weight gets lifted when you are finally ready all the built-up anger releases the weakness goes you finally find yourself again, don’t suffer in silence! which leads me to today things have changed not always what you expect or want things to plan out but it could be worse my little boys are10  years and 6years old and spend a lot of time with me they are proving to be quite the little charmers, both Blossoming in school and after school activities which I could not ask for anything more, they make me so proud to be able to see, I suffer from anxiety And panic attack’s often high drives me I am finding ways to chill and control them which is good and my support network is brilliant nowadays which it never used to be, see I did not want to go into the full depth of my story because I still now believe that I would be judge however just know that you don’t have to alone,  just taking those small steps at the beginning helps, it takes time but I believe things can only get better now it’s taken a long time to get to this stage in my life but I feel positive and loved and also understood.


A quote I like to say is
It’s okay to feel unstable.
It’s okay to disassociate.
it’s okay to hide from the world.
It’s okay to need help.
It’s okay not to be okay
Your mental health is not your personal fail


Anxiety, so many of us suffer from some form of mental health, is it just me or has there been a time where you could be sitting down watching the tv, or playing a game, even cleaning the house or outside socialising when all of a sudden it hits you, you feel as though your heart is trying to escape your chest, feeling every single beat your heart takes, palms become sweaty and feel a slight head rush. Yes, I have been there I was out shopping just at Aldi and whilst I was putting the shopping on the till it started, not feeling comfortable in my surroundings, Aldi being extremely busy did not help the situation at all. The heart was pacing, I could not sit still and I felt light-headed, I thought everyone was looking at me, a sudden feeling of not knowing how to breathe it was horrendous, luckily everyone in the store was amazing and helped me, kept my mind busy which also helps. I managed to leave Aldi and arriving home I cried to my partner, my partner just being there listening to me explain what had happened. He gets me and I  appreciate him so much for just sitting there and Listening. through my life experiences, there have been quite a few different events in my life which have caused a lot of pain mentally I know that all of us are different and handle situations differently but I would like to know that if anyone is reading this now and feels like they have nowhere to turn, I just want you to know that even thou there area lot off support charities out there, friends and family even wok colleagues, I am just a message away, I want you to know that I  am here to listen to.

I'm looking forward to finishing off my counselling course, I have always wanted to work with families, single persons. why do I want to help people may you ask?
well, the answer is  I want to offer my support that I  did not receive at the time and made me get to the place I ended up, yes I had support in the end but was later on down the line, it was not as easy as it is now to ask and receive support.



There are a few things I like to do which helps me, it may work for me but not for you however any strategy is worth a try. 1st thing I do is drink lemon and ginger shots, this drink is great for overall health, I will be writing my recipe and the benefits of this drink very soon, I drink this in the evening before bed with hot water I have been drinking this every day since my youngest son arrived on this planet. and I also take a shot on its own from the fridge in the morning. extremely refreshing with a little kick to it.

2nd thing I do, go to bed in the evening listening to 2 different hypnosis for anxiety and positive minds I mix it up a little and chose between Micheal  and Francis, can find amazing hypnosis on youtube as well which I listen to as well
3rd thing I do I switch of from Facebook social media early evening because, to be honest, there is always something negative that pops up I choose to watch comedy instead or I use my notebook to reflect and write things down, or you could find me on my laptop, I  always have something I want to write down for my blog, I always find my self in my children's art cupboard going for the coloured pens, I am really into my adult colouring book at the moment I can spend hours, music on in the background whilst I am colouring in, its satisfying when you actually finish the full picture, I even take this time to have my two little boys involved with arts and craft, building tunnels, dens, colouring or painting we have so much fun making a mess, just small things like this keeping your mind active it really does help.

also please remember if they actually care about you then they will always understand that when you are having an of day,  and rather have some time to your self it does not mean you don't care and not interested in your friendship or relationship and they will wait for you to be ready, without giving you a lecture.

remember DO YOU, everyONE else can wait

all my love sharleeigh xxx

Easter egg hunt,fun times

                                              SUNDAY FUN DAY

I love the Easter holidays, spending time with my beautiful family making more memories for the family album.Even thou we woke to grey skies this morning I knew it would not stop our fun, once we where dressed and ready to go we decided to pop into town to grab the last few bits for the Easter Egg hunt, I must say that Poundland are smashing their Easter collection this year, we decided on the packs of plastic coloured eggs there are 10 eggs per pack so I purchased four packs. really nice little touch is that they open up so we decided to put little chocolate balls inside, we brought more Easter eggs,Easter bunting, arts and crafts and sweets. Once arriving home the children wanted to ride on their scooters for a little while so that is what we did and it was a lovely walk around the park, stopping off at the play ground pushing the boys on the swings and watching them go down the slide it is what Sunday’s are all about. Seeing the smiles across my little boys faces knowing they are happy It makes a parents day.After some time we decided to walk home, making sure everything was Packed for the egg hunt we left for the Tea Room,it’s a perfect little spot to setup the egg hunt for my children acres of greenery, apple trees and so much open space it was perfect. We arrived and we decided to order food first Kallem and Zachary wanted homemade sausage rolls with a side of pickle and garnish, us adults went for cheese and red onion toasties with a side off salad and corkers crisps. Very satisfying especially now the sun is out so decided to sit outside and admire the view.

Once we had finished eating we had a look in the farm shop, lovely fresh vegetables,goose eggs, fruit and juices all made from local businesses which is a lovely touch.I decided to buy half a dozen eggs and some apple juice in a lovely glass bottle. Moving on to the gift shop every time we visit there is always a new display which is always lovely to see,  stunning wood work with so much colour,so many beautiful pieces,everyone is always so friendly when we visit always talking to their customers. and was happy to let me use their space for our Egg hunt which was great because the boys where eager to start searching for the eggs.

I love the little baskets they used today, we also purchased these from Poundland as well, so many places to look and I couldn’t make it to easy so the eggs where hidden well, and off they went searching high and low. The best part is they are children and only young once so if they want to get on their hands and knees to look then let them it’s only a little mud after all  so that is what they did. crawling through hay, around the fairy door,climbing little trees ( with mum’s guideance) off course working together to find all the eggs. 

Button the bunny was being very cheeky whilst the boys where on their adventures, leaving little  clues and moving the golden eggs, the boys where searching for quite some time however the baskets where becoming full. They did not realise though that inside the eggs where chocolate so they where pretty happy when one fell out and opened”Its magic mum,I have found the golden coin” said by my youngest son Zachary  giggling away to  he’s brother.

The sun went away and out came the grey skies again but by the look of their faces you can clearly see that the weather was not going to stop the fun they where having. they where very happy when they finally found all the eggs and coming towards the finish line and seeing all their Easter treats waiting for them, which I must add they will eat this amount off chocolate sensibly and in moderation .

Off course  they asked if they could have some chocolate,  so picking the Milky bar buttons they packed all their treats in the Easter bags provided and enjoyed their buttons. 

Relaxing on the grass throwing the eggs into the air I captured a really cool photo I wanted to share with you.

Counting the eggs they found whilst enjoying their chocolate buttons having a little rest. 

It has been a lovely Sunday full off fun and lovely food, It’s a shame about the weather but the children have really enjoyed their self’s, there has been alot off walking and country air which is always a plus and the children playing football and making up little games together which myself and  partner became a part off, children’s imaginations are some times WAY out there but it just reminds me off myself as a child and how alike we actually are, 

Always good to have memories,I loved this photo I managed to take of Zachary jumping , they love to be active and are always on the move. Sometimes  I can’t keep up However it’s always fun trying.rolling around in the grass,by the time I checked my phone it had been hours that had passed 

It’s been a long but fun day, the boys will sleep well tonight, I really enjoy family time it does not have to cost an arm and a leg to enjoy the holidays, I brought some bits from Poundland as well as Easter eggs and sweets and they have really enjoyed their time in the outdoors,

Weekend Ahead

                                 
                                               WEEKEND OF FUN

  Half term is coming up this week tomorrow spending the morning a soft play area with my children, a while off getting stuck half way down a slide and having balls thrown at me, crazy how much energy children can have but it is the best, all this quality time, that will be the morning planned out then off for some lunch before I  come home and read a good book, I  wonder what authors you guys prefer? or a favorite book you are reading at the moment? I prefer real life stories however the fifty shades books where my guilty pleasure ha!ha! my dream would to publish my own childrens books
I  have recently written a book about a naughty  cow eating all the party food at a little girls birthday party my little boy's reaction was " that's cool mummy who wrote that" I  replied with " of course me darling" and they thought I was lying cheers boys!

On Sunday myself and a couple of close friends are heading down to Lake Side for a day of shopping,I have never been and have been told all good things about the place and the area so hopefully take some shots on the camera as a passion of mine is photography, and maybe a cheeky vlog. we'll be heading out to a nice place for some dinner as well before heading home. should be a nice journey down probably have a little boogie as us ladies do screaming out songs and shaking our heads to the music lol. as the car ride will be 2 hours so plenty of screeching to be had.
Whilst I am there i m hoping to pick up my youngest little boy hes birthday presents he will be 4 in a couple of weeks, I can't believe how fast they grow it makes me sad in a little way because he wont be at home with mummy anymore but instead he'll be at school. Plus he changes he's mind all the time one minute he likes paw patrol the second he likes marvel I am hoping to get him a few bits I really want to get him the George pig costume from peppa pig as well and will be making him hes birthday cake and the theme this year will be chocolate fountain if it goes to plan.

Tonight i have been doing my course work allot of reading but it pays off in the end the course i am doing is(Drug, alcohol and Solvent) counselor which is so much fun have already passed my first test will 100% and second test at 89% i'm extremely happy with these results. I have done allot on my studies now so may call it a day and relax now before heading to bed.So a good film I feel so full I had a naughty meal this evening had chicken in naan oooops! and some chocolate cake and ice cream i'll let my self off thou as it was only a very small slice LOL

Also tackled the St. Moriz  spray tan this afternoon was a little bit disastrous as its left steak on my hands however the remainder of my body looks really good  and like i said in my earlier post i have never tried to do a spray tan before so I  tackled it really well i applied it and left it for a few hours I would have thought it would have been darker as according to the packaging 3 hours is a dark tan i'm more a medium but its nice however still a strong scent of tan thou LOL

What film shall I watch? i'm completely stuck I have hundreds of DVD's plus Netflix and Now TV as well its a shame as most of the films available have seen way to many times or not my cup of tea. I love pretty little liars but I am all up to date now i may even watch Bridget Jones baby for like the 2nd time in the last week but what can I say " i'm hooked on Bridget Jones" I think Renee Zellweger  alongside Collin Firth they work together extremely well it is just a shame Hugh Grant wasn't a part of it.  I'm actually starting to understand why allot of people blog its very therapeutic if I am felling a little stressed this really relaxes me why didn't I do along time ago, I may of been a more relaxed person instead of being the lady who becomes worked up easy. like I have always said " i'm the snail who needs to crack her shell"  LOL


Well i hope everyone  enjoys they're start to the bank holiday weekend i'm now going to lay on the sofa with a candle burning away a nice glass of water and ice with a good movie and a blanket, some people may thing i'm pretty dull with how my evening is planned out  however I do not drink alcohol so that is why I only go out now and again as i'm normally the only sober one there and it is not fun after a while lol. so what ever you up to this evening or day   enjoy guys and stay safe
until next time bye guys

With LOVE Sharleeigh xx