Me and Lilli were casually watching Vamperina and talking about family traditions they have when we realized apart from Christmas and Easter holidays we don't really have any... Family traditions can be for any time of year, not just for Christmas...

So, we asked about to see what family Traditions we could try and adapt to our family lifestyle, here's what they said...

• My kids always get pick and mix on their birthdays, they seem to look forward to it as much the presents! Businessformums.co.uk
  
• Funday Friday. We turn everything into fun and games. We learn through board games. Play computer games. Have a movie night or do a day trip. Www.Mummieswaiting.Com
  
• My kids always get pick and mix on their birthdays, they seem to look forward to it as much the presents! Businessformums.co.uk
  
• We discuss our good things and bad things from the day over dinner, along with what we're grateful for and what we've done that was kind. It makes the children think about how lucky they are and try to be kind during the day so they've got something to tell us about. It's also a great way to get them chatting about their day. plutoniumsox.com

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

• We have a massive spring clean and tidy of the house before we go on holiday. My sister used to make us do it as kids and now I do it with my family - nothing better than coming home to a super tidy house after being away!
  Twinderelmo.co.uk
  
• Freezer food Friday we always have pizza or chicken nuggets and chips and eat it on the sofa and watch a film we love it www.anklebitersadventures.co.uk
  
• The person whose birthday it is chooses dinner!
  
  Www.coffeeandcwtches.com
  
• Family days. We love having family days outdoors and mostly choose beautiful country parks, walled gardens or castles where all family plus dog can come.
  https://www.cosmomum.co.uk
  
• New onesies each summer for festivals and camping trips! https://pinkpearbear.com
  
• We always have Water Melon on holiday, the biggest one we can find. Not sure how it started but my Mother in Law said it was something they did on holidays and we have carried it on. Very random I know. Https://www.champagneandpetals.com
  
  We're loving these family traditions so far and can't wait to try some great ideas and see if we can make out own family tradition too!
  
• We've started doing Saturday morning cartoons with my little boy. When I was younger I always remember watching the kids TV programs on a weekend, but we don't have proper TV (just a Blu-ray player and collection of films/DVDs).
  
  Now we've got a bunch of vintage kids TV shows and every Saturday morning we watch three or four episodes of a program while we eat breakfast. First, it was Stoppit and Tidyup, now we're watching Paddington.
  
  http://ofneedlesandnoodles.wordpress.com
  
• My four-year-old has this thing at bedtime where we all have to do a kiss on his lips, an Eskimo kiss on his nose, then kiss each other's heads. Bit random but we've been doing it for about a year now and he won't let us leave his bedroom without it! www.twinstantrumsandcoldcoffee.com~
  
• Pizza Saturdays. And McDonald’s breakfast every time mummy or daddy have been out the night before 😂www.readaraptor.co.uk/hatchling

  

  Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels

  
  
  
• Paella the night before we go on holiday. Started before the kids were born and have continued!
  Https://themoneywhisperer.co.uk
  
• We go to Aviemore most years for a week's holiday. I first went when I was 11, and have been most years since. I love the place and am delighted that my kids also love it. There is nothing quite like the Highland air! www.youmoneysorted.co.uk
  
• I know you said not just Xmas but ours is delightful.
  I'm the oldest of 5. Me, Jenny, Daniel, Nicole, and Heather.
  When Jenny was a toddler she was too excited to sleep on Christmas Eve so she climbed in my bed and I made up stories. We basically kept each other awake until the sun came up and then we pestered the grown-ups to start the day. Then my brother Daniel was born and later joined us, then Nicole and then Heather. So on Christmas Eve we all shared a single bed and kept each other up. all night long.
  
  Circumstances were such that when I was 14 we were separated for a couple of years. Daniel went to live with his father, I went to live with my Grandma and the other three with Mum.
  
  We were reunited when I was 17 but by this point, Daniel was pushing 6ft and Jenny and I were both boob owning, hormone-secreting women.
  Nevertheless, when I came up to bed on Christmas Eve I discovered that old habits die hard and my siblings had pulled the mattresses off the youngest kids' bunk beds and laid them on the floor. They were sat in bed, ages 14, 12, 10 and 8 waiting for me to tell them stories.
  
  It was the last time we ever did it but even now, we all speak on Christmas Eve and reminisce about when we were kids. http://www.marvellousmrsp.com
  
• Every summer we go to Newquay, Cornwall with my partner's side of the family. It's so lovely to see the children playing together! It reminds me of my childhood, nothing beats a big family holiday!
  
  Https://theepilepticblogger.com
  
• Not your birthday present’ each birthday in the family little ones get a ‘not your birthday present’ so everyone can get excited and not feel left out. Nothing expensive but something wrapped to make it feel special. www.mybalancingact.co.uk
  

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

• Sunday is always family dinner with grandma
  The first day on holiday is always a full cooked breakfast
  We high five every night before going to bed after saying love yous
  We have a secret handshake, but obviously, I can't tell you what it is!
  www.welshmum.co.uk
  
• Every Friday evening we all sit together after a busy week. We get special drinks (wine for us and an apple tizer for them) some pizza and dough balls and chat about our weeks the good bits and any worries they have. We learn so much about what’s happening in school and it’s lovely to celebrate the start of the weekend www.memeandharri.com
  
• Strawberry picking, every June with the family. eat our way around the field then buy even more and end it at the country pub for some garden games with the children. www.adventuresofamum.com
  

Photo by Vincent Rivaud from Pexels

Family traditions are so important and hold a very special place in our hearts, me and Lilli realized that Board Game Night is our tradition and we love it so much just us two having one on one time!

Now we've worked out ours, what are your family traditions?

 I was tagged by www.savingmovingmummy.com to answer 73 questions about me based on the Vogue 73 questions video interview series. There are some interesting questions here, have a read!

  1. What is your usual Starbuck’s order? Peppermint Hot Chocolate :D 2. What does your workstation look like right now? My work station is manic, there's paper everywhere mixed with headphones, coffee and pens lol 3. All-time favourite food? PIZZA!!!

4. Favourite author? Ridley Pearson, he wrote the Kingdom Keepers Series and I adore them. 5. What do you think of open relationships? I’m not a fan, to be honest… 6. Favourite video game? Anything LEGO!!! or maybe Fallout .. I can't decide...

7. Guilty pleasure treat?
Chocolate Donuts? Or Maybe Burger King!!

8. Favourite film?
Errrr, I don't really have a favourite?!

9. Favourite book?
The Kingdom Keepers

10. Twitter or Instagram?
Instagram all the way! I don’t really use twitter much.

11. Desktop or laptop?
I have a desktop but i loved my laptop but Olli poured orange juice all over it.

12. Best advice you’ve ever received?
Sleep when your baby sleeps...honestly best advice ever!!

13. What project are you working on right now?
Saving for my Disney trip in September, Does that count?

14. Favourite colour?
PINK like my hair!

15. Did you get good grades at school?
No at school i totally failed everything but ICT but i did amazing in college and uni!

16. Dream job?
To become a successful blogger...with a clothing label.

17. Played any sports?
I used to swim but I gave that up a long time ago I don't have the time now!

18. Do you have a degree?
unfortunately not, I was 1 essay off getting it but I had my baby girl and couldn't finish!

19. Nationality?
British.

20. What is your favourite kind of blog post to do?
I love writing reviews, finding great products that I think you'll love too that can help in everyday life.

21. What do you like to collect?
EVERYTHING I'm such a hoarder!!

22. Describe yourself in 3 words?
Outgoing, Happy and Rather Moany sometimes lol

23. If you were a rapper what would your rapper name be?
PINKY-VEE

24. Who was the last person you dmed?
My husband!!

25. What’s on the top of your wishlist right now?
Really in need of some new clothes!

26. Hogwarts House?
Hufflepuff

27. How many tattoos do you have?
9 :D

28. What are you most grateful for this year?
My family :D they're so supportive!

29. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this month?
I've had a few days off work!!

30. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?
We went to the park and all 4 kids played really nicely.

31. What’s the best thing ever?
My Husband, He's my best friend and soulmate!

32. Favourite season?
Autumn, I love it when you can kick the leaves! plus warm jumpers and festive drinks!

33. Favourite holiday?
Id says Xmas but I love boxing day more! no ones really busy, we get leftover meat and snacks and get to play with toys

34. Which fictional character do you relate to most?
Mad Madam Mim (sword in the stone) shes mad and pink lol

35. Do you like surprises?
depends what it is!

36. What’s the biggest surprise you ever got?
My mum surprised me on my birthday to swim with the dolphins.

37. What’s a surprise that’s made you cry?
the dolphins again, I cried so much

38. What’s the best surprise you’ve ever given anyone?
We supprised our mum by taking her on a behind the scenes tour of Magic Kingdom!

39. Do you like muffins?
YES!!

40. Do you cook often?
Nope, the hubby does but i like baking!

41. What’s your favourite dessert?
ice cream! classic!

42. Is there a dessert you don’t like?
Pineapple!

43. Cake or pie?
Pie, Banoffee Pie!

44. What’s your least favourite food?
seafood!

45. What’s your favourite condiment?
onion relish!

46. It’s 4am on a Saturday night, what would you eat?
My Pillow?!

47. If you could teach a college class what would it be called?
I really don't know! Something to do with growing up though?

48. Best animated film?
Toy Story!

49. What had a guy done or said to impress you?
Make me breakfast in bed!

50. The best thing to do on a first date?
Go for a walk and explore!

51. The worst thing to do on a first date?
Cinema? Drink!

52. What’s the funniest pickup line a guy can use on a girl?
Are you a parking ticket? Cause you got FINE written all over you.

53. Best comic book character?
Harley Quinn!

54. What are the three things that are always in your bag?
My phone, Mints, headphones

55. Favourite drink?
Coffee or flavoured water.

56. If you could play a historical character who would it be?
im not really into history so no idea...someone fat though lol

57. Kittens or puppies?
puppies!!

58. Favourite sushi roll?
I don’t like sushi (sorry!).

59. What kind of lipstick do you use?
matt ones

60. What kind of foundation do you use?
Its some kind of matte mouse one but I don't wear it much.

61. Blow-dry or air dry?
Air dry cba with the hair dyer!

62. Who is your fashion icon?
Whats fashion? lol

63. Favourite Disney character?
Carl from UP!

64. What are you doing tomorrow?
day off so not a lot!

65. Movie you laughed the hardest through?
Loved Avengers End Game, Made me laugh so hard

66. Movie that made you cry?
That scene in Avengers End Game!!#

67. If you could sing a duet with someone who would it be?Probably Lea Michelle her voice is lush

68. If your life was a song what would the title be?
I will get back up again (from trolls)

69. What’s your favourite animal?
Elephants

70. Favourite illustrator?
My Friend, Carl Trosclair!

71. The person you want to have coffee with?
Anyone, Coffee Is Life

72. What’s the country you wish to visit?
Id love to visit America, New York or California!

73. Best way to decompress?
Glee and a cuppa!!

I now tag the following fab bloggers to answer these questions:

Becky at: www.3princessesand1dude.co.uk Rebecca at  www.beccablogsitout.com Ella at https://typicalmummy.co.uk Rebecca at Https://livingwithpeas.com

Hope you all enjoyed learning a bit about me! How many questions can you answer? Give it a go!

So for breakfast nearly every day we have waffles... The shop-bought McVities ones from the supermarket, they cost me a fortune as a pack only last 2 days!

So I thought long and hard about investing in a waffle maker, one that would make 4 at a time so we could all do breakfast in one go and the ingredients would be cheaper in the long run too!

We got the Belgium waffle maker from Von Chef and it's been a total dream! I had most of the ingredients in the cupboard anyway so I just bought some extra toppings like Squirty cream and some fresh eggs.

So, Lilli helps make the mixture in the morning, we make enough for 2 days and cover it up in the fridge overnight, the waffle grill takes about 1 ladle full of mixture per waffle square too so we always have plenty leftover too.

Simply plug it in and wait for the light to go from red and green to just red and use the cool touch handle to open it up, pour in the mixture and close firmly, the waffles take about 8 minutes to cook (just be aware of steam, especially with little hands) and then they're so easy to take out with a fork or spatula then just add your toppings!

For our toppings, we had chocolate sauce (melted Nutella), Squirty cream and crushed Oreos and a few strawberries.
90% of this stuff we had in the cupboard/fridge anyway!

We love sweet waffles but if you like savory ones just add some salt and less sugar in the mix and have some cream cheese on top?!

The batter is so simple to make just follow the recipe card below...

PIN ME!!

Simply add all the ingredients in one bowl, mix well and ladle into the waffle maker and voila breakfast waffles ready to be demolished!

Comment below what toppings you'd like on your waffles. Are you sweet or savory?

Asmodée UK sent us this game for free in exchange for an honest review any opinions are my own. #BoardGameClub

The Basics...
Get Packing is a board game for 6+ years up to 4 players, the aim of the game is to get all items on your destination card into the suitcase and make sure it shuts before the other players do.
It's a quick game that takes around 15/20 mins to play but is so much fun you'll want to play more than once

The Object of the game...
Each player gets a suitcase, 13 objects and a destination card (there's 30 in total spanning a variety of difficulties), not all 13 objects go into the suitcase together so the card will choose 9 and leave the rest to the side. The play pieces are different shapes and sizes ranging from different colors too to make it fun for the little ones.

Our Review...
Lilli was so excited when we received it she wanted to play straight away, so we sat down and read the rules and got to playing straight away. We got out a suitcase each, a bag of items and a destination card each and the race was on! (I tried to be a tad slower to help Lilli who's 6 catch up) at first, she found it really tricky to be able to get them all in the case but soon she figured out she needed to tesselate the items to make them fit.

The game overall is great and only takes about 10 mins to play but is really fun to race against each other. Lilli really enjoyed it and can't wait to play with her friends too! I'd defiantly say its a 6+ game as children younger than this maybe wouldn't get the concept of moving the pieces around to fit in the case.
I as a parent think this is a brilliant game that makes them use their brain which is fantastic! Plus being someone who likes to travel this is a really fun game to play (maybe they can even help pack the suitcase for our holiday!!)

This game is so much fun for adults too and not just because I love board games because it really is a lot of fun, I could see me and some friends having our game night drinks with this game and getting a lot of laughs in the process!
Get Packing is available to purchase on Amazon and in selected toy stores so click the link above now!

If you like the look of this game, let us know in the comments below and also tell us what your favorite game is too!! Make sure you follow us on Instagram for updates and stories for #BoardGameClub

This is a collaborative post 

School’s out for summer and while you may be focussed on keeping your kids entertained across the next 6 weeks, it’s also time to plan ahead. Before you know it they will be back to school and it makes sense to start getting your shopping list together for the new school year. 

You’ll want your kids to be organised for the school year ahead, so here are 6 essentials for your back to school shopping list.

1. Pencil case

A staple for any school bag is a good ole reliable pencil case. Where else are you going to put all those rubbers, pencils, pens and other bits and pieces your kids will need throughout the day? There’s no shortage of styles and types available and you don’t have to spend a fortune to find one that can withstand the rough and tumble of school life. You can’t go wrong by shopping in WHSmith for a good quality pencil case. 

2. Calculator

This one is more for parents with children in secondary school. The maths gets a lot harder at this stage and they are definitely going to need a good calculator. Hopefully this is a first time buy and not a replacement for one they’ve already lost. Investing in a good calculator will mean it lasts for a long time and should be good enough to stick around right through college and university too. Amazon is a great place to pick up some good bargains for these. 

3. School bag

Most school bag’s rarely make it past a single school year. That’s because despite telling our children to treat them with care, school bags are thrown here, there and everywhere on a daily basis. Even if the bag is in good condition, there’s always something newer, or cooler kids want and as they’ll be carrying it around every day, it’s only right to upgrade them every school year.

4. Lunch box

Depending on their age, your kids will be eating packed lunch at school, eating all the fun stuff and leaving the fruit and veg to go back in the bag! With each passing year their tastes change and what they were into 6 months ago is no longer the same. Put a lunch box on your back to school list and give them something to smile about when they open their bags at break time. 

5. Gym clothes

Activity at school is essential not only to help the kids burn off all that energy bouncing round inside them, but also to help the teachers get through the day! Your children are growing as we speak and will probably need new trainers, socks, shorts and tops that match the school uniform. If they haven’t outgrown the previous set, it’s likely it might need replacing due to wear and tear.

6. School uniform

The most expensive item of all on the list can be the cost of school uniform. Shirts, blouses, socks, shoes, trousers, ties and blazers regularly need to be replaced. If they are moving up from primary to secondary they may need to wear different colours. Or they may just have outgrown the last set they had. It usually pays to get this early to avoid being put on the waiting list if the supplier goes out of stock.

This is collaborative post items are gifted to me, all opinions are my own, may contain affiliate links.

Sleep is the most important thing but sometimes as a parent, we don't really get too much of it so, Kally Sleep has a solution to make the sleep you do have WAY more comfy!

The Sleep Pillow...
Kally body pillows are designed and manufactured right here in the UK using the highest quality materials for the comfiest sleep ever!
They're designed to curve around the shape of your body to give the best snuggle sleep, Designed with the help of some very smart Harley Street Doctors and Osteopaths, these pillows are not to be missed at bedtime.

Designed to relieve pain in the hip and pelvis, the Kally Pillow supports you throughout the night. By aligning this key area, you are removing pressure that makes nights uncomfortable and can impact your body throughout the day too. Dreamed up with the help of leading Harley Street doctors, we have crafted the sleep tool to solve your problems.- www.KallySleep.com

My Review...

The Sleep pillow came really well presented with a cute little ribbon around the pillow plus a separate soft-touch pillowcase, It was so easy to get the pillow in the case which I thought was going to be a mission due to its curved shape, the pillowcase was buttoned too so no annoying zips to dig into you when your sleeping.

As soon as id assembled it the kids were totally all over it pretending to sleep like little angels (Ha! If only!!) But they loved it just as much as me, I was so excited for bedtime to come so I could test it out, So instead i spent most of the afternoon with it curled around my back on the sofa, it was glorious!
Nighttime soon came, I took the pillow upstairs and laid it on the bed to curl up with (the husband felt a bit left out haha) it was super comfy for my hips as I really struggle to get comfy at night time with hip pain and next thing I know it was morning, I didn't wake up once, the pillow itself had made its way to the floor but I woke up so happy and refreshed.

The Body pillows come in a variety of colors but you can always add an extra pillowcase in your basket too to change it up! Mine was grey but I really love the brushed lilac and the moon & back for the kid's pillow.

I definitely love the look of the whole Kally Sleep collection, There are Anti-Snore pillows, the Ultimate Side Sleeper pillow, Kally Adjustable pillow (this looks amazing!), The bolster pillow, Nursing pillows, Kids body pillows and so much more!
The Travel pillows look really cool, I'm always in need of one when we do long-haul flights and to have one that's memory foam and adjustable is just fantastic.

Overall, I really loved having a body pillow again, I used to have a pregnancy pillow but chucked it away as my children are now 6 and 3 and we don't have plans to have any others yet. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone and that is the honest truth it has totally changed my sleep and I'm keeping it that way!