Four Things...

Hi Everyone!!!!

Again it has been a long time, but hopefully I'm back.I saw this tag the other day onNorthumberland Mam's blog and thought I would join in.  

Four names that people call me other than Leigh Ann:

1) Mum/Mummy : My girls
2) Laney : A childhood name, my dad still calls me this on occasion.
3)Hen : A Scottish term, used by the husband if he's in a good mood
4) Cat Lady : I've got to admit I am a cat lady, I love my boys.

Four jobs that I have had:

1) Sales Assistant in various high street fashion stores
2) Support worker with adults with learning disabilities.
3) Nigh shift in Tesco WORST job ever!!!
4) MUMMY BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!

Four movies I have watched more than once:

1) Titanic!
2) Dirty Dancing.
3) Armageddon.
4) Grease.

Four books I'd recommend:

1) Any Ian Rankin book particularly the Rebus collection.
2) The Girl on the Train
3) Bridget Jones
4) Any Sophie Kinsella book for a nice lighthearted read

Four places I've lived:

1) Bannockburn
2) St Ninnians.
3) Dunipace.
4) Denny.

Four places I've been:

1) Spain.
2) Turkey.
3) Tunisia.
4) Disneyland Paris.

Four places I'd rather be right now:

1) Soaking in the bath.
2) Lying on a beach, somewhere hot.
3) Disney World.
4) Sleeping in bed.
(I totally agreed with all Northumberland mam's answers)

Four things I don't eat:

1) Most fish.
2) Olives.
3) Hot Dogs.
4) Liver.

Four of my favourite foods:

1) Pasta.
2) Steak.
3) Chicken.
4) Creamy Sauces.

Four TV shows I watch:

1) Hollyoaks.
2) Blacklist.
3) Eastenders.
4) Corrie.

Four things I am looking forward to this year:

1) Autumn.
2) Winter.
3) My eldest 13th birthday.
4) Starting College

Four things I am always saying:

1) Stop annoying with your sister!
2) Tidy your room!
3) DINNNNERRRRRR!
4) Where are the cats?

I tag...anyone who fancies sharing their own four things!

View Original Post

A new Adventure

Hi all, it's been a while!!

Sine my youngest daughter started primary school I've felt a bit lost. I struggled with what I wanted to do with all my free time!!!

I finally decided to apply for college!!! Aarrghh!!

I was successful with my application and I can't wait for my new journey to begin, even though I'm a little bit scared!!!

I am going to be studying an access to degree course!! It seems really hard work, but my family are very supportive, so I'm sure with a lot of commitment and time from me I'll get through it!!

Thanks for reading

Xx

How lucky I am

Hi guys,

Just a quick post, I was just looking through my photos and realised I am so lucky to be mum to my 2 crazy, beautiful girls!!!! I thought I'd share a few of my favourite pictures with you guys.

 Here's just a few of them

Thanks for taking a peek

Love Leighann

Sainsburys and mini primark haul

Have a nosey at my new YouTube video. If you like it I'd love you to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel ♥️

Teenagers!!!!!

Hi Guys,

I hope you are all well. In this post I'm looking for advice please.

If you don't already know I am mum to the gorgeous Aimee, 12 and guardian of my nephew Billy, 13.

Having one teenagers is hard enough, but two at the same time is torture. All I hear is "but she got to do that" "He got to go there" and all I want to do is scream!!!!

The real thing I struggle with is letting them go a little bit more. How far away from home is safe? what time should I allow them out until at night? How will I know they are safe when I cant see them? the list is endless!!!!

I had Aimee when I had just turned 20, so in many ways I have grown up alongside her, but I also remember clearly what it is like to be her age and that scares me.

Aimee is very different to me when I was her age, I followed the crowd and got into a lot of trouble.

Aimee is head strong, confident and care free. I admire that she doesn't care what anybody thinks of her, (in a good way) she tries new things because she wants to, not because her friends want to. I'm bias but she is amazing.

Billy on the other hand is very different!! he has been in serious trouble at school, always wants to be part of the crowd that don't want him. He's that little boy that we all remember who tried to hard to be part of the it crowd but always lands in trouble as the blame gets put on him. Don't get me wrong I'm not making excuses for him, he makes the choice to be involved in situations or to walk away. He normally makes the wrong choices.

Billy came to live with us when he was 10, he doesn't have great social skills due to his upbringing and try as we might, breaking some of his learned behaviour from his early years is impossible. I wish at times he would listen to us and not push the boundaries. but I guess this is part teenage angst and part to do with our unique situation.

So with 2 very different teenagers to parent I find it hard to create a fair balance between them. I probably allow Aimee to do more and go slightly further because I trust her more to behave, keep in touch and come home when I say. This comes with guilt though as I don't trust Billy at all to do these things due to previous experience.

I'm starting to ramble now, but I am so happy I have managed to get my concerns down in print.

Im hoping by the time Ava is a teen will be an expert!!! Wishful thinking me thinks....

Anyone out there with early teens ANY advice would be appreciated.

Love Leigh Ann

Whingy 5 Year Old

Hi Guys,

I hope you have all had a lovely Easter break, we are slap bang in the middle of ours.

Ava got a Samsung tablet as her main present from Santa Claus last year. She has been asking for Minecraft to be installed on it for a few months, I finally relented and bought it for her at the start of the Easter break. This was the BIGGEST mistake I have ever made!!!!!

Minecraft a sort of cyber world where you build your town and keep it safe. The version I bought Ava is suitable for 7 year olds, she will be 6 next month and at the time I thought it was a pretty harmless game for her. Boy was I wrong!!

The first day she had it she played it for around 40 minutes with some help from her big sister. I was fine with this. Aimee is a very responsible 12 year old who at times I'm sure thinks she is Ava's mum alongside me. Ava found ways to increase the amount of time she was spending on the game by sneaking her tablet to bed!!! This was a side of her I didn't know existed. In my opinion she was becoming addicted to a computer game.

As the week went on my carefree, happy go lucky, funny, playful 5 year old was replaced by a grumpy, whingey, huffy child who didn't want to leave the house!!! She was crying when ever she didn't get her own way (usually about not getting her tablet), having nightmare
s every night and spent every night in bed with me in case the creepers got her!!!

Needless to say Ava no longer has Minecraft!!! I hope this week is better than last. She is still having nightmares but I am hoping these will subside now she no longer has the game.

As I type this I have my carefree, fun Ava back, She is currently in her toy corner playing with her Shopkins and her my little ponies in some wonderland she has created in her head. I love to watch her play like this. Technology is a wonderful thing but not for my baby (not yet anyway)

What are your feelings on these types of games that are targeted at the much younger audience??

Thank you for reading, Please feel free to leave me your opinions. I would be interested to know if anyone else has dealt with this before.

love  leighann

Another Apology!!!

I am having to write this post through my phone ( not the easiest) to apologise for the lack of posts.

I share a laptop with my daughter, she took it to granny's at the weekend and forgot to bring it back. Little shit!!! I think it's about time I invest in my own one. What type would you all recommend as I am pretty clueless when it comes to computers.

The next post I plan to write is about trusting tweens and teenagers and letting them grow up (not to quickly though), I plan to have this up on Friday or Saturday.

Thanks for reading



Love. Leighann


Ps sorry about this post xx

A weekend in Pitlochrey

A couple of weeks ago we visited the picturesque Parkdean resort, Tummel Valley, Situated about 10 miles outside Pitlochrey.

We went away for the weekend to celebrate my in laws 40th wedding anniversary.(unfortunately I have no pictures of them and their gorgeous cake). This was our 3rd visit to this park. One of these visits was to experience The Enchanted Forest for my birthday. It is one of the most stunning things I have ever seen.

The Enchanted Forrest

Back to my most recent visit though......

We were lucky enough to stay in the lodges this visit which were absolutely gorgeous, they even have a washing machine!!!! (cant believe this excited me!!) They are so much more luxurious and spacious than the caravans.  
We arrived early evening on the Friday so we kept the rest of the night quite chilled. We took the kids down to the entertainment complex for a look around and for Ava to watch the kids entertainment. (She used to love the entertainment, but she found it quite boring this time. I don't think the entertainment team were the best this time around though).

We had a lovely longish lie on the Saturday morning then took the kids swimming in the complex. the pool is small so I would imagine in high season it would be really busy, but we were fortunate enough to have the pool almost to ourselves which the kids loved. After lunch we drove an hour down the road to Auchingarrich Wildlife Park. On arrival we didn't think much of the park but we were so wrong, the kids had an absolute ball as did the hubby as you will see from my photos. the park has a good variety of animals and a lovely play park and café. If you are ever in the Perth area a visit to this park is a lovely afternoon out. 

our day at Auchingarrich

On the journey back we saw the most beautiful hot air balloon lifting (???) off

We spent Saturday night at the entertainment complex. We had a meal this time though, I wouldn't normally recommend the restaurant but their isn't anywhere else near by if you want to eat out. the food was typical chain restaurant food,  nothing exciting. We had a game of bingo!! (I won). the kids were pretty tired by this point so I headed back to the lodge with them and let the hubby stay out for a few pints with his brother.

I can't comment much on the Sunday as I had a terrible migraine, but the kids say they had a good day with daddy!!!

All in all it was a lovely weekend and we had lots of fun, but my favourite bit was the drive home, it reminded me how lucky I am to live in Scotland and what a beautiful country it is.

 I hope you enjoyed reading about our weekend. Where would you recommend for a fun filled break away with the kids?


Speak soon

Leigh Ann

  

DITL Easter Sunday

hi guys,

I'd love you to have a look at my new video of how we spent Easter Sunday..

New posts coming tonight.

Hope you enjoy our day.

Thanks


Leighann

An Interview with a 5 and 12 year old

Hi guys,

I hope you are all well, I again have took some inspiration from Emma at Emmaplusthree, She published a post recently interviewing her 3 year old daughter Evie. I thought I would recreate this with my 5 year old daughter Ava and my 12 year old daughter Aimee to see how much there answers would differ.

So here goes..............................

Ava is up first...................

How are you feeling today Ava? Ok I guess

What makes you happy? Toys, but mainly Shopkins

What makes you sad? When I hurt myself

What do you want to be when you grow up? A pop star or an Artist that gets paid lots of money!!!! (I love her ambition)

What's your favourite food? Macaroni or chees pizza

Describe Mummy... She's a nice mummy

Describe Daddy.....He likes to eat biscuits!!!! (a very apt description)

Who created the world? Jesus????

What is the Queens Job? To make sure everyone is happy, Well that's what I'll do when I'm the Queen.

Who is the Prime Minister? I don't really know their name

What did you dream about last night? A birthday party

What would you like to do tomorrow? Go to school(Which surprises me as she never usually wants to go)

Where in the world do you want to go? Disneyland

Why do we celebrate Christmas? Its when Jesus was born.

Where does the tooth fairy live? Tooth fairy land.

What is your favourite animal? A cat, a puppy and a baby cheetah

Who is your best friend? Kayla

What makes you laugh? funny stuff

Are you going to get married? Eh yeah!!!!! to Harry Styles!!!!!

Tell me a secret?????????????? I've kissed a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where do babies come from? From Mummy's tummy's in the hospital, but I don't want you to have another baby

What do you like to watch on TV? My little Pony

How much money do you have? I don't really know, but enough for a toy I think.

What do you do that is naughty? I don't really know cause I'm a really good girl.

Describe yourself.......I LOVE CHOCOLATE

Where does father Christmas live? In the north pole

Who is Jesus?  gods son but he died on a cross

What is your favourite veg? Cucumber

Are you bored yet? No Mummy, I love you

Now for Aimee's turn.......

How are you feeling today Aimee? Good

What makes you happy? My Friends

What makes you sad? Sad films like The Lion King, Marley and Me etc.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Photographer/Journalist (She has wanted to do this since she was around 9, she is great at taking nature shots)

What's your favourite food? Potatoes

Describe Mummy... She's my best friend (made me cry a little)

Describe Daddy.....He loves his kids more than anything in the world and he's fun.

Who created the world? I don't believe in who!!! I believe in science.

What is the Queens Job? To make money off the country for her family and to sit on her throne and be waited on!!!! (All opinions are Aimee's !!!)

Who is the Prime Minister? David Cameron

What did you dream about last night? Didn't Have a dream

What would you like to do tomorrow? On holiday to the sun and the sea

Where in the world do you want to go? Brazil

Why do we celebrate Christmas? Its when Jesus was born, but I don't believe in that.

Where does the tooth fairy live? In my House

What is your favourite animal? A sugar glider

Who is your best friend? Jenny

What makes you laugh? Jenny

Are you going to get married? if I find a Man like my dad then Maybe!!!

Tell me a secret???????????? I've got a crush on a boy!!!!

Where do babies come from? Mum and Dad had some fun in the bedroom

What do you like to watch on TV? You Tube

How much money do you have? I'm broke but one day ill be a millionaire

What do you do that is naughty? Nothing, I'm an angel!!!!(really Aimee!!!!!)

Describe yourself.......Funny, good looking, tall, the best big sister, fashionable and I love animals.

Where does father Christmas live? In my house

Who is Jesus? He's from a Carrie underwood song, Only kidding gods son

What is your favourite veg? Potatoes

Are you bored yet? Hmmmmm 

These two girls really make me laugh, Thank you my beautiful girls for doing this with me.

hope you enjoyed this,

speak soon

leighann

YouTube video number 2

Hi all

It's been a while again, we have been away for the weekend to celebrate the in laws 40th wedding anniversary, look out for my blog post about that tomorrow, mean time why don't you check out my new upload on YouTube

Thanks guys

Speak soon

Leighann xxxxx

My First Youtube Video

Hi guys,

I decided to bite the bullet and post a YouTube video. YouTube is my best friend I love watching vlogs and hauls so decided to hop on the bandwagon.

I popped to Tesco this morning and whilst wandering around i thought I'm going to film what I bought and put it on YouTube!!! all the while my head was screaming "no you wont!!!!" so as soon as I got home I arranged it all nice like you do, filmed a quick, terrible video and published it. It felt so good as I have wanted to do it for so long.

Id love if you had a peek here, Tesco Haul, even if it is just to laugh at me. hahaha.

Thanks for reading

Speak soon

The Liebster Award

Massive thanks to Emmaplusthree for the nomination of The Liebster Award. I have said a few times but you made my week with your nomination.

Here’s the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog in your post.
2. Show the award on your blog, or in your post.
3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
4. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5 – 11 bloggers that you feel deserve the award.
6. Create a list of new questions for your nominees to answer.
7. Once your blog is published, let your nominees know that they have been nominated and link them to your post for more details.

Here are the questions Emma asked me,

How long have you been blogging for?

I started blogging around-the beginning of February. Blogs are something i love to read in my spare time. I began to think i wish i did something like this, I am a very shy person though, so it took me a lot of time to build up the courage to put my family on the internet, but i am so glad i did as i have found the blogging community very friendly and accepting. it also lets me use my brain again in a constructive way.

What aspirations do you have for your blog?

I'm not really sure what my aspirations are yet. At the moment i am enjoying having my own corner of the internet to share my life. I hope to share some of my personal journeys once i have become a bit more confident in the blogging world. Of course i would love people to read my blog and interact with it (like most blogger i suspect). although i am happy to do my typing and hopefully in the future it might grow a bit. 

How do you come up with blog post ideas?

So far i have just been talking about our week as a family. I have began writting down ideas for blog post when they pop into my head and have been working on a schedule for when they will be posted. My main inspiration come from day to day life.  

Describe yourself in 3 words?

Shy, Fun, Mum

What 3 items would you take to a desert island?

My phone, photo book and a boat

What bloggers inspire you?

The bloggers who inspire me are the witt family, livedwithlove and brummymummyof2

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time, apart from blogging?

I don't get much spare time to myself, but when i do i love to go a wander around the shops or go for a coffee and watch the world go by.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

I wanted to be a pop star (except i cant sing) 

What do you see yourself doing in 5 years time?

I hope to be working in a career i enjoy possibly something within the criminal justice sector.

What is your favourite social media platform?

This is a hard one but it would be between Facebook or Instagram.

Finally, what would your last meal be?

It would have to be steak diane with chips.

Here are 11 random facts about me,

1. I lived at home with my parents and Aimee until i was 25.
2. I have very short labours from start to finish (Aimee's labour lasted for 4 hours and she was born 25 mins after i arrived at the hospital. Ava's labour lasted 2.5 hours and she was born 6 mins later)
3. I have been with my husband since i was 16.
4. I hate feet.
5. I don't like chocolate.
6. I used to drink 3 litres of fizzy juice a day.
7. My guilty celeb crush is Paddy Mcguiness.
8. I adore Freddie Flintoff.
9. i have 4 older brothers
10. I like to watch The bill on rerun channels as i never watched it when it was on tv because it scared me as a child.
11. I love my bed.

I am nominating

babiafi, babyy pebbles,this mama life,northumberland mam 

The questions i want to ask are,

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. where do you get your inspiration from?
3. who are your favorite bloggers?
4. what are your top tips for blogging?
5. what are your favorite clothes shops?
6. dead or alive who would you invite to a dinner party?
7. What is your favorite food?
8. What is your favorite TV programme?
9. Where is your dream holiday and why?
10. What did you want to be when you grew up?
11. who is your guilty celebrity crush?

I've missed this

Hi guys,

I didn't realise how much I have enjoyed blogging until I had to stop for a week!!! Who'd have thought it!!!

Thank you to Emmaplusthree for the lovely nomination for the liebster award!!! Little old me!!! You made my day!!! I will do my post tomorrow for this

My week off has been eventful, kids have all been ill, hubby has a sore foot which we found out he will need surgery on and my wee one had to have a tooth pulled due to an infection. It was one of the most traumatic things I have ever witnessed. Ava was very brave, much braver than me. I was suffering with severe mum guilt so I took her to the nearest toy shop and bought her a shopkin and a shoppe and a my little pony, just to make sure she still loved me. I'm sure she still does.

Just when we thought everything was back to normal my hubbys gran was taken into hospital. She is on the mend thankfully, but as I am a stay at home mum, which isn't a real job apparently!!! I have been doing the all day visiting while everyone else is at work. Then coming home to do all the non jobs I normally do when the kids are at school.

I am looking forward to continuing my blogging journey. I have posts planned and scheduled. I feel like such a grown up being so organised. I wish the rest of my life was the same.

What are your top organisation tips???

Ps I thought I would share this drawing, my extremely talented 5 year old drew (she thinks she is an artist because I have shared this on every social media platform)

Apologies

Hi guys

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, my lifestyle daughter has been ill all week. It started with a nasty cough, then she lost her voice, then a sickness bug, finally she is feeling better, I'm exhausted though. Back to school for her tomorrow.

I plan to post a couple  of posts over the weekend and next week I am beginning fitness training, something I plan to document on here, as I am the unfitest person!!! I'm hoping by sharing my journey and goals the few of you who read this can help and encourage me.

Any top tips for beginners fitness??

Speak soon

Get to know me in 25 questions

I was inspired by many other bloggers to do the get to know me tag, I wasn't tagged but thought I would jump on the band wagon. Hope you enjoy.

1, What is your middle name?
 I don't have one, although as my name is Leigh Ann, Ann is always thought to be my middle name.

2, What was your favourite subject at school?
My favourite subjects were Modern studies and English.

3, What is your favourite drink?
Until recently it was diet irn bru, but as I have stopped drinking fizzy juice my new favourite is Robinsons orange and pineapple.

4, What is your favourite song at the moment?
Has to be anything by Jason Derulo.

5, What is your favourite food?
I'm a sucker for Italian food, but my all time favourite dish is Steak Diane with mini roast potatoes.

6, What was the last thing you bought?
Being a mum, my purchases are never for me, so the last thing I bought was a shopkins lunch box!!!!

7, Favourite book of all time?
I don't really have a favourite book, but my favourite book series is the Rebus collections by Ian Rankin.

8, Favourite colour?
My favourite colour changes from week to week but this week its navy.

9, Do you have any pets?
I have two gorgeous cats named Edu (the black one) and Leo. As we rescued both boys I didn't get to pick their names, but they are my wee pals.

10, Favourite perfume?
Thierry Muglar Alien for special occasions and Versace Red Jeans for every day.

11, Favourite holiday?
My favourite holiday was our honeymoon, we took our oldest daughter Aimee to Disneyland Paris, I was also pregnant with our youngest daughter Ava. We all had such an amazing time and made so many special favourites.

12, Are you married?
Yes, I married my first and only love Kenny in July 2009, we had been together nearly 10 years by this point, it truly was one of the best days of my life.

13, Have you ever been out of the country, if so how many times?
I have lost count of the amount of times I have left Scotland, never to anywhere exotic or interesting  (ha-ha) just the usual places, Spain, France, England.

14, Do you speak any other languages?
Unfortunately not, but wish I could.

15, How many siblings do you have?
I do, I am the youngest of 5, I have 4 older brothers, there is a 8 year age gap between myself and my youngest of the brothers, so I was more like an only child from about the age of 9 or 10 as they had all moved out by then.

16, What is your favourite shop?
Again being a mum my favourite shop revolves around the kids, my favourites at the moment are Zara and h and m for the wee one and JD Sports for the big ones
17, Favourite restaurant?
My all time favourite is a little Italian in Stirling called Italia Nostra, I will admit over the years the food has gone down a little but I have so many special memories there (Kenny proposed to me there) so it will always be my favourite. If I was basing it entirely on food it would be another Italian this time in Glasgow called La Laterna, if your ever near by give them a try the food is to die for.

18, When was the last time you cried?
Embarrassingly it was while watching the baltiera wedding on teen mom OG last week. I love the couples story and that they made it when most of us wouldn't.

19, Favourite blog?
I have a few,but,the witt family, livedwithlove brummymummyof2 are my top 3.

20, Favourite movie?
Oh I has to be Titanic and Dirty Dancing, I could watch them over and over again.
21, Favourite TV show?
At the moment its the Blacklist and The x Files,

22, pc or mac?
I'm not sure??

23, What phone do you have?
IPhone 6 rose gold, which I love, I'm a new convert to apple.

24, How tall are you?
5ft 5inchs

25, can you cook?
I can and im told I do it very well (di I really just say that) I love to cook and bake, its my favourite thing to do, which is just as well as I have a very hungry family to feed.

homemade chicken pie and chips

I hope you enjoyed this little get to know me.

Do we enjoy any of the same things???

Speak soon

xxx

#wickedwednesday

Bad mummy laughing at the little one crying on the train!!! The joys of mummy hood !!

Late valentines

a bit late for valentines I know, but I thought I would share this with you guys. I was inspired by many other bloggers who have shared similar things over the last few days, hope you enjoy.

1. Where did you meet your other half?
We met while volunteering at a social club for adults with learning disabilities

2. How long have you been with your significant other?
16 years

3. If you're married, when did you say "I do"?
18/07/09

4. What song did you walk down the aisle to?
The wedding

5. Do you have any children yet?
2 beautiful daughters

6. What's your favorite thing about your other half?
The amazing father he is to our girls, his kindness and his sense of fun.

7. Were you and your other half high school sweethearts?
No

8. Where was your first date?
An old mans pub😂

9. How long were you dating before you said "I love you"?
A month or so

10. How long were you dating your other half before he/she proposed?
3 years

11. Where is your favorite place you have traveled with your other half?
Disneyland Paris

12. How do you and your other half usually spend Valentines Day?
Together, eating too much and watching rubbish on the to

13. What does your favorite 'date night' consist of?
Going out for dinner

14. What is the best gift you have received from your other half?
Our daughters

Watch out for at least 3 more posts this week

Speak soon