The end is nigh

The Summer is almost over,that’s if it ever really started in the first place. I spent a couple hours at the park on Friday with my 5 children,my friend,2 boys she child-minds and her own daughter,it was great fun,the kids all played nicely together. After a couple hours letting the kids run about and use up some of their never-ending energy supply we went back to my friends’ house for lunch. I have to admit that to get 5 children out of the house and organised has become a military operation and I’m starting to wonder what it will be like next week. Last year was by far the easiest year I’ve had in regards to the school run. My eldest son was at the same school as his sister so they walked together,meaning I only had to do preschool runs. It was lovely but as they say all good thing come to an end and this year will be mayhem. My eldest will need to be at the bus stop for 7.45am,meaning he’ll need to be up earlier than ever before-that in itself will be fun. He’s enjoyed staying in bed late most mornings over the summer.
On Monday I have a last minute dash to our local city centre to get school shoes for my 8 year old daughter. This year,due to having more at school I have staggered the uniform and shoe shopping. I am just hoping we’ll find a nice pair that she likes that fit her. We are also going to the cinema to use our tickets we got from trading in our Clubcard points. As a larger sized family we had,until this year only tended to go to the cinema occasionally,now thanks to Clubcard rewards and Sky rewards we have already been a couple times this year. A couple weeks ago my husband took my son to watch Cowboys and Aliens.They had a great time and the money saved on tickets meant they could treat themselves to a Hot Dog and Coke each.
Our only decision now is what film to see,its going to be a girls day out,just me and my daughters aged 4 and 8. I’m really looking forward to it. The girls are keen on watching The Smurfs. I loved The Smurfs as a child but am not sure about a film version,that said, I love the 2 Alvin and the Chipmunk films and didn’t mind the Yogi Bear film which we watched over the Summer.

Hotpants

Day 1 of my Hotpants trial

Day 1-side view

DAY 7

Day 7-side view

Today I received my pair of Hotpants from http://zaggora.com/   .Yippee.I have been eagerly waiting for their arrival for the past couple weeks.The main aim of these shorts is to increase perspiration and flush out toxins and fat cells.The big claim is that it CAN help you to lose 2 jeans sizes in just 2 weeks.I’m not a runner or someone who goes to the gym.However as a mum of 5 I am active and am hoping these will help me lose some inches.I have taken photo’s today and will take another photo on day 7,then again on day 14.I am also going to record my thigh,waist and hip measurements.Today they are:Waist 33.5 inches,Hips 38 inches and thighs:22.5 inches.

When I first took the shorts out of the packet and put them on I felt a bit depressed initially as I couldn’t do them up without my husband help.My measurements also surprised me.So did my Muffin top.I had realised that since having my 5th child on Christmas Eve 2010 I hadn’t lost the baby weight as quickly as I had with my previous pregnancies.My tummy,hips and thighs are my problem area’s.Even if I only lose 1 dress size and a couple of inches overall I will be satisfied,although I am going to try my best to go the whole hog and aim for the 2 dress sizes.I am currently between a size 12 and 14-a size 10 would be a good aim.

The Hotpants,once I am zipped in are very comfortable.I soon felt the heat and am glad it is a cooler day today.They remind me of a wetsuit with the look and fit.I love the way that already they make my bum and thighs look amazing.

Day 7-Measurements-Waist-32.5 inches,Hips 37.5 inches and thighs-19 inches – Wow,I am impressed.I had expected to have lost more from my hips as my love handles look and feel smaller,my waist seem’s to have more of a definition and I knew my thighs must have lost a fair amount as my jeans were baggier.I haven’t done anything drastic,am as active as I usually am and have worn the Hotpants for a total of aproximately 30 hours spread over the week.I might try wearing them out and about more if the weather is nice over the next week.I’d like to loose a bit more off my waist and hips so am going to try to be more active.

Day 14 Measurements-Waist-32 inches,Hips 37 inches and Thighs 17 inches– I have been ill this week so had no idea whether this will reflect true measurements as I’ve not eaten as well as usual or been as active and I also haven’t worn my HotPants as much as I have done previously. That said, I’m still extremely happy with my results over the 2 week trial period and will continue to wear them on a regular basis.Will add the last set of photo’s a bit later for you all to see.

Affiliate program

For a month I am going to be trying out an affiliate program with LinkShare. It may or may not be something I will continue with.I really don’t know yet.I do want to become more involved with brands and hope this will lead to brands becoming more aware of my blog.I’m still very much a newbie to the whole blogging world and want to learn as much as I can about the whole blogging world.I am looking upon this as an experiment and will let people know the results at the end of the 30 day period.

Shopping for shoes,Bunk beds and room exchange.

Today has been a rather busy day for our family.This morning me and 4 of the kids went to the local city centre on the bus to get my,very nearly 4-year-old some new shoes.Hubby was working from 11-4 so it at least got us out of the house.I love bargains so 1 pair of shoes ended up turning,almost magically into 4 pairs,3  pairs being in the sale.Whilst in the city I bought hubby’s Father’s Day present-Call of Duty Black Ops.I’d planned on getting it for his Christmas present last year but he hadn’t wanted it then.After a succesful half an hour in 2 shops I decided to treat the kids to Macdonald’s for lunch.After lunch we decided to leg it for the next bus which was due in 20 minutes,a feat we accomplished easily with time to spare.Considering the trek to the bus stop involved pushing a double buggy,and 2 full up girls going pretty quickly across a retail park,through a multi storey car park and into a lift then through a supermarket before coming out the other side to our bus stop,I think we did very well.When we got home we had 2 sleeping boys which gave me the chance to pack some clothes into bin bags,take some books and nicknack’s downstairs and prepare for hubby’s return from work.We ordered bunk beds a couple of weeks ago which arrived on Friday and hubby is currently putting them together at this very moment.We have decided to swap our large room for a small room so the 3 boys will have more space,Also,my eldest will be starting Secondary school in September and as the younger boys are so young,he’ll get the chance to have a bit of time to himself and somewhere quiet to do homework.I’ve now seen the time and ordered takeaway.So far our day has been very busy but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shopping trip

Today I had a lovely shopping trip to Southampton,my closest city with my dad and stepmum and my 2 youngest son’s.My dad took my 2 year old to the local indoor playcentre whilst my stepmum and myself got on with some retail therapy with the baby.Our first stop was Tesco at home,where I started buying some uniform for my daughter ready for September.  Then I realised I dint have reins for my very excitable 2 year old so popped into Mothercare and got a wrist strap for him.Next we ventured to the large indoor shopping mall-West Quay and had a look in a couple shops before stopping for a lovely cup of coffee.Whilst sat with the baby while my stepmum got the coffe’s an elderly gentleman asked what I’d done with Dylan (my 2 year old) I froze thinking I’d forgotten a family member or neighbour,it turned out he’d seen(and heard) Dylan trying out the scooters and toys in Tesco’s at home earlier and my son had made a lasting impression. I was actually quite releaved,my memory isn’t good and I was convinced the man was a long lost relative.After our break we visited Gap and Pumpkin Patch-2 stores I very rarely visit and I bought a dress from each shop for my very nearly 4 year old.Both were in the sale.The Gap dress is a turquoise/Greeny colour Maxi dress with stripes and I loved it straight away,especially at a bargain price of £5.99 instead of £15.00.I get a feeling this dress will get lots of wear this summer.The dress from Pumpkin Patch is mainly Yellow with Green and Pinks in it,it has a lovely flowery print and is a gorgeous party dress,although again I can see this being worn a lot.This was reduced to £11.89 from £22.00.  I also bought a thin purple glittery,checked scarf (not the winter type,more of a dress up an outfit type)for my 8 year old daughter and more socks for the baby.Socks are a mystery in our house-we have so many odd ones it’s crazy.I keep all the odd ones in a box and go through it regularly with the hope of finding a few pairs.I swear washing machines and tumble dryers must eat socks,where else can they possibly go? All in all I had a lovely day shopping followed by a fish and chip lunch.Buying matching CARS T-shirts for the 2 youngest boys in Next on the way back to the car.I love shopping and especially when I get some good bargains.I tend to shop online for clothes more often than not these day but this shopping trip has made me realise how nice it is to actually see and feel the clothes before you buy them.