PUMPKIN PICKING '15

On Tuesday we made our annual trip to pick our pumpkins!

(After an alert on my facebook we also went pumpkin picking on that very day last year too)
We set of just as the weather started warming up and took our usual walk to the farm, Andy had been out previously that morning to withdraw money for our pumpkins and said it really wasn't that cold out but me being me didn't want the girls to get cold and put on their coats and wore my own because I didn't want to take a bag for all the camera stuff BIG mistake!
I was bundled with coats when we wasn't even half way there but was to far from home to bother running them back home.
It was a lot busier there this year so we didn't get as many photos as we had planned to get there was just far to many people as you can probably tell by all the random legs behind us in the photo above,
So it was one of those moments where we grabbed our pumpkins and ran the girls and Andy had actually picked their pumpkins before I had got back from waiting for a wheel barrow to become free.
I had a little look round with the girls they were set on their chosen pumpkins, after Daisie being knocked over she was just ready to go so we did just that.
Sadly a few pumpkins had been smashed and kicked around but there was still plenty left to pick from I just find it sad that the farm opens its doors to make picking your pumpkins that little more fun and people don't seem to respect that, maybe I'm just a moaning myrtle.
I'd set my heart on some little white squashes for a little in door display as I wasn't feeling a pumpkin for myself this year but there wasn't any.
This time as Daisie is no longer in a buggy we got a taxi home to help transport the pumpkins and collection of coats, We didn't have our traditional fry up when we got home as I didn't get anything in for it but we did finish the day off with a papa johns!

Hope you all have a lovely Halloween if you celebrate it! 

LUSH WINTERS COMING | THE GOODY BAG

So you've read all about the event and your no doubt dying to see the goodies I got my hands on?

If you haven't already read my post about the actual LUSH winter's coming bloggers event you can do so here be warned it is very picture heavy but it's so hard to fit in all the goodness of the night!

If you have read my event post you'd have read that each of us were allowed to select one item from each demonstration to take home and try for free, We had a LUSHoween demo with all your perfect pamper needs, a LUSH christmas everything you'd need for the perfect cosy christmas and LUSH candy christmas with lots of pink!

From the halloween demonstration I went for the 'Don't look at me' facemask which can be seen on my hand in the event post, I'm so excited to give it a try properly! 

From the LUSH christmas demonstration I went for the santa FUN for the girls as Daisie absolutely loves playdoh and always asks can she take it in the bath which is a big no no but thanks to LUSH she can. 

From the LUSH candy christmas I went for the magic wand bubble bar again this was for the girls but being a reusable bubble bar I'm sure I could sneak a bath or two out of it. 

Also in my goody bag was the winter edition of LUSH times a sample pot of lord of misrule shower scream, a sample pot of christingle body conditioner and a sample pot of hair custard.

I also purchased the experimentar bath bomb £3.95, Frozen bath bomb (another one for the girls) £3.95, Intergalactic bath bomb £3.95 and the stardust bath bomb £2.95!

I wasn't originally going to buy the stardust bath bomb as it didn't look all that exciting UNTIL we were showed the demonstration then it was one of those 'that's going straight in my basket' moments.

I made sure I didn't go mad but of course I've been gutted ever since and can't wait to go back over and buy some more. 

I haven't had a lush stash for quite some time now so the event was perfect to get my teeth back into my love for lush again.

I will be doing further posts on each bath bombs so keep your peepers out for those if you're interested to read more about them.

Anxiety & Me | CBT Therapy

I thought it was time I done an up to date post on my anxiety as it's been awhile since I done a post solely on just my anxiety, it's appeared briefly in a few of my most recent posts. 

I can't remember if I had mentioned in my last Anxiety & me post but I was offered a 6 week course of Cognitive behavioural therapy. 

The first hurdle for me was the phone call assessment the whole idea of an hour phone call was a big enough hurdle as it is but I managed it and that call alone made me realise how I don't want to say traumatic the whole situation with Daisies due date mix up was because that seems pretty dramatic but in all honestly it kind of was, knowing that if I had been left any longer she may not be with us today. 

After the phone call I was told I'd receive an appointment when the next available slot comes up, it did and pretty quickly but I had no way of getting there so shortly after I received a call offering me a more local appointment, Then came D day no one was free to be able to come along with me and I was ready to not turn up but I pushed myself not only for myself but for my girls if I wanted to get better I needed to accept the help I was given.

I absolutely hated my first appointment and from that point I was sure I wasn't returning but after calming down and thinking it over I stuck it out and went along to the second appointment which was so much better.

At the time I never understood how the appointments were helping me because to me it felt like I turned up and just had a chat for 45 minutes with a stranger but that helped in some kind of way, As the weeks went on I was noticing little differences and before I knew it my 6 weeks were up! 

Since my therapy I've been nice and early on the school runs leaving the girls time to play before school starts if you read my Last mum through the gate post you'll know that I purposely made sure we wouldn't get to the gate until everyone else was leaving which left me snappy and getting in a flap. 

Not only that but as mentioned briefly in a previous post unrelated to anxiety I mentioned attending a firework display and 3 parks without once feeling overwhelmed and like I just had to get home as soon as I could but I sat and enjoyed the moment taking it all in just like I used to.

I spend most of mornings having breakfast with some mum friends, I'm happy to go on buses and trains alone shopping, I will go over to people I know and say Hi if they haven't noticed me rather than sneaking past hoping they don't, I feel confident to be applying for jobs as much as I can.

Now I'm not going to say I'm completely free of anxiety I still get very anxious in certain situations and I can't relax with my bag out in areas I'm not familiar with or visit every day but maybe I'm just very aware of the possibilities.

CBT therapy certainly has helped me and I still find it crazy how because I really didn't think it would after my first appointment so I'm really glad I stuck it out. 

I feel like I've been given my wings back and I'm able to fly.

I highly recommend CBT therapy to anyone with anxiety if you're offered it, It's not for everyone but it certainly was for me and the difference is amazing! 

LUSH WINTERS COMING EVENT OCT'15

**WARNING PICTURE HEAVY POST**

I was very luckily invited to my local LUSH winter is coming bloggers event, after my anxiety getting the better of me when the spring event came around and I totally bottled it I was amazed to have been given a second chance at attending one of their events. 

So with my anxiety being so much better now I was determined to make it and I did just that.

I arrived at the event a little early so made a pit stop at mc'donalds just around the corner, When I arrived back some of the other lovely bloggers were eagerly waiting to get into the lushy goodness.

With a quick hello we were allowed in to explore the store and grab any pictures we wished to get before getting stuck into what lush had in store for us.

we were offered drinks and snacks which we were welcome to tuck into throughout the event

In true lush fashion we drank our drinks from lush tubs, I absolutely loved that little touch it sealed the whole lush experience perfectly.

(I really should have stuck to my nail appointment)

We were given our name stickers and amazingly Fran the bromleys store trainee manager knew me by my email address straight away when she read my name tag, I still get myself in a kerfuffle getting the girls names correct and there's only two of them!

The night was filled with a lot of limb sniffing if you've ever attended a lush event before you'll know that it isn't odd at all to be sniffing someone's arm who you don't particularly know all that well.

There was three different demonstrations a halloween perfect pamper evening, a perfectly pink christmas and a traditional cosy christmas (these weren't the actual demo names but being the bad blogger I am I forgot their actual names)

It seems I didn't get a good shot of the halloween demo set up but the blue face mask was part of the perfect halloween pamper evening, I know how I'm spending my halloween once the girls are settled in bed. 

Before the event was completely wrapped up we were taken through all the christmas gift sets that are available this year, there's some really gorgeous ones out this year I'm hoping if I flutter my eyelashes enough santa may just bring me one! I was totally amazed to learn the little puffy things that come inside LUSH gift sets and online orders is actually edible and to prove it to us Fran and Lily ate one, I'm not to sure I'll be in a rush to eat one but I may panic less when the girls or bear get hold of them.
We were thoroughly spoilt with not only an evening of lushy goodness but we were allowed to pick one item from each demonstration to take home and try for free.

Of course being a mummy I had to get something for the girls and left with three items for myself out of the whole stash of goodies! 

With all the demonstrations over we were allowed to run free with our cash and cards I could have bought the whole shop but being good I only got a small selection but I'm eager to get back over there and get some more.
I'll be doing a separate post on all the goodies I left with so keep an eye out for that one! 

I think I may have waffled on about the girls just a tad so sorry ladies, hope it wasn't to obvious I don't go out without them that often.

I had a really lovely evening with some amazing ladies Christina - Emily & Unity - Kerry - Emily and Hollie.
Thank you so much to LUSH for having me!

Have you got your hands on any of the halloween/chirstmas range? 

BIRTHDAY HAULING

Last Sunday (27th) I turned 24!

I was super spoilt and didn't expect to receive half of the gifts I did since getting older I've never thought much of my birthday and treated it as another normal day.
I was left to sleep for as long as I wished and when I eventually got up I was greeted with a scrummy fried egg on toast with orders not to lift a finger,
Andy went with the safest option and gave me some money with strict orders on the money having to be spent on things for me and not the girls as anyone who knows me knows any money I have will end up being spent on the girls or someone else!
For a change I did just that and grabbed most of the things I've been going into shops or on websites and just staring at.

The girls got me a beautiful buddha to go in my living room.
I was also spoilt with one of my favourite yankee candle scents from Andy's dad & my aunt, A daughter pandora charm to put together with my mums mother charm and cardigan from my mum and dad, A nail set from my brother and sister in-law and NBC nail varnishes + clips from my baby nephew and little niece, Bath goodies, a bunch of flowers and my fave yankee scent in a wax tart and sampler from my best friend and some money from my mother in-law.

So lets see what being 24 has in store for me.