Mummy will your M.E ever go?

My daughter is exactly 6 & a half today which is something to smile about but this morning my heart broke a little bit. We were having a snuggle for 5 minutes before she got ready for school & out of the blue she asked me if my M.E will ever go. I told her I didn't know but that I hoped so & she told me she hates it as I can't do much with her or go out to many places & it isn't fair. Ouch.

As you may know I try to remain cheerful & try to be positive despite everything, but it totally got me & although I tried to give her some reassurance I had tears streaming down my face. I told her the stuff we do together is still nice & that this is just how it is. She said she just wishes we could do more stuff together. I couldn't agree more.

I said we would have a chat after school & write a list of some of the things we could try to do. My carer took her to school for me & the tears flowed. It isn't fair, she's so right. The pangs of envy towards other people who can do "normal" stuff are always there. I think that's understandable when you have so many restrictions & wish you could do the stuff you always took for granted.

I get so wiped out so quickly that when we go out I may not be up to driving back. Safety has to be a priority & obviously with such poor mobility I can't really walk anywhere either.

I usually have a carer with me when my husband is working & they collect my daughter from school so I am up to doing stuff with her rather than being too wrecked from the school run. However today when my carer came she was really unwell so I sent her home. The exclusive mummy time my little girl had said she wanted was happening quicker than I had planned!

I had promised her yesterday that we could bake & she never forgets stuff so it was the first thing she asked. As she can pretty much do it herself now I got everything out & she did all the work! Apart from a few bits like putting them in the oven, she did such a good job.

The finished results made her (& me) so proud! They tasted delicious too :)

After the baking I felt really tired so I had a lay down on the sofa & little Miss watched tv while she ate her tea. Then she joined me & we snuggled. My mum popped in after work & helped her have a shower so I had a quick rest.

I decided it was time for the chat & we started writing a list of things we could do. A few ideas we had were going for a hot chocolate at a local café, an ice cream at our favourite Italian deli, finding out about hiring a scooter at the park & going for a ride! Conker picking, finding leaves to do Autumn craft stuff with & going to a park to draw pictures. She also asked if we could go & watch a show at the theatre so if we do that I will have to have someone with us to push the wheelchair but I think it would be something we'd definitely both look forward to.

I am going to do a treasure hunt on our street too. I haven't told her about that one yet but I know she will love it.

I asked her what the main thing that she wanted was from what she had told me this morning & she said just to spend more time with me on her own. She said (& it really made me laugh) that because her daddy takes her out and about a lot that it's/he's a bit annoying!! She said it doesn't mean she doesn't like him, just that she wants to spend time doing stuff with me too. Bless her!!

I feel the same as she does & our afternoon today made me realise I'm not as useless as I sometimes feel.

If anyone has any suggestions for stuff we could do please leave them in the comments.

Thanks for reading :)


Ali 
xx

New look. New me?

So I may be on the wrong side of 30 but does that mean I have to act all mature & be boring? No it does not! I certainly don't feel my age. In fact when I see it written down, for example if I am reading a magazine, I automatically think of it as being quite old. Then it dawns on me that I'm the same age. And it's almost laughable as there is no way I can be. I still feel about 16 & I know having discussed this with friends that it isn't just me who feels like it. I certainly don't act it either! Having chronic illness makes you feel a bit rubbish about yourself too so whatever you can do to make you feel a bit brighter then you have to do it.

I have wanted to do something like this for a while & it's not even anything major really. It's just a bit different. I am not talking face piercings or anything too extreme just yet (a new tattoo is the next thing I want! And yes I do have a tattoo but I won't be showing you it!!). But it's something noticeable.

I am of course talking about my hair!

My long, very dark boring hair with a fringe. Pretty much the same style I had as a child.
Seriously.

I have mentioned previously when talking about the Glitterati (see previous posts if you have no idea what I am talking about!) that I have wanted to do something for a while. To not just look a bit funky but to feel it. And I finally took the plunge. My lovely friend is a hairdresser & after I drove her a bit mad with messages & colour options (sorry Debs!) she came round to the house last week & transformed me into (according to my daughter) a very cool mummy! Hurrah.

This was me that morning prior to having it done...

This was during...

And ta da... the final result!

Pink hair don't care!!!

I love it. I keep catching glimpses of it & getting giddy all over again! I somehow do feel a bit different. I can't say it's made me feel younger as I already felt like a teenager but it's just made me feel a bit better about myself.

I have gained more confidence in the last year since joining the fab group of ladies in The Glitterati  & I feel I owe my new look to them. Without them I wouldn't have done it. So if you're reading this fellow Glitterati girls, thank you & I lurve you all :-)

I've had so many comments about my new hair already & when people see it in the flesh they have all said how good it looks. Of course they might be lying but it's nice to hear all the same!! I won't be stopping at this as I have various colours to play with & I think I can safely say I won't go back to my boring hair again for a while. If ever!

Of course I've been trying some of my hair accessories on & they look so different!

I reckon if you want to do something different  to make yourself feel good then do it.

Now what tattoo shall I have done?? (Wink emoji!)


Ali 
xx

Crafting with rose petals!

Who doesn't love fresh flowers? (me me me!)
They are even better when they have come straight from the garden. My neighbour has brought me roses round from hers the last 2 weeks. They have been so pretty & have smelt amazing (see my previous post about making rose petal perfume!)

They have lasted a good week & only just started wilting the last day or so. When we came downstairs this morning there was a mountain of petals so I suggested using them for something crafty rather than throwing them away. Which is exactly what we did!

We decided to make some pictures with them. I went for a flower & my little girl decided to turn them into hot air balloons. She cut up some paper straws to use as the baskets.

Then we cut some shapes out & did collages. I am rather pleased with my heart!!

Little Miss chose triangles & really enjoyed sticking the petals on them. It kept her busy for ages.

Once they were finished she took the biggest one round to the neighbour who gave me the roses. Little gestures do really make people's day sometimes & she was really happy with her picture which has gone on her fridge!

As I've mentioned many times before, we do a lot of stuff in the house with how I am with my illness. Children are as happy being in spending time with you than they are being out (not that we always realise this but they are & we shouldn't feel bad for it!). You don't need fancy things to keep children occupied.  We will use pretty much anything to do crafts with. Look around your house, keep hold of empty boxes & cartons, get out the trusty Pritt stick & scissors and hey presto. The world is your oyster! 

Source Pinterest 

Happy crafting :-) 

Ali 

xx

Crown & Glory Glitterati unboxing September 2015

It's that time again. My favourite time of the month... Glitterati time!!

For those of you unfamliar with what it is, it's a monthly subscription box from Crown & Glory who do the best hair accessories ever. If you like glitter, flowers & basically all things lovely you get a box of amazingness every month as well as being a member of the coolest girl gang. A few of my previous posts about it are here & here!

This month we saw a sneak peak on Instagram & I was hoping for some Autumn coloured pretties. When the box arrived & I opened it, I most definitely wasn't disappointed.

It had a very Autumnal feel & I love butterflies too so I was very excited to have a look inside.

I got everything out to have a good look & it was all super pretty & in such gorgeous colours. There is always a card with the contents on but I wait until the end to read it otherwise it spoils the surprise.

The contents of the box were as follows:

Autumn Berry Crown
(exclusive to The Glitterati) 

RRP  £15

Lotta Rosie Headband 

RRP  £18

Monarch Butterfly Clips 

RRP  £10

Golden Leaf Bobby Pin Pair

RRP  £10

 

Another fabulous box with yet again more gorgeous pieces to add to my huge collection of Crown & Glory. And I mean huge!

We had some sun today so I sat out for a bit wearing my new Rosie Headband!!

Also this month we have an Amnesty where if you have been a member for 3 consecutive months, you can exchange 5 items in return for a £20 voucher to spend on the site.  I have chosen the things to send back which I don't think I will wear & now I need to decide what to get instead! Time to partake in one of my favourite pastimes... browsing the Crown & Glory site!

I've said it before & I will say again how being a part of the Glitterati makes me happy. Not just for the gorgeous stuff I am now a proud owner of but for the people too. The private Facebook group you get access to when you become a member is great & it's worth the £20 each month just for the banter & support!! The stuff we get is a bonus :-)

Let me know if you fancy joining & we can both get a £10 voucher!


Ali 
xx