Putting my face back on

I do love the holidays for doing nothing much, catching up on things that need doing and just lounging around the house. I am glad that my kids are old enough to keep themselves entertained and have been out to all sorts of places with their friends. I am also glad that I have a job and go to college during term time otherwise I fear I may turn into a bit of a recluse and sit and watch call the midwife everyday!

It has only dawned on me at the end of the Easter holidays that throughout the past two weeks I have not used any cosmetics, not even nail varnish! I haven't worn a single piece of jewellery, not even earrings and I normally wear them everyday! I haven't even taken any notice of what clothes I have put on each morning, just grabbing the first comfortable thing I see out of the wardrobe.

I have left the house, but nowhere of any purpose that I have felt the need to look presentable and it has been nice to not have to worry about my appearance. Looking in the mirror however, I do feel plain and dull and like I need to brighten myself up a bit.

Summer term is my favourite time, everything is fresh and bright, everybody seems happier and I don't even mind doing playground duty as I get to top up my tan while outside... nothing like multitasking! I only have ten weeks left of college and we can all count down to the summer holidays...yay!

So tomorrow, although it's the end of the holidays I will smile, put my face back on, and be ready for what is ahead!

Goodnight Charlie

Last week we went through the awful experience of losing one of our beloved pets.

Charlie Whiskers was the kitten of our cat Coco. Coco has had a few litters in the past and most of the kittens have gone to our family members or friends, but we never kept any ourselves...except Charlie! I don't think we ever had any intention of keeping him we just never re-homed him, we got used to having him around and he became part of the family.

Charlie Whiskers had two names because we couldn't decide on just the one, he was just under a year old and was such a sweet natured kitten. He was so chilled out and would happily climb all over you to get attention and a snuggle. His sister Kitty lives next door with the neighbours and she always climbs the fence to come and visit. Coco would hiss at the two of them if they disturbed her but they would happily chase each other and roll around on the grass.

It was 8 o'clock in the morning when a lady that lives a few doors down came and knocked. She said she knew we had cats and that there was a black and white cat down the lane next to our house that was dead. There are a lot of black and white cats in our area, most of them are boys that sit on our back wall calling Coco, I know it sounds bad but I hoped it was one of them and not Charlie. We called Charlie and whistled but he didn't come running like he usually would when he knows he is being fed, that's when I knew it was him.

Funnily enough I never usually lock the cat-flap but Coco had just had her neutering operation and we were told not to let her outside for 10 days. I locked the cat-flap that night and pushed the bin up against it because I knew they can pull it out of the wall if they wanted to. Neither of them usually go out at night anyway as they are always waking us up climbing over us and deciding whose bed is the most comfy to sleep on.

I noticed the bin had been pushed aside and the flap must have been pulled up where Charlie had sneaked out.
The scene was horrendous, there wasn't blood and guts everywhere but poor Charlies head was gone, where it had gone I have no idea! I identified him from his tail which was black with a white tip. I couldn't touch him and although the kids knew he was there they hadn't come outside to see him so I decided to cover him up so they didn't have to witness the horrible scene.

A few years ago our cat Toffee (Coco's sister) had died and we buried her in the garden but the foxes continually dug where she was buried. We decided that as Charlie was out on the street we would call the council and get them to collect his body.

We don't know exactly what happened to Charlie, we hope it was a terrible accident or even that another animal such as a fox had attacked him because we know that in nature that sadly these things happen, but hopefully it wasn't something more sinister and Charlie was not taken purposely by another person.

We do know that we loved having him for the short time he was with us and that we will miss having him in our home!

RIP Charlie Whiskers

Spring cleaning with OUST

The Easter holidays are the perfect time for a good old clear out, there is nothing like a bit of Spring cleaning to make the house ready for the summer time. Not only have we been having a bit of a makeover in our hallway but wiping away the cobwebs in the rest of the house as well!

A lot of the time we clean areas where we can see dirt but what about all those hidden places where limescale builds up and causes damage without us even knowing? As a calcium compound, limescale creeps onto every surface that comes into regular contact with water and makes it a particular nuisance in the kitchen and bathroom. 

The OUST range of descaling products make it easy to get rid of limescale and are designed to restore good as new shine and performance to your household items

Unfortunately earlier in the year my dishwasher broke down, cleaning dishes in the sink is not so bad but it just made me appreciate my washing machine even more! I know all too well what it is like to have to wash the clothes of a family of six in the bath and it is not something I would like to do again!

Two of the most used appliances in my house are the washing machine and the kettle, for obvious reasons...Coffee!

I loved both the OUST kettle and washing machine descalers as they were just so simple to use. The washing machine powder was just poured into the barrel and put on a 60 degree wash and the kettle just had a drop in bag that was left for ten minutes, making it shiny and new looking again... no more flakes of limescale in the coffee!

Now to tackle the rest of the house!

I haven't had any babies in my house for years but one of my top tips for cleaning is baby wipes! I use them to clean everywhere. What are your top tips for Spring cleaning? #oustyourhouse

* I was sent an OUST descaling set from the lovely people at OUST and Myriad PR for the purpose of this review but had to do all the cleaning myself!