This Blog Has Moved!

Thank you so much for coming to read my posts. As many of you know my blog has moved and can now be found at:

Caffeine, Cuddles & Cardio

www.caffeinecuddlescardio.com

See you there with a whole new look and plenty of blog posts to come! :)

xx

Brows, Hot Chip and a Quote From Arnie #littleloves

Hello! Another week has gone by quickly and what do you know? Easter is very nearly here! Francis broke up from school yesterday so we are now into holiday mode! I must admit, it is a relief to me to have him on school holiday as it means I don't have to rush in the morning, which has well and truly become a pet peeve (I know, I know, grow up! But I can't ;) ) So here are this week's little loves:

Read
Sorry to be boring...but I was once again caught (when ever I could this week) with my nose in the WordPress for Dummies book. I really like its easy to follow chapters and tips but I don't think I'm anywhere near showcasing my blog as self hosted yet! Fingers crossed I actually get a bit more time this week to put what I'm reading into practice!

Watched
I got back into Pretty Little Liars this week. I have had to do a bit of a rewind. I think I was up to the end of season 4 but couldn't really remember what happened, so I have started watching season 4 again on Netflix. I LOVE this show. When my sister first recommended it to me I thought it might be a bit young but any show that can hold you in total suspense for 4 seasons is a winner in my book!

Wore
I went to get my eyebrows done this week at my favourite nearby spa and they finished the look by using some Jane Iredale eyebrow powder! I loved the look, especially since I have sparse light brows and so... I treated myself to the kit! Can't wait to try it out on my own. I hope I don't end up looking like Groucho Marx!

Jane Iredale Bitty Brow Kit in Blonde

Heard
The new Hot Chip single. I love Hot Chip. When we lived in London we saw them at the Bar Fly by accident as they were supporting another band we were there to see. We loved them instantly and would often go to their gigs. I even went to a very small gig of there's for my 25th birthday!! Oh and we saw them when we lived in Dallas, TX too...OK, so I guess you could say we are fans! :)

Made
Unfortunately, I don't think I made anything worth noting here this week. I have just been getting things ready for Easter and trying to generally get things organised in the house before the Easter break. I haven't even done any baking as the boys did a lot of it in school/nursery and they have already had way too much chocolate (and that's a lot if a chocoholic mum can say so!).

Easter Bunny!

And Lastly...
I am hoping to really get my blog sorted out this coming week. I am doing it all on my own and can't imagine the chaos of things that undoubtedly will go wrong when it does go live. I am finding it really tricky to blog here whilst working on the new site, so I may not be 100% here this week. But in the infamous words of Arnold Schwarzenegger 'I'll be back!'

Mummy Needs a Time Out

I don't do it often, but when my boys are acting out (usually because they are tired or upset by something they really can't verbalise yet), I put them in time out. Time out is not the 'naughty step' or a 'punishment' really, it is just what it says... a time out. It is time for them to calm down and reflect on what they did wrong or what they didn't do. It is a time to think about whether or not they need to say sorry. It is a time for them to be removed from the situation, take a deep breath and get back into a more positive frame of mind. I personally love the idea of time out.

Lately, I have found that I'm getting on my husband's case about helping me out (this relates to time outs trust me!). Having said that, he works full time and gets home quite late from work so there isn't too much he can do during the week but I feel like the weekends are where I need help. However, every time I ask him for help he asks 'Ok, what do you need me to do?' and you know what? I very rarely have an answer. Why not? Because you see, I have probably already done everything that needs doing and I have worked myself into a real state doing so. And now, because I don't have a good answer of what I'd like his help with, I get more frustrated and end up saying 'never mind' or 'forget it', which I'm sure confuses my husband to no end.

So the other day I was on a run and this thought about how I needed a bit of help to gain some me time and feel more relaxed crossed my mind. Running can do this to you...gives you time to think ;)  I thought and thought, what could I possibly give my husband to do? He isn't home much during the week and by the weekend most things are done.

Then it hit me, what is it that I do during the week when he isn't home and I feel like I need help (unfortunately I can't call my family for help as they live in the States and my in-laws are also at least an hour and a half away)? I have a time out! I tell the boys 'Mummy needs a time out'. I leave the room they are in (for a couple minutes only), make a cup of tea, take a few deep breaths, close my eyes for a minute, gain some perspective on whatever is overwhelming me, etc... and when I am done I go back to them and they ask 'Is your time out over?' and I say 'yes' and then we can get on with the day. Although, I won't lie I have had a couple days where more than one time out for mummy was needed! ;)

When I got back from my run I told my husband that I'd had a light bulb moment. I said to him, 'when I say I need help, it is not always because I need help with something in particular, it is because I just need a break.' The look on his face said it all. I wasn't pestering him after all, I just needed him to step in so that I could relax for a bit. I think we both felt some relief with this realisation. :)

Being cheeky, I took things a step further by asking for a spa night away for my birthday! Now that would be a brilliant Mummy Time out! :-) Fingers crossed!