This half term, we have been busy entertaining and playing with both of our monsters! Why monsters? Because they have boundless energy tearing up the house and we need endless ideas to keep them happy and entertained. I do believe that nothing beats activities that use their own imagination. Not only does it keep them entertained for longer, but often it requires minimal costs. So get their thinking caps on and maybe use items for recycling and engage their imagination to build their own hideaway at home. This involves a lot of mess though but it is a brilliant way to get them out of the way. Or maybe not!

After a long day at work, don’t you just want to have a sit down and relax?  Not spending enough time with the kids?  Why not grab yourself a cuppa, place a comfy stool next to the bath tub to do the bath time routine.  While your kids have a bath, you can have a bit of rest and chat with them.

Recently, I read five decades of childhood obsession written by Oxford Open Learning which deeply interested me.  I can totally relate to it!  I still remember my first bike (BMX), playing with marbles and so much more.

To join in this project, I made my list of 10 craze items from my playground days.  Born in the late 70s, these are what I played with.

Some of you may know that I love Korean TV drama and their K-pop music genre.  So please forgive me if I bore you with my huge selection of K-pop.  In case you’re wondering, K-pop means Korean Pop music!

I have been tag by Sally Whittle to do my Desert Island Discs playlist – read her choices here.  I have to admit that I had not heard of some of her song choices before so it is nice to discover new music.

Last year, I made a Gratitude Jar for 2013 and this is how it looks like!  It is filled with nothing but happiness!  I am so pleased that each piece of paper is fill with my achievements for this year.  It has been great!  Of course, also not forgetting my ah ma who passed away in March.  She was a great grandmother and I hope my dad and granddad are with her right now.

Firstly, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I would like to thanks all the PR and SEO companies who have been kindly send us Christmas cards and some goodies for our family.  Without them, my blog wouldn’t be as successful.

This afternoon, my son came home and ran upstairs. So I went up too.  Seeing him empty his money box, I thought to myself what is he up too?  Is he saving up to buy toys or maybe Skylanders? About 5 minutes later, he shoved it up to my face with a tiny written note and 4 p:

Our garden was really well used last year from parties, gatherings but mainly the children playing. After such abuse, the lawn was not looking too great during the winter of 2012, so we have really made an effort to look after our lawn this year.

It is always worrying how many sweets or chocolate your children consume, especially after events like Halloween, Christmas or even birthday parties! Sweets and chocolate are often the first tool to quieten the children down – they can’t scream and shout if they are eating! It will give you some respite but there is the risk of dental decay. Instead of giving them sweet/chocolate treats, why not replace it with low sugar or sugar free options. Or keep it to a minimum to prevent tooth decay. I only allow them to have a small piece of chocolate each day after school.

Mr K recently lost two of his front baby teeth and he had his first visit to the dentist. Now he and Ms C are signed up for a regular six month check-up at our local dentist. This is him having his first dental check up.

Yesterday, we went to watch Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and Mr K decided he would like to make a fabulous fruity creature for himself. This is his ‘Mr Pear’. We used a pear, two grapes, two strawberries, a banana’s top, 5 toothpicks and a permanent maker pen.

Parenting is never plain sailing nor like it says in the guidebooks. There are always ups and downs. It is always worrying when you child is not ‘normal’. Ms C has been diagnosed with myopia and astigmatism since she was two.  Since then, we have been to the Community Hospital every two to three months for a check-up. Each time Ms C will say she can’t see when the word is too small. We have been seen by the consultant, optician and orthoptist.

I have been tagged by Tami Anderson from Mummy of Two for this All About Me meme started by Gina over at Cold Tea and Smelly Nappies.  It has been a long time since I did a meme and it is great to tell my followers more about me.

Cats and dogs can be expensive enough to look after. There’s the cost of buying them in the first place, the cost of feeding, caring for, buying beds and treats for them, and then there are the more unexpected costs that you don’t want or need to be paying. Particularly in cats, there are certain habits that can affect more than the things that concern them. Furniture, carpets and plant pots often fall victims to the many whims of cat behaviour, and those reasons mean you should think about what kind of floors to install in your home if you have cats, or are thinking about having pets in the foreseeable future.