Style on Sunday

This week has been so hot and my wardrobe choices have been pretty limited.

Although I would love to have a selection of pretty summer clothes the finances say different.

This doesn’t stop a girl from dreaming though.

This weeks style on Sunday is a little different as I have been joined by one of my beautiful girlies.

Say HI to Brodie

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So here are our outfit choices for this week. h02lh291500w

I just fell in love with this dress from Simply Be’s Folktale collection its perfect for these summer days.

I would wear it with these gorgeous sandals. g04dd581505s

And to finish it off I absolutely adore this bag. h04nl707506s

All this outfit was from Simply Be.

After seeing the beautiful Becky Barnes rocking the jumpsuit I have been wondering if maybe one would suit me.

So when I came across this stunner from Yours Clothing I knew it was going to be an outfit pic for this week.

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Its beautiful isn’t it and with a pair of simple black Platform court shoes again from Yours Clothing the outfit is elegant and so stylish and I so want it. 340df274-f62e-4f19-ad9b-6f88bca28596

Now for my girlie’s outfit pick for this week. She has chosen a cute pair of high waisted shorts from New Look

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Paired with with a sweet turquoise crochet T-shirt 313453948

With a gorgeous pair of sandals from ASOS to complete. image1xxl I

think Brodie would look beautiful in this outfit but I confess to being completely bias.

So there are our outfit choices for this week.

Click the photos for links.

I can’t breathe

One True Media is closing down and have asked us to download our videos.

Sounds fine doesn’t it.

Just download the videos and you have them for your own.

So that’s what I do but then of course I stop to watch.

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The impact of pain just hits me smack in my stomach.

The video is of my baby girl.

So far away from me.

I want to just reach out through the screen and hold her.

Feel her hand in my hand.

It hurts so bad.

Will it ever stop feeling like a knife in my stomach?

Twisting, turning deeper and deeper.

I want to hold my daughter.

It’s not a lot to ask is it?

I can’t stop the tears as they fall

The gut wrenching sobs seem to echo around my room.

I want my baby.

Missing her is just too damn hard.

It’s not fair and right now I can’t see past the pain.

Grief is like a weight pushing down on my chest.

I cannot breathe

I don’t want to breathe.

Time isn’t a great healer.

Life just sucks

I want my baby back.

Please.

 

 

I’m not impressed Weight watchers

I’m not a big television advert fan. I tend to watch most programme’s recorded and forward through them swiftly.  I find the whole advert time wasted time. Yet a day or so ago while resting in a hotel room I caught myself watching a Weight Watchers advert. It was the one with a mom talking about how her daughter feels and how they have got closer since she has lost weight.

Well for a second or two I felt so guilty.

Do my daughters feel this way?

Does my weight effect my relationship with my daughters?

Well the guilt trip only lasted for a little while before the anger set in. How dare weight watchers make out plus size parents aren’t good parents.

Ok ok maybe they didn’t actually state that but for the innuendo was surely there.

I have a very close relationship with my daughters. We enjoy life and have so much fun. My size does not effect the fun we have together.

My daughters have also learnt that people should be judged on personality and their hearts and not their size.

I’m sorry but this advert has seriously rubbed me up the wrong way.

Plus size people are no different than anyone.

Relationships are not or should not be based on size.

If my daughters and I argue it’s because of our personalities not our sizes.

The size of my waist doesn’t not define me as a mother.

I love my girls and they love me extra wobbles and all.

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My greatest gifts.

With Christmas a day away I have been thinking a lot about family and in particular the joy I get from being a mother.

17 and a half years ago I began the journey of motherhood and not for one second have i regretted it. From the moment my children were planned they were loved. From the moment they were conceived they were cherished.

Being a parent isn’t easy. I have made mistakes and I have struggled but my girls were and are the greatest gifts ever.

I look at my children now and they are nearly grown and it scares me. Next year my eldest will leave for university and my heart is fearful.

How do you let them go?

From the moment I saw that second blue line I have done all that I can to protect my beautiful girls. I feel I failed when Livvy died. I couldn’t protect her from Rett Syndrome.

Now I’m scared I will not be able to protect my girls from the world.

How do you let them go?

How do you find the courage to loosen the ties and give them the freedom they need to grow.

I guess this is where it comes down to trust.

Trust that you have raised them to be wise and keep themselves safe.

Trust in them.

It’s not easy and I think now of Mary and that moment when God asked her to carry Jesus.

How brave she was.

How faithful she was.

Did she know her son was to be persecuted?

Did she know he will become our Saviour?

I cannot imagine her pain.

But I can admire her courage.

Her trust.

She knew that her son was in the hands of God.

I know my girls both here and in heaven are also in his hands.

I trust.

Finding a watch that as free-spirited as she is.

My youngest has just out grown her kids watch and we were struggling to find another that she liked when we came across the Kahuna website.

She fell in love with a few straight away, taking a long time to choose her favourite. Which turned out to be this one. This one of the friendship bracelets watches that were available, Brodie struggled to tie down her colour choice as she loved quite a few of them.

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The Kahuna watches have a style all of there own. My daughter said they matched her. They are extreme, surfer, aloha and friendship and so much more. I would describe them as free-spirited and yes just like my daughter.

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This watch hasn’t left her arm since it arrived and she has already been browsing the website for her next one. I may have started a new obsession. Whatever happens I’m just pleased we found a watch she likes and wears.

A Kahuna watch would be an ideal gift for someone you know so check out the website. I’m hoping to get my husband one of the mens watches soon as i think they are stylish as well as practical.

 

*We were given the watch for the purpose of this post but all opinions are mine and my daughters,

Embrace the amazing.

Rett Syndrome is a devastating condition

But let me get something straight our girls aren’t.

They are so far from devastating that you could possibly imagine.

They are strong and courageous.

Cheeky and mischievous

They have ideas and dreams.

Have crushes and favourite’s.

They aren’t devastating they are simply amazing.

Livvy and her Rett sisters are my inspiration and my strength

If they never give up why would we?

I will do all that I can to cure these beautiful amazing girls from this devastating condition.

Join me in fighting the devastating and embracing the amazing.

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A big thank you to my friends for allowing me to share their beautiful daughters with you xxx

Changing tastes

OK as I have mentioned before here on this blog I am a mom of teenagers and I have the grey hair to prove it. Anyway what consistently surprises me about my girlie’s is the amount of times they change their minds.

What is their favorite one week is considered to be completely uncool the next.

I seriously cannot keep up.

Take only yesterday I asked my daughter about a couple of her band tops as I haven’t seen her wearing them recently, these band tops cost me a small fortune only last summer. Anyway like i said I asked her where they were to which she replied “I can’t wear them anymore”. Me thinking size etc asked “have you grown out of them?” to which she replied “no but they are so last year”.

So last year, it seems the bands had become more main stream and others were beginning to like them and that can’t be good.

 

Well OK then.

 

This is happening a lot as they grow their tastes are changing and they get interested in new things and that’s OK. What isn’t OK is the constant stream of left behind CDs and DVDs and 3DS games.

I don’t have money to burn regardless of what my teenagers believe.

So I was rather excited to come across the website musicMagpie.co.uk a place where you can sell your, DVDs,games,Tech, Electronics and even clothes (band tops here they come).

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Its really easy to use, you enter the item you wish to sell into their Valuation Engine and you get an instant price of what you can sell it for.

It even takes the stress of postage away as you send the items free of charge to them and they deal with it all. You just end up getting paid. I’m liking that idea.

Seems its a big win win for me and the girls, they get to sell their “so last year stuff” and I get to have some cash to purchase the “so this year stuff”.

So if you are like me and have ever changing children or have a need to have a sort out check out musicmagpie.co.uk

I’m off to empty the girls bedrooms and sell my 3DS games and CDs.

See you later.xxxx

 

 

*This is a sponsored post 

 

New Look – shopping we can agree on.

Shopping  for clothes with my teenage girls is a nightmare. They both have different styles and different wishes so I normally find myself being dragged into every shop in the town.

So I am grateful for shops like New Look who stock a fantastic array of styles and collections. With a range for teenagers and plus sizes its a shop that caters for us all.

So when I asked my girls to take a look on the website and create their own wish list they didn’t hesitate.

Eden fell in love with this cute cat watch. Eden is cat mad and her ambition in life is to be the crazy cat lady, she already has the crazy down to a tee.

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Her second choice was this pair of funky dip dye skinny jeans. I love these and personally think they would look great on her.

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Kennedy my 16 year old (yes I feel old) picked for her first choice

This pretty light floral blouse,

Kennedy has such a smart pretty style that this top would be perfect for her. She could smarten it up with a skirt for 6th form or make it more casual with her jeans.

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Kennedy’s second choice is quite similiar to her sisters but please don’t tell her that.

A pair of supersoft skinny jeans

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For myself I love the inspire range my favourite items at the moment is this funky Rolling Stones top

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And this beautiful brocade collar top.

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Seriously I could go crazy in New look I love there shoe ranges Especially the wide fitting ones they offer.

Bags, scarfs  accessories galore.

The girls are already looking through the Ax paris dresses for their forthcoming spring ball.

New look is a great place to create the perfect outfit, pop into the store or check out their online store too.

 

* This is a sponsored post but all views are my own.

Memory on a farm

After chatting to someone of twitter last night I found myself clicking through to their website and after doing so found myself going back nearly five years to the memory of our last holiday with Livvy.

We were staying in a static caravan in West Wales on a beautiful farm. They only had one static caravan and a few holiday cottages so the place was so peaceful, unless of course you count the noise from the chickens or the barking of the farm dogs or the baaing of the sheep. We didn’t we simply loved being on the farm.

Anyway while we were there we chatted a little to the farmer and his wife who were a lovely couple. The farmer offered the girls a ride in his tractor and of course you can imagine the squeals of joy that came from them and true to his word a few days the girls are circling his field in the big red tractor.

I remember if it was yesterday as unfortunately Livvy had suffered a seizure on this day (one of many) and was asleep recovering in the caravan. So although it was great to see the other three zooming around the field I was gutted that Livvy had missed out as we knew she loved the tractor, but we had no control of these things and sometimes we just had to accept this. We were just so grateful that the farmer took time away from his farming duties to give the girls a ride, the looks on their faces were priceless.

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Anyway that was that, well we thought that was the case until a couple of hours later the farmers wife knocked on the caravan door. It seems her husband couldn’t bear the thought of Livvy missing out on the tractor ride and if she was well enough would she like to ride tomorrow.

Bless that mans kind heart.

The following morning we lifted a giggling Livvy into the tractor, she drove round and round that field laughing all the way. Her smile lit up right across her face. Both Livvy and the farmer were glowing.

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We couldn’t thank the farmer enough but he just smiled in a shy way and disappeared back to his work.

 

That farmer gave Livvy a wonderful gift but for us it was one of the greatest.

 

A magical memory.

 

It is memories like this and the others we hold that keep us connected to Livvy.

 

They are like strands threaded together to create a rope from heaven to earth.

 

The invisible bond that will always bind us.

 

I often think of that sweet farm in Wales and hate that I cannot remember its name. Nameless or not it will always hold a special place in my heart.

 

I’m so thankful for these memories and I was reminded that I need to create more. My girls are growing up so quickly that before long they will be off to university and into the world on their own. I know I’m not losing them but their childhood is special and I want it to be full of amazing moments that they can remember.

 

In fact this is the gift I wish for all children.

 

So I am so grateful for the chat I had on twitter with Coombe Mill Farm and if you fancy a farm holiday they seem a great place to visit. I know I am seriously considering a trip.