help

Should’ve gone to specsavers…

| amazonianmummy

My daughter was due her eye check so I made an appointment over the phone and popped along after school to specsavers. 

She was ‘star of the week’ at school this week which means we get to take this delightfully grubby little bunny teddy called Raggles everywhere we go…affectionately renamed by us as snot rag! 

Anyway, Lulu, snot rag and I arrived in good time for her appointment and perused the endless amount of glasses on display while waiting to be seen.


All the staff are friendly and accommodating and it’s not long before we’re seen. 

We were taken into one of the rooms where Lulu’s eyes were checked by using a mixture of little lights and a big machine that made the letters clearer or blurrier to get a good overall view on what she could see. 


I’m glad to report that both human and stuffed bunny both got glowing results in their eye tests and will not be needing glasses. The optometrist was lovely and really made Lulu feel at ease with all the checks & we will get another appointment for next year just to make sure everything is as it should be. 

If you’re thinking of getting an eye test for your child, look up specsavers online for your nearest store and booking info. I can’t recommend them highly enough! 🤓

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The story of Benjy Bunn…

| amazonianmummy

We were lucky enough to be sent a copy of ‘Benjy Bunn’s Busy Day’ so tonight, after bath time my babies and I sat down to read what Benjy had been getting up too. 


You could be mistaken for thinking that Benjy is a naughty bunny…but that’s not the case, he just wants to help even if he gets things wrong along the way. 

The Benjy series was written in 1973 by Bev Scott Prior as a story for her children, now all these years later it has been illustrated by her own grandchildren which I think makes the book that little bit more special. 

My six year old managed to read the book to her brother almost without any help from me and her favourite part was when he tried to make his mummy a cake, she also loved the reoccurring worm illustrations and actively looked for him every time she turnt the page. When asked if she thought Benjy was a naughty bunny, she replied; ‘No mummy, he’s just trying to be helpful!’ 

Overall we really enjoyed the book and can’t wait to find out what trouble Benjy will get into next time…

These shoes are made for walking…

| amazonianmummy

We’ve reached another milestone with my little man…his first shoes. He’s not walking on his own yet but is walking confidently if you are holding his hands so we thought it was about time. Obviously our first stop was Clarks. I love Clarks…especially for first shoes, aswell as being a trusted brand & super comfy, the staff are so helpful and make a potentially stressful situation (with a mischievous toddler) into a moment you will treasure forever. 


We went for the Tiny pebble navy canvas trainers priced at £19 and Rocco looks pretty pleased with the result! I know Clarks are sometimes considered a bit more expensive than other brands, but the quality speaks for itself and these will last him a good while now…unless he has another growth spurt haha! X 

Get a career dear…

| amazonianmummy

I’ve always envied those people who have known from a young age what they have wanted to do and pursued the right channels in education and life to get there. I never knew what I wanted to do, I think half the problem stems from having too much choice. To name a few I’ve wanted to be, an actress, an artist, a psychologist, a spaceman (until I watched that awful George clooney film where they spun so much it made me feel sick) a mermaid (that ones a long shot…but hey you’ve gotta have dreams) and everything in between. 

I had acting lessons when I was younger, for one term. I really enjoyed them but at the time I don’t think my mum could afford them and also told me that she didn’t think acting was a real career option for me…maybe she was right but they’ll always be an empty space on my shelf where that Oscar should’ve been 😉

One thing I’ve always loved is writing but I guess I never thought of it as a career option until a few years ago. I would love to be a published author one day. To see my words printed in an actual book…that one day may be turned into a play or a film that I (I mean real actors) could perform in. But again I get the doubts, will it be good enough? What if no one likes it? What’s the point you’ll never get published anyway?! So I don’t get any further than a few scrambled and rambling pages in a notebook. If you are a published author I take my metaphorical hat off to you…it’s hard work, but I imagine is so, so worth it! 

So basically what I’m trying to say in a round about way is, if you don’t know what career path you want to pursue yet – don’t worry we all get there in the end, it just takes some longer than others to realise their dreams…and even if your mum says you can’t do that…you can! Unless it’s like a serial killer or something…you definitely shouldn’t pursue that haha! So JK Rowling…watch out 😉 X 

Two years ago…

| amazonianmummy

Two years ago today was the last time I heard your voice before you became too medicated to speak. I told you how much I loved you and that you were my dad in my heart and always would be, how proud I was of you and that you were my idol. Even though MS had taken your body down bit by bit, your beautifully funny, sarcastic, spirited and clever mind never faltered. You ran a successful business even though you hadn’t left the house in years through being wheelchair bound, smoked like a trooper, washed down your medicine with a Jack Daniels and coke and always enjoyed life even though you were dealt some bad cards. Your laugh was infectious, your smile lit up the room. Although you could be a pain in the ass at times, like making me roll you 10,000 cigarettes a day (may be over reacting a little bit) I’d do it all over again for just one more day with you. Thank you for teaching me what a real dad should be. Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for the true love you made my mum feel (I’ve never seen two people more made for each other than you two) and thank you just simply for coming into our lives. I love you and I miss you everyday. I may not have shared your blood but I shared your heart…and that’s more than enough for me. Two years ago I went to sleep holding your hand, you may not have woken up…but you live on everyday in my heart 💗 

Under the bonnet…

| amazonianmummy

Why don’t a lot of schools do Easter parades anymore? My mum has a lovely photo of me doing mine when I was younger and I really wanted one of my daughter. We love doing anything crafty so decided to make one anyway. It was such a cheap but effective and fun way to spend the afternoon.

I picked up a plain bonnet, some chicks, some light up eggs and some brown wool all from poundland and poundworld – the chicks were reduced to 75p and poundworld had a 3 for 2 offer on their Easter craft section so that was great. 


After deciding where we wanted to place everything we attached it all mainly using the wool and even attached dangly mini eggs…incase she gets hungry obvs! Haha! But all in all it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon with her for the grand old price of about £5 and it looked really effective…even if I do say so myself. Have a lovely Easter guys x 

Where’s my keys?…

| amazonianmummy

Recently I was sent a Recover-key. If you’re anything like me and always forgetting things or leaving items behind (I like to blame it on baby brain – how long can we use that excuse for?) or likewise if you let your baby play with your keys so you can shop in peace and then get to your car and realise the baby isn’t holding your keys anymore, what do you do? Obviously retracing your steps and going back into the shops you’ve just been in would be a start but with recover key…if someone finds the keys before you even realise they’re missing – everyone’s a winner! 

Recover-key is a bright yellow keyring (so it’s easier to spot) with a 24/7 telephone number,email address & It has a four digit ID number unique to you. So when ‘Mr Smith’ finds your keys he can call the telephone number & hopefully reunite you with them. 

After speaking to Mr Smith, recover key would call you and act as a middle man – arranging a suitable and safe place that you and Mr Smith could meet up to get your keys back or to tell you where Mr Smith has left them for you (in a bar or a shop). 

In theory recovery key is a great idea, but this is only if everyone plays their part – like calling the phone number as soon as they find them etc… I think when recover key is more well known people would be more likely to do this.

The company only holds your house address until it has sent out your keyring. After that it deletes it for data protection and it only stores your phone number and email address so it can contact you when your keys have been found. 

Thankfully I have not lost my keys since recieving my key ring but I do now have a bit more peace of mind that they would be returned to me than I did before. 

Recover key is great because you only pay a one off fee & there’s no subscription needed or any hidden costs…if you’re quick I think they currently have a half price deal on their website;

http://www.recover-key.co.uk/ 

So go and check it out asap! 

What’s your emergency?…

| amazonianmummy

Recently I’ve been teaching my six year old about what to do in an emergency. You hear these stories about the wonderful and brave children that have saved a parents, siblings or a friends life and although I hope she’s never in a situation where she has to do that – I want her to have an understanding of what to do if she is.

Firstly, I started off with 999 and told her if there was a fire, a burglar, someone was choking or hurt to call that number. She asked ‘How will I know who I need out of an ambulance, fire engine or a police officer?’ I said that someone would answer the phone and if you were unsure who you needed to just tell the operator what’s happened and they will send out whoever they think is most appropriate to deal with the situation you describe to them.

As many of us do, I have a password lock on my mobile phone and if I was unable or incapable of making the call she would have to do it. She knows my password but in a stressful situation she might forget it so I showed her how you can still make an emergency call on a locked I-phone.

Incase you were unaware, when you swipe to unlock your phone two options come up at the bottom corners, cancel or emergency. I told her to press on emergency and then (in an emergency) call 999. You can also set up your ‘Medical ID’ so if something had happened to you, a doctor or nurse etc would be able to contact whoever you had put as your emergency contact numbers and tell them where you were and if you were okay. You can also put down if you take any medications or are allergic to anything so they don’t give you any medication that could potentially do more harm than good.

I don’t know if six is too young to teach her this, I think you can gage for yourself whether you think your child is mature enough to know what you’re telling them and only use it in a life or death situation or whether they’ll start calling 999 every time you refuse to buy them a kinder egg while out shopping! But, in all seriousness I was trying to equip her with some potentially life saving knowledge as I know she can handle it.

I read recently that St John Ambulance are trying to get first aid taught to school children and I definitely think that should happen. You never know what’s around the corner and I think we should all be a bit more clued up on how to help people in any medical or emergency situation…You never know – it could just be your life they help save! x

Anxiety about my children’s safety…

| amazonianmummy

I’ve not told anyone. I don’t quite fully understand it myself yet – but for the last few months I’ve been suffering with anxiety and panic attacks.I keep having feelings that something awful will happen to my children, like someone taking them, hurting them or hurting me when I’m with them on my own and I won’t be able to protect them. I’m not sure whether it’s because I have two of them now so I can’t give both my 100% attention at the exact same time? If you have eyes on one you’re not watching the other one and visa versa. It’s really annoying me, I know I’m being irrational but I don’t know what to do?! I’m fine with them on the school run but if we go shopping or (heavens forbid) the park I start to panic and get all flushed. Some days I’m absolutely fine & I’m okay if another adult is with us (my partner or my mum etc) but some days I can’t sleep properly and can’t get those thoughts out of my head no matter how hard I try. 

It seems to get worse at certain times of the month, I looked it up and it’s actually a thing. PMS anxiety. Apparently we get a rapid increase in the hormone Cortisol when our periods are due, which is linked to anxiety. There are the usual tips online about keeping a stable, healthy diet, taking relaxing time for yourself and doing excercise to help but to be honest – I like eating cake, it’s raining outside (any excuse not to excercise) and who has time to relax with two young kids?! I know – I’m not helping myself. 

I just feel like I want to wrap the children up safe, make indoors like Fort Knox and maybe get them gps micro chipped?! (I don’t think that’s a thing…but it should be!) 

Has anyone else experienced this sort of anxiety and if so what did you do about it? You probably dealt with it in a much more adult way then me *gathers children and goes to play in the den under the dinner table until further notice* 

I’m hoping these feelings will pass as quickly as they came but I’m not holding out much hope. X