Treasure Hunt Finds #2, #9 & #13

In case you have just join me, then I am participating in a Photo Scavenger Hunt that is running through June to Sept. Summer in the northern hemisphere and winter if you are with me in the southern hemisphere!

So these are the things I need to find and photograph before Sept 21....


1.A pier
2.A clothesline
3.A border
4.A roadside stand selling something
5.A train
6.A historical landmark
7.A person playing a musical instrument
8.A person dressed as an angel or a statue of an angel
9.A fountain
10.A horse
11.A shadow
12.A maze, labyrinth or trail
13.A library
14.A person playing with a ball
15.Someone dancing
16.A bride
17.A church, chapel, cathedral, mosque or temple
18.A movie poster
19.An outdoor stairway
20.A swing hanging from a tree (or a hammock)
21.A picture of you standing with something that symbolizes your nation


You have no order to find them in, just as you come across them then cross them off.

#2
A clothesline - it may be winter here in New Zealand but we have some glorious days and the washing blowing on the line is lovely to see.

#9
A fountain - this fun thing is in the centre of Hamilton. In the summer the kids all love running through this. You never actually know where the water is coming up next.

#13
A library - this is the main library in Hamilton. All the libraries in this city are made to look like they are exciting places to visit with symbols signifying travel and adventure within.

So there we haveit, 3 things already found, another 18 to find.
Happy searching people.

War is Called

There is war in this house, well there was until the weather took a slight turn for the colder moment.
It was definitely a war that was going to be won and I was going to win it. The opponent did not stand a chance although they fought long and hard!
Outside I have a lovely flower bed at the edge of the front deck. I try to keep some colour in there in the winter prior to planting our annual sunflower competition.

This is a closer look at the Kale that I planted this year. Never planted it before and had seen it around. It looked so cool.

No this is not who I have declared war against. This is our cat Prenzel who loves to be with you if you are outside at all.

This on the other hand is exactly who I have declared war against.

Little green caterpillars who have decided that the Kale is their new pantry. I don't think so!
So I have been regularly checking the plants and removing said bugs, and squashing them, they ooze green when you stand on them too.
I seem to have beaten them and they seem to have made a hasty retreat back to whence they came from, wherever that may be?
Although the really cold weather we are having at present may also account for the lack of them as it is just way too cold for them to want to snack on my lovely plants!

Monster Cakes

I have managed to get myself all inspired by my friend over at Running Away? I'll Help You Pack.
She is always so good at decorating cakes for a theme. Usually just a made up idea that looks so simple and easy to complete.
Ben's class have just been studying animatronics (robots and how they are made).
At the end of the study block they decided to have a shared lunch in the class. All the kids were to bring something that was monster themed to complete their study block on this subject.
Ben wanted cakes....!

The teacher sent home a flier with details and on there was a picture of some of the monsters from Monsters Inc (the movie)
This got us thinking....so we ended up with Wazowski Cakes, after Mike Wazowski from the movie Monsters Inc

Now I have not be a big user of food colouring for quite a while, so this was quite an experience for me to use it again. In fact I was amazed at exactly how much I needed to use to achieve the desired effect.
Right from the beginning let me tell you that I cheated....yep I am a busy mum and I was happy to help my son out but there was not going to be any heroic moments of me staying up till midnight to make his class 20 cupcakes all decorated as Wazowski!
So I used a boxed cake mix to make the cakes! There I said it, I didn't make the cakes from scratch. And to push it even further I used the frosting that came in the box to decorate the cakes as well. I know I can hear the cooking gods turning as we speak.

Yes that is blue cake mixture. I decided that if it was monster cakes we were making then they had to be weird as well. So they had blue cake and green icing. It actually turned out ok.
I then turned the frosting green and decorated the cakes with white choc buttons and used icing pens to achieve the fine detail.

Ben loved them and at the end of the day that was all that really mattered.
They didn't last long in the class lunch either, so kids were obviously not put off by green frosting.

Too Busy?

I am wondering if our boys are just too busy at school?
It is picture time again and so these have come home in the school bags...

Order forms for the picture of the team your child is in.
No problems there, isn't it nice to capture a memory of what they were doing at school and with whom.
Slight problem is that I think our 2 have been too busy at school as they have succeeded in coming home with 7 order forms between them! Yes that is right...7!

We have gained a form for pictures of the following:

1. Cricket team they were both in (2)
2. Soccer teams they are both in (2)
3. Librarian group that Ben is part of (1)
4. Portrait request for both boys (2)

Now the decision has to be made as to which picture they need a copy of, which ones we really don't need and is it really worth the money to get these pictures in the first place?

Birthdays

Last month was Alex's 7th birthday.
I can't believe he has been at school for 2 years now?

We have a rule in this house that you get a party for the following birthdays 5th, 6th, 10th & 15th. Then we will review the situation.
We decided that they do not need a party every year and so on the years inbetween then they get to invite 2-3 friends to join them for an activitity.
Alex chose Bowling, 10 pin bowling.

Birthday boy

all watching how it is truely done!

having the right ball makes all the difference when getting those pins down!

Proving that we were still smiling after an hour of bowling with 4 kids under 8!

This was followed by the typical meal that all kids love...Burger King

Death by Chocolate

At the hotel in Auckland they asked on the first morning if I wanted coffee with breakfast?
I don't do coffee so asked for a hot chocolate instead. They were happy to oblige and it was all part of the breakfast price...I was liking this even more.

The hot chocolate arrived and it was out of this world.
This picture shows you the white chocolate one I had the next day...

It was served on a plate with 2 squares of fresh made marshmallow and a little dish of cream!
I only found out the next day that they did 3 types, milk, dark or white chocolate.
They were all made using pure chocolate! None of this powder or syrup type of hot chocolate...oh no....nice little disks of chocolate.
I decided to treat myself to one in the afternoon and when I asked for it they asked what flavour I wanted. I enquired further and that is when she showed me the disks of chocolate that they used to make it.
No wonder it was a sweet as it was. That is why I had a white chocolate one the next day. The milk chocolate one was devine but I do love white hot chocolates, especially if made with real chocolate.

The marshmallow was devine and complemented the sweet chocolate so well as it wasn't actually sweet at all. I never tried the cream as my head would not let me think further than drinking it, as I would hate to know the calories in it, sure it didn't go well with Weight Watchers!

Also, even thought I managed a milk one at breakfast and in the afternoon of the first day and then a white one at breakfast on the 2nd day, it is a good job I didn't have anymore as at $6.50 a go I think I would have either been broke or twice the weight before the visit was over! The ones with breakfast however were part of the food cost, so lucky there.

However, if I ever need a treat again when in Auckland I definitely know where to visit!

Spare Change

Whilst in Auckland the other week I felt a little odd walking down the street.
Now I know people stand (or sit) asking for money and I have no problems with that.

I support my fair share of charities.

1. Breast Cancer
2. Diabetes
3. Homeless Shelters
4. Women's Refuge

So there I was walking down the street, dressed nicely (ok jeans and a jumper but I take pride in how I look) carrying a bunch of flowers and some hot chips.

The flowers were for my best friend who we were going to for dinner that night. She had just informed me that she had gotten engaged the night before, so flowers were a must.

It was also 4pm and I had missed lunch and decided to grab $2.50 worth of hot chips to eat when I got back to the hotel that was 5 mins away.

And then I got asked if I had a dollar to spare? And I said NO!

And I felt stink for saying it...but...I really didn't have a dollar to spare. Yes I was dressed well, carry flowers, which really are a luxury, and some hot food which I also know for some is a luxury, but I don't have money to spare. I support my charities but I don't have dollars floating freely to hand out to anyone that asks. I am unemployed you know. 

You never know what they are going to spend it on either, ok they may all be honest and use it for food but I am not giving out dollars to support smoking and drinking.

So I kept on walking thinking about how cruel I must have looked.

However on the other side of things, totally different story now, I was quite shocked that the hotel we stayed in charged 2% for the use of credit cards.

This was a well known international hotel that must have 90% of its guest survive on credit cards yet they were charging you to use it. You could pay by cash or Eftpos and not incur a charge.

Visa and MasterCard promote themselves on the ease with which you can use their cards around the world, how convenient it is to use credit cards, how safe it is yet they must charge the hotels a fair whack if the hotel  feels they must pass this charge on to the customer.

So no I didn't have a dollar to spare for the guy on the street as it went on paying the surcharge so I was able to pay for my breakfast in the hotel!

Fieldays

We live in Hamilton, which is in the Waikato. Centre of the North Island in New Zealand.
Largest area for farming you can find!
So every year they have the Agriculture Days at an event place a few miles from where we live.
We have lived here for 4 years and have never been. Ok we are not farmers so may explain it but it is not just for farming people.
It is generally a great, all be it expensive, day out.

This year we remembered about it a few weeks before it happened so we organised time off work and took the boys out of school for the day. Yes we are those type of parents, happy to take the boys out of school for a little fun!

It is of course winter time here, so everyone rugged up well for the long day that is historically known to be very wet and cold!

Turns out we got the most warmest sunniest day known for years. So sunnies were a must as it was very bright. Steve was with us but I didn't get a picture of him whilst he was driving.

Of course the whole event is about agriculture and farming, animals and anything else you can think of that comes under that title. (Food, clothes and gifts)
We just went to see the big tractors! Like this one....

The boys got to check it out further.....

Steve and I hummed and arrhed about maybe getting one as a climbing piece for the boys in the back garden.....but at $243,000 we decided they could have a $400 trampoline instead!!

Dislike...?

I am not sure on the title of this post as dislike is too easy a word but I can't use anything stronger as I am not sure on the word to use?

I am grateful for the qualification that I have. I know I worked hard for my nursing and I have used it to my advantage quite nicely, however having this qualification can also be a pain and I dislike having it sometimes!

It is extremely hard to get out of nursing as the pay, although everyone goes on about the lack of it, is extremely difficult to shake.
People just can't seem to understand that yes I do know the job I am applying for is less than I was on but to do something other than nursing will always incur me to drop maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 of what I am on now.
Although that is where it is also difficult.
If I stay in nursing I know what my pay will be, if I move to something else and take less money then that is my decision but also our outgoings will remain the same and that is where I have a huge fight with myself!
How can I justify taking a job that is 1/2-1/3 less than what I was on when we still have the same bills to pay for me to be able to do the job? We still have to pay childcare so I can do the job?
1 solution is that I find a position that allows me to start early and finish in time to collect the boys.
Another is that I find a part time job that they are happy with me starting at 8.30 and finishing at 3pm.
(Yea right like that is available, doesn't every mother want that job!)

So now I get to continue checking the job vacancies everyday waiting for that great position to become available that will suit our family perfectly...or with a little adaption made!

Treasure Hunt

Over here at Rindi's she is having a 2012 Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt.
The idea is that she gives you a list of things to find and picture between June 20 and Sept 21. Summertime in Northern Hemisphere.
The list looks like fun and so I have decided to give it a go throughout winter (Wintertime in Southern Hemisphere)

So these are the things I need to find and photograph before Sept 21....

1. A pier
2. A clothesline
3. A border
4. A roadside stand selling something
5. A train
6. A historical landmark
7. A person playing a musical instrument
8. A person dressed as an angel or a statue of an angel
9. A fountain
10. A horse
11. A shadow
12. A maze, labyrinth or trail
13. A library
14. A person playing with a ball
15. Someone dancing
16. A bride
17. A church, chapel, cathedral, mosque or temple
18. A movie poster
19. An outdoor stairway
20. A swing hanging from a tree (or a hammock)
21. A picture of you standing with something that symbolizes your nation

There are of course a few rules:
You may substitute 1 of the above for either a picture of a heart shaped stone or a four leaf clover. (Might have trouble with a four leaf clover in winter!)
All pictures must be new from this date forward, no using pictures taken last week or last month!
If there is any particular item that is going to be impossible to achieve then you can mention it to her and she will see how she can accomodate you further. (I may have trouble achieving item #1 as we do not have piers in New Zealand, not that I have found and we sure don't have them in Hamilton which is inland and only has a river!)

There are some small prizes available for the people who succeed in completing this etc but I am just doing it for the fun of something to do.
At the end of the day it is all about having fun.

If you want to join in then pop on over to Rindi's and let her know or if you are just doing it for yourself then let me know and I will come and visit to see how you are doing.

Generations

I know 3 generations together is nothing special but for us this will end I think sometime in the next 5 years, well on Steve's side of the family as his dad is in his early 80's and has a few health problems.
The boys love him coming to visit and are very helpful with him.
I am glad they are getting to know a little about him.
I am also glad that he is still able to come and stay with us as he lives over 4 hours away!

Steve's brother's kids have kids so sometimes we do manage 4 generations on that side of the family. Although they live in the South Island and definitely don't get to see Grandad very often!

3 Generations enjoying dinner together

Missing A Little

I have been away, what's that, you didn't notice, oh well nothing missed then.
I got to go to Auckland with Steve at the beginning of the week just gone whilst he attended a work conference. Me well I got to lounge around a hotel for 3 days on my own.....yep that is right no kiddies.
They were at home being spoilt with Grandma!

This was my room for the enitre time

Yep pretty nice and dreamy. The tv was normal stuff although seeing as we don't have Sky then it was nice to catch CNN whenever I wanted and also the odd movie.
I would have treated myself to a Pay to View movie, there were a few I wanted to see, but at $22 each I really could not justify it. So I skipped on the movies and promised myself that when they come out on DVD I will rent them for $6 instead.

We went out to dinner at a friends house the first night and when we came back this is what we found....

A bottle of water and a glass on the bedside table (each side of the bed!)

Chocolate on the pillow and slippers on the floor by the bed

I could get use to this service!
Wonder how I get this at home??

Sleep

This is one of those precious moments in this household.
I know as a mother I can not be expected to get sleep but I can at least try.
Unfortunately there are several factors which always seem to stand in my way of sleeping, or at least disturbing my sleep. These factors do not always happen all at once and it may be a few days in between them occurring, but these are the factors I have to deal with on a regular basis that prevent me from having a great nights sleep, and let me tell you I love sleeping.

Factor 1
The children, yes I know, before we start I am well aware that by having children then I gave up all right to having a good nights sleep from the moment that little line turned blue!
It was as if your body turned on itself and said “let’s really show her what she is in for!” and I have not had great sleep since!
The boys do not tend to wake in the night much anymore, however when they did it was always, why I don’t know, me that they wanted. Not daddy…it had to be mummy! 85% of the time it was me they came to, always!
Eventually it got to the point where 50% of the time they came to me, it was as if Ben had a shift in who he wanted and suddenly he started always going to Steve at night, but Alex still came to me. Now I had no problem with this apart from the fact that what Ben would want at night compared to Alex, well lets just say I still lost out. Ben would wake for waking's sake and would come and find Steve because he couldn’t sleep or because he was cold. Simple to deal with, let him crawl in next to you and all go back to sleep. Simple, good night all.
Alex on the other hand would come and find me, stand next to the bed naked and proclaim “mummy, I’ve wet my bed!” Tell me…how is that fair?
If it was a simple I am cold or can’t sleep, then he would climb in with me and proceed to take over the entire bed! Thus still no sleep for mummy.

Factor 2
The 4 legged animals in the house.
Yes the cats can rank as high as the children when it comes to my sleep. We have 2 cats, one is great at night the other needs to be shot!
1 seems to have learnt that if you curl up quietly and sleep all night then you get to stay in and keep warm, the other has not learnt this lesson and still insists on playing at 3am.
The playful one will happily sleep the evening away on our bed or even on our lap whilst we watch tv. She will snuggle with me when I go to bed and then Steve will throw her out when he goes to bed otherwise she jumps at the door all evening because she can see a light on inside and this has to = someone still being awake!
However on the odd occasion that he has felt sorry for the cat because it is so cold outside he has left her snuggled next to me.
Great until she starts playing at 3am and then guess what….she jumps all over me, disturbs me, bugs me, until there is nothing left to do but pick her up and chuck her outside.
She never goes near Steve at night, so all his good intentions go out the window as I am the one that has to deal with her in the middle of the night.
The amount of times I have cursed him in the middle of the night and again the next morning when I am so tired because of him leaving the cat in all night!

Factor 3
An odd one but the weather, guarantee that if it is raining outside then I will wake in the night and listen to it. If the wind gets up then I will wake to that too, it blows the curtain and thus I wake up and if there is a thunder storm well I may as well get up and do housework…I will be awake until such time as it finishes.
I never use to be this sensitive to noise but since having the children (their fault again) I am more of a light sleeper, as I am listening out for them a little more.

Factor 4
My husband!
Enough said really………. he snores, usually at 2.41am, yea funny how it is always at about the same time of night.
He grunts and groans to himself as well. And as for the restless legs he gets, sometimes the bed bounces around as his legs jump and then he gets restless and turns over every 10 mins.
Makes for such a fun sleep……for me!

Devoted Mum's

I love reading about what other mother's do for their children on the wonderful world of blogging that we have all created.
I love the encouragement you give, the devotion you have and the support you offer.
I love learning from other wonderful people out there and learning things that will assist me in being a better mother to my 2 rat bags adorable sons.

So please if you have 5 mins, just pop on over here to 10 minutes 2 breath and read about her care for her gorgeous son.
Warning - maybe have a tissue handy, because you might just need to blow your nose at the end.

I need to find my enthusiasm to remember to support my kids just like that.
Have a great weekend and remember to hug your kids and tell them how wonderful they are.

Longest or Shortest

Depending on which website you look at, which you choose to believe or what your old encyclopaedia tells you, then we are slap bang in the middle of what I know as Summer Solstice.
To you and me that means either the longest day (Northern Hemisphere) or the shortest day (Southern Hemisphere) not that we would really notice anything special but for a second or 2 the sun was at its highest or lowest for more than the day before or the day after.

Of course in England everyone is descending on Stone Henge. The 1 place they seem to think it all happens, the one place that is magical to all involved.
I have been there but never for summer solstice (I'm not that mental)

Here down under in the green land of middle earth, which we like to call New Zealand, it is of course the shortest day of the year. We are in winter after all, well we are officially in winter now as the shortest day has just past and that is what it signifies.
But with having the shortest day means that we have had the longest night.
Yes, we have got an advert on the tv at present telling us about the joys of having the longest night and what we could get up to in that long night.
Would you believe the advert is by Durex, yes that Durex company.
Their latest advertising campaign has been about promoting the longest night of the year and the fun and joy you can have, obviously with their products in mind.

It just amazed me that someone thought about this whole thing and then managed to switch it from being about the shortest day to being about the longest night.
Great advertising, well thought up and it sure did bring a smile to my face watching their ad going on about the longest night.
Although it might lead to a baby boom next March/April time!

For all you in the northern hemisphere who think you might have missed something.....don't worry your longest night appears on Dec 21, just before Christmas. Have fun.

Confidence

I have confidence in sunshine

I have confidence in rain

I have confidence that spring will come again

Besides which you see I have confidence in me

I have confidence in confidence alone

Besides which you see I have confidence in me!

Just as Maria sang in the Sound of Music, confidence gets you everywhere.

I have confidence, I know I do as I am a strong, stubborn independent woman.
However over the last few weeks my confidence has been shot to pieces and I have managed to question my ability to do my work!

I have resigned from the current position I am working in. I am being brave and do not have a position to go to. Not for lack of trying either.
I am currently, till Friday anyway, working at a desk job looking at the business side of the hospital. It has been interesting, I have learnt some stuff but it is not me.
I do not have the business knowledge to do the job and that has become apparent.
It was a little kick in the head to have them acknowledge this as well and they have been very nice in letting me take time to find another position before kicking me out on the street.
However it is very obvious that they don't have much confidence in me and I am therefore loosing confidence in myself. I know I don't know how to format a document in the way they require. I know I don't know how to word certain things how they would like it to be worded so it sounds and looks great. I don't have that business knowledge.
I am grateful for the time they have given me to secure another position but I can't keep sitting in an office where they seem perfectly happy for me to sit doing just about nothing, everyday.
It is knocking my confidence. It is knocking my confidence in my ability to achieve anything, to obtain anything to even have the ability to do my old job.


So I am out of there. I have walked. I have given them the paper required and taken my leave.


I currently have 3 job applications that I am waiting to hear on. All 3 jobs have closed and I am waiting to hear if I will be interviewed.
The waiting game is sometimes the hardest part.


So life is a little slow at present. My enthusiasms is a little low. Doesn't help that it is currently winter here and that can make you feel low and lifeless anyway. At the end of the day snuggling in bed and reading a book is great fun, but I can't keep doing that, there is more to achieve.


I am still here, I am still reading blogs and commenting, I just don't have anything to write about at present, although I do, I have an award to write about that I received. I have a post about the Fieldays that we attended last week. I have a swap that I took part in that I wanted to write up and several other things. But I just don't seem to want to at present!
Is that bad?

Growing Children

As you know I, with the help of my husband, are growing 2 awesome little boys.
We want to give them all the opportunities that we can, whether that is in education, sport or just plain old life.
One area that we are adamant on is their confidence.
We want them to be confident little individuals, we want them to feel they can do things, achieve things even give anything a go.

So we have been happy to let the boys go and pay for things on their own, allow them to order things on their own.
If they want more sauce when at Burger King then they go to the counter and ask for it. We have shown them how to do it politely, how to wait their turn and how to say that ultimate word 'thank you' when the action is finished.
It gives them the ability to speak up for what they want, know how to talk to people whom they don't know, not strangers but people in a situation that is controlled...shops, restaurants etc.

At the Fieldays that we attended, Alex asked for a Hot Chocolate. We happily gave him the money, showed him where the stall was and stood back and watched him do the whole transaction himself.
He patiently waited in line and when he got to the front the lady ignored him!

She had served the older lady in front of him and presumed that he was with her. She never asked him!
The older lady had stepped to the side to wait for her order and Alex had still stood in front of the counter, now ok we are talking about a mobile stall here so they had to look out and down to see him but he was see able even at his little height.
It took the older lady to inform them that he was not with them for them to realise that this little guy with a $5 note in his hand was there to order something, on his own.

Do kids not order things anymore? Do kids not get given the opportunity to do things for themselves anymore?
My parents taught my brother and I to be independent confident people and I am going to make sure that our 2 boys have the same.

Kind & Caring

My father in Law is with us for a few days this week.
He has just turned 83, well yesterday actually so the boys sang happy birthday to him at breakfast.
Granddad is blind and a little fragile nowadays so even though he is slow at moving around the house a little assistance doesn't go a miss when available.

It is so cute to watch our 2 terrors be kind and caring towards him.
They are happy to guide Granddad to the table for meals, walking slowly so he can find his way holding on to their hand or elbow, although not so cute when they forget to tell him about the stair banister they walk him into or the wall they forget to tell him to mind out for!
They have learnt that we tell dad about his food placement etc by using the clock face reference. If we forget it is so cute to hear their little voices informing dad that there is juice for him at 11 O'Clock or that he has chicken at 3 O'Clock. They even tell him when all the food is gone off of his plate so he is not chasing air around the plate!
They are happy to guide him back to his seat afterwards and ensure he has his blanket etc that he may require.

It is lovely to see their confidence in helping him grow with each visit we have with him. I know that he will not be around forever so it is great to see them interacting with him and not be scared, but then after all this is how Granddad has always been to them so they know no difference and just accept what needs to be done.

I am growing kind and considerate kids and proud of them when they show what they know.

Go Away Pain....!

I have ear ache, have had for 3 days now. It is not totally unbearable but I know it is there.
I wandered all around the Fieldays yesterday with it (more on our visit to this later in another post)

Finally yesterday I could take no more and took myself off to the emergency doctor.
For the grand total of $73 they took my pulse, blood pressure and temp (all normal) asked me a few questions, felt the glands in my neck, looked in both ears and proclaimed that they could see nothing, no build up or pressure or even infection.

They laughed when they saw I was allergic to Codeine and Ibuprofen and said oh well Paracetamol or Tramadol is all you can take.
Oh and to feel free to come back to them if I feel it has got worse or I develop a temperature.

I knew it was a waste of time going, I felt fine apart from the pain, but unfortunately looking inside someone's ear is not something that anyone else can do except a doctor. And seeing as how I was really sick over Easter with an inner ear problem I was not tempting fate by leaving an infection to brew to cause more hassle than I currently needed.

Oh and on a even sadder note.......I resigned from my job today and do not have anything to go on to.

Isn't life exciting when you want it to be!

Friend Makin' Monday - Bedroom Habits

It is Monday again, well for me it is now actually Tuesday but it is still Monday somewhere in the world so it still counts.

Anyhow, that means it is Friend Making Monday over at All the Weigh.

If you've taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: All the Weigh so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome blogger's so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Bedroom Habits

1. Do you set an alarm clock? If so, for what time? My alarm is set for 6am on weekdays but this may vary on a Saturday and gets switched off on a Sunday unless we have an activity

2. How many hours of sleep do you get on an average night?  On average, I get about 7 hours sleep, I would love more but seem to find I can't sleep before about 10pm

3. Do you bring your laptop to bed? I don't tend to but have been known to in the past but only maybe 5 times in a year!

4. How many pillows do you require to sleep? I have 2 but find I only sleep with 1 of them

5. Do you sleep with socks on? I don't but when winter is here and it is freezing cold I have been known to sleep with socks on, but guaranteed they get kicked off during the night

6. How often do you change the sheets?  I would love to say more often than I do but I know they don't and that bugs me!

7. Do you remember your dreams? Sometimes, definitely if I have woken at 5am and then fallen back to sleep as I have entered that light REM sleep so have really vivid dreams

8. Which side of the bed do you sleep on?  When standing at the end of the bed looking towards the head then I sleep on the right.

9. How often do you take naps? Nap what is a nap? Only when I am really sick!

10. Do you sleep soundly?  I use to sleep through the night but now I have kids I can wake to most noises. I hear them move in their room, my husband snoring, the neighbour leaving in his very large truck, the road sweeper cleaning up. Sometimes I would love to sleep through with no disturbances! May have to get ear plugs!