I am delighted to share this guest post from one of my beautiful friends who is contemplating life with teenagers.

Life.....

I am the mother of two wonderful children (most of the time they are wonderful but sometimes......). My daughter is 14 going on 21 and my son is 12 with the attitude of a 13 year old as he is nearly a teenager, so he keeps telling me!!!!

Life can be a struggle for all of us most of the time. My son was off school poorly a few days ago with a bad tummy. I am lucky that my husband and I own our business and I have amazing people that can look after my job when I'm not there, but not everyone is fortunate. I remember a time when I would have had to ring in sick(but then you lose money for being off sick!!!) or use a day of their holiday which we usually save to spend time as a family.

Life.....

Having two children in their teens (well nearly!!), can also be a struggle, they both want to be somewhere different at the same time. Our weekends are never our own these days, with one of us dropping one child somewhere and the other dropping the other child. Then, of course there's the picking back up of the children who always want to stay at their friends for that extra 10 minutes!! 

I do miss my children on a weekend (although I have to admit I do enjoy the peace and quiet of no arguing), and my hubby & I are now able to spend more time together although most of our conversations are still about the kids. 

It's a wonderful but trying time watching your little babies turning into adolescents (all hormones aside). But my advice, for what it is worth ....

Relish them whilst they are young and can't answer you back, spend time with them, enjoy walks in the sunshine and splashing in the rain. As your babies grow up, they do mature and hopefully become the adults you wish them to be.

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Things that go bump in the night!

It is a phrase more commonly associated with frightening but imagined supernatural events and  at one time it was even incorporated into a prayer ....

From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord, deliver us!

Fortunately I am not actually talking about paranormal activity or supernatural events, I am talking about the creatures that suddenly seem to have taken up residence in our bedroom (and I am not talking about my other half this time).

The warm weather has brought dodgy tan lines, questionable fashion sense, regular BBQ's and much needed outdoor fun but it has also brought an influx of creatures too. Until quite recently I had never heard of a bug called a "Bob Howler"  but the urban dictionary tells me that it is actually a slang term from the Midlands for a very large moth. Given that I am a Midlands lass at heart, I clearly should hang my head in shame at not knowing such things, but anyway I digress.

Only last week, said Bob Howler made an appearance in our bedroom. They never seem to arrive in the day time, oh no, always just as you are about to go to bed, are a little sleepy (and clearly don't want your shrieking to wake the children). This Bob Howler was MASSIVE. No exaggeration. It was HUGE (or in the words of my tween, it was MAHOOSIVE) and after much shrieking and flapping around (me, not the Bob Howler), it decided to fly behind our headboard.

It flapped and banged and bumped and fluttered against the headboard and the wall so much that I was worried it was going to wake the neighbours, let alone the children. Obviously the bed gets pulled out and we start chasing it around the bedroom. The scene was a little reminicent of a strange black and white comedy sketch

Unfortunately there was not a happy ending for the Bob Howler (I won't share that particularly gruesome part of the story) and we were finally settling down for the night, when out of the corner of my eye I saw something move .........

I may never actually sleep again!

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Disclaimer : This post is in association with Carpetright but all Bob Howler fiasco's are our own!

. It is a super cool name and we loved it from the second we heard it but what we loved more was the gorgeous range of children's swim and beach wear that they have on their site.  was founded in 2012 by Jessica Dahlberg, a mother of three who decided to start her own business when she found just how difficult it was to find stylish UV protection beachwear for her children.

The sun has definitely had its hat on of late but finding a sun hat that the children can wear in the water has been a bit of a challenge for me, so when we were given the chance to review some of the gorgeous  swimwear, we jumped at the chance.

With two water babies in the family, they were both quick to jump into their new swimsuits (unfortunately the pool is not so happy for us to take photos, so stock images will have to do for now) and it was immediately apparent the difference in quality to many of the previous swimming costumes they have had.

The Butterfly Swimsuit (shown centre above)

UPF 50+ BLOCKS OUT 98% OF THE SUN'S UVA AND UVB RADIATION. 
FABRIC: 91% POLYAMIDE AND 9% ELASTANE 
INNER LINING: 100% POLYAMIDE

The design is both adorable and practical and always gets comments in the pool. At £38 it is certainly not the cheapest swimsuit on the market but you how can you put a price on the protection of your childs skin?

Blossom Bikini

UPF 50+ BLOCKS OUT 98% OF THE SUN'S UVA AND UVB RADIATION.
FABRIC: 91% POLYAMIDE AND 9% ELASTANE

This bikini is perfect for a savvy tween. It is fashionable enough to be cool but sensible enough to satisfy mum too. The adjustable halterneck means that it can grow with your little one and my daughter loves the striking blue colour .... because according to her, not everything needs to be pink! We chose the size 9-10 and she is an average 9 year old and it fits perfectly, so if your little one is a little taller than average, it may well do to order a larger size.

Sun Hat

One of my biggest grumbles over sun hats is that you have to pick a neutral colour, so that it matches everything! Not with a  hat though, they are reversible giving you twice the wear out of them, which ticks all the boxes for me.  The hat is lightweight without being flimsy and again has an UPF50+. These two-tone hats keep heads protected from the sun's harsh rays and we love that the baby size (6-24 months) even comes with tie strings to help it stay put.

All the  fabrics can be washed at 30 degrees and they have been in the wash a few times already in the past couple of weeks and there are no signs of the infamous "bobbling" on the swimsuits, as happens with many other brands.  recommend that you rinse it out after swimming but never ring or squeeze it as they may ruin its shape.

The  collection of products are all their own design, so they are not mass produced and available at every shop corner, which coupled with the exceptional quality demonstrates what you are getting for your money.

This together with the fact that all of the fabrics are tested and come with a UPF50+, which means that 98& of the sun's harmful UVA & UVB radiation is blocked out, means that you can have confidence every time they jump in the water.

We genuinely fell in love with the  brand , so we not only wanted to share it with you BUT give you the opportunity to win one Anchor sun protection suit in baby pink or blue (available sizes are 6-12 mths/1-2 yrs/2-3 yrs/3-4 yrs) and one sun hat too (available sizes 6-24 mths/2-5 yrs/5-9 yrs).

So what do you need to do? Enter below ......

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Back To School?? Yes I know it seems like we have only just broken up from school but I was reading a report this week following some test results carried out by The School Association on school uniform, so it is clearly still on everyone's minds. 

"The tests, carried out by High Street Testing for The Schoolwear Association, compared generic uniform from well-known chain stores with generic uniform from independent retailers and suppliers. Researchers put pullovers, polo shirts, trousers and skirts through a series of rigorous tests and found the independent garments washed well with minimal shrinkage, compared with their supermarket equivalents. The independent retailer garments were generally made from heavier and thicker material, meaning they would tend to last longer and be less prone to rips and tears, as well as being warmer in winter.

Garments from the independents washed better than their supermarket equivalents with a pullover from one of the supermarkets shrinking over seven times more than one from an independent"

I got a little bit cross at this point.

I have bought from an independent retailer and I have bought from well known chain stores and to be perfectly honest, there have been good and bad choices with both. I have had expensive "heavier and thicker" material bobble after a few washes, whereas its supermarket equivalent has washed and washed and washed. I have also had polo shirts that have shrunk in the wash (although this may have something to do with my washing machine, not me obviously).

I understand The Schoolwear Association wanting to promote independent retailers but ultimately cost is a huge issue for parents, especially if like my daughter, she manages to lose a couple of cardigans each term! So when we were given the opportunity to review the Asda back to school uniform, we jumped at the chance to test this seasons range.

Value for money is undeniable.

The quality is apparent.

The flexibility of the adjustable waist bands on the skirts is fantastic.

Asda do an extensive range of colours that are not available at all independent retailers. 

Shopping at independent retailers is supporting local business and I am all for that.

Shopping in your supermarket is savvy.

So being a savvy shopper doesn't mean you are cheap, it means you are sensible ...... especially when you have a daughter who manages to "misplace" uniform on a regular basis!

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Disclosure: We were sent some uniform from Asda to review but all opinions and views are our own.