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Sleep is quite a big part of our lives and when I say our, I really mean me. I simply don't function if I haven't had enough sleep but I do have this somewhat annoying ability to fall into a deep sleep quickly. Unfortunately for the man on the Lilypad, this also means that the rhythmic (!!) sounds of my snoring usually keeps him wide awake, so when I was offered the opportunity to review the Good Night Anti Snoring Ring, I thought it would be a good chance to try and stop my incessant snoring once and for all.

I would obviously like to say that I am a delicate, gentle woman who couldn't possibly snore but having actually woken myself up snoring, I know that this is not true. Over the years I have tried different things to try and stop snoring, from sleep positions, nose strips and things underneath my pillow so anything is worth a try, especially after I read that snoring is frequently cited as a reason for divorce!

The first thing that struck me is that the Good Night Anti Snoring Ring doesn't have a "one size fits all" philisophy, as it works on acupressure. The Good Night rings are adjustable but there are three sizes to let you choose the most appropriate one for you. 

Small - Covers ring sizes J-P. Recommended for women or men with small hands/fingers (this is me - I have tiny stick fingers!)

Medium – Covers ring sizes N-S.

Large – Covers ring sizes S –Z. 

The ring has to be worrn on your little finger with the small dimple (you can see it on the image above) on the inside and you squeeze it to get a good fit. When I was reading through the literature it suggests that, in the interests of Yin Yang, that women should wear the ring on their left finger but it also says that sometimes, heavy snorers may need to use 2 rings ( I was a little worried at this point that I may need more than two) 

We had been on holiday but the sea air had done nothing for my snoring, so with the return to our own bed began the stop snoring campaign.  The first couple of nights marked a noteable improvement but by night 6, apparently my other half managed to get a totally peaceful nights sleep. I have to admit that I was a little sceptical at first, how could this little ring stop my snoring but it has. I can't vouch for this in its entirety (mainly because I am asleep while the testing is going on) but according to the man on the pad, it gets a huge thumbs up.

Disclaimer : We were given the Good Night Anti Snoring Ring to review but the views and opinions are an honest and true reflection of our findings.

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Most little girls always want to be a princess but as you grow up you realise that it is highly unlikely that you are going to get swept off your feet by a real life heir to the throne (unless of course you are Kate Middleton). However, somewhere deep rooted inside me I have always loved castles. There is something amazing about the history and architecture that I can't imagine happening with the modern construction of today.

So on our recent holiday to Somerset, we visited Dunster Castle. It amazes me that the castle has stood for over 1000 years, in a time before we had JCB's to lift and computers to design, the castle was developed and built over hundreds of years. William de Mohun was granted the lands at Dunster for his service to William the Conqueror at this battle but his family had to sell the castle to the Luttrell family in 1376 due to their mounting debts. The castle sold for 5000 marks, which equates to about £3333 in modern day money. I can't imagine that there was the legal paperwork done as there would be now, especially if there was found to be surveyors negligence, they may have faced an untimely demise in those days!

The castle has since been passed down through the Luttrell family but when Alexander Luttrell died in 1944 he left the estate in debt which means that Geoffry, Alexander's son, had to sell the castle in 1949 but managed to reacquire it in 1954. Finally Walter, Geoffry's son, gave the castle and many of its contents to the National Trust in 1976.

The day we visited Dunster Castle was gloriously sunny and we could walk through the grounds and down into the historic town. The main house is amazing but it is always a little disappointing to have areas sectioned off as not suitable for the public. Sometimes you don't always want to see the polished floors, amazing fireplaces and old paintings, you want to be able to go down the stone staircases and see the darker side of castle life.

Dunster Castle was a great day out for us as a family but I think the children enjoyed the amazing grounds more than the house as it is quite restrictive within the castle of what they can and can't do. Our day out renewed my love for the architecture, design and sheer determination it must have taken to build something like this.

Would I recommend Dunster Castle as a family day out? Yes but probably better when the sun is shining.

Do I still want to live in a Castle? I am still a girl at heart and doesn't every little girl want to be a princess in a castle?

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The holidays are officially over. Everyone is back to school and this week we returned to our Water Babies swimming lessons. We have always blogged our way through our Water Babies journey but as it is Nanny who takes the little fish to her lessons, I always miss out on the fun so I have made sure that over the holidays I have taken the time to swim with her regularly.

Now there is one thing I need to share with you, my youngest daughter is an independent little lady ( I have NO IDEA where she gets this from) and when she gets something in her head, there is not much chance of changing it. So one of our swimming sessions consisted of her jumping off the side and splashing into the water, whilst singing "humpty dumpty fell off the wall". This has done wonders for my arm muscles.

I was amazed at how confident she was in the water and kicking her legs and doggy paddling with her hands and I was a little overwhelmed with pride when another mom commented on the little ones water skills in the pool. I can't take any credit for it but that didn't stop me raving about Water Babies.

So today they went back to Water Babies and typically the little fish didn't want to go underwater, so she didn't. Her speech and comprehension has come on leaps and bounds over the past few weeks and she knows what you are talking about. So if you are talking about something she doesn't like the sound of, she will certainly vocalise it. At first I thought it maybe another of the possible "toddler water wobbles" but after the lesson she was putting her face in the water and laughing with Nanny. Lynsey the teacher caught her and chuckled at her cheekiness.

The one thing that made me chuckle was Nanny telling me that the little one had "pooed" during the lesson and as we are toilet training at the moment, there was quite alot of conversation about the poo apparently, much to my moms embarressment. Thank goodness for the Happy Nappy!!

Mom said that it was a strange start to the new term as the class had been joined with a younger group of babies. I think some of the parents felt disgruntled by this but having younger babies gave the older ones a chance to go over some of the basic techniques again, which is never a bad thing. So we embark on a new term and have a chance to make new friends, learn new techniques and find out how many ways little fish can find to be cheeky it seems! 

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