The topic of this post is something I feel very passionate about, & I could easily write pages and pages on it, but I don’t want to bore you all rigid, so I will try to keep the content t a minimum, after all I’m trying to gain followers, not lose them all into a coma of words!

It is only now that I approach 40, that I am finally learning to accept myself and my body. It has been a roller coaster of a journey to get to this point, which I will bore you with at a later date if that’s something you’d be interested in. Anyway as I was saying, 40 years to finally love myself and accept the shape I am. Which leads to this question…Why the hell does it take us so bloody long to be happy with who we are? And (this is just my opinion), I believe is because we are so worried with how others see us & what their opinions of us are! I know this is definitely true in my case, which really is a sad fact, when all said and done, these others are not living our lives & experiencing the things we are, well accept their own insecurities & yes even the rich and famous have these, otherwise cosmetic surgery would not be a thing.

We all put ourselves under so much pressure, to lose weight, to be slimmer & more toned, be prettier, & yes I do believe there are people who genuinely do this for themselves & to create a healthier version of themselves, & I really applaud these people as I genuinely wished that when I thought about what I was feeding my body, it was for longevity & to make it my temple and all that jazz, but sadly that is not the case. No every time I’ve ‘dieted’, had an exercise phase, changed my lifestyle, it’s been because of what I believed people’s perception of me was.

But now at (almost) 40, I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’m never going to have that washboard stomach, I mean I’ve had four children, one of which came out of the sunroof for goodness sake. I’m never going to have a thigh gap & a pert bum, because I hate squats & my knees make the most awful noise whilst attempting them, and I’m always going to have bingo wings as I’m too lazy to do the sodding armlifts with weights! And I’m ok with this.

So I’m calling on all of you beautiful people, and you are, all beautiful, to stop worrying. Stop worrying about the media’s idea of what we should look like, stop worrying about the mum’s who are perfectly made up in the playground, & stop worrying about the person that makes those ‘discreet’ digs. Because we are not all the same, we’re not supposed to be, NEWSFLASH, life would be super boring if we all looked like the Kardashian’s, and each & every one of us has insecurities. But focus not on your hang ups, but instead celebrate the glorious, beautiful messy beings that we all are!

Much love xx

I’ve really struggled with what to do this post about, as to be completely frank with you, this weekend has been a bit, well shit. But after some thought, I’ve decided not to let the complete scumbag that thought it was ok to rinse my bank account, get the better of me. Before I move on from this though, let me tell you about the biggest inconvenience of being a fraud victim, well aside from the actually losing your hard earned money, it is actually changing the million and one passwords you have for every single sort of account you have ever set up! This has quite possibly caused me my very first grey hair, so thank you very much you lazy shit, for thinking that you deserved my money, I hope you catch several childhood illnesses all at the same time!

Anyway moving on, I’m ending what has otherwise been an ok week, on a high. Watching Harry Potter with a glass of wine, counting my blessings for the amazing family and friends I have & being eternally grateful for my term time contract, for allowing me to spend some much needed time with my sprogs. Also with the knowledge that in only one more week, I can finally start booking fast passes for the attractions on our once in a life time holiday next month. Yes the next three weeks are going to be super exciting for my beautiful little family.

So whilst this is a slightly shorter post than I have previously written, I guess the point of this one is purely that whatever life throws at us, we always have something to be grateful for. You may have to look for it a little harder sometimes, but there will always be something that you can think of that will raise a smile, even if only a small one, hold on tight to these reasons, for these are the people/things that create our sunshine!

Much love xx

Despite my children’s best efforts to persuade me to start vlogging, I am not quite ready to put my face on YouTube just yet! However I do love the idea of posts about all of my favourite things from throughout the month. So here it is, my very first ‘favourites’ post.

First up, under eye patches. Oh my goodness, I have the most horrendous dark circles, I mean between 17 years of parenting & a life time of caffiene, these bad boys are more like suitcases as opposed to bags. Anyway, on the recommendation of one of the YouTubers I watch, I picked up some of the Primark soothing eye patches, you get 30 patches for £1, so 15 uses. Because of the price I wasn’t expecting great things, but I was pleasently surprised, don’t get me wrong, they’re no Clinique treatment, but I definitely notice a difference the day after I have used them, much less puffiness. Also it’s worth noting that my eyes are very sensitive to products, but I had no irritation. These will definitely be a regular in my shopping basket.

 

Avon Mark Liquid Lip Lacquer Matte. I bought this whilst I was an Avon rep last year, but I have only just recently tried it out, I have this in the shade kissy face. Now, I’ve always found Avon products a little hit and miss, but this really impressed me. Most lipsticks I use, regularly need topping up throughout the day or night, but this genuinely lasted all day & didn’t need topping up at all. Good work Avon!

The Script! I cannot not mention my boys! I have been lucky enough to see them a fair few times in concert now, but the concert they played at The Royal Albert Hall this last weekend, will stay with me forever, even the boys were blown away by the atmosphere in the room on Saturday. I didn’t think it was possible, but I love them even more (especially Danny) after that concert! I cannot wait for their new album.

Stationary…..As a teenager/child, I was absolutely obsessed with stationary, pencil cases, pens, folders, you name it, I loved it and probably owned it to my poor mums dismay! Since the idea of my blog first popped into my head, I have reignited my love affair with stationary again. As you can imagine, working in a stationary shop has the potential to become quite dangerous and expensive. Fortunately (I think) for my bank account, I am currently putting every last spare penny I have towards spending for our super exciting holiday next month. But as you can see, I have the beginnings of a very beautiful collection.

Brogan Tate, I love this girl. Originally I started watching her vlogs for some of her travel videos, but she is such a sweetheart & she has now found her way onto my subscription list & I genuinely look foward to her weekly updates. If you haven’t already seen her, you should definitely check out her YouTube channel.

And of course, I have to end my first favourites with my blog. I had forgotten just how much I loved writing & I am really enjoying this whole process.  I know not everyone will like my posts, & that’s ok, I’m not here to impress anyone or please everyone, I’m just a mum (nearing the big 40), enjoying writing about my life and beautiful family and hoping that I’m not boring too many people and that JustJasminexx is loved by some.

Much love xx

I am writing this feeling super sleepy but extremely content & at an absolute peak of happiness and enjoying a very lovely chilled glass of Prosecco!

This weekend has genuinely been the best weekend in a very very long time. So let me fill you in on what I’ve been up to.

Yesterday I went to the most beautiful venue I’ve ever been fortunate enough to have attended a concert at, The Royal Albert Hall in London, if you ever get the opportunity to go there, you must, it was truly stunning. And who was I there to see, The Script of course! Also I should mention that this concerts all in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust, such a worthy cause & some of the bravest kids were invited up onto the stage with Roger Daltrey, these young adults were so inspirational. After being wowed by these brave kids, cue my most favourite men (aside from my brother of course) in the entire universe, and they did not disappoint! It was everything a concert should be and so much more, which isn’t hard when it comes to Danny O’Donoghue. I simply cannot recommend these groups enough, they are still just three lads from Dublin, who have a passion for music & their music is phenomenal, go & check them out, you won’t be disappointed, it helps that they’re gorgeous too, and who knows, you may end up being part of The Script family too. A big thank you to my momma, for making it possible to see them again, and be a proper fangirl for the evening.

Anyway after a very late night (100% worth it), and losing an hour, & excited children, we have had a very chilled out Mother’s Day. Talking of Mother’s Day, my amazing children have spoilt me rotten, I had breakfast in bed (chocolate spread on toast & squash), & some pampering gifts and a fantastic book I’ve been wanting for ages. And the youngest monkey even washed up after dinner, result!

So now I’m just chilling with my Prosecco, Mumma Mia 2 on the box and a lovely smelly candle, wondering how on earth I’m going to fit into my work trousers tomorrow after, like I said, The best weekend!

Today I was fortunate enough to be able to take the day off of work so that I could lunch out with a group of my favourite people, in celebration of one of my best friends birthdays.

It’s been a long time since we had a lunch date, to be honest, it’s been a long time since we all got together full stop, our ‘coffe mornings/wine nights/get togethers, whatever you want to call them have become less and less frequent. Between children, family, work & other commitments, it can be really hard (myself especially included in this statement) to make this all important time for our friends. But do you know what,  sometimes you just have to stop making excuses & appreciate your friends and everything that they bring to your life. This may seem a little dramatic, but I genuinely believe that spending time with your buddies is good for your soul & mental wellbeing. In the space an afternoon you can smile, laugh until your belly hurts, put the world to rights, cry and, well, feel just about every other emotion. Not today though, today was just filled with happiness & laughter, oh & maybe a cheeky cocktail or two! Yes, this afternoon I have come home feeling a bit more myself, and a lot of happier & let’s face it, a happy mum equates to happy children, or maybe it’s the other way around but you get what I mean.

So after almost an entire year of being a bit of recluse whilst paying for our holiday this summer, one sunny afternoon with my beautiful friends, has reminded me that I have to stop & appreciate all of the amazing people in my life.

Happy birthday to the 36 year old of the group, NOT 40!

 

I have ummmed and ahhhed about this second post. The first one is easy as you have all the time in the world to put it together & you have hundreds of  ideas for new posts, & then BAM! You sit down to write the second one & your brain goes on strike and all of those ideas have gone holiday.

Anyway after hours and hours of thought & potential ideas, I thought why not just fill you in on our weekend, not just this weekend though, on no, you’re getting a not so step by step guide to every single one of our current weekends…enjoy! I should point out at this point that I spend my entire week wishing for the week to be done, & then the weekend finally arrives & I remember with a great force that the weekend is not the relaxing time I think it is whilst I’m whiling away the hours at work.

I always vowed that I would never pander to any of my children. That lasted all of five minutes into motherhood. Fast forward seventeen years & our current Saturday mornings run like this. My alarm goes off at 6:00a.m, although it never does as I’ve usually been awake for at least an hour by this point, mulling over all of the weeks woes. I literally drag myself out of bed & plod downstairs to start the breakfast efforts. This entails baked oats for myself (slimming world followers will appreciate this), a bacon sandwich & cup of tea for my eldest son. Now I would love to say that this was gratefully received, however the truth is both the tea & sandwich are luke warm at best by the time I have finally got said son up & out of bed. Back downstairs to cook bacon for  son number 2 & another cup of tea, two lots of toast smothered in Nutella for daughter and son number 3. So with all children suitably given breakfast, I can finally get mine out of the oven & hope that it’s not burnt & make a very much needed coffee! In between burning the roof of my mouth with my oats & coffee, I am literally pushing number one son out of the door so that he isn’t late for his 7:30 start time at work. I know fellow parents will feel my pain at getting a 17 year old man child to work for 7:30 on a Saturday morning.

Now I’m one child down, time to get the other two sons ready for football for when their dad collects them. This usually means handpicking football kit and clothes out, but you’d think I’d asked them to walk to the ends of the earth just to get dressed and do their teeth, and it is quite normal to spend a solid fifteen minutes looking for shinpads! Also to make sure that my almost 13 year old daughter is happy enough with her appearence, because you never know when a celebrity might be at your local ice rink, and then make sure that I don’t look like the dishelved mess that I am feeling by this point. And finally we can leave the house at 7:50a.m to take the half an hour bus ride to spend pretty much the entire day freezing my assetts off at the ice rink, so that I have a happy pre-teen daughter.

After a jam packed day & finally getting the feeling back in my fingers and toes, freezer meal (I know, how nutricious right) cooked, washing up done, I can finally reward myself with a nice chilled glass of wine, oh wait, what, never mind, I’ve fallen asleep on the sofa at 8:00, restoring my energy for housework Sunday!

But I have happy children, which, when all said and done is what we all strive for.

Until next time

Jas xx

Well here it is, my very first ever blog. I am super excited about starting my very own blog. I’ve no idea what I’m expecting from this and I will probably cringe hugely when I read this back in a few months time, but I do know that I’m ready to learn about this crazy world of blogging and hopefully more about myself & my family in the process.

A little background on me, I am a single mum to four beautiful, individual & unique children & a crazy fluff ball named Flossy. I work part time at a well known stationary retailers and am a full time skivvy to my awe inspiring children, and we live in a small town in Oxfordshire. I also have an unhealthy obsession with The Script, more specifically, Danny O’Donoghue. Life is always a little manic and chaotic, and my days are usually silly busy, but as with most parents, I really wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m sure you will, if you’re interested that is, learn quite a bit about y funny family & our not quite so conventional life.

So why do I want to add to my already busy routine & schedule? Well it’s quite simple, I love talking about my children, & the amazing characters that they each have, they teach me new lessons every single day, whether that be hard or joyful. Every day is a learning curve & I hope by sharing our laughter, joy, happiness, sadness, anger & every other emotion that runs through the walls in our house, then maybe, hopefully, you will think ‘Oh we’re not the only family these things happen to’ and can relate to it!

I am hoping to also bring you reviews & thoughts on products, music, films etc that we as a family find interesting. My blog is definitely not to preach to anyone at all, christ I definitely do not claim to have answers to anything, most days I just get to bedtime and thank my lucky stars that we all survived in one piece. Every days is a learning curve, but I am always thankful for everything the day brings & teaches me. The children and I live by two mantras, 1) Always expect the unexpected, & believe me, most days bring the unexpected, and 2) Why fit in when you’re born to stand out (Dr Suess), every single person on this planet is a unique & different personality, and my four children have taught me that, it is absolutely the coolest thing in the world to just be you.

So that in a nutshell is why I’ve chosen to start this blogging malarky, to share individualism & of course just how cool my children are. I hope you’ll find me entertaining & maybe even a little informative, but just putting it out there, any opinions within my blogs are my own personal ones & not influenced by anyone else.

So for now, I will bid you farewell for now.

Jas xx

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton