Yesterday was a PJ day. A whole day in the house, not getting dressed, just doing nothing and enjoying every minute of it. I cannot remember the last time we literally did nothing. It was bliss.

However, that meant we needed some fresh air today, so we threw together a picnic and went to our local water park. It is so easy forget the fabulous things that are on our doorstep and it was good to prise the girls away from the technology and back to nature.

I think I lost a whole loaf of bread to the ducks, geese and swans today. Although the tween also lost a little bit of her bravery when she was surrounded by geese!!

We went exploring .......

The tween tested the water to see how cold it was and needless to say, we didn't go on the pedal boats today.

 And then of course, we were in the woods so we "had" to go on a bear hunt!

What a beautiful day!

Tweet

Where is the oddest place that you have fallen asleep?

I was asked this very question earlier this week and I had to chuckle to myself as I can literally fall asleep anywhere, from the sofa to a nightclub, if I need to sleep, I can simply close my eyes and drift off. Last New Years Eve we were hosting a party and admitedly I may have had a little too much champagne but my bed called to me before the clock struck twelve and I was gone! (I am not always an awful hostess I promise).

However, the weirdest place I have fallen asleep has to be the toilet at work. (I suppose I should insert an apology to my former employer right here) I was young, working long hours and partying long hours too and I remember sitting down on the toilet, resting my head on my hand and dozing right off. My hand slipped some 10-15 minutes later and I was jolted back to reality. I also had a bracelet mark on my face from where I was leaning on it, which took some explaining back in the office ......

So do you have a story to tell?

Carpetright are running a competition at the moment (#WeirdestPlaceToSleep) that’s all about weirdest places people have been found falling asleep. The oddest sleeping place that is revealed will win £700 to spend on a more comfortable sleeping place. There is also an amazing runner up prize up for grabs. One lucky person will enjoy a family midweek break in the beautiful British countryside with Mill Farm luxury holidays worth up to £380! 

So could your strange snoozing habits be worthy of winning you a prize?

All you have to do is to share your story via social media:

Tweeting @carpetright on Twitter

Tagging @carpetright in a Facebook status

Or including @carpetrightuk on Instagram

Don't forget to use the hashtag #weirdestplacetosleep BUT be quick as it ends on 3rd September at 11.59pm.

Disclosure : This post is in association with Carpetright but the competition is being hosted entirely by Carpetright and they remain responsible for notification of winners and supply of prizes.

We were talking yesterday about saving for our children's future but sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in how much you need to spend on your children today, let alone in 10 years time.

I doubt anyone blindly goes into parenting thinking it is cheap raising children, however I doubt people really knew the full extent of the cost of raising them. It is reported that just one will set you back £222,458 on average by the time they are 21 (gulp) … I don’t have to tell you that that is rather a lot. Luckily the infographic where I go that statistic from offers you budding parents some help. It’s got hints and tips on how to save those precious pennies. You could potentially be saving over £800 on those baby essentials and lets be honest, in the long run, that’s a mega saving or certainly some help towards Christmas presents!

Providing budgeting tips isn’t all this infographic does, however, it also provides useful advice on baby names, so not only will you have enough money to raise your kids, they’ll also have cool names. That’s a double win in my book.

How much does it cost to raise a kid? is an infographic that was produced by Gumtree

Tweet

This is a collaborative post with Gumtree but all expensive children are our own!

I went out for afternoon tea for a friends birthday at the weekend and the subject of our children came up (as it always does) and with one friend having a daughter going off to university this year, a few of us flinched at the cost of higher education.  With the youngest children of the group, my other friend and I debated whether we should start saving now for the university funds ....... it gives me 10 years to save but will that be enough?

Saving money has always been a focus of the Lilypad family but none moreso than during the last year as we have been saving for the wedding (I *may* have mentioned we are getting married), so certain things have been sacrificed in the quest to ensure we do not go into debt for a wedding. It is a lesson that I hope we share with the girls.

The littlest one is almost three, which is a good time to start developing an understanding of money and saving. She can happily count to 14 now (and 20 on a good day), so she can count how many pennies go into her piggy bank.

My eldest daughter is another story .....

She is acutely aware of how much things cost and birthdays are no longer filled with gorgeous dolls and jigsaws, all she wants these days is money. I think if she is honest, she is a little disappointed if someone brings a beautifully wrapped gift, not because she is ungrateful but because she likes the freedom to spend on what she chooses. It is funny how her spending habits have changed since she has her own money to spend, once upon a time she would have asked for everything in the shop whereas now she checks her purse and carefully checks the prices of the things that spike her interest.

She doesn't get to spend all her birthday money though (much to her dismay) as I opened a savings account for her when she was very little, so some is for spending and some is for saving. She might moan now but when she is older, I hope that there may be enough in that account to buy her a little car *fingers crossed*.

I read an article recently that suggested creating three jars – each labeled “Saving,” “Spending” or “Sharing.” So that every time your child receives money, whether for doing jobs or from a birthday / Christmas, divide the money equally among the jars. Then they can use the spending jar for small purchases, like sweets or stickers. Money in the sharing jar can go to someone you know who needs it or be used to donate to a friend’s cause. The saving jar is the one that gets put into the bank account.

I have always got a buzz from shopping and it seems my eldest daughter has inherited the same thrill of buying things although as I have got older,  I appreciate that living for today is great but you do have to think about the future and more importantly, the childrens future. Life lessons aren't always the easiest to teach but hopefully making it part of every day life will make it a part of their decisions every day thereafter.

    Tweet

Disclaimer : This post is in association with Santander but all savings experiences and shopping habits are our own!