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It seems to have been raining for a while now but the sunshine came out today and with the crisp autumnal air and the sun in the sky, it reminded me of all the things I love about Autumn.

Sometimes we just need reminding .....

1. There are amazing colours everywhere, from the leaves on the trees to the shades in the shops. Autumn is all about colour.
2. I love the cool, crisp fesh air. Especially in the morning, you walk outside and you get that little nose tingle from the air.
3. The temperatures have definately dropped and there is a calm feeling all around. Things are much more relaxed in Autumn.
4. Autumn is the start of the festivities and Halloween is great fun for children (and big kids too).
5. Creating delicious homemade soups.
6. Going out for a early morning long stroll together, it’s nice to have the Autumn wind as an excuse to walk a little bit closer — or to buy him a gorgeous wax jacket from Joules and steal it when you need another layer.
7. And if you can't beat them, join them. Autumn brings a whole wardrobe of possibilities, from new scarves, boots, hats and jumpers. A change in the season is a great excuse to buy new clothes in my book!
8. Shorter days and longer nights herald the start of great TV nights in. Snuggling up on the sofa at its best.
9. The food ..... pumpkins, spices and the scent of mulled wine.
10. For my children, Autumn means half term and the fact that it is just that little bit closer to Christmas ....

How about you? 

What do you love about Autumn?

Disclaimer : This post was brought to you in association with Joules but all thoughts are our own.

Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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My blogging mojo has been a little sporadic lately and this has more to do with a lack of sleep than a lack of blogs! Its ironic that with the amount of hours we have been awake, that I dont have blog posts coming out of my ears but it is official, the littlest member of the Lilypad family has decided that sleep is for the weak.

Our little angel is totally adorable, a complete cutie and a true gift to our family. She is interesting, funny, chatty and gorgeous but apparently she likes an early morning party. Everyone tells you that no two children are the same but with my first daughter being a text book baby, sleeping 7pm to 7am, I was quietly smug in my abilities to create a routine and I will hold my hands up and say I was so wrong. (This maybe the only time you ever hear me utter these words, so it maybe wise to keep this blog post).

In the early hours of this morning I was woken with the little lady shouting me to "come get me" and once my eyes were open, I automatically reached for my phone to check the time and saw that I had emails, messages and social media notifications. Now admitedly I should have be wondering why I was getting all these messages in the middle of the night but you have to be thankful for a permanent broadband connection eh? Technology is such a big part of our everyday life now, it seems crazy to think that it doesn't seem all that long ago I was using a dial up on the computer to access the internet once a day.

But I digress .... I sometimes think that the light nights have woken the little one, so as the dark nights draw in more and more, maybe we might just get a little more sleep. Although with the threatened power black outs, it looks like we might all be in the dark ..... which might also put an end to the midnight emailing too!

Disclaimer : This post is brought to you in association with Virgin Media.

Image courtesy of supakitmod at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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How much did you sleep last night?

How much sleep do you need to function?

It fascinates me that different people need different amounts of sleep and can sleep so differently too. I am a really deep sleeper, I can place my head on the pillow, fall asleep and be snoring within seconds and my eldest daughter is very much the same. However my other half and youngest daughter take time to wind down and both need complete darkness to prepare themselves for sleep, so when we were asked to take part in a sleep study by Silent Night, we leapt at the chance.

Research by the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has found that sleep appears necessary for our nervous systems to work properly. Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormone in children and young adults with many of the body's cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep.

So how do we sleep in our house? 

Apparently a new baby typically results in between 400-750 hours of lost sleep for parents in the first year and my other half would argue that this isn't restricted to the first year. My youngest daughter has never been the best sleeper and when she is poorly, it seems that sleep literally goes out of the window. Our "typical" night is usually broken by a toilet break or one wake up at the very least!

We were sent the Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask and whilst I was dying to try it, the man on the Lilypad needs to sleep easier and as it conforms to the contours of your face, I felt it was only fair to let my other half try it out. I am not suggesting for one moment that he has big ears but the sleep mask has a really good strap that does not hurt the ears as it has high enough placement and soft material. Being a typical woman, I had to check it out myself (when he wasn't looking) but it seems really durable and there are no edges that could fray over time.

A sleep mask is never going to be the most glamorous bedtime accessory and with small children, managing to stay in bed for the whole evening is a successful night's sleep in our book but the Tempur Pedic Sleep Mask did mean that if my other half was repeatedly getting out of bed, he was enveloped in darkness as soon as his head lay back down again, which helped to ease him back into slumber.

Sleep accessories are good but for me, nothing beats a good bed and I can be terribly grouchy if I haven't had my 8 hours sleep (I think my grouchiness levels have increased since I am repeatedly woken up pre 6am). Part of the Silentnight Sleep Study reveals that many of us are victims to others' tired and irritable behaviour through lack of sleep. 

• 84% have been on the receiving end of someone who is tired and irritable
• Over half have been victim to rude and irrational behaviour from tired folk
• 30% have ignored irrational behaviour from someone who is tired
• 87% said ill manners and queue jumping topped the poll for getting us in a bad mood after a good night's sleep
• 15% take their lack of sleep out on others on the road

Silentnight know how important sleep is and want to help make all our daily commutes and routines as easy as possible by providing a range of comfortable mattresses for all different types of sleepers, to have a good night's sleep. After all, 80 per cent of people sleep better on a new mattress. (wow, that is a major statistic!)

A good night's sleep has become like the holy grail in our house, what with light sleepers, snoring, toilet breaks, poorly little ones and sleepwalking children but sometimes, just sometimes (maybe with a little help) we get that elusive silent night.

What helps you go to sleep?

Disclaimer : We were sent the Tempur Pedic Sleep Mask for the purpose of the sleep study.