The PB Family

A UK Family lifestyle and beauty Blog. We are a family who range in age from 2 months - 70years! Join us as we review items, live our daily life and discuss the worlds happenings!

Thursday 26 January 2017

Sick day!

Hello everyone. Well today is a sick day. The Grandson is poorly and what better way to spend the day than being waited on at Grandad and Grandmas! He is currently tucked up with colouring book and pencils with a snack of a jam donut and warm lemonade. What more could a four year old want?!
I remember sick days at my Nanny and Grandads.  I would be tucked up on the sofa and offered tomato soup and thick chunky slices of bread.  The bread would be smothered in butter and tasted delicious!  Nanny would be back and forth checking on me while doing her daily housework chores and the sound of the twin tub washing machine was never far away! Grandad was sat in the corner in "his" chair puffing away on his pipe.  (even now I cant smell pipe smoke without getting memories of being curled up on his lap)  If I had earache it was "cured" with warm olive oil, stomach problems were treated with the smallest amount of whiskey in water

 I look back on these days with a sense of fondness and nostalgia.  I loved those ties even though I was poorly, these were the best of times!  I hope my Grandchildren also look back in fondness on these special moments we share.

Bye for now!

Hales xx

Monday 23 January 2017

Hate

Hello lovelies!

 "If I hate someone, the hate is mine, my emotion, my feeling. I should not say I hate someone because they are hateful. It is I who am full of hate. It is mine to conquer or be conquered by". Tobias Stanislas Haller BS 

I recently came across this quote.  It really spoke to me.
It resonated in me and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with it and let me tell you why!

In my life I have been wronged many times.  Sometimes by mistake, sometimes intentionally and sometimes maliciously.  (this isn't to say I have never wronged anyone because I'm sure I have many times).
This has caused me to hate.  One person in particular springs to mind who shall remain anonymous but who wronged me for the longest time.  It effected my life and partly made me into the person I am today.  It made me have issues with trust, body image, self worth and many other things. I hated this person.  vehemently and hatefully!  I wished for his death many times.  I couldn't stand to be in the same room as him for any amount of time and it caused a rift in my family.  With my whole heart.  I said I forgave but did I really?  I'm not sure I did.  

You see the quote above is very true.  The emotion was mine, He didn't care that I hated him, the only person feeling it was me.  It was Me who took time out of my day to feel it.  It was me that spent the nights lying awake going over different scenarios in my mind, resurrecting the past and remembering things I| thought long forgotten.  The Hate was mine.  I could choose to do with it what I wanted.  And I decided to let it go.  I gave myself the power over my emotion back.  I freed myself in a way the other person could never do.  Hate can be conquered or can conquer you.  I choose to conquer it!

If you are still with me thank you for reading and listening to the ramblings of my mind.  I hope that on some level this has helped someone.
Bye for now

Hales xxx 

Friday 20 January 2017

Cold cold cold!

Hello lovlies!
 So the winter has come in. roaring like a lion in some parts of the UK! We live on the east Norfolk/Suffolk coast and rarely see any snow, but we get awful wind and ice. We've lost count of how many times we've had to replace the garden fence due to the wind. Its a problem that we have each year. However we are more blessed than most. Some people have huge snow drifts and are snowed in for days, others weeks.
 Older people find it hard to negotiate the pavements and roads due to the ice. I myself had a quite spectacular fall a couple of years ago on a patch of ice. That will go down in family history of one of the funniest highlights of my life!

 Animals too suffer in this weather. Birds find their watering holes iced over and food scarce. They find it hard to source food and in their weakened state become prey for stronger predators. All I guess the circle of life, but a shame never the less. The rise in domestic cats has seen local bird population reduce quite dramatically and we ourselves do not encourage birds into our garden because of the large population of cats in our area.


 All this said I do enjoy the winter months. The times when we are all safely snuggled in and drinking hot chocolate, the dark nights when you can snuggle up all toasty warm with a good book and drown yourself in its stories. Lots of memories are made in these times. In the times when its too cold to go out memories are made as we play games and scrapbook. (one of our favourite things to do).

 So whatever your thoughts on the winter months, spare a thought for those less fortunate. For those who cant afford to effectively heat their home. Those who have to choose between heat and eat, and there is a growing number. Check up on elderly relatives, neighbours and friends. If you are going to the shop, check if they need anything. Yours could be the only face they see this week. Be good to yourself and keep warm!

 Bye for now Hales xxx

Friday 13 January 2017

Sleep problems and co-sleeping!

Hello people!

By the title of this post you may be forgiven for thinking this is a post about a toddler not sleeping.  Although I know this can be a huge problem for people this post is not one of those. 
Our daughter has recently started having sleep problems.  Now our daughter is eleven years old, shes not a baby and sleep problems are not a situation we have experienced before with her.
She is unable to sleep unless she is in our bed. 
Now  I am a huge advocate of co sleeping.  I co slept with our three boys and this was a huge success for us.  Each of then eventually slept in their own beds at around the five year old age.  We didn't co-sleep with her as she didn't like it from being a baby.  She much preferred to be in her own bed/cot.  So why now?
As much as I advocate co-sleeping, trying to sleep with two (not small!) adults and a eleven year old, plus the dog (who sneaks in when we are not looking), all in a king size bed is not conducive to a good nights sleep!

We've gone through the normal things with her. Stress, trouble at school, worries etc etc.  We've even checked that her room isn't too hot or cold.  She has a huge king sized bed with plenty of cushions, teddies, pillows and the like.  She has slept in the same room for five years so its not that.
We are at a total loss. 
Any ideas lovely readers?  Answers below please!!!!!!

Monday 9 January 2017

We are going through changes!

Hello!
So Ive tried many different styles on this blog. Ive tried blogging on family and friends, on crafting, on current affairs and on reviews. All of them have worked in their times but I seemed to go in fits and starts! I tend to binge post on certain subjects. This doesn't make for a consistent blog at all. And so I have come to the conclusion that this blog should not have a genre. It should be a eclectic mix of all the above and more! So I am just going to write on what ever is in my mind at the time. This could lose me some followers or (hopefully) gain me some, but I think this is the way forward for this blog.

 Crafty-Mum has evolved into The PB Family and I'm cool with that. I'm fine with the way I see this blog going and I hope that you are too. So watch out for many different kinds of posts on a eclectic mix of differing things! I hope you enjoy this and keep reading! I appreciate everyone who reads and I'm glad to have you along on this crazy journey!

 Bye for now!
Hales xxx

Monday 2 January 2017

Happy new year!

Hello everyone.
Welcome to 2017! 
I don't want this to be another post on how Ive been a bad blogger this year and how it will all be better this year, but the thing is it is true!
 I want to put my life back into some kind of order. 
 2016 was a very hard year for me. |I was diagnosed with epilepsy and continue to have up to five seizures daily. This has had a detrimental effect on my life. Especially my mobility and ability to socialise. Ive felt like I couldn't go out and shop, visit friends and generally socialise.   I felt embarrassed because of my seizures and after having a few while I was out in public it was such a negative experience that I decided the best thing was to stay indoors.  This has had a effect on the other members of our family too as because I was staying in they were too.  I have decided that this year it all needs to change.  I need to get my life back and in some kind of order.  I need to concentrate on building our blog and youtube channel and also reconnect with friends I| had started to lose touch with.  I need 2017 to be the year of me, my family, my friends and getting back my life!  
  Wow this has turned into a work of war and peace rather than a blog post!

So it just leaves me to wish you all a very blessed 2017 and I pray all your dreams come true!
Bye for now
Hales xx