GROMMETS - OUR JOURNEY: HOW LONG IT TOOK & WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

I was mooching around the blog, tidying up some posts and I realised not only had I not really spoke about Theo's constant battle with ear infections, but I hadn't shared our journey to when he got his grommets fitted last year. Although ear infections are pretty common we had a really tough time and as someone who has never had one before I was completely bewildered by them, and the thought of grommets. So I thought it would be helpful to write a post about it for anyone searching for answers or just some help.

TO 2020, & BEYOND...

Welcome 2020. The year we officially became a trio of Insley's. And another year to try and get back into the swing of my blog...in March!

WE GOT MARRIED (& SPENT UNDER 5K): TIPS TO CUT COSTS FOR A BUDGET BUT BEAUTIFUL WEDDING

As soon as Tom & I got engaged, we started to discuss how on earth we were going to get married. Did you know the average wedding in UK racks up a bill of £30,000! I mean a big round of applause to everyone that is spending that but in my shoes, for me, it makes me feel a little bit queasy.
Don't get me wrong, if I had my forever home and I had that type of money available I probably would consider it but short of a lottery win, that wasn't going to happen. Even so, I still wanted to feel like the princess and to marry my best friend and make us all apart of the Insley family.
I had to make a plan that meant cutting corners without breaking the bank but without sacrificing the magic 13 year old me still really wanted. So here it is, how I planned our wedding in 12 months with a budget of £5000 (with a few professional pictures chucked in the mix....)

A TRIP TO WEST MIDLAND SAFARI PARK | THE BEST PLACE FOR ANIMALS IN THE MIDLANDS

For Easter this year, my Mum and Dad treated us to a day out as a family, all together. They had taken Theo to West Midland Safari Park last year and he’d loved it, even with his limited vocabulary of ANIMALS and ROAR. I’m pretty sure that neither Tom or I have been to a safari park before so we were probably just as excited for this day out too. All 5 of us with tea flasks in toe and a bulky car seat squeezed into my Dads car at 8am ready for the trip. Although it’s only an hour or so’s drive from our house we wanted to get there mega early to make the most of the animals!

OUR MINI BREAK TO EDINBURGH: CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, PROPOSALS AND A SHIT LOAD OF WIND!

As you may of heard, we're engaged! I mentioned in a recent update post that it happened in Edinburgh during a little Christmas mini break and I thought it would be nice to share the trip with you ( almost 4 months later, because you know that's just what how I am!)

In the middle of December, we got in our trusty family Corsa at the crack of dawn and drove the 287 miles to Edinburgh. The 5 and half hour drive was completely worth saving £200 odd on flights/trains so armed with a full Spotify playlist, a plan of what services to stop at and very comfy clothes we made our way there. Our main aim of the weekend was to just spend some proper quality time together, child free and away from general life stresses like shitty nappies and being homeless. I booked the hotel around 7 months previous and would probably of done the same with our travel arrangements if the car wasn't so cost effective with fuel. We had also pre-booked our activities such as The Botanical Gardens & Edinburgh Castle.

UPDATE | WELCOME 2019

Christ it's March already. January was the longest month ever and then BOOM, were in March and there are Easter Eggs everywhere! If you've read my previous post then you'll get the gist as to why I've been a little quiet. Juggling homelessness, a new job and then a new house was enough without having to add writers block to the list of reasons why I don't sleep. But here I am, yet again, trying to put all my effort into my little spot on the internet. After such a serious post like the last one I thought I would clarify that although 2018 wasn't the greatest year, I am still lucky! Here's to 2019!

WHEN YOUR SUDDENLY WITHOUT A HOME: WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND YOURSELF HOMELESS

The back end of 2018 was a little bit of a slap in the face for my little family and I. In the summer, the landlord which I rented my house from decided that, without any warning, they wanted to gain possession of their house. Myself, as a single parent with no job, who was still paying off debts from the move to the current household less than 1 year previous, was given 2 months to ship out and find somewhere else to live. Now if you've lived in rented accommodation you know that you need a little pot of money behind you to do this. I did not have this. It also came to my attention that even if I could source the money, 90% of the agencies/landlords would not accept me as I was relying on benefits at that time. I was stuck. 8 months on from receiving the letter and we now have a lovely, permanent residence through a housing association but the transition was not easy. However, after spending most of the 6 months I was without a fixed address Googling for advise on everything I thought writing a post about my experience might help someone, somewhere, in some way.