Time For A New Blog

I have been thinking for a while about creating a new blog. Today I have done just that & you can find me now at World Of Maddie & Co. Very much on an posts about anything theme still but hopefully the new blog on the WordPress platform will allow me to grow more in my content. Who knows!! This blog will be staying put for the time being so you can still access old posts here for a while.

Summer Dresses

A prompt the other day for the photo challenge on Instagram was for day dresses. This got em thinking of dresses for the coming warmer seasons - they ARE coming I am sure!! Here is some of the things I saw.

1 . Embroidered Panel Sundress - Top Shop £28.
2. Blue Denim V Neck Patch Pocket Tunic Dress - New look £19.99
3. Ditsy Floral Cami Dress - Dorothy Perkins £16 ( £12.80 up until Tuesday though !!)
4. Dress With Pockets - Zara £35.99
5. Mika Sleeveless Dress - East £79 ( needs a belt I think but love this!) 

6. Pleated Floral Dress - Mela / Next £25.
7. Striped Double Layer Fit & Flare Dress - M&S £29.50.
8. Double Layer Dress - Mango £44.99.
9. Morion Dress / Retro Floral - Seasalt £59.95. ( fab vintage pattern & dress.)

10. Avril Print Hanky Hem Dress - Mint Velvet. Way out my price range at £109 but love this very much.
11. Utili Marl Tshirt Dress - Warehouse ( Not sure if this one needs a belt or not.)
12. Abstract Print Maxi Dress - M&S/Indigo Collection £39.50 ( I don't do maxi dresses very much but this is very pretty.)

As always I could have gone on & on adding more because there are lots of gorgeous dresses to be had. How I managed to pick just the 12 here i will never know.

What dresses have you been looking at and/or buying?

Thanks for reading. Have a great day.
Amanda x

Laughter Is The Best Medicine.

Watching "You've Been Framed" is Finns just before bed time treat - it absolutely kills me listening to him giggling away. Best sound ever ( well level 1st with the sound of silence when he finally falls asleep anyway!!)

Come join in the fun ....

Candle Making Sample Box.

I've always loved doing crafts. A few years ago it was card making & scrapbooks. I gave my room up though for the smallest child ( happily btw) & did not have a location anywhere else that I could at least have a craft area. ~
Anyway now that said smallest child is at school now my mind has turned to things I could do now my hobby time has appeared again.
Candle making was one of those on my list & after seeing the Candle Sampler Box from Making Your own Candles on Amazon I went ahead & ordered it. Its a 3 in 1 kit box so a few ways for me to try out this new hobby!

This 3 kits include 1 that can make between 4-8 beeswax candles, another for just 1 tea cup candle ( which is one of those that I really wanted to have a go at )
& the last 1 is this one below for making flower tart candles. This last you can make 10 altogether I think so quite a few really.

1st you have to bowl some water in a large saucepan ( about a 3rd of its volume in water.) Then you place the correct amount of wax ( this was 40g) into a smaller saucepan & place this inside the larger one.
It goes without saying that your saucepans should not be used for cooking once used so either buy cheap new ones or like I did grab my oldest ones.

Once the wax has melted , you need to add your dye. This contains red die & you need just 1g in your saucepan.
Before you pour the wax out , if wanted, add the scent - my pack comes with vanilla but of course you can use whatever you wish. 

The pack comes with 2 of the flower trays. These above are filled with the hot melted wax. *warning* very HOT!!

Drop a wax & tab assembly into each mould / make sure it settles in the centre.

Leave to set fully. This will take a couple of hours.

Gently tap the candle out of the moulds & voila!!  

As my 1st attempt I am very pleased with the outcome. I am looking forward to using the others items in the kits as well as making the rest of the tarts.

This is definitely an excellent kit if like me you wanted to have a go but didn't want to spend to much before you decide you liked it. 

If you do have a go at a kit let me know how you get on!

Thanks for reading,

Amanda x

Healthy Update 4

It is that time again then ladies & gents for another update on the weight-loss campaign.

It has to be said that whilst this months seems to have been a bit up & down in terms of trying to keep my calorie intake down , overall I am bloody proud of my self.

Since my weight loss journey began I have lost roughly 11lbs ( as of Monday 11th May. So by the time this post is up it may even be more.)

I don't think it is hugely noticeable but there are  places on my body that look a little slimmer.

I'm really beginning to take in to account more what I eat. My Fitness Pal app allows me just 1200 calories a day & there are some days that is flipping hard. Others I can do it with loads left over. Weekends are my downfall mainly especially as I don't always have time to do any exercise on the weekends either which helps the calories count more.

Exercise is going well. I'm still doing Wii Fitness Coach. As well as Davina 7 minute workout DVD. Badminton when my friend & I are able. PLUS Rob has just treated me to the Davina workout bike which will help the weekend exercise situation out a lot as I can do that in the evenings watching TV! 

A definite success for this month then & I'm hoping it will continue.

How is your weight-loss /healthy living programme going?

Thanks for dropping by.

Amanda X

All I Said Was...|| Wicked Wednesday

... the word No! Bad, bad Mummy!

#wickedwednesday 

My Ileostomy Journey - Update

I thought it was time I updated those who would be interested on my Stoma journey. You can find my original post here & subsequent posts here & here. Hopefully that will fill in those who have not so far followed my story.

There have been no more updates in the last 14 months or so because actually until February of this year there was no more to give you.

I had seen my medical consultants registrar back in July ( I think ) of last year & apart from a letter detailing that appointment a while after , I did not have anymore updates until January when I was told I needed to have another Sigmoidoscopy.

I had this done at the end of February & by the surgeon himself too which pleased me much! During the procedure ( which took about 5 minutes as it is not as bad & long as a Colonoscopy) he was able to tell me that there was some scaring. He took biopsies. He also said that as he was up happy with what he was seeing that I would at the moment be taken off the list until such time as they knew more. My letter came very quickly afterwards , with him saying the same & that he would be referring my back to my consultant until such a time I could possibly be back on the list for surgery.
I'll be honest , even a year ago, I would have been distraught for days , if not weeks. Now though & as we are now 4 years down the line, I am not phased either way tbh. Of course I would love my stomach to be stoma free but I have thankfully lived pain free in all that time & the discomfort from the bag I get occasionally is NOTHING compared to being struck down with a Crohn's attack.
I had an appointment to see the consultant - again it was a registrar. I told her how I was feeling because I felt it was good to be honest right from the start. I did ask about the Mecaptupurine that I take. If I did not have surgery could I stop taking them as they are very string pills & surely if results show that they are not actually working then why continue. 

She then told me that actually looking at the results they believe the scarring is not quite as bad as they 1st thought. So the pills , how ever small , are doing what they should. She told me not to dismiss a reversal at this stage because it may be that surgery could still be an option.

She also told me that most Fridays the digestive disease department have meetings to discuss certain cases & she wanted to bring my case up at the next one as everyone who is involved would be there. That was last week & whether this actually happened I will not know. I guess time will tell if a letter arrives. Otherwise I see the medical team again in October.

So , there is news here of sorts if not very exciting news but this post is a great way for me to update many people at once.

I am happy as I am. If the op happens, it happens. If not , I have 4 years experience under my belt ( or the stoma bag I guess :-)!! ) 4 years ago the idea of the stoma filled me with horror & the thought of anyone knowing about it was just bloody awful.  Now though I am happy to discuss things. Happy to answer any questions if I am able. At the time it felt like a life sentence, now I realise it has given me a better quality of life. 

Thank you for reading this if you have done so.
Amanda x

On The Catwalk || Wicked Wednesday

I ask hubby to take my daily outfit photo & Finn always likes to get in on the act too. he sure has some moves :-)! 

Join in with #wickedwednesdays HERE. 

April 2015 Purchases

I am coming to you today with a round up of what I was buying in April.

Starting with some footwear. I really wanted to get the mint coloured Converse but sadly my finances are not up to that level right now. I spotted these in Shoe Zone instead. Whilst they are not quite as comfy as my Converse are they are doing a good job as a much cheaper dupe.

Lilley Womens Turquoise Canvas Lace Up Shoes - £7.99.

My friend & I took a trip to Asda the other week. I picked up a few items of clothing for the boys but got a couple of things for myself too.

We all know I adore hearts so resisting these coasters was futile. 

George Home White Heart Porcelain Coasters ( set of 4.) £4

I wanted a new apron ( I hate using hubbys Homer Simpson one) & adore this cute old fashioned style pinny! 

George Home Prince's Trust Apron - £5 ( 10% of which goes towards The Prince's Trust.) They did have a pink version too but I can't find it online.

Earrings - I don't wear them very often these days & thus don't own that many. I thought these hoops ( in 3 different metals - I was wearing the silver when I took the photo_ are ideal for everyday use but still great for nights out too.

Sorry they are not online.

I seem to be loving my necklaces more this year. Maybe it is because now smallest person is now at school I do have a bit longer to consider such things. Plus now I can ( almost) pop the winter scarves away they take the place of those.

Sorry,not online either. It was £6.

One quick stop to Primark to stock up on vests. My staples for going underneath any sheer tops or loungewear.

Selection from Primark - £1.80 each.

I totted off to New Look one day as its my only decent local shop & I my mind was thinking white or cream tops. 1st I grabbed this basic vest. Again to help with layering & also to wear under the item down below!!

White Basic Vest - £3.99

I love a blazer & this one totally caught my eye.

Navy Stripe Zip Pocket Waterfall Blazer - £27.99

Sticking with the white/cream theme.

Cream Lace Panel Tie Neck Gypsy Top - £9.99

This necklace is getting a lot of wear...

Silver Sparkle Feather Spike Necklace - £6.99

Then I spotted this. Not my usual things. No idea if I will really ever wear it but it's a heart at £3.99 its worth the risk. 

Black Diamante Heart Pendant Choker

Lastly I bought 1 of the pairs of shoes I included in my Summer Footwear post!

Office/Oscar Cut Out Low Wedge Sandals - £42.

So, that is everything. I better start a list for May!

Thanks for dropping by
Amanda x

What I Wore Last Week

This last week has seen me have to bring out some boots & some days scarves too. Its May for goodness sake!!  

What Maddie Wore || Last 7 Days

Here we go with my outfit round up. I did not start the week feeling that confident & happy with my choices. Thursdays though I thought was bang on!! 

Crohn's Disease & My Guilt

I have lived with Crohn's Disease ( within the Inflammatory bowel disease family,) now for more than half my life & over the course of those years there have several experts coming up with the reasons we may get this awful disease.

One of them is that the disease can be hereditary. Whilst I do not have any family members myself who have either Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis(or both,) it does now make me a possible carrier of that bad gene if that really is the case.

As a mother of 2 now I worry all the time that they too may get this terrible disease. Knowing myself the terrible time I have had over the years before having my Illeostomy I feel the guilt at times they I may pass it on to 1 of them, or both of course. I was never told I should not have children of course but still as a mother I do time to time get more worried than others.

Brad already from time to time gets odd tummy pains. So rare though that they probably are just bugs he has picked up. But 2 points concern me. The 1st being that he is 12 years old , which is the age my own journey began - I only ever had the pains back then once a year  & for just a few hours. Not the intense weeks of pain I got by the time my problems were finally diagnosed as Crohn's.
Then secondly Brad had a evening in the Easter holidays where he was not feeling well & the pain he described was so very similar to what I have experienced with IBD.

I tried not to say too much because of course I would not want to scare him - he does after all have knowledge of how bad things can get when he has seen me at my worst - because hopefully it really was just a little bug.

He was right as rain by the next day so all was well. 

If it does happen again then I would take him to the GP. Just for a chat. After all with my own history of bowel disease I am not so much a panicky mum as just wanting to rule things out.

Of course no one can tell what the future holds & if either of them do get this then there is nothing we can do to stop it, I hope that my own journey with it will a comfort & help to them.

I try not too voice my guilt because what good does that do. I am though only human & love my boys immensely & naturally want to protect them.

If you have read this far, then thank you form doing so. 

Amanda x

New Levels || Wicked Wednesday

Finley's confidence at trying different things or going higher on somethings on his own at the park is wonderful to see. 

Head to Brummy Mummy to find the details on how you can join in with...

What I've Been Wearing

A day late but here are the pics of what I have been wearing over the last week.