Simplified Mum Life

Nina 25th July 2016 Adventures

Traveling with Twins- Glamping at Finca de Arrieta Lanzarote.

Well last Thursday we returned from a holiday in Lanzarote, while we were there we booked into a Yurt for a couple of nights.

From Friday afternoon when we checked in to Sunday morning when we checked out I went offline! – This is a great place to do a phone detox. – More on this in a later post!

Lanzarote Retreats have an amazing portfolio of properties and an eco village, Finca De Arrieta where we stayed.

We arrived on the Friday afternoon and Self Checked in, the key hanging in the door of the yurt. In the private garden of our yurt was a modern kitchen area, in it was a welcome basket with tea, milk coffee & snacks.

We soon unpacked our bag and had a wander around the site.

: SAMSUNG CSC

First into the community area which housed an honesty fridge” where you need to be careful as its easy to strike up quite a tab when you’re not parting with money there and then!

There is a comfy floor cushion area great for having a go with the guitar that’s there.

Out side this is the shared pool. The pool is in the style of Cesar Manrique(An Artist and architect born in Lanzarote) It is solar heated and is a great size for kids to have a splash or to do a few lengths first thing in a morning.

We arrived in the heat of the day so head to the “honesty Shop” and grab a couple of ice lollies to cool down.

Once the sun has gone down a little we explore the rest of the site. Grabbing a couple of carrots that I’ve been told to bring we head to feed the donkeys who I’m told may be pregnant. Near the donkeys are the chickens. there were no eggs for us that day but we did manage to get one on our last day.

There is only one thing to do after seeing the animals and that’s to test out the play park!

After working up an appetite on the play equipment we went back to the yurt and fire up our very own BBQ . While Daddy is on chef duty J&M take a nap in the Hammock .

For a treat after dinner we took a walk down the path to the beach with J&M’s new kites.

It’s soon dark, and we finally manage to put the kids in bed (everything was just too exciting so they didn’t want to go to bed) and hubby and I have a drink sat on the sun loungers (now Moon loungers) and we watch the stars. Up that end of the Island there is so little light pollution its great for stargazing We could even see mars!

: Mars is the tiny red dot bottom right

The next morning we woke and had a lazy morning I went for a swim, the kids played in the shared covered day bed near by and hubby sat with his coffee on one of the sunloungers by the pool.

In the evening we had a drive out but J&M were both tired and grumpy so we headed back to a nearby restaurant and while dinner arrived they had a little play on the beach – The restaurant is just a little walk from the Finca De Arrietta.

That night we did a little more star-gazing.

The next day I woke early before the sun had risen from the sea and I spotted a lady we had made friends with the day before. We watched the sunrise and drank a cuppa before anyone else even knew it was a new day.

Soon after another swim it was time to check out and pay for all of the things we had put on our tab from the honesty shop!

I would recommend this place to anyone wanting a quality Glamping experience – The accommodation was comfy and clean & the whole site feels safe for my children to play.

The pool & community areas were amazing and they were cleaned every day!

We will definitely be going again to Finca De Arrieta. It was great to just switch off for a while. The kids loved the play park and feeding the Donkeys, We all enjoyed looking if the chickens had laid any eggs!

*This post is not sponsored and our trip was paid for in full by ourselves This is an honest opinion of our stay!

Nina 22nd July 2016 Health & Fitness

Fitness Friday – 10,000 Steps & 4 pints of water?

Good Morning everyone.

I need to up the ante regarding my fitness and well-being.

If you saw Mays post ‘They weren’t all toned size 6′ you will know that I joined the Bannatynes Gym.

However I’m not really feeling motivated at Bannatynes to be honest.

I think I am going to go back to the spa after this month has finished as it just feel better there, the pool is brighter and the atmosphere is more calming!

I never got around to joining the zumba class – I was ill the first week then my anxiety was on high alert so I never got around to going!

With my emotional health in mind the spa is a better choice for me!

So to improve my emotional health & fitness I have gone back to basics – I have donned the I Watch and started tracking my steps.

We are supposed to be taking around 10,000 steps per day to be classed as active. For the past week I have only managed 5,000 per day So this is where I think I need to start.

Also water plays a vital part of our well-being we should be drinking 8 x 8oz glasses of water per day converted to pints that’s around 4 pints I think I’m drinking half of that.

I have one pint before bed and half a pint on waking. then about another pint through the day. So not bad but I do drink a lot of tea too!

As soon as I get back from my camping weekend with the girls I really need to put some exercise back into my everyday.

I’m going to be tracking my steps on my iwatch and adding yoga to my mornings again!

I will be doing a weekly post called Fitness friday here I will update you with anything I’m doing fitness wise as well as posting how many steps I’ve managed to do each day

along with my weekly post I will be on Instagram each evening with my daily steps and water consumption. Follow me here to see how I do & If you fancy joining in post your steps with the hashtag #rfacsteps I will repost as many as I can!

I would also like to get back into watching what I eat I have joined my fitness pal Hopefully I will manage to track what I eat!

If you would like to follow me on here just click the picture.

Please leave me some words of encouragement below.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to check up on my daily steps.

Nina 20th July 2016 Friends

Thoughts for a friend!

You know when you’ve just posted about how much your little ones are pissing you off then you find out that an old friends child is currently lying in a hospital bed her mother terrified of what is happening to her child.

I will continue to post about my children annoying me. And how proud I am of them, as that is life.

However, just for today this post is for my friends

I want to take time for them to know even though I’ve not seen them or phoned them every day. I think about them a lot! They were a rock when I needed one. And they have looked after my husband and me on several occasions.

I don’t pray, however, I will be sending positive thoughts to them.

In this world that seems to be full of badness please send your good thoughts to my friend & her child.

Please take a min when your children are annoying you and remember how lucky you are that they are there.

I will be hugging my children a little more tightly today.

Nina 20th July 2016 Wicked Wednesday

Wicked Wednesday – I wan’t My Cardigan

Last night we went for a lovely drink on the beach front The kids played lovely, me and hubby were able to chat! By chat I mean catch Pokemon!

The sun soon went down and it turned a little chilly (probably about 20 degrees!)

I had brought J a hoody to put on and M had her denim Jacket – Unfortunately this wasn’t right! she wanted her cardigan.

I think she may have been a little over tired as all the way from the cafe to the car she repeated she wanted her cardigan. I offered her my shawl but it wasn’t good enough. Her denim jacket she protested “still feels cold” – I actually think she ment the cardigan felt more comfy.

So all the way home in the car she still wanted her cardigan!

Then we got home I gave her the cardigan – “but it’s too late now were going to bed”

You know when your kids get so tired they just focus on that one thing. but then the thing is just a word that they fixate on!

Yeh that!

This photo is pre “I want my cardigan”

Leave a comment if you suffer with over tired object fixation!

Joining in with Brummy Mummy of 2’s Wicked Wednesday

Nina 18th July 2016 Adventures

Traveling with Twins – Surviving the Airport. My Top Tips!

Hola,

I’m Currently at 32 thousand feet M has control of my IWatch and J is sat watching Miles on his Electronic Nanny.

We left home at 7am and its now 2.30 in the afternoon.

It has been a long day already and we don’t land until after 4pm.

We are not new to traveling however each time we learn a little more about the best way to reduce the stress on our travels.

Arrive in good time – There is nothing worse than arriving late and in a panic. Plan your trip – Are there road works? Do you have enough petrol? Fill up the day before if you want that extra 10 mins in bed!
Bring activities for the little ones! – Our twins are 4 and I let them pack their hand luggage themselves. I do advise checking it before you get to the airport however as liquids and sharp objects are frowned upon through security. I also make sure they have their favorite comfort be that a teddy, a dummy for smaller ones or a blanket.
Charge those Electronic nannies –We were early for our check in this morning (I know Un heard of!) J & M were able to

entertain themselves with their Tablets & toys.
Toilet stops – While Hubby cued with the suitcases I took J & M off to the toilet even if they say they don’t need it right then I tend to bribe them with a sticker if it means I’m not halfway through security with “mummy I need a wee, Mummy I’m gonna wee, Mummy I’ve wee’d” in my ear.
Wheel your own! – Last time we were away I let My two pick their own wheeled cabin bags. This way they are more likely to carry their own stuff! – It makes them feel grown up and save me or Daddy carrying a thousand bags!
Remove shoes, coats, etc. – when going through security You need to remove shoes if they have a substantial sole or if your kids are like mine and they have lights in their shoes they obviously have a battery in so they will need to come off too.
Fold pushchairs- Babies should be removed from pushchairs and pushchairs folded and put through the scanner. This cam mean you need to empty it of blankets toys etc.– Yes you can take them to the aircraft door on most flights check your airline if unsure!
Book the lounge. – It’s not as crowded there is complementry WiFi and the food and drinks are included. Sometimes you can get a good deal on the lounge if you are booking car parking – Ours came with the price of the car park this time round.
Snacks – I put a couple of snacks in our hand luggage. airport prices are not cheap!
Did I mention Toilet stops?
Don’t rush to the gate – Normally by the time you’re on your way to the gate you have already been given your seat number so why rush. Those that board first are on the plane longer on the ground meaning more chance your little ones are going to get board or need a wee!