WORKING FROM HOME IN THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

I'm always going to be one to scream from the rooftops all of the benefits that come with working from home, but of course with the perks come the pitfalls too - of which they are plentiful, believe me. Yet during the summer holidays this year, I've realised just how truly lucky I am to be working from home. Sure it's been difficult at times, and not having the most reliable childcare situation has meant a lot (and I mean A LOT) of super late nights, but it's also meant I'm home with my kids and whilst a lack of sleep is apparent, there are so many other issues we've managed to avoid that had I been still in my 9-5 job out of the house, we would of had to face.

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH TESCO F&F

With the fresh school term creeping closer and closer, I knew I had to bite the bullet and accept that Noah is starting school. Internal sobbing aside for a moment, it was time to go uniform shopping and whilst it's still upsetting that I'm losing him to education, the idea of kitting him out top to toe and seeing him all suited and booted was exciting. We headed to Tesco as we'd heard such great things, with an 82% 'would buy again' rating on Mumsnet, that spoke volumes to me along with a whole host of fantastic claims F&F are making this year - we knew it would be a crime not to road test them.

I'll admit that I have much higher standards this year for uniform, that I did when he began part time school hours in January. Noah is a fresh shirt every day kind of kid, if there is paint out he'll be in it, food colouring up to his arm pits and powder paint galore by a Friday afternoon. I wont lie, I found it exhausting and trying not to roll my eyes when he would ruin another t-shirt. After all, it isn't exactly his fault - kids learn through play and I want him to be able to get as messy and creative as he likes without having to worry that his Mum is going to moan about the mess. Tesco really agree with their own stance that 'Kids come home with stains - it's the sign of an active day. But with a bunch of new quality updates in F+F's school uniform, like stain-repellent and As New technology, you can guard against those lunchtime spills and hat-trick celebrations.' I mean if that isn't music to any parents ears then I'm not sure what would be. Plus they've even guaranteed their uniforms for 100 days, so you can have confidence that their uniforms will last, and if they don't? Bring them back for an exchange.

After heading to store and picking up the pieces we need, I was firstly impressed that even our local store which is quite small, had a super easy to find section all laid out for back to school. Even if I was sending John in for something (a brave task) with just how well presented everything was I'm sure he would have found it with ease. My first impressions of the uniform are fantastic, we opted for the plain polo t-shirts which at £2.50 for a pack of two is a serious purse pleaser, we also chose a pair of the slimmer fitted school trousers in grey.

I can already massively tell the difference between our new F&F school trousers, and his old pair on feel alone, something I really recommend doing as it truly shows the quality and extra mile Tesco have gone to. The knees are without a doubt reinforced, which is perfect if you've got a son or daughter like mine that loves nothing more than to skid on their knees, we're usually about a week into the term before I start to see the bobbling and fading so reinforced is exactly what he needs. When it comes to t-shirts, Noah can wear either white or navy and whilst my Mum brain is screaming 'opt for navy', not many other children do so I don't want him to stand out for my own selfish washing reasons. The stain repellent technology is a huge appeal for me, it's not something I've heard of before and I'm intrigued to see by the end of our 100 days, if it's lived up to expectation. The polos are comfortable, no itchy collars and not a sign of stiffness to them, given they're wearing school uniform for such a long period of time of course you want them to be as comfortable as possible, so F&F have taken care of that worry for you.

Overall I am really impressed with the uniform, there are a lot of big claims and something tells me I'll be sat here in one hundred days screaming and raving about F&F. We're only at the very beginning of our education journey with Noah, as he's about to take his first steps into foundation in just a couple of weeks - so if we've hit the uniform jackpot this early on, I'll be incredibly impressed.

100 Days Later

With the end of term in sight, and our 100 day guarantee almost up, it only seems appropriate to look back and really see if the proof was in the pudding or more aptly, the reinforcement was in the knees on our Tesco F&F trousers. We was always incredibly impressed with the uniform from the start, from the fit to the feel but durability was a big issue for us, Noah goes through school trousers faster that Patrick goes through nappies so I was definitely intrigued to see how we would get on. In October I actually went back to Tesco and grabbed Noah another set, not through need but more greed, he's at his Nanas fairly often and it made sense to have some extra pairs and even though the trousers are two months apart in age almost, you can tell absolutely no difference in them - a telling tale for just how well they wear. They haven't grown baggier in the wash which is something I've found with competitor brands, they become slack after a while, yet our F&F's are still going strong and fit him incredibly well.

It isn't all about the trousers though, having t-shirts that can stay white are pretty vital and an almost impossible task when you have a five year old that seems to think body painting is part of the national curriculum. But we're here, approaching Christmas and not a paint stain in sight. One t-shirt isn't as gleamingly white as the others but I think that's more a faux par on my washing skills than any smear on F&F, given all 7 of the others are in immaculate condition. They've withstood every chalking session, after school ice lolly and play dough play date, I always felt frustrated that his school uniform entailed wearing white shirts but it's not even a worry on my mind anymore. I know I don't have to snap up new t-shirts every half term to ensure he's looking tip top and I have Tesco's F&F to thank for that.



*This is an advert collaboration between Mumsnet and Tesco however all opinions are completely our own.

PJ MASKS LIGHTS AND SOUNDS ROBOT REVIEW

If you haven't heard of PJ Masks then you must have been hidden under a rock, my boys are absolutely infatuated with them. Having met them in the flesh this weekend, you can imagine how many times we've heard the words Owlette and Catboy in the past twenty four hours. So when the opportunity to road test the brand new PJ Masks Lights and Sounds Robot came up, we grabbed it with both hands, which I'm grateful for as having had a good week or so experimenting with it, I know it's one of those toys that is going to be kicking around the house for quite some time.

DOING IT FOR 'THE GRAM'

We all laugh and joke don't we, as bloggers or just as people who are pretty active on social media, that something is 'instagrammable' or 'insta-worthy'. I've watched every blogger and their dog this summer head to lavender fields, sunflower farms and pick your own patches, the photos are always beautiful, fit in with any Instagram dream grid and firmly tick off a box for being part of the bandwagon. But why? Why do we do it? I thought it over this weekend, as I debated making an almost two hour drive for lavender glory before giving my brain a reality check and talking some sense into myself. And perhaps these are the reasons I'll never be the owner of a swipe up function, or never truly be '#goals', should we be pushing ourselves to visit beautiful places every weekend or is it all for the sake of a picture and selling a dream that is so far away from our reality?

DISNEY PUPPY DOG PALS TOY COLLECTION REVIEW

If you've got little ones, you'll almost certainly have heard of Puppy Dog Pals, the friendly animation series on Disney Junior where little pugs Rolly and Bingo go on crazy adventures around their town (yes I'm thoroughly invested myself - ok) Well when we received some of the brand new launched Puppy Dog Pals toy collection, I knew the boys would go bonkers and rightly so, it's pretty amazing. I always find little figures really long lasting toys, Patrick enjoys them at two and Noah is still really into them at almost five, so naturally when I opened the box and saw what was released, I was excited for them.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND | LITTLE LIFE BACKPACKS

The summer holidays are in full swing, so with what seems like every other British family, we're enjoying as many days out as we can. Who knows how long this beautiful weather will last (it's already been months it feels like, I know) so we truly want to cherish every moment as when autumn and winter hits I'm sure we'll be doing what we do best and having a good old moan. My boys need a exercising, like animals, they have to get a run out or they'll be going up the walls and ultimately send me crazy in the process. When LittleLife sent us some of their Buzz Lightyear backpacks, it was the perfect excuse for another fun filled summer day out - just with that little Disney magic on top.

THE BENEFITS OF VILLA HOLIDAYS FOR FAMILIES

I feel as though we've tried and tested most varieties of holidays as a family. We've done all inclusive, half board and villa vaycays too, all of which have their own pros and cons but in terms of family holidays I do tend to lean on the side that staying in a villa just slightly outweighs the other options for a variety of reasons. Don't get me wrong it's lovely to have someone cooking the food for you, cleaning the plates from your table and making you drinks on tap - but when it comes to having children in the mix sometimes there is a convenience in a villa that you just can't get anywhere else. When we head off on our own it's usually my parents villa in Alicante, it's picturesque, a home away from home and thanks to all of the below, it actually feels like we had a holiday when we come home.

GETTING A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP

It's fair to say good sleep feels a bit of a myth to me, I would say John too but I think that boy could sleep on a washing line as my Nan would say. Sadly, our youngest hasn't adopted this trait from his dad and alas has caused complete havoc with this thing they call sleep, for the last two years. I'm probably giving him a bit of a bad rep as *touch wood* over the few months we have come to see more full nights sleep than broken, which is a huge achievement. But whilst my little Pip isn't a big fan of a good nights sleep, I certainly am and it's something I've lusted after since becoming a parent almost five years ago.