WAHM and the treat trove

Having your period isn’t fun and that’s why I’m so happy that I’ve found this lovely little company called The treat trove, and it’s not only because they sell amazing Cloth sanitary pads, cups and awesome sea sponges (I highly recommend you to try sea sponges if you don’t want to use the chemical filled disposable tampons) it’s because of their awesome treat boxes that you can buy on a monthly basis. They always contain a few cloth pads and some other Lovely WAHM made goodies, chocolate, and soap, wax melts and Candles.  I’ve also had one box with a wish bracelet and some bling for my phone all hand made with love from some amazing work at home women.  I’ve received two boxes and I cannot wait to order my next one......


(This was Julys box and I loved it pads where from NGOZI sews and the liners from muff fluff whom I’ve never tried before really loved, there was also a little bath bomb (my husband thought it was a cake) , wax melt, chocolate , a wish bracelet and some phone bling.)





 

The treat trove is a small company run by women for women ( they have however done  a fathers day treat box as well) , even thought my husband used the soap I received in my first ever treat box and we also use the wax melt together. I was happily surprised when I received my first box as it was all lovely well made things in it and well worth the price of the box. They have period boxes, sweet boxes a few different gift boxes like a teen box, postpartum box and a hug in a box. They also havelots of pads and accessories that you might need for your personal hygiene as a woman.


 

(Above are my very first treat box two Amazing pads, soap, wax melt, a little mirror , a small wet bag and choclate.)

Have you run out of Christmas ideas for mum, Nan, aunty and maybe your teenage daughter? Fear no more the Treat Trove is doing a Christmas box this year as well. I can’t wait to order one, and a really of course their sweet box which I haven’t yet had the chance to try. (My husband has said he’ll order one for me next month as I deserve some pampering apparently, so I’ll let you all know how it was with pictures of all the sweets of course)


Most women don’t talk about the pain or the bleeding you have after your babies been born, but you will be in pain or feel uncomfortable at least I was in quite a lot of pain after my last pregnancy. The treat trove has got a solution that might help the new mum feel a bit better after  a pregnancy when your babies born and that is by coming up with a lovely post partum box. I haven’t had the chance to try nor will try as I’m not having another baby. If I’d known about them when I was pregnant I would have ordered a box. So I might order one as a treat to my pregnant friend once baby has arrived or when it’s nearer her due date, as a little friendly gift.

 



I first heard about the treat trove through a Facebook group dedicated to work at home mums which is a really lovely Group, in which you can get some great ideas for presents and other little treats to your near and dear ones.  I also love to support the small businesses and what’s even better is that you always get unique things which are made with love and dedication, some say that they are a bit more expensive to buy from than the local high street shops, which they are if you see to the really cheap stores I will not mention any names but you know what once I’m talking about. The small businesses cannot compete with the mass produced things you can buy in a bigger high street shop, but you know that everything is humanely done and that the person that’s made your item has put their heart and soul in to your custom made object if you buy from a WAHM or other small family business.  Everything is one of a kind in one way or another when you buy from a WAHM. I’m a student mum with two children and I can afford to buy WAHM made things with a bit of budgeting and time planning, so why shouldn’t you be able to do the same?  My husband has been unemployed for a few years and is now himself a college student so we’ve been forced to turn every penny for years, and I’ve become an excellent planner and budgeter.

One way for me to not only save money but to also help the environment was to not use disposable nappies on my Children or disposable sanitary products on myself and that’s how I even got in touch with the WAHM community in the UK at all one thing lead to another.  

The treat trove is a small business that are Selling Amazing Products for women such as different brands of CSPS all Lovely hand made with love from different women round England, some of the makers are:

MUFF FLUFF-  TCS ECO- NGOZI SEW- HUGGALLY WUGGALLY- AUNT IRMA's  - CHUBBY JOES BUMBLEBEES- BEAU BESPOKE- SECRETS CLOTHPADS – HONOUR YOUR FLOW- ECO RAINBOW

 As you can see there are quite a few options of makers and they are all lovely (I’ve got most of them and my plan is to try them all), so I’m certain you’ll find your favourite amongst them all. If you never tried cloth but are curious then I’d like to say please try them you will not go back once you’ve found your favourites. Don’t be put off by your friends and family that tells you they would never use them or if the first pads don't work, try a different maker or ask the one you bought from if they perhaps could adjust them to your preferences sometimes that’s possible as well.
I had plans to add some useful information in this post about reusable sanitary Products, (I know I’ve written a post before about this as well before but it never hurts to redo another one with more information. But I thought that it was more fitting to do a completely new post about this later on, so in my next post I'll add some facts and information about cloth, and also some comments from a Lovely community of cloth addicts.  (The treat trove has got a lovely little chat group as well where you can get lots of help if you ask)

Please let me know if you have any questions you would like answered I'll try to answer them to me best abilities.

You can find the treat trove and try all the goodies for yourself on either
http://thetreattrove.co.uk/products
Or on facebook The treat trove

I have not been asked to write any of this as you know if I find something I believe is great then I’ll write about it, I’d never write anything if I didn’t believe in the Products even if I got asked to do so.

(May sweet box)

My plan is to write a Little Review about all the boxes i get home after everyone thats ordered one has recived their box, as it might be fun to see how different all the boxes can be.

I'm backed....... have you missed me?

As per request by my Nan………….. And most likely a trick to get me to sit down I’ll write a few blog post as it’s been quiet from me lately.

I’ve spent a busy summer working and trying to look after the kids when I haven’t been working which have been most days during my normal shift and also a lot of long extra nights during my summer job. Which has been extremely fun and educational and it’s also gotten me to change my major from studying to become a Swedish and English teacher to a Swedish and Swedish as a second language teacher.  My third semester starts 1^st of September which means only four more years of university for me. It’s fun but challenging it’s a juggling act between trying to work extra, studying and taking care of two kids but nothing is impossible and I’m loving every minute of it, but sometimes I’ve felt like I’m a clown with plates on my head, hands and feet trying to balance it all.

I’m now up north in Sweden with the kids and my grandparents as I needed a break from everything whilst I could since my summer job ended early and I promised everyone that I wouldn’t take any extra shift in the schools until my university course starts up again after summer holidays.  As much as I would have loved to see my friends in England it would have been a lot more stressful to go there than to stay here. This was the better choice as it’s calmer and a better economical option for us at the moment, as both my laptop and phone managed to break down at the same time and I kind of need both for school.

So I’m currently in a small lovely cabin which my grandparents own next to a mountain and the view of a lake on the other side, so it could be a lot worse. Kids can be outside playing round and I can just chill and work out. I’ve finally managed to get back in to exercising other than walking/biking to and from work as I just haven’t had the time over the summer to do anything else. Charley wanted to go for a run every morning with his mum so we have and he’s fast, so that was a good warm up and after I’ve asked my grandparents to look after the kids whilst have had half hour running session to myself. I haven’t run far or fast but loved the fact that 3 km took me only 25 minute which is awesome for someone that hasn’t jogged all summer. I’ve promised myself to try and take some time to myself to exercise regularly again not only to walk everywhere but to actually run or do something else as I feel calmer after which helps my illness a little bit as well. It’s also a bonus that  I don’t feel as stressed when I’ve had the chance to exercise which is good both for myself and also for my upcoming autumn semester in school, as I tend to think clearer if I exercise regularly.

I don’t believe in the word alone time when you are a parent as i believe when you become a parent your children will be the biggest part of your life.  Everything I do is for my children but a healthy happy mum is always good for the kids no one can argue about that.  I’m most of the time happy round my kids even those days when I feel stressed I always make time for my kids. To spend quality time with my kids is something I value every day, even though I’ve got 100 things on my plate like work or a lot of homework I always make sure to read bedtime stories or to play with Lego if that’s what my kids want to do that day. But if I can help not to feel as stressed by doing something simple like running three times a week I then believe I’d be even happier round my kids so therefore I promise myself to do so, as it will be beneficial for everyone in the family one way or another.

 

So now I’ve got that out of the way I’ve got a few reviews to write in the next upcoming posts. I’ve got a huge love for great WHAMs (work at home mums) my kids clothes wardrobes are filled with wham clothes and my own wardrobe has got some lovely wham made underwear and tops alike.

As you also know I used cloth on my children and myself I use cloth CSPs so first out is a lovely little company I found a few months ago called the treat trove, which sells WHAM CSPs and they also have a few amazing monthly treat boxes and post partum boxes. They also have a selection of sea sponges and cups which I’ve also tried of course. So my next post will be about the UK based small company the treat trove, keep your eyes peeled.  

http://thetreattrove.co.uk/ 

 

 

photosession for kär o lek :)

So I decided to only write things in this blog that I really cared about and wanted people to know and lately I’ve been really busy with school essays and work which isn’t really fun to read about. I’ve also spent a lot of time with the most important people in my life, my family, my husband, kids and everyone else that I love spending time with. But since my husband’s working away and the kids have had an early night for a change I thought I should sit down and write about what’s happened in my life and a few funny things like taking part in a photoshoot for the lovely eco-friendly kids’ store http://www.karolek.se/. My friend is running it and she’s an amazing person so I wish her all the best.  It’s also time for charley’s birthday next week he’ll be turning four and is really looking forward to a fun birthday party with his family and friends I’m currently trying to come up with some fun outdoor games to play and how to make his ice hockey themed cake. We also had time to celebrate my amazing mum who had a very big birthday year which was a lovely day spend with family.

But I think I will start with the really fun and messy play photoshoot we had the other day. Luckily the weather was really nice and we could take pictures both outside and indoors. I’m so excited that we had the opportunity to help a friend. As you know I believe that everyone should start to think a bit more about the things were buying for ourselves and where they come from and are made of. I want to know that the paint my children plays with during arts and crafts are chemical free and this is why it’s so fun to help a smaller company that also are promoting these things. I know that the owner of the shop loves these things as much as I do. Plus, the kids got a really fun day out of it playing with finger-paint and painting their nails with edible nail varnish which www.kärolek.se is the only retailer of in Sweden which is really cool. I really can’t wait to see the pictures of the kids but took some of my own as they looked so happy.  I know the eco options can seem more expensive but I know that in the long run its worth it and also kids don’t need a million toys to be happy I know that time together is very appreciated as well so we have lots of arts and crafts days at home. I’m not saying you should by toys for your children just try and find a better option when you buy them. Look round a bit and try and get the things that are the best for the environment which also will mean less chemical for your children when they play with the toys. I’m not lecturing anyone and of course you buy whatever toys you want for your kids in the end but this might make you aware that there are different options to everything. But in the end you do what’s the best for your family.

Eco sanitary produtcts ( pads and cups)

                                                                           My organicup

As you might have worked out I love reusable things such as nappies. But I also use reusable things for myself.  I let my kids wear cloth nappies for a reason and that is because I don’t want to cover my body in plastic and paper and that’s how I see onetime nappes and menstruation products. This is why I use cloth sanitary pads as well as a menstruation cup depending on how I feel. I’m going to give you some reasons why I use reusable sanitary products and I’m hoping you’ll rethink your use of different menstruation products after this.

1, It’s better for the environment to use reusable products because you don’t help the mountain of garbage that can’t get reused.

2, It’s very friendly for your wallet because you don’t have to spend money every month sanitary pads or tampons. You have a onetime cost every ten years which will save you a lot of money over time. Just think that all women at least will have their period for 30 years very roughly as we are all very different there are some that will have it for much longer and some much shorter.

3, A cup Its better for your health, do you know all the material in your tampons for example? Hardly anyone does as there isn’t any information on the packets about the ingredients which is very concerning for me as I want to know what I have in my body for a week every month for the next 30 years.

4, You are minimising the risk of toxic shock syndrome if you use a cup instead of tampons.

4 Some can feel dry when you use a tampon which can be painful. A menstruation Cup collet the fluids and don’t suck up the fluids like a tampon do.  

5, Who would choose boring white plastic if you got to choose between them or your favourite patterns? For me my period isn’t fun but I will grab every chance to make my life more colourful and fun even the boring parts. My different pads make my life a lot more colourful.

6, You can have the cup in for longer than a tampon which is a really good thing night time without it risking your health, and you can have use it even before your period if you know you’re expecting it soon which you shouldn’t do with a tampon.

7, But don’t they leak?  No the pads work just the same as onetime pads, you have different once depending on whether you have heavy or light flow and extended nigh time use. As for the cups I’d like to say no as well as long as you have the right cup and you’ve gotten hang of, it won’t leak until its full.

8, One of the arguments against is that its unsanitary or really hard to the cup use. I’d like to say to my defence it’s not unsanitary as you sterilise the cup before you use it.  I sterilise it before I use it for the first time and after my period has finished as well. I keep the pads in a little PUL* bag the used once in my bag or in a little one at home and I wash them in either 60 or 90 degrees which kills the germs. Yes, they can look a bit stained after washing but just put them in the sun and the sun will fade the stains never use bleach or anything else similar. The cup isn’t hard to use when you have gotten hang of it the in the beginning it might be hard to get it right before you get used to it. With my second period using a cup I got the hang of it and after that it’s like riding a bike.

9, And for my last argument I’d like to give you a really good argument for reusable products. You’ll never run out of protection.

And last I’d like to make a little how to use guide out of my own experiences, if you have any more ideas please feel free to write them I’m the comments or if you got a question about any of them.

Cloth sanitary pads:

1, Make sure you always wash your pads without softener as that will ruin the suction of the pad.

2, Never use bleach or any stain removers, the sun is a really good stain remover.

3, Its very individual how many pads you need I combine the pads with my cup so I don’t need as many but only you know how many you’ll need as its very individual how many days and how much you bleed.

4, Wash your pads in 60- 90 degrees with preferably perfume free detergent.

5, Storage is something people do different I use a small PUL bag during days for my pads and when I get home they stay in a small bucket with cold water and get washed with minis nappies. Some people store them without water so it’s up to you.  I wash the nappies every other day so the pads don’t stay for long in water. I change the water daily but you’ll find out what works best for you and how much washing you have to do.

5, Do not tumble-dry

I've tried a few different brands mostly work at home mums and their different brands with different materials. I even have some I’ve made myself. But I also got the honour to be a test pilot for poops which was really fun especially since I loved the sanitary pads that they came up with.  I love being able to help and give feedback when it’s about something I’m really passionate about and I have to say that out of all my different pads poops once are one of the best once I’ve tried and I have not been asked to write about Poops but I wanted to because I think it would be a positive experience as a firs time user to cloth to try them.

I’ve tried to answer as clearly as I possibly could and tried to cover as much as I can about cloth pads and cups. But if you have any more questions feel free to ask or if you feel like I’ve missed something. After all we all have different experiences and ideas and that’s a really good thing.  What works for me might not work for you but it’s all about finding the system that works the best for you.

The webpage to poops is www.poops.se and the sanitary pads will hopefully come out online today I’m so excited.

Plus, there are a lot on pages on social media where work at home mums have groups and sell which are all round the world and I’ve tried a few whom I like and I love my own ones as well.

*PUL bag is a bag made from a material that will won’t let through any fluids. The same material is used on some nappies that are reusable.

Not all my sanitary pads but some

workout day yesterday ;)

 Yesterday I had a really lovely day I’m in school to become a teacher so for a month now I’ll be at a local college to follow another teacher round to learn and get some inspiration plus see about everything we’ve read about since last august and it is so much fun. It’s even more fun since I’m at my old college which I graduated from 2008 and not much has changed about how the school looks but a lot has changed about the way you teach. 

But that’s not what I’m going to write about yesterday’s training session which was a lot of stomach has funnily left me with pain in my legs but I’m sure that the jogging after school and tomorrows training session after school will take care of that.

Before now I haven’t don’t that much exercise only a lot of walking which has helped but I’m no at that point where I want to get a fit body and not only lost weight. Plus, I feel a lot better about myself when I get a chance to exercise my body and head feels in the game and I’ve got a problem to stress a bit too much and worry about things I shouldn’t but working out helps me control all this and makes me a happier person over all.

I’ve lost ten kilos so far and I feel a lot happier with myself but now and I’m not in a rush to lose more really quick but I’m after to feel healthy and happy and feel good about myself and toning up a bit more. I’ve spent the last few years feeling really bad about myself which hasn’t been a nice feeling but since I’ve dropped two cloth sizes I’m feeling a lot better which Is a lovely feeling and I’m fitting in to clothes that wouldn’t have been possible for a long time.

So I urge you to do what you want to do straight away for me it was about getting healthier again but no matter what it is unless it’s hurting someone else than do it.

Why i use clothnapies a plan to envirmentalist

As I wrote earlier am I a person who think about nature and the environment we live in and the one our Children will live in when were nog longer round and our grandchildren.  Therefore, have I been using cloth nappies to both my kids a bit less on my son as we didn’t have the drying facilities in England. But with our daughter did we start pretty much as soon as we got home from the hospital and we have both saved a lot of money but also helped reduce that nappy mountain made from plastic nappies that take years for mother nature to break down.  

So why cloth nappies and aren’t they disgusting?

The answer is no. You clean of a lot of things from your babies’ clothes so why should it be any worse doing it from the nappy? you don’t throw away your children’s clothes because the plastic nappy leaked which they do a lot especially if your breastfeeding. We have never been forced to change clothes because of a nappy that’s leaked. Which is a good result considering we’ve used them for over a year with nothing else. And if you’re really sensitive why don’t you try elimination communication which we are where you learn to read your children and puts them on the potty when they are about to go which we have done with our daughter from very early on. Most parents can learn to do this and it’s not stressing the baby just communicating with your babies. I will give you a really good book at the end about this.

That brings me to question two I tend to get about cloth nappies.

But don’t they leak a lot?

No if you change then regular which you should do anyway with any nappy. Because who wants to walk round in their own pee all days? I know most plastic nappies are said to last all night and yes we have cloth nappies that does the same but me for once would never have a nappy on that long. When she was eating at night I used to change her at the same time, but now when she doesn’t eat she doesn’t pee either so she doesn’t need changing either. I think that our elimination communication has helped a lot as well as she goes for a pee before bed and when she wakes up on the potty and has done since she was really little. It’s all about getting to know your baby.

And the reason we started with cloth nappies from the start was due to financial reasons to try and save some money especially when we got our daughter as the husband didn’t have a job and we had recently moved back to Sweden from England so all extra money was welcome. And we have spent 50 pounds on second-hand nappies and now we still haven’t spent any more as we have sold old once. Plus, we’ve been lucky to test some free once to see what we thought about them plus helped other mama nappy makers by testing new nappies not yet on the market as we are really passionate about helping the small businesses thrive and develop and with my experience from nappies and also talking about them it’s been a pleasure to help other people come up with new nappies and been the test bunnies. As long as you got a healthy relationship to cloth nappies and doesn’t become a collector you will save money but I warn you they are a lot of fun and most people start collecting prints from their favourite nappy brand.

So we have a lot of fun companies with nappies and there are a few out there but what works for my baby might not work for yours so a suggestion is to try and start up with a few different and see what suits your family.

We mostly use poops, and Charlie banana I will give you the link to those below plus we love all things woolly especially in the winter.

I have not been asked to write out their names or anything but I thought I wanted to do so as because we love these brands.

www.poops.se she is an amazing woman who owns this brand and always comes up with new ideas I’ve had the pleasure to try a few things as well from her like her new cloth sanitary pads and they are fabulous so can’t wait for them to come out on the market. We love the nappy wraps from here plus her woolly pull up trousers for the summer.

www.charliebanana.co.uk this is our favourite pocket nappy brand and they have so many cute prints. Pocket nappes are a great option as you can fill them with as much as you need depending on situation plus they dry quick. Charlie banana has a fleece inner so they feel dry against the skin

IF you’re a Swedish person who wants to try Charlie banana I highly recommend www.lillemoln.se they have his and eco-friendly clothes for example and this is where I’ve bought my Charlie banana when I’m not in the UK and can order to my mother-in-law

If you have any question about cloth nappies, please feel free to comment and I’ll try to answer as well as I can.

My weight loss story begins

As promised it’s now time to write a little bit about my weight loss since January.

I had a plan to start write about this and update daily but due to being insanely busy not only with the kids but also with school and work I just felt like I didn’t have the time to start up a new blog as well. But now I’ve started a new course and handed in my latest exam so I’ve finally got some free times in the evening to write again which is a nice feeling as its very relaxing for me. But I’d like to go back a little bit as well first so you get a picture of me.




2008 in January I started the same journey weighing 92 kg and being rather unhappy with myself and as someone about to graduate college and start a new chapter in my life i decided to get a grip of myself as I’ve always been an active person with swimming but since quitting swimming due to an injury I felt a bit lost and gained a lot of weight quickly as i ate the same and had a little bit too much of a love for sweets as well. So i started a journey where i started walking and later on jogged ate good food as my family does but instead of school lunches i ate different salads. Which worked for me on my graduation on the 6th of June I weighed round 75 kg and was feeling really good kept on running and loving life.  I left for England to work as an au pair for a year and during that year I did lots of fun runs like a really fun 5 km run my host mum was an elite runner so we got to go in to the elite tent which was really fun and good food after and I also entered the insanely fun race called the grim run in December 2008 it was based on an army training ground so meant a lot of mud and a lot of water but it was so much fun I have never laughed so much whilst trying to run a quarter of a marathon.

 

And after all that I went to Brighton where I was meant to keep in training and did for a while but after a few years I got my son 2012 and I kind of lost it all and it just went on same when I got my daughter I gained a lot both pregnancies and they were very hard mentally due to complications plus I got really bad pain with my daughter so got really down from everything. After everything was back up on round 92kg and was not happy with myself and so I decided to get a grip and dig myself out of that big hole again and just go for it. I stopped eating junk like sweets and to biscuits and counting calories so I could keep an eye on myself. I tried jogging but weighing 92 kg its hard work so I decided to walk everywhere no busses just walk unless I had the kids with me. We haven’t got a car so not taking the car and walk is easy but with a bus stop close to our home its very convenient to be lazy and take the bus. But I don’t take the bus I walk to school half hour each way and the same to work. My plan is to start jogging home from school as well soon just got to find a good rug sack to run with.

 

I got myself a Fitbit in January as well and it’s so fun to have that little extra to motivate you competing with my friends who can take the most steps in a day or do those five different exercises a week.

 

It’s not been that easy up until now but I’ve lost weight and I’ve managed to keep up with my healthy living. I don’t cut anything out but I only eat the junk when it’s a special occasion like going to a birthday party and even then I don’t take half as much as I used to do. So it’s the little things that makes it. My plan is to start jog soon as I’ve not lost a bit of weight I can feel that on my clothes so new wardrobe to the summer is my goal.




My start weight was 92 and yesterday I weighed myself and the scale landed on 82.9 so I’m really happy about that I’ve got a long way to go but I’ve started at least.

Writing about this is something I do to keep myself motivated but if you want to read it I’m happy if I can inspire you to do something you want with your life.

An introduction about myself and why i decided to start a new blog.

Okej,


I was meant to have started this blog ages ago but as always life came in between. Such as school, work and the most important thing in my life, my children. Well I used to blog at another blog about my kids and life but decided to delete that blog and write about things in a fresh new blog. Right so why is that well because in the previous one I blogged mostly about my kids which is my life but I decided that it’s time to try and inspire people and write about other things as well. So what are those other things well number one is my weight loss journey and number two is my love for all thinks eco-friendly such as cloth nappies recycling things and so on.

 So to start with my weight loss journey. I did this journey years ago but with two children and a loss of myself along the road for different reasons I gained it all. So at the beginning of January I had enough, i had enough of feeling bad about myself and I decided to start losing weight and to get fit again buy eating healthy and exercising. I will write about that start in another post

 The second thing I love is cloth nappies and eco things such as trying to not buy new things second hand market especially for kids’ clothes is huge and the cloth nappies is something we started using on our oldest at home in England when we lived there but for our daughter we started when we came home from the hospital and it’s the only thing she has been in since.

 I will also write about EC= elimination communication which is basically learning to see your Childs needs and signs and to put them on the potty. everything to help the environment and for my baby to feel good about everything.

 So there you have a few of those things I will write about and my first one will be my journey to get back in my old healthy streak.

 So who am I? I'm a soon to be 27-year-old mum I got two children under the age of four and I’m loving life. I went back to university last autumns and I’ve got another four years of school to go.
I’m enjoying every minute of my life and you will read about some of it in this blog.


Lots of love to you all hope you will like to read about everything I have to write about

 My old blog was called back to Sweden with my family and I'm welcoming old and new readers to this blog and this blod is about inspiring people and I love to inspire people :)