healthy living – the joy of five

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Something For Everyone Christmas Gift Guide

November 14, 2021December 7, 2021by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment

Christmas is fast approaching and it’s time to start thinking about what we are going to be putting under our tree.

As always my guide is a one stop shop as I like to think we all have different likes and tastes and its hard to put these all into one box – so I’ve got sweet treats to naughty tipples, things to help you sleep and things to help your creativity. Take a look now and let me know what you think:

Doing It For The Kids – I have a little selection of some of the top toys this christmas, as well as some beautiful personalised pieces.

Count With Peppa: Who doesn’t love Peppa Pig. I know each and everyone of mine have been huge fans and you can now learn to count with the new Count With Peppa toy. Peppa comes with a purse full of coins that once promoted by Peppa you can slide them into her purse ,she will recognise it and then reply.

As well as being great fun, this toy helps will fine motor skills and colour and number recognition.

Barbie My Ice Cream Shop: Follow recipes, blend different colours and flavours and make delicious ice creams to share with your friends and family with the Barbie My Ice Cream Shop.

This set comes with everything you need to prepare, create and then serve to your family and friends.

Fuzzikins: These super cute characters have been popular for a while now and are avaliable in a whole array of different options. The Home Maker sets are great for stocking fillers and let you draw and decorate the house time and time again due to its easily wipeable surfaces. Another popular set is the Doll Set that comes with three gorgeous cats and the accessories you need to customise them.

Wonderbly Books: Now I have been a fan of Wonderbly books for a long time now. Wonderbly is an online personalised children’s book company with over 40+ personalised books. Their easy to use website allows you to create a perfectly unique book for that special little one in your life, and I have to say I have really fallen for their Christmas collection.

Something Pretty – We all love a little sparkle at Christmas and here are a few thing to help you shine!

Bloom Boutique Christmas Necklace: Bloom Boutique offer beautiful,delicate jewellery and gifts and I have enjoyed many pieces over the years. This Christmas they have a gorgeous range of christmas gifts, including this stunning Secret Star Birthstone Personalised Bracelet.

A Bit Of Beauty – Christmas is a time to receive treats to make us feel special and pampered, so here are a couple of gifts that fit the bill perectly.

Something Silky: Silk is well known for being a luxurious fabric and This Is Silk have some amazing gifts made from the softest silk. This silk pillowcase would make a wonderful present for anyone looking to tame their tresses and be kind to your skin during the night.

Shaving In Style: For those guys that like a traditional shave, this plant based shaving brush will allow for a good shave as well as being kind to the environment – so what’s not to love!

Night, Night: Help getting off to a good nights sleep is something I know I would love and I know that a few sprays of this Echor End Of Day Pillow Spray is a great way to drift of. The gorgeous combination of lavender, geranium, eucalyptus and sweet orange will have you counting sheep in next to no time.

Scrub Up: I love nothing more than getting rid of a days full of dirt and grime with a good facial exfoliator, and this one from Forever Living gently works its magic to reveail soft and healthy looking skin.

Kissable Lips: This time of year plays havoc with the skin, especially our delicate lips; so giving someone something to protect their lips with would be most welcomed. Lansinoh Linolin Lip Balm is 100% natural so as will as soothing the lips, many Mums use it to treat nappy rash or dry skin on their little ones.

Something For The Foodies – Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a foodie treat or two, and I have a few to check out now.

Choccies: You can’t go wrong with chocolates can you, and a classic such as these Guylian Belgian Chocolate Seashells are a luxurious treat for sure. The hazelnut praline covered with luxury Belgian chocolate makes for a winning combination.

Chin, Chin: Along with a lot of others, gin is my tipple of choice. This outstanding gin from The Secret Gin Distillery is made with a combination of different herbs that have been lovingly grown in the garden of a herbologist who is the brainchild behind the brand.

Their Christmas gin is a heady combination of christmassy herbs and spices and would make for a wonderful gift for any gin lover. And their miniatures give you the chance to sample a range or different flavours so you get the chance to pick your favourite!

Get Prepared: Christmas is definitely party season and with party after party this can put a lot of strain on our bodies, so the best thing we could do is give them a little prep before we put on our dancing shoes.

Inside Out drinks are a combination of water, hibiscus, cranberry, goji extract, stevia, milk thistle, potassium sorbate and gree tea extract that helps to support your liver and prevent the dreaded hangover!

Keeping Healthy: Swicily is a day to day natural sugar that melts easily into food, tastes great and is low in calories- making it a great substitute for sugar and a brilliant stocking filler for those looking to improve their health.

Experiences – Gifts don’t always have to be something physical, and I am actually a big fan of creating memories through gifted experiences, and here are a few for you to take a look at.

Racing Ready: Team Sport Karting have 35 indoor go karting tracks across the county and would make for a fantastic day out for any adrenaline junkie. They have a great range of gift vouchers that you can choose from to give someone a very special gift.

Tech Fans – This section is for all those tech fans out there.

I Love Music: Wireless headphones are a great fit for so many people. These TES1 pro true wireless stereo earbuds are noise cancelling, Bluetooth connectable and have a huge 42 hour playtime which is a fantastic feature.

Something For The Home – Something to enhance the home is always a welcome gift. From a simple vase to a beautiful throw, nobody would be disappointed with a gift for the home.

Beautiful Signs: A stunning number to identify your home makes a real difference to the exterior of your home and Village Green Signs are just the people for this. They create beautiful, traditional handpainted house signs as well as more modern acrylic and slate signs – so there is somthing to suit every taste.

Getting Crafty – This is one for all the crafty people out there!

Get Painting: This art palate from mouth and foot painting artists is designed so that people can get creative when they need to use either thier hands or mouth, but it can also be used by hand if wanted.

Looking After Yourself – Here are a few pieces for those people that are conscious of looking after their health.

Getting Organised: Thoses big clumpy pill boxes are now a thing of the past and slick elegant designs have taken their place with pill cases like this lovley tabuu case that is waterproof, durable and fits up to six tablets. Perfect for popping in your bag and taking anywhere you need.

Everyone Getting A Good Nights Sleep: In our house it is me that is the snorer! I get no sleep as my husband continually wakes me up and of course neither does he! Mute could be the answer to these problems with 78% of people breathing better, 75% snoring less and 73% of partners reporting a reduction in snoring.

A small device that sits inside the nose is a hastle free way of getting better sleep so it is definetly worth giving a try.

Mute is available from Boots, Amazon or www.mutesnoring.com starting at the trial pack to find the right size rrp £12.99.

Children, Exercise, Families, Family Life, Fitness, Gym, Healthy Eating, Holidays, Kids Days Out, Large Families, Parents, Summer

Keeping The Kids Busy This Summer With David Lloyd

July 14, 2018July 14, 2018by thejoyoffive3 Comments

For some of us the long school summer holidays are already upon us or they are only a few days away and I’m sure that many of you are the same as me and having mixed feelings about it.

I absolutely adore having mine at home with me but it can also be a real struggle to keep them entertained and also work around them when all they want to do is have your attention.

This is where David Lloyd Health Clubs are an absolute godsend and offer anything from a fulfilled day with all the family, a few hours in a club or two to keep them occupied, full days of childcare and so much more.

With Oscar set to start school this September and Frankie needing a little extra extra push with swimming we are booking onto the intense course to really make sure they get their water wings ready!

It is not only swimming that All Stars at David Lloyd offer. They can learn skills in tennis and gymnastics too with the clubs expert coaches who make learning lots of fun!

As well as keeping fit as a family by swimming together, have a game of tennis or taking part in one of the family friendly circuit or spin classes the children can join in one of the many clubs that DL Kids offer. If sport isn’t their thing then there are plenty of other ways to keep them entertained such as film club, arts and crafts or Nintendo Wii sessions.

These clubs are a great way to keep them entertained and make new friends while you can take part in a class, head to the gym or even enjoy a treatment in the spa.

The holidays can be a really tricky time for working parents and finding childcare that the children will enjoy can be a real challenge. At David Lloyd you have the option of half or full days in their very resonantly priced holiday camps where the children can enjoy all the fun of DL Kids plus a yummy lunch…what could they possibly not enjoy about this!

My younger ones are pretty easy to please and are happy to give anything a go. My eldest son however is pretty hard to drag away from the Xbox but by some kind of miracle David Lloyd has managed to do that! He has loved coming to win as a family and of course fill his belly in the DLicious Cafe which is always a hit with us all for its deliiocs coffees, creamy smoothies and vast choice of healthy hot and cold meals. All of which can be enjoyed in the cafe itself or in the dedicated children’s area where the kids can left of steam in the soft play or spend some time on the built-in iPads.

Some thing he is yet to try is are the special 11+ gym, swimming and tennis sessions which he has his sights set on the summer.

With this wonderful weather we are having at the moment we also want to spend as much time as we can outside and David Lloyd has a large number of clubs with outdoor pools which we are itching to try out. Outdoor swimming in the UK is pretty limited these days so this really is a fantastic addition.

I’m sure there are things that I haven’t covered as the fun at David Lloyd is so expense you really need to see it to belive it. Why not nip along to your local club and see for yourself what a membership could offer you and your family this summer.

*collaborated post

Children, Exercise, Families, Family Life

Getting Kids Active In The Great Outdoors

March 22, 2017March 22, 2017by thejoyoffive2 Comments

A while ago now I wrote a post about the sad decline in outdoor play and it is still something that I am very passionate about.

Getting outside has a huge number of benefits; many of which you might not have even considered:

Boosts Mood all children have some level of stress or anxiety, even if it isn’t glowingly obvious to us as parents. By getting out into the sun they can get a boost of serotonin from the sun that will help to lift their mood and help them release some of those feel good chemicals.
Sleep Stimulation the brain contains the pineal gland that is stimulated by the sun. This helps with promoting sleep so anything that can help induce this is a winner in my book.
Improves Vision it has been found that children who play for extended periods outside have better distance vision than those that play inside.
Builds Social Skills without the use of electronic stimulation or other distractions, being outside makes it easier for children to come together, socialise and make strong friendship groups.
Builds Immunity that old favourite ‘the five second rule’ is always used in our house and I really don’t worry to much about a bit of dirt. Getting ourside and getting dirty allows the immune system to build itself which in the long term will help your little ones fight off the bigger nasties that childhood brings.

For me though the biggest benefit to outdoor play is exercise.

With obesity increasing twofold in the past decade it is down to us as parents to educate our children on the effects of exercise and try to get them into our everyday lives.

What child doesn’t love a trip to the park to jump on the play equipment and have fun.

They are having fun whist exercising and not even knowing what wonderful benefits it is having on them.

Outdoor play equipment allows children to build their gross motor skills, promote well being, build self confidence and put in those foundations for healthy living habits for life.

What do you do to get your little ones out in the great outdoors?

*collaborated post

Diet, Exercise, Fitness, Gym, Healthy Eating, Uncategorized

A New Me For Christmas:Week One

September 8, 2015September 10, 2015by thejoyoffive16 Comments

As a personal trainer by trade it has taken me a while to pluck up the courage and write this post.

Since baby number five I have had a really bad relationship with food and have not yet got back to anywhere near my pre pregnancy weight. I’m still training as that will always be a passion of mine, but you can never out train a bad diet.

I had issues with food through my teenage years and still cant shake the feast or famine approach I have to eating sometimes.

I wrote a post about holiday weight gain a couple of weeks back and have finally this week got back to the normally of the school run and am going to get myself back into a healthy eating regime and exercise plan.

As I said this is a hard post to write as I’m really unhappy with my body image at the moment and it’s all due to my lack of self discipline that I’m eager to get back. Hopefully by tracking my weight, body fat and measurements I will get myself back on track and inspire others to do the same.

Each week I will post my goals for the week ahead, a picture so that I can see physical changes and how I have done with my weights and measurements.

By putting it out their for you all to see I hope this will give me the motivation I need and let you see regardless of your occupation we are all human and sometimes we go off track but it’s possible for anyone to go and be the best that possibly can be!

Week One

Weight – 10.6 Stone

BMI – 23

Body Fat – 28.5