Book Tag - My Reading Habits

I was tagged by the lovely Fiona over at Little Cambridge Kitchen to tell you all about my reading habits. If you read my blog regularly to will know that I love a good book and I read whenever I get a free moment so this tag was perfect for me!!

Do you have a certain place at home for reading??

I don't have a specific place for reading, I am quite happy to plonk my bum down anywhere an start reading but there are two places that I find most comfy, my bed and the middle seat on our corner sofa. When on the sofa I liked to get curled up under my favourite blanket because I plan to be sat there for quite some time.

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Neither. I've been given plenty of bookmarks in the past but I have to admit that I have never used any of them. If I am reading a good old fashioned book I tend to either turn the corner of the page over where I'm stopping or if I'm having a good day I will just remember where I got to.

The Dreaded TMI Tag

I was recently tagged not once, but twice to take part in the TMI tag, thanks to mummyprobs and familyfever. I was wondering whether this meant that I had to answer the questions twice? But I decided there was only so much information you lovely lot could handle, so here goes….

1. What are you wearing?
I'm currently wearing a high waisted denim skirt, red long sleeve cropped top and my favourite pair of converses.

2. Ever been in love?
I have been in love and I consider my husband to be a lucky man to have me love him :)

3. Ever had a terrible break up?
Errmm I wouldn't say I had really. A boyfriend cheated on me when I was 15 but I was at the age where it didn't really affect me. I've only ever had the one long term relationship and that's with my now husband who I've been with since I was 18.

4. How tall are you?
I'm 5ft 1 just about.

5. How much do you weigh?
I currently weigh 7 stone 8 lbs

6. Any tattoos?
Yes, much to my mums disgust!! I currently have 5, one of which I had done 2 weeks ago. I have stars on my neck, my kids names on my wrist, my husbands name and angel wings on my bum, stars and vines on my ankle and a skull with roses on my back. I have a long list of other ones I would like to have done.

7. Any piercings?
I have my ears pierced 9 times, my nose, my lip and the top and bottom of my belly pierce. I did used to have my nipple pierced too.

8. OTP??
Ok I didn't have a clue what that meant until I re read other posts. Are you as clueless as me? It means one true pairing apparently but still not sure how to answer that.

An Interview With Gracie, Age 4 Years Old

The lovely Kate at Family Fever came up with a fab idea for a post a few weeks back. The idea is that you get to interview your child and see what they really think of you as their mummy. Below is what my 4 year old Gracie thinks of me :

1. What is something Mummy always says to you?

Flush the toilet.

2. What makes Mummy happy?

Presents.

3. What makes Mummy sad?

When I'm gone.

The Mummy Tag

I was recently tagged by the lovely Kate over at My Family Fever to take part in this fab meme, "the mummy tag". It is great way for you to be nosey find out more about me.

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum or are you a Working Mum?

Primarily I am a stay at home mum, I have been since my eldest was born over eight years ago, something that I feel very lucky to be able to do. However as a qualified hairdresser, I also manage to fit in cutting peoples hair and I also write the occasional review for an online nursery company.

2. Would you have it any other way?

Honestly, there are days when I could get a bit more adult interaction but those are fleeting moments, I think I would be upset if my day to day life was to change.

Before You Were Born Meme

I've been tagged in a fantastic meme by twinmummyanddaddy. This meme makes us think back a little bit and asks about some of the things we used to do before our children were born.

In honestly it is tricky to remember a life before kids because once you have given birth, it feels like they have always been around!!

What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

See this is the good thing my favourite holiday destination is actually somewhere where we have only ever been as a family, Ibiza. We have been there 3 times as a family now but they great thing about this destination is that it is suitable for both families, couples, single people, anyone really.

There is plenty to see and do, whether you want to explore the old town, experience the clubbing night life or enjoy watching the sun go down.

What is your funniest memory pre-children?

This is a tricky one because I was pregnant after being with Daddy Hazelden for four months so I'm hoping it still counts when I was pregnant but my funniest and also one of my best memories would have to be Daddy Hazelden's 24th birthday. This was the day that he got extremely drunk and the end my poor old mum had to help get him in the bath and tuck him up in bed, funny for me, not so funny for him :) This was also the day that he proposed to me, not on one knee but two because the poor man couldn't balance on one knee by this point. Good job I love him otherwise I might not have been laughing.

What was your favourite thing to do in the evening?

My favourite thing to do of an evening pre children had to be take a long hot soak in the tub, you know the one, candles lit, nothing but silence to be heard.

These days I'm lucky if I even get the bath to myself. Even if the kids don't jump in, they are sat on the toilet next to me asking me all sorts of questions!!

What hobbies do you have that you can no longer do?

Now since having children, I haven't had to give up any hobbies. I like to read, I like to attempt to knit and I like to blog. All three things I still do, they just take a lot longer these days.

What do you think you took for granted before having children?

I think I took for granted our time as a couple. I love my kids and I love all the time we spend together as a family but I do wish there was a few more opportunities for Daddy Hazelden and I to spend together as a couple.

We struggle to not only find a babysitter but with Daddy Hazelden working in London, there aren't many days left because our free days are for family time.

I always say it but we really should make more of a conscious effort to spend quality time together as a couple because our relationship is important too.

So who am I going to tag next?

Deborah who blogs at Super Busy Mum
Gemma who blogs at My Mills Baby
Jocely who blogs at The Reading Residence
Gina who blogs at Cold Tea and Smelly Nappies
Jo who blogs at Sit Still Monkeys

xxxx

The A to Z of Me

A couple of weeks ago I was tagged in a Meme by the lovely Jaime from theoliversmadhouse and the lovely Gina from coldtea&smellynappies. The idea of this post is to let you know a little bit more about me but I have to say even though I know myself quite well, I struggled to fill up the alphabet!!!

A

Aquarius - This my star sign.

B

Blogger - I started my blog in , however it has only been this year that I have really started to add more content and connect with my readers, I'm looking forward to many more years of memories to write down and share with you all.

C

Christmas fanatic - Those that know me will tell you that I am the biggest kid when it comes to Christmas, I have my decorations up no later than the 1st of December!


D

Dover - This is the town I live in, you know by the white cliffs ;)

E

Exercise - I do like exercising, my favourite thing to do is stick my headphones on, turn my music up loud and go for a nice long run.

F

Four - Is the number of children I have.

G

Green - Well green sweets to be precise, I really detest them, not sure why.

H

Hairdresser - I am a qualified self employed Hairdresser.

I

Ibiza - We have been on holiday to Ibiza 3 times now, Daddy Hazelden has actually been 5 times, we plan to go back there again!!!

J

Just Dance - We love to play this game as a family on the kinect, I win every time :)

K

Knitting - Ok I'm not very good at it but I do like to sit and knit when I get the time.

L

Left - I am left handed unlike everyone else in my family.

M

Mummy - Is what I am known as to my children and it is a word I like hearing often.

N

Netball - I used to play a lot of netball when I was at school.

O

Oakley - This is the brand of sunglasses that my husband is obssessed with, 16 pairs and counting.


P

Pushchairs - I may have a teeny tiny addiction to pushchairs, I can't remember how many I have had over all but just for Layla I have had 5.

Q

Questions - I am asked a lot of questions by my children and I really wish I knew the answers to all of them.

R

Reading - This is my favourite thing to do when I get the chance, I am currently re reading twilight, I think this may be the fifth time.

S

Sleep - Something that is hard to come by these days.

T

Tele - This is my nickname, a shortening of my name, Chantelle.

U

Uncle Alec - This is my little brother and my children's favourite uncle.

V

Voting - I don't vote, can't see the point because things never seem to change for the better no matter who is in charge.

W

Wraps - As well as being a pushchair addict, I am also a wrap addict, I love babywearing.

X

X-ray vision - Wouldn't that be a great thing to have.

Y

Young - This is how I look, I am constantly being id'd, I'm told it's a good thing.

Z

Zizzi - Is an Italian restaurant that I really like and where I spent part of my hen night.


Phew, what a list!! Now to tag some other lovely bloggers so I can read all about them :

Kate from familyfever
Jo from sitstillmonkeys
Carly from mummyandthechunks
Karen from adventuresofamonkeyfootedmum

xxxx

All About Me

I was recently tagged in a meme by the lovely Jo from My Monkeys Don't Sit Still. The meme originally came from Gina from Cold Tea and Smelly Nappies. Her daughter's school had sent home a booklet titled "All About Me", so Gina thought it would be a good idea to find out a bit more about each other.

The rules are simple, answers all of the questions asked and then tag five more bloggers to take part.

First of tell us your name and what you do......

Nice easy question to get us started. My name is Chantelle Hazelden, I'm a wife, a mummy, a blogger and what a lot of people don't know is that I am actually a qualified hairdresser. As much as I am good at multi-tasking, I don't always do all of these things all at the same time ;)

I live at home with.....

I live at home with my husband, Daddy Hazelden and my four daughters, Elise, Freya, Gracie and Layla. Although Daddy Hazelden does stay in London a lot of the time due to his work.

My favourite thing to do is.....

My favourite thing to do is baking with my girls. We try to bake atleast once a fortnight, baking something different each time. A fun activity that gives us something scrummy to eat at the end.

which leads me to the next question

My favourite thing to eat is......

Well obviously my favourite thing to eat is cake made by my daughters :)

When I get cross I......

When I get cross I tend to shout, alot and then cry.

Sometimes I worry because....

Sometimes I worry because things just aren't as easy as they seem. Nothing is ever black and white. I think I am always worrying about one thing or another, I  believe that I am a born worrier, my biggest worry is always my children, wondering if I am raising them right, hoping they are happy!!!

My favourite book is......

Now this is a tough question because I read a lot of books, almost one every day so I find it hard to pick just one, so I'm going to go with my favourite childhood book which my dad used to read to me every Christmas Eve and I have continued to do the same for my children, it's "The Night Before Christmas"

My favourite toy is.....

Well....... lol. My favourite toy is my iPad, I can still check facebook, tweet away and keep up to date with my blog but I can also get lost in reading my favourite books on it.

I dislike.....

I dislike mushrooms, spiders, how expensive everything is these days, politicians I could go and on with this question.

When I grow up I want to be.....

Well I already achieved two goals because early on I wanted to be a hairdresser and then I wanted to be a mummy. So I suppose now when I grow up, I would just really like to be happy.

There we have it, now you know a little bit more about me, I hope you like what you've learnt. I am now tagging 5 lovely bloggers so we can get to know them better :

Tory from workitmamma
Deborah from superbusymum
Angela from thereandbackagainamotherstale
Emma from mysidekickandme
Bex from ialwaysbelievedinfutures

xxxx

What To Put in Room 101

I was very kindly tagged by Colette at We're going on an adventure in a meme asking what I would put in Room 101.

Now this is a tough question because I have to narrow it down to three things and the trouble is that there are so many things that I would love to put in there.

Number 1 : The Teletubbies

Now you probably think I am mad for putting them in there but I really really dislike this programme.

I have never let my children watch it, apparently it teaches younger children how to feel happy and secure but it does not make mummy happy one bit, infact it does the opposite, it makes me extremely grumpy!!



Number 2 : Drivers who don't signal

Is it really so hard. I mean we get taught how and when to signal when learning to drive so why do people fail to do it when they have passed their test??

It annoys me both as a driver and when I am a pedestrian.

It's like I'm supposed to be a mind reader, no I don't know where your going and it would be nice to be given fair warning.

I find it especially hard when on roundabouts as people not only fail to signal but they drive in the wrong lanes too but that's another moan and there just isn't enough space in Room 101.

Number 3 : Call of Duty

Now I personally have never played the game so it is not that I think the game is rubbish.

I'm putting it in Room 101 so that I can get some attention from my husband.

Sometimes I feel like he loves this game more than me, when he is playing it, he won't hear a word I am saying, partly due to the headphones he has on his head so that he can talk to all the other Call of Duty addicts. (geeks)

And every time a new one comes out it he must have it because it so much better than the last, even though they are all practically the same. No more bang bang I say!!!!

So with out further ado I tag Karen from Adventures of a monkey footed mum, AK from My buggy junction and Erin from I am mummy bear, looking forward to seeing what they will pack away in Room 101.

What about you lovely readers, what would you banish to Room 101??

xxxx

Questions questions

One of my lovely blogger/ mummy friends tagged me in this meme that I am just about to answer. For those of you who don't know what it is it is a set of 12 questions that I have to answer about myself, I actually like the idea of this as it definitely encourages me to keep writing on my blog as I have been lacking of late.

I have never done one of these before but here goes :

1.      How did you tell your partner you were pregnant with your 1st child?

      Mmmm now this seems like quite a long time ago seen as my eldest is now 6 (how did that happen) I remember my mum was on holiday at the time so I was left at home to look after my little brother. My lovely partner had been living with me at my mums since we started seeing each other and we had already decided that we wanted to start trying for a baby. When I missed my period I just a knew I was pregnant but when I done the first test it was negative. It took another 4 weeks to get a postive pregnancy test and all I needed to do was come downstairs and nod my head with a big smile on my face and he knew we had got the answer we wanted.

      

2.      Have you ever thought of starting your own business?

      I have but so far there just hasn't been the right time, what with being pregnant and of course there is always the issue of money. If there was nothing standing in my way I would like to set up my own salon as I am a qualified hairdresser.

3.      Why did you start blogging?

      I started blogging as a way to write things down about my children, what they were up to, about my feelings, more of a diary really so I could remember things that have happened.

4.      Your all time favourite pushchair?

    My all time favourite puschair would have to be the bugaboo bee+. This however was not my husbands favourite so the bugaboo and I had to part ways :(

5.      Most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

     Good question!!!!! Most embarassing thing for me was one of those times when I had drunk a teeny tiny bit too much, you know the one. Well my husband and I and a couple of our friends had decided to go out for dinner but we also decided to have a few drinks before hand. Lets just say I can't remember eating my dinner, infact I'm told I didn't really eat a lot because I fell asleep at the table, can anyone say ooops.

6.      Most trouble you’ve ever been in?

     Would you believe me if I said I was a really good girl and that I've never been in trouble?? I am already thinking why do all my stories involve alcohol, I'm not an alcoholic I swear. Well I was only 13 years old at the time and went and got drunk without my mum knowing, when my older brother finally brought me home I was a little worse for wear. So in the morning I was in big trouble, especially because I had been sick on my friends new blue carpet and made it pink, smacks hand!!!

7.      What’s your dream job?

     My dream job, my dream job, do you know I think I already have my dream job being a stay at home mum to my children.

8.      What was the last news you heard that shocked you?

      The last news that shocked me was about a child dying, something you never want to hear.

9.      What film always makes you cry – no matter how often you watch it?

      Does it make me really heartless if I say I don't cry at films, I honestly can't remember a film I cried at.

10.  What do you think would be harder for you to do... go to work and leave your children home, or stay at home with your children?

     Well I am a stay at home mum so I would definitely have to say going to work and leaving my childre, time goes so fast so I like to get as much time with them as possible.

11.  What did the last text message you sent say?

      Cool beans xx

12.  Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little? What was he/she called?

      I didn't have an imaginary friend although I did have a cuddly toy that I carried around everywhere, it was little roo and I still have him stored away somewhere now.

xxxx