Listography: Top 5 Things That Makes Me Happy

• kate takes 5 asks us this week for our Top 5 Things That Makes me Happy so here are mine...

• Our identical twin daughters. They may be little monsters but they're our little monsters and we wouldn't want them any other way.

• My kindle that Santa brought me Christmas past, I feel completely and utterly lost if I don't have it near me at all times.
• My husband. Despite being made redundant he hasn't let the dooms and glooms overtake him and he's turning his down time into something productive (like diy round the house) and focusing on what the next stage of his working life is going to be.
• My Mummy. Regardless of what age I am she'll always be called Mummy. She's had it really rough the last year or two but she's still standing and if it wasn't for her I don't think any of her children would be as strong as we are today, it's thanks to her that we turned out as well as we did and nothing we can do can ever show her how much she means to us, although according to her her twin granddaughters were a good start!
• Baking. There's nothing better than creating something you know everyone will enjoy and even better when your friends and family know you're planning on doing some baking at the weekend and they put in requests for their favourites. I love that feeling.

Date Night!

Hubbie has booked a table for us for tomorrow night at 7pm and despite the fact that I'll only be getting home from work round 6pm and will have less than 15 mins to get myself decent to go out again I'm really looking forward to it!

Can't remember just how long it's been since we've been out as husband and wife and not as Mummy and Daddy so it'll be a novel experience but I'm a little concerned over what's suitable conversation, so silly I know but I'm so used to having our toddlers with us that talking to an adult is a little difficult for me at times. Thankfully Hubbie feels the same way so we'll muddle through together I'm sure and if we end up giggling halfway through our starters then at least we're giggling and making a mess of it together and it's something we can enjoy together too.

Now what to wear...............

Reasons to be cheerful right now

1.

Our daughters are healthy, happy little monsters who are into anything and everything and we wouldn't have them any other way.

2.

I'm in a loving marriage, my husband loves and respects me and this gives me confidence each day.

3.

God never gives you more than what you can cope with and for that I'm grateful.

The 'F' word

Our youngest swears because her Daddy swears. 

Oh dear.

We aren't sure how to tackle this other than to glue my husband's mouth shut when he's around our daughters to avoid anymore swear words being repeated.

Fingers crossed our elderly, Churchy relatives will believe she's talking about her cuddly, stuffed frog and not repeating the 'F' word she has heard.

Surveys, product trials, scanners etc

I must admit I devote a lot of time to completing surveys, taking part in product trials, testing certain products in blind trials and scanning my shopping each time I buy something. I also use coupons and money off vouchers quite a bit too.

My husband calls me the crazy coupon lady and makes comments like I'll be on that Extreme Couponing programme very soon.

I'm not that bad, well I hope I'm not that bad!

Each day I log onto certain survey sites and complete whatever surveys are available, and I also answer a few screening questions to see whether I'm suitable for other surveys that they have, sometimes I'm suitable sometimes I'm not but I always get entered into a prize draw for my time regardless (haven't won one of those yet but maybe someday).

From one of the survey sites I had gathered enough points to redeem them for a £15 Amazon e-voucher and with this I bought my brother-in-law's Christmas present. From two other survey sites I had enough points to redeem them for £4 each which went straight into my paypal account and I used them against my sister's Christmas present.

From doing product trials and blind testing I had received Boots vouchers which went towards gift sets for my in-laws.

From scanning my shopping I had redeemed enough points to 1st get a £10 love to shop voucher which also was used in Boots and just recently I had redeemed my points to get a £10 New Look voucher which I should receive next week, just in time to buy myself something nice to wear on Christmas day.

If you search in the right places you can get coupons and vouchers for money off various items and if there's a new product out sometimes that voucher is to try the product for free, Facebook is brilliant for things like that. I've got a great wee stock pile of Persil Non-Bio and Comfort Pure for very little money because of coupons and as we've got twins we do an awful lot of washing so this has helped save us a lot of money in the long run.

I maybe a crazy coupon lady but we've saved a lot of money this Christmas and I intend to hopefully save a whole load more for next Christmas so we're able to splurge a little more on other areas.

Little about me

My twin 8 month old daughters are my life, wherever I go they go with me mostly because during the day I don't have anyone to leave them with but I couldn't imagine going anywhere anymore without them. My maternity leave finishes next month and I'll be returning to work part-time, not through choice but because of the problems the building industry are experiencing right now which is the area I work in.

Though I'm not happy about my hours being cut especially after I've worked for the same person for 7 years I'm happy that my girls and me will still get to spend a whole lot of time together and that I will still have a major role in their developing years rather than letting a nursery worker, someone I don't know and someone who is just doing their job get to see how they will change and maybe hear their first proper words or their first proper steps.

I've been married for three years, sometimes it feels like forever and sometimes it feels like hardly anytime at all. My husband works every hour he can, as a result he doesn't get to spend all that much time with his daughters at night but it's something that must be done for a while yet because trying to keep twins fed and watered and clothed is quite expensive. He's the love of my life and if it wasn't for him doing the best he can we would have to rely a lot more on family which is something we try to avoid.

Our life isn't idyllic or easy-going but life rarely is and we cope with the many problems the best we can as we meet them.