Goodbye 2012 and good riddance

So this year has been a horrible year for me and I can't wait for it to end, it's got worse and worse as the year has gone on, firstly my nan dieing that hit me hard but I couldn't show it infront of my kids so I bottled it up and got very stressy to the people I love, Then being told my son has to have an operation on his eye only to be told 3 months later that they want to hold off and try different thing and then another 3 months later being told he will be having an operation after all, There has also been lots of other things going on in my life that's really made this year the worst yet.

Here's hoping 2013 will be a better year for me and with any luck I'll be able to blog more.

Answer Buzzers

I like doing extra things at home to help my daughter learn so when I got the chance to review some Answer Buzzers I couldn't wait for a fun way to help her learn, I wrote up a list of questions and gave a buzzer to my daughter and husband so we could have a little quiz to see what my daughter knew, We all had great fun using these and can't wait for our son to be a little older so he an join in to, My daughter said she really enjoyed the fun little quiz we had and that she would like to do it more often.

The Answer buzzers come with 4 different sounds so you can tell them apart when playing with them and each buzzer needs 2 AA batteries, You can buy a set of 4 from here and they cost £14.95.

Learning resources currently have a competition running on there facebook page to win some Answer Buzzers that ends 31st December and can be found here

Another visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital

So today my son had yet another Hospital appointment for his eyes, We thought his last perscription was working but we was hit with some bad news, My sons lense has dropped right down in his eye and now they have to opperate to remove it as it can cause damage to other parts of his eye if left there.

We have been told that we will be called in to see them in early February so they can check to see how his eyes are still and then they will go through with us exactly what they are going to do in the operation and after that our son will be having his operation late February.

At the moment my sons glasses perscription is -14 right eye and -14 left eye but his new perscription is compeatly different its now +15 right eye and -20 left eye so until he gets his new glasses he wont be able to see anything in his right eye, I'm just hopeing its not going to cause him to much trouble the way it is at the moment.

Gummybear, The Yummy Gummy Search For Santa

The lovely people from Lionsgate sent me the new Gummybear DVD to review we was also sent a bear jelly mold and some lime jelly so we could make are own Gummybear, My kids were very excited to see the new DVD sitting on the table when they came home and we quickly put it on to watch.

We was all glued to the TV well apart from when there was any music at that point my kids got up to dance to the music, This DVD got a big thumbs up from us all and it hasn't left the DVD player since.
The film is about Gummybear and his friends on the search for Santa the film also include Gummybears hit song I Am A Gummybear, Also on the DVD as an extra are a few of Gummybears songs which have also been a big hit with my children.
The DVD cost £9.99 and was released on 8th October.

A few Gummybear facts I was sent along with the DVD

Over 1.5 billion video views on Youtube to date ( To find it just search the gummy bear song)

3 million video views per day on average

The Gummybear song has been reposted on Youtube over 12,900 times.

There are over 110,000 subscribers to the Gummybear Youtube channel.

The Gummybear facebook page has over 22,000 likes and can be found here

Gummybear has over 42,000 friends on Myspace

Gummybear is one of the top 5 Youtube music artists alongside the likes of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

Merry Stickmas

My daughter loves to do craft things so when i was given the chance to try out Merry Stickmas Cristmas cards set I couldn't wait for them to arrive, The kits comes with everything you need to make 12 Christmas cards, Each kit contains 12 cards and envelopes and sticker sheets for you to use to create your pictures on the cards.

My daughter was kept busy for over an hour making her cards and if I do say so myself she did a really good job, I think this card kit is a great way to get your children to add a personal touch to there Christmas cards and well worth the price of £6 with free postage and packaging, If you would like to buy your own set of Merry Stickmas then you can do so from here

She's growing up

For the last few weeks my youngest has been a complete nightmare at bed times, we would put her Down to sleep in her cot and the moment we would leave the room she would scream her head off.

Me and my husband were at a loss on what was wrong with her till today when we thought we might as well turn her cot in to a bed, we figured she's not sleeping well at night anyway so we might as well try her in a big girls bed.

My husband spent the morning changing the cot into a bed while I entertained our little girl as soon as my husband was finished we let her in her room and the first thing she did was jump on her bed,
she absolutely loves having the bed how it is and being able to get in and out when ever she wants.

Well tonight she went to bed at 6 like normal and at 6:30 I went to check on her and she was fast asleep, I couldn't be leave it after weeks of hardly any sleep for me and my husband and all we needed to do was a simple thing.
I'm sad in a way as she will be my last baby and now she's growing up I just wish hey could stay babies for a little longer.

Cbeebies The Album

Like most kids my son loves Cbeebies and all ways dances to the songs on the shows, Now we don't even have to have Cbeebies on the TV for him to do that and the best bit is with the album he can replay his favorite song again and again, Not a good thing for me but he loves it.

The Cbeebies album has two cds full of all the well known songs 50 songs to be exact for example In the night garden, Everythings Rosie and Mike the knight plus many more there is even 10 songs that the presenters sing these include some of the songs I'm sure you have all herd again and again for example Summer song, Goodbye sun hello moon.

My sons favorite song at the moment is Tree Fu Tom it has been played so much in the last week I think I know all the words to it, Even MY 18 month old daughter has been dancing away to the songs although she did get very moody when Waybuloo came on and she couldn't see it on the TV.

I was given this copy for review but if I wasn't given a copy I would definitely have brought a copy as not only does it keep the kids entertained during the day at home but it even keeps them quiet in the car.

The Cbeebies album is available nationwide and through online music retailers now

Two Weeks On The Jenny Craig Diet

After having my kids I have never gone back to the size I was before having them, admittedly I'm only one size bigger but going from a size 10 to a 12 has made me feel less confident and I wanted to change that, I've been on diets before but none have ever been like this one, I received a big box of two weeks worth of food and a lovely meal planner so I had to stick with what I ate along with the food you also get weekly consultations,
I had my first one on the day I started the diet but unfortunately it the person I should have been having them with was on holiday, I never got my second call as I had missed placed my phone but I did get an email to arrange another time and I replied but never got anything back from that, Which to me was a let down.

I'm not a breakfast eater so when I ate the breakfasts I found my self really full and not eating the piece of fruit they request you have with it, After a week I started to get fed up with the breakfast as there wasn't really much choice for breakfast, But they were full of flavour.

For lunches you had a pretty big choice on offer most of them I found filled me up along with the saled they request you have as well but I found some of the soups were leaving me hungry and wanting more food which I knew I couldn't have and on these days I really struggled, But again these were all full of flavour.

Now the dinners had to be the best meals from the Jenny Craig diet as there was much more to choose from and you could add as many free veg as you liked so I found myself eating more veg than the portion size of the Jenny Craig food.

Inbetween each meal you could have a snack and you could choose from a long list of things to have some days I found myself missing a snack out as I felt to full still.
Now the big question is does it work, Yes it does I lost 6lb in total, But I wont be carrying on as its just to much money for my budget.
If you would like to find out more about the Jenny Craig diet you can do so here

Music For Kids Princess Recorder

My daughter had been going on about learning a musical instrument for some time, In all fairness she really wanted a violin but I have told her there is no way we could ever afford to buy one, But when I got the chance to review the princess recorded she got all excited that finally she could learn an instrument.

The princess recorder pack comes with everything you need to start learning to play, You get a good quality recorder, a carry bag, cleaning rod, stickers to decorate your recorder and a tutor book and CD to help you get playing.

I used to play the recorder when I was younger so still knew a little about how to play but when I looked at the tutor book it brought it all back to me, I got my daughter to copy what was shown in the book on how to hold the recorder and which notes to play and now she can play Twinkle twinkle little star.
She has been playing it non stop since it arrived and I struggle to get her to put it down to give my ears a rest.

you can find out more about music for kids on there website here

Bigsby The Interactive Story Buddy From Hallmark

I was really lucky to get the chance to review Bigsby the interactive story buddy as soon as I got it out of the box I just knew my son would love it and I was right, Bigsby hasn't left his side since he arrived here.

Bigsby comes with one book and as you read the story there is parts highlighted in read and provided you read them clearly and there isn't much background noise Bigsby will react and say something in response to what you said, There is also another two books that you can buy seperately for just £5.99 each.

If you have an Ipad you can also download a free app where it will read the book for you and there is also two games for your children to play, My son has really enjoyed doing the jigsaws on it and just having the book read to him while I'm busy doing something else.

In my eyes I would definately say Bigsby is worth £19.99, Hallmark don't only do Bigsby they do other story buddies too and you can find them all here

Daddy I,m A Zombie DVD

With Halloween coming up, I normaly like to get my kids a Halloween type of film, This year I was lucky and got asked to review one, Now I had never herd of Daddy I,m a zombie before but I did a quick search on the internet and found some information and pictures of it, My first thought was that the animation reminded me of Tim burton and being a great fan of him I couldn't wait for it to arrive.

The DVD arrived while my son who's 3 was a preschool so I decided to wait for him to come home so we could watch it together, The film is PG rated this is why I watched it with my son first, In case it was a little to gruesome for my 6 year old.
So me and my son sat down to watch it and both of us were glued to the tv, Now my son tends to just watch something for 5-10 minutes then goes off to do something else, But through the whole film he stayed put, In fact the DVD was enjoyed that much that in the same day it was played 5 times and it is now permanently on in there bedroom.
I didn't feel the film was at all gruesome so when my daughter came home from school I let her watch it and she told me she loved it.

The film is about a girl that wakes up as a zombie and to find her way back home she has to defeat a evil witch with the help of some new zombie friends.

The DVD is by Lionsgate and is available to buy from 1st October 2012 and the RRP is £6.99 in my view this is a very good price for such a great film.

4 Little 1 Baby nose-clear room vapour

My two youngest have had a cold for the last couple of weeks and what perfect timing for an email to arrive asking if I would like to review some 4 little 1 baby nose-clear room vapour.
I had been having a tough few nights with my two little ones waking every hour or so because they were all blocked up, Luckly for me the room vapour arrived a few days later and when I read the packet I saw it could be used in the 4 little 1 inhaler dummy, Lucky for me we had one so I popped a few drops in and gave it to my daughter, As my son doesn't use dummys any more I did the other option on the packet and that was to add a few drops to a damp flannel hung over the radiator.

That night I was still expecting my kids to wake me up but when I did wake it wasn't to the sound of my children crying it was to the sound of my alarm clock.
So a big thumbs up from me and my children.

The room vapour is suitable from birth and 100% natural if you would like to buy some you can do so from here
You can also find 4 little 1 on facebook and you can do so from here.

Halloween with Aldi

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, I always like to go all out with decorations,costumes and treats for the kids, The sad thing is though since we have moved house we don't get many children knocking on the door, But that doesn't stop me and I still spend a small fortune on bits, But this year I was sent some facepaints and Halloween cupcake kit from Aldi to try out.

Now I I'm not the most artistic person but I did give the facepaints a try but only on my daughters hand as in the past we have had trouble getting facepaints off her but this wasn't the case with these ones in the end, Just a simple bit of soap and water and off it came, You can buy these facepaints from Aldi stores for the price of £1.99.

The cupcake kit was really simple to do all you need to add is 110g of butter and 2 eggs, Plus a little water for the icing, Once the cakes were cooked and cooled the fun part was here decorating, Now in the pack you get some ghost shape sugar sprinkles, orange icing powder and black writing icing, Plenty to get nice and creative with.
The cakes didn't last long in my house once they were decorated and I didn't even get the chance to try one but my kids have told me they were very yummy.

Aldi currently have other Halloween bits for sale too and they include things like costumes for £3.99 each in sizes 3-8 years, Window stickers for £1.59, Halloween lawn signs for £1.29, Bat cookie kit for £1.59 and some yummy looking Halloween figure chocolate for 99p, these are all on sale from 4th October until stocks last so be quick if you want to grab a bargain.

ClaireaBella polo jute bag from Toxicfox

I'm sure you have all seen celebs in magazines carrying these bags around and if your like me have also wanted one, Well when I was contacted by Toxifox to see if I would like to review one, I was really excited for it to arrive.

I have never managed to find a bag that looks nice and that will hang on my pushchair with no problems so everything I would carry around with me was either in my pockets or sitting in the hood of my pushchair, Until my bag arrived its the perfect size for my keys, purse, phone and some little treats for my kids, Since it arrived it has gone everywhere I have.

When you order your bag it can take up to 15 working days to be ready and thats because its made to how you want and everything is done by hand, Its really simple to order too, You get to choose what text you want, hairstyle, haircolour, dress colour, eye colour and skin colour, They all come with an elegant bow and a hand made with love charm, plus some Swarovski Elements and plenty of glitter.

And whats more they are really eye catching and get peoples heads turning all the time, If you would like to order one you can do from here they also do other size bags too so you can get one for every occasion.

Zoflora

I've always wanted a nice freshly cleaned smell around my home, But unfortunately thats never happened no matter what cleaning product I have tried, But then I was offered some Zoflora to review and when it arrived I couldn't wait to try it out, The day I tested it out my husband did the school run for me so I stayed at home and cleaned, I simply filled the sink with hot water and put one cap full of Zoflora in and started cleaning the work surfaces and cupboards,

When my husband came home from the school run he said he could smell the Zoflora as soon as he walked through the door, To me that was a result, It was soon time to go get my son from preschool so we all went and as soon as we came home I was hit with the smell of Zoflora, After a spot of lunch we went shopping and we when came home again the smell of Zoflora, Now the box really isn't lying when it says all day freshness.

The next time I used it I mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors with it, And was pleased with the all day freshness once again, Not only does Zoflora have a great smell but it also kills 99.9% of bacteria and Viruses.

Now the bottle might be small but you really do get a lot for your money as a 56ml bottle makes 2.2 litres of full strength disnfectant, perfect for saving space in your cupboards.

I have seen this to buy in normal supermarkets and I have also gone out and brought a few more bottles of different scents as I was that impressed with it.

Baking with Aldi

As a lot of my readers will already know I have recently got into cake making and decorating, So when Aldi asked if I wanted to try out some of there baking range I couldn't wait.
When my parcel arrived I was very excited and got baking right away, The first thing I made was a Madeira cake, It was so easy all you needed to do was add water and oil to the mix and then it was ready to cook 50 minutes later and I had a very yummy Madeira cake.

The Madeira cake can be made either by hand or in a bread maker and you can by it for £1.49 and not only is it a great price but you can also get it in ginger, carrot and chocolate fudge flavour.

The next thing I cooked was the bread, Now I always used to make my own bread in a bread maker but then that packed in so I started doing it by hand but found it to much of a pain, That was until I tried the bread mix from Aldi, I was surprised at how quick and easy it was, You only needed to add lukewarm water and then it was ready to mix and then knead and stretch for just 2 minutes and then leave it to rise for 30-40 minutes before you put it in the oven to cook for 30 minutes, This is definately the quickest bread I have ever made. You can buy the bread mix for just 79p.

After making the bread I got started on an apple pie, I'm not a huge fan of apple pie but this pie filling from Aldi tasted so nice I even ate seconds, What was even better was how quick it was to make, Now I made my own pastry but you can buy some ready to roll pastry from Aldi for just 99p and the apple pie filling only costs 99p too so you can have a really nice cheap desert for all the family to enjoy.

And last but not least I got stuck in with the Marzipan, ready to roll icing and coco powder, I decided to use these all on one cake, The coco powder I added to butter icing I made to put on top of a cake and then I rolled some marzipan and icing and cut out some shapes to place on top of the cake, It really added some extra tastes to the cake that all the family enjoyed, You can buy the ready to roll icing for £1.39, the coco powder £1.99, Sadly I don't have a price for the Marzipan but I'm sure it wont cost that much.

All these Items are available from 20th September until stocks last and I really can't see that being to long, As after trying out all of these I popped into my local Aldi's and stocked up on lots more.

Baby Sebamed

I was very lucky to be offered some Baby Sebamed to review, I was sent some Diaper rash cream, baby wash, childrens shampoo, baby bubble bath and baby lotion.
My children and me all suffer from exzema so we allways have to be careful what products we use, But Baby Sebamed is made for delicate skin and I have to say it hasnt brought up any of our exzema ( yes I have tried it on myself too).

Not only is it great for sensitive skin but it also has the nicest smell I have even smelt in a baby product.
There baby wash, childrens shampoo and baby bubble bath is 100% soap free and a no tear formula so you know it wont hurt your little ones eyes should you get a bit in there, All baby sebamed has a PH of 5.5 which is ideal for healthy skin.

The baby lotion has left my childrens skin lovely and soft and the Diaper rash cream has been a great help for us recently as my youngest really suffers from nappy rash when shes teething and since we have had the cream she has been teething lots but im happy to say she has no nappy rash now.

If you would like to find out more about Sebamed you can do from here and they don't only do baby products so you may find something else just right for you.

Hallmark, Recordable Artwork

When I herd Hallmark were after people to review the recordable artwork I jumped at the chance, My 6 year old loves to paint even the most random of things.
The Recordable artwork kit includes 6 washable paints, a brush and of course the canvas and frame.

My daughter was very excited to get started on this so we slid the canvas out of the frame to save any paint getting on it and I set her up with some water and the paints and brush, When she was finished we had to wait a couple of hours for the paint to dry so we could place the canvas back into the frame, Once that was done my daughter said she wanted to give the picture to her dad, So before she did I got her to record a message, Her message was Daddy I love you.
Its really simple to record a message all you need to do is flip the switch under the battery cover and the press and hold the record button and speak into the microphone, Once the message is recorded you release the record button and flip the switch back into the locked position. To hear the message there is a little button at the bottom of the frame that you press.

To find out more about Hallmark and all there other products they sell you can visit there facebook page here and also there website here

Proud mummy moment

My son is not very good at talking at the moment, I've been trying for a long time to get him talking more and more but it was never working.
But since the children have been back at school my son has been going to preschool 5 mornings a week and I really think its been helping him.

What I think has helped a lot is that the teachers at preschool have been devoting lots of time on him, due to his speech and eye problems.
Well whats made me so proud was today I managed to get him to count to 5 he has never done this before and only knew the word two, As I was in shock over this I got him to do it again and then I got him to do it to my parents and husband both times he did it so that was 4 new words he has learnt today, Well thats what I thought at the time little did I know 30 or so mins later he would say another new word.

He was throwing a bouncy ball around and he shouted high after all these new words I couldn't let them go with out a treat so I let him have a few sweets before bed time.

On top of his new words he also learnt to put some words together as well, When he lost his ball he was looking under the coffee table, I asked him where his ball was and he said down there.

This is real progress on his talking and I really feel so proud of him, I just hope this is the start of new things to come.

Nothing but respect for Vision express

Today we went to get our sons glasses sorted with his new perscription, While we was there we asked if they could fix our daughters too as she had fallen off her scooter over the summer holidays and had bent the frames a bit, When the lady herd us telling our daughter to be careful with them in future as they are her only pair the lady said she will sort out a second pair for free for her as her perscription is very strong and she can't go without glasses.

So the lady sorted a pair of frames for our daughter and found a pair for our sons new glasses, while she was filling out all the forms she saw that the NHS voucher wouldn't cover the cost of the glasses and lenses and it would have left us with a bill of £90, Really not what we want when he might only have them glasses for 3 months, So the lady told us to come back Tuesday when another staff member should be able to sort it out so we don't have to pay a penny.

This really shocked me as I'm sure if we went to some other glasses company they would have just made us pay the money, For this I am so greatful to them and know that I will never swap companies and continue using them even for my glasses I am now going to go there.

Bizzybee Moisturising Gloves

When I wash up I have to be careful what washing up liquid I use as I get a really bad rash on my arms, I tried normal washing up gloves but they also irritated my skin, So when I was given the chance to try out Bizzybee's moisturising gloves I couldn't wait to give them a try to see if I could finally help my arms.

When they arrived I was very eager to find some thing to wash up, I put the gloves on and couldn't believe how nice they felt on my skin, There moisturising gloves are latex-free with luxury lining and suitable for sensitive skin, I can tell you they are really kind to your skin, I have had no issues since using them and when I take them off my hands feel so much softer, Even my husband has had a go with them and he has also noticed the difference in his skin.
These gloves are by far the best I have tried and I will definately be buying more as I know by using these we can save money and just get the one bottle of washing up liquid instead of the two we normaly buy.

If you want to try some of Bizzybee's products you can find them available in these places Amazon, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, selected Waitrose stores, Tesco, Wilkinson

Silent Sunday

Back to Great Ormond Street Hospital

Well on Wednesday my son had another check up at Great ormond street, It was ment to be to confirm his right eye was stronger than his left before they went on to operate, But when he was there the doctor took a look at his eyes with out drops in so he could see our sons pupils and how they were on a normal day, Only for them to ask if its ok for them to take medical photos of his eyes as they have never seen anything like his eyes.

This is a photo we have taken of his eyes, Not sure if you can see that well in this photo but his right pupil is not in the center and his left one is very miss shapen.

After my son had a photo of his eyes taken he had his drops put in and then once they worked his eyes checked again, At this point we was expecting to be told the full details of the operation they was going to do, But instead they have now said due to his eyes being so unique they would like to try a few other things to see if that helps before going ahead and operating.
A few things that was mentioned was giving him eye drops everyday to open his pupils to try and help improve his vision that way, They are really pushing for this one so I think next time he goes back in 3 months time he will be given drops, Another thing they wanted to try is contacts but both me and my husband know we will not be able to put them in and take them out everyday so instead for the time being our son has a knew perscription for a different type of lense to see if they help.

I will be keeping my fingers crossed as I would really love for his eyes to be fixed with out an operation.

Dizolve, Non-bio washing sheet with concentrated cleaning power

Being in a family of 5 and a cloth nappy user as you can imagine I do lots of washing every week, I have no end of different things in my cupboard just for my washing, So being given the chance to review some Dizolve was great as each pack has 20 washes in yet its so small it takes up no space at all.

I was sent some fresh linen scent and some Lavender scent (Lavender is also a 2 in 1)Its hard for me to decide what one smells the best as they both smell really nice.

I did my first load of washing using the 2 in 1 lavender scented sheet and as soon as I opened my washing machine door I could smell the fresh scent, As I was hanging the washing out I was looking to see if I could see any sign of any left over sheet but none was found, I was very impressed with this as in the past I have found left over powder in my draw or parts of tablets left in my washing.

My next wash was with the fresh linen and I have to say I even tried this on my cloth nappies which I am very particular on how I wash them but as the first wash I did come out great I had a feeling of trust, After my nappies had finished washing I got them out and was very impressed with how clean they were using Dizolve.

My only down side with Disolve is not many shops stock them but I'm sure over time that wont be a problem should you want to buy some you can do from there online shop here and you can also buy them from these stores selected Waitrose (both Fresh Linen & Lavender), Selected Sainsbury's (just Fresh Linen), selected Morissons (just Fresh Linen).

Vanish removes stains 1st time, Yeah right

Why do I fall for these things, Oh thats right the adds make out they really do work, Well heres whats happend, My daughter spilt tomatoe sauce on her school top at dinner time so right away I treated the stain Like vanish say on there packaging and put it in for wash.

Fast forward 1 hour 30 mins out comes the top and whats looking at me but a nice tomatoe sauce stain, This vanish cost me nearly £10 I feel robbed I can certainly say I will never be buying that again, Not only have I waisted nearly £10 but I now have to go out and buy my daughter a new school top and maybe a bib to.

The one day she doesn't get changed out of her school clothes and this happens well lesson learnt never buy vanish just because it says removes stains first time.

Great Ormond Street Hospital, GOSH Charity

As its only two days away from my sons next visit to Great Ormond street hospital, I really wanted to help give something back to them for all they are doing for my son, As most of my readers will be aware he will be having an operation on his eyes. I'm happy that its Great Ormond street hospital that will be doing it as most of you proberly already know how great a hospital it is for children.

Since my son has been under there care I have donated money and brought a really nice charity hoody from them, They have always been a charity I have given money to in the past but now they are looking after my son I want to do more, Which is where this post comes in.

Great Ormond Street Hospital provides inspirational and world-class care to hundreds of children every day. But they need to raise over £50 million every year to help keep the magic alive.

Here are a few points on how fundraising can help the hospital-

A few ways your fundraising could help
Amazing things happen at Great Ormond Street Hospital every day and the money raised by people like you and your friends and family is crucial in helping us continue with this great work.
·£25 could pay for five special masks to help newborn babies breathe.
·£100 could help pay for two week’s accommodation for parents to stay close by.
·£500 could help pay for a new play room in the hospital’s redeveloped site.
·£1,288 could pay for a recliner chair for a parent to rest by their child’s bedside

To find out more about how your donation will make a difference and to take a virtual tour of the hospital watch there short film Building a brighter future

Now after reading all this should you wish to donate(even a little amount will help)you can do so here
They also have a shop where you can buy GOSH charity gifts and you can find that here

Make-A-Wish Foundation, Remember May

I'm a big sucker for anything that helps sick children, So I was more than happy to help promote Make-A-Wish.

Back in the summer of 2010 Make-A-Wish UK granted the wish of five year old May who was fighting a rare cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma – she wished to be a princess for the day. Sadly May passed away just a couple of months after her wish, two years ago today, on 31st August 2010.

May’s family have been involved with Make-A-Wish ever since, raising as much money as they can to ensure that other families going through the same awful experience can have their wish. May’s Dad, Neil, has made this short video and would like as many people as possible to watch it and support Make-A-Wish:

It's only a minute or so long, so please watch the video if you have a moment to spare. And if you could share it with as many people as you can it would mean so much to Neil and his family. If you are able to make a donation too, to help grant a wish to another child like May, you can ‘Remember May’ at http://www.justgiving.com/RememberMay

Food shopping gone good

Me and my husband was wondering where all our money kept going to and found out our main problem was on food shops, When he would get paid we would go do a big shop and end up spending nearly £200 on basically junk food (Not good)and every week after we was spending another £100+ on food for dinners and lunches, So we decided to go back to getting our veg from Riverford to see if that helps us, But upon us choosing our veg box, We saw a lovely fruit box that we knew would go down well with our kids so that also went in our basket, And then we noticed they sold meat boxes too so again one went in our basket,

We have been ordering this now for over a month and the price on average (depending on the veg box we choose)is around £55, Now obviously we still have to go to the supermarkets for other bits but that is now done with me sending my husband a text telling him what we need and he pops over to a supermarket after work (very handy as his work is just over the road from one)

Our kids have still been getting there treats or sweets and crisps but that is done through approved foods and only ordered once a month and the average price for that is £20 with the cost of delivery.

By doing this we have managed to cut down how much we spend dramatically and all the fruit, veg and meat is organic something I never thought I would be able to afford.
I think it really does save to shop around as I would just go to our nearest supermarket and shop there with out bothering to think of how much we are spending.

Oh no why did I open my big mouth

Since my husband past his driving test in 2005 he has now had 4 cars,
He started with an old J reg proton and when we found out we was expecting our second child we decided me needed a bigger car, So he found a cheap Mondeo it was only a W reg so wasn't really new but it had all the mod cons in as it was an ex company car.

Sadley the Mondeo didn't last to long as the clutch went so we took it to get fixed and the garage that had it fixed it, Well so we thought when we got it back it was running fine but there was a terrible knocking sound and no other garage could find out what it was, So onto his 3rd car that too was a Mondeo this one was also a W reg and he got it at a bargan price as the original owner worked with him and was moving away so wanted to sell it cheap and knew my husband wanted a new car.

Well this Mondeo had done us good, We have just put it through its MOT and got it taxed, When I open my big mouth and said to my husband I will let you buy a new car if you can find one that you really really want and at the right price.

Stupid mistake to make as that night he was looking for a new car, Lucky for me there was none in his price range for the time being so he said he will save up for a few months and then get one, Me thinking he would forget about it.

But the next day we are out shopping and on our way home my husband sees a car not just any car one her originaly wanted when he got his first Mondeo, And to top it off he knew the person selling it, So he now has his Mondeo estate that he has always wanted and for a good price as the person selling it does up cars to sell on so he swapped our old car and £180 in cash (cheap as my husband had just filled our old one up with petrol)for this estate Mondeo, Now I have a very happy husband but it will teach me to say he could have a new one.

Homework Over The Summer Holiday

My daughter was given homework to do over her summer holiday, Which I didn't really mind, The only thing that bothered me was that it was going to cost me money as she needed to read a book by a certain autor.

So the day we got the information I searched the internet for a place to buy one very cheap, I managed to buy one off Amazon for just 1p but the postage was £2.89 still the price was good.

A few days later the book arrived in the post and my daughter got very excited and read it that night, So her homework was as good as done, But my daughter wasn't happy she wanted more books to read, I was more than happy to buy her more books as both me and my husband love to read, So over the summer holiday I have now brought her a total of 9 books, Which she likes to read one every night before bed.

On top of all her reading she has been doing I have wanted to get her to practice her handwriting as her teacher has mentioned a few times that its very hard to read, So every other night she comes in from playing and either writes a story or writes about what she has done in the day.

I'm hopeing that by her doing this she will be much better when she goes back to school, I admit I do feel a little mean as I get her in from playing early so she can do all this and her friends are all still playing outside.

School summer holidays

It's gone so quick and I haven't managed to do half the things I wanted to do with the kids mainly because on all the nice sunny days my husband has been working either he's been dragged in on over time or its his normal shift.

We was lucky that on one Saturday the weather was really nice and Riverford had a 25th birthday celebrations at one of there farms, So we packed a picnic and drove off to the farm, It took us about 1hr 30mins to get there but the drive time was worth it, My daughter was very excited to see where our fruit, veg and meat comes from and also all the free actvities they had planned for everyone that went along.

My daughter was a little upset that she couldn't get her face painted, If you remember a post from a while back she came out in a huge rash and we are now thinking its because she had face paints on and that was the only new thing she had come in contact with at the time. But my daughter managed to win herself and her brother a piece of fruit which they both gobbled up very quickly, No surprise there really as given the choice between fruit and sweets they will both choose fruit everytime.

Both my oldest daughter and my son got to sit on a tractor, My son was getting a little to into sitting on it that he even started pulling leavers and trying to get it started.
Sadly it was a little to hot that after just a couple of hours we decided to take the kids home and get them all a nice cool bath.

As this was the only time we could take the kids out we decided to splash out a little (or should I say a lot) on some new things for the kids to play with, We got our 6 year old a barbie skidder and a new hello kitty scooter, Our son got a balance bike and a game of matar golf and our youngest got her own pillow pet.

Some people might see it as pointless gifts for our kids but as we haven't been able to do much with them over the holidays we thought it would be nice to buy them some new things to play with, To try and make up for the lack of other activities.

Entertaining my 6 year old

Over the summer holiday my daughter has been allowed to play out in our street, Now we live in a quiet street and there is only one way in and one way out so I know she will be ok.

But sadly all her friends that she would normaly play with are out today so she keeps coming back moaning shes bored, So I decided to make a list of colours and give her the list along with a pencil and to get her to search for something that was a colour on the list, Unfortunately she found them all way to quick.

So next up she has a list of all the letters of the alphabet and its proving to be a little more tricky for her but at least shes having fun and practicing her writing at the same time.

Its days like today that I wish I could drive so I could take her and my other two out somewhere.

Fruit Shoot Smencils

When I was younger I used to have scented colouring pens but they were nothing like Smencils where you could hardly smell them at all, But with Smencils the scent is so strong you can smell it from quite far away, Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspaper and each Smencil comes in a tube made from biodegradable plastic.

I was sent a pack of 5 graphite pencils each with a different scent Tropical, Blackcurrant and apple, Orange, Apple and Summer fruits. The Summer fruits scent appears to be my daughters favorite scent as thats the main one she uses when writing and drawing.

My daughter can't wait to go back to school and show all her friends her new Smencils, I think having these would make all children exited to go back to school.

Learning resources have a Facebook competition for your chance to win some Smencils you can find that here.

RM At Home

RM at home is full of educational toys a other bits to help parents at home carrying on the learning when children are not at school.
I was sent two of there products a See N Speak recordable magnifier for my 3 year old son and some conversation cubes for my 6 year old daughter.
Both products have given my children hours or entertainment while also helping them learn.

With the magnifier you can record things you find on it by speaking into it, But What I did with my son which was a nice little game to play was I would record a message like go find an ant and then he would go look for one, It can only record 30 secs of audio so you wouldn't be able to record a big message, What I really like about it is that its very chunky and can withstand a lot of knocks.

The conversation cubes are a really good idea, If your child is anything like my 6 year old getting information out of them after school can be hard, So what I did with these is I got my daughter to roll a cube and then read her the question and get her to answer, By doing this I found out a lot of things I never really knew about her as she just wont open up much at home.

You can buy both of these and many other products on there website here

Back To School With Aldi

I admit I never knew Aldi sold school uniform until I was asked to write a review on some for them, The quality of their school uniform is just as good as what I brought my daughter for school last year and the price is even cheaper, I found myself spending a small fortune on her uniform last year, But now I know I can get just as good quality for a cheaper price.

I was sent a pack of two white school shirts, A pack of 2 white polo shirts, A red school jumper, A pair of trousers and a skirt.
The trousers and skirt have an adjustable waist which I think is great as my daughter is taller than most her age so we need to buy her the next size up just for length but they never fit her waist, So with the adjustable waist its no longer a problem.

You can buy a full set of uniform from Aldi for just £4 at that price I can't see them staying around long so you would have to be quick.

4 Little 1, Baby nose-clear Vapour-ring

Having a baby with a cold can be a real nightmare, But the people over at 4 little 1 have come up with another great way to help your baby through there cold.
There new vapour ring, Which simply pops over the teat of the bottle and helps clear your babies nose so they can drink there milk easily.

You can buy the vapour rings in packs of 3 and they can be reused again and again as long as you re-seal the pack it comes in, They are designed to fit most wide neck bottles but unfortunately I only use MAM bottles so I couldn't see what others they will fit.

Thease really are a must have to keep in the cupboard ready for the dreaded day your baby gets a cold.
to find out more about 4 Little 1 you can visit there facebook page here