We have a date

Finally after a while of waiting we have a date for our sons operation, it's made it even more real now and making me get a little worried yet I know he's in the best care,

His operation will be on the 26th February and he has to be nil by mouth from 2:30pm the afternoon before, and as we live outside of London my husband and son will be staying in accommodation provided by Great Ormond street hospital the night before as he has to be at the Dinosaur ward for 7:30 the morning of his operation,


The good news is he will only have to stay in one night after his operation, but annoyingly he has to go back after two days for a check up and a few more check ups after that.

Lucky for me my family have offered to look after my other two children the day of my sons operation so I can go down early morning to be with my husband and son, but I know it will be hard leaving them both that night.

MAM Snack Box

I'm a huge fan of MAM products and when I was asked to review the new MAM snack box, I was a little excited as this was one thing we was lacking for my daughter,

The MAM snack box is so easy to use for both parents and baby, The lid comes right off for easy filling for the parent and then once the lid is back on there is a smaller lid that you can take off that stays attached to the main lid so you can fold it under the main part of the pot and attach it to create a little handle for your child to hold it easily, As with all MAM products its BPA free.
The only problem I have had with it is my daughter caught me clipping the lid to the base to make a handle and she now liked to try an look to see if she can take it off, but other than that its been getting lots of use and comes everywhere with my daughter now so she always has something to snack on when she's hungry.

You can buy the new MAM snack box from there online store here there is 3 colours to choose from Pink, blue and green and they only cost £5.99

The ask Italian Cookbook, In Support of Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity

As most of my readers already know my son is under the care of Great Ormond street Hospital, So I have been doing my bit by donating money and buying gifts from there Charity gift shop, When I got offered the chance to review the Ask Italian cookbook where proceeds go to Great Ormond street charity, I couldn't turn it down as it was another way I could try and help.

I really love this cook book I have a few other Italian cook books but have found this one the easiest to follow when cooking, There is 8 main chapters in this book ranging from starters to making your own pasta.

The one recipe that really caught my eye and made me want to give it a try was Frittata Di Pasta Avanzata/ Firttata of leftover pasta, I think this one caught my eye the most as I always cook way to much pasta and end up throwing loads away, I gave this one a go but I forgot to take a photo of it before it all went, It's a really simple recipe and all you need is eggs, cooked pasta with any sauce, parmesan cheese ( I just used cheeder cheese though), Butter and salt and pepper, It only takes 15 minutes to cook so its a very quick and easy recipe to make and it was a big hit with my pasta loving kids.

Ask Restaurants will donate £4 of the retail price of every Ask Italian cookbook sold there restaurants and a minimum of £1 of the retail price of every Ask Italian cookbook sold through bookshops and other 3rd party retailers to Great Ormond street Hospital childrens charity, The retail price of the book is £15

Napolina

I love cooking and trying out new things on my kids, when I was asked to review some products from Napolina I was trying to think what I could make with them for the our dinner, When they arrived I was excited to see just which products I was getting, I was sent red kidney beans, cannellini beans, chick peas and butter beans, So I got my thinking cap on and finally worked out what I was going to cook,

I went for a simple choice and it ment we could try them all out at the same time, I made up a basic tomato sauce and added all the beans and chick peas and cooked until the sauce had thickened, To go with this I cooked up some pasta.

I was really pleased with how this turned out and even more pleased that it tasted that good two out of my 3 children wanted more, I will be buying more of these now I know Napolina do more than just tinned tomatos and pasta, And there is endless of things you can do with them.

The RRP of these are just 79p and you can buy them from most supermarkets.

Manuka Honey from Aldi

I love Honey on toast and when I was asked to review the Manuka Honey I was eager for it to arrive.
When they asked me if I would like to review it they told me a little about Manuka honey, Manuka honey contains more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants than other type of honey and can be used to improve general health and wellbeing. Meaning it's perfect to use when colds and sore throats start to set in. The honey can also help relieve allergies, improve skin care and has properties that can aid with a good night's sleep, so it's perfect to use all year round.

Now I have had a cold for the past few weeks and its only just started to get better, Could it be the honey really does help, I have to say though I have had trouble sleeping the last few months but since having this honey I have found that I'm not tossing and turning at night instead I have been going strait off to sleep.

This honey tastes very nice and makes you want to have more, and even better my kids really liked eating it on toast too.
You can buy this honey from all Aldi stores and it only costs £3.99 for 250g

Anger Management, TV series Season One

I had herd of the film Anger Management but didn't know about a TV series so I was very excited to be asked to review it, Its starring a few well known actors/actresses Charlie Sheen, Selma Blair and Shawnee Smith, There was even guest appearances from Denise Richards and Martin Sheen.

The series is about Charlie (Charlie Sheen)as an anger management therapist who also has his own anger issues and sees his own therapist Kate (Selma Blair)but he also kind of has a relationship with her aswell.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this but when I put the DVD on I was instantly glued to the tv, I foolishly put the DVD on around 10pm and kept saying to my husband I will go to bed when this episode has finished well that never happened I kept wanting to see what was going to happen next, I ended up watching the first disc that night and couldn't wait to start on disc two.

Both me and my husband really enjoyed watching this and now we can't wait to see season two we just hope its as good as the first one is.

You can buy Season one of Anger Management now from most supermarkets.

Ape Escape

When I have lots of housework to do I often put a DVD on for my kids to watch so I'm not being pestered by them to change the channel as they don't like the next program on, So when I was offered Ape escape to review I thought I would give it a try with my kids while I did the housework.

My son was a little unsure of it at first as its not the normal things he would watch but all 3 of them sat down and watched it and only pestered me when the DVD had finished as they wanted it played again.
My oldest daughter enjoyed it that much that she asked if she could take it to her nans house for her sleep over and has since had it on her DVD player most nights of the week since it arrived, So I think its safe to say its a big hit in our house.

Specter the leader of the ape world, was just an ordinary ape at the zoo, until an intelligence boosting helmet was accidentally dropped into his cage and he put it on, when he put the helmet on he is suddenly given the intelligence of a human and even starts to look human.

Ape Escape is base on a popular Playstation game and has 19 episodes on this DVD and is released on DVD on 18th February, The RRP of this DVD is £7.99

Cupid Dog

I love a good movie night with my husband and when I was asked to review Cupid Dog, I wasn't sure my husband would like it, Cupid dog is about a dog called Gabe who tries to set his owner up on his ideal date in the hope that he will find love and change his mind about moving to another country.

I found Cupid Dog a little hard to get into at first but I carried on watching and found it to be a really good film in the end, Its not the normal sort of film I would go for when out shopping for a new DVD to watch, But I'm glad I had the chance to review it as it has now made me think twice about passing this sort of film up .

Cupid dog is available to buy on DVD and download to own and rent on the 4th February Perfect timing for a nice romantic film night with your partner this Valentines day.
The RRP is £9.99

The Possession

I love watching a good horror film, So when Lionsgate told me they was sending me a copy of The Possession to review I couldn't wait, The Possession is rated 15 and is about a girl who buys an antique box at a yard sale, Unaware that inside is a malicious ancient spirit that possesses the girl, And her dad and his ex-wife (her mum)try to find a way to end the curse.

I always like a good horror that makes me jump and I have to admit this did make me jump a few times, I was also glued to the TV the whole time it was on, My husband also watched it with me and after it had finished he said I really enjoyed that.

This is definately a film that I will watch again and again.

Its available to buy on DVD, BLU-RAY and to download from Monday 21st January.

Crosse & Blackwell, 4 Kids pasta range

I was asked to try out the Crosse & Blackwell 4 Kids range with my kids, My son is a really fussy eater now so when I saw they did Disney cars pasta, I couldn't wait for them to come so I could see if my son would eat them with out any fuss,

The Crosse & Blackwell 4 kids range is low in fat, low in sugar, has no artificial additives and no artificial colours, perfect for lunch or as an extra part of dinner.

Before I cooked some up for my sons lunch I showed him the tin and he got very excited seeing Disney cars on the tin, I made him some toast to go with it, A very quick lunch to make if your really pressed for time, After giving my son his lunch I was expecting the normal thing from him that would be yuk followed by him pushing him plate away, But that didn't happen infact he ate all the pasta and left a little toast, as he was eating it he kept pointing out that it was cars.

From now on I will be stocking up on more of the 4 Kids pasta range as I know its something my son will now eat and its a nice quick lunch to make for him too.
You can buy the Crosse & Blackwell 4 Kids pasta range from most supermarkets, I have seen it in one supermarket on offer at the moment too so that was even better for our pocket.