Women Expecting Monochorionic Twins Need to be Aware of TTTS

I'm happy to share a guest post with you today, written by Kate Phillipa Clark, the founder of about-twins.com, a wonderful resource website for those expecting and parenting twins. In this artcile Kate talks about Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, which can be a serious complication of having twins, who share a placenta. Whilst it's really improtant to educate yourself about this, I want to make clear that it is only a concern to you if your twins share a placenta, and even then it only affects about 8-10% of monochorionic pregnacnies (source), so there is no need to get unduly scared, just speak to your sonographer and doctor at your next appointment. 

Women pregnant with twins need to know their twins chorionicity. It’s extremely important to know whether or not you expect twins who share a placenta to be on the lookout for conditions like Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS).

It might not be the first thing you think about when you learn that you’re expecting twins. But knowing chorionicity in twins is extremely important. Chorionicity relates to whether or not your twins share a placenta. Twins who share a placenta are called monochorionic twins. A sonographer determines chorionicity by using ultrasound at the dating scan during your first trimester. If you learn that you are carrying monochorionic twins, you’ll need to be monitored more often than with dichorionic twins. Dichorionic twins have separate placentas and are not at risk of the same conditions as monochorionic twins.

Review: 42nd Street at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

What a show! I went into 42nd Street having no idea what it was about but assuming that because it was running at a big prestigious theatre like the Theatre Royal Drury Lane it must be a good show and yep, it really was! I'll start by saying, if you're in a hurry you don't even need to read anymore, just go and see it. You won't be disappointed and contrary to what you might believe it's not just for women. My husband loved it too. If you're a fan of musical theatre then it is for you.

From the start this show is spectacular and it's not just one thing that marks it out as exceptional. There's a large cast and a lot of variety. The singing is superb, the dancing is amazing, there are beautiful glittery costumes and the scenery will blow you away.

I don't think it has the strongest story line out of the many shows I've seen but the story felt secondary to the glamour and glitz of the production and that was OK. The show opens with us seeing the chorus line being cast for a new big-money show called Pretty Lady, that will open in Atlanta. The show is being bank-rolled by a rich businessman and for his investment he expects his mistress Dorothy Brock to be cast in the lead role. This frustrates the esteemed director Julian Marsh but he goes with it through no other choice. Dorothy Brock is doing a great job with the singing and the dancers keep her dancing inabilities well hidden but then the new girl from out of town, Peggy Sawyer trips her up accidentally and Dorothy ends up with a broken ankle. No more lead role for Dorothy!

12 Signs You're Doing OK as a Parent of a Teenager

My JJ is now 13 and as tall as many kids 2 or 3 years older than him. He is also very intelligent, quite wise and great fun to be around. Yes there are the odd 'Kevin' (of Kevin and Perry fame) moments but generally he is a sound lad and will do what is asked of him.

Who knows if we have all the troublesome years ahead of us, maybe we are just getting away with it easy now and the future will be a nightmare but I won't start worrying about that just yet.

Family Reasons to be Cheerful - Brighton, Smiggle and Twin Love

Happy Thursday friends. I thought I'd ask my family what is making them super cheerful at the moment. Here is what they said -

JJ - He came home with a letter yesterday to say he has won a prize for great work in ICT and considering computing is his first love, he was over the moon. Even more so when he found out he would get a £25 book token as a prize. It also means Hubby and I get to do our proud parents bit and go to the prize giving in November.

Here he is checking out the new Guinness World Records Gamers Edition to see if he is mentioned. He currently holds a Minecraft world record, don't you know!

6 Reasons to Choose the Novotel Blackfriars for your Family London Stay

If you are anything like me you may get flighty ideas of taking the kids for a nice weekend away in London and then you start to think practical and have a look only to find that everything is prohibitively expensive or that you have to book two rooms to be able to accommodate your kids and frankly that just isn't practical.

Well, worry not.  I have the solution for you, book to stay at the Novotel Blackfriars and two children (up to the age of 16) can share your room free of charge and they can also join you for a delicious buffet breakfast without cost. In fact book to stay at any Novotel anywhere and you will be offered these two free places, as this is their regular family offer and I think that is pretty fabulous. Not perfect for my family if we are being honest, as we have three children but they do offer a 'Family Extra Room' promotion and this gives a second room for 50% of the cost. Which means your break can still be affordable and as my kids are older it is also workable.

I've been very impressed with all the family friendly offerings that Novotel have in general and I wrote a post about it recently, take a read over here. But what I want to share today is why the Novotel, Blackfriars has captured my attention and become a hotel that I'd happily recommend to friends.

Pressure, pressure everywhere

It is a crazy old world we live in nowadays; everyone and everything is so driven, so target focused and so opinionated. Whatever happened to live and let live? Or don't worry, be happy? OK they are cliches but for me I don't think they will ever go out of date.

I've come to realise that many of the things that make me unhappy or uneasy are from the pressure I feel. Pressure to conform, to be perfect, to be online everywhere, to be the best parent, have the most successful blog and to always succeed. Logically I know none of these things are right, never once did Jesus say 'my disciples, you must strive to be the best and only then will I accept you'. No, never. 

Instead what bible says is 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.' (John 3:16 ESV) That message is for every one of us, He accepts and loves all of us, we just have to make the choice to accept Him back, I also love the verse that days  'Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?' (Matthew 6:26 NLT).

Netflix: Recommended for me

Bloggers are an outspoken bunch, known for having strong opinions so in my quest to find some new viewing material I put the question out there -

What series on Netflix would you recommend and why?

This is the response I got -

Chris at Thinly Spread - Mr Selfridge - I love a bit of historical fiction - with glamour and shopping! (I've not heard of this before and I see there are two seasons available and it was originally an ITV program, which is good as far as I'm concerned. Cheers Chris, I'll give this a try)

Annie at Mammasaurus - Breaking Bad! I got into it late and watched it all in a fortnight - oo and House of Cards, since watching that I keep wanting to do a Frank Underwood in real life and talk to an imaginary camera !!! (Now of course I have to watch as I have no idea what she is on about!)

Sian at You're not from round here - agrees that Breaking bad is totally addictive!

Emma at Emma and 3 - Orange is the new black - I've always loved prison programmes ever since I thought I'd be a prison officer. I turned teacher instead can you spot any similarities!! (Lol, Emma I can;t imagine you are like any of those prison officers. I have actually seen this series and agree with Emma, its a good 'un)

The Boy and Me - Oooh, hard. Charmed - relieving my youth with humour and a little bit of sorcery.

Annwen at the Ramblings of a Surburban Mum - House - addictive, amusing and the brilliant Hugh Laurie. Great combo.

Sim at Sim's Life - House of Cards!! New season out this month! It is beyond awesome, Kevin Spacey is so manipulative and corrupt yet you cannot help but totally love his character!

My husband is currently watching the Tudors and he is getting through it pretty quick which tells me it is good. Both historical but also very watchable, depicting the life of Henry VIII.

Liz at Me and My Shadow - Sons of Anarchy. For Charlie Hunnam and Charlie Hunnam alone. You need no other reason. (I had to google him and yes he has a very nice body!)

Cass at Mummy Never Sleeps - Orphan Black - really clever and enjoyable. (Yep this is another one I have seen and I totally agree with Cas, really clever and not what you expect when you start watching)

Steph at I'm Counting UFOs - Californication. An oldie but a goodie. David Duchovny at his finest (and hottest) (Ohh, I'd not even realised this was on there, so there is one I want to catch up on)

Laura at Max and Mummy is obviously a Netflix fan, as she could not decide on one recommendation for me - Ahhh. I'll give you 3. The league - great comedy. Think inbetweeners with grown ups. Chuck - gripping spy comedy series of a loveable tech guy and a brain full of gov secrets. Pretty little liars - a cult show of mystery and suspense. (Thanks Laura, I've nto heard of any of these so I'll go and check them out)

Chantelle at Mama, Mummy, Mum - the latest series I've been watching is Grimm. A bit different to the norm, easy to follow and reminds a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, got to love a bit of demon slaying (not going to be my bag I'm pretty sure, but I'll put it on here as I know loads of people love this kind of thing)

And I'll leave you with my two newest recommendations -

Covert Affairs with Piper Perabo, there are 5 series and it is an eye-opening insight into life as a CIA operative.

Life Unexpected - I loved this and there is only one series on Netflix, which does make me a bit mad as I want to continue watching and see what happens to Lux now she is reunited with her parents sixteen years after they gave her up for adoption.

There we go, loads of great recommendations. Have you got any to add to the list?

Disclosure: I have received a years free membership to Netflix and a free device to become part of the #Streamteam. They have not instructed me what to write and I remain honest, as always. 

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The Sanctity of Christian Marriage

This post is part of the Choosing Him Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with 
nearly 100 other inspiring Christian bloggers. 

Over the last month or so I've been reading a new book by Juana Mikels. Choosing Him All Over Again is a wonderful book that every Christian woman should read. Read it as a single lady to gain some great advice and guidance on the pitfalls of a worldly approach to marriage or read it as a married Christian woman and find inspiration and direction in how to be a godly wife. 

I love this book so much as Juana's story is very real with lots of poor decisions and selfish actions but as you read it you grow with Juana and learn from her mistakes. She writes with such feeling and honesty that you feel as if it is a close friend telling you her story and parts will make you well up with emotion as you journey with Juana and see her faith mature.

One of the main selling points for me is that Juana goes back to the word again and again. This book is not Juana's take on a godly marriage. It is God's and is grounded in the truth. I haven't quite finished the book as yet as I am savouring every part but it is my time in the blog tour to post and as such I want to share with you some of the wonderful wisdom I have gained from Juana.

I've been married to my husband Adam for 12 years now and we have been together for 20. If I'm honest I don't think we started in the best place as neither of us were Christians when we met and I certainly bought a lot of past relationship baggage with me but what I have discovered is that with some work our marriage can be even better. God only wants the best for us and marriage is his most precious human relationship and it is His intention that every one of us should discover the joy of a godly marriage.

Juana starts her book by laying out two biblical principles that have been themes in her life -

the first principle is “man’s part is to trust, and God’s part is to work.” and the second principle is to receive everything in your life as if it has come directly from God’s hand.

Such great reminders for me and I have already found myself putting Juana's wisdom into action many times in the past weeks, both in my marriage and in other parts of my life. Within her book she has various prayers and a contract which she encourages the reader to take and make their own and use in their life. I have done just that and was particularly struck with the contract that Juana drew up with God declaring that she was dead to self and all her sins and possessions were no longer hers. She had given them up for a full and abundant life with Jesus and fulfilment of the desires of her heart.

This got me thinking, what are the desires of my heart? To honour God and carry out His work, to nurture children who know the Father and remain with Him and like Juana, to have a full and meaningful relationship with my husband. Nothing too complex there really but lots of work to be done to achieve in each of those areas, but that is OK, there is nothing wrong with hard work and the rewards will be great.

I could be here all day waxing lyrical about this book as it is having a big impact on me, but actually what you need to do is go out and buy a copy for yourself, so to close I'll leave you with some of Juana's wisdom gems -

• Comparison is the path to discontentment. We all walk a different path and as such our only measure should be Jesus.
• It is unrealistic to search after a love that is continual, unfading romance.
• If I let Him God will use my marriage as a way to help me fully know Him.
• The devil wants us to focus on the idol of self or any other idol to be honest and therefore we must keep going back to Jesus and His word.
• In this age of technology we are all spending too much time in a room with our spouse but not actually being with them. TV, PC's, tablets, phones and the like have stolen our ability to communicate and demonstrate that our spouse is our priority.
• It is a big mistake to spend all those months absorbed in every detail of planning the wedding to then only find you never actually thought about the marriage. A wedding is one day and your marriage is for life.
• In the book Juana revisits her marriage vows and realises she has taken them lightly and is walking away from me. This inspired me to look up my marriage vows and remember what I committed to Adam. I need to be accountable to God 
• Read 1 Corinthians 13 (especially if you had it read at your wedding, like I did) and remember how Paul describes love. Can I honestly say I am all those things to Adam? or like Juana was, am I more concerned with being loved than being loving and with being heard than listening to Adam.  That really is food for thought to me.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" 1 Chorinthians 13:4-7

Thanks so much for reading, I hope I have inspired you to go and check our Juana's book, it really is an awesome read and I've given you just a tiny glimpse of what is contained within in.

Be blessed, Mich x

If you want to get your hands on your very own copy of this book (hardback or Kindle version) , you can order it from Amazon in the UK HERE or the USA HERE or buy it at your local bookstore! There is also a fabulous FREE downloadable companion Choosing Him Bible Study Guide to download from HERE!  

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My Picture: His Words

A beautiful walk with my little princesses last Sunday led to this gorgeous image of sunset at Ashburnham Place. Don't you just love that reflection?

I'm linking up wth Darren over at One Dad 3 Girls and I'm hoping to join in with this each week, this year.

Happy New Year all, Be blessed, Mich x

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Do I want the simple life?

Image Credit

When we went down to my husband’s new workplace a short while back I bought a book to read.  The title literally popped out and said ‘buy me’, it’s called Let. It. Go. and the strap line is ‘How to stop running the show and start walking in faith’.  First thought –‘I need a healthy dose of that’ and second ‘ekk, this could be a nightmare having a Christian bookshop in my garden!’.

If you asked me ten years ago if I was a control freak I’d tell you yes and be pretty proud of that fact but over time I’ve been learning to let it go and to relax a bit more. Life nowadays is stressful enough without me adding to it. When you think about it, it is funny how technology and advancement has added to our stress instead of taking it away. Go back a hundred years and our relatives would have been washing by hand, cooking everything from scratch and walking miles to the shop while singing to themselves for entertainment. Children looked after children as their parents were so busy, either working to provide for the ever expanding family or running the house which was a full time job.

Nowadays we can buy meals in minutes, drive to any shop our heart desires and pop a load of washing, drying and dishes on simultaneously and still we are not happy with life. There is not enough time we cry to ourselves or in my case I used to often find myself frustrated and thinking ‘for F***’s sake, I have not got time for this’.  Yes I really did need a strong word with myself to look at that attitude and realise that I did indeed have time for whatever ‘it’ was, as long as I dumped some of the meaningless stuff that had taken over my time.

Meaningless stuff like how my house is decorated or cleaned, whether the kid’s clothes matched perfectly, if my garden looked immaculate and the fact that the car was a mess. So what? All of these are niceties, none of them make a bit of difference as to whether we are all well looked after and cared for (practically and spiritually).  Most are about show and what others think.  Don’t get me wrong I do not find it easy to be able to let go of this small stuff but I realise that I must.

In a few months we will move to another county and a new home and this is mega exciting and also very daunting but some of the things niggling away at me are just stupid.  Things like we need new furniture and how will we afford to buy quality stuff? Then I stop and think surely Ikea will do, we need it to be practical and that has to be more important that the vanity aspect of having a beautiful looking home. I’m moving to a Christian centre, surely those people will not be judging my family on whether our soft furnishings perfectly match, they will be looking at how content our kids are and what it feels like to be a guest in our house.  Is it warm, do they feel welcome and relaxed? Those are the things I want to focus on, the big stuff - the children we raise, the home we build and the hospitality we offer. I think Christ would prioritise those things.

When I stand in a supermarket and see ten varieties of jam, I don’t want to have to feel stressed about which will be the best buy.  I’ll buy one and it will do the job and I’ll forget the rest, I’d like to say I’ll make my own but I expect I am quite a few years off that level of domestic bliss just yet.  I need to keep things simple and in perspective, my recent trips abroad to Ethiopia and Belarus have been super for helping me get my priorities straight and knowing that I need to let go and let God. He is here to be relied on and He wants me to be in constant communication with him.

It seems so apt that the first session I went to at Spring Harvest told me that we have a God who at the core wants to communicate – ‘in the beginning there was the word’ (John 1:1). I don’t know what challenges and changes the next few months will hold but I do know that I am very excited (and yes of course nervous too) about not working and having more time with my children, husband and God. I need to be being obedient and listening to what God wishes to tell me, that is how I will be a good disciple and be able to model that to others.

Being in control is not all it is cracked up to be. What do you need to let go of?

Operation Christmas Child: It's Never too Early...

Since travelling with Operation Christmas Child in December last year the charity has never been far from my mind. It has just become my norm (and that of my children) to be on the lookout for gift items that can go in shoe boxes. I love it that people see me and think shoebox gifts, recently a friend was moving and there were a few times I turned up at her house and she gave me things she had thought would suit the shoe boxes. What makes this even more precious is that she has so little herself.

This afternoon I went to do a presentation about my Belarus trip, to the local warehouse volunteers and it was great to see all these people who are so committed to helping children enjoy a gift-filled box at Christmas time.

It reminded me that I wanted to share some great finds with you and to remind you that it is never too early to start collecting to fill a shoebox or two. I often hear from people who tell me it is too expensive to make up a shoebox and I do beg to differ. For the majority of people spending £10 over the course of a year to fill a box with gifts and love is achievable.

Here are some really nice items I have picked up for bargain prices in the last couple of weeks. The Entertainer toy shops have been very good and I managed to buy some beautiful Pride of Britain lions leftover from Olympic memorabilia sales, these plush toys cost me just £1 and there were smaller ones for 50p each too.

Then also from the Entertainer, I picked up these Lego-style sets for just £1 each.  Just think how much a  child abroad will love and cherish this toy.

Then the last thing I picked up this week was a pack of 3 erasers from Tesco for just 25p per pack.

On all these things you see here I have spent £6 and what else could I have spent that money on? A couple of cappuccinos or part entry to the cinema? Or maybe a couple of greetings cards or soft play entrance for one of my kids?

All these simple gifts make me so much happier than going out and doing any of those things. I go to bed tonight knowing my £6 was well spent and that my shoe boxes are already starting to fill up ready for collection in November.

Have you spotted any good bargains yet?

Do share with me, as I'm always keen to keep topping up and even if they do not make it into the 4 boxes that our family makes I like to help make up boxes at school or  I can donate them to the local warehouse where I was today.

Thanks to all involved, your boxes really make a difference. Just look at these 25 happy recipients from Belarus last year.

All images by Jonty Wilde

Review: The Cavendish Hotel, London

Our family was really pleased to be invited to the 4 star Deluxe Cavendish Hotel in St James, London to review what the hotel facilities are like for a family with primary school aged children and let me tell you from the offset we had such fun. This is one classy hotel, not only does it look divine, it also has wonderful friendly yet professional staff.

We arrived at the hotel at about 7pm on a Friday night and were the only guests in reception, we were greeted with a big warm smile and the kids loved helping themselves to the Cavendish branded sweets, they even played peek a boo with a passing staff member and the hotel post box. I was instantly put at ease and felt very welcome.

The Hotel Room
Our first stop was the hotel room and boy was it a room and a half! We were lucky enough to have interconnecting Executive rooms. In one room we had an enormous king size bed and in the other there was a king and a double sofa bed all made up and ready. The interconnecting rooms are perfect for a larger family like ours, as my husband and I had some privacy but we felt completely comfortable knowing that our children were just next door and the interconnecting doors were wide open.

Without the sofa bed made up the rooms are super spacious, definately the most spacious 4 star hotel room I have ever stayed in, in London and even with the sofa bed (which incidentally is big enough for 2 children up to about 12 years to share) there was plenty of room for all 3 kids to move around and be happy.

The first thing we did when we entered the rooms was to look out the windows and wow, what a view. The hotels strap line is 'The only thing we knowingly overlook is the London Eye' and how true that is, in both senses. I can't imagine any little details being overlooked at this quality hotel and yes the London Eye looks fabulous from the rooms, especially at night when it is all lit up.

You'll be able to see from the photos above that the decor in the bedrooms is beautiful, lots of supple leather, strong colours and soft pillows. Every Executive room has a Nespresso coffee maker as well as a traditional tea tray with yummy Duchy shortbread biscuits. All the classic signs of a really good hotel were there - open the cupboard door and the light comes on. Raining outside, take the umbrella with you. Forgotten your toothbrush - just call and a free dental set will be bought up to you. Afraid you might slip in the triple length shower - use the rubber mat provided. Fancy a glass of water - it's provided as standard.

Oh and I can't not mention the bed specifically, I think I love the beds at the Cavendish, they are super comfortable. I wanted to take the pillows home in my bag and the duck down duvet was just right. They tell me that they also do hypo allergenic bedding as well if you prefer.

There are 230 bedrooms in the hotel, all with the same high standard of decor but ranging in size and facilities from Classic Rooms to the Penthouse Suite. We would all love to return and stay here again.

Breakfast in the Restaurant

To my dismay the girls awoke super early, even after a late night and so we headed off into the rain for an early morning stroll around St James, Piccadilly and Mayfair. I can recommend this, it was serene and quiet and the girls enjoyed being able to run down the Burlington Arcade and watch the buses go by without too much hustle and bustle. Once the rain started to really pour down we headed back to the hotel so I could print off an important email (for free) and the girls had a play on Cebeebies, how kid friendly is that?

About 9am the boys were up and dressed so we went down to the restaurant for our breakfast. It was quite busy at this time but they handled it well and we were shown to a table within a few minutes. The waiting staff were friendly but maybe a little slower than other 4/5 star breakfast services that I have experienced. At the time we were there our children were the only ones we saw in the hotel and I breathed a big sigh of relief that they were behaving!

The buffet was very nice and included a few different items like smoked salmon, a well stocked cheeseboard and watermelon juice (which Miss M loved). We all had a full English breakfast and then I enjoyed some bread and cheese and the kids really went for it and had muffins (excellent by all accounts), croissants, yoghurt and fruit - oh yes they were very hungry. The breakfast normally retails at £18 when booked in avdance (or £22.50 on the day) and you can eat as much as you like and there is also a menu to order extra items from, we had hash browns but we could have chosen from a wide selection of things like Eggs Benedict, Smoked salmon and cream cheese muffin or poached haddock.

I really liked the fact that you could have the exact same breakfast in your room for the same price. You nearly always pay a premium for room service and if my husband and I had been here alone I could imagine breakfast in bed would have suited us very well, especially as it is served until Noon on the weekend.

Afternoon Tea in the Lounge

After filling up on breakfast we had a lazy hour in our rooms to just relax and then headed downstairs to store our luggage. The concierge took care of this with no effort and we were able to head out for our fun day in London.

We arrived back at the hotel at 3.30pm ready to enjoy a full afternoon tea, our children's first. Every one of us was excited by the prospect of cream scones, something we all love. I have to be honest and say I think some of the customers were surprised to see children joining us for our afternoon tea but the children behaved well and the staff were completely unfazed and gave them a little colouring pack each.

The service we received was attentive and the food was absolutely excellent. The children got to try a few things they had not experienced before and they felt very grown up with their delicate glasses. When we were ordering I asked the waitress what was available drink wise for the children and she looked a little thrown for a moment, it is obviously not a question she has had before but she thought on her feet and Miss E had an apple juice and Miss M a hot milk included in the afternoon tea price of £18 per head.

Most of the guests having tea that afternoon were groups of ladies obviously having a great time with their girlfriends and were all dressed up for the occasion. I can thoroughly recommend this as a great place to have afternoon tea when you are in London.

Child friendly hotel? -

I've already mentioned that all the staff we came into contact with were excellent and particularly those working on reception were great with our children. This is the sort of hotel that I felt if I called down and asked for any kind of child-friendly item they would do their best to accommodate my needs - nothing would be too much trouble.

There are high chairs and cots available for use at the hotel and no extra charge for these.

I think it would be apt for the Cavendish to think about offering a half size portion for children for things like the breakfast and afternoon tea. I did see they had a very well priced children's menu for the restaurant but sadly this is not on the website. The pricing was excellent though at about £4.50/5.00 per child for a main course.

One thing that would have been great for us would be a small step in the bathroom, the sink is very high and my smaller twin had trouble getting to the sink to brush her teeth.

Overall Verdict -

Our family would most definitely recommend a visit to the Cavendish Hotel, it is as good as it markets itself to be. You can tell from the happy staff just why this hotel was awarded the 63rd place in the Sunday Times  top 100 small employers. If I am honest the price is a little out of my range, the rooms we stayed in would have cost us £259 per room inclusive of VAT and breakfast. However saying that a classic room can be as low as £140 for double occupcany and that is not at all a scary price for such a prime London location.

Thank you to the Cavendish for our wonderful complimentary stay. I have not been instructed what to write in this review and as always I remain honest.

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Oh so close and yet so far - my Guinness World record attempt!

Friday could have become the proudest day of my life, I could have seen my name in print and received a coveted Guinness World record certificate for becoming a record breaker.

• The official adjudicator was there
• I was there
• A big basket of socks was there
• In my head I kept hearing Roy Castle singing 'dedication is what you need, if you wanna be a record breaker!  whoo'
• But did Roy help me, did I manage to match and roll 20 pairs of socks in 1 minute?
• Was I quick enough???  No sadly not, must practise more Mich!

The current record is 19 and my top score was 17. I think with some practise I could break this record.  I did 2 practise runs, I got 16 on the first, 17 on the second and 17 on the official attempt but I got phased and my hands failed me!

Image Credit  I' have not got a picture of me doing it but here is my pretty little Miss E!

We had a fabulous time trying to break some world records and that for me was what it was about. One of the other Mummy bloggers there told me it was serious business and they really wanted a record, I have to be honest, this did not really bring out my competitive streak!  However saying that, I am proud to say I did the best at this task on the day, the other Mummy bloggers obviously are not as anal about their laundry as I am!  Not a fact I am sure I want to boast about?

We did have a record breaker among us though, Liz at Violet Posy had bought her secret weapon along and her husband took the record for stacking 21 cups in a particular formation, I can't recall the exact time, but it was about 16 seconds.

I am pleased to report that JJ told me what a great day he had. He attempted the record for domino stacking, currently held by the lovely Kate at 'WitWitWoo' and there was no tears this time.  He was proud of himself and had fun. Yay the boy is growing up!

The girls just had fabulous fun watching everyone, eating, getting their faces painted, wearing balloons and generally being little misses! Here is Miss M with her beautiful face painted as a tiger and he spectacular balloon backpack.

Image Credit

After our record attempts and some fun with face paints and balloons we went to see the Augmented reality exhibit that was at the Westfield Centre in Stratford and boy was it excellent.  It looked like a dinosaur, shark and the worlds heaviest twins were right there by my children, such good fun and you do not have to travel anywhere to see this kind of stuff.  Just buy yourself the Guinness World Records book (which I have seen on special offer in loads of places just recently) and download the free app.

JJ has already reviewed the Guinness World Records 2013 book, follow the link to read more.

Thank you to the Guinness World records team, you really are an awesome bunch of people. We all had a fabulous time.


Disclosure:  We were guests at Giraffe restaurant at the invitation of Guinness World Records, we received a gift each for attending.  I have not been asked to blog about this nor instructed what to write.  We just had a lovely time and I want to share.

Come journey with me - Ethiopia Part 1

Who are ONE?

Many of you will have read that I am off to Ethiopia in just over a month and as I have invited you to join me on this journey I feel it is important for you to know and trust who I am travelling with.

The ONE Campaign or ONE.org are a wonderful campaigning organisation who passionately care about our worlds people - all people - because after all we are one people. But the issue is that only a small percentage of us get heard and are able to fight the big forces to receive what we need to live the life we all deserve. This is where ONE comes in, they campaign at a grassroots level and pressure governments, world leaders and large commercial organisations to stand up to their responsibilities and to make a difference for the worlds poorest people, predominantly with a focus on Africa. One people = ONE.org - get it?

I have to be honest and say I had never heard of ONE before they reached out to me earlier this year, I got them mixed up with a water company with commercial interests, but after chatting to them and doing some research I came back happy that I can work with ONE, I can trust them and fully endorse the work they are doing and that's really important to me. If I am investing my efforts and heart, it has to be with an organisation that really are moving in the right direction.

I know that when I first heard of ONE I assumed they were a charity, all organisations doing good work are charities aren't they?  Well no.  ONE is an NGO or non governmental organisation and basically this means that ONE operate independently of any Government and as they are not a charity they do not ask for donations from joe average, like you and me. The funding comes almost entirely from a handful of philanthropists on the ONE board of directors (ONE's largest funder is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). The aim is not to fund raise but to raise awareness and pressure political leaders to fight extreme poverty through smart and effective policies and programs. ONE work with many of the big humanitarian aid agencies and charities and are proud to partner with them.  If you support one particular charity for example Save the Children and they are the one you always stand by, that does not mean you cannot support ONE too.  Chances are they work side by side with ONE and are supporting them as well. Putting your name to a petition which helps to show strength of opinion and vocalises that we are not happy about the inequality in our world is a powerful thing. As is taking the time to email or write to your MP.

Who am I?

So now you know who ONE are but what about me?  If you are a regular reader you probably have a feel for me or have even met me before.  I am pretty open on my blog so I think it is fairly easy to get a picture of who I am and what I'm about but I expect some of you joining me here are new readers, so I won't go assuming anything.

Perhaps I'll reverse this and tell you what I'm not. I'm not someone who has done anything like this before, in fact up until a couple of years ago it never even occurred to me to be an activist and to get involved.  I'm even ashamed to say that as a young teenager I seriously could not understand why anyone would try to save the world's poorest, I just thought the problem was too big so why bother.  I am pleased to say I have seen the light and yes I do mean that in a biblical way. Ten years ago I became a Christian and my life has radically changed and as such it is my call and my privilege to speak up for those who cannot. My blog was born out of a desire to share my faith but to demonstrate that not all Christians meet the stereotype and we do not always lecture or quote scripture.  We are perfectly imperfect normal people too!

I'm also not a journalist, nor author, nor media guru.  I really am just a very average working mum of three from the home counties who started to write a blog that has done rather well and now I find myself with a life-changing opportunity. That does not make me a blogging star or hero as has been hinted at, it makes me someone with a big weight on her shoulders and one she is ready to support fully.

Why Ethiopia?

Just take a look at this YouTube video (yes it is quite long at 10 minutes but worth it) and see how Ethiopia has changed in the last couple of decades.  In 1984/5 I was 11/12 years old and I vividly remember the famine in Ethiopia, as part of my trip I will visit the Tigray region and see something completely different to those video clips I recall seeing on TV all those years back.




How do I feel about this journey?

I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago which went into some of the emotions I am feeling at the moment.  If I swore on my blog I would probably tell you that I am s***ing myself, but in a good way. I expect this journey to be amazing and exciting and on one hand I feel terrible telling you this as I know that I am going to be exposed to some people who are on the edge of survival and I may see sights I never want to see again so how can I say that is exciting? Would it be more appropriate to be forlorn and to keep a straight face. No I don't think so, the people we will visit wish to see hope and to meet new friends.

It is the hope and the powerful stories of breakthrough that I am excited to hear and see and this is what I will share with you, tales of mothers learning to be sustainable and of children being vaccinated and educated. I pray I can use my emotions appropriately, sometimes it might be right to shed a tear and offer a hug and another it will be right to keep my composure and to rely on God's strength to take me through. Whatever the situation I know I will be ill equipped as this is a completely new experience but thankfully I have Him who gives me strength, as well as some other amazing Mum/ Mom bloggers that I am just getting to know.

My aim is to share this journey with you from start to finish and beyond and to do it my way, it might not be eloquent, my grammar may be off and my spelling a bit rubbish but it will be raw and from the heart and I hope to move and compel you to join me and to join ONE.org and become someone with a heart for the poor.

I could go on and on with this post as pretty much my head is taken over with thoughts of this trip at the moment but I'll stop here and come back later in the week with my next post, one about the preparations that I am going through for this trip.

If you think others will enjoy taking this journey with me, then please share this and my other ONE Ethiopia posts and don't forget to sign up to ONE and offer your voice. I am taking this journey with Jennifer Howze of BritMums, so do follow her journey too and follow #ONEMoms on Twitter.

From 6th October I'll be travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms to Ethiopia as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world.  And it is about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs.

Review: Morphy Richards Flavour Savour Slow Cooker

Morphy Richards made my Mum a very happy lady just before Christmas as they sent her a 4.5 litre Flavour Savour digital slow cooker to try out and report back on. Mum is not much of a writer so she has asked me to write up her thoughts and I was also lucky enough to get a go with the slow cooker and to try a couple of meals cooked in it.

For ages both my Mum and I have wanted a slow cooker, so this was the perfect opportunity for us to try out a few recipes. The Flavour Savour is a really nice model as it has 3 functions: quick brown to seal your meat, fast stew to cook for between 1 hour 30 mins and 1 hour 45 mins and traditional slow cooking for between 4 hours and 11 hours.

Firstly Mum used the fast stew function to make a spicy sausage casserole. Firstly she used the brown function to brown off the sausages and drained off any excess fat.  Then all the other food got put into the same pot and the fluid put into the cooker  as well and it was then left to cook for 1 hour 45 minutes.  Once cooking finishes the cooker automatically goes into keep warm mode and holds the food at a constant temperature for up to 2 hours.

Browning the sausages

At the start of the cooking process

Sadly she forgot to take a photo of the finished meal but it was very good I am told!

Plus Points for the Flavour Savour Slow Cooker

• Large steel cooking pan which is lightweight and easy to carry due to the handles.  It can also be used on a gas or electric cooker hob.
• Stay cool handles on the pan and lid. The lid is also glass so you can see how your meal is cooking.
• Simple digital display settings.
• Cord storage in the base for smart storage.  You can also store the base in the cooking pan if you wish.
• It has  stylish exterior and does not look out of place left out on the work surface.
• Versatile that it can be used for fast or slow cooking.
• Excellent browning function for meat and onions, keeping down mess and minimising the pans used.
• Dish and lid are dishwashable and came clean very easily.
• Easy to understand and follow instructions

I asked Mum the question we all want to know, what could be better or where was the flavour savour slow cooker not up to scratch and I have to be honest she could not fault it and could give me no reason why it was not an excellent buy.  The only comment she had was to shop around and find a good price as that would make it even better!

Then when I was down at Mum and Dads just after Christmas we tried out the slow cooker function and had a beef and tomato casserole A few more pictures for you:

Quick frying the onions

Yet again we forgot to take a photo when the stew was finished and we had to take a photo of the last dregs once we had all eaten.  Do you get the feeling that we all like our food? 

I have to say that the flavour savour makes a superb meal and with the very minimum of fuss.  I was really pleased, as was Mum who give it a 5/5.

The 4.5 litre Flavour savour retails for £89.99 and the larger 6.5 litre model is £99.99.  I have to say that the 4.5 litre easily made enough food for 6 adults to eat a good portion. You can check out the full specification on the Morphy Richards website for some super recipe ideas and great deals.

Morphy Richards have teamed up with Age UK to put together a portfolio of products that are suited to the older generation.  Making it easier for them to perform everyday functions that younger people take for granted.  Whilst my Mum is officially an OAP she is in fact a very fit and active woman.  However I am pretty sure that if my Nan, at 84 tried to use the flavour savour she might find the pan too large and too heavy for just her living alone. The super thing about this range is that Morphy Richards are making a donation to Age UK for every item sold.  I can heartily recommend the Accents One Cup water boiler that I trialed a few months back and then gave to my Nan.  I saw her just after Christmas and she told me it was a godsend at 4am when she can not sleep and wants a quick cuppa!

Many thanks to Janelle, who has been a superb contact over the last year whilst I have been a Morphy Richards House Proud Innovator.  I am enjoying working with such a great brand.

Disclosure:  This is a review post.

Reasons to be Cheerful - Week 37

Morning cheerful ones!

This week we are being hosted by Ems over in Cyprus, so pop on over and see her at A Matter of Choice.  Link up your happy post there and leave her some comment love.  Thanks go to Bod for Tea who did a super job of hosting last week and even managed to attract some male attention to #R2BC - you go girl!

1. So this weeks top news for me being happy is that I have returned to work after my secondment.  One way or another I manged to have most of the summer off, which was very welcome but I have actually enjoyed being in for my 3 days this week.  I have some great colleagues that I work with and it was nice to be back and realise that I have remembered how to do most things!
2. We are having carpet laid today.  After the moth debacle (which I must blog about) we are finally having some carpets go back down upstairs.  So by tomorrow Miss E's room will be complete.  I am then decorating over the next couple of weeks and then the other two bedrooms will be done too.  JJ has moved downstairs and the twinnies have a room each, it is all going well on the home front.
3. Family time at the weekend, we tried out a super new church, very small but really personal and I have not seen dh that comfortable with strangers for a very long time. Our country Police HQ also had an open day and the kids were in their element especially JJ, he is already trying to sign up as a cadet, only a 5 year wait JJ!
4. I am getting some time to myself.  With the girls being at school full-time I have 2 school days a week to myself.  I have re-joined the gym, made some overdue appointments and contacted friends to arrange some coffees! Let the good times roll...
5. School settling in is going really well for my girls.  They tell me they love it and whilst they are very tired by bed time they seem to be coping brilliantly.  Mummy is very proud of you little ladies.

Every day the girls run into school excited, long may this last!

So I expect you know the protocol by now, write a cherry post, link it up and go and visit some other blogs on the linky. In fact go and visit all the other blogs on the linky, it is always fab to find some new reading material.  Leave me some comment love and I'll come and do the same for you. Check out here if you are new to #R2BC and want to read the full low down.

Thanks for joining in, you rock!  Mich x

Reasons to be Cheerful - Week 36

Good morning fellow cheery people, or at least I hope you are cheery?  How is your week going?

Don't you find when you choose to look on the bright side of life you feel just that much better?  If you have known me for a while you will know that I  believe everything in life is a choice, you choose how your day goes.  Yes you get thrown the odd curve ball but it is how you deal with it that defines what the final outcome will be.

Have you heard of those people who lose their fortune in a bad deal on the stock market, one will believe their life is over and they lose everything and one will take the opportunity that is handed to them and decide to scale down and live the simple life. Their children are so happy they are available to them and not at work, their husband falls in love with them again and they develop their desire to refurbish old houses and guess what?  They live happily ever after, no big house and no flash car just lots of love and fun times. How does that sound to you?  Think about this next time money feels tough, do you really need to strive for more?

Anyway, I am obviously feeling pretty deep this morning, I had not planned to write that but you know sometimes it just flows out...

If you came here to find the #R2BC linky then I need to direct you over to the super friendly Bod for Tea for she is our guest host this week and you will find the linky code there. Please add it to your post so this is a blog hop.  I have only not added it so to force people over to the guest hosts each week. Leave her some comment love too, she really is very divine.

Here are a few quickie reasons from me of why I am counting my blessings this week-

1. My Mum has been to stay for nearly a week, we have had a lovely time just being together, nothing flash
2. My baby girls started Reception this week and they are loving it, they do their full first day tomorrow, which I know will tire Miss E out so much but with time she will be fine
   


3. They also went to after school club for a trial session.  I was so proud of them as they let me go home and leave them there alone.  Miss M was totally not phased and was straight in there.  Miss E was much more nervous and started the silly behaviour that comes when she gets nervous and shy. She asked me who would look after her and I explained that the teachers would look after her and also that JJ would be there in 1/2 hour when his football club finished. She looked pensive and then said 'I know Mummy, Miss M will look after me. We will look after each other, we are twinnies'.  My heart swelled and I confirmed that they were indeed twinnies and would stick together.
4. My diet is feeling very tough this week but I am still going.  I can do this.  Tonight I will go to my eating disorders group and that will be super to be amongst friends that understand and share my problem.
5. I am also stoked to see that Ella at Notes from Home has restarted her Friday carnival. Go and visit and think about joining in, it is another little community of the parent blogging world that is just as friendly as #R2BC

I could go on and on, I am extremely blessed and pleased to be reminded of that but that is enough for this week or I'll bore you all!

Leave me a comment, I'll come and do the same.  Link your post up at Bod for Tea and visit others on the blog hop. These kind of things only work when we all put the effort in to visit and share the commenting love.

I've said it before but I'll say it again, thanks to you all for making #R2BC such a wonderful place.

Love you, Mich xx