Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3 - Week 15

Welcome it's week 15!  My, how quick times flies when you are having fun!

Miss M with her precious handbag!

Lots to be grateful for as always....

1. I am on holiday, by the time you read this I will be at Butlins in Skegness at the Christian festival Spring Harvest and I always have an amazing time here, as do all my family.  We get to spend lots of time together, worship God and be fully refreshed - where there is 3 reasons to be cheerful rolled into one (oh and burglars if you are thinking of raiding my house, don't bother my brother is there with his girliefriend doing some electrics for me!)
2. Today I am feeling comfortable in my own skin. I am larger than I have been in a long time but I am looking in the mirror and liking the Mich that looks back at me, she has grown so much as a person over the last 10 years and no longer is she a harsh person who does not tolerate weakness in others. One day when I really do feel brave I will post about that Mich, she had some very big character defects.  I am praying I can hand my eating issues over to God at Spring Harvest and then not only will I like the Mich I see in the mirror, I will also like the body I see that houses her.
3. Miss M has been listening to me. This is a biggie!  If you know my blond bombshell you will know that she is a very independent and willful young lady, whilst also being immensely funny and beautiful. We had a grown up chat about 5 days ago about how she does not like me to shout at her and I explained that I only shout when she does not listen and respond to my requests.  It is not perfect, but we have made massive progress.....  long may it continue!
4. I have been nominated in 3 categories for the Mummy & Daddy Blogger Awards (MADS) and this is making my day.  I know blogging is not that important in the big scheme of things but for me my blog is my Church and it is where I get to share myself and do a little bit of good.  If you fancy nominating me too, then hop over to my MADS post and have a read...  Cheers x

So share with us all your reasons?  What is making you have a smile from ear to ear this week?

As I am on holiday and am trying to remain offline - Can I please ask you all to try extra hard to comment on each others posts and to retweet.  I know that some of you are amazing and read & comment on every post and I thank you very dearly. Yes, Kate this is you I am referring to!

..and before you go, I must remember to point you over to Maxabella's I'm Grateful for... link up.  Join up your reasons post there and make some new Aussie friends. It is live on our Friday.

Of course Jen's Blog gems is still open too. Link up every other Sunday and air your archives.

I am Beautiful

Today

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a wonky face staring back at me,

I see sad eyes, spots, blemishes and lines,

I see tired hands, flabby bits and a woman not in her prime.

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see someone who is too harsh and who judges me,

I see a woman obsessed with her size,

Programmed by the media to believe the lies.

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

Occasionally I see you crying at me,

I see hate, the loathing, it’s all in my eyes,

I see myself, that comes as a surprise!

Taken this weekend

Tomorrow and forever...

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a woman who wants to break free....

A woman who knows that beauty comes from inside,

one who cherishes honesty and will not hide!

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a natural beauty smiling at me,

I see someone with a massive heart,

that same someone who cares when you are falling apart.

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a middle aged woman as happy as can be.

I see a loving and dedicated wife,

one who is willing to change her life...

I see a mother of three, a daughter to two,

aiming to please because she loves you.

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a friend to many, confidant to some,

a person who tries to love everyone.

I see a positive woman with future dreams,

someone who very much is as she seems.

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see an imperfect being who is trying her best,

One who knows that's enough because God does the rest!

I made a decision over the weekend that I needed to love and accept myself just as I was.  This does not mean I can not take positive steps to deal with my obesity but it means I can not allow it to define me.

We all have to remember that true beauty is not about how we look on the outside but how we are on the inside. If we are more concerned and spending more time worrying about and nurturing our outside appearance than the state of our heart then something is amiss. I have been doing a lot of pondering on this over the last couple of weeks  and am pleased to say that despite still being as fat as ever I feel OK today.  Today I am loving and accepting myself and even looking in the mirror and thinking I look pretty.  Turn back the clock a couple of weeks and I was feelling very much as the beginning of this post suggests - ugly, misshapen, shameful and useless. I was looking in the mirror and hating what I saw, I could not see anything that satisfied me and that is a sorry state of affairs.

As with all challenges I turn to the word of God and see what the bible has to offer on the matter. 1 Timothy 2:9 says that women should dress modestly and not adorn themselves with inappropriate items. I used to worry that this meant I should not be taking any outward pride in my appearance but actually it just asks us to dress appropriate to the situation and not to flaunt our beauty and wealth. In fact it is advocated that partners look appealing to each other but we must not put so much emphasis on the outside that we become obsessed and lose our humble and grateful heart.

So today I am grateful and I say thank you Lord for how beautiful I am.

I thought I would share a selection of pictures of me without any make-up showing my natural beauty (isn't it funny how time changes your perspective, when I look at the ones of me in my teenage years and early twenties I now see a young, vibrant and curvaceous woman, whereas at the time I thought that a size 16 was the most ugly and enormous size ever!)

Boys Being Boys!

I have mentioned before that I am a bit lucky in my choice of father for my kiddies.  I did well!

Dh is fabulous with all the 3 children and seems to have far more patience than I do.  I can not knock the fun he has with them and the places he takes them but by the far the thing I absolutely love to watch most is his very special relationship with JJ. If I was not so confident that my little man adored me I could feel quite left out.  Given the choice JJ would spend all his time with dh  but really - how perfect is that?  It is so important for boys that they have strong manly role models in life.  Real men who are not afraid to show all their facets.

How amazing it is to watch two men (one big and one still very small) who almost look identical go off with their heads buried together plotting their activities for the day and they have such boyish fun together. Dh is a Cub leader you see, he has been for about 10 years now and since JJ was about 3 or 4 years old he has gone off and done 'boys things' with dh.  They go trekking, bike riding, camping, explore museums, climb trees, pot hole, rock climb etc etc.

Camp 2008

Yesterday was one of those special days.  At 9am I dropped the boys off to dh's scout hut and they spent 12 hours with about 30 other Beavers, Cubs and Scouts having the most fun ever. I just had to share some pictures with you. So today we do not have a #silentsunday post but a Superb Saturday's fun!

I only wish the girls were a little older and then we all could have had so much fun yesterday, but let's be honest the boys spending the time together is so important too!

Have you got a boy? Yes, have they got a strong man in their life to show them the way?

The Secret is Out, I'm Not a Domestic Goddess!

You know what, that Jen at Mum in the Madhouse has gone and done it, she is making me reveal to you all that I am not the perfect parent and domestic goddess that I know you all thought I was!

I have been tagged in the Fridge of a Bad Parent Meme started by Sally of Who's the Mummy?

So go on, laugh at me, here are the contents of my fridge (and yes it is broken, no milk compartment any more *hangs head deeply in shame*).

Today Jen challenged me and a few other bloggers to reveal the contents of our fridges and look how sparse mine is!  Shall I start making the excuses now....  I have been at work most of the week, I am poorly (tonsillitis), we go on holiday next week so no point in stocking up. Shall I continue?

So what was in there?  Carrots, yellow pepper, brocolli, cucumber (notice I have started with the good  stuff!), water, 2 cartoons of juice, eggs, milk, cranberry sauce, redcurrent jelly, squirty cream, margarine, cheese of various types, frubes and a couple of yoghurts.  Not much of a stock, hey?  Pretty different to how it looks much of the time but I'm an honest kind of girl so I thought I would share my shame!

It got to tea time yesterday and after feeling rank all day I wondered what on earth I was going to feed the kids.  Nothing planned, nothing much in the freezer, no energy to go to the supermarket or even the chip shop.  Dh at work until 11pm.  So seeing as I am revealling my rubbish parenting skills I'll embarrass myself further and show you the dinner that my kids ate.  One of the most eclectic concoctions I have ever seen, but one I could put together in minutes while feeling like I should be in bed and actually (I'm quite proud to say) one that covers all the major food groups!  Whoop, Whoop

You know the funny thing - the kids loved this tea.  They all ate so much and really quickly. What did they enjoy?  Pasta, cucumber, carrots, butter beans (miss M's favourite), cheese, boiled eggs, sausage rolls and sweetcorn.  Bet you are all rubbing your tums right now, yum, yum!

I have not tagged anyone for this one as I think more people than not might cringe at this, so if you fancy being tagged, then go for it - you are it!  Let me know and I'll put a tag on here for you...

Back to amend, I am tagging Ella at Notes From Home because she tweeted that she needed a tag to motivate her to clean the fridge - so here is it, lovely lady!  Happy to oblige.

Lastly, just to say that I am hosting the BMB carnival on 24th May 2011 (see how organised I normally am)  and the theme of my carnival is Imperfect Parenting.  So dig out those post where you talk about how it all went tits up and email them to me on mummyfromtheheart (at) virginmedia (dot) com.  Think I'll enjoy putting this carnival together *rubs hands together while making an evil cackle*.

Cheers, Mich x

Family Matters...

...well it does to me anyway.  I grew up in a close knit family where we were each others world and I am trying to recreate that for my kids too. Both my parents had challenging childhoods for one reason or another and this meant that they both chose to be super amazing parents to my brother and I.  We were and still are very lucky.  So I have a hard act to follow, but as with everything I am just trying my best.

You hear and read so much in the media nowadays about how traditional family values, such as eating meals together at the table, playing games together or involving the children with worthwhile activities have all but disappeared.  Not in this house they have not and listening to Vosene last Saturday, not in many families lives. Out of all the friends I have chatted with about family meals at the table, all but one seem to have at least a few family meals all together each week.  I have to say I wonder how kids eat on their laps?  Is it just that mine are still young and we will get all lapse as they get older?  I do hope not, I enjoy that time catching up with them after a busy day with no interruptions.

Like most people if you offer me some time to myself I will happily escape.  I am a very busy person and sometimes just need a bit of a break but after one or two full day I am normally itching to see my kids and to have some fun with them.  Going out and about with my family is what makes me happy.  A couple of weeks ago we went to Peppa Pig World and I mentioned this to lots of people, who mostly looked at me as if I am crazy. 'Great' said with a sarcastic tone was the usual reply I got but we had an amazing time, as joy for me nowadays is watching my three beautiful children have fun and be in their element. This is why, when the very nice people at Vosene (yes you know, the shampoo) asked me if my family wanted to attend a day together at London Zoo I said yes please!

During the few hours I spent with some of the Vosene staff and a load of other fab bloggers we got to spend good qaulity time with our own family.  Sadly dh was working so he could not join us but we had popped in to his work on the way and we travelled back from London with him, so it felt as if he was there!  The children made Mothers day cards, they decorated biscuits, played dress up, had their faces painted, hopped around on space hoppers, made pictures with hand prints and watched a superb magician.  As well as this being great fun it really showed me that Vosene do understand the concept of family and that they actually make an effort to know their customers.

Whilst I was there I learned that they have launched a new campaign called Vosene Family Matters and this is based around 6 core values, those being: sharing, belonging, time together, traditions, fun and trust.  A great set of values and ones which I would say are important to our family. Vosene undertook extensive research to bring this set of values together, talking to their own customers and also to parents in general.

The part that is probably interesting to you, is that they are running a superb competition from April until September with a different theme each month.  This month the theme is Sharing and what they ask you to do is provide them with an example from your family of sharing and perhaps provide a photo.  Then you ask friends and family to vote for you.  At the end of the month the top 10 entries are sent to Vosene's partner, the NSPCC and and they will choose that months winner.

Here is the super, super exciting bit - in October all the 6 winners of the monthly rounds will be in a grand final and the winner of that will take away a family holiday for 5 people (maximum of 3 adults) to any one of 3 magnificent locations: Walt Disney World, Orlando; Safari in the Masai Mara; or luxury family holiday at a resort in Kos.  How much would my kids give to go to Disney?  JJ keeps asking me when he will go there and I reply......  one day babe.......  maybe one day!

Looking at the Vosene site again and thinking about the concept of sharing I have decided that I will make an entry for our family. Well, there is a chance of me winning professional cakes for a year - what could be more perfect for a foodaholic? lol

So here is the photo that I will submit with our entry.  Any idea what the children are doing here?

They are making shoe boxes for Samaritans Purse to send to children for Christmas in less fortunate countries. This is a marvellous initiative that runs every year and we are proud to support it and share with our children, who in turn use a small part of their pocket money to share with others.

Miss E proudly shows off the box she made for another child

All the boxes that JJ's school managed to make

So if you like what you see and fancy voting for my family I'll let you know when our entry is live on the Vosene site and perhaps you might vote for us?  or you might submit your own entry?  Go on, it was very easy.

Vosene provided entry for myself and my 3 children to London Zoo, they also provided lunch, activities and some products for us to take away. I was not obligated to write this post but as I was so impressed with what I heard and saw I am happy to endorse their brand and this competition.  My words are my own and I remian honest.

Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3 - Week 14

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Good evening all. I hope you are feeling cheerful this week.  If where you live has been anything like here then how can this beautiful sunshine fail to make you feel just a little brighter?

Lets dive straight in....  this weeks reasons to be cheerful are -

1. Work.  I had to make 2 big presentations this week in my new job and they went well. I received comments and emails from senior people about how well I did, so that is super!
2. I am a guest blogger today! Posting over on Maternity Matters.  Have you visited this site yet?  It has been set up by @Susurem and @Jaynecrammond as a resource for mothers who have experienced birth trauma, it is fully inclusive and will offer guest posts around all parenting topics. Today I have a 2 part post over there about what it means to be a Christian parent in a secular world.  If you fancy going over and sharing some comment love I'd really appreciate that.
3. I got loads of housework done today and I did not even mind doing it.  The girls helped me make beds, empty bins, dust etc and they think it is fab - long may that last!  I am trying to get things all organised at home ready for next week, because...
4. We are going to Spring Harvest!  This is a massive Christian festival held at Butlins and it is the highlight of my year, we have such an amazing time.  I pray to feel completely relaxed by the time I return home, I normally do.  I will be taking my laptop with me so I can plan the future program for creche.  I only plan to go on-line every other day for a maximum of an hour, so expect posts/ tweets etc to be much more sparse than normal and guess what else?  My lovely brother asked if could use the house while we are away and I said only if he fits some new lights for us!  So when we return things will be looking all glam in the living room!

What about you, what has brightened your week this week?

Last week I asked if you wanted to see any changes to R2BC and the overwhelming response was no, you like it just the way it is.  So I will change nada!

Another question for you, please let me know...

I have been struggling to get to every post and comment every week.  It really is my desire to do that but you know what things are like... life and kids get in the way!  What I wondered was if you expect me (as the host) to comment on each post you link up?  I realise it is polite and nice etiquette but of course I also know that some hosts don't and that's not an issue to me but I wondered if it was an issue to you?

It was suggested to me today that what I could do was RT your tweet, perhaps with a comment added about your post as a thank you for joining in.  Of course this is good for you too, as RT's from those with a fairly good Klout score, helps your own Klout score.  It means you would have to remember to use the #R2BC hashtag so I can find your tweets though.

So how does that sound, some weeks I'll comment on the blog and others I'll RT posts.  Would you be happy with that?

Do be honest with me, you know you can be.

Have a great week, Mich xx

Am I who I seem to be?

Ready for my Mummy Blogger Event at London Zoo with Vosene on Saturday

It's a good question isn't it? 

If you are a regular reader or if we chat in forums, on twitter or facebook you probably feel like you know me.  'Of course' you say, 'You are Mich, a loving mummy with 3 kids, you have a dh who is really good with the kids, you're a Christian, a strong and assertive woman, you give good advice and mostly you are very positive'.  I have heard this description from lots of people over time, that is often who people think I am.

But is that me? Do I come across on my blog as I really am in real life?

A couple of years back I met a few twins mums and we had a weekend away together, these were people I had chatted to on a daily basis for at least two years.  They knew the on-line Mich very well, they had been through all the ups and downs with me.  I had moderated the twins board for a while, won the award for how clean is your house and offered advice dozens of times to them, as they had me.  As we travelled home from our delightful weekend a couple of the women commented that I was a lot more 'normal' than they might have expected and far more lively and fun than they had envisioned.  Apparently on-line I come across as very nice but quite straight laced and serious.  This makes me smile big time!  I am not at all serious, I love fun and laughter with my family and friends. I am the one who does not have to drink to have a good time, up for a dance, give me a mic and I'll karaoke the night away.

The next year I met the twin mummies again and another one joined us and on the train journey home she commented to me that she had been nervous to meet me, as she thought I may judge her as she is Pagan and I am Christian. I explained that my perspective is that I have no right to judge anyone, only God may judge.  As a Christian my job is to be Christ like and to walk as Jesus would have and this means being accepting of everyone.  This is not a dilution of my faith, I do not think being Pagan is the right choice, for me there is only one choice and that is to be saved by Jesus but I accept free choice and I love people for who they are.

Recently I spoke to my Mum and one of my best friends L and asked them if I came across as me in my blog.  They both said definitely, so that is good to hear  but I do think what lacks in my on-line me (and I am not sure why, its not contrived) is the down to earth normal Mich, full of insecurities like anyone else.  An armadillo is what I often refer to myself as, hard on the outside with a very soft inside. I put my foot in my mouth without meaning too and am then crushed that I have hurt someone. Truly I am a person of contrasts, content to be in with my hubbie in front of the TV and just as happy to be with the girls on the dance floor. Nervous to be at a networking event but completely in my comfort zone making a formal presentation to 100 people.

So am I who you think I am?  If you have met me at a blogger event, was I as you expected?  Cybermummy will be interesting for some people to see the real Mich.

And now a little warning to all my wonderful friends, especially the newer bloggers. Always be on your guard and protect yourself. Not everyone is who they seem.  There are such things as trolls who join forums or write blogs for their own selfish reasons.  They are not genuine and true and always get found out in the end but often people get hurt in the meantime.

It is not even always the case that these people mean to hurt others, sometimes they have mental health problems, sometimes they are so mixed up they think it is their life they are blogging about but sometimes they are evil.  I once knew someone and I loved them as a person who used chat rooms to be a completely different person.  They hated their life and the shell they felt trapped in so they created an alter ego and wrote as that person.  No hurt was intended but of course people got hurt. Lies always hurt.

So my advice is if you notice someone often tells you one thing and then changes the story a short while later to put them on your 'be aware radar'. No one has too many inconsistencies in their life!

Be well and happy!  Mich x

A Mothers Love #TheGallery

You have a baby and life changes, not just a little bit, it really changes.  All those things you thought were so twee before and those things you never said you would do, well they just go out the window.  Baby is here and you are completely absorbed, a mothers love takes over and you will never be the same again.

A mothers love means that these you received on Sunday for Mothers Day mean far more to you

than this which you also received.

A mothers love means that your wall hangings of choice will be something like this -

rather than a stylish original watercolour or piece of modern art!

But the one that gives it away to me every time and makes me realise how much I love the kids is this one -

That a tidy freak like me can live with and even encourage to some extent, the kids to have bedrooms where they feel comfortable and able to really play.  See those 3 stacking recycling dumper bins, those are JJ's lego storage, just imagine the floor when all that comes out.

At the end of the day a mothers love will always win, my heart melts and I will do whatever is necessary for them.  How can I refuse my beautiful little sleeping babies?

This post was written for Tara's Gallery.  The theme is Mother Love.

Musical Embarassement

I am laying myself bare here, more open that I have done for a long time! Today is one of those days when I say 'Hi my name is Michelle and I have crap taste in music!'.

The superb Kate at Kate Take 5 has a regular listography linky that she runs and I always have good intentions to join in but it never quite happens, but this week I am getting organised and playing along.  The challenge set is to reveal the first 5 albums I ever owned.

I have to say that my memory is fading a bit with age so I could not swear to you that the 5 I list were my first 5 but they are certainly ones that I owned as a young teenager on vinyl (of course, what else did you have when you were a child of the early 80's?)

1. Prince Charming by Adam and the Ants.  1981 and I would have been just 8 years old. I thought he was so cool and handsome with his make up stripes on his cheek.  I can recall doing the dance with my school friends on the field! .....'don't you ever, don't you ever....'.

2. Now that is what I call Music!  The original album. 1982. It is still in my parents loft and I often wonder to myself if it is worth anything! What classics were featured on here, I loved to boogie to Men at Work 'Down Under', KC and the Sunshine Band 'Give It Up' and Rock Steady Crew 'Hey, you the rock steady crew'. Ohh I loved a bit of cheese even very early on...

3. Cliff Richards, Daddys Home - 1981. This wasn't an album but my Dad bought me the single or at least that is my recollection of the events.  It is hard to think back 30 years you know!  This was 7" single and is the song that most makes me think of my Dad, along with another old Cliff favourite - Living Doll.  Do I like Cliff now? errr no sorry but it will always hold a special place in my heart for this reason.

4. Wham, Fantastic. 1983.  This has to be one album that I am not ashamed to have owned.  To have grown up at the time of Wham and Duran Duran was a massive privilege as far as I am concerned.  Who could not love the campness of George Michael and Andrew Ridgley. I had all the little pin badges - Choose life!, Relax, Go Go, etc.

5. and whilst Wham were great fun, it has to be said that I was a Duranie, they were my preference.  You could have given me Simon LeBon over the Wham boys any day.  Maybe I knew about George even then? So my last album of the big 5 was Arena by Duran, Duran, 1984 and I was the ripe old age of 11 years.  Just getting ready to start secondary school.

I will leave you to have a listen to this complete classic!  Enjoy...

'You Iron on a Saturday Evening?', Review & Giveaway

I often get strange looks when I tell people that I like to iron.  I have started to whisper it now as I realise that it makes me a bit of a leper amongst the group of mums who like to boast about how they never iron anything.  'I only buy clothes you can put in the tumble dryer and then shake out' I hear them say.  Well like I always say, each to their own.....  personally mine never shake out well enough for a perfectionist like me.

Give me a Saturday night of good cheesy TV, preferably X Factor, Casualty and maybe a stand up comedy show and I am a happy girl.  I can easily stand and iron for a couple of hours in front of the TV. Ironing is something I have grown up with, my Mum does not like it too much so it was something I did to earn my pocket money and help out at home.  I love the satisfaction of watching the ironing basket shrink and knowing that anything we want to wear is in the cupboard. As I have got older and busier the things that I iron have diminished, we do get into bed with creased sheets and the tea towels remain crinkled but that matters not to me.  It does matter to me that when my family leave our house we take pride in our appearance and look good in our well ironed clothes.

Shall I show you what a sense of satisfaction looks like to me?  There we go, 20 minutes of ironing mid week to keep the basket down!  Note they are all children's clothes, they seem to be wear double what dh and I do!

When Morphy Richards approached me and asked if I would like to trial and review one of their irons I said of course, I am more than happy to.  I was sent the latest Comfigrip iron which retails for £79.99.  This iron is full of features, all the usual ones you would expect like extra long cord, self clean, water spray and shot of steam. My favourite feature being the trizone (ceramic) plate which means that the iron glides like on silk on all fabrics, it was a beautiful smooth iron to use.  The extra large water tank and filling hole was also a little extra that made a difference to me. No fiddling around, this is well thought out and easy to use. I think any accomplished ironer would agree that constant steam is a must to get a good precise finish and this iron is great as you can adjust the levels and there is even an eco option so you can save up to 23% energy.

My one qualm with this iron is that it is heavier than ones I am used to and for me it became more uncomfortable to iron after long periods of time. So I would say this iron is perfect for someone who either does not have a lot to iron but wants a professional finish or who irons small amounts on a regular basis rather than someone like me who does a mass iron for a  good couple of hours. On the whole this is a very good iron and I am happy to recommend it, the results from using it are excellent. Lastly, just one more feature that I should mention is the auto-standby, I can imagine this would be fabulous for those with a younger baby who may just demand their attention right now while they are ironing,  You can literally run off and feel happy that the iron will shut off after 1 minute inactive face down and 8 minutes inactive in its upright position.

Here is the iron, pretty stylish right?  Or can you not get as excited about an iron as I can?

So what about you?  Do you like ironing?  Go on, you can admit it here.  This  is a safe place, all us people who actually like to clean and launder can come out the closet and celebrate being just a little bit house proud together. Talking of being house proud, why don't you take a look at the Morphy Richards site Home of the House Proud.  It is full of wonderful inspiration for cleaning, ironing, cooking and other domestic tasks.  At the moment you can enter a fun competition to be crowned the World Ironing Champion, winning a gold iron and £500. Take a look, there are three different categories you can enter, more information here.

Giveaway

Now is the chance for one of you to win the very iron that I road-tested.  So this is an iron that has been used about 5 times and is in perfect as-new condition.  I will send the iron from here at my own expense.

To enter -

• You need to leave a comment on here with a way I can contact you if you are the lucky winner (email or twitter ID)
• For an extra entry you can tweet '#win a superb iron in @michelletwinmum's #giveaway http://bit.ly/g5nTpq'

Terms and Conditions -

• The giveaway closes at noon on 11 April 2011
• The winner will be contacted within 3 days of the giveaway closing
• The prize is not transferable and there is no cash alternative
• The prize will only be posted to a UK address due to the cost of postage
• You have read and accept that this is a road-tested iron that has been used 5 times

Congratulations to Helen at Casa Costello.  You are the lucky winner, please email or DM me your address and I will post the iron out to you.


This is a  review post.  I was sent the iron for the purposes of this review.  My words and opinions are my own and I was not instructed what to write.

My Top Tips to Help You Cope with Chickenpox

Miss M's back was pretty covered, and then she had nothing on her legs!

We are just coming through the second bought of chickenpox in the house within a month - that is the beauty of twins! On the whole things went pretty well, so I thought I would share my top tips for helping your little one through chickenpox with the minimum of fuss.

1. Keep your child cool, if they start to get hot they will feel more itchy.  I have a friend who swears by then being practically naked but I prefer to keep them clothed as it then makes it much harder for them to itch their skin.  Of course natural cotton or such is best.  Basically my girls stayed in their PJ's!
2. Give a spoon of Piriton (or another anti-histamine) in the morning and at night before bed to keep the awful scratching at bay.
3. If your child start to get too uncomfortable and hurts, offer them a tepid bath and gently sponge down their spots.  Remember not to use any bath product.  I know that some people advocate putting porridge in the bath - we did not try this!
4. Pat them dry and apply either aqueous calamine or Eurax cream, both moisturise and help to stop the itching.
5. We did not wash Miss E's hair for a week as she found this too uncomfortable with all the spots in there.  To be honest what is a week?  We did not fight about this, she looked greasy from all the cream we put on her neck but it was short lived. We also used a baby brush with very soft bristles so we did not scratch her scalp.
6. If your child get spots in their throat they may not feel like eating. Make sure they stay hydrated by offering ice lollies, smoothies, milkshakes or anything else that is cool and offers hydration.
7. Remember to offer pain relief as necessary and on the day or two when your little one is really bad you can offer alternate calpol and neurofen to ensure they are as comfortable as possible.
8. Distraction is probably the best remedy of all.  Keep your child busy, bake a cake, do some sticking, bounce on the trampoline. What ever they feel well enough to do, allow them to as it takes their mind off how uncomfortable they are and they are far less likely to scratch.
9. Remember that every child is an individual, they will all have the illness in a different way. Look to your child for the clues of what they need to help them, it may just be as simple as a cuddle while watching a DVD. The chickenpox can zap them of their energy.
10. One the spots have scabbed over and your child is no longer contagious it is temping to think they should be 100% fit and well again.  The chickenpox virus can really knock your child for six.  Miss M is now 18 days after her first spot appeared and she is still showing the signs of not being fully recovered.  She has been lethargic and generally more ratty and this has manifested as being willful and naughty.  I am having to remember that there is a reason for this behaviour.
11. If your child get spots around their genital areas (and this seems to happen quite often) try to keep them nappy free (if they still wear one) as otherwise this just makes the area hot and painful.  The bath also comes in useful for soaking these areas to keep them irritation free.

Miss E's back, not so many spots, but how angry do they look?

Miss E's hair was full of large spots

 

Poor old Miss M got covered on her face



But hardly anything on Miss M's tummy

As you can see from the photos of my two, chickenpox can look very different on each child. At first the spots can seem small and harmless and then within a day or two they expand, intensify, form blisters, break, can look like pox holes and start to scab over.

Miss E is over 30 days since she had her first spot and she still has red spots marking her body.  For a child who did not scratch at all, it sadly looks as if she will scar, so however careful you are you may not be able to avoid some marking, I just thank God she has a clear face.

Keep smiling, best to get it out the way while they are young!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday = One photo, no words, taken in the last week! 

Review - Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park, Hants

We were extremely lucky to be invited to the VIP and Press preview day at Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park in Hampshire last weekend. 

The excitement was very hard to control in the children as we made the 2 hour journey to Paultons park from home (yes, dedication on our part).  Not only were our three year old girls (twins) excited our 7 year old boy was as well.  Not a stalwart fan of Peppa Pig but JJ probably had the most fun out of them all in the end.  We all enjoyed the day and have vowed to return again in the summer.  Our family would most certainly recommend Peppa Pig World.

Peppa Pig World is the first Peppa Pig themed park of its kind and a real coup for Paultons Park.  You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into the building of this themed area and visually it is stunning from the first beautiful Murial as you enter the area to all the characters and static displays as well as the stunning rides.  The area is very well planned and spaced and the landscaping is just perfect.

Peppa Pig World boasts 7 great new rides, these range in excitement and age appeal from Grandpa Pig's Little Train which is serene and subdued to the Windy Castle ride which takes you right up in the air and allows you to spin the disc in your carriage and go for a whirl.  This one was a surprise for Mummy when we first went up in the air!  I am not the type to go on funfair rides and was lulled by the Peppa Pig theming into thinking that this ride might be very slow but not so, it excited my 7 year old thrill seeker.

We felt the mix of the 7 rides was just perfect.  The park is aimed at children up to about 8 years of age and there is truly something there for everyone.  Miss M's favourite was Grandpa Pig's Boat Trip which saw her captaining a small boat.  Miss E adored the fun of steering Daddy Pig's Car Ride and JJ enjoyed Peppa's Big Balloon Ride. You know the thing I always associate with theme parks and rides is the queues and this really puts me off, but the good news is that on a day that appeared pretty busy we were able to get on every ride with less than a 15 minute wait.  Some had no wait at all and the kids were able to enjoy three rides, one after the other.

All of the children loved George's Spaceship Play Zone, which to you and me is a soft play area.  Fun wavy slides (which Mummy also got to go on), a mock flame in a hot air balloon and an area where you can hoover up the balls to fly up to the hot air balloon which releases them when it is ful,l all made for brilliant fun for the kids.

As well as the rides, soft play area and static exhibitions there was also Mr Potato's Playground and the kids thoroughly loved this. Astro turf made for a nice clean play and the big wide slides and variety of play equipment meant that even when the park was packed full with children there was no queueing or hanging around.  We did not join in as being March the weather was not that nice but there is a lovely little splash area known as Muddy Puddles.  Some of the children stripped off into undies and nappies and enjoyed this fun.

For a beautiful memory of the day you can have a photo done either on one of the rides (Daddy Pig's Car Ride of George's Dinosaur Adventure) or visit Peppa Magic Photo studio or Madam Gazelle's School House.  At Madam Gazelle's you can pose with life size characters and at Peppa's Magic Studio you can choose a background and they take a photo of you in front of  green screen and super impose you in with Peppa and her chums.  They cost £7.00 for one photo, keyring or magnet and £10 for 2.

With regard to utilities in the Peppa Pig World I was very pleased with the toilets.  They were spacious and even the cubicles were able to fit three of us at one time.  The toilets all had special seats for both big and little bottoms.  There was plenty of changing space too. My only comment would be that it would have been nice to have paper towels as pre-schoolers very often hate the noise that comes with the new powerful hand dryers.  Daddy Pig's Big Tummy Cafe had a good range of sandwiches, cakes, snacks and drinks.  I was really pleased with the ice cream range, it was so refreshing to find a lolly available for 70p and even the cornetto style cone was just £1.20.  As for the shop, well you can not fault it.  Peppa Pig paradise is how I might describe it, everything you might want with Peppa on is there.  Loads of temptation for the kids and luckily the shop includes things like comics which start at £1.99.

We had such a lovely time in Peppa Pig World that we managed to spend the majority of our time in there.  We did venture in the rest of Paultons park for about an hour at the end  and all the children seemed most enthralled with the play park areas.  We came across another 2 of them and they were great:  there was sand and pulley systems, a train, a tree house, very large climbing frames and slides.  Loads of apparatus all clearly marked with the appropriate ages.

Entry to the park costs £56.00 for a family of three and if we wish to go again in the future it will cost £92.50 for the five of us.  Children under 1 metre tall are free, so this is good if you have young ones (or short ones!)  

Our family rating:   5/5  We had superb fun!

Hope you enjoy your trip!

This is a review post, all the opinions expressed here are my own.  I was not instructed what to write and I remain honest. My family received free entry to Paultons Park for the purposes of this review, the children also received a small gift bag upon leaving.