Jumping Straight in with Meme's & Blog Hops!

Another day and another great post for you.  Today's blogger is Wendy, who you can normally find over at Inside the Wendy House (smart name for her blog, huh?)  This is what Wendy says about herself -

I'm a vegetarian stay-at-home mum to five amazing kids (aged 1 to 22!) and am happily married to my childhood sweetheart.  How blessed am I!  I love entering competitions, watching horror films and eating cake.  I'm enjoying my foray into the Blogsphere and look forward to where this journey will take me!

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I tentatively entered into the Blogsphere in September 2010, so in essence I'm still a newbie myself. I wasn't sure I was qualified to inhabit my own little corner of Cyberspace, and worried what on earth people would make of me, a pretender in this unknown world, where everyone seemed so much more sophisticated, knowledgeable and interesting than me. Would anyone, other than my own mother, really want to read my ramblings?

Well, my fears turned out to be completely unfounded. The blogging community turned out to be a very friendly and welcoming place. Everyone was once new and remembers that first step, so they are all very willing to proffer advice and support. Getting followers who are not blood relatives is a huge buzz and realising that your words are reaching others is most humbling.

One way to enjoy the full blogging experience is to get involved. I quickly released that there were regular weekly opportunities to join in with other bloggers. For example, the use of memes is a fun exercise that's very much like a game of cyber tag! Someone writes a post and invites others to write posts on the same theme and then link back so other posters can then read everyone elses' entries. Memes travel across Cyberspace and can quickly become worldwide as they spread from one set of followers to the next! The benefits of taking part include often having a thought-provoking theme to inspire you; it gives you something to write about on your blog; you get to involve others in an online game which helps establish virtual relationships; it creates traffic on your own blog which hopefully translates into new followers and comments; it enables you to discover wonderful new blogs that you yourself can follow and learn from.

Bloghops provide a shared linky list which can be displayed at the bottom of numerous blogs. Readers can literally hop from one blog to the next following the list, creating a real sense of community. The more you take part, linking up, visiting other blogs and commenting on posts, the more you get out of it. Becoming a weekly regular gives you a real sense of involvement. You always have ideas for new posts, so there is never an excuse for writers' block! You make friends and start to feel like a real accepted member of blogdom!

Some regular blogs that let you link up are Sticky Fingers' The Gallery, Mocha Beanie Mummy's Silent Sunday, Kate Takes 5 Listography, The King and Eye's Blog Gems and Mummy from the Heart's Reasons to be Cheerful, 1,2,3. They provide a fabulous starting point and are lots of fun to do. Give them a try and before long you will be creating and hosting your own memes and bloghops!

Thank you Wendy and as she rightly points out you can link up with me here on my Reasons to be Cheerful weekly meme.  Every Thursday night about 9pm (or earlier if I am being efficient!) my post and linky is live for you to link up with.  The idea is simple and one I would recommend everyone thinks about.  Gratitude has a wonderful way of melting a frozen heart and planting a grin on your lips!

Cooking With Kids

Many of you will have read before that I have a real fear that my children will grow up obsessed with food, weight and diets just like I have. Whilst I have not yet managed to shift the excess weight myself I am determined that my children will grow up with a healthy attitude around food. For this reason I was over the moon when Diarylea invited me and 5 other great bloggers; All About The Boys, Mumra, Who’s The Mummy, New Mummy and Jo Beaufoix (It was wonderful to meet you all ladies!) to go to London for the day and attend a cooking class with TV Chef James Tanner.

I was a good little girl the night before our trip and I googled James to find out a bit more about him. I do not watch much daytime TV now, so whilst I knew his name I was not aware of his credentials. What I found out is that he is a dad of a 5 year old girl, owns a couple of restaurants and has been a qualified chef for a long time now, having completed some training under the watchful eye of Michel Roux. Being a qualified chef myself (bet you didn’t know that!) that was proof enough of his skill level.

Cooking with kids the James Tanner way

What fun we had Saturday, at first watching James prepare 5 quick and simple meals for families with young children to enjoy. Then once the demonstration was over the kids were able to get stuck in and work with James to experience the cooking. All the children who made the fishcakes loved the goo all over their fingers, one little toddler sat there making patterns in flour on her chopping board and JJ and one of the older girls helped James to do some cooking. You could tell James is a dad, his way with the kids was superb, chatting to them and making them smile.

James encouraged us all to cook with our kids at home and to let them get involved. I am lucky enough to have a dh who enjoys doing this and my JJ who is 7 is able to cook omelette, pancakes, scrambled eggs and other simple foods on the hob. The girls avidly pursue me to let them help chop soft vegetables and to make cakes, set the table etc. Children really are likely to eat a wider variety of foods when they are party to the preparation process, I know this first hand. Many people worry about the mess and the time it takes but if you get yourself in the right mind frame then this is half the fun.

My simple advice is to make cooking with your kids a fun activity rather than a chore!

The girls enjoy shaping their fishcakes

Dietary Advice with Azmina Govindji

Then a pleasant surprise to hear from a dietitian who is real and honest. Azmina talked about the mistakes she made as a parent and how it is better to negotiate and compromise with your children than have kids who eat perfectly and avoid all unwise food choices to then find that they gorge later in life.

Azmina used a large Eatwell plate to give the children a visual demonstration of what falls into each of the food groups, My JJ decided to show his *cough* confident side and take over this show having learned about food grouping at school recently.

The three tops tips I gained from Azmina were –

• Teach your children that there must always be at least three colours on their plate, so even if they are having fish fingers and chips (which are both yellow foods in case you are wondering) she then asked them to get two more colours and empowered the children to choose their own cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Unfortunately salad does not go down well with the kids in our house and it would probably end up being green beans and carrots. My kids do love their cooked veg – who am I to complain?

• Ensure your children have a good breakfast. Yes, ideally they should have non processed cereals but this is real life and if they choose cereals such as Cheerios which are fortified with vitamins and minerals this is better than nothing. Continue to use full fat milk until your children are at least 5 years old as the benefits they gain far outweigh any calorific implications.

• To use the NHS supermarket checker. We talked about children’s yoghurt's and the amount of sugar that can be found in them. Using this tool I can check my local brand at my local supermarket and it will suggest alternatives to me that are far healthier. How great is that?

So why did Dairylea host this day you may be wondering?

As a modern brand Dairylea are trying hard to improve their products and to change perceptions. They are aware that their products are high in salt and as such are about to launch a 25% less salt version of the Dairylea triangles.  Call me naive but I was not really aware salt was an issue with their products and when I got home I checked the packet of Cathedral City mature cheddar in our fridge to find that it was actually higher in salt and I would not think twice to feed my kids cheddar. 

Many of the Diarylea products are now free of artificial colours, flavours and preservatives but sadly the two products my kids love the strip cheese and lunchables are not but Dairylea were honest and I really like that.  The Brand Manager that we met even said they would not recommend children to eat Dairylea every day but it has a place to play in a varied diet and as kids enjoy it, there is nothing wrong with it occasionally.

Many thanks to Dairlea for this super day out, we will most definitely continue to give you our custom!

My children and I attended this event and our costs for travel and lunch were met. We were also given a goodie bag with vouchers and products. There was no obligation on me to write this post but after a great day I wanted to share what I had learned. I remain honest as per always.

Metal Mummy Talks About Your Blogging Identity

Day 2 and today we welcome Metal Mummy! 

Metal Mummy is a completely nuts 26 year old mum to one crazy but precious toddler demon, Freyja. She is a Stay at Home Mum who works part time at a local rocker bar in Portsmouth where she has recently bought her first house with her husband-to-be. Having started the blog in 2009, it was only in September 2010 that she actually made an effort with it and has found the mummy blogsphere to be a hugely welcoming place and has enjoyed every minute of finding her feet. She loves metal music (obviously), horror films and reading crime fiction and wears her heart on her sleeve. She hates liars, beasties with more than 4 legs and puppets.
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When I first started my blog back in June 2009, it was in no means supposed to be anything other than a record. A record for Freyja to look back on when she’s older. A record of her milestones and all those special times I didn’t want to forget.


That was what it was supposed to be anyway. I started wanting to write more. I wanted to rant and rave when I felt the need to, or write a post just for the hell of it. Although I wanted to base the blog around my daughter, I didn’t want it to be solely about her.

So, in September 2010, I basically started again. I had been reading a few mummy blogs for a while, and I thought to myself, “Why can’t I do that?” – Why couldn’t I try and get my blog out there? I had as much chance as anyone to have a popular site. I wanted to share my experiences, my opinions (and obviously, my fabulous daughter) with all the other wonderful mummy (and daddy) bloggers in the blogsphere. I never realised the phenomenon of parent bloggers stretched so far. There are thousands of us writing about our lives, and thousands reading and finding interest.

When I decided to try and interest other people with my blog, rather than just my hub and a couple of select friends, I tried to make it more appealing. I considered changing the name. I decided against it, and I’m glad I didn’t. I guess re branding works for some people, especially if they are focusing on one area of themselves, their specialty or their work for example. Metal Mummy was my blog name from the start. I really didn’t want to change that. It represents me. I’m a mummy. I love metal music. I did wonder whether the name “caught” the reader as much as some blogs do. For example, I think Sticky Fingers is a fabulous name for a blog and another favourite is The Boy and Me – simple, but effective. I did question whether Metal Mummy would cut it in comparison to other blog names out there. But I stuck at it. I had managed to gather a few select subscribers, and registered on forums and things. I didn’t want to have to start that again with a new name. Not when the existing one suited me fine.

Once I had decided that I was going to stick with Metal Mummy, I wanted to network. I had no idea how to do such a thing. My social networking capability stretched as far as Facebook and that was mainly to catch up with friends or giggle at drunken photographs. I rarely used Twitter and didn’t know anything about #hashtags or forums. I don’t know how but I managed to find my way to British Mummy Bloggers – a fantastic site full of handy tips and conversations – it’s also a brilliant place to meet other bloggers. I then discovered Blogger.ed – a site now bookmarked and visited daily.

It’s only been recently that I have had my site redesigned. It’s pretty handy having a web developer as a hub. I do like the free Wordpress themes you can get, but I wanted something personal. I wanted something to catch peoples’ eye as they navigated my site. I didn’t want a bog-standard layout because I’d had one of them since I started rambling and I was bored. I see all these fabulous themes and headers on other peoples’ blogs and they are fantastic. I wanted that. So my hub set to work and, although it’s still being tweaked, I love the end product. I felt good about the appearance of my site for the first time since I started blogging.

If you are planning on making an identity for yourself, like I planned to with Metal Mummy, I think personally, it’s important to stick to the same name throughout. Although I already had a Twitter account, I started a new one so that it was recognisable with the Metal Mummy brand name.  
 
Twitter has proved to be an absolutely amazing place. I can see how people get so addicted to it. So many lovely people to talk to and laugh with, to offer advice or to listen. I’m still learning about it though – I’ve only just got to grips with hashtags, and my knowledge of that is pretty flaky. Once I knew my domain name was here to stay, I set up my own Facebook page too. It’s fairly easy to do and it’s a nice way of expanding your social network. I still need to remember to actually use the page though...


That’s my main problem. Although I have other social networking accounts – ways in which to spread the Metal Mummy word – I don’t actually use them half as much as I should do. I see some fabulous bloggers on Twitter all the time, pimping themselves and chatting to each other – I think it’s fantastic, I really do. I just forget to do it, and the lure of the TV of an evening, or the lure of a friends’ house during the day is too much for me to stand. I would like to start using Twitter more than I am though – especially as I’m off to Cybermummy – it would be lovely to get to know a few more bloggers before I roll through the door!

I think my whole Metal Mummy identity is pretty set now. I have a twitter account, a Facebook account, I’m on the forums. I’m gradually working my way up the Tots 100 – I’m number 166 this month – I was so chuffed with that, considering I was in the 300s last month! I have a blog that I’m proud of. A blog that’s been designed just for me.

The only thing I need to worry about now, is finding stuff to write about to keep you guys interested... Oh, and what to wear for Cybermummy...
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Thank you Metal Mummy!  Also just to add from me, one of the things I found most useful when creating my blogging brand or identity was to find an image that suited my blog.  For me I have my big bright heart and that image is now everywhere, I have an avatar of the same, a gravatar and am currently creating a Favicon.  On every forum I visit or comment I leave my heart appears and that endorses my presence in the world of parenting blogging.  My only exception is twitter where I am told people like to see my face(!) and thus I have one single picture I use of me, as whilst variety is nice, it is much easier to remember me if I present a united front. 

My advice is to have a fun afternoon exploring google and see what free images you can find to use or go and visit a professional designer such as Violet Posy and get yourself a very smart blog makeover. Whichever way you choose is your decision but there is so much great help in the world of blogging that you Will be able to do it.


Tomorrow on MFTH... New Bloggers Fortnight there will be a post to direct you to tons of super tutorials, giving you tips in how to back up your blog, create a clickable badge, take great photographs and loads, loads more.

Welcoming Qwerty Mum: A Journey into Blogging...

Welcome to Day 1 of the New Bloggers Fortnight and I am really pleased to welcome Paula from Qwerty Mum to the blog.  She is kicking us off with a lovely, from the heart account of her journey into blogging over the last few months. I'll let Paula introduce herself to you...

My name is Paula Virgo. I've been happily married to husband number two for nearly a year and I have two children with him - a little girl rapidly approaching her third birthday and a baby boy of 7 months. I also have four fantastic daughters from my first marriage. They are all grown up young ladies now ranging in age from 14 to 23 years. I love the way my life has turned out. I never dreamt that at the age of 46 (actually very much closer to 47 now!) I would be a mum to two gorgeous little ones, especially a most unexpected male of the species, and I am enjoying every minute of it. My husband is quite old fashioned in the respect that he likes to be the one that goes out to earn a living while I stay at home and care for the children. It suits me perfectly ... and gives me the time to pursue the latest passion in my life - my blog.
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To All New Bloggers..

Six months ago, I would never have imagined that I would come to think of myself as a "Blogger", or that blogging would come to take up so much of my spare time and even change the way I see the world. But I do and it does and it has had an enormous impact on the way I live my life.

My interest in Social Media was born as a result of breastfeeding meaning that I was forced to sit down for significant chunks of time. I didn't want to fall into the daytime TV trap so I did a lot of crosswords but then my sister started having a great deal of success entering competitions on Facebook. She encouraged me to have a go and although my luck never burns as brightly as hers, I did have some small wins that spurred me on.

I discovered blogs through the Giveaways that are hosted on them. It was a slightly alien world that I was entering into but I had the time (my baby was a hungry little man!) so I decided to jump in.

Setting up my blog on Blogger was easy, apart from thinking of a name for it. My mind goes completely blank. I am the same when I have to make up security passwords. The keyboard helped me choose QWERTY Mum. It seemed to fit.

I do love writing - painting pictures with words, weaving tales, making some sort of sense out of the kaleidoscope of nonsense in my mind. The only writing I had done recently was the odd slogan for a competition entry and my numerous "To do" lists. The cursor flashing on a plain white page invited me in and I was hooked.

I also love photography and here was a forum for my photographs which brought with it the motivation to get my camera out more often. Whatever I am doing now, I think about how I can blog about it and what image I could capture to illustrate it.

I had no idea what direction my blog would take. There were some significant moments and turning points that have shaped it to what it is today (and I'm sure the evolution is organic and endless).
I remember my first followers - family and friends - but their presence on my page made me feel accepted into the world of blogging. As I write this, my following stands at 50. I never dreamed I would even make double figures but here I am halfway to a hundred. Now reaching a hundred followers would give me a day of celebration. My sister, who started her blogging adventure (Inside the Wendy House) at about the same time, is already nearly there. I can't help but feel a little envious!

Joining British Mummy Bloggers was another key moment for me. I remember hovering my cursor over the button that would submit my membership application for a stupidly long time. I felt like an impostor. Who did I think I was wanting to join such a well established and important group of people? Well I was a mummy and I was blogging so I guess that did qualify me. Becoming a part of that community opened my eyes to my blogs potential and possibilities. Stay at Home Mums like me had been given a voice, and people were listening.

I had read lots of reviews from other bloggers. Starting to do my own has been a self validating experience. I love to look at my Blog Stats to see how many page views I have had and I love when people leave comments.

Giveaways are always good. I have discovered some great blogs through the Giveaway route and even been lucky enough to win a few lovely things. Thanks to some product reviewing I had been doing for Nuby, whose marketing initiative this year had been to connect with bloggers, I found myself in the position to host my own giveaway. I can't even begin to explain how great that felt!

From the comfort of my office chair I can write about anything and everything - air my views, reminisce, link up with other Bloggers to take part in some of the weird and wonderful Memes hosted on Blogs I follow, share and dream and even heal myself by exposing some dark and ugly truths that suddenly seem less dark and ugly in the soft light of my computer screen.

My latest big step has been to draft a pitch to potential sponsors looking for representation at the Cybermummy Conference. I would love to be able to take my blogging story to the next level and get to meet the real people behind the blogs that have become a part of my everyday life. I doubt if my blog, still only in its infancy, is likely to attract the attention of any major companies but it is worth a try and besides, there's always next year.

I have come such a long way in the few short months since I breathed life into QWERTY Mum. Doing this guest post feels like an enormous honour and I thank Michelle for the opportunity. My advice to any new bloggers out there is definitely to jump onto the roller coaster and see where it takes you.

Thank you Paula, Don't forget to come back tomorrow when there will be a super post from Metal Mummy about creating your bloggy brand.

#SilentSunday: JJ Cooking with @JamesTanner01

A fabulous day out, thank you Dairylea (post to follow)

New Bloggers Fortnight!

Starting Sunday 6th February it will be New Bloggers Fortnight here at MFTH...

In early January I started paying more attention to the new bloggers threads on BMB and felt that I was now established enough and had some time to be able to visit, chat to and give comment love to some new bloggers.  In the last month, I have been bowled over by the number of new mates I have made, mostly all new bloggers!

I started the Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3 linky and in the main, this has been supported by relatively new bloggers and I love this.  I feel as if we are building a beautiful community and all getting to know each other really well.  Cybermummy 11 should be a blast!

I remember all too well what it felt like to me when I was a new blogger.  I was totally overwhelmed at times and I just wanted to be liked (how sad!).  I got so stressed that I took a 6 week break for Lent last year. I would say it was only about September when I found my feet and started to understand twitter and engaged with other people.  I am pleased to say things have come on leaps and bounds since then.  Have you seen I am at no 8 in the Wikio parenting blogs chart for February 11?  Anyway enough, this is not about me...

The idea for the new bloggers fortnight was born from the post I did a couple of weeks ago where experienced bloggers shared their top tips.

So what is there to look forward to during New Bloggers Fortnight?

• I have some super guest posts lined up for you.  Who better to give advice to new bloggers than new (or relatively new) bloggers themselves? So far, my guest posters will be @SusuRem @SAHMLovingit @wendymcd83 @_SHOWand TELL_ @metalmummy84 @PaulaHaylock
• The guest post topics will include the stress of being a new blogger, finding your voice, building relationships, joining in with meme's and blog hop's and creating a bloggy brand.
• I have a post to point you in the direction of a couple of dozen super tutorial posts from great Parenting bloggers.
• There is also a post to help you to decide if you want to work with brands and take paid content on your blog.  Then if you do it helps you to know where to start...
• Part 2 of pick of the new parenting bloggers

What else do you want to see?  I have a day or two free at the moment.  Feel free to make a suggestion.  Or if you want to write a guest post, let me know.

Cheers, Mich x

Last Week I felt like a Big Fat Failure!

Image Credit

I really did.

Not in my life in general, things are not that doom and gloom but in regards to my weight, size, fat - call it what you will! I know that logically I am very blessed and that despite being pretty darn large I am still lucky enough to be a fairly attractive woman.  I have great hair, a pretty good dress sense (listen to me!) and family and friends who completely bless and edify me.

Yet I sat there at my ED (Eating Disorder) meeting and acted like a child saying I was fed up of being fat and having to try.  I was jealous of others who lost their weight or of others at my group who have more time than I do to focus on their recovery.  I really was a completely spoilt brat and you know what?  I enjoyed it.  I needed that self-indulgent time to get the crap off my chest. Slate cleared and ready to move on...

Then late last week I found the blog of a really inspirational lady Alyson, she went from a size 22 to a 10 in a  about a year.  I really wanted what she had and said so.  This kind hearted lady asked me to join a little group she has on Facebook and to work with a group of ladies to lose weight together.  In the space of a few short days I feel like I have known some of these ladies years and they are my best weight loss buddies ever.  I am so pleased to have found this group and I want to tell you that you all Rock!

The good news is that I had a spiritual awakening at the weekend.  At Church one of the ladies stood up and talked about a vision of people being in the wilderness and needing a warm spa to refresh and cleanse them and that if anyone felt like this God was there for them and wanted to refresh them.  It was me, this spoke to me really powerfully.  That day I sat down and wrote myself a list of things that I commit to do each day/ week to help me with my recovery.  I now have a list which looks like this:

• Read my bible each day
• Read some ED literature every day
• Write a weekly food plan and commit my food daily to my food sponsor, then own up to my actual eating each day.....  lose weight as a result of this
• Exercise in some small way at least 5 times a week
• Pray and reflect each day, have time to just BE rather than to keep doing things...
• Go to bed by 11pm most nights
• Have at least a couple of days per week away from blogging and the PC

I was ill at the beginning of the week, which was not great but it gave me a kick start to slow down and to cut my eating down.  I now feel well again and to be honest I am on top of the world at the moment.  Things feel as if they are going my way.

On Monday I weighed and I was 17st 1lb, today I weighed and I was 16st 10lb, so a nice little loss in a few days.  I just now need to be careful and keep away from the scales - they can be a very dangerous thing for me. See something good on them and I want to eat to treat myself for being good, see something bad and I want to press the 'F it' button and eat anyway!  Note to self - must not weight myself much!

Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3 - Week 5 - Open to All!

Week 5 is here and I am being cheered each week visiting you and seeing all the wonderful things that bring smiles to your faces. I also love that even when you have had a bad week you are using this as an opportunity to count your blessings and to realise there is always something to be cheerful about.

You probably know what to do by now, write your post giving your three reasons to be cheerful and link it up, nick the blog hop code if you fancy and add that to the bottom of your post and that makes it easy for your readers to join in too, without having to visit me here, although if they want to visit me that is never discouraged! All the info is on the Reasons to be Cheerful page.

To spread the word we need to get tweeting too, use the hashtag #Reasons2BCheerful.

Grab the beautiful button as well and plonk that where you fancy - in the post, in your sidebar or don't if you do not want to, I won't shoot you!



<center> <a href="http://mdplife.blogspot.com/search/label/reasons%20to%20be%20cheerful"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy From the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>   Here are my 3 reasons to be cheerful this week-

1. I have been poorly at the begining of this week and this allowed me to have some down time: time in bed, time to read, time to think, time to pray and time just to be with me..
2. Due to point 1 my healthy eating has also been given a kick start and I am pleased to be 'in the zone' right now.  I need to lose this weight and to overcome my obsession with eating and food.
3. Miss E has stopped wetting again, the smartie after each trip to the toilet has worked and habit has kicked in and she is back to being dry again. The excitement of starting school must have dulled.
4. I bought myself flowers today and they have made me smile, along with the clear blue sky and new hair!
5. I have a good chance to win £250 for charity. Please vote for my blog HERE  Thanks x

So there you go, easy as 1,2,3.  Your turn...

and just before you go. Do you know Jen? She is a super fab, friendly blogger and every two weeks she hosts a linky called Blog Gems - Air your Archives, she gives a prompt and you link up an old post and gain some new visitors. She has a linky open now, go and visit and join in.

Also, just this week I found another gratitude linky, this one is hosted over in Australia by Maxabella, who has a very stylish blog.  So now you can link up your Reasons post there as well and maybe make some new friends from across the other side of the world. I have some fab Aussie blogger mates and they are some of the friendliest bloggers I know.

The Difference between Boys & Girls

I had to smile today, we run out of toilet roll in both bathrooms (bet you wanted to know that!) and this is what greeted me in the downstairs toilet -

Miss M had finished the loo roll and like the good little girlie she is, she had got herself another roll.  Kitchen roll but still she made the effort!

Then upstairs that loo roll had been finished as well but the sight that greeted me there was this one -

This time it was JJ who had used up the last of the roll.  In typical boy fashion, he had not mentioned a word to anyone nor tried to do anything about it.

I have also noticed other subtle differences with having children of both sexes.  The girls want to help me and will try to make their beds, dust, hoover and anything else they see me doing.  This is all done with no prompting from me.  Then their big brother, nearly 4 years older than them will also help at times, but his helping is in the hope that he will earn some pocket money.

As for teeth brushing Miss E has been known to cry if I forget to get her to do her teeth and she is in bed.  JJ, well he would be happy to do his teeth just once a week - there are far more interesting things in his life like getting to bed to read the next chapter of the Faraway Tree.

Is it just genetic programming that little girls want to be like their mummy and will copy everything that I do?  I can't complain, in years to come I should have two beautiful helpers and things will take far less time. More time for girlie days out with lunch and shopping I feel.

The Gallery: A Circle You Can Eat! Vegetarian Homity Pie

This weeks theme at the Gallery is Shapes and Tara shared with us some amazing photographs of arcitecture and whilst I would love to wow you with my stunning photos, sadly I do not have any.

I thought about finding a few cheesy photos of people danicng at my wedding, you know 'throwing some shapes!'  but that idea went out the window in a moment.  So here is something a little different for the Gallery - my first receipe entry, but it fits with the theme as it is a beautiful circle of Homity Pie.  It tasted fantastic, probably far better than the photos make it look!

Fancy knowing how to make this tasty pie?  Then read on...

Make yourself a batch of rich shortcrust pastry, I always make mine with half wholemeal and half white flour for a good nutty taste. Put the pastry in the fridge in clingfilm for at least 1/2 hr to rest.  Then bring it out and allow it to warm a little before rolling it on a  floured surface and lining a large flan dish.

You need to bake the pastry blind for 20 minutes at 180 degrees, so cover it in greasproof paper and use something like beans, lentils or rice and keep them to use again and again.

While the pastry is baking, peel your potatoes and chop them into 1cm cubes and peel and chop your onions.  I am totally rubbish at quantities so I just guess each time, I probably use about 6 medium spuds and 4 medium onions.

Par boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes.

Saute the onions until they are translucent and tender, I like them with an extra bit of flavour and allow them to caramelise a bit. Layer the onions into the par cooked pastry case and then add some frozen peas and the cubed potatoes.

Mix a carton of double cream, 3 eggs and some grated cheese up together.  Then pour this all over the potato, onion and pea mixture. Letting it drip right through.  Put some more cheese on the top before you bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes.  You can leave it a little longer if you like a more browned and crispy top!

and voila vegetarian Homity Pie.  You can serve it with a nice green salad or mixed veg, it is sure to fill you up!

I hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Of if you want to go down the more professional route then do check out this fantastic caramelised onion tarte tatin from Helen at the Crazy Kitchen.

10 Top Tips for Taking Pre-schoolers to the Cinema (Twin Pre-schoolers!)

So, we went to the cinema yesterday morning because for once in our lives dh was off on a Saturday and we all got up in time! Upon arriving JJ announced that he wanted to see the Sorcerers Apprentice and the girls wanted to see Tinkerbell, which is what we went there with the aim to see.  Being the kind of loving mum I am I suggested to dh that he take JJ in to see his film and I would take the girls in to see Tinkerbell.  It was only after buying the tickets that I wondered what on earth I had let myself in for.  Two 3 year old lively kids on my own in a quiet cinema?  Am I bonkers? well yes - so go for it I thought.

Our first cinema experience with the girls was last July when they were just 3 years. We went to see Toy Story 3 and paid near on £50 for the privilege of listening to the girls both chatter loudly, try to escape from their seats and generally be pests. I blogged about the disaster it was here!  Dh left the film with both girls about half way through.

Then a couple of weeks ago we ventured into a cinema again, half a year after the last time.  This time the film was free and I was also pretty certain it should engage the girls and keep them occupied.  Thankfully Disney's Tangled did the job and the girls adored it and behaved much better.  Thus why I was willing to give the 2:1 ratio a go on this Saturday morning.

So Saturday was a success, so much so that I thought I would share my top 10 tips for taking pre-schoolers/ toddlers to the cinema with you, even twins where the ratio is 2:1!

1. Do some training with the kids before hand. I have never been one to sit and watch TV with the kids but for the last couple of months once a week I get the kids in their PJs really early and we sit down and snuggle and watch TV. They have to talk in whispers and are not allowed to get down to play.
2. Check out the Saturday/ Sunday morning kids screenings at your local cinemas.  5 of us went on Saturday for £5.00, now that is value! and you then do not mind if you do have to leave early!
3. Arrive at the cinema in good time, so that you can get the tickets you want and good seats.  Nothing worse than disappointed youngsters in a film they were not expecting to see.
4. In the same vein, take your seat early and then the kids have plenty of time to ask any question they fancy before the film starts. Let them help you choose the seat and feel important.
5. Talk the kids through what will happen, ie: everyone will sit down, lights will dim, there will be adverts, then the film will start and we all have to talk in whispers etc.  It was amazing how much this helped this time.
6. Limit the amount of fluid they drink before and during the showing.  We did 2 toilet runs in a very short film, I think it was the fun factor!
7. Take snacks with you. If you want to buy popcorn at the cinema go ahead but I begrudge paying more on the popcorn that the ticket price! So I pop a bag at home and take it in the kids bag, I also take little bowls which fit into the drinks holders. My girls love to munch popcorn and this keeps them quiet for a few moments. I also took them a Chuppa Chups lolly each (I am sure some of you ace parents do not give your kids these, but mine occasionally do have them - you must have noticed it is honest parenting here at MFTH...).
8. Do remember the wipes though if you give a sticky lolly!  and tissues as well, snotty noses wiped on your neighbours sleeves is a recipe for disaster!
9. Once the movie finishes wait in your seats will others filter out the cinema.  Surely you are not in a rush?  Better to leave towards the end of the crowd and know exactly where your children are.
10. Lastly and most importantly think positive.  This will be OK.  If you have taken them to a weekend morning kids showing then other people expect some noise and if they don't - really they should!  If Mummy stays stress free it will really help the kids to do the same. Don't jump on their every movement or noise made, choose your battles.  ON Saturday both girls stood at one point and watched bits of the film and they both sat on my lap at differing points and they swapped chairs too but that made it all exciting for them and totally manageable for me as I just stayed unfazed. At their height is does not matter if they stand in a tiered seating area, so why would I worry about it?

So there you have it.  My tips for taking your little kids to the cinema.  Have fun and let me know how you get on.  Mich x

This is another entry for the Multiples Mayhem Carnival being held over at Two become Four on Monday 7th February 2011. If you would like to join in and tell a story about your multiples please get in touch with the host of this carnival - the lovely Rebecca.

#SilentSunday: Scary!

Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3 - Week 4 - Join in Now!

We are in our 4th week and it was wonderful that 45 people linked up last week and shared some good cheer!  It will be wonderful if this keeps building week on week and we have lots of smiley, cheerful people out there!

You probably know what to do by now, write your post giving your three reasons to be cheerful and link it up, nick the blog hop code if you fancy and add that to the bottom of your post and that makes it easy for your readers to join in too, without having to visit me here, although if they want to visit me that is never discouraged! All the info is on the Reasons to be Cheerful page.

To spread the word we need to get tweeting too, use the hashtag #Reasons2BCheerful.
Grab the beautiful button as well and plonk that where you fancy - in the post, in your sidebar or don't if you do not want to, I won't shoot you!





<center><a href="http://mdplife.blogspot.com/search/label/reasons%20to%20be%20cheerful"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy From the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center> 
I'll be honest with you, I do not feel that cheerful today and therefore it is all the more important for me to tell you my 3 reasons to be cheerful -

1. The girls had their jabs today.  That in itself is not a reason to be cheerful but the fact that it is over surely is. Miss M went bonkers and kicked the nurse! Whoops. Post to follow...
2. I got organised this morning and got 2 pasta bakes all made, so all I have to do is pop them in the oven in a minute - dinner done!
3. I am sat here on the sofa watching Come Dine with Me and blogging and it feels fabulous!

So there you go, easy as 1,2,3.

and just before you go. Do you know Jen? She is a super fab, friendly blogger and every two weeks she hosts a linky called Blog Gems - Air your Archives, she gives a prompt and you link up an old post and gain some new visitors. She has a linky open now, go and visit and say hi. or wait for the new prompt this Sunday!  The choice is yours.

Ok get set, link up now....  Mich x

Ohh, I last thing.  Did you see I am doing a giveaway as a thank you to all my fab readers.  You can win a bundle of goodies to help you have a fab night in.  Details here.

Fancy a Good Night In?

I fancied doing a giveaway on my blog, a really simple one.  Not because I have been given anything to review and giveaway but just one that says thanks to all my wonderful readers.

Many of you will know I opened my blog to public viewing in January 2010 and then dissapeared off again until April 2010 when I started to blog more seriously and instead of constant whinging about my battles with food my blog became a personal rambling of everything that relates to my family and I.  I feel very proud of the way my blog has grown in the last year and I feel very humbled by all the support I receive from many wonderful readers. January is the month I believe to be my Bloggerversary and this as far as I am concerned is my first one, as before that the blog was just an online dairy for me and no one else!

So, I felt it was time for one of you to enjoy a nice night in!  Here's what I would like to give you -

• Next luxury foot pampering set
• New pair of white towelling slippers for those gorgeous looking feet
• Avon pale pink hail polish for after the foot pamper
• Annabel Giles book - Defrosting of Charlotte Smith to read in the bath
• Goodie bag of GU chocolate truffles and liquid caramel truffles
• Gorgeous pale blue fabric covered journal for writing your precious thoughts

These are all new items that have either been given to me or bought by me but have never been used and have been sat in my gift cupboard for a while.  What better way to use them than to pass them onto a lovely reader who is more indulgent than I and will enjoy them ....

How to enter -

• Chances are you already follow me, but I would love some new friends on networked blogs, so use the gadget on the right --> to follow, pretty please
• Leave me a comment below with an email/ twitter ID so I can contact you if you win
• If you fancy an extra entry then tweet '@Michelletwinmum would like you to have a fab night in #giveaway  http://tinyurl.com/66x3h3d #win'

Terms and Conditions -

• The giveaway will close at 12 noon Thursday 3 February 2011
• The giveaway is open to those in the UK or Ireland
• The winner will be chosen at random by my little man JJ (he wants to get involved, bless!)
• There is no cash or prize alternative

Good Luck

Congratulations to @wannabefoodie76 You are the lucky winner.  Please email or DM me your address and I get the package sent out to you next Wednesday.  Mich x

Why Thank You Kind Ladies!

Last week I was very happy to go onto twitter and find 4 mentions that I had been nominated for blog awards.  How fab is that?  I am very grateful and honoured that you ladies wish to bestow your awards on me.

First up we have the Smile award  and I received this from Carole, Paula and Wendy too! Wendy even said I helped her to see joy in the mundane and grace in small things, ahh I am nearly tearful now.  I had no idea I was so wonderful!  All 3 of these bloggers have started their blogs within the last 6 months and they all make for very good reads, so do go visit them and share some blogger love.

Then the other (naff!) award I received was from Jen at The King and Eye and this is the most amazing blog.  If you have not been over to visit Jen then you are truly missing out.  I always feel like I am round a good friends having a cuppa and a chat when I pop into Jen's.  She is a real community maker and a totally nice person too.

The memetastic award was created by Jillsmo and she attached the following rules -

1. You must proudly display the absolutely disgusting graphic that I have created for these purposes (put it in your post, you don't have to put it in your sidebar, I think that would seriously be asking too much). It's so bad that not only did I use COMIC SANS, but there's even a little fucking jumping, celebrating kitten down there at the bottom. It's horrifying! But its presence in your award celebration is crucial to the memetastic process we're creating here. If you need a higher resolution version... I totally have one!!

2. You must list 5 things about yourself, and 4 of them must be bold-faced lies. Just make some shit up, we'll never know; one of them has to be true, though. Of course, nobody will ever know the difference, so we're just on the honor system here.

3. You must pass this award on to 5 bloggers that you either like or don't like or don't really have much of an opinion about. I don't care who you pick, and nobody needs to know why.

So here we go, these are my five, but which one is true?

1. I am currently in the 65th spot of the January Tots100 index.
2. I lost my virginity when I was 14 and I am not particularly proud of that fact!
3. I actually have 4 kids, I had my eldest when I was 12 and as such my parents raised her, so I think of her as my sister.
4. I am a great skater and I used to compete as a child.
5. I harbour a secret ambition to be a F1 racing driver.

So can you spot the truth when it stares you right in the face?  I know some of you will as you will have known me since I was a child! lol

Now I have to nominate 5 other bloggers for this truly fabulous (Jen called it Naff!) award -

Laura @ Yummy Mummy, Flabby Tummy (which I do not believe for a moment, just to add!)
Rebecca @ Two become Four
Alethea @ Mom on a Wire
Jay @ Mocha Beanie Mummy (as I would love to try and guess what her true one is!)
Hannah @ Metal Mummy

Before anyone even has to ask, these are bloggers I love!

#TheGallery - I have gone for the Comedy Shot!

This weeks Gallery theme is Children, pop over and visit Tara at Sticky Fingers and see all the other fab entries that will be there from Wednesday.

I have just had the most divine hour looking through all the pictures of my kids when the twins were babies, I have some awesome ones that make my heart melt but I just could not decide on one picture and anyway the word Children for me means all my children and thus I need a picture of 3 little terrors!

One that makes me laugh every time is this one. Miss E has fallen down, Miss M is being lovingly cuddled on JJ's lap and she does not like it and JJ, well he is as happy as larry and can't stop grinning.  Ohh I could just eat him.

....and as I could not really decided on just one, here are a few that I gave serious consideration to.  Enjoy!

The Horrid Henry of Twins!

Have you ever watched the TV show or read one of the Horrid Henry books with your kids?  I have, JJ is at 'that' age and he really loves it.  Then because he loves it, the twins are also starting to love it but no more, a ban has been put on watching Horrid Henry in this house.  I was doing really well and was very strict, no CBBC or CITV for the girls and then of late I have loosened up a bit but no more...

I am pretty sure it is not from watching the TV, all the signs have been there for a long time but she needs no encouragement. You see, we actually have a little Horrid Henry in our family and come to think of it, we also have a perfect Peter too!

Miss M can most definitely be likened to Horrid Henry, she is the most willful 3 year old I have ever come across. This child is extremely clever and not just in an intelligence way, she is street savvy too, knowing how to wind people up in a blink of an eye.  I mean why listen to your parents when you obviously know best?  but then go to school and behave like a perfect angel.  So many people upon meeting her comment that she is the minxy one and has a naughty twinkle in her eye and they are completely right.

I was against this good twin, bad twin idea when they were little.  Why stereotype them into being something that they are not? but I can not fight it anymore, they are. We do have a 'naughty' one! Dh and I often laugh to ourselves once all the kids are in bed about how challenging she has been and what a suck up Miss E can be. 'I'm your good girl, aren't I mummy?'.  'Miss M has been a naughty girl, hasn't she Mummy?'.

Guess which one is Miss Minxy?

When Miss E has been naughty or she knows I disapprove of something, she comes up and strokes my arm or tries to climb on my lap and tells me she loves me and that she is my good girl.  It is strange to see how much she desires my approval 'we best friends aren't we Mummy', and yes much of the time we are best friends but I am always aware to tell her that Miss M, me and her are all best friends together, 'us girls'.

I don't think Miss M feels left out, it just seems as she is very content being independent and walking her own walk.  In essence this is good, it will be great as she grows older to have a child who is street smart and knows her way round awkward or challenging situations but for the meantime it means I am stuck with a cheeky little girl who disrespects what I say to her.

As of today I am trying some positive reinforcement. The main problem is that she has stopped listening and I need to ensure that starts again - it is the crux of everything.  I am practically on the count of 3 before she does as she is told.  Clever little lady knowing the way to avoid the consequence is to give in on the brink of Mummy turning into the screaming banshee and that is where I am at for now, at the exasperated stage.  I don't like being the screaming banshee mummy! Hence the start of the positive reinforcements.  Miss E has resorted back to wetting since starting school, so she is getting a single smartie each time she uses the loo and this is working well, so today we started a smartie for Miss M when she did good listening.  That has also worked.  As I know all too well it is far harder work to catch the kids doing something good than it is to discipline for poor behaviour but the rewards for my hard work over the next week or two will be amazing I am sure.

Wish me luck....   and any tips are gratefully received.

This is my entry for the Multiples Mayhem Carnival being held over at Two become Four on Monday 7th February 2011. If you would like to join in and tell a story about your multiples please get in touch with the host of this carnival - the lovely Rebecca.

My How Times Have Changed!

So here is my Proud Mummy wall.  Never would I have imagined that I would have such tat on my wall (even if my kitchen is the only room left needing a makeover!) and love it!

Review & Giveaway - Blue Friesian Celebrity Style Magazine Cover, Superb Gift

I have had some great fun over the last couple of days creating my own magazine covers and 1 page spreads of spoof celebrity magazines. I created 3 in total and these are all to be surprise gifts for people.  I am really excited to be able to give them as I know the people are just going to love the effort and thought that has gone into them. The really great thing is that you can adapt the template to anything you fancy.  Take the example below, a 1 page spread from the magazine Esquire (bet you can not guess what this is based on?) it is set for a cycling theme but I actually changed it to an announcement of the Dad of the Year Award and now I have dh's Fathers day gift - perfect! This 1 page spread cost me £10 to have it professionally printed and sent to me or for £7 I could download it as a PDF and print it as many times as I need to.

Next up I created a cover for a friend of mine who has recently passed her Masters, she worked so hard on it, that it is nice to be able to celebrate with something a little different and to give her a keepsake to treasure forever.

There are a good variety of designs available at Blue Friesian, you can choose to make a cover, 1 page spread, 8 page magazine or 12 page magazine.  The pricing varies on what you wish to purchase and they get cheaper and cheaper the more you buy. Just imagine after your wedding you create a one page spread from something like KO to share your beautiful memories and photos from the day and use this as your thank you letter. You could have 50 of these printed and sent to you for only £50.00, that is only £1.00 each - no more than a decent wedding thank you card, and the beauty is that these are excellent quality A4 keepsakes - Fabulous!

So how did I find the process?

• The first 1 page spread (and my most intricate with 8 photos and about 8 sections of wording) probably took me about 45 minutes to create from start to finish and that was learning the system too. The cover for my friend then just took about 5 minutes literally and my dh's 1 page spread was about 15 minutes.  So these do not have to be a bind to create.
• You can only upload 1 photo at a time which worked but was not as quick as I would have liked, however the owner of Blue Friesian has showed me she is chasing her web developers for a fix to this.
• Currently you have to go to an external tool to crop or enhance your photos to then fit them into the boxes available. I used PicNik which is free and easy to use. Again Blue Friesian are currently waiting for an enhanced version of their editing tool, this will allow you to crop and move images on the Blue Fresian website.  This will make a good service even better.
• At one point I got a little stuck (it think it was technophobic me rather than anything else) and I emailed and received a fantastic and helpful response.  Blue Fresian pride themselves on their excellent customer service and I can certainly vouch for that, it was been a pleasure dealing with them.
• At check out there are loads of options for you to pay.  I used paypal for peace of mind.
• Postage is included in the cost and I like this, no hidden extras.
• I have now received small jpeg images of my covers so that I can email them to friends, share on facebook etc and that is a super little extra.  Sadly I won't be sharing my covers here as they all contain lots of personal information that I am normally very careful to conceal on my blog!

In short I enjoyed myself, making these gifts was fun and not too difficult at all (even for a technophobe like me!). I think the pricing is good value and once I receive the products I will report back on the quality.  I have no doubt it will be anything but perfect as the service I have received from Blue Friesian so far leads me to believe this lady feels the customer is king!

Edit:  I received the covers I made in good time, the packaging was good and appropriate for the package. I was really very pleased with the quality, the covers are on 350gsm and are therefore very durable and great for framing.  If you order a magazine these come on 150gsm paper, again making them a long-life keepsake.

So now, are you interested!  Want to enter my giveaway to win yourself a £25.00 voucher to spend on the Blue Friesian website? This would create you a couple of covers or a beautiful magazine.

To enter -

• Mandatory - Suggest the title of a baby magazine that Blue Friesion can add to their portfolio (you know the sort Practical Parenting, Mother and Baby, Prima Baby, Pregnancy and Birth) and if you are really clever you can suggest the spoof name too but that is optional!
• For 2 extra entries visit Blue Friesian's Facebook page and press like (they do fab giveaway's on there) and while you are there check out my facebook page and like that too.
• Once you have done that, leave me a comment below to let me know.
• If you want an extra entry tweet the giveaway with @michelletwinmum in the tweet so I know

The exciting bit!

On 1st March 2011 Blue Friesian will launch a new cover to add to their portfolio based on which baby magazine title got the most votes, here at Mummy From The Heart...  So if you want to feel a part of the growth of this super business then get voting now!  Just leave a comment, then check back here or on Blue Friesian's Facebook Page after the closing date and see if your favourite magazine was voted the winner.

Terms and Conditions

• Giveaway ends 12 noon Tuesday 1st February 2011
• Open to all UK and Ireland residents.
• The prize is not transferable or refundable and there is not a cash alternative.
• The prize will be sent direct from Blue Friesian to the lucky winner.
• I will use a random number generator to pick the winner.
• I will contact the winner within 3 days of the giveaway closing.
• Please leave an email or twitter ID so I can contact you if you win.

Good Luck!

I'll leave you with another couple of covers to feast your eyes on.  Perfect for a kid's birthday party?

This is a review post.  I was given £25 credit for the Blue Friesian website. I remain honest in my review of the service I used.

Congratulations to Becky, you are thew winner picked at Random.  Please email or DM me your email address and Blue Friesian will contact you about the prize.

You can call me Lucky Bit*h!

It struck me this afternoon that I really am one lucky bit*h and I am not massive into swearing but this needs some emphasis.  I am a lucky girl. A really lucky girl! You hear me?  LUCKY!

How many mums do you know who can say they feel they have the perfect balance with work and being at home with the kids?  I fall into that completely blessed category.

A day out at Chessington, thanks to saving Tesco vouchers!

I work in the office for 2 days a week from 8.30 - 5pm and I work from home for 2.5 hours per week.  So in total I do half time- 18.5 hours a week.  This is enough to earn us the money to go on holiday (UK holidays admittedly) and buy take aways, the odd night out and nice clothes.  We are not by any means flush, we can not afford to blow £150 on the theatre and have to think before spending large amounts on the house but we we get by, comfortably.

My life is a million miles away from my big earnings of pre-children but I am so much happier for it. I see blog posts and tweets from mums working 12/16 hour days, having problems with childcare letting them down, having to commute for an hour or two every day and I think Why? Do you really need all the money it brings?  If so, then of course you have to carry on but dh and I choose to simplify our life and forget our Caribbean holidays and flashy cars for a few years and to have time with our kids. You often hear that, those with the money to spend do not have the time and those with the time, don't have the money, but so what? We have love and loads of free stuff that we can do together.

My girls have now started afternoon nursery for 3 days a week.  One of these I work and the other two I have time to myself.  Today I did a charity shop drop, bought some shopping, got myself some lunch and went home and did some work with the music blaring (all in 3 hrs!).  It was superb, I could have done with another hour or two to myself but I must not get greedy.

Tomorrow I plan to exercise to my new DVD and then spend a couple of hours blogging, writing up some reviews I need to do and maybe pitching for a cybermummy sponsor.  It feels so decadent to have this time to myself.

What JJ thinks of Mummy!

My cup is half full - I have the best of both worlds; I get to lunch with friends, be an adult and eat cake when I am at work and I get to keep my home, cook meals for my family, play with the kids and meet mummy friends when I am home.  Not a boring moment.  I can honestly say I look forward to each day at the moment.  How amazing is it to be able to say that about your life?

I am not writing this with the intention of being flash and showing off what I have.  I am just being honest and wanting to say to people that if you do not like your lot - change it!  What can you do to make things different and more enjoyable?  Are you willing to give up the costa coffee every day and the expensive iPhone to have time at home with your family?  I was. and for me it worked!

I love my family of 5!

I went to an amazing conference at work a couple of weeks back and one of our keynote speakers was Dr Richard Wiseman and he is a Psychologist and one of his specialist areas is looking at the psychology of luck.  He basically gave firm research based evidence of something I already knew was true - that those who have a cup half full attitude and feel blessed are and count themselves as lucky.  You make your own luck.

He gave an example of a millionaire who described himself as one of the most unlucky men alive. This was because he had won the lottery, £4 million, h felt he was unlucky as he had to share the £8 million jackpot - that ia not unlucky that is ungrateful in my opinion!

So have a think about what you can do to feel just a little bit more blessed.  Wake up in the morning and repeat to yourself, nothing will stress me out today, I am lucky.  This was what I started doing back in 1998 and my positivity had increased bounds since then.

Have a wonderful weekend, I fully intend to.

Mich x