Review | First Treasures Foot & Hand Casting

Hello again everyone, so I've been wanting to do the blog post for a while but the weathers just been so awful to take some amazing photos of the castings that I got done by First Treasures.  I really wanted to get some amazing pictures because I literally am in love with the castings that got done of David's hand and foot.  They are truly a piece of art.  If you are in Essex (or even visiting here) then I plead you to get them done.  You'll see them at the end but let me talk about my experience.

Now I'm not going to lie, I was really quite nervous to get David's hand and foot casted.  Not because I was worried about how they would turn out, but how David would react. At times David can be really shy and be really introvert.  Around people he knows at at school he's very much the opposite he likes being involved with stuff and he loves being around family and friends.  However in unkown settings especially around those he doesn't know he can be very shy and just not want to take part.  An example of this is when he was offered to model and went to Southend and he was having none of it didn't want to move at all and just kept hiding.  So we turned up to Laura's house (she can also come to your house to do the castings) and we knocked on the door and introduced ourselves. Too my surprise apart from the initial "I'm going to hide behind mummy" David became super relaxed.  I think what helped what that Laura basis her business from home and so David felt it was a friendly and safe environment.  It was also helped that Laura was soooo friendly!

She showed me her artwork that she had done before and my god it was beautiful! I couldn't wait to get started but was a bit worried David would get fidgety during the process. David sat on my lap and Laura got to work.  She was very good with David I was so impressed talked to him in a nice calm manor, explained to him what was going on etc so he understood.  David didn't mind at all which surprised me!  Then before I knew it, it was over!  I couldn't believe how quick the process was I was so impressed.

I decided to get David's hand and foot down so I could frame them when I received them back. I had a choice of four colours, silver, gold, pewter or bronze.  In the end I went for silver and I'm so glad I did.  With Kai due any day now (hopefully!) I can't wait to get his done.  Laura does so many varieties though I get the feeling I'll be making multiple trips.  Not only do I want to get Kai's feet and hand done like David's but I'd also love to get one done with Kai and David holding hands or something similar. Then there is also the option of saving David's feet and hand and then getting Kai's done and putting them in a frame together with a picture of them in the middle my god the choices are endless!

Please, please go check out her website at firsttreasures.co.uk .  Prices start at just £25 and I can tell you 100% that every penny you spend will be worth it.  

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Review | What's The Time Clockodile

Here we are again with another book review yay!  This time it's a book all about how to tell the time.  I was super excited when I received this in the post as David has just started to touch the basis of learning the time.  He's interested at reading the numbers on the clock and asking me what the time is etc.

As you can see it's a fun looking book with a clock that can be adjusted in the top right hand corner.  Throughout the book it asks pro-active questions like "what is the time?" and phases like "I know it's an hour as the big hand is pointing to 12"

Not only does it start the beginning of teaching the whole time to children but it also starts to teach the digital time. This is vital in today's world as there is so much technology around us.  

Not only does it cover the whole hour but it also starts to get more difficult as the books goes on like telling the time at quarter past and 5 past.  David found the book really enjoyable and loved moving the arrows to the correct numbers.  It's safe to say he doesn't know how to tell the time yet (I mean he is only just about to turn 3).  This book is helping him a lot though to feed his interest in time though.  

Another thing I like about this book is that it's not just random times in the day but it goes from breakfast all the way until bedtime which helps children understand the meaning of routines and times etc.  You can order the book here for £8.99 If you do buy it let me know what you favourite feature is.

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Review | #MagicSquaresPlaydates

Hello everyone, hope your all having a brilliant day.  It's lovely weather where I am though I doubt it will last for long.  The lovely guys over at Britmums and Petits Filous sent me a Tesco Voucher to buy Petits Filous's new Magic Squares yogurt pots.  Now I'm not going to lie I don't buy yogurts often, it's just one of those things that are in the back of my mind because I never think to buy any for myself either.  When your offered to review something that not only is nutritious but gives you a chance to show your readers what you do with you son how could I refuse?

One thing I was surprised to learn was that not only does this yogurt have the not so surprising benefits of calcium BUT it also has vitamin D inside. Now I don't know about you but this is one of the things I'm really impressed about as my health visitor always goes on about the importance of Vitamin D.  It seems some children now lack that because they spend most of there time indoors and not out in the sun.  It's sad but true (probably doesn't help with the UK weather being on and off all the time though).  I suppose another factor could be that sometimes parents even though it's nice and sunny outside just want to relax.  We've all been there, I mean it's nice to go out sometimes down to the beach but what happens if you just are not feeling or don't have the money?  I'm going to share with you some of the things we do at home in the garden.

Last month was Space month at pre-school so we did some activities to tie that in at home.  This may look odd but it's foam paint.  Basically some shaving foam, glue and food colouring to change it from white to red.  No way was I going to risk having this mess in the house so we took it outside and it was a lot of fun.  Once these were dry (Mars and Moon btw) I then hung them up indoors from the ceiling.

Now your probably thinking "what the hell is this" and yes it is a bottle with the end cut off at a cloth elasticated on the end.  It is so much more then that though.  It's a bubble blower...that's right a snake bubble blower to be specific.  So in short what you do is you get your bubble mixture but it in a bowl or a shallow dish.  Dip this in the bubble mixture and then low through the top (please just blow don't suck unless you want a mouth full of bubbles)  this is the result you will get.

Please excuse the tip that is my garden but it's pretty cool right?  You can even mix food colouring into your bubble mixture to make the bubbles different colours!

So what did we think about the Magic Square yogurts?  Well first off I was pleased to say when removing the lid that the flavours and colours were indeed separate.  This made me happy as I then got the full affect when handing it to David.  He noticed straight away and said "oooh Yellow and pink!"

It's safe to say he enjoyed eating them and I'll happily buy them for him again as a treat.  It probably sounds odd me saying "treat" but I can't give David chocolate when he's been good (though if he's been REALLY good I will give him a small chocolate treat or small sort) due to the fact he will go hypo.  He literally will change as soon as he eats anything with a high amount of sugar in, it's very scary.  So things like raisins and yogurts are a great alternative for me to be able to give him a reward. I must admit I also had one and they were really good and I am not a yogurt fan that much. I don't feel they are that badly priced either as they are quite big.

So that's it for this review and blog post.  I hope you enjoyed it and if you liked me posting about the activities I do with my son let me know I may do a blog post talking about all the activities we did in our pace month.  Until next time!

This post is an entry for BritMums #MagicSquaresPlaydates Linky Challenge, sponsored by Petits Filous.”

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Review | Tyrrells Poshcorn

Hello everyone, so today on the blog I have an unusual review.  This ones all about popcorn or better still Poshcorn from Tyrrell's.  I haven't done a good old food review in a while but I wasn't going to say no to this one.  My son David you see is very sensitive to sugar I found out.  It's so bad that he can't even have very diluted squash without going off the rails.  As much as he does get the odd occasional chocolate treat I try to avoid it best I can.  So what better interesting treat other then the usual raisins and magazines then popcorn!

I did want to wait to open them until we got David back from his fathers.....however we were hungry and they were just sitting there.  We opened them up to have a nibble the first one being "salty & sweet".  Well what a first bag to open as it's actually my favourite.  It tasted JUST like cinema popcorn I kid you not.  It wasn't really dry either which I find with a lot of shop brought popcorns.  Obviously popcorn is dry, but I'm talking about the kind that you have to drink alongside with water so you can actually swallow it.  It also smelt like the cinema so I found that when I wasn't eating the popcorn I had my head in the bag to sniff it.  Safe to say...that bag didn't last long opps....forgive me David I love you but it just tasted so damn good as well as only being 119 calories!

When my son came back we decided to open the rest and test them all together.  David's favourite seemed to be Coconut and Caramel considering without me realising he ate the whole bag....like mother like son eh? I personally didn't like it so I was happy David did.  In my opinion it should of called "Coconut and salt".  I couldn't taste any caramel personally, it was more like you got the taste of salt and then the after taste of coconut.

Lemon Cupcake is a difficult one to judge.  I can't really tell if I like it or not.  The lemon flavour bursts in your mouth but I'm unsure if it's one I find pleasant or not.  It makes my face go inwards slightly that's for sure.  I found the next day when I went back to it however that I didn't mind it too much.  I dunno if perhaps that's maybe because I fell in love with the "Salty & Sweet" flavour though?  David sure seemed to like it as well.  I asked my partner what he thought and he shared the same opinion as me.

Lastly but not least we had "Sea Salted" now I don't like salty popcorn at all.  However my brother tried it and he said he liked it....yep that is it....that's all your getting ha ha I'm sorry.  If the flavour however is anything to go by then the others then I'm sure if your a fan of salted popcorn then you will be in for a treat.

I mean heck they were all really low in calories anyway but Sea Salted is only 83!  I mean you can't get much better then that for a non fruit/veg snack can you?  I think these are great to have out on a picnic especially if your watching your weight and after I've done writing this I'm actually going to share it on a group on Facebook.  I have found a bit hard to find in shops though but I don't have any big supermarkets around me a such.  I really hope that changes because I really do think this could be a big hit.  If you've ever tried these let me know what your favourite flavour is!

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Fun with friends with bingo by Game Village

Besides a good career, caring family and loving friends, girls just want to have fun - as the lyrics go. I completely agree with Cyndi Lauper. Whether partying with a group of friends in a local pub or inviting them over for a night in, you’ve got to agree women love to talk. And it can go on and on and on.  I’m no different. I love going out with my friends, but after a long exhausting day, especially after studying, housework and dealing with David, I love staying at home in my PJ's rather than getting dressed up and slipping into the high heels and go for a night out. Hence, I simplified it - stay back at home and invite friends over and have a ball. Moreover, its easy to rack up a hangover for the next day.

Here are a few things which you can do with your friends at home:

1. Cook: When I invite my friends over, we try out new recipes, add some twists and come up with a new experimental dish. Recently a few days ago one of friends made a dish and guess where she got the recipe from? An online bingo site - GameVillage Bingo where her virtual buddy shared a recipe with her in the forum section. The dessert was lip smacking. Like I said we added little twist to the dish with our own innovative ideas and also added the ingredients shared by her virtual buddy.

2. Read fashion magazines: Like you all know, fashion and trends keep changing according to the seasons and climate, but in one of the magazines I read an article about the fad of elderly ladies who visit bingo halls in retro looks. These days ladies visit in costumes designed especially for bingo parties which consist of artistic bingo dresses, hats etc.

3. Play online bingo: Online bingo is one of my fave pastimes. Since childhood, I have been visiting bingo halls with my mum. This game with the advancement of technology became a huge hit in the United Kingdom. These days I don’t have to visit a bingo hall instead just play it online. My friends and I prefer playing at GameVillage Bingo, as this site has an amazing variations of bingo games.

Host a bingo party today with your close friends and enjoy every moment of it. To know more about GameVillage Bingo visit the site today and get started this instance.

This blog was written for Game Village, it was written for me but I have edited it to make it my own.

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A personal blog for once

Hi everyone, so for once I'm writing this persoaln blog.  I think it's probably because I'm scared of spamming up my FB too much with status's but hey ho.  So I just finished watching Sprinkle of Glitter's family vlogs.  She is someone who I look up to so much, like I can't even put into words how much I look up to her.  When I watch her videos I just think "wow I wish I could be like her"  she's always so happy (at least what we see of her, she will like any other human have her down days) and always seems to stay positive.  Not only that but the other day I found out her and Matt are no longer an item (it breaks my heart) and yet they've managed to go on holidays together and spend time together for Darcy's sake.  This is something I really admire as this is what I would of always wanted with David's father but sadly it can't be that way due to reasons I don't wish to go into.  We are getting better even though we shall always have our dis-agreements (mostly because we are probably both to stubborn when we think we know what's best for David). 

Anyway it got me thinking.  Why do I always doubt myself?  Lots of mums on Facebook think I'm a wonderful mum I always get "wow you do so much with David your amazing" etc etc.  While I blush and say thank you it really doesn't feed my ego unlike with most people it probably would.  Infact in some sort of odd way it makes me feel depressed.  Not because I'm not grateful but because I say in my head "if only you knew".  My house isn't tidy at the best of times infact even as I type this downstairs is a tip.  I don't want it to be like that though of course not just being pregnant now at 36 weeks has made it now impossible for me to bend down.  In fact I can't even walk properly now.  I won't go into all the gross details but basically everytime I walk it hurts.  The irony is if I walk a lot it hurts even more I feel like I can't win.  Not only this but I sometimes cave into David way to easily in fact Matthew disciplines him better then me.  I have been getting better though but there is still improvement to be made.  Then there are the times where I'm such an emotional hormonal wreck I just sit there and cry asking "why won't you listen to a word I say?  What have I done?" now of course doing that in front of David is cruel and it's rare to happen but it has happened indeed.  

So I'm not this perfect amazing pinteresty mum people may make me out to be in fact I just like education I always have ever since I was a little girl.  Other then the activities I do with David I'd go as far as to say I'm an awful mum.  I'm probably being to harsh on myself as always but I just can't help it.  I always strive be a better human being.  Probably due to paranoia.  Not that I help myself at all because fuck me my Facebook is riddled with my over opinionated mind.  It's just how I am though.  I know for a fact people are on my Facebook not because they like me, but because they like to see my statuses and probably laugh at me.  Heck I would go so far as to say I'm probably a laughing stock to the dengie.  That's not me having a big ego by the way it's because I used to be well that is what it felt like in school anyway and it still feels that same way in some aspects.  I tried to have the "I don't give a fuck" light on but sometimes it fades and all the fucks I didn't give come flooding in.  

All in all I dunno why I attack myself like I do as I probably shouldn't but when I weigh up my parenting skills the negatives in my eyes always outweigh the positives. 

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Matalan and My Modern Family

Hello everyone,  so if you don't know already I have got a bun in the oven.  Whilst writing this post I am 36 weeks.  We are having a boy and god have I been doing some serious shopping.  So much my partner has put me on a spending ban until he's born....opps.  One of the many shops I've brought Kai clothes from is Matalan.  Admittedly I didn't think of looking in Matalan until someone else mentioned it.  This is because my local shop is kind of out the way behind a Sainsbury which is a shame because I forgot what a great shop it was!  I used to visit the shop all the time with my parents when I was in school.  So when I was approached by Mumsnet if I would like to post for Matalan of course I said yes!

Matalan have conducted research and has noticed how family life has changed and is no longer straight forward.  This is of particular interest to me as I'm actually studying Social Science and this is basically what Matalan have researched into.  This is what Matalan have to say 

"the definition of 'family' in the 21st century is not straightforward; as the Facebook status might suggest, "it's complicated". This doesn't mean that the idea of family has become any less important however, it simply means we are seeing that family today comes in many different shapes, sizes and forms. Our research revealed some interesting and surprising insights about modern family life."

So what does family life mean to me?  Well at the moment family means a lot more to me now then it used to when I was younger.  I am very grateful for how things have turned out.  When I look back and think about my childhood I realise just how lucky I was and how grateful I should of been back then.  My parents are still together and I had a great childhood.  I never moved once and the neighbourhood I was part of was lovely.  Infact when I talk about the games I played etc with my neighbours people are often jealous.  However my family life now is very different to what it was back in my childhood.

Me and my brother

I don't have a very big family (I don't think I do anyway) but I love how close I feel to all of my family even though I don't see them as often as I'd like to.  Infact I really want to organise a family reunion.  All my grandparents have sadly passed, the one I miss the most is my grandad David Kingsley Lote.  I have lots of happy memories with him most of them being funny.   I still cry sometimes that he's gone (tears up when writing this) and what better name could I give my first born then his?  I don't believe in god that much though I like studying religion but if what they say is true that god will bring back people from the dead then that couldn't come sooner.

I have a wonderful son called David.  He is the light of my life, even if sometimes he drives me up the wall.  Sadly me and his father didn't work out.  It was a messy break up but it was caused by simply not feeling the same way anymore.  Though I'm sure other people have their own ideas because lets face it people are nosey and love to make up stories.  Although me and his father do have are moments David and him have a really good bond so I am a very lucky mother.  I did feel like I let down my family a lot though as I was the first one in my family to ever break up with their partner once having a child.  This wasn't something I planned or hoped for but sadly needless to say it happened.  We have a good routine in place and David see's his dad once a week Thursday 11am - Saturday 5pm.   When I tell teachers and other people they are very surprised (in a good way) that David see's his dad that much.

My old family with the ex

2 years on after that happened I am now with someone else called Matthew.  We also have a baby on the way called Kai.  I get on VERY well with his family so much so I think I actually talk to his family members more then he does ha ha.  There very lovely and so like my own family which is probably why I get along so well with them.  He also has family in America which I'm just dying to meet.  We are all very excited for the arrival of Kai but I will make sure my first son David doesn't feel left out.  I'm very anxious to find out how David will react.

the photo of David and Matthew are rare as Matthew hates his photo being taken

I live about 15 minutes away from my parents and although I want to move to a bigger house I really don't want to move that far away from them as they are such a big support to me literally I couldn't ask for better parents, there always there when I need them and I'm very grateful.  So I will end the blog here on a high and ask you share your favourite family photo with Matalan - click here

someone was very ticklish lol

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