When Charity Begins In Store: (Sort of) Sponsored Post

I remember the first time I went into a White Stuff shop, I thought I would explode with the loveliness of all the clothes. That was a good few years ago in Cheltenham and since then the brand has literally gone from strength to strength. They provide, fantastically stylish everyday wear, and I guarantee there will be something each season which you wont be able to live without.

Recently they contacted me and asked if I would like to go along to their local store for one of their events and talk to one of their marketing team. I jumped at the chance, I enjoy meeting people from different professions and finding out all about their world. One thing lead to another and I ended up with a discount card for the store. Profits in the St Albans Branch have probably exponentially increased! I was even luckier when they kindly gave me a dress from their 'So Glad and Very' Range for the Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards. It's one of those lovely dresses which I am sure I will be able to wear time and time again for all sorts of occasions. I'm very grateful.

I digress, the reason that I am posting here is that I have been chatting to them about various things ever since and I was amazed to find out about just how much charity work they are involved with. I really didn't realise and for this they should be commended. Did you know that your local store will be fund-raising throughout the year for a local charity? If you want to know which one, just go in and ask. Every so often they will have events, keep an eye out for them.

White Stuff are involved in this really wonderful scheme; the Kindness Initiative. If you haven't heard of this check out the video below. I feel incredibly strongly about anything which helps the plight of the homeless in a non- condescending manner and so this was perfect. Take a few minutes to check out the video.

There are a few things which we support as a family for various reasons; homelessness, the environment, womens refuges, cancer charities and the local hospice. I am so pleased to hear that these are the general areas which White Stuff also support. So there you go, a pretty good excuse to go and buy yourself a new dress!

When Charity Begins In Store: (Sort of) Sponsored Post

Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards 2011

I'm fresh from attending the Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards. I return home to find the husband fraught, toys strewn everywhere and two children being rather boisterous for seven thirty in the evening. Poor hubby. Still, I had a nice day and that's all that counts isn't it!

I realise that over the past few weeks I have been a little bit introspective on this blog. I think I have been dwelling on various issues within our family, the little problems have become enormous and insurmountable in my mind. That's why the Mum of the Year Awards have actually done me a lot of good. That's also why you should read about these remarkable women.

I was fortunate enough to meet most of the amazing mums at their photoshoot a couple of months ago. Chatting to them I was humbled and I have to admit there were two mums which had such an impact on me that they changed my perspective on certain things. To sit and watch all their stories on video at the event really brought them to life. Even the hardened cold hearted woman that I am felt a little tiny string pulling at her heart. Yes, I did have something in my eye, honest.

I was astonished at how amazing all of these women looked, given that having kids has quite literally added a couple of stone in weight to me and aged me about 25 years. I think it is because they all have such remarkable personalities, their strength shines through and makes them radiant. Running the odd marathon in between caring for children and fundraising clearly helps too. There is a lesson in itself isn't it? Instead of sitting on the sofa, quietly stewing about stuff, get out there and make a difference.

Sally Dynevor won Celebrity Mum of the Year after her battle with breast cancer. I was astonished at her personal strength to hear that she found out on the day she was shooting those harrowing scenes in Coronation Street. Doesn't she look wonderful?

The event itself was amazing, it was wonderful to see all the Mums of the Year looking fabulous and great fun celebrity spotting. I even got to sit at a table with the radiant and gorgeous Emma Forbes and Cherry Healey, who were both chatty and lovely. We were treated to a lovely meal. Even better, the champagne and wine were flowing. During the awards there were three live performances; some chap called Shayne Ward, some other chaps whose name escapes me (I'm so down with the kids these days) and the amazing Beverly Knight who literally took my breath away with her singing.
However, the highlight was seeing the mums collect their awards and watching the films about their stories. From now on if I feel like moaning, like giving up parenting and running away or just slacking, I will look back to today and remember that each person can make a difference you just need the courage, inspiration, determination and sheer will power to do it. If you want to find out more about the mums and their stories you can pick up a copy of the Tesco Magazine in your local store or click here to go to their website.

Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards 2011

Then I Stroked a Bearded Lizard Called Brian

I've mentioned before how incredibly lucky we are to live close to Stockwood Discovery Centre in Luton. Since Heritage Lottery Funding was pumped into it the place is fantastic for children. And free!

This half term they gave literally hundreds of kids and their parents the chance to come face to face with a selection of reptiles, spiders and cute fluffy animals, we had a whale of a time. I realised what a childish sense of humour I have as I found the reptiles names hilarious; Brian, Derek and so on!

Best of all, the children were exhausted after coming face to face with all these creatures and then running about the grounds and playground to their hearts content. Little Fifi can now recognise a lizard. I'm quite impressed with this. If you live nearby, make sure you check it out. You might spot me and a couple of other local bloggers!

Then I Stroked a Bearded Lizard Called Brian

When Mummy is an Archaeologist

You get to wear stuff like this:

When Mummy is an Archaeologist

Review: On a Stick 80 Party Perfect Recipes by Matt Armendariz

We were sent a free review copy of On a Stick because many of the recipes are perfect for kids parties and snacks, alongside the adult dinner party appetisers. I have to admit I liked the look of the photography, so was keen to see more. There is nothing like a nice photograph of food to make you feel all warm and cosy inside.

When the book came it didn't disappoint on the photography front. Reading through the recipes there were several which seemed appealing and a nice mix between sweet and savory ideas. I think this is the key to this book, there wasn't anything in it that struck me as particularly difficult or unusual, but it provided absolutely tons of ideas. I have already cooked Dak Sunkaj which is a traditional Korean skewers recipe which uses chicken, carrots and scallions (spring onions).

Some of the recipes are perfect for kids (and to be honest they don't all have to be 'on a stick'). The mini skewered pizzas were a great idea. I tried the Berries 'n' Buttermilk Smoothie Ice Cream Pops which were probably 3 million times easier to make than the Annabel Karmel equivalent. My children enjoyed these a lot and I can see these being a regular desert.

The idea of putting little cakes on sticks and then dipping them in frosting, chocolate and then sprinkles is a wonderful one for getting the children involved with cooking. It's one that I have planned this week, alongside another healthy idea; cocktail cubes- basically little fruit filled cubed lollipops.

All in all, I have really enjoyed this recipe book. Not only does the food look yummy, it's given me lots of ideas to adapt for my children and use for parties. lets face it, you can't really go wrong with a book that suggests the idea of red and white sangria lollipops though can you? The authors blog Matt Bites is considered one of the 50 best food blogs by London Times Online. I'm off to have a read to see if I can learn even more from him.

On a Stick comes out in March ISBN 9781594744891 |£9.99| Paperback

Review: On a Stick 80 Party Perfect Recipes by Matt Armendariz

It's like when everyone else is going to Paris...

So the paediatrician gave me a booklet. It's all about sources of help, advice and general information about what to do if your child is on the autistic spectrum. I needed to read it straight away. I put Cbeebies on the television and sat and read it, the odd tear dripping down my cheeks. The Paediatrician isn't sure, he wouldn't co-operate with the tests (which is a test in itself), it seems Boy might be low level autistic in certain areas. Either that or he is a 'quirky child'. Children are all different, we are all different. I want my child to conform. I don't want him to be different. I just want normality.

The Verbal Dyspraxia diagnosis was quite earth shattering for me and this is something that I have been considering for a while. It certainly explains the stresses and strains in our relationship and why without fail, I find him the most difficult child I have ever looked after. This tentative diagnosis comes as no shock to me. Yet I am shocked, I have mixed feelings and emotions about it. I worry about his future, I've always done this though. I worry about my ability to cope.

The book had a useful analogy it sums up my thoughts perfectly; its like when everyone is going to Paris and you think you are going to Paris. But you find yourself going to Amsterdam instead...

It's like when everyone else is going to Paris...

Earning Their Keep!

At the moment I'm really struggling with the concept of getting my children to do as I say, rather than do as they want. I dont want to be hard and draconian, but I realise that it's important to have this power battle whilst they are this age and not leave it until they are teenagers. I have to admit that the naughty step and time out have never been brilliantly successful in this house. The children do pretty much rule the roost, dictating what we have for dinner, what is on the television and how my living room looks (a playroom in case you wondered).

I've started upon a new approach. I am trying to get them to 'earn' their privileges. For example, if they don't eat their breakfast they don't get any television. If they tidy their toys then they can have the childrens music on. If they help me in the garden they can have a new toy or some sweets and so forth. Just simple things which I hope will help them to appreciate what they have and not take things for granted.

I have also purchased some sweet jars which we spent a little while decorating. Each sweet earnt or given to them is put into the jar and they can eat them all on a Saturday. I think this will help cut down the amount of sweets they eat, help them appreciate them more and also be a lot better for their teeth.

I feel slightly hassled, at the moment there are many more tantrums and perhaps half-term was not the best time, however I am sure it will be worth it. I really want my children to be responsible, respectful and appreciative of what they have.

Earning Their Keep!

And so we eat lots of yogurt...

I feel incredibly honoured that I have been chosen to work with Yeo Valley Organic as a blogging Brand Ambassador. I get to go and visit the wonderful farm and write the odd blog post for them such as this one on making Bird Feeders. I'm really proud to be involved with such a responsible organic brand.

This morning we were lucky enough to have the entire range delivered for us to feast upon. Our delivery included their Squeezy tubes of Yogurt called Yeos which the children love and which make great healthy lollipops if you freeze them. At lunch we tried their limited edition Mango and Vanilla yogurt. This went down especially well in our house, Mango and Vanilla is clearly the way forward!

And so we eat lots of yogurt...

How to Get the Most Out of Your Museum Trip

I quite often get told by friends of mine who have children that they don't visit museums or art galleries as the children get fed up very quickly and they don't think it's worthwhile. I think there are a few golden rules for enjoying a visit to a museum.

• Do your research; check out the website, find out what facilities are available and what special exhibitions are on.
• Take along some paper and crayons/ pencils. We spent hours going around a museum taking 'notes for daddy' when my Boy was two years old. It was one of our best trips.
• Encourage children to look in detail at a few things rather than take in the whole museum
• Ask questions of the staff, they often know the funniest/ gruesome or simply fascinating facts
• If the museum allows photography encourage your children to take pictures of things they like. Not only will this give you lots to talk about afterwards, but you might find it enlightening as to what their interests actually are.
• Many museums will have i-spy sheets, colouring sheets or digital tours. Don't forget to pick them up.
  
• Invent stories about the owners of the objects or the painters whilst in the museum and make your own little book about them when you get home. There are some fantastic books to inspire you by James Mayhew such as Katie and the Sunflowers or the Anholts artists range which includes a book for kids about Monets Garden.
• If you have been to see dinosaurs, why not come home and make your own dinosaur land or make some pastry and impress leaves into it to make your own fossils, create replica African masks or even simply watch a film about the historical time period you saw.

Museums and art galleries can be wonderful places for children, they can inspire, amaze and enthrall. Due to a funding crisis within the sector they need support, make sure you make use of your local museum this half term.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Museum Trip

Recipe: The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

The other day I found myself without chocolate and needing something chocolately to eat. Since we had some dark cooking chocolate which is a bit bitter to eat, I thought I would make our family chocolate cake recipe. It's the loveliest cake, you can make a very yummy filling for it which includes sherry, but I'm not going to give the recipe for that bit out, you'll have to make your own filling!

• 6 oz Soft Butter
• 6 oz Caster Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 5 oz Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1 generous teaspoon of Vanilla extract
• 100 grams of dark chocolate

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cake tin
• Mix together the butter and sugar until you have a soft fluffy mixture
• Add the eggs (beaten) and mix with the butter and sugar really well. You could use a mixer at this stage if you want. Try to get lots of air into the mixture
• Mix the cocoa with a little bit of hot water so it becomes a paste
• Add this to the ingredients in the bowl and mix
• Add the vanilla extract and flour
• melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water or in the microwave. Add to the cake mixture
• Mix the whole lot really well and then spoon it into your cake tin
• Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for forty minutes. The cake is supposed to be moist, so make sure you don't over cook it.
• Either decorate/ add buttercream filling as you wish.

We enjoy this either on its own, or warmed with some ice cream

Try not to let chocolately hands destroy your kitchen, but if they do, there is a pre-school activity in cleaning!

Recipe: The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Review; Boden Mini Spring Summer Collection

Boden; people normally love them or hate them. I simply cant afford them, normally that is. When I was asked to review their Spring 2011 collection I nearly fainted, how wonderful. Then I realised that I was actually being asked to review the kids collection for possibly the best clad children in the UK thanks to this blog. Not that I'm jealous of my daughter or anything. I'm not complaining, I'm merely jealous of my two year old daughter who was effectively given a sixty pound Boden shopping spree.

Lets face it, sixty pounds doesn't get you a lot in Boden unless it's the sale, so we ended up with two items from the collection and a dress from the sale. It all came enclosed in a spotty plastic bag, the smartest I have ever seen from a mail order company. Spending that bit extra sure makes a massive difference.

Boden is known for its fantastic quality and the items I chose were no exception. It was a difficult choice but in the end I opted for the Marina Daisy Ruffle Jersey Dress (pictured left). I have washed it a couple of times and it looks as good as new. The sizing was perfect for her and she is the sort of the averagely chunky British build (but with admittedly very long legs which fit a whole year bigger size than she actually is). I had trouble picking which pattern to choose but in the end opted for classic white and blue.

We also decided to also get Fifi this ultra girly spring jacket I think every child needs a lightweight coat for this time of year. Again, the sizing is perfect. It's washable and waterproof. I'm very happy with this, although at the moment its too chilly to let her wear it out and about.

In terms of the rest of range, there are some brilliant items. I love this Retro dress which may splash out and get. We also like several of the T-shirts for Boy. Before I had sampled Mini Boden I would not have even considered spending this amount of money on something for the children. Now I have, it will be very difficult to go back. You can have a look at the whole range here.

Review; Boden Mini Spring Summer Collection

Review; Vertbaudet Childrens Clothing Collection

Spring is on its way; the snowdrops are out, it's not pitch black at 4 o'clock and the kids are getting sweating from their outer layers on their run home from school. Its time to start thinking about a new wardrobe for them. Well, at least a few new items. If you want to get the best of the season then now is the time to buy before all the cool hunters have snapped up the bargains.

Boy and Fifi are lucky enough to be on the Vertbaudet review mailing list and thus they were each sent an item from the new collection to test out.

Fifi was given this lovely reversable pinafore dress. She is a big fan of pinafores and spots, so frankly, it's perfect for her. I also quite like the way that is reversal as it means we can effectively double up on clothes for her without taking up the space. I'm really conscious of how quickly they grow out of things! The spotty side is made of warm velvety fabric and the reversible inner side is cotton. It's a good buy for the money.

Boy was given this lovely zip front cardigan which has the most fluffy warm lining. From the moment he saw it he wanted to wear it, its warm and boyish. It's perfect for the Spring when they don't always want or need their coat.

Having a little look around the rest of the items I think I may get this frilly skirt for Fifi and these trousers for Boy. The collection is reasonably priced, unusual and I've always found Vertabaudet washes up and wears well.

Review; Vertbaudet Childrens Clothing Collection

Review; Grandpa in my Pocket

I have always been surprised how much my children enjoy Grandpa in my Pocket. I think it's because essentially Grandpa in my Pocket not a typical Cbeebies programme. It has proper actors and everything. From a really early age Fifi has sat and watched it and now at two she actively asks to view it. This has to be the result of having a bigger brother, she doesn't get to watch the baby stuff.

I don't mind Fifi and boy as it's one of those programmes which I can watch too, it doesn't drive me mad and it doesn't assume that children are not able to follow a story-line. I also find it amusing watching James Bolam (from New Tricks) on a Cbeebies programme.

The programme tells of the tricks that Jason's Grandpa gets up to when he puts on his magic shrinking cap.This DVD features a few episodes; including one where Jason and his Grandpa have to help save Jemima (Jason's sister's) party from being ruined by a grumpy magician. If you want to get a kids DVD this seems quite a good idea, especially for when the programmes are no longer on the iPlayer!

Grandpa in my Pocket, Volume 3: Mr Marvelloso’s Magic Tricks is considered suitable for children aged 4 – 6, RRP £7.99. You can buy a copy here

Review; Grandpa in my Pocket

The best toys for the boy

Over the past few months or so we have come to the dawning realisation that one of the reasons that the boy doesn't play that much with his toys is that they are simply far too easy for him. He loses interest too quickly. So we got out the Lego Technics (circa 1980) and let the little fella play with that and some Lego Star Wars. This has made an unbelievable difference to him in all sorts of ways.

Nowadays he asks to stay at home and play with his Lego. He spends hours and hours building little space ships and having adventures with them. The space ships have their own garages, satellites and space stations as well. I am astonished. His play is revolutionised.

I am told that many boys do not have the manual dexterity yet for this sort of thing. He is nearly four, this stuff is for the Big Boys; around seven years plus. However, he finds it fairly simple to do and requires very little help. I think its because finally we have found something he is really interested in.

I think what I have learnt is that sometimes it's best to think about what your child really likes to do and what they might be capable of. If you think that they can safely use that toy (I feel sure he wont put the Lego in his mouth and that his little sister wont either) then it's worth exploring the options.

The best toys for the boy

This is the week...

...that I think I came to the dawning realisation that my life is not turning out how I wished.

When I was seven I wanted to be an archaeologist and that was what I became.

I clearly remember being about ten and deciding that at 21 I would have children and I would have a boy and a girl.

I didn't find the right man to marry at that age and it was quite a bit later when we had children (eventually).

I think I imagined some sort of either uber parenting experience where I would either go to work and have someone to look after the children or; I would have a beautiful house and stay at home cooking cakes and looking after the children. In both scenarios I would be ridiculously happy and fulfilled. I have not achieved this.

I am stressed.

It's a challenging time at work and I know deep down that whatever happens it's time to make a change. A leap into the unknown.

We need a certain amount of cash, I do relish the company of adults.

My brain is full of noise, I cant concentrate on enjoying my children. I spend my weekends doing housework and organising things for the week ahead. This is not fun.

I enjoy doing activities with my children and I worship them. I don't feel that I am doing my best for them, as I am not mentally there with them.

This is the week where I have had a moment; one of those pivotal minutes in time when I know deep down that things need to change. I need to change my attitude, I am set in my ways.

I like consistency, I have sat at the same desk for nearly a third of my life. I feel content with this. I feel slightly ashamed by this. My children and my husband should be my priority, my happiness will have an impact on their happiness. I am a bit selfish.

I have begun a new journey, but at the same time, it's just where to begin it...

This is the week...

Review: Nokia Own Voice for Ovi Maps

When Nokia offered to send me one of their swanky N8 smartphones to test out some aspects of the Ovi Maps satnav application, and the Own Voice for Ovi Maps utility I jumped at the prospect. I've been using a £10 Samsung PAYG phone for the last couple of years and that replaced a Sony Ericisson that I could probably acession into our museum collection.

The Nokia N8 isn't unusual in having satnav, a lot of smartphones have it nowadays. It's incredible really, given how big satnav devices are but the one thing Ovi Maps has over a lot of it's rivals is that it's actually free. That's a nice price, especially when some satnav companies charge up to £50 for the actual application to go on a phone.

What sets Nokia's Ovi Maps out from the rest of the field is a free downloadable utility called Own Voice for Ovi Maps that lets you record your own directions. It installs onto the phone too, so it's not as if you have to mess around with a computer either. It's dead easy to use; the utility shows you a command on screen which you read out. Once you've recorded each phrase you get to review it and re-record it if you're not happy with it. Of course when the utility says "turn left", you don't have to say that exact phrase, as long as it conveys the instruction. Consequently, thanks to my husband, I'm now instructed to "hang a left dude!" in his worst Bill & Teds accent. I've actually started planning my routes to ensure I only turn right. No, I'm not kidding!

As well as saving and using your own voice recording on your own phone, you can if you wish share it with others. That's not something I've decided to do just yet, I'm currently practising my received pronunciation and when I get it up to the standard of a BBC newsreader, you might be blessed with a download!

Overall we had great fun customising our satnav voice commands and in use it certainly makes a difference from the rather bland normal voices. I'm even getting used to, "Right! Right! For the love of sanity turn right!" Perhaps letting hubby have a go wasn't the best idea...

Review: Nokia Own Voice for Ovi Maps

Review and Giveaway; Tesco.com

At the moment I've come to the conclusion that Internet shopping is much easier and cheaper as there is less temptation to spend loads of money on all the extra bits and bobs that are strategically placed to tempt me. Like chocolate, jaffa cakes, kettle chips, bottles of wine, sweets...ahem.

In order to work out what supermarket is best for us I have been trying them all out. I tried Ocado I'm really impressed with them, although they seem to run out of fresh things quite regularly. I tried Sainsbury who fobbed me off with a selection of meat which was out of date the next day and didn't tell me. Then when I spent ten minutes on the phone trying to get a refund they told me they would refund me in ten days. They never did give me the refund, I am never shopping with them on line again.

I have been using Tesco for a couple of weeks and so far I have been very impressed. Their website is easy to use and remembers your previous shopping so it's very quick to repeat shop. They tell you (like Ocado do) what stuff is nearing its best before dates and never quibble if you phone up with a problem.

Tesco.com have given me a fifty pound voucher to use on a seventy five pound shop for myself and TEN £12 off a £50 shop vouchers for my readers. These vouchers will be valid between will be valid between the 28th February and 7th March. Terms and Conditions apply to them.

If you fancy getting hold of one of these vouchers then all you need to do is follow this blog and tell me what the cheapest dinner you make for your family is. I will enter into discussion with the hubby and pick the ten best ones to cook. Those people we choose will receive the voucher code via email or twitter, so make sure you leave me with some contact details! Closing date is the 12 AM 26th February 2011, UK entrants only, no cash substitutes.

Below is a list of some of the great features on the site, and benefits of using Tesco.com for your grocery shopping. There's also a visual example of each of these and more at http://www.tesco.com/everylittlehelps/

Helpful new features include:

* Your Favourites Saved - The 'Favourites' feature on the site adds all your previous purchases to your basket so you don't need to remember what you bought, or search through thousands of other items to find your favourite products.

* Dedicated Special Offer filter so you'll never miss a great deal again. Over 1000 special offers are grouped together each week so you don't need to hunt down the bargains.

* Promotional offers are flagged on your favourite items as soon as you add them to your basket, so you can choose whether to take advantage of that BOGOF offer.

* Cheaper alternatives are shown under products, so you can continue saving on your must-buy essentials.

* Substitutions won't cost more - if it's out of stock and Tesco substitute it for a more expensive item, they won't charge you the extra (plus, if you don't like the alternative, just tell your delivery driver and the item will be refunded).

* Money-back freshness guarantee - if it's not fresh enough just hand it back to the driver and they'll arrange a full refund.

* Best before date display - anything with a limited BB date is flagged on your receipt and packed separately in a blue bag.

* Bag recycling - give your delivery driver any unwanted plastic bags (they don't have to be from Tesco), and Tesco will recycle them.

Terms and conditions:
The codes will each be 1-use only to gain £12 off a £50 online grocery shop.
The codes will be valid from 28th February for a shop delivered on or before 11th March.
Please note the codes are only valid for a first time grocery order, to allow your readers to discover Tesco.com/grocery for themselves. Unfortunately the code will not work for existing

shoppers.

Review and Giveaway; Tesco.com

Sponsored Advert: An opportunity to take part in a video project for Avent

Forgive me readers but this helps us pay for books and things for the kids, it seemed like a great opportunity for some of you to get involved though! Email: research@theviralfactory.com

Sponsored Advert: An opportunity to take part in a video project for Avent

A Free Mummy Whisperer Webinar (Sponsored Post)

Becoming a mum is such a pivotal moment in anyone's life that sometimes you find yourself a bit confused. I have often wondered whether my decisions are right for us, and I have suffered from a real loss of confidence in my abilities. I am incredibly lucky in that one of my mummy friends happens to be Lisa otherwise known as Mummy Whisperer. I am sure most of you will have heard about her as I have written about her wonderful programmes and directed many of you towards her blog in the past.

The reason I am calling this a sponsored post is that Lisa has actually given me access to a brilliant on-line course she has written to help mums. This explores who you are, what you actually value and aims to help mums realise that by empowering themselves in their decision making and feeling content they are actually helping children discover who they are. It has certainly helped me redress some of the balance in my life.

The on-line course is not launching until the Spring so you will have to hold on for that, but you can find some brilliant resources on her blog. In the meantime Lisa is very kindly holding a FREE webinaron Thursday 17th February from 8-9pm (UK time). In her own words; "The webinar is on 'Ensuring your children's potential'. I'll be explaining what is the most important thing for our children to help them get there straight away, rather than wait until they are 30, 40 or 50 like most of the rest of us". It's really easy to sign up here and as places are limited it's probably better to do it sooner than later.

I have to say that some of the advice I have been given from Lisa in helping me to help Boy with his issues with school has been very useful, so I am really looking forward to the webinar on Thursday. Feel free to come back and tell me what you thought afterwards.

A Free Mummy Whisperer Webinar (Sponsored Post)

Review; Palmolive's New Aromatic Handwash Range

It's not that I'm happy to review anything readers, but lets be honest, we do all use hand wash, so I thought this might be worth doing out of interest. In exchange for this review I received a bottle of each of the newly launched hand wash range: Bergamot & Verbena and Lavender & Chamomile.

In short, the hand wash was lovely, just as you would expect. The packaging was perfect for our slightly unusual bathroom and both are reasonably priced at RRP#1.99. I preferred the smell of the Bergamot & Verbena as it is bright and fresh. But it's horses for courses isn't it!

The most interesting part of this review turned out to be the information about Palmolive itself. Did you know they have been in business as savonniers since 1898? It's an American firm whose origins lie with B. J. Johnson who opened a small laundry and tar soap factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1864. In 1898 B. J. 's son Caleb entered the family business and created a floating green soap based on palm and olive oils; he called it Palmolive. Caleb was unhappy with this soap so he shopped around for something heavier and more refined. At the Worlds Trade fair in St Louis in 1904 he found just the thing. Palmolive became more like the toilet soaps imported from France and the rest is history.

Now if that doesn't help you in Trivial Pursuit, I'll eat my hat. That's after I have washed my hands with this new Bergamot &Verbena hand wash that is.

Review; Palmolive's New Aromatic Handwash Range

Motivation

Either you have it, or you don't. According to some research verbally communicated to me by my Health Visitors, boys don't really have it (at least early on) they genuinely don't care. I do find this quite difficult to believe, but then I have always been excessively motivated to do stuff and achieve. Or I was until I had children and they sapped the very life blood out of me by embarking upon extreme sleep deprivation measures and forcing me to eat copious amounts of chocolates in order to provide myself with a little bit of comfort.

Back to the point, how does one motivate small children? Well, apparently little girls don't need endless bribery, threats etc etc. They simply want to please you. This makes for relative ease and is considered to be one of the reasons why girls do loads of craft and drawing etc to bring home from nursery and give you, whilst the boys just have a punch up in the corner.

Boys, need to be bribed, cajoled and you must use all your feminine guile on them to force them to, I mean help them, to kick-start their internal motivation. Thus the very act of making them think that they want to dress themselves, put their own shoes on and do that drawing for mummy at school will apparently assist them later in life. It will mean that they get their G.C.S.E.s and eventually go to University to study hard for years and find themselves in debt with a rubbish paid job. Or is that just the archaeology graduates? If you don't, and you help your four year old put on their shoes (partly for your own sanity) you may have missed your chance to instill that internal force known as motivation. They may just end up as a drop-out and be forced to do a trade. Whereby as far as I can tell from my peers they will end up driving a Porsche or Ferrari at 35 and owning that large detached house with a gated entrance in Essex.

Mothers (and fathers), it's up to you. Discuss...

Motivation

Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards

In a couple of weeks I'm going with a few other lovely bloggers to the Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards. It should be a fun event, although I can guarantee that at this rate I shall be inappropriately dressed. Anyway, a few weeks ago I wrote a blog on here about the Peoples Choice Award where you could support your favourite mum. The choices were really hard and it took me ages to make my mind up, but now a winner has been announced. If you want to find out who it was click here to go to the Facebook Page. She is a very deserving and inspirational winner.

Tesco Magazine Mum of the Year Awards

Review update: Xbox Kinect: Your Shape

At Christmas I was kindly given an Xbox Kinect with Your Shape to help with my fitness regime. I wrote my first post about it here. I promised to keep you updated on how things are going in that blog, so how have things gone in January?

I have to admit, I haven't used it quite as much as I anticipated. One of the problems is that it is not something that requires going out and doing, so its not programmed into my diary. I think this has had an impact on its effectiveness as I have used it sporadically rather than regularly. I have found that it is actually quite hard to use it with a child as well as this interrupts the programme and your ability to do it. As a mum that limits you to using it at the crack of dawn or in the evening.

However, when you do fire it up it is as much fun as it ever was and becomes addictive. One evening I used it for nearly an hour and a half. I really like the boxing and have discovered the addictive power of the yoga training. I think it's because I used to go to Yoga classes fairly regularly and I can actually do most of the moves without too much effort.

One of the other aspects I have enjoyed is the way that myself and my husband have got into competitive calorie loss games. The temptation to rack up more calories burnt than him during a workout has proved a brilliant way of involving him.

All in all, it's still great, I just need to pull my socks up and do it every night...

Review update: Xbox Kinect: Your Shape

Review: Ideas for Valentines Day Chocolates

What better than the offer to review four boxes of chocolates under extreme time pressure eh? Well that's exactly what happened to me this week thanks to UKmums.tv (where I am lined up to do a few reviews). So, despite the best intentions of my healthy diet and exercise regime I literally had to force myself to stuff four boxes of chocolates in the interest of you readers; you are the ones who are really benefiting from this review, ahem.

In order to help out those of you that are indecisive, here are my suggestions of appropriate recipients for each box. I've written them all from a woman's point of view, but I think that there are probably equivalent men (if you see what I mean!)

Earth Conscious, Posh Totty
Green and Blacks is perfect If your other half is an earth friendly, organic eater who shops in Whistles and appreciates that variety is the spice of life. I particularly enjoyed the cherry variety. They are very dark and rich and you cant eat too many at once, this is a good thing. Around five pounds from Waitrose




The Fair Trade shopper who enjoys romance
The Divine Milk Chocolate Praline Hearts box is perfect if you wish to romance your other half, yet still demonstrate that you are aware of fair trade and organic issues. If they have a penchant for People Tree clothes like me, then this box is for them. I absolutely loved the way they were packaged and thought how perfect it would be to be served a morning coffee with them or find three little gold wrapped hearts on my pillow. They also tasted fabulous.
Available from Oxfam at an RRP of £6.00

The traditionalist, middle of the road
Dairy Box are perfect for those women who don't like taking risks and don't like change. I thought the box looked a bit dated, but was actually really surprised with the new style chocolates inside, at least I don't remember them being quite so nice. They really are classic, but smooth dairy chocolates. There are ten different types. Lovely flavours and I have to admit that myself and the hubby gobbled them down within the space of an hour, they were just so moorish. I don't really think I would be pleased with them myself if hubby appeared with them for Valentines Day, but I think they would be perfect for my mums generation.
They retail for around three pounds (quite a bargain!)


Traditional and yet a bit racy...
Black Magic Classic Favourites are as scrummy as they ever were. However they remind me a bit of a gift which goes along with red lacy bras and pants. I think its the packaging. The chocolates are lovely and if you are planning an evening of wine-ing and dining your wife or girlfriend, I reckon that you couldn't go wrong. Personally, if the husband cooked me a meal and then brought these out with coffee I reckon I'd have a fair idea of what he was after...
They retail for around four pounds





I hope this helps, myself and the husband will probably pop to our local takeaway and get a Chinese feast and some wine, this will be followed by yet more chocolates. I've been spoilt now, he may have to get all four again!

Review: Ideas for Valentines Day Chocolates

The Power of Clothes

We all know that when you wear different types of clothes they project different images of that person and they also give the wearer a particular frame of mind. There are tons of studies on all this stuff, it's very important as a way of expressing oneself, fitting in, or not fitting in and the sense of identity.

This is why I think that it is actually vitally important to let children choose what they want to wear, within reason (obviously a swimsuit is not good in the snow). Fifi is a master of mis-matched, too small clothes. Boy is happiest when dressed exactly like his dad, or as a superhero. That's fine.

Over the years I have realised that I associate events with the clothes that I am wearing. Thus the outfit I wore on a day when I had a very bad meeting with my boss, was soon after sent to the charity shop. I can still remember outfits I wore when I was dating my husband. Sometimes I forget that particular things which I have worn on happy days have now been retired. With thought, I could probably tell you what I was wearing during every single lecture I have ever given as I find them particularly stressful moments.

If you knew me you'd know that I spend 80% of my time wearing jeans, this is usually because I cant bear to decide what else is appropriate and I don't wish to run the risk of my new dress etc being associated with a particular event.

I'm, a closet fashionista, there are several key pieces that you need in your wardrobe, most probably which you will have in your wardrobe without even realising:

• The black dress
• The white shirt
• The pencil skirt
• The t-shirt
• Jeans
• Capri pants
• The black cardigan
  

It's not worth hanging on to these things forever though as there will be subtle changes in them through time which will date them. However, the beauty of these pieces is that if you love your black dress, for example, and associate it with the best day of your life, you'll be able to get away with wearing it when you are sixty. It may look dated but it will still be a key piece. Genius eh?

What does this all mean for kids clothes then? Well, I think there are several key pieces that any child needs:

• jogging bottoms
• t-shirts
• jersey dress (for girls obviously)
• the superhero t-shirt
• jeans

If your child has these in their wardrobe you can't go wrong, they can choose and express their personality adapting items with things from the dressing up box. I often think they (at least my kids) do also remember what they were wearing at particular moments, don't force your child to wear something if they don't want to. They may remember falling over and hurting themselves or getting told off. Also, try not to impose your mood and identity on them too much, I do find this hard to do but am aware that I can do it quite easily.

Clothes are a way of expressing identity and since we are all born individuals why not let your child embrace this with gusto!

*image above shows Fifi wearing one of my 1970's baby dresses with jeans. She chose this outfit and was about 1 at the time...

The Power of Clothes

Learning Super Powers

Recently there have been a number of discussions in our office which have spilled into other spheres of my life about these real life superheros in Seattle. I have to admit I find them fascinating. Apparently they have made a real difference to crime, and there have been no deaths yet. Clearly there is something about being clad in lycra which inspires awe in even the baddest of baddies.

The boy loves dressing up as a superhero, some days he is Batman, sometimes Spiderman, sometimes Buzz Lightyear. He even used to go to playgroup in his superhero uniform. It's very endearing, although sometimes I do wonder about the fantasy world and exactly where he is learning his play scenarios. There is an awful lot of death and chopping off of peoples heads...

Anyhow, we decided after much consideration that one way to help Boy overcome his confidence issues would be to enroll him into Karate class. In our town we are lucky enough to have a club which run sessions for younger kids and so we took him there to join in. Unfortunately our first session was less than a success, the boy spent the whole time clinging to his dads leg. He clearly wanted to join in, but shyness over came him.

On consideration, it may have been more sensible to show him a film which featured people wearing karate outfits rather than Kung-Fu Panda. But you only learn these things with hindsight. When questioned the little fella said he was scared of the man leading the session, the scary baddie. Hmmm, I felt I had no choice, the boy has been told that the man is actually a superhero and is teaching the boy his special powers. I think that if we can inspire the boy and fill him with awe, he may just learn to overcome his shyness to be the best superhero ever. I can but hope!

Learning Super Powers

Review; Dance Juniors for Wii by Ubisoft

The nearly four year old Boy was given a copy of Dance Junior (Wii) to review with his little sister. His review goes something like this "me no want to go to bed now, this really really really good fun". So there you have it; in a nutshell toddlers appear to love it.

Dance Juniors is like a kids version of Wii Dance which we love in our house. If your children like Boogie Beebies then this is the next step. There is quite a range of music (over 40 songs), although I have to admit I found the fact that the majority of it was not sung by the original artists, rather by kids, a bit irritating. My children didn't seem to notice though and happily threw themselves around the room in a vague imitation of what was happening on the screen.

The kid friendly interface was ideal and does make it very simple for children, with a bit of training mine were able to play it without too much help. My main criticism for us is that at the age of 'nearly four' holding a Wii remote seems to hinder the co-ordination of dance movements. A little wrist strap adapter would have made it perfect. However this issue can only improve as the kids get older and more co-ordinated.

All in all, this has revitalized our evening toddler disco session and will be great fun when the childrens friends come round. It's retailing for under twenty quid at the moment, so if your kids like dancing then you really can't go wrong.

Review; Dance Juniors for Wii by Ubisoft

Recipe: Cornflake Cakes made with Rowse Honey!

The other day we were given a lovely box full of cupcakes and a jar of honey courtesy of Rowse honey who have embarked upon a massive new media campaign. They are investing three and a half million pounds into the campaign which makes it the biggest consumer investment in honey for over ten years. If you want a sneak peak at the campaign visit the Facebook page

A jar of honey is a dangerous thing in our house as I really do love it on toast, since I am trying to lose a bit of weight I thought the best thing to do would be to use the majority of it up straight away. The only thing to do was to cook with Fifi directing of course! Luckily my Australian friend blogged about how they made Honey crackles. Since I know she is wonderful at all things cooking and craft I followed her lead and made the Honey Cornflake Cakes recipe using just over half the jar of Rouse Honey. They are yum, I suggest you give it a go this minute...

Recipe: Cornflake Cakes made with Rowse Honey!

Review; The Tooth Collectors by Ola Laniyan-Amoaka

We were sent a copy of this book to review and one to giveaway. If you fancy a copy then please leave a comment below before midday 20th February* The book tells the story of a little boy who is woken in the night by two tooth collectors, they go on an exciting adventure which is beautifully illustrated. There is also an audio DVD so you can play the story in the car. This is a great idea.

The book is aimed at the 3- 8 year old age group, but to be honest it has far too many words for my three (nearly four year old ) to cope with at the moment. He cant remember stories very well, so we have just ended up reading the same chapters over and over. Not to worry, I am convinced he will grow into it. I really enjoyed the message in the story and it made a change from the usual stories about the importance of teeth cleaning.

There is a really great website in conjunction with the book, you can find it here. At the moment there is a competition to win some great prizes and all your kids have to do is to draw their own tooth collector.

All in all, we enjoyed this, if your children like the idea of fairies and need a little bit of encouragement to look after their teeth then this book is worth investigating.

*winner will be chosen at random and notified directly so please leave your contact details! UK entries only as I have to pay for the postage myself :(

Review; The Tooth Collectors by Ola Laniyan-Amoaka

But Mummy, I Don't Like My Bedroom!

Boy has decided he really really doesn't like his bedroom. He had decided this a few months ago, so we swapped his room with his sisters. However, now we have gone from small torch at night, through nightlight to having the light on full. He is on a mission to obtain my bedroom. He will fail, he will not conquer and plant his (Ben 10) flag in my room.

It is totally my fault, I have allowed him to decamp and sleep in our bed. On occasion he has even evicted myself or the husband. I have to admit that the best nights sleep I have had in the past four years have been in his single bed. Dark, quiet, cosy...

Anyway, this evening the boy went to new lengths. After shouting for a while I relented and went up, to comfort or tell him off. Basically as the moment struck me. He was wet, really soaking wet. Considering there had been an Austin Powers style wee less than half an hour previously something odd had clearly happened. I'm not one to panic, but inside I did wonder about his kidneys. Then I remembered the crying in bed incident. That's the one where he used the water in his water bottle as fake tears and sat in his bed making overly dramatic acted 2 year old sobbing noises until I came to find him in a tear soaked puddle...

Yes that's right, tonight the water has been used for a new purpose. Tonight the water bottle was opened and then put into his pyjama pants. Unsurprisingly, the water literally flowed out into his overnight nappy and onto the bed. He denied this, at first. Try keeping a straight face in those circumstances! You have to give him ten out of ten for effort, what levels will he stoop to next though on this capture mummy's bedroom mission?

But Mummy, I Don't Like My Bedroom!