Ten Things I Learnt at Cybermummy 2011

For those of you who don't know Cybermummy is the UK's biggest blogging conference aimed primarily at parenting bloggers. Various brands exhibit and there is a variety of speakers to hear  talking on different aspects of blogging. This year I was exceptionally lucky to be sponsored by Lego Duplo, who are a fab brand and whose values I completely 'get'. Since I still play with the Duplo I had as a child (it's now 30 odd years old) I think it's really one of the best value toys out there.

Anyway, I'm not going to write a long gushing post about Cybermummy, for me it actually took a lot of bravery to go as I really do not like being in large crowds of women. I find it unsettling and I'm very introverted and shy in real life, my confidence is all an act! In this blog I have written some of my deepest and darkest thoughts and the idea that others who have read it might talk to me scares the life out of me. So, was it worth it? I think so...

• Based on those present I personally know about a quarter of mummy bloggers (the old skool I suspect)
• If you want to optimise your blog for SEO then repeat your keywords 3- 8 % of the time in your posts
• The technicalities of Wordpress are incredibly dull
• Sarah Brown is an exceptionally charismatic speaker
• Facebook is a lot easier than intuition tells you
• Don't spam people with your Facebook page updates, 3 times a week is enough!
• Make sure your Twitter handle is relevant to your topic and DON'T engage in confrontation with people
• It is possible to provide a mashed potato meal in a Chinese takeaway noodle box
• Make sure you optimise the labelling of your images (Google doesn't see them but it does see the tags etc)
• Don't allow spam comments you'll be penalised by Google
• Setting up a wine company with 12 mates seems like a good laugh

Products I liked

• The Leapfrog Leappad- move over the Ipod this is what any self respecting under ten year old will want
• YourShape updated coming out soon. I love a bit of YourShape, I does...
• Johnson's Baby Wipe packaging recycling. Wipe Out Waste Campaign, a really fab idea.
• Disneys Cars 2 computer game. More fun than Mario Karts
• Lego Duplo Disney Cars Cuteness, durability and recognisable characters all rolled into one!

I spent the day in the shadow of my husband who was stopped every five seconds by someone, but to spend a day without a child hanging off my leg was a joy, even if I didn't see much of my other half. Thanks to Jen, Susanna  and Sian for doing a sterling job organising it all (they deserve medals) and their team of helpers.

Tesco Real Food Challenge: Take Away at Home- Thai red curry

Fathers Day was a treat for me as I was feeling a little bit poorly, so the hubby volunteered to take the ultimate cooking challenge and cook me Matt Dawsons Thai Red Curry. Matt is a judge on the Tesco Real Food Challenge and is responsible for the Take-away at Home category and so I was expecting big things. In case you don't recall, the Tesco Real Food Challenge is a brilliant competition that Tesco are running on their website where you can submit your best recipes for taste testing and eventually be in with a change of winning the competition and appearing on a great new Channel Five show on the way.

So, I can honestly say that I totally left the husband to follow instructions and waiting for my meal to be dished up. What can I say, TOTALLY AWESOME this dinner was in fact the best meal my husband has ever cooked for us as a family. A fan of River Cottage cookbooks, he generally serves up a good dish. Just not all that often. However, this really was great. Toddler boy had 5, yes that's 5 helpings. Bear in mind this is a little fella who often goes without dinner as he cant face eating it.

The cook informed me that the recipe was super easy to make. Having checked it over in detail to try to catch him out I agree, it does look simple. It really is a delicious curry, and it's now one of our family favourites. If you are coming round for your dinner soon, expect to be served this up. The standard for the Tesco Real Food Challenge has been set high...

A Night Out With the Girls

I hardly ever go out in the evenings, babysitting is hard to find and to be honest I usually get to about 8pm and find myself an in an exhausted heap. However last night @mediocre_mum organised a brilliant treat. We got free range in the local beauty salon Beautylase. I got to have eyebrows, make-up and nails sorted out and a free skin consultation. After that we went to the pub and then Pizza Express. It was a great night out and lovely to see some of my blogging friends. I'm quite wary about going out as part of a large group of women, however the atmosphere was so great I cant wait for us to do it again!

Meanwhile, the Boy had a sleepover with Mirka's daughter Isabelle. Apparently it was hard work for the hubby who had to deal with an epic nose bleed, 15 trips upstairs to see them and a couple of epic toilet visits. It was all quiet when we got home at about 11:20, but they had only been asleep for half an hour. Oh dear. When asked this morning about what they did, the Boy told me they played with his ammonite fossil. Unfortunately Isabelle says they played with something else....

Been Sunning It

Or at least I would have been if it hadn't rained for 80 % of my holiday. In case you didn't know, we were sent to Lake Garda to the Altomincio Family Park resort by Thomson Al Fresco, fabulously kind of them and THE BEST thing that has ever happened to the kids as a result of my blogging every detail of their lives...

We didn't get back till gone mid-night last night, and so the full lowdown will have to wait, in the meantime a small flavour...

Home Alone

The last few days I've been fending alone, testing the waters of single parenthood. Not somewhere I would like to swim out of choice. It's been demanding, especially as I haven't been well, but I have surprised myself at how calm and together I have remained. I've dealt with poo incidents, failure to go to bed, baths, feeding time, tantrums and getting themselves soaking wet. I've driven into central London and back and been to the shops (where I told a shop assistant that he didn't have the sort of attitude I expected from a member of staff at Waitrose).

I think I have done a reasonable job, but I wouldn't like to do it long term. So I find myself sitting here, hiding from the kids, hoping they go to sleep. I have found myself talking to myself, wandering around like a crazed woman seeking out chocolate brownies and wishing that the boy would just give me a bit of peace and quiet to watch Springwatch. 'Why does that bird eat fish mummy? Why does that bird eat insects mummy? but mummy, mummy'. On reflection, I should not have let an inquisitive toddler watch Springwatch, but he just wouldn't go to sleep. Never has one woman enjoyed the peace and quiet of her trashed living room so much. Must. Resist. The. Urge. To. Rearrange that throw, tidy those toys, clear those plates...

If you were wondering what the hubby is doing he will blog about it shortly, but you can see a lot of gloating and images on twitter just use the hashtag #svpchamps

Review: Mamas and Papas Cybex Pallas 2 in 1 Car Seat

We quite like testing out carseats in this house, mainly because I really am on a quest to find the absolute best one. When I heard about the Mamas and Papas Cybex Pallas 2 in 1  I was intregued not only because it's a three stage one, but also because you dont use a harness to strap your child in rather a pad goes in front of them to hold them secruely and you use your normal seatbelt. It's an innovative, safe design, possibly the future of car seats.

We tried the car seat with our two year old. It was easy to set up and she was very excited. The pad meant she could sit like her big brother using the normal adult seat belt. The seat is quite high up and in our Vauxhall Zafira she sat very high up which she liked. This made her feel very grown up.

I'm told that the pad is exceptionally safe, much safer than a standard harness. However, I had reservations that Fifi would be able to wriggle out. This wasn't the case, she was very secure. She was very happy, until she realised that its near on impossible to cuddle a toy. Not ideal for long journeys then, also I would imagine the pad would get very dirty if they had a snack in the car.

I really liked the concept, however in practical terms although our seat belts were long enough it was really tricky to put her into the carseat each time. By tricky, I mean a total faff. There really is something to be said about one click harnesses which dont require contortionist skills and super long arms. With this system you have to stretch across the carseat and child and pad. Really, truth be told, the 6 ft 4 husband had trouble so you can imagine the trouble I had!

After giving up on the pad system and going back to our normal car seat for Fifi we thought we would give it a go with the boy who is four. The beauty of the carseat is that it converts into a seat suitable for older kids. I cant really fault it at this age group, it's not a lot different to the other ones on the market, although the quality is superb. However, I find the cupholder on the boys Graco carseat absolutely brilliant and it's a feature I would look for in all future carseats, this one doesnt have one. But I guess you cant really have it all.

There you go, it's a brilliant car seat in theory, looks nice, and is well made the kids like it and it's very safe. In practical terms though, it's just not ideal for our family. If you are considering car seats make sure you go and have a look at Mamas & Papas car seats and if you get the chance try it out in your car to see what you think. I would suggest its a 'love it' or 'hate it' product and you wont know what side of the fence you sit on until you have given it a go...