Guest Post: When Victoria Went to Check Out the John Lewis Christmas 2011 Range

Last year I was lucky enough to attend the John Lewis Christmas event and I really enjoyed it, in fact, I think the experience made a difference to our family Christmas as it gave me loads of ideas for decorations and gifts. So this year I was disappointed that I couldn't actually make it, however, really pleased that they allowed my friend and near neighbour Victoria who runs a really fun children's company to go in my place. This is what she had to say:

  

I was fortunate to be invited to the John Lewis Christmas in July event last week at a glamorous venue in London.   Having travelled on the hot and sticky tube 6 months pregnant, I was instantly calmed, watered and looked after, the minute I walked through the door.

The fashion selection of exquisite clothes, some exclusive only to John Lewis, were enough to make me start booking a personal trainer now!  I never thought of buying clothes in John Lewis before, but having seen the selection available, I can safely say I am converted!!

I was escorted to the baby section, which featured the most gorgeous bootees, think baby Uggs and baby converse gift-wrapped in a tiffany-esqe box, which can be personalized with the child name on.  Simply perfect, for Christmas or in fact for any baby gift.  Another head turner was the Missoni print bugaboo buggy, and the sugar jack changing bags.  

The toy section was next, followed by a talk by the toy buyer, explaining all the themes behind the toy choices for the Christmas season.  There are some great new products about to hit the shelves, the Vtech childrens IPAD is sure to be under many a Christmas tree.  One of my favourites was the Let’s Rock Elmo, which plays the drums and has a microphone, you can even do a duet with Elmo.  Lego have bought out some fantastic new products, the Lego Sort and Store Head, and the Lego toy box, solving every parents tidying up problems.

All in all John Lewis have everything you could wish for and all the things you never knew you needed to make Christmas special.  From the clothes to wear, the toys to make you the best “mummy Christmas” ever, and the exquisite decorations to top it off.  

Guest Post: When Victoria Went to Check Out the John Lewis Christmas 2011 Range

Numbers

The revelation in the school report that the boy cant recognise numbers. I find this very odd as he could before he went to nursery. Hmmm, that's not good, nursery appears to have removed his knowledge. Anyway, I have made it my task this school holiday to try to re-teach him how to recognise numbers and count consistently.

Thus we found ourselves on holiday looking at rowing boat parking spaces and trying to get him to recognise the numbers properly. This took ages and didn't seem to really help. I've moved onto bribery, there's a Ben 10 omnitrix like his friend owns in it for him if he is successful. This seems to be having slightly greater success. He is quite mercenary. However, now I have discovered Star Wars Top Trumps. This appears to be the answer to the problem of teaching small boys numeracy. Lets hope we crack it now....

Numbers

When I got sent Daz Violet Blossom Blast

I thought to myself, yes another washing liquid, that's handy and I didn't think much else. Although I have to admit I did like the rather nice slanket which came with it! Anyway, recently, and I don't know if this is pregnancy hormones, I have begun noticing the smell of freshly washed laundry and different washing powders/liquids. In fact, I have to say that I am enjoying testing out lots of different ones just to see the different scents, because, lets face it, they are all pretty much of a muchness in terms of trying to remove tomato pasta stains *ahem*. Well, I'm probably not the most scientific judge, but most of them are fairly successful with my 'stuff it all in the washing machine and don't worry if the kids are walking about with stains on them or not' approach...

So, it is with great pleasure that I recommend to you Violet Blossom Burst Daz, it smells really nice and clean and summery. If you fancy a little change in laundry scent and you want something that looks nice on the shelf in the kitchen/ utility room, then this is the one for you this week!

When I got sent Daz Violet Blossom Blast

Winner Three MiFi competition and On the Go Mums Survey

I've been in contact with Three UK who have a brilliant campaign to help mums save a little bit of time by having mobile Internet. Personally I find mobile Internet invaluable and I've recommended it to loads of my work colleagues and friends who are all converts.  Recently they  sent me this interesting survey which  indicated that mums would earn #37,000 a year if they were paid for all the things they do, and that's based on an average cleaners salary!

Here is the daily breakdown of tasks, I must admit I don't think I spend that amount of time cleaning. I suggest you print it out to make yourself feel better and guilt the husband who will be fooled!

 Anyway, a few weeks ago I ran a competition to win a Mifi, a brilliant little gadget which you can attach to your smart phone or computer to enable you to have your own portable Internet connection. I used the random number to generate a winner, there were loads of entries!
Here is the  result:

So by my reckoning that means the winner is http://www.secondtimemummy.com/

I hope you enjoy your MiFi and thanks to everyone for entering :)

Winner Three MiFi competition and On the Go Mums Survey

It was meant to be...

I spent all of last year wanting another one, in fact most of the year before. Then I started to get fit, enjoyed running, started going out in the evenings again. I felt happier and more satisfied than ever. Then the most shocking thing that has ever happened to me happened. I mean pure total shock. It took nearly 2 years to conceive the boy, nearly a year to conceive the girl, we didn't even think about this one. Yes, that's right, after much soul searching, dilemmas about childcare, practicalities and so on, we are having another baby. We couldn't really not.

I was nearly two months gone before I realised, I'm now four months. I'm tired, more stressed than I have been in a long time. I wake up at night with anxiety, my heart pounding. Will I be able to cope? Children drive me mad, I'm not the best mum. I will freely admit I use the television as a baby sitter, I get annoyed at the twentieth request for help with shoes/ socks/ to find a toy. I have a busy life with little help. How will we cope? I like a bit of peace and quiet. I've been offered the chance to do a PhD at Cambridge University.

I think some of this is affecting our relationship, we don't get a lot of time to talk, be alone. At least not when we we are free from the worries of discussion of money worries, household chores and the usual. I think we are both existing at the moment, at least I am. I don't feel the joy I felt at the prospect of the other two. I feel tired and worried about how to occupy children during the school holidays. It's a creeping fear which really does scare me, I worry about days of total meltdown when I can barely muster the energy to breathe. I worry about the birth, I've done it twice before and I know what's coming.

But then there is the prospect of a little life, a little personality, a friend and ally for Boy and Fifi. The prospect of a large, happy and joy filled family. The unknown; will it be a boy or a girl? Will it have brown hair or blonde or ginger? I look at the shoes lined up and visualise another little pair, I look at the bath towels hanging up and see another. It was meant to be.

It was meant to be...

Guest Post: Sally Whittle on Being a Mummy

A few weeks ago I asked for some guest posts on peoples experience of Being a Mummy and last week I posted Anwen's thoughts. This week it's the turn of one of the UK's leading parenting bloggers, Sally Whittle. Not only does she write fab parenting blog Who's the Mummy, Sally is an endless source of blogging advice and founder of the Tots 100 and Bloggered. She is also a technology journalist and a brilliant mum to Flea, who is always the best behaved child at blogging events. These are her thoughts on Being a Mummy.

When I was a kid, I had this notion that I would die when I was 23.

The first mention of my untimely demise is in my diary when I was about nine years old, and it gets mentioned periodically until I was 21, when presumably the idea of imminent death became a bit unappealing now it was a bit closer.

I don’t think I ever really wanted to die - well, except for when I was 15, but that was a combination of too much Thomas Hardy and raging hormones.  I just couldn’t ever imagine myself ‘grown up’.

The idea of having children seemed too improbable to even consider.

But fast forward eight years and I was pregnant.

I had a tricky pregnancy and was told twice that I’d lost the baby – which seemed entirely predictable because how could I have a baby? Don’t be silly. 

At antenatal classes when they showed a baby being born, I passed out.

Dear God, I couldn’t possibly be expected to do THAT.

Still, my little critter hung on in there and I woke up from a general anaesthetic one sunny Sunday afternoon in August to find my then-husband holding a baby.

“Why are you holding that baby?” were my first words.

It didn’t bode well, let’s be honest.

This month, Flea finished her second year at school and brought home her workbooks from the year.  She’s now survived almost six years of my inept parenting.

Browsing through her stories, I found a little essay titled, “Mummy”, which was a list of reasons why Flea loves me. The last line read: 

“I love my Mummy because she makes me smile, and she loves me so very much.”

That, for me, is what being a mummy is all about.

Guest Post: Sally Whittle on Being a Mummy

Seals, Puddles and Poppies

It can only be North Norfolk! We finally got our holiday here, its even sweeter after last years ill feted holiday attempt in Wells-Next-The-Sea when the kids got Chicken Pox. For me, its always a lovely break as I have been coming here ever since I was a child. Here is a flavour...

Brancaster Staithe is perfect for puddle jumping

Birds get close to you at Titchwell

Some seals on Blakeney Point

Seals fled when they heard the loudest toddler in the UK shriek 'look mumeeeeeeee!'

Its poppy time of year...

Seals, Puddles and Poppies

Guest Post: Being a mummy is the hardest job I’ve ever had!

I decided to open my blog up to a few other bloggers because I wanted to hear about their experiences of Being a Mummy, I know I find it a very hard job!  The first person to take up the challenge is Anwen who writes a wonderful blog at Ramblings of a Suburban Mummy if you haven't come across her blog before I would highly recommend it. Here is what she has to say:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, being a mummy is hands-down the hardest job I’ve ever had. It might not be a job in the conventional sense; in fact it’s your whole life so in reality it’s a vocation not a job.  It is physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting. 

It’s the one job that is 24/7, no matter if you have a normal job as well as being a mummy; you are ‘on-call’ 24/7 for your children

It’s the one job that definitely doesn’t allow sick days, if you are sick you just have to get on with it!

It’s the one job that you will be eternally faithful to

It’s the kind of job that doesn’t pay well in monetary terms but pays in cuddles and kisses and giggles

It’s the kind of job that brings you the most joy you will ever know but will also bring you times when you despair at what your children are doing

It’s the kind of job that will always leave you wondering if you are getting it right

It’s the kind of job that brings you the most praise and equally the most criticism that you have ever been given

It’s the kind of job that comes with a rubbish uniform, and where your rubbish uniform is covered in fingerprints, dribble or juice most of the time!

It’s the kind of job that makes you sing the same nursery rhyme, over and over and over because your toddler says so, even if you have sung it 50 times already today

It’s the kind of job that has you dancing around a room with Rupert the Bear and no one blinks an eyelid, even though you secretly feel stupid!

It’s the kind of job that will bring you happiness beyond measure and a lifetime full of laughter, love and tears

It’s the BEST job in the whole world

Guest Post: Being a mummy is the hardest job I’ve ever had!

Recent Stupidity in Pursuit of the Easy Life

Stupid things I have done recently in the pursuit of an easy life:

• Purchased a Zingzillas magazine with three, yes three, 'musical' instruments in order to avoid a tantrum in the shop...
• Allowed two toddlers to share a bed
• Put some sweeties on an easy to reach shelf
• Taught the toddler how to put films on the television using the Boxee Box
• Only thought to bring ONE toy car on holiday, despite having two children
• Suggested the children might prefer an ice-cream at twice the price of a cake

Need I say more??

Recent Stupidity in Pursuit of the Easy Life

Guest Post: When Louise went to the Adidas Showrooms...

On Saturday, me, the Husband and Kids went to the Adidas Showrooms near Covent Garden as ‘Being a Mummy Rep / Guest Blogger’ to view the new Adidas/Disney collection. Whilst the kids (and Hubby!) were kept amused with face painting and balloons, I got to check out the new range of clothes, shoes and accessories featuring the new Disney Cars 2 film to be released on 22nd July. They are great (for boys mostly!) fun and colourful and girls need not fear as there is also a classic Disney range with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck and of course, some Disney Princesses thrown in.

Adidas are also, as I learned, Tier 1 Sponsors for the 2012 Olympic Games and will not only be dressing ‘team GB’, but are also producing a range of Olympic branded clothes and accessories. The highlight of the day for Small Boy (aged 6) was the appearance of ‘Wenlock’ and ‘Mandeville’ – the official 2012 Olympic Mascots. He just wanted to hug them and shake hands and have his photo taken, Small Girl (aged 3) however was unimpressed, said she was a little bit scared and hid behind Mummy until they had gone! This was a huge shame as, since we were unsuccessful in both rounds of the Olympic ticket lottery (and I don’t really want to see football!) this was most likely her best chance to see them close up and have such unfettered access – still you can’t tell a three year old…

I really enjoyed my time browsing the new Adidas Collections and there are some things I will definitely be getting when they come out in the shops – Small girl wants ‘the rainbow T shirt’, boy wants ‘the one with the union jack on it’ – so I have my instructions! For me, it has to be the Teddy trainers!

Thanks to Adidas for a great afternoon – I never knew how much fun a small boy could have with a giant bean bag on a shiny floor, or how many Percy Pigs a small girl could fit into her mouth at once! The team were really friendly and informative and the children loved the entertainment and the whole experience of a day in London. Thanks also to Claire for letting me be a ‘blogger for a day!’, who knows – it may even encourage me to start my own!

Guest Post: When Louise went to the Adidas Showrooms...

A guide to vitamins during pregnancy- sponsored post

Through both my pregnancies I've taken special vitamin supplements designed for mums to be. I was lucky enough to read before I first got pregnant that your bodies requirements during pregnancy change quite dramatically.

Most of the over the counter vitamin supplements make a big play of containing folic acid (most multi vitamin and minerals contain some folic acid but not enough for pregnant ladies), and it's true that it's very important, as you can see from the infographic below.

Vitamin D is also important though, both for you and the baby. Babies don't get access to vitamin D for the first few months of life so it's important they are born with a sufficient supply of it to see them through. Vitamin D is important for strong bones and teeth.

Of course the most important thing about pregnancy vitamin supplements is what they don't have in them- namely vitamin A. If you're ever tempted to cut corners and go for a cheaper multi vitamin rather than a specific pregnancy variety, don't, since excessive vitamin A could lead to problems with your baby.

Healthspan, the UK's largest supplier of vitamins online, have provided the graphic below which gives you an idea of what you have to take.  

By Healthspan - UK's largest direct supplier of Vitamins and Supplements

A guide to vitamins during pregnancy- sponsored post

Afternoon tea at the Athenaeum Hotel in the Winnie the Pooh Playroom

Athenaeum apartments

We spend a lot of our weekends making the most of central London. The kids love wandering about, I'm a born Londoner and really love the buzz of London and I think they get it. This weekend we were invited to the opening of the new Disney Winnie the Pooh themed playroom at the Athenaeum Hotel, which is in Picadilly not so far from Buckingham Palace. I love checking out these places, not so I can stay there, but so I know where to take tea for special treats. Its always lovely having a good nose around these old buildings and the Athenaeum is no exception with a series of apartments as well as hotel rooms which are beautifully decorated and furnished.

The Athenaeum actually won child friendly hotel of the year too. It has its own children's concierge and even nannies who will look after the kids in the Winnie the Pooh themed playroom whilst you enjoy yourself in the West End. I don't think you could ask for much more. Now, this sort of thing doesn't come cheap with the apartment starting at £300 rising to £800 peak season, but actually I think for what is offered and the location, it is fairly reasonable.

The playroom in the Athenaeum is filled with Winnie the Pooh toys and it gave the kids a really good chance to play with a range of them, the best ones were:

The Winnie the Pooh Musical Pack- this has a drum, recorder, mouth organ and a xylophone!
The Winnie the Pooh Musical Mat- Fifi loved this as she's always playing with toys with her feet. 

The Winnie the Pooh room at the Athenaeum will run for the whole summer, so if you're planning a trip overnight to London, it's well worth considering.

Afternoon tea at the Athenaeum Hotel in the Winnie the Pooh Playroom

Win a MiFi with Courtesy of 'On the Go Mums' withThreeUK

Ages ago I was given the chance to try MiFi with a flashy phone (a HTC Wildfire). I have a real love- hate relationship with technology and so I thought this was quite brave of both Three and myself. Ever since, I have been telling everyone about the virtues of MiFi (provided you are somewhere where you can get mobile phone reception). Although I wasn't all that impressed with the phone I really loved the MiFi, its a brilliant little gadget which makes life a lot easier if you have a slight Internet addiction *cough*.

In fact, the Three MiFi is the ultimate mobile broadband gizmo. Letting you connect up to 5 gadgets, the MiFi gives you super fast broadband speeds on the go so you can make the most of your free time. You can literally turn your handbag into a WiFi hotspot!

To celebrate Three’s On the Go mums campaign, Being a Mummy is offering you the chance to get your hands on a MiFi, like the one pictured above. To enter, simply visit the Three Facebook page and vote for your favourite On the Go app. Then to be in with a chance of winning leave a comment below telling me which app you chose and I'll use the random number generator to select a winner.

Winners will be drawn midday UK time on the 24th July. The prize will be sent direct from the PR company and there are no cash alternative. Unfortunately this is only suitable for UK entrants only

For more details about the campaign visit https://www.facebook.com/ThreeUK

Win a MiFi with Courtesy of 'On the Go Mums' withThreeUK

Tesco Real Food Challenge; The Judging

Tesco Real Food Challenge is a brilliant cookery competition and one which I am lucky enough to be involved in the judging alongside the lovely Alice from DDs Diary. The entries have all been submitted and the judges have whittled down the entrants to just 40. On Sunday morning I took the trip all the way over to West London to the Leiths kitchens to watch some of the contestants prepare and cook their food and then judge it. It was sort of like being a minor celebrity, my opinion counted, the pressure!

The day was rather exciting as Matt Dawson and Lisa Faulkner were there filming the entire event for the Channel Five television programme of the challenge to be shown in the autumn. Both are really laid back, but clearly know what they like when it comes to food. It was really interesting watching them taste all the food whilst being filmed, I don't think I could have done it so easily. In fact, I'm sure if someone was filming me I would have dropped it all over myself.

The only minor mistake I made was when one of the contestants came over brandishing his hand. Standing on the end of the line next to Matt Dawson I assumed he was wanting to make a good impression and go down the line shaking everyones hand in introduction. No, he just wanted to touch his rugby idol. I'm not used to this sort of thing.

We got to test ten different dishes and score them out of ten, marks were awarded for presentation, taste, inspiration, how well a dish was cooked, amongst other things. On the whole, it was fairly easy with 4 dishes clearly much nicer than the others. If you want to have a look at some of the recipes they are all available here on the Tesco Real Food Cook Off Recipe Page. I've had a little look at all the recipes and there are loads there which I will be trying throughout the next couple of weeks, if you are looking for a bit of cookery inspiration it's a really good place to start.

Tesco Real Food Challenge; The Judging

Win Tickets to HMS Belfast

As a museum professional, I'm really privileged to have free access to many museums throughout the world and as such, the kids have spent a great deal of time experiencing museums. Their current favourite is the Imperial War Museum Duxford, where both of them have spent many  happy hours running about and exploring the aircraft. So much so, that we have actually joined and have family membership. So when they contacted me to tell me all about HMS Belfast my ears pricked up, its the perfect day out for little boys and girls.

HMS Belfast was launched in 1938 and played a leading role in the Battle of North Cape and the Normandy landings. Visitors can experience nine decks of living history on this huge and complex warship which provides a unique insight into naval history. We cant wait to visit, have a little look at this video they made especially for us:





 Did you listen to the end? Yes, that's right there is a great competition, On offer is a family ticket to HMS Belfast and a tour from one of the ship’s yeomen, they will fire the guns on board during the visit. That should delight your kids! The family ticket is for two adults as children come on board for free. If you want to go into  the draw to win tickets, just email hmsbelfast@fidopr.co.uk. The competition closes at the end of July when they will then pick a winner from everyone that enters.

Make sure you also go and like their facebook page at www.facebook.com/hmsbelfast its full of lots of facts and photos which delighted my little boy.



Good Luck!

Win Tickets to HMS Belfast

Win Tickets to Lollibop

Our family is really looking forward to attending Lollibop, Lollibop is a family festival that's going to be held this August in Regents Park in London. The kids will be able to see Rastamouse, the Zingzillas and Peppa Pig amongst loads of other fab activities. It's been really well thought out and I think that there really is something for everyone, I'm keen to see Horrible Histories personally...

We were lucky enough to get a taster of some of these at a special picnic a few weeks ago, the highlight of which for my children was meeting Peppa Pig. My kids are bursting with anticipation about the actual event and it's one of the planned highlights of their summer.

I've been given a family ticket for four people to attend Lollibop, you will be able to pick any one of the three days of the festival. All you need to do is comment below and tell me about your best festival going experience. I'll read them out to the kids and let them decide in a purely random manner, as it always is with 2 and 4 year olds!

Terms and Conditions
The winner will be chosen on the 24th July at 12:00pm UK time, no late entries will be accepted. The prize will come from the PR agency and there is no cash alternative

Win Tickets to Lollibop

Hungry; The Innocent Family Cook Book

I'm always Hungry and looking for new recipes (like the pun?) so I was quite intrigued when this cookbook came through the door as it was devised by Innocent who make those lovely smoothies and veg pots. It's basically a family recipe book full of non fuss tasty food which can be rustled up quite quickly.

I really enjoyed this book, it's really nicely put together with loads of fun graphics and lots of tips. You can actually have a really good relaxed browse and read of it. We have made loads of the recipes and they have all gone down well, especially with the chief cook (me) because the ingredients are easy to find, unlike some cookery books. At the moment (because I'm really late in posting this review) you can buy it on Amazon for a mere nine quid! Bargain...

Hungry; The Innocent Family Cook Book

The Non- Competitive Sports Day

I've been run off my feet busy the last few weeks, hence the lack of blogging. It was in a way good that my primary school did competitive sports days. I'm well practiced in the art wining and losing and resigning oneself to the fact that you cant do everything. Of course, I'm one of lifes natural winners *ahem* but I can cope with losing and its all down to my defeat in that egg and spoon race in 1983.

So with all this in mind, I have to admit I was really shocked to discover that our school operates non-competitive sports day. Basically there are a whole series of activities, too many if you ask me but I am a misery. Each child is put in a team, the team does that activity for 3- 5 minutes and it doesn't appear to matter if they cheat or do it totally wrong. Then you move onto the next station for another thrilling activity. Thus I found myself watching non competitive egg and spoon, skipping, hula hooping, throw the bean bag. For what seemed like hours. I tried my hardest to shout encouragement, but there wasn't really much point. A bit like watching a P. E. class.

Still, the boy enjoyed himself and was really proud to present the hubby with his souvenir plastic bracelet (!) and it filled an afternoon. However, I do worry. I think one of the most important life skills you can get is that of winning graciously and accepting defeat with dignity. If they cant learn this at sports day, then when do they learn it?

The Non- Competitive Sports Day

Things to do with Toddlers; Bowling!

A few weeks ago as part of National Bowling week we were lucky enough to be asked if we wanted to take the kids bowling. Now this coincided with me being quite poorly but I struggled on manfully. I'm so glad I did as it is one of the best activities that I have ever undertaken with the pair of them, we had so much fun, but interestingly it also taught them about winning, losing and taking turns. All in all, it was actually a perfect Sunday morning.

If you are wondering like I was, how toddlers can possibly go bowling there are several things that are there to help them:

• You can put the barriers up at the sides, so they don't lose the ball down the gutter
• They have little stands which you balance the ball on and then roll it down. This means they don't actually have to lift the balls up themselves.
• They have free availability of fruit shoots, chips and other such toddler friendly foodstuffs.
• On a Sunday morning they appeared to play kids friendly music and videos so they were entertained whilst they waited their turn
• Tiny toddler bowling shoes start at baby size 6. How cute is that!

Whilst I was there I checked out the offers, at our local bowling alley during week days (term time) you can go bowling for one pound per game. What a bargain for those rainy afternoons when you need to get out and do something! You can also find some very good deals on kids parties where they get to bowl, eat and have fun, certainly something I'll be looking into. We enjoyed it so much it's going to be one of our regular family activities. That is high praise from me.

Things to do with Toddlers; Bowling!