On August 31st I posted "September the time for New School Year Resolutions" and listed ten resolutions that I wanted to make sure I kept with regards to this school year and I was convinced that I was only going to make it through the first two weeks. Today marks a whole month having passed since I made these resolutions so I thought I would take a quick check at how I am doing...
Today is my Wedding Anniversary and due to some crazy work schedules, Daddy and I might not be able to have dinner together, or even spend more than half an hour together where we aren't getting dressed or asleep! Of course we both feel terrible about this and over the last few days I have been lucky enough to receive a lovely Photograph, Flowers and Chocolates which have cheered me up! The gifts are not from my adoring husband though. Not even from a Secret Admirer. Nope, they came from people who know that I like getting presents in the post!
So if you were following my tweets on Sunday you will know that I was able to sneak into the Robinsons Search For A Star Children's Chorus Auditions at The Milton Keynes Theatre, as a member of the press. You will also know that Top Ender was auditioning, as I had previously mentioned in my blog post about when Top Ender and I met Joanna Page!
When The Toys R Us Parcel is opened Top Ender and Baby Boy look inside and almost scream with delight over the goodies that are found inside. Normally things are clear cut "this is for Top Ender", "this is for Baby Boy", "this is for the family" but occasionally we get toys which we are sure are supposed to be for Baby Boy, but really we all want to have a play.
We were given the Tomy Aquadoodle Desk as part of a package from the Toys R Us Toyologist programme and I thought that the important information would be best shown in pictures...
Sometimes we get asked to do reviews for companies that as a family we know of. Vertbaudet are a company that we as a family know, with their boys clothing and girls clothing both having featured in Baby Boy and Top Enders wardrobes in the past. In fact there are a few items that I brought for Top Ender when she was first born that I saved for Baby Boy when he was born, but I haven't really thought about buying more key items from them in the last year or so.
So as you might of guessed Vertbaudet sent us some clothes to try out.
Baby Boy and I went to one of the local lakes to feed the ducks and to have a bit of a walk. Feeding the ducks is something that Baby Boy and I haven't done really and so it was a grand adventure for us! Baby Boy had decided that the only lake worth visiting was Mickey Lake as seen in the TV programme Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... luckily he believes that I'm Magic and Know Everything and so when we pulled up and I told him we had arrived, he believed me!
Top Ender knows all the words to all the songs from Hairspray. It wasn't me that taught her (although I do know them all too), it was her school. You see as they walk in and out of Assembly, there is normally a CD playing and from what I can tell from Top Ender's ramblings after school, it was the soundtrack to Hairspray for quite some time.
We got a great Mega Bloks table in our most recent Toys R Us parcel and together with our bags or Mega Bloks and our box of Mega Bloks and our tub of Mega Bloks (yeah we have a lot of Mega Bloks) we decided that we had to enter the competition at Who's the Mummy.
A few months back I was sent a laundry enhancer called Boost Your Wash, I was sent it as the agency knew that this Summer Top Ender, Baby Boy and I planned to roll down a few hills if it was sunny, jump in muddy puddles if it was wet and generally cause my washing machine to have a nervous breakdown.
Whilst I was away at The MAD's, Daddy held down the fort at home. Baby Boy didn't actually notice that I was gone for the most part (which was nice of him) but he did ask where I had gone.
Baby Boy was offered the chance to review a My Favourite Nursery Rhymes DVD from BabyTV and seeing as he loves to sing and I don't really sing that many Nursery Rhymes to him we thought it would be a great opportunity!
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| Top Ender has gone all Under the Sea on me! |
At the end of the last school year a letter came home with Top Ender, asking if we wanted to know more about the possibility of Top Ender learning to play the Violin. The costs associated with it, didn't seem to be too extortionate (although they are a small fortune!) and so we said we would like to know more.
So I know that in a few minutes you are all going to start reading Tweets (using the hash tag #themads) from various attendees of the awards tonight, but I wanted you all to see what I am wearing first, I mean I kind of owe it to you all as you were kind enough to nominate me and then to vote for me.
At the weekend we went to our local Fire Station Open Day. They have it every year at around the same time (as my blog post in August 2009 proves!) and despite having lived less than ten minutes by car away for the last ten years I had never been before. In fact the closest I have been to the inside of a Fire Station is when playing with the Fireman Sam Fire Station!
At CyberMummy I spoke with the people from Tommee Tippee, they had given us a baby bottle in our bags (which I passed on to my Sister) and other than a cup that I had brought and the bottle I hadn't really thought about the other products that they made. At the start of the month they contacted me to ask if I would like to do a review on a Explora Magic Mat and Explora Weaning Bowls and as we love the cup so much I agreed to give them a go.
Huggies recently held a comedy evening, "Little Bundles of Laughs" as most people who have ever been pregnant, know someone who has been pregnant, adopted, or has children in any way shape or form knows that there is always one story that can be told that will keep everyone listening entertained before they collapse in a puddle of tears from laughter.
I'm a bad blogger. I had a few competitions on the blog of late and I keep forgetting to tell everyone who won!
Hi Everyone this is Top Ender.
Mummy has said that I can tell you about a film that I really liked that is going to be out on DVD on the 20th September called The Tooth Fairy.
Baby Boy is two years old and loves to play on the Wii, unfortunately for him, most of the games are just a little too complicated for him to play with any great success. When Ubisoft asked if I would be interested in reviewing a new Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends Game titled "Hero of the Rails" I knew that Thomas mad Baby Boy would adore the game.
At the start of the Summer Holidays, Top Ender and I were sent a book called "Aramazu The Learn to Tell the Time Right Now Book". Top Ender had been learning time at school, but she wasn't finding everything as easy to remember as O'Clock and Half Past which is what I felt the school were focusing on and efforts at home to teach Top Ender with more detail were just met with frustration from both sides. In stepped Aramazu with a book that has a new and easy way to learn to tell time for children that can count to sixty.
As requested this is the recipe that was seen in my Ladybird Books - A Gurgle Girls Review. This was a recipe that I "borrowed" from a family member, and it works well with Gluten/wheat free flour so I use it to make biscuits or Gingerbread a lot. I tend to find that my mixture is always sticky and so I have to add extra flour to keep it from looking like a batter and more like a biscuit mixture!
Gurgle and Ladybird sent me and my fellow Gurgle Girls a customised bag of books. Top Ender and Baby Boy were delighted as books in our house are a big part of our life (and living room) as we love to read. There wasn't just books inside the bag however (which was really useful when we went Sweet shopping the other day), there was also a little camera, a ladybird cuddly toy, a DVD, a cookie cutter and a sticker. I think that is all that was in there, but when the wrapping was ripped off Top Ender and Baby Boy divided the goodies amongst themselves and ran off to read before I was aware of what was going on so I am not too sure!
After I had been nominated for a Gurgle for Best Funny Mummy Blog I kept in touch with Gurgle, reading blog posts every now and then and reading Tweets here and there, but had a lovely surprise when they wrote to me via email asking if I would be interested in becoming a Gurgle Girl, if I was up for the challenge!
Earlier this year I won a Twitter competition and got to nominate a school to have a book parcel delivered to for them to put into their School Library. I of course choose Top Enders school and when the parcel arrived at the school, I got my name in the newsletter and everything! Now is a chance for you to have some similar fame at a school of your choice.
The other evening we decided to have some unhealthy but very tasty Burger King for tea. Whilst waiting for the full meals to be passed to us Daddy stole a chip from the bag.
"Wow! That's hot" he stated still happily chewing away "In fact it was so hot I have one word to say that starts with 'F' and ends with 'uck'"
When I look back on this summer I think that my overall memory is going to be this was the summer of Lego for my family. Baby Boy discovered Duplo and has been busy making buildings, cars, rockets and what ever else his imagination comes up with and Top Ender and Daddy brought a tub of Lego from the Lego store that has grown since our visit to Legoland and has also been turned into so many different creations I wouldn't know where to start in naming them.
I love saving money and being frugal and because of this I have a lot of websites in my favourites that I can rely on to help save me some cash. One of my most favourite sites is Moneysupermarket.com because of the fantastic vouchers that they have and when they asked if they could guest post here I agreed as I would love for everyone to save money with me!
Back to school can be an expensive time of year especially since it follows the summer holidays and 6 weeks of entertaining the family. A study has found that parents can spend on average £106 per child to kit them out for the new school year. So here are some last minute ideas of how to reduce the cost of this time of year and in turn hopefully reduce the stress.
Over the last few days the doorbell has hardly stopped ringing with deliveries of one sort or another and yet even though the packages are addressed to me they were all for Baby Boy and Top Ender. I was starting to think that nobody loved me as I hadn't even had any junk mail or even the dreaded bills!
I think that I can now safely say that Summer is at an end, and that it is time to start thinking about how we are going to make sure we all have enough memories to get us through the rain filled, snow covered, wind blown days of Autumn, Winter and Spring... please don't throw things at me! Look cute pictures of Baby Boy and Top Ender all wrapped up warm, don't throw things at me!
Leap Frog were very kind and sent Top Ender a Tag Reading system and Baby Boy a Tag Junior Reading system to review and generally have a good play with after CyberMummy. As soon as the parcel arrived, Baby Boy and Top Ender had pulled out the packages and I only just managed to get a couple of photos before the packaging was in the recycling and they were both sitting cross legged on the floor working out what they needed to do to play with the new gadgets.
With many children starting back at school (or starting school for the first time!) over the next couple of weeks parents up and down the country are going to be ready with their own New School Year Resolutions about helping their child with essential skills that they will be using everyday like reading and writing.
We were given a free sample, but don't not read this post just because of that; We don't let free things change our opinions!
A few weeks back Daddy and Top Ender decided that it was time to buy some Lego. Whilst Daddy was busy filling up a large tub from our local Lego store I took Top Ender further into the store to where the really good bits were - the Minifigures! Today a new series of the Lego Minifigures is released and here is the full line up.
