Rory's Story Cubes

I have said many times in the past that I am no expert in parenting. I just try to do what it is that I think is best for my children and I like to find fun ways to try and help my children to master needed skills, but that is just the same thing that every parent does. When the lovely ladies at Sell It Baby sent me some of Rory's Story Cubes to play with I was really excited. These Story Cubes are a new way to inspire creative thinking in well anyone that uses them! There are nine cubes which each have a different image printed on each side, so there are 54 images in total. Some clever so and so has worked out that means that there are over 10 million possible combinations to be used in each story which just confuses me so I am not going to think about that!

We want to see Megamind!

Just before Christmas I was talking with Baby Boy about a company that wanted to send us some Megamind merchandise. Baby Boy is very keen on animated movies (as long as they aren't in the dark) and has been talking about Megamind for some weeks now. We had made the fatal error of showing him a teaser and a trailer for the film and all we have heard since is "Oh my Giant Blue Head!" along with mentions of how we should go to the cinema to see the film.

A few says later there was a knock at the door and as Baby Boy had been busy doing something else, he hadn't rushed to the door to the post man and so missed the parcel being delivered. It was as we were about to set off for school that I realised it was raining and that opening the parcel might be a good idea, as I knew that it contained Night lights, but more importantly an Umbrella which lights up! It wasn't until we were walking home that two of the Playground Mums noticed my umbrella. They wouldn't believe me when I said that it had been a posted gift and instead chose to believe it was a gift for those who had been to the premier of the film.

Rachel's Organics - A Review

Baby Boy is a yogurt fiend. If he had his way he would eat it at every meal and in any format; It doesn't matter if it is flavoured, in a tube, in a pot, frozen on a stick or slurped in a drink. Baby Boy will eat any flavour, it doesn't matter if it is something exotic like passion fruit, or something more basic like Strawberry (unlike Top Ender who only really likes peach or apricot flavour). I don't mind letting him have some yogurt everyday as he won't drink milk (of any variety, despite me trying) and so some calcium is getting in him at least!

When Rachel's Organics sent me some of their range of products I was most excited by the rice puddings, (microwaveable, perfect sized for one and really creamy and just generally lovely) but Baby Boy saw pot upon pot of yogurt being removed from the box and went to get a chair so he could sit and watch me unpack... or maybe he was just waiting for an opportunity to jump in the fridge steal all the yogurt and eat it in one sitting. My Sister happened to be at my house (she was bringing me a Gingerbread House from Ikea), and so before Baby Boy could lay claim to all the yogurts I sent her off with a carrier bag full of Rachels "My First Yogurts" and "Taste Explorers Multi pack yogurts". All three cousins had some of the yogurts and my sister loved the "First Yogurts" as they were "gloopy" in a good way and meant that Smallest Cousin managed to swallow all of what was in her mouth, rather than swallow half and spit the rest out!

2010 in Review according to us here at A Mothers Ramblings!

Last year I reviewed the year in both words and in photos and as you may if noticed yesterdays Wordless Wednesday post was our review of the year in photos... which makes today our review in words!

The posts that are listed here are how I think I sum up 2010 here at A Mothers Ramblings

January: Daddy Date Nights I choose this because it was a sign of how much Daddy is a part of Top Ender and Baby Boys Life.

Going the Distance/Why my Marriage Works

Just before Christmas I was sent a link about a couple who have travelled the world asking the people that they meet about the secret to a long lasting relationship and now they are about to travel the UK asking the same thing. You can see them on Facebook and on YouTube or by going to goingthedistanceuk.com, and I will be interested in what it is that others have to say because whilst I don't proclaim to be an expert I can tell you why my marriage works.

You see when I first met Daddy I knew that we were going to be married, in fact he pretty much knew the same thing at the same time. It wasn't just love at first sight, it was understanding at first sight. We introduced each other to new things, we discovered things about each other (and ourselves) and we made each other laugh. I think that a few people know that Daddy and I got engaged just three days after we had met, (although to not worry our parents as much we waited a few months before we made it official), and this was because we knew that we had found the right person to be with.

Wordless Wednesday - This was 2010

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

A Trip to the Cinema

Daddy and Top Ender have always had Daddy Daughter Date Nights and Top Ender and I have traditionally had Mummy Daughter Date Mornings. It started when we needed to be out of the house on a Saturday morning so that Daddy could sleep (he would work all night on a Friday) and the one thing that I knew that was within our budget and would keep us out of the cold was going to the cinema (It was in our budget because the Movies for Juniors at the weekend are £1 per person) for a couple of hours. Top Ender and I loved sitting in the dark together holding hands in the "mild peril" sections of the film, eating popcorn and chocolate stars, laughing at the funny bits, waiting until the very last name on the credits rolled past before we got out of our seats and then discussing the film and our favourite parts all the way home. When Baby Boy was born we went a few times, but we soon stopped going because we had other things to do and our already tight budget was even tighter. Also Baby Boy wasn't that impressed with watching a film in the semi-dark...

Pabobo Lights

Back in November, Baby Boy and Top Ender were sent some lights from Pabobo which were immediately opened and put in to their bedrooms. Top Ender isn't afraid of the dark, but she does prefer to have a light on in her room at night as she sleeps in a high sleeper (you know a bunk bed without a lower bed) and so climbing down a ladder in the dark if she needs the toilet can be a pain - literally!

Daddy Guest Post - Room

What a fantastic day!

And by that, I really mean, Mummy is faaaaaaaaar too busy reading a book called "Room" by Emma Donoghue, that she got as a gift, to blog today.

Ah well, there is always tomorrow!

Festive greetings to you all, from Mummy, Daddy (me), Top Ender and Baby Boy.

Twas the Night before Christmas...

I am feeling a little like I am living the classic poem "Twas the Night before Christmas". Just to prove it here are some pictures that I have taken this evening.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.

Really I could't make my life up could I?!

Fage Total Greek Yoghurt - A Review

If I were to describe my cooking style I would say that I don't really experiment when I am cooking. I have recipes that I know work and I don't tend to vary from them. Since my day at the BBC Good Food Show though, I have started thinking about making my own recipes up, adding different herbs than the ones that I usually use, being slightly more experimental and creating different meals for Daddy, Top Ender, Baby Boy and I. When I was sent several pots of Total Greek Yoghurt to play with it got me thinking about lots of things that I had read about in various cook books and using the yoghurt to create some nice meals...

Ariel Stain Remover - A Review

I was sent some Ariel Stain Remover to try at the start of November and was able to give it a good test almost straight away as Baby Boy had found an orange marker in the pen drawer, hidden it in his pocket and then when he was alone in his bedroom coloured in his bedsheets... yeah, great fun Baby Boy? Just remember that what ever you do to me, your kids will do to you ten times worse! I was really worried as I didn't want to have to buy new bedlinen and I didn't want coloured in bright orange bedsheets either, so having thrown them in the wash with Ariel Stain Remover and my normal detergent I was hoping for big things. The majority of the colouring came out, there were a few areas where Baby Boy must of really gone over the area as I could still see some areas which were coloured in, but I was happy with what the powder had done.

I have been adding a scoop to various washes that needed a little extra help with stain removal since then and it has been working well! I like to keep a Stain remover in my cupboard with the washing powder for times when my laundry needs a little extra something to get a stain out and I think that this will be one of the brands that I will buy again.

I don't do Ice-Cream... even posh Ice-Cream

I love sweet things. Give me some chocolate and I am happy. Give me a bag of sugar and I will look at you a little oddly, but will still be quite pleased. Give me a bowl of ice-cream and I will hand it right back to you. I don't do ice-cream. I have managed to convince myself that Ice-cream sets my teeth off (I have sensitive teeth so it does) when really I just don't want to become totally addicted to the stuff and put on more weight.  Top Ender, Baby Boy and Daddy love ice-cream and a mention of ice-cream normally results in me getting other chores done first.

"Yes, Darling you may have some ice-cream... but won't you just quickly tidy up the toys?"

That's not wrong or evil parenting; That's smart thinking I'll have you know. When we were asked if we would like to try Kelly's of Cornwall Ice-Cream (and they sent me some vouchers to buy some) I said yes as a look at the website showed this wasn't just ordinary Ice-cream. This was special ice-cream. Luxurious ice-cream. Gosh I sound like an advert for Marks and Spencer's don't I?

Hexbugs - Good fun for the family, but rather boring on carpet!

A few weeks back I was sent some Hexbugs to review. I looked at them (in the packaging that looked like test tubes to me) and thought that here were some little robot bugs that were going to hate my carpet. Sure enough the first test run I had with them (when Top Ender and Baby Boy were in bed) had me seeking out some floor that wasn't carpet. That was of course after it had taken me five minutes to open the packet. The bug scurried around a little and it was a bit boring to be honest so I put it away. There is more to do with them online, but it just didn't appeal to me. The next morning however, Baby Boy found the packets of the Hexbugs. Baby Boy quickly worked out how to open them and switch them on, of course he was far more sensible than me and demanded a tray from the Kitchen in order to let the bugs run wild together on. He's a smart cookie that one.

How Many Christmas Trees?!

I love Christmas and Christmas Trees. I know you know it already, but I just thought I should make it clear from the start, because this post is about the Christmas Trees in my house. That's right I said TREES, as in multiple. I don't think I am as bad as my Mum who for years had two trees in the living room (one either end as it was a long Living Room) as I have managed to keep it to one tree per room. Apart from in the Bathroom. And the Hallway. And possibly my Living Room...

Anyway, here is a quick tour of my Christmas Trees!

And because I wouldn't go out in the snow, here is a picture of the tree outdoors that I took the other day!

Yes I know that it has blue lights, but they are static!

Nativity - A Film Review

Everyone knows the story of The Nativity, as one character in the film says go to any school in any town in any Christian area of the world during December and you can watch it. And yet when Daddy surprised me with an early Christmas gift of a DVD of Nativity I couldn't wait to watch it. We sat down last night and I even put down my ipod and didn't tweet once despite it being the sort of film that has perfect tweet one liners!

The Great Christmas Light Hunt

As I have mentioned before, going on a Christmas Light Hunt is one of the best things about Christmas for me. I love getting Top Ender and Baby Boy to look out of their windows looking for a display that is worthy of us all stopping to look at. We went on such a hunt just the other night, and found many houses in the local area who really have gone all out this year with impressive displays of colour and Christmas iconography. The one display that I still hadn't seen however was our local High Streets. This year I hadn't been able to attend the big switch on, as I had been at the Good Food Show and so Daddy, Top Ender and Baby Boy had walked down instead. As in the Milton Keynes area you are never too far away from anywhere, we decided to drive up the High Street so that I could see the tree, and the lights strung across the street for the first time this year and Top Ender and Baby Boy could see them again. I don't know what it is about our High Street, but when it is dark and the Christmas lights are on, there is something magical about it.

BBC Good Food Show

Five years ago Daddy went to the Good Food Show. He came back with goodies galore for Top Ender and I and he was very full from the samples of foods that he had been offered. It was/is one of those things on our bucket list that we would go to a show in the future together but we just never got round to it before Miele invited me this years Winters show. Sorry Scratch that Miele were sponsoring the MasterChef experience and so they invited me to a couple of cook along sessions on stage and to cook for the MasterChef presenters John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

Christmas Gifts for my Mum

When I buy Christmas gifts for friends and family I normally follow a theme. I find that it helps me focus what I am buying and also allows me to exploit a range of gifts that would be suitable for the recipient in a range of prices. It also means that I can create what looks like an expensive gift, but in fact is just well thought out and can be put together in seconds! The best examples of these are creating themed hampers as it is a nice way to link together a seemingly random series of gifts hidden under the Christmas tree.

Slippers for my Mum - A Review

Last month the lovely people at Clifford James asked if I might like to review a pair of slippers from their range. I had a quick look at the slippers and didn't see any I liked. As my Mum was here she asked if she could take a look at them, as she was wanting a new pair of slippers and if she saw some she liked I could get them for her. She took a look through the ladies slippers range and found a pair of embroidered slippers that she quite liked the look of.

After I ordered them, they arrived really quickly and as my Mum and I are the same size feet I had a quick try on. They were a little snug on me, and I would of had to order a larger size to make sure I was comfy, but they were warm and well made and allowed me to run out to the garage to find the sausages in the freezer out there. The soles are a reasonable thickness and so they won't wear out any time soon and even the fleece type lining is the sort that won't wear thin after a few wears.

The next time my Mum popped round I got her to try them on just to make sure that they fitted, and she must have slightly smaller feet (or I stretched them!) as they fitted her perfectly and she was really happy with them. The slippers would of cost £9.99 which I think is really good value for a pair of slippers and I think that once they wear out that I shall buy my Mum a new pair.

Flowers at Christmas

Flowers at Christmas are as important as the tree, fairy lights and the turkey for me; they are such a big part of Christmas that you probably just take them for granted and haven’t even realised how essential they are to the season. They are mentioned in Christmas songs, a few carols and who doesn't want to have a kiss under the Mistletoe with Santa on Christmas Eve? Whilst in my family there will always be the ongoing debate over a live or artificial Christmas tree being best; There is no doubt that the flowers and plants that are in season in December are best fresh and brought from an Interflora Florists. Hyacinths, Poinsettias, Narcissus, Holly and Ivy have all featured in flower displays in my Grandparents and parents homes and I have carried on these traditions in my home too.

Dick Whittington at Milton Keynes Theatre

We went to see Dick Whittington at Milton Keynes Theatre on Monday night, we had been given tickets by the Press office and were all really excited about it. Top Ender was excited because she had already met the star of the show Joanna Page and had taken part in the Robinsons Search For A Star Auditions to be part of the Chorus and although she wasn't successful, she had enjoyed herself tremendously.We were sat in the Stalls, and were ready for the show to start with Top Ender and Baby Boy sitting on the booster seats to give them that little extra needed height. It was a really exciting feeling sitting there looking at the curtain.

A Kenwood Mixer called Ken, who makes fantastic Christmas Cakes and Memories.

My Kenwood Mixer is about as old as I am. It used to belong to my Nan, but because of the weight and the size of it, it stayed in her kitchen cupboard just thinking about the old days when it was used all the time. One weekend when I was down at my Nan's, not too long before Christmas, she asked if I would like to have her Kenwood Mixer. I think that I got it out of the cupboard then and there and went and put it in my car before she could change her mind. This was the mixer which had made the all important Christmas Cake for the last *cough* twenty-one *cough* years and goodness knows how many other treats through out the years. When I got Ken home (Yes, my mixer is a he and therefore called Ken) I put him up on the side in my kitchen. No cupboard for Ken at our house. The first thing that I made in Ken was the Christmas Cake.

A Garland of Christmas Stockings

Top Ender, Baby Boy and I seem to have got into some rather good habits of late and added to the bonus of us having cleared out a lot of junk this year from all our rooms (it took a lot of effort!) we are getting our daily chores done very quickly. This last Sunday Daddy went to work leaving Baby Boy, Top Ender and I up and ready and with not a lot to do after we had done the chores. As I have hurt my back going for a walk just wasn't an option and so we decided that we would make the Christmas Stocking Garland that I brought from a local 99p Stores. The kit wasn't something I would normally buy as with the large amount of craft items that we have in the house, we have everything we need to make our own... well everything really. When Baby Boy and I were having a good look round the store, these had caught our eye however and we figured that they would be a good buy (read Baby Boy wouldn't let go of them).

Snapfish Winners!

I apologise, due to having done something really stupid to my back I completely forgot to announce the winners of the A Mothers Ramblings Snapfish competition!

The winners are;

Cass at Frugal Family who wins a soft cover 8x8 photo book
Marzena who wins a linen custom cover photo book and
Helen Stewart who wins a custom cover 11x8 photo book!

Congratulations everyone!

Glittery Pine Cones

I thought that I had blogged about these before, but I couldn't find them anywhere! During the autumn a couple of years back Top Ender collected a number of pine cones. She was going through a real scavenger phase and everything that she brought had to be kept. I still have a couple of jars of conkers! I decided that if we had to keep them then they might as well look festive and so one afternoon Top Ender and I set about making the pine cones glittery.

Stocking Fillers - Hand Warmers

Things were a bit odd last week when I was hunting through various websites for a few last minute gifts for my Mum, Daddy and I. I found a Zippo Hand Warmer which caught my eye because Zippo was the brand of lighter that my Gran had, and I always remembered the sound of the lighter lighting a cigarette in the middle of the night when I stayed over. Not five minutes later, but a lovely PR sent me a message asking if I would like to trial the Zippo Handwarmer!

"How freaky" I said "I guess that is fate telling me I really should be buying one of these" and so that is why my Mum has a Zippo Handwarmer coming in the post for us to add to her stocking. Daddy and I will have to make do with just our gloves as with a RRP of £20.35 I don't think I could afford three. If you want to order one you can call 020 8964 0666 or go to the Zippo website!

Top Ender and Baby Boy are both getting smaller Mr Men and Little Miss reusable Heating pads for their stockings. We have had one before, but we will make sure that this time it doesn't get left our where one of our cats can scratch it to pieces...

No Ferrero at Christmas is like not having Turkey

When I was younger Christmas was a huge deal. We would really push the boat out with snacks and treats for during Christmas Day and the rest of the Holiday period. We would buy pickles and sweets and chocolates and crisps and nuts and everything else like Ferrero Rocher that at any other time of the year would be considered as luxurious treats. On Christmas Day the foods were a tradition, they were a chance to show our friends and family that we were affluent, we were posh, we were the kind of family that casually offered our guests luxury snacks as if we ate them everyday.

It was a tradition that I brought to my marriage, we have treats every night in advent, and on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and every night right up to Top Ender's birthday on the 3rd of January. For Top Ender, Baby Boy and me there are a lot more treats that we can eat than Daddy and Ferrero Rocher are one of the treats that are just for us. This year we had a card sent to us from Ferrero and because they remembered that Daddy can't eat the treats it was just Top Ender, Baby Boy and I that were featured on the card!

Personalised Messages from Santa

Last Christmas, I told you all about how Santa Claus had been talking to me via the TV and the Internet and I thought it was about time that I shared with you the personalised messages that he has been sending me this year. It turns out that my blog post Santa Caught on Webcam (where Santa comes out of my chimney and goes upstairs to Top Ender and Baby Boy's bedrooms) wasn't as naughty as I thought and I am still on the good list!

This year there is of course the fantastic Portable North Pole console available again. Santa has obviously been reading up on technology after seeing my webcams all over the house as he now has webcams all over his village and you can see him in his office, in the Reindeer Training Centre, the Elves Secret Quarters Ice Hall and the Message Centre.

An Explanation about Ebuzzing, Sponsored Posts and Review Posts

Find out more on ebuzzing.co.uk


Sponsored Post

Most of you know that I think of myself as a SAHM, sure I have a little job where I earn a small amount of money, but I do that in the evenings after the children have gone to bed and to be honest its such fun that I don't normally think of it as work. At the moment however I am a full time SAHM, without any work in the evenings and this is why I am glad that I am part of ebuzzing.

Now most bloggers I know, already know the who and what and how about ebuzzing, but I know that a lot of my readers aren't bloggers themselves and so when ebuzzing asked if I could tell you a little about them I thought that it would be a good idea. I can also explain in a little more detail what a sponsored post, or a review is as I know that some of you are a little confused...

Two Milkmen Called Steve - A Review of Milk & More

When I was younger we had a milkman. His name was Steve and he actually became quite a good friend to my family. When Daddy was younger, he too had a family milkman. Both Daddy and I remember getting extra milk on a Saturday so that we wouldn't run out of milk on a Sunday and at Christmas having the little catalogue come round and our Mum's ordering the Dairy Diary. It was as much as a part of our childhood as any toy or TV Show ever was. Daddy and I have never had a milkman since we have been married though, even when earlier this year the local milkman for my area sent some flyers round. The Milk deliveries were going high-tech and you could control your account over the internet via the website at milk&more. I signed up for an account as I wanted to know what the costs were (more expensive than a supermarket, not as bad as I first thought) and also what the "&more" of the milk&more name was. It turned out that the "&more" was a lot of stuff. Household things, bacon and eggs, orange juice, crisps, biscuits, bread and even pet food!

A little while back I was asked if I would like to try the milk&more service out, rather than just look at pretty pictures on the website, I could have a delivery, or two, or three, or four and the products I ordered would be free of charge. I said Yes, partly because I was curious and partly because the milkman who does my road is called Steve. I thought it might be a bit like old times.

Wordless Wednesday - It's Snow Joke!

A Huggies Mummy Graduate

Earlier this year when I became a Huggies Mum I knew that my days as a Huggies Mum were numbered. Baby Boy was really already aware of when he was going to the toilet and what he was doing in his nappy and I knew that it was only a matter of time before I took the jump and potty trained him. A Mum to a potty trained Baby Boy isn't in much need of a Huggies sponsorship! So I was the first Mummy to graduate from the Huggies team earlier this year in a very posh hotel. The very posh hotel was The Dorchester in London, where I and the other Huggies Mum's were going for afternoon tea with the lovely ladies of Huggies. I knew that I was graduating but had said to keep it a secret from the other Huggies Mum's so it would be a nice surprise for them.

Saint Nicholas and the Clean Shoes

I am a bit of a magpie at Christmas time, anything that is shiny or catches my eye and I adopt it as my own. A good example of this is how even though I am LDS, and Daddy COE we still celebrate one Saint and that is Saint Nicholas who likes clean shoes...

You see a few years back at Top Ender's nursery the children were introduced to Sinterklass aka Saint Nicholas. One of the Nursery workers was Dutch and she thought it would be nice to show the children a few different traditions and customs that were from The Netherlands. I can't say that I disagree, as anything that teaches the Children about other cultures is a good thing in my book and this is why I believe that the more new things we introduce to our children the better!

Take an Oldie to School

Last Friday it was the second "Take an Oldie to school" day at Top Enders School. It was a programme started so that the parents, grandparents and other "Oldies" in the Children's lives could experience what a morning at School is like now. I went to the first one last Summer, and found it amazing how the class interacts with each other and how the teacher interacts with the class. I know that it was a fairly long time ago since I went to School (quiet in the back) but I didn't realise just how much School had changed.

Top Ender took Granny along this time and I must admit that I did wind Granny up a little bit. I made sure to take a photo of Granny on her first day of school, and made sure that she had been to the toilet before she walked to School. I made sure that Granny had a packed lunch with a note in saying that I hope that she was being a good girl and that I would pick her up soon.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...

Is it wrong that I want Top Ender to lose her other Front Tooth in time for Christmas Day? It's not so that I can hear her whistle or lisp her way through singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas or even so that she looks cute (although she would look cute with her pigtails and missing front teeth right?). 

It's just that come her adulthood I want her to be able to look back and say that all she wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth...

Breast Pad Snowmen

Whilst tidying up my bedroom I found a half empty box of disposable breast pads. I didn't want to throw them away and my sister already has the world surplus of her favourite brand so I didn't know what to do with them. They sat on my chest of drawers for a couple of weeks until an idea struck. I could make them into Christmas Decorations! Having already had a conversation with Daddy about doing a Christmas scene in our Living Room Window, I knew that we could make something to go on display there. The question of course was what? Well the answer to me was obvious what else could you think of when you see giant white circles? Snowmen! Breast Pad Snowmen!

Wordless Wednesday - Some Snowy Greenery