Farewell,adieu and Thank you

As readers of the blog will be aware my life is always busy,as a result I haven’t posted for a good few months.This blog went in a direction I wasn’t 100% happy (I got a bit too eager with the whole product review business ) with so I would like to take this opportunity to bid you all goodbye and say a huge Thank you for all of your support.I have been amazed to see how many people have showed an interest in what I have to say. I had hoped this blog would focus on my family life with my children. By my own admition I got sidetracked.I do have another blog on the “other” platform which didn’t get sidetracked so for now I am going to see how that goes.You are all very welcome to come and take a peek at Manicmummyhood and see how I’m getting on.As always I welcome comments and feedback.

BlogCamp Bristol

This week I am off to BlogCamp Bristol and I can’t wait. I’ve never been to anything like this before and am feeling both nervous and excited. It’s going to be a very long and busy day for me as I have to be on a train just after 6am and won’t be home before 7pm. For the last 12 years (almost), anytime I’ve travelled further than our local area I have been with my children and/or my husband. I’m going to take a book for the journey,my smartphone,a notebook and a couple pens. I’ve been looking at the schedule to prepare myself and am really happy that SEO will be featured,it’s an area that still baffles me.
More than anything though I am really looking forward to meeting other Bloggers who understand this fantastic,new world I have entered. It has given me a new lease of life and some inspiration to develop and realise my ambitions. I really want to be able to work from home so I can both contribute towards my family and be here when they need me too. Blogging has given me a much-needed confidence boost and encouraged me to believe in myself. I look forward to receiving information from BlogCampthat will help me to develop my blog further.

Silent Sunday

A competition to say Thank you -NOW ENDED

As a huge Thank you to everyone that reads my ramblings and/or reviews I am going to run a new competition. The prize will be a £10 Argos Gift card,which I hope will come in useful. As many of you will know I only started blogging in May and am really enjoying it. It gives me an outlet to express my views to an audience which is something I’ve never really had before. As well as that it is giving me a visual and written record of my children’s developments.

To enter this competition all you need to do is comment below telling me what your favourite thing is about the month of September. The winner will be chosen at random using Random.org
Please remember to include a way that I can contact you: Email,Faceboook or Twitter.
Closing date for this competition will be Friday 30th September at 6pm,Winner announced the following morning.

THIS COMPETITION ENDED ON 30/09/2011 as stated above. Please no more entries.

Mummy moment

Hello everyone.I hope you are all well and enjoying the so-called Summer we are apparently having. I’m not a sun-worshiper but enjoy it best when the weather is warm and dry. I have never been one to be able to sit and sunbathe,I’m more likely to be found sat in the shade or indoors during the hottest part of the day. I wanted to add some photo’s showing how quickly the children are growing up and changing; Especially my youngest son,who is soon to be 8 months old. It has flown by so quickly and he doesn’t seem to want to stay a baby. He was crawling by 6 months,not long after he started pulling himself into a standing position either using furniture or whilst in his Travel cot. He is now the proud owner of 5 teeth, definitely the quickest cutting teeth but has seemed to suffer the most with it unfortunately. Thank goodness for teething necklaces,teething granules and teething gels.
My 2 year old son is now well and truly in the terrible two’s stage and is into everything; He can climb over the stairgate now as we found out earlier today. He can do the splits-I have no idea how or where this came from. I have never been able to do this neither has my husband as far as I am aware. I do have a very active,sporty and Athletic 8 year old that he adores but I don’t think she can do the splits. Due to all the attention it is now his party trick and he does it constantly. His speech is coming on really well and he is learning new words every day,some I noticed today that I hadn’t heard him say before include Scooby-Doo,freezing,raining,monkeys,dancing. He is also becoming quite a good little dancer and really enjoys music. He has recently started giving me a really cheeky grin if I say no to him or tell him off,little rascal.
My 4 year old is very excited about starting ‘Big school’ in a couple weeks and we are off to get her first pair of school shoes next week. I got her another cardigan and a pair of trousers this week,she already has a couple skirts,polo-shirts,pinafore dress,Gingham dresses for warmer weather.I can’t wait to drop her off and take lots of photo’s on her first day at school. It really will be a busy and exciting day as the 3 bigger ones all go back on the same day and my eldest son starts Secondary school. She has become very confident and seems ready now,initially I did have concerns as she seemed so young still and only gave up her afternoon nap a couple months ago. She was only 4 in June and I have worried more about her starting school than I did with the other 2 as they were both nearly 5 by the time they started school.
My mini-me is 8,9 in October,she is very grown up for her age and I often have to remind myself she is only 8. She has a keen interest in fashion and has her own style,she wears what she likes not usually just because her friends have something. She is tall and slim but has more of an athletic build rather than being skinny,she loves sports and last year took part in clubs at school for Tag Rugby,Cross country and Tap dancing. I was never sporty and had awful co-ordination,I am so glad that this doesn’t seem to have been passed down to my children. Sometimes it is like having a teenager in the house,she can be stroppy and moody,on the other hand she can be great company and very kind and caring towards other people.
Last but by no means least is my 11 year old son,he makes me very proud. He has come along leaps and bounds the last couple years. He is a lot more confident than he used to be and I look forward to seeing him progress and develop new interests during his time at Secondary school. He has already developed interests in Chess,Warhammer,Archery and orienteering over the past 2 or 3 years and I hope he tries out new things whilst at Secondary school. He is helpful,has a great sense of humour and is a fantastic big brother. I just hope his feet stop growing soon as I have just bought his school shoes-he is now in a mens size 9-9 and a half. I think he’ll be towering over me before long.
My children make me incredibly proud and I love seeing their personalities develop and watching them find their own interest and things they are good at. They all seem to be artistic and often sit at the table drawing or making things together (Apart from the baby of course,he just watches in awe,waiting for the day when he can join in),which is lovely to see.

kidz5aday

When I heard about this product my initial reaction was what a great idea. My children can,like most go through phases where they are fussy eaters. When this happens it is often difficult for me to manage to get their 5-a-day fruit and vegetable portions into them. The thought of being able to solve this issue with a lovely Chocolate flavoured milkshake seemed ingenious…..
The powder arrived in a small tub which I used a scoop,followed the directions and gave it to my children. My children are good at trying new things but will quickly and honestly tell you their thoughts. After stirring the powder into a glass of milk for what seemed like forever it still hadn’t completely dissolved. I tried whisking it,that helped a bit. Then I gave it to my 8-year-old daughter to try,not a happy face,but I will give her credit for not spitting it out or saying anything negative. Her first comment was “That doesn’t taste like Chocolate”. Next,her 11-year-old brother tried it,his response was a very brutal “Yuck”. I then offered some to my 4-year-old daughter and my 2-year-old son,they didn’t spit it out but they refused a second mouthful. My husband on the other hand thought it was quite nice and finished his glass.
The idea of kidz5aday is brilliant but I feel as it is aimed at children the taste needs to be worked on.Maybe a variety of flavours. The website claims it is a tasty Chocolate flavoured shake. That is a matter of opinion. I even tried making a smoothie with it using Milkshake and fruit and my little rascals still weren’t impressed. I personally tasted it and have to admit I didn’t think it was too bad,not something I’d choose to drink for pleasure though. If my child struggled constantly to have 5 portions of fruit and vegetables I’d be more likely to give them smoothies,pureed vegetables hidden in sauces or Children’s Vitamins. I also felt that the price was quite high and not in a range I would consider.

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Big foot,little foot

Summer Holidays

MY children will break up for the Summer Holidays next week.  Thanks goodness.  By the end of the Summer time every year they are especially tired and ready for the break.  We haven’t got too much planned yet.  I need to stock up on Art and Craft accessories still,with my kids we never seem to have enough.  I want to get some thick paints so I can do hand prints of them all, then frame it.  My children are very good at occupying each other,which I am very grateful for.  Weather permitting there will be lots of trips to the park.  Our local youth group organise activities for the children twice a week for 4 weeks,a mixture of Sports and Art and Crafts which is free and always great fun.  That’s 2 afternoons sorted,only 5 to go.  The most difficult thing I have to account for is that my children range in age from 7 months (tomorrow) up to 11 years and sometimes it can be a case of the older ones don’t want to do the same as the younger ones.

I am really hoping the weather will improve as it’s always better to get out and about as much as we can.My friend has a huge sleepover planned in her lounge for my lot and her lot,that will mean 8 children and 2 adults.  I can’t wait,it should be great fun,even if we don’t get much sleep.  She had said about buying a tent for us all to sleep in.I am sure that Popcorn and Dvd’s were mentioned.

During these holidays I am aiming to create,with lots of help and input from the kids,a scrapbook with photo’s,pictures,leaves,tickets,shells and anything that represents this year’s Summer Holidays for our family.  Places we visit,people we see,I want a visual record.  The children are all becoming more independent little people.  My 11-year-old even has a girlfriend now,thanks to a bit of matchmaking from his sister.  Secondary school seems to be more of a big thing for me,my son,as with most new things he encounters is taking it all in his stride.  I’m just a worry wort.  One thing I am quite excited about is my 4-year-old starting Infant school,she has just had a fantastic report from pre-school and is definitely ready for BIG school now.  All we need now is school shoes for the 3 bigger kids and uniform for my son then we are all set.  That’s going to be a whole different story.

Feeling rubbish today

I woke up this morning feeling pretty awful and as the day has gone on it has just gotten worse.  I’d already been feeling a bit down due to my poorly knee and now I either have a cold or hayfever.  My symptoms for both are usually the same so I’m going to take a hayfever tablet and hope for the best. In the meantime I am snuggled up on my lovely comfy sofa underneath a duvet.  I’m making the most of hubby being home until Wednesday.  This morning I popped round my friends for a couple hours,when I returned the baby,toddler and hubby were all asleep-bless them.  Not long after I returned home I had a lovely surprise visit from my oldest friend,(Not in age,may I add,by length of time we’ve known each other-I think I was 13 when we met) who I haven’t seen since before I had the bubba.

The kids have been amazing,very well behaved and helpful.  Days like this make me realise how lucky I am to have such good people in my life.  My oldest friend for example-I might not see him as often as I would like due to his long working hours and my busy family life but when we catch up it’s like we always see each other.  Friendships,I have found,change over the years,some people come and go others stay but as with my friend we see each other less often.  I know a lot of people but would only call a few of them my friends. I also find that these days I have friends via the internet that I have never met but have a lot in common with and confide in and chat to often.  I am a people person and like to socialise but I don’t like to let too many people too close.  I am very protective of my family and love being able to spend my time focusing on them.