Mummy Loves...

Day 55/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:06:00 +0000

James came home fom Italy last night and bought me the most beautiful Roses :O) I forget how lucky I am sometimes!!

Day 54/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Here is Daddy and Maxwell having a Skype conversation on my iPhone. Daddy has been away in Italy all week and he has missed him so much :O)

Regis Hair Salon Review - Derby

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:43:00 +0000

Yesterday I finally got around to having my hair done, I went to my nearest Regis store which is in Derby. I was a little confused as this store is called Hair Express; if it hadn't been for the Regis posters inside the window I would not have had a clue that it was a Regis Salon. After talking to Chris the manager it turns out the Hair Express was a Regis company; they are phasing them out and they will all become Regis Salons.

Before

The above photo is me yesterday morning before I stepped into Regis. I've had my hair in a Bob for a good few years now, I like it, it's easy to manage and I think probably the best style for my hair! I have lots of hair but it's very very fine; I can't do a great deal with it so in a Bob with a bit of added volume I'm happy! The last time I had it done (back in September I think) I had really blonde highlights in it and I really loved the front but at the back where it was cut into my neck it was really dark and well as James put it " you look like a chav from the back" James is always brutally honest! (Honesty is not always a good thing - I can assure you) Anyway enough of the old cut... I'm here to tell you about Regis and my new cut ;)

So I went along to Regis yesterday and was instantly met by Chris the Salon Manager who was to be my Stylist. Chris talked me through what he thought would work best for my hair and how to avoid looking like a chav from the back ;) It was decided that I would keep in the same style and I would have some highlights and low lights to work with my natural colour. Chris made me a coffee and went to mix up the colours. I have to say I get incredibly bored when I'm at the hairdressers and I feel really bad for just sitting around doing nothing but I have to say I really quite enjoyed it yesterday. Chris is an absolute credit to the Salon and he is really lovely to talk & listen too! Chris set to work putting my foils in and then left me for a while looking like this...

During

After having my foils out I had some wonderful head massage and a treatment on my hair and was left with a hot towel on my head to relax for a while. Chris then set to work on cutting my hair after he had checked to see if we were still in agreement on the cut. Chris clearly knows his stuff and gave me lots of tips along the way about looking after my hair and which products would work for me. He then went on to blow dry my hair, check for stray hairs and feather it up some more. Before introducing me to a fantastic product which I am going to tell you about in a completely different post ;O)

After

I'm really pleased with my new hair do, I love the colours and am very happy to not look like a chav from the back ;) A big thank you to Regis Salons and especially to Chris who probably needs a pay rise ;o)

* I received my haircut and colour free of charge, in exchange for this review! The review is in my own words and is completely honest!

Day 53/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:29:00 +0000

Getting my neglected hair done :O)

Day 52/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Maxwell had his first corn on the cob this evening. Once he figured out how to eat it he loved it! :O)

Warner Bros Half Term Package

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Much to Maisie's delight Warner Bros surprised us with a fabulous half term package at the start of the half term! Which was just absolutely brilliant of them and Maisie was over the moon! I really had no idea they were sending this as they had already been so generous with my Valentines gift. You can see from the photos below what it contained... Maisie had never watched Scooby Doo or any of the Toons. She now loves them all! Especially Tweety Pie (which was my fav as a kid too) Daddy was so happy with the Bumper Box of Toons and he has watched them all nearly! It is really lovely to go back to what we used to watch when we were kids and for our kids to still enjoy them! The Bumper Box of Toons is fantastic and contains 10 DVDs including Tweety Pie, Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Porky Big, Daffy Duck and more!

Warner Bros half term package.

Fantastic Bumper Box of Toons!

Scooby Doo DVDs

Scooby Snax! Yum!

Morph a Monster Pod!

Thank you so very much Warner Bros. Half term wouldn't have been quite as good without your contribution xxx

Day 51/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:49:00 +0000

I've been feeling so down recently; James bought me some Daffs to cheer me up! These and yellow tulips are my favourite flowers :O)

Day 50 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:14:00 +0000

Maisie modelling her new Hello Kitty jumper that we bought today :O)

Day 49/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:12:00 +0000

This is my 366 for yesterday, I didn't get chance to come online and post it yesterday; really busy with cleaning for house viewings! She realised that she could pick him up and now he just follows her round with his hands up wanting her to carry him lol - it's rather sweet ;O)

Day 48/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:56:00 +0000

Having fun at the park this morning :O)

With Love from Warner Bros.

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Picture my face on Valentine's Day when I had just popped out to the shop to come back to the house and there were a trail of little red hearts leading to my front door and a sorry you were out card on my door mat! I thought long and hard about who my secret admirer was, James admitted that it wasn't him and I think it made him rather jealous to be honest LOL

Anyway it wasn't a secret admirer... It was the lovely people at Warner Bros. with a lovely Valentines gift for me! My parcel had split a little and lots of little red hearts were tumbling out he he!

Inside my gorgeous red box filled with little red hearts was a lovely bag, compact mirror, bag of maltesers (yummy) and some FAB films on Blu-Ray and DVD!

Liam and I watched Crazy Stupid Love together at the cinema and we loved it so I am really looking forward to watching that again! I haven't seen the other three Blu-Rays.

I was so pleased to get The Bodyguard on DVD, it was one of my fav films as a teenager so I can't wait to watch that again and I haven't seen the other two so I have a great collection of Rom Coms to watch!

Now I just need to get James out of the house so I can snuggle up with a blanket, a big box of chocs and a bottle of wine and I'll be in heaven :O) Thank you Warner Bros.

Day 47/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:21:00 +0000

Maxwell sat watching TV with Mr Bump & Mr Tickle - he's not feeling very well today; poor little man!

I've not had the best of days today, our buyer for the house pulled out so we are now back on the market! Gutted is an understatement! :(

Competition: Stay Warm with Galaxy Hot Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:15:00 +0000

The lovely people at Galaxy have given me some lovely prizes to give away to my readers; but first let me tell you about The GALAXY Hot Chocolate Range...

GALAXY Traditional Style Hot Chocolate- as the name might suggest, this delicious hot chocolate is made using the traditional method of adding milk. The specially created powder dissolves quickly and smoothly in hot milk to create a silky smooth hot chocolate drink, without a lump in sight.

GALAXY ‘Frothy Top’ – the only hot chocolate you can buy with a creamy “cappuccino-style” frothy top, giving you all the luxury of a coffee-shop hot chocolate in the comfort of your own home. Try it two ways...add water for an instant treat, or milk for an extra creamy indulgence.

GALAXY Instant Hot Chocolate – the original top selling GALAXY hot chocolate. Simply add water for a smooth and creamy chocolate drink instantly.

GALAXY Microwave Chocolate in a Cup - a totally indulgent and luxurious hot chocolate made from lashings of real GALAXY chocolate melted into milk with a dash of cream. No mixers, no powder, just simply pop in the microwave for one minute and melt into hot chocolate heaven.

The prizes -
A set of lovely mugs and hot chocolate for three lucky winners!

How to Enter -

Just leave me a comment telling me your favourite way to keep warm on a cold winters day :O) & make sure you leave either your twitter name or email so that I can contact you.

For an extra entry Tweet 'I want to stay warm with Galaxy & @Mummy_Loves at http://thismummyloves.blogspot.com'

and leave an extra comment to let me know you have done so :O)

Winner will be drawn on 1st March 2012 and prizes will be sent out by the PR company. Thanks and Good Luck xxx

E.ON Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:55:00 +0000

This month E.ON has launched a crowdsourcing project called E.ON Innovation to find the next generation of energy products and services. This online community is open to the UK public and will feature five challenges to coincide with episodes of the new Channel 4 Show Home of the Future. The winner from each of the five challenges will be the one with the best idea submission and will each win a home energy makeover worth up to £2,000; this could include some really exciting gadgets from the Channel 4 series 'Home of the Future' to make you home more energy efficient. Judges will then go on to choose an overall winner out of the five finalists who will go on to win home energy makeover worth up to £10,000 ! All of the five winning ideas will be developed by E.ON with the intention of the products and services becoming a reality during 2012. There will also be two runner up prizes of £100 in Homebase vouchers. E.ON will be encouraging participation by giving out £100 Homebase vouchers to the best participant each week, you will also earn badges and points for voting and commenting within the community. You can follow the conversation about this project by following E.ON on Twitter (@talkingenergy) and looking out for the hashtag #eoninnov. 

The first challenge is now live and is about Rest and asks participants 'how could the home ‘learn’ about your energy use in order to create a more restful environment?' Some of the ideas that are already in the forum are incredible I have no idea how I can come up with something better! Even if you have no intention of taking part then I would recommend going and reading some of the ideas and voting for your favourite. You can look for inspiration within the community or go to the Home of the Future Website. Each week there will be a new theme - work, food, play & well-being. I really love this idea and would absolutely love to win a home energy makeover; living in an old Victorian house we are not exactly energy efficient! So I've now got to get my thinking cap on to come up with some fantastic ideas!! I get so excited when thinking about the future; everything has come so far since I was a little girl and I just find it totally mind-blowing! I just cannot wait to see what the final five ideas are and how E.ON will develop them.

You can watch the 'Rest' episode of Homes of the Future on 4oD and watch out for the 'Work' episode coming on Sunday 19th February 2012 and then the new challenge for 'Work' will be open to ideas. Make sure you catch the show to get your energy saving juices flowing!

Sponsored Post

Day 46/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:07:00 +0000

We've had a lazy day today. Maxwell is full of cold and a bit grumpy again so we just stayed around the house playing with playdoh and colouring. Maisie and I love colouring and I think Maxwell would have too given half the chance! I must buy him some chunky little crayons so he can join in too!

I've just got back from watching The Muppets at the cinema with Liam. It wasn't as great as I thought it would be but we enjoyed it! "Mna Mna"

DIY Story Time Review

noreply@blogger.com (Dawnie Brown) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Hi, it’s Dawnie Brown here again and putting on my guest reviewer hat! Don’t forget you can also find me over at my own blog Knees Up Mother Brown (cheeky plug there but I don’t think my sister will notice ;) )
Zara and I were recently asked if we would like to review a personalised story book from DIY Story Time and as we love books in this household I of course said yes :)

DIY Story Time allows you to create a personalised story book for your child, you choose how the child looks, their name and what you’d like the book to be about. The website is so easy and quick to use and within 10 minutes you have created a fantastic personalised story for your child.

I chose Zara’s book to include numbers, horses, friendship and going to bed on time as these are all things we are familiar with at the moment. You can choose between 3 and 9 different subjects for your book to cover! Of course the main character Zara had to have blonde curly hair and brown eyes :)

The books start at £19.90 for a hardback version or £5 for a digital version which you can read on your iPad or computer. I think this makes a fantastic gift as they really are beautifully illustrated and Zara loves her book – especially the fact that the book is all about her :)

We absolutely love our book and will soon be ordering one for Oscar as well.

Day 45/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:05:00 +0000

My boys again - Love them so much :O)

Day 44/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Big Brother is home so I have a very happy little Maxwell - who wants nothing to do with Mummy he just wants to follow Liam around the whole time lol!

Very stressful day today and I could have quite easily gone and bought some cigarettes but I didn't!! So that's 16 days complete :O)

Day 43/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Maxwell enjoying his bath this morning! He absolutely loves the water! Totally different to his sister who hated it!

I'm sorry if I haven't visited you for a couple of days, I have been so busy house-hunting and getting everything sorted so we can move! I will try and catch up with you all in the week xxx

Day 42/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:33:00 +0000

He's been a very grumpy little boy today! No idea why - most likely teething!! Poor thing :(

On a positive - I have been a non smoker for TWO weeks now!!! Woohoo!!

Day 41/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Watching a Barbie film on DVD... He loves it more than Maisie does lol

Day 40/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Maisie is always a bit tired and grumpy when she comes home from school, so she usually sits on the sofa with an apple and watches a bit of TV and I just love the way Maxwell goes and sits next to her! He does this before breakfast too! So cute!

Day 39/366 - 2012 A Year in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Just woke up and in a super happy mood! :O)

Day 11 of stopping smoking complete - Easy Peasy! So pleased with myself! Going to treat myself to a manicure & pedicure once I've done two weeks with the money I have saved :O)

Dolphin Tale Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

The lovely people at Warner Bros. recently sent us Dolphin Tale to review.

Inspired by an amazing true story Dolphin Tale is a film about Winter, a rescued dolphin who has lost her tail in a crab trap, and Sawyer, the 11-year old boy who helps save her life.

Sawyer rallies friends and family alike to save Winter by convincing a pioneering doctor to create a brand new tail and by raising enough money to save the sanctuary from closing.

Dolphin Tale has a great cast including Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr, and Ashley Judd alongside many wonderful animals. But the real star is Winter, who plays herself in the film, and today serves as a symbol of courage, perseverance and hope to millions of people.

OK I have to admit that the only part of this film I was really looking forward to was watching Austin Stowell (Kyle) LOL but Maisie was really excited. I did wonder if it would keep her interested as the storyline seemed to be a little over her head at 5 but she sat glued to it for every minute! Maxwell was interested for a good 5 minutes while he watched the dolphins swimming and then as soon as it went into the story it lost him... but he is 18 months old ;)

So Maisie aged 5 yrs really really loved this, she watched every single frame and some parts did go over her head, I don't really want to say which parts as it may spoil the film for you but it was probably best she didn't understand fully as she may have been a little upset. She adored Rufus the Pelican; he made her laugh lots! So Maisie gives it a big big thumbs up!

Well apart from it having the hunk factor for us Mums (disappointed Austin wasn't in it a little bit more ;D) I really truthfully did enjoy watching it. It is a beautiful story line and it did actually make me cry at the end. I loved Sawyer's journey through the whole film and just found myself totally inspired by him. A really beautiful, uplifting movie :O)

I would definitely recommend you watch Dolphin Tale if you have kids 5+ It's a lovely, heartwarming film xxx

Dolphin Tale is out on Blu-ray, DVD, digital download and 3D Blu-ray on 13th February

Day 38/366 - 2012 A Year In Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sonia) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Me & My Girlie! I've been getting a bit lazy recently and have only been posting my phone pics instead of my decent cameras... Must get out of that habit! Although I do love this :O)