Mumra

Specsavers ( not a sponsored review )

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:46:00 +0000

I have rubbish vision, since the age of 14 I have worn glasses daily and at about 17 I began wearing contact lenses.

I wear them everyday and although my sight is 'not that bad' so I'm told EVERYTIME I go to the optician I cannot bear to be without them. I challenge the annoying opinion of the staff who make this comment to try squinting at every sign more than a meter away or experience the wonder of realising trees have individual leaves when I put my glasses on.

Anyway back to my experience of Specsavers.

When I moved back to London I began using my new local store to collect my lenses each month. It has become my most hated task of the month, worse than emptying the food bin or paying the rent.

Without fail the staff are stroppy and uninterested. They seem stressed and under pressure when more than two customers are in store. Luckily I'm usually not too demanding, I get the lenses and get out quickly.

However, I recently decided to get some new frames. Should be easy seeing as I get my lenses from the same store right?

No.

It went a bit like this

'Can I have these?'

'No'

'Oh why not?'

'You need a new sight test'

'Oh ok can I book one for today?'

'No you can have one on Wednesday.'

'I will need a weekend one as I work, could you try and squeeze me in, I do get my lenses from here and that means you have my prescription'

'No that's out of date too, so you can't have them either'

'What? No ones told me. I need them I have run out!'

'Well it ran out 2 months ago so you were lucky to get any last month!'

- by now I was fuming. I felt like I was being told off for something I hadn't done and was stressed at the idea of no lenses or frames for the near future.

Anyway I will summarise as I'm sure you get the idea.

I managed to beg for a weeks worth of lenses and the promise of a call the following weekend IF there was a cancellation.

Amazingly I did get a call on the Saturday and I rushed down for my test. Again the store was heaving, staff were confused and flustered. They as always talked in stressed out tones over the heads of us inconvenient customers and ushered us about.

Of course by now the frames I chose the previous week were out of stock and needed to be ordered from another store so I would need to come back the following weekend to try them again! In the end I just told them to get them made without trying them on and paid for them to seal the deal. I was allowed to collect a months supply of lenses at this point so that was a start!

The following Saturday ( 2 weeks after choosing my frames ) I popped into the store to see if they were ready as I had heard nothing.

'Oh Erm * flustered fumbled rummage rummage* they are upstairs but not ready maybe Tuesday?'

So by the following Saturday ( 3 weeks after choosing my frames) still nothing! I call them and YES they are ready. I guess I was supposed to just know this the same way I was supposed to know my tests were out of date.

So the end of this story sees me finally the owner of a very lovely pair of frames which I love.

However, if I ever have to set foot in that store again I will be considering an epidural from the brain down first.

- I know that this will not be the only review of customer service at Specsavers you will read in the next few months they appear to be doing the rounds of parent bloggers right now. This IS however the only one written that is NOT a paid review and probably the only one written via the fury of an angry, angry woman.

Awkward.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:58:00 +0000

Tabitha has started ballet which of course she loves I mean it involves pink and spinning so win win right?

Not for me.

Currently sat avoiding conversation with other mothers. Some join in (not happening!) god it's painful.

I'm being a good mum I am honestly.

A good person? It's still a little hard, goes against the grain.

Am I just the most awkward mother ever to live? Why is this so hard?

Polarn O. Pyret Review

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:38:00 +0000

I was approached by Polarn O. Pyret a few weeks ago and asked if I would like to try out some of their items for Tabitha.

It came at an interesting time as I had just been involved in a little blogging debate with a PR about reviewing clothes that the company had wanted back afterwards. I am personally not willing to review clothes I have to return, firstly why would a company want used clothes back? Bit weird.

I mean this is a 3 year old that has worn them and this as all parents know is equal to throwing them into the pits of hell for a few hours and dragging them out during a hurricane. Secondly and wearing my reviewer hat how does this allow us to comment on the washing, the quality and the longevity of the items?

Anyway, the PR from Polarn O. Pyret was in total agreement and insisted that we keep the items and wear them to death, washing and re washing to properly try them out. So we have!

Tabitha is obsessed with dresses and is mostly found at nursery these days rocking some kind of highly flammable Disney princess dress over her carefully co ordinated outfit laid out by us the night before. She looks like a crazy bag lady. I have pretty much given in to this, a quiet child equals a happy mother and I don't have the fight left inside me.

She however went bonkers for her new dress and you can see why!

The fabric is lovely and thick and washes beautifully with little need for ironing ( a necessity in our house ) Tabitha feels like a princess in it and its the only thing she owns that does not require additional layering with the dreaded sparkly fancy dress.

Thank you Polarn O. Pyret I will be back. Check out the site here for your next purchase.

Norm 69

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:31:00 +0000

The new house has a new addition and his name is Norm, Norm 69.

If you are looking at him and thinking 'ooh isn't he lovely' I have some advice.

Norm comes in a box, flat packed!

There are pieces marked fig1, fig2, fig3 etc etc etc.... It's endless.

Slot flap 1 into fig 3 while squeezing your hands between sharp edges of plastic that cut and slice your hands to shreds....some of that is not on the instructions.

Following hours of this, several attempts of throwing Norm out of the window and a heavy splattering of swearing Norm was finally completed.

Of course I love him more for being so annoying much like my choice in men and my off spring, the final product is beautiful and well worth the trouble along the way.

Silent Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 09:57:00 +0000

Let me play

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 02:09:00 +0000

Moving on..

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:44:00 +0000

We have moved!

In true Mumra style it's been quite dramatic. Two weeks ago, just days after turning 37 I rolled over in bed and put my back into spasm.

When we move I am usually really organised. Although having had this discussion on twitter recently it appears some people actually number their boxes and write lists and stuff. I'm not that good/mental.

I do however box, bubble wrap and donate to the charity shop all the stuff I realise I've forgotten I owned.

Anyway none of that happened.

Between trips to the doctors and necking painkillers I had to leave everything to Jamie 'we'll just chuck it all in bin bags' Bodkin.

Really.

The amazing thing is do you know what, it's been ok.

Huge thanks to my Mum, his Mum and her partner we did it!

I'm so happy to be in this new house and ridiculously excited about our future here. I will be blogging the process of getting it how we want it and my garden plans but so far it's looking good!

Silent Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:22:00 +0000

Silent Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:18:00 +0000

Bakerdays Cake review.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:25:00 +0000

I am not a huge fan of Valentines Day and my boyfriend even is even less of a fan so when Bakerdays offered for me to send him a letterbox cake in celebration I figured it might be quite funny to send it to his office.

To save myself getting told off I send it with love from Tabitha-Lo and knew he'd have to like it!

The concept of the letterbox cake is great. It comes boxed and inside sits the cake within a pretty tin. The cake was totally undamaged and the image I chose came out beautifully. The website is very easy to use and there are hundreds of selections for you to choose from.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the quality of the cake itself. It was moist and tasty, carrot cake was my choice but there are several others including chocolate.

We have already ordered and sent another one for his grandparents birthdays. This time we went for a large one and it too arrived promptly and in good condition.

In fact if you know us and have any celebrations coming up expect a cake because this is my new thing!

Get yours from Bakerdays. Enjoy.

The iCrayon review.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 14:33:00 +0000

Tabitha is obsessed with the iPad.

Sometimes I worry that it is not healthy entertainment for a three year old and other times I thank the lord for its presence in my life.

I was asked if I would like to review the iCrayon for the iPad (or any touch screen piece of technology) and figured it was always going to be a winner.

The crayon looks like the good old school crayons, styled to mimic Crayola it is a pretty bit of kit. It feels good in your hand and I had high hopes for it being a favourite for all of us when using the pad.

However I probably had over hyped it in my head. Essentially it is for children and there is no doubt Tabitha loves using it as she scribbles away on her colouring applications.

The iCrayon used as a standard stylus is not what I had hoped. You have to press quite hard to get the connection, the tip is squashy rubber and does not connect without pressure meaning any real length of use would see it being chucked for the use of a finger.

I do think its a nice idea though and brings me pleasure when I see Tabitha chose to use it rather than her finger. Its the same as when she tells me to turn to the next page when she wants me to fast forward the movie.

There is something lovely about your childs' childhood mirroring yours even when there is so much technology at their grasp.

Best thing is the crayon is not expensive so its an excellent gift for birthday party or special treat. You can get them at Prezzy Box.

The Return to Twitter Mountain.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:43:00 +0000

I have been sucked back into Twitter.

It was pretty easy cutting it out of my life I have to say. Deleted from my phone it didn't cross my mind to open up the laptop and log in for a nose about.

However something happened. I needed to find a tweet I'd favourited about a product I was recommending to a friend. I tried to log in, it had not yet been 30 days but my account was gone.

I felt sick.

I emailed Twitter, I asked my geeksquad friends. I was literally in a frenzy.

Every thumbnail face flashed before me, my years of building up my followers and the knock on effect that has on my blog seemed suddenly really really important, I wanted to cry.

Twitter eventually came to the rescue and re set my account. I was so relieved and my panic made it clear I wasn't risking that again.

I set about making twitter what I wanted.

I ran over my 1000 followed accounts and I deleted people who I do not interact with, companies I had followed probably hoping to build relationships with back in the day when I cared more. I got my timeline down to 500 and it felt more friendly, it flows slowly and is mostly filled with humour and friendly chatter from like minded people.

I know some people get really offended by being unfollowed but its just the way it is. I follow lots of accounts who don't follow me, I am probably not their bag but their tweets entertain me and that's why I follow, it is not a gesture of gratitude for a follow back. I hope that's why people follow me and will remain following even if I have cut back on my timeline.

So a little bit of love goes out to some of the people I have missed during my break:

@MinistryOfMum

@cosmicgirlie

@geekisnewchic

@bumpwearclaire

@tara_cain

@motherventing

If you don't follow them, you should.

So basically I am back, back for good, back for now.

Silent Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 12:02:00 +0000

Silent Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 08:49:00 +0000

Mummy must have...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:25:00 +0000

Since having Tabitha I have struggled to find the time to sit and wait for nail varnish to dry. There is always something I need to do before it is set and I end up with dodgy looking smudged nails.

Usually I'll end up taking it off intending to start again, mostly I discover that this debarkle has used up my free time slot and it never gets done.

So lovely readers I am sharing this with you because it has changed my life.

Sally Hensen Insta-Dri

I have seen stuff like this and never imagined it would work but this one actually does!

When it says dry it means dry, touch dry in a minute literally, child proof in a couple more.

Mummy can finally get her claws back out.

Singing in the Rain.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 14:36:00 +0000

I have always loved a musical.

As a child my Dad would take me to London to see one every year for a Daddy/Daughter treat.

They are good memories and those trips fed my desire to act and be on stage.

Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 8AY

Website: http://www.singinintherain.co.uk/

Fast forward 20 odd years and no those dreams never came true but hey ho... I still love a musical.

So when I was asked if I wanted to attend Singing in the Rain I was always going to say yes.

I decided to take my mum along this time as it was the week of her birthday and brownie points are valuable when you rely on your mum as much as I do.

I whole heartedly recommend the show as a great night out.

The Palace theatre is beautiful, a real classic building full of cherubs and marble pillars. We were seated in the dress circle which ended up being perfect seating. I'd recommend avoiding the lower circle seats at the front unless you are wearing a raincoat!

The show sees 14,000 litres of water pumped onto the stage and during the energetic tap routines there is a fair bit of 'accidental' splashing from the actors.

All this adds to the show and the die hard fans at the front wearing the free rain ponchos loved every second.

The cast were fantastic, a good blend of dancing and acting to keep you hooked from the start.

I cannot wait until Tabitha is old enough to sit through a show like this. I cannot wait to fill her head with dreams of the stage, bright lights and costume changes.

Just maybe her dreams will come true....

My little TV star....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:06:00 +0000

The big news in our house this month has been that Tabitha-Lo has hit the big screen in her first advert.

Now I know lots of mums will have opinions on children being involved in modelling or tv but you know what? I don't really care.

I am so proud of her, she loved the day filming with Cow and Gate. They treated the children so well and she thought being set free in a recording studio with no one telling you to 'not touch' was the best fun ever.

Miss Lo features several times, although you mostly recognise her during her saxophone solo!

Well done Cow and Gate on a fantastic advert and well done Miss Lo on being a true little star.

Salty Dog Nuts!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:52:00 +0000

So last Friday was one of those eventful weekends where the child visited Granny for a few days and we got to go out as a couple.

We headed out for a meal with no one kicking the table or ripping up napkins it was lovely. There was wine and olives then after the chocolate pudding we followed on to a cocktail bar.

Several hours later we returned home via taxi a little worse for wear and staggered into the flat to be confronted by this....

You see Friday saw the delivery of Salty Dog Nuts for my latest review. Of course in our drunken state we ate the lot, in seconds.

I'd love to tell you they were the most tasty and delicious nuts I've ever eaten but, well, I can't remember. Minutes later we had fallen asleep fully clothed and only 'really' knew we had eaten them in the morning when we saw the wrapper scattered over the kitchen counter.

I should have just used the cool mug they sent along for a black coffee but the nuts were way too tempting!

If you fancy stocking your cupboards for a late night snack or just to fill in the ad breaks in x factor Salty Dog Nuts are on sale at Tesco.

To celebrate the launch Salty Dog Nuts are running a competition on their Facebook page and the prize is a new iphone. Get over and enter if you fancy a chance to win.

You can also follow on Twitter.

Not that I'd know that as I am still without my twitter account! *punches air*

How the hell I have got through this post without passing comment on the name of the nuts I don't know.... I will leave that to you.

This is a sponsored post.

Goodbye Twitter.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:04:00 +0000

I have closed my Twitter account down.

Since May 2010 Twitter has taken up much of my time and has helped me not only build my blog but also built many good friendships with other mums, without which those 3am feeds and moments of madness would/could have finished me off.

I have enjoyed the ups and downs of Twitter; the dramas of blogworld rolled out in passive aggressive tweets between rivals, the heated debate of people who just love an argument, but mostly the support of complete strangers offering advice and ((hugs)) when needed.

I have laughed out loud (for real!) and found great comfort in the humour of other mothers struggling with their daily lives just like me. I have worried about them during difficult times, I have shed tears for them both in happiness and pain, and offered helpful advise to try and support them.

I have, as have they revealed my life through 140 character snippets to nearly 3,000 people a go for several years and now it is time to close the net curtains.

I will be truly honest my recent move stems from these realisations:

I have wasted precious time on Twitter when I should have been playing with my daughter.

I have neglected my relationship and friendships to chat to thumbnail images who I will never meet.

I have neglected myself.

I have left myself exposed and its not sitting well with me anymore.

The future is about focusing on me and the two people I love most.

Don't get me wrong I will miss the community but I hope the people who I connected with most will continue to keep in touch via other means.

I hope that everyone else will remember me and my life as fondly as I remember them and feel honoured to have been allowed to peer into their lives 140 characters at a time.

So that's it.

@mumrablog RIP

Mutu System Week 1.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:38:00 +0000

After several years of being unhappy with my post baby figure I have finally admitted I need help and embarked on a 6 week course of personal trainer sessions with Mutu System.

I first heard of the system on Twitter via @mutusystem and it was clear that the founder Wendy has passion in helping women regain their tummies after child birth, especially when the condition diastasis recti has occurred.

In the past I have had ups and downs with getting my fitness back. I got quite into the gym and over came my fears of equipment and gym environments when I was given free membership with Nuffield.

However once I returned to full time work exercise fell to the back of the to do list and I forgot about it.

I never forgot how unhappy I was with my figure though.

So I booked in with Sally-Anne my local personal trainer with Mutu System. Initially she visited me at home for free and chatted about what my goals were and how the plan could help me. Sally-Anne will visit me once a week to kick my butt into shape and give me new exercises for the following week.

To get all the details on how they work to fix your mummy tummy visit the site Mutusystem.

Essentially it is short bursts of cardio and core work spread over 18 minute bursts each day.

After my first session with Sally-Anne I could not believe how much sweat was involved in such a short space of time. Usually I go to the gym (I say usually, I mean 'if') I slog away on a rower or step machine and barely break a sweat.

Not possible with Mutu System!

'The Plank' or 'How Satan Sleeps' as I have renamed it!

The exercises can be done at home, just requiring a gym ball and resistance band. I have now been enlightened to the horror of 'the plank' and I am feeling confident that this could work.

My core muscles were screaming the next day and even more so the day after that! I rolled out of bed almost as I did following the c section. The stomach muscles that have laid dormant for 2 years have awoken and they are proper grouchy!

Sally-Anne has taken my measurements and I will share the results with you as the weeks come to an end but for now I just need to concentrate on giving myself 18 minutes per day to sweat like a mad woman and achieve my goal.

Wish me luck!

For the love of dog...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:44:00 +0000

Tabitha has recently developed a very vocal fear of dogs.

It hit an all time high this weekend when we visited my mums. Initially she was reluctant to leave the house, when we did and inevitably saw a dog she went totally bonkers.

It was not helped by most of them being off their leads to be honest but that was not really the issue and I am not here to moan at dog owners, I am looking for advice...

I have tried a therapy dog visiting her nursery. He was like a rug with a face and just lay down waiting for a tummy tickle, Tabitha screamed and kicked and scrambled for the nearest exit.

There has been no event we can recall that has started this reaction unless we count her freaking out quite badly when the monkeys at London Zoo raided her changing bag.

She has made the decision she 'likes cats' and not dogs.

In fact she shouts it at most dogs she sees "I LIKE CATS!" they generally just look away, disgusted.

So, do I push her to be around dogs or join her in avoiding their presence for a while?

It breaks my heart to see her so afraid but at the same time I want her and us to be able to go about our lives normally.

HELP....

John Freida 3 days straight spray review.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:40:00 +0000

I have mad woman curly hair.

It is that kind of hair that every morning I wonder what the hell I would have done in a world without hair dryers and straightners.

For sure I would be single and a virgin!

So when I was asked to review John Frieda 3 days straight spray I was interested. My previous experience of john Frieda Frizz products were the serum which I have always found too heavy and never really taken to.

But I am always willing to try new products and find an answer to cutting out the every morning wash to strip the frizz and start again, which is not ideal when you need to get out the house with a 2 year old by 7:15 am every morning.

The spray arrived and I immediately jumped in the shower ( Ignore the child wearing her fathers shoes and a Everythings Rosie hairband in the background ) and applied the product before drying with a hair dryer and straighteners like always. The results were pretty good.

The next morning I woke up and it looked like this...

Compared to normal it was amazing. usually my fringe is bolt up right!

However I only felt confortable popping to the shop without my normal morning hairwash. There was no way I could have gone anywhere else without washing it again. This was not due to the lack of straightness though so I cannot knock the product. I just felt greasy and itchy without washing it in general.

So if you can go more that a day without a hairwash this product is for you. I am still going to use it because it does help with sytling straight even if I am washing it out the next morning.

Are you having a laugh? - Louis CK

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:27:00 +0000

I recently discovered this comedian and I had to share him with you just incase you have not heard of him. The language may offend, but frankly you are parents so I doubt it.....

His stand up about being a parent is hilarious and in my experience absolutely spot on. Here he is talking about why we should never judge other parents.

His observations about raising daughters actually had me in tears. This man is a genius.

And I have never heard anyone sum up so clearly the difference between women and girls.

If you don't laugh about some of this parenting stuff you'll cry right? I figure I'd rather laugh.

The Hobbit book giveaway.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 15:38:00 +0000

Later this year The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released in to cinemas.

To mark this the book has been relaunched and I am giving away 3 copies of new paperback.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below talking about your experiences of the book or of reading alongside your children. I will choose three winning comments 25th June 2012.

Personally I cannot wait until I can read stories like this to Tabitha at bedtime. As a child I loved to read, to immerse myself in tales of far off places and characters. I know she will too, she already spends hours looking at books and shows vivid imagination in her role play.

Being able to sit and read aloud to her while she hangs on my every word and begs me for 'one more page' is one of those parenting moments I have longed for. I love that I will be able to roll out my GCSE Drama 'A' and finally use my scary voices and dramatic pauses.

I read The Hobbit as an adult when I was backpacking around Asia. In those days I could read several books a day lazing in a hammock, smoking, eating mango and drinking Milo. Rushing back and forth to the tiny rental bookshop on the island, I stormed my way through the whole set of books until it was complete, I was trapped in a world of Tolkien for about three weeks.

A few months later the Lord of the Rings movies were launched and I vowed never to watch them. I don't think I could handle my visions of the characters being ruined and as hazy as my backpacking memories are, I like it that way. However the character of Bilbo Baggins being played by Martin Freeman is I think genius.

Anyway for Tabitha I shall re visit those characters again, I will enjoy recreating them for her and I hope she enjoys them as much as I did.

Skillz

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:48:00 +0000

Look what she did!