This is me Sarah mum of 3

Worries of Starting Secondary School

2013-06-17T14:35:00.004+01:00

My eldest son is in his final term at Primary school.

And it hardly seems 5 minutes ago that he started school.

I remember thinking how strange it would be him going off to school, how I wondered how he would get on, what the future would hold for him.

Then the years passed so very quickly, I almost can't recall them, and now he is in his final weeks of Primary education. It almost doesn't seem possible, I have such strong memories of my own time at senior school, I remember the last days at primary school, the first induction days at senior school and I know these will be the years Jake will always remember too.

I would be lying if I said I was 100% confident that the next 5 years of his school life will be plain sailing, I hope, of course I do, that he manages well and fits straight into the new life at senior school.

But the reality of the next chapter is massive.

If I'mhonest, I have been rather a slack parent for the primary school years, I don't force the issue of chanting times tables or stress over spelling mistakes. I don't worry when test results come back just about average, I don't make them read school books every night before bed, and I wonder if this will there fore be a huge shock to the system when the lessons up a notch and homework is more of a must.

I hope the next years of learning are good ones for Jake, I really hope with all my heart it is the turning point for him, to find something that really grabs his interest, to truly find something he enjoys and becomes good at, for him to make new friends, new relationships and gain confidence in so many aspects as he doesn't really have many hobbies right now, I hope he takes advantage of any after school activities available and finds something that he wants to join in with, tries new activities he hasn't even thought about yet, I want him to try new things, and find his place in the world. It is scary to know it is the next years that all this will happen, and it is the things that happen over the following years that will mould the adult he becomes.

With the next few weeks important ones, so many open days, visis to the new school, parents evening and final goodbyes, I have been thinking about all the changes to come over the next few years, and trying to come to terms with the fact that my children are indeed growing up.

I'm not sure if right now anyone is ready, least of all me, I feel like life as a parent has to change, adapt, grow up, and that means improving and organising the little things - properly organising things. Being on top of the game so much more. For years I have always thought there was time ahead of us, that it didn't really matter if homework was missed because 'they are only young' but the years have crept up on me surprisingly fast, and I am no longer a parent of toddlers, no, now really Jake isn't even a child.. I know he is, but he is certainly not that little boy who needed me for everything, now he is finding his own way, and I can only stand, watch and hopefully guide him a little.

It really is a funny feeling, I know I am a parent, yet I find it so much more difficult now than when they were younger, it seemed so much easier then, easy to make them smile, make things fun and make sure they were doing something useful.

Now the parenting has to change, no longer are brightly coloured numbered blocks going to help, or big crayons and scribbles on paper helping them learn something new. No, now I need to think like a parent of older children and find what it is that will help them now.

The first thing I want to do is sort out the boys bedroom, as at the moment it is a bit of a tip in there and there is simply no storage space and far far too many toys, I have visions of lovely clean sideboards and space for Jake to organise his school things, but the reality might not come out like that!

I want to get myself a memo board for downstairs too, I am probably more disorganised than the children, and I need to make sure I am helping Jake with getting things done on time, not being the parent who always forgets!

I want a stack of draws either by the front door downstairs, or in Jake's bedroom, which he can organise with the days of the week with the homework in, in my mind it will be perfect he will place the homework in the draw on the day he gets it, then complete it and move it over to the draw of the day it needs handing in, but I am just not sure how effective this will be, but I can at least give it ago.

I will blog about anything I find that seems to work, and what we are doing to try and make the next year a happy one, if anyone has any tips however I would be most grateful!

Appreciating music again

2013-06-15T18:28:00.002+01:00

It's funny isn't it how through life you go through various spells, and different things become popular at different times.

When I was a teenager I loved Music, always listening to the radio, buying the latest CD with the newest release from my favourite bands.

Through my teenage years I went to several music concerts, listened to all sorts of music, a firm feature was the radio, always listening to the charts on a Sunday, and enjoying finding out about new releases before I could afford to buy the CD for myself.

But then things changed, I'm not sure why or when exactly, but slowly over time I stopped listening to new music, I guess it was having children and the room filled with their noise and there was no period of time which could be filled the radio.

I stopped knowing who was in the charts, who was releasing new tracks and certainly couldn't tell you about any bands who were touring.

But now the children are older and I have started to notice over the past few months music is creeping back into the house, obviously music has always been a feature, with Darren who loves to sing and play guitar so there has always been a music presence but its not music that I've notice making a increase into our daily lives but the radio.

This pleases me, because there is such a good variety on the radio, listening to new songs I haven't heard before and being reminded of old favourites too, all the music reminds me of the concerts I attended in my teens.

I loved the thrill of being in the arena filled with other fans and the loud music ringing out. I think there is nothing better than enjoying a concert, the electric atmosphere that builds from being in a huge crowd all enjoying the same thing.

So when I got an email asking if I would write a post featuring bands performing at the 02 arena it was perfectly timed.

The 02 arena is the second largest arena in the UK (second to the Manchester Arena) and one of the largest arenas in Europe making it the busiest arena in the country and one that lots of top performers tour at.

With a capacity of 20,000 the atmosphere at an 02 concert must be amazing and I hope to get to go and see someone perform there one day, there is such a variety of events at the 02 All sorts of bands have tour dates there, from current bands like JLS to bands who have been around since the 80's like Depeche Mode, who are touring in November 2013 celebrating 30 years in the music business you can book Depeche Mode tickets online on the 02 website along with all the other event tickets and find out tour dates and information.

It won't be long before I get to take my three children along to a real concert, and enjoy the thrill of seeing their idols live on stage and I can't wait!

This is a sponsored post

Last Minute Fathers Day Gifts From Poundland

2013-06-15T10:25:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow is Fathers Day. The day where we can say a big thank you to dads everywhere and let them know they are important.

However I am abit slack with these sort of things! And always leave my gift buying to the very last minute.

The children love to make homemade cards and pictures which I think are always the nicest true thought included, but sometimes a brought gift is nice too.

Poundland sent me some of their Fathers Day gift range to have a look at, and I am very impressed, they have a great selection of products which are perfect extras to add to the handmade gifts and cards, which means you can show you care without having to break the bank.

Included in the range of gifts from Poundland, are fun FamilyGuy themed items which are great for anyone who is a Family Guy fan. The fun Beer glass would make a great gift.

Poundland also have a great selection of gift bags, cards and wrapping paper, the quality has really improved over recent years of the cards and paper you can now purchase from pooundland.

There is also a great range of gifts 'for him' these included all sorts of little gadgets from wooden puzzles to grow your own football pitch sets.

And of course the very cute dog cuddle toys.

If you haven't yet brought a little something for Dad, there is still time to get to Poundland and pick up something fun.

Digital Cameras - what are the best batteries?

2013-06-13T21:24:00.002+01:00

I brought myself a new camera a couple of months ago, a lovely Nixon CoolPix L810

It really is a lovely bridge camera, reasonably priced and takes a great photo.

The only thing I was a little unsure of when I purchased it was the batteries. it takes 4 AA batteries and the ones it comes with in the box lasted all of about 30 minutes. I've had so many digital cameras in the passed and it is always the battery life that frustrates me, so many cameras use AA batteries but normal batteries just simply do not last very long, and batteries are expensive if you have to keep buying new ones each time you want to use your camera.

So I was slightly disappointed that my new camera was once again hungry on batteries, I replaced the test batteries that came in the box, with my old rechargeable batteries which have been faithfully working for the passed few years in various electronic devices, I have used so many of the big brand batteries, but the ones I have now have been charged and used so many times they just aren't holding the charge anymore, so I was once again disappointed that before the day was over I was having to charge them before I could use my new camera, and it is always when your camera is out of charge that you see the best photo opportunity.

I started to think about getting some new batteries which promised to give me more hours camera life, and hopefully mean I never missed a photo opportunity again.

Then by sheer coincidence I received an email asking if I would like to review some batteries from Rechargeablebatteries.co.uk and of course I jumped at the chance.

I will admit I don't know alot about batteries, but was pleased to accept their offer of the high capacity Sanyo batteries and the Ansmann 4 Speed charger.

I received an email as soon as the batteries had been dispatched letting me know my order was on its way, and they arrived the next day packed well with a little token thank you chocolate too - great service all round from rechargeablebatteries.co.uk

The Sanyo Eneloop XX NiMH 2400 mAh batteries are quite simply amazing, and I think they are the best rechargeable AA batteries I have ever used, they come pre charged so you can use them straight out of the pack, (pre charged using solar energy making them ultra environmentally friendly)

I put them straight into my camera and they lasted far longer than any other AA batteries I have ever used. I took them on our day out in the fields, and I took about 400 photos that day, and recorded almost an hours video footage.. and they still were working when I got home, they then lasted and lasted and lasted!! I have charged them once in the last month and used my camera with them in so so many times, if you are thinking of purchasing a digital camera which uses AA batteries then definitely think of getting some of these to go with it.

Another great feature of the Sanya AA XX Eneloop batteries, is that they are said to still hold 75% of their charge even after a years use.. thats pretty amazing, and I will update you in a years time to see if it is true. Priced at just £12.98 these are a must have and far more affordable than buying standard batteries which need replacing regularly.

Of course if you are using rechargeable batteries then you need a way to charge them, The Ansmann Charger is a brilliant size, it has a speed charge option which is great if you need a fast charge, and the light indicators let you know when your batteries are ready to use.

This handy little charger can charge upto 4 AA batteries or 4 AAA batteries and comes with a three year guarantee, so you can be assured this works well.

When I plugged in the charger the first thing I noticed was that it has a fan which blows to keep the batteries cool, this is a great idea and helps preserve the life of the batteries.

Another great feature is that the recharger comes with a 12v in car lead, so this is a great charger to take with you if you are travelling.

Although upto this point, I had not heard of Ansmann batteries, I am pleased to have found them now, this charger also comes with 4 x AA rechargeable NiMH batteries and these are really great they hold the charge well. Unlike the Sanyo batteries these ones do not come precharged, so you do have to charge them before the first use.

The 4 batteries took about 2 hours to charge and I have been testing them along with the Sanyo batteries this passed month, they have lasted such a long time and certainly enable you to not worry about missing that great photo due to no battery life.

I took them with me to my sisters where we camped for the weekend, in fact I took all 8 batteries and the charger in case I needed it, but I didn't need to swop the batteries at all for the whole weekend.

I really am pleased with the batteries and if like me, you have recently purchased a Digital camera and are looking at a way to power it, then do take a look at www.rechargeablebatteries.co.uk they have some fantastic offers and low prices for all your battery needs.

I'm racing - are you?

2013-06-09T10:26:00.000+01:00

Race for life - everyones heard of it, right?

Every year I see the posts asking for sponsors, I donate.

I see the pictures of people taking part, and I feel inspired to join in and kick myself that I didn't make more of an effort.

So this year I am not going to just sit and wish I had joined in, I am actually going to get up and go along and join, thanks to the nudge from AquaPura, who are the official sponsors this year.

Race for life helps support Cancer research, which is such a wonderful Charity, as cancer really is a unrelentless disease, it doesn't stop to think of the lives it destroys as it sweeps through. Cancer effects so many of us, each person has a story. A story that should never have to be told.

And this is mine.

As a child, even as a teenager, I was lucky, no one I had ever known had been struck by illness, no one had even grew old and passed away, still to this day I have all my extended family including all my 4 grandparents.

However life is not always as kind, some people do not grow to see their grandchildren or watch their great grandchildren grow up, some people don't even get to relish in their own childrens futures.

With my sheltered from grief, childhood, I unfortunately got to see the reality of life and death when I moved in with Darren, aged just 18.

We moved into his mother- Glendas house, and rented it off her, as she moved away to set up a coffee shop business, a larger than life personality with her whole future ahead of her, Glenda was a bubbly big lady who made her presences felt and she quickly welcomed me into her family. Sending us gifts and coming over to visit us often.

It was on one of these visit when our whole lives turned upside down.

We were young, at the beginning of our lives, me and Darren had just set up our computer shop, we were giddy with excitement and future prospects, we had secured ourselves a start up loan and arranged for tenancy on a shop, we had planned, planned and planned some more then put everything into action, and were proud of ourselves. On top of this we had some exciting news, I was 3 months pregnant, yet we had not told anyone yet.

We had agreed to break the news on Glendas next visit, so when Glenda came over we took her to visit the shop, she came over looked around, we talked, she stopped at our house for a few days, each day she seemed to be feeling a little more unwell. The moment to break our news never felt right so we kept quiet. Un be known to us, she had been diagnosed with cancer in the weeks prior to her visit.

On the day she was due to return home, she took a drastic turn for the worst, when we arrived home from work, expecting to wave her off home, we were greeted with ambulances and commotion, confused we did not know what was happening, we followed and visited her in hospital, where Glenda appeared to be ok. The next few days passed in abit of a blur, we went about our daily business not really sure of what was happening but convinced all would be well.

That was, until we were took to one side, and told the shocking truth, that Glenda was suffering with cancer, she was in the late stages and there was nothing more that could be done.

The next few days became once again abit of a blur, Glenda came home, to ours, then returned to the hospital.

This time in the hospital Glenda was not ok at all, she seemed so very unwell. That night we stayed, Darren, his brother and me along with Glendas Partner. We all stayed, numb, confused and concerned.

I will never forget those days, the drastic contrast of life and death. The pleading look in Glendas eyes as the machines and buzzers and bleeps rang around her.

That night Glenda passed away.

We never got to tell her she would become a Granny.

The events that happened following her death made such an impact on everyones world, Darren and his brother never managed to grieve for their mum in a way they maybe should, but then grief is such a funny thing. The ripples of the after effect when someone so alive, so full of life is taken far too soon, made more of an impact than anyone could ever imagine.

Glenda was only 50. her life snatched, taken far before her time.

The hole in our lives where she should be is huge. The struggles Darren and his brother have been through trying to come to terms with their mothers sudden death, both in the immediate years after and still to this day, is overwhelming.

The huge gap in our childrens lives, never having the option to know their Grandmother, who would have doted on them all, is too sad to even comprehend.

Over the following 12 years cancer has effected so many of my friends lives too, and my sheltered childhood now seems like such a long long time ago.

Cancer - Destroys lives.

But Research is destroying cancer, making it a real possibility for more people effected by this desease to overcome it.

We all can help.

Cancer research is about fighting back, its about not letting cancer win. And by joining in with race for life its like you are standing up and saying cancer - we're coming to get you!

And that is why I will proudly Race for Life this July.

If you want to join in a race near you then take a look at The race for life website and find your local event.

If you want to add a donation to my page, then that would be most appreciated my just giving page is : https://www.justgiving.com/sarahchloe

I have just over a month to get ready for the race, me and Chloe will be participating together.

I have been sponsored by Aqua Pura - official race for life sponsors, who have kindly sponsored me £100 on my just giving page and paid for my entrance fee, giving me the boost I needed to join in this year, and join in I will, I will race for Glenda, for Carole and for everyone else who has been effected by cancer. I will race and hope that one day, one day we really will kick cancer completely.

Silent Sunday

2013-06-09T08:57:00.002+01:00

Time goes by

2013-06-06T19:20:00.001+01:00

Today I had a review meeting with my Homestart supervisor.

The meetings are a great informal catch up to go over things, the first conversation was 'how are things with you?' and we soon got onto talking about how my eldest will be starting senior school in September, as we caught upto date with the family I have just finished supporting and we discussed the new family I will start visiting soon, it really made me realise how very quickly this year is flying by.

It is now June, which is just crazy, I know time seems to speed up the older you get but this year seems to be going by at an alarmingly quick pace.

Every week seems to leap into the next month, half of the year has passed already, we will soon be thinking of Christmas again!

When I briefly think of this year I think its been quite uneventful, that I actually haven't got round to doing things which I want to do, but really if I take a moment I can actually see that so much has indeed happened this year.

I want to ensure that the remaining 6 months are full of fun things, I really want to ensure that some things change, improve. Then there are some things that I just want to stay the same as they are right now.

Sunshine and BBQ's!

2013-06-06T14:59:00.001+01:00

Finally the weather has started to improve and the sun is shining, which is a good thing, as last weekend we had a trip to my Sisters to go camping in her garden to celebrate her 5th wedding anniversary.

We packed up the car with too many clothes for one night and set off, with fingers crossed the landrover would manage the journey, as it was the first time we'd been anywhere further than a few miles away!

It managed well and we arrived, and my children spent no time at all getting straight into the fun on the trampoline.

My sister had put on a lovely spread of snacks and had brought enough burgers and sausages to feed the whole village, not to mention the amount of beverages that people kept bringing to top up her supply.

The BBQ was lovely, spending some time with my sister and her family which we don't get to see that often, and having a nosey around her house and farm that her husband works on.

Of course the highlight for the children was the day after, when they got to ride the tractor,

and of course take a trip on the horse and cart.

Tomorrow Comes

2013-06-01T00:04:00.001+01:00

Blogs, funny things, sharing photos, snippets of life, stories.

But sometimes, just sometimes blogging brings wonderful things, things which make you think, yes that was just meant to be.

3 months ago a email pinged into my inbox, short and sweet it asked for my permission to use a photo of mine.

This isn't the first time I've been contacted about photos on my site, but Rod was so much more friendly than most, I replied asking him what he wanted to use the photo for, and said I'd happily discuss it.

He sent me back a email which struck deep into my heart, he and his wife had suffered the loss of their youngest daughter, who died whilst sleeping, suddenly, unexpectedly aged just 19 in the summer of 2011, and since her untimely death his wife, Donna, had found a way of coping via writing a book, and they would very much would like to use the photo they had found on my blog as the front cover.

This photo.

From this post I wrote a year ago about my wonderful friend Carol. that post is one which I wrote on the day I found out Carole had lost her battle with cancer, and I was pondering how life takes us in different directions and the paths we cross lead us to certain people who have such an impact on your life. A coincidence maybe, that it was that post, that brought my path to cross with Rods.

So I gave Rod permission to use my photo should he choose, and he promised to send me a copy of the book once it was printed.

A month or two later after exchanging emails again, Rod told me they had decided to take a more personal slant on the cover, but had been very inspired by my photo.

The new cover is wonderful, it includes a photo of Emma, and her dog Duck along with a sky shot taken at Emma sister, Sarahs, 30th birthday.

A much more fitting cover, for such a personal book. Yet I was still pleased to have helped inspire the image.

Rod promised to send me a copy of the book, as soon as he had some printed, and he said he wanted to still credit me as inspiration of the cover.

Weeks passed and I hadn't heard from Rod for a while, then just the other day a parcel landed on my door mat. Lacey, our new pup, brought it upstairs which is slightly unusual as she is abit of a pain and tends to chew things up as far away from us as possible, but this morning she brought it right into our room, I picked it up and was thrilled to find a copy of Tomorrow Comes- An Emmas Story inside.

I started reading it that night, and it is a beautifully written story, Donna has done such justice to her daughter and surely made the whole family extremely proud. The worlds are heartwarming and captivating.

Within minutes you really do feel like you know this family, you can sense the love they all share.

The story tells a tale of Emma waking up in the 'After' a new life, and is told from the view points of several people, including Emma and her family who remain in the now.

The writing style is not like any other book I've read, it is poignant and awe inspiring. Fact and fiction mingled in a tone that makes you truly want to believe it is all real. The grief and pain of the family coming to terms with their daughters death, and the uplift sense that life can go on.

It makes you smile and cry, fills you with true emotion. I guess because it was wrote with raw heart felt emotion as Donna tries to continue without her daughter. The reality of the thoughts and feeling of the family as they deal with all that grief throws at them, bravely captured into a story with an underlying sence of love.

I urge everyone to please take a look at this book, buy it, read it - share it with someone you know who might want to read it, the topic may be a raw one, and you will be hard pushed not to shed some tears, but this book is filled with love, hope and inspiring warmth, reminding you how important friends and family truly are, and how love never stops.

I am so very proud to have been just a tiny part of making this book a reality for the Mebane family - A truly brave endeavour for Donna sharing her story with everyone, and a fine show of skill from Rod pulling it all together and getting it published, and of course a wonderful testament to their daughter, Emma, whos caring fun loving nature is sure to inspire everyone to be better, live better, live life to its fullest, even without meeting her in person. A wonderful family who I am so pleased to be able to say I know, even just slightly from hundreds of miles away and even if only ever via email, all thanks to my blog.

Tomorrow Comes is available from Amazon priced at a little under £8 - Please go and purchase your copy. - Tomorrow Comes - An Emma Story or show the family support on their facebook page, or visit their website StarshineGalaxy.com Or share this with someone who you think might be comforted by the touching story and possibility that life can go on.

Bin Weevils Bling Collectors Tub and Jigsaw Puzzle - Review

2013-05-31T13:58:00.001+01:00

Bin Weevils, what are they? Well if you have school aged children you may already know.

Bin Weevils are a set of critters that live, yep, in bins. Brought to life in an online interactive world which children can create their own pet weevil, chat to friends and play online games.

As with other online games such as Moshi Monsters and Club Penguins children really do seem to enjoy this sort of online activity.

My youngest in particular often talks about Bin Weevils to his friends at school, and loves to set up his own bin where his weevil lives, customising it with posters and gadgets he has collected from playing the games.

Bin Weevils online is free to play, but you can also upgrade to a paid for membership on a monthly subscription. This allows you more customisation options in the game.

Along side the online world, there are lots of Bin Weevils merchandise.

Children love the familiarity of characters they know, so having products that feature the little creatures from the Bin Weevil world is always going to be a hit.

We were recently sent some Bin Weevils products to take a look at. The first was a Ravensburger Jigsaw puzzle, this brightly coloured puzzle features loads of interesting characters, aimed at children aged 6 and above it has 100 pieces.

The great ravensburger quality makes this a perfect gift for any Bin Weevil fan, or even any jigsaw lover who is yet to experience the Bin Weevil online world. The bright fun characters make it appealing.

Also in the Bin Weevil merchandise range is mini collectible figures, we were sent the Bin Weevil Bling Tin to have a look at.

This tin is a great size for storing in lots of of the little figures as you grow your collection.

Included in the tin is 6 mini bin bot figures and 2 slightly larger golden figures. These figures are special collectible figures as unlike the normal figures they have been 'blinged' the two larger figures Tink and Clot are golden, and the 6 smaller figures are crystallised. Making them rare and a must have to impress friends in the playground.

You aso get a sheet of small round bing stickers, but we were not quite sure what this was for as they didn't really fit anywhere on the figures!

Along sized the collectors tin, you can buy blind bags with individual bin bots, to expand your collection, and swop with friends, or you can buy larger figures and play sets.

Take a look on the Character website to see the full range of BinWeevil merchandise.We loved the Collectors bling tin, the larger figures are very detailed and a great size, bigger than most collectibles which are more in line with the bin bots.

The love of the online world means these little collectible figures will be a hit with anyone who has played the online game, but the quirky characters also make for intresting role play games even without seeing the virtual world.

Getting rid of stains on childrens clothes

2013-05-31T11:38:00.003+01:00

Children make a mess, its a renowned fact, if something may make a mark on the brand new top, then children will head straight for it.

Mine in particular seem to stain their clothes regularly. What with running through mud and grass, their clothes never stay clean for long, so when we were asked if we would try Vanish I instantly said yes.

I have used Vanish in the passed, and added it to my normal wash just to add a bit of umph to get things clean and it works really really well.

This time however, I thought I would really run it through its paces.

In the leaflet that came along with my two tubs of Vanish it gave examples of stains and how to get rid of them.

So I thought I would give it the ultimate real stain removal test and make my own mess.

I grabbed a felt tip pen, some make up and the trusty tomato sauce. I drew, smudged and squirt each onto a white school polo shirt.

I wasn't convinced that Vanish would get rid of the marks. They looked pretty nasty.

Vanish can however, be used in three ways. 1) put a scoop in your normal wash, 2) add direct to a stain or 3) soak.

With my stains looking abit tough, I decided to go down the pre treat route. and so I mixed up some vanish oxi with water and used the scoop to give the stains a rub.

The tomato sauce came away straight away, the pen and make up dulled but was still very visible.

So I decided to soak.

I filled a mop bucket with 4 liters of water and added a scoop of vanish,just as the instructions on the tub suggest, then placed in the stained top

Vanish has a nice smell about it and you can almost see it working.

After a couple of hours I took the top out, and I was pleasantly surprised to see all the stains had in deed gone! There is a funny sort of smooth feel to the clothes after being soaked, so they do need to be washed as normal after. but they come out perfectly clean.

So if you have some tough stains and you are looking at a way to get rid of them, then look no further than Vanish, great for all the nasty stains including baby poop, grass, red wine even blood stains.

Take a look at the Vanish website to find out how to remove certain stains, or follow vanish on facebook to see upcoming offers.

Childhood

2013-05-29T17:51:00.000+01:00

The amount of times that I hear people saying childhood isn't how it used to be, that the world is more of a dangerous place, that children don't get to experience the fun that we remember from our own childhood.

But really is it THAT much different these days?

Yes granted there is alot more technology, the toys are far more sophisticated and readily available, in fact children have a little too many toys.

But do children no longer enjoy the things we did as children, do they no longer like to climb trees, play in streams and have simple fun?

I would argue that, in fact the world is no different, the children are no different. What is different is the adults perspective, and the fact that people don't really see what children of today actually spend time doing.

What children really enjoy doing. They are not all sat indoors hooked up to the latest gadget all of the time.

I see children out on their bikes, sitting in the park with their friends, I see young children drawing hop scotch on the pavements with chalk.

I see children happily spending hours writing their own stories and illustrating them with detailed pictures straight from the imaginations of their innocent childhood worlds.

I see children who opt to run through fields.

Children who would rather spend time jumping through a muddy marshland, enjoying nature, finding bugs and beasties and creating their own adventures away from electronic gadgets.

I see a childhood in my own children, that you know, is not that far away from the childhood I remember.

Sometimes the best way to entertain the children, is to not entertain them at all.

Let them make their own adventures without any thing else there.

You might be surprised at how much fun you will all have, by forgetting about the mess, not worring about the potential to trip, bump or scrap knees.

Not having to take along a bag of 'stuff' to entertain and occupie the young minds. Let your children run around trusting their own instincts, learning their own limits.

The world isn't really that much of a scary or dangerous place, and everyone no matter where you live can find a open bit of space somewhere, where you can enjoy the best parts of childhood - and even when you get filthy dirty, or wet, even if you get bumped knees and torn clothes. These will be the bits that in years to come hopefully our children will remember.

Of course, with the mud, mess, cuts and grazes you will no doubt have tears and moans and fall outs.

But you know what - thats all part of childhood too!

How to get Blog Readers?

2013-05-28T21:57:00.000+01:00

One of the most asked questions in blogging is 'how do I get more people to read my posts?' and its something which no matter what we do, there is no guarantees to getting a post which will be read by the masses. However there are a few little tips I have picked up over the years to help you increase your readership.So below I have outlined some of the most important things to concentrate on.

How To Get More Readers.

So you've took the plunge, you've got loads of ideas and your posting regularly.

You are really enjoying writing up post, tweaking your photographs or simply sharing your stories. But your blog feels abit lonely.

Don't be disheartened, building up a strong blog audience is not easy. There are things however which you can do to try to increase your audience.

Firstly you have to think about who you want to read your blog, that may sound abit silly, but it really is the first thing you need to consider. If you are writing a tutorial based blog, who do you think will benefit from your information? If you are writing a humours blog, who might find it the most entertaining?

Once you have an audience in mind, then you can try to locate them. If you have a specific subject to your content, such as preschool activities, then it is wise to interact with other parents of preschool children. If your blog is more fact based, around a specific sport, then targeting others with the same interest is the way to go.

So where do you find people with shared interests?

Social Networking is great for this, with the ever growing options to interact with social media there are loads of ways you can group together with other like minded people.

Facebook, has many different groups and pages where people with similar interests gather together, as does Google+ Joining in communities with other like minded people finds you a targeted audience.

But joining a new group of people and simply spamming your blog link, isn't going to get you many popularity points. The best thing to do is naturally find a set of people who you share an intrest with, build up friendships within the communities that intrest you and then share your blog link with the members of the group.

Other social media sites such as Twitter offer a great way to find and interact with large numbers of people who potentially share the same interests as you, and Twitter is a great way to share your blog post links.

Commenting on other Blog posts is a brilliant way to build an audiences, blog writers are often the most common blog commenter's, as they are already familiar with the layout of a blog and can navigate around the comment forms easily.

Joining in Linkies such as The Gallery, Silent Sunday or Reasons to be Cheerful, can really help build relationships with other bloggers. Linkies are weekly blog prompts, where several bloggers all post around the same subject on the same day each week and the host blog provides a list of all the participating blogs. You can add your link to this list too. Linkies are a great way to find new blogs to read and gain inspiration from as well as a way to get your name seen by other bloggers.

Optimising your posts for Search Engines is another thing to consider when trying to bring traffic to your blog. Now this may sound abit technical, but it really doesn't have to be. Two very simply tips to help you if you want to be found in search engines are remember to take a minute to think about the title of your posts and label your photos with descriptive names rather than IMG0894.jpg Just simply little things like this will have a big difference.

This Post is part of my Bloggingtips Series for more Blogging help and advise about all things from finding the perfect topic to making money via blogging then please check out the rest of the posts by clicking on the badge below.

How to create a blog

2013-05-28T21:56:00.000+01:00

So you've heard about this 'blogging' lark? and you think you want to give it ago, but are not quite sure where to start?

Well there are loads and loads of helpful sites around who can help you with everything you could ever want to know, and lots and lots of people wanting to offer their advice on how to blog.

Infact almost everyone who has a blog, quite likes to, at some stage, talk about blogging, up until now I had always avoided the whole 'heres how to blog' style posts, but due to the increased amount of people asking for some help and tips I thought it doesn't hurt to post what I know, and hopefully it may just help someone.

So I have put together some basic informative posts to help you learn about Blogging and to start with I'm going back to the very beginning...

How To Create a Blog

Creating a blog is really very simple, there are a couple of free blog hosting sites to help you along.

Blogger - thats who I use to host my blog, and Wordpress.

Both of these are free to use and allow you to get a good feeling for blogging.

I personally find Blogger to be the more user friendly and easy to understand, and for this reason I have always used blogger for the majority of my blogs, but many people recommend starting with WordPress as this is the one that if you get serious, and want to eventually buy your own web address and hosting package for your site, will be the option you will more than likely use.

But before you make your mind up on which platform you wish to blog with, there are a couple of things to think about.

The most important thing is to find which platform you feel more comfortable with, and the one you feel you can navigate around easiest. If blogging is not easy to do then it will loose its appeal pretty quickly.

Both Blogger and Wordpress have very similar options but both have their differences too.
Take a look at the screen shot below, on the left is blogger and on the right Wordpress the top two screens are the 'create new post' screens and the bottom two screen shots are the display of published posts. This hopefully gives you an idea of the similarities/differences between the two.


click to enlarge

Other differences between WordPress and Blogger are the customisation options, and the way in which to set up and move around the items on your blog, I will cover more detailed tutorials for customising your blog in another post, but here is a couple more screen shots to see if either platform instantly appeals to you.

click to enlarge

The next important thing to think about is The Terms and Conditions. Both platforms have their own set of Terms and Conditions to take note of when you are using their services.

Wordpress.com state that whilst you are using a free wordpress site you can not accept review items or money in advertising. This may not be something you are interested in to start with but it is worth keeping in mind Read through the full Terms of Service for WordPress.com here

If you decided you do want to venture into making money from your blog, then the way to go from wordpress.com is into self hosted. This is where you pay a hosting company such as TSOHost or GoDaddy a monthly or yearly amount for the space your site is using on the internet, and register your own Domain name. This service can vary in price depending on how much traffic you are expecting and what features you require but basic packages are often all that is needed for a personal blog and these are normally less than £5 per month.

Blogger hosted Blogs are free to use and do not hold the same rules about review items and money from advertising, but as Blogger is part of the google group the terms of service fall part of the Google regulations found here and the specific content policy can be found here

A blogger blog can be given what is called a 'vanity' url, which is where you can register your own web address, that normally costs around £10 per year, to give your blog the professional look, but you are still using bloggers servers to hold all your information.

Once you decide which blog platform you would like to use, then you simply have to sign up for an account, think up a name and start posting!

This Post is part of my Bloggingtips Series for more Blogging help and advise about all things from finding the perfect topic to making money via blogging then please check out the rest of the posts by clicking on the badge below.

What is Blogging?

2013-05-28T21:27:00.001+01:00

For a few years now I have been blogging away on this blog, posting all sorts of bits and bobs focusing on snippets of our life and reviews of the things we all love.

Recently Alot of people have asked me what IS blogging? and Why do it?

So I thought seems as its coming upto my blogs unofficial birthday I would do a series of posts, and hope that they help people out, I will be putting them all together in the top menu so you can look back at them as and whenever you want.

What is blogging?

According to wikipedia; A blog is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order.

To you or me, a blog can be so many different things, but basically a blog is a virtual diary, a notebook where you can scribble all your thoughts and jot down things you don't want to forget and those things you want to remember to tell someone else.

Because a blog is publicly available, anyone can read it, you may find you have a regular set of readers who you can build up new friendships with, or you may find that your random musings are being searched and found from complete strangers.

Blogs can be about anything at all, some are very focused some are just about abit of everything. The one thing to remember is to do what you enjoy, write about the things you like.

So, Why do people blog?

Because blogging is so diverse the reasons are many. Some people love to write, they love to let their thoughts flow onto the paper and feel excitement when someone reads there words. They are creative authors and masters in literature. Others want to share their photos, or family life with friends and relatives, others want to promote a business or have a sort of online portfolio of their talents to help them springboard into new careers.

No matter what your reasons for blogging are there is one thing that is agreed. Blogging is addictive.

For many people they start out blogging, thinking it is a fun way to share some of their words or photos little snippets into their lives, maybe they want to show the cakes they are baking or how they are renovating their house, many blogs start as a personal diary to document a change in someones life, having a baby, buying a new house, moving abroad may all result in someone wanting to write down their thoughts on the new adventure they are on. Other blogs might be to share knowledge, to connect with other people who have similar hobbies and interests. Writing out tutorials on how to craft, cook, fix and find. There is a blog to match everyone.

And once you have started writing down your thoughts, you start to notice other bloggers who are doing something similar. There is always something to learn and a new thing to think about.

Blogging is a hobby which can be as much of a new learning curve as you want, some people love the brain stimulation of learning how to build their own site, learn how to get to grips with up and coming social media and relish in the chance to prove they are doing something constructive.

Others just love to write.

Whatever it is that draws you into starting your own blog, it is something which is very rewarding, and I would encourage anyone to give it ago.

Take a look at my other posts in my Bloggingtips series where I cover how to create a blog, the possibilities of making money from blogging and much much more.

Old Styles - New Fashions

2013-05-28T18:00:00.002+01:00

Fashion has never been one of my strongest points, I somehow managed to get through my tween and teenage years blissfully unaware that what you looked like has a certain amount of impact on how people perceive you.

I was never really the one who wanted to have a certain style of clothes, and wasn't bothered about make up or having a new hair style. In fact as a teenager I was pretty boring!

I was pretty much happy to put on whatever clothes I could find, I was ecstatic when I managed to persuade my mum to buy me a branded pair of Adidas tacksuit bottoms instead of the 2 stripped non branded counterpart but that was about as much as my need to conform went.

My favourite item of clothing, as a fashion un conscious teenager, must have been my denim jacket. In fact I pretty much liked all things denim. Jeans, dungarees everything. Even when denim become abit less fashionable I still hold onto my faithful jacket.


me and my denim

For the past 20 or so years I have not really given fashion a whole lot of thought, my wardrobe consists of clothes which have been brought without any thought other than is it practical, will it last and does it fit, that thought process is what I follow through onto all clothing I buy including that for the children.

So it is a bit of a surprise really to have a daughter who is almost the exact opposite of me.

She loves fashion and wants to be in the know with what the pop stars are wearing, she will read magazines and then pick out outfits to make up her own style, and every month that passes I see her getting more kean to have the latest trend in clothing.

It makes me smile tho as I look through high street shop windows and see lots of denim, including denim dungarees which are making a come back, maybe the fashion scene hasn't changed alot at all since the 1990's and I might have to call into New Look and see if I can find myself some new denim items, in the name of fashion of course!

This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own (and yes that is me in the denim jacket!)

Silent Sunday

2013-05-26T10:22:00.001+01:00

Fashion Designer - Harumika Review

2013-05-25T20:16:00.002+01:00

Chloe is like most pre teen girls, and is just starting to show a real interest in fashion styles. Far more than myself at her age.

She loves to doodle her ideas down and flick through girlie magazines looking at the stars to see what clothes they are wearing.

She loves to put her own outfits together and often makes something far more stylish than I could ever dream up.

So when we were sent some Harumika to review I knew it would be a hit.

I have seen Harumika sets around for the past couple of years and they were on my 'must get some of them for Chloe' list.

The idea is a very simple one, you get a small mannequin, and several fabric squares, and stickers to add to your outfits.

The instructions included are simple, the mannequin has a opening at the back which you can push the material through using the tool provided to hold the fabric pieces in place.

Enabling you to make up outfits with minimum fuss, no glue or scissors needed at all, and the great thing is that you can remove and re do your outfit as many times as you want, each time you learn new ways to fold and twist the material fastening it into place making totally unique styles.

Chloe simply loves this.

And she has spent longer making outfits than she has spent doing any single activity in a very long time.

The sets come in different sizes, the starter sets included one mannequin, 3 fabric pieces and a couple of accessories (a belt, and piece of lace) and 2 packs of stickers, and the different start sets come in different themes, the theme we received is the summer carnival set which features bright coloured fabric. These sets are prices around £11 which I think is great value for money.

You can then purchase additional fabric and accessories in various packs starting from around £7 or you can simply use any spare material or ribbon you have around the home.

There are also more deluxe sets with additional features, these go up in price depending on what you receive.

Overall we are impressed with Harumika and think it is a great gift for all tweens who are into fashion designing, you can also share your creations online with other young designers to get feedback on your creations or inspiration.

Harumika is a brilliant boredom buster and a fantastic school holiday activity. Right now at The Entertainer toy shop and online, you can get some fantastic savings on Harumika, with as much as 60% off certain sets, if you want something to keep the children happy this bank holiday then do give this a look!

Here is Chloe showing you how to make a simple outfit.

Lego Duplo Number Train Review

2013-05-24T12:48:00.000+01:00

We are huge Lego fans here, my boys always favour Lego over pretty much all other products.

However the standard Lego that everyone knows and loves is not suitable for younger children, with the tiny bricks and fiddly bits. But there is an alternative to the small bricks of Lego that is perfect for pre school children - Duplo!

We have had numerous Duplo sets over the years including a box of bricks which came from my own childhood days, thats how resilient Duplo is. It is the toy which lasts and lasts and gets saved and stored and passed down through generations. A true timeless classic.

So when we were asked if we would like to take a look over the Duplo Number Train, I couldn't resist even tho I no longer have preschool aged children of my own.

When we received the box my 6 year old couldn't resist building up the train and giving it his seal of approval, I also know that my nieces and nephews will simply love this set. (I am passing it on to them to also review on their mums blog which she is just setting up, please do take a look - Mummy Wilkinson)

The Duplo number train has bright coloured bricks which are perfectly handsized,comes complete with one figure and a dog. The bricks snap together with ease, and the possibilities become endless as children can build big towers or create scenes from their own imagination.

The figures and bricks in Duplo sets are similar to that found in the more grown up versions of Lego, but obviously chunkier, the figure in Duplo are approx 2 inches high and although they have the same characteristics as the small figures, with jointed parts, Duplo figures do not come apart. Which means they are safe for young children.

The bricks have the same interlocking design as their smaller counterparts, with the iconic round studs on the top. The average sized Duplo brick is around 1 inch square, and the train bases are approx 5 inches in length, these classic base bricks with wheels are exactly the same as I remember as a child and they are great you can build up a car, truck, tractor whatever your imagination can create.

The number Train boost the added benefit of having numbered bricks, so whilst children are playing they can also familiarise themselves with numbers adding even more educational benefits to this classic good fun toy.

Priced at £12.99 at most good toy shop this is a really great value set, and is a staple for every toy box. The sturdy quality of the plastic bricks are almost indestructible, and almost every aged child from the very youngest to, well I am not afraid to admit that I still can't resist playing with Duplo myself, will love these bricks. proving this fantastic toy really does hold its appeal.

There are lots of other Duplo sets too so you can add to your collection over the years as your children grow and develop their building skills, the more bricks you get the more you can create. A perfect way to introduce children to the wonder of Lego whilst helping their imagination and hand eye co ordination. Take a look at the Duplo Website to see what other sets are available.

Bike rides and Shiloutte photos

2013-05-22T21:44:00.000+01:00

If there is one thing I have always enjoyed is bike rides.

There is something about the simplistic nature of getting on a bike and just riding off.

I remember when the eldest two got their first bikes and I was so very pleased when they peddled off into the distance with a new sense of freedom, memories of my own childhood and how riding my bike was the greatest thing.

Then last year, when my youngest got a new bike and learnt to ride without stabilisers proudly following his brother and sister. My heart once again surged with pride. His legs going as fast as possible to keep up.

Over the winter the bikes have not made many appearances, but the other day we got them out, checked them over and have been riding them again. Mikey has loved going on his bike and we've been riding to school each day this week.

Boys and their bikes make the best photos too, at the weekend when Mikey wanted to go to the park for a ride after tea, after a dull and miserable day, I grabbed my camera and off we went. The late afternoon moody skies were perfect and I just loved the photographs I captured.

School trips and packed lunches

2013-05-21T21:30:00.000+01:00

We were asked to trial Flora butter products as a part of a sponsored shop insight study on behalf of Collective Bias Social Fabric community. I decided to swop my normal butter for Flora to pack a healthy lunch for my youngest on his school trip to the science museum. With a busy day out it is essential that children have something healthy to keep them going.

I often struggle with what things to pack into a lunch box, so I had a look over at the Flora website which has some great recipes and ideas perfect for healthy snacks to go in lunch boxes.

The website has a great selection of sandwich fillings which I hadn't thought of trying before with the children such as Pawn and cucumber or curried chicken and apricot. All these sounds lovely but when out on a school trip I wanted to ensure that we went with something I know Mikey likes. I decided to pack him up a Tuna Salad sandwich, making it even healthier by using Flora spreads.

Flora spreads are made using a blend of natural seed oils and contain healthy omegas 3 and 6 also boasting that Flora has 70% less Saturated Fat than butter, switching from Butter to Flora means you can make your lunch boxes healthier without your children even noticing. I must admit we are all huge real butter fans but Flora Buttery really does taste as good, so you can have it without the guilt that comes when you use real butter.

After deciding on our fllings and eager to give Flora a try, Me and Mikey headed off to our local Sainsburys which is a smaller than average shop to grab the lunchbox essentials, including Mikey in the shopping always makes him eager to eat everything in his lunchbox.I took lots of photos while we shopped, you can take a look at them in my Google+ album

I wanted to ensure Mikey had a healthy lunch and so we brought plenty of salad, tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce, coupled with tinned Tuna and sweetcorn for the filling. Of course the best part of a packed lunch, according to children, are the snacks to go along side the sandwich. Mikey picked out some Fromage Frais tubes and some flapjack bites along with an apple to finish off his lunch.

If I'd of been more prepared I would of baked my own flapjack using Floras new Cuisine which has 45% less saturated fat than olive oil, but for now Sainsburys ready made flapjack fit the bill, I will however be giving the flapjack recipe on Floras Website a try when we are not on a time scale for a school trip.

Mikey was really happy with his lunch box and couldn't wait to go and explorer the science museum this morning. I was happy that he had plenty of food to ensure he could enjoy the day without hunger getting in the way.

When he returned home this afternoon the lunchbox was empty and Mikey had had a lovely day, he returned home full of stories of the things they had seen.

The Birmingham science museum is a great place for a school trip, Mikey favourite part of the day was the play area which he said had a water area and lots of cars to fix. He was also eager to show me the souvenirs he brought home which included a postcard with a picture of an old Electric Tram which they had all seen at the museum.

ThinkTank looks a fantastic day out not just for school trips but as a family too, after Mikey being so excited about all that he saw I have looked at the website and found that lots of the hands on workshops are available to everyone at a reasonable price. It is certainly somewhere I will try to take all of the children too this summer.

If you have a school trip or a family day out that you need a picnic lunch for coming up and wonder what sandwich fillings to try then do check out the recipe on Floras website and make a sandwich a really satisfying healthy meal choice for everyone in your family.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Family ties that are broken

2013-05-20T17:58:00.002+01:00

Today is my Grans birthday, I have written before about my Gran, the wonderful memories I have and the sadness it brings to see her grow older and unable to do the things she once so loved.

The pain in her eyes is ever present and it doesn't help matters that the relationships between my mum and and my uncles is strained to say the least.

Trouble from years gone by pops up and haunts them all. As families go ours is rather broken.

But at the centre of it all is an elderly lady.

A lady who no matter what, has always helped and cared and tried her best.

8 years ago we held a surprise party for my Gran for her 70th Birthday

It was a rare get together which saw half of the family in the same room. Where everyone managed to smile and get along, just for the day. I wrote and printed out a poem for her that day:

The years since have not been kind. A fire destroyed not only my Gran and Grandads possessions but burnt even more bridges between their feuding children. Jealousy, Greed and lack of communications making small problems into huge mountains. The traits I despise most coming out in all those people I am closest too.

This weekend has been a tough one, my Grandad has been unwell and rushed to hospital.

Not only is there now worry about his health, but also the care that is needed for my Gran in his absence.

Every time something is brought up the family ties that should hold people together in a time of need are there strangling anyone who tries to do some good.

Today, my Grans birthday, but no party, the same set of family from 8 years ago once again in the same room but not under such pleasant circumstances.

Tomorrow is another day, and life passes too fast.

If only those that matter most could realise that the thing that ties them all together, are worth so much more than the bitter squabbles and angry words.

Sonic Blasting Iron Man 3 - Review

2013-05-19T09:12:00.000+01:00

Iron Man is a hugely successful Marvel super heros character along with the rest of the Avengers and all the super heros are always popular with children and adults alike. With the release of Iron Man 3 film in cinemas right now it seems Iron Mans popularity won't fade any time soon.

So when we were sent a huge 15 inch Iron man figure to review my boys couldn't wait to have a look.

The box is a good size, and iron man is clearly visible in all his glory.

The figure comes needing a slight bit of assembling - just simply clipping on his two feet, and he requires 3 AA batteries which do not come included.

The similarities to the action figure that children will be familiar with is amazing, and you can see the attention to detail on this figure. The eyes and centre of chest light up blue and he makes great action firing sounds.

Iron Man comes with enough bullets so that you can afford to loose a couple (and that happens within a few minutes normally!) the firing sonic blasting arm works really well it turns and pops out a bullet every few seconds, the bullets fire a fair distance but are not powerful enough to cause damage to people or breakables so its a safe toy to play with indoors.

This figure is a great toy and one that my boys have picked up a fair few times, and hes been packed up for trips to grannies too which means he is well approved of. He also makes a great display model, standing steadily by himself he is perfect to display on a shelf, so has appeal to the older super hero fans too.

Priced fairly average for a figure of this size at around £29.99 from all good toy shops, Iron man 3 sonic blasting figure would make a nice present for all the Avenger Super Hero fans.

Silent Sunday

2013-05-19T00:07:00.000+01:00

Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Jigsaw

2013-05-12T19:36:00.004+01:00

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been popular since the 1980's it has had peaks in its popularity throughout my childhood and now it is popular again.

The fun story of mutant turtles fighting crime is one that appeals to children from all generations, with lots of toys and themed products to match the new release of TV episodes which are currently showing on Nickelodeon. Its easy to see why children love these turtle heros.

We were sent a Ravensburger Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Jigsaw puzzle to have a look at.

This puzzle is aimed at children aged around 8 years old, it has 200 pieces and once complete is approx 36 x 49 cm which is a lovely size.

The picture depicts all four of the turtles along with the baddies including Shredder!

This puzzle is great quality like all Ravensburger jigsaws and it really is a perfect boredom buster for those horrible rainy days.

My 6 year old enjoyed having a good go at completing this puzzle and managed with my help, but the age of 8 is about right if you want them to complete this alone. The pieces are around 2 cm each and there is a large dark area on this puzzle making it slightly harder than some others in the ravensburger range.

If you have a Turtle fan this would be perfect present, something that will be enjoyed and after you have finished you could even glue it and hang it on the wall.

We really loved this puzzle and its one we have redone several times. Why not pop over to Ravensburger Puzzle club to see all the other puzzles being reviewed. And Follow Ravensburger on Twitter to be kept upto date with new releases and competitions.