Me, The Man & The Baby: February 2010

Friday, 26 February 2010

Trivial Pursuit: The Meme

Following on from his success on his Object Meme (Here's mine!) , Tim over at Bringing Up Charlie has created yet another cool Meme.

The Trivial Pursuit Meme

The Mission - Tell us something not a lot of people know.

Who would you say is the largest toy distributer in the world?

Would you say Toys R Us was?

Or Even?

What About?

Maybe?

Well surprisingly the largest toy distributer in the world is none of those but it is

Which is down the toys that come with the happy meals , I was surprised at first but then thinking back to when I was a little girl . My Mother must of took us to Mcds at least once a week for a Happy Meal and I remember using my pocket money to buy extra toys if I wanted to complete the collection.

So there' s my little piece of Trivial Pursuit.

Friday, 19 February 2010

The Baby Show

Do you remember the other week when I blogged about luck & how I had won some tickets to The Baby Show over on Sparx's blog , Notes From Inside My Head.
Well today was the day of The Baby Show , which is currently being held at ExCel in London until Sunday. I took a friend of mine along & her son.We decided to get the train instead of driving as we thought it be easier and we had found a deal where we could travel to London and back for the bargain price of £10.
Oh boy wasn't we wrong about thinking the train would be easier , We had found out that morning that our local station wasn't included in this deal (after being told it was!) so we had to drive to another station to catch the train from there. This change of station also ruined our plans of getting a straight through train to London.

Oli waiting at the first station

So instead we had to endure many change overs and delayed/canceled trains. We finally got to London about 3 , so unfortunately missed Annabel Kamel and much of the program. But still it wasn't a wasted journey , there was a couple of hours left so we rushed in to make the most of it.

Arriving in London!

Finally at The Baby Show.

I just wish the journey there hadn't been so long & that I hadn't got up at 5am that morning , because by the time we had got in all I wanted to do was go home and rest my tired feet.
There was so much on offer , from Britax prams to advice from midwifes. It was quite overwhelming. It is the perfect place to come if your pregnant/have a newborn baby.
There was one stall where you could travel cots/changing mats/highchairs/slings and all that kind of stuff for some very good prices! Just a shame Oli was at the age where he had most of it!

Despite being tired , I did try my best to take everything in and grasp at everything there was to offer. We did return home with many freebies , my friend bought something from every stall/display we went to! Me on the other hand bought nothing.. I was so occupied with keeping a rather tired/teething Oli occupied that shopping just wasn't possible.

Tired Little Boy!

Oli playing in the Tomy Toy Zone

I don't think we ever wanted to leave , not only because the thought of traveling back home on those horrid trains but because we were in our element surrounded by all these other Mummy's.
I'm gutted that I didn't take more photos when I was inside , but trying to juggle Oli in one arm and push a pram in another was a mission as it was.It's ashame I didn't get to meet some of the other Blogger/twitter Mummy's who I have became friends with over the last few month's . I would say I look forward to meeting you at the Mummy Bloggers Conference coming up but I think I might give London a miss for a year or 10!!
I'm hoping we can return to The Baby Show when it comes to Birmingham in May , as that is only a hour away from us and we might just leave the babies at home this time.

Sleepy Boy

I was so proud of Oliver , he spent the hours of 7am to 3pm and then 5pm to 11pm traveling , this couldn't of been easy for a teething boy who doesn't like being cooped up in his pram.
We learnt that prams & the underground do not mix , not only are you having to squeeze into a train like sardines with Londoner's desperate to get home you have to fight to get a pram up/down a escalator.I think we may leave London until the Boy's are out of prams and able to walk themselves!

Thursday, 18 February 2010

How do you reply?

Quick question for you: How do you reply to comments that are left on your blog posts?

I used to reply to comments left on my blog posts by writing a reply on a blog post of the person who left the comment but I have seen bloggers who comment after wards on there own comment page in response to the person.

I've not lost/confused you yet have I?

I know there are programs like Disqus that make replying to comments easy but I just couldnt get on with it/found it messed up things on my blog so i removed it. I may try it again at some point in the future as it does seem like the best way to interact with the reader.

I feel like it's a must thing to reply to comments unless it is a simply comment which doesn't need a reply, I feel rude if someone went to the effort to read what I wrote, left a comment and then I didn't respond to what they had to say.

Anyone else got any different ways/ideas on how you to reply to comments?

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

Take one cardboard box..

Q. Exactly how much fun can you have with a cardboard box?

A. LOTS!

Friday, 12 February 2010

Green & Blacks

I was lucky enough to have every Women's/Bloggers dream come true and that was to receive a big pile of chocolate in the post. Now of course it didn't just appear , we got sent them by to 'test taste' oh what a hard life it is! ;)

Green & Blacks have recently announced that they are making all their chocolate bars and beverages fairtrade. To me that makes them stand out from the rest of the chocolate you find on the supermarket shelf's , I don't mind paying that extra 10/20p knowing that the cocoa farmers are getting a fair wage from it.

I wanted to get stuck straight in but for once the other half was sensible and explained how I should read the briefing letter before filling my face with Chocolate.
Which was a good idea because on these notes were some suggestions on how to heighten the chocolate tasting experience and how to prepare the chocolate for testing, these can also be found on the .

So now I was a expert in how to eat my chocolate , I started with my favorite Butterscotch which tasted great , the crispy crunchy pieces are just to die for!

The Creamy Milk bar just melts in the mouth , it went down so easily that it was literally just gone in 60 seconds!

Milk was just as good as the creamy , and this to be the easiest chocolate to melt by far . A chocolate that shall not be named takes ages , But just under a minute in the microwave and I had a smooth melted Green & Blacks milk chocolate.

The White one was the other halfs favourite so I did just get 2 pieces from this to taste myself and had to beg for a few more so I could coat the biscuits in it. It was so sweet & milky, It contains real Madagascan vanilla which you can see clearly see in it.

Seeing as the other half doesn't like nuts , I managed to get the Almond bar all to myself , Mmm.. It was packed full of delicious whole roasted Almonds , It wasn't half a job like other nutty chocolate bars, This one had gone the full whack!

I think the Cherry is the perfect diet chocolate , as soon as you bite into it your hit with fruit. This one was juicy & full of flavor. At first when I saw a cherry chocolate bar I didn't think I would like it but it tasted completely different to what I thought it would taste!

Dark 70% was so smooth and full of flavour, It defiantly had those bittersweet chocolate aromas.

Now I'm not normally a dark chocolate fan but Dark 85% was just irresistible , the smell of it just roped me in. I think I may of gone over to the dark side!

Whilst searching the I came across some rather and of course with the amount of chocolate I had received , I just had to use some on a recipe.
I chose the as I could use different chocolate and plus it was the easiest for a amateur cook like me to make!

Here's my attempt at making them, Yes I know they look completely different to the ones in the picture but they still taste rather nice , cant wait to make them again!

If you click on the link it will bring up the recipe for you to make them yourselves.

I'm off to finish off the leftover chocolate! :)

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Top 10 Most Surreal Mummy Moments

A post which will be submitted for WADS Wives and Daughters Mummy Bloggers Carnival . The topic being your top 10 most surreal Mummy moments .

Hmmmm... This really got me thinking what are most surreal moments since becoming a Mummy?

Well Number One would have to be no longer being pregnant . Those 9 month's were like the longest 9 month's of my life. And then it just took 5 short hours of my life for Oli to come into the world. Now that's definitely the most surreal moment of my Mummy life.

How quick my bump went after giving birth is at Number Two , as soon as he popped out it just disappeared into thin air. (Yes you can hate me!)

Number Three is my boobs .. Woah. Wish the boys , that at school called me all the flat-chested names under the sun could see them now!

Number Four is the amount of toys that just magically appear and grow as fast as Oli does. Our living room went from a big empty space to a little space with toys , tables and ride on's everywhere.

Leaving Oli for the first time is my Number Five , I felt like I had lost something all night - I kept checking my pockets & my purse but it wasn't something I had lost , it was just that feeling of not having Oli close to me.

Meeting other Mummy's would have to be Number Six , the friendships I have created with these kinda Women are different to the friendships I have with other Women - I have one major thing in common with these Women.

Following on from that at Number Seven is Blogging . Being able to share my thoughts & feelings to other Mummy's that are experiencing the same things and can share feedback is amazing. Being able to read other Mummy Blogs is just as fantastic , I love being part of the Mummy Blogging community.

Number Eight is how quickly you become a expert at changing a nappy in seconds , juggling a thousand things in your hand at once , Cbeebies , Nappy rash cream , weaning , breast & bottle feeding .. The list could go on & on...

Number Nine is milestones , being able to experience and watch all of Oli's firsts have been great . Being there to watch him roll over for the first time , crawl , babble and even now watching him learn to walk... It's simply breathtaking!!

Lastly at Number Ten is the Love , The unconditional love you feel for this new person in your life. You fall in love with your partners but this Love starts from the moment you find out your pregnant , can even start from the moment you decide to try for a baby. And it continues to grow and grow each day you hold your child in your arms and look into those forever childlike eyes. The Love I have for Oli is the greatest kind of love that is in this world.

Thursday, 4 February 2010

Scones Anyone?

I suppose I'm lucky enough to be in a area where we have a council that gives generously to the local Children's centers. One of the activities that was organized with the money was a cooking session with some WI women , when I got asked if I wanted to take part I couldn't say no , especially when I was told there was a creche and we got to bring home the food we made.

Now I'm no Delia Smith , cooking is like a foreign language to me. But these ladies were wonderful , went through everything step by step with me. An the results? A yummy leek & potato soup and some fruit scones.

I forgot my camera so will take it along next week for some photo's of me in action.

I've also been asked if I want to take part in a Bollywood dance class .. Mmm.. Still yet to decide on that one!

On the way home I stopped off in the local charity shop to check out some books to add to Oli' never ending book collection. Whilst paying for a musical Winnie the pooh book (25p) , I looked through to the backroom where I saw people sorting out new stuff and then something caught me eye. I asked if I could have a look at it , and it was exactly what I thought it was - a pop up play tent! Was rather delighted when they said I could have it for the bargain price of £1.99 , I felt rather guilty for having such a steal so I popped a few quid into the collecting bucket!

Once I got it home I was so excited about showing Oli his new play thing that I popped it straight up , couldn't figure out where the poles went so we're hoping Daddy can help with that when he gets home.

We still had some fun playing in it , they were giggles from us both when it fell down and I had to follow Oli out of a window!

Wednesday, 3 February 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Monday, 1 February 2010

What’s made you feel a little old lately?

There's only one answer for me on what is making me feel a little old lately & that's the boy!

Now I'm not exactly old (Sweet 21) , but Oliver is making the time fly by for me. I got pregnant at 19 & had him when I was 20.

He has suddenly just got old himself. I keep mentioning it in posts about how Oli just seems to be growing and doing something different everyday.
Only this month he's started to walk , say things , learn to wave when people say 'ByeBye' .

We even had to purchase the next stage car seat as his long legs just couldn't cope with his baby car seat anymore.

So my son is making me feel a little old , But I've heard they make you feel more old the older they get. Does this mean I'm going to be really old before my time?

Of course I still remember my childhood seeing as It wasn't that long ago that I was still a child. Having Oli and becoming a Mother has made me grow up alot, Others my age are still at University , traveling the world or working full time and hitting the bars & clubs every weekend.

But I wouldn't change it for the world , I would rather be snuggled up on the sofa chilling on a Saturday night then squeezing my feet into uncomfortable shoes and trudging up town.

I wouldn't change feeling old for anything either , but will I be still saying this in twenty years time?

Subscribe to: