Me, The Man & The Baby: April 2010

Friday, 30 April 2010

My Addiction

I have a addiction and I know I should do something about it , now before you assume it's twitter or even facebook - it's not. I can control that addiction (she says as she switches back & forth to see if anyone has tweeted her!) .

Now this addiction is getting out of control , I'm buying it daily like its going out of fashion and I'm even starting to buy in bulk.
I ran out of it the other day and it was like the world was coming to a end , I need that fix of it.

I cant even take substitutes as I notice the difference, its needs to be the real thing.

As I sit writing this I have some next to me, I can hear it calling my name, reeling me in!

I'm starting to worry about my health as I'm starting to consume more & more each day. My poor teeth - there's only so much sugar they can take.
What about my poor organs? Those fizzy bubbles must be doing something bad to them.

But how can I say no to a refreshing glass of Coke Cola?

What are you addicted too? Shopping? Food? Twitter? Blogging?

PS This isn't a sponsored post - I just wanted to share my addiction with you!

PSS.. Coke Cola is your reading this , please feel free to drop a lorry load of coke cola off at my house anytime. ;)

Thursday, 29 April 2010

I'm Going To CyberMummy With Huggies

I've been lucky enough to be chosen to be a Huggies Mum along side some fantastic Mummys/Bloggers :

Bump 2 Basics

Baby Genie

Glowstars

Young and Younger

A Place Of My Own

A Mothers Ramblings

Perfectly Happy Mum

WAHM-BAM

The Alice

Huggies have also kindly sponsored us all to go to CyberMummy 2010 in July.

I'm so excited about going to CyberMummy , I cant wait to meet the bloggers behind the blogs that I have been reading/commenting on over the last year. These bloggers are Women that I now consider to be friends of mine, and it will be fantastic to actually share a glass (or several!) of wine with them!

Will I be seeing you at CyberMummy 2010?

Thank You Huggies! :)

Monday, 26 April 2010

Maclaren Quest Zodiac

When my pram decided to breakdown on me , Maclaren came to my rescue with the new Quest Zodiac.

And it was love at first sight , a pram covered in stars - what a way to stand out from the crowd. It comes in a fantastic navy colour and the inside of the hood (which is waterproof) has images of the solar system which looks amazing to me & Oli.

It's a lightweight pram , coming from a using/carrying a big pram to this one was a shock to the system. I couldn't believe how easy it was to fold one handed and carry. Even more of a shock was how little room it took up in the boot. We could of fit about 3o of them in there!

Simple to push & so gentle , you don't notice that your pushing it unlike some prams which are a total mission to push & give you one major backache.

It has 4 recline positions , perfect for either sitting Oli up to see the world or straight back to nap - and with a starry night sky hood , how can he not fall asleep!

It's suitable from 3 month's to 4 years , seeing as Oli is one - he's the perfect age for it. He cant see the world from where he's sat and he's added added some of his toys to the sides to play with. He's also jazzed it up with a sun parasol in time for this beautiful weather and come winter we plan on buying one of the faux fur footmuffs to keep him warm & cosy.

You can order a comfort pack which consists of a head pad & shoulder pads , This can be personalized with your child's star sign.

The shopping basket is fantastic, enough room to store baby things (nappies & bottles) and your shopping. The other day I had a family sized picnic & a football stored in it to go the the park!

This is such a great pram & I cant recommend it enough to you. It's perfect for these summer days , taking on holiday with you , spare pram at the grandparents or even to use as a everyday pram like I am.

Friday, 23 April 2010

Chocolate & Love

Who would be silly enough to turn down a opportunity to review chocolate?

I got sent a few bars of Chocolate & Love to try out & to give some honest feedback about. I received some Chocolate & Love k. Now I have to admit I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate, but when your a chocolate fan getting sent any kind of chocolate you just cannot resist having a nibble!

What did we think?

Crushed Diamonds - Organic dark truffle chocolate with cocoa nibs

As soon as you bite into this bar - crunch! This one was my favorite , the cocoa nibs really do give you that something extra - much more interesting & exciting then a normal plain chocolate bar.
It was smooth with a crunch - your have to taste it yourself to know what I'm on about!

Nirvanabar - Organic dark chocolate

If your into plain chocolatey goodness then this is the bar for you. Simple & sweet is the way to describe this bar. It's not as bitter as I thought it was going to be which is what normally puts me off eating dark chocolate.

Orange Mantra - Organic dark chocolate with natural orange oil

Such a fantastic fine texture to this bar , so fruity & delicious. It leaves you with a fresh after taste. You could easily just forget your eating a chocolate bar and assume your eating a orange - why not class it as one your 5 a day! ;)

The Coffee Affair - Organic dark chocolate with coffee

The way I summed this chocolate bar up was that it is a mug of coffee but in chocolate form! What better way to combine two of our (yes, I know there's some coffee fans out there! Especially you rocking back & forth because you've not had a cup yet!) favorite things - Coffee & Chocolate. Such a great way to get your coffee fix.

Conscious Chocolate - RAW mint hint

Such a soft delicate chocolate bar , definitely one for big chocolate fans that do like to experience all those different chocolaty tastes/varieties.
But I'm still undecided to if I like it or not - I love chocolate & I love mint but there's just something to this bar . It describes it on the website 'This bar is as creamy as it is minty leaving you with an amazingly clean and refreshing taste that doesn't overpower.'
The packaging is great , handmade & kept it fresh.

Check out the Chocolate & Love website - www.chocolateandlove.com

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Who Is Reading Your Blog?

Does it bother you who reads your blog?

Most of us share it publicly with the world wide web. We have URL'S easily accessed by anyone that was to do a search online for the content in our blogs.
Some of us even share it with friends & family but then there's some of us who only want to share it with other Mummy/Daddy bloggers. Some shout about it from the top of rooftops whilst others open us separate facebook/twitter accounts in fear of someone we know finding out about our blogging/blogs.

I am one of those people like I've said before in my blog that doesn't wish to share my blog with anyone I know other then my OH. If so I would like to keep it as private as possible without it being private .. know what I mean?

It does bother me if someone I know was to read my blog without asking me if its alright to do so , I know it's there online for anyone to read but wouldn't it be polite of a person to ask if its ok to read it?

I want to feel free to write about whatever I like and for it not to have consequences/questions being bought up.

The last few days I've not wanted to write anything , I didn't have the urge to and I knew what I would end up writing wouldn't be meaningful to anyone. It would be as if I was just blogging fort eh sake of it. I've not wanted to share anything personal over the last couple of days. I felt I could come here and share whatever I wanted too.. Have I lost that now?

After all I did start it off as a diary and I still see it as that but I see it as a diary that I share with other Mummy's who I've invited to come & read.

I know there's chance anyone I know can find my blog but that's a slim chance - what about when someone purposely comes to your blog? What do you do then?

Thursday, 15 April 2010

Customer Service

Good customer service plays such a important part in today's world , don't you think?

Receiving fantastic customer service can make you smile & even make your day but then receiving bad customer service can really get to you and make your day totally crap. In the last couple of weeks I've received both good & bad customer service which I'll tell you about.

The first being from a pizza delivery service. We had ordered a deal we saw online via the phone and when it arrived parts of the deal didn't come with it , I questioned the delivery driver who argued with me that it wasn't included , despite me - the customer insisting that it was. I was so annoyed with being argued with , being in customer service roles myself I have always learnt to never argue with a customer as it really isn't good customer service! Next day I lodged a email with them , which is rare for me to do but hormones being hormones I ventured my anger at being argued with in this email.

The response was apologies and the manager of our local store even delivered a box of chocolate as well as vouchers for free pizzas. Now that's good customer service , it wiped away any bad feelings I had towards them and it even made me feel guilty about complaining!

Bad customer service is when someone doesn't help you , just gives you a straight answer of no without even attempting to help you. What makes it worse is knowing that the person could of helped as you worked for this particular catalogue shop before and knew what route could of been taken to of helped me.

I was querying to a ex catalogue product which was still in the shop in a clearance sale, I had left my reservation number at home. I had told the woman this in between the screams and cries of Oli who wasn't happy to be in his pram and in a hot store. All I wanted was this gift that I had found online which would of been perfect for Oli's friend who was turning 1. She insisted I needed the reservation number which I repeatedly explained I had left at home. She could of easily helped me as the shop was quiet , she could of used a computer there to find the item , grabbed a old catalogue (it was cat launch day so they would of still had a old cat somewhere!) or even searched for my reservation on the computer .

If I wasn't so angry at this Woman's refusal to help me I would of asked for a manager but I just wanted to get out of the shop , of course after screaming & ranting on my way out that another shop was now getting my money.

The other half was genuinely shocked when we had left that shop at my reaction and how I had exploded after not getting what i wanted, but isn't good customer service everything these days.. Not just to get the sales but to be polite to another human being? It's just like opening a door for someone or giving up your seat. Shouldn't we go out of our way to help another human being?

No matter where you shop , even if it's online dont you expect to receive good customer service?

Have you got any experience of good/bad customer service? How does it leave you feeling when you experience either good or bad?

Sunday, 11 April 2010

Oli's 1st Birthday

Excuse my lack of blogging/blog reading this weekend, I've had a weekend full of party preparation . I didn't quite realize how much was involved in a party. Remind me next year to start planning his 2nd Birthday Party at least a month before the occasion!

From making the food to washing down the outdoor toys , it's been a long week/weekend. I spent the whole of the day before on my feet getting last minute things ready all for just 2 hours on the actual day which just flew by. By the time we had arrived , played , sang happy birthday and ate lots of food it was soon time to clear up and go home.

It was a great two hours though! We had hired out the closest hall we could find to us and filled it with every toy/object Oli owned and then packed it full of his friends (well the ones that turned up! ~~I wont go out about how annoyed I was about people saying yes they would come the day before and not turning up after all the effect I went too to make sure there party bags were suitable!~~ )

Oli enjoyed himself , as soon as we bought him into the hall he went WALKING (He can walk!! :D) off to play with his friends & the toys.

Friday, 9 April 2010

Our House

If there is a big pile of washing up in the corner of the kitchen , please turn a blind eye. We only ever do it we've ran out of plates/cutlery even then we resort to take-away to avoid the washing up.

If you place a mobile down anywhere in my house dont expect it to be if there when you go back to it. If the child has not chewed it/placed it in his toy-box then the Man of the house will have it & will most likely be txting your boss telling him how much you like anal.

If you go to sit on the sofa and find it's dirty with tiny hand shape yogurt marks then please turn it over , if then the other side is dirty - please shout for assistance who will come & cover it with a blanket until she can be bothered to wash the covers.

If the child has a dirty nose/face. So be it. Unless you want to deal with his screams & cries as you try to wipe - have a go! But to be honest it's none of your business.

There will be numerous wires trailing around the house , this is due to the Man of the house and his poor DIY skills. Please dont sue if you trip & fall.

Cant see the TV? No your not going blind , It's most likely covered in porridge/weetabix and will must likely be cleaned when the Woman of the house finds it annoying.

BUT you will be greeted warmly , maybe even with a hug!
And I will get the kettle on for you/hand you a glass of wine (depending on what time of the day it is!) and I will entertain you as best as I can!

Thursday, 8 April 2010

Mistakes

There's one mistake you make as a mother , that once you've made - you'll never do it again!

And what mistake did I make to bring you this warning post?

I gave Oli a chocolate biscuit ( yes , I know.. bad mother its not a healthy snack!) and it wasn't just a normal choccy biscuit - It was a double chocolate with chocolate filling.

BIG mistake.

Next time I'll stick to carrot sticks!!

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Earning Cash From Home

No this isn't a sponsored post! My blogging tips went down so well that I thought I would try giving some more tips - This time on how to earn money from home.

I've used my own knowledge , ideas & pages I have found on the Internet to bring these ideas to you. If I've used a site or if the word is highlighted then clicking on it will take you to the relevant page.

Mystery Shopping - Like shopping? Then why not get paid to do it. You get sent undercover into shops/restaurants/pubs & even nightclubs to check if the staff are doing there jobs right and on the upkeep of the place. Check out Retail Eyes , Amber Arch , Quality Eye , Grass Roots , Retail Active , JKS and GFK for mystery shopping jobs.

Survey's - YouGov , Toluna , Global Test Market , Valued Opinions , Springboard UK and Ipsos Access Panels are all sites in which you can take part in surveys, give feedback and even receive stuff to review. They either pay in cash or in vouchers.

Distributing - You know those annoying leaflets (apart from the take-way ones that actually get stuck to the fridge!) well someone has to deliver them , why not make that someone you!
Ask in your local take-ways/small business or check out Mailbox Nationwide
It would also be a great way to get rid of that post-baby weight by walking it off.

Housekeeping - Have you got any neighbours willing to let you do their ironing for a small fee? What about dog walking - could take a dog with you when you go for a walk with the pram.

PA/Telecommuting/Secretarial Etc.. - If have Internet access and a computer then your all set up for some online work - this can vary from secretarial work to proofreading. Maybe even some freelance writing work - why not put your blogging skills to use! :)
Check out workingmums.co.uk for a whole stack of work from home jobs.

Sales - I'll start with Avon , earn money by selling beauty products that are not available in the shops. Become a Representative and sell to your family, friends or work colleagues.

Ann Summers - Become a Ann Summers organiser and you can work whenever & wherever you want , meet new people , earn money & have lots of fun.

Partylite - If your into candles & home accessories then why not become a partylite consultant .

Some more sales opportunities with : Usborne , Betterware , Kleeneze , Mary Kay , Wikaniko and The Body Shop .

Money Back When You Shop - It' free to join Kidstart and how it works is that you shop as normal online and then you get a % of what you spend back. You can save it and even invite friends & family to to help you save.
Check it out!! :)

Selling Online - Ever since I was 16 I've been selling (and buying!) from Ebay , I consider myself to be a genius at selling my unwanted items - I don't think I've not sold a item yet!
I could talk/give so many tips about selling (and again buying!) on Ebay that I would turn this into one major long blog post! I'll either save that for another post or feel free to email me.

Preloved - I used this site to sell a old pram of mine , great easy to use system with the ability to see what items are for sale in your local area. Easy to upload photos & information of items your wishing to sell.

Online Freebies - Just wanted to add this site to my post , Magic Freebies is a site I've been using for over a year and I have received so many things via the site. I have joined up to those sites like See Film First but never get sent any codes for it , Magic Freebies seem to always have those codes!
Sign up to the daily emails , you never know what useful freebie might crop up!!

I could babble all day about other useful tips/sites to help you earn money from home but I'll leave it there for now, Hope some of these have been helpful.

Monday, 5 April 2010

Scooby - Doo! Abracadabra - Doo

TV is a big thing in our house , and when we're not watching it Oli is and even though Oli may not even be able to say anything (apart from Mama & Dadda) or even quite walk yet this doesn't stop him from letting us know what he wants to watch on the TV.

We've introduced him already to many of our childhood faves but was yet to introduce him to Scooby - Doo. That was until we got sent Scooby - Doo! Abracadabra - Doo , Scooby's new animated movie to review.

Oli may only be One and a few years younger then the recommended age but he loves his programs (future TV critic?) . He will let me know if he finds a certain program boring or unexciting as he will bring the remote to me - subtle hint for me to turn it over!

About Scooby - Doo! Abracadabra

Scooby-Doo and the gang go on a trip to check on Daphne's sister, Melissa. She's been studying magic at the Whirlen Merlin Magic Academy. Apparently there's been trouble at the Academy. Sightings of a giant dragon have been scaring all the students away. The gang smells trouble and decides to investigate

And what did We/Oli think of the film?

We found it to be the perfect family film to watch on a Sunday afternoon , There's such a element of fun to it that even Oliver at the age of One found funny & entertaining.
He giggled away at Scooby- Doo , I think he found the concept of a talking dog hilarious!
From start to finish we were entertained , we didn't realize how much fun watch a film together was. (Note for next time - prepare Scooby snacks!)
The plot to this Scooby - Doo Film is fantastic - You will not be disappointed. We meet new characters such as Velma's sister Madelyn.

Matthew Lillard is the voice for Shaggy - he actually played Shaggy in the non-animated Scooby - Doo films. He certainly brings Shaggy to life in the Abracadabra as much as he did in Scooby - Doo The Movie.
The animation is great and the film was great with keeping up with the times.. we see both a mobile phone & satnav in the opening scenes!

Oli can now add Scooby-Doo to his forever growing film collection (honestly his DVD pile is bigger then ours!)

We highly recommend it to everyone from age 1 to 100+ !!

It's a great family classic in film form , what more could you ask for?

Sunday, 4 April 2010

Little Ones Clothing

We got sent the cutest little red top from Little Ones Clothing for Oli to model & review. It was the perfect t-shirt to send Oli as his favorite colour is red and he gets rather excited when you dress him in red clothes. At least he already knows his colours!

It's a great quality T-Shirt and it will survive his constant crawling/walking battles . The colours and pattern are fantastic. I'm a big fan of colourful clothes with funky pictures so this top defiantly was a hit with me! :)

You can buy this Minoti 'Beep Beep' Red Applique T-Shirt on the website for just £4.50 , it comes in sizes 6-12 mths , 12-18 mths and 18-23mths and It's also available in blue.

We're planning on buying him the matching trousers to go with the top!! Minoti 'Beep Beep' Cargo trousers

I highly recommend Little Ones Clothing , We've been buying Oli clothes from them since Christmas. And each time received high standards - The items are quick to arrive and they are always true to there word , The clothes are always what they look like & described as on the website.

Here's Oli in his In The Night Garden PJ's which we bought from the sale section back in January.

www.littleonesclothing.co.uk

Twitter -

Disorganization

I cant believe how quickly times has gone , a week today my little baby who isn't really a little baby anymore) turns ONE! This year has been the best year of my life but I'll save those details for a special birthday post next week.

But what I will bored you with is my party woes , Oli's party is also a week today on his actual Birthday and have I planned anything? NO! Nothing at all is in stone for his party , I've not even handed in the hall deposit yet - I know its booked but I really should get the deposit over to the Vicar's wife ASAP.

Am I disorganized? Extremely!! I have never been much of a organized person , and with my Open University course starting in May I should really kick my ass into gear and do something about my disorganization! As far as I got sorting out my future studying is a post it note on the fridge telling me to buy folders for my work. What about studying materials? Books? Asking on freecycle for a printer?

I'm good at making lists , but whats the point in making those lists if I'm not actually going to follow them? I have a list which says - Music , Party Bags , Decorations , Food , Birthday Cake , RSVP'S & Oli's Birthday Presents. Your thinking how hard can that be? For me - very hard! Is it because this is my first time at planning a party/having someone I gave birth to become another year older?

Does it get easier when it comes to the 6th or 7th party? Is this my practice run? I know it's no super sweet 16 but it's his first birthday party and I want him to look back at the photo's when he's older and know that his Mother really did want it to be special. Yes part of me wanting it to be such a good day is that Oli's been to a few 1st Birthdays now and all were such great parties , plenty of food and fun for all the children there. Why am I feeling the need to match up to these? Money may of not been a object for them but come Tues once we've paid some bills, I think we may have exactly £50 to purchase everything on my list , including presents for Oli for his birthday.

I know part of this is my own fault for leaving it to the last week , Was I fooling myself with thinking that his 1st Birthday would never come along - that he would stay a baby forever?

If anyone has any tips on how to get myself more organized & how to plan a last minute budget party I would love to hear them!!

Friday, 2 April 2010

Chugga ..Chugga .. Choo... Choo..

The prompt I chose from It's a Mummy's Life new Little Film Club this week was number 2: Happiness but I suppose it could also be classed as number 3: Excitement.

The idea is that you pop along to It's a Mummy's Life on the Monday where Holly will display some prompts, we then go off and make a little video in relation to those prompts. Then on Friday we go back and share our videos and check out what else everyone has done.

Sounds like fun doesn't it! :)

Here's my entry for this week - My Happy Little Boy

The MAD Awards 2010

Now I'm just going to come out & say it (like I usually do!*)

NOMINATE ME!!

The Mads 2010 is celebrating the best of Mummy & Daddy Blogs . There's 10 different award categories in which you can nominate your choice of bloggers.
I wasn't sure what to think of The MADS at first , but it seems to have taken the parenting blogosphere by storm. Your either nominating or have been nominated .

Thank You if you were the wonderful person/persons that have already nominated me in the following categories :

Funniest MAD Blog , Best MAD Baby Blogger & Best New MAD Blogger .

These are fantastic categories to of been nominated in! It makes me giggle to think that I've been put forward for funniest MAD blog , and I would love to win in that category - £200 John Lewis vouchers would do nicely towards a house that needs decorating!

Please dont even think about nominating me for the BIG one - , as I know some blogs that truly deserve this award. If you ask I might whisper to you who I think should win!

Now I'm not going to beg ~~pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaseeeee , pretty please~~ or bribe ~~I will give you a hundred pounds & a gold coin~~ you !!

But if you feel that I'm at all worth for any of those nomination's then feel free to nominative me!

I have recently changed my URL from http://pokeintheeyewithastick.blogspot.com/ to https://methemanandthebaby.com/It's still in transaction as blogger keeps reminding me so you may not be able to access my blog just yet with it's new URL. But I have informed The MADS of my new URL so it doesn't matter which one you have voted for me under as both will get added up together!

And you know what? Even if I dont get in the top 5 in any categories , I'm extremely proud to of been nominated and that to me that is amazing! :)

I know this is going to be one tough competition , There are some amazing blogs out there! Some who I'd rather see win over me as they deserve it 10x more.

Emma xx

*I swear I used to be shy before I started this blogging lark!

Thursday, 1 April 2010

Ped Egg

Awarded Product of the Year in the beauty grooming category, the Ped Egg has taken the UK by storm with 2.5 million sold in less than eighteen months.

The egg-shaped foot file gently removes calluses, corns and hard dry skin to reveal baby soft heels and toes. Its oval shape means you can collect shavings in a pod without leaving a mess.

It fits into the palm of your hand and is easy and comfortable to use use.

After using it we’d recommend you moisturise your feet and pop on some socks. It should also only be used once a fortnight.

It comes in a range of colours including a pastel pink and a clinical white.

And what do I make of The Ped Egg?

WOW... It actually works! I knew it was going to work but I didn't know how well it was going too! Before I used the Peg Egg on my foot it was rather rough & hard , dry skin was not the word for it - it was another layer of skin has just taken over my feet. Now I know your going ERRGHHH , but I know I'm not the only woman out there with hard skin on her feet!

When I first saw the Ped Egg after taking it out the packaging , I instantly thought - it's a cheese grater for my feet! The other half was also intrigued to this new gadget and being the big tough guy he is , he rubbed it up & down his arm. After not seeing his grimacing in pain and having him tell me it was more of a tickle then anything , I proceeded to take it to my foot.

I started with my heel seeing as that was the most hard skin effected area , It didn't feel rough on my skin at all! More of a massage then anything , I found it quite relaxing scrubbing away with my little Ped Egg and before I knew it the roughness had disappeared , this is where I got the other half to feel my heel who was equally shocked at the difference (he then asked if I wanted to do his , but it would take a miracle for me to go near his feet!) . My foot now felt soft & smooth now that extra layer of skin had gone .

It had worked instantly unlike the cream that I've been rubbing into them everyday!

The shock didn't stop at how well it had worked - when I opened up the ped egg , inside was all that dry/hard/rough/bad skin. Yet again URRGH but WOW!

I seriously recommend this if you have any dry skin at all on your feet, I now dont feel quite so embarrassed about my feeties any more.

I now have flip - flop perfect feet just in time for the summer! :)

Watch The Ped Egg in action (and no it's not me , I dont think my feet on camera will appeal to you!)

To get the Ped Egg yourself , you can buy it direct from JML or you can buy it from ASDA , Boots or Superdrug at £9.99

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