Me, The Man & The Baby: September 2010

Thursday, 30 September 2010

Whatever happened to manners?

I'm a polite person , I'm not bragging but I'm proud to say I have manners and I certainly know how to use them.

When somebody does something for me , I say thank you.

When somebody asks if I would like something and I don't want it , I say no thank you.

If I bump into someone , I say sorry.

If I ask someone for something , I say please.

If someone asks for help , then I help.

These little words do not cost anything to use and they only take a few seconds to say , so why don't people use them?

I got locked out of the house a couple of weeks back , I only had the back door key on me but the gate to our garden was locked. I had Oli with me in his pram and no battery on the mobile, I did attempt to open it but I couldn't quite reach over to do the bolt. Not many of my neighbours are in during the day so couldn't ask one of the familiar ones to help.
Someone a few doors down pulled in to his drive and got out the car , so I shouted over if he could help me. He said no , I was so taken back by his bluntness. I could of needed help for anything , he didn't know that all I needed was a tall man to reach over. It would of took just a few seconds to pop over and help me but he didn't. I grabbed the dustbin and climbed on it and jumped over the fence , I don't recommend doing it in uggs and skirt. It is unsightly and hurts!

Helping people should come naturally , I always try to help when asked and even try to offer it when I see its needed. I'm still feeling guilty from the other day , we went past a woman in her wheelchair in Tesco's and I saw her browsing the tops shelves and not offering to see if she wanted some help. The only thing that stopped me was a crying boy fighting to get out of his pram and a man moaning that he was hungry. I know she probably would of asked for it if she needed some but wouldn't it of been polite of me to offer to help?

Good manners are something which are needed and used on a daily basis , the other half knows he gets nothing from me unless he says please or thank you and we're trying to teach Oli the same thing, he may not quite understand but using the words please and thank you now might help him later on.

I would ask if manners are something you learn from your parents , but mine are some of the

rudest kind of people you could meet. I didn't grow up in a house full of manners , I grew up in a house full of unkindness and swear words.
I learnt for myself that manners are something that get you everywhere and anywhere in life. You wouldn't know I was related to them if you compared the way we speak.

I will try my best to teach my son manners , but like me I hope he learns for himself how important and nice it is to have the right set of manners.

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Apple Crumble Cupcakes

September's bake it challenge from Cooking , Cakes & Children was Apple Crumble Cupcakes , as soon I saw Amy's picture I couldnt wait to make them. The fact I was staying at Vic's ( Glowstars ) house didnt even stop me , we edited the recipe to dairy free butter and set the boys to work.

I'm not joking! Here's TB & Oli getting the mixture ready for us.

Remind me to get Vic a proper baking tray for the next time we attempt to make cakes!

They may look *slightly* funny but they tasted fantastic , safe to say they were soon demolished and plans have been made to make some more this weekend!!

Click here for the recipe

Looking forward to October's bake it! Why not take part yourself?

Very.co.uk

The lovely people at Very.co.uk heard that I was having a wardrobe crisis over what to wear for The MADs so they kindly let me choose a dress from there fabulous online dress section.

So what did I think about my experience? Well the Very website was really easy to navigate around , I could clearly see dresses by prices and style as well as clear description of each dress. I also like the fact it has real reviews which you can read about you chosen product , to me seeing real reviews like that plays a big influence on if I was to buy it or not.
When you add items to your basket you can clearly see where they are , you can continue on to pay or carry on shopping and add more stuff to your basket.
I was impressed with the delivery , a couple of days later I was in possession of the perfect going out dress.

The dress I chose was the South Sparkle Dress.

The dress was a good fit (couldn't help but to think if my boobs were a little bigger I could of filled the top section a little more) . The material was quite comfy and it wasn't as short as what the picture makes out. You also get a belt which adds something extra to the dress.

I teamed it up with some 'bow' tights.

The size for the tights was one size fit all (UK 8-16) I struggled to get these on and I'm a size 12. I'm not sure if I have longer legs then most people but I ripped one pair trying to get them on, it is a 2 pack so I did have a back up pair.
They are a lovely pattern though and worth the £10 to add glam to your outfit.

I had another wardrobe crisis when I was actually at butlins , I managed to make the silly mistake of packing it in the same compartment as my shampoo. So didn't get chance to wear it but that's ok because it means I have something to wear out for my birthday this weekend.

Very also do a fantastic range of going out tops which the gorgeous Vic & Carol are modeling here

and also a wide range of Maxi Dresses which I know is the current fashion.

Totally recommend Very.co.uk for whatever occasion and for any budget!

Monday, 27 September 2010

ToyBox - Nursery Rhymes

We got sent a album full of nursery rhymes called Toybox which is was created by The Rainbow Collections. With singer Sophie Barker from Zero 7 singing the nursery rhymes.

It contains traditional nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty & The Grand Old Duke Of York which have been made into different versions for a slightly different approach to the classics.

What did Oli make of the album?

After figuring out where the music was coming from , he was intrigued to what he was hearing. This was the first time he's been introduced to a music CD (are they not extinct yet?) . Mummy had to use the TV because we don't have a stereo (are they not extinct yet too?) to play it on.
His favourite was 10 green bottles which is a bonus in our book as it helps with his number learning.
He listened and took note of what he was listening too ,we danced and we did actions. He's still at a phrase where clapping along is his thing, so he clapped whilst Mummy & Daddy added like total loons doing the actions.

What did we make of the album?

We enjoyed the alternative approach to what we've heard whilst growing up , as nice as the traditional nursery rhymes are its nice to hear them in a different style , we didn't get bored of hearing it over & over again so we happily let Oli listen to them on a repeat.
So much better then listening to cheesy TV theme tunes.

You can buy Toybox - The Rainbow Collection directly from HMV online , ASDA or Play.com with the bonus of free delivery.

I also suggest heading over to Young & Younger where you can see the adorable Fonz dancing along to the Toybox album.

Who needs annoucement cards when you have twitter?

'A mother from Stafford used the social networking website Twitter to give live updates during the birth of her son.' BBC Stoke & Staffordshire.

I thought this was already the norm having tweets from Women in labour , I know I've seen a fair few tweets from my pregnant twitter friends from when there waters have gone right up to the moment they have to do the business and again tweeted when baby was born.

This isn't a sign of obsession , this is simply a sign of the times. I suppose if your on twitter for the duration of your pregnancy that's 9months of it you've shared and if your anything like me you would of shared all the details from that morning sickness to when that plug goes, ok you may lose (or gain) a few followers, but it does make a interesting read for your twitter friends.

I remember back to when we gave birth to Oli , we had great joy in announcing it via facebook. You get a buzz from letting 200+ of your friends this good news all at the same time. We didn't share when I had gone into labour as it happened all too quickly and wanted to keep it a secret from family until he had arrived.

If all goes to plan come the next pregnancy I'm hoping for a homebirth , so don't be surprised if you see a twitpic of me in the water pool, laptop in hand. I suppose given my current twitter usage it will seem only natural to share what is going on. Some may see it was sharing too much but I see it as a way of keeping friends informed and there's a part of me which sees it as kinda cool. I may even vlog it at the same time! ;)

Move over announcement cards , Twitter is here to stay. Well that's if it doesn't 'crash' again.

What do you think? Is labour something that shouldn't be shared in this way? Is it sharing too much information? Do you like seeing exciting tweets like 'I'm in labour' ??

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Tommee Tippee : Reins & Magic Mat

We got sent some Tommee Tippee products to try out and to give our feedback on. The first being the Tommee Tippee Magic Mat.

The ideal behind the Magic Mat is that it sticks to a flat surface and then it holds the bowl/plate in place preventing slips and spills. And did it work?

It worked perfectly. We took it out for pizza with us (it can fold really small) and we put Oli in the highchair and then put the magic mat down on the table next to us. We then stuck his bowl on to it (filled it with pizza!) and let him help himself, the bowl didn't move which meant no mess (or embarrassment!) for us.

We were also sent the Tommee Tippee Reins to try out, which I was rather please about as we've been on the hunt for some reins that didn't show hideous cartoon character or look like a plain old dog lead. Oli is at walking age now and he constantly wants to be on his feet , we do get tears when the pram comes out.

As you can see from the following photos Oli enjoyed his new found freedom.

The reins are fully adjustable and padded which provided Oli with comfort , I feared them being too harsh on him but we could clearly see after strapping him in that they provided no discomfort at all to his body. They let him move about freely and the strap enabled us to keep hold.

I do look forward to going somewhere where the reins can come out to play more. I know it makes Oli happy to have this walking freedom and it makes me happy to see him full of smiles.

If your looking for reins for your little one then I highly recommend the Tommee Tippee Reins. Grab some now whilst there's a offer of 1/3 off ,so instead of paying £9.99 you can get them for just £6.66 .

Saturday, 25 September 2010

BlogHop

Instead of blogging this weekend I thought I would use any spare time I had to read some blogs instead. My google reader has gone crazy from neglection and the thought of trying to sieve through it made me feel a little crazy.

So I thought why not ask you to tell me what I should read this weekend , I do normally give a shout out for posts via twitter and I get a little lost under the links that get chucked at me. So here's a little linky list for you to add them too. So please let me know of any blogs/posts/websites that you think I (and my readers!) should go check out.

Now I've never used linky or done a BlogHop before so fingers crossed I've done it right , feel free to share the linky love.

Friday, 24 September 2010

Citroen DS3

Citroen sent us a rather funky yellow Citroen DS3 sport for the week of the MADs so that we could try it out and share what we really thought about it. I'm going to bring you my views on the car as a passenger.

I've never been a fan of 3 door cars and that's been even more so since Oli came along, maybe it's just the lazy side of me which just doesn't pulling seats forward to allow someone to get in the back. When the other half told me that the DS3 was a 3 door , I sighed. The thought of trying to squeeze a toddler that doesn't like being put in his car seat is my idea of a nightmare.

I was wrong. Seeing as we were taking Oli with us down to Butlins in Bognor Regis , putting the carseat in was one of the first tasks for us. The front seat easily glided forward allowing me plenty of room to fit both the seat and put Oli into it.

I noticed more safety features whilst fitting the seat such as air bags left , right & center. 2 rear isofix child seat anchorage points which impressed me as it's not yet mandatory for cars to have isofix points built in but the DS3 had them , this make life so much easier for parents with isofix car seats as it will just plug straight into the isofix points.
The car gives you a audio/visual warning for unfastened seat belts which I can see be a handy feature with older kids that you rely on to do there own seat belt.

The car has automatic door and boot locking (when in motion) and automatic re-locking after 30 seconds. Transponder immobiliser and lockable fuel cap. The D sport also has the security feature of a anti-theft alarm.

We put it through the drive-through-McDonald's test (any excuse!) which we both got meals which came with drinks, so we looked for storage holders and found some in the door passenger pockets. For me this was less unsightly then having one just sticking out from the dashboard somewhere. See door bottle-holder gets big thumbs up from me. As well as storage pockets in all the doors , there's also a handy boot net for your bits & bobs.

I would of happily traded in our car any day for the comfort of the DS3. It came with digital air conditioning , electric front windows , scented air freshener and the seating was just pure luxury. As a mother to a messy toddler I was impressed at how easy the material was to clean. My passenger seat was height adjustable and we had a front central arm rest which provided some fantastic comfort for our journey down south.

We connected our ipod using the USB auxiliary socket which provided us with some great in-car entertainment . Steering mounted controls so the driver had the option of controlling the music volume. He had his iphone connected via the box bluetooth system , this is a great hands free feature which means no annoying headset or fiddling with buttons. Six speakers meant even Oli in the back could dance/sing along with Mummy to her cheesy music.

The multi function on board computer was rather impressive from the sat nav to the speed features. It was easy to control and navigate around. I did feel that have the inbuilt sat nav was way more safer then having a loose sat nav which not only leaves a mark on the window leaves your car vulnerable to theft's.

The car had interior mood lighting as well a illuminated courtesy mirror. With the outside lighting & visibility we had LED diodes , halogen headlamps , front fog lights as well as rear fog lights , reversing lights and 3rd brake light.

Everything impressed me about this car and there's not a fault I could find with it. I enjoyed being a passenger in this car , it was a smooth ride as well as a comfy ride. Oli had lots of room in the back to move his legs and kick around.

Wednesday, 22 September 2010

QuinnyCasters

Yay! I've been selected to become a QuinnyCaster , I was so surprised to hear I had been chosen especially when I saw that they had been 3000 applications.

What is a QuinnyCaster?

Quinny came up with the great idea of selecting mums and dads involved in social media networking to become 'Quinny Casters' aka road testers with a twist.
We're being given the Quinny Zapp Extra (I chose one in rocking black!) to try out and then report back what we think about it on the profiles Quinny have set up for us on their website.

Where can you find us?

My QuinnyCaster Profile

I've never used a quinny before so I look forward to seeing what makes it different from other prams.

We've been told our new prams will be with us by the end of the week. I am so excited and cannot wait to start using my new quinny this weekend.

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Boppy

We got sent a boppy breastfeeding and support pillow to try out and as I couldn't breastfeed with Oli , I'm not currently breastfeeding so I asked the lovely Vic to try it out and tell me what she thought about the boppy.

''The obvious use of the pillow is for feeding support and regardless of whether you’re nursing or bottle feeding Boppy can be used with its ergonomic position designed to relieve stress on your back, neck and shoulders. The pillow’s horseshoe shape surrounds your body meaning that no matter how big your baby nor whether you use a more traditional or rugby style hold, they’re still supported. I have a short body and large and saggy boobs, I found that Little Mister needed to be in a much lower position than he was when upon Boppy. As a result I had him on the pillow and was having to lift my breast right up to meet him. Not ideal. The Miracle Middle stretch panel is supposed to stretch to fit most waists but it would’t stretch enough for mine and just felt uncomfortable around me. Now I know I’m not the thinnest of people but I’m certainly not the largest of mums out there.''

Boppy is a NURSING PILLOW for infants that assist mums all around the world. Used to help the mothers during the breastfeeding, Boppy has been named the #1 baby product seven years running the US. To date nearly 1 million American parents have taken on board a boppy pillow.

It has changeable covers which can easily be chucked in the washing machine if needs be.

As well as using it for breastfeeding the pillow can be used as a nest to place baby in comfortablyor how about using to help teach baby to sit up? So many different uses for boppy other then using it to breastfeed so your getting more for your money.

To celebrate and support the launch of the Boppy nursing pillow they have created a fun game which you can see here and over on the Mom's Revenge Blog.

The Boppy pillow is available to buy from Mothercare for £49.99

Monday, 20 September 2010

Pizza Hut - Kids Eat Free

I was asked what my best value free family entertainment was this summer , now as Oli isn't old enough for school the summer holidays still feel like any other day to us. We do have a problem with the local soft play/swimming pool being packed and even the local park which is our number one free source of entertainment is jam packed.

So we seek out free fun things to do closer to home which keeps us all entertained , we use our garden which is full of garden toys and a huge trampoline which is perfect for a energetic toddler.

We also like to spread out rolls of paper on which we go crazy with the paint (hence why we do it outside) and end up covered head to toe in the stuff but it's such great fun. If the weather is warm enough we also have free fun playing in the pool. What's your best value free family entertainment?

Something which Oli is old enough to do is eat pizza and the perfect place for him to go for that is to Pizza Hut which is running a fantastic offer of 'Kids Eat Free' until January 9th 2011.

Pizza Hut have had this offer of letting kids under 12 eat free on all summer but have kindly extended it until January , which is great news for us to didn't even notice it was summer.

For every adult main course or adult lunchtime buffet purchased, an accompanying child can choose from either a FREE 2 course kids meal (includes a drink) or a FREE kids lunchtime buffet (includes pizza, pasta and salad). Offer ends Jan 9th 2011.

If the 'Kids Eat Free' isn't enough of a offer for you , at the bottom of any Pizza Hut Restaurant receipt you will find an offer code which you enter over at http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/familyadventures to get great deals on a wide range of family activities and adventures including holidays , theme parks and much more.

The MADs Awards Ceremony

Most of you have heard of The MADs and if you haven't.. what rock have you been sitting under for the last few months? The MADs is the brainchild of who blogs over at Who's The Mummy. The MADs stands for Mummy & Daddy Bloggers and a awards ceremony was held last Monday evening at Butlins in Bognor Regis to celebrate the best in parent blogging. Unfortunately I wasn't there to pick up a award (next year will be my year!) but was invited along as a guest.

We were given a Citroen DS3 sports so that we could drive to The MADs in style. We received one in a rather funky yellow colour and I was quick to name it bumblebee. Apparently the car drives like a dream. I will of course bring you a more detailed description later on this week.

'Bumblebee'

The day started with some rather delicious cakes & coffee. (I do have to apologise to the Butlins staff , it was my son who crushed shortbread into your carpet!) It was great getting to know one another , meeting new people and seeing old friends. We were handed some goodies bags.. cake , chocolate & epilators were to be found.. Also got a bag of mego bloks which has already opened and started on for entry to Sally's mega bloks competition.

Heather , Sharon , & Vic who have just come out of the spa.

I did have a fabulous dress from very.co.uk to wear but due to shampoo spillage, as I'v now learnt it's not a good idea to pack them in the same compartment as your clothes!

I arrived at the ceremony with Pippa & Vic who both look stunning , we had abit of a boogie in the disco lift and then headed to dinner. After a rather delicious 3 course meal (cheesecake for pudding.. they must of knew I was coming!) the lovely Kelly Rose Bradford took to the stage to host the awards.

The winners can be found over on The MADs website or on the live blog which will give you a replay of the whole night.

My biggest YAY'S of the night went to Pippa who won Best MAD Blog for family fun , Jo who won Best New MAD Blog and Tim who not only won Best MAD blog writer won Butlins Best MAD blogger of the year too - Congratulations guys!!

Pippa who unlike the others had actually prepared a winning speech.

Tim collecting his Best MAD Blog Writer award

It was safe to say that Tim was simply stunned & speechless when it
was announced that he was Butlins Best MAD Blogger Of The Year Winner.

BIG shout out to table 2 - Heather , Joanne , Snaffles Mummy , Claire , Lindy & Pam. I still quite cant believe we won the quiz.

I did start the night on the straight and narrow , I avoided the pimms and went straight for the OJ. It was the man that kindly poured me wine throughout the night which I blame for this :

Sunday, 19 September 2010

The Tooth Fairy

We got sent a copy of ToothFairy to review which is out to buy tomorrow. I would be lying if I said we sat to watch it with Oli. Instead we grabbed a takeaway and used it as our Saturday night film once he had gone to bed.

Derek Thompson (Dwayne Johnson) is 'The Tooth Fairy,' a hard-charging minor league hockey layer whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their precious molars. When Derek discourages a youngster's hopes, he's sentenced to one week's hard labour as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek ''can't handle the tooth'' – bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers' homes... dong what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.

For me the film really came alive when Julie Andrews popped up, anything with Julie in is a big hit with me. She was fantastic as a Queen in Princess Diaries and equally as amazing as the Godmother in this film.

You cant help but to giggle when Derek (Dwayne aka The Rock) becomes a tooth fairy and gets put into a tutu and some rather fetching pink tights. The film provided many laughs especially from Tracy ( Stephen Merchant ) who you might recognise from the TV sitcom The Office.

We really enjoyed it and found it cheesy in some places but isn't that what makes a good family comedy? I didn't find it all predictable like I do most family films set like this , I knew it would have a happy ending but I enjoyed the way they set it towards that ending. Goofy but entertaining. It had the perfect combination of actors and actress's which all bought something different to it. It's one of those films that you can easily sit down to watch with the kids one evening with a big bowl of popcorn.

Tooth Fairy lands on DVD and Blu–ray on the 20^th September 2010.. Can you handle the tooth?

Judgement Day

My last guest post this week is from a lovely friend of mine called Emma who blogs over at Adventures Of A English Mum.

Something strange happens when you become a parent and it’s that everybody suddenly feels that they can pass judgement on your life. For me it started when I was first pregnant with Chick. As many of you will know this was somewhat of a (lovely?) surprise for me and rightly or wrongly I decided not to tell her Dad straight away. Most people assumed an automatic right to ask me questions about his identity......well that’s fine from my family but from colleagues, customers and acquaintances? What the hell has it got to do with you.....mainly sheer nosiness I expect!!!! The other thing that I hated when I was pregnant was for random people to touch the baby bump without asking me...erm.....this is part of my body guys.....would you normally touch me up on the way past???

It carries on when you have a baby and a toddler (not the touching up!!!!!!) but the passing judgment. People in the supermarket/park/street feel for some reason that they can comment on said child’s behaviour/dress sense and anything else they please as well as the way you parent. I would never dream of commenting on a stranger’s parenting unless the child was in some sort of immediate danger, so why do they feel they can comment on mine?

One of the biggest things I’ve found that people like to pass judgment on is a Mother’s right to work. The conclusion that I’ve come to is that you can’t ever win. Popular opinion seems to say that if you work full time then you shouldn’t have had children as you are never with them or if you are a stay at home Mum then where do the children get their stimulation from? Well I guess we shall all work part time during school hours then will we? I could live off the state and sit at home on my behind all day, drinking vodka and entertaining menfolk but I’m not entirely sure how this would help Chick’s development or what example this sets for her!!!

What I’d like to say to popular opinion is shut the hell up!!!!! Yes I am one of those terrible Mothers that work full time. I have to work as I am the only bread winner in the house but even if I didn’t have to work full time I would want to. I earn a decent wage that pays the bills and allows for some non essentials such as holidays and decent clothes but more than that I love my job and I’m brilliant at it. I want my daughter to grow up with a strong work ethic and to understand that she has to work hard to get anywhere in life. I want to be a Mother and a Career Girl at the same time. I know that it isn’t possible to have it all and yes some days I suffer tremendous guilt that I’m not there to pick her up from the school gates but I’ve never yet missed a sports day, assembly or parent’s evening and if she’s sick I work from home.

I could never be a stay at home Mum as I would send myself crazy however, by the same token I have nothing but respect for women who choose to stay at home and bring the children up and that’s what it’s all about...choice. So let’s stop passing judgment on the poor woman in the supermarket who has only had three hours sleep and who is already embarrassed that her 2 year old is screaming because they aren’t allowed ice cream NOW or the 6 year old that’s having a breakdown because her friend accidently touched her arm!!!! We are lucky that we live in a world where we are able to choose to work or study or stay at home so why don’t we celebrate each other’s choices in life and stop the judgment?

Saturday, 18 September 2010

Summer is Over...Roll on Christmas!

I am not a morning person. No, wait, I'll rephrase that. I am so not a morning person! I am a night owl. This is by virtue of the fact that, since the age of thirteen or so, I have been a chronic insomniac. Being up most of the night (I am typing this sitting in my pajamas, wide awake when I should be sweetly dreaming) doesn't really allow for a bright and happy morning!

I cannot even speak when I first wake up. Really. It is physically impossible. No matter how hard I try to form words, all I can muster is the kind of half-hearted "ugggghh" that any cave woman worth her salt would be proud of. Luckily, after seven years of this, Chipmunk (my 7yo) can now interpret these grunts according to intonation and pitch.

He really is a talented child!

Because of this, I love the school holidays - and the longer the better! They say the culture shock of going back to school is hard for kids to adjust to. I say it's a darn sight harder for the parents!

Think about it:

We have to get up at least half an hour before the kids do.

We have to organise ourselves, as well as everyone else in the house - not one of my strong points, I'll admit.

We are responsible for getting out of bed in the first place, especially if we have young children. They can say "Mummy forgot to get up this morning" without the teacher looking at them as if they've lost the plot. I can't see me getting away with saying the same thing. No, I haven't tried it! Not yet...

All the children have to do is wake up, get dressed and eat whatever is put in front of them. And they have it tough? I think not!

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the time I get to myself when Chipmunk is at school. It gives me the opportunity to write, or read, or get lost on a walk with my camera. I can think clearly, without interruption, for more than two minutes at a time. I value my time alone.

I am also aware that some might consider me lucky. I don't have the time constraints of a job to worry about (although I often miss the structure that such a timetable brings). I only have one child to manage in the mornings - although with his particular needs (he is autistic and has some physical disabilities) this can often be a challenge!

And I will accept that, by the time we're ready to hit the road, I'm usually doing a pretty good job of looking like I'm awake. I can often even string more than three words together fairly coherently - honestly, you would be impressed!

Part of my problem is that Chipmunk's school is a few miles away, on a heavy-traffic route, which necessitates leaving earlier than we otherwise might have to. But on a really bad day, I know I can go home, set the alarm, and fall into an unconscious heap on the bed until it's time to go and pick Chipmunk up again!

That doesn't happen often, by the way.

Honest.

So really, I guess the whole 'getting-up-early-for-school' thing isn't actually that bad, when you think about it. That said, I still can't wait for Christmas...

A little about bubbleboo:

bubbleboo blogs at The Thought Bubble and is working on her photography portfolio. In the meantime, you can find her pictures on .

bubbleboo is a Shutterbug. She can usually be found with her camera glued to her left eye.

She is a Writer. Always working to better her writing and be published one day!

She is a Mum. And what could be more important than that?

bubbleboo is a SAHM and carer to one amazing little boy who is dealing with Asperger’s and various physical limitations.

Other than writing and photography she enjoys music, playing acoustic guitar, reading {voraciously!}, walking and going to the gym {when she has the energy!}

Friday, 17 September 2010

Lemon Biscuits

Hi everyone,

My name's Cass and you can usually find me over at my blog, the diary of a frugal family, I hope you're not too disappointed that Emma's not here today and that you've got me instead.

I'll be honest, I never know what to write about when I'm writing on someone else's blog and I spent ages trying to think of a suitably witty or clever subject, however, I failed miserably at that so I decided to stick to what I know and share a recipe for the most amazing biscuits you have ever tasted (if you don't count Jaffa cakes and Hobnobs that is).

Lemon Biscuits

100g butter or margarine

100g sugar

2 Lemons

175g plain flour

1 large egg yolk

I made these biscuits with my seven year old daughter and they were so easy that she managed most of it herself. All you do is beat together the butter and the sugar and add the grated zest of 1 lemon.

Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, the egg yolk and the flour and mix together until it forms a dough.

knead the dough for a few minutes and then wrap the mixture in cling film and pop it in the fridge for half an hour or so - then comes the fun bit.

Roll out your dough and cook out your shapes, we went for very mature circle shapes but we've made butterflies and stars before with this recipe ;-)

Put them on a baking tray (they don't spread so you don't have to put them miles apart) and cook in the oven at about 180 c for about 10-12 (ish) minutes.

When they're cool you can ice them with a mix of icing sugar and lemon juice.... We don't measure this bit we just keep adding a little bit of lemon juice until its a nice consistency.

They are gorgeous and so easy to make and I bet they would taste just as nice with oranges instead of lemons.

Top Tip - Don't forget about the biscuits because you are on the phone to your friend as you may not hear the oven timer going off and your biscuits may be slightly on the well done side.

That's me done then, it's been nice to meet all of Emma's lovely readers. Thanks Emma for having me and I hope you're having a fun time without worrying about your brilliant blog x x

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