Project 365 - Week 9

I struggled for photos this week.....I haven't took that many and didn't have much choice but I have still managed one a day....Phew! I have a feeling I have messed up the numbers last week....lol I went from 46 to 48 and missed 47....I think I'm back on track now?

 

52/365. 21st February 2015

My Saturday night treat.....More Easter eggs....

53/365. 22nd February 2015

Stu is getting into the habit of bringing me flowers every now and then....I loved these he brought me....Such a beautiful colour!

 

54/365. 23rd February 2015

Becky has became a big fan of watching the SacconyJoly's the YouTube family who put a new video up every day.....I don't mind her watching them....I watch them and there are worse things to watch on YouTube!

55/365. 24th February 2015

 We tried out a Baker Days cake....I resisted the urge to eat it all and I saved some for the kids to try after school....Ellie loved it!

56/365. 25th February 2015

My girls can play nicely together! Miracles happen!

57/365. 26th February 2015

An exciting delivery and the day I actually found out my postman is called Pat!! hahaha! It really made me giggle. I am easily amused.

 

58/365. 27th February 2015 

I got a letter from Big Fish Games.....About card details being stolen.....I was affected by this.....At least now I know where the fraud came from.....I have been paranoid since that it was something on my computer which caused it....A big sigh of relief her.

Talking Codswallop!

My Word of the Week this week is....

There has been a lot of people talking Codswallop to me this week....

Someone has bullied me and tried to control me for years....A few months ago I started to fight back and stand up to them.....I was never rude but have told them a few home truths....This person has now decided the situation is too stressful to deal with.....What they fail to understand is that I've had years of it from them....Sleepless nights, cried so many tears and felt threatened by them....Now I have come out as the bad one because I am stressing the person out by telling them the truth! Utter codswallop! Ugh! Families!!

As well as that I have had a lot of phone calls for the person who lived in this house before us....We've lived here coming up 3 years I think now....It turns out she's had loans going back years and has stopped paying them recently....She never changed her phone number on the account! Oh joy! I had someone ring asking for her and I said she doesn't live here....They didn't believe me....They thought I was her! They told me to prove I wasn't....How was I meant to do that on the phone....They said they wanted my name, date of birth and National insurance number.....hahaha I was not telling them anything and hung up on them! They could have been anyone! What Codswallop!

It turns out that at Christmas I was given some bad advice from a government service.....I rang up on Wednesday to see how things were progressing and they gave me totally different advice and information! The money I should have been getting I'm not but it's not a big miss....I've never had it so it won't be missed!!

And my girls.....They have talked a lot of Codswallop! They are both learning French at school....Both at different stages and think if they talk gobbledygook with a French accent it works....Not quite! lol 

I've used the phrase "somewhere a village is missing its idiot" more than once this week!....lol

Ellie's eBay Finds.....

Ellie loves to browse eBay.....I always make sure she's not logged in though and supervise her.....

She searches for the strangest things and always says "will you get me this for my birthday"

She was searching for Gymnastic sets? I really had no idea what she was looking for but she stumbled across indoor climbing frames....

This one for £459.99 and This one for £239.99....

There is not a chance she will ever get anything like this in her bedroom even if her room was big enough.....Ellie is a bit of a daredevil and really has no fear......She will jump off about anything and it would have me a nervous wreck.....I could see us setting up camp in A&E....But on the other hand they are so cool....

She also found some Gymnastic Sport Rings.....Described to exercise arm strength....Yes all was fine until I saw the picture to go with the product.....

I just have visions of children hung up there to strengthen their arms.....What the?.....lol I think it is meant for adults as in the description it says "The Bar is great for pull ups & allows you to get a challenging upper body workout".....Well I hope it is! lol

She loves to search for costumes too.....She was searching for a clown costume....I really don't know why? She then decided to search for a scary clown costume and came up with this which she thought was so cool. She wants it for Halloween to scare Becky.....

Scary Zombie Horror Circus Clown Fancy Dress Costume Outfit.

No.....Just no! It is all sorts of wrong!! She can be a cute witch like she is every year.....lol

A Wicked App!.... #wickedwednesdays

She's trying to look innocent....She has an app on her tablet which can alter peoples faces and hair.....She altered mine which caused much hilarity! She had the cheek to say I look better on the app than in real life.....How rude!

Baker Days #cakebypost - Review!

It's no secret that I love cake......So when I had the chance to review one from Baker Days I jumped at the chance...

You can’t always be there to share a special occasion with a friend or loved one. But you can let them know you’re thinking of them by sending something which is personalised and therefore unique....

Baker Days are experts at making personalised cakes for just about any occasions....Birthday cakes, Sorry, Thank you, Anniversary and lots more....They even a whole section dedicated to One Direction....I will not be showing my girl them.....hehehe If you don't want to share a larger cake they even have Cupcakes!

Baker Days have over 500 designs and many which you can add your own photos and text to.

Mothers Day is coming up next month so I chose a Mothering Sunday Cake to try.....

They come in various sizes:

Letterbox Gift Cake £14.99 - 3-4 portions (5 inches)

Small Party Cake £26.99 - 10-12 portions (7 inches)

Medium Cake £36.99 - 18-25 portions (9 inches)

Large Cake + free helium balloon £56.99 - 40-55 portions (12 inches)

I was sent the Letterbox size....With it being a letterbox cake it means the postman can just pop it through the letter box with the rest of the post and it means you don't have to worry about waiting in for parcels.....

 

The packaging was brilliant! A strong box and inside a tin with the cake in so it was very well protected when it was delivered....

The tin is so pretty and will be kept and used for something else....

It was easy to remove from the tin and even had instructions how to do so....The paper tab was very helpful.

With it being a letterbox cake it is only small (5 inches across) but I think with something like this it is more the thought that counts not the size.....There is enough for 3 to 4 portions. I managed four....

I thought the design on the icing looked so pretty and I loved the colours used....So bright and cheerful! 

The smell from it was amazing...It was so sweet I knew I was in for a treat! I cut it and it was Chocolate cake! Hooray!!

There was just the right amount of icing and the cake it's self was just perfect! It was moist and very soft....

This would be an ideal gift for Mothers day....In fact it is great for any time of the year....Who doesn't love cake? hehehe

This is a great service and I will be using it again!

I was sent a Mothering Sunday cake free of charge in exchange for my honest review....All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Our Weekly Meal Plan!! - #mealplanningmonday

Last weeks meal plan was an epic fail and for once the kids being off school had nothing to do with it.....When writing the meal plan I forgot to factor in pancakes. Chinese takeaway was eaten. That wasn't on the plan....I was feeling pretty rubbish that day! (ladies problems....lol) Things were moved around but we did have Monday's and Saturdays meal as planned and the Barbecue Apple Pulled Pork from Tesco was gorgeous....It would have gone better in buns than in wraps though....The Sweet Chilli Turkey Burgers with wedges - From Hijacked By Twins was moved and they were so good....We will be having those again.

On the menu this week we have:

 
Monday - Vegetarian chilli....
Tuesday - Corned beef pie, chips and beans....
Wednesday - Scrambled eggs and toast....

Thursday - Fruity chicken korma....

 Friday - Fish and sweetcorn pie....

 Saturday - Pizza.... 

Sunday - Roast Chicken, mash and veg....

As always I've joined in with the wonderful Mrs M's #mealplanningmonday linky....

Silent Sunday!!

 

Project 365 - Week 8

We should have had big plans for this last week with it being half-term but I think we all needed a relaxed, lazy week and that's what we had.

45/365. 14th February 2015 

Valentines Day.....I had a very happy girl who went for a romantic meal with her boyfriend (they're 12....lol) She came home proud as punch with her first Valentines day card and present. Aww! 

46/365. 15th February 2015

Sunday was a lazy day.....The kids played. Mostly with the Marble run set.....So loud but a lot of fun!

48/365. 16th February 2015

A hamper I won over on Twitter arrived.....I love it....There were so many tasty treats....Thinking about it now I should have used the chocolate sauce on our pancakes....


49/365. 17th February 2015

Pancake Day.....The girls had homemade one's for breakfast and ready made one's for tea.....Then the rest of them for lunch on Wednesday.....lol We love pancakes here!

50/365. 18th February 2015

Becky said she didn't have homework this week.....On Wednesday I made her check! She had loads of online tests to do.....Most of her afternoon was spent doing them. Unlucky!

 51/365. 20th February 2015

Ellie was making masks!

52/365. 21st February 2015

Spring is coming.....I rarely buy flowers but these were being sold for 10 pence a bunch....I couldn't resist. They have added a lovely bit of colour to our house....

A Lovely Half-term....

The kids have been off school this week so my Word of the Week has to be....

If my brain was working properly I could probably think of a better word but after spending the week with my girls I seem to have lost the power to think....lol We have had a lovely Half-Term.....It has been fantastic to have a break from school, the early mornings and the school run. 

We haven't really done much but it has been nice doing nothing....

Monday we had a trip to the dentists....Two years ago it was said Becky needed braces.....We saw an orthodontist who agreed but said they won't do anything until she had lost her last baby tooth....We've been waiting about 16 months for a new appointment....Our normal dentist sent us to see the owner of the dental practice to see about getting something done.....She is going to have words and get us an appointment in the next few weeks....The one local to us is the best one and to be honest I don't want to be traveling to Newcastle every few weeks which is an hour away on the bus which would mean Becky missing school which I wouldn't be happy about and I don't think the school would be too....

Tuesday it was all about Pancakes.....The girls had them for breakfast and tea then again for lunch on Wednesday....lol 

On Wednesday the money was returned to my bank that was taken out last week when someone had got my card details I was so relieved....Becky was supposed to go out with her boyfriend and his family but he wasn't very well so they rearranged for today.....He did give her a ring yesterday and they chatted for about half an hour....So sweet!

Yesterday was a Pj day.....I had a plan....If I played with the kids all morning I could just let them watch films all afternoon and I would get some time for blogging without feeling guilty....It worked...hehehe

Today we're going to the pub....lol I said because Becky is going out for the day with her boyfriend I would take Ellie out.....She wants to go to our local Weatherspoon pub for lunch....That's fine with me! I'm so glad she never thought of going to the Soft Play center....lol

The Disney Tag!

Favourite Disney Film?

I love Finding Nemo and the Lion King....I remember my brother getting a dodgy copy on video when it first came out and we watched it over and over.....

 

What was the first Disney movie you remember seeing?

 

It was Snow White when I was about 6 years old....My mam and dad took my brother and I to the pictures to see it.

Favourite Disney Character?

Gawwwwrrrrrrshhhhh it's gotta be GOOFY! He tries so hard, messes up so badly, doesn't let that bother him and just keeps going on!

Favourite Disney Princess?

Jasmine!! Apart from the fact she's so pretty she has a magic carpet to ride on, a monkey and most importantly a genie....hehehe

Would you rather be Aurora or Cinderella?
Aurora!! She gets to sleep!! lol Cinderella just gets to do housework....Much the same as I do now but instead of ugly sisters I have children.....lol

 
Rather be Hercules or Tarzan?

I don't think I would like to be either but if I had to choose Tarzen....It could be cool being raised by gorillas!

Favourite Disney Song?

I have lots of favourites.....You've Got a Friend In Me from Toy Story - It makes me smile!....The Circle of Life from The Lion King and Let it Go from Frozen.....I can't not include that as I have it as the ringtone on my phone....

Which Disney character would be your best friend?

Dory from Finding Nemo she is hilarious and so sweet!

Which Disney character would be your pet?

Simba from The Lion King....Who wouldn't want a friendly lion as a pet!

 

Have you ever been to Disneyland?

Nope but one day we will!!

Any other Disney fans consider yourself tagged :)

 

It happened to me..... Unauthorised Bank Transactions!

Last week I had a bit of a scare with my bank account.....

I don't usually check my bank account on a Thursday but as I knew I would be busy on Friday I decided to do the online grocery shopping early....I was transferring some money into my fellas account and noticed there was £148 in my account but only £87 available which was strange as I knew I hadn't spent anything since the weekend from it....

There were 3 pending debit card transactions I didn't recognise at all....



Thank god that my bank has a 24 hour number to call as I realised this at about 10pm at night.....I got straight on the phone and spoke first to a lovely man who said it did look strange.....The Westin Grand payment was for vinyl flooring in America.....He put me through to someone else in the fraud section to help me more.....

The looked deeper into my account and there were several payments of 9, 10 & 11 pence to Sony and their Playstation service....I don't even have a Playstation....Well I do but it's a PS2 which doesn't connect to the internet.....The Swinton one was to the insurance people and I don't have anything with them....

While I was on the phone to the bank I had a text message from them saying my debit card had been used online at 23.04 at Express insurance for £44.61....The site is just for vehicles which I don't have for....They confirmed it was refused as my card had been cancelled at the start of the call....

He said it was typical fraudulent activity.....He believed me! Phew! I was paranoid they wouldn't and I would be £60 down.....The payment when I was on the phone just confimed I was telling the truth....Phew again!!

My new card arrived at the weekend and I've just checked my bank account and today the money has been returned.....

I dread to think how much could have been taken by the time I usually do my shopping on the Friday as each amount was getting more and more.....

If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone!!

I thought I was safe.....I have virus and protection on my computer....The only sites I use my card on are to pay bills like my water, gas and electric & top up my mobile phone....The shopping sites are big ones like Tesco, Iceland, Toys R Us.....Everything else I buy online I use Paypal.....If I can't use Paypal I don't get it.....I don't give my card details to anyone and I don't click on spammy fake emails.....



  
Make sure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall installed and switched on.... 

Check your statements often! The sooner you report anything suspect the easier it will be to claim back any losses....

 
Avoid buying from companies you don’t recognise, unless they’ve been recommended by someone trustworthy.... 

Shop at secure websites by ensuring that the security icon (locked padlock or unbroken key symbol) is showing in your browser window....

Always log out after shopping and save the confirmation as a record of your purchase....

Never buy anything from spam or unsolicited emails you receive.... 

Use Paypal as a way to keep your card details safe....

Betty Crocker Goodies!! - Review!!

Recently I was asked if I would like to review some of the Betty Crocker products....Of course I said yes! I never refuse cake....Even if I have to make it myself....hehehe I like to bake but I like to cheat and use cake mixes....

We were sent:

Red Velvet Cake mix.

This Red Velvet Cake oozes sophistication with its ruby-coloured, luscious sponge and rich chocolately flavour.

Devil's Food Cake mix.

Whip up something rich, dark and gorgeous with this decadent chocolate cake mix. Betty Crocker’s Devil’s Food Cake Mix is beautifully quick and easy to make, with incredible results. Fall in love with the rich chocolate fudge flavour of the moist, light and delicious sponge.

Chocolate Fudge Icing. - Rich, tempting and utterly mouth-watering!

Vanilla Buttercream. - Smooth, creamy and full of flavour!

Vanilla Icing & Rainbow Sprinkles. - Vanilla Icing with the addition of Rainbow Sprinkles! These little drops of heaven will give your fresh bakes that extra touch of glamour, for an instant beautifying treatment. 

Leading up to Valentines day Ellie had mentioned she wanted to some baking and when she had found out Stu and I were having a romantic meal she wanted to help make dessert....I thought the Devil's Food Cake mix with Chocolate Fudge Icing sounded perfect....

All you need is:

1x Pack of Betty Crocker's Devil's Food Cake Mix
90ml vegetable oil (4½ tbsp)
250ml water
3 medium eggs.
1 tub of Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge Icing

Cream for the filling.
2 x 8" well-greased cake tins

It was just simply a case of mixing the oil, water, eggs and cake mix together and bake in the over for about 25 minutes....When they had baked and cooled I sandwiched them together, put whipped cream in the middle and covered in the chocolate icing! Ellie said we needed sprinkles so put a heart cutter on and filled it with sprinkles....hehehe

I was impressed and Stu actually thought I had bought it.....At least I had the photos to prove I made it myself....lol

It tasted as good as it looked!!....The mixes might cost a little bit more than then the supermarket own brands which I usually buy but I am converted.....You really can tell the difference.....I will be buying these in future....They're moist, very delicious and so simple to make!! The icing is also delicious....I imagined it to be quite sickly from the smell of it but it isn't....

I'm so glad I'm not on a diet as it's all gone now! lol Tomorrow Ellie and I are going to make the Red Velvet cake with the Vanilla Buttercream icing....Yum!! These are perfect for any celebration but lovely to have when you have nothing to celebrate too.....

We were sent a selection of Betty Crocker products free of charge to try...This is my honest review....All thoughts and opinions are our own...

Our Weekly Meal Plan!! - #mealplanningmonday

 

Last week was lovely.....Stu was off work and took over the cooking duties.....The only bad part was that it meant I had to take over washing the dishes....Ugh!

Everything went to plan until the weekend.....I cooked Stu a fancy meal for Valentines day which included roast chicken so the roast chicken dinner was out on Sunday....We ended up having leftovers and the kids had sandwiches and the awesome cake I made!!....A great end to the week.....

 This week I am back in the kitchen and in control of the cooking.....

On the menu we have:

Monday - Creamy tomato and chicken pasta bake....
Tuesday - Sweet Chilli Turkey Burgers with wedges - From Hijacked By Twins....
Wednesday - Baked potatoes topped with beans and cheese...
Thursday - Vegetarian chilli.... 

Friday - Pizza.... 
Saturday - Barbecue Apple Pulled Pork in wraps....
Sunday - Roast Chicken, mash and veg....

As always I've joined in with the wonderful Mrs M's #mealplanningmonday linky....

Silent Sunday!!

Project 365 - Week 7

I've noticed since I have started doing Project 365 the weeks seem to be flying over even more than they usually do....I can't wait until next week....It's half term and I'm looking forward to a bit of a break from the normal school day routine.....I'm just hoping it doesn't fly over!!

38/365. 7th February 2015

I reviewed some Fajita products and even Eddie the Teddy had to have a try.....They went down a treat!!

39/365. 8th February 2015

On Sunday we all watched Big Hero 6 off the Showbox app on my phone....Such a brilliant film. The girls loved it and I did too....

 40/365. 9th February 2015

Becky had her cookery lesson at school and made Stir fry....It smelt so good and tasted brilliant!! I was only allowed one noodle as she had the rest for tea....

41/365. 10th February 2015 

After writing a post about Carbon Monoxide poisoning I was sent a Carbon Monoxide detector....It has been put up and is now keeping my family safe!

 42/365. 11th February 2015

We had O2 as our internet provider until last year when Sky bought them out and took over....Our internet has been dodgy....We pay for 20 mega whatsits and were only getting about 8 or 9 at the most.....We have complained lots of times and finally spoke to someone who came up with an answer! We needed a new router (we still had the O2 one)....They sent us a proper Sky one free of charge and I'm glad to say we are now getting 17 mega whatsits most of the time which is nearly double what we had been getting!! Hooray!!

43/365. 12th February 2015

Becky needed a filling at the dentists and needed an injection to numb one side of her mouth....It's the first time she has had one and the photo is her trying to give a full smile....Bless her....She was very brave!!

44/365. 13th February 2015

Ellie had her Valentine disco at school and it was non-uniform so along with her party dress she wanted fancy hair....Considering I have two girls I am rubbish at doing hair but I think I did well.... 

 

Hearts and Love.....

With it being Valentines day tomorrow, all the romance at the moment and with it being Heart Week this past week my Word of the Week has to be......

On Monday Louise from Little Hearts, Big Love shared mine and my girls story about out our heart defects on her blog....It was an honor to be featured but I'm not going to lie....It was emotional.....It is actually 6 years ago today since Ellie jammed her fingers in a door which led to us finding out about my girls heart defects.....The accident which basically saved their lives!! Friday the 13th was not unlucky for us....

I think my word this week could have actually been emotional as that's how I've felt reading a fair few blog posts especially Gemma's who blogs at Heart Mammi who wrote To the Mammi who's just found out her Baby has a CHD....There has been some great blog posts introducing people to the charity Tiny Tickers which aim is to improve the early detection and care of babies with serious heart conditions and give them a better start in life.

Now onto the romance part......hehehe I have bought Stu's presents and card.....He ordered mine weeks ago but went out during the week to buy a few more bits....I wish I knew what he had got me....He's been so secretive about it....I hate surprises!!

I have spent the week coming up with idea's what to cook for Stu and adding it to my online grocery list....We're having a romantic meal. The kids are going to be waitresses.....They are so excited and during the day Becky is going for a Valentine's meal with her boyfriend....So sweet!!

 One of the best things to happen this week happened yesterday.....I won a giveaway on Twitter for a Valentine's hamper....

A fancy hamper has always been on top of my comping wishlist and up until yesterday I've never won one....I can't wait to receive it.....There looks some tasty treats in it and Ellie has already claimed the heart balloon....

Things We All Did In Primary School.....

Miming the songs in assembly instead of actually singing because you lived the thug life and cared for nobody.....

Absolutely whacking the person you hated on the head during a heated game of Duck Duck Goose....

Using your pencil case to cover your answers in your spelling test because all of your classmates were cheats.

Sitting on the benches in assembly in Year 6 looking down at all the younger pupils and thinking 'started from Reception now we're here'....

Singing "He's got the whole world in his PANTS" in assembly because you were a comical genius who couldn't be controlled.

Being sent to 'the wall' at playtime and having to watch all of your friends play whilst you stood and lost all of your dignity....

Unsticking yourself when nobody was looking whilst playing Stuck In The Mud because you were too sassy and lived life in the fast lane....

Watching Art Attack after school and thinking that anything was possible as long as you had some PVA glue.

Being chosen to be 'the murderer' in a tense game of Wink Murder and feeling like a mastermind criminal with no limits to your power.

Rolling down your big school socks into doughnuts around your ankles because you were the ultimate trendsetter....

Getting chosen to give out the whiteboards and giving the person that you hated the dirtiest one with a pen that didn't work.

"I'll be the mum, you can be the dad" What can I be? "You're the dog"

When the teacher asked you to get into a space in PE and you swung your arms around, hitting as many kids as possible, to show your space.

Accidentally singing an extra 'of kings' at the end of 'Sing Hosanna' and feeling like you'd let your family, school and country down.

Being asked to take a note to another teacher and feeling like you had just been honoured with the task of taking the ring to Mordor.

Spreading glue all over your hands, waiting for it to dry, and peeling it off because you were a reckless six year old.

Listening to the teacher tell you the story about the kid who swung too far back on his chair and died.

Coming back to school after being on holiday with a hair braid and feeling way too bootylicious for the untraveled pupils in your class.

"Miss, I've broken my arm!" Just put a wet paper towel on it

Being at the front of the line to walk to assembly and feeling like royalty leading your peasant subjects to war.

Absolutely pooing yourself with excitement if the coach drove past your house when you were going on a school trip.

You'd never felt pain until you got whipped with a skipping rope when running too close to an oblivious skipper.