Thursday 31 March 2016

What I am loving on YouTube.

Every night when I go to bed and don't watch TV I can be found squinting at my phone with my in ear headphones watching You Tube videos....

When I first started watching vloggers I religiously watched The Saccone Jolys, Gabriella Lindley, Sprinkle of Glitter, Zoella and Alfie Deyes. I still watch them but not as much as I used to....


The Michalaks.



How does this family not have more subscribers? There videos are amazing. Well done to Stefan and his editing!! It is a pleasure to watch their videos. They are a family showing their everyday life rounded up into a Sunday night video. They are so funny and you can relate to them....

Hazel Hayes - Chewing Sand


Hazel Hayes is a sassy Irish girl....There's something about her I just love. She tells it like it is and likes a good drink...She does Tipsy Talk. Where she gets drunk usually with someone and it ends in lots of giggles.....Her monthly bit is a round-up of her month and it makes you want to be her friend in real life....She has such a good time...She is such a talented person....

The Shaytards.



I am so late in discovering this family. They have been around for years. It was actually Ellie who got me into watching them. lol. They have been making videos for over 7 years (I think). The Shaytard vlogs show American family life. They are crazy but lovely! Some of the antics their kids get up to have me hiding behind my hands. Jumping off high things, their two year old jumping in a pool with no armbands  but I find them so entertaining to watch....

Brummy Mummy Of 2.



You know the blogger....The host of Wicked Wednesdays....I love her You Tube videos too. She is ruddy hilarious!

Bits and Clips.



Marie may be the kindest and warm-hearted person I have ever seen on YouTube....She see's the positive in everything! She blogs about her family life and is also a good friend of Sprinkle of Glitter who I also love to watch. She has been through some rough times but always has a smile on her face....

Who do you watch on YouTube? Who else should I be watching?

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Not impressed with big school - #wickedwednesdays

Last week we had Becky's parents evening and after picking Ellie up from school I walked up to the secondary school....We caught all the kids coming out and it was scary! Kids are getting tall now a days....I felt so small....lol

We got into the entrance, met Becky and took a seat....I asked Ellie what she thought of big school and this was her reaction! lol


She wasn't too impressed. lol


Tuesday 29 March 2016

Soreen Squidgy Cake Minis - Review!

Soreen has always been in my life....As a child I loved the Malt loaf and I still do now. I was contacted recently and asked if I would like to try the new Squidgy Cake Minis.


Squidgy Cake Minis are available in both Chocolate and Toffee flavours....The chocolate with real chocolate chip and the toffee with toffee pieces both with up to 60% less fat and 50% less sugar than standard cake.


The girls were obviously keen to give these a try....Opening the packet I could instantly smell the malty smell you associate with Soreen....The texture of them is the same as malt loaf too but the flavour is totally different....The chocolate one's were good but we all preferred the toffee one's....


These would be perfect for packed lunches, picnics or a snack on the go as they are individually wrapped....

At the moment the Squidgy Cake Minis are only available from Tesco for £1.35 which I think is an average price for cake bars....I will be adding them to our shopping list. They make a nice change from what we usually get.

We were sent these free of charge to review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Monday 28 March 2016

Our Weekly Meal Plan!! - #mealplanningmonday


Last weeks meal plan mostly went to plan.....When planning it I did forget that I was out all afternoon helping out with the schools Easter egg hunt and then at Becky's parents evening....I didn't feel like cooking when we got in so we had a pizza delivered....hehehe

This week as well as the kids being off school, Stu is off work too. He has said he is going to help with the cooking and has planned a few meals.....

On Friday we are going to Newcastle for the Genetic testing....To see if I passed the girls heart defects to them or it was just bad luck and if they will pass it on to there children.....I am interested but nervous at the same time....

This week on the Menu we have:

Monday - Mince and dumplings....
Tuesday - Sweet BBQ Pulled Pork in buns....
Wednesday - Spaghetti Bolognese....
Thursday - Leftover bolognese in the Old El Paso Stand And Stuff Tortillas covered with cheese....
Friday - We're at a medical appointment so we'll get something while we're out....
Saturday - Home made pizza....
Sunday - Beef stew (Stu's cooking it. I have no idea)....

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

Saturday 26 March 2016

A photo everyday for a year! #Project366 - Week 12

We have had quite a busy week....Making Easter eggs, testing biscuits, Easter egg hunts, parents evening, reports from school received and the start of the Easter holidays!


79/366 19th March.
Pie face! They still love it.

80/366 20th March.
Testing out Bahlsen Biscuits.

81/366 21th March.
School run time.

82/366 22th March.
I have probably eaten far too many mini eggs this week....hehehe

83/366 23th March.
Ellie decorated eggs at school.

84/366 24th March.
A little bit of Ellie's school report....I'm so proud of her.

85/366 25th March.
The first day of the school holidays and she choose to read a book instead of using her tablet or computer.

Friday 25 March 2016

We got the end of term reports - #WotW

This Week my Word of the Week is:


On Wednesday we had Becky's parents evening where I got to have a chat to all her teachers and received her school report....

Becky is doing so well with I.T. It is probably her favourite subject and also French where she is working at a year 9 level....She's only still in year 8!! She is at or above all the levels she should be for all her subjects apart from PE....She hates PE so this didn't surprise me at all....If that is the only subject she's failing at I am fine with that....

All of her teachers did say she needs to stop being so shy and gain some confidence but it's the way she is. She is quiet and I can't see that changing. There was only her Maths teacher who understood her being shy and said she used to be the same when she was younger.....It was lovely for someone to understand. I am shy too so know exactly how Becky feels. Every teacher said she is polite and a lovely girl. I already knew that....hehehe

Yesterday we got Ellie's school report. I always worry and almost dread reading it...In the past she hasn't had the best reports but this time I couldn't be prouder.

Ellie is trying so hard in all her subjects especially writing which she hasn't been too good with in the past. It said her who attitude towards school has changed over the last few months and she is thriving....

I am so proud of my girls.....It is the first time they have both had amazing reports.....I think they will be getting a few extra treats during the holidays.

Today is the first day of the school holidays....I am so ready for them and I think the girls are too....Two weeks of not doing much at all is what we need. Stu is off work too for a week so we are hoping for some good weather to have a couple of days out....

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend with plenty of Easter eggs....hehehe


Thursday 24 March 2016

My Problem Child......

Since Ellie has been born she has always been a worry to us....Not a problem for us, I wouldn't change a thing about her but a problem for other people who have had to deal with all her medical conditions....You should see the size of her medical folder at the hospital. hehehe

Last week she had us worrying again when stopped eating at home after a healthy eating topic at school she took it to heart and just refused to eat....Thankfully she is eating again but it reminded me about how much stressing we have done over her over the years......


The two main real diagnosed issues she has is with her heart and her ear...

When she was a day old and we were still in hospital a trainee doctor came to check on her and noticed a problem with her heart.....For a couple of hours I was worried....The trainee doctor was ignored by his senior and it was only years later we found out she had a heart defect after she jammed her fingers in a door.....She needed open heart surgery and has been left with a bent finger....

Since Ellie went for her newborn hearing test we have known she had problems with her hearing....Over the years she gradually lost the hearing she did have in the bad ear and now completely deaf in it...

Ellie has had plenty of other issues in her short life (She's 8).... Someone looking on would just say I am a worrying mother but most of her problems have been referred to specialists from our health visitor, nursery or school.....Not me.

When she was a few months old our health visitor picked up the her feet were facing outwards.....When she said it we did notice it too....We were referred to the hospital....By the time we got an appointment she was crawling and the problem had sorted it's self out....Which then brought us another worry when Ellie started walking.....She wouldn't walk outside. In the house was fine but when we took her outside she wouldn't stand or walk. She would sit on the floor and scream. Obviously when I mentioned it to the health visitor she stopped and walked fine outside....

Ellie was also diagnosed with Duane Syndrome....It basically means some of the muscles in her eye don't work properly and one of her eyes doesn't turn out properly.....It doesn't affect her day to day life and her eyesight is just perfect. The doctors were pretty clueless about this syndrome as it's very rare....So rare that up until a few days ago I didn't know anyone who had it then I read about Something Crunchy Mummy's son....

She was late to sit up and walk....I did go to the health visitor about this...She decided about a week after the heath visitor visits to do what she was supposed to do....Grr! 

Nursery picked up that Ellie's speech wasn't as it should be.....We were referred to the hospital where they had their speech therapy....It was a big waste of their time....Her speech was apparently fine although she still had speech therapy for a couple of years just to make sure....

We had big issues with Ellie being toilet trained.....I still say it was because I had to rush her out of nappies when she started nursery.....She used to wet herself up until the middle of last year.....We had been to the doctors and she was put on tablets for a short time and they worked but it wasn't a long time solution.....As soon as the tablets wore off she was back to wetting herself....What we found was strange was she never wet the bed. She would wake in the night to go to the toilet...We got referred to the hospital about her accidents and by the time we had waited a few months for the appointment she had got the hang of going to the toilet....

Last summer Ellie's teacher thought she had some sort of behavioral problem.....The school was hinting at something like ADHD. She was being a little terror at home and at school and was again referred to a clinic at the hospital....I had noticed a pattern in this behaviour. It only happened at the end of the school year....Off we went to the hospital and school nurse said she was fine....Nothing at all for us to worry about....She was just being a naughty child....

It has got to the point now where Stu and I now know everything with Ellie is just a phase....She will grow out 95% of the issues she has. I really need to stop comparing her to other kids in her class as she is nearly a year younger than most of them.....She was born on the 29th of August. So if I had have had my c-section two days later she would have been in the year below and the oldest in the class instead of the youngest.....Why didn't I think of that at the time. lol

I love my little pudding to bits and I really wouldn't want her any other way.....We are now starting to realise it's just Ellie being Ellie....She does everything in her own time and her own way....

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Easter Egg Fail - #wickedwednesdays

A little while ago I received some Easter Egg moulds from Aldi....I had dreams of making a huge Cream Egg....

On Saturday we gave them a try...Everything was going well. We melted the chocolate, filled the moulds and popped them in the fridge!


While we were waiting for them to set Ellie licked the bowl out while I de-nitted her....Ahh! The glamour of it....Some people go on fab days out we eat chocolate and hunt nits....lol


The eggs had set and it was time to get them out of the moulds....Ellie was like a bull in a china shop....I managed to save one half!!! Never work with kids...lol


Yes it tasted delicious....Way better than normal Cadbury Cream eggs. lol

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Bahlsen Biscuits - Review!

In my house we are all biscuit lovers....They are perfect for a snack, treat and go so well with a cuppa.....I was recently asked if I would like to review some Bahlsen Biscuits. Of course I said yes....


I have never tried any Bahlsen Biscuits and actually thought there was only a couple of flavours....I was wrong. We were sent I think the full range to try....I was very impressed with them. 

The classic Choco Leibniz is recognised as being deliciously decadent and a favourite with friends and family. Flavours include milk chocolate, dark chocolate, orange chocolate, white chocolate and caramel. 


These are such a treat....They look fancy and taste so good. My favourite is the Choco Leibniz Orange. It uses the original butter biscuit dating back to 1889 covered with a fine milk orange chocolate. Amazing. 


The girls were very keen on the Choco Leibniz White Chocolate one's....Creamy white chocolate wrapped around a crisp cocoa biscuit.

PiCK UP! is a delicious thick milk chocolate slab, sandwiched between two crisp biscuits.....They are individually wrapped locking in the freshness and would be perfect for packed lunches and picnics...


Flavours include milk chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel and black n white. A perfect choice for the whole family.


We tried I think every flavour and they get the thumbs up from us....

Although we probably could eat all of these biscuits we were sent I am going to try baking with them. On the Bahlsen website they have quite a few recipes to try....I'm quite fancying giving the Choco Leibniz Easy Biscuit Pudding a go.

Bahlsen Biscuits are available from Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys and Waitrose....

We were sent these biscuits free of charge in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Monday 21 March 2016

Our Weekly Meal Plan!! - #mealplanningmonday


Last weeks meal plan mostly went to plan for Becky, Stu & I......Ellie basically stopped eating and we had a right week with her....Thankfully now she is eating again. In fact she hasn't stopped eating all weekend but I still decided to bring her in on the meal planning to get her interested in food again....She had a lot of input this week and we seem to have a lot of fishy, seafood meals requested by her but that's fine with me.

This week on the Menu we have:

Wednesday - Chicken kievs with rice....
Thursday - Pepperoni Pasta Bake....
Friday - Fish & Chips....
Saturday - Prawn cocktail salad....
Sunday - Roast chicken dinner....

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

Saturday 19 March 2016

A photo everyday for a year! #Project366 - Week 11

This last week has had it's up's and down's....We had a few lovely days of sunshine, Ellie stopped eating properly and then started again. I am so glad it's the weekend.


72/366 12th March.
As I was recovering from the flu on Mothers Day I never got to have my bottle of Asti so I had it on Saturday evening.

73/366 13th March.
I had washing on the line....It was such a lovely day on Sunday.

74/366 14th March.
Making tea. 

75/366 15th March.
I have discovered Snapchat. I don't really use it. I just like to play with the special effects....I like this look on me. It hides my double chin. lol

76/366 16th March.
We went into school and had a chat about Ellie not eating. They are keeping a food diary for her at school so I know what she's eating.

77/366 17th March.
I made Ellie a packed lunch tea. She ate most of it. Phew!

78/366 18th March.
Straight in from school and on to Minecraft for Becky.


Friday 18 March 2016

My youngest wasn't eating. #WotW

This week my word of the week is:


It could have easily been worried or stressed too....Then yesterday relief....I wasn't going to write about this but it is all we have thought about all week....

Ellie has not been eating at home. Over the weekend she brought home a food diary to fill in as they were starting a topic about healthy eating at school.....She went off to school on Monday morning with a full belly....That's the last time she ate properly at home until yesterday evening....Healthy eating is all she has talked about all week....She was just picking at food and at the most eating 3 or 4 mouthfuls which is nothing compared to what she usually eats....

We went into school on Wednesday to have a chat with her teacher about what had been said.....I know schools can be a bit pushy when it comes to healthy eating but it was just the basics....Ellie seemed to have taken it to heart and the extreme....They have decided to keep a food diary for her to let me know what she's eating at school. I at least know she is eating one full meal a day at lunchtime....

Ellie said she didn't know why she doesn't want to eat. She said when she has a couple of mouthfuls of food she doesn't feel full but just doesn't want to eat. There has been a few things which she has said which has worried me.....Like the food at school is very healthy and so good for her.....She is asking if food I give her has fat and sugar in....She doesn't want any cake until her birthday and then it has to be carrot cake because that's a vegetable....This week she has never once asked for crisps, biscuits or cakes....Usually she wants something when she gets in from school....

She said that no one told her to stop eating and she knows why she should eat, she just wouldn't....It was so sad. She wasn't her usual cheerful, energetic self but hasn't been ill either. 

I wrote most of this yesterday morning after an enormous battle to get her to eat some cereal....She ate 5 spoonfulls. It took 40 minutes...Then I had a clever idea. I know she loves packed lunches so I made her one before I picked her up from school and when we got in I denied all knowledge of it and said the fairies must have made it....A total lie but anything was worth a try....



I cut her sandwiches into stars, she had Wotsits, grapes and her favourite treats and she ate all the sandwiches, half the grapes, half the crisps and the kit-kat....Phew!!! It was such a relief to see her eating....I was cheering silently as I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It was one of those moments where I breathed a huge sigh of relief....I hope this is the end of my girl not eating! It has been a stressful week....I really hope whatever idea she had in her head has well and truly gone....


Thursday 17 March 2016

Foodie Treats for Easter....

I am not religious so for me Easter is all about having a few relaxing days and eating far too many Easter eggs....This is the time of year where I forget the diet and healthy eating. There is just too many delicious treats and lots of yummy food around.... 



4 Brownie Scotch Cream Eggs 
£22.95 - Brownie Heaven. 
A Cadbury's Creme Egg surrounded by baked dark chocolate brownie and then dusted in biscuit crumbs.  There is equivalent to 2 brownies in each egg, plus a cream egg, a couple of biscuits and good coating of milk chocolate.

Caramel Easter Egg Sandwich.
£10.00 - Hotel Chocolat
Everyone loves Easter eggs, and everyone loves egg sandwiches. So Hotel Chocolat put the two together and made an Easter egg sandwich!

Chico the Chick Cake.
£5.00 - Asda
Madeira sponge layered with vanilla flavour frosting and plum and raspberry jam, covered with yellow icing and edible decorations.


Large Hot Cross Bun.
£5.75 - Bettys
Bettys loaf-size version of a Hot Cross Bun, made with Yorkshire milled flour. Delicious served toasted and buttered.

Thorntons Statement Easter Egg.
£15.00 - Thorntons
The Statement Egg  combines 12 of your favourite Thorntons Classics and Thorntons Continental chocolates to create a unique box of chocolates. 

Melt And Make White Chocolate Egg Heads Kit.
£10.00 - John Lewis.
Create your own Easter egg with this fun kit. The Melt and Make Egg Heads kit is fun and simple to use, and includes everything you need to get started on making your perfect egg.


Easter Egg Gift.
£20.00 - M&S
An egg-cellent gift for all the family. A beautiful keepsake egg gift box filled to the brim with milk chocolate eggs.

Easter Treats Hamper.
£39.99 - Serenata Flowers
A lovely hamper with lots of yummy treats including eggs, chocolate bars, fudge & champagne and strawberry truffles.

Chocolate Easter Nest Cake.
From £22.00 - Marks and Spencer
Chocolate cake filled with chocolate butter cream and hand decorated with chocolate curls and mini Easter eggs.

Does anything take your fancy?
I want about 10 of everything....hehehe I do love Easter!

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Nescafe Azera coffee to go - Review!

I was recently sent some Nescafe Azera Coffee To Go to try...A few years ago I tried the normal Nescafe Azera and I really enjoyed it so I was interested to see what this was like....


There really is no treat quite like a delicious cup of coffee. Especially when it’s a barista prepared one from your favourite coffee shops. Well, now you can be your own barista with Nescafe Azera Coffee to Go! Not only is it instant coffee that delivers an intensely rich and aromatic flavour just like real barista coffee, it also comes in a handy pre-filled cup (complete with non-spill lid), so you can beat the coffee shop queues and enjoy it on the go.

In each box you get 4 pre-filled americano cups and 4 non-spill lids. In the pre-filled cups you peel the foil back to reveal the coffee, add water, add the lid and drink....


This coffee is amazing....It has such a great flavour to it and does get you going on a morning....I think its the closest thing you will get to barista style coffee from the local coffee chains....

If you have coffee on the go these are great. At the moment at Tesco they cost £3.99 for 4 cups which is a lot less than you would pay at fancy coffee shops....

The cups are made from great quality carboard and are tough enough to keep their shape when hot water is added. It's such a shame you can't wash them to use again....I tried!

Stu has already asked for me to add some to the next shopping order so he can take them to work....It will be a great way to save a little bit of money.

We were sent these free of charge from BzzAgent. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Easter Gifts - Some alternatives to chocolate!

I do love Easter eggs and all the chocolate but there is only so much one person can eat....I have been looking at alternatives to chocolate....There is so much to choose from. Here are a few of my favourite things.


Rabbit Planter -£14.00 - Not on the High Street
Bunny Cake - £21.99 - Yankee Candle
Easter Drinking Cup - £1.00 - Poundland
Easter rubber stamp set - £8.00 - Paperchase
Bunny & Heart Mobile - £15.00 - Marks and Spencer
Jumpin' Jack Rabbit - £14.00 - Build a Bear
Easter Chick Mug - £6.00 - Sainsburys
Sew Cute Easter Notebook - £7.99 - Funky Pigeon


Ringtons Patchwork Hamper - £7.99 - Ringtons
Easter Tsum Tsum Soft Toy Basket - £19.95 - Disney Store
Which Came First? Bath Bomb - £6.95 - Lush
Spring Basket - £24.95 - Serenata Flowers
Personalised Easter Candle - £9.99 - Find me a gift
Bunny Rabbit Speaker Keyring - £9.95 - Handpicked Collection
Chick Mug - £5.00 - Clintons
Easter chick biscuit card - £9.00 - Biscuiteers


Speckled Egg And Feather Easter Wreath - £29.00 - Not on the High Street
4 Egg cup buckets - £4.99 - Lakeland
Hoppy Easter Cookie Cutters - £3.00 - Matalan
Easter Loose Leaf Tea - £8.95 - Harrods
Easter Gift Box - £35.00 - Bettys
Yankee Candle Bucket And 3 Votive Candles Easter Collection - £10.99 - Clintons
Easter Cupcake Set 24 Pack - £1.00 - Poundland

Is there anything you fancy there?

Do you buy Easter gifts?