The Tots100 Swagbucks Christmas Challenge - a call to arms!

Every now and then, I agree to get involved in something on this blog and then think, "Uh oh, what have I let myself in for?" Today is one such day; I'm sure I'll be fine but I need your help. Read on!

I am one of the twelve bloggers who has agreed to take part in the Swagbucks Christmas challenge on Tots100. The challenge is to see which blogger has earned the most points between now and 14th December and the person with the most points will win a £250 gift card.

Swagbucks is pretty new to this country but has been around in the US for about 5 years. You may have signed up to similar schemes in the past (I know I have) - it's an online loyalty scheme. It lets you, the user, earn points - or Swag bucks, as they are known, surprisingly - by doing the sort of thing you'd normally do online - watch videos, play games, searching, looking at and buying products. You can then trade your Swagbucks for items from the Swag Store or gift cards to be used at online retailers.

Over the next three weeks, I'll be posting about how I'm getting along with the challenge and providing you with tips to boost your own Swagbucks haul.  This is where I need your help. Everyone who signs up for Swagbucks using my referral link earns me Swagbucks. Not only that, when they start earning Swagbucks, I do too - so this is how it differs from previous loyalty schemes that I have used, which can be quite slow to accumulate a decent balance. So, if you'd like to earn some Swagbucks and help me at the same time, just click here and get registering.

My current balance is 39 points, which is, to be quite frank, pitiful. This is why I need you all to sign up via the link above. I promise you that it's easy and it's free, it's safe and it's legal. And who doesn't want to score some free stuff at this time of year? The potential to earn more points just from doing your Christmas shopping has got to be huge. Saving money as you shop has got to be a good thing at the most expensive time of year.

Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on here, Twitter and Facebook over the course of the challenge.

(As part of this challenge, I will be given extra points to boost my balance.

Getting in the Hallowe'en spirit

Hallowe'en has changed a lot since I was a kid. I remember learning about witches and making pictures but trick or treating was a strange custom they did in the USA when I was small. I think I was pretty grown up before I even heard of it happening here, but it seems like it's the norm these days. I'm really in two minds about it - I think it can be great fun for children and I don't mind joining in if the children are just out to get as many sweets as possible - that'll be my two then - but I don't like the ones that are quite obviously out for money and are vaguely intimidating if you don't offer coins. I mean, what the hell? I am not made of money. There are times I've sat in the living room with all the lights off in the front of the house and ignored the door. Yes, I know, I'm a killjoy - what of it?

The children love Hallowe'en. A couple of years ago, they got to go trick or treating for the first time, round at some friends who live on an estate where nearly everyone does it. Their friend's dad dressed up in an inflatable pumpkin and I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life. My friend and I trailed round the estate with 5 children under the age of 5, knocking on all the doors. The children got so many sweets, they lasted until Christmas! They've been to Hallowe'en parties and the school, not being religious, holds Hallowe'en discos as fundraisers just before they close for half term.

This year, I've been sent a few things for Hallowe'en next Monday. I can't decide if we're going to go trick or treating as it's a school night but we have plenty of things in now to be able to mark the occasion. First, Poundland set me a Hallowe'en challenge to see how much I could buy with £10 vouchers that they kindly sent me. They were especially generous because somehow, I also got an envelope full of Hallowe'en tinsel, deely boppers with spiders, a witch's hat, a themed wine "glass" and some frog's leg sweets!

So, off to the local store we went. The children loved that they could choose things and actually buy them. (Can you tell I'm Mean Mummy?) We got:

- 2 flashing ghost lights
- 2 Simpsons Hallowe'en mugs
- Skeleton party straws
- Critters party decorations
- Jewelled ring
- 3 packs of Hallowe'en sweets

As the Hallowe'en items apart from the sweets were on 6 for £5, we had a pound left over. What did we buy? A book on times tables, at Monkey's request. Seriously! Poundland have pretty much everything, including some costumes in the smaller children's sizes, masks, all your partyware, sweets and decorations. We're sorted now for Hallowe'en; I might actually bother to answer the door to trick or treaters this year.

Something else we have been sent are a couple of items to try by Dr Oetker for a spot of Hallowe'en baking. They've sent me a bat cookie kit and some gel food colouring. I'm thinking of using the gel colouring to make a Hallowe'en version of my Neapolitan marble cake from last week for the day itself but we've made (and, er, eaten!) the bat cookies. The kit contains everything you need to make the cookies apart from 85g butter. You just rub the butter into the mix and bring it into a ball, then roll it out and use the bat cutter to cut out your shapes. I think my butter might have been a bit too soft as the dough was very crumbly. I tried bunging it in the freezer for a few minutes which helped a bit but my, it was fun trying to keep the shapes intact and onto the baking sheet.

Once the cookies were baked and cooled, there's also black writing icing to draw features on your bat. We've all had a go - and I discovered that writing icing takes a bit of warming up to work properly and you need to be slightly patient with it to get your designs drawn. I think my husband found his calling and did the best design on the bat:

(The upside down ones are mine, and the children's efforts are on the left hand side!).

As I said, the cookies didn't last very long - we had an afternoon cuppa (milk or juice for the children) and they were gone! They are shortbread like in texture: I made 8 whereas the pack said it made 6, but I thought the thinner ones were better as they were crisper. I would have rolled the dough out thinner had I been able to roll it out better so 8 is probably conservative.

I may not be a huge fan of Hallowe'en, but I think we're all more in the spirit of it this year.

(I was sent the items mentioned above by Poundland and Dr Oetker and I have received no other compensation. All opinions and words are my own, and I retain full editorial control.)

Back to school

This is the week that most parents across the country (barring Scotland, who went back two weeks ago) have been praying for. The kids have finally gone back to school. At the start of the holiday, I was counting down the hours, but do you know what? It wasn't so bad after all.  Having lots of trips away really helped break up the long period that stretched ahead of us. When they went back on Tuesday, I actually quite missed them. I never thought I'd say that.

Mum's cooking... Coffee Cake

I'm writing this post in response to a new challenge out there in Blogland called Oui Chef! on the Beckicklesie blog, written by the lovely Beckickles and her other half, Cheffy Daddy. It's a challenge about, obviously, food, and entrants earn points to ascend through various levels.

This month's prompt is "Mum's Cooking". Now, this is not that straightforward for me as my mum is not one of the world's great cooks. If anyone did "proper" cooking in our house, it was my Dad. Mum did the basics but didn't really like cooking. It stemmed from a thyroid condition that she had before I was born, which took away her appetite. She found it easier to eat if someone else cooked for her so Dad did. By the time I came along, my Dad often worked late into the evening to repay a loan so Mum had to cook. Nothing fancy - mostly mince in its various forms, the odd roast, rissoles and stuff out of packets like fishfingers.

There is, however, one thing that Mum could make. She wasn't a big baker but she made coffee cake from time to time. It was just a Victoria sponge with coffee added, with coffee buttercream icing. As kids, we would obviously get to lick the bowl and the taste of the sponge mix with coffee added was divine.

I decided to recreate mum's sponge on a whim this evening but I decided to do it the quick way as an all in one sponge. For each large egg, you need 2oz (55g) of soft butter, self-raising flour and caster sugar. To make an 8-in sandwich, you need about 3 eggs, so you need 6oz (170g) of each. After sifting flour in to a bowl, adding in a rounded teaspoon of baking powder and a couple of teaspoons of instant coffee, you add all the other ingredients to the bowl and mix, preferably with an electric hand mixer. It takes about 1 minute, longer if you are having to use a manual whisk or spoon . If the mixture easily drops off a spoon, its fine, but if it's too stiff, add in a couple of tablespoons of milk or water to loosen it until that consistency is reached. Then divide the mixture between two greased and paper lined sandwich tins, level the tops and bake at 170 C / 325 F / Gas mark 3 for 30-35 mins until the mixture springs back when lightly pressed. Leave them in their tins for 5 mins before removing and leaving to cool on a rack completely.

I tasted a bit of the cake mix when I was making this, and was transported back to my mum's tiny kitchen - it tasted exactly the same. This cake must have been my first experience of coffee as a child, and I just thought coffee was sweet like the cake mixture. Well, I guess it was in those days - everyone had sugar in their coffee!

Onto the icing. I dissolved a couple of teaspoons of instant coffee in a little bit of hot water whilst the cakes were baking so that it could cool down to use in the icing. Then I just mixed 4oz (115g) of softened butter and 8oz (225g) of sifted icing sugar together then added the coffee mixture. Half was used to sandwich the cakes together and the rest spread on top of the cake. Mum used to add walnut halves sometimes but I hadn't got any in. Excuse the picture - I took this on my phone, which has no flash. Yeah, yeah, I know - rubbish blogger.

My verdict? Just like Mum used to make! This is pretty close to her version. Whenever I have coffee cake, as it's an option I frequently choose, it always reminds me of my childhood. This is Mum's cooking.