Celebrating great mornings with Pampers

This is a sponsored post. 

Pampers are celebrating ‘great mornings’ and asking mums to share pictures & their sleep tips for a chance to win a professional photoshoot and appear in Mother & Baby magazine!

You can tell just by looking at your baby’s beautiful morning face whether they've had a good night’s sleep or not, and we want mums to show us what works for their baby to have a great start to the day.

Pampers, whose Baby-Dry nappies are recommended for up to 12 hours of Golden Sleep by 92% of UK mums*, are celebrating these great morning moments by inviting you to share images of the great morning moments you share with your little one along with your tip for a good night’s sleep. Simply email a recent photo of you and your baby, and your tip in no more than 50 words to pamperscompetition@hkstrategies.com. Remember to include your address and a contact number.

A selection of the entries will be shared each week on the Pampers Facebook page, and three winners will be selected to have a professional photoshoot and appear in a Pampers advertorial in Mother & Baby magazine!

Missy Woo in characteristic pose

In our house, the children's sleep habits as a baby have followed through into childhood. Monkey was dreadful for the first few months and even when he was sleeping through, he'd still wake early. He still wakes early now - I'm hoping the teenage year kick in soon but I'm sure he won't be the kind of person to sleep in all day. 

Missy Woo, on the other hand, slept so well as a baby, I used to have to wake her to feed or she would get too hungry, guzzle milk, bring it back up and get into a hungry/sick cycle. Now she's older, she tends to sleep the best - if Monkey leaves her alone, she'll happily lie in and we often have to tell her to get out of bed in the mornings. I'm not hopeful of her as a teen, I have to say! 

I'm way past the stage of being able to pass on sleep tips to mums of babies but my mantra when dealing with sleep issues was "Be consistent, be persistent". In other words, once I'd decided what I was doing, I would keep doing the same thing over and over, unless my instinct told me otherwise (eg if I really felt anything unusual was going on like illness, or teething etc). It certainly stood me in good stead - along with a healthy dose of "This too shall pass".

Closing date for entries is 9th July 2013 so don't hang around, get entering now and you could be a magazine model very soon.

*Based on a survey by 704 mums.

Walkers Hoops and Crosses - what the XOXO are they?

This post is sponsored. 

A box arrived in the post the other day. The contents didn't last long - in fact, I didn't even get a chance to get a photograph of the box before things got grabbed.  This is all I have left to show you (child not included):

The other thing was a pack of a new snack from Walkers called Hoops and Crosses. These are wholegrain corn snacks, that are baked not fried, and therefore meant to be a healthier version of a potato type snack, because it has 30% less fat and helps towards your wholegrain intake, which is lacking in most people, especially children.

A pack of Hoops and Crosses contains only 85 calories, but they are lighter than most packets of crisps in that they contain 18g instead of 25g or 28g. They are far from a low fat product but an average serving only contains 3.8g fat.

Tastewise, we were sent the Roast Beef flavour, mysteriously in a yellow packet (I get confused by variations in colour coding of crisp flavours!). Tastewise, they tasted just like Monster Munch to me, which is not my favourite thing but not unpalatable. They also come in Prawn Cocktail - Missy Woo's favourite flavour - and Salt and Vinegar. A packet lasted approximately 4.9 seconds but that was everyone getting a look in. I suspect they wouldn't last in a lunchbox for too long and I wonder just how filling the wholegrains make it as a snack. The children enjoyed them and keep asking for them in the supermarket.

Personally, I'd prefer Cheese and Onion but that's my favourite flavour.

Obviously, they are shaped like noughts and crosses but I suspect your games would get eaten quickly if you tried to play the game with them!

(This is a sponsored review as I have been paid a fee to cover my time to review this product. I was sent a packet to try along with the cuddly toy to keep. All opinions are my own and genuinely held.)

Sponsored video - Clean Like a Mother?

This article has been sponsored by Method but all thoughts are mine!

When you are a mother, your whole life is against dirty. Fighting a losing battle, I’d say. As always, you have to strike a balance – too clean and no-one gets to relax plus there’s the school of thought that a little bit of dirt here and there helps build everyone’s immunity (the children rarely get ill, enough said) but you don’t want to have your house condemned as a health risk either.

The problem is if you make a vague attempt to be clean AND green. The two appear to be exclusive – whenever I’ve tried eco-friendly cleaning products, they’ve not been up to the job and I’ve ended up going back to the chemical filled nasties because, well, they work. Yet you want to keep the chemicals away from the children – there is a good reason for the childproof lock on the sink cupboard.

But now, there’s a brand called Method, who are the People Against Dirty. Their products are completely non-toxic, so they’re safe to use with kids around. The products are cruelty free, so even vegans can use them in the knowledge no animals have been harmed in the production or testing processes. And they are environmentally friendly – Method actively seek to reduce the carbon footprint of their products and their company.

It’s all very clever, but I should warn you, they are slightly bonkers. How do I know? Well, I’ve seen their latest campaign. Exhibit A - check out this video, appropriately named “Clean Like A Mother” about their multi-surface cleaners. Dig the dancing. And the beard. I love the beard.



I guarantee you’ll be singing “Give a little squirt, give a little squirt” for the rest of the day.

Olympic Scrapbook crosses the line

Sponsored post (but you know it's not bad, don't you?)

So, it's all over. All the medals awarded, the final party has been and gone and the athletes and officials are heading home. And that means one thing - our Olympic Scrapbook has been completed. It is a bittersweet moment. We are all proud of what we have achieved with our scrapbook and we have completely loved every minute of the Olympics, from the start of the first women's football match to the very end of the closing ceremony.

I must show you how we have finished it off. First, Saturday's page.

And yes, we have the same picture twice - Mo Farah and Usain Bolt doing each other's celebrations on the podium. Saturday was an amazing night - we watched Mo Farah together in the living room and as a family, we all shouted, "Yes!" when he crossed the line in front. We have also included Ed McKeever, who won the K1 200m canoe sprint, Luke Campbell who won boxing gold, Liam Heath and Jon Schofield who won bronze and on the right, we have Tom Daley winning diving bronze and a picture of them all jumping into the pool at the end, which we thought was great.

Then there was the page for the last day of sporting action and the closing ceremony.

We have some included some shots of the closing ceremony (which we thought was great, incidentally) but also the USA basketball team, Stephen Kiprotich the Ugandan marathon runner and Anthony Joshua, all of whom won gold on the last day. Also, there was Sam Murray who won Team GB's very last medal of the Games, a silver in the modern pentathlon. A truly fabulous ending to the Games.

With all the medals awarded, we were ready to complete our medals table. Flags drawn by the children whilst we were waiting for the closing ceremony to start. Look at that - Great Britain in third!

And then, we chose pictures for the middle page which has space to record more London 2012 memories.

I've managed to chop off Mo Farah in the picture, but we chose him as our favourite memory of the Olympics. Also, we have a picture from the opening ceremony, Chris Hoy crying on the podium after winning the Keirin, Laura Trott after winning the Omnium, Oscar Pistorius competing in the 400m, the heptathletes on a lap of honour, and a group of athletes running past the Olympic flame.

And then, finally, we visited The Times website to download our certificate for completing the scrapbook.

I have since filled it out and it's stuck proudly in the back page of our scrapbook. Because we've done it - it's been a bit of a marathon, but we really have enjoyed it, although my living room will be tidier without newspapers spread across it, and scissors, glue and scraps of paper scattered everywhere. We'd like the real medal, but you know, our achievement pales into insignificance compared to those of all the Olympians over the last 17 days.

You've still got time to get a copy of The Times today to complete recording your memories of the London 2012 games in your Olympic scrapbook. I hope if you started this along with me, you've made it through to the finish line and have enjoyed compiling it as much as we have. I'm off for a lie down.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Olympic Scrapbook - a slight pause for breath!

Sponsored post (but it's good, honest!)

Well, another post after two more days of Olympic action. Recording our memories of the London 2012 Olympics with our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times is proving to be a worthwhile experience. Every day, we turn straight to the scrapbook page to see if we like the pictures, then scan through the rest of the paper to try and ensure we have a picture of all the British medallists and any other significant people (like Usain Bolt - you couldn't miss him out, could you?).

But these last two days have been that little bit quieter. Including a whole day when Team GB didn't win any medals. I mean, really? I have to pinch myself because we keep trying to explain to Monkey how in some Olympics, Team GB only won as many medals across a whole games as we have on some days this time. But yes, a whole day without medals yesterday - probably a nice pause, given the rate we are running out of stickers in our pack.

Missy Woo insisted muscling in on Tuesday's page as she helped me compile the page. We have the Brownlee boys on the left hand side. We also have our 3 medals as we completed our challenges again - the children loved running upstairs to bed in particular, and Monkey did sterling work carrying shopping back from our walk into town. Talking of which, I took this picture yesterday whilst we were in town.

The children with Bradley Wiggins's gold postbox, which is located opposite the Town Hall in Chorley. The children were very excited to see it.

Anyway, on the right of the page is Charlotte du Jardin of the dressage team, Robbie Grabarz who won high jump bronze, Victoria Pendleton after she won silver (still gutted about that), Laura Trott winning another gold, Sir Chris Hoy winning yet another gold, and Rob Dempsey winning a windsurfing silver.

So, Wedneday was a lot quieter day. I mean, for goodness sake, I even have some Aussies winning a gold medal in the sailing! On the right, I put Nick Skelton (who was unlucky not to win a medal), Mo Farah doing his Mobot, and Shanaze Reade doing BMX time trials -  there is even space for a crowd picture and a picture of a random Chinese table tennis player. Yes, really, that quiet. The last day we didn't win any medals was Day 1, which seems like a lifetime ago.

Only four days left now. I can't believe it is nearly over. And there is still more to come for our Olympic Scrapbook. If you're joining in with this, don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Our Olympic Scrapbook runs out of superlatives

Sponsored post and all that...


The other day, I said we'd gone medal crazy. I hadn't banked on the days to come. On Friday,  I sobbed as Katherine Grainger finally won a gold medal with Anna Watkin in the women's pair. But then yesterday, wow. We were at Old Trafford as the men's four won their gold and caught the end of that race. We heard that the lightweight women's pair had also won during the match we attended (Japan beat Egypt 3-0 in case you're wondering, a result that was never really in doubt when an Egyptian player got sent off in the first half.

Once we got home, we then enjoyed the ladies of team pursuit winning gold for Britain, but we were totally not prepared for what happened next. Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all winning gold on a very very special night. It was a great night to be on Twitter, I lost track of the number of tears I shed for them and shared the stunned amazement and jubilation the whole country seemed to be feeling.

With all this success, how on earth do we even manage to fit everything into our Olympic Scrapbook, which we are using to record our memories of the London 2012 games using pictures from The Times and Sunday Times? Well, it's been a struggle but we've tried to include everybody by doing montages in the big boxes on the relevant pages.

So, this is Thursday, which seems so long ago now. Winning 2 gold medals in the space of 5 minutes, and a silver to boot, was pretty amazing but that almost pales into insignificance of the days since. We have Sir Chris Hoy, the other team sprint boys Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes, Peter Wilson, the canoe boys Bailie, Stott, Florence and Hounslow, and off in the corner is Gemma Gibbons winning an emotional silver medal in judo. (Sorry for chopping you off in the photo!)

Friday, we have fitted in the men's team pursuit, aforementioned ladies pair, Alan Campbell, Karina Bryant, Victoria Pendleton and some early shots of Jess Ennis taking part in the first day of the heptathlon.

And then finally, Super Saturday, which I'm renaming Superlative Sunday, because I've run out of them. More Jess Ennis, and tucked away in the left are the ladies of the team pursuit and Kate Copeland and Sophie Hosking of the lightweight pairs. On the right, we have the mens four, the lightweight pair who won silver, and Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford on the bottom right. I snuck in Andy Murray and Laura Robson for good measure as they reached the final of the mixed doubles. You'll notice the medal challenges up on the left, which the children completed, having learned the words to God Save the Queen, played tennis and done 10 press ups (which was quite entertaining, they don't really have perfect technique on that one!)

Phew! I have run out of superlatives for the London 2012 games now. It's been amazing and we're only halfway through. I can't wait for the next week, when we will be continuing to collect The Times and The Sunday Times to record our memories of these Olympics. Are you?

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Ready, Steady, Scrapbook!

This is a sponsored post, you know the drill. 

The waiting is over. Almost. Some of us have already had an Olympic experience (we went to a football session at Old Trafford last night) but tonight, finally, the Olympics officially opens. I've explained before how excited we all are but it's taken on a slightly different meaning for us since I agreed to be involved with the Times Olympic Scrapbook, detailing our experiences of cataloguing the events of the next 17 days.

I've just been told that if you've missed out getting a scrapbook before, there is one last chance to get your mitts on one before it all kicks off tonight. What you will need to do is to go here and print the voucher, fill it out and take it to your nearest WH Smith or Waitrose before they close TONIGHT. Yes, that's right. If you really want to join in and get scrapbooking the games with your children, you need to be quick off the mark! That way, you'll be ready and raring to go to start scrapbooking tomorrow.

If you've been away and have no idea what I'm talking about, my original post about this project explains more. The Times and Sunday Times have already given away more than a million of these scrapbooks, so there are a lot of people poised to start collecting their favourite memories, starting of course, with the opening ceremony. Even today's edition has a special games section - I liked the clever world map showing which nations excel at which sports. We're good at "sitting down" sports and the Americans just about everything, of course.

From tomorrow, there will be 15 special souvenir editions of the Times and we'll be cutting out our favourite pictures. For the children, tonight's ceremony is going to be just too late - normally, I'd let them stay up as a special occasion but we did that last night and then they only slept until 7 so both are somewhat lethargic. I have promised to record it all so they can see it in the morning - memories don't have to be watched live, do they?! I have high hopes for the ceremony after seeing the briefest of sneak previews - I love Danny Boyle's style and the way he doesn't take himself too seriously so I suspect that something of him may go into this, along with all the over-the-top events that can only feature in an opening ceremony.

Come back again soon and see how we got on with scrapbooking the opening ceremony, but don't forget to be quick if you want to grab that voucher and get one of the last scrapbooks so your family can join in too!

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.

Preserving London 2012 memories with the Olympic Scrapbook

This is a sponsored post (but you might like it anyway!)

Two weeks to go, after seven years of waiting. I remember sitting, holding Monkey (a nearly 4 month old baby) in my arms watching the announcement of the host city of the 2012 Olympic Games and tearing up with joy and excitement when Jacques Rogge uttered the words "the games of the thirtieth Olympiad are awarded to the city of London." (I just looked those words up on YouTube to make sure I got them right and it set me off again!) I was excited, not just for me, but for the baby that I was holding in my arms, that such a fantastic thing was going to be happening in our country and that it would be something we would be able to share as a family. 

Seven years of waiting, but once it starts, the Games will be here and gone again in the blink of an eye and we will be left with will be some - hopefully fantastic - memories. I've been pondering how best to do this with the children for a while. Monkey, in particular, loves his wall charts - he dutifully filled out his Euro 2012. But I wanted more than that - a keepsake that can go into their memory boxes to remind them of the this once in a lifetime event. Then, I was asked if I'd like to be involved with the project I'm about to tell you about. Being a sports mad family, I jumped at the chance as we will be devouring the Games in all forms when it starts. 

Foreword by Lord Coe

The Times and The Sunday Times today announced the launch of their ultimate Olympic Scrapbook that will offer readers the opportunity to catalogue their memories from this once in a lifetime event. Readers of the newspapers will be able to collect and record every day of London 2012 with their free scrapbook inside every copy of The Sunday Times this weekend.

The scrapbook, supported by London 2012 sponsor P&G, will feature editorial content from The Times and The Sunday Times’ award-winning journalists, including an Olympic timeline along with stats and facts about this summer’s Games and past medal winners. Readers will be able to collect pictures, athlete profiles, medal tables, as well as adding in their own images and memories – plus an exclusive sticker set that will be available inside The Sunday Times on 22nd July.

Stickers? Monkey will be overjoyed! He has that geeky, slightly obsessive quality that little boys often have, collecting stickers and cards wherever he can. I suspect Missy Woo wants to join in as she likes stickers although they will have to be pretty ones.

A sample page from the scrapbook

We have had a sneak preview of the scrapbook as we were sent a copy to get going. The scrapbook is a really nice size (just under A3) with Jess Ennis on the cover, and a foreword by Lord Coe. Every page is in colour, with information for you to cut out and keep from the newspaper or their website (although that is behind a paywall) as well as interesting information about the Olympics, like profiles of high profile athletes and a series about Olympic villains over the years. There's space to write in who won what on each day. 

Monkey is very excited about the prospect of filling out this scrapbook over the coming weeks. Missy Woo is less so, but I know she will enjoy it too. This is going to be a great summer holiday activity, which we are going to need if the weather carries on the way it has been! I think it's nice to be able to do something like this together - choosing the pictures, cutting them out, sticking them in - to make memories the way we see them, not anyone else. 

Over the next month, I'll be blogging about our experiences of putting the Olympic Scrapbook together, and showing you what we're doing with our scrapbook. If you'd like to join in, please do. I'd love to see what other people do with the scrapbook. In my next post, which should be early next week, I'm hoping to share a How to video with some useful tips for completing the scrapbook with your children. 

Get your copy of The Times & The Sunday Times OlympicScrapbook free this weekend with The Sunday Times and you can visit: http://bit.ly/STOlympics for more information. If you have arrived late to this post and missed your chance, all is not lost. You'll have a final chance to get your hands on the Olympic Scrapbook by visiting your local Waitrose or WHSmith on Saturday 21st July and purchasing a copy of The Times. 

If you want some more ideas for Olympic related activities to do with your children, you can visit the Olympic Fever section of Netmums throughout the summer.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative. 

Where was your best family holiday? Answer this and you could win a prize!

V60 - image courtesy of Volvo Cars UK

This is a sponsored post (but stick around, it's not that bad!)

Well, where was it? Our best was probably last year to Devon (which I blogged about several times) when  we stayed in a lodge, visited the Eden Project and my sister, and ate cream teas until we were fit to burst. We loved it so much that we're going back there soon - it was a good location for day trips as well as easy for us to get to, there was plenty for all of us to do and the lodges are of a really nice standard. We're all excited about our trip back there soon.

If you can answer this question - and others - you could win a prize this coming Sunday. Volvo Cars will be giving away a range of prizes - such as a Kindle or a family adventure weekend - in their V60 getaway competition on Twitter. Oh damn, that means I need to have fitted that answer into 140 characters. Brevity was never my strong suit. Maybe you can do better?

I do a lot of online competitions as a hobby and I dislike most Twitter competitions - they usually require you to follow an account and then to retweet stuff into your followers' timelines, effectively spamming everyone. So, I was pleased to see this was not like that.

First, you need to be following Volvo Cars on Twitter. On Sunday 27th May, they will ask a series of questions. Tweet them your answer using the hashtag V60getaway and they will give away prizes every hour during the duration of the promotion. No spam! A Twitter competition I can join in.

Personally, I was hoping they were going to give away an actual V60 which you can learn more about here, but sadly not. I could do with something a little more stylish but practical to drive and the V60 would definitely fit the bill, although sadly, my budget definitely doesn't stretch to it at the moment.

So don't forget - if you want to try and win a prize, follow Volvo Cars UK and keep an eye out for the #V60getaway questions starting on Sunday. Good luck, I hope you win a prize!

I am a member of the Netmums Parent Bloggers Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team from our database to review products and brands on their behalf. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I can ‘opt in’ to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

My tips for saving money on your food shopping

This is a sponsored post.


Every penny counts for us at the moment. We are lucky in that a lot of our outgoings are not huge but I have to be careful and to cut costs where I can so that we can eat well for less. Over the last couple of years, I have got it down to the fine art. I thought I would share my tips for saving money on your food shopping.

1. Meal plan and write a list before you go shopping. I would say that, wouldn't I? But trust me, knowing what you're going to cook and only buying what you need saves a fortune because you waste much less. I start by checking what's left in the cupboards, fridge and freezer, add recipes that will use them to my meal plan, then write a list of things to buy that I don't have already. Then I add regulars in, like bread, butter, milk, yogurts etc.

2. Use vouchers where you can. The supermarkets are fighting for your business at the moment and often have money off vouchers which they'll give you when you shop or via post or email. Consider which is going going to give you the cheapest shop. I mean, I noticed Tesco offering £10 vouchers for an £80 shop - I rarely spend £80 in one shop so that's no use to me - I would have to buy extra to get the discount. I've been getting £6 off a £30 shop which is more useful; it brings my bill down to around £40, sometimes less, whereas the Tesco offer would mean my bill is £70.

3. Don't shop in a rush, and don't shop hungry. Most of us are short of time, but try not to do a shop that is the equivalent of a trolley dash. Grabbing the first thing you see doesn't give you time to compare different brands and work out the cheapest deal. I check everything I buy to check it offers best value, depending on how much I have to buy and how fast we use it. It's also a well known fact that you buy more when hungry. If you do have to shop straight after work and you're hungry, try to have a snack before you go. Stay away from the supermarket if you're ravenous.

4. Try buying cheaper ranges. Go on, give them a try. Often value ranges are exceptionally cheap and the quality is not always as bad as you think. Try them and see what you think. If it is not for you, then fair enough, but if you like it, you will save money and not notice the difference. Ranges are really variable and it all comes down to personal taste.

5. Use multibuy bargains advisedly. If the cheapest way is to buy items in multibuy bargain formats, stop and think. It's fine if you're going to use them all before it goes off, but if not, you'll be wasting money. Also, some multibuy offers aren't huge - saving 10p for buying 2 is nothing - and you could still save more buying a different brand.

6. Go for reduced price bargains but only if you can use them. I love bargains but only if they work for me. It's very tempting to buy something that's slashed in price because it's reaching its use by or best before date - but not if you can't use it before it goes off. I get round this by freezing as much as I can - especially useful for bakery items, meat and fish. If not, make sure you eat it quickly. Don't get carried away by those yellow labels - some supermarkets actually take very little off the original price in the hope that you'll buy it, then reduce it more as the day goes on. The best time for the best bargains is tends to be after 8pm in 24 hour supermarkets, especially on Mondays and Thursdays. If it's been reduced by little, it's probably worth spending the extra money to buy the item full price.

7. Consider joining warehouse shopping clubs for bulk purchases. We are Costco members which costs £30 per year but we easily save more than that on our food shopping and for items like kitchen rolls, it's fabulous. You have to keep your shopping head on and know what you are buying is a bargain as some aren't that much cheaper than the supermarket - and own brands can work out cheaper, but you will find some gems. For example, coconut milk is around £1.99 a tin at the moment, yet I bought a case of 6 for £4.39 last week, saving me over £8.50.

8. Don't waste food. Once you get your food home, store it properly, and bringing items with shorter dates to the front so they get used first. Use up leftovers - some recipes naturally seem to make more than the usual "Serves 4" given, so they often become lunches for me and husband - but make sure you cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate (or freeze), then reheat thoroughly. I'm a bit funny about rice so I am always wary of keeping it and it is one thing you need to be really careful about but most other things I will happily reuse. I also store sliced bread in the freezer as it can go off quickly and is mostly used for toast. Slices even defrost quickly if I want to make sandwiches.

Those are my tips. Happy saving! Don't forget also that My Family Club has a shopping section where you can find all the best discounts and offers, and you can sign up for a weekly email newsletter with the latest tips and offers. And if you have a great moneysaving tip, you could win an iPad by entering their competition here.

What tips do you have for saving money on your food shopping?


(I have been paid a fee to write this and a previous post, as well as mention them on social media. I have not been told what to write and all words and opinions are my own.)

Meal Planning Monday - the My Family Club edition

This is a sponsored post. 


This week, I am doing something different again. I was approached to talk about a brand and I said yes because I took a look and liked what I saw. My Family Club is a website that wants to help parents save money and time, and from today, is starting an ad campaign coming to a TV near you.

When I first looked at the site, I noticed that it had a kitchen section. There are meal plans and a wealth of recipes that are easy to make and on your pocket. So, as I've done this sort of thing before, I decided to plan a week of meals from the site to test them out. None of the meal plans were completely right for me, so I picked out my favourites from their recipe section and made my own plan.

Here, then, is our week in meals. Two things I noticed when doing my plan - one was that the recipe section wasn't easily searchable nor the recipes grouped logically so you had to click through all the recipes to find your favourites. The other was that the butternut squash, bacon and mushroom lasagne recipe says that it is a "vegetarian" alternative, which made me laugh. Surely not?

Monday - Sesame chicken with rice
Tuesday - Butternut squash, bacon and mushroom lasagne
Wednesday - Bean burgers and paprika chips
Thursday - Sandwiches as usual
Friday - Shepherd's pie with a twist
Saturday - keeping free, although it's likely to be tapas.
Sunday -  Cheese and ham pancakes

If proof were needed that these are easy on the pocket, I bought all the ingredients in an online shop last night and I struggled to get my bill over £40, even with me stocking up the house after the school holidays, and trust me, I have run out of  most staples.  Admittedly, I do seem to be very well stocked in my store cupboard at the moment and have some chicken in the freezer. I bought some extra treats to take it over the minimum order value.

How about you take a look at My Family Club yourself? If you join as a member (which is free), you can get access to special offers and participate in the community section, asking and answering questions. There is also currently a competition to win an iPad and iPod bundle on there to enter when you give them your best money saving tip.

And of course, this is still a Meal Planning Monday post, so don't forget to tell me what you are eating this week, and to visit Mrs M who hosts the Meal Planning Monday linky.

(I have been paid a fee to write this post as well as to post a small number of sponsored tweets. I was asked to include links in this post, mentioning My Family Club but all words and opinions are my own. )

Car insurance - how I save money

This post is sponsored - please see below for more details

It’s the time of year for me that I have a very important job to do – compare car insurance. I’m on a budget, so every penny counts, more so than it ever has before. My renewal notice comes around now and even if it hasn’t changed much, the cost always goes up and never down, doesn’t it? I thought I’d share my tips for ensuring you get the best deal.

Photo credit - blary54

It is however worth doing a comparison, because you are pretty much guaranteed to save something. Insurance companies want to win your business, so the prices you’re offered as a new customer will be lower than a loyal one. Madness I know, but that’s how it seems to work.

When you are comparing, make sure you check that you will save by whichever method you prefer to pay. Paying in one lump sum is always cheaper but if you can’t do that, then be wary of the varying finance charges as you might not save paying by instalments. Also, be sure to declare EVERYTHING before getting those comparisons – every accident, any recent or pending convictions, everything about your car, how you intend to use your car. Don’t skimp on your cover in that respect, because you could have any claim refused for missing something out, and that’s a false economy.

Even if you’re not intending to change insurers, it’s worth comparing prices then ring up your current insurance company and telling them that you can get it cheaper elsewhere. They will often reduce the price on the spot if they think they are going to lose you. They are depending on your inertia, but a quick check and a brief phone call should help you save money.

My final tip would be to investigate if the insurers you find are on the usual cashback sites. If they are, check those deals out as they will further reduce the final cost of your insurance, although you may have to wait a while for the money to come through. It’s worth doing though, as it can bring down the cost of some policies with better cover levels and lower excesses.

One thing is for sure – do not just accept the price you’re first quoted on your renewal notice. Put a little effort in, and you will save yourself money. Go forth and compare! 

I was paid a fee to write a post and include a featured link. All words and opinions are my own and are from my own personal experience. 

Just call me Two Vacs

This is a sponsored post, but stick around - it's not all bad. 

It's all Dirt Devil's fault. For years, I have been faithful to my upright cleaner. Although my mother has always owned a cylinder cleaner, I've always bought uprights. Recently however, I've realised how difficult it is to vacuum our stairs with it. And it's fairly bulky so carrying it up and downstairs is a nuisance. But it does the job and the one I have currently didn't cost me as much as some brands. Bonus.

So, when I was asked if I'd like to try out a Dirt Devil cylinder cleaner, I thought I'd test my allegiance to my upright and see if I can be converted to the ways of the cylinder cleaner. After all, a cylinder cleaner is lighter, and this one seemed to have an extra long hose (no sniggering at the back, will you?) so it seemed perfect for the stairs. And boy, did my stairs need it.

I'm going to Cybermummy11 - thanks to SeaWorld Parks!

This is a sponsored post.

I only started blogging last April and last summer, I noticed a lot of bloggers talking about Cybermummy. It turned out to be an blogging conference for parent bloggers in London. Much as I would have liked to go, it fell on the weekend of Missy Woo's birthday party. So, when this year's date was announced, I was pleased to find I could make it. My next problem was affording it - the cost of a ticket, travel to London and a hotel room soon add up to a lot of money. I'd heard that some people had got sponsored last year but wasn't sure how to go about it. 

After following up a few possibilities, the lovely Laura from Are we nearly there yet Mummy? asked me if I was still looking for a sponsor and when I said yes, she passed my name on to a then unnamed possible sponsor. They then get in touch and I was blown away when I found out who they were. After a bit of toing and froing during which I wrote a pitch for the first time in my life, they confirmed that they'd love to sponsor me. Wow. I'm going to Cybermummy! 

So, who are the lovely people that are sponsoring me? Only SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in Florida! If you've been on a Florida theme park holiday or are planning one, you'll be very familiar with them. They have 4 parks in Florida - SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove in Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa. Until I had children, I was never into theme parks but Monkey and Missy Woo have been to ones on a small scale in the UK, and are starting to show interest in the bigger ones. I know they would love SeaWorld as they love zoos and marine parks and would love to see Shamu, the famous killer whale. I love the educational aspect, as you can learn about the work SeaWorld does to rescue and rehabilitate marine animals. They would also love Aquatica, which is a waterpark with rides, as well as the chance to meet more animals. They are perhaps a little young to make the most of Discovery Cove, which is an all-inclusive sandy tropical oasis, where you can do the thing that is on most people's list of things to do at some point: swim with dolphins. That's pretty cool. From this summer, Discovery Cove will also have a 2.5 acre Grand Reef, where you can paddle in shallow water or dive deep to see some of the 10,000 animals. You can even trek the reef on foot wearing dive helmets to look at the wildlife. 

But I am pretty sure what the children would love the most is Busch Gardens. Monkey has been on a rollercoaster ride once and loved it. He's now just about big enough to try out their new ride this year, Cheetah Hunt, which takes you through an African landscape as if you were the fastest animal on land, twisting and turning at 60mph before a final plunge into the abyss. I'm not so sure about Missy Woo as she may be too small, but she chickened out on her last rollercoaster ride - much to her mother's relief, it has to be said. However, we can all enjoy the Cheetah Run where the trainers hold daily sprints with the cheetahs to show just how fast they are, or you can view cheetahs up close from glass panelled viewing areas.

Oh yes, my children would dearly love the SeaWorld parks. Sadly, I don't think the pennies will stretch that far this year. However, if your pennies will stretch to it, there is a special "3 parks for the price of 2" offer for all tickets booked by the end of May and activated by 31st December.

So, they are my lovely sponsors, without whom my trip to Cybermummy would not be possible. I'm truly gobsmacked and very grateful that they chose to sponsor me for this event. It's the one big event that bloggers travel to from far and wide, not only to learn more about blogging, but also to put faces to names of the people behind the many blogs we all read. Thank you, SeaWorld Parks, for making it possible for me to be part of that. And a huge thank you also to Laura (whose blog never fails to make me laugh) for recommending me to them.

Free park-ing

As a family with not a particularly large income, activities that keep the children occupied that don't cost a lot are quite important if we're to keep our heads above water. Things that are free are even better. Most of the time, Monkey and Missy Woo are happy to go and play out with the children that live on our road - which thankfully doesn't have a lot of traffic - to ride on bikes, or just play cricket or football. There aren't many girls of Missy Woo's age living on the road, so she does tend to get bored quite easily and ends up coming in, just as I think I've won myself a bit of peace. Gah.

There is a tiny park on the estate but they are not allowed to go there unless they are with an adult. They know how far they can wander from home and they are pretty good at sticking to it. Mind you, I thought I'd lost Monkey one day during the summer holidays when he was out on his bike one minute and not there the next. I found him at the house across the road, after a bit of frantic searching, watching a DVD with his friend.

If we need a proper park, a big favourite with the children - and me - is Withy Grove Park in Bamber Bridge. The playground there was regenerated only a few years ago and it's fantastic. It has equipment for all ages of children from babies upwards and there's a mini skate park for the teenagers. Missy Woo likes the non-scary things - some little rockers in the shape of marine creatures, and playing with lots of sand. Monkey is more of a daredevil - 'twas ever thus - and tries to go on the zip line that is designed for bigger boys. He does climb up to the top of the big corkscrew slide, disappear into the silver tubing and reappear, laughing, at the bottom a few seconds later.

The park is next to the leisure centre where the children go to swimming lessons so we often turn up there early for a quick runabout to let off steam before going inside, although getting them out can be like herding cats. The only downside is the cafe there only opens at weekends but the ice cream van visits regularly instead. Oh, and the M6 runs down one side of the outer edge of the park so it can be loud.

Another big favourite with the children is pizza. They could happily eat that, or pasta, every day of their lives. Over the summer, Pizza Hut had a kids eat free deal over the summer, for children under 12, but this has now been extended until 9th January 2011. 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).

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