Silent Sunday

Bras4Mums Voucher give-away

As most mums will have found out, finding a decent fitting, pretty bra whilst pregnant or breastfeeding can be a slight challenge, to say the least.  That's why so many women are finding bras4mums to be such a godsend.

Bras4mums was set up by Tracey-Jane Hughes when she was sold a nursing bra that fitted one week, but not the next, despite being fitted by a 'qualified' bra fitter.  After researching bra fitting for pregnancy and for breastfeeding, Tracey-Jane trained at De Montfort University, and was also a volunteer NCT bra fitter and trainer, before having to resign in 2010.

Now having over 6 years specialist bra fitting experience, and as a qualified trainer, bras4mums offer Royal College of Midwives accredited Bra Fitting Awareness Courses for health professionals.

There is a wide range of styles and sizes on the website, including maternity and nursing lingerie.

They don't just stock bras though, there's also briefs and accessories such as baby belts.

Now to continue their fabulousness, the lovely people over at bras4mums are offering you the chance to

**win a £30 gift voucher!!**

All you have to do to enter is like bras4mums Facebook page here or follow them on Twitter here.  Once you have liked/followed them, simply leave a comment on this post with a contact email or Twitter i.d, then be sure to follow my blog so you can keep updated.  You can also get friends and/or family to enter on your behalf, just do as above.


You all have until midnight on Tuesday 31st to enter, then the winner will be chosen at random and announced as soon as possible.

Good luck!

And the Winner is....

Ok, as chosen by random.org, the winner of the Betty Crocker Lemon Cupcake mix is................... (drumroll please)

number 5- Scoob!

I'll email you now to get a postal address. Well done!

Thank you all so much for taking part, please keep checking back as I have more give aways coming up, including one starting today for a £30 voucher from Bras4mums.

Baking fun with Green's

Green's was founded 100yrs ago by baker Horace Green, with the aim of making baking simple, fun and very tasty for all the family.  All Green's cakes are made with only natural ingredients and no artificial colourings.  Green's sent Madam and I a sample of their new cupcake kits, improved to make them more enjoyable for kiddies.  We got the Barbie version, which Madam fawned over as it was so "pink!!"

You just have to grab an egg, and measure out a little butter and milk.  That done, we got stuck into mixing all the ingredients, Madam helped naturally...

Then we spooned it into the cases and popped them in the oven for 10minutes.  This would normally be the part when Madam starts whinging as she's bored and wants those yummy cakes NOW.  This is where the improved cake kits come into their own.  With a colouring sheet, and stickers, plus little wordsearches, she was amused for ample time to let the cakes bake in peace. 

Admittedly, the fun sheets were definitely more suitable for older kids, but Madam still enjoyed covering her highchair in stickers, and scribbling all over the page.

Ten minutes later, the timer went 'ding', the Madam said "Cake!" and I made up the icing handily provided.

So these:

     plus these:

and some icing, equals these!

And as they were so light, moist and very tasty, that all made a very happy one of these!

Visit the Green’s website (www.greeenscakes.co.uk) for even more games to entertain the kids, plus top tips on party planning and all the latest baking deals.  The new range of Green's kids' cake mixes are available for a RRP of £1.69 in Tesco stores nationwide, and come in other designs, including Thomas the Tank Engine and Tom and Jerry.

Have fun!

Silent Sunday

Betty Crocker give away!

You may have seen the delicious results of my Betty Crocker cupcake kit review (if not, take a peep here).  Well, now I have a cupcake mix to give away to one lucky reader, the luscious Lemon cupcake mix.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your contact email and/or Twitter i.d.  Also, make sure you are following me first!  You can also like me on Facebook here.  You can also get your friends and family to enter on your behalf.  The winner will be chosen at random at noon on Wednesday 25th.

  

Good luck!

Eating Nakd

Don't panic, there aren't any photos of me eating my dinner in the buff!  I'm talking about the new range of healthy eating bars from Nākd, which claim to be "a taste revolution in healthy eating!"

You can get these bars in seven different flavours; Cocoa Delight, Cocoa Mint, Cocoa Orange, Berry Delight, Cashew Cookie, Ginger Bread and Pecan Pie.  All bars are made with a wholefood approach.  Instead of heavy processing, sugary syrups and mysterious additives, Nākd relies on tasty raw fruit, nuts and natural flavours all rolled together. That’s it, simply wholefoods and nothing else!  Consequently, they are genuine nutritional powerhouses bursting with natural raw nutrients, are wheat, dairy and gluten free, vegan and even count as one of your five a day.

We were sent 3 to try:

To be perfectly honest, they didn't look amazingly appetizing...

...but they tasted rather nice!  My favourite was the Ginger Bread, Madam and Mr B both loved the Cocoa Delight.  The texture was a bit weird, but that didn't seem to bother Madam at all, which is good news for me as she loves snacking and these bars tick all the right nutritional boxes.

Nākd bars are widely available in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, independent health food shops and www.eatnakd.com.

Silent Sunday

Squeaky Clean

I'm not talking about my conscience being squeaky clean, I've eaten too many cupcakes for that to be the case.  No, I'm talking about my shower screen!

To be perfectly honest, I'm not much of a clean freak, so I grabbed the chance to try the new E-cloth.  This award winning Glass and Polishing Cloth promised to leave stainless steel, chrome, glass and mirrors completely streak-free, without the use of any nasty chemicals.  That's right, simply dampen the cloth with plain water, wipe and voila!  Ooh, shiny...


Being chemical-free, E-cloth can also reduce the need for household chemical cleaners by up to 90%, therefore being safer for the family, allergy sufferers and kinder to the environment. 

An E-cloth is guaranteed for 300 machine washes, so it is THE most cost effective and green way to keep both the inside and outside of your home spotless and significantly reduces cleaning time (certainly not a bad thing in my book).


E-cloth Glass and Polishing Cloth is available from Lakeland, Waitrose, Tesco, Homebase, B&Q, Co-op, Robert Dyas and www.e-cloth.com, at a RRP of £4.99 for a one cloth pack, and £9.49 for a twin pack.

Betty B meets Betty C!

With delicious results!

The lovely people at Betty Crocker sent me some some of their latest flavours of cupcake mixes to try, one very exciting morning the postie handed me 'Cookies and Cream' and 'Lemon'.

You may have seen in a previous post (here for those wanting another drool, um- I mean look!) that I love making cupcakes.  Normally, I make them from scratch, but when offered these gorgeous, ready-measured packs, who was I to say no?

We got straight to work with the Cookie & Cream mix, at Mr B's insistence.  It's very helpful to have everything in one bag for the cake mix, saved me and Madam becoming covered in flour.  All you have to measure out is the required oil, milk and water, and grab some eggs on the way.

Madam helped plop everything we needed together into my mean, green mixing bowl

Mixed it all up nicely (and messily)...

After a few minutes of mixing (I admit, I helped out with the electric whisk.  Well, she has only got little arms!), Madam popped the cake cases into the baking tray,

we spooned in the mix and put it into the oven for around 17 minutes.

And the end results didn't look too bad at all, especially after adding the icing and yummy cookie sprinkles.

Oh, and Mr B says I can tell you that they were nicely moist, tasted really chocolatey, and disappeared very fast!  

You find the Betty Crocker Cookies&Cream and Lemon cupcake mixes in most supermarkets for a RRP of £2.15.  The pack says that the mix makes 9, but we made a comfortable 12, they were still all a good size.  The only downside was that the paper cases supplied in the box were squished beyond use, but not a problem for a cupcake fanatic like me, plenty more in the cupboard!

Madam enjoying the fruits of her labour

Boots, Baby!

Boots Baby sent Madam and I some great things to test out; a factor 50 baby suncream, a new nappy rash spray and some disposable play/splash mats.

The mats came in handy straight away as I popped one underneath her highchair at lunchtime.  They are a really good size (you know how far food can go when flung by an unruly toddler!) and quick thick, so not easily ripped if they get pulled whilst under the chair/table/etc.  Madam also liked how they are colourfully decorated with farm animals, after lunch she had great fun pointing at each one and making it's noise.

They come in a handy sized box, which opens on the top so you can easily pull the mats out, much like tissues (which I, of course, only discovered after wrestling the top of the box open...).

         

I think they're a little bit pricey at £6.12 (online) for a pack of 10, but these are certainly a holiday essential for me, and for anyone who's starting to wean- that's a lot of mess coming your way!

Next up is the Soltan suncream.  We've not had a lot of sun here lately, but whenever Madam's out in the garden I make sure she has some on anyway (Paranoid, moi?...).

I find some suncreams smell very chemical but this one has a slightly sweet odour to it, as it contains a hypo-allergenic fragrance.  It's also been approved by paediatricians, is water resistant, and has the highest UVA rating with 50 SPF UVB.

The cream is nice and thick, but still rubs into the skin nicely, disappearing as it's smoothed in and it's not greasy- ticks all the boxes for what I want in a baby sun protection cream!  You can buy a 200ml bottle of this for £9.25, and at the minute Boots Online has a 'buy one get one free' on selected Soltan products.

Finally, it's the Boots Pharmaceuticals Nappy Rash Spray.  My poor Madam has been suffering badly lately with a fungal rash on her little bottom, that was caused by anti-biotics she had to take for an inner ear infection.  When will it end, poor baby!  We have a nice, strong cream from the doctor to put on her and it seems to be working already, but I found that she still itches a bit, so I also used this spray during 'nappy free time', when she doesn't have the cream on, as it claims to soothe.  It worked instantly!  My poor baby had been scratching and scratching, and as soon as I sprayed her, she stopped!  I even got a little smile. :)  There's no need to rub this spray in, just shake well, squirt a few times and go!

The RRP is £5.60 for a spray bottle sized 100ml from Boots Online

Yummy bubbles! (Blueberry bubble bath review)

I was sent a gorgeous bottle of 'Avon Kids Blueberry Bubble Bath' for Madam to try from the lovely Natasha at Avon Clevedon.

Madam adores her baths these days (a far cry for her first ever bath at 14 hours old in the hospital- they could hear her screams two labour wards away!), and she loves mucking about with bubbles, so this product was one she was more than happy to review for me.

I added the blue coloured goo to running water for Madam's bath one evening, though I'm happy to say it didn't turn the water, or her, blue!  It did however, smell absolutely delicious (slightly embarrassed to admit that bubble bath made my mouth water...).  And a little definitely goes a long way, just a small squirt into the warm running water created a huge tub full of lush, frothy bubbles.

Madam found some bubbles left to play with, even after all the water was gone out she was having the shampoo showered out...

I fully recommend the friendly and helpful Natasha if you want to order any Avon goodies.  Don't let her location put you off if you're not near, she is happy to take 'out-of-area' orders and post them to you at postage and packaging cost.  She also runs reward schemes for her customers - free products, treats and offers:

~You will receive a free gift for every 6 orders you place
~Free samples available
~Mystery treats throughout the year

Now if that doesn't tempt you, I don't know what will!

Please contact Natasha via her Facebook page here, for placing orders, ordering a catalogue or getting information about becoming an Avon representative yourself.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Right then, Mrs McC over at The McCaskie Clan has tagged me to write 10 things you lot never knew about me for the Kreativ Blogger award:
(Yes, me!! I got an award! *cheesy grin*)

Now as I see it, there are 3 rules;

1. Link this award to 10 other blogs
2. Tell these bloggers about the Kreativ Blogger award
3. And write down 10 facts about yourself

Ok, now this could get a tad difficult, as I waffle on so incessantly I'm sure I've told you all about myself already!!  But let's have a go, shall we? 

1. I spent most of 2006 in Queensland, Australia.  I worked hard mustering cattle (a real life cowgirl), got drunk a lot, and did some really stupid stuff, least of which was flipping a car and earning myself two weeks in hospital and an eight inch scar from my crown to my cheekbone.
2. I have the highest recorded anti-Kell antibody titre that resulted from a miscarriage before we were blessed with Madam, and as such I'm part of a medical study to get more information on these lesser known antibodies.
3. I can crack every bone in my body, much to the disgust of pretty much anyone within earshot.
4. I have been awfully drunk on more than one occasion, but I have never been victim of a hangover (hmmm, famous last words?)
5. I have a morbid fear of flatflies *shudder, gag*.  For those of you who don't know, these are like ticks, but they have wings. Ugh....
6. My biggest ambition in life is to work with wolves, in conservation areas.  They are incredible, majestic and beautiful animals!
7. Or failing that, I'd just like my own cupcake shop please.
8. I have seen every single episode ever made of 'Friends' and 'Will & Grace', at least 4 times over.
9. I have a tattoo on each ankle, one on my left shoulder blade and a fourth on my right upper arm.  They all symbolise something extremely special that has happened in my life (maybe I'll photograph them all for you sometime). 
10. I got real writer's block on this number 10...

Now, all you lovelies that are listed below- your turn!! (Apologies if you've been tagged before)

http://mummyadams.blogspot.com/

http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com/

http://katestrickland.blogspot.com/

http://jojokirtley.blogspot.com/

http://mychellesmind.blogspot.com/

http://nanof4.blogspot.com/

http://madmumoffive.blogspot.com/

http://mylittlenutmegs.blogspot.com/

http://thecakepopprincess.blogspot.com/

http://diaryofasurprisemum.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to finding out more about you all! x

Gee Up Horsey!

Well, actually it's a donkey, but as Madam kept calling it 'doggy', we switched to horsey to avoid too much confusion!

That's right, that's my little princess atop her noble steed Charlie on the Weston-Super-Mare beach today.  Now, seeing as though when I approached Charlie and tried to get Madam to stroke him, she then buried her face in my sleeve, so I didn't think we'd have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting her into the saddle.  But once her bum was planted, and Charlie was off (at much more of a plod than a trot), she had the biggest, cheekiest grin on her face, and was quite annoyed when it was time to get off.

She also loved playing in the sand.  Not too keen on it being on her bare feet, but on her hands was fine, as it was in her hair, and clothes, and mouth....Yuck.

Ooh, and she made her first sandcastle!

And then destroyed her first sandcastle...

Yup, between the sunshine, the company of her cousins and, of course, the ice cream, Madam had a great day out.  Not so sure if her one cousin enjoyed being buried and stood on though...

Local beauty

Almost 9 years ago, I moved into the area I currently live in, and now it's springtime, I feel the need to share some photos of local sights.  This beautiful place became Britain's first National Forest Park in 1938 and is England's largest oak forest. Tucked away between the rivers Wye, Leadon and Severn in Western Gloucestershire, the Forest of Dean is a world apart from the rest.  The Forest is referred to as the 'Queen of forests', and I'm sure you'll see why looking through these pictures.

A very short drive from my house, we're fortunate enough to have plenty of woodland walks, including paths through the stunning Bluebells Woods.

There's also several picnic sites, with barbecue stands and streams running through to provide hours of entertainment for kids (little and big!).

It's not all peace and quiet in some areas though.  You can also find a massive selection of activities to keep the best of thrill seekers happy.  From canoeing to clay shooting, paint-balling to abseiling, raft building and high wire assault courses - the Forest of Dean has it all!

Fortunately for me, Madam's happy with just a tree to run circles around!

Mr and Mrs

Many congratulations to Wills and Kate (oh yes, of course I'm on first name basis with them...), I truly hope they have a long and happy marriage, without too much invasion of privacy from the press.

I thought in honour of the Royal occasion that sooooo very many people sat and watched on Friday, I'd do a show and tell on my own wedding.  But I'd better give you some background first.

I met Mr B back in 2002, when my family moved to the Forest of Dean, but it would another six years (to the day!) before we got engaged.  Mind you, we then made up for lost time by really shifting things along.  We were engaged in May 2008, married in December 2008 and Madam made her appearance in December 2009!

Our wedding was on a beautifully sunny, if bitingly cold, day.  Considering it was the beginning of December, we were so lucky with the weather, just for it to be dry was enough for us.

With my folks :)

We had a fairly small ceremony in a local hall, then onto a nearby hunting lodge-turned-hotel for the reception.  Our party was out in the gardens, in a beautifully decorated (and heated, thank goodness!) marquee, our food was delicious, the DJ very good and the bar was cheap- a good time was had by all, I'm happy to say!

Some very dignified dancing...

Silent Sunday