The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Great Festive Bake Off Blog Tour! #SnowmanSnowdog

We had a fantastic opportunity to receive and review some Snowman and the Snowdog products, a popular Christmas item for many families any Christmas! I know I always loved watching it as a child and you can get the chance to again this Christmas with his new companion as the Snowman and the Snowdog will be shown on Channel 4 again this Christmas.

We received a beautiful 'The snowman book' hardback deluxe edition, £12.99 from puffin books. Perfect for story telling and for letting your child's imagination run free, and a chance to reminisce for the parent's too! This would make a wonderful present, or a treat for the family before Christmas if you can't wait until the 25th! A large book as it measure approx 24 x 29cm and is full of illustrations in the style of the original film.

 Unfortunately our chocolate that was sent to review didn't have the best ride in the post by the looks of him! The poor snowman got a little broken!

However here is a photo of him in one piece, and he still tasted delicious as you'd expect from Thornton's chocolate. There is a whole range available on their website and in store.

Now I will admit, I do find it hard to get overly festive until after Sam's birthday on the 9th of Dec as he is the last out of us 4 (we have all 4 of our birthday's between 20th Nov and 9th of Dec!!!), and I will also admit to slightly being a bit bored of baking after my mammoth bake last week, but it was fun none the less and made a yummy pudding for us all!

The boys had a good time making the biscuits, and using our Snowman and Snowdog cutters to make the shapes. We used the recipe on the back of the cookie cutter packaging which was a little sticking to roll so we did have to add a bit extra flour to help. The cookie cutters are great and are available in John Lewis and Party Delights for around £3.

Recipe

350g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125g butter

175g light brown sugar

1 egg

4 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat oven to 180C.

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl, mix. 

Add butter, mix, stir in the sugar. 

Lightly beat egg and syrup together and mix with the other ingredients.

Knead dough until smooth and cover and put in the fridge for approx 15mins. 

Roll dough to about 0.5cm thick and cut out shapes. 

Place on baking paper on a tray and cook for around 12-15 mins. 

After they cooled, and we'd finished our dinner I got our icing and decorations out, we each decorated a Snowman and Snowdog and then I let the boys run wild with the rest which they found fantastic- I will admit I can be a tad OCD when baking with kids, I just can't handle it so I think they were enjoying no panicky and fussy mum!

Alex's aged 6

Sam's aged 3 (nearly)

My attempt, we had no black icing so had to improvise which makes them clown like!

The boy's creations together! 

As this is a blogtour it would only be fair to mention who is next, please check out Jenny's blog the-gingerbread-house.co.uk tomorrow for her #SnowmanSnowdog post. Search #SnowmanSnowdog on twitter to find all the posts so far too

1st Anniversary fun

I know, I know I have not posted for ages, yet again!

I have been busy making for my business, and keeping the two boys somewhat occupied over the holidays, and also going on holiday ourselves too (which I also need to blog).

The weekend before last was a busy one, I was bridesmaid for one of my bridesmaids a year before (literally-the same Saturday)!

I've known her since reception so nearly 21 years, which just makes me feel old writing, that. It was a wonderful day, celebrating our friend's special day and seeing some faces I had not seen for a while. Growing up her family was almost my second family and vice versa!

They were super lucky with the weather too as it was such a gorgeous and sunny day!

Both the boys were super party animals, Sam staying awake until 9.30 and then crashing out along 3 chairs, sleeping through the rock band they had playing all night! And Alex, well he was still awake past midnight chatting away to some of James' old school friends!!

 

So after all the celebrating, we were all feeling a little delicate the morning after (despite us not really drinking as we aren't massive drinkers), but it was a special morning none the less as it was out 1st anniversary.

It is crazy how fast the year has flown by, it really doesn't seem that long ago I was planning all the small details! 

We had a VERY lazy morning...ie. my Mum dropped round with our cards and present well after 11 and we were all still in PJ's! We popped to James' parents for lunch and they had organised between them and James to go to an open air screening of Top Gun in a local park in the eve.

I will admit I wasn't to excited to go, purely as I was just so tired from the day before! But it was a really good night, we bought a picnic along and some camping chairs.

There were freebies and competitions to enter whilst we waited for it to get dark, one of them being a chance to sit/lie in the cosy bed placed central to the big screen. So James and I thought it would be a laugh to enter, as you just had to take a photo at their booth.

I had to choose and Sandy and Danny outfit from their collection-and funnily enough we won!

So there we were, photo on big screen announced as the winners, EVERYONE looking at us walking over to the HUGE bed, bottle of champagne, snacks, and beer too!

At first it was embarrassing, but after about 5 mins I didn't care, it was so comfy and warm, and the champagne was a perfect way to celebrate our Anniversary!

We did keep laughing at each other throughout-after all it is a bit random being in a huge bed in the middle of a field watching an open air film with lots of others around, but still it made our Anniversary much more memorable and fun!

Look out for Luna Cinema #starrynights with Double tree, and see if there are any films showing near you (it may have ended already but may be on next year-it is good fun, especially if you win the best seat/bed ;) )

*This isn't a review, and all tickets/winning etc was our own doing!

Competition-Win a Dickins and Jones cushion with House of Fraser

I have a fab competition for you today.

How would like to win yourself this Dickins and Jones Multi Cushion?

Know I don't know about you but lounges can sometimes be quite bland and plain so it it great to try and add a pop of colour to the room with some bright and vibrant cushions. I know my Mother in law likes to change her cushions with the seasons!

Why not brighten up your lounge this summer with some great cushions from House of Fraser, because let's face the sun has been a bit absent of late!

And if you are too afraid of the bight colours there are some fab neutral ones too, and so much choice too!

I have my eye on a few for our recently decorated lounge...

Like this Orla Keily duck egg blue one

via

Or this Linea HOME one

Anyway for your chance to win the Dickins and Jones cushion enter your details in the raflecopter below, UK entrants only, the winner will be notified and their details passed onto the promoter. 

We received one as part of this competition and it is so so soft and lovely, the original photo didn't do it justice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

First day at school and a back to school competition (Vosene Shampoo & spray, £10 Tesco voucher, rucksack and pencil case)

Well last Wednesday morning was a day that I both dreaded and looked forward to. 

Alex's first day at primary school!

He was excited, and looked huge and so grown up in his school uniform.

Outside the reception door, where all the anxious parent's and children gathered were eagerly waiting, there was a slight glimmer of nerves, he clung to me slightly, holding my hand, but when the time came, he went in fine, with (luckily) a big kiss and hug for me before I left.

He only had 2 1/2 hours there (in fact all his sessions are for the next few weeks!!) but he came out happy, and he seemed to have a great time, and loves his teacher and TA.

I just can't believe where the time has gone, 5 years ago he was still a growing bump that was kicking me in the ribs, now he's a tall, handsome young lad, in age 6-7 clothes!

Now with the new school year I have a great back to school giveaway for my readers.

The prize includes - Ruck sack, pencil case, Shampoo & Spray, £10 Tesco Voucher (total value £30).

It's a bit of a hush, hush topic, but it happens in any school-luckily we've escaped it during the preschool years!-head lice, I know, no one wants to think about it but surprisingly 25% of Mum's admit to believing there is nothing they can do to prevent it, which of course isn't the case!

Vosene Kids have just launched #Nitwatch - an online heat map that tracks head lice outbreaks to help you avoid a the dreaded bugs this Autumn! The site also has some great advice on helping to prevent head lice and you have a chance to win free samples of Vosene Kids 3 in 1 Conditioning Shampoo and Defence Spray. Check it out here.

Got questions about head lice? Vosene Kids is also hosting a Twitter chat tomorrow on Wednesday at 1pm. Tweet your questions to #AskVoseneKids. 

Good luck, and wishing all Mum's out there all the best for the new start, particularly those with reception starters-although I am quiet looking forward to the quiet!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



More about the products: 

Vosene Kids 3in1 Conditioning Shampoo and Conditioning Defence Spray work together to clean, condition and detangle your child’s hair, as well as containing natural ingredients to help prevent head lice. Say hello to happy hair! 

Vosene Kids 3in1 Conditioning Shampoo (RRP £2.54, 250ml) - gently cleanses and conditions your kids’ hair and scalp leaving naturally healthy shiny hair. The specially formulated shampoo also contains natural Tea Tree Oil and Lemon Eucalyptus to help keep head lice at bay when used alongside the Conditioning Defence Spray. 

Vosene Kids Conditioning Defence Spray (RRP £2.54, 150ml) – this fantastic leave-in spray detangles and smooths your child’s hair, instantly taming the worst bed head and the most unruly knots. The clinically proven formula also helps protect against head lice - using natural ingredients such as Eucalyptus Oil, Citronella Oil and Rosemary Oil. Suitable for children aged 3 and over. www.vosene.co.uk.

£200 to spend at BHS

Little Stuff has a brilliant competition going at the moment. What would you spend a £200 gift card on in BHS?

As many of my readers will know we are getting married in August.

Now it's no lie that I am slightly regretting our colour choice of deep purple, because quite frankly there isn't much of it about in the bridesmaid dress market at the moment.

I even considered changing it to navy last week due to there being hundreds of nice dresses in navy!

Having said that, BHS do actually have some in the right colour, and more of a selection in stock than anywhere else I have seen.

So if I won the competition it would be guaranteed the money would be spent in their wedding range!

Perhaps towards 3 of these Ruby Grape dresses? Perfect for a summer wedding. 

Perhaps towards some shoes to match?

Perhaps towards some snazzy matching shirts and suits for the boys?

Without a doubt if I was to win the voucher it would help towards this wedding greatly-it's all starting to add up quite a lot now, so I am keeping everything crossed!

Light Bulbles Competition-Giant Mistletoe

Light Bulbs Direct- have a great competition going at the moment- Light Bulbles Competition.

Have you got any old light bulbs lurking into THAT cupboard (you know the one-the I have no idea if we need that bit I'll keep it just in case we do), as it's the Christmas season why not turn old light bulbs into fab decorations for your tree or around the home?

Here are a few ideas I found on Pinterest:

via

Via

Via

And here is our entry, apologies it was a bit rushed (it's been manic this week)!

Giant, oversized, out of proportion mistletoe!

How to make it

1. Paint the bulbs-I used white acrylic.

2. Sprinkle with sparkles, this could be sequins, glitter, salt (like I've used) beads (I used mini beads without holes).

3. Leave to dry (I found putting them in a kitchen roll tube standing upright worked).

4. Cut out green felt in mistletoe shapes. 

5. Use a super glue gun to stick the felt to the bulbs

6. Wrap twine around the top and loop so it hangs on the tree. 

If you have any spare old bulbs lying about, why not re purpose them this Christmas- there's even a chance to win £100 John Lewis voucher if you enter.

Thorntons Christmas Hero-this one's for you James

I was recently contacted by Thorntons to take part in their Christmas Hero promotion-basically playing a bit of a secret Santa and surprising someone who you think deserves a a chocolatey treat.

After a bit of thought there was no one other than my long suffering partner-James!

Since we found out we were expecting Alex at the age of 19 he has been nothing but an amazing help at getting our family life started. He has always been a hard worker, just earlier this year he was working 3 jobs a week. Yes 3!

We'd only see each other Monday evenings and Saturday and Sunday mornings- he was getting up at 6/7am and some nights not getting back until 11/12pm. He looked ill, our relationship got affected, Alex became moody and desperate to see his Dad more, Sam barely knew him , wouldn't settle on him and really didn't have a clue who is Dad was in some respects.

Throughout working he has also been doing his apprenticeship to become an electrician, last week he was away for 3 days to do his practical exam. I thought what better way to celebrate his return and hard work with one of Thorntons Alphabet truffle boxes-saying well done, I know this was probably me jinxing it...

...as he failed on one tiny section so I felt like a bit of a plonker when the chocolates came on the Saturday morning!! He's appealing it though as he has no idea why as it all worked and tested fine-so we are keeping our fingers crossed, because it won't be cheap to re-do and the re-take is on my birthday too!

He found it a nice surprise though and thankfully he did have a good laugh at me ordering 'well done' chocolates before his results came in!

It was nice to give him a surprise for a change as he is really good at giving them out and treating the boys and I, so it was nice to give him a token gift to show our appreciation as we don't get to do it enough.

The chocolates as always from Thorntons are delicious too!

Thank you James for being a fantastic partner and father-we really wouldn't be anywhere without you!

Win a BabyStart Bassinet Travel Cot with Toys-Grey and Green

I have another great competition for my readers today thanks to Argos.

Got a young one and planning to go away any time soon?

Why not enter to win this great BabyStart Bassinet Travel Cot with toys set?

Travel cots are always handy with a young one, and as the festive season is nearly upon us many people go to friends, family or away for weekends more too-so this is a great giveaway for anyone with a young baby or toddler. It also has a mattress that doubles as a play mat, a changing unit and a musical mobile with soft toys (something I think is a great feature as both my boys use(d) mobiles to get to sleep).

The bassinet is suitable from birth to 3 months.

The actual travel cot is suitable up to 2 years or 15kg.

Travel cots aren't always thought of on the baby check list so even if you know of someone expecting this would make a REALLY great gift (if you are feeling that generous)!

For the full product details please see this Argos link.

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Dream toys 2013-what do you think will make the list? AND a LEGO giveaway!

Birthday and Christmas season is fast approaching in this household, like many people I have been starting my shopping already to help spread the cost. As a result my wardrobe is bursting at the top with boxes of fun filled things! 

So I am delighted to be able to offer my readers this fab competition to win this LEGO© Creator Family House Play set-31012.  perfect for any child who loves LEGO. 

LEGO is always a firm favourite for many families, I have many fond memories of sitting down in front of the instructions eagerly tipping out the LEGO into their piles and getting stuck in, so I am glad that Alex is now starting to really take an interest too. It's a timeless classic and I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of their sets is in the list of Dream Toys 2013 which will be released by Argos in November!

I think this set will be great for young ones starting out on their logo journey to help engage their imaginative play and it's a great chance to grab yourself a brilliant prize to help at this expensive time of year!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Zinio subscription give-away! 9 subscriptions to be won!

Zinio have a huge range of magazines on their site, there is literally something for everyone with over 5000 titles.

If you are anything like me magazines can get left around the house and take up valuable space, but Zinio offer the magazines you love in digital form which can be accessed from computers, tablets and phones making them easily accessible wherever you are!

Zinio have a fab give-away for readers of my blog, there is an opportunity for 9 of you to win a magazine subscription-all you have to do is enter your required details in the comment box below!

via Zinio

Here are the main categories and each one has many sub-categories too, there really is something for any hobby or interest. If you win you can choose any title offered on Zinio subscription length depends on which title you choose (in the description of a particular title at www.zinio.com you'll find out how many issues come with that subscription)

For your chance to win please leave me a comment with your
-full name
-email address
-magazine title of you choice
 (alternatively you can email me on dani.askins@googlemail.com should you not want your details to show).

This give-away is open to people worldwide-good luck!

There are also some great offers on Zinio like this complimentary subscription to Shape magazine (ends Sept 9th).

Disclosure: I have been compensated for this post. 

What would you spend £20,000 on?

We've all done it-sat waiting on the edge of your seats when the first 2 numbers of the lottery are on your ticket, and then, nothing!

We've all played the 'what would you spend the winnings on if you did win the lottery game', before you know it you are dreaming of paradise holidays, manor houses, and fast cars!

If I was to win £20,000 I think I would definitely put it towards a bigger house, as lovely as our little coach house is, we as a family of 4 are starting to grow out of it. Every nook and cranny is filled, my teeny tiny kitchen drives me insane every dinner time when the pan I want is wedged in the one of 4 tiny cupboards. I longing look at other people's gardens, I dream of the boys running about on our own patch of grass, water fights, paddling pools, footballs, messy play and BBQ's, I'm no gardener but I'd love to try and grow rhubarb, and have a low maintenance wild border of flowers to call our own. I'm not much of a DIYer but I'd love to make some things for the boys to play in the garden, I have seen some fabulous ideas from fellow bloggers and of course on Pinterest!

It wouldn't be a big house, it probably wouldn't be our forever house, but you know what, it would be a house where we could create more memories, be more of an entertaining house, the boys might even have their own rooms and we would have a bedroom to ourselves. Living on one level at the moment means we can't easily have people over of an evening as Alex's room is right next to the lounge so it would be lovely for that.

A girl can dream, but you never know, you've got to be in it to win it! Good luck to all other entrants I am sure the money will go to good use :)

This post is an entry for BritMums #Spend20K Challenge sponsored by The National Lottery, with more ways to win more money on the new Lotto game. Find out more about new Lotto, which starts in October, here – National lottery

 (http://www.britmums.com/2013/08/join-the-spend20k-challenge-win-shopping-vouchers/)

What's in a name?

Neither of our boys names were chosen by their meaning, they aren't the most interesting meanings after all:

Alexander-to defend, man warrior James- Supplanter

Samuel- God has listened George- Farmer/earth worker

In the very early days when I was pregnant we Alex me and James were walking back to our parents house we said what we would like our baby to be called we blurted out the same girls name at the same time, boys names however didn't come easily.

It wasn't until weeks later when we had agreed on a name we liked, but were unsure of whether it would be right or ok to use it.

Because this name 'Alex' was what James' still born sister was named (which I had never known).

Anyway, after a little tear they were ok with it. I always liked Alex just as it was but James wanted the full Alexander, which I was unsure of at first, but actually came around to it.

When he was born I don't think we even discussed middle names but when asked what his name was by the midwife James said "Alexander James". I still feel like I'd have liked a bit more input, but I don't mind ;)

It's funny as although we didn't chose a name by meaning, the meaning of Alexander is very fitting as he is very much a 'defender'-of toys, and Daddy in particular!

And Sam, well we still didn't have a name we agreed on or liked once he was born. In fact when we were waiting in the birthing centre lounge for our room to be ready we were looking through a baby name book at boys names (we had two girls names that were contenders...) mid contractions!

When we announced the birth he was ' it's another boy any name suggestions'? We had lots but none seemed to fit or were ones we liked.

George is a name we have always liked, however too many people we know have named their boys George in resent years so we just couldn't use that name.

We went through all our Grand father's and great Grand father's names for inspiration, but none seemed to click, or were quickly thrown on the every growing 'no way' pile.

Then I remembered that actually although my Grandpa was really Frederick, he was always known as Sammy/Sam. The reason for this was when he joined to work at a butchers there were already 2 Fred's there, so he said call me Sammy and from then on that's what everyone called him.

Although my Grandpa died when I was about 7 I still hold a few fond memories of him in the short time I knew him, and something just felt right calling Sam, Samuel.

After nearly 24 of being nameless we managed to call and text around his name-and just in time before James' parents flew off on holiday!

Although we tend to use the shortened versions of their names I like how they have the option when they are older to use whichever length or variation of the name that they wish too. 

I'm entering this post to Jennie's competition on her blog, a lovely MiaTui's bag which has been named after Jennie's daughter Matilda Mae. 

MaterniCare Competition!

MaterniCare is now available in Boots.

To celebrate MaterniCare are offering 3 of my readers a chance to win a bottle of their cream!

For more details about the product check out this post I did few months ago, it is really nice cream and I can highly recommend it.

To enter go to their Facebook page 'like' it and come back here to leave me a comment

or

Follow @mumtobeskincare on twitter and again leave me a comment.

There are 3 bottles up for grabs, one per winner.

Open to UK and ROI residents only. Once winners are picked MaterniCare will post to you.

Tots 100 Bathshop competition

So most people enjoy to relax in their bathrooms, whether you are a bath or a shower person.

Most people therefore create a relaxing space in their bathrooms.

They certainly wouldn't have a cracked bath...

This cracked bath certainly wouldn't have leaked under the wall a swelled the skirting board up the other side, staining the carpet with it...

They certainly wouldn't have used about 3 tubes of silicon in 9 months and spent £25 on a bath repair kit that did Jack all...

Yes nine months, I am sure they certainly wouldn't have left their bathroom in this dire state for 9 months...

I am sure their other halves wouldn't have ripped off the wooden bath panel (who puts wood in a bathroom that doesn't have a window!?) to look at the damage underneath and then have them just place it back because they hated what they have seen...

They certainly wouldn't live with this stained carpet in the bathroom (again why put carpet in a bathroom!?) for as long as it has been stained, obviously they would never have left red bubble bath at an inquisitive toddlers height, they obviously wouldn't let the wooden bath panel rot and stain the carpet even more...

They certainly wouldn't have left these lovely holes in the plaster for 6 months after their second bath cabinet in 4 years fell off the wall....

They certainly would have got the pipe properly tightened on the toilet so that it didn't leak (luckily the fresh water) and wouldn't have got the OH to do it instead...

They certainly wouldn't let their radiator rust this badly without re-painting it again...

As you can see our bathroom is in a dire state at the moment, it has been for 9 months, and it is getting progressively worse. Money is tight and as soon as we have enough money something more important crops up (like car tax/tyres etc), every month that goes by the crack in the bath gets worse, which in turn makes the wooden bath panel stain the carpet more, the silicon trick no longer works fully so it sometimes leaks underneath the walls. I HATE our bathroom, I don't think the OH realises quite how much so, and how embarrassed I am of it. You see it's our only bathroom so it's obviously the bathroom any visitors use, a room I have to use every day, a room I have to try and make look habitable, a room I have to bathe our children in, and I can't stand being in there at all. The OH's Dad keeps saying he will do it for us, but being a general builder and building their own home I don't see that happening any time soon, well it has already been 9 months...

I am really embarrassed showing these photos, but feel I have to show them for a shot to possible win a bathroom with Tots100 and bathshop321.

I don't particularly want a really swanky bathroom, I just want one that looks habitable, homely, safe, and somewhere I actually want to be to relax. I love a good shower, showers are my 5 minutes of peace and relaxation in the day therefore I would be elated to win the alpha-L-shape-shower suite, perfect for bathing the boys and prefect for a nice relaxing shower.

Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope for a miracle, maybe one day I can be proud and not ashamed of our bathroom again!

Peek-a-boo

From the moment you were born people said you would be a 'cheeky one' and boy they weren't wrong!

You were about 6 months old when this photo was taken, and had really come into your cheeky streak by now-nothing was safe! The coffee table had become a great peek-a-boo spot, and I just managed to capture your gorgeous smile after me shouting 'boo' at you, and you laughed your cheeky little laugh. This was a great game for a good few weeks!

Now at nearing 3 years old you are still the same cheeky boy, with a gorgeous smile and funny laugh; peek-a-boo has extended from the coffee table to chasing Daddy around the house and jumping out of your skin, letting out a huge squeal when Daddy pops out from behind a door-although you don't quite get the rules and just shout "3, 2, 1 found you" and point and scream when it's your turn to hide!

It's scary how much you have grown and how quickly the last few years have gone by, I'm am so pleased I managed to capture so many happy memories-and picking one favourite photo was very hard!

“This blog post has been written as an entry into the Tots100 competition in association with Boots Mother and Baby“