Butlins Minehead - A Review By An Official Mum Ambassador

As you may already know, last week our family went on a three night break to Butlins as part of the Mum Ambassador Programme. This meant we were there to find out what it is really like as a family holiday destination and report back to you. I did post a few a posts and photo sideshows whilst away here, here and here but now we are finally home after Christmas I wanted to bring you my full review with the help of all the video footage we took.

Having not been on holiday since the arrival of our second Daughter, we were slightly apprehensive on how difficult taking the two girls on holiday would be. We also had no idea what a Butlins break would be like either. Holidays prior to children were always abroad  in the sunshine and staying in small hotels/ quiet locations. We took Husbands Mum and Partner with us, so there were four adults and two children in total and we visited the Minehead resort.

To show you what we all got up to and how much there was to do, I have put together a video:

As you can see there was nothing to worry about as there plenty to keep us entertained. Butlins have done a good job of trying to find activities and entertainment for all age groups. We didn't hear "I'm bored" once and our three year old did not want to leave! The whole family enjoyed watching various shows including the Pantomime Aladdin.

It also felt like a very safe place to be. I didn't feel as though I was too worried about the girls wondering off or that they might be snatched! There were security staff and red coats everywhere always ready and eager to help you out.

We stayed in one of the four bedroomed gold apartments and enjoyed the premium dining package. I have included a short video review below:

Whilst our package was really quite expensive there are a variety of options to cater for every budget. From standard apartments all the way up to the beautiful new BlueSkies apartments you are sure to find something suitable. There are also two different food packages you can chose from or you can go self catering too, it is up to you. We noticed plenty of places to eat and drink but this could work out expensive, especially if there are lots of you. We did notice though they have a Spar on resort and both a Tesco and Morrisons just outside. All in all something for everyone.

Although very different to our usual type of holiday, we threw ourselves into it and tried a bit of everything. We all enjoyed it and having never considered holidaying in this Country before it has definitely opened our eyes to what is available.

My job as a Butlins Mum Ambassador means we will be taking another break next year, so next time we will be taking my Parents and are going to to try out the Bognor Regis resort. We are going to wait until it is a little warmer though and  while this holiday was all about the children, next time we have been promised a little time out to experience the evening entertainment and the spa too! We are really looking forward to it!

Thanks Butlins for a wonderful break, it did us all the world of good and thanks Mum and Grant, it was lovely to share it with you.

Karen x

Teething Nightmare and Suspected Measles

Poor little Rosie has not been well at all over the Christmas break. She went away a week and a half ago with 6 teeth but whilst away cut approximately another 6-8. She has had all the usual symptoms....throbbing mouth, temperature, grumpy, tearful, broken sleep, runny nose, a bit of a cough etc..

Then yesterday she developed a rash. It started at my parents house but by the time we arrived home she was completely covered and it was very angry looking. She had been awake almost the whole journey and was very sensitive to the sunlight too. We were pretty worried about her but did the glass test and ruled out meningitis.

She had only been asleep for about half hour when we arrived home and was flat out so we decided to lie her in her cot and see how she was when she woke up. An hour later it had settled and had almost faded away.

She has been off her food for days so we weren't surprised when she ate nothing but she did manage a cup of milk before going to bed. It was another rough night but she slept in this morning so we let her.  However, when she woke up she was once again covered in the very nasty, angry looking rash. We contacted the Doctor immediately and managed to get an appointment for 12.00.

At this point we suspected Measles. For one reason and another she has not yet had her MMR and I panicked. I looked it up on the internet and were pretty convinced that was what it was.

However, by the time we saw the GP the rash had faded again. Although not as angry looking it was still there and he could tell that she was unwell but she looked much better than she had done a few hours previously. She was more alert, wanting to play and had even managed to drink another cup of milk.

The Doctor gave her a full check up and decided against Measles. He suggested it is probably viral but that we need to keep a close eye on her. If it worsens we obviously need to take her back.

Poor little thing. Its tough when your little ones are poorly and she seems to have had a real rough time of it lately. I hope she feels better soon but am so relived it is not measles after all. I will be also chasing them up about her new appointment for the MMR and getting her booked in ASAP.

Karen x

Home After Christmas

Well its been a busy few weeks and we have travelled up and down the country to visit relatives over the Christmas period but we are now safely home.

It all started with a three night stay at Butlins in Minehead  where we met Father Christmas, relaxed in the pool, played on the fairground rides and enjoyed some wonderful shows including the pantomime Aladdin. It was hard to write a proper review away from home but now i'm back I will be going through all my video clips and telling you how it went.

Next we travelled up near Nottingham to visit Husbands side of the family. It was lovely to catch up with everyone especially his Sister and her girls. Poppy had great fun playing with her Cousins and we only wished we had seen more of them and didn't live so far away. It was especially lovely to see our little niece too who is now seven months old and we have only seen a few times.

All in all it was a rush getting around everyone but it was great to see them all.

Next we headed down towards the Cotswold's to see my Parents.  It was really good to spend some quality time with them and was a really relaxing Christmas. No stress, no arguments just a lovely, relaxing break. The girls had great fun as they are very close to their Grandparents and I even managed to nip out and treat myself and them to a few things in the sales.

The girls were at a lovely age and thoroughly enjoyed Christmas day. It really was quite magical as Poppy really believed Father Christmas was going to come down the chimney and was so excited about leaving out goodies for him. We left a bottle of beer and a mince pie for Father Christmas plus carrots and milk for the reindeer:

Last year they were a bit overwhelmed by it all but this year even Rosie enjoyed ripping open wrapping paper and playing with the toys hidden inside. Poppy was most excited about her dolls house:

 Whilst Rosie loved this musical set hidden within a drum:

I personally loved these beautiful broider anglais aprons complete with funky cookie cutters and recipe book. I cant wait to get cooking with the girls:

Here are a few more photos of our Christmas:

Collage personalized with Smilebox

I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones too and wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Karen x

Stagecoach Education - Project Christmas ipad App

Poppy absolutely adores playing on both her Daddy's and Gramp's ipads. At three and a half years, it amazes me how quick she is on it and how she just seems to know what to do. Was I that quick at this age or is it just that technology is getting easier to use? I don't know but I do know that they have both downloaded various stories and games for her which she loves.


We were therefore thrilled to be approached by Stagecoach Education to trial and review the new project Christmas Application available for £1.49. 


Poppy couldn't wait to use this fun and festive app and quickly got the hang of it. As a parent I am happy to see that while she is having fun she is also learning without even realising it. This app helps develop her skills in drawing, colouring and counting as well as helping her to read and write.  There are 33 pages of activities and Poppy is easily able to move between them.


It involves lots of drawing and colouring actives and I am amazed to see her doing dot to dot exercises too.  She really enjoys it and it keeps her busy for ages.  


Aimed at age 3+ I would say there is lots of room for her to improve and grow.

We give it 9/10 and would definitely recommend to others.


Karen x

Our Last Day At Butlins and A Few More Photos

I just wanted to share a few more photos with you today:

 

Make a video of your own at Animoto. 

I need to go through all my video and do a full review of the trip but its been a long afternoon in the car so wont be doing it today.

 Karen x

Our Butlins Break

So its Day Three of our Butlins break as a Mums Ambassador and our last night here, so I just wanted to share a few photos of what we have been up today:

Personalize a free picture slideshow

I will be following up with a full review of the accommodation and holiday but for now will tell you that the girls have had a fabulous time. This is our first family trip here and we have not heard "i'm bored" once since we have arrived.  There is so much for children of all ages to do and see.

Today we have seen Santa's reindeer, played in the soft play area, been swimming, danced with various characters including Bob the Builder and seen a pantomime - Aladin, which was excellent.

The staff have all been extremely friendly and approachable and there are plenty of them everywhere.

Will write more when I get home.

Karen x

Enjoying A Butlins Winter Wonderland Break

It is Day Two of my first family trip to Butlins as a Mum Ambassador and I promised I would let you know how we are getting on. I will do a full review of the accommodation and holiday at a later date but right now we are having lots of fun so are a bit busy to do it.

I can say that so far it is a completely different type of break for us but we have thrown ourselves into the Butlins way of life and are thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

We have enjoyed an action packed day today starting off with meeting Father Christmas in the Enchanted Forest:

Unfortunately Rosie wasn't as excited as Poppy and cried when she met him. Poppy thought he was wonderful though because he gave them both a selection pack each:

The girls then had fun playing in the soft play area for a little while before we all headed off to Splash Waterworld.  That was great fun and  we all really enjoyed ourselves. It really is a wonderful place to relax, unwind and have fun. It could have done with being just a few degrees warmer though. Although it was not cold, it was not quite as warm as I was expecting, especially for babies.

Rosie loved the baby area with the little slide saying "again," "again", "again" whilst Poppy was very brave and went on a huge slide with Daddy and Grandma. We we all enjoyed the wave pool and whirl pool. 

When they weren't in the water their gorgeous new beach robes came in handy, keeping them cosy and warm:

There really is plenty to keep you entertained and we have enjoyed some of the many shows. Poppy's favourite bit has been meeting the character Angelina Ballerina.  This morning she took a dance class with her. She wouldn't let me take her wellies off so she looks a bit a bit funny trying to do ballet in them but here she is:

This evening Poppy was thrilled to meet Angeina properly and even  had her official photograph taken with her. She told her that she did ballet too and gave her a huge hug. I cant wait to see the photo which will be available tomorrow.

The girls enjoyed visiting Bob the Builders Workshop which was basically an area full of fairground rides for the younger ones. Among others were the tea cup ride, a train ride and an aeroplane ride:

There is still so much for us to do and we are looking forward to another fun filled day tomorrow. We have been taking lots of photos and video so have lots more to share with you.

Karen x

A Christmas Meme!

I have been tagged by Mummy and The Beastie to participate in this festive meme originating from Mummy Alarm. It’s a good one so you might want to join in!

1. The Christmas song I can even listen to in June is…

My favourite Christmas song is the very cheesy ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ by Mariah Carey. I love it. It puts me in such a good mood and I cant help but "sing" along to it. I remember one year at Uni when I drove my house mates crazy by playing it over and over haha. I was sooo annoying!

2. Hot Chocolate, Egg Nog or Mulled Wine?

OOhh a lover of hot chocolate and mulled wine its a close one for me. If pushed I would have to go for the latter. I guess you can have hot chocolate at any time but mulled wine is only around at Christmas. I have very fond memoires of the Christmas markets in Germany and enjoying a little mulled wine...mmmmmm

3. When do you put your decorations up?

This year we put it up the first weekend in December but only because we are going away next week. If we put it up any later it almost wouldn't have been worth it. I love Christmas and I love decorations!

4. What are you having for Christmas dinner?

Being veggy it wont be turkey for me. I'm spending Christmas at my parents this year and Mum is trying a new recipe out. All I know is its a Jamie Oliver one and something to do with wild mushrooms. I will be having it with Marmite roast potatoes, vegetables and Christmas pudding....delicious!

5. What’s your favourite Christmas Tradition?

As children we used to go to Midnight mass and were allowed to open one present afterwards.  Last year Husband and I started a new tradition of our own where the girls and us all had new pjs to open.  We are going to keep this going!

6. Have you ever gone carol singing?

When I was younger I did but I have a terrible voice.

7. When did you discover the truth about Santa?

I was about quite old when I stopped believing....about 9 I think. I had heard something at School about it not being true and asked my parents. They denied it of course so that night I stayed up waiting. I could hear presents being wrapped and waited and waited. My Mum kept coming in and telling me to go to sleep. In the end I pretended to be asleep and she put my full stocking at the end of my bed.  The next day I told her I had been awake and she made me promise not to tell my Sister.

8. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

I love white lights and pretty colours. This year ours is blue, pink, purple, and teal. At the top we have a very fluffy looking blue and white fairy. Its very girly and has lots of wooden fairies on it.

9. What’s the best thing about Christmas?

It has to be spending time with family.  It doesn't matter where we are or what we do as long as we are together. This year I am particularly looking forward to spending it with a believer. Poppy is 3 now and really believes Father Christmas is going to come down the Chimney. I am looking forward to leaving out a drink and mince pie for him and water and carrots for reindeer with her.

10. All I want for Christmas is…

To see the faces and excitement on my little girls when they wake up.

I am now going to tag:

Inside the Wendy House

The Boy and Me

Mummy Daddy Me

Christmas Hoiday Here We Come!

Yeeehhh it finally feels like Christmas!  Husband is on leave for three weeks  and we have just enjoyed a lovely family weekend together. Now we are off on our holidays.

We have got a busy few weeks planned, travelling around the country to see various family members this Christmas.

However, it all starts with a few days at Butlins, experiencing a Winter Wonderland Break. This is a much needed break for all of us and we are thrilled to be off tomorrow, although not quite sure what to expect as we have not been on this type of holiday before.

For various reasons we have not been anywhere since Rosie was born. Prior to having children we never took a holiday in this Country. We preferred to fly off somewhere warm and sunny, staying in smaller, quieter hotels. We also enjoyed lots of outside activities, as well as sun bathing and spa treatments (well me anyway). Among others, previous activities and trips included:

• Beach holidays to sunny places
• Skiing in the Rocky Mountains
• Scuba diving in the Maldives
• Cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
• Snorkelling and diving in Egypt as well as touring the pyramids and tombs

Obviously its gets difficult to do these types of activities with young children, so for us this is going to be an all together different type of break.

It will be nice to spend some quality, family time together and will give us a chance to really unwind. Husband has been working really hard recently and has not seen as much of the girls as usual so he is looking forward to chilling out and spending time with all of us with no distractions.

I am really looking forward to not worrying about cooking, washing up and just spending time with Husband and the girls, playing and swimming in the Splash Waterworld.

I have shown the girls this video clip and they squeal with excitement when they see it, saying "again, again, again":

A magicial Christmas at Butlins from Butlins on Vimeo.

We have printed off our letter of confirmation, packed  the camera and our video camera, all our clothes, even the swimming things including these gorgeous beach robes that were made especially for the girls. The were sent to us by Kids Gowns and Robes and designed by Giggle Giggle and will be perfect for by the pool:

So there you go, we are ready and cant wait to let you all know what we really think about Butlin's. 

We are also taking my Mother-in-Law and her Partner. We haven't seen them for a while so the girls are going to be so excited.

I will do my best to post a few posts and  some video whilst away.

Karen x

A Cut and Colour From Regis Has Made Me Feel Yummy

Each Saturday I bring you a new beauty, fashion or fitness product/ accessory that I have tried and tested and believe will make you feel a bit more yummy. Well this week I have been to the hairdressers and am feeling much yummier than usual.

A little while ago I helped Regis Hair Salons promote their new face - Emma Willis. In return I have been given a new hair cut and a whole head of highlights plus a wonderful selection of goodies to review.

I had my hair done today at Regis in Torquay by the lovely Kayleigh. I arrived 10 minutes early and was immediately made to feel welcome and comfortable.

When I arrived, I must admit I was looking pretty rough to be honest. Having not had my hair done since the Summer, my roots were about 2-3 inches long (with quite a few gray bits too) and my hair had lost all its shape. It was really long and pretty scraggly hanging below my chest. I did try taking some before pictures but they weren't that good, so you will just have to take my word for it.

I sat down with Kayleigh and discussed what I wanted. Now usually I have a little trim maybe an inch off max but today I felt like a change. After all it had got quite long and straggly and it is Christmas. We settled on losing about 3 inches, having some long layers put through though the back, shaped around my face and a combination of three colours...a light blonde, a mid blonde and a brown.

Kayleigh got to work straight away mixing and preparing foils for my hair. It took over an hour to do as my hair was so long. Then I sat black and relaxed with a coffee while the colour took.  They even gave me a mini mince pie but I brought it home for Poppy. It was nice to have a bit of time to myself and I managed to read a magazine, a rare luxury these days.

The atmosphere was very relaxing and surprisingly quiet for a Saturday. There were only two members of staff working and although they were fully booked and there were a steady stream of customers coming in, it was not as manic as salons usually are on a Saturday. I loved it.

Kayleigh herself was very friendly and chatty. She seemed to understand that I wanted a change and to look like I had had my hair cut but nothing too dramatic. I really liked the result.

All in all I enjoyed a lovely relaxing morning. I felt very pampered and walked out feeling like a new woman.

This is me this evening:

All I need now is a babysitter and somewhere to go!

If you are planning a hair cut soon you might be interested to know that Regis are currently offering customers the opportunity to win a fantastic Canon 550D camera and whole year of hair services . 


The competition is called Locks, Rock and Load. All you need to do is  rock your new look and take a photo, upload it to the site . For more information visit Emma's blog.   I know Im going to be uploading mine..


Will my new hair cut and colour I am feeling much more yummy so go on, why not book yourself in and if you live in the area, I can recommend the Torquay Salon.

Karen x

Warner Brothers Generous Christmas Present

Our family are very excited to be working closely with Warner Brothers UK to help review family orientated DVDs.

We knew that some DVDs would be on the way to us very soon but had no idea what they would be or how many would be sent.  We were therefore delighted when this amazing package arrived:

A huge sack full of goodies

Inside this fantastic package was all of this:

Wow, what a generous selection

Poppy thought the most amazing part of this gift was this really cool Scooby Doo van which cleverly  hides the complete set of Scooby Doo DVDs. Scooby and Shaggy sit in the front and she has been happily pushing it around all over the house:

The DVDs are hidden in the back. I thought this was a lovely way for them to be presented and Poppy thinks its the best thing ever:

We cant wait to get reviewing these and tell you what they are like. 

Poppy is three and at the age where she has just started showing an interest in films. Up until now she wouldn't sit still long enough. I will be very interested to see what she makes of them all! 

Karen x

Friday Funny

This week I have had two funny conversations with Poppy that I wanted to record and share with you all.

Conversation One

Poppy has got it into her head that if I am good then Father Christmas will bring me a pink camera and if her Daddy is good he will get  a blue one. I have no idea where she has got this idea from but despite us both telling her that we don't think this is the case, she insists.

Anyway, we were getting ready for bed the other night and we have the same routine every night.

Bath 5.30pm, get into pjs ,come downstairs and have stories cuddled up on the sofa until 6.30pm. Then Poppy goes to the toilet, they both clean their teeth and we go upstairs to bed.

Me "Poppy please can you go for a wee while I give Rosie her medicine, then its teeth and bed"

Poppy "No Mummy, im going to clean my teeth first"

Me "Poppy just do a wee please and then you can both clean your teeth and go to bed"

Poppy "If you talk to me like that again you wont get a pink camera"!!

Such a little Madam!

Conversation Two

The other day Poppy came into the kitchen and asked me if she could have some cartoons on. We had been out for a few hours so I said yes and to get Daddy to put them on for her. He was lying on the sofa after all.

Poppy "Daddy, Mummy says I can have some cartoons on but you need to do it for me?"

Daddy "I don't know where the zapper is"

Poppy "Could you just get your bottom off the sofa please and put the cartoons on?"

I nearly wet myself laughing out in the kitchen and Husband thought I had actually told her to say it, but I hadn't! I might have said something similar in the past about getting his bottom of the sofa though haha.

Little ones are so cheeky.

For more funny conversations with toddler check out:

Karen x

Letters From Santa x

Poppy was thrilled this week to receive not one but two letters from Santa. Such a lucky little girl!

Image from Google images

The first I had arranged via Photo Fairy Designs. For £6 she received a lovely personalised letter from Santa, a photo of him with his sleigh and reindeer, a chocolate and some magic reindeer food to sprinkle outside the back door. It was lovely and she couldn't stop smiling:

No picture of the chocolate as she ate it before I could snap it! 

The second was a surprise for me as apparently they had written letters to Santa at Preschool. They had even walked to the Post Office to send them but Poppy had forgotten to tell me all of this. Anyway he sent her this lovely letter back:

They both arrived on the same day but luckily, they said similar things, so she didn't suspect anything. After all she is only 3 years old and everything is magical at that age. 


I hope she stays a believer for as long as possible.


Karen x

Poppys First Nativity Play

We have been at the School today to see Poppy's first Nativity play.  The children were all aged 3 to 5 and did brilliantly. It was very cute. They helped write the words, make costumes and have been practising the songs for weeks.

Here is Poppy as a Sheppard. She had the very important job of holding the lamb:

All in all very cute and I am a very proud Mummy.

Karen x

Poppy Makes A Reindeer Cake

Yesterday Poppy brought home a very cute cupcake she made in Preschool. It was so cute I wanted to share a picture of it!

She was very generous and shared it with her Sister and her Mummy. She is pretty good like that!

Karen x

Plum - The Weaning Of Life Giveaway

For all of you who are about to embark on the whole weaning experience or are going through it at the moment, you might be interested in this one.


Plum have recently launched their new Weaning Guide - The Weaning of Life and I have the opportunity to offer not one, but twenty of you the opportunity to get your hands on a copy.

I have my copy already and its very good. Plum have actually worked with real Mums (including me) to get the untold secrets of weaning! It is written in a very informative, light-hearted way, offering real advice, tips, shared stories and experiences.  It is not patronising in the slightest and is actually written for Mums by Mums. 


All you need to do to get your hands on a copy is:

Leave me a comment below giving me your top weaning tip or if you haven't got one yet then the first food you plan to use when you start.

 Don't forget to leave me either your email or twitter address so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. The competition will close Sunday 18th December 7pm.


Good Luck everyone and thank you Plum for a great guide.

Karen x

Poppy's First Ballet Show

This weekend was all about Poppy and her first ballet show.

She has been doing ballet for almost a year now and loves it.  Each week she has great fun deciding which gorgeous tutu to wear and loves going off with the teacher and the other girls, pointing her toes and twirling.

Here she is dressed as a little fairy all set to go on stage:

I should of taken a photo of the back of her hair as it was done beautifully. She had it twisted at the sides and pulled into a bun with a big gorgeous cream flower on it. So pretty!

So the weekend has gone away in whirl of ballet practice, dress rehearsals and the final show.

As you can imagine, they were all a little nervous beforehand but did brilliantly.  The girls are all aged two and a half to three and a half so they are not quite delicate little ballerinas yet. More like a herd of baby elephants but they were very, very cute.

I was very proud of my little girl. It was also lovely to have my Parents there too. They came especially to see her.

Next is the Nativity on Thursday when she will be a Sheppard, cant wait to see that either.

Karen x

Lose Weight and Stay Healthy With Weetabix

For all of you who have been following my journey with Thinking Slimmer you will know that I have ditched the diet and am purely listening to my slimpods in order to loose weight.

The results have been amazing, I have lost a stone, a dress size and am now eating what the experts say we should....a healthy balanced diet of three meals a day.

For me one of the big differences is I am actually waking up wanting a decent healthy breakfast like cereal.  We all know this is supposed to be the most important meal of the day but I regularly used to skip it.

One of the regular cereals seen at our breakfast tabel is Weetabix. The whole family enjoy it. I wasn't one for giving the little ones baby cereals when they were younger, they enjoyed Weetabix mashed with banana from a very young age. Naturally high in fibre and fortified with iron and vitamins they are perfect for all of us.

Have you tried them warm yet? We have and they are delicious. A great start for the whole family to get started now the mornings are colder.

If you yourself are trying to shape up or lose your Mum Tum then Weetabix is the perfect choice for you too. It provides slow release energy which means you feel fuller for longer so should make it to lunch time without snacking.  It is high in fibre, low in sugar and 2 Weetabix are only 134 calories (excluding milk).

If you need a bit of inspiration with healthy meal planning then check out the new meal plan from Weetabix. It is full of useful tips and advice and if like me you are vegetarian, their are options are available for you too.

Weetabix now comes in a variety of new and exciting flavours, check out the new bite-size chocolate ones below:

We were sent some to try and they are delicious. We don't usually have chocolate cereals in our house so Poppy thought these were a real treat and ate the whole bowl with no fuss! I didn't feel guilty giving them to her either as they have 50% less sugar than other chocolate cereals!

Karen x
For the record we were sent two boxes of regular Weetabix to try with warm milk and 1 box of chocolate Spoonsize to try for the purpose of this post. However, all opinions are my own!

Funny Friday

I blogged yesterday about Poppy and her letter to Father Christmas.

Well this week she has been on her first ever School trip and met Father Christmas himself. She enjoyed a wonderful day and was very excited to come home with a little pressent.

She opened her pressie and smiled happily playing with the little pony and stickers she had received.

I asked her if she liked it and she said very politely "It is very lovely Mummy" but then she looked a little worried and puzzled and added...." but its not what what I asked for".

I had to try very hard not to laugh and explained that we had only sent the letter a few days ago so he might not have it yet. This is just an extra little present.

Much happier she smiled, relaxed and carried on playing.

She does make me laugh every day and comes out with some very funny things. This is a great way to record them all so I don't forget.  If you want to join in or just check out more entries, then click on the link below:

Karen x

The Gallery - My Awesome Photo

I am a bit late with my Gallery entry this week because I just could not choose the picture I would like blown up if I won.

I finally settled on this one:

I have used it several times for Gallery posts in the past but love it. My Husband took it rather than me but it is gorgeous and captures my little ones innocence perfectly. I think it would look fantastic blown up and printed on canvass!

To discover more entries head over to the gallery for yourself.

Karen x

Dear Father Christmas,

This weekend we helped Poppy write her first ever letter to Father Christmas. 


At three, she is at a lovely age where she not only believes but is amazed by everything from fairy lights, Christmas trees and learning about the story of Christmas.

She told Father Christmas that she had been a very good girl for her Mummy and Daddy and that she would like:

• A dolls house
• A hello Kitty soft toy
• A Cinderella doll

She also told him that her Sister is too young to ask for what she wants but that she has been very good too and would like:

• A doll
• A jigsaw puzzle
• A light up Rosie & Raggles toy

As a special treat I have arranged for a letter from Santa to be delivered all the way from Norway.  I have arranged it through Photo Fairy Designs who a few months ago did a fabulous fairy photo edit for us.

For just £6 your child will get:

♥  A signed unique letter from Santa
♥ A chocolate Christmas treat
♥ A photo of Santa with his Reindeer 
♥ A small bag of magic Reindeer food to sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve

I know Poppy is going to be amazed and excited by this and I cannot wait to see her face.

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. We are spending it at my parents house and with two little ones I know it is going to be  magical.

Karen x

Poppy Takes Photos

Poppy has shown a real interest in taking photos recently. Instead of buying her a child's camera we decided to give her our first ever digital camera we brought when they first came out. Its a Samsung Digimax 401, 4.0 mega pixel camera. here she is proudly showing it off:

She feels very grown up and special and has shown great delight in being able to snap away to her hearts content.

Here are just a few of the photos she has snapped herself:

As you can see she has been having great fun and is getting better! I am pretty amazed she is getting our heads and bodies in. Its fascinating watching how much she enjoys it, so this is something we are encouraging. 

I will bring you some more soon.

Karen x