Mutu System Week 1.

After several years of being unhappy with my post baby figure I have finally admitted I need help and embarked on a 6 week course of personal trainer sessions with Mutu System.

I first heard of the system on Twitter via @mutusystem and it was clear that the founder Wendy has passion in helping women regain their tummies after child birth, especially when the condition diastasis recti has occurred.

In the past I have had ups and downs with getting my fitness back. I got quite into the gym and over came my fears of equipment and gym environments when I was given free membership with Nuffield.

However once I returned to full time work exercise fell to the back of the to do list and I forgot about it.

I never forgot how unhappy I was with my figure though.

So I booked in with Sally-Anne my local personal trainer with Mutu System. Initially she visited me at home for free and chatted about what my goals were and how the plan could help me. Sally-Anne will visit me once a week to kick my butt into shape and give me new exercises for the following week.

To get all the details on how they work to fix your mummy tummy visit the site Mutusystem.

Essentially it is short bursts of cardio and core work spread over 18 minute bursts each day.

After my first session with Sally-Anne I could not believe how much sweat was involved in such a short space of time. Usually I go to the gym (I say usually, I mean 'if') I slog away on a rower or step machine and barely break a sweat.

Not possible with Mutu System!

'The Plank' or 'How Satan Sleeps' as I have renamed it!

The exercises can be done at home, just requiring a gym ball and resistance band. I have now been enlightened to the horror of 'the plank' and I am feeling confident that this could work.

My core muscles were screaming the next day and even more so the day after that! I rolled out of bed almost as I did following the c section. The stomach muscles that have laid dormant for 2 years have awoken and they are proper grouchy!

Sally-Anne has taken my measurements and I will share the results with you as the weeks come to an end but for now I just need to concentrate on giving myself 18 minutes per day to sweat like a mad woman and achieve my goal.

Wish me luck!

For the love of dog...

Tabitha has recently developed a very vocal fear of dogs.

It hit an all time high this weekend when we visited my mums. Initially she was reluctant to leave the house, when we did and inevitably saw a dog she went totally bonkers.

It was not helped by most of them being off their leads to be honest but that was not really the issue and I am not here to moan at dog owners, I am looking for advice...

I have tried a therapy dog visiting her nursery. He was like a rug with a face and just lay down waiting for a tummy tickle, Tabitha screamed and kicked and scrambled for the nearest exit.

There has been no event we can recall that has started this reaction unless we count her freaking out quite badly when the monkeys at London Zoo raided her changing bag.

She has made the decision she 'likes cats' and not dogs.

In fact she shouts it at most dogs she sees "I LIKE CATS!" they generally just look away, disgusted.

So, do I push her to be around dogs or join her in avoiding their presence for a while?

It breaks my heart to see her so afraid but at the same time I want her and us to be able to go about our lives normally.

HELP....

John Freida 3 days straight spray review.

I have mad woman curly hair.

It is that kind of hair that every morning I wonder what the hell I would have done in a world without hair dryers and straightners.

For sure I would be single and a virgin!

So when I was asked to review John Frieda 3 days straight spray I was interested. My previous experience of john Frieda Frizz products were the serum which I have always found too heavy and never really taken to.

But I am always willing to try new products and find an answer to cutting out the every morning wash to strip the frizz and start again, which is not ideal when you need to get out the house with a 2 year old by 7:15 am every morning.

The spray arrived and I immediately jumped in the shower ( Ignore the child wearing her fathers shoes and a Everythings Rosie hairband in the background ) and applied the product before drying with a hair dryer and straighteners like always. The results were pretty good.

The next morning I woke up and it looked like this...

Compared to normal it was amazing. usually my fringe is bolt up right!

However I only felt confortable popping to the shop without my normal morning hairwash. There was no way I could have gone anywhere else without washing it again. This was not due to the lack of straightness though so I cannot knock the product. I just felt greasy and itchy without washing it in general.

So if you can go more that a day without a hairwash this product is for you. I am still going to use it because it does help with sytling straight even if I am washing it out the next morning.

Are you having a laugh? - Louis CK

I recently discovered this comedian and I had to share him with you just incase you have not heard of him. The language may offend, but frankly you are parents so I doubt it.....

His stand up about being a parent is hilarious and in my experience absolutely spot on. Here he is talking about why we should never judge other parents.

His observations about raising daughters actually had me in tears. This man is a genius.

And I have never heard anyone sum up so clearly the difference between women and girls.

If you don't laugh about some of this parenting stuff you'll cry right? I figure I'd rather laugh.

The Hobbit book giveaway.

Later this year The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released in to cinemas.

To mark this the book has been relaunched and I am giving away 3 copies of new paperback.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below talking about your experiences of the book or of reading alongside your children. I will choose three winning comments 25th June 2012.

Personally I cannot wait until I can read stories like this to Tabitha at bedtime. As a child I loved to read, to immerse myself in tales of far off places and characters. I know she will too, she already spends hours looking at books and shows vivid imagination in her role play.

Being able to sit and read aloud to her while she hangs on my every word and begs me for 'one more page' is one of those parenting moments I have longed for. I love that I will be able to roll out my GCSE Drama 'A' and finally use my  scary voices and dramatic pauses.

I read The Hobbit as an adult when I was backpacking around Asia. In those days I could read several books a day lazing in a hammock, smoking, eating mango and drinking Milo. Rushing back and forth to the tiny rental bookshop on the island, I stormed my way through the whole set of books until it was complete, I was trapped in a world of Tolkien for about three weeks.

A few months later the Lord of the Rings movies were launched and I vowed never to watch them. I don't think I could handle my visions of the characters being ruined and as hazy as my backpacking memories are, I like it that way. However the character of Bilbo Baggins being played by Martin Freeman is I think genius.

Anyway for Tabitha I shall re visit those characters again, I will enjoy recreating them for her and I hope she enjoys them as much as I did.