My little TV star....

The big news in our house this month has been that Tabitha-Lo has hit the big screen in her first advert.

Now I know lots of mums will have opinions on children being involved in modelling or tv but you know what? I don't really care.

I am so proud of her, she loved the day filming with Cow and Gate. They treated the children so well and she thought being set free in a recording studio with no one telling you to 'not touch' was the best fun ever.

Miss Lo features several times, although you mostly recognise her during her saxophone solo!

Well done Cow and Gate on a fantastic advert and well done Miss Lo on being a true little star.

Salty Dog Nuts!

So last Friday was one of those eventful weekends where the child visited Granny for a few days and we got to go out as a couple.

We headed out for a meal with no one kicking the table or ripping up napkins it was lovely. There was wine and olives then after the chocolate pudding we followed on to a cocktail bar.

Several hours later we returned home via taxi a little worse for wear and staggered into the flat to be confronted by this....

You see Friday saw the delivery of Salty Dog Nuts for my latest review. Of course in our drunken state we ate the lot, in seconds.

I'd love to tell you they were the most tasty and delicious nuts I've ever eaten but, well, I can't remember. Minutes later we had fallen asleep fully clothed and only 'really' knew we had eaten them in the morning when we saw the wrapper scattered over the kitchen counter.

I should have just used the cool mug they sent along for a black coffee but the nuts were way too tempting!

If you fancy stocking your cupboards for a late night snack or just to fill in the ad breaks in x factor Salty Dog Nuts are on sale at Tesco.

To celebrate the launch Salty Dog Nuts are running a competition on their Facebook page and the prize is a new iphone. Get over and enter if you fancy a chance to win.

You can also follow on Twitter.

Not that I'd know that as I am still without my twitter account! *punches air*

How the hell I have got through this post without passing comment on the name of the nuts I don't know.... I will leave that to you.

This is a sponsored post. 

Goodbye Twitter.

I have closed my Twitter account down.

Since May 2010 Twitter has taken up much of my time and has helped me not only build my blog but also built many good friendships with other mums, without which those 3am feeds and moments of madness would/could have finished me off.

I have enjoyed the ups and downs of Twitter; the dramas of blogworld rolled out in passive aggressive tweets between rivals, the heated debate of people who just love an argument, but mostly the support of complete strangers offering advice and ((hugs)) when needed.

I have laughed out loud (for real!) and found great comfort in the humour of other mothers struggling with their daily lives just like me. I have worried about them during difficult times, I have shed tears for them both in happiness and pain, and offered helpful advise to try and support them.

I have, as have they revealed my life through 140 character snippets to nearly 3,000 people a go for several years and now it is time to close the net curtains.

I will be truly honest my recent move stems from these realisations:

I have wasted precious time on Twitter when I should have been playing with my daughter.

I have neglected my relationship and friendships to chat to thumbnail images who I will never meet.

I have neglected myself.

I have left myself exposed and its not sitting well with me anymore.

The future is about focusing on me and the two people I love most.

Don't get me wrong I will miss the community but I hope the people who I connected with most will continue to keep in touch via other means.

I hope that everyone else will remember me and my life as fondly as I remember them and feel honoured to have been allowed to peer into their lives 140 characters at a time.

So that's it.

@mumrablog RIP

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....