Sherbie New Shoes.

I took Tabitha-Lo to Clarks on Sunday to see if the cute boots she has been wearing were too small or just a pain to put on. The time had come for a properly fitted shoe. 

Firstly I was gutted to see the electronic foot-measuring machine gone. The highlight of my childhood was having my feet measured by the machine and the only reason I agreed to wear Clark’s shoes, as I grew older.

Alas it has gone and the slider foot measuring handhelds are back... We took our ticket and waited.

I am not a fan of Clarks baby shoes generally, I dislike the colors of their crawlers and cruiser shoes. They are strong colours leaving you having to match a whole outfit around the shoes. Mums who are obsessed with things like that its a nightmare, Clarks you do yourself no favours bringing out bright pink or purple shoes. As for flashing lights...don't get me started.

I was pleasantly surprised by some rather classy looking furry boots and when the girl announced that Tabitha was wearing shoes 2 sizes too small for her, I think mainly from guilt I immediately purchased them. I am not usually a massive fan of this type of boot but if you are a child or an old lady I can allow it.

I can't deny it for me there is something about Clarks shoes, the way they still reflect the chubby little foot inside, the branding. I ridiculously feel a better Mum for having brought them. They are pretty damn cute though and well they will last at least 6-8 weeks so that’s err...£5 per week. 

Companies should just hire the bloody things out.

Silent Sunday.

Slendertone Review: Week 1.

I remember Slendertone belts from years ago. I was never sure if they were just a gimmick or if they really worked. I never actually knew anyone who had one and in my experience things that sound too good to be true, usually are.

One of my Twitter associates is often raving about hers and I’d recently begun thinking it might be worth trying. She strikes me as a hard woman to please, who wouldn't say it if she didn't mean it.

Then as if by magic the chance arose to review one, so grabbed it with both hands.

I have been using the belt for a week so far and the experience is somewhat life changing. I've quickly fallen into the patterning of popping it on after dinner and seeing how high I can get the setting.

The belt is easy to use, you charge it up, stick the pads on, peel the covers off and your ready to go...

I have so far only had one problem, in the first session I felt uncomfortable on one side and found the pads were not correctly placed, moving them solved it on the second go.

Can I feel a difference?

Yes I think I can, my stomach muscles seem to be stronger during a workout and they feel tender in the morning after using the belt.

Over the last week I have noticed my c-section scar changing too. It has always been a bit of a crease and it is closely verging on being a plain old surface scar as the upper skin tightens from using the Slendertone.

I'm using the belt at least 5 times a week for 20 minutes and can currently get up to setting 1: level 65 in comfort.

If it carries on being this impressive I reckon this will be me on my winter holiday.

Boob job and face transplant extras...

I am reviewing a Slendertone System + currently available for £119:00

The Gallery - Children.

Many years ago i went backpacking and left my full time job as a nursery nurse. The staff made me a book full of pictures of the children and messages from the parents....

I loved my time working at this nursery and there really is nothing like being allowed to be a part of someone elses childs upbringing. I now see these children all grown up around my town and its an honour to know you helped toward shaping their pre school years.

The theme at Sticky Fingers was Children, click the link below to see the other entries.

I ❤ Fashion Pony.

I first stumbled across Fashion Pony on Twitter and started to regularly dribble over the clothes. I'm an average girl and shop at most high street stores for my clothes. I adore fashion and would love to be able to own a designer wardrobe but most of the time I have to make do with the high street versions.

The biggest fear when you wear high street is being caught somewhere with the same thing on as someone else and this is why I love Fashion Pony. The range is original and exciting, nothing middle of the road here.

I was hugely flattered when offered an item of the range to try out for review and knew immediately what I wanted as I'd been looking at it for weeks.

Special Price: £30.00 Regular Price: £45.00

Grey cable knit jumper dress teamed with black leggings and grey army style boots is my perfect winter shopping outfit. I was surprised by the jumpers softness and this is not a lightweight cheap knit, it is heavy and really silky thick wool. It is perfect for this time of year.

Fashion Pony also has a fashion blog which is packed full of fashion gossip and up coming trends. Click the image above to drop by...

Silent Sunday - The worst cookies ever.

Toddler Trouble.

I thought it was time for a Tabitha update even if not just for me to workout where my baby girl has gone. She is 14 months old now and definitely taking the step into being a fully fledged toddler.

Giveaway signs your baby is now a toddler....

• When you get them out the bath you have to stand them on the bath mat to dry them.
• They run everywhere for no reason saying 'Ready, Steady, Gooooooo'
• They hold dollies over their shoulders, patting them on the back and saying 'Aaaah'
• When you say 'Have you done a Poo?' They hold their nappy and say 'Pooo!' (this information is not reliable)
• When asked to do something/not do something they will immediately lay face down on the floor.

Happy Days.

The Gallery - Mother Nature.

Today at the market i saw exactly the photos i needed for The Gallery this week.

Mother Nature.

Nom, Nom, Nom.

Surrogacy started me thinking...

Nicole Kidman, Elton John, and Sarah Jessica Parker have all been in the news recently for their use of surrogate mothers. All clearly had their reasons for having babies using surrogates, Eltons being the most obvious. Its a wonderful thing being able to achieve parenthood via any means and i'll state now that I am really happy for the said couples.

However it started me thinking (always a dangerous thing).....

Does this more frequent use of surrogate mothers start to nudge us into concerning territory. Will it become such a regular occurrence that couples without good reason start to decide its a better option than a mother carrying her own child?

You can see the benefits:

No loss of earnings for the mother while heavily pregnant
No looking like a beach ball for nine months
No possible effect on sexual relationship due to looking like a beach ball
Etc, Etc...
A genetic child of your own arriving on the doorstep literally

Then I started thinking of baby farms (stick with me..)

What of the women who would work on these 'farms' who carry the babies?
No doubt it'll be a great little earner for some women, these parents will surely pay highly for the nine month contract.
It'll be a position that will require no qualification as such.
Will it end up being a easy route to a paid job for many uneducated women?

I know it all sounds a little Mad Max and I admit I watch too many futuristic films but will I be too far off?
Who will stop us from having a future full of high achieving, highly paid parents selecting healthy young uneducated women to carry their children for them, perhaps each house will have one, perhaps she could double as the nanny?

Am i taking it too far yet?

Are you glad you're not in my head?

Crap naps, night feeds and early mornings.

She still will not sleep. I sat up in bed this morning at 5am with a grizzling baby head butting me in the face and a partner rushing off to catch the 6am train and realised when I work full time this child MUST sleep.

I have always been a firm believer that parents have the power to make children the way they are with regards to sleep.

In which case I have seriously cocked up somewhere here.

I have been a routine freak from day one, bath, bottle, bed. No excitement after 6.30, no bright lighting, no toys in the cot. We have never managed to ditch the 3am bottle and now at 14 months I have visions of a very bad toddler approaching, bed hopping, wetting our bed and being a general pain in the arse.

Its my fault I know it is. I'm not saying this with the 'oh I'm a failure as a mum' tone so don't tell me its not my fault. It is.

Her nap times are all over the place, one day its two hours, others she skips it totally.

I am also rubbish at 3am. I hear a grizzle, I get milk and I feed her, I lay her down, then I lay down and wake up ten minutes later, she is asleep so I shuffle off back to bed.

The only thing I want to be doing at 3am is queuing for a kebab or a taxi.

My child has been given milk at 3am for her whole life and now I am unhappy about this.

I am an idiot.

Every night when she ends up peeing down my back and I end up sleeping in a toddler bed being starred out by Paddington, I will say over and over......

I did this to myself. I did this to myself.

Silent Sunday.

To see the other entries at Mocha Beanie Mummy click the link above.

Cybermummy2011 Nerves.

I have talked about my rubbish social skills before so it won't surprise you that i'm already stressing about the big event of the year.

I have been lucky enough to be sponsored by Maclaren to attend and my ticket is brought and paid for. Now it just down to me to get myself to London and actually talk to people. It might seem crazy to some of you because we all talk all the time, online and on each others blog comments but in real life? Not so much, if at all.

Will we be the same face to face?

Social Networking can let us create an alter ego very easily and without knowing it sometimes we can become something we might not be in real life, an exaggerated version of our day to day selves. 

I wonder if the people who i chat with on Twitter will be so quick to cross a room to talk to me, will i to them. When we do will we be what each other expects? And if not, how do we get away! 

Of course i'm not totally negative i may meet people who are just as i imagine and we may get on like a house on fire. This could be the start of some amazing new friendships, friendships i may have for life.

But... It could be like the saying: Never meet your heroes. 

When i have real life encounters of all these fellow bloggers will it all feel the same? Do i really want to mess with something i enjoy?

Other concerns are, Will i know who anyone is? Everyone and i mean everyone has their best angle in their avatar. That is if you even have a face, i'm slightly worried there will be 5"6 Blythe Dolls and Anime characters walking around. 

Will we even recognise each other? I can see myself walking straight past someone i spent half the previous evening tweeting.

When i get like this and worry about a social event i run through possible outcomes in my head...

A) I am in my element surrounded by interesting like minded people who are friendly, chatty and all mixing amongst each other and having a great time. 

B) I am standing nervously on my own in a corner observing lots of small clicky groups who are eyeing each other up behind hair flicks and over shoulder glances.

C) I check into my hotel order wine and watch tv all day while watching the tweets roll in on my iphone.

Is there anyone out there who can promise me it'll be option A?

The Gallery - Body Parts.

Face.

When i was backpacking i caught Dengue Fever from a very nasty little mosquito. Just one bite and i was more ill than i could have ever have imagined possible from such a tiny creature.

The Asians call it 'the breakbone fever ' and i totally understood why. 

Within a few hours of feeling unwell i was in bed sweating, itching all over and sporting this rather fetching swollen face. I could not walk or even roll over in bed. My eyes in this photo are open as wide as i could get them, i was a very sick girl. 

A fantastic nurse came to my wooden hut and put me on a drip, i removed it in the night using a torch and my teeth. 

There is no vaccine for Dengue Fever it is carried by daytime mosquitoes and one bite means i will carry the disease in my blood for life. 

A month after i returned home my hair started to fall out in hand fulls, a result of my body going into shock according to the doctors. I ended up losing  a third of my hair which fortunately grew back.

So, the moral of my story, wear mosquito spray all the time in Asia not just in the evening.

P.S........This is my real face.

See what other Body Parts people have chosen as their focus for 

The Gallery at Sticky Fingers this week.

Please help save Millie D'Cruz.

I am joining many other bloggers in increasing awareness to this families plight to raise funds for their daughter to have life saving treatment in the US.

Click on the image below to enlarge and read the ways you can help.

I don't think i can put words together to ask why you should donate , i think her face says it all.

Please support in anyway you can.

Nuby UK 'Rhythm' Electric Breast Pump Giveaway.

This competition is especially for all the pregnant mums out there.
Babies are expensive little blighters, it is said that on average we spend £1500 on our new baby before it even arrives.

In hope this may save you new mums or mums to be some pennies i bring you a giveaway with NubyUK.

NubyUK have very kindly given me one of their fantastic breast pumps for a competition prize.

The NubyUK Rhythm electrical breast pump is a good looking piece of kit!

With a RRP £70

All i ask of you is this:

Leave your email address and name in the comment box below.

You must also be following @mumrablog on Twitter and/or 'Like' Mumra on Facebook to enter.

For an extra entry using Twitter simply retweet :

 " I've entered @mumrablog /NubyUk giveaway have you? http://bit.ly/dOr1ll "

The winner will be chosen at random by Mumra on 24th January 2011.
The winner will be announced on the site and emailed directly.

Silent Sunday.

See the other entries at Mocha Beanie Mummy simply click the link below.

Keep on pushing...

New year is always filled with resolutions for the forth coming twelve months, mine is no different. I am setting myself a few goals and making sure i have to stick to them by blabbing about them on social media sites meaning there is no way out!

Last year i took part in the Race For Life 5k in memory of my brother Matthew. I talked about my experience in an article with Top Sante, it was my kick start to losing weight last year and i'm planning the same this year. However to challenge myself i am signing up for the 10k!

Keeping my focus on being fit enough to complete the run will help to keep my motivation going as i continue with my Nuffield Health and Fitness gym sponsorship, my weekly routines and new healthy diet. 

If you are thinking of losing weight this year then i cannot stress enough how having an event to get you moving can help you achieve great things.

I am taking part in a support group with some other bloggers being run by Liz Jarvis at Living with kids. We all intend to lose weight and get healthy this year and are supporting each other via email and social media sites to keep eachother motivated. So if you are on twitter and see the #newyearnewbody tag, thats us discussing our goals and achievements. 

On Wednesday i have a review with my personal trainer at the gym to see how i can push myself harder to achieve a better fitness level for the run. 

I'm really hoping he takes it easy on me!

Baby Loves Disco at Brighton Komedia Club.

Heading out on a chilly winter Sunday to take my baby girl to her first disco seemed slightly mental (especially as there was thick snow everywhere), but we were determined to get Cinderella to the ball.

Waiting for the Choo Choo....

Baby Loves Disco had taken over the Komedia Club in Brighton, transforming the popular venue into a baby safe disco complete with facepainting, party games, snacks and most important of all a fully licensed bar.

Beautiful winter evening in Brighton.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly staff who stored our buggies and belongings without any fuss allowing us to hit that dance floor.

Tabitha was partying for the day with her friend Betty and both Mums were eager to see how the little ravers would cope with such a busy place.  Turns out neither Tabitha or Betty gave a seconds notice to their new surroundings, as both spotted toys and scooted off to play without even a glance over their shoulders.

This left the parents shadowing the little ravers for most of our stay (not to dissimilar to a private security team), apologising to crying children, handing back stolen toys, dodging eager dancers and providing refreshments when required.

There was no stopping Betty from getting in the thick of it!

The venue was busy and well laid out for adults and children.

Throughout the event the DJ kept the crowd entertained with a variety of competitions (for both the kids and the parents) and a constant supply of popular tunes spanning the last few decades which evoke that dancing feeling in most of us.

Its safe to say both parents and children enjoyed their time at Baby Loves Disco.  The event is very well thought out and supervised, making it perfect for friends with kids looking to get together for a fun and secure afternoon of gossip, laughter and the occasional bought of Dad dancing.

Speaking of which I was genuinely pleased to see so many Dads in attendance.  I can't stand estrogen only fuelled events, they make me twitch and imagine witches conventions.

Once Tabitha & Betty have mastered some new dance moves (and the art of sharing) we will be returning to Baby Loves Disco the next time it rocks up in Brighton.

Find the next Baby Loves Disco event nearest you.

Entry Price: £8 per walking human (Includes baby snacks)

"One day i'll be up here.."