2012 | Mum In The Madhouse

2012

Perfect Christmas Gifts for people who have it all!

5 Comments / Christmas / By

We are a pretty small family and do not but a lot of presents, but sometimes it can be really hard to know what to by for people. So I thought I would let you know some of my ideas of things for people that are really hard to buy for. Some of these things I have been asked to review, others I have purchased myself and really loved.

UGG Slippers

Yes these are expensive at £100, but……. they are perfect for the woman who has everything and would love to have warm toasty feet. My MIL would love these, but I am not for giving up the pair I got for review and I am not a slipper person. These are the most substantial slippers I have ever tried and are very warm and cosy. I am all about value and would hope that the cost per wear on these slippers was similar to others on the market nad that I would get years worth of wear from them.

Personalised Heart Bracelet

Personalised jewelry is a great gift for a woman, especially when it is as stylish and easy to wear as this personalised heart bracelet from Treat Her. It is £89.99 and will fit any size of wrist as it is elasticated and made of silver. You can have both sides of the heart personalised, so makes a great present for any mum or grandparent, without being twee.

Handcrafted Christmas Stocking

I am a big advocate of hand crafted British made products and when Kelly decided to open Petit Fromage, I knew her products would be exceptional. She is currently producing the most wonderful handmade Christmas products including bunting, table runners and the most beautiful, stylish and unique Christmas Stockings from £20.00

The Tweetie Tag Necklace

Oh how I adore this unique and made to order necklace from Victoria Wallop, which you can buy though We Shop. Victoria’s jewelry is handcrafted and totally unique to you. It can be customised to include a hashtag and perfect for any social media addicts. A must have #justsaying

Interflora Hamper

Often when you buy a hamper you are left in June with some part of it that just isnt what you want to eat. Well this isn’t the case with the Silent Night Hamper from Interflora which is £80. How do I know, well we were sent it to review and were going to pass it on to our inlaws, but the boys found it first and have already started to make their way though the treats. I love the fact that it comes in a traditional wicker basket that I can recycle. The perfect pre Christmas gift.

Bunny and Toad Stool Night Light

I love a bit of kitsch and I adore Dotcomgiftshop and when I saw the Toad Stool nightlight (£3.95) and Bunny Nightlight (£4.95) then I just had to have them. So I treated myself to them to brighten up my desk and they really do. Both the boys love them and now want there own!

Orla Keirly Bag from Zalando

I am a big OK fan and was asked to try Zalando and what can I say apart from they are the perfect match. The bag is divine and the service from Zalando is second to none. Not only do they have free delivery, they also have free returns too, which I tried out. Their customer service team were helpful, courteous and timely, which is what you need when you are buying online. I love the amount of choice that you have with Zalando and I even purchased my fab yellow converse from them.

Yankee Candles

Oh what can I say about Yankee Candles. They smell divine, last for hours and are just wonderful. I have been delighted with the ones that I was sent and have purchased them in the past as gifts. You really can not go wrong with a Yankee Candle as there is a scent for everyone.

Neals Yard

I am really funny about what I put on my skin and when my good friend Louise from Panacea Health and Beauty suggested I give Neals Yard a try, I know that she would know what she is talking about and I have been loving this brand ever since. So what can I say other than I am a convert to Neals Yard.

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#savvyspender Twitter Party 28 November 7.30pm to 8.30pm

1 Comment / frugal / By

I would like to invite you to a great Twitter Party being hosted by me and the amazing Penny Golightly, on 28th November between 7.30pm and 8.30pm, all about shopping habits and family treats.

We would love to hear about how you stick to a budget, choose appropriate family rewards, spend your money wisely and if your shopping habits have changed recently compared to previous years.

I know how hard it can be to budget well in the current financial climate and talk a lot about saving money on my other blog A Thrifty Mum. But we really want to hear from you and I hope that together we can share some brilliant top tips that will help us all. Even though I often write about family money saving I still have a lot to learn and I love getting new tips and ideas.

And as if sharing your knowledge and learning new ways of saving money wasn’t enough to tempt you to join in, there’s even going to be prizes!

The party’s being sponsored by Barclaycard and their Freedom Rewards credit card. This new reward card is potentially very useful for organised spenders who pay their balance off every month, as you earn points on everything you spend, that you can then redeem in a range of high street stores (check out www.barclaycard.co.uk/freedomrewards)!

I’d love you to spread the word for us a little – more people joining in with #savvyspender means more money saving tips for us all.

See you there

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Second Chance Saturday

1 Comment / competition / By

SO if you have ever been through what we have, then Calpol want to hear from you. Whatever event your little one missed out on – it could’ve been a family trip to the zoo, their best friend’s swimming party or their 6th birthday party – CALPOL® want to hear about it. So ‘enter’ to enter their story into their Second Chance Saturday competition.

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I am having Eye Surgery

10 Comments / me / By

A couple of weeks ago I made my way to our nearest (well over an hour away, as yes I live in the middle of nowhere) store to have my initial consultation with the Optical Express Team. Before I tell you more about my consultant, let me tell you I am short sighted and have worn either glasses or contact lenses since I was 20 years old. I had considered Laser surgery in the past and often do every time I take the boys swimming.
I was given an appointment at Optical Express and advised that my consultant would take anything from an hour to two hours and that I would have to have drops put in my eyes, which meant that I would be unable to drive for the rest of the day and might find it harder to focus too. MadDad came with me, but rather than come in to the consultation he took the boys away to keep them occupied.

Initially I had a chat with one of the team and we talked through what happened during surgery and I watched a short (7 minute) video about Optical Express and the surgery types they offered. I then had a couple of tests including the “pressure test” were a puff of air is blown into each pupil and also a focus test just like I get when I go to the opticians.

I was then transferred to another room to have an optical technician go through an eye test with me. If you have had a test at an optician then it is very similar and very though. It was during this point that I had the drops put in my eyes. Now Mini had already told me that this was a little like having vinegar put in your eyes and will sting and boy he was right. I also had a yellow dye popped in my eyes. This was the most uncomfortable part, but the sting was very short and it didn’t last at all. I then discussed if I was eligible for surgery what type I would need and asked if I had any questions.

To be honest I had lots of questions and the technician answered them all as fully as he could.

And that was my consultation over. I was not pressured in to making a decision there and them and told them that I would go home and make my decision.

Once I was at home, I decided to ring my friend and optician and ask her advice. After talking to her, I had more questions, but the team at Optical Express were excellent and rang me back with the answers and put my mind at rest.

So I am going to have Lasik Wavefront surgery to correct my vision and yes I am a little anxious, but more than that I am very excited.

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Kids get Arty – Kadinsky

6 Comments / childrens craft, mini mads / By

So when Mini asked if he could have the watercolours out to paint and started painting concentric circles in squares, I decided to sit down and we had a fab discussion.

Wassily Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) was a Russian-French painter. His style of painting originally belonged to expressionism, and is sometimes included in symbolism. Kandinsky was one of the artists who gave shape to the abstract art in the early twentieth century.

Kandinsky was inspired by music. So whilst mini was painting I popped on Vivaldi’s four seasons. We talked about the fact Kandinsky thought that each colour has its own language and expression. Kandinsky tried to convert musical compositions into paintings. He heard colours in music and he saw music in colours. Mini told me that black must be sad music.

We also talked about the fact that paintings do not have to be of things or people and can be looked at in lots of different ways. I loved the fact that it is something that MIni could easily mimic and didn’t feel that there was a right or wrong.

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The Mothers Union wants to ban letters to Father Christmas

15 Comments / Christmas / By

Tips for making it cheaper:

Think of things are preloved rather than second hand
Do not give gifts in boxes and then children have no idea if they are new or not
Talk about giving to children less lucky as themselves and sort though toys before Christmas
Make gifts, rather than buying them
Set realistic expectations
Father Christmas is always listening, just because you do not get all on your list doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen it, it just means he said no to some of them!

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Autumn Days

1 Comment / autumn / By

We love sunshine and getting out and about and unfortunately this Autumn has not been as crisp and bright as we had hoped, but we haven’t let this stop us making the most of our weekends together as a family. Both boys play Junior football, so sunday mornings are usually taken up with a match, but the rest of the weekend we make sure that we have something planned that we can do as a family.

Our recent weekends have included:

A trip to a local Rugby match
Family Bowling
A trip to The National Railway Museum
A trip to Dalby Forest
Car washing
We were sent some great items from Bonprix to test out and the image above shows the boys in their new favorite cardigans. They are fleece lined and so soft and they have a zip in addition to the lovely paddington bear style fastening and are £14.99 each. MadDad and I

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