ASDA asked if we wanted to take a look at some of their personalised photo gifts, so I set my children the challenge to make me something nice - and they haven't disappointed me! They chose a Mother's day card, a mug and a large canvas... 

A good measure of how easy a website is to use, is to send a 13 year old to try it, and clearly ASDA's website is easy enough, because I received no complaints.

The teenager did have assistance from his older brother, and direction from his other siblings, but I am told he designed the card entirely by himself... including 5 photos of himself - 3 of them photoshopped into love hearts. Winning the prize for getting into my good books there... 

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Weekend Update 13th / 14th March 2021.

The UK added 4,618 cases today and now has reported a total of 4,258,438 positive cases of COVID-19.

The counter says 24,196,211 people had been given at least one dose of a vaccine in the UK by midnight last night. 1,584,909 people have received 2 doses and are fully vaccinated.

8,029 people were in hospital on Thursday 11th, with 1,110 using a ventilator on Friday 12th March.

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 52 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days, making a total of 125,516 losses of life in all settings. This is the lowest daily loss of life since October 12th - 5 months ago.

Rep. Of Ireland 226,741 (+383) cases and 4,534 losses of life.

There have now been a total of 120,279,615 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 2,662,612. Already 96,850,479 people have recovered.

Ireland has become the latest country to pause rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, after Norway reported 4 cases of blood-clotting among recipients. All health authorities involved are being clear any pause is while it's checked out, and NOT because they actually see evidence there is an issue.
Astrazeneca say:
“An analysis of our safety data of more than 10 million records has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country with Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. In fact, the observed number of these types of events is significantly lower in those vaccinated than what would be expected among the general population.”
(We are currently having less operations, long journeys and flights, which could bring down numbers below average.)
Each country which has paused delivery will now undertake their own investigations before vaccinations can resume. The WHO are also investigating, but have advised there is no reason to pause vaccinations while this is ongoing.
Everything I've seen really makes this seem likely to be a panic over nothing, but one that has to be taken very seriously in order to fully reassure the public.
I know personally 2 people who have died from COVID, and many more friends have lost people from their lives. I haven't yet heard a single account of anyone with a blood clotting reaction to vaccination. I can't help but feel that if there was an issue, the UK press and public would have already found it. 

It really is the best job in the world going through all of your photos each month - thank you to everyone who has shared their smiles using the #TBCSmiles hashtag. They're infectious and an absolute joy to look at. Some of the brightest smiles are at the bottom of this post.

Easter Egg Hunt 2016

I hope this past month has been a good one for you. Sunshine and the promise of some time off over Easter make everything a little less heavy and the chance to get out and have fresh air without freezing is very welcome!

According to their website, Pia jewellery collections reflect their passion for creativity and originality, and I think they're probably right. They sell original gold and silver jewellery and accessories from all over the world, each piece intended to be a timeless classic. A gift from Pia is intended to be a treasure that will truly last.


I've been sent a Blue Topaz Gemstone Collection to review. I chose this set as it's my birthstone and I really do love delicate silver jewellery. I was sent the Blue Topaz Gemstone Pendant, Three Drop Earrings and Three Rounds Bracelet. There are more than 35 other pieces on offer with blue topaz alone, so the choice across the website is very wide.

In less than a week's time you are meant to present your Mum with something fabulous, which you haven't bought yet. If it's looking like chocolates from the garage on the way there yet again, then here are a few ideas and you still have time to order online!

Peach Perfect have some lovely gifts to suit all budgets, and you may have seen on my social media that they sent me one of their Homemade Naturals DIY Beauty Craft Kits. I have the Relaxing Lavender Bath Melts Kit (£15), which is incredibly beautifully presented, 100% natural (free from any parabens or synthetic preservatives). In Eco-friendly packaging, it's also vegan and cruelty-free. The kit is really easy to use and contains everything you need to make around 10 cocoa butter based 'cakes' which melt in the bath to release gorgeous relaxing aroma and essential oils. My skin feels amazing...


My Passport Ultra from WD (£62.99) is an amazingly simple and good looking portable hard drive that you can set to back up your laptop or PC as regularly as you'd like. Protect those treasured family photos and videos or your entire music collection against the heartbreak of accidental deletion or hard drive failure. I have a giveaway to win one and my full review here...

Kaya Jewellery sell 'Meaningful Jewellery For Baby, Child And Mum'. A company founded by Dutch Mum Tanja, Kaya specialises in personalised jewellery gifts, including gifts for mothers and daughters, and everything is handmade in the UK.  I really couldn't have said no when they asked me if I wanted to choose something from their website to review for Mother's Day.


The website is incredibly easy to navigate, products are split into really useful, clear categories, and often the same items appear on several pages, which better is much than having to search for something you spotted a while ago and can't find again.

Mother's Day is almost upon us, and Interflora will have one of their busiest days of the year delivering flowers and brightening the day of thousands of Mums. Parenting is the hardest job in the world, so every parent has to be at least a bit super, but what do children think makes you a Super Mum? My little boys were asked by Interflora what they thought were the things that make a Mum super?