As soon as the gorgeous Tami from Mummy Of Two invited me to take part in this meme I knew it was a challenge worth facing as music is a real passion of mine. I don't pay attention as much as I used to, but we always have music in the house and most of the children can bash out a tune on one instrument or another.


It's really simple - answer a set of questions using song titles from a band or artist. Tami chose Pulp and had some terrific answers, including describing her partner as 'Master Of The Universe'. The only tricky bit is choosing the artist(s)....

Initially I chose The Cure because with a back catalogue of 28 albums there was an awful lot of choice, but it's kind of cheating. It also occurred to me that if I chose The Stone Roses it would be hilarious to have 'I am the resurrection' or 'I want to be adored' for  question 2 or 3, but I'll just leave that one to chuckle to myself about. I also considered umpteen others, but in the end I've settled for Bjork/The Sugarcubes....

As with all Orchard Toys games and puzzles this is designed and manufactured in the UK from strong 100% recycled board. It has really bright colours, modern pictures and chunky pieces that don't bend or come apart during even quite boisterous play. It is built to be played with, and built to last.


Baa Baa retails at £9.50. It is suitable for 2-4 players and the suggested age range is 3-12. It is brilliant for nursery or pre-school aged children who are learning colours as it introduces several less obvious colours. It teaches turn-taking and basic game play, and the concepts of winning and losing


The game is really simple. You have a card with 6 differently coloured spots, a spinner and a whole flock of sheep wearing various clothes. Spin the spinner and if one of your colours is shown then you take a sheep wearing an item of clothing in that colour. Stand a sheep on all six spots first and you are the winner!


My 3 year old thinks it's really excellent and he has instantly picked up on grey and purple, which are both colours that he wasn't confident with before. My 4 year old definitely struggles with this game at times because he is colour-blind, so for him at least a game such as Orchard Toys Pirate Shapes is better, as it's not only about colour, but each part also has other visual clues as to where it should locate.


I think the age range is a little out, I can't really imagine older children playing this game without younger siblings as it is very simplistic, and I also think that the lower recommended age is purely because of small parts, in my opinion most 2 year olds would also be able to play this game very competently and get a lot of enjoyment from it - you'd just have to watch they didn't eat it instead!

We really like it, especially my 3 year old. We give it a 4/5

I really jumped on the opportunity to do this post, I think it's a great topic that has been chosen by Carcraft.

I get very little chance to choose the music when we're travelling, what with my partner's love of Radio 4 and our troupe of teenagers having their own specific beliefs about what we should be allowed to play in public, but on the very rare occasions when I'm alone I can indulge myself and sing along with the best of them.


I used to drive a lot of 80 mile trips between North Manchester and Derby, and I'd play Snow Patrol mostly (very girlie I know). I think I was a bit tired and emotional at the time and it showed. Usually nowadays I'm travelling between North Manchester and Macclesfield, mainly on the motorway and fast back roads, and I love to listen to Faithless. Insomnia has everlong been my theme tune, but for driving I choose We Come 1 because you can belt it out to your heart's content and it always makes you feel good - plus there's bound to be a remix long enough for any journey!

If there's one thing you probably shouldn't listen to when driving, it's Firestarter by The Prodigy, and if you want to ban entire albums, ban anything that's specifically recorded for kids.....

Before we started our collaboration with Pyrex I knew I liked it, I've always had a few pieces, but I genuinely hadn't realised just how user-friendly it was. I expected to spend a few weeks making bizarre and interesting meals to showcase the Pyrex, but in fact I don't even need to do that. I can just cook my regular meals.

Lack of time and sheer idleness means I haven't yet cleared a space for my Pyrex in the kitchen cupboards. With it always on view I've found myself using it for all kinds of things that I previously wouldn't have even considered, including steaming vegetables, reheating foods and pretty much all of my general baking. I've been using my Pyrex a lot.



I've found that the best thing about Pyrex is the versatility and convenience. I can cook solids or liquids in the oven or microwave, put leftovers into the fridge and then reheat in the microwave. I can cut my pie or tart with an actual knife and stir with a metal spoon without scratching. It has pretty much a similar level of non-stick as silicone, but it's much easier to handle especially when you have batters and runny mixes. I can  microwave things like baked beans and it won't pit or discolour. Best of all I can put it in the dishwasher and forget about it and it comes out sparkling.

I'm really enjoying using Pyrex in my everyday baking and cooking, I have already (much to my partners delight) thrown away all of my old plastic microwave dishes with their orange tinge and delaminating plastic. I've not poured Yorkshire pudding batter down myself at all - which I've managed twice now with silicone because it is floppy. I don't have to re-wash like I do with metal baking trays because it cleans so well first time.

I'm a definite convert and so can you be because on Monday 10th June from 10.30am until 11.30am I will be joining with the 3 other bloggers from #Healthysnackchat to host a Twitter party sponsored by Pyrex.
 

My 4 year old has been experimenting with cursing and swearing recently, introducing words to get a reaction and test how 'naughty' they are.

After nursery this morning he told me he knew a swear, but he wasn't going to say it. I told him this was good, I don't want to hear it. He ran off shouting, "I won't say it, but it begins with foll".

*Sigh...*

I can't think of a single swear word that begins with 'foll', and I tried to ignore it and carry on with the washing and forget about it, but it was bugging me. Ten minutes later and against my better judgement I resumed conversation about swearing and bad language, in the hopes he'd just mention it without my asking. He again referred to the swear word he knew that starts with 'foll'. "Are you sure it starts foll?" I asked as casually as I could. Yep, he replied "fuh...oh...ol" and off he went again. I really had to drop it now.

Making tea in the kitchen is thinking time and I carried on trying to work out what he could be on about. I couldn't think of anything that fits. I'm more grown up than that, I should be able to let it drop and talk about anything else, but it really was bugging me. What if he had a swear word that I don't even know exists? I can't let the teenagers get one over on me, I have to know what everything they talk about is referring to at all times, it's a defensive measure. I might lose control and then everything could come crashing down on us and anarchy would reign. Convincing myself I now have to know because it's vitally important I called him into the kitchen.

"You know that word you didn't say earlier?"
"Yes"
"I can't remember what it was, can you remind me please?"
"It was two words. It was foll-locks"

"Thanks, that's it. Thank you for reminding me. Thank you also for reminding me that you are only 4, because for a minute there I think I forgot.....now never say it again, will you"...."I won't Mum, pinky promise"....


I think that may just be one 4 year old promise you can keep to....

When a local blogger and her partner ask if you'd like to review their magazine Bury Family Life, and then invite you to a party and ply you with alcohol and food, how can you refuse?
I clearly did the right thing too, as when Heather from Note From Lapland came round with some copies of her magazine, she also brought chocolate.

In order to raise the cultural profile of my blog I've interspersed some things that also come from Bury.

Danny Boyle, that bloke who directed Slumdog Millionaire and the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

If (like me) you live in an area where you didn't grow up, you try to learn what's going on through osmosis, but you never pick up all the insider knowledge that comes from being a native. You don't know where the soft play is, which park has ducks or when the next insanely ridiculous local event is going to take place.

Bury Family Life Magazine has all of that - and loads more answers to questions your children didn't even think of yet

The Black Pudding ~ they even have Black Pudding Throwing Championships and veggie pudding, which is lovely	.

Bury Family Life is free of charge and available to anyone online. It is also a paper magazine given out to people within the Bury area of Greater Manchester.
It's more than just a local magazine though, that's less than half of it. Alongside the money off vouchers for local attractions and 'What's On' are loads of general articles and features. They are all really relevant to most parents, like 'How to take better photographs' and 'Why your child should learn to swim'.

Elbow ~ just a coincidence they had the theme song of the Olympics? I think not.

The magazine has regular features such as a 'We love....' which in the latest edition is 'Father's Day', and showcases loads of great present ideas. There are 'Bury Mum' and 'The Dad Diaries' parent columns which are very light and humorous.

The RSPCA shop and a signwriter who must have known what they were doing

The magazine also features competitions, with current prizes including a Bowling party for 10 children (2 winners) and a really cute Kids Baking Set.

Robert Peel ~ the inventor of the modern Police Force and the nickname 'Bobbies'

I actually already picked up and read this magazine before I knew it had anything to do with a local blogger. I entered the competitions online and read the articles. I scoured the 'What's On?' for something to do with my kids cheaply and I laughed at the stories of life with children and the sods law that prevails.

I really like it....but don't tell her I said so or she might stop trying to bribe me with chocolate....

The gorgeous Victoria Wood

He is 30cm tall, has removable clothes and shoes, chenille hair and a very sweet face. His entire body is soft and he can be hand washed in hot water.





We think he is really nice, and he has been everywhere with us since we took him out of the box.



I think the age range is right as a smaller child might be tempted to chew his hair. It is not a cheap doll, but it is really well made and I think would last a child for a lifetime. My sons love him and the 3 year old has carried him everywhere since he got him. For these reasons I think he does offer good value and I would heartily recommend him. 5/5

I read this article this morning, which is titled with the headline Social network users are airbrushing reality in search of peer approval.

What? People are actually glossing over the rubbish and leading us straight to the excitement? They're editing the highlights to make themselves appear more interesting than they really are?

This is not in the least bit surprising. No-one wants to post a photo of themselves looking like they actually are, we want to feel permanently good about ourselves. We take 16 photo's and choose the one we like best, or give up and use that one photo from 8 years ago where we think we looked cool. We don't want to tell you that we spent 3 hours today doing washing or that our son just changed into his 4th set of clothes for the day because he wee'd on the way home from dropping his brother at nursery. Well, not unless it has great comedy value...

We're used to the concept that stalkers and other unwanted pests might lurk on the Internet pretending to be something they aren't, so surely it shouldn't surprise us that actually people with entirely honest intentions might just be doing similar. It's airbrushing, enhancing and editing, it's not really lying, right?

We want to be witty and intelligent and lead amazingly interesting lives.  We don't want to record or imply the mundane, and we certainly won't be broadcasting news that we lost our temper or said something inappropriate.

Having a blog is one of the ultimates in Social Media airbrushing. Everything can be re-written, cropped and polished until you're completely happy (usually around 3am) with exactly what impression you give. No-one can reply or interrupt while you re-word something that even you feel turned out to be a pile of complete drivel.

Sunny Holiday Dream

60mph Hurricane Holiday Nightmare

Food tastes nicer and you know you're a better chef when you have a gorgeous photo to prove it (well, okay, a passable photo that's mainly in focus).

Perfect Tart Illusion

Burnt Tart Reality

You can look like you spend all day, every day playing with your children in an exciting and educational way, rather than half of it in Tesco and the other half washing poo off wellies, and you never ever shout at anyone or grumble about getting out the 15th jigsaw of the afternoon.

Play Rarity

Play Reality

I don't think it's entirely a bad thing,  I have a sense of pride when something I made looks lovely, or I write something completely legible. It makes me happy to see nice photo's of my children, even if they were pulling faces at the time. I can look back on my blog and remember the fun bits, not the nightmares that took hours to clean up. I can even laugh about things that otherwise I'd despair about because actually, when you word it right, it was nothing but funny, it had huge comedy value...

Sibling Love Unreality

Sibling Love Reality

Thing is, I don't know about you, but I'm getting so used to the airbrushing that it has a different effect on me now. I don't just see the lovely cake, I see the chip in the plate or I know the mess the kitchen will be. I look for dates on photo's and find the blurred patches where the edit took place. I re-read sentences that don't completely make sense and work out what it used to say. I see the cuts in a video and I know why I'd have had to make them. I wonder who or what has been cut out of cropped photo's. I look at different status updates from people at the same event and snigger at the differences in the stories.

I've actually become so cynical that whenever I do something to my own acceptable standards first time, I don't quite believe it myself....I feel it must need some airbrushing. I look for the accidental double-entendre or the bag of rubbish at the edge of a photo, and surely it'll work better in natural light, so would you mind looking surprised again? I reword mundane to be more exciting, and I don't tell you about the day spent in the tent trying to stop the kids treading mud everywhere and holding the roof up with bits of gaffer tape, instead I tell you about the fact we spent our time playing cards as a family and singing along to some local radio station and it's cheesy pop tunes.


Remember.....objects on the Internet may not be as real as they seem..

Me

What I actually look like today

Elinens recently asked Bloggers if they'd like to apply to review and having bought from them in the past I was more than happy to put my name forward. I was even more happy when they asked me to let one of my children choose some bedding. My little boys have to put up with a lot of hand me downs, so it's always nice to be able to give them something of their own and this is especially true of boy no.4, who hardly ever gets anything that isn't pre-loved. I let him pick from their really quite extensive range of children's duvet sets.

Looking past all of the TV themed options and spaceships he chose the Children's Treasure Quest Duvet Set (despite his brother's insistence he would really rather have the Ben 10 bedding). It actually retails at only £9.97, so is a complete bargain.



The duvet cover fastens with really well-made poppers, rather than buttons which I find get a bit loose after a while and come undone, especially on a toddler bed which still isn't quite a full sized single. The cotton is really soft and although I always wash everything I buy before I use it, I didn't need to.

My son is delighted with his choice and has told everyone he's seen that he chose his bedding and the postman brought it for him, then gone on to explain about the pirates and their treasure. He loves the pillowcase with it's skull and crossbones.


I think this bedding set is very attractive and well-made. It is excellent value for money and a definite hit. My only problem is that boy no.3 is now waiting for the postman to bring him some!


Elinens sell a massive range of products for the home, not just linens. They have free delivery on orders over £50 and a 30 day money back guarantee.

I admit, there have been times over the last 7 years that this has been a far more daunting proposition.

Actually, now that our oldest 5 are all teenagers, and they can even help wrangle the two pre-schoolers, we really didn't even flinch at the prospect of taking them out.

In fact when we got the opportunity to review our local JD Wetherspoon and their new American and International dishes we jumped about with unbridled excitement (we don't get to take them all out much unless we're on holiday or it's someone's birthday).

Our eldest was working, so it was lunch for 8. I was pleased to discover he was happy to come with us had he not been working, as it is his 'local' and where he goes to drink with his friends.

I rang in the morning to ask if I needed to book, and they assured me we could just turn up. It wasn't too far, so we walked (my partner and I could enjoy a refreshing beverage with our meal).


When we got there it was 1.30pm and still incredibly busy, so we found 2 tables next to each other and landed. At this point we were a bit daunted by the prospect of eating at two small tables and wished we'd been able to book.


Luckily we only had to wait 5 minutes before 2 bigger tables became free, and we were able to push them together and settle - and practice our loveliest photo faces (or daftest as it turned out).

Just for giggles we told the teenagers that we were secret shoppers and would be rating our experience. I think it went to their heads and they arranged the scoring during the meal.....results at the bottom of the page....

L to R ~Child 5, Child 2, Child 1, Child 4, Child 3, Child 6

The menus are really clear and well-laid out, and everyone easily found something they liked. All the vegetarian options are clearly labelled as such, and there's lots of choice. The children's menu is great because it doesn't just include 'kids food', it has child-sized portions of real adult meals too. 



I asked our older ones to take a photo of me and this is the best they managed!


Plates were cleared away swiftly but we did have quite a wait before they brought out pudding.


The desserts were something everyone was excited about. Our second youngest (wearing the bright ginger hair and grey t-shirt) had seen an ice cream sundae on the TV and has wanted to have one ever since, so he was pretty much over the moon.
  
 
Obviously his little brother had to have one too. Neither of them managed to finish it, but fortunately Mum and Dad were on hand to help.


Everyone enjoyed their meals, the food was lovely and every speck was eaten. No-one misbehaved, no-one started wandering about. I only had to supervise 3 toilet visits (and they were lovely and clean). We had a really, really lovely time.

I felt really comfortable and relaxed throughout the whole meal. The staff were all lovely, the pub was incredibly friendly and no-one cared we had so many young people with us. The clientele was so mixed that the children just slotted right in. It was really busy but never frantic or feeling cramped, and the service was great. I do wish we'd been able to book because we were such a big party, but that was pretty much the only downside to the whole meal.

Our entire meal with drinks cost around £90, which will make most families wince, but for 6 adults and 2 children it works out very reasonably indeed. I couldn't have asked for more, and I really do think it won't be too long before we are back.

It also happens that today it is exactly seven years since my partner and I got together and we started our journey to becoming one big family, so this was a very fitting celebration - with photo's we'll treasure forever (especially on their 18th birthdays when we get to embarrass them unremittingly!).


The scoring - exactly as written...

Child 1
Sweet Chilli Egg Noodles (V) - Very nice, quite small 4/5
Pancakes - Very nice too - Ice cream melted quickly
Any other comments - I'd come here again definitely
Child 5
An adult Classic Hot Dog and chips shared with his brother - Eleventy/5
Child 6
An adult Classic Hot Dog and chips shared with his brother - 16/5
Child 2
Tennessee Chicken Burger served with chips and beer-battered onion rings - A burger so delicious that if it were a person I'd marry it.
Waffle Sundae - The pudding was nice also
Any other comments - Not really
Child 3
Chicken Breast Burger and chips - Pretty nice 4/5
Hot Fudge Cake - Pretty nice 4/5
Any other comments - I think it's very nice and the meals are very reasonable
Child 4
Mexican Vegetable Burger and chips - Very tasty 4/5
Cheesecake - Not very cheesey 2/5
Any other comments - It's nice that Tom's mates (our oldest) are in here and talking to other people who are having a drink, like that old lady doing her shopping.
Dad
Full Rack of Ribs with coleslaw, beer-battered onion rings and chips - Nice, excellent value for money
Strawberry Sundae leftovers - Very nice
Lavazza Filter Coffee - Fantastic
Any other comments - I think we've all had a great time, everyone seemed to enjoy it
Mum
Mexican Vegetable Burger - Very tasty, lovely crispy chips 4/5
Chocolate Sundae leftovers - Delicious. The brownie pieces are gorgeous and chewy. 5/5
Lavazza Filter Coffee - Ooooh yes
Any other comments - Everyone's full and happy, it's a win for me.

2 portions Garlic Ciabatta Bread - Overall vote - Delicious!
2 portions Beer-Battered Onion Rings - Overall vote - Crispy and delicious!

Overall score - #Win #Pwned (translation - very good)