The last month has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride that has exhausted all of us. I mentioned last month that one of our children wasn't coping so well, and that's affecting their physical health. With one of our children ill the stress levels increase and you end up with tetchy remorseful adults, and tearful children who feel they have done something wrong. The whole household is constantly apologising to each other. It's terribly British.

Until the end of October whenever you buy a 4 pack of Heinz Beanz, spaghetti or soup, you also buy the chance to win some amazing prizes - including loads of Warner Bros Super Hero goodies and an unforgettable Super Hero holiday to Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles!


Heinz have teamed up with Warner Bros to promote the After-School Super Heroes! Not children, nor with a secret identity, and usually going unrecognised and unthanked. After-School Super Heroes are the Mums and Dads who still don their superhero outfit and brave the kitchen after a hard day which probably started far too early!

Who knew? You can actually get take away from Wagamama, and by an accident of fate I ended up being one of the first people in the UK to try their brand new take away packaging.


If you haven't heard of Wagamama, they are a restaurant that specialise in Japanese inspired foods - ramen noodles and rice dishes prepared with lashings of fresh, carefully chosen ingredients while you wait - and if you wish watch!

Rock Face make 10 different products for men who like to 'look good and smell great with a minimum of effort and fuss'. The range includes everything you need for shave, shower and skincare, from Anti-Perspirant Deodorant and Shower Gel to Anti-Ageing Moisturiser and Shave Butter.

Every product has the same mild and very masculine scent, avoiding those heady clashes of fruit, woodland and Grandma's soap which so often creep up and surprise the average bloke. It's a pretty nice smell too - a fresh woody smell - think arctic ski slopes. This is probably the skincare of choice for the Milk Tray man.


As part of my November Christmas present giveaways I will be giving one reader an entire set of Rock Face body care, and Rock Face asked me if I'd be interested in a review too. I said "sure, but ermmmm, have you seen any recent photos of the men in my house?". It's grim up North, it can be cold in the Winter (Autumn...Spring...Summer). They mainly have full beards!

Last Saturday my 7 year old and I went on an adventure to London to go to the Talk To Mums Family Playtime. I had absolutely no idea what to expect because I haven't ever attended anything which offers sessions for bloggers as well as their children.


It was a very early start as we had to catch the 7.15am train from Manchester - I wasn't alone either, Red Rose Mummy (Pippa) and My Mummy's Pennies (Jen) were on the same train with their children - all equally excited and suffering the lack of coffee!

50 Utterly Silly Stories is a huge collection of short stories and extracts for children written by a host of authors including Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll and L Frank Baum. The stories have been gathered together by Belinda Gallagher and this epic 512 page book is beautifully illustrated throughout, starting with the outside cover.


My 7 year old is now a competent reader and loves books. He's desperate for new things to read, and enjoys fiction as well as factual books, and given completely free choice from the Miles Kelly website he chose 50 Utterly Silly Stories.

We cancelled our Sky package about 3 months ago because we actually felt after 11 years of watching movies every day, we'd caught up with the back catalogue. We are happy with Sky Movies, but just felt we didn't need it all of the time and some months we didn't get our money's worth. We knew we would want to look at alternatives and NOW TV was one of the options we were looking at anyway, and then I was asked if I wanted to become involved with the NOW TV Blog Squad.
NOW TV still hosts Sky Movies, there is no ongoing contract, you pay for 1 month, so if there's nothing to watch, you're super busy or on holiday, you can take a couple of months off free of charge and then go back when you want.You aren't tied in to a huge bundle contract, and so you pay for only what you wish to have access to that month.

Earth To Luna is a new children's series which airs on Tiny Pop (Freeview). It is mainly aimed at pre-school children aged around 2-6 and follows the adventures of a 6 year old girl, Luna, her brother Jupiter and pet ferret Clyde. Luna is passionate about science and sees the world as a giant laboratory, full of interesting things to discover and experiment with.
We love science, so anything that encourages youngsters to become excited about their world is brilliant. If it then gives them answers to vital questions such as why things happen and where they come from, that's even better in my book. Young children can learn so much from watching short TV shows, it's a great preparation for starting school and can give them an excellent base for understanding much more complicated subjects later on. My boys are getting a little old for the pre-school style of Earth To Luna, but they can still learn a lot from it, as can I!

I have been sent a bazillion press releases about things that will be happening over half term, here are a few of the ones I like best for families...

I've holidayed several times in Greater Yarmouth, including in Autumn, and had an amazing time. It may not have the heat to lounge on the beach in your swimwear, but it has loads to offer to couples or families, indoor or out.


Here is a guest post from the Greater Yarmouth Official Tourism Website telling you about some of the places you could choose to visit, and where you can find their amazing giveaway to win a fabulous week long holiday for your entire family..