Month: February 2012

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Questions & Answers Meme – I’ve been Tagged

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I can see I am not going to get away with this one.  The lovely ladies over at More Than a Mum,  Yummy Step Mummy and Fluffy Dumplings have all tagged me so far.

The gist of it is this.  I have to answer 12 questions from each of them – eek.  I am going to try to do it in one post.  After you have read mine, you’ll find a new list of questions at the bottom from me, for you to answer on your own blog. Then you make up a new set of 12 for your victims.  I have amended the rules to save loads of different posts

From Yummy Step Mummy

1. Where are you from and where do you live now? – Aberdeen and Aberdeen – Boring I am.
2. Favourite pizza topping –  Chicken, Sweetcorn and Mushroom
3. Favourite childhood story/book/film – Little Women
4. Favourite story/book/film now – Too many to mention them all.   Anything with Morgan Freeman seems to be a good film. I tend not to have favourites as such.
5. If you could change gender for a day what would you do? Sack David Cameron & Nick Clegg & put Richard Branson & Stephen Fry in charge of the country.
6. Do you feel you family is complete or would you like more/some children? I am always tempted to go back to adoption panel for a girl, but I’m too old now I think.
7. What do you do/Where do you work and do you enjoy it? – From home.  Hard work, long hours, but the coffee is fab.
8. Which three words do you think sum you up? Opinionated, Determined and Self-Conscious.
9. If you were a fairy what magical powers would you possess?  The ability to cure disability.
10. If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do?  Why? Sit at home in a comfortable seat and ignore all the shenanigans going around me for a week.  Ahhh, the peace.
11. Do you know what meme, blog hop, linky, Klout, Pinterest, Google +, SEO, tags, categories, keywords etc are and what they all mean?   Um, yes, I’m a geek.  What can I say.
12. Have you ever picked your nose. Of course not.  Like royalty, a lady must never divulge any bad habits in public.

From More Thank a Mum

1)    What song can’t you listen to without crying? – Angels – Robbie Williams, don’t ask why, I don’t know.
2)    Which book changed your life – or at least made you think a lot? – The Trouble with Alex- A Mothers Battle, A Child’s Rage
3)    Which of your personality traits do you most hope your children will inherit? – Inherit is impossible but I hope they learn determination to get things finished.
4)    Which of your personality traits do you most hope your children will NOT inherit?  As above, they can’t inherit but they might end up with my impossibility to stop myself from saying “stop that now or you will be grounded tomorrow.”
5)    Why do you blog? Because I love it, and I love the community.
6)    What do you wish you’d known before becoming a parent?  That taking on 3 moving toddlers at one time is a feat akin to climbing Mount Everest.
7)    What is your top ‘me-time’ tip? Leave the house for it.  Me time never happens while anyone else is in residence.
8)    What can’t you live without?  Materialistically – Netbook.  People wise – The Kids.
9)    Which of all your blog posts are you most proud of and why?  I am not proud of the post, but I proud of the actions of the people who the post is about.  Read it here.
10) Have you ever met a famous person? Who and where?  Prince Phillip at Holyrood when I was 16 and another, but not going to tell, or a friend will stop talking to me.
11) What is the best thing about parenthood? – Seeing them when they are sleeping and knowing I make a difference to their lives.

From Fluffy Dumplings

1) When did you last have a full nights sleep?  Far too long ago, but it might have been about a month.
2) How often do you and your partner get to go out on a date? Never – he’s not romantic at all.
3) What is harder going to work or staying at home with children?  Definitely staying at home with children, but I have special needs in children so different comparison I suspect.
4) What are you doing for Easter?  A week at home and a week away in the van.  I would miss my caravan too much and campsites are fab for my kids.
5) Can you ride a bike? Yes
6) What is your favourite tipple? It would have been diet irn bru once upon a time, but now I’m not sure.  I don’t like the taste of alcohol so it would have to be something lemonady for a tipple.
7) Do you play any sports Apart from running after the kids, I swim and cycle with the boys when the weather is nicer.  I used to play volleyball and badminton but not since the boys arrived.
8) What is your most embarrassing  moment? That will stay with me forever.  Actually I think it is on my blog somewhere, but not letting on.
9) How clever are you? It depends.  I can work out lots of things, but I can be as daft as anyone else at others.  I am quite shy around new people so my bravado is usually a front.
10) Name your favourite tv show? Doctors – cheesy, I know.
11) Any guilty pleasures? Chocolate and crisps.
12) Favourite song? Angels – as above.

Questions for my victims – tags:

1 – If you could have chosen your own name, what would it be?
2 – Who do you most admire in life, and why?
3 – What is your most treasured possession?
4 – Are you a glass half full, or glass half empty type person?  Give an example.
5 – Tell your favourite funny joke…
6 – What is your biggest fear in life?
7 – What is your favourite flavour of ice cream? What does it remind you of?
8 –  If you have kids, do they do what you tell them first time, every time? If no kids, what about your elders?
9 – Prada or Primark?
10 –  Jeans or joggers?
11 – Jennifer Aniston or Meryl Streep.
12 – Sean Connery or Daniel Craig.

The Victims

@fightingcat
@bessytweets
@theslummymummy
@loobie16
@bagi1972
@transatlantimum

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I Demand a Parent Contract – Full and Binding

Image: maple / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I had to go shopping for a birthday card this morning.  After wandering endlessly looking for one that the little mister might not think was too gauche, or too girly, or too boyfriendy for his gal pal, I eventually found one that looked plain enough to be boring, but sensible enough not to be misconstrued as anything remotely resembling a card that someone who has a crush on you would send (phew).

Thinking about the ensuing afternoon and future possibilities kept me in a daydream as I imagined fussing about as mother of the groom, and pointy finger wagging in his direction if he dared to so much as divert from his route to have a pint half an hour before the ceremony.  That led me on to thinking about what clothes we should wear, what other people would think – and a lightbulb moment ensued.

Why, just why on earth do we care so much about what other people think?  Ok, so they might raise their eyebrows at the potential of an 11-year-old groom having a pint on his way to his wedding, but come on, I’m allowed to daydream.   My little mister is just not caring in the slightest about how the future is going to turn out, as he’s not even on very good terms with most of the women of this planet (myself included).

So, all this planning and scheming and wedding attire drooling is all about me.   I can’t be the only one who thinks that the rollercoaster rides to get that far are just too much to live with.  Oh the pressure.

I’d love to set out a parental contract for rules between parents.  It would have to be signed and witnessed by all classmates mums and noted by a qualified barrister (free of charge of course, it’s for mums).

PARENTAL CONTRACT

1 – Attire
All children under 10 years old must attend any function, party or playdate with mandatory ripped jeans, dirty shirt, messed up hair, egg dribbling from chin, and a big cheesy grin.  Parents must come straight from doing housework with no make up and scraped back hair.

2 – Birthday Parties
Bring a small gift – what on earth makes people think it’s ok to give anyone under 90 a voucher, or a ten pound note, it’s a child’s party?   Smile when you enter the room, and for goodness sake, don’t let the gossipy ghouls put you off from going over and dipping your hand into the party food.  Size issues MUST be left at the door, and any parent partaking of party fare must eat 4 chocolates and 3 sausage rolls as a minimum.

3 – Playdates
Do not spend 5 hours pre-cleaning your home for 4 pre-schoolers to run around and mess up.  You’ll only regret it.  I promise that I will only clean my house to the degree that you will not be sitting in a pile of hair and fluff when you take a seat to watch the proceedings.   Dirty dishes may be hidden in the oven, and mucky clothes make very good cushion stuffers.

I will light a candle bearing the smells of filtered coffee and freshly baked double choc chip muffin, so be ready for a  watery latte and supermarket cake.

I will only provide clean activities without water, colour or squeezies and I expect you to do the same if a playdate is reciprocated.

4 – After Playdates or Parties
We agree to a mutual verbal thanks for any presents received.   Thank you cards – pored over by bored tinys and tweens that get ripped up 5 minutes after they are received must be banned by mutual appreciation.  Arrive on time to pick up your offspring if you have dropped off and run for the hills, and you must agree to actually come in and help put rubbish in the bin before you go.   Visit my toilet and clean up after your own child if they poop in my toilet and I will do the same for you.

That is about all I can think of just now, add any more that you can think of below.

Please don’t read and run, leave a comment to let me know you’ve been here.  We all love a bit of comment love, and the back-link won’t do you any harm either 🙂

 

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Clic Sargent – A Yummy Grand Mummy

The CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy Week is the 10th to 18th March 2012.   Anyone can join up and do something positive to help children with cancer.

This year, they are asking us to Do Something Yummy  and come up with new ways to raise money.  Click on the Yummy Mummy Link to join up and request an event pack.

Yummy Mummy is a fundraising campaign run by CLIC Sargent, the children’s cancer charity and for six years, mums in the UK have raised money to support the charity through the year.

Nickie @nickie72 From Typecast blog is one of the 4 Lead Blogggers on this campaign with Clic Sargent.  She has set writing prompts to help bloggers join in with promoting the campaign and spreading the word.  Visit her blog if you would like to take part.

I have chosen to do a Yummy Post as I do know someone who has had cancer and survived.

My mother is well into her seventies, although she certainly does not look it.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer a month after our boys came to stay with us.

It was difficult coping with three toddlers who had no boundaries at the same time as trying to help a mother who then had to go through treatment, surgery and the aftermath – while I tagged along three bundles of mischief.  It certainly brightened up the hospital ward.

She fought, and she fought hard.  The treatment was tough and the stay in hospital was tough.  She also had to contend with arthritis, thyroid disease, sciatica and is a type 1 diabetic.

The boys have been here for 8 years now, so the length of time she has been a survivor for is easy to remember.

It’s been hard going for her, so how difficult is it for a child to cope with?  We all need to help with local charities and get involved where we can.  I support a local charity with time already, and helping to spread the word about this scheme is an easy ask for me this week.

Nickie would love to see 50 link-ups for her writing prompts this week so please feel free to blog and link up with us on her blog on Thursday.

More Information

Yummy Mummy
Twibbon your Twitter avatar
Facebook page
#dosomethingyummy hashtag on Twitter

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Slow Cooked Sausage & Onion Hotpot

Another slow cooker recipe.

Is it showing just how often that I actually use my slow cooker?  The food rarely looks pretty on the plate, unless it is a curry, risotto or a piece of meat for carving, but hotpot style food just never looks right although it tastes fantastic.

Saturdays are manic here with football matches and club sessions, so making a proper meal on a Saturday is a rare occurrence.  I had a pack of sausages in the fridge with a bag of potatoes in the cupboard and that makes for a perfect slow cooker meal.

Ingredients

12 Sausages
2 Onions
2 Tablespoons Caramelised Onions
500 Mixed Veg (I ran out of fresh, so the standby frozen had to do)
1 kg Baby Potatoes (any potatoes would do for this)
1 x Beef Stock Pot or 2 Stock Cubes
Pinch Salt

Method

As usual, my slow cooking is just all thrown in.  I wanted to give the sausages the taste and aroma of the onions so I took the frying pan out and first let the chopped onions cook for a few minutes on low heat.

Turn up the heat a little and fry the onions until they are mixed in with the caramelised ones.

Add the sausages to the pot.

Lightly cook sausages in the pan with the onions.

Then put the sausages and onions into the slow cooker, along with the vegetables and fill with enough boiling water to cover the ingredients.  Add the stock pot or stock cubes and salt.

Place the sliced potatoes on the top of the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Don’t put any more water in the pot.

Put on the lid and cook for 8 hours on low setting, or 4 hours on high setting.  Thicken before serving with cornflour and hey presto.

I really, really wish I could get slow cooked pots of food to look prettier on the plate for photographing, but I don’t seem to be able to.  My sausages crumbled when my mother in her eagerness to help, had decided to take off the lid when I was out, and give the mix a good old brisk stir.

There was enough food in the pot to feed 6 of us.

That was a meal on a budget and a half.

 

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Warner Bros. Valentines Day Gift

Thank you to Warner Bros. for the lovely gift box that arrived her on the morning of the 14th February.  It was a hectic day as the man of the house started a new job and was out of the house by 6am.  He didn’t make it home until about 8pm and was so tired that he crashed out at 8.30, pretty much into his supper.

The lovely box had 4 films in it that I haven’t seen before, so they are going to be put to good use over the weekend when the man might not be quite so sleepy.  The gorgeous Crazy Stupid Love bag and the little compact mirror were lovely touches.  The packages from Warner Bros. are really something lovely to receive, and they even add little touches.  There must have been dozens of tiny red hearts which scattered the floor like confetti when the box was opened.   My boys have gathered them up to stick on to envelopes for the girls they plan to give late valentines cards to at school on Thursday.  Very thrifty my boys are getting.

The kids didn’t miss out either, as they were sent their own little gift box with DVD’s, sweeties and a colouring book.  My boys had seen the stamp on the packs with the WB on the front and were beside themselves with anticipation, even before I managed to open the massive envelope that their package arrived in.

We only have one day left until the boys go back to school, so hopefully we can enjoy some down time watching a film or two and polishing off the malteser pack from the boys treats.  Mums maltesers bit the dust early evening on the 14th as a treat

Thanks again Warner Bros.
The Scottish Mum Blog household all love you.

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Guest Post – Have Fun While Saving in the Home

This is a featured guest post which revolves around saving money in the home, and how to go about it.  There are some fun elements involved, and getting the whole family to help seems to be a good way of helping everyone appreciate the value of money.

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Have Fun While Saving in the Home

Saving money doesn’t have to be a drag. There are lots of things you can do around the house that save money and are fun, too.

One of the easiest ways to save money is to use comparison websites to find the lowest prices on a whole host of things, including credit cards, mortgages, cable and phone rates and insurance. To make this saving activity fun, get the whole family involved.

For example, if you want to do a comparison on home and contents insurance, have each member of the family — assuming they are old enough — do a search using a comparison site. Award a prize to the person who comes up with the best deal on home and contents insurance.

You can do this same activity with just about anything on which you are trying to save money. You and your family can search price comparison sites for the best prices on other types of insurance, too, such as auto and life. If you are looking to refinance your mortgage, you can search price comparison sites to find the best rate and lowest fees. You can also use price comparison sites to find a top credit card balance transfer offer to consolidate your debt.

Another way to save in the home and still have fun is to have a family movie night. If you stay home and rent a movie or use a movie streaming service, you can save a lot of money compared to going to a movie at the theater. Renting a movie costs less than one ticket to the theater, and it’s much cheaper to make your own popcorn than to buy it at the movies.

If movies aren’t really your thing, you can have a family game night. Play cards or a board game, and then offer prizes for the champion.

To save money on family dinners, cook at home instead of going out to eat. You can make this fun by involving the whole family in preparing the meal. Experiment with new dishes and desserts, and let your kids make up their own. One way to do this is to have each member of the family choose one course of the meal and then help in preparing that meal.

You can get the whole family in the act to save money on your grocery budget as well. Have everyone get online and go to coupon sites to see how many coupons they can find for things you need. You also can assign family members to check out the websites of the supermarkets in your area to find the best deals. Again, make it a contest and award prizes to the winner to make things fun.

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Spend Vouchers, Get Rewards!

Sponsored Post

Every time you spend money at Tesco, you build up points which will be converted to money off vouchers.  Your points build up in-store, online, at petrol stations, and even using the credit card.

When you have managed to collect 150 points, they are converted into a Clubcard voucher worth £1.50 which will be sent you in your Clubcard statement. The more points you collect, the more vouchers you’ll get back!  Your statement also contains money-off and extra points coupons for products and services that Tesco think you like.

You can spend your Clubcard vouchers in-store, at Tesco petrol filling stations, online at Tesco.com and at Tesco direct.  Simply use them at the checkout and their value will be taken off your shopping bill.

You can get even more from your vouchers by spending them on Clubcard rewards. They have hundreds to choose from, ranging from holidays to meals out, hotels to cinema tickets.   The Clubcard rewards scheme really is a Scottish Mum Blog favourite.

As a family, we have lots to be grateful to Tesco Clubcard Rewards for.  Before Christmas last year, they doubled the amount of vouchers I had built up over a couple of years and hadn’t yet spent.  It meant that I had £300 to spend on toys and games that I was not expecting, and made my boys very happy over the festive season.    

The promotions for offers such as double voucher rewards come and go very quickly, so you do need to keep an eye out for them coming around.

I am a Tesco customer so telling you about Tesco and their Clubcard Deals is an easy thing for me to do as I love the scheme.

Two years ago, I used Clubcard vouchers to visit Diggerland in Durham, which meant that we all got entry for a full day to the theme park, and the trip from Aberdeen to the Lake District was complete, as I had used vouchers to get entry to the South Lakes Animal Park. 

I have been surprised at how good the Tesco deals are.   I often use a few pounds of mine to buy some cinema tickets to treat the family to Cineworld movies as well.  We do build up our vouchers as the local petrol station is a Tesco one, and it means that our points add up with fuel purchases.

For some deals, every £10 of vouchers could give you 4 x the amount in value with the reward company.  The video shows you just how to claim your vouchers.

It is worth checking out the deals on offer and participating in the scheme.  I love being able to go online to my Clubcard account and checking how much I have to use.

I also use the IPhone Tesco Clubcard App and it has come in handy on the rare occasions I have been without my keychain with my clubcard on it in store – the staff simply swiped the barcode from my phone.

This year, I can’t decide whether to hold out for another deal like last Christmas, or to spend vouchers that come in on summer treats.  There are so many to choose from, and they are really good value.  What do you think?

Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

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UK – Competition / Giveaway – Win an LG 11kg Steam Direct Drive Washing Machine worth £876 !!!!!!

If you are anything like us as a family, finding new things for children to do can be daunting and very difficult at the same time.  Lots of us try to think up new ways to keep our children happy, and to give them the opportunity to have fun while making lovely new things that actually mean something to us for the future.

Crafty things get the thumbs up from almost any child of every age, and I asked my three children to draw pictures of us as a family.  As with all children, when they make messy things, or even if they are simply playing outside in the dirt, they can get themselves into so much mess, that we find ourselves looking at the piles of laundry lying on the floor and wondering where on earth it all came from.

One child didn’t want his picture on the Internet, but two of them are proud to show you their creativity.

 

This is where Appliances Online can help.  As all mums and dads know, five minutes of peace and quiet is a blessing when you are a busy parent.  The new LG Direct drive washing machines feature the latest technology, leading the way for a quieter and more peaceful wash.

I actually have the 9 kg version of the Direct Drive washing machine which means this is an easy competition for me to host.  I can vouch for how quiet the machine is, and for how little water is actually used, which never ceases to amaze me when the clothes are washed so thoroughly.

The programmes include a very fast 45 minute wash which I find myself using more than any other programme.  There is also the facility to be able to increase the spin times on each setting.  I can say without a doubt that it is the best washing machine that I have ever owned, and the size of wash is fabulous for us as we have a family of 6 to do washing for.

I can only dream of having the 11kg Direct drive washing machine from LG to wash big duvets.  I am going to be very jealous indeed of the lucky person who gets this beauty delivered to their doorstep as the winner of the UK based competition.

To be in with a chance of winning this lovely machine, all you have to do is use the rafflecopter widget below to enter and officially check off your answers.  You can sign in with Facebook, or by using your name and email address.

  • Leave a comment on this blog, to tell me the answer to this question  “When I have five minutes peace and quiet, I like to…….”
  • Tweet the following :  “I entered to win an #LGdirectdrive 11 kg washing machine with @scottish_mum and @apponline”
  • You need to comment on my blog AND tweet for your entry to count.
  • Appliances Online will pick the winner from their favourite of all the lovely stories I hope we are going to hear as entries.

It’s simple, and it is a fabulous competition and I am going to shout this out:

THIS IS A FABULOUS COMPETITION

The closing date is: 27th February 2012 so get your thinking caps on.

Good luck to everyone entering and I am going to be cheering you all on.

Continue reading UK – Competition / Giveaway – Win an LG 11kg Steam Direct Drive Washing Machine worth £876 !!!!!!

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Internet Safety Day & Online Games for Children

It was Internet safety day yesterday, and while I didn’t get to writing a post about it, I came across something that is aimed at children which worried me.

I am pretty vigilant with my boys lives online, which is probably a bit hypocritical considering how large my own online footprint is these days, but that probably makes me more aware of the possibilities.

My two had joined the growing army of young children who were playing Roblox.   I would ask that all parents whose young children use it to exercise caution.  Please research the reviews well and use the forums before you decide to allow your children to use it.  I would recommend that this site be used for over 16’s and possibly over 18’s.

Obviously it is up to each parent to decide what their children have access to online, but I would stress to do your homework around the online world style games offered to children.

When I first read the access request, I felt reassured that it was similar to the Penguin Club style interaction which keeps it safe for children, but it is very different indeed.

Moving on to the positive, there is a yearly campaign that helps promote safer use of the Internet among children and young adults.

This year they ran with the tagline:

“Connecting generations and educating each other, with the slogan: “Discover the digital world together… safely!”

This videos I have attached to this post are quite powerful.

Our children and young adults can be easily led.  We wouldn’t open our front doors to children and let strangers in, yet we don’t monitor our children enough online to ensure that they don’t open a portal to their safety bubble through the online world.

Be aware – check what your children are accessing, and who they are talking to.   Try it out for yourself when they ask for access to a new Internet game or craze as that is the only way you are going to know if it is age appropriate or not.

 

 

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Guest Post – Should you pay for your teen’s car insurance?

This is a featured guest post from Sainsbury’s Finance Money Matters Blog

………………..

Should you pay for your teen’s car insurance?

Teenage drivers are the most expensive to insure. So when they get behind the wheel, it represents the beginning of a costly period for either parent or child. The question is, should you foot the bill for your kids?

What are your options?

The most expensive option is for them to be insured to drive their own car. There is the initial cost of the car, and the insurance premium will comfortably run to four figures.

Another option is to add your child as a named driver on your own policy. This is less expensive, but it does mean you will have to give up your car from time to time!

However, you must continue to be the main user of the vehicle. If you use it less than your child, it renders your policy void or possibly fraudulent, as far as your insurance company are concerned.

You can also look at different levels of cover. Third party policies are known to be cheaper than fully comprehensive policies, but this might not always be the case. If you want to save as much as you can, make sure you cover all the bases and get car insurance quotes  for fully comprehensive and third party policies so you can be sure that you are getting the best deal.

Should you make your children pay?

This is a difficult question to answer, and much will depend on personal circumstances and the relationship you have with your child. One thing you have to recognise is that very few teenagers will be able to afford any insurance policy for themselves. It is not uncommon for premiums to be in the region of several thousand pounds for the year, which is clearly out of reach for many teenagers.

Some parents like to split the money and set up a direct debit, considering it important that their kids learn to take some responsibility for their own affairs.

Consider the consequences

Insurance premiums for 17- and 18-year-olds are high for a reason. You might consider your child responsible, but statistically teenagers are far more likely to crash a car than any other age group. If you are ready to pay for their insurance, you need to be prepared to pay out an excess fee on a claim, too.

It is also worth noting that some young drivers might actually run the risk of driving without insurance if they can’t afford to pay for it themselves – possibly resulting in the loss of their licence and some very hefty fines to boot. So that might be another consideration when deciding whether to help your child financially.

The final call

It is important for your children to learn to be responsible for themselves, but helping them to get insured and allowing them the opportunity to drive gives them the freedom they might need to flourish. Every situation is different, and only you will understand what is right for your family.

………………….

 

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A “Dolphin Tale” Film Review

We were sent Dolphin Tale from Warner Brothers to review.

I am not quite sure where to start with this film.

It’s based on the Real Life story of Winter the dolphin.

Sad, funny, poignant and a lesson on overcoming disability when she has to learn to live without her tail.

I had half an eye and half an ear to the TV when it began, but from the moment the lovely dolphin caught up in ropes appeared on screen, I was hooked into following the rest of the story to see how it unfolded.  This very young dolphin was only 2 months old when she became tangled up in the ropes and cage of a trap.

There was one heartstoppingly scary moment where my hands were cupped over my mouth at the helicopter,  but you will have to watch it to see what happens.

Harry Connick Jnr is easy on the eye for any mum over a certain age so it was easy watching, and Morgan Freeman is brilliant in anything that he is involved in.

I don’t want  to go into too much detail about what happens in the film as it would  spoil it for you if you decide to watch it.

Funny moment, sad moments, and plenty for kids to identify with.

It is a winner and we highly recommend watching it.

Winter stars as herself in the film and she is a pretty good actress for a dolphin.

I spotted the film for sale at Amazon for a good price, and when the film is finished, children can go online to watch Winter in her real life tank.  There are 4 webcams in total and a history of Winter’s life from the moment she was found.  I had a thoroughly enjoyable hour working through the website and reading the actual story of how her life has moved along.

 

 

 

 

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My Dream Home

Featured Post

Having boisterous children doesn’t do too much to keep our homes in pristine condition and I have a lounge that needs more work than I can shake a stick at.

I would love laminate flooring down, with an indestructible 3 x 3 seater combo, alongside some lovely chocolate-brown, or beige curtains for the windows.

I popped on to the Internet to see if I could find anything that I liked, and this just jumped out at me.  Yes, I might get tired of the colour scheme in time, but how fab does this look?

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After the lounge is cleared up, then I plan to move on to the kitchen and utility rooms.   My units are only a few years old, and they are similar to the colour of the ones in this picture.  This would be the perfect kitchen size.

Image: Paul Sutcliffe / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The only thing missing from this picture would be the appliances.  My old Belling Range cooker has seen better days, and with the slow cooker function out-of-order,  I looked for a new one.

I absolutely love this from the Stoves range – the colour is absolutely fabulous, and how much would that brighten up a bland and beige kitchen?

My second choice would be the beige version which is just as lovely, though the red one would be my secret passion.

Moving on to the utility room, there is the possibility of bigger washing machines and tumble dryers.  I will continue with my self-centred dreaming of perfection, and nothing less than a HUGE capacity washing machine and dryer would do for me as there are six people in the house.

I have a 9kg washing machine just now, but only a 5kg tumble dryer, so a bigger tumble dryer would be one of my first priorities if money were no object and I could choose absolutely any machine that I liked.

Look at this beauty for a tumble dryer.  It is an 8kg LG machine and very near to almost double the size of the load that I can get dried in one cycle with the dryer that I have got just now

Doing washing for 6 means the machines are never off.  Two of mine play outdoors football twice a week, so that’s 2 huge loads just on football kit and nothing else.  My 9kg machine copes quite well, but for that extra oomph, and the chance of being able to wash the superkingsize quilt, my wishful thinking leads me to my current ultimate machine for washing.

I have an LG already, so it’s easy for me to drool over this stunner.

This one has a MASSIVE 11kg load.  It is my current dream machine.

The only thing left on my list for downstairs would be the built-in dishwasher to replace the one I have which is not in very good working order.  The runners of the top tray keep popping off and the track is twisted, making sliding in the bottom tray very difficult and heavy.

Looking around, I would be happy to have the Zanussi.

What a machine this would be.

This covers the downstairs of my dream house.  Now  have to think about what I would put upstairs….

Looking forward to February, I am really excited to let you know that around half way through the month, there is going to be a super dooper giveaway for one of my readers who blogs and wants to benefit from a dream machine to go in their home.

You can keep watching my blog for it arriving, or you can leave a comment on this post with your twitter or email address in the comment and I promise that I will let you know when it goes live ……

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