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By Little Mummy, July 28, 2010 6:53 am

FamilyVie is a brand new site which I think all parent bloggers should take a look at. It aims to highlight the best parent centric content on the web, and the great thing is you can submit your very own content. Readers then vote the best content meaning that the most popular stuff gets even more views and a more prominent position on their webpage.

As a blogger FamilyVie can help you;

* Gain traffic
* Raise your profile
* Gain readers

You don’t even have to write new content you simply submit blog posts that you’ve already written – Check out a familiar looking post here

It only takes moments to submit an article, so sign up and give it a go. This site has literally just launched so this is a great chance to be one of the first, and if there’s one thing I know it’s that being first online to do anything makes a huge difference.

Disclaimer – I worked with the person who set this up, it was all her idea, but I thought it was a brilliant one hence my promoting it!

Comments (4)

By Little Mummy, July 26, 2010 1:34 am

My dad left when I was two, he came back into my life when I was eighteen. No regrets. We’ve made our peace. He’s making the effort now and that’s what counts, I honestly believe that it’s easier to forgive and forget than create negative energy and hold a grudge. I love and respect him for who he is even if I can’t for some of his earlier choices.

The truth is that while I was actually growing up I barely noticed his absence and that’s the biggest compliment I can give my Mum. She was only eighteen when she had me and was on her own with me and my brother pretty shortly after. She made mistakes, don’t we all. She walked a difficult road and her mistakes were mere trips along the way, because for 99% of the time she was everything you’d want your single parent to be, strong, reliable and loving.

The worst bit about not having a Dad was being poor. I remember being really poor and unfortunately my Mum on her own couldn’t make up a decent household income even if she could provide the love of two parents. We were the kids with the rubbish trainers, the uncool jackets and Santa only brought second hand toys in our house. It seems rather petty as I type it now but when you’re a kid it’s important, really important. Of course that’s just the things I remember, I’m sure behind the scenes there were times when putting a meal on the table was a struggle. Nevertheless a meal there would always be, not too mention lots and lots of happy times along the way.

My mum, she did her best and her best was good enough – something I’ve only fully been able to appreciate since becoming a parent myself.

‘Dads’, I’ve had a few none of them really lived up to the title, and by the time a decent one came along I had dad fatigue.

If I’d had a Dad growing up I’d have wanted him to be like my husband, generous, caring, fun, strong and reliable. A proper family man, a provider and someone you can count on to just be there. A sense of humour may have been all that was lacking in one.

As an adult though I’m pretty happy with the Dad I’ve got. He’s there if I need him, he calls me fortnightly and doesn’t interfere too much. He supports my entrepreneurial ambitions and is a good sounding board for my ideas as he’s a businessman himself.

I guess all’s well that ends well

Comments (4)

By Little Mummy, July 23, 2010 2:18 am

I’m a simple cook. I hate following complex recipes and quite frankly I’m crap at baking. I tend to take a brief look at a recipe and then make things up as I go along.

This is one of my favourite ‘easy and quick’ dinners at the moment.

Ingredients
Serves 2

Pork medallions
One leek
2 cloves garlic
Single cream
Brandy or white wine *Optional
1/2 pint of chicken stock
Olive oil
Tsp wholegrain mustard
Sea salt and pepper

1. Sear the pork medallions (season and coat in olive oil first) on either side until they’re caramelised. Remove to a sideplate.

2. Slice and fry leek and garlic in a little extra olive oil.

3. Add chicken stock, bring to the boil and then turn to a medium heat – add a splash of white wine or brandy (optional)

4. Remove pan from heat and stir in half a cup of single cream.

5. Put on a low heat and stir in a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. Put the medallions back in the pan and cook until meat is piping through – be careful not to split sauce! (but if you do, remove the pan and add a bit more single cream and it should come back together).

6. Season sauce to taste and serve with new potatoes and vegetables.

Totally forgot to get a ‘plate picture’ as I was too busy filling my face!

For desert what about a nice apple pie and a wee bit of custard?

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By Little Mummy, July 22, 2010 7:06 am

On Wednesday I was invited to appear on BBC Radio Scotland’s Call Kaye show to talk about maternity leave, unfortunately I was cut from the schedule due to the never ending Al Megrahi fiasco so I was on today instead.

You can listen in here, I’m on just after the hour mark. I was pretty nervous to start out but ended up quite enjoying myself

Comments (3)

By Little Mummy, July 21, 2010 1:12 pm

We’re three weeks into the Summer holidays now and I don’t think we’ve had a full sunny day yet. No panic though we’ve had a lot of fun already, one of my favourite days out has also been one of the simplest (and cheapest!)…

First off we headed for the tiny train station in our village, Erin had never been on a train and was beyond excited. She asked loads of questions about the level crossing, the train timetable, and how to embark/disembark the train. Usually her incessant questions can become tiresome but it was refreshing to teach her about something new and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

On the train she kneeled up and watched the sheep, ponies and hills roll by occasionally exclaiming ‘yeehaa’ much to the amusement of our fellow passengers. We arrived in Edinburgh a mere 26 minutes after we left and trotted off to the Cath Kidston shop via the bagpiper who was giving it his all outside Waverly Station. Erin of course insisted on covering her ears as we passed and I was glad that none of the male members of the family were there to admonish and then lecture her on the virtues of our national instrument, in her defense the level of playing was around the Grade 2 mark

Onto George Street and we managed to take shelter in the Cath Kidston shop just as a mini monsoon got underway. It was lovely to browse, that is until (and I quote) Erin said “Am I going to spend the rest of my life in here” in earshot of one of the staff. We moved on quickly to McDonalds for a bite to eat and as it was busy we shared a communal dining table with a group of chinese students. Obviously on form and keen to show off her cultural knowledge (they’ve been covering various cultures at nursery), Erin quickly announced that there were two chinese boys and two chinese girls. I nodded and tried to strike up a conversation about Shrek. Unpeturbed she continued, “Oh, look another chinese boy, that’s three now”, me “oh, yes so it is…so how are your chicken nuggets?”, she ignored me and in an ‘Erin whisper’ which is equivalent to a normal speaking voice she said “Mummy, do you think their fed up of eating chinese food and that’s why they’re at McDonalds?”. A fair question but fearing that this conversation was going nowhere I wanted to go we left to catch the number 41 her Daddy was driving, and who’d made the unmissable offer of a free bus ride to the university and back.

Erin shrieked as we got on the bus and saw Daddy driving! We bagged ourselves the upstairs front seat and sat munching parma violets (did I forget to mention that we made a pit stop at ‘I love Candy’?). Erin got the chance to ‘drive’ the bus and even accepted a fare.

A fabulous day which we both thoroughly enjoyed, here’s to many more before school starts

Comments (14)

By Little Mummy, July 20, 2010 1:14 am

It felt about time to write you a litte update (you can read all the blog posts about you here). If mummy remembers to renew her blog URL hopefully you’ll have a chance to read this and all the other posts I’ve written for you.

You’re four now and starting school in about a month. You’re very excited and we’ve been very busy choosing your uniform. You’re very particular about everything picking things with frilly bits and butterfly embroidery. The shoes you’ve chosen are bright red! You’re very fashion conscience, always accessorising and experimenting with new outfits and ‘looks’, you put mummy to shame! I’ve had to buy hair straighteners and bangles just to keep up and you keep pointing out how I always wear jeans and trousers and never skirts or dresses. I expect that I’m in for a few makeovers before you hit your teenage years.

You’ve been making Daddy and I laugh lots recently, you’re always making jokes and doing funny things. You love watching sponge bob square pants, playing with Daisy, swimming and drawing pictures. You say you’re going to be a ballet teacher when you’re older, I’m not sure about that but I definitely think it could be something arty.

You’ve just been to your first sleepover at a friend’s house and also had your first sleepover at home. You’ve just taken your first train journey. All of a sudden we seem to be doing lots of ‘firsts’ again.

You’re not a baby or toddler anymore, you’re a proper little girl and although I’m excited about you starting school it will be a little sad to see the end of our full days together.

As always you’re taking everything in your stride, you make me so proud.

Love you so much my hands are behind my back (do you remember that?)

Mummy

Comments (7)

By Little Mummy, July 19, 2010 12:40 am

Guest post by BigDaddy

We all know if you want the coolest, most stylish small car on the market then you buy a Mini, right?? Well not any more thanks to the game changing DS3 from Citroen.

I have had a DS3 for a week to test drive and have loved every minute. The model I was driving was the DSport version and although it was the top of the range with all the cool toys and gadgets (sat-nav, air conditioning, Bluetooth phone connection, etc.) and the biggest engine (155 Brake horsepower, top speed 133mph) priced at around £17,000 it was a bit pricey for my liking but if you were to buy the equivalent Mini it would be around £19,000, so all-in-all not too bad if you have the money. However, there is a DS3 for all budgets and all of them look just as good.

The cool new design is a real head turner, with the sleek good looking body and neon strip lights on the front and sporty white alloy wheels it really stands out amongst the other drab & slightly boring cars in its class. I was unsure about the bright Yellow colour with a White roof but it really grew on me.

Inside the styling was again very funky with the leather steering wheel with chrome inserts was comfortable to hold and looked great. The leather upholstery was extremely comfy and held you snugly in the seat. All the onboard gizmos are very easy to use with a simple interface which is great as you don’t need a degree in computing to work the Sat-Nav! The only disappointment was the quality of the plastic on the dash and glove box which was quite poor and a bit flimsy. Still it’s a great place to be and there is plenty of room for 4 adults and a child (as we proved on a swimming expedition) and the boot is a good size too. With the two door design I would say it would suit a family with kids of four and upwards.

The best thing about this car though, as it should be with any car, is the driving. The driving position was excellent, the ride comfort was superb and the handling was very precise. The power was impressive and the car felt nimble and agile when driving in town while it was comfortable and smooth on the motorway with power all the way though the six gears. So no need for boy racer style clunky down shifts.

Having driven both the Mini and now the DS3 I would say the Citroen wins in almost every category. So if people want the best badge in the small car market, buy a Mini but if you want the best small car on the market right now, the DS3 is the way to go.

Comments (0)

By Little Mummy, July 16, 2010 12:29 am

A lady from BBC Worldwide contacted me last week and asked if I’d like to review the Kerwhizz Magazine, Erin loves the show on Cbeebies so I was interested to see what she’d make of it.

Most magazines we’ve bought up until now have been a bit of a waste of money. Erin hardly ends up doing any of the activities and it ends up strewn around her bedroom floor where I inevitably end up standing on the obligatory plastic toy that decorates the front cover, resulting in much almost effing and shizzing (my personal sweary alternative).

So it was with my usual sceptical attitude that we sat down to take a look at the Kerwhizz magazine. It’s set out in ‘Rounds’ like the quiz rounds off the show, and each page has a number of tasks, quiz questions and puzzles to complete. We’ve been doing a round or two each day and are just over half way through. Erin’s got right into doing the rounds and counting up her point score at the end.

I think we’ll buy Kerwhizz magazine again as I found it quite educational and a fun activity to do together, not unlike some of the workbooks we’ve bought in the past. Erin loves it and has been asking to do another round each day!

To coincide with the magazine launch there’s also an online Kerwhizz Game which is a fun way to pass half an hour. There’s 10,000 copies of the magazine to be won along with five annual subscriptions over the next couple of weeks, so get kerwhizzing!

Sponsored Post

Comments (2)

By Little Mummy, July 15, 2010 1:47 am

So life’s moving on, my trip to Florida was almost a month ago now! We’re also over two weeks into our Scottish summer holidays and so far my tactic of having one activity planned each day is working a treat. So far we’ve been swimming, visited friends for lunch, shopped for school uniform, had our first ever sleepover and attended a birthday party and an anniversary meal. This week Erin’s off to the cinema to see Shrek (I have been promised a review by her aunty…) and an overnight stay to Granny’s, keeping busy seems to be the key to a successful summer holidays.

Erin’s hit that stage where she immitates everything I do (she pretends to be on the computer checking emails *cough*, puts make up on etc etc) which is both amusing and sometimes concerning.

For example one night I checked in on her in bed and she was close to tears. She said she was “stressed out” because people keep phoning and emailing her and the dog keeps barking and she just couldn’t relax! I played along and told her to shut off her computer, unplug her phone and tell the dog to stop barking. She promptly told me she was just pretending and that she’s practising being a mum!

Oh dear that would be a parenting fail then, and perhaps a cue to switch off more!

During this imitation play she has also pretended to go to work at ‘pokers’ – I don’t seem to be able to shake this idea of hers that my job is playing poker?? In fact I don’t think I’ve been to poker for well over a month! Oh well, another parenting fail!

Comments (1)

By Little Mummy, July 14, 2010 6:34 am

On our final day in Florida we visited Aquatica, SeaWorld’s water park.

I went sporting my new ‘I follow @SeaWorld_Parks‘ t-shirt and the mildest of hangovers.

Aquatica is brilliant, definitely my favourite water park. There’s something for everyone and the slides, tyre rides and flumes were the right balance of thrilling without being too scary! We rode Omaka Rocka, Roa’s Rapids, Taumata Racer, Loggerhead Lane and my personal favourite Whanau Way.

There’s a white sandy beach and a huge children’s area too.

I could quite happily return with my family for a few fun filled days at Aquatica (and hopefully I will do soon)!

FACTBOX

Discovery Cove Ultimate Adventure Package includes 1-days admission to Discovery Cove with a dolphin swim and a further 14-days admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Aquatica and is available on seaworldparks.co.uk from £177 pp.

3 amazing parks for the price of 2! Book by the 15th December 2010 and you can buy a 3-Park Ticket which includes unlimited admission to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens for 14 consecutive days. Adult £79 / Child (3-9 years) £72 – under 3s go free www.seaworldparks.co.uk

VIRGIN HOLIDAYS

7 nights in Orlando

Seven nights in Orlando with Virgin Holidays, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick direct to Orlando, accommodation at the 5V Renaissance Orlando Resort at Seaworld on a room only basis with car hire included starts from £1,095. Prices are per person based on 2 adults travelling and sharing a run of the house room, price includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Prices are based on select departures in November 2010.

To book: www.virginholidays.co.uk , 0844 557 3859