#silentsunday

#whatsthestory Fabulous Friends!

Last weekend, I went up North to visit one of my best friends, S, along with my bestie, L, and another very good friend, C. The four of us regularly get together despite our geographical differences and have the best friendship - we always have lots of laughs, share the same history, the same interests and have the same sense of humour.

We always start the visit catching up over lunch with several bottles of Prosecco. Then we move onto cocktails, usually poured by S with enough liqueur in them to fell a giant. In a giggly, slightly sozzled state we stagger upstairs and  attempt to get ready for dinner out - queue lots of oohs and ahhs as we don our best clothes/shoes, still sipping on the bubbly/cocktail of choice. With any luck we manage to look half decent before descending on the lucky town of Ashby, although we now know to check L's make up beforehand as one time her normal good judgement went out the window and her eye make up made for some alarming photos - think slightly drag queenish!

We always go out for dinner and more bubbly is drunk, and the evening is filled with non-stop chat and cackling. 

After dinner, we may have more lovely cocktails in The Vine, and if we get lucky a few free drinks from some interested males (normally interested in S, but, as part of her entourage, we enjoy the spoils as well!), or go back to S's local where we normally bump into people she knows and our group expands. By this point, L and I hear our bed calling but S and C normally want to continue and we might be persuaded to have another drink in a local dive pub with what they laughingly call a dance floor and where your feet stick to the floor, but we don't care because we're having such a good time together. Any male efforts to join our group are ignored - we're not there to get lucky!

If we're still lasting the distance and are desperate for a dance, there is an establishment in town which is deemed the "nightclub" but L and I don't normally make it there!

Even if we've come back to the house seperately, we stay up until everyone's home and end the night with a nice cuppa and snack of choice - nachos, lunch leftovers, cake etc.

Once we've got our glasses of water we head to our beds, smiling as our heads hit the pillows after another great day/night.

However, this weekend was a much more quieter affair. We still had a lovely lunch and caught up over bottles of bubbly, but S's bubbly was purely non-alcoholic.
This is because she is currently 6 months pregnant and expecting twins, and she looks amazing! How she manages to look so glam with her bump I wish I knew - she was positively glowing. When we arranged to visit, I was trying to come up with something to do as I didn't think she'd be up for a night out. At first, I was thinking about a pampering evening, even wondering if we could hire someone to come and give us massages and stuff (a muscly 6 footer would do!) but then my hairdresser suggested a Baby Shower, a hugely popular American idea that us British are getting into. I suggested it to her bestie, C, and I knew she liked games because on our previous visit, she roped us in to play Bingo, with prizes and everything! So we scoured the internet and ordered a load of stuff to bring.

Suffice to say, she loved it! We played "Guess The Song" with "baby" in the title, a race to drink a cocktail from a baby's bottle (S didn't take part in this one!), "pin the pacifier (or dummy in the UK) on the baby", Baby Bingo and "guess the baby food" taste test! We had a scream, accompanied by many refills of bubbly for us!





Then S surprised us all on insisting we still go out for dinner - there was no stopping this Yummy Mummy! She even wore heels higher than mine, I don't know how she does it. We impressed ourselves by staying out past midnight, had a lovely meal and a cocktail in The Vine, then she drove us home.

Delicious baked Camembert

Less drunk and giggly than usual when we returned home, we managed not to wake up her DH and DD, and, as my head hit the pillow, there was still a smile on my face, just not a drunken one!

It showed, that when we girls get together we have a blast, even when one of us is expecting!

#silentsunday

I Was There! #Whatsthestory #Britmumslive

Last Thursday I was running round the house getting my suitcase and shopping trolley packed and ready for Friday. Yes, you read right, shopping trolley. After listening to madmumof7's experience of BritMumsLive last year, I realised I would rather drag round my trusty shopping trolley than carry a bag stuffed to the brim of lovely free shizzle from the brands attending. And I didn't even need to rush out and purchase one as, sadly, I already had one!

Remembering advice from experienced bloggers on what to bring, I charged & packed my iPhone portable charger into my shopper, laid out my comfortable yet glam maxi dress along with equally comfortable Havianas ready to put on in the morning, stuffed my suitcase with various toiletries, electrical items (which I never used) and an outfit for Saturday. 

After running up and down the stairs a million times I was ready and so excited for my big adventure!

Luckily for me I was going to my first BritMums Live event with my very good friend and fellow blogger madmumof7 and her fdil Kat, and, as a silver lining on her fm flare up, her DH was to drive us there instead of taking the train. This meant less of a mad rush getting kids to school and last minute packing/fluffing so I was relatively chilled when they arrived to pick me up.

Playing a quick game of Tetris with the luggage, madmumof7's DH managed to squeeze my stuff in the boot and we were off! "Woo hoo!" we exclaimed, speeding down the road!

We parked the car in a nearby NCP car park for a 10 minute walk to All Bar One, our pre-event meet-up point. Entering the room we scanned for recognisable faces or anyone who looked like a blogger. Quickly, madmumof7 spotted a familiar face and I shuffled shyly after her, listening intently for names and blog names to see if I knew them too. Sam from 40 year old Domestic Goddess, Charly Dove from PODcast were the first two ladies I knew from t'internet, and they were just as lovely and funny as on their blogs! Vic Welton from Verily Victoria Vocalises and Jaime from Oliver's Madhouse were also two blogs I was familiar with so it was great to meet them as well, and then plopped my bum down and soaked up the conversation, interspersed with lots of cackling of course.

More bloggers arrived and there was much shrieking, hugging and kissing, and I soon lost the plot trying to keep up with who's who, but it didn't matter - we were all there for the same reason, same interest, same nervousness and I found myself chatting to people like I had known them a lifetime, it was so easy and everyone was so friendly.

We left All Bar One to check into our hotel and once our bags we're put in our rooms we headed for the Brewery for BritMums Live registration and welcome.

We were welcomed warmly, first by the staff of the Brewery and then by the BritMums team. Extremely well organised, I found my badge quickly and swopped the blue lanyard for my personalised pink one bought especially for the occasion! (Click here for the link to buy one!)

Entering the hub, I followed madmumof7 to the Butlins stall so she could say hi to one of the representatives whilst Kat and I shuffled over to the neatly stacked pile of chocolate bars! Then we headed to the hub 2? to listen to the welcoming speech from Jen and Suzanne.

Looking lovely in her tiara!

We squeezed ourselves on to the table with Sam, Vic, Jaime and Cathie and I glanced round the room, taking in the amazing sight of hundreds of bloggers of all shapes, sizes, ages, mostly women but a few men!

Donning our tiaras, we welcomed Emma Freud, broadcaster and cultural commentator who gave a fantastic Keynote, really hitting home to me how powerful our voices are as bloggers, which is amazing as we are mostly women in a society where we struggle to be heard.

The panel afterwards was very interesting and gave some valid points but I felt it went on a little too long. Then we headed back into the hub to chat to the brands.

Cookies to die for!

The Morrisons Lounge was amazing, beautifully laid out - so well, in fact, that we thought the food on the tables was just for show and only found out later we could eat it! We watched a food demonstration and got to sample it - queue lots of lovely photos being taken of me and madmumof7 stuffing our faces! Later we returned for more food sampling, everything was delicious, and came back again on the Saturday to listen to Neil Nugent, executive chef, share his experience through a q & a session. I learnt lots and, apparently, a probe will change my life! I have to honestly say the food they kept bringing out was delicious and I should not have sat next to the tray of lemon and chocolate tart as I couldn't stop myself from eating it!

A sea of bloggers in
the courtyard

For the rest of the afternoon, I couldn't drag myself away from the Hub and thoroughly enjoyed chatting to the brands and other bloggers.
The drinks party in the Courtyard was lovely, as was the weather, and then we headed for the BiBs
Awards Ceremony, presented by Katie Hill. I thought she did a great job and came across as unpretentious and funny. I felt excited for the winners but would have liked to have heard a post from their blog.







That evening, we had dinner in a nearby restaurant, The Iskele, organised very kindly by Vic Welton, with about 30 other bloggers, some I knew and some I got to know whilst we ate fabulous food!

Looking good in our specs
for Boots Opticians!

After a good night's sleep, I was ready for day two!

Posing for Wyndham Rentals

Accompanied by madmumof7 and Kat, we met more brands, took part in the Q&A session with Neil Nugent, Executive Chef for Morrisons, entered lots of competitions and met more bloggers. Lunch was delicious, we enjoyed some wine from Lindemans and had a relax in the Courtyard, beautifully decorated and lots of comfy sofas to stretch out on.



 

Neil Nugent

Madmumof7 disappeared to get changed as she was reading out one of her posts for the Bloggers Keynote so I joined her at a table near the front as she prepared. I could tell she was nervous as she was unusually quiet! I was so proud to be her friend as she walked up to the lectern, and she didn't trip or do anything embarrassing! Although I had read her post and listened the week before when she needed to practise, it was great to see her up on stage and I was pleased to report afterwards that it was not only me and her fdil laughing, I could hear chuckles all round the room. She looked visibly relieved but proud of herself as she returned to our table to listen to the rest of the keynote speakers!

She's doing it!

I enjoyed the rest of the posts, but it was very emotional as some of the stories were so sad.
The final part of BritMums was a special appearance from the musical "Good Enough Mums Club" and it was pure genius! So funny because we could all relate to the story, some very talented singers/actresses, and we all joined in enthusiastically to a rendition of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Boobs"!
And then it was all over! A couple of hours later I was back home, goodie bag contents were fairly shared between the family, and normal life resumed. Roll on next year!

#silentsunday

#MagicMoments - The New Me!

Like most women, I seem to be always dieting. Up until my late teens I never had to watch what I was eating but I remember a family friend, watching me stuff a cream cake in my face, warning me that one day I wouldn't "get away" with eating like that. A bit harsh perhaps, but she was right - when I moved in with DH at 19 we settled comfortably into our new life, relaxed in our eating habits and both put on about 2 stone each, judging by the photos I have!

The first time I felt the need to lose weight was when we set a date for our wedding. Being organised, we had a year to plan, so, with the help of my best friend, we joined a local Weight Watchers group and went to a weekly aerobics class and swimming. With the motivation to look fabulous on my wedding days (and all those photos!), I managed to lose that 2 stone and was just over 9 stone when we got married.

Predictably though, the weight crept back on a little post-wedding (I put on half a stone on our honeymoon!), but it wasn't until I fell pregnant with DS1 six years later that the weight really piled on.

To be fair, it was my first pregnancy, I didn't get great advice from the NHS (I remember a midwife at the antenatal class telling us all to eat cake at regular intervals when baby was born to illustrate the importance of feeding ourselves as well as the baby - no, literally, she had a cardboard clock cut out and divided into sections, labelled at what time we should eat cake!?!)

I had no clue about healthy eating or portion control, and feeling absolutely starving all the time didn't help. I was 13 stone when I had DS1, and having DS2 and DS3 18 months apart left little time to focus on myself, let alone eat properly.

Wearing baggy tops
 to hide my belly

Having a 4 year gap between DS3 and DD meant that I finally had a bit of recovery time, and the year before I fell pregnant with DD I managed to get down to about 10 stone. For the first 6 months of this pregnancy I tried very hard to eat right and gained normal pregnancy weight, but I remember my belly getting so huge in the last trimester due to baby growth that there seemed little point in watching what I ate! By the time DD was born, I was back to 13 stone again and for the next 4 years my attention was solely on my baby and her brothers and my weight was not important.

Looking slimmer in Mexico

Once DD had started school, I had more time for me so I tried again to get back to a healthy BMI. I joined a local Slimming World group with a couple of mummy friends and lost 2 stone in two years (slow and steady!). Then I plateaued for a year before deciding I could go it alone and save myself the weekly fee. I had learnt a lot about cooking from scratch and eating well so I carried on with it and lost another stone slowly over the course of another year, but I was still about a stone over the weight I wanted to be. DH also wanted to lose about a stone before our once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Mexico so we began an exercise routine at home. We followed the Davina DVD's three times a week in the evening and it was really nice to share something different together. We had a fantastic holiday, both feeling fit and healthy, and on our return wanted to keep up the exercise.

Rather fortuously, we won a three month gym membership at the Christmas raffle last year and, as DH would have found it difficult to fit in with work, I took advantage of it and had a free workout designed for me after an assessment. The trainer focussed the exercises on the areas I most wanted to improve and I really enjoyed going (not to mention the jacuzzi and steam I did after every workout!)

When I got below 10 stone I was thrilled and when I settled around the 9st 7 mark I was finally where I wanted to be. However, my tummy was still a problem area and no amount of exercise was helping. After 4 pregnancies and a hereditary disposition towards stretch marks I was left with a substantial amount of excess skin both below and above my belly button. When I gathered up the loose skin I could see the figure I should have but the only way of getting rid of it was to have an operation.

In May I decided that I was ready to take the next step, found a good private hospital and booked myself in for an abdomioplasty operation!

This week, I can finally stop wearing the stomach binder and have been wondering what to wear for #BritMumsLive. Madmumof7 and her dil said they were going to wear maxi dresses and, browsing on the internet, I happened to spot a lovely maxi dress which looked great on the model. As I was ordering some school clothes for the kids anyway, thought I'd add it to the order as it would be free to return if it was no good.

I had ordered two sizes as you never know how the fit will be (I have a large chest so sometimes need the bigger size to accommodate!), but was truly amazed when the smaller size slipped on easily.

The dress is made from a stretchy material so very comfortable and figure-hugging, but for once this was not a problem!

Looking in the mirror, I finally saw the results I had been after from all the years of exercising, and dieting, and the operation had given me the stomach to go with my new figure - it was totally worth it and my #magicmoment!

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Summer Fun #whatsthestory

Last week, the temperatures soared (well, went above 20°C in the shade, which is positively baking in England!) and it felt like summer was well and truly here. Jumpers and coats were discarded to be replaced by hats and sunglasses, getting out of the house on the school run was decidedly quicker as I slipped my feet into my Havianas instead of wrestling with socks and laces and not having to decide on which coat for our ever-changing weather.

Ice-lolly sales must have gone through the roof at our local store as choice was a little thin on the ground, but then I remembered I had a lolly-making machine at home, kindly donated by Granny.

When I was a girl, I remember making homemade ice lollies with a kit that my mum had bought. In fact, she still has it and last year she dug it out for a lolly-making day with the kids. I remember making them with cheap and cheerful squash, but, wanting to supply her grandchildren with a good source of fruit, Mum bought an array of fresh fruits to puree and pour into the moulds. It was a little fiddly as we tried to work out which plastic part needed inserting into what (the instructions were long since gone!) and how to prop them up in the freezer without making a mess and losing the lot. We made them first thing in the morning but they weren't ready to eat until much later in the afternoon, but they did taste fantastic! However, the whole process took a lot of time so we only did it the once.
But, on a visit to Dunelm when the kids had gone back to school last September, we stumbled upon a Zoku quick pop maker in the sale. Mum snapped it up ready for the following year but a couple of weeks ago handed it to me saying that she would rather we made use of it.

Well, it couldn't have been better timed! Reading through the instructions, it seemed incredibly easy. The one thing that you needed to be organised with is putting the device in the freezer as it needs 24 hours to be cold enough. The easiest way of making your lolly is buying in some fresh juice (Tesco has some lovely flavours, three bottles for £4 - we had apple & raspberry, apple & mango and pineapple), but make sure there is no artificial sweeteners added. Our machine makes two lollies at a time but you can make three lots (so 6 lollies) without having to refreeze the device and it only takes 7-9 minutes for each batch.


Coming home from school hot and bothered, my youngest two were keen to have a go. To make a double flavour they simply poured the first flavour halfway, waited until it froze (about 4 minutes) and then pour the second flavour to the fill-line. A few minutes later, they attached the Super Tool to loosen the lolly, attached a drip guard, posed for a quick photo, and tucked in!
DS2 was a bit more adventurous and made his with a yogurt core and is keen to try a strawberry milkshake one, and there are lots of other ideas.
It was much quicker and easier than the older kit and the device has a permanent home in our freezer now so it's always ready to use.

Bring on the sunshine!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I was just really impressed by this product and wanted to share our experience.

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