Sunday 28th September - Silent Sunday

For Silent Sunday

Let's Talk About Sex

As a blogger, I get sent a lot of press releases. Very few lead to a blog post, but as I have two girls teetering on the edge of becoming teenagers, this one from Lil-Lets struck a bit of a chord with me. 

Here's why...

Following a recent survey of 2000 British parents, Lil-Lets have found that more than 60% of parents find it difficult to talk about sensitive subjects like puberty and sex with their children. I am quite shocked by this, especially in this 'in your face social media world'.

I guess that I'm not the norm (don't say anything), when it comes to my parenting style, but I truly believe that it's your job as a parent to ensure that stigma and embarrassment don't even enter the building when you are talking about these essential topics with your children. 

After all, if they don't learn from your positive, relaxed example, there's always the playground and social media waiting to teach and tease.

Get over it people..... because if you don't take the positive high road of talking to your kids about puberty and sex - who knows what they will learn (or from whom).

There are some additional resources at the end of this post, if you have an issue talking sex, check them out.

Let's Talk Puberty

Lil-Let's Parent Zone

How To Make A Pizza Wrap

It isn't every day that you find a new tasty snack that every member of the household tucks into with passion and delight but last week Biba made a miraculous discovery when she invented the Pizza Wrap!

You Need

• Wraps, we like Mission Deli Wraps but ate them all before the camera made it out and had to settle for these Co-op Mini Wraps
• A tin of tomatoes
• Pizza cheese
• Any additional toppings you fancy
• A sprinkle of salt and pepper

To Make

1. Spread some tomatoes on your wrap
2. Sprinkle some cheese on top
3. Add your extra toppings
4. Sprinkle a spot of seasoning
5. Pop in the oven on a baking tray until the cheese has melted

That's it. You now have one yummy, super quick snack, but beware, they are addictively moreish!

How To Make A Lightweight Rag Quilt

I don't ever profess to be handy in the crafting department but I've been blown away by the feedback I've had since posting a picture of the rough and ready lightweight rag quilt that I made for Biba at the weekend.

Here's how I made it!

I already had a backing sheet that I wanted to use, so that became my basic size guide.

I roughly cut up my fabric pieces so that they were random depths and then simply stitched them together leaving the hem on the top side (so that the fabric will fray over time).

When I'd sewn together enough strips to cover my backing sheet, I put the good sides together and stitched almost all the way around to create the quilt. Leaving just enough space to allow me to turn it to the right side out.

When I'd turned it, I closed up the hole and that's it. One lightweight rag quilt.

I was planning on using a layer of quilt wadding but I didn't have any in and madam wasn't giving in with her moaning!

From start to finished quilt in less than 2 hours.

Festival Essentials

With just over four weeks until the big Camp Bestival weekend, it's finally time to start planning. You might think that's a little excessive but the key to a happy, awesome, fun-filled festival avec children, is all in the planning.

Think less is more. If you can't carry it - leave it at home!

The Ultimate Family Festival Packing List

Camping

Tent - If your tent is new, give it a dry run at home to make sure you know how to put it up! My beautiful new addition to the family is the SoulPad 5000-ease. I am quite literally in love with it it. At 5m, it's huge and we certainly won't grow out of it. I can't recommend SouldPad enough, their customer service is excellent.

Air mattress - And a pump if you don't fancy the old fashioned DIY inflate.

Sleeping bag - A regular sleeping bag is all you need but since coming across the awesome MuscuBag (below), I really need one in my life! I haven't shown my girls because I know they will really, really need them in their lives. I'm actually not sure how I managed to make it to this point on my life without one!

Head torch and spare batteries - Two hands are better than one when you are attempting to navigate a dark campsite in the middle of the night.

Spare tent pegs and mallet

Cooking

Portable stove and gas - For alfresco dining
Mess tins - For the authentic camping vibe
Pan, cutlery, kitchen roll
Small skewers - For making my legendary Saussypops!
A cool box - Not an essential but handy if you have one.
Food
Snacks

Clothing

We are at the mercy of the good old British weather, so planning for sun, rain, sleet and snow is advisable. If it's scorchio, simply leave your woolies and waders in the car and retrieve them if needed.

Sensible shoes are also a must. You will be covering a lot more ground than you think and there's nothing worse than sore feet by the end of day one.

Lightweight waterproof jacket - Screw it up and stick it in your bag.
Warm jumper - For the cool evenings.
Jeans
Shorts
Vest / T-shirt - I'm all about the layering.
Flower headband - My signature festival piece!
Underwear
Socks
Sensible shoes - Dr Martens are perfecto!

Essential Extras

Toilet roll - Better to be safe than sorry!
Hand sanitiser - An absolute essential.
Wet wipes - As much as you like to think that you'll be standing in line for a shower, it never happens. Take it out of the equation and be baby fresh instead.
Toothbrush / toothpaste
Bin bags - Perfect for throwing everything in at home time.
Picnic rug - One with a plastic backing to keep you dry on dewy grass
Glow sticks
Phone
Solar powered charger - The only sensible way to keep your phone juiced.
Nurofen
Pack of Loom Bands - to make gifts for all your new friends!
A roomy lightweight bag - For carrying the above around in all day!
Money
Your festival passes! 

To Leave In The Car

A full change of clothes - I'm not one to tempt fate but it's better to be prepared should the heavens open.
Wellies - As above
A couple of spare blankets - They are great in the evening if the temperature cakes a dip.

And that's it. Camp Bestival here we come!

Camp Bestival is at Lulworth Castle, Dorset from July 31st to August 3rd. Ticket and line up info at www.campbestival.net

Would You Let Your Daughter Dye Her Hair?

I'm at an uneasy junction as a parent right now. I must have been blinkered, but I really didn't see the huge change that moving from primary to secondary school would have on my little girl.

Just two terms in and she has become an independent, even more strong willed version of her younger self. Phone firmly planted to her being at all times, it's all about going out with friends, clothes and funky haircuts (that push the boundaries of school acceptance).

The hair conversations started tentatively after just a couple of weeks at high school. A new Pinterest board, with highlights and dip dye galore appeared in answer to my staling tactic, of proving to me, that she had thought about it properly.

I kept my head down in an attempt to avoid hair conversations at all costs. But I was only delaying the inevitable.

In a moment of weakness, I agreed to take her to the salon for a strand test, I was quietly confident that her hair wouldn't lift past a shade of ginger that she would hate and we could go back to normality (at least until the goth or punk stage hit).

No such luck. Her hair, it seems, shows no sign of its Chinese heritage.

I moved the goal posts (as all good parents do). Again I thought I was home and dry. A clean and tidy bedroom was surely a mountain too high?

I underestimated her steely resolve and now, here I am on the eve of the big deed, feeling really, quite sick.

Tomorrow, the beautiful long hair, that she has been growing forever, is going to get the shock of its life and I'm not sure I can cope with sitting through it.

Do you think she's too young?

Coombe Mill Cornwall : Back to Paradise

Back to Coombe Mill

We loved our stay at Coombe Mill earlier in the summer so much that we booked a return trip for the last week of the holidays. Now, here I am on the final evening of our stay feeling quite sad about packing up and heading home. 

We all love it here. 

I'm actually able to switch off and spend quality time with my family, the kids lay off the tech and have actually spent this whole week without arguing. This is epic in our household.

In addition, the girls have a great new friend that they've spent the last two days with. Climbing hills, delving into caves, splashing in the river, catching hens, chatting, laughing. Good times.

That's the essence of Coombe Mill. Something for everyone. 

We've been staying in Millers House on this trip. A large stone cottage that sleeps 9. It's big, well equipped and perfect for two families actually. I could happily send for my animals and never go home.

Coombe Mill : The Best Family Holiday Destination in the UK

We didn't go away on holiday last year. So it was with much excitement this time last week, that we set off for Coombe Mill in Cornwall for a week close to my dad.

This was officially our second trip to Coombe Mill (the first was a flying visit a few weeks ago) and we were all looking forward to some quality, computer free time together!

Set in 30 acres of beautiful, secluded woodland, Coombe Mill really is a haven for families with children of all ages. We stayed at the Water Mill (sleeps 7), a beautiful cottage, converted from the original 16th century water mill. The accommodation has everything you need for a home from home stay including microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, a decent hair dryer and WIFI.

A stay at Coombe Mill really is whatever you want it to be. My girls would have been happy if we hadn't moved all week. (They actually complained every time we did leave). 

There's so much to do on site, from the daily farm feed runs to splashing around in the river and grooming the donkeys. They also had the freedom to roam around the site and at 9 and 11 they LOVE Coombe Mill.

For a family of tech addicts, we actually, truly spent a week offline and I for one, feel totally refreshed. Coombe Mill does that. It takes you back to nature, offers your children those basic outdoor experiences that we had as kids and as much as my kids love their iPads, they have barely touched them all week. This makes me happy.

I've stayed in many places in Cornwall over the years and Coombe Mill is by far the best. I wish that I'd discovered it before now because I know we'd have had many more awesome UK holidays to clock up next to this one. BUT, now we have discovered it, we have already booked to return.

If you're looking for a family holiday in the UK, I cannot recommend anything more highly. Coombe Mill simply rocks.

Take a look at www.coombemill.com for their official information.

This is not a sponsored post. I've not been paid to write this and I've not received a free holiday. I simply think that Coombe Mill is awesome. 

Silent Sunday : 21st July 2013

For Silent Sunday

The Gallery No 149 : Into the Archives

I wasn't going to join in this weeks Gallery theme. I got quite emotional looking through everyone's pictures and that made me really miss my mum. 

Six months on and it really isn't any easier. I'm still randomly bursting into tears at the most bizarre things (that only she would understand).

This photograph of Mum (aged 9) fell from the bottom of a drawer in my office last week. Her way of showing that she was with me?

Anyway, what I have realised after pinning it on my wall, is that Betty (who is also 9) really, really looks like my mum.

I'd never seen that before.

For The Gallery over on Tara Cain's blog. If you don't know what it's about, pop over and have a read.

LOVING : New Tripp Trapp® in Lava Orange and Aqua Blue

I very rarely blog about my clients but when you are lucky enough to work for a brand that you love, their has to be the odd exception to that rule.

Today is one of those days because I'm head over heels in love with the two new Tripp Trapp® colours that were launched today. Meet Lava Orange and Aqua Blue.

I'm in LOVE, like really in love but then I have a full on Tripp Trapp® fetish. 

I bought my first, second and third Tripp Trapp's before I worked for Stokke and over the years as old colours are retired and new ones come into the collection I buy another (or three). I have these grand ideas that I'm going to give the kitchen a make over by changing the Tripp Trapp's (well that was my idea when purple was launched) but I love the loved, used nature of my original chairs that have now been in daily use by my children for 12, 11 and 9 years.

We all sit on Tripp Trapp's when we are round the table - we own adult dining chairs, Varier (was Stokke) Date's but don't use them. 

Tripp Trapp® addicted.... and I NEED that orange beauty in my life - and quite probably the blue beauty too.....

Which would you choose?! How do you choose?! HELP!

The new colours will be in store from May. 

*Disclosure: I work for Stokke but my addiction and views are entirely my own

Dreading Mother's Day

I'm not looking forwards to Mother's Day this Sunday. I feel lost without my mum and uncomfortable with the notion of celebrating or even talking about mother's, when I don't have one.

I know that she's only been gone for a few weeks and I'm told that in time I will just learn to live with hole that her death has left inside me but it's just too soon for that now.

Since she died in January my inbox has been like a slow dripping tap of shoddy approaches from PR's desperately trying to scrape every possible inch of coverage from the Mother's Day cash cow. I know that sounds bitter but when 9 out of 10 emails begin with...

'Hi Mummy-Tips, We have been following your blog for quite some time and we just love it. Especially that post you wrote on xxx (pick anything from the archive and paste), it was brilliant. I'm approaching you on behalf of a brand Y and we would love to know if you are planning a Mother's Day feature that we could get involved in?'

It has taken every, single, ounce of my good nature not to reply to these delightful approaches, explaining that if they had actually looked at my blog this year they would know that my mum is dead.

I came close on many occasions. Then today I read this beautiful post from my pal Eva. She's another motherless, cynic with a PR background...

I found comfort in her words and the realisation that it wasn't just me struggling with this crap. We decided to celebrate International Women's Day (on Friday) and to just try to get through Sunday the best way we know how. 

All was good - until this afternoon I asked my fellow Facebook, Candy Crush, pals for a new life and who should pop up in my 'selected friend' list? 

Yes, my mum. 

I'm impressed that she's reaching out to me via social media but, boy do I miss her....

I love you mum. x

Justice For James Bulger

Twenty years ago today, two-year-old James Bulger was taken from his mothers side in a shopping centre in Bootle near Liverpool. 

Taken by two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables who tortured and murdered him before leaving his tiny body on a train track.

The world changed that day. And as a young mother with a two-year-old son of her own in 1993, James's murder haunted me. I spent hours and hours trying to understand what would possibly make two children do what they did to that beautiful, innocent baby.

Photo : James Bulger via Google images

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were of course caught, tried and found guilty, making them the youngest convicted murderers of the 20th century.

They were sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure, with a recommendation that they should be kept in custody for "very, very many years to come..."

Photo : Venables and Thompson's now infamous arrest shots from 1993

Very, very many years only seemed to constitute eight years in a secure children's unit for Venables and Thompson and they were released to secret locations, with new identities, banned from contacting each other, the Bulger family or from visiting the Merseyside region at all.

In a further 'comforting' gesture from the government and to see the boys back on their way into society, a worldwide media injunction was imposed preventing the publication of details about them, their shiny new identities or their geographical location. (I'm so pleased to know that through the tax I've paid from working hard my whole adult life, I've been complicit in funding Venables and Thompson's new lives - NOT.)

Maybe, just maybe, if this awful story ended there and Venables and Thompson were never to darken our lives again, things would be different but that isn't the case.

In March 2010 Jon Venables was returned to prison under an 'un-specified' violation of his licence terms. This violation turned out to be the serious charge of downloading and distributing child pornography, featuring children as young as two-years-old. Venables pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Then in February last year, lawyers acting on behalf of Robert Thompson informed Scotland Yard of their plans to take legal action against News International in the wake of the phone tapping scandal, that could see little Jamie Bulger's convicted killer being paid tens of thousands of pounds in compensation after his voice mails had been targeted by The News of The World between 2002 and 2007.

Now the phone tapping of celebs has never sat well with me but for Thompson to claim compensation for his phone being tapped should surely be looked upon as a proceed of crime?

His phone was tapped because he tortured and murdered a baby boy. How is it right that he could potentially walk away from this a very rich man when the Bulger family are still fighting for justice?

So - this is the point of my post. The Bulger family have a petition in place and they need 100,000 signatures in order to get the government to re-asses their policy on allowing notorious criminals to cash in on phone-hacking compensation.

At the time of posting there are already 8069 signatures on the petition. They can reach the 100,000 mark in no time with your help and if you want to see some justice for little James, please share this blog post far and wide. 

Sign the Notorious criminals cashing in on phone hacking compensation e-petition and lets all do our bit to get at least some justice for the beautiful James Bulger.

You can follow the James Bulger Memorial Trust Charity on Twitter @jbmt1

Wreck It Ralph Review

Back in November the girls and I whizzed off to Disneyland Paris to attend the premier of Disney's newest animation, Wreck-It Ralph. The movie goes on full release this weekend and here's why we think it should be top of your half term 'To Do' list.

Set in the 'behind the scenes' world of arcade game characters, Wreck-It Ralph is a clever, colourful, classic tale of underdog coming good that appeals to the whole family.

Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voiced by Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero.

Vanellope von Schweetz in Sugar Rush

On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voiced by Jane Lynch) from the first-personaction game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart-racing game Sugar Rush, who may just tun out to be Ralph's first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade. Of course, Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day—but can he do it in time? 

Ralph in the World of Hero’s Duty 

I love the way Wreck-It Ralph taps into the nostalgia of classic 8 bit arcade games from the 1970's and 80's and combines it with modern candy coated animation (Sugar Rush) and awesome first-person shooter animation (Hero's Duty) as Ralph game hops to save the day.

I'm notorious for falling asleep in a darkened cinema, but Wreck-It Ralph had me chuckling and entertained from beginning to end. It's a feel good movie that's set to become a Disney classic. 

Word of warning though... when you get home, you may just be itching to dust down that old Commodore 64 and indulge in a spot of gaming, old skool stylie!

Ralph in his own 8Bit Game - Fix It Felix JR.

Wreck-It Ralph crashes onto the big screen on February 8, 2013. You can see it in Disney Digital 3D™ in select cinemas. No prizes for guessing what we'll be up to this weekend! The girls are desperate to see it again.

Check out the official Wreck-It Ralph website at www.disney.co.uk/wreck-it-ralph there are some cool games you can download (just incase you got rid of your C64 years ago!).

Mum

It's been a tough week and despite my mum being ill for so many years, one that none of us really saw coming.

I was woken by the phone ringing very early on Tuesday morning. The home phone never rings, we don't even have a handset upstairs but I knew right away the conversation that lay waiting for me on the other end of the line. I raced to the phone and despite knowing what he was going to say, my brother's words hit me like a ton of bricks. BOOM. After twenty plus years of suffering from emphysema my mum had just passed away. 

Practicalities kicked in and my brother, No1 son and I headed to my dad in Cornwall. We had strength in each other's company but dad's phone rang constantly and seeing him break just a little bit further with each and every call chipped away at us.

I chose to see her at the hospital and it hit me then that she was really gone, that I didn't have a mum anymore. That was quite simply the worst moment of my life. 

Please cherish yours because when she's gone you will need her more than you ever did.

I dedicate this post to my mum, who despite battling such an awful illness for so long, was a huge inspiration to so many others.

I love you mum.

Crock Pot Rice Cooker Review

On the run up to Christmas I was approached by Crock Pot to see if I'd be interested in reviewing one of their Rice Cookers. I've always liked the idea as Yan's mum uses one and she makes very good rice!

The Crock Pot Rice Cooker is really easy to use. Add one cup of rice (cup measure included) and two cups of water, switch on and get on with whatever you doing. 

Your rice takes around 10 minutes to cook and when it's done it automatically switches over to the keep warm function. It really is that simple.

I have to say that that it makes perfect rice and the non-stick pan is really easy to clean. It's dishwasher safe but a wipe with a smooth cloth in the sink is all it really needs. 

I don't know about you but I'm prone to killing pans when I cook rice on the hob. This feature on its own is enough for me to never use anything else.

I cooked, Char Siu Pork with broccoli served on a bed of perfectly cooked rice from the Crock Pot Rice Cooker.

I love the rice cooker so much that I ended up buying one for No1 son for Christmas too!

For more info visit www.crockpot.co.uk or their Facebook page CrockPotUK

Disclosure : I was sent the Crock Pot Rice Cooker for review. No payment was received for this post. All review posts are 100% honest.

TK Maxx Christmas Gift Challenge

I'm way behind with Christmas planning this year. So far behind that this time last week I hadn't even thought about it. So when TK Maxx asked if I'd like to take part in their Christmas Gifting Challenge I jumped at the chance.
It was just what I needed to get motivated and as I love TK Maxx, I'd have been crazy to turn it down.

Our challenge was to shop for the perfect Christmas Gifts for six of our nearest and dearest whilst sticking to our set budget of £200. Simple.

With the whole afternoon set aside for some serious retail therapy, Biba and I hit our local store.

First up, if you're into all things sparkly, the TK Maxx Christmas Pop Up Dept is your one stop shop for decorations, home styling and chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate and at a fraction of regular high street prices too!

So to the challenge...

Both of my girls love Nutcrackers. They've inherited my collecting gene and they've built up quite an army over the last few years. We couldn't resist one for Betty!

Biba has recently turned all bake-a-cake. She insists it's because she's deprived in the home baking department but as I don't like cake and I absolutely never make it. 

I sent her off to the shoe department before sneaking this cool giant cupcake set into the bag along with a couple of the maxi sized salon haircare products that she's had her eye on for weeks.

The books and notebooks isle is our pre-arranged meeting point in every TK Maxx store that we visit.  It's how we roll...

There's something here for everyone and try as we did, we couldn't resist the cute cat book. Not sure who the lucky recipient will be yet though!

1,000 Collectibles for Ethan and a box set of amazing postcards featuring classic Ladybird front covers for me (from Biba). I have a collection of over 2000 Ladybird books so this really is a perfect gift for me.

Over in the children's book section there are some amazing savings to be had on bumper box sets. 10 Beastly Books for Sonny and some classic tales for the girls.

Then we went a bit crazy over the socks and toiletries...

Socks for Sonny, Ethan, Yan, Betty, Biba and me! Tights for the girls, a pack of obligatory pants for each of the boys and a Men's Wrinkle-Fighting Tool Kit for Yan (lets hope he thanks me).

Back to the notebooks....

For Ethan's girlfriend Kellie, a selection of notebooks. She likes notebooks and especially likes making lists. She now won't have to worry about paper for the next 12 months at least.

We threw in a cute little notebook for Amber next door and a really cool Instagram Photo Journal for my buddie Claire. 

Technically this means we are now buying for nine people but we were on a roll!

Back to the toy department to pick up one of these Play Sets for Betty before heading to the checkout.

This is what we bought...

Nutcracker £9.99 

Cupcake Set £11.99 

Designer Haircare £9 

Snowman Biscuits £3.49

Cute Cat Book £4.99

Collectibles Book £12.99 

Ladybird Postcards £9.99

Book Box Set £12.99 

Beastly Box Set £14.99

X 4 Small Notebooks £1.99 each

Photo Journal £6

Wrinkle Kit £12  

X 3 Men's Socks RRP £3.99  

X 3 Men's Pants £14.99  

Leg Warmers £3.99  

Leggings £3.99

X 4 Women's Socks £3.99

Tights £2.40 

Tights £3

Play Set £12.99

You should have seen our little faces at the checkout as our spend was clocking up. We had no idea if we'd managed to stay within budget. It was tense... but our TOTAL SPEND came to £199.66!

We couldn't believe it and may have whooped just a bit too loud, but way to go. We'd bought perfect Christmas gifts for nine people and still had enough money left over for some sweets!

We Rock - TK Maxx Rocks.

Disclaimer : If you happen to be one of my nearest and dearest I just ruined your Christmas surprise. Sorry.

TK Maxx supplied us with a £200 gift card in order to complete the challenge. All product choices  were our own. Total RRP of the items we bought £588.39. TK Maxx price £199.66

Silent Sunday

Our Disneyland Adventure

It's been a bit of a week to say the least. A press junket trip to Disneyland Paris, an out of date passport, a film premiere, a 40th birthday and all in the space of three days. That's hardcore even by my standards.

So Disneyland… my very first visit, our very first visit. I traveled with my girls, Biba and Betty and my good friend Rosie and her daughter LJ. We were there as guests of Disney for the premiere of their new movie Wreck-It Ralph and to spend the weekend enjoying ourselves in the park.

We travelled by train, direct to Disneyland which was as stress free as travelling with three tween girls  can be. We dropped our bags at the vast Disneyland Hotel and hit the ground running by heading straight to the park.

To say that the girls were excited would be an understatement but then to be fair, Rosie and I were pretty excited too. The Disney magic was in the air, bizarre as it sounds, you could actually feel it.

Due to the out of date passport induced trauma I'd suffered the day before, it soon became apparent that  I hadn't researched the park in any way, shape or form, so with map in hand we strolled down main street before being totally wowed by the iconic Disney Castle.

The sheer scale of it is difficult to take in but it's truly amazing and magical. After just half an hour in the park I'd morphed into a Disney Princess and I just couldn't get enough of the vibe.

We were on a pretty tight schedule as the Wreck-It Ralf screening was that evening but we managed to squeeze in a couple of light rides.

A storm in a teacup! Rosie hates having her photo taken!!

A quick change back at the hotel and we were off to see the movie. Wreck-It Ralf doesn't come to UK screens until February 15th next year but it's set to become a absolute classic. 

Set in the 'off duty' world of arcade game characters it cleverly mixes different animation genre's resulting in a film for the whole family to enjoy.

I loved it, we all loved it and after having the opportunity to grill the producer about the whole creative process I cannot wait to see it again with my new found behind the scenes knowledge.

A full review is coming soon but take a look at the trailer...

On Saturday we went over to Walt Disney Studios and enjoyed a few more tame rides, (Betty's not a thrill seeker so everything we went on had to be pre-approved by her).

Fast Track tickets are an absolute must if you want to skip the queue's and we totally took advantage of ours. They reduced our waiting times down from over an hour to around 25 mins and just 10 mins on a couple of rides.

Nightfall brought a fabulous dinner with friends and a fireworks display at the castle. It was magical. We all donned our illuminated Mickey ears as we watched the sky come alive.

Back at the hotel we managed to squeeze in a quick Google + birthday hangout with some of our blogger friends back home before I totally flaked out. The excitement of turning 40 was just too much for me!!

The Disney experience was truly magical. I was enchanted from the moment I stood in front of the park gates. I'm not sure how they do it but I'm now totally sold on the need to visit Disneyland at least once in your lifetime.

Finally.... 

Can I please apologise to the non bloggers in carriage 4 of the 3.40pm Eurostar back to London? Rosie Scribble, Super Amazing Mum, Slummy Single Mummy and our seven rather boisterous, sugar fuelled children were rather loud... especially when they started singing happy birthday to me... everytime we hit a tunnel. There are quite a few tunnels...

Biba's written about her Disneyland Adventure too...

We spent two nights at the Disneyland Hotel with three days access to the park. Our accommodation, travel and expenses were kindly covered by Disney.

For information about Disneyland Paris please visit their official website. You can also follow the fun on the Disneyland Paris or Disney Mums Facebook pages.

Cute Kitten Alert

It's been tough on us since we lost our cat Rex and finding another Cornish has been tough but my Google skills have finally paid off because today we went to visit out new baby.
She's beautiful and I'm totally in love with her little pink nose! The downside is that we have 5 weeks to wait before we can bring her home but she'll be coming to us in style after debuting at the Supreme Cat Show in Birmingham at the end of November. We'll be there to cheer her on!

After an hour in the car home and after much heated discussion between Biba and I, we have settled on the name Aggy (after Agyness Deyn).