Happy Birthday To Me!

I'm not sure how I randomly realised this but it seems that my blog is 3 today!

My first post was lacking in just about everything but I was just starting out, I didn't have a clue what I was doing and I figured that no one was going to read it anyway! 

After a couple of months stumbling along writing about products that I love I started to write about my life and I got comments, followers, friends. I was hooked.

The last three years have been mind blowing. CyberMummy, Blogladesh, a UN Summit, a trip to Downing Street and the huge decision to move forwards with my first solo event, Cybher at a time where my faith in human nature was shattered after being deceived by those around me.

At my low ebb I was picked up and dusted off by some of the most amazing people I've met on this journey. People who have become my friends, people that I would never have met if I hadn't started blogging.

So on those days when you're thinking of jacking it all in because of the latest Twitter trauma, think about those friends and the experiences that you've shared, they are worth holding on to. 

Claire, Ryan, Susan, Nat, Gigi, Eva, Jay, Tara, Laura W, Erica, Nickie - thank you. xxx

Off To BlytheConUK

Tomorrow is BlytheCon day, its also the start of Betty's birthday weekend. 

We are ditching the boys and heading off to London to spend the day shopping, knitting, dress making and staring in awe at all the other beautiful Blythe dolls gathered for this second UK Blythe fest. There will be pictures, quite possibly way too many of them and I will attempt to restrict them to my Instagram feed but I know that Biba will be snapping too!

The big decision that I still have to make is who gets to come with me??? (I'm talking Blythe doll here...)

I think it has to be Amy Lee, she's hit a 'dark phase' since she was photographed for my blog header back in January 2009. Perhaps its time for a new look for my blog too? Maybe its time to say goodbye to Mummy-Tips? Stay tuned...

My CyberMummy Thank You's and a wonky camera

Before you watch this really dodgy vlog I have to apologise for the shoddy camera work but my nine year old insists that she has to be in charge....

What can you do?!

Darn it - the naked child put me right off and there are obviously way more people that I wanted to mention but you know who you are.... right?
The wonky camera was all Biba - not me...
If I didn't mention you please feel free to abuse me in my comment stream.
x
sian.

CyberMummy - Only 7 Weeks Away!

Every time I see my blog my heart takes a little leap as I see the days to CyberMummy11 counting down. We have a great line up, some brilliant sponsors and we are honoured that Sarah Brown will be delivering the keynote.
The chatter on Twitter is great fun to watch and I'm loving all the 'What are you wearing to CyberMummy?' tweets. There's been talk of fancy dress, big hats, moustaches, maxi dresses and bacon but rest assured it's a casual day - just wear whatever makes you comfortable.
If you aren't already adorning your blog with a CyberMummy badge, get one now using the code in the sidebar so that you can start making new friends before the big day.

So, what are you wearing? I could do with some inspiration myself!

If you're not sure how to add the badge, tweet me @mummytips or pop me an email and I'll give you a hand.
See you in.... 50 days!

The making of Annabel Karmel's Watermelon Pig

I've been threatening to make this since we went along to the pre screening of Annabel Karmel's new kids cookery show, Annabel's Kitchen.

Annabel makes it look so easy (see pic below)...

pic courtesy of Annabel Karmel

I have to admit that I was more than just a little bit scared by the prospect but after throwing the challenge down during Annabel's Save The Children #borntoparty on Twitter last week, I really had to stop flapping and get on with it. 

It all got a bit messy - but the girls really did have a great time making him and I had a great time watching them.

And here he is in all his glory.... Mr Pig! What do you think?

As soon as we had finished I texted a pic to Annabel - who replied saying she thought he was 'Piggy Perfection'. I will die a happy mother.

If you fancy joining the challenge you can find the Watermelon Pig instructions online or in Annabel's new book, Annabel's Kitchen My First Cookbook.

Christine Mosler took up the challenge and here's her little pig. If you have one you'd like to share please leave a link in the comments and I'll add it to the post.

You can find the full piggy watermelon recipe on Annabel's website.

Tagged.... Q&A

I just got tagged by one of my bloggy buddies Tara who got tagged by the very lovely Kerry Jean Lister - you get the picture....

Kerry poached these celeb / politician / author Q and A's from The Guardian Weekend mag because she says the answers have the power to reveal the real you whilst helping her to decide if she'd like to go for a pint with you or tell you where to go.

Lets see how I get on...

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

My husband Yan for having the bottle to follow his dream and not giving up.

When were you happiest?

Thailand 2000.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Too many to mention but being carried out of a 7 year old's roller skating party on a stretcher has to rank pretty high.

Aside from property, what's the most expensive thing you've bought?

A Franck Muller watch for Yan's 40th birthday.

What is your most treasured possession?

My life.

Where would you like to live?

I 'm happy where I am now but Phuket, New York, Hong Kong.

What's your favourite smell?

Washing powder.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Milla Jovovich, Yan says she looks like me... I wish I looked like her!

What is your favourite book?

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff.

What is your most unappealing habit?

Twitter.

What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?

I don't do fancy dress.....

What is your earliest memory?

Watching Pebble Mill at 1 with my mum after playgroup when I was about 3.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Currently Zuma Blitz. I blame my husband, he has me addicted.

What do you owe your parents?

The ability to stand on my own two feet.

To whom would you like to say sorry, and why?

To my No1 son, for nearly leaving him without a mum.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My husband. He saved me.

What does love feel like?

Warm, tingly, exciting, scary, bright and brilliant.

What was the best kiss of your life?

The first time I kissed Yan... he was never going to make the first move and so I had to pounce on him!

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Just a minute... I seriously say that way too many times in one day and 'STOP FIGHTING!".

What is the worst job you have ever done?

Waiting tables in Swiss Cottage, leicester. I lied about my age to get a Saturday job when I was nearly 13 and i hated every second of it. I looked hot in the chalet girl uniform though... or so I was told!

If you could edit your past, what would you change?

The fact that I took a wrong turn on the way home from Cornwall, got stuck in the worst traffic jam ever and ended up missing the Morrissey gig. I'm still pissed off about that!

What is the closest you have come to death?

Quite probably a lot closer than most.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Proving the doctors wrong and learning to walk again.

When did you last cry and why?

Last week. I don't need a reason - I like a good cry. Clears the air!

How do you relax?

By someone removing all apple devices from my person.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?

More kittens.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

You are the maker of your own destiny.

So, that's me.... who fancies a pint?

The baby name debate.... How did you choose?

One of my friends is pregnant with her first baby and she's struggling to come up with a name that she loves. She knows that she's having a boy and she has a few names that she kind of likes but nothing that's blowing her away.

When I was pregnant with No1 son I had my names done and dusted by the time I was sixteen weeks. 

Ethan for a boy and Polly for a girl. 

I'm not sure where I plucked Polly from but back then Ethan was a pretty rare name in the UK. I fell in love with it back in 1988 thanks to the US comedy drama Thirty Something.

Thankfully I had a boy and Polly never saw the light of day.

No 2 son was always going to be Sonny. I love his name and he loves it too (he informed me yesterday when we were discussing this very topic.)

My girls weren't so straight forward and I toyed with so many names before settling on Biba. I LOVE her name. It's original, quirky and cool and it really suits her but by the time you get to No 4 things start to get tricky.

Poor FunnyGirl... In the absence of a name we called her Spud and it kind of stuck. When Yan went off to register her birth I still had no idea what he was going to choose. We'd toyed with Coco, Betty, Kitty,  Kai and at least ten others but she looked like a Spud to me!

He chose Betty and it really suits her. My mum's sister's called Betty and so is one of my cousins so I guess that it's become a bit of a family tradition.

How did you choose your children's names and do you have any great boy's names you can suggest for my friend? Come on be creative - we want to hear all of your favourites.

The Gallery : Education

What a great theme for this week's Gallery!

This is me age 7. The same age as my youngest daughter is now.

I can clearly remember the day this was taken because someone threw up in the corridor and the caretaker covered it up with a big bucket of sand. Nice.

I love the fact that I'm accessorised by a red leaf in my fringe. Why the hell didn't someone tell me?

Whatever you do this week, make sure you find some time to view the other Gallery entries. If nothing else it will give you a good laugh!
Stop by Biba's post too.

Three by Nine Meme... I got tagged

I was tagged by the lovely Cheshire Claire in her new Three by Nine Meme. All you have to do is answer the nine questions below and then tag three of your blogging buddies so that you can learn a little something new about each other, so here you go;

Three names I go by: Sian, Sianie, Mummytips

Three places I’ve lived: Shropshire, London, Leicestershire

Three places I’ve worked: Stokke, as Clear as Media, CyberMummy

Three things I love to watch: Contemporary dance, my children, my kitties

Three places I have been  and love: Hong Kong, Phuket, New York

Three people that email me regularly: My daughter Biba (9), my husband Yan, the CyberMummy team

Three things I love to eat: Yan's special pork dumplings, noodles, Haribo

Three people I think will respond: Karin, Paul, Transatlantic Blonde

Three things I am looking forward to: A holiday, my husband, seeing my girls make their TV debut

I’d love to read a “three by nine” meme post by:

Karin Cafebebe, Transatlantic Blonde and Paul from The Strange Blog of a Daddy (who really wants to come to cyberMummy).

Over to you guys....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Silent Sunday... Spring

For Silent Sunday. Don't forget to check out this weeks other pics over on Jay's blog.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Win a Copy of Despicable Me!

I loved Despicable Me when I saw it at the movies. And on Monday - just in time for half term this must-see family animation is released on high-definition Blu-ray (triple play), DVD and in spectacular stereoscopic Blu-ray 3D.

I actually have no idea what stereoscopic Blu-ray 3D is but boy does it sound good?! 


It's also available for legal digital download from iTunes and Amazon on the same date, which is great if you live in the sticks like I do.

Despicable me is a modern version of the classic 'baddie comes good' story that's packed full of laughs from start to end.

Bald, black coated Gru (Steve Carrell) dreams of becoming the World’s Greatest Villain but he's no match for his wimpy, nerd nemesis Vector who out-villains him and steals the shrink gun he was going to use to steal the moon. But Gru has a cunning plan to get it back. A plan that involves adopting three totally cute orphan girls who  change his life forever.

Packed with great characters that include Russell Brand as the mad scientist, Julie Andrews as Gru’s miserable, nagging mother and the irresistible bright yellow cheese puff shaped Minions.

I've got a Blu-ray copy, packed full of bonus features, games and three new Minion movies to give away. 

To enter leave a comment on this post with the answer to this question:

Who is Gru’s nemesis?

A)           Vector

B)            Minions

C)            Mad Scientist

Big clue... the answer's in my post!

You can also download a set of Despicable Me Top Trump Cards, that are really cool. Funny Girl is busy cutting them out right now in readiness for her forthcoming bid to take over the world!

Have you see the trailer?

Competition terms and conditions.

The comp is now closed. The winner is @MrsWebster147

Kodak Competition winner announced

Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter this great competition. The winner of the super cool Kodak PLAYTOUCH HD Video Camera is @CherishedbyMe. 

Please let me have your address so that I can get it out to you.

Mummy-Tips - This is Me meme (apparently)

I would say a big thank you to fellow blogger Tara Cain for tagging me in this meme - but I'm not thankful so there you go! 

I did however have a portrait beautifully crafted by my youngest daughter on my office wall (hidden behind the door) ready to share. 

Popeye eat your heart out! 

For those of you sniggering as you read. I do not own red trousers or a red T shirt - so there!

This post was for the naughty Ms Cain's This is Me Meme and in keeping with the official rules I'm tagging the following lovely people.

• A Modern Mother
• Jenography
• Mary Poppins
• Maternal Dementia
• The American Resident
• Cherished by me
• BabyGenie
• MummySmiles
• Mums Rock
• ObjectivityRach

Rules are as follows:

1. No shirking. You are tagged and that means you have to join in or else.
2. Ask your child to draw a picture of you. It doesn't matter how old they are...age is not an excuse for not joining in.
3. Post the picture on your blog.
4. Call it the 'This is Me Meme'.
5. Come back here and post your meme url into the comments so we can all have a good laugh at your expense.
6. Then pop over to Tara's post to add it to her linky too.
7. Tag some further victims.
8. That's it.
9. Erm... good luck!

Blogladesh shortlisted in the MediaGuardian Innovation Awards

I've some amazing news to share with everyone who tweeted, blogged and generally made a noise about our Save the Children Blogladesh campaign..... we've been shortlisted in this years MediaGuardian Innovation Awards!!!

The 2011 awards celebrate the most successful innovative digital communications across a range of categories. We made our impact in the Campaigning Category and have been shortlisted alongside Starbucks Love Project and FairShare Music.

I still can't quite get my head around what we achieved. Blogladesh was an incredible journey for all of us and I'm honoured to be their ambassador. 

The winners are announced on 24th March.

Wish us luck!

How to make the Best Roast Potatoes Ever...

Every now and then a product comes along that slips so seamlessly into your lifestyle that you can't imagine being without it. That's how we feel about the fab new Tefal AciFry that we were sent to review.

We were of course sceptical, (we alway's are). 

A fryer that can produce chips with a crispy 'deep fried' taste using only half a teaspoon of oil? Ummm, whatever. 

Yan got stuck in straight away with a packet of oven chips, that being slightly pre cooked go in oil free. We all stood around and stared at the frozen chips tumbling around inside, willing them to cook. 

Fast forward half an hour and this is what we'd made.

'Oohhhh' we chorused, just like Toy Story's Aliens waiting for The Claw. We were impressed. Even Yan was impressed - and he doesn't do impressed on a regular basis.

The taste test confirmed that these were quite simply the best chips we had ever experienced and there was no mess inside the pan. A quick wipe with kitchen roll and it was as good as new.

Day 2 - The kids burst in from school chanting 'chips, chips, chips' only to be met by my mean face and a firm refusal to eat the same thing two days running.
A row of sad faces stood before me.
"But Mum.... we love those chips...." cried FunnyGirl.
They weren't getting around me. No today was roast potato day.

Potatoes peeled, cut and ready to go. Into the ActiFry with half a spoon of oil. We stood and watched them tumbling around, willing them to cook.
Fast forward half an hour and look at what we made....

Hello..... is that roast potato porn or what?!

I don't usually get excited about kitchen gadgets but the Tefal ActiFry really is fab.

It can be used to cook chips, potato wedges, sausages, scampi, stir fries and I did spot that Maria from MummysBusyWorld had really pushed the boat out with her seafood empanadas! 

Cooking time is longer than conventional frying but there's not a spot of oil or mess in sight.

There really is no better endorsement than one coming from my husband, who hand on heart states that the ActiFry is the best thing that we have ever been sent to test. Ever.

RRP: £199.99

For stockist details call 0845 602 1454 or visit www.tefal.co.uk.

I was sent this product to review.

Sarah Brown to speak at CyberMummy11

What an exciting day it's been. I've been sitting on the amazing news that Sarah Brown will be delivering the CyberMummy11 keynote and it has been killing me. I'm pants at secrets but now it's all out in the open and I can get back to working out what the next surprise announcement is going to be!

For those of you who don't know, Sarah is the founder and President of PiggyBankKids, a charity that she founded in 2002 that supports charitable projects to create opportunities for children and young people in the UK. She's also Global Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and a leading campaigner for maternal mortality.

On the social media front she really is one of us... and if you aren't already following her on Twitter, you'll find her @SarahBrownUK.

She's been involved in some really inspirational campaigns and I'm honoured that she's taking time out of her schedule to join us. 

Her book about life at the UK's most famous address, Behind the Black Door is published in March, so don't forget to bring your copy for her to sign.

The other thing that I will be totally be screaming about is next week's Social Media Week.

This biannual event is a global platform that connects people, content and conversation around emerging trends in social media. And it truly is global. 

Events will be taking place in London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Sao Paolo, Paris, Rome and Hong Kong. Last years events attracted more than 7,500 attendees and thousands more joined the conversation online.

On Thursday 10th February at 11am, Susanna, Jen and I (aka the CyberMummy team) take to the floor in a 'Meet the Bloggers' session hosted by LBi.

Here's what they are saying about us!

A Chance to meet the women behind the leading parenting and lifestyle blogs in the UK. get answers to your questions, including: How should brands interact with bloggers? What are the upcoming trends in 2011? What on earth is CyberMummy11? What does it take to become a respected blogger? Can you make a living out of it? Got a question you want to pose - sign up now and be a part of the conversation.

If you'd like more info - take a look at the Social Media Week site and wish us luck! 

Born To What?

I'm fresh out of the press launch for Save the Children's new campaign. I was honoured to be invited but even more honoured to hear CEO Justin Forsyth say that Blogladesh was the inspiration for what is set to be their biggest campaign to date.

It's quite simple really. We believe that 'No Child is Born to Die' yet statistically one child under the age of 5 does die every 4 seconds.

We were supposed to be interviewing celebrity ambassadors Amanda Mealing, who has traveled to Bangladesh herself and Natasha Kaplinsky who has just returned from a trip to India but instead we slipped into natural conversation about our shared experiences out in the field. We were united by the things that we've seen. Each one of us has looked into the eyes of a mother who is trying to come to terms with the loss of her child and had that look etched into our hearts. It's not something that I'm in a hurry to see again but as I've pledged to continue to support Save the Children it's only a matter of time.

Every child deserves a chance to live and every child deserves the chance to realise their potential. With your help - we can make that happen.

Show your support by adding a Twibbon to your Facebook and Twitter profiles, donate a little (£25 can buy enough medicine to treat 82 children with pneumonia), follow the campaign page on Facebook and realise your own dreams.

What were you Born To Do?

Me... I was born to challenge.

Are you looking for a CyberMummy Sponsor?

I know that lots of you still are still looking for a sponsor and despite me saying I don't have the time to facilitate the matching of brands with bloggers I still don't feel as though I can just turn my back on the whole thing. 

So, how is this? 

A central place for bloggers to post their sponsorship pitches and an easy to navigate list for brands looking for bloggers to hook up with.
So simple I'm surprised that I didn't think of it before. All you need to do is add your sponsorship post or pitch to the Linky and I'll send all brand enquiries this way. 

If you do secure a sponsor can you please let me know so that I can amend the list?

Good luck.

When the clock stops

Yesterday I read a great post on Slummy Single Mummy's blog about the lies we tell. It gave me the courage to come clean here.

I'm a bad mummy, it's true. 

Today the clock stopped working. I'm not talking biological clock here - this is strictly alarm clock (aka FunnyGirl) and at 9am (on a school day) our whole house was still in slumber. The shrill sound of my office phone woke me. I rolled over in disbelief that I was getting a work call so early when I saw the numbers on my bedside clock read 09:10.

Now to be fair I do sometimes (quite regularly) sleep through the whole morning thing as Yan has this rather good habit of slipping silently out of bed to get the kids ready for school, but today when I rolled in the other direction I realised he was dead to the world next to me!

I listened real hard for any signs of life downstairs... there were none. The kids were all dead to the world too.

Now, I know that it's really actually quite bad that we were (at this point) 30 minutes late for school but I have to say that I secretly thought it was FAB.

I've been a mum for 20 years (owch) and three out of my four children have been day break risers. We've tried the staying up later but that just results in grouchy kids and a doubly grouchy mum.

So today was like a new adventure. We ate waffles and the kids giggled. They were late for school. How fab? The only other time they have been late for school was the time I reversed my car into the house... but lets not go into that now.

They talked of bunking off and the things they could do. I jumped in and foiled their plans by calling school in the hope that I could still get them their school dinner (no bread in), only to be met with the response; "We thought you might have slept in, so we ordered their lunches anyway."

Clearly the school office manager is psychic but what the hell. 

Off they went at 10.30am with broad beaming smiles on their little faces and we all drew just that little bit closer with the knowledge of our naughtiness:)

Rewind a year to this post about Betty's early rising activity and you will totally get what a random thing today was.

CyberMummy Ticket Comp - we have a winner

Thank you to everyone who took part in my 2010 round up photo meme. There were some great entries and ModelGirl and I had some heated debates in the run up to choosing the winner.

I gave her the final decision and this was her winning entry.

Any guesses whose it is?

Congratulations Kat - your post was ModelGirl's firm fav from the start - you win the CyberMummy11 ticket. We hope you can make it.

If you haven't already - do stop by Kat's blog Housewife Confidential.