Kate Takes 5

Blog Idol

2012-03-13T17:44:00.000Z

The other week I got an innocent enough looking tweet saying that I'd been mentioned in a certain someones blog post. Of course I dashed off to see the offending article and got the most fabulous surprise when I read this post from the very friendly, funny and lovely Rebecca from Here Come the Girls.

She had named me as her Blog Idol and made me a shiny new badge to wear.

See how it sparkles?

At first I was simply aghast that someone had taken the time to do this and had actually picked me (it may have something to do with the mug...), but then I got to thinking that really I should pass on the love.

And so here I am - naming and shaming my very own blog idol.

Listography - Top 5 Cookbooks

2012-03-11T09:10:00.004Z

Last night we had some friends around for dinner and I cooked this awesome dish from one of my favourite cook books.

Riga's Lamb

This morning having cleared eight empty bottles from the table (four red wine, one white wine, one Champagne, one whiskey, one port) I don't have it in me to write very much for this weeks Listography so instead I'm going to celebrate my Top 5 Cookbooks.

Tried, tested, stained - I love them all.

1. Leon.
A new entry and the one that the above recipe comes from. Gorgeous book, gorgeous food.

2. Jamie's Italy.
My favourite of his books so far. Hard to beat.

3. Avoca Cafe Cookbook
An Irish institution. Especially good for salads and breads.

4. Rachel's Food for Living.
Another Irish entry. Ok she's annoying as hell and I don't know where that accent came from either, but there are loads of great recipes in here.

5. Delia.
Of course. Where would we be without her?

So what are your Top 5 Cookbooks? Linky up below to join in with this week's food porn.

New here? Want to know more about Listography?

NHS? I bloody wish.

2012-03-08T13:58:00.001Z

In the early hours of Tuesday morning as I lay cradling my whimpering little girl in my arms I cursed myself for not bringing her to the doctor that day.

I knew she was sick, because she'd been hacking away for about a week, coughing and wheezing and generally not herself. I was just praying that she would get better on her own. But she hadn't and now we were both paying the price.

'But why? Why wouldn't you just take her to the doctor?' I hear all you people outside of Ireland ask.

Because sadly in Ireland the NHS or it's equivalent doesn't exist.

So when my 3 year old was sick last month I took him to the doctor I paid €50 (£42) for the privilege. We then traipsed to the chemist to hand over another €30 or so in prescription fees. And when the 5 year old got a chest infection that wouldn't clear up two weeks ago I took him to the doctor, paid €50 (£42) for the privilege, then headed for the obligatory visit to the chemist to empty my purse on the counter. And when he still wasn't better on Monday, and my husband also felt ill they both went to the doctor, paid €75 and then on to the chemist to hand over another €80.

Read more »

Lego Duplo - 2012 Panel and Review of Creative Sorter.

2012-03-06T11:57:00.002Z

The wonderful people at Lego Duplo, in their infinite wisdom and intelligence, have asked me to be part of the 2012 blogger panel.

Yes really. I even have a badge to prove it.

What this means is that I'll be bringing you some Lego Duplo reviews over the year and will even be hosting some Lego Duplo competitions so its a win-win for me and you!

First up for review is the Lego Duplo Creative Sorter for ages 2-5:

As you can see you get a bucket filled with bricks, but also 'sorting plates' that help your child to create jungle animals. Like this:

The age range is 2 - 5 years old but all my lot got stuck into it - dragging the rest of their Duplo out too.

The set retails at £17.99 which isn't cheap, but when you consider that it is a toy that will last and last and last (not like so many expensive toys I know that end up in the bin after a few weeks, grrr), plus it's creative and educational then I guess you'd have to say it's money well spent.

And now I have some insider information for you. *Whispers* Did you know that Lego Duplo and Lego are interchangeable?? I certainly didn't. But look! It's true!

OK I'm not sure what that is either...but the point is it works

How on earth did I miss that?

Anyway, to finish up here's a little demo from Marley on how to make an elephant.

(Please ignore the little brother whinging for Super Noodles in the background. Of course I never, ever feed them junk like that. Honest).

Disclaimer: This toy was provided to me by Lego Duplo to review. All views and children are my own.

Listography - 5 photos that sum up my week

2012-03-03T15:55:00.000Z

We're back!!

Fresh from our Spring-cleaning marathon that took place last weekend, we're here and ready to take on a brand new topic.
(And when I say 'we' I mean me and Listography, obvs)

This week I want to be nosey. I want to see what you all get up to on a typical week - summed up in pictures.

Like this:

My 6am alarm clock

Coffee. To cope with the 6am alarm clock.

Never ending washing up.

Tantrums.

No, that's not a dead animal in the middle of the road. That's my child. Mid-tantrum because he doesn't want to walk.

And finally....

Well alcohol of course.

So are yours the same? Better? Brighter? Boozier?

Link up below and let us know.

Want to know more about Listography? Click on the tab at the top of the page and read on.

Why I'm not Pinterested.

2012-02-29T09:48:00.001Z

I know, I know. It's the new big thing.

It's amazing, it's beautiful, it's fun, it's popular, it's.....not for me.

I've tried it. Look I even have a 'Follow me on Pinterest' button over there ---------->

Although not for much longer of course. Because to be perfectly honest I've been finding it a chore. Something that I 'ought' to keep up with because everyone else loves it. But the truth is I'm just not feeling it.

Read more »

Mother's Day - Looking for unique gift ideas?

2012-02-28T16:58:00.001Z

Ah Mothers Day.

Each time it rolls around I live in fear of Mother's Day treats such as 'breakfast in bed', which usually consists of an apple, a thick slab of butter with some bread mashed into it and half a glass of water delivered on a plastic tray at 6am.

This year my husband will be away at a perfectly timed stag do, so I won't even have anyone on hand to stop them.

However I don't mind so much, because I also know I will be getting this:

Tucked away in a corner of my daughters bedroom, courtesy of the very lovely Merci Maman, lies this little beauty. A bracelet of gold plated hearts inscribed with my children's names. Pretty special huh?

The site has loads of different colours and styles to choose from and accept orders for Mothers Day up to 14th March.

So if your kids are already planning on making you breakfast in bed this year make sure you tell their Dad that you want one of these on the tray alongside that bruised apple.

And to help persuade him Merci Maman has kindly offered a 10% discount to readers of Kate Takes 5 which is valid until March 7th. Simply use the code 'Katetakes5' at checkout.

Happy Mother's Day!

Disclaimer: Merci Maman specialise in personalised gifts. They kindly sent me this bracelet to review, however all words and opinions are my own. Bracelets retail at approx £30 for a single charm.

There are two types of people in this world. . .

2012-02-27T12:39:00.001Z

There's a great comedy sketch by a guy called Jon Richardson where he talks about there being two types of people in the world - putters and leavers.

A putter quite clearly 'puts' things where they belong. They are organised, efficient, successful human beings.

A leaver is so busy running around doing stuff and enjoying life that they don't have time to put things in their place - so they 'leave' them where ever they happen to fall.

I am a leaver.

Unfortunately my husband is a putter.

What this means in real terms is that our house is a constant mess and he walks around in a constant state of disbelief that I can actually live like this.

So this weekend I attempted to change my status from leaver to putter. I scrubbed, cleared, wiped, washed, shined, dusted, sorted and decluttered to an inch of my life until tah-dah!! - the house was clean, organised, calm.

I then cooked the dinner, gave the kids their baths and took a well deserved break.

This morning after the school run I came home and looked around. The dinner and breakfast things were scattered all over the kitchen. The dirty clothes from last nights bath were all over the bathroom floor. The kids pyjamas lay on the landing, a trail of odd socks and bits of discarded uniform behind them. The floors which had been lovingly cleaned just 24 hours before were awash with cereal crumbs, cars, books, nappies and shoes.

I then realised that being a putter for one day only doesn't cut it - you have to remain a putter every moment of every day.

So I came to the conclusion - being a putter sucks.

Long live the leavers!

Listography - Week 52.

2012-02-25T17:20:00.000Z

Name That Tune #2

2012-02-24T10:26:00.000Z

If you missed week one of Name That Tune you can pop to my previous post to see the boy singing Maroon 5's 'Moves like Jagger'.

Yes really.

Well kind of anyway.

This week it's the same deal. Listen to the video clip below and then pop over to my Facebook Page to Name That Tune.

Impressive stuff huh?

Kiddy GuardianFix Pro - A Review

2012-02-22T18:49:00.000Z

With three kids and two cars in the family I like to think I know a little bit about car seats.

Sometimes maybe a little bit too much.

Many's the time family members have rolled their eyes as I've gone out to their car to check and double check that the car seats have been properly fitted before they whisk my kids away somewhere. But that's the thing about car seats - there's no point in buying the most expensive, top of the range one if you're not going to read the instructions and learn how to fit it properly is there? (Hey - stop rolling your eyes).

So when Kiddy asked me to review their new GuardianFix Pro I thought I could probably do a good enough job. Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that we have had one of our car seats for seven years and after three grubby kids there are crumbs so far down the crevices they will never return and stains so suspect that I'd prefer never to learn what they are. Nope, nothing to do with that at all.

So on to the car seat.

Here's a very brief overview of how it works:

The real difference between this car seat and any other that I've used is that there are no straps - which in my book is a MASSIVE plus. Instead they use the Kiddy Impact Shield which is recommended from 9 - 18kgs, or approx. 4 years. The only negative that I did find with this is that my 3.5 year old (approx. 16kgs), who had never used one of these before decided he didn't like it so refuses to wear it. However I would imagine that if the child had the seat from a young age the impact shield would be accepted as the norm.

3.5 year old with Kiddy Impact Shield.

Other things I like about the car seat:

- Easy to install - which is a huge plus when you're swapping seats between cars a lot.
- Easy to expand. On most seats I've used you have to remove the seat from the car to expand it but the GuardianFix Pro has a one-pull \ push mechanism at the back to expand and retract the size.
- No straps. Worth repeating! For anyone who has grappled with trying to change the height of these as your child grows or has had to wrestle a tantruming child into the straps and then close the confusing buckle thingy with two hands - you'll know what I mean.
- Booster cushion that fits on \ off easily with two 'popper' buttons.
- Leg-rest extension feature.
- One seat required from baby (9kgs) to 12 years of age.
- It has Isofix fittings but the use of them is optional.

Saefty-wise it's a far cry from the journeys I took as a child with my four siblings - all packed into the boot of my Dad's beloved Morris Minors!

I love our new (very clean) GuardianFix Pro, however of course all this comes at a price. The seat currently retails at approx. £250. However as long as you don't inadvertently blow it up it'll be the only seat you'll need.

If you're in Ireland and have had trouble getting hold of a Kiddy Car Seat then good news! Kiddy have teamed up with Bluebear Nursery, who are specialists in quality nursery products and accessories, to make Kiddy products more widely available to Irish parents.

And what did the kids like best about it all? Well I think you can probably guess.

Disclosure: Kiddy kindly supplied the Guardianfix Pro to me for free for the purposes of this review, however no payment was received.

Social Media Explained.

2012-02-21T12:57:00.001Z

Original source: Three Ships Media http://instagr.am/p/nm695/

Listography - Top 5 things that make me happy.

2012-02-20T12:04:00.000Z

I know I know - Listography has staged a coup and taken over my blog.

I've lost count of the number of mug related posts that have been published this last week.

I nearly skipped this week but decided to focus on some good stuff instead - enough of the mugs!

This one will be short and hopefully sweet. Join in if you're not sick to death of me and my usurper.

Read more »

Listography - The Winning Mugs!

2012-02-19T12:43:00.001Z

So mugs huh? Who'd have thunk it.

Last week's Listography on mugs was the most popular one I've done so far - just beating Top 5 Keyword Searches by one last entry!

And of course there are prizes.

Galaxy Hot Chocolate, When I was a Kid, Mary Poppins, and NameArt all put up fabulous mugs for the winners. If you haven't had a chance to look around their sites yet make sure you do - they are all full of gorgeousness.

You can see the prize mugs themselves on this post.

And now to the winners.....

Read more »

Name That Tune #1

2012-02-16T15:38:00.000Z

You may remember at Christmas I did a feature called 'Name that Carol' that saw my youngest attempting to get to grips with some popular carols.

Well good news - it's back!! Although this time with popular songs from the charts.

Dare you take it on?

All you need to do to join in is watch the video below and if you think you know the song leave a comment on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/katetakes5

Good luck (you're going to need it).

I should add that there's no prizes - but you never do know how these things pan out...

Listography Mugs Update - we have prizes!

2012-02-14T18:59:00.003Z

I write this with a mixture of bemusement, delight and shock - but it seems that the Listography Mugs linky that I put on on Sunday has taken on a life of it's own.

Men swooned, women wept and one even peed herself little bit. Mug porn is alive and well in the blogosphere it seems.

The entries have come thick and fast, 34 at last count.

And to match the level of interest from you all a few wonderful people have put up some prizes from us.

So far we have wonderful Mary Poppins who has promised us a Cath Kidson vessel of some description*.

*Not the actual mug on offer!

We also have this amazing Twitter Addict mug courtesy Charis from NameArt:

Cupcake not included.

Another Twitter Mug from the ever lovely Paul at When I Was a Kid - one of my favourite sites for buying presents ever.

And finally Galaxy has offered us not one but two chocolaty love mugs along with a jar of delectable Galaxy Hot Chocolate.

To enter just join in the Linky on this weeks Listography (with your own mug post obviously).

Prizes will be given for:

- My favourite mug

- Worst collection of mugs.

- Most entertaining post.

- Mugliest mug

Oh, and judges decision is final.

Beware out there. It's going to get mugly.

We don't do Valentines (I think)

2012-02-13T16:12:00.000Z

A number of years ago the husband came home from work declaring 'We don't do Valentines do we?'

I thought for a split second before replying. 'No. We don't do Valentines. I hate it'.

'I hate it too' he went on. 'All that fake 'love' shit. Besides, I don't need Valentines Day to buy you flowers'.

'That's right' I agreed, whilst pausing to think back unsuccessfully to a time when he had bought me flowers.

'So you won't be disappointed if I don't buy you something?'

'Of course not!' I proclaimed full of superiority at those losers who played the Valentines game.

Read more »

Listography - Mugs

2012-02-12T18:26:00.002Z

Ok I realise that this Listography is completely ridiculous and will probably have zero entries but I've wanted to do it for awhile and since no other light bulbs went off above my head this week we're stuck with it.

I'm not sure if I'm a bit weird in my love of mugs, but seeing peoples response to Him Up North's call for pictures of eggcups I'd have to say not that weird.

So I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

(I should add here that I am also quite particular about time of day used and beverage held in these vessels.)

Ok maybe a bit weird after all.

Morning Cuppa - preferably in bed and made by someone other than me.

Elevenses. Black coffee with something chocolate on the side.

Bad day = afternoon coffee. Small to limit caffeine

Evening cup of herbal tea.

Espresso. Anytime.

I'm going to put the linky in here, although I fully expect it to stay empty. Don't feel bad for me. Embrace the weirdness I say.

*UPDATE: So it seems that this Listography has touched a nerve. A weirdness nerve. We even have prizes up for grabs. Go to the Prize Mug post to see the lovely selection on offer. To enter just linky on up!

A Disorganised Mother's Guide to School.

2012-02-10T10:46:00.000Z

It's not nice being the most disorganised mother in the school.

I can't imagine it's much fun for my kids either.

Each week sees me wheel spinning in the car park to get back home, grab the forgotten lunch bag and make it back to the school before the doors close whilst one of my children roll their eyes and look admiringly at Sophie's Alpha Mummy. Or else I'm furiously chasing the bus to the swimming pool because I've forgotten my daughters swimming kit for the sixth time this year. (There's been six classes so far). Or I could be apologising to the teacher because I forgot that I was supposed to be helping out with the Junior Infant activities. Or I'm frantically avoiding the headmistress because I forgot the PTA meeting again.

Last week I hit an all time low as I raced in late to the class to bring my son to the school nurse for his immunisations. The other children had been primed and readied, mothers stroking down hair and giving prizes for being brave. I, on the other hand, had found the crumpled letter in my handbag when I was paying for my cappuchino and nearly inflicted third degree burns on the poor waitress as I rushed for the door.

As I walked my son down the corridor he skipped along beside me holding my hand. Innocently he looked up at me with wide eyes .

'Where are we going Mum?'

'Erm, eh, well, you're going for your injections darling' I said, giving him a quick side-long glance.

'Oh. Yay!' he replied. Clearly the preparations had been somewhat neglected.

In any case, every week I resolve to do better, and every week I fail. Which is why I need something like Parent Mail. The idea is so brilliantly simple that I'm surprised someone hasn't thought of it before. Or perhaps they have but I was too disorganised to notice...

Anyway, what Parent Mail allows you to do is use one account to track school activities, nursery payments, important dates (like immunisations maybe..) as well as being able to pay for school trips, buy school products and even partake of 'cashless catering ' - which allows children to pay for all their school dinners etc by a cardthat they top up, instead of having to search down the back of the sofa for that lost 50p.

Clever eh?

There's tons more stuff that it does too - which you can see for yourself if you're interested.

Now if someone could just invent a website that schedules a time for me to sign up to this type of thing I'll be sorted.

Maybe next week...

*This is a sponsored post, however all words and parenting inadequacies are my own.

The Happiness Project - What Makes You Happy?

2012-02-07T16:20:00.001Z

My wise old pops used to say that a happy life was a successful life - the underlying moral being that a larger house, new car, big job etc doesn't in fact equate to success because having them doesn't really make you any happier in the long run. And happiness is really our ultimate goal in the acquiring of these things in the first place.

I've been reading quite a lot about 'Happiness' in recent months and everything I read bears out this simple truth.

Studies done on Lottery winners shows that their 'happiness level' on learning of their win does a sharp incline, which then falls gradually back down to the level it was at 'pre-win'. On a smaller level we've all been guilty of pitching our happiness at losing that extra stone, buying that expensive dress or going on that once in a life time holiday - but rarely achieving those things brings any lasting happiness.

So the question is What does make us happy?

And the answer is....well I don't actually know.

And that's the problem. As adults our view of happiness is so clouded from years of being told that 'things' make us happy that it's hard to see past that. Of course as parents if any of us are asked the question 'what makes you happy?' our first answer is 'our children' - but are we just giving the answer we're supposed to give by saying that? What about the people who have children but aren't happy?

So, my response to this conundrum is to bring it back to the kids. Yesterday I asked each of mine individually, without prompting, the question 'What makes you happy?'

Here are their responses:

So to sum up, their responses included nature, family and food, which to me sounds like a pretty perfect summation.

What I'd love you all to do now is do the same with your children. Go on, ask them right now what makes them happy and jot down the answers.

I've decided to run this as a Blog Hop so we can save all their wise words together. If you want to join in you can add your link with a thumbnail picture to the Blog Hop linky below.

And I defy any of you not to feel just a little bit happier looking at all the lovely answers :)

3D Movie Review - Legend of the Guardians & Cats and Dogs

2012-02-06T13:52:00.001Z

Since getting our 3D TV the other week we've been testing out everything from 3D football to 3D documentaries to 3D Movies. It's impressive stuff.

The two movies I'm going to talk about here are both by Warner Brothers...

Legend of the Guardians

And Cats and Dogs.

Both of the movies are aimed at children, but naturally we wanted to show off our new kit at any available opportunity so when the in-laws came to stay last week we put on Legends of the Guardians just to give them a sneak peek of what it was like.

97 minutes later we watched the credits roll having got entirely sucked in by it. And not a child in sight I might add.

The story follows Soren a young barn owl who is kidnapped with his brother by the 'bad' owls who take them to a secret hideout where they brainwash other kidnapped owlets with the view to turning them into soldiers. Whilst Soren manages to escape in a bid to get help his brother turns to 'the dark side' and the story of good versus evil, brother against brother begins.
A bit like Star Wars with owls, as my husband helpfully noted.

Anyway, we all loved the film, though I think the 3D had a lot to do with it. As movies go this one was made for 3D. Impressive flight and fight scenes coupled with amazing close ups had all of us literally 'wowing' out loud.

Hard to fault. I'd give it 5 stars and a big thumbs up.

The second film we're reviewing is Cats and Dogs.

I didn't actually watch this one myself but it kept the 7 and 5 year old quiet for the duration so it gets a nod of approval from me for that alone.

But I'll hand over to Kaya who will tell you what she really thought of it:

So there you have it, another thumbs up:

I've got to say here that not all the 3D films we watched were of as good a quality as the two Warner Brothers ones. A Turtles Tale - rented from the local xtra-vision left us all feeling a bit headachy and a little woozy. The 3D was so extreme in parts that quite often it looked like it just wasn't quite right. So choose your 3D movies carefully.

Next month I'll be reviewing Yogi Bear and Dolphins Tale starring Harry Connick Jr. Yep that's right - Harry in 3D...one for the Mums methinks.

Listography - Top 5 Phrases That Drive Me Crazy

2012-02-04T10:16:00.001Z

This weeks Listography is Top 5 Phrases That Drive Me Crazy.

Why? I hear you ask.

Well partly because I am a bit pissed off today and partly because the very lovely Anne from Domesblissity gave out to me last week for doing another blogger \ techy type one. Well that told me. (Note that she still joined in though...)

So without further ado (which in itself could be one), here we go (another?)

1. 'At the end of the day.'
At the end of the day could you just stop saying 'at the end of the day'?

2. 'There's nothing worse than *insert something mildly annoying*'
'There's nothing worse than running out of sprinkles when you're making cupcakes', 'There's nothing worse than setting the Sky+ to record something and it doesn't work'. Really? How about your house burning down and you discover you forgot to update the insurance?* Slightly worse?
*This didn't happen to me btw. Although I may have 'Update House Insurance' on my to do list.

3. 'Just bear with me a moment.'
Firstly - because I use to say it about a million times a day when I worked in a call centre and secondly, and I kid you not, my husband said this to me the other week. Seriously. And we're still married.

4. 'I'm not being funny but....'
I had a work colleague who said this constantly - 'I'm not being funny but I never liked her', 'I'm not being funny but I don't think he knows what he's doing'. 'I'm not being funny but she'd be better off in the post room' WTF? No, you're not being funny, you are being mean. So shut it.

5. 'He started It'
Ahhhhhhh.

So that's my lovely, hate-filled list for the week. Strangely cathartic I must say. In fact I feel better already, and at the end of the day that's what's important isn't it? Because there's nothing worse than waking up in a bad mood and having it hanging over you all day is there?

Now it's your turn. You'll be surprised at how many you have once you get started.
To join in just write your post on your own blog with a link to Listography and then come back here and add it to the linky below. Then visit some other entries and maybe find some new sites you haven't visited before.

3D TV - What's it all about anyway?

2012-02-01T21:18:00.001Z

In my last post I explained how we were lucky enough to be sent a 3D Home Entertainment system in order to review some of Warner Brothers' 3D movies (I know!!)

Now I must make a confession. Prior to receiving it I had zero knowledge of 3D TVs and what was involved with watching 3D movies at home. Can you watch non-3D programs on it? Do you need to wear glasses? Will the movies work in a normal DVD player?

I better take a picture of this - just to make sure it's real...

It's a bit like when Sky+ came along advertising the ability to pause live TV and we all looked at each other with confused faces, secretly wondering what would happen to everyone else if we paused the 9 o'clock news seven minutes in.

Anyway - I am here for the clueless - to answer your questions (which were my questions) and to let you know all that I have learned in the week since we got our package.

So, first question - What do you need in order to be able to watch 3D Movies at home?
Answer: A 3D TV, A 3D Player, 3D Glasses and a HDMI cable.

Does the TV work normally too?
Absolutely - you can switch between 2D and 3D with the remote control.

Do you need to wear 3D glasses?
Yes. In fact the glasses should be matched to the TV you are using. We have Toshiba TV and glasses, if your TV was Sony then Sony glasses would be recommended. This is because there is no industry standard across the board yet so different makes use slightly different technology.

Can you use the glasses that they give you at the cinema?
No.* The glasses used in cinemas are 'polarised' and work with the projection that cinema uses. Home 3D glasses use 'active shutter' technology. The glasses that we were supplied with are lightweight, rechargeable ones - they're fabulous for adults although a little on the large side for the kids.
*Update: See comment from Aly below re. inactive and active TVs.

How does 3D work?
Well, in a very simplistic explanation....the scenes are filmed from two different angles and then amalgamated together. The technology beams one image to one eye and another to the other eye giving the 3D perspective. (This is my very basic understanding of it - feel free to correct me here!)

Are all 3D movies the same quality?
No. We've tested out a number of films on DVD and also programmes on the Sky 3D Channel and the standard has varied quite a bit. I'm delighted (and a little bit relieved!) to say, hand on heart, that Warner Brothers has come out on top for us so far.

My next post will be a review of some of the Warner Brothers movies we've seen so far and how they compare to the other things we've watched.

In the meantime if you've any burning questions that I've missed feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer it for you.

Disclaimer: As stated I was provided with a 3D home entertainment system by Warner Brothers for the purpose of reviewing Warner Brothers 3D Movies. All words and opinions are my own.

The Best PR Delivery in the World Ever.

2012-01-30T11:55:00.000Z

Last week we had a delivery.

I knew it was coming, It just didn't believe it until I saw it.

You see Warner Brothers have asked me to review some 3D movies, which I couldn't do because you need to have a 3D television, and a 3D player, and 3D glasses....

...which I didn't have.

But guess what?

I do now!!

So to show my appreciation I thought I'd make a little movie about how far TV has come since I was a child.

Hope you like it!

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing what I've learned about 3D Home Entertainment and reviewing some fabulous Warner Brothers 3D Movies.

So stay tuned y'all!

Listography - Top 5 Websites

2012-01-28T15:27:00.000Z

This week's Listography looks your Top 5 Most Commonly Used Websites.

You know, the ones that appear on your Google homepage or at the top of your bookmarks bar. The ones that you click into daily without even thinking about it.

Here's mine. The fact that they are all blog related and not one shopping site features is quite concerning and will have to be remedied very soon.

1. Blogger Dashboard.
Want to look behind the scene at Kate Takes 5? No? Well tough luck:

Fascinating stuff I know.

2. Twitter.
For those days when work can wait...

3. Netmums Parent Bloggers Network.
I could spend my life on here. In fact I pretty much do.

4. Mr. Linky
How else would I stay up to date with my lists?

5. My Facebook Page
What do you mean you haven't liked it?

Actually my Facebook Page has been sadly neglected as everything has been going to my Kate Takes profile by mistake. Damn Facebook confused me and pretended I was set up correctly. I think I've outsmarted it this time though...

I realise that this is a pretty sad list. Now I need you guys to help save me and show me some great new sites. So, what are your Top 5 Most Commonly Used Websites?

Join in by writing your post on your own blog and then coming back here to linky up. And don't forget to visit some of the other entries too.

Now, time to close down Blogger and start exploring.

How to make a complaint

2012-01-25T20:22:00.000Z

Image Credit

Having worked as a Complaints Manager for a Financial Services type company in a previous life I know a thing or two about making a complaint.

Rule Number 1 - Know your facts.

I kept this in mind when I emailed my husband the other day and explained that Ticketmaster still hadn't refunded the money from the The Felice Brothers tickets that we returned due to their cancelled gig.

'Could you ring them?' I asked in my best email voice. 'It's just that the home phone is broken and I'm not sure how much credit I have left on my mobile'

'Hmm, ok' he obliged obligingly. 'How much do they owe us?'

'€45.50. The tickets were sent back on 31st Dec to the address listed on their email and I sent it recorded delivery as they advised'. So far so good.

An hour later I got a new email.

'This is making me so mad....

Choose 1 for exchanges andrefunds ‘cannot be placed unless event is rescheduled or cancelled’ – thenhangs up

Choose 4 for a booking thenpress 1 for existing bookings. Message then asks you to dial another numberwhich is the same one I have already dialed

Choose 4 for a booking thenpress 2 for new bookings. Finally got through to someone in Manchester who toldme to ring the same number I have already dialed. She confirmed they wouldn’tbe able to amend anything in UK anyway as it’s an Irish booking but then triedto fob me off with UK customer services.

Have refused to hang up and haveasked to speak to a manager…..'

'FFS' I replied, 'Tell them you want the refund AND tickets to another gig as compensation for all their time wasting'

Another hour passed.

'FFS indeed' came the reply. 'Not only did you make me call up regarding my own birthday present, you paid for it on my credit card and IT WAS REFUNDED TWO WEEKS AGO!!'

Oops.

And the winners are....#Skylanders giveaway

2012-01-24T11:42:00.003Z

Last week I ran a Skylanders Giveaway offering you the chance to win one of five brand new character sets.

Today the competition closed and the winners were picked using my special randomiser hat.

The winning numbers chosen were: 2, 9, 14, 16, 19.

The winning commenters (first comment displays at bottom of list) are:

Read more »

Let me be the taxi driver.

2012-01-23T18:14:00.001Z

As someone who has only a modest understanding of the continuing financial crisis that has seen Ireland brought to it's knees in recent years, I was particularly interested in the question posed by Vincent Browne to Klaus Masuch last week in a press conference with the European Central Bank.

For the uninitiated Vincent Browne is an old school Irish journalist of print and TV fame and Klaus Masuch is a representative of the ECB. The ECB have become like bankrupt Ireland's bank manager - flying in for meetings to see how we're doing, telling us how much more we need to give them, how, and by when.

Last week members of the ECB \ EU \ IMF held a press conference in Ireland after the latest round of 'talks'.

I'll hand over to Vincent now so that he can get an answer to his question about why Ireland is still required to pay billions of euro to unguaranteed bondholders of a defunct bank even though there is no threat to the financial sector by not doing so because the bank is, erm, well defunct...

I realise it's a bit Father Ted v The Gestapo, and no one is suggesting that Ireland is blameless for part of the crisis we're facing - but this particular little problem of billions of unsecured bonds? Well no actually - that is not our fault.

And Klaus knows it.

Because that is the fault of the fat cats, the bankers, the hedge fund managers, the very top politicians - not just in Ireland mind, but in Europe and the States.

They are the dodgy dealers, they are the ones who carved up mortgage bonds, shuffled them like a deck of cards, then traded on worthless stock, they are the ones who shorted the market, and they are the ones who walked away with their fat multi-million pound bonuses.

The rest is just ordinary people trying to find a decent house to live in and having enough left over for the odd family trip to the cinema.

And no one cares about them now do they?

Well if you do happen care then why not click here to send Klaus an email, because at the very least we deserve an answer don't we?

So c'mon Klaus ANSWER THE QUESTION!

Listogaphy - Top 5 Biscuits

2012-01-22T09:51:00.001Z

After taxing our little brains last week with all those wonderful blogging tips, this week it's time to sit back, have a cup of tea and pull out a packet of biscuits.

Well make that five packets in fact.

Because this weeks Listography is asking you to list your Top 5 Biscuits.

And really - what could be more important?

Now, lets get the first argument out of the way quickly shall we. My all time favourite and first entry into my top 5 is.......

1. Tunnocks Tea Cakes.

Image: http://getnloose.com

Yes I know. It says cake in the title. But it has a biscuit base and, well, erm, I just like them ok? And this is my list so if I want them I can have them. And if you want Kit Kats in yours I promise not to enter into the whole 'it's a biscuit \ it's a bar' debate.
Shall we move on?

2. Jacobs Club Milk.

The old skool school biscuits. Every time you opened one someone would tell the story about the time they had one that was pure chocolate all the way through. Funny how it never happened when anyone else was around.

3. Foxes Party Rings

Image: biscuitswin.wordpress.com

Something so lovely about their pastel perfectness.

4. Jersey Creams

You don't gotta be fancy to press my buttons.

5. Chocolate Fingers \ Tim Tams*

Image: valerina.umwblogs.org

Ok I realise that these biscuits are not even closely related but the reason I have listed them together is the reason I they have made it into my Top 5. Both of these biscuits need to be eaten with a cup of tea, - bite both ends off the biscuit and then suck tea through biscuit like a straw. Pop the gorgeous melty chocolaty biscuity loveliness into you mouth and relax.

* Unfortunately Tim Tams can only be bought in Australia so most of you will never get to compare the two. Pity.

Want to join in this life changing Listography?

Just write your post on your blog, then come back here to link it up. Then all you need to do it grab a cuppa and a packet from your Top 5 and read some of the other yummy entries.

I can feel the pounds piling on already.

The Gallery: Eyes

2012-01-18T16:05:00.001Z

I've seen some really amazing pictures for this week's Gallery, and while I can't compete with them, they can't compete with this:

Because it's my boy. And he will always be the star of the show for me.

For more eye catching pictures go visit Tara in The Gallery.

Skylanders Giveaway!! 5 sets of brand new characters to be won.

2012-01-17T12:40:00.003Z

As you may already know the Kate Takes 5 household are massive fans of the new phenomenon that is 'Skylanders'.

I've posted already our review of the game, and since we received that Wii version of the game and Spyros Adventure Starter Pack we have become some what hooked.

Our initial review pack included these three characters:

And we may possibly have added one or two to our collection since them:

But enough about our own little addiction - now I get to share the love because 5 lucky winners will be able to get their hands on the latest characters - and you don't even need the actual game to play!

If you're new to Skylanders and a little confused then here's the blurb:

With more than 30 characters to choose from, players can exploremysterious new worlds, battle enemies and solve fiendish puzzles. And, now seesthe arrival of Skylanders Spyro’s Universe, an even more imaginative wayto play, even if you don’t own the game.

Skylanders Spyro’s Universe is a virtual online world where children can bring theirSkylanders characters to life by playing mini games, such as Sheep Shot andCastle Assault while exploring a fantasy realm of floating islands whichencourage world-building, exploration and friendly competition. Players who already own the game or figurines caninput the code supplied with each interaction figure or use the Portal ofPower™ to bring them to life inside the universe. Those who don’t ownSkylanders Spyro’s Adventure can still use their characters to join in the funeither by themselves or with friends by simply creating a free online accountat www.universe.skylanders.comand picking up their digital starter kit.

Interested?

Well to enter I've made it easy for you. All you need to do is go to the Skylanders website and choose your favourite character from the ones shown and then tell me who it is in the comments.

Just click on the white circles to view more characters

Five luckywinners will be chosen from my randomiser hat to receive a set of three new charactersrecently added to the range; Hex, Dino-Rang and Wrecking Ball which can be usedto join in the fun online at Skylanders Spyro’s Universe.

Wrecking Ball on the Portal of Power.

The competition will stay open until Tues 24th January. Please ensure you leave a way for me to contact you when you leave your comment.

Good luck!

Listography - Top 5 Tips for Bloggers

2012-01-14T12:48:00.002Z

This week's Listography is one for the bloggers. Whether you're new to blogging or an old hand I want your Top 5 Tips that you've learned so far on your blogging journey.

And don't think that just because you've only been blogging for 2 months that you have nothing useful to pass on. It's amazing what you learn in those first months and it's also very easy to forget those early lessons once you've been doing it for a bit longer.

So no excuses ok?

My Top 5 Tips for Bloggers are:

1. Remove Word Verification.
The amount of times I've left a comment and then closed the window before that bloody box comes up I can't tell you. It's a blight on your blog. Get rid of it.

2. Join Twitter.
Pre-blog I used to scoff at people who were on Twitter. 'What a f*ing joke' I would think smugly,'Who on earth cares if Mary_358 had scones for breakfast?' What I didn't realise is that you can actually have conversations on Twitter. That you can banter and joke with people you have forged strange online friendships with. Twitter has also become my Google. Want to know what to use instead of cornflour in a recipe? Ask Twitter. Want to know how to get a raisin out of a child's nose? Ask Twitter.
And I haven't even touched on the promotion of blog posts and traffic it will send your way. Go sign up.

3. A Little Word about Design.
When you start blogging you will pick a theme and think your blog looks amazing. 6 weeks later you will start twiddling and tweaking with the design. You will spend approximately 495 hours trying to make it look 'just so'. You will fail. If you get serious about blogging, want to love your blog every time you look at it and have some spare cash or a wealthy aunt then hire a designer. I used Violet Posy. She's tops.

4. Put Some Effort into Your About Page.
Posts come and go but your About Page is there to stay. It will probably be the most viewed page on your blog so take some time to do up a good one. (Note to self: About Page needs an update.)
Michelle at The American Resident wrote a post of top tips on this recently.

5. Be Nice.
It's a lovely little community we've got going on around us - it would be nice to keep it that way. That doesn't mean we can't enter into debate or make some controversial comments, but it's worth stopping to think about whether what you are about to say is something that you would say face-to-face to that person.
So let's all skip through the tulips together shall we?

So there's my Top 5 Tips for bloggers. Now all you have to do is write your own Top 5 on your blog, then come back here, link up below and then make your way through some of the other entries until your brain explodes.

Looking forward to reading them!

The Gallery - Phone Photos

2012-01-13T11:29:00.000Z

Sticky Fingers has decreed that this week is the week of Phone Photos.

I couldn't be happier. What with my *ahem* NEW IPHONE and my Instagram, Coloursplash and Camera+ apps I should be an expert.

Except I'm not.

Yet.

What I do love though is that Phone Photos can take an ordinary picture and make it extraordinary.

From this...

To this.

The other wonderful thing about Phone Photos is that you are never caught unawares.

So 'A Walk in the Woods' is captured forever:

And 'That Day My Boy Turned Into A Troll' will never be lost.

Now surely you can't ask for more than that, can you?

For other great phone photos check out The Gallery.

Are my children normal?

2012-01-11T18:49:00.001Z

Today I was wearing my 'Good Mother' hat and decided to take my three out for bike riding lessons.

The eldest is seven and has had a bike since she was four. The fact that she still can't ride a bike grates on me daily. We made some progress last summer but since then she has had zero interest.

The other is five and has had his bike for 18 months, he still can't ride it.

The 3 year old has a glider bike with no pedals.

So out we went to the beloved 'green' which is just far enough away to be exciting. We took a spot on a quiet road and the girl got ready for push off.

'What if I fall?' she asked

'You won't fall. I'll be running right beside you' I replied.

After 'preparing' herself for about 5 minutes whilst the 3 year old glided around the corner and out of sight I was already getting testy.

'Ready?' I asked.

'Ok' she replied.

We got about 5 feet and she had a little wobble.

'WAAAAAHHHHHH' she screamed as the neighbourhood turned to see what disaster had befallen us.

She put her foot down in every sense and refused to go any further.

'Oh for God's sake' I muttered under my breath as I ran to retrieve the escaping brother.

So it was the boys turn.

'Now come on. You've done this before you can do it again' I encouraged with a happy smile.

'Ready?' I asked

'Ok' he replied.

We got about 5 feet and he had a wobble.

'WAAAAAHHHHHH' he screamed as the neighbourhood turned with perplexed faces to see the two of them bawling crying in the middle of the road.

'That's it. We're going home. At least one of you can make it back on a bike' I stropped as the 3 year old sped passed.

'IT'S A STUPID BABY BIKE AND HE'S A STUPID BABY BROTHER' one screamed.

'YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT US' screamed the other.

I put my head down, my hood up and tried to avert the staring eyes as we made our way back in the newly falling rain.

So, is this normal?

The secret to losing weight

2012-01-09T12:08:00.001Z

I've found it.

There is in fact a secret to losing weight and becoming healthy and I'm here to share it with you.

It's called The Lardy League.

The process is fairly simple. Take one competitive family (or group of friends), weigh each of them, then award daily points for particular goals reached each day. For example ours are: drinking 1litre of water (10 points), having 5 portions of fruit \ veg (10 points), doing 20 minutes exercise (10 points), something else and something else (you can see I've been taking this very seriously).

At the end of one month weigh them again. Multiply their weight loss by their points acquired and find your winner. You can even chip in for a prize if you're feeling brave.

Sounds too easy to be true non?

Well my extended family has been signed up to this since 1st January and I can genuinely say I am shocked at the results. Currently I am horrified to be in last position so will be upping the steaks, I mean the stakes, this week.

So if you're feeling a little bloated around the edges, start huffing and puffing when you're climbing the stairs or look a bit like the person in the video below then you know what to do.

There is a Lardy League out there with your name on it - now go find it!

Listography - Give me 5 of your best.

2012-01-07T14:00:00.001Z

This weeks Listography is all about your 'Bests'. I've left the decision as to which 'bests' you want to include, because lets face it, after last weeks blatant disregard of the rules you probably would have done it that way anyway.

Sheesh you lot are an unruly bunch.

So whether it's your best kiss, your best holiday, your best decision - the choice is yours.

Just make sure there's only 5 of them this time this time.

Ok, I'll go first:

1. Best Meal.
It was 2008 and I had just decided to start eating meat again after 15 years of being a vegetarian (15 wasted years as Mr. Gordon Ramsey would say). My husband and I went out to a gorgeous little Italian restaurant and I decided to order the steak.

Oh. My. God.

Unfortunately I put the other half off his meal as he found the sight of me eating a big hunk of fillet so unsettling. He'd only every known me as a veggie and couldn't quite deal with the spectacle.

2. Best Friend.
I'm lucky enough to have a few genuinely 'til death do us part' friends, but since I've written about him before I might as well stick him in here again. Unfortunately since he now lives in Slovakia his sightings around these parts are few and far between. Though he does send the odd giant tractor over to keep him in our thoughts.

3. Best Blog Post.
I'm not sure if it's my best but Mothers Always Right said it was and you don't mess with a woman who gets up at 4am for work every morning.

4. Best Place I've Ever Been.
Byron Bay. My special place. It's where I met, among others, Mr. Kate Takes 5 and where I literally had the best time of my life. (so far)

5. Best iPhone App
Ok I may be including this purely to get suggestions of others from you guys. Perhaps. The fact is I only have 2 apps on my phone because I don't even know where to start looking for them. But the best of those 2 is most definitely 'Instagram'. Strangely addictive and probably hugely irritating for anyone at the end of my Facebook stream.

So now it's your turn to give me 5 of your best. Choose your topics, write your post and then come back here and linky up below.

And don't forget to show some of the other entries some love.

Disney on Ice

2012-01-06T10:04:00.000Z

Last week we were lucky enough to be sent tickets for the Disney on Ice 'Worlds of Fantasy' experience that was running in Dublin.

All five of us went along and despite the prices of the merchandise...

(Ouch)

...we all had a wonderful time. The children (7, 5 and 3) were all totally entralled with the magical spectacle before them and even Dad got excited when Lightening McQueen rolled onto the stage!

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

No. 1 son stifling a yawn before the show

Guess who got one anyway...

Mater takes the stage

The Cars

Spot the wannabe blogger in the family..

Toy Story

It's a hit.

Huge thanks to Disney for providing us with the tickets. Disney on Ice have a new show 'Princesses and Heroes' starting soon so watch out for it!

One Born Every Minute #Dads

2012-01-02T08:32:00.002Z

If there's one thing my husband is good at it's directions. Seemingly he only has to lift his head and sniff the air and he can find the little grey building at the end of four pages of crisscrossed lines on a torn and tea stained map.

Which is a very good thing when it's dark, you live over an hour and a half's drive away from the hospital, and your heavily pregnant wife shouts at you that 'It's time to go - NOW!'

The journey was long and extremely bumpy. Bob Marley beat from the speakers and the breath came shorter and harder with every mile traveled.

There was no talking. Eyes on the road, both of us dealing with our own demons.

Once there I hobbled along on his arm and in a blur was prodded and poked until I heard someone whisper urgently 'there's no room available' and I found myself behind a curtain with another woman in the other side who sounded like she was lifting weights.

The labour was not a good one. The epidural was called for. The epidural did not work.

Another was administered. Another did not work.

Six epidurals and countless hours later I was totally spent. Delirious I lay on the bed like a fatally injured soldier, war weary and ready to let go.

'Do you think I'd have time to pop out to the car?' I heard a voice that I recognised ask.

'Just to grab a sandwich and have a quick nap...'

I had no energy to comment and until that moment had actually forgotten that he was there, but of course the words were filed away to be used at a more opportune moment.

Such as this one maybe.

Anyway, he returned after his cheese roll and his 40 winks. The midwife's shift ended. Another was called in to take over and finish the job and somehow, somehow, our beautiful daughter was born.

Her Dad cut the cord and his eyes filled with wonder and tears.

Shellshocked it took me a little longer to adjust, but as the tiny bundle was handed to me, cleaned off and wrapped in a warm blanket, we huddled over her and at that moment became a family.

This post is part of the Channel 4 \ Netmums One Born Every Minute linky that is currently running on Netmums Blog. Channel 4 and Netmums would love you to get involved so please pop across and see what it's all about.
One Born Every Minute is on Channel 4 on Wednesdays at 9pm, starting 4^th January.

Age is just a number - right?

2012-01-01T09:50:00.000Z

Having faced a 20 year school reunion, Christmas clothes bought in M&S, and a night out with my younger sisters very beautiful and fresh faced friends I have been feeling old and tired during this year's festive period.

So when we were driving back from the shops the other day the following conversation, as you can imagine, didn't go down too well.

5 year old: 'Mum how old are you?'

Me: pause for breath...

5 year old: '58?'

Me: 'No'

5 year old: '68?'

Me: 'No'

7 year old: 'Oo I know I know!'

'78?'

Me: NO!

5 year old: '88?'

Silence

'98'

Silence

5 year old to 7 year old 'Is she 108?'

Me: 'I am not 108 I am 38'

Silence from the back again. I imagine them thinking that I am, after all, not that old at all.

5 year old 'Is that older or younger than granny?'

Listography - Top 5 Photos of 2011

2011-12-31T07:19:00.004Z

Yes I toyed with the idea of top 5 resolutions but even with pressure being applied from a certain someone who admitted needing a 'kick up the arse that only Listography can give' I decided to give Resolutions a two finger salute and focus on happy times instead.

So the challenge this week is to go back through your archives and pick out your 5 favourite photos of the year.

Let me warn you - this may prove more difficult than you think. I finally narrowed it down to six and then had to decide whether to bump my beautiful boy or the only picture of me with my kids available.

As you can see below I didn't make the cut.

I took this photo back in Feb for this post for the wonderfully hilarious I'm so Fancy. It was then used for this article in the Irish Independant. A well used pic that brings back happy memories.

An old Silent Sunday post that doubles as my screensaver.

My favourite picture of the year.

The one sunny weekend of the year which coincided with a wonderful camping trip. These happy coincidences never usually happen to us.

A momentous occasion when the middle child started school and the 'baby' started playschool. I still whoop for joy at the thought of my free mornings.

Now I realise that rather predictably all these are pictures of my kids, so my New Years Resolution is to start taking more pictures of other things - and maybe even handing the camera over so that I feature occasionally.

Now see - I managed get a resolution in there after all.

Back to School already?

2011-12-28T10:46:00.001Z

So Christmas is nearly done and dusted. Somehow it has passed in a hazy glow of 6am starts, ripped wrapping paper, over indulgence, nerf guns, amateur wine tastings and the most shocking, appalling karaoke anyone has ever had the misfortune to listen to.

The embarrassing siblings.

However there's just one final function that I need to attend before I can put a big fat tick beside Christmas 2011, and that is (deep breath) my 20 year school reunion.

To be honest I'm at a loss as to why it is called the 20 year reunion because I actually left school in 1991 - which clearly was only about 8 or 9 years ago... But anyhow, it has been decreed that this is our year and the party is all set.

Back in the day. Me on the right.

They're a funny thing school reunions. The last one was in 2001 and most questions centred around 'So what do you do then?' as eyes glazed over and brains started calculating what that equated to in £ signs. Being on the dole at the time meant my conversations weren't a great hit that night.

This time I imagine it will be all about marraige (yes) and kids (3). In ten years time I expect it'll be divorce and death.

The only questions left to answer right now though are (a) what to wear? and (b) is it too late to get botox?

Anyway, my plan is to drink too much, tap my feet to tunes like this:

and generally try not to embarrass myself.

I'll let you know how that turns out....

Last day of school and the obligatory swim in your uniform

Name That Carol - The Answers.

2011-12-22T11:20:00.000Z

I know you've been waiting with baited breath for this. Tossing and turning at night, random carols running through your head. Jumping up in the morning to check your 'soundhound' app for a match (@PinkOddy I'm surprised at you).

So here they are - the answers to the Name that Carol conundrums:

Day 1 - Answer: Santa got stuck up the chimney
Correct answers: 11.
Favourite answer: 'No idea: possibly a 6th-century Coptic chant, judging by the language. But he's certainly gorgeous!' (Mills and Boon Wannabe)

Day 2 - Answer: Santa Clause is coming to Town with a touch of Santa got stuck up the chimney)
Correct answers: 2 (Red Rose Mummy and Alexander Residence)
Favourite answer: 'I think you're making up these Christmas songs! I heard something about pull me out, a sock, maybe something to do with a chicken?' (Marta)

Day 3 - Answer: Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.
Correct answers 0.
Favourite answer: 'He shall feed his flock' from the Messiah. (Mills and Boon Wannabe again. Obviously been on the brandy early that day).

So there you have it.

The winner of the £20 donation to a charity of their choice was chosen at random by the number 17 and is the very lovely @motherporridge. I shall be in touch.

Thanks to all that took part!

New Clothes!

2011-12-20T15:07:00.000Z

Looking pretty pleased with his new clothes from Boots Mini Club

And again...

'Well I'm not smiling'

'Oh ok then. You said chocolate right?'

Just nonchalantly hanging out...

'How about this move?'

'Hey Dad, you don't mind that I borrowed your suit do you?'

All of the very lovely clothes you see here were kindly sent to us by Boots' new Mini Club

Name That Carol - Day 3

2011-12-19T15:34:00.000Z

It's time for Name That Carol once again. The quiz where I take my verbally challenged boy and pit his carol singing against you lot.

This will be the last one before I announce the winner. All entries from Day 1 and Day 2 will be included and the winner gets £20 to give to the charity of their choice.

So lets begin:

Easy right?

Answers in the comments below please!

Listography - Top 5 things that make Christmas Christmas.

2011-12-17T16:09:00.000Z

Is that confusing? Should there be a comma after the first Christmas?

Anyway - the title may be confusing but the theme is very straightforward. What are the Top 5 things or traditions that make it Christmas for you.

To start the ball rolling here's mine:

1. Watching It's a Wonderful Life.
I remember the first time my husband saw this. It was Christmas day and we were at my parents with the rest of the family. He sat down harrumphing that he'd never heard of it and got up with red eyes and a snivelling nose as he ran for the door. Christmas hay fever I think he called it.

2. The Opening of the Roses.
Tin not real.

3. The Tree.
Taking the decorations down from the attic. Picking through all our favouites. Arguing about where to hang them...Each year I buy one new decoration for each of the kids so that by the time they move out, like when they're thirty or something, they'll have their own little supply that will remind them of Christmases past.

4. Smoked Salmon and Champagne on Christmas Eve.
Always have, always will.

5. The Family Bust Up.
It used to be fisticuffs over Guess Who. Then alcohol and new four new partners were added to the mix. Always interesting.

Now it's your turn to open up your Christmas houses to the rest of us. What are you absolute uncompromisable traditions that make help sprinkle the magic of Christmas over your family?

Don't forget to linky up your post below and visit some of the other entries.

Now where's my champers...?

Name That Carol - Day 2

2011-12-15T18:36:00.000Z

Name That Carol is back!

Thanks to those who joined in on the last one - your names are in a hat awaiting the final draw.

And so on to today's classic. All you need to do is listen to the following rendition and then Name that Carol.

The astute among you may notice some similarities with the previous one - but that's just his plan to throw you off course. Of course.

Answers in the comments to be entered into the draw for a £20 donation to a charity of your choice.

What are you waiting for?!

Scotch Pop-Up Tape Review

2011-12-14T17:17:00.025Z

Every year I make the same grand plans.

Sometimes I even go so far as to buy expensive wrapping paper and colour co-ordinated ribbons.

But somehow I always seem to fall at the last hurdle.

There I am on Christmas Eve, sitting on the living room floor, smothered by a mountain of unwrapped gifts. Ripped wrapping paper, ribbon that only lasted for the first two presents, forgotten tags and crucially a blunt pair of scissors and full on sellotape rage.

You know when it breaks apart so that you are left trying to pull a millimeter of tape around the roll that just gets smaller and smaller until you are left with a Krypton Factor style puzzle that leaves you in tears of despair?

Or is that just me?

Anyway. Not this year. No Sirree. And do you know why? Because the lovely people at Scotch have sent me this:

This nifty little device is going to save Christmas this year. The blue bit is a tape dispenser that goes around your wrist (hands free!) and the tape itself is pre-cut and disappears on most gift wrap.

Perfect.

So far I've tested this out on a couple of gifts and am mightily impressed. If you have a few pennies extra to spend on your gift wrap to make it extra nice (and easy) I'd recommend it.

If you're a member of my family the usual recycled crumpled wrapping paper from last year is fine. *Sigh*

Maybe just remember to take the prices off this year?

This is a sponsored post. All words are my own. Tape Dispenser retails at approx £2.50. See website for some great deals.

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Name that Carol- Day 1

2011-12-13T11:22:00.000Z

So I have this little quiz for the run up to Christmas.

On random days between now and The Big Day I will be posting videos of my verbally challenged son* attempting to sing well known Christmas Carols - all you need to do is guess what it is he's singing.

Here's the first one:

Answers in the comments below please. I'll be picking a name at random at the end of the competition to give £20 to the charity of your choice.

(*Hey, don't feel bad, of course we are not laughing at him. We are laughing with him. And anyway - it's for a good cause).

When your best friend dumps you...

2011-12-12T14:11:00.002Z

We've had our ups and downs before of course.

The old Cromwellian raping and pillaging left a bad taste for a few centuries and those bombs in the 80's dampened the relationship a little, but we've been getting along pretty well since then as far as I'm concerned.

Joining the European Union together in the 70's meant that little old Ireland had a big brother to look out for us - a brother that was far bigger and more powerful than we would ever be. A brother who would put his arm around us and say to others 'hey, don't go picking on this guy ok?'

But then David Cameron came along and decided to leave us naked in the school yard whilst the bullies circle us, taunting the little guy whilst stealing our lunch money.

And what can we do about it?

Absolutely nothing. We can't stick up to them because we need their protection. We can't ditch our best mate (who incidentally already dumped us) because we need them too.

We're the poor kid with the holey jumper and patches on his trousers who gets pushed around whilst desperately trying to please both the bullies and the turncoats.

Of course it may turn out the D.C. has actually done us a favour. Perhaps walking away from the deal was the best thing for all of us, only time will tell. But for now we're left feeling like we've lost our only friend in the world and another kicking is just around the corner.

Perhaps we better all get shin pads for Christmas this year.

Oui, je suis off to Paris

2011-12-08T18:55:00.000Z

When I gave up work a number of years ago one of the things I hadn't factored in the loss of (along with money and friends) was a good old Christmas Party.

You know - the one time of the year you get your legs waxed, put on fake nails, buy a new dress, put on some sparkles and primp and prime yourself until you look like a gaudy bauble instead of some leftover crumpled wrapping paper?

Then you wake up in the morning in a foetal state, cringing into your pillow whilst trying not to barf on the baby.

Ah happy days.

Anyway, at the risk of making you all jealous (ah who am I kidding - that's why I'm writing this post) - I'm off to 'Gay Paree' in the morning in order to attend a swanky Christmas party in the evening. I may even partake of a glass of champagne and stay out past midnight.

It's been awhile. Wish me luck.

Man Flu - The Truth

2011-12-06T11:02:00.000Z

This shocking and disturbing video about the horrors of Man Flu was sent to me by a friend last week.

I think we all have a duty to watch it - even if it makes for difficult viewing.

Don't let them suffer in silence any longer.

(Thanks Mo!)

Listography - Singalong a Christmas.

2011-12-04T08:14:00.000Z

This weeks Listography is ushering Christmas in the best possible way.

My lovely blogging friend Alma from These Precious Things is hosting it and she's chosen Top 5 Christmas Songs to get you in the mood. She's picked some corkers but there's plenty more to choose from. I mean - she's missed out Cliff Richard and The Cheeky Girls for goodness sake.

What was she thinking?

So if you fancy ramping up the Christmas Spirit pop over to Alma and listen to some of her favourites before choosing your own Top 5 Christmas Songs and then linking up with her.

I'll leave you with one of my favourites.

5 Top Tips for looking and feeling younger. (And they're free too!)

2011-12-02T14:27:00.000Z

Thought that might get your attention.

If you are anything like me you will have come to accept the sad state of affairs that grey hairs have now started to sprout with abandon and the wrinkles are settling in for the long haul.

Those days of muscle tone and glowing skin are a thing of the past and before we know it our zimmerframes will be taking up the space that our exercise bikes used to.

However I have some free tips on how to hang on to that youthful edge for just a little bit longer....

1. Ditch Grazia and take up Woman and Home. The celebrities are only ever 60+ and the models are ancient. You will come away feeling a distinct spring in your step.

2. Make friends with someone 10 years older than you. Then invite them to play squash.

3. Never, ever let someone take a photo of you near a) bright lights and b) children.

4. Start telling everyone you're getting your free bus pass next year. Being constantly told you look 'SO YOUNG for your age' will have you feeling 21 again.

5. Go to Mass. Being surrounded by 99% old biddies does wonders for the self esteem.

Of course you could eat healthily, get lots of fresh air and exercise, smother yourself in serums and anti-aging creams, hide from the sun and eat mackerel three times a day, but personally speaking I'm going to stick with my ones.

Now who's got some more to add to the list?

Christmas begins right now!

2011-11-30T17:16:00.000Z

A few days ago I had to take my daughter to the dentist in Dublin. After a 10 minute review with the consultant we were free for the rest of the morning.

Free! In Dublin! At Christmas! It's been a long time.

We snooped around some shops, bought some decorations

took in the Christmas lights, watched the buskers entertaining the busy crowds...

And then stumbled on a miniture 'Christmas Streets' exhibition in Bewleys Theatre on Grafton Street.

Kaya was mesmerised and didn't want to leave.

Spot the giant?

And again..

We finished with Pizza on a little Italian that looked perfect until I noticed the bottles of olive oil on the table. I mean - if you're going to buy your oil in Lidl at least have the decency to decant it!

She didn't seem to mind though.

So that's our Christmas started. Will opening December 1st on the advent calendar mark the start of yours?

I'm a Celebrity. . .

2011-11-28T11:34:00.000Z

No not really.

However I have been tagged by the lovely Kate who blogs at Kate on Thin Ice for the 'I'm a Celebrity 10 Question Quiz', so it would be rude not to take part.

Here we go:

1. What one thing about being a parent makes you scream “Get me out of here!”

The noise - especially if it involves fighting which ends with 'Muuuuuuuum!'

2. What skills, if any, do you have that would be useful in the jungle?

Erm...clearly it's taking me too long to think of anything so I would have to say nothing - I would be the stone around the other celebrities necks (now there's a thought...)

3. How are you likely to annoy people if you were stuck with them for 3 weeks?

Ask my husband. No in fact don't. I have no annoying habits. Honest.

4. What is the worst thing you have ever eaten?

Dog food. When I was about 10 my 'friend' dared me to try it, when I declined she asked if I'd do it if she did. Ever the forthright individual I agreed. She dipped her finger in, (unbeknownst to me) switched fingers and licked her (clean) finger clean. I wasn't so cunning. Gag.

5. What luxury item would you take into the jungle with you?

Coffee.

6. What is the most daring thing you have ever done?

A skydive. Or heading to Australia to go backpacking on my own.

7. Who would you miss most if you went into the jungle with a bunch of strangers?

Kids obv.

8. What celebrity alive or dead would you like to have with you in the jungle?

Jesus. He turned the water into wine.

9. What would scare you about being in the jungle?

Spiders.

10. After leaving the jungle, you go to a luxury hotel. What would be the first thing you did on reaching your hotel?

Shower and then slip into those clean white cotton sheets and order room service.

11th mission should you choose to accept it is to tell us why the person who tagged you is a star. (For the uninitiated, stars play a big party in the television programme)

Kate is a star because she's on an important journey. She's blogging about it honestly and openly and she's inspiring and being inspired by others. Plus she's starting to believe in herself which is pretty awesome. Plus she joins in with my Listographies. Plus she's called Kate.

Here endeth my celebrity moment.

Listography - Cartoon Characters from your youth

2011-11-26T18:22:00.000Z

I was up at 3am or 5am or some other ungodly hour last week with a sick 3 year old and found myself watching Hong Kong Phooey.

Hong Kong Phooey!! Can you believe it?

Image: Screen Rant

Famous in the 70's for his high kicks and alter ego of a mild mannered janitor, Hong Kong Phooey has to rate as one of my Top 5 Cartoon Characters.

Now who can remember the theme tune?

2. Top Cat

To be fair it was actually Benny the little blue guy that was my favourite, but Top Cat has a special place in my heart, and after all it was his show.

3. Bod

I LOVED Bod. Looking at the small bald guy now I kidda wonder why. Did he even speak? I can't really remember too much about him but a quick check of Wiki gives the following mind nudge:
The character of Bod is a boy who lives in a town with Aunt Flo, PC Copper, Frank the Postman and Farmer Barleymow. Each of the characters have their own theme music performed by Griffiths which is heard when they appear.
Clearly I was a lot easier to please back then.

4. Mr. Benn
And as if by magic....

Image: Stuff and Nonsense

Doesn't really need an explanation does it?

5. Ivor the Engine
This was a real toss up between Ivor and Dillon from Magic Roundabout. Obviously my attraction to stoned out individuals started early. Ivor pipped him to the post though simply for nostalgic reasons - those remastered Magic Roundabout episodes kind of ruined it for me.

So that's my Top 5 Cartoon Characters from my youth. What are yours? To join in write your post on your own blog and then come back to linky up below. Hopefully I haven't scared you off with my ancient choices...

Broken.

2011-11-25T08:00:00.001Z

Everything in my world is breaking.

First it was my car, then it was my phone (which I inadvertently dropped downthe loo. No questions please).

When I mentioned my misfortune on Twittersomeone told me to watch out as these things usually happen in threes.

'As if' I harrumphed, 'I could be thatunlucky'.

Cue burning toast from toaster that now nolonger pops up.

Looking around the house I realise it'smore than just these three things though. The downstairs toilet is blocked soevery time one of the kids goes to the loo I have to shout 'NO POOS!!' at thetop of my voice.

Then there's the kettle whose lidwon't open, the iPod docking station that won't play iPods, and the home phonethat hasn't worked for about two months.

Sadly I'm resigned to the fact thateventually all these items will be thrown out to make way for ill affordedreplacements, but that’s the 'throw away' society we live in for you. Theproblem really is that I don't know anybody who actually fixes this type ofthing nowadays - and if they do how do you find them?

Fortunately domesticappliance repair services are considerably easier to source, butwouldn’t it be great if people started fixing stuff again? It seems to be alost art, a dying role - I wonder if that's our fault and whether the‘recession’ will bring back some of these skills.

Silver lining?

Disclosure: There is a sponsored link in this post, bet you can't spot it.

What did he say?

2011-11-24T08:01:00.011Z

So, after a steady decline my poor 10 year old car (which in car years is officially 70) finally died at the weekend.

Panic.

How would I do the school runs, the shopping, the kids swimming classes and get to the doctors? And that was only Monday and Tuesday...

Not my car. Image from Daily Grindstone

Fortunately I live near family and my very generous brother offered me his car for a few days whilst we sorted ourselves out. It's bigger and better than my old car so naturally the kids were delighted. Especially the three year old.

Since then he keeps telling me, and everyone he meets, all about it. 'Swap car Mummy, swap car' he says in his very best speech.

Unfortunately his best speech is somewhat stunted so what he in fact says is very clearly 'Fuck car Mummy, fuck car'.

Hmm, sounds like Mummy has been partaking in some very inappropriate road rage doesn't it?

When does a niche become a pigeon hole?

2011-11-21T20:24:00.000Z

When I first started blogging just over a year ago I quickly got addicted and furiously read up on every possible Tips and Tricks list and all sorts of 'How to' articles.

There were lots of experts saying lots of different things and my mind began to melt a little.

However the one thing all the experts seemed to agree on was the importance of 'finding your niche'.

I went to bed scrolling through ideas in my head for what would make me stand out from the crowd, what would be my USP, what would I be the 'go-to' blog for?

Sadly I didn't come up with anything original so just kept writing whatever came into my head and trying to make it somewhat amusing.

And then suddenly, a year down the line, I realised that I already had my niche - short, witty, unchallenging posts that readers could devour in a couple of minutes before moving on to something a little more weighty, a little more emotional, a little more important.

And that was fine.

Sort of.

But then I started thinking...what happens when I want to write something emotional or creative or important? What would my readers think then? If people came to my blog looking for amusing anecdotes about pubes in the soap dish and instead found an essay about the importance of young girls having strong female role models - would they run screaming for the hills never to return?

So I thought I'd ask you.

Would you?

And what about other bloggers - do you have a niche? And do you think it's become your pigeon hole? And wouldn't you like to break free every so often?

Listography - Top 5 Gadgets, plus Competition Time!

2011-11-19T08:51:00.000Z

This weeks Listography is all about gadgets.

But before we get started - what exactly is a gadget? Freedirectory.com defines a gadget as:

1. a small mechanical device or appliance

2. any object that is interesting for its ingenuity or novelty rather than for its practical use

Stephen Fry recently listed his Top 100 gadgets for Channel 4. He started with a karaoke machine and ended with a firelighter. Really Stephen? Really? A karaoke machine?

Well I think we can do better than that. So get your thinking caps on (now there's a gadget) and get your list of Top 5 Gadgets Ever written so that you can come back here and linky up.

Here's mine:

1. Washing machine.
I know - such a middle-aged housewife's choice. But without it I'd me nothing more than a middle aged housewife at least the beloved washing machine allows us to leave the house.

2. Computer \ Laptop
Doesn't really need an explanation does it?

3. Hair dryer
Stops me looking like this:

Photo: Pickledtink

4. Music player
Whether it's the record \ record player, tape \ tape player, cd \ cd player, iPod or whatever comes next bring music to the people has to be on the list.

Image: Entertainment Buddha

5. Camera
How else would I remember things?

Image: DeCamile

Ok so mine may not be the best in the world ever but personally speaking they are so don' t be dissing my list.

Now all you need to do is write you Top 5 Gadgets list and come back here to put your details in the linky below and visit some of the other entries.

And whether you choose to take part in this weeks Listography or not you can still enter the competition! The lovely people at iLuv UK are putting together a Christmas Travel Bundle for one lucky winner.
The bundle includes:

2 x Foam-PaddedNeoprene Sleeves for iPad.
· 1 x iEP314Earphones with flat wire. Ergonomic sound isolating design.
· 1 x iAD217ITLInternational Triple USB Power Adapter Pack for iPhone or iPod. Triple USBports to charge up to three devices at once. Charges your iPhone / iPod or anyother USB devices with AC adapter.
· 1 x iCB1075-way Splitter for iPad or iPod. With remote and volume control. Connect upto 5 headphones to your iPad or iPod.
· 1 x iCC796BLK In-Car Windshield MountedCharging Kit. Charge Smartphones and any other USB devices. Rotating bracket and adjustable neck for easyviewing. Perfect for GPSapplications and hands-free navigation while driving.

Some of the devices on offer: iphone not included!

To enter simply follow iluv on Twitter www.twitter.com/UK_iLuv and then send the following tweet: ‘I’ve entered @katetakes5#listography competition to win a Christmas Travel Bundle from @UK_iLuv.’

Not on Twitter? Then leave me a comment to say that you've joined their Facebook page instead www.facebook.com/iLuvUK.

Where do you do it?

2011-11-17T12:16:00.000Z

I've been tagged by Middle-aged Matron in the 'Where do you do it?' meme.

If you haven't come across her wonderful blog before you're in for a treat. Head on over to her for a read through of her latest antics - I promise you won't be disappointed - unless you don't like talk of wanking bishops that is.

Aaaanyway, this meme asks bloggers to show where they do all their blogging business from, so without further ado here's mine special spot:

It used to be the sofa so I'm rather pleased with my new place. Makes me feel all important.

If you'd like to join in feel free - post a picture of where you like to do it linky up!

The Gallery 11:11:11

2011-11-16T10:30:00.000Z

The Gallery prompt from Sticky Fingers this week was a date. 11:11:11. Tara wanted us to mark the lovely date by taking a photo from that day and then putting them together in one big Gallery of 11:11:11 moments.

I had high aspirations for my picture, a flower blooming perhaps - marking the unusual warmth of November 2011, my children frolicking in the autumn leaves maybe, or a newspaper showing the big story of the day...

Unfortunately I have this instead:

A picture which sums up a week of sickness and broken nights sleep.

Oh well, I promise to do better on 12:12:12.

Now pop over to Sticky Fingers and check out some much better offerings, or join in yourself - there's £100 voucher up for grabs from Netmums you know?

I've run away from home....(back soon)

2011-11-15T07:00:00.001Z

Last week I was reminded of the time when my little sister was about nine and ran away from home after a fight with mum. She left a note saying 'I've run away from home. Back soon.'

You see after writing about my crack up on Friday I had felt like leaving a similar note. The only things that stopped me was 1. two out of three of my kids can't read and 2. the toaster wasn't working so they couldn't make their own meals.

Even so...

Of course I didn't run away. Well not immediately anyway. I waited until their Dad came home and then did what any self respecting mother of three would do. I ran home to my Mum.

40 hours of bed rest, hot baths, meals brought to me on pretty trays, cups of tea and hot toddies and my soul had sufficiently healed to return to the fray.

Chaaaaaarrrrge!

Image: http://joannekraft.com

Listography - Top 5 Randoms

2011-11-13T07:10:00.000Z

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This weeks Listography is simple but with a very wide scope- Top 5 Random Things I like.

Just one word of warning though - random is not 'I like chocolate' - that's just not going to cut it round here. However 'I like chocolate sauce with my chips' is getting a bit warmer.

My own Top 5 Randoms are:

1. Swimming in the rain.

2. The smell of petrol.

3. Bacon sandwiches with mustard. Yes that's right - I said mustard!

4. Not talking to anyone but myself for 24 hours.

5. The plip plop of two Solpadine hitting the water. 'Hope in a glass' as my sister says.

To join in and list your Top 5 random things you like simply write your post on your own blog and then come back here and linky up below, and don't forget to visit some other randoms on the list. Easy peasy.

Top 5 Toys for Christmas (as voted by Parent Bloggers)

2011-11-11T10:13:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago I ran this Listography to get Parent Bloggers to vote for their Top 5 Toys of all time.

Toys that your children have loved and looked after, toys that would go the distance and not be consigned to the post-Christmas scrap heap by 26th December.

Image: Pams Clipart

Thanks to all of you who voted on your blogs and on Twitter. Over 80 toys got a mention altogether, but the clear winners are listed below. These are the toys that us Parent Bloggers are happy to stand over and say 'go ahead -spend your hard earned pennies on them, you won't regret it'.

So ignore all the faddy 'Top Toys for Christmas' lists and go with these instead. Tried and tested by Parents rather than compiled by Marketers:

1. Lego
Far and away the winner here was Lego. It's not hard to understand why, generations have played with it and loved it, built castles and fortresses, cars and boats, kept it in attics, passed it on, passed it down, and ok, maybe cursed it once or twice having trodden on it in the middle of the night in bare feet. But that's ok Lego - we forgive you!

2. Bike \ Scooter
These two are grouped together because a number of you voted for them as one. So if your little lad already has a scooter it might be time for Father Christmas to splash out on a bike this year...

3. Dolls \ Dolls Accessories.
Barbies, Sindys, Baby Annabelle, prams, cots - they all featured highly on your lists. If there's one thing a little girl loves it's pretending to be Mummy, (and speaking from experience if there's one thing a little boy likes it's mowing people down with his sisters dolls pram).

4. Dolls House \ Train Track
Ranking in joint forth place it's a Dolls House for the girls and a Train Track for the boys. Those two are classics for a good reason.

5. Board Games
In fifth place we have Board Games which ranked just one vote higher than the highest ranking electronic game on the list - the Nintendo DS. Perhaps that's just us getting all nostalgic but I think encouraging 'family games night' rather than 'play-alone DS night' can only be a good thing (plus just think of the cost!!)

So there you have it, the Top Toys for Christmas as voted by Parent Bloggers. Happy shopping everyone!

(The list was originally going to be a Top 10 but so many toys ranked equally lower down the list that I just took the clear favourites instead).

The Crack Up

2011-11-10T08:20:00.007Z

It's finally happened.

After 5 out of 6 days of lone parenting, of nights filled with coughing and sick bowls, of 'Mum, he's wrecking my game', of 'Mum, he threw a car at my head', of 'Wah, he bit me' of 'Mummy, poo-poo, in pants' of 'Ew is that dinner?' of lost shoes, of endless washing up, of naughty steps, tantrums, meltdowns, smacked bums, no sleep, headaches and rages, I've finally hit the wall.

Either they go or I do.

Is that a joke?

2011-11-09T08:05:00.001Z

If there is one thing that tests a mothers patience more than anything else it's getting a 5 year old to understand the concept of a joke.

For some reason they just can't grasp the whole double entendre concept. Like, duh.

'Mum! Mum!'

'Yes darling'

'Why did fox go to the woods?

'I don't know, why did the fox go to the woods?'

'Because he was hungry. Is that a joke?'

'No, that's not a joke'.

30 seconds later...

'Mum! Mum! What did the baby say to the Mummy?'

*sigh* 'I don't know what did the baby say to the Mummy?'

'I'm a baby. Is that a joke?'

'No, that's not a joke'

2 minutes later and I'm still reading the same paragraph in the paper for the thirtieth time....

'Mum! Mum! Why did the cow cross the road?

'I don't know why did the cow cross the road?'

'Because he wanted to cross the road. Is that a joke?'

Shoot me now. Please.

Kate Takes on the Skylanders!

2011-11-07T08:00:00.005Z

A 'Skylanders' Review.

We had a Wii once upon a time. Given to us by my very generous inlaws. We used it and loved it until one day it stopped working. Closer inspection showed that a DVD had been inserted into it (number 1 suspect: Baxter Boy), even closer inspection showed that two DVDs had been inserted into it. Eight DVDs later I was left feeling both intensely annoyed and a tiny bit impressed.

So, our Wiiing days were over.

Until, that is, an email appeared in my mailbox asking whether the family would like to review the new Wii Skylanders game - and the Wii would be supplied to play it on. Yessss - back in the game!

Our shiny new Wii arrived over half-term with a Skylanders Starters Kit which included the game, the 'Portal of Power' and 3 Skylander characters.

As soon as BB was out of the way we set up the game and got to work.

The best thing about the game is that it's so easy to get started with. The older two seemed to automatically know what to do despite never playing anything like it before. There are a number of characters in the different 'worlds' that guide you through what to do and where to go.

Each Skylander has different powers and can enter different worlds. Meet Spyro.

There are 32 Skylander characters to collect. I know that not everyone likes this aspect of the game as it can mean extra costs but I quite like the idea of earning and collecting them. Plus it keeps the game fresh rather than them getting bored with it after playing too much.

Personally I can't really fault the game. 10 \ 10 from me.

And this is what the kids have to say:

(Not being able to fall of the edge is obviously a good thing...)

Skylander Starter Pack retails at approx. £48.99 on Amazon. Skylander Characters retail at appox. £4.85.

Disclosure: All my own views, etc etc etc.

Update: 06/12/12
Skylanders are still going strong! Both kids are enthralled by the game and we have been successfully using new characters as bribes for good behaviour. If you're thinking about this as a Christmas gift I'd highly recommend it.

Listography - Top 5 Famous Folk I Used To Fancy

2011-11-06T08:32:00.019Z

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Well we all had them didn't we?

'High School' crushes that we would stick to our Homework Notebooks or cover our bedroom walls with. Some deeply embarrassing, some that have stood the test of time.

This week's Listography is all about owning up to your famous teenage crushes. So here are my Top 5 Famous Folk I Used To Fancy.

1. James Dean
Lets start with the cool one shall we? Well yes of course I knew he was dead but that didn't stop me. I had the posters, the pictures, I even a James Dean pocket watch for Godsake!

James Dean. Still Gorgeous

2. Michael J Fox
Hmm. *puzzled face*

MJF as Marty McFly

I think it began with Family Ties and moved on with full force once Back to the Future came along. My friends and I used to pour over each others sticker albums jealously coveting the ones we hadn't yet got.

What the hell was that all about?

3. Mark Owen.
Well come on now - who could have known that it would be Gary that stole the Take That crown?

Photo Credit: Last FM

(And yes I may have moved on from the 'teenage' stage by this time...)

4. Matt Dillon
Rumble Fish, The Outsiders, Drugstore Cowboy, Singles - there was just something about Matt.

Pic Courtesy of Quicheisinsane Flicker stream

5. River Phoenix
Sigh.

Now look back through the list and spot the odd one out!

If you'd like to join in with this week's Listography it's very simple. Just write a post on your own blog and then come back here and add your post's url to the linky below. Then pop over to a few of the other entries and have a good snigger at someone else's expense.

Enjoy!

5 Reasons Why My Kids Need Their Dad

2011-11-04T12:04:00.000Z

This morning as we waved him off for his weekend away I was reminded how important my children's father is to them. Here's why:

1. When they are sick he doesn't run around the house grabbing bottles of medicine and inhalers whilst frantically thinking 'they are going to die, they are going to die, they are going to die'. He calmly deals with the situation and they are all the better for it.

2. He does all the 'pop to the shops' runs in the rain for all the necessities - milk for bottles, bread for breakfast, wine for Mummy...(well they do say a happy Mum equals happy kids).

3. When he picks them up they get to see a proper view of the world - all 6ft 2" above it (rather then a squat 5ft2" view when I do it. They might as well just stand on tiptoes).

4. When he takes just one of them out on their own for special 'Daddy Days' it makes them feel like the most important person in the world.

5. He throws them in the air, pushes them over, wrestles with them and plays rough and tumble while I dance around on the sidelines going 'ooo, ooo not too hard, careful now, mind the table, oh I can't look'.

Only two more sleeps 'til they get him back.

I'd rather be gay than a redneck.

2011-11-03T19:16:00.003Z

I've been meaning to write this post for some time.

Ever since I saw this Foo Fighters YouTube video in fact. The band had heard that members of a local Baptist Church in Westboro Kansas, where they were due to play a gig, were planning a protest due to the bands teaching of "fornication, adultery, idolatry and fags."

So the band paid them a little visit....

As you can see from their wonderful array of posters these guys have issues with gay people. Choosing a favourite from the frankly mind boggling display of placards is tricky but I'd have to go for either the rather clear and concise 'YOU'RE GOING TO HELL' to the rather bizarre 'THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS' (where they are going with that one is anyone's guess).

Of course these protesters aren't just rednecks, oh no, they are Christian Fundamentalist Rednecks. Which is a whole different ball game. To my mind they may be Rednecks and they may be Fundamentalists but they sure as hell aint Christians (pun intended thank you very much). You see I think these people are, for want of a better phrase, 'mentally challenged'.

Now they have obviously learned how to walk and talk and jeer and tape big ugly posters to even bigger sticks, but what I would really like to know is how they have managed to convince themselves that by doing this they are 'doing God's work'.

Where is it written in the Bible or in history or in their tiny brains that 'GOD HATES FAGS' and 'FAGS ARE BEASTS'? You see I was brought up a Christian and all I seem to remember is things like 'Love thy neighbour as thy self'. But perhaps my edition of the Bible was missing the 'unless he is gay for then HE IS GOING TO HELL'.

Seeing these type of protests - which believe me aren't just in Kansas - makes me feel an odd mixture of angry, bemused, amused and sick to my stomach.

Anyway, rant over. I've worn myself out and wasted too much energy on these fools but I'll leave you with the fact that today the Westboro Baptist Church have moved on from the Foo Fighters and they will instead by picketing a local funeral 'to remind the living that there is a God.'

Just the kind of people you want to meet in heaven hey?

T is for The Aphrodisiac Encyclopedia

2011-11-02T14:11:00.000Z

Courtesy of The Gallery on Sticky Fingers this blog post is brought to you by the letter T.The T that I've chosen is 'The' which coupled together with 'Aphrodisiac' and 'Encyclopedia' ends up as this:

This is not a review by the way. I've been asked to write an article for a paper on the book which, in it's authors words is 'A Compendium of Culinary Come-Ons'. Yikes.

So I'm asking for your help.

I need to road test some of the recipes so I'm leaving my fate and that of my marriage in your hands. Choose one of the T recipes below by leaving a comment and whichever gets the most votes I'll add to my experiment.

Tomato (Bloody Mary)
Truffles (Truffle linguine with savoy cabbage and lardons)
Tuna (with Soba Noodle Salad)
Tulsi Tea(no idea either)

(And let's hope that if Tara chooses U for a future Gallery my contribution won't be 'Up the duff'...)

Listography - Toys

2011-11-01T14:06:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who took part in last weeks Top 5 Toys for Christmas Listography.

I've decided to leave it open for one more week so get your posts in and get your vote counted.

Next week I will be compiling the definitive list of Toys for Christmas as voted by Parent Bloggers! If you want to know more you can read the original post here. Otherwise just linky yourself up below.

If you do I'll let you you know what's currently at number 1...

....yes of course it Lego.

Happy Halloween Mwahahahahaha!

2011-10-30T09:00:00.004Z

Silent Sunday

2011-10-30T06:51:00.000Z

Blog Gems - Trouble in Paradise

2011-10-27T11:19:00.000+01:00

Blog Gem time. Funny how all these posts from a year ago could have been written today...

A couple of years ago my sister and I started writing occasional features for the Irish Independent newspaper. Most of the pieces are just lighthearted looks about whatever is going on in our lives at the time. But it was one such piece that got her into trouble.

It was coming up to Valentine's Day and, if I remember correctly her article was titled 'Thinking of moving in with your boyfriend this Valentines? Well Think Again.' Or something along those lines. It went on to list the not so great points of moving in with your other half. For some strange reason her boyfriend took offence. I can't think why. The point is we both learned an early lesson in writing publicly about your personal life - don't publish anything unless the person you're writing about has sign off.

Aaanyway.....This week Disapproving Dad and I had an argument. Now I say argument but actually it was more like a John Wayne style stand off of epic proportions. For 3 days and 3 nights we kept our silence, both confident of our partners culpability, both quietly determined not to give in. Actually it was getting slightly comical - shuffling past each other to get to the sink, making our own individual dinners - whilst the tumbleweed continued to blow throughout the house.

It only came to an end when our friends who were due for dinner on Saturday night got wind of it and refused to come unless we were actually on speaking terms.

So, as the ice thawed and we gave each other a very public display of affection Disapproving Dad asked me 'So, are you planning to run off and blog about this now?'

'As if' I replied as haughtily as I could manage 'I would do such a thing'.

The Other Side of Lazy Parenting. . .

2011-10-25T18:29:00.000+01:00

The 3 year old is going though yet another, erm, 'challenging' phase.

This results in him shouting loudly at me until I unstrap him from the car and then running faster than his little fat ass should allow across whatever car park or green field is in sight.

Once caught he is picked up with a little more force than is strictly necessary whilst I discreetly grip his arm a little tighter than I probably should. All the while I'm smiling and rolling my eyes playfully at the other mums passing by. 'Isn't he a scamp' I'm saying 'Boys huh? Just love to run' blah, blah, blah. The rage bubbles on.

So today as I wrestled my boy outside the school gates he punched me in the face, for the second time this week I might add.

The sting of the blow was nothing compared to the thought of all those watching mothers knowing that I was getting my comeuppance for this:
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/parenting/the-lazy-mothers-guide-to-parenting-2915259.html

A Special Listography!

2011-10-23T08:00:00.135+01:00

For this weeks Listography I thought I'd do something a little different. Now be warned - I'm going to mention the C word here...

I know we haven't got passed Halloween yet but like it or not - Christmas is coming, and for all us parents that means toy buying. Now if you're anything like me your house will be already overflowing with toy:. broken toys, never played with toys, cheap toys, expensive toys, toys with bits missing, toys with sentimental value, toys you love that your kids hate, toys you hate that your kids love, the list goes on and on and on.

My biggest challenge at Christmas is finding toys that won't be discarded to the scrap heap in the playroom to sit unloved for at least a year until my next pre-Christmas clear out.

So this year I'm going to do something about it.

This weeks Listography is asking you to share your Top 5 Toys for Kids. I'm not going to go into age groups - just list your Top 5 toys of all time. Once all your lists are in I will compile the Top 10 Toys for Christmas as voted by Parent Bloggers* list and put it up here. If you want the final list to share on your own blog just come on over and take it.

To start the ball rolling here are mine:

1. Lego
Can anything beat Lego? It's the ultimate toy for me and has proved it's worth over the years. There is nothing better than hearing your kids rustling through a big box of Lego, and nothing worse than hearing that big box being turned upside down on the sitting room floor...

Image: http://www.digital-photography-school.com

2. Playmobile.
As a child I spent endless days playing with my knights and damsels and my mother still after *cough* years has some left in her house, albeit a little battle worn at this stage. My children now play with their own pirate and skateboarder sets and every time I see it them with their Playmobile I get a warm fuzzy glow. And no, that's not just the gin.

Image: http://svencentral.com

3. Sylvanians
Admittedly I was anti-Sylvanians until my sister bought the 7 year old a months salary worth of the stuff. Not having to bankrupt yourself to buy it makes it all so much nicer. She now spends hours in her room playing with her little families.

Image: http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com.au/

4. Twistables by Crayola.
I love these things. All kids love to colour but crayons get broken, pencils end up being chucked out because you can't find a sharpener, markers get stolen by younger siblings and end up all over the walls...but Twistables are pretty much perfect.

Image: http://www.daviddanielsphotography.com

5. Nintendo DS
Anything that allows Mum to have a coffee in peace goes onto my list.

To join in all you have to do is write your Listography post on your own blog, come back here and link it up to the linky below then leave the rest to me. I'll compile the 'Top 10 Toys for Christmas as voted by Parent Bloggers' and publish it here at the end of the week. You can also vote in the comments below (but make sure you leave a link to your blog), or on Twitter by tweeting @katetakes5 and using the hashtag #T10T.

Here's to not making any more costly mistakes this Christmas!

(*The Rules: It's all just a bit of fun but I do have a couple of rules.....1.Only Parent Bloggers can vote. 2. Each mention of a toy is deemed one point. 3. I may add to the rules as we go along!)

Colonel Gaddafi is dead. Or is he...?

2011-10-20T21:23:00.003+01:00

So Gaddafi is dead.

To be honest I don't think there will be too many tears shed around the world about that. What I want to know is how can they be sure that they've got the right man.

I mean, he has morphed before our eyes from this:

To this:

Young Charlie Sheen

Ok that last one may not be strictly true but you never know...

So goodbye Gaddafi and here's to a more peaceful era for Libya.

And sincere apologies to Charlie Sheen, who may have done some unsavory deeds in his time but at least he was never a crushing dictator who killed countless innocents for his own political and financial gain.

I'll leave you with the words of the big O (that's Obama to you):

'Innocent civilians were detained, beaten and killed. The country's wealth was squandered and terror used as a political weapon. But one of the world's longest surving dictators is no more. A year ago the notion of a free Libya seemed impossible.'

Disclosure: The use of Charlie Sheen in this post was purely for gratuitous seo related reasons. I do not believe that Colonel Gaddafi at any point morphed into Mr. Charlie Sheen.

Blog Gems - School of Rock

2011-10-20T12:02:00.000+01:00

Blog Gem time again...this was was first published in Sept '10. Not a lot has changed since then.

Last week I started reading 'Heavier than Heaven', Kurt Cobain's most critically acclaimed biography. It's a good read, going through over 400 interviews, medical records and unpublished journals. As Julie Burchill comments on the back 'I was in hog heaven all the way through - in a caring, wistful way of course'.

Anyway, to give it full justice I've also been listening to Nirvana's albums - mostly in the car on school runs and the like. Fortunately the kids are too young to be demanding their own music just yet and so are getting a well rounded 'education' from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, White Stripes, Vampire Weekend, to Bowie, The Stones and all sorts in between.

It was on one of these trips that I had 'Bleach', Nirvana's first fairly raw album, playing a little too enthusiastically when I get stuck in a line of cars turning into the quiet school road. As Kurt's voice blared out above the mangled drums and guitar and the boys were busy headbanging in the back, one of the school mothers crossing the road stood absolutely still and stared at me with what I can only describe as a 'what on earth are you thinking?' face. Of course I pretended not to notice whilst discreetly turning it down a notch or five. It was only later when I'd switched the CD to 'Nevermind' that I wondered what she would have done if In Bloom had been playing; it's opening line being 'Sell the kids for food...'.

This isn't the first time I've wondered about what music I'm listening to whilst I've got 3 pairs of little ears flapping in the wind beside me. Obviously there are some artists you just know you can't get away with (Eminem this morning kids?), but what about the ones you really love that just happen to have a few rude words peppering their album? Most of the time I just put it on and hope the kids won't pick up on it. Like when the Libertines sing 'I Get Along' ('I get along singing my song, people tell me I'm wrong.....F**k 'em'). Bad mother? Maybe. But what if I tell you I sing very loudly and out of tune over the bad bits? La la la la la....
Wonder what school mum would have made of that.

Easiest Halloween Decorations Ever - starring. . . . Scotch Restickable Tabs!

2011-10-18T20:01:00.016+01:00

I've been seriously slacking in the arts and crafts area for the past few months. I chucked out most of the kids' paint, glue, glitter, random pictures and various other arty stuff because I was so sick of spending hours clearing up the mess following a 3 minute art session.

So last week when I was asked whether I would like to review Scotch Restickable Tabs - 'perfect for creating the ultimate haunted house and sticking up spooky decorations' I felt a little pang of guilt and thought it would be the perfect excuse to get the kids crafting again.

I had visions of creating the likes of this:

Image source: Here

And this:

Image Source: Country Living

Or even this:

Image Source : Here

But then Reality hit me over the head with her broom and we ended up with these:

Yes that is a birthday banner stuck up with Scotch Tabs..

So how did we create this incredible masterpiece I hear you ask....

Well all you need is:

Black card
Orange card
Scotch Restickable Tabs
Scissors

And now I'll hand you over to my helper and the rather dissatisfied birthday boy.

Eh voila.

The Scotch Restickable Tabs worked really well - they're like double sided sticky tape made of gel. They stick well, can re-stick without issue (which is handy when young kids are involved) and you can wash and reuse them should you wish. My only suggestion would be that they make the actual tabs smaller as we ended up cutting up nearly all of our to make them go further.

All in all a good, easy to use product. You can find out more about it here.

Leave me a link or a comment if you have any other great Halloween craft ideas (though of course mine will be hard to beat...)

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but all views held are my own.

Listography - Top 5 Keyword Searches on Your Blog

2011-10-15T08:00:00.010+01:00

It has to be said I've been a little slack on the Listography front lately.

The past few weeks I don't seem to have managed to make it through everyone's lists and shamefully have only left comments on the first half of the linky entrants. *Hangs head in disgrace* So this week I promise to make amends and read and comment on every single one.

To make it even better I've got a lovely little Listography for you all that shouldn't test the brain cells too much - Top 5 Keyword Searches on your Blog.

I'm thrilled with this one as I always take a keen interest in how people found my posts and all the weird and wonderful questions folk type into Google.

So my Top 5 Keyword Searches of all time (excluding blog name are):

1. Peas.
Who'd have thunk it. This little post has been my biggest generator of traffic from random searches on Google. Bizarrio.

2. Naked Blondes.
I've disappointed a hell of a lot of young men with this one.

3. Listography.
Well I should think so too!

4. Chewbacca.
I bet all you Star Wars fans were just thrilled to stumble onto my little blog.

5. Off Switch.
Weird huh?

My next post is going to be about the time Chewbacca was caught in bed eating peas with some naked blondes before turning out the light with the off switch.

So please link up your top keyword searches by writing your post on your own blog and then coming back here to put your details in the Linky below.

This is gonna be a good un!

PS. My all time favourite keyword search that came up on my blog was 'Ireland is f*cked'. I'm so proud!

PPS. To find your top keywords on Blogger go to Stats - All time - Traffic Sources - and then scroll down. On Wordpress go to Dashboard - Site Stats - Search Engine Terms - This Week - All Time.

Lessons in Speech Therapy: How to improve your child's speech

2011-10-14T13:23:00.003+01:00

So last Friday I wrote about my youngest son starting Group Speech Therapy.

Quite a few of you voiced concerns about your own children's speech developement and were interested to know how I got on so I thought it would be useful to share the main tips and tricks I've learned so far.

So, my top tips for speech developments are:

1. Make them choose.
Always offer a choice, even when the answer is obvious. For example Do you want the apple or the biscuit? Do you want water or blackcurrent? Do you want lentils or Super Noodles. (Obviously mine always choose the apple, water, lentils). Make your child say which one they want rather than allowing them to point.

2. From one word to two.
Gradually increase their word count, eg. Do you want the green apple or the brown biscuit, etc.

3. Don't mind their manners.
Don't focus too much on 'please' and 'thank you' as you want to develop your childs knowledge of words and how to say them, not just always focusing on a couple of mannerly phrases.

4. Nouns to Verbs.
As parents we tend to focus on the nouns. 'I'm picking up the ball...Can you say ball?' or 'I'm washing my hands...Can you say hands?'. That's all well and good but as your child develops we need to focus on the action words too ie 'I'm picking up the ball' or 'I'm washing my hands'. The more they hear these words the easier it is for them to repeat them, so constantly point to and repeat action words in books or even just as you go about your daily business.

5. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Repeating words constantly for your child to hear is very important, as is getting them to repeat the words themselves. It doesn't have to be perfect - as long as they're trying that's good enough.

So that's it for the moment - hope it helps. Would love to know if you try any of them out and how you get on.

A Lesson in American Terms

2011-10-13T12:16:00.004+01:00

When I was almost 18 I spent a Summer working and staying in America with Frank, a good friend of my fathers.

This lovely man had opened his house and workplace first to my brother the year before and now to me. It was a great experience and I was fully immersed in American culture for 3 whole months. One evening as we stood chatting in the kitchen - no doubt eating Pretzels and watching the Vikings on TV - we somehow got onto the subject of hobbies and collecting things.

'So did you ever collect anything when you were in school?' he asked

'I can't really remember' I pondered for a moment before the memories of primary school came flooding back 'Oh yes I did actually! Fancy Paper and Rubbers!'

Frank nearly spat his root beer all over the table before collecting himself and looking rather embarrassed. After a few agonising moments we finally worked out that the correct American term was 'Erasers'. So no - for the record this 10 year old girl did NOT collect condoms along with her Fancy Paper (and btw 'Fancy Paper'? WTF?).

Anyway, this all came back to me when the lovely Ben of Esdevium Games contacted me to see if I wanted to do a review of some fun and colourful rubbers, I mean erasers. Naturally considering my affinity to them in the past I had to agree.

Unfortunately though I don't seem to have learned my lesson and have passed on the potentially life damaging term to my daughter:

(Note how I 'ordered' them and 'bought' them. Sorry Ben - you get no credit here I need the brownie points)

Now being a rubber fan I may be biased but I love these Iwako erasers. There's a huge array of types...

Iwako Koala

Iwako Giraffe and Bear

Iwako Fish

Some of them even come apart:

So they all picked out their favourites and then headed off to school to dish the rest out to their classmates.

The iwako erasers retail at £1 each and are sold through Waterstones, Toys R us, Game, WH Smith and more. They are also non-toxic and environmentally friendly. I think they'd make great stocking fillers or going home presents for parties. Darn it - maybe I should have kept them all!

Disclosure: Esdevium Games sent me the erasers, I wrote the review, no money changed hands :)

The Conundrum of the Too Tight Jeans

2011-10-11T21:49:00.001+01:00

So yesterday was pretty depressing.

I was late up which meant I spent the hour before the school run racing around making lunches, dressing kids, wiping up weetabix, finding shoes....you know - the usual. Finishing all my chores I had about five minutes left to get myself dressed so threw on a pair of jeans and a...hang on a sec....these jeans don't seem to fit me...that's odd, I'm sure I had them on the other day...

Not having time to work out the Conundrum of the Too Tight Jeans I instead whipped them off and picked another pair from the cupboard. Putting them on as I should have been heading out the door I realised, to my dismay let me tell you, that these jeans did not fit either. There was not one but two rolls of fat hanging over the waistband that was about to cut off the circulation to my stomach (in hindsight maybe not such a bad thing). So the conundrum was solved - there was no conundrum, just flab.

Disgusted I threw the second pair of jeans on the floor and put on my ever-stretchy-wait-'til-you-hear-this-Northernmum - jeggings. Oh yeah baby.

And off I went.

Now, I'm not writing this for the 'shut up you're not fat' comments. I'm just writing it to say I can't fit into my jeans anymore and it's pissing me off. I'm also writing it to say that I'm allowed to moan about my two-pack tummy looking like the 'belly gonna get you' ad without people throwing things at me and rolling their eyes. Stop rolling your eyes.

I told my sister this evening about my jeans story and the glee in her face was palpable. 'You're getting fat again' said her eyes, 'Ha ha ha' they said, 'about time too'.

Next time that girl comes 'round here I'm gonna belly slam her to the floor. Now that'll show her.

Please help the poor . . . . people who are subjected to this crap.

2011-10-10T17:27:00.000+01:00

Dear Janis Nazarovs,

You just couldn't let it lie could you?

Didn't you notice that I ignored your first mail? And then I ignored the second (identical) mail, then the third, the forth, the fifth, the sixth and then it seems I understandably lost count.

Perhaps you did too as the mails didn't stop. 'Please help the poor' you said, 'here's my bank account' you said. To be honest I didn't even read most of the sob story inbetween because I, like thousands of other people that ignored your mails, have a brain and am smart enough to use it.

What about the folk that aren't used to receiving this sort of crap though? What about the old people who use their computer as their life line and suddenly receive this desperate message asking for help?

Well that's who you depend on for your scams don't you?

So Janis, or Juris, or Delboy or whatever your name is. Please, please show a little kindness and stop sending me your shit.

Thanks and regards,
Kate

Listography - A date with Typecast

2011-10-09T07:00:00.001+01:00

So me and Ms. Nickie Typecast were chatting the other day. And somehow the conversation went from The Breakfast Club, to the MADs, to my disastrous Debs date of the 1990's (typical Nickie conversation really).

It wasn't really that disastrous, it was just that I'd been working all summer in the States and by the time I got home for the Debs all the good 'uns had been already snatched up. So I resorted to sitting in a pub whilst my friends threw out names to me of possible candidates. Finally someone mentioned someone whose name a) I recognised, b) didn't make me come out in a rash, and c) I hadn't had 'a situation' with before. It took a while let me tell you.

So I asked the guy, he accepted, Cinderalla did go to the ball, and Prince Charming turned out to be not so charming and if I remember correctly spent the night chatting up someone else. (I wasn't interested in him you understand - it was purely a matter of manners. Though I've just had a look through the old debs photos and I've got to say I can't really blame him. This was pre-GHD's after all).

Anyhoo....whilst shootin' the breeze about bad dates of the past Nickie and I decided that really it would be rude not to do a Listography on the subject. And what better person to host it than Ms. Typecast herself.

So head on over and read about her Top 5 Worst Dates Ever, I can assure you it will be, erm, interesting to say the least.

And after that you too can relive the horrors of your past by joining in. In no time at all you'll be gazing lovingly at your partner picking the dirt out of his toes across the sofa and thanking God for your lucky escapes.

That boy needs therapy.

2011-10-07T07:02:00.007+01:00

This morning my (almost) three year old starts Group Therapy.

Image courtesy of www.upledger.co.uk

No really.

Well, group speech therapy to be exact, but I'm hoping they'll touch on the other stuff too. I think it's about time the boy faces up to those sudden tearful episodes he has in the middle of the day and why he thinks the world should revolve around him.

Perhaps he just needs to delve into his past traumas, such as the time his mother only gave him a 6oz bottle instead of a 9oz one for his afternoon nap, or why she always grabs a camera and starts laughing everytime he has a meltdown. Serious shit obviously.

Anyway, I've written before about how he managed to finally progress from 'ugh, ugh, ugh' to his first words of 'Oh yeah baby', but since then he's managed to add a few more similarly spectacularly useful phrases to his collection. Delights such as 'Harry Potter' (pronounced only in a Japanese accent: Ha-ree Pot-ah) and 'Follow that car' (only he says 'follow a car' which I'm sure you'll agree doesn't really have the same sense of urgency to it.)

So I have high hopes that these youngters can teach each other a thing or two.

Although now that I think about it - if they do all end up swapping phrases I'm not sure how happy the other parents are going to be....

Blog Gems: Is it 'cause I is Irish?

2011-10-06T09:52:00.000+01:00

Time for another Blog Gem.

This post was originally written by me or my 4th day of blogging and got - wait for it - zero comments.

It would be really nice if it could beat that this time around :)

Last Sunday morning as Disapproving Dad and I sat at the kitchen table nursing hangovers and two precious solpadine, I had a moment of reckless abandon.

'Shall we give up drink for the rest of September?' I asked.

Disapproving Dad looked at me, and with the seriousness that is normally reserved for a question more along the lines of 'So, are you ready to switch off your wife's life support machine?' nodded his head slowly.

And so began our 'dry run'.

To be honest the week that followed wasn't too testing. Whereas usually we would work our way through a couple of midweek reds we instead sipped peppermint tea and smiled smuggly at each other. Then Friday rolled around.

The first call came from my sister. 'Watcha doing tonight then? Shall I pop over with a bottle?' With immense dedication to the cause I explained that she was welcome to come over but that we weren't drinking for the rest of the month. There was a significant pause before she spoke.

'Eugh. See you in October' she said, clearly disgusted, before hanging up on me.

A little later the phone rang again.

'It's just not the same' Disapproving Dad whined before I even had a chance to say hello. Once again my steely resolve held. 'No, no, no, no, no. We are not drinking tonight'.
He too hung up.

So Friday night came and went, if somewhat dull and boringly. But at least we had stuck to our plan. We woke up on Saturday morning refreshed and headache free. What a revelation! This is how it was going to be in future. Well done us!

As the day drew to a close and another long dreary evening stretched ahead I asked Disapproving Dad how he wanted his steak that night.

'Drenched in booze' he replied without looking up.

'O God, me too' I said. There was a 5 second pause.

'Red or white?' he asked as he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

Incidentally, on searching for a 'hungover' picture on Google I came across this one on Hot Glove, aptly named, 'this picture is fucking with my brain'.

Little Legacy: An unexpected find.

2011-10-05T10:55:00.001+01:00

Today I'm going to go all sentimental and join in with Alexander Residence's Little Legacy meme.

It's just the most gorgeous idea for a linky and her posts are so beautiful...in fact I order you to go over there right now and have a read of her latest one about finding an old birthday card that her beloved mother had written to her.

It's hard to sum up a person in one blog post - least of all my Dad.

He was born and brought up in Belfast, one of a family of thirteen who saw more than their fair share of hardships. They had little in monetary terms but buckets of brains.

Dad was lucky to get a good education, move to England, meet my mother and eventually move back to Ireland. By the time I was aware of his existence he had worked his way up to be a Professor of Law, and Director of Training in the Law Society of Ireland. Not bad for a boy from the wrong side of the tracks.

He was a true intellectual my Dad, which made his demise into Parkinsons and Dementia all the more poignant. He accepted it all with true grace though and held on to his humour to the very end, which came almost two years ago.

The other week I took a book out of my overpacked bookcase to lend to my mother. It was The Great Gatsby by my all time favourite author F.Scott Fitzgerald.

On opening it I unexpectedly found this:

Katie, You're at an age when this is the perfect novel. It'll be nice to remember how much you enjoyed it then when you re-read it in later life - and enjoy it again. Love from Dad. 28th May 1993.

My very own Little Legacy to pass on. Thanks Dad. x

Do you short-change your kids on their food?

2011-10-03T19:52:00.000+01:00

Otherwise titled 'Hurry up and finish those Super Noodles the lobster's nearly ready'.

We're a foodie family. Talk about it, read about it, cook it, eat it, love it. I've always been rather smug about our cooking from scratch ethos and have enjoyed becoming a better cook following years and years of forced practice.

Problem is my kids have been missing out.

Whilst I've been kidding myself that we're all healthy eaters I've suddenly realised that we are, but they're not.

This week their dinners have included cheesy pasta, cheesy 'special' pasta (that would be tortellini for anyone who's not in this family), pizza, and chicken nuggets and chips (homemade - phew!).

Meanwhile my husband and I have been eating coq au vin, fajhitas, Sicilian tuna linguine and chilli con carne.

So it seems I better hang on to my napkin to wipe that smug smile off my face and get down to some child friendly cooking.

Suggestions anyone?

Listography - Top 5 Worst Jobs I've done

2011-10-01T11:54:00.002+01:00

Or if you'd rather - 'Bottom 5 Jobs I've Done.'

This weeks Listography is inspired by a story my good friend Emma told me yesterday called her 'I Am A Very Hairy Man' story. It involves chamber-maiding, a hoover and well, a very hairy man. Remind me to tell it to you sometime.

Anyway, I'm quite sure none of my worst jobs will live up to that experience *shudder*, but here they are anyway:

1. Washer-upper.
Working in a local pub \ restaurant wiping the slops off plate after plate of leftover dinners. I did it a couple of evenings a week whilst I was still in school and would be depressed for the whole day running up to it. Eventually I worked my way up to the dizzy heights of 'Dessert Chef' and then the holy grail of Waitress. And then I was fired for my 'attitude'. Attitude? What attitude? Well FUCK YOU Mr. Spendless.

2. Very Bad Waitress, Malta
I should have known not to enter into the catering industry after my last fiasco but the options are few and far between when you've only got a holiday visa and are in an unknown country for three months. The name of the place was Snoopy's which will give you a good indication of the calibre of the joint. Unfortunately the owner thought he was running The Ritz and expected his poorly paid, illegal staff to pull out all the stops. On one of his visits to ensure we were adequately slaving away he stopped me and mentioned that I wasn't actually a very good waitress and would have to improve if I wanted to keep my job. Desperate to impress I mumbled in agreement and then watched him walk down the wooden stair case to the floor below. 'Best get on with it then' I thought to my self and started vigorously wiping down one of the tables. Which is how I managed to knock the large bottle of ketchup off the table, over the balcony and watched it smash at said owners feet. I am forever in debt to the lovely English girl who rushed down the stairs and into his furious face apologising for her mistake. Phew.

3. Technical Support, Dublin.
My first 'proper' job. Having been trained for about three weeks I still knew no more than my first day there. I had no idea what the difference between the EPROM and the Flash Memory was, whether a Kilobyte was bigger than a Megabyte or what to do when a motherboard blew up. On my first week on the phones a man called up needing to be talked through fitting his new memory inside his base unit. With my Team Leader listening in and guiding me through we were making progress, albeit slow. After about an hour the man understandably lost his patience saying 'Look, I haven't got all day here, could you just put me directly onto the guy who's talking you through all this?' I handed my headset over. The shame.

4. Fruit picking, Australia.
Sounds romantic doesn't it. Well it aint. It's bloody awful. 6am starts, back breaking work in the hot sun, and weeks of living solely off asparagus, tomatoes, cherries or whatever it was that you were plucking from the ground or branch. At the end of about three years hard labour you were handed a purse with five gold coins, four of which the farmer then took back for bed and board.

5. Norwich Union, Bristol.
I actually a had a few great jobs inbetween all these - in fact I went from earning a fortune and living in Knightsbridge to earning a pittance and living in Bristol via some time out in Thailand (or as the Irish like to say Thigh-land). Bristol was a stop gap before heading off on our next jaunt to New Zealand which would be our last big trip before coming home to settle for 'awhile' in Ireland (that was about 10 years ago now). Anyway, when my boss in Norwich Union found out what I had been previously doing in London she looked at me aghast. 'But what the hell are you doing here?' she asked. I couldn't really answer that question and shortly after handed in my notice. I still love Bristol mind, just not if I have to work in Norwich Union.

Right, that's my trip down memory lane. All good character building stuff I'm sure you'll agree. In fact I've been training my own kids for when their turn comes.

Now it's your turn. I bet you can't beat the I'm A Very Hairy Man story but I'd like to see you try. I may even reveal it in it's entirety next week (if I'm allowed).

You can link up in the linky below, or if you're new here take a look at the Listography tab at the top of the page. And don't forget to share the love by visiting some of the other entries.

Now off you go and finish scrubbing those toilets.

The Gallery: Home

2011-09-28T17:21:00.000+01:00

This week's Gallery theme is 'Home'.

Easy enough you may think. The problem is which home to choose. (I hasten to add that unfortunately this does not mean I have multiple homes in New York, LA and the Bahamas).

Do I post a photo of the home that we own. That all our children were born in and that I still love?

Or do I choose the home we live in now - which isn't ours but is where we have lived for the past year and where we will be for the foreseeable future?

Or do I choose my childhood home which I'm lucky enough to live up the road from, which my mother has lived in for over 40 years and still lives in today, which we visit weekly, which every Christmas is spent in, and which holds more happy memories than I could ever describe?

Not really a tough decision after all.

My childhood home that I wish was my family home but sadly is not.

If you want to nose around some other homes check out Sticky Fingers.

Blog Gems - School Daze

2011-09-27T10:45:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in a previous post, since I've now reached the ripe old age of 1 I am going back to my archives with Blog Gems.

I wrote this post about this time last year when it was back to school time. Unfortunately I can't say that this year has gone much better....

My 6 year old daughter started in a new school this year. We've just moved back to my home town and thankfully she was accepted into our first choice school, which has been wonderful in welcoming us into the community. 'You're not going to regret this' I thought to myself when we first got the approval letter, 'we are going to be a model family. We will go to every AGM, join the parents committee, get involved with fundraising. Our daughter will be perfectly groomed and well behaved every day - this is going to be the best decision you ever made!'.

And now back to reality.

Kaya needs to take her inhaler to school and someone small has taken it from the kitchen shelf. Along with the spare one. After a half hour of searching I find half of it and stuff it in her bag. We're now late.

I get all 3 kids strapped into the car, drive to the school, park as close as I can, get all 3 out, baby in buggy, run the rest of the way and finally get to her classroom, where I see 23 of her classmates in their tracksuits whilst she is dressed in her uniform (which now I see has a yogurt stain all down the front). Kaya looks at me like I've just put the cat in the microwave.

You see, poor girl has only had 3 PE days so far this year and I have forgotten her tracksuit on, em, 2 of those days. Not good mother statistics. So, once again I have to apologise to the teacher and promise to deliver her gear asap.

Just as I leave the school I remember the inhaler so I go back to explain to the teacher that Kaya might need it today, but you know, well it's kind of broken, but nevermind hey, it still works. Kind of.

As you can imagine I'm feeling pretty flustered by this time, but I race back home, collect her kit and fly back up the school with it. Sorry Reception, sorry Teacher, sorry Class, sorry Kaya, sorry, sorry, sorry.

Is it time for a coffee yet?

So having dropped the 4 year old off to playschool (late) I finally sit down to my well earned cappuchino, and what the hell - lets have a cookie too. Mmm, cookies, I put a cookie in Kaya's lunchbox today, which is SITTING ON THE COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN.......NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Knock, Knock. Who's there?

2011-09-26T15:23:00.001+01:00

Today there was a knock on my door.

Now usually when there's an unexpected knock on my door in the afternoon it's either my mother or someone looking for money. Sometimes it's even my mother looking for money. *

Anyway, today was no exception. As I opened the door there stood a man with the dreaded clipboard.

My mind started racing for excuses before the poor guy even had a chance to open his mouth. Normally the kids would provide me with my escape route by screaming or fighting or breaking something but annoyingly they were all behaving for a change.

'Have you seen the new ad on RTE?' the man said

'I don't actually watch Irish TV' I replied, truthfully.

'Except when you're on it' the 7 year old pipes up.

So we got to talking. About the day I was famous, about my blog, about Facebook, Twitter, how broke we are, and how difficult it is to raise money for charity in a recession.

Anyway, this lovely man who's name I failed to get was collecting for the Irish Heart Foundation. The Irish Government can't afford to help them because they've spent all our cash feeding a tiger that they couldn't control, so it's up to us to keep charities like this afloat.

Donating is easy - just click to the website. You may even get to see the new ad that's on Irish TV without even having to turn it on.

Which in fairness can only be a good thing.

Image: Irish Heart Foundation

A big thanks from me and the big man if you do decide to donate. x

*That was a joke Mum. You can put down the phone now.

Silent Sunday

2011-09-25T09:52:00.000+01:00

Listography - Top 5 Celebrities I'd like to go for a beer with.

2011-09-24T08:33:00.003+01:00

Way back in January of this year, when we were shovelling snow from our driveways and downing port by the vat full (or was that just me?) Metal Mummy hosted Listography with 'Top 5 celebrities I'd like to punch in the face'.*

She's nice like that.

Not that the rest of you were shy in joining in or anything....

Anyway, I thought it was about time that we showed those poor, misunderstood wretches a little love with this week's Listography - 'Top 5 celebrity's I'd like to go for a beer with'.

I should say here that this post was brought on by a moment of unadultorated sappiness when I was in the hairdressers last week. I was flicking through a recent Hello magazine when I came across some holiday snaps of George Clooney with his new squeeze Stacy Keibler.

Now normally I wouldn't 'read' this magazine, and if I did it would be a quick flick through in the doctors \ dentist with an air of 'I'm not really interested in this nonsense but I'm going through the motions just to make the receptionist feel better about keeping me waiting for 45 minutes'.

This time however I was completely drawn into the photos of the couple laughing together - clearly rich, clearly beautiful, clearly in love, clearly fun, clearly someone I should be having a drink with instead of being berated by a Scandanavian autocrat for having a 'fringe' that didn't belong to the rest of my hair (I had cut it myself in a moment of spontaneous ineptitude but was too scared to admit it).

Aaaaanyway........that's a rather long run in to a very simple listography. So let's continue from

1. George Clooney (with or without the girlfriend).

He's there on the right - see? Looking all loved up. *sigh*

2. Mickey Flanagan.
Ok an odd choice - but watch this and then tell me it wouldn't be fun.

3. Johnny Depp.
Because then maybe he would realise we're made for each other. (#stalkeralert)

Image: Collider.com

4. Dara O'Briain.
He's funny, he's Irish, he's funny - what's not to like?

Image: ComedyCV.co.uk

5. Lauren Laverne.
My girl crush. I love love love love love her.

Image: Ilikemusic.com

So that's my list. Time to add yours now. Just write your post on your own blog and then come back here and add it to the linky below.

Want to know more about Listography - click on the tab at the top of the page.

Enjoy your virtual drinks!!

*Maybe it was just 'punch'.' In the face' may possibly have been my addition.

Oh shit I missed my birthday.

2011-09-21T10:04:00.000+01:00

I knew it was around about now but it seems I have missed it completely.

A little bit lax seeing as I'm only 1.

Anyway, on the 14th September last year I sat down at my computer and Googled 'How to start a blog'. Actually that's a lie. I sat down at my husbands computer and Googled 'How to start a blog'.

Turns out it's pretty easy. Turns out there are loads of amazing bloggers out there that I never knew anything about. Turns out it's a teeny weeny bit addictive. Turns out I've spent the past twelve months writing, chatting, laughing, crying with some fabulous people. Turns out I got to work with Disney Jr, Netmums, eBay and landed a part-time job. Turns out there's more to this blogging lark than sitting at a computer on your own sending self-absorbed witterings out into the unknown.

Turns out I love it.
______________________________________________________________________________
Since I've now reached the ripe old age of one I've decided it's time I started participating in Blog Gems on The King and I, so I'll be posting an old post from the archives every week. You may scoff and think it's because of a lack of material...well to that I would say 'ha! do you not realise that my two most prolific material generators have banned me from writing about them?'

So it turns out you could possibly be right.

Overheard...

2011-09-20T08:30:00.000+01:00

5 year old: 'How do animals get dead?

7 year old: 'The same way that queue-mans get dead'

5 year old: 'Well how do queue-mans get dead then?'

7 year old: 'They get squashed by a car, or get really, really, really, really old'

5 year old: 'And then they go to heaven'

7 year old: 'No silly - then their bones go to heaven'

Simples.

Serious Sunday

2011-09-18T09:52:00.001+01:00

Once upon a time there was a little boy in Ireland who got sick. His mummy tried her best to make him better but when she couldn't she got very scared and so, in the middle of the night, she bundled him into her car and drove him for one hour to get to the nearest hospital. The doctors looked after the little boy until he got better, and they all lived happily ever after. The End.

Credit: Save the Children

Once upon a time there was a little boy in Africa who got sick. His mummy tried her best to make him better but when she couldn't she got very scared and so, in the middle of the night, she bundled him into her arms and walked for three days to get to the nearest doctor. She didn't make it and the little boy died. The End.

Shocking isn't it? And yet this is happening on a massive scale this very minute.

Is this acceptable?

No.

Is this preventable?

Yes.

Do you want to help?

Then take 30 seconds to Sign the petition that will be given to David Cameron this week at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Save the Children and Christine Mosler of Thinly Spread will be there to ensure our voices are heard.

It worked before, it can work again.

Want to do more? Then visit Mummyfromtheheart and read on.

Some good news: Here's the story of little Bishara pictured above: