Paultons Park: 5 Favourite Things

The new Magma ride launches 31st March 2012

Last weekend we were lucky enough to go along to Paultons Park for a press preview of their new family ride, Magma. I don't think it is any secret that I am a bit of a woss and no great thrill seeker so I did not actually ride the Magma but my brother did and he gave it the thumbs up.  Whilst it is not a Thorpe Park pull-your-hair-out scary ride it was good fun and something that could easily be ridden by kids of about 8 years or more (in his opinion).  The park markets the ride as suitable for children of 1.1 metres and 5 years or more if they ride with an adult and 1.3 metres or more and at least 8 years for the child to ride alone. None of my kids fancied braving the ride, they have inherited my scardy ways!

Before the ride starts smoke begins to pour out and this is a nice little extra which creates atmosphere and Uncle Rich tells us the views are good when you reach the top and your stomach does indeed lurch down into your shoes and then come back up again! When he looked at the ride he assumed it would be far more mild than it actually was 'it can shoot up pretty quick' was his last comment. Yes Rich, 25 metres or 82 foot in the air, that is pretty up!! The Magma looks great, it is well themed as a prehistoric volcano eruption and the staff were on the ball and friendly.

In fact this is one of the things I love about Paultons Park, the staff that you come into contact with are always fab.  Full of smiles and nothing seems too much trouble.  They must have been trained Disney Style!

I'm Just One Mum...

...or am I?

Yes, I am just one person and I am a mother so I suppose in a sense that statement is true but the crime is the word 'just'.  I am not 'just' anything and nor are you.

I do not live in a bubble; every day, every hour I am talking to people either face to face or online and I am sharing with them my opinions, my knowledge, my voice and that is where I become far, far more than just one Mum.  Us Mums do an awful lot of talking and sharing information and when we come together things start to happen.  Great things, people changing things, even world changing things. Let's make use of that influence - yes?

When I was a kid I would often hear the term 'people power' and I had no idea what it meant. You would see strikes or marches on the TV and I wondered why on earth people would do those things. I grew up with mentality that one person could not change the world and therefore why bother....  I am so pleased that I changed and learnt that if we all took that attitude nothing would ever change. Our world is unfair and the division of wealth is extremely unequal, we can all help to change that and that makes me smile and gives me hope...  hope for the future of my children, of your children, of all children.

Today I know the concept of synergy, the value of 2 or more people together is far more than those parts individually.  This is why I was so proud to come together with a number of other Mums today at the Soho office of ONE.Org to discuss how a group of us might join together to be #ONEMums and to do our part to raise awareness of the wonderful grassroots work that ONE does....  and to dare to hope that you (yes YOU) might want to join ONE too and add your voice.

Before this contact I had not heard of ONE and I am not really sure how I have missed them to be honest, I expect it is because they do not fund raise.  I'll let them explain who they are -

ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organisation that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African activists and policy makers.

Backed by a movement of more than 2.5 million ONE members, ONE achieves change through advocacy. We hold world leaders to account for the commitments they've made to fight extreme poverty, and we campaign for better development policies, more effective aid and trade reform. We also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency to ensure policies to beat poverty are implemented effectively. ONE is not a grant-making organisation and we do not solicit funding from the general public. As we have always said, at ONE, 'we're not asking for your money, we're asking for your voice.'

Over the next months and years you'll see me blogging about ONE and more than that you'll see me blogging about fighting extreme poverty and working towards a better and more equal world for us all to live in.  Idealistic some might say....  yes that is fine. Far better than being defeated and insular.

If you are in the place at the moment where you wonder why you should bother and you believe that average people will never make a difference then do please take a look at this short videoclip and know that the work that ONE and all the other wonderful charities and NGO's do is making a difference.  There are success stories, we do not have to just sit down and cry as the problem is too big.  Yes, it is massive and there is always work to be done but when you hear that -

   * 46.5 million more children started going to school in Africa between 1999 - 2008 and that

   * child deaths have fallen from 10.5 million in 2004 to 7.6 million in 2010

then you know that any help we can give is really worthwhile.

Please go and check out One.org, add your email address and lend them your voice.




It was a pleasure to spend the day with the other #ONEMums Jennifer from BritMums, Alex from Doing It All For Aleyna, Melitsa from Raising Playful Tots, Kate from Kate on Thin Ice, Michelle from The American Resident. and Laura at Chez Mummy

#R2BC - Week 13, Breaking the Routine

This week I am grateful for breaks in routine.  You know when things change and you never dared to hope that they might? A change is as good as a rest they say and I must say I have always found this to be true myself. Here are the changes I am celebrating right now -

1. Miss M is going to sleep without fuss.  This is massive and means that I am not having any anxiety during my evenings.  Miss M has slept through for a very long time now but we still had lots of fussing at bedime. 'Mum, I want the loo, I need a drink, my covers are not straight, can I have a tissue?'  etc etc  but for at least the last 2 weeks, she has kissed us, snugled down and gone to sleep, quietly!  hooray

How can we Pay It Forward?

It is now March and Christmas should be a distant memory to me but you know what?  Christmas never really leaves my mind, the whole year through I am thinking about and planning for the next Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection.  All those party bag toys and duplicate presents that the kids receive go into a cupboard and get kept ready. When I am shopping and I spot the supermarket has a pack of biro's on special for 20p I pick up 10 packs and I save them.  This kind of awareness is what saves me money and means that I can easily make at least 5 boxes from just our family.

I do fully realise that this charitable initiative is one that people either seem to love or hate and you know which camp I stand-in. As a Christian Mum, I want every child in the world to know that Jesus loves them and to feel the joy at receiving a shoebox full of small gifts that might be the only thing they receive for a very long time.

I am Beyond Popular Now.....

 Funny title, hey? Sounds like I have gone a bit big headed on you and am now seriously rating myself.  Nah, that's not it at all.

I've just had a bit of a realisation in the last few weeks that popularity has lost its appeal for me.  It's easy to get sucked in and to see your blog move up the rankings but it is all pretty meaningless really, you know in the big scheme of things. Now, I am not aiming to knock anyone here or to disrespect, I admit it, I like the rankings and the blogging awards as much as the next person but I am just keeping them in perspective, they are a bit of fun in a small part of my life.

The aim for this blog was never to be the busiest, biggest or best - it was just to be me and to help people to get to know a real Christian Mummy.  Not a perfect mummy image that a book may present or a Christian stereotype that you may have in your mind.  It was just to show that us Christians are normal too.  We mess up, we have fun, we dress OK (most of the time), we chat, we laugh and we cry but most of all we try, we live life and we enjoy it.

I mentioned to my husband a week or so ago that I seem to be being more and more overt with my faith on my blog just recently.  The mentions of God, Jesus, praying, blessings etc have increased.  I just can't seem to help myself, it is a massive part of me and it spills out of me. I know this blog is mainly read by non-Christians and I think I have done some self-censorship in the past to ensure that I did not turn off too many readers but I have got to that point in both my life and blogging journey to say sod it, if I am not your cup of tea and you don't want to visit, that is OK.  There are millions of other blogs out there you may like better but I have to be true to me and I have to mention all parts of my life if I so desire. Whilst I love having you here and reading, I am not authentic when I am not fully me. If you like me then you like my expressions of my faith too, as we are inseparable.

I wrote a post a couple of weeks back, titled 'I see you' and I loved writing it, the creativity and words just poured out of me and it was a bit of a risk.  A new style and a very overt statement of my beliefs and for a while it was my least read post but as a wise man said to me (and I had already commented to my husband too) that it is more important to be true to yourself than to be popular!

I'll leave you with that thought.....

Image Credit

Help, My Poppet has turned into the Pixie!

I've blogged before that my twinnies are chalk and cheese and that fact does not seem to be changing as they get older.  In July my girls will turn 5 and it is hard to believe that these little delicate ladies -

have turned into these not so delicate ones -

but still totally lovable luckily!

In the main I am really enjoying this fourth year of their lives, they have properly bloomed into people with full on characters and totally individual personalities. My twin mum friend Wendy told me years ago when my twinnies were born to always expect the unexpected with twins.  As soon as you label one - the naughty one, the good sleeper, the taller or anything else, they would then throw you a curve ball and swap and I totally believe her. For the first 3-4 months of her life Miss E was extremely high maintenance and squealed constantly and then Miss M thought she would have a piece of that and proceeded to squeal for the next few years. I am pleased to report that in the main neither of them squeal any longer.

More recently though, Miss E is trying her hand at being the naughty one.  This is a role her twin has had perfected for quite some time, their pet names are Poppet and Pixie after all, but now it seems Miss E is developing her defiant strand and is trying to branch out and be a bit naughty. Recent examples have seen her writing on the woodwork, cutting her PJs, writing on a kids chair, scalping her girls world and I am sure there a few others that are not instantly springing to mind.  The problem we have though is that when Miss M is naughty she can then tough out the ticking off and pull a good 'am I bothered?' face. Miss E can't, oh no she hates being told off by Mummy and comes sidling up to me saying sorry, she won't do it again and by the way 'I really love you Mummy'.

I'm sure this new phase is just about finding out who she is and seeing if she likes testing the boundaries. I can't imagine it will last long and most people would say she is the quiet or shy one, but boy does she have a fabulous talent for getting Miss M to do exactly what she wants.  If they want the same thing, who is the first to be gracious and give in?  My more subdued Miss E? Oh no, that will be the ballsy and loud one, Miss M.  Nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems on the face of it.

The important thing to remember is that everyone, child or adult is unique and constantly changing and that is the danger of labels, we grow into them. In my case as the 'fat one', quite literally!

Have you found that your children or siblings ended up being labelled?  and if so, did they end up living up to the label? 

Note: Miss M is regularly praised for her good behaviour and Pixie is just a pet name I have for her on here and not one that is spoken to her.

#SilentSunday - Magnificent and Mighty

You can find loads of other #SilentSunday photos by checking out the hashtag on Twitter 

or visiting the link up on Love All Blogs

Miss M, the Model & Competition to Win George Vouchers

When George at ASDA said to me can you dress one of your children for £20 in an 'Easter Sunday Best' outfit, I said 'sure'.  What does Mich like to do even more than blogging?  Shop of course.  I am not that much of an online shopper to be honest but having been in Asda just the day before and looked through their shelves at all the gorgeous and trendy girls clothes I knew exactly what I wanted.

Sunday best means a dress as far as I am concerned but the outfit also needs to be practical for everyday wear, so this is what we came up with and who better to model than my truly vivacious one - Miss M. 

Clothes from George at Asda, poses all Miss M's own work!  Diva in the making I am sure.

#R2BC - Blog Design, Mothers Day & Ill Kids Edition (Week 12)

Happy sunny Thursday. I hope it is as lovely where you are as it is here. It makes a real difference to my mood when the sun is shining and I can get the washing hung out on the line…. They say it is the little things that make all the difference - I agree!

It is a bumper week this week. I am have so many reasons to be happy and I expect if you have been here before the first one is pretty obvious and you might even have thought ‘ohh’ as you loaded up my page.

1. Yes, finally my blog has had its makeover, the one I have wanted for a year but not got round to sorting. I hope you’ll agree that the design is pretty triumphant. I was really lucky to be able to engage Liz at Violet Posy Design to make it over for me, she is a phenomenal blog designer and I would happily recommend working with her, she is very accommodating and delightful.
   
2. Also, I am still cheery for Mothers Day. I know I should be past that now and it is gone but I had such a lovely simple day and I felt absolutely loved - It is a wonderful feeling. When I got up I got shouted at by both my girls to return to bed as they were doing breakfast for me. So I went to read a book and Daddy took them downstairs to cook scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast and make me a nice cuppa.
   

Explaining Easter to very young children

Image supplied by Customer

This is a sponsored guest post

Something which happened the other day made me think of what the concept of Easter meant to me as a very young child.

Part of my job involves writing content and articles for a company which makes arts and crafts for young kids. There is a definite seasonal element to the crafts so each March I find myself writing a lot of Easter-related content; often about bunny rabbits and chicks and other colourful Easter symbols which are great fun for young hands to make.

Which is what I found myself doing last weekend when my five-year-old nephew Charlie wandered into my study. He asked what I was doing and when I told him he had another question.
“What exactly is Easter?”

#InnerTruth - Mindful Eating

This Weeks Update

It has been a good week, my eating has been much better and I am pretty sure I have lost some weight.  I have not weighed, as I am trying to keep my head on an even keel and staying away from the scales helps with that. I can feel it in my clothes that some weight has gone though and next week I'll weigh and provide an update.

I am still steering clear of the chocolate and I thank God for helping me through this. I still have cravings and I see chocolate and desire it but I walk away and pray and know that it is not the answer.  I also remember what Lent is about, God gave up His only son for us and the least I can do is go without some chocolate and relate in a tiny way to the sacrifice He made.

JJ is Outgrowing my Maths Knowledge, Help!

I am starting to realise that within a short amount of time I am going to be out of my comfort zone when it comes to JJ and his maths.  He is currently 8 and in year 3 at school but once a week he goes for a maths session with the year 5 kids and learns at their level.  This is because he generally does well in maths and needs to be stretched.  This has been fine up to now but suddenly things are getting much tougher and he is coming home saying he is not enjoying it so much and can I help to explain some things to him, like the chunking method for division…  oh dear, I have no idea what that is!

I am an educated woman, I have a masters degree (with distinction don’t you know! Lol)  but generally I do well in the areas that I enjoy and understand rather than those which are taught in general education at school.  Towards the end of my own schooling I did not really appreciate the lessons and I hated maths, I had a teacher that I could not understand and this meant I ended up with a D grade GCSE maths and a real gap in my knowledge, algebra, Pythagoras, trigonometry, long division – I have no real idea how to do any of them.  Give me a profit and loss account and balance sheet and I can happily analyse it and offer areas for questioning but the basics of maths – nope, not my strong point.

Saturday is Caption Day.... So what do you say?

Joining in with the super Mammasaurus today for Saturday is Caption Day.  Take a look at this pic of my girls and caption it, what is Miss E saying to Miss M?  or tell me what is happening here?  Set your imagination rolling....

Happy weekend!  Mich x

Dh has gone Veggie again & Mums quick Quorn Lasagne Recipe

I have been waiting for it to happen for a few weeks as I knew dh was planning another health kick and earlier this week he announced that he is going back to being a vegetarian.  Every time he wants to shift a bit of weight and to feel better in himself; less sluggish and bloated he becomes a vegetarian. Then, because I don't want to have to cook more meals than the minimum possible it means that the kids and I all start to eat far more meat-free meals as well and that is no bad thing from a health point of view.

Quorn is always a part of our diet, whether dh is veggie or not.  Since I met him 18 years ago he has mainly been vegetarian with just the odd times of meat eating, so for years we have eaten quorn and I have to say I like it and truly believe it is far superior to any of the generic brands of meat replacements I have tried.  What I love about quorn is that you use it in exactly the same way as you would meat but it is so much better for you. The quorn mince that I used tonight has 75% less fat than lean minced beef - what an amazing saving is that? You don't have to be a vegetarian to appreciate that, it is great for those trying to lose weight, maintain a healthy balance in their diet or looking to keep a low cholesterol diet.

#R2BC - Truly Blessed (Week 11)

I have been reflecting in the last few days on just how blessed I have been in the last 6 months or so. God is very good and I am feeling very grateful

Here are just a few of the reasons why the last 6 months have been awesome -

1. I started a new job at the end of January and I realised the other day that I have not looked back once at my old job.  I commented to dh the other day that I actually feel useful again - that is fab!
2. Since November, I have been working on a voluntary basis with a woman whose life is in crisis. Never before have I felt so many emotions and learnt so much in such a short space of time.  My life is being transformed by helping someone else.  I now have a new friend and someone I wish to journey with for a long time.
3. I am now in my 11th week of exercising every week, multiple times. It is generally accepted that it takes 66 days to form a habit and congratulations Mich, that was March 7th!
4. I attended the MAD blog awards as a finalist, I was asked to speak at BritMums Live and in November I moved into the top 25 of the TOTs100 chart and I have been sneaking up it ever since (no 11 now). So good bloggy times too.
5. I feel right at home with my family at the moment, all is good in our house.  Yes we do not have enough money to tackle things like our windows and damp problem but so what?

The cheeky little ladies at the weekend!

Then as well as the fabulous times I have had, I have so much to look forward to this year -

1. All the family are off to for a 6 day break to Spring Harvest for Easter (at Butlins Minehead)
2. I am off to Manchester for a work conference later in April.  It might be work but I expect it to be great.
3. I am taking my Mum and Nan away for a weekend to a caravan in May.
4. I have a women's weekend away with my church friends in June.
5. It is then BritMums Live later in June.
6. I have been offered a caravan Holiday in Yorkshire to review, as long as we can get a date together, all the family will be off there in July.
7. We have our family holiday to Bournemouth in August, where my parents will join us.

Then life quietens down and returns to normal!  I am a super lucky girl, aren't I? and the most brilliant thing is that they are all bargains, no expensive trips in there.  They probably all add up to one 2 week summer holiday abroad.

So over to you.....  what is making you grateful this week? What are you looking forward to?

Write a post, link it up and share some blogger love.  Leave me a comment and I'll come visit you and do the same. Tweet with #R2BC if you want me to RT your post and if you are new to #R2BC then check out HERE.

Thanks all for coming back week after week.  I really love our like-minded group.  Have fabulous weeks.  Mich x

A day at Duxford Imperial War Museum

We had a bit of a different day last Sunday, instead of going to Church the whole family joined dh and his cub pack for a trip to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and thank heavens we did.  What a fabulous day we had.  Not in a million years did I expect to really enjoy this day quite so much.

#InnerTruth - Getting Real!

It has been a good week in general, I have been super busy at work and still managed to fit in some down time - I have laid on the bed and just done nothing except tune into God, I have read some great chapters of my books and I have been for my pilates class and boy didn't I know that on Saturday morning. One of the things I have been thinking about a lot this week is getting real and being honest with myself and of course this fits in perfectly with Liska's new theme for our linky #InnerTruth.

What do you buy for Mothers Day?

I count myself as one of the very lucky ones. I have a Mum who I get on with and I adore, she only lives about 50 miles away from me but that is about 48 miles too many.  How I would love to have her just round the corner so we could go out together and my parents could spend more time with my children as I know they would love to.

My Mum and I are quite different on the surface, she is dark, I am blond. She is slim, I am not and then you look below the surface and you see that we both adore our families, we love to shop, we care about how others are and we like to help people. There are a lot of similarities and I am pleased to have taken many good traits from my Mum.  Here we are together in 2008 at a family wedding.

I am so fed up of you judging us

I just don't get it. I really don't.  What makes you decide that I am doing it wrong?  What makes you the expert on how a parent should act? Who made you perfect?  Because let's be honest, is it your job to be judging anyone?  I seriously do not think so.  For me, I start from a biblical standpoint and look at Luke chapter 6:41-42

"And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye."

You may not refer to the bible as I do, but I expect most people in life would agree that you should not be judging and condemning people for their bad habits nor the mistakes they make, as it is highly unlikely that you are without any sins yourself.

Let me ask you this?  Am I a terrible parent, one who deserves to be publicly humiliated?

No, you may shout at me, but let me tell you that when I was pregnant with my twins I was about 7 stone overweight, then whilst pregnant I continued to eat what I fancied and led the life I chose to lead.  I was not proud to be so fat but at the time I felt pretty powerless to change it.  Do you know what risks I was taking by being so overweight?  I put my babies at risk, I easily could have had pregnancy induced diabetes and I did in fact have pre-eclampsia, which of course is more prevalent in overweight women.  Whilst the pre-eclampsia was controlled by drugs and did not turn out to be a problem, pre-eclapsia is only one step away from eclampsia and perhaps death for mother and/or babies. It could have been a big deal but I am so pleased to say that no-one bothered me or criticised me for being overweight, I just received love and support.



Image Credit

More than can be said of Stacey Solomon, the TV presenter who is currently pregnant with her second child.  Now I am no media bunny, I don't generally have a clue what is going on with celebs most of the time but she has always appeared to me to be a loving mum of the child she already has.

But what did she do so wrong this last week?  Shock and horror she had a cigarette, someone please put her in the stocks for a public flogging, for this is surely a crime against our sinless and blameless society.  Our morals, ethics and example lives are so superior that surely we can all condemn Stacey for her evil legal doings.

Even worse, it was not just a one-off cigarette she has a habit of about 2 a day. Can you believe it?  I certainly can, I am 38 years old and I am pretty sure my Mum smoked during at least one of her pregnancies and it was not a major problem. It was pretty much common practise then that most people smoked and that you may still smoke while pregnant.  Times have changed in the last few decades that is for sure.

I'll make it clear now, I'm not a smoker.  I have never had a smoking habit and I hate the smell of cigarettes.  I do not advocate anyone smoking while pregnant in this day and age when we know the risks but it is not my decision to make for another person.  It is not your decision either.  In this case only Stacey and perhaps the baby's father have a say in what she should be doing.

If society is so quick to condemn Stacey and a gambling company (oh yes such a clean and pure institution) so ready to strip Stacey of her job as the Mum of the Year judge then surely they should be condemning me for my eating habits while pregnant and you for having a glass of wine or two while pregnant and what about you, who was told to rest up and you still choose to go to work? We all make our own decisions.  Most people take risks and do not live a perfect life...  but we try our best and that should be enough.

Until you walk in someone else's shoes please stop judging and condemning them.  It makes me just furious....

What do you think? Do we all have a right to judge each other?  Is it just human nature to do so?

I See You...

I woke this morning and saw You in the gentle breath on my face,

the warmth of Miss M as she slept in my embrace.

I went to wake my other daughter and I saw You there too,

as perfect Miss E reached up to kiss me good morning and ensure I was not blue.

Downstairs I went into the chores of the day and then into my big boys room,

where he was snoozing soundly and I saw You there as I kissed him from his tomb.

My drive to work was peaceful and I felt Your loving embrace,

as I anticipated the day ahead and marvelled at Your grace.

This landmark day in my new job sailed past without event,

well thank Heavens for that, as I've given chocolate up for Lent!

Back some hours later and the kids have gone to bed,

and yet again I see you and find you in my head.

Today I woke and sought You and to my joy You were there,

everywhere I looked there were glimpses of Your care.

When I remember to seek You I am never let down,

If only I remembered to do it every day then my face would never frown.

How I love you Father and wish to serve You here,

my time on earth has purpose when I keep You near.

#R2BC - Week 10, Snuggles, Blog Makeover and Spring

 

<center><a href="http://mdplife.blogspot.com"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>

Happy Thursday!  How are you today?

Short and sweet, here are the things making me cheerful right now -

1. I ran my first solo development workshop on Tuesday and it went well.  The participants seemed happy and I felt content, so I'll just await the evaluations for the final comments.
2. The superb Liz at Violet Posy is redesigning my blog at the moment.  The big reveal won't be until some time in April but I am excited, the snippets I have seen so far are good.  It all feels a bit scary but good scary!
3. Dh has been away for a couple of days and I missed him, it was nice to have him back in my bed last night.
4. I am looking forward to a chilled weekend - nothing on Saturday (well actually Miss E and I have a date with the play doh) and then off to Duxford air museum with the Cubs on Sunday and maybe I'll talk dh into a nice dinner somewhere on the way home!
5. I am loving the relationship my little ladies have with each other at the moment, just look at them -

I also asked the kids what was making them cheerful right now and here is what they said -

1. JJ - A great night at Cubs, we played some wicked games.
2. Miss E - my new glitter glue pens, 'I can make you a pretty picture Mummy'.
3. Miss M - Popcorn and snuggles with you Mummy.

and finally from dh, his gut response to my question of what has made him cheerful today - 'coming home'.  Great minds think alike. He then pondered some more and decided it was because spring was on its way and he had some extra helpers at cubs.

Over to you.  It is that same questions as always.  What is making you feel cheerful/ grateful at the moment?  Write a post and link up.  Leave some comment love here and I'll be sure to come visit you.  Leave some comment love on some of the other blogs and brighten someones day.  Last week we were back to our hardcore members after all the joiners in Jan/ Feb, we'll see what this week holds.  Don't forget to tweet your posts with #R2BC and I'll try and RT all tweets this week.

Enjoy your weekends, Be blessed.  Mich x

#TheGallery - Light

I have not joined in with the Gallery for quite some time but this week I wanted to break that and make it happen. This was the first linky I joined in with two years ago and it still reigns supreme.

This weeks theme is light and as soon as I read that, I knew the photo's I wanted to share. These photo's were taken on Bognor Regis beach in the late afternoon in September 2006.  JJ is 3 and he is sharing some time with his Daddy.  I love the relationship my boys have, it is a very special bond and they love to spend time together.

The Ultimate BritMums Live Meme

Not long now peeps...  We are already in March and that means there is just 3.5 months until BritMums Live and that means I really need to get my butt in gear if I am ever going to lose some weight and feel super tip-top at this event, that I need to speak at - ekk!

I am being a bit of a cheat and using this post as both the BritMums Meet & Greet which is hosted over at Stepford Wifey and also the Ultimate BritMums Live Meme which is the brainchild of one nosey blogger called Claire, who blogs at A Boy with Aspergers.

Name:  Michelle

Twitter: @michelleTwinMum

Blogs: Mummy from the Heart...  & Honest Mummy Reviews & Recommendations

What do I look like?:  Long blond hair, blue eyes, 5ft 4" and lots of curves!

#Mumentum - God Didn't Screw Up When He Made You!

After a weekend of mostly staying away from the computer and being kind to myself, taking time to just be, I sat there last night and wondered what on earth I was going to type for my #Mumentum post.  There is no great news to share, I have been worn out in the last week, not exercised much and eaten what I fancied. The success story is that I have still not had chocolate but I don't think that is enough to make a whole post from.

So I did what I always do when I am feeling like something is an effort, I turned the laptop off and went to bed.  One good sleep, an hours exercise and a nice shower later and I sat down and prayed, Lord what do you want me to share on the blog today?  Immediately I felt called to find a song that might convey the right words.  The tough thing there was I had no idea what the right words were, so I typed Christian Song into YouTube and after jumping around a few videos I realised I wanted to listen to a song called Our God Reigns by Delirious?.

Of course, I now realise this is where I was supposed to go and what I was supposed to listen too.  I find this song incredibly powerful, it is not particularly a comfortable song to listen to as it hightlights many of the ways that the world has fallen and broken but some words in the middle really caught me and I need to keep remembering them.

God didn't screw up when He made you,

He is a father who loves to parade you

This song reminds me to keep trying, to never give up, to lean on God and to accept and love myself for who I am right now.

Go on, have a watch.  You don't have to be a Christian, I am not trying to convert you. This is just a really interesting song with a superb message. You might be surprised to see the big audience Delirious? are playing to.  I am not sure if it is a Church or a concert.

I know this is a bit of a different post for #Mumentum but I have to post what is on my heart, as afterall this weight loss journey is for me. Thanks for reading and for your continued support.  Mich x




 

Don't Tell Me What You Love, Show Me!

Let me ask you a question.

Where do you spend your time?

Look at your average week and see how your time is taken up. Some of that time will be spent on tasks that really are a necessity, such as sleeping, eating, personal care, childcare, housework and maybe paid work.

Other tasks will be those things that you choose to undertake - reading, exercise, blogging, playing with the kids and such like. How much time you actually spend on each tasks will be a very personal thing.  For some you may have a contract with your employer that says you will undertake 20 hours paid work per week but because your work ethic is high and you think that paid work is very important you may actually put in 40 hours instead. Or you may be the kind of person that feels a pristine house is the height of importance and thus you spend 20 hours a week making sure it is really nice.

#R2BC - Week 9 - No Words Necessary!

<center><a href="http://mdplife.blogspot.com"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>

Good morning cheery peeps.  You are cheery right? I sure hope so and if not, then take a peek through my photos and feel my cheer.  I had a wonderful weekend with the lovely @SeasiderClare and her little man J and last weekend forms this weeks #R2BC post...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Popcorn and a late night - perfect for 4 year olds!