Wordless Wednesday - There go my plans for the Weekend.

Milton Keynes: Where I live and why I love it

A few weeks before my seventh birthday my parents moved with my sister and I from Garston (just outside of Watford) in Hertfordshire, to a town called Linslade in Bedfordshire. Linslade is right next door to a town called Leighton Buzzard, in fact if you wanted to go shopping you had to go to Leighton Buzzard as that is where the high street is.

Leighton-Linslade (as it is known colloquially) is one of those places that is brilliant to live but really rubbish to visit. Unless you are on a canal trip, into WW1 aircraft the Vimey Bombers, interested where Mary Norton who wrote The Borrowers lived or want to see where The Great Train Robbery happened. For those in to popular music Kajagoogoo and The Barron Knights were formed in the area (and I use to live two doors up from Stuart from Kajagoogoo and I use to speak with one of the Barron Knights when I was a credit controller!) and if you want something a little more scary The Fox was in the area and caused a big todo in the summer of 1984.

Okay so maybe it isn't that bad.

Of course there were times when you wanted something a bit more exciting, like a trip to McDonald's or a trip to the cinema or even a trip to C&A's and for that you would have to go to Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes was shiny and exciting and where I moved to when I got married to Daddy, in 2001.
Milton Keynes has been the butt of many jokes in the past due to the impression that it is a concrete city with an extraordinary number of roundabouts, but this is not the real Milton Keynes. That is not the Milton Keynes that I have fallen in love with. Did you know that here in Milton Keynes there are more than 22 million trees? For a town that is 34.1 square miles that's not bad going!

Of course we do have concrete cows, a concrete snowman and lots of roundabouts, but we also have a fantastic shopping Centre, which is so fantastic that Cliff Richard recorded a music video there. I would of put the video into this post, but for some reason Cliff doesn't want me to share the worlds greatest music video in my blog post, so you will have to go and see it at YouTube. Go on go watch it, I'll wait.

Cliff is to Tennis as Strawberries are to Cream.

Did you watch the video? Speed Boats, sports cars and roller skates. Tell me its not the best music video ever and I shall give you your crazy certificate ;) The best bit (IMHO) is the skating up and down past trees and a big brown wall, which is actually the external wall of the Milton Keynes John Lewis! If you look you can actually see that the wall tiles spell out John Lewis!.

Oh and the shopping centre doesn't have a C&A anymore, but it does have banana trees!

As you saw in the Cliff video, there is a lake in Milton Keynes. Actually there is more than one, there are several and each lake is great for walking or running or cycling round. In fact the whole of Milton Keynes is great for walking or running or cycling round. Then are a number of redways (the local cycling routes) that criss cross the city with over 280km covered and a lot of paths that mean walking from the local Hospital to Ikea (as I did once with Top Ender and Baby Boy) doesn't take that long and can be done without crossing a major road. This is because of the number of underpasses and bridges (more bridges in Milton Keynes than there are in Venice you know) and the fantastic grid road system.

An underpass, makes it safe to cross a major road

Of course you don't have to walk as Milton Keynes was designed for the car, (as the grid system proves) but with being green and environmentally friendly so important we have a fantastic public transport service, with all parts of the city being accessible by bus (well there are some disputes about that, but I can get where I want by bus if I need to) and by train. There are five train stations in the Milton Keynes area (six if you include Woburn Sands, but technically it is just out of the area) and if you think that the train station at Central Milton Keynes looks familiar you might be pleased to know that it was the UN Building in Superman IV... (and I saw a bit of it being filmed on a day out!)

The Roads in Central Milton Keynes all numbered too, and referenced as either a "V" or a "H" road. That's right there are vertical and horizontal roads. It makes it very easy to not get lost and to work out where you are and is why you will often here locals talking about not being on the H8 at rush hour. The rather brilliant thing about Milton Keynes being set on a grid system if you ever take a wrong turn it is very easy to get back to where you were a few moments before! All we need now is an underground service and we would be set!

Not really an underground system, but a map of Milton Keynes!

It has been said that Milton Keynes has no culture. This really annoys me because people don't look at Milton Keynes more than seeing that it has a grid system and houses which at first glance all look the same and that it is a "new Town" built for people to move to who lived in London. We have an Art Gallery and a Theatre, we have art trails, sculptures in public places, buildings which are beautiful to look at (the Art Gallery won an Architectural award in 2008), Churches with history (St Marys in Bletchley for example has what looks like a Wine Glass in the external wall, but its is really part of a tomb that was reused), there are places to go to to listen to live music such as The Stables ( Dame Cleo Laine and the late and great Sir John Dankworth set it up) and there is even an international festival planned for July 2010.

To you Milton Keynes might just be a place on a map, but to me its home and I love it. And if you ever want a tour just let me know!

Play-Doh Fun Factory review

When I was little my sister and I would often play with Play-Doh. One of our favourite games was to pretend we worked in a Play-Doh Cake Factory, where we would make cakes and then put them in our shop window (bottom of our wardrobe) whilst we got on with serving the customers at the counter (the long desk we had in front of our bedroom window). Had we have had the Play-Doh Fun Factory, it would of been so much quicker on the cake production line!

These days Play-Doh is still a big favourite in our house. I do insist that whenever we play that we do so on a tray just like I was always told to do as a child. I think my Mum was sick of us treading Play-Doh into the carpet. Anyway when the opportunity came up to review the Fun Factory which is being made extra special because Play-Doh turns 50 this year (I know, doesn't look a day over 21 does it?) , I knew that if I said No Top Ender would of disowned me.

Now I know that Play-Doh is supposed to be for Children over three (or at least this product is) but I don't let Baby Boy eat it anymore and so I let him join in with the fun with Top Ender and I. Look you can see his foot in this picture of the Fun Factory.

Baby Boy, Top Ender and I played with this for at least an hour, making all the different shapes and then making various other things from the shapes we made. It was great, with Baby Boy and Top Ender taking it in turns to choose a shape and then to squeeze down the purple handle to make the shape. They let me have a few goes too which was nice, although not as much fun as when I played with it on my own that evening!

The red dial on the front was soon removed by Baby Boy, so that he could clean off bits of escaping Play-Doh and when he did that he discovered a secret little storage area underneath the red dial to store the Play-Doh pots in, which I thought was a great little touch! Although you don't need to remove the dial to find this.

The best bit of the play session was when Top Ender made some earrings from the red Play-Doh (Baby Boy got the blue Play-Doh because that is a boy colour you know) and Baby Boy cracked up at my impression of Roy Evans (you know from Eastenders)

"I don't like your Earrings..."

We got to keep the Fun Factory, but if we hadn't had fun with it then I would of told you!

First Strawberries of the Season

Whilst I was taking a time out (okay I was skiving off the hard work), Daddy took the Top Ender and Baby Boy out into the garden. He was going to mow the lawn and the plan was that Top Ender and Baby Boy would play in the play house and move the play things in the garden as and when Daddy needed them to be moved.

I had just closed my eyes when Top Ender came bouncing in and asked if she could pick a strawberry from the Garden. Daddy had already looked and confirmed that some were ready for us to pick and so I agreed.

Baby Boy got in on the act too and they both appeared a few minutes later to show me their first picks. Top Ender took the crop and gave it a quick wash before they both reappeared to show me the reactions to the first taste. As you can guess Top Ender thought they were beautiful and sweet as her grin proves it!

As you can see however Baby Boy wasn't as impressed to start with as his Snape sneer shows through with his first bite.

I didn't take a picture of me eating my first one, (because I am just not as cute as Top Ender and Baby Boy) but believe me it was tasty!

Top Ender Giggles - The gift that keeps on giving

As we were walking through the car park of the Airshow on Fathers Day, Top Ender suddenly stopped, bent down and picked up a shiny £1 coin.

We congratulated her as we carried on walking to the air show as we were in a nice long line of people and promptly forgot all about it in a discussion over if we should have chips or ice-cream first.

Later on that day we were digging on the beach, when suddenly Top Ender found another £1 coin!

"Its your lucky day Top Ender!" I told her
"Yes it is, will you look after it?" she asked
"Of course, you get back to your digging!" I prompted hoping she might find some more money

When Daddy came back from the waters edge with Baby Boy I showed him the £1 coin that Top Ender had found and explained she had found it in the sand.

"Top Ender?" called Daddy
"Yes Daddy?" answered Top Ender
"Where is the £1 you found earlier today?" he asked with a grin
"In my pocket... oh!" she answered as she couldn't find the coin
"Top Ender, you found your own money in the hole!" answered a laughing Daddy

Tell us Your Story

This is not a Sponsored Post, this is a post where someone asked me to let as many people I could know about a fantastic campaign and after reading what it was I agreed.

I don't read the news, I don't watch the news. I even have a few lovely people on Twitter who if they see a news story that they know will upset me give me a warning to make sure I stay away from the news. I don't watch or read the news because of all the bad in this world. I was lucky I grew up in a home that sheltered me from a lot of the horrid truths of the world; Until we became a Foster Family that was.

When we became a Foster Family I was Ten, young enough to still believe in magic and that I really was getting a pony because I had wished for it (and because my Uncle had promised me one when I was four) but old enough to know that not everyone in the world was as nice as my parents.

Some of the children that were with us were there because of parents in hospital, because they were going to be adopted. My parents never told my sister and I why some of the children were with us though. We knew though, we heard parts of whispered conversations.

And in the last twenty years things haven't got better. Every year in the UK, 100,000 children run away because they’re unwanted, unloved or abused and many are never reported missing. This figure breaks my heart.

Tell Us Your Story is giving people the opportunity to recognise and reward others who have made a positive impact on their lives or in their community over the past year. Entries are submitted online at http://www.avivatellusyourstory.co.uk/

Launched by Aviva, for every entry they will donate £1 to the Street to School Programme - a global initiative with the aim of reaching 500,000 children worldwide, helping them get off the streets and back into education.

A weekly prize of £1000 will also be awarded to the local hero that captures the hearts of visitors to the site and receives the most votes. One overall winner will be chosen by a celebrity judging panel for a prize worth £10,000. If you know someone who you think should be recognised for the good they do, then get on over there and tell the Story!

Christmas Club - June

In six months time it will be Christmas Day! Yes, that thought does excite me and yes I realise what means to the view that you have of me!

There is a lot that changes over the next couple of months, shops start thinking about putting Christmas displays out, adverts for Toys will start being noticed by children more than normal, catalogues will start being circled and its time for grown ups to start working out budgets and who is sleeping where when Grandparents stay over at Christmas!

Almost to prove the point that shops have already started preparing for Christmas I have been invited to preview the John Lewis Christmas preparations next week, and they will be giving me the lowdown on what products are set to be hot this Christmas and what else will be trending. Maybe this year we will know what the children in our lives want for Christmas before they do!

This month for Christmas preparation it is all about the lists. I need lists for everything, lists of what gifts to get, what gifts I have got, who is getting a card, who is getting a visit, what gift wrapping products I need, what batteries I need, what clothes we need and of course a list of lists would probably be good too!

Don't forget if you write a Christmas letter or round robin, make a note of what has happened this month!

The Brio Pull Along Helicopter

Yesterday Baby Boy was really excited about the postman coming; I told him that when he did there was going to be a parcel for him to open. At the slightest sound from the front door he was running to the gate to check if it was for him. When the parcel did arrive he sat waiting for me to open the outer packaging before he could delve in to see what had arrived for him... It was a Brio Pull Along Helicopter from the online store Hello Baby.

"It's a PLANE!" screamed Baby Boy as he looked in the box "PLEASE OPEN MAMMA!"

As soon as the Helicopter was out of the box, Baby Boy stared parading it up and down the living room. If I stopped watching him march up and down I was reminded that my job was to watch him as long as he wanted me to by an excited;

"Look Mamma!"

When I finally got a look in the toy was brilliantly put together. It's solid, brightly coloured and even the string is in securely (I gave it a good yank!).  As you pull it along, the blades on top of the Helicopter spin round. The faster the Helicopter is pulled along, the faster the blades turn!

The Bright Green Wooden Helicopter is made by the Swedish company Brio and has a bright Orange non-removable pilot. It is suitable for children aged 19months plus and kept Baby Boy and Top Ender amused just walking it up and down the living room. It is a great toy for encouraging children to walk and at £9.99 is a very reasonable price.

Baby Boy loves the Helicopter and decided that it was going to go everywhere with him. He had lunch with it, he sat with it whilst he was on the potty and he took the Helicopter to school when it was time to pick up Top Ender. I had to walk behind at a suitable distance so as not to get in his way...

It ran as well on the pavement as it did on our carpet as you can see in this short video!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ46dv8vcio)

Even when the Helicopter falls over due to over excited pulling it rights itself, which was just fab as I didn't have to worry about flipping it back over!

There are a couple of things that I noticed with this toy, that did make me wonder. The first is that there is no aglet on the end of the string that the child holds. After just a few hours of playing the string started to fray, this was easily solved with a quick couple of coats of clear nail varnish. The second is also about the string and that due to it being long enough for a child to pull along behind them it can only be used under supervision, again no problem for us but just something to be aware of.

When Baby Boy took the toy to school, the Helicopter bounced around a bit and the paint on the wheels became chipped and started to flake off. It hasn't affected anything, other than aesthetics for me; Neither Top Ender or Baby Boy have noticed and they still squabbled over who got to play with the helicopter!

If you are looking for a toy, or a pram or one of the many other things that Hello Baby sell then you should head on over and take a look at everything they sell!

Baby Boy Giggles - Everyone has a price!

Baby Boy was sitting in his buggy as he has been running down the beach and Daddy and I needed to keep him safe (there were planes flying above us, it was a real safety precaution!) rather than worrying that a plane might land on top of us.

"Baby Boy, can I give you a kiss?" Daddy asked
"NO" answered Baby Boy annoyed at being in the buggy
"Baby Boy, can I give you a hug?" Daddy asked
"No" answered Baby Boy starting to enjoy the game
"Baby Boy, can I give you a sweet?" Daddy asked
"No" answered Baby Boy
"Baby Boy can I give you some money?" Daddy asked
"Yes Please!" answered a suddenly excited Baby Boy

Things I never thought I would say in a Swimming Pool

Every Wednesday night I go swimming. Daddy and I take it in turns so that Top Ender and Baby Boy aren't left alone, because we are sensible parents. Its also easier to go swimming when Top Ender and Baby Boy are in bed as I don't have to worry about exposing myself to other patrons.

Last week there was nobody in the pool when I got in. This suited me fine. I was able to swim up and down on my own being ignored by the lifeguard (well not ignored, just not watched as that would be creepy) until a couple of young lads got in the pool and I had to stop pretending to be Sharon Davies and got out to go home.

This week however there were a lot of people in the pool and I said a lot of strange things. Like after accidentally catching up with a woman who I was sharing a lane with and almost sniffing her feet;

"Its okay I haven't got a foot fetish"

She got out the pool a length after I said that. I am going to pretend that it wasn't because she was scared of me.

A bit later I was talking to a Mother and (Hottie) Daughter team, about how to kill a young swimmer who didn't appear to belong to anybody and who was swimming across the lanes pretending to be a shark, or quite possibly did have some underwater watching people swim past fetish. I think we decided in the end that we should all just push her in to the next lane but there was also talk of a concrete jacket...

Hottie Daughter could of been in a James Bond Film in the swimming costume she was wearing and of course with the amazing figure and incredible looks that she had. Her Mum joked that she only came to show off to the Life guards, but honestly if I looked as hot as she did then I would be forever at the pool in a slinky costume. A quite worrying conversation (for them, for me it was normal) led to me asking the lovely Mum;

"Can I kidnap your daughter for her body?"

Not sure if it is more worrying that she said Yes or that I was already planning what I would need to carry out a brain transplant...

Coming soon to a body of water near you... Stalker Pippa!

Wordless Wednesday - Wet Wet Wet!

Motherhood Gallery Post

These two photos to me represent Motherhood, giving the support and the love that each child needs in order that they can fly high.

The trouble with being a Girl

What am I going to wear to CyberMummy? Sian over at MummyTips is hosting a blog hop on this very subject. I think that she should wear a LBD....

As much as I don't care about what I look like it is actually a big issue for me, you all know that I am overweight (I told you all and showed you pictures of me in my undies!), but I still want to look nice. There is a reason that people DO judge books by their covers you know.

I could wear my new jeans which fit lovely (and someone other than Daddy told me gave me a nice bum) with a lovely top that can then be glammed up in the evening.  Yet what would you think of me if you were glammed up and I were just wearing jeans and a posh top?

I could wear a dress, but I only have one that fits and its not suitable for day wear. And I have already said I will save my Judy F impression for The MAD's.

I could wear a skirt but then I have to wear tights and what if its hot? Plus you really don't want to see me sorting myself out in the toilets all day do you!

I could wear trousers, but that is practically a uniform for me these days. At least I know that I would be comfortable, but what would happen if I got too comfortable and forgot where I was? Would you all tell me if I got a little too comfortable and started stripping off?

I could go with my suggestion of Sandy in Grease when she has stopped being prim and proper, but I don't want people to judge me on my looks rather than my brains.

So what will I wear? Well you will just have to wait until the day to find out... who knows maybe some lovely plus size clothing company will tell me that I should wear a fab outfit from them!

Now how should I do my hair?

Are you not going to CyberMummy 2010?

I have been very lucky in having been sponsored to go to CyberMummy 2010 by Huggies. I know that I have told them a couple of times already but I am really really grateful for this opportunity and I just want to tell them again, so THANK YOU HUGGIES!

Some people who read this blog and who chat with me on Twitter have said that they aren't going to CyberMummy, but they still would like to know what is going on. The organisers came up with the genius plan of having some official live bloggers for the sessions and as I was already planning on taking lots and lots of notes I volunteered to be one of these bloggers... and the organisers accepted my offer!

So on July 3rd I will be bringing to you live what is going on at the CyberLabs at 12Noon.

There are two CyberLabs in this session; Part one is on Libel and titled "You b****! What you can and can't say on your blog" and Gayle Trigg who is a mummy blogger, Twitter-holic and a solicitor who specialises in Internet and data protection law (at commercial law firm Wragge & Co LLP none the less) is going to be giving legal and libel advice. I just hope that I pay attention and don't say anything libelous...

Part two is on Site Design and about how to make your blog more appealing to readers. Advice and tips will be given by Yusuf Hoosain from Glam Media. Hopefully if Yusuf looks at my blog the changes I have made recently will meet with approval!

Getting to know... ME!

Sometimes when I look in the mirror I get a bit of a shock as the person that is staring back at me isn't what I think I look like. I don't mean weight wise or looks wise, but I think a bit more cartoony. In my head I look like this;

Now I don't mind looking like I do, I need to lose weight (its okay I know I am fat), I need to sort out my hair (hmm where is Playground Mum Hairdresser lady when you need her?) and some clothes that showed off my good bits would probably be a good investment. This is how most of you probably know me as it is my Twitter avatar.

But then if you want a full body shot, you should probably look for me in this photo...

I feel like Wally or is it Waldo?

 The lovely (and very beautiful) Carly at Mummy's Shoes has got a list of some people who are going to CyberMummy and its a great way of finding out what everyone looks like!!! So here are my details... please refrain from stalking me!

Name: Pippa D. The D is important to me
Blog: Well your here, its A Mothers Ramblings (also found at http://www.amothersramblings.com/)
Twitter ID: @PippaD
Height: 5ft 6 and a half. Again the half is very important.
Hair: I was Blonde, but now I am Brunette and I might be a different colour by time CyberMummy comes round...
Eyes: Green unless I am angry in which case they are Grey.
Likes: Food, Dr Pepper, Swimming, Dr Pepper, Sleep, Dr Pepper, People telling me I am funny, Dr Pepper, American TV programmes and Dr Pepper.

I really fancy some Dr Pepper right now. I have no idea why.

Little Dish Purees Review

As you may remember once a month we have a cheat night for dinner, which normally involves a walk round one of the local Supermarkets and us picking up a prepacked meal. Top Ender and Baby Boy are quite fond of the Little Dish meals and will chose a favourite meal out of the range (see The Little Dish Review if you want to know about them) and everyone will be quite happy.

The other week though I noticed a new addition to the range, a puree in a pouch and I thought that it must be aimed at the weaning market. A smart idea in my opinion because the purees are the sort of thing that I made for Top Ender and Baby Boy when they were both learning to eat solid food, and because they are fresh they are a good alternative when you realise that you have run out of ice cubes of mashed butternut squash or potato and parsnip which my two were very fond of.

I didn't think much more of it, even when my sister mentioned that she had seen them and that they do fruit flavours too.

The Little Dish asked if we would like to try some. Even though Top Ender and Baby Boy are well past weaning it was suggested that these would be good as a snack or a dessert because the pouches make them easily transportable and they can be out of the fridge for up to four hours.

When the package arrived I was just about to go on the school run, so I quickly signed for the package ran up to school and let Top Ender open it when we got back.

They sent them to me in a lovely little cooler backpack which Baby Boy has obtained from Top Ender!

Top Ender having a check of what it contains

Theres more!

She pulled out six pouches;

• Butternut Squash, Carrots and Apples,
• Sweet Potatoes, Parsnip and Leek,
• Peas, Pears and Apples
• Strawberries and Apples
• Blueberries and Apples
• Mangos and Bananas

I could of been an artistic director, look at how I arranged these!

The three savory pouches were passed over and she and Baby Boy tucked into the three fruit pouches. Baby Boy was expecting something less thick I think, but he was very pleased with the taste and kept telling me it tasted of Strawberry (he had the strawberry one!) and Top Ender really liked the Blueberries and Apple one. I was left with the Mango and Bananas one (which was fine by me as I like both fruits) and it was very strong so probably not a good one for my two to taste.

I didn't want to waste the savoury pouches and so I passed them to a friend who is a few weeks into weaning her little one. She let her little one try all three and there wasn't a drop left if the bowl that she squeezed them into! They of course passed the Mummy taste test too, with my friend commenting that if she got hungry later in the evening she might end up just sucking on one of the pouches herself!

The three fruit pouches are something that I would consider buying again for snacks when we are on our adventures, as the packets are quite robust and the price (£1.19 for one or two for £2) is reasonable for a healthy on the go snack of this sort and style.

Yummy yummy yummy, food for my tummy!

So if you want to try these head for your nearest chilled foods aisle in your nearest Tesco's!

Wordless Wednesday - Vox Pop (The Family) by John Clinch and me.

I know this is wordless, but just pretend you can't see this. In Milton Keynes shopping Centre there is a lot of Art including these Bronze statues by John Clinch,This multi-racial ‘family’ walk a dog, cycle and push a baby buggy following a circular path, encouraging visitors to walk round them and examine the detail of the sculpture... or in Baby Boys case work out which one was him.

Oh and yes you have my permission to not laugh at Daddy's T-Shirt.

A Gurgle Blog Award Nominee!

This evening when I logged into my email, I found that I had an email from Gurgle.com and have been nominated for a gurgle blog award in the best funny mummy blog category.

I was a little shocked as I didn't know that the lovely people at Gurgle read my blog, but I was also really pleased because someone other than me and Baby Boy thinks I am funny and I don't think they mean the way that Daddy thinks I am funny (straight jacket funny).

So what I would like to do is just say thank you to the lovely lovely people at Gurgle and offer Nifa McLaughlin, Tor Brierley, and Myleene Klass a special once in a lifetime offer of something really cool if they all vote for me... (cos they are the judges you see).

Baby Boy Giggles - BEANS!

"Who do you love Baby Boy?" I asked

"I love Mummum and Daddad and Top Ender" he answered
"Who do you love Top Ender?" I asked
"I love Mummum and Daddad and Baby Boy she answered
"Who do you love Daddy?" I asked
"I love BEANS!" answered Daddy
"BEANS!" I exclaimed
"I love Daddad and Daddad loves beans!" laughed Baby Boy

Now whenever we ask Baby Boy who he loves he just laughs and answers

"BEANS!"

One face covered in bean juice.

Top Ender Giggles - But it's shiny!

In Tesco, the staff are giving out Topps Match Attax cards when you spend over a certain amount (I think it is £25) and as such Top Ender has been collecting them (anything that's free is welcome) and spent the car journey home marvelling at her newest additions.

She passed me a card to look at that had an attack score of 100. Looking at the card I realised that knew who the player was and said to Daddy

"Oh look its the naughty John Terry"

Top Ender took the card back and asked why he was naughty.

"Well he went on a date with a lady even though he was married, and the lady was married, and even worse the lady was married to his friend!" I answered
"Well he's still shiny!" answered Top Ender

Wordless Wednesday - If you see a big tree you have to explore inside of it!

Baby Boy Giggles - Is anybody there?!

Happy Birthday Maw

When my Gran died Top Ender was quite upset and would often ask if she could call her. She knew that she couldn't really speak with my Gran, but she liked me to pretend to talk to her on her hand phone, by having me pretend to be my Gran (in my fake heavy Scottish accent) and tell her that I (as my Gran) loved her and missed her and had been watching her on my special Heaven TV.

Yeah you get to watch people on earth on your TV in Heaven. You can also watch any other TV channel that you like and there are no advert breaks; There is a channel of adverts that you liked or would of liked had you seen them. God is clever he knows how to sort things like this out.

Anyway the other week, whilst we were all in the Car, Top Ender realised that she hadn't spoken about my Gran for a while and that it would of been her birthday in a few short weeks (it would of been her 80th Birthday the day that Smallest Cousin was born) and so decided to call her on her hand phone.

"I'm going to phone Nanny Maw" said Top Ender holding her hand phone to her ear

She dialled a few buttons and waited for the connection to be made and just before she spoke we heard

"Hullo?!" in a very deep almost Scottish voice
"Hello Nanny Maw, its me...." answered Top Ender

Daddy and I looked at each other, eyes wide (and I was ready to change my under wear) before we realised that it was Baby Boy talking and Top Ender wasn't really talking to my dead Grandmother!

Making Friends Sucks - Part Five

See that man over there? He was talking about me.

I don't like to be talked about. I don't mean the sort of blog post that Karin at Cafe Bebe did about online friends and mentioned me (you can all mention me with links to this blog all you like!). I mean proper gossiping or even just telling a story about me to someone else without my knowledge.

I know that you don't like to be talked about either, but do you think that People are talking about you, even when they aren't? Are you convinced every time you walk into a room/playground/supermarket/cafe/public area/office that people are immediately talking about you? You know how they start laughing just as you walk in, or they sidle off together, or all of the group look at you and then look away, or worse the conversation stops dead as you come near?

Phew, so its not just me.

I even hate when someone says something like "Well I heard that you..." and even though they are telling me to my face I still feel that they have slapped me. Maybe its this distrust of people that makes it so hard for me to make and keep friends? I don't know, I don't know if everyone feels this way or if it's just me.

I hope its not just me.

Reasons to Vote for me in The MAD's... please

On Sunday the 6th June at Midnight, voting will close for The MADS and I thought this would be a great time to show you how I have caught the imagination of the people in my local area...

You wouldn't believe how many times I have tried to take a picture of this!

As you can see they were obviously disturbed before they could write the "S" and then "Vote For A Mothers Ramblings". I am hoping that the campaign they are mounting on my behalf is more successful than my attempts.

I was mean and cut Daddy's hair into an elaborate pattern one evening to get you to vote for me;

I have had Newspaper and Radio Coverage;

I might of made my own newspaper too;

I have been into space and asked a passing astronaut to help me out;

I have made some badges up...

I accidentally left this message in every classroom at Top Enders School;

And of course Daddy has suggested that he will buy me an escort which I thought may look like this;

This was actually Daddy's car at one point

But now that he has explained what he meant I am hoping more like this;

Phwoar!

I have even suggested that if I wear my blue evening gown that I might do a Judy Finnigan (remember when her boob on national TV was showing everyone her bra clad boob?), or even a Halle Berry or a Mariah Carey (you know where they sob and snot comes out their nose and they look oh so attractive?) and vlog it for your enjoyment.

Then I realised that I haven't told you about my category properly. I have been shortlisted in the Best MAD Family Fun Blog and this is being sponsored by Woolworths.co.uk. The winner will receive an EEE PC touch screen netbook worth £319, a V-tech Advance notebook and an amazing opportunity to have their blog professionally designed by a leading digital design agency! The Best MAD Blog for Family Fun is a blog that inspires you to have more fun with your family, whether that’s cooking, crafting or taking days out together and I would love to be known for that.

Heck I am just pleased to be known as a Finalist of that.

Of course there are some other finalists in this category and they are the following wonderful blogs;

Have a Lovely Time

This is a collaborative blog, which review family friendly days out and attractions all across the UK and has been my first stop on more than one occasion to check out somewhere that we here at A Mothers Ramblings have been thinking of visiting!

The MadHouse

This blog is written by Jen and is the sort of blog that I wish I could write. There are some amazing things that she does with her boys and as long as Daddy doesn't go and look then the inspiration for his father's day card will remain a secret... but you can go and look for it!

NurtureStore

This blog is written by Cathy and she has the most amazing craft projects to copy. Top Ender and I have re-created several of the projects on this blog and even Baby Boy has loved some of the things that we have made, like our egg box dragon!

It's a Small World After All Family

This blog is written by Victoria and this November she is going to take a trip. Not just any trip though. This is a round the world trip with her family. She has said that I can go with her if I can hunt her out a proper coffee no matter where in the world we are, if I vote for her in The MAD's and if I can carry my own luggage and fit in a 45l backpack. The only thing there that will be a stretch for me is the coffee and I think that is a deal breaker for her.

So these are the other finalists, but of course you know I still want you to vote for me... PLEASE!