MUMMY TO THE MAX

This summer the 99p store have been running a competition for bloggers. Each blogger was given £10 worth of vouchers to buy 10 products with and the bloggers were asked to share what products they bought and how they managed to have fun using them this summer. Maxwell and I decided to join in with the competition and show our readers how much fun they can have with just £10.


My Second Idea

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Maxwell and I love to go on day trips with one another. Whilst out we love to take a packed lunch with us. I find taking a packed lunch out not only saves us money but also does not limit us on where we have to eat and what time we need to eat as Maxwell can freely eat when he needs to. Maxwell was recently sent a new lunch bag to accompany him on his trips out.


Maxwell was allowed to choose a Lunch Bag from the Internet Gift Store. There was a wide range of choice and a lot of different character designs to suit boys and girls for all different age ranges. After a lot of thought Maxwell choose a Monsters University Lunch Bag which also came with a lovely sports bottle.

The lunch bag arrived quickly and it was well packaged. Once opening it I was impressed with the brilliant quality. The bag was square shaped and rounded round the edges and was a reasonable size to fit a drink, sandwich and snacks into. Inside the lunch bag, it has a insulating lining to keep the food cold and is easy to wipe clean.

The outside of the bag is very eye catching. 4 pictures of the Monster University characters can be seen and the pictures are made up of bright colours. The bag has a soft carry handle that is easy to hold and a zip fastener which is enables Maxwell to open and close the bag easily. At the back, there is a name slip to put in your child's name and details in, the name slip is only a bit of card so now and again you could make your own slip to personalise the bag a little bit more.


The bag included a metal Monsters Universtity drinking flask which has a flip-top cover over the spout. Maxwell found it easy to drink out of the bottle and although the bottle is quite small it was easy to fill up over and over again. The bottle isn't insulated but the aluminium casing will help to keep drinks slightly cooler which is a big plus in the summer.

The Internet Gift store has a great range of lunch bags, boxes, bottles, so why not pop over and see what you can find for your little one.

1. Maxwell has been de-cluttering this week
2. Maxwell has been trying lots of new foods
3. Maxwell has started to enjoy rocking on his rocking horse
4. Maxwell has got a little bossy
5. Maxwell went shopping

You may have noticed my shiny new badge over to the right and the reason it is there is because I am a Prezzybox Pundit. As many of you will know I love to share mine and Maxwell's life on this blog however I also like to review items. I like to bring you the latest news, tell you negatives and positives about a item and give you a honest review on something which you may buy in the future.

One of Maxwell's favourite hobbies is to have baths. He loves to play, splash and have fun however recently he had become uninterested in his bath toys and he had started to enjoy his bath's less. This all changed when TOMY sent us over a Surfin Beaver and a Turtle Tots from their Aqua Fun range.

Surfin Beaver is a colourful toy which is aimed at children aged 12 months +. To make him work you wind up the motor on his surfboard which he is laid on and the Surfin Beaver will paddle along the water by flipping his tail in the water. If you press Surfin Beavers tail you are able to hear him singing his favourite surf song.


I found the toy to be a little disappointing as we found that the tail of the Surfin Beaver was not powerful enough to make the Surfin Beaver go forward in the water however Maxwell did have fun pushing him around the bath as well as listing to his catchy surf song. Maxwell found it easy to use the toy and I liked that it has been designed for small hands. If TOMY was able to fix the tiny fault with Surfin Beaver I would rate this toy 10/10 due to that fact that it is a great bath time toy that children are able to have a lot of fun with.


Turtle Tots is a cute toy which is suitable for children aged 12 months +. The toy reminds me of a mummy turtle and her babies. In the box you are able to find parts that make up a large turtle and there are 4 small turtle's which are also included. The small turtles can either stick onto their mummy's turtle shell or they are able to stick onto the bath when they explore away from her.


Turtle Tots is a lot of fun and there are many things you are able to do. You are able to squirt the small turtles and hear your little one streak with laughter as they are hit by water, take the turtles shell off to reveal pouring cups which have small holes in that can act as a shower or you can match the pouring cups up to the shapes under the shell.


Maxwell enjoyed playing with the turtle tots. They have provided him with hours of entertainment and have taught him some skills which he wasn't clear about before. I found that at just £15 turtle tots would be a great toy for any children looking to learn shapes as well as have a lot of fun in the bath.

Set a budget - Before you even go and buy items, stick to a budget. Keep in your mind what that budget is and work around the budget. Why not include your children in this and explain if you both manage to stick to the budget and spend less then you will split the remaining money with them so they can buy themselves a small treat.

Stick to a list – Write down everything you need and don’t veer from this list. You may be tempted to buy extras or give into children's demands however do they really need it and can you really afford it? Stick to your list and shop around for the best deals.

Check your house - Before you hit the shops check that you don't have items that can be used from the year before. There may be some new pens and pencils tucked in the back draw that didn't get used last year, use those before buying new. If the old school kit still fits why not use it until they have grown out of it before buying new.

Shop the sales - Check online and high-street sales. You can save money on pretty much anything these days from lunch boxes to winter coats see if you are able to find things cheaper. Always look out for discount codes/vouchers when shopping as this can help save more money and buy stationary in bulk as it is something they will need all year.

Trawl charity shops and pre loved sites – you can often find uniform/back to school bits on there. Just because its second hand doesn't mean its rubbish. A lot of things people sale are as good as new and sometimes things can even be new.

Supermarkets - Supermarkets are often tripping over themselves at this time of year with cheap uniform deals and BOGOFs. They try and compete against each other and try and offer the cheapest price. Compare prices on the net before going on a trip to save fuel. If you find a bargain – buy the next size up too so you will save money when your child grows.

Spend a day getting funky - Buy plain items which will be cheaper than character/branded stuff and jazz it up using stickers, glitter glue, badges and even iron on badges which can be used on clothing/fabric bags. This will be a fun activity for your children and show you their creative side.

Label Items - Label all your children's belonging so they do not get lost. If your child keeps managing to loose their belongings this is going to end up making you spend a lot of money. Teach your children to look after their items and if they do go missing, make sure they are easy to identify by placing a simple label on them.

If you would like to win this lovely prize for a little girl or boy, just enter via the Rafflecopter below!

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I am not the most amazing photographer but I love to capture as many memories as I can of Maxwell. Every photo I take, I want to be able to look back and remember why I took that photo. I use my mobile to take a lot of my photos and I often share my pictures on Facebook and on my blog however I very rarely print the photos off, meaning that over the last few years I have managed to loose a lot of them.


We were recently sent a voucher code to treat ourselves to a canvas from SnapBox. SnapBox is the photo keepsake that every photo deserves. SnapBox allows you to bring your stories to life.


I popped over to the SnapBox site and found it was really easy to use. I simply downloaded my picture from my computer and uploaded it to the site. I was then able to choose weather to edit the picture or not. I decided to change it to black and white. I was then able to choose a size I wanted my picture and I was then able to place my order.

I opted for the largest, 25 x 33cm which would usually cost £34.99.
I have never purchased a canvas print before so I didn't really know what to expect but I have to say that I'm very impressed! The quality all around is good. The picture is clear and it does not look like a cheap print. The print comes with a black wooden frame and you are able to have the frame
free-standing on the mantelpiece or you are able to hang it on a wall as it has the fixtures to enable you to do this. The frame is a massive plus in my book.


The canvas was reasonably priced and the quality was high however the only thing I would change about SnapBox is that they make larger prints. I would like to make a photo of Maxwell a feature point in my house however the picture we got is simply not large enough to let us do this and this is the largest size they do.
You are able to find out more information over on Snapbox's website.

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1. Maxwell has learnt to blow kisses
2. Maxwell enjoys looking at picture books before bed
3. Maxwell only has his dummy at night time/nap time
4. Maxwell has a new bath friend
5. Maxwell's speech is coming on leaps and bounds

This week Maxwell has learnt to blow kisses. At bedtime he gets into bed, waves good night and then blows me kisses. It is so incredibly cute. Once in bed Maxwell likes to read a special teddy bear book.  Its called Opposite Teddy Bear and has some lovely pictures of bears as well as bold words! The book shows the teddy bear going on a journey and doing opposite things.  Maxwell enjoys flicking through it.

As some of our readers may know, Maxwell has a dummy. Over the past few weeks, I have not been letting him have it in the day.  He is coming up to two years old and as I was worried it was preventing him learning to speak. This week Maxwell has not had his dummy at all in the day time and only has been having it at nap time and bedtime. Soon I hope he realises he doesn't need it at all.

Last week I decided Maxwell needed something to put all his bath toys in. I managed to find him a big duck that clips on the side of the bath and if you open its beak you can drop the bath toys in and they fall in the net. Maxwell loves it! He often goes to visit it throughout the day and loves opening and closing the ducks beak.

Maxwell's speech has really improved. He seems to learn new sounds, and tries to pronounce words each day. It amazes me at how well he has been getting on. He tries to say the word ball, car, bye and hi and he also likes to say "OH". I am sure he will get there soon.

Maxwell loves bath time and bath time comes around each day. As Maxwell grows older I find he is in need of washing each day as lots of things like to stick to him. I like to make his bath time as fun as possible and I enjoy doing this by making sure he is around things he loves.


Maxwell is a huge Disney fan and one of his favourite characters is Finding Nemo. Max knows that Nemo likes the water just like Max does and he can swim around in the water and have fun, just like Max can. Recently we were excited when Finding Nemo Soft and Gentle Shampoo and Bubbly Bath turned up at our door.

Finding Nemo Soft Gentle Shampoo and Bubbly Bath is made from leading childrens brand H&A. In the range Thomas The Tank Engine and Minnie Mouse also feature. The soft and gentle bath time range that H&A have created have been specially formulated for little ones. These fun products are safe for new-borns and can be used every day. The H&A rage are paediatrician approved and dermatologically tested, giving parents the knowledge that their children will be safe when using the bath time products.

The shampoo lathers up perfectly and you only need to use a small amount. This makes it great value for money as it seems to last longer than other brands. One of the key things I loved about the shampoo was that it doesn't run. It saves Maxwell's eyes from getting irritated which normally can cause a lot of fuss and ends up with Maxwell having to get out the bath.
For a limited time, H&A is running a Try me, love me, money back guarantee on its brand new range of toddler toiletries. Simply pick up a pack featuring a special sticker in your local Sainsbury’s store, and give the products a go!

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Before I moved out of my parents house my Mum used to shred every document in sight. Anything that contained any personal details, addresses or information about our family would be shredded however since living on my own with Ben and Max, I rarely bother to shred any documents due to having a noisy small shredder which often got jammed.




A few weeks ago Fellowes sent us their Powershred 73Ci for me to try. Putting it together was easy and stress free. It took less than 5 minutes to put together without reading any instructions however it did also include a manual, just in case I needed the extra help.

Once up and running the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. Normally the noise of a shredder would scare Maxwell however the low hum of the Powershred 73Ci kept his little ears happy and he was able to continue playing with his musical toys without being distracted.


The Powershred 73ci Cross-Cut Shredder is incredibly easy to use. The shredder features a touch screen on the front of the shredder which shows little symbols. The symbols are self explanatory, there is a power button, and reverse button, and a forward button. When the shredder needs to alert you to something such as too much paper being fed in, or the bin being full, some symbols light up red.
The shredder is 100% jam proof technology so you will never have the issue of having to pull half shredded paper out of a shredder which can be annoying and messy. The shredder electronically measures the thickness of the paper you’re shredding and adjusts the power necessary to shred it. A few times I was denied being able to use the shredder as I was trying to add to much paper in to it.
This shredder will cross-cut 12 sheets into approximately 397 particles. It will also cut right through credit cards, CDs/DVDs, staples and paper clips.
My favourite feature is the Safe Sense technology which the shredder features. If I did not have Maxwell around the house this may not be so impressive however Maxwell is the type of child who loves to explore and help. I often worry about him getting injured however with the powershred I do not have this issue. If Maxwell is to put his hands near the shredder, it senses his hands near the paper opening, it shuts off and a little orange light lights up.

1. Maxwell loves grapes
2. Maxwell has a lot more hair
3. Maxwell has become a lot more independent
4. Maxwell has found his and other peoples ears
5. Maxwell went to his 1st car boot sale

Last week Ben and I were lucky enough to spend a day together. Maxwell went to my Mum and Dad's, so Ben and I decided we would take a trip to London as Ben had never been and he was desperate to see the sights that he often had seen on the TV. He decided that he would love to go on the London Eye, however I was not convinced. I am terrified of heights!


Getting off the train at Waterloo station we made our way to the London Eye. It was a short 5 minute walk and it was easy to find. As soon as we arrived at the London Eye I was amazed at the lively atmosphere that was all around. I was so excited to be at a landmark which is well known all around the world.


Me and Ben headed to the ticket office to collect our tickets. We were given a fast track ticket to cut the que which I was glad about as the que was huge. We were searched by security and went straight to the front of the que where we were greeted by the only orange pod on the wheel which Ben had joked about us going on.


The pod moved slowly and it was our turn to get on. I was a little scared as the pod doesn't actually stop. Luckily all was fine and it was actually Ben who nearly missed the pod! In the pod, we found it to be very spacious and although there were around 20 people in the pod, (children and adults) I was able to move around freely. The pod had suggested viewing points and a small tab which gave us info about the sights we could see. From the eye you can see landmarks such as Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, The Shard, St Paul's Cathedral, and Wembley Stadium.


I have to admit being so scared of heights I could barely move at first. I sat on the bench in the pod with one hand gripping it as hard as I could with my mobile in my other hand.The pod was quite wobbly and I thought I was going to die! Luckily I managed to calm down and take in the breathe taking views.

Me and Ben had a fab day out and even visited the 4D cinema in the visitor centre. I would love to go again in a few years to see how London has transformed.

For general information on the EDF Energy London Eye

Going to Britmums Live in June was a great experience. In the main hall whilst hearing the speakers we were all given a fab notebook from Personal Planner. Each notebook included a lovely little card inside to make our very own personal planner!