MUMMY TO THE MAX

As many of our readers know, we have recently moved home. The first day we moved in we encountered many problems with our home phone. This was mainly down to the rubbish home phone which we had. Telephone calls were cracked and I found I was repeating myself many a time. In the end I stopped using my home phone as calls were getting interrupted and I thought that I could use my mobile for calls however I soon found out that most of the numbers I was trying to call were premium rate numbers and would cost a lot on my mobile. I had no choice but to ring on my awful home phone however before I managed to run a huge phone bill up on my mobile Gigaset came to our rescue and in the end I was able to ring up the business's I needed to in style. Gigaset sent us one of their clever family phones, the Gigaset C620A. At a RRP of £59.99 I was expecting a lot as in my own mind £59.99 was a lot of money to be shelling out on a phone however Gigaset came up trumps and the phone did have a lot to offer.

The Gigaset phone came in a small box, it was very easy to put together and within a few minutes the phone was plugged in.  The phone came with a user guide explaining how to set the phone up quickly, these instructions really helped me to get the phone in a working state. They were simple to follow and easy to read and I could understand the picture diagrams. Once the phone was plugged in I was able to put the correct date and time on the phone and I was able to choose a fun ringtone. The ringtones which the Gigaset phone have to offer are fun and really I could compare them to some of the ringtones which I would find on my mobile as they are very clear and of high quality.

Once I had set up the ringtone I then went on to input the phone book entries. I often manage to forget numbers, especially my Mums and my Grandads so it was brilliant to be able to store the numbers on my home phone which I use to call them instead of on a piece of paper which could often get lost. A brilliant feature to this phone is that the phone can store up to 250 entries which makes it not only great for family use but it could also be perfect for small business use.


I have to admit I was a little worried about the battery life as I often talk to my Mum for long periods of time and after I sometimes manage to forget to put the phone back on charge however once analyzing the instruction booklet I was able to find out the that phone has over 26 hours talk time and the phone also has a 530 minute standby time.

1. Maxwell has learnt to "Hi5".
2. Maxwell enjoys watching Peppa Pig on Youtube but in French.
3. Maxwell is extremely helpful in the new house.
4. Maxwell has "deep" feet.
5. Maxwell has enjoyed doing crafts this week.

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This weekend has seemed to have flown by. For us it has been very busy, fun and exciting. We managed to fit so much in and have had such a relaxing time. Here is what we got up to:

Saturday: On Saturday we went to Fareham and we went shopping. Saturdays are normally short days as Ben goes to bed early in the morning as he works Friday nights. We normally go out in the afternoon once Ben had managed to catch up on a little sleep. It was Ben's birthday on Friday, so Ben wanted to spend some of his Birthday money which he received. Unfortunately the shopping centre there was quite disappointing as there were not a lot of decent shops in the shopping centre, so we left empty handed. On the way home Ben accidently took a wrong turning and we ended up in Portsmouth. We were stuck in loads of traffic for ages and Maxwell was not impressed. Fortunately there is a new road being built which no one really knows about and we managed to get onto the road, turn around and head home. Once home I stayed up late to prepare Maxwell's Easter Egg Hunt for him.


Sunday: Maxwell woke up to a letter from the Easter bunny and a fun Easter Egg Hunt round the house.  Unfortunately it was raining so we were unable to hunt around the garden. Maxwell did really well at finding the Easter goodies and he had a lot of fun finding them. Once the hunt was over Maxwell was rewarded with a new book and a new game, which I am hoping will help improve his speech a little. Once the hunt was over we got ready to go out for our Easter/Ben's Birthday meal. We decided to go to a local restaurant which is a short drive away. Overall we had a really lovely time at the meal and the food was great. We would love to return there again soon, perhaps when it is a little less busy.


Monday: Monday was my favourite day of our busy weekend. Monday saw us get up very early and go to Frankie and Bennys. I had won a £20 breakfast voucher with them recently so I was keen to try their breakfast out with Ben and Maxwell. We had a wonderful time and we were treated to full english breakfasts, pancakes and ice cream and even a sausage and egg muffin. As it was Bank holiday Monday, I am unsure if many people knew they were open as they were extremely quiet which meant we got great service and our food was delivered fast.
After we had ventured to Frankies, we popped home to get Maxwell's pushchair and made our way to the new shopping outlet in Whitley Village. It was quite busy as they had a charity event on however we managed to miss most of the crowd and finish our shopping before it was time to go home. We all got treated to a few bits and whilst there we even got to meet a few new friends.


Overall we had a fantastic weekend. I am looking forward to having lots more busy, fun weekends as soon as the weather picks up a little. Did you have a good Easter weekend? What activities did you get up to?

Ben, Maxwell and I are so excited as we are going on holiday in June. We are going to Bluestone in Wales so it will be a long journey for us as we live in the New Forest in Hampshire. I think it very important to plan what we will need for the journey and what to take with us as we all want to enjoy ourselves.


I must admit I have bought lots of new clothes for Maxwell ... and a few for myself. As we will be going swimming I will include swimming nappies, arm bands, a float, sun hats, a UV sun protection suit and high factor sun protection (just in case the weather is very kind to us). I have also included a special Huggies Swimming Mat which means that Maxwell will not have to lay/stand on any cold, wet floors in the changing rooms. We will take the pushchair and parasol for Maxwell although he much prefers to walk, just incase he gets too tired when we are out and about. I will pack Maxwell a back pack with his favourite toys but also will include some small books, a colouring book and some crayons. I think it important to include a small first aid kit and anti-bacterial hand wash also just incase any accidents happen whilst we are out and about or just incase we sit down to eat. We do not want to be picking up any nasty germs.


We are planning to make several stops during our journey so that Maxwell can stretch his legs. We will take some story/song CDs to keep Maxwell entertained I will take my tablet also so Maxwell is able to play some games which I plan on downloading. He may take a nap so a light blanket will be included. We will also take a bag of snacks and drinks just in case we get caught in traffic, however we can also stop off at the service station for food if needs be.

Maxwell is normally a great sleeper at home, so I think we may take his travel cot with us. I will also take his bedding, a small night light and his favourite toy to take to bed.The company do not provide baths with their rooms, so I am trying to make Maxwell use a shower at home so he gets used to them. If Maxwell dislikes showers, we may have to find a special little travel bath for him to use.


We will take our camera with us so we can take lots of photos to record our first holiday with a toddler and I may take my laptop as there is free Wifi there so I can blog about our first toddler holiday experience as well as Instagram it whilst it is actually happening.

It is all so exciting ... Have you any suggestions of what we should include? Have you been to Bluestone and if so what activities would you reccomend?

1. Maxwell has learnt to balance things on his head
2. Maxwell adores the park
3. Maxwell has been sleeping well
4. Maxwell enjoys talking on the phone
5. Maxwell is looking forward to the weekend

Our move to our new house went perfectly on Friday. We took Maxwell to Auntie Rachel's on Thursday morning with his suitcase as he was staying the night. We then headed off to collect the keys for our new home. Mine and Ben's family helped to re-clean the house during the afternoon and my Dad and I cleaned the carpets upstairs. Everything was fresh and smelling nice ready for our furniture and massives of boxes on Friday. With everyones help on Friday by 8 pm all curtains and lampshades were hung, furniture put in place, beds made, clothes hung in wardrobes, and 95% of the boxes were unpacked. Our new home looked fantastic.

Maxwell had a lovely time with my sister Rachel. She took Maxwell to a farm with her friend and her toddler E on Thursday. Maxwell had a brilliant time and loved getting lots of fresh air as well as spending time with a little friend. Maxwell and E shared the food to feed the animals and Maxwell loved the chickens. As it was sunny they had their lunch and sat on their picnic mat. Maxwell had a fantastic time and was very tired. On Friday afternoon Rachel brought Maxwell to our new house and he helped her to put all his clothes and toys in his new bedroom.


Maxwell has settled well which I am glad about as this was one of my main worries before we moved. I thought that he would find it strange to adapt to a new house but he seems to be a very happy little boy in our new house. We have set up lots of his toys in the conservatory and he loves to go and get his cars to play in the lounge as he uses our large lounge mat as a car circuit with our legs being tunnels.

The new house has also helped me and Ben do daily tasks more easily. Ben is now able to clean his car in the driveway and it is much more easy to carry the shopping in from the car as before we sometimes had to park a long distance away from our maisonette and then carry shopping up the stairs and through 2 large doors.


The area we have moved to is fantastic. There is a lot of free space to roam and explore and today Maxwell and I walked to the Doctors. On the way we stopped at the stream and then went to the play park. Maxwell loves the slide and the climbing frame but is still uncertain on the swing. We did a little shopping and headed home. I am really happy to be bringing Maxwell up in this area, it is quiet, people are friendly and we love exploring the outdoors.

Ben, Maxwell and I love our new home.

Today is our moving day. I have been counting down to this day for months. The worry, the stress, plans, ideas and even money and love have gone into this move and I am hoping it really will go perfectly for us. For the next few days I wont be around much but I have scheduled a few posts which I will hope you enjoy.


What we are looking forward to:

Having stairs- For the last 2 years I have longed to run up and down stairs. I have longed to have that little bit of space separating Ben and I whilst he is sleeping in the day and whilst me and Maxwell want to play in the day. I want the opportunity to say to Maxwell "Stop climbing the stairs" - although this will really never happen as we have invested in 2 stair gates.
Having a garden- Most people take it for granted that they have a garden. I did until we did not have one. One of the most amazing things this summer is that Maxwell will have a garden. He will be able to play with his toys, we will be able to have BBQ's, we will be able to socialise with friends and we have a shed to keep clutter in.
Having our own driveway- For the last 2 years now we have had to carry a baby and toddler through the rain to our car.  We have had to walk down icy wet steps, we have had to stand hail, rain, wind and at times even thunder to walk to our car. This house is going to provide us with joy that there is a driveway and when it does rain, there is only center-meters to walk to that nice white door which will lead you to a nice dry house.
The Area- The area we are moving to is a better location than what we live in now. I can walk to catch a train to go shopping, I can walk and get a bus, I can walk to the local supermarket and most importantly I can walk to see my Grandad. I adore the area and although we are not so close so forest (It being at the end of the road) we are still extremely close to it and I am still looking forward to our wonderful forest car journeys.

Plans and changes in life:

Going out more- I am looking forward to going out more. This may mean walking to the local shops, visiting the local swimming pool or even going to more toddler themed groups with Max, I think the area will let me access all this and if not more. There is also the issue that I want to get skinny before August next year, so who knows... Maybe I will even take up a new sport.
Doing more activities with Maxwell- Whether these activities be cooking, crafting or playing out in the garden, I am really looking forward to it. I think this house will give us a little more room for Maxwell to burn his energy off everyday so there is more time for funner activities.

Not looking forward to:

Gardening- The garden is not the hugest garden you will ever see but it is big enough for Maxwell to have a lot of fun. The garden is pretty basic however I will still need to tidy the lawn, keep plants in shape and even maintain fences, trees and walkways.

I'm so exciting to be attending Britmums Live in June, I am counting down the days! I thought I would join in the linky which you can find over on the Britmums site and introduce myself to anyone who was going to Britmums so they can look out for me. I also wanted to inform my readers why I am super excited to be attending, what I am looking forward to and i wanted to share a little more information about me. I just wanted take the time again to thank Nelsons Arnicare for sponsoring me, without you guys I would not be attending this event.


Name: Helen

Blog: http://www.mummytothemax.co.uk/

Recently I was contacted by Hotter Shoes and I was asked would I like to review a pair of shoes from their new spring collection. I had always heard a lot of good reviews about Hotter shoes but had never actually tried them myself. I was a little scared about reviewing a pair as I had also heard that they were designed for the older generation and from this I found myself forming a opinion that they may not be that fashionable however once I had taken the time to look around the Hotter shoes website, I found this was not the case.

After taking the time to look at the Hotter Shoe website, I decided I would like to review a pair of Laura shoes. I was instantly drawn to the fact that the shoe came in a range of colours, the shoes were made of good quality material and that they were fashionable. I was really excited to receive the shoes and I was happy to see that they arrived quickly once they had been ordered. Not only did they arrive quickly but they also came well packaged and beautifully boxed.


Made from nubuck and supple, soft leather these slip on shoes really manage to stand out. I choose the shoes in a aqua and tan colour as I knew that they would look good with my jeans come spring/summer but would also be suitable on dry days in the autumn and even winter. Although the weather has not recently been great, it has been dry which has given me the opportunity to wear my Laura shoes. 

La Jewellery is a British Ethical jewellery company who specialise in recycled Silver or recycled Brass jewellery. Each piece of Jewellery is handmade and  when it is sold by La Jewellery, the customer can be assured that the jewellery is filled with love and made to La Jewellery’s high quality.
One of the latest additions to the La Jewellery range is the hare – this piece is available in both recycled brass and silver with pieces starting at just £18, with the design itself made with the help of a local Shropshire artist.
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As you are able to see I really had fun creating my 2 outfits. I love that  I was able to use the same accessories and shoes for both the outfits however at the same time I was able to get the 2 looks so different. My first outfit is inspired so that I can wear it in the day times, when the weather is not so warm and the second outfit is inspired when it is hot and I am ready to hit the beach or in my case, the back garden. Since have both outfits I have really enjoyed wearing the outfits out. They have given me a lot more confidence and I wore the first outfit on Mothers Day. All the clothing washes up really well and I am impressed with not only the sizing but how cheap the clothing also is. I found that all the clothing on F&F website was actually really stylish and I am hoping to perhaps buy some more goodies before the summer really kicks in.

And Maxwell's Spring And Summer Outfit was:


I just wanted to thank F&F for allowing us to take part in this incredible campaign. As a mother, I used to be fairly choosy over what brands Maxwell would wear but thanks to F&F thinking out carefully what children need, I am more than happy to buy Maxwell plenty more clothes this summer from their incredible range.

1. Maxwell has been playing independently.
2. Maxwell has been having little temper tantrums.
3. Maxwell bought Mummy special Mother's Day treats.
4. Maxwell has been eating a range of food.