MUMMY TO THE MAX

Just over a month ago I did a large coupon shop which was worth over £108 and I managed to get the whole shop for just under £3.  I am saving my coupons to do another big shop soon however at the present moment there are a few fantastic deals which I thought I would share with any money saving lovers out there.


At the present moment I tend to shop a awful lot in Tesco, mainly because it is close to us and I love getting rewarded for shopping. At the present moment the best coupon deals at Tesco are:

Recently I was tagged in a post by Bex over at Futures asking me to take part in the tag "50 things that make me happy". Below are the fifty things that make me happy...

Dry Like Me, the award-winning potty training pads worn in children’s own pants, have just filmed their first ever TV advertisement – and it is hilarious. The ad features a class of toddlers being taught about potty training by an older child and, during the shoot, the toddlers had lots of fun with the Dry Like Me potty training pads, playing with them like they were toys and sticking them all over their bodies.

Co-creator of Dry Like Me, Jude Hough says: “ We know they are a hit with parents as they can help children get out of nappies and into proper pants, but we were surprised at how much the children loved playing with them. Watching the two year olds run around with pads stuck on the heads and faces was hilarious, and their antics were great to include in the advertisement, which is really funny.” The advertisement, called ‘Miss Smarty Pants’, can be viewed on on Disney Junior, Nick JR, Boomerang, Cartoonito and Tiny Pop.

Award-winning Dry Like Me potty training pads were created by mums, Jude and Di , when they couldn’t find anything that helped to move their potty training children away from nappies and into their own pants. They commissioned independent research, which showed the pads reduced accidents after only one week, and Dry Like Me are now sold by most supermarkets and online at amazon and www.drylikeme.com. One size fits all ages of children, and there are three types to choose from: ‘Early Days’ for the start of potty training, ‘Original’ for the middle to end stages and ‘Night-Time’ to help children get dry at night. They cost around £3.49 a box, are designed to be soft and comfortable and are recommended by health professionals.

To celebrate the launch of their first TV campaign, Dry Like Me are giving away 1 pack to help get your little one out of nappies and into proper pants. Each ‘Smart Way to Potty Train’ pack contains four boxes of Dry Like Me pads, a ‘How to Potty Train’ book (written by Jude and Di) and a sticker reward chart, and is worth £24.

We have 1 set of prizes to give away. To have a chance of winning simply enter the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information on Dry Like Me potty training pads, as well as lots of tips and advice go to the Dry like me website or their Facebook page..

Since Ben and I have been together, I have always known him to wear a uniform to work. This uniform is washed by our household and ironed in our household. After a little thought it got me thinking about how much money we actually spend on washing and drying work items as well as ironing them.

After a little research on the internet I found that we may be entitled to a small amount of money back from HMRC. I found that they do back date payments up to 4 years so I decided to write HMRC a letter.
In the letter I included;

Ben's full name and address
Ben's national insurance number
Ben's tax code
The name and address of Ben's workplace
Ben's job title
What we were claiming for - (laundering his uniform)
That we would like any money claimed to be returned to him via cheque

The letter took me just 10 minutes to write up and print off, it also only cost me the price of a 2nd class stamp to send the letter to HMRC.

After 3 months we finally heard back from HMRC via a letter and we got a cheque through the post with a sum of £10.27. Although this does not sound a lot, it was money which we were without and money which we were entitled to. In my eyes the money is better off in our pockets than HMRC.

I wrote this post to encourage others to see what they are entitled to. Others may be entitled to more, I have heard stories where people have had over £100 sent through the post so for the price of a stamp it is something which I would encourage others to do.

Have you claimed Tax Relief? Was your claim a success?

Prepare for more action-packed adventures in Treetopolis as superhero Tom returns this spring with the launch of a new DVD collection from Tree Fu Tom, the hit CBeebies animated series featuring the vocal talents of Mark Bonnar and Sophie Aldred.

Tom may look like a normal boy but when he puts on his magic belt and performs a series of magical moves (known asTree Fu) he transforms into a tiny but mighty, magical superhero.

Tom, Twigs and woodland friends have lots of amazing adventures around Treetopolis but when trouble strikes it’s up to him to save the day! With viewers help Tom can make Big World Magic and tackle anything from warbling Warble Weeds to stopping those naughty Mushas make mischief! Tree Fu Go!

The DVD features six action-packed episodes:- Ranger Tom: Super Helper, Tom and the Warble Weeds, Super Squirmtum, Ranger Tom: Fun Guy, The Golden Spore, Twigs’ Tall Tale.

Today we re giving you the chance to win this fantastic DVD - Tom saves the day. We have one copy to give away to one lucky winner.  This  DVD  will provide hours of entertainment.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Easter has been based on a budget in our household. Ben and I have not bought Easter Eggs for one another and we have not purchased anything for other family members. Easter has been based on Maxwell and with that in mind we had a budget of £5 to keep him happy.

I think people often forget the true meaning of Easter and I do think people go overboard when it comes to buying Easter eggs and other items. Easter to me, means spending time with my family. It mean's seeing Maxwell's face light up and this would happen if we spent £1 or £25 on him.

This Easter Maxwell will be getting a Easter hunt. He will also have a visit from Mr Bunny who has left him instructions on how to complete his Easter Hunt. Mr Bunny was created by me. I already had materials to make Mr Bunny so he cost me 0 pence. He took me around just a hour to make.

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Mr Bunny is simply made out of paper plates, cotton wall, paper and pipe cleaners.  I also used a lot of glue. I think Mr Bunny is a simple idea but one which Maxwell will love come morning. I have made a perfect little rhyme up to accompany Mr Bunny and I am hoping it will encourage Maxwell to behave this Easter holiday.

Maxwell's Easter hunt is made up from reduced items or items which I managed to blag for free. Maxwell's Easter Egg hunt consists of 2 small chocolate Nestle Easter Eggs which  I got for 50p with coupons, I managed to get 2 packs of mini kinder eggs which were free with coupons, I also got a big bag of Haribo which is made up of multi packs - I purchased this from the £1 store. Along with this I also managed to pick Maxwell up some Mr tumble books which were reduced to just £1.25, he also has a Easter colouring book which was reduced to 30p, a pack of crayons which were free from a competition win and a craft box which I managed to pick up again for £1.25. Finally we purchased Maxwell a felt basket form the £1 store so he is able to collect his Easter gifts with ease, this is a item which we will use again in the future.

I know Maxwell will be more than happy with the items we got him this Easter and I am extremely excited to watch him go on his hunt tomorrow. I am also extremely proud that we did not spend a lot of money on him. The money which we saved will go towards Swimming lessons for him.

Easter does not have to be a expensive event! Memories last longer than material objects.

Having moved recently we adore watching wildlife in our garden. As a child the garden was a place where I would learn lots of new things but I always took what I had seen and learnt for granted. When we finally moved out of our small flat and into a house with our own garden I was excited to show Maxwell all things wildlife.

Recently Maxwell has enjoyed watching the wildlife in our garden. We live in the New Forest and often find that all sorts of wildlife are attracted. Over the past few weeks Maxwell has loved watching birds come to our garden and feed, he has also adored watching them play. He has started to enjoy seeing spiders crawling around in his playhouse and has loved watching ants follow each other on our paving slabs.


Today we are giving you the chance to win a beautiful wooden Ladybird Tower which will enable you to see ladybirds visit your garden courtesy of the fab people over at Dobies of Devon. For anyone wanting to know a little information about Dobies of Devon they specialize in selling seeds and they have done this for the past 50 years. They also offer the largest range of young annual plants available by post, plus bulbs, fruit and garden equipment

To be in with a chance of bringing your garden alive and winning this Ladybird Tower all you simply need to do is enter the Rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway