MUMMY TO THE MAX

Recently we have been blessed with amazing weather which has in turn allowed Maxwell and I to spend a lot of time outdoors. As a family we love spending time outdoors and every week we try and visit somewhere new in the New Forest. Recently Maxwell was given the opportunity to review a new bike. Being a outdoor lover Maxwell happily accepted his invite to review the bike. Maxwell was sent a FirstBIKE to review.

FirstBIKE is a new balance bike designed for children aged 2 to 5. The bike comes in 5 different designs and is available in 9 colours. The styles of the bike can be chosen by you, the styles vary on where you will be riding the bike.

Maxwell is a growing little boy and often needs new clothes due to his growth spurts. Recently I searched the House of Fraser website for new clothes for Maxwell. When looking for new clothes for Maxwell I focused on items which would be perfect for his upcoming summer wardrobe but items which would be perfect for Maxwell to wear when playing outside. I always enjoy putting Maxwell in trendy clothes, he can often be seen sporting jeans or shorts, a nice cool hooded top and a funky tshirt.


House Of Fraser offer a wide range of kids clothing. There are many categories which feature lots of items from different brands.After having a look around House of Fraser's website, I decided that I would go ahead and purchase Maxwell a Tommy Hilfiger T shirt. I decided on the T shirt because it was plain and I figured that it would go well with many of Maxwell's trousers that he already owns. I also thought that the T shirt could either be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Having previously purchased a Tommy Hilfiger T Shirt from House Of Fraser for Maxwell, I have found that the T shirts are good quality and are great value for money.

After having a browse around on House of Fraser's website at the kids shorts and trousers, I decided to pick  Maxwell a pair of thin Joules Jean trousers. I thought these would be perfect as they were thin and they were the skinny type of trousers which Maxwell likes to wear. In the summer having a long pair of thing jeans would be perfect as the would keep Maxwell cool whilst he looked trendy and they would protect his legs from any cuts if he was to fall over whilst out and about.

Maxwell's outfit is comfy for him to play in and cost under £30 which I think is fantastic considering I managed to purchase him two branded items.  The House Of Fraser website was easy to navigate and the delivery process of the items was fast and efficient.

Why not take a look at House Of Fraser's website and create a wishlist for your child's summer wardrobe?

Every now and again I see something that I disagree with and today was a day where I disagreed with many people around the United Kingdom. If you are on Facebook you may have seen a post making its way around about the service that the NHS offer which enables your child and those who do not pay for their prescriptions to get free medication/products when they are poorly. The service which is run is called the Minor Ailments.

The Minor Ailment service is a service that has been put in place which enables you to visit your local Pharmacy. It is a service that has been put in place for those who do not pay for prescriptions. The pharmacy staff are able to help with issues such as: skin conditions, coughs and colds, minor cuts and bruises, constipation, hay fever and allergies, aches and pains, indigestion, diarrhoea and threadworms, period pain and thrush, warts and verrucas, mouth ulcers and cold sores, athlete's foot, as well as nappy rash and teething problems.

For those that shared any related Minor Ailment post's, liked the post and told all their friends about it, weather you go and use the service is up to you. Although I am someone that loves a freebie I can not get my head around the fact that people feel the need to use this service. The service was in fact set up to help pull the pressure off GP's who often saw patients who had common illness's, this in turn cost the NHS over 2 million pounds. The service was set up to help worried parent's and people seek advice when they or their children were under the weather and were unable to get a doctors appointment for 2 weeks. The service was not set up to pay for simple things that most parents are able to pay/budget for.

If Maxwell is poorly I will go out and buy Maxwell calpol, I often buy a large bottle which can cost anything up to £6 however when I have been on a tight budget I have shopped for supermarket own brands and have come away with calpol which has cost me just £1.13. When Maxwell has fallen over, I have always gone to buy him plasters. I often find these in the budget shops and have managed to get cartoon plasters for less than 50p.

What scares me is the amount of people that will not go and spend 50p on plasters or the £1.13 on calpol but instead go to their local pharmacy and request these products through the Minor Ailment service because they feel entitled to. They feel entitled to because they have payed tax's or feel that they are saving a few pence of their own money however long term how will this effect us?

The effect it will have on us is the reduction of the NHS being able to help us and our children as well grow old together. Figures suggest that there are over 11 million children in the UK, if all 11 million children fell ill over a year and every parent/carer decided to use the Minor Ailment service what money would be left for cancer treatment, children's services, life saving operations, blood transfusions and of course the safe arrival of our children when the NHS help bring them into the world?

Before taking what you feel your are entitled to, think how did you cope this many years without the knowledge of the Minor Ailment service, how did you find the funds before to help your sick child? After you have thought about these 2 key things, go on to think how the use of this service will have a negative effect on the NHS system which you and your family may need desperately later on in life.
If you need it take it, if you can live without it then don't abuse it.

Sometimes I sit and wonder what will become of the country in the years to come, we've just had a huge decision made about our government that will affect all of us in this country, though time will tell how. I wonder what effect it might have on Maxwell as he grows up. But sometimes the world around us is not always black and white, sometimes issues which develop around us are  issues that affect only us and sometimes they are bigger issues that can change the whole country. I can of course look out for Maxwell with the issues that affect only him, but those that affect all of us are harder to cope with and dealing with them can be hard for a whole portion of the country. If houses are hard to come by now, what will it be like when Maxwell is old enough to have a home of his own, will the NHS still be around to support him when and if he has children in the future, will permanent jobs still be around and will the pay from a job meet his living needs?

This picture card would work perfectly for not only children with language delays and developmental delays but it would also be fun to take to the supermarket. This picture card can not only act like a learning tool but it can also act as a game. Why not use at the supermarket to spot the fruit down the supermarket aisle with your children?

If you would like to download this week's picture card you are able to download it from here. Once downloaded the picture should fit onto A4 paper when you go to print.

I am more than happy for my readers to start downloading any picture cards I create for Maxwell and every week I shall leave a link to any picture cards that I create however all that I ask is that no-one copies my work.

1. Maxwell and I have some exciting ideas in the pipeline
2. Maxwell has visited lots of places this week
3. Maxwell enjoyed going back to preschool after the Easter holidays
4. Maxwell is set for a busy week this week
5. Maxwell's Happyland collection continues to get bigger and better

Every so often I get emails that pop into my email inbox that make me excited. Recently we were sent a email by a lovely company called Wicked Uncle asking if Maxwell would like to review for them. For anyone that has not heard of Wicked Uncle, Wicked Uncle is a online toy shop.

Wicked Uncle are a toy shop with a difference. Wicked Uncle sell lots of toys but they are seen as gift's for others. Wicked Uncle stocks gifts perfect for children. Whether this be for your own child, your child's friend, your nephew, grandchild, boy or girl, Wicked Uncle offer an amazing selection of gifts to suit different budgets, needs and tastes.

Recently Maxwell was given £40 to spend at Wicked Uncle, after looking at the website together we came up with the plan of purchasing Maxwell the Illuminated Aqua Dragons Deluxe set which was priced at £23.95. We also ordered Maxwell a Doctor on Call - Wooden 7 piece Set which was priced at £19.50.

The ordering process was incredibly easy. At the checkout I had to simply type our address details in and then I was asked whether I would like our toys gift wrapped and if I would like a hand written card or a gift label attached to the gift. Due to the toys being just for Maxwell I felt we did not need these little extra's on our parcel however I thought that the gift wrapping idea was fantastic and I was surprised at how little it would cost me to include this extra.

After I had made my order, I received confirmation of my order and we ended up waiting just a few days for our parcel to be delivered. When our parcel arrived it was carefully packed and I ended up feeling that the order process and the delivery process had been a exceptional one.

Illuminated Aqua Dragons Deluxe
As soon as the Aqua Dragon set arrived Maxwell wanted to get it set up however it took us a few days to set it up due to the fact we needed to buy bottled water. Without buying and using the bottled water our Aqua Dragons may not have hatched so it was important that we bought the bottled water.
Once we had bought the bottled water we found the process of setting the Aqua Dragons tank up easy to do thanks to the easy to follow instructions which we were sent with the set.
So far our Aqua Dragons are only around a week old and are still babies however they are developing well and Maxwell adores watching them through the magnified glass which comes with the set. Maxwell also enjoys feeding them and making sure there is plenty of oxygen in their water, without these 2 things the Aqua Dragons would die so Maxwell has found a new responsibility.
I feel that this is a fantastic set to buy for children. I think this set would be brilliant for children aged 6+ however I also feel it is a fantastic set for children aged 3+ who plan to use this set with their parents help.


Doctor on Call - Wooden 7 piece Set
Maxwell's preschool informed us that Maxwell was lacking in confidence when it came to Maxwell doing imaginary play so I thought this set would improve Maxwell's imagination and he would have a lot of fun when using this doctor on call set.
The Doctor on Call set comes in a lovely red case and all the small bits have places in the case to sit. The case is small enough to take around the house but it is also a fantastic size to take with you in the car or would be a wonderful extra to take to entertain your child when you are visiting people.
The Doctor on Call set is brilliant due to the detail and the amount of pieces which come with the set however the only small niggle I have is that although all the small bits and pieces are wooden, the stethoscope is not. The stethoscope is made of plastic and also has small plastic bits which come off - due to this Maxwell has managed to loose one of the small bits already.
Due to the small bits (especially the plastic bits which are removable) I think this set would be appropriate for a child aged 3+ however it may require some adult supervision.

Overall my experience with Wicked Uncle was extremely positive. Their website is easy to follow and is clear to read. I love the fact that Wicked Uncle have taken the time to add gifts into age categories and I love the fact that they have split the toys into gender categories.

I feel that Wicked Uncle stock a great range of goods at affordable prices for all and I would quite like to see them bring out a adult version of there online store in the future as it is something I would definitely use.

A huge thank you to Helen for letting me guest post on her blog to I am really excited to be here, my name is Sarah and I am most often found over at Life in a Break Down, where I blog about a bit of everything – I do hope you enjoy my post on some Spring outfit ideas.

We had a lovely brush with spring just a few weeks ago and I am really hoping that isn't it all for this year. In winter I love to bundle up in warm jumpers and scarves but once spring comes around I really fancy updating my wardrobe with some new looks, it is almost like a new start, all around.

One of my favourite plus size stores Taking Shape, have some wonderfully colourful items in store for this year, but I'm still edging on the darker side with my clothing choices, so I put together this outfit, that while taking on board my love for black, still includes a splash of colour.

Night Owl Leggings - £29
I actually brought these back in the autumn of last year and it doesn't surprise me at all they are still being sold; they offer a completely different style of legging with the beautiful cut out shapes. As well as offering the perfect cover up for those, like me that don't like their legs.

Blooming Gorgeous Tunic - £55
Taking Shape offer a wide range of tunics and actually brought back my love for them as they are so different from my original idea of a straight up and down but baggy shaped top. I love the pop of colour on this one and I get the feeling depending on how you wear it, it could easily go from day to night.

Coloured Plates Necklace - £15
This beautiful necklace is just one of many statement pieces Taking Shape offer, all of which are designed to go perfectly with at least some of the clothes they have on sale. I personally love the shape and colour of this one; I can see it looking perfect with many different outfits.

Uilana Ballet - £55 (on sale for £25)
I've long lusted after these shoes, I tried them on in store in the summer last year and they are so comfortable, perhaps I should finally give in before they run out of stock in my size.

What are you hoping to update your wardrobe with this spring?

Recently I worked out the budget that we live on yearly and was surprised at our income, it was a lot lower than I ever thought. Although Ben work's full time and provides for Maxwell and I, we do not have a lot of disposable income. Luckily I am very budget savvy and I have the time to budget and we tend to use our money wisely which means that we rarely every go without however, things could always change in a blink of a eye.

Legal & General recently shared a campaign which made me realise that we will may not always be fortunate to be in a good place with money. They recently conducted research which showed that if the main breadwinner of a household died or if they had a long term sickness, managed to get a injury or had a critical illness, on average working age families like Ben and I would be on the breadline within 14 days.
What luxuries would you give up if you were close to the breadline?
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