Daddy keeps up with the new Panasonic TV technology

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It wasn't long ago that Daddy had set his alarm on his phone to remind him about the XBOX One Convention. It was streaming live across the world to show off the new console that was eagerly awaited by millions. I remember how exited he was when it started to stream from the xbox 360 on to our TV. If I remember rightly there was a man showing off all what this new console could do. I'm not up on technology but I do remember thinking "wow! A console can do all that?"
Daddy on the other hand is very in to technology he loves it, he needs it and he is always wanting to upgrade. Consoles, phones, computers, TV's, everything that can be upgraded really. You may remember he went to Play Expo last year. He took big J and they had an amazing time. Everything was retro and mainly arcade machines so I couldn't think of anything that he would see there that he would want...I was wrong.
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Baby Tips - Sleep

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Last month I became an Aunty for the very first time, its so exciting. Baby A is absolutely gorgeous and I knew as soon as I saw my little nephew I would become all broody and want another baby. I love babies and I would have lots if I could but for now I am going to concentrate on being the best Aunty ever.
When you hold a new baby you can never remember your own being 'that small'. Little J looked huge compared to Baby A and it made me smile because it really wasn't that long ago that he was just a baby.
 
I started thinking back to the first few days we brought little J home. He was such a good baby and was never any trouble at all really. He was such a routined baby right from the start, he loved his sleep. Thinking back I know that made the first few months so much easier than we could ever of hoped for. 
 When we had big J almost 13 years ago now we didn't really have a clue what we were doing. He had no routine really and because we were working, trying to save for a house we used to try and squeeze in as much time as possible so we didn't miss out seeing him. 
Looking back now it was a tough time with very little sleep but we did okay and he did grow out of it eventually. 
I think being a parent for the second time you do learn from your mistakes and we made sure with little J that we were well prepared.
Here are a few things we used. Although he was a perfect little sleeper I'm sure these helped get him in to a routine and have full nights sleep .

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Big J Trys An Experience Prize Thanks To Weetabix

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Weetabix and Red Nose Day have teamed up to offer 9 amazing experience prizes in their pick a nose competition. Big J is lucky to be trialling one of the prizes that is on offer.
Big J was chosen to trial the Karate Konk training experience. The prize is 3 months Karate lessons plus a full years karate membership.
Once we had found a karate club that was close to home we were ready to join. The classes run for 1 hour and there are different sessions depending on ability. Big J is a beginner as he has never done Karate before.

 
We arrived as requested 20-30 minutes before the session started. Big J filled out his registration forms. He was shown the time table of different classes available. There was karate, kung fu and kickboxing. Big J chose kickboxing.


There was a shop on site for selling everything you might need. There was so much choice.

Once we had signed up we were shown around and big J starts next week. he is really looking forward to it. He has never shown an interest in anything like this before but after having a look round he is really keen and excited.

There are so many amazing experiences to be won on the Pick Your Nose competition, this is just one of them.

You could also win a trip to a Planetarium, The Zoo or The Aquarium plus more and there is also a mystery prize.

All you need to do to enter is buy a special pack of Weetabix and enter the unique code here for your chance to win. Also Weetabix will donate 5p from every pack to Comic Relief, helping people across the UK and Africa. 

Make sure you keep an eye out for more posts about big J's karate experience.
*we were asked to trial the above prize in return for a blog post. All thoughts and any opinions are our own*
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Early Morning Fun In The Park

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 Trying to get a soon to be teen out of bed on a Sunday morning can be nightmare so we usually have to wake big J up 30 minutes before he actually needs to be up. I usually give him a nudge and then ten minutes later another nudge and then usually on the 3rd and final nudge he will eventually get out of bed. I think theres nothing better than waking bright and early on a Sunday morning and heading out to the local park. Once big J was up and dressed, we wrapped up warm and off we went. 

Little J was very good and put on his all in one on and even his hat, which is a first. He usually takes it off within seconds of it going on his head. Also big J wore his coat. Sounds a silly thing to say but for whatever reason big J hates wearing a coat and somehow thinks that a tee and a hoody is suitable when its -2 degrees outside.

We have quite a few parks local to us but we decided to go further afield to Sherdley Park. Its not too far. We left the pram at home and brought little J's bike instead just incase he got tired.

As soon as we got there little J was desperate to get out the car. He loves being outside, we all do. The ball and the bike came along too and for the first half of our walk we kicked the ball up and down the hills. Little J was really good on his feet today. Sometimes he can be very wobbly and fall over but he was almost running down hills and his balance was perfect.

Big J however wasn't so good on his feet, he fell over a few times which I think was on purpose just so he could roll down the hills. Little J thought it was hilarious although I was panicking incase he rolled in dog poo.

Little J went on bike and we went on a walk next right round the park. We walked past the farm which was closed, but we saw some chickens, goats and donkeys. 

We came to a huge mud hill on our walk which Daddy and big J had to climb up. I think little J wanted to climb up too.

There is a play area in Sherdley Park, the boys had a go on the swings, slides and big J had a climb on the climbing frame. 


















When we got to the play area I started to feel the cold so we didn't stay too long. I'm really looking forward to warmer days. I love being out and about. Most of our adventures don't cost anything. We always take a packed lunch and plenty of drinks. In the summer we will buy ice creams and little treats but for days like today we didn't spend a penny. I always find these days the best. All we needed was a ball and a play area and we had lots of fun, lots of laughs and quality family time together.



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Project 365 Days 54-60

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I hope everyone had a nice week last week. We did and as usual it went by so fast so I'm glad I was able to take a few photos to remind us of the week we just had.
54/365 - Little J really wanted to go in the garden so we wrapped up warm and headed out. Theres not a lot to do out there yet but he seemed to have lots of fun pulling bits out of our garden box. 

55/365 - Big J is starting kick boxing so we visited tonight to sign up and prepare for next week.

 
56/365 - My blog has had a makeover and I absolutely love it. Thanks to Jade Marshall Design

57/365 - Daddy and big J went to see Everton play tonight. They won 3-1 so it was smiles all round.

58/365 - Little J looks forward to his big brother coming home from school.

59/365 - Little J has started to enjoy playing with water in his kettle making cups of tea for Mummy

60/365 - We headed out bright and early to Sherdley Park today. Lots of football an running up and down hills.

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Our February Monthly Review Round Up

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I know February is only a short month but I just feel like its flew by so quickly. It doesn't seem like a month ago since I was writing my January Review Round Up. This month we have been trying out some products that I hope you will like as much as we do.
Top of our review roundup this month is something we were all very excited about. We had the chance to have a listen to Justin Fletcher - Just Party before it is released. We are huge fans of Justin and have been since big J was little. I can't believe just how great he is with the kids and he has so many shows on cbeebies - little J loves him.
So last week we popped Justins album on in the car and all four of us couldn't help but sing along. The first track Just Party is a new track and it is really fun and little J loves it. He spins around the room dancing to it. Its a real get up and dance party track.
I wasn't too sure whether Justin would be any good singing Let It Go but he does a pretty good job. 
The highlight was The Macarena were Justin has changed the words to sing about getting ready for a party. Its catchy and its lots of fun. 
Overall the album is really good. There are 19 tracks in total and we didn't skip one. Its had us all singing along and little J has been dancing all week.
The album is definitely one for Justin fans, the kids will love it.
Just Party is available to buy from March 2nd or you can preorder now HERE
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I'm not a big fan of giving little J a bath, I do it if I absolutely have to otherwise its Daddy's job. I panic if little J starts to stand up incase he slips and although he's having fun splashing around and pretending to swim I am having a panic attack incase he goes under the water for too long. Also I have the worst judgement on how hot/cold the bath should be. I am more than happy sitting in a cool bath myself but sometimes I make it just that little bit too cold for little J. 
This month we have being trying out the very cute Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Thermometer. It does exactly what it says in the title. Ray displays the temperature of both the bath or room on its LCD screen display. 
The ideal temperature for a bath is 37 degrees and if Ray reaches a temperature of 39 degrees the display blinks HOT
As a room thermometer the ideal temp is 19 degrees. Ray displays both ideal temperatures on his display for your information.
Little J loves Ray in the water and will swish him about so he doubles a bath toy too, well he does for us anyway.
For more information on Ray and the other products available from Brother Max you can click here to visit their website.
I have teamed up with Brother Max to offer my readers the chance to win a Ray Bath and Room Digital Thermometer so make sure you check out my competitions page HERE.
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We were sent a My Buddy Box to try out this month and I can honestly say I love it. More and more shops are now charging for carrier bags and whilst I don't mind paying the odd few pence for a bag, it just annoys me that I always forget to bring one of the hundreds I have at home. I do try and recycle the carrier bags and use them again but I am rubbish at remembering to keep a few in the car.
On a recent shopping trip I brought the My Buddy Box and popped it in the car. It folds up to the size of a folder or small laptop case but when you open it, its a huge big box. Perfect for popping in your shopping.
It can be used for loads of things really but for me its going to stay in the car and stop me from bringing home more carrier bags that I don't need.
To find out more about My Buddy Box you can visit the website here.
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With Mother's Day approaching I thought I would include this beautiful heart shaped photo frame as a gift idea. 
The frame can hold 7 photographs, 3 hold size 3x3ins photographs and 4 hold 3x2.5ins photographs.
The heart design just makes it extra special and it would be perfect to fill the frame with special memories, maybe photos of the children or grandchildren.
This would make a perfect present for any Mummy out there. 
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*we were sent the above items to try, all thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own*
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#Win a Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Digital Thermometer

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This month we have been trying out Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Digital Thermometer which you can read all about here.
Brother Max have kindly offered one of my readers the chance to win their own Ray in my competition. 
Ray is perfect for measuring the temperature in both the bath and room.
It has a LCD display.
Visible warnings if the bath is too hot.
 
and 
comes in a choice of 4 colours.
To win your very own Ray all you have to do is answer this question.

 How many colours can you choose from? 

Please leave your answer as a blog comment and when you do you will be able to earn extra entries by completing the options on the app below.
Good Luck


Terms
Competition closes on Monday 14th March 11:59PM
Entrants must have a valid UK address
Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified
All entrants and entries are checked and verified.
All entrants must follow the mandatory step and answer the question as a blog comment.
1 lucky winners will be chosen at random by the Gleam application.
Mummy2Monkeys will contact the lucky winners within 1 day of the competition closing
The winner must respond within 7 days.
If no response a new winner will be chosen.
The prize is Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Thermometer
There is no cash alternative.
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#Win a SnapTrip £100 Voucher

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Being a Mummy is the best job ever but it can be very hard sometimes and very tiring. Its nice to know that Mother's Day will be here soon and its nice to have a day off and be pampered. We like to plan something for special occasions like Mother's Day so that we are all together and we can have some fun. 

At the moment we haven't decided what we will be doing and we have left it a little late but I have been looking at Snaptrip who offer upto 50% off last minute UK breaks.
When I landed on the website the first three things that stuck out for me was
Book now and be there within the hour - that really is last minute.

Guaranteed savings - they claim you won't find a better price anywhere else on the internet

At the moment there is over 8,000 properties to choose from for this weekend.

I have had a browse and there are some lovely cottages up in the Lake District, perfect for a Mother's Day weekend.
Would you like to treat your Mum or someone special to a last minute Snaptrip?
If the answer is yes then enter my competition to win a £100 voucher to spend on Snaptrip
All you need to do is tell me
If you won, who would you take on a Snaptrip?

Competition closes on Thursday 11th March 11:59PM
Entrants must have a valid UK address
Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified
All entrants and entries are checked and verified.
All entrants must follow the mandatory step and answer the question as a blog comment.
1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application.
Mummy2Monkeys will contact the lucky winner within 1 day of the competition closing
The winner must respond within 7 days.
If no response a new winner will be chosen.
The prize is £100 voucher for SnapTrip
The prize is non-transferable. 
Travel is not included in this prize.
There is no cash alternative.
It will be the responsibility of the representative of the named company above to issue the prize.
The winner must consent to their name and details being passed on to the representative so their prize can be distributed.
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Another Appliance Bites The Dust

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It's that time in life where all our appliances seem to die at the same time. Why?
Our cooker is soon to be the next victim and go to the appliances heaven in the sky with our fridge and washing machine that went up not that long ago.
 
We bought a new fridge about 6 months ago because our old one really was on it's last legs and now everything else seems to need an upgrade too.
 
Top of the list towards the end of last year was a new washing machine. We went shopping to have a browse as I like to see the washing machines actually in store, but I would usually order online. 
I liked the look of the Panasonic Washing Machines, LCD and touch buttons made our old machine look ancient. Having two kids now means more washing so we did have to look at a bigger load capacity.
We did find one which was so much better than our old one. You can load 3kg more, it's got a nice display screen, child lock, wash delay timer and all other little add ons. Ours is really out of date compared to the newer models.
 
It cost an extra £90 for someone to come and fit it. When we paid Daddy noticed a difference in the price by £18, when he asked the lady she said that was for delivery. So £18 to deliver on top of the £90 for some to come and fit it. £108 extra on top of the price quoted. This seemed a lot to me but Daddy said you always get charged extra for delivery and fitting.
 
While we were there big and little J both went to look at the TVs, I know Daddy would love a new TV but unfortunately its not a priority on our list of new things we need. 
 
Big J was watching a programme on a TV that cost nearly £3,000. I don't think we will be getting that one.
 
Little J was just crawling everywhere. The shop was empty and there were more staff than customers so he was happy up and down the aisles.
 
Then big J decided he was going to chase after little J so I had the pair of them crawling around the TV displays.
 
When the men came to deliver the washing machine they also said they will take our old one away for us. I felt ashamed when the pulled the washing machine out. It looked really old and grubby and it was all dirty and dusty behind the machine. 
 
Once fitted I couldn't wait to try it out. I loaded it up and on it went. As you may have read here, little J loves the washing machine and he was keen to see the new one in action. 
 
Also on our list of things to buy are a hoover, lawn mower, strimmer, buggy, and then possible a new TV to keep the boys happy.
 
Do you find everything dies at the same time? 
 
What's top of your 'needs replacing' list?
  
*Published in conjunction with Panasonic*
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Half Term Fun

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I love it when the kids are off school. I was really looking forward to spending time with big J and heading out for some family days out. We have all been full of cold recently and unfortunately it didn't miraculously disappear last week while we were off work and school but we made the most of it.

On Monday we headed off to the Albert Dock for a ride on the Wheel of Liverpool. We have been on the wheel before. Its been a few years and little J hadn't been on it so I was unsure if he would like it. 
We had a look on the internet first to see if there were any offers on and there was a voucher for 25% off which came in handy and took the cost down to £19 for the four of us. 


The Wheel is just by the Liverpool Echo Arena and looks over the Albert Dock and the River Mersey. It was clear but the time we got on the wheel so we had a nice view out. 

On the first turn it stays at the top for a little while and then after that it goes straight round. Five times in total I think. Daddy doesn't really like heights and I was a little worried that one of the doors didn't look properly shut but it was fun and the boys enjoyed it.



We managed to get a pod to ourselves which was good as little J kept switching sides so was up and down a lot

After we had been on the Wheel we headed over to Costa for a nice lunch.


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Midweek we headed to up to Blackpool. We had a few things planned and were all indoors so it didn't matter if it was raining today but I'm glad to say it did stay nice and dry.


First of all both monkeys fell asleep on the way there. It made me giggle when I saw them both. We had only been in the car five minutes before big J was snoring. Little J managed about 20 minutes before he was snoozing too.

After there little nap we had arrived and our first stop was Sandcastle Waterpark. We have been to the sandcastle before but again before little J was born. Both boys love the water and big J loves all the slides so I knew it would be a fun day.

When we arrived the queue was huge. We had tickets so we were shown inside through a side door and within minutes we were in the changing rooms. I hate swimming baths changing rooms. They always smell funny and you never know what you are standing in so I always take my shoes off at the very last minute. I have to say considering how busy the changing rooms were they were very clean. I saw at least three staff cleaning the floors while we were there which was nice because they can get very mucky.

There were female, male and family and they all linked towards the lockers. We chose a family changing room and again considering how busy it was we didn't have to wait. 

We paid for an electronic locker which was slightly larger than the regular lockers. £3 deposit which was returned at the end of your visit. Normal lockers are available for 50p I think, I am not sure whether that is returned at the end or not.

*photograph credit - Sandcastle Waterpark*

The waterpark itself was very very busy and the queues for the slides were huge. Big J queued for almost 30 minutes for the sidewinder ride and that was only for a rubber ring. He then had to take the ring up the stairs and join another queue.

While he was queueing little J was enjoying paddling in the shallow end of the pool and swapping from one side to another.

Big J loved the sidewinder ride. and was eyeing up the next slide. First though he played with little J in the pool. After a hour of so I could see little J was a little tired so I decided to take him out and let Daddy and big J hit the slides

We got back to the changing rooms and to dressed and then headed back into the waterpark to take a seat and have something to eat.

I was a little disappointed that after walking round for almost 15 minutes there was no where to sit. Not one free table. There is maintenance on some of the seating area by the snack bar but all the other seats were empty but had peoples towels on them. I don't think that is fair and it felt like being on holiday when you have to fight for a sun lounger in the morning. It was clear that no one was sat there, the towels were dry

In the end we gave up and decided to go for a walk instead. On the way out just by the main entrance there was another snack bar and some sofas so we manage to sit there and grab a bite to eat. I had my iPad with me so little J chilled on that and made use of the free wifi.

After a while Daddy and big J returned and they had only managed two slides in just over 1 hour and a half. They did manage to try out Aztec Falls which was a new ride. They loved it. Very fast and dark. We have promised big J that we will return another time on a less busier day so he can enjoy the slides although I think it will be busy all the time as it seems very very popular.

Overall the seating situation was a nightmare and I do think there should be a policy to remove towels if no one is sitting there. There was so many people standing up, with babies and children because they couldn't get a seat. Like I said above it was very clean and for me personally that was a big thumbs up as I felt comfortable walking round without my shoes on. The slides they went on, they loved. Big J's favourite was Aztec Falls and Daddy like the duelling dragons. There was plenty for little J to do too. 

Both boys had a great time and we will definitely be returning again. 

What did you get up to in Half Term?



*we were invited to the sandcastle waterpark, all thoughts opinions and photographs are our own unless stated*
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