My First CloudBaby

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Since little J's birthday last month he has really enjoyed playing with his toys. I know that might sound strange but if you have read my blog you will know he went through a phase of just wanting to play with telephones, remote controls and my iPad. It was so frustrating and no matter how many toys he had he just wouldn't play with them. It was hard to decide what to buy him for his birthday because we honestly felt like no matter what we bought he wouldn't play with it anyway. Daddy and I put our heads together and decided to buy him a kitchen. He plays with the one in nursery and does enjoy making pretend cups of tea and eating pretend pizza. We also took it a step further with a shopping trolley, cleaning trolley, till and pram. He had everything he needed to create house for himself and I am so pleased to say it worked, He has really enjoyed playing with his new toys.

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Project 365 Days 103-109

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Its back to school and work next week so we tried to make the most of our last week off.

103/365 - Sun was shining so it was out in the garden for some football.

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Octonauts Arrive At CBeebies Land

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Alton Towers is a special place for us, we try to go many times a year especially on special occasions. To celebrate little J's birthday we took him to CBeebies land in Alton Towers. The Octonauts have arrived this year so it was a perfect chance for us to try out the new rollercoaster.

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Everything Is Better With Cake

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For those that red my blog regularly will know that one of little J's first clear words was 'Cake' Now we weren't sure whether it was just a word he had heard, found easy to say or whether he does actually love cake. Well we have soon realised he does actually love cake.

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Project 365 Days 96 - 102

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Sorry this is a little late this week

So this week we went in to triple figures. 102 days I have been doing Project 365, its actually easier than I thought it would be. I am looking forward to looking back at all our photos once we have completed 365 days.

96/365 - A nice walk down Otterspool prom with Grandma

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Bella Italia Liverpool - Review

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When we walked through the doors of the Bella Italia today I was instantly sent 15 years into the past. When Daddy and I started dating we used to go to the Bella Pasta (thats what it used to be called) all the time. Other than its name it hasn't changed really it was just how I remembered it, I even knew where the toilets where and I haven't been there for at least 13 years.

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Dr Oetker Launch #freshnessfrozen Campaign

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Being a Mummy my whole attitude towards food has changed. I have to think about my family when I make food choices now and I want to make sure that what I prepare and cook for my boys is fresh and healthy.

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Keeping The Bathroom Tidy

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Little J has always been a water baby. He loves being in the water, playing in the water, swimming and taking a bath. Big J is the same they would both live in a pool if they could. Over the past few months, probably since Christmas little J has managed to gather a large collection of bath toys. He's got everything from boats to squirters. He absolutely loves each and every of of them and plays with them nightly but they have started to make the bathroom look cluttered. 

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My 73

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I have spotted this on a few blogs now so I thought would take part and do my own. 

73 Questions and Answers - All About Me.

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Why So Clingy?

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This week I have noticed that little J has become very clingy. I thought if he was ever going to have a clingy phase then I thought it would be towards me, but its not its actually Daddy. When there is just the two of us, we play, sing, dance and have lots of fun but when Daddy comes home or enters the room he changes. He becomes upset, whiny and wants Daddy to pick him up all the time. Once Daddy picks him up he stops but then if I try to talk to Daddy or come close little J pushes me away. Its like he wants Daddy all to himself.

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The Iron Men

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Easter morning was nice and bright outside so we thought we would go for a nice walk. We didn't want to go too far as big J had plans to go online with his friends. We thought about going the Albert Dock but we recently visited there. I don't know why but Crosby Marina popped into my mind.  I haven't been to Crosby for years and Daddy, big J and little J have never been. So we packed up the car with the essentials for a Family Day Out. Spare shoes, plenty of drinks, packed lunch and the most important item of all...a football.

Lovely view of the marina

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Beauty and the Beast Panto at Epstein Theatre

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Disclosure - We were invited to watch Beauty and the Beast for the purpose of this review. 
When I was younger it was a Christmas tradition of ours to go to the pantomime. We would make a whole day of it by going to see Father Christmas, out for our tea and then an evening at the Pantomime. When I heard about the Epstein Theatre hosting an Easter pantomime I thought it was a little strange because I have always associated pantomime with Winter and Christmas time. However since I have been an adult and a mummy I have only ever been the panto once, a few years ago. I had forgotten just how good they are. I love everything about pantomimes, the 'he's behind you' and 'oh no he isn't..." Its a great family day out so even though its springtime and not a Christmas tree or fairy light in sight we headed into Liverpool to enjoy the show. 

Although I have been up and down Hanover Street many times I have never noticed the Epstein Theatre. I actually googled it before we went and read it has been open since 1913. There is just a doorway on the corner of the street and once you go up the spiral staircase you are greeted by a truly authentic theatre and auditorium. It really is a hidden beauty. 
Beauty and the Beast was the Easter pantomime and I recognised the names of a few of the cast. Alison Crawford as Belle and Ritchie Neville as Anton ( Gaston from the Disney version of the movie). As the stage was so small I was unsure how the this would work as there was a large ensemble of children and young adults as well as the seven main cast.

Our seats were centre to the stage and we had a great view. After looking round it was obvious that all seats had a great view and the theatre is very intimate and cosy. 
Unfortunately John and little J were unable to attend so it was just big J and I. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The casting was perfect. Belle (Alison) has a lovely voice and I remembered her from the TV programme Grease is the word. Ritchie (Anton) is from the newly reunited 5ive. I am still a huge fan of 5ive and have seen them live twice over the last few years after their 'Big Reunion' I think he played the part perfectly and had me laughing every time he came on stage. He didn't even need to speak just his walk and mannerisms had me giggling. 
As expected there was a bad guy ( or in this panto it was a girl) Countess Champagne and a panto dame, Miss Dolly Doughnut. The countess has an amazing voice and one of the highlights for me was her performing 'A spell on you.' Another highlight was Miss Dolly Doughnut, very very funny and I loved the innuendos and adult humour. Big J is old enough to understand a few and I found him laughing to himself.
The story pretty much followed that of the Disney film although it was the Countess who had cursed Prince Pierre to look like a beast as he would not marry her. She was the perfect panto villain with an amazing voice. Anton spent the entire performance trying to woo Belle although as we all know she falls in love with the beast. Dolly Doughnut was the Beasts cook and had me laughing throughout.  Loopy Louis was one for the kids. He was the village idiot and was in love with Belle. He threw sweets into the audience and every time he arrived on stage the kids had to shout 'Bonjour Louis'.
The second half saw the story come to a halt as the cast sang a 'If I was not in pantomime...then I would rather be' song. This saw Anton and Dolly Doughnut use water pistols to squirt the audience. We actually got soaked as we were in the firing line although big J thought this was hilarious. 
There were a few technical hitches especially regarding the microphones but they were rectified quickly and I'm sure these little hiccups will be sorted out for future performances. 
Afterwards we had a very brief meet and great with the cast. I was really looking forward to having a photo with Ritchie although they were called away quite quickly but I assume they were tired and needed a rest before the next performance later on.
Overall we had a really good time and although I thought a Easter pantomime was slightly strange  it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Michelle

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March Degustabox Delivery

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Its been a while since I reviewed a Degustabox so I was really excited when I was asked to receive March's Box 

If you are unfamiliar with Degustabox, you are really missing out. It's like a monthly subscription box but you are free to cancel at any time. Everything you receive inside is either food or drink or usually both and its always a surprise.

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DreamWorks - Home

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Last weekend we were lucky to receive preview tickets to see the new Dreamworks movie HOME. I hadn't heard of it until I received the tickets and googled. Big J had already viewed a trailer of the movie and it was on his 'to see' list. 

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McBusted's Most Excellent Adventure Tour Ever

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On a scale from 1-10 for how excited I was when McBusted announced they were touring again, I was an 11. I honestly thought it was a one off tour last year and didn't think for one minute that not only would they tour again but they would make an album together. It made my year when I heard the news and I was even more excited when I received tickets for their Most Excellent Adventure Tour for christmas. They arrived in Liverpool on 31st March and couldn't wait. I love all their songs and I was ready to sing and dance my socks off. ( I didn't have socks on but you know what I mean!)  I love it that we have the Echo Arena in Liverpool because it saves the journey into Manchester which we did for many years. Its not as big as the Manchester Arena, definitely not as high but it does attract the big names.  Our tickets were for the lower tier next to the stage, Row A. We were on Tom's side. If you have been a Mcfly/McBusted concert before you will know Tom, Danny, Dougie have always sang/played on the same side for each tour and its never changed. 

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Chocolate Making Masterclass

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I am definitely a chocolate lover and if you were to put a bag a crisps or a chocolate bar in front of me I would always choose the chocolate. When I was younger I loved Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I remember watching the movie an thinking "I would love to visit there."  When I was invited to attend a Chocolate Making Masterclass at Millennium Hotels -The Copthorne Hotel in Manchester I obviously said yes please, who wouldn't? I have never attended a masterclass before so I had no idea what to expect other than the fact we were going to make chocolate. 

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March Monthly Review Round Up

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We have been trying some great products that I can't wait to share on monthly review round up.

Firstly we have been trying Aquaint sanitising water by vital baby it's 100% natural for hands, skin, mouth and more. Perfect for sanitising bottles, teethers, dummies.

We received a 500ML spray bottle which kills 99.9% of bacteria in seconds. Perfect for use around the house. We also received a 50ML pump spray version of the Aquaint sanitising water. This is ideal to keep in the car, changing bag or handbag when you're out and about.

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Mr Tumble's Circus Is Coming To Town

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I think if you are a regular reader you will now that we are a huge CBeebies fan and Justin Fletcher / Mr Tumble is a favourite of ours. We recently reviewed his new album and little J loves it. Last year at Lollibop Justin announced that he was going on tour in 2015 and I was so excited as I knew little J would be a little bit older and would appreciate the show a lot more than he did at Lollibop.

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5 Years Ago Today

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The 28th March should be a happy day. It should be a day to celebrate. It should be a day of presents, cake, party, laughter, love, happiness and all things Disney Princess. Its not. The 28th March is full of sadness, heartache, loss and thoughts about what could have been.  5 years ago today I went into labour at 40 weeks and 5 days.  5 years ago today we went to the hospital full of excitement. 5 years ago today I was ready to have a baby. 5 Years ago today we heard the words "there is no heartbeat." 5 years ago today I knew our lives would never be the same again 5 years ago today at 3:10pm I gave birth to Isabella 5 years ago today we lost our daughter. We all love and miss you Isabella. Our Disney Princess. you can read more here Baby Loss

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Toilet Training Made Easier With Andrex

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Very soon we will take the plunge and start to potty train little J. I honestly can't remember potty training big J, he just did it. It wasn't stressful or hard work he just got on with it and I think thats why it hasn't really stuck in mind. It was easy.

Little J is showing some signs that he is ready. He knows when he has done a wee because he will pat his nappy and he will come to me with a fresh nappy in his hand. He doesn't really like his nappy being wet so he is always keen to have a nappy change. He has had a few accidents during nappy free time but again when he's wet he won't sit in it he will come straight to me and let me know.

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