Self Host or Not Self Host…….that be thy question!

Ok I’ve been umming and arring a while now about going self hosted. So yesterday I took the plunge and did it.

I have to be the most computer illiterate person on the planet. At work I spend half my time on the phone to IT support, I constantly forget passwords and haven’t got a clue what I’m doing, sometimes I even struggle to print things. So it did cross my mind about how I was going to manage to migrate my blog over etc.
All I can say is thank goodness for tsohost. They are the most patient and helpful people ever. They didn’t tut or sigh at me once and they talked me through the whole process.

Yay that is that I’m now self hosted.
I do hope that everyone who has followed me at mamaknowsbest2.wordpress.com will continue to support me in my new home at mamaknowsbest2.co.uk.

Iphone 5 case #mrnutcase

I’ve been a big fan of the Iphone. Ever since I had my first Iphone 3G I was hooked. I’ve learnt a few things about what not to do to them over the years but the main things are they don’t like to be dropped and they scratch very easily!!

Little C frequently likes to play on my phone. It’s a constant worry as he doesn’t fully understand that it is an expensive piece of technology that requires handling with care!

I was offered a 100% discount code from MrNutcase.com for a slimline Iphone 5 case RRP £14.95. Cases for tablets and different phones are available. The website was very easy to use. There are lots of pre designed cases to choose from, or the option to personalise your own. This again was very simple to do. Just a matter of uploading a picture of your choice to their website using the design templates provided. I chose just to have one picture on my cover but there are multiple design options available.

From start to finish it took me 10 minutes to design my case and place my order. The case arrived well packaged a day later.

I’m really impressed with the case. It did have a funny inky smell but this soon evaporated. It fits my phone well and is made from hard durable plastic as well as protecting the back of the phone and wraps around to protect the sides and corners. It seems to be keeping my phone in good visual order…..although it hasn’t been dropped yet lol. I’ll keep you posted about that one! Having a photo on the back makes it really personal, I’ve had lots of admirers.

These cases would make an ideal gift for someone or a nice treat for yourself 🙂

Many thanks to MrNutcase for supplying this case for review.

Grateful for the little things

As another busy shift at ‘the office’ draws to an end it’s left me feeling desperate for the door grateful. I’m grateful for lots of things but firstly for the many wonderful, funny and supportive colleagues I have the pleasure of sharing my working life with.

For the loving family that patiently wait for me to arrive home with a hot cup of tea……usually at the very least 30 minutes later than I should arrive! Then listen and offer hugs and more tea when needed.

For the little boy who greets me on a Monday morning with excited eyes because I’m home and he has missed me over the weekend.

Life in our household may never be 100% perfect but 99% of the time I think we are happy. We laugh daily and we have our health and for that I’m truly grateful.

And then out of the darkest clouds appeared a rainbow or two 🙂

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Ozeri 4x Digital Pedometer

I used to be a regular attender at the local sports centre. Frequently doing classes, using the gym or going for a swim. I will be honest I wouldn’t say I loved it, it was more a necessity than choice, it stopped me looking like the size of a house!! You see I’ve always battled with my weight, at school I ballooned to a dress size 22. Being this size and my dodgy haircut put me at the forefront for a lot of teasing.

Once I’d got through college I decided enough was enough, the weight had to go! Eating healthily (90% of the time) and exercise kept me at a comfortable size 12-14. Which is ok as I’m 5’10” so can carry it.

I gained just under 2 stone whilst I was pregnant…….and I’m still holding onto over a stone of it 3 years later! Nowadays getting to the gym or a class is nearly impossible and the only swimming I do is at Little C’s swimming lesson (not much lol). I do try and jog in the nicer weather but just can’t face it in the winter, far too cold and dark.

I jumped at the chance when I was offered the opportunity to review the Ozeri 4×3 motion digital pedometer.

I immediately loved the bright yellow colour. It was easy to set up as it came with comprehensive user instructions. During set up you are required to enter your weight and stride length, the pedometer can then give you accurate calories burned.
Other pedometers I’ve used in the past have needed to be kept a certain way up, causing inaccuracies in step count if turned the wrong way. This is because they would traditionally count your steps using a pendulum. The 4×3 motion digital pedometer has a built in tri-axis sensor, meaning it can detect 3D motion so it doesn’t matter which way up it is. This is a great feature as it means it can just be placed in your pocket or bag.
The manufacturer does recommend that it is kept secure and not swinging loose to maintain accuracy. It’s supplied with a lanyard to enable you to wear it round your neck. I would have also liked a clip so I could have securely attached it to my pocket.
It automatically resets each day and has a 7 day historical data which is easily accessible. I did find that after the 7 days was up it reset itself and I had to reset the calendar and everything again, this only takes seconds to do but may become irritating after a while.

Research shows that walking 10,000 steps or more per day can significantly increase your health. Since using the pedometer I have become very aware of how many steps I’m taking and continuously try to beat the amount I did the day before. As the saying in weight loss goes ‘if you’re moving you’re losing’!!

Pizza Men!

Am getting really sick of making sandwiches for Little C for lunch. Then I had a brain wave!!

Little C loves to bake but I’m currently on a diet to shed my long over due baby weight (nearly 3 yrs overdue!). So baking cakes is classed as a fatal episode. I just can’t not eat them. I have strong enough will power not to eat store bought cake but I just have not got enough of the will power to resist fresh home made cake 😦

2 birds with one stone!! Pizza men! Like ginger bread men but a savoury version. It was very simple made the pizza dough. We rolled it out. Cut out our desired shapes. Let it rise in a warm place then applied the toppings and baked in the oven.
Easy peasy and Little C loved munching on them.

Only drawback is it took me ages to clean the kitchen and I’m still finding bits of dough now lol

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Portugal with a 3 month old! #AfWishIWasThere

Al Fresco holidays are running a competition called Wish I Was There. Offering the chance to win £400 of holiday vouchers and a camera. This gave me food for thought as a holiday is just what we need 🙂

We were thinking about a holiday long before we even knew that little C was cooking. Originally it was camping in France. Then we discovered we were pregnant so a change of plan and off to a villa in Portugal we went.

Well flying with a 3 month old wasn’t as stressful as I’d thought and once there we had an amazing time. It was just what we needed although the weather was very hot. Now don’t get me wrong I usually love warmer weather but I was a typical neurotic first time mother! You’d think I was transporting a celebrity around in the hire car hiding from paparazzi with the amount of shade I was providing! And when in the pushchair we are not talking shade think more total uv and sun block out! The poor little fella didn’t see day light for 2 weeks! Lol.

My most memorable moment was when we were all swimming in the pool and Little C was chilling out watching us. It really was a beautiful holiday.
My partners family are planning a trip again to the same villa unfortunately due to finances (just moved house) we are not able to go with them. This has been quite upsetting really as we have such lovely memories from the first time round. Little C is that much older so would be super excited to be going on a plane and to be visiting a new place.

I wish we were back there because time is precious. It’s very rare that we spend time together as a whole family due to crossing shift patterns and both working full time. Any annual leave taken where we stay at home invariably ends up being the start of another unfinished DIY project on the house. So a foreign holiday is an ideal opportunity to forget about the day to day things and just enjoy being a family.

Ahhh Sunshine at last!!

We live in East Devon. You may or may not have seen on the news about the disastrous flooding that has happened recently? It has ruined lots of peoples homes and created havoc for all kinds of transport. I feel we are lucky in that our home is relatively unaffected…….apart from the leak in the roof but at least it is still standing and we have our home. For this I am thankful.

Due to the adverse weather conditions we have sort of become prisoners in our home. Unable really to go out and let Little C run off energy. It’s been terrible. We usually go out every day as I feel it helps to keep me sane! I think I suffer cabin fever lol. For the past 3 mornings we have woken up to hideous weather. We have baked, painted and played numerous games but tempers and tantrums were fraying…….we needed to get out!

This mornings sunshine was a welcome break. We grabbed our welly boots and hot footed it to the beach. Desperate not to miss a second of the glorious Vitamin D!! And as an added bonus LLP (Life Long Partner) aka Daddy was on lates so he was able to join us.

Today has been the perfect end to my 2 weeks of Annual Leave…….back to work tomorrow!

Time flies!!!

Why is it that a normal working week can invariably drag, yet 2 weeks of annual leave flies by?
Seriously blink and you’ll miss it! Im creeping to the end of my second week and it’s going far too fast for my liking 😦

I had so many plans for my time off. Clean the house, get the ironing up to date, batch cook some meals etc the list goes on. In reality I’ve had lots of play dates with Little C and trying to get from A to B without the car drowning thats about it!! I actually think that the house is more untidy than usual, we are still in creased clothes and the cobwebs are still there!

It’s amazing how tiring not going to work is! Due to local flooding we are sort of house bound. I have however used this opportunity and ventured into trying to de clutter the loft. I can’t believe the amount of rubbish we moved with. Why didn’t we just throw it out before we moved?!

I seem to be emotionally attached to junk! The most random of things seem to be difficult to throw away. Out of 5 boxes that came down only 2 boxes went back up, I’m quite pleased with that 🙂
(Only 35 more boxes to sort)

I find parting with anything of Little C’s very difficult. Be it toys or baby clothes or toddler clothes come to that, I just can’t bring myself to give them away or sell them.

I think I’m a secret hoarder! Wonder if hypnotherapy will help lol ??

Awkward questions and not even 3!!

I frequently shower in the mornings with Little C. Unless it’s a work day then I get it all to myself 🙂
I mainly do this because he really enjoys playing with water, we are always running late and at least if he is in the shower with me he can’t be creating havoc anywhere else in my absence!

Today as most days we embarked in the shower. I’m merrily washing my hair with the amazing new shampoo I’ve got from my sister-in-law (she’s a hairdresser). It smells amazing and cleans product out of my hair brilliantly. I almost felt like I was being pampered having a posh hair wash. Then came the question.

Little C:- “Mama I got a willy”
Me:- “yes that’s right”
Little C:- “Mama what you got “?
Me:- “errrrrr”!!!!! “Where’s your flashing duck”?

Ok so I know a change of subject possibly wasn’t the correct thing to do but this mama needed time to think. He caught me unawares. I was at a complete loss as to what to say. Luckily he found his flashing duck and began playing his favourite game of trying to teach it it swim. I’m at work all weekend so have 2 child free showers ahead of me and I’m confident that by Monday I’ll have an answer ready 🙂