As many of you know I have M.E and with that brings symptoms of IBS unfortunately. This can be a real pain as I am a total latte addict and literally cannot walk past a Costa without buying my favourite vanilla latte as a treat. But as you can imagine this occasionally has unpleasant consequences ( I’m sure no more detail is needed!).
So when I was approached to try this new A2 milk I thought I might as well give it a go. Now apparently this milk haven’t got a certain protein in it that would appear in normal milk that can have a nasty affect on your digestive system. I found out that they dell it in my local Tesco store which although I don’t normally shop there I thought I would take a trip and check out this milk.
First of all I took a note of the price and a 4 pint bottle is priced at £1.99 so it’s a little more expensive than normal milk. I was lucky enough to have been sent vouchers for enough for a 2 week supply as they were trying to get people to switch for a 2 week period to see if they could feel the difference.
I will warn you now that this post will deteriorate into a rant and I cannot be held responsible for my language that may follow…………..
I have watched loads of these videos and laughed at the person being iced without ever having any intention of doing it myself. Then I watched a video that changed all that. This video is heartfelt and shows the reality and the fear that someone who cares for someone with this disease or has it themselves.
That’s certainly what it feels like this month ( and last month). Now I know we are not the only one’s in this predicament and that there are lots of people a lot worse off than we are.
However, it is difficult to stay positive and not panic when you bank balance literally disappears before your eyes. This month alone has been my youngest’s birthday. Something I normally budget for and this year although I frugally sourced everything it still was difficult to cover. That was because we had so many things to pay for!! There is no other way to say it but we just had loads to pay for!!
So on top of the birthday we had……
*£90 for drama term for youngest.
*£40 for an Explorer weekend camp my eldest really wanted to go on.
*£90 to have my poor ‘Gorgeous George‘ cremated after a shock unplanned pet death.
*£15 for a 1/2 day Geography school trip.
*£20 towards expenses for my eldest’s PE trekking trip.
*£70 for a boiler service.
*£150 for my OH’s motorbike service and MOT.
Ok, so we have not yet overdrawn and I know a LOT of people live via their overdrafts. That is just something I couldn’t do. I wouldn’t sleep ( or get even less than I get now!).However, we have no savings to dip into either. At the end of the day we always pay what’s owed, then live on what’s left. I am extremely frugal with food and have recently made the leap to Aldi where I have found we have been saving at least £10 a week easy, if not much more, on our food bills.
But then there is NO extra!! I mean none!! I don’t go out except for the odd coffee and catch up with friends. My OH never goes out- ever!! He works hard, tries to get as much overtime as possible and then comes home. He never moans about it, that’s just what he does. The kids earn their pocket money by doing chores- it’s not just handed to them.
I’m left feeling worse about not working. Regulars will know I have M.E and this week alone I have been unable to do anything- I mean anything! I have been hit with exhaustion that has made it difficult to function, shower and make dinner- let alone anything else.
If I worked I could help financially, I could relieve the pressure and possibly make things easier. But I cant!!! It’s so frustrating. Frustrating beyond words.
And so I now look towards next month and the run up to Christmas. Thank goodness we pay into a ‘Christmas Club’ via family, it means we get get our money back in November in plenty of time to organise Christmas.
Then I hear people saying hey are going out, going for a weekend away, buying new clothes, going for meals etc and just wonder……….HOW DO THEY DO IT?
I came across Britmums Hungry2Happy Challenge and it isn’t something I would normally do but lets face it £200 Tesco vouchers or £700 Centre Parcs Vouchers is nothing to be sniffed at.
Normally when I see these food challenges a lot of them are aimed at getting younger children to eat and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to join in with this one. My boys are now 12 and 15 years old and seem to be always hungry. So this one is for the teens.
When I saw it was to use Richmond’s new mini meatballs I knew my boys would eat them, we already like Richmond’s Irish recipe sausages. So with that in mind I aimed the meal at something more teen friendly with an element of fast food.
There are days where we have after school clubs that are timed so that dinner would be too early but they wouldn’t feel like eating if it was too late!! So I decided that my meatball sub would be a great fast food alternative for teens.
This was very quick to make up and cook through and with ingredients that I would naturally have in my house. Nothing fancy needed, that’s a bonus!
1. Put the meatballs in the oven to cook for 8minutes, add the ciabbatta rolls, 1 for each person.
2. Dice the onion and the mushrooms, cook in a little olive oil while the meatballs are cooking.
3. Once the meatballs are done add to the pot with the onion and mushrooms and crumble on the Oxo cube.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and add a decent shake of the Italian spice and cook through for around 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
5. Cut the rolls open, butter if you prefer, and add a couple of spoonfuls of the meatball mixture and serve!
* you could add cheese on top
* you could serve open with salad or closed as a sub!
Time taken- 20 minutes in total and I would bet that it would be great kept in the fridge and reheated the next day for seconds.
I added a compulsory bit of greenery!!
Simples!!
This post is an entry for BritMums Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs. You will find more details of the challenge here
They are a bit like Marmite, you either love roller coasters or hate them.
I love them and always have, as does my OH (except when they dive vertically down!) and my youngest will try most of them- but my eldest hates them ALL.
Our best holidays were definitely our two trips to Florida ( big thanks all round to mum without who we would not have ever afforded to go!) where literally you had all the roller coasters you ever wanted.
Years ago ( before kids) a group of us went on a weekend trip to Alton Towers which was fab and I still have great pics to prove it. We haven’t made it back though and would love to take our youngest there to try out a few. I’m sure it has changed immensely since we have visited.
Check out the video below that shows their newest ride ‘The Smiler’ the 1st 14 loop ride!!
Looks amazing doesn’t it……….like I said I think Alton Towers has changed dramatically since I visited many moons ago.
Watch our video to see Alton Tower’s new record-breaking ride, The Smiler, in action for the very first time
Family favourite, Alton Towers Resort has unveiled the world’s first 14 loop rollercoaster, The Smiler. Twice the size of Nemesis, The Smiler has been given the official Guinness World Record for the most loops in a coaster has officially been broken by the UK’s number 1 theme park, smashing the previous record of 10.
The Smiler, which is Alton Towers Resort’s biggest ever investment at £18m, has the equivalent of ten football pitches of ride-track and took over eight months to build. Not for the faint hearted, the marmalising rollercoaster also features a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and jabbing needles designed to mess with your mind.
Watch our video to catch the first glimpse of the rider’s experience in action and meet the man behind the record breaking rollercoaster. You’ll also get to see what impact the 14 loop ride will have on a rider’s body and mind through facial recognition technology.
See if your family can handle it. The Smiler will be open to the public on 23rd May.
Some more quirky facts:
• The track of ‘The Smiler’ is equivalent to 78 double decker buses lined up within a row
• Track length – 1,170m. This is 3x the length of Oblivion
• Highest drop is 30m, comparable to 17 black cabs stacked up on top of each other
• Maximum speed – approx. 85km/hr. which is 10km/hr. faster than Air
• 3,000 hours of manual labour, equal time to flying to Australia 143 times
Then check out this new CBBC show due to start 11th March, it will run on weekdays at 7.45am.
Now I know this is rather early and lets face it usually a manic time on school days! However, thank goodness for the record button LOL. So put it to good use if your house is as manic as mine in the mornings.
In the meantime have a look at the link below to get an idea of what to expect, cross the original Record Breakers, with all the mad and awesome stuff people get up to nowadays and your will be getting close!
I can vouch for this as I am a true sufferer. It starts a few hours after the kids finish school for the holidays and then subsides the day they go back!! Weird I know.
It starts small with the odd feck just in my head. However, the longer the kids are off the worse the condition gets, until I’m shouting/ screaming……..
F**k, Sh*t, B**locks…………….in my head of course!
Ok, Ok I admit the odd one MAY just pop out uncontrollably.
There is no cure for this condition (story of my life) however, there is a management treatment that seems to help…………………………………..It’s called ALCOHOL.
I have tried and tested this to the full and can definitely say that it does help the situation.
Anyone else suffer with this VERY SERIOUS condition?
I survived the first week back at school…….did you?
YES I survived the 1st week back to school.
Oh. My. God. (actually OMFG!!)
How hard was that. Really was it just me, I truly doubt it.
Now my boys are 12 and 14yrs old so granted I don’t have the school run to do, but I would VERY gladly swap the school run for teenage moodiness and tantrums. Yep TANTRUMS. Oh and deciding to get them to make their own packed lunches went down like a lead balloon *cough* HELLO we have been making them since you went to Reception! So perhaps I will leave it a while before I introduce my eldest to ironing his own school shirts.
Ok, I know they are tired too, and I must admit it’s hard seeing them leave for school in the dark. I detested that when I was young, although I was in Belfast so it was dark AND RAINING!
So here’s to a mammoth lay in for all concerned tomorrow.
Sounds like something you have an interest in for the New Year? I have had many dealings through this company and have enjoyed a great PR relationship with Jessica Feldman who has given me opportunities to telephone interview a TV celeb, and review a brand new car to mention a few. They deal with companies from a wide range of products and brands.
Check out the details below:
Want to be part of the brand spanking new Blogger Broadcast Ambassador Programme?
Markettiers4dc is launching a new Blogger Broadcast Ambassador Programme and is looking to recruit Mummy and Daddy Bloggers to review products like shoes, clothes and toys for your kids, and stuff for you such as cars and fashion & beauty products which we will send on behalf of brands that we are working with.
All we ask in return from you is that you review these products with a video camera that we will supply you with. We will also give you the opportunity to record podcast interviews with celebrities and industry specialists on a number of parenting topics and take part in our live TV shows which you can stream live through your own blogs. Ideally, you will post your reviews in your blogs, tweet about them and upload video to sites such as YouTube and Facebook as well.
To help you produce the best quality videos or podcast, those who are selected as Ambassadors, will also receive broadcast media training and some tips on video and audio production, together with a goody bag from us, including video cameras!
If you are interested in getting involved, want more information on the clients we work with, or want to know more about the programme contact: bloggerambassadors@markettiers4dc.com
Are you a mum who can pop up the tree and hand your kids a box of decorations to do as they wish, killing 2 birds with 1 stone as they say- kids happy to do it and one less job for mum?
I confess I am DEFINITELY not one of those mums! I wish I could be but for some reason I get all OCD when it comes to my Christmas decorations and tree. It has to be ‘just so’ and even when it is done I constantly adjust for a day or two until I’m happy with it.
However, this as you can imagine takes forever. I am not OCD with anything else ( I don’t think) so why Christmas decs?
I’m still not happy with the lights……….400 on there and not bright enough yet!
I’m also very nosey and love to look at other people’s Chritmas trees………….
