Well that was 2011!

It has passed in a blink of an eye and a constant flurry of activities.  2011, has been a great year! My family have continued to make me proud and are my greatest joy and achievement. Freddy has grown into a bright and gorgeous toddler (with a Diva-ish penchant for dancing in his big sister's dresses!)  Kizzy is thriving at school and has enjoyed taking part in the Gifted and Talented programme.  Ella's musical talents continue to astound me with her beautiful guitar playing and vocals.  Megan is doing so well applying for Graduate schemes ready for September. Joe has been promoted at work with his new post starting in January.  But 2011 has been a great year for me personally too!  My blog has continued to present me with amazing opportunities and I have been amazed at how much it has evolved over the last 12 months. Here are some of my highlights of the year.

My success with my weightloss has seen me have photoshoots for The Sun and Top Sante and I have appeared in the Mail Online.  I was the runner-up in the Slimpod Slimmer of the Year competition which was a huge honour, after shedding 3 stone with the Lose 2 Jeans Sizes Slimpod!  This year I want to lose another stone and maintain a comfortable size 12.  That will be a huge achievement and will make me truly believe that I have completely kicked the yoyo diet habits forever.  I am forever indebted to the wonderful Sandra Roycroft-Davis who I have met on numerous occasions this year.

Top Sante shoot by Thomas Skovsende

In 2011 I have been a Craniac for John Crane, a Graco Ambassador and a Toys R Us Toyologist. I have worked with some great companies including UK Mums TV, Aldi, Regis, Pampers, Warner Bros, P&O, Quinny, Next and Ubisoft.  I love working closely with brands that I believe in.  It is an amazing opportunity to test out products and attend events, and share my thoughts on my blog.

In 2011 I enjoyed going to Cybermummy along with fellow ambassador Emma representing Graco.  With a hire car from Hyundai and Lou as my co-pilot we had a great time meeting fellow bloggers and learning a thing or two about the blogging world.  I even won the passport competition, winning a weekend at The Four Seasons Hotel.  Above all though, attending this event was a huge achievement for me.  Just a few months prior to this, I would never have dreamt that I would be able to drive all the way to London and stay in a hotel on my own without Ian by my side.  This was a real test for me and my self-confidence...and I've not looked back since!

Feeling like an official Blogger at Cybermummy

I took Kizzy to the Hexbugs Bedbugs Sleepover at London Zoo.  It was amazing sleeping on the floor of a bug house alongside ants and cockroaches after having a private tour of the zoo by torchlight.  We went with Helen and her daughter Hanna who were perfect company.

Meeting a Tarantula at London Zoo

The Next event to preview the SS12 range was a wonderful, child friendly affair where we were thoroughly spoiled!  I had some photos taken of Freddy which I absolutely love.  I'm proud to be part of the Next Blogger Network and would love to work with them again in 2012.

Fred modelling his Next jeans (Next jumper was removed prior to photoshoot!)

I guest edited Real People which was a real highlight of the year and got to produce a two page spread that appeared in the magazine.  It was an amazing experience that gave me the chance to recommend some of my favourite blogs and top toys.

My Real People pages!

Attending the Tots 100 Butlins Christmas Party was a wonderful opportunity to combine blogging with my family, as me, Ian and the kids descended on the Bognor Regis resort.  I had a really great time catching up with favourite online friends and spending some quality pre-Christmas fun with my family.  Thanks again to Sally!

Our Tree Decorating Team at Butlins

The Rachel's Organic event at Buxted Park Hand Picked Hotel was another wonderful opportunity.  We watched top chef Lucy Hyder prepare dishes using Rachel's products before being treated to a sumptuous four course meal in the 5* restaurant.  The hotel was exquisite, the company was superb and the food was out of this world.

Me and Lucy Hyder of Buxted Park.

I have enjoyed family outings to zoos, safari parks, theme parks, Blackpool dungeons and events such as Bob's Big Build (where we enjoyed a marvellous breakfast on board a Clipper alongside Danielle, Helen and families before arriving at the O2 for lots of Bob related fun!).  Sharing the benefits of blogging with the children and Ian is a real bonus, making the hours spent tapping away on my laptop worthwhile.  The children have also relished the opportunity of being my Tiny Testers, helping me with my reviews.  I couldn't have done it without them!

Kizzy at Bob's Big Build

What a great year 2011 has been!  Here's hoping that 2012 is going to be as successful, eventful and fun for us all!  I hope to see many more of you in 2012...our community is a wonderful place and I am honoured to be a part of it!  Happy New Year! xxx

Butlins for Christmas

As a child, Butlins was our annual holiday destination for years.  Back then, it was Barry Island, made famous by Gavin and Stacey, that was our camp of choice.  We used to love the holiday camp experience because me and my two sisters had the freedom to explore the resort, coming together with our parents for meal times and evening entertainment with the Redcoats.

Unfortunately, I was a painfully shy child who desperately wanted to join in with the evening's rendition of the 'Wiggle Wiggle Whoops' dance with the other children, but couldn't muster up the courage to do so.  It was pretty tragic!  Similarly I'd shiver in the corner of the swimming pool rather than splashing around with anyone.  I was so backward in coming forward, something I'd never wish on my own kids.  You miss out on so much being shy and retiring.

Butlins in the 70s....I'm the littlest!!

Fast forward to this weekend and I found myself back in the Butlins fold thanks to the rather inspirational Sally Whittle who had organised an amazing Tots 100 Xmas Party for us bloggers to attend.  It was a fantastic opportunity to combine some family fun into a blogger event, which is the best of both worlds as far as I'm concerned.

Bognor Regis was a five hour drive from Shropshire which was a bit arduous but well worth the effort.  We were staying in the Ocean holiday which was a world away from the hi-de-hi chalets of my youth!  Our room was modern, clean, spacious and funky!  The girls had a separate little room with their own TV and the bed and bathroom had colour changing mood lights (or rainbows as Freddy called them!)

The resort itself was based around the Skyline Pavillion which housed all the entertainment, eateries and amusements. It was all very razzle dazzle!!  There was so much going on to keep all ages having fun.  Freddy loved the little rides and the soft play area.  My girls were brilliant helping to look after him.

We watched shows...the Take That tribute act Beautiful World got me and my sister QWERTY Mum, Bloggomy's Lou and my girls up and dancing.  We were stage front and getting down!  Bjorn the Polar Bear was amazing...how did they do that??  The Guinness World Records show was enjoyed by my girls who built a Lego Tower in their record breaking attempt.

The outdoor funfair kept us occupied for a while and it was all free!  We also took a walk to the beach on Saturday which was a  bright, sunny day and simply perfect for clearing the cobwebs away!

In addition to the family stuff, Sally had organised a meet and greet with a festive tree decorating challenge for us bloggers to take part in.  We were Team C (for competitive!!) and we fiercely defended our scissors, sellotape and creative ideas in our bid to be the winning team.  Sadly we were beaten by the cranberry threading skills of my sister's team, despite us having a cheesy Christmas poem and everything!  But I was lucky enough to feel and squeeze myself to a win in another festive challenge, which involved a box full of items that we had to identify by blindly fondling through a hole.  My fondling skills are clearly well honed because I felt my way to victory! I am the sort of person who never wins raffles or public contests, but my incredulous response was soon replaced by delight!  Thanks Sally :)

We were also treated to a Christmas dinner that was preceded by Festive Cocktails.  Sally spoils us!  I had a great evening with some great company.  We had a small scandal that can only be referred to as Waitergate (poor Sam may never recover from his ordeal!)  There was some hilarity involving the dessert (prunes???  Seriously!  I'm regular enough, cheers!)  And I think Brian Turner hates vegetarians.  But it was a great opportunity to eat, drink and make merry.  It was particularly nice to get to know some bloggers I hadn't met or really chatted to before...Karen and Kate you were a joy!  Plus I got to catch up with my sister!

We ended a fabulous weekend with a visit to the big man himself!  The Enchanted Forest and visit with Santa was lovely and a perfect end to an absolutely lovely weekend away with the family.

Thanks to Sally and to Butlins for a great weekend.  I'm now feeling far more festive and have put my 'Wiggle, Wiggle, Whoops' childhood traumas away for good!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday