Jakemans

It is now officially winter , it is now officially the season of colds/coughs/flu and general yuckiness . Most of my family have been struck down lately , so what better time than to buy some throat sweets ?



Jakemans is an independent, privately owned company specialising in the manufacture and distribution of quality, menthol based confectionery. It was established in 1907 and has been operating in the Boston, Lincolnshire area since that date. Today Jakemans is one of the fastest growing brands in the functional confectionery sector.

Jakemans are

* Carefully blended with menthol to provide a soothing vapour action
* Made with only the finest ingredients
* 5 exciting and mouth watering flavours
* Suitable for vegetarians
* Contains no artificial colours or flavours
* Available in 100g packet format

I am not a big throat sweet fan , i normally find the flavour to much and although i could handle these sweets for a minute or so i did have to spit it out before the end . I sent them up to my mum (the throat sweet addict ) who was able to test them out for me.

She enjoyed them , she has been suffering from a terrible cold and chesty cough and find they helped when she needed them . Her biggest problem with them (and of this i do agree) was that the initial flavour was not strong enough . They do they job though so are recommended .

Maclaren Junior Quest Activity Centre Part 3

This is the third and final part in my Maclaren Junior Quest Activity Centre review .

The product has now been around for a few weeks , it has been played with over and over and is used daily by the children.

The kids love the pram and the cot , the rest seem to be put aside only pulled out now and then but the pram and cot are used every day . We have discovered one problem which seems to be the straps on the pram come loose all the time and mummy has to constantly fix them , it is annoying but does not destroy the joy the kids get from the product .

Mummy was happy with the product , something which is suitable for all the children to play with that does not make noise or require my presence is always a winner in my book . I love the colours on it and how easy it was all to put together , it does not look cheap unlike some of these other sets but it is a great deal (it seems to be about £29.99 most places which is for 5 products )

I can see this toy still being played with for a long long time.

Happy Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a happy New Year.

Glad tidings we bring

To you and your kin;

Glad tidings for Christmas

And a happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE XXXX

Soreen

A few weeks back i was having a rubbish Saturday , it had been a hard and long week and i was stuck at home all day while the kids were out having fun ( normally i would of enjoyed the break but i had planned a nice day at home and was sad it did not happen) . The door went and i received two lovely loafs of Soreen .



We received two brand new flavours - Banana and Apple and both were delicious .

Soreen have been baking fantastic fruity malt bread for 70 years!

The uniquely soft & sticky recipe was created by a family whose surname was Sorenson - hence the brand name Soreen! Soreen became famous for their original fruity malt loaf and since then the company and the brand just keeps on growing!

Low in fat , tasty and healthy . It is the perfect snack .

I love toasting mine and topping with butter and serving with a cup of tea . How do you eat yours ?

Win New Year’s Eve costumes with AllFancyDress

Celebrate this New Year’s Eve in style with the help of All Fancy Dress, who are offering the opportunity to win two costumes of your choice for New Year’s Eve. You will find an extraordinary amount of costumes ideal for New Year’s Eve and all you need to do is answer a simple question.

AllFancyDress is the UK’s leading online discount fancy dress retailer, with an amazing array of fancy dress costumes that are ideal for any occasion and special event. You will also find a great range of accessories to match every fancy dress outfit found on the online store.

This is a great opportunity for you to take a look at what New Year’s Eve costumes are available online for you and your friends. Here are a few that we think you
will love and have the chance of winning yourselves:

Sexy Wonder Woman Costume



Save the party from being boring, when you wear this super sexy costume. Superheroes are a popular theme for New Year’s Eve parties, but no one will look as
hot as you when you walk in wearing this outfit.

Banana Man Costume



Share a few laughs this New Year and wear this hilarious Banana Man costume. Everyone will be falling on the floor laughing as soon as you walk into the party wearing this. All the attention will be yours.

Gangster Costume



Gangster fancy dress is one of the biggest fancy dress themes of all time, so why not continue the trend and wear this sexy and commanding gangster costume?

How to enter

It is so easy to enter this competition; all you need to do is answer this simple question (below) by leaving a comment on this blog and you will automatically be entered into the prize draw. Choose your two costumes before 27th December on any AllFancyDress products to ensure they arrive before the big event.

London is one of the biggest venues for New Years Eve, but what is the main attraction, seen across the countries televisions?

• Fireworks
• Night clubs
• House parties

Also why not become a fan of All Fancy Dress on Facebook with a chance of winning £5 off your order with our daily Facebook fiver competition.

Extra entries

1 - Follow /Subscribe to this blog and let me know in the comments
2 - Tweet this competition including @lauracmcintyre in the tweet so i can see it .

The competion will close at 10pm on Sunday the 26th December so you can get your order in time for new years .

Good luck everyone.

Maclaren Junior Quest Activity Centre Part 2

(Find first part here )

 The holidays are almost upon us and while most of your shopping may be done you may be on the look out for a certain something for a certain someone .



What little girl would not love this set ? (Or little boy , we don't discriminate around here )

It is reasonably priced , pretty and will offer hours of play for anyone lucky enough to receive it .

So what are you waiting for ? Go buy now maybe from here or here or one of the many other sites that offer it for sale .

Shloer

Make your Christmas sparkle with Shloer

Christmas is the time of year to enjoy delicious food and drink. Add Shloer to your Christmas shopping list so that whether you’re entertaining friends and family at home, hosting a ‘Sunday Social’, or going to someone else’s festivities you can share some sparkle.

Shloer uses only the best ingredients to create a delicious non-alcoholic sparkling drink. All varieties make a tasty grape-based alternative to wine, suitable for all the family - especially those who don’t want to indulge in alcohol while enjoying the festive season’s social circuit. Shloer contains no preservatives, artificial colours, sweeteners or flavours and is available from all major supermarkets.

It is available in White Grape, Red Grape, Rose, Apple and White Grape, White Grape, Raspberry and Cranberry Grape and Elderflower - RRP £1.97

We (well i mean i) have been trying out the White and Red grapes flavour and i may have a new favorite drink . They are delicious and i almost felt like i was sitting back enjoying a glass of wine without the not so nice side effects . These would make a great addition not to only Christmas meals but any meals , it was lovely to finally have a grown up drink that tasted nice and looked the part . 

I have liked their facebook page , will you ?

Maclaren Junior Quest Activity Centre

We (or should i say the children) were chosen to test the Maclaren Junior Quest Activity centre . Does it not look like great fun ?



It arrived when only the two older girls were home from school and they could not wait to get it open and play with it .



It was packaged well in a small box and i was expecting lots of pieces to put together . I was so pleased that only the travel cot had to be put together and that was easily done (by my 8 year old niece lol )

The kids all thought it was great and loved how it all came with the matching changing bag and have been playing mummy ever since arrived (yes even the boy....) .

The toys have all been well played with , the pram has made a few treks out in the snow and fared better than the pram *i* use . The changing bag is carried with pride and the travel cot is holding my daughters teddies at night when she goes to bed .
If i had one complaint it would be the fabric coming loose from the pram all the time
and needing fixed back on - this seems to be a problem with every pram of this design i have ever seen so not blaming Maclaren .

So far we all think it is a great ,fun and pretty new toy .

Merry Christmas

From All About Mummy , i hope your holidays are wonderful and Santa is good to you all

(Apart from some review posts i still need to do All About Mummy is taken a little break and will be back in the new year)

Wordless Wednesday: Guess What Is Not Working

Ella's Kitchen

Described as "Organic baby food &kid's food made from natural ingredients, the best way for weaning babies. Our range of baby food is 100% pure and nutritious" . The offer a huge range of food through meals (stages 1 , 2 and 3) ,snacks , smoothies , pasta and sauces and there are new products due to launch in the new year .
It is a hard review to write as i know alot of people that like their products and from what i can see of the company they are great .They seem to have such a nice range to suit every age all at a decent price . Only problem was no one liked them .

We were sent a selection of smoothies and pack o snacks . Ru (2 years old) liked none of them but that is not a huge shock , he has never liked smoothies and accept for raisins nothing in the snacks are something he would eat . The girls eat a few of the snacks but mostly picked the raisins and sultanas out of them ( i actually really liked these though ,my favorite was the chewy ones with included raisins , cherries , strawberries and mango's. )

We normally like smoothies , 4 year old is currently an expert in them since her nursery got a smoothie machine and they make them daily. We have been known to buy other pre made smoothies from time to time to . Ru thought it was fun to pour them everywhere and my girls (5 ,4 and my 8 year old niece) all thought they tasted weird and could only manage a few sips . I sort of had to agree , i felt they all tasted similar and the banana taste was very over powering .

So there you go , i think it is a great company and i would buy from them . Our kids just didn't happen to like what they tried...

White (Out)

When white was requested as this weeks gallery topic i was determined not to go down the predictable snow path but in the end nothing else called to me

It snowed today , i mean it really snowed today.

I have never seen snow like it , it just fell for hours getting heavier and heavier. The whole country is shutting down. No buses , no trains , no roads safe to travel. People are stranded everywhere , many people spending the night stuck in work . People are arriving home 6+ hours after leaving home and many abandoning there car and walking the remaining distance . My husband is stuck at a friends house unable to return home . Scotland is not a nice place to be right now.







(This fence was clear of snow this morning)

It Snowed Last Night

Oh, it snowed last night
It snowed last night.
The sky bears had a pillow fight,
Tore up all the clouds in sight, tossed down all the feathers white.
Oh, it snowed last night,
It snowed last night.

(http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/snow/songs.htm)

Friday

Children - "Is it snowing yet ? We want SNOW NOW. " (Looking at ice on grass) "Its snow "
Mummy - "I cannot wait for the snow , everyone else in the UK seems to have some"

Saturday

Children - "Its snowing YEAH YEAH YEAH " "We love the snow" "Lets go build a snowman"
Mummy - "Aww i love the snow , so pretty and the kids love it"

Sunday

Children - "More snow yah , lets play"
Mummy - "More snow yah , lets play"

Monday

Children- "We want the snow to stay forever and ever , can we go out and play again?"
Mummy - " The snow is really coming down , they better not shut the schools"

Tuesday

Children - "Snowing again , is it going to stay forever ? "
Mummy - "Darn it they are shutting the school , plus cannot take the pram out in the weather so have to let the two year old walk"

Wednesday

Children - " SNOW DAY :)"
Mummy - "snow day :( "

Thursday

Children - "Another Snow Day ? We are bored "
Mummy - " F****** snow"

Friday

Children - " Can the snow go away now ? Its to cooooooold"
Mummy - "Schools ON , still want the snow to bugger off"

(This was written as part of the writing workshop on Sleep Is For The Weak)

Celebrate

(It seems a little snow has shut down the whole of the country , no schools or nursery's which means no time to blog boo hoo)

This week we were asked for a celebration and what is a bigger than a celebration that a wedding. There are not many photos from the big day , due to budget and my own dislike of being in pictures we did not have a photographer (there is more than these but don't have them on the computer)

It was a lovely sunny but cold February when i became Mrs McIntyre.Was it the best day of my life ? Honestly no because nothing can compare to birthing my babies or bringing my daughter home after a month in hospital . It was perfect though and i cannot believe it will be 6 years since that day.

(Ignore the dates on the photos , right month/day but the wrong year)

The groom and his best men before getting ready



Outside the registry office



Me arriving



Signing the register



Leaving as man and wife



Cutting the cake



Dinner time



The happy couple