#silentsunday

#Win 1 of 3 Horrid Henry DVD ‘It’s All Your Fault’

With over an hours worth of fantastic adventures from CiTV’s most successful animated series.

‘Horrid Henry, It’s All Your Fault’ DVD brings you six super entertaining episodes from the most funny and mischievous boy in town.

Episodes …

Horrid Henry It’s All Your Fault
Horrid Henry’s convinced that it’s not his fault, even when it is!

Horrid Henry In Detention
Horrid Henry lands everyone in detention, but will he manage to get them all out again in time for that all important football match?

Horrid Henry Nothing But The Truth
Perfect Peter’s had enough and he’s ready to spill the beans, big time!

Horrid Henry Horrid Boy?
When Dad offers to do Horrid Henry’s homework for him, Horrid Henry knows there’s something going on, but he can’t quite work out what it is.

Horrid Henry Delivers The Milk
One horrid move too far and Horrid Henry finds he’s got a new job, which means getting up very early indeed!

Horrid Henry And The New Best Friend
Horrid Henry gets himself a new best friend, but it’s not long before Nice Nicola turns into Nasty Nicola, and things go from bad to worse.

All three of my children love the horrid Henry series and both of the older children, little man 12 and his sister Alice Sara 10, have enjoyed both the CiTV series along with the book collection. Now the toddler, Harley age 3, is fast becoming an avid fan of this Mischievous little character.

This particular DVD has been an instant hit with the kids and I’ve also found myself engaging in a little Horrid Henry when the toddler has demanded that I do so (wink, wink).

Anyone thinking of purchasing the DVD has my recommendation, after all, its not every day your children are quiet for an entire hour, managing to reframe from fighting with one another is it?

The lovely people at Abbey Media have given the readers of my blog the opportunity to win a copy. Yes, I have 3 copies of the DVD to giveaway.

So… If you want to win one, here’s how!

Compulsory action…

Subscribe via feedburner and then comment answering the question below….

We all know our little angels have the tendency to act a little horrid every now and then! Whats the most horrid thing your child has ever done? Subscribe to the blog via the feedburner (top of the sidebar) then comment below with your answer and email subscription address!

Now you can earn extra entries if you wish. Just do any of the following below. A comment for all actions must be left! Each must contain an email or twitter handle to make them valid.

Pin this competition on Pinterest then comment with link or pinterest handle.

Tweet: “I want to win the latest Horrid Henry DVD with @Clairelouise82 & @AbbeyKids http://bit.ly/116qUFP”

Comment with twitter handle or link

If we are currently running more comps on the blog then another competition and comment to tell me which one.

Follow @Clairelouise82 on twitter Comment with twitter handle

Follow @Abbykids on twitter
Comment with twitter handle

For 2 more additional entries Follow my sister blog “Mummy of Mamy Talents” comment telling me the email you subscribed with.

That’s it! The competition will close on the 20th April 2013 at 11:59pm

Horrid Henry ‘Its All your Fault’ is available to buy now.

Winners will be drawn at random from all valid entries submitted. Competition open to all those in the UK only. Winners must leave either an email address or twitter handle with their comments so that I can easily contact them in the event that they win. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the winning notification or another winner will be drawn in their place.

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Celebs Help Raise Funds For New Autism School

Stars of the stage, screen and sporting world came together at the weekend at a Mad Men style ball to support the Hearts and Minds Challenge.

The ball, which was held at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester on Sunday, November 25, was a resounding success, raising £40,000 for the charity, which supports children with autism.

The star studded event was hosted by three of the charity’s dedicated celebrity patrons; Paul Scholes, Mel Sykes and Keith Duffy. All the funds raised will be going towards a £1 million project to build a new school in Manchester for autistic children.

The 1950s Mad Men theme ensured that all the guests were dressed up to the nines, harking back to a bygone era of style. One of the highlights of the night was a luxury auction, which included VIP passes to the prestigious Prix De Triumph in Paris, a one-off signed mosaic of Paul Scholes created by Salford artist Robert Lally and an exclusive.

Founder of the Hearts and Minds Challenge, Ian McGrath, said “We’re thrilled that the ball has been such a hit and such a substantial sum was raised. The event was enjoyed by all and we are delighted we have managed to increase people’s awareness of autism and our plans for a new school in Manchester.”

After sitting down to a three course meal, guests were invited to take a turn on the dance floor to the sounds of Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton, and crooner Cole Page.

Boyzone and Coronation Street star Keith Duffy, said “I’m really grateful to my friends and family for coming along to support the cause, and I’m sure they had a great time. We all had a lot of fun, but what’s really important are the funds we’ve raised.”

The Hearts and Minds Challenge aims to raise the quality of life for individuals and their families affected by autism, by ensuring the provision of the highest standards in education, care and support. For more information, please
visit the hearts and minds website

Top New DVD Titles To Entertain The Kids This Half-Term

A Couple of DVDs to keep the kids entertain this October Half Term… Well, for an hour or so anyway!

Monsuno The Battle Begins

Monsuno, the international hit animated show which airs on CiTV and Nick Toons in the UK wasn’t a children’s production I was familiar with before we were sent a copy. This meant I had no expectations and not a clue to whether or not any of the three children would enjoy it!

Here’s what it’s all about…

“Sixty five million years ago meteors fell to the planet containing life in the form of a powerful, genetic material – Monsuno. For centuries this essence lay dormant, until now… When Chase’s dad, scientist Jeredy Suno, discovers the source, he thinks it could be the solution to the world’s energy crisis, but what he actually uncovers are huge creatures with unbelievable powers. Working to control the monster’s powers for good, Suno is forced underground leaving Chase, Bren and Jinja to defeat the dark powers trying to harness the Monsuno for themselves, in what turns out to be a real battle of the beasts.”

The DVD features seven high-octane episodes.

Now Little man pulled some strange face when I suggested we watch it together. He then informed me he had no interest in it whatsoever. Once I’d asked him to give it a chance, after a bit of moaning he settled down next to the toddler to watch it.

Well… For something he had no interest in, it didn’t do to bad to hold his attention! He did find himself quite into it after all.

Admittedly he didn’t watch the DVD till the end as its quite a long one but he did return to watch it at a later time.

The toddler however wondered off within a minute or two of it coming on, but that didn’t matter as I had something for him to watch that was far more to his liking… Yes Mike the Knight!

Monsuno The Battle Begins was released by FremantleMedia Enterprises on Monday 15th October, RRP £9.99. So, its available to buy now!

Thirteen epic episodes of Monsuno are also available to download from iTunes at £0.99 each.

Admittedly I had forgotten that the guys at HIT Entertainment had sent us “Mike the Knight Galahad the Great” to review… How, I will never know as his always watching it.

Here’s a little about this DVD…

“Mike the Knight’s best friend and trusty steed Galahad comes to the fore in this latest set of adventures from the pre-school favourite. Mike is determined to be the best horse trainer in all of Glendragon and he wants Galahad to look perfect – really knightly! Mike gives Galahad sparkling bells on his hooves and a brand new saddle, but when things start to go wrong the knight-in-training soon realises that Galahad is perfect just the way he is. Determined to help others and aided by his rallying cry ‘Be a knight, do it right’, Mike soon learns the power of responsibility as he embarks on five fun-filled missions in this brand new DVD.”

As a missive fan of this cute little knight we knew Harley would love the DVD. He watches it almost as much as his favourite Thomas and that’s got to say something.

“Mike the Knight Galahad the Great” is available now from all good DVD stockist, RRP £12.99

Scooterearz the New Collection

We reviewed Scooterearz last year and was super impressed with them.

Basically scooterearz are gloves for scooters. These are simply placed over the handle bars of the scooter then the child is able to place their hands inside. This means the child doesn’t feel restricted and is able to have a comfortable grip on the scooters handle bars. The child therefore keeps control of the scooter while keeping their hands warm… Simple but brilliant!

We were sent a pair of scooterearz in one of their latest limited edition designs… The Union Jack. These look fantastic on the handle bars of Harley’s Mini Micro.

Scooterearz come in their own bag for storage, they are totally waterproof and have a warm fleece inner lining making them really warm and comfortable.

These are compatible with both scooters and bikes so no one has to experience cold hands.

Here’s a little video of Harley giving them a try.

These really are great and myself and the little one would recommend them to any child who likes to scoot about whatever the weather.

The New Limited Edition Union Jack Scooterearz are available for £14.99 with free P&P.

A Sweet Smelling Home

When being contacted by the guys at Zoflora I wasn’t at all surprised by their findings

Freshly cut grass’ and ‘flowers’ are the most loved smells by us Brits.

Brits spend £7.7 billion each year maintaining the outside space around their homes.

Ensuring our home smells fresh and clean is also a top priority for us Brits according to a survey commissioned by Zoflora. Half of all Brit’s agree that smell is the first thing they notice when they walk into someone’s home.

More than three quarters of us admit that they would judge someone with a bad smell in their home or look at them in a negative light.

The smell of garden flowers are known to be the source of many pleasant recollections and the way that your home smells is just as important.

I’m already a big fan of Zoflora. Their range of concentrated antibacterial disinfectants are small but mighty when it comes to killing gems. The small bottle surprisingly goes much further than one would expect. The formula can be diluted 1 part Zoflora to 40 parts water to make full strength disinfectant for large areas, such as floors and bathrooms, making them hygienically clean and welcoming

With a child in the house who experiences numerous sensory sensitivities the smell of disinfectant can be one that is quite over powering. For this reason I will always try to use it while his at school but with such long holidays that luxury is taken away.

This is why I choose to use Zoflora! It floral fragrance amongst others is one that doesn’t upset Little man in the same way as other disinfectants. Bouquet, is a rich scent of warm wood and musk notes creating a heady seductive fragrance. We were sent a bottle to try and we found that it gave our home a really present scent.

I want my children to be able to get involved in chores, its a really important life lesson and for this reason I want the products we use to be pleasantly fragranced and safe for the children to use.

Zoflora’s has two new fragrances I can’t wait to try and these have been formulated inline with the above findings.

The two new scents will recreate the smells of British Country Gardens and Summer Bouquets. So, we can experiences some of our favourite smells all year round regardless of the weather.

Zoflora’s two new scents are that of Country Garden and Summer Bouquet.

The new fragrances are now available as 56ml concentrated antibacterial disinfectants at Wilkinsons, independent local stores and pharmacy visit www.zoflora.co.uk or www.facebook.com/LoveZoflora

Frankie & Benny’s – A Review

When I was asked if I’d like to review the new Frankie and Benny’s menu I jumped at the opportunity especially since the new Greenwich restaurant which overlooks the river and the cutty sark had just opened. 

I was set to take all three children but right at the last-minute Little man went to stay at his cousins, given this is something he doesn’t do often I decided to take my mum along instead.

Frankie and Benny’s is an Italian restaurant with a 1950 New York American dinning experience. 

This is a restaurant that offers everything from breakfast to dinner and the deserts are rumoured to be out of this world.

We arrived at the New Frankie and Benny’s Greenwich, a little after 8.30 pm, we were shown to a table straight away and the children were handed some activities packs which kept them entertained. 

The service was excellent and the menu packed with all sorts of treats from New Yorker burgers to an array of pasta dishes.

The children get their own menu which is amazingly priced a just £3.99 (this includes the main, dessert and a soft drink) I was shocked at how well sized the children’s potions were for the price.

The chefs prepare the food right there in front of you, the smells that were oozing out of the kitchen area were delightful. 

As for drinks… WOW! Myself and Mother were unable to resist the temptation of the cocktail menu with Pina Colada being our drink of choice. At almost a fiver these were no more expensive than anywhere else. 

For such a lovely dinning experience I was surprised at how well priced Frankie and Benny’s is. There is a special’s menu available which consists of some of its finest mains and desserts. The menu is priced at £10.95 and your able to add an additional course for a tiny 2.25.

Mum choose something from the special, the New Yorker Burger with Salad instead of Chips, she loved the salad stating she could eat it all day.

I however didn’t choose anything from the special’s but opted for Spaghetti & Meatballs which was huge but tasted amazing.

Mum also ordered some warm dough sticks with garlic butter which the toddler went crazy for.

My daughter opted for  sausage and mash where’s the toddler had Spaghetti Bolognese.

No complaints with the desserts, these were incredible. The children both had ice cream sundaes which came with a packet of Cadbury’s buttons to decorate. Of course this went down a treat.

Myself and mother both opted for Mamma’s crumble with a scope of ice-cream… seriously yummy.

As the restaurant is fairly new it wasn’t overly busy at the time we visited which was nice, through I can just imagine what a hit this will be in the summer.

All came to around £45.00 which in my opinion was fantastic value for what we ordered.

The staff were lovely and really fantastic with the children! At one point the toddler decided to dash his remaining Apple juice across the table, we were moved to a clean area to eat why staff set about cleaning up, which was awesome. 

Check out our review video below… trust me the food does taste as good as it looks.

Why I won’t be sharing my new years resolutions with you!

It’s the 28th December 2011 & in just a few short days we will be at the start of a brand new year!

 Now I’m not about to share all my New Years resolutions  (not that I don’t have any)! Why? Because if there is one thing I’ve learnt over the years, it’s that life is full of unexpected twists and turns, especially when you are a parent of three children, one on the autism spectrum. Do I set myself goals that are hard to achieve? Yes, I properly do, don’t we all? In all honesty, I’d rather kick my own arse privately if I happen to fail on one two of those resolutions.

 I hate reading articles that proceed to tell you what you should be doing! They run off a long list of suggested resolutions one may wish to make. It’s my opinion that new years resolutions don’t spring out from a two page spread, but instead from the gut of the person making them! Resolutions are personal goals you set yourself, which haven’t been decided on lightly, you have to really want to succeed at achieving them, they hold great meaning and would provide the setter great satisfaction if achieved.

 Sadly every single article I’ve read on the subject, whether this is a blog post, parenting website or big name magazine, they all suggest the same old thing! Look at and change the way you eat, quit smoking, lead a healthier lifestyle… Blah- Blah-Bloody-Blah…

 I’m not by no means stating that I’m not going to be working that bit harder to fit comfortably in my skinnies, I’m just stating that surly it’s not always about this, it often stems that little bit deeper than this! Loving yourself that little bit more and gaining confidence should always be the first step.

 Though I have indeed decided to keep my resolutions to oneself (call me a chicken, I don’t care)! I have however decided to share some of my blogging goals for the year of 2012, so if failed we can all laugh together as to be honest failures sometimes make us more eager to succeed and the next time we try, we do it that bit better!

So… here’s a few of those 2012 blogging goals

Relax and enjoy it that bit more, worry less about stats and positions on whatever listings (Top this or Top that) as like many I am a little guilty of doing this.

 Reach out and hopefully provide some hope and support for more families on the autism spectrum, more than I’m already reaching!

 Finish my SEN Know how page, it’s important to me to get this done, I set myself a goal to finish it with the end result being, a number of downloadable fact sheets covering a whole spectrum of subjects relating to special educational needs.

 Expand my love of photography, hopefully expressing myself a bit more through pictures as well as words.

 Create a set of social stories that will be available via the blog.

 Launch my sister blog, which I’ve been working on yet remains unpublished.

 I’ve already done a few video reviews, though I want to expand on this and really get into “Vlogging”

 My biggest goal… Use the power of social media and blogging to help charities such as the NAS! I have a fabulous and fun idea in the pipe line that I can’t wait to get out there! I really do hope that the support of fellow mummy bloggers and some fantastic contacts I’ve made over the past 3 years I’ve been blogging can help make this one a reality.

Related articles

• Girls on the Spectrum: Q&A with the Author of Aspergirls (healthland.time.com)
• Reviews & Resolutions (roxettes-diary.com)

CHECK THESE BEAUTIES OUT!

Oh yes i have been a lazy lady!!

It was so about time i started adding some more links and site reviews to my links page! It wasn’t like i didn’t have the resources’ more so the time:(

Never mind as i have kicked my own butt which i admit was much needed’ and added some newbie reviews:)

Wanna check out what I’ve been checking out? Want to see what sites and blogs i felt the need to write about? Check out the review page listed at the top of my screen and have a look for yourself!

GO ON’ GO ON. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO:)

Giovanni’s page.

My little man will soon be adding his own page:)
He plans to fill it with info and pictures on his top interest buses and trains.
This is his front cover his very proud of.
Keep your eye out as his page will be added soon.