Al Fresco 'Young Story Writer of the Year Competition'

Oh I do love a good competition and here is a fantastic one for you, I only wish my daughter was old enough to enter it! Al Fresco holidays are hosting a national 'Young Story Writer of the year' competition. They have teamed up with children's book author, Jeremy Strong, to give children a chance to explore there story telling and writing skills. I love it when competitions are creative and it is a great thing that this one is encouraging children's imaginations in this way. To inspire and get your family started Jeremy Strong has written his very own story 'Joe's Unusual Journey'.

The theme is 'My Fantastic Journey'... going on my daughter's current role play games I'm pretty sure her story would involve a trip to Jupiter with a magical fairy... at three she certainly has the imagination but sadly not the writing skills!

But for anyone with children aged 6 to 12 it's time to get their thinking caps on and let their imaginations run wild! Each day a random entry is uploaded to the kidz blog on the Al Fresco Holidays website and then the top 5 entries will be judged and in with the chance of winning a family holiday to an Al Fresco Parc of their choice. 

With 55 parcs all across Europe this will be a hard choice to make and I'm sure will be a family fun trip of a lifetime. 

Some more details:

The competition is open from the 3rd of February until the 31st of March and is open to children aged six to twelve. Entries must have a word limit of up to 500 words. Further information of the competition can be found on the Al Fresco Kidz blog, along with Jeremy Strong's short story which he wrote exclusively for Al Fresco Holidays, Joe's Unusual Journey. More details are available on their blog: http://blog.thomsonalfresco.co.uk/2013/02/01/young-story-writer-of-the-year-is-back/

So if you are stuck for something to give the kids to do this half term this could be a great idea, you can find the entry form here:

http://blog.thomsonalfresco.co.uk/story-writer-competition/

Good luck!

36 weeks

The strangest thing about being 36 weeks pregnant is the idea that I could go into labour in 2 weeks or 6 weeks time. It seems such a huge difference! My daughter was born at 38 weeks and a few people have said the second normally follows suit... others however have said it makes no difference! I'm trying not to assume he will come early as I think that will make being overdue really hard! Especially as I didn't have to wait the first time and friends that have gone over have found it really difficult.

With my daughter we just seemed to know, the doctor and the receptionist both said they didn't expect to see me again. My husband was giddy the night before my waters broke, telling Squiggle he couldn't wait to meet her tomorrow. He was almost right but it took her till the morning after to actually be born!

This time I have no clue, but i have noticed some changes but they are different from before. My tummy feels like it's pressing down and forwards when I sit, I can't really cross my legs all of a sudden and the front of my pelvis aches quite a lot. I made the mistake of googling this the other night, never a good idea to consult forums with medical enquiries! The doctor said it was simply the baby moving downwards.

The swelling in my hands and ankles isn't tooooo bad but my left foot is suddenly bigger than my right, what on earth does that mean?!

I am looking forward to starting my maternity leave in a week and a half, am terrified by the thought of having a baby in tube travel rush hour!! Really not up for naming my child after a London tube station.

I was in a flap about the labour this time (now I know it really does hurt) but have calmed down after chatting to friends and my fellow twitter mums.

This will sound silly I always feel nervous about writing too much on my blog about my pregnancy in the fear it will jinx things but I have been finding other peoples updates really helpful to read so am sharing mine for the same reason!

I would love to hear if anybody's experiences have been similar to mine? X x

Not forgotten!

Sorry blog for the lack of attention you are getting, my days are spent working, my evenings catching up on time with my 3 year old and enjoying our story time together, and late evenings sorting, sorting, sorting. Have so much stuff to sort through to try and convert the spare room into a happy space for a little one! It seems a never ending task so am doing a little every night and have had no time for anything else!

Back soon with its of enthusiasm I promise x

Charming & tasty valentine's cakes from Baker Days

The new way to celebrate - petite and personalised cakes
Bakerdays.com:  delivering perfectly fresh and delicious cake through the letterbox from just £14.99

Well I am really pleased I got to review this product, I am quite smitten with it! Baker Days kindly sent me a valentines cake of my choice to review so my lucky husband has had an early gift this year! Baker Days produce letterbox cakes which can be personalised and there are some lovely designs and flavours to choose from:
http://www.bakerdays.com//categories/personalised/valentinescakes

I opted for the Love Birds cake and decided on the message "twit wooooo!" (well it amused me). Not long after a neat little box arrived through the post and this is what you we found when we opened it:

It's a really lovely little tin and so great that it can fit through a letterbox, it means you don't have the worry about somebody being in to sign for it, which makes for a stress free gift! The cake is really neatly packaged and travelled no trouble at all.

I was really pleased with the design I chose and my other half thought it was very sweet, and most importantly delicious! In order to do a thorough review I obviously had to try a slice... or three. I had meant to only have a small slice and leave the rest for my husband but it was so moist, tasty and very very moreish I had almost half of it! I'd say they are the perfect size for two to share which is what you want on Valentines Day really.

If you fancy a change from flowers and chocolates this is a fantastic idea, I would have been over the moon to receive one as a surprise gift through my door. They do a great range of cakes for other occasions too, everything from birthdays to get well soon cakes. I have a friend who's recently given birth and I think a new baby cake would be a great surprise for her.

To discover their huge range of letterbox cakes, the website is well worth a visit: 

www.bakerdays.com/ and if you do get one, please try and save a slice for me!