Carddies Review

I have recently been send 2 packs of Carddies to for my son(4) and daughter(11) to test and review


Carddies are card people,colour them in and make up your own stories(the world is your oyster)
when travelling pop us in our box and take us wherever you go for on the go fun!


A bit more about Carddies:

• Carddies are hand drawn by 2 mums for their children and friends.
• Made in the uk using premium materials that are made to last.
• Very universal to both boys and girl's
• suitable for 3+ years
• come in 10 fun sets
• You can buy from Amazon for £8.99

Contents:

• 12 card figures
• 1 card scene
• 12 colouring pencils
• 12 stands

Our thoughts:

We received the football and fairies sets, they came in a lovely strong box just take off the film and slide out to get started.lovely eye catching colours and designs.

Very well drawn made to engage and catch childrens attention.my 11 year old loved this product she couldnt wait to get stuck in,in fact my 12 year old changed her mind when she saw it said it was really pretty and wanted to help do them too so she done a couple of fairys and the back ground for the football set for my son.My son sat colouring for about 15 minutes but because he has poor pencil grip he tends to tire of writing/colouring for longer periods however his 2 1/2 year  old sister helped by doing some colouring too while my son kept saying thank you alisha u good girl! lol

this colouring set kept my kids entertained for about an hour colouring in,they then went off to play with it for about an hour before bed,my sons wasn't completely finished but as he saw his sisters playing with theirs he wanted to join in too(so the colouring on the rest will be saved to keep entertained on another day.

My kids all really liked this and have asked for another set for christmas so i think we can happily say this has been a big hit!.

My overall thoughts:

• Bold and eye catching
• Suitable in my opinion for kids aged 2 1/2 - 12
• Great value for money
• Perfect for putting in kids backpacks for on the go fun whether long or short journeys. 

Why not go and check Carddies out yourself by visiting their website here
Their twitter page here
And their facebook page here

Party Bag Giveaway

I have very kindly been offered 2 prizes to offer to two lucky blog followers from the lovely Charlotte over at Creations by Charlotte.
Their will be one boy and 1 girl's  party bag winner which they will get to choose from her website(she has also offered to very kindly add some extra sweets and a few toys)

So how can i win one of these fantastic prizes i hear you shout?
Easy firstly you must be a blog follower you will see how to connect to my blog via the right hand side of my blog pages.Then head over to Creations by Charlotte and look around and tell me your favorite product on her website(leave a comment below telling me you have done these things and the name you are following my blog by)


For a additional entry go to Creations by Charlotte's Facebook page like them  and say hello and that you are entering  My wonderful madhouse's competition to win a Creation by Charlotte party bag(remember to tag my facebook blog page) then share this competition and leave a comment below telling me you have done this and if you want to win a boy or girls party bag.(and don't forget your name too).




Ends on 1st may ..... Good luck!




COMPETITION FINISHED THE WINNERS ARE:


BOYS PARTY BAG WINNER:       KIRSTY FOX
GIRLS PARTY BAG WINNER:      VICKY-LOUISE ROBINSON


CONGRATS!(plz dm me your addresses so i can pass on.....also if you can a winners pic with your prize would be fab,and please do go over to creations by charlotte's fb page and say thank you)


And remember all her bags are great for birthday/stocking fillers/treats ect at great prices so please do bear her in mind.

Funky Giraffe Bibs Giveaway

Back in September i had the privilege to work with Funky Giraffe Bibs and had the opportunity to test and review their bibs you can see what i though here.

And now one of you have been given the opportunity to win 5 of their bibs from their extensive range online!

In order to have the chance of winning this great prize you must do the following
 Firstly you have to follow my blog via google friend connect over on the right,go and like my facebook blog page here and like Funky Giraffe Bibs, say hello and leave a message saying 
i'm entering to win 5 Funky Giraffe Bibs with my wonderful madhouse(remember to tags both pages)
then come back here and leave me a message saying you have done this


For 1extra entry share this competition either by facebook,twitter,or any other way to spread the word.(plz leave a seperate comment to say you have done this)
Ends on the 28th april
GOOD LUCK ALL.


COMPETITION CLOSED


Winner is:


EMMA WALTERS CONGRATS(you have 7 days to claim or a new winner will be drawn)


please dm me your email address so i can pass to funky giraffe bibs who will contact you directly about choosing your bibs(if you can please can you take a winners photo and share it with me for my winners page)

MAM Giveaway

I first worked with the wonderful people over at MAM UK when they offered me 3 products to test and review for my little boy you can read my full review here...we loved them all and now  MAM UK have very kindly offered me some lovely treats to giveaway to 3 YES 3! lucky blog followers.

Each winner will receive:

A 6+ months MAM perfect soother

A 260ml Anti-colic bottle

A MAM Bite & Relax Phase 2 mini teether

To be in with a chance of getting your hands on these great goodies firstly make sure you are a blog follower and leave me a comment with blog name in the comments underneath.

like my facebook blog page here then head over to MAM UK like their page if you haven't already and leave this message on their wall:

Hi there,im entering to win some fantastic MAM UK goodies with My wonderful madhouse(make sure you tag both MAM UK and My wonderful madhouse so your entry is validated)

Then come back here and tell me you have done this and what facebook name you used so i can double check entries.

For 1 extra entry share this competition and leave me a comment telling me you have(you can share on facebook,twitter,mse,anywhere but only get 1 extra entry)

Good luck everyone 3 winners will be chosen via random org on 26th april!

The winners will have 7 days to claim prize or a new winner will be picked.

COMPETITION FINISHED THE 3 LUCKY WINNERS DRAWN AT RANDOM ARE:


TINA HOLMES


SHIRLEY KAY


michele elton


well done everyone  you have 7 days to claim prizes or they will be redrawn xx 

The Quicksmart Easy Fold Pushchair review

I was totally amazed to be given the chance to review the QuickSmart easy fold pushchair, i have always loved the look of them but if im honest they were just a touch out of my price range for a stroller.

A bit more information:

• It is part of the QuickSmart Nursery range.
• Suitable from 6 months-3 years(45 pounds)
• Comes with a rain cover and a 5-point harness
• Fits nicely into its own travel bag
• Weight 6kg
• 1 handed fold
• 2 seating positions 
• Handle height 100cm
• folded sizes are: L53,W53,D28cm
• RRP: £139.99

My thoughts:

As soon as i knew i was being sent one to review i was ecstatic constantly looking at the windows on the lookout of a van of some kind like a kid looking forward to christmas.

When it finally arrived i couldnt believe how small the box was if it wasn't for the images and text on the box i would of thought they were giving me the right one i felt like there was no way a buggy of any kind unless it was a dolls one could it fit into that box!.

Upon removing from the box i couldnt believe my eyes there was nothing to set u what so ever which was great as i am not a D I Y kinda girl in the slightest.I put it up easily enough it was the putting down i struggled with in the end i found a vid clip on youtube which showed me really easily and from then on there was no stopping me.

Now i tend to have to use the buses and trains frequantly as we dont drive and i found this pushchair fantastic!

Not only is it lightweight with it being soo small whether folded or not it fits even into the smallest of  gaps.I can even get my changing bag on the back of it without it tipping however the downside i felt to this was that when you lifted it up and down curbs it felt like it was going to buckle it didnt just felt it as all the weight was at the back of the buggy.

I have found this perfect for getting to my sons physio appointments,toddler groups,the park ect the only thing its not really practical for is big shopping trips as there is only a small basket to put anything in.

Overall i love this buggy,the style,design and colour.... not to everyones taste but to me its perfect :)

To visit the QuickSmart website click here
To visit the QuickSmart  facebook page click here

So what do you really need in your labour bag?

Labour bags,Waste of moneys and great buys for babys/toddlers


Ok so you are thinking you are not pregnant why are you blogging about labour bags?

Because after having 5 kids you tend to know what you really need and what was a waste of money especially as all the shops say you must have this and that and you tend to listen and buy it and all i can say is Bull you dont need it below is my list of things i have found were a total waste of money....

1. Changing table.....dont get me wrong they are lovely but if you are on a tight budget dont bother you tend to change them over your lap or on a mat on the floor anyway as its more time saving.
2. Handheld fan.....my midwife told me you cant live without it during labour,trust me you can you will be soo hot and sweaty you wont even know its going,if they have a big in the labour room ask to use that instead it will at least have a effect.
3. Baby bath....i have one but tend to use the washing up bowl or have baby in the bath with me instead(which is lovely as helps with bonding....assuming they dont do a poo!)    :P
4. a moses basket rocker stand..... fine if its your first baby but i do not recommend it if its for a sibling unlss you dont mind your other kids swing on it. also once a baby gets a bit wriggly i personally think it rocks too much i much prefer the moses basket in the cot or on floor by big bed at night time.
5. too many clothes yes they are pretty but too many will cost u a fortune,give u more washing to do than needed and they will grow out of them before they even wear some.

Now onto the good buys:

1. munchkin snack catcher,brilliant for independant toddlers saves crumbs going everywhere,a must have at a cheap price.
2. muslin squares great for pukey babies,snotty toddlersand even weaning if you forget a bib
3. baby swing....most babies loved to be rocked and swayed,bounced and this is a life saver saves dead arms and backaches bending to bounce a rocker....just get a swing does the job for you while you get on with other things like housework or having a well deserved cuppa.
4. a good baby carrier,try to go for one with good support and not too many fiddly bits added to it,i find its best to try on in the shops to see which one you prefer before buying just like you would with a pushchair.
5. my munchkin towel/or similar....you cant always rely on someone1 being there to help you bath your baby so these are fab,just tie around your neck the towel will fall in front of you(covering your chest,ect.. just get on with bathing baby then pick up and hold against you while lifting the bottom of the towel to cover and dry your baby...great hands free idea!

Now on to the labour bag/baby bag what are the essentials?

i recomment having 2 smaller ones rather than one big one as it will be easier to find baby's bits if its not mixed in with yours.

1. birth plan and any notes you might have
2. cash-for bedside tv/phone,mags or any snacks you might like.
3. slippers they dont let you walk without a pair(thats what i also got when i forgot them anyway)
4. socks take an extra fluffy pair for labour as you ight get cold feet/shakes
5. isotonic sports drinks and snacks for labour(not junk food like chocolate) dont forget some for the bf too it might last a while just dont put in your bag im sure he can carry them :)
6. any mags,books or mps to help in labour or pass the time if you cant sleep after the birth
7. if you have long haid take a hairband to keep it from your face.
8. toiletries- flannel,hairbrush,toothpaste ect,if breastfeeding nothing that will cover your bodys natural smell or it will make it harder for baby to latch on(good idea till breastfeeding is established)
9. water spray
10. a change of clothes
11. towels x 2 packs bf can bring more when he visits if needed
12. camera
13. list of phone numbers
14. breast pads
15. pjs
16. dressing gown
17. night gown for giving birth in
18. old knickers or disposable ones(i used disposable with old over top as had lots of blood loss first 2 days)

Baby's bag

1. 3 sleepsuits and vests get bf to bring more to replace dirty and take others away
2. small pack or nappies or cloth nappies
3. muslin squares/bibs
4. bath towel
5. sponge(just use plain water for first week or so, can use a little shampoo for hair if wanted.
6. going home outfit
7. hat
8. get bf to bring infant car seat and blanket when he comes to take you home

i think/hope i remembered everything bear in mind everyone is differant you might want to take a birthing ball,nursing pillow ect but these are the basics i have put.

enjoy getting ready :)

ways to help distract your autistic child?

I'm always looking for ways to help the days go easier with my 4 year old autistic son,anything that helps to stop constant screaming in my household is gladly appreciated :)
Here is the top 3 things that so far seem to work for us:

1. Dressing up 

Ethan loves dressing into differant costumes no matter how mad or silly,hes not good with roleplaying but loves to stand for pictures when all done up and this can pass an hour easily :)

2. Cooking

a new thing ethan has really gotten into is cooking whether its home pizzas,cookies or cakes he just loves them all and has great fun experimenting and tasting this has not only helped to stimilate him as he hates certain textures but has learnt to touch them in a fun way, it has also helped his appetite as he is more willing to try new things.

3. Animals and bugs

whether its a trip to our local garden centre to see the animals or finding bugs in the garden ethan loves them all and will happily spend 30 mins to several hours happily in his task of looking for/looking after them :)

Any ideas from anyone greatly appreciated or tips on happy mealtimes/helping to convince to use cutlery greatly appreciated :)

Its easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope you have all had a good day we for one certainly have,we have done lots of colouring,watching dvds and dressing up as silly as we possibly could and lets not forget the excitement the kids have had from eating their easter eggs!  the kids were even lovely enough to give daddy and me a cream egg each so we all had some CHOCOLATE  hehe
it was great fun....love to each and every one of my fantastic followers.

silent sunday

Babble Bib review

The lovely people over at Babble Bib have very kindly sent me one of their bibs for my son to test and review.

Babble Bib the perfect bib for dribbling babies who want to look cool while they do it!

Suitable for ages 4-36 months in the Baby/Toddler sizes however they do also stock sizes to fit upto 10 years great if a older child wants to look cool or if like my 4 year old they have a disability which in my sons case results in them dribbling alot and being very messy when eating.

Washable at 30 degrees,it is made from stretch jersey cotton and cotton micro-fleece with 2 nickel free fasteners.

Made in the uk

Our thoughts:

We received the City Slicker design RRP:  £3.99

The first things that caught my eye was how smart it looked and how very soft it felt,i have brought and tested other dribble bibs and i must say out of all of them this was by far the softest.

I loved how there wasn't much packaging involved which is brilliant as i hate all the fiddly bits and pieces.We used our bib right away to go into town it fit him well and i must say he seemed to be really comfy in it :)

Now aaron tends to dribble loads as hes yet to get his first tooth through yet is constantly teething!

When we removed for washing at the end of the day it was really wet on the outer part due to my sons dribbling however the fleecy underneath had stayed really nice and dry and he had no redness or anything around his neck or chin from it rubbing or anything.

I placed it into a 30 degree wash and it came out and got put on the washing line.Afterwards i checked it and found it had retained its shape and softness which i was really grateful for as some tend to look wrinkled or misshapen but it still looked like it had just come out of the package,also i would love to add they have great popper attachments you find some really tough to clip in or get open again but they went in well and came off easily(but not soo easily that a baby could pull off)

We both love this product! 

To view their products,get more information or to buy please visit their website by clicking here

To view their facebook page please click here

To follow their twitter page please click here

Disclosure: i was not paid to do this review only to keep the product as a thank you for the time put into my review,all thoughts and opinions are my own.

saturday is caption day

Daisy roots review

I was recently sent  a gorgeous pair of shoes for my son to review by the wonderful people over at Daisy Roots.

Daisy roots use eco friendly leather which make their shoes safer for the enviroment and also those that like to suck their toes like my son.

They also have them vegetable dyed so they contain no nasty chemicals.

Designed and manufactured in northamptonshire since 1995 they currently have over 300 retailers worldwide making them one of the largest independant uk producers of childrens soft leather shoes.

What i thought:

I received the Bee design in size 6-12 months RRP: £18.50

My first thoughts were how it looked soo pretty in the bag it came in it really displayed them well and being clear packaging showed you exactly what you were getting perfect for if you were purchasing from a shop as it saves you having to get them out to look at them first.

I loved the bright colours and design they were differant and made my son stand out in the crowd i  even had a few mummy's stop me in town and comment on how lovely they were and were to buy them from which i was more than happy to tell them.

My son found these to be really comfortable both inside and out as they are soo soft and flexible they allowed good foot movement and also had a good amount  of room for foot growth without being too large.

The things i really like about these shoes are: 

• The bright bold designs
• The soft materials 
• The elastic around ankle which helped for a good fit and also prevented losing his shoes

The one thing i wasnt too keen on was:

• The price, i would of preferred it if they were nearer to £15.00 to better meet my budget.

All in all i love these shoes and if i were to rate them they would get a big 9/10!

To visit the Daisy Roots website please click here

To visit the Daisy Roots facebook page please click here

To visit Daisy Roots twitter page please click here

National Autism Awareness Month April 2012

As you are all aware my son ethan 4 has autism with it he also has very lax ligaments speech problems and severe headaches and i as a parent and mummy blogger aim to help him in as many ways as possible whether it be coping with everyday life/schooling/speech, fun days out/experiences or products aimed to helping children like him to make everyday living easier be it good sensory toys/flash cards,clothing,good places to take them that understand your child's additional needs ect.


A bit more information about autism:


So you are thinking what is autism?


Autism is a complex developmental disability that causes problems with social interaction and communication.
All people with autism are so very different from each other each with their own problems and difficulties.
It is normally known as a spectrum disorder which is a group of disorders with similar features.you may have 1 person with mild symptoms while another has serious ones.

The current autism spectrum disorder category includes:

• Autistic disorder
• Asperger syndrome
• pervasive developmental disorder or atypical autism

There are 3 groups with a higher than normal risk of having autism these include:

• Boys
• Siblings of those with autism
• People with certain other development disorders such as fragile x syndrome

Some examples of autism spectrum disorder spectrum disorder symptoms include:

• social skills
• speech,language and communication
• repeated behaviors and routines
• development

Symptoms relating to social skills can include:

• not making eye contact and wanting to be alone(my son tends to give brief eye contact)
• trouble understanding other peoples feelings or talking about their own
• not wanting to be held or cuddled or only cuddling when they want to(this is what my son falls under)
• not seeming to notice when people are trying to talk to them
• being really interested in people but not sure of how to talk,play or relate to them(i notice this with my son all the time he will look and watch them often with a smile on his face but often will not make a move to join in with their activities)
• not interacting like others would do or not being interested in others at all.

Symptoms relating to speech,language and communication can include:

• standing too close to some1 when they are talking
• speaking with a flat sounding voice
• inability to control how loudly or softly they talk
• stick with the same conversation for too long
• talking about what they like rather than having a 2 way conversation
• speaking well and knowing loads of words but having trouble listening to others(my son cant speak too well he is getting better but alot of what he says most people still cant understand as it all sounds the same)

Repeated behaviors and routines:

People with autism might repeat actions over and over again,they tend to like having routines where things stay the same so they know what to expect and may have trouble with changes.

Development delay:

Children with autism develop differently from other children.where children without autism develop at  about the same rate in areas of development, like motor,language,cognitive and social skills.children with it develop at different rates in different areas . They may have large delays in language,social and cognitive skills yet their motor skills are about the same as other children their age.they may be good at puzzles or problem solving but not at things others find easy like talking and making friends.you might also find they can learn a skill but then seem to forget it again.

All kids are different whether they have a disability or not all these children want is to be like everyone else they just need a little bit more help  than others the same age.

So the next time you see a child screaming its head off on the floor or hitting out,or like my son did the other day at the bus stop he without warning pulled his trousers over his bum exposing it shook it and shouted at top of his voice my bum baby yours is big!! 

plz don't judge we have a hard enough time as it is helping our children to learn right from wrong(although i must say i struggled not to laugh as this woman kept staring at him for talking funny for his age!)

Autistic children are not a burden they are a blessing with a hidden disability :)

Easter with the kids

Friday 30th march 
Easter egg hunting at school.

Well ethan has been really looking forward to this day talking about egg this and that non stop all week!and the day was finally upon us would it be a success or a failure i wondered?

well to be honest it was a bit of both, it all started off well ethan and his little sister alisha was both handed a piece of paper and a pen on the paper there where shapes that they had to match up to the ones hidden around the school and on the field and we had the put the letter that was on each shape into appropiate shape on the paper to make up a special easter message...easy right?....wrong! it was crazy and manic ethan loved it running off and hiding at every oppurtunity while alisha ran in the opposite direction and i was there trying to keep an eye on both while also looking out for the darn shapes which where well hidden i must say.
All in all it took us 1 1/2 hours and even then only because another parent told us the last 2 which i was extremely grateful for as by now alisha was crying constantly due to being awoken from nap to collect ethan and start the hunt and ethan getting tired due to his routine he has to stick to.
however he seemed happy to win his chocolate egg :)

Next up was the easter hat contest, they all had to stand in a line for 10 minutes while the judges checked out their eggsallent creations easier said than done as ethan dont tend to like standing still for more than a minute and started to get bored of waiting.they didnt win which is fine as im hopeless at helping them with arty projects so didnt expect them to, unfortunatly ethan had a meltdown not understanding why he didnt win  and by time it had ended he and his sister missed out on a lolly for taking part as the lady given them out had disappeared this in turn started him off again upset about that only this time alisha got upset over it too needless to say i was at the point id had enough and we decided to leave for the park right next to the school where ethan and alisha both perked up played and ate their eggs resulting in a lovely end to the day.

All in all a successful day!  :)

April: Bowel cancer awareness month

Did you know some1 dies from bowel cancer every 30 seconds?i could not believe it when i heard that i mean you dont even stop to think about it really just take these things for granted,well i can tell you now it has certainly opened my eyes!


Bowel cancer happens when the cells in your bowel multiply and attack the surrounding tissue it can then spread to other areas of the body.
Another name for it is:  Colen cancer.




Most people can have a really good chance of recovery if caught early but unfortunatly only 9% are caught at the early stage!


Signs to look out for:

• A pain or lump in your stomach
• Feeling more tired than normal
• Losing weight for no obvious reason
• Hving blood in your poo for the last 3 weeks

These symptoms do not mean you have Bowel cancer but it is still best to be seen as it could still be the sign of another problem.

All i can say is you have nothing to lose but Everything to gain! so if you spot any of these do get checked.