Toddler birthday parties.. why do we do them? ... apart from the amazing cake of course

So my youngest daughter was two last week. Last year on her first birthday, I had three little parties at home to accommodate various people who couldn't make certain dates. Most of the children were Molly's friends from school though, as being One, Lucy was unaware of who her friends really were.
This year, however, was different. Lucy goes to toddler groups and can now talk about her different friends... but would she still appreciate a whole party? Who have I done this for?

So I decided on a party away from home because -
1. Molly had one when she was two (be it a family garden party at my mums though with glorious weather)
2. I wanted to invite her friends over
3. Her friends mostly have siblings the same age as Molly, numbers were getting high.
4. I love parties
5. I wanted to make a big cake
6. Its a good excuse for a get together

Planning the party was easy, and I just booked it on the credit card so it wasn't a big hit to my account, and I did it as cheaply as I could, but the basic room hire was still £150. Being a savvy spender, I made the invitations and printed them off (possibly at work) which cut the cost of about 15 invitations, and they were very personalised to Lucy and quite fab if I might say so myself.
I declined politely the offer to purchase food for the children at about £4 a head. They don't eat half of it anyway, so I made a plan of simple crisps, fruit, sausages and of course birthday cake. I still however managed to spend about £60 on food and supplies for the day.
Invites went out quite early to all Lucy's friends (she does have about 7 genuine friends of her own age who she can name and find in a crowded room), their siblings of course (much to Molly's delight), family and family friends who we wouldn't never be without. 30 children in total from the age of 9 months to 11 years.

Working out the spreadsheet of costs, that was quite a good return on investment, and of course as mentioned above, all their parents would be staying so it was a good social for me too!

Next on the list was party bags. These days you can rarely get away with a party without party bags. Children are so spoilt and expecting of them! Again, the savvy shopper in me was not prepared to spend a fortune on toys that get left in the car on the way home (I could have made up the bags with all the bits my own kids have discarded over the past years worth of parties they've been to) so I bought some bubbles, you can NEVER go wrong with bubbles, some bugs that crawl down the walls (actually these are pretty cool and fitted in with the Gaston/Ben and Holly theme) and then made home made personalised biscuits to go with them. I do love my baking of course!

And then with a few days to go, come the apologies for not coming. I totally understand that everyone has things coming up, and heads to crack open and hospitals to rush to (only one and thankfully he is ok now), but it puts doubts in your mind.
We were down 9 kids by the morning of the party. I started to think about why I was having a party, what I could have done with the money if I'd not spent it all, was it a waste? Was Lucy going to appreciate it, was she even going to be ok herself, as she was under the weather (a bit of Calpol and she was fine), was it going to be a Molly party after all? Too late now anyway!!

So the party went ahead. 21 kids, still quite a few little ones of Lucy's age. Lucy has the BEST time. It was a soft play party at William Penn Leisure Centre, lots of bouncing around on the castle, lots of soft play equipment, all the kids from 9 months to 11 years had a fabulous time. After an hour of playing, we went into the party room for food. I didn't prepare food boxes, I didn't even take the crisps out of the packet. It was great. Lots got eaten, my dearest Godson told me that it was a "lovely meal aunty Lex" and then we cut the cake.
I was particularly proud of my cake, mostly because Lucy knew exactly who was on it, even Big Bad Barry the fish in the pond. AND it tasted awesome :) (smug moment here).

All too soon it was over and everyone left. We went home and Molly helped Lucy to open her gorgeous presents (that I was worried about too, as we have so many toys at home, I wouldn't know what to do with any more) but books, clothes, Ben and Holly wall stickers.. Lucy was very excited, I was very very happy (Thank you all SO much), and now I'm thinking of what to do next year for her, as I've already mentally planned Mollys class party for June!

GOT TO LOVE A PARTY, I'm so pleased I did it, and here is the cake that was the perfect finish to a wonderful day!

A day in the life of a Quiz show contestant.... and a fab 1 Direction cake

At last I can finally reveal the immense fun I had going through the process of applying and appearing on Tipping Point (ITV, Wednesday 19th Feb 4pm)

I love money but hate spending my own, so other than winning the lottery, I thought I'd fancy my chances at winning some on a quiz show. I applied back in October through one of the many websites for Tipping Point. I'd only ever seen the celebrity series where the prize fund is twice as much as the regular.  But hey ho its still up to £10k that can be won.

A week later I received a phone call, number withheld, I was about to hang up, assuming I was owed PPI from one of the four major lenders, but it was a very pleasant young man from Tipping Point. I was in the process of putting a lamb shank in the oven, in the biggest casserole dish I could find, so I wasn't really concentrating when he asked me some general knowledge questions. I'm sure I got most of them wrong, other than what is the name of the new Prince but nevertheless, he told me I'd done well and I would be contacted shortly.

Another phone call within the week confirmed I'd been invited to audition up in Kensington, London. Cleverly, I asked for a parking space as I didn't fancy trying to get the tube across London. They were most accommodating and sent all the details over to me by email, as well as a LOT of paperwork to complete and contracts to sign.

The audition was fun, there were about 20 of us sitting round a very corporate looking table, everyone very chatty, proving instantly their confidence and ability to talk for sure! It was interesting to know that so many people were serial quiz show appliers, although the contracts do state a time period before appearing on TV again.

We were asked to talk about ourselves for a minute (Just one minute I thought? How will I fit it all in?) and it was interesting to hear that some people couldn't think of anything to say other than their enjoyment of the programme. I doubt we'll be seeing them on TV this series! We then had a general knowledge quiz with 25 questions. We had to write the answers on a piece of paper and had another piece to cover our answers. The few women in the room were very craftily placing their papers but the men weren't interested in that, which was a great help for one or two of the questions for me ;).

We then were sent away and brought back individually to be interviewed in front of the camera. This was the first time I got a little nervous, but soon found my voice and chatted away, remembering big smiles in between (Television, is after all very cheesy).

We were told we would be informed in a couple of weeks if we were successful. It took a LOT longer and I started to worry, then get annoyed, then almost resigned to the fact I hadn't been chosen... BUT THEN, I received a call, from a lovely young lady, inviting me to film the show! OMG, it was really happening...

So on the 11th December, on dear Mr Ben Shepherds birthday, I made my way to Wimbledon studios. I was in the third group so arrived around 11am, and was taken into the Green Room (not quite a trendy as I would have expected) and met with Lyn, Tom and our 4th contestant was running late as he'd gone to the wrong building. We were all quite pleased with that, because surely it meant that he was a bit stupid, if he can't even read the instructions correctly! ha ha. It was a great way of bonding and getting to know each other. We were called individually into hair and make up, which initially I was dreading, as I hate wearing make up, but the make up artist was amazing. She asked what I liked and did nothing more. Hopefully it came across well on TV. My hair she did amazingly, I was pleased as punch just with that bit itself!

Once our 4th contestant (A Simon Cowell lookalike) turned up, we all went off for lunch. Today's choice was 7 different types of hotdog! I went for a jacket potato. We weren't allowed to sit in the main area, because the staff were there and might be talking strategies etc. so we were put in the corner, which was fine and had a lovely lunch, getting to know one another, and my personal strategy was forming in my mind...

1. answer the first question (to build confidence)
2. Get rid of Simon Cowell in round One, he's annoying
3. If I get to round two try and answer the questions first
4. Relax and enjoy

You'll have to watch the programme to see if it worked!

At about 4pm we were called in to the studio. It was quite big, but its not an audience show, so not too big that it was daunting. The set up itself is very funny. The podiums we stand behind are on quite a narrow stage. No getting too excited and jumping back because you'd fall off the back! The crew in the studio were great, really fun, lovely people obviously enjoying their jobs.
I was lucky that Lyn was also very short, so hopefully we look more average on TV together. Lots of touching up make up and after the first couple of times, you get used to it.  We spent a few minutes on the sidelines when one of the bulbs went in the drop zone and Ben Shepherd was very, very friendly, amusing, chatty and generally a charming man!

The nature of the show you'll have to watch to find out but it was great fun. Really great fun. I would recommend it to anyone who has the confidence to talk on TV.

Without giving the game away, as I said you have to watch it, I really enjoyed the extra cash, and am now looking for the next show I could go on!!

And for today's cake, this was requested and made for a dear friend of the children at school. A big 1D fan, but how funny that their logo isn't symmetrical! The OCD in me is really coming out as i'm getting older.
This was 100% wheat and dairy free, using alternatives thanks to an amazing website - www.icedgembakes.co.uk and three days on its still moist and delicious! Happy 11th Birthday Hayley xx

3D Lipo, a very personal review but alas no cake this week!

Every year, rather than set a New Years Resolution as such, I tell myself that I will spend some money on ME, and no one else. It can be on anything I like, and if it doesn't work then so be it but at least I'll have tried something new.
2014 is the year of 3D Lipo!
What the hell is 3D Lipo I hear you ask..

3D Lipo has been around for about 2 years, but has been in research status for about 7, so it is a relatively new idea. It is a completely non-evasive method of breaking down fat cells using Ultrasound. Unlike other forms of non surgical liposuction, it does not use lasers, which shrink fat cells, but it actually destroys them. When they are destroyed, by the ultrasound, they pass out through the lymphatic system out are managed through the liver and passed along with regular waste.  That's as scientific as I'm going to get because I am NOT a scientist! Unlike other laser Lipo treatments too, the effects are immediate. Unlike the old fashioned Liposuction, there is not so much as a bruise or a sore tummy to show for it.
Too good to be true? Well, lets find out.

I found a local clinic that does 3D Lipo and emailed them for some information. They were quick to respond with answers to my questions, which included the confirmation that no other diet or exercise is required with this treatment, but of course the more you do to help yourself, the better the results. They confirmed the immediate results, but advised a full course of 8 treatments is best, and they told me that their policy is not to do more than one treatment a week because of the extra pressure on the lymphatic system to pass out the waste.
So I booked in for a consultation and met the lovely Ravi, who was very polite and professional. She asked me what I wanted to get out of the treatment, and she showed me the machine and how it worked. The full set up, if it is needed involves Cavitation (the ultrasound destroying of the cells), Crylipolisis (which freezes the cells and eventually breaks away after about 9 months) and skin tightening, but as Ravi explained, she only uses the first, and very rarely the Crylipolisis on areas such as bingo wings, but as the results take so much longer there is little use on areas such as the tummy and legs, the Cavitation treatment tightens the skin itself so there is little need for additional tightening too. I was hooked, and booked my first treatment, which would involve a more medical questionnaire too.

When I went back the following week, so keen to get started, Ravi went through a full medical questionnaire, this treatment is not advisable if you've had cancer in the last 5 years, diabetes and other illnesses/diseases whereby there is more pressure put on your kidneys and liver. The idea is that no pressure is put onto the body to cause any concern. She measured me in three places around my stomach (thats private though thank you) and weighed me ( you really don't need to know about that one) and then I lay down on her treatment bed. She covered my tummy in the gel used in Ultrasounds, which I'm very very familiar with. I mean, the reason I'm here in the first place is because of my two gorgeous children! Then she started with a small "thing" with 4 metal circles on it, she massaged my tummy, explaining there were 8 areas in total and each got about 5 minutes. But its not stop start, its a continuation, and the feeling was lovely. The "thing" warmed up quite quickly so took away the coldness of the gel, and the only discomfort at all is that the Ultrasound causes a high pitched ringing noise in your ears. Not my practitioners ears, but just mine. Whilst we were chatting though, i could barely hear the noise.

40 minutes later and she was finished. She measured me again, and after session one on the first area I'd lost 2cm, the middle bit (around my belly button) 1cm and the top bit of my tummy another 2cm. Thats 5cms in my first session.

I was happy but a little dubious. I've had wraps before where i've lost inches but as soon as I've had a drink of water they've come back again. I booked for my 2nd treatment, and as much as I tried to argue she wouldn't do it before a week and went home, immediately feeling a little "better!" I don't know how psychological that was, but I was happy, and I was drinking lots of water and going to the loo lots too. That had to be a good sign.

I've now had 4 sessions, so I'm half way through, I've changed my diet slightly, I've just reduced the amount of wheat that I eat because it doesn't generally agree with me, but I'm still eating everything else I want. But I do exercise too, I will try and do an hour on the exercise bike, about 4 or 5 times a week. I've been doing that for ages though.

So after my latest treatment, Ravi measured me again. I have lost in total over the three parts of my stomach a total of 19cms so far, and I still have 4 treatments left. The scales are showing a little change but its not about what they say. I'm generally a heavy boned person so I don't tend to listen to the scales anyway, but I wore my jeans last weekend, and my muffin top was much reduced from the last time I wore them (AND i'd just washed them too), my stomach feels smoother and much less bumpy, and the biggest test for me of them all...
Occasionally I stand in front of my mirror, sideways on and see how pregnant I look if I really push my tummy out. Most of the time its past due date, and on a couple of occasions I've done a pregnancy test just to make sure I'm not actually overdue, and this week, the "best" I got was about 4 months pregnant. So for my personal achievement, I've lost 5 months of pregnancy.

I can't wait for my next 4 treatments, and this next 4 weeks I'm even going to try and stop eating so much chocolate alongside the treatment, and see how that helps.
So far so good, it really is as good as it sounds......
Watch this space.

I'm sorry there is no cake this week. I've got a diary full of cake baking opportunities over the next two weeks though, so there will be lovely pictures to follow.

Take care

Thanks to Physio Dynamix in Iver Village http://www.physiodynamix.com for providing my treatment.

First use of a Premium Merlin pass....... and a microlight cake!

After a lot of research and a lot of waiting for the right time, I bought three Premium Merlin passes this January. I didn't use my Tesco clubcard points as they would have worked out still very expensive and I definitely would not have got 3 x the value. So I waited for the January sales and bought directly from Merlin for £99 each. Thats the premium passes that you can use all year round, no restrictions, free parking and from what I read some fast tracks on the rides at the parks. Not bad, I uploaded photos of the family (Lucy doesn't need one until she is 3) and we received the cards free delivery in the post within 5 days.

Excitedly,  I looked up where we can go, most of the theme parks don't open until March but London is open! So yesterday we decided to take a family trip up to London.
I am NOT impressed with London Underground and the lack of buggy friendly access. There is no way people with disabilities can easily use the service that suppose to be so people friendly! Luckily for us we didn't have too many changes, and of course I had my wonderfully strong husband with us to help with the buggy.

Before we started we checked and there were no metropolitan line trains from Harrow, so we planned to go Chiltern to Marylebone, it only takes 27 minutes. An hour after getting on the train we finally reached Marylebone and carefully had to carry the buggy off the train, as the gap is so big between the train and platform. I wouldn't have been happy doing that by myself!

Anyway, we finally got ourselves to Waterloo and thanks to James picking up and carrying the buggy with Lucy in it up the stairs (he's aching a little bit today!) we were on dry land above ground.
We strolled over to South Bank and the girls were really excited to see the London Eye, but then we spotted the queue. It must have been over 2 hours long, my kids would not want to stand around that long.... what was I going to do??

Some might say i'm an opportunist, we walked along a bit, decided we'd go to the Aquarium first, but then I saw the tiniest queue for the London Eye, the priority queue, I went over and flashed my Merlin passes with a big smile at the lady and inquired if we could go in this queue. "Of Course" she said, "go in!" AWESOME, as Molly shouted out, we queued for about 20 minutes if that, and were straight on the eye. The staff are all very very friendly and helpful. They are smiling and its good to see they at least seem to enjoy their jobs and want their customers to enjoy their experience. Its amazing, its relaxing, fun, of course the best views of London and the girls loved it..

It takes about half an hour, just perfect for seeing all the sights, running around the pod, taking loads of photos and for some, just sitting and relaxing. We came off the ride, easy to maneuver the buggy and children and felt pretty smug at the poor people still queuing!
We took a very short stroll over to the queue for the Aquarium, 2 and a half hours from here" the sign said! Not for the Nobles! Straight to the fast queue, can we go in here please? "Yes but the queue starts over there" I was told, Ok so maybe a half hour wait, we queued up for about 15 minutes, until we crossed the empty space that was the door to the waffle shop (ooooohhhhhh) and then flashed our flashy cards again at the women by the short queue. "No" she said "Not this queue" (my face fell....), "its THIS one!" Well, she pointed to a queue with absolutely NO one in it! we strolled right through and we were at the front. SMUG again, I'm LOVING this! So we walked around the Aquarium. The Sharks were unbelievable and the walkway over them was so amazing, a little scary but truly awesome. Its a fabulous place there, and despite walking quite quickly, we didn't stop to read everything but did look at all the animals we wanted to, it took over an hour to walk around. That's a decent sized Aquarium.  So by the time we came out it was gone 4pm, and starting to get cold.
One truly amazing thing about both the attractions we visited, was that we bought NOTHING in shops on the way out! Miraculous. The guy at the Aquarium did make the best effort to sell us our photo book from inside, but luckily, we pointed out that Lucy had her finger up her nose in every single photo so we got out of a £20 photo book cost.

The only thing we did buy was ice cream. On a day when the outside temperature is about 7 degrees, but with a wind chill making it feel about 3, you can't beat a 99 flake. It was freezing, the kids loved it. The kids sitting next to ours with their ice cream were shivering but wouldn't give up their 99's either. Truly a British sight to see so many kids wrapped up in hats scarves and gloves eating their ice creams!

We made our way back to the tube and somehow managed to get down onto the platform and up to Marylebone.  We were home by about 6pm and the kids were fast asleep by half 7, but sadly, to waste a good evening, I was also asleep just after 8!

As for cake, it was my Mum's partners birthday last week. John is a keen Microlighter, and having now googled so many pictures of microlights, I understand what they are and think he's a bit crazy, but this is the cake I made for him anyway! He was very impressed. A simple BLUE victoria sponge with a fondant/marzipan decoration.