Giveaway Chanel Makeup

Whilst on my blog travels, I stumbled across this great giveaway on fellow blogger Miss Make Up Magpies blog. As she is a lovely lady she is giving away some quality Chanel Make up comprising of some Chanel Cream Blush and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick

Chanel Le Blush Creme de Chanel Blusher in the shade 62 Presage

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in the shade 87 Rendez-Vouz

To enter you just need to complete the rafflecopter form on the following Link. Good Luck!

Review: The Little Yellow Bird childrens clothing.

I stumbled across The Little Yellow Bird whilst reading the blog of fellow blogger Mummy Alarm a few weeks ago, and I instantly fell in love. I was on the look out for a gift for my best friends daughter, and the quirky dresses on this site really fitted the bill. I have to say that I had a real difficult job choosing! Not only were the dresses right up my street, they were only £15 with free delivery.  Once the dress arrived, my four year old daughter loved it so much that she begged to have one herself. I promised her one if she read her first book at school, and she read it in super quick time! Both dressess arrived quickly and I was pleasantly suprised to have some lovely wooden fridge magnets included in with my second order. It's personal touches such as this that really make the difference.

Check out these dresses for £15 each and I am sure you will fall in love too

The Little Yellow Bird is a new family run company, and they are currently on the look out for product testers. Basically in return for a short review, you get to keep one of the fabulous items on this website. Details can be found here http://www.thelittleyellowbird.co.uk/reviews.html  

I wish Sophie all the success with her company, and I have no doubt that I will be buying lots more from her!

* Disclosure, I have not been compensated in anyway for this review. All thoughts are my own, and I have not been told what to write. 

Silent Sunday 29.09.2013

The day my daughter nearly drowned...

I still can't quite believe that I came close to losing my daughter, and I can't quite believe I nearly let it happen. I am so angry with myself about being so stupid. I forgot how dangerous water can be, especially with young children.

It all started last Sunday, when I suggested going swimming with my best friend and her daughter. As our daughters have both turned four, I grabbed the opportunity to take both my kids on my own (without the hubby). The admission policy changes when your child reaches four, and one adult take two children in so I arranged for my friend to take the two girls in, and I took my boy.

It started off well, and all of them were loving the water. My daughter is such a water baby and is so confident in the water even though she can't swim.  She loves doing somersaults in the water, and diving to the bottom to pick up her swim stick. With her being so fearless it is easy to forget that she can't swim. My best friends daughter wasn't wearning armbands so my daughter wanted to follow suit. Initially I wasn't too happy with this as I knew it would be a tougher challenge watching 2 kids rather than one, but I gave in.

They were both playing in the water and having fun. I was keeping an eye on both her and my one year old son which is where the problem began. My daughter came over and said she wanted a large float. I pointed across the pool and told her to go and get one as I was catching up with my friend. I carried on chatting to my friend and keeping an eye on both children, but they were over different sides of the pool so I was failing miserably. My friend caught sight of Iola in by the floats and asked me if she was alright. I looked over and she was blatantly in trouble. She was thrashing around trying to keep her head above water, and obviously had ventured too deep. My heart was in my mouth. I dashed over and as I got closer, she stopped thrashing and sank to the bottom. The look on her face was one of desperation.  I was terrified. I raced as fast as I could (which isn't easy when you are wading through water) and pulled her out of the water, Luckily she was still conscious, and apart from coughing/crying a lot, she was fine. I felt absolutely terrible and annoyed with myself for letting her go across the pool unaided. There was a lifeguard right by her but he didn't notice she was in trouble until I leapt to pull her out. He looked a bit sheepish and asked if she was OK but ultimately she was my responsibility so I didn't feel too aggrieved.

Tonight we went swimming again, but I made sure that she wasn't more than a couple of meters away from me.  I also took the husband with me so that there was 121 supervision. The good news is that she was fine with the water, and was back to her daring self. As we were getting changed, she was amazed watching the swim club practicing, so I really hope she keeps up her interest in swimming. I still can't help feeling awful, but I guess this blog is not called the Diary of a Bad Mutha for nothing.

Giveaway with confessions of a secret shopper

Who doesn't love a good giveaway! The lovely Confessions of a secret shopper blog is giving her readers the chance to win a Christmas beauty advent calendar. Wouldn't you love to wake up each day and open up the door to a great beauty treat.

Well here is your chance. Click on the following link and fill out the rafflecopter entry form to have a chance of winning

Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>  Bloglovin

Giveaway! Win clothing

In the James household, we love a bargain. I have to be honest and say if I spend over £20 on an item of clothing, it hurts. Some may say I'm tight but the reality is that we are on a budget so budget fashion retailers are a must in our house.  Imagine my delight when I heard of MRP, a brand new fashion retailer from South Africa who have just launched in the UK. Even though they are based in South Africa, they post to the UK for a piffling £4. That;s cheaper than I pay on ebay half the time!   Check some of these beautiful bargains I found on the website This beautiful striped cardigan is just £6.50! These skinny jeans are just £10.00 These wonderful dresses are just £5.50 I really think you should check out the website Here to discover the great range they have at fantastic prices.

To celebrate their launch in the UK, MRP are running a fab competition to win a whole years of clothing!

click this link to enter the competition

* This is a sponsored post

Big Body Shop Giveaway!

For those of you who love a giveaway, check out the lovely Megs budget boutique shop blog as she has a fab giveaway to celebrate reaching 1000 followers. You can win Vitamin E face mist, gorgeous honeycomb bronzer, seaweed mattifying day cream, define and lengthen mascara, a facial buffer, coconut body scrub and hi-shine lip treatment. To enter, just complete the rafflecopter form here http://megsbudgetboutique.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/big-body-shop-giveaway.html

Bullying and how it shaped my life.

When I look back to my childhood I am afraid that the memories are not that great, even with my rose tinted specs on. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of love and some good times but the overriding feeling I have about my childhood is that is was a sad time.  The main reason for this, was the relentless bullying I suffered at primary school. I can't help feeling that my childhood was taken from me, and I guess it has played a part in the person I am today. Thankfully most of the bullying stopped when I went to comprehensive school and I was able to form some firm friendships which I still have today. 

I have had many years to reflect on the bullying and why I found myself a victim to this bullying. I think part of the reason was that my family were on a low income, although both my parents worked. My clothes were second hand and I guess I didn't look like the other trendy kids. The main reason though is that I was a quiet shy child, unable to assert myself. This led me to being a bit of a doormat, and I still have that with me today. Children have an uncanny ability to pick up on weakness, and unfortunately this was my downfall.

Anyway years later, I have a reasonably paid job, a handsome husband and two beautiful children so life didn't turn out too bad for the little bullied girl. My daughter is now four years old and is in her second year of school (they start them young in Wales!). She knows her own mind and is not afraid to speak it! Some people may think she is high maintenance, as she is liable to have the odd meltdown if she doesn't get her own way. I can't help feeling proud of her though. She is clever, and confident in social situations. She is feisty and sometimes acts like a spoilt brat, but I love her! I am hoping that she never has to experience bullying in her, and with her strong personality I know that the chances are reduced. Unfortunately most of us experience bullying in our life, even in adulthood. 

I have a guilty secret as when I was in my early teens, I was involved in the bullying of another child in my local choir. I enjoyed the feeling of power, which I have always felt ashamed on. Thankfully the bullying didn't last long and we all became friends again, but I also now know how easy it is to be drawn into bullying behaviour. The pack mentality takes over. 

For anyone concerned about bullying, check out the following link as it has lots of great info on how to spot the signs of bullying and how to deal with it. http://www.beatbullying.org/  I just wish that my teachers all those years ago, had not just turned a blind eye to the bullying that was to steal my childhood. 

WIN A BRAUN EPILATER GIVEAWAY RRP £139.99

I know most of you love a good giveaway and they don't come much better than this! The lovely Bump To Baby blog is offering it's readers a chance to win this wonderful prize. Just click on the following link to enter http://www.bump-to-baby.com/2013/09/and-relax-with-braun-giveaway-rrp-13999.html
The competition ends on the 05th of October 2013

Yummy Mummy equals leaky bladder! Femsoft to the rescue!

Well it does in my case anyway. Perhaps I shouldn't be broadcasting this, but I suspect that many fellow mummies that I know also have a bit of leakage but are too ashamed to admit it to friends and family. I'll start with my story and be prepared for brutal honesty!

I have always had a bit of a weak bladder, and memories such as weeing my knickers on stage in primary school, and having to be escorted to the toilets by my teacher are still vivid! I have a few amusing wee stories from my youth and I will leave those for another time (perhaps after I have had a glass of wine!). I was too ashamed to mention anything to my family so just lived with it through out my childhood and adult years.

After the birth of my first child, matters came to a head when I attempted to get fit. I went to a circuits class, and I was mortified to find that I was leaking Urine, even though I had been the loo right beforehand. By the end of the class, I was soaked. From that day on I was reluctant to take part in any exercise, and found that  had to wear pads when I had a cough, and I dreaded the moment when someone made me laugh too hard etc. Even though I religiously did my pelvic floor exercises whilst pregnant with my second child, the problem got worse. At 34 years of age, I sat and thought about whether I just wanted to live with my leaky bladder, or whether was going to do anything about it.

I decided to pluck up the courage and visit my GP. The circumstances were less than ideal.  I had an appointment with a male GP and had to take the 2 toddlers with me. As he had to do an internal examination, a chaperone from reception had to come in. I was told to lay down on the bed behind the curtain whilst the receptionist stood outside the curtain. Well of course having a one year old and a three year old in tow, they decided to run in and out behind the curtain, leaving me exposed to the female receptionist! Matters where made worse when the GP said I had very minor signs of stress incontinence, making me feel like I had wasted his time. Believe you and me mate, I wouldn't be lying down on a bed half naked, with your hand up my nether regions whilst a horried receptionist looks on, unless I had a problem! I got him to agree to refer me, but he referred my daughter in error which led to a long wait. Not a good start!

I finally met with the consultant who I have to say was very sympathetic and understanding. He arranged for me to have a test where a nurse would fill my bladder up and get me to jump around to see if I leaked. Again I didn't appear to leak, which I found quite frustrating. The nurse told me that there were no signs of stress incontinence so again I felt like I had wasted everyones time. To top it all off, I had to wee into a bucket and ended up kicking it over all over the floor. I nearly died of shame!

I had a letter through asking me to see the consultant. I nearly cancelled the appointment because I felt that maybe I was over exaggerating the problem, and wasting everyones time. I started to think I would have to live with it. I reluctantly attended the appointment and expected to be sent away after being told that there was nothing wrong. Thankfully the consultant again confirmed that he did find signs of stress incontinence from the tests and he also recognised that I wouldn't be putting myself through this if there wasn't a problem. He offered me two solutions. One was having a n operation where a sling would be input in my bladder to help stop leakage, which was the only option I expected. The second option was something I had never heard of. He asked if I would consider using Femsoft which was an insert I could use to plug my bladder at times I needed it. This sounded perfect for me as I only have bladder problems at certain times, such as when I exercise, or jump on a bouncy castle! He referred me to a nurse who would tell me more, and I have to say I was intrigued!

I met a lovely nurse called Tiff, who explained that she was a user of FemSoft and found them brilliant. The insert is placed directly into your Urethra and stops any leakage. They are single use, and if you are signed up, you get them delivered in the post each month. She asked me if I wanted to give them a try and I said Yes. I liked the idea of not having surgery, but being able to solve the problem quickly when I needed it.

I attended a follow up apointment and was shown how to use them. I won't go into the nitty gritty, but it is quite fidly to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, it's fine. A bit like Tampons I suppose. Here is the official blurb

'FemSoft is a small, single-use product, available by prescription and currently the only urethral insert for sale. Once you insert FemSoft into your urethra, it gives you immediate control over unwanted urine loss, odor, and wetness–without surgery or medication. A long-term FemSoft study showed that 93% of women were completely dry when using FemSoft, and 95% said they would recommend it to a friend. FemSoft consists of a narrow silicone tube that's encased in a soft, pliable, mineral oil-filled sleeve. To protect delicate tissue, the FemSoft Insert is smooth and seamless, with no hard surfaces. The insert conforms to your body, creating such a comfortable fit that users report hardly knowing it's there.'

 I have since gone running, and worn them on a few other occasions and had no leaks at all. I am really pleased and finally feel like I have control of my problem. I understand that this option may not be for everyone, and that surgery may appeal more than using these inserts. My advice is, if you are suffering from a leaky bladder, don't suffer in silence. It's taken me a while but I am so much happier now!

* This is not a sponsored post and I have not been asked by anyone to write this.