Dexter is the Face of Galt..!

It's taken me a while to write this up due to our holiday, but before we left for our hols, we were told that little Dex had won the 'Face of Galt' competition, he was to be 'Professor Galt' and was invited down to Derby for a very exciting photoshoot - on top of that he won £250 worth of Galt toys.  My little star!

To enter the competition you had to submit an entertaining video of your little one.  We had loads of material with Dexter in as he is a naturally entertaining little boy - and also very cute with all his curls (though of course we are biased!).  We were over the moon to be picked, but quite apprehensive about the photoshoot as he is not one to take instruction that well.

There were 3 other winners and we all met up at a lovely hotel for the photoshoot.  I was thrilled to learn that Wendy from Inside the Wendyhouse would also be there as her daughter Kizzy had been chosen as Princess Galt. 

We were taken into a large room where there were lots of toys for the kids to play with, and where we met the other 2 winners.  Wendy arrived shortly after us with her husband and little boy Freddy in tow too.  It was odd meeting her in a way as I felt I already 'knew' her from reading her blog! (which is very good by the way!).  She was lovely and just as I imagined her to be.

Dexter was the first to be taken off for his shoot.  He had to put a lab coat on and some goggles, and looked so funny as his coat was way too big for him, but I guess that just added to the photo really!  We were very surprised to find him obeying the photographer, gazing at his test tube and doing what was asked of him - result!  Unfortunately the group afternoon session did not go 'quite' as well with Dexter barely paying any attention to what was asked of him, resulting in me becoming quite stressed and trying to bribe him with sweets and chocolate coins etc!  Fortunately the photographer said he had enough photos to work with and not to worry too much as he could blend some pictures together.

The end result was fantastic - and what's more Dexter went on to appear in lots of local press and became somewhat of a minor celebrity with his nursery proudly displaying his press picture on their door. 

I was asked to provide a quote for the marketing material and went with 'Dexter's personality is almost as big as his hair so we thought he'd be perfect as the face of Galt!'

So proud of our little boy.  I'm sure his pictures will embarrass him in years to come though!

Travelling with Severe Allergies...

So on Weds we fly to Florida for 3 weeks, OMG, how exciting!  I am filled with a mixture of trepidation and excitement at the same time.  When we booked the holiday we had no idea what the following months would unfurl though.

Unfortunately a few months ago Keani was diagnosed with a severe peanut and shellfish allergy.  It's not until you read up on these things and see various consultants that you realise how scary the allergy actually is.  It's life threatening.  Keani will have to carry adrenalin in the form of Epi-pens with her for the rest of her life.

So the fact we are going to be on a plane for 10 hours up in the air, with no hospitals nearby, fills me with absolute terror!  We are going to be well prepared of course, with all her medication to hand.  But it doesn't stop me catastrophising and going through the 'what ifs'.  Thankfully airlines have stopped handing out peanuts on their flights to ALL passengers, however, Virgin have told me that they will give peanuts to those passengers who ask for them.  The average person does not understand the fear this induces in me!  Keani will react to a minute trace of peanut - what if she finds one on the floor and picks it up? What if somebody touches something with their peanut coated fingers, and Keani touches that same thing - a chair, a door knob, anything....   What if Keani reacts to the airbourne allergen?! 

Scary stuff.  So it's not flying for 10 hours with 2 toddlers that terrifies me, it's her allergies that will turn me into a quivering wreck!

Cross your fingers for us.  It'll probably be fine............. here's hoping for a 'safe and pleasant flight'....

Snowwwwwwwwwww!

We were lucky (or unlucky) enough to have our first fall of snow this year - the brilliant thing about it was it snowed on Saturday, hung around on Sunday (bright sunshine all day) then melted on Monday in time for the school run - perfect!  Now that's my kind of snow!

The sunshine on Sunday meant we were able to take the kids sledging - for Dexter it was his first time and he loved it 'this is funnnnnnnn!' he kept shouting.  Keani loved it too.  They sledged for the obligatory 20 minutes or so before complaining of the cold and wanting to go home.  James and I were pretty hot from hoiking the sledges up the hill but weren't too disappointed to have to go.  We'd had our fun, and enjoyed seeing the kids happy even if it was only for less than half an hour! 

(Dexter and daddy played in the garden whilst Keani kept herself warm indoors - you can see where Dexter tried to hit Keani with some snowballs!)

Silent Sunday

Keani's Entry into the Appliances Online Cookers Yummy Food Competition

I love doing crafty stuff with the kids - usually the first ten minutes are BRILLIANT.  It's the minutes after that that I start to tear my head out.  Both my kids seem to have an attention span of a gnat!  Anyhow, with the word 'competition prize' being quite alluring, I decided to sit Keani down and ask her to draw her favourite foods for a lovely competition hosted by Mad House Family Reviews in conjunction with Appliances Online.

Bless her, she really tried with this one.  First she drew a picture of herself, then her favourite foods (cake, ice cream and sprouts) followed by some writing.  I usually find it really hard to get her to do anything like this, but I think because food was involved she actually made more effort than normal.  I'm very impressed with the result, and her work will be proudly displayed on our wall.

So this is Keani's entry into the Appliances Online Cookers Yummy Food Competition:

Determined to get Crafty!

I have a friend who crafts A LOT with her 2 kids (both girls I hasten to add).  I am always in awe of all of their creations, and the enthusiasm and vigour that my friend seems to maintain throughout any 'arty' activity.  I, on the other hand, find it realllllllly hard to obtain the appropriate amount of enthusiasm needed.  This isn't helped by the fact that Dexter (the 2.5 year old) is not one for sitting down for any length of time and concentrating on a project, and almost invariably winds his sister up by encroaching on her masterpiece and 'helping out' - (ie scribbling on it!).

Anyhow, fuelled by a post by A Boy with Aspergers blog I decided to make a conscious effort to sit down with the kids and actually complete a crafting session.  I asked Keani what her favourite food was and together we sat down and discussed it and she started drawing her 'ice cream, cakes and sprouts' (quite a diverse mix - well, the sprouts anyway!).  Dexter helped out by gluing and sticking on the 'sprinkles'.  And actually the session worked out pretty well, I was really impressed with Keani's writing, as normally I struggle to get her to write, but I think because it was something she was really interested in (she totally loves her food) she felt more compelled to write.

So voila! Here is Keani's (aged 4) entry into the Appliances Online 'Yummy Food Competition' as hosted by A Boy with Aspergers blog:

And the winner is..........

Huge congratulations to Jo Young - winner of the fantastic and HUGE retro sweet hamper!

Your entry #82 was picked out by Random.org and Rafflecopter - the results of which can be seen on the original competition post.