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Saturday 29 January 2011

My Relationship with More! Magazine...


Anyone who knows me will know that over 2009/2010 I became more than a little obsessed with a magazine, More!

It started when I answered an ad to be a position of the week tester with my then boyfriend. I earnt £50 just for having sex with my boyfriend! Easy money! I joined the more! magazine facebook page but then kind of forgot about it, apart from buying the magazine every so often.

Over the summer of 2009 I was busy on my placement and dating a new guy. I received an email from more!'s admin team asking for girls who would like to take part in a feature for Breast Cancer Awareness 
Boob Shoot!
 week that they were running. The shoot would be tasteful but topless. I was ok with this though as it was for an amazing cause. After the Breast Cancer Shoot I became a big fan of the magazine and also of their facebook page where I started getting involved in discussions and posts every so often.

More started running a competition on the page, moving on from their FFOTW (facebook fan of the week) which had just been a regular poster, they started running little comps. It was, I think, the first one of these that I won. It was on favourite makeup products and I won with a slideshow of the products that I used and a before and after shot of me, very embarrassing!

It was in the spring of 2010 that I really started talking often on the page. I shared the fact that I was pregnant on there and started talking to a few of the 'regular' girls that went on the page, mainly about being pregnant. I remember the first person I made friends with was a girl called Joanne Woods as when I went to Canada I was unable to buy an issue of the magazine and she offered to send me one for when I got home.

I also started speaking to a few girls who already had kids including Katie Lewis, as well as a few girls who were pregnant at the same time as me, including Danielle Jordan Terry and Jessica Peters. I also made friends with a few girls who didn't have kids and weren't pregnant, including Katie Brigden who I have since met a few times.

As I was pretty much stuck at home all day everyday as my pregnancy progressed, I was almost always on the page talking to the others and it became a way to make good friends online. I felt I could really talk openly and honestly to the girls as I hadn't met them and they knew the person I was then as opposed to anyone I had been in the past.

Due to being on the page a lot, I often saw posts put up by the magazine giving the opportunity to get involved in articles as well as being able to comment on issues that might be picked to be in the magazine. I've had a few comments in the magazine as well as giving reader advice, after someone from more! emailed me asking me if I wanted to do it. I have also been quoted in the magazine alongside surveys they have done, including a sex survey and a plastic surgery survey.

I entered for a chance to go to a party with Tinchy Stryder last autumn and was picked to go and was able to take my friend Abi with me. We had to pay for our own transport which was pretty rubbish, but I made a day of it, taking Cameron with us to London and having my nan look after him whilst the shoot went on. The shoot was a bit staged and although music was playing and they did eventually get some champagne, it was pretty forced and Tinchy himself looked totally bored to be there. A few of the girls who went were quite 'groupy-ish'. I did enjoy being in a nice club and the fact that we were in the magazine.


 
Tinchy






















I haven't been able to locate all of the articles I have been involved in but have found some of my best! I estimate that I have been in the magazine around 9 times.


About meeting Keira Knightley!

Reader Advice


Wednesday 26 January 2011

My Little Water Baby!

I have been wanting to take Cameron swimming for awhile now but have been waiting until he had all his jabs done and would enjoy it more for being that little bit older.

I was so excited this morning when I was getting ready to go. There really aren't that many swimming pools around the area with kids pools so in the end we went to a pool which is quite new. Abi came with us and it could not have gone better!

getting ready for pool time!

my little boy :)


eeeeeeeeeeeeee

 Cameron looked adorable in his little swimming nappy and, despite looking a little shocked and worried when we first got into the pool, he absolutely loved his time in the pool! We were in there 40 minutes in the end! He had a bit of a splash around, sat on my knee whilst I sat on the pool steps and kicked around a bit, getting used to the water.

I took a tiny bit of video of him with Abi on the steps before I got told off by the lifeguard who told me it was illegal to take video footage inside a public swimming pool! I was pretty annoyed. I get that some sick people out there take footage of other peoples kids but come on, this was my own baby and all I was trying to do was take some footage of my baby's first swim!! Eurghh makes me mad, this country have taken things too far wrapping people in cotton wool! Luckily I had already taken 30 seconds of him in the water, so eff you pool man!



We ventured a bit further into the pool and Cameron had a little 'swim' on his back which he loved. He put his little feet together and looked so cute! I was careful he didn't swallow any water, that would have been horrible. He had a great time and was really watching the other little babies and toddlers in the pool as well as looking up at the lights on the ceiling.

When it came to getting out, I wrapped him in his little towel and we went to get changed. He got very upset then and made it sound like I was killing him in our cubicle as I tried to get him dressed. In the end I had him half dressed and Abi held him while he had some of his bottle to calm him down.

We went into the coffee area and I gave him the remainder of the bottle and he promptly fell fast asleep in my  
all worn out!
arms having worn himself right out in the pool. I loved every minute of it (well maybe not the bit in the changing room!) and am definitely making it a regular thing. I am also considering signing up for the baby swim lessons as I think it would be a great way to teach him swimming early on and get him more used to the pool as well as meeting other mums and babies in the area.

All in all, a great day!

My 'take on town'!

I went out for the first time properly since having Cameron on Friday night and it was great fun! I actually let my hair down for once and had a really nice time.


me and my girlies

However, I do feel that town really isn't for me as much anymore. I'm not sure if it's because I am a mum now or just because I have grown up a bit and looked at it a different way but being in a bar I noticed a really sexist element to the set up of a night out!

I was wearing a very short purple strapless dress with shoe boots and felt confident, but the atmosphere in a bar is just like a meat market with the guys looking you up and down like you're nothing but a piece of meat  
my outfit!
and pitting you up against your friends, even if you don't want to be (or even like the men!)

I was taking a photo of me and my two friends when a guy grabbed my arm and said something along the lines of did I want more people in mt photo. I am know for my harsh use of words when it comes to men and I simply said no, to which he replied with 'That's really rude'. I ignored him, but why is that rude? I don't want to be hit on when trying to take a photo of me and my friends having a good time!

I had a guy start talking to me by the bar. He seemed ok and was being flirty until I pulled my friend Geoirgie into the conversation as she was standing looking lonely and after he kissed us both on the cheek, he said I had rolled my eyes and turned and walked off and refused to look at me for the rest of the night. Childish!

 
Me and Georgie :)


Strawberry shots!

I was then hit on later on in the night by a guy wearing a suit (yes, a full on suit in a bar!). He asked me a question, which I didn't hear as the music was so loud and when I tried to explain this, he got annoyed, So followed us 'dancing' akwardly (I can't dance in situations like that!) and him telling me he was 'kind of single'... WTF?!

I have decided from this night out that I would never meet a man I actually liked in a bar, so it's back to the dating sites I go! I did have a really good night with my friends though, don't do it much but make up for it when I do! No more sex on the beach for me though, I'm sticking to wine!

Cameron's Christening Plans!

So, as you may or may not know, I am having Cameron Christened in April.

I went for a meeting with the vicar today at his parish house and had a lovely chat with him. He is a really nice man. Sadly, he won't be the one performing the ceremony on the day as he is away and it's the only weekend that works for me as my brother is only back from Newcastle for a few weeks and two of those Sundays are religious days (palm sunday and easter sunday). So the date has been set for April 10th and I am very excited about it.

I have never been overly religious but do have faith and have been Christened myself and so want Cameron to have the chance to be brought up in the same faith as his parents. I am lucky that the Church I am having the service in is not overly traditional as I want some quite modern arrangements such as the 7 Godparents I have! I couldn't choose between them and the whole thing snowballed!

I have been arranging the outfits tonight and have decided on me and Cameron's dad to be in purple, the Godfathers in lilac shirts and the Godmothers to be in black dresses with lilac accessories. I chose black because I haven't the money to afford to pay for the dresses and hardly thought it fair to ask them all to buy their own new to fit a different colour scheme. I figured every girl has a black dress, and if not, black is relatively easy to buy and for cheaper than say a red or blue dress. It also goes with most people and I am making sure the accessories and the men make them look more cheerful! I am looking for a dress online for me at the moment and have also picked out a cute little cream suit for Cameron which I am sure will make him look even more adorable than he does at the moment!
 
Possible dress for me!


The suit I want to get Cameron!













I have been sending out the invites for the Christening tonight and am really pleased with the way they turned out. I chose to do them online as I don't have the money or time to send them via post, plus the post is seriously unreliable at the moment! I was able to put a photo of Cameron and music on the 'e-vite' which was great! I have invited a mix of family and friends and a few have children or babies so that's lovely, it's always nice to have other children around at these things. The event planner in me is definitely coming out in full force.


The invite (blanked out the details as don't want random people turning up/stalking me!)


I am planning the party afterwards more than the actual ceremony as that is much more about the religion and tradition. The party will have some food, but not be catered again due to cost and I also don't feel a Christening necessarily needs catering. I am planning a little surprise for the party side of things, though nothing as crazy as mine and Georgie's routine from friends at my 20th! I love the Ellie Goulding version of Your Song so will be having that played at one point at the party, I like to sing it (badly) to Cameron as some of the words are true for a mother and her son as well as what they are actually about.

I will be planning more in the upcoming weeks so will keep a little update going for anyone interested and for those reading who are invited, I look forward to seeing you at the Church!

Monday 24 January 2011

What I've been wearing....

My new style has continued (mainly as I threw out all my old clothes!) and I have been wearing my lovely new clothes. A current favourite outfit of mine is this casual but girly one:

Excuse the tired face!

Cross Lace Top (front), Jane Norman

(back)

Jeggings, New Look












It's so versatile! I have worn it to uni, to the church and to lunch at my nan's as well as out shopping and just hanging around the flat! I love how light the material is and the lace detail at the back of the top is different. The dark blue jeggings look just like skinny jeans and are so comfy! I have worn black satin ballet pumps with the outfit mainly, but also with my suede effect shoe boots to glam it up a bit.
Ballet Pumps, New Look

Shoe Boots, Dorothy Perkins

It's a great outfit for day and night and I'm loving it!

Cameron's Weaning Journey: A little update


So, Cameron has now been on solids for a couple of weeks!

So far I have only been giving him a bowl of baby porridge every day. I make sure he has it around early afternoon as it says not to give babies solids too late in the day. I tend to feed him some milk from hus bottle, then feed him the porridge, and then finish off the milk. This seems to work well and I have been increasing the ratio of powder to water and it is now thicjer and more textured for him. He can't get enough of it! He has already started trying to feed himself but can't quite grasp it yet!

I am going to start him on baby rice tomorrow in place of the porridge and see how he gets on with that. I am planning on introducing blended food in the next couple of weeks. I am certain Cameron will love this as he still stares longingly at my food!

I bought a highchair in the Asda baby event for £25. It was a good trusted brand (Gracco) and it's so nice, a pretty blue colour. Can't wait to have him sit in it for mealtimes! Am just waiting until I am completely confident with him sitting unaided before I put him in it, but that should be very soon!



It's so good seeing him eat food and it has definitely helped his sleeping pattern. He sleeps from around 10pm until 6am, has a bottle and sleeps again until 10 or 11am.

Look out for my next installment of Cameron's weaming journey: the blender comes out of it's box!!

Product Review: Pantene Repair and Protect Intensive Treatment

Just thought I would update you all with a beauty must have I have just discovered.

I have always struggled with my hair as it seems to get greasy easily, but if I don't use products to help my damaged hair I end up with a frazzled looking mess for hair! I am always on the lookout for a new intensive treatment for my hair and up until recently have been using the Aussie Miracle range. They are great, but at £4 odd a bottle, I was hoping for something cheaper.

I found the Pantene Repair and Protect Conditioning treatment on offer in Superdrug and thought there was no harm in giving it a go at only £1.90 for a big tub!



I finally got a chance to try it tonight and was not disappointed. It said to leave it on 3-5 minutes, and as I had Cameron in the bathroom with me getting fed up, I did only leave it on for the 3 minutes. It washed out really easily and instantly felt silky smooth which is always a good sign!

I usually leave my hair to dry naturally for around an hour as I don't like using too much heat on it, but as it was getting late and I wanted Cameron to get to sleep, I only left it to dry for around half an hour and dried it from still wet (usually a bad thing for my hair). It dried relatively easily and I moved onto straightening. After going over my hair with the straighteners, it was so soft to the touch and smelt lovely too.

I definitely feel my hair is in better condition, even after one wash, and look forward to seeing my hair visibly improve more and more with each wash. A great bargain buy and a wonder product I will be stocking up on in the future!

Saturday 22 January 2011

Review: Black Swan

I have just got back from the cinema where I saw Black Swan.



I had wanted to go since seeing the trailer on the tv and was in no way disappointed! I found the film absolutely amazing! I love Natalie Portman as an actress usually but this was her breakthrough role, she was incredible! She really portrayed the troubled, messed up lead as best as she could. I love psychological thrillers so this film was right up my street. It wasa little gory in places and my friend hid behind her hands at some points. It is also a little scary in some places and makes you jump. But then in other places the whole audience was laughing.

I don't want to give the plot away as that would totally ruin the film for you. But the basic story is of a ballet dancer who finally gets the lead role she has always desired and she pushes herself so hard, striving for perfection, that she ends up extremely messed up. The ballet she is performing in is Swan Lake and the film even made me want to go and see it at the actual ballet. The music is haunting and allows for an extremely emotional and dramatic climax to the film.

I shall stop there. But, if you like psychological thrillers, I urge you to go and see it. You will not be disappointed! In my own words, at the end of the film, 'I love a good mind f***'.

A link to the trailer is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs

Friday 21 January 2011

Body Image and why I am finally happy with the way I look!

me pre baby on holiday, hiding my tummy
I decided to do a blog post on body image because I know that it's something that a lot of girls have a problem with. It is also an important subject to me as I actually finally feel body confident but it took a lot to get to this stage.

Before I was pregnant I was a healthy BMI, a size 8 on top and 10 on the bottom and weighed 10 stone. I wasn't happy with my body though and had a constant battle with my body from the age of 15 to 20. I would almost constantly be on a diet, yo-yoing between weights and dress sizes. My boob size wasn't even fixed because of it, I went from a C cup age 15 to a A just before I got pregnant. I would sometimes eat nothing more than a plate of tuna and sweetcorn for dinner and then some nights would eat an entire pizza, with chips! I wasn't ever happy with my body, even though looking back now I think I looked pretty damn good! I would quite happily starve myself in order to look good, but could never keep it up and would end up binge eating as a result of having not allowed myself anything before.

I was probably at my most unhealthy whilst working on my placement in the Summer of 2009. I worked for a catering and events company so food was constantly around me, but due to stress, embarrasment of eating in public, and wanting to look good (I had just started dating my infamous ex), I barely ate at work. And, as I was almost always at work, it meant I barely ate.

Things totally changed for me, for the better, when I realised I was pregnant. I suddenly realised I couldn't keep up the cycle of barely eating and then binging. For the sake of the unborn baby I started eating properly, and I have never felt more happy with my body! Even though I was getting bigger all the time, I knew it was for a reason and I was finally able to  
Heavily pregnant and feeling good about myself :)

look in the mirror and love what I saw. I knew I was eating not just for me but for someone else and once I stopped starving myself I actually think I lost some weight just from eating sensibly (though obviously I was gaining baby weight so it wasn't really clear!). I ate when I wanted, what I wanted and actually ended up eating mainly healthy things as a result. I was still a bit body conscious, however, and was terrified of getting stretch marks, which in the end I did. They held off until just before the baby came but then came in force on my tummy and hips as well as my boobs where they had stretched from an A to a DD!

After having Cameron, I was pretty self conscious about my body. I did feel massive and a bit worried I would never lose the weight. I piled on a lot of weight that I would have been losing from breastfeeding, by not having the time or energy to cook properly and so eating pizza, chips, ready meals etc every night as well as a chocolate bar every day after he was born! Thankfully, I finally remembered how I was eating when I was pregnant and began to eat sensibly again (after a brief 'soup diet' that lost me weight but made me moody!).

To coincide with the new year I began a healthy eating plan and so far have lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks. I feel so much more confident, eating healthily but still allowing myself the odd treat and having a free day at the weekend where I can eat what I want. I don't feel that by any means I have a perfect body at the moment, neither am I striving to get one. My aim is to weigh 9 stone 8 by April for Cameron's Christening, which is another 10 pounds and puts me nicely in the middle of perfect BMI for my height.

I am happy with my body, having had a baby. Sure there are stretch marks on my stomach which I would like to get rid of, but they show me that I carried a baby for 9 months and went through childbirth to get my gorgeous son so I am ok with them. I have the confidence to put up a picture of how my body looks RIGHT NOW for you all to see what someone who has had a baby recently looks like in her underwear. I'm not by any means saying this is what anyone who has had a baby looks like, some girls are naturally slimmer or bigger than me, everyone is unique. But this is my body, and I am happy finally with how it looks! 

My body, this morning, stretch marks and all!

Thursday 20 January 2011

Cameron's Story: Chapter 3: 2 months plus




When Cameron was a couple of months old, he took his first journey on a coach to London. I had won the chance to go to a club event and meet Tinchy Stryder and, though Cameron wasn't allowed to come into the actual club, I brought him along with me with my nan to babysit him whilst we were in the club. The journey there was ok, he was in his car seat next to me and he was perfect the entire journey. He got a little hungry when we entered the outskirts of London but I was able to get him out and feed him and he was fine. After I had been in the Tinchy shoot I went to meet my nan and we went to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland. It was really festive and got me in the holiday mood! Cameron didn't seem too impressed by it though and just stayed in his pram as we went round. The journey back was a nightmare, as the driver was really nasty to me about having Cameron on board and suggested I shouldn't have taken such a young baby on a coach! I ended up having a panic attack on the journey home because I was so upset and stressed, and I hate London and public transport, so it all got a bit too much for me. Glad I went though, got to meet someone famous!

The next few weeks were a blur of uni assignments and preparing for Christmas. I had done all my Christmas shopping really early as I knew I didn't want to risk going into town in huge crowds with the pram. I resisted wrapping the presents until the beginning of December, though. Even the tree didn't last that long and was up the last week of November! I was still having a really rubbish time regarding my ex boyfriend and feeling low and lonely so I wanted to focus on Christmas and make it the best first Christmas ever for Cameron! I may have gone a little overboard on his presents as I was so excited! Most of them were clothes which I could justify as he had already grown out of newborn clothes and was growing out of 0-3 months as well! Cameron has become a very hungry baby and started putting on loads of weight especially around his tummy, legs and face!

Just before Christmas, Cameron got the best Christmas present ever in the form of his daddy. I had been thinking since his birth that Cameron didn't resemble my ex boyfriend at all (he's mixed race) and began to question my original dates and whether there was a chance that the guy I was seeing just after my ex could in fact be the father. I went to speak to him and we decided to do a paternity test to know for sure. It was expensive, but worth it as when the result came through confirming that Cameron was in fact Ashley's baby, he wanted to be involved and so Cameron got his daddy for Christmas! It has been a weight off my shoulders as it means that although I am still a single mum, Cameron does get to see his dad every few days which is lovely for him. It finally meant that I had closure on my ex as well.

Towards the end of December, me and my mum went to Kent and Cameron got to see his relatives again and my friend, Katie. He also got to meet his great-nan (my dad's mum) in hospital. Everyone adores him! Over Christmas, me and Cameron stayed at my mums a lot as my flatmate had gone home for Christmas and I wanted to be with family. We had a lovely time and even though Cameron didn't really understand what was going on, he still seemed to enjoy it! Cameron started sitting, propped up and also loved to babble at us, his first 'word' was abuuuuuuuuuu! Still not sure what that means... Christmas day, Cameron fell asleep whilst opening my presents, and later on that day when opening his dad's presents he got so overexcited with all the attention that he ended up crying and being really sick which wasn't too much fun! Next year will be better! He will understand it more...

He had his 2nd and 3rd jabs over this time and was perfect both times. He cried when the needle went in but then gave the nurse huge beaming smiles after each one! He holds no grudges! He began teething in earnest over Christmas, which did make him quite grumpy and has also made him quite clingy, only wanting me sometimes when his teeth hurt which is tiring! I used dentinox to begin with but that didn't seem to be enough so have started to use bonjela for babies which is stronger and seems to work faster which is always good when you have a screaming grumpy baby in your arms!

Cameron has a swingy chair at my mum's flat which he goes to sleep in easily, so may have to steal that! For new year, I had a relaxed night at my nan's house with my aunt and a couple of cousins and my mum and Cameron. It was nice not to go out for once, New Year in town is seriously overated. Cameron loved seeing his nanny so much as well as being able to see his Uncle James who is at uni in Newcastle most of the time. I got to spend time on my assignment for University whilst at my mum's, after Cameron went to sleep I would work through till around 2am. It was really exhausting, cannot wait to finish University and be able to spend more quality time with my baby, though I am proud of myself for finishing my degree!

Cameron got lots for Christmas and one thing was a Winnie the Pooh bear from his auntie Kat. He loves it and can't be without him in his car seat! :)
 

So that brings you all up to New year with Cameron, which is where I started the blog off. Hope you enjoyed hearing about Cameron's first few months. I will be keeping you updated with him in future posts and if you are interested, follow the posts I have started on his weaning journey! It's set to be a messy one!
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