tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55659488292296573532024-02-18T19:39:29.757-08:00They Said She Couldn't... So She DidA disabled mums diary of achievement Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-40164348122361378772020-05-24T09:42:00.000-07:002020-05-24T09:42:01.420-07:00Puzzling my way through lockdown. <div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For somebody who is a homebody like me, lockdown should have been simple. Apart from the homeschooling aspect of it, the only thing that changed for me is not being able to go shopping with Ant and J and not being able to visit the cinema a couple of times a week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having lost one of my main sources of entertainment I looked for new hobbies and activities to do at home. I was gifted some crochet hooks so having ordered some wool I've been teaching myself how to crochet and making J a blanket. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other thing I have taken to is jigsaws. As many people will know I am a huge Disney fan and my favourite character happens to be the villain that is Ursula. So when scrolling through Amazon one day I came across the Ravensburger 15027 Disney Villainous Ursula 1000pc jigsaw and had to have it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Ravensburger Villainous puzzles are made up of a selection of frames featuring images from the movie the villain featured in. All the main characters from Ariel, Eric, Flounder and Sebastian have their own frames and there are extra details such as Ursula's Garden of Souls and plenty of Ursula action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you would expect from such a big name like Ravensburger the picture quality is brilliant and the pieces were of a nice substantial thickness meaning they didn't bend or damage if placed in the wrong position, which wasn't very often due to Ravensburger's precision click. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The puzzle took me about a day and a half to complete and I was really happy with the finished result. When complete the jigsaw measures 70cm x 50cm, the perfect size to admire all the details. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Puzzle Title: Ravensburger 15027 Disney Villainous Ursula</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Piece Count: 1000<br />The price paid: £10.84<br />Time Taken To Complete: 1.5 days<br />Pro's: My favourite Disney film and villain, lots of details, good quality. <br />Con's: Box image showed an Ursula plaque which doesn't feature on the actual jigsaw which is standard for the Villainous puzzle range but I didn't realise when first completing. <br />Rating: 9/10</span></div>
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-56372076700674201302019-09-11T01:20:00.000-07:002019-09-11T01:20:46.770-07:00This is how September Should BeIt's been a while since I've blogged.<br />
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I was in a fog and family life, my mental health and the real world kept me away. I would type a post then bin it, positive that nobody would want to read my drivel anyway.<br />
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Then yesterday on my memories on Facebook an old post popped up; <a href="https://www.theysaidshecouldnt.com/2018/09/this-isnt-how-september-is-supposed-to.html">This Isn't How September Is Supposed To Be</a> and I remembered that as lovely as it is to have people read a blog post, it's ultimately more therapeutic for me and I was inspired to write again.<br />
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So we are now a year on from that blog post. A year on from daily tears, daily battles to get into school, and daily battles to stay in school for more than 2 hours and I can quite honestly say in the terms of school it's been a bloody fantastic year.<br />
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J has been in his school for one year now. Full time.<br />
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The school don't have your typical year groups of Reception, 1, 2, 3 etc although they are loosely based around those ages they also focus on abilities so there are some children in J's class that are a year older and some that are younger.<br />
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J initially started in a lower class as they had no educational assessments to base his levels on as he wasn't accessing learning in mainstream.<br />
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Part way through the year he changed classes to the next one up. The original teacher couldn't keep up with his thirst to learn.<br />
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From a child who hated school my boy had suddenly become one who loved to learn.<br />
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He settled into his new class brilliantly, forming some fantastic friendships and developing a fondness for his teacher Amanda - whose name we had many a jestful argument about as J would always pronounce it with an H. On school reports and parents evening she would rave about what a kind, caring young man he is. How settled and focused on learning he is despite his issues.<br />
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When I talk to the staff at J's new school about how he was in mainstream they are always shocked, because it's something they have never witnessed themselves. J in a SILC is completely polar opposite to the J that was in mainstream and that's a great thing not only because my boy is doing so well but because I had to battle my own thoughts regarding sending him to a SILC as for a while I felt like I was writing him off and that hasn't been the case. We've allowed him to flourish. He is in the best possible setting he could be.<br />
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Academically in terms of reading, writing etc he's still majorly behind the level his peers are at but he is making such fantastic progress that I'm not worried anymore, I used to think those things would never happen but now I know they will. He has developed my addiction for notebooks and pens and always has one to hand to draw in, or do math, or try to write words.<br />
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His drawings are brilliant, he used to struggle with even a simplistic stick man but now they have so much detail and he spends time colouring in too, focussing on not going over the lines. For a child who can never sit still to find something he is so passionate about that his brain bypasses the urge to move and fidget is wonderful. (It's also good for comping as he now loves entering the more creative comps and has even had some fab wins from them!)<br />
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I had a wonderful summer holiday with him that I genuinely dreaded him going back to school in the fear that we would have undone all the good progress of the past year but I needn't have worried. The days are long for him due to a change to school transport (thanks Leeds City Council!!!) so he leaves the house at 7:20am and gets home around 4:40pm but so far so good.<br />
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He's always eager to go to school and he's always eager to tell me about his day.<br />
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He came home with some very exciting news yesterday. He has been put forward for Class Rep on the School Council! How cool is that?<br />
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So yes, this is how September should be.<br />
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DanielleDanielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-88692968845541199842019-05-16T04:30:00.000-07:002019-05-16T04:30:15.146-07:00Creating the DREAM bedroom for my little boy. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DiK1Y_wZUgWBcMXX9x65Bc4JNe2zMBLNus7b6kcSi13BV2Qkp9ebsIiE2n03Wgt9nzLoR58bM-pZcM2R_qIX-BLZB3PF0q4iLX1yp3RIsjex9iM93Ur-mUuEZC59Onga9sSA0QvqFYgd/s1600/60194145_10162109492280122_6700307985744265216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DiK1Y_wZUgWBcMXX9x65Bc4JNe2zMBLNus7b6kcSi13BV2Qkp9ebsIiE2n03Wgt9nzLoR58bM-pZcM2R_qIX-BLZB3PF0q4iLX1yp3RIsjex9iM93Ur-mUuEZC59Onga9sSA0QvqFYgd/s640/60194145_10162109492280122_6700307985744265216_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DiK1Y_wZUgWBcMXX9x65Bc4JNe2zMBLNus7b6kcSi13BV2Qkp9ebsIiE2n03Wgt9nzLoR58bM-pZcM2R_qIX-BLZB3PF0q4iLX1yp3RIsjex9iM93Ur-mUuEZC59Onga9sSA0QvqFYgd/s1600/60194145_10162109492280122_6700307985744265216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DiK1Y_wZUgWBcMXX9x65Bc4JNe2zMBLNus7b6kcSi13BV2Qkp9ebsIiE2n03Wgt9nzLoR58bM-pZcM2R_qIX-BLZB3PF0q4iLX1yp3RIsjex9iM93Ur-mUuEZC59Onga9sSA0QvqFYgd/s1600/60194145_10162109492280122_6700307985744265216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was younger I used to fill art pads with drawings and designs of houses. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd plan out the layouts, the decor, the finishing touches. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I used to love the IKEA catalogue and would spend several thousands of imaginary pounds on furniture for a house that one day I would create.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I wish I'd had the opportunity to progress with that dream, maybe take up a career in it. However that wasn't an option for me and so I shall have to make do with decorating my own home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I posted in my wins from March I was lucky enough to win a £150 Homebase voucher so it seemed the perfect opportunity, combined with some other wins I'd been saving to tackle J's bedroom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">J is 6. I asked him what type of bedroom he wanted and he gave me a very specific brief:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly we had to tackle what was already in J's bedroom - a very large cumbersome car shaped bed, some wonky furniture that had been abused and a very dark blue focal wall that had some of Stickerscape Space theme stickers on. We dismantled the bed and disposed of the wonky furniture. Carefully peeled away the stickers - which I must say came off really easily despite being on the wall for several years. Then we had a blank canvas.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ooiIaf9T-nyMDx6vj7KNswlUZMIizmOy_SUQcWBE-I1RUFWXgackyKuzBTv2c8DmghK1j3T0FkVbda315_1y5l45UDvAeIpoLytMZC5ZA2Wdp6hNm6iLtomPcSEKS3jV_SEjDdnz9-XT/s1600/60336375_10162109491750122_3378956247570055168_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ooiIaf9T-nyMDx6vj7KNswlUZMIizmOy_SUQcWBE-I1RUFWXgackyKuzBTv2c8DmghK1j3T0FkVbda315_1y5l45UDvAeIpoLytMZC5ZA2Wdp6hNm6iLtomPcSEKS3jV_SEjDdnz9-XT/s320/60336375_10162109491750122_3378956247570055168_n.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharj2wK41m1o956HYbuSFGR6KSvvI3kHj7pgJEAiypkl9vGw0AbcuSLQGRG7ckYqgJo6qMdGJzWQOF6G_NEaBXak_08Gw_cDV711g7fZdm8AQs3Atbbg8LCSBg-qL2U8Ui6mDTOwf3IVgu/s1600/60410668_10162109492215122_24752588016582656_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Due to the different things J wanted from his bedroom we decided to split the room into areas so we had two focal walls and then the remaining walls we kept neutral. We opted for Wilko's paint. The neutral colour we picked was called Grey Whisper and then the focal wall colours we chose Turquoise and Elf. I must say I was a little bit nervous when we first opened the tin of Elf.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the furniture we used the Homebase voucher and bought two of their cube storage systems with some storage boxes in blue and green to complement the wall colours. The units are perfect for toy storage, books and displaying LEGO. The smaller 3 cube bench is being used as a seating area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The mid-sleeper bed was the main focus of my hunt and I ummed and aahed over so many different beds wanting to get the perfect one. I didn't want anything too high in case J fell out and I wanted something sturdy and that I knew would be resilient to J's stimming (he bounces himself to sleep and also bounces in his sleep). We looked at brand new and second hand and then I spotted that the Childrens Bed Shop had an eBay store and were selling brand new beds that had been returned with torn boxes at clearance prices. The only issue being they were collect only from Durham. A £10 winning bid and £15 in diesel for Ant's work van and we had the perfect bed for J. We kept his original mattress and underneath have put an LED strip light kit which J thinks is brilliant. He loves his Steens Memphis mid sleeper and the great thing is when he has had enough of being in a mid sleeper it converts back to a single too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whilst on eBay I also found some amazing MDF creations for his bedroom. Some cloud shelves - perfect for the sky theme wall which I painted with the Grey Whisper paint. Some LEGO shelves which I painted with Wilko Lemon Zest paint and some LEGO Blackboards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once the walls were painted, the bed and storage furniture built it was time to add the finishing touches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The balloon lights are from IKEA. We placed them alongside his cloud shelves. On those shelves we added his LEGO alarm clocks (competition win), Grimms Rainbow and also a little Cloud light. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bedding, fleece blanket and cushion were a competition win. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whilst in IKEA we also bought some pop up baskets to store J's soft toys in and a small ladder shelve system to display his minifigures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The wall art was from ukposters and some competition wins. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjsdHtYSLba5oQQ45NmF2GwBXAXdOQgx6nyp1yD7Kq4joGzKTH5hgVNN8o7iIvyAg8W81ydeCvvQdsAMeVJSikK37Y9WxezKlmQjG3hL5eUGJ4yFxCufzy8ONI7Eeq7zh07zie9HckzFM/s1600/60468061_10162109492325122_1198907079494991872_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjsdHtYSLba5oQQ45NmF2GwBXAXdOQgx6nyp1yD7Kq4joGzKTH5hgVNN8o7iIvyAg8W81ydeCvvQdsAMeVJSikK37Y9WxezKlmQjG3hL5eUGJ4yFxCufzy8ONI7Eeq7zh07zie9HckzFM/s1600/60468061_10162109492325122_1198907079494991872_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjsdHtYSLba5oQQ45NmF2GwBXAXdOQgx6nyp1yD7Kq4joGzKTH5hgVNN8o7iIvyAg8W81ydeCvvQdsAMeVJSikK37Y9WxezKlmQjG3hL5eUGJ4yFxCufzy8ONI7Eeq7zh07zie9HckzFM/s640/60468061_10162109492325122_1198907079494991872_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOAox2JhUoBe7XIp0vSHnWI_oV9Xw5hf4xIBeNsfNCz1H8jogNl94Rpy6oRpuCtrN_mkjWb4MX9GE9b2DYR0MS3SFroLhpEomqf7DzMZdrF_4kcVrI3VEbK2JWif1E-wCaaQBx7ZHRO-c/s1600/60448547_10162109492360122_8395474604734283776_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOAox2JhUoBe7XIp0vSHnWI_oV9Xw5hf4xIBeNsfNCz1H8jogNl94Rpy6oRpuCtrN_mkjWb4MX9GE9b2DYR0MS3SFroLhpEomqf7DzMZdrF_4kcVrI3VEbK2JWif1E-wCaaQBx7ZHRO-c/s1600/60448547_10162109492360122_8395474604734283776_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOAox2JhUoBe7XIp0vSHnWI_oV9Xw5hf4xIBeNsfNCz1H8jogNl94Rpy6oRpuCtrN_mkjWb4MX9GE9b2DYR0MS3SFroLhpEomqf7DzMZdrF_4kcVrI3VEbK2JWif1E-wCaaQBx7ZHRO-c/s640/60448547_10162109492360122_8395474604734283776_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">J is really happy with his bedroom and so am I. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Danielle </span></div>
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-42223849833187146742019-05-01T04:54:00.000-07:002019-05-01T04:54:48.051-07:00Things That I won in AprilHappy 1st of May everybody.<br />
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As many of you will know, I'm a comper which means I enter competitions in my spare time to win treats and nice things for my family. April has seen a two week half term, a Bank Holiday and me and my partner redecorating my sons bedroom (more on that to follow in a separate post) so spare time has been limited this past month and so I've had my worst month in terms of number and value for quite a while.<br />
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I've still had some lovely wins though...<br />
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My first win was £17.50 from Boom25 mainly made up from bonus. This is the first time I've won from them as I tend to go via cashback apps for online purchases usually.<br />
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On Instagram I won a bundle of facemasks, footmasks and bath bombs from @Cherryzuk.<br />
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I also won a selection of puzzle books from Take a Break on twitter. There were a few competitions inside them which I've made sure to enter too as it's lovely to win a prize on the back of another prize.<br />
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Another twitter win is a selection of the Zoella fruity range from Superdrug. I can't wait to receive this as the range looks amazing!<br />
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I've won some biscuits from Fox's Biscuits on Facebook.<br />
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Whilst most of the World Book Day competitions were effort related I entered a couple of others including one with Go Girl magazine which was a gleam competition. I was lucky enough to win a copy of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of the Dark for J.<br />
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Another book win from a kids mag this time was Ultimate Superstars.<br />
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I took part in an online egg hunt competition with Jean Patrique cookwear and won a gorgeous knife set worth £40. They are super sharp and really good quality.<br />
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I left buying Easter eggs till the last minute and our local shops had all sold out of the ones that J would like, luckily I won two eggs from a local shopping centre.<br />
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A delicious Isle of Arran Cheese hamper arrived from a twitter win that I found by searching for competitions that were ending that day.<br />
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I also won a Mary Kay highlighter on twitter where you had to tweet them a picture of an egg they had hidden on their website.<br />
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My final win of the month was for J where I received a phone call from Pop tv to tell me he'd won a selection of Superzings.<br />
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So there you have it. 12 small wins. All appreciated but hopefully the list next month will be a bit longer.<br />
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Have a fantastic May.<br />
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Danielle <br />
<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-69082693400012796602019-04-01T04:37:00.001-07:002019-04-01T04:37:45.964-07:00My March Wins - Pancakes and World Book Day <div>
I didn't post an update of wins for February as I just wasn't well enough and the energy I did have was spent on creative competition entries because March had some of my favourite comping events - Pancake Day and World Book Day. Whilst there weren't many pancake comps this year I'm happy with my efforts. I do still have a list of wins for February though which I may upload at some point but for the time being here is how my March fared. </div>
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My first win of the month was a WTC from Pop Fun a children's channel and was for a Mighty Beanz Play Set. </div>
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J also received a set of Fireman Sam puzzles from a Children's Magazine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J8weQOXSbmshx_4EOTkyWDoKQrElby8umlTvg2usQZVVt2HDZZWQO9jh1DQ_qbk6A3VzRQjHn2pSiW6lIsipmfJeefAQMP5YCttlpXvXmute-dsGChdjyRmDWzEjNzSwvbE-O5QqboYk/s1600/56225963_10161934710590122_6880942649377816576_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Then it was Pancake Day and there weren't many competitions about but I entered the few I did find. It's common when there is another popular day nearby for there to be less comps, which in this case was World Book Day. I received some good feedback for my LEGO pancakes though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J8weQOXSbmshx_4EOTkyWDoKQrElby8umlTvg2usQZVVt2HDZZWQO9jh1DQ_qbk6A3VzRQjHn2pSiW6lIsipmfJeefAQMP5YCttlpXvXmute-dsGChdjyRmDWzEjNzSwvbE-O5QqboYk/s1600/56225963_10161934710590122_6880942649377816576_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J8weQOXSbmshx_4EOTkyWDoKQrElby8umlTvg2usQZVVt2HDZZWQO9jh1DQ_qbk6A3VzRQjHn2pSiW6lIsipmfJeefAQMP5YCttlpXvXmute-dsGChdjyRmDWzEjNzSwvbE-O5QqboYk/s320/56225963_10161934710590122_6880942649377816576_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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The 7th March is my late Mother in Laws birthday. Her ashes are scattered in Studley Deer Park in Ripon which borders Fountains Abbey. I spotted a comp that was for a National Trust Pass to visit and entered on Facebook. It was supposed to have ended and been announced earlier in March but on the 7th I received a message letting me know I had won. It was like a sign my MIL was saying we needed to go visit.<br />
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For World Book Day I made J a frog costume and he was the frog from the Oi! books. It was made from leggings and a long sleeve top which I dyed green with Dylon and then I made a head, feet and hands with cardboard and masking tape which I painted green. Then an old cardboard box became a log for the purpose of this photo. I had a tweet from the illustrator saying he loved the costume which made my day! Then I had the following wins: </div>
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<li>2 Leather bound mini journals from Scaramanga</li>
<li>Book bundle from Buzzybooks on Facebook</li>
<li>£10 Amazon voucher (we used it to buy a David Walliams Worlds Worst Children book) </li>
<li>Weekend box full of craft projects </li>
<li>James and the Giant Peach notebooks </li>
<li>£10 Waterstones Voucher (used to buy the Pinch of Nom cookbook)</li>
<li>A bunny teddy from Park Holidays UK</li>
<li>A Letterland Phonics Set - which J LOVES!!! </li>
<li>Stories for Boys Who Dare To Be Different book </li>
<li>Superkitty book </li>
<li>£20 Usborne books bundle </li>
<li>Scholastic Book bundle </li>
<li>Very Hungry Caterpillar badge </li>
<li>Sanctuary treat - Sanctuary trio of travel products and a £5 Amazon voucher. </li>
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I won some Clairol root touch up on Instagram.</div>
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<br />Then J received another set of Fireman Sam puzzles, exactly the same as the earlier set but from a different magazine! A lot of the magazines offer similar prizes at times and as they are entry form with a few months before end date duplicates do happen..... </div>
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Another Instagram win was some Anti-colic bottles which are being put away for my friend who is expecting. </div>
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I won a £20 Debenhams voucher on twitter from Hyper Recruitment.<br />
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J then received another set of jigsaws from a kids magazine - this time Mickey Mouse themed. </div>
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We had another set of duplicate prizes received a week apart from kids mags of Minions Aquabeads sets. Our duplicate kids prizes get put aside for when J gets invited to birthday parties but we also take a bundle with us to his hospital appointments too as it's nice to put a smile on poorly children's faces. </div>
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Then J received another jigsaw prize (he loves jigsaws!) from a kids mag and these ones were Incredibles 2 themed, </div>
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Another reason I love March is it's Science Week which massively appeals to me. I always joke that March is geek month as you have a day dedicated to books, a day dedicated to Math and a week dedicated to Science too! I found a low-ish entry competition on Facebook and added a picture of J doing some science experiments at home last year and they picked us as a winner of Galt Frightful First Experiments.<br />
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I had given up all hope of a Pancake Day win but received a message from Good To Know to let me know I had been chosen as one of their winners. I could choose between a Unicorn pan or a Pug pan to make shaped pancakes so I've opted for the Pug one and look forward to practicing my pancake art before next year! </div>
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I've won a fruit spinner from Fruitbowl on Facebook but they say some winners will receive an extra surprise so we will see if I'm lucky when it arrives.<br />
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I then received a text to say I'd won on the Glade weekly competition of 6 months premium Spotify which I am super pleased about as my Amazon Unlimited Music trial has recently run out and J loves asking Alexa to play him music. </div>
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I won 2 Cineworld tickets in an Instagram competition. Which I will be saving till my grandparents are back from Oz so that me and Ant can have a date night. </div>
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I received a tweet from Dead Horse Media to say I had won a copy of the new Spiderman Homecoming film on DVD. We took J to see this at the cinema and he loved it and so it's a great win for him. </div>
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Our last (7th!) kids mag win of the month is a set of Stink Bomz toys for J from Beano. Apparently they don't stink too horrible. Not like the nacho cheese smelling thing he won last month that made me gip. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8jMSjRouyzcMIilrfsHL6OKifw1VfWnzAlzFx3os2IAcTKh7zCZS1uSi4_Ah5fsLAgBK0o7AZuD_ysV_1Vr3xX0SBFahA3W_7t8RB4mP7F1tpXOcj4uIepJdgVQGu1ajK0sZtBm8bOGp/s1600/55931139_10161934710820122_8946922330794229760_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>My last win of the month was actually won by my friend but she tagged me in it and so we both won. £150 Homebase voucher! Which is brilliantly timed as I really want to redecorate and I need a new fence panel after the wind destroyed one of mine. </div>
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So all in all a great month for J especially with lots of books, puzzles and things to do in the school holidays. </div>
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Have a great April and be lucky x </div>
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Danielle </div>
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-26697079718359816682019-02-19T03:32:00.002-08:002019-02-19T03:32:20.223-08:00Jacobisms- Things The Boy SaysI’ve recently posted a few of Jacobs little snippets on social media and a few friends and family had a chuckle so I thought I’d share some of them here.<br />
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Me: Did you have a good day at school?<br />
J: It was mediocre<br />
Me: What does mediocre mean? (He’s six!)<br />
J then holds one finger up on each hand: This is good, this is bad. Mediocre isn’t good or bad it’s just kind of in the middle, mediocre.<br />
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J’s school rang to say he was ill and needed collecting and bringing home. On the way home my partner rang me on speakerphone.<br />
J: Mama I need some alcohol<br />
Me: Do you mean calpol?<br />
J: Oh yes.<br />
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J: Mama can we get chicken for delivery? (Takeaway from sandwich shop)<br />
Me: Not today I’ve got no money I can’t afford it and we’ve got things in for dinner.<br />
J goes off looking for money and comes back with loose change.<br />
J: How much have I got is it enough for chicken?<br />
Me: 97p and that’s not enough. We need paper money.<br />
J sits for a while thinking.<br />
J: Can’t you just print some off. Google paper money find a picture and print it and we will spend that.<br />
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A few days later also on the thought of money:<br />
J: Mama we could get some penny moulds on eBay and melt metal and make our own coin money.<br />
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<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-75519508249121933102019-02-01T00:56:00.001-08:002019-02-01T00:56:37.593-08:00What I Won In January 2019<div>
It's oh so quiet, ssshhhh, ssshhh. </div>
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I've found January rather quiet. It's been a mixture of lack of comps I've wanted to enter, lack of motivation to enter, miserable weather, miserable moods and lack of wins, illness and sleep deprivation. I know from social media that a lot of my fellow compers have felt the same way. </div>
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In the same vein some of the comps that are around, but not suitable for my family to enter, have been amazing, such as the Heart Faces For Florida. I've loved seeing fellow compers get creative and win once in a lifetime holidays. Heart have been really generous with the holiday prizes this month and for a comper it's inspiring to see such great efforts be rewarded. </div>
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I've done things a little bit different this month and created a video of prizes as they arrive. Sort of like an unboxing video, but without me in it because I'm still not comfortable with that. Some of them are wins from December and some are things I've won this month. I will still list what I've won as well as the video as not everything has arrived yet. </div>
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What I've Won:<br />
1) Allel Skin Genial Eye Cream - Won from Instagram in a simple like and comment competition<br />
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2) Amazon Echo Dot - This was a rather generous promotion run by Aster Sales on Social Media. You had to download a Christmas Tree template and colour it in then add it to social media with a specified hash tag. There were 30 prizes of an Echo Dot and you could have unlimited entries. I coloured a tree and then J coloured a tree and I uploaded both pictures and received a notification to let me know we had won one once the competition was over.<br />
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3) Festival Face Glitter Make Up - Another Instagram win which was a like/comment/tag and had multiple winners. It will come in handy for creative seasonal competitions I think.<br />
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4) Magic Spell App - Won from the Dyslexia Association on Facebook. They were really low entry and you just had to comment. I've downloaded it on the iPad for J as he struggles a bit with <i>b d p q </i>and <i>n u</i> so I thought it may help him a little bit.<br />
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5) Super Wings Vroom and Zoom bundle - a win from Super Wings on twitter this was from one of their advent competitions.<br />
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6) Fingerless Gloves and a Teddy Bear Soap - an Instagram competition to tag and comment. These are actually coming in super useful at the moment! I can wear them and have warm hands and still type or use my phone!<br />
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7) Swizzels Sweets Hamper - Instagram win from Swizzels. Another advent win and just a simple comment and tag. It didn't specify what the prize would be but it turned out to be a little wicker hamper filled with their new Choos range and then a few old favourites like Refreshers and Parma Violets.<br />
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8) Turtle Swim Pack - won for J from Turtle Pack on Instagram. It's a fab idea. The turtle shell is a swim float and has 3 layers that you can add or remove as your child gets more confident in the water. J has loved wearing the Turtle Shell and Swim Cap around the house (and in the shower!) and can't wait to try it out at swimming. We also got a bag, book and turtle teddy toy.<br />
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9) Gravitrax Starter Set - Nigel Clarke is a TV presenter/blogger and runs lots of competitions on his blog and Facebook. He was asking for people to comment what they would like to see on his blog and there was a large bundle of goodies up for grabs. I wasn't lucky enough to win the bundle (my friend Robyn did) but he liked my answer so much that he awarded a runners up spot prize of a Gravitrax Starter Set which is great!<br />
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10) Crate Creature - this is our first and only Kids Mag win this month - boohoo! Won from an entry form in a children's magazine.<br />
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11) A Crème Egg from the Spot The Crème Egg competition Cadbury's are currently running.<br />
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12) A Neos Smart Camera - won from Neos Smart Home on Blue Monday. This is my favourite win of the month. I've got it set up on my window sill in the dining room so that it is overlooking my front door. I can use the app to look and see who is outside of my house and it records sounds/movement it detects on my phone which is pretty cool. As someone who suffers massively with anxiety and doesn't like to open the door to strangers as well as being kept awake at night through a fear of being broken into it's added a little bit of a sense of security and I'm really impressed.<br />
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13) Gruffalo bundle - this is a fab little bundle won from Arla Milk. A few comping friends had mentioned this comp and not seeing winners on one of the social media groups I'm on and it was whilst I was commenting on their post that I decided to enter. I didn't receive notification of the win it just arrived in the post. Consisting of a Gruffalo backpack, Gruffalo's Child finger puppets, colouring pencils, personalised notebook and an activity book it's a lovely prize!<br />
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14) March of The Penguins DVD - came with no compliments slip or anything so I have no clue where it is from.<br />
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15) £20 Amazon Voucher - Won from Cartoon Network after filling in a survey for them.<br />
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January wins in total: 15<br />
January wins RRP: £595<br />
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January Prize Deliveries:<br />
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Have a fantastic February everyone, be lucky. </div>
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Danielle </div>
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-33708932410005311942019-01-01T09:26:00.000-08:002019-01-01T09:26:47.475-08:00It's the end of the year as we know it.....It's the end of the year as we know it..... and I'm feeling great.<br />
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Here is a recap of my comping year in 2018.<br />
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I won 407 prizes with an accumulative RRP of approx. £17000. I don't have an exact figure at the moment as I'm awaiting several bundle prizes that I'm unsure of the exact contents/value for.<br />
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Of those 407 wins the most productive platform for me was Instagram where I had 126 wins - this is even with me taking a couple of months off! Here is a pie chart to show how my wins breakdown across platforms. The 'Other' category refers to apps as I was lucky enough to win on a few apps such as Snapchat and MediaRewards this year and didn't feel those wins would fit in any other category.<br />
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My best month wins wise was August which saw me win 45 prizes followed by December with 44 but generally I was winning over 30 prizes a month apart from April, September and October where I was having issues with J and schools. It works out at an average of 1.12 prizes per day.<br />
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Value wise my average prize value is £41.77 per prize but this is massively skewed as there are small wins such as my lowest value win of a Chocolate bar valued at £1 to a highest value win of a pair of designer watches worth £1600 followed by the amazing Enid Blyton book win worth over £600!<br />
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I did partake in several effort competitions this year although I could have done more but we did well with what I entered. My favourites being Pancake day which saw us with 8 wins and Halloween with 5.<br />
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I tried my best with the Heart Family Challenges which frustrated the hell out of me as I had great feedback from everyone except Heart themselves!<br />
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At the start of the year as a family we create a Wishlist and out of 25 items we managed to tick off 17 which I'm really pleased with especially as they were things I've wanted to win for years like a PS4!<br />
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We have another Wishlist prepared for 2019 to get working on!<br />
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My favourite win of 2018 has to be the tickets to Cbeebies Summer Social as J got to meet Andy Day who is one of his idols. It was amazing to see his face light up when he realised it was the real Andy and he could touch him and talk to him about dinosaurs. </div>
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It's because of prizes like that that I comp as it gives me the chance to give my family the treats and experiences they wouldn't normally get. It's allowed me to provide J's old school with a large quantity of books to restock their library. It's allowed me to feel like Santa and take a large sack of puzzles, toys and DVD's with us to our appointment on Christmas Eve for the children who aren't able to spend Christmas at home and it's allowed me to keep my nan stocked up on enough lotions and potions to see her till she's 305.Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-51640971707210815032019-01-01T09:22:00.000-08:002019-01-01T09:34:04.073-08:00December and how I did....<div>
December was manic! </div>
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I had all intents of being super duper organised and had cleared lots of MSE and Competition Database in preparation. I'd set folders up. I was really looking forward to December and Advents. </div>
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It didn't work.. this has probably been my most disorganised and chaotic December of comping since I started a decade ago. Instead I spent time making igloos and Christmas grotto's in my spare bedroom, crafting cardboard snowmen, visiting what feels like 1700 different Santa's with Jacob and watching him in his first ever nativity at school and it was lovely.<br />
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My stats on Competition Database say I entered on average 16 competitions per day on there and my advent folder held about 40 that I would check each day although did skip a lot of comps that I wasn't interested in and then I used the MSE Advent Over £100 thread and Instagram for my comps this December. Previous years would see me trying to enter hundreds upon hundreds every day but I had neither the time, energy nor inclination this year. However being picky served me well..... </div>
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My first win of the month was won via a friend who ran a Facebook Competition and was for an Aldi Parsnip soft toy, it's rather strange looking but J loves it! </div>
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Anybody who does advent competitions has probably got it ticked off that they won with In The Night Garden. I've previously won a cd, fridge magnets and a calendar and this years offering was a 'book' which is a term I use loosely as I think it was 8 pages and more like a leaflet. </div>
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My first proper advent win of the year was some Konditor and Cook Mince Pies for the hubby which I won on Facebook. </div>
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Viners were running their advent competitions on Facebook and I made sure to enter as I love their items. I have pans and cutlery that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago that I love (I asked for them specifically they weren't given as a duff present) and I was really pleased to win a set of their Silver Serving plates. There are 6 plates in total and they are worth £96. I've given a pair to my gran but kept four for myself. </div>
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My first Instagram win of the month was a selection of facemasks and some charcoal toothpaste which I'm slightly scared of so haven't tried yet but have heard great things. </div>
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Miffy run regular competitions on their social media and I won some audiobooks for J from one of their Facebook posts. </div>
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I was lucky to win early on with the brushworksuk advent because by the end of the comp they were asking for 10+ tags. I won a Kabuki make up brush. </div>
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I was really pleased to win Sherlock Gnomes DVD with Muddy Puddles on Facebook. There is nothing better than a family film day on the sofa snuggled under blankets. </div>
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Our first children's mag win of the month was from Animals and You and is a Smooshins Surprise Playset where you make your own Smooshins which are like squidgy doll type things - I'm really selling this aren't I? Anyhow they are quite popular with kids although parents probably just think uh! </div>
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I received an eyeshadow rainbow pallet from Glittertubes - so many pretty colours! </div>
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J received a sweep puppet through the post from a children's mag. Like last month it said about his masterpiece being published but it turns out it's actually from an Eagle Eye competition and the certificates are just generic. </div>
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The moo collective gave away loads of cookie cutters on Instagram and we won one. </div>
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We as a family love Lego so I was really pleased to win with Lego Watches on Instagram. We won a Jurassic World Lego watch and a Lego Santa bauble which is super cute! </div>
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Our next kids mag win was a Unicorn Feisty Pet from an entry form competition. They are strange little things. We got the unicorn who looks all cute then seriously peed off haha. </div>
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Amongst Lego other loves of mine include Harry Potter and Itty Bitty's so I was really pleased to have a win which combines the two and receive a Dumbledore Itty Bitty. Who is currently living on my fireplace with my other Harry Potter Itty Bitty's that my hubby bought me :) </div>
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Last year I won an advent prize with Discoveration's for a family pass to Thackeray Medical Museum and this year I won the same prize with the same company again. I wonder if they run it next year I can score a hattrick?</div>
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I received a parcel in J's name which contained a Power Rangers Lion Morph, there was no letter to say where it was from but after searching I found it was from an entry form we sent to Kraze magazine! </div>
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My next prize gave me a bit of a chuckle. After a lot of nagging the hubby just wouldn't go get the Christmas Tree down from the loft for me, and knowing full well I can't/won't go up he thought he had gotten away with it. Till I won a new Christmas tree from the Fireplace World Advent which came in 48 hours and was put up whilst he was at work.... I wonder if I can work similar magic with other things I need his help with? </div>
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Another Christmas item I won on Instagram was this lovely cushion as modelled by SnuggleBuddy Bear. </div>
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A couple of small wins of fake tan, a star wars keyring, posh hand cream and fancy notelets from Instagram competitions. </div>
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I won a fab selection of different chocolate bars, and small gift items from Chez Maxima's 12 days of Christmas blog competition. I put a lot of the chocolate bars in a Chocolate hamper I made my grandad for Christmas. </div>
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We have been talking about redoing J's bedroom for a while and he really wants a bed with a slide and a den underneath and a tent over the top. I'd seen a space themed dream tent in Smyths which I liked the look of as it goes with the Space theme he has on one of his walls I spotted a low entry competition for one on Instagram and was made up to receive a message a few days later saying we had won! Although we haven't got the new bed yet I've put the tent on his current bed and he loves it. </div>
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I won two local hamper competitions in December. One was a Christmas Eve hamper which had a minion toy, loads of sweets, pens, pencils and other art stuff inside and the other was a hamper from a local posh food place that had yummy biscuits, relish, cheese, gin etc inside. I do love a good hamper! Especially when they come in boxes/baskets that can be re-used.<br />
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Lands End were running an hourly comp over all their platforms to win an item of their children's clothing and they pick a winner per hour per platform. I noticed twitter was quite low entry and was lucky enough to win a fab top for J. </div>
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After purchasing some bottles of Oasis at the Co-Op after a post on the Lucky Learners Facebook group I was pleased to win 2 pairs of Cinema tickets for our local cinema. There are some fab films due out that I can't wait to go see! </div>
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Speaking of films I had wanted to go see Christopher Robin at the cinema but it wasn't Ant's kind of film so I'm really pleased to have won a copy on twitter from 110% Gaming as it means me and J can watch it when he's not in. </div>
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My next 10 wins were all from Instagram - </div>
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3 Paddy Wax Christmas candles </div>
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A Latest In Beauty Subscription Box</div>
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A Playmais Farm House from DKL Toys</div>
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A Teddy from STN Airport (you have to add a screenshot of their post to your stories and they always send you a heart emoji in reply and I was losing the will to live the amount of hearts they sent before I won lol) </div>
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A Christmas Stamp</div>
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A bundle of children's books</div>
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A Teddy Mountain UK Candy Dog Kit </div>
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Love Honey bundle from CoppafeelMCR</div>
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An advent prize from WeBuyAnyCar </div>
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£50 Love2Shop voucher<br />
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My last few wins of the month (and year) were a lovely bathroom set from We Soak on twitter, a £25 cinema voucher for a local cinema and a digital copy of the new Crash Bandicoot game for the PS4. </div>
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A total of 44 wins and a very successful end to the year! </div>
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I'm not sure of the exact value as some prizes haven't arrived yet as they were won late on so I'm not sure of the exact value. I've also not managed to add a pie chart but will hopefully come back to add that later. </div>
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I hope December has been fabulous for you and you all have a brilliant 2019! </div>
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Danielle<br />
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You can see my recap for the whole of 2018 <a href="https://theysaidshecouldnt.blogspot.com/2019/01/its-end-of-year-as-we-know-it.html">here</a>.<br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-71172042488964272612019-01-01T06:46:00.000-08:002019-01-01T06:46:11.093-08:00What I won in November.<div>
So it's now December, the Advents are upon us and Christmas is near. </div>
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November was spent trying to get ahead to the best of my abilities to try and lessen the mania and stress that Advent's can bring. I think I did pretty well.</div>
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I had a message on Instagram on the 1st of the month to say that although I hadn't won the main prize with my Harry Potter pumpkin they'd like to send me a runner up prize of some Tiffin which was rather yummy. </div>
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My 2nd win of the month was also from Instagram, I've really put a lot of effort into going back on there again. This was a tub of regenerating stem cell cream that costs £95 to buy! I've given it to my nan as she loves her lotions and potions. </div>
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We've tried to do a few more effort comps recently and one was with Tetra where they asked your child to colour in a picture to win a 'My First Aquarium' on further inspection the tank wouldn't have been suitable for us at all so I'm glad we didn't win but we did win a runners up of an Activity Book. </div>
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A Sooty DVD was won from Fun To Learn on Facebook and was a simple comment and like competition.</div>
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Our first children's mag win of the month was a rather fantastic Spiderman Go-Kart from the Beano. It's been hidden for J for Christmas and I can't wait to see his face when he opens it. </div>
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Staedtler run regular competitions on their facebook and we won some funky glittery crayons from them. </div>
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I also received a surprise win of Noisy Animals although I think it may have been from Primary Times. </div>
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Another win with our Harry Potter pumpkin picture for a £20 Amazon voucher which added to the £100 from last month helped to buy a few Christmas presents. </div>
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4711 run regular competitions on their social media accounts and I won their full range. It smells really nice and is unisex too which is great. </div>
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I got notification that I'd won a runner up prize of some Aura Oil with our pumpkin again. I was hoping for the main prize which was a little Black Cube Burner but was happy they appreciated our efforts anyway. </div>
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One win which I'm really pleased with is 10 Party bags from Oglee Poglee they aren't your typical plastic filled party bags but individual themed craft packs. I've chosen 10 different themes and they are due to be delivered on the 15th December just in time for the Christmas holidays to give us some activities to do. </div>
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This month I seem to have done quite well with wins for me and somebody else I tagged. </div>
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The first one was a pair of fit flops sneakers for me and a pair for my friend Rebecca. I've got mine for my gran for Christmas. </div>
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I won a Rocks Off Bundle with Bondara on Instagram.....</div>
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Directions hair dye chose me as their Freebie Friday winner so I got some Rose Red hair dye which I can't wait to colour my hair with as I used to have that colour about 8 years ago and loved it! </div>
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Mega Mag chose us as a winner of March of the Penguins DVDs. </div>
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I won a fabulous book on Instagram from jimek_draws about Superheroes and drawing your own. It's a great book and you should definitely check him out. </div>
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The next up of a prize for me and someone else was from Regatta. I won 2 jackets of my choice and tickets for ice-skating at the NHM. I got me and hubby a jacket each and my friend will be making use of the ice-skating tickets as I struggle to stay up right on land never mind ice. It's strange to have a jacket, I haven't owned a coat in about 5 years.</div>
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I won the entire collection of Nanogen products on Instagram which is perfect for me as after having an operation in 2016 my hair started to fall out and this stuff is supposed to help hair regrowth and thicken so I'd love to see how it goes. </div>
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I won a personalised cake from SpongeCakesLtd on Instagram I got a Christmas picture of Jake put on it and it's cute. We haven't eaten it yet though so I don't know how it tastes. </div>
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Another Instagram win is a massive map for J's room. It's from Underfoote and ArchiboldClutterbuck and is perfect as my Grandparents are going to Oz for several months soon so we will be able to look and see where they are. </div>
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A lot of people on the Lucky Learners Facebook group have posted about a competition with Pioneer Paper. It's supposed to be a purchase comp but they have the option for a free code and I won a L'Oreal Gift Set with them. </div>
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I have been trying to win some Grinch goodies for J but only managed a shopping bag and some popcorn so far. </div>
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I received a voucher for a Treat Box from Patisserie Valerie which we are hoping to get this weekend. </div>
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On the Wednesday I was talking about Children's Magazine wins with a comping friend and I said we had only had the one this month which is unusual for us. </div>
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Then on the Thursday some Silly Squeak toys arrived that make silly noises and play different music. J loves them but they are driving me potty!</div>
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On Friday some Christmas Blindbags arrived from one mag for a picture J apparently sent in but I don't remember sending in so have to wait a month till the mag is in store. </div>
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On Saturday we received a Puppy Pals Playset which is from one of two magazines but didn't have a note in. </div>
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I certainly made up for the lack of Children's Mag wins. I'm thinking of mentioning tv's or cash next haha! </div>
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I received an email on Monday to let me know I had won a Drone in a Black Friday competition which will be getting wrapped up for the Hubby for Christmas! </div>
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I also won 3 Klean Kanteen bottles and some reusable straws on an Instagram competition. I've wanted a Klean Kanteen for so long as we always end up buying drinks when we go out so this will hopefully help us be less wasteful. </div>
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I received a chocolate bar from Cadburys from their Secret Santa twitter competition. </div>
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My phone decided to crash on Monday night and needed plugging in to the laptop and restoring. My email account has a filter on to put winning emails into a folder but for some reason once my phone had revived itself I decided to do a search for 'winner' and it showed I won a Geomag Colours set from a blog so maybe my phones brainfart did me a favour! </div>
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I've been desperately trying to win an advent calendar for me after winning J a LEGO one last month and I managed it at the end of the month winning not just a No 7 Advent Calendar for me but one for my friend too! </div>
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My last two wins of the month were some posh ladies socks on twitter and a bundle of Zimpli products from Instagram including slime, gelli baff, snoballs and much more so brilliant for sensory play!<br />
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I haven't gotten around to adding pictures or a pie chart but will come back to it, I'm posting this for reference mainly before I forget because it's been typed up and sat in my drafts for a month!<br />
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Total prizes won: 33<br />
RRP of prizes £1262</div>
Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-45707338622452547112018-11-10T03:08:00.005-08:002018-11-10T03:08:51.444-08:00A Family Movie TripThe cinema for me is like a safe haven.<br />
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I get to sit there in the dark, enjoying a good movie (well mostly good) and be around people without the pressure of having to talk to anybody which for me is always a good thing. It used to be that I would happily go to the cinema alone and would see several movies a week, that was before the anxiety took over and I stopped leaving the house alone, so now I look forward to going with Ant whilst J goes to his Grandma's.<br />
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I want the cinema to be something J can enjoy too, but a movie can be hard for any child to sit through in full, without adding in Autism, ADHD and sensory issues, which can take the formerly safe haven cinema trip to a stressful trip. Trying to hush him, trying to keep him in his seat, hoping he doesn't interrupt the movie for everybody else and spoil it for them or have them telling us to be quiet and feeling like we have to leave - my worst nightmare.<br />
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Then a few nights ago my friend messaged me reminding me I had some codes for cinema tickets to claim and that they had to be claimed that day but could be used any Sunday for the next 3 weekends. So I had a look at the cinema listings for a Sunday, and there it was in big bold letters<br />
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AUTISM FRIENDLY SCREENING - the lights are kept on low rather than fully off, the volume is adjusted, and it's much more relaxed allowing for movement and noise from the audience.<br />
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I mentioned to Ant that they were showing Smallfoot and he was willing to give it a go so I booked it.<br />
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The Autism Friendly Screenings are general admission which means you can't choose your seats at the online booking stage, which I will admit sent me into a mild panic as I like to know exactly where I am sitting and know that I won't have to sit next to anybody else (apart from Ant or J) I was also worried that it could be super full and we wouldn't find seats or be able to sit together so we set off a bit early - one so we could get there on time as the Abbey Dash was on and there were a lot of road closures near us, and secondly to make sure we got seats.<br />
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The Cineworld at White Rose Centre Leeds is a fairly new addition to the shopping centre but it's fast becoming our favourite cinema despite there being a Vue only a mile from our house.<br />
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As we entered the cinema foyer they had a Grinch Snowglobe set up which J and Ant both had a quick turn in although the picture didn't come out brilliantly. Then we showed the digital ticket on my phone and were shown to our screen. We were the only ones in there for several minutes which gave J a chance to decide where we should sit (with much guidance from Mama) before approximately 10 other families came in in dribs and drabs.<br />
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The good thing about Autism Friendly Screenings is there are no adverts or trailers. You are straight into the film.<br />
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Smallfoot was a fantastically funny film that me and the boys really enjoyed. Lots of laugh out loud moments and speculation between me and Ant as we tried to deduce which actors voiced which character. After about one hour a lot of the children became restless - a few audible noises, moving in their seats, one little one walking about - but it was all ok. There was no trying to shush the children or tell them to sit down, keep still, be quiet. It was relaxed and meant we didn't need to worry when J started his rocking in his seat and we could still enjoy the film.<br />
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Overall it was a great experience and has made me really happy that I get to share my love of the cinema with J. We can't wait to go see the new Grinch movie in a couple of weeks time.<br />
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When coming out of the cinema to head back to the car we spotted one of the White Rose Centre's Christmas Displays - a giant Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. J likes to tell everybody Pluto is a dog, not a planet, so we stopped for a quick photo opportunity and a play on the park before heading home.<br />
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<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-13887586565761034382018-11-01T04:53:00.001-07:002018-11-01T04:53:46.459-07:00October - A Month Of Treats!I love October.<br />
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It's the month I became a mummy. Which automatically makes it awesome and we always do something fun for J's birthday.<br />
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It's also when the clocks go back and the nights get dark and you get cosy and snuggle up on a night and I have an excuse to wear the funkiest slipper socks ever!<br />
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The other great thing about October is Halloween. I've only been carving pumpkins for 3 years but I love trying to come up with ideas for creative competitions as well as seeing what everyone else creates too. Some of the Halloween comps don't finish till early November so I'm hoping to have one or two Halloween wins to list on next months win list.<br />
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On to October's wins.<br />
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My first win of the month was a Bebeto Sweets hamper on twitter. Someone messaged me being a little bit negative as they'd won before with them and not got very much so I wasn't sure what to expect but it would either get eaten or given to trick or treaters. It was actually a really decent prize though with lots of yummy sweets inside.<br />
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I had a mystery book arrive through the post that I haven't got a clue where it came from called A Sky Painted Gold.<br />
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My third win was a True Crime magazine from their twitter page. I love reading about real crimes especially famous murder cases so this was perfect for a few moments peace.<br />
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@CherryGoodJuice on twitter run lots of weekly competitions and I won £25 Waterstones vouchers from them. I want to get J the new Oi! book as he loves that series so that's a great prize.<br />
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Leeds Recycles on twitter ran a competition for Recycling Week where they wanted people to retweet their tweets and one person would win £25. It didn't get as many entries as not every tweet mentioned the competition so I set up a column on Tweetdeck and made sure to retweet everything and was very pleased to win £25 of Love2Shop vouchers.<br />
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My third £25 win in 3 days was from That's Life magazine. They put a post up on Facebook asking for peoples Halloween pictures and they published a picture of J as a baby and paid me £25 for doing so! I've bought the magazine and saved it!<br />
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Grandparents Day saw a few comps and John Adams ran one asking what your grandparents had taught you. There were a lot of very soppy comments but I won a fantastic family games bundle by saying my Grandad taught me how to make a mean Meat and Taty Pie.<br />
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Our first kids mag win this month was a Maped Helix set of pens, pencils and a sharpener. J has really taken an interest in drawing and mark making now so they came at a great time!<br />
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Having tried for months to win on the Dairylea comp and finally managing to win on it last month I was super surprised to win again! This time a onesie!<br />
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The Book People turned 30 this year and they ran lots of daily competitions. I was over the moon to be notified I had won the Enid Blyton prize.<br />
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It contains:<br />
The Adventure Series Collection<br />
The Famous Five Collection<br />
Friendly Folk Collection<br />
The Secret Seven Collection<br />
Magic Faraway Tree Audio Collection<br />
Malory Towers Collection<br />
The Find Outers Collection<br />
Noddy Collection<br />
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and has an RRP of just over £650! I loved Enid Blyton as a child and look forward to revisiting them both alone and with J. They are timeless classics that my grandparents and parents loved before me and I am so pleased with this win.<br />
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Our second children's mag win was from Kraze and was a Voltron Lion Changer toy. (One for the Christmas box)<br />
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I have made a bit of an effort to try get back into Instagram this month after a lovely comping friend helped me clear all the dead wood from my account (Over 450 inactive accounts!!!)<br />
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My first Instagram win of the month was a cute Unicorn pencil case from Fringoo<br />
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I won 4 Odeon tickets through Pringles! (We are loving going to the cinema at the moment)<br />
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I won a box of Beefy Seabrook crisps in their Facebook freebie Friday competition.<br />
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Two fab Facebook wins for the Christmas box (or just before in one prizes case) of an Air and Space Origami Kit and a LEGO StarWars Advent Calendar.<br />
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J received a LWE to advise him that he had won with one of the Puzzler Children's magazine competitions. A PS4 1TB Console with FIFA 19, Little Big Planet and LEGO Superheroes!!!<br />
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I managed to win £57 on the Heinz promotion. It's worth buying a can and entering. I won on a Sunday afternoon and I think it was about 6 minutes past 12 when I entered although I don't believe there is a pattern!<br />
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My 2nd Instagram win is something which I have wanted for ages. I get their catalogue through the post and always flick through and wish I could justify a purchase. I won from Win Green. I won one of their Large Garage Playhouse's which are around £235 to buy. They are made from lovely thick fabric with beautiful stitched on detail and it will make a great den for J in his room.<br />
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After my earlier win with True Crime Library on twitter I was lucky enough to win from one of their newsletter competitions too and received a copy of Nowhere Girl.<br />
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The Range do regular Facebook competitions where they ask you to just comment with the blushing emoji three times - nothing else. I won some Snazaroo face paints from one of them which arrived in time for Halloween.<br />
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Along with the facepaints from the Range I also received some Halloween Goodies from Vodafone in their TuesdayTreats giveaway. There were light up pumpkin LED lights, fangs, sweets, cobwebs and a pumpkin carving kit.<br />
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On twitter Okido ran a competition for a Learning Resources Beaker Creature Liquid Reactor Super Lab which I won and have put away for Christmas along with a Pocket Microscope won from Kiddycharts on Instagram.<br />
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Our final childrens magazine win of the month is a Greedy Granny game, which, you've guessed it - is going away for Christmas.<br />
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End of the month consisted with not only loads of comps due to end of the month but also had Halloween and Win it Wednesday! So there was lots to keep me busy! I was really lucky though and finished the month on 4 wins in one day:<br />
£100 Amazon voucher for my pumpkin picture<br />
Sweets and Chocolates for my pumpkin<br />
2 silver peas in a pod necklaces from Instagram<br />
A hooded mask from a Facebook live chat.<br />
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So I've had a fantastic month. Lots of Christmas presents and lovely things won. I'm really focussing on Christmas now although I think J might have quite enough stuff so need to look at the rest of the family!<br />
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Happy one month till advents.<br />
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Danielle<br />
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Prize Breakdown:<br />
Total Number of Prizes: 29<br />
Total Prize RRP: £1950<br />
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<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-20406130189177676032018-10-01T04:53:00.000-07:002018-10-01T04:54:15.564-07:00September is done, look out October here we come!<div style="text-align: left;">
Hello!</div>
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September was a real mixed bag for me in both comping and real life. While most people were looking forward to their kids going back to or starting school and gaining some extra time in their day, the start of my month was spent battling to get J into his new school and into full time education. He's been there 2 weeks now, with the first week being a transition week but he's doing really well. It did mean though that for the first two weeks of September he was only accessing 2 hours of education a day and I was spending a lot of my time making phone calls, emailing people and meeting people and then on his transition week until he went full time on the Thursday I was travelling to his new school with him and then waiting there before coming home so comping really took a back seat as I just didn't have the energy or inclination. I did think when he went full time I'd start really putting the hours in and comping lots but I found it really alien to have time to myself and not just the occasional hour so I did other things around the house, got dragged to garden centres and the vets by relatives who worry that my agoraphobia would take hold again now I have nothing to force me to leave the house like the school run (J gets transport) and then when I did finally feel like comping, my laptop went Pop!</div>
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All that aside, I did manage some wins, not my usual quantity but there are quite a few bits I'm really pleased about.</div>
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So lets begin.</div>
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The first win of the month was a Cadbury Bag from the Match & Win promo. I've not really bothered with it since, I'm not a football fan at all and don't really need a keyring which a lot of people seem to be winning. I also don't need any excuse to eat more chocolate.</div>
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I won a pair of Cineworld cinema tickets in a text competition. We haven't used them yet as I didn't want to waste them on any old film and so I'm hoping to save them for date night and go see the new Halloween film when it comes out.</div>
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J loves the Hotel Transylvania films and with the new one out there were lots of comps to win goodies. I'd seen a few comps to win a copy of the game and one of the new dolls on twitter so I made sure to enter them all. With every tweet I added a video of J reciting a scene from the second movie. One of his quirks is that he has full films, songs and adverts memorised and can repeat them effortlessly. We were lucky enough to win the Wedding Mavis and game for the Nintendo Switch.</div>
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We had two kids mag wins on consecutive days. One was a Tractor Ted floor puzzle and wooden tractor that drives over it and the other is a Power Rangers Steel Morpher. Both Will be going in the Christmas cupboard one for J and one for my nephew.</div>
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I won a fantastic childrens book on twitter from Sploshy about Transport. It's a brilliant book with each page dedicated to one type of vehicle which is named and the book asks questions and gets you to sing nursery rhymes too, its lovely.</div>
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Baker Ross have been doing loads of daily giveaways of little childrens art project kits on both twitter and Instagram. I was lucky enough to win a Dinosaur Fridge Magnet Scratch Art set. Here are some of our dinosaurs.</div>
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Aldiss run regular freebie Friday comps and I won a light box from them. I've bought some extra lettering and icons on eBay and it will be used as a Halloween prop.</div>
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I also won an overnight stay at a Jury Inn in their Freebie Friday competition.</div>
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I finally after trying from the beginning managed to win on the Freddo competition. I was hoping for LEGOLAND but ended up with a small adventure which wasn't suitable for us so I swapped it on the Virgin Experience website for some fancy chocolates.</div>
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New York Bagel Company are giving Bagel Tins away on their Bagel Thins. The odds are really good on this one.</div>
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I don't know how I came across it but Holland & Barrett did a big giveaway where they gave loads of Dr Organics Snail Gel products away on twitter and I won a face cream. I'm actually terrified of slugs and snails and the thought of using the cream weirds me out but my nan is really looking forward to using it.</div>
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I won a competition with Claudi and Fin of a goody bag and some Usborne book learning books which will be perfect for J. The goody bag has arrived and was a tote bag, pen, ruler, note pad, frisbee, rubber etc but unusually no coupon for some of their ice lollies which is a shame.</div>
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A couple of years ago during a mad moment one night I drew a poop emoji on my face. A kind of sh*t has hit the fan and I'm still smiling moment. It's been used in a few comps since and this time won me one of KD's new SNOT IT games which looks gross but great fun. I've put it out of the way till J's birthday.</div>
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Tesco and Nestle are doing a giveaway with lots of prizes from free sharing bags to TV's. You have to buy a bag of chocolate and put your code in to win, you can only win once but you can keep reusing your code till you do win. We won a £10 Sky movies voucher on it so it will go towards a new DVD or something.</div>
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After telling my grandma on the phone I was missing my postie and hadn't seen him for a while and hadn't had a win either I had 4 wins in the space of around half an hour! AMAZING! </div>
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A yummy looking jar of Autumn Chutney is on it's way to me from Cartwright & Butler after I commented on their facebook competition with what my favourite thing about Autumn is.</div>
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I won a book for J from Carlton Books about Pirates on Talk Like a Pirate Day.</div>
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One of my favourite wins of the month is a No More Worries Kit from the Irish Fairy Door company. Not only did I win one for J but I won one for my friend Rachel whose son also has ASD. Anxiety can be a big thing in children on the spectrum so I'd love to see if it helps them any.</div>
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Then I decided to enter the Dairylea Super Cool or Super Cheesy comp which just like Freddo I had been entering with zero luck! You can imagine my shock when it came up saying I'd won! I've won a Polaroid Snap! camera. I can't wait for it to arrive.</div>
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I had an email from School Run to say I've won two Thames and Hudson Art books for children.</div>
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Then I had a surprise delivery from a kids mag of a Thomas the Tank Engine foam puzzle which is perfect for my nephew for Christmas or his birthday.</div>
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With Carabao cash due to end I put my last two codes in and won £5 on both of them.</div>
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So there you are. Despite a not very good start to the month, things picked up towards the end, and whilst a lot of the wins were on the smaller side sometimes it's the smaller prizes that keep you going.<br />
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I'm now all geared up for October. It's my favourite month of the year. It's J's 6th birthday which I can't wait to celebrate and also Halloween. I love me a Halloween creative comp. I've been working on ideas for me and the boy as well as pumpkins and really hope they work out how I envision them and win us some prizes. We've also got our Disney on Ice trip planned this month.</div>
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Here is for a smooth sailing month for everyone and the only frights to end with Halloween Delights.</div>
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Danielle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zTcGYp7ZHsjVEilfW55_K15KIEnmUPCuRoIDQI4VRPH4NZRXPBAvjNuHRaS5Xs-blul2yEq5gLfRaWYcEj6GHJ3Z_Dj8p87AHzM2JyZeoTb7RHgSUeqDzzeMzflcJWh9tZcI6VyTjV6_/s1600/42956502_10161256444405122_8724680635337146368_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Month review:</div>
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Total Prizes Won: 23</div>
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Total RRP of Prizes: £568</div>
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-77970142809443582592018-09-24T03:40:00.000-07:002018-09-24T03:40:03.810-07:00The Difference a Week Makes. What a difference a week makes.<br />
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Last time I posted I was upset, I was angry and I was frustrated. I was struggling to get answers as to when J would start his new school, I was being promised phone calls and emails and I was hitting a brick wall. I got so much support from so many people. I needed that. It genuinely helped.<br />
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Things were still stagnant and getting no further. Even J's Speech and Language Therapist got involved in trying to get answers and usually medical professionals don't get involved with school admissions. He got me a number for the admissions officer who was dealing with J and told me what days she worked. I rang her up and was promised a phone call back. Guess what? It never happened. The Old School had tried chasing, I'd tried chasing, now medical professionals were trying to chase too and still no answers? It wasn't good enough. It would be really easy to get annoyed with the new school but they had no proper knowledge of J or our situation and that's why they couldn't provide answers. Apparently our case worker who dealt with the EHCP and assigning us a school doesn't have the best track history. The SENCO and a learning mentor from school had had enough and went to the new school. This was on the Wednesday. They wanted to get things sorted and were willing to wait as long as it took. They meant business. They came back with answers.<br />
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On Friday we said goodbye to the old school for the second time.<br />
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Monday came and I dressed J in the uniform for the new school and my grandad picked us up. As we didn't know how long the journey would take we set off in ample time and were too early. A lot of waiting around didn't help with J's anxiety and he was a little disruptive and I filled with dread. Mrs W his one to one from the Old School came to help with the transition and I left J there for an hour. He had a great time. The next day my grandad again drove us to the new school. I was told this time do collect him up at 11am this time. Again they reported another great day. Wednesday he had lunch there and I collected him at 12:45 and then on Thursday he went full time!<br />
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After over a year at being in mainstream and only doing 2 and a bit hours a day he had managed to transition to a SILC and full time in just 4 days! Not only that but now he was full time he was going via transport so was picked up from home at 8am and dropped back home at 4:30pm - a long day for a 5 year old but he took it all in his stride.<br />
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So now he's in full time school. His class has 4 or 5 staff members to around 7 or 8 children. They have their own dedicated sensory room and their own rebound room with a swing and trampoline and other physical equipment as well as a private outdoor space. School say he is doing brilliantly for someone who has had no real access to learning as he was never in a classroom they've really surprised him by how well he's doing.<br />
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The difference in him in a week at home has been amazing too. I've never made it a secret that he can't read or write, or that we struggle with phonetics or even getting him to commit. Yet on Thursday he went and got a pear and came back in the living room.<br />
''Mama, what letters are in pear? P. E. R - PEAR''<br />
Now I know he missed a letter out and it would be so easy to correct him but I was just so pleased that he had sounded out the word as it's something he'd never done before. He can now spell out his name and the word CAT from memory. He's constantly asking me what letters are in words and is really interested.<br />
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He's also shown an interest in the time - digital not analogue and asks to check the time on my phone to tell me what time it is. This again is a massive thing as he's reading the numbers left to right whereas he would read them backwards before.<br />
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These may sound like small things but in the grand scale of things it's amazing .Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-23918684038677411722018-09-10T02:05:00.000-07:002018-09-10T02:05:29.258-07:00This isn't how September is supposed to be...J got his EHCP.<br />
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It was granted a little bit late - during the summer holidays - but it was granted and finalised and in place.<br />
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It named the new school we wanted.<br />
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This was everything! A fresh start, new beginnings, my son getting the education he not only wants and needs but deserves. Or so I thought.<br />
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August zoomed past us at a rate of knots and I'd heard nothing from the new school. I tried ringing but because it was the summer holidays there was no answer. September approached and I bought J's uniform based only on what I had read on the schools website as nobody had told me what he needed. Then I bought a version for the old school too, and I'm glad I did.<br />
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The 3rd September arrived and I dressed J in his new uniform for the old school and I took him back there. It was 8:55am and the play ground was manic. He used to start at 9:15 to avoid the crowds and the noise and the dangers. Groups of people with a child who is a flight risk are not good! School admitted they hadn't expected to see us, but where else was I supposed to take him? Why does no school want to take my son? They had one of his old one-to-ones on hand just in case who I'd happened to bump into in Asda a few weeks before and explained what was happening. I had major anxiety. In my head there were a few possible scenarios:<br />
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<li>I take J and they say no sorry, he's not our responsibility any more take him home</li>
<li>I take J and they ring me within an hour to say he'd kicked off and could I collect him</li>
<li>I take J and he has a brilliant time and then I wonder why on earth we are changing schools.</li>
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As it goes he had his first melt down by 9:03am, I cried, in fact I sobbed. Someone asked how I was and I broke. I asked at the office what time should I collect him and they didn't know because he shouldn't be there. I arranged to pick him up at 11:30 the time I picked him up last year. </div>
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11:30 came and I arrived at the school and the Head was waiting for me. Uh-Oh! He said that due to the year below having a phased start there were a few safety issues so could we alter J's hours whilst we chase the new school. So now J has gone from a 9:15 - 11:30 day to a 9:15 - 11:15 day. 2 hours a day education. Well I say education except he's not really learning. He's in a class of his peers who are all ahead of him. He just wants to do his thing, he just wants to play, he doesn't want to join in with lessons because he can't read, write or do math and it frustrates him. </div>
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So now we are in the second week of the school year, and this morning I got a phone call from the Old School. The new school is ignoring them. They aren't answering calls or replying to emails. I'm having the same issue. This is not on. They are the named school on my sons EHCP. The magical document that is supposed to make everything easier! ha! So J has gone back to the Old School to do a 2 hour day in a place that doesn't really want him and can't really meet his needs. </div>
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I've fired off an email this morning, which my friend says is too polite, but yet still to the point asking for answers. I've tried to not lose my temper as I worry about repercussions on J but I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that once again things for my boy who deserves the world and more are not straight-forward and once again I'm having to fight! </div>
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I hope I get a reply. </div>
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I hope I get a start date. </div>
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I hope the new school eventually live up to the expectations and promise. </div>
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I am quite laid back and chilled usually but I will turn into protective Mama Bear for my boy, and I will fight to the ends of the Earth for him. </div>
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I give it a week. I feel that is ample time. Also it means J does a full week at the Old School as I don't want him to be confused doing a few days at Old School then moving the the new one, I want him to start a fresh on the Monday so he can have the weekend to prepare. If no news in that time and still a lack of response to calls or emails my next port of call will be to arrange someone to take me to the new school and I shall sit in the reception area and refuse to move until they sort it out. </div>
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For the second year running September has gone to the dogs. What is supposed to be a happy and exciting time about going to school is stressful and frustrating and my son is once again pushed from pillar to post and his needs forgotten about. </div>
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-42451345935245883732018-09-01T06:07:00.000-07:002018-09-01T06:07:57.709-07:00An Awesome August RecappedAugust is the month when school holidays are in full throttle and you've already exhausted all your fun ideas in the last week of July. So with that in mind I was determined to try and win some fun things to do, or if possible win some of the back to school things we need in order to lessen the to do list. It also meant comping time was limited so I did more social media comps and purchase comps this month that were quick and easy to enter although we also spent a bit of time on an effort comp or two but they were ones where my son was involved with helping me or taking part too. <div>
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Anyway on to the wins.... </div>
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The first August win was for J from a kids mag and was a Lost Kitty blind box. J is obsessed with anything 'surprise' he loves watching the opening videos on You Tube so was excited by this. (I however didn't realise they had playdoh in them and had a mad panic when he opened it on my rug ha ha) a small win but a nice one to keep the boy busy for a few minutes. </div>
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I also was lucky enough to win some Kidtropolis tickets which was an accidental win as I tagged a friend to let her know to enter and they took my tag as an entry. My friend is happy to be getting to take her son though so it's all good! </div>
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I've mentioned last month and also on talking to people on Facebook groups etc how I've wound down the amount of Instagram competitions I've been entering. Even though it has previously been where I got a lot of my wins from I found it quite draining so I've only been entering the odd few I come across on competition listing sites rather than searching my own out. However if you need someone to tag feel free to tag me - danigraves87 just please don't be offended if I don't respond. I'm still adding pictures so my account is still active and I may get back into entering a lot again when the boy is back in school. We shall see. After all that I actually had an Instagram win of some fantastic Stem Quest books. They are brilliant and I've actually really enjoyed looking at them myself, they are a bit advanced for J yet but will put them aside for him for when he is ready. </div>
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I then had a second Instagram win of a runner up prize from thegroovyfoodcompany which had a jar of coconut oil in as well as a make up bag and some lovely wee treats like Urban Decay make up. A nice treat for me. </div>
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On the 3rd August I got a WTC to say J had won tickets to CBBC Summer Social Festival in Liverpool, it was happening that weekend so we decided to head over on the Sunday. We had an amazing time, J got to go on rides with his daddy, see favourites such as Mr Tumble and Hey Duggee perform and his absolute favourite CBBC star Andy Day performed with his band the OddSocks. J loves watching Andy and the Dinosaurs and so was amazed to see him up close and personal, this was only made better by the fact we managed a meet and greet with him and J got to give him a high five and tell him how he always watches him on TV when he goes to Grandma's house. He then rang his grandma to tell her he'd met Andy and he was real and it was such a precious moment for him that he is still talking about weeks later. </div>
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On the way back from Liverpool we popped into a services station. Hubby got a can of Carabao and J got a fruit shoot. We won £5 on the Carabao and then there was a text comp attached to the Fruit Shoot and we won a family bowling game. </div>
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One of the effort competitions I mentioned was to do with Disney and their 24 Hour Challenge to encourage children to be more active. You had to sign up to the challenge and try it out and then give your feedback on a post on Mumsnet. Now J is a very active little boy anyway but my mobility issues mean me not so much however we signed up and gave it a go and I left feedback and thought nothing of it. So I was super surprised on the 6th to get an email telling me we had won tickets to Disney on Ice, train tickets and a hotel stay! We've chosen to go to the Manchester show on the 14th October which is the day before J's birthday! The PR who organised it all has been amazing and we have our hotel stay the night before so that we can make the most of a weekend in Manchester. </div>
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I received a tweet from Here Come The Girls to tell me I had won a Baby Jack-Jack plush. I mentioned last month how I had been eager to win goodies for J and had searched lots of comps out, this one was found with a quick twitter search and had only 3 entries!! </div>
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Apparently there is a day for everything now, and August included Yorkshire Day. I was notified on the 9th of August I'd won the Seabrooks Yorkshire Day competition. 48 packets of crisps and a large bouquet of white roses. The crisps were sweet chilli and a bit too much of a kick for me so hubby took them to work and popped them in the staff canteen and was very popular, and I had to borrow a vase from my Grandma as I've never been bought flowers before so didn't have one. </div>
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I received a winning text message from a Freddo competition to let me know I had won a Giant Jenga game. It's a Jacques London one and is fab quality. I never usually have much luck with text comps but I keep trying. The set is fab and although we've not played Jenga with it yet J has been using them as building blocks to make forts for his figures and things! </div>
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J received a parcel of some Peter Rabbit puzzles from a kids mag win. They'd had to switch one of the puzzles out for a more classic Beatrix Potter version rather than the film version so that's been put to one side but J has had great fun doing the larger puzzle and he's getting quicker and quicker. </div>
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I had entered a competition with Nigel Clarke TV for an Incredibles bundle and had an email to say I was a possible winner but there were a few stipulations - I couldn't post on social media, had to reply in a set time, had to agree to post photo's etc. I replied within minutes and agreed to all stipulations but didn't get confirmation we had won until the 9th! It was such a long wait and I was checking every day on Facebook and emails. The toys have arrived and J loves them! </div>
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My next 5 wins were £5's on Carabao. I have seen some people buy excessive amounts to chase a win on this comp and it kind of puts my 2 at a time to shame but I still seem to be doing reasonably well with it so whereas I'm not actively chasing to look for the comps if the supermarket has stock when I am doing a shop or hubby pops to the petrol stations we will grab 1 or 2 cans. </div>
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J had another kids mag win delivered of a little Tonka Tinies playset. </div>
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I won an Access All Awkward book on twitter from TeenBookHoots. </div>
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J then had another kids mag win! This time a LEGO Friends bundle! We love LEGO in our house. </div>
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OUPChildrens publishers on twitter did a comp for a bundle of their new releases which we won and received 4 fab books. We are really enjoying reading Bee Boy Attack of the Zombees. </div>
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Another National Day was National Tell a Joke Day. I recorded Jake telling a joke and posted it on a couple of comps. He has a few favourite jokes but the one we used most was:</div>
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''Knock knock.</div>
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Who's there?</div>
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Narnia</div>
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Narnia who </div>
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Narnia Business''</div>
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It won us a runners up prize from Brother Max of a Bath and Room Thermometer. </div>
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I had a notification to say I won a picnic hamper from Aunt Bessies on Facebook. Perfect for days out with the boys and J is obsessed with picnics thanks to an episode or Mr Tumble. </div>
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I subscribe to Compers News magazine and was really pleased to spot my name on the in-house winners list this issue. I've won a £30 H&M voucher from completing one of their puzzles. Although I've won competitions on their forum this is the first time I've ever won from the magazine puzzles. It's definitely given me the incentive to keep trying and I really enjoy doing the puzzles. </div>
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Another Facebook win from Swizzels Love Hearts. You had to fill in the blanks of a song lyric they posted using only emojis. I wasn't sure what I would receive but got lots of sweets, a tea towel, lip balm, trolley token, coaster, and a tin of sweets. It's a really nice prize. </div>
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I take part in the Disney Junior tea party every week if I can. They have a lot of different prizes based around themes or new shows. They were doing a back to school one. I won a Tangled Lunch bag set which I am going to give to my friend for her daughter. </div>
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Speaking of lunch bags I really wanted one for J. We aren't sure how he will manage school dinners as he always used to finish school before lunch time and come home and he's such a fusspot with foods only eating certain things that I wanted to have a lunch box/bag ready just in case so when Di Coke posted about the Anchor Dairy purchase competition and that you could keep entering I made sure to buy a tub and enter and after a few days I received an email letting me know I had won one. </div>
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Another thing I wanted for back to school was a car seat or a booster seat. We have one in our car and my grandparents have one in theirs but J will be going to a school nearly 9 miles away and although he will get transport (hopefully) there may be times when I have to taxi it to get him there or get him home so having something I can use in those instances was really important to me. So I was really pleased to receive a message from Muddy Puddles on Facebook to let me know I had won a Mi-Fold portable booster seat. This was won from a competition where you had to give a back to school tip and I posted a picture of a chest of drawers we use that are labelled Mon - Fri and have a full days uniform in each one. </div>
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I received an email from another kids mag to say J had won another set of Peter Rabbit puzzles. The picture in the mag shows the same as what we should have won from the earlier set but which were substituted so we will have to wait and see if the same happens again. If we get the same puzzles they will go in the Christmas/Birthday cupboard. </div>
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Cully and Sully Soup are running a competition for Souper Ambassador's and they said the more creative and fun the entry the better so I really pushed my boundaries to enter. I don't like pictures of myself much less video's as I get worried about what people will say about me or think of me and it causes me massive anxiety. However I decided to be brave and try something I had in my head. I rewrote a version of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air's theme and made it all about Cully and Sully soup. I set a tripod up in my living room and I did my recording. I had to do a few takes - crap memory (mine not the device I was recording on), J being loud during it, him blasting bubbles into my face and me nearly choking on a bubble, the usual. However I got an edit I was happy with and posted it on to the competition post and was really pleased to be notified a few days later that I had won a Fitbit Charge 2. </div>
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I won a pint of Lager on the Carling football comp. I'm not a drinker but hubby enjoyed a cheeky beer while we were out for my birthday. </div>
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I had 5 more carabao wins spread over a week and a half totalling £30 </div>
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A text comp win for cinema tickets came in at just the right time on the 28th as it was my birthday on the 31st and we always go to the cinema for my birthday so these combined with free drinks thanks to the leftovers on a cineworld voucher i won months ago meant we got to go see The Meg for free and my birthday night out cost nothing but petrol to get there and back. </div>
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I had a fab email from Encore to say I've won 2 Merlins Magic Passes meaning me and Ant can go to London for a few days in November and have tickets to the London Eye, London dungeons, Sealife Centre, Shrek Adventure and Madame Tussaud's. We are going to try fit in a Harry Potter trip if possible.</div>
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I had an email from the Acorn books blog to say I've won a collection of Dinosaur Adventure books for J. You had to comment saying what your favourite dinosaur was. </div>
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Jackson Reece do a regularly freebie Friday competition on Facebook. I won for the 3rd time this month and won their toiletry range which looks fab. We love their nose nuzzlers.</div>
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We closed the month on a couple of small wins. </div>
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A delivery from a kids mag for J of some activity books. They both look really good having flicked through and will give us something to do on an evening. </div>
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A crate of 12 bottles of Mango drink from Pago on twitter. </div>
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Finally a Bikybiky vest on Facebook which I'm super pleased about as we are trying to teach J to ride his bike. </div>
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Overall a pretty awesome and amazing month! I'm looking forward to September but at the same time I'm apprehensive as J will be moving schools and it's a big deal for him so it won't be just a case of back to school, feet up and comping, plus I'm hoping to sign up a learning course of my own to learn BSL. </div>
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Monthly recap: </div>
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Total prizes won: 45</div>
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Prize RRP: £1790</div>
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I hope everyone has had a fantastic summer.<br />
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Danielle x<br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-13687699270296115982018-08-01T03:14:00.000-07:002018-08-01T03:14:37.904-07:00July - the month where we all meltedAs I mentioned in my previous post July was a bit of a battering ram on the whole head and body for me, added into it the heat which wiped me out and saw me permanently sat next to a tower fan I'm really pleased with how July turned out for me in terms of wins. <div>
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My first win was for J of some MLP Top Trumps cards from a kids mag, these have gone in the birthday box to be used as birthday presents when/if he gets invited to parties. </div>
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Hallmark ran a competition for people to nominate their children's teachers as superheroes. I nominated Jake's one-to-one Mr Smallwood for everything he has done for and with Jake. He really went above and beyond and it was because of him and Mrs Winestein that Jake actually started to enjoy going to school. So I was delighted to be contacted and told that we had won and Mr Smallwood would be receiving a Superman Itty Biggy toy and a card to thank him. Alongside this they asked how many children were in Jake's class and sent them an Itty Bitty each. This was a wonderful prize for us because Jake has now left that school and will be attending a specialist school in September so it was lovely to give the friends he will be leaving behind a little gift each. I did go out and get Mrs Winestein a Wonder Woman Itty Bitty as well so that she knew how grateful we all are. </div>
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I won a Salcura bath milk on a Facebook competition and they sent a big box full of samples as well so we can try their other products. </div>
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Preloved ran a competition on twitter about recycling so I sent them a picture of Jake and an alien he'd made out of a toilet roll tube and won a copy of book called Rag Doll Lost. </div>
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I think I've previously mentioned J's love of glasses so he was really pleased with a win of some Real 3D Dinosaur glasses from the new Jurassic World movie. </div>
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I haven't really been entering many Instagram competitions this month so I was really pleased to win some beautiful byri earrings and a coconut cream Muri candle in a colab they did. </div>
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I follow quite a few sensory toy pages on Facebook and Sensory Treasures did a giveaway for a bath turtle where the last person to comment won, I kept the post open in a tab on my browser and just popped back to comment every now and then and won. </div>
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I'd seen a couple of my friends win the weekly competition with ThePyjamaFactory on Instagram and I'd spotted they did Incredibles pyjamas and I really wanted them for Jake so I set it so I would get a notification every time they posted and I made sure to comment and like every post and I won yay! So Jake got his new pj's which he loves!!! </div>
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Cheeky Chomper did a colab with TotsBots to win a swim kit which is super handy as we've started going swimming regularly and the wet bag and mat will be super useful! </div>
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I won a 'goody bag' of Screwfix goodies on Instagram from GetHerTrade. I use the term goody loosely, I will be honest I only entered as I wanted a drill shaped stress ball as shown in the original picture. I didn't get one. The hard hat key-ring is cute though and the post it notes have come in useful. but yeah - beware of random goody bags! </div>
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When I was at the cinema seeing Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom one of the promo's was from Oasis for a double ended bottle which looks like a fun way to get soaked or no drink but I won one from a Facebook comment competition and I'm looking forward to seeing who gets drenched most. </div>
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How It Works do regular competitions on twitter and I won a Dinosaur Bookazine from them. </div>
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Another twitter win was a selection of Posca pen goodies from Uni-ball. I'm looking forward to attempting to do rock painting with J which is a big craze at the moment. </div>
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Aldi are another company who do regular comps and I always enter them and I finally won with them. The prize was a £20 voucher and it came during a skint week so was super useful! </div>
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I took Jake to see the new Incredibles 2 movie and he absolutely loved it so I set myself a challenge of winning him some Incredibles Goodies! As well as the earlier pj's I did quite well. I managed: </div>
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<li>a baby Jack Jack plush from @Supermommy83 on twitter</li>
<li>a baby Jack Jack plush from Dear Bear and Beany blog </li>
<li>a Personalised Incredibles 2 book from Pukka Gifts on twitter</li>
<li>An Incredibles2 Bundle from our local cinema on Facebook </li>
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All were found just by doing a simple keyword search every day. </div>
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I had a sudden influx of prizes for Jake</div>
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Two Fireman Sam puzzles from a Kids Mag </div>
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A Dino Wars book from twitter</div>
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A SlimeBlaster and zimpli kids slime bundle from a Kids Mag </div>
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Computing for Kids Books from Miles Kelly on Instagram</div>
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Animal Ark book from Toppsta </div>
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Then it was back to my turn to win again. </div>
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I won a beautiful silver peony necklace from Kate HH Studio on Facebook </div>
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A super heavy solid wood chopping board from Worktop Express on twitter. They run a competition every week. I've been using mine as a lap tray in the living room rather than a chopping board though. </div>
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In my mag group a lovely lady ran a draw for a prize she was no longer able to use - a family ticket to Madame Tussauds in Blackpool. I was really happy to win and I'm looking forward to taking Jake at the end of the month. </div>
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I actually won with B&M on twitter. They run a lot of comps but they always have loads of entries so I was really pleased to get the message telling me I had won a bundle of Silverline tools and £50 of vouchers. Something for both the hubster and me and Jake! </div>
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Jake had another kids mag win of a Sea Monkeys Zoo. I always wanted one of these as a kid but my parents said no so I am super excited about them and just hope they hatch and work haha. </div>
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A quick comment on Facebook saw Jake receive a pen-pal letter from India. This is actually really cute and came from Our Little Globe the letter is full of interesting facts about India and comes with some cute fact sheets, recipes, a packet of spice and some stickers. </div>
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Two more book wins of How To Be a Lion and Pirate Baby - both from twitter comps. </div>
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I managed to win the Popcorn Shed ShedSharingSunday competition - they asked what you couldn't live without and I replied ''Sleep. I don't get much as it is but if I got any less I'd be intolerable, although my hubby says I already am!'' I can't wait for it to arrive! </div>
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My last wins for the month are from the current Carabao cash promo. I've so far managed to win 10 prizes of £5 on that comp! The money has already hit my bank balance too which is awesome! </div>
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Month recap:</div>
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Total Prizes: 42</div>
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Total Prize RRP £922</div>
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Hope everyone has an awesome August. </div>
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Danielle xx<br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-20562437541942873962018-08-01T00:45:00.002-07:002018-08-01T00:45:54.325-07:00Where's Your Head At?This post has taken the best part of a month to write. I wrote bits, I deleted bits, I spilled every little thought that was in my head when I felt I couldn't say them out loud and then I wiped the slate clean because I didn't think anybody would want to listen to me, or would understand.<br />
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I was asked earlier this month 'Where's your head at?' and ever since all I've had stuck in my head is the music video from Basement Jaxx with the monkeys in the science lab. I wasn't able to answer the question at the time because I just couldn't find the words.<br />
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July has been a little bit turbulent and a little bit stressful.<br />
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It started with a Next Steps meeting with the school and SENSAP. SENSAP stands for Special Educational Needs Statutory Assessment and Provision team.<br />
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A quick recap and some terms:<br />
Earlier in the school year we applied for an EHCP for J (Education Health and Care Plan) which would provide a plan that would set out what help and support J needs whilst in education. Due to miscommunication on SENSAP's behalf we were declined an assessment. I contacted Sendiass (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services) who assigned us a case worker who knows all the policies and is able to offer me advice. The lovely Imogen came out and we looked at our options which were - appeal, mediation or reapply. We decided due to it being a miscommunication that we would reapply. This time Lydia the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator) from school added as much info as possible to our application and me and Imogen got together and wrote a statement about what Jake wants and needs. This time our application (which was about an inch and a half thick and very very thorough) was sent to MAP (Multi Agency Panel) and myself, Lydia and the Headteacher met with the panel made up of Educational Psychologists, Social Workers and caseworkers from SENSAP to argue our case - and it was a bit of an argument as I wasn't leaving that room with a no. The MAP eventually agreed that they thought J may need more support and they would look at reports as well as assess him and decide if he needed an EHCP and that would be determined at the Next Steps meeting.<br />
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Fast Forward to now and we get to the Next Steps meeting and I am told they have done their assessments and J definitely needs an EHCP - Hooray! We read through the draft plan which has been put together by a caseworker from SENSAP and make some suggestions on edits as I have 15 days to confirm the plan and then we get to the elephant in the room:<br />
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The School Setting. </div>
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It has been very apparent to us for a while that KSS wasn't a suitable school for J and that he would need to change to a different school. Which isn't an issue apart from the caseworker was going on holiday in 7 days and schools broke up for the summer holidays in 10 days. Time was of the essence. </div>
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One big thing that worried me was that I didn't think it would be a good idea for J to go back to KSS in September and transition to Year 1 to then be pulled out and have to transition to another school, yet the SENSAP case-worker said he thought J would be there till December! A school already noted as not being suitable for him! Both myself and the Head objected and said this wasn't acceptable. Without being harsh the Head said he didn't want J back and that we needed a new school ready for September. As devastated as I was to hear that because I love KSS I had to agree. </div>
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Me and Ant visited a local SILC school which is a Specialist Unit attached to a mainstream school, a couple of days before the Next Steps meeting and we were really really impressed and so I mentioned this and was told it was full so not really a possibility. Crap. They mentioned several other schools but they were all specialist only provisions and I will admit I was put off. J hasn't got a formal diagnosis yet and because he's not been able to be in a classroom setting none of us really know his full academic potential so I was a little worried a Specialist only Provision would be putting a ceiling on him and stopping him from reaching his full potential. I will be honest now this is purely due to my own preconceptions based on a unit I worked in when younger which dealt with extremely disabled children and they didn't do academic learning which is something I still want J to access. </div>
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I agreed to consider them though but in the meantime I rang the school we had visited and asked if I could take J up to look as if he liked it we could name it and ask the LA to make adjustments to accomodate him there. This was where things kind of went a bit wrong. Just a few days earlier me and Ant were convinced this was THE ONE and then I took J there and he hated it. I can't really explain what was wrong with it, I've even said I'm not sure if they were trying to dissuade me due to being full but something just didn't feel right.<br />
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J was very vocal about the fact he wouldn't be going there and so I relayed this to the SENCO who mentioned another school that had received a preliminary copy of the EHCP and said they had a space and could meet J's needs. They are a Specialist Provision and sounded fantastic on paper, the only issue being they are 8.5 miles away and as I don't drive and rely on help from family to help me get J to and from school or a mix of walking/taxi's that was going to mean we will need to apply for transport from the LA. I also worry that if he is there and something happens I won't be able to get there as quickly as I could KSS. I kept an open mind though and I agreed to go have a look.<br />
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A learning mentor from KSS went with me to look at the school and we sat in the entrance waiting with two other parents who were looking at sending their children there. I was nervous and still doubting, especially as I now knew this was my only choice. Then, Sam appeared. Sam is the Primary Manager at the new school and just his introduction to us to say hello changed the mood in the room. He was lively, bubbly, passionate, warm. He showed us round the school and you could see how much all the staff enjoyed their jobs and what they did. I loved that they had rebound rooms and sensory spaces and wildlife gardens. I met children who went to the school and they made me smile with the things they were doing and saying and I had such a great feeling about things that I was sure this was it. But, I'd felt that way before and so I needed to make sure Ant and J felt the same way.<br />
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Ant is very much in denial about J and how he is, and so is my granddad. They both dismiss any talk of autism and just say he's a bit hyperactive. I'm not sure if it's because it dents their male ego's but Ant was very much anti-specialist school and wanted to send J to another mainstream school and so I needed to get him on board. I arranged for Ant and J to go view the school and so we met up on Ant's lunch break and Sam showed us all around, and I saw Ant melt the same way I had earlier in the week, I saw him warm to the school and by the end of our visit all three of us were in agreement that this was the one.<br />
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I quickly emailed the SENSAP case worker confirming this was our choice and hoped I was in time but I had no reply and it was a waiting game. Imogen has checked the online system and says that the new school has been notified of our choices but I'm still waiting for any formal notification. I hope it comes through soon.<br />
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The whole process has really taken it's toll on me both physically and mentally. With my health issues having a week where I was having several meetings a day with different professionals, rehashing through all the negatives about J really exhausted me and it even got to the point I was having nosebleeds from being so run down. Mentally well, what can I say, I suffer with depression and anxiety and I was on high alert for most of the month, constantly questioning myself about my choices and actions, worrying I was a bad mum, worrying I was failing J, crying, feeling numb, having panic attack upon panic attack and having nobody I could talk to because I felt like such a bad person. I felt broken and sad and I struggled to do normal things, although I'm still having dark days the start of the school holidays has really helped.<br />
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Summer is long, and it's hard keeping J active and occupied but the pressure of no meetings, and no school, and no having to make choices that massively impact my sons future is nice.<br />
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So that's where my head is at. Muddled but clearing. <br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-19661557753257821902018-06-30T12:49:00.001-07:002018-06-30T12:49:54.597-07:00June in a Nutshell, how it panned out. It's the end of June already! We are already six months through the year and it's zooming by.<br />
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June has been my worst comping month so far this year. I've had 30 prizes so stuck to my average of 1 per day which is great but value wise it's my lowest value month and there are a few reasons for that.<br />
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The first week of June hubby was off work and we finished decorating then had lots of lovely day trips to places like Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Harrogate Valley Gardens and Grasshoppers in Tong. It's great when he's off as he can drive so we can go further afield but it also makes taking Jake out easier as I struggle alone and I can't do all the things he wants to do.<br />
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We've upped Jake's hobbies! He was doing gymnastics once a week at special disability classes but we are looking for other avenues for things he loves and enjoys too. So now I take him swimming one lunch time a week with the help of my Nan, leaving us both quite tired afterwards but he's showing such progress after just a month of sessions. He's also started quad biking, if you follow me on social media you will have probably seen pictures and videos of him in his full motocross gear zooming around my Dad's factory, it's a bit heart in mouth sometimes but he loves it so is doing that a couple of times a week.<br />
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Other reasons involve breaking my laptop screen - it's still a complete mystery how it happened but it rendered me unable to comp on the laptop for a week unless I hooked it up to the TV and used the TV as a monitor, although it's fixed now. The final reason is it's been so sunny we've been playing in the garden or in the paddling pool and snoozing or just too warm to be bothered to comp. I've gone from doing a couple of Instagram comps a couple of times a day at interim periods to doing a couple of Instagram comps once every couple of days and my wins definitely show that.<br />
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Anyway, enough waffling.<br />
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Here are my wins:<br />
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The 1st of June saw my first win from Annabel Karmel of a micro-trike, this was a purchase competition where you had to buy a children's ready meal and they had 50 a month to give away I think it was. I only entered in the last month but was pleased to win as it's perfect for my niece and nephew.<br />
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Jake had his first kids mag win on the 2nd. A Poopeez Toilet Launcher play set. It is as grim as it sounds. Poopeez are the new collectibles rage at the mo, delightful little figures in the shape of different poops, wee<br />
s and even trumps such as Silent But Deadly! The Toilet Launcher came with two figures and you put them inside the toilet and then after a few seconds they pop up and jump out.<br />
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Lots of World Cup promos on this month and Coca Cola have a few including win a FIFA FUT code for the FIFA 18 game of downloadable content. I wouldn't usually class this as a win but as between us we've won about 8 I've decided to class it as 1 solitary win but I'm not valuing them highly.<br />
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I won two bottles of Fizzics Apple drink on Instagram it came in a lovely wooden box.<br />
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Finally after years of trying I cracked it with the Sun Puzzles and won £50 in their weekly wordsearch competition. They pay via BACS so do need you to send your bank details over which I know a few people are wary of doing but the payment hit my account and I've had no issues. Cash always helps!<br />
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John Adams was running a comp asking about peoples favourite flowers on Facebook and everybody was saying the typical ones such as Roses, Daffodils etc. My favourite is Senetti which is a beautiful white purple daisy. We won an Ezee Beads Garden Bugs and Flowers set which was a fun little activity for Jake to do.<br />
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Another copy of Maze Runner: The Death Cure arrived with no note or anything so I have no clue where from. I had entered a few before I won a copy last month.<br />
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The lovely Kate Eccles on twitter @KEEccles ran a giveaway for a copy of Monster in My Wardrobe and I tweeted a picture of Jake sat on top of one of my wardrobes saying we hadn't found a monster in the wardrobe but we had found one on top. It was a lovely read and the publisher wrapped it like a present which was a nice touch.<br />
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Another twitter win was a Femme Cup from the Powder Room. I was the only entrant and it was just a case of retweet and reply with a hashtag tagging a friend.<br />
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Jake won some Shopkins Cutie Cars from a children's magazine.<br />
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Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Harry Potter. Bloomsbury Publishing have brought out some new special editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and they ran competitions on their social media to win a house special. I entered for Gryffindor and you had to say what password you would give for the Gryffindor house. I said Voldemort - because most are too afraid to say his name, but Gryffindors are brave, courageous and daring!<br />
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A Win It Wednesday twitter win of Halibo children's vitamins from twitter.<br />
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<a href="https://trymefrozen.frubes.co.uk/#form">Frubes</a> have a no purchase necessary competition to win colour changing goodies - I keep forgetting to enter (I am rubbish at dailys!) but managed to win a colour change wristband.<br />
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Jake had another delivery! (He's done bloody well this month from children's magazines!) This time it was some Mickey Mouse jigsaw puzzles. <br />
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On Instagram I won a Sister gift box. I actually found this when looking for twitter comps that were ending soon, you could enter on both twitter and instagram and it was ending soon with low entry numbers. It's a nice gift box with necklace, hot choc, notebook, bath bomb and chocolate mallow treat in.<br />
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Another twitter win this time from KBB Ark of a Kohler speaker that goes inside a shower head! Super cool!<br />
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ANOTHER win for Jake from a kids mag of a DC Match game, there were 10 prizes up for grabs and my mag group managed to win 8 of them so I was super pleased, although a clean sweep would have been lovely!<br />
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I won a lovely stationery bundle on Instagram that I can't wait to receive as I love stationery and all the bits look super cute.<br />
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A local shopping centre ran a competition for Love 2 Shop vouchers. I always enter their competitions but this is the first time I've ever been lucky with them. I won £25 which we had to collect in person, they originally wanted to take publicity photo's but when I explained my anxiety of having a photo posted publicly and people being able to criticize me due to my physical appearance etc they were lovely and said I didn't have to. I used the vouchers to buy The Greatest Showman and Coco on DVD as despite lots of trying I never managed to win them. We've only watched Coco so far but it was so good! The other £5 I used to buy ice lollies in Iceland - much needed in this heat haha.<br />
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I also won a Darkest Hour DVD from a web comp.<br />
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Oh look, another win for Jacob, this time some Paw Patrol books.<br />
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I won a MojMoj toy on Instagram these seem to be along the likes of L.O.L Dolls and the type of opening a surprise.<br />
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I won a copy of No Guilt Pregnancy Plan from Mumsnet, here's hoping me and hubby get the chance to use it!!!<br />
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Milkshake magazine had a twitter competition where they wanted kids to make a mask and send a picture with a hash tag, there were hardly any entries and we got ours in last minute and won a copy of Chicken in the Kitchen.<br />
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2 Scrub Daddy sponges and a stand were won from Instagram. I love how they are smiley faces but I've been sat using one as a stress ball all afternoon as I love the way it feels when you squish it, it's hard but soft at the same time.<br />
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Every Tuesday on Facebook Disney Jr have a 'Tea Party' with multiple prizes where you have to answer questions. We won a Mickey's Racers bundle on it this week. Two soft toys, a cup and a toy driving license.<br />
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You can tell I started to get back into Instagram a little bit towards the end of the month as I had two more wins on there. Some gorgeous leather sandals for Jake from Chipmunk Sandals and an Aquabeads set from one of their daily comps.<br />
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One last kids mag win for Jake of an Ookiverse book, we already have this so when this arrives we will pass it to my cousin.<br />
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My last win of the month was a fab bundle of DVDs from Movie Weekender. There are some classics in there and a couple I've not seen before.<br />
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So there you have it. In a nutshell my June has consisted of DVD's, Books and Children's prizes haha. It's almost as if the comping Gods know the summer holidays are on the way and we may need things to keep us busy!<br />
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Have a great July everyone, I hope the lovely weather holds up for us all.<br />
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Danielle x<br />
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My stats for the month are:<br />
Total Number of Prizes: 30<br />
Total RRP of Prizes £664<br />
Breakdown of Prize type:<br />
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<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-39498930910350015032018-06-01T11:47:00.000-07:002018-06-01T11:49:26.252-07:00My Marvellous May..Another month is over with and we are now in the 6th month of 2018, June. Where oh where has the year gone? It feels like only yesterday I was writing a blog post about what we had won in January. Comping has been very hit and miss this month, other engagements have meant that there have been times where I've just not bothered with entering comps, in fact there have even been days where I've not even turned the laptop on when usually it's on everyday, even if just for a little while. Whilst I haven't won such big prizes like the Little Tikes bundle last month I've still had some fab wins and it's proof that you don't have to enter everything to win but just focusing your attention sometimes can be a big help!<br />
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My first win of May was a Willow and Wild box on Instagram. They are a craft and gardening subscription box aimed at children and Jacob received the Snapdragon and Radish box. We planted the seeds and they are currently on my kitchen windowsill. We haven't had chance to do the craft projects yet.<br />
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BookTrust have a campaign running this year called Bath Book Bed and so there were lots of blog competitions around to win bundles and we were lucky enough to win one. It came in a lovely cotton bag and had Peppa Pig shower/bubble bath, Peppa Pig toothpaste and Peppa Pig toothbrushes and then 3 different books.<br />
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One of Jake's little obsessive quirks are glasses; normal glasses, sunglasses, toy glasses, he loves them all. So he was really pleased when I won a pair of Hulk 3D glasses in light of the new Avengers film. He was even happier when 2 pairs arrived so we could both be Hulk!<br />
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QVS Beauty on Instagram gave away bundles of make up brushes and I was lucky enough to win some.<br />
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Another Instagram win was from lauren_loves_xx she does regular giveaways and had posted she would be doing some random giveaways through the day where she would post a picture and the first person to reply tagging friends would win the item in the picture. I turned my notifications for her posts on so that as soon as she posted I could click on and I was lucky enough to win a Revolution Concealer.<br />
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Both me and the hubby won Pepsi Glasses and a Walkers bowl on the current purchase necessary promo. We keep trying for the tv.<br />
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On May the 4th there were loads of Star Wars comps about and I used tweetdeck to hunt some out. Although it's not technically a Star Wars prize I found a comp for a children's app called Peg and Pog which I won.<br />
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The Star Wars prizes didn't allude me though and we had some fab wins!<br />
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A Star Wars Block book from Abrams Chronicle Books<br />
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A fab double sided cushion from Character World that I loved so much I've bought a second one!<br />
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A brilliant bundle with Central Retail Park that had a light saber, a Storm trooper back pack, an R2D2 night light teddy and a BB8 Alarm clock!<br />
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I also won some Star Wars pin badges after saying I'd love them for my back pack and sending them a picture of it in its pink storm trooper glory complete with Porg key-rings.<br />
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Our first kids mag win of the month was a Bizzy Bub. It was an entry form from Mixit Magazine and they'd missed the space for the competition off the entry form so I wrote it on a post it note and stuck it to our entry form and we won.<br />
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We won a book from Scholastic Kids called Dinosaur Firefighters and J has really enjoyed it so it's become our current bedtime story.<br />
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Another book win was Iguana Boy Saves The World from Toppsta. I thought it might be a good introduction to chapter books for Jake but he's not hundred percent taken with it at the moment.<br />
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WKD picked me as a winner of a crate of their bottles on Instagram, I expected them to just send a coupon out in the post but they sent the actual crate of glass bottles!<br />
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A small prize of baby socks on Instagram have gone in the baby box in the spare room.<br />
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I also won a Too Faced Lipstick on Instagram from greencatbeauty<br />
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I won a personalised Carafe on Instagram from smartphoto and chose to have the quote 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live' which is from Harry Potter engraved on it and then I have filled it with fairy lights. The photo doesn't do it justice. It's lovely.<br />
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My first Facebook win of the month was a Mowgli Street Food book. You had to say what your favourite street food is and I said a slice of pizza from dough boys. There is a recipe in for butter chicken which I'm looking forward to making this weekend.<br />
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I won a make up bundle on Instagram which was a simple comment and tag and then I won a £15 credit for next of kin apparel and I ordered this cute bodysuit as I love that it's similar to The Offspring lyric, I also got a romper with a different design too.<br />
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Jake was off School ill and so it was lovely to receive two parcels for him from Kids Magazines to cheer him up, one was a book called Emmeline The Cheeky Pup and the other was this awesome Grossery Gang Bug Strike bundle!<br />
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With the new GDPR rules coming out in May there were lots of promotions to opt in and sign up to newsletters and 'clubs'. A lot of people question if anyone ever wins from newsletter sign up competitions. Well I'm happy to say I won a gorgeous Minnie Mouse Chamilia necklace from signing up to the Chamilia club, I think I saw the advert on Facebook. It's worth £95 and is super pretty, although possibly a little bit too delicate for a klutz like me.<br />
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I won with Peter Rabbit Magazine on Facebook again, for the second time this year, this time a DVD which will come in handy for rainy days and make a change from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 which I have watched 17 times this half term as it's what Jake wanted on!<br />
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It was Coeliac Awareness/Gluten Free Awareness week and I was lucky enough to win a bundle of Pieminster Gluten free pies. I'm not sure if you've ever tried to do gluten free baking, but I have and it wasn't very successful so I was a bit nervous about what the pies would be like but Oh My Days they were delicious! We will buy them again but they are quite pricey (isn't all dietary needs food?) so they will be for a special treat.<br />
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I received another 2 copies of Big Bones books this month although I'm not sure where from?<br />
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Another two small Instagram wins came in as we headed into the last week of the month. A craft bundle from Nu who usually do notebooks and a tub of Oppo's new flavour ice cream from guessing what their new flavour was.<br />
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I had a nice bank holiday win of the new Maze Runner film on DVD which we are looking forward to watching at some point over the next few days.<br />
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I also won some Scolaquip goodies on Instagram which are paint sticks (similar to Little Brian ones) as well as some which you can use on fabric and some which are for using on your face!<br />
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I managed to tick something off my wish list this month too! I've been trying for ages to win with Colour Freedom and I finally won some hair dye! I miss having bright coloured hair so I can't wait for it to arrive.<br />
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Then it seems the comping fairy decided it's about time I start looking after myself as I had the following wins:<br />
A Tefal Optigrill from Muscle Foods<br />
A Nutribullet from the Belvita purchase competition. Which as well as making smoothies will be used for it's ice crushing abilities to make cocktails with the Cocktail Recipe book I won on Instagram.<br />
Reveal Magazines top 25 beauty buys<br />
and finally,<br />
a crate of bottled water and a bundle of skincare products, again from Instagram.<br />
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As you can see Instagram really was my friend this month. My partner has the first week of June off so I won't be doing much comping as we are in the middle of redecorating and also hoping to enjoy some days out with Jake as well as trying to find him a new school as it's been decided a mainstream school isn't suitable and he needs a specialist school.<br />
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My Stats for the month are:<br />
Total Number of Prizes: 38<br />
Total RRP of Prizes: £1018<br />
Breakdown of prize type:<br />
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<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-1190541773404340862018-05-01T03:23:00.000-07:002018-05-01T03:46:12.053-07:00I had an Awesome April - my comping monthApril the 1st came and with it brought Easter and April Fools Day, and it sure did feel like the joke was on me as for the first time in several years I hadn't won any Easter Eggs and it wasn't without trying.<br />
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However that soon changed as on the 2nd April (so slightly late but I shan't complain) I was announced by Jackson's Yorkshire Champion on Instagram as the winner of their Easter hamper. I received a lovely box with an Easter egg, chocolate carrots, chocolate eggs, creme eggs, Malteser bunny's and some yummy Jackson's Bloomers (their bread is gorgeous!) Which more than enough made up for the earlier egg drought. </div>
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I won a lovely book called Astrid Unstoppable and hair clip set from picture_personal on Instagram.</div>
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Another Instagram win was some fantastic Address books from MumsOffice they are brilliant quality and I've been really impressed by them :) </div>
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Since gleam took away their daily tweet option I've given blog comps a bit more of a go and won a gorgeous Peter Rabbit Romper and Book from Boo Roo and Tigger Too. </div>
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On the 4th of the month I won 2 bottles of the new drink from Bottle Green on Instagram, i was really surprised that they sent out 2 large glass bottles of drink in the post as I expected a coupon. We've only tried the rhubarb one so far and it was delicious and really refreshing. </div>
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As I mentioned last month we really enjoyed National Science Week and tried to win some prizes related to it. When I spotted How It Works on twitter giving away a Stupendous Science book I tweeted them a picture of one of our experiments me and J had done and was lucky enough to win! It's full of different experiments we can do at home and so is perfect.<br />
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Our first children's magazine win of the month was a Blaze Christmas DVD. Jake doesn't mind that it's Christmas themed though as he's still obsessed with the annoying singing reindeer head we got in December so the festive cheer has never left him.<br />
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Yenuec on Instagram ran a competition and I won a bottle of Pixi Glow Tonic which I've heard amazing things about and I'm looking forward to trying. I love the packaging, it seems really decadent. </div>
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The same day as the Glow Tonic arrived I won a silk sleep mask from Hesperfox on Instagram, you had to comment with a time saving hack and they picked mine as a winner.<br />
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Hello Magazine ran a Mothers Day competition with loads of different prizes up for grabs and I won a Real Techniques Powder Bleu Brush Set worth £118! </div>
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A Twitter win of a 2017 Extreme Rules/Money in the Bank WWE DVD from WWE Kids mag. </div>
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I then had a lovely OOKiverse book arrive and I can't find where from despite a lot of searching. Me and J have really enjoyed the story behind it and I know there are apps and things related to it so I'm going to have a look into downloading that for him. </div>
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I won a pack of Little Brian Paint Sticks which I love as we've used them for crafting before and they are a lot easier for J to manage as they are like a pritt stick only solid paint and there is less mess and no need for jugs of water with the potential to spill etc.<br />
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Will Gowing runs regular social media competitions for products he is showing on QVC shopping channel and I was lucky enough to win one of his Instagram competitions for some Tarte Cosmetic palettes and brushes. </div>
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When I am entering twitter competitions I always try to leave an appropriate comment or reply. Cineworld Cinemas were running a competition for a Wind in the Willows goody bag so I sent them a gif of Mr Toad with hypnotic eyes in my reply. His charm worked and I was announced as the winner. </div>
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McVities have been running a purchase necessary/text competition and I'd tried quite a few times to win only to receive a 50p off coupon so I was shocked to have two proper wins with them on consecutive days. I won a pair of cinema tickets which will cover a date night and one of their 'Family Days Out' which is actually a Buy-A-Gift experience which I plan on swapping on their site and putting towards a driving experience for the hubby. </div>
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My lovely friend Shelley tagged me in an Instagram comp so we both won a case of B.Fresh juices and a book called The Wellness Rebel. </div>
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Toppsta came through with a book for J called Molly's Magic Wardrobe: Search for the Fairy Star. </div>
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On the 19th of April I got a DM from MetroComps on twitter to tell me I had won one of the new Huawei P20 mobile phones. These phones are amazing and rrp £599! I was a bit worried at first as it had seemed too easy to win, you just needed to tweet which handset you wanted and use a hashtag but I needn't have worried as the phone arrived the next day.<br />
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We then had 2 kids mag wins in one day! A Peppa Pig Aquadoodle which has been put away for my niece for Christmas and a fab NERF Aerofury Ramp Rage gun from Beano which Jake loves! It was our first ever win from Beano too despite trying for a couple of years! </div>
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A couple of months ago there was a comp on Muller Rice to win mini basket ball hoops, I only entered the once and didn't win but I must have won on a mop up draw as a small hoop and ball set arrived. </div>
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The sun disappeared and the weather got gloomy but this gorgeous t-shirt from luna_and_fin on Instagram definitely brought a bit of cheer our way! </div>
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My inner hippy self loves the bibs by talulalittle on Instagram. They have babies doing yoga on them and I was pleased to win 3 in their Earth Day competition. </div>
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Alongside comping I also do the odd survey site to get a little bit of an Amazon balance going. One of the survey sites asked me to download an app which I did and I got entered into a prize draw for having the app and won £50 which was sent via PayPal to me and spent on a day out with my boys. </div>
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My final Instagram win of the month was some Micellar Water Cleanser for me and a friend from minetanbodyskin. </div>
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There is a purchase comp out on peperami at the moment and I won a day pass to Thorpe Park on it, it's a little far for a day trip for us at the moment but we are going to see if we can combine it with visiting the in laws over summer.<br />
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I thought that was my lot for the month, but on the afternoon of the 30th I got a wonderful Facebook message from the Tesco Baby Club page to say I had won their Little Tikes bundle worth over £500! The bundle consists of: </div>
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<ul>
<li>a Group 2-3 car seat </li>
<li>a Fountain Factory Water Table </li>
<li>a Cozy Coupe car </li>
<li>Gas & Go toy mower </li>
<li>Sizzle & Serve BBQ Grill Playset </li>
<li>Tumblin' Tower Climber </li>
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An amazing win perfect for J, my niece and my nephew. </div>
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I had a truly awesome April, I hope May can be just as magic when it comes to wins. </div>
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My stats for the month are: </div>
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Total number of prizes: 29<br />
Total RRP of Prizes won: £1798<br />
Breakdown of prize type:<br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-38132228695127640492018-04-04T03:34:00.002-07:002018-04-04T03:34:39.752-07:00Marvelous MarchWell after a fantastic February, March had a lot to live up to. It promised the opportunity for lots of creative competitions with World Book Day, Mother's Day and the run up to Easter, however we had lots of snow and it threw everything into much disarray.<br />
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Anyway, I digress.<br />
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Here is a breakdown of the prizes I won in March:<br />
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I won some cute Teletubbies Pyjama's from Character.com on twitter. They run weekly giveaways and their pj's are fab!<br />
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My first World Book Day win was this awesome bundle of books! Jake loves the LEGO book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac4TOYaaXGpaPz6gjOG3RLrjYlJNgvdXhVJUKgv5pWLcbPuteWsW1UYD1Fi29QsLjJVvMZ4GNATMjyYzzl9JJgN9y6cpXkSp85xvh_GQuBt8sp1KvjqmcB3nqAyrBAR15mKkHAeL-RvXe/s1600/29695288_10160564579320122_5805701011513428809_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac4TOYaaXGpaPz6gjOG3RLrjYlJNgvdXhVJUKgv5pWLcbPuteWsW1UYD1Fi29QsLjJVvMZ4GNATMjyYzzl9JJgN9y6cpXkSp85xvh_GQuBt8sp1KvjqmcB3nqAyrBAR15mKkHAeL-RvXe/s320/29695288_10160564579320122_5805701011513428809_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I won another prize from Jennie Edspire's month long instagram competition I mentioned in last months prize post. Some gorgeous tights and pj's from Slugs and Snails.<br />
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On the 5th of March I won a facebook competition from Skipton Building Society and won 2 tickets to a show of my choice at West Yorkshire Playhouse so we are going this Friday to see Dancing Bear which I'm looking forward to. I'm always nervous of winning tickets to shows as I have a few accessibility issues not to mention major anxiety, but luckily all except one promoter have been accommodating, and it means I've seen some amazing shows and bands over time.<br />
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I won a prize from Max Factor which is what would usually be a GWP (Gift With Purchase) in Boots and was a full size mascara, lip product and eyeshadow.<br />
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I also won a runners up prize on instagram from Pacapod. There were 20 runner ups so I wasn't expecting much but I received a Colby Ember changing bag worth £65!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YeJpcaNCsQSFqZNsuX84HM3meX5pgg5-tbi6xdHB-tJdcxVdV7q5FiNxcsyAmlqfav7XY5Gw4MiplnsoiyrmAEo9ckqBGPQC8t8fDZB_gotn8SIA6Tr2S4x_2S6YDtVnd8OrPnBtjJxj/s1600/29683080_10160564484770122_3983120478741020359_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YeJpcaNCsQSFqZNsuX84HM3meX5pgg5-tbi6xdHB-tJdcxVdV7q5FiNxcsyAmlqfav7XY5Gw4MiplnsoiyrmAEo9ckqBGPQC8t8fDZB_gotn8SIA6Tr2S4x_2S6YDtVnd8OrPnBtjJxj/s320/29683080_10160564484770122_3983120478741020359_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The lovely Cara over at <a href="https://thejammyjigsaw.wordpress.com/">The Jammy Jigsaw</a> knows my plight when it comes to getting my boy to sleep and stay asleep and she tagged me in a competition on Instagram to win something called a Fidget Bum which goes on the child's bed and zips up over their covers to stop them kicking the covers off.<br />
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I received a WTC on the 7th - I hate WTC as I don't like talking on the phone. It was telling me I'd won a local pancake day competition with my Scooby Doo pancake and had won a crepe pan. Oddly enough despite being 3 weeks since Pancake Day this wasn't my only pancake win this month.<br />
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We won a £20 book token with our WBD Costume. Jake chose 3 books - Oi Dog! Oi Frog! and Cake. All three of them are fab reads.<br />
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I won 2 beautiful Kylie Minogue cushions on instagram which are currently stashed away till my new sofa gets delivered.<br />
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Another pancake day win which I wouldn't have known about had a lovely comper not messaged me to say they had spotted my name on Cookson Gold's winners list and I needed to email to claim my prize. My electric crepe maker has now arrived and leaves me plenty of time to practice ready for next years competitions.<br />
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I found a low entry gleam competition and won a Stargazer Lottie doll, I also won a years membership to the Azoomee app which is great for Jake.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfhlWbOQceWvJ3WmV8fztGkxWAwF5qlbqbalR27v2y9nT4-sG-qsfyU9pB5ZAbMUgAiY2OgCcAP0ox38fCJtuPTR4Fh1ufGmkm94oDSDkfFFH0baLSvRpBs5Ff-7Ynf3Pyu3-iNOVs1GT/s1600/26230884_10160564485005122_1726634932563492704_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfhlWbOQceWvJ3WmV8fztGkxWAwF5qlbqbalR27v2y9nT4-sG-qsfyU9pB5ZAbMUgAiY2OgCcAP0ox38fCJtuPTR4Fh1ufGmkm94oDSDkfFFH0baLSvRpBs5Ff-7Ynf3Pyu3-iNOVs1GT/s320/26230884_10160564485005122_1726634932563492704_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I won a Flowers scented reed diffuser and room mist from Laura Thomas on Instagram, it smells great and I love all my home fragrance products like candles and reed diffusers so it's great to win new ones to try.<br />
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Anatomicals on Instagram did a face mask competition and I won 3 face masks, I seem to do quite well with them on Instagram and have had 3 or 4 prizes from them now.<br />
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Makerly Crafts on instagram are entirely to blame for my lack of comping for a few days as I won a mosaic coaster craft kit that I sat and spent ages doing instead of being on the laptop, it was very therapeutic I just need to get round to grouting them then I can take photo's.<br />
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Another book for Jake called Something Fishy was won from a newsletter competition.<br />
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Then I won a bundle of Easter themed books and a book bag from educating_tina and stitch_me_happy on instagram. The bag is gorgeous and too grown up for Jake so I'm using it to keep paperwork and my magazines in and the books were a great selection. Jake is especially impressed with the That's Not My Chick and a Lego City book called Follow That Easter Egg!<br />
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I had a fab win on Facebook which might seem a bit strange to some but it's a 2m RGB LED Tape Light Kit from Simple Lighting. Jake responds really well to lights, he doesn't have a proper bulb in his bedroom but has what is described as a party bulb as it makes colourful swirls on his walls and calms him so adding some more lights to his room is great for us and is helping us to slowly turn his room into a safe sensory space for him.<br />
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British Science Week hit and I was desperate to win some science goodies for Jake, we'd done lots of home experiments and I was hunting twitter, Instagram and Facebook for comps. The lovely people at Propeller sent us a Spintelligence kit about Space and then after talking to them about their kits sent us a Numbers one too.<br />
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By this point we are at the 17th of the month and Jake hadn't had a kids mag win which is pretty unusual for him. The fact I keep posting them for others and forgetting to enter doesn't help, but then he was blessed with two fab wins!!<br />
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A Spynet watch which he has taken great delight in using to photograph my ceiling a lot ha ha.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIny3QH9nsBJFJ0Jq_vGeHjBGw8T9jP2TqqhfDMN3Q1YbUnzafensuY-a7kwGxBLFzi-AWImuoJWyrnBQYLprF50oyu4zy_AIVNI0gFM403NfJo0bnvHh8as8tfW4HoScNwQ3HkCxfhRM/s1600/29791080_10160564484985122_1334373773912791414_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="653" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIny3QH9nsBJFJ0Jq_vGeHjBGw8T9jP2TqqhfDMN3Q1YbUnzafensuY-a7kwGxBLFzi-AWImuoJWyrnBQYLprF50oyu4zy_AIVNI0gFM403NfJo0bnvHh8as8tfW4HoScNwQ3HkCxfhRM/s320/29791080_10160564484985122_1334373773912791414_n.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
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and a Nintendo Switch!!!! Buzzing as we really wanted one for him as I think they are a bit more child friendly than the Xbox One that his Dad has.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EFua0qJayvCRdUfsxke1Ql7EeYNIlPkj2xpFBiGqelz8yuMpD9FLdWeOshqHU0PQMbdT_s4X_7_pFlDDhKjC6ASLVrGQwVtet7dD4jNI8iM1xUhszF0nxFrVvXF0tjmULJiTY0caOdsp/s1600/29595100_10160564484990122_2872542310167837103_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EFua0qJayvCRdUfsxke1Ql7EeYNIlPkj2xpFBiGqelz8yuMpD9FLdWeOshqHU0PQMbdT_s4X_7_pFlDDhKjC6ASLVrGQwVtet7dD4jNI8iM1xUhszF0nxFrVvXF0tjmULJiTY0caOdsp/s320/29595100_10160564484990122_2872542310167837103_n.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I didn't win any Easter Eggs this year *cries* but I did win 2 bars of Ocelot chocolate on Instagram which my OH ate.<br />
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Then I hit a bit of a lull (probably too much time playing on the Switch and less time comping) but a Toppsta win and hand mask from Instagram kicked my butt back into gear a little.<br />
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Nick Jr announced me as a winner of a fab Paw Patrol bundle which came super quick!<br />
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Then I won a coffee scrub on Instagram which will be fab for getting my skin summer ready.<br />
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A gorgeous soft Bobo Buddies Rabbit comfort blanket on Instagram which is lovely!<br />
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I won 2 copies of Big Bones books on Instagram, one was for my bestie but she won too!<br />
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My final win of the month was from a twitter party with BrainBoxGames about #InclusivePlay which is very important to me as Jake can often be seen as an outsider. The prize is a Recycle Me set about making models from recyclable items which Jake will <br />
love as we love our crafting.<br />
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Summary of the month:<br />
Total Prizes: 30<br />
Total RRP of Prizes won: £1202<br />
Breakdown of prize type:<br />
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Here is hoping for an awesome April for everyone </div>
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Danielle x </div>
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ps I also won some Dorito's on the purchase comp but I haven't included those in any total as at the time everyone was winning, plus I gave the coupons to some compers to use x<br />
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<br />Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-22018763840100241262018-04-03T08:18:00.002-07:002018-04-03T08:18:55.709-07:00Easter - how do you do yours? So we are now on the 3rd of April and hopefully most people have recovered from their chocolate hangovers.<br />
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Easter is an interesting one for me, we are aren't religious, we aren't traditional, we aren't the kind to go OTT I don't think. There were a mixture of posts on Social Media about how people do Easter, which leads me to the question - 'How do you do yours?' Are you the kind of person to roll an egg down a hill? Only buy your child one egg? Buy your child 20? Or go full out and buy them presents and eggs and have Easter as a second Christmas?<br />
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In previous years I have been lucky enough to win our Easter eggs but that didn't happen this year! I was going to have to put my hands in my pockets and buy the boy an egg.<br />
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Jake is very much a fan of Nerf guns and having battles with his Dad but the ones we own are a bit cumbersome and hard for him to use alone so when I spotted Nerf Eggs at £4 in Tesco I decided one of those would be perfect for him as the toy would be fab and it wasn't too much chocolate.<br />
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Whilst in Tesco I also spotted the new Orchard Games mini games. These were £4 each or 2 for £7 and look great. The price of some Easter Eggs can easily be £7 so I decided to get him Build a Beetle and Little Bug Bingo. I love Orchard Toys games anyway, they are perfect for working on turn taking, learning to follow instructions, speech and understanding.<br />
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On the Saturday morning we visited our local Smyths toy store and they were running an egg hunt. Jake was given a little rabbit ears headband to wear and we walked around following clues. Luckily they were mapped out in the order of the store and it was more me solving them whilst Jake asked for everything but at the end of the hunt he received 2 Easter Eggs and a small bag of Lego.<br />
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My Dad dropped off some Easter treats for Jake and I have to say he chose the two things from M&S I would have chosen too. I love this little dinosaur egg cup. It's cute, practical and will hopefully encourage Jake to try boiled eggs - if not I think his Dad has plans to use it for his breakfast haha. The Thomas egg is brilliant for Thomas fans, it's a perfect replica of the childhood hero, all made from delicious milk and white chocolate.<br />
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All the Easter fun had hyped Jake up and he hadn't even eaten any chocolate yet! It meant he was up at 2:15am though asking if the Easter Bunny had been? He hadn't. Due to him not going back to sleep I didn't get chance to hide the little plastic eggs around the house so I told Jake that the EB couldn't hide the eggs as he had been awake and he couldn't risk being seen so there would be no egg hunt. Around 10am I got the chance to sneak into the garden and hide our brightly coloured plastic eggs and then I went back inside and pretended to received a call from the Easter Bunny who told me that as he couldn't hide the eggs in the house he had hidden them in the garden instead. Jake donned his bunny ears and basket - both £1 from Asda and headed off to find his rewards. Once he'd found them all he spent ages hiding them again and recollecting them. Over. and. Over. and Over.<br />
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In the afternoon we did some crafts painting some eggs and making these super cute finger puppets. The kit was £1 from Asda and simple enough for Jake to do with a little help from Mama.<br />
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So that's how we did our Easter.<br />
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Dani x<br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-51545953808716648532018-03-31T02:15:00.000-07:002018-03-31T02:15:13.401-07:00Zimpli Kids make Sensory Play Simple! Sensory play is becoming more and more popular with parents and Early Years settings because of the huge benefits it has on children. You only have to look on Pinterest or do a quick google search to be overwhelmed with ideas and as fantastic as they all are, some of them can be very daunting and can put you off. Sensory play doesn't need to be difficult, or take days to set up, especially when you have companies such as Zimpli Kids who put together simple to use products such as their Slime Play and Gelli Baff which are easy to use, fun, hassle free and affordable too.<br />
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The new in thing with kids seems to be tubs of slime, and I will be honest with you, I hate the stuff and think it's a bit of an abomination. I don't like the texture - cold and claggy, and I don't like the fact Jake dropped some on his school shirt and I couldn't get it out! I tried all the tips mentioned on google and nothing worked so it went in the bin and I've been anti-slime ever since. Until now.<br />
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During British Science Week I was looking for things to do with Jacob and if you follow me on social media you will have seen that we did lots of experiments including Lemon Volcanoes and Lava Lamps with oil and alkaseltzers. Jacob really wanted to do slime but all the recipes we looked at involved about 17 ingredients and things like borax and having heard horror stories about children getting chemical burns I just wasn't willing to risk it. I popped into our local Entertainer toy store to see what children's Science kits they had in and was drawn to a shelf of Zimpli products and they were all half price!! Bonus!<br />
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I chose two products Gunky Green Slime Play and Colour Change Gelli Baff.<br />
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Jake was super excited that Mama was finally letting him play with slime!<br />
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We set up in the spare room where I do most of my work with Jacob and instead of needing 17 ingredients we needed 2 things a bowl full of warm water and the packet of Slime Play. Simple! The packet of slime play just looks like coloured sand but as you sprinkle it in the water and begin to stir it with your hands the powder dissolves and it starts to thicken up.<br />
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Whilst it was still quite thin Jake dunked his hands and then decided that green slime needed something submerging! Scooby figures! and so he began pretending the thickening slime was ghost goo. What great imaginative play. Once we'd finished playing with it we washed our hands and put a lid on the bowl as we wanted to come back to it later.<br />
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When we came back to play the slime had thickened up even more and so as it was supposed to be a Science experiment I decided we would look at viscosity. Jake has a speech disorder so it can be a little bit confusing to gage his understanding of things so asking lots of questions and getting him to give a running commentary is a great way of working on this. I asked him to tell me what it felt like and do simple tasks like see how high you can stretch the slime? Can you hold it in your hand? Will it pass through a sieve or a colander?<br />
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When it came to clearing up it was so easy I was shocked! You just need to keep adding water to dilute the slime and then it pours away! Magic! And mess free!<br />
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A couple of nights later I remembered the Gelli Baff. We had chosen the yellow colour change. Inside the packet were 2 sachets of powder marked step 1 and step 2. Step 1 was yellow, and step 2 was blue. Similarly to the slime they looked like coloured sand. The instructions said to add a couple of cm's of warm water to the bath and then sprinkle step 1 in and stir with your hands till it thickens, keeping step 2 for clearing up later, then you can add a little bit more water up to approx 8cm. Unlike the Slime Play the gelli bath wasn't smooth but like little lumps of jelly. Jake loved it and was soon laid in the bath and 'swimming' in it then pouring it over himself. He told me it looked like yellow snow and you should never eat yellow snow and you shouldn't eat this kind of jelly either. As he had laid down in the bath full of Gelli Baff he had some of the crystals in his hair and I did worry how hard they would be to get out especially as Jake doesn't like his head touching. I didn't need to worry though. Once Jake had had enough of playing and wanted to get out we took the step 2 sachet and sprinkled it over the bath tub and turned the shower on, Jake helped mix the step 2 powder in and the yellow Gelli Baff started to turn to green water, we pulled the plug and Jake rinsed off under the shower as it all drained away and then a final rinse of the bath and all signs of the fun he'd had were gone!<br />
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I was really impressed with both the Zimpli products we tried and would definitely recommend them. They are so easy to use and clean up and Jake really seemed to enjoy playing with them. I love that they had different colours available so you could use them in themed activities and we are looking forward to seeing what else the brand has to offer.<br />
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Danielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565948829229657353.post-31752705585485076882018-02-28T14:26:00.000-08:002018-02-28T14:26:01.804-08:00A Fantastic February.Today marks the end of the second month of the year. February has been rather fantastic for me when it comes to comping and the prizes I have won.<br />
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Here is a recap of my month.<br />
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I started the month off with a delivery of WWE Survivor Series on Bluray. I love wrestling and had entered quite a lot of competitions to win a copy of this, the bluray didn't come with a compliments slip so I've been unable to thank the promoter.<br />
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Another surprise delivery only for Jacob this time was from a kids mag and was some DinoTrux books.<br />
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I Love Snacks on instagram do regular comps for their pouches and I won some pineapple and mango ones which were rather yummy.<br />
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My next instagram win was a Dreami and some Snuggi blankets. This was won from Jennie Edspire as she ran a sleep awareness month full of competitions in memory of her daughter Matilda Mae who passed away from SIDS. You can read more about Jennie's journey over on her blog <a href="http://www.edspire.co.uk/">here</a>.<br />
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I mentioned last month how I had tried my luck at some purchase comps on products which we would usually buy. Oreo biscuits are giving away lots of pairs of in ear headphones and speakers, as they are usually on offer for 50p a packet in one of the major supermarkets we usually have a few packets in and I managed to win a set of headphones from them on the 8th and a speaker on the 14th and then a last pair of headphones on the 15th.<br />
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My biggest win of the month came on the 8th when I was notified that I had won 2 Krug Baumen watches. They were won on a simple comment and tag competition on instagram and are absolutely stunning. They are a his and hers set with diamonds in the watch face and RRP at £775 and £790 respectively!<br />
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I also received a Jeremy Corbyn annual from a competition run by the Mirror and I thought it was hilarious as did a few of my facebook friends when I posted a picture of it on facebook. I don't often get involved in political debate online but I have friends with very strong views that aren't afraid to let them be heard.<br />
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I also won £100 worth of wedding stationery on instagram. Although I refer to Ant as my hubby we haven't actually tied the knot but plan to do so on the 2nd February 2020, which is the date the Math geek in me opted for because it's palindromic (02022020)<br />
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Jake also won a fab bundle of LEGO Ninjago books from a magazine which have been a huge hit!<br />
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At the start of the year I created a wishlist of items I wanted to win. One of my listed items were anything Crime/Murder related and I struck lucky this month and won two consecutive newsletter competitions with True Crime Library and won a book about Brittany Murphy's death and a book about modern day hangings in Scotland.<br />
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Pancake day arrived and I entered as many competitions as I could find (which wasn't too many) and you can see my Pancake entry on this post <a href="http://theysaidshecouldnt.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/pancake-day.html">here</a>.<br />
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From the pancake comps we won the following:<br />
Calendar<br />
Adidas Football boots<br />
STK Life 8 Mobile Phone<br />
A Candy Slab<br />
£10 Amazon Voucher<br />
Salter Cook Bundle - Bluetooth Kitchen Scale and Thermometer<br />
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I finally won a doormat from Turtle_Mat on instagram they run comps every week and I'm always entering and I finally won one yay!!<br />
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MyVoucherCodes ran a comp for pizza and I won one, I was looking forward to it but it turned out to be one the new Prezzo Black Pizza's and I have a phobia of funny coloured foods - brightly coloured icing on cakes, anything that looks burnt, when beetroot bleeds onto other foods etc. So I gifted it to a friend to enjoy.<br />
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I was scrolling through twitter one evening when I saw Navabi mention a new book they were promoting called the Plus Book. They asked for people to do 1 of 3 things - buy the book and send them proof, leave them a review of the book on amazon or tweet them an inspiring photo. I purchased the book on amazon and sent them a DM of my receipt and was announced as one of their winners! I won a £100 voucher to spend on their site so I bought myself a lovely dress and a couple of tops.<br />
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Bandai ran a competition for a Tamagotchi bundle on Facebook and I won one. I haven't set the Tamagotchi up yet (I wonder if my skills of keeping them alive will have improved now I'm a mum?) but the T-shirt that came with it is pretty cool!<br />
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As a non-comper people probably just think there are 365 days of the year with a few big event's like Easter and Christmas but as a comper you learn that their are so many more from National Puzzle Day to World Emoji Day and with special days come specific hash tags and comps! February saw National Random Acts of Kindness Day and there were lots of comps about. I found it a bit of a weird one to be honest. Doing a RAOK should be random not done then boasted about to try and win a prize. I did a few that asked you to nominate a friend who had done something kind and then I saw Learning Resources were running one and I commented about Jacob using his 20p to buy his grandma's flowers (the flowers cost more but I paid the difference and let him think he'd bought them himself - he's 5 and was super proud) and they chose him as a winner and he received two toys from them.<br />
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I had a wee flurry of instagram wins - a First Aid Freddie book from minifirstaid, a Unicorn jar from PinacoladaCrafts, A Mothers Day teddy in a tin from PrezzyBox and a Transformula's eye mask which might work it's magic on my under eye suitcases.<br />
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Ant decided he'd had enough of Oreo's so he bought some KitKats for work instead. We one our third Joe Mug. I think I chose the geeky one but I can't remember.<br />
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I came home on Saturday to some chocolate, I don't know where from but it was yummy haha!<br />
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Jacob's National Geographic Kids magazine came and he was listed as a winner in one of their Subscribers Only competitions and won a Lexicon Go game.<br />
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Morrisons had some competitions running in the run up to World Book Day and I won a copy of David Walliams The Boy in The Dress book.<br />
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I finished the month in a similar way to last month with my final win being Love To Shop vouchers. This was a low entry competition on facebook that I found and I won £100!<br />
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Summary of the month:<br />
Total Prizes: 33<br />
Total RRP of Prizes: £2649<br />
Prize breakdown:<br />
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Hoping everyone has a Marvellous March, the 1st is World Book Day and whilst School may be shut due to the snow, we've given it a go and have our fingers crossed for some lovely literary prizes xDanielle Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15702060631661982993noreply@blogger.com4