Third week in Feb. Love Instagram!

I had a very bad start to last week when my beloved iphone was literally run over by a bus!!  I was doing my best at trying to do too many things at once (something that I do all too often and it almost always ends in disaster - when will I learn???)  Anyway whilst trying to find my keys at the bottom of my bag, manoeuvre the pram with one arm (because Miss L was insisting on being carried), trying to get the kids across the road safety AND attempting to end a slightly stressed out phone call with Mr D..........I put the phone down on the bonnet of the car,  FORGOT ABOUT IT, and drove off!!!

The rest is history I guess!!!

I could have cried!!  (in fact I really, nearly almost did)

Mr D wanted me to pick him up from the bus stop and as I went to call him to find out where he was, I realised in horror what I had done!  My heart dropped down to my toes  and I silently cursed my stupidity.

On the bright side (if there is one) and rather amazing, Mr D managed to track the phone with that fancy iphone tracker thingy and he found it lying on the road about 5 miles away!!  Not looking very happy - but working just enough for me to suck off all of my data!

It took a whole week before I got my replacement (thank you Apple for the repairs) and I think we both suffered a little.  Me - well, I just don't know how I ever lived without a phone!  Painful!  Is the best way I can describe it and poor Mr D got a few extra silver hairs added to his collection (which is really not that bad for a man anyway - kind of distinguished I think).

Instagram was back!  And just in time for a perfect beach weekend!

A mouth full of sand!! (and not me!!)

This is what she thought of me when I said no to an ice-cream!  She might not thank me for it, but she does have the cutest 'grumpy' face!!

Three little mermaids on the beach

Sunday swim club.  It was a spectacular day for it.

More beach fun!

Well that's it I'm afraid!  I am already doing so much better this week - my camera has been on overdrive......making up for lost time!

Anyone else had any phone disasters??  (oh and did I mention that my phone was only 1 month old!!!  Hence Mr D's silver hair increase).

Reduce harmful radiation AND Increase your smartphone battery power with PONG! The smart cover for the smart phone! Plus a *GIVEAWAY*

Have you ever been concerned about the amount of radiation your body is absorbing from your mobile phone??  Or worse still...... how much your kids may be absorbing??

I have to admit it has crossed my mind, but as I don't think I could survive without my phone, it hasn't concerned me enough to want to give up my phone!!!

My kids are still too young to need a mobile phone, but they do use ipads (and itouches etc)  ALOT!!!  (in fact I have absolutely NO idea how my parents ever coped without them).

I was quite shocked when I learnt our bodies absorb between 48-68% of the radiation from these gadgets.  Gadgets that we simply cannot live without (well I would struggle that's for sure and I know I'm not the only one).  This is especially scary when I think of just how many years of this kind of absorption my kids are going to be exposed to!!  No one really knows the true extent of the damage it may cause us, but the World Health Organisation have said that mobile phone radiation is carcinogenic.!!!  Even big companies like Apple and Blackberry warn their customers to keep their phones at least an inch away from their heads.  Do you do this???

I was recently offered the chance by WORDSTORM PR to review an iphone case from PONG RESEARCH and I really was intrigued.  I did a little bit of my own research and I was super impressed by what the PONG cases can do.    It reduces the amount of radiation absorbed by the body,  and as a direct result it is aslo said to increase the battery life of your iphone/smartphone and increase your wi-fi and 3G/4G signal strength!

Well I don't know about you, but just the increase in battery life alone was enough to grab my attention!!

Both Mr D and I were impressed by the look and feel of this PONG case (mine is for the iphone5)

For some reason I was expecting a biggish and rather 'clumpy' cover to arrive (I thought it would have needed to be in order to perform all it's meant to).  However I was really pleasantly surprised to find a really sleak, slim and lightweight case.  It also has this beautiful smooth and soft velvety texture that you just want to keep rubbing your fingers over.  Even Mr D was pretty impressed with the look of it.  He hates all phone covers and doesn't use one at all - he says they make the phone too bulky to fit in his pocket!

The PONG cover IS slim enough and it fits the phone like glove getting the seal of approval from a very fussy Mr D!  It also comes in a range of colours to suit just about anyone, and the ipad version has this really cool folding origami style back that turns into a stand.  Too clever!!  Check out their website at PONG RESEARCH for more information.

Which is your favourite?

So here comes the science.  (As I am really not a techie kind of person I will do my best to explain it in simple terms)

1. PONG smartphone & ipad cases reduce the amount of radiation exposure that enters our bodies

PONG is currently the only phone case on the market that has been proven to reduce the amount of radiation that enters our bodies.  There is a really thin antenna system that is imbedded into the case which redirects the radiation away from our heads and back into the phone.  Clever hey??

Image credit

This brings us to:

2.  PONG smartphone & ipad cases optimise signal

This is always a good thing in my book!  I'm sure we've all had a moment or two when we are trying desperately to send a message and we have to wave our phones above our heads or climb up the nearest hill to get some decent signal!!  Well,  by stopping half of the 'signal' from being literally lost in our heads/bodies, the pong smartphone case actually increases the signal we get on our phone!  Even more clever!!

and finally 

3.  PONG smartphone and ipad cases conserve the battery power of your devise (by quite a bit - I tried and tested it) 

Now this bit I could actually test out myself.  Over a 24 hour period I took screenshots of my iphone's battery life using my old case.  I started at 7am with a fully charged battery and by 3:47pm that afternoon my battery had died!!  (So frustrating that it doesn't last longer).  The following day I did the exact same thing with the PONG case and I kid you not.........I got almost 3 hours more battery life than the day before!!!  AWESOME!!

The PONG case comes with a screen protector and a cute little cloth to keep it smudge free.

I really have been very impressed by this cover.  With the amount of time that all of us as a family spend on phones/ipads (including playing games and watching youtube videos) I really don't think I'm going to take my chances with radiation any longer!

If you would like to win your very own PONG case for your phone (valued at $59) then all you have to do is simply enter the PONG GIVEAWAY below.  It's free and won't take you a minute - what do you have to loose???

Make sure to check out the PONG RESEARCH facebook page too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



*I have not been paid to write this review and all opinions expressed are my own.  Unless otherwise stated all images are copyright to Mrs D plus 3.  I would like to thank Kate from Wordstorm PR and PONG Research for giving me the iphone 5 cover that I have used for this review.*

A little bit of birthday boasting!

Birthday lunch date with my hot hubby

A couple of days ago was my birthday.  Not a particularly significant birthday but it was still mine - all 24 hours of it (which I even managed to drag out over 48).  For those of you who are as interested in my 'number' as Miss H is, I am still thirty something, only this year I'm an odd number, and I'm still younger than Mr D.

I'm now going to turn this into a teeny tiny BOAST post!  Not that I'm a boasty type of person (well not much) but it is my birthday, so right now I am going to take center stage (because I can!!!)

First teeny boast

I have the most amazing Mr D in the whole world!!  He surprised me by tucking the NEW iPHONE 5 under my pillow the night before my day!  You have no idea how happy this made me (cue: big BIG smiles).  Actually I think Mr D does, as the poor love has had to endure the endless, and I mean endless complaining from me about how my old (and beloved) iphone was "driving me CRAZY!!!!"  Those of you that follow my blog will know that my iphone is pretty much my third arm (you know, for..............  blogging, tweeting, face-booking, chatting, millions of photo taking and of course general nosiness).  As it slowly started to fall apart at the seams, poor Mr D (my IT support at home) got the brunt of my frustrations.  First it was the home button - you know, the big round one that you have to use for EVERYTHING.  It started where I'd have to tap a little harder than usual, then tap it a little harder several times, then bang it several time and then finally bang it and grint my teeth (trying not swear in front of the kids) and then bang it again before it finally turned a page.  If that wasn't enough the volume functions decided to slowly die too, so my phone conversations sounded something like this:  "Hello!  "Oh Hi, how are you?........ Sorry can you say that again,  I can't hear you very well..........What was that??? .........Sorry I still didn't quite catch that - I can barely hear you" (with me wildly waving my arms at the kids giving them frantic hand signals to shut up for just one minute while I tried to figure out who I was talking to)!!  Then finally to add insult to injury my camera got sticky!!!  Making taking photos of moving kids near impossible!

Isn't she pretty??

So you see - best present ever for me!  Thanks babe!

Second weeny boast

I have the very bestest family in the whole world!!  I just loved how Master J and Miss H were excited that it was MY birthday and not theirs.  Seeing their cute little faces in the morning, desperate to wake up Miss L so she didn't miss out on seeing Mummy open up her presents made my morning.  They told EVERYONE they possibly could that it's "Mummy's Birthday today!!!!!!"  So sweet and of course I was very spoilt too.  Such a lucky Mummy I am.

Last Boast (and it's a big one!)

Wow!  What fabulous friends I have. The best ever!  

Thank you all so much for all your lovely cards, messages, pressies, phone calls, babysitting and visits.  I'll try not to get too sentimental now, but it really did make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Thanks everyone for making the best day of the best month simply the best.  You all rock!

xxxxxx Mrs D

P.S. Just one more teeny weeny boast!  In case you didn't know, I share my birthday with the lovely Kate Middleton - The Duchess of Cambridge and future Queen!  I told you it was the best day of the best month!!

A hot and sticky week! Love Instagram!

Anyone living in Sydney would know that last week was a HOT one!  Summer really has started with a bang that's for sure.  This is only our second summer in Aus and according to the locals, last summer was appalling.  Being British, I of course, thought it was fabulous!  It might have had something to do with the fact that I was pregnant throughout last summer that I found it so hot - or maybe just because anything above 25 degrees for more than three days in a row is amazing!!  Anyhow it did not leave me prepared for the kind of heat that we had last week!!

Look at Saturdays temps!!!  And all that rain, only fell at night when we couldn't get to appreciate it (except for the grass)

The extreme humidity and high temperatures had us all feeling a bit irritable - especially me and the kids.    I had to explain to Mr D (through gritted teeth) that sitting on a hot (yet air conditioned) bus to and from the city is NOT worse than we have it!!  I had to gently remind him that while he was sitting in a lovely cool air conditioned office, I'm at home wishing I could get away with walking around naked like the kids do!!  

Every time I get in and out of the car (which is about 10 times a day) I can feel the sweat tricking down my back.  Aaaarh, it's so gross!!  No matter where you go you can't seem to find any cool air.  By the time the air con in the car has actually kicked in I'm getting out again!!

On the plus side - the sun has got his hat on and the beaches around here are spectacular!  And so are the night time thunder storms!  There is nothing better than listening to the thunder and hearing the pouring rain crashing down on the patio roof after a really hot and sticky day.  The breeze is orgasmic - really!!

How lucky I am that this is a typical Wednesday afternoon (after school) visit to the beach??

A little bit of cheeky skinny dipping to cool off

Reading the newspaper while mummy has a girly gossip with a good friend (in the shade of course).

Paddling pools are the BEST!

Despite the extreme heat, our first week of summer has been all smiles!!  Little Miss L decided to sit up all by herself!!  A big moment for her, and Miss H and Master J were so excited that she can now sit and play with them.  It's so cute seeing them all starting to interact together.  I, on the other hand, felt a teeny tiny bit emotional that my baby is moving on to the next stage already.  They really do just grow up so fast!!

Feeling very pleased with herself!

On Saturday we also put up our Christmas Tree!  I have been dying to put it up for ages, but am too scared to do it before the 1st of December as I have an irrational fear that bad luck will follow.  I'm not sure where that came from??

Earlier in the week I had a moment where I was feeling a bit lost in all the Christmas hype.  I suddenly realised that for the first time EVER I would not be spending Christmas without my parents!  It's just going to be the 5 of us this year and I don't have a plan!!  As silly as it sounds I kind of feel a bit stuck between English traditions and Aussie traditions and I'm not quite sure where to place us.  I'm so used to having a big family Christmas Day (in the freezing cold) that I didn't know what to do this year!

After watching the kids get so excited surrounded by decorations, I gave myself a stern talking to and have decided that this is the year to start some new Christmas traditions that are just for us!!

The OCD in me had to really try hard not to totally re-do the tree once they had gone to bed

My next hurdle is to tackle the Christmas shopping!!  How is everyone else doing??  Are you organised or have to left it a little bit to the last minute like me??

Liebster Award - Sharing the love

Last week Techie Mum nominated me for a Liebster Award.  I was really flattered, so thank you very much.  I just love writing my blog and it's so rewarding to know that there are lots of you out there that read it.  I have to admit I had never heard of the Liebster Award before and had to do a bit of googling to find out more about it.  What I discovered made me feel even more flattered to be nominated, especially as a newbie to the blogging world and it's something I will definitely be passing on.  So here it is:

So what is a Liebster Award? The award is given to support and recognise up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers (on their blog) or likers (on their Facebook page). The word “Liebster” apparently has German origins and is reported to mean sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. By following some basic rules (answer 11 questions set by your nominee, write 11 questions of your own and pass the award onto 11 other bloggers to answer) it enables readers to get to know new bloggers and connect with a wider audience.

The questions Techie Mum set for me are:

What is your favourite techie gadget?

It has to be my iphone.  Some days I think it is actually a part of my body - like an extra arm.  I would be totally lost without it.  It has just about my whole life on it!  Good or bad - what do you think??

Laptop or desktop computer?

Mmmmm - both I think.  I do most of my work on a desktop (love my imac) but sometimes when I'm in bed I use an ipad and think a laptop would be quite handy!

Does your family complain about how much time you spend on the computer?

I'm pretty sure they do!!!  I often end up squeezing 10 minutes in here and there throughout the day, just to keep on top of things.  I do feel guilty most days that I should be doing more with the kids and less on the compter.  More hours in the day please!!

If money were no object what techie gadget would you buy?

A new Apple laptop

How do you manage your to-do lists?  Paper, phone, app?

Mostly apps.  My two favourites are Any.DO and Toodledo.  Toodledo allows you to sink with other phones which is quite handy when Mr D and I are sharing a to-do list.

So what about your calendar.  Do you use a diary/organiser or your phone/computer?

I use my phone - again, couldn't cope without it.

Which operating system do you use?  Apple or windows?

Apple.  Mr D converted me to Apple from Windows about 5 years ago and I've never looked back.  LOVE it.

Have you ever taken a break from technology and for how long?

I'm actually quite horrified to say that I haven't.  I feel a challenge coming on.........

What do you use to take photos?  A camera or your phone?

I'd say a bit of both, although I'm probably leaning more towards the phone.  On weekends and holidays I will bring out the SLR as it definitely takes the best pics.  However everyday life moments these days always seems to be caught on the phone!

Do you read real books or do you have an e-reader?  

I'm so busy that I hardly read books at all these days!!  I miss it.  Mr D bought me a kindle last Christmas and I do love it.  I don't think I'd ever go back to 'real books'.

Complete this sentence.  The most trouble technology ever go me into was......

Hahaha - a few years ago, when the iphones were still very new and exclusive, I accidentally washed Mr D's brand new one in the washing machine as I forgot to check his pockets!!  It didn't go down well at all!  Although I still think he should have checked his own pockets!!  (I also washed his wallet and lottery ticket in the same wash - oops!).

Now it's my job to pass on the Liebster Award on to another 11 wonderful bloggers:

I have chosen to nominated:
Jenny's Journal
Mother down under
Minsmash
The happy shutterbug
Bub sweat and tears
One mother hen
Francesca writes here
Housewife in heels
Modern nomads with kids
The illiterate infant
iSophie

These lucky 11 bloggers get the following questions from me:

1. Is your blog your job or your hobby?
2. Do you work from home and if so how do you manage to work around the kids?
3. If you could have a whole day to yourself what would you do?
4. What's your favourite quick, never fail dinner recipe?
5. Are you good at saying No when you need to? (I'm terrible)
6. What's the most embarrassing situation your little ones have put you in when out and about?
7. Are you currently following your passion?
8. Are you super organised or do you survive in organised chaos?
9. Have you ever moved country before?
10. Do you have a thermomix?  Do you love it?
11. Camping!  Love it or hate it??

Pop over and visit these lovely 11 blogs and see what they have to say about my questions.  And of course don't forget to visit the lovely Techie Mum