Every Mum has a few magic tricks up her sleeve to make life a little bit easier! A gadget here and there, a recipe that’s quicker than saying abracadabra or a tip for saving mess… I’m no exception! Here are some of mine!

My Nutella Tiffin Cake recipe is excellent because there’s no cooking required! A bit of melting and hey presto, after a few minutes there’s a yummy cake in the fridge! It works brilliantly when you’ve forgotten to make something for the school fete until the night before as all the ingredients are just store cupboard ones! Oh and plus! It’s YUMMY!

Nutella Tiffin Cake is super quick to make!

Other tricks I use to make life easier include hanging all my cutlery on the wall of our tiny kitchen to save drawer space, washing my bed linen inside out because it’s easier to put on from the corners shaking it over the duvet to the right way round, putting an oil cloth down under where the children eat, using talc in my hair to refresh it for the school run (not too much, I don’t want to look grey) and keeping wet wipes in every room for any spills! (They seriously get every stain out, they’re amazing!)

Some of my tricks!

And I have to use magic tricks on the children too of course! It’s amazing the wonder a sticker can do! Given for brilliant behaviour like using the toilet (Jimmy) or tidying all the toys (Florence) promotes them doing it again! I have a stash of cheap stickers on the black board ready for saying well done!

Sticker tricks!

And now I have a new little magic helping hand from my bank! I’ve never been into apps if I’m honest, I have a BlackBerry but I don’t really use it for that. My husband does though and he always loved the NatWest banking app but when we both got new phones (BlackBerry Z10) he couldn’t seem to get it anymore. He’s moaned every so often but I didn’t really think much of it as hadn’t used one myself… However… There’s a new app out from NatWest that DOES work with the Z10 amongst all the other smart phones and I’ve been trying it… I’m smitten! It makes things SO much easier!

Firstly, it is available for BlackBerry Z10! Jonny has downloaded it too and is extremely pleased that at last he has mobile banking back! And I am finally seeing the benefits to apps!

This one is literally amazing!

After inputting my phone number I was text a code and then 24 hours later the app was up and running! I can see my business account, mortgage, single and joint accounts and also the accounts for the children! I can transfer money! At the swipe of a screen (because lets face it, who has buttons these days?) and my new balance is instant!

The app allows me to pay bills or people or any of my contacts, get a statement, see where is my nearest cash point on a map either by inputting a postcode or using my location. I can also look up information about NatWest products – it’s a flipping personal banker in my pocket!

And the best bit is that I can get money out of a cash point! Seriously! I just say how much I want and then it gives me a cash code to pop into any NatWest, RBS or Tesco cash point! Amazing! Especially for me because I am forever losing my cash cards in the house and have to go out without them meaning a trip to the bank. Also, it would work brilliantly if you needed to let someone have some money of they had got in a bit of a pickle! Jonny was pickpocketed one night a long time ago and although we hope that will never happen again it would mean I could give him a code to get money out of our joint account!

It’s also very secure, you choose a code to log in with and can’t do anything without that special number so if you lose your phone no one will be able to get in unless you have chosen an easy to crack code! I have to be honest and say that initially I did just that and chose my birthdate… STUPID! But very easy to change and I could change it daily if I wanted to as I have been doing!

Love this app and love that it saves me time now! Thanks NatWest! I really don’t see how it could be better unless it decided to add a bit of money into my account just to be nice! Ha, as if!

However NatWest have given me a handy new trick to use with the children which I will definitely be adding into my box of tricks! A cup cake case with a hole in it fits perfectly over an ice cream cone and catches any drips! Brilliant when you’ve got a Jimmy!

Another little trick from NatWest!

This project is in conjunction with BritMums for their #MumsMagicTricks Challenge with NatWest.