Thirty years ago I was a few months old. I was a chubby and unattractive baby with a mop of black hair. Nevertheless - I was very much wanted as mum suffered 12 miscarriages in order to add me to the Chamberlain clan.

My brother (then 2-years-old) reacted to my homecoming from the hospital by putting a sofa cushion over my moses basket and jumping on me. My mum wasn’t impressed but I seemed to find it pretty funny and she swears to this day it was the first time she heard me giggle.

Naturally I don’t remember anything from 1983 but I do remember the later 80′s. When not rocking a matching shell-suit with my brother (he started to like me when he realised I made a convenient scapegoat for him), neon leg warmers and crimped hair - you would probably find me in my room playing with extensive collections of these horrific looking bad boys.

Yep - whether it was Cabbage Patch Dolls, Koosh Balls, Glo Worm and Friends, or My Little Pony - our toys were a tragic mix of rubber, plastic and synthetic hair. We stored them on bookshelves and couldn’t sleep with them as they were sodding uncomfortable if you inadvertently rolled onto them.

When not giving My Little Pony a Mohican I’d be sat way too close to the television that took up approximately 2 square metres of our living room. Sat on carpet that you’re likely to see on exhibit in your local Wetherpoons, I’d be force-fed visual masterpieces such as M.A.S.K, Inspector Gadget or Danger Mouse by my big brother. When he allowed me to change the channels (by pressing up and down on the set itself - no remote controls in those days) I’d whack on Count Duckula, Trapdoor or something equally nightmare-inducing for a 6-year-old.

Equally colourful, the music of the 80′s is so iconic that I can’t get over the fact that some of if was made before I was even born. I remember the hours spent every Sunday laying down in front of my dad’s HUGE Hi-Fi unit taping the Top 40. For 4 hour stretches I lay there poised to press record when Mark Goodier stopped prattling over the intros. I was such a perfectionist that I’d severely compromise my bladder in order to secure the perfect recording.

The videos of the 80′s were just awesome. Glam Rock was immortalised by smoke machines, mullets, leather trousers and half-naked women moving with all the seductiveness of your gran. Believe it or not, this is mine and Craig’s song…

Then you had the New Romantic pin-up boys who appeared to turn to Cyndi Lauper (of all people) for inspiration; side-swept hair, huge fringes, and twelve different shades of eye make-up applied with all the subtlety and restraint of my 11-month-old son. Mix in a bit of Synthpop and you’ve summed up the eclectic nature of the 80′s. We’ll never be able to top it.

Yep in between the haze of Pac-Man, Tetris and Space Invaders - this blogger was born. As I was so young I was fortunate enough to avoid all the real fashion faux pas (I’m ashamed to say that Craig had one of those terrible skinny pony tails that I swear were never in fashion) and grew up in the contrastingly mundane 90′s.

Moving on 30 years - I’m a mummy myself. I’ve changed dramatically from those heady days of excess and abandonment. I now live in an understated home (no G Plan or bulky electronics in sight!) with my son Dexter who will be celebrating his first birthday in a matter of weeks. I seriously hope he gets to experience a decade in his formative years that will have as much impact as the 80′s did on me and his daddy. Even if just so we can wet ourselves laughing as we usher him out the door decked in something tasteless to meet his friends.

Nowadays we have gadgets and apps for everything. I can turn to my iPhone to record One Born Every Minute, capture Dexter’s first words, or even to tell me when I’m ovulating. The world has moved on so much and shows no signs of slowing down. Despite all these modern conveniences I still love a quick game of Trivial Pursuit and can’t wait until the day my children can sit around the dining table and get whooped by their mum and dad. Some things never get old…

This leads me on nicely to Special K which, believe it or not, is now 30 years old! Yes, Kate Bush, Keith Sweat and Freddy Mercury may well have chomped on these in full 80′s regalia in their hey day. For the first time since 1983, Kellogg’s is revamping Special K with a new, more delicious recipe.

The new recipe contains three grains — rice, wheat and barley (previously there were two) — and is made with wholegrain, for a source of fibre as well as 8 vitamins and minerals. As always, you can opt for several varieties including red berries, chocolate clusters (my personal favourite) or hazelnuts and almonds.

It’s slightly sweeter than the original, and the flakes seem crunchier. It’s an ideal popcorn and biscuit replacement to help me on my long overdue way to shedding some pounds. As per yesterdays post, I need to shrink from an optimistic size 14-16, to a toned and significantly perkier size 12 in order to beat PCOS and add another baby to the mix. If this yummy revamp is anything to go by, My Special K could make the job that little bit easier.

This is an entry for the BritMums/Special K “How I’ve changed Linky challenge”