Sharing. One of the lessons that parents wish they could teach their children at a very early age, yet one that seems to take ages for them to really get to grips with. I find myself at playgroups with Master C regularly telling him to "share nicely" with other children and at home I'm constantly telling both children to share their toys. In This is My Rock a young goat stands at the top of a rock, telling anyone that dares to come near that this is his rock, and most definitely not their rock. A bear, an eagle, all the other goats and even a tiny bird are all sent away by the goat as he ... read more
A new home for my lists #StationeryWednesday
As I'm sure regular readers know - I am a complete list lover. I have lists for everything and my to do lists run my life for me. It's the only way to ensure that everything in this busy household gets done. In the past my lists have often just ended up as part of my main notebooks that are in use at the time, but one recent review item from Bureau Direct seems to have changed things. Let me introduce the Mark's Storage it A6 notebook. With the innovative plastic cover with a ziplock section where you can keep (and still use) your smart phone, it's certainly different from many other ... read more
Traditional handwritten letters #StationeryWednesday
It's a while ago now since Nickie and I shared what was in our January review packages from Bureau Direct and since then I've just been so busy using the stationery that I've struggled to find time to actually review it! To me though that's a sign of good stationery - something that just gets used because it's so perfect for the job, not just because you're reviewing it. Firstly I was sent the Crown Mill A5 Writing Set. Now, the main reason for asking to review this was to fit in with one of my new year's resolutions which was to sent more handwritten letters to friends in the post. As ... read more
My local oasis of calm #BetterPlaces
When Mr C and I first talked about moving to St Albans (over ten years ago now) we had a bit of a dream about buying a little house there and having a very different lifestyle. Back then we were living in a flat in north west London and it was anything but calm and peaceful there. We'd pictured a little two up two down terrace with a tiny back garden and I was already picturing being able to sit there and relax with a cold drink after a tough day at work. We started going round all the estate agents and drawing up lists of places to view, but when we did we realised that the house of ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learning with Mother Book 4
As soon as I see this particular Ladybird book, or in fact any from this Learning with Mother series, I'm somewhat overtaken by emotion and a desperate desire to give my children the wholesome, educational upbringing that it shows. I've covered Book 2 from the series before here on Ladybird Tuesday, but Book 4 (covering 4 - 5 years of age) deserves its own post too now that it's in my collection. This Under Five series (number 702 for any keen collectors reading) is designed to fit in with the belief, stated inside the front cover, that "almost half of your child's intelligence will be ... read more
The Good Little Bad Little Pig! – Margaret Wise Brown
We've reviewed a few Margaret Wise Brown books here on Being Mrs C over the last couple of years (The Diggers and Good Night Little One) and I still find myself amazed at just how many books she wrote. When I first discovered her classic Goodnight Moon it was only after searching on google in the middle of the night for books suitable for a baby as I was having one of those sleep deprived panics that I wasn't reading Little Miss C bedtime stories enough. How things have changed! The latest Margaret Wise Brown offering that has arrived to review from Parragon is The Good Little Bad ... read more
Review: Perfect7 Woman
When I first saw the press release about new Perfect7 Woman from Seven Seas the headline really stood out for me. What's the perfect time to think about ageing? Now, I admit that I can officially no longer say early thirties when talking about my age, and forty isn't all that far away now (yikes!) but the idea of having to think about ageing was a bit of shock to me. I know I'm getting older, but the word ageing seems to have negative connotations about it somehow. But, the truth is that I am starting to think more and more about my body, how it's doing, and what I'm doing to it, and ... read more
Mothers Day Flowers from Debenhams Flowers – Save 25%
He may not realise it yet, but there's quite a lot of pressure on my husband this year come March 15th. Not only is it Mother's Day, but it's also our wedding anniversary (and his Mother in Law's birthday the day before too!) When it comes to ordering Mothers Day flowers it's something that just has to be completely right first time with no margin for error. I was pleased therefore to be asked to trial run the Flower Delivery for the big day by reviewing a bouquet from Debenhams Flowers. I chose the Beautiful Day bouquet which had some lovely muted shades and a classic style to ... read more
Roo The Roaring Dinosaur – David Bedford and Mandy Stanley
I know I've said this before, but it's such a valid statement that I need to say it again - when you need to talk to a child about something and make sure the message gets home to them, finding an appropriate book has to be the best way to do so. And I'm delighted to say that reading Roo the Roaring Dinosaur with Little Miss C has been the perfect way to start a discussion that we'd been struggling with for a while. Roo is a little dinosaur who is very, very attached to his moomie - his precious comfort blanket. They do absolutely everything together and are the best of friends. One day ... read more
Topsy and Tim Learn to Swim
I think it's fair to say that I was more than a little bit excited with a recent eBay auction win that I had - vintage Topsy and Tim books! The thing that possibly excited me the most though was the fact that I now am the proud owner of two different vintage versions of Topsy and Tim Learn to Swim. Whilst this might not sound like much to get excited about my Topsy and Tim collecting to date has shown me that there are often changes between different versions of the books and I'm always fascinated to see what they are and to try to work out why the changes have been made. I've ... read more