Over a year ago, before Master C was born, we started talking about getting an aquarium and some fish for Little Miss C. We then started looking into what was involved with the hope of having these new members of the family before Master C made his appearance. However, having discovered just how much there is to know and along with everything else that was going on in our lives at the time, it just never happened. Move forwards a year and I received an email from SwellUK saying that they were looking for family bloggers to work with. Exactly the motivation we needed to finally make ... read more
I’m dreaming of a White Company Christmas…
I have a dream. It's a dream I've had since I was about 21. In this dream I live with my family in an absolutely gorgeous house in the country. A house in which everything is just perfect. Every single thing is in the right place and is absolutely gorgeous. It's a dream. A complete fantasty. Real life isn't really that perfect. Is it? Last week though I finally stepped inside that dream house. It may have been in central London instead of the countryside, but every other detail was spot on. Inside my dream house it was Christmas Eve. Gifts were wrapped under the tree. ... read more
Three hours
I'm sure I can't be the only person who gets to the end of the day and wonders what I've actually acheived that day. When you're at home with little ones it can be quite easy to just concentrate on "surviving" and it can be easy to lose track of what has kept you busy all day. Realistically though, stay at home parents usually acheive loads, but they simply don't have the time to step back and take stock of just what they have done. This morning Mr C went out to a first aid course so I thought I'd keep track of just what I got up to in that time - admitedly, ... read more
Taking a step back
This week was supposed to be a nice little "holiday" between Mr C leaving one job and starting a new one. We acknowledged that there were likely to be some little jobs left to finish off in our new loft conversion, but the reality is that we've actually been running round like headless chickens all week trying to make decisions, but things and get everything sorted. Today we've made quite an effort to make the day a bit calmer and fun. A spot of baking - mainly prompted by the need to use up some bananas that were going very brown in the fruit bowl - a pub lunch and a wander ... read more
There!
After posting hopefully last week I'm delighted to say that we're there! The last couple of nights have been spent in our new bedroom, sleeping in our bed, not surrounded by boxes and boxes of stuff. OK so the curtains aren't yet up and there were a few problems like our chest of drawers not actually fitting up the stairs, but the fantastic news is that our new room was ready to move into before Baby C arrived - a miracle. If it's possible things seem to have got even more manic since the builders finished as we're now able to do all the jobs that we'd had ... read more
Featured Post: Sorting out the household finances
I'm not sure what's prompted it, but my twitter stream has recently been full of people asking for advice on how to sort out their household finances. People looking for tips on how to reduce their car insurance, contents insurance and utility bills and also how to keep track of what they're actually spending each month. I can't pretend to be a complete expert here, but several years of balancing our household books (and a previous paid job running project budgets) means that I have picked up some ways of doing things that others seem to find useful so I'm happy to share ... read more
seven days
A weekly photograph capturing one of the magic moments of the last seven days. ... read more
Carla Daly Children’s Wall Art
Decorating a young child's bedroom can be tricky. You want something that's bright and colourful for them to look at, with some educational value, and also doesn't look too, well, childish. I was delighted therefore when I was emailed by Carla Daly and asked to review some of her Children's Wall Art. We were sent a Kid's map of the United Kingdom and I was delighted to unwrap it when we arrived back from holiday. The map is in a simple style and clearly shows the countries that make up the UK, along with some of the major cities. Overlaid are a variety of animals (all ... read more
A studio update
There's been a lot of work going on down the bottom of the garden recently. Not of a gardening nature, but instead in my studio down there and it's looking very different to how things were a couple of months ago. Gone are all the old paint pots that used to sit on the shelves next to my sewing machine. Also, gone is the pile of old carpet that was in the corner until we found somewhere else to use it. Instead I have clear space, a second table and two bookcases to build. As of this afternoon I also have a vast quantity of yarn, machine cotton thread, buttons, zips, knitting needles ... read more
My studio
I've been wanting to use those words since we moved into this house nearly two years ago, but finally last night I had a permanent place to keep my sewing machine. (Mr C - if you're reading I'm claiming squatters rights now so if you want the space back then tough!) This cabin at the bottom of the garden was where the previous owner of the house used to teach music therapy to autistic children. When we looked round I instantly knew what I wanted to use the space for, but once we moved in other jobs took priority and then Little Miss C came along and it went to the bottom of the to ... read more