When I first started writing this blog I had absolutely no idea where it would take me. Being a blogger can be a funny existence though and blogging can definitely open doors for you. This lunchtime I took the train north from St Albans to Luton to meet up with fellow blogger Liz from Me and My Shadow. Together we headed over to BBC 3 Counties Radio where we appeared on the Nick Coffer show to talk about all things thrifty. It's years since I was last on the radio. I think I was about 16 the last time, talking about some school project. Today we were talking about being thrifty when ... read more
Remembering the simple life
Isn't this card just adorable? There is a (large) part of me that would love a life like that in the picture. A spotlessly clean kitchen, children involved in a wholesome activity like baking, pet cat and what looks like a fantastic garden outside in the spring sunshine. The view of my kitchen table right now would show more piles of junk that I know what to do with (including the contents of a box of tissues which someone helpfully took out of the box to "save time" when she sneezes next), you can't see out to the garden due to the heavy rain and whilst one child is ... read more
When multitasking goes wrong
When this tweet arrived in my stream last week I was absolutely delighted. I've been wanting to go to BritMumsLive! this year for a variety of reasons and as a huge Bigjigs fan, and recently appointed Play Patrol Agent, was thrilled that they had agreed to sponsor me to attend. DELIGHTED to confirm @sussexmummy & @beingmrsc as our brand ambassadors at #BritMumsLive2013 ! :-) *woop woop* #PlayPatrol— Bigjigs® Toys (@bigjigstoys) May 1, 2013 Last week was a bit of a busy week though. As well as the usual children to look after and organise there were also some other things happening ... read more
When Turkeys are Profitable…
I am a housewife. There, I've said it. It may not be a sexy title, but it's what I do. I'm a wife who stays at home and looks after the children and runs the home whilst my husband goes out to work. It's not something I feel forced to do because of my gender, but it's the job that I am currently doing and it's something that women (and some men) have done for years. Women (and in the past there have been many more women than men) have been running homes for years and there's no doubt that we're doing as wide a range of things now as ever. Some of the role has ... read more
What sort of parent are you?
I'm not sure I know the anwser to this question at all. In life parents seem to come in all different shapes and sizes. There are the people who read all the books as soon as they get the little + symbol on the pregnancy test and always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else in terms of knowing what development steps come next and what the latest thinking is on how to take care of every challenging behaviour that your child presents you with. At the other end of the spectrum are the people who don't read a single book but just know what to do, and their children appear to be ... read more
Little Miss C standing for election?
Local Council elections take place on Thursday 2 May this year and not only have party political leaflets been dropping through my door, but the local branch of the Lib Dems have also been rather busy on local streets getting residents to put up signs encouraging others to vote for their local candidate. I'm not sure if it's because the other parties haven't made an effort yet, or if everyone round here is planning to vote Lib Dem, but at present they're the only ones I've seen and with the orange colout they do seem to stand out well, especially on a slightly dreary day ... read more
Challenging…
I think that's the most politically correct word to use for today, especially when today followed the weekend we've just had. This last weekend has been a particularly emotional and tiring one. We picked LMC up from nursery early on Friday and drove north to my Mum's house, before heading further north on Saturday to scatter my Dad's ashes on the North Yorkshire Moors. After weeks of cold windy weather we were lucky to see the Moors in their full sunlit glory and it really did feel like a very fitting final resting place for my Dad. He loved the Moors and many family memories ... read more
Weston Park Cancer Charity
In a way it's hard to believe that it's nearly 6 months since my Dad died. Six months in which Master C has grown and changed from a small baby into a little boy with a personality all of his own. A little boy that sadly my Dad will never know. Luckily he did get to find out that he had a grandson before he died, and to meet him a handful of times, but Master C was only two and a half weeks old when he died and sadly he will have no memories of his Grandpa. There's so much that I wish my Dad could have seen in these last six months. The little boy that's developing into a ... read more
Two little lovebirds
Started for Valentines Day, distracted en-route, but finished in time for our wedding anniversary. That's the tale of the above bit of cross-stitch. I happened across the pattern in an email from The Making Spot and fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. There are actually four patterns in the series -these birds, squirells, elephants and penguins - and all are adorable. I'm pretty sure it took me more than the 9 hours they say to sew though - but then their estimations probably didn't account for looking after two children whilst doing so. The last stitch of ... read more
The resolution to end all resolutions
These past few days so many bloggers have been busy writing about their plans for 2013 and detailing their resolutions for the new year. Reading all these posts got me thinking about what my resolutions and plans for the new year should be and that's where I came a bit unstuck. There's certainly plenty that I want to achieve this year and I do have some personal goals, but it got me wondering as to why people make resolutions on 1 January and just how successful they are. Yes it is the start of a new calendar year and after the excesses of the Christmas period many people feel that it ... read more