I know term hasn't quite finished yet (that's coming soon enough!) but if you're a parent trying to be organised then thoughts are already turning to school uniform for when our little darlings go back in September. Master C will be starting school pre-school come September and so this will be the first year that I will have two children requiring school uniform and hence I'm really starting to see how the cost increases when you need to kit out more than one child. As a bargain lover I'm always on the look out for cheap ways to buy what I need and for a good few years now supermarkets have ... read more
Confessions of a Summer Parent Challenge – the laid back approach
I'm not going to lie - I do kind of dread the six week summer holidays. My kids like the routine of school and pre-school and enjoy spending their days there with their friends. I'm simply not the kind of parent who manages to set up a Pinterest style set of educational activities for my kids every day, and to be honest life's too short for that. Truth is that whilst the kids are off school I still need to do all the various jobs around the house, plus my self-employed work too, so the six weeks ends up with a hell of a lot of juggling in this household! I keep thinking to myself that I ... read more
Surviving a poxy week
I feel like Master C has been dodging chicken pox since before he was born. His sister had them whilst I was pregnant with him and I remember all the mad googling about what the risks of chicken pox were to an unborn baby. It was all fine though as I'd had them myself as a child (still have the scar to remind me) and there was no risk to him at all. But when you're pregnant you do just worry anyway. That was nearly four years ago and ever since then he's managed to be exposed to the pox loads of time and never caught them. Playdates with friends who came down with it the next day. It going ... read more
The Children’s Garden – Matthew Appleby
It may be freezing cold whilst I sit here writing this, but looking out at our back garden there is no doubt that there are lots of signs of spring out there. A very early spring when you consider how many daffodils are already brighting up the flower beds. I have so many good intentions about how we're going to use our back garden going forwards. Every year I say that and so far I've been foiled every year by the kids not quite being old enough to join in enough for me to make actual progress. 2016 WILL be different though. I'm sure of it. Master C is now very nearly three and a half, and ... read more
Mix Up the Magic with Petits Filous Magic Squares #MagicSquarePlaydates
When I was first asked by Petits Filous to blog about mixing up the fun when it comes to my kids playtime I have to admit I was a bit stumped. It can be so hard at times to know how to snap your children out of that post school day slump where all they want to do is zonk out in front of the TV set. Seeing as we were being asked to mark the launch of Petits Filous' new Magic Squares I actually took influence from something I saw in their TV advert. I find that actually my kids do still have enough energy to engage with a fun activity, but after a day of following instructions at school and ... read more
Review: Pamper Parcels
It's is exhausting being a mum. To be honest I'm finding having a four year old and a two year old more exhausting than the newborn days. There are still some sleepless nights, but there's also all the stuff that needs doing in the daytime. Masses of laundry, school homework, forms that need returning, pre-school visits to do, school run, nursery run, swimming lessons, playgroup, shopping, cleaning, school uniform to mend, school shoes to buy, the daily routine of getting through meals and bath and bed time. It can feel like an endless treadmill. Christmas just adds to the workload. There ... read more
Featured Post: Making the most of now #PowerOfSoft
I can't pretend it isn't happening any more. Little Miss C's pre-school days are well and truly over. She's been in Reception now for over a week and, although they're not up to doing full days yet, there's no doubt that she's very ready for it. Rather than having a pre-schooler and a baby at home I have a school girl and a nearly pre-schooler. Master C will turn two in a couple of weeks time. How on earth did that happen so fast? In my head I still think of myself as a new parent, yet actually we've had over four years experience at this parenting lark now. With two children I find that ... read more
Featured Post: How motherhood has changed over the years
One of my strongest memories from being pregnant with Little Miss C is actually the first time that my mum and I went shopping for "baby things". I'd met up with her and my Dad in central London for the day and after a cuppa and a cake we headed off to a certain well know Oxford Street department store's nursery department. At the time I had friends who had recently had kids and despite only being a mum to be I had a bit of an idea as to what was available these days that came under the "baby paraphernalia" category, however I think my mum's jaw hit the floor as we came up the escalator and ... read more
How to Inspire Children’s Creativity #PlayTheHero
One thing I particularly love about blogging is just how diverse the range of things I'm asked to get involved with are. One week can see me writing or talking about everything from parenting issues, to food and drink products, to toy reviews, to children and adult fiction books. Earlier this week was a perfect example. In-between writing about Paddington Bear I also took part in a Google Hangout on behalf of Philips and BritMums where psychologist Chireal Shallow was answering questions from a group of bloggers about how to inspire your children's creativity. Will the long summer holidays ... read more
Helping Fussy Eaters with PaediaSure
We're having what I think you would call a few "issues" with the kids at the moment when it comes to meal times. Little Miss C (who is now three and a half) is becoming increasingly fussy over food and Master C (now near enough 17 months old) seems to prefer throwing food rather than eating it. Needless to say it's driving me mad and making mealtimes rather stressful for everyone. When Netmums got in touch saying that they were looking for bloggers to review PaediaSure I jumped at the chance. I'm constantly worried that Little Miss C is not getting the balanced diet that ... read more