In my dream world this is what the roof of my house would look like. Solar panels and possibly even a small wind turbine too. I dream of being self sufficient when it comes to electricity and as I sit here on a sunny and windy day it frustrates me so much that I can't be powering the laptop I type on with renewable energy. But, I am. Well, sort of. You see, last year I finally got round to going on to a utilities price comparison site. For some reason I'd been putting it off for years as I'd just always assumed that it was going to be a really tedious process to go through and that I was ... read more
Hooray! It’s a New Royal Baby! – Martha Mumford and Ada Grey
Before Prince George was born there was a flurry of children's books about the Royal Baby and in a way it was to be expected - the baby was going to be King or Queen one day and it was a bit bit of history. Part me though wasn't too sure about it all happening before the baby was born though. It just left me feeling a bit uneasy. Since then there have been several books featuring Prince George and I'm ok with that as it helps children learn a little bit about the little boy that will one day be king. There's going to be a new Royal Baby sometime next month though and I can see that the ... read more
Chaplin’s Circus comes to St Albans
I love a circus. The excitement of stepping inside a Big Top that's appeared on the site overnight. The buzz of the audience and the thrill of the whole family enjoying the show together and waiting to see what happens next. I can still clearly remember my dad taking me to see my first circus as a child in Rotherham's Clifton Park and the plastic flag that I got to bring home with me at the end and played with for ages afterwards as I reenacted the show at home for my sister. Things have changed a lot since then (not having live animals in shows for one) but there's still an old fashioned ... read more
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: May the Best Pet Win DVD Review
As a child I absolutely loved My Little Pony. There was just something completely magical about them that I adored and it seems Little Miss C is exactly the same. We were recently sent a copy of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: May the Best Pet Win on DVD to review and since it arrived she has been completely obsessed with it! Not only does she act out most of the stories but as the limited edition version of the DVD that we were sent came with a small My Little Pony figure this has become her favourite toy and Helia goes to bed with her at night and today is once again at school for ... read more
This is My Rock – David Lucas
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
This post on Learning with Mother Book 4 has now moved to Penny Plays and can be read here. ... 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