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
Jaffa Cake Cupcakes with HomeSense and #RaiseSomeDough
It can't have escaped your attention that Red Nose Day is back for 2015 and come Friday 13th March there will be people up and down the country wearing red noses and doing something funny for charity. My big bit this year is going to be the Comic Relief Danceathon that I'm taking part in the weekend before - please sponsor me here, hint hint! I'm more than a bit scared at the idea of 6 hours of dancing, especially as at the moment I'm into week two of some flu like thing that's really knocked me for six and stopped all my running too. Comic Relief isn't just about physical stuff though. ... read more
Another amazing local charity shop haul
Sharing my charity shop finds seems to be getting quite addictive! A quick trip down to my nearest two shops brought up some great finds for both me and the kids this week. And once home I was even able to put this outfit together from my trip and a couple of things I picked up at the WI clothes swap before Christmas. Total outfit cost of just £6.99 and yet I even had a mum at a school coffee morning telling me how much she liked my outfit. I'll call that a result! ... read more
Cooking from Frozen – Chilli Con Carne #CoolCookery
In our house, when you say that you're going to do dinner from something in the freezer that usually means fish fingers, or possibly chicken nuggets, served with oven chips and (frozen) peas. Now, in my opinion there's nothing wrong with a dinner like that, but it's not the kind of thing that you want to serve up every night of the week. It was my mum who really enlightened me when it comes to cooking with frozen ingredients. She's always had things like frozen mashed potatoes in her freezer, which she swears by using when making cottage pie and similar. It was when she started living on ... read more
How to shop in charity shops
As I think I've mentioned before, back in December I took on the new role as the thrifty correspondent on the West Herts Drivetime show on local station Radio Verulum. On the first Monday of each month I talk to host Danny Smith about a variety of thrifty topics and it seemed like they would be ideal subjects for a series of thrifty vlogs on You Tube so here goes. I'm kicking off with my tips for how to shop in charity shops and come away with some bargains. Let me know what you think and what your top charity shop shopping tips are. ... read more
Special Edition Weetabix Strawberry for Comic Relief
It seems to be all about breakfast here on Being Mrs C at the moment as we're busy trying out this wonderful special edition Weetabix Strawberry this week. As part of Weetabix's partnership with Red Nose Day they have launched this special Strawberry Flavour Weetabix with 5p per pack being donated to Comic Relief. And if that wasn't enough, everyone who tries Weetabix Strawberry also has the chance to win one of many "nosetastic" experiences as part of the Weetabix Red Nose Day promotion. There are nine different experiences that you could win one of and these could be as cool as flying ... read more
Baby & Child Foot Health
One of Master C's favourite books at the moment is Topsy and Tim's New Shoes. In it, as the title suggests, the twins go off to buy some new shoes with their mum, and Topsy decides that she wants a pair of pink party shoes rather than the sensible pair her mum wants her to buy. Even with the sales assistant explaining why it is important to have shoes that fit well and don't crush all your toes together it's a hard sell to get Topsy to agree. It's a scenario that I'm sure many mothers of girls have, and I know I've certainly been there with Little Miss C before. It is so, so important to ... read more
The Road to Nab End – William Woodruff
My reading seems to have slowed down a bit this year - possibly because I'm just always so tired that sleep has become the chosen option once I get into bed at night. I am still loving historical books though and The Road to Nab End is a great example. Rather than fiction though, this is actually an autobiography of historian William Woodruff and his early life in Blackburn, Lancashire. There seem to be so many books about people growing up in the East End of London (or at least I seem to have read a lot set there of late) that it was actually really refreshing to read about what life was ... read more
Big Red Breakfast featuring Baked Eggs on Salsa
Breakfast - the most important meal of the day. Everyone knows this saying don't they, and whilst not everyone agrees with it breakfast is a meal that is certainly never skipped in this house. I don't know about you, but I find we're all just hungry in the morning and certainly the kids and I are pretty grumpy if we don't eat pretty soon after getting up! To me having a good breakfast inside you before starting the day is hugely important and that's why I'm pleased to support Warburtons and The BHF, who have teamed up to help to educate the nation on the importance of maintaining a healthy ... read more