Who doesn't love the Great British Bake Off? With the series 7 final tonight, it's fair to say that this year there's probably been more publicity than ever, especially about whether or not Channel 4 have been had by spending millions on a tent and Paul Hollywood. Whatever happens in future years the Bake Off (and Mary Berry in particular) will always be a British tradition as far as I am concerned. Although ironically WI meetings always seem to clash with when it is on live, I do make sure I see each week's show and make a real point of staying off social media until I get to catch up so I ... read more
Know Your Maternity Bras
It seems to be that there are a million and one things about pregnancy that no one tells you before you're actually pregnant. For me the subject of bras was one that I hadn't even considered needing to know about. A bra was a bra until you got to the breastfeeding stage - or so I thought. How wrong I was! When you're pregnant it seems like every part of your body changes in some way. Especially your boobs. Knowing which maternity bra is right from all the different ones available can be a bit overwhelming - especially when you're in full on "pregnancy brain" mode. Luckily those lovey people ... read more
My inspiring WI Summer
Yes, I know it's October. And mid-October at that, but I'm still catching up with the very, very long list of things that have been going on in my life that I want to capture here. In a way the summer seems like it was a life-time ago, but strangely it also feels like only a couple of days since it started. And boy did the summer start with a bit of a bang! I've blogged several times on here about the things that I've been getting up to at the lovely Herts Belles WI group that I joined here in St Albans a couple of years ago. Up until earlier this year though I only really went along to ... read more
Laser Hair Removal with HlA Studio
Laser Hair Removal is one of those treatments that I think a fair few people initially shy away from because they've heard stories, often secondhand, about how much it can hurt. I certainly know that for me it was the main reason I never really investigated it further as a hair removal option. As a busy, dark-haired, mum of two I decided to reconsider my options and set up an appointment for an initial consultation for laser hair removal with Piper at HlA Studio and I'm so pleased I did. The whole experience, and Piper herself, put me completely at ease and gave me full confidence in HlA ... read more
Review: Ravensburger Thomas Giant Floor Puzzle
Master C is absolutely train mad at the moment. One of his favourite things to do when out is pretend to be a train and make everyone with him be his "carriages" and run behind him from station to station. Every night I tuck him upon bed under his Thomas the Tank Engine duvet and most nights we're reading Thomas books as bedtime stories. It's therefore no surprise at all that he was delighted to sent this Thomas Giant Floor Puzzle to review by Ravensburger. With 24 pieces this puzzle is just about the right size of puzzle for Master C to tackle on his own now. He's had some jigsaws ... read more
Roo The Roaring Dinosaur: Best Playday Ever!
I think we first discovered Roo The Roaring Dinosaur when we were sent his first book to review last year. For some reason that review never got written up, but it really should have been as he's utterly delightful! I'm therefore determined that Best Playday Ever! will get the review it deserves. This time Roo is joined by his new friend Erik, a big, friendly and extremely clumsy polar bear explorer. Too shows Erik around his island and they have great fun together, even if clumsy Erik does get into a bit of a mess in doing so. When they get to the top of the old volcano they look out to ... read more
Happy Hooves, Yuk! – A. Bogie and Rebecca Elliott
If there's anything that my kids love, Master C in particular, then it has to be something disgusting. I'm wondering if that's why he is such a fan of Happy Hooves, Yuk! which we were recently sent to review. It's a lovely story of friendship, kindness and really disgusting food. In this funny story Pig realises he is hungry and thinks that it's highly likely that some of his friends will be hungry too. He decides to make a yummy spread for all on them on the farmyard and he sets about decorating everywhere and collecting together some delicious food to serve up. Only, what Pig thinks of as ... read more
How To Save a Superhero – Caryl Hart & Ed Eaves
We first discovered Albie a couple of years ago when a copy of Plunge into the Pirate Pool arrived for us to review. At the time Little Miss C had just finished a learning theme at school on the subject of pirates and it fitted in perfectly with that. It disappeared off to school for a while, before coming back home and being one of those books that seemed to crop up quite regularly at bedtime. Since then LMC's reading has moved on a lot and Master C has become the Albie fan. The Pirate Pool is a book he asks for by name and has recently been a regular in the pile that he presents me with ... read more
Handstand – Lisa Stickley
There's been a flurry of children's books arriving chez C recently and it's been timed perfectly with Master C started at the school pre-school and a new rhythm to our days together. We have less than two hours at home together in an afternoon now before we have to head out again to pick up Little Miss C from school, and how to fill that time best has been a bit of a challenge. He needs a bit of down time and to zone out in front of the TV for a while, but I'm conscious that if I'm not careful the whole time can be spent like that, which isn't really what I want. Instead I'm trying to ... read more
When even the best budgeting doesn’t cover it
I am a firm believer in budgeting. Sitting down and working out exactly how much money you have and what you need to spend it on each month. I have a huge spreadsheet that I've been tracking all our monthly incomings and outgoings in for years now and it allows me to keep track of everything. To work out whether I need to find any extra money in a month or whether we can afford to save up for something. Yes, it takes time each month to do that and I do resent having to sit down and work my way through bank statements and make everything balance when I'd much rather be doing something else ... read more