There's been a bit of a break here on Ladybird Tuesday whilst I sorted out the behind the scenes blog stuff, but this week I'm delighted to say that we're back! And I have a wonderful new charity shop find to share too. The very first Ladybird Tuesday featured In a Hotel from the 606B People at Work series and it therefore seems appropriate to be back there for the first post on this new blog hosting platform. I'm bringing a bit of law and order to proceedings by featuring The Policeman which was the second book to be published in this popular series. It was 1962 when Ladybird first ... read more
Getting my running shoes on for Save the Children
It's over a month now since I revealed my plans to get fit and hopefully raise some money for Save the Children at the same time. I had been planning to blog through every week of the Couch to 5k training programme, but with all the blog woes that I've had alongside all the time for the training itself I've struggled to find the time. This morning I completed week 6 of the training so now is definitely the time for a catch up. I started this whole plan as unfit as possible! I walk loads, but that's pretty much the only regular exercise I was doing. Before children I had run a couple ... read more
Morrisons for the weekly shop #MorrisonsMum
If you've read any of my Thrifty Mrs C posts you'll know that I'm a huge fan of a bargain, especially if it involves saving money on the weekly supermarket shop. In my quest to save money I've become a bit of what bargain hunters refer to as a "supermarket flirt", moving around to where the special offers and best prices are. It was therefore perfect timing to be asked by Morrisons to become a #MorrisonsMum in the week that they announced that the prices had been cut on over a thousand items in a permanent move to bring about a new cheaper Morrisons. So, off the family headed to the St Albans ... read more
Bunny Loves to Learn – Peter Bently, Emma Foster and Deborah Melmon
Now that Little Miss C knows that she's got a school place at the same school where she currently attends pre-school we're starting to prepare her for what it will be like to go to Reception in September and therefore the arrival of Bunny Loves to Learn couldn't have come at a better time. Peter Bently has also been responsible for a couple of other books that we've reviewed (Meet the Parents and Underpants Wonderpants) so it was also interesting to explain to LMC the concept of people writing many books and comparing them. Buster Bunny's teacher has announced that all the children in the ... read more
Growing the giant crochet granny square
Wow - it's been quite a couple of weeks here and thanks to problems behind the scenes I am completely behind in blogging about any of it. There's a whole list of posts in my head that need writing up, but I've also had to move my blog over from one hosting platform to another, so I'm having to learn about a whole new interface to be able to do so. So, what to do at a time like this? Reach for the crochet and stick my head in the sand of course! If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my giant crochet granny square in progress, but I don't think it's made an appearance here on the blog ... read more
Before I Go To Sleep – S J Watson
I was rather excited to hear that one of the other mums from school was setting up a book group as so often I want to talk about what I've read with someone and there's just no one to talk to. The last time I was involved in a book group it was an online one before Little Miss C was born, but being someone who likes to talk the idea of doing so in person, possible over a glass of wine, is quite thrilling. The first book chosen for us to read is Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson. Now this isn't a book I'd heard of before, but I was gripped from the very first chapter. Christine wakes up ... read more
Dinner at the Vitamin D-iner
Today was just like a return to November weather-wise. Grey, wet and significantly colder than it has been of late, making it appropriate to think about how little Vitamin D our kids are getting here in the UK. Vitamin D is crucial for the under 5s to ensure that they grow healthily and that their bones and teeth develop correctly. But with the weather the way it is here it can be very difficult for children to get enough vitamin D from the sun alone. Now, my kids spend a good amount of time outside every day. We walk to school every day, I walk to town with Master C about three times a ... read more
Ten things to consider when booking your family summer sun holiday
Now that Easter is over and done with and the kids have gone back to school attentions are turning to summer and in particular booking summer holidays in the sunshine somewhere. We all need something in the diary to look forward to! Booking a family holiday can be a bit of a daunting thing. Where do you go? Who do you travel with? Do you book it all yourself or go with a reputable travel firm like First Choice? Everyone's talking about all inclusive holidays to Greece, but Greece is a big country so where do you start looking? What do I actually need to book and organise? I might ... read more
And that was that!
The house is quiet. Little Miss C is finally back at school and her brother is upstairs napping. At my side is a cup of some special tea that the bloke in the local health food shop convinced me to buy this morning. For the first time in about three weeks I'm as close to feeling calm as I have ever done since having children. The Easter holidays are over and despite there being some highs I have to say that boy was that tough! And now I've managed to speak too soon. Master C has magically woken from his nap a whole hour earlier than usual and despite not going to sleep until gone 10 ... read more
Spring is sprung in the veg garden
A comment our neighbour made over the garden fence the other day really got me thinking. So often with two young kids at home it feels pretty much impossible to get any "projects" actually seen through to completion. Everything seems half done and there are a million and one things that both Mr C and I want to start, finish or just make progress on, yet it can be impossible to make time with the kids. However, in July it will be 5 years since we moved to this house and apart from making and growing two small children in that time we have also managed to completely transform our ... read more