If you're in the UK you really can't have missed the fact that the Great British Bake Off arrived back on our screens this last week. If you love baking then this is must watch TV. Last year I was a bit busy giving birth in the middle of the series so didn't really join in at all, but this year as soon as I saw plans for a Great Bloggers Bake Off I just knew that I had to be involved. I bake quite a bit, but generally tried and tested old recipes and I often feel too scared to try anything really new. I'm not normally too bad at baking, but there's definitely ... read more
A 1950s Housewife – Sheila Hardy
I've a bit of an ongoing fascination at the moment with the role of women in the home over the last 100 or so years, and how that has changed over time. When my Godmother bought me a National Trust gift voucher as a birthday present it was a great opportunity to buy a couple of the books that they sell in their gift shops about exactly this kind of thing. A 1950s Housewife: Marriage and Homemaking in the 1950s does exactly what the title suggests - tells of the role of a housewife in the 1950. This was a period in which the role of women was changing. Following the war years ... read more
Thrifty Friday – Making the most of vouchers and couponing in the supermarket
This week saw my return to the Nick Coffer show on BBC Three Counties radio and this time round I was talking about money saving vouchers and coupons and getting things for free. If you'd like to listen then the show is available on iPlayer here until next Wednesday, 28th August. Today's Thrifty Friday is going to look at coupons and vouchers, in particular for supermarket shopping. The first thing to point out is that "couponing" as it's known is a completely different ball game in the UK to what it is in the USA. Over in America there is even a TV programme devoted to ... read more
Joining in with Warburtons Krazy Kitchen
In a house with two small children lunchtime (in fact all mealtimes!) feel somewhat crazy. There's often tears, laughter, shouting, screaming and food thrown across the room - and all that's just from eleven month old Master C! As the one who has to make lunch everyday things can get a bit monotonous though and that's where Warburtons have tried to inject a bit of "krazy" fun into the usual routine. They've launched a gameshow on their Facebook page (possibly the first Facebook gameshow ever?) where two families compete against each other in the Warburtons Krazy ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Fun Guys – the bottleneck and the mole hole
You've got Annie over at Mammasaurus to thanks for the book I've chosen as this week's Ladybird Tuesday. From the Fun Guys series (series number 814) it's the bottleneck and the mole hole. The Fun Guys series was first published in 1981 and features Inky, Flop, Toad, Stump, Lumpy and Rot - six friends who love FUN! "Each of them is good-hearted but not very bright and this, combined with their very unusual appearance, leads to many hilarious adventures" Well, their strange, somewhat comical appearance is something that can't possibly go without ... read more
Review: Everything’s Rosie – Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Little Miss C is a HUGE Everything's Rosie fan here and she was absolutely delighted when we were asked to review the latest DVD - Everything's Rosie: Now You See Me, Now You Don't. This DVD of Series 2 features 13 episodes in total giving it a total running time of nearly two and a half hours. Rosie lives in a very brightly coloured playhouse with her best friend Raggles the rabbit. In a twist that my daughter loves the playhouse is up a tree and has a large helter skelter like slide to take Rosie down to ground level. I think Little Miss C might be a bit more ... read more
Review: Cow & Gate 100% fruit pouches
Ever since Master C started on "solid" food at 4 months old he's really struggled with things that aren't smooth. It took until he was about ten months old to be able to eat puree with any texture without gagging on it. Finger food has been a complete disaster as a result, so I'm constantly worried about whether or not he's easting a balanced diet and getting enough fruit and veg. As a result of all this I feel like I've become a bit of an expert when it comes to baby food, and in particular fruit. I'm constantly reading labels and trying to work out ... read more
The Casual Vacancy – J. K. Rowling
I'm more than a bit behind when it comes to blogging about the books I've been reading. I'm yet to write about what I was reading whilst in labour with Master C and when you bear in mind that he will turn one next month (I know, how on earth did that happen???) it really makes me realise just how rubbish I've been. Ever since I started blogging I've enjoyed writing about the books I've chosen to read, and it's also been lovely to look back at them all and see what I thought of them at the time. In the early days with Master C reading books fell behind somewhat as ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Marble Run
Well, it's fair to say I've had a fair bit of fun testing out the Bigjigs Marble Run that we were sent to review as part of our role on the Play Patrol. Part of this particular challenge was to create a video, so here you are! It's very hard to convey all our thoughts in a video though, so just to give you a few pros and cons... As soon as Little Miss C saw the box she was very excited - even in an age of electronic toys there's something about marbles that is still magical. She instantly wanted mummy and daddy to set it up as per the box. The problem being that a three year ... read more
Egg Carton Hair Clip and Bobble Storage
When it comes to children's craft activities it's easy to get stuck in a bit of a rut and find yourself really lacking inspiration. When that happens I have to admit that my favourite place to go and rejuvinate my crafting mojo has to be Red Ted Art as the site is just packed with wonderful things to try at home. When I came across their AMAZING Egg Carton Crafts a few weeks ago I just knew that we'd be trying similar soon. Please do go and have a look at the fantastic treasure chests that they've created from egg boxes as they are brilliant. Little ... read more