It's amazingly only 18 months since I first discovered Bigjigs after buying Little Miss C her first train set for Christmas. Today we've celebrated her third birthday and it was quite telling that the majority of gifts that we bought her came from Bigjigs - not through any obligation that I felt from working with them, but simply because I really love their toys, as does my daughter. That first purchase was somewhat by chance, but then talking to the owner of our local independent toy shop I learnt a huge amount more about the company behind the brand and I really liked what I ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – Toddler’s Birthday
A certain little lady is three this weekend so it seemed very appropriate therefore to focus this week's Thrifty Friday Five on Toddler birthdays. All children love birthdays, of that there is no doubt. But if you're not careful they can end up costing a crazy amount of money. If you want to have a huge party and spend lots of money you can, but remember that just because one family does, everyone else doesn't have to follow suit. 1. Plan toy presents in advance It's only natural that you'll want to buy your little one some presents to mark their special day, but if you ... read more
My Dad – Steve Smallman & Sean Julian
Continuing with the Father's Day theme here on the blog, Little Miss C has been sent a couple of lovely books to review with her Daddy. Firstly, My Dad! by Steve Smallman and Sean Julian. In this absolutely adorable book we see a small cute bear cub with his Dad, and all the things they do together - from cheering each other up when they're sad or upset to building sandcastles and giving each other huge cuddles. It shows that not all dads can do everything perfectly, but all dads are amazing for the variety of things that they can do and everyone's dad is very special to ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Ladybird Book of London
I have to admit to a bit of a cheat with this week's Ladybird Tuesday. Whilst this may look like a genuine vintage Ladybird, it's actually a modern reprint of the original, which was republished in 2011 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original (published in 1961). Handily this was also the year before the Olympic Games came to London and fitted in very well with the general buzz around the city at the time. This republished version is pretty much identical to the 1961 original except a modern price on the dust jacket, a mention of it being the 50th anniversary edition ... read more
Standing Tall
I'm already realising that with a second child you don't necessarily keep track of all the milestones quite as well as you did with child number one. With two of them to look after and entertain things creep up on you rather quickly and before you know it your little one with suddenly doing something that you're sure they couldn't do just moments before. Master C made some first attempts towards crawling in early April and the last two or three weeks he's made big progress with this. He also now gets himself to a sitting position and can sit quite confidently playing with ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – Laundry
Whether you've got a big family or live on your own there are still ways to try to be thrifty when doing your laundry. 1. Make sure you've got a full load If you're going to use your washing machine then you really ought to try to do so in the most efficient way possible. Some machines have settings that alter the programmes to accommodate half loads, but the most efficient way to wash has to be to only put it on when you have a full load - it's unlikley that a washing machine really reduces the energy and water used by half if you put it on a half load setting. This might mean ... read more
Remembering the simple life
Isn't this card just adorable? There is a (large) part of me that would love a life like that in the picture. A spotlessly clean kitchen, children involved in a wholesome activity like baking, pet cat and what looks like a fantastic garden outside in the spring sunshine. The view of my kitchen table right now would show more piles of junk that I know what to do with (including the contents of a box of tissues which someone helpfully took out of the box to "save time" when she sneezes next), you can't see out to the garden due to the heavy rain and whilst one child is ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: ‘Through the Ages’ Transport
It seemed somewhat appropriate to write about Transport on this week's Ladybird Tuesday when the bank holiday weekend just gone involved 240 miles in the car (taking a total of 7 hours!), five train journeys and a taxi ride! When you think about how far transport has come over the years it really is quite impressive. From people carrying their loads whilst they walked, through to the first human pulled sledges. From simple boats and canoes to the invention of the wheel. Using animals to first carry loads and then pull vehicles gave way to steam locomotives and on to the train systems we ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – In the Kitchen
I'm kicking off this first week of Thrifty Friday Five with five top tips for saving money in the kitchen. 1. Meal planning One of the most effective ways to save money in the kitchen is to plan what you're going to eat in advance. It may sound obvious, but many don't do this, and even those who do don't always stick to their plan. If you ensure that you plan sensibly and only buy the food that you need, then it should help you to ensure that you don't waste money or food. I've written a separate guide to meal planning which sets out how to plan ... read more
Thrifty Mrs C – Meal Planning
There's no doubt that one of the biggest regular expenses in the kitchen is food. It's also the case that we throw away a criminal amount of food between us. In the UK it is estimated that 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away every year and the majority of this could have been eaten. Often people either don't use everything that they've bought, or they cook more than they need and the leftovers end up in the bin. The best way to minimise food waste is to reduce the amount you buy in the first place and planning what you are going to eat can help with this hugely. ... read more