The key thing to remember when planning a day out for toddlers is that it really doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg for them to have a good time. Follow these five tips and you should be able to have a fun day out without it hurting your purse. 1. Fresh Air is Free There's nothing as healthy for toddlers as running around outside in the fresh air and I'm always amazed at how often my daughter tells me she just wants to go to the park and run around. There's so much you can do with young children outside and most of it for free. Running around a new park or wood can be very ... read more
Review: Rechargeable Batteries
I've never tried to stop and count how many batteries are in all my children's toys, but I do know that there are an awful lots of them and that it's always the way that they seem to all run out at the same time. Good batteries are not cheap and it always seems so wasteful when you have to throw away the dead ones. When I was asked if I wanted to review some rechargeable batteries and a charger from rechargeablebatteries.co.uk I jumped at the chance. I'm constantly trying to make our household more green and getting through single use batteries so quickly was ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Road Sense
A couple of weeks ago here on Ladybird Tuesday we indulged in some car games and at the time I commented on how all the inside of the front cover of the book was devoted to Health and Safety messages. To make sure we all get that message loud and clear this week I'm looking at a whole book devoted to Road Safety, part of series 702 (Learn with Mother). The book is slightly strange in that you have all these lovely vintage illustrations in traditional Ladybird style, but then overlaid is a cartoon character, Jimmy, who is telling you how to be safe on the roads. Even more freaky ... read more
A-Z of My BritMums Live! 2013
There's so much I could say about BritMums Live that it could fill several blog posts. So as not to bore you all senseless - here's the A to Z of my BritMums Live! 2013. A is for All Bar One That for me is where my BritMums adventure began. A chance to put faces to twitter handles whilst getting some dutch courage before heading to the venue. B is for Bigjigs My lovely sponsors for the conference and the people who provided me with my very bright t-shirt which certainly helped break the ice with people on day 1. Thank you. C is for Cabbage Cocktails Apparently this is what I was ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five: Grocery Shopping
Following on from my little turn on BBC3CR earlier in the week I'm today going to be looking at five tips for saving money whilst doing your grocery shopping. 1. Never shop on an empty stomach It may sound obvious, but how many times have you gone round the supermarket whilst a bit peckish and ended up picking up a few extra things as a result? We've all done it, but if you can just try to shop after you've eaten it really will help you cut down on extra things finding their way into your trolley. 2. Write a shopping list and stick to it Don't go to the shops unless you've ... read more
What Agent C is wearing for BritMums Live!
I am so not a fashion person. Going shopping for clothes fills me with dread, so Bigjigs asking me to wear a branded T-shirt as part of my sponsorship deal with them for BritMums Live! was an instant stress buster, although I was a little worried about just what they'd come up with. The Bigjigs blogger outreach programme is the Play Patrol and all the children involved are Play Patrol Agents so this is how fellow Play Patrol member Sarah from Ramblings of a Sussex Mummy and I are going to be dressed for the conference. We're going to be pretty noticable so if you see me please do ... read more
Review: SEA LIFE London Aquarium
As soon as I saw that Tots 100 were looking for bloggers and their children to go on a review trip to the SEA LIFE London Aquarium I jumped at the chance. It's somewhere that I've wanted to take the kids for ages, and Mr C has been particularly keen to take Little Miss C but unfortunately he had to work on that day. Still - an opportunity too good to miss! I set off from St Albans with Claire from Being a Mummy and two of her little ones. It worked really well as all our kids are friends anyway and they all helped entertain each other on the train. Now that London Blackfriars station ... read more
Mrs C on the wireless
When I first started writing this blog I had absolutely no idea where it would take me. Being a blogger can be a funny existence though and blogging can definitely open doors for you. This lunchtime I took the train north from St Albans to Luton to meet up with fellow blogger Liz from Me and My Shadow. Together we headed over to BBC 3 Counties Radio where we appeared on the Nick Coffer show to talk about all things thrifty. It's years since I was last on the radio. I think I was about 16 the last time, talking about some school project. Today we were talking about being thrifty when ... read more
Thrifty Mrs C – Fixing a broken North Face fleece zip
I was gutted the other week when I went to zip up my North Face fleece as I went into the garden, and instead the zipper just came off in my hand. Closer inspection suggested that a small bit of metal within the zipper had actually broken off meaning that it no longer held the teeth of the zip properly. I'd owned the fleece for a good six years or so, and in that time it had travelled the world with me - keeping me warm on a chilly Los Angeles evening, as part of layers as we treked in New Zealand and to snuggle up in as I waited for a delayed plane in Hong Kong. The coat seemed to be in ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Mr. Badger to the Rescue
There are some children's books that just leave you feeling all warm and fluffy inside - and Mr Badger to the Rescue is one such book. Like all the other books in series 401 (Animal Rhymes) the book is written entirely in verse and the rhythm of it when read out load is lovely. In this lovely take three little doormice wake one morning to see that the circus has come to town. They're so desperate to go and see it, but they've got no money to buy tickets, so they set about trying to earn some. Their first attempts fail, but Mr Badger helps them out by providing a couple of extra ... read more