This was the line that the children at Little Miss C's nursery had been asked to complete so that it could be attached to the pipe-cleaner flowers that they had made, as a personal message from them to their mums. I'm sure the staff (and some hopeful parents) had visions of things like "... because she gives me lots of cuddles" or "... because she always plays with me" or even "... because she looks after me", but you need to remember that it's pre-schoolers that they're asking to do this and as all parents know children can say and do the ... read more
Laying it out
I honestly have no idea where I found the time in the last week, but between trips to the GP, mountains of washing, never ending to do lists and general life with two children I did squeeze in time to lay out all the squares for the cot bed quilt that I am making. It was a rare few minutes with no one else above the age of one at home so twitter was my assistant and the lovely Helen from Crumbs and Pegs provided a great bit of advice on the layout based on a series of photos that I tweeted. Technology really does have its uses. I'm still really pleased with the fabrics in my ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Emperor’s New Clothes
This is probably one of the more recent Ladybird books in my vintage collection - in my mind it still fits in the vintage category as it's got the matt cover - but it's one that I remember very very clearly from childhood. Along with the cover picture the other thing that I remember best about this book is the music. Music? I hear you ask. Well yes, as I actually had a copy of this which came with an audio cassette version too. You see a cassette - that instantly makes it vintage doesn't it? The start and end of the story (and possibly at the end of each side too I'm not ... read more
Me and My Mum – Alison Ritchie & Alison Edgson
There's only a week to go until Mother's Day here in the UK and I thinking about it this year is actually the first year that I've thought about the day in terms of me being the mother that the day is all about. I've always focussed on my mum (especialy since her birthday always falls within a week of Mother's Day too) and until now Little Miss C hasn't really be old enough to take in what it's all about. This year I know that they have been talking about what their mums do for them at nursery and also making gifts for us - she just couldn't contain her ... read more
Pretty fabric
For years I have wanted to have a go at making a patchwork quilt. I've stood in many a fabric shop swooning over all the pretty fabrics and I've also been stock-piling old clothing that I keep planning to turn into memory quilts. In my usual disorganised way though absolutely nothing has happened. Until now. I recently "met" Mum of One on a Facebook group and as soon as I read about her plan to make a cot-bed quilt and blog about the steps involved I just knew that I needed to take part. As per the instructions I ordered myself a couple of ... read more
Why Little Miss C wants to work for Bigjigs
If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that Little Miss C is a huge Bigjigs fan. This week it's all gone to a whole new level as she's developed an obsession with reading their trade catalogue and repeatedly telling me what she needs from it for her birthday. I'm a huge fan too. They're a great company, produce an amazing range of quality toys and also provide daily entertainment on twitter and Facebook for parents. When I saw that they're looking for Play Patrol Agents I just knew that it would be the right job for Little Miss C. Like Bigjigs ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: ‘People At Work’ The Car Makers
Yes I have noticed it's Wednesday (and Wednesday evening at that!) but Tuesday this week vanished into a mix of trying to comfort a teething baby and preparing for Mr C's birthday. I had a Ladybird Tuesday post planned in my head though so I'm just pressing ahead a day late. This week I have another book from the People at Work series (series 606B) and as I found with the In a Hotel book - it seems to be full of things that today would be considered sexist! First published in 1968 The Car Makers describes the production of a car as it was then, from first designs to ... read more
When I Was a Lad… Megson
With all this cold weather we seem to spend quite a bit of time in the car these days going form one place to another and as Little Miss C can be quite fussy about what we listen to whilst in the car I'm always on the look out for music that we all appreciate. We've had a fair bit of success with a mix-CD of Mummy and Daddy's music, but I'm convinced that there must be good music out there, aimed at children but which doesn't make their parents want to drive into a brick wall when the CD comes round for the third time. Luckily for us Megson's When I Was A Lad - A ... read more
Monkey Nut – Simon Rickerty
Sending a book called Monkey Nut to a household where someone has a peanut allergy probably isn't the best way to get a good review of something, but then Simon and Schuster weren't to know that. Unfortunately though this book just didn't quite work for us, even putting all allergies to one side. In this book these two "thing" fight over a single monkey nut before an elephant comes along, breaks it in two, eats then nut and gives them half a shell each to play with. Now the first problem we had was the two "things", one red and one blue. I had absolutely no idea ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Beaky the Greedy Duck
A fiction choice for this week's Ladybird Tuesday. There are actually two Ladybird series which are devoted to animal stories, series 401 - which Little Miss C regularly enjoys quite a few books from - and series 497 which Beaky the Greedy Duck belongs to. The 497 books are all somewhat longer and written in a conventional prose style rather than the rhyming couplets that series 401 likes. As the title suggests this book is all about Beaky, a duck who happens to be rather greedy. It's a lovely little story, if a little long when LMC selects it as a bedtime book, and accompanied by ... read more