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
How to save money by learning to unblock toilets and drains yourself
If you're looking to save money around the house then one way to do so is to teach yourself some DIY skills and get yourself the appropriate tools. Trades people can be very expensive, especially if you're having to call them out in an emergency - and we all know that if something's going to go wrong it will happen either on a Sunday or on a Bank Holiday, when call out charges are even more than usual! If you can can unblock toilets and drains yourself then you're bound to save yourself money. When it comes to drain problems you only really need two pieces of kit to be able to resolve many ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – In the bathroom
One of the smaller rooms in the house, but have you ever thought about how much money you spend on things going on in your bathroom? There's all that water for starters - did you know that 70% of all water usage is in the bathroom. And then think about how much you spend on toiletries too. This week I'm hoping to give you five tips to help you save money in the room where you spend a penny. 1. Reduce the amount you flush Every time you flush the loo water goes down the drain - literally. If your water is metered (and as an aside, if your water isn't metered request a free water ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Road and Rail
Regular readers may well have had enough of me going on about how much I love Bigjigs (but just in case you haven't read this post from earlier in the week) so I'm going to keep this post just to the facts about the review items in question. Just before Little Miss C's birthday Bigjigs sent us our second Play Patrol review package - a wonderful selection of their Road and Rail accessories. This fitted in perfectly with the selection that we had already bought her as gifts and now she's lucky enough to have a fantastic selection with which to build a huge road and rail ... read more
A birthday crown
On Monday a certain little lady turned three. Oh, how we partied. It's funny how two days of celebrations seems to have left me feeling as exhausted as I did when I gave birth to her. With two little people in the house my crafting has slowed right down, but seeing as I was a special event I was on the look out for a simple little project that I could make in time when someone at my knitting group passed me a copy of the May issue of Let's Knit magazine. Inside there was a lovely little trip of quick projects to celebrate May Day and this crown jumped out at me as perfect for the ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Car Games
Do people still play car games? Or have hand-held electronics and DVD players taken over instead? After reading this book in preparation for writing this Ladybird Tuesday post I'm wondering about a campaign to encourage everyone to start playing them again. They're all from a time that seemed so much more innocent and simple and I'd love to revive that rather than relying on modern technology to do so. The idea of a whole book on car games seems a bit alien in this day and age though. Ladybird's Car Games book really is a flash back to a different age. Published in 1978 this ... read more
Mrs C and Bigjigs are going to BritMums Live!
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