London

Despite living in Hertfordshire most of my life I still consider myself a Londoner born and bred. I moved from North London when I was fourteen, I moved back briefly to Bloomsbury for University, then I moved away again. I have worked in the City, in the West End, and South Kensington I've travelled the length and breadth of the tube. I've been to numerous pubs, clubs, restaurants, parties, weddings, barmitzvahs all over the place. In essence I still feel a Londoner. When I step off the train at Kings Cross, I take a breath of polluted air and I feel at home. I don't suppose my children will feel the same, although they do get dragged around the British Museum and London Zoo quite a lot.

Anyhow, today for various reasons I had to stroll across London from Kings Cross to London Zoo via Oxford Street. I took a few pictures which I thought I would share for those of you who don't know London and those that do!








I would annotate them, but frankly, its impossible in blogger. In summary, square where once stood a church in Tottenham Court Road, statues outside St Pancras Church (spooky), Fig tree by the phone boxes near Gordon Street, UCL Campus development, The crocodile outside Lacoste near Wigmore Street, The Institute of Archaeology, Oxford Street, Christopher Place and some gorillas at the zoo.

London

Words to Teach your Pre-schooler

Obviously I want Toddler boy and Fifi to seem more intelligent than all the other kids. So I have decided that this week I will focus on teaching them the following words;

Vainglorious
Epitome
Sequential
Intervention
Palindrome
Exponential

Currently I am being met with blank looks, but in true school mistress fashion I am persevering. If you looked at me strangely in the playground earlier, well more fool you.

Words to Teach your Pre-schooler

Sunny Autumn Days and Pizza Meets

This has been a very busy week, childminding courses to attend, places to go, people to see. This included the St Albans Blogger Meet kindly hosted by Pizza Express in honour of their new Legerra Pizza. We were lucky, it was a beautiful sunny Autumnal day. The sort of day that makes you happy before you even start out. Toddler boy was in a reasonable mood. Fifi was just hungry. We had a lovely walk through Verulamium Park, collecting leaves and conkers for future art projects. It didn't take long to arrive at Pizza Express to meet the St Albans bloggers and have a feast of Pizza, conversation and throwing food on the floor, walls and other bloggers.

Although all the bloggers could choose what they liked, most of us chose the Legerra Pizza. At least two of us looked enviously at Ashley (name and shame) when his salad arrived. The Legerra was nice enough, I would have it again. It's pictured here. It comes on a little chopping board, with a pizza wheel to cut it instead of a knife. Despite the novelty, it just didn't seem as nice as the salads which are incredibly large and look sumptuous. Perhaps it was just one of those sort of sunny salad days.

I am very grateful to Pizza Express. It was really lovely to meet everyone. We exchanged lots of interesting local information and vowed to meet again. The lovely Anjie had even kindly bought me a sewing pattern, so I can turn Toddler boy into a bunny and Fifi into Little Red Riding Hood. As soon as I have completed the outfits they will be pictured here. And I got to see her famous woolly bead necklace in the flesh! I feel honoured to have spent a little bit of time with some really great, talented people. So, St Albans Bloggers, where do you fancy meeting next?

Sunny Autumn Days and Pizza Meets

This is My Dream- A Meme

I want to live by the seaside in a little detached higgledy piggledy house with a large garden where my chickens and rabbits can roam about. I will have a cat, it will be rabbit and chicken friendly. Sea views are optional. I wish to decorate the house in a mixture of vintage, antique items and modern useful things. Dusting will be optional. The children will have a swing which hangs from a tree and a wooden playhouse on stilts. I shall wear a home made apron to bake apple cakes and sumptuous dinners. I will focus on sewing, reading and walking along the beach taking photographs and collecting fossils or shells. The hubby will come home each day to a delightful meal, two or three angelic children and a nice fire behind the antique fireguard in the living room.

That's where I will be when I get to heaven. I would love to know where you would be in your dreams, so I am starting a little Meme of my own here, feel free to do it or don't do it as you wish. I am always behind on everyone elses!

To get the ball rolling here are my nominations; but don't let that stop you!

Amy at And One More Means Four
Karin at Cafe Bebe
Laura at AreWe Nearly there Yet Mummy
Sandy at Baby Baby
Hannah at Muddling along Mummy
Emily at Maternal Tales

This is My Dream- A Meme

The Cost of Food and Childcare

Who would have thought it so expensive to live? If I was to be a stay at home mummy we would have £30 free cash floating about a week to pay for everything other than food, council tax, water, TV and mortgage. So, anyhow being forced back into the workplace (thank you Labour Party) has resulted in a crash course in childcare. The options are frankly endless on what you can or cant do, the only stable variable is the cost £5.25- £6.50 per hour. That amounts to a lot of money per child. Childcare Voucher Scheme I hear you screaming, well yes, that will go towards making, ummm, lets see, one day a reasonable price.

As the debt had already built a bit, this week I have been a mummy with £25 to feed and entertain a family of four. I have mainly been using up rations stored in the cupboard. But flippin' heck its hard. I am in awe of those people that manage it. The main meal menu is as follows;
Fish fingers and Chips
Macaroni Cheese
Vegetarian Pasta
Chilli
Shepherds Pie

Lunches have been on a theme of leftovers and cheese and bread. There has been fruit for the kids and some yogurt for their desert. Breakfast cereals and toast have been enjoyed. I have to admit that I was hungry when I went to bed on Sunday. But this probably did me good. In the main, I think we have eaten quite well. We haven't gone out far, saving petrol and those little treat expenses.

I would advise everyone to have a go at budgeting like this, it really focuses the mind.

Anyhow, back to childcare options, well, if you are in a similar position I suggest you get hold of a copy of the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidelines. This will enable you to gauge how well places are actually doing what it required of them. Its available from the Department for Children Families and Schools. If you live in St Albans, then I suggest you do all of this before you actually get pregnant and as soon as you do, put your name down for a good nursery. Waiting lists for the best are incredibly long.

What am I doing? Well, the childminder seems the best option for us. With me actually becoming a childminder on the days which I am off work, to cover some of the childcare fees. This will leave me with a reasonable salary. I will be exhausted, so I shan't be able to do any shopping. Saving money all round! More on this to come.

The Cost of Food and Childcare

It's Book Club Time

Hubby attends a book club in St Albans, I say attends, but in reality he is yet to make his presence felt at a meeting. He has purchased the books and has the intention of going though. So he sort of attends in his head. For this, he must be commended. I’m rubbish, the thought of a book club is a bit much for me. Being required to read something that is prescribed, when A) I have no time and B) there are so many fabulous books in the world to take my pick from, having someone else chose for me has always put me off. I'm opinionated, everyone else is wrong. I might as well remain in my own book world.

However, thanks to various people I'm trying to be a bit more open minded about things and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. This week an email popped into the box, since they are few and far between, this was a major event! Would I like to join the Telegraph.co.uk's book club? Ok, why not, I can find time to read, it’s for the blog, a good excuse. The book in question is the sequel to Alexander McCall Smith’s online novel Corduroy Mansion’s, The Dog Who Came In From The Cold.

According to the press release;

This is the second online novel Alexander McCall Smith has written for the Telegraph.co.uk. McCall Smith is an award winning novelist, renowned for his successful no.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and Corduroy Mansions won numerous industry awards for its literary innovation last year. As with the last online novel, you will be able to access a new chapter of The Dog Who Came In From The Cold everyday starting from the 21^st September. If you haven’t come across it, you can find out more information here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/onlinenovel

I must say, I tried to read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and I gave up, not my sort of thing. But I really did enjoy the television programme, so I thought I would give it a go. Sad but true, I like reading high brow factual stuff, on nature, archaeology and history and the odd bit of crafting, travel writing and poetry. I read a bit of chick lit, but I’m quite partial to a proper story, just not a horror or detective one. The last book I read properly was about 9 months ago and I can’t even remember what it was. Sorry. Anyhow, privileged to be part of this book club. I promise that I will try my hardest. There will be a few blog posts discussing the book and hopefully some of you will join in!

It's Book Club Time

Navigating the Soft Toy Mountain

Yesterday I went to my local library, the get some more children's books, ahem, cough, OK, actually some books about sewing. In amongst the range of books on quilting, knitting and crochet there were a large number of books ostensibly titled 'how to make soft toys'. WHAT! These books must be banned, or at least put them on a shelf too high for well meaning old ladies to reach.

Soft toys are becoming the bane of my life. Last audit, we were reaching 120 of the little blighters. Now, as most children pick one or two and ignore the rest, the other 118 are not needed. They sit around collecting dust, looking rapidly more dated as each day goes by and serve no real purpose to anyone. You can't easily give them away, they don't easily catch fire these days and they have a capacity to fill space like nothing else on this planet. Except for grass in flowerbeds. I did offload some on Freecycle to someone whose school wanted them for the tombola. A victory against the powers of soft toy evil. That's a tombola I would avoid!

Anyhow, a list of things to do with soft toys;

• Accidentally drop them whilst out and about, rather like the old sand in the pocket trick.
• Repackage them as Christmas/Birthday presents. If anyone does this to me, I'll know.
• Fill up those plastic charity bags which keep on coming through the door at a rate which is quicker than I can actually go and buy something to put in them . Serves them right for adding to the plastic waste mountain.
• Leave them at well meaning old ladies houses' oh, dear, yes, I'll come and collect it. When he is 12'.
• Butcher them to use the material for other more worthy items, applique on t-shirts perhaps

Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Navigating the Soft Toy Mountain

Hanging in There

Last weekend we packed our warmest clothes and went with our friends Little Garden Helpers to our favourite campsite in North Norfolk. The weekend was fun, Toddler boy developed a love of camping and I managed to get Fifi to sleep a bit. No strangers complained about overnight noise and the weather on Saturday was better than in the summer. Perfect for building sandcastles, eating sandy rolls and shouting at random dogs trying to join in the fun.

In between chip eating and 2p slot machine gambling we discovered the playground. It's one of those playgrounds which is a mixture of safe modern things and things which have been there since about 1975. The seesaw was big enough for me and hubby. Yey! Except he went a bit mad and I ended up see-sawing without the benefit of the seat. Nonetheless, in amongst all of this, we discovered that toddler boy does in fact have super-strength.He insisted on hanging off these rings for some considerable time for a two year old, loving every second. Don't worry, I was there to jump in if he fell. Proof yet again that you don't have to spend money to find happiness.

Hanging in There

Happy Memories - a Great Read Meme

I'm so behind with these Memes and Tags, that I thought that what I should do is literally just forget about all the old ones and try to start anew. That's not to say that I am not grateful to everyone that awarded me with them. It is Monday morning after all though, so I think its reasonable to start afresh. l have been awarded this meme by Whistlejacket of BabyRambles who has a fairly new blog, but its better than mine, so I 'm flattered she passed the meme to me. Her test is to come up with ten happy memories, being a sort of misery, this has been challenging. Anyway, here's my best shot. I've cheated with a few, as they are general memories rather than specific times.

1.Playing in the garden with my sister when I was little. I particularly enjoyed building a tent using old sheets around the swing and learning to roller skate.

2. My marriage day will be forever in my memory. Now, what did I have for dinner?

3. Staying in a lighthouse on my honeymoon. Amazing isolation, seas and general happiness.

4. Snorkeling around Rottnest Island in Australia with my friends. I had never done anything like this before and it was amazing.

4. The birth of my children, well, not actually the birth itself, rather the aftermath shall we say.

5. Long, hot sunny days we spent on Holkham Beach in Norfolk as a child.

6. The long, hot days we have spent on Holkham Beach with my children.

7. A level results day. Yes! I knew I wasn't thick, contrary to opinion at school

8. Going to Reading Festival for the first time. Just. Brilliant. Fun.

9. Walking through the door of the first house we bought. Its all MINE. In a manner of speaking.

10. The feeling when I found out I was pregnant after a lot of trying. Cake all round!

I could actually carry onto about 100 without any problem and if I wasn't so generic with my memories, probably at least three thousand. This has made me sit and think about how lucky I am. There's nothing I like more than a bit of reminiscence. Anyhow, I pass the baton to Mummy do That, Dotterel, Brits in Bosnia, Aussie Mum (who features in one of my memories) and Vic at Glowstars.

Happy Memories - a Great Read Meme

Phil & Teds Sport Pushchair Review or Rant

Ive titled this post in such a way that it is picked up by search engines, so people about to buy this pushchair will have to look at this.

Nearly a month ago, I sent this letter off to the UK distributor of Phil & Teds, where you are supposed to write to with any issues. I have not received any response. Needless to say I am unhappy with the pushchair, particularly in light of the cost of it and also with their lack of response.

Dear Sir/ Madam
I am writing this letter to notify you of a potentially fatal problem with your Phil and Teds Sport buggy; The pulleys on the zips can be pulled off by the child sitting in the pushchair. I realised that this has occurred with my own pushchair when I found my two year old son with it in his mouth. The first one, came off in my hand. A few more seconds and I feel that there was a very strong possibility that he would have choked himself.

My pushchair has been used for 7 months and to be honest it is in an appalling state of wear and tear, I try to look after my things so I have been amazed by the poor quality of it. I can only assume that this is perhaps a batch of pushchairs that were sub-standard or something. Some of the stitching is coming undone on the twin seat which will soon render it useless and the reflective material around the edges of the mesh on the buggy have almost worn off.

However, I am really annoyed about the zips, as I have been left with a pushchair which is very difficult to easily adjust alongside the potential choking issue.

I would appreciate it if you could either replace my buggy, or provide a solution to the zip problem. It might also be worth alerting head office to this issue before a child actually does choke themselves!

I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely

Being a Mummy

Therein, if you are considering the purchase of this buggy, which serves its purpose brilliantly bear in mind that it may not last for as long as you think.

Addendum
Today (21st September) I finally got a response from Phil & Teds. The power of the blog. Here it is. I must say I am rather pleased with the response;
Good afternoon,

Phil and Teds have already identified that the zip pulls have not been successful and the seat fabrics are now coming through with fabric pulls as you would get on a fleece top. We would be pleased to send you one of these new seat units with our compliments and, regarding the Double Kit Fabric, we would be pleased to send you a new one of these as well also with our compliments.

Hope you find this acceptable and if you could forward us your full postal name and address we will send them out to you on a Next Day courier service all at our expense.


Best regards


Customer Services Manager

Phil & Teds Sport Pushchair Review or Rant

Being Open-Minded About Films; Disney!

The lovely Kerry from Think Parents Network occasionally takes pity on us and sends us a Disney DVD. This makes a nice change from Fireman Sam or Bob the Builder. Prior to this, I have not had the slightest inclination to watch a Disney film, since I was about ten that is.

I have to admit though, that I have been a little bit slack. OK, well to be honest, I forgot. I was actually meant to review the films I received. So far, we have had a couple of films to review, including the ever so sweet and girly Tinkerbell, which was absolutely fab! I love it, I have been sucked in, I even bought Toddler boy a Tinkerbell water bottle. He likes it, the hubby doesn't approve as its a bit girly. But me and the toddler worship at its loveliness. I see myself as a sort of mum version of Tinkerbell. I just need to get a tutu.



This month we got the Blue-Ray of Monsters and Aliens. As we don't have a blue-ray player, I’m waiting for the opportunity to watch this at a friends house. However, it looks pretty good. We do happen to have some promotional toys from MacDonald’s, so I am sure the toddler will love it.

Here is a clip

As we can’t actually watch Monsters and Aliens yet, we also got Beverley Hills Chihuahua. I saw this a trailer for this at the cinema and to be honest, in adult company, I couldn’t think of anything worse. However, put a toddler in front of it and I was guaranteed peace. So much peace that I actually managed to cut out a dress pattern, the fabric and start hand sewing some of it! Joy! It’s about a little Chihuahua who gets kidnapped from its plush Beverley Hills life. Its actually quite funny, I am ashamed to say that I did, in fact enjoy it. Hooray for children, they introduce you to all manner of new experiences. Butlins, Disney, Rusks, MacDonalds, whatever next!

Being Open-Minded About Films; Disney!

The Middle Class Poverty Trap

You know that feeling of being there, but not really being with it. Like you know that something is sort of impending, but you can't really accept it. I seem to to have been living this existence ever since we had children. I have come to realise that we are in fact stuck in what I would say is a 'middle class poverty trap'. You may laugh at this, but I really do find it impossible to make our out-goings and in-comings balance every month. Debt. I lie in bed at night worrying about what we are going to do. This means that instead of living a lovely little life, doing what I want to do and looking after the children how I would like, I will have to go back to work.

It's not that we lead an extravagant life. The hubby has a fantastic job, we have a lot of money coming in every month. However we have a mortgage on our lovely large expensive commuter belt house that would make your toes curl. Its far more than two people on the minimum wage would earn in a month. This was fine pre-children. Post children its a nightmare. Working through our bills, we have less disposable income than people living on benefits, although we are not entitled to any. So, like many others in our situation, I find myself making clothes, buying food when its on special offer and buying nothing apart from essentials. If nothing else its a sharp reality check. I appreciate what I have more than I have ever done. Next time you look at someone who appears to have it all in terms of material possessions, just think; all might not be what it seems.

The Middle Class Poverty Trap

Leggera Blogger Lunch- The St Albans Crew

Right, I got sent an email. Pizza Express are offering a free lunch for bloggers to meet up and try out the new Leggera pizza. Hey, ho, another day, another offer. OK, this is a bit tongue in cheek as I don't get that many offers, of any kind. But on reading again,this does actually sound like a brilliant chance for some local bloggers to get together, meet and have a good old chat. Yes about blogs, but most likely about the state of recycling in St Albans and how bad our pot-holed roads have really become. So, in the spirit of the thing I would like to ask:
The Mummy Whisperer
Daddacool
Mrs C
Mrs B
Mr B
Garden Mum
Garden Dad
Anjie
Muddling Along Mummy
www.fixdit.com
We will convene at Pizza Express, Verulam Road. Using skills akin to those of Batman/ Ratfink I shall try to organise a time convenient to all. It has to be done in September though, so quick off the mark with your emails detailing convenient times chaps!
Find out how we get on in a couple of weeks.

Leggera Blogger Lunch- The St Albans Crew

Strengthening Your Inner Mum

One of my Twitter and blogging friends is Lisa, otherwise known as the Mummy Whisperer. I first came across Lisa as part of our local NCT email list where local mums angst about things. This is a brilliant resource, as you don't have to be an NCT member to use the list. Then, recently when I was having a bit of a blogging crisis, she helped me via Twitter. She always offers brilliant advice and is very helpful. Despite living within a couple of miles of each other, we had never actually met in real life. So, you can imagine how pleased I was to be given the chance to attend one of her Mummy Whisperer workshops.

The workshops look at how you can improve your way of thinking about being a mummy. They help to give you confidence, change the way you think about yourself and others and help you with decision making. Since I often find it virtually impossible to make decisions about the children and their welfare, I'm a terrible martyr and I do find that the daily grind gets me down, I was hoping for some good techniques. I also thought that a day without the kids would be a gift in itself! Techniques, advice and general reassurance about being a mum were plentiful at the workshop. It was all a bit of a revelation to me and to be honest, as I'm a bit sceptical about such thing, surprisingly helpful!

One of the things we did was to really analyse my values, this was to make sure that I was actually getting enough out of life for myself. After all, a happy, mum is a happy baby! Once you have analysed yourself and thought about ways to improve your life, you then go onto doing this for each of your family members. As it helps to understand where they are coming from. I have to say I have found this incredibly useful, it took me a few evenings to actually sit down and think about it properly. However, following some discussions with the hubby, I think I understand him more than I ever did. I have also thought about the children and this has helped me to manage the toddlers behaviour. I have considered what his likes, wants and needs are and now I can plan activities around this. I can also use my understanding of him to effectively discipline him, something which I struggle with.

I don't want to reveal all the Mummy Whisperer's secrets, to find out more you can visit her web-site. Lets be realistic, this little bit of rather unique life coaching hasn't changed my life. However, I think I can say that personally I have genuinely benefited. I feel more confident in my mummy-ing. I have managed to grab a few minutes in the day to myself, the hubby and the toddler feel as if they are valued, as they have things to do around the house. But perhaps most importantly of all, I have actually stopped comparing myself to others. For the first time in a long time, I feel happy about where I am. I am proud of my daily achievements and I feel a little bit more equipped to deal with the ups and downs of everyday life. I had a lovely time at the workshop and met some really interesting people. Thank you Lisa!
Click here to visit The Mummy Whisperer.

Strengthening Your Inner Mum

Cooking Masterclass 3: Cornflake Cakes

Being a domestic goddess is hard. So how about some cakes which will not only keep the kids occupied, but they will also eat? These cakes are very very sweet and sticky, but hey, I never pretended to be Delia Smith or Annabel Karmel and we did make them at Brownies in about 1982! This makes lots, so you might want to halve the recipe if you aren't feeling incredibly hungry for gooey, sweet sticky yummyness.

You need;
200 grams Dairy Milk Chocolate (or any other type of choc you fancy)
100g butter
6 tablespoons of golden syrup
150 grams of Cornflakes
Packet of cake cases

Then its simple;
Melt the butter, chocolate, and syrup all together in a saucepan over a low heat. Take off heat and put into a bowl.Mix together with the cornflakes. This will keep the kids occupied for hours! Get them to spoon individual portions into the cake cases. Put them in the fridge. EAT, feeling a bit smug as they do have a healthy element to them, after all, they contain cereal.

Cooking Masterclass 3: Cornflake Cakes

Cooking Masterclass 3: Cornflake Cakes

Being a domestic goddess is hard. So how about some cakes which will not only keep the kids occupied, but they will also eat? These cakes are very very sweet and sticky, but hey, I never pretended to be Delia Smith or Annabel Karmel and we did make them at Brownies in about 1982! This makes lots, so you might want to halve the recipe if you aren't feeling incredibly hungry for gooey, sweet sticky yummyness.

You need;
200 grams Dairy Milk Chocolate (or any other type of choc you fancy)
100g butter
6 tablespoons of golden syrup
150 grams of Cornflakes
Packet of cake cases

Then its simple;
Melt the butter, chocolate, and syrup all together in a saucepan over a low heat. Take off heat and put into a bowl.Mix together with the cornflakes. This will keep the kids occupied for hours! Get them to spoon individual portions into the cake cases. Put them in the fridge. EAT, feeling a bit smug as they do have a healthy element to them, after all, they contain cereal.

Cooking Masterclass 3: Cornflake Cakes

Me, Me and Me

Up until fairly recently I kept a very low profile and tried to be anonymous. However, I have had a change of heart. Life seems a bit too short to be quite so cloak and dagger. If you want to find out a little bit about me and see a picture of me have a look at this interview I did. I am rather pleased with it!

Me, Me and Me

Autumn

I walked back into the room after getting my breakfast. The baby is on the floor, trousers removed and waving a dirty nappy about. The toddler is tantruming about wanting to eat, but not wanting what he is given. The fish swim around their tank hungrily and there is a distinct air of autumn about the place. Wait a minute! AUTUMN! Already! I am still waiting to wear some of my summer clothes. Stop! That's not fair, we are going camping for the weekend in a couple of weeks. I am waiting for some more courgettes from the plants we re -potted a couple of months ago. We need to cut the lawn, paint the barge boards, build some decking, make a million. I suppose there's next summer.

The words of William Morris strike resonance in his poem Autumn (I am a bit tired and jaded at the moment):

Laden Autumn here I stand
Worn of heart, and weak of hand:
Nought but rest seems good to me,
Speak the word that sets me free.

Autumn