A few weeks ago I was contacted by innocent, who make those yummy fruit smoothies and asked if I would like to be an Alphabet Queen for the day in exchange for some yummy smoothies and a complete set of their new fridge magnets. Now, I'm happy to be queen of anything and so I agreed. Secretly I hoped I could be queen on the day of the Royal Wedding, wouldn't that be something? I'll just have to wait for when Fifi or Boy marries and then I can behave in a stately fashion.
I am Queen of D and of course, D is for dinosaur. It's a perfect combination and the ideal excuse to do lots of dinosaur related activities with the kids. The hardship! This weekend we popped into our local museum where they were having a geology event involving lots of rocks and fossils. It was the ideal opportunity to put our fridge magnet next to some real life fossil dinosaur bones. Fifi also insisted that we put her toy dinosaurs in the photo, who can argue with a two year old.
If you want to get involved it's easy enough, all you need to do is take a picture of your magnet next to something which starts with the same letter. You can tweet your photo to@innocentdrinks and #innocentkids or pop it into their Flickr site. To find out more visit the Innocent website for more details.
I'm really looking forward to looking at everyones photos, it's a fab idea and will be great to see what people associate each letter with.
The seven deadly sins, probably best remembered via the plot of the film Seven if you are a closet film buff like me. Anyway, the other day it occurred to me that I am veering towards being guilty of most of them. I don't think this is a good thing, however it appears to be a by-product of parenting.
Since I had Fifi I have put on well over a stone in weight. Yes, that's SINCE. It's despite my best intentions, I have been using YourShape and various fitness DVD's but I haven't been out running on a regular basis, something which I used to love. Gluttony is the problem, it's simple to diagnose; chocolate, sweets and cakes really do help when you are all alone at sea with two children screaming at you. Do you have a problem with that?
I find the world seems better when views through the eyes of other people. I envy other peoples pushchairs/change bags although I have plenty of my own. However what I Envy most are those mums that manage to stay at home and lead calm domesticated lives. Lives full of ordered bookshelves, flowery table cloths and neatly pressed clothes. I know that I don't have the ability to do this myself, two days with the the little bundles of joy and I can be a festering hormonal bundle of nerves.The emotion is there though, and it's there in spades.
Of course, my children are in fact one hundred times better than yours. OK, actually they are not I am fully aware of that. I view each child as an individual to be nurtured, loved, cuddled and enjoyed. But I am guilty of feeling the most immense, all encompassing, unrelenting Pride in nearly everything they do. Look, boy managed to use a knife on his own, look everyone Fifi is clearly explaining the merits of that Impressionist painting over there. You get my drift...
In 1844 an innovative group of 28 weavers in Rochdale came together and set up a shop setting basic foodstuffs, this was the start of the co-operative movement as we know it in the UK. This movement had a massive effect on society and shops as we know them, there will be a new television advertisement telling us a bit more soon. Suffice to say, today in the UK, as well as The Co-operative Group with its six million members and 5,000 outlets across its family of businesses including food, financial services, travel, pharmacy and funerals, there are thousands of other co-operators who share the same heritage.
The Co-operative doesn't just run businesses though, its busy quietly helping communities across the country to undertake the most amazing projects.
I remember seeing a television programme about how Urban Bees can produce the most amazing honey, it's because they harvest such a wide variety of plants and flowers many of which are non-native. This can produce some of the most amazing honey you will taste. Perhaps more importantly than this though, these projects help to protect the dwindling honeybee populations. Take for example Urban Bees which was set up by bee-lovers Brian McCallum and Alison Benjamin. They wanted to help protect dwindling honeybee populations in urban areas by educating city-dwellers in beekeeping. Having already invested £500,000 into Plan Bee, The Co-operative bee protection and education programme, funding from The Co-operative helped Urban Bees to run training courses for beginners, give talks and work in partnership with other organisations and companies.
Brian and Alison have now established 20 new hives on rooftops and in community gardens and allotments across London, and they will have given training and start-up equipment to approximately 300 people by the end of 2011. I think this is a really exciting project.
Urban Bees is just one example of the many projects that The Co-operative support. Its easy to Join the revolution why not Get involved.
Divine Chocolate needs no introduction, it is quite simply the loveliest Fair Trade chocolate you will find. I was overjoyed when they sent me a selection of all their flavours to try. It was a really hard task deciding which ones were the nicest as they were all lovely. However, for me there are two clear leaders in the chocolate league table: White Chocolate with Strawberries and Orange Milk Chocolate both so scrummy that you will buy a bar with the intention of eating one small chunk and quickly find you have eaten the whole lot.
I could go on and on about chocolate here, but frankly you don't need to hear anymore so this gives me the prefect opportunity to tell you all about the Divine Womens Awards 2011. Divine are looking for a woman who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference to peoples lives.
Livia Firth will be joining the judging panel to select the most Divine Woman from a shortlist following an open public vote on the Divine facebook page http://apps.facebook.com/DivineWomenAwards.
I really think its worth entering someone you know, someone who inspired you or someone who deserves to be rewarded for the work they do. In terms of famous people, I am always inspired and amazed by Jane Goodall's work and Camila Batmanghelidjh who does such amazing work with children. However, there might be someone less high profile who has made an amazing difference in your local area, maybe running a children's playgroup or helping at a hospice.
The ultimate winner will be awarded a truly divine prize of a bespoke pendant worth over £1,000, made with Fairtrade and Fairmined 18 carat gold from ethical jewellers Ingle & Rhode.
I've placed my votes, now is your chance. I recommend sitting down with some Divine chocolate and a nice cup of tea whilst you make your selection.
I've been a little bit deluged with fitness DVD's and I realised that I couldn't do them all myself so I enlisted the help of my sister-in-law. She is on a fitness mission at the moment and really knows her stuff. Here is her review:
So, here we are another ‘celebrity’ fitness DVD, claiming to make over your body in 12 weeks, I have never been a fan of Celebrity fitness DVD’s, I would rather use the gym, do a class at a gym or have a boxercise session with the Nintendo WII. I was hoping that this DVD would change my mind.
Unfortunately it did not, it was the same as any other celebrity DVD. I did not think the warm up was particularly great and did not really stretch the right areas that a warm up should do. There are 6 sections to the DVD and they seemed a little bit tame. The session Hardcore Blast, was said to be a tough session, but I have had more of a workout in my zumba class that I do.
The commentary all the way through seemed very fake, and she actually sounded quite bored all the way through it, and was actually surprised that she was leading the sessions on her own. Although I have since learnt she is a personal trainer and does this in tandem with her TV career!
All in all, I was very disappointed and I think that people are better off using the gym, going outside for a run, or doing a class, or even using their Nintendo WII’s, this DVD unfortunately has not changed my mind. It has to be said though that this probably isn't intended for my age group, rather for forty to fifty year olds who presumably make up her core fanbase.
Recently trips to the dentist have been a bit of a nightmare. The last visit particularly traumatic as it was revealed that I have quite serious problems with my teeth. However, the dentist was rather cryptic in front of the children, which made it a hundred times worse for all involved. The kids check-ups descended into a sort of nightmare whereby I wrestled Fifi to the chair and pinned her down so the dentist could look into her (screaming) mouth whilst the boy cowered in the corner.
Thus I am attempting a new approach, we are investigating all sorts of teeth and reading even more books about trips to the dentist. Last week provided the opportunity to look at fossil sharks teeth. Check this one out.
I often wonder about what I should be telling my daughter, how to make her strong, confident, proud and yet compassionate. The other day I came across this young poet and I think she sums up everything I want to say to my daughter brilliantly.
I was contacted by the Tesco Baby press office who asked me to nominate a worthy mum to receive some vouchers to spend in their Baby Bargains Event. I made the decision to nominate someone I knew would be appreciative and really needs a bit of a helping hand, rather than open it up to competition this time. The person who got the vouchers is very grateful and I am happy to be able to use my blog to help people in this way.
The Baby Bargains event really sounds good and I for one will be stocking up, the promotion runs from 21st March until 3rd April online and in store
Did you know that P and G products first appeared in the UK 80 years ago? No, neither did I. In order to publicise this they have asked a few mum bloggers to spend an entire day as a 1930's housewife. The idea being to see how modern technology and products have made a real difference to our lives.
So I could see the vast range of products P and G actually make I was sent a selection of their products, these ranged from Pantene Shampoo, Duracell batteries through to Fairy washing up liquid and Bold washing powder. In fact, an enormous range of stuff which I had never linked together, take a look. The following week we were sent some of the stuff required to do household and everyday tasks in a 1930's fashion.So, armed with my newly made apron I ventured forth to become a 1930's housewife.
Washing my hair
I did a bit of research and it appears that although shampoo wasn't standard there was petroleum based shampoo which carried a risk of ignition! Anyway, everyday people such as myself used plain soap and so I set myself to lathering up a bar of soap and then rubbing the stuff into my hair. This wasn't an easy job and took ages. It also didn't clean my hair very well (as you will see). Modern day shampoo is a million times better, in fact if there is one thing that I couldn't live without I came to realise its shampoo.
Doing my Face
Soap and water and a bit of cold cream to cleanse. To be honest I didn't mind this too much. I then used pressed powder, mascara and rouge on my cheeks. Now, I'll be honest here, it was a bit more of a make-up routine than I usually manage. So in actual fact was an improvement. Ahem.
The Laundry
Over the course of a weekend I do 8, yes that's right, 8 loads of washing. It's a chore stuffing it all in and out of the washing machine, tumble dryer/ hanging it on the line. In the 1930's we would have been dirty. From my experience I can say with absolute certainty that bed sheets would not have been washed once a week, rather they would have been washed once a month. Clothes would have been worn for at least three days and I would have been tempted to make people double up on pant wearing, although we would have had standards. I suppose. Carbolic soap and washboard at the ready, I embarked upon my challenge with excitement. I finished an hour later, totally bedraggled. The novelty wore out very quickly, although I would have enjoyed turning a mangle.
You can see a bit of footage here:
Cleaning the cooker
Now this challenge was never going to be all that authentic as I have an electric cooker with a ceramic hob. In the 1930's people would have had gas cookers with lots of fiddly bits to clean. Anyhow, I set to work cleaning the hob with Baking Powder and I have to say, although I expended a lot more elbow grease than usual I also got it an awful lot cleaner than usual. I had a sense of satisfaction, a job well done and earned. I think I may use baking powder again, it's really useful to know it works so well, especially if you run out of modern day cleaners!
The washing up
I didn't realise the difference a really good squirt of washing up liquid can make. It's only in recent times that I have had the benefit of the dishwasher but I still do a lot of washing up as I am really careful about certain bits of cooking equipment. Anyway, if you use household soap for the washing up as I did, everything ends up with a nice greasy film which is hard to remove. Nothing seems as squeaky clean as it does nowadays. Yuk.
Playing the old fashioned way
Now to be fair, this challenge cannot be an exact replica of the past because my kids have had the benefit of television and modern toys with batteries. Therefore it was always going to be about ten million times harder for me and them. However, when they got fed up helping me with the laundry they did take themselves off and spend quite a long time building towers and taking teddy on an adventure. Hardly a massive success, but we all know that its really hard to take something away once you have got used to it...
Cleaning the windows
If you ever want a really fantastic team building exercise, then cleaning the windows the old fashioned way is a brilliant activity.I used a 50-50 water to vinegar mixture which I sprayed onto the windows and then wiped with a cloth. I then wiped them with newspaper. The smell was reminiscent of the fish and chip shop and made us all hungry. It was really hard work cleaning the windows with the newspaper but the results were spectacular. So clean and sparkly it was incredible. I thought it was quite a nice safe pastime for small children, so this exercise will be repeated again.
I Summarise!
So far I think I'm probably a bit unusual in that I really enjoyed the whole day. I haven't managed to cook the meal yet, I am planning on a big feast using my 1930's crockery and I might even get everyone dressed up for that occasion. The household chores took a lot longer than usual, they were about a million times harder, yet I was left with a sense of satisfaction that I don't normally get. I think this reason for this is that I had the dedicated time set aside to do the chores, I found I could think about things as I worked. I like the idea of being a housewife instead of my busy frenetic life so this challenge met my 'ideal' of this. However the thought of doing this day in and day out is not something I would relish.
The laundry was quite possibly one of the worse re-enactment exercises I've ever done (and yes, that does include mixing wee with vegetables to create 'natural' dye for wool). Hooray for the washing machine and Bold! My hair felt worse than ever before, hooray for Pantene. I don't think I could ever be a 1930's screen siren, but using the pressed powder and rouge did make me feel more womanly and I think perhaps I should make more of an effort with myself. The kids loved helping me with these tasks and it was a brilliant way of explaining how life was different in the past, in fact Boy took his washboard into school to show to all the other four year olds.
The Being a Mummy household has been inspired, look out for re-enactments of household chores throughout various time periods!
I have a house full to the brim with other peoples cardboard packaging cunningly recycled into spaceships, light sabres, piles of other peoples packaging stuck together. Heaven forbid, but it offends me. It's not purely the mess it makes. No really it isn't, well, maybe a little bit. What offends me is the products that are represented. I have Nescafe coffee's, really sugary breakfast cereals and super expensive kitchen knives represented at the moment.
I do find it hard to look beyond the packaging to see the object lovingly crafted by my child. I am also convinced that they are being brainwashed into making the largest possible constructions. So as to fill up my wheely bin (did I say that?), rather than anyone elses. But what does one do? Refuse to bring the child's creation home and place it on the mantelpiece? Lose it on the way home? I am not that sort of mummy. No, I gratefully accept my creation and look amazed and in awe at the creativity, whilst secretly wanting to punch the teacher.
The problem comes in trying to dispose of the creations, the wheely bin really is full. It's hard trying to ram them into it without the risk of them being visible at the top. A bonfire isn't all that eco- friendly. It's hard to re-use them again without upset. It's hard to dispose of them without upset. I lie awake at night wondering whether I might be found one day crushed amongst a sea of cardboard boxes cunningly fashioned to represent robots and spacemen and spaceships and aliens. I wish there was some sort of campaign only to use the boxes of ethical products packaged in trendy, classic designs. I wish they had a corner at school to display them and then the designs were donated to an old peoples home or something.*evil cackle*
The campaign for the use of nice cardboard in junk modeling starts here....
I have to admit, being the miserly organised mother I am, I have actually purchased my own Mothers Day card complete with wrapping paper at a cost of 5p. Not only have I saved us all a fortune, but I am guaranteed to at least get a card. However the pressie isn't sorted and I have to admit I will be a little bit disappointed if the little darlings don't make me something and the husband doesn't actually sort out a present.Since the children are so tiny I view Mothers Day as a day where the husband shows his appreciation for all the things I do as a mother!
Present wise I have been looking around, I have found nice items of jewellery, books, clothes and all sorts of lovely things. However, I have come to the conclusion that I would be more than happy with some Marks & Spencer Mother's Day Flowers. Yes, this post has been sponsored, but I really would be happy with some flowers from M & S. The reason being that I have always found them to be a reasonable price, yet good quality. This appeals to me on all levels!
The main reason for my request of flowers is that the last bunch of flowers I had were given to me by a PR company. I don't normally buy cut flowers or allow anyone to buy them for me as quite simply we cant afford to spend money on non- essentials. However, a bunch of flowers really does brighten the house up. I also think they are perfect for inspiring arts and crafts for toddlers and conversations about colour, nature and shapes.So this Mothers Day, dear husband, please get yourself along to M &S and buy me the cheapest, brightest bunch of flowers you can find I shall be more than happy.
If you want your children to wear something slightly different to the usual Clarks and Startrite shoes then Umi will shortly become one of your first ports of call. Fifi was given a pair to trial which from the moment she opened the box she really liked.
I have to admit they are the pinkest most girly shoes I have ever seen. In fact, we actually asked for a different pair, but they had sold out and so they sent us these. To be honest not my sort of thing but absolutely perfect for little girls. So perfect, that my mother pointed out that my own little sister would probably have murdered someone for them. Fifi now has a whole fan club of jealous little girl friends. Sigh. Girls!
In terms of size, I have to admit that although I measured her feet precisely using the tape measure from the website they are a little on the big side. They have come up a lot wider than I anticipated, even for Fifi's fat little feet, so at the moment she is wearing them for special occassions until she grows a bit. Therein, lies lesson one, make sure that you measure feet very precisely and opt for smaller rather than larger if they come up half way.
Although Fifi has not worn her Umi shoes for several months, she does give them quite a challenge when she does wear shoes (she has been known to go through a pair in a month). So far, they have proved themselves robust enough to stand up to the challenge. They seem to be well made from good quality materials and are easily a match for equivalently priced brands.
If you want to have a look at the childrens range for yourself you can find them here
This month is National Reading Month and the team at Leapfrog challenged me to use their system to encourage Boy and Fifi to do more reading. Each week we are given a new book to read using the system and see how we get on. We love reading in this house and without fail have a bedtime story, a breakfast story and several in between, so it wasn't a challenge to read the books with the kids so much as a challenge to see how we would get on with the Leapfrog Tag system.
As both kids have spent the past year using their Leapfrog Tag Junior, I felt it was time for them to move up to the Tag system. Partly as I have to admit the novelty has worn off a little bit. The only problem with a new Leapfrog Tag was that I had to download each new book which I have to admit is a bit time consuming. However you do get access to loads of additional features and you can see how long your child has spent with the book which is interesting.
This week we got to read Toy Story 3; Together Again. This is basically the storyline of the film. As the kids love the film, it really is a no-brainer. I have let the kids use the Tag to read it together (they seem happy to take turns) and have read it with them. The little games and challenges are the best fun and we spent one happy afternoon playing with the book trying to find things in the images and so forth. The great thing about the Tag is that you can stop and start it, this has helped me to encourage them to discuss what is happening.
In summary; reading month challenge, week one; so far, so good. I suspect as we get more experienced with the Tag we will get more and more out of it...
Whilst I am talking about Leapfrog I wanted to let you know about this short film competition they are running for kids, here is the information and a little film for you:
This month, LeapFrog is taking the Leapster Explorer experience to the next level, as it launches its biggest and most exciting competition yet! To celebrate the success of its the Explorer console and super cool video camera accessory, we are searching for the best young directors in the UK, with one lucky short film maker in with the chance of winning a family trip of a lifetime to Florida.
LeapFrog’s amazing new film competition is now open to children aged between four and nine years old, giving them the chance to star in their own film and see their creations on the big screen. Entrants and their families can upload their 90 second short films based on a family fun day out, to our dedicated competition website hosted on Netmums.com, where they will automatically be entered into the competition.
When the competition closes on April 17th, LeapFrog’s awesome panel of judges - including popular children’s TV presenter Dave Benson-Philips (Get Your Own Back!) - will select the top 10 finalists to attend our incredible Short Film Festival premiere. Taking place on May 31st in the heart of London’s bustling Covent Garden at the spectacular London Transport Museum, this is an amazing opportunity for young film lovers to see their own movie premiere at the cinema.
The other week we were lucky enough to get a delivery of the entire Yeo Valley Organic range and the children helped me unpack it with great excitement. When we came to the butter, there were two types; hard and spreadable. This caused some confusion and required explanation. Something which basically consisted of me saying that one had additional vegetable oil to help make it less solid. I have absolutely no idea whether this is true or not, but at 2 and nearly 4 years of age they were easily convinced.
Then came the next question: But what is it made of?
‘Err, Butter?’ I tried my usual deflection tactics hoping that they would wander off.
‘Is it from a butter plant?’
“No, it's from cream which comes from milk, which is from a cow’
‘I thought milk mainly came from mummy’s’
‘No, that’s special mummy milk’ Digging hole deeper, I quickly return to the original question
‘Butter is the product of cream when its been mixed about a lot’
And so I attempt to explain how to make butter using our toys to illustrate:
There is one thing you can be sure of and that is that death comes to us all. Its not something I particularly worry about, what will be, will be. Obviously in an ideal world I’d like to go quietly discretely and without knowing in my sleep. I'd be discovered not by a close relativeso as I dont traumatize them, but by someone I knew and liked. However I go, my funeral arrangements are likely to be something that my children or husband have to deal with.
The other day I was reading a newspaper report which featured some of my former employers and the archaeological graves they were excavating. It wasn’t a great report about it all, basically stating that these archaeologists had left skeletons in their graves exposed for weeks on end.This was not very respectful of them.
This got me thinking about what I might like to happen to me, when I die. For years and years I thought I might like to be buried, for someone to possibly come along and dig me up. As a child I considered the possibility of mummification in a magnificent tomb. How wonderful and somehow glamorous. You sometimes read of noble people who give their body to medical science. I can say now that after living with some medical students, I do not fancy this option.
I am a specialist in archaeological bone. I’ve handled a lot of dead humans in the form of skeletons. Ive dug hundreds of them up during the course of my career. I’ve seen a lot of bits of dead human with flesh preserved in places like the Hunterian Museum, and even better the bits of the collection reserved for scientists. I don’t think I will ever forget the sectioned human torso.
The Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford has a wonderful collection of human shrunken heads. How gory is that? You detach yourself from these things, they are merely objects, you cant think of them living, breathing humans, people who had emotions because then you start to have weird thoughts. I once accidentally broke a human skull, it made a popping sound. It sounded like the soul was leaving. It freaked me out.
Throughout history people have death with dead bodies in hundreds of ways; mummification, burial at sea, laying bodies out for birds to pick at the flesh and then arranging the bones neatly under stone mounds, at crossroads, in huge monuments, on funeral pyres, in whole cars, the list is endless. There are whole days of celebration of the dead, events when people are resurrected and marched about the town.
Talking to my 70 year old friend about her hopes for her remains was enlightening. She has decided to be buried in a woodland graveyard within a wicker basket. It feels right for her, peaceful and natural. I like this idea, it seems right to go back to the earth like this. However, most people want to be buried in a huge hard wood casket in the council cemetery with a stone marker. This does not feel right.
The more I think about it, the more I would like something natural. I quite like the idea of cremation, which is a complete sea change for me. This would mean that nothing else could happen to me. However, did you know that in most cremation places they burn two bodies at the same time? You could be cremated with the fat bloke up the road and his ashes mixed with yours and then divided up between relatives. No thanks. This then leaves a dilemma, since I don’t think your friends and relatives would be able to burn you in the back garden without controversy.
Speaking of back gardens I found out a few years ago that it is entirely possible to be buried in your back garden. We had a spate of modern ceramic jars brought into the museum which people had found in gardens. Its possible some had contained cremations, so I did a bit of research into it. Check when you buy a new house! Or even better if you pick this option, how about considering an eco-friendly urn like these ones.
So, I haven’t answered my question. I quite like the idea of my friends and family celebrating my life with a picnic on my favourite beach (Holkham) and then throwing my ashes out to sea. I would like to hope that they didn’t get blown straight back at them, although its so windswept there I think they might. I would like the event to be a happy one, a celebration of my life and for them to know that I will always be there to keep an eye on them. It’s just how they cremate me alone which may be the problem
If you feel you can, I would be really interested to hear your thoughts.
I like a nice cocktail and Midori honeydew melon liqueur forms the basis of many of my favourites. With St Patricks Day coming up on the 17th of March the distinctive green colour of Midori seems particularly apt. As does the hubby presenting me with an emerald, but you know, we cant have it all.
We used to love going out to celebrate St Patricks Day in London. However, nowadays staying in is the new going out for us. That doesn't mean you cant have a little drink though and so here are some Midori cocktails suggestions for you. I should say they would also go down a treat if you happen to be throwing a party and want to invite me *cough*:
Irish Sunset MIDORI Cointreau Vodka
Top with Pineapple Juice
Pour ingredients over ice into a glass, and gently stir.
Emerald Isle Martini MIDORI 45 ml Vodka 45 ml
Shake the contents and pour into a cocktail glass for a simple sophisticated St Patrick’s Day celebration cocktail.
If you want to get a bottle Midori is stocked by Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s and is available in 70cl and 50cl sizes. Guide retail price is £9.34 to £14.85.
I have been given two Midori St Patricks Day packs for readers of Being a Mummy Each pack contains: a Leprechaun hat (with ginger beard), 3 miniature (50 ml) Midori bottles , 1 green ice tray, a Boston Shaker set, and a "grow your own shamrock" kit.
If you want to win one (unfortunately they wont come in time for St Patricks Day, but I am sure you will have tons of fun with them anyhow) all you need to do is to follow this blog and
tell me about your best St Patricks night ever
in the comments section, please make sure you leave some way of contacting you!
Winners will be chosen by random number generator on 27th March at 12:00. The prizes will be sent directly from the PR agency and there are no cash alternatives. UK residents only I'm afraid.
When researching this project I literally came across a hundred different styles. I suppose it was fairly common for people to make their own, using their own designs probably based upon what they already had. It seems you could go frilly, tabard, cross over, the world is your oyster quite literally.
In the end I decided to opt for something fairly simple, yet not a tabard. I did a bit of looking around and opted for something based upon the one worn by Angelina Jolie in the film The Changeling (I hope Universal don't mind me using the image, it is their copyright and I will happily remove it should they desire). I realise that this film was actually set in 1928, but I figure that the style wouldn't have changed much in two years, if at all.
This project took me about an hour and a half all in. I cut the pattern on some of the kids drawing paper which is essentially a roll of lining paper. First I sketched it out, thinking about the proportions but guessing them. Then I tried the paper pattern on and refined it.
It's essentially one piece of fabric. The section which goes around the neck was done with two curved arched pieces, purely because I wanted to save fabric. The bits which tie around the waist were also two pieces of fabric, as were the pockets. I decided to interface the neckline purely as that made it a bit easier to get the bias binding to sit properly. If I had enough bias binding in my sewing store I would have finished the edges of the entire apron with it. As it stands I have just hemmed the edges.
I'm really pleased with it, I chose this fabric purely because I had it spare in my fabric collection. However, when researching 1930's textiles it seems that floral was surprisingly 'big', so its not actually a bad choice. My only slight complaint is that it is a bit thin as its a summer weight dress fabric, I may line the apron in time.
Anyway, now it's made I can use it for my day as a 1930's housewife. I have a feeling making the apron was the easy bit...
Regular readers know how much I love change bags. Personally, I think that they are the one thing that you should spend a bit of cash on when you have a baby. Or even better, your husband should buy you a really nice one just because! After all, there are very few bits of baby equipment that you use from birth until they are toddlers and very few things that are actually yours. Pink Lining changing bags are amongst the best and most desirable on the market and they are a brand which myself and one of my (rare) guest bloggers love. I was sent their latest bag to review before I pass it on to someone more worthy. The NSPCC limited edition Pink Lining changing bag is a version of the best selling Yummy Mummy in Grey Bows. However, rather fabulously the signature pink lining has a beautiful drawing of a rainbow which Charlotte Pearl co-owner and designer has adapted from a child's drawing.
The rainbow drawing was created by a little girl who attended an NSPCC project which aims to help children overcome abuse. The project used art therapy to help her express her feelings. At the end of the project she drew the rainbow as a symbol of achievement and her hope that she would feel happy in the future. I have to admit I didn't realise the NSPCC did such projects using art therapy and I am now looking into seeing if they need anyone to help with them, as it really struck me as something that I would like to get involved with.
The bag itself actually doesn't need much of a review, not only is it gorgeous, it is spacious and extremely well made. The bag features the distinctive pink lining and is equipped with two inbuilt insulated bottle holders, dividing pockets and pouches, popper fastened pocket on outside for easy access, thick padded changing mat, wet zip bag to keep soiled babygros separate, adjustable shoulder strap (wear across body, over shoulder or from buggy handlebars), key fob, mobile phone pocket, pen holder and detachable mirror.
The fabric is waterproof and durable. I have taken it with me to a couple of places with the kids and shown it to my mummy friends. They all without fail said how beautiful and practical it is. In terms of capacity, its a huge bag, I can fit Fifi's nappy changing stuff, both childrens spare clothes, Boys A4 speech therapy folder, snacks, drinks and two soft toys with space.
This bag retails for seventy five pounds, which I think is extremely reasonable for it compared to many of the other designer changing bags on the market. In fact, I guarantee that this will be the best seventy five quid you spend when you have a baby. Not only will you love it, but the NSPCC will also benefit; Pink Lining will be donating a minimum of £1000 from the sale of the limited edition bags to the NSPCC, so that they can continue to help children overcome abuse.
These limited edition bags are available now from Pink Lining, whilst you are on the site check out some of their other stuff. They sell the most fantastic kids ruck sacs, perfect if you are looking for an usual birthday present.
Lucky readers of Being a Mummy actually have the chance to win one of these gorgeous bags. All you need to do is follow my blog and write a comment in the box answering this question:
What is your favourite nutritious and speedy dinner recipe to feed your family?
Charlotte, the head designer and the co owner of Pink Lining is going to judge the competition and write a blog post here to say who won and why. It's really essential that you include your contact details (twitter or email address in a format which wont get you spam - eg using words instead of punctuation) in your answer as the Pink Lining team will be contacting the winner directly.
The winner will be chosen by 12:00 on the 7th April. The competition is open to UK residents only, one entry per household and there is no cash equivalent.The judges decision is final. Good Luck!
Its been a while since Boy first attended speech therapy. Each week we are given a series of sheets of words to work through based on a particular programme. Sometimes we try to do games with him to get him to say the words, these vary from simple version of Snap through to Guess Who type games. We have had ups and downs and it has been somewhat challenging. Some days I have been literally reduced to tears of frustration, as he simply wont even try to do the words. Other days I feel so proud as it comes very easily.
The other week the speech therapist did a test with Boy. It was with the aim of seeing how far he has progressed and which areas we need to work on. I was really surprised to see that even with my poor efforts, he has actually made a sixty percent improvement compared to where he was. Sixty percent. Sixty percent. I am rather proud of this. I think the speech therapy has also helped him with some of the nursery school work as he can recognise many words and sounds which his peers cant.
This week was momentous, three different parents of his contemporaries told me that they didn't even know he had a speech issue. I was so surprised. I think that I am so used to his pronunciation that I hadn't even noticed. I am hoping that we can keep up the good work and that he will keep progressing well though the entire programme. I'm impressed at how something so simple as repeating a few of the same words can actually make such a difference.
Around January I began my fitness drive. I've been having a good old go with YourShape which is proving fun, I've had a session with a personal trainer and I have attempted the odd run. The problem has been the darkness, its quite dark by the time I am child free and I cant afford the gym. However, I have had another secret weapon some fitness DVD's.
Now to be fair I couldn't honestly review the three I was given at the same time so my lovely sister in law has reviewed one of them for me.First up in this fitness review series is Nadia Sawalha Fat to Flab. This was the DVD which I was most keen to have a go at, I like Nadia as a TV personality as she seems quite real. I know she really was quite fat and that she has lost a lot of weight and looks fab on it so I was looking forward to having a go at her programme.
The Nadia workout is based upon a series of 5 routines, including a fairly intense warm up. I really enjoyed this as it meant that if you are in a rush you can simply do the warm up and feel like you are doing yourself some good. There is also a fantastic cool-down which can double up as a nice relaxing fitness session.
I have to say this is one of the best fitness DVD's I've ever used. I like the music and Nadia's down to earth presenting style I'm not sure about results yet, as I am doing other stuff as well, but it does make me feel as if I am making a difference.
When it comes to committing to a 'range' of toys you need to think carefully. The possibilities are endless and you don't really want to end up with two or three different sets of toys from that range. If you see what I mean! From early on I noticed that many of the playgroups and other places we visited had toys from the Little People range, so I decided that we would buy the Little People Garage. It proved an instant hit from about 8 month old and at nearly 4 the boy still plays with it with his little two year old sister.
I think the value in Little People is that fact that they are so kid friendly; the little figures simply don't have any bits that can be snapped off. They can be chewed, trodden on, mixed and matched and are quite simple indestructible and safe. In fact that goes for the rest of the range in my experience, its all really durable and well made.
We were sent the Little People Farm set and it was great anticipation that we opened the box and set it up. For some reason we already had a stray lama and rabbit so they joined the farm. The farm has all the appropriate animal sounds and comes complete with a few animals. At two years old Fifi has delighted in playing with it and we have spent quite a lot of time talking about the animals. At nearly four I would suggest that Boy is nearing the limit of the age range for the toy, however he has bristled with pride when explaining the animals to Fifi. It actually brought a little tear to my eye.
One of the best things about the farm is that it blends in the the rest of the range, all the people and animals are interchangeable. This meant that the Little People from our garage could go on trips to the farm and be the right scale. It all worked seamlessly, so much so we put away all the other toys and spent a week playing purely with Little People. It was really stress free, no tantrums about figures not fitting cars, bits missing and worries about breakage.
I cant believe that this toy actually retails for under thirty pounds. If you have a baby and you are considering buying them a toy which will last them for a few years then this one has to be top of your list. We give it four out of five stars in this house!
Motherhood has changed me and there are different issues which I consider important compared to when I was young free and single. I am not going to post endless links to different example charities, I just thought I'd list the general areas and hope that it sparks some discussion. Am I missing something? Or do you all feel the same?
Homelessness: One thing that worries me is how easy it is for someone to become homeless and how easy it is to then get stuck in a cycle where it is difficult to help oneself. I think this is part a result of years of commuting into London and seeing the same homeless people every day. I couldn't bear to think of my children becoming homeless and whenever I see someone on the streets however they might be behaving I always think that they also had a mother.
The Environment: I've always been a bit of an earth mother (I would be really though as I am environmental archaeologist), and from very early in my childhood felt quite strongly about environmental issues. I worry about global warming, that my kids will never get to see a real live Polar Bear and that we will lose lots of potentially amazing animals and plants not known to science. I don't want future generations of my family to suffer as a result of the things we do today. I think we need to preserve habitats rather than build on them.
Domestic Violence: Everyone deserves to feel safe. Whether its physical or mental abuse this is one issue that none of us should ignore. I often think how important it is to be aware that it is very likely happening within your community, amongst people who you know and would never suspect to be suffering.
Children's Charities: I'm a bit selective here, but charities that deal with child abuse are top on my list.
Education: Not a charity, but a cause. As far as I am concerned every child or young person in this country is entitled to a free quality education, if this utopia could be achieved our country would be a better place. I do not agree with university tuition fees and I am not a fan of the school PTA putting subtle pressure on parents to meet the shortfalls in funding which should be filled by the government.
The NHS: My experience of hospitals is that they are under-staffed, overwhelmed and dirty. There is over-management and under-funding of critical areas. I really care that the local kids A & E has had its hours cut, I care that there are not enough SCBU beds, that there are staff which don't seem to understand basic human dignity and that it's virtually an impossible to get an appointment at the doctors. This one issue could sway my vote in an election.
Human Rights: I care whether something is manufactured without someone being exploited. I will pay more money for a product if they show that it has been made in a factory where workers are provided with basic human rights and a fair wage. I hate to think that we might own products made by children and I try quite hard to make sure that we don't.
Equality: I feel incredibly strongly that all individuals are equal, everybody deserves the same opportunities in life and I get very upset when I see people being unfairly treated. Although I have always felt like this I think I have become far more vocal since becoming a mother.
Cancer Research: Cancer has touched our family and I am always shocked when I hear the statistics. This is one area where money does seem to make a difference whether it through education or research.
The local hospice: In my humble opinion, this is a service that should be funded from government. Everybody deserves the help and dignity that a properly managed and funded hospice can provide if they need it.
I'm quite an environmental and ethical shopper when it comes to my own clothes and when I was asked to have a look at the range of clothing produced by Ecocreeper and review one of their sweatshirts I was very interested. Ecocreeper are a streetwear company that produces 100% organic, bamboo and cotton clothing which is made to Fair Wear Foundation standards. They give 15 % of their profits to the Natural Energy Trust and meet the appropriate standards for this sector of the clothing industry. Importantly, they believe that quality organic clothing doesn't need to cost the earth, perfect for a family like us then.
I think the strength in the Ecocreeper range is in the children's and baby wear. Not only is organic clothing perfect for this age group but their designs were really age appropriate. The adults range consists of T-shirts and sweatshirts. I really liked the range of colours of the T-shirts.
The sweatshirt I received was a little bit long in the arms, but apart from that fitted well. It washed up nicely and retained its colour. Best of all, like every piece of organic cotton I own, it feels wonderfully soft. My only criticism is the logo really, I'm not all that keen on Logos and I have to admit I do feel a bit embarrassed with the 'Creeper Ecosexy' logo. But then, lets face it I'm nearing forty with two kids ,so maybe I'm not really the appropriate age group for this particular sweatshirt. I think I would have preferred the one with just the logo on the sleeve. I really like this pink zip up sweatshirt and having seen the quality of the sweatshirt I was given I am very tempted to buy one.
All in all, I think Ecocreeper are one of these organic clothes companies that it's worth keeping an eye on. They are great for basic t-shirts, sweatshirts and kids stuff and well worth checking out, but I have a feeling their best is yet to come.
I have been fascinated with fairies and folklore ever since I was a tiny child and I collect fairy artwork and associated ephemera. Little Fifi likes fairies too and spends loads of time each day dressing up as a fairy. I have to admit that since she is a little bit, well, round she reminds me of the sugar plum fairy. Tinkerbell reigns supreme in our house, just as well there are a few boy fairies represented or boy might feel a bit left out!
Anyway, I have come across this event which looks perfect for us (apart from being in America), who fancies starting a Fairy World festival in the UK?
It's no secret that myself and the husband can be a little bit unconventional at times. For example, one day the hubby decided to start attending my Yoga class, as the only male present and with 6 ft 4 of him towering over the rest of us I think it was an enjoyable revelation. Anyhow, we have always enjoyed Yoga and so it was brilliant when the BBC started encouraging children to have a go with their television programme Waybuloo.
The kids have watched Waybuloo and joined in right from episode one. It's funny to see them doing little cat poses and other moves on the living room floor and I think the gentleness of the programme does them a lot of good in our frenetic rough and tumble household.
When I heard that Fisher Price actually make talking soft toy characters from the show I almost jumped for joy as I knew that out of all the hundreds of soft toys we have the kids would really love them. As predicted, they do, Fifi was given the talking plush De Li and Boy was given the talking Plush Yojojo. So far, both toys have been taken to the zoo, school, nanny's house, the museum and the supermarket.Yojojo is apparently rather good at warding off the monsters that live in boys room.
These toys have sound effects which rather brilliantly (and rarely) can be turned on or off. They say appropriate phrases from the show. I haven't found them irritating, although I would say that at two Fifi does find it quite hard to press her one and get it to talk.
Apart from that, I think these are probably the (second) best soft toys we own, they would be first but the Boy has a soft toy bunny as a comforter. If you are looking for a pre-school gift for children that like Waybuloo you really cant go far wrong, they are reasonably priced, well made and exactly like the piplins from the show.
The boys room needs decorating, so in advance of wallpaper stripping I let them loose with their felt tip pens. Weirdly, the novelty wore off very quickly, far more quickly than when they use their crayons to draw on the living room wall. Hmmm. Clearly we may have the next Banksy living with us.
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