Thursday 31 December 2015

Our Year in Pictures 2015


2015 has been a crazy year for us with highlights including Jade meeting her idol and our first family camping holiday, and we've really enjoyed sharing it with you. So, for our last post of 2015, I thought I would post a little collection of our best bits, in picture form. Happy New Year and thanks so much for supporting us and sharing our bonkers ideas and crazy adventures!


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Random Acts of Kindness with Wayfair



Wayfair have been asking for bloggers to talk about their random acts of kindness for their #BlogItForward campaign. I was nominated by A Cornish Mum and thought it was a great opportunity to show you some of our activities over the Christmas period. On the 1st of December, I made my daughter an advent calendar of items required by our local Foodbank and each day she added one more item to the bag. Just before Christmas we trooped down to Sainsbury's and dropped it off to be collected by Trussels and distributed to those in need.
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Wednesday 23 December 2015

My New Year's Resolutions, featuring our Favourite Brands!


Flamboyant Lady Animation This year I'm committed to getting it right,
Into bed early and up at first light,
Making the time do the things I forget,
Remembering birthdays, and dates that I've set.

Being that mum that everyone hates,
All made up and perfect, at the school gates,
With projects, P.E kit, and children serene,
Not covered in toast crumbs, but actually clean!

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Friday 18 December 2015

Osper - Financial Independence for Children


When Osper offered my son, L, the chance to buy his own Christmas presents, he was thrilled. It's lovely when your children are just as overjoyed to buy gifts for others as they are for themselves! It also had the potential to be really fun for him, because he does love to be independent. He is very good at maths, and enjoys working out what things cost and whether something is a good deal or not. I think it's important that children are educated about money.
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Friday 11 December 2015

The Book of Everyone: A Gift for Anyone!


You can't have it all
Everyone has that friend or relative who is impossible to buy for. Like the dads, grandads, brothers, etc, who have got to that age where they have enough money to buy all their own boys' toys and do. Or the mums, sisters and girlfriends whose hobbies don't seem to involve anything tangible, just chatting and possibly drinking tea. So inconsiderate, when they know you need to buy them a gift, there are only so many tea accompaniments you can buy! I have this problem every year, so I was thrilled to find the answer, in a personalised book idea, from The Book of Everyone.


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Tuesday 8 December 2015

How to Contribute to our Homeless for Christmas Fundraiser!


This post is for bloggers and companies who are interested in sponsoring our event, for details of how to join in and compete, please read Support CentrePoint with The Big Facebook Treasure Hunt


This Sunday we are hosting a charity event on Facebook to raise money for two homeless charities, who are working hard to provide comfort and support for street sleepers over the Christmas period. As you can imagine, this is an especially lonely, cold and depressing time for those without a permanent home and I wanted to do something to try to help.

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Sunday 6 December 2015

I'm Not Scared! With Zooropia at Bristol Zoo Gardens


Boy crossing a log bridge on the Zooropia rope course.
This is the story, in pictures, of L's recent visit to Zooropia, an arial assault course at Bristol Zoo Gardens. Especially designed for children aged 5 to 12, it's about 6 metres high, but surprisingly safe. L made short work of it, while I happily looked on from the safety of terra firma. not being a fan of heights! L really enjoyed it and is keen to go again. It's perfect for him, as it's a physical activity and he really enjoyed the fact he could do it on his own. This experience is brilliant for building confidence and self esteem and there were lots of adults taking part too! The descent is via a zip wire, which, apparently, is the best bit! 
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Saturday 5 December 2015

Support CentrePoint with The Big Facebook Treasure Hunt 13/12/15


A horizontal bolt of lightening against a dark skyIt's particularly difficult to imagine homeless young people at Christmas. As the nights draw in and the weather turns, too many people, many of them barely more than children, are trying to keep warm and dry. As I write this, the wind is howling outside and I wonder how on earth anyone could cope without somewhere warm to go. How do you survive without being able to sleep? How terrifying must it be to live without a front door between you and the outside world every night? Like many of you, I am a mum, first and foremost. My children are my world, it doesn't matter how old they are, I will still want to protect them and I will still worry about them.
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Tuesday 1 December 2015

Marvel Avengers Children's Watches from WatchShop.com


Marvel Avengers Watch Face
I've always found it tricky to find the perfect gifts for the men in my life. There just doesn't seem to be the choice that you get with ladies. It's no surprise that, as L gets older, I'm having the same problem. This week, though, the people at the WatchShop.com have provided a solution that I hadn't really considered before. They sell all sorts of watches and jewellery to suit every pocket and starting at just a few pounds, but it's their children's watch selection that really impressed me. A large range, with lots of styles and characters to choose from, there's something for every child's personal preference and we all know how important that is! 


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Sunday 29 November 2015

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Creating a Bedroom for a Nine Year Old Boy on a Budget


Boy on Midsleeper Bed, Laughing, Title Overlaid We've been planning L's room move for some time now. Recently, The Husband had some time off, so we thought we had better go for it. As this was a low budget venture, it was going to take a lot of time and consideration to get it right. We didn't want to spend a lot, because L is at an indecisive age and it probably won't be long before he has set his heart on a whole different colour scheme. Like black, or something. So we endeavoured to create the ideal boys boudoir for under £100. Here's how we got on, including the tricky task of moving his precious sticker collection from his old bedroom wall to the new one!
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Thursday 19 November 2015

At-Bristol, Where Science gets Interesting


I have been to At-Bristol before, on a school trip. The problem with school trips, though, is that you are always very short of time to try to fit everything in, so it never feels like you've seen all there is to see. Nevertheless, I was unsure how much there would be to do. I needn't have been concerned, we arrived at 12:45 and I had to drag him out, under protest, over five hours later! There was just so much there to interest him. It covered all of his favourite hobbies. Animation, stop motion, film-making, construction, with lots of other hands on science exhibits that he had no idea he was interested in!
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Wednesday 18 November 2015

Christmas Dinner in a Pie with Pieminister


Christmas pie by PieministerDid you know, the Christmas season begins with your first Christmas pie? You didn't? Neither did I, because I think I just made that up. I might make it a Christmas tradition though, because when I met up with some fellow bloggers in Bristol recently, the arrival of the Pieminister Christmas pies had us all feeling decidely Christmassy. We went along to St Nicholas Market to enjoy our pies and it was bustling with people and excitement, anticipating the Christmas lights switch on. There was even a rooftop band. I swear, only Bristol could have a market so small, you have to put your live band on a roof! 
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Tuesday 17 November 2015

Why I Hate Black Friday

Busy Shopping Street, title overlaidWe live in a society where poverty and desperation are everywhere. From the young man begging next to Bristol Bus Station (nice lad, always says 'good morning'), to the child, enviously eyeing his friend's new tablet, phone, jacket, trainers, whatever. This is the truth of Britain today. It's horrible, but it is something we have had to come to terms with. As a nation we have coped, pulled together, made do and mended as only Britain can. We come together on Facebook, to share bargains and coupons we've found, we come together in life to support foodbanks, do our bit for charities and organise clothes-swapping and other similar events to share what we do have (if you are not doing any of this, try it, it's fun!).
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How to Prepare Children for Their Financial Future


Experian Jangle Logo
It's a hard life being a blogger. Sometimes I spend whole days writing poems and eating biscuits. Other times I go to the seaside to take pictures of the sunset while the children play in the waves. It's a trial, it really is. I'm a very committed blogger, though, so I don't shy away from the work that needs doing. Like when I was invited to attend a gourmet lunch at a swanky hotel in Clifton recently, to discuss a new app aimed at teaching children to manage money responsibly. This is a subject we are very keen on dscussing, as it seems to be getting harder to budget and I think it's so important that children learn the importance of saving and spending wisely. And there were profiteroles. Enough said.

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Monday 16 November 2015

Is Christmas Too Commercialised?


A Guest Post by the Husband

My favourite Christmas song without question is Wizzard's I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day, because I love to hear the part where the children are singing. My all-time favourite song, which nobody will have heard of, is Snowbound by Genesis because it tells the story of when the snow arrives and all the children build their snowmen. It may sound corny but to me life is all about watching and hearing children play.
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Friday 13 November 2015

Well Fitted Bras Galore!

"A friend is like a good bra: hard to find, comfortable, supportive and never leaves you hanging."

ImageI'm a bit obsessed with well-fitting bras. There is just nothing worse than a badly fitting bra and after having children, it becomes even more important to get the right fit. When you have children, not only can your boobage fluctuate in size quite significantly, due to hormone changes, weight gain, etc, but also comfort becomes a really big deal. You may find yourself having to attempt running, when your toddler makes a break for freedom in the supermarket.
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