The art of doing nothing

20 Monday May 2013

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Being idleHave you ever looked forward to sitting down at the end of a long day, only to find yourself getting a bit twitchy when you finally put your feet up? Maybe you’re one of those people who dreams about relaxing in a hot bath only to find yourself reaching for your phone when you get there. Do you struggle to watch a full TV programme without commenting on it via Twitter or Facebook?

I am all of the above.

I haven’t always been this way. In fact, I used to be pretty bloody good at switching off. Properly switching off I mean; shutting the laptop and turning down the volume on my phone. Pre-motherhood I thought a busy day was a 10 hour shift reporting on breaking news stories, with a rushed tea and only seven hours sleep rather than eight. Back in those days, I could quite easily walk through the door at the end of a long day and not think twice about soaking in a bath or watching a film. Continue reading »

Preparing to move

20 Monday May 2013

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ImageThis post is brought to you in association with musicMagpie…

We are moving this summer. Where exactly we move to is yet to be decided, but whatever happens, we will be in a new place by August.

That means we have two months to get rid of every unwanted item we’ve acquired over the past three and a half years, since we’ve lived in this house.

Sigh. Continue reading »

When the mundane is full of win

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in Family

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On Friday morning, I tweeted this:

Tweet

As a weekend of mundane chores and To Do lists opened up before me like a yawning chasm of drudgery, I sighed over the days when weekends were different.

It’s over three years ago now – more like four really – when weekends meant late nights on dancefloors, drinks in the pub, shopping trips and lazy afternoons at the cinema. In the absence of swimming lessons or trips to the tip, Sundays were spent sleeping in until midday, followed by an impromptu pub lunch and an evening in front of a DVD.

These days, weekends are punctuated with a morning in a cold swimming pool, a flurry of housework and piles of dirty laundry. Continue reading »

Technology and the home: the many uses

18 Saturday May 2013

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This post is brought to you in association with BT…

How much do you use technology? We’re a gadgety household – with an IT teacher husband it’s hard not to be – but even without the gadgets, technology encompasses lots of aspects of our family life in general.

With our increasing reliance on the internet, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict that technology is likely to take over even more aspects of our life and home. In fact, it’s something you might already notice in your own kids, as they embrace new technologies.

 

With this in mind, there are a few key areas to think about, when technology and family life come together. Continue reading »

Gatsby Style

16 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Fashion

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Gatsby header

I love glamour. Not fake tan, extensions, blinding white teeth glamour but proper, old-school glamour.

The sparkly brooches of days gone by, the tassles of flapper dresses, the cute little hats and feathers of the 1920s. This is probably why I’m a teensy bit excited about The Great Gatsby’s release – and have been using my role as ambassador of Shopcade to put together lists of my favourite Gatsby-esque finds.

I haven’t been to the cinema since – wait for it – before my daughter was born. She turns three years old at the end of June. That’s a LONG time not to watch a film on the big screen. But, until now, there’s not been a movie out that’s grabbed me in the way The Great Gatsby has. Continue reading »

Choosing happy

13 Monday May 2013

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Choosing Happy

It’s funny how it’s so easy to fall into a default setting of “glum”. When the weather’s a bit rubbish and you’re tired and the dishes are piling up and you can’t afford that new dress, it can sometimes feel like the world is against you. Or is that just me?

We’re going through a bit of a stressful time in our household at the moment. Lots of change is afoot, which means a huge amount of juggling, not much sleep and more than the odd tense moment.

Although I relish change and get excited about new things, it’s difficult to let yourself get too carried away when you don’t know exactly how things will pan out. That lack of security has had me and The (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine doing that thing of, “Once this month is over, it’ll all be OK”. Basically, we’re wishing our lives away past this challenge, counting down the seconds of each day until things are more settled.

That is A Bad Thing. Continue reading »

The problem with being self-employed

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Money and budgeting

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This post is brought to you in association with Vanquis

The problem with being self-employed is that no one really believes you when you tell them how much money you earn. Until you have it in black and white, on a little slip of paper from your accountant, you could pluck any figure out of thin air. That’s not ideal when it comes to borrowing money. Credit card companies and banks tend to like to know they’re lending to a “safe bet” type person, with a salaried job that gives them sick pay and holiday pay and all the other things you get with being an employee.

The thing is, lots of people (including many mums I know) aren’t in that position. Like many mothers, I went self-employed after having a baby. I wanted the flexibility of working around my daughter, the ability to earn more money than my old job and the challenge of trying something new.

At the time, borrowing money was not at the front of my mind. But now, as we hurtle towards applying for a mortgage, I’m more than a little aware that my self-employed status may not be looked on with such excitement by a lender.

June 2011: A night out celebrating my new self-employed status

June 2011: A night out celebrating my new self-employed status

Continue reading »

Cool stuff for kids

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Baby and toddler products

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Sometimes I feel like I spend my life clearing up tat. Plastic tat, at that.

From living room to kitchen to dining room to bedroom, my toddler leaves a trail of sparkly rubbish in her wake. As fast as I clear it out of the house, it makes its way back in again, like a persistent weed taking over a beautiful flower bed. Not that my house is like a beautiful flower bed, but you get the analogy.

In my attempts to banish the tatty paraphenalia, I have taken on a new game plan. This one involves finding new, better stuff to rival the plastic.

I’m drawn towards wooden toys, bright and bold colours rather than insipid sparkly ones, preferably with some kind of retro slant. The kind of things I don’t mind clogging up my living room. I know, I am a toy snob. Perhaps I wouldn’t be this way if we lived in a huge house with a playroom and deep cupboards, so I wouldn’t have to spend my evenings knee-deep in holographic stickers and dry felt-tip pens. That’s my excuse anyway. Continue reading »

Making my daughter wear a dress

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Baby and toddler products, Fashion

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Polarn O.Pyret spotty dress

The last month has been somewhat of a revelation in the parenting stakes. Have you ever noticed how just as you think you’ve got it sorted, a new curveball comes to challenge you? The challenge of the moment is… clothing. Or, rather, toddler clothing.

Despite not yet turning three, my daughter has developed incredibly strong opinions about what she will and will not wear.

Her fashionista choices deem wellies to be firmly IN and dresses firmly OUT. That’s fine, except for when she wants to wear her yellow wellies with a (completely inappropriate, bought by my sister as a joke) belly dancer outfit. To nursery. Not ideal. Continue reading »

Indulgence without the guilt

05 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in Motherhood, pampering

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ProseccoSince becoming a mum, I’ve been pretty pants at treating myself. There always seems to be something else that is more important; my daughter needs something, my husband needs something, the house needs something. Whatever it is, nine times out of ten, I will prioritise that one thing above the one thing I had planned to do or buy for myself.

Not this weekend.

On Friday, I made a decision. As I drove home from work, I passed – on impulse – the junction I usually take on the motorway. Instead, I drove a few more miles so I could take a solo trip to the supermarket. Whilst there, I bought a few bits for supper, a huge mixture of bubble solution for my toddler, plus a brilliant red nail varnish and a bottle of Prosecco for myself. And I didn’t allow myself to feel a hint of guilt. Continue reading »