Looking up, I experienced the same feeling of dread suffered by any parent who has attempted to do a spot of shopping with a child in tow. It started in my stomach and rose, leaving a metallic taste of bile in my mouth.

Grabbing the last bargain dress in my size, I ran across the shop, heart sinking at the size of the queue ahead of me. The voices behind the men’s T’shirt section were getting louder. There may even have been a shriek.

The cashier was in no rush. Despite my best attempts at willing her to go faster, she languidly passed her scanner over each bar-code in a daze. There were five people ahead of me. The voices had moved from the men’s T’shirt section to the pants. They were turning to shouts. 

Reasoning that I’d be two more minutes, tops, I told myself my three year old’s dad was more than capable of dealing with a public tantrum. Even though it was very public. Even though it was getting louder.

My legs jiggled as the nervous energy took over every inch of my body. Why wasn’t the cashier going faster? Sighs of impatience behind me, as the other hot and flustered customers started to clock the commotion on the other side of the store.

Minutes passed in slow motion, as the fluorescent lights shone down, illuminating every tired pore and dark shadow on my face. A bead of sweat dripped from my lip, leaving a salty tang in my dry mouth. The shouts were definite screams of anger now. There was a man’s voice, sounding panicked. Rising.

Paying for my dress (it wasn’t worth the wait, but I’d got that far), I flung the bag under my arm and ran as fast as I could to the pants section, following the noise. I ignored the concerned tuts and whispered judgements of the gaggle of customers passing the scene.

As I got closer, I searched for my tall husband. My stomach flipped as I realised he must be crouched on the floor, trying to placate our screaming child. Maybe she’d crawled under the clothes rails? I felt sick.

Rails of pants parted like the Red Sea, the shrill sound of a toddler’s tantrums filled my ears. And there, kicking and screaming before me… was a little boy with thick black hair and glasses. Not my child. Both parents stood over him, waving toys and sweets in his direction.

The relief was like a glass of water to the lips of a traveller in the desert. Palpable, swooshing over me leaving immediate calm.

I was safe this time. Some other poor bugger had to deal with it.

The post The panic: why shopping and children don’t mix appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Pictogram Rainbow Wall Clock, mydeco, via Shopcade.com

I’ve mentioned before that we’re on the cusp of change. As yet, it’s not clear exactly what that change will be, but one thing is for sure: we are moving house this summer.

With that in mind, I’ve been back to my trusty old Shopcade boards to start getting some inspiration for beautiful things to fill our new place with.

At the moment, I’m really drawn to bright colours against white backgrounds, charcoal hues with splashes of yellow and fun 1950s fonts and shades. (I think I might have been spending a little too much time on Bright Bazaar and Growing Spaces recently.)

I’m dreaming of the day we can look at a kitchen and know we can paint it in any colour we choose. I’m imagining hoarding up samples of paints and making a mess as we make some feeble attempts at DIY. I’m actually looking forward to the chaos of moving and the unpacking at the other end (I know – madness).

And when we do eventually move the fabled home, these are some of the things I’d like to fill it with:

Funky Stamps Pendant Lamp Shade, mydeco, via Shopcade.com

Memory Balloon Ceiling Lights, Not On The High Street, via Shopcade.com

Sevens Taupe Coasters, Ella Doran, via Shopcade

To see the rest of my inspiration, check out my “New Home Wants – Colour” boards on Shopcade.com. But be warned, once you start, it’s hard to stop!

By the way, if you’re a fan of Not On The High Street, you could be in with a chance of winning £500 to refresh your home with their products, simply by curating lots of gorgeous wants from the brand on your Shopcade lists. You can find out more about the exclusive Shopcade competition here.

Disclosure: As a Shopcade ambassador I occasionally get sent lovely things to keep from the site. For more information about commercial content please see my Disclosure page.

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*whispers* Is it just me, or does it finally feel like it could, possibly, maybe, perhaps, be spring?

The last couple of days have seen moments of sunshine and blue sky that have left me blinking. I’m not suggesting we all get carried away and start donning a bikini or hotpants, but the brighter days have definitely left me wanting a bit more colour.

As the spring days tease us, I’ve been busy catching up on my recent addiction: my spring colour boards on Shopcade.

This is a site that works a bit like Pinterest, where you make lists of things you want. But with Shopcade, you can actually buy the stuff. Plus, you get points for your activity (if someone follows you or repins something you’ve found, for example) which lead to lovely rewards. And you get more rewards if you buy stuff through the site. Seriously, it’s great.

You can follow me on there and see my boards here, I recommend the trainers and boots lists. I’ve toiled long and hard over those.

Here are some of the products currently featuring on my spring colour boards:

I also rather like this very serious and sophisticated jumper from Boden, which I think would look pretty good with early morning uniform of jeans and converse.

Then there are the numerous shades of lipstick I’ve been looking at, the bunches of daffodils winking at me in the supermarket, as well as my sudden hankering after a fresh salad rather than a hearty stew.

I’m telling you, spring is on the way. Hopefully.

***

Disclosure: As a Shopcade ambassador, I get sent lovely items every now and again. For more information about commercial content please see my disclosure page.

The post In search of some colour appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

I remember this clearly, because I’d been worried she would never smile. Just as with everything else, Frog was the last of her baby peers to reach the smiling milestone.

And today is cause for celebration of a similar ilk. It’s a momentous day. We have reached a truly huge landmark in Frog’s early years.

At the age of 20 months old, Frog has achieved something incredibly special.

We have finally, finally experienced our First Public Tantrum. Joy.

I now know how it feels to be that mother. You know the one. You must see her in the supermarket most weekends, standing forlornly by as her children lie in the middle of the aisle kicking and screaming.

Up until now I had never truly experienced that feeling of hot shame and utter ground-swallow-me-up nausea. I’d looked on with sympathy as other mothers attempted all techniques of tantrum negotiation, from bribery and shouting to the simple art of ignoring the young offender. I’d even silently made judgments about certain methods, noting these parents down as future Supernanny victims, clearly ignorant in the simple art of parenting.

No longer.

This afternoon, Frog pulled an absolute blinder. The tantrum involved a large Next clothing store, a pair of shoes and a disgruntled sales assistant. We left to the piercing screams of, “NO, NO, NO, SHOES, MINE, MINE, SHOES, ME, ME, ME, SHOOOOOOOOOOES!”

I doubt we’ll be going back.

(And yes, she’s still yet to walk.)

Obsessed with shoes

The post Finally, we’ve reached a major milestone appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Finally I have proof that our bathroom is the coldest room in the house, despite what the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine says.

We’ve been testing out the Brother Max Ray Digital Bath and Room Thermometer for the past week. So far it’s proved that it’s extremely cold in the bathroom, Frog’s room and our living room. In fact, the only place where the temperature doesn’t induce frost bite seems to be in the bath.

That’s the brilliant thing about this thermometer, see. It measures the temperature in both the room AND the bath. The clever design means it doubles up as floating bath toy (a Sting Ray, to be precise) as well as a thermometer.

Genius.

***

This is a review post. The Ray Digital Bath And Room Thermometer is available online at Brother Max and Kiddicare.  

The post You know it’s cold when… appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

This Super Woman goes by the name of Lisa Talbot and happens to be a very fabulous stylist. Within ten minutes I knew of the perfect top – and exactly where to get it. This was, quite literally, the holy grail for a woman with a less-than-flat stomach and an out of practise shopping technique.

Because Lisa’s lovely like that, she agreed to write a guest post, revealing some of her secrets. So, without further ado, I bring to you the first ever guest post to feature on Mother’s Always Right…

Lisa Talbot, Stylist extraodinaire

If you’re anything like me, my day starts at 6.45am and finishes at, well do they ever really finish?

In between I have my 7 year old twins to get up, which breakfast they so desire that morning to organise, packed lunch to pop in the lunchbox, get them dressed at high speed as they dawdle over breakfast, drop them at school, walk the dog and get to my destination of work (which could be any shopping centre within a 50 mile radius ).

I could tell you about the rest of my day but I’d be writing forever and I think you get the jist of it!

Does this sound familiar? I think every women can relate to this, afterall we are all superwomen aren’t we?

So, as a busy mum and more importantly a stylist who understands ‘normal’ women who shop in the high street, I wanted to help you with ‘What is Style’?

When you are thinking about style, consider this:

• Style is not about clothes alone
• Fashion can be bought – style cannot
• We are not always born with a sense of style –but it can be learned
• Style is consistent – but not boring

What is your style?

The most important principle, in my mind, is to dress yourself according to your personality and lifestyle. This will make your life so much easier.

There is no point is dressing in a business style dress if you are a stay at home mum – and vice versa.

When dressing a body bear these points in mind; dressing yourself is like wrapping a gift and depending on the shape and size of the parcel we dress it to suit an individual’s requirement:

• Colour
• Texture
• Pattern
• Accessories

In the same way you would you choose to flatter, disguise and personalise your gift, the same principles apply to
wrapping the body.

Outer and Inner lines:

Everyone has an outer line to his or her face and body. We are born with this shape. This basic shape does not change whether you are a size 8 or 28.

We must, therefore, wrap our body in clothes, hairstyles, accessories and glasses to suit and mimic our outer shape.

Helping everyday women dress for their body shape is my biggest mission and one which I believe has the greatest impact in not only how we look but how we feel.

The post Your Christmas Fairy Godmother appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

It is Frog’s 1^st birthday on Monday. Not such a big deal you might think. Well, you’d be wrong.

The thing is, it feels like just last week I was working out how to change a nappy without getting poo on my face, while simultaneously getting to grips with the babygrow’s complicated press-stud system.

And now, here we are. Organising Frog’s birthday party.

And it is just this birthday party which is sending me into the kind of frenzy you wouldn’t have thought possible. I don’t want to be outdone, you see.

So, in an attempt to win at the birthday party (and yes, I realise I’m the only one who cares) I went to the supermarket.

As I was walking around said supermarket I found a strange and terrible thing started happening. Anything even slightly glittery, or plastic, or inflatable, or birthday looking started jumping right off the shelves and into my shopping trolley. By the time I got to the check-out I appeared to have amassed a lorry-load full of tat. Pink, sparkly, birthday tat – but tat all the same.

I have bouncy balls, bags, balloons, bunting, banners, badges, bowls – and that’s just the B’s. I also have paddling pools, sandpits, glittery platters, streamers, cake stands and bubbles. Not to mention the pile of plastic that has an unknown purpose.

And that’s not all.

I went to the garden centre this morning. I bought a hanging basket. That’s right, an actual hanging basket to hang outside my house, to scream, “Welcome to the home of the best 1^st birthday party in the world – isn’t this home sweet and quaint and pretty – we win! We win! We win!”

I also bought runner beans, even though the lady at the garden centre told me not to, because it’s “too late” to plant them. Doesn’t she realise I couldn’t give a fig if they grow at all? Doesn’t she realise it’s all just for show – decoration to back up the hanging basket and its web of lies?

The party isn’t until next weekend. That gives me a whole week to bake. That’s right, a whole week. I will NOT be outdone – dammit! There’ll be sausage rolls and quiche and cupcakes and biscuits, all served up in pink and sparkly plastic tat, in front of a backdrop of runner beans and hanging baskets.

Oh yes, I’m going to win – WIN I tell you!

Or at least I would win if I was any good at baking and gardening. But I’m not. No, what I’m really good at is buying pink and sparkly plastic tat from the supermarket and hiding it around the house, rather like I imagine an alcoholic would hide their empty bottles.

So this may not be the best birthday party in Berkshire after all. It may just be, well, rather mediocre.

But at least there’ll be a hanging basket and runner beans – not to mention the piles of pink and sparkly plastic tat.

The post A birthday breakdown appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

1. Don’t feed the baby before you leave.

That way, the baby will be really hungry and will scream all the way round the supermarket. You will become increasingly panicked by the situation and attempt to breastfeed in the middle of the fruit and veg section. Only to do a Full Frontal Flash at the elderly lady choosing her carrots.

2. Forget the baby wipes.

Then, when your baby does the most disgusting dirty nappy ever, you won’t have anything to clean her with.

3. Make a really big deal out of parking in a parent and child space.

In doing so, make sure you look like a complete idiot by driving across an empty car park with lots of free spaces.

4. Don’t bother learning how the car seat and buggy combination works.

Having survived the inside of the supermarket, you will now end up spending two hours in the car park trying to work out how to unfasten the car seat from the buggy frame. In desperation, you will phone the Mamas & Papas helpline, only to be put on hold for another thirty minutes. You are still in the supermarket car park remember.

5. Have a huge row with your partner.

After all, the car seat issue was his fault.

The post How to fail miserably at your first supermarket + baby outing appeared first on Mother's Always Right.