Magazines, meals out and cinema tickets

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Post - I have been paid to include links but the content is all my own.


I must admit that when it comes to food shopping I tend to go for whichever supermarket is closest. I am a creature of habit and even going to a different branch of my usual supermarket do to the food shopping freaks me out. I just can't find anything and so I have to go up and down the aisles looking for what I need and ending up buying a lot of stuff that I don't.

The local Tesco in Lewes is like a second home to me these days. I know where everything is and I can whizz in and out with very little bother at all. Mind you, even when I just pop in for a couple items I still manage to spend twenty pounds without realising it. Everything just seems so expensive these days and it all adds up so I am pleased that at Tesco at least we can use our clubcard and get something back. We also both commute a fair way so we get through quite a lot of petrol each month so all the points definitely add up. In the past I used to save up my vouchers and spend them all at Christmas but then I heard about Clubcard Deals.

Now I use my vouchers and exchange them for all sorts of things. Being on maternity leave has meant that some of the things that we liked to enjoy had to be stopped and thanks to my pile of vouchers that I have squirreled away we have still been able to treat ourselves occasionally. Especially when on holiday we were able to use vouchers on days out and having a few nice meals out and about. I love that the vouchers can be used in a lot of family friendly restaurants. A £10 clubcard voucher gets me a £40 restaurant token and that is just right for our family of four.

Every year we use the vouchers to renew Mr C’s Gardeners World magazine and I have given quite a few gift subscriptions using our vouchers too. Which is a great present for the parent that has everything. In fact there are loads of gift options for all members of the family.

And then, if I have any left over to spend I get myself some cinema vouchers. I then hide these away to be used by me and me alone on the very rare occasion that I have child free time to see a film of my choice. And because the ticket is free I have more money for popcorn!

Make it Monday: Planning not making

Today was my first Monday back at work and I feel tired and worn out and a little sad that I have not had any time to make anything this week.

However, I have spent this evening commenting on some blog posts and pinning all the wonderful things that I have seen in the last week that I want to make, or have inspired me to make something so I thought I could just do a quick round up instead.

I found these paper flying fish, super simple and a perfect distraction for Piran on a cold (wet, snowy) afternoon.

I love this new baby toy made from an upcycled jumper (or cardigan) by Make Do Mum. Her baby is the next one I know that is due, so I will have to make this for someone else!

I still have my twig wreath that I used at Christmas and I love the idea of wreath with felt flowers, it will be perfect to brighten the house in preparation for Spring.

It is my Dad's birthday next week and I have been seriously lacking in inspiration for a present for him, cursing my plan to make everybody's presents this year. However Tara has come to the rescue with this LOVE picture. Now I just need to get planning and snapping.

Finally I pinned two quilts. I am totally in love and awe of M is for Make's Amazing Technicolour Dream Quilt made from Loulouthi flannel no less. It is completely beautiful and must be the best thing to snuggle up under. Then there is a Selvedge Mini quilt. I cannot get enough of anything made from selvedge and this is rainbow coloured and has clever crosses as part of the pattern as well. It really is a thing of beauty.

What are you making this week? I would love to hear what you are up to.

Review: WOW toys

We were sent some WOW toys for Piran and Kate to play with and review. WOW toys pride themselves on creating super cute, super tough toys for your little ones to love …and all with no batteries required! We were sent three items in total, two for Piran and a bath toy for Kate to play with.

George's Dragon Tale
Received hot on the heels of Piran's new obsession with the Cbeebies programme Mike the Knight this was an immediate winner with Piran. A cute dragon, a knight, a chariot with a catapult and a boulder for launching (or the knight's football as Piran calls it) make for great fun, imaginative play. Piran thinks that it is great and I like the fact that it is quite small so is the perfect toy for taking out and about to keep him entertained if needed.

The Wet 'n' Wobblies
We were sent this set of bath toys to play with. The bright colours were an instant hit with Kate and Piran loves all the pouring and squirting options. The vibrating octopus is funny in the bath, and we like to use the smallest one to pretend that it is raining on Piran and Kate's heads. For me though I find that the set is quite big and takes up a lot of room in our small bathroom. Also, two of the three main toys are not easily emptied of water and we have had black mould instances with other toys when water has not completely been emptied at the end of bath time. I do try and make sure that this happens but it is a bit of a pain when trying to wrestle two small people out of the bath and into pyjamas.

Harvey Harvester
My initial thought about Harvey the Harvester is that he is so big! He has a swivel grain arm and removeable farmer and hay bales. the toy is suitable from 18 months but as we have a smaller baby around the hay bales make me a bit nervous. You can feed the bales into the automatic baler and they are dropped out as he drives along which Piran found great fun. Again, the colours are lovely and bright but for me it seems like a large toy that only really does one thing. However I am sure it would be dearly loved by any farm machine mad boy or girl.

Of the three toys we were sent St George and his dragon Smokey are by far our favourites. I would definitely look at purchasing more WOW toys, but would look at the smaller items. The best thing about these toys is their bright design and the fact that none of them require any batteries.

Disclosure: We were sent three toys from the WOW toys range free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Nine months

I can't get this post to publish properly with all the pictures I want to use so I'll try add them at a later date.



Dear Kate,

Today you are nine months old. Nine months. I am blown away by how big that sounds. It feels like you have always been here, always been part of this family but I feel that I have missed you growing out of your baby stage, I was just so busy managing to look after our family. All traces of newborn have disappeared and you are now a cheeky, adventurous baby girl. Your eyes have stayed blue and your hair has got lighter, much more like Piran's. You still have lovely curls though, and your slightly crazy quiff hairdo has calmed down somewhat. You have amazing eyelashes that are long and ready curled. You are right on track with clothes, just moving into the 9-12 month things you got for Christmas. This week we bought you your first pair of 'proper' shoes. A size 2F.

You have always loved to be on your feet but somewhere around 7.5 months you got the hang of commando crawling, dragging yourself along the floor to get what you wanted. It only took a couple weeks for you to start looking up, and grabbing and pulling on furniture. In the past three weeks you have learned to crawl on hands and knees and you are very fast. You spend all your time pulling yourself to your feet on the furniture and now you are beginning to cruise around. I try not to compare you to your brother too much but at this age he was still happily sat on his bottom just shouting at the world. I am in no way prepared for the chaos you create now you are on the move.

You are much quieter than Piran was, and that makes the times that you do speak and make noises at me even more noteworthy and special. It is probably being around your brother all day as he barely lets me get a word in edgeways let alone you. You have a laugh and a smile that are reserved just for him, you seem to find him utterly hilarious. You love it when we sing to you. You can be distracted by the television but not for long. You love to try and climb up Daddy and me, or anything else you can get your hands on. You love it when I hold your hands and you stand up and do some dancing.

We are slowly convincing you that you don't need milk during the night and it seems to be going okay so far. No matter what we try you are an early riser, waking between 5.30-6.30 most days, full of smiles and shouts and ready for action. If you want picking up you put your arms up and wave them around and wiggle your bottom and legs. You do the same when you are excited about something. You love swimming and being in the bath, particularly with Piran. You have an obsession with trying to drink water from the bath sponge.

You just have two teeth at the front at the bottom of your mouth. We don't see them very often, unless you are hollering. You still holler quite a bit mind you. Recently you can cry if I am around until I pick you up, no one else will do. It is nice to be wanted if I am honest, you have always been so independent even at such a young age. You are very particular, you want room temperature milk and you want your space while you are drinking, you do not like to be held at all. You are good at naps and quite happily drop off in your cot if we catch the timing right. You are enjoying trying all sorts of foods and you are definitely a fan of fruit in all shapes and forms.

You seem to love your brother very much and he loves you too. I am amazed when I see the two of you playing together, it makes everything completely worth it. You wrestle and tickle each other, and strangely you always seem to win by climbing onto him. Occasionally he gets fed up with you, when he is trying to play a game, or have a snack and you will not leave him alone. It might be an idea to stop eating his puzzles too. You love that you can follow him round now and he complains at times but I know he loves it too.

It has not all been plain sailing. Some days I feel that I will never understand you. You cry like you want comfort but refuse to be held. Sometimes if I do a silly dance you will cheer up, other times I find that I just have to leave you work it all out by yourself. I am always there though, waiting for the moment that you seem a little happier and a little more like having me around. I will always be there, I can promise you that. Things have changed a bit around here and you are now spending time at nursery and with Nanny and Grandad. Piran is always with you though and that is what reassures me every time that I go away.

We have a lot to look forward to, the weather will warm up and we will teach you to walk. Then there will be summer with picnics and parks and swimming and playing. Football with Piran and tents and water and spending time in the garden. We can build sandcastles and bury Daddy in the sand. I don't want to wish this part of your life away but there are so many things that I am looking forward to doing with you and that is an adventure that I cannot wait to start.

I love you baby girl. Always.

Love Mum x

Two and a half

Dear Piran,

On Wednesday you turned two and a half. I am sorry this letter is a couple days late, it has been a very busy week and I am still trying to catch up. We have just come back from staying at Grandma and Grandad's house for two weeks where you were entertained and spoilt rotten all day long. You had a blast. You really love Grandma and particularly Grandad Derek who you did not leave alone from the moment that you woke until the moment you went to bed. I can still hear "Derek, Derek, Derek, Derek, DEREK, GRANDAD, Grandad Derek, Derek, Derek" ringing in my ears. You were in charge of giving him his pills and helping him eat his porridge every morning. You were very good at the last part.

I looked at you yesterday and you suddenly seemed so big. You still talk constantly and your vocabulary grows every single day. You are a little parrot repeating everything we say. You chatter all day long, or sing songs to yourself, or Kate. If I am lucky you will let me join in. Sometimes I try and you shout STOP MUMMY. I love it when we dance together. Suddenly the things you say show how much your imagination is growing and developing everty day. I walked in on you using your toy animals to be Grandma and Grandad and chatting to each other yesterday. It was so funny.

You are in your bed now and after months of trying we have finally got you to stay in your own room all night long. You are not necessarily pleased about this at all times but most nights you will ask for pyjamas and milk, then when that has been drunk tell us that you are going to bed now. I have to put you in bed, and pull up your covers and make sure that you have: Your penguin night light, your Bubba, the two singing mice, the stuffed dolphin you got when you met Father Christmas, Derek the sock dragon, and any other items you may have picked up that day, or on the way to bed. Last night it was a monkey with a cape. It can get a bit crowded in your bed at times.

You do not often have the patience for me to read you a story, but I took you to see a puppet show of a book called Shoe Baby and since then it has become a favourite, so much so that I can repeat most of it from memory and you join in at all the right places. You also love The Snail and the Whale and Monkey Puzzle. You like to sing and you are starting to remember more and more of songs, Twinkle, Twinkle is still a favourite, but you also like Tiny Tim the turtle and Incy Wincy Spider. You love to cook and bake and want to do everything yourself these days. Everything. It can be a little testing at times!

You are quite cautious still but recently you went off by yourself at the soft play and went round and round all by yourself for ages. You call a slide a swing, and you love the slides but the swings are not your favourite at all. You love animals and you seem to go to the zoo with Nanny and Grandad almost every week. If we ask you what you have done at 'work' (nursery) you will always say played with cars. You love puzzles and would do them all day long if Kate didn't keep coming along and trying to eat them all up. This week it is all about running. You come to me and say "I BRUM Mummy, yes?" with this amazing questioning look on your face and your head tilted to the side. And when I say yes off you whizz. You are amazing at swimming now, you love going to the pool with Daddy every Saturday for your lesson and each week your Dad comes back full of stories for me and sounding so proud of you.

You do have your moments though. You hate getting dressed or undressed. Trying to get you to leave the house takes negotiation skills I didn't know I possessed. Some times nothing works and we have a battle on our hands with you kicking and wriggling and screaming. I hate those moments so much, I get so frustrated. I know you are just testing boundaries but some days I just want to scream back. You tell me every time you go to the toilet but still do not want to sit on a potty or toilet so we are still using nappies. We struggled so long with your sleeping I hope that we have cracked it now but it really took its toll on your dad and me.

You love your sister a lot and now she is at nursery with you you are very proud of her and will apparently tell anyone that listens that she is your sister. She is moving now and can crawl after you at quite a speed which I think you love. You try to get her to play things that she is too small for but it will not be too long before she is on her feet and chasing after you properly. I am looking forward to the summer so much, and seeing you both play together is one of the most amazing parts of my day.

You are a lovely boy and we are so very lucky that you are our little boy. We love you so much, and constantly wander around amazed that we made this small crazy wonderful person. I cannot capture you and how much you change and develop each day in these letters but I hope that I catch the essence of who you are and who we are as a family so that we can look back and remember together.

I love you little boy.

Mum x

The Gallery: Me right now

So, for the gallery this week you had to take a picture of you and what you were doing when you read Tara's gallery prompt post this week.

It was Friday night. I had driven back from Cornwall on my own with two children for the first time ever. My carefully planned journey including a stop at Heather's house for dinner had fallen apart when I got stuck in a traffic jam due to a lorry fire on the A303 and had to take a detour and head straight home. The second half of the journey was mostly hell on a stick and when I finally reached home at 6.30pm with two children having cried for the last 45 minutes I could have happily joined them. The house was dark, Mr C was traveling back from Germany and there were no parking spaces near the house. I couldn't get the children in and then park as I can't leave them in the house alone and so I parked at the top of the close and tried to get them out. I discovered that Piran had trashed his shoes so I managed to get them on enough for him to walk. Piran was crying for cuddles I had to carry Kate. He decided to manage this by hanging onto my trouser legs. Kate was crying and as I was getting her out of the car Piran fell over in the mud. I picked him up, set him on his feet and dusted him off, slung Kate under my arm and held his hand.  There are no street lights where we live and Piran hates the dark without a torch. They were both weeping and wailing and it was suddenly very obvious that Kate had had a monster poo. We got into the house and I just dropped to the floor in the hallway, trying to cuddle Piran to stop him crying and deal with the poo explosion in Kate's nappy (and clothes).

Then Mr C walked in.

I believe I practically shouted "Thank God for that". I was frankly amazed that I managed that sentence without the F word.

Two hours and two large glasses of wine later I took some time to read through some blogs in my reader on my phone. I read Tara's post and then took this picture. I think I look particularly fetching in my pyjama bottoms and striped top. I was just relived that I still had my wits about me and that I had survived the ordeal!

Back to work, again

I spent the last two weeks in Cornwall and returned last Friday. Getting back was chaotic (more on that later) and I woke on Saturday to discover that I wasn't in a good place at all. The house was full of bags that needed unpacking, even though I had done washing at my mums there was still an overflowing basket and I just felt so completely out of control.

It took hours to psyche myself up to go into town to buy shoes for Piran and Kate, but it had to be done as in boredom on the car journey Piran had managed to pull his insoles out and completely destroy them. Thankfully Mr C came with me and the shoes were not too painful but I almost had a full blown panic attack in Marks and Spencer and then I lost Mr C in the shopping centre and well, everything was just bad.

My wonderful inlaws agreed to look after the children for a few hours on Sunday and Mr C and I tackled a very long to do list and bit by bit the house seemed more like home. But still I felt dreadful and I started to worry that I was having a bit of a relapse, all the feelings from a few months ago were back and I just wasn't coping. It was soul destroying as in Cornwall I kept thinking how much better I was coping and how good I felt.

It never ceases to amaze me that even though I have had periods that you can set your watch by for the past twenty years (apart from when I was pregnant obviously) that I can be surprised every month when it appears. And then, everything fell into place. Yes I am feeling much better, but one week in four I always have a very difficult time and whatever hormones are zinging round send me spiralling back to that black place where I spent most of last summer. I need to be kind to myself on these days, to stop and rest and let go instead of worrying so much.

During the worst stretch of my PND I decided that to go back to work would really help me. That the feeling if accomplishment and achievement I get from work would help me feel better. I am looking forward to writing a list of things and working hard to tick them off one by one. Then pack up my tidy desk at the end of the day and go home for special mummy cuddles. I know this is what I wanted but as it has got closer and closer and I have felt better and better I have started to worry that perhaps it wasn't the right decision after all.

I know that these feelings are just natural and I am trying to focus on the positives. This has made me remember a post that I wrote last time I went back to work and I dug around in my archives and found it. Just reading Back to work, my thoughts so far has made me smile this evening and I am now looking forward to some of the good things about being at work.