Typecast

The ruler of all our family came for a visit today - HRH Amie-Leigh - my grandaughter.  In the space of an hour she had left a trail of destruction that any one year old would be proud of. (click all pictures for larger version) First of all she set about tidying my pan cupboard...   ...and climbed in to reach the final pan lid... ...but didn't have enough turning space to get out.   She helped Mummy find a nine-letter word on Countdown...   ...and made everyone have their hair brushed, whether they liked it or not...   ...including Nana.   She had a quick read of Linda's book ...   ...and decided that she would help me with my assignment that is due in on Tuesday! I'm going to send it off now - it's a much better job that I ever could have done.

Anyone who knows me will tell you how much of an 80s chick I like to think I am.  I can bore the best of them with trivia about the music of the decade, I am in love with the current toned-down and recycled fashion of that era and, best of all, the Filofax is finally making a comeback. Mentioned on the Philofaxy blog  this week were two articles from The Telegraph about the return of the Filofax: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7299814/The-Filofax-is-back.html  (24th Feb 2010) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/7308271/The-return-of-the-Filofax.html  (25th Feb 2010) Return? Well then, that must mean that there are a fair few of us that have been "on trend" for the past 25 years or so! As I have blogged before, I love my Filofax .  It does so much more for me than any iPhone, Blackberry or PDA could and I believe that if you don't accept or understand the concept of the Filofax then you'll just think that I'm plain daft.  For me to w...

With thanks to Liz from Living With Kids , I was reminded of the fact that it is World Book Day next week - 4th March - but I already have that date highlighted in ORANGE in my filofax as it is the last time EVER  time that I will have to panic over producing a respectable costume that a child who hates reading will wear for the day. *Proud Parent Alert*  My most ingenious ideas have come to me with only an evenings notice (yes, of course I ignored the original letter) and on each occasion I have my child has won first prize.  Today is your lucky day as I intend to share a couple of my most creative ideas The first costume that created ripples around the primary school was when son #1 went as James from The Snowman (Who?  The little boy that build The Snowman, of course!).  That was simple - a pair of plaid pyjamas, a warm dressing gown, slippers and a small cuddly snowman.  Sadly, no photograph exists of this amazing creation as it was cobb...

Pipe down fellas, I didn't mean Elle McPherson but you may want to stick around to read the rest of this post. A link flashed up in my Facebook feed earlier and I gawped in horror... THE BODY is back and this time it's being used as OUTERWEAR and not underwear!!  Picture Credit: Dorothy Perkins Now, I'm no fashonista but the last time I wore one of these was in the early 1990's and it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences that I have ever had. They are never long enough for my body The "smooth lines" they create just emphasise all the flaws; the lumps and bumps Fastening them up requires me to become a contortionist and fold myself in half somehow.  And if, god forbid, I'm wearing my glasses, as soon as I bend over and look between my legs then the glasses slide down my nose and swing from my ears rendering me almost blind Going to the toilet is impossible as I have to re-create Point #3  They unfasten at the most inopportune times I'...

After reading the most recent blog post over at Cherished By Me -  a post devoted to buying shoes but getting a bargain - I remembered that I had this draft post stored and now is just a good a time as any. I love shoes.  I love boots.  I like wedges.  I love trainers.  I love pumps.  I love flip-flops.  I don't really get on with sandals.  I think my taste in shoes and boots is not what you'd think from me - I veer from one extreme to the other. The boots on the right are my latest purchase and the BIGGEST bargain I have ever experienced. A fellow member of a parenting forum announced that her brother-in-law's online shoe company was going into administration so we were to make bids for the footwear that was available on his website.  Being the nosy person that I am, I navigated over to the website and fell off my chair when I looked at the prices.  The shoes were £75 and more!!!  And they were U.G.L.Y.  For a laugh,...

For my children to warrant a day off school they have to be deathly pale (almost transparent), have shown some basic signs of illness (actual vomit, diarrhoea, coughing) and risk be infectious (spots, more coughing).  So when the youngest moans of tummy ache last night at about 10.30pm on the last day of half term, I ignored his whinging, putting it down to don't-want-to-go-back-to-school-itis - a well known virus round these parts. Again, this morning, the determined child mentioned an extra trip to the toilet and a slight belly rumble.  Pah! I AM MOTHER, HEAR ME ROAR !!!  I zipped up his lunch bag, made sure that son #1 had his lunch money, threw my coat on, defrosted the car and made the usual tribal call of GETYOURARSEINTHECARNOW-ITSTIMETOGO....  I stopped at the shop on the way for milk for work and booted him out of the car at the school gates, slowing down to an almost-stop. 12.45pm *Ring-Ring, Ring-Ring* It's my husband on the phone: "Hello love. ...

Jumper - cross-stitched using "knit stitch" Today, I was hunting for a gift box that I knew I had stashed somewhere and I stumbled across my craft bag.  Well, I say "stumbled" - it was more like " oh, bugger, I'd forgotten about this... "  This bag is where I store my current craft project, whether it be cross-stitch, card making or knitting.  I *adore* cross-stitching and have lots of finished projects proudly displayed around the house.  When it comes to other crafty things, I tend to lose interest fairly quickly. My mother-in-law is now the proud owner of all my rubber stamps and a large box of "bit's and pieces that might be useful for card-making" after it was found in the spare room and I realised that I hadn't touched it for over a year.  I thought it was safe to say that the novelty had worn off. I think that now the same can be said for my most recent knitting project.  When I found out my daughter was expecting her...

I received the Sunshine Award four  times this week and, being so new to the blogging community, this means a lot to me.  It is now my duty to pass it on and, whilst this may be sent to previous recipients I shall explain my reasons for offering the award.  Before I do that, there are some rules to follow: Put the Logo on your sidebar, or within a post (or on a special page like I have)   Pass the award on to the Bloggers you deem worthy of it   Link the nominees within your post.   Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.   Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award. First of all, I'd like to reciprocate the award to the four people who thought I was worthy of it Catherine at Baby Genie ( @baby_genie ) Paula at Battling On  ( @peabee72 )  (yes, I'm sure you know that link by now - it's like a weekly advert, isn't it? *yawn*) Rosie Scribble  ( @RosieSc...

I know it's a little late but this is my first real day off from work and I have just remembered that I hadn't done this yet. Interview with Jake, aged ten-and-three-quarters 1. What is something mum always says to you? BE GOOD AT SCHOOL 2. What makes mum happy? ME BEING GOOD 3. What makes mum sad? ME GETTING DETENTIONS AT SCHOOL 4. How does your mum make you laugh? BY STARING AT ME *eh? no, I don't know either* 5. What was your mum like as a child? I DON'T KNOW... I THINK SHE WAS ALWAYS GOOD AT SCHOOL 6. How old is your mum? 37 *spot on* 7. How tall is your mum? I'M BIGGER THAN MUM BECAUSE I'M 5 FT 10... OR AM I 4 FT 10? *he's not bigger than me - I've just proven it by standing up* 8. What is her favourite thing to do? PLAYING ON MY DS AND HER LAPTOP 9. What does your mum do when you're not around? PLAY ON THE COMPUTER AND WATCH TV 10. If your mum becomes famous, what will it be for? BEING AN IDIOT ON NATIONAL TELEVISION *um... moving...

The best piece of kit you can buy for your house is not a state-of-the-art security system, not three different colours of gravel for the ornamental garden and definitely not a doorbell that plays an array of chintzy tunes including “You Are My Sunshine”.  The most valuable item you will ever buy for your property is a set of net curtains. This magical piece of material that hangs on a covered elasticated wire across the width of your window not only prevents passers-by from looking in but also allows you to see out without being noticed . I have perfected my “neighbourhood watch scheme” from behind my net curtains.  I stand slightly back from the window so that I don’t cast a shadow and ensure that there is no light behind me; all the light has to be on the subject outside or you’ll end up putting yourself on show like a mannequin in a shop window. I loved living on a council estate because it was never boring.  From my secret vantage point I saw parties, arguments,...

A couple of weeks ago, Heather at Notes From Lapland decided that she wasn't causing enough havoc around the blogging community so wrote this post about the joys of receiving real letters or parcels that are just for you, delivered by a real postman, and not boring, responsible, adult stuff like bills or mundane spam emails whilst sat at your computer.  The response to this post was overwhelming and loads of people wanted to join in with what is now known as the " Secret Post Club ".  Look, we've got a badge and everything!!  More details are available on Heather's blog, it's not exclusive and if you don't want to join in one month then just you just let Heather know within the time limits that she has clearly laid out. Ever efficient, Heather set about organising everybody and letting us know who to send our first Secret Post Club parcel to.  Fast forward to today and mine has arrived!!!

You can blame Manda (from Flying Start Mag) for this blog post.  I read her blog post about shiny, happy, feel good stuff and saw that I was tagged.  I thought I could get off this one lightly because I'd already joined in the Shiny, Happy Meme but then there was the twitter alert and the fact that she'd moved the goalposts by making a list of 20 (yes, 20!! Has she nothing better to do?) things that make her feel happy.  So I left a jokey comment about having to use my day off on Friday to write this one up and I got told that I'd have to compile a list of 21.  That'll teach me to keep my mouth shut (or fingers still... whatever)!! So, how do I move the goalposts myself and *still* achieve one-upmanship?  Oh yes, I know... a list of childhood memories - the stuff that makes me yearn for "ye olde days" of being a child, with no cares in the world. Click this player and listen to the music whilst reading the rest of the blog post The Noveltones - ...