Review - Bags of Love Photo Canvas Print

In my youth, I was never one for taking many photographs.  My attitude was ‘why stand still, taking photos of your life when you could be out there living it?’.  It's a motto that stood me well...in my youth.

But now, as a mother, I am becoming obsessed with photographs.  The one thing about children is that they grow up so fast.  I want to document my children’s path in this world, from mewling newborn infants to know it all teenagers and beyond.  These are memories, like my wedding day, that I cherish.

Let's get flexible

A couple of weeks ago, after more than eight months of holding down my full-time, Monday-to-Friday-in-an-office job, I decided that enough was enough.  I handed in a flexible working application.

Image credit: Stuart Miles | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I work 7.5 hours a day, five days a week and I have a commute that takes up another 2.5 hours in total (on a good day).  They're long old days.  I leave the house after having a quick breakfast with my children and come home just in time to give them a bath and get them into bed.  If I'm lucky, we get about half an hour of playtime in there too.  Then, once Sophia and Dexter are in bed, it's time to crack on with housework, this blog and, of course, my Working Parents United website.

I'm shattered.

Tips on caring for children with chickenpox

We have The Pox.  Of the chicken variety.  Poor little Dexter is slowly getting covered in spots, although is still able to carry a smile (my brave little boy!).

Chickenpox is one of those illnesses that I suppose it's inevitable children will get at some point.  I was just hoping that they wouldn't catch it so soon.  At the moment, Dexter doesn't seem to letting his spots trouble him, which is good news.  But, I'm on alert and gearing myself up for Sophia becoming ill.  She's fine at the moment but I'm sure that will change at some point fairly soon.  Because she's older, I'm certain it will be more of a battle to stop her scratching her skin.

What is chickenpox?

Review - Legoland Windsor Resort

With half-term fast approaching, have you any ideas about how to keep your children occupied?  Have you thought about Legoland Windsor as a 'day out' destination? 

The end of last month was pretty hectic for me, not least because of the launch of Working Parents United.  There was a lot of work involved behind the scenes (and still is) and the launch was tiring yet exhilarating in equal measure.  So it was with great relief that a week off from work fast approached.  My husband and I planned lost of fun activities for the children – it was going to be a real getaway for us all – and Legoland Windsor was amongst them. 

Children and stage shows: Tips for an enjoyable experience

Last year when I started this blog, I wrote about the Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy show that my husband and I took Sophia to watch.  I described how she was mesmerised by the vast majority of the show while Dexter stayed at home with his grandparents because he was only around seven-months-old or so at the time.

But, one year on and things are different.  One year on and both Sophia and Dexter have grown so much.  They're both taller for starters but that's not really what I mean.  Their personalities are getting more distinct every day, they are able to do more and more complex tasks and they are also able to sit and watch their favourite films from start to finish.  One year on and I think both of them would enjoy sitting through an eye-catching, fun, spectacular show.  And, as luck would have it, there's a new show in town which I think they will love and can't wait to take them to see - Ice Age Live! A Mammoth Adventure.

The newest member of the family

Getting a cat? What to buy...

In a few days time we will be welcoming a new addition into our family - a beautiful, little white and blue kitten.  There is much excited anticipation here in the Chez Mummy household and we've been busy making our home cat-proof, ready for his arrival. 

There's so much to think about when getting a pet and so many things to buy.   Here's our must-have list of essentials when preparing your home for a cat...

Review – The Vampire Diaries Season One DVD boxset

The notion of vampires intrigues me.  I enjoy the mythology in which vampires are steeped; the historical truth behind them; the superstitions from whence they sprang.  I even wrote tens of thousands of words on it for my major dissertation at university (the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show to be more precise).

The fairly modern idea of teen supernatural dramas – of which I believe Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the first – brought forth an interesting concept of high school as the stage for metaphorical battles and issues which teenagers face every day (such as ‘fitting in’ and being accepted by peers, being popular, bullying and teenage romance).  If you think about it's quite fitting - vampires are sexualised beings and adolescents have raging hormones of their own as they deal with puberty and, inevitably, sex.

Where Buffy began, others have followed and the Vampire Diaries is one of the most recent in this line of American teenage vampire angst dramas.  I’ve come to this particular television show relatively late – its fourth season is about to begin on ITV2 tonight, while I’m still languishing in the midst of season one – but it’s an interesting one to watch.