Prior to becoming a mum, I really wasn’t that aware of saving money or being frugal in any way, shape or form. As far as I was concerned any money that I earned was there to be spent and looking back now I can see that I was often quite wasteful in my spending habits. Now that we are living on one income and have an extra mouth to feed, I am finding lots of new ways to save money on our biggest expense: food. I thought some of my tips could be handy for some of my readers and so, in no particular order, here are my top tips on ways to save money on food. (more…)

I keep mentioning my new online venture on this blog and I do have a post in the works that will be a full introduction to the business and will also include an exciting giveaway. Although I have been trading for a few months already, It is all still very much a work in progress and one thing that I was still lacking was a logo to represent the brand. It was perfect timing when I was offered to try out LogoJoy’s online logo creator and I have ended up with a logo that I am very happy with for my new business. (more…)

Today I took Darcie to a Halloween themed session of a baby and toddler group that we go to every so often. The class is a structured one with singing, puppets and musical instruments which I first started taking her to when she was around four months old. Sometimes she loves it and wants to go off and get involved, and other times (most times) she just wants to cling to me and will even cry and seem scared when she is shown the puppets or encouraged to get involved. Today was one of those days. She clung to me and got upset if I tried to put her down with the other children, She cried at the ladies fancy dress costume, and she was only really happy again when the class was over. You could say she gets ‘shy’, but I hate that word, because she isn’t a ‘shy’ kid. She is loud and outgoing and will happily play with other children, it is just in these structured classes that she seems out of her comfort zone and for some reason it is difficult for her to get involved. I don’t know why she is like this. The rational side of my brain says that clearly these classes just aren’t her cup of tea. She prefers the freedom of a playgroup where she can do her own thing and interact with other children as and when she wants to. But the doubting, mum guilt ridden side of my brain tells me that I’ve done something wrong. It’s my fault. It questions whether I’ve done enough to socialise her. Would she be more confident in these situations if I’d sent her to nursery?  (more…)

I’ve loved Gilmore Girls from the very first episode I ever watched many, many years ago and even now I can watch the whole series through and not get bored of it. I’ve always loved the relationship between Lorelai and Rory and watching the show now as a mum, I find myself aspiring to be a Lorelai Gilmore kind of mum. For anyone who has never seen Gilmore Girls this post could be totally lost on you and for anyone who isn’t a fan of the show, well, I’m not even sure we can be friends anymore. If you are still with me, however, here is my top list of parenting lessons we can learn from Lorelai Gilmore. (more…)