“You’re not fat Mummy,” Belle said to me once, “you’re just very, very, very chubby.”

It was her way of being kind, of trying to boost my self-esteem, but I’m not sure she quite got it. Still, she’s right, I am a bit chubby. I’m not sure about very, very, very though.

I try to be as positive as possible about my body, no matter how I might actually be feeling. I sell my squidgy tummy as an excellent pillow, and my rather large bottom as a secret defensive weapon in netball matches. I know how easily influenced girls are by their mothers, and how what feels like a harmless comment to you can stick with them as they grow up. It’s hard though, especially when Belle has such an opposite body type to me – the soft tummy and large bottom can’t be bigged up too much (literally and metaphorically) to a child with a naturally twig like build and a bottom the size of a ten pence piece. View Post

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If you enjoy these chocolate and peanut butter cookies why not try my homemade bourbon biscuits?

Belle is a bit of an entrepreneurial baker. Quite often, if she’s feeling a bit short of cash, she’ll whip up a batch of cookies and go door to door around the square selling them to our neighbours. She hasn’t quite grasped the idea of the costs involved, preferring to see the ingredients in the cupboard as fair game, but I admire her spirit.

This weekend we had friends coming over, so I set Belle to work. We decided to make chocolate and peanut butter cookies, a recipe we found on the Flora website. A few people I know have started using Flora Cuisine for baking lately, and singing its praises, so we thought we’d give it a go. It’s basically runny margarine, so is ideal for kids to use in cakes, biscuits and flapjacks as it’s already nice and soft. View Post

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This is Belle’s entry for the Capture the Colour children’s photography competition from Travel Supermarket. To enter, Belle had to take five photographs that captured her summer – one red, one blue, one yellow, one green and one white.

Tyntesfield Gromit

Over the summer we spent a lot of time hunting Gromits – we found all 80! This one is a bit scary. It was at Tyntesfield.

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Weight Watchers has just launched its new season diet campaign, Together is Better. The idea behind that campaign is that losing weight is easier if you have the support of a friend, someone to share the journey with.

I can totally empathise with this logic.

As you’ll have seen if you follow me on any social channels, I have recently taken up running. I’ve been doing it for four whole weeks now and am very pleased with myself. I call it running, but it feels a bit more like ricocheting off the pavement at the moment – sort of stumbling from one foot to the other. However, I can feel I am making progress. When I first started nearly a month ago, running for one minute without feeling like my head was going to explode was difficult – now I can do three minutes non-stop. Baby steps and all that. (Quite literally in this case.)

I have not missed a single session yet and have even gone in the rain. Look impressed. View Post

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This is a guest post from Must Have Gifts, part of World Vision UK. I did not receive payment for this post. I sponsor a child through World Vision and visited Ethiopia with them earlier this year so it’s a cause that is close to my heart.

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If you have family or friends with a birthday in November or December it can often be a challenge to find a great present that means something but that doesn’t stretch the bank balance too much just before the expensive festive season. Thankfully, there are lots of charity gifts ideas from Must Have Gifts that can make a difference to other people’s lives as well as celebrating a special occasion.

What are charity gifts?
These are gifts that range from maize for a field through to re-building a roof for a clinic. A gift is brought online and donated straight to the community and the person you are buying for receives a card detailing the gift that has been made in their name.

A gift that doesn’t sit on the shelf
A charity gift of a mosquito net, a kid goat or chickens really makes a difference to children and the communities they live in. This would probably beat another pair of socks or a tie for that family member you are just sure what to buy.  These gifts improve lives as families can get produce from the animals and sell any excess, generating income. View Post

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I’m normally not very good at making things in burger shapes. Things tend to fall apart. Not in a metaphorical, head-in-hands, weeping on the kitchen floor way, but literally – I can’t make them stay together in the pan. If they have onion in I never chop it finely enough and anything that is more of a paste ends up just a mess. Definitely more of a hash than a burger. You can imagine then how excited I was to try out these spicy chickpea burgers.

*voice drips with sarcasm, eyes rolling dramatically*

Actually though, these spciy chickpea burgers were pretty good! They were dead easy to make, I held myself and the burgers together, and they were absolutely delicious. The lovely bright, fresh ingredients make for super Instagram pictures too, which is basically what I look for in just about any activity.

So, pinnies on, blenders loaded, here we go… View Post

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There is a lot of fuss made nowadays about internet safety and appropriate content online, but exactly how appropriate is it for us all to hear about the latest goings on in Syria, or the get updates on a rape trial, when we’re trying to enjoy a bowl of rice crispies or get on with a spot of homework?

According to a recent survey, (conducted by NetVoucherCodes.co.uk), over two thirds of parents actively prevent their children from watching the news. Violent images of conflicts or acts of terrorism were the most common reason parents gave for switching off the TV, closely followed by coverage of topics such as serious crime. A majority of mums and dads also admitted that their fear of being asked difficult questions by their children was a factor in not letting them watch the news. Around half of the parents surveyed felt that 11-12 was about the right age for introducing children to the news. View Post

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I’ve got a lovely competition for you today. It has a first, second and third prize, which in my mind makes it a Proper Competition, like the Olympics. (If you want a medal too I could probably make something out of cardboard. Winners will not be required to stand on a podium.)

Today’s competition is brought to you by booRah™. BooRah™ is a new business, formed by a husband and wife team and inspired by their two young sons. They have created a range of watches and sunglasses designed especially for children and the brand name is a mixture of the boys’ names when they were little and couldn’t speak properly. They came up with the name for the business booRah™ themselves whilst sat chatting in the back of the car. Boo is the 6 year old and Rah is 7, soon to be 8. View Post

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On Sunday we went for a day out at Cadbury World.

I have been before, about three years ago, but Belle has never been. Boyfriend took me there on a date the first time I ever went to visit him in Birmingham. If being taken to a chocolate factory on a first date isn’t a good sign then I don’t know what is.

Cadbury World

On my second visit it felt like there was a lot more to look at and see. I don’t think anything was particularly new, but I do suspect that the first time I went I may have been a little distracted, concentrating on being witty and charming and making sure I always stood at a flattering angle. View Post

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Today we have Bee again, telling us about her first few days at university…

Moving away from home is probably one of the most nerve-racking experiences of anyone’s life, especially if you’re moving into university halls, which often unfortunately resemble a luxury prison cell.

Even though my new room is bigger than my one at home, has an en suite bathroom, a big window and is actually very nice, it was a shock knowing I had to spend most of my time in this unfamiliar flat for a year. On my first morning I woke up and realised nobody here cared what I was doing or where I was. At this point my flatmates didn’t even know I existed. I sat down on the scratchy blue carpet amongst my partially unpacked boxes and sobbed. View Post

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I had a bit of an awesome Friday recently. Aside from a slight toddler vomiting incident, which we will figuratively and almost quite literally brush under the carpet, I had what for me is a near perfect day.

It basically consisted of one meal after another all day long.

Actually, to be fair, there were other elements. First off was a very successful breakfast meeting, in which I managed to sound convincing enough to secure myself some training work, so that was an excellent start. Then I headed off into town to meet Purple Mum and her lovely daughter to check out The Stable, the new pizza and cider place on the Harbourside.

That’s right, pizza and cider. Two of any Bristolian’s favourite things surely? View Post

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Today please welcome my special guest, Belle, talking about her new YUUBag…

Me: Can you tell me what it was that first appealed to you about the YUUbag?

Belle: The thing that first appealed to me about the YUUbag was all the compartments and the fact that you can attach it to the car and use it as a desk as you’re going along.

Why did you choose the HUUG design?

I chose the HUUG design on the YUUbag because it looked really pretty. My favourite colour is purple and I like horses so the purple horse on the front of the YUUbag  were just perfect for me.

How did you feel waiting for your YUUbag to arrive? 

Waiting for the YUUbag to arrive was really exciting because it looked really cool on the advert. I couldn’t wait for it to come so I could actually see it on the inside properly. View Post

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