Can you guess what I was doing yesterday morning? OK, the title gives it away a bit I guess…

I was in London, learning to tango and samba with Total Greek Yogurt. (Not actually dance with yogurt you understand, that would be difficult. Especially if it were not in a tub but just loose.)

We were taught by the very lovely Dee Thresher and Jesus Reyes Ortiz and I had a really brilliant time, not least because after two hours of dancing, (for dancing read ‘tripping over own feet’), we were treated to a delicious yogurt inspired lunch, and we all know that lunch is one of my Best Things.

I thought I’d share some of the photos from the day with you, and if I have inspired you to get up on your feet, Total have some video dance lessons you can copy too.

Our wonderful teachers looking hot

We put our best tango faces on

It’s hard to look elegant when you are concentrating so hard on your feet

We look on admiringly

And smile ladies!

Delicious yogurty lunch

Muffins. Nuff said.

As well as nursing slightly stiff shoulders today, I am also recovering from being told that there are apparently ONE THOUSAND recipes on the Total website! Who’d have thought there was so much you could do with yogurt??

Photos courtesy of Satureyes

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“Hello Jo,

I’m a Canadian musician, living in Mexico, married to a Bristol man, mother of two and about to release my 5th independent album.”

Now that’s a cracking start to an email isn’t it? If someone sent that to you you’d definitely read on. I know I did.

The email was from Camille Miller, asking me to have a listen to a track from her new EP called ‘Tiniest of Hearts’, written while Camille was pregnant with her first child, Hannah. Now I don’t know about you, but I find it pretty hard to identify with most modern music. You’ll not often find me ‘in the club with a bottle of bub’ or anything like that, and I find it difficult to get my head round exactly why Rhianna would love the way somebody hurts her and lies to her. That’s not a thing is it? Come on girl, pull yourself together.

Pregnancy and parenthood though, that’s something I know about. Why are there not more songs about that? Sure, the day-to-day logistics of it might not be terribly glamorous, but actually becoming and being a parent is a very powerful, emotional thing.

Camille is going to be in the UK over Christmas and the New Year doing some shows, so why not have a listen to Tiniest of Hearts, and maybe check out her website for show dates, buy an album, or just leave some sort of lovely comment telling her how much you like the song.*

 
*Only if you do obviously. I’m not asking you to lie. If you don’t like it though, probably best just to keep quiet.

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Dear Mummy,

(What do you think by the way of grown-ups who use the word Mummy? I’ve always thought it came across as childish, but an ex-boyfriend of my sister’s used to say it made us sound terribly posh.)

How are you? I hope you are well.

As I’m sure you are aware, the festive season is nearly upon us. Hoorah! I know you find it hard to choose presents for me, so this year I thought I would write you this little note to help you out.

I was just doing a little spot of work and got rather distracted looking at all the Christmas tea gifts on the Twinings website. I thought I might start a collection of decorative tea caddies to compliment my collection of ‘jugs that look like birds where the milk comes out of their beaks’.

I have stacked these tins from the ‘floral collection’ in order of preference, favourite first. Simply click here to purchase the tea gifts or your (my) choice.

"mulles spice tea"

Mulled wine tea

"Lavender earl grey"

Lavender Earl Grey

"Rose Garden"

Rose Garden

"Blossom Earl Grey"

Blossom Earl Grey

"Jasmine Earl Grey"

Jasmine Earl Grey

Fondest regards,

Your beloved first-born daughter xx

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As you know, I’m a big fan of comfortable shoes. Even if it does mean my children scoff. I don’t care – rather that than bunions.

How do you feel about shoes though? Do you have a life-long favourite pair? A pet peeve? A ‘must have’?

Cheekyshoes are a brand new company, who want to create fun and funky shoes that are comfortable enough to wear every day, yet colourful enough not to make you feel like you’ve been relegated to the ‘cushioned sole, wide fit’ corner of Clarks.

You can see for yourself that they’ve definitely checked the colourful box:

I have a red pair, and can verify that they are succeeding on the comfy front too. So far so good.

Cheekyshoes really want to know though how you feel about shoes. What is important to you when choosing shoes? What colours or designs would you like to see? What do you struggle with when trying to find shoes that are both fun and functional?

Cheekyshoes have given me three pairs of shoes to giveaway, in return for your honest feedback. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post with all of your shoe thoughts before the end of October, after which a winner will be chosen at random.

If you’d like an extra chance to win, you can tweet the following:

I’ve just entered to #win a pair of @cheekyshoes1 courtesy of @Mummyblogger – you can enter too now! http://wp.me/pJA3j-Vb

If you’re feeling super lucky, you could follow Cheekyshoes on twitter as well. I’d suggest you follow me too, but I’m sure you already are. *stern look*

That’s it!

That was easy wasn’t it?

Open to UK residents only – sorry!

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Do you ever get one of those moments when try as you might to be terribly grown-up and clever, you can’t help but snigger at something really childish?

I had one of those moments last week when a flier for ‘Blow Me’ hairdressers came through the door.

"blow me"

I used to get it too every time I walked past the dog grooming shop near my old house that was called ‘Doggy Style’. It closed down quite quickly, goodness knows why, but they obviously weren’t the only dog groomers with such a sophisticated wit.

*snort*

"Doggy style"

As much as I like to pretend otherwise, my mind is clearly in the gutter. The gutter just outside the salubrious looking Doggy Style.

I decided to conduct some careful market research – (I had a quick google) – and discovered that Doggy Style and Blow Me are not the only companies pushing the boundaries. Fancy being an employee of Flange Entertainment Limited?

Or how about getting yourself a little tattoo down at 4skin?

"4skin"

What is it about rude shop names that is so hilarious? And why would you call your shop something so obviously filthy? Is it just to be memorable? If it is, then it works on me. Next time anyone compliments me on my hair I know what I’ll be thinking.

Blow Me.

Do let me know if you have any ridiculous shop names near you, I always like a giggle.

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It’s Friday! Hoorah! I think we all deserve a bit of a treat don’t you? Today then I’m going to show you how to make a quick and easy chocolate mousse. (That’s the theory anyway).

Although I am no Nigella in the kitchen, Belle is really keen on baking, so I was happy to sign up for the Anchor cooking challenge. We were given vouchers for cream, butter and squirty cream, and keen to rise to the fat-laden challenge I looked for a recipe that involved all three!

I found this easy chocolate mousse recipe in Nigella Express. So, here’s what you need:

  • 150 grams mini marshmallows. (We could only find normal size marshmallows so we just chopped them up a bit.)
  • 50 grams butter (soft)
  • 250 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids) chopped into small pieces. (We used Dairy Milk as it was on offer in Sainsbury’s – three bars for a pound. Bargain!)
  • 60 ml water (hot)
  • 284 ml double cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Squirty cream and chocolate shavings for decoration. (We added this bit ourselves. Nigella doesn’t make a lot of use of squirty cream in her recipes as a rule.)

Method

  • Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan. Pop any leftovers in your mouth for safe keeping.

"Chocolate mousse"

"Chocolate mousse"

  • Put the saucepan on the hob, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.

"Chocolate mousse"

  • Meanwhile, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.

"Chocolate mousse"

This is where it all started to go wrong. When Nigella says ‘remove from heat’, what I think she really means is ‘leave to cool for ages’. We didn’t do this. When we added our cream to our chocolate mixture, the cream just melted. It became less a mousse and more of a drink. Still we persevered, hoping that if they spent a bit of time in the fridge they might mousse up a little bit.

  • Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or 6 smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you want to eat. Instead of ramekins, we used our new Anchor silicone cup cake moulds, which I think makes them look very pretty indeed. However, this amount of mixture was more than enough to fill all 12 cup cake moulds, so Nigella must be serving big portions.

"Chocolate mousse"

"Chocolate mousse"

We popped them in the fridge and hoped for the best…

*an hour later*

…Success! Sort of. Our chocolate mousses (or should that be chocolate mice?) were definitely a lot firmer, so much so that Belle could finish them off with a squirt of Anchor. I don’t think you could call them mousse though. They were fairly thick and sticky. If I was a chain pub I would probably call them ‘Indulgent chocolate pots’ and charge £4.95 for them.

"Chocolate mousse"

Warning: I have done a rough calculation and there is approximately one million calories per serving.

This is a sponsored post – I’m working with Anchor to promote their brand new rewards club. Pay them a visit now to find out how you can get some of their kitchenware as well as prizes.

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If parents’ evening this week was anything to go by, Belle’s mental maths is pretty hot. The point was proven nicely recently when Bee sent her to the shop with two pounds to buy her a small bottle of coke.

“Here’s your change,” said Belle, handing over 26p.

“Where’s the rest?” said Bee.

“That’s all there is,” said Belle.

Bee looked disbelieving. “So how much was the coke??”

“£1.74,” said Belle smoothly.

See?

Now we all know that a small bottle of coke isn’t £1.74, but that’s not the point, (although it was for Bee naturally). The point I’m trying to make is that regularly handling money has made Belle pretty quick at maths. I’m not alone either. A recent survey by TK Maxx found that four in five parents use shopping to teach their children numeracy skills, getting them to add up and subtract the cost of their purchases.

One particularly funny thing the survey also found is that men are not to be trusted when it comes to balancing the budget. Most parents apparently agree that mums are better at teaching children the value of money (62%), compared to just over a quarter who put the same level of trust in dads.

Belle’s money management skills have been put to the test through her new Roosterbank account too, although at the moment more often than not it’s working out how much money she can take out and spend on strawberry laces rather than concentrating on saving. I really don’t know where she gets her need for instant gratification.

*reaches for third caramel hobnob*

If I were Belle I’d be saving up for this:

"finger print kit"

How cool would that be? I could put on some tight black trousers and a little leather jacket and pretend to be on CSI. It would be awesome.

Does having their own pocket money help your child with their maths? How do you teach your children the value of money?

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Today is the first ever International Day of the Girl.

As part of International Day of the Girl Plan UK want to raise awareness of the issues girls around the world face, such as early forced marriage. Girls sometimes as young as five are forced into marriage. Five years old. Can you even begin to imagine?

Plan UK’s campaign will support four million girls to get the education, skills and support they need to move themselves from poverty to opportunity.

This International Day of the Girl, support these young girls by signing Plan UK’s petition now.

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I need a bit of help.

Belle’s bedroom in the new house is a little bit smaller than her old bedroom. I say ‘a little bit’, but it’s actually about a quarter of the size. I have already ruthlessly made her throw a lot of toys away, and got rid of most of her bedroom furniture, (who needs things like wardrobes anyway right?), but as you can see, it’s still looking a tad on the cramped side:

"Belle's bedroom"

‘Cosy’ I like to call it.

 

She still has several boxes to unpack, and we’ve already had to turn over a section of the living room to Sylvanians:

"Sylvanian Families"

As you can see, the kangaroo family’s apartment is a little run down at the moment, but they do have the luxury of a pet monkey in a tin.

 

"Sylvanian John Lewis"

When they have a bit of spare cash they are going to come here for a few tasteful accessories.

 

I’ve been toying with some sort of high bed, so that she can store things underneath as well as just lining things up around the edges, but I’m worried that it might be a bit much for a room this size. I remember when I was her age, I had a small bedroom with a cabin bed in, and although I loved the bed, it did take up most of the room, and was rather overpowering.

These are both very lovely, but I’m not sure they’d look quite so nice with only a foot of space between each side and the wall:

"Kidspace Oreo Bunk Bed"

"Kidspace Henry Bunk Bed"

 

Something like this feels a little less intrusive, but I’m still not convinced:

"Novara mid sleeper"

How have you managed small bedrooms? Should I invest in a new bed, or should I spend my time instead convincing her of the joys of frugal living, Sylvanian kangaroo style? (I am not getting her a monkey though.)

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A few weeks ago, I went to Totnes with my lovely friend Rin, a very talented lady who writes Glass Jars & Photographs. Rin’s passion is interiors, and she has one of those proper cameras with a big lens that comes in a case like grown-ups have. I felt a bit silly pootling about behind her taking pictures of pretty things with my phone, but actually it was great fun, and made me even more determined to get a proper camera and learn to take half decent pictures. (Camera companies looking for review take note here.)

The day was extra special as it was on the train on the way there that we decided to set up our own media training business, which is very exciting. We have a proper name and bank account and everything, so along with Rin’s camera, I think this definitely makes us Very Grown Up and Important Indeed.

I very rarely post pictures for their own sake, but today I am feeling happy in that way that makes you smile, sigh and look about in a contented way, and I wanted to be frivolous. I know the photos aren’t amazing, but I had fun taking them, and they remind me of a very serene and inspiring day out.

"A sheep wearing a sock"

A sheep wearing a sock

"The pee bucket"

The pee bucket

"Curious chicken"

Curious chicken

"Casual chums"

Casual chums

"bug"

Bug

"Flower pots"

Flower pots

"Bee"

Bee

"Another bee"

Another bee

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There are lots of things I like about our new house. I like that I can sit in the living room and look out into the garden.* I like having a garage and a driveway of sorts and not having to drive around the block for ages looking for a space to park. I even quite like having a bedroom back on the same floor as Bee and Belle and being able to hear them moving about.

One thing I’m not so sure about though is the carpets. They are cream. (Cream!) Throughout the entire house, including the bathrooms.

I’m not exactly well-coordinated at the best of times, (think me crying, unable to park a van), and will quite often just walk into door frames, but in the old house, this was OK, as we mainly had floorboards. Floorboards are much easier to wipe down when you uncontrollably slosh tea on them. Here though, nowhere is safe. I already dropped tomato on the carpet today from my mouth. My cream carpets don’t stand a chance.

The worst bit though is shoes. How do you train two unruly children to take their shoes off at the door?

"muddy boots"

Belle at Beautiful Days. I fear she will just walk into the house one day like this.

I have a few ideas:

Distraction – It only takes a few seconds for them to remember, so to avoid them getting to the middle of the hall and going ‘Oh yeah!’, I need to dangle something like a malteser from the ceiling, just out of reach. In the time it takes them to figure out how to get it, (stood safely on the mat the whole time), they will have remembered about the shoes.

Positive reinforcement – This, so I’m led to believe, is the most effective approach to parenting. Whenever they take off their shoes at the door they get a little treat like a chocolate button, a pat on the head or the chance to stroke a kitten.

Negative reinforcement – I hire someone to stand by the door, and every time they forget to take off their shoes they get punched (in a gentle, child-friendly way), in the side of the head.

Desperate times and all that.

*I make it sounds like I occasionally glance up and admire the view. What actually happens is that I find myself staring out at nothing in particular for minutes at a time. I’m tired though. I’m sure the staring will improve.

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We have now moved house.

Thank God.

The day itself was just a teeny tiny bit longer and more stressful than I imagined. “It’ll be fine!” I was practically chanting in the weeks and days beforehand. “We’ll be all done by tea-time and by the next day it’ll be like we’ve lived there all our lives!”

*roars with laughter, verging on hysteria*

Picture me at 10.30pm, standing, shivering, in the pouring rain on the van rental forecourt, crying because I lacked the basic skills to back Boyfriend properly into a space rather than a nearby car. It was not a pretty sight. Boyfriend sent me home to bed at this point, fearing some sort of breakdown, and continued the ferrying of my bags and boxes of rubbish on his own in the car until 2am.

(He is very lovely indeed.)

Now it would be fair to say that our new house is a little bit smaller than our last house, but I’m not sure it warrants Bee nicknaming it the ghetto and singing this song around the house:

 

A bit harsh I would say.

This is the point at which I end with an amusing fact or witty sign-off but I am too tired and my hands still ache from all the carrying so instead I might just go for a little lie-down amongst the bin-liners.

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