I loved Barbie as a child growing up and I don’t think it ever once occurred to me that real people might be offended because Barbie doesn’t really represent how ‘real women’ really look. I mean, I knew she was a dolly so I didn’t expect to grow up and look like her and actually, I don’t think I really wanted to either – she has plastic pants for a start and her boobies don’t move. I quite like boobies […]

Well, that’s it. We’re in. Hello Norfolk! We sat outside our house (flat) in London for one last time and had a family photo before we left. It felt a bit surreal to be shutting our blue door for the very last time but kind of good too. We’d spent our last evening with friends and kids in the pub, having a last farewell to Leytonstone which was really, really fun but during the night the neighbourhood drug dealer had […]

Well here we are, having raced into our very last week in London and I can’t believe that today is the last day of school in Leytonstone for my babies. I think I’ve dreaded this day more than the actual day we are moving because the school, along with friends, is the biggest reason we don’t want to leave. A week ago today we got the news to say our massive chain of 9 had finally come together for an […]

I remember watching ‘Alvin, Simon and Theodore (or Theo-dorable if you will) when I was little and Alvin and the Chipmunks were just a cartoon on mainstream TV. I loved it but I think the voices might have driven my Mum a bit bonkers so when we were invited to the latest (in a bit of a line actually) of their big screen adventures and took Gram with us for the ride, I wasn’t entirely convinced she herself would enjoy […]

Last night I tripped into town with a friend to see the London premiere perfromance of Cirque Beserk. Joining us were a whole host of celebrities and as we danced around the flashing cameras of the red carpet, ready for the latest spectacular by famed Zippos Circus, the theatre was a buzz with excitement. Before the show I had wondered how Zippos could turn their big top bonanza into a west end stage performance and if it would work? The […]

Everyone’s talkign about the new wonky veg boxes from Asda. It’s all over my Facebook time line, Twitter, the papers and even in the school play ground it’s what the Mum’s have been chatting about. At £3.50 for a massive box of ‘ugly veg’ the boxes must be flying off the shelf! When I say ‘ugly veg’ I do have to clarify, we’re simply talking about them not having the pristine perfectness that usually makes superarket shelves – they’re not […]

NEWSFLASH!    NEWSFLASH!    NEWSFLASH!    NEWSFLASH!    NEWSFLASH!    NEWSFLASH!   PRESS PLAY FOR A #MARKWARNERMUM NEWS FLASH! Well you’ve seen the news, we’re on the move, We’re gonna need a holiday when in our new groove! A perfect break for us would be sun, sand and sea, But we’re open to new things and we’d love to learn to ski! As long as we’re together, that’s the most important part, A relax, laugh and play – all we need for full hearts! […]

We are constantly fighting with our kids to get them outside in the fresh air, rather than stuck inside with their eyes glued to a screen. According to the World Health Organisation we spend around 90% of our time stuck indoors – but finding ways to get your kids outside can prove difficult. Here are five outdoor projects that will have the kids discarding their technology and desperate to get outside. Once in the garden they won’t only realise how […]

Last week I was sent some very appetising Barber’s 1833 Reserve Cheddar which is a sweet, creamy and crumbly cheddar with a 24 month maturing process. It’s a cut above the usual mature cheddar I buy in the supermarket and has worked well in a number of recipes in the past few days including just a bog standard cheese and pickle sandwich. I decided to see how it complimented one of my favourite recipes, potato dauphinois, and I’m pleased to […]

It’s hard to stay positive in the early part of the year despite alll our good intentions of a New Year’s resolution. The weather can be so dire and with dark mornings and early evening sun down there’s not much to make us feel great; Seasonal Affective Disorder can grip even the best of us and what we really need is to just take a leaf out of a child’s book, forget about diets and gym memberships and instead make our […]