I love a bit of Wilko shopping and could spend hours browsing for they really do seem to sell just about everything! Things I regularly buy are craft packs because they’re so inexpensive but very good quality, cake and baking equipment and birthday cards and wrapping because they’re always gorgeous and cost peanuts! I also go there for any kind of special occasion as I’m always sure to find what I’m looking for! Valentine’s Day is no exception and I have […]

When I was little ‘Care Bears’ were all the rage and I was absolutely besotted with them! I remember playing with mine at my Grandma’s house along with my ‘Rainbow Bright’ and my ‘My Little Ponies’ which were other favourites. ‘My Little Ponies’ have had a bit of a resurgence in recent years which is lovely and ‘Apple Jack’, which was my first one ever, is the only original still in the line up. I often wondered how long it would […]

If you’re a Mum like me then you won’t find too much time to think about being romantic for Valentine’s Day let alone make minutes to plan for it. I’ve heard that when out for dinner on V Day some people play the game of trying to guess which couples have been together for years and which are newly attached. I feel it shouldn’t be terribly hard to work out if we could only get a glimpse of the underwear […]

Pizza Express is Florence’s favourite restaurant and given the option, for any special occasion like her birthday, she will choose it as a venue for celebrating! I think a lot of it has to do with the bambinoccino (frothy milk with chocolate on top in an espresso cup) that she gets at the end of her Piccolo menu as it makes her feel very grown up but the food is always a winner with all of us too. The thing […]

I don’t use cookery kits very often after a bad experience with a cake pop kit some time ago. They did not go to plan and I rather blamed it on the kit than myself so have steered clear. The only ones I’ve done recently have been cupcake kits with children’s character decorations that you can pick up cheaply as it’s a brilliant rainy day activity and the children don’t mind too much what they taste like, they just want […]

As parents it’s not always possible to get the night off (together at any rate) and have a romantic meal out. That’s not to say Valentine’s Day needs to go without a notice though and you absolutely CAN have a romantic meal in the comfort of your own home without having to do much more than popping something yummy and already prepared in the oven. Well, who want’s to spend energy and time cooking when instead you could be fannying around […]

Neither of my children slept in their cot. We bought one, oh yes we bought one, an expensive one with a very expensive mattress and as I used it as a toy dumping ground, blanket storage and place to shove things under when I wanted to tidy away, I was very pleased with my purchase of course and super glad we’d spent out – sigh! Florence probably went in it for a few hours total and Jimmy, although he did […]

With alluring deep-blue seas, a wealth of fun activities for kids of all ages, and only a couple of hours’ flight time away, Portugal is a fabulous destination for family holidays. Often overlooked in favour of Spanish hotspots like Benidorm or the Costa del Sol, the western country of the Iberian Peninsula offers just as much joy and delight as its counterpart next door. The Algarve If you’re looking for a sun-kissed adventure, your first port of call should be […]

On Saturday the children and I were invited to a very special launch party for a brand new show which will air on CBeebies. Not only that but the BBC came to our house beforehand to film us getting ready and making or way to the party. We’re going to star on their YouTube channel in a little ‘My Story’ type of production which is very exciting indeed. We had no idea who the ‘Twirlywoos’ were when we were in the […]

This year Shrove Tuesday, or what we in this house more commonly call Pancake Day, falls on Tuesday the 17th February just a few days after Valentines. I decided then that it might be an idea to kill two birds with one stone and see if I could make a Valentine’s pancake so I’ve been having a bit of a practice. To make thick pancakes of the Scotch variety I mix the same ingredients in the same quantities that I […]