I’m not going to pretend we, as a family, have a gold-star culinary repertoire. While we don’t have any vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians, macro-biotics, gluten/dairy intolerants, sugar free or raw only eaters, what we lack in marvelously millennial food-groups we make up for in fussy eaters!
View Post
Well, slap my thigh and call me fanny – if I’m not mistaken, this is the second “Shiz We Loved” blog – which is getting a little close to commitment for my liking, and if not, at the very least it’s turning into a habit! But you might notice I’m screeching in a couple (ahem) of days behind schedule; partly thanks to that parental-time f**k, known as half-term and we were busy celebrating Hugo’s birthday. I pretty much blinked and missed October.
So, without further ado, here’s the most loved, useful, cherished and note-worthy from October; whether it’s been bought, gifted, found or made – either way, there’ most definitely no buying your way onto this list!
View Post
Anytime Casper sees a red vehicle or person wearing any red garment, we’re pretty much guaranteed the glorious reaction of frantic waving accompanied by “Mama, Po Ma Pat!”. That chirpy bloke from Greendale, with his black and white and fancy new helicopter has a lot to answer for in our house. With a penchant for Pat and believing every parcel or letter that comes to our house is his, it made the invitation for Cas and I to check out the latest attraction at the fascinating Postal Museum a no-brainer.
View Post
A modern home away from home, private beach and a plethora of activities for the kids… I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for a break with the 5 boys in tow these features rate highly. “Staycation” can induce the fear that the weather won’t cooperate like a petulant Greek demi-god with an attitude problem. It can bring back memories of glamping with two toddlers in 2010, having to purchase our own body weight in fleece lined goods and thermals, hearing the words “I can’t feel my toes!” before they’ve even got out of bed. But after a week at Ladram Bay at the end of August and summer holidays, it’s fair to say the aforementioned positives far outweighed my initial meteorological woes. It’s no mean feat to find a holiday destination that keeps our all our brood, dare I say it, happy – but I’d go as far as to claim that Ladram Bay not only kept the kids entertained and well fed, but us adults relaxed and de-stressed, without a scary price tag!
View Post
It’s no secret I’m a John Lewis obsessive. What’s not to love? I’ve lost many an hour perusing their swoon-worthy kitchenware, caressing their luxurious towel collection and drooling over their skincare ranges. Their staff are off-the-scale amazing – Sarah in the Horsham store intervened, with perfect timing, when my parenting was critised (by a fellow shopper) post-tantrum as I wouldn’t let Cas grapple the Wedgewood display. Bravo Sarah for spotting a speechless, teary mother in despair. And that, right there, epitomises everything that’s fabulous about the lot behind John Lewis – they just seem to know what it is you want/need.
With this in mind, it seems they recently read my mind. Trawling through their website one evening, having lusted over some tribal cushions and hankered the Hush collection, it dawned on me that John Lewis had considered everyone in my family except four of the loudest, most obvious members of the crew, the 8-14 year olds. That was until NOW!
View Post