Looking for bloggers who run their own businesses…

We’re hosting BusinessPlusBaby‘s Business Mums’ Blog Carnival for September – if you’re a mumpreneur with a blog, you can submit your own favourite post of September to the carnival.

We’re looking for posts that add value in some way, so maybe they inspire, inform or make us smile. It’s OK to talk a little about what you do (we’re all in business after all) but a post that’s just a sales pitch isn’t going to be much of a read. Not only do other businesses read here, but your potential clients too – entertain them and let them see a little about who you really are.

Do join in, everyone is welcome and it would be great to see lots of lovely new business blogs for me to waste some time wandering through research. Can you send your submissions to carnival [at] littlestuff.co.uk by 24th of September please – Carnival will be posted on the 27th.

Get yer bra’s out!

Research carried out earlier this year by OnePoll.com found that the typical female owns 13 bras but only wears eight of them regularly. With the average bra costing £28.00, that’s £3.47 billion worth of bras doing nothing! bras4mums are offering women the chance to get these ‘old’ bras doing good elsewhere.
Tracey-Jane Hughes, who also runs the mastectomy specialist company bras4all, explained: ”We’ve been collecting unwanted bras and new cotton knickers for our “Knickers for Africa” appeal for 18 months now. We’ve sent boxes and boxes of bras & knickers on to the charities we support. Now we’d like to thank our loyal customers on our second birthday, and encourage more women to clean out their draws to help others”
All customers who send their clean unwanted bras during September will receive a £5 voucher as a thank you for their commitment to recycling and helping others. This voucher can be used with either bras4mums or bras4all online stores, or at the Lancashire shop.
T-J added, “All the recycled bras are split between the Knickers4Africa appeal, and raising money for the Breast Cancer Campaign Charity. We have a pink box inside our shop for clean but useable bras to be put in, and another for new cotton knickers. We’ve had North West companies collect in their work places, including the National Museum in Liverpool who collected 380 pairs of new knickers for the Knickers4Africa Appeal which has been a great boost to the campaign”.
So come on – own up. How many do you have loitering in the back of your drawer? I can think if two I’m waiting to shrink back in to, one which is pretty but just not comfortable, and a couple of feeding bras lurking at the back…

Unwanted bras and new cotton knickers can be sent to the office at White Bear Marina, Park Road, Adlington. PR7 4HZ.

Hi Honey, we’re ho-o-ome…

Well – sort of. The children are still off, the uniform still has no name tags, the cupboards are bare and hair is still to be cut.
But… the scary inbox has been glanced at, the 573 kind invites to ‘check her titties’, ‘add 2 inches to my size’ and exchange links with Wild Flowers Of Ontario (dot com) have been duly filed, and the head is starting to fill with exciting plans and mental To Do lists.
Emerging then from the holiday cocoon back in to Work Head. Slowly. Carefully. Aided and abetted, of course, by copious amounts of caffeine and the best apple cakes I’ve ever made (recipe may be shared if you ask nicely enough).
So if you’ve been in touch recently – fear not, we have re-surfaced, and will be with you soon. Scouts Honour.
If you haven’t heard from us by next week, do feel free to mail again with a bit of a pout. Or if you ne-e-e-ed us NOW, then you might jump the queue if you comment here…
To all our regular readers – we’re sorry. We know we abandoned you in your hour of desperate children-filled need. But we’re back. And we have a whole HEAP of exciting stuff up our sleeves for your delectation… Hold tight – it’s going to be a pretty-stuff filled Autumn.
And that makes us happier than we can say.

We’re not here, we’ve…

(and walking and climbing and boating and playing and… everything else you do on holiday.)

Normal service will resume in a couple of weeks. Ish.

What’s your earliest memory? Help the Science Museum

The Science museum in London are currently asking people to answer specific questions around the topic “Who Am I”  and have asked us to ask you for some asnwers… So help them out please!

Here’s your question -

What is your earliest memory?

I’ll start off – mine is being weighed. Seriously. I remember being in a large hall – probably a church hall – which was kind of echoey and noisy. I clearly remember being plopped into some scales which were shiny, cold, hard – and too small for me, making me feel precarious and unsafe.

Clearly I wasn’t a baby when this happened, I’m guessing I must have been taken to a baby clinic as a toddler and had my weight checked. I’ve been told I can’t possibly remember this, but it is so very clear in my mind, just a tiny snippet of a moment, and remembering the feel of the metal and just knowing it was too small and I might fall.

I also remember sitting on the kitchen work surface, watching my Mum tidy up, and proudly announcing ‘Now I’m three, I’m a big girl and I can help you do jobs in the kitchen now.” She smiled, and I didn’t understand why what I had said was amusing…

So – what’s yours? Answers in the comments box will be passed on to the Science Museum. Thanks!

Prescription Swimming Goggles – So Worth It.

Another  item that found its way into the bags when LittleStuff went to France were these prescription swimming goggles. No.1 son wears glasses you see, and has always been slightly more cautious in the water than his swimming ability would dictate. Being similarly optically-challenged I do understand – it can be very intimidating, particularly in a large or busy pool, emerging from the water and not  having a clue where you are, where your companions are, whether the strange person to your right who appears to be grinning is actually grinning at you because they know you… it can be a nightmare.

But having tried out these goggles from Butterflies Healthcare’s Prescription Swimming goggles site No.1 son didn’t look back. In fact it was incredibly difficult to get a picture of him to show you…

Yes, that is a picture of him. He's beside the ring, can't you tell?

I tried again, this time getting him to pose with his brother…

Apparently I just took too long to take the picture...

But finally, by prowling and stalking at the bottom of the slide, I managed one…

Huzzah! (but don't tell the lifeguard he just came down the slide in his ring...)

He really truly loved having these goggles. They were comfortable to wear, easy to clip together (the different nose pieces made sure the fit was excellent), and above all they gave him confidence. Finally he was comfortable charging off around the pools on his own, always sure he could actually find us again!

Prescription goggles aren’t very expensive (No.1 ‘s were the Swimmi Junior, £28), and as they are not proper glasses they’ll last a while – if his prescription changes slightly over the next year or two it really doesn’t matter, as the goggles will still help. For me, having watched the difference they made to No.1′s confidence (and therefore enjoyment), they’re worth every penny.

The only thing i would recommend is that you invest in some of the anti-fog solution, as the coating doesn’t stay effective for long.

(*all pictures taken at the Keycamp Parc de Fierbois pools)

Childrens sun lotion – Nivea’s Swim & Play

When the nice people at Nivea noticed our recent family holiday to France (from the brilliant Keycamp) they wrote and asked if we would mind awfully trying out their new ‘Swim & Play’ sun lotion, designed specifically for busy summer children.

Crossing the vat of sun lotion off my boots order, I quickly replied that  I supposed I could be persuaded, and so it was that a tube of Nivea’s Swim & Play found its way into my bag and across the channel.

And was promptly forgotten.

Until, that was, we found ourselves standing in a shadeless queue at Disneyalnd Paris, and I noticed that tight hot feeling. After a quick rummage in the depths, I produced the tube with a  flourish, and proceeded to smother small shoulders,necks and ears in the stuff (one child in particular, who shall remain nameless as it embarrasses him, is VERY prone to burnt ear tips. Not that that they stick out in any way. No no no.).

I noticed that for a nice thick cream – which meant a little went a long way – it sank in very quickly, and there were lots of comments from the boys that it smelt nice and not too girly (clearly an improvement on our usual stuff. Who knew the old one ‘smelt girly’?).

Glad to report mnot a shoulder or an ear was even slightly reddened, despite me forgetting to refresh it till mid-afternoon, and the temperatures reaching 40º.

But the biggest test was still to come – the water park at the next campsite. Me being an Organised and Efficient Mother, the first visit was accompanied by much clapping of sun lotion poolside onto excited wriggling bodies, along with stern admonishes to departing backs to not go in the water for five minutes to let the cream dry off. Again, the thick cream sank in very fast, went a long way – and must work pretty fast as they left me, ran 10 steps and leaped straight in the water. Of Course. Once again, no pinkness was found when we left the pool  – two hours later, with no top-ups.

Most days I remembered to apply the cream before we left the van for the pool, but it really did seem to work instantly. The older children spent an awful lot of their holiday in just a pair of trunks (Pink is still manage to fit into her Beach Factory UV sunsuit, looking cute AND protecting most of her from the sun), and the temperatures were in the high 30º’s most days. But we have come home with children healthily glowing – not a burn or a tan in sight. Way to go Nivea – you’re now officially on our Holiday Essentials Packing List.

The Larmer Tree Festival Review – what we really thought

When Laura asked on Wednesday if I wanted to take her place at the Larmer Tree Festival for five days she didn’t have to ask twice. I imagine she chose me because I had easy access to four enthusiastic children. What she might not have considered was my previous experience working at numerous festivals in the past, delighting children with a huge inflatable bouncy dragon, and more recently taking my own children to experience the fun for themselves.
So it was that Rob and I found ourselves on Larmer’s main lawn that same evening watching Jools Holland, having roped Granny in for some impromptu babysitting (it was a school night after all). Jools did his best to dispel the rain showers but no one seemed to mind them. People were well prepared with raincoats and golfing umbrellas…. at times a bird’s eye view would have revealed a giant sea turtle of colourful umbrellas. With his Rhythm ‘n Blues Orchestra and impressive guests, Jools gave a wonderful show, and after a raucous encore we joined the flow of the crowd to take in the beginning of Newton Faulkner’s mesmerising set in the Arc marquee  before reluctantly heading home to return the next evening.

Enjoying the main lawn

Danny was my companion for Thursday evening, my relaxed eleven year old who, having been to Glastonbury a few times, wanted to try something different. We started off with a circuit of the site and he was heartened by the manageable size and how quickly he got his bearings. We sampled three bands, one crêpe and an ice cream, and I could sense Danny’s excitement at the prospect of coming back on Friday to enjoy as much as we could pack in to the weekend. I honestly haven’t heard him talk so positively about a family weekend away.
Friday afternoon saw our return, with Rohan (14), and our huge tent. Not the ideal tent to take for two nights’ stay so I was glad of a teenager to help me lug our car-full to the large open space we found a few hundred metres from the car. There were carts available for this “lugging” but they were located some distance from the parking and involved hefty deposits and hire charges. Surely at a small and friendly festival such as this the carts could be used as needed and returned to locations dotted along the length of the parking.
With beds made we headed up to the Village to choose some tea. There’s so much wholesome, well-made and interesting food on offer at reasonable prices that this wasn’t difficult. Rohan chose a perfect cheese burger, Danny had a mushroom pizza made to order and I had pie mash peas and gravy, washed down with an ale from the bar. All delicious! Now I’m no connoisseur of such things but the selection of beers and ciders seemed as well-chosen as the food outlets.

Replete, we joined the crowd of people in the sunshine of the main lawn. This really is a beautiful lawn, framed by masterly mature trees which are colourfully up-lit as darkness falls, creating an awesome setting where whole families were gathered together with the party-goers. DJ Derek was playing from the smaller garden stage and this was the highlight of the weekend for Rohan. Yes he enjoyed the reggae, ska and rock steady blend but the dichotomy provided by this man’s appearance, born in the 1940s, wearing shirt and waistcoat, dancing and speaking with a Jamaican lilt, had him transfixed.
Standing in the crowd later, dancing to Toots and the Maytals with my lovely boys, summed up the atmosphere of the festival for me. In front was a large group with children on shoulders and snuggling in blankets on camping chairs. When revellers stumbled forward to get to the front they were easy to divert to a different route when I pointed out the smalls. Everyone was so considerate and friendly. Toots set was summer bliss and rounded off with a fifteen minute encore, involving dozens of the audience being welcomed up on stage to dance with the band. Truly a night to remember!
A popular new dimension to the festival this year was the comedy sessions in the Arc. Rohan was keen to see Russell Howard so this is where we went next. We laughed our way through the compère’s and Steve Hall’s “adult humour” as Danny called it, but we just couldn’t cram in comfortably enough to stay for Russell.
Saturday was our first “doing” day. We arrived early at the Woodland crafts area, nestled under trees and beautiful wooden and rush

Danny whistle-making in the Woodland Crafts

Toot-toot!

sculptures, where adults and children could watch demonstrations and make crafts of their own. We watched the making of a whistle carved from a length of green wood using hand tools. Children queued patiently for their turn to make their own and Danny came away with a fully functioning treasured whistle, after an hour and a half wait. The clear guidance and calm assistance given by the man running the workshop as well as the exemplary behaviour of those watching and waiting, made this as pleasant a wait as possible, and I’m sure that they will be better prepared for the demand next year. We knew we would be back to try our hands at some rush crafts and wooden mobiles Danny had spotted, but for now we had some hoola hooping to try.
Later in the day the other half of our troupe arrived in the form of Rob and his twin ten year old girls who were keen to attend their first festival. A tractor ride transported their camping essentials virtually to our tent door; then we showed them around the site and ate another delicious selection of meals, before absorbing the excited atmosphere of the main lawn with a brilliant performance by the French band Babylon Circus.
On Sunday morning we ventured up to the Larmer Parler marquee. Organisation was slick as we were greeted at the entrance by helpful ladies with clipboards who described the activities on offer and found free spaces or gave us an idea of waiting times

.

The girls utterly engrossed in the Modroc workshop

They added Emily’s and Laura’s names to the list to join the Modroc workshop and ten minutes later they were happily modelling dragonfly and kangaroo from wire, newspaper and masking tape, then covering them in plaster of Paris bandage before a final lick of paint. The operation was very impressive: three different tables for the various stages of production with crafts people helping and advising with such enthusiasm you would have thought that it was their first make too. At no point did the girls feel pressure to move on and they came away with accomplished models to be proud of. Other workshops in the marquee looked similarly proficient and inspiring. Children could try their hand at making jewellery, hats, ornate lavender bags, tie dye T-shirts and bunting.
Meanwhile back at the Woodland crafts area Danny had finally got to the front of the queue to make a greenwood mobile, involving the use of intriguing bench horses and tools. This was Danny’s fourth attempt at lengthy queuing for this activity so a big relief when he wasn’t turned away holding back tears. And it was worth the wait as he learnt to use some impressively sharp tools. We all made some simple but gorgeous bracelets and dragonflies at Rushworks which I found so satisfying I’m determined to get the materials and do some at home. Finally Laura and Emily learnt to make woollen friendship bracelets in the craft yurt with the patient whistle-making man, before having to head home.
Larmer Tree really is unique. Its setting, with landscaped gardens and wandering peacocks, gives it a feel of sophistication. We stumbled upon secluded areas beautifully decorated with fairy lights and crafts. People are friendly and take the time to strike up conversations so you find out about what they’ve been up to and can recommend.

Rob was a dab hand at the stilt walking

Camping is civilised with ample grassy fields and excellent flushing loos with decent showers, if you’re prepared to queue. Music may not include top names but has the essentials of a top festival, with tight musicianship that gets the crowds dancing. Above all the workshops are brilliant. Ambitious, and perfectly planned, they enable everyone to make fabulous memories to take away.
Since our return home I’ve been browsing through the programme, noting all the things we couldn’t fit in this year. The literary performances in the Lostwood appeal as do all the adult workshops, and one of the many holistic treatments available certainly wouldn’t go amiss to ease muscles weary from camping. Rohan should definitely check out the teens youth zone and next time I’ll go prepared for the dress-up days! It may not be the cheapest festival to take the family to, but many see it as an annual holiday which really has so much to offer to every member of the family. Thank you Littlestuff!

Blog Love – Ladybird World Mother

I’m cheating a little this week – we’ve featured Ladybird World Mother before. But in a week awash with blog posts lamenting the passing of children from nursery into school I loved this ‘other side of the coin’ post from LWM.

‘The End of the Road. Again.’

Port Eliot winner!

Hurrah! We managed to raise £166 for the Joseph Salmon Trust, and in the process the (very lovely when I spoke to him!) Mr Adefope gets to take his family on a surprise weekend away in Cornwall. Win-win-win!

Thank you so much to the original winner Claire from BeingAMummy for so sweetly offering up her tickets to the charity, it was a wonderful thought.

The festival begins tomorrow, and there are still  tickets available.You can’t purchase online now, but there are ticket sales at the gate, and I’m assured you’ll not be turned away. It really does look like it’s going to be a wonderful festival (we’re hoping the winner of our other competition – Danielle Connors from Wales – will come back and tell us all about it).