Personalised Books – tacky, yes?
I thought so. I really did. I fell for the personalised thing with the first child (Chrsitmas songs about you from Coco the Clown, anyone?), but ever since have firmly stuck to my guns and said a big fat NO. But then I got offered a book from Itsyourstory. Which I didn’t answer, if I’m honest. But the PR was lovely, and bit persuasive, and assured me I would love it. More importantly Pink would adore it. So I succumbed,...
Not-So-Grim Reaper (and Best Childrens face paints. Ever.)
So Boy (9) had a Halloween party this weekend. He was the only one who did, and as we don’t Trick & Treat, I was heaving a happy sigh of relief that only one costume scramble was on the horizon. An easy one, too, as he already knew what he wanted to be – the Grim Reaper. Easy, thanks to a few oddly items rummaged from the dressing up supplies, and a fably new box of face paints from Snazaroo. Face paints are...
I. Love. Lego. (and that goes for the magazine too)
If you’re a parent, I find you’re in one of three camps. Loved lego as a child but a) your children aren’t old enough yet b) you can’t bear the thought of all those BITS c) you’ve been ‘got’, and can wince in sympathetic agony if someone whipers “lego knee” at you. But I have never met anyone who doesn’t like Lego. I mean really – what’s not to like? It’s...
Carless Whispers – In which Keris loses a car. Or two.
In a new series from the little-bit-brilliant Keris Stainton (she of the weaning diary ‘Slopsville’ fame… and rather less importantly a small amount of minor stardom as a much-touted fabulous YA author of course), Carless Whispers is a record of her family’s experience of Life Minus Car… Once upon a time, we had two cars. Well, I say once upon a time – it was about a month ago. The MOT was due on my...
Massage in baggy undies.
A couple of weeks ago, I went for a massage. I haven’t had one for a while. I’ve never been much of a massage person, but after I had my first child (6 years ago), I was desperate for one. It was (apart from the baby) pretty much all I could think about. I felt beaten up and out of touch with my body (having mostly seen it as a receptacle for someone else’s body for nine months). When Harry was about two weeks old, I found a...
MP3 player for children – step up the SanDisk Sansa Clip+
My boys have all had MP3 players for a year or two now. They love them – and we love that they love them. But we were initially concerned about spending a lot of money on something they’d no doubt lose or break inside 3 weeks, so we bought the cheapest we could find (£7 max). When they worked, they were ace, but all too frequently they freeze or crash, or batteries need replacing, or the music needs updating as they...