London Mums Blog

How cool is this?! Eco party bags and supplies

Are you fed up with party bags that are filled with plastic toys that end up in the bin? Tired of feeling guilty about the amount of waste from your last party?

Lucy from Little Cherry was in touch the other day and really opened my eyes regarding party bags and products. She sent me a nice box of samples and my girls had a ball playing with everything. And I was surprised (and happy) to learn that most of the items could go right into the compost bin after use.

Carpet

As I’ve got older, I have become more and  more neurotic about dust, and dirty carpets. In my single days, I was careless about cleanliness, the odd bit of unwashed up washing up and smudged glass didn’t bother me, but since getting hooked up and having children I have changed. Smudges, smears and muddy boots upset me.

I have become one of those people who ask children to take their shoes off at the door. In our first house  we had a sunshine-colour rubber kitchen floor. It looked gorgeous in the show room and it was beautiful but it showed every spot of dirt. I became obsessed about mopping it clean. I was like a Stepford Wife mopping at least once, if not twice or three times a day. I could see objectively that I was a little mad if not deranged. My mood was tempered by the state of the floor.  I grew to hate the yellow rubber and was pleased to be rid of it when we moved out. 

Let it snow ... please?

So, the snow of last week is but a distant memory, and even though the weatherman is teasing me with the faint possibility that we might have more later today, I know it won't be anything like that last lot. Am I alone in feeling just the slightest bit sad about that?

It's not like I enjoy being cold or anything. I hate being wet. And I detest driving on snow. In fact, more of a 'city' city-dweller than me, it would be hard to find. But there was something about last week's snow that took me past that 'oooh, it's cold and wet, let's stay inside with hot chocolate and old movies' zone.

New social network for mummy bloggers

Are you a mummy blogger? Are you from the UK or do you live there? If you answered yes you need to join our growing community of British Mummy Bloggers.

British Mummy Bloggers is a friendly and supportive group of parent bloggers that love the UK. And don't let the name fool you -- there are some members with dangly bits as well.

The group is very active and discusses everything from man flu to how to stop the whinging to why we blog and photo tips. There are groups for reviewers, stay-at-home mums, working mums and mums that want to discuss books.

So what are you waiting for? Check it out...

Photo credit: Violet Posy

Staying in the UK this half term? Try these kids activities...

I used to measure the success of school breaks based on the number of trips made to A&E. One year I had to deal with a 2-year-old who lost her fingernail in a slammed door AND a 3-year-old who broke her arm whilst climbing out of her cot.

We've moved on since then, and so has the economy. The credit crunch means that many people may opt to stay local this half term, rather than the usual trip to France and Euro Disney.

Here are some ideas in preparation for when you wake up on Monday morning and the children ask "what are we doing today mummy?"

And if none of these ideas appeal ... you can always hire a babysitter and get a massage!

Help! I've lost my pelvic floor muscles

I knew I shouldn’t have laughed at the incontinent old lady sketch on Little Britain. My mum was right when she said it was cruel. But no, even though I knew she was right and I did feel a bit guilty, I still giggled and said ‘but mum, they’re only taking the piss’ and of course, that unintentional pun just, very childishly, made me guffaw even more. So, it was a recent trip to the gym that made me realise my childhood saying of ‘Ha. God paid you back’ - often uttered in glee to my annoying older brother as he stubbed a toe or something after having given me a massive Chinese burn or some other siblingly torture - is true. Only, as a grown up, I think ’Ha, God paid you back’ is normally termed Karma.

Thank heaven for rain

I’m so pleased it rained all day yesterday, as it meant I could pull the hood down on my parker while staggering to school with Miniminx. 

It must be a sign of age, but I could hardly move yesterday after my night on the town.  The heady combination of being out, red wine, loud music, high heels and dancing, is just too much of an assault on my senses to have no lasting effect.  I spent most of the day lying down in a darkened room and laughing occasionally as I gradually pulled together my evening’s highlights.

Winter wonderland holiday

On the two days leading up to the cold snowy patch I was writing an article about St Vincent and the Grenadines. I was recalling Caribbean beaches, turquoise waters, breakfasts of papaya and mango and lazy days that end when the enormous red sun drops dramatically into the sea. I longed to be there, doing nothing. My mother and stepfather have recently retired from living in the West Indies and so my fairly regular visits will sadly cease.

However the snow really cheered us all up, and yesterday it was as though we had been whisked through Europe on a speedy Winter Wonderland holiday. The children had the day off school so we drove to Richmond Park which was mostly closed because they were culling the deer. We moved in slow traffic watching children sliding down hills, but there was nowhere to park and sadly we had no sleigh or tray anyway. We then drove through hilly Roehampton, which looked like Switzerland as all the tall alpine-like trees were dipped in snow.

Becoming a working girl...

No, I'm not planning to drop my (considerably more expansive post-children) knickers and go on the game (it's not an issue of morals; the pension plan just doesn't measure up to the public sector) but I do need to re-join the rat race. I left work in 2006 when, six months into my first pregnancy, my waters unexpectedly broke, and I haven't been back since. I merged seamlessly from one maternity leave to another, having my children in batches, like a hamster. Two and a half years on the coffers are empty, and unless we want to teach the kids early on how to fend off the bailiffs, it's time to go out and earn some cash.

Paper Dolls -- perfect for a snow day

First, check out the best of the British Mummy Bloggers Carnival, it's up over at Jo Beafoix's.

And while you are reading blogs, your kids can do this:

Paper Dali.

It's a great site that features FREE historical paper dolls. Choose from Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Biblical Times, American Revolution, King Arthur or the Wild West.

They were created by a home-schooling mother who loves history and doodling. When she couldn't find any colouring books to go with the era, she created her own.

So check it out, it will surely kill at least a half hour...

This post was written by Susanna, a London Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Abercrombie and fit

Well, my dears, last weekend I finally decided my babies were grown up enough for Abercrombie and Fitch. A sensitive moment in any mother's life, this - a passing of the baton, if you will. Though of course I didn't take the treasures to the shop. Oh no, after the stories I've heard, I thought I'd better check it out myself first.

Off I went, and by the time I'd finished searching for other essentials (all right, I admit, the odd little nugget of choc might have slipped into my bag from nearby Fortnum and Mason ...) the skies were inky black and the shoppers were getting restive. There may be a crunch on, but tell that to 4,000 disgruntled shoppers, none of whom have factored in the 3,999 other shoppers getting right in their way.