Friday 21 December 2012

Railway Children - Away at Christmas

Did you know....
It's estimated that a child runs away from home or care every five minutes in the UK
In a recent survey, one in 11 teenagers aged 14 to 16 admitted to having run away overnight at some stage in their life
It's impossible to know the true scale of the problem: two-thirds of runaways aren't reported as missing to the police, and many are too vulnerable or scared to seek official help
It’s estimated 2000 children will run away over Christmas

We know this is every parent’s big nightmare and that it can happen to anyone – it’s nothing to do with family economics or where people live.

So as a member of the Mumsnet Blogger Network I received an email this morning asking to highlight this issue. 
For each blog post from a MN blogger Aviva will donate £2 to Railway Children. If I have comments they will donate another £2 for each comment. I know I am extremely small fry in the blogging world but every little helps.
I think every child/teenagers utters the immortal words "I'm going to run away" at some point in their childhood. I know I did, I even went as far as climbing out the kitchen window only to come back in the front door again when I had second thoughts. 
As a parent now I cannot imagine the utter fear of finding your child gone in the morning.
As a child I was lucky enough to never feel the need to run away.
Railway Children help and support children under the age of 16 who have run away from home or are at risk of doing so.

Please see here for a link to the Railway Children website

Please see here for a Q&A session Mumsnet ran with Railway Children.

Thursday 13 December 2012

Christmas with a 2 year old.

So this Xmas will be T's 3rd.

The first she was 8 months so wasn't really interested.



Last year she was 1yr 8m and was more interested in the presents.
This year she is a proper little person.

We are putting the "missmas" tree up tomorrow. With her. I don't know if this is a good idea or not.
I will report back tomorrow!


Monday 26 November 2012

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation.

I have been on the hunt for the Holy Grail foundation for-ev-er.
To give you an idea I currently have 8 or 9 on the go.
So when I heard about the new Maybelline Fit Me Foundation and that they were giving away tailored samples I signed up!
You have to fill in an online form which then tells you your "number". I'll admit I'm usually sceptical about these as I like to see the colour against my skin first.
So I was 115. One of the palest colours.
First impressions were that it blended in very nicely. Feels very smooth and rich but not heavy. Almost gel-like.
One thing I didn't like was that it settled on my eyelids and creased pretty much instantly. I could also see some pore settling pretty quickly too despite using primer. That may just be because I have oily skin.
The colour matching was pretty spot on and I like the finish. However by 1030 I was having to blot and powder the shine coming through.
So will I buy it once the sample runs out?
If I liked the dewy finish then yes, however on my oily skin it's not matte enough. It's a nice foundation though. I'm tempted to try the concealer so may give that a go..

Saturday 24 November 2012

Toddler milestones - Big Girls Bed.

So last night we took the bars off the cotbed. (Well one side as the other backs onto the wall, I'm pretending it's a fancy daybed!)

I've been contemplating it for a while. I keep seeing friends children who are younger moving into big beds and wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Or holding her back. She's 2 years 7 months. I know some kids that have been in them at 16 months.

She hasn't escaped, hasn't really asked for a big bed so I didn't know if she was "ready".
And if I'm being entirely truthful a small part of me didn't relish the thought of a 6am wake up call with a little face 3 inches from my own.

We just decided to do it this weekend. I've been leading up to it all week with her, moved some toys and a big box of books up to her room (yay more space downstairs!) Each night at bedtime cuddles we've been talking about it "Bars off Mama?" And last night we did it.

Apart from a few times telling her it was bedtime and no she couldn't play she went down fine. Woke at 9am (if this is cos of the big bed I am going to be mega pissed I took this long) and told me to close the door so she could play!

I think this may go smoother than I thought!

She's happy anyway!

Sunday 18 November 2012

R.I.P Kindle

So my Kindle died Thursday, just as I was getting onto the train at 23:20.

I was not happy.

To be honest I'm a little bit annoyed too that something I paid over £100 two years ago has died already. It's not as if its an "intensive" item. So a complaint email is winging it's way to Amazon.

So I now have to wait until Xmas for a new one as I can't afford to replace it. It feels so weird reading an actual book again!


Saturday 10 November 2012

Hoarding mission 1 - complete.

First off I forgot to take a before picture. I know not a good start but I'm new to this blogging lark.

Anyway my first mission was to tackle my airing cupboard (room with boiler etc) I'm quite lucky that its not a bad size and has two shelves in.
I keep all my bed linen and towels in it. One shelf also has all my shampoos and lotions on but these will be moved when I find a big enough box!

Its safe to say there is linen in there that hasn't been used since we moved in 7.5 years ago!

God this is going to be an embarrassing process.

I'm proud to say I was ruthless and managed to accumulate a 2ft high pile to give to the charity shop.

Go me.

I also followed an idea I saw on pinterest with regards to storing bedding sets.

All in all a good dehoarding session and a pretty good start.

(picture from pinterest found here http://prettystuff.tumblr.com/ )


Friday 9 November 2012

Best present ever

So today is my birthday.
I also share it with my wonderful Great Aunt Joyce (known as AJ).
And my sisters best friend and another friend. Bless her its a pretty expensive day for her!

T helped me open my cards and presents. When I say helped I actually mean opened them all.....
She is at Nana and Granddads tomorrow so its curry, wine and a lie in for me.

The best present was this

T knows me so well already.....


Thursday 1 November 2012

Starting pre-school.

In January my baby starts pre-school.

How the hell did we get here so quick? Ok its only two mornings and doesn't affect me in terms of seeing her as she would be at Nanny's anyway but still...pre-school.....

I know she's ready for it (judging by the 6 times a week I get "Mama school??" from her). And I know it will do her the world of good especially with her speech as she is slightly behind in that.

I just keep seeing school, university, leaving home flashing past me and I don't like it. Gone is my little girl who relied on me for everything. Now its "Me Mama Me do it" when I try to do something for her.

Everyone said the baby years would fly by and they were right.

Doesn't mean I'm ready for No. 2 though!!


Monday 29 October 2012

Hoarders Anonymous

My name is Jools and I am a hoarder.

This will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me.

I long for an uncluttered house. I don't quite understand why I need 11 single bed sheets when there is a kingsize, a double and a cotbed in the house. Yep no single bed.

My handbag has more lip products than my local Boots.

So I am making a stand, between now and Xmas I am going to sort each room and cupboard and be ruthless. I am going to post about it on here so if I feel the need to keep a spare 15 mugs for two adults and a 2 year I will be shamed into being rational.

Wish me luck I'm going in....

Sunday 28 October 2012

That London.

I've always felt I should have been born a Londoner.
My parents were part of the generation that left London in the late 70's to towns and cities within commuting distance.
When we were kids, my sister and I would go and stay with my grandparents at half term in East Finchley. My granddad, who was late sixties at this point, would take us to Trafalgar Square and all the tourist spots.

I love the tube. I can work my way round the map like a Londoner!

I try and get there a couple of times a year to visit my great aunt and at least one tourist day!

Which leads me into my next trip. I will be meeting my sister and her friend for a day shopping and a night at Shepherds Bush for Chris Moyles Live. He's not everyone's cup of tea but I'm a big fan!

Be prepared for a very picture heavy next post!


Saturday 1 September 2012

Friday 27 July 2012

Amber Teething Jewellery

I decided to treat myself on pay day to this gorgeous Amber Ring from Dino Daisy. Website here (Picture courtesy of Dino-Daisy)


The ring is a "Dino-Mumma Silver Ring with Three Baroque Beads"  The colour of baroque beads was my choice and are Cherry (the darker) and Cognac (the orangey beads)
It was a bargainous £8 with £2 postage.  It really is amazing quality and I think looks fab on.




The packaging was lovely too and also comes with a little card telling you all about ambers properties and how to care for it.


Kate is lovely and the service is amazing. I ordered on Saturday and received the ring on Wednesday. 
The difficulty was deciding what to order as the range is amazing.  I will be going back next pay day for a different style ring and maybe a silver band to stack with, ooh and a stamped bracelet, and a bangle..........
I first found the website when Baba was a tiny baby by googling "teething". 
Before this all I knew about Amber is what I learnt from Jurassic Park (showing my age there)
Now let me state I have no medical training and have no idea if amber has been proven as a pain relief aide, all I have is my own opinion.

Taken from the Dino-Daisy information card
Baltic amber contains Succinic Acid, a known analgesic reputed to boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and accelerate the healing of wounds. 
For centuries throughout Europe, Baltic amber has been used for healing and wellbeing.  When worn, the warmth from your body releases the ambers' natural oils into the skin, calming, soothing and offering a completely natural remedy for general aches and pains.

I decided to buy an anklet to see what all the fuss was about.  I figured what did I have to lose, they don't cost the earth so if it doesn't work then I've not lost out. I've already spent a fortune on Calpol, powders, rings you name it.
It may have been a placebo affect to my tired frazzled brain but it seemed to help Baba, she has had pretty much all her teeth through now and besides a few days of snotty nose and being a bit grumpy that is it.  No screaming, no scrabbling at her mouth, no sleepless nights (no more than usual anyway!!)
So much so that she has worn one pretty much non-stop since she was 3 months old. (She is now 2.3 years). 
Her first one was lost and stupidly I had no back up, since then I have ordered 3-4 in different styles and also wear an elasticated bracelet myself.

There are also necklaces available although these are unsuitable for 3 and under due to the small parts and the risk of it breaking. However Baba has had this one for over a year and worn it pretty much every day and it is still going strong.  Kate however offers a restring/replacement on the jewellery she creates for 6 months after purchase. Other amber sellers offer one month.

Obviously common sense prevails and it is up to the parent as to what they feel comfortable with but I have recommended these to pretty much every parent I know.  I also waxed lyrical to my Health Visitor when she asked what it was.

In my humble opinon amber rocks (see what I did there)......










Tuesday 24 July 2012

Feeling hot, hot, hot!



So this is the temperature in the office at the minute!



I have 3 fans blowing on me, I am liberally spraying myself with Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer / Caudalie Grape Water to try and cool down and stay hydrated, and I have already finished a 2 litre bottle of water (which doesn't help when I step out of the "fan zone" to keep going toilet!)



It's so warm my Mac "Sparks Can Fly" lipstick is sweating! (Excuse the not too good photo, it's on my phone)

Oh and yes I am of "those" people who moan when it's hot and moan when it's cold. 
Hey I'm British what more can I say.....

Monday 23 July 2012

Sunny Sunday!

A whole day of sunny weather, in July, who'd have thought it!

I was dragged along (at 7.45 kicking and screaming) to a local fishing spot with Husband.  Don't tell him I said this but it was actually a nice, relaxing day.   Baba was at Nana's for lunch so I could chill out and read my Kindle.


My view!


Mr Butterfly right by my head.


Mr Bee having breakfast.


Now this is the life!

Some kids dropped by to hoover up the leftovers!

Sometimes it's nice to just sit and chill.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

A letter to Baba

Baba

Today you are 2 years and 2 months (plus change!). What a 2 years it has been.

When you get older no doubt Mama and Dada will tell you the full story of your birth and the days and weeks after. None of it was your fault and despite the pain and the emotional backlash Mama went through after I want you to know that you were worth every single second.

The first few weeks (maybe even months) were extremely hard for me, one day hopefully I will be able to put it all into words, I was seperated from you for 3 days, I was in a lot of pain, I didn't know if I would ever be "fixed" (still not now). Seeing Dada bringing you to see me and then watching you two walking out the door to go home while I had to stay in hospital were the worst experiences of my life. Knowing that I had missed out on so much in those first few days, you meeting Nanny, my Grandad meeting his first great grandchild, your first bath, you going home to our house, was horrible for me and I was angry and resentful.

Coming home to you and Dada was so overwhelming and scary, you cried in the car the whole way home and so did I! Suddenly it hit me that this was it, I was coming home, I was no longer in hospital where I could sleep and still be me. It didn't help that I could still hardly move and had to rely on Dada and others to even pass you over to me.

I don't really remember much about those first few days apart from how utterly terrible I felt. I admit I would have quite happily run (ha I could barely even walk) out the door and kept on running. I was miserable, in pain, butchered, scarred for life, resentful, angry, depressed you name it.

Now though thanks to medicine and a lovely counsellor I am more or less the old me again. Well as close to that as I can be. I can't believe how fast the time has gone and what a beautiful amazing little girl you are becoming. You show no signs of any damage from your entrance into this world (think you have picked up the drama side of both families!!) and every day you do something that amazes me. You chatter away to your toys at bedtime, you smother the poor cats with cuddles, you run everywhere no matter how many times you fall over. You love your food, being woken at 6am on a Saturday with "MAMA, TOAST" was not fun but I had to chuckle.

Every morning when I come into your room and lean over into your cot you give the biggest most beautiful smile and "Hiya Mama" which melts my heart and almost makes the 4am wake up calls forgotten!

Thank you for helping to heal me Baba and thank you for still loving me through my darkest days.

Mama xxx

The awkward first post!

So....ummm....welcome to my blog!

After becoming a bit of blog addict I've finally given into the urge and started my own.

I don't really have a "blog plan" it will be a bit of everything really, just like my life. 
Beauty, food, kids, books, crafts you name it I will probably blog about it.

I already have a list of stuff in my head, I just have to sit down and do it!

So pull up a chair, make yourself a brew and be prepared to lose yourself in my ramblings.  I hope you enjoy.