It's Mummy's turn

This is K's favourite phrase lately and it makes me want to scream! In the last few weeks she hasn't wanted her Dad to help her with anything: toilet trips, going downstairs with her first thing in the morning, brushing her teeth, putting her to bed, and as my bump has got bigger it's becoming more and more difficult and frustrating to do it all myself. It's always my turn.

We've tried ignoring her tantrums to see if she'll give in and let Mr help, but she's incredibly stubborn and this never seems to work. It's even resulted in accidents on the bedroom carpet if we (or rather, I) are not quick enough to escort her to the loo in the middle of the night.

The other thing that's a problem is her wanting to be picked up. I know I shouldn't be lifting heavy weights during the pregnancy and she is well over 2 stones now. We had a stand-off in the park in the other day; she was tired and crying and had just chucked an ice cream on the floor because I committed the cardinal sin of having a quick lick of it. I was already lugging my bag and her scooter and I walked on expecting her to follow... but she didn't, not even when I went out of sight. She stood on the spot, howling, and after a few minutes of feeling like a terrible mother I gave in and ended up carrying her along with everything else and staggering to the car park.

To cope with the exhaustion I've managed to develop a power-nap technique (for me, not her, she very rarely has a nap) whereby I lie on my bed for 10 minutes and close my eyes while she thrusts various toys into my face while shouting. And thank the lord for Cbeebies on iplayer, that can get me another 20 minutes if I'm lucky.

I'm wondering if this is typical behaviour because of the new baby and whether she'll give me a break when the baby is here. I'm sure Mr enjoys the fact that he's not the one having to get up in the night, but I know it upsets him when K tells him to go away or won't let him carry her. For once it would be nice to hear that it's Daddy's turn.


Image by The Justified Sinner

Innocent gardening giveaway

I really enjoy attempting to grow things in the garden and so does K (at least she likes the bit where you get messy) so we were both excited when the people at Innocent sent her this lovely gardening kit, and I have another to give away. To enter you just need to guess where our seeds are growing.

From now until the end of April, every box of Innocent kids’ smoothies and fruit tubes comes with a card of easy to grow seeds. There are six to collect including carrots, tomatoes, cress, basil, violets and sunflowers. The seeds are contained in a press-out disc, here is K sowing hers in an empty drink carton...

Each card has a code on it that lets kids access the gang’s garden online where they can upload photos of their plant’s progress, learn top gardening tips and be in with the chance to win prizes.

So where in our house do you think our seeds are growing? K chose the place, here is a photo. 

Leave your answer and a way to contact you in the comments. 

For an extra entry you can tweet ' Win an Innocent gardening kit with @makedomum at http://bit.ly/wOmYgL #innocentseeds ' and let me know in a separate comment.

Competition closes at 10pm on 27th March. UK entrants only. The prize will be sent out by Innocent.

If you're not sure of the location (even though the round object on the left gives it away a bit) I'll be posting a few clues on twitter (@makedomum with the hashtag #innocentseeds).

Good luck!

Disclaimer: K was sent the kit, which includes some drinks vouchers, as a gift for hosting this giveaway.  All opinions are my own.

Half human, half womble

Image by Walt Jabsco

 "Making good use of the things that we find, things that the everyday folks leave behind."

The womble in me loves rescuing items that other people have discarded. Last week my discovery was made in the unlikely location of a B&Q car park. I'd arrived early to pick up some paint and on my way back to the car I spotted a little pile of abandoned junk. Amongst the crap was this sweet little chair, very weather beaten, but upon closer inspection it seemed sturdy enough and in working order (if you don't count the moss growing on the seat) so I took it home to dry out for a few days.

I picked up the chair with K in mind, it's definitely a girly chair with all those curves. I asked her what colour she wanted it and she said pink. Really? Pink? Sometimes I wonder if she really is my child. I've given it a sand, and a coat of primer but not sure what to do next. Should I use an eggshell gloss (white, not pink!)? Maybe it needs a bit more 'distressing'. It could do with a seat pad – that will be where the pink can rear its ugly head – but for the moment that's going to have to wait. Any suggestions gratefully received!

 If you like second-hand treasures then take a look at Miss Lizzie's Magpie Monday

Hotel Chocolat Mother's Day treats {review}

You can't really go wrong with chocolates for Mother's Day although it did backfire for me once. Let me transport you back to 1984, the year when Mother's Day and April Fools Day fell on the same day. I presented my Mum with a box of Roses chocolates, only for her to open it and find it was full of pebbles and a plastic spider. Worse still I had no back-up present (I was only 9 years old but I still feel the guilt).

So this Mothering Sunday – 18th March – how about getting your Mum one of these beauties...

I chose to review the All About Mum Selection. For £22 you get 26 huge chocolates shaped like hearts and lips with a variety of fruity, liquid caramel and boozy centres (I love the colours, the pretty red and yellow heart is a Bucks Fizz).

My favourites were the praline oyster shell, the delicious Bison Grass vodka and the dark chilli chocolate, I wasn't so keen on the strawberry with black pepper but kudos to Hotel Chocolat for being adventurous with their flavours.

There is even a little key that tells you how much alcohol is in each chocolate, great for us pregnant ladies who don't want to overdo it but also useful for Mums' who have had a hard day and need a little hit (it's more acceptable to get your alcohol in chocolate form after all).

My only concern is that the price could be too high for children to buy as a present, but there are other sweet little gifts like this keepsake tin of Dark Lemon Truffles for £5.50

And this jewellery box is a great idea, you have something to keep after all the chocolate has gone, and in this household it goes very quickly.

Make sure your kids or other half get the hint by leaving this web page open on your computer... Mothers Day Chocolates and hopefully you'll get something much nicer than pebbles and a spider.

(Also when you spend £35 you receive a free Taste of Spring Selection so you can treat yourself too. Terms and conditions are here).


Disclaimer: I was given a box of chocolates for the purpose of the review, all opinions expressed are my own.

Reduce the cost of running your car - the 5 Rs {Guest post}

This is a guest post from Sainsbury's Finance as part of their Family Blogger Network. It's not sponsored but I did receive some vouchers for joining the network (these will be put to good use towards TU baby clothes!)

To reduce the cost of running your car, it helps to know the 5 Rs

Have you ever stopped to think about exactly how much it costs you to keep your car on the road? No matter how careful you are sometimes it can add up quickly, so when it comes to bringing down the cost of your vehicle, it’s useful to know the 5 Rs.

1) Research

The simplest way to over-inflate the cost of running your car is to let your Direct Debit take care of your annual car insurance renewal. There are good deals out there, but to locate them you might need to shop around.
To find car insurance that meets your needs at a competitive price, you need to ask questions, such as:

• What features are important to me?
• What can I afford to have included in my policy and what can’t I afford?
• What can I do to make my insurance provider view me as a lower risk and therefore give me a lower quote?
• Can I afford to lose my no claim discount, or should I take out protection against this?
• Will adding a second driver to my policy have an effect on my premium?

Once you have considered everything you need your car insurance to include, get several quotes and compare prices on a like-for-like basis. You might be pleasantly surprised by how much money you could save.

2) Re-educate

·     Are you really the best driver you could be, or do you drive too fast, ride the clutch and brake harder than necessary? All of these things could be causing your car to guzzle more fuel than it needs to and, with the price of fuel rising by nearly 23% in one year, this could push up your motoring costs unnecessarily.
 ·    When you are driving, consider how your fuel consumption can increase by:

• driving at speed with your windows open;
• overloading your car with unnecessary items, like a luggage rack or carrying heavy tools in the boot;
• constantly using the air-conditioner.

Changing your habits could mean less money spent at the pumps.
 ·     Also, consider taking an advanced driving course. Not only could you improve your driving skills, but your insurance provider might offer you a lower premium as a result.

3) Refuel

As well as paying heed to the amount of fuel you use, you should also think about the cost of the fuel you put in. Thanks to sites like www.petrolprice.com, it’s easy enough to check out the cheapest fuel sources in your local area before filling up. Prices change frequently, so do your research just before heading off to the pumps and you should get the best value available.

4) Reduce

The next step is to reduce the amount of fuel you need. Before jumping into the car, ask yourself:

• Is this journey necessary or would a quick phone call or email suffice?
• Is this a journey I could share with a family member, friend or work colleague?
• Could I walk or hop on public transport instead?

 5) Reconsider

Before deciding which car to drive, stop to honestly assess your lifestyle and motoring needs.

• Are you driving a bigger or higher performance car than you need?
• Are you aware of which insurance group your car belongs to, and how much this affects your premium?
• Is the car you drive causing you to pay too much road tax?

 Research, Re-educate, Refuel, Reduce and Reconsider: with the 5 Rs you could make real reductions in the cost of your motoring in these tough economic times.

Nesting and decluttering

I've reached 30 weeks now and the nesting instinct has really kicked in... I've cleaned the oven, scrubbed the shower screen, sorted out clothes, vacuumed neglected nooks, decluttered and planned which DIY jobs need to be finished before the baby arrives. The cleaning is very out of character and had prompted comments along the lines of "we should have babies more often" from Mr – the cheek. Baby brain must be rubbing off on him too because this morning I found a packet of cereal in the fridge door where the milk should be.

One thing I've found useful from a decluttering point-of-view is my camera. I've kept a couple of items of K's old clothes but when I'm itching to hang on to something I remind myself that I have heaps of photos of her in these clothes, and that's the best way to remember them. I find that I'm more attached to her shoes than anything else and even though the shoes are mostly falling apart I feel an urge to keep them. Again, I've kept a couple of pairs but I decided to photograph the others to create a little album of all the shoes she's worn. Who knows, maybe I'll even get it printed up for her one day.

My other challenge has been to use the dregs of what toiletries are in the bathroom before buying any more. There are so many half-used bottles, many predating K's existence! To help me remember I've moved the contents of the cupboard shelves around so that whatever needs using up first is at the front. I seem to have acquired lots of free trial size samples to get through and even Mr has been using up his vast collection of toiletries from Christmases past.

I've been making lists like crazy too. The only problem is that they are all over the place; on my phone, my computer, in various notebooks. I'm suffering badly from pregnancy amnesia and the only way I can remember things is to write them down. Maybe I should make a list of where my different lists are? And then forget where I've put it.

Live and let dye

This is a subject I planned to write about anyway but then Dylon sent me some dyes to try out.

I became a convert last year when I used a machine dye to restore a much loved pair of jeans back to black. (The fact I then got pregnant and only got the chance to wear them once before they didn't fit anymore is irrelevant!) I also revamped K's bridesmaid dress for another wedding...

...using Dylon's, rather inappropriately named on this occasion, "Burlesque Red" hand dye. My thinking is that it's usually cheaper to revamp something you already have (but are unlikely to wear again because of the colour) than to buy something new.

Cotton takes the dye well and the colour was very vivid and solid. One thing to keep in mind is that often stitching or patterns don't take so well – you can still see the pattern at the bottom of K's dress on the right. Also keep in mind that buttons might need changing to match your new colour.

With a baby boy on the way and several big bags of girl's clothes in the loft, I sifted through to see if there was anything that could be dyed to look more boyish. This was also a good opportunity to makeover anything looking faded or worn-out.

I chose the quick and painless way to dye - packs of machine dye. You tip the powder into the washing machine drum – this looks very scary – followed by a lot of salt and the damp clothes to be dyed. After one 40º cycle, then another to get rid of any excess dye, you are left with your finished items.
Here are my before and afters...

Antique grey

The dress is a maternity one that I'd kept from my first pregnancy and that I was a bit sick of. The final colour is more petrol blue than grey (I expect that's because it's viscose not cotton) but the pattern still shows through which is what I hoped would happen. I've worn it a lot more now that it goes with more of my other clothes. The little hand knitted cardie went a strange lilac colour (I have no idea what kind of wool it's made with), so I popped it back in with the next batch of dye...

Jeans blue

These were my favourite jeans but were looking decidedly dingy. They took the blue dye brilliantly and gave a flat, block colour result. If only I could get into them.

The lilac cardi ended up a much better grey colour...

Thanks to Dylon for supplying the dye to have a play with. They have plenty of colours to chose from and it's worth the short-lived horror of seeing black liquid swishing around your washing machine when the result is clothes that feel like something new.