Pumpkins are traditionally carved at this time of year with a spooky theme to reflect the season. I confess that is not really our bag. Last year, because our girls love hearts more than anything, our Pumpkins looked like this: (That was our door number by the way) That's relevant to pumpkin carving this October because World Vision are asking you to carve a heart into a pumpkin this Halloween and display it in your window as a lantern … [Read more...]
Tesco Mum of the Year 2014
My day has been pretty rubbish: I hurt my back helping DH fix the bed that the removals men had failed to put back up correctly. I had to yank a giant splinter out of my foot, which has added to my limp and then I wrangled my three-year-old, who was complaining bitterly about the rain- around the new school campus trying to find the ballet class I needed to pick LBG up from. The biggest highlight was having the Gas man switch the Aga on. By … [Read more...]
Budget Bucket List
I've started on the slope from 30 to 40, I realised the other day: I was quoted in the local press and the journalist asked my age, and he wanted specifics, so I actually had to work out how old I am. It's not that I'm not bothered about getting older, you understand, but rather that I feel the years are evaporating without me somehow marking their passage. I suspect it has something to do with motherhood: the last birthday I remember is my … [Read more...]
Lemlem’s injera and the #FoodFrontline
I’m Lemlem Tesjay and I lost my husband 14 years ago. I have two children, a daughter and a son. I don’t know why he died. He dropped dead. Nine years after he died I got tested and I found out I was HIV positive. I was feeling occasionally ill and I had attended so many training workshops about HIV that I saw the signs that people were talking about. Because of the training sessions I knew that I could live with … [Read more...]
A postcard from #teamhonk in Ghana
Look what I got in my inbox this morning: a postcard from Ghana with a picture of the Davina looking ridiculously good. #teamhonk are in Ghana seeing all the #goodwork that Comic Relief have been doing for the past 25 years. I'm so excited to be able to support the amazing work that Mummy Barrow, Mammasaurus and Alexander Residence are doing to bring the comic relief message of #goodwork back to us in the UK. If you haven't seen them, then … [Read more...]
Impossible to escape the poverty trap
We all know that times are tough: recent cuts have already forced huge numbers of families to tighten their belt. More families will struggle this year to pay for food, heating and the other basics for their children as prices continue to increase. And if you play the game on the Children's Society website, you will quickly find that it is impossible to escape the poverty trap. The Fair and Square Campaign has a simple plan: a free school … [Read more...]
How to make a Christmas Silhouette from a box
I tweeted @CocaCola_GB this week with pride in my latest creation: a Christmas Silhouette I had made from a Diet Coke box. They made the appropriate noises, and pointed me to the BritMums #FestivePlaylist which reminds everyone of the Designated Driver programme they have every winter, which helps promote the positive role that soft drinks can play as credible alternatives to alcohol. You can use their interactive Pub Finder to find places where … [Read more...]
