tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58623230481133595162024-03-06T06:29:44.067+00:00Pride and PennyThriftPride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-67789520112648304132012-02-23T19:42:00.000+00:002012-02-23T19:42:02.107+00:00Planning Ahead - School HolidaysAs everyone knows, money isnt excatly freely flowing in our household at the moment with it tied up here there and everywhere between the buisness, kids and paying the rent! This means we're not planning on taking a properly holiday this summer, and so me and the kids are in for a long old 6 weeks!<br />
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I remember how last holidays I started out with such good intentions to keep busy and active with the kids, but 3 weeks in and I was already struggling to work out quite we were going to do with our days!<br />
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So this year I am hoping to learn from experience, and with this in mind I have made use of<a href="http://www.travelodge.co.uk/"> Travelodge's </a>excellent advance booking offers!<br />
For a bargainous £15 me and the kids, (and the other half too if he's got any spare time!) will be spending a night in Chelmsford visiting the mother in law over easter and a further 2 nights, one in Arundle and one in Brighton spread out over the holidays visiting family.<br />
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This way for £10 - £15 plus the cost of some petrol me and the kids will have something fun to look forward to and plan for over the holidays, and avoid the huge expense of planning these trips spur of the moment.<br />
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Ive picked places where I can take the children myself if the other half is too busy with work and know that we'll still have a fab time seeing friends and family.<br />
There also places where I know theres a wealth of free and fun places and activities for the kids to get stuck into for a couple of days.<br />
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Now the only question left is do I take a risk on booking a night in London to catch up with friends or do I trust to past learnt knowledge that I really cant stand the place!?!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-2070303314805863852012-02-22T16:22:00.000+00:002012-02-22T16:22:44.848+00:00Subtle Hints<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/graphics/Graphics.nsf/graphics/St+Johns+Museum_SummerMed/$file/StJohns+MuseumSummerMed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/graphics/Graphics.nsf/graphics/St+Johns+Museum_SummerMed/$file/StJohns+MuseumSummerMed.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Thomas has started Preschool in the last couple of weeks and he only goes on Monday and Friday mornings at the moment, I thought he might like easing into the idea.<br />
However on every Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday morning since when I get ready to head downstairs with Alice its how to a wail of screams cries, attempts at getting picked up and the occasional shoe thrown behind me down the stairs from Thomas.<br />
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Clearly Thomas is ready to move on up in the world sooner that Id thought! and so while his name has been added to the Wednesday mornings waiting list, Im having to try and keep up with ways to keep my ever more troublesome two year old entertained.<br />
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When me and Alice got back from this mornings preschool pick up after Thomas's extremely charming hints that he'd like to go out (attempting to put his own coat on, picking up unmatching shoes and pointing down the stairs!) I thought why not drag them over to the local museum.<br />
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<a href="http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corporate/pages.nsf/Links/46DC10B3A52949C08025745F004F69F0">St Johns house museum</a> is only a 5 minute walk from our house and I can remember going there when I was in school! Not much has changed to be honest. Its got some nice toy displays and quite alot that the children are allowed to use, a mocked up victorian classroom and kitchen whish the kids enjoyed a run around but probabaly need to be a little older to really get a feel for.<br />
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We also went upstairs to the fusiliers museum which the kids had a ball in trying on different soldiers hats and coats and making mischief with the special night vision camera and box that they have.<br />
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The staff were lovely and friendly and the kids had a great time. For a raining day this was the perfect change of scene from just being stuck at home without breaking the bank!<br />
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I think we spend all of 60p on two postcards.<br />
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So next time your bored why not check out your councils website and see what free museums are around your area. Even if you think your kids might be a bit young for the actual content these museums are often relatively quiet and make an ideal change of scene for kids without breaking the bank.<br />
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Particular recommendations include:<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/romanalcester2/">Roman Alcester</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://7158208283742640564-a-1802744773732722657-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/romanalcester2/about-us/DSC_0730web.jpg?attachauth=ANoY7cq_-MOMVL-V177XDxCzTX1IlmBWHg9AsxzehR4hSkHmvAUUB58c6mrBZ8hPYo_WpMMd_a1I5RWA4JH1AYdilIsSdoB_ZehmCmK5yz3Rbyrc5r7n0Auc8xmzkdupCPeaAWHoLAoQ5kAo3vER5nZBw5ctyBAZz5a4GWuY0b9QObuV77pZJ_m6jDq1bsvOujocdIs54W_knppWyOSDKM6KUO0F7LfFuw%3D%3D&attredirects=0" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://7158208283742640564-a-1802744773732722657-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/romanalcester2/about-us/DSC_0730web.jpg?attachauth=ANoY7cq_-MOMVL-V177XDxCzTX1IlmBWHg9AsxzehR4hSkHmvAUUB58c6mrBZ8hPYo_WpMMd_a1I5RWA4JH1AYdilIsSdoB_ZehmCmK5yz3Rbyrc5r7n0Auc8xmzkdupCPeaAWHoLAoQ5kAo3vER5nZBw5ctyBAZz5a4GWuY0b9QObuV77pZJ_m6jDq1bsvOujocdIs54W_knppWyOSDKM6KUO0F7LfFuw%3D%3D&attredirects=0" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><a href="http://golondon.about.com/od/londonmuseums/ss/museumdocklands_4.htm" style="color: #3366cc; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Museum of London Docklands: Mudlarks Play Area</a></h3><div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.raystede.org/">Raystede Animal Centre:</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-23619036744686717132012-02-19T21:05:00.001+00:002012-02-19T21:05:23.067+00:00Silent Sunday<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienJAl8hqyOxp7OlYbJzr0qtuWE_xvMjY9o53nCR73oIpHKTbzfs9HxM7mL_GbEvtzIeKGdyG6RZxui4a6mKWBZlmtm7KJmsXwF38OV1OQ-TfQ8QUUI5JeF9IsQuPVU4ZJbsr9VaqmkNI5/s640/blogger-image-1190679610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienJAl8hqyOxp7OlYbJzr0qtuWE_xvMjY9o53nCR73oIpHKTbzfs9HxM7mL_GbEvtzIeKGdyG6RZxui4a6mKWBZlmtm7KJmsXwF38OV1OQ-TfQ8QUUI5JeF9IsQuPVU4ZJbsr9VaqmkNI5/s640/blogger-image-1190679610.jpg" /></a></div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-11093771063791262992012-01-15T17:43:00.001+00:002012-01-15T17:48:03.214+00:00Silent Sunday<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6ntIVGOnAlUW5asXMQqwXHkaTHYRkPvi3WSPWonJWiOryK-jUuFx9cp7FSYqNhqa9xULmpzWbfTPmLLeR4gP_MDJ_b6ClSRx6Xm6wemJnt-X0_pq6_szVrmo-K5BnPjHIe3l4KbDtRtA/s640/blogger-image--715058433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6ntIVGOnAlUW5asXMQqwXHkaTHYRkPvi3WSPWonJWiOryK-jUuFx9cp7FSYqNhqa9xULmpzWbfTPmLLeR4gP_MDJ_b6ClSRx6Xm6wemJnt-X0_pq6_szVrmo-K5BnPjHIe3l4KbDtRtA/s640/blogger-image--715058433.jpg" /></a></div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-64114703018684889262012-01-10T15:19:00.001+00:002012-01-10T15:19:43.547+00:00The BugWhat with the unseasonably good weather at the moment and those general January feelings that it's time to get more active in mind we've been thinking about getting a cycle trailer for the kids and getting about more cycle than car bound!<br />
I know that the best brand is Burleys but I thought I'd have a look on eBay and see what was about as these sell new from between £300-£500!<br />
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I saw a few unbranded trailers sell second hand for around £70 and decided for that amount of money it wasn't worth buying as I just didn't feel happy about the safety features these unbranded cheapos might lack!!<br />
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I then struck gild finding a brand new burley ladybug trailer being sold locally for £275 as it had been slightly shop soiled. Some haggling later and we met in the middle at £225<br />
While this is still alot of money for a bike accessory I now fully intend to get my money's worth with some family days out a few less trips in the car and using it on holidays.<br />
As my kids are only 2 & 3 I feel confident i'l get my money's worth over the next few years and now I can cycle and take the kids!<br />
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Can't wait till I'm off work tomorrow day to hook it up to the bike and get started!<br />
Specially with a name like Burley on the back of our bug!<br />
Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-5476402418171384792011-11-28T23:51:00.000+00:002011-11-28T23:51:57.792+00:00On the Move part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0du1dLIjoKBPOMXO2005POBKwbfh79-ujAIyn1jfC3ye7t1Yel88w5ANyXjwRT1nBaHzGtYjexW_bD0doyQj9xeFAYXxaV1VRG9gM8aYyJG2XGPZDOfhTJUhP3xwES3Ybp63252PEYUW/s1600/movingtip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0du1dLIjoKBPOMXO2005POBKwbfh79-ujAIyn1jfC3ye7t1Yel88w5ANyXjwRT1nBaHzGtYjexW_bD0doyQj9xeFAYXxaV1VRG9gM8aYyJG2XGPZDOfhTJUhP3xwES3Ybp63252PEYUW/s320/movingtip.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
Right,<br />
well we are on the move right now, and by this time next week I will *hopefully* be lying in bed in our new house with the kids fast asleep! Hopefully..<br />
<br />
We have had the er blessing of having moved house several time since having the kids and to be honest hadnt pictured moving again for several years, but circumstances must so the packing has begun!<br />
<br />
Obviously we are already experiencing all those niggling annoyances that go with any more for anyone. However this time around with two tots in tow there has been a few additional challenges, and theres still a week to go.<br />
<br />
Firstly there has been the confusion about what this all means - are the toys going, are they being given away, no just moved to the new house, 10 begrudging minutes later life is relatively calm again.<br />
Then theres the eternal question - 'Will Santa find the new house?!?' now this ones important this year in a way it never has been before.<br />
Alice has been reassured that as the new house has several large fireplaces all should be well on the Santa front, she seems sumwhat unconvinced still!<br />
Iv also been informed (by Alice) that she will definitely be on Santas nice list this year, however Thomas still has some work to do as he's currently languishing down in the Naughty pile!!<br />
<br />
So poor little Alice and Thomas have the prospect of what to them is a life altering change to deal with, and so far so bad really.<br />
On the surface all is well but when you look underneath you can see the strange reversion to some extremely dare i say it 'baby' like behavior.<br />
The smallest of reminders even, not tellings off will lead to floods of tears, public places cannot be left without a screaming toddler in tow while morning are back to being early mornings.<br />
<br />
We're trying our best to make everything as stressfree as possible for them as much as us and if anyone else has suggestions then please share!<br />
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As they will have to share a room post move we have begrudgingly put them in together in the house for the last week, which is so far working out fairly well. (At least in so far as they have both ended up sleeping in the end!). Hopefully that can be one thing which stays constant post move that way.<br />
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Also I have good intentions (time permitting) to have the house already christmatised by the time the kids see it, hoping this will sweeten the deal.<br />
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Last but not least is the large bag of new (now I say new but these are actually just toys I was given by my lovely friend as her 2 had outgrown them!) toys never seen before by A&T incase some distraction tactics are needed!!<br />
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Right well iv only mentioned a tiny slice of our lives in a very rambling sense but it shall have to do for this evening as Im off to the last of nod any minute!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-14493930854714405822011-11-24T00:49:00.000+00:002011-11-24T00:49:28.384+00:00About time too!Well Im sorry to say that my poor blog has gone sadly negelected over the last several months!!<br />
All I can say is that Im extremely sorry (although I think im probabaly only apologising to an audience of possibly 5 at best!!!) and that I will try my hardest to revive this will it still had life left in it.<br />
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A short summary of the events of the last two months could go along the lines of :<br />
Ran a half marathon (extremely slowly!!)<br />
Got married to my amazing husband<br />
Started working full time at the pub<br />
Began packing up all our things to move house<br />
Trying to support my husband while he sets up a new business.<br />
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All of the above has kept me really just a little over busy, but still thats no excuse for neglect!<br />
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At the moment we're really feeling pretty spread thin as I am working 45 hour weeks at the Pub while my husband now does 1 or 2 of the killer early mornings over at the golf course every-week just to make the books balance. On top of that he is trying desperatly hard to set up his own business from home which is consuming every hour of his day, and several of mine that I hadnt known existed in years!<br />
Now Im not the kind of person that likes to moan and winge but really this is the place for it theres any, so right now I shall just put my marter bid out there and remind everyone that that means Im basically working a full time week at the pub, but still being a full time mum to the kids all but the one day a week I have to do a day shift, while still providing my early morning husband taxi service!<br />
Right rant over, apologies!!!!<br />
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I shall really try to get back on track with this though as Im finding more and more of those little moments in the day that used to be set aside for me have turned into parcel wrapping and fruitless attempts to understand html and the never ending nappy changes life just seems to be made of. Therefore Im making a stand, and if Im still not able to retain my privacy on the bog, I will at least attempt to retain my decency on the blog!!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-29117529491354463532011-09-07T13:42:00.000+01:002011-09-07T13:42:37.893+01:00BlissWell Yesterday Alice started back at nursery, where she will be going Monday to Friday and staying for lunch Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays.<br />
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Life has instantly returned to normal which following 7 weeks of chaos feels like utter bliss.<br />
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Yesterday I was able to take Thomas round Tescos and do an entire shop with him blissfully sleeping in the buggy and still have time for a play and a tidy up before collecting Alice.<br />
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Today started out a little more hectic and I thought my morning had be scuppered when I was putting Thomas's coat on already a couple of minutes late. I smelt a bad smell and thought it was his coat tried to look and found poop squashed ut the back of his trousers and consequently everywhere else me included.<br />
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Not letting this down hearten me I stepped him off showered him down while a very helpful Alice ran upstairs for his clean clothes.<br />
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5 Minute late to Preschool but no matter and then I whisked Thomas off to playgroup at our local community centre.<br />
He had a ball and we still had time to come home, him to nap me to tidy and then walk down to pick Alice up. We even fed the ducks on the way home!<br />
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2 days in and the downstairs of my house would at least get a past on a hygiene inspection (I reckon anyway!).<br />
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I have not felt this relaxed in weeks, despite the fact Ive got work 2 nights in a row.Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-82628380038091673392011-08-28T10:51:00.000+01:002011-08-28T10:51:26.457+01:00Mummys Boys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQO1PzquldybR9iKss6I5L2jMtzw13dU-WOaLzDjyjtejtNQnzVKYzqj5xF-r0Cz8vuscKlPzUg8mnISyL4XGwn3g7Ol_sdqq-AViTv6Cy7OZwt17DMN1h2XjrWk8d29Nv6R-B6gqTjly/s1600/iphone+257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQO1PzquldybR9iKss6I5L2jMtzw13dU-WOaLzDjyjtejtNQnzVKYzqj5xF-r0Cz8vuscKlPzUg8mnISyL4XGwn3g7Ol_sdqq-AViTv6Cy7OZwt17DMN1h2XjrWk8d29Nv6R-B6gqTjly/s320/iphone+257.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today is Sunday, which in our house means its mummy's day for a lie in!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I always get up for the kids on a Saturday morning, then work a Saturday night so Sunday morning lie ins are great and I spend just about the whole week looking forward to the next one</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I dont take it for granted that the other half is happy to get up for the kids, because the way we've chosen to do things, for the most part I have the kids, and he does the work. I would completely understand if he we're to want to stay in bed all weekend!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However that doesnt mean that at 6am on a Sunday when Thomas starts screaming and the other half is fast asleep I'm jumping out of bed to get him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This morning I listened to the screaming for about 10 minutes (sorry neighbours) half hopeful the other half would wake up and half hopeful it might just stop.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally grabbed T and put him in bed with us, more crying screaming attempts to headbutt mummy attempts to poke me in the mouth/eye/nose because he's bored,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An hour of Cbeebies blaring and finally Alice is up to so the other half has no excuse and carts them off downstairs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fast asleep a few hours later and Im being kicked and poked again by two tiny tots, When asked where daddy is and why their back here I'm told Daddy have a poo poo. Now why is it when I use the toilet on a Saturday they dont both end up flocking in the bedroom hmm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally Im up at 10 O'clock. Seconds later they've shot up the stairs and both demand that I carry them back down (they do both walk just fine!) This is fine lovely no problem they love me great.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the kitchen trying to get to the bathroom just to have a quick wee! Im grabbed screamed at tugged ad more crying from Thomas all because I haven't picked him up and cuddled him to infinity and met his every need.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love this boy, but if he wasn't my son Id've taken out a restraining order on him by now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When he feels neglected (2 minutes without a kiss) I get physically abused! Headbutting kicking poking I seriously hope this isn't just his standard for relationships!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love so much, but Alice';s clingy phase was well past by this point and I just dont know how to get passed it. He's happy to be with other people as long as he cant see me, and even wants to go to nursery (only 5 months till they'll take him!!) but whenever I'm around he has one thing on his mind. Mum!</div><br />
Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-1193644041807006342011-08-17T18:47:00.000+01:002011-08-17T18:47:54.268+01:00To Move or not to MoveWell, we have lived in Warwick for just over a year now, and I have to say that from my perspective I love being here.<br />
I have the perfect combination of knowing the area well and still having family and friends here without having had to rely on them as I have easily made new friends since being back.<br />
<br />
When we moved back I initially wanted to live in a quite specific area of Leamington (Bottom end of Whitnash) as it seemed perfectly distanced from both town/mum and dad/good school etc. I didnt find a house in our price bracket (renting) in the time we were looking and we fell in love with our house just inside Warwick<br />
<br />
The house is lovely and really does suit us perfectly - equally sized bedrooms for the kids, decent shower, garage, dishwasher etc<br />
However we hadnt realised that the new development behind us even really existed, and having not done my research that we fall into a school catchment Im not very comfortable with<br />
<br />
I have now come across a house in the perfect location in Whitnash for a rate that matchs what we now pay. I really love the idea of being near to two extreemly good schools, living in a quieter more residential area and the parks/shops around there.<br />
However while the house is a semi, so an upgrade on our mid-terrace it has 2 large doubles and one tiny box room (poor Thomas) and as it wont be our own no potential for extending. It seems to have a fairly rubbish shower, and I doubt space for a dishwasher!<br />
There will also be all the cost of moving and the fact that we have finally ended our contract so can be flexible in our current house. We also have an extreemly helpful landlord.<br />
<br />
I have booked to look round it on Monday but need to be very careful. I am so exited about the area and the exterior look of the house that I need to remember to keep an unbiased eye while viewing it and be sure that it really is a house we could all live in happily as a family!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-73215073402353126412011-08-12T19:26:00.000+01:002011-08-12T19:26:15.050+01:00Don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XzZ-9ANWgsA/TkVv2R7Zj0I/AAAAAAAAAFY/NvINnLbS5Dg/s1600/large+activity+peter+rabbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XzZ-9ANWgsA/TkVv2R7Zj0I/AAAAAAAAAFY/NvINnLbS5Dg/s320/large+activity+peter+rabbit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>I have been out of the loop for some while now due to the mischief of a certain Tiger Rabbit.<div><br />
</div><div>He hasn't actually met with my pot but tonight I will be making the annoying for a Friday night trip to Coventry to pick him up a long overdue rabbit run.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Several weeks ago now I found myself scaling the neighbors fence with only minutes to spare before having to rush the kids into the car and pick up the other half. This was not an early attempt at looting, but the result of our rabbit and the neighbours dogs joint efforts to meet their fate. Much scraping underneath fence behind the rose bushes meant the our bunny could now escape into our neighbours garden from our once enclosed adjoining garden.</div><div><br />
</div><div>They'd been trying this for some while and this was one trip over the fence too many seeing as they wernt in, and I felt like an actual intruder popping over there.</div><div>I resigned myself to buying a run, and let the rabbit have his free roam around the house instead.</div><div>He's always loved the house and even poops in a litter tray filled with hay by choice.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In some sort of protest to his indoor imprisonment in such glorious wether I was in return punished.</div><div><br />
</div><div>One morning while checking my much beloved twitter I started to feel warm. Thought little of this and carried on, next thing I knew I was being burnt and receiving a small electric shock. The light bugger had chewed right through the important half of the laptop cable. 10 minute of battery power remaining was just enough to log into ebay and pick the cheapest but fasted delivered replacement!</div><div><br />
</div><div>as so it has been told, the story of why poor little Tigie Rabbit must have a Rabbit Run.</div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-25315991724763982292011-07-29T12:04:00.000+01:002011-07-29T12:04:40.496+01:00The Trouble with ThomasFor quite a while I have been dreading the holidays coming and having Alice at home again all the time, I was worried she would be bored and we would all suffer.<div><br />
</div><div>However in the week that she has had off from Play School, Alice has been a pleasure, sure she's had her moments what toddler doesn't, but on the whole she's been lovely, and its been great to have a bit of extra time with her before nursery kicks in and she's off every morning come September.</div><div><br />
</div><div>My troubles however have certainly not lessened, instead they have be the trouble with Thomas.</div><div><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHrFgLAkGZczIn6FZk0XBWr12dAgFbZFFTdnphUZBZDVXGMLty1p1UXSYmrF4vLlYhglvbXhRqLY_Wq2OfZaVVFf__BMHJ4xh7xG31-UjVh9Lff7ThN4Uhjtt5RS1LAvzjpRs10ekD1Ep/s1600/iphone+143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHrFgLAkGZczIn6FZk0XBWr12dAgFbZFFTdnphUZBZDVXGMLty1p1UXSYmrF4vLlYhglvbXhRqLY_Wq2OfZaVVFf__BMHJ4xh7xG31-UjVh9Lff7ThN4Uhjtt5RS1LAvzjpRs10ekD1Ep/s320/iphone+143.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The angelic face may deceive you</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thomas is about 18 months old now (I think?!) and when its just the two of us he's pretty easy to handle, he naps, we play, he helps me clean etc nothing too wild. I take him to toddlers groups about once a week.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Since Alice has been off playschool Thomas is now officially a brat. He has become that child that everyone looks at in the park, I have become that mother that everyone starts at on the train. So whats so bad? He screams, he screams about small things, he screams about big things, he screams for the sake of it, and most of all he screams extremely loudly, in a way that only boys seem to be capable off.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I used to see other peoples kids screaming, and I would think, what have you done to them, why cant you take them away or at least why haven't you bought along something they like.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I have tried to take Thomas away from situations that cause the scream, for example our mundane <a href="http://prideandpennythrift.blogspot.com/2011/07/thomas-meltdown.html">trip to Asda</a> and the fiasco that created. Since then Thomas has learned scream loud enough, leave faster. so thumbs down to that one</div><div><br />
</div><div>What have I done to him? This has now become more of a question of what would I like to do to him, or where would I like to hide. Nothing that I'm aware of?!</div><div><br />
</div><div>And I have taken him along a thousand different things, Iv tried toys, food, drinks, his beloved book.</div><div>Whatever we are doing it doesn't fit Thomas.</div><div><br />
</div><div>When we're in the car he wont sleep and screams instill he is knackered, thus when we get somewhere he is shattered from not having slept.</div><div>When he's in the buggy he wants to walk and when he's walking he wants to stop and stay in one place for an eternity.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I am at my wits end with the embarrassment of pushing a screaming buggy, or being hit by a tantruming toddler as I try to calm him.</div><div>We have had to leave the park earlier than intended because of his behaviour which just seems really unfair to poor Alice who has been no trouble.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I love my kids and already feel their growing up so fast I can barley keep up, but this week has definitely been a week for wishing away the 6 months till Play School will take him too :-(</div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-14797752649566231342011-07-25T12:13:00.000+01:002011-07-25T12:13:41.860+01:00Tech Kids?On Thursday the other half had a job interview in London, and so we decided to go along too and make a day out of it as it happened to be the day Alice has no playschool.<br />
<br />
On the way down there I popped the post code into my trusty Iphone for it to do its thing and direct us there, however in normal tech style it got us into central London and then the battery died! Leaving me to wing my way to Dulwich Village solo. I HATE driving round London, and the other half hates being expected to direct and so we ended up asking a few strangers (much to his manly disgust) and getting there with literally 1 minute to spare (having allowed 3 hours for a 2 hour journey anyway).<br />
<br />
It was then really annoying that I had no battery left as we couldn't separate for the rest of the day for fear of being lost in London!<br />
<br />
Interview over we decided to catch the train into the city to show the kids some sights. Alice was entertained by the journey for a few minutes but all Thomas wanted to do was jump out the buggy climb on seats and scream..every non-parents nightmare to sit by. This was obviously really annoying and stressful, and for us a lesson in not taking our two toddlers into central London any time soon.<br />
But I couldn't help noticing several other parents toddlers around Alice's age (3ish) had very quite children sitting still in their buggies. On closer inspection these kids were playing with the apps on their parents phone's (or so I thought). I've let Alice do this in the car, or when we're waiting for food out etc and I don't see a problem with it at all, but I was pretty appealed when I saw the mother of one toddler get out her own identical (£400) phone and start texting and calling.<br />
Several times her little girl looked up to her and said she was bored, to which she was told to practice her typing on Note, and listen to her songs.<br />
The poor little girl although quite and still looked absolutely bored as hell, while her disinterested mother played with her own phone.<br />
<br />
Looking round London in general there was definatly a running theme that it was okay for toddlers to have their own, sim card free smart phone purely to use as a toy. Im not entirely sure why but this just made me feel really sad. Don't get me wrong I know we live in a modern world and kids need to be getting to grips with technology younger and younger but this just seemed a step (or 2) too far to me.<br />
<br />
Id rather take my screaming/bouncing/<s>annoying </s>kids any day over that. It seemed really sad that parents just expected children to be entertaining themselves presumably because they'd spent so much money on these phones. I dont know if this was a status thing or intended to provide genuine entertainment to a tot, Id love to hear other peoples thought.<br />
<br />
Im not sure if Im just being a dinosaur, but id rather be penny thrift and living in smalltownsville with colouring books and crayons for my kids any day.Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-67313883620480967702011-07-19T11:50:00.000+01:002011-07-19T11:50:38.784+01:00RantWell, yesterday when checking my Internet banking I noticed that my current account was showing up an available balance of zero despite not being over my overdraft limit.<br />
I was a bit confused but thought that perhaps I had over spent a little at the weekend so quickly transferred across £60 to make sure I avoided bank charges.<br />
<br />
£60 did not make a difference to the available balance and so I started to worry. I knew I couldn't have got any more carried away than this and as the transaction was not showing up on my statement yet had no way of knowing where it had gone too.<br />
<br />
I phoned up Lloyd's to try and solve the mystery who were very helpful and I stopped my card and asked to change the pin number instantly worrying that perhaps my card had been cloned or something over the weekend..it was Brighton, I was drunk etc.<br />
<br />
Once we'd got security out of the way they attempted to find out where the money was going for me. To my surprise it was a single payment of £505 but for some reason the fraud squad had not flagged this up as unusual so had allowed it to process.<br />
<br />
I was very confused for a while as I really do find Lloyd's to be a great bank who have been extremely helpful since I started banking there 5 years ago.<br />
<br />
I racked my brains until I finally stumbled upon the fact that i had renewed my car insurance with Asda on Wednesday instead of phoning the Co-Op to renew my current policy. The figures seemed to match up so I gave them a call.<br />
Low and behold they quite happily stated that yes they had very kindly automatically renewed my car insurance for me. I reminded them that at the time that I changed cars in April I had very decisively opted out of automatic renewal and therefore would like my money back having already renewed with Asda.<br />
<br />
My <s>helpful </s>advisor Ali informed me that what I needed to do was quite simply to return them the document that they have not yet actually sent to me, along with those that Asda will be sending and then once they have received them they will kindly cancel the policy.<br />
I began to become frustrated at this point and couldn't help pointing out that not only would this take at least 10 days I also didn't wish to 'cancell' the policy as I had never taken it out, and certainly wouldn't be paying them their administration and cancellation fees.<br />
<br />
Ali at this point floundered so I requested to speak to a manager. I was put on hold for 15 minutes and finally when Ali returned to the phone it was to suggest that I called Lloyd's back to ask them to stop the payment.<br />
I was suspicious but appreciated they might know something I didn't. I Asked for Ali's full name and was told this was not company policy, I then asked for Ali's direct number and was told he didn't have one, I asked for a reference number as proof of our conversation and was told that no such number existed. Infuriated by this 'customer service' I hung up and spoke to Lloyd's again.<br />
<br />
Unsurprisingly no stop could be made on the payment as it had been taken via my debit card, which is guaranteed by visa, not via a direct debit. Something I was advised Ali would have been aware of. So another expensive pointless phone call. Lloyd's did however provide me with a reference number and promise that I would not receive bank chargers as long as the issue was resolved.<br />
<br />
Back on the phone through the entire system to the Co-Op this time to speak to the at least more helpful Riff.<br />
I immediately asked to speak to a manager and was told that their policy was for a manager to return your call within 24 hours (What!!?) I am still waiting. Riff asked if she could help so I once again explained the situation, apologised for being angry and said that I found it all highly unacceptable that they had effectively stolen £500 from me leaving us in an extremely awkward position, potentially costing me bank chargers and defiantly costing me expensive phone calls. Not to mention the inconvenience of having already stopped my card on suspicion of fraud.<br />
<br />
The outcome, an email to confirm that I wanted to cancel the policy and stating I didn't have the documents to return. I did return this email along with a lengthy comment re-iterating my situation and requesting a confirmation of its receipt.<br />
<br />
I have received no phone call, no confirmation of my email and certainly no return of my £505. I am now left extremely tight for money (who wouldn't be its £500!) and entirely unsure when/if I can expect to have the full amount returned to me.<br />
<br />
I am also furious that this will now be costing me further frustrating phone calls this afternoon when I would rather be playing with my children.<br />
<br />
I'm genuinely annoyed with the Co-Op and their customer service and had expected much better. I will certainly never be using any of their insurance services again.Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-39206856941123564532011-07-18T16:03:00.000+01:002011-07-18T16:03:45.406+01:00Fun at HomeWell I got back from Brighton at about 7.30 last night which meant the kids had already gone up to bed.<br />
When we were finishing lunch at about 3 and I realised I wouldn't catch them before bed time I got a bit upset as I really was missing everybody by then, but I had such a lovely weekend it seemed a shame to try and rush everyone!<br />
<br />
When I got home, the other half told me that Alice was in our bed that night as when she had been going to sleep she wouldn't settled and had said 'I miss mummy'(how cute, this was lovely to hear), so the other half had let her tuck into our bed and promised her shed get cuddles when I was back.<br />
<br />
It was absolutely lovely to tuck up in bed with them both and have a big cuddle last night and just a shame Thomas was in his own room (but delightful that he was sound asleep!)<br />
<br />
The other half had work and Alice had playschool this morning so it was just me and T but we had a great morning, and I made him up some rainbow spaghetti to play with!<br />
<br />
I got this off a twitter post and thought I had to try.<br />
<br />
All I did was to cook a packet of value spaghetti, pop a little bit of oil in it, and then ran it all under the cold tap for a minute to cool it off.<br />
Then I separated it into a few old margarine tubs so I could colour it different colours. I had red, green and yellow food colouring, and so made red,green,yellow, orange (by mixing red and yellow) and pink (by only using a drop of red).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdywl0_M7NUVC0dUFoSIMHU1yBgv0G2kSbbOF1LcgX1wKRKPRprrpWyxan9E_pQ-_GJivQWj2uvu_EC9k5V2JtQog79ImVP9lkkIRi46xMov0E1mP0bmp6a4uEJ7t8y7-swPrNUYfrjryt/s1600/IMG_0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdywl0_M7NUVC0dUFoSIMHU1yBgv0G2kSbbOF1LcgX1wKRKPRprrpWyxan9E_pQ-_GJivQWj2uvu_EC9k5V2JtQog79ImVP9lkkIRi46xMov0E1mP0bmp6a4uEJ7t8y7-swPrNUYfrjryt/s320/IMG_0351.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I bought the coffee table into the kitchen and popped the platicated table cloth over then got a big plastic bowl, some picnic bowls and Thomas so we could get stuck in.<br />
<br />
I popped him in an old ikea bib as an apron and he had a great time mixing up the different colours, spooning it into the bowl, feeling the texture and yes eating a bit.<br />
It doesn't matter if your kids do eat this because it really is just spaghetti and food colouring!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIGH9jfn7RyjbTDubPcj-CCx0A49_zj-8abcWhxdAM2lHgcPKD6A9pRJ6mMpJ1xcrxJBe0bNtd8BfgHz1lCAPKSeMOFsv2h6es0eJhxjND9yV2kdYXgxZMA-3125xbdOO1nsuHfO9lP4k/s1600/IMG_0364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIGH9jfn7RyjbTDubPcj-CCx0A49_zj-8abcWhxdAM2lHgcPKD6A9pRJ6mMpJ1xcrxJBe0bNtd8BfgHz1lCAPKSeMOFsv2h6es0eJhxjND9yV2kdYXgxZMA-3125xbdOO1nsuHfO9lP4k/s320/IMG_0364.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
When Alice got home from playschool she had a ball playing with the spaghetti too and I defiantly think that was 40p well spend on a pack of Value Spaghetti. Really did provide hours of fun.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9B3zTJNt6L8SCTmclk1ZQPV6WMNVgnZbOSmiCxW8FC_lpbyzFWHNW1E8Rf30GEyuLIRUXRNknI29jlyiysMcGbmtYHrSCyICn9phJ3BVx_8BE1Dr5WXwPhBkH7EKt6goLW0cjD61liDW/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9B3zTJNt6L8SCTmclk1ZQPV6WMNVgnZbOSmiCxW8FC_lpbyzFWHNW1E8Rf30GEyuLIRUXRNknI29jlyiysMcGbmtYHrSCyICn9phJ3BVx_8BE1Dr5WXwPhBkH7EKt6goLW0cjD61liDW/s320/IMG_0371.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
To add to the experience you could add food essences/flavourings or try putting some glitter in with it. (don't then let kids eat it).<br />
If it had been a nicer day I would have let them take this outside to play with on the grass too!<br />
<br />
All in all a lovely fun day back at home with my babies :-)Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-68682971746255487012011-07-16T11:13:00.000+01:002011-07-16T11:14:08.753+01:00<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWqkrgvhXDN7UiPKfehfV2mzl7q2QZfTp_Bb-44snVYLaiPzVLMBgi0kmyIdq4NKS3YI4LWz0hfkC4RAq_dUvws5eRTpzwKEsdDfr8i3fbEHDcKF4RHnWkux82Vk10k2XIVMNMCaaYVgR/s1600/photo-748754.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWqkrgvhXDN7UiPKfehfV2mzl7q2QZfTp_Bb-44snVYLaiPzVLMBgi0kmyIdq4NKS3YI4LWz0hfkC4RAq_dUvws5eRTpzwKEsdDfr8i3fbEHDcKF4RHnWkux82Vk10k2XIVMNMCaaYVgR/s320/photo-748754.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629891446946640754" /></a></p>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-39212787918114752672011-07-16T08:48:00.000+01:002011-07-16T08:48:10.810+01:00On my ownWow I am on my own in Brighton Marina.<br />
I have lain in till half 7 and eaten breakfast in peace.<br />
I miss my babies! <br />
Now to have a shower in peace and get dressed prepared to be rained on all day! Just watching the forecast don't think it could be worse.<br />
The girls ate arriving at midday so wish me luck lol.Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-90376511979975260842011-07-12T17:06:00.000+01:002011-07-12T17:06:59.765+01:0010 top tips for....Cooking with Toddlers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-a20CxlAhYIGoM18Ove7GnVboStPuu4Y8CvswuUMZSj03XqyLE641OUYMTeDTgcE8shGO00i40GOe2RQlTZnCdOpwY03wrJh05YS8aTJeSGlIF4a0Vy7j64OMB6iVXksHCIqq8tSJraYZ/s1600/iphone+227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-a20CxlAhYIGoM18Ove7GnVboStPuu4Y8CvswuUMZSj03XqyLE641OUYMTeDTgcE8shGO00i40GOe2RQlTZnCdOpwY03wrJh05YS8aTJeSGlIF4a0Vy7j64OMB6iVXksHCIqq8tSJraYZ/s320/iphone+227.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
When it comes to cooking with your toddler (or two) the prospect can be daunting.<br />
You know theres going to be alot of mess over the floor, the kitchen, the toddler and yourself, its probably going to take a long time, they will eat raw cake mix and it will taste a bit funny.<br />
But its so much fun that it really is all worth it, and here's my top tips for maximizing fun and minimizing the mess!<br />
<br />
1) Pick a simple <a href="http://prideandpennythrift.blogspot.com/2011/06/biscuit-baking.html">recipe</a> with only a few ingredient and if you've got particularly young children try to find one with a small cooking time.<br />
<br />
2) If possible bring a low table (I always use my coffee table from the lounge) into the kitchen so that the kids can work at their height. This is safer as it saves wobbling off stools near counter tops and keeps little fingers away from, hob rings etc.<br />
<br />
3) Invest a few pounds in a plastic table cloth, or buy some plasticated cloth from a fabric shop, we got ours (although it looks like I didnt bother with it for the picture, oops!) from the sale section of <a href="http://www.candh.co.uk/">CH Fabrics</a> for £5) this will protect your table and surrounding area from mess as it'll only take a wipe to get it all clean at the end, and also lets the kids know that this is a time its okay to get messy.<br />
<br />
4) Let kids help to measure out ingredients. A toddler will be fascinated by your weighing scales, jugs spoons etc and you can talk about numbers, quantities etc in a way that's relevant to them, eg. How many eggs do we need? 'one, two'<br />
<br />
5) Get stuck in, let them stir, rub, and mash things together, dont worry about a bit of mess on your tots it will all come off with a lick or a bath!<br />
<br />
6) Join in! If your kids see you having fun and enjoying cooking they will too<br />
<br />
7) When choosing what to cook decide whether it will be healthy, or a treat and then talk about this when your cooking. E.g. 'isnt this cake mix yummy, so sweet this will make a nice treat for pudding'<br />
<br />
8) Let children cut ingredients up with plastic scissors. So many recipes need things cutting up but if your clever and pick the right recipes then most cutting can be limited to soft items suitable for the scissors! good example of food to cut with scissors are, ham, cheese slices, cooked spaghetti, bananas, bread etc. Try to avoid letting children handle raw meat/fish<br />
<br />
9) Look at the food before it is cooked and talk about how it looks, ask what they think it might turn out light after cooking. Look again when the food is cooked, were you right? Will it stay that way when it is cool.<br />
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10) Eat and enjoy, kids love sharing what they've made and receiving praise for it. They are also much more willing to try new things if they've had a hand in making them.Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-62594137823849782782011-07-12T10:23:00.000+01:002011-07-12T10:23:53.932+01:00Here come the hens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://mapsinternational.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/brighton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://mapsinternational.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/brighton.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
Well this weekend Im heading down to Brighton for my Hen Do.<br />
Its crazily early as we're not getting married until October but was the only time that me and my two bridesmaid could do all at once (we're defiantly growing up if theres only 1 Saturday we're all free in 3 months!).<br />
<br />
At the moment Im really not sure if Im exited at the prospect of a night out on the piss with 6 girls or slightly terrified! It has been 3 and a half long years since I had anything like a drinking session so Im pretty sure im going to be horribly out of practice in comparison to my footloose and fancy free companions (except my Sister in Law to be who will hopefully be there to rescue me if I get too horribly drunk!).<br />
<br />
Im heading down on the Friday night to see my brother who still lives in Brighton, and then Saturday night with the girls so I will actually be away for 2 nights. I was chatting to the other half about this and realised I actually haven't spend a night away from Thomas ever, and it must be well over 4 years since I spend a night actually on my own. (if you count small babies as company!) so its definatly going to be strange and Im completely undecided whether I feel liberated at the prospect of two whole days dribble, dirty nappy, trouser grabbing free time or if Im just going to horribly miss my babies!<br />
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We're also skint so we're all going to try to squish into a 1 bed flat with a sofa bed (interesting for 6) so I'll have to make sure to pack a few extra home comforts...although I do feel its my right as bride to be to bags half the double bed!<br />
Drinks will have to be on err..everyone else :o) *hopefully eyes*<br />
<br />
Also no plan has been formed just meet around midday, eat and drink and hope the weathers nice enough to sit on Brighton's STONY beach. (just checked the beeb not loving the 'light rain' predicted for Saturday and neither is my hair)<br />
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I do at least hope that means I'll be avoiding strippers and giggling bits though!<br />
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Not sure quite where Im going with this, just aargh Im going to miss my babies, and Iv aged so horribly that what Im most looking forward to is a nice long lie in on Saturday morning and the chance to have an uninterrupted shower!<br />
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Im sure you'll all see my drunken tweets over the weekend! and hopefully I'll still be alive to write a post about it next week!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-35818233997975036422011-07-10T11:41:00.000+01:002011-07-10T11:41:30.056+01:00Silent Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcba2-275jaK-uQUlQdWoEhSC62KI5c9eILvNka9dxVcVmLCB041cKRdy2KIPrVuS4jQ2kJBO2n36_dOWjzvPozlzEeSh87mezF6_-LTm3QEDCOFbmJ9zueS-MPDc0O4jzsjvXZkdwO70/s1600/iphone+248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcba2-275jaK-uQUlQdWoEhSC62KI5c9eILvNka9dxVcVmLCB041cKRdy2KIPrVuS4jQ2kJBO2n36_dOWjzvPozlzEeSh87mezF6_-LTm3QEDCOFbmJ9zueS-MPDc0O4jzsjvXZkdwO70/s320/iphone+248.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-23025930503286365222011-07-08T17:20:00.000+01:002011-07-08T17:20:42.707+01:00To Treat or Not To Treat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMQ6Em6-HUl50Fnhz7d_00NS3enpFbkwhYzJDbXGiXuvZBXEtUFX6M4ZC4UziqQe0AYbCMOAr6I3J4kbr_0bRz_2vD2m5XsXhn7rEtjrJnVtkZ3Q49aj68sTmlwDnXTmNF5IAeM3YsYUU/s1600/mini+haribo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMQ6Em6-HUl50Fnhz7d_00NS3enpFbkwhYzJDbXGiXuvZBXEtUFX6M4ZC4UziqQe0AYbCMOAr6I3J4kbr_0bRz_2vD2m5XsXhn7rEtjrJnVtkZ3Q49aj68sTmlwDnXTmNF5IAeM3YsYUU/s320/mini+haribo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>While I was nipping round my local Tesco this morning I bumped into a lady who's son also goes to Alice's preschool.<br />
His birthday is today (he's 4 so in the Butterflies group not Alice's caterpillars) and she was telling me how having dropped him off this morning she was asked where the sweets were to give to the other children.<br />
Consequently she was rushing round Tesco's stocking up on suitable junk for his party and for preschool.<br />
<br />
I couldn't help but comment that i was shocked to hear that the preschool had actually requested that she bring in sweets to dish out.<br />
When it was Alice's birthday on a playgroup day last summer I cautiously bought in a cake unsure whether this might annoying other mothers that I was promoting junk to their kids!<br />
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I'm now left pondering exactly which line of thought is the best!<br />
<br />
<br />
Should we be discouraging our kids from eating sugary junk or is it actually the opposite that these treats are in fact designed for kids for a very good reason!<br />
<br />
And also as much as I really do love Alice's preschool is it really right that for every child's birthday the kids are dished out packs of parent provided sweets that they are left eagerly clutching at collecting time. Presumably this is incase you didn't want your kid to eat them, but surely they must know the very fact their frantically clutching the packet is allowing it in the first place. I'm yet to see a single parent not just open it to ensure a peaceful walk home!<br />
<br />
With Alice's 3rd birthday fast approaching and it falling on her one preschool day (at her other preschool) for the holidays I'm left very confused about what approach to take...without even mentioning the whole party issue!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-66511246671012080732011-07-07T19:24:00.001+01:002011-07-07T21:13:16.596+01:00The kindness of children<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifY9KnVMlZ83NWmBSlYk6re2HFoMMUJf1W7_Ak98NqJYmuZKD5GNVyH7xKwbrmGADPTTi4Uh-Fbl8nI-n8IVx-AHoUjMMxxgccUUdrRCn3la-3RLkdg5ISLVJGZxpqQB4slkFH_N0M469X/s1600/iphone+263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifY9KnVMlZ83NWmBSlYk6re2HFoMMUJf1W7_Ak98NqJYmuZKD5GNVyH7xKwbrmGADPTTi4Uh-Fbl8nI-n8IVx-AHoUjMMxxgccUUdrRCn3la-3RLkdg5ISLVJGZxpqQB4slkFH_N0M469X/s320/iphone+263.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
This is just a short post because I'v been very distracted over the last few days and struggled to finish my thoughts into anything I'v thought fit to inflict on the world!<br />
<br />
I went into the doctors for what I thought was a routine question and having been referred to a different doctor for tests am now left feeling a bit anxious and worried and also having told my close family like maybe Im worrying them for nothing.<br />
While Im sure this is the case, I still seem to be unmanageably stressed out by this!<br />
<br />
I have both the kids at home all day on a thursday and had been dreading it a little to be honest, but actually this morning we all cuddled up o the sofa to watch disney films for hours and the children behaved themselves brilliantly all day, either playing nicely together (miracle!) or giving out nice hugs.<br />
When Alice saw me looking sad and stressed this morning she instantly came over asked 'are you alriiiiight mummieeee' and then despite my reassurances that I really was fine and just being silly I was given a massive cuddle and 'its okay'.<br />
From this point onwards I was much more upbeat and cheerful, partially because it genuinely did cheer me up, and partially because It made me think just how sensitive and connected children (even 2 year olds!) really are, and was amazed at how genuine her concern really was.<br />
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Just a tiny reminded that those babies we made, however troublesome and loud really can be mini miracles.Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-23529204537020189422011-07-04T10:45:00.000+01:002011-07-04T10:45:28.586+01:00ComfortersMy children have always been so different, that its impossible not to compare, because next to nothing they do is they same.<br />
<br />
While Alice was walking at 1, Thomas was talking and while Alice is a thrill seeking explorer Thomas seems to have more of a practical problem solving sort of nature.<br />
<br />
I was one of those non-mums who would loudly declare in my pre-baby days that my children where not going to have dummies, wouldnt be eating in macdonalds and wouldn't be shouted at in the street. I have so far broken all three of these 'rule'<br />
However I feel in no was ashamed of that, because once you have kids, you realize what a stuck up idiot you actually were before!<br />
<br />
I gave Alice a dummy in desperation when she was 3 weeks old, as I couldn't bare the crying (from either of us!) any more. In my moment of weakness I grabbed for the pack someone had sent us in a gift parcel and let Alice enjoy the sweet relief this seemed to provide us all to her hearts content.<br />
I didn't even stop to notice that this was a pack of old fashioned cherry teat dummies, and in my opinion as with everything that wasn't designed in the last 5 years, this actually did the job, Alice fell in love with it, and became a grade A dummy addict within a matter of days!<br />
<br />
Eventually the dummy had its problems though, like being thrown out of into the road for me to retrieve and err 'clean' and I was worried that Alice's speech may even have been slowed a little (possibly just a buggys pushy health visitor though!) and by the time Thomas was born she was allowed night time dummies only.<br />
She is not quite three and this is still important for her, we have begun talk of the magical dummy fairies coming when she is 3 and im sure they'll be more on this to follow.<br />
<br />
Back to the point though, consequently this was her most important 'comforter' and a string of toys have been givern pride of place with her finallly settling on a Jingling pink rabbit called 'Jelly' that she was given as a gift (therefore I now cant find more) and cant wash because of its bell! but she has never really struggled to settle down as long as the dummy has been there.<br />
<br />
With Thomas I made sure he got the 'right' dummies from the start, and he reluctantly accepted that they may just be better than nothing and they did help him to settle as a small baby.<br />
When we moved house (and kicked him out our room) last summer I decided that 6 months was a good time to take the dummy away full stop (most unfair as Alice was still parading hers around at bedtime) and Thomas has had to find alternative ways of comforting himself.<br />
<br />
A few months ago I realized he was able to turn on his Rainforest PeekaBoo mobile himself, and we had a week of sleepless night when the batteries ran out, as this is clearly important to him. I have ignored the 'remove after 6 months' guidelines for the sake of everybody's sanity (and it cost far too much for 6 months use!!).<br />
His other 'comfort' object strangely enough seems to be books. He will not settle for either bedtime or naps unless he is given at least one and preferably two interesting books.<br />
I'll them hear him giggling and cooing away for about 20 minutes before he actually falls asleep.<br />
I havent encouraged this on him, but do find it unbelievably cute!<br />
<br />
My top bedtime book suggestions are:<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=pridea04-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1592232329" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=pridea04-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1904513751&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=pridea04-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0399240462&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=pridea04-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1592232329&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=pridea04-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0794521886&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-35850105254510769942011-07-01T11:40:00.000+01:002011-07-01T11:40:42.217+01:00Thomas MeltdownArgh,<br />
I just had the biggest toddler tantrum meltdown in the world.<br />
<br />
Dropped Alice off to playgroup, wizzed round to Asda to grab some bits and pieces for the weekend (hopefully of a barbaque tomorrow) and saw Thomas had just dozzed off in the car.<br />
Normally to wake him up is no problem and he is his usual merry self once he's in the trolly, but not today!<br />
<br />
He screamed when I put him in, and was grumbling while we went into the shop, bumped into a friend and spent 2 minutes chatting, this was two minutes too long for Thomas though who deceided to start shrieking (that high pitched cry that sounds more like its indedned to attrackt wild dogs!) so I made my excuses and off up the aisles we went.<br />
The noises didnt stop, I tried caliming him down, only to get slapping added to the problems, I tried telling him off, which increased the volume, I tried ignoring him for 10 minutes and then I tried feeding him the things I hadnt paid for yet!<br />
<br />
None of the above seemed to work, and if anyone has any better ideas PLEASE tell me them!<br />
<br />
We had only been 20 minutes when I deceided to give up, having a trolly full of purely junk we basically dont need from the attempts to grab things.<br />
It got no better at the check out where taking him out the trolly for a cuddle only seemed to incite more slapping of mummy.<br />
I was feeling like the lowest, scummiest mummy possible while the ladie infront of me deiced to chat to the checkout assistant for at least 2 minutes instead of paying, and I was about ready to burst into tears by the time my shopping was being scanned through.<br />
I thought my order was surely over but no, the old lady returned and in her attempt to 'help' kept taking the shopping I had packed out of bags in my trolley and trying to pass them to Thomas, all this led to was double packing and double screaming, I sunk to new lows though by actually telling her she wasn't helping.<br />
<br />
I now feel like the world worst mum, and am dreading the prospect of waking Thomas up in 10 minutes so we can pick Alice up.<br />
<br />
2 coffees and a *aherm* packet of sweets later I am at least feeling calm(ish) again.<br />
<br />
Lesson learnt, men hate shopping, avoid taking any age of male human shopping at all costs!Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862323048113359516.post-56025250583463539492011-06-29T13:26:00.000+01:002011-06-29T13:26:52.342+01:00Washing woeWell today I have put about 5 loads through my washing machine as it was bright sunshine this morning and my Iphone weather forecast confidently told me it wont rain here for the next 5 days.<br />
I have managed to get the first two loads dry but was forced to dash out and rescue my smalls a few minutes ago due to some most unwelcome rain!<br />
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I now have a full of soggy socks and havn't been able to spend valuable baby napping time doing more important things like tidying, hoovering or posting a longer blog!!<br />
<br />
On a brighter note though do remember to hang your washing outside whenever possible, it doesnt even need to be particularly warm or sunny (just not raining!!) as a good breeze will do wonders for your washing. It really will save you a fortune on tumble drying and save your house from unnecessary dampness from trying to dry everything inside.<br />
<br />
If you dont have an outdoor washing line why not take your clothes airer outside?<br />
You could also make one of these<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXBabw1THN4/TgsYWnNqj6I/AAAAAAAAAC8/Ci21-Z9QKGg/s1600/petra-peg-airer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXBabw1THN4/TgsYWnNqj6I/AAAAAAAAAC8/Ci21-Z9QKGg/s320/petra-peg-airer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">with just some string a clothes hanger and some old pegs, or you can pick one up from most £1 shops/eBay etc for just a few pound.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This can hang outside from your line (to make extra space) from a tree or a beam and quickly bought in and hung inside (I hang mine of the shower rail).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Large items like sheets can even just be spread between the garden furniture to dry.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Line drying not only saves a fortune but also leaves your clothes smelling truly fresh in a way no powder or softener has equaled yet!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Believe it or not I am about to add a cautionary note to line drying!!(I know) If you or your child has acute eczema or hay fever then their clothes should be washed only with a non-bio and no softener. They should also be dried Indoors as pollen from outside could be an irritant.</div>Pride and PennyThrifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995421823183176139noreply@blogger.com0