All-in-One Mum

Living roughly 11,210 miles away from close family and friends in Cape Town (give or take a few inches), I use social media to share photos and videos of my daughter.  The only hitch is that a large number of these sites are not incredibly private and so I am slightly apprehensive to share more intimate family moments which is a real shame.   23snaps is a fairly new App on the market and a wonderful discovery too at that.  Basically, clever mommy's and daddy's use this extremely user friendly App to share photos of their wonderful offspring with loving family members and friends both locally and around the globe.  Comments can be left on the media you have chosen to share and if they really want to express themselves they can 'heart' the photo or add a smiley or sad face to show deeper virtual emotions. To get started, download the App , register with 23Snaps (none of your information is shared with 3rd parties) and then create a profile for ...

This is a fabulous Guest Post from Joel Dowling who writes for the Sainsbury’s Bank Money Matters blog on a wide range of subjects including family life and motoring. He has two young children but no longer dreads long journeys. I hope you find this as informative and helpful as I did! Making your Car Child-friendly One of the many daunting aspects of parenting is working out what you need and what you don’t. The marketplace seems to teem with products that you simply must have. But for travelling with your kids, there are only really a few essentials that you need to help you get by. Here are a few handy tips to consider: Safety – is the first consideration: Make sure you have a car seat that’s the right size and shape for your child and that it definitely works with your make and model of vehicle. Any serious vendor will have staff trained to know exactly what you need. Make sure your vehicle is safe and roadworthy. Get your tyres, brakes, air bags and fluid levels ch...

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My daughter jumped into bed with me after both of us had woken from gorgeous afternoon naps.   Normal hugs, kisses, tickles and cuddles were followed by my little one wanting to play the 'name that body part' game.  This is what went down... LO:  "Look. Freckle!" (on her arm). Me:   " Yes, and mommy has freckles on her arm too!" I have way too many in fact, all from growing up in the South African sun.  Don't think I've added that many in the past 8 years while living and spending most of my time in the UK. LO: (After brief inspection of mommy's freckles).  "What's that?" (pointing to my rather wrinkly elbow flesh) My elbow has a tiny scar on it from where one of the family dog's we had whilst growing up accidentally bit me when I was about 10. Me:   " It's my elbow, sweetie." At this point I straightened my arm to look at it, so the skin was no longer tight. LO: " Ewww!!" (Looks of utte...

My husband began to train and compete in triathlons about 6 years ago.  Since then our home now houses his bikes, training gear and other 'essential items' that come along with this 3 discipline sport.  I still think that he owns more running and cycling shoes than all the shoes in my closest put together?! I have a very deep respect for what he does; swimming great lengths, cycling across long stretches of road, up steep inclines for extended periods of time and then topping it off with running a few laps of whatever venue or area that particular race covers...all in the matter of a few hours!  Well, more like half a day if it's an Ironman distance.  Yes, he has competed in and finished 2.  Incredibly proud triathlete wife! Yet, that is only what he does on race day.  People don't see what goes on behind the scenes; the hours spent on the bike, in the lake, in pools, running in all the glory that is our British weather system.  The blisters, t...

I recently had the pleasure of sampling the Organic Children lavender shampoo and conditioner.  Made from 83% organic products both are mild, gentle and non-irritating which is fabulous for using on sensitive scalps like that of my toddler.  Organic Lavender, Aloe Vera and Tree Tree naturally cleanse the hair leaving it clean, smelling beautiful and feeling tangle free (every mom's dream!).   For parents with school going children it can be used to treat the removal of head lice.  Evidence suggests that Tee Tree oil naturally and effectively treats head lice. As with all the products that I test, I use them on myself first.  I have long, thick hair that is naturally brown and not coloured treated.  I blow dry and straighten my hair at least once a week.  After using the Organic Children shampoo and conditioner and gently blow drying, my hair was left feeling soft and silky which was not far off from my regular products, and possibly,...

Suzannah Butcher is an extremely enterprising woman.  She has been a mumpreneur (mommy entrepreneur) since 2008.  Her latest venture,  Work for Mums , is a website aimed at woman who are looking for work or who are currently running their own businesses.  It offers a variety of job opportunities, invaluable resources, extremely useful tips and much more. Suzannah is no stranger to using social media to promote business and has written a number of articles on how women can use these tools to further their reach, grow their following and ultimately, their business. In her eBook, The Essential Twitter Guide for Mumpreneurs , Suzannah has broken down the 'thing' that is Twitter into it's most simple format; how to open a Twitter account, what Twitter actually is, how it works and how you can make it work for you and ultimately benefit your business. If you are anything like me and react well to guides that have pictures and are written without all the unneces...

My parents moved from our family home in Cape Town, South Africa to the UK in December 2007.  Sadly they moved back to South Africa in May 2009 but the 16 memorable months that I shared with them were wonderful.  They were here when my husband and I bought our first home and got to see what life was like living in the UK and experience a taste of the culture and country I had been calling home for the 4 years previously. We grew closer than we had ever been.  Maybe it comes down to maturity on my part but I'm glad that I was given this magical opportunity to really know and appreciate my parents completely.  Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful (and always have and will be) for all that my parents have done for me. When my parents moved over (with their 50 million, trillion boxes....okay, 30, I think it was, but it looked like a heck of a lot taking up space in my garage...) they bought across a few of my cookery books, other random things that I had colle...

Babyhuddle are launching a new exciting competition!   You have the chance to win £10 a day for 20 days by writing a product review on their website of at least 80 words.  The competition starts on   Tuesday the 7th of August 2012  from 9am and will  end on the 26th of August 2012 . To take part you need to: 1.   Go the the Babyhuddle Shop  (http://babyhuddle.com/shop/) . 2.  Either search for a product or select a product category  (e.g. Playtime and Stimulation Products) and then a  sub category .   3.  Select a product to review from the range on offer (I picked the Tomy Hide 'n' Squeak Eggs for my example).  Click through the pages to find the product you want. 4.  Write a quality, unique product review of at least 80 words .   5.  Click on submit the review when you are finished.   6.  In the pop up screen tag the p...

Hmmm...what's going on here?   Interesting caption you have, yes?  No?! Please leave us comment. Ax

One of my latest discoveries is the organic eye gel from Green People.  Testing it out could not have been timed any better.  Living in an area which seems to be the worst possible place in Hertfordshire (the world?!) for hay fever sufferers, I have struggled with itchy and uncomfortable eyes for a good couple of months.  Rubbing my eyes has left the skin under them feeling dry, stretched, hot, puffy and generally uncomfortable.   Made from 85% certified organic products (organic marshmallow, seaweed, chamomile and plant proteins to name a few) the eye gel aids in firming, cooling and soothing the gentle skin around the eyes.   It also helps prevent wrinkles, tired looking and puffy eyes.   I've used the eye gel for the past month and right from the first application the skin around my eyes felt soothed, cooled and tightened.  My skin feels 'lighter' leaving my eyes feeling more awake.  A little goes a very long way and is app...

Oh my goodness, I have absolutely no idea where the last few weeks and months have gone to.  I'm still slightly confused as to what I've done over the past 7 days because it seems like Thursday only happened yesterday, and now it's Thursday...again?! So, in exactly 19 weeks today I turn 31, hop on a plane with my hubby and little girly and zip on over  (well, 2 stop overs involved...bleh!) to our home town of Cape Town, South Africa!  Well, my daughter is British Born and Bred but this is where my husband and I are both from originally.   And yes, before you ask, we are very proud of our six fabulous and incredibly talented athletes who achieved Gold medals recently. This will be the first time in 9 years that I get to celebrate my birthday at home with my friends as well as share Christmas with my nearest and dearest AND see the New Year in with a select few too. To say that I am excited is a complete understatement.  I also get to meet my sister's ...

Teaching my daughter new things and having her learn and have fun at the same time is very important to me as a parent.   Galt create and sell a wonderful selection of educational toys for children that are suitable from birth right through to the age of 10 and are designed to encourage learning through play. The  Galt Play and Learn Value Bundle  is just one of the many products in the toddler age group.  It consists of two fabulous boxes; one containing Cotton Reels and the other, Fun Buttons. Brightly coloured and perfect for little fingers, my daughter has had hours of fun with both of these sets.  They are excellent for developing hand/eye co-ordination and manual dexterity skills.  With a bit of imagination the number of games you can dream up with your little one is nearly endless. Here are a few games that we made up:- Create your own button or cotton reel necklaces. Sort your buttons and reels into the four colour groups. So...