All-in-One Mum

Stress.  T he dreaded ‘s’ word.    Many of us feel this at some point in our work day or week.   This combined with juggling family and other social commitments can really take its toll on busy working Moms and Dads. Two studies have recently been conducted by small business supplies company Viking to try and see exactly how stressed we all are and what (who?!) is at the route of it.  The first study was a survey in which 2,000 office workers across the UK noted down their stress levels and what  they thought caused it.  The other group were a group of 200 volunteers who took part in a ‘stress thermometer’ test where their body temperatures were taken over a five day period.  The findings have been illustrated in an infographic shown at the end of this post. What came out of the ‘stress thermometer’ test was that 41% of the volunteers recorded stress temperatures of 18C to 24C which shows levels ranging from ‘highly stressed’ ...

My nearly three year old daughter is developing the most wonderful kind and caring nature.  She also has a strong sense of what is right and wrong and has developed the beautiful, although sometimes slightly embarrassing, trait of just saying how it is. I sometimes wish I could get away with half the things that she says but the need to not tread on toes or get people's backs up is always at the forefront of my mind.  I can spend hours listening to her too because most of the things that she says actually makes so much sense. I've written down a few of the gems that my daughter has come up with, both so that I never forget them an so that I can share her completely honest and innocent views and put a smile on a few more faces. Little one's views on my driving... "Phew! We made it".   This said after I parked the car outside of her nursery before drop off.  I drive ridiculously carefully with her in the car so I think that this little seed may have been p...

So, it seems that we are in for yet another bout of snow.  Joy!  Snow days, children at home because of school  closures , disruptions to your daily work routine and people in two minds as to whether it's a winter wonderland or a woeful waste of time (how can you tell that I'm self-employed, hey?!). The horrendous cold and flu bug seems to also have made a comeback.  It leaves you feeling completely drained, ridiculously miserable, exhausted and full of cold.  Generally, rubbish really.   I'm not a big one for dosing myself up to the eyeballs with cold and flu meds so, when I need to, I do my best to use natural alternatives that help relieve the nasty symptoms.   Olbas have a fabulous range of products that I've added to my household 'winter cold survival pack'.   I think that most people know of or have heard of Olbas oil; the one that you buy in the little 10ml bottle.  It's brilliant for putting on a tissue next to your pillow wh...

The first year of your baby's life is a magical adventure for most parents; sometimes scary with the ability to make you gain a few grey hairs but mostly rewarding.   The Babyhuddle team have created a fabulous infographic entitled Babyhud dle: A Baby’s first year – what an adventure!   And boy oh boy, what an adventure it is!  Be sure to have a look and share it with your friends for a good laugh.  The information was gathered from real parents within the Babyhuddle community and is a hilarious but very honest read. Something else exciting happening in the life of Babyhuddle is the very recent launch of their US Babyhuddle site!  Now friends and family across the pond can also be a part of the Babyhuddle community and create their own lists, ask questions and purchase products for themselves and baby.   Be sure to let your friends and family know that they too can be part of this wonderful community if they live in the US by registering at http://us.bab...

Everyone knows that having a child will change your way of life in more ways than one and many of the early changes to your lifestyle are quite a shock to the system yet you learn to adapt to them over time.   One of the changes that I didn't really stop to think about was how my social circle would change and how a completely new one would form, with many life long friendships developing along the way. I recently wrote a guest for  Shona of Wriggly Rascals  on the topic of how when baby arrives, things do change and so do the people that you interact with.  Read my post  'Hello Baby, Goodbye Friends'  over at the Wriggly Rascals site.   I’d like to say it’s a good read but then again, I’m ever so slightly bias! Have a great week everyone. A x

Andy Bates (aka Pie Man) and star of  Andy Bates Street Feasts  on Food Network, has returned to the streets for a second fabulous and mouth watering series in  Andy Bates American Street Feasts .   Andy visits diverse and vibrant food hot spots in the U.S. discovering the tales behind these truly wonderful recipes from the classic hot dog to southern fried quail.  Visit the American Street Feasts page 
  where you can catch up on episodes from the second series and try your hand at the fabulous array of recipes.   Extremely well known for his wholesome, traditional British street food, Andy brought the inspiration behind these amazing American dishes back to the UK and used that to create his own modern take on classic dishes. Andy’s delectable first cookbook, ‘Modern Twists on Classic Dishes’ was launched on 31 October 2012 and from 2 November 2012 you can stand a chance to win this beautifully illustrated book...

Green People have produced a fabulous organic hand sanitiser specifically with little people in mind.  The Organic Children sticky hand sanitiser , which was awarded the Bizzie Baby Gold Award for 2012, has a refreshing citrus fragrance and comes in a pump action dispenser that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The sanitiser squirts out in a light and bubbly foam that can be put straight onto little hands and can be squirted onto a cloth to clean sticky and mucky faces.  It can also be used when you are on the go to clean and wipe down toys and high chairs that are looking a little dirty and unloved before little one enjoys using either of the two. This natural hand sanitising product uses Tea Tree extract as the key anti-bacterial ingredient and contains 96% certified organic ingredients.   It is suitable for sensitive skins, even those prone to eczema, psoriasis and other skin allergies and as it doesn't use any harsh chemicals, it won't dry out the...