Helen

Colourful midlife mum to two teens. Determined not to do as she's told and slide off into invisible old age. Much cooler at 50 than she was at 15. Host of the Teenage Kicks podcast, about mental health for teenagers.

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta: 6 WeightWatchers Points

This recipe is calculated using WeightWatchers ProPoints. 6 This is Mummy’s staple “been a bad week” recipe – dead simple, really tasty, and you can spice it up or down according to taste. Since the only points values are in the pasta, you can make it as low or high as you need, depending on what you have left. Mummy always makes extra; she claims the roasted vegetables are surprisingly delicious in a wrap for lunch the next day (3 points for lunch if you use Sainsbury’s Be Good to Yourself wraps). For my tastes, aubergines can go swing, not …

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Toddler Book Review: Personalised Books!

This is not strictly a #funee post, but it is the first proper written piece of work the Bug has produced. We have read and reviewed several books on Actually Mummy in recent weeks, but this is our first toddler book review. The Bug was given a personalised book and he was so excited that he wanted to write his own review! You can see that he got fed up after a while (either that much is obvious or you’re thinking that he’s a very quick learner!) but for a first effort I’m pretty proud. See what you make of …

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Children’s book review: Gorgeous George and the Giant Geriatric Generator

By Stuart Reid. Illustrated by Calvin Innes. Gorgeous George and the Giant Geriatric Generator is the debut children’s book by Stuart Reid, a Scottish author who knows about the kind of humour children like. Whilst Mummy turned up her nose at the poo incident I describe below, I have to confess that it was my favourite section of the book! George witnesses some sinister goings on out of his bedroom window, and so begins a mystery that he must solve; false teeth and soggy teabags lead him on a mission to discover why his village is so miserable! Review: Gorgeous …

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Face Britain Kids self-portraits on Buckingham Palace

Friday night saw us making a sudden dash to London to visit Buckingham Palace. Last-minute news told us that Face Britain were staging a 3-nights-only light show projection onto the facade of Buckingham Palace. Why the need to rush down there? Well, a while ago, our class made self-portraits for the Face Britain Kids website, and last weekend all 200,000 of those portraits were pixellated into an image of the Queen, and projected onto Buckingham Palace! Face Britain portraits on Buckingham Palace See all the self-portraits zooming into the Queen’s picture? We stood for a good while watching for my …

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Sausage and Lentil Casserole: 8 WeightWatchers ProPoints

Sausage and lentil casserole recipe

This sausage and lentil casserole is healthy, delicious comfort-food, that even the children relish eating! The recipe is calculated using WeightWatchers ProPoints, and serves 4 hearty appetites. A proper alternative to the Sunday roast.  Sausage and Lentil Casserole recipe You will need:   We served this with steamed savoy cabbage. It all went, and seconds were requested! Result! I’m linking this post to Romanian Mum’s Foodie Friday, where you will find a whole host of meaty recipes!

Ralph is not a Spy: a book review

By Corinne V. Davies. Illustrated by El Ashfield. I was recently given a book to review. Ralph is not a Spy is one of a series of books about a rather nerdy schoolboy, who hadn’t yet figured out where he fits in life. He is not a spy; neither is he a Superhero or a Vampire, apparently, but I have yet to read about those particular adventures. He does play chess rather well though, and his opponent is set to kidnap him and steal his secrets. It transpires that Ralph may well be a spy, unbeknownst to even himself… What …

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#15/52

It has been a chilled out kind of holiday week. The weather has been kind enough, in parts, for us to spend time at the park (I have recently mastered the art of swinging, and can do it for hours); on the colder days we have sought the comfort of a sofa, a duvet, and tv food with friends. Mummy briefly escaped us for a London conference from Save the Children (more on that next week); and today, in between hailstorms, we cycled to a rather lovely pub for lunch, where I decimated a blossom tree in the name of …

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Our favourite childhood toys

A Mummy Too has shown us Stevie, her favourite childhood toy. And now she wants to know what ours are. Mummy knows exactly which toy her favourite is. I can’t think why she chose it, because her Wendy is a mangy old dirty-yellow teddy with a saggy bottom. Luckily it lives in the loft, and she has no hope of finding it any time soon, so you will not get to see it today. The story goes that when Mummy was around the age of 9, her older brother’s girlfriend slept over, and was made to share Mummy’s room. When …

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Saturday is Caption Day!

And it’s a belter! Grandma so didn’t want us to publish this. Can you think why?  

Split Pea & Ham Soup Recipe with only 3 Weightwatchers ProPoints

Split pea and ham soup

  Filling and hearty split pea and ham soup In the winter time I’m always looking for a new soup recipe. There’s just something about a hot bowl of soup when you come in from the cold that makes me feel whole again – does that make sense? We have based this healthy and filling soup recipe on Delia Smith’s London Particular, giving it the ProPoints treatment to ensure it complies with WeightWatchers standards whilst retaining all the flavour and goodness. It doesn’t look much, but even my children love it. It has quite a high points value for a …

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How to enjoy a British beach in rubbish Easter weather!

True to typical British form the Easter Bank Holiday was a washout. Rain, wind, mud, and chill-factor – not of the “chillaxing” kind. Day 1 was ok, a drive to Grandma’s, stopping off for juice at Granny’s, lots of time with the elements of joy, and a fish and chip supper. So far, so good. Day 2 brought more of the same rubbish wet stuff, so the TV went on. Pizza and films, interspersed with a bit of researching the next cool app to beg Daddy to download for our his iPad. For some reason Mummy started to get a …

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Easter – the photo gallery

In classic GG and Bug style, I give you – what we got up to in church on Easter Sunday morning. I completed a resurrection-themed crossword: And the Bug copied it: Then we both hung around the elderly gentlemen, who seemed keen to collect all the chocolate eggs for us in the Vicar’s egg hunt. Swot you do, right? This is my Photo Gallery post for Sticky Fingers. Will get some better pics next week 😉

Note to the Easter Bunny: Wot So Funee?

Ok, so not really funee this week, more “aw I’m so proud” moment, as Mummy read (and ignored) my final missive to the Easter Bunny. I have written several, on my own behalf as well as the Bug’s, and Mummy claims the Bunny will not be able to keep up with changes. You see, we are gifted so much chocolate by relatives that Mummy goes demented looking at the confectionary counter in our kitchen for the next 3 months. Therefore we ask the Easter Bunny to bring us an alternative gift. Or a voucher: Don’t forget, Bunny, it has to …

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Book Review: Magicalamity by Kate Saunders

As you know, I love to read. I will read anything and everything, but Magicalamity by Kate Saunders is the first book I brought to Mummy, asking for the sequel. I absolutely loved it, and so my book review page was conceived. Here is what I think, followed by what Mummy thought, of Magicalamity: Mummy says: What I take from GG’s synopsis is that she would very much like it if we all lived in fairyland! Tom awakes to discover that his Dad is in hiding on the run from the fairy equivalent of the Mafia, and his Mum has …

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Olympic Stadium and Westfields: an amazing day out!

Last Sunday we were treated to a day out at the first ever event at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, next to the Westfields shopping centre. The Olympic Gold Challenge event was run for schools who had taken part in the Gold Challenge, sending pupils and teachers to run on the track and join a parade. The Olympics organisers benefitted from a practice run at the opening ceremony parade, and the children got a unique opportunity to say they won a race on the Olympic track! I was watching from only 18 rows back but I have to say that, …

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At Peace: The Photo Gallery

Mummy got some unexpected peace yesterday morning. When I woke up I read my books as usual. At 8am, my usual holiday hour for bursting into Mummy’s room and declaring up time, I got out of bed and tidied my room. (Mummy told me I had to the previous night, so I did). At 8.05am I got distracted and played with my Barbies. For nearly an hour. When I finally went to get Mummy up (Daddy had left at 5.30 for the office!) I collected the Bug on my way. This is what his clock said: When I asked him …

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