Diabetes: It’s no joke
Why it’s time for ordinary people to understand what diabetes really is, and stop the stereotyping that contributes to the pain and stress of living with the condition
Yelloh! Village Luxury Campsites (Advertorial Post)
What does luxury camping mean to you? I can not wait for the school holidays. I am beside myself with excitement for where we’re going – I’m not even kidding. We’ve been to Jamaica (heaven); we’ve done Florida (so exciting!); and last summer we had the most incredible family holiday in Cambodia. It’s safe to say we’re a family that loves to travel. But the most fun we ever have? Camping. To be fair, when I say camping, I mean luxury camping, and it has to be further south than the UK – I want guaranteed sunshine, and the ability …
Getting our boy’s room ready for secondary school (Babios desk review)
If your child is starting secondary school, the first thing you need is a good desk
Midlife Style: My Over 50 Fashion Inspiration and Looking Good in Photos
Tips for looking good in photos as an older woman.
Parenting Teens: Why I’m letting my 13 year old watch #LoveIsland
How to use the reality show as a parenting tool…
Life: Taking a Work Timeout to Beat Creative Overwhelm
Why a break from work is essential for my productivity…
Mental Health and Suicide: Q&A with Jonny Benjamin
Suicide. The biggest killer of middle aged men, and of new mums. And now suicide amongst teenagers is at its highest rate in 14 years, with more than 4 young people per week taking their own lives. The problem is even worse amongst young women in their early twenties, and it’s estimated that most of the mental health issues leading to self harm have begun before the age of 14. One of the common themes I see discussed by mental health campaigners is that we just don’t talk enough about mental health, self-harm and suicide enough, that people feel isolated, …
Self Image and Body Confidence in Teenagers
*Updated: Missguided have now taken the item off sale and it no longer features on their website. Let’s hope it stays that way. Thanks to everyone who contacted them about this, and for all the support on Instagram. Body Confidence and Self Image. It’s a big theme right now, especially for mums – women whose bodies show the signs of what they have produced and nurtured. (Watch this video from my friend for a hilarious take on a serious message). And I’m wholeheartedly behind that. But what concerns me most at the moment is the message our teens are getting; …
Life: How Today’s Teenagers will Change the World (paid partnership with NCS)
How today’s teenagers will change the world for the better with NCS The radio is always on when I get in the car with my kids. And right now, I can’t seem to do a car journey without hearing about yet another stabbing of a young person in London. The kids get worried. Of course they do – they’re at an age where they’re getting some independence, going off into town, or to the park with their friends, and for all their confidence, they’re aware of risk. And that’s a good thing. But it’s not really enough, is it? …
Motherhood: Getting Kids Outdoors Over the Holidays
It’s the Easter holidays. Vast quantities of chocolate have been eaten. A lot of time has been spent on the sofa – a LOT! The children have seen more of their various screens than they have of their family, and it’s starting to show. That’s when – whatever the weather says – it’s time in my book to get outdoors. I know it really hasn’t been the best climate to frolic in the long grass – when is it ever in the UK?! – but there are ways, and with a puppy arriving here tomorrow (I KNOW!!!!) my kids …
Motherhood: A Charity for Every Parent
Two Fridays ago, myself and the lovely Tanya from Mummy Barrow were guests at a rather special dinner. Both of us love nothing more – after a crazy hectic week of teenage parenting and work – than a takeaway with Netflix and Twitter in our slippers on a Friday night, but we’d been given a gig we couldn’t turn down: backstage social media coverage of the Ronald McDonald House Charities Gala dinner. The dinner had a ‘Lumière’ theme – bringing light and hope to families in need. Entertainers at the Gala dinner “The what??” you ask. I know …
Days Out: Birmingham with Family and Friends Railcard
How a Family and Friends Railcard could transform your weekends…
Parenting: What Defines a Mother?
I don’t have any photos of my boy on the walls of my house. There are 32 of my firstborn, as I’m frequently reminded by my son, who is a second child. I’ve been meaning to do it for 10 years – I’ve just been too busy. Being a mother. It’s not that I don’t feel guilty – believe me, I do. There just always seems to be something more urgent to take care of. I even bought a frame, just like the one I did for my daughter, but it’s gathering dust under my bed, where it’s been since …
Home: How to Save Money on Energy Bills Forever
Advertisement post: this post was sponsored by The Big Deal, and contains affiliate links I am 51 years old, I’ve been a homeowner for 26 years, and in that time I’ve switched my energy supplier just twice. Twice… I bet you’re the same – full of good intentions, well aware that you could be making a saving, but just too busy to ever get round to it. In fact, 60% of us have never switched supplier, just moving onto the standard tariff once our initial deal ends, and we’re overpaying by £200 to £300 per year! If you ever have …
#50NotOut: Changing the Goalposts for Older Women
Why I’m not prepared to slide off quietly into invisibile old age
Review: Simba Slippers and Sleep Spray
Advertisement feature Some of you will know about my love affair with Simba. It began with a much needed mattress change, which I reviewed here; next I got the Simba pillow, so customisable that I challenge anyone not to find it perfect for them. Now, Simba have asked me to review the Simba Slippers, and their very own Sleep Spray. Simba slippers review My first thought was “Wait. Simba do slippers? Why?! They sell mattresses!” But not content with making the nation sleep better, it seems Simba want to make their customers more comfortable when they’re not in bed too. My next …
5 Energy Saving Habits you might be Neglecting
Is your heating on a timer? I’m very unpopular in our house thanks to my decree that the central heating should only be on for 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. It stems from the fact that I finally got round to logging an actual meter reading, rather than relying on estimates, and realised exactly how much gas we had been using! But in truth, I’m not even sure it’s the heating that’s eating up most of our energy. British Gas® are on a mission to make our energy usage much more visible, with the installation of …
Laugh: Leaving your kids at home with your partner
Last weekend I went away, leaving my children to be looked after by their father. When I say I went away, I mean properly, out of contact, of no use at all, don’t even bother to call me, I won’t answer away. I was on a press trip in Lanzarote – yes, I actually left the country, so whatever happened, my family were totally, and utterly on their own, for the first time in forever. It should be doable, right? Except, once you’re a mum, it’s really hard to let go. The first time my friend Kathleen went away and left …
Why teenagers need you more, not less as they grow up
When you’re in the thick of looking after your young child, and someone tells you teenagers need you more than toddlers, you laugh. But here’s why it’s true…
Weekend Fun at the Thorpe Park Shark Hotel
What are you doing this weekend? With the thermostat set to scorching, my thinking is that this will quite possibly be the only weekend of the year when I can tolerate the soggy bottom of a log flume, so I think we will go to Thorpe Park. Is it just me who has a love-hate relationship with the water rides at a theme park? Love, love, love the rush of shooting down into that pool of water, being sprayed by onlookers, and caught by waterfalls as we spin down rapid rivers. But absolutely hate with a seething kind of resentment …