Family Wellness Mama

So last month I wasn't having the luckiest of times with my bank account.  M y account was hacked, I had a transaction go wrong and encountered a backwards cash machine which gobbled up my card and took my money too!    As a result I had to cancel my card three times, leaving me with no bank card for an  entire month. What I had viewed as an extremely annoying inconvenience has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.   Not having instant access to my money helped me to pace my spending and ensured that I only took out only the money I needed. If   I had to purchase something I hadn't planned for during the week,    I would need to go to the bank to withdraw the money and I soon realised it wasn't always worth the trip.   By the time my card arrived I had saved a considerable amount of money and was keen to find more money saving ideas to help improve family finances ... Here are my top five tips for saving money……. 1)     Ditch the plastic Pa

We made a boat using a mushroom tub, a straw, paper, string and a weight from daddy for the anchor.... The 'sinky sinky'  boat has already set sail on it's maiden vogage around the bathroom sink! :-) If you liked this you might also like: mr robot face Not sure if the two are compatible.... Fun with mum time Not so Incy Wincy Did Usain really create the lightning bolt

(photo:  http://www.fotopedia.com/items/soleils-leDiP-gHnWQ ) So I was watching my son having his swimming lesson the other day and I got talking to another mum. Her son had recently started reception class and she was in a state of shock.  She found it preposterous that she was not allowed to call the school to find out if her son had settled and was further astounded that she would have to discover what her son had eaten for lunch by asking him. This is no high maintenance mother dear reader, merely another victim of Triple S Syndrome. S tarted S chool S hocker Not many parents are prepared for the monumental transition from nursery to school. Yes, the children adjust after about a day, happy as clams with their new classmates they skip into school. But what about us? Parents whose children have attended nurseries have long been accustomed to having their every need, whim and demand met by their child's care providers. The lovely young ladies at your

(Photo http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-454444086 ) My son was at a party last week and I was rather shocked to see that not one single parent had a camera out to capture the special day.  When the birthday boy blew out his candles there wasn't a flash in sight, not even the child's parents dared risk a photo.  Has the world gone mad? we as a society are now so unbelievably off our heads on Child Protection that parent's are scared to take pictures of their own children in public! It is not illegal to take a photo of a child in public yet public pools, play groups and parks have us all believing it is. I understand that our children should be kept safe from harm but the effects of our overprotective society are already being felt. More children than ever are obese in the UK today and fewer than one in ten children play outdoors.  When will the overreacting end? There has and always will be danger in our society, but there are better ways to keep

(picture from: http://www.soil-net.com/album/Soil-Net/Cast/slides/worm_01.html) We were at a birthday party on Sunday, bouncy castle, check, kids running wild, check, parents bored out of their minds after three hours of pass the parcel, check. When the children finally tired of piling on top of each other inside the inflatable castle, they began looking for other forms of entertainment ... bug hunting. My son, bug hunter- in- chief, led the hunt around the garden. I watched as the crowd of children grew larger around him as he bravely went where no bug hunter had gone before. "He poked a beetle" they yelled "He's holding a snail" they squealed "He ate a worm!" they screamed "WHAT!" I was over there in a flash. Turns out he didn't eat the worm, he put it in his mouth as a dare. But as word spread around the party table, the bravado wore off and I could see he was beginning to feel a little bit ashamed. Seizing the excuse

(Picture: capl@washjeff.edu ) So prince  William  has been telling some excited fans in Singapore about his baby plans for the future.  William wants to have two little ones running around in the - probably near - future.  Kate is a prime example of the ' put it off  generation '  rather than rushing into motherhood in her twenties she waited. Now that she's 30 and married with her own home and a very successful career, the Royal couple are considering starting a family.   A recent report in Red  magazine has revealed that women are putting off motherhood until later in life. In a poll of 3,00 women between the ages of 28-45  36% weren't sure if they wanted to start a family. Most women I know have put off having babies for a variety of reasons. Some are struggling to get onto the property ladder in the current climate and as a result are living with their parents well into their 30's. Others have their eyes focused so firmly on the career ball that

We made Mr robot face with a CD gift box, paper clips and some coloured paper. The Plug was the little mans idea, he thinks we should leave Mr robot face outside in a storm and let lightning strike the plug to bring him to life. very imaginative! If you liked this you might also like: A rare day in the sun Anything is possible Fun with mum time Not so incy wincy

                                                 (Picture  from ) When you become a parent there are few life changes which you must adjust to. Never sleeping past seven is one, not always looking your best or even wearing matching socks are a few more. For us mum's however,  there is one particular routine change which we have to adjust to from almost the second of conception ... The never ending toilet search begins when we're pregnant, most pregnant women only have to look at a glass of water and they're rushing off towards the nearest loo.  Once baby is born there's little relief as they poop and throw up round the clock and us mums are always on the look out for the nearest changing facility.  Then comes time for potty training, between the constant 'do you need the toilet's?' are the even more frequent trips to the toilet, just in case the little cherubs need the toilet but didn't actually know that they need the toilet. From the t