Family Wellness Mama

Have you seen a matching scarf and gloves? Missing since September. So. I've come to the conclusion that - for children - hats, scarves and gloves sets are the worst winter investment ever! This glove is thought to have survived a visit from the glove munchers My son has an exceptional talent: at least once a week he manages to come home from school minus a glove or scarf. The hats are usually safe on his head; though he did exceed expectations this week by losing his jacket too Name tags make no difference either. *The magical glove munching fairies at school actually seem quite partial to a tag or two. I think it's high time coat manufacturers cottoned on (geddit) to a niche in the market and built in, irremovable , hat, scarf and gloves sets! The search continues for this fella's colorful  companion  But, for now I'm at my wits end. We're only a few months in to the school year and the little man has lost three gloves, two

So, it's been seven days now and the wounds have almost healed. Well, enough for me to finally talk about it... Last Sunday, after a wonderful family afternoon at nanny's house. We returned home to a scene of horror. Our beloved hamster, Shay Shay Bombay, was dead! Not only was she dead but, she had died in a most spectacular way. Shay Shay had come over all dramatic and dragged her little hamster house to the ground floor of her tiny metal condo. She then removed the roof of the little house and sprawled out on the upturned roof to die. Since we had all bustled into the little man's room together. It would have been impossible to hide it from him and, as I try to be as honest a parent as possible, I wouldn't have wanted to lie. However, I wish we'd had a little more time to prepare ourselves. I was actually crying when I broke the news about our fluffy friend who wasn't, as she appeared, sleeping. Even Daddy was choked up! Shay Shay had been  the wo

Check out our very own Pudsey coat hanger, designed and decorated by the little man... We'll be auctioning it to the highest bidder at nanny's house on Sunday. If you would like to donate to children in need, please follow this  link

So, the October half term decided to, very helpfully, fall the very week before I got paid.  It was my week off with the little man and I was keen to make it a fun one; though we were on a budget.  One of our most memorable days out during the holidays was also one of the cheapest, I kid you not, and the little man still hasn’t stopped talking about it. We had an actual full day of fun family adventure for under £20! Our journey started at the Albert dock ferry terminal where we bought our tickets and were pleasantly surprised to find out that Mersey Travel were running a half term promotion. Three attractions for the price of one: Ferry ride, Spaceport and the U-boat Story. We hopped aboard the ferry and sat outside on the top deck to listen to some fascinating facts about Liverpool. Our first port of call was Seacombe Ferry Terminal for Spaceport . Spaceport was a two minute walk from the terminal and the helpful signs led the way. Once inside

So, we tried our hands at baking gingerbread men, women and children yesterday..... Not quite to the standards of the picture on the  recipe  but a good start. Plus, they we're easy to make and tasted delicious -- even the crispy ones! If you liked this, you might also like: Here's one we made earlier... Look who we found at the park Here's one we made earlier... Mr Robot Face Not so Incy Wincy And an interesting post on another site: Udderly all about milk

(Manuel Pizza Face) So up until a few months ago Wednesdays were the turning point in our week: The laundry had began to pile up, work and school had worn us out, and there was a whole 2 days to go until the weekend! Sick of our midweek energy dip and being too tired to talk on a Friday; I had a long hard think... I decided to change the way we handle our Wednesday evenings so that we would have more energy to get through the rest of the week.  Now every  Wednesday we do things a lot differently; since I'm the latest one home, as soon as my foot is through the door I swap my work shoes for my wellies and we go outside for a family adventure. By the time we return home, our tummies are rumbling so we prepare a fun family meal (see Manuel pizza face above). We then spend the rest of the night Colouring or playing make-believe with the little man before it's time for bed. Once he's tucked away for the night, my partner and I have a good old clean before settling dow

(picture A.B.C cinema, derelict interior  philld ) The 12 A cinema rating baffles me, over the past year almost every movie we've  been to see - as a family or just us parents - have been rated 12A's. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 12A, it is a rating given to Cinema films  by the  bbfc . According to their site, it is the parent's responsibility to asses whether a film is suitable for a child under the age of 12 before they've seen the movie, as I said baffling. Now the thing that confuses me is the monumental difference in content of films rated 12A. Earlier this year we took the little man to see a 12A film. It was family friendly and fun with likable characters and a lighthearted theme. Last week however, my partner and I went to see a 12A film, thankfully without the little man. The film had a dark twisted story-line, regular scenes with blood and violence as well as steamy romance. There were a lot of young children in the audience who yel