It’s safe to say the Christmas plans leading up to this weekend haven’t exactly gone to plan, it’s not that we had loads of things planned but so far everything that’s been planned has either not happened, been postponed or not gone quite to plan, but we are still smiling and very much looking forward to the big day next week.

On Saturday we woke up super early and bundled the kids into the car to venture up to London for our first Christmas trip to the capital since before COVID- something we used to do every year. The kids loved watching the sunrise, spotting lots of snow and eating breakfast curtesy of little cereal boxes. We had parking booked next to Richmond station from before the train strikes were announced and thought we would dodge the train chaos- we were very wrong. We knew the tube back would stop early so we’d be riding a bus for some of the journey but unfortunately when we turned up there were no trains running at all. The train staff waved us in the direction of the bus stop the other side and we joined the hordes of other travellers now facing the same dilemma. Luckily an angel came to our rescue and when I asked her if we were waiting at the right stop she instead took us under her wing and became an adopted member of the family for the next hour and a half. After a while our new friend led us to the stop before the station so we could get on an emptier bus instead of fighting all the other masses outside the station- she even held Seb’s hand along the street. Then when we did arrive at a station with functioning trains she carried Seb down the stairs and we only parted company when it was our stop and we waved her on her way with many grateful thanks. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without her help- probably ended up in Southend.

I had a genius thought of using a little hessian bag to put gloves, hats etc in when we were in and out of sauna like shops, sadly the bag found another use on this particular bus journey- the journey of horrors. The bus filled completely at the station with no room to swing a mouse let alone a cat, but luckily the kids and I were squashed up on a double seat together. The next half an hour was quite a test though- with Clara jumping up and down on the seat eating a croissant, Seb using my legs as a slide and then Polly went a very funny colour in the over heated jolty bus so the hessian bag found a new use.

We finally made it to the Science museum in time for lunch and headed straight to the café to regroup and take control back over the day. We had a lot of fun in the museum and the kids ran off a lot of restrained energy. We stayed for a couple of hours then coated back up and headed to Harrods. Polly was feeling a bit sorry for herself so hijacked the pushchair with Clara settling herself in her lap- so settled she fell asleep. We stocked up in the bakery department and oohed and ahhed at the lights before heading towards Leicester Square. We decided to walk as Polly was keen to see Buckingham Palace and some fresh air was very much needed.

We had a voucher for Honest Burger so settled ourselves outside in the short queue to wait for a table. Clara made friends with a young couple sat in the window by pressing her face up against the glass at them then laughing her head off. The food was amazing and we’d definitely eat there again but the highlight has to be Clara standing up in her highchair and dancing her socks off to Dolly Parton’s 9-5. She then carried on dancing the rest of the meal, Britney, the Spice Girls- the girl was in her element.

The lights throughout this part of London are always worth a look at and Seb in particular loved spotting all the Christmas trees. We headed down to Hamley’s quite a bit later than originally planned but by this point we were just winging every element of the day and it turns out hitting a toy shop at 7:30 in the evening means it’s actually a lot quieter than we were prepared for. Just over an hour later, we were still hard at play- we eventually managed to persuade the kids to leave as they (and us!) were starting to flag. Seb also truly outdid himself when he told off a middle aged woman for pressing the lift call button before him- never come between a small person and a button.

We entered a tube station with all our fingers crossed and praise be we managed to get back to Hammersmith fairly easily, Clara also conked out in the pushchair. The bus back to Richmond was just as packed as the first journey but luckily again the kids and I squished into a double seat and instead of vomit I got the never before seen delight of all three kids zonking out asleep in a big heap on me.

We got home a lot lot lot later than we’d originally planned but then we’d lost the whole morning so just made the best of the situation. The Sunday was spent mostly on the sofa until I ventured down to the town’s garden light display up on the cliff. Polly was so exhausted she sat this one out and stayed home with Henry. So, the little two and I donned the wellies and spent half an hour running around the beautifully lit up gardens and jumping in every puddle we could find. Sadly due to the dark I didn’t realise quite how deep one of these puddles was until Clara gave a little shout and I realised she was knee deep in what could only be described as a pond not a puddle. We had the added surprise of meeting the main man himself (I haven’t actually told Polly this detail yet) and Seb told him that he’d like a candy cane and a toy Thomas (not a Gordon like he’s been telling me for the last four months!), Clara even gave him a high five which is considerably better than the screaming tears she gave Santa last year.

By Monday Polly was back to being Polly again so after stopping at Nanny and Pops for some ice cream we headed over to Cotley farm to pay a visit to the reindeer. Clara almost lost a glove to a goat but all in all it was an actual successful Christmas activity, despite the rain. We headed home via a trip to a nearby village famous for it’s Christmas lights.

It’s not been the most straightforward Christmas so far but we are just grateful for the things we have been able to do- and who doesn’t love a rescheduled nativity in January. Anyway, I’ll be back to work with a bump on Wednesday so tomorrow will just be a quiet one with some friends and a Christmas movie or three and we’ll just carry on our countdown to the big day. We do need to fix the remaining cards to be handed out with apologies to the state of some of them- Clara got her hands on the stack and thought it was post to be opened (at least it wasn’t as bad as her finding the teachers presents last week when she busted open all three boxes of chocolates). So, all that’s left to say is- Merry Christmas everyone and thanks as always for reading. See you on the other side!

So, it’s officially Christmas in this house and we are slowly turning the downstairs into a grotto with more lights than Blackpool illuminations. Apart from a very damp trip to the rugby yesterday with Laura where we had an absolute mare coming home when the Exeter carnival had all the buses cancelled for over an hour, we’ve had quite a quiet couple of weeks since my last post so there hasn’t been too much to write about- hence the delay. Instead, the kids have been comedy gold, so I thought I’d tell a few little tales to bring a little joy.

Polly in particular has been on top form. Tale number one occured on the way back from Rainbows:

Polly- “Mummy, mummy look a ladybird. Ohhh it’s different coloured. Is it poisonous?”

Me- “I don’t know mate.”

Polly- “Why don’t you know?”

Me- “Sorry, I just don’t.”

Polly- “Shall we find out?”

Me- “Nah, I think I’ll leave it alone, I don’t wanna get poisoned if it is.”

Polly- “We could use Seb.”

Seb- “No, I don’t want to get poisoned.”

Another Polly gem came when Clara and I were pretending to play phones and then we passed the ‘phone’ to Polly who went off on a whole tangent of her own where she was invited to a party at 2AM, on an island, with all the fairies, with food and of course drinks! I then asked her how she was getting there to which she replied- by plane or bus. She then shushed me to tell whoever the party organiser was- “yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

Seb’s moment came last week when we were crossing the road outside ours and the big two moved a lot quicker than me with the pushchair. Polly screamed across the road “Mummy, you’re gonna get killed!” Just to say the car was no-where near us but ever the Drama Queen. Anyway, Seb went the other way and declared- “Good job Mummy.” Then at bedtime he found a star sticker and presented it to me for my ‘good crossing the road earlier.’

The Christmas decorating has meant the knitted nativity people have set up home under the tree again with the battery operated ‘Polar Express.’ This has created a few hilarious scenes from the children including watching a game unfold where Mary and Joseph were trying to catch the train to Bethlehem as ‘that’s what they’d booked.’

Clara then got hold of the nativity people the next day and had them kissing each other, the only problem was she had Mary kissing one of the three Kings, and he then moved on to a shepherd- not sure if anyone had the heart to let poor Joseph know.

The Christmas bits also include a small reindeer and a giant one (the same height as Clara, who incidentally has been mistaken for a child out the corner of both our eyes many times!), both these reindeers were invited to tea with the children this week with the big two sharing all their food with each of their new ‘pets.’

With the change in weather the cat has taken to staying in a lot more and Clara seems quite pleased about this and has taken to offering up gifts to him, this looked quite amusing the other day when she’d placed Polly’s little Pokémon figures up like some sort of sacrifice.

When you first have kids and start venturing into the world of kid’s TV you realise quite quickly that you don’t ask questions as you end up falling down the rabbit hole but this week, I broke that rule had started asking questions to Polly as she’s a bit older now and I find her insight quite amusing now she can voice exactly how she interprets these things. The problem was I picked the most mental of all the kid’s offerings- In the night Garden.

Me- “How big is the Pinky Ponk actually meant to be? Look there it’s smaller than Makka Pakka but they can all fit in it? Are the Tombliboos siblings or just in a very open relationship?”

Polly- “Mummy just stop asking questions.”

Me- “But I have so many questions! What is Iggle Piggle meant to be?”

Polly- “A Piggle.”

Me- “Oh ok. What about Makka Pakka?”

Polly- “A Mak. No more questions.”

And a couple of little snippets to round it off. Whilst catching up on Strictly this morning, Polly came out with ‘Hmm Ranger Hamza is quite the dancer” while watching her favourite.

And Seb floored us yesterday morning when he came in the bed for a cuddle. Henry gave him a big squeeze and said, “I love you little man.” Seb didn’t even hesitate and just replied with “I love you big man.”

We started the week off meeting Nanny and Pops at the local garden centre for breakfast on the Sunday before having a little wander around the Christmas decorations there. The girls also had fun playing with the different water features. After this we set off to an aqueduct that I had found in our trusted ‘wild guide’ book. We went for a little puddle walk along the canal before being mugged off in a little cafe for some ice cream and tea (honestly, you’d have thought we would have learnt by now that if a place doesn’t advertise their prices, it’ll be because they are too much!), but it was a nice little spot.

We then headed up to Slough for our stopover. Henry had quite the adventure trying to find a car park close to the Premier Inn and wisely moved the car from the first one to a closer one that he spotted on his walk back to the hotel, the fact it was closer wasn’t the priority for moving it, the fact he had parked next to a car with slashed tyres was slightly higher on the list!

After breakfast we drove the short distance to our actual destination- Windsor Castle. I’ve been desperate to visit for a long time and it was an amazing place to visit. The kids were fascinated by the guards, Henry made friends with a cat and Polly spotted a unicorn on a tomb which she was very excited about. There was a lot of walking involved and the kids needed the break in the education centre to do some crafts, but it was very moving seeing where our late Queen has been laid to rest and the Long Walk looked beautiful in the Autumn sunshine.

After a cheeky McDonalds (one of many last week!) we made the rest of the journey up to Suffolk. We arrived early evening and got an invite to my brother Oli and his partner Faye’s for a cheeky takeaway which went down well. We found ourselves back in a McDonalds the next morning for breakfast which had to be hurried down as Clara started launching crayons across the place while the other two moaned about wanting a balloon. After this we caught up with some of our Grandparents.

We then met up some of our friends at some woods where the kids all had a blast running amongst the trees and seeing who could find the biggest stick. We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed a mismatch selection of scones and ice creams from the cafe afterwards.

Wednesday started with Grandpops joining us for breakfast at the Premier Inn, Clara’s object of choice to throw that morning was a fork across the table. We then made our way to Felixstowe joined by Grandpops’ partner Becky. We braved a windy walk along the seafront before the kids had enough and demanded we stop which was just in time for a little lunch at a nice cafe where they did some amazing chips. The kids (I’m including Henry in this!) then went wild on the 2p machines. They won some sweets and we left the town via the huge container ships at the port. We then all headed back for an indoor BBQ and Polly and Becky had an epic colouring in session.

The kids ended up staying up quite late each night as we all share a room at the hotel and routine goes out the window on holiday anyway. That particular night Seb, Clara and I all fell asleep leaving the other two to watch a documentary together about Elon Musk- not the first thing I’d imagine Polly watching but she was chatting about the ‘rocket space man’ at breakfast the next day so she was actually watching it!

On Thursday we went to Bressingham with my brother- if your kids love trains like ours then this is a must visit place. There were multiple train journeys and turns round the carousel. We also braved the quad bike go carts with each of the adults taking a child- I got the crazy child. Polly was utterly terrifying and although I was controlling the speed, she kept grabbing the handlebars and veering us into walls shouting how funny it would be to crash. Seb also gave us a good scare in the park when he vanished for a good few minutes. We were just starting to get to the panicked shouting (in between the quiet mutterings of ‘oh shit’) when the cheeky rascal popped out from inside the tunnel of the climbing frame that we had all been standing on when we began our search. We did have a really good time there though and would definitely go back again.

We then met up with Faye and headed back to Ipswich for a meal with our Grandparents. We arrived to a packed-out place and very quickly realised that something had gone wrong with the communication to our Grandparents as they never showed up. Oli did eventually track them down after we’d given up and eaten- turns out they’d gone to a different place, given up waiting soon after and got a KFC on their way home! Our evening was full of amusement though, from the giant-sized portions, to an overload of onion rings, to Clara getting stuck in the bottom of a claw machine. She climbed in through the flap at the base of the unit and shouted till I came running- hopefully she won’t try that again!

Our final day was a day of saying goodbyes with donuts and cuddles, before heading home. The journey home was an adventure in itself as it normally takes about six hours with a couple of stops, but turned into a 9 1/2-hour nightmare due to road closures, traffic, crashes and roadworks. Seb broke up the journey with his shouts of “I’m bursting for a wee” everytime we joined a new motorway and we learnt that Polly farts in her sleep and they stink.

We finished off our week together with a day in Exeter (after a bit of a lie in after the horrendous night before!). Polly and I joined the ‘March of the Mummies’ protest, one of several being held across the country. It was an amazing experience, plus an excellent excuse for Polly to shout ‘now’ in the street when she’s normally being told to keep the noise down. The protest is aimed at asking the government to put more effort into childcare and parental rights in the country, anyone who’s interested in reading more about this should check out the social media pages of the organisers ‘Pregnant then screwed.’

After a day to recover (‘cough cough’ catch up on washing in my pjs whilst also binge watching ‘Strictly’ and ‘Bake off’) we went back to reality with a rainy bump today. It’s definitely been a half term to remember even if I do feel like I need another week to recover.

For the big two at the age of around two I wrote them a letter, so I realise I needed to get on and write my last one to the absolute Queen that is our koala Bear Clara…

When you popped out just over two years ago during a Covid lockdown when the world was a pretty scary place you completed our little family and boy have you made your presence known in this house. Your sense of humour and your cheekiness is positively infectious.

You crack me up the way you try to put on any clothes or shoes nearby- my pjs, Polly’s wellies, build a bear shoes, dolls skirts. Whatever you can get your feet or arms into.

I love hearing your gleeful shout of ‘meeeeee’, whether is owning up to who farted or declaring who should get the last biscuit.

The love you share with your older sister for arts and crafts, I mean yes it does mean I’m writing this post on a laptop that you’ve coloured in but it does make me laugh that everything you ‘draw’ no matter what the canvas is (an actual piece of paper, your sister’s official school photo, your face) you give a proud little “ta-daaa” and wait for a compliment on your work.

Oh my gosh, your obsession with water, from pouring it into anything from your water bottle (mainly pots and pans from the toy kitchen but sometimes you’ll turn a toy dump truck into a new cup) to the fact that you refuse to keep a rain cover over the pushchair and you’ve found the best way to splash in puddles is with your hands while sitting in one.

Your love for ‘Waffle doggy’ is next level, including the dancing and singing to the theme tune with the loudest shout of ‘oh oh ohhhhhhh’ at the end with outstretched arms.

I admire the fact that you won’t be pushed to engage with anyone, it’s all on your terms, although this does especially offend the older generation in our town it’s quite refreshing to see a person say: ‘no I don’t want to say hello today so I’m not going to.’

I love the fact that you are just starting to make more sense to the outside world with actual human words being spoken but still maintaining your own unique way of using them, like holding up a book and saying, “you talk it.”

Your love of nature is so uplifting. We have to walk home from town via the river with you collecting every stick you can carry, your face lights up when you see the sea and you’re the only one in the house who doesn’t run away from spiders.

Although you’re now dropping that nap, the ‘oh car’ game before any nap used to be a highlight of the afternoon- we would just stand at the window and shout ‘oh car’ at each car that went past for a couple of minutes, but of my gosh when a bus went past!

I do love that you usually have a baby (or a Pikachu) in your arms, pram, shopping trolley etc, you love looking after them including sudocreming them! And everything you look after gets an ‘oh poo!’ (Bluey figurines, teddy bears etc) then you pull out wipes to clean them up.

Finally, you make me laugh how into programmes and films you get (see the ‘Waffle doggy’ mention above). From dancing to every song in Encanto, to the tears that break my heart when the balloon pops in that particular episode of Bluey, to the love you have for Strictly with plenty of clapping and even blowing Craig Revel Horwood a kiss when he enters to ballroom!

Anyway, just keep being you because as your nursery teacher put it beautifully this week- everyone needs a Clara in their life.

Love from your mama xxx

Where did September go? Like seriously where did it go? I’ve honestly blinked, and we’ve flown through a month of school runs, plays in the park, genral life and there was a carnival for good measure.

The carnival itself was a whirl of noise, dancing and flashing lights which slightly blew Clara’s brain as it was her first. It’s usually an annual occurrence in the town and its route takes it right past our front door. We get cosy in our pjs and dressing gowns with hot chocolate and watch it from our porch. This year the girls ventured onto the pavement and joined in with dancing and high fives whilst Seb wasn’t quite so on board with the whole thing- he sat on a camp chair glaring at most of it! Two out of three happy is a winner though.

The season of coughs and colds is definitely upon us and so we’ve had a quieter weekend this week- Seb is currently asleep on the sofa whilst the girls play with pay-doh wearing a mixture of pjs and onesies (classic Polly is still managing to be half naked though!). There is also a hint of Christmas in the air- I’m not apologising for my early mention of the c word this year as anyone who knows me, knows that this is just who I am. I’ve officially started properly buying presents (I may have actually bought the first official present back in June), I’m checking in regularly to see if our favourite garden centre is back on board with the whole Santa thing and Polly has drafted her first Christmas wish list. The list is fairly impressive, and I do love the fact she includes her siblings wishes too but I’m not quite sure how we’ll get on tracking down an alicorn for her.

This time of year also means that some of our favourite programmes are back and this year the kids have actually got into ‘Bake off’ properly which I’m pretty pleased about, this is as well as the usual ‘Strictly’ hype (which is currently on right now). We catch up with them at the weekend in between ‘My little Pony’ and ‘Thomas the tank engine’ which makes for a varied mix!

Everyone seems to be settling into their new routines which is good, we are still getting a few tears at the nursery drop off but only ever hear good things at pick up. I didn’t realise until this week that we’ve got her in on a morning where they do forest school which was a happy surprise- she was all smiles after toasting marshmallows round a fire.

Talking of marshmallows, this change of season meant that this week we had our first hot chocolate and marshmallow session after school when the weather did its usual of wait till the school run to unleash its downpour of rain. I’ve also officially switched the wardrobes over into winter mode and done a glove stock take.

There was also a big switch round upstairs in the house when I decided to move Clara’s bed into the same room as her siblings. Apart from the actual moving of the furniture which included a spectacular ‘pivot’ moment when I got an armchair stuck in the doorway and removed a layer of paint from the woodwork in a sweary rage, it’s (touch wood!!) been an ok transition. On the first night Clara went to get a bit upset as I left the room, I sat down on the landing to see whether she would be ok when I heard Polly’s gentle voice say “It’s ok Clara, you’ll see Mummy in the morning, I’m here. You need to lie down now and go to sleep”- and amazingly she did. I mean the big two then had a whispered chat that had to be broken up several times and she woke up in the middle of the night and wound up in with us, but (again touch wood!!) it’s going ok. The next morning provided another cute moment when I found Polly searching for Clara using the lullaby light confused as to where she had gone.

Well time to sign off now as the play doh playing has turned into ‘let’s put it up our nose whilst also eating pieces of it too’ plus I can only put off cleaning the bathroom so many times.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve waved another rascal off to school and the littlest one has started nursery. It’s been a big change in our little family while the country as a whole is also in the midst of some big changes. The reality of how different the month started to how it’s going now has made me realise just how quick this whole life/parenting thing is actually going.

One minute you are rocking them to sleep at night, the next minute they are reading the bedtime story.

One day you’re pushing a squealing baby in a bucket swing, the next day you hear “Mummy, look at me!” as they have figured out the zip line by themselves and they go whizzing past you with a squeal of delight.

One minute you’re teaching them one word at a time (‘dog,’ ‘cat,’ ‘frog’), the next minute they are jabbering away telling you how tadpoles hide in ponds and where different types of frogs live.

One day you’re in Boots figuring out which of the 20 different types of teething remedies is best, the next day you’re ushering very loud children out of the same shop as they ask “Mummy, is your period getting bigger?” when they see you making the most of a 2 for 1 deal on packs of pads.

One evening you’re wiping away crayon scribbles off the walls, the next evening you are sat speechless after finding an actual poem they have written in the bottom of their book bag.

One minute they are gumming the remote control accidentally setting Loose Women onto series link record, the next minute they can fully work the bloody thing including searching for Disney sing-along Princess videos on kids YouTube whist you put washing away in the other room.

One morning you’re battling a wriggling baby into their 4th onesie of the day, the next morning they are putting on their own chosen outfit which includes jelly shoes, earmuffs, sunglasses, a skirt and leggings together and not forgetting the 28 hairclips.

One minute you’re celebrating the fact that they have finally grown a few strands of hair to enable you to stick a hair tie on their little head for the first time, the next minute they are detailing exactly how many plaits they would like in and how they would like to grow their hair to resemble Rapunzel.

One day they are flicking yoghurt at the ceiling, the next day they are cracking eggs into a cup to bake unicorn cakes- still making the same amount of mess though!

One minute they are shouting “Meeeee” and giggling at the fart they’ve just done, the next minute they are chatting about why we should avoid walking over drain covers because the ‘drain poo monsters’ will get us.

One minute they are jumping about the living room dancing to Waffle Doggy without a care in the world, the next minute they are sat next to you watching the news asking very grown-up questions as they watch history happening with you- “Mummy, how did she die? Where is she now?”

Polly actually had a little cry when the news of the Queen broke and has been fascinated watching all the different events of the past week, although she was also horrified to find out it would be a very long time before the country has a Queen sitting on the throne again, but after a little chat she then asked to watch the Paddington Bear skit with the Queen that bought smiles to us all again.

I realise that in a few years some of these changes will seem miniscule in the grand scheme of things but that doesn’t stop them being big things to us right now, huge changes that make 6 years of parenting feel like it’s been a whole lifetime in its own right- and not in a bad way, it’s been a 6 year whirlwind of laughter, tears, love and literal shit- and it’s been the best 6 years of my life so here’s to many more little things and big things.

I’ve been knocking up a list of eco tips for a few weeks now so I thought it about time that I actually get on and publish it. It’s more important than ever to be focussing our attention on helping the planet and it’s good to be installing these notions into the kids now so it’s just the norm for them (although if Polly is any example of her generation it’s actually them teaching us something!). Just for the record I’m not saying we are green warriors but we’ve definitely started thinking a lot more about our impact on the planet- the bonus is that some of these things have actually saved us some money.

The main thing we do (something most households do) is recycle- and I mean recycle anything we can. A while back our local council scrapped the weekly bin collection and have made it 3 weekly (that’s bin bag bins every 3 weeks!) which was a scary thought at first but now I couldn’t imagine filling our big bin every week. To go with this they upped their recycling collections to every week and they take soooo much. Cardboard, paper, glass, plastic, foil, clothes, shoes, small electricals and food (and a lot more on top of that). We have a small box on the side in the kitchen that we collect bits in once they’ve been cleaned so it’s easy to take a small load out into the garden to sort into the right container for collection. I know not all councils do this good with recycling collections but definitely look into what they will take and you might be surprised.

One of the main things left going in our normal bin was soft plastics- bread bags, crisp packets etc, so recently we’ve looked at how to tackle that too. The bread bags we found out can be used in the food waste bin and they actually last better than the ones you can buy in the shop. All the other soft plastics go to big Tesco whenever we go there as they’ve recently started recycling these which is great- there is usually a cage near the front of the store clearly marked and you can just throw in your bag of plastics. It’s amazing how much you can squeeze into one carrier bag too. The kids get involved in all the recycling and the bag for these bits has now been christened the ‘special bin.’

Obviously having kids in the house means not all the recycling ends up in the box- the joys of crafting! Polly is our ‘crafting Queen’ and jumps at any chance to grab the glue, scissors and of course the glitter. They recently made a town out of cardboard that I’d been holding back for them. And any parents struggling with getting their kids to surrender all their creations into the recycling afterwards, the episode of Bluey called ‘the Dump’ definitely helped in this house. Just for the record I do keep some of their finer works but the town took up the whole living room and with the littlest one and the cat it wasn’t going to last longer than 48 hours.

On the subject of waste, another place to use is the local dump/tip. Luckily for us we’ve got one on the edge of town and they are a great place to get rid of the bigger items (and sometimes the smaller items) that you can’t get rid of in the normal rubbish. Some also sell stuff that people have left behind so if you’re looking for a bargain they can be a good place to start. I’m not going to lie it’s also quite satisfying throwing a microwave into a large skip.

One way of bringing down the waste we create has been using plastic storage pots instead of cling film, I literally have a cupboard full of different sized pots. They are great for keeping things in the fridge, cupboard and of course for lunch boxes. We now barely use any cling film and it makes things much easier to access (although it does make snacking on cocktail sausages easier if then are in a clip open pot and not a faff with cling film!).

Staying with the kitchen, one of the switches we made last year was to stop buying regular washing up sponges and instead bought a silicone one that’s still going strong now. I also used to use those blue multi purpose cleaning cloths a lot but found they don’t last very long so during one of the lockdowns one of my projects was to turn an old pair of my pjs into several cloths which are also still going strong as they can just go in the washing machine instead of the bin.

A slightly larger investment we did make during lockdown was a new washer/dryer. Our old one gave up and died so we needed a new one anyway but this time we decided to spend a bit more and invest in a good energy rated one- it’s also nice and quiet which is definitely worth paying a bit more for! The quick wash is actually really good compared to the last machine and by accident I found out that it works on the kids woolly cardi’s better than the actual wool wash! It also weighs the load of washing on the eco setting and knocks time off for a smaller load and will also stop itself on the drying setting when it thinks the clothes need a shake about or if they are already dry.

During the summer I tend not to use the dryer much though and instead make the most of the airers and the washing line, I know it can be more of a faff but with the electric bills going up at the rate they are I think even in winter we’ll have to resort to air drying more anyway. Another swap I made was to washing powder from capsules. It’s much cheaper and makes me feel a bit better when I’m only washing one or two items on the quick wash. The other washing product I swear by is colour catcher sheets- I honestly can’t remember the last load of washing that I separated into lights and darks! I just shove it all in with a single sheet and it’s so much easier. Definitely use more than one sheet though on a new item of clothing especially if it’s a bold colour like red!

Most of these sorts of lists seem to start with ‘bring your own shopping bag’ which if your anything like us and find yourself popping in a shop with no warning, this bit of advice is a bit of a waste of time so instead my advice would be put those bags everywhere- in the pushchair, nappy bag, car, everywhere!

Another common piece of advice that I’d definitely recommend is buying and selling things and using charity shops. The kids go through clothes and that so quick that it’s way cheaper to get things off Facebook Markertplace and the other various selling sites. We also do a bit of swapping about with other parents which helps and I’ve found some bargains in the town’s charity shops. I know it can be a faff sometimes sorting through things but it’s a good way for us collectively to tackle the impact of the fashion world on the planet- and yes we do still buy some things new but it does make me feel better about it when I know that stuff will go through 2/3 of the kids and then maybe another family too. The kids primary school also has a clothing bank which is handy to chuck the odd thing in on the school run and the stuff that can’t be reused goes in the recycling.

Another slightly bigger thing is an allotment, sadly the waiting list here is huge and we’ve been on that list for over a year now but once we do manage to secure one we’re already eagerly planning what we will grow.

A slightly smaller thing is to just repurpose things. I can’t remember the last time I got rid of a shoe box as they make for great storage. It’s amazing what different jobs items can take on, for example the baby toiletries box we had is now the craft box, an old chest of drawers became Henry’s lockdown project when he turned it into a dairy farm for the kids and some of the old baby clothes that escaped my purges have found their way into the doll’s clothes box.

A really easy way of getting the kids interested in nature and helping nature is to set a good example and it can be as easy and simple as saving a snail. I’m forever moving snails out of harms way and now the kids will point out any in precarious situations that need rescuing and although they aren’t fully there yet with doing the rescuing themselves as they can be a squeamish still with creepy crawlies at least they are getting there. Just getting them excited in nature will help too as it makes them question things and that leads them to learning and then pretty soon you find your six year old pointing out different types of flower to you that even you didn’t know (we got her a flower identifying book a while back that she loves looking through too), then when they get excited about nature you find they want to know how they can help too. Seb now joins Polly is berating the ignorant pricks who drop litter whenever they see some lying around.

I realise I may have gone on a bit- can you tell that it’s a topic close to my heart?! I’ll stop now as I don’t want to come across as preachy, but even if one person picks up one of these tips then that’s still a little step in us all working together to help this planet of ours. Anyway, feel free to add any further suggestions or tips 🙂

It’s day 4862 of the summer holiday and I honestly think I lost my brain on day 4 so I’m not really sure what is happening at present. The first day seemed crazy enough but since then we’ve thrown in a trip to the minor injury unit, had plenty more tantrums, an oat explosion, an endless cycle of washing (I’ve given up with the cleaning) and I joined the COVID party.

We did have a blast during the town’s annual folk week festival last week though. There was a slightly different vibe this year as the kid’s area had changed completely (sadly not for the better) but we made the most of the sun, dancing opportunities and the food on offer. The kids all enjoyed the dancing and loved watching the different performances along the seafront. They had their own take on the different styles and were blown away by the ‘cutlery dancing’- they were dancing with some sort of ceremonial swords not knives and forks, but still.

The maypole dancing was a particular hit as they were fully involved and loved dancing with their friends, plus there was only a small meltdown from Seb compared to another couple of experiences. He refused to join in unless he could hold a red ribbon with meant I had to react pretty quick when one did become available. The biggest meltdown came from Polly on the one evening that we went down all together. We’d had a great evening, we caught a show in the gardens that had us all laughing, we’d eaten some good food and then we had the amazing experience of seeing dolphins whilst walking along the seafront. Polly was one of the first to clock them when she shouted “Mummy look, a shark, there’s a shark out there!” I was half away through my sarcastic reply when I saw she was sought of right- there were in fact several dolphins just off the shore. We watched them for about 15 minutes as they made their way back and forth along the beach. It really was an amazing experience and it was even more special that all five of us were there to witness them. Perhaps it was the fact that this was fairly hard to top, but the evening went downhill about ten minutes later. We were along the seafront to catch one of the festival’s highlights- the samba band called Street Heat- which Polly had been counting down the hours to all day, but it all got a bit much and she had a full scale Polly meltdown so we had to make a swift exit.

She did use her Polly energy for good the next day though. We’ve spent a lot of the time at the park recently and most of it as been good- Clara did get taken out by a swing the other day when I was too busy chatting in a scene that would have looked good on ‘You’ve been framed’ (she was fine after a cuddle and a snack by the way!). Anyway, Polly has found that having younger siblings who need a bit more supervision round the park (cough Clara round the swings), means that she is having to figure some of the more ‘big kid’ activities out by herself. The other week she used the bottom of the climbing frame tunnel to practise the monkey bars at a lower level as I wasn’t by her side to lift her up to the big ones and after 20 minutes she had almost mastered them. Then last week she wanted to do the zip line, up till now she’s found a friend or two and they help pass the seat up to each other but this day she was the only one near it. She asked for my help whilst I was pushing the other two on the swing, I asked her to give it a go herself, she huffed for only a moment then did so and within five minutes she was whizzing back and forth by herself on the zipline- very proud of herself and rightly so.

I had a slightly proud of myself moment too actually. As a few of you know I’ve really struggled with my confidence in driving since having the kids. It took a hell of a lot to build up the confidence to be happy with my commute to work and apart from that I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve driven in the last five years. Cue Seb injuring his hand on a Sunday afternoon while Daddy was working, cue an hour long crying fit, a call to 111 for some advice and the next thing I realise is I’m packing all three kids into the car with some snacks and toys on our way to the minor injuries unit in the next town. It was an eventful three hour wait that thankfully ended with stickers and not a plaster cast (he’d sprained his thumb) as he made a very sudden recovery once in the room with the smiley nurse- typical kids! But it meant I had to drive and it’s really helped with my confidence. I’m not saying I’m a good driver (not sure I ever was) but it did mean that a few days later when I took Polly to a birthday party I was a lot more chilled and even drove more than I needed to, to take the little two for an IKEA run around.

Folk week did also give me a night out, always a slightly crazy affair. I can’t say that I remember much of the night itself- there was vodka and there was definitely music and a heart to heart chat on the seafront. There was a lot of laughing and the abrupt return to normality at around 7AM when a bin lorry came past my friend’s house where I had crashed for the night. The walk home actually helped freshen me up a bit but not more than the shock at walking in the door to find the whole house still asleep! Of all the mornings the little rascals sleep in! Can’t complain too much though as at least Henry was about to entertain the kids while I felt sorry for myself on the sofa, he even popped to the shop to get me a Rustler’s burger (perfect hangover cure).

On that mention of food I should probably go and make some food for us actually. I’m feeling a bit more human at the moment so I should probably make the most of it- either that or the sweating is actually my fever breaking and I’m about to go delirious! On a side note this dose of COVID has been a bit shit. The symptoms have been slightly different to before- mainly felt incredibly lethargic with a headache and to be honest wouldn’t have even clocked it was COVID if I hadn’t been asked to do a test, really hoping it’s a quick dose as I’m going slightly mental in the house- never thought I’d be jealous of Henry leaving to go to to work! Let’s just say the new series of Bluey hit Disney at the perfect time and we may be on our fourth rewatch but hey it is hilarious.

Anyway, bring on day 4863… hopefully it’ll bring a negative test and a break to this delightful heat and maybe the hoover won’t have to come out for it’s daily visit round the living room- hahahaha who am I kidding!

It’s that time of year where I keep my notes page at hand and record a 24 hour period in my life to add to the crazy collection. This is what kept me busy on Thursday 16the June 2022-

5:30AM- Henry’s alarm goes off and I pop for a quick wee before creeping back into bed.

6:25AM- Bed invader number 2 arrives. Polly arrived at some point before this but I’m not sure when that actually was, anyway I’m not vibing with the 6:25 part of this wake up so I put the lullaby machine on and cross my fingers. She senses my desperation for more sleep and chooses to chat away to herself and put her bed socks on her teddies.

7:06AM- Bed invader number 3 arrives.

7:18AM- Daddy pops in in to say bye before heading to work.

7:25AM- Out of the bed. I make all the beds and join the queue for the bathroom. I leave the big 2 chatting about Seb’s penis and head downstairs.

7:30AM- The good egg I married has made me a cup of tea before he left. I then crack on with making breakfast with my little helper.

7:35AM- Run upstairs to the shouting and break off the fight between the big 2 in the bathroom. It turns out Seb is having a strop as he wants to wear a different pair of pants.

7:40AM- Seb brings his strop downstairs and tells me he’s too tired to eat. Polly shouts her breakfast orders down from the toilet where she is still sitting!

7:45AM- Polly finally appears downstairs. Seb decides he will join Clara at the table for breakfast.

7:47AM- 3 children at the table.

7:49AM- I join them with some toast.

7:55AM- I throw some lunches together for the big 2. Break up another fight- the little 2 this time. Clara steals a sausage roll from the lunches.

8:03AM- I discover that the cat has left us a present outside the conservatory door. The kids ask too many questions- ‘can we pet it?’ ‘why not?’

8:05AM- I get summoned upstairs to wipe a child’s bum.

8:08AM- I get myself dresssed.

8:10AM- I head back downstairs and everyone else gets dressed. At one point I find Clara under the table pulling apart thank you cards waiting to be filled in from the girl’s birthdays but at least she’s trying to put her socks on at the same time.

8:15AM- I put some new contact lenses in- I wear 2 weekly ones and these are a new prescription so the new vision blows my brain a bit. Everyone is finally dressed.

8:21AM- Hair salon time. Mine is a rat nest today as I went to bed with wet hair last night- mum bun it is for me then.

8:26AM- All clean teeth.

8:31AM- We all head back downstairs. Clara has recently been taught the bum shuffle technique down the stairs and the other 2 find this hilarious so copy her- they then continue the crazy shuffling into and around the living room. Sun tan lotion all around and shoes on.

8:44AM- Time to load everyone and everything up on and around the pushchair.

8:47AM- School and nursery run. Snake has snuck his way into school on Polly’s shoulders.

8:51AM- Now there’s just 1!

8:55AM- We pop back home to pick up the water bottle I’ve forgotten. Straight back out again. We head into town and go via Blackmore gardens to say hi to the squirrels.

9:13AM- We have a little sit on the beach before it gets too hot. We play with the rocks, Clara can’t say ‘ready’ yet so keeps shouting ‘ebby go’ every time one of us throws a rock at the sea.

9:26AM- Leave the beach to head for singing group.

9:34AM- Arrive at group. We have fun singing together then enjoy a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit. The chat topics include- travel, the kids, Bluey and ghosts.

10:50AM- Group finishes. We pop to the shop to pick up milk, bananas and a birthday card.

11:03AM- We head home via the Byes river walk as requested by a small person- she comes out in the byes to walk.

11:16AM- Home with 28 sticks and a leaf. I deal with the mouse gift in the garden and Clara has a banana.

11:23AM- Time to watch some Bluey- there is dancing involved. Also time to sort some washing- fold some, iron some, put some away and get some ready for bedtime and morning.

11:53AM- In the kitchen to make some lunch.

12:08PM- Settle down together for some scrambled egg on toast.

12:24PM- Do some washing up and clean the kitchen. Shadow follows me. Shadow does a poo after trying to put soil in the washing machine.

12:45PM- Nap time for us both.

13:30PM- Clara wakes up, I put the lullaby machine back on but she’s having none of it- this is not ideal. Sadly say goodbye to the bed and head downstairs. I stick Bluey back on, get under a blanket and cross my fingers that she’ll settle down.

14:36PM- She did settle and had a cuddle and I must have dozed off again as I wake up to her stroking my face. We stay on the sofa for a bit though for cuddles and giggles.

14:57PM- Contact lenses back in and shoes on. Time to go and get the boy.

15:13PM- We head to the orchard in the Byes for a little play. Seb has bought snacks- he decorated biscuits at nursery. They collect sticks, chase butterflies and have a good run around.

15:54PM- We leave the orchard and head back to school to pick up Polly.

16:12PM- Home.

16:20PM- Snacks and strawberry milkshake is demanded by the small people.

16:25PM- I hoover downstairs.

16:35PM- I stick on Encanto (fondly known as ‘magic house’ in this house). Polly sets up an animal rescue shelter and more snacks are requested.

16:58PM- Time to do the Rainbows run.

17:07PM- Home again. Clara needs a new outfit as I realise she has covered herself in milk. I go on a mission to find the 3 missing pen lids after an unknown child has had a colouring in session on the big table.

17:18PM- Start tea. I get summoned to dance numerous times.

17:54PM- We head back out the door to collect Polly.

18:06PM- Home.

18:15PM- Taco time (or boats as the kids call them).

18:23PM- Daddy home- we have a quick catch up.

18:43PM- I do the washing up.

18:57PM- Time to get ready for work.

19:07PM- Hugs all round then I leave the house.

19:35PM- I arrive slightly early so enjoy a few minutes extra of quiet to myself in the car.

19:43PM- I head in to work for 10 hours on the phones.

23:02PM- I have a screen break and have another cup of tea.

1:48AM- Break time- or middle of the night lunchtime as I call it.

3:37AM- I start fading a bit so I have another screen break where I head outside to do a lap of the building in the cool air, also time for another cup of tea.

4:00AM- I break open the chocolate- it’s a milkyway this morning.

6:04AM- Out the door and head home.

6:34AM- Back home. I feed the cat and make some packed lunches for the big 2.

6:48AM- Creep round a bed invader and crawl under the duvet for some sleep.

I don’t really know where May went to be honest and I’m definitely not ready to say I have a six year old in the morning! The last few weeks have been such a blur and the girls’ birthdays have crept up on us this year. We realised at the last minute that the only real time to do a family day out was last Friday- luckily we figured this out Thursday evening! So we headed somewhere new for a fun day out in the sun. The big two each had a pony ride and they all got to cuddle ponies, pigs and have a good run around. Clara got a bit of a fright when an escaped sheep headed straight for her and made her jump with a very loud ‘baa’, Mummy nearly got stuck in the soft play area and Clara spent most of the time on the slide going down sideways. Throw that all together with a go on a tractor and some ice cream and we all had a pretty good day out.

But I still can’t believe the big one turns six tomorrow.

I had a nice parenting moment last week too when I got to head along to watch sport’s day, the first time we’ve been aloud to watch since COVID. Clara spent the whole time eating chocolate which slightly put her big sister off, but it was a really nice afternoon and the kids all got an ice lolly at the end which was a relief as the little one didn’t keep her promise and save at least one Wispa piece for her sister!

I also can’t believe the little one turns two next week- I mean where has that gone?! She’s an absolute rascal and definitely keeps us all on our toes all of the time. She’s picking up so much around her all the time and is getting more confident outside the house all the time. Her latest thing is copying Simon Cowell when we watch Britain’s Got Talent together- she gets very into all the acts, clapping and cheering and loves to copy the thumbs up from her new idol!

Seb, who bless him still hasn’t mastered the thumbs up (he puts his index finger up and thinks he’s copying you!), has taken to singing nursery rhymes all the time which is very cute. He bought home a seed the other week from nursery, wrapped in a paper towel, a little bemused I popped it in a pot with some soil and we were all fairly amazed to watch a literal giant beanstalk appear within a couple of days- he’s loving watching it grow now.

The big event this month was our trip up to Suffolk for a family wedding. We had an absolute blast and it was really nice to spend some quality time together. The wedding itself was beautiful and the kids loved their first wedding experience. They ate lots of food, got dressed up in props and literally had to be dragged off the dance floor at 10:30PM. It was also just nice to all get dressed up fancy.

We stayed in the premier inn as usual- or ‘the Quiet’s’ as the kids affectionately call them. We also caught up with some friends and had a soft play date one day and a park and ice cream trip the next. We also went bowling with family where we split ourselves across two lanes and Auntie Faye and I resigned ourselves quite quickly to the fact that the girls were going to beat us. It was their first time bowling so I’m guessing they’ve just got some inner secret talent or they picked up tips from the Gavin and Stacey episode we watched just before we travelled where Nessa annihilates them all.

Well, Clara has just woken up from her nap, and all the kids have just dissolved into the classic ‘I need a snack meltdown’ typically found every half an hour during any school holiday so I’ll be quick with my last anecdote. This week I also got to experience the worst (and I mean the worst) poo moment in six years of parenting courtesy of my youngest child who really is taking the ‘hold my beer’ meme as a personal quest in outdoing her older siblings at every opportunity. I was upstairs cleaning the bathroom when I heard those horror words “Mummy, she’s got poo on her!” This is one of those child declarations that you go running to the source of and there I found Clara indeed covered in poo. She was wearing a jumpsuit and socks which were now the wrong colour. As I ventured further into the conservatory the horror got worse. It seems that after doing a poo of such a quantity I still don’t understand how it was fitting inside her body beforehand, she had sat herself down on the ledge of the backdoor- the sliding glass backdoor and the ridged ledge. The poo itself was the consistency of mashed potato and it quite literally looked like someone had thrown a pan full of this at the door and this area in general. We also have some soft play mats in this area and my flip flops which I’m thinking she may have used to mush the poo into the mats. It was absolute carnage. I would have taken a photo just to capture the full horror but I had to act very quickly to stop the spread as the toddler was still loose and still covered. Let’s just say she got to come and watch me finish cleaning the bathroom splashing away in the freshly cleaned bath with me still reeling from the horror and the washing machine saving my arse once again! When I say the youngest one is feral this will be the new story I tell and if they still think she’s cute then I’ll go back to the last story with this honour (when she bought me a lump of cat shit she’d found)- kids are just great.