I’ve reached, gulp, that age where most of my friends have children, This is actually great as three years ago my own little boy was born and my friends all seemed to have babies at the same time. He’s now three and a little too energetic for me but we get along. He runs around…
Life
Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake – No Dairy, no Citrus and No Bake!
The coconut, raspberry ripple cheesecake that tastes nothing like coconuts! Are you allergic to dairy? Have you been craving a squishy dairy-like pudding? No fear, this desert was designed for you. This recipe is also suitable for vegans. Ingredients For the base 125g Vitalite (or butter if you are not allergic to dairy) 150g Chocolate…
Q&A: Organising hard and paperbacks in the home.
Question: Home Design: What is the best way to organize books if I don’t have a bookshelf? I don’t have money to invest in a bookshelf, but would like to better organize my books! I have perhaps 3 bookshelf worth of books, and would like to be able to browse them. You could always box…
Q&A What is it like to have loss of eye sight?
The question: What is it like to have loss of eye sight? I am partially-sighted and have been all my life. I was born with dominant optical atrophy (Kjers). I am not blind but my eye sight is very limited. As I have had it all my life, it is something which I have learned to…
Toys are taking over my life!
I have a confession. I seem to be becoming a toy hoarder. My toddler sees a toy and I just ‘have’ to get it. The latest additions to our toy family are the potato head family. Now you may think one potato head is enough. Well I agreed with you but I wanted some extra…
The Nursery Rhyme Song, Humpty Dumpty is driving me crazy!
My toddler’s current obsession is Humpty Dumpty. I get asked to sing this about (what feels like) a hundred times a day. While I have resorted to recording my voice and playing it back on my phone I’ve also combined it with his other obsession at the moment. So here’s the original and revised Humpty…
Nursery Rhymes (Songs): Over 30 verses for Wheels on the Bus.
Advert: For Potty training tips, Click Here! After the popularity of my row, row, row your boat article, I’ve decided to hunt through the internet for verses to the wheels on the bus nursery rhyme. I was also getting bored singing the same old, same old to my toddler. I really wanted some alternative versus…
Online courses: Don’t be a troll and be rude to your customers
As anyone who has spent time with me knows, I love to learn. I have taken countless courses over the years, some great, some not so much. I have done university degrees, specialist courses in library work, editing, web design and even a short writing course on the Isle of Wight. The latter wasn’t just…
Toddler crying, what would you do?
There are some awful mothers out there. A big generalisation but hear (read) me out. We went to our local soft play centre yesterday with our little one. We had a great time as a family and our toddler really benefited from all the extra space to practice walking. That wasn’t the problem. We were…
A disappointing visit to see Santa at the Celtic Manor hotel, Newport
We went to see Santa the other day. All three of us set off an hour early, bundled together in our warmest garb ready to meet the elements. The traffic was heavier than we were expecting, but we arrived in plenty of time to find a space in what seemed a packed parking lot. As…
Shopping with Ocado
Living in the wilds of Wales, (Newport, next to Cardiff) I am always surprised when an amenity that I took for granted when I lived in London suddenly appears here. Don’t get me wrong, I have used Sainsbury’s and Tescos online but I missed Waitrose/Ocado. It could be because I am a snob but more…
Social networking: when people misread your posts
If we’ve learned anything from the girl who was hired by the Kent Police commissioner’s office to advise on youth crime, it is to be careful what you say on social networks. Granted what she said was bang out of order but she would never have been caught if she hadn’t posted it. What do…
Nursery Rhymes (Songs): Singing row, row, row your boat. Different verses I could find…
If you are anything like me, you never knew there were so many verses to Row, row, row your boat. Seriously, how many? For the benefit of new parents everywhere, I have collated a whole load of verses from this nursery rhyme, thanks mainly to Wikipedia and Mumsnet. To be honest most of them…
Baby photos and Facebook: A shifting perspective
I never thought I was going to have a kid and I was never interested in the world of children. In fact I used to walk in the opposite direction when I used to hear the sounds of a baby when they were introduced at my old workplace. My pet ‘hate’ used to be profile…
Guilty by association is a fallacy
We all know that the Internet is different, but is it? The common sense rules we learn in real life should still be in effect in our virtual lives and this includes morality. This post is about guilt by association. Here is why it just doesn’t work. Say you are in a bank and suddenly…
Warning: Biohazard in the office
Work can seem a little glum. You slug your guts out to make sure everything goes smoothly and the days just roll into one long day before your maternity leave starts. Then someone does something unexpected. It all started with a phone call. Someone in the office has come down with hand, foot and mouth…
Harry Windsor and the half-naked Prince
Oops sorry, reeaally couldn’t resist that title, and technically he was a bit more than half naked! The biggest news going around the interwebs at the moment is Prince Harry and his manic partying. Normally I don’t give a hoot what the Royal Family does, after all they really are a complete irrelevance to my…
The Clarklet Saga – Why the NHS is the most stressful part of expecting
I’m really looking forward to the little Clarklet, and even with all the little niggles that come with being pregnant, I’m starting to enjoy the process. No hubby, don’t worry, he will still be the one and only addition to our family! Today’s little drama involved a Midwife visit. For most people this isn’t the…
THE Carnegie Event
I have decided to repost some of my old blog posts from the distant past when I was working as a School Librarian. Kids do the funniest things and I really enjoyed working in a school. Posts may be edited from the original blog. So this is part of a series from my old Batty…
Hysterical teenager
I have decided to repost some of my old blog posts from the distant past when I was working as a School Librarian. Kids do the funniest things and I really enjoyed working in a school. Posts may be edited from the original blog. So this is part of a series from my old Batty…