Whatcha got in the bag?!

I love colour – colourful clothes, colourful home products, colourful food (I like a nice bit of green on the plate! – but not mould! LOL)

The only thing colourful that I’m not wild about is colourful make up and colourful language!

My dad bought me some new mugs a few weeks ago – here is my Jelly bean mug:

These are my daughter’s sweets that I’ve nicked to eat and you can also see my ‘Busy Book’.  This is my personal organiser that I designed and now sell to other women who like a bit of colour!  You can see more about those here.

I like colour in my accessories too so I’m currently using a fab pink leather studded bag for my day to day use:

Do you remember that Will Smith film- “Enemy of the State”?

There was a scene in it where the ‘baddies’ could guess what was in his bag as it changed shape when they looked at it from different camera angles.  So let’s have some fun!  What could be in my bag?  No prizes available this time, just the kudos of being right!!

Clue: there are 11 items….

All fun responses welcome!…

The secret to time management? Being adaptable!… and playing like a kid!

Today the UK is seeing the heaviest snow since I can remember! I LOVE IT! It reminds me of the late 70’s and early 80’s when I was a kid and got to slide down the hill on a plastic bag!

So we were going to try to get to school but the ‘mums hotline’ started at about 8am and by 8.30am every mum I know had been called or text to say that ‘Mr Bishop’ (The Headteacher) says the kids won’t be marked as absent if they stay off today, as people are finding it tricky to get in. Isn’t it funny how in the UK we are so unprepared for snow? In general I mean! The councils knew about the snow several days ago and yet there are no gritters on the streets. I saw a car having to be pushed back into its drive as the driver had changed their mind about risking it!

Anyway, we had to set out in the weather (which the kids were excited about) as we had to do a mercy dash to the shops. Our cat is such a pampered puss that she refuses to pee outside so we had to get her some cat litter! My husband’s business partner called Simon to get together a bit later that morning for work, so my little family all went to the shops….. and had a snowball fight! It was so funny, I forgot what a laugh it can be to act like a kid sometimes! Isabella and I ambushed Simon with a flurry of snowballs to his chest as he hid behind a parked car to catch us by surprise. The downside for me (and you mums will empathise I’m sure) was that I have a (to put it politely) a ‘dicky’ pelvic floor from having 2 children and I laughed so hard I had to get a shower when I got back in!

To show you the fun (and the level of snow in Yorkshire) here are some piccies taken at about 8.45am…..

 

Gotcha Daddy!

On our way to the shops…

So I had to cancel my business meeting that was scheduled to take place a 30 minute drive away, and both kids are with me as the school is closed but at least I can adapt! Broadband and my laptop means I can still work and my BlackBerry keeps me connected! So it’s not a disaster! Plus I enjoyed the walk in the snow but I’m glad I’m back now to get a mug of hot ‘builders’ tea and some warm, buttered toast! Mmmmmm….

 

How your baby can help you beat ‘ID fraud’!

I’ve discovered a great new tip!

When you open the post there is always some junk mail that you don’t want, but of course before you recycle it, you need to remove your printed name and address details as an identity fraud measure.  We all know this!

However I usually shred anything I’m disposing of with personal details on it, and my shredder is in my office (just across the driveway in our outbuilding).  I didn’t have time to go and get it as the baby had a ‘nappy situation’ to deal with, and when I opened the said nappy, I found that it wasn’t a harmless wee.  It was the stinkiest No2 you can imagine, but it gave me an idea…

I ripped up the personal details and rolled it into the nappy that was then put in the nappy bin with all the other stinky nappies.  No fraudster will ever go in there!  He’s 1 year old and already fighting crime!  Bless!

If you want to know creative tips on managing a busy life, just ask any working mum

How to make a pink ‘Bratz’ bathrobe look like Yves St Laurent!

This morning it struck me how my 6 year old daughter looked like the famous YSL ‘Le Smoking’ images wearing her pink Bratz bathrobe over her ‘trouser suit’ style school uniform.  Now I know that Helmut Newton shot the picture in black & white – there was no pink to be seen!  But if you picture her in black & white it’s a near match!  It made me smile because of course she has no idea who YSL was when I told her my observation, but it brought a touch of fashion glamour into my day – however unintentionally!

I’d made her wear the bathrobe over her uniform because we always get dressed upstairs before going downstairs for breakfast, and I didn’t want any Coco Pops spilled down her white shirt.  She never actually spills on the bathrobe but I feel safer knowing that it’s there when she’s eating.  I have enough to think about on a morning without having to get a change of clothes sorted before half past eight!

Having said that, I regularly have a change of top myself after the school run so I always dress in something I wasn’t intending to wear that day so I can change into my preferred top after the kids are safely dropped off.  With a 1 year old in tow, I’m bound to get some dribble on me or have a Weetabix covered hand brush my top or when I’m really in a rush, some very attractive sweat patches!  It’s essential to have a clean top to pull on after the crappy school run one goes into the wash bin.  This is why some school run mums look like they do – we are dressed in our ‘utility’ gear for the active duty and will change into something more uncomfortable when we are back to only having ourselves to worry about!  We are all yummy mummies really!

So to recap, use the kids bathrobe to stop breakfast spills and have your children neatly turned out for school and have a spare top for you!  If you want to know about modern time management, just as the Time Management Mum!