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August 19th, 2010
I’ll admit that these are slightly tongue in cheek but I found it a bit unsettling when my eldest started school as I really didn’t know what was going on – so god knows how he felt. Here are a few top tips that I’ve learnt over the last two years which might make your life a bit easier….
Tip no1: Read the documentation that the school provide. Inside out and from cover to cover. You really don’t want to be the only person whose child doesn’t have their PE gear on the right day.
Tip no2: Decide up front whether you’re going to be a clique-y Mum or not. I’m definitely not and now cunningly time collecting my boy from school so that I’m one of the last to arrive, therefore avoiding any unnecessary chitchat.
Tip no3: Always check your child’s schoolbag for ‘things of importance’. Although the majority of school letters can now be sent home via email, party invitations etc can be overlooked which is never a good thing.
Tip no4: Accept now that for 10 minutes before you leave the house every day you’re going to spend the next 7 years saying exactly the same thing, aka ‘the school run’
‘Right time to brush your teeth.’
‘No, brush your teeth, not the grouting on the wall tiles.’
‘And not your sisters hair either.’
‘Nice clean teeth all round. Right, shoes on everyone.’
‘What do you mean you can’t find your shoes. Have you looked? Yes? Really? Well what are they doing here then? Exactly where I said they would be and where they’re always kept but you couldn’t find them. Hm. Put your shoes on NOW.’
‘Not on your sister, on YOUR feet.’
‘Yes, you do need a coat.’
‘ I don’t care that it’s sunny at the moment, it might be cold or wet later and you might need it. Put your coat on please. NOW.’
‘Finally, coats and shoes on, everyone out and into the car please, quickly, we’re running tight for time because you took so long to brush your teeth / put on shoes / put on coats.’
‘Into the CAR children! Leave the ball / sandpit / snails on the footpath alone. No 2 son, it is NOT funny to run away while Mummy is strapping in your little sister, leaving me chasing after you screaming like a fishwife. Nor is it funny to start stripping off all your clothes as soon as my back is turned. Never mind, get in, it’s warm in the car anyway.’
‘No1 son – where’s your schoolbag? In the house? What’s it doing in the house when it should be on your back as it should be every single morning of existence yet you seem to forget it every single day. Why is that, does some sort of selective amnesia which hits you the moment you walk indoors after school?’
‘Yes, I know the car clock says 8:47 and we should be at school by 8:50. But if Mummy goes round this corner on two wheels, I might just be able to make it in time….oh, almost, no time to park up, I’ll just pull up in front of the gate and you can jump out thereby blocking the road for everyone else and being extremely irritating….’
Tags: cheeky baby wipes, cheeky cloth baby wipes, starting school tips
Posted in Hints and Tips | No Comments »
August 12th, 2010
Starting school can be a little daunting for both parents and children alike. I remember standing at my classroom window crying as my Mummy walked away until another little girl took my hand and told me it would all be OK, my Mummy would be back later (bless her!)
Even if your child has been attending nursery regularly, starting ‘big school’ can be a bit of a challenge. Depending on where their birthday falls, they may well only just have turned four when they start school, which seems very little.
Here are a few tips which I found helped us:
- Always be positive about school, emphasising how much fun it will be, that it will be great to make new friends and how much your child will learn
- Share stories of how much you enjoyed school and the types of activities you did
- Take advantage of any ’settling in’ sessions ran by the school. Many in our area offer open days at the end of term, plus more social occasions like a teddy bears picnic for example which gives the children a chance to meet each other in a relaxed atmosphere
- When you visit the school, make sure you point out the obvious things like toilets or where coats and lunchboxes are stored
- Explain to your child that if he/she wants to know something / needs help / wants the loo that they’ll get the teachers attention by raising their hand
- If other children from your child’s nursery will be attending the same school, let the school know in advance and they may be able to place them in the same class
- Read some books together about starting school. We particularly like Topsy and Tim Start School by Jean and Gareth Adamson
In the week before starting school
- Start re-setting bedtimes. In our house holidays mean that you can stay up a little later, however it’s time to start ’school-night’ earlier bedtimes.
- Have a trial ’school-run’. It does get quicker but you don’t want to be running late, frantically throwing the children into the car at the last minute on the first day of school. You’ve got the whole of the rest of the year for that!
Hopefully that will be helpful – but nearer the time I’ll also do a quick update on tips to prepare yourself as a parent.
Tags: cheeky baby wipes, starting school, starting school tips
Posted in Hints and Tips | No Comments »
August 5th, 2010
 So you know what it’s like. You’ve been invited to a christening or naming ceremony and have run out of inspiration for gifts. Bibles and prayer books just aren’t appropriate for whatever reason. Silver spoons or other silverware which was thought to represent ongoing financial security for the child, now seem a bit twee. Unless of course it’s a gorgeous silver charm bracelet for a little girl – no-one can resist those!
However for many people these items are simply put in a drawer and forgotten which seems to be a real shame. Â Here’s a few alternative christening / naming ceremony gifts for you to consider.
Height Chart
My eldest boy received a height chart shaped like an aeroplane for his christening. Â It was brightly coloured and has been on the back of his bedroom door ever since. But they’re not just for boys, there are many variations available in all colours and themes including the ever popular giraffe chart.
Hand-made stool
My youngest children received two beautiful hand-made stools for their joint naming ceremony. Â They’re just a perfect size for little ones to clamber up onto, with sturdy legs meaning that they don’t tip over easily. Ours are used every day, but they now use them to climb up and get things that they shouldn’t do from the worktop, so maybe that’s not such a good idea!
Set of books
Another brilliant option for a naming ceremony gift is a set of (hardbacked) books. My children have the ‘Thomas the tank engine’ collection, plus all the Roald Dahl books and Audio CD’s. Snuggling up with a book before bed-time is something loved by both parents and children alike, so you can’t really go wrong with it?
Instant Photo Guest Book
Our last alternative is an Instant Photo Guest Books. Just ask everyone attending the christening or naming ceremony to complete the book, taking their picture and writing a message underneath for the child. It could be a piece of wisdom you wish to pass on, something frivolous or whatever you like really, but it will be a marvellous keepsake for the child to look back on in later years.
Instant Photo Guest Books come in a range of formats, including digital and fuji instax and are priced from £50 for the guest books alone, to £125 for kits including camera, guest book and film.
Tags: alternative christening gift ideas, alternative naming ceremony gift, unique christening gift, unique naming ceremony gift
Posted in Buying For Baby | No Comments »
July 29th, 2010
I’ve found the phone in the bin. (Luckily it rang, otherwise it would have been gone forever).
I’ve found my middle son semi-naked at the bottom of a soft-play slide…
..and found his wet pants and trousers in the ball pit. (Oh, the shame as the ball pit was then closed for cleaning….)
I’ve found both my youngest children standing in the toilet bowl. Separately. Two years apart and I’ve got no idea why?
I’ve found my son and his friend having a ‘naked party’ upstairs when they should have been asleep…
I’ve found lego in my bed, my wardobe, my handbag and my shoes. Ouch.
I’ve found no2 sons ‘cuddly’ in numerous places, including inside a cushion cover (he’d been missing for a few days on that occasion, the little rascal) and on top of an overhead lightshade!
I’ve found that nothing makes bumps and bruises better than a kiss from Mummy or Daddy…
But I’ve lost my heart. My children have stolen it and swear they’re keeping it safe but I think it’s lost for good.
This post was part of Josie’s Writing Workshop and the prompt was inspired by Deer Baby and her postFinders Keepers.
Tags: cheeky baby wipes, josies writing workshop
Posted in Writing Workshop | 5 Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
Today’s post was inspired by the lovely Josie at Sleep is for the Weak and the Sticky Fingers Blog who wrote very temptingly about cooking lots of lovely chocolate goodies.
Although I do love cooking (and chocolate) I thought I’d share my new favourite frugal Mum product with you. Soap. Just plain old ordinary ‘household soap’ which you can get in the cleaning aisle of your local supermarket. Mine cost about 50p for two bars which will last me forever.
It’s brilliant for getting stains out of clothes. Forget expensive spray solutions, or little bars of vanish (which are ridiculously expensive by comparison).
My middle son managed to get one of his nicer tops covered in blackberry juice stains last weekend. You know those obvious purpley red stains that look as if they’ll never come out?
No problem to my chunky bar of green soap. I wet the t-shirt in COLD water (very important as warm water will set the stain) and rubbed the stain vigorously with the soap, rubbing the stained bits together to loosen the stain. Rinse once then repeat and this time, chuck the soap covered item into the washing machine and wash immediately. I did mine at 30c and it worked fine. I almost couldn’t believe it when it came out clean and stain free.
Tags: blackberry stain remover, frugal stain remover, soap stain remover, stain removal tips
Posted in Hints and Tips, Writing Workshop | 3 Comments »
July 20th, 2010
This is a great question but one that it’s difficult to answer – you might as well ask ‘how long is a piece of string?’
We reckon that 25 of our washable wipes are equivalent to one pack of baby wipes. This is on the basis that you’ll wash your Cheeky Wipes every other day, so washing 25 wipes x three times weekly equals 75 wipes.
However one of the good things about Cheeky Wipes is that you’ll use less Cheeky Wipes for a nappy change than ordinary disposable wipes. That’s because Cheeky Wipes are made from bamboo or terry towelling which grip the poo and swipe it away quickly, unlike disposable wipes which have a tendency to just smear it around. In addition you can wipe, then fold, wipe and fold again and wipe once more – so one Cheeky Wipe is more like 3 disposable wipes.
Here are the questions I ask which can impact your wipe usage:
How often does your baby poo?
Most wet nappy changes will just use one Cheeky Wipe (wipe, fold, wipe fold gives a good all round freshen up). Even the worst dirty nappy changes will use three (or four if it’s an ‘up the back’ one). But how often your baby poo’s depends on so much. For example some breast-fed babies only poo once every two to three weeks because the milk is so well nutritionally balanced.
How often do you change their nappy?
You might change a nappy every two – three hours religiously, or you might only change their nappy after meals or a poo. Everyone is different and what works for one family won’t work for another.
Is your baby weaning?
Once you start weaning you’ll probably find you use more Cheeky Wipes as they’re great for cleaning mucky faces, hands and eating areas. This continues right up until they’re at school when they gradually can eat a little more cleanly, but my 6 year old still often needs a Cheeky Wipe post mealtimes.
How often will you wash your wipes?
We work on the assumption that you’ll wash your Cheeky Wipes every other day. That’s because in most family households, you’ll have a wash going on at least every other day and you can pop your wipes in the wash at the same time. If you’re going to wash your wipes less frequently (with nappies for example) you’ll obviously need a few more wipes, so this is something to consider.
To give you an indication of wipe usage from personal experience, I made up 50 Cheeky Wipes last Friday morning as we were going to visit friends in the Cotswolds. They were used in the car en-route for the 6 year old, 3 year old and 18 month old to clean up after snacks. Plus they then cleaned up my little girl when she was sick all over herself just before we got there (and boy, wasn’t I glad that I’d made up all those wipes!)
The wipes lasted through nappy changes for my little girl all weekend and as face and hand wipes for the two boys post mealtimes and candyfloss on our day out. I finally ran out of my initial batch just as we got home on Sunday which I though was pretty good going.
In summary, if this is your first child just buy one set of wipes and see how you get on with them as you can always buy some extra later. If you’ve got more than one child, buy an extra set as they’ll be invaluable for hands and faces too, even if they aren’t in nappies.
Tags: how many cloth baby wipes, how many washable baby wipes, number of baby wipes
Posted in Washable Wipes FAQ | No Comments »
July 15th, 2010
Ok, just to be clear from the start that it’s not a good idea for little ones to be in the kitchen for the actual jam-making bit. Hot sugar and kids is NEVER a good combination, but they’ll love the raspberry picking and testing the jam at the end – when some Cheeky wipes come in very handy for mucky faces.
I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the littl’uns yesterday after school. Wednesday is normally when we go to the local soft play Zoo for a couple of hours until tea-time, but we’d had soft play in the morning already.
I briefly considered hanging out at home, but decided to take a trip to our local pick your own fruit farm which is just up the road. I was really uncertain how it would go. Visions of raspberry smeared children, rolling on the ground because they were so full of stolen fruit did briefly cross my mind, but in the end I decided to go for it.
It was brilliant. The raspberry bushes were absolutely laden with fruit, big, juicy and very tasty. I armed each of the littlun’s with a bag and set them to work, telling them that there was a prize for the person who could pick most fruit. They did amazingly, with the eldest picking 3 pounds, the middle one (who is only 3) picking almost 2 pounds and even the baby managed to pick almost half a pound – although hers were squashed because the bag was too big and she kept standing on it! And they didn’t even steal that many either.
Laden down with over 4kgs of fruit we headed home and I banished the littl’uns to the play room out of harms way while I made the jam which took about 35 minutes start to finish. I used a recipe from Darina Allens’s cookbook which was really easy:
Ingredients
- 1 kg raspberries
- 1kg granulated sugar
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 180c. Put sugar on a large baking tray or roasting dish and place in the oven to warm for 10 minutes.
- Place a plate in the fridge to cool.
- Wash raspberries, drain, then place in your largest pot and mash a little.
- Heat the raspberries gently until the juice starts to run from them.
- Take your warmed sugar out of the oven and add to the raspberries, continue to warm gently until sugar is dissolved.
- Put your clean jars into the oven for 5 minutes to sterilize.
- Once sugar is dissolved, bring the raspberry to the boil and boil rapidly for about 5 – 10 minutes until it reaches setting point. You’ll know the jam is set when you spoon a little onto your cooled plate and it wrinkles after a couple of minutes in the fridge.
- Pour into your sterilized jars and cover while warm.
I made my jam using 4kgs raspberries / sugar and it gave me 16 random sized pots as you can see above!
Tags: cheeky baby wipes, kids activity, natural face wipes, raspberry jam recipe
Posted in Recipes, Tips for Entertaining children | No Comments »
July 13th, 2010
As you know (because I may have mentioned it once or twice before) we took our Cheeky Wipes to Glastonbury where they were brilliant for keeping us fragrant and clean, even when the showers were switched off due to the hot weather.
Which got me thinking about other uses for Cheeky Wipes, aside from the usual baby changing / face & hands cleaning ones?
Make-up removal
Cheeky Wipes are brilliant for taking off your make-up as you don’t get that ‘tight’ feeling that baby wipes leave you with. I’ve got super-sensitive skin and they’re great when used with the Lavender & Chamomile Fresh Wipes Oil.
Alternative Therapies
I’ve got a reflexologist friend and she has a extra set of Cheeky Wipes which she uses on her clients feet with the Mucky Wipes Tea Tree & Tea Tree Lemon Oil prior to a client treatment. The antibacterial nature and lovely clean smell of the oil really set the scene well for a tip-top treatment.
Household Cleaning
Obviously, wiping up after meal times is a standard use. But I’ve also used my Cheeky Wipes to help clean a soiled mattress. Again the wipes were soaked in the mucky wipes solution which helped kill any odour from the mattress.
Dog Wipes
I kid you not, but I had a lady in the USA buy a kit specially to wipe her dog’s feet after she’d come in from outside. She said they worked a treat!
I think this is possibly the most unusual use for Cheeky Wipes that I’ve come across, but if you’ve got any more, please leave me a comment and let me know. There’s a prize of a set of extra wipes for the best answer left by next Friday, 23rd July.
Tags: cheeky baby wipes, natural anti-bacterial household wipes, natural make-up removal wipes
Posted in Green Living, Hints and Tips | 1 Comment »
July 8th, 2010
Sorry I haven’t been around for a while. Â It’s been hectic, between Glasto and it being wedding season over at Instant Forever. But I thought I would drop you a little post about my newest and second best kitchen gadget of all time (after my Kitchenaid).
I recently attended a Pampered Chef party at a friends house. I went determined not to buy any more kitchen paraphernalia that would linger unloved in the bottom of a drawer, however I was won over with this little gadget. It’s not a product unique to Pampered chef as I found a ‘good grips’ alternative over at Amazon but I’d never seen one used before.
What sold me was the idea that you could use it to wedge your apple and then, without removing the core, wrap it all up in cling film for a packed lunch. Pleases even the fussiest eater – even no2 son eats his apples, carefully preserving the skin for the bin!
I’ve used it EVERY day since I bought it and there’s not many kitchen implements I can say the same thing for. My kids are definitely eating more apples and pears as a result which has got to be a good thing, right?
Tags: apple divider review, apple wedger review, bamboo baby wipes
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