Me Time

Ahh, baby asleep, jobs done, so a few minutes me time. Time to put my feet up for five and get blogging.

Captain Sensible is back at work after the school holidays so it is time to spend some money whilst he's not looking - well £1 on an ice cream! Finally the weather seems to have perked up and I can indulge in some well earned smugness as everyone else heads back to work and I can enjoy early morning strolls with my dog in the New Forest, without getting soaked, and leisurely afternoon jaunts to the ice cream parlour. Apparently it has been the wettest summer for 100 years, nicely timed to coincide with my maternity leave, so I think I'm quite justified in feeling particularly pleased about this late summer sunshine.

I've also been back on the case with the freebies and bargain deals - fear not hubby, I'm not spending all your money just yet.  I've been into to town to pick up my final Bounty pack and a baby pack courtesy of Emma's diary. They do tend to be full of fairly useless stuff but some of the money off coupons are quite useful and the little pots of Sudo creme are good too as they take up less room in your change bag and I refill them from my big pot when they run out.

I've also been out blackberry picking again and managed to procure a bumper bag of cooking apples that a neighbour was selling for the princely sum of £1.25. I can feel a surfeit of blackberry and apple crumbles coming on!

At this time of year it's amazing what people are selling from their gardens and being out and about with the buggy means that I often stumble upon these little honesty stalls that last year I would have driven right past. Last week I picked up a yummy bag of tomatoes and a huge marrow for under a pound, far cheaper than the supermarket.

Luckily for me I also have my own fruit trees in the garden, so if anyone has any good recipes that involve pears, crab apples or figs, let me know.

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Excuses Excuses

At what point do I have to stop blaming my failings on the very convenient 'baby brain' excuse and wake up to the fact I'm just highly disorganised?

Yesterday I waited in all afternoon for my Tesco delivery to arrive, only to discover I hadn't pressed the order button on my purchases the night before! So two hours, no food and a row with the hubby later I was feeling quite frustrated at my wasted afternoon.

Still, it is on its way today and should, at least, boast some food which is certainly an improvement on the first online order I made after having bubs which consisted of wine, chocolate and crisps. Healthy! Maybe I am getting somewhere after all.

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Feeding Fashion...If only I'd known!

The best advice I have been given since having my baby is that a happy mum = a happy baby.  So if something isn't working for you and your baby isn't doing exactly what all your well-meaning parents, friends, health visitors, baby books etc etc are telling you (do they ever?), don't worry about it and do what suits you and your family. Hardly rocket science I know,  but it is amazing how easy it is to lose sight of this when things aren't going according to plan as I found out early on when I had trouble with feeding. I'm so glad someone came to the rescue with this simple piece of wisdom when I was a not so happy mummy!


In contrast, the advice I wish I'd been given before having baby is to choose your maternity wear carefully so that you can use it afterwards if you are choosing to breast feed.

Let's face it, unlike the celebs I was talking about yesterday, most of us are still a bit wobbly after the arrival of our little bundles of joy. Those little dresses that looked fabulous stretched across our bumps don't work at all for breast feeding, unless, of course, you are happy to hoik them over your knickers and bare more than anybody really wants to see!

Perfect for showing off the bump, not so good for breast feeding!

And therein lies the next problem - with finances already feeling a little strapped, you don't really want to be spending lots of money on new clothes to breast feed in that hopefully you'll shrink out of eventually.

The items that served me best, both pre and post-pregnancy, were nursing tops - available at H&M, Mothercare and Dotty Ps and looser, floatier tops that, not only looked pretty but, were easy to pull up and didn't cling to the bits you wanted to hide. Primani has also been a must have, for some budget clothes to tide me over.

Websites such as:  www.milkchic.co.uk, were also good for finding clothes to feed in that were good value and didn't look like something your Gran would wear!

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The Dilemma - more muffin or more muffin top?

To run or not to run? That is the question. It's peeing it down with rain outside, just the right sort of weather for a steamy cup of tea and a yummy slice of cake and yet... the dog needs exercising, she's going mad, and the last stubborn vestiges of baby weight need to be addressed, ooh the dilemma. But with articles like this one: Celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson reveals how she lost her baby weight... in just six weeks, courtesy of the Daily Mail, there seems to be more pressure on us to spring back into shape as quickly as possible. Perhaps I should have that cup of tea and slice of cake after all, while I think about what to do, and shove the paper in the bin!

Why not try Nigella's recipe for blackberry and apple muffins?

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Simple Pleasures

Ten simple pleasures that make me smile...

1. Hearing my baby laugh
2. Walking the dog on a sunny day
3. Eating cake
4. Waking up before the alarm goes off and realising you still have an hour in bed
5. Clean bed sheets

6. Snow days
7. Finding money in your pocket when you do the washing
8. Spending time with family and friends
9. Laughing so much it hurts
10. Singing loudly to music in my car, when no one else can hear me

What simple pleasures make you smile?

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The best things in life are free - well almost!

Feeling the pinch at the supermarket? With food prices shooting up at the supermarket and now the added purchases of nappies, wipes, formula etc you may find that you're cutting back on some of life's little luxuries. Fear not though, it's Autumn (well almost) and help is just around the corner... or in the hedgerow.

The blackberries are beautifully ripe at the moment, so get picking* your free fare and get baking. Why not take some inspiration from the bakers on the Great British Bake Off (did anyone see those tarts this week?) or how about a classic blackberry crumble, which you can bake for virtually nothing? Food for the stomach and food for the soul!

Blackberry, Apple and Almond Crumble

Topping

7oz plain flour
1oz ground almonds
6oz butter
2oz caster sugar
Handful of toasted almond flakes to decorate

Filling

2lbs cooking apples
6oz caster sugar
juice of two lemons
12oz blackberries

Method

1. Preheat your oven to gas mark 6
2. Peel, core and chop up your apples
3. Place apples, blackberries, sugar and lemon juice into a pan and heat until apples begin to soften
4. Place the filling into an oven proof dish
5. Rub together the flour, ground almonds, butter and caster sugar until you have formed small breadcrumb consistency
6. Place on top of the filling mixture and scatter with the toasted almond flakes
7. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes

For an even cheaper version, leave out the ground almonds and almond flakes!

*Never pick anything unless you know what you're picking!

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The Mummy Fairy

Like many of you out there,  motherhood seemed to be an elusive dream until earlier this year when my wish was finally granted and my husband and I became the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl.  Determined to make the most of this much longed for arrival, I managed to persuade my husband (let's call him Mr Sensible) to let me take nine months off work to devote myself to my little bundle of fun.

Of course, in an ideal world, I wouldn't have to return to work until my daughter was at School and I could spend the next few years enjoying motherhood to the fullest. But with the pressures of modern living, there is no doubt that, financially, even these 9 months are going to be a struggle, just like they are for any other parent.

And just like any other first-time parent there are days when you don't know which way is up; the baby is crying (you don't know why, even though the books tell you you should be able to work it out), the house is a tip and there hasn't been enough time in the day to do any of the jobs you had planned to do. So I'll be sharing my stories and tips: the good, the bad and the ugly, in the hope that this blog might help some mummies achieve the following three wishes: to save time, save money and save their sanity!

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