Miss Frugal is 12 now and she's a much more mature 12 than I think I was at her age although I suppose that's to be expected though in these times with all of the technology available to our children.Phones, YouTube and Social Media have had a massive effect on how quickly our children grow up don't they?Not that I think that's necessarily a bad thing because I love the way that technology also effects my parenting as well. Take her having a phone for example - I completely get that not everyone is going to agree with me but I love the fact that she can contact me quickly when she … [Read more...]

I'm not a huge fan of Mother's Day.Don't get me wrong, I'm not averse to being pampered for the day and I'm more than OK with having the kids make me homemade cards and give me breakfast in bed but Mother's Day just isn't the same since my Mum died 10 years ago this year.To some, Mothers Day is just one not particularly important day but to someone like me who's lost a mother, it's a day (with a very long build up to it) that makes me focus on what I've lost and what I don't have any more.Top of the list of the reasons why Mothers Day isn't a great time for me is the constant … [Read more...]

I really think it's important to have one to one time with my children - as much for my benefit as for theirs and as I mentioned before Christmas, Miss Frugal and I have starting a regular date night once a week.  We've agreed that every Friday night we'll go somewhere or do something together, just the two of us.So far, we've been for hot chocolates at Costa, make-up shopping, window shopping for clothes, wallpaper sample hoarding and we've had movie nights and spa nights at home.  It's not that difficult to find things to do together because I understand her completely and the things … [Read more...]

I don't know about you but I find that a great way to focus myself on what I want to achieve is to write it down!  I have a notebook that I carry around in my handbag that is filled with random ideas, lists and scribblings and every now and again, I transfer it all to Evernote which is an app you can have on your mobile, tablet and laptop.  I could of course just type my notes straight into Evernote but I much prefer to get it down on paper first.So, now you know this about me you probably get why I like to write a seasonal bucket list to focus on some small goals that I want to achieve - … [Read more...]

I read a post written by Kara last week over on Chelsea Mamma about what's in her handbag and it made me think about how you can probably tell what age someone's children are by the contents of their handbag.Like Kara's handbag, mine used to consist of everything but the kitchen sink when my two were babies, with only slightly less in there when they were toddlers.  But now that they're (almost 10) and 12, my handbag appears to be my own again.So for no reason other than I want to, I thought I'd share with you what's in my handbag right now....I have nothing child related in … [Read more...]