Big Questions from Little People OUT TODAY

This book does just that: over 100 real questions from children aged five to twelve, answered by some of our best-loved and our most knowledgeable experts. From Sir David Attenborough, on whether there are any undiscovered animals, to Bear Grylls on whether it’s ever ok to eat a worm, to Richard Dawkins on whether we're all related, Big Questions brings together a huge range of talent to inform and illuminate us in a way that even a child could understand.

It’s the perfect book for any parent who lives in fear of being stumped by an eight-year-old's too-difficult question, and a great book for all the family. Conceived to raise money for the NSPCC, over half of the advance and royalties from sales of BIG QUESTIONS will go to the charity. The NSPCC is the UK’s leading children's charity specialising in child protection. The money raised by sales of BIG

QUESTIONS will help fund the NSPCC’s projects and services across the United Kingdom and Channel Islands, including ChildLine, the UK’s free, confidential 24-hour helpline and online service for children and young people and a helpline for adults concerned about the safety of a child. BIG

QUESTIONS includes answers from Sir David Attenborough, Heston Blumenthal, Kate Humble, Alain de Botton, Annabel Karmel, Richard Dawkins, Bear Grylls, Jacqueline Wilson, Jarvis Cocker, Marcus du Sautoy, Noam Chomsky, Jessica Ennis, Derren Brown, Meg Rosoff, Philippa Gregory, Marcus Chown, Tracey Emin, Harry Hill, Benedict Allen, Dr Christian Jessen, David Bellamy, Alice Roberts and many more experts. It's out today a must have for any parent with children who ask those difficult questions! If you are on Twitter today make sure you follow them and ask them your questions - @bigquestionsbk
Created by Faber and Faber for the book Big Questions From Little People. INFOGRAPHIC: What Big Questions are on Your Child's Mind?

Beware of Locks!

Me - come on RB open the door
RB - NO
Me - just stand up and slide the lock over
RB - No
Me - That's it just a little more, come on you can do it
RB - Ob the Builder, can we fix it..... (singing)
Me - RB listen to mummy, stand up and slide the lock over
RB - Yes we can (singing)
Me - Yes thats right you can! come on then open the door
RB - No
Me - Do you want a biscuit
RB - Yes!
Me - open the door then
RB - (Bangs the door with hands)

10 minutes later

Me - Just slide the lock over that's it come on RB you can do it
RB - No
Me - Do you want some sweets?
RB - Yes I want sweeties
ME- Ok then come on open the door lets go and get some
RB  - Sighs (starts sucking her thumb)

30 minutes later

RB - Still singing
Me - We're going to have to kick the door in or how about we cut a hole in the wood ?
OH - There is no way we are damaging that door, she has locked herself in surely she can unlock it?
Me - I don't think she can! mmmm

10 minutes late, door handle unscrewed and peeping through the tiny hole can see Rock Baby lying on our bed chilling out, sucking her thumb.

Me - come on RB lets go and see Nanny and Grandad
RB - OK
Me - come on then come to the door and slide the lock over
RB - bangs on the door, starts to grizzle

10 minutes later

Mummy has a brain wave and gets a long metal rod, bends it in half and puts it though hole in the door and hooks the bolt on the other side and manages to unlock it!!

Me - are you ok, you shouldn't lock the door

RB - Laughs (runs away) I want Sweeties, biscuit, nanny and Grandad........

Just another typical morning in our house

Silent Sunday

 

 

A Year On

Well it has been quite an eventful year since we upped sticks and moved into the country. We have now been here 1 year and 1 week! Time has flown by, we have experienced a summer, autumn, winter and spring and both the girls have loved the open fields, the space both inside and out and pop princess struggles to even remember our old house. We have a new puppy after I went to Crufts last year as a VIP blogger and fell in love with a little dog who went on to have puppies and we just couldn't not have one!

Work wise I took the leap earlier this year to set up completely on my own, it was getting too demanding juggling two full time jobs as well as the girls. A difficult decision that has paid off and thankfully lots of pr jobs have been coming in for me. I now work from home 4 days per week and have the girls still on a Friday so I really do get the best of both worlds. Only downside is having no interaction with a team of people around you, I do miss that! I have been struggling to personally blog of late, just time constraints really I do really miss it so I am going to try my hardest to blog more regularly.

This past week as I'm sure it has been for many people has been Jubilee filled. Two concerts for Pop Princess and Rock Baby at their nursery and a village street party which was great fun!

 And I leave you with a picture of our newest addition to the family 'Georgie', our Griffon puppy!
 

Let me know if there are any new blogs out there that I should be checking out, every week a new one springs up which is brilliant!

Saved from Fashion Disaster

When I was pregnant with Rock Baby I put on nearly 4 stone as most of us do second time round! I spent the next year slowly losing the weight and when I returned back to work only to be surrounded by skinny model esque looking girls I started to have a fashion crisis.

In my line of business (I'm a PR) image is important and its not like going to a traditional office where you can wear smart suits and a good trip to Next can sort you out. The girls in my office are into cutting edge fashion, they are out most nights partying and a far cry from my world of screaming toddlers, sleep deprivation and the juggling act of trying your very hardest to hold down a full time job, act the role as a yummy mummy (I hate that term btw!) and remaining calm and collected and in control.

So after a particular miserable week feeling like a granny, dressing like a granny I called in a professional. Forget Gok Wan you need Bev Briggs. Bev is a friend and she started up her B Yourself personal styling business just over a year ago after many years of being a personal shopper for a leading high street fashion store.

I rang her up and explained I wanted to look smart, but not officy smart, more trendy and keeping to the latest fashion but pieces for my wardrobe that would last me a season and what I could mix and match, throw on really quickly without thinking and look at least a little presentable! I gave her my measurements and also told her I loved Fearne Cotton's style so that was the brief!

Bev went out and did a pre shop for me, taking all the hard work out for me by spending the day in Cambridge looking in all the shops I liked and putting aside key pieces. We then met up in Cambridge a couple of days later and she took me round the shops and showed me some of the things she had chosen, she pushed me to try on things which I perhaps wouldn't have thought to have tried and gave me really handy tips about my body shape and what would look good on me and suit my shape which is apparently pear.

I found out things I didn't realise such as I should wear chunky necklaces instead of big chunky bracelets as that draws the eye line down to my hips which unfortunately for me and I'm guessing loads of other women out there, this is where my weight likes to sit.

Bev managed to find me all the things I needed, I had given her a budget I wanted to stick to and I walked away with several items including a winter coat, shoes, bag and numerous tops and jeans. It was just so useful having someone there to focus me and just luxury having a very rare day to myself to actually thing about what I needed to buy rather than just a quick dash to the shops and panic buying something i thought I needed but then only ever wear once or twice.

I had a brilliant day and it gave me a real confidence boost! So I wanted to write this post to say a big thanks to Bev.

If you are a lady based in and around Cambridge and feel like you need a fashion make over then get in touch with Bev and check out her website here B Yourself

And to finish a picture below of me in some of my new clothes, its not the best shot of me no idea what my hair is going but the clothes look good! It was taken at a launch I went to in London last week for a fabulous kids project I am looking after called The Land of Sometimes.



That's me on the far right!

Bad Mum of the Week

This week saw me in the usual unorganised chaos of family life.

Pop Princess goes to nursery on Wednesday mornings and last night about 10pm I realise that her uniform from last week is still in the wash!!! aagh, could I get away with her wearing her polo shirt again? I rescued it from the laundry basket for an inspection, it smelled delightful but there were paint marks on it there was no other way round it I had to stick it in the washing machine on a fast wash.

Cursing myself that I had left it too late and should really be organised and thinking what a bad mum I was to contemplate sending my child to school in a rescued shirt from the laundry basket, I waited till the washing was done, and then hoped it would be dry by the morning,

This morning came and result it was largely dry but the collar was still damp! so there I was drying the collar with my hairdryer!! 10 minutes later and it was dry as a bone.


Panic over.



Can you spot Pop Princess above on her Sports Day (in a clean uniform!)

Glorious Weekend

We had a brilliant weekend as my best friend from university came to stay with her family and now we have moved into a new house we had room to move and spread everyone out.

Although Pop Princess ended up sleeping in with us as her and Ollie, my friends little boy who is 4 just wouldn't settle in the same room and every 10 minutes they were downstairs giggling saying they needed a wee or the last excuse from pop princess was that she wan't feeling very well.

The kids had great fun in the garden and we got some brilliant pictures





Happy Days!