Thanks to Morrisons and Britmums I was chosen to be a part of the  #MorrisonsMum / #MorrisonsDad project to help promote their recent 'I'm Cheaper'campaign,  permanent price drops on thousands of every day items.  Rather than increase their savers range, they've decided to make higher quality products cheaper, so you get better for essentially less.  In their own words, they're 'cutting prices, not corners'.  It isn't just Morrisons own lines either, you'll find thousands of popular every day branded items.

Our brief?  To descend upon our local Morrisons store and do some shopping using vouchers they kindly provided us with to experience the price drops and resultant food over the bank holiday weekend.  We actually chose the second closest as our usual branch is quite small and we wanted to visit the cafe too.

Seeing as The Preschooler had been poorly previously in the week, we decided to fortify him first with a hearty dinner in the Morrisons Cafe.  Yum!

We're no stranger to Morrisons, as our own local supermarket happens to be a Morrisons, however in the past we've only really used it for bare basics having to venture further afield to be able to feed our family on our small weekly budget.  However, despite our familiarity we were greeted at every turn with price drops.  There was no need to look for them, I went in armed with a list to make three meals (Thai Curry, Creamy Chicken Pasta and wholemeal calzones) over the weekend yet found often when I reached for something, it was cheaper!  This is where the the penny drops, it really is buying your usual items and getting them cheaper.  It really is everyday items you probably buy anyway.  Often you'll find in supermarkets that the items on offer are those that you don't actually need and wouldn't ordinarily buy which although make a nice treat, it's a bit of backwards economics as you end up buying them in addition to your usual items.  Brilliant for the supermarkets yet not so good for our purses.

This meant there was room for the odd extra that wasn't needed nor on the list such as the bargain £2.49 Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  Shush, I'm pregnant.  It's medicinal.  Oh and some cheeky king prawns.....

So what did we eat chez Tiaras & Prozac this weekend?

Firstly The Husband and I had a delicious Thai curry which although I have a picture of the ingredients, there's no picture of the finished article....I was hungry.  It didn't hang around long enough to be photographed!  It's unusual to ever get any meal that all of The Family will eat together so The Spawn had an old favourate, sausages and garlic bread.  Morrisons cheesy garlic pizza breads have been a firm favourate of ours for years and they're nearly always on offer so a bargain to boot.  Yet i'll admit to being pleasantly surprised at finding the sausages cheaper too.

If you look here, you'll see The Preschooler making some Jammie Dodgems with the #ImCheaper jam we bought.  He's only just turned four, so be kind.  He's an excellent baker.

Another night I made is a Creamy Chicken dish adapted from one of the recipes found on Morrisons own site with their basic range garlic baguettes, which again are firm favourates of ours.  They're cheap as chips  (only 30p each!)yet tasty too.

To make our version we used:

Serves four 

* 300g pasta (We used Farfalle instead of spaghetti) - £0.95p for 500g.
* 200g smoked middle bacon snipped into pieces (the recipe says 100g, what can I say though? we love bacon) - £2.18 for 240g #ImCheaper
* 200g cooked chicken-  £2.00
* 1 crumbled Stock Cube (From store cupboard)
* 300ml reduced fat creme fraiche - £0.90 #Imcheaper
* 1 tbs wholegrain mustard (From store cupboard)
* Garlic & mixed herbs (From cupboard)

* x3 Garlic baguettes @ 30p each.

Total cost : £6.93
Cost per person: £1.73

Surely that's a bargain in anyone's book?

It's super easy to make:

- Cook the pasta as specified on the pack.
- Dry fry the bacon then add the chicken (we used Morrisons Savers cooked pieces) with a crumbled stock cube and 4tbs water.
- Combine the Mustard, garlic, herbs and  Creme Fraiche then add to the meat.
- Stir in the cooked pasta
- Serve!

The Baguettes easily cook in the oven whilst the pasta cooks on the hob.  A quick and easy meal.

Last night we made our own wholemeal Calzones using my favourate quick pizza dough recipe.  These are an absolute favourate with all of us, the bonus is The Spawn make theirs themselves, we find that if you involve them in the making process they enjoy eating it even more.  We're huge meat eaters (Sorry Babe) so we had a mix of chicken, pepperoni, salami and ham.

I really do urge you to go to your local Morrisons and see how much of your usual shopping you can get for cheaper.  As soon as you enter you're presented with a mass selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, many of these, you've guessed it, are included in the 'I'm Cheaper' price drops too and the price drops just continue around each subsequent department you walk through.

***I received Morrisons gift vouchers to purchase the food however all opinions expressed and experiences described remain my own.


This post is part of the #MorrisonsMums promotion, why not visit the Britmums linky and see how some of the other mums got on and find some more tasty recipes!

Toddlers Guide to going out : By A. Toddler

Listen up buddies, huddle.  Yeah you at the back too, lets huddle and listen up.  This is important life stuff we be sharing here.

At times, parents will decide to take us out, into that big world place.  Like with everything we do we have rules and rules must be followed.

 It's important parents don't start off under any guise that this will be easy.  This will never ever be easy.  They got themselves into this mess and they can now deal with the repercussions.

Before we leave:

1. You'll see a bag, a big bag.  Mummy & Daddy can't leave the house without it.  In it you'll find a miniature world.  It has toys, nappies, wipes, nappy sacks, snacks, clothes.  All the good stuff.  Parents are playful creatures yet if we neglect to engage in games with them, they become lazy and bored and then they become destructive.  Now locate this bag, open it and....empty it.  Empty it good.  Done that?  Stay with us bro, you're not done yet.  Choose an item, or three and hide it.  Now we're talking.

2. Timing is everything.  Everything. You must be vigilant at all times, look out for the signs of departure such as rampant re-packing of the bag, shoes and coats going on.  Wait, wait for it. Now 1,2,3 SHIT. Doesn't that feel good? Flash that dimply smile, work it baby.  Now this is your shit.  You made it, you squeezed it.  Right now it's even warm.  They will try and take it! Why they think they can take it before we've finished rolling in it is beyond me, parents think in mysterious ways.  It's our job to rewire this thinking, to redirect these erranous ways.  Avoid being tackled.  Wriggle, squirm, kick and scream.  Now here comes the fresh one, all soft and clean.  No shit is complete without a wee.  Only ingrates will wee on a poo nappy.  They can take our nappies but they will never take our freedom,. Wee! that's it, right there.  If you have a willy, aim for the face dude! If you don't, even better.  It will make a nice warm little pool under you and you'll need clean clothes too! Bonus points!

In the Car

1. Some parents have brum brums.  You get put into this seat and get to stare at the back of a seat.  It's time to warm up those vocal chords my friends.  Wait until the vehicle is in motion and CRY. It's vital they focus their attention on you and not the brum brum.  Just before you arrive at your destination, sleep.  After all it's exhausting being a baby or ttoddler  This will then teach them the lesson of 'you put us in here now you work out how to get us out.  Without waking us'  This is a mental exercise and helps keep their logic and problem solving areas of the brain working and in tip top shape.

In the buggy

1. Excellent, your own set of wheels.   Check out the chrome on mine baby.  Yeah.  These are comfy as, comfy as i'm saying.  However, where's the fun, the effort in pushing one of these?  They hang their shopping on them, ruining the suspension and they're not concentrating on US. Rookie error on their part, it's okay.  The correction for this is simple.  CRY. If you cry hard enough and long enough they will pick you up.  This is more like it, now they have to carry us, jiggle us, shush us AND steer the buggy.  Their coordination skills are getting a thorough work out now.  If they're playing candy crush or if your mum is parked in the loos taking selfies there may be a delay in their reaction time.  Just cry harder.  Simples.  Cry like you're being tortured and look pleadingly to any passers by.  Give them your best 'rescue me!' look.  They then put the guilts on your parent and voila, we get the reaction.

2. When it's raining they use this absurd thing, like a bubble.  What the hell is that about?  Rain is good, it goes splishy splashy drip drop!  Yet for some reason, it starts to rain and parents get all flustered.  Resist.  Resist the bubble.  At all costs.  Don't they realise these come from baby hell?

Walking

1. If you're a walker, high five! When in buggy, demand to get out and walk.  If you complain loud enough they will release you from the restraints.  It's best to do this when they're in a hurry.  Rushing is bad for blood pressure and anxiety levels so it's intrinsic that we slow them down.  It's for their own good.  We need to take them back to basics.  Let them appreciate this here world.  For every 5 steps we take forward take 3 back.  Introduce them to the treasures the world has to offer like flowers, rocks and sticks.  Give them their own collection to hold and cherish.  There's so much to see! Birdies, clouds, an aeroplane, dog shit! The latter is a good one, the closer you get the more they squeal.  Hours of fun!

2.  Sometimes they need a little variety in life, try taking them the opposite way to which they were thinking.  It gets them so excited!

3.  Every five minutes demand 'up' , they need the reassurance of a cuddle.  They're get quite anxious when separated from us, physically.  Silly parents!

4. Be careful not to create a rod for your back, if we let them carry us all the time they will always want to carry us.  Be cruel to be kind.  Every 5 minutes of being carried alternate with demanding to be put down. Then utilise the model of rapid return and demand up again just so they don't get too distressed.  It's a long hard slog but we must keep it up if we want them to learn.

5. We decide when it's buggy time.  We are the authority here.  If they attempt to force our hand with an early return to it.... RUN.  Run like the wind.  Run to the hills.  They will chase, it's okay they may look like they can't breath but it's just exercise.  They need this.  If they get ahead of themselves, fall.  Immediately follow this with screams.  Not only will they rightfully get to feel bad, you get cuddles and if you've trained them right, chocolate!

In the sling

1. Too much of a good thing makes them complacent.  Complacency is a bad bad thing.  Parents thrive on unpredictability.  It keeps their wits sharp and their sanity strong.  We like the sling.  They like the sling.  But as much as we'd like to make this easy, it's our duty not to.

If they put it on prior to leaving, we're good to go.  It's comfy and snuggly.  If you're on their back you get to style their hair for them, snot makes great gel! You can even decorate it and prettify their hair with whatever they let you eat.  They will let you eat.  It's payment for not kicking and biting.  We've earned it.

2. If they keep stopping they'll never stay fit.  If they dare stop and join queues and what not, it's our job to remind them that this is unacceptable.  Stillness is laziness.  They stop moving, we start crying.  It's a bit like pinching them, they'll start to jiggle and move.  If they stop, cry again.  They need the reminder, the encouragement.

3. There's a secret babywearers look.  Mums and dads give it to others.  If you see another babywearer, it's reallllly important you smile back.  Alternatively, should you encounter one of those pesky none-believers you need to help your parents demonstrate how easy it all is.  Pretend you're being tortured, I know it's hard but it's important.  It's necessary.  Pretend the lovely comfy sling is a contraption of terror.  It's important our parents get to relate an array if emotions, this one will trigger embarrassment.  It's a very productive emotion.  Funny too.  Now we have their attention lets demonstrate the safety of the sling, we know and they know that we're safe but we must enlighten the none believers.  Lean it to the right, lean it to the left and throw yourself back.  This gives the none believer a rare glimpse into just how secure we are.

4.  It's inevitable we'll be in and out of the sling whilst out.  People will stare, those none believers.  If our parents make it look too easy, people will get bored.  Our job here is to entertain.  To make them think on the spot.  Challenge them.  We must disguise how easy it all is and make it appear as awkward as possible.  The more flustered they get the longer it will take them to put us back in the sling and the more people get to watch.  Fidget, flail, whinge, squirm and struggle.  This is your moment to shine.  If you make it too hard they'll give up, we must reward their efforts.  Once secure and comfy, snuggle up.  It's of utmost importance you wait until you're alone and nobodies watching, then fall asleep.  It's safe now.  Your work is done.  It's exhausting work.  Relax.

In the shops

1. You get to ride in a big shiny trolley!  You gain extra height and increased reach.  Shopping is a tiring activity so it's our job to help poor old Mummy & Daddy.  We must put things in the trolley.  It doesn't matter what, get anything.  They're too self absorbed to notice or appreciate our help but the quicker we help fill the trolley the sooner we can all go home.  They make appear thankless, but it's okay.  We know we've helped and that's what's important.

2. If you feel they're taking too long, to recapture their attention try filling your nappy, it helps give them a change of scenery.  You could also remind them that you're hungry.  Really really HUNGRY.  A break is as good as a holiday.  By the time they've fed or changed us they'll have a renewed sense of focus.

3. Smile sweetly at the other shoppers.  Work it, work it baby.  Smile with your eyes.  Draw those suckers in.  You're beautiful.  You're adorable.  This means you will get more public support when your parents wrongly decide you can't have that new toy and you have to teach them a lesson by acting broken.  How dare your parents upset such a lovely child the shoppers will think.  Parents are the bad guys here and this will ensure everybody realises how mean they are.

On the Potty

Sometimes when we're out, Mummy & Daddy can really try and take advantage of our good nature.  They will say we have no time to chase pigeons, no time to go round the pet shop and no time to go round the toy shop yet plenty of time to go round their shops.  Remember too much of a good thing is bad for them.  We must teach them restraint.  If they've been looking in their boring shops for too long, it's time to go wee wee.  Trust me, they won't make you wait too long.

Once in the toilet:

1. They'll probably want to wee too, now is time to ask them questions so they don't get bored sat on the toilet.  It's important to ask them loudly because sometimes they pretend they can't hear us and don't answer.  Good questions include:

a) "Are you pooing Mummy?"
b) "Why is your front bum so hairy? / why is your willy so hairy?"
c) "Why does it smell so yucky?"
d) "Why are you opening sweeties in the toilet?"
e) "Why are you putting nappies in your knickers?"
f)  "You pumped!"

2. There's a great toy in here, it lets you pull paper out sheet by sheet! You have to see how many sheets you can pull out before Mummy/Daddy finishes weeing.

On the bus

1. You have a captured audience here.  This is the perfect opportunity to practice your new words.  to showcase them to your parents.  The special words that you have to be really grown up and clever to use.  they will be so proud! Start slowly and ease your way in with 'hiya', 'mama' and then wow them with 'shit'.  Watch your parents glow with pride!

2. If you've been talking a while, you can use your ability to help stop mum and dad becoming bored on the bus.  Keep them occupied otherwise they'll get bored and when parents get bored they get naughty.  Ask them questions about your surroundings like 'why does that lady have a beard?' 'why is that man so fat?' and 'why does that person smell so yuck?' it will increase their awareness of their surroundings and help them practice their talking.

12 ways to shop savvy and make your budget go further

The truth of the matter is, if we were still ordering our weekly shop to be delivered from a supermarket, we'd not be able to afford to eat much beyond beans and toast.  However, there are ways to make your money stretch that little bit further and enable you to eat varied and decent diet for less and still be able to buy the household items you need.  The catch? It's not as convenient as ordering on-line and getting it delivered.  You have to shop around.

1. If you have a Home Bargains store near you, use it.  You will get all the usual branded toiletries and cleaning products, only cheaper. Also cheap pet food, stationary, greetings cards, books, craft items, towels, crockery, bake-ware, alcohol (oh, hello!) confectionery, soft drinks and toys.  You can also get food, cereals and tinned goods especially.  Passata for instance and Branston beans are half the price of the Morrisons next door.

2. Frozen food isn't necessarily lesser food and is infinitely better than no food.  Shop at your local Iceland or Farmfoods and save an absolute fortune.  Erase the preconceived notion many have about these places being all about ready meals and turkey twizzlers, they're not.  Frozen meat, frozen fish, frozen fruit and vegetables etc all make for good old fashioned cooking from scratch.

3.  If like us you're massive carnivores, many local butchers are now doing 'meat packs' and will deliver, a good way to buy decent meat in bulk at a more acceptable price than the supermarkets.

4. For fruit and vegetables, if you have a local market do use it.  You will get infinitely better value for money.  Shop around though as you'd be surprised how much prices vary from stall to stall.  Some now let you get your own fruit and veg so you even get to see/feel and pick what you like as you would in a supermarket.  We literally get double the amount of fruit and vegetables that the same money would buy us from our local supermarket.  You'll also be supporting local independent traders, which is always a bonus.

5.  Look out for loyalty schemes and vouchers, they all add up.

6. Explore your local pound shops, once again you can get branded products for a fraction of the price that you'd find them selling for in a supermarket.

7.  Supermarkets generally reduce items three times a day, the discount getting progressively larger the later time gets.  Find out when your local supermarket does it's final reductions and fill your freezer up!  Apparently even Marks & Spencers reduce things ridiculously low at the end of the day.

8.  Meal plan.  Do this before you go shopping and stick to it.  You'll have much less waste and buy less unnecessary extras.

9.  Some things, in my opinion, need to be branded such as ketchup and beans otherwise the sacrifice of taste really doesn't make the savings worth it.  However, many no-frills and value ranges are absolutely fine.  Experiment and you may be surprised how much you could save without significantly sacrificing taste nor quality.

10.  Cooking from scratch is often cheaper, if you learn how to utilise left overs into another meal (i,e chicken soup or bubble and squeak) then your food goes even further.  If you use a slow cooker you can buy cheaper cuts of meats that will come out extremely tasty and tender.

11. Certain items can be bought in bulk and save you money especially if you buy them from places such as Home Bargains.  Items such as washing detergent, toilet roll and kitchen roll etc

12.  Try doing your weekly shop at Aldi or Lidl.  If you're used to shopping primarily at a mainstream supermarket you will see tremendous savings with no sacrifice of quality.  However, if you already shop around, you may not find you save as much in comparison to those who don't.

Granted there will be some items that you can only get from a supermarket, yet through utilising other places for the majority of your shopping you will soon see your costs decrease.

Shopping rage : 10 deplorable things about supermarkets.

I admit it, I'm terribly grumpy and am well known to love a good moan so today's moan is about supermarkets...

1. Many supermarkets have cash machines outside, not our local one.  Oh no, the cash machine is inside yet to get to it you have to embark upon an agility course of squeezing past people and hopping over closed barriers for you see, someone had the terribly awful idea of situating it behind the tills, on the way out of the shop.  Good grief, what an absurdly ill thought out idea that was.

2. Considering people generally travel around a supermarket with a trolley, not to mention buggies and wheelchairs, which genius had the prize winning idea of planting displays in the middle of aisles?

3. 8 tills, massive queues of disgruntled customers yet only two tills are open. The manager looks to be around 12 years old and blatantly couldn't manage their way out of a wet paper bag.

4. Self service tills.  I applaud the sadistic sense of humour clearly possessed by the inventor of these.  I'll admit they do supply a kind of perverse viewing pleasure to the wiser shoppers as we avoid them like the plague preferring to join the horrifically long queue to be served by a human instead.  The staff chirpily encourage you to use these implements of mental torture, are they really so stupid?  These machines are there to replace you! You occasionally get the rare incident of someone who has managed to whiz their first ten items through effortlessly, someone obviously forgot to switch the machines onto arsehole mode, no wait....spoke to soon, there flashes the red light of doom.  The one that indicates the machine has fucked up but is blaming you as the beacon may as well holler 'Stupid person here! can't work a simple machine! come look come look!' only nobody does come.  It's gotten so absurd at our local supermarket that they have given the sub contracted security guard a golden pass and the secret smirk to reset the machine to 'behave' mode, for the next 1-5 minutes depending on how particularly sadistic they're feeling that day.  Uh oh, the red light has gone off again as the unfortunate soul starts screaming at the machine 'The fucking scanning area is clear! it's CLEAR! For christ sake the god damn thing IS in the shitting packing area, it's there...it's there you stupid bloody machine!'  free raised blood pressure and cardiac episode with your shopping? Meanwhile, had the joined the horrific queue they were smugly trying to avoid, they would have been half way home by now.

5. The ridiculous offers such as £2 each or two or £5 ..... yes they really do exist.

6. The ever thinning bags that are now utterly transparent and rip if you so much as look at them the wrong way.  Fully aware of this, seeing your weeks worth of family shopping, the helpful cashier dispenses three bags to you.  You ask for more, they give you another one.  You end up having to ask ten more times.  Occasionally they offer to pack for you, however they do it in such a way your shopping has zero chance of surviving the mission from shop to car boot and god forbid you actually walk like us.

7. The lack of common courtesy between customers.  It's very simple really, if you don't want the shopping of the customer behind you added to your bill then place the bloody divider down behind your shopping you utter Twunt.

8. The shelving for giants and lack of friendly approachable giants to reach what's on them for you.  It's not even like I'm vertically challenged.

9. The sheer idiocy of fellow customers who having queued and witnessed how the whole shopping shizzle works, look utterly taken aback when at the end of packing they have to actually pay.  It evidently never occurred to them since their purse is still residing somewhere in their bottomless bag of doom.

10.  Those cretinous shoppers who appear to think standing in the middle of an aisle to have a chinwag is a good idea.  I will plough through you.  You have been warned.

Bargain hunting (retail therapy on a budget)

There is sometimes an element of snobbery when it comes to pound shops with a certain stigma attached to them yet what can I say? I'm a commoner, a mere peasant if you like and quite frankly you can't beat the feeling of coming out of a shop with a bag full of goodies having spent less than a tenner. I know, I know I have somewhat exaggerated using bloggers license as I'm sure other things could rather beat that feeling (why hello Mr Northman.....) yet the fact remains, to many of us shopping is a good temporary boost for the blue and surely we all love a bargain.

There are variations in pound shops such as those that lure you in under the assumption everything is a pound when actually they're not then there are the ones where actually, everything is a pound.  The latter can be further split into two groups, do keep up I absolutely understand the sheer marvel you are experiencing whilst learning about the technicalities of pound shops. There are those that are cramped squalid places where it's every bugger for themselves as you navigate around aisle hoggers and general numpties with a death grip on your spawn so as not to lose them in the sea of fuckmuppets all scrabbling at cramped shelves knocking the unsuspecting workfare victims flying as they literally devour the shop from the inside out. These places are usually dimly lit in some unsavoury piss colour lighting adding to the general sense of claustrophobia.  By the time you exit you feel like a suffocated Ninja.  Now don't get me wrong all these places sell their fair share of utter tat and to be frightfully honest absolute junk yet often if you persevere you'll find some gems.  Yet the other group of pound shops realise that just because their stock is cheap, the shop doesn't have to look like the exploded contents of a whores handbag.  These places are brighter lit, slightly airier, easier to navigate and for some unfathomable reason, not as busy.  Bloody marvellous!

I visited one such place last week and as you can see from the picture came out with a 45 piece jigsaw, glider planes, lacing animal cards and a rather retro noisy stick thing for The Toddler, two packs of grow your own cat grass for The Felines, a make your own fairy home and fairies for Thing Two and a (not pictured) giant glider plane for Thing One for the tremendously grand total of eight pounds.  Even better is that the jigsaw is actually rather good, we should know as we do after-all own about eight of these ones and they sell on eBay for nearly a fiver.  Ditto with the lacing cards, lovely, vibrant and quite decent quality.  In fact we also procured our bargain bird houses to paint from here too previously (not to mention oodles of paper, colouring books, a toy telescope, pens, felt tips, cat toys, hair clips and slides etc)

In an unaffordable world, it's sometimes terribly refreshing to get some actual value for our money.

The 'C' word.

It's only just turned October yet a few weeks ago, yes, that would be September our local super market was boasting shelves swollen with Christmas stuff. Yes, really, Christmas. What is wrong with people, It's nearly a quarter of a year away! We've only just said so long and farewell at the grey and dismal funeral of our so-called summer.Gosh, It's all gotten rather silly hasn't it?  Is the great British depression so virulent that we've resorted to this? What a load of tosh. surely if we start this early then by the time December graces us the build us leaves naught except a rather unfortunate anti climax.

When you're wee, Christmas is a magical time of sparkle, chocolate and presents. When you're in your spritely youth It's all about getting rather trolleyed with added sparkle to your hangover. Yet when you become a boring grown-up with a husband and spawn it becomes a tactical and logistical headache balancing the timing, finances and organisation whilst portraying a fascade of excitement, peace and magic. Don't bother gift wrapping the Valium just gimme gimme gimme. Perhaps if The Toddler ever decides to night wean I can get squiffy whilst on wrapping duties to alleviate the ennui, it would only take a sniff or two of a wine gum It's been that long. The Husband may even get lucky, at least that would save money on a gift...

Yet Yule aside between November and January there are no less then five birthdays on The Husbands side of the family, how rude of them!

I need a money tree.

Every year since birthing The Spawn I vow to be more organised as opposed to leaving it all until the last week or two.

This year I'm already plotting the token gifts for extended family, perhaps venturing into the rather twee world of the personalised photo calendar. What better gift for The Grandparents then a darling picture of the little darlings aka the grand spawn for each month of 2013? I know, I know, pass the bucket. Yet when you have exhausted all other budget friendly gifts such as alcohol, chocolates, book tokens It's time to get 'personal'.

It was one of those things that I always assumed would be grossly over budget until I was fantasy shopping at Jessops Photo (oh sugar daddy! A dslr please, pretty please) and came across make your own calendar. Jobs a good 'un! That's The Grandparents presents sorted then. Piece of piss this being organised lark. Now....where's the wine gums?.... I'm positively exhausted after all that cyber shopping.

Hooray for boobies

As a girl I spent the first half of my life wishing for boobs or rather bigger boobs and the second half wanting smaller. It's a no win situation. Many of you may remember my previous posts on the woes of bra shopping or should I say shopping for scaffold.  Gone are the days when I was young slim and a saucy C-D cup with a draw full of underwear delight. Shiny, sexy, colourful pieces of confidence lego.... I had Bras Galore. I could happily go into any department store and let my purse feast on pretties that looked amazing and more importantly made me feel amazing. Underwear shopping was a thrill, a treat.
Nearly five years of breastfeeding and three children later not to mention battling obesity and winning and It's a whole different story. I don't need a bra I need scaffolding, better still....a miracle. I keep telling them jokes with the futile hope that they may actually perk up but to be honest, they are the joke.
If you bear in mind that most 'normal' bras stop at an H then factor in the fact you need nursing bras your choice becomes depressingly limited and you can forget about one of those much needed underwired nursing bra jobbies, its nasty granny bras all the way in white, black or if you're incredibly lucky...... flesh coloured (seriously, Wtf?) All of which give a hilarious unattractive shape (conical....how very 80's) don't forget that you also get The pleasure of paying a fortune for each of these. I resent paying a fortune for a necessity and more so when quite frankly It's fugly and makes you feel more like Madame Doubtfire then a hot mama.
You could have the most amazing outfit in the world yet if you're Bridget Jonesing underneath it, you may as well have your dressing gown on.
Trust me, going braless is not an option. I should require a license for these boulders, I already get black eyes if I contemplate running down the stairs.
So the search is forever on for comfortable, feminine, sexy, supportive bras for us poor sufferers of hugeboobitis that won't leave us weeping in bankruptcy, brownie points if they're actually nursing bras too.
Thankfully there are now several companies who have not only accepted that the average bra size has increased but are actively doing something about it and are stocking gorgeous bras in larger cup sizes, like Bras Galore . Shop in the comfort of your own home, search by size to avoid that spirit crushing moment of finding the bra only to realise it only goes up to a maximum size that is about five cup sizes smaller then what you need. Oh and free delivery too! (Always a factor that sways me when choosing where to shop)
Hopefully The Toddler will self wean within the next 12-18months so I can throw away there skanky vile nursing bras I had the pleasure of forking out way too much money for and finally start to have a draw of fun, sexy, gorgeous Bras Galore again.
Never underestimate the power a well fitting and pretty bra can exert on both your confidence and your figure. Seriously, something like 80% of woman are wearing the wrong size bra. Take a look around next time you are out, if a bra is fitted right a woman's cleavage should not be dusting her knees nor should a woman find it uncomfortable. That well known equation that far too many shops rely on along with a tape measure, if you're well endowed is quite frankly as true to life as rocking horse shit.
The back should not ride upwards, The band not The straps should take the weight and support you, the band should be tight on the loosest setting (yet loose enough to fit two fingers down) so that as the elastic becomes worn you can keep tightening it.  If you can easily pull the band away from your back, its too big! Remember generally if you go down a back size you go up a cup size and if you go up a back size you usually go down a cup size.
Several chains and many independant shops now offer a no measuring fitting service. Seriously, find one and go. You may be amazed. I ended up finding out I was actually four back sizes smaller and 6 cup sizes bigger then What the tape measure and equation had come up with. I instantly had better posture, a better shape, went down a clothes size up top and felt human again.
Having hugeboobitis doesn't have to be misery, we can be proud of them and look awesome too.

Dress your kids up...

When Thing One was smaller there didn't seen to be much choice in clothes and I doubt I'd ever even heard of 'organic' clothes, organic was just a word added to eggs to hike the price up. So, he had the typical mini man clothes that the high street stores are populated with in predictable pastel blues and yawnsome beige.  Add to that the fact he grew like a weed so I seemed to be in a perpetual cycle of buying clothes and let's face it, boys clothes are pretty unimaginative bordering fatefully close to being downright boring. Don't even get me started on the boys shoes, before I had kids I didn't ever dream shopping for shoes could actually be, well, boring.

Then Thing Two came along and what a revelation that was, shopping for a...girl! That's much more like it! Oodles of choice!

By the time The Toddler graced up with his presence I'd had enough of the bland boys clothing. It's only when you have bigger kids that you realise and appreciate just how small and delicate babies genuinely are. The thought of stiff denim, metal buttons, unnecessary zippers etc just seemed....well....awful! More so seeing as he wore soft, fluffy cloth nappies.

Also, pale colours just didn't even seem to suit him! I was remarkably impressed when I managed to find some orange, red and bright yellow vests, even the midwife commented on them!

So, I let a bit of me loose on The Toddlers wardrobe (ok, If you're going to be pedantic he only has drawers) I filled them with bold bright colours in comfy soft jersey and cotton populated with stripes and spots. He looked vibrant. He looked fun. He looked, dare I say, funky. Best of all he looked comfy!

The only problem I found was finding things! H&M proved amazing for basics (and incidentally fit really well over cloth nappies!) And eBay gave me access to quirky, cheap and amazingly practical leggings from China which he has lived in! They were brilliant for crawling, climbing and don't ride up when he is in the sling.

I just wish I'd known that he would be the opposite to Thing One insofar as to say, he doesn't actually seen to grow! This would have made it infinitely more justifiable to go shopping for funky organic clothing like Molo. I adore their stuff and often fantasy shop for it.

Who knows, Maybe I can justify it this year. Am currently drooling over  Love It Love It Love It  they have bright colours, stripes and it all looks super comfy, oh and It's organic! Just need to sell a kidney now to have some funds.....

You know you're a mum when It's more fun shopping for kids clothes then your own!

May be a bit quieter then usual as the computer died. As in Totally. I am devastated and so are the kids as we can't afford to replace it.  It's no easy feat blogging from my (crappy dying) phone, my thumb is positively withering at the sheer injustice of it.