My word for 2013 was Joy, or more specifically Choosing Joy. I focused on looking past the negatives and choosing to find joy in all I see, do and make. It wasn’t always easy, but the more I did it, the easier it became and I actually found that I started to do it automatically without thinking about it.
It has been something of a challenging couple of weeks here in The Mad House. I was not very well up on returning from our fantastic holiday in Florida (more on that to follow) and have had to spend some time in hospital. Christmas and my 40th Birthday have really had to take a back seat to me getting to a stage where I could be at home.
We are delighted to be Center Parcs family bloggers here at the Mad House and cannot wait to start planning our trip to Whinfell Forest and enjoy our first family Center Parcs holiday. Center Parcs are currently running a fantastic competition to win a stocking full of goodies OR a family break at Center Parcs. Below is the stocking full of goodies you have a chance of winning if you enter.
As adults, we’ll often rush out of the house in a flurry – if we’re lucky – with a slice of toast in hand. As role models to our children, it’s important to envision a healthy and balanced diet and one that involves sitting down to breakfast on a daily basis. Why is breakfast so important? Kid’s who eat breakfast tend to eat healthier on a whole. Breakfast is a great way to kick-start the body into action and is especially needed by little ones who spend their days running around the playground, studying and exercising. Those who eat breakfast will be more likely to partake in a number of physical more »
We are an eclectic bunch in the Mad House, but one thing we all love is Christmas Movies and snuggling up on the couch watching them together. Now thanks to Laura Ashley we have a new throw to snuggle under and watch our movies and the Tartan Cranberry Check Cotton Mix Throw is perfect in colour to match our traditional red and green decoration, so henceforth will become known “The Christmas Throw”!
Despite being a holiday, Christmas can be pretty stressful, and with so much to arrange it can be easy to overestimate just how much time we have left to get those all-important presents. Friends fans will remember The One with Phoebe’s Dad, which saw Chandler and Joey buying their friends’ gifts from a garage, and while your own emergencies may not be quite so drastic, the feeling of rushing to buy some last minute gift for someone is all too familiar. Luckily, with a little bit of planning you can ensure that your gifts are meaningful and won’t end up in a pile of items to be returned or re-gifted. Ask around It would be more »
I love this time of year, It makes me feel all crafty so the boys and I decided to make some vintage spool christmas decorations to combine my love of sewing and their of making things for Christmas. They love looking back at the decorations they have made in previous years.
I am a huge fan of making Christmas memorable and one of the ways I do this is by giving gifts that we have made. So I am delighted to be working in partnership with Halifax the bank who give you extra to inspire more of you to give extra this Christmas by taking the time to produce homemade gifts for that special someone. I want to share with you some ideas and inspiration for craft ideas that can be produced by you and your family and given as christmas present this year. None are hard to do and are fun family activities and I guarantee you the receiver will be over more »
One of our advent traditions is to make and decorate a gingerbread house. With being out of the country this year we accepted a pre cooked one from Sykes Cottages to build and decorate. Unfortunately ours came a little damaged (hence the silver foil bottom), but I managed to get it stuck together and then provided the boys with a selection of sweets and icing and left them too it.
Terms & Conditions Before you agree to take part in the “Giving Extra this Christmas” prize, it is important that you accept the terms and conditions. The Promoter of this prize draw is muminthemadhouse.com and the prize has been provided by Halifax By entering this prize draw you agree to the following conditions: You will submit the entry to muminthemadhouse.com by midnight on the closing date of 18 December 2013. Entries after this date will not be considered for the prize. Only one single entry per person eligible for entry Your entry is submitted in English. If these conditions are not adhered to then you may not be eligible to win more »
Back in September (yes it seems like ages ago), I was fortunate to go to LA and visit the Dreamworks Campus and get a sneak peek in to how The Croods was made. My trip to DreamWorks was to celebrate the release of The Croods on DVD and Blu-ray. Now I have to say that as a family we adored The Croods and went to see it at our local cinema over the summer and the boys were delighted that it was on our flight home from Florida last week.
Do you have to sacrifice style to have confort? I would like to assure you that the answer is no, you just need to know where to look for things and I am going to share with you my fantastically hot purple heeled boots as an example.
I love candle light, especially during the Autumn and winter months when the dark nights are upon us. There is something warming and comforting and these festive jam jar candle holders are so easy to make.
I am a BIG advocate of free range parenting and getting children to make the most of the outside. My boys had as much of a free range summer as I could afford them and have bikes and scooters. Their best buddies also have a Kettler GO Kart that they adored using over the summer. This Autumn we have been putting the Kettler Go Kart Nitro Extreme through its paces. The Kettler Go Kart Nitro Extreme is a go kart aimed at children aged 7 to 12 years old and we have had children on it from aged 6 through to 12 so can attest that it is suitable for a wide age more »
One of the things I miss most about living in Berkshire is my next door neighbour Louise, who runs her own business Panacea Holistic Health and Beauty. Louise is one of those people that has an innate ability to make you feel good about yourself and I was lucky enough to be a client of hers. She provides a variety of holistic therapies and beauty treatments, gift vouchers and natural health and beauty products. Her massages are divine and she tailor makes her treatments according to your requirements and needs. She has the ability to put people at ease and make your treatment relaxing and refreshing. She made a superb inhaler and roller ball of a special aromatherapy mix for Mini and his tantrums, which more »
When I was younger ever one wanted to be in the pony club. My friends all went horse riding regularly, whilst I stood by and watched them. I did give it a go, but each and every time something horrible happened. I was bitten, bucked off and fell off each and every time I got on to the back of a horse. I used to watch my friends longingly as they rode along the beach on the horses, but was thankful that I didn’t have to get up early to help muck out! I bet my parents were also really happy that I wasn’t in to horses growing up, as it more »
I used to be something of a beautyaholic. I adore potions and lotions and BC (before Children) I would spend my hard earned cash on lots of new and exciting cosmetics that promised the world. I loved the packaging, the anticipation and the whole buying something for me. Now my life is different. The only time I get stuff like this is Christmas and Birthdays or if some kind PR sends me something! So this is my list of things that I have popped on my Christmas List. Some have been previous PR samples, others products that I am getting to the end off!
We all love a bit of pampering and a trip to the spa may sometimes be at the top of the list. However, in austere times, it may slip to the bottom of your to-do list. This doesn’t have to be the case though, as you can bag some great bargains on your beauty treatments. Here are a ways to help you accomplish this: Beauty schools There are numerous beauty schools in London and this gives you the opportunity to take advantage of their services and bag yourself a great bargain? This is because some offer discounted beauty treatments and may shave off close to 5% of the standard charges that more »
We love Reindeer food. It is a tradition in The Mad House to go out and sprinkle it on Christmas Eve and to track Santa on Norad. There are endless recipes for Reindeer food on the internet and mine is no different or special, but it is much loved and used over the years.
Once of my favorite tradition over the festive period is the Christmas Eve Gifts which are left from our Christmas Eve Elves. I adore Christmas Eve, there is something really special about the anticipation of Christmas Day and we spend it as a family as MadDad always tried to get it off. We make sure we are prepped for Christmas Day and can be found in the kitchen as a family for part of the day. I love the thought of making it magical and wanted to share with you what we do and how we do it! Christmas Eve Sacks
