Jen Walshaw | Mum In The Madhouse

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Author name: Jen Walshaw

Mum-in-charge Jen Walshaw runs the UK’s top parenting blog Mum in the Madhouse, and she describes herself as a “fat, feisty and over 50” Northerner. Based in North Yorkshire, she’s mum to young adults and a big believer that family life is messy, creative and fun. In 2009 a double mastectomy gave her the nudge to start blogging; with two boys under three she needed an outlet and a digital scrapbook to capture their chaos.Jen’s posts are a mix of crafts, kid‑friendly recipes and honest parenting, peppered with northern humour. She’s happiest when up to her elbows in tea, fabric and pizza dough – sewing and making homemade gifts – before sneaking off to write about it. As a proud Northerner she warns PRs that a “quick pop down to London” isn’t quick at all. Her blog has earned her a stack of accolades, including the Cision #1 Mummy Blogger title in 2024  and consistently topping Vuelio and Tots100 parenting‑blog charts. Whether she’s advocating for diversity and body neutrality or sharing tales of parenting teens, Jen keeps things chatty, real and refreshingly down‑to‑earth.

tassimo, how a coffee machine has revolutionised our lives (no exaggeration)

1 Comment / maximad / By

I never thought that a coffee machine would make such a difference to our home. I am not a coffee drinker, but MadDad loves a good coffee and it is his affordable luxury in life. So when offered a Tassimo machine I thought it would be something that he would really appreciate. I was right, he is really impressed with the quality of coffee, however, this months challenge was to create our own drink, but MadDad’s coffee is sacred and he would not allow me to fiddle with it at all!

The only time I drink coffee is in the lead up to Christmas when I add Baileys, so I decided to add some and yum, very nice grown up coffee.

But the thing that has been most wonderful and completely unintentional is the freedom the Tassimo machine has brought to Maxi and our morning routine. Maxi has always been an early riser and he loves to have a hot chocolate on a morning, but at 8 I feel that he is too young to operate a kettle, so one of us has to make him one. The Tassimo machine means that Maxi can make chocolate for both him and Mini. I love instilling independence in children and Tassimo has certainly revolutionised our mornings. They are calmer, more relaxing and we get a little longer in bed!

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Things to do at La Croix Du Vieux Pont (France) when you are eight

5 Comments / holidays, Holidays abroad / By

Details: 7 nights accommodation in a Vivaldi Mobile Home at La Croix Du Vieux Pont, which sleeps 6 and Eurotunnel Crossing for one car costs £1214 for 2 adults and 3 children on August 17 2013. Special offers and discounts are available at certain times of year, see the Al Fresco website for details. We received free Eurotunnel crossing and accommodation for the purposes of this review. You can see more photos of our trip over on Facebook.

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Back to School with Florence and Fred at Tesco and back to school link up

4 Comments / school / By

I think that good uniform needs to stand the test of time, be a good price point and also fit well and Tesco seem to have hit all these points for us this year.

Plus points:

Adjustable waists – This is essential for my boys, who seem to thin out every time they grow!
Hardwearing – Football every lunchtime on a MUGA really takes it out of the knees of trousers. Tesco’s have survived year on year
Shirts that stay white when washed – Maxi is a shirt boy
Do not shrink – polo shirts and sweatshirts that do not shrink when washed. Mini wears polo shirts
An embroidery service (if your school is registered)
A good selection of styles
Trouser that keep their crease when washed
Shirts that do not need ironing when dried on the line or in the tumble dryer
collars on polo shirts remain white and do not go grey compared to the rest of the shirts
The Mad House give school uniform by Florence and Fred at Tesco a HUGE thumbs up.

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Walkers Mighty Lights – so good we turned them in to keyrings

5 Comments / crafts / By

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees (without the fan if possible)
Place a layer of silver foil over a cold baking tray
Iron your crisp packet (I put it under a towel)
Place the crisp packets on the tray and then place in the oven
Watch as they miraculously start to shrink (you think nothing is happening and then POW all of a sudden they start)
As soon as they stop getting any smaller remove from the oven and place a heavy book over them to ensure they stay flat
I punched a hole in the packet before placing in the oven for the one we turned in to a keyring. We then put an old keychain through the hole.

You could also make badges by gluing a badge back to one.

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Encouraging Boys to Write Using Comic Strips

1 Comment / mini mads / By

Even though we have been having a #’freerangesummer, I have been trying to make sure the boys still do some writing and record what we have been doing this summer and I was delighted to see this fab video that the Etherington Brothers made where they give Scottish Friendly some of their top-tips for creating a comic.

In fact it inspired some comic strip making in The Mad House. Firstly I printed off some blank comic strip layouts and we discussed what we wanted to make a comic about and the boys and their friends they were going to do ones about their day at Lightwater Valley.

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