Jen Walshaw | Mum In The Madhouse

Blogging etiquette – Is there such a thing?

Head in a book (I did ask if it was OK to use this here) posted on twitter that it felt a bit naff, so I asked her why, as I often leave a comment on a blog letting people know how much I enjoyed a lost or that they had a fab blog.

It got me thinking, is there such a thing as blogging etiquette?

For me the first rule of blogging is there are no rules to blogging. It is not often that I put on my blogging police uniform (I have been known to in the past), but I try not to let my favorite pastime have rules and regulations. So I tried to think back to all those years ago when I started blogging and realised that I wasn’t on twitter or had a network of people to ask if things were naff or not. There wasn’t such a defined community back then, it was pretty much in it’s infancy.

I commented on any blog that I enjoyed and I kept commenting. I still often do, even if it is just a loved that post or I have nothing to add, but love your blog. But…… there is so much less commenting going on than when I started blogging. People seem to engage in different ways.

So my top tip for anyone blogging today, would be not to worry about what others think. The brilliance of internet land is that no one is going to find you and laugh you in to a corner for doing the wrong thing because there is no wrong thing.

Other tips would be:

Always link to any post that has inspired you to write one – I often read something in the beginning and it spurred me on to a blog post.
Comment, comment and comment some more
Make it easy for people to contact you – have an email address on your blog
You tweet – have your twitter address in an easy to see location
Comment some more, find the persons twitter id, blog facebook page or even instagram account and comment on those. Having a blog for me is all about engagement.
Find your community – I adore reading the Fresh Five for new to me blogs to read on the Tots 100.
What would be your top tip or do you think there is such a thing as blogging etiquette in 2013.

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Things to do with children in York whilst shopping

day out / By Jen Walshaw

I love York. I want to live there. I take every and any opportunity to visit York and this find us choosing York as a shopping venue over lots of more local towns. The boys love York too, however, shoppping not so much! So we have developed ways to break up the day without spending all day shopping or all day playing! However if you want a city break in York, why not take a look at hotels in York . It is a great place to spend a long weekend. Our favorite places for a short visit whilst in York are:

The Jorvic Viking Centre

You get an annual pass for The Jorvic Viking Centre for just £27 for a family of four and the centre is really central so perfect to spend an hour inside. The boys adore it. It isn’t large, but it is packed full of viking life, including a ride and the smell!

We find something new every time we visit and it is a firm family favorite to break up the day.

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How to Downscale Your Groceries Bill: Practical Tips for Saving Money

4 Comments / frugal food / By Jen Walshaw

How to ‘Downscale’ Your Groceries Bill
British families have been hit hard by the rising cost of groceries, with food prices reported to have risen by 32 per cent since 2007 (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Households are understandably struggling to find the extra on their grocery bill, with the average coming to over £4000 per year.
However, there are ways to easily slash your groceries bill, bring down the total at the till and struggle no more. See if you can apply any of the following suggestions to your weekly shop, and ‘downscale’ your shopping bill.
Price Promise
Some supermarkets offer a price promise, which means that your shopping basket is guaranteed to cost less than at any other supermarket. When you buy your groceries online at http://groceries.asda.com you can take advantage of the ASDA Price Guarantee, which means that you’ll save at least ten per cent on your shopping bill, compared to Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. If this isn’t the case then ASDA will give you the difference, meaning that you just can’t lose.
It’s easy to use the ASDA Price Guarantee online – all you need is a receipt. And as the calculator is powered by independent website MySupermarket.com, you’ll have peace of mind.
‘Downscaling’
One way of instantly making savings in the supermarket is to ‘downscale’ your brand choices. For example, if you usually buy the most popular branded products ie Heinz Baked Beans, you would simple ‘drop down’ a level and try the Premium supermarket brand instead.
Likewise, if you usually buy premium supermarket brands, you can downscale to regular supermarket brands, and then to the basics range.
Downscaling your shopping basket has to include an element of trial and error, while you discover which items you are happy to downscale on and which you simply can’t compromise on. However, simply downscaling on some items can save a considerable amount on your groceries bill.
Meal Planning
Planning your meals is one way to ensure that you don’t overspend on food that will end up getting wasted. With the average family estimated to waste around £500 of food per year, simply ensuring that you buy only what you need could save you around £50 a month!
Buying your groceries online makes it easier to stick to a shopping list, as it eliminates the temptations presented when walking around the supermarket. It’s also easy to search for the specific items on your list, making your shopping experience quick and easy.
If you usually cook the same meals each week, the ‘Favourites’ function means that you could have your shopping checked out online in mere minutes – saving that other precious family commodity – time.

With a little thought there are ways to easily trim the grocery bill, making increases in food prices far less painful. Choose a supermarket such as ASDA that prides itself in offering great value across all of its ranges – and puts its money where its mouth is with the ASDA Price Guarantee!

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Win an ‘I Love Chocolate Hamper’ from Thorntons!

42 Comments / competition / By Jen Walshaw

We’ve teamed up with the friendly people at Thorntons to giveaway a delicious ‘I Love Chocolate Hamper’!

Thorntons sell yummy personalised chocolates, toffees, fudges and also some delicious looking hampers like this one we’re about to giveaway. Everyday there is a reason to make someone smile, whether it’s to say ‘I Love you’ or just to say ‘thinking of you’, why not lift and brighten up someone’s day by buying them a box of chocolates from Thorntons to create those smiles

To enter answer the question below via the rafflecopter mechanism:

Who opened Thorntons’ very first shop 100 years ago?

a) Harry Steven Thornton

b) Joseph William Thornton

c) Andrew Thomas Thornton

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Joy, it is a conscious choice

2 Comments / Manifesto / By Jen Walshaw

Many people are posting about New Years resolutions and I keep seeing updates on facebook and G+ about dry January and diets. So I wanted to do a quick update on my Winter Manifesto and also my word of the year Joy. I posted last year about the fact that I was choosing Joy. I was making a conscious decision to focus on the good stuff and make the bad stuff less relevant in my life.

It is all about choice and it is my choice. Way back when a very wise person taught me that we always have a choice. Yes there are things in life that we can not change, these are the things that it is not worth expending energy on. It is like worrying about a plane crashing, not matter how much you flap your arms you will not be able to effect it. However, you can change the way you think about it. You can make the choice not to worry about it. It doesn’t take the worry away, but it does give you power over it. So this year I am actively choosing Joy.

However, I am also making this year more joyous by choosing to learn more. I have started a craft course and am making Mini a quilt. I have had the fabric for over six months, but had a mental block on cutting it. I booked the lessons (2 hours every Tuesday) and asked for some help and in two weeks I have cut the fabric, stitched the top and sandwiched it all together ready to quilt. I made this happen.

I have also enrolled on a Collect the Moments e-course from Capturing Childhood, which was recommended to me by my friend Kelly.

Whilst talking about resolutions, goals and aims for 2013, I have been asked to tell you about Hillarys Facebook competition, yes that is the people who have a vast vertical blinds range available. They are currently running a New Year, New You competition on Facebook. The competition offers a chance to win a different prize every week for the next four weeks, and began with a Wii with Wii Fit Plus to get fit this new year. This week is a chance to win a £100 spa voucher, Week 3 is a chance to try something new with Zorbing, and in Week 4 the prize is a Merlin annual pass for a family of four.

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Seasonal Wreaths – A craft challenge

15 Comments / crafts / By Jen Walshaw

My front door was looking very sorry for itself after I took down and packed away the Christmas Wreath. SO I decided that I would challenge myself to make a wreath for each of the seasons this year.

My inspiration for January was a wreath I saw on Instagram by Snugglefeet. I decided on this one as it used up things that I already had on my stash and all I needed to buy was the polystyrene ring.

It only took me an hour to make and was really fun to do too.

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Fingerprint Thank You Cards from Kids: Crafting Heartfelt and Unique Notes

6 Comments / childrens craft, crafts / By Jen Walshaw

In fact it took less time and effort to make the cards than it did to hassle them to filling them in. I really do want the boys to have good manners and thank you cards are part and parcel of receiving gifts in The Mad House, but at six and seven I feel that the responsibility for writing them should come down to the boys and that I no longer should have to send them in their behalf, but what a palaver. I ended up nagging and nagging them to get them done.

Do you make your children write thank you cards? If so how do you encourage them to complete them?

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Parental control with Video Games

7 Comments / mini mads / By Jen Walshaw

1) How many PEGI ratings are there?
A) There are five age ratings; 3, 7, 12, 16, 18

2) Which 3 PEGI age ratings are legally enforceable?
A) The 12, 16 and 18 ratings are legally enforceable for retailers – 3 and 7 are advisory only.

3) How many PEGI Content Descriptor icons are there?
A) Content Descriptors explain a little bit more about why something has been given a particular rating. There are 8 in total

4) What does the Spider icon mean?

A) It means “Fear” – i.e. it might be frighening for younger children (handy to know, as my younger daughter is quite sensitive!)

5) What does the Fist icon mean?

A) It means that the game in question will include depictions of violence.

6) Parental Controls are available on Smart Phones; True or False?
A) True.

7) Parental Control features on a video games console can be used to control the amount of time that your child plays on the device per day? True/False?
A) True. This is an absolute GODSEND for me to have found out, especially when it comes to no.1 daughter, who is notoriously difficult to wrench away from games!

The second part of the challenge was for us to set up Parental Controls on our Xbox. You can see how I got on below:

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What does christmas mean to me?

6 Comments / Christmas / By Jen Walshaw

Christmas, it is a bit of a bittersweet time for me. It is filled with the joy and excitement of two innocent boys, but also the memory of my mum’s unexpected and sudden death two years ago. Christmas Day will forever be associated with seeing my Mum dead in her kitchen on Christmas morning, but I can not let the past shape the future.

So my Memories are split in two. There is the memory of Christmas past, of tissue thin sheets of wrapping paper, eye shut tight of christmas eve listening for the sleigh bells, pillowcases instead of stockings, coming down on Christmas Eve to find my Dad standing at the door with a longed for Petite Typewriter. It is Christmas days long ago of a Sindy House rapped in a candy coloured stripped sheet. It is delicious family filled Christmas dinners after Dad and Granddad returned from a swift one at the Pub. Boxing days spent with cousins, parkin and corned beef pie. Board games and cocktails. Sisters living and loving each other.

Of carefree and joyfilled Christmas spent with family. Once the boys graced us with our presence we experienced the excitement though their eyes and Christmas became about crafting, cooking, making and creating memories. We made advent a time of activities. We cemented memories with our traditions. We went to my Mum’s to help wrap her presents. She helped me to cook Christmas dinner.

And then she was no more………………

So now I try to make Christmas a time of making, creating, cooking and crafting. I think of my Mum and the time we spend doing the same as I was growing up and in my actions I honor her memory. I allow the pain and grief to be there, but do not make it mark my days and nights. More than ever Christmas is about making memories, so that when my children grow they look back at this time with both wonder and joy and they come to realise that Christmas is all about family.

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