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.

Wizzarding Week at The National Railway Museum York

6 Comments / days out / By

What could be better for my train loving boys than a Harry potter themed half term at The National Railway Museum in York. We are regular visitors to both the York site and the Locomotion site at Shildon and love the specials that they put on over the holidays.

This half term is especially fun, as Mini loves Harry Potter and is a big fan and they have the Outon Hall, the steam train which was used in the Harry Potter filmns running for rides and we even cat in one of the carriages used in the film too.

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Morphy Richards Products for Age UK – Never Loses Suction Lift Away Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Review / By

When the chaps over at Morphy Richards Home Innovators asked me if I would like to review one of their products which they had launched in partnership with Age UK, I knew immediately who I would offer the review to. My Brother has fantastic in laws and his mother and farther in law are in their eighties, so would be the perfect people to give any product a test run. So I am going to hand you over to my Brother (who can be found tweeting @Boroyouths).

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Listography – Mugs and Cups

8 Comments / tea / By

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a tea monster. I am obsessed with tea and all that comes with it, which means I have lots of teapots, as I use real tea a nd a lovely selection of mugs and cups. So I couldnt let this weeks listography pass me by.

Now I am rather lucky to be married to a fabulous man who brings me a cup of tea every morning in bed before he goes to work and as I am usually still asleep at 6.30am, he brings it in a travel mug, a) so it stays warm and b) so it doesn’t spill if the boys knock it.

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Family Film Night – Dolphin Tale

1 Comment / mini mads / By

Once a week we have a family film night in the Mad House. We all curl up on the sofa with our PJ’s on and watch a family movie with popcorn and drinks.
This week we watched Dolphin Tale. We never got the chance to see this at the local cinema, so it was new to us all and we loved it. It is the real life inspired story of Winter (the dolphin) who had to have her tale amputated due to infection after getting it caught in a crab trap. It features Harry Conick Jnr, which a lot of the ladies like, but I have to admit that it is Morgan Freeman that makes my heart miss a beat, however, it is Winter and the children who really steal the show.

We sat though the whole film and even had to pause it for comfort breaks, which doesn’t normally happen. It is an engaging, thought provoking and uplifting film and it even had me shedding a tear near the end. Yes it is schmaltzy, but it is the perfect family feel good film.

I can tell when my boys have enjoyed a film as it gets put on time after time and since receiving this they have watched it at least three times and we now have the winter webcam saved on the computer under favorites!

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