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.

Simple Learning Games and Aids for Remote Learning

Remote Learning is hard, especially as we don’t have all the resources and learning aids that they are used to having in their classrooms at school. So I have pulled together some simple learning games and aids for remote learning that might help you and your kids whilst supporting them at home in their education.

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Candle Making for Beginners

I love candles, they bring so much warmth and glowing light especially over our dark winters. However due to my candle addiction I was left with a lot of empty candle jars and rather than keep buying more candles, I decided to have a go at candle making and making my own container jar candles.

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Simple Lunch Ideas Perfect for Family Meals: Quick and Delicious Recipes

These simple lunch ideas are perfect for family lockdown lunches. One of the most monotonous, but essential things about parenting is the constant feeding and adding lunches to the menu means it has become even more of a challenge. Family Lunch Ideas I am not going to lie, I have a love-hate relationship with feeding

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