How Amazing are You?

In many parts of the world today is Mother's Day so I thought I would write a post about just how amazing mums are. 

I am constantly amazed at how much other mums achieve while I seem to be just about treading water, and that's on the days my daughter is well and I've had enough sleep to function. Some of the best "mummy bloggers" (excuse the term) blog daily and have multiple children. Just how do they manage that without neglecting their children or having the house trashed while they type up their posts?

The truth is that us mums are all amazing. I'm not really sure what I did before my daughter arrived but now as a full time working mother of a "spirited" child I feel like I spend all my time working, caring for my daughter or sleeping. I generally have an hour in the evening after dinner and, if I'm lucky, nap time at weekends for "me" time. In these 11 hours a week I have a choice of blogging, doing charity work, online shopping or cleaning/ tidying. Should I really be surprised that my house is pretty much in the same condition as when I moved in 2 years ago and that my blog is sadly neglected?

It's all about choices.

I tend to choose having a nap or going to sleep early over blogging.

I usually choose playing with my daughter over cleaning (although now she is older I can sometimes get her to help).

I definitely choose filling a spare 5 minutes with twitter rather than something productive.

I have chosen working full time over spending more time with my daughter.

Other people make different choices, but we all do our best to balance out our needs with those of our family. Although it often doesn't feel like it there is a big difference between what I achieve now and what I achieved each day before I was a mother. Now at the end of the day, when I am lying in bed and thinking back over everything I have done that day I have achieved a lot.

As a quick example this was my Saturday morning:

6am M woke up, I went in to the nursery and we cuddled and nursed for about 45 mins.

We got up, went downstairs and had breakfast.

While M was still eating and afterwards as she played in the kitchen with me I emptied the dishwasher, refilled it and did a load of washing up.

We then took dry clothes off the airer, got I dressed and went to the Post Office and Homebase (no shower yet, oops)

Homebase was surprisingly entertaining for M so we were there for a while.

When we got home we were in the car for about half an hour as M decided she wanted to pretend to drive instead of going into the house.

We played in the house for a while with M's dad and then my mum arrived for a visit.

My mum played in the garden with M while I painted some of the shed.

Lunchtime for M.

More granny playtime for M while I reattached the felt to the shed roof that blew off in a gale this week.

Midday aand naptime for M.  Phew

"Playing" in Homebase

Each day there will be a combination of things that I have to do, things that I do to keep me sane (twitter definitely falls into that category) and many things I have chosen to do. By ensuring the right balance of activities I feel happier, calmer and more productive.

I have adapted Stephen Covey's 4 Quadrants for the life of a mum (Covey 1989, The 7 habits of Highly Effective People)

 

Everything in Quadrant 1 takes priority, but with some planning becomes less stressful (eg planning meals). People tend to spend most of their time in this quadrant, but by spending more time in other areas it helps prevent burn out.

It is recommended that spending more time in Quadrant 2 can make us more productive.  By having a list it means I can plan and prioritise.  Ticking things off the list reminds me I have achieved something.  As an extra benefit my to do list is in a very nice notebook (a black moleskine, *love*).

Time in Quadrant 3 should be avoided. By reviewing which tasks normally fall into this quadrant you can identify what needs to be done, stop it if it's not needed or move it to quadrant 2 through planning.

In Quadrant 4 are the sort of activities that don't need to be done, but they can be used to have a break from everything else and recharge.

By expecting less from myself, planning more and reflecting I have realised that I am one of the amazing mums and I bet you are too.

What is it like living in absolute poverty?

Luckily for me and my family I don't know, but this week I am having a taste of what it might be like.  For 5 days all the food and drink I consume will come to no more than £5 a day.

When I signed up for this challenge by the Global Poverty Project I thought it was a great opportunity to spread awareness of absolute poverty and I am confident that I have done so.  Through sharing the challenge at work, home and with my friends I have got 100s of people talking about whether it is possible to live on £1 a day. Unfortunately due to rising costs of basics such as gas, electricity, water and accommodation many people are having less and less money to spend on other essentials  such as food and clothes.  There are many people who have no choice, but to make every penny go as far as they can.

I have just finished my shop for the week after spending several weeks planning and comparing prices at several supermarkets.  

Food glorious food

Here are my thoughts:

• Adding up and comparing prices in store takes ages: it took 2 hours for a week's shopping!
• Shopping for 5 days is hard because some items (such as oil) were too expensive to buy, but the cost could be spread over several weeks
• Cheap means less variety: often the value packets are larger size. Avoiding waste with fresh products can mean eating the same thing several days in a row.
• Shopping for 2 or more is cheaper and allows more variety.  Luckily my husband agreed to eat the same dinners as me so I could have more exciting food.

 Hints for saving money when shopping

• Shop around: there are large differences between supermarkets. I went to Tesco because their cheapest products (Everyday Value) were cheaper than Asda and Sainsburys for many products. I found this out by using comparison site www.mysupermarket.com
• Buy loose products: large packets of carrots may seem a bargain, but how many do you actually need? Most supermarkets have scales which allow you to calculate how much things cost.  Tesco made it super easy as they had an electronic scale which told you the cost (no maths required). It's not always cheaper, but it can be.
• While the meat counter allows you to have a piece cut to size the meat was better quality (and more expensive) than the cheaper packaged versions.  A cheaper option would be to buy a big pack and freeze some.
• Have a plan, but look for offers.  I had planned to buy a value pack of meatballs, but they had mince on offer.  I knew I had enough money to buy the more expensive option and thought it would be worth the "treat".

Some of my shop

My meal plan

Breakfast (just for me)

5 Eggs, 5 slices of toast, 2 sausages to be spread out for 5 days

9p per egg, 4p per slice of toast, 7p per sausage

Lunch (just for me)

Jam sandwiches on brown bread or left over dinner

7p + 3p = 10p per sandwich

Snacks (just for me)

Bananas x 4 (11 p each)

Rich tea biscuits  x 15 (1p each)

Dinner (for J and I)

Pearl barley in chicken stock with carrot and value sausages

20p, 2p, 12p, 28p = 62p or 31p per person

Penne in (ready made) pasta sauce, cheese, garlic bread

15p, 20p, 20p, 32p = 87p or 44p per person

Rice, kidney beans, onion and pork belly

10p + 21p + 5p + 90p = £1.26 or 63p per person

Spaghetti Bolognese (spaghetti, mince, passata and onion)

10p + 62p + 15p + 5p = 92p or 46p per person

Mushroom omelette followed by pancakes and tinned peaches

50p + 28p + 15p + 32p = £1.27 or 64p per person

I love food and having to spend so long planning every meal, cooking with few ingredients will be hard.  Most of all though I am worried about 5 days without chocolate.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me.  It means a lot and it is all going to support the work of Save the Children

I start tomorrow and you can sponsor me here :

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/essexkate

My Blogging Break

In my mind a "blogging break" conjures up something akin to an artist retreat, but unfortunately it was nothing so romantic that kept me quiet (on my blog) for the last few months. My life has been crazy busy over the last few months with work, life, volunteer work, studying. At the beginning of this year my mental to do list was so long that I spent more of my time feeling guilty that I wasn't doing half of it, than doing any of it. So I made a decision to reprioritise and one of the things that lost out was my blog.

I fully intended to post and say the reason for my absence, but as time drifted by it was one more thing on my to do list that didn't get done. Anyway, I'm back now.

I'm still super busy, but I've missed blogging. I'm determined not to let guilt get to me so I will blog when I can and not worry when I can't. My blog also has had a bit of a facelift.

Thank you for coming back and having a read: I hope to see more of you in the future (not in a naked way, well, probably not in a naked way...).

Love Kate x

15 reasons to love Kiddicare Lakeside

When I was pregnant I would have loved to have discovered this store: there are so many things to love about it.  It really has everything you might need to buy for your new baby including all the support and advice to decide what is right for your family. After you have had a look and play with everything you can purchase in confidence knowing that the price will be competitive.

Does it sound like I'm being paid to advertise the store? I'm not, although I was invited to come visit their brand new and huge store in Lakeside. The hospitality was great, but I genuinely have to say I loved the store due to the range, prices and all the little touches they have to make you smile.

What I love about Kiddicare

1) It's huge. If you ever visited their massive store in Peterborough Lakeside is even bigger.

2) It's not scary. Walking in to a huge store could be intimidating, especially if you are pregnant with your first and aren't really sure what you want, but it's not for loads of reasons (see below).

3) The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.  Before opening all new staff went through weeks of training (6 I think) to specialise in their bit of the store and get an overview of the rest. Kiddicare decided that wasn't enough though so while newly open they got experience staff from their Peterborough store to buddy up and help provide extra support.

4) If you want a little bit more help you can book their VIB (Very Important Baby) service; personal shopping in comfort. Book ahead if going at a peak time.

5) The range is fantastic, even at Baby Shows you are unlikely to see so many different makes and models. Unfortunately they don't have Bugaboo or iCandy pushchairs (currently) but with over 300 different models you wont miss them.

Try before you buy on the buggy test track

6) A dedicated car seat team will ensure your needs are met and will even take one out to make sure it fits in your car.  After purchase you can get them to fit the seat and make sure it is safe.

  

Just a selection of the car seats

7) When you need a break there is a cafe with plenty of fabulous high chairs, large tables for groups, sofas and a play area to keep your little ones entertained while you have a coffee or cake. 

The cafe and feeding nest

8) Whatever the age of your little one when they are hungry feeding them is stress free. Fabulous tasty lunch box options, kit to warm food/ formula and a feeding nest if your baby needs to be fed away from distractions.

The kids lunch box selection

9) It's great for socialising: large community tables in the cafe, a free tea or coffee (between 10 and 11am) and a free room you can hire for larger groups.

10) Lots of little touches: doors for your little person and for you to the changing room, 2 size toilets (in both the ladies and gents), plenty of places to rest your weary legs through out the store and a mirror to show you how many months pregnant you look (I'm about 5 months pregnant apparently).

"Mum and me" toilets

Special changing room entrance for smaller customers

11) Breastfeeding is welcomed any where, but the feeding nest provides privacy if required. With water and super comfy chairs you might prefer to get away from it all.  The breastfeeding section of the store is also well stocked. Obviously while no extra kit is required to breastfeed it is a nice touch to have anything you might want together (including my feeding cover of choice Bebe au Lait).

Nurse in comfort

If covers, breast pads and lanolin are your thing
find them in one place

12) A large store is great for browsing, but often you want to purchase online to save money.  One of my favorite features is the electronic price labels.  It allows them to quickly change the price to ensure they remain competitive. The price you see on Kiddicare online is the price you can expect to pay in store and if that isn't enough they have a 7 day price match and 25% of the difference promise.

13) They have computers around the store where you can check stock for larger items and arrange home delivery if you want.

14) The 365 day return policy means you can buy in pregnancy and not have to worry about returning items that aren't used (eg if you discover your pink baby is actually blue).

15) If you are buying for a present why not wrap it before you leave the store with the easy to use and free gift wrapping area?

That's a wrap

There are so many more things I could add.  It is a brilliant store with brilliant products and brilliant staff that are proud to be working there.

Kiddicare Lakeside opened in the old Best Buy store in December 2012. They are opening a number of new stores across the country: all huge, all fantastic.  If you are pregnant, have young children or know someone who has it is definitely worth a visit. There is plenty of parking, baby changing and everything else you would expect (and a lot you wouldn't).

New Kiddicare stores opening soon in: Rotherham, Liverpool, Southampton, Enfield, Bristol, Croydon and Hayes.

Silent Sunday