Curly & Candid

The Working Mum – Reorganising and prioritising

curlyandcandid — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:57:09 +0000

In short, I am knackered!
My Facebook status today says it all today:

Being a working parent can be tiring regardless of whether you are working at home for yourself or out of the home for someone else. First there is the guilt “Am I spending enough time with the kids?”, then “Am I a spending enough time with the Husband” and of course “Will my housework ever be up to date?”.
In recent months I have taken on extra work and responsibilities and my working hours have been extended, working from the crack of sparrow until last thing at night in a bid to ensure that I don’t interrupt the time with the family, but this isn’t something that I can maintain indefinitely. I’m a tad shattered to be honest and need to reorganise and re-prioritise my work.

When you work for yourself you don’t tend to work the recommended hours as set out as in the EU guidelines and you don’t have a boss telling to to slow down. What you do need to do is recognise your limitations and take time out every now and then to reassess. This is my advice to all of those working parents today who push themselves too hard… remember why you are working like a devil and enjoy the fruits of your labour more. Remember, we are only human!

For me, this week is about a fresh start, new (realistic) goals and starting to remember again why I’ve loved working from home for the past six years.

Bath time: Munchkin bath toys

curlyandcandid — Tue, 15 May 2012 05:24:22 +0000

Bath time in the Cawood house is all about fun (and of course getting clean!). We were offered a range of toys from the Munckin range to try out, and the boys loved them!

These Munchkin bath dunkers provided much fun and lots of laughter. Easily attached to tiles with suction cups you basically have bath basketball. The kids found this great fun and I was impressed with the ability to close the net afterwards via drawstring so that I could store the balls which come in the form of very cute coloured creatures.

Next up were these glowing Disco Lights Bath Tub Toys. These cute shapes that come in assorted designs literally light up and kept both boys occupied, searching under the bubbles for them. Again suction cups meant they could be attached to the side of the bath. I store ours in the bath dunker hoop.

The Munchkin Alphabet shapes were another big hit. The 17m old loved the colours, shapes and textures and spent ages handling them, and the eldest (5yr old), well as you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed sticking them to the tiles and spelling out words.

Last but not least we have the Munchkin Heat Sensing Bath Grippy Dots. The name says it all really, they change colour to alert the parent if the water is too hot and provide a valuable and attractive safety feature to reduce the risk of slipping in the bath.

In truth I hadn’t heard of the Munchkin range before it was sent out to me and further investigation on Kiddicare, one of my favourite sites for all things kid-related shows not just these items but a huge range of fun and useful products that can make family life easier.

Overall, the kids and the parents give this range a 9/10.

Bath time: Vosene anti dandruff

curlyandcandid — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:57:31 +0000

Recently a surprise package of Vosene shampoo arrived for us to use. I’m quite a big fan of Vosene, having been given and promptly getting hooked on their Kid’s shampoo with headlice repellant (Kieran has yet to *touch wood* catch headlice despite many in his class having suffered so I would say it does the job!).
These new shampoos are anti dandruff, and I received an anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner, anti dandruff for sensitive scalps and medicated anti-dandruff.

First up…. the medicated shampoo does not smell like the one with the same name that we used when we were kids. This still does the job but is less pungent. Roy liked this one and promptly nabbed the bottle.

The sensitive scalp one I used on the kids. Kieran has no dandruff but it is a perfectly good shampoo of it’s own accord and really is “good for all the family” as the label suggests. Taylor still gets a little cradle cap from time to time and this worked wonders at clearing it and not irritating his easily irritated skin.

The anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner I used for me. With my crazy curly hair I have to use a fair amount of product to keep it under control. This leads to build up and sometime a dry scalp. This shampoo cleared it right up and I found I didn’t need to use a separate conditioner, as I often do despite shampoos being two in one, as it was more than adequate as it was.

So – the Vosene has been thoroughly tested and we give the anti-dandruff range a 10/10 rating. We can’t fault it and would recommend it to anyone happily.

You can see more about this and the other products in the Vosene range here.

Over the shoulder boulder holder

curlyandcandid — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:30:52 +0000

Yes, the Girls need a new home.
I have always been a steel girder kinda girl as my Girls are fat and lazy and refuse to sit where they were when I was a teenager. I need a mini crane and NASA grade elastic to keep them where they should be and to fight the soul destroying gravity.

Well it seems that the Girls have decided that underwire is longer for me as I’m not comfy any more and nothing spells out snarky bitch out better than Nicki with sore boobs.
Soooo… what to do? I have worn underwired for so long I’m not sure I have a lot of faith in anything else but sure there is a bra out there that will not cost me an absolute fortune, support the Girls and continue the good fight against the downwards plunge.

I have considered sports bras even, though many I’ve looked at seem to be visible around the neckline of my t shirts? I’ve looked at hundreds, I’ve tweeted about my boob-rehoming dilemma and have a few good recommendations. As the majority of women I know do wear an over the shoulder boulder holder I thought I’d pick your brains. What do you wear? Where do you buy them?

My girls need your help!

(Also, what do you call yours? Don’t be shy – men name their junk all the time! I’m just curious / nosy. I’ve always called mine The Girls, but I know someone who refers to her ample bosom as Fred and Wilma. The Girls seems better when talking bras in Tesco than tits, although tits does have a ring to it. What do you call yours?).

Reorganising my home

curlyandcandid — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:16:54 +0000

Tomorrow will be a very happy day for me.
It isn’t my birthday or our anniversary, however I already know tomorrow is going to be a good day.
Tomorrow Roy is taking the boys out for the day and is leaving me with black binbags, boxes and a burning need to declutter and reorganise the house.

My house is a three bedroomed home that was built in 1880. I love my home, I love it’s location, I loathe the lack of storage. Tomorrow’s mission is to declutter like I have never decluttered before, move and re-purpose furniture and make the house more user friendly for want of a better description.

It will be dusty, it will no doubt involve some swearing but it will be worth it! I’ve been doing bits and pieces regularly but tomorrow is the biggie. After tomorrow smaller changes will be made and things will be reviewed so here is where I am asking for your input. What are your key pieces of advice for making your home more organised? I work from home so it is doubly frustrating to spend/waste time looking for things that are needed. Do you label? Do you have one of these magical home files I keep hearing about, do you have a nifty way of doing something? Tell me more!

The declutter and reorganise quest has started but is clearly far from complete!

Living room makeover results

curlyandcandid — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:39:58 +0000

You may remember that I posted a while ago about using prepaid debit cards for budgeting? Basically I was given £100 on a prepaid card by Moneysupermarket to makeover my living room, test out the card, its functions and have a bit of fun. I just had to make sure that anything I bought was under RRP.

And here is the result…..
(Excusing rubbish photography!)

Before the makeover I had a pink print on the wall over the armchair, and white (or not so white) cushions. It looked tired and boring.

My first purchase was this set of cushions from TerrysFabrics. I went for a mix and match effect as I didn’t want a block of colour, but some variety.

Next up were these lovely curtains. To be fair the pictures don’t do them justice. Again these were on sale from a local shop, CB furnishings in Thirsk.

The new wall art was from an Ebay shop, Unique Home Frames Design and to be honest I was hard-pushed to choose as they had some lovely things to choose from. As this was won with a “make an offer” bid it could also be considered under RPP.

A £100 later and a three key bits and pieces have made a big difference.
After the challenge I went on to add a few more things to what has become a labour of love.
This rug was just £36.00 from Achica which is an online site where you can get items at ridiculously low prices. It should have been twice that.

This personalised toy storage bag came from Precious Parcels and was also a bit of a bargain as it had 20% in their Sunday Sale which runs every week. It’s great for putting away toys!

Little changes have made a big difference and the room looks much better already. Clearly there is still a lot to do..

The aim for this room is to mount a flat screen on the chimney breast and better utilise the right-side alcove, any ideas on how would be much appreciated, and I am currently stalking pinterest for inspiration. The fireplace needs a tart up and something needs doing with Roy’s computer desk, but the room looks much better and I am grateful to Moneysupermarket for getting me started. The project started on a budget and I plan to continue the same way.

So, what do you think? Any ideas for sorting that far wall? And what do you think of my colour scheme?

Dear So and So: April 20th 2012

curlyandcandid — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:59:57 +0000

Dear Fashion World.
Why, when bra shopping, do all of the decent not-too expensive bras have padded cups.
Really? At DD do I look like I need padding?
Steel girders is what I need,
NASA grade anti-gravity technology is what I need,
Padding, I do not.
Love her who can only assume the padding is to keep the *girls* warm in this unpredictable British climate.

Dear Rain

Kieran reminded me of a lovely rhyme to make you go away and come back another day.
It never worked when I was a kid so I’m trying my own version…
“Rain, rain…. piss off!”.
Love her who loves the rain really but not on the school run or for seven days solid.

Dear Taylor
Poor man! First a severe ear infection, then cutting back teeth, then a nasty allergic reaction to the antiobiotics you had for the ear infection leaving you looking like you have measles and more teeth.
You really are having a crap fortnight darling, I hope it gets better soon.
Love Mummy xxxx

Dear Kieran
Well done sunshine, you rocked this week’s swimming lesson. The practicing we’ve been doing has helped!
Just a minor point though…
Telling the little girl in your swimming class there “is no such word as can’t” and “You just need to practice more and you’ll get it” sounds better coming from my mouth to you, than your mouth to someone else.
Love Mummy xx
(Who is hoping she doesn’t get duffed up in the changing room by an angry 4yr old)

Dear Garage
Thanks for letting me book our car in for the MOT.
Thanks (again) for deciding not to ring me as instructed with the result and instead opt to wait to speak to “the man of the house”.
Thanks (read with increasing sarcasm) for sounding shocked when I rang you to see if there was an update and actually talking to me (a woman!) about it,
Thanks (dripping with sarcasm here) for starting the conversation with “Well… there is a fair bit of work to do, it could be costly”.
All the same, thanks (genuinely) for managing to find a way to do it for £300 ish, I expected it to be much more.
Love her who has brains and breasts and hates MOT time x

Dear Council
Sending men with lawnmowers to cut the grass on the Flatts at 9pm at night in the pitch black.
Really? It took me ages to work out what the noise was.
And also, why so late?
Is it cheaper to cut grass wonky at night than straight during the day? If so keep it up and reduce my council tax, if not…. pack it the hell in, it’s annoying!
Nicki

The Working Mum- My full proof plan for working during the holidays (or not)

curlyandcandid — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:09:13 +0000

We’ve just had two week off school for Easter.

Fortunately I had airtight plans in place that would enable me to continue to work and have both kids at home, and still do loads of exciting and education activities. We had plans for outdoor activities for exercise and fresh air and much more besides.

At the start of the holidays I was all very excited. I had reduced some of my work for the fortnight and set up an uber-organised plan for when I would be free and when it was kiddie time.

Seriously? How optimistic was that? In fairness I was asking for something to go a bit wrong. And it did.
First of all there was the weather. Wet, windy, dark, cold…. I had forgotten to factor in April showers.

Then there was illness. Kieran was ill for four days, Taylor spend a week cutting back teeth (in a very disturbingly clingy and tearful way – Kieran’s just popped through so worries, poor Taylor was past himself!) and then to add insult and injury Taylor got a rip-roaring ear infection. My poor children!

Lets just say that my uber-plan was recycled and used to make a paper airplane and everything ground to a halt. There was no way I could do any more than basic admin during the day so I ended up working stupidly long evenings and starting very early (i.e. before the cuckoo) to get everything done.
It may not have gone to plan exactly but all the work got done, the kids were well looked after and the house has even stay almost tidy. Not bad going really.

The beauty of being freelance for me is that I can pick up extra work when required, lower my workload if necessary and can work whatever hours I like so that I can be truly flexible to fit in with the needs of the family, the home, and my own schedule outside of work.

Airtight isn’t airtight when you have kids and we may not have stuck to “The Plan” but we had fun and spent lots of quality time together. I think I’ll stop with the super organised plans for holiday times in the future and just go with the flow!

And when I really did need to do something... I could just pop the kids into storage

Using pre-paid debit cards for budgeting

curlyandcandid — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:57:04 +0000

I posted previously about how the lovelies from Moneysupermarket had offered to send me a pre-paid Mastercard topped up with £100 to use for what I wanted, as long as everything I bought was under RRP. Obviously I wasn’t going to say no!
I decided to use the funds as my budget for tarting up my living room and my mission is complete. Not only do I have some lovely new and shiny items in my living room but I also have first hand experience of using one of these cards.

The card I was sent was a Freedom Prepaid Mastercard.

About pre-paid cards.
Despite coming from Mastercard and similar companies, these cards have no credit facility and are not linked to your bank account. They are a card that can be topped up online, via bank transfer, at the Post Office and at selected Pay Points.

Where can you use pre-paid cards?
You can use these cards pretty much anywhere you would use a normal debit card. You get your own pin number for use in shops, and the cards have the same information as you would find on a bank card so can be used online. I even added my card to eBay and used it without any problems.
You can also withdraw cash from your card at any ATM using your pin number.

Fees
There are many prepaid cards on the market and they all have different fees.

For the purpose of this campaign I chose the Pay As You Go option. Clearly if you use a card regularly for multiple purchases it is better to pay a monthly fee but for a situation like this, where you are setting a budget to do something i.e. a project or perhaps Xmas shopping, the PAYG option is probably best.

Ease of Use
I found the card very easy to use. The only issue I had was with one retailer where the name and billing address didn’t quite add up but I can’t blame the retailer or the card for this in truth, it was a circumstance of having a card registered by someone else and sent out rather than getting my own and registering it in my name. The one thing that is worth mentioning is that when this retailer put the transaction through again I was charged an additional transaction fee.

How can you keep track of what you have spent?
It is easy to check your ongoing balance online. I found that the balance was updated pretty much instantly after anything was spent and it didn’t take long for an itemised summary of what I’d spent, where and any transaction fees to be updated.

Are they worth using?
I would say absolutely yes. I am something of an interior design tart and find it easy to get carried away with beautiful things. Having my budget separate to my own account meant that I was much more careful with the spending, more aware of what I had spent and couldn’t “accidentally” go over budget. For a project such as a room makeover, new clothes, Christmas shopping and in fact anything that you want to budget for and not be able to easily dip into the savings or bank account (like many can do when putting money aside in an account) it is an ideal solution.

And the makeover?
You’ll have to wait until I have everything properly put together and tarted up to see it all so you can look forward to another interior design post but from my £100 I managed to get new curtains (thanks to CB Furnishings, Thirsk), 6 gorgeous coordinating cushions (From TerryFabrics who I have to say have fantastic customer service skills) and a lovely print from Unique Home Designs Framestore’s Ebay shop. All were very easy to deal with, provided great service and had items under RRP (or Best Price on eBay) so fitted in perfectly with this budget challenge.

Thanks to Moneysupermarket for asking me to run this mini-makeover challenge. Not only have I had enormous fun, I have learnt a lot.

A sneaky peak!

Interior design, Dulux, New Colours and the Ideal Home Show

curlyandcandid — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:23:11 +0000

Interior design shows, peeking at people’s houses via estate agent websites and similar obsessions are all things that make me ridiculously happy.

One of these days I will take my love of interior design one step further and actually manage to get to the Ideal Home show. New colours, new styles and more for me to bask in. It sounds heavenly.

Until that day comes I will keep myself going with updates from those that did attend. Dulux sent me a sneaky peak at some of the new colours they chose to highlight at the show this year so I thought I’d share them with you! At the show Dulux took over Santiago House to produce the largest show home exhibition ever seen. Their colour experts used a variety of trends and colour combinations to show an array of contemporary living spaces.

[[Show as slideshow]]

When I do get my bottom in gear and get organised enough to get to the Ideal Home show I’m planning on taking the lovely Karen who kick-started my love of interior design. I just haven’t told her yet! Has anyone reading this been to the show? Is it as good as it sounds? From the pictures sent by Dulux alone I expect the whole event is like the interior design fan’s personal version of heaven. Do let me know if you’ve been and how you found it!

For more details on the new shades visit the Dulux website.

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