Goodbye to Summer 2012

On our way to the Queen’s Jubilee Thames Pageant!

Wow what a year! I think this will go down as one of the most memorable years in our life times! I have thoroughly enjoyed all the celebrations this summer from the Jubilee right through to the Paralympics! On top of that I have obviously been enjoying my first summer with a son and, not sure how, but I have launched a new business!

I am so excited that Timeless Treasures Boutique online store went live last week. I have been travelling around Buckinghamshire with my stock all summer, setting up my pop up shop and promoting the business. Now finally the main shop is open for trading 24 hours

Friars Square Shopping Centre, Aylesbury

a day, 7 days a week. My facebook page is starting to get a good following and I was able to take orders from it while the site was in production. It has been incredibly hard work, but very rewarding. I was a bit naive and thought that someone helped put all the text together for websites, not realising that I would have to pen every word myself. I of course now understand why and in retrospect wouldn’t want it any other way. After all it is my baby, my dream, my reality and it needs to represent my thoughts and passion for the products.

The products, that has been the most exciting bit for me I think. Buying all my favorite things and creating a collection to share with the world. I adore traditional Children’s clothes and toys. Without sounding old before my time, I truly believe they don’t make things like they used too. Everything to me seems so grown up now. My 9 year old wants a kindle for heavens sake, what happened to curling up in an over sized arm chair with a copy of Mallory Towers?!?!?! I know there are people out there, like myself, who want to keep their babies innocence as long as possible and share with them toys and memories of their own childhood. That is what I have based my business around. I have looked for products that remind me of my childhood and things I have heard my parents and Grandparents talk about. I have also tried to stock as many Fairtrade products as possible as that is also very important to me. I am really thrilled to also have included handmade items that are made by very talented British crafters to give it a more personal feel. I still have a very long way to go, but so far so good.

Unfortunately though it is time to say goodbye to the summer. As I sit here I feel the autumn chill in the evening air and will be heading off to hunt out my slippers in a moment. I hope you have had a fantastic summer whatever you have done! I think it has to be said that at this moment in my life I am extremely proud to be British!

Spirits are visiting…

Now some of you are going to think I am completely mad and others may be freaked out by this, but you know me, I like to share, and being a believer in the after life it doesn’t worry me in the slightest!

There have been some strange things going on in my home over the last couple of weeks. As you have probably gathered I have put it down to a visit from the spirit world. Having a Sister, Brother, Grandmother, Grandfather, Uncle and Mother-in-law all in the spirit world I am quite convinced one of them have been to see us.

The incidence that has touched me the most was when I put Noah down for a nap in his crib upstairs. It was quite warm so I decided not to snuggle him in with his blanket and just laid it very loosely over his legs. After about 5 minutes he started to moan a little and gradually began to cry, as I went to get up, he stopped, I waited for a moment to see if he was going to start again but it went quiet so I left him. Half an hour later I decided to go and check on him and when I went in the room he was almost perfectly swaddled in the blanket that I had left loosely laying over his legs. I was shocked and then started questioning myself. Had I done that and just not remembered – the thing is I would never of wrapped him like that and it was so neatly done that you could not really imagine him wriggling himself into that position in the blanket. Anyway he slept contented and I am more than happy at the thought of one of our loved ones watching over him and making sure he is safe.

Other things have happened too. The most prominent one being that we have a children’s table and chairs in the playroom and the girls have a tendency to move the chairs into the kitchen so they can climb up and reach things. It really annoys me as they always just leave the chairs when they have got wha they want. Anyway, normal day, walk into the kitchen to find small chair in front of the fridge. Had my normal moan about ‘if you move the chairs can you put them back when you are finished’, whilst I placed the said chair back at the little table in the playroom. We then got our coats and headed out. When we returned the chair was in the middle of the playroom! No one had been in the house since I put the chair back.  To confirm it wasn’t just me, Ella questioned what the chair was doing there, and how did it get there as she had watched me put it back. No reason why it would be moved other than someone wanted to let us know they had been there I believe!

I have had experiences like this for years and am very happy with my believes about these events. It brings me great comfort from such sad losses. I know some believe it is all in my mind and there is a perfectly reasonable explanation as to how these things actually happened, but for me this is what I want to believe. I tell my children too as I don’t want them to be scared or worried about the prospect of ghosts and spirits. I think because they hear me talk about it and see how at ease I am about it all it is perfectly normal to them. I have always been very open about death and my believes about where we go and why we leave this earth that they just take it in their stride. I don’t want it to be a taboo or sad topic in our home and I want to open the door for the girls to come to be about their worries around this subject. I grew up with a massive fear of death and dying and remember how torturous it was. I don’t want them to grow up before their time, but I want them to be fearless of things that are beyond our control.

The 3rd child

Are 3rd children always easy or have I just been remarkably lucky? I pinch myself every day at the moment as I cannot believe what an angel my Noah is! He has slept for 11 hours a night since he was 7 weeks old. He has 3 sleeps during the day, he just smiles all the time when he is awake, he really is no trouble. It is like there isn’t a baby in the house. I don’t want to tempt fate, as there is no sign of teeth yet, but he really does appear to be the perfect baby!

I keep thinking about this and can’t decide if it is the fact he is a boy and they are different to girls, it’s just his personality or if it is down to the fact that I am older and more relaxed as a Mother, or if it is simply because he has had to fit in around a very established family of 4! Whatever it is, it is amazing and has made my, very unexpected, return to the world of babies a fantastic experience. I had no desire to have another child and now I am so grateful that fate took control and brought us Noah. It has changed the dynamics of our family for the better and I truly believe it was meant to be. I would even consider going for number 4 now!

Starting a business

To add to my  juggling act I have decided to start a new business. I already run a Smallprint franchise, which I love, but I have always wanted a shop! However, my business brain tells me that now, in the grips of a recession, it is not the right time to open a shop especially with High Street retailers closing almost daily at the moment. So instead I have chosen to launch my new venture as an online Boutique! I am having great fun, but man I didn’t know what I was letting my self in for. I want to do it alone, which is great as I don’t have to consider anyone elses thoughts, ideas or opinions, but the downside is I have to do EVERYTHING myself. Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining at all as I am loving every minute, but I do wish I had a little Fairy that would appear and just do little mundane tasks that I keep putting off.

Anyway, I finally decided that my business would be known as Timeless Treasures Boutique! In a nutshell I will be selling Traditional (timeless) children’s Toys, Clothing and Accessories. To be true to my values and believes my business is going to be family run for families and my products will be Fairtrade and Ethically sourced. I have even sourced a couple of local crafts people to make bespoke products just for us!

I have been really lucky and been included in a project run by my local photographers Peachy Pics they are supporting 60 local businesses by taking their photo with a product and promoting them around the area for free. This is my fab picture! It was perfect timing for me and helps me raise awareness of my business. I feel the picture captures what I am all about. I am in the picture to represent it being a family run business, my favourite products are in the picture so people have an idea about what kind of products we sell and I love the black and white and colour mix as it screams timeless, classic and quality!

Please help me build my empire and spread the word about my business www.timelesstreasuresboutique.co.uk you can also follow me on FB and Twitter where I will share promotion information, new stock arriving and information and articles about my products. Please, please, please like me and share with everyone you know x

Hartbeeps Babybells

Tuesday has quickly become my favourite day of the week thanks to Hartbeeps Babybells! Noah and I attend a class at Wendover Woods every Tuesday lunch time and it is the best hour of our week. The sessions are fun, interactive and informative. Noah smiles the whole way through and loves looking at the other babies. I have also really enjoyed getting out and meeting some Mums with babies the same age as Noah as most of my friends all have children the same age as my girls.

Hartbeeps run different sessions for different age groups. Babybells is for babies who are not on the move yet. It incorporates a bit of baby masage and some signing too and naturally lots of singing. Our teacher, Caroline, is really enthusiastic and makes everyone feel really welcome. As it is a session for young babies it is not totally full on and during the 50 minutes there are pauses where the Mums can talk and Caroline shares her wealth of knowledge about babies. Being a Mum herself she also  has lots of funny stories to share about her boys which makes it a very relaxed and friendly environment. The sessions are baby lead so if your little one needs a feed or change during the session there is no problem at all with you just stopping and doing what you need to. I have to say I have never attended a group like this. Hartbeeps wasn’t around when I had my girls, we did various things with the girls but nothing that was as fun or relaxed as this. I have purchased the CD so I can do some of the activities at home with Noah as he really responds to the music. Being only 17 weeks I can’t really sit and play with him as such, but Hartbeeps has given me inspiration to use puppets and music to entertain him with. I really feel like I have his attention when we play the music or attend the sessions and he seems really stimulated by it. After the session he is always very tiered and sleeps for about 2 hours. Thankfully it doesn’t affect his night-time sleep routine.

I would highly recommend Hartbeeps sessions to anyone with a baby or small child. Everyone gets a free taster session and then you can sign up for a half term, or if you are like me, go straight in and book the whole term. I was in no doubt that I wanted to keep going so I booked the term in advance and got a CD for free. The teachers sell the puppets and music that are used in the class, if you are interested, but they are not in any way pushy with it. You often find money off vouchers or leaflets about other baby businesses at the sessions so it is also a good source for information. Check out their website for your local classes www.hartbeeps.com Also check with your Sure Start centre as some of them run free Hartbeeps sessions where you can sign up for a mini course for free.

It’s a 10/10 rating from Noah and I x

The Exclusive to Mum Club!

Of late I have noticed that there seems to be a list of chores that have become exclusive to me – as in I am the only one that ever does them. I’m not quite sure when this happened but as I reached for the overflowing bin last night it dawned on me that no matter how full it is no one ,except me, ever puts it out anymore. The more I thought about it the more the list grew;

Ironing

Feeding the cat

Changing the cat litter tray

Putting a new toilet roll in the bathroom

Emptying the bins in the house

Putting the recycling out

Emptying the dishwasher

Washing the clothes

Hanging clothes in the wardrobes

Watering the plants

Making pack lunches

Emptying dirty lunch boxes

Putting shoes away

Putting the clean pans back in the cupboard (Mr BB does wash them)

I am sure there are more, but I don’t like to go on! Now I just need to work out how to get myself out of this exclusive club or get some new members to join! Lol x

the Zooball returns!

You may recall the tragic day when Madison wouldn’t listen to Mummy and insisted on taking her Zooball to school. Well today, 7 weeks after the event, the Zooball has come home!

Madison came out of school thrilled that the lost Zooball had been found by a fellow classmate on the playground today. She said ‘I had to wash it 3 times Mummy cos it was really dirty, but it’s alright!’ As I tucked her into bed tonight she said ‘Mummy god really must exist as I prayed my Zooball would be found and it was!’ Well I can’t argue with that. Faith has been restored in the Baldwin Biggs house hold tonight. Ironically Faith was the name of the child that found the lost Zooball, funny old world we live in!-,

End of the road for Multi-tasking!

Last week I read an article about the downside of multi-tasking and it has played on my mind ever since. I would class myself as a professional multi-tasker. I always have my laptop on, my iphone in my pocket, a load of washing on, the radio playing and piles of paperwork that I dip in and out of whilst cooking dinner. The article basically said that multi-tasking leads to dissatisfaction in life and your children feeling ignored and in turn growing up in a world where it is acceptable to hold a conversation with someone whilst checking your emails!

I am very guilty of being on the laptop or texting whilst listening to the children talk about their day. I think multi-tasking in my house has gone mad and since reading about the effects it could have on the children I have felt a bit deflated and unsatisfied. The problem I have is nothing ever gets finished because I have so many things on the go at once. I never stop and I literally job from one task to another without thinking.

Although I have always been proud of my multi-tasking skills I think it is time to take it down a notch and try mono-tasking. My plan is to make a list of things I need to achieve during the week and allocate time to each task and make sure that when doing that task I don’t get distracted by the washing, or the email. Most importantly I am going to dedicate the hours of 3.30 – 8 pm to my children. Give them my full attention and enjoy spending time with them instead of being frustrated at the constant interruption. Sounds easy, but breaking bad habits is always hard!

Can’t beat Spaghetti Bolognaise

I love to cook and always try to cook from scratch rather than using pre made sauces and marinades. I am a big Jamie Oliver fan and have most of his books. Spaghetti Bolognaise is one of my favourite dishes to make as the kids love it! It is quick and easy and if you make extra you can freeze it for another day, so great time saver!

When I make bolognaise I always use Jamie’s recipe for “Kinda Spaghetti Bolognaise” from his book “Happy Days with the Naked Chef”  –  serves 4. I have put the recipe below and if you have never tried it I highly recommend that you do.

10 slices Pancetta or smoked streaky bacon rashers, sliced
1 handful of rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped
olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
455gr/1 lb  chuck steak, minced, or best minced beef
1 wineglass of red wine
1 level teaspoon dried oregano
1x 400gr/14oz tin of tomatoes
1 x 200gr/7oz tube tomato puree, or 1 small jar of sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
455gr/1 lb dried spaghetti
1 handful of fresh basil
2 handfuls of grated Parmesan or strong Cheddar cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas4.

In a large hot pan that can go in the oven, fry the pancetta and rosemary in a little olive oil until lightly golden.  Then add the onion and garlic and fry for a further 3 minutes until softened before adding the minced beef.  Stir and continue frying for 2 or 3 minutes before adding the wine.  Reduce slightly, then add the oregano, all the tomatoes and the tomato puree.  Season well to taste, bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper or a lid and place in the pre-heated oven for an hour and a half. 

If I don’t have a lot of time I just do this on the hob and let it simmer for 20 minutes and it is just as good. I watched a cookery programme recently that said that there is no dish in Italy that is the equivalent of Spaghetti Bolognaise. There is a traditional Ragu sauce but it would not be served with spaghetti as it would not coat the pasta so it would be served with tagliatelle. Since watching this I have always served mine with tagliatelle and have to say it is much better. When mixed the sauce coats the pasta and some how seems less greasy. This recipe is a really rich sauce so you don’t need a massive portion, but it goes down a treat in my house with a bit of cheese grated on top and lots of garlic bread!

Quick tip – I don’t know about you but if I have to open a bottle of wine to cook with I often end up drinking the rest of it when I don’t really need to – or if I’m not in a drinking mood it can sit on the side and turn before I get round to enjoying it. My tip to prevent this is when you have a bottle of white or red wine open fill an ice-cube tray with some and pop it in the freezer (or if you have a bottle open that you aren’t going to finish do this rather than let it go to waste). Then the next time you are making a dish that needs wine, just go to the freezer and grab a couple of your wine ice cubes. Simple x

There are so many variations on this sauce that I would love to hear what your families favourite is and how you serve yours?

Ronald McDonald House Charities

As a treat today I took the girls to McDonald’s for lunch as I had had to drag them round the shops. As we were sitting eating I noticed a member of staff moving between the tables trying to sell something. My heart sunk as I hate sales people approaching you when shopping and even worse when eating. I kept my head down, but she was a woman on a mission and she wasn’t going to pass our table without giving it her best shot. I had already decided that it was a No from me, that is until she started talking! She was selling a lapel pin badge to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charity.  Hopefully most people will not know too much about this charity (that sounds strange, but I mean from an experience aspect), but I know only too well about it as I have used their facilities on a number of occasions. I instantly felt guilty about trying to avoid her gaze and reached straight for my purse. The woman was elated as she hadn’t had much success. She went on to tell me that today she had only sold a couple but the day before she had sold 68! I brought 2, one for each of the girls. She asked me if I knew anything about the charity so I went on to tell her how I had stayed in the house at Kings College Hospital in London when Ella had 3/4 of her Liver removed when she was 5 months old. Ella was in the high dependency unit so I wasn’t allowed to stay on the ward with her. If it wasn’t for the Ronald McDonald House I would have have to of gone home at the end of each day which would have been torture so probably would have ended up costing me a fortune in hotel bills.

For those of you who don’t know about the charity, it raises money to operate a home from home house on, or as near as possible, to hospitals with Children’s high dependency units. The house is there for the family to use, for free, as a base while their child is in hospital . It is an amazing facility to be able to offer a family with a sick child and the houses are maintained to an exceptional standard. They are normally large houses that have en suite rooms and then a shared kitchen and lounge area. I stayed in the house for just over a week. It meant I could get a proper nights sleep but was only across the road from the hospital if I need to get to Ella quickly. It also meant I could make myself a proper meal and meet other parents and families who were going through a similar thing. It was a great comfort and meant I had one less thing to worry about.

I am ashamed to say I hadn’t thought about the charity, or the fantastic work they do, for some years now. But after today I am very keen to help spread the word and would ask everyone that if you are approached to purchase one of these pins then please give your £1 and help families in their darkest hour. If not then go to their website and donate online. We never know when we will need this kind of support and from experience I assure you it is something that you will be so grateful of if you ever need it.

We were in the High Wycombe McDonald’s and the money they raise this week will go towards the house at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. If you local restaurant isn’t collecting at the moment please visit the site and she how you can get involved!