What makes a great mum?

>> Monday, 31 October 2011

Hmmm, tough question.
Is it someone who listens, or shows infinite tolerance and understanding?
Or is it someone who bends over backwards to make their children's lives something special?
Is it someone who is selfless or empathetic to all or who shows their young charges how to be better people?
Is it someone prepared to roll down a grassy hill wearing their best coat to show their little ones how to do it.
Or maybe it's all of these things rolled into one?

Well, after being asked to help judge Tesco's Mum of the Year competition (a bloody difficult task, let me tell you) it got me to thinking, really, what makes a great mum?
In all my years of blogging I've read many many posts from very different people struggling with the whole parenting thing. Am I doing it right, am I worthy, am I fit to be a mother, do I have it in me?
In my humble opinion it's not about getting it right, it's about trying to get it right.

So I decided to ask a bunch of my blogging friends what they thought . . .
And here is what they said.

PS: Try not to giggle at Rosie Scribble's effort
PPS: Sorry Fenngirl couldn't sort her sound out
PPS: Thank you so so much to all who took part. Credits below.



www.katetakes5.blogspot.com
www.englishmum.com
www.marisworld.co.uk
www.witwitwoo.co.uk
www.babylonlanetales.com
www.howilikemycoffee.blogspot.com
www.christinemosler.wordpress.com
www.potty-diaries.blogspot.com
www.expatmum.blogspot.com
www.violetposy.co.uk
www.redtedart.com
www.dulwichdivorcee.com
www.sandycalico.blogspot.com
www.rosiescribble.typepad.com
www.mumrara.blogspot.com
www.arewenearlythereyetmummy.com
www.amodernmother.com
www.cafebebe.co.uk
www.mummyslittlemonkey.blogspot.com
www.mummy-tips.com
www.littlemummy.com
www.battlingon.wordpress.com
www.northernmum.wordpress.com
www.itsasmallworldafterallfamily.com
www.jobeaufoix.com
www.fenngirl.co.uk
www.stickyfingers1.blogspot.com

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What's the point of children climbing trees?

>> Sunday, 30 October 2011




I heard of someone asking this question recently.
Seriously? If you need to ask that question you're in big trouble. Or your kids are in trouble because they're going to miss out on so much. That sense of soaring achievement when you reach the top branches. Having scratched arms and grazed knees but knowing you did something fab to get them.

The person in question also couldn't see the value in grubbing under Horse Chestnut trees for their fruits then playing conkers with them.
I wonder if his kids have ever rolled down a hill or built a den in the woods from sticks and leaves found on the canopy floor? Or ran down a snowy hill at full pelt then fallen face first in the fluffy stuff?

This is nature's playground and it is there for our children to grow up in and explore and just 'do'.
There is no point of climbing trees really, but it feels bloody good.

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Skylanders have taken over my son

>> Saturday, 29 October 2011

Dan was sent the new Skylanders starter pack for the Wii and basically we haven't seen him since.
I'm told it's one of the 'must have' toys for this Christmas and all I've heard from him all week is "so cool" and "sick" (which I'm also told is a good thing) and that he's told every one of his friends that they have to have one too.

The Skylanders are basically plastic characters that come to life. Or at least, you pop them on the Portal of Power and they 'leap' into the Wii game.
Unfortunately there are 30 characters to collect . . .
And you can also take them to you're friends' house and your characters remember all their upgrades etc - no matter what gaming system you play it on.

Billed as 'action figures with brains' it freaks the hell out of me, but the 8 year old tells me it's "wicked".
High praise indeed.

And with that, I'll basically let the photos do the talking.






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The Photo Gallery: Week 80

>> Friday, 28 October 2011

Hello and welcome to week 80 of The Gallery.

This weekend I want you to think about me!
Or at least my initial: For this week's theme is: The Letter T.

Oooo, toughie!
It can be a 'thing' (tomatoes, tent, tarantula, tongue), a person, a feeling, a place, a time.
It's time to get those little grey cells flexing again!

Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about finding excuses to use them again, sparking your imagination, inspiring.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Come back on Wednesday to add your link when The Gallery post goes up. Then visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with.
The link stays open for a week so it doesn't matter if you can't post on Wednesday.

Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.
You will get out of this what you put into it.
Appreciate the wonderful words and photos that are opening themselves up to you.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday, so don't worry if you don't manage to post your photo on Wednesday.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.
Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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How October half term is supposed to be

>> Thursday, 27 October 2011

The sun came out so we headed out to climb trees, fly a kite, practice rugby kicks and then came home to a big ole roast dinner.
Ruddy perfect.
And yes, there is a gratuitous tree shot. What of it?












And then we got home and find this beauty on our doorstep: A Mega Hi Tower kindly sent to us from Garden Games.
Roll on next summer I say!

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Christmas? In October? Don't mind if I do thank you Hotel Chocolat

When someone offers to send you this in the post you forgo all your moaning about Christmas stuff being in the shops in October and the fact that we haven't even got Halloween or Bonfire Night, or my birthday for that matter, out of the way yet.
When Hotel Chocolat calls you say yes.
Nom. Nom. Nom.




Hotel Chocolat Christmas Stocking with Tiddly White Santas, Milk Chocolate Drops, Milk Chocolate Reindeer, Cool Penguin 100g Slab.
Or should I say there WERE Tiddly White Santas, Milk Chocolate . . . .
.

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The Photo Gallery: Faces

>> Wednesday, 26 October 2011



Kids.
You know, they grow up so fast.
One minute they're loud, demanding toddlers totally dependent on you, the next they're young people on the verge of teendom, with a sense of humour, a desire for independence - and a wicked personality.
And I wonder just how many of the features he has now will travel with him through to adulthood?

As I was taking this photo for my 'Faces' theme, I say 'Dan, give me a handsome yet grown up smile'.
Still think he's handsome mind you . . .

This post for for week 79 of The Gallery: Faces.
If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.

And don't forget, there is a most fabulous prize up for grabs this week - a Kodak Pulse Digital Frame, worth £164.99. I have one and it's brilliant. BRILLIANT I tell you.
This 10-inch touchscreen frame has it's own custom email address so you can easily send any new photos you take directly to it. No faffing around with memory cards or dongles or installing software.
It stores up to 4,000 pictures with 512MB of internal memory and you can even set up 'playlists' of your favourite photos.
You can buy one for grandma who lives 100 miles away, set it all up for her and when you get a new photo of her grandkids, you just email it across and it appears on her Kodak frame. You can even email it across when you're out and about.
I think it's positively genius.

I have a guest judge to help me decide on a winner; the very lovely Paula at Battling On who can be bribed with gin, chocolate or holidays in the sun I'm told.

Now go forth and show some big blog love. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.

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We're all set for Halloween

>> Sunday, 23 October 2011


The photo is a bit blurry because I'm laughing so much.
My kids bloody love Halloween.
Many thanks to Fancy Dress Outfitters for sending us our fab Dracula and a Frankenstein's Monster outfit.


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Teaching compassion to my children

>> Friday, 21 October 2011


After returning from deepest darkest Indonesia with Unicef, I had this conversation with someone:

"But why would you bother going all that way to Indonesia to reach people that probably don't want to be reached? I mean, it's sad and all that they live in poor conditions, but really, isn't it a waste of money sending all those resources into the middle of nowhere to treat a couple of kids? What about the kids back here?"

Of course when I say 'conversation' it was pretty much a one way rant. People do like to rant. Especially when they have no real knowledge to base that rant on. I was probably sat there with my jaw on the floor or my fist in my mouth or something.

Here is what I believe to be true. Every single child, no matter where they are in the world or what they are born into, has the right to the best possible start in life.
No child should die needlessly. NONE.
If we as human beings are able to prevent unnecessary deaths then why wouldn't we? Why wouldn't we try? We wouldn't we try to give them a decent standard of health and education?
These are standards we demand for our children, why can't those in the backwaters of Papua, in Eastern Indonesia have them too? It's just geography.

I want my children to grow up in a world knowing that those born into an 'good' life will go on hold out their hand to those who were not. That we can all help.
It's about being decent human beings.

This is not a post to make you feel guilty for being happy and healthy and having a good life.
This is a post to tell you that the work Unicef are doing with Pampers in places such as Papua are working. And they won't stop because the 'vast majority' of a country has eliminated tetanus. They will keep going until those in the hardest to reach places are helped.



As I sat on the porch of Regina Caitman's home in the tiny village of Sawa Erma, she tells me about life with her husband and her five children.
The village is tiny. Everything is raised up on short stilts as the ground is swampy underneath.
It's hot, it's poor, it's unhygienic.
The homes are basic wooden shacks. Life here is Tough. Yes with a capital T.



Regina is heavily pregnant. She has lost two of her children - a boy and a girl - to diarrhoea and malaria.
She's 31 and her primary concern is being a good mum and doing everything she can to keep her children safe.
She is just like you or I. Except where she lives is at high risk for maternal and newborn tetanus. Her husband can no longer work as he had a stroke at the age of 39 and she never winds down - she never stops working, even when pregnant.
So the fact that money from the Unicef and Pampers campaign to eliminate the disease has been channeled into the village means Regina has had her vaccine.
Her babies are safe.
As she tells us this, like a mother lion she pulls two of her girls closer to her.

Now tell me, why don't her children deserve a decent start in life?
And then look at the gorgeous smile on this young boy's face and tell me again, why doesn't he deserve a little of what our kids get?




It is possible to give every child a good start in life.

And if you've been scanning this post until now - yes, you, right there, you, I know what you're doing - now is the time to take notice and help make that difference.

If you're a mum in the UK or Ireland and you buy nappies, consider buying Pampers from now until the end of December: Every pack bought with the "1 pack = 1 life-saving vaccine" mark on it means you've helped.
Not buying nappies any more?
You can quite simply 'like' the Pampers Facebook page = 1 vaccine.
Personalise your own Miffy story = 1 vaccine.
Download the free Pampers Out and About iPhone app = 1 vaccine.

All free, all save a life.
.

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My little ray of sunshine

>> Wednesday, 19 October 2011



Yesterday my little girl was enrolled officially as a Rainbow.
She pledged to "be kind and helpful" and held my hand as the group leader pinned on her Rainbow badge and handed over her certificate.

Being a Rainbow is about learning, developing self-confidence, building friendships and having fun.
And allowing a roomful of mums to sniffle into their hankies while grinning inanely.

Anyone here looking for The Gallery clearly didn't read the prompt properly on Friday because it's having a week off!
Go visit here to see what the Gallery prompt and the PRIZE is and then come back next Wednesday, October 26, to join in.

See you then.
.

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The Photo Gallery: Week 79. Win a Kodak Pulse Digital Frame

>> Friday, 14 October 2011

Hello and welcome to week 79 of The Gallery.

I have been spending some time tinkering around at Pinterest - a sort of pin board site - discovering photographs I really like and storing them away for future reference.
I figure some day, when I have the time (raises eyes to the sky) I will take a photo just like one of them. An homage.

I adore some of the portrait shots on there - kids, grandparents, families, friends, strangers. People whose faces are steeped in history or children whose faces show potential and a lifetime ahead of them.

So this week's theme is simply: Faces.

And because I'd love for you to have time to do this and think about it and enjoy, I'm giving you an extra week to create it. It also means I get to take a week off!
So come back here on Wednesday, October 26th and join in the fun.

AND for all your hard work I have the most fabulous prize.
I have a Kodak Pulse Digital Frame up for grabs, worth £164.99. I have one of these and it's brilliant. BRILLIANT I tell you.
This 10-inch touchscreen frame has it's own custom email address so you can easily send any new photos you take directly to it. No faffing around with memory cards or dongles or installing software.
It stores up to 4,000 pictures with 512MB of internal memory and you can even set up 'playlists' of your favourite photos.
You can buy one for grandma who lives 100 miles away, set it all up for her and when you get a new photo of her grandkids, you just email it across and it appears on her Kodak frame. You can even email it across when you're out and about.
I think it's positively genius.

I reviewed one of these a while back and absolutely LOVE it, so I specifically asked Kodak if they'd be up for giving one as a prize on The Gallery.
THAT is how much I love you guys!
The winning entry will be chosen by a guest judge who will be looking at the words AND the photo to find their winner.

Rules n stuff.
The competition is open to residents of the UK only (sorry rest of the world).
No cash alternative offered.
The winner will be chosen from the Linky after the closing date for entries which is 08:00 on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.
The winner will be asked to provide a full UK postal address with postcode. Please allow 14 days for delivery.
If a prizewinner does not provide a full UK postal address within a week of being contacted, a new winner will be contacted.

Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about finding excuses to use them again, sparking your imagination, inspiring.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Come back on Wednesday, October 26 to add your link when The Gallery post goes up. Then visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with.
The link stays open for a week so it doesn't matter if you can't post on Wednesday.

Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.
You will get out of this what you put into it.
Appreciate the wonderful words and photos that are opening themselves up to you.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday, so don't worry if you don't manage to post your photo on Wednesday.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.
Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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The Photo Gallery: Inspirational People

>> Wednesday, 12 October 2011


This is Doctor Amiri.
After training to be a doctor in Khabul he decided a life of ease wasn't for him and set his mind to 'helping the world's children'. His words.
He works where no one else wants to work - Sudan, Afghanistan - the 'difficult' regions. His primary focus is to help save mothers and children.

He is always smiling and laughing. A big, infectious laugh. But if you get him talking about his favourite subject, he's passionate and knowledgeable and totally hypnotic to listen to.
He goes about solving problems with the same vigour a businessman would reserve for pulling in profits. In fact, no, he's more passionate than that.
And everyone who meets him for the first time is utterly captivated by him.

I had the good fortune to spend nearly a week in the company of this amazing man while on a Unicef trip to Indonesia to witness the vaccination programmes they're carrying out there in partnership with Pampers.
Pampers have been working with Unicef since 2006 to help eliminate Maternal and Newborn Tetanus (MNT) across the globe.
The campaign has been a MASSIVE success. To date more than 100 million mothers and babies across the globe have received the life-saving tetanus vaccine.
Just think about those numbers.
20 of the original 59 countries have eliminated the disease.
However, MNT still threatens the lives of millions of women and their newborn babies - some of them in the most isolated and hardest to reach communities.
And that's where I went. To see how Unicef and Pampers are actively seeking out these people and saving lives. To the back of beyond where there are no roads or phones or hygiene.

Let me tell you, it was nothing short of life changing.

We arrived at the town on Sawa Erma, in Papua Eastern Indonesia. It took us 2 hours in a speed boat with a little outboard motor on the back to get there. It's pretty remote.
But as we arrived, we discover that a 28-year-old mother is at the health centre there and is in trouble.
She had given birth on the banks of the river at a neighbouring village and collapsed soon after.
Her husband paddled 12 hours upstream, overnight, to get her and her newborn to Sawa Erma - as it houses the only doctor in the area.
HE PADDLED 12 HOURS OVERNIGHT in a dug-out boat I was too afraid to step into. And she bled all the way.
I cannot even comprehend how frightening that must be.



Anetta Enamti, was bleeding internally as a result of a stuck placenta following the birth of her tenth child. But the doctor in Sawa Erma was away and in his absence the nurses don't have the authority to send her to the hospital in the town, another 2 hour journey away in a speed boat.
As her husband clutched her hand no one knows if she can be sent for the life-saving medical care she urgently needs because no one can assess the situation.

In steps Dr Amiri. I swear to your dear reader, we all collectively held our breath and held back tears as we watched him lovingly examine the weak and frightened Anetta, as her sister held her newborn baby outside the medical room and her husband hovered in the background not knowing what to do.



In the end we watched as Anetta and her husband Nicholas cuddled up in the back of a boat with their day-old daughter, headed for life-saving help.
But it highlights why tetanus vaccines are so important. Giving birth in dirty, unhygienic conditions with no trained health worker to help is where women are most at risk.
EVERY child deserves a decent start in life, no matter where it's born.

When Doctor Amiri speaks, we all listen.
His voice is large and loud and loving and I am heartened that the needy children of this world have him.

*********************

By the way, that massive success story? That's down to us mums here in the UK and Ireland.
Remember the Pampers packs with the "1 pack = 1 life-saving vaccine" declarations on? Anyone who bought those packs has helped.
And the Make A Difference campaign has restarted this month and runs until December.
How can you help? It's super easy:
Buy a specially marked pack of Pampers = 1 vaccine.
Like the Pampers Facebook page = 1 vaccine.
Personalise your own Miffy story = 1 vaccine.
Download the free Pampers Out and About iPhone app = 1 vaccine.

You can actually save a life by simply clicking around on the internet. I've seen it in action and it's awesome.
So please please, go do and let's give inspirational men like Dr Amiri all the support they need.

Read more...

Becoming a better photographer by osmosis

>> Monday, 10 October 2011



I watched this man like a hawk for a whole week earlier this year when I travelled to Indonesia with children's charity Unicef to witness their immunisation programme for myself.
So, really really sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable at any point Josh, but ya know, a girl has to learn somehow!



Josh Estey is a professional photographer who hails from the US but is now based in Bali where he lives with his wife and three kids. He also has a slight obsession with bikes.
But boy could he take photos. And make his subjects feel totally at ease. In the most extreme of conditions.



Yes, I travelled to the other side of the world - THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BLOODY WORLD - and saw amazing things, met amazing people, found incredible hope. And I cannot wait to share the whole darn lot of it.
I took quite a few photographs too!

This, dear internet, was one of those journeys where you come home and think: THIS is why I blog.
.

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How do you make a life-long friend?

>> Friday, 7 October 2011

Dan has known Drew since he was 7 months old when they crawled around on the floor together and threw food at their carers at nursery.
They left nursery at the age of four and both sets of parents went their separate ways but remained friends.
Now Dan and Drew see each other infrequently; 4 maybe 5 times a year.

But they still seem to have this connection. An unspoken bond. And whenever they are together they play fabulously and like they've never been apart.
They never squabble or fight (play fight OBVIOUSLY), nor are there any power games.
They're just old friends reconnecting and it's lovely to witness.

We visited Drew and his little sister last weekend and Dan wanted to take a Playmobil glider (that we had been sent to review) to build with his friend.
Watching them put it together was a joy. Like they had this unspoken connection; like they knew what each other wanted.
Here they are at work. And play. With a toy that quite frankly I got bored of hearing "that is so COOL" about it. Judge for yourself.



I look back at photos of the pair of them growing up together and they were so hilarious. From forming a 'band' one Christmas . . .


To, errr, discovering sticky dots . . .

To just chilling out like two old men in the back garden on the same chair (when there are about five others dotted around the place).
Friends.

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The Photo Gallery: Week 78

Hello and welcome to week 78 of The Gallery.

This week I was privileged to have been part of the judging panel for the Tesco Mum of the Year Award.
These are real woman with the most amazing and inspirational stories. And myself, along with TV star and dance choreographer Arlene Phillips, Olympic athlete Denise Lewis, underwear entrepreneur Michelle Mone and TV presenter Emma Forbes had to read through all the shortlisted entries and decide who should be put forward in the various categories.
Believe you me it was bloody tough.


I sat on the train down to London, reading through the entries and quite unashamedly wept.
Stories of loss, of triumph, of fighting spirit, of friendship - all these women who have done quite remarkable things.

And so, as a tribute to these awards and all these women, this week's theme is: Inspirational People.
Who has inspired you? A relative, your own mum, your dad, a close friend, someone famous, a stranger even.
Let's give these wonderful  unsung heroes a platform to shine from.

Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about finding excuses to use them again, sparking your imagination, inspiring.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Come back on Wednesday to add your link when The Gallery post goes up. Then visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with.
The link stays open for a week so it doesn't matter if you can't post on Wednesday.

Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.
You will get out of this what you put into it.
Appreciate the wonderful words and photos that are opening themselves up to you.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday, so don't worry if you don't manage to post your photo on Wednesday.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.
Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

Read more...

The Photo Gallery: Blue

>> Wednesday, 5 October 2011


The first of October.
In the UK that spells much cooler days, a sea of fallen leaves littering the ground - and time to haul the woolies from the back of the wardrobe.
But no. This is my girl in her swimming costume (or at least the bottom half of it as she flat refused to wear the top: "I mean, what's the point of me wearing it? Tell me and I'll wear it." I couldn't and she didn't).

We are at our friends' house and the sun is beating down. Like mid summer beating down. We have suntan lotion and hats and everything.
We had a BBQ and lounged and revelled.
And the dad hooked up a hose to the slide, pegged down a large plastic sheet at the bottom and voila, a water park that kept four kids entertained for a whole, beautiful summer's afternoon.
In October.

The colour was blue, but it felt like a red letter day.

This post for for week 77 of The Gallery: Colour.
If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.

Now go forth and show some big blog love. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.

Read more...

In love with little girls fashion all over again

>> Sunday, 2 October 2011

My 6 year old isn't in to fashion.
At the gymnastics class she's recently started, she's the only girl who refuses to wear leggings and a leotard and instead struts her stuff in her brother's hand-me-down cut-off joggers and a vest.
She looks bloody fabulous.

She absolutely positively does not want to be a 'girl'.
And she absolutely positively knows her own mind.
Which makes clothes buying a total nightmare.
I'm stuck between a sweet, slogan-sporting top and baby pink hard place.
Clothes manufacturers, it seems, want our girls to conform: you're either a cutie or fashionista.
My girl is neither.

What is it with little girls' clothes? Why are they inappropriate or teenage-esque? Or bloody pink?
I don't know, maybe I'm being unkind or exaggerating or just shopping in the wrong places.
But there are some shops I've gone into where I have struggled to find something which isn't trying to make my 6 year old look 16.
I don't want her to look 16, I want her to look 6.

I get approached by lots of clothes companies through this blog to review their range.
Vertbaudet and Boden got the thumbs up, but many others, while the clothes are just beautiful, simply don't suit a tomboy who wants practical. And by practical I mean she wants the ability to climb trees/wrestle/grub around in the garden in them.

Then I was contacted by Alison at Original Sister. I loved everything in her 'contemporary' online store. I knew Mia would too. There was even a dress I was pretty sure she'd deign to wear.
So we said a big old yes please and a huge box of goodies arrived. A whole capsule wardrobe in one box. And we squealed and had a 'fashion show' and tried things on with other things and, well, did things Mia would NEVER ordinarily want to do if clothes were involved.
They're not cheap - Gap or Boden prices I guess - but the quality is superb and Mia has had so many comments from people wanting to know where her outfit is from.
To which her response is: "My mummy got sent them because people think she's important or something."
You're welcome.

And if anyone else wants a good old moan about girls clothes, Alison's all ears!






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