Author Archives: The Busy Mommy UK

Today has already been busy and it’s only 8:30 as I write this!! I thought I would give you a look into a typical weekday with me.

The alarm goes off at 7am but one of the children will normally already be up. We are pretty rubbish at getting up so we’ll aim to be up with the half 7 hooter on Fun Kids Radio. Then is the battle of getting the children dressed (their clothes are put out the night before). Once this is done and all bathroom jobs are finished, we go downstairs for breakfast. At this point, me or Phil will gather up all the washing and take it downstairs.

Before school: Phil tends to sort out breakfast and school lunches while I put the first load of washing on. I really hope we will only need to do 1 load a day very soon but with the smallest still wetting the bed fairly regularly, we have sheets to wash too. I then unstack the dishwasher and reload it with the breakfast things. Next is the shoes and hair debacle. Jonah strops upstairs because we’ve asked him to do his hair and Grace can’t decide how many bobbles she wants in. When that is all finally sorted, it’s shoe time and off we go. If Phil is working from home or off, he likes to walk them and enjoys the gentle stroll. If it’s me, we jump in the car to save my arthritic knee!

During the day: When the washing machine finishes, I take that out and put the next load in. Any smalls get pegged onto the octopus and the wet load then goes in the spin dryer to get the excess water out and then onto the airer or radiators (the outside washing line fell off the wall last week!). I open a couple of windows upstairs if Phil is at home and then I go to work. I’m normally back home between 11:30 and 12:30 and I put the newly wet load in the spinner and put any wet bits from the previous load in the Tumble dryer for 60 minutes. I swap the spinner clothes onto the airer or radiators and then sit until Phil is on lunch or about 1:15 if he’s not at home.

Lunch: this is always fun as I’m on the slimming world diet and I really don’t ever fancy a meal (unless it’s pizza!). So I have this debate with myself about what to eat and do that. Phil eats everything!!

Afternoon (the 1 hour before the school run): The afternoon varies. Sometimes I do some work (dancing school, Body Shop, Gift Horse or Mighty Maids stuff), sometimes I do some of my own cleaning and other times I sit and do something for me. I will generally put the clean washing in the right rooms too. Then comes the school run where I normally get drenched because the English weather knows when it’s 3pm!

Afternoon (after school): the children get in and have their list of things to do (I will write about this later on!) and then have free time. I spend as much time with them as I can and then I start tea. Phil finishes at 5:30 so we try and eat together and then we watch some tv, play a board game or take part in one of the children’s mad games.

Bedtime: this starts at 7:15 when the echo tells the children to tidy up and then at 7:20 says that it’s bath or bed time. Phil has always done the bedtime routine so off they go to do that. One child has a bath or shower then they both have bedtime story together with Phil and then bed. Jonah will read a bit and then go to sleep.

Adult time (it’s not what it sounds like!): while Phil is doing bed time, I sort the table out, put the things in the dishwasher and put it on and get the tv ready for whatever we’re watching. And we watch, fall asleep on the settee and stumble to bed between 11 and 1!

What does your typical day look like?

On top of all the other things going on at ‘The Busy Mommy UK’ towers, I am trying to lose weight. I started with Slimming World back in May after the consultant told me the only thing that could be done for my knee was a replacement but I am too young so I had to lose weight. (I’ve since spoken to the head honcho and it turns out there are other things that can be done!). So off I went on the Slimming World journey and was given a form from the physio to get a discount at the leisure centres. The weight started coming off and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. That was until the summer holidays hit! Bread and bread products have very high syn values so I was pretty much avoiding them until we were taking picnics everywhere with us. I am a bit of a fussy eater so cold pasta and things like that didnt appeal. However despite this I still managed to lose a little bit over the summer. Then my husband has been very ill and in and out of hospital and so my stress levels have counteracted my poor diet and I have hit 3 stone lost in 5 months. I am thrilled with this and even I can see it on myself now. I need new clothes and my knee does feel better. 

Back in November 2021 I went to Manchester with The Body Shop at Home and needed a fabulous dress. Here I am trying the dress on before I went. I have fairly narrow shoulders and the off the shoulder look is difficult for me to pull off. So I did a bit of altering and pulled the belt up and over the shoulders to create straps. I felt amazing in it and was one of very few at the event not in black.

I have put this dress back on this week to see if it needed to go up the loft in the ‘too big’ bag or if I could keep it out. It is huge on me!!! My mom is really nifty with a sewing machine and I could ask her to adjust it but the material is covered in sequins and stretchy so would be a nightmare to get to grips with. So it has gone in the bag up the loft for now and hopefully I will never get to wear it again…………………but I doubt it!!!

I ended up doing a shop on the hop at the weekend and didn’t use a list. Tonight I had promised the children that they could have curry for tea. Nothing special, just chicken, a jar of tikka masala sauce, rice and naan breads all home cooked. I defrosted the chicken and started to cook it, put the rice on to cook and switched on the oven. I opened the cupboard only to find I had not bought a jar of sauce on the shop. Whoops!!!

I initially panicked and thought I would have to go down the shop to get a jar in the rain with 2 grumpy children……….and then I spied a carton of passata at the back of the cupboard. So I tried to search for a quick curry recipe. I couldn’t find one which I had all the ingredients for and so I made it up.

I fried a few chopped onions in some spray oil (I am on slimming world after all!) and then threw in the ‘balti mix’ I had in the spice drawer and mixed it all together. This was off the top of a jar of sauce we had a few weeks ago but it was too much with the spice and sauce for the children. Next was the passata. This went into a saucepan with the end of a jar of bolognese sauce from last night, some lemon juice (to counteract the sweetness) and some milk as we hadn’t got any plain yoghurt. I simmered this while the chicken finished cooking and then it all went in together.

It wasn’t a total failure which is all I could have hoped for to be honest. Jonah didnt eat all his sauce and Grace claimed she didnt like it but still ate a good chunk of it. What more could I have asked for?! 

We have 3 echoes in our house so I have started to use them properly for the shopping list. They are amazing! Just shout at her what you want to go on the list and it gets added. You can cross it off by asking her too if you find you dont need it and if you dont use the app while you are shopping, you just ask her to clear your list when you get back and it’s done. Nice and easy! I have also set reminders in the morning to remind me of the things the children are doing that day – PE, before or after school clubs etc. And there is also something called ‘Routines’ which you can set to go off at a specific time or place. We have the radio coming on in the morning in our bedroom and Jonah’s room to wake us up. It has worked a treat and he is less grumpy when he gets up. 

Moral of the story? Don’t do a big shop without planning unless you absolutely have to and never promise a meal without checking the cupboard first. But also plan more! I am big believer in lists and this would have saved my skin tonight but I have learned my lesson……..until next time!

I am a Sunday school teacher and mom of 2 primary aged children (aged 4 and 8) and this time of year always needs extra planning!! With the school holiday falling around Halloween, my 2 always want to do things but my brain isn’t always ready for action! We don’t really do Halloween in our house so I’ve got autumn ideas in here too! So I’ve got a list of 8 awesome autumn and Halloween ideas for you to do with your children. 

1.Pumpkin carving

This is obviously a classic and can be quite messy but investing in some stencils, drawing pins, a big metal serving spoon and air freshener will help. We cut a hole in the top of our pumpkin (a grown up tends to help with this) and spend a good half an hour getting rid of the seeds and slime inside. You can buy scrapers and different tools for this but I find a solid metal serving spoon is perfect for scraping the ‘slime’ from the inside. We then dry our pumpkins as they can get a bit wet and pin the stencil to the right place. A sharpie is used to draw the outline onto the pumpkin and the stencil removed. An adult then starts off the cutting and sometimes finishes it depending on the child doing the pumpkin. 

• Top tips: have a bowl of soapy water and a towel nearby for the children to wash their hands whenever they feel they need it. You also don’t have to do scary things on the pumpkin. We’ve done everything from cartoon characters to plain hearts. 
• Time: up to an hour
• Pros: takes a decent chunk of time, is a classic activity, great for fine and gross motor skills
• Cons: can leave a pumpkin smell around for a while and is quite messy. Use a disposable table cloth on the floor to gather and mess and invest in a good air freshener if pumpkin isn’t your desired smell!

2.Pumpkin rice crispie cakes

We love these in our house but they can get a bit messy! We start by melting some white chocolate (obviously an adult needs to do most of this!) until it is smooth and add in plenty of orange food colouring. Mix in some rice crispies (we tried coco pops and it didn’t work!) and get your hands in to get all the crispies covered. Mould the mix into a ball and put onto some baking parchment or into cake cases. Pop a rolo on top for the stalk and a bit of green icing for the lead and refrigerate until they are set. 

• Top tips: have a bowl of soapy water and a towel  nearby for the children to wash their hands whenever they feel they need it. 
• Time: about half an hour
• Pros: gives you delicious treats for this time of year, great for fine and gross motor skills
• Cons: can be very messy!!! Don’t attempt this if mess isn’t your thing!

3.Leaf painting

This is such a simple thing but really gets the creative juices flowing. We will go for a walk or pop to the park for an hour and collect leaves. We keep them safe until we get home where we pop them between a couple of pieces of tissue for a little bit to dry off. Once they are dry we get out the paints and paper and simply paint one side of the leaves and put them onto the paper. My son (8) will gte really creative and make all sorts of patterns and colours, sometimes overlapping leaves on a page rather than do them one by one. My daughter (4) much prefers to print a single leaf at a time and with typical autumnal colours. Whatever you want to do is fine! Leave them to dry and then display them however you want. My parents and in-laws love receiving a painting so they get shipped over there!

• Top tips: get plenty of leaves or very sturdy ones which you can wipes clean with a wipe if your children are likely to want to do this activity for more than a couple of pieces of paper. 
• Time: whatever suits to collect the leaves, then about half an hour to do the painting. Older children might last a bit longer than this.
• Pros: It gets you out of the house and active as well as being creative
• Cons: painting can be tricky with smaller children but it’s well worth it.

4.Conker rolling

This is such a simple activity but gives a lovely effect.. You need to collect conkers and depending on when your holiday falls, you might want to collect them earlier in the season. Tape a piece of paper to a tray and get some pots of paint. Dunk the conkers into the paint and put at different points around the tray. Then simply tilt the tray and let the conkers roll. They should roll and leave a trail and colour behind them. You can either use one colour and one conker at a time or you can do multiple at the same time. Whatever takes your fancy!!

• Top tips: put a cover down on the floor and allow the children do it themselves. A disposable table cloth will be brilliant for this.
• Time: about half an hour
• Pros: it is a simple activity but is really effective and there is no end to what you can achieve
• Cons: the collection (and storage) of conkers may be tricky. The rolling can get a bit unruly too.

5.Apple printing

All you need for this is an apple, a knife, some orange paint and paper. Cut your apple in half, dunk the flat half in the orange paint. Press it down onto the paper and pick it up carefully. This should leave you with a pumpkin shape for you to draw a stalk and leaf onto or you can draw the segments onto the pumpkin. 

• Top tips: pick your apple carefully for the best shape
• TIme: about half an hour
• Pros: this requires very little set up or clean up
• Cons: the only one really is that it might not take a very long time.

6.Sponge printing

This is similar to the apple printing but needs a bit of preparation. You need to draw the outline of your desired shape onto a sponge and then (carefully!) remove the edges away from the outline. This should leave you with the shape you drew. I use scissors but a craft or stanley knife can also be used. Then simple dunk your shape into the paint and print onto the paper. I really love this for younger children as it allows for fine and gross motor skills to really be put to the test. 

• Top tips: Allow plenty of time and attempts for this. 
• Time: However long you allow
• Pros: this can help with so many skills – the pressing into the paint with different pressure can get more or less paint on the sponge and the pressing into the paper can give more or less definition. It can be brilliant to allow your children to experiment until they get their desired effect.
• Cons: I really cant see any!! Maybe just the fiddly cutting out of the sponge to start with.

7.Autumn wreath

This one involves collecting leaves and loads of them so you may want to start before you plan to do the activity. Cut the middle out of a paper plate leaving the ridged edges. I find it easier to fold the plate in half and cut a semicircle but whatever suits you. We then put white school glue around the edge of the plate and stuck the leaves on in whatever pattern we feel like. Once the glue has dried we then paint the leaves with the glue to help them last a bit longer (it dries clear). We then add a loop of wool onto the back with tape and hang it on the bedroom door.

• Top tips: plenty of leaves!!! 
• Time: about an hour once youve collected the leaves
• Pros: the takes up a good chunk of time! And give you something to keep too
• Cons: it can take a while to collect the leaves.

8.Marshmallow ghouls

This is a favourite in our house and it is so so simple! You need some cocktail sticks, big marshmallows and black writing icing. Stick a cocktail stick into the bottom of the marshmallow and then the other end into something firm. I use an apple. Once your ghouls are upright, grab the icing and draw on 2 eyes and a mouth. Our mouths vary from smiley to scary!!! And then leave for a little bit in a cool environment. Done!!!

• Top tips: make loads – they never last long!
• Time frame: 10 minutes to make, 10 seconds to eat!
• Pros: very quick and easy
• Cons: may increase your waist line!

If you try any of these out, pop a comment in and let me know how you got on. Pictures would be great too as we haven’t had very much success with some of these!

I went away overnight to Manchester for a Body Shop at Home party. It was the first time I’ve ever left Grace overnight and I’ve never left Jonah and gone somewhere on my own without Phil. It was a very odd (but totally fabulous) experience. I obviously missed them all terribly and despite being rather tired, I was glad to be home at lunch time.

This afternoon, Jonah has a freestyle dance exam (he’s in there now!) so I was home in time to take him which I’m very glad about. However, he was true to form and has blown my mind on the way to the dancing school. Nearly every Saturday, on the way to dancing, Jonah comes out with some philosophical or profound and it’s always too early to deal with it really. But I do, because I’m a mommy.

Today, he has told me about why rocks are all different colours and then started asking me as sorts of questions about rocks “because you’re a scientist and you know mommy”. I know nothing about rocks! I’m a biologist. So the journey was quite intense.

A little while ago, he asked me why boys have short hair and girls have long hair. When I said it was just the way of the world and most people preference but that was changing (and when he paid for his own hair cuts he could decide how to have his hair) he said, in a very accusatory tone, “you’re a gender stereotyper mommy”. I was floored. This prompted a conversation about the differences between gender stereotypes, being a gender stereotyper and having a preference.

We’ve had the conversation about where dinosaurs fit into our beliefs, how babies get out of a belly when they are born, why men can’t have babies, how the milk gets to the breast for breast feeding, why boys have different bits to girls and a little about genetics after he asked about his ginger hair being a recessive gene!

If you have any tips at all to help me with this boy, please let me know! In the mean time I will continue answer him without lying but in a way a 7 year old head can understand and I’ll just be exhausted 😂