You are now entering the tween zone

It's been coming for some time.

We first noticed the mood swings.

Then the crying.

Then the 'I can't sleep' stage happened.

Then after a bit of reading we realised we had entered the TWEEN stage. For real. 

There are now posters on the wall.

I have to say, with three daughters I was dreading this move towards young womanhood, thinking we'd lose our little girls forever and gain emotional, moody, argumentative sulks for the next 10 years.

Poor tweens, they can get bad press and yes some of the above (ok maybe all) is true but I recently changed my outlook after we had a quote of the day from the tween herself "Mummy I wish I knew when my moods were coming"

Bless her, it broke my heart, relevant words on so many levels - I still feel like that now about my own moods - Mr H still feels like that now about my own moods AND his daughters moods! 

Now when we get a ride on the hormonal rollercoaster instead of being pulled into the thunderstorm, I try and take a step back and remember that she's too young to control what's going on and try and focus on the good stuff (some days we still clash, we are still two hormonal humans). 

Yes our little girl is growing up, yes tweenville is turbulent, but what's coming is the sight of a great girl with a great sense of humour (on the good days), good conversation, full of fantastic ideas and plans and it's actually a quite exciting to watch this bundle of hormones grow into a girl on a mission with so much ahead of her and a great feeling of pride that we've winged it so far and done ok. 

The road ahead is a mighty one but I have a feeling it's a rollercoaster ride we wouldn't have any other way :)

Moonwalk bra decorating with Tiger Peterborough and New College Stamford

When the lovely Georgina from 2prettylittleladies asked me to join her for a morning with Tiger Peterborough and the New College Stamford Fashion Department how could I not jump at the chance!

Not only is Tiger a FiveinOne family favourite (Antonia the yodelling flamingo is still going strong!) but a chance to hang out in the fashion department is my ideal day!

The New College Stamford fashion department had a brief to decorate bras for all the fabulous ladies completing the Moonwalk and Tiger Stores, Peterborough, kindly donated a big bag of gorgeous goodies to give the students a helping hand.

It was such a lovely chilled morning, crafting is soooo relaxing! Becky, the Tiger Store Manager bought along some really lovely goodies from necklaces to feathers and ribbons, even some fab little light weight glue guns that came in very handy.

The students from the year 1&2 fashion department worked hard to create some really glam bras, some of them giving up their break and lunch sessions to keep going.  Here's a few of the bras that were made:

It took me all morning to create mine and I have to admit, I did turn into a bit of a perfectionist trying to make sure each side was symmetrical!

During the bra decorating Becky informed us about the short turnaround of stock in Tiger (which is why you have to buy it when you see it, I'm still gutted I missed the oil tablecloths) so the end of line stock they have left over is donated to local groups and the Peterborough store also have crafting events in the local shopping centre which I'll definitely look out for!

I'm really pleased to have had the opportunity to join in, if you'd like to find out more about the Moonwalk follow the link below:

https://www.walkthewalk.org/

Thanks for reading!

Love MrsH xxx

MothersMeetings fashion event with theoutnet.com

I have to be honest, I've been dying to attend a MothersMeeting event for some time now! 

Having followed them on Instagram for the last year I always thought it was such a great idea and wished we had something similar in Peterborough.

So, when a chance came up to win a space at the MM/Theoutnet fashion evening I jumped at it, posting my favourite shoes - my Topshop platforms - and was lucky enough to be offered a place! Hurray, back in the big smoke, my favourite place to hang out.

The evening was to consist of a panel talk about all things mum-fashion related with some fabulous ladies in the know: 

Jenny Scott from MothersMeetings

Zoe de Pass - aka Dresslikeamum

Liz Matthews - Liz Matthews PR

Eve Thomas - Theoutnet Fashion Director

The event was held at the Net-a-Porter HQ in the gorgeous Westfield shopping centre, which is really easy to get to from Shepherds Bush tube station.  

The Net-a-Poter offices themselves were very chic in black and white!  

I was really nervous about going along on my own but Jenny (MothersMeetings) greets every person that comes through the door and I get chatting to a fabulous lady who, after attending the MM business club, set up her own streetwear label.  It's pretty cool, you can find her on Instagram @nofixedabodelondon.

We were offered glasses of bubbly and took our seats for the panel, the seating area was filled with fabulous mums, some of whom I recognised from Instagram, stylemesunday, BertieBowen, SelfishMother, dontbuyherflowers to name a few, it is weird seeing people you follow in the flesh! 

Note to self:- don't let nerves get the better of you and turn into weird giddy stalker when networking ;)

Listening to the panel was great, the fab four  were engaging and funny and gave some great tips;

- Invest in a great blazer, shoes and handbag - they go with everything.

- Dungarees are here to stay for longer yet!

- Red lipstick distracts from tired eyes (great tip!)

- Up your smart casual game with a few great pieces - this is the type of clothing mums spend most of their time in (I need to do this!!)

- Use websites such as Theoutnet and Weheartit for inspiration before you buy 

I really enjoyed listening to Liz Matthews in particular, she was very funny and with 4 children herself she spoke of the realities of getting multiple children out the door in the morning whilst trying to resemble a living human being! She totally rocked her outfit, as did all the ladies.

After the panel was more bubbles, music and hair braiding.  I met a really lovely lady who was a local artist (@aimbritish) and we had a mooch about looking at some of the gorgeous pieces you can buy from Theoutnet - my favourite was the flowery shoes..

I had a fab night and would thoroughly recommend going to the MothersMeetings clubs if you're in London, it's full of like-minded Mums that are really positive and inspiring.

I certainly left feeling uplifted and full of inspiration and I hope to attend many more events with these lovely ladies in the future but for now back to the day job....and some scrolling on theoutnet.com!

Thanks for reading,

MrsH x

Livy's Fruit Kebabs

Hi! I've made a short video on how to use up your chocolate and make yummy kebabs!

Love Livy xxx

FiveinOne visit the Classic Car Boot

Last weekend we went to the Classic Car Boot event in Kings Cross, London. 

It was fantastic! It was a tad cold and drizzly but we really enjoyed it regardless.

We took the dog with us and made it a whole family day out, there was food available (one option being waffles yum!) and a bar in the form of an old London bus.

The classic cars were stunning and we all loved seeing people walking around in vintage clothing, the atmosphere was great with music, dancing and really friendly stall holders with some gorgeous vintage goodies - there is obviously a great following and community with Classic Car Boots. 

Merlin had so much attention! There were a lot of dog lovers and he enjoyed saying hello to some furry friends.

Entrance is £5 for adults and children (and dogs) go free, you get a funky classic car stamp on your hand for entrance.

The Classic Car Boot Sale travels around the UK and you can keep up with its whereabouts via the link below:

http://classiccarbootsale.co.uk/

On the way back to the car we walked through Lewis Cubit Square where you can play table tennis for free and visit the fabulous floating book store on the canal.

We will definitely be returning to the Kings Cross Classic Car Boot it's a great location and a fab day!

Excuse me while I make an assumption

Isn't it funny how a simple picture can set off so many assumptions? 

Now, I'm a self confessed Instagram addict and I love all the good things Social Media can do but let's face it, the temptation to make assumptions is bigger than ever! 

Our ten year old has joined a chat group with her friends on her iPod and we've been through the etiquette of texting and the context of texts messages (just because they haven't replied doesn't mean they hate you, they're probably just having tea) but I've recently started to think about when our girls are eventually on social media and how to explain the way it can be so misleading.

You can post a picture online and two and two can easily become five.  

Last year I deleted my Facebook account for a breather, although as I couldn't face going completely cold turkey I kept Instagram. 

What happened after that changed my thoughts on my social media use and the online world I had created;

Firstly, I had major FOMO (fear of missing out).  I was offline for a good few months and probably had FOMO for half of that time!!!

Then I had major guilt.  I suddenly had loads of free time. I must have scrolled half my life (and my children's life) away! Eeek!

What stayed with me the most though was people's reactions and assumptions.  

A few people made the effort to talk to me in person, enquiring why I was offline and others made assumptions that I was off the radar because I had been having a fabulous time without them, busying myself having loads of fun rather than the actual graft of work and family life that was really happening.

I had posted a couple of 'fun' pictures on Instagram, obviously not thinking my life would be judged on these few pictures.  

Not long after this I came across Lucy Sheridan on Instagram.   

Lucy's hashtag is #comparisonfree and she coaches people on all the feelings that come up with using social media, the comparisons, assumptions, being overwhelmed.  She has been involved with MothersMeetings and posted on parenting comparison, when mums in particular are at their most vulnerable - those sleep deprived moments when your on your fifth feed of the night scrolling through your newsfeed - It's easy to get sucked in. 

What people post on Social Media is a tiny snapshot of a few moments of someone's life. 

Theres always more to what you see. Always two sides to a story.  

I think losing the art of real life communication means people jump to assumptions so much more and it's such a shame, it's stops us being there for each other and recently has resulted in a lot of young people feeling pressured from their online life. 

I'm probably online more now but hopefully for the right reasons and with the right mindset. I love scrolling through my Instagram feed, it's filled with positive pictures from people I know I'll be inspired from.  I try to keep in mind the affect my own posts might have on others and keep MOST of them real life (ok I don't have pancakes for every breakfast and I'll probably never post my many baskets of washing and ironing!). 

We blog as a family as we try to slowly introduce our children to the online world. 

Hopefully we can teach them to understand that what is posted online is not completely real life and not to take it personally.  

Instead, to use it as a means to celebrate their friends and each other, to learn from their online peers and take as much positivity from it as they can. 

Communication is key and I'm definitely going to make it a priority going forward!

MrsH xx

For Lucy's MothersMeetings post follow the link: http://mothers-meeting.com/never-ever-compare-yourself-by-lucy-sheridan/

Our Easter Break #blogadayapril

Last week we had the rare opportunity to have a week off with us all being together and had such a great week that we've changed the 'my weekend' prompt to 'our Easter holiday'

We've been really lucky this week to spend time with some of our closest friends which is probably why we've enjoyed the week so much. 

It started with Laserforce with my best friend and her gorgeous daughter.  Laserforce is awesome, I think my friend and I actually enjoy it more than the kids, it's so much cheaper than therapy and a great way to let off steam! 

Every single birthday party may now be held at Laserforce - including my own haha 

We've had a great time with Merlin and our friends walking around some of the local country parks;

Tea and cake and some unplanned messy play in the park bark;

On Friday we had a fantastic dinner at the Admiral Wells in Holme and would highly recommend it, the food and service is excellent! 

http://www.admiralwells.co.uk

Unfortunately we had some awful dinners too but it didn't spoilt our week :)

Sunday finished the week off with a trip to Rutland Water with friends and their dogs. Merlin was in dog heaven! An enclosure to run lead free and doggie friends to chase.

Rutland Water is stunning and has so much to do, next time we'll definitely bring the bikes!

https://www.rutlandwater.org.uk

Mr H and I enjoyed making some fab cocktails (I recommend the M&S Passionfruit Mojito) and the girls have loved melting all the chocolate eggs to make fruit n nut kebobs (Livvy's recipie to follow).

Sadly now it's back to the grind but we've got some great memories to get us through to the next break! 

Mrs H xx