The BiB Awards - I've been shortlisted!

I was absolutely over the moon to discover that my little blog has been shortlisted for a BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Award in the Craft category. I love writing my blog, and it has become a real lifeline for me, especially over the last few months as I became a full time stay at home Mum. It's wonderful to think that I've inspired people, and I really want to thank everyone that nominated me for the award!

Sixteen blogs have been shortlisted in every category, and I am up against some epic blogs. There will now be another round of voting to determine the six finalists, with the winner being announced on the 21st June 2013 at BritMums Live in London.

I would love it if you would consider giving Jennifer's Little World a vote in the next round. You have until the 12th May 2013, and you can find the voting form here - BiBs Shortlist Voting.

Thank you so much!

Day Zero Project - Write five guest posts for other blogs

I've written quite a lot about my Day Zero Project list - it's really inspiring me to do lots of things and I would definitely recommend giving it a go! One of the things on my list was to write five guest posts for other blogs, and I achieved that this week. So here are the posts that I wrote:

Two bloggers very kindly offered to host a guest post back when I originally blogged about it. For Smiles and Trials I wrote about my screen-free childcare fail and for Mum of Three World I shared a simple Spring flowers craft.

Kids Days Out Reviews pointed me in the direction of the Trunki blog, where I wrote a post about tips for flying with young children.

The final two guest posts were written in response to requests in groups that I saw - The Bump Wear Project and my pregnancy Mama Must Haves and Emmy's Mummy with some homemade bird seed cakes.

I really enjoyed writing all these posts, if you'd like a guest post from me then please just ask!

My 2012

As 2012 comes to an end, here are some of my highlights from the past year. It's been a year for:

Life changes

Moving house - it's almost exactly a year since we moved house. We love our new house, and it's a part of a wonderful community. Harry will be starting at the local school next September, and we are really glad that we made the decision to move.

Redundancy - Not the best news just before Christmas, and it was a very stressful process, but now that it's in the past I'm hopeful that it's the best thing for me and our little family.

Children

No, there aren't any more on the way! Harry will be 4 in a couple of weeks and he's growing up so quickly. He's a lovely little boy, talkative, funny and bright. Mia is 19 months now, and over the last year she has changed from a baby to a toddler. It's great having her running about and chatting away, desperate to join in with whatever her big brother is doing and putting her sticky fingers everywhere. They have such a bond and are always giving each other kisses and cuddles, it's wonderful to watch.

Holidays

We've enjoyed some fantastic holidays this year, we started the year with a lovely break at Mazzard Farm in Devon, and enjoyed brilliant trips to Lanzarote and Florida.

Sport

I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the Olympics this year, we were very lucky to have tickets to see some of the events and it was definitely a highlight of the year.

Blogging

I'm still blogging, something that I'm very proud of! My most popular post of the entire year has been one which was only published a few weeks ago - How to make a Nativity play Shepherd's Costume - I hope that it helped some people out this Christmas! My Diwali craft posts were also very popular, in particular Making a Rangoli using dyed rice.

I started my second blog - Toddler Things - and I have a couple of other smaller blogs in the works too.

Crafting

I've been working hard on my never-ending cross stitch project. Will I have it complete by the end of 2013? Let's see!

Personal challenges

I was really excited to start the Day Zero Project which I'm hoping to make a big part of my 2013, more about that to come soon! One of the things on my list which I was really proud of was my gingerbread house for Christmas.

Sleep

No, not really! Actually, to be fair, Harry's sleep has improved enormously and it's now rare to hear from him in the night. We've even got him sleeping (or at least staying in bed) until 7.30am at the moment as the jet lag from the holiday stays in his system, but I know that won't last much longer! Mia is generally up and about throughout the night though, she usually settles very quickly with a drink but it's not long before we hear from her again. Knowing that we got there in the end with Harry gives me hope for the future though, one day I will sleep again!

I hope that you have had a wonderful 2012, and here's to an even better 2013!

Three to Read - 26th November 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! It's a bit later than I like this week, we are going on holiday soon and so I have not had much time for blogging what with running around trying to get everything packed and organised! But here are three posts that I've enjoyed this week!

Firstly, our build up to Christmas this year is in a bit of a muddle as we are away for two weeks of it. But I loved these ideas from Baby Steps - Crafty Toddler Christmas Tree.

Secondly from Low Impact Parenting - Words to live by. A new blog to me, and I'm looking forward to reading more!

Finally Talk About Cheesecake - Regressing and Sibling Tantrums. I don't tend to argue with my siblings, but I can relate to talk about dividing up the toys!

I hope that you enjoyed these posts, and if you have any posts that you would like to share, please do link them up in the comments.

Three to Read is taking a bit of a break while we are away and over the Christmas period. Look out for it again in the New Year!

Why do I blog?

This post has been inspired by a Blog Hop hosted by Dilly Tante, a thought-provoking blogger who I greatly admire. Dilly has posed some questions for us bloggers to think about, and I found them so interesting that I wanted to take part. Here are my answers:

Why do you blog?
I first started my blog as an on-line diary and a place to share photographs and anecdotes about my children with the rest of the family. I now also like sharing things that I've made, either myself or with the children, writing about places that we've visited, and adding my musings on parenting.

What do you get from it?
I like the validation that I'm not alone in feeling or acting a certain way. I like thinking that I've inspired someone to do something, even if all they have done is pinned a project! I've also discovered many wonderful blogs out there that inspire me, sometimes through words and sometimes through pictures. I have done many things with the children that I wouldn't have even thought of if I hadn't come across them on a blog somewhere. I've also discovered that there are so many people out there who are exactly like me and dealing with the same issues - sometimes people are much more honest online than in reality. For example, I know from my early morning Twitter feed that I'm not the only one that has had children up all through the night!

Is it trivial and is that ok sometimes?
Yes, it is trivial and to me that is absolutely fine. I'm not being paid to write, it's not my job, so it is up to people whether they want to read or not.

Why should people be interested in what you write?
People don't have to be interested in what I write. If they are then that's great, but the wonderful thing about people is that everyone is different and we all have different interests.

Do you care if they are not?
I hope that people are interested, but if they weren't then they wouldn't read my blog and so that's fine. I don't mind if reading my blog isn't for everyone.

If you blog just for you why do it publically?
I don't blog just for me, and I think that must be true for most bloggers. As an absolute minimum I hope that my close family read it! If I really wanted to write just for me then I would password protect it.

What value do you think you are adding to the world by blogging?
I think that I have some ideas that are worth sharing. I enjoy reading other blogs similar to mine, and so I hope that some people enjoy reading my blog and seeing a little window into my world.

Do you feel defensive about blogging?
Sometimes I do, and I don't often mention it to real-life friends. I'm not sure why, perhaps I worry that it seems a bit sad or a waste of time. But before I started blogging I was quite capable of wasting time on the internet, now at least I have something to show for it!

Make sure that you visit the Blog Hop post here and see what Dilly and other bloggers have to say, or you can view the linked up posts below. If you are a blogger, why not take part too, I'd love to read your answers! Or please do share your thoughts in the comments below.

Three to Read - 19th November 2012

Welcome to my Three to Read for this week! Some quite varied posts for you this week!

Firstly, last week there was an article in the Daily Mail about 'Mummy bloggers'. I'm not going to link to the article, but it did make me think. It was an article intended to cause controversy and debate, and I'm not going to say any more as many other bloggers have said it far better, but Dilly Tante - Why Blog? has some great thoughts and some questions to think about for bloggers like me.

Secondly, Wine and Roses from Outer Space - And So It Begins. Gemma writes openly and honestly on her blog about life as an autistic epileptic, and is about to start sharing some of this in a book. Definitely worth looking out for!

Finally I have come across a brilliant idea from 3 Children and It - Oldies but Goodies. I know that I spent a lot of time on some of the early posts on this blog, and I'm sure that my Mum enjoyed them, but it would have been nice to have given them a wider audience! Joining in with this weekly themed linky is a great way to share some of these older posts.

I hope that you enjoyed my picks, do let me know in the comments if you have any posts to share.

Three to Read - 12th November 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! In the past I have written my post on a Sunday and then scheduled for Monday while I was at work, but now that I am a lady of leisure I can write this post later in the day. Actually I can only do that today because both children are still at nursery for a couple more weeks, I am easing myself very gently into the stay-at-home-Mum life.

 

Firstly this week I would like to welcome my brother back into the world of blogging. He has had several websites in the past and I know that he'd love you to pop over and take a look at his new blog with his introductory post Thomas P Cox - How to Make a Website. This means that from my immediate family it is now only my Dad that doesn't have his own blog. We are taking over the web!

 

Secondly, I was writing a nostalgic post about Enid Blyton the other day and I also came across this wonderful post Being Mrs C - Enid Blyton - The Passage of Time.

 

Finally you can't ignore that Christmas is coming, and here are some unusual yet beautiful Christmas tree decorations from Randomnest - From the Earth.

 

I hope you enjoyed my picks. Would you like to be featured next week? All you have to do is leave a comment below!

 

Three to Read - 5th November 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! It seems to have been an action packed few days over here.

Firstly we had Halloween. We did some fun crafts and of course we carved a pumpkin, but I just love this post Family Four Fun - Happy Halloween with all sorts of Halloween fun.

Then today it is Bonfire Night. I made a firework sensory tub to play fireworks with the little ones, but over at Making Memories there are two brilliant posts full of firework ideas - Firework Science and Paint Blowing Firework Pictures. I'm definitely going to be making the firework art in a plate of milk.

Finally from Nothing But Words and Wine - The Good Parent Guide. Definitely worth a read if you're not sure that you are doing this parenting thing right.

I hope you enjoyed them! Remember to link up any posts that you've enjoyed this week in the comments.

Three to Read - 29th October 2012

Welcome to Three to Read! Here are three posts which I have enjoyed reading this week. By the way, have you discovered StumbleUpon? I can't believe I've only just found out about it - you basically enter your interests into the website, and it throws content at you that you might find interesting! I think I'm a bit addicted to it, I've found so many interesting articles about all sorts of subjects to read.

So, now I will throw some posts at you to read:

Firstly from Salt and Caramel - Bloggers and Reviews. I enjoyed reading about what happened when a blogger wrote a negative review about a Dubai restaurant, and this post also introduced me to a fantastic thread on Mumsnet about TripAdvisor reviews.

With Halloween upon us, Two of Everything - Halloween Sensory Play has some brilliant ideas. This year I'll definitely be keeping the seeds from the pumpkin when we carve it and using them for play. I might even make up a sensory tub of my own!

Finally, Miss Minimalist - Happier with less. I'm never going to be a minimalist. I try to live without too much clutter, but ultimately I'm too much of a hoarder. This article is quite thought provoking though, about what we really do need to have around us in our homes and what we can do without. I still don't think that I could live happily without curtains though.

I hope you enjoyed my picks! Remember, if you've read any posts this week that stand out please do leave a link in the comments!

Three to Read - 22nd October 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! Here are three posts which I have enjoyed reading this week.

Firstly Here Come the Girls - Yes Day! A lovely idea, to let your child choose everything that they want to do for a whole day. I must admit that I was very intrigued by the thought of a yes day of my very own, I can think of lots of things that I'd like to do!

Secondly One Blue One Pink - Something fun to do on a nice Autum day! I love this idea to keep small children interested and engaged while you are out for a walk.

Finally from beep beep - Wordless Wednesday, with pictures taken by Laura. You get some brilliant results when you give little ones a camera and let them take photos of the things that interest them!

I hope that you enjoyed my picks this week, please do feel free to share any posts that you've enjoyed this week in the comments!

Three to Read - 15th October 2012

Hello, and welcome to this week's Three to Read. I have three lovely posts to share this week. I've been reading lots of blogs this week so it was really difficult to choose just three, so if you think that I'm missing you or anyone else, please do let me know in the comments!

Firstly I was really interested in this post Feisty Tapas - How to cope as a bilingual parent. I have a fascination with languages, and these insights into raising a bilingual child are brilliant.

Secondly, from a blog which I only discovered this week, Pressies by Pebbles - This parenting marlarky is easy...so says Mr Pebbles (post no longer available). Oh, I have been in this situation many, many times!

Lastly Trouble Doubled - Stupid is a stupid does (or why mummy blogger haters can do one). A great post, and I'm looking forward to reading the results of the survey!

I hope you enjoyed these posts, if you have any to share please, please do so in the comments!

Three to Read - 8th October 2012

It's Monday so it's time for my Three to Read again! I do hope that you are enjoying the reads that I pick out each week.

Firstly You're Not From Round Here - Learning to let go. My son has been at nursery for a couple of days a week since he was a year old, but I'm still having wobbles about him starting school next year!

Secondly from Parenting on the Front Line - Bedtime stories. What is your opinion? We read Harry a bedtime story, although I must admit that often it's the 'abridged version'. It is nice snuggling down together, but generally at that time of day I'm ready to say goodnight!

Finally, a post which is different from the ones that I usually choose. It's from a big blog, a US blog and it's a review post. But I really loved this post Sew Liberated - Rah-Rah Storytelling all about story telling.

Enjoy!

Three to Read - 24th September 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! I have some lovely posts to share with you this week.

Firstly from Splashes & Dashes of Yellow - No more surprises please little hamsters. A wonderful, and funny, tale of the perils of pet hamsters.

Secondly, I love button boxes, and so I loved this post from The Ramblings of a Formerly Rock'n'Roll Mum - Tupperware and the Button Box.

Finally, pop by and visit Sew Scrumptious - Sherry is the way to go! for an account of a fantastic freehand machine embroidery workshop, and some gorgeous pictures of the finished creations. I'd love to try something like this (although perhaps not with sewing machines, that's something that I've yet to master!).

I hope that you enjoyed my picks this week! I would love it if you had a post to share in the comments!

Three to Read - 17th September 2012

We're back from another busy weekend, and here are my three to read for this Monday morning.

Summer is coming to an end, but now that Mia is walking about and doesn't immediately stuff her face with mud and stones the minute that she is released into the garden I'm hoping that even when the weather turns colder we can still continue to enjoy ourselves out there. There are some brilliant ideas for garden fun over at Mud Pies and Marmalade - Small Garden, Big Ideas.

This post about how blogging can rather take over one's life made me think. I used to imagine that successful blogging was just about bashing out a post, pressing Publish and that was that. I had no idea! Have a read - Mummy Limited - Bad habits and a little experiment.

Finally, after my last post about my pushchair, I really enjoyed Johnson Babies - Our little adventure. It's so exciting to take little ones out without a pushchair for the first time, although I find it hard enough to keep hold of one, let alone two!

Go on bloggers, add a link in the comments to a post that you've enjoyed this week. There must be one! How about if you add a link, I'll include one of your posts next week? Excellent.

Three to Read - 10th September 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! Actually I have four posts this week as I wanted to include them all, so in no particular order, please enjoy!

Firstly Glosswatch - Competitivie crap parenting: How do you rate? Very funny!

Next The Ramblings of a Former Rock'N'Roll Mum - Identity. My blog seems to jump topics all the time, but like Sonya says it's our mixture of different interests that makes us unique.

Next from Ready Steady Mummy - Young Mums: Why the ignorance? (Post no longer available) I'm not a young mum by any means, but I was astounded at the prejudice that Natalie has experienced.

Lastly Dillytante - Never Too Late to be Great reminded me to count my achievements and remember that there is still plenty of time left to achieve more!

I would love to feature some new blogs that I haven't mentioned yet next week. I follow so many blogs that it's easy to miss some great posts. If you have read this and would like me to mention you please leave a comment/tweet me, don't be shy! Or likewise, if you have any to recommend, let me know!

Three to Read - 3rd September 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! I'm working on a new project at the moment, details to be revealed shortly. As part of that, I've been spending lots of time looking at blogs which cover crafts and activities to do with young children, so I thought I'd make that the theme for this week.

Firstly from Twins, Tiaras and Tantrums - Autumn Activities. Some fantastic outdoor activities for the Autumn.

Entertaining Monsters - Farm play mat. I love making playmats but I've never managed one as beautiful as this, it's wonderful.

Here Come the Girls - Number games with hook a duck. We have lots of rubber ducks around the house, and I love this idea for something to do with them.

Have you seen any creative or inspiring posts this week? Add a link in the comments!

Three to Read - 27th August 2012

Welcome to this week's Three to Read! I hope that you enjoy the wonderful posts that I have lined up for you today.

The first comes from a blog which I have discovered very recently - Culture Baby - Wings and Fins. Culturebaby may only be tiny, but her Mum is determined to make sure that she has a cultural upbringing. I love this post about a trip to Butterfly World and the London Aquarium, with some amazing photographs and a great selection of books and other resources to continue the theme. I'm looking forward to reading about all the things that they get up to!

I had never heard of washi tape before reading Red Ted Art - Washi Tape Craft Ideas. Now I just need some washi tape. My birthday isn't too far away...

Finally I loved this write-up from Knitty Mummy - Carter's Steam Fair. It looks like a fantastic day out, and it's a shame that the fair is not touring nearer to us.

As always, if you have any posts to share that you have enjoyed this week, please do add them into the comments. Go on!

Three (plus) to Read - 20th August 2012

Happy Monday everybody! I'll keep it quick as it's time for bed, here are three posts that have caught my eye this week from some favourite blogs. 

Firstly some great tips from a lovely blog Mama UK - How to teach your child to read.

Stressy Mummy - We'll just get a new one! A great post about trying to teach children the real value of things.

Finally from Chocolate is not the only fruit - You have nothing to fear ...except the things you're frightened of. Warning - post contains reference to a fear which I didn't know I had until I read the post.

Actually it's not quite finally, as I couldn't help including this post Mum of Three World - The joys of fussy eaters. I know it's not long since I included a post from here, but this post stuck out to me as I could have written it myself and it's a great comfort to know that I'm not alone! Especially the part about feeling smug by only giving my children water or milk to drink, then finding that they refuse to drink anything else at all! And I was the child that would only eat marmite sandwiches...

I hope that you enjoyed these posts, remember if you have any to share please feel free to link them up in the comments!

Three to Read - 13th August 2012

We've had a fantastic couple of weeks enjoying the Olympics, in fact as you read this we are making our way back from London after our last event-packed weekend. It seemed fitting therefore to make this week's Three to Read one with an Olympic theme. I'm writing this post a few days in advance, so apologies if I've missed any fantastic posts from the end of the week!

Firstly The Ramblings of a Formerly Rock'n'Roll Mum - Olympics-on-Sea. After a not so positive previous post, Sonya has now been won over to the Olympics, and I loved reading about visiting one of the Olympic venues outside of the capital.

Maybe not everyone thought it was the most successful trip to see some events for Chez Mummy - Olympic balls and the worst day of my husband's life (link no longer available) but this is a brilliant account of the day!

Dilly Tante - Golden girls: The new generation of role models. Fabulous post about the female athletes competing, and what great role models they are for young women.

Tune in over the next couple of days to hear how we got on during our final weekend of Olympic events!

Do you have any favourite posts from the last week to share? They don't need to be Olympic themed! Feel free to add the link into the comments.

Three to Read - 6th August 2012

Welcome to another Three to Read! We've had another mad few days, but I've still had time to pick out some posts that have caught my eye this week, I hope that you enjoy them too!

Baby Steps - The land of the abandoned blog... Something else that I often wonder about!

Mum of Three World - Canal boat tales. I've always wanted to do a canal boat holiday. My husband grew up in a house overlooking a canal, and when we go to visit his parents I always leap up in excitement and gaze enviously as a canal boat goes past. It's definitely on the cards for when the children are a bit bigger!

Finally Adventures at Home - A pirate's life for me. I loved reading about this amazing pirate themed party, and there are some fantastic ideas for me to pin for the future!

I hope you enjoyed these posts, as always please feel free to add links in the comments to any posts which you have enjoyed this week!