Mummy Willow Blog

The school holidays are bursting with exciting things to look forward to. Trips away with the family, lazy days in the garden, no school run or homework to contend with. It's a blissful time. Well almost. You see there is one thing that never fails to drag me and my happy go lucky mood right down to the depths of silent sulks. New uniforms. Despite being a ‘mature’ mother of two I still get butterflies (Florence Flutterby style!) when I see all those ‘back to school’ signs up and down the high street.       So this year I thought I would get ahead of the game and start my new u..

Father’s day. The day when dads get beer, socks and comedy underpants then spark up the barbie for a feast. I don’t really know why we choose to stereotype dads so much in this, the age of equality. Luckily they never complain and just get on with it. Laden with useless gadgets and a wacky tie, they simply suck it up and smile. Can you imagine us being so gallant? We can barely hide our menacing grins when those garage-bought chrysanthemums rear their ugly heads (yet again). Have you looked at what the shops have on offer for Father’s Day? Gadgets, alcohol, underwear and sport just a..

As it’s our tenth birthday this month we have been thinking long and hard about celebrations. What can we do to mark this auspicious occasion? What would be the most fitting tribute to all our efforts and subsequent successes? I decided to compile my own shortlist of the greatest parties on the planet in a bid to garner some inspiration… I noticed that the Beckhams recently rented out what seemed like the whole of Marrakesh for David’s birthday and had a blast by all accounts. Gorgeous people were flown in from all corners of the globe to attend this ‘golden ball’. Yes, this id..

Birthdays often prompt us to reflect on the past. So as we celebrate our tenth year in business, I thought I would take a trip back in time, to the year when it all began for us.   It was the year when the final Star Wars movie premiered in London, complete with a regiment of Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, when Glastonbury Festival suffered record flash floods and Daniel Craig was revealed as the next James Bond. Oh and Take That got back together, minus Robbie… Here are a few more snippets from 2005. January – The world awakes still reeling from the effects of the recent Asia..

As soon as the sun starts to shine what’s the first thing that springs to mind? After the initial thankheavensitswarmer feeling has subsided of course…For me, it’s wardrobe hysteria. We are often afforded little warning when the weather is going to improve. One day it’s icy cold and the next, it is positively tropical! This leaves us with precisely five minutes to overhaul our wardrobes by ditching those polo necks and dragging out the old faithful “summer clothes”. Will last year’s t-shirts that haven’t seen the light of day for six months be good to go? Will they have been de..

I have long been a really light sleeper. It all started when I became a mum for the first time. It can be quite handy, to be able to wake up at the drop of a hat when the children are crying, snivelling or have fallen out of bed. It can also be pretty annoying too. I have spent many nights lying awake watching the clock strike hour after hour until I eventually fall asleep not more than 30 minutes before I have to get up. When the alarm does go off I feel like a dead weight, like someone has filled my arms and legs with cement during my two second doze and glued my eyelids shut..

Easter bonnets. Say no more. However that may result in the shortest blog in history, so I’ll spill.   Here goes. This the day I dread most on the craft activity calendar. It’s the one that separates the men from the boys, the “leave them to it” s from the serious crafty contenders. Despite usually being part of the former, I go all out on this one to compensate for the humiliation I suffered as a child. (come on now, “one, two, three, aaahhhhh!”)   It was a day I would much rather forget but unfortunately will struggle to do so as long as Easter endures.   Picture a worl..

  Easter is only a few weeks away and the chocolate stampede has begun. I was in a well known supermarket yesterday following a tip off about half price Easter eggs. Having secured the biggest trolley in the car park, I ventured in, picked up a scanner and was off!   However, when I reached the aisle in question, to my horror the shelves were bare. Tsk. Too late again…Only one rubbishy Topic egg was left, battered box and all. Oh to hell with it, I thought. I’ll have that with a cup of tea when I get home…This is not something I would normally do by the way, but I saw ..

Mothering Sunday. The day when theoretically we should all enjoy a lie in and take delivery of a sumptuous breakfast tray complete with smoked salmon, bagels, fresh coffee and a handful of wonderfully scented freesias, if they float your boat that is. The sun will cast a golden pool of light onto the scene as we nibble our morning treat in peace with only the sound of birdsong for company.   By the time we get up after our leisurely brekkie, the kitchen will be sparkling, the floor swept and the dishwasher whirring contentedly, leaving us nothing to do but lounge for a spell..

  So, this week it was World Book Day. And if you didn’t know that you must have been lying in a dark room with the curtains closed playing candy crush for the past fortnight. Anyone with children, or who has friends with children, or knows children that live in the next street, or even the next town, cannot fail to miss this yearly phenomenon. When the letter came home from school a fortnight ago and I glanced over those three little words, my stomach took a nose dive as I began to process exactly what outfits I might have to conjure up this year. Especially since there..