The back to work debate.

I'm looking to go back to work. Its a controversial decision with some stay at home mums, I know.

I'd love to be a stay at home mum for good but in doing so I have to give up certain aspects of myself and as a family we go with out certain things. It is the balance of these issues that has led to me looking for a full time job again.

I don't judge anyone for their decisions and I'd like to think I won't be judged for mine either as they took much thought and I have made the choices I feel will help everyone in my family be happiest.

Mainly I am very good at what I do, I'd like to reach the top of my game and I can't do that part time or sat at home watching Kyle and reading Paddington.

I'd like our family to have some nice exotic holidays and be able to live comfortably instead of budgeting from one wage.

I want Tabitha to attend a nursery, she will love it. I want her Daddy to be able to drop her off and pick her up with arms full of glitter covered pictures.

Perhaps most importantly for me I want to have the budget to be able turn up outside my mans work and whisk him off to a hotel for a spontaneous night drinking.

Keep your fingers crossed for me as I hunt for the perfect job.

The Gallery - Hair.

The theme of Sticky Fingers Gallery this week is Hair and marks the year anniversary of The Gallery. I have tried to do every Gallery since I discovered it and think I have only missed a few. It is a brilliant concept and I really enjoy taking part each week.

So back to this weeks theme:

It is a touchy subject with Tabitha-Lo...

'' Frankly I find hair is seriously over rated. Who needs hair when you have accessories Darling? ''

No7 Sumptuous Bath Soak and Body Serum Review.

With Mothers Day on Sunday fast approaching I though I would do a mummy product review and why the hell not I hear you say! Oh that was me was it? Nevermind.

My bath has recently been taken over by ducks; big ones, little ones, yellow ones, black ones, one that tells the temperature and one that squirts water. It seems less bother to just jump in the shower these days than fight with the ducks. I tend to lose anyway and they all dive in for the attack once I'm rinsing my hair.

This week however I had some lovely inspiration to ditch the ducks and have some serious mummy bath time. I was sent some of the No7 Sumptuous Bathsoak and Body Serum  from Boots to try out and took great pleasure in telling myself it was for research and I must allocate myself a long hot soak. 

This bath soak smells divine and left my skin feeling soft and velvety. My skin can at times be quite sensitive to this type of product but was fine with both the soak and the serum too. The serum absorbed into my skin quickly and left no stickiness or residue. It rehydrated my dry knees and backs of my heels almost instantly. I would definitely use these products again. 

Which means the ducks are in trouble.....

QUACK!

Silent Sunday.

Mumra Playlist - Week 6.

Now that I am a parent one of the things I never do anymore is listen to music to fall asleep.

In my life before Tabitha I always used music to help me drift off. These days I need no help, just a relatively flat surface and I'm gone in seconds.

This week I have decided to revisit those days of freedom and have selected one of my favourite tunes for this weeks theme. Which is :

Dream Time

I love this tune, it holds so many great memories for me and has a real cathartic effect of washing away any stress from the day. So lay back and enjoy...

Feel free to link up your favourite Dream Time tune. Don't forget to give Mumra a little mention so people know where it all started. If you like add the badge below so people can come back and listen to the other entries too.

<a href="http://mumrara.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/af52/pinkrara/VinylRecord.jpg" border="0" alt="Mumra Playlist" /></a>

What has been your best parenting purchase?

Since Day One with Tabitha-Lo I have used these wash cloths. 

When she was tiny we used them as burp clothes and bibs. The loop worked beautifully as a pull through hook for the opposite corner and made lovely little cowboy bibs.

Today we use them for cleaning face and hands after meals and snacks, along with water play cloths to clean dolly and cold compresses to reduce temperatures.

I don't think a day has gone by without me using at least four of them.

I wash them on a hot cotton wash and occasionally use a Dr Beckmann whitener to give them a new sparkle, my original two packs are still going strong 15 months on....

Definitely my best parenting purchase at £3.05 per pack from Ikea.

What is your best parenting purchase?

What one thing could you really not have done without?

The Gallery - Education.

The theme Education this week at Sticky Fingers immediately made me smile.

I was a feisty teenager with bad hair and a matching attitude, don't be fooled by the glasses I was actually quite cool.

Tara and I have had a conversation a few months ago on Twitter about an incident I was involved in at school and she asked demanded I blog about it. I never did and now I feel as a special gift to her the time has come...

I must have been about 11/12 and my friend and I were supposed to be doing homework in the local library. We weren't we were looking at medical books and massage books, cracking up at the nudie photos inside. Anyway reckoning ourselves as little business women we had money making brain wave.

Using the photocopier we made lots of copies of the pictures, women in towels being massaged, breast examinations, mothers breast feeding... really anything that involved a low level of nudity. We then cut them out and stapled them together into little books and sold them to the idiot boys in our year for 35p.

By break time we had made enough to buy ten Benson and Hedges and were laughing smuggly until we were yanked into the Deputy Heads office. We were immediately put on report for circulating pornographic material.

The Deputy Head did however say he hoped as we grew older we were able to focus our entrepreneurial skills better, and looking back I think he may have been stifling a smile.

See the other entries by clicking the link above.

Sod's Law of Parenting.

1. If you forget a set of spare clothes child will mess its pants or spill huge amounts of food/drink down its self.
2. If you count your nappies on 'normal' use and delay buying more, child will poo six times in one day.
3. If you have an early morning start and long day ahead, even if child has slept through for weeks, it will wake five times that night.
4. If you are in a quiet waiting room or the like child will break wind very loudly.
5. If you are running late and have lots to do child will not sit quietly and watch Cbeebies.

If you have more please feel free to add them below....

Cybermummy 2011 Meet and Greet.

Cybermummy 2011 is getting closer and closer, while I am very excited about attending some of my nerves still remain. 

My fabulous ticket sponsors Maclaren have made the whole thing possible and now I am only looking for an accommodation sponsor to help me stay overnight in London after the event. Any companies who are interested in this advertising opportunity should contact me via my email button.

Carly at MummyShoes is heading up the Cybermummy 2011 Meet and Greet so I figured I better get involved and give some low down on Mumra.

Name: People call me Sarah, Sez or Mumra you can take your pick and add your own.

Blog: Mumra.

Twitter ID: @mumrablog

Height: 5:5 ish I think, who knows this stuff?

Hair: Long Brown naturally curly, sometimes a fringe, sometimes not.

Eyes: Brown like in the song.

This is me.....

Likes: Drinking, Smoking, Laughing and Dancing.

Dislikes:  Crap people especially James Corden.



Right that is all the important stuff covered.


See you other blogging mums there. I'm guessing I'll be found at the bar or thereabouts...

Mumra Playlists - Week 5.

This week I was tagged in a meme by Becca from Beckicklesie and so I have decided to tie it in with this weeks theme.

This weeks theme is Breakin' Shapes.

I have always loved to dance. As little girl I would practice routines for hours with my friends copying Mel and Kim or Salt'n'Pepper who ever was the flavour of the month.

As a teenager I was a proper little Techno raver going to warehouses and dirty farm stables filled with huge speakers and dancing until the sun came up.

In my twenties I fell in love with House and Garage Music. Nothing beats a night out in a club with the girls and I have some very happy, if hazy memories of the most excellent of evenings dancing to this tune.....

What gets you moving?

<a href="http://mumrara.blogspot.com/2011/03/mumra-playlists-week-5.html/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/af52/pinkrara/VinylRecord.jpg" border="0" alt="Mumra Playlist" /></a>

Maclaren Beginnings Competition and Review.

When I say Maclaren what do you think of? Pushchairs? Formula 1?

Things are changing at Maclaren, they still make the fabulous unbeatable buggies but they are now branching out. A fabulous range of beautiful nursery furniture has hit Harrods shop floor and also a range of high quality toiletries for Mother and Baby 'Beginnings' is now available online.

Several months ago I was very kindly sent as a total surprise a box heaving full of the new smellies range by Maclaren called Beginnings Range. It has taken me this long to actually tell you about it because we are still wading through the products.

My bathroom is now adorned with five fragranced candles that fill the room with the most beautiful scent even without them being lit.

I am a real sucker for packaging and admit to buying items just because they are well presented. Maclaren did not let me down on this front, each item was boxed in cardboard tubing and the minimal branding and muted colours made it very visually appealing.

The actual products smell amazing, all made with holistic aromatherapy oils and designed to promote harmony, bonding and well being. Tabitha and I both have sensitive skin and have found no issues with the Beginnings Range.

The best part of this review is I am giving you the chance to win your own travel kits of the range, and never fear its one for you one for the baby so you won't have to share!

Purifying Bath and Shower Elixir 25ml

Supporting Belly Balm 15g

Connecting Massage oil 25ml

Alleviating Leg Lotion 25ml

Balancing Facial Mist 25ml

Nurturing Bath Milk 25ml

Cocooning Massage Oil 25ml

Calming Bath Milk 25ml

                  Protecting Nappy Change Balm 15ml

                 Absorbing Dusting Baby Powder 15g

          Celebration Natural Candle 20g

             Soothing Delicate Soap 40g, Comforting Room Mist 25ml

The travel kits retail at £25.00 each.

Should you not be successful in the competition, products are available from

All you need to do to enter the competition is ....

Comment below telling me what aromatherapy scent is commonly used to encourage sleep?

You must also be following @mumrablog on Twitter or Google Friend Connect and/or 'Like' Mumra on Facebook to enter.

For an extra entry using Twitter simply retweet :

 " I've entered @mumrablog Maclaren Beginnings giveaway have you? http://bit.ly/gCwx7h "

The winner will be chosen at random by Mumra on 31st March 2011.
The winner will be announced on the site and contacted directly.

The Three by Nine Meme.

I have been tagged in another meme this time by Claire @ CheshireMum and seeing as we were naughty partners in crime at our last twine up I have of course obliged. 


Another little snippet of Mumra...


Three names I go by:   Sez, Ra-Ra, and Mumra.
Three places I’ve lived:   London, Hong Kong and Bognor Regis.
Three places I’ve worked:   A Toy Shop, A Nightclub and A Day Nursery.
Three things I love to watch:   Peep show, Alan Partridge, The US Office.
Three places I have been and love:   Thailand, Indonesia, and Amsterdam.
Three people that email me regularly:   Twitter, PR Companies and my OH.
Three things I love to eat:   Burgers, Cous Cous and Humous. 
Three people I think will respond:   Jenny, Kate, Bianca. 
Three things I am looking forward to:   First family holiday, Starting back at work, Getting my pre baby jeans back on.

Jenny - Mummy Mishaps.

Kate - What Katies Kids Did Next.

Bianca - Chibibi and The Boys.

You're tagged you know what to do!

The Gallery - Trees.

Tara has gone all hippy tree hugger on us at Sticky Fingers and chosen one of her big passions as the theme.

This is my entry for Trees.

This is a photo from my backpacking days, taken in Thailand.

 I wonder how many of you know what it is being collected and what it is used for?
I didn't have a clue when I first saw it.

Silent Sunday.

Mother Nature v's Planet Earth.

The images we have seen coming in from Japan the last few days have been horrific. A reminder of how small we are, how powerful mother nature is and how fragile the planet really is. 

I cannot begin to comment on the scientific reasons for the events that have created the devastation in Japan or the events leading up to the 2004 Tsunami. I am not equipped to comment, like most of you I just sit open mouthed as the media repeat images of buildings falling apart, of waves surging inland carrying debris and vehicles smashing through homes. 

I shed tears for the people effected and thank God that my family and friends are safe but each time this happens, and it seems more frequent with the much increased media reporting my mind starts to wonder...

What kind of planet am I leaving my child?

I do not want Tabitha to witness ever increasing natural disasters as she grows into an adult. It was not my intention to bring a child into a world that is falling apart.

Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I watch too many Sci-fi films. The movie 2012 has always haunted my mind since I saw it. The CGI effects of our plant falling apart are almost too uncomfortable and realistic to watch.

Photos courtesy of Sony.

I really have no idea what causes the earthquakes, I *believe* it is not directly related to global warming but the concerns I have about this planets future led me back to another film I have been scarred by. 

I'd like to think everyone at least watches this film, even if they don't agree with it afterwards. It is just stuff you need to have an opinion on, especially if you are bringing children into this world.

[ I was unable to post the actual film so watch the trailer and then click the link below for the full film. I will say the trailer is VERY classic American OTT so please see the full film for the actual facts. ] 

To watch 'An Inconvenient Truth' - The Full Version. Click Here.

Mumra Playlists - Week 4.

I have so many ideas for themes I struggled this week to decide which one to use. 

You guys have done me proud on the previous posts and each playlist has such variety and heart poured into the choices. I have heard new artists and been reminded of great songs that brought with them snippets of memories long forgotten.

I hope you will continue to put your own takes on the themes and that is why I purposely chose a slightly open subject this week.

The chosen theme is...

Guilty Pleasures

Carmen McRae - How Long Has This Been Going On (MJ Cole Remix)

I adore the album this is featured on Verve Remixed.

The album is packed with modern remixes of some classic Jazz songs. I don't think there is anything more relaxing than Jazz especially when sung by a woman. It is simply dream music for me, like the day and the stresses just float away.

My Guilty Pleasure is a long hot bath, candles and these tunes.

Bliss.

<a href="http://mumrara.blogspot.com/2011/03/mumra-playlists-week-4.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/af52/pinkrara/VinylRecord.jpg" border="0" alt="Mumra Playlist" /></a>

Mini Club mid season sale at Boots.

Don’t miss out on the mini club mid season sale at Boots

Save up to 50% on selected lines

I love the clothes at Boots. I always have a browse when I go in for bits and pieces. Recently I have been surprised at the originality of some of the items. The range is also well priced and good quality.

The mini club collection covers ages 0 - 6 years old. 

If you haven't had a look at the stock in your local Boots you should, I think you'll be surprised.

I love this spring dress, the mish-mash of patterns is really cute.

Matching pants, say no more!

I think Tabitha would look adorable in this nautical number!

The Big Girl Bed.

Once upon a time she was tiny...

It seems really quick this need for a bed for Tabitha. She is still my baby, I am not sure her sleeping in a bed will seem right, but it has to be done.

She has mastered getting her leg over the bars of the cot, a side effect of being lanky. So a bed it is, that or regular trips to A and E.

I realise this will mean mass purchases.. a stairgate for the bedroom door, new bedding, a bed guard and I'm sure I will think of more necessary items.

The dilemma is do we go for a junior bed so she doesn't seem lost amongst the bedding or a standard single so it lasts for years. I am currently running through the pros and cons.

I like the idea of a one bed purchase, no storing a toddler bed and paying out on another one in 3 years time. I am also thinking at times it'll be us adults fighting over who goes in her bed once she has snuck into ours, so a standard seems to be winning.

But then I go and see all these cute little toddler beds and think 'Aaaah..'

Suitable for a Princess?

Any words of wisdom 'been there and done it' Mums?

The Gallery - One Word.

The Gallery this week was a pretty open subject - One Word. 

I thought I'd try and think of a word that is important to me but today all that I could think of was this word so I'm going with it...

Tired

Pancake Recipe.

I think everyone knows how to make pancakes, this post is a bit gratuitous for the pictures.

• My favourite recipe is this one, it makes good old school pancakes.
• 
  
• My only hot tip is use a cutter to get that perfect circle and American Style thickness. 

• 1 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 cup plain flour

• 3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 
  

1. In a bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Make a dent in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium high with a small amount of oil in the pan. Pour mixture into cutter until about a cm thick, once it has hardened remove cutter carefully by running a knife around the inside and turn to brown last side.                                

Serve with Hot Cherries in sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream.

Or Smoked Bacon and Maple Syrup.

Nom Nom Nom Nom

Happy Pancake Day.