A day off from the circus

There are two more full weeks of the school holidays. Part of me will miss the lack of routine, longer days and limited bursts of sunshine. The other part of me will be crawling to the finish line desperate for a quiet house.. I have to say that school holidays are easier when the children are older but you are still running a circus and spinning plates are being dropped in this house.

When the kids are little you are literally holding together a full on Cirque Du Soliel summer camp. Six weeks with teenagers is much less intense but with some hairy moments on the trapeze (note underage festivals). As the kids grow up, parents often take on more work (to pay for all the Vinted purchases) and it is a scramble to fit everything in. Last week I had 24 hours at Thorpe Park and then a 6 hour drive back to a full inbox in Cornwall. Knackered.

To stop myself from falling in a messy heap at the start of September, I have found that scheduling a reset day is very important. This doesn’t have to involve money which has all been spent on school uniform. But there are strict rules that need to be followed.

1. No looking at work or school related emails.

2. Do not go and tidy the kids rooms or do any boring routine chores.

3. Do the school drop off and go back to bed with a cup of tea for as long as possible.

4. Watch TV in the middle of the day. Preferably a very trashy series.

5. Have a bath in the middle of the day.

6. Go for a long slow walk.

7. Do what you want to do rather than what you have to do.

The wellness industry would tell you that you need a sound bath, a cacao ceremony and a silent retreat to reawaken your chakras. I find that saying ‘I am not doing nothing for nobody’ for a day makes me feel a whole lot better and is much more accessible. Schedule yourself a reset day in September and see how you feel.

In the meantime, good luck with the ***t show and the trip to Clarks.

Sophie x

Bedding Set made from Liberty Fabric ‘Annabella’

Big Top Cushion

Photo : Dee Campling

The school holiday fear and going cold turkey on screen time

I have fleeting Enid Blyton daydreams about the school holidays where my children go on wholesome adventures to catch butterflies with picnics consisting of homemade bread, jam and lemonade all wrapped up in a checkered tea-cloth. But then reality kicks in and I actually feel a bit sick. I meet lots of enthusiastic Mums in the playground who relish the school holidays' lack of timetable and ample pj time. I am most definitely not one of these Mums, what is the secret to their sparkiness?

I don't have a strategy other than booking the odd holiday programme. With Mr. P away for most of the hols (inciting giant green envy) I know that I will need a break to get on with Poppy and Honesty stuff. However I have my reservations about plugging the kids into devices as I am not sure the knock on effect is worth it. 

Just talking about screen time opens up a can of worms almost as wriggly as breast feeding or childbirth. I am certainly not going to judge anyone using screens to entertain, educate, or buy themselves some time to go to the loo alone or call the emergency plumber. However we've got rid of the screens for a while and the kids have been much nicer. They seem less reactive and more able to engage. Perhaps because they are not thinking about their next move on Clash of Twats or hilarious emoji to send to their pals? Also their testosterone levels appear to have slumped as they are no longer busy wiping each other out on computer games. They are having to do 'other things' and entertain themselves, even if this involves maiming each other with a tennis racket, surely it's better than watching a bored teen fidget spinning on You Tube?  Maybe this is just my own self fulfilled prophecy but family life certainly seems a lot more harmonious without the plug ins. 

We've been Device Cold Turkey for x 4 weeks and so far so good. Obviously I will probably break after Week 1, when I have to locate a Poppy and Honesty order that has gone awol. However, it has definitely been an eye opener and something you may want to consider for a while to change things up.

May the force, all the wine and deep breathing be with you for the next 6 weeks. If you are a sparky school holiday Mum, can you let me in on the secret, pleaaaaase?

Sophie xxxx

Liberty Print Duvet Cover in Betsy

Ice-cream Parenting- scoops to get you through the summer

During the summer Mr P and I adopt a very popular parenting strategy known as 'Icecream Parenting'. This involves bribery and threats based on icy treats and is typically manipulated very successfully by the little moppets. Last summer they managed to extort at least 1-2 cones a day, increasing to a rather shameful 3 whilst on holiday in Spain (how else do you get them around a Sevillian market?)  July is the official month of the ice-cream and so we thought we'd give you a couple of recipes that are marginally more healthy than the staple Fabs, Magnums and Feasts. They are so easy it's almost an insult to call them recipes, but when the kids are climbing the walls during the school hols (around day 2 for us), these icy treats might just provide 10 mins peace

Strawberries and Cream

As a nod to Wimbledon, this strawberry gelato is so yummy it may even heal Andy's hip. You will need : A fierce blender; a bag of frozen strawberries and 100 mls Double Cream. Shove all the ingredients into your blender and cone up. Top with more cream and strawberries.

Banana Choc Chip

This is a great recipe to use up the over-ripe bananas. Chop them into small chunks and put them in the freezer. You will also need 100mls nut milk and some dark chocolate chips. When you are ready, put all of the ingredients into your blender, blast it until the ice-cream is nice and smooth. Top with a splodge of peanut butter for extra scrumptiousness.

Don't have any cones? These ice creams will be just as delicious sandwiched between two biscuits. They will keep for a couple of days in the freezer before getting too frosty, but best scoffed immediately.

Happy scooping

Sophie xxx

We think this Emma and Georgina Liberty Print is Tutti Fruitti. Get your self some summery pillowcases from Poppy and Honesty here

10 years on... advice I would give my younger Mummy self

Mr. P and I celebrated 10 years of parenthood last weekend. We've been chatting about the ups and downs and having a chuckle about the nutty stuff we did. If I was able to steal MJ Fox's time-machine and go back to 2007, these are some of the things I would tell my rookie parent self...

Choose your girl gang carefully

I felt a huge pressure to socialise my children regularly. If I wasn't attending playgroups. gymbaroo (?) or god awful singing in the library, my kids were definitely going to be sociopaths or psychopaths right? Subsequently I ended up hanging with some quite judgy women and through the fog of tiredness/PND and trying to navigate my way through the early years,  I didn't recognise that this wasn't a supportive or healthy place for me and the sprogs. Thankfully, I had a couple of amazing queens on my side. They always lifted my spirits and didn't give a monkeys if you bribed the kids into the bath with jelly babies. 

Always chose fun

I missed out on seeing the late George Michael sing Wake me Up Before you Go Go because I had to do the night feed. There is so much boring shit that you have to do as a parent. The housework is endless. Given another chance, unless the house was about to be condemned a slum,  I would  ditch the dishes in favour of drinks with the girl gang and give the babe a bottle so that I could shimmy on down to Club Tropicana with George. 

Mummy -  tummy? Whatever.

It is a bloody shock to see your post pregnancy stomach. I can liken it to the dimply party pasty available in our Cornish bakery. Tip to former self- don't look at it. There are so many more important things to do (like have fun) and you are so much more than a wobbly tum. 

Stop analysing the elusive 'bond'

I bought into the idea that I had to feel an automatic, unstoppable, all-consuming connection with my babies as soon as they were born. Subsequently I spent such a long time looking for this and became more and more anxious that it just wasn't there. Given the opportunity, I'd definitely tell my former self to take a step back, be patient and watch the relationship blossom over time.  My big kid was recently very poorly, we spent the whole time together watching telly and having fizzy drinks. There is no doubt in my mind that we go together like a good gin and tonic. 

There is suffering in parenting

An SAS soldier recently told me that sleep deprivation was the WORST part of his interrogation training (am not sure that included water boarding). Being kept awake by a baby for years is torture and so is being told to F*** off by children that have been your life's work. The only book I read as a Mum was Buddhism for Mothers. I'm not buddhist but totally subscribe to the idea that as a parent you have to accept a level of suffering. 

I can think of million more things,  but that will do for now. To all Poppy and Honesty's  pixelated young mummies, you're doing a fabulous job. We are bringing out a new grown up range just for you guys, Why should the moppets have all the good stuff when we do the school run with rice crispies in our hair ?

Big love 

Sophie xxxx

PS. Some great Mummy bloggers to follow. Peter and Jane: hilarious, tells it like it is. The London Mummy: Treats for Mummies and kids.  Mother Pukka- championing flexible working for parents.