A Modern Mother

A day at the beach

I'm thoroughly ensconced in California now. We've been here nearly two weeks and the girls are officially "tired" of Mexican food. One can never tire of the beach though, and here are some pics from a recent trip to Santa Cruz... 

Please tune into BBC Radio Four Woman's Hour tomorrow

A selection of British Mummy Bloggers are appearing on BBC's Radio Four Woman's Hour tomorrow morning. Some will be live, many others have recorded posts to be read online. Woman's Hour has been informing and entertaining women for more than 50 years. So please tune in at 10 am and help celebrate the rise of mum blogging in the UK.

Listen to BBC Radio Four Woman's Hour 13/7 replay on iplayer

What I learnt from CyberMummy

What happens when you gather a group of 180 highly talented and influential women in a room together?*

Friends are made, advice is given, hugs and cupcakes are shared.

It's never too early to think about ...

Sponsored post

One of my favourite US retailers Target (pronounced Tar-JAY) asked if I would pretty please come up with a few back-to-school tips. I'm going to get a lot of flak for putting this up so early, but here goes...

A Modern Mother's top five tips for getting ready to go back to school:

1. If your child is feeling apprehensive about their new class (who wouldn't?) arrange a playdate with some classmates during the course of the summer. The summer break is a long one and regular contact with school mates will help to maintain stability and ease back-to-jitters.

2. Be enthusiastic about school. Point out all the fun they will have seeing their friends again and all the cool things they will learn and do. Children will take your cue, so the more positive you are about school, the more excited they will be.

Chocolate what?

Sponsored post

Wholegrain Weetabix is a breakfast staple in the modern family and we couldn't resist the offer to test the new Chocolate Weetabix. The girls couldn't believe their luck. We were told it has half the sugar of other chocolate-flavoured cereals and is low in salt and free from artificial colours. But would the girls actually like it? Two out of three loved it, but our youngest said she would stick with the "reg-lar" one. Out of the mouth of babes.

Photo credit: lokate366

CyberMummy: What will today bring? (w/links)

I'm still trying to digest yesterday -- will write more about it later.

All I want to say is what is the obession with bacon and the Garofalo spaghetti was not meant to beat people with.

Below is the post I read during my welcome talk:

3 July 2010. 3am. I can't sleep. Too excited. I can't believe it is here. The starched white hotel sheets are bunched to the side; I've been twisting and turning all night. My body is tired, but my mind is alive.