March 2015 - Plutonium Sox

Natalie Ray March 31, 2015 Days out

An Easter soft play treat

It’s rather odd I think, as a parent to two pre-school age children, that I always wonder what we’re going to do with ourselves during the Easter holidays. During term time, it’s so easy to know what to do with the girls. There is an activity going on every day, then various other things come up for a break from our usual routine. In the Easter holidays though, all their little activities stop. I have to keep them busy in the mornings so that they sleep in the afternoon, otherwise my work time goes out of the window. Our default…

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Natalie Ray March 30, 2015 Pets

The great boredom debate

There are many ongoing debates in our house. You would assume that as parents to young children, there would be the odd disagreement over how to bring them up. I understand that it is important to stand together and present a united front. We must cater for the needs of our children, but also our own needs as parents. We have a certain standard of discipline that we must both enforce. Sometimes, all children will ask the other parent when they don’t get what they want. But unfortunately, we sometimes just don’t know all the answers. And one of the eternal issues in…

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Natalie Ray March 28, 2015 Days out

Sea Life Centre Birmingham Sea Stars

Today has been a fabulous day. We were lucky enough to be invited to see the new Sea Stars exhibit at the National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham. We are regulars at the Sea Life Centre, it’s one of those things that is perfect for both girls at their current ages. I remember Libby loving the Sea Life Centre at Lia’s age, seeing the exciting coloured fish, the movement, the huge turtle, the jellyfish, the sharks and the rays. And Lia is exactly the same. And yet, as Libby has got older and we have continued to go regularly, there are…

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Natalie Ray March 27, 2015 Holidays

A weekend in London

Every year, we make the effort to go down to London at least once. This is partly due to the fact that my sister is living down there, and partly down to the fact that we just love the city. The last time we went, we only stayed for the day. At the time, Lia wasn’t sleeping well and we weren’t ready for a weekend away in a hotel. But we desperately wanted to see the poppies at the Tower of London. We were so glad we did. Now though, Lia has settled down and we are all up for…

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Natalie Ray March 26, 2015 Our Thursday Photos

Our Thursday Photo #46

Over the past few weeks, I have been writing a few blog posts that are rather more controversial than my usual drivel about our mundane lives. It has been fabulous to get some positive reactions to my these posts, and even better to notice that more people are reading my blog and taking the time to comment. And yet, it is a relief to reach Thursday and revert to my usual nonsense about our week. I love the way that our Thursday photos are shaping up into a record of the girls growing up and I can’t wait to print them off…

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Natalie Ray March 25, 2015 Lifestyle

The influence of bloggers

As a blogger, I love to read other people’s posts and keep up with the news about what my fellow bloggers are up to. It was wonderful to see Team Honk getting involved with raising loads of money for comic relief. I was also totally in awe of this post by Sarah, who is using her blog influence to help out a friend in need. Whilst I would by no means put myself in the same category as those inspirational people, I do my very best to raise awareness of issues, charities or ethical businesses when I think I can help. And…

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Natalie Ray March 24, 2015 Baby

Carrying a baby in a sling

Yesterday, a good friend of mine forwarded me a link to a news article about the fact that using slings and baby carriers is becoming a bit more mainstream. You see, I’m one of those “hippy” mums that carries my baby. Actually, Lia has never been in a pushchair, pram or buggy. When I had Libby, we bought a nice off-road buggy, so that we could take her walking on the hills. At the time, I was in touch with a friend from school via Facebook and I noticed that she was into something I’d never heard of, called “babywearing.”…

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