Pram Glam

Every so often, I have a crisis of confidence when it comes to my wardrobe.  At present, due to the fact that I've lost a little weight, I'm having a rethink of my clothes and, once again, I've come to the realisation that my two girls have a wardrobe full of stylish, beautiful clothes to suit every mood and yet I have a cupboard full of baggy jeans and fading polo shirts.  Sigh.

This should come as no surprise. In a recent study among new mums with children aged three or less, commissioned by detergent brand Persil Non-Bio and fabric conditioner Comfort Pure, it was found that more than seven in ten mothers feel their babies and toddlers are better dressed than they are. While new Mums tend to avoid tight and impractical clothing, many babies have the latest designer outfits, or at least, a more diverse range of clothing than their Mums!

The survey showed that after becoming a Mum, we spend nearly half the amount on ourselves with the amount spent on clothing dropping from an average £57 a month before pregnancy to just £29 a month after giving birth. Yup, that's about hit the nail on the head for me. So much so that back in May I resolved to buy myself one new item of clothing a month as a way of trying to slowly, but steadily refresh my dumpy wardrobe.

The researchers for Persil Non-Bio and Comfort Pure commissioned celebrity stylist and new mum Grace Woodward to compile ‘Pram Glam’; a post-pregnancy style guide for new mums. The style guide can be downloaded from the website www.persilandcomfort.co.uk.

With nearly a third of new mums finding that they lack inspiration for what to wear, the Pram Glam guide provides practical and stylish wardrobe ideas and quick and easy fashion tips, giving new mums fashion inspiration without requiring them to worry about their wardrobe or investing in impractical and expensive clothing.

Grace says: "Having had my little boy six months ago, I have struggled with the overhaul my wardrobe needed to help me look and feel great. I’ve compiled these style tips as I want mums to give themselves some attention too, so that they can celebrate their bodies and this new chapter in their live. After all, there’s nothing more beautiful than self-confidence and the joy that comes from being a new mum.”

Have you struggled with ideas for what to wear since becoming a mum?  Perhaps you've managed to turn things around and pull yourself out of a rut.  I'd love to hear your ideas of how to move out of the "jeans and a baggy top" mode I'm in - leave me your comments below.

The start of my #TeamChallenge10 Journey - 10 miles in 10 months

Back in May, the week after Holly turned two, I decided to make some changes.

I was planning clothes that I would need to buy for a trip to the USA with work in a few weeks and realised that I was going to need to buy new jeans - my current ones didn't really fit any more.  I blamed the waistline issues on the previous time that I had been to the States in February and resolved to lose a few pounds before my forthcoming trip.  4 months on and I have lost nearly 2 stone through a combination of a massive reduction in the amount of processed carbohydrates I was eating, a significant reduction in alcohol consumption and, most importantly, I have started to run.

It may not be flattering... but this is me running my first ever timed 5k

This week I'm joining a team of 10 bloggers who, while none of us have ever run much before, we all plan to be able to run 10 miles in 10 months time.  It's called Team Challenge 10 and you can find out more about it on twitter using the hashtag #TeamChallenge10.

I started running in late June (having found that my change in diet lead to increased energy levels) using the Couch to 5k plan from the NHS.  Until this point, the last time I had chosen to run anywhere was approximately 19 years ago and to be honest, I was finding it hard simply running after Holly or Lara as far as the end of my road.

During the first week of C25k I was pleasantly surprised with how well I was getting through things.  I was ready to take on weeks 2 and 3 when I started to suffer with knee problems.  I was advised to take a week or two off for recovery and it would have been very easy for me to have abandoned the plan completely but I took that time to buy myself some shiny new running shoes (after having had a gait analysis to make sure I had the right type and wouldn't cause myself more injuries).

I got back on the wagon and worked on through the C25k plan until the end of week 7.  By this time you are running around 25-28 minutes continuously but I was feeling confident enough to push it up all the way to 35-37 minutes and was able to complete 5k with a bit of huffing and wheezing.  I'm not sure "running" is the term I would use for me yet... more like "jogging" or "walking with a lollop" but it'll do.

At the end of week 7 I completed my first ever Parkrun with a new-found running friend (discovered as a friend of a friend on facebook!).  It was hard but I completed it in 35:10.  Saturday mornings are normally packed full of swimming lessons and potentially even Rainbows this term so I'm not sure how much of a regular occurrence Parkrun will be.

After my first Parkrun I signed up for my first ever 5k race.  So, here we are in September and I have two weeks until my first race.  It is going to be a muddy, woodland and field route quite unlike anything I've run before.  I've been out of practice again for just over a week due to having twisted my ankle while walking on my holidays so I need to get out there and prep.

Once I've got over my first race then I'm going to take a more serious look at the plan I will need if I am going to increase my race distance from 5k all the way up to 10 miles by next June. It seems like an insurmountable challenge right now but I've found that with running, things that seem impossible one week may well be totally do-able the next.

If you'd like to join me in the challenge, feel free to tweet along, share your stories on my facebook page or hook up with me on Strava so that we can give each other a boost.  Good luck everyone.

Burgers - A Recipe Book Review

Burgers, by Paul Gayler, is a small hardback book in the shape of.. a burger.  Burgers are fabulous things to cook with kids but they don't always have to be a plain old beef burger - this book is packed full of gourmet burgers with lots of different flavours, and ingredients!

This week we set about making our own burger rolls.  Making bread is something that the girls very much enjoy doing with their Daddy.

Unfortunately, this time our bread rolls were a total disaster so we went for plan B - the corner shop!  Thankfully our burger-making efforts were awesome so it totally made up for things.  We followed a recipe from Payl Gayler's book, Burgers called "Ploughman's Burger" which features a tangy beef and onion mix with strong cheddar cheese pockets in the middle which oozes out when you eat it.  Om nom nom.

Burgers also features lots of recipes for classic burger accompaniments such as chips and relishes.  To top our burger we made a sweet balsamic onion pickle, homemade coleslaw and fresh tomatoes, just like a ploughman's lunch.  The result was mouth-watering.

Paul Gaymer's book starts with a few burger classics including an ultimate burger with "the works" but it quickly moves on to fascinating flavour combos such as Indian flatbreads with tandoori lamb burgers, Turkey BLT or Carribbean pork burgers.  There are vegetarian options too with a couple of innovative fish burgers.

Burgers is a fun book and I can see the Mellow Family slowly working our way through it.  I'd love to see more photos in this book of the relishes, salads, sauces and accompaniments as I think some of these recipes are outstanding - can't wait to try making my own ketchup some day soon.

To order Burgers at the discounted price of £7.99 including p&p* (RRP: £9.99), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG198.
*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.