Papery Love! #2

Today I am sharing some papery love (inspired by The Reading Residence's #bringbackpaper) I have notebooks, stickers and books to share with you all. Enjoy!

What I've Read:


Very different from my normal book reading, I've gone with a bit of harmless chic lit in the form Fiona Niell's The Secret Life of The Slummy Mummy. I can never identify with these novels although I think you're supposed to in way (at least to make you feel better) but I have laughed out loud a few times and certainly cringed, I managing myself as Lucy in a few of her highly embarrassing situations.

What I'm Reading:

































I'm currently reading another nursing book titled 'Catching Babies.' Since reading The New Arrival I have fallen in love with these real life accounts of nursing, health visiting and midwifery in the 70's and onwards. I really recommend this book, as I did the previous title.

Up Next:
Back to the usual stuff for me with more Tudor related reading. I'll be picking up Betrayal in the Tudor Court as my next book to lose myself in.

Now some papery love! I bought some dessert themed stickers to add to my letters from Fox and Star who is a fantastic seller and has lovely items on her Etsy store. I purchased a gorgeous notepad from Waterstones for just under £3 whilst I had a break from a recent blogging event to explore Exeter a little.
























 Finally, I ordered a selection of vintage inspired cards to make some cards for swaps and special occasions.

I purchased a pack of vintage cards for a recent gift swap.























Do you like any of my recent buys? Do you have any papery love to share? Leave me your posts below!

The Reading Residence

Cupcake Mumma

Little A's First Speech and Language Assessment


Yesterday, I bundled Little A in his buggy and headed to the local health clinic where we were going to be meeting A's new speech and language therapist for the first time. I was pretty nervous about the whole prospect to be honest. I wondered how A would react, if the therapist would be kind and reassuring or a bit stern and unfriendly making both myself and A completely anxious. I literally had no idea what to expect from this appointment but I really needn't have worried quite so much!

Our therapist was absolutely lovely and incredibly friendly and natural with A who wasn't bothered by his surroundings at all, he just sat with the toys in the room as I went through some questions with the therapist. This is what happened, in no particular order (incase anyone reading is facing an upcoming assessment and is as clueless as I was!)

First off, you consent to your child being observed in that session and any further sessions, plus you will be asked if you consent to the therapist discussing your child if there are other concerns raised (so health visitors for example) and lastly, a consent to your child being observed in their nursery or school setting if they are in one.

Then:
A check of personal details (address, contact numbers and child's date of birth)

If they attend school or not or are due to start (A starts pre school in September)

What playgroups they attend, if any

What my concerns are (and then any following questions were tailored to my answer which was that I thought he was behind, he doesn't use sentences, we don't have conversations and he isn't able to tell me what's wrong/what he wants/if he's unwell I have no idea if there are no other symptoms etc)

Any concerns with their behaviour?

Is general health ok? Had a hearing test? Any other concerns?

Do they use bottles or dummies?

Those are the questions I remember most clearly. As I said, based on your responses you'll get other questions asked to give the therapist a clearer idea of your worries.


With questions out of the way Little A and I were left to play while the therapist listed any words or sentences she could make out. She didn't write much down I can tell you! This lasted about 10 minutes when she then joined in playing along too and interacting with A. It was concluded that A definitely doesn't appear to have any problems with his hearing, and that he clearly wanted to communicate with me but was lacking the words he needed in order to talk to me properly. She was encouraged by his positivity and enthusiasm so this was brilliant news.

The outcome?
After half an hour of play and observing A, I came away with some ideas and future appointments. He'll be assessed in August before school and the therapist has said she will write a report to his nursery to give them a heads up so they know he's being assessed and having some extra help, something they'll be used to. She'll observe him in school when he's settled in properly I suspect. We've been told to carry on as normal but to give him choices rather than asking him questions he can only say yes or no to. To help with any frustrations, we've been advised that learning some sign language with him would be really helpful in the mean time.

I feel really positive and happy with the outcome of our assessment. I was worried I would be made to feel guilty for doing certain things that could've hampered his development. Don't you love mum guilt? Yes he's behind but he'll be chatting with the rest of them in no time I suspect!

Right, pass me the remote, I've got some Mr Tumble to watch.

Cupcake Mumma

Beautiful, Simple Notebooks by Personalise.co.uk

If you've been reading my blog or know me on line elsewhere for a while, then you'll know I love stationery. From wonderful writing paper, pretty pens and stickers to notebooks big and small. I have a fair few, some I still haven't written in but will be used in the very near future no doubt!

My most recent notebook has come from the lovely people at Personalise.co.uk who create personalised items for you and your loved ones. You can select a range of notebooks from hardback to spiral ones, a selection of different colours as part of the different ranges and of course you can personalise your notebook with your name and, if you so wish, a little saying underneath.


I'm not a fan of spiral notebooks so I chose a hardback notebook priced at £12.99. This notebook came with a choice of font colour (blue or pink) and as you can see I chose blue for a change. I'm really, really pleased with my notebook. Inside the pages are lined, I dislike blank pages in my notebook, I don't see the point in a notebook without lined paper. The personalising of the book let's everyone know it is in fact my book and nobody else's (looking at you Midge!) and a little favourite of mine is the ribbon attached so I don't go losing my place


The notebook came very handy at a recent blog event I attended and was the perfect size for my slightly-on-the-small-side sized handbag (another plus!) A big thank-you to Personalise.co.uk who sent me this notebook in exchange for an honest review.

Cupcake Mumma

Going Green-Fingered to Save Money

I've been cutting back much like most of the people I speak to these days. We rarely take a bus or taxi, we buy as much as we can value or own brand in the supermarkets we shop around in, we use charity stores (I love this one!) and genuinely just try to make things last longer clothes and food wise. The only thing I don't do and have never done is grow my own fruit and vegetables.

I'm the daughter of a gardener yet my Dad didn't pass on any green fingered genes (much like my mum who is wonderful at sewing but never sat me down to learn!) I haven't the first clue what I'm doing but I know i want to grow my own produce and I want to save money. As part of the Money Does Grow on Trees challenge from debt free direct I picked some seeds, compost and a little shelf unit (because there isn't much windowsill room in my house!) which was all kindly sent to me so I can blog our growing journey and hopefully blog about how much money we'll save when it comes to pulling our veg out of the soil!

I've planted some herbs (I bought these myself) and the children planted some strawberries with their aunt which are also on our windowsill. Here they are growing away several weeks ago:



My lavender has been moved into a slightly bigger plant pot but my other herbs died! We also planted some potatoes! I found this big tub after a toy box clear out, made a few adjustments to it with help from my Husband and planted the spuds with help from Midge.





Hopefully I'll be planting more fruit and veg (both a mix of my own purchases and seeds from this challenge.) I'm really hoping I can grow something! I've worked out I could save around £20 a month (regardless of season! In fact, in summer it would be slightly more because of all the strawberry buying!)


Do you grow your own? Do you have a nice big space, an allotment or are you on a smaller scale much like myself with pots everywhere!? I'd love to know and especially always appreciate your growing tips so my challenge isn't a total fail!

Cupcake Mumma