The Incredible Courage of a Seven Year Old

This week was 'Fairtrade' week at my daughters school. The parents donate healthy snacks for the children to sell in a tuck shop. This time everything had to be 'fairtrade'.

 

Over dinner, we had a discussion about what 'fairtrade' means and how it works. My husband & I explained that, as with most things set up to do good, they usually end up doing more harm and usually too, the only winners are not the people intended to benefit the cause but the company who runs it. This, sadly, is the case with Fairtrade too. My daughter was pretty disbelieving, she is only 7 & still lives, quite rightly, in a world full of good conquering evil & happily ever afters. But she is very curious. And determined. Once a few questions had been raised in her mind, she set off, armed with her iPad to discover the facts for herself.

 

The next day at school, her teacher started talking about Fairtrade & my daughter put up her hand & bravely exclaimed to the whole class and her teacher exactly why Fairtrade was 'bad' and how it was detrimental to the very farmers it claimed to be helping. She also raised the point of the EU imposed tariffs on non EU farmers selling their produce to EU members.

 

Her teacher replied "I think your parents have been telling you porkie pies".

You would think that would mute my daughter. It certainly stunned her, but instead of sitting in silence, she bid her time and at break, went to the school iPads & googled again, 'Fairtrade', and politely, but determinedly, presented this to her teacher.

 

I am so, so proud of the tenacity of my seven year old. To have the courage to stand by her convictions & not be bowed by authority is something most adults could never do. She is seven. Not once was she rude, or disruptive. She kept calm and presented her facts and stood by her principals. But most impressively, she thought. And she questioned. And she failed to accept something on face value. And she refused to be swayed or shamed into silence.

 

What a truly awesome person. I honestly hope I have just one tenth of her courage.

 

 

Next month term her topic is 'Space'. She is already planning her project; 'Why the Moon Landing was Fake'.

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This Weeks Food War

I joined in with the rather brilliant 'Meal Planning Monday' a couple of weeks ago, but very unfortunately, I didn't have much luck with my plan. Two days into the week & my youngest was hospitalised with pneumonia. I stayed with her, of course, so all meals went out of the window whilst Daddy held the fort at home with the elder two.

 

So as we are all back to full health (almost), I thought I'd try again.

 

This weeks food war with my middle child will be;

 

Pasta with tomato & mascarpone sauce, garlic bread

Chilli marinated salmon, rice & salad (LOL!!! He will be going very hungry this day!)

Veal meatballs, 'German style' potatoes, red wine sauce & peas

Pasta with slow cooked beef ragu & 7 veg hidden in it!

'Fried' chicken, sweet corn pudding & baked sweet potatoes

Spiced lamb with ratatouille

Roast beef & all the trimmings! Rare!

Once more I plan all this food which every member of my family will happily eat- even my two year old- except my very fussy son.

 

Wish me luck!

 

 

Love Kitty x

 

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Nice, not slutty, winter style for my daughter, aged 7

My seven year old daughter is very beautiful. I am biased. But she is. She has long straight blonde hair with just a hint of a curl at the ends, big beautiful eyes- just the right shade of blue for her complexion and the most perfect skin. She is very pretty. And kind. And clever. And funny and all the incredible things a seven year old girl should be.

 

What she is not, is a trashy slut. Or a teenager. Or frankly a lap dancer.

What am I talking about? Well, Grace, is very tall for her age. At 135cm she is the average height of a 10 year old. She wears size 10-11 years. And much to my considerable horror and complete frustration, generally, all the clothes aimed at this age group seem far, far too old for a ten year old, let alone a seven year old! Of course Grace is not the only tall girl out there. I cannot be the only parent who faces this battle every shopping trip.

 

I am not going to terrorise anyone with the abominations I find offered, instead, I'm going to show something of my solution.

 

My daughters wear lots of Boden. Lots of Boden. But it does get expensive and as it happens in the last few weeks all my three have had growth spurts & suddenly everyone needed a new wardrobe! So, I found myself looking for alternatives that would be pretty & girly, but practical, not too fussy, at a reasonable price and most importantly, age appropriate.

 

I found many odd pieces but I live in a very rural area, so resort to online shopping almost exclusively and paying a £4 delivery charge for a single item, at say, £10 is far beyond what I am willing to do!

So I found, or should I say, rediscovered, Vertbaudet..

And I managed to find them just as the sale began! These are some of the pieces I bought;

 

 

 

Dress, £11.50

 

Dress, £11.50

 

I also bought a 3 pack of coordinating polo necks that were £8.80! And both dresses happily go with all the blue/tealish greys in the pack. The genius of these dresses is that they are a fairly thick cotton. Therefore they are perfect with long sleeve tops & thick tights in winter but equally, with a chunky cardigan on cooler spring days & even alone in high summer!

 

 

I spent £30 approximately, including delivery(after lots of lovely discounts) and in the parcel was a voucher for £10 off a £30 spend! So of course I went shopping again! This time I bought some tights, a gilet & a couple of tops! All for £35 delivered!

Top,£5.50

Gilet, £18

 

 

So I am happy I've managed to find some pretty, yet practical clothes that don't project some sort of pseudo teenage image on to my daughter!

 

 

 

 

Love Kitty X

 

 

 

 

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What my son will be refusing to eat this week.

I have the fussiest eater in the world. Fussyeater Supreme. Won't eat anything unless it is dry and crispy.

For the better part of his eating life (3.5 years) I have fought a constant, daily war. Here is this weeks battle;

 

Pinwheel Pizza made with fresh, homemade tomato sauce, fresh peppers & organic cheese. Served with 'Cajun' sweet potato wedges.

Butterbean & chorizo stew. This is my take on a Tana Ramsay original.

Prawns with chilli and cheese.

Fish pie - always fall back to Jamie Oliver's 'Fantastic Fish Pie'

Garlic Bread topped Ratatouille. This is a mix up of an old 'BBC vegetarian magazine' recipe for a sort of Mediterranean bean casserole, topped with herb bread. But my children are not massive bean fans so I am trying it with a simple ratatouille. Not that they like that much either!

'Scooby Pasta'. The one dish my son will eat more than 4 forkfuls of, without threats of bed/no pudding/no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles etc. providing I take his portion, sprinkle with cheese & put under the grill til nearly burnt & nicely crispy. I should point out this is not that disgusting Heinz tinned crap. No, this is a lovingly made beef ragu, slow braised for 6 hours then served with regular pasta for us, scooby shaped pasta for the fussy one.

Roast lamb.

 

I have to say, I am not expecting him to eat any of this, with the exception of the 'scooby pasta'. But honestly, I have been bending over backwards to make individual, special meals for the little sod & he still never eats it, so my new technique is to give him the exact same as everyone else, and not break a sweat if he refuses to try it, or makes himself sick when it's placed in front of him (he will).

 

 

Wish me luck!

 

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Christmas List -Item Number 3

I started my Christmas List a couple of weeks ago, you can read about it here

I was browsing the Marks and Spencer Christmas gift guide when I came across this little beauty;

 

Collection Pure Cashmere Embellished Jumper £129

I am always wary of high street cashmere, the quality does tend to be very patchy, but I bought a bargain cashmere cardigan from M&S in he sale a few years back & it was brilliant! I am hoping this one will be just as good. Now, £129 is not cheap for a jumper, but it is pure cashmere & as I said before, I feel Christmas is a time for luxury & indulgence. That is why this gorgeous item is number 3 on my Christmas List.

 

Have you made your list yet?

 

 

Love Kitty x

 

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#NYNYStyleProject

The other day I came across a brilliant idea on the rather lovely Modern Mummy blog. The October New Year, New You Style Project. Always up for a bit of style fun & inspiration, it thought I'd give it a go!

The concept is simple; find the days prompt, take a pic, Instagram & Tweet it! All using the #NYNYStyleProject tag. I had a little problem that I lost the card reader attachment for my iPad & so couldn't post the photos til today, but I did do the prompt on the actual day.

I thought I would share my progress ;

 

Day 1. At The Back Of The Wardrobe.

 

 

Dreadfully unflattering photo, taken in my sons bedroom, as my youngest was napping in mine, but still, cannot detract from the fabulous Matthew Williamson top. I love Williamson, even his questionable stint at Pucci bought some magnificent pieces out. I have had this mainline piece for many years. It is one of the last vestiges of my 'Pre-Children Wardrobe' and one I will never part with. Hand dyed silk it literally is a work of art. It is also from one of his very earliest collections so who knows, maybe in the V&A one day... I can't honestly tell you the last time I wore it, definitely pre motherhood! I wore it out this time, for a friends birthday & felt terribly fun & not at all my age! Success!

 

Day 2. Favourite Florals.

 

 

 

Having lived through both the 80's (Laura Ashley) & 90's (grunge floral) I really don't do floral. But I do love cherry blossom! This is an old H&M scarf that's a little too thin & short to wear as a scarf so I like to accessorise my bags with it. Here it is on my favourite bag, D Bag, by Tods. The bedspread is my daughters & is by Cath Kidston.

 

 

Day 3. Wooden.

 

 

On the Friday school run, I wore my beautiful, rich mahogany coloured patent peep toed heels by Nine West. Elegant, comfortable, chic & oh so high! Perfect in these autumn days!

 

Day 4. Bright and Bold.

What else but Dior? The only red for me (since they discontinued 'Griote' back in the 1990's) Tres, Tres Dior. Just the right amount of blue, although in this pictures lighting it appears more tomato. It is not. It is perfect. But I didn't leave the house today. So husband was left wondering why I was making all the effort!

Tomorrow is 'Supermarket Chic' & I cannot wait!

 

Are you joining in?

 

 

Love Kitty x

 

 

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Christmas List - Item Number 2

I know I only posted the first item on my Christmas List yesterday, but I have already added 'Item number 2'. I did warn you it was going to be a long list

 

 

I need a new cross body bag. Whilst I don't particularly like them, I do find them very practical, especially when taking my three list 'Houdinis' out! This is the one I have picked;

Louis Vuitton Sologne £760

 

 

Chic, petite, classic.just perfect. I wonder what the next thing to make it to my list will be..... I'll be sure to let you know!

 

What's your your Christmas List?

 

 

Love Kitty x

 

 

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