'You've got your hands full'

Email your MP about child poverty - it takes less than two minutes

ACCORDING to a Press Association report, the number of children in families living on benefits has increased by 170,000 over the past year, with child poverty growing in affluent as well as traditionally affected areas.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty reports a "staggering" two million British children now have no parent in work.

It warned the number of children in families without jobs was rising to its highest level for a decade.

Help find Madeleine McCann and other missing children

MUM bloggers are being asked to help publicise this video in the hunt for Madeleine McCann.

As the appeal slips further from the top of news agendas, the hope is that some momentum can be maintained.

The video is from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

If you are interested in learning more about other missing children in the UK, and how you can help, please also check out Missingkids.co.uk.

Twin Tuesday: Jedward are just the latest twins to rock the X Factor!

2009:

Back but shattered

THANK YOU again for all the good wishes before we went to The Bahamas.

If you are in any way interested, we are now back and loving the various delights of being at home - rain, sorting out car tax, gas leaks, terrible wind, that type of thing.

Yeah, I know. Possibly too much information.

I hope to post all about our cruise adventure as soon as I can. A small matter of a shedload of work stuff is in the way at the moment. Am not even going to attempt the terrible wind thing.

Seeya.

Just want to make my voice heard: I won't be buying the Mail again

PAUL usually blogs about online journalism while Becky blogs about cakey buns.

This week, their excellent blogs were closely connected for the first and possibly last time as they both took time to ponder the appalling story of how a journalist ripped into a popular young performer  on the day before his funeral.

Three years ago I crumbled...why my daughters' birthday is a triple celebration

I SOBBED in front of the doctor.

She gently asked me when I began to feel so desperate and I told her it was on my daughters' birthday.

Admitting that such a supposedly joyous day should cause me pain, was hard. I felt guilty.

Why shouldn't I just shut up and get on with it like everyone else?

But as I sat on my bed at 3am,crying and contemplating throwing myself through the window, I knew I had to seek medical help.

Our worst holiday - too much jelly, a broken arm and seeking solace in a chocolate bar or six!

THERE'S a lay-by in Mid Wales we pass each time we go to New Quay, which we never fail to point out.

It's "Emily's lay-by" - same as my mum has a gate somewhere on the Horseshoe Pass.

The sight of it, some eight years later, still fills me with a slight dread and a knot lurches in my stomach.

I never fail to remember the spectacular projectile vomiting that led us there - too late to save our car but early enough to allow us to get Emily changed and deposit an entire sick-coated outfit in its bin.

Thanks for blog award and passing it on

THANKS to Ellen at World of a Mummy and Whistlejacket for a "I love your blog" award.  

I think it's about time I displayed these 'ere awards properly, so I'll get on with that.

As I understand it, the way it works is you are supposed to then pass on said accolade. Ellen said it goes to 15, yes 15, blogs...

On blogging, travel writing and working for free

ALONG with my business partner, I lead training workshops advising freelance journalists on how to make more money. I've written a book which warns against writing for free.

Now I'm an editor of a family travel blog with no budget to pay contributors.

How the hell did that happen?

Would you expect a plumber or mechanic to do their job for free? No and neither would I. Nor do I expect anyone to write for Have a Lovely Time for free.

How my daughters see me: Response to 'picture perfect' meme from Tara @ Stickyfingers

 
By Emily

THANKS to Tara, my daughters spent some of this Sunday just gone drawing me.

Here are the results.

What a peach.

 By Melissa