Naming their Uniform made easy with Stamptastic

I think every parent dreads having to name their child's clothes and belongings for when they start or return to school in September. First you have the dilemma of what to purchase - labels that iron-on, stick-in, need to be sewn or will you go the easy route and just write their name on the label?

Truthfully though after ten years of naming things for nursery and school I've not found any of the methods I've used to be easy and efficient. Sewn labels do seem to last the test of time - they wash well and they don't fall out but the thought of sitting there for hours putting them all in is too much for me. 

I've not yet found an iron-on label that stays put more than a few washes and I tried labels that you attached with a little plastic pin a couple of years ago and they either abbreviated the girls skin or fell off pretty quick. So in recent years I have been writing on the labels with a sharpie laundry pen but even then it bleeds on some fabrics and I don't have the most neat handwriting, which also fades after a number of washes.

Recently I've heard a few blogger friends waxing lyrical about Stamptastic, a new way to name your kids clothes with a stamp and ink. I've not seen it done before but when I was handed a card at BritMums Live, I thought why not, lets give this a go!

Look at me and what do you see?

Hello, if you have stopped by to find Reasons to be Cheerful then you need to head over to Lakes Single Mum as Becky is hosting for the rest of November. I'm having a bit of a time out and sorting my own head out. I am of course still completely grateful! Have a blessed week, Mich x

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Look at me and what do you see?

Do you see the exterior, the too much white flesh,

the uneven smile and the baggy chest?

The 40 year old woman who has let herself go.

Or is it the 'front' you see, the confident blond,

the lady who can solve things with the wave of her invisible wand?

Or maybe you see superwoman with the beautiful clean home,

the stunning children and the husband who never moans?

Perhaps it is the successful blogger, rising up the charts,

making it look as if it is easy and takes no art?

Or do you look deeper and see a child of God, 

the little girl down on her knees, ready and willing to please?

The encourager who wants to build you up,

desperate to affirm you and fill your cup?

The teacher who wants to impart what she knows,

to gently lead you and guide you and help you with whatever life throws?

The prayer warrior who is silently holding you near,

the woman who cares and is available all year?

This deeper woman is me. 

I'm not just a shell and if you look properly you'll see.

Michelle Pannell 19.11.13

Hop over and see Vic and the others who are joining in with Prose for Thought this week.

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Not Yummy, Not Scummy, Just A Mummy!

I have been wondering recently why it is that women want to segregate themselves into two very distinct camps. First, we have the yummy mummies, you know the ones - perfect hair, perfect kids and perfect homes.  Think Stepford wives and the typical commercial housewife of the 1950s. Then come their polar opposite in the scummy mummies - these are the mums who feel they can never quite achieve yummy mummy status and therefore why bother with the effort, just label yourself a scummy mummy and you have a get-out clause to not worry about the house or your personal appearance.

Well, I refuse to fall into either one of these categories.  You can just call me 'A Mummy'.  Sometimes yummy, when I have the energy and can be arsed to make an effort and sometimes my house is completely scummy, like at those times when life just gets on top of me and I know the best thing to let go of is the housework. No one is going to get hurt because my shower needs a jolly good scrub after all!

Yes, that really is my scummy shower before I spent over an hour on Monday with a brillo pad

and a jar of astonish - it worked a treat!

So why do we label ourselves? Where does this pressure come from? Why can't we all just be mummies together and accept we are all unique and imperfect beings. Are labels like this ever helpful? I seriously doubt it.

I expect some of the pressure is media-induced, of course, celebs exasperate the situation by pinging back into their size 8 jeans a week after having their babies and the addition of a chef, housekeeper and nanny would all make the aim of being a yummy mummy considerably easier. But really, do we have to buy into this media rubbish?  Well, our lives are considerably better if we live in sterile beige homes with kids dressed in Boden and mummy is a beautiful slim walking advert for Gap?

NO. I am making a stand.  I refuse to be labelled.  My name is Michelle and I am a real person, a real Mummy.  Sometimes I am brilliant, you can call me SuperMich and my kids must think all their Christmases have come at once and other times I am absolutely crap and I just want to stay in my PJs and slouch for the day.  

Do you know what they call that?  Normal, average, OK, regular, run-of-the-mill, mediocre and they all work for me.....

Who are you?  Have you thought about that lately?