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The Mum Diaries

Being a parent has its daily challenges, there’s no doubt about that.

And as it turns out, even when your child is suddenly catapulted towards celebrity status at the age of 10, most of the day-to-day challenges stay the same.

Nina Steel, mum of Britain’s Got Talent finalist Hollie, has been keeping us updated on what she and her daughter have been up to since the finals of one of the Nation’s favourite TV shows. You can read her latest blogs below.

Back to School
The Summer Holidays
Gearing Up for the Summer Holidays

  • Back to School

    Written by Nina Steel on 14 September 2009

    Back to School

    Hi, well it's been a really busy couple of weeks for us. Hollie has started secondary school so we've been all systems go getting her prepared – buying uniform, organising things. You know how it is.

    Hollie was really pleased to go back to school. Overall it's been a good first week. She's been meeting lots of new friends and feeling a little more grown up. Hollie was definitely both excited and nervous the first day back. I've never seen her get out of bed so quickly. She loved putting on her lovely new uniform, and getting her new bag and pencil case ready. Driving into school I could see she was a little nervous, but as soon as she saw her friend from last year she was fine.

    We've talked a lot as a family to help prepare Hollie about what to expect at Senior school, I used examples from my school days. It was still quite funny because she still feels she has to ask the teachers permission for every little thing. I think it will take her a while to realise the teachers don't hold your hand quite as much.

    I'm pleased to see Hollie getting back to a normal routine again, although I have become a regular taxi service again. Life's a little busier. I think I could do with some vitamins myself, as a pick me up!

    We're looking forward to Hollie being able to take advantage of new opportunities at her new school. In the senior school there is an annual musical. This year they are doing ‘The Sound of Music'. Hollie's really pleased that she's been able to audition for a part. She's never done drama at school either, so that was a nice surprise. I think some of the teachers are a little stricter than she's used to, but overall she's pretty impressed with senior school.

    So far Hollie is managing very well with the work load. Although there certainly is a lot more homework. I am helping her organise her time after school lessons. I think the hardest thing for Hollie has been getting up in the mornings. Both the children have been used to a nice leisurely morning in the holidays. Now they have 1 hour to be up, washed, dressed and breakfasted.

    Singing and dancing classes started again this week too and so far Hollie definitely wants to continue with her dancing and singing. It's becoming more of a problem finding something that's challenging for her. After Britain's Got Talent, everything seems very simple and easy for her. She wants to sing with the older group within her theatre school and she's certainly more than capable, but unfortunately she has to stay in her age range and she's finding it difficult to understand this at the moment.

    The Bassetts Soft & Chewy vitamins Hollie has been taking are brilliant. She loves the taste. She's definitely been less tired and recently the whole family had a bad cold and Hollie's body seemed to deal with it much faster and better than mine. I'm sure the vitamins built a resistance. I think with winter coming, vitamins are an essential to help kids beat off the bugs. She will definitely be taking them throughout the year as they're so easy to take and tasty too.

    Nina Steel

     

  • The Summer Holidays

    Written by Nina Steel on 18 August 2009

    The Summer Holidays

    We’re half way through the summer holidays and despite the weather (no paddling pool out yet!) we’re enjoying ourselves. I’m writing my second instalment of my blog for Bassetts Soft & Chewy whilst Hollie writes and makes a collage in her summer holiday scrapbook.

    It’s a hard job to make sure they don’t get bored. Each day I have a couple of ideas, one for sunny weather and one for rain. It makes a pleasant change from normal term time when we have to follow strict timetables.

    Hollie's always happy on sunny days so we haven’t run out of things to do yet – there are always places to walk, parks to visit and ice creams to buy. When it’s raining she does get a little bored sometimes, I’m going to buy some cookie and cake mixture ready for the next rainy day. I’ve also had an idea of buying a plain white t shirt and letting Hollie design her own t shirts with fabric pens. We still have plans to visit the cinema to watch Harry Potter and Ice Age 3 and Hollie has a trip to the zoo at the top of her list.

    We spend quite a bit of time in the garden on nice days. Hollie’s planted some nice colourful flowers of her own and her brother Josh has helped with the digging. They seem to enjoy the results especially as they have a bit of friendly competition with each other to see whose side looks the best! We’ve also had a picnic at the sea side between the showers.

    Hollie and Josh’s favourite activity is fishing with a little net and a glass jar at the local river. They wade in, no deeper than their ankles, lift up stones where fish might be hiding and then using the net, coax the fish into the jar. Hollie’s face is a delight when she catches one, but she’s not always happy when we have to put them back before we leave.

    Luckily I only work part time, so generally I’m at home five days out of seven and Jason, Hollie’s dad, is home for the other days. We always let the children wake up in their own time as the holidays are a great time for little ones to catch up on their sleep. On the days I’m not working, we have a slow leisurely breakfast then look at the weather and decide on that day’s activity. We’re not usually ready until about half past 10 in the morning which makes a lovely change from rushing around in the morning on school days.

    Some of our favourite activities include a walk in the park - some parks are lovely with ducks, squirrels, lots of climbing frames and swings and you can make it even cheaper by taking your own picnic along. We especially like Townely Park in our local town which also has a free museum. Bike rides on local pathways are another nice thing to do which doesn’t cost anything and we also bought a couple of easy to fly kites last year, which are really good fun on the beach.

    Days at home can be entertaining and when Hollie has her friends around she always dresses up and makes up a little show. They usually do a bit of singing and dancing just for me which means I get the chance to have a sit down and a cuppa!

    I don’t strictly schedule things to do but I can’t really let the kids do their own thing over the summer otherwise Hollie would watch cartoons all day long and Josh would spend the whole time chatting to friends on the computer. Neither of these are particularly good for them so I insist we plan something each day. Even if I’m not around I always give them something to do. It doesn’t have to be a trip out, playing with her friends on her bike or on the trampoline in the garden is fine.

    Hollie starts secondary school in September so we’ve begun getting prepared. As well as taking their vitamins throughout the summer holidays to make sure they’re in the best shape when school starts, a few days ago we went out to buy some new school uniforms. As soon as we arrived home Hollie was dancing around the lounge in it. Making the experience exciting certainly helps her prepare for the big day.

    I have a long list to keep me organised, ensuring they have all the bits and pieces they need. Josh is taking advantage of some of his spare time to keep on top of his GCSE course work. Studying for 9 GCSEs isn’t easy, especially when he spends 6 nights a week doing dance, theatre, drama and music. School for Hollie is much less pressured. I make sure she reads a little and ensures she always writes back to every fan that has written to her.

    I’ll be back in a few weeks time to tell you how we got on with Hollie’s first day at high school.

    Nina Steel

     

  • Gearing Up for the Summer Holidays

    Written by Nina Steel on 27 July 2009

    Gearing Up for the Summer Holidays

    "Hi, you probably recognise my daughter Hollie from the photograph rather than me. I'm Nina Steel, mum to Hollie Steel who was a finalist on this year's Britain's Got Talent. I've been asked by Bassetts Soft & Chewy Vitamins to pen a blog for the website talking about our family, how we're coping with Hollie's new-found fame and what we're up to as we head into the long school summer holidays.

    The Britain's Got Talent tour has just finished and it was a brilliant experience for both myself and Hollie. We had a wonderful time and met lots of new friends. I felt overwhelmed at times by the support Hollie got and felt like the proudest mum in the world. Hollie says she felt very happy, grateful and special too.

    Luckily, the show itself didn't really affect Hollie's school life too much because all the rehearsals were at weekends. The tour affected Hollie more as she had to miss school for four weeks. Being in year six she had just completed the SATs tests. We've just received Hollie's SAT results and she obtained 5b/c's which is above the national average, we are really pleased.

    The only way I manage everything at home is by having a routine. Stress for children is not good and I think the best way to avoid stress is to be organised. We have such a busy family, work and school life that we all feel stressed sometimes. With school exams ending and all of Hollie’s shows we are looking forward to a break! Hollie and her brother Josh’s schedules are written down and my routine for ferrying them to and from their activities is ingrained in my head I’ve been doing it for that long! If anything new starts I always write it down on a list until it becomes familiar.

    When things get extra busy which usually happens just before a show I have to work extra hard to make sure Hollie doesn’t get too tired. A show usually runs for a whole week and Hollie doesn’t get to bed until around 11pm, then she has to be up for school the next morning. If she goes to bed late on a Friday night we sometimes have tears and “I’m too tired” when she needs to get up on Saturday for Ballet. I do worry that being too busy can affect Hollie especially at the end of a busy school summer term but we swear by daily vitamins to keep Hollie and her brother on top of their game and make sure they are healthy and full of energy. Bassetts Soft & Chewy vitamins are formulated with children in mind and as Holly and Josh like the delicious fruity flavours, getting them to take their vitamins isn’t hard.

    Normal life is just the same as before Britain’s Got Talent really. We are all really looking forward to the summer holidays, it’s the only time when the after school lessons stop completely. Hollie gets to play with her friends without worrying she’s got to go off to ballet or singing. I save a fortune in petrol in the summer holidays too - no taxi-ing the kids about. We all get to spend some quality time together.

    Hollie’s dad and I work during the week. I ferry the kids to and from school and lessons and as a mum, feel responsible for making sure there’s lots of fun in my children’s lives. At weekends we relax in the garden, have friends round or watch the TV and films. We are a really big fan of X Factor. We always sit round the TV on a Saturday night to watch it. We can’t wait for it to start again. I think if Hollie does manages to secure any work in the future, we’ll try and ensure it doesn’t interfere too much with normal life, but right now things seem really quiet compared to last month!

    Well that’s it for now. I’ll be back in a few weeks to tell you how we’re getting on in the summer holidays – trying to entertain the kids and keep them busy!"

    Nina Steel

     

Taking vitamins doesn’t have to be hard.