{Abracadabra - Mum's Magic Tricks}

I am the Queen of multi-tasking.

As a single working parent I can be found juggling a number of balls, and yes sometimes they get dropped (I'm obviously speaking metaphorically... the children - they've never been dropped thankfully!), but I have a few tricks up my sleeves that help me along the way! (Unfortunately I don't have a trick to magic away the last few pounds I'm trying to shift!).

I always have a pack of finely chopped veg in my freezer and I can throw this into meals such as spaghetti bolognese or chilli to make sure we are getting our 5 a day.

In my kitchen I have these plastic pots hanging up for the kids cutlery. It's resolved some storage issues but also when it's time for dinner I can just take this cutlery pot down for them and pop it on the table so they can set the table themselves. Likewise, when we're baking the other pot comes down.

The kids have their own hooks in the hallway for hanging jackets so when it's time to get ready for the nursery run we know where our jackets and bags are and they can grab everything they need themselves.

Another trick of mine is a bright lipstick. On days when we're rushed and things aren't going to plan, 2 minutes to apply some lippy and it transforms my face and gives me a confidence boost. That is magic!!

We were sent a special pack from RBS with some other inspiring tricks for us busy mums...

We love a reward sticker!

Genius - using a cupcake case to stop drips from an ice lolly!

Using an egg carton to keep the paint colours separate - we normally stick our paint onto a plate which can end up very messy!!

Using a lidded plastic cup for spill-free painting and a shower curtain on the floor to stop the floor being ruined!

It always amazes me the power that my mobile phone has. There seriously is an app for (nearly!) everything and digital banking is no different.

I've been using the RBS app for a long time now and love it's functionality. It saves so much time being able to check balances and transfer funds on my phone rather than having to use 'the big computer'.

Easy payments and transfers
I can pay the nursery bill on my phone in just a few simple steps (the first time you want to pay someone you need to set them up as a payee in Digital Banking using your card reader, but once that's done it's straightforward).

Check account balances on-the-go
I have a spreadsheet on my Mac which helps me keep track of my outgoings (you do know I love a good spreadsheet!) and I can keep track of my balance daily on my phone. It literally takes a minute.

Get cash out without your card
I tried this yesterday for the first time. I actually can't quite believe that you can access cash from a hole in the wall without using your card. You get a Cash Code sent to your phone which has to be entered into the cashpoint. It's totally secure... to log into the app itself you need a special code that you choose yourself and plus you'd have to crack my code to get into my phone first! And then at the cashpoint you also have to enter other security details as well as the Cash Code. Might sound a bit complicated but I can assure you that it is simple.

So tell me, where do I collect my crown? ;-)

This project is in conjunction with BritMums for their #MumsMagicTricks challenge with RBS.