Well that's it. Final school run done. Book bag assigned to the cupboard. School uniform all in the laundry basket Cute teddy bear gift from her teacher (another example of just how much I love this school!) cuddled up in bed with her as she's drifted off to sleep. Little Miss C's first year at our local infant school and her time as a pre-schooler is finished. Whist in a way I did feel a bit sad dropping her off for the last time this morning to the pre-school class room I also shared the excitement that she felt for what is to come. A summer "playing with my toys" and "lots of sleep and ... read more
Archives for July 2014
Kids go free with CBeebies Magazine #CBeebiesMagKidsGoFree
There's no denying it any longer - the summer holidays are here and across the country parents are desperately trying to come up with ways to entertain their little ones without blowing the household budget in the process. School holidays are perfect for days out, but it's not a cheap thing to do. Entry ticket prices can seem very high and then you also need to contemplate the costs of getting there, plus refreshments whilst there (unless you're thrifty enough to bring a picnic). Help is at hand though as CBeebies magazine have teamed up with Merlin Entertainments for a summer long campaign ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: my day
I'm going through an 80s phase with Ladybird books at the moment. After ignoring all the glossy covered ones for years I'm suddenly finding some absolute gems in charity shops and in a big pile that a friend passed on recently. I thought I'd got my collecting habit nicely limited, but it seems maybe not. Series 833 was called Toddler Books and they're just perfect for Master C now that's heading towards his second birthday. Now I think there were seven books in this series, but I have to admit that I'm not totally sure. I originally picked up one of these for 20p when Master C showed an ... read more
Review: Pop Goes Your Name
As a parent there are times that I just find myself marvelling about how my children can find something relatively simple so, so amazing. I have a friend that is a DJ on our local community radio station and whenever he's on air and I've got the radio on in the car or the kitchen Little Miss C is always amazed that it's the same person that we've been out for coffee with. When she once heard him play a request for me she was all "Mummy, mummy - it's you. He's talking about you. The man in the radio knows your name and your favourite song. Wow." It was a very similar reaction when she first ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Packed Lunches
I have had the most amazing couple of weeks when it comes to finding vintage Ladybird treasure. So much so that I have a pile of six new titles sat here on my desk waiting to be written about, and that's in addition to the shelves full upstairs. The book that caused the biggest response when I posted a picture of it on Instagram is the one I'm going to feature though - Packed Lunches. Forget your modern day Bento Box lunch that everyone's busy posting photos of all over social media - we're very much talking 1980s packed lunches here as this book was published in 1983. It's part of ... read more
Airing my dirty laundry
Ok, ok, I admit it. I probably got you here under false pretenses. With a post title like that you might have been hoping for a juicy bit of gossip or similar. But no, quite literally I'm going to be talking about my dirty laundry. Which I hadn't actually realised was all that dirty until I was asked to try Dr Beckmann's Colour & Dirt Collector! Now, the main aim behind Dr Beckmann's is to prevent colours running in the wash, allowing you to wash coloured clothes with whites, with no fear that you're going to end up with your husbands work shirts turning a nice shade of pink due to a ... read more
What’s on my bookcase – shelfie part 2
Thanks to the great response to my first shelfie last week, I'm now back with more. This time I've moved downstairs and am looking at one of the bookcases in my front room. See if it gives away which railway station I listen to, or what as a child I wanted to be when I grew up? Worryingly it also seems to give away just how many books I own that I haven't got round to reading yet! So what's waiting un-read on your bookcase for you? ... read more
Review: Vimto Squeezy
Who doesn't love Vimto? That fruity taste that you can't quite put your finger on just reminds me of childhood summers every time I have it. When I was emailed to ask if I wanted to try their new Vimto Squeezy I was therefore intrigued. I've seen the TV ads for these new "water enhancers" as they are called and I wondered what all the fuss was about. The main target market is people, in particular children, who just don't like the taste of water on its own. You can then carry with you one of the small bottles and add a squirt of it to water when you're out and about and hey presto it's just ... read more
How to Inspire Children’s Creativity #PlayTheHero
One thing I particularly love about blogging is just how diverse the range of things I'm asked to get involved with are. One week can see me writing or talking about everything from parenting issues, to food and drink products, to toy reviews, to children and adult fiction books. Earlier this week was a perfect example. In-between writing about Paddington Bear I also took part in a Google Hangout on behalf of Philips and BritMums where psychologist Chireal Shallow was answering questions from a group of bloggers about how to inspire your children's creativity. Will the long summer holidays ... read more
Featured Post: When Paddington took over #Warbeartons
Just the mention of marmalade sandwiches and several generations instantly think of Paddington Bear. Has any one person (human or bear) ever had such a strong association with a specific food? He was always prepared for any adventure with his sandwiches packed carefully in his little brown suitcase and that's what makes him the perfect bear for Warburtons to team up with this summer. I fondly remember reading the Michael Bond books as a child and also enjoying the television adaptation of it. Strangely I still recall the phrase "Mr and Mrs Brown exchanged glances", which seemed to be used ... read more