My kids are film mad at the moment. Since they discovered the cinema about a year ago they love going, but at the same time also love sitting on the sofa at home and enjoying a film there. I therefore am trying to keep on top of recent kids DVD releases, so I was pleased to be asked to write about The Jungle Bunch which is due out on DVD on Monday 22 January 2018. The lead role in The Jungle Bunch is Maurice - the penguin who thinks he's a tiger. A tiger penguin. Yep, my mind was a little bit boggled by that too, but that's what Maurice is. Raised by a tigress he's the clumsiest kung-fu ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Islands
It’s somewhat fitting that I’m sat writing this week’s Ladybird Tuesday in a cafe on the island of Jersey (much more on that soon), because this week’s Ladybird Tuesday book choice is Islands from the Ladybird Leader series, number 737. Islands was one of the later titles in the Ladybird Leader series. A series which covers things as diverse as song birds and trains. Sounds and teeth. The aim of the series was to meet the “very real need” for “first information books” for children. Ones which help answer some of the questions that children have, whilst also encouraging reluctant ... read more
Words and Your Heart – Kate Jane Neal
“Sticks and Stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” As a child this is the mantra that we were always taught to respond with if anyone every said anything nasty to us at school or in the playground. But the truth is that words can hurt. A lot. Words and Your Heart tries to turn that around and make children see that the words they use, especially when talking to others, can have an effect. Words can affect your heart, and that’s the “bit inside of you that makes you, you!” Words and Your Heart looks at words and the power they have. It’s aim is to make children stop and ... read more
Grown-up Stand-up Dinner – Chilli Salmon Pasta #BritanniaCookOff
They say the kitchen is the heart of the home and whilst I fully agree with that sentiment, it can be a tad tricky when you're all squashed into a tiny flat and your kitchen is absolutely minute! That's the challenge that we're faced with where we're living at the moment, but despite that, the kitchen is probably my favourite room in this flat, and actually the one where my OH and I spend a fair amount of time together. When the kids are staying with us they dominate our living room and so if we want a spot of peace and quiet, and an opportunity to talk without interruption about something, ... read more
How to Save Money on a Mattress Purchase
Photo credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Couponing_workshop_helps_military_families_save_money_160221-F-XU223-003.jpg How are your mornings: bright and filled with fresh energy that’s ready to be transformed into a productive day, or dreadful and filled with back pain and muscle spasms? If the latter is true for you, this can only mean one thing: you need a new mattress! But if you’re like me, you’d rather sleep on the floor than go through the whole mattress shopping process. Even more, modern beds are so expensive these days! It’s like you have to sell a leg ... read more
Ravensburger Big Ben with Clock 3D Puzzle
Who doesn't love a puzzle? Well, after the success of the 3D Minions Sneaker puzzle that we reviewed last year for Ravensburger, this time we are going to try our hand at something on a bigger scale. Big Ben, in the form of this Ravensburger Big Ben with Clock 3D puzzle. Big Ben has obviously been in the news a bit lately as it's been silenced during a refurbishment. There's no scaffolding on this version of the London landmark though. This Big Ben with Clock 3D puzzle consists of 216 puzzle pieces and stands 41cm (that's 16 inches) high when complete. As the name suggests it also ... read more
Why Are People Compelled to Tell Stories?
Image Credit: Pexels When you consider all the books that there are, and that so many of them are fictional, it does make you wonder what has drawn us, as a species, to come to tell stories. We have myths and legends of incredible creatures and magical lands, epic tales of heroics and travel, stories of romance and love, all spanning the centuries from the spoken word of those gathered around a fire to what you can download on your kindle today and read immediately. It seems that in a lot of ways, we are compelled to tell and listen to stories as a safe way to learn, whether we are ... read more
Taking to the road again with Young Driver
It’s a while since Little Miss C got behind the wheel for the first time thanks to Young Driver, but it’s something that she still keeps talking about avidly. 2017 was very much a year of change for me when it came to family circumstances, so when I next bumped into the Young Driver team at Blog On I was able to talk to them about the next stage of driving for my step daughter L. At 13 years old she is old enough for the next driving stage from what LMC tried - a proper car! When we told her about what we had planned it’s fair to say that she was in a stage of shock about what she was ... read more
Simple New Year’s Changes That Will Revitalise Your Home!
https://www.pexels.com/photo/apartment-architecture-art-books-276724/ There are few times that are better for making a fresh start in your home than in the New Year. After all, you've probably just had a pretty stressful and busy couple of months with the holidays, so this may well be the first moment of peace that you've had in ages. So why not take advantage of this free time to make some changes to your home that will bring it back to life? With that in mind, here are some incredibly simple things that you might want to try that will entirely reinvigorate your home. New ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday – Ladybird Stamps from Royal Mail
It's fair to say that 2017 didn't end up the way I imagined it would when I sat here a year ago. As a result several things slid, and one of those was Ladybird Tuesday. New year, new start though and Ladybird Tuesday is back and I have some pretty big plans for it over the next twelve months. It's most likely that when I sit down and write the first Ladybird Tuesday post of 2019 it will probably be on a different blog, but I'm putting my positive head on and seeing change as an opportunity rather than a threat, and I'm very excited about lots of new plans that I've been thinking about, ... read more