In my opinion Sue Hendra is quite simply one of the best picture book authors there is. So many of her books (Keith The Cat with the Magic Hat, No-Bot, Doug The Bug That Went Boing!, Supertato to name but a few) have been huge hits in this house and I know that as soon as I open I new one the kids will jump on it straight away. I Need a Wee has to be a brilliant title for a book. It's a phrase that every child shouts regularly and when Little Miss C managed to read the title for herself she just laughed out loud. Like so many children, Alan needs a wee, but he's just too busy to go to the ... read more
100 Family Adventures – The Meek Family
We're huge fans of getting the kids out of the house into the great outdoors and having fun out there. Fresh air is always good for them, and there is so much to do outside to challenge them and teach them too. I've always assumed we were pretty good at this but since reading 100 Family Adventures I've realised that there's actually so much more for us to do as the children get a bit older. The Meek Family are teacher parents Tim and Kerry and their two daughters Amy (11) and Ella (9) and they hit the news when they announced that they were taking a year out of formal education in 2014 - ... read more
Getting crafty with Interplay Fairy Cards
Little Miss C loves crafting at our kitchen table and she's very fortunate that we have a huge amount of craft supplies in the house, and a recycling box overflowing with materials that can be repurposed into something else. But, since she started school full time in September we're finding it harder to fit doing something creative into the school day as I often can't face giving her free rein with the supplies as the clearing up job so we can eat tea at the table is just too much to face. I was really pleased therefore when we were asked to review Fairy Cards by Interplay as it meant I ... read more
More charity shop clothing finds
I've not had much luck in charity shops over the last month or so. Lots of looking but very little that I actually wanted to buy. I either found things I liked but in completely completely the wrong size, or the things in my size (or close to it) were just not my style at all. All that changed this morning though with my usual post knitting group wander around. Both Scope and Oxfam in St Albans came up trumps so have a look at what I came home with for under £35 in total. I've also been having a lot of success with my previous charity shop finds. A George black dress that I featured ... read more
Switching suppliers and embracing green #PowerToSwitch
In my dream world this is what the roof of my house would look like. Solar panels and possibly even a small wind turbine too. I dream of being self sufficient when it comes to electricity and as I sit here on a sunny and windy day it frustrates me so much that I can't be powering the laptop I type on with renewable energy. But, I am. Well, sort of. You see, last year I finally got round to going on to a utilities price comparison site. For some reason I'd been putting it off for years as I'd just always assumed that it was going to be a really tedious process to go through and that I was ... read more
Hooray! It’s a New Royal Baby! – Martha Mumford and Ada Grey
Before Prince George was born there was a flurry of children's books about the Royal Baby and in a way it was to be expected - the baby was going to be King or Queen one day and it was a bit bit of history. Part me though wasn't too sure about it all happening before the baby was born though. It just left me feeling a bit uneasy. Since then there have been several books featuring Prince George and I'm ok with that as it helps children learn a little bit about the little boy that will one day be king. There's going to be a new Royal Baby sometime next month though and I can see that the ... read more
Chaplin’s Circus comes to St Albans
I love a circus. The excitement of stepping inside a Big Top that's appeared on the site overnight. The buzz of the audience and the thrill of the whole family enjoying the show together and waiting to see what happens next. I can still clearly remember my dad taking me to see my first circus as a child in Rotherham's Clifton Park and the plastic flag that I got to bring home with me at the end and played with for ages afterwards as I reenacted the show at home for my sister. Things have changed a lot since then (not having live animals in shows for one) but there's still an old fashioned ... read more
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: May the Best Pet Win DVD Review
As a child I absolutely loved My Little Pony. There was just something completely magical about them that I adored and it seems Little Miss C is exactly the same. We were recently sent a copy of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: May the Best Pet Win on DVD to review and since it arrived she has been completely obsessed with it! Not only does she act out most of the stories but as the limited edition version of the DVD that we were sent came with a small My Little Pony figure this has become her favourite toy and Helia goes to bed with her at night and today is once again at school for ... read more
This is My Rock – David Lucas
Sharing. One of the lessons that parents wish they could teach their children at a very early age, yet one that seems to take ages for them to really get to grips with. I find myself at playgroups with Master C regularly telling him to "share nicely" with other children and at home I'm constantly telling both children to share their toys. In This is My Rock a young goat stands at the top of a rock, telling anyone that dares to come near that this is his rock, and most definitely not their rock. A bear, an eagle, all the other goats and even a tiny bird are all sent away by the goat as he ... read more
A new home for my lists #StationeryWednesday
As I'm sure regular readers know - I am a complete list lover. I have lists for everything and my to do lists run my life for me. It's the only way to ensure that everything in this busy household gets done. In the past my lists have often just ended up as part of my main notebooks that are in use at the time, but one recent review item from Bureau Direct seems to have changed things. Let me introduce the Mark's Storage it A6 notebook. With the innovative plastic cover with a ziplock section where you can keep (and still use) your smart phone, it's certainly different from many other ... read more