Friends are wonderful people. Friends who turn up on your doorstep unexpectedly on a Saturday evening with a gift for you are even more wonderful. The friend who has made sure that the gift is a pile full of amazing vintage Ladybird books, some of which you've never even seen before, are quite simply the best. It's therefore with huge thanks to Kirsty from Damson Lane that I bright you this week's Ladybird Tuesday - First picture book. Somehow series 704 (Picture Books) had just completely passed me by until this beauty came into my possession on Saturday. A series of five books ... read more
Great Bloggers Bake Off Week 5 – Rocky Road
There's been a bit of a gap in my involvement in the bake off, mainly due to all the stresses and extra work involved in LMC starting pre-school, Master C starting nursery and Mr C starting a new job - all in the same week! Week 5 is tray bakes and biscuits though and that's exactly my thing. Now, I first blogged about this recipe way way back in 2008, not long after I started blogging. I still make it regularly and still say it is one of the nicest things ever! The recipe originally came from Nigella Lawson, although I have to say that I have absolutely no confirmation as to to which ... read more
Gardening for beginners – September (Early Autumn)
I've not had time to say much on here lately about what we've been up to in our garden, mainly because ever spare moment has been spent actually doing stuff out there rather than writing about it. There are some big changes happening though, especially in terms of moving things around. We used Mr C being off work for a few months to kick start some plans that we've had for a while for the lower part of our garden. The shed has been moved, new paths are planned and Mr C's also in the middle of building some new raised beds. If we get that far then there are also plans to ... read more
What did you really see today?
Did you know that this week (16th - 22 September 2013) is National Eye Health Week? There seem to be so many weeks like this these days where we're celebrating something or raising significance of something else and it's very easy for them to pass you by un-noticed, but this is one that I actually heard being talked about first thing Monday morning whilst getting breakfast for the kids and it is one that does affect all of us, no matter how old or young. So, back to Monday morning. As usual I had Radio 2 on and Chris Evans was doing his amazing job of trying to get the whole country ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Light, Mirrors and Lenses
Time for a spot of science on this week's Ladybird Tuesday. We've covered Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries from the Junior Science series (621) before on here, but now it's the turn of Light, Mirrors and Lenses. This book covered everything from why we need some amount of light to be able to see, and how the human eye works right through to how light travels from stars so that we can see them here on earth. There are experiments for children to carry out including simply playing with shadows and making your own microscope using two convex mirrors and a ruler. This book ... read more
Review: Walkers Might Lights
I was a strange child when it came to food. I hated chips. Disliked crisps. Would only eat one particular chocolate bar and nothing else. For months my poor mother had to feed me a diet of cold mushroom soup and baked beans as I refused to eat anything else. I remember going for playdates at school friends' houses and getting upset as I didn't like the snacks that their mums offered us. I did say I was a strange one. When it comes to my kids I'm keen that they eat a varied diet. Yet fruit and veg is important and I'm keen that it's a balanced diet, but I also want them to ... read more
Lemon, Chilli and Courgette Naan Pizzas
My sister always swears by the recipes that you get in the freebie magazines that you find near the till in the big supermarkets. The ones produced by the supermarkets themselves. Now I have to admit that in many ways she's much more organised than me and will actually work through the magazines and clip out recipes that she wants to do. Then again she doesn't have two kids so has a bit more spare time then I do! When I was in Tesco the other week I saw the August - September edition of their Real Food magazine and thought it about time to give one of these magazines a go and I've ... read more
The story of the Tree Fu Tom underpants
Boys will be boys and girls will be girls How many times have you heard the above? Such common sayings yet have you ever thought about what meaning is behind them? I have a child of each gender and whilst I appreciate that my two children have differences they also have a huge number of similarities. I know that the physical and mental development of boys and girls can be different, but my own parenting experiences have also taught me that at no point does my daughter take into account her own gender when deciding what she likes and dislikes. For years toy retailers and manufacturers ... read more
Meet Ralph – my little Scotch friend…
Isn't he a cutie? Ralph is here to brighten up any desk, either at home, work or even at school and he's a Scotch Magic Tape dispenser making him super useful too! Little Miss C has recently developed a love for sticking things with tape and I've found that Scotch Magic Tape is by far the easiest for her to use when she's doing some crafting. It doesn't get all scrunched up in the way that other tape does and it also keeps its flat shape better, making it easier for little hands to deal with. Previously she was trying to get it out of one of the standard clear plastic ... read more
Review: Kiddy Charts
Months ago (yes - sorry Helen!) I was asked to review Kiddy Charts and jumped at the chance. At the time I was also attending the parenting course that I've written about before here and a whole section of the course was focused on reward charts of different forms and the pros and cons of using them with different children. It seemed the perfect background to give Kiddy Charts a good rigorous review. So, what exactly are Kiddy Charts? Via their very easy to use website you can create and personalise your own Reward and Chore Charts, Progress Charts, Care Charts (so that ... read more