How fast can you assemble a Mr Potato Head? And what about if you were blindfolded? How long would it take you then? Unless you've got some very strange hobbies I'm guessing that the above questions have probably never troubled you before. I certainly hadn't given them a second thought before a box arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago. In it was a Mr Potato Head, a water pistol, a colouring book, stickers, coloured pencils and some sweets. Also included were some details of the Thomson Family Holidays Guinness World Records Event that I'd been invited to a Whipsnade Zoo. ... read more
Bookstart 20
I was completely shocked when I today read on twitter say that nearly 60% of families do not own a single baby book. I've seen statistics like this before about things like the average number of books in a UK household being just five, and previously I've never been able to get the facts to back up what I've read. This time though Beachy Books were able to point me in the direction of this article from The Bookseller. According to the research that has been done, 57% of families do not own a single baby book until they receive their Bookstart early reading packs. These packs are ... read more
In A Dry Season – Peter Robinson
The day that I started reading In A Dry Season coincided with my train journey to Yeo Valley. Nothing remarkable there as train journies are an obvious time to read, but what was strange was the conversation in the taxi from Bristol Temple Meads station to Blagdon. One of my fellow bloggers started talking about the two lakes close to Yeo Valley and saying that she had heard that one of them had a submerged village underneath it and that sometimes people could still hear the church bells ringing from underwater. Now, knowing a bit of physics I thought it unlikely that this could ... read more
Two
There's been a birthday to celebrate here this weekend. A little lady who is now old enough to understand that a good birthday involves cards, presents, cake and a party. The house is now (finally) quiet and almost resembles tidy and I'm sat here struggling to find words that adequately describe how I feel about this amazing little lady that's in my life. I never knew that it was possible to love one little person quite so much. Every day she completely amazes me with her passion for life and the sense of humour that she's quickly developing. She's also one of the ... read more
Review: Morphy Richards Never Loses Suction Lift Away Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner
When you live with a toddler there's one thing you really can't live without and that's a good vacuum cleaner. Toddlers seem to have an ability to crumbs from nothing. If you have a toddler who likes cakes and crisps as much as Little Miss C does then the the crumbs seem to appear as if by magic. When I was lucky enough to be chosen as a Morphy Richards Innovator earlier this year I had visions of being asked to review kettles and if I was lucky a bread-maker, so I was intrigued and delighted when I received an email asking if I was interested in reviewing their Never Loses Suction Lift ... read more
seven days
A weekly photograph capturing one of the magic moments of the last seven days. ... read more
June chicks
After the weekend's monsoon like rain it really doesn't feel like June and the weather forecast suggests that the wet weather is set to continue for a bit longer. Playing outside was replaced this afternoon by some more craft time and once again I pulled out a copy of Creative Steps Magazine for inspiration. I had already been through the magazine (in a rare organised moment!) and made sure that I had everything I needed in the craft cupboard for a handful of the projects and on a day like today that is so incredibly useful. This afternoon we made a couple of chicks - ... read more
Growing cress
Another thing that Little Miss C and I got up to whilst we were stuck at home was a spot of gardening. LMC always wants to help in the garden, but children want to see results very quickly so it can be hard to keep their enthusiasm when things don't grow as fast as they would like. Growing cress from seed is quite good though as you can see a day by day difference, but at the same time it also makes children realise that things don't grow instantly and they need to have a bit of patience. It was with great pride and determination that she filled some old yoghurt pots (thank you again ... read more
Queen for a day…
... or in reality just a few minutes. If you're in the UK then you really can't have escaped the Jubilee fever that seems to have taken over. Go to any town centre or village green and you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's been an explosion in a nearby bunting factory. If you have children of school age then there have been numerous tea parties, concerts and picnics to celebrate. I freely admit to being a bit of a royalist. I love the royal family and what they do for the country and think the Queen should be celebrated after so many years serving the country. Whatever ... read more
Calvin Can’t Fly – Jennifer Berne
Calvin Can't Fly really is the perfect book for any little bookworm. Calvin is a starling. One with three brothers, four sisters and sixty-seven thousand four hundred and thirty-two cousins. What sets Calvin apart though is that fact that he's not interested in learning to fly like the rest of them are. Instead he spends all his time in the library with his nose beak inside a book. In exactly the same way as any book loving child does, he discovers a world that contains so much more than just flying and catching insects. The other starlings don't understand ... read more