Since I first wrote about Topsy and Tim books on here I've been amazed at how many people have found my blog post through search engines whilst trying to find out more about Topsy and Tim books. The search terms used suggest that people are looking for a list of all the books published and to find out more about the old ones that they remember from their childhood. It's been a bit of an ongoing project of mine to try to find out more and to also compile a list - so here's a summary of where I've got to so far! In short I've struggled to find a complete list ... read more
Sponsored Video: Mastercard – The Big Lunch
Do you know who lives next door to you? Would you recognise them if you saw them somewhere out of context? Do you know their names and anything else about them? I'm always amazed when I hear how many people would not be able these questions positively. In years gone by everyone did know everyone else that lived near them and knew most of their business too. There was a real sense of community that some areas just don't have these days. With people working longer hours and both parents working during the daytime you can see how some neighbours might only very rarely bump into each other, but ... read more
Why?
Little Miss C asked her first "why?" question the other day and I have to admit that she's got me stumped: "Why don't sausage rolls have chocolate in them?" I was expecting a bit of a softer start on the questions, but it looks like I'm going to have my work cut out! It's therefore quite appropriate timing to been tagged by the lovely DorkyMum with an opportunity to turn the tables and ask our children a few "why?" questions, so here goes: Dearest Little Miss C... Why is it that some mornings you decide to ... read more
Sponsored Video: What’s that?
Any parent of a toddler will instantly identify with this lovely video from Organix Mighty Meals. What ever we do with Little Miss C at the moment she's always asking "what's that?" or more specifically "what's that noise?" Whilst the constant questioning can be a bit wearing, it's also lovely to see her taking an interest in what's going on around her. The same has to be true of the young boy in this video and it is very much a natural stage in a toddler's development - being inquisitive about absolutely everything around them. I'm sure the "why?" stage will follow, but I'm already ... read more
Tea Smoked Trout (and yoghurt sauce)
I'm still amazed at just how much inspiration I took away from my day at Yeo Valley earlier in the month. One thing that I really wasn't expecting was quite so much kitchen based inspiration. I know that they make yoghurts and other dairy products, but as I've said before them I hadn't thought much about cooking with yoghurt before. Their site in Blagdon is right next to Blagdon Lake and in their efforts to ensure that food miles were kept to an absolute minimum our lunch that day was trout from the lake. But, just bunging some trout in the oven is far too boring for those people at Yeo ... read more
seven days
A weekly photograph capturing one of the magic moments of the last seven days. ... read more
Yeo Valley Fish Tank
Full credit for this children's craft project has to go to Knitty Mummy who I met when we both went to Yeo Valley for the day. There was quite a bit of discussion whilst there about how to use all the empty yoghurt pots that we have and she went away determined to come up with some projects - and boy has she delivered the goods! What I used for making this is quite simple: one Yeo Valley Top Notch pot and lid, some blue card, yellow and green tissue paper, glue and some fish stickers. The method is relatively simple. I cut the blue card so that ... read more
Crafty hedgehogs
I'm lucky to be currently reviewing Creative Steps magazine - a fantastic resource for anyone involved in childcare (whether that be professionally or as a parent) who wants crafty projects to do with kids of all ages. As part of my review Little Miss C and I are trying out some of the projects in the issues I've got and it's providing me with some great inspiration as to how to structure these chicken pox filled days. There will be a whole separate post soon on the magazine, and an opportunity to win a year's subscription, but for now I just want to share ... read more
Walk to School Week
I had this blog post all planned out as soon as I heard about Walk to School Week (21-25 May 2012). Little Miss C has recently started walking both to and from nursery on her own rather than being pushed in the buggy. Half a mile each way and she loves being able to point everything out to us and tell us about what she's going to do at nursery, or what she's done that day. It's a lovely part of the day for both of us, but the slight spanner in the works this week is that she's got chicken pox so no nursery and hence no walk to nursery. Tuesday is usually nursery day so it seemed right to write ... read more
Yeo Cheesecake
Did you know that you can make cheese from yoghurt? When you think about it it's actually quite obvious, but until my recent trip to Yeo Valley I have to admit that I hadn't realised you could. It's incredibly simple to do. Just line a seive with a clean tea towel or other cloth, spoon in the yoghurt (mixed with a pinch of salt) and leave it over a bowl in the fridge for 24 hours. Twenty-four hours later you end up with cheese in your cloth (otherwise known as the curds) and a bowl full of whey. In our case we just discarded the whey, but a lovely little tip from Yeo Valley's ... read more