• Aquabeads 3D Cruz Ramirez Set
    Aquabeaders - crafts - playing - toy review

    Aquabeads 3D Cruz Ramirez Set from Disney Cars3

    July 31, 2017 - By 

    If you’re looking for a craft activity to keep the children busy over the summer holidays then look no further than Aquabeads. My children love Aquabeads, and I love Aquabeads because it’s something they can do all on their own. My 7 year old loves the Disney franchise Cars. We went to see the latest film, Cars3 as an end of term treat, and he has a huge collection of die cast and Lego vehicles from the films. He loves to craft so I was really excited to show him the latest Aquabeads set which ties in with Car 3…

  • homestyle - Monday Happy List - Summer

    Monday happy things {week 148}

    July 31, 2017 - By 

    The first week of the summer holidays is over and we managed to pack in a pretty full week. My children spent 4 days at SuperCamp and had a brilliant time, making new friends, trying new sports and crafts. They had longer days than the school day but loved it although I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I spent my free time tidying the house as we have lots of visitors over the summer. It was quite a relief to be able to clean and change beds without the children around. I also enjoyed a cheeky lunch…

  • Paper Monsters by Oscar Sabini
    book review - crafts - Paper craft

    Paper Monsters by Oscar Sabini

    July 30, 2017 - By 

    I’m embarrassed to admit I can’t remember the last time, if there was one, that we made a collage. Although we craft with tissue paper and all sorts of materials, there are still some crafts we need to try. Today we popped our collage cherry, thanks to Paper Monsters by Oscar Sabini! Paper Monsters by Oscar Sabini Paper Monsters enables young children to make seven collage pictures of monsters in cleverly designed paper pockets in the book. Children can complete all the pictures to make a monster procession who appear to be hurrying to the last page. There they will…

  • The Emoji Movie
    days out - film review - parenting

    A girls day out to watch The Emoji Movie

    July 30, 2017 - By 

    My children love sending emoji messages so when they saw a trailer for The Emoji Movie I knew we would be going to see it at some point. We were lucky to receive an invitation to a special screening of The Emoji Movie at Cineworld in Leicester Square. My son was busy so my daughter and I jumped on the tube to spend a girly day out in London. I rarely get to spend time with either child on their own so was really looking forward to our day out. We arrived at the cinema and had our photos taken…

  • Win a Splendiferous Summer With Mr Kipling
    competition - days out - parenting

    Win a Splendiferous Summer With Mr Kipling

    July 29, 2017 - By 

    Regular readers will know just how much we adore the world of Roald Dahl. My 7 year old has been working his way through his books so we were delighted to receive an invitation to afternoon tea at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden to hear more about the Splendiferous Summer With Mr Kipling. Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden We’ve visited the Roald Dahl Museum before. It’s a wonderful place and a really interactive day out for families and fans of Roald Dahl. The children loved the galleries where they could find out…

  • Win a Fingerlings Baby Monkey
    competition - toy review

    Fingerlings Baby Monkey review and giveaway

    July 28, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe the first week of the summer holidays is nearly over. We’ve been so busy but still had time to review the very cute Fingerlings from WooWee. Fingerlings Baby Monkeys love hanging onto your finger and know when they’re being touched, spoken to, and even hung upside down! These perfect primate pets come to life with 40 ways to play and 50 sounds to let you know how they are feeling. They are really adorable. To see what I mean take a look at this: You’ll fall in love with these sweet and sometimes silly critters with their realistic…

  • Tuff spot mud kitchen play
    crafts

    Tuff spot mud kitchen play

    July 28, 2017 - By 

    The weather has been a real mixed bag this week. There have been some moments when it felt like summer, but mostly it has felt really autumnal. On one lovely and sunny afternoon I set up the tuff spot with an invitation to play – a tuff spot mud kitchen. We have a much-loved homemade mud kitchen. It is well used but I thought that setting up a mud kitchen in the tuff spot would inspire my children to do things differently. Whilst they were out at camp I set up the tuff spot, filling it with baking trays, colanders,…

  • Five minute felt superhero masks
    crafts - sewing

    Five minute felt superhero masks

    July 27, 2017 - By 

    My 5 year old loves playing super heroes. A few weeks ago her friends came over and it was funny watching them all dress up in whatever we had – which mainly consisted of a Captain America shield and helmet, Iron Man hands and lots of Star Wars lightsabers…. I really wanted to have a go at making simple felt superhero masks so whipped some up using different coloured felt. I used the template from the Duck Tape masks I made a while ago. Five minute felt superhero masks I used paper mask template sheets of coloured felt elastic basic…

  • How to make a Summer Smash Book for kids
    crafts - holidays - Summer

    How to make a Summer Smash Book for kids

    July 26, 2017 - By 

    My children got brilliant school reports this year. I am so proud of them and all the hard work they do at school. With the 6 week school holidays I do worry a little about them losing some of the skills they have learned. I’m not a pushy mum (honest!) but I’ve introduced a few things to make sure their learning doesn’t slide over the holidays. For the last few years we’ve taken part in the Summer Reading Challenge run through our local library. This is as simple as reading 6 books during the school holidays for which they are…