• Top Bank Holiday Netflix faves for kids
    Netflix Stream Team - parenting

    Top Bank Holiday Netflix faves for kids

    August 22, 2017 - By 

    I just love how my children watch their favourite programmes. I remember me and my sister took it in turns to choose the tv programmes we’d watch after school. We argued so much that we were assigned days of the week! I’m not sure it stopped us arguing but it makes me giggle even now. My kids however, have the luxury of their favourite shows at their fingertips and I have to be honest, I still find this a bit strange!  When they were little they watched CBeebies but instead of switching over to CBBC as they got older they…

  • My Mermaid Lagoon {Marina's Lagoon} Playset
    parenting - toy review

    My Mermaid Lagoon {Marina’s Lagoon} Playset

    August 20, 2017 - By 

    Regular readers will know that we love crafty toys and activities. I love planning activities but sometimes it’s nice to bring out a toy that I know they will enjoy. Recently we received the My Mermaid Lagoon from Interplay UK to review. My Mermaid Lagoon Playset Create a magical mermaid world where Mermaids and their animal friends love to live! Mould, sculpt and play with the glittery magic sand and use corals, shells and other accessories to create an enchanting ‘under-the-sea’ scene in a beautiful bottle with a pretty shell-shaped stopper. Take your mermaid anywhere, carried safe and snug in…

  • Rachel Whiteread Place (Village) at the Museum of Childhood
    days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    Rachel Whiteread Place (Village) at the Museum of Childhood

    August 19, 2017 - By 

    I have this thing with houses. I’m not sure what it is but I just love little houses. So when I heard about an installation by the artist Rachel Whiteread consisting of lots of dolls’ houses, I knew I had to visit. The installation was at the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. Fortunately I had booked myself on a workshop at Tatty Devine in Brick Lane so was able to go a little early to visit it. I adore the Museum of Childhood. It is one of my favourite museums, mainly due to its collection of dolls’ houses. They used…

  • Playmobil How to Train Your Dragon sets
    parenting - playing - Playmobil Playologist - toy review

    Playmobil How to Train Your Dragon sets

    August 18, 2017 - By 

    I’m so excited to be sharing with you the brand new Dragon playsets from Playmobil, based on the How To Train Your Dragon franchise! This is Playmobil’s second entertainment brand license, this time with DreamWorks Animation, and following the success of Ghostbusters (see our review here) we were really excited to get our hands on the sets. In case you are not familiar with How To Train Your Dragon there are a number of films based on the books by Cressida Cowell, centred around Hiccup (a Norse teenager from the island of Berk) as he overcomes great obstacles on his journey…

  • days out - parenting - Siblings

    Siblings {August 2017}

    August 17, 2017 - By 

    As a busy mama of two monkeys the Summer holidays have been a tad exhausting. My children have a lot of energy and a voracious appetite for fun! We have been having some amazing days out which have provided the perfect opportunity to take lots of photographs. The past month has been so much fun, and all the days out actually made for some great photographs. I can’t wait to update our photo wall with some of my favourites. Fortunately my children have been getting on really well. I love watching them play together and seek out each other. I took…

  • The Courts Garden, Holt
    days out - National Trust - parenting

    The Courts Garden, Holt

    August 16, 2017 - By 

    We’ve had some amazing days out recently. Whilst we were away in Wiltshire we visited the beautiful gardens at The Courts in Holt near Bradford upon Avon. This place has been on our list for ages so I was really happy that we finally managed to visit. As I get older(!) I find I appreciate gardens a lot more than I used to. My children seem to enjoy the gardens more than looking round historic houses, and since the National Trust provide so much for children to do, I knew we would all enjoy ourselves. Holt is a small village…

  • Pass the Pigs! {game review}
    parenting - playing - toy review

    Pass the Pigs! {game review}

    August 15, 2017 - By 

    We’re currently away and had to be quite careful what we packed due to lack of space in the car. This was especially hard for my children as there are so many things they can’t possibly live without! The one thing they both agreed on was Pass the Pigs, a really fun game we’ve been playing recently. There are two fun Pass the Pigs games available, both offering weatherproof playtime fun: Pass the Pigs and Giant Pass the Pigs. Pass the Pigs comes in a travel case with two cute dice pigs, pencils and score pad. Giant Pass the Pigs includes two…

  • Somerset Lavender
    days out - holidays - parenting - Somerset

    Somerset Lavender {kids in lavender fields]

    August 13, 2017 - By 

    So today we finally made it to a lavender field. I’ve really wanted to go to the one at Hitchin but so far we haven’t made it. We’re visiting my mum for a few days so decided to visit Somerset Lavender. Lately my Instagram feed has been full of happy children standing in lavender. I was wondering what my children would think. I love lavender. We grow it and use it at home (lavender play dough anyone?) and a few years ago we visited Isle of Wight Lavender and stocked up on lavender products. I’ve also baked lavender shortbread which you…

  • parenting

    Coping with kids and chicken pox

    August 11, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash I love the school holidays. One of the biggest problems with school is how quickly my children pick up any bug which is going around. School attendance is marked on their end of term reports and I wasn’t really surprised to see how many days they had both off – never at the same time of course! They both caught chicken pox this year. I actually thought they had both had it a few years ago so when I heard that chicken pox was going round I wasn’t too worried. Unfortunately over Christmas I noticed my daughter…