• Perfect Thank You cards
    parenting

    Perfect Thank You cards

    March 26, 2017 - By 

    It’s been a busy few weeks with my son’s birthday. We like to celebrate for a full 7 days in our house which means his birthday cards and decorations only came down this weekend. He had a lovely birthday, was totally spoilt with the presents he received and had a bunch of his friends round to play computer games in the afternoon. Of course with presents come Thank You cards. Thankfully both my children are happy to spend a little time writing these so they are not too much of a chore. I like to make an effort with our…

  • How to hold an Emoji birthday party
    birthday - parenting

    How to hold an Emoji birthday party

    March 21, 2017 - By 

    I’m not quite sure how my son discovered emoji’s but he has fully embraced it. Maybe it’s a boy thing, maybe it’s because he just turned 7. But it seemed like a great theme for his birthday. He first discovered them through playing on my iPhone, surprisingly they were only in the last few years added. They are part of our everyday lives, I’m definitely guilty of adding them to all my tweets, texts and WhatsApp messages, it’s not really surprising that my children have picked up on them too. Both my children love to use WhatsApp to send messages and they…

  • The Smurfs House from Schleich
    parenting - playing - toy review

    The Smurfs House from Schleich {Smurfs: The Lost Village}

    March 18, 2017 - By 

    We’re so lucky as there are plenty of films we want to catch over the Easter holidays (now just 2 weeks away!). As well as the new and re-booted Beauty and the Beast we are looking forward to Smurfs: The Lost Village. Smurfette (Demi Lovato), Brainy (Danny Pudi), Clumsy (Jack McBrayer) and Hefty (Joe Manganiello) use a special map that guides them through the Forbidden Forest, an enchanted wonderland that’s filled with magical creatures. The best friends must race against time and the evil wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson) to find a mysterious village. Their adventure leads them on a course to…

  • Gifts for creative kids {Wicked Uncle review}
    parenting - playing - toy review

    Gifts for creative kids {Wicked Uncle review}

    March 18, 2017 - By 

    With my son’s birthday coming up you can imagine I have been quizzing him about what he wanted. He’s a creative boy with enough Lego sets to start his own toy shop. So this year I’ve been having a good look around for something a bit different. I’ve mentioned Wicked Uncle before. It’s an online toy shop with a difference. Their aim is to make it really easy for Wicked Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, Godparents, and anyone else who fancies, to find the perfect present for an occasion. Their site is simple and brilliant at the same time, with so many…

  • Win a bundle of Mr Men books for Mothers Day
    book review - competition - Mother's Day crafts - parenting

    Win a bundle of Mr Men books for Mothers Day

    March 17, 2017 - By 

    It can’t have escaped your notice that Mother’s Day is coming up soon. I don’t need a special day to remind me how much I love being a mum, although I can’t resist a handmade card and cuddle in bed with my little ones. I always encourage my children to put some effort into the cards and gifts we give so I was really excited to see the new Mr Men My Mummy book. As well as being a laugh out loud book which you would expect from the Mr Men brand, it’s also a lovely story to share with your…

  • Maternity Leavers by Soozi Baggs
    book review - parenting

    Maternity Leavers by Soozi Baggs

    March 16, 2017 - By 

    This weekend my son turns 7 which shocks me a little. It feels like he was just born yesterday. When I went on maternity leave 12 years ago I fully planned to go back to work. I didn’t love my job but it was interesting and paid well. After my son was born I applied to return to work part-time and I was offered a job share which I wasn’t comfortable with so I left. Instead I focussed on my new family and my daughter was born a little later. I threw myself into being a stay at home mum…

  • Chip the cup from Beauty And The Beast
    parenting - playing - toy review

    Tale as old as time {#BeautyAndTheBeast}

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    On Friday the live action version of Beauty And The Beast will be released at the cinema. My daughter and I loved the live action version of Cinderella so we can’t wait to go and see this together, we’ve even re-watched the old animated version a few times! We’re pretty big fans of Disney films and I’ve always loved the story of Belle. She’s a great adventurer and a strong female character, although I also have a soft spot for Mrs Potts, Chip, Lumiere and Cogsworth. To get us in the mood for the release of Beauty and the Beast…

  • Cake Soap Factory, Wild! Science
    competition - parenting - toy review

    Win with the Global Science Challenge

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Today I wanted to share the Global Science Challenge competition with you. There are some amazing prizes, such as a trip to Orlando Florida! But first let me tell you about the Cake Soap Factory kit from Wild! Science. Cake Soap Factory The Cake Soap Factory is an educational and fun kit for children aged 8 and over. We love educational toys and this ticks all the boxes for a great STEAM experience (science, technology, engineering, art and maths). The soap in this kit can be melted and moulded to make almost any solid shape. Whipping the soap creates a stable foam…

  • toys and technology
    parenting - Tech!

    Parenting and the Evolution of Learning

    March 14, 2017 - By 

    My son turns 7 on Saturday which I’m sure you can imagine, he is very excited about. He’s a really easy-going boy and actually didn’t have any huge demands for his birthday. For the last few years he’s had an Amazon wish-list but it’s strangely empty at the moment. Don’t worry – he will have a huge pile of presents to open on Saturday. There are a few Star Wars Lego sets, some new STEAM sets as we all love educational toys and some emoji things too. I’m really hoping that he’s not on the cusp of not wanting toys…