• Rumple Buttercrump by Matthew Gray Gubler
    competition - Family Life

    Win a copy of Rumple Buttercrump by Matthew Gray Gubler

    August 16, 2019 - By 

    We’ve been sent some wonderful books to review recently (I have built up quite a stash that I need to go through!). Today I wanted to share a giveaway for a lovely children’s book. It’s a story of bananas, belonging, and being yourself. A charming and inspiring story, written and illustrated by Criminal Minds actor, Matthew Gray Gubler. Rumple Buttercrump by Matthew Gray Gubler “Year after year with his eyes shut tight he would feel the breeze of the changing seasons.” Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot is slightly bigger…

  • Back to school with the Maped Picnik range
    Family Life - Maped Helix Blogger Ambassador

    Back to school with the Maped Picnik range

    August 16, 2019 - By 

    So the weather forecast is pretty dire today so we’re going to go school shoe shopping. This is probably my least favourite thing to do as a parent as my children’s feet are always growing. School shoes are really expensive but I know it’s important to get good quality shoes that fit properly so I know we’ll go to Clarks on the High Street. Back to school with the Maped Picnik range Fortunately I only have a few things to pick up before school starts (and I’m really glad we still have 2 weeks left of the summer holidays to…

  • Juno the Penguin at London Aquarium
    days out - Family Life - Local Review - London - London Borough of Westminster

    A trip to SEA LIFE London Aquarium with kids

    August 15, 2019 - By 

    I do love a day in London with my kids. We all love exploring our city and London has so much to offer families, especially in the Summer months. Today we were gifted tickets to SEA LIFE London Aquarium on the South Bank in Central London. We hopped on the Underground and soon emerged at Westminster station so we could enjoy a walk over Westminster Bridge in the sunshine. A trip to SEA LIFE London Aquarium with kids It’s been a while since our last visit to SEA LIFE London Aquarium. I had a quick look through my old blog…

  • You Can Code book cover
    Family Life - STEM activity

    You Can Code {book review}

    August 14, 2019 - By 

    My 9 year old really enjoys coding and wants to be a computer game designer when he’s older. I think he would enjoy school more if he had more IT lessons as these are definitely a favourite subject! Last year he signed up to a Coding Club at our local library and we’ve been trying to encourage him to learn more in his spare time. You Can Code: Make your own games, apps and more in Scratch and Python A few weeks ago we were gifted a copy of You Can Code by Kevin Pettman. This is a straightforward guide,…

  • girl on Wassenaar beach
    Family Life - Monday Happy List

    Summer Holidays Edit {Week 253}

    August 12, 2019 - By 

    I love to start the week by writing Five Happy Things. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I always enjoy writing. We spent last week exploring the Netherlands and Belgium. The weather was amazing and we packed so much into our holiday. Now we’re back home and I have piles of washing and bags to unpack! Five Happy Things {Week 253} We spent Monday exploring Rotterdam which was only 45 minutes from…

  • So Slime DIY Slimelicious Case
    Crafts for kids

    Making slime at home with the So Slime DIY Slimelicious Case

    August 11, 2019 - By 

    My 7 year old adores making slime and putty so she was pretty excited to receive the So Slime DIY Slimelicious Case, part of the new scented slime range from Canal Toys to try at home. The new So Slime DIY Slimelicious scented range is an extension to the original best-selling brand. Slimelicious has all the benefits of your favourite slime; no mess, no fail and with a unique twist. It’s perfect for slime fans who are looking for something new. The range of So Slime DIY Slimelicious scents can be stored in fabulous containers. So Slime DIY Slimelicious Case…

  • free 30 day Lego building challenge from the gingerbread house
    Crafts for kids - free printables - Lego crafts

    {Free printable} 30 day Lego building challenge

    August 8, 2019 - By 

    Do you have any little Lego fans at home? If you’ve followed us for a while you’ll know that both my children (and us adults too) just love Lego. Yesterday we visited the small city of Gouda in the Netherlands and we found a Lego shop! My son was able to build our family out of Lego minfigure parts and also picked up the latest Lego Ninjago set for himself. Of course it didn’t take him long to build his new set. You can find the Lego shop at Lange Tiendeweg 31, Gouda, if you’re in the area. Lego has…

  • celebrating World Calligraphy Day
    competition - Family Life

    The art of calligraphy and celebrating World Calligraphy Day

    August 7, 2019 - By 

    Did you know that on the 14th August World Calligraphy Day is celebrated? I didn’t know there was a special day to celebrate calligraphy but I love the sound of it! apparently World Calligraphy Day was started by the Pen Museum in 2017 to celebrate the art of calligraphy and hand lettering. Have you heard of calligraphy before? It’s a visual art of decorative handwriting or handwritten lettering. I was lucky enough to try modern calligraphy with Quill London a few years ago. I also reviewed a fab book called Nib & Ink which is a great workbook if you…

  • Recreate Playmobil the Movie with Del's Food Truck
    Family Life

    Recreate Playmobil the Movie with Del’s Food Truck

    August 6, 2019 - By 

    If you love taking the kids to the cinema then the summer holidays are great for new film releases. Last week I told you about Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans. We haven’t managed to watch that yet but we have seen Playmobil: The Movie. The kids love seeing their favourite toys brought to life on the big screen and we were all excited when we were invited to the preview of the Playmobil film. Playmobil: The Movie By chance, siblings Marla and Charlie are drawn into the magical, colourful Playmobil universe and separated. To find Charlie again, Marla…