• Top tips for saving money during the summer holidays
    days out - parenting

    Top tips for saving money during the summer holidays

    May 11, 2017 - By 

    As much as I am enjoying May my thoughts are beginning to turn to the summer holidays. With two children in school full-time our holidays are really precious. We don’t go on huge holidays, preferring to spend a few days with grandparents in different parts of the country, and plan lots of day trips too. The downside to those wonderful 6 weeks of holidays is the cost of it all. With only one of us, working money can be tight, so I’ve been looking for ways to save money for the summer holidays. Top tips for saving money during the summer…

  • crafts - garden crafts - Nature crafts

    How to build a bug hotel using a pallet {Part 1}

    May 11, 2017 - By 

    Now the weather is warmer we have been thinking about our little garden. Our cat died recently and overnight we noticed more birds appearing in our garden. The children really wanted to encourage them and learn more about them. Our garden is small but child-friendly and we want the children to enjoy being outside, especially at this time of year. As well as making lots of handmade bird feeders we started to plan a bug hotel. We have been wanting to build one ever since we saw an amazing bug hotel at Hughenden Manor, a local National Trust properly. Here’s…

  • Wall's Helping Hand campaign logo
    competition - parenting

    Teaching community spirit {Wall’s Helping Hand}

    May 10, 2017 - By 

    Recently I’ve started helping every week with my son’s Beaver group. He’s been a Beaver for just over a year and he really enjoys it. The group leader is really well organised which means they have a well planned programme of events and activities which is really complements the academic stuff he learns at school. He loves to collect badges which I find are a great incentive. Since he’s been a Beaver he’s been camping, to a water activity day, horse riding, hiking, and so much more. It’s great to be part of something like this, he’s made friends in…

  • New collectible toys based on the Disney Crossy Road app
    toy review

    New collectible toys based on the Disney Crossy Road app

    May 10, 2017 - By 

    Fans of the Disney Crossy Road app are going to love our latest unboxing video as we were sent an exclusive before launch gift box containing some of the new collectible toys based on the Disney Crossy Road app! My children love making unboxing videos so don’t forget to pop over to our YouTube channel and please like and subscribe to see what we’ve been up to. New collectible toys based on the Disney Crossy Road app The brand new Disney Crossy Road toys are based on characters from the popular game Crossy Road. Character Options now bring you pixelated mini figures and…

  • EmbellishBox for paper cutters
    crafts - Paper craft - subscription box

    EmbellishBox for paper cutters {April box}

    May 9, 2017 - By 

    The weeks are going very quickly at the moment. I use my monthly subscriptions to mark the weeks and was very surprised to receive the latest Embellish Box. This is a monthly subscription box full of paper templates for paper cutting. Each box is themed and the latest box was called Up Up and Away. Inside the box were 4 x templates (Enjoying the view, Two balloons, Up up and away, and a balloon basket), 3 x backing papers from PaperStory.co.uk as well as some themed goodies: a hot air balloon lantern, cloud magnet, hanging hot air balloon and a…

  • Lavender play dough recipe
    crafts - Nature crafts

    Lavender play dough recipe

    May 9, 2017 - By 

    It’s been a while since I made any play dough for my children. The lighter evening have meant they have found it difficult to wind down at bedtime. I thought a batch of homemade lavender play dough was just the thing for a lovely sensory experience. Lavender has some great properties and is well known for aiding sleep. I like to make my own play dough. It’s quick and cheap and I like to know exactly what my children are touching. I’ve used this recipe a few times now: 150g plain flour 40g salt 3 tsp lemon juice 2 tbs…

  • Unboxing the new Transformers The Last Knight toys from Hasbro
    Hasbro Toy Tribe - parenting - playing - toy review

    Transformers: The Last Knight {toy review}

    May 8, 2017 - By 

    At the end of last week we received a really exciting parcel from Hasbro. It contained some of the new toys released to coincide with the latest Transformers film, The Last Knight. My kids love Transformers so I was excited to see what they thought. They are a little obsessed with making videos at the moment so we made an unboxing video of the new Transformers The Last Knight toys from Hasbro. Take a look and see what my cheeky 5 and 7 year old had to say about them. Transformers: The Last Knight (also known as Transformers 5) is a new…

  • wall of vintage signs at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
    days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List - Star Wars crafts

    Monday happy things {Week 136}

    May 8, 2017 - By 

    Last week was good. I love a Bank Holiday Monday and we decided to visit Buckinghamshire Railway Centre and Waddesdon Manor.Buckinghamshire Railway Centre was huge and although the weather wasn’t great we all enjoyed riding on the trains. We had a lovely day out but it was pretty tiring. The highlight of our week was of course Star Wars Day! We started with a yummy Star Wars breakfast of green Yoda milk. It would have been blue Bantha milk but we didn’t have any blue food colouring. There were also Star Wars pancakes which were a fun way to start the…

  • Cafe Rouge Spring menu review
    eating out - Hillingdon - Local Review - London - parenting - Ruislip

    Enjoying the new Spring menu at Cafe Rouge

    May 7, 2017 - By 

    We have a lovely Cafe Rouge on our local hight street. It’s in a beautiful old building – for some reason this always ticks all my boxes when I’m eating out – and I love to eat local. We were invited along to try the new Spring menu at Cafe Rouge so yesterday, after a day of gardening and relaxing at home, we went along to try it out for ourselves. We’ve been to Cafe Rouge quite a few times now. It’s our go-to place when we have family and friends round as we know there’s always something on the…