• 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…

  • Celebrating the Spring Equinox with children
    crafts - Spring

    Celebrating the Spring Equinox with children

    March 20, 2017 - By 

    Did you know that March 20th is the Spring or Vernal, Equinox? We’ve noticed that the days are getting longer and today both night and day are equal, hence the Equinox (Latin for equal night). I really wanted to mark it in some way so today we thought we would dig out our seasonal tree and decorate it for Spring. Celebrating the Spring Equinox with children Our seasonal tree is white, perfect for Spring. We don’t have any Spring decorations, so I looked through our Easter box and found some glass animal ornaments, some pom pom Easter eggs, butterflies and…

  • homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday happy things {week 129}

    March 20, 2017 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone and I hope you all had a great weekend. As I sat thinking about what to put in this weekly post I realised my calendar was pretty normal (and busy) for last week. I volunteered for a few hours at my children’s school, ferried my children around to their after-school clubs and seem to have written a lot of blog posts. No wonder last week didn’t feel particularly relaxing! Time for my weekly Monday happy things post – Week 129 already. Last week I won my 1/2 stone award at Slimming World! I’m terrible at dieting but Slimming…

  • How to make a Pez display case
    homestyle - interiors - Pinty Plus Ambassador

    How to make a Pez display case

    March 19, 2017 - By 

    I’m a bit of hoarder and can’t help but collect things. Do you remember Pez holders? They are plastic holders which hold little sweetie bricks, and they have a different characters head as the dispenser. I had them when I was growing up, although sadly never kept any of them. Now my children have quite a large Pez dispenser collection and I can’t help add to their collection. Our Pez dispenser collection has been sitting in a plastic bag, only coming out when the children bought a new dispenser or wanted to eat some sweets. Since we re-decorated our living…

  • Nerf Zombie Strike Outbreaker Bow
    Hasbro Toy Tribe - playing - toy review

    Nerf Zombie Strike Outbreaker Bow

    March 19, 2017 - By 

    My son has wanted a Nerf blaster for a long time. He’s quite a gentle soul so I’ve always been a bit surprised when he’s mentioned getting one. He’s a very creative boy who loves his Lego and making things. Last Summer I bought him a Nerf water blaster as he was taking part in a massive water fight for their last Beavers session before the holidays. Most of the children had Nerf blasters and water pistols and his certainly held up well in their water fight. So when we were offered the new Nerf Zombie Strike Outbreaker Bow from Hasbro…

  • 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…