• book review

    {book review} Start the Siren! Sound book

    I can’t quite believe I offered to review a noisy book with the children but I did, so here goes. The children were sent a Fireman Sam Start the Siren! Sound book from Egmont to review. Called Jupiter to the Rescue! it’s a sturdy board book with a button to press throughout the story. Fireman Sam and the Pontypandy fire crew are called on to help with many emergencies, from a cat stuck in a tree to a bus nearly falling off a cliff. Jupiter the fire engine races to each scene with sirens wailing! Join in with the rescue…

  • Bahlsen Book Club - book review

    What I’m reading: The School Gates by Nicola May

    One of the things I’m trying to do this year is make more time for myself. That might sound easy but, with a demanding 2 and 4 year old around, I rarely get any time to myself before 7pm. So I’ve been trying to cut down on the hours spent online where I do nothing but stare at my laptop screen and spend more time sewing, reading and doing things which make me happy. I was pleased to be asked to join the Bahlsen Book Club which basically involved receiving a new book to read each month and a couple…

  • competition - Lego - playing

    Win a Lego Duplo Creative Cakes set

    Over the last few weeks I’ve been working with Lego Duplo on their latest campaign called How Do You Play, which runs for the next couple of weeks on Lego Duplo’s Facebook page. It’s really easy and fun to enter. Simply let your children get creative with their Lego Duplo, capture their play in a short film and upload it through the How Do You Play app on the Lego Duplo Facebook page. Each week people can vote for their favourite videos and weekly prizes are awarded to the top three video participants and three voters who are chosen at random.…

  • crafts - Crafts for kids - Kids crafts - St George's Day crafts - tutorial

    Wooden spoon dragon for St George

    We’re now back home after a lovely long weekend away spent with my mum. We’re all ready to face a new term the only downside is that I’ve come down with tonsillitis yet again, with conjunctivitis thrown in for good measure. As soon as we arrived home I realised our Easter decorations had been up for far too long so I was more than happy to take them down. The house is already looking a lot less cluttered. Did you know it’s St George’s Day tomorrow? It’s not an official national holiday just yet but, according to Wikipedia, St. George’s…

  • baking

    Hot Cross Cookies and the Colossal Cake Sale

    Over the weekend we have been eating our way through a pile of Hot Cross Cookies from a recipe I found on Whitworths Sugar website. They were easy to make, half an hour from start to finish, and a great alternative to the traditional Hot Cross Bun typically eaten at this time of year. I left out the white chocolate pieces as we all eat far too much chocolate at this time of year (!) but I did decorate them with white chocolate with a little help from my son. The cookies were delicious so would be a great bake…

  • ASK Italian - cooking - eating

    The perfect Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

    I’m currently working with ASK Italian to promote their brilliant campaign to #Respectthepasta! A couple of weeks ago I visited my local ASK Italian in order to tell you about their delicious menu. This week I wanted to share some tips for cooking the perfect pasta at home. ASK Ambassador Theo Randall, has had a huge hand in creating some of the delicious menus at ASK Italian, he has also created a set of rules for creating perfect pasta: Pasta DO: -Use LOTS of boiling, well-salted water -Cook for two minutes less than the packet instructions and finish cooking in…

  • crafts - Easter - handmade - Kids crafts - Spring - STEM activity - tutorial

    Dyeing eggs for Easter

    I know my children don’t have a clue about Easter but that hasn’t stopped us enjoying some Easter crafting. Yesterday we tried our hands at decorating and dyeing hard boiled eggs. This was actually quite quick so the children were able to follow the whole process. I thought I’d share it here as my two really enjoyed it. You will need: eggs Scotch Magic Tape scissors vinegar food colouring {STEM activity} Dyeing eggs for Easter First hard boil the eggs. I boiled them for 10 minutes then placed them in a sieve and ran cold water over them for a…

  • crafts - Easter - Kids crafts - Spring - tutorial

    How to make your own Easter eggs

    I think it’s fair to say we’re enjoying our Easter holidays. The 4 year old was in desperate need of a break from his nursery routine (he attends for five afternoons a week) and we’ve been crafting, to the beach, seen family and friends and for the first time, made our own Easter eggs! Have you ever tried using a chocolate mould before? We found it surprisingly time consuming as each layer needs to be left to solidify before another one is added. “Daddy, me have more chocolate please!” It was great fun though and there was plenty of chocolate…

  • competition

    Win a year’s supply of Duracell batteries

    Today I wanted to share an inspiring story of mental and physical endurance with you. Childhood friends Luke and Jamie recently rowed 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean and raised £300,000 for Breast Cancer Care, the single biggest donation that the charity has ever received. During their 54-day adventure Luke and Jamie, both only 21, showed an extraordinary commitment to never giving up. They met sharks, crossed 40ft waves, and narrowly avoided being crushed by a container ship. They even earned themselves a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest pair ever to row the Atlantic!…