According to Wikipedia, The Gingerbread Boy made his first print appearance in the May 1875 issue of the (American) St. Nicholas Magazine. I’ve been trying to build up my library of gingerbread books this week and found two lovely story books on eBay to add to my collection. The first was this vintage copy of The Gingerbread Boy from 1951. It’s part of the Janet & John Story Books which my husband remembers reading at school. It’s the traditional story of the gingerbread boy, beautifully illustrated. This copy is from a school library and bears the stamp Leicestershire Education Authority.…
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Edward is a geek already! He loves playing with our iPhones and iPad so we’re always on the lookout for new apps to amuse him. At 20 months he’s learned how to unlock the home screen to look at photographs of himself. He’s equally happy to take photos too! We were asked to try out the new app from DK, My First Word Play which has been designed for pre-schoolers, the design matching the iconic My First books. The app features: 4 x My First Word games: Letter Match, Phonic Fun, Rhyme Time and Word Painter; Interactive A-Z dictionary and…
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Yesterday I read on Facebook that one of my friends was putting up her Christmas tree. November seems a little early to me but her grand-daughter insisted! With Christmas just around the corner it’s the perfect time to get together to create some unique home-made decorations for your home. I’ve been busy ‘pinning’ crafty ideas to keep Edward occupied and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can make. We were sent some new Scotch Restickables Tabs which should help keep our decorations up. The double-sided adhesive tabs are really easy to use and ideal for sticking festive decorations…
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I haven’t had much time to think about whether we needed to attend ante-natal classes this time round. It’s only 20 months since we attended NCT classes which we didn’t find particularly useful, other than an opportunity to meet people local to us. We didn’t gel with any of the group and haven’t seen any of them for months. However, let’s forget real life for a moment. There seem to be quite a few pregnant celebs around which got me thinking, who would I like in my (fantasy) ante-natal class? I would love to have Emma Willis in my class.…
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I love it when the Christmas Cath Kidston catalogue lands on my doorstep. I have to admit I don’t get to visit a physical shop as often as I like, as they’re not terribly pram-friendly, but that doesn’t stop my (online) window shopping. I’ve almost finished my Christmas shopping and most family members have at least one present from Cath Kidston. My sister has recently moved house so she has a lovely set of these cheery bon bon stripe bath towels to unwrap. We used to have airedales, which are a breed of terrier, so I couldn’t resist this Stanley…
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Edward has picked up new habits from his time at nursery and it’s so strange knowing he’s learning things outside the home. He still chatters away as he’s always done but he now has a few funny mannerisms, such as holding his hands behind his back. His nursery encourage them to do things for themselves but I find it funny that at home he’ll sit on the bottom stair and take him shoes off when I ask him to. He loves his nursery but I’d really like to know what he gets up to. When he’s sitting at the dinner…
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Jack Black is back as Po in DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2, the fiercely funny sequel to the Academy Award-nominated original film. On his first big challenge since becoming the Dragon Warrior, Po must lead his friends and fellow kung fu masters The Furious Five on a mission of epic proportions to defeat his most threatening rival yet. Combining non-stop action, beautiful storytelling and stunning animation, the winning sequel made its highly-anticipated Blu-ray and DVD debut on 14 November 2011 featuring the year’s heavyweight hero and loads of entertainment you didn’t see in cinemas. Boasting an all-star cast of…
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I’ve never tried parkin before but knowing it was some kind of ginger cake was happy when offered some of Lottie Shaw’s Seriously Good Yorkshire Parkin to try. It’s described as “a ginger cake predominantly baked using oatmeal and a perfect blend of syrup and black treacle”. It contains no artificial life enhancing ingredients but the syrup preserves the cake for up to 12 weeks! The packaging was lovely, the parkin was baked in its own tray and smelt divine. My only criticism was that the portion could have been larger – I didn’t realise parkin was so delicious and…
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I’m not ashamed to admit I don’t like being pregnant. Although it’s completely natural it makes me feel out of balance, I dislike my body shape and spend 9 months on edge – either counting the kicks or wishing the baby would stop turning cartwheels. Being pregnant makes me feel horribly human and responsible and I find it strange knowing I have no control over it. Looking back, I ignored a few of the early pregnancy symptons. I found it easy to get pregnant but it took me a couple of weeks to mentally come to terms with it. It…