• days out - Local Review - London - parenting - Ruislip

    Ruislip Lido {exploring the local area}

    We spent the morning at Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruislip, within the London Borough of Hillingdon. It’s a really lovely place to visit, situated between Ruislip Common, Ruislip Woods, and Poors Field, an historic part of Ruislip. Originally opened as a feeder reservoir for the Grand Junction Canal in 1811, the reservoir was reopened in 1933 as a lido, with facilities for swimming and boating. Today you’re no longer allowed to go swimming or boating but there’s a splash park, playground, outdoor gym, beach area and lovely walk around the lido. We’ve visited the Lido since…

  • days out - Hillingdon - Local Review - London - parenting

    West London Racing Centre {exploring the local area}

    I’ve mentioned a few times that my husband and children have a collection of model cars they like to race (this is on top of the model cars and model planes!). When we moved to West London we began looking for somewhere to race the cars, other than the woods or local park. Someone recommended the West London Racing Centre. The West London Racing Centre is in the corner of Pole Hill Open Space, a park in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The WLRC is designed to provide an organised venue for racing 1:10th Scale Electric On-Road radio control model…

  • days out - film review - London - parenting

    The Diary of a Wimpy Kid screening with Joules Clothing

    Today we were invited by Joules Clothing to attend a screening of the latest film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, at 20th Century Fox. I’d heard of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of fiction books, written by the American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. All the main books are the journals of the main character, Greg Heffley. We haven’t read any of the books or watched the previous films but were excited to see the film based on the trailer, which we all thought was funny. We had a lovely afternoon in London before the…

  • Hasbro Toy Tribe - parenting - playing - toy review

    Star Wars BladeBuilders Spin-Action Lightsaber

    I think I’ve mentioned  a few times that we’re big Star Wars fans in our house. So when we were offered the new Star Wars BladeBuilders Spin-Action Lightsaber from Hasbro I knew my 7 year old would love to review it. He has one simple lightsaber but this one sounded a lot more fun! Star Wars BladeBuilders Spin-Action Lightsaber Jedi Knights, Sith Lords, Stormtroopers, X-Wings, Star Destroyers, AT-AT Walkers, droids, Wookiees, Rebel heroes, and more! Discover the exciting stories of good versus evil in a galaxy far, far away with the Star Wars Bladebuilders Spin-Action Lightsaber! Take a look at…

  • parenting - playing - toddler

    Toddler wish list for play time {The Baby Cubby}

    I’ve been spending a little time on my YouTube channel recently. I ignored YouTube for years but have recently realised how much I love watching and making my own videos. I’ve uploaded a few of my favourite videos of the children when they were little, as well as some of their favourite toys in the hope they will help other parents. Buying toys for my children when they were toddlers was such a minefield and it’s strange seeing how quickly things change in the parenting world. Parenthood can be overwhelming and if you’re not surrounded by friends and family it…

  • Happy By Nature - parenting

    Twisted tastebuds with BEAR’s Super Sour Yoyos

    Our family love a challenge and our latest task from BEAR was to get our tastebuds twisting with the brand new Super Sour Yoyos. We received delicious packs of BEAR Super Sour Yoyos along with our very own roulette wheel to play Super Sours Yoyos Roulette. BEAR Yoyos are back with a twist – or should that be a zing? The new 100% pure fruit and veg snacks have been given a super twist with the tantalising addition of lemon and they are sure to tickle your little cubs tastebuds! As you would expect from BEAR, there are absolutely no hidden nasties. They…

  • parenting - playing - Playmobil Playologist - toy review

    New Playmobil Ghostbusters range and Ecto-1 unboxing

    I’m so happy to share with you today our review of one of the toys from the new Playmobil Ghostbusters range! Yes, we’re still Playmobil Playologists too which means we’re working with Playmobil, a top manufacturer within preschool toys, to share their latest products with you. I mentioned last year that this is Playmobil’s first entertainment brand license and they have been working together with Sony to bring these fantastic sets to life. It’s a brand collaboration we couldn’t be happier about as we love the Ghostbusters franchise. I really enjoyed the films when I was growing up. In fact the…

  • parenting - school

    Education Quizzes for kids at home and school

    I admit to having a mini fist pump when I picked up my son from school on Friday. He had endured a week of end of KS1 assessment, otherwise known as SATs. For some reason his school decided to call they daily tests ‘quiz booklets’ to downplay their significance. Unfortunately, sitting in silence with desks apart did nothing to suggest that these were fun quiz booklets and my son resolutely called them SATs all week. I’m all for doing homework but I think a week of tests are totally un-necessary in Year 2. School should be fun and it really…

  • competition - parenting

    Summer fun in the garden {win an Olympus Pen camera}

    With my 7 year old facing a week of SATs we’ve been making sure to have some weekends relaxing at home. He keeps mentioning all the test papers they are practicing so I know he is a little anxious about it all. He loves to be creative and use his hands so we have been making things to encourage him outside, give him something to do and totally take his mind off his SATs. Our favourite building materials are upcycled wooden pallets. They are the best resource – usually free, can be upcycled in so many ways but are strong…