#SAVESUMMER with Asda

You may have seen Asda's online campaign to #SAVESUMMER and if you have there is a chance that you may have seen Isla and Noah on the website. We were lucky enough to take part in some of the activities that feature in the campaign and so I thought I would share some of them with you as they really are good fun for the kids over those LOOOONG Summer holidays!

One of our favourites was the Angry Birds Water Balloon game. It's really simple.

Chalk out some bad piggies

Fill up your balloons (fill them as full as you can - they might bounce rather than burst if you don't!)

Draw angry bird faces on the balloons

Ready, Aim, Fire and wipe out the Bad Piggies!

Check out the campaign here for other ideas and on social media look out for the hashtag #SAVESUMMER to see other peoples efforts and similarly if you do have a go then share them and tag them with #SAVESUMMER too and your efforts can feature on the Asda website too.

A Day Out with Thomas - Brilliant Family Fun!

Yesterday we went on 'A Day Out with Thomas' at the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Noah is a fan of Thomas and I thought that this would be perfect for him and I also admit I was excited about the day too. I love giving the kids a thoroughly fun day out and I can hand on my heart say this was one family day to remember! 

I had booked us on the first steam train ride of the day at 10.25am which meant us leaving the house at 8.30am (nice early start!) so we were there for the half an hour before departure that the ticket suggested. On arrival we saw The Fat Controller and also Charlie the Clown entertaining the crowd prior to getting on the train. Thomas wheeshed into Tenterden Station, and it felt really magical. I’m a bit soft since becoming a mum and I actually felt a bit emotional – good grief! The kid’s faces lit up and then we hurried to the platform to get a better look at him. Thomas wasn’t actually taking us on our steam engine journey, that was down to another train and at 10.25 we set off on our travels, which took us along the line 10 and a half miles to Northiam Station. 

It felt like going back in time. The carriages were old and quaint and I loved the feeling of a bygone era that I got. I checked on the KESR website and the railway and station have been used in TV and film, which is no surprise. We took picnic food with us, so we munched on some muffins and took advantage of the buffet cart that came around for a cuppa. We bought Isla and Noah a flag each at £1.50 a go. They enjoyed waving to the people waiting in their cars at level crossings, the people at the platforms we went past and spotting the cows and other such countryside animals. The train goes to Northiam, stops for a bit and then makes its way back to Tenterden.

Once we got back to Tenterden we enjoyed all the other things that were included in the ticket price. They both had unlimited goes on the bouncy castle and the merry-go-round. Isla loved the Punch and Judy and children’s entertainer, especially when he performed the magic trick making a rabbit appear in a box. She was a fully participating audience member shouting out and getting involved. We also got our photo taken with The Fat Controller who was on hand all day looking super important in his top hat and tails! Charlie the Clown stopped us at one point and got Isla to perform some magic which she loved and he aimed a few jibes at Mummy and Daddy which made her laugh too. Thomas did do some rides during the afternoon but we missed out on these.

On site you can buy food which is reasonably priced and there are picnic benches to sit and eat at. We found the little grassy play area where there was a wooden train that all the kids were playing on and sat there to eat our lunch. As the area was quite small it made a nice change for us grown-ups to be able to sit down and eat lunch and have the kids within eye-shot and not have to follow them around. 

We had a look around the shop after we’d eaten some ice-creams and Isla had watched the children’s entertainer for the second time (!) and they both came away with something – Noah chose a die-cast ‘Hank’ and Isla a cuddly rabbit (yes I know not really very train themed!) and I also purchased a Thomas book that I got Christopher Awdry to sign – he is the son of the Rev W Awdry, the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and the reason for the stories coming about as they were told to him by his father when he was ill as a boy. 

Our ticket was £44 for a family of 4 and I think that was such good value for everything that was included in the ticket price. I loved that the event didn’t seem oversubscribed, they hadn’t crammed in too many people and so there weren’t queues for the other attractions. There was a lovely family feel to the day and we enjoyed every minute!

To check out where there is a Thomas Day Out near you go to Day Out With Thomas

Ella's Kitchen - The Red One Cook Book Review

We were lucky enough to be sent a copy of the Ella’s Kitchen - The Red One Cook Book to review. It is packed full of yummy ideas for making mealtimes fun for all the family!

There are over 100 recipes in this book for littlies and big kids. The instructions are simple and the emphasis is on getting children hands on and messy in the kitchen from a young age.

I love that this is more than a recipe book and also contains fun ideas and activities that get the kids involved with food other than at mealtimes. There are grow your own ideas, a fun activity to get the kids planting their own food, decorating the flower pots, watching it grow and eating the produce. Ideas for role play setting up a kids cafe, encouraging the children to use their imagination to make up their own menu and create fake food.

So far we have cooked 3 of the meals in the book. This is the Zingy Lamb and Cous Cous with Mangoes and Raisins. It was delicious!

We have also cooked Cosy Cottage Pie and Magical Moroccan-style Chicken. They were both also really tasty meals, so tasty in fact that I totally forgot to get any photos of them and they were eaten in no time!! 

We were always big fans of Ella's Kitchen while weaning Noah and so it's really great that we can continue to feel supported by them as he goes through toddlerhood. However don't think that these meals can only be eaten by toddlers as that is far from the truth, we have all enjoyed what we've made so far as a family. 

The recipes are really easy to follow and simple to make. There is nothing complicated about it and the timings are shown really clearly for each recipe, so if you know you only have half an hour then it's really easy to see which meal is more suited to the time you have to prepare that evening. We haven't tried any of the sweet recipes as yet, but they are next on the list of things to try out, I've got my eye on the Carroty Cakes, what better way to get some of that important Vitamin A.

Get your copy of Ella's Kitchen The Cook Book – The Red One here

We were sent this book free of charge. All views and opinions are my own.

Big Birthday Weekend with Bezerkaz Circus!

So this past week has been all about the birthdays! First it was Noah's, he turned 2 and then it was Isla's and she turned 4. I feel like it's a bit of an end of an era with Isla as she starts school in September and so this is her last pre-school birthday. I also feel like time has gone too fast. As parents we're always looking to the next milestone, wishing they could do this and do that but actually we should celebrate the now more. I absolutely love the age she is at now. She is fun, she is sweet, she is loud, she is cheeky. She's a challenge at times, she can be a bit over emotional, she hasn't got a hint of self consciousness yet. All that said, I am looking forward to school coming up and watching her blossom and learn about the wider world.

We've done loads of fun things for their birthdays but I'd say the best bit was on Saturday when a good friend of mine came over, he runs Bezerkaz Circus and gave Isla and Noah and their best friends a circus party in the garden. I've known Shaun for over 20 years, so it was really lovely to get together with all our kids and have some fun and see what he does for a living these days. There was juggling, plate spinning, unicycle riding, giant bubbles, accordion playing, diablo, acrobatics, face painting, balloon modelling and last but not least fire juggling and fire eating! It was all really exciting and we all (adults included) were wowed by the giant bubbles!

Here's are the photos from our day: 

You can read about Bezerkaz Circus in my previous blog post and check out their website here. AAAAND there is a rather exciting Summer of Adventures competition on the Nick Jnr website at the moment to win a Bubble Workshop with Bezerkaz Circus. Give it a go as I can say with much enthusiasm that the kids loved the giant bubbles on Saturday and so did the adults! 

This is not a sponsored post, I've not been paid to write about this, it was just a really brilliant afternoon spent with talented friends who know a thing or two about entertaining little ones!

High Quality Leather from Clarks

Since having the kids spending on me has dwindled considerably and if ever I run into trouble on a shopping trip with finding myself something to wear then my default shopping habit is to buy something for the children instead. I've also recently discovered through a shopping trip for kids footwear that not only do Clarks sell well made shoes for children, the high quality leather from Clarks also extends to the adult ranges. A few months back I went to the sales to see if there was anything that would be suitable for Isla and wonder of wonders I didn't actually buy anything for her, I bought these fabulous Clarks shoes. FOR ME!

I ummed and ahhed over them. Firstly, I don't buy shoes very often, my feet are ginormous at size 8 and generally anything I like isn't available in my size. I am almost a giantess at 5 foot 11 inches, so anything with a heel is out too, so I tend to stick to the old faithful choice of trainers most of the time. On this day however everything I liked was available in my size and the only thing I had to get over was the fact that I felt a bit weird wearing shoes. In the end I realised that I couldn't leave the shop without them. But then what followed was that it dawned on me  that I had absolutely nothing to wear with these fabulous shiny new shoes, so I then *HAD* to buy 3 new dresses to go with them (I don't usually do dresses either!). In effect during that one small shopping trip I had initiated a complete overhaul (yes 3 new dresses constitutes use of the word overhaul - I don't own masses of clothing!) of my wardrobe and usual style.

I wore these shoes and one of my new dresses to work and for once I felt 'grown up'. I'm very casual at work usually but for at a week solid I was rocking my new shoes paired up with dresses and Isla also loved this change in her Mummy - she loves dresses and is most pleased when I'm donning one in the morning. This pair of shoes was the jog I needed to get my act together and try and make more of an effort with my appearance. Shoes like these insist on wearing something smarter and it had an effect on my mental attitude as well. I felt altogether more productive. Money well spent for so many different reasons!

Funny how I didn't set out to buy anything for myself that day, I only thought that Clarks shoes were good for kids. How wrong could I have been?

This is a commissioned post

Two Today!

Turning two. It's quite a milestone 2 years old. It's the cut off point of being a baby. He's well and truly a toddler now and don't we know it. The mood swings. Oh he can be the cutest, funniest little bloke around but other times he is the most frustrated, angry monster. He is a total Mummy's boy and he's never satisfied unless he is hanging off my leg. This behaviour has alerted the Daddy's girl in our house to my existence and so I now have them both competing for my undivided attention. I am flattered but it is exhausting too. He talks non stop. Giving his little orders and instructions and coming out with some really funny remarks. He's stringing 6 or 7 words together and tries so hard to be understood. He even knows we take the mickey out of him for his ridiculous use of the phrase "never, ever, ANYMORE"! 

He's currently in the grip of a LighteningMcQueen  obsession. He has two Cars T-shirts that he would live in 24/7! He also loves the Dustbin lorry, and watches it out the window every Monday morning and waves to all the bin men. 

There is so much more to find out about this boy and I look forward to watching him grow and hopefully the tantrums lessoning as the year goes on. Love you Noah. Happy birthday! 

We Pay a Visit to Mayfield Lavender

At the weekend we paid a visit to Mayfield Lavender, which is a wonderful Lavender Field near to us in Surrey. It’s an amazing sight as you drive along the road and suddenly your eyes are accosted by pure purpleness! It’s beautiful.

There was a weekend ‘Lavender Festival’ where the shop was full to bursting with gorgeous Lavender products, there were lavender massages, face painting and a delicious BBQ on the go. We last went to the field just over 3 years ago when Isla was 1 years old and we have this photo of the three of us that I love. 

Us in 2010

So this time we went as a family of 4 and got a few shots. The field is really popular with Chinese people it seems, and they were very keen to have a photo with Noah! They seemed really taken with him and he loved their attentions – such a little flirt.

We had a little wander around the lavender, which smelt gorgeous, then we took advantage of the BBQ and had a few sausages and burgers between us. The kids both wanted a bundle of lavender each, they were £3.50, so we have some to dry out now. We also bumped into Maria and her family from Tiger Tales and I'm gutted that we didn't get a photo together! As is the way with Isla we couldn’t get away without a bit of face-painting. All in all it was a lovely way to spend a sunny couple of hours.

Entry to the field is free but I dare you to come away without buying something lovely from the little shop there.