Saturday 26 November 2016

Meeting Santa at Hamleys

Today we got invited to See Santa at Hamleys toy shop in Cardiff.
We were greeted at the front of the store by a few energetic elves and the excitement began. Each child was given a sticker with their name on it. We were then walked to the back of the store while singing 'Rudolf the red nose reindeer'. We arrived at the back of the store and all opened the doors by shouting 'Hamleys'.

We entered the room and it was beautifully decorated with lots of attention to detail. The children had a place at the table and got cracking on decorating some Christmas biscuits that Mrs Claws had made. Shortly after this The big man himself entered who was an amazing Santa and interacted with the children really well.






The children got to sit and listen to Santa read them a story they also got to play games with Santa. I have to admit every time we have gone elsewhere to see Santa its been the serious santas....but fair play this one was messing around and making the children laugh and getting involved in the games etc which was lovely to see.
The children were then split into two groups. One group sat and wrote their Christmas list and the others got to meet Santa individually then the groups swapped. Before long it was time to say bye to Santa.
Each child was given a balloon and a bag from Santa. The bag contained a teddy with 'I met Father Christmas at Hamleys' on his tshirt, a big bar of chocolate, A book and a Xmas tree decoration. The whole experience lasted about 40 mins. 
We have only ever taken Munchkin to see school Santa and haven't ever paid out for and experience because friends have paid £7+ at local garden centres and come away with a toy from the £1 shop and all they get was 2 mins for a photo and a quick photo.

Before visiting today I probably wouldn't have paid the £19.99 but having experienced it today I would most certainly do it again. Granted if you have more than one child it can get pricey but if you are looking for a good, fun experience then this is the one. Hamleys ask that only one adult accompany each child due to the room not being very big.


You have to book your space so to do so check out the Hamleys website for more info. http://www.hamleys.com/explore-MFC.irs

We got invited to Hamleys to experience this in exchange for an honest review.
 

Friday 25 November 2016

Law of Attraction and life update

Over the past few months I'm not gonna lie....blogging took a very back seat. Life just got very busy.
We had out dream holiday to Disney World to celebrate our honeymoon and milestone Birthdays. It was such a magical holiday and one that we will always remember.

Then we hit the ground running when we got home, Straight back to work and school. Things got a little crazy between work and personal life and everything seemed to be getting me down. I needed to make a change to improve how I dealt with things and situations.

I happened to watch a youtube video by Emma Mumford on law of attraction and remembered that I had purchased the books 'The Secret' and 'The Magic' before going away on holiday. I had read 'The secret' and decided to start putting the practices in 'The magic' into play.
If you don't know about the law of attraction or 'The Secret' books then I would strongly advise that you read up on them and even purchase them (Please let me know if you would like more blog posts on the law of attraction).

Anyways! Emma referred in her video to someone called Tony Robbins.....This may seem a little dull but I didn't have a clue who this dude was, So I put his name into youtube and I was amazed!! This guy is a total legend. I was mesmerised by him and his words. Go and type his name into YouTube if you don't know who he is!.

So the law of attraction is all about positive thoughts attracting positive things into your life and like attracting like. Go and read up on it ....you will thank me.

Ive only been practising this for about 2 weeks and so much has changed. I already feel happier and able to manage situations much easier and have manifested things that have surprised me.

I challenge you to just give it a go and read about the law of attraction.

GO, GO, GO

Keep your eyes peeled for more blog posts coming up


Thursday 11 August 2016

Charity shop haul! bargin buys!

Long time no blog! I know, I know! Life has just got a bit busy and I've been doing overtime in work too!
When I was younger I used to be puzzled as to why my mum never really seemed to by many clothes for herself, She would wear the same 'comfy' shoes and probably only had a handful of trousers and a dozen tops. Since losing her and becoming a mum myself I have literally turned into my mum!
My husband constantly says 'Babe why don't you go and get yourself some more clothes?' because he knows how much I say 'I haven't got anything to wear'. When I say this I'm not even over exaggerating! I literally had about 2-3 pair of jeans, 7 tops, 3 jumpers, gym outfit and my work clothes. I hate paying a lot for clothes and I would much rather buy munchkin or Hubby some clothes.

I got to watching youtube about bootsale pick ups and noticed how lots of people manage to pick up some good items of clothing from charity shops so I decided that I would pop into the charity shops in my town as there are 6 of them. I managed to pick up a pair of ladies jeans from next in amazing condition that were just £2.50 and a pair of white linen trousers for £2. I got home and loved these two items and I didn't feel guilty for buying them what so ever.
I proudly showed my hubby my purchases and he smiled and said well at least we are halfway to you buying yourself clothing.

Over the past week I popped into a few of the charity shops and thought I would do a little haul to show you what I bought! 


 There are a few of the charity shops that do charge a fair bit for their clothing items and then on the other hand there is another charity shop where all trousers/jeans are buy one get one free! and all

of the tops are 99p. Bargin!!


The Jeans on the right have little rips in them and don't look like they have been work very much if at all! They were £2.


The navy shorts I picked up because I like a slightly longer length short and with the warm weather promised I wanted to have some for that and for holidays.


The jeans on the left are skinny jeans from TU which I believe is Sainsburys?? again other than being a little creased they look like have hardly been worn.
I got these jeans and the shorts for 99p as they were buy one get one free!





The pink top I loved because I think its quite flattering and its longer in the back too. Its a fort chiffon type fabric. It a size bigger than what I needed but seen as I'm bigger up top I thought it would be fine. This top cost £3 



A few days ago I also picked up a blazer which I'm completely in love with! I saw this in the shops when it was full price and never picked it up because I couldn't justify paying that price so when I saw it in the charity shop for £1.99 I knew I just had to get it!


Jeans (rips) - £2
Jeans (skinny) - £1
Shorts - FREE
Top - £3
Blazer - £1.99

Total £7.99

Total bargin!!! Are you a charity shop fan? let me know your best buys!
Give charity shops a go! you can get some fab finds!!




Friday 8 April 2016

Organ donation, Why??

When I was about 14 I remember going onto the internet and typing in 'Organ donation' . I remember wanting to know more about it. I approached my Mum and told her that I wanted to become an organ donor, She looked at me as if I had gone crazy and said 'Ok love!' I guess she kinda just shrugged it off. As soon as I could I got on line and registered as an organ donor. My card arrived and I remember feeling quite proud and as though even just registering as an organ donor was sense of achievement!

I remember my Mum coming into my room and saying 'Love.....Is this something you are sure you want to do? I wont be doing it!' 'Yes of course' I replied. Mum then said 'Please don't let them take your heart or your eyes'. I told my Mum the same thing that I tell people today, which is this...

What good are my organs to me when I'm gone? Would it help the healing process for my family if I kept my organs? I think not! What may help the healing process is to know that my organs went to people who needed those organs to survive and continue to be able to live happy healthy lives!
Mum nodded, smiled and left my room.
A week later Mum approached me with a huge smile on her face, 'Ive got something to show you' she said. As I sat with her she placed a card in my hand, When I looked it was a donor card for herself and she had ticket the 'Donate all' box. I was amazed! She told me she had thought about my choice to become and organ donor and how I explained it to her. She said she felt as though not being an organ donor felt almost selfish.

Most people get freaked out buy organ donation and more so donating corneas (part of the eye). There is a massive shortage of cornea donation in the UK! The reason I choose to opt in to donate my corneas is the same as all my other organs....they wont be any use to me. But someone could be able to see their new born baby clearly for the first time or be able to look in to their partners eyes clearly as they say their vows on their wedding day.

Ask yourself this!
If your Partner, Child, Mother, Brother, Sister etc had an accident or became ill and needed an organ to live, Would you expect/hope for there to be an organ available? I know I would!
How would you feel sitting by your loved ones bedside just waiting for an organ to become available knowing that someone somewhere just refused to become and organ donor because they 'don't like the thought of it'?
I feel very strongly that if you expect to receive, Its only fair that you are willing to give.
If everyone in the world refused to become an organ donor or to give blood then a hell of a lot of people would be dying but yet it everyone became a donor then just think how many more lives can be changed.

Know that someone somewhere who chose to opt in just saved a little girls life, Or allowed a woman to continue her dream of living to be a dancer or a Father who can now play football with his children.
People in this country get so cross when food goes to waste 'That could have been given to the homeless man who needs it!' Same goes for organs in my opinion.

My Mum passed away suddenly in 2007 and due to having the discussion that I did with her, her organs were able to be donated in order to save lives of others.


Recently near my home town there was an tragic incident in which a Father and his young son were knocked over and sadly passed away. The wife and Mother Anna Louise Bates Made the decision to continue with her husband and sons wishes to donate their organs organs. Ive heard people discuss this 'How could she do that?' Let me tell you that woman has gone through hell and she made the selfless decision to donate her son and husbands organs in order for others to survive. It doesn't change the fact that she loved them more than anyone can know it means that she was able to create hope for others!
Believe Organ Donor Support

Anna has now gone on to set up a charity Called 'Believe' which aims to promote and support organ donation across wales and Beyond.
  Here is a link to the Believe site:- www.believe-ods.org.uk/
To Anna if you happen to be reading this I wish you all the luck in the world with the charity, your boys are so proud of you I'm sure! Try to stay strong though the hard times and know that what you are doing is saving lives.

I am not part of the Believe Charity nor do I work for any other organ donation organisation and I have not been asked by anyone to write this post. These are my own thoughts and feelings on organ donation. I feel very passionate about organ donation and even if this post encourages just one person to change their opt out decision or to be able to have the discussion with their family then I will be happy.

Organ donation Wales:- /organdonationwales.org
Organ donation NHS:- www.organdonation.nhs.uk

Monday 4 April 2016

Blokpod block sorter review

Recently I got the chance to review a product that I knew would make my life easier!
The product is the Blokpod which is a sorting/storage device.

So this is the Blokpod. It has a transparent tub with a twist lock lid inside, There are three tier grids, each one with squares of different sizes. Each of the sections also has a twist lock so you are able to separate the four sections.
The unit its self is really sturdy, Which lets face it....its a must when kids are playing with something!

The Blokpod is ideal for blocks such as Lego. As soon as I think I can sit down with a cuppa munchkin shouts 'Mummy!?!?!?!?! where is that bit I need?'. 90% of the time the piece he wants is the tiniest itsy bitsy piece that you can guarantee will be transparent ad will take me until my tea is cold to find.


With this clever little invention I can pour all of his blocks in, Give it a shake and BAM! All of the tiny bits you currently spend all morning looking for have been sifted through the grids and are sitting neatly in the bottom compartment.
Likewise all of the larger pieces are at the top, medium in the next compartment down, then the small, then the tiny ones in the bottom! Genius!!
Not only do I find this amazing for sorting blocks its a really neat way to store the blocks!

One morning this week when munchkin was playing with his playmobil the familiar sound of 'Mummy!?!?, where is the tiny knifes and forks and flowers from my playmobil?' As my eyes roll and I place my tea down on the worktop, I remembered the Blokpod. Ooooo I wonder????
I poured in the lot, give it a shake! YES!! It works, its not just for blocks!!
This product gets a BIG thumbs up from me!
Find your Blokpod now on Amazon!

I was sent this item in exchange for an honest review. I do not work for or represent the company.

Monday 29 February 2016

Easter craft ideas Baker Ross

So one of my favourite times of year is approaching and its hard not to realise it with all the shops fully stocked with Easter eggs, Easter bonnets and Easter decor.
Sunday is our Funday! So we thought we would crack on with these crafts.
We received our lovely Easter box from Baker Ross.

The first thing we got were the Easter foam stampers. The pack contains bunnies, chick, Egg, daffodil, butterfly, Lamb and more! These are fab quality and can be found here
The stamping pad I used is also from baker Ross but some of the Easter stampers were too large but with a wiggle and a jiggle you can get the paint on them.
Find it here...



The second this we got was these lovely mess free Easter decorations! There are 5 per pack and Munchkin had great fun colouring his in. 
Then peal back the sticky part on the belly, open it up so that it sticks to the other side and you have the lovely Honeycomb effect!
Find them here!



Munchkin is going through a phase of loving any foam peel back stickers so not only are these perfect they come in a pack of 120. They are all in spring theme.
Find them here...



We are so excited to receive this next product! The Pack came with 10 Easter egg shapes
Basically you peel back the yellow part to reveal a sticky part which you can pour colour sand or glitter on top of. Then go ahead and peel off another part and pour on a different colour! It works really well and gives a lovely effect when its all finished!
For this I used the colour sand.
Find it here


Easter buddy bucket kits! These are so cute! There are 3 in a pack (Bunny, Lamb and Chick)
These are the peel off foam too!
Find them here


We also got these lovely chick eggs which are fab for putting chocolates inside and hiding ready for your Easter egg hunt! 
Also we got the bouncy eggs you can see in the picture! 
Munchkin loved bouncing these around our kitchen!
Find them here

Check our the rest of their lovely Easter Range! Get crafting with your children!
All the views in this blog post are my own. I have not been paid to write this review/post. I do not work for Baker Ross. I received this Package from the lovely people at baker Ross in exchange for and honest review.
Thanks for reading!
xXx



Wednesday 24 February 2016

Disney's 'Eye found it' game review

First of all I would like to say I wasn't given this game to review it. I saw it and bought it for Munchkin. Mainly I bought it because we are very much into Disney. I'm doing the review because I think the game is fab! I love the fact that with this game you have to work as a team to win.

I bought it from Smyths toy store for £14.99 find it here

The game is quite long and works its way through Disney character lands like Mickey & co, Cars, little mermaid, Beauty and the beast. and more!

You start at the bottom of the board and work your way up to Cinderella's castle before the clock strikes 12!


The Game comes with a spinner, timer, character pieces, Rings and cards

The aim of the game is to work your way up the board spinning the spinner on your turn, if you land on a number you move that many spaces, if you land on the castle pic on the spinner you alter the hour on the clock but one or two hours depending on which castle you land on then you spin the spinner again!

Try to get ALL your players to the castle before the clock strikes 12 o clock!



Now the fun part! If you land on a Mickey head (on your spinner or on the board) you get to choose a card. Each card has something on it (the instructions have the meanings should you not know what the picture means) The card picture include things like flowers, Diamonds, Ladders and much more!

The first card we picked was the villain card (munchkin is doing his best villain eyes)
The aim is then to give each of the players the hoops and when the timer is turned over everyone tried their best to find those things on the card. When one is found a hoop is placed on it.
For example we were looking for villain's so we would put hoops around captain hook, Gaston etc

When the timer runs out everyone stops searching and counts up ALL of the hoops on the board then EVERYONE moves that amount of spaces. (E.g 5 villains found = everyone moves 5 spaces)

This game is all about working as a team so everyone has to get to the castle before 12 o clock otherwise its game over. If you are at the castle already and other players haven't you can still help search when someone has landed on a Mickey head.


The detail on this board game is Amazing and we have had many fun times playing it as a family! We only had it at Christmas and it munchkins most played game out of all that hes got!
I would recommend it 100%



Tuesday 23 February 2016

Dont stress, Say yes!!

As soon as I had munchkin I couldn't wait until he could hold a paintbrush! Messy play has always an essential part of munchkins life. I happily make a jelly just so he can mush it up, Cook pasta so he can play with it and make gloop so he can explore it.


My Husband used to find this quite strange as his Mum never did any form of messy play or craft with him when he was younger. He often tells me of how his mum is so house proud and how he wasn't allowed to walk on the carpet after she had hoovered it, Once the bed was made he couldn't sit on it and as soon as anything got on his hands it was quickly washed off.


This brings me to my point....everyone wants a lovely clean and tidy home and we often stress when kids make a mess or want to do some painting we are quick to say 'No Ive just cleaned up' Our children aren't going to remember in a few years time if we didn't run the hoover around for one day or we didn't do the one load of ironing that we should have. They will however remember how fun that craft session was or how messy they got when playing with jelly. I myself often get caught up on 'but its gonna make another mess that I'm going to have to clean' but I consciously make and effort to think as long as it cleans up.....WHY NOT!!

Next time your children need something to do let them do some painting. next time they wanna do messy play....before you just jump to 'are you kidding! Ive just cleaned' take a second and say WHY NOT!
Lets allow our children to remember us having fun with them, getting a little messy at times, jumping in puddles with clean jeans on! Don't create memories of 'mum wouldn't let me do anything when she had cleaned up'
Our hands can be washed, Tables wiped, Clothes cleaned and memories made!
xXx

Friday 19 February 2016

Top 20 items/ideas to entertain kids when traveling

This year we are having our first family holiday abroad....not only is it abroad but its a 9 hour flight! Ive done long flights before but never having to entertain a child too!
That's what sparked me to do this blog post! 
You dont have to be flying for 9 hours to find this blog useful. its handy if your going anywhere on an airplane, car, bus, etc! 
When travelling i look for activities that are mess free but are able to capture entertainment for a little while. The first few are mess free craft items but I promise they aren't all craft related!
Obviously these items are based around munchkins age group. (4-5 years)

#1
Ive been loving these peel and stick foam activities. The foam pads come on one sheet.
You can purchase them here at Baker Ross 4pk for £2.99

#2

Scratch art is Munchkins favourite activity at the moment. you scratch away at the black to reveal lovely shiny patterns underneath.
Find them here at Baker Ross10pk for £2.99

 #3
Stickers! what child doesn't love stickers! peel off the stickers and put them on your picture! Simple but effective!
Find them here at Baker Ross 8pk for £3.49 

#4
We have already got these and Ive got to say we LOVE them!  Foam activities.You get to stick the extras on your creature (peel and stick foam) then you have little finger paint sponges to decorate your creature. I know this isn't completely mess free but the finger paint is light and nothing that cant be removed from hands with a wet wipe.
Find these here at Baker Ross 5pk for £3.49


#5

We have already picked up a where's Wally mini book up in Wh Smiths. This is a new thing for munchkin so its either going to be a huge success or a huge fail! we'll see! It cost around £3.50 there are lots of different options of the Where's Wally books to choose from.

#6
Colouring:- Another love of ours is the colour by numbers! We have found it very difficult to find colour by number....paint but numbers popped up everywhere but that's not what I was after until I nipped into Hobby craft and found this fab product! 16 pages of colour by number with the actual number on each marker! genius!!
Obviously you can take standard colour book and crayons but lets face it....they see those every day!
Your can buy it here at hobby Craft £4.50 


#7

Doodle mat:-
This isn't the exact one that Ive picked up but its the same brand. they are magic markers that don't mark anything except the mat. It comes with an eraser with you fill with water then you just give it a wipe over with the cloth supplied to dry the board!
I bought ours at Home bargains for £3.99


#8

Tablets:- Yep lets face it most kids are obsessed with them. So your Ipad may be a god send!
top tip:- Make sure you download apps that don't require wifi (unless you have wifi on your plane)
You can also fill your ipad with music, films and much more.


#9
Music:- If you haven't got a tablet or aren't taking it then pick up a cheap music player. This one looks very similar to the ipod but its not. Its from Primark and I picked it up for just £2. Granted it only holds about 30 songs but i thought i could pre load munchkins favourite songs so he could listen to them on the plane.


#10
Headphones:- Yes you do get earphones on the plane but I thought these would be more comfortable for munchkin. We have the Blue/yellow JVC ones pictured above. they come with stickers so children can personalise theirs. They also have volume control so the volume only goes so high so that its suitable for small children.
They are currently on sale at Argos for £8.99

#11
Lucky dip:-
Try wrapping each item and give them one ever 1hr/30 mins depending on age and how long you are travelling for. It makes it exciting for them and also helps them recognise how much longer we have to go e.g if there is only one present left then they know not much longer after that they will arrive.


#12
Pound shops:-
Pop into your local poundshop for toys and bits. you can pick up little dolls, cars, colouring books etc and it will have been inexpensive.

#13
Travel Games:- depending on the age of your child travel games always help pass the time. Games can range from good old Snap to connect 4 to something more advanced like Uno.
You can pick them up in most supermarket and toy shops.


 #14
Stickers:- What child doesn't love stickers! Bring a little pad of paper and let them stick away!!


 #15 
Snacks:- Take some little snacks with you! boxed raisins, YoYo Bears are a favourite in our household.


#16
Crayons:-
Triangular crayons always help when on flights as they prevent the constant 'Mummy!, I dropped my crayon and it rolled under my seat' Then your on your hands and knees only to find its rolled 5 rows back!


#17

Ispy
I came across these and thought they would be fab for the flight. You just print them out and laminate them if you wish. They are I spy sheet with lots of different items on. If you child is too young for Ispy, you can just do the 'Can you find the ball?' or 'what can you see on the picture?'
You can print yours out here

#18

Activity books and sticker books:-
I Love the 100 things to do on a plane book as it contains losts of activities and colourings. Usborne books have a nice range of travel activity books and they can be found here

#19
Their favourite toy:-.....as long as its not a huge 6ft stuffed teddy of course.
We all have our creature comforts so make sure they get to travel with their favourite toy.


#20

Inflight entertainment:-
It may sound like and obvious option but many airlines have a very good variety of children's games and films....take advantage of them.....even if they are just on while your child is doing something else and they just glance up every once in a while.


I hope that these ideas have been useful to you! If you have any ideas that i havent posted here plese feel free to comment with your ideas and where you are off on holidays!
Enjoy your Trip!
xXx