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App Time – The Snowman and the Snowdog

I have my Christmas Radio Times, so I am more than aware about The Snowman and the Snowdog (Channel 4, 8pm Christmas Eve 2012 as well as a few repeats) – and somehow I stumbled across The Snowman and The Snowdog in iTunes – it’s free, so I figured it’s worth a download.

It’s a really charming app! It features all of Raymond Briggs’ artwork from the Snowman book – the Snowman flies over various places (including some London landmarks – at The London Eye I pointed out Shaun’s work, and H exclaimed “Why  is Daddy’s work on the iPad?!”) – you collect snowflakes to earn more time (I’m not sure how much per snowflake but there’s lots – I’ve managed to do two and a half circuits of the game on them) and you have to pick up objects on your journey to get bonuses and badges.

The Snowman and the Snowdog app

The app is run in conjunction with Channel 4, and there’s plenty of ‘Don’t forget to watch!’ type things on there which weren’t too obtrusive (but enough to remember!).

You can slow down the flying by swiping downwards and speed things up by swiping upwards (which didn’t seem to work for me) – worth knowing as we had no idea until it told us a few minutes in. You work your way through the map, so there’s Hastings, North London, the North Pole, back to South London, the countryside and right back to Hastings – although if you run out of time you’ll have to try again. When you complete all tasks in an area you’ll get three stars.

The Snowman and the Snowdog at the London Eye app

If you want a game you can sit and play with your (younger) child, this is the kind of thing – older children will enjoy it too and probably need less help. Personally, I love it – I can see us going back to this app several times due to the amount of things you need to do!

App Time at Mum Friendly

by jo

Knitting a Tea Cosy

Every month us Hooky Knitters of Carshalton meet in our local pub and knit – and the pub set us a task. Make them a tea cosy or two for their warmed up Pimm’s Winter, which is to be served in teapots.

Pouring Pimm's Winter

We found what they wanted and gulped. It looked like it was crocheted, and we’re dwindling in crocheters, though do have some. Fortunately Shaun’s mum came along with a brilliant knit for a simple tea cosy using two colours and just the one stitch.

Incredibly, I’ve finished it in just over two weeks (this is incredible as I’ve never followed a pattern before and I’ve never knitted with two colours before, and I’ve never finished a pattern or a project before).

My Pimm's Tea Cosy

So, what to do? You’ve two colours – we chose orange and white as they’re quite Pimm’s-y.

Cast on 72 stitches.
Knit 5 rows plain then knit 3 (colour one) and knit 3 (colour two).

Keep this going for as long as necessary – and remember at the end of each row to twist your two colours around so you don’t get gaps in the knit – it helps keep it tidy.
Keep it neat!
Remember which side you’re knitting from and where your unused wool goes, so that each colour change is neat at the back.
When you get to lid height start to decrease by knitting one then knit two together for each colour for four rows and when long enough cast off. Sew both sides up (and don’t forget to leave a space for the handle and spout!) Gather in the top and attach the pom-pom. You can also put some wool around the bottom to gather it in – I didn’t, but Karen did, so you get an idea of how it’ll look.
You’ll end up with something that looks like this :
Karen's Pimm's Tea Cosy
Karen added a white knitted rectangle to the front of hers with a cross-stitched Pimm’s on there – I think it looks ACE!
by jo

Where To Buy Clothes?

Christmas is almost here, and I’ve hit a dilemma. I have clothes, just none that fit me any more – they’re all loose. I tried on some jeans today in Dorothy Perkins and found that I’ve dropped quite a few sizes – jeans which used to be a weird fit are now a good fit. I’ve not bought anything (yet!), as I was confused.

I know there’s a discrepancy with all the clothes stores and their sizings, and how on earth am I to know where to start?

THEN I remembered this website – What Size Am I?. It would appear that my size goes well with New Look – I can live with that! Oh, and if I wanted to shop in The Gap I’d probably be a Size 14. LORDY!

Anyway, just passing the link on, as maybe some of you reading may find you’re in a similar position – it’s a great resource!

by jo

Dressing Up Is Fun!

We were sent a costume from Jokers’ Masquerade to try – well, I was sent it for H to try. In the last year or so she’s really grown to love dressing up – she’s done it a lot in the past, but since last Christmas we’ve had costumes for her to try and play in (the Doctor one goes down very well), and of course it goes without saying that being a parent I’ve always looked out for the best-yet-slightly-ridiculous ones (she was a Christmas Pudding when she was four months) – so it needs to have a good sense of humour. Enter our Christmas Tree costume! (and indeed, last week she was a fabulous Christmas tree at the Nursery Christmas show)

This costume has all that – tinsel? Check. Tree shape? Indeed! Hat with star on the top? Of course. But the biggest test is what H thinks of it.

Actually, fortunately, once she got her costume on, she really didn’t want to take it off. We’ve had a few occasions where she’ll happily sit at the table wearing the hat (with crazy sunglasses), or indeed just lounge around as a tree. That, to me says it’s a good costume – she doesn’t want to take it off, it isn’t itchy anywhere, and most of all it’s fun! That and you can stand next to the Christmas tree and compare notes… The tree costume is 100% polyester, wipe clean only.

Christmas Tree Costume from Jokers' Masquerade

It is a very serious business being a tree.

Jokers’ Masquerade have LOADS of Christmas costumes – don’t leave it too late though, as the big event is approaching!

We were sent a Christmas Tree costume for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

 

by jo

I’m a WeightWatchers 2013 Blogger Ambassador

Weight Watchers logoIf you’ve been following the BritMums WeightWatchers Back2Best Challenge on here then you’ll already know I’ve been doing WeightWatchers for three or so months now – and I’m really pleased with the results so far.

I was really pleased to be asked to be a 2013 Blogger Ambassador – I’m still overweight and still planning on losing that last half a stone, maybe more. So – things will go quiet until January, but I’ll be back reporting on things and how it’s all going. Right now I’m waiting for a sale at The Gap so I can buy some new jeans… the ones I bought last Christmas are a bit too big.. (woo!)

One thing I’ll find out more about soon is my chances of having diabetes as well as high cholesterol. Those two reasons were my main ones for starting WeightWatchers – I need to be healthy – and as one side of the family do seem to have heart attacks, cholesterol is something I need to keep an eye on. Diabetes came with pregnancy, so I’m at risk of developing that in later life too.

Having said all that, I’ve been slack these last three weeks – I’ve got a new account, and once I’ve added all my recipes in time for next year, I’ll be right back on track. I’ve changed my weigh-in day to a Friday (it was a Sunday previously) and there’ll be regular updates. (and for the record, since the last update I’m maintaining my weight, not losing – which is good)

So stick around, there’s a tab at the top of the page where all my past and future updates are – and tell me any stories about your success with WeightWatchers too – I’ve lost a stone and know I can do that last little bit.

Most importantly of all, I’m NOT on a diet, I’m on a lifestyle change. I can still eat the food I like, I just know my portion sizes and when to stop.

 

I’ve been provided with six months of WeightWatchers membership – all opinions are my own.

by jo

Planning to Travel?

It feels mad to think it, but only two years ago we were in Australia getting ready to celebrate Christmas – H was fifteen months and we’d had quite the journey from our house to Gatwick, to Forest Row and eventually back to Gatwick three days later due to the snow.

I did a post a while back with hints and things we found worked for us, and things I wish we had done (in a nutshell, had it not snowed heavily causing gridlocked cars, we’d have made our flight with plenty of time to spare. As it was, Shaun had to drive H and I to the station where we then waited even longer as he was stuck getting the car back home – we eventually got a train to Victoria to attempt the Gatwick Express, but all trains were at a standstill, and we missed our flight).

So my biggest bit of advice, especially now the weather is getting colder is to look for a good deal for a day room prior to flying! Get there hours before you need to and if your flight is still on schedule you’ll be ready – and most importantly of all, make sure you have insurance which covers any problems if there’s snow and you end up staying in a hotel for a few extra days!

Of course, there’s also those of us who plan way ahead. If we were planning on going to Australia next year, then you can usually get good deals online around now – though even if you’re planning on going away at short notice then most places have last minute deals.

Next year I would love to head over to the Netherlands for a trip to Utrecht and a few other cities, taking in the Dick Bruna museum – and I’ll be looking for some good deals so we can have a fun few days away – I would really like to try the Eurostar with H, as she’s fine on trains and it could be much less stress than flying!

My top tips for flying with a 15 month old are :

Introduce them to the tv a bit before going. Long haul flights are tough, you can’t always sleep when your child does, and if you get a bit of time to all wind down then the in-flight entertainment is a good place to start. There was plenty of choice and she was a little more interested in looking at the pictures than listening anyway.

Take sticker books – especially if they’re new ones your child doesn’t know. You can pick up sticker books in bargain book stores really cheaply. Alternatively, there’s magazines like the Cbeebies or Friends ones which always have loads of stickers, though I was always worried the chair would end up covered!

Know what your food options are. At 15 months we were offered baby food, mush in a jar. H has never eaten mush as we did Baby Led Weaning, but we did keep everything else (wipes, spoons and so on). We ordered her a child meal which was packed full of sugar, so quickly swapped it with our things.

Buy some new books. We’ve followed quite a few books in series – so Topsy & Tim went down well, as did stories about airports (I can still recite ‘Busy Airport’ off the top of my head several years later).

Finally if all else fails, you can guarantee the remote control will be fun to press all the buttons on. Just make sure you watch what they press so they’re not summoning the stewardess every ten seconds!

by jo

Painshill Park Santa 2012

Painshill Park Santa 2012

Tickets went on sale in mid-October and sold out in a couple of days – Santa in The Grotto at Painshill Park is quite the hit – and there’s been a lot of parents who’ve been with their children and found it magical.

We had our turn yesterday; a drive to Cobham and some lunch at Strada and some heavy rain (so make sure to have wellies with you and take umbrellas and waterproofs), and we got to Painshill Park for just after 5pm. It takes twenty minutes to walk from the entrance to The Grotto where there’s a large white tent serving refreshments, where your number is called. We gave ourselves a lot of time, mainly to allow for H being a bit slower than us, but also as we wanted to look in the shop.

This year we went a bit later than before – and felt as if there were less lights – not that it spoilt anything – just remember to take a torch!

On arriving at the holding tent we got ourselves some Mulled wine (priced at around £2.80ish, it’s cash-only there too) and waited our turn – which came around quickly. We had an activity book, mulled wine, scarves, hats, gloves and cameras to try to pack up – as well as getting H to Santa. (so take a small backpack – something you can put everything in that’ll keep it dry!).

The Grotto at night at Painshill Park

You can’t beat the Painshill Santa – he looks like a proper one too, and H was at ease immediately, telling him what she’d like for Christmas and how she’d been mostly good. This year, despite H being 3 I went for the 4-6 age range for presents, as we felt last year’s was a bit too young for her – which was a smart move as she got a fabulous pair of fairy wings which she’s so pleased with.

It started to rain again, much lighter so we made our way back – be aware, there’s no shelter (apart from the tent) so you’re going to get wet if rain is due. Luckily it didn’t take too long and once back at the entrance we could wait for a very short while.

With all the rain the car park was really muddy – so another one to look out for – but otherwise this was an amazing Santa trip yet again, wonderfully done, and a really fun afternoon too!

Painshill Park is in Cobham, their website is here, and throughout January you can go there on a Wednesday for free.


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by jo

‘Dare Make A Wish’ with The Land of Sometimes

The Land of Sometimes have joined forces with the charity Dyslexia Action to release a charity single on December 9th, which will be a version of one of the album tracks from The Land Of Sometimes, ‘Dare Make A Wish’.

Ladbrokes have also announced that ‘Dare to Make A Wish’ is now in the chart battle for the coveted Christmas Number One Spot with odds of 10/1!

Four hundred children also from the Oxford area came together to record the song, alongside the two main youngsters (taking the lead vocals for Elise and Alfie), which will see all proceeds being donated to the Dyslexia Action charity.

Francesca Longrigg, writer and creator of The Land of Sometimes CD from which the single is taken from has said:

“This single is by children for children. In the music industry particularly with the likes of X Factor and Novelty singles competing for the top spot we wanted to remember what the heart of Christmas is all about – the children – and give them a chance to shine and have their special moment.”

Dare Make A Wish Cover

The proceeds will go to the charity Dyslexia Action, the biggest dyslexia charity in the UK. We believe in the tremendous power of music in helping to transform learning difficulties, and indeed the Land Of Sometimes very own Isadora, (who plays Elise on the album) felt that her involvement in recording The Land Of Sometimes boosted her confidence and helped her overcome learning difficulties from her dyslexia enormously.

The Land of Sometimes is a musical CD for children; A magical story of two twins who go on a journey to a far away land and along the way meet the most eccentric characters who all have their own song. Fans include Ewan McGregor and Laura Bailey and reviews have appeared in many national papers such as The Daily Telegraph and The Times. All have been enchanted by this wonderfully unique cd.

Dare Make a Wish group shot

“Dyslexia Action are so grateful for being the partner charity of the single made by all at the ‘Land of Sometimes’. We are very keen to have enthusiastic fundraisers such as LOS on this team, supporting the charity. It is both such a lovely and unique idea and we are glad to be a part of it. The money raised from this single will be used to help change many lives and help to break down the barriers in education that those living with dyslexia face. On behalf of Dyslexia Action, I’d like to thank all those involved in making this wonderful piece of music and to all those who purchase it and therefore support this very worthy cause”

Buy the single now from iTunes – help get the single a good Christmas Chart placing by buying from this Sunday! Let’s try and get it into the charts!

by jo

Souptastically Souper Soup with some Gourmet Garden for added Zing

We love soup, and I love my Soup Maker, and tonight I wanted to try something special for the Gourmet Garden challenge via Mumsnet.

The best thing about a soup maker is the random things you can throw in to make a very tasty soup – tonight was no different – so I hastily cobbled together lovingly prepared the following….

Gourmet Garden SoupOne sweet potato, peeled and chopped
Half a butternut squash
one red onion
One stray potato chopped and peeled
some old broccoli
some old green beans
three heaped teaspoons of bouillon

to that concoction I then got my Gourmet Garden tubes, a bit of chilli for some tongue tingliness, a bit of garlic as I figured that would work well with the bouillon and onion, some ginger as it’s a cold day and you can’t beat ginger – plus it works well with chilli and a splash of basil as why the heck not. Twenty two minutes later and the soup was ready – and oooh, it was good. I added some fromage frais to it, and a couple more tiny dollops of basil, stirred it around and it was divine!

In fact, I’d go as far as to say it was a proper winter warmer – everything tasted just right, not too overbearing and you could still taste each bit (especially the chilli!).

Yum!

Mum Friendly Gourmet Garden Challenge Soup

Look at this soup – it’s smiling at YOU as it knows it tastes THAT good.

We were provided with tubes from the Gourmet Garden range for the purpose of this challenge. All opinions are our own and all our food is tasty!

by jo

Review – Cleaning Gift Vouchers

Cleaning Gift VouchersOkay, so as previously stated almost everywhere, H has chickenpox. This has effectively put our lives on hold while we look after her – she’s in good spirits though has got cranky, so we’ve been able to do little bits here and there, but generally we’re in the front room giving plenty of cuddles and watching endless episodes of Peppa Pig. Cleaning the house has taken a back seat, I’m afraid.

So when I received an approach in my inbox to try out Cleaning Gift Vouchers it really couldn’t have come at a better time.  Basically, you can buy cleaning gift vouchers (or indeed anyone else can for you) – and with that voucher select the service you require.

We chose a one-off three-hour clean of our house; this is just a general clean – dusting and hoovering, which for three hours comes in at £39 – so £13 an hour.

I cashed in our voucher yesterday and waited… but nothing arrived straight away… so I waited, then wondered if I’d missed the small print, and maybe we’d get the voucher the following day. As luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened – and within ten minutes of the voucher arriving in my inbox (which is the quickest method), I had a phone call to arrange my booking. So with it booked for today all we had to do was make sure things were accessible (surfaces, carpets) for our cleaner to work her magic.

She arrived around 2.30 and set to work straight away. I’ve never had a cleaner before, so told her what we would like doing – and she was straight on the case. It was all done in just under the three-hour mark and we’re really happy with the results – under the bread maker and microwave were clean, even the front of the oven and washing machine were cleaned – basically, it’s exactly the kind of service you’d expect from someone cleaning your house.

I think it’s a brilliant idea being able to gift someone a clean (they also do deep cleans of ovens, end of rental cleaning and many other options – we don’t have any family locally, and when I hurt my back badly last year we had almost two months without a proper clean here. Had I known about this service (if it had existed then!) we’d have definitely used it. Also, supposing you’re a new mum, again no family near – but they wanted to help. You can be sent a gift voucher to then use to have a one-off clean – and I think that’s great!

At the moment the service covers Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire – they work with several local firms in this area, so are able to arrange for a clean at short notice too (we booked for the following day). I’m impressed, and would definitely use them again in the future.

We received a credit to purchase a service of our choice – all opinions are our own.