18/11/201323/06/2015 by jo

Christmas Gift Ideas – Dick Bruna’s Christmas Book

Dick Bruna’s Christmas book has been republished as a golden anniversary edition by Simon and Schuster. We received a copy to review and love it – read on for more!

Dick Bruna’s Christmas book was first published in 1963 and is a classic Bruna book – he being the creator of Miffy, having his distinctive style of drawing.

Right now the book is perfect for us – H is learning about the nativity at school, and this book tells the story in an uncomplicated way. As she isn’t reading properly yet I read it to her, and she now understands a little better what it’s all about. They’re doing a school Christmas service soon and she’s quite enjoyed knowing what happened when Jesus was born. I’d say this book is ideal for youngsters in explaining the story and why Christmas exists.

A cute little addition is a bookmark in the shape of an angel – as unlike other Bruna books this is a long one so may need bookmarking. It’s also worth noting, this is the first edition by Simon & Schuster who announced they’d be re-translating the Miffy books for a big relaunch next year – the text in here is the english translation from 1995.

I asked H what she liked the best about the book – she says the best thing was finding out Jesus’ mummy and daddy’s name, aw! For me, we’ve sat and really gone into the story, and I’m still not able to answer her why Jesus was given myrrh! It’s nice to sit and read the story together, we’re not religious and haven’t really done much along these lines, so it’s helping me too.

Dick Bruna’s Christmas book is available now with a rrp of £10. It’s currently £5.75 at Amazon, so worth getting while it’s at that price!

We were sent a copy of the book for review, all opinions are our own. This post contains an affiliate link.

17/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Movie Night – Scooby Doo Adventures – The Mystery Map

After a busy weekend we decided to have a movie night on tonight – mainly as we hadn’t had one for a while, and also as we had two films to watch – one of them being the new Scooby Doo Adventures – The Mystery Map film.

Scooby Doo Adventures – The Mystery Map is the same old Scooby Doo we’ve all grown up with, but as a puppet movie – think along the lines of the Muppets, that kind of puppetry. ‘The Mystery Map’ has the gang eating pizza (Scooby snacks are mentioned) to find the frankly quite terrifying (for a 4 year old) Phantom Parrot who has a map for Pirate Gnarlybeard’s treasure which they try to locate, and where that then leads. The ending is absolutely suitable for a four year old, and helped convince H it wasn’t that scary – it was just the getting to that point which was!

It keeps in spirit with the original Scooby Doo we all know and love, and is good for someone of H’s age as an introduction to the show. Unfortunately H was a little scared by some parts but we made it through – the whole feature is 45 minutes, so not too long. My thinking was that the first time we watched ‘Monsters Inc’ she was scared, but once you know it’s a much easier viewing a second time, so this is something we’ll revisit I’m sure.

Scooby Doo Adventures – The Mystery Map has a little break in the middle for a dance which was welcome relief for H, and of course as is the case with all Scooby Doo adventures, they’d have got away with it ‘if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!’

So in summary, it was fun. H liked it (and did laugh at several parts of the feature) – the DVD has a certificate U but does warn of mild threat and scary scenes – so we knew it was there. Fortunately it isn’t the kind of thing nightmares are made of, and for us it was nice to see what looks like a tribute to The Muppets in a Scooby Doo style.

Scooby Doo Adventures – The Mystery Map is available now in all good stores and of course Amazon.

Afterwards we had home-made pizza and watched Alice in Wonderland – see, we’ve been reading the Emma Chichester Clark books that Harper-Collins Kids have published, a review of those are to follow very soon…

We were sent The Scooby Doo Adventures – The Mystery Map for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own, post contains an affiliate link.

13/11/201318/01/2015 by jo

Sounds Like Fun – Jolly Phonics with Cartoonito

Sounds Like Fun is a new programme shown daily on Cartoonito. It uses the Jolly Phonics system – which also happens to be the one H is using at school. We’re impressed!

Sounds Like Fun has 42 episodes in total, each based around a phonics sound – as in i, o, ee, ai and so many more. Each programme is just five minutes long, and follows the Jolly Phonics system. The Cartoonitos use a multi-sensory method to communicate each of the 42 letter sounds, teaching children to listen for the sounds in words to quickly improve their reading, writing and spelling.

I’ve watched out for some good phonics programmes, and find this is exactly what H is being taught at school – they don’t do any of the phonics songs but do each sound using the same action (puff out the candle on the pink pig cake – p-p-p vs blow the candle out on the cake) which we’re pleased with.

At the start you’re told the sound for that episode, followed by a short film featuring key words based on that sound. These words are then spelt out and blended at the end. Already H joins in and is quick, and with each programme being so short and there being so many it keeps her attention. That also helps as there isn’t too much repetition – while I’m all for her remembering things, a good variety of episodes means there’s almost always one shown we’ve never seen.

Watching television with your child is unavoidable (I’ve found) – I love that Sounds Like Fun is a programme which complements her learning – and that she enjoys watching. I feel it has been well put together and is something I’d highly recommend if you know your child will be following the Jolly Phonics system at school and is a visual learner.

Sounds Like Fun is on every weekday at 8.45am and 4.45pm, (1.50 and 4.45pm at weekends) and each section features two episodes.

There’s a page with downloads and activities on at the Cartoonito website too! I’ve found that Sounds Like Fun is at the perfect time too – right when I’m cooking tea, so potentially she’s learning while I’m cooking. Result!

12/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Topsy and Tim – The Verdict!

At 5.30 last night (and tonight) someone aged almost four and a quarter told me to “ssssh. I’m watching THIS” and then sat in silence for ten minutes, her face had a smile as what was once just some books became a reality. Topsy and Tim with real people – not a cartoon.

She LOVED it! She giggled at the duvet monsters and looked wide eyed as the story started. It’s a huge hit in this house.

This initial run will be just fifteen episodes long for the first series, and lasting just three weeks. That’s okay though, as it will be back – we already know they’ve filmed quite a few episodes.

As for me, I was impressed. They’re not going to follow the books as such, but they’re staying faithful to them with ordinary everyday events – and it’s a nice touch at the end having a little memory game.

From chatting to other mums it sounds like it was a big hit for our four year olds (and us parents too) – don’t forget to watch it every afternoon at 5.30 on Cbeebies!

12/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Zippers Port Solent – A Review

Zippers Port Solent is a fairly new restaurant just north of Portsmouth. We were invited to try out their menu, and as it happened we were in the area so were more than happy to!

Zippers Port Solent has a lovely clean eating space – tables with plenty of space and views out onto the harbour area. We arrived an hour late due to the big storm the night before, to be greeted by our server Aga who was helpful and recommended dishes to us. Service was quick and food came promptly which is always good. One of the main things I look out for when eating out is how child-friendly the venue is, and crayons and an activity sheet was perfect for H. Even better we could do wordsearches with her which is a new one! I’ve got a Picasa album with more pictures in it.

We ordered starters of some olives and garlic bread – not too much and even H had an olive and enjoyed it (result!). Shaun ordered a diet coke and I ordered a cappuccino after a night of very little sleep thanks to the big storm. The cappuccino was just right, a good flavour and strong. The garlic bread was fresh and soft and had a garlic dip with it.

We ordered from the kids set menu for H, so got her blackcurrant juice, some nachos (very slightly salty), some spaghetti with meatballs (messy but filling), finishing off with a scoop of chocolate ice cream which had a good flavour.

Shaun ordered a steak which came with chips – personally I’d have liked to have seen more vegetables, but if you opt for a side salad instead of chips then you get a few – if you really need chips then they’re available as a side order too. He found the steak was just right.

We ordered an onion loaf with our mains – a load of onion rings fried together. This was out of curiosity mainly, and it tasted good – though Shaun had most of it! It came with a spicy dip as well, which was good – a nice spiciness to it without being too overwhelming.

I ordered a hot vegetable wrap and a side salad – the hot vegetable wrap had mushrooms which I swapped for more pepper. It was warm and served with a generous helping of chips. I was so hungry I scoffed the lot – there is a salad bar with freshly stocked vegetable dishes to help yourself from. The vegetarian options weren’t clearly marked but two staff members helped me out, as well as recommending the cayenne pepper sauce (which was good, not too intense but peppery). I did for the one trip to the salad bar, and couldn’t work out if the sharing rule applied or not (I shared the cucumber with H and some pepper with Shaun) – if you share you’re charged per person.

Dessert was a Banana Split that we shared, and Shaun also ordered a cappuccino. I picked off all the fruit and ate that (as well as ice cream) which was fresh. I wasn’t as keen on the squirty cream – fresh would have been nicer, the ice cream it came with was fine and was enjoyable.

Zippers Port Solent Restaurant is situated within the Port Solent complex, away from the main shops. Park your car in the main car park and head towards the shopping area next to the marina – it’s upstairs there with views of all the boats. The dining area is bright and spacious, and all the staff were helpful and friendly. We had a really filling enjoyable meal which came in at around £65. i saw there were meal deals at lunchtime so there could be savings to be made there. Ultimately we were so full we didn’t have any tea that night – portion sizes are generous and we definitely over ordered on food.

We’d definitely go back!

We were offered complimentary meals for the purpose of this review. All opinions are our own.

07/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Haven Littlesea

We’ve just got back from our third Haven break this year, and this time we opted for the camp at Haven Littlesea near Weymouth. Yep, back to Dorset – after our last trip there was cut short with H’s illness, we felt like we still had a lot to explore around the area, and for me it would be revisiting places I haven’t been for almost three decades.

Haven Littlesea faces onto Chesil Beach, so you have a small patch of water where bathing is prohibited. If you’ve seen Chesil Beach you’ll understand how impressive it is, but views of the sea are not something you’re going to get here! Or at least from our caravan, anyway.

We knew how chilly nights could get after our Devon Cliffs break in May, so when we found an option for a caravan with heating in each room and paid a bit extra for a Prestige Caravan. We weren’t disappointed – it was new, clean although had a horrid stink. We soon worked out it was due to the bin provided – it would appear previous tenants of the space didn’t bother with bin bags, leading to rubbish caked to the bottom of the bin – a quick clean and things were fine.

We had two bedrooms and loads of space – the caravan was heated with double glazing – which looking at the Haven site seems to be something all newer models offer.

The Haven Littlesea site was good – although with this being the final week of the season I felt some of the food we’d had at the Mash and Barrel could have been better – we ate out most nights instead or bought food and cooked it at the caravan.

The FunStars entertainment was fantastic – led by Stuart they were brilliant – H found him hilarious and was happy to sit with the other kids and join in with the games, which meant we could relax and sit away from the stage and enjoy the fact she was happy and not needing us to have fun too! She particularly enjoyed dancing to the Rock N Roll Bingo theme….

Would we go back to Haven Littlesea? Yes. The staff were friendly, the entertainment complex wasn’t far to walk to and there was the obligatory soft play section which H enjoyed. Starbucks was on hand for stronger coffee as well.

Finally, my Haven Essentials list of things you should always take with you when staying there.

Towels – hand, bath, teatowels, paper ones too
Bath mat. You will need one – those bathroom floors are slippy
Cleaning cloths
Washing up liquid
Bin bags (large big black ones)
Soap for washing hands
Toilet rolls

Everything else you can buy from the Spar on-site.

The big question now is will we get to a Haven site next year? Ideally next summer we’ll be heading to Australia to visit the in-laws, but with tickets for the three of us at £3,000 it’s going to be tight!

07/11/201306/01/2015 by jo

When A Duck Poos On Your Head

We were walking through the park, coming home from H’s swimming lesson. It’s a short walk from home and it’s also a great short cut from the new leisure centre. We got to the main road, where we were all saying our goodbyes, when suddenly six ducks flew over our head, quacking loudly. We all looked up to admire them, when all of a sudden H burst into tears.

One of the bloody ducks had only gone and pooed on her head. Seriously!

Poor H! She didn’t have a clue what was going on (as let’s face it, you don’t really know unless there’s someone there to tell you) and fortunately I had some wipes with me in the swimming bag, so I was able to do a very basic clean up. Oh god, it STANK. It was horrid.

I let her know that actually, that happening meant she was VERY lucky. Being four and of a very sensible nature, H responded “what’s lucky about a duck doing a poo on your head?” and that’s a fair point.

So I put it out to my Facebook friends, what on earth do you do? We came up with two fantastic ideas, so thank you to Lianna and Jacques. Firstly, Shaun found two 20p pieces and put them in H’s reading book for school. She felt pretty lucky getting some money in there, and it was duly placed in her money box. (she did want to take it into school to show everyone, but was dissuaded)

I printed a duck picture onto some paper and got a workmate to write a letter saying ‘sorry’. Then I just had to get home from work on time and post the letter through the door as I left for pickup – all easy. H got home first and found the ‘piece of paper’ – managed to read what the duck had said and thinks it’s the best thing ever.

Me? I think it’s great she’s no longer angry at ducks!

Swimming night is hairwash night, and we’ve been using Johnson’s Baby Easy Rinse No Tears Shampoo – see, it may be for baby but when you’re four and you want a bit more control then the pump is great for doing it all yourself. Oh, it’s also good when you’re getting over the fear of showers. We’ve been using it a lot, and the no tears formula means she can’t pretend it hurts when it gets into her eyes. It also smells quite pleasant afterwards too, which is an enormous improvement on duck poo!

As an added distraction, we were also sent a limited edition Matey Bath Book – being a child of the seventies I still have my original Matey badge collection somewhere (I seem to remember them being of whales?) and now H bathes in the stuff. The book has a little more than previous bath books we’ve owned, and I’m finding good with her learning to read too – a clear font she can work out the words with. Add to that each page has something each character does with bubbles, so she has to re-enact each rhyme, of course.

It’s like the duck never pooed on her head really. I think we’ll keep it that way…

We were sent the book and shampoo for the purpose of review and fabulous from distraction relating to duck poo. All opinions are our own and honest.

06/11/201326/03/2018 by jo

Hi Babyboo!

Hi Babyboo is a brand new project from Scott Schulz – one of the makers of Yo Gabba Gabba and Night & Day Studios who make some fantastic apps that H enjoys playing. This looks GOOD!

Hi Babyboo will follow the same path – and I love the ideas behind it! What appealed to us the most about YGG are the musicians involved. Pinkeye from the wonderful canadian band F*cked Up have featured on stage in the past (I believe DJ Lance didn’t mention the band name…), as well as songs performed by The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals and more. Dinosaur Jr. Oh yes. So if this can happen for even younger kids then my planned takeover of indie into small children’s heads will be COMPLETE! Even better, I can make a difference.

Here’s the Hi Babyboo! press release :

Inspired by the widespread popularity of Yo Gabba Gabba, co-creator Scott Schultz and his brother Ben Schultz, Yo Gabba Gabba Music Supervisor, are embarking on a new project to bring music, art, puppets, sign language, and giggles to the youngest audiences with Hi BabyBoo!

Along with The Magic Store team that brought viewers Yo Gabba Gabba, the Schultzes are partnering with Night & Day Studios, the award-winning creators of bestselling app Peekaboo Barn, to bring the new brand to life. Intent on growing Hi BabyBoo! with fan input and support, the group is launching a Kickstarter campaign today (http://www.hibabyboo.com/Kickstarter) to fund initial development and production of the TV show and mobile app.

Like Yo Gabba Gabba, Hi BabyBoo! will engage the whole family through silly scenes, different kinds of music, colorful visuals, and puppet characters. Scott Schultz said, “I’ve always been starstruck with the baby and toddler years of life. It’s such a beautiful, happy time that, as an adult now, I love to share the experience with them. Communication goes beyond words–it’s the sights, sounds, smiles, hugs, and positive vibrations of sharing time together that are the most important things for me.”

Night & Day Studios CEO Nat Sims expressed his own enthusiasm stating, “As a parent, as a creator of educational media, and most of all, as a huge Yo Gabba Gabba fan, I’m thrilled that we get to work and play with Scott and Ben Schultz and The Magic Store team on this exciting new project. We love babies, fun, and weirdness, and it’s going to be an honor to collaborate with our fans and friends to make something truly unique.”

Hi BabyBoo! has a Facebook page here as well as the Kickstarter page – you don’t need to pledge a huge amount to make this a reality – even if you’re in the UK! Now if only I had a baby….

06/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Shloer Celebration – A Review

Shloer is one of our favourite alcohol free drinks, so to be offered a chance to review the new Shloer Celebration was one I jumped at! We just needed something to celebrate…

Shloer Celebration is shaped like a bottle of fizz – just without the alcohol. These days I’m finding I’m drinking a lot less, and Shloer is usually my drink of choice. This is the only fizzy drink H has as well, usually when we have our family movie night as a special occasion.

So, a bottle of Shloer Celebration, what were we going to celebrate? Well we were all set to go on holiday, a proper break for the three of us, our first since May. Wonderful! Except… I forgot to bring it with us. Fool. So we needed another occasion. Fortunately Shaun and I have been more than a little hooked for the last two months on Breaking Bad, so instead we saved it for our biggest tv event of this year – the Breaking Bad finale!

Yes, we are approximately a month or two behind the rest of the world.

So we settled down with the fizz (and a bar of Ooh! Chocolata chocolate), which popped out from the bottle just like a bottle of your finest champagne would. Taste-wise there was plenty of fizz with a nice subtle non-sugary flavour. Just enough for two glasses each as well!

There are two varieties –

Shloer Celebration White Bubbly has a crisp and full bodied flavour, using the very best in white grape juices to create the perfect glass of fizz.

Shloer Celebration Pink Fizz is a fresh and fruity combination with the vibrant flavours of red and white grape juices fused together to create a beautiful sparkling rosé juice drink.

You can’t beat that pop when the cork comes out of the bottle, and Shloer Celebration didn’t disappoint! We’ll definitely be buying it again – when I need a non-hangover bit of fizz on Christmas day, this may well be all that is required.

We were sent a bottle of Shloer Celebration White Bubbly to try, all opinions are our own.

04/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash Heads to the West End for Christmas 2013!

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash West End schedule has been announced – it’s the latest in the Peppa stage shows – we saw last years Treasure Hunt show which was brilliant fun!

The Peppa Pig’s Big Splash West End dates run from the 5th December to 5th January 2014, and is Peppa’s third and longest tour. It is covering a massive 47 weeks and heading to over 80 theatres, with the biggest advance of over £1 million to date on tour opening, and her fourth consecutive West End Christmas season.

The nursery roof is leaking and Peppa and her friends need to fix it quickly. They set up a fete to raise the money for Mr Bull to do the repairs. There’s plenty of fun to be had as Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig, as well as Danny Dog, Pedro Pony and Suzy Sheep put up bunting, run stalls and organise a great day out. There’s also a Champion Puddle Jumping competition judged by Mr Potato where everyone gets wet and Peppa needs to find her Golden Boots. Another all-singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and muddy puddles is guaranteed for all the family!

Peppa Pig and other characters are performed on stage with puppets and brilliant sing-a-long songs from BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson. Richard Lewis adapts and directs this brand new show, following his previous successes with the first two Peppa Pig stage shows and the recent Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom tour. Matt Lewis is lyricist, Simon Scullion is designer, Matt Haskins is lighting designer, Ian Horrocks Taylor is sound designer and Andy Booth is music director.

PEPPA PIG’S BIG SPLASH WEST END CHRISTMAS SEASON 2013 – 2014

CRITERION THEATRE
Piccadilly Circus, London W1V 9LB

THURS 5 DECEMBER – SUNDAY 5 JANUARY
www.peppapiglive.com
BOX OFFICE: 0844 847 1778

PLEASE NOTE: Babies, 0 – 12 months of age, at the date of performance (not at the date of booking) are admitted free of charge if they are sitting on an adult’s lap. If a seat is required for a baby, it must be bought at the child rate. All children from 1 years upward must have a ticket.

THURS 5 – SUN 8 DECEMBER
Thurs 5 & Fri 6 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Sat 7 at 11 am
Sun 8 at 12 pm & 3 pm

MON 9 – SUN 15 DECEMBER
No performances on Mon 9 & Wed 11
Tues 10, Thurs 12 & Fri 13 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Sat 14 at 11 am
Sun 15 at 12 noon & 3 pm

MON 16 – SUN 22 DECEMBER
No performances on Mon 16 & Wed 18
Tues 17, Thurs 19 & Fri 20 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Sat 21 at 11 am
Sun 22 at 12 pm & 3 pm

MON 23 – SUN 29 DECEMBER
No performances on Wed 25 & Thurs 26
Mon 23 & Fri 27 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Tues 24 & Sat 28 at 11 am
Sun 29 at 12 pm & 3 pm

MON 30 DECEMBER – SUN 5 JANUARY
Mon 30, Tues 31 & Fri 3 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Wed 1 & Sun 5 at 12 noon & 3 pm
Thurs 2 & Sat 4 at 11 am

Mum Friendly

the things we do, the things we like