Project 366, 91/366 - Puppy on the loose

Spartan (named after our love for Gladiators and Rome) is our Border Collie puppy. He had his first experience lead free today at the local pocket park. Surprisingly we didn't have to chase him to come back, he behaved very well!

Project 366,90/366 - Egg Decorating

The school always has an egg decorating contest for Easter. These bees and sheep are Chloes entry.

You can see the kids previous entries or find out how to decorate your own here.

Project 366, 89/366 - The things we do for our kids

My youngest mini me turned 6 on Wednesday (how time has flown) and being a Star Wars fan I purchased several Lego Star Wars themed sets for him to enjoy on his birthday. I'm not great at construction to be honest so my entire afternoon was spent reading manuals, putting the pieces together and setting up his other toys he received. Atleast he was pleased!

Project 366, 88/366 - Why not to leave a puppy unattended

Hmmmm so apparently the puppy can't be left unaided for 5 minutes. Nipping out now involves putting him in the kitchen, garden or hall and ensuring doors are shut. Lesson learned!

My poor sofa

Project 366, 87/366 - Celebrations

I love how excited the kids get about their birthdays and preparing for them is exciting for me too; shopping, cake making, wrapping, party planning.

James turns 6 on March 28th, I popped all his presents in his room the when he was fast asleep ready for him to see in the morning.

Eggcellent fun! - Egg decorating

Many schools this time of year have bonnet making competitions but at the mini mes school they also have an egg decorating one. It's a great opportunity for the kids to get creative and use their imaginations so we always get involved. My son actually won last year so we must be doing something right!

It's still fun for little ones (and grown ups) whether you have an event to join in with or not so I'm sharing the method with you to try at home, over the Easter holidays maybe when the kids need entertaining more so than usual. It's very easy to do.

Equipment
Eggs
Pan
Water
Plastic spoon/scoop
Plate
Pens, paint, glue, card, glitter (whatever you have for decoration)

1. Boil some water in a pan and then add your eggs. The water should cover the eggs completely.

2. Cook the eggs until they are hard boiled which will usually take around 5-10 mins. I tend to leave them for 10 mins to be sure.

TIP Add a few extra eggs to the pan just incase shells split or someone drops one to save cooking more later!

3. Once boiled, carefully remove the eggs from the pan and put them on a plate to cool.

4. Once cool its time to decorate them!

Here are the mini mes creations from last year:

You can decorate them however you like, favourite characters, animals, people.... the list is endless.

We haven't completed this years entries as yet but this post will be updated shortly with pics of them for inspiration. We have some great ideas in mind already!

Project 366, 86/366 - Nomnom!

On Monday evenings we tend to have a family gathering at my Grans house. It involves a bit of a natter and my favourite.... scoffing lots of goodies!

This is todays collection we had to share

Trying not to think of the calories or my waistline eek!

Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

Probably the best fudge I've ever made (and possibly eaten) this delicious chocolate marshmallow recipe is fast to make and very simple to follow - great for bigger kids to get involved with too!

Equipment

8" Square tin
Greaseproof paper
Wooden spoon
Pan

Ingredients
Vegetable oil (for greasing)
75g Butter
300g Soft light brown sugar
130g Evaporated milk
230g Marshmallows
300g Milk chocolate
80g Dark chocolate


Method
1. Grease the in with the oil and then add the greaseproof paper
2. Add the milk, butter and sugar to the pan and heat gently until it has all melted.
3. Add the marshmallows, turn up the heat and boil for 5 minutes stirring continuously
4. Take the pan off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir in until melted.
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and pop in the fridge for a few hours until set.
6. Remove from the tin and cut into chunks

Why not add fruit, nuts or other yummy goodies for a similiar alternative? - Enjoy

Project 366, 85/366 - Better late than never?

Better to be late than never surely?

I've not been blogging long or often as yet, but after hearing of project 366 and reading many great posts already I've decided to get involved. I love photography so it sounds like a perfect opportunity to share some of it.

Sunday 25th March is the perfect day to start. Not only was it my partners 30th birthday (Happy Birthday Nickipoos!) but it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a trip to Hatton Farm Village followed by a BBQ - happy times!

The entire day was superb and I even managed to work on my tan which was a bonus, but this little cutie was loved by us all!

He was running around and his tiny, curly tail wiggling was adorable. The squeals weren't only coming from this little piggy but from the kids with delight after seeing him spring out from under the hay!

iStylista Online Personal Stylist Review and Competition

We all feel better about ourselves when we know that we look good.


For me and many others dressing well and being comfortable at the same time still remains important despite being a parent. Why should you dress mumsy because you are a mum? You are still a beautiful individual and you should dress to feel happy and confident regardless of how your situation has changed!


Whether you want to look good daily on the school run, for coffee mornings and for work or just on certain ocassions like a date with your other half or a night out, sometimes you need a little help to decide what is best to wear for your shape.


This is where iStylista comes in -  Your Personal Shopper


Professional Personal Stylist Chantelle Znideric founded the site and it was launched in 2009. By filling in some simple details about yourself including your natural colourings, body shape, measurements and face shape iStylista helps you to decide what is best for you to wear to make the most out of your body, and to help disguise the bits you don't like so much! By following the advice provided you may help to boost your confidence and look years younger - bonus.


The questionnaire is fast and easy to complete. Upon finishing it I was able to download a 33 page style guide personalised to suit my specific body shape.


Style Goddess Style Guide Contents:

• Your body shape classification
• 10 essential body shape styling tips
• Your key clothing shapes
• Your best fabrics and patterns
• 3 styling tips to enhance your troublesome body parts
• Your best neutral colour palette
• Your best additional colour palette
• Colour styling tricks and tips
• Your ideal lifestyle capsule wardrobe and style secrets
• Your face shape classification and tips on how to
accessorise successfully

I was amazed by the amount of detail that was offered and I was pleased that it could all be completed in the comfort of my home without a trip to the shops. There was even advice on picking jewellery, glasses and haircuts to suit me.


According to the questionnaire I am pear shaped with a square face and the information I received will really help me to style myself to match my body in the future. Even if you aren't certain what shape you are the questionnaire helps you to work it out. The style guide offered information on what colours will complement my natural colouring and I'm excited to see what a difference a few small changes to my wardrobe will make.

WIN

iStylista has provided me with 10 voucher codes for Style Goddess style guides worth £30 each. For your chance to win one you can enter below before 3rd April- GOOD LUCK!!


If you can't wait to see if you are a winner you can register now and receive your personalised style guide with 40% off using code R4E6-3YD4-VR after completing the questionnaire here





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London - Disney on Ice and the Natural History Museum

The kids are very much into Disney movies, as am I being a big kid myself, so I was delighted when UKMums.tv provided us with a family ticket to see the Princesses and Heroes tour at Wembley Arena. As London isn't that local we decided to make a full day of it - we parked at the Arena first thing and caught a train from Wembley Arena to the Natural History Museum. The majority of the time we drive for days out so the train journey was an adventure itself for my mini mes!


The train was just over £15 for the 4 of us which included our return to the arena and the queue to get into the museum was short considering it was mid morning on a Sunday. It was only a few minutes before we entered and were faced with a huge dinosaur skeleton. The kids loved this as I don't think they actually realised how big the prehistoric beasts were. They were completely amazed!

It was rather busy inside however although this wasn't really an issue. We enjoyed several hours, including lunch, before catching the train back ready for the show. The museum is split into several floors and sections and is a fun yet educational expereince. We managed to handle teeth and eggs of dinosaurs and Chloe even held fossilised pooh much to her disgust when she found out!

It was a beautiful spring day so we grabbed ice creams before entering the arena for the 2.45pm showing and we were escorted to our seats by a very helpful and polite attendant. We had great seats and a great view directly infront of the ice stage. I was very impressed. The setting was fantastic with a wonderfully created castle to the rear. It wasn't long until the start of the show was announced on the speaker and everyone quietened down in anticipation. Lights dimmed and Tinkerbell made her entrance!

The show was spectacular from the start to end and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids sat silently in complete awe at the stunts and jumps on the ice by the cast and only spoke at the interval to request food and drink! All the characters were great on the ice (despite a few little slips!) and I had to try very hard not to sing along to all my favourite Disney songs.... much to the mini mes embarrassment. The lighting was wonderful as were the costumes. There was one scene in particular during the story of Sleeping Beauty which involved real fire breathing from the dragon which was truly awesome. Many jaws dropped at this point including mine.

The show was around 2 hours in length with a 15 minute interval which I felt was perfect for the younger audience. It allowed time to restock on snacks and a quick loo break too. As the settings were altered there was appearances from Mickey and Minnie, Goofy and Tinkerbell to keep the entertainment going.

We would definately recommend going and I intend to book tickets for the Disney on Ice tours in the future. A great family day out!

Grandma came too....

The adventures of Grandma - John Crane Wooden Doll

Meet Grandma. Our lovely new wooden doll kindly provided by John Crane.



She is now a special toy within the household and she will be joining us on regular trips and holidays! We will be sharing photos of her and her whereabouts... Shes already been in a submarine, aeroplane and on a jeep safari during this week! Where will she go next?







John Crane has a wonderful selection of toys for children and Grandma is part of the Tidlo range. She has poseable arms and legs made from rope and the rest of her is made from wood which is very durable - she should last a very long time indeed, regardless of where she is taken or what she gets up to! She is great for your little princesses (or princes) dolls house and will help to encourage imaginative and role play. Shes around 11.5cm in height and wears a funky floral top, skirt and leggings - stylish Gran!

You can grab yourself one today, or the other members of the doll family from selected retailers. To find your nearest you can enter your postcode here or you can buy online.

If you have any ideas for good days out, or random suggestions on where you would like to see Grandma feel free to comment!

Xia-Xia Review

Xia-Xia Confetti Cottage and Hermit Crab
From £4.99
Provided by UKMums.tv












My daughter adores both animals and small toy sets for imaginative play so when we were sent the Xia-Xia Confetti Cottage and a Hermit Crab to test she was overwhelmed with excitement - she loves to receive post and gifts!

The packaging for both is lovely. The Crab arrives in a clear plastic case with carry handle and the cottage is boxed well with imagery of the cottage on the outside. You get a good idea of the scale in advance. With prices starting at £4.99 I feel these are great value and think they would make a perfect treat for your little one, something they could spend pocket money on or even as a present for a childs party.

We received a little Hermit Crab called Trinidad but there are currently 4 in the set to collect with the others being named Bimini, Turks and Tobago. Each has a removable shell which contains a tiny companion for the crab, a great added touch. There are 8 shells to collect in total, ours looks like a sheep and is named Bounce.

The Confetti Cottage is attractive in appearance and is mostly pink and purple in colour although a little basic. I wouldn't say that this made it girly though, it's still very much unisex and my son had no issues playing with it too! The cottage opens up well for play - the wall, roof and door are easy to open and shut and you can use the cottage to store your new friend inside. The carry handle makes it easy to transport and we found this great for taking it with us when visiting family. It definately kept Chloe entertained in the car for some time too making it great for journeys.



The crabs take LR44 batteries which were included and there is an on/off swtich on the base of the crab to prevent the battery running out too quicky. To activate the crab you simply touch its pincher and it waddles along for a few seconds. If you hold it down for slightly longer then it shoots off for a longer period of time. It moves alot faster than I anticipated! We found that it worked well on both carpet and tiled flooring although you're advised not to use it on carpet - I don't think it would be an issue for the majority of us unless it was super fluffy flooring! You dont need to worry about the crab getting stuck when it hits into things either as it automatically changes direction. We liked this in particular and the kids found it amusing to watch.

Xia-Xia is aimed at children aged 4+. The cottage and crab are simple to play with and no adult help is required for set up although there are small parts (the shells). The shells which you can buy seperately and are interchangeable, can be removed or changed with ease so you won't be called for nagged for assistance every few minutes!

Since receiving this we have purchased other habitats for the crab (Copacabana and the Rio De Trio Village) - I think these are are great toys and they are also a lot less hassle than purchasing real pets for your child and we will probably get the other crabs too.