Funky Accessories and Clothes from Very

This is a sponsored post


Over at A Mothers Ramblings, I have been talking about Shoes for Top Ender from www.Very.co.uk. Top Ender is all about the accessories and being as fashionable as she can and Baby Boy tries to copy her. I have been looking at the Very website and have found a lot of little bits and pieces which I have fallen in love with, which I think will help Baby Boy be a funky two year old!

Wordless Wednesday - Fark Chocolate?

Two things;

1) Top Ender is obviously Psychic as she was the one that said Fark the other day in the Top Ender Giggles - Growing up Post

2) Makers of Weetabix Chocolate flavour this is also not an acceptable new flavour. I don't want Dark Chocolate, I don't want Fark Chocolate I want Milk Chocolate okay?!

Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends "Hero of the Rails" for the Wii - a Review

Baby Boy is two years old and loves to play on the Wii, unfortunately for him, most of the games are just a little too complicated for him to play with any great success. When Ubisoft asked if I would be interested in reviewing a new Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends Game titled "Hero of the Rails" I knew that Thomas mad Baby Boy would adore the game.

The first screen gives you two options, you can either go to a "Story" section or a "Game" section. On our first play Daddy went to the Game section and we chose a random game which was a race between two engines, one of which is controlled by your hand movements on the Wii controller. The game started before explaining how you were to use the controller to make your engine move and Daddy found himself working very hard to catch up (and then overtake) the engine he was racing.

Baby Boy, Top Ender and I played the other games taking turns as they are all one player games and I was thinking that this might not be a good game as it was rather boring and didn't seem to be as great as I was expecting for something associated with Thomas the Tank Engine brand.

After doing all the games, we decided to listen to the story. I was sitting on the floor when suddenly I realised that the story needs input in order to progress. All the games that we had just been playing in the Games Section are in the story! This put a new spin on things and even Top Ender (who says that she doesn't like Thomas the Tank Engine) was enjoying helping Thomas and friends help save a long forgotten steam engine called Hiro (Yes like in Heroes) get fixed up all whilst keeping it secret from Spencer.

Baby Boy found the game easier for him to complete than other games that we have and it took thirty minutes to listen to the story and do the games within the story. Daddy was a bit worried that Baby Boy would get bored after he had completed the game, but he has asked to play it again on a couple of occasions and has played along with little or no help from me.

The game has an RRP of £19.99 and is rated PEGI 3 and I think that this is a great game to get for younger Wii users, as they will get to grips with what they need to do quite quickly and it uses characters that they are familiar with, as I don't think I know any children who don't know of Thomas the Tank Engine!

Wordless Wednesday - Another Year Passed

An update to my Wordless Wednesday post one year ago One Year Changes Everything.

Mixed Spice Biscuits Recipe

As requested this is the recipe that was seen in my Ladybird Books - A Gurgle Girls Review. This was a recipe that I "borrowed" from a family member, and it works well with Gluten/wheat free flour so I use it to make biscuits or Gingerbread a lot. I tend to find that my mixture is always sticky and so I have to add extra flour to keep it from looking like a batter and more like a biscuit mixture!

Ingredients
12oz plain flour (plus extra in case the mixture is too sticky)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2½ teaspoons Mixed Spice (or ground ginger if you are making Gingerbread!)
4 oz butter
stir in
6oz brown sugar
mix together
1 egg
4 tablespoons golden syrup

Method
Preheat the over to gas mark Five or 190oC. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice (or ground ginger if you want to make Gingerbread) together into a bowl, then rub-in the butter. Stir in the Sugar and then mix together the egg and the golden syrup. Knead all the ingredients together, adding more flour by eye if it is too sticky.

Roll out and cut out biscuits, (or pull off a lump and roll in your hands in to a ball before flattening the balls in to biscuit shapes) before placing on a lightly greased baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Cool the biscuits on a wire rack (or eat whilst warm!) and store in a tin for up to a week or as I find five minutes before the family eat them all.

Ladybird Books - A Gurgle Girls Review

Gurgle and Ladybird sent me and my fellow Gurgle Girls a customised bag of books. Top Ender and Baby Boy were delighted as books in our house are a big part of our life (and living room) as we love to read. There wasn't just books inside the bag however (which was really useful when we went Sweet shopping the other day), there was also a little camera, a ladybird cuddly toy, a DVD, a cookie cutter and a sticker. I think that is all that was in there, but when the wrapping was ripped off Top Ender and Baby Boy divided the goodies amongst themselves and ran off to read before I was aware of what was going on so I am not too sure!

Ladybird had customised the bag by sending out books that were suitable for Top Ender and Baby Boy by age range. Top Ender is a confident reader thanks to her school and home efforts and sat down with the two Read it Yourself books and was well, reading away to herself. I got her to read them to me at Bedtime on Sunday and I really enjoyed the stories! "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and "Sly Fox and Red Hen" are classic stories, but are written in a more simple way that allows young readers more ease with reading them.

The third book that Top Ender got was from "Puddle the naughtiest puppy" series and was the book "Magic Carpet Ride". Top Ender has a couple from this series already, as they were popular in Party bags in the last school year. They are large print, easy to read stories about a puppy (called Puddle!) and his adventures and they make great practice for reading and even better bedtime stories. Top Ender isn't actually keen on dogs, so I am hoping that by reading a few stories about a naughty, but lovable puppy she might get over this aversion.

Baby Boy got two books one which was a "Ladybird Big Noisy Book" and is called "Emergency!". As you can guess this book makes noises and is loved by Baby Boy. He loved it so much that he hid it in a special place and I couldn't find it for a couple of days even though he was reading it during the day. It was hidden under the cushions on the sofa! Baby Boy loves pretending to read the book and pressing the right buttons as indicated in the text to get the noise that enhances the story. Daddy and Baby Boy read this book on Sunday night at bed time and they really loved it judging from the giggles!

The other book that Baby Boy got was "Peek-a-Zoo!" a rhyming flap book and it is really sweet, he has been reading this book with me and making the noises that the hidden animals make and the obligatory "Peek-a-Zoo" phrase when ever he lifts the flap! Both books are quite sturdy, although Baby Boy has ripped the back cover of the "Emergency!" book as he could see a gap between the spine and the back page. A bit of sticky tape sorted this right out though!

The last part of the bag was a Spot DVD and Spot shaped cookie cutter! I don't really remember having any Spot the dog books when I was younger (I am a whole year older than Spot), but I do remember children that I babysat having them and loving the stories. I remember when it was turned into a cartoon as I think someone brought my sister and I a video to share of Spots adventures.

Baby Boy and I waited until we had Top Ender at school before we sat down to watch the DVD with new episodes of Spot and I baked some quick mixed spice biscuits (they were going to be gingerbread but I didn't have any ginger!). Baby Boy loved the DVD and the biscuits and we had an enjoyable afternoon snuggling on the sofa!

Take a look at the other Gurgle Girls and what they got in their bags and if you are really lucky I might even share my gingerbread mixed spice biscuits recipe with you!

Bob The Builder - A Toys R Us Toyologist Review

Do you remember I told you that Top Ender and Baby Boy had been asked to be Toyologists by Toys R Us? Well we have tested all the toys to the best of our extent from our first parcel and the first review we are posting is a Bob The Builder Dancing Bob toy which retails at £19.99.

The Dancing Bob sings and dances to a song which is turned on and off by pushing Bob's hand and for the first week, we only ever got the intro to the song as Baby Boy loved that he was able to control it by squishing Bob's hand! As soon as we got Baby Boy to realise that there is a dance associated with Bob's song then we managed to get Baby Boy to dance along.

So I present to you Bob The Builder, with backing dancers (who are actually in the foreground) Top Ender and Baby Boy and a guest appearance from Geoffrey the Toys R Us Giraffe!

If we get enough requests, we might even post the video of Daddy and I dancing along...

Booktime for your School or Library!

Earlier this year I won a Twitter competition and got to nominate a school to have a book parcel delivered to for them to put into their School Library. I of course choose Top Enders school and when the parcel arrived at the school, I got my name in the newsletter and everything! Now is a chance for you to have some similar fame at a school of your choice.

This autumn, 680,000 copies of Eric Carle’s story book “ 'Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,' Said the Sloth" will be given to children starting reception in England courtesy of the charity Booktrust who have the programme Booktime (in partnership with Pearson and the Department for Education).

Now here comes the bit with the possible fame for you; To celebrate, Booktime are offering primary schools and libraries in England the chance to enter a prize draw to receive an exclusive artist’s proof from the book signed by Eric Carle. Anyone (that's you) can nominate a primary school and a public library in England (full terms and conditions will be on their website once the competition opens). From today until the 31st October 2010. All you have to do is visit the Booktime site at http://www.booktime.org.uk/ and find the school or library you want to nominate.

If your school or Library is chosen and really generous you might get a wing named after you or I am sure that like Top Ender's school it might be something a little less expensive...

By the way, the Booktime website also has games and resources inspired by all the books that have been given away in the past, and they are on twitter too!

Club Lego Lego Magazines

When I look back on this summer I think that my overall memory is going to be this was the summer of Lego for my family. Baby Boy discovered Duplo and has been busy making buildings, cars, rockets and what ever else his imagination comes up with and Top Ender and Daddy brought a tub of Lego from the Lego store that has grown since our visit to Legoland and has also been turned into so many different creations I wouldn't know where to start in naming them.

When Lego Club asked if they could send us some Lego magazines to review we said yes, especially as if you belong to the FREE Lego Club, you get the five magazines sent to you throughout the year. Seeing as most children enjoy Lego, I figured that a review of the two magazines (Lego Club for Top Ender and Lego Club Jr for Baby Boy) would be useful. After all you don't just sign up to something just because it is free.

So we got two magazines, Lego Club Jr which is actually aimed at ages 4-5 and Lego Club Magazine which is aimed at ages 7+. Both magazines are brought to you by a MiniFigure called Max, who if made real would be a children's Breakfast TV presenter.

Both Magazines have glossy covers, although the Lego Club Jr Magazine has matt pages on the inside. The Lego Club Jr magazine had lots of activities that kept Baby Boy amused and a how to build a Sports Car feature that kept us all amused trying to build the most perfect sports car. There were plenty of pages that kept Baby Boy amused, even if they weren't being used in the same way as the makers of the Lego Club Jr Magazine intended! The Lego Club magazine, let Top Ender have a good read and she found out a lot about different Lego sets and was most excited to find a LegoLand voucher giving her free entry if she takes an adult.

I haven't explored the Lego website too much, but I have been told that;

"On LEGOClub.com there is exclusive content like ‘Buildits’, ClubCodes, the LEGO Club Show and a chance to sign up for monthly email newsletters of the latest LEGO news"

Once I have had a good explore, if there is anything that I think about the above that is untrue I shall let you know! All in all I think that the Lego Club magazine is a great extra for any Lego mad children/adults and we will be signing up for the club as soon as I get five minutes!

Its the end of the Summer, time to preserve the memories!

I think that I can now safely say that Summer is at an end, and that it is time to start thinking about how we are going to make sure we all have enough memories to get us through the rain filled, snow covered, wind blown days of Autumn, Winter and Spring... please don't throw things at me! Look cute pictures of Baby Boy and Top Ender all wrapped up warm, don't throw things at me!

In years gone past I have found the best way to remember that we did have a few days of Sun is to put up a picture that I can look at and remember. I did it when we got back from our Honeymoon (they are in our bedroom), Top Enders first walk on the beach (they are in the Kitchen), a fun night we had at a Holiday Park (Top Enders room) and even the pictures that I entered in to the Motherhood Gallery at CyberMummy are up in frames (the living room).

The thing is that I hate to pay a fortune for my prints and I rather like things being quick and easy. And this is why for me I like to order my prints over the Internet! One of my Twitter followers is from a site that lists all the places where you can get free prints (http://www.freephotoprinting.net/) as long as you haven't registered with them before!

So if you are looking to preserve your memories of the summer that brought us the final Big Brother, Toy Story 3, The new and fantastic TV Series Sherlock, and some Sun then make sure you get some pictures printed free or otherwise!

Leap Frog Tag and Tag Junior - a review and a competition

Leap Frog were very kind and sent Top Ender a Tag Reading system and Baby Boy a Tag Junior Reading system to review and generally have a good play with after CyberMummy. As soon as the parcel arrived, Baby Boy and Top Ender had pulled out the packages and I only just managed to get a couple of photos before the packaging was in the recycling and they were both sitting cross legged on the floor working out what they needed to do to play with the new gadgets.

Top Ender loves the Tag Reading system. She already had it as a gift from Granny before she started school, but the new Tinkerbell book was a BIG hit! The Tag Reader is styled like a pen and it is used similar to a pointer, where you need to point the end at the text or picture and then it will "read" the page out loud. Baby Boy also loves his Tag Junior, and he thinks that it looks like EVE from WALL-E! The Tag Junior is held more like a bingo pen/stamp and again is run over the page and text and it also "reads" the page out loud.

The Tag Junior is recommended for ages two to four and there are several hard paged books that go with the system and the Tag system that Top Ender had is designed for ages four to eight and has several hardback books with paper pages and more are being added to the range all the time.

Each book contains a different learning skill, in "The Backyardigans Opposites" it is about opposites (you had worked that our already though right?)  and in "If I was" its about different animals. Top Ender's books are more story based, but again do have an educational angle with new words being added to her vocabulary and also helps to understand more about structure of sentences and there are other activities in the books too.

Once a week we connect the Tags to the PC (its Mac compatible too) and we are able to see what Baby Boy and Top Ender have been up to and to further enhance the learning that they have been doing there are printables to download too. It has been great as Top Ender loves to read on her own, but I still like to know what it is that she has been reading! It has realy helped Baby Boy to get used to using books himself and getting ready for reading and seeing what detail there is on the page. Baby Boy will often sit on the floor with the Tag and read a few pages by himself, before asking for Daddy, Top Ender or I to read along with him, and he has no problems at all using the Tag although his favourite function does seem to be the on/off switch!

I think that they are both great products and the cheapest price I could find the Tag Junior for was £23.99 and the Tag was found at £12.49 and both make a great Christmas Gift! The other benefit of giving this as a gift, is that on the recipients next birthday, (or Easter, or Halloween, or Valentines Day or just any day you want to say I love you) you can buy a book to go with the system from the ever increasing range!

Now as I said Top Ender already has a Tag Reading System and so I have checked with Leap Frog and they have agreed that I can have a competition to give away the spare Tag Reading System! So the following things need to be done in order to enter;

Firstly make sure you are following this blog (I am sure you are) either via email or Google Friend Connect or on our Facebook page or via Networked Blogs as I like to see that you all love me...

Then read my blog post from yesterday about Helping your Children learn to read and learn to love to read (and if you want to leave me a comment on that post with other suggestions then that's fine by me!) then answer the following question in the box below and leave a comment here so I know you have entered and can make sure your answer appears in my summary!

Helping your Children learn to read and learn to love to read

With many children starting back at school (or starting school for the first time!) over the next couple of weeks parents up and down the country are going to be ready with their own New School Year Resolutions about helping their child with essential skills that they will be using everyday like reading and writing.

Cass from Frugal Family posted a question on Twitter the other day about how she could get her son to show more interest in reading. I tweeted back a couple of ideas, and suddenly thought that it would be great to list all of the ways that I have helped Top Ender and Baby Boy and ask for more suggestions for everyone's future use!

Books, books and more books. Top Ender and Baby Boy have more books than a small library and they are all easily accessed. There are some in their bedrooms and the rest are in the living room. They both see Daddy and I reading and we both read to them to. We encourage both Baby Boy and Top Ender to read to us, it might be that they don't use the words in the book but tell us what is happening in the pictures or that they tell us what they remember of the story. The important part is that they are enjoying using a book even if it is just the pictures that they are using.

Top Ender really loves the Rainbow Fairy series of books, (they are easy to read and only take as adult 30 minutes to read aloud) and they have sparked her interest in reading because she knows that if she wants to read the stories and I am busy that she will have to do it herself! I have found that finding books on subjects that Top Ender enjoys means the books are read, even when books aren't that easy to read. I have lots of early learners reading books and Top Ender has read them a few times before moving back to her well thumbed and loved books.Of course it doesn't stop me trying to slip in a few books about things that I would like Top Ender to learn like "How to keep your Mum happy" or "How to tidy your room".

For Baby Boy I have found that he loves stories about cartoon characters that he has seen or about things that he owns or adores (His favourite book is Whatever Next by Jill Murphy as it combines bears and a rocket). I have brought him several books based on films as that way he already knows the story and I find that he is more willing to read the book. I don't think that it matters that I have memorised the books that I read to Baby Boy or even that I do the voices from films the thing that I am trying to teach as well as how to read is that reading is FUN!

When I was little I remember listening to stories that had been recorded for me by Grandparents and Aunties and I had a fine selection of Read along Books (When you hear this sound *Jingle* turn the page). I would listen to the stories at night, reading alone with the book that accompanied the tape (I was born in the 70's we didn't have CD's when I was young!). We have brought several read along books and CD's for Top Ender and Baby Boy and even made our own thanks to the wonder of video editing.

I think this is a great way to help a child to learn independent reading and it has been improved upon with the Leap Frog Tag Reading System. Top Ender was lucky enough to have this brought for her by Granny a couple of years back and Top Ender will often be found reading one of the Tag books by herself only using the pen if she gets stuck on a word. Its a great system and we have a Tag Junior for Baby Boy but he likes someone else to read with him still.

I think that all children love to know that we love them and appreciate them and it was because of this that I started writing notes to Top Ender and leaving them in places for her to find. There are the usual lunch notes (which at first were written hieroglyph style), there are notes left under her pillow, slipped under her door, and then the more advanced notes that lead Top Ender on a hunt to find a prize like our Treasure map!

I have flashcards, not just ones from shops, but ones that I have made too. I have made ones with numbers on one side and the word on the other, I have made ones with pictures of emotions on one side and the word on the other and then the ones that I have brought or been given over the years. I keep a pack in my handbag, there is a pack in the car and I even have a downloaded version on my ipod touch. This way where ever we are and what ever the time I can whip out something to keep Top Ender and Baby Boy amused and its a bonus that it is a teaching time too!

I made clear written index cards for Top Ender in pink pen, (Top Ender thinks that Pink and Purple are the only colours worth writing in) that went all over the house. I don't think there was a surface that didn't have a card stuck to it stating what it was. I figured that if the words were there then Top Ender would learn them just by repeatedly looking at them.

I will often put subtitles on when we are watching a DVD or a TV programme, (mostly I do it for me because whilst I am not deaf I find it easier to read and listen to what is going on!) and I have found that Top Ender will often read a word or three this way, it helps with the debates that we have too over what a character just said! It also helps when I put on a Studio Ghibli in the original Japanese as Top Ender might of learnt a song in Japanese but there is no way she is fluent!

Some of the first words that Top Ender could read were shop names that she would see as we were out and about in the car. Top Ender was determined that this wasn't reading, that she just knew what these signs said because she was clever. I managed to convince her in the end that recognising a word like this was what reading really was when I wrote down some shop names in my handwriting rather than the logo format that she normally saw and she was able to still read them. This has developed into a game where we have to read names of shops or the words on signs or street names that we go past and again is something to keep us amused as well as a good learning experience!

I also use shopping as a learning experience for reading (and maths but that's another blog post) giving the shopping list to Top Ender and asking her to read out what is on the list and then to cross off what we put in the trolley. Of course this doesn't always work if someone on the shop floor is eager to help or if you go shopping on your own without the children!

The library is a great place to take children who you want to encourage a love of books in. I could spend hours looking at the different books, selecting which ones I want to read, which ones I want to take home, which ones I think are worth buying, what else is by the same author but it tends to be a very quick affair these days with me trying to keep Top Ender and Baby Boy in the children's section and quickly grabbing a pile of books for myself from the recently returned section. Owning a library card, not only teaches responsibility but also opens the opportunity of new books to read!

What other tips do you have for helping a child learn not only to read, but to love to read? Leave me a  comment and let me know what it is!

And if you would like to win a Leap Frog Tag Reading system then come back tomorrow for a competition...

Lego MiniFigures Series Two

We were given a free sample, but don't not read this post just because of that; We don't let free things change our opinions!

A few weeks back Daddy and Top Ender decided that it was time to buy some Lego. Whilst Daddy was busy filling up a large tub from our local Lego store I took Top Ender further into the store to where the really good bits were - the Minifigures! Today a new series of the Lego Minifigures is released and here is the full line up.

As you can see there is a wide range, with a Popstar (back row second from the left), a Vampire (front row third from the left) and lots of others! We were lucky enough to be sent three packets and I think that I was more excited than both Top Ender and Baby Boy!

We eagerly ripped open the first package and put together a Weight Lifter who we called Bruce (You know like The Hulk) and he was a little scary looking and I don't think he liked me taking his photo...

Then we opened the second package and inside was a Traffic Cop who we called Joey (He reminds me of Joey from Friends, look he is saying "How you doin'?") and he didn't slap the cuffs on me but I could tell he wanted to!

And the third package that we opened a very nice Explorer popped out and told us to call him Captain. I was a bit worried that he was hunting for wild animals, but he said that the only thing he was looking for was a decent cheese toastie.

Top Ender is loving playing with her three new Minifigures, and at £1.99 a packet from major retailers such as Argos, Tesco, WH Smith, John Lewis, Smyths and Toys R Us they are soon going to be being swapped at school until we have the full set!

Wordless Wednesday - The Best Sandwich Ever

The Best Sandwich... Ever.

September the time for New School Year Resolutions

After sixteen years in the British Education system it has been imprinted in my brain that September is when the New Year starts. You get a new start and you can be a different person to who you were before the summer. Every September you can reinvent yourself as someone who is studious, on time, interesting and in my case on top of things.

Of course its dead lucky that just four months later you get to re-make all these promises to yourself with your New Years Resolutions as that is how long it normally took for me to forget what I was aiming for and fall back to my normal forgetting to study, do my homework, be late, only talk about things I find interesting and nobody else does and of course let everything pile on top of me in some crazy hotch potch way.

This is not a photo of Top Ender on her first day of School doing homework that had to be handed in that day.

This year of course will be no different, I am going to make changes and stick to them, not just for me but as a parent and of course if Top Ender wants to make some then I will support her. And if it turns out that at the end of December we have to make the same personal resolutions again? Well then I will just know that I am consistent in my ways!

As a Mummy however I promise the following resolutions will not be forgotten until at least Easter...

1. We will get to school on time everyday. Yes I know I only live five minutes from school.
2. Top Ender will have clean uniform everyday and her shoes will be polished.
3. I will remind Top Ender to take her PE kit at the start of the week.
4. I will check Top Enders bag for permission slips and return them promptly.
5. Top Ender will have a nutritious lunch everyday.
6. Top Ender will take her bottle of water to school everyday.
7. I won't be late picking Top Ender up. Again, yes I know I practically live next door to the school.
8. I will write all appointments on the calender.
9. I will get Top Ender to do her homework.
10. I will remember to give Top Ender and Baby Boy a healthy after school snack

Yeah who am I kidding? I won't last two weeks.

Toyologists? What on earth is a Toyologist?

In the run up to Top Enders being born, Daddy and I would often go out of an evening and wander round a shop or two. Top Ender loved to be up late, and watching TV and staring at the same four walls whilst being kicked from the inside just wasn't cutting it for us. We used to drive to Toys R Us in Bedford as it had late night Christmas Opening times and walk round looking at all the toys and seeing what we would like.

Eventually in 2005 Toys R Us found a site for a store in Milton Keynes and Daddy and I were thrilled that we could start going to a local store instead with our baby. Several years later and we still love the Milton Keynes store, not only because it is HUGE but because all of us (Baby Boy included) love to walk round and look at the toys and what we would have if our house was bigger!

It was with great interest that I replied back to the email from Geoffrey (you know the Toys R Us Giraffe, of  "there's millions of Geoffrey's all under one roof" fame) about becoming a Toyologist. And after some careful consideration I agreed that Top Ender and Baby Boy would become Toyologists and Daddy and I would be their assistants!

We were invited down to Bucklebury Farm Park in Berkshire to meet the other Toyologists and to have a bit of a tea party and as Daddy was at work I took my Mum (AKA Granny). I had explained to her what it was we were going to and why and it was then that she exclaimed;

"Toyologists? What on earth is a Toyologist?"

"Not a what, a who. Your Grandchildren are going to be Toyologists for Toys R Us" I explained

"Is it to do with that blog thing you do?" she said (I could hear her eyes rolling)

"Yes Mum" I sighed

"Your going to put this conversation on there aren't you?" she said resignedly

"Yes Mum" I said Smugly (Love you Mummy!)

Top Ender and Baby Boy had a great time and Top Ender even discovered that TB (GlowStars and Urbanvox eldest) isn't evil despite being a boy! They played in the playground, in the sandpit, on the slides, sat next to each other and even talked in Horse to each other. As I was the only one who could translate Horse it might of just been me making things up, but they didn't care. Well, not until I announced that TB had just asked Top Ender to marry him...

Whilst we grown ups had a little question and answer session about how the Toyologist programme is going to work, Granny took Top Ender and Baby Boy to play on some of the fab things at the Farm (such as a huge jumping pillow, a lot of slides, a zip slide sort of thing and a playground) and also they went and talked to a few animals and snacked on the cookies and muffins that had been laid out for us all to share.

After this we were all brought back together as it was time to open our first box of toys. Top Ender and Baby Boy got Granny and I to remove the tape and then they dived in pulling toys from the box and working out what was the best thing to look at first. There was a lot of toys and both Top Ender and Baby Boy exclaimed "COOL!" more than once as they examined the contents.

After this we went on a Tractor ride to see the Japanese Sika, Axis and Fallow deer that are at the Farm. We were allowed to feed them and as you can see from the photos they weren't shy!

We went home, happy but tired and with a huge dollop of excitement over playing with some new toys. I hope that you will enjoy the reviews that we do over the next few months and remember that anything we say is the truth, we aren't being paid to be nice (we aren't being paid at all, but you know what I mean) and hopefully it might give you some ideas about Christmas gifts!

Breakfast - Bullseye Egg

I think that in other parts of the country this is called an Open House Egg. We call it a Bullseye Egg, because when we aim the sauce we yell "BULLSEYE!" If we get a direct hit.

First you need to heat oil in your frying pan, whilst that is doing cut a circle out of a slice of bread. Fry the bread and circle so that it is Golden Brown on one side and then flip them both over. When flipped over crack an egg into the hole in the slice of bread and fry until cooked.

When done put on a plate, squirt on some ketchup and add the circle of bread back on top.

One Bullseye Egg for breakfast!

Wordless Wednesday - Boiling Eggs

Who is The Stig?

Some say that The Stig might be Michael Schumacher or Ben Collins or Julian Bailey but I say that rumours are all that they are and all they should ever be!

To those of us who watch Top Gear (and I believe it to be quite a lot around 7 Million tune in via TV, or the Web) The Stig is a mystery that not even Scooby and the Gang would unmask (they are fans of Top Gear I am sure) because it is part of the fun of the show. It is the fun of not knowing, the fun of Jezza taking the mickey out of him with his intros, the fun of seeing his "cousins" when the Top Gear team are in different countries, the fun that even the celebs say that they don't know who this man is, the fun of everyone being in the same boat (well car) and just marvelling at the fantastic driving that The Stig does each week.

Top Gear is one of those programmes that isn't just for petrol heads. I'm not a petrol head, in fact if Jeremy Clarkson ever became ruler of The World and declared that we must all be petrol heads, the only thing that would stop me from going to prison would be the obvious positioning of who I would put in the snog category of the three Top Gear presenters in the game "Snog, Marry, Avoid"!

I like to watch Top Gear because of the stupid boy projects that they carry out, I like to watch the laps that the Celebs do, I like to guess what insult is going to be used against James May and then feel sorry for him that everyone is picking on him. I like the guessing of how Richard Hammond is going to have his hair this week, or if his teeth are going to get another mention.

Its because we don't know who The Stig is that we can all build up mythical status for this man (or maybe a woman who knows!) and so I plead to you in the media don't reveal the secret, have a heart and let us keep one hero untainted!

Anyway, we all know that Baby Boy is The Stig. He has a T-Shirt to prove it and I think that this video proves it without a doubt...

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dNaMrczhio)

Wordless Wednesday - Home Grown Potatoes

Family Fun Days Out on a Budget

The other Sunday I was talking about Family Fun on a Budget and I was talking about things that we do as a family on the cheap to make everyday a fun day. It got me thinking though because even when we go out as a family I still try and make it as cheap as possible and today I thought I would share some of my secrets with you.

Most of our days out involve us going somewhere in our car. I love our car, we have a Citroen Xsara Picasso and I have to say that I think it is fab as a family car (although my next car will without a doubt be a Toyota Prius) because of the great storage it offers. When we go on a long journey we always check the tyre pressure, the water and oil levels and make sure that we have petrol. We empty the car of anything that we won't need and normally give it a quick wash and use the Dyson on the inside. As I am sure you know these simple steps help improve the fuel efficiency and also means that the mouldy pears are taken care of!

The great storage in our car means that we have space (in the floor) to store snacks and drinks for the journeys we make. I put family and car friendly snacks such as cartoons of juice and crisps and raisins (and the odd biscuit) into the car before we set off, so that if we need to snack whilst we are on the move we don't need to stop at the services that we past. I also keep mints in the front of the car for Daddy and I

If we are going out for the entire day, I make sure that we take snacks, drinks and if possible Lunch and a light Supper. I am always shocked, although I don't know why, at the price of drinks and snacks at theme parks or anywhere that isn't my local shop. I have a large cool bag, which will hold enough sandwiches, fruit, yogurts (I freeze tube yogurts and use them as cool packs) drinks, biscuits, crisps and cakes for the four of us more than twice over. The pack can stay in the car if we are at an attraction that lets us return to our car during the day, and if not it can either go on/in the buggy or we adults take turns in carrying it.

I love the Internet (as you probably already know) and as such will search for vouchers for days out, two for one, half price days or anything else that will save me on admission price. You can also use your Tesco Clubcard points to convert to tickets for certain theme parks and days out, so this is like free days out! I am signed up with local tourist boards to get emails about upcoming attractions so that if there is a discount for booking early I can take advantage of this. I couldn't even make a guess at how much this has saved me in the past, but I am sure that it is worth the time and effort.

Daddy always scopes out parking for where we are going, and checks that it isn't cheaper to park in a local NCP car park rather than the car park at the event we are going to. His favourite was when we went to the O2, parking at a local NCP car park cost £10 and then there was a further £5 fee for our trip on the Docklands Light Railway to the O2 arena but parking at the O2 would of cost £20. I know its only a saving of £5 but that £5 brought us our programme for the evening and meant that we spent some more time together having an adventure!

So these are my top tips, but what are your top tips? Where else can I save money?

Family Fun on a Budget

Reading this blog you might think that we don't know about having Family Fun on a Budget as at the moment it seems that every other weekend we are at a show or at the cinema, or on a day trip as a family and it must seem like we have money to burn, but its not true. Its just that with a bit of careful planning we are able to budget for events like I have mentioned but we intersperse them with events and days out that cost nothing or next to nothing, such as the ones that I have talked about before in my post Eight things to do on a small Entertainment fund but are still packed full of fun! This weekend we don't have anything major planned, but you can be sure that we will be doing a few of the following!

We love to bake together as a family, and this is a great way of doing something fun on a small amount of money. Plus you get to eat it afterwards! Something that I love to do is to make cornflake cakes (melt chocolate and stir in cornflakes, put a generous spoonful into a cake case and leave to set) and then whip them out whilst we are waiting for our cup cakes to cook.

We love going for walks, we are lucky that we have a great local Parks Trust that maintains local parks and green areas. It could be though that you just walk to the local shop and buy everyone a small sweet, or take a walk to the local park. If you all have wellies why not even go if it has been raining and puddle jump at the same time?!

The local park is really great for burning off some energy and is a great way to have some fun. Top Ender and Baby Boy love when we get on the roundabout or the swings or slide with them and so do we! Plus according to that study that Brainiacs did (It was Scientific!) a half hour in the park on the equipment burns more calories than a half hour in the Gym.

Going round a Shop or a Supermarket might seem like an odd place for Family Fun, but most Supermarkets these days have aisles dedicated to toys and household goods. Its a great place to window shop for things that you might like... not that we do that in Ikea or anything!

Search the Internet for free things to do, there are lots of sites that list places such as Skillscape, and Silver Cross Days Out that list places that other parents have recommended. It might be that you get to go to an Outdoor Cinema, an Airshow, or pick some fruit but there is bound to be something to suit your budget!

I don't know many people who pay much attention to flyers and vouchers in the UK. It seems to me that our friends in the USA and Canada are much more savvy at this sort of thing, but there are savings to be had on most days out. There is a funfair at Willen Lake at the moment, and at £1.50 per person per ride it soon adds up but a flyer I found in a local pub gives vouchers for 50p off any ride. I picked up two flyers (one for Top Ender and one for Baby Boy) and now Top Ender and Baby Boy will be able to go on two more rides than we would of originally budgeted for!

Make use of cinema discounts (such as Orange Wednesday, half price Tuesday or movies for juniors) or have fun and make your living room into the cinema. Shutting the curtains, making movie tickets and having Cinema style snacks is a great laugh, and a good way to have a sneaky snooze or snog when the kids aren't looking...

And if you get really stuck for something to do why not try looking for ideas on Disney's What shall we do today. We love the ideas on the website and quite often have a quick visit to get a game or idea!

Little Dish Favourites Cookbook and Top Enders meal plan

Did you know that Little Dish has a cook book? Its called the Little Dish Favourites Cookbook and I knew because they sent me one. Top Ender has spent her time pouring through it looking at the various dishes, pondering on what ones she would request that I cook for the family. Baby Boy didn't quite understand that a cook book was full of recipes and wasn't something you were meant to eat and took a bite out of some of the pages!

Top Ender found a section called Meal Matchers towards the back of the book that recommends what dishes you can make that go nicely with another dish and she was busy copying out the names so that she could play restaurants with Baby Boy and I. It gave me an idea though, if she was smart enough to work this out, what would happen if I asked her to work out a meal plan for the week?

I gave Top Ender some simple instructions. Don't choose anything that nobody will eat, make sure that we get at least one portion of fish in the week, see if we can use the same ingredients in more than one dish, and we like to have a Roast on Sundays. Top Ender spent half an hour looking through making notes in her little notebook and finally was ready to sit down with me to update our spreadsheet.

Her list was as follows;

Meatloaf with Ratatouille
Sausage and Lentil Casserole with boiled potatoes
Spanish Tortilla
Shepperd's Pie
Easy fish in foil with Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese
Burgers with Wedges
Simple Roast Chicken with trimmings

I was impressed. She had chosen meals that she knew everyone would eat and more importantly that I could confidently cook! All of the dishes apart from Meatloaf were dishes that I cook and know how to cook, but I followed the recipes as stated and found that although the dishes didn't taste too different to how I cook them normally that Top Ender ate everything we gave her... traitor.

All of us (apart from Baby Boy) loved the Meatloaf recipe, so much so that everyone had seconds. I don't ever remember us all having seconds. Baby Boy was keen on the leftovers in a sandwich the next day, so it was a good job there was a lot leftover, as I had to make another sandwich for me! The Meatloaf recipe was such a success that I wrote to Little Dish and asked if I could share it with you and they agreed. So for your delight (and consumption) here it is;

Ingredients

1/2 Small Onion, peeled and diced
1 Large Carrot, peeled and diced
2 eggs, beaten
60ml (2 fl oz) whole milk
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
100g (3 1/2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs (2 1/2 slices of brown bread)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (optional)
500g (1lb) lean minced beef
500g (1lb) lean minced pork

Method

Preheat the oven to 190oC/375oF/Gas 5

Line a baking tray with foil. Lightly oil the foil.

Combine all the ingredients, apart from the meat, in a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Using your hands, add the minced beef and pork and make sure it is well mixed in and evenly distributed.

Shape your ingredients into a loaf and place on the baking tray. The loaf should not touch the sides of the tray but sit nicely in the middle. Bake for 45-50 minutes, then let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This should serve 8 children or a family of 6 with leftovers according to the book. It served us as a family of 4 with seconds and leftovers and I was generous with the portion sizes. I found that I had to cook mine for 70 minutes as after 50 minutes the centre was still pink, and I also think that next time I would cook the carrots a little before adding them as we found them a little hard and if they were softer I think that it would have just made it a little better. Mind you I probably should of diced it smaller!

The only problem that we have now is that Baby Boy wants to make a meal plan...

The Little Dish Favourites Cookbook is available from WH Smith, Waterstones, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s, or online at Amazon.co.uk (and other places if you Google it) and its RRP is £14.99.