Scottish Friendly's No Spend Weekend Challenge

Money just seems to disappear when you have kids, right? That is one reason I said yes to getting involved with Scottish Friendly's no spend weekend challenge and I think I did well. Come and read all the ways we had fun as a family without spending money.

My lovely friend Cass at Frugal Family often talks about no spend days and to be honest I had never heard of the concept before. So simple but yet completely alien to me and I kept meaning to give it a go but it never happened. So this weekend challenge was a good chance to put it into action and see if a spender like me could go cold turkey! I wasn't expecting miracles if I'm honest.

Friday After School - Pressing Fresh Juice!
Once a month all the families who live together in our community come together for an event to engage the children and we eat together.

This month we were focusing on harvest and how good God is in all He provides in our life. We all went down to the walled garden in the grounds of our home and gathered some fruit and veg and then set about cleaning, preparing and pressing the fruit to make fresh juice to have with our dinner. We ended up with apple, apple and rhubarb and apple and beetroot juice.

We had a great staff dinner of pasta or jacket potato with bolognaise, cheese and salad and of course the fresh juice and we finished off with melon chunks from melons grown in our green houses.  JJ and my husband headed off to church for his youth club and the girls and I had a game of monopoly before bed.

How to Create a Family Photography Competition (Kid Friendly)

The next school holiday is fast approaching and if you’re anything Iike me you'll be searching for ways to keep the kids entertained without it costing you a fortune. Well here is a cost-free and simple idea to add to your repertoire and it is sure to be fun.

A couple of weeks ago we headed to Bexhill-on-sea as a family and the kids spent the afternoon taking photos of their choice around a prompt (or theme) I had chosen for them. I told them in advance that one child would be the winner and would receive a prize, but didn't reveal what the prize was. This was because I didn't want them to put in effort according to how good they each felt the prize was. I just said it would be something they liked and different for each of them.

If you fancy creating your own photo walk or competition here are the things to think through -

1.  Choose your date and check the weather. Some children won't mind if it is pouring down outside but of course, others will hate that and it does make taking good photos much harder, so try to pick a fine day. It doesn't matter if it is cold or frosty, you can just wrap up and of course, you can get some fab photos in the frost or snow.

Fabulous Twin Fun - Micro Scooter Sprites - Unboxing at the Beach

As part of my girls being involved with the Start-rite back-to-school shoes campaign they were sent new Micro Scooter Sprites in the teal owl design. Start-rite want the girls to put their shoes through vigorous testing and to make sure they really can stand up to the beating that a normal 10 year old gives them. How better than by regularly scooting in their shoes and lets be honest, kids don't always use the brake on a scooter, they often do it with the sole of their shoe!

Both girls have had Micro Scooters before, they started with the Mini Micros when they were just toddlers and then moved up to the Maxi Micros when they were around 5 years and to be honest they have been moaning at me for the last couple of years that they wanted a grown up 2-wheel scooter. Well now they are super happy and their wish has come true!

The Micro Scooter Sprite scooters start from £89.95 for the silver, £94.95 for the coloured and £99.95 for the patterned ones. They are available in a variety of colours. My girls were sent the Teal Owl with a bell and flower accessory included in the box. I noticed it was on special offer last weekend so it is definitely worth keeping an eye on the Micro Scooters website and signing up for their newsletter, which will keep you informed of their current deals.

Have a watch of our video and see the girls unbox and set up their scooters themselves. I love it when a product is so easy that a 10 year old can take it out the box and do everything they need to make it ready to ride. Even putting their bell on the Sprite scooter is child's play.

Scooting Adventures in their Start-rite School Shoes

Do you think someone likes their new @startrite_shoes? She's been waiting for these brogues to arrive & now they may not leave her feet! Review to follow in a few weeks.

A post shared by Michelle Pannell (@michelletwinmum) on Jun 26, 2017 at 8:00am PDT

This last half-term has felt like it was very long and we were truly ready for it to end. So finally when that last bell rang at school on Friday I picked the girls up for a few hours girlie time.

First stop, our local town Battle where we had some jobs to do ready for our holiday. Prescriptions to fulfil, keys to be cut, summer reading challenge to be signed up for and celebratory ice-cream milkshakes to be enjoyed! Miss M opted for a bubblegum flavour and Miss E white chocolate; I'm not much of a fan so I had an Oreo cupcake instead.

A Beautiful Day for a Dog Walk on the Beach

One of the biggest benefits of having moved to East Sussex is being close to the beach. It is my go to happy place whatever the weather but especially when the sun is shining.

Earlier in the month my Dad joined my girls and I to take the dog for a walk down on Bexhill seafront and then have a bacon sandwich and cuppa at Kerry's cafe (you guessed it, it was pre-slimming world!). We had a wonderful couple of hours together before he had to head off on the long drive back home.

Both girls were wearing their new ECCO boots with built-in GORE-TEX technology to keep their feet dry and warm in these wet and wintry months. This meant when they walked on the stones, run towards the waters edge or climbed and ran I didn't bat an eyelid about how their footwear would hold up as I know I can trust any pair of shoes or boots that GORE-TEX have approved to work with. Their checks are super intensive and they only work with the best and most trusted shoe-makers.

Horrible Histories at The De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill

We had a fun family afternoon at the De La Warr Pavilion last Sunday. They had gifted us tickets to watch Horrible Histories, Barmy Britain part 3 and to be honest I had no idea what to expect.  The kids all watch the TV programme (well 8 year old Miss M and Miss E do as 12 year old JJ tells me he outgrew it years ago) but he still seems to have a massive collection of the books in his room but apparently reading is different, much more grown-up!

The one hour theatre show is billed as being suitable for children aged 6 years upwards and I think it was perfectly pitched. My kids have not been to many live theatre shows before and I think TV has spoilt them somewhat as they were a little disappointed there were only two actors in it, Neal Foster and Anthony Spargo. Neal and Anthony was fantastic though, so much energy and just bouncing off each other. They were the full works as far as I'm concerned.

I didn't expect to laugh so much at this stage show but it has a definite comedy edge to it. The audience were encouraged to participate in many ways with a sing along, calling out, clapping and one lucky little girl even got to go up on stage, one of mine would have loved that!

I thought the show was super clever, it was two men, one big travel case and two stacks of costumes and they dd everything in front of our eyes including changing clothes but it remained fun and the high-energy kept up the whole way through. We bounced our way though some of the major British historic events and we met King Charles II, the Puritons and Nelson. Here is a glimpse of some of the sketches -

Bexhill on Sea - my favourite seaside in the UK

We moved to East Sussex just over a year ago now and there is one place that we go to time and time again. The seaside has always been a place that my husband and I love to visit together, we met by the sea and whenever we needed to get away, it is the sea we always headed to. Even when the whether is bad the cobwebs get blown away and our souls feel refreshed.

It is for this reason that I jumped for joy when I realised we were only about 8 miles from our nearest seaside town. At first I wondered what Bexhill-on-Sea would have to offer us as it is pretty old-fashioned and parts look a little run-down but actually I have grown to love it so much.  I visit here alone, with all my family and with friends too.

As I said before it is quite old-fashioned but in a quaint, times-gone-by sort of way rather than being out of date. It does not have lots of neon signs, nightclubs or arcades like many UK seaside resorts and I think more people that come here are locals rather than holidaymakers and I like that. I can wonder round the town and check out the many charity shops and grab a bargain and then go to the Sovereign Light Cafe for a good cooked breakfast.

In the last few years the promenade has been made over and it is a super flat concrete prom great for walking, running, scooting, dog-walking or bike riding. Unless there is a special event going on it is never that busy and you can walk for miles and miles without any issue. The parking along the sea front is plentiful and free too.

You'll see that the beach is a stony one but when the sea goes out you do get areas of sand and also wonderful rock pools, so lots of beach fun can be had here. You often see people wind surfing, fising or boating.

When it was refurbished some fabulous play equipment was put all along the prom and the kids adore running along and stopping to use the equipment.

One of our favourite places to visit with the kids in Bexhill is Egerton Park, this is just a few moments walk from the seafront and is full of fantastic play equipment. It is one of the best play parks I've seen and great for all ages with toddler equipment, sand play, zip wire and loads of equipment for the older kids. As well as an Adidas gym area, football field, bowls, boating lake and cafe. Also next to it is the Bexhill Museum which has some good children activities during the holidays.

On the seafront is the De La Warr pavilion that hosts loads of local cultural events and has a great art gallery too. You can go on the roof and enjoy the fabulous views and take in the Art Deco architecture. Underneath the theatre are some nice shops, a big tea room with beach front outdoor space and also some dancing fountains that the kids love to play in.

Often for the price of a donation your children can join in with arty activities. Last week Miss E spent an enjoyable hour making a collage and then she added it to the artwork on the wall, as one day she wants to be exhibited there.

Probably our favourite activity as a family in Bexhill is eating and we can highly recommend the homemade gelato on sale at Di Paolos opposite the De La Warr or fish and chips from Marinos or Mini Berthas and of course they need to be eaten with the sea in View. There is some lovely grass space next to the De La Warr which is our eating area of choice.

I used to think the sandy beach at Bournemouth was my favourite UK seaside but Bexhill has stolen that place in my heart and I'm very glad to live here and be able to sit and watch all the sailing boats out at sea as well as my kids having a ball.

Have you ever visited before? What did you think?

And while I love the beaches in the UK Liz at Cambridge Mummy has been off enjoying snorkelling with her family at the Mark Warner Levante resort.

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I love to live by the sea

After the busy weekend that was BritMums Live I felt the urge to spend time with my family and to just kick back and relax. Due to the lovely weather I suggested a stroll along the prom and maybe a play in the park. Not content with that the kids wanted to go in the sea and do some rock pooling on the beach so we headed to Bexhill-on-Sea which is about 7 miles from us.

I have to be honest and say I have fallen in love with Bexhill and the East Sussex coastline in general really. I always thought I was a sandy beach girl and Bournemouth has reigned supreme for years but I'm being turned.  There is a lot to be said for a stony beach and if you go along at the right time tide-wise you can still dig the sand and make castles.  I have discovered you just need to make sure you have the right footwear on so you can climb the stones without it being the most painful thing.

After church and lunch with all the staff we did not get to the beach until gone 3pm but the sun was still beautiful and bright. What a surprise to find that we could park easily and that there was loads of room on the beach. I suppose I have become more used to commercial seaside resorts and have not had the joy before of having loads of room to run and play with the kids. Although if I'm honest dh did more of the running and playing and I took the photos and delighted in watching them have a great time. Next time I'll be more organised and take my water shoes and cossie.

I love that the kids can all do their own thing at the beach, Miss E was very content to dig the sand, wash shells and find a baby crab -

Whereas my two loonies wanted to jump waves and experience the thrill of the beach. They kept giving me a heart attack by going out too far, luckily it was all shallow for a very long way but you just never know with the sea, it is unpredictable!

So I sent Daddy in to chase them back ashore again!

I don't have a particular reason for adding in this next picture, I just liked it -

Once everyone had cleaned up and changed into day clothes we headed into the town and ate our tea of sausage and chips on the grass by the beautiful De La Warr pavilion, watching all the sailing ships out at sea and again dh played running games with the kids. I'm proud to say they could not catch him often to make him IT!

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

The joy is in the ordnary......

This last weekend saw the sun shine and the rain stay away.  Our family literally whooped for joy and Sunday morning we headed to the beach and postponed our church time until that evening.

What a fabulous day we had, just doing the ordinary stuff.....

Skimming stones on the sea..... or taking photos in my case!

 Scooting along the prom....

Playing together in the local park...

 Collecting stones on the beach on the way back to the car...

Working hard with Nanny to paint all those stones....

 A beautiful collection mummy has now got, what shall I do with them?

I'm linking this post up with Reasons to be Cheerful as I'm so grateful we are living by the beach and able to visit it so easily and also to Country Kids, as at last we got outside and had some fun again!

Click on the badges to head over and see what others have got up to......

 

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!