Review & Giveaway: Orchard Toys, 3 Little Pigs Game

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In July my girls will be 4, they are growing up so quickly and one of the wonderful things of them growing up is that we can indulge Mummy and start to play board games as a family. Red Dog, Blue Dog is great for a while but it is so nice to progress onto a more complex game and for the girls to still be able to 'get' it and play along.

We have had some fun days recently playing the 3 Little Pigs Game from Orchard Toys (#ad).  The object of the game is to move around the board and make your 3 houses and get safely home before anyone manages to steal any of your house parts.  This you can do by landing on a wolf square and spinning to see if you can steal a straw or wood house part.  You should hear Miss M, 'I'll huff and I'll puff and blow your house in' as she gleefully nicks a piece from her twin.  Then when it happens to her, what do we get?  Well, tears of course and shouts of 'It's not fair'.  So this game has been very good for teaching some lessons to 'little miss highly strung' - what goes around comes around.  It has definitely helped her to think about the fact that she stole her sisters part and there was no fuss and then her sister takes one of hers and boy the world has ended.

You may have guessed already, that we all liked this game.  It is the normal high quality that you expect from Orchard Toys. The board fits together like a puzzle and is very sturdy plastic covered cardboard pieces.  I would be hard-pressed to tell you a con for this game to be honest.  What is not to like?  I'll tell you something else I spotted when on the Orchard Toys website recently, that their toys are made in the UK, how great is that?  Supporting our economy and workers and being eco in avoiding all that unnecessary travel too.

As you can see from the photo we like to play games as a little treat for good behaviour before the kids go to bed.  It makes a nice alternative to reading on some nights.

I asked JJ what he thought of the game and he said 'It's great Mum, I'm gonna win next time'.  The game is marketed as being suitable for ages 3- 6 years and JJ is 7 and very bright, so actually the appeal is wider.  I think he likes it because of the sneaky tactics of stealing pieces from the rest of the family.  He nearly leaps for joy when he lands on the wolf spaces.

The 3 Little Pigs Game can be purchased for £11.50 directly from Orchard Toys or many good toy retailers also stock their games now too. 

   

 However, you could be lucky and win a game for your family, by entering my easy giveaway.

To Enter

• Leave a comment below and a way to contact you - email address or twitter ID (mandatory)
• Like Orchard Toys Facebook Page (mandatory) and while you are there, feel free to like mine too for an extra entry.
• For a final entry (max of 3) you can tweet 'Time to #win an @orchardtoys 3 Little Pigs game at @michelletwinmum 's giveaway http://tinyurl.com/6co2y6y'

Terms and Conditions

• The giveaway will close at 12 noon Wednesday 23 March 2011
• The winner will be contacted within 3 days of this giveaway closing
• The giveaway is open to those with a UK/ Ireland postal address
• The winner will be chosen by random number generator
• There is no cash or prize alternative
• Your game will be dispatched directly from @orchardtoys

Good Luck!

I received a free copy of the 3 Little Pigs Game to review.  This post is written honestly and I was not told what to write.

Congratulations @lilysmum2008 you are the lucky winner.  Please either email me or DM your address details.  Thanks a lot, Michelle

When I was Small.....I made Domino Trails!

Dressed up as a clown for the Brownie Jamboree

Recently, I have been thinking about childhood play a lot. Not too sure what prompted it but it has led to this post, a great conversation on twitter and also a post for this weekend.

I am not the kind of Mum that wants to be involved with my child's play all the time. Don't get me wrong, I do not think I am neglectful, I am just not that interested in all types of childhood play and having more than one child makes this easier, as they can play together.

I consider my own Mum to be a really great Mum and I was trying to remember how much I played with her when I was young and to be honest I can not recall that much. I know from talking to my Mum that she used to do lots of play with my brother and I, and I also remember being encouraged to play independently.

When I was small my Mum worked at a local school as a cleaner and the whole family used to go. Both my Mum and Dad would do the cleaning so it would take half the time and my brother and I would play with the other kids whose Mums used to clean. My Mum must have done this for quite a number of years and I thought it was fabulous, such fun to explore the school and chat with the caretaker, who had a soft spot for my little brother. Mr Joyce would chat away about tomato ketchup sandwiches and how they were his favourite. Isn't it funny that over 30 years later I still recall this?

I do think the memory is a very strange thing. Some really important stuff is just not there anymore or it is buried so deep that I have no idea where it is but then funny things I remember, like the infants school have a middle courtyard with a sandpit in the middle that we all played in. I also remember being intrigued by the tiny child size toilets!

My favourite part of my Mum and Dad doing this job was the big clean in the summer holidays. We would practically spend a whole day in the school, while it was deserted by everyone else and I would get to explore and play any imaginary game that I fancied. I recall us taking domino magic with us and setting it up in the large hall. A massive big trail of domino's that I used to rejoice in knocking down and building again and again, ohh the pleasure of being under 10 years old. As well as domino's there was always an abundance of colouring in, playing with my Sindy dolls and of course my brother would take his beloved lego.

At this same school I attended the Brownie group and I loved this.  Thinking about it makes me think of a red and white toadstool, small brownie books, a 'pack' suitcase filled with goodies, doing my hostess badge making tiny sandwiches and tea for my Mum and being part of the Elf pack.  Such useful information that I have stored away for a rainy day!

I have such a fond nest towards my days as a youngster, I was completely blessed to have been born into a family who really wanted me and always made enough time and money for anything that I needed. As a young child my Dad was a milkman working from 4am, he then used to help my Mum clean at the school and then they would both sit and work at home making plugs in the evening. No need to wonder where my strong work ethic comes from? Thanks Mum and Dad for giving me a great insight to what it is to be a working yet attentive parent.

This wonderful upbringing is some of what makes me want to help others, you know those people less fortunate than us.  We can all do something to help, no matter how small. It is Red Nose Day on 18th March, that is pretty soon really.  Could you host a coffee morning at home? Donate a days wages? Write a blog post to raise awareness?  There is your challenge, do something!  Anything, it does not matter what it is, as long as you make one small step towards helping someone less fortunate.

OK preach over, I can't seem to stop myself att he moment!  Thanks for reading.

I have written this post prompted by Ella at Notes from Home. This week she asked us to share a childhood memory. Each week she runs a Friday Carnival with a different theme. Let me just say she is fab, such a nice blogger but also a great writer. You need to go and visit her...

Update on me and my eating!

I feel a bit out of control at the moment, I got up later than I wanted to this morning - did not do my daily reading. Missed my aqua at lunchtime today due to a meeting overrunning and have eaten too much today, perhaps the result of no food plan. So tomorrow, I pray for a better day, I expect I have regained a lb or 2 in the last week, unfortunately things do move that quickly for me, so I need to focus and hand it over to God in the hope of regaining my abstinence.

I have planned a swim before work tomorrow so that will give me some thinking and praying time in the water and lunch is already prepared so there is no reason to go off track.

Wish me luck.....

Food Plans

My food sponsor has gone away on holiday and I do not want to pester her, so I will write my food plan on here each day and then update it to see how I have done.

Today - 6th Nov
Plan is - porridge and 2 crumpets for brekkie, vege soup, 3 ryvita and cheese for lunch then an apple, tea is jacket potato with tuna mayo and sweetcorn and salad. Then plain yoghurt with some prunes in it.

Whoops, I have forgotten to report on my foods plans for the last couple of days but all has been going well. What I have actually eaten today (8th Nov) is -
Shreddies, 1 crumpet, banana, roast pork dinner with yorkshire puddings, scrambled eggs on 2 toast. So as you can see it is not that I am missing out on nice food, I am still eating well, just cutting out the crap.

9th Nov -
Yesterday I had - porridge, bagel, chicken salad, yoghurt, chicken and veg stir fry and a granola bar. I kept to plan! yay

10th Nov -
Plan today is - oat krunchies, bagel (whcih I have kept to so far) and planned is lunch chiken sub roll, crisps, grapes and then for tea ??? as Adam is cooking but I will stick to one moderate plate and then some tinned fruit and custard afterwards.