Family visit to Kingston Lacy, National Trust (Dorset)

Whilst holidaying in Dorset we decided to use our National Trust membership and go to visit Kingston Lacy and boy were we glad we did, what a great place!

It is really set up for accommodating the kids in the holiday periods, my younger two did a 'spot the teddy bear' hunt and JJ did a classic treasure hunt around the inside of the house with fairly tough clues. They all enjoyed it and got a badge each at the end. There was a cost of £1 each but as I have a membership, this was all I paid out that day and of course, I did not mind.

The house itself is in wonderful condition and is very large, it was a pleasure to look round and it is always good to get to chat to the kids about how things were in years gone by.

Outside the house, there is so much space that even on a busy day you have loads of room to run free and for the children to have fun. There are tons of walks and trails across the 8,500-acre property and this includes working farmland, woodland, formal gardens, a south lawn, Japanese water garden and even a community gardening project where there are a few animals that the children can feed. It is wonderful and diverse, just look -

There are a number of places across the site where you can buy homegrown produce and flowers for a donation and it is lovely to take some home dahlias or gladioli that have been grown there. There are also some amazing flowers on-site and if like me you enjoy photography, you will be right at home here -

Probably my children's favourite part of the day was the living history.  Before we set off in the morning my 10-year-old JJ groaned that we were off to an 'old house' and then after his time with the laundry maids learning hands-on how to use a washboard and mangle and then going through all the pieces in the study suite he declared it was an awesome day and he had no idea why he did not want to come here. I had to laugh!

We broke our day up with a visit to the restaurant and there was the option of an assisted service restaurant or a more casual coffee shop. We sat outside in a beautiful courtyard and enjoyed sandwiches and soup. It is not cheap but it is tasty and the homemade soup was excellent, as was the cream tea. There are also some beautiful picnic areas on site which you can use.

In the 6 hours we were at Kingston Lacy, I think we only saw a small part of it, we found one kiddie tractor ride area but did not make it to the two other children's play areas that were advertised. We would definitely visit again and it was a great day out for all our family.

We are happy to recommend a visit to Kingston Lacy with the family.

Why not pin this post for later?

Check out all our other National Trust reviews over here. 

Go on, say yes for a change....

It is all too easy as a parent to get in the habit of saying no when your child asks for something. I totally get why we do it, so much they ask for involves mess or work for us and to be honest some days we just want an easy life but I'd urge you to consider saying yes to your child at least once a day.

It really does help them to realise they have value and that their ideas matter. Oh and your yes can lead to a whole mass of fun like this water fight the girls had the other night.

Miss E asked me early in the day if she could have a water fight but I was busy and really did not want to clean up a house full of water so instead of no, I offered her a water fight after tea right before bath time. I had the towels ready by the front door, filled up their buckets and water guns and sat down on the bench outside my house to enjoy the show.

They had a ball, have a look...

Can you tell Miss E was the really cheeky one, she kept soaking her twin!

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JJ updates his Scout Camping Kit

Camping with Daddy and the cubs when he was 3 years old

My son JJ has been involved in scouting for as long as I can remember. I can't recall if he was 2 or 3 when he went on his first cub camp but yes it was far earlier than it should of been. The reason being of course that my husband was a cub leader for ten years from 2002 and JJ always went along for the ride.

It was quite funny when he started his new scout group after our move last year that his 'nights away' award was already far higher than most of the scouts 3 or 4 years older than him. It is so reassuring to me to know that when he goes away he is really senssible and knows all the different rules about camp fires, cooking outside, tracking, going off alone etc.

He missed camping last year with our house move but he is making up for it this year and has already gone on two scout camps and hopes to do another in the autumn. It is the aboluste highlight of his year to go camping and he will sacrifice mosts things for it. He is very funny though, when I suggest getting a piece of equipment that might make things easier or more comfortable he confidently rebukes them and tells me it would then not be 'proper camping'. He is all about the rustic and getting back to basics.

When we got out all the camping equipment back in April we found that he had grown our of his sleeping bag and that much of his kit neeed replacing - large rucksack, new waterproofs, new camp cutlery, new torch and new sleeping bag. It all adds up and can cost a bit so I did some web searching and I bought quite a few good deals from the Mountain Warehouse eBay store. His coat was an excellent buy at £11.99 for a waterproof pakka coat and it has really proved itself to be effective. In fact I ended up buying most things we needed from there.

As my husband was not camping this time JJ just borrowed his sleeping bag for the last couple of camps but as it is an extra lage it is too big really so when Mountain Warehouse asked me if I'd like to review the Microlite 500 mummy sleeping bag I jumped at the chance. JJ had the choice of green and grey or red and grey and he opted for the red as you can see, he felt this would make it nice and easy to identify at camp with all the others.

Probably my favourite thing about this sleeping bag is the size and weight, it is so small and compact (measuring 35cm x 14cm when packed in the carry bag) and it weighs just 1kg. I had worried this might mean it was very hard to get back in the holding bag and when JJ tried the method suggested by one of his scout leaders - just stuff it in - it was indeed difficult, but when we laid out the bag and folded it in half and then rolled it tightly it fitted in just fine and I feel confident even my 10 year old can do that himself on camp.

The Microlite 500 is a 2 season sleeping bag and you can choose a left or right handed zip, which is 2 way for ease. You can also zip two together if you would like to make a double bag. Designed for temperatures between 7C - 11C degrees, this sleeping bag is ideal for summer and spring camping trips. The outer shell is made from 100% nylon ripstop material, with a soft polyester inner lining. Mummy shaped, the design insulates even better thanks to the increased warmth, keeping you snug outdoors.

JJ has only used the sleepign bag inside so far but he slept fine in it with the windows open and can't wait to go and camp outdoors and give it a real roadtest.

The RRP for this sleeping bag is £54.99 but it is currently on sale for £29.99 and if you don't fancy this one there is an excellent selection of different sleeping bags and camping equipment on the Mountian Warehouse website and after our purchase of waterproofs, camp cutlery and crockery, torch and a 75 litre rucksack from them I can happily tell you they sell quality products and we would recommend them.

Now JJ just needs to work his magic on me and convince me that I might enjoy camping!

Disclosure: We received the sleeping bag free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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Sometimes you embarass me

This feels like a difficult post to write but for some reason over the last couple of weeks that title has come back to me again and again and I've been chewing over the topic, so I figure that I should be writing this.

I suspect there are many parents that at times have felt embarrassed by one or more of their children. I also suspect that like me they don't feel proud of how they feel. Who wants to admit that? To be being embarrassed by the behaviour of their own flesh and blood? and of course that is where the problem comes from, we feel so closely attached to them, so responsible that when they are less than perfect we find it hard to deal with. We see it as a reflection on us, we are not perfect and all our flaws and vulnerabilities are exposed for the world to see.

I know that the issue is with me and not them. Of course they are not perfect, they are 7, 7 and 10 and on a whirlwind learning journey through life. The truth is they are never going to be perfect, none of us are. There is only one perfect being and whilst we aspire to be like Him, thankfully He sees all our imperfections and loves us anyway. That is what grace is, the love that Jesus extends to us when we do not deserve it.

This parenting lark is really hard at times, or it is if you want to do it right. I so want to raise kids that are kind, considerate, a great friend, polite, good at sharing and selfless. That is a pretty tall order I'm putting on them and if we are honest I'm not all of those things and the ones that I am doing OK with have taken years of practise. I know that as a 7 years old I was noisy, excitable, brash, forthright and basically bouncing off the walls, just like my little ball of energy is and I know a few people who think I turned out OK. She'll turn out OK too, I just need to allow her the time and the space to make mistakes and to learn from them. No judgement, just love and support.

So I need to get a grip and change my attitude and next time my kids do something that makes me cringe inside and feel as if I'm a failure as a parent I need to remember that I'm not. I'm a good enough mum who cares a lot, certainly too much at times about what others might think and I just need to remember to use the time as a learning opportunity. That is my primary job after all, to love them unconditionally, to help them learn to be really great well-rounded adults and to ensure they enjoy the journey of getting there.

That is what childhood is after all, a journey, a training ground for when they are adults. Through my constant coaching (it might feel like nagging) this is my chance to help them learn to be resilient, to deal with life's knocks and to get back up again, to be kind and to extend grace to those who don't deserve it. Also to enjoy life, to have fun and be fun to be with, whilst remaining honest and keeping a sense of perspective.

My dream for my children is that they will walk close to God and will serve others with a willing heart. They are the things I know will make a massive difference and will ensure they have peace and joy. What I've really come to realise as I have been writing this is that I need to model what I want them to become, if my greatest desire is for them to be Christian servants then I need to be that and I need to be doing it with a willing heart and a bucketful of kindness.

Have you ever thought about what you hope your children will become? I know some friends desire their children to be healthy, others successful and some super rich, but what about you, what is your hearts desire for your children when they are grown adults?

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My Top 6 Musical Film Recommendations for Netflix #StreamTeam

You'll have seen me posting before that I'm loving my subscription to Netflix.  It really is the best thing since sliced bread in my opinion. As I live in the middle of no-where and my internet connection is not great that limits my options but Netflix and my Apple TV are still coming up trumps and even better when the kids lose the little silver remote control (why is the Apple TV remote control so very tiny?) I can stll watch via AirPlay from my iPad to the Apple TV.

Or what you often find me doing is watching programmes (Gossip Girl currently in case you were wondering) and moving from room to room doing the housework, tidying, washing etc and I take my iPad with me and then when I'm ready to move to the lounge I can just stop play on my iPad and put it on the Apple TV and it is all so clever as it knows exactly where I stooped it and it just picks it up and plays from there - brilliant!

This month I thought I'd share with you my top 6 music film picks that we have watched in the last three months. All our family love a good musical film and here are our recommendations, in reverse order -

In 6th place - Pop Star - I just watched this last week with my girls and it is a sweet movie. It won't change your world but the lead singer has a nice voice and it has some good topics in it for conversation starters - like people taking advantage of you and who your loyalty should be to.

5th place is Cadillac records. This film was a bit slower than I might have liked but the tunes are really soulful and it was great to see a little slice of history and to learn how some of the big stars like Chuck Berry and Etta James were discovered.

4th place goes to an iconic movie - The Blues Brothers. The music in this is superb and the film is a lot of fun, this takes me right back to being a kid and I think it is one you either love or hate.

3rd place is for Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguillaria. not one for the kids as you don't really want to encourage them to think about this as a career option but I enjoyed this film and of course the singing is fantastic.

2nd place is Coyote Ugly, which is one of my favourite films with some great singing and a sweet love story running through it.

And in 1st place it has to be Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act. I kid you not when I say that my husband has watched this in excess of 500 times, he absolutely loves it and when feeling down it is his go-to film. He also seems to have converted all my kids as often I return from a night out and find the four of them watching this or the sequel!

I hope you like our picks and might want to try out one of the movies on Netflix.

Disclosure: I have received a years free membership to Netflix and a free device to become part of the #Streamteam. They have not instructed me what to write and I remain honest, as always. 

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Why do more Daddies go to work than Mummies?

This was the question my 10 year old JJ asked me the other day.

"I'm not sure babe" was my response. "I suppose it is because the mummies are the ones who physically have the baby and then it just happens that they stay home for a while, often they are breastfeeding. Also in our country they get paid to take leave and stay home whereas the daddy can only have paid leave 20 weeks after the baby has been born and even then it is only if the mummy goes back to work, the government are not making easy for the dads to stay at home".

This wasn't enough for him though and he carried on "but things are changing aren't they mummy? When you were a little girl no dads ever dropped their kids off to school did they and some do now? It is OK for daddies to stay at home and for mums to go to work instead now isn't it?".

This of course opened up a great conversation about how it was more than OK for women to be working nowadays and to be doing all the things that men do and vice versa. Thank goodness things are progressing here in the UK and whilst our legislation in regard to maternity and paternity pay is slow to get to the standard it needs to be it is at least moving in the right direction.

Sadly the same can not be said for every country the world over and there are still many countries were the sexes are treated completely differently. One thing that does seem to stand out across the world sadly is that poverty is affecting women and girls disproportionately. Of course poverty in this country is not quite the same as poverty in third world nations but never the less there are far too many women going without food so they can offer the very little they have to their children.

Photo Credit - Karen Walrond/ONE

The NGO (non-governmental organisation) that I travelled to Ethiopia with in October 2012 have launched a fabulous new resource for anyone who has an interest in seeing an end to extreme poverty and particularly for those who have an interest in girls and women's affairs. Click on the link to go and visit the ONE Girls & Women initiative. Each month there is a guest curator who will tell you a little of their story and also introduce some great reads, videos, play lists or photos that have spoken to them. It is a great place to stay in touch with what is happening  in the fight against extreme poverty. ONE work with all the big charities and aid agencies so if you already have a favourite charity that you support you do not need to feel compromised by supporting the campaigning and advocacy work that ONE do too. Some of my favourite web pages of ONE are the Living Proof ones where you can read about the success stories and how progress is being made and change is happening in the fight against extreme poverty.

As per always with ONE, they will never ask for money from you, what they want is your voice. We know that when we collectively come together people in positions of power start to listen and change can happen, so why don't you sign up and add your voice. This month they are asking people to add their name to a petition to show that we believe those living in Sub-Saharan Africa also have a right to electricity. Currently 7 out of 10 people in Sub-Saharan Africa do not and they will give birth by candlelight or eat food which could not be refrigerated adequately. Read more about why it is important that people can be lifted out of energy poverty here.

You might not have heard of the ONE Campaign before if you live in the UK, as sadly the profile here is fairly low but don't let that put you off. Take a look, find out who ONE are and realise they are credible and have nearly 6 million members across the world. Do you want to sign up too? Go on, it is easy and will mean that the latest information arrives direct to your inbox.

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Back to School with TU at Sainsburys

Do you hate people like me?  I know many people do and really I don't suppose it is that you hate us, it is more that you would love to be in our position.

Yes, I admit it, I'm on top of the back to school uniform, it is ready for 4th September and yes I realise the kids only broke up from school a day ago (I'm writing this way before you are reading it!) but I enjoy it all being sorted and then I don't have to think about it at all for the next 6 weeks.

My to do list at the beginning of the holiday looked something like this -

• Check plimsolls still fit
• Check what uniform we already have and is it still in good condition?
• Get new uniform to fill in the missing spaces
• Update PE shorts and joggers as they have all grown out of those
• Bin lunchboxes and get new ones that don't smell!
• Girls need new school bags as they go into KS2 and can have their own designs
• Label all new uniform
• Order new school shoes and pray they still fit in September

I'm doing well, I only have the bags and school shoes to go, the rest is sorted and that feels good. This year TU at Sainsburys asked me to buy some of their uniform for the kids and try it out. I've not been asked to review their uniform before but as Sainsburys is my shop of choice the kids have been wearing some of their uniform and I can confirm from a good 7 years experience that it lasts well.

Here is what I bought -

I went to what I would think of as a medium sized Sainsburys and there was a good choice of colours and styles. I needed to get some uniform for my girls (aged 7 years but one is bigger than the other) and my boy (aged 10 years and a giant).

• 2 pack of white short sleeved blouses with really pretty embroidery trim around the bottom - £7
• 2 packs of 3 pack white girls polo shirts - £4.50 per pack (all prices depend on the size you are buying)
• 2 packs of 3 pack unisex white polo shirts - £5.50 per pack
• Girls pleated skirt - £5.50
• 6 pack of grey knee high socks - £6.50
• 2 pack of grey boys trousers - £12
• 2 pack of girls jersey grey trousers - £8

What I liked

There is lots to like about TU school uniform. It is not the cheapest on the market but it represents fantastic value for money as it washes well and keeps its shape and colour. The girls skirt is a fabulous thick material and has stay-in pleats but it is also stylish with a little bow details at the waist. The waist is also adjustable, as is the boys trousers. I liked that there was both jersey type trousers, skirts and dresses as well as the smarter and thicker Teflon coated items.  It gives good variety in terms of children's wear preferences and also on price point. The white polo shirts are nice and soft and the buttons are easy for little hands, the seems also seem to be well stitched and put together.

What I didn't like quite so much

The fact that things are sold in two packs, I don't always want two pairs of trousers or two dresses at a time and if I do I often want them in different sizes as I have twins of different sizes.  Also the boys trousers are not a very generous fit and actually they were too snug on my larger boy. The polo shirts are perhaps a little longer than I would like, which is of course fine tucked in but as JJ likes to wear his out he will not look so smart as other shorter tops do but this is just a little niggle and will not stop me keeping them.

Keeping school uniform clean

TU asked me what my top tip was for keeping school uniform looking good and I have to be honest and say the first thing that came to mind was that I make my kids wear an apron when they have something messy for their dinner like spaghetti bolognese as I've not found any stain remover that will get that completely out of a white polo shirt.

To be honest I like kids to be kids so if they come home with grass stained knees or glue on their cardi I don't really mind, I find that if you buy a decent quality pair of trousers or skirt/ dress most things just wash out and they still look good anyway. That has certainly been my experience in the past with TU.

Disclosure: Thank you Sainsburys for providing me with a voucher to buy and review some TU uniform. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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My writing process blog tour

Blogging when I was away in Belarus for Operation Christmas Child

It's been quite some time since I have taken part in a meme but when I read about the 'My writing process blog tour' on Actually Mummy I knew I fancied joining in with this one.

After blogging for over five years it is easy to lose track of why you write and even who you are, so this meme gives me a chance to stop and muse, to really think about why I write and how I go about doing it. Do I even have any logic in my approach?

Hopefully this blog tour will help me to explore my approach and perhaps get back to the very core of why I write. Basically I need to answer four questions about how and why I write, then pass the baton to another writer, who will publish answers to the same questions the following week, thanking the person who tagged them.

So first up, what am I working on?

I think many of the people who have joined in with this tour are writers in a much wider sense than me. I’ve never harboured any secret desires to have my writing published anywhere other than on my blog nor to write a book. I suspect some of that comes from a lack of confidence and belief that I have anything useful enough to say, but I know that things change with times, my self-belief grows. When I first wrote on my blog in 2008 it was closed and only available for five people to read, now here I am with thousands of readers a month.

One thing I am working on at the moment with a friend is a website for Christian women to use as a resource and source of encouragement. There are lots of US dominant Christian sites but none yet in the UK and in reality we do things differently and even speak a different language so we feel called to explore how we can fill that gap with a collaborative site for women.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I suppose my genre is parenting, for years I’ve been referred to as a mummy blogger and I don’t necessarily have an issue with that but when I look at my blog now not that much is about parenting anymore. It is about whatever is going on in our family’s life and as such some might call it is a lifestyle blog. A Christian lifestyle blog.

My faith has always been the golden thread that runs through my blog. It is the reason my blog is still live and current and it is the thing that keeps me going. We all have those days when we wonder why on earth we do this or why we put this pressure on ourselves to write and to perform and for me that comes back to my blog being an insight to the life of an imperfect Christian woman. This is what makes me different - I’m very overt about my faith and not many UK ‘parenting’ bloggers are and I’m completely transparent and honest, blogging about even the hardest times and wearing my heart on my sleeve.

Why do I write what I do?

I write because I feel compelled to do so. I have thought long and hard about this question over the last couple of weeks and the answer that keeps coming is that my biggest driver to write and share is passion.  That could be as simple as my passion for my children and their love of life and fun. Or it could be my passion that others will live a life of contentment and joy through adopting an attitude of gratitude.

Or it is sometimes about the big stuff, about my passion to see justice in the world, that we should all live a good life and that means an end to inequality and extreme poverty.

For me it leads back again to my faith and my desire to see people being real, compassionate and kind.

How does my writing process work?

I wish I could tell you I have some great set formula but I don’t. Writing for me is ad-hoc. Some posts take weeks to brew and I chew over them as I go for walks, clean the kitchen or chat to the kids. Others come to me in a flash and I sit there crying in outrage as I write them and I can’t move away from the PC until I have done my bit.

I don’t believe there is any right or wrong with this, I often have notes on my laptop and draft posts with topics and titles that I feel I want to write. Thankfully I have come to a place where I can balance real life with writing and I do not always feel compelled to get everything written in the week, or even month that the idea occurs to me. But I trust that the right posts will come out when they need to and I’m organised enough that I can meet the obligations I’ve committed to without too much stress.

I realise that in writing this I’ve not given you any great fodder for getting your own writing life organised but I hope I have reassured you that we all do it differently and your way is as good as mine, it is just different.

So who am I passing this baton onto?  Well my pick is Mari's World and I feel like I'm taking a bit of a risk here as Mari is a super busy lady being the editor of the BritMums blog but I'm pretty sure that she is at a certain point with her own blog at the moment and could do with the invitation to do a bit of navel gazing.  Not because there is anything at all wrong with her blog, quite the contrary, it is a great place to visit. I just get the gist from recent conversations that she is at a turning point.... I could be completely wrong, we will see.

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How LeapReader is helping my little Miss E

I've hinted before on the blog that Miss E finds reading incredibly hard and we have been wondering for the past few years if she has dyslexia. She is such a bright little girl and really wants to do well, learn and fit in but reading just will not click for her - d's are sounded as p's. Z's are written backwards and she tries to read right to left.

For quite some time she was so negative about her reading skills that she used to hit herself and call herself stupid and it has taken a lot of praise, reinforcement and even stern words to help her realise how clever she is and that just because she finds reading hard she is not stupid (as she suggests). It must be extra hard for her having a brother and twin sister who are both book worms and read at far beyond their years.

As a keen reader myself I do want all my children to enjoy books and of course it is a skill Miss E needs to master as best she can but I don't want it to become a chore so I have been looking for ways to make it fun for her. We did in fact find out earlier this year that Miss E does display some classic signs of dyslexia and she came up as mild risk as there are many tasks which involve fine motor skills that she excels at and this lowers her risk of dyslexia (for some reason!).

Over the last few months some of the things we have tried with Miss E that have helped have been to read together - she reads a page and then I read a page, we use a paper cut our cursor, so she just reveals one word at a time and can stay focused on that one and listening to audio books whilst following the paper version with her finger.

But the thing that seems to be making her smile, the one she is going back to time and time again and the one that made me want to cry is the LeapReader.  I better start by explaining why I wanted to cry.... as Miss E was exploring the Tangled book and playing the games after the story had been read to her, she was answering the questions with the help of the LeapReader pen and she got them all right and it congratulated and praised her and I could just tell as she turned to me with a big smile that she felt good and it had hit a chord with her that has taken me a long time to convince her of. She felt capable.

What is the LeapReader?
It is like a jumbo pen that you charge via your computer USB port and you can store audio books, trivia quizzes and music on it and is aimed at 4-8 year olds. Your child can wear headphones to listen in privacy or listen aloud but the best thing is to use the LeapReader with one of the compatible interactive books and they can decide how to listen to the story. The purple book icon reads the page to you, the yellow triangle will read the whole book and you can glide over a word for that to be read to you.  This is perfect for Miss E as she does not feel forced to read and I've watched her let the LeapReader read a page or two to her and then she will try and sound out some words and follow the written word.


The LeapReader was easy for Miss E to control herself, it took just moments to explain to her about using the home button to choose between modes and then the backward and forward button to choose what book to listen to and of course the play/ pause button too. Also being a pen like device it did not matter that Miss E is left handed and Miss M right, they could both use it with no issues.

There are literally hundreds of different downloads and books that you can purchase to use with your LeapReader and from what I understand if you had the books that worked with the older tag reader these also work with the LeapReader. The books are broken down into four series so that you can easily identify where your child is at - Get ready to read, followed by Early Reading, then Read on Your Own and Learn through Reading too.

It certainly is a system designed to help your little one learn to read (by sounding out the phonics with them), write on the special paper with mess-free ink magically appearing and develop good listening skills which also improve comprehension and imagination.

The LeapReader came with a sampler activity book which my children really enjoyed and the ability to download an audio book, music album and trivia challenge and of course the USB charging cable. The RRP is £40 but I found it for as low as £29.95 and it is available in green or lilac colour.

Setting up the LeapReader was simple. I had to charge it via the supplied cable and then install the LeapFrog connect application onto my PC or Mac, this did not take too long and it guided me through what to do. It now means I have a parent portal to be able to keep track of what progress Miss E is making and I can manage which content is current on the LeapReader and which is stored in my account.

Reviewing Tangled Interactive Book
LeapFrog have launched a book club on their Facebook page and the book of the month for August is Disney Tangled. This can be purchased for £12.99 and it is a great book, hardbacked to last and 25 pages long. The classic story is still there but it has been compacted to make it easy for the recommended 4-7 year old reading age. Although my daughters are at the oldest part of the age range it still captivated them, Miss E was nowhere near the point where she could read some of the words but Miss M could read it and enjoy it easily.

The pages are glossy and thick and feel durable and the characters look endearing and captivated my girls. It is not too samish and there is something nice to look at one every page. The text is clear and easy to read and the pages do not feel too cluttered with words, it is a good balance and I imagine if you get the book at the younger age range it will grow with your childs reading skills over the years.

On numerous pages throughout the book there are games and Miss E loved these, they were often questions which checked her comprehension of the book and at others they looked for her to use her common sense to answer a question. At the back there is a maze which times how long you took to take the right route and the twins liked to challenge each other and see who could be the fastest.

Probably the part that made Miss E laugh the most was the 'Wanted! Flynn Rider' poster. You can fill in the blanks by choosing words from a list of adjectives and then it will read it out to you and she got some really funny combinations, like Flynn's nose being green and his hair being scary. It was great to hear her laughing at something that was also helping her with her reading difficulty.

There really does seem to continually be new things to learn and explore from the book, I just figured out that if you touch the characters on the pages with the LeapReader you get to hear aloud what they are thinking, which gives a nice extra element to the story.

When you first purchase the book you will need to download the audio which accompanies it, you do this by plugging in your LeapReader to your PC and choosing the relevant book in your LeapFrog Connect application, it was easy and quick to do.

Conclusion
The girls and myself were both impressed with the LeapReader and I will definitely invest in more books. The next on the hit list is the Human Body discovery pack as the girls really enjoyed the taster page that came with their Leapreader.

Disclosure: We were sent a LeapReader and the Tangled book free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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Zizzi Bournemouth - a fabulous meal!

Earlier this week on holiday we were lucky enough to enjoy a meal at the Zizzi restaurant in Bournemouth and it was excellent. Now if you know my blog you’ll know that I do not just say that lightly or because it was a complimentary review meal, I’m not afraid to call it as it is and to tell you the good and the bad.

I’ve not been to a Zizzi before and I’m not sure why as I do generally like the chain pizza/ pasta restaurants and we visit places like Prezzo, Ask and Pizza Express fairly regularly. I’m happy to say we now have another option as I’d most definitely go to a Zizzi again, there are a few things on their menu that are just that bit different and that makes it interesting. JJ also announced that his pizza was to die for and he wants to go back and the person that really surprised me was my Dad. He is quite an old-fashioned chap and likes things to be pretty simple and as he expects and he announced that the Zizzi spaghetti bolognese was ‘out of this world’, his words, not mine. High accolade indeed.

Let me tell you a bit more about our meal -

Arrival and the Restaurant

Zizzi is easy to find on Richmond Hill and there is good visible red signage and a seating area outside for Al Fresco dining which is nice when the weather is good. On entering the restaurant it was busy at 6.15pm on a Wednesday evening and there was a nice buzz in the restaurant. Our table was reserved for 6pm and I apologised for our lateness but it did not appear to be a problem. We were given a booth that easily seated the six of us, down by the open air kitchen and the kids enjoyed watching everyone in the restaurant and seeing what the chefs were up to. The décor in the restaurant is fresh and modern and it all looks in good condition.

Service

All our service was done by Ellie and she was excellent; attentive and very friendly. Nothing seemed too much trouble for her and she offered to take a group photo for us and I saw her charging someone else’s mobile for them. All the little bits that are often missed, like changing cutlery, offering more drinks, clearing bottles and checking how your food is were done and with a big smile.

For a busy service time we probably waited the sort of time I would expect. We arrived in the restaurant at about 6.15pm and ordered our food about 6.30pm after receiving drinks and having a good look at the menus. Within 10 minutes we had the kid’s starter and garlic bread on our table and then just after 7pm our main courses arrived. We ordered dessert at 7.25pm and left the restaurant about 7.50pm, so it was only 1.5 hours for a 3 course meal at a busy time, I think that is good going Zizzi.

Adult Menu         

Being sensible we knew that we would not be able to fit everything in so we just ordered some garlic bread to start and it was a really good sized portion for £3.95.

The adult menu had a wide selection of pizza, pasta and also other main courses. Both my parents went for a pasta dish and I fancied something a bit different and had a Zizzi Spiedini, which was a Mediterranean hanging chicken and vegetable kebab. This was served with Tuscan potatoes and a lemon and white wine sauce, which was thick and creamy and I loved it. The Rigatoni Carbonara is £9.75, the spaghetti bolognese is £8.95 and the spiedini is £13.25 and I added a side of long stem broccoli to mine, which was another £3.00. These prices are pretty much on a par with similar restaurants I think.

We were all temped to have desserts after our main courses but found that actually the dessert menu did not inspire us as much as we might have liked. My Dad decided not to have anything and Mum went for a lemon meringue sundae which I was surprised about as she is not an ice cream person. I had an Espresso Affogato which is not something I’d normally choose but I often find that is when you find the best things. It was lovely to pour my hot espresso on my vanilla ice cream and enjoy it with the crushed amaretti biscuits. Desserts ranged between £4.95 to £5.95.

Bambini Kids Menu

My three children all ate from the Bambini menu, which is £6.75 for three courses and a Chocacino. The price includes carrot, cucumber and dough sticks to start and there was definitely enough vegetables but there was only one dough stick, about the size of a finger and they were all disappointed with this and felt there should have been more. So they were pleased I had ordered some garlic bread for the table as this was large enough to feed us all.

The main course was a really good size pizza or pasta portion and they all enjoyed this a lot. As part of this new menu kids can either choose up to 2 pizza toppings or you can create your own with a margherita pizza and a little pot of mini plum tomatoes, black olives and a slice of ham. The pizza was big enough for my large 10 year olds appetite which I was impressed with. He was a bit miffed though that the sausage meat was slightly spicy and the menu had not stated this, perhaps something to highlight as kids order. I also like the fact you can add green beans or long stem broccoli for an extra 50p, nice to see a restaurant offering some greens.

The dessert on offer for kids was ice cream or ice cream which seemed a bit limited. Yes the ice cream (or should I say gelato) was good and two of my kids really enjoyed the Bambini cones, where you get two small scoops of vanilla, 2 mini sugar cones and a tray of chocolate covered popping candy.

At the end the children also have a mini chocacino included but actually forgot to order these and left without them – silly us!  I’m sure they would have been very good though as my Mum had a Cappuccino and that was very good and the presentation glass was a nice touch.

Overall restaurant experience

As soon as we were seated the kids were given a children’s menu which include some room for drawing and a few fun activities to do. There was also a chef’s hat for them to decorate and stickers to do that with. Zizzi have partnered with Crayola recently and my children were impressed to be given twistable crayons to use for their colouring and fun. The children were impressed to read that their creation could be given to the restaurant and then they would be added into a monthly prize draw to win a meal and Crayola goodie bag.

We found the noise level in the restaurant to be fine and we felt happy and cosy in our booth. It was quite warm at times but the heat outside was 26 degrees so to be expected I suppose. I’m not sure there was air conditioning in the restaurant but it certainly was not too hot. The toilets are upstairs and were well presented and clean, it is always good to find cubicles that are large enough for parents to go in with their children, especially when you have twins like me.

What would I improve?

In the main we had an excellent meal and I’d happily visit again but if I could give any feedback to Zizzi as a brand it would be to ensure the kids starter had at least 2 or 3 dough sticks in it and also I’d say your dessert menus are a bit ice cream heavy. Where is the cheesecake for the adults and a different option for the children?

With regard to Bournemouth restaurant the only thing I could say was to make sure side dishes come out at the same time as main courses as my broccoli was probably about ten minutes later than my main course but I was still eating and it did not spoil my meal at all.

Thank you very much Zizzi we had a lovely time and hope to come and visit you again soon.

Disclosure: We received a complimentary meal for the purpose of writing this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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History lost - Black and white project

This is probably my favourite black and white photo that I have taken since I got my new camera at the end of last year.  This was taken at the end of January this year after meeting the lovely Anya in Eastbourne. We'd had coffee and a great chin wag and then I walked back to my car in the rain and enjoyed looking at the stormy sky and the pier for a while, before the departure back to real life and the school pick-up.

Eastbourne pier means a lot to me, it holds a very special place in my heart as it is where dh and I shared our first kiss. Back in December 1994 I worked as a trainee manager for Friendly hotels and my placement was at their head office in London. As the office would be close for Christmas I was shipped off to the hotel in Eastbourne to work the season as trainee managers were not allowed Christmas off. It is funny to look back now, as I remember crying about having to go to Eastbourne, my thoughts at the time were that it would be an awful place full of old people.

The first person I met when I walked into the Mansion hotel was my dh to be. I didn't think much of him if I'm honest, he was the assistant manager and he had heard about me before I arrived from other trainee manager friends of mine. We obviously worked together for a while and got to know each other a bit and I remember one particular night when we both drunk our body weight in red wine and fell asleep in the public lounge but it was not until 28th December 1994 that we actually got together. In fact until that night I had no idea I had any interest in him. 

After finishing work a group of us were heading to the nightclub on the pier (Odyssey I think it was called back then) and it was a rainy and windy night. Being a 21 year old girl I wanted to look my best so I had my umbrella to protect my hairdo and dh warned me to take it down on the pier as it was too windy. Not to be deterred we started to walk towards the club and the wind combined with a wet wood floor meant that I landed on my bum and he picked me up.

Later that night in the club a creepy guy was trying to dance with me and again dh rescued me and we danced and kissed. There followed some interesting and stormy years getting to know each other and forging a relationship.  In 2002, after 8 years together we finally felt ready to be married and here we are three children and nearly 20 years after first meeting.

A few days ago when I was on holiday I was super sad to hear that part of Eastbourne Pier has burned down. We now live about 15 miles from Eastbourne and visit fairly regularly and it still holds really special memories for me, I pray it gets rebuilt and history restored.

Here is a picture taken by my husband yesterday where you can see the first part of the pier (closest to the beach) and all that is left is the iron structure, it used to be a white wooden cuildng iek the others on the pier.

I'm linking up with Charly over at PODcast for her Black & White project

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Genuinely I love my Karcher Electric Broom (Review)

I've had a few Karcher toys to play with and test out so far in my role as a Karcher Clean Ambassador. First there was the Steam Cleaner which I really love and use every week, then I had the K4 compact pressure washer which worked a treat and my Mum & Dad currently have this to give their patio a good blast. My last item to try out was the WV60 Window Vac which I have to be honest and say has not been the most used of my toys, it comes out mostly to suck up spills, it is super good at that!

I was given a choice of what to review this last month and none of them excited me, a hose for a garden I do not own, a hard floor cleaner which I don't need or an electric broom. I opted for the broom and hoped for the best and boy did I come up trumps.  This has to be my favourite Karcher Product yet, even better than the steam cleaner.

The boom arrived in pieces and was really intuitive to put together, I didn't even look at the instructions and got it right first time!

Take a look at my short video and I'll show you the broom and how it works and wait for the end, I'm sure you'll be amazed to see how well it picks up.



The Karcher K65 electric broom retails for £75.00 and is available on Amazon. It comes with the charger for the removable battery and 2 separate brush heads, as well as a wall mounting kit.

I have found it to be excellent and am super pleased to have it as part of my regular cleaning kit. It is more efficient than my vacuum cleaner (I kid you not) and it means no more carrying a heavy appliance up the stairs to the bedrooms.

Disclosure: As part of the Karcher Clean Ambassador program I have given products to trial and review. I'm not instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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