Friday 31 January 2014

It's a Lego Arrest

Now my girls are huge fans of playing with dolls but they also love playing and building things with Mega Bloks and Lego too so when we had the chance to join in with a competition from Carcraft that involved Lego the girls were keen to join in.

All they had to do was pick which Lego set they wanted and when it arrived the idea was to create an action scene.

The girls chose the high speed police chase Lego set, I think partly because their Grandpa and Auntie are both police men/women.


Miracle Box Parent Organiser Giveaway

I think as a parent we come to learn that when we go out, we end up needing to take everything except the kitchen sink with us.

The Miracle Box has come up with a product to help us parents get a bit more organised with our belongings when out and about.

The buggy parent organiser simply attaches to your pram, buggy ot stroller using strong velcro straps. It contains three compartments, perfect for holding those much needed essentials. Inside there is a thermal bottle pocket, a mesh pocket to hold your phone and even internal zip pockets to pop your money and keys in.

miracle box parent organiser


Thursday 30 January 2014

Fruit Loaf Recipe

Recently I have been putting up a lot of dinner recipes so I thought I would change it up a bit with a sort of cake recipe. Last week was my mums birthday and one of her favourite things to eat is fruit loaf, this is something that I have never made before but I thought I would give it a go. A nice easy recipe to follow.

Ingredients

* 225g Self Raising Flour
* 110g Castor Sugar
* 110g Butter
* 1 Egg
* 225g Dried Fruit (I used a mix of dried fruit and nuts)
* 8 - 10 Tbsps of Milk

Preparation

* Preheat the oven to 180degrees.

* Rub the butter into the self raising flour until it looks like breadcrumbs, I do this whilst saying, "up tickle tickle".

* Add in the sugar and dried fruit and mix.

* Stir in the egg and at the milk until it reaches a dropping consistency.


Wednesday 29 January 2014

Getting Personal Review

February is fast approaching and with it comes Valentine's day. This is a day that I have come not to expect anything from Daddy Hazelden, not the most romantic person and he certainly isn't good with dates. However I always like to buy him a little something to let him know that even after another year of listening to him snore, I really do still love him loads. The trouble I have is what to buy the fussiest person who seems to have everything already?? This is where Getting Personal kindly stepped in to help.

Getting Personal is a company that was created in 2005, starting by selling personalised calendars. Over the years they have extended their range and they continue to stock unique and personal gifts that you just can't find on the high street.

I had a good look through their Valentine's range, the choice was immense, from personalised mix tapes, to posters, jewellery and even naming a star. I decided the best way to my man's heart was through his stomach ;)

getting personal

My packages arrived quickly and well packaged. Inside the parcels were a personalised bottle of wine, a chocolate pizza and a Valentine's kit for making my own Valentine's cards.

Snugiwraps Deluxe Mei Tai Review

Since having Layla, I've become a huge fan of babywearing. I wish I had done it with my other children, not only does it mean you get the best cuddles with your little one, it also leaves your hands free to get on with all those day to day tasks.

The lovely Steph at Snugiwraps recently asked if I would like to review one of her carriers. You all know I'm a pushchair addict, well I'm a sling/carrier addict too, always looking for which one to buy, so I of course jumped at the chance to try out a new carrier.

Snugiwraps stock and create a variety of baby carriers including stretchy wraps and buckle carriers, I opted to review one of their deluxe mei tais.

snugiwraps deluxe mei tai

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Toddlerhood Is Looming

Today Layla turned 18 months old, she is stuck inbetween the realm of baby and toddler, perhaps a boddler?? Growing way too fast, I have those terrible two's to look foward to in the not so distant future.

The past few months seem to have flown by in a massive whirlwind. Layla has definitely been the most "difficult" shall we say, leaving a mess of toys as she passes by you. She is one cheeky little monkey that can do no wrong her sisters eyes, I end up being the one told off if I try and tell her not to do something. She bit Gracie the other day, extremely naughty but Freya and Elise could be heard saying it wasn't her fault, she doesn't know any better, mmmmm.

Her favourite words of recent days have been no and when she is naughty she will come up to you and say aaawwww, her little way of saying sorry. Oh and everyone is called Freya, doesn't matter who you are or whether you are a girl or a boy, your name will be Freya.

She may be little but she has the biggest smile and she manages to entertain us at all times with her unique personality. A little dare devil who fears nothing.

I've been looking back through all of the photos on my phone and I can't get over just how much she has changed in such a small space of time. The only thing that hasn't really changed is the amount of hair on her head


Monday 27 January 2014

Time to Dust Off The Bike

So far this year I have been extremely rubbish when it comes to losing weight and getting fit, this is why I didn't set a new years resolution as such because I knew I would end up failing. However I did set the goal to learn to love myself and I think I would like myself a lot more if I was just a tad fitter.

One thing that a lot of people have recommended to me to try is cycling, apparently you can burn up to 600 calories in an hour doing it, so I can see why people like using cycling as a form of exercise. The trouble is, is that I have never been super confident when it comes to cycling, falling of my bike one too many times when I was younger definitely knocked my confidence.

You may remember reading a post of mine that I wrote a while back when I talked about my eldest daughter wanting to learn to ride a bike and the safety elements involved when it comes to cycling. And of course being safe doesn't just apply to children, it applies to adults too.

Read With Me #4

Week four of Read With Me has arrived, so pleased to see more of you linking up last week. I enjoyed reading through your posts and added some books to my reading list.

Last week I managed to read another three books. The first two were Falling Into You and Falling Into Forever by Lauren Abrams. Both great books but I decided on another book to review this week.

I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of The Souls of Rain by the author Diana Nixon to review.

This book is the first in the 'Heavens trilogy'.

Guardian angels are put on earth to protect humans from the devils that want to entice them into doing things that will lead them into hell.

Claire is one of those guardian angels, infact she is one of the best. Some what perfect at what she does, she has never wanted her life to be any different.

Her latest human that she needs to guard, Alan is someone who we come to find out has been through a lot in recent years, Claire knows that he has a good soul, it has just been buried under a party boy persona. However she didn't know just how hard it would be to not only protect him but to protect herself.

Be Happy

It's a good day to be happy.

Happy girls are the prettiest!!

Saturday 25 January 2014

Project 365 Days 19 - 25

Can you believe that nearly a whole month has already flown by. Here is this weeks project365 update.

Day 19

My kids adore food, I think their body clocks revolve around meal times, so of course snack time is a must in the Hazelden household.

Friday 24 January 2014

What If I Was Rich??

I'm sure I'm not the only one who sits there and dreams about what it would be like to have lots of money. Every week I play the lottery, I'm not one of these people that picks the same numbers every week, I opt for the lucky dip option but so far when I've been waiting for those lottery results, the "lucky" part of the dip hasn't worked for me.

I often think about I would buy if I was rich, the things on my list aren't really that extravagant but they would provide a comfortable and happy life for my family.

1. House

I've always imagined my perfect house. 6 bedrooms, one for me and Daddy Hazelden to share, one for each of the girls and a spare room that I would change into a play room. I have always wanted a kitchen big enough to have an island in the middle, a place where everyone can "hang out" whilst I cook and top of my list would have to be a large garden, plenty of outdoor space for the kids to run around and of course there needs to be room for a large trampoline!!! I guess overall I want a real family home where everyone feels welcome.

2. Trip to Disney World

My family and I love going on holiday together. Our most recent trip to Ibiza was the best yet. However both my husband and I would love to be able to take our daughter's to Disney World, I mean come on who doesn't love Disney. My own dad always promised me when I was younger and it never happened so I would to make my own dream come true as well making my own kids extremely happy.

3. A Car For Me

With Daddy Hazelden working away a lot, it means he needs the car but sadly we can't afford to run two cars, this leaves me having to rely on other people to take me places when needed. I personally hate driving the car that we have, we need a big car to fit all of us in but I feel overwhelmed by it. I just want a little run around and it would be even better if it was purple!!!

Celebrate Good Times

After Christmas, my bank balance is always left feeling more than a bit poorly but unfortunately it doesn't have time to recover because January, February and March are filled will lots and lots of family and friends birthdays.

This week is always one of my favourites though, even if it does prove expensive, as it is time for my mum, Freya and I to become another year older, even if I do wish that I could stay forever 21 ;)

So my word of the week is Celebrate.

Thursday 23 January 2014

Slow Cooked Lasagne Recipe

One of my favourite dinners of all times has to be Lasagne however I have never made one myself, either my mum has cooked me one, I've eaten one when at a restaurant or I've bought a ready made one from the supermarket, so this week I decided to bite the bullet and see if I could cook one all by myself. And as an added twist I cooked it in my trusty slow cooker.

Ingredients

* 750g Fresh Beef Mince
* 1 Large Onion
* 1 Courgette
* Box of Lasagne Pasta Sheets
* 2 Jars of sauce, one red, one white (ok I admit I cheated and didn't do it all from scratch)
* Mixed Herbs
* Cheese for grating on top

Preparation

* Dice the onion and cut the courgette into small chunks.

* Fry the onion for 2-3 minutes.

* Add the mince to brown it off.

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Weekend Box Review

I don't know about you but there are definitely times when I struggle to think of things to with my children, especially when the weather is cold, wet and windy and your stuck indoors. We always end up doing the same things, watching a DVD, baking cakes. Don't get me wrong, we always have fun but sometimes it is nice to find other activities to do and that is where Weekend Box can help.

Weekend Box is a new company that deliver activities for 3-8 year olds right through your door. Each box contains something to eat, something to make, something to explore and something green. And because they fit straight through the letterbox, you don't have to worry about being in for delivery.

weekend box

Tuesday 21 January 2014

Magic Painting

Whilst Layla was napping yesterday afternoon, Gracie and I decide to a little bit of magic painting.

You will need :

* white paper
* white crayon/pencil
* paint, peferably water colours but we used acrylic diluted with water
* paint brush

magic painting materials

Monday 20 January 2014

Read With Me #3

Welcome to week 3 of my 'Read With Me' linky. I have found myself really enjoying the time I've made for reading, even if it has only been in 5 minute blocks sometimes. This week I managed to read not one, not two but three books, admittedly one of the books was only 29 pages long but it still counts.!!

Next on my list of books to read was the breach series written by K I Lynn,

This book follows two characters, Delilah Palmer and Nathan Thorne.

When I began reading Breach, I thought it would be about an office romance but I soon found out that it would be so much more.

Both Lila (her nickname) and Nathan are "damaged", having been through horrible things in their past.

Lila is a woman who has no self worth, forever put down when she was younger, she hides behind this confident mask.

Nathan is somewhat of a mystery he has both scars on the outside and on the inside however where these scars came from, we don't know.

Saturday 18 January 2014

Project 365 Days 12 - 18

I have to admit I am quite impressed with myself for keeping up with this challenge. So I've made it to week three, here we have some more weird and wonderful photos of my children.

Day 12

The girls were all kept entertained by the electrokit they had been sent and as you can see, they managed to get the lightbulb to light up.


Day 13

Layla has a new obssession with her sisters boots, Elise has already grown tired of mummy stalking her with camera, this day she was "bowl face". Gracie some how ended up with boots fingers? Whilst Freya was concentrating on some programme, I'm not down with the kids enough to know what it was called.

Friday 17 January 2014

How to Make Car Journeys Entertaining For Children

During the Christmas period a lot of you may have come across the challenge of how to keep your children occupied throughout a long car journey. I myself have problems sometimes keeping my kids entertained however there are ways to keep them busy. Here are 5 top tips :

Take different snacks for your little ones to eat.

Always think about what type of snacks you are providing them with though. Fruits and things like chunks of cheese are always good as I think it is a good idea to avoid any sugar rushes. I find water and squash are always better than fizzy drinks too. Another good way to keep those little hands busy is to give them their own snack boxes and drink bottles.

Think about a few games that they will enjoy.

Of course there are many different car games to choose from and many of them will be well known to you as I'm sure like me, you played them as a child too. My favourites have to be I-spy and spot the red car. Another good choice is the grocery game, this is a memory game where the objective for the players is to memorise what they want to buy at the supermarket. 

Sing along to music or read a story

I've always found a good distraction for my children is either putting the radio on or popping in their favourite CD and singing loud and proud, of course you can have a good wiggle in your seat too. Another great alternative is putting on an audiobook.  If your children are older, they may want to listen to something on theur own MP3 player.

Good Night Anti-Snoring Ring Giveaway

I don't know about you but I have had many a restless night because of my husbands snoring, it not only leaves me tired but has caused arguments between us in the past too, does this sound like a familiar scenario in your house?

Well the Good Night Anti-Snoring Ring might just be answer to your problems. A simple ring that you wear on your little finger whilst asleep in bed at night. Available in 3 different adjustable sizes, it uses accupressure, applying light pressure to two different specific points on the finger.

Tried and tested in a successful clinical trial, it doesn't use any type of drugs and leaves no side effects, meaning both a natural and non-invasive way to help stop/reduce the sound of snoring.

goodnight anti-snoring ring
Now do you fancy getting a great night sleep?

Want to wake up feeling refreshed?

Well you are in luck because the lovely people at Good Night Anti-Snoring Ring have allowed to give away not one, not two but three of the anti-snoring rings.

To be in with a chance of winning one of three anti-snoring rings just fill in the rafflecopter form below.

Thursday 16 January 2014

Chicken and Chorizo Stew Recipe

One of the reasons I love my slow cooker, is because I have something cooking at the start of the day and leave it to bubble away until we are ready to eat late. Another advantage is that we can all eat the same meal at different times of the day. This week I decided to make chicken and chorizo stew, I made that much that there was even some leftover for freezing

Ingredients

* 3 Chicken Breasts
* 200g Chorizo
* Tin of mixed beans (we had mexican ones for an added kick)
* 1 Large Onion
* 3 Carrots
* 2 Medium Potatoes
* Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
* 500ml Chicken Stock
* 1 Tbsp Tomato Puree
* 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

Preparation

* Dice the onion, cut the carrots into thick slices and cut the potatoes into small chunks, lay these on the bottom of the slow cooker

* Place the mixed beans over the top of the carrots, onions and potatoes.

* Cut the chorizo into small pieces.

* Put the chicken breasts and chorizo on top of what is already in the slow cooker.

* Mix the paprika and tomato puree into the chicken stock.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Sugar and Crumbs Review

You must know by now that my kids and I love nothing more than to do a spot of baking. I am in no way a professional, I mean the finished product is never anything fancy but they do always taste delicious. Recently I was given the chance to review some scrummy cocoa powder and icing sugar from a new company, Sugar and Crumbs and when I saw the flavours that they had available, my mouth was already watering before I had had the chance to taste any.

Sugar and Crumbs is a family run business which is run in the UK, always nice to support our own countries businesses!! Their range includes 24 different flavour icing sugars, 5 different flavour cocoa powders and they also sell coloured sugar paste.

My goodies arrived in a  lovely Sugar and Crumbs bag which is now in my changing bag, saves using carrier bags.


In the bag was 3 different icing sugars and one sample bag of cocoa powder as well as recipe sheets for making a basic cake and butter icing.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Jar of Words

One of my goals for this year is to spend more time with my children and if you read my post last week about my word of the week, you will know that I am keen to create more lasting memories with my children.

I took on the challenge at the begininning of the year to join in with project 365, taking a picture every day of the year, well actually I am taking atleast one as I am trying to get images of all my children each day. The trouble is that a photo can only capture so much and I think sometimes words can mean more.

Just before new year, an image popped up on Facebook, it basically said to write down something that happens each day, whether it be something funny said, an achievement made, whatver you like. Once you have written it down, fold it up and pop it in a jar.

So I decided to take on this challenge too. I mean with photos to look and words to read surely my poor not working brain will be able to remember atleast some of what we have done by the time the year ends.

I have a pad of paper and a pen in my bedroom and at the end of the day I sit and think about what has gone on and what stood out in the day for me. I write the date on each one so I can remember exactly when the moment occurred.

Monday 13 January 2014

Read With Me #2

Welcome to week 2 of Read With Me. I was pleased to see a couple of you linking up with me last week, I have now added those book suggestions to my "to read" list.

If you are new to this linky, first of all let me say hello and thanks for popping by.

Secondly please do have a read here about what this linky is all about and why I started it.

So last week I read the book 'Running Barefoot' written by Amy Harmon.

Having read one of her books previously, I was expecting good things and she didn't disappoint.

The story follows Josie Jensen who at the age of 9 lost her mother and ends up growing up very fast, looking after both her brothers and her father, she becomes more like and adult than a child.

Along her journey she we find out that she is musically gifted, playing piano, a truely clever young girl.

Saturday 11 January 2014

Project 365 Days 5 - 11

Week 2 of project 365 and the picture taking is going well, ok I know 11 days doesn't seem like that long but with a memory like mine (permanent baby brain), it becomes hard remembering tasks which I need to do each day.

Day 5

Sunday is lazy day in the Hazelden household so Pjs are normally still on come dinner time. Gracie was playing on the pooh bear toy that we found in the loft that day, Elise was concentrating on that all important TV programme and Freya was teaching Layla all about the potty.


Friday 10 January 2014

Lasting Memories

Last week I joined in with a new linky from The Reading Residence called 'Word of the Week'. I really enjoyed writing the post as it gave me a chance to really sit back, think and reflect on the week that had just gone instead of just letting it pass by so I've decided to join in again.

My word for this week is :


On Tuesday Daddy Hazelden and I attended the funeral of Nan Russ (my husband's nan). Although a sad occasion, it gave us a chance to look back on her life and the memories she had created along the way. There were lots of photos documenting just what she had done when she was alive, amazing to see the timeline from baby right up to adulthood. 

Thursday 9 January 2014

Turkey Stir Fry Recipe

Now I'm back into the swing of cooking again, I am also trying to stick to healthier foods to eat too. The trouble comes in convincing my daughter's that we don't need to have chips with every meal!!

This week I opted to make a turkey stir fry, quick and easy to do and includes lots of fresh vegetables as well. The recipe below serves 6 people.

Ingredients 

* 3 x Carrots
* 1 x Large Red Onion
* 1 x Pepper
* 1/3 Red Cabbage
* 1/2 Tin of Sweetcorn
* Packet of Mange Tout
* 500g Diced Turkey


Wednesday 8 January 2014

Just So Cute Cute

My daughter's are all extremely girly, they love to dress up, have their nails painted and have their hair styled. Even little Layla has started to wear headbands, I'm hoping this will stop the random strangers commenting on how lovely "he" is, I know she doesn't have much hair but she is a girl, honest!!

I was recently sent a headband from Cute Cute Boutique to review. Cute Cute is a site created by the lovely Magda, she provides a beautiful selection of clothes and accessories for both boys and girls including bowties and even photo props.

It was sort of a surprise because although I knew I would be receiving a headband, I didn't know what it would look like. Arriving wrapped up securely in tissue paper complete with Cute Cute sticker, I was excited to see what the package contained.

cute cute boutique headband

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Disney's Frozen Made Me Cry

On Saturday Layla got a rare afternoon with Daddy Hazelden and I treated my eldest three daughter's to a trip to the cinema to watch Disney's latest film Frozen, ok I admit it was a treat for me too because I love love love Disney films.


Good old Dover cinema is always a bargain day out, it cost me a tiny £13 for all us to watch the film, the nice man was kind enough to let Gracie go for free, it was that butter wouldn't melt look that did it!! I mean just look at these faces :


I had heard so many good things about this film and being made by the same people that produced Tangled (which is also amazing), I was eager to see if it lived up to the hype.

Monday 6 January 2014

Read With Me #1

You may have noticed yesterday that a new tab appeared on my blog titled Read With Me. The idea behind this is that I have challenged myself to read atleast one book a week.

I tried last year but I never kept a note of what I have read and I found myself starting to read books which I had previously read earlier in the year.

This year I have decided that I would like to keep a record of the books that I have read and completed and along with that I thought I would have a go at my first linky, a way for others to get involved, so that we can recommend books to each other and keep us interested throughout the year.

Joining in couldn't be easier.

I will post a new linky up every Monday, you can then link up with a post from your blog. The post can be new or old, about a book that you are currently reading or perhaps a book that you have previously read and would recommend other people should read.

You can display my badge on your post, not something you have to do but would be really appreciated if you did.

And then it would be super nice if you could visit and comment on a couple of other posts that have linked up.

Saturday 4 January 2014

Project 365 - Days 1 - 4

One of my goals for this year was to take more pictures of my children so I chose to join in with The Boy and Me's Project365, the idea is simple, take one picture each day. Now because I want to get pictures of all my children, some days have up to 4 pictures built into 1 collage.

I am going to put a post up every Saturday, I think it will be a great way to keep some memories, whether it be days out to remember, special milestones or just seeing how my kids grow over the year.

Day 1

New years day, the beginning of 2014 started with a bit of gluing, sticking, writing and of course a bit of baby yoga.



Day 2

Daddy decided it would be a good idea to start the girls on his addiction, the Xbox, I had to laugh when they beat him on Mortal Kombat. And whilst this was going on Layla and Gracie were partaking in bit of sisterly love.

Friday 3 January 2014

I Am Thankful

This year I am hoping to write less reviews and write more personal posts but sometimes I struggle to find ideas of things to post, I suppose you would call it a form of writers block.

I've noticed two new linkys appearing this week in the blogging world and they have both prompted me to write this post.

The first linky is from The Reading Residence and is called word of the week, basically allowing you to sum up your week in one word.

The second linky is from Adventures Of a Monkey Footed Mum and it is called Thankful, I like the idea of this as I can sit down and really think about what I am lucky to have in my life.

This week I thought I would combine the two linkys, so my word of the week is thankful.


So what am I thankful for this week……

Thursday 2 January 2014

Who needs Mcdonalds...

Well it has been a busy few days, what with Christmas and New Year and there seems to have been a lack of cooking going on!! So today we decided it was indeed time to do away with the Christmas leftovers and make something yummy from scratch. 

We all decided on beef burgers, something simple that the girls could help me make and a much better alternative to Mcdonalds.

Ingredients

* 500 - 750g of fresh beef mince, depending on how many burgers you are wanting to make, I find the lean mince is better.
* tomato ketchup
* seasoning
* Bread rolls

Preparation

* Break the mince up into a large bowl.

* Pour in around 2 tbsps of tomato ketchup and pinch of salt and pepper.

* Knead the ingredients together.

Wednesday 1 January 2014