Easy Peasy HomeMade Chocolate Scented Moon Sand

Ok so you've probably seen the craze for the slime that you can make at home, well I tried it and I'll be honest it was a disaster, not sure what I did wrong but all I can say is what a mess. So instead of trying again I decided to test out something less messy, and that was moon sand.

This easy peasy homemade moon sand, only takes 3 ingredients (well 2 if you leave out the cocoa) and honestly you can't go wrong when making it.

Too Many Kids Not Enough Time

I chose to have four children and if I am honest, if the husband hadn't gone and had the snip I would have liked to have had two more. What can I say, I love babies and kids, I've mentioned in previous posts how I feel like I was born to be a mum.

However there are days where I feel like there isn't enough time in the day, as though I don't have the chance to spend quality time with each of my kids and I think they feel the same if their attitudes are anything to go by.

The Dreamsnatcher Book Review

My daughter and I are very much alike when it comes to reading, we love books and even better when we get to discover new authors. We were recently chosen to read and review Abi Elphinstone's debut book, The Dreamsnatcher, we couldn't wait to get stuck in…

Moll Oecksniff wakes one night in the middle of the forest, lured there by a recurring nightmare - the one with the drums and the rattles and the masks. The Dreamsnatcher is waiting…

Because Moll is more important than she knows. The Oracle Bones foretold that she and Gryff, a wildcat who's always been by her side, are the only ones who can fight back against the Dreamsnatcher's dark sorcery. Suddenly everything is at stake, and Moll finds herself drawn into a world of secrets, magic and adventure.

Right from the prologue, the book introduces mystery, drama and intrigue. Just who are these cloaked figures?

The Adventures of The Cuddle Pirate Book Review

Books are good for not only letting your kids imaginations run wild but also for teaching them things. Kelly Elsworthy has released a series of books aimed to help children learn about healthy eating, the difference between things like and fruit and vegetables and sugary junk foods.

The Cuddle Pirate and his crew go on many exciting adventures on both land and sea. They love to eat healthy food and every time little boys and girls eat all their healthy food, he and his crew visit them for adventures. His adversary, the central villain of the series is known as the Sugar Shark. He and his gang only eat unhealthy foods such as chocolate, sugar nd fizzy drinks and are always trying to spoil the Cuddle Pirate's adventures.

Winter Wonderland Book Review

Another season is looming, Winter.

Some people see cold, dark and grey, whilst others see the possiblities of snuggles under blankets, hot chocolates all round and of course Christmas.

I was recently sent the book Winter Wonderland that contains 10 adorable animal stories.

One frosty Winter, a bear cub gets ready for the long hibernation, a puppy takes his first walk in the snow and a lamb catches a glimpse of Father Christmas… 

Written by some delightful authors including Holly Webb, Linda Chapman, Anna Wilson and Tracey Corderoy, these stories really get the imaginations flowing.

5 Reasons I Hate My Kids Going Back To School

I know many parents who are all ready to celebrate when the end of the school holidays get closer.
Getting excited to have some peace and quiet, less noise from those bickering children. Time to pop the kettle on and finally catch up on the back log of missed TV programmes, jeremy kyle here we come.

I personally dread the children not being at home all of the time and not just because I miss having them around.

Here are just 5 reasons why I hate my kids going back to school.

Early wake up calls should be banned!!

Gone are those extra minutes in bed, no more getting ready at your leasure.

The evil alarm which wakes you up at some horrid hour before the sun has even managed to rise is back. This is not the way I wish to be woken up!!

I'd say thank god for the snooze button but I can't tell you how many times I've been late because I've gone back to sleep thinking I have hit snooze when in fact the alarm has been turned off completely.

Hello morning rush.

What To Watch On POP

Having four children of different ages can become difficult when it comes to deciding what to watch on the television. Each child has their favourite programmes and not all channels show tv shows that are suitable for them all to watch together. I was recently asked if my kids would like to watch a DVD containing some of the programmes that are shown on the channel POP.

POP is a high energy children's channel which is primarily aimed at children between the ages of 4 and 9 years old. It can be found on Sky channel 616, Freesat channel 60 and Freeview channel 75. It is actually the first channel to be added to the Freeview children's portfolio in eight years!!

We received two DVDs, each containing episodes of four different programmes.

Disc 1
Oh no! Its and alien invasion
Art Zoopla
Eliot Kid
Littlest Petshop

Disc 2
Finding stuff out
Sally bollywood
Totally spies
Transformers - rescue bots
Yu-Gi-Oh! zexa!

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.

Parragon Five Little Monkeys & Christmas Cookie Review

A while back I was very lucky to be sent a lovely bundle of books from Parragon. The girls and I really loved all of them so when I was offered the chance to review a couple more books from their ranges I was more than happy to accept.

With Christmas coming up fast, I have actually been on the look out for books suitable to give as presents to not only the girls but other family members too, Parragon must have sensed what I was thinking because I received two wonderful books, Five Little Monkeys which is perfect for Layla and a Christmas Cookie Stamp Set, ideal for all my little bakers.

So lets start with Five Little Monkeys. This lovely book is part of Parragons Little Learners collection, suitable for little ones aged 6 months and onwards. Coming in board book form, it measures roughly 12 x 12cm, which is an ideal size for little hands to grab hold of.

It is beautifully illustrated with gorgeous images and the font is written nice and clearly, my 5 year old took great pride in reading this book to her younger sisters.

The book itself contains 12 pages, not too long, so no time to get bored. With a peephole in the centre of the book, there is a cute little monkey puppet which you can move around as you sing along to the classic nursery rhyme five little monkeys. 

Fun and entertaining, it teaches hand eye coordination as well as the joys of interactive play. The size of the book makes it ideal to pop into your changing bag, ready for play time on the go. 

Priced at £3.99, I think this book would also make a perfect present or perhaps because of its size a stocking filler. There are other books in this series to choose from including incy wincy spider and this little piggy, I think I may have to invest in all of them!!

                                                                                                                                                                      

The second book I was sent was Christmas Cookie Stamp Set, part of Parragons Love Food range. I immediately loved this book before I had even opened it because I love love love Christmas.

Included in the set is a recipe book and an alphabet stamp which enables you to personalise your cookies. Of course to be able to review the set properly we had to make some cookies, such hardship.

Inside the book are 27 different recipes to choose from. The cookies which are suitable to be personalised have a 'Stamp Me' stamp marking the corner of the page. We decided to bake the Santa Sugar Cookies.

The recipes are extremely easy to follow, broken down into simple sections, the girls had lots of fun mixing up the ingredients.

The alphabet stamp is also easy to use. You cut the letters out and place them in the stamper, creating whatever words/message you wish to have written on your cookies. In the recipe book it instructs you on exactly how to go about stamping your cookies. We decided seen as it is the season to write Merry Xmas.

As you can see from the picture above, the letters cam out nice and clear and remain that way even after the cookies are baked.

Priced at £16, I really love this set as the recipe book, although for Christmas can be adpated to be used all year round and the alphabet stamp itself can be used to write whatever you want, making lovely personalised gifts for people, not only at Christmas but for any occasion including valentines day, easter etc.

Overall I am more than pleased with both books, the same great quality from all other Parragon books that I have read and used, I wouldn't hesistate in recommending them to others.

xxxx

Disclaimer : These books were sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Usquibble Review

With four girls I have a lot of clothes to buy and I do like them to wear things a bit different to the norm.

I was recently contacted by Usquibble, now this company not only produce some funky t-shirts, they themselves are also a bit different to most other companies.

This company was created from one simple idea, encourage kids to support other kids from around the world who are more vulnerable than them.I really love this idea, a simple concept but with a big outcome.

Now this isn't the only thing that makes Usquibble stand out, oh no, what they do is really lovely, your children are encouraged to get involved by joining in competitions held by Usquibble, your kids get the chance to create their own designs and then of course if they win, seeing these designs come to life on the t-shirts sold by Usquibble.

I was kindly sent two t-shirts, one for Gracie and one for Freya.

Your t-shirts come packaged in recycled or eco friendly materials.

What I really loved was that they sent the girsl their t-shirts in separate packages so that they each got the enjoyment of unwrapping them.

Each package included :

* a t-shirt
* a letter thanking them for their purchase
* a tee template so that they could get creative

The letter was a wonderful personal touch and again really includes your child in the whole process and helps them understand exactly what they have done to help when buying the t-shirt.

The t-shirts themselves are available in sizes 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8. Each t-shirt is made from 100% certified organic fabrics and water based inks. The girls loved them, vibrant colours that are suitable for both boys and girls. The material is super soft and they fit beautifully.

Atleast 25% of the profits of each t-shirt sold will be donated to charities which support children who are less fortunated around the world. It means that by purchasing just one t-shirt, you are helping to support a child in Africa for five whole days, providing them with basic things like food, shelter and education.

I have nothing but positive things to say about Usquibble and their t-shirts. Not only do the t-shirts look fantastic, you are you doing your bit for the environment when purchasing them and giving back as well. The t-shirts are price at £16.99 each, maybe a bit more expensive than most t-shirts but just remember, you won't find these t-shirts anywhere else and also remember just where the profits are going to.

Gracie has been very busy designing her own t-shirt ready for when the next competition opens up!!! You can follow Usquibble on facebook and twitter so you know just when their competitions are coming up.

So what design would your child create for their own t-shirt??

xxxx

Disclaimer : These t-shirts were sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Parragon book Reviews

You read the title right reviews not review. I was contacted by the lovely people at Parragon to see if I would like to review one of their books, I was only expecting one book, so imagine my surprise when a package turned containing not one but four books in it, so I thought I would put all four reviews in one post.

I can't tell you how grateful I was to receive four books to review. It meant that there was one for each of my daughter's to have a look at, no arguing for once.

Parragon is a publishing company that started in the lated 1980's. Although now based in Bath UK,  they have regional offices all over the world. Their main publishing areas are cook books, adult non-fiction, children's books and licenced character books.

The four books we were sent were :

* Goodnight Little One by Margaret Wise Brown

* Peek-a-boo Rainbow which is part of their Little Learners collection

* Pinkabella's sticker activity book

* The Ladies Book of Baking which is part of their Love Food collection.

It was decided that Peek-a-boo rainbow would be Layla's, Goodnight Little One would be Freya's, Pinkabella's sticker activity book would be Gracie's and The Ladies Book of Baking would be Elise's, although they were also told that they had to share their books with their sister's, not that Layla really understood that part, the art of sharing is something she is yet to learn but you are never too young to start learning!!

Layla loved Peek-a-boo Rainbow immediately. It is a gorgeous little book that in my opinion is great for babies and toddlers.

For babies, it is colourful, full of fantastic little pictures, from ladybirds to caterpillars, it really is eye catching.

I especially love that at the top of the book there is what I would describe as a handle. This is very handy for small hands to be able to carry their book around with them.

It can be a great learning tool for toddlers too. Each page gives you a different colour of the rainbow, this means your little ones can slowly learn their colours.

With pictures on each page, you can ask your child what they are looking at, what colour a certain object is, how many of something can they see.

Then there is the added peek-a-boo hole. What can they spy through the hole? There are so many things to keep your little ones interested and best of all you can ask them different questions each time you read the book, keeping it fresh and exciting. Very simple but cleverly put together. This book works well for when your child wants to sit and do something by themselves but it also a lovely book that you can sit and enjoy together.

Gracie like many other children, is a huge fan of stickers. I find them stuck to random places around the house all of the time!!

So Pinkabella's sticker activity book was a perfect fit for her. With 250 stickers inside, this book kept her occupied for hours.

Being pink it was a lovely and girly. I was able to sit down with Gracie and help understand where she needed to place certain stickers. The stickers came in all shapes and sizes and were very easy get out.

I was pleased to see that this wasn't just a sticker book, there were other activities inside to keep Gracie entertained. There were puzzles and pictures to colour.

Her older sister's actually took the time to sit down with her and help her complete the activities, Freya even wrote Gracie's name at the beginning of the book so that everyone knew that it was hers.

Just like Peek-a-boo Rainbow, there was a little handle at the top of the book, Gracie took great pleasure in carrying her book to Nannie's house, gave her a little bit of independence looking after something. Once the book had been completed, there were still stickers left, so the fun didn't stop there. We got lots of paper out so that they could create some pictures of their own with the remaining stickers. Parragon have a lot of other sticker, colouring and activity books to choose from, I think these books would make great Christmas presents.

Freya picked Goodnight Little One by Margaret Wise Brown to be hers.

My little girl is apparently all grown up and since starting school last September, can read most words all by herself so she took herself off to read it by herself.

I finally managed to pry it from her so that I could have a look too!!

The book itself is a lovely size. I like slightly bigger books sometimes and as I see this being read at night time, I think you need it bigger to be able to fully appreciate what you are looking at.

The story isn't too long. The flowing words make it almost sound like a lullaby and the beautiful illustrations that go along with them really bring the book to life, they compliment each other.

I think this book is a perfect bed time story and it can be read to babies, toddlers and children, I feel it is a book that could soon turn into a classic.

The last book was The Ladies Book of Baking, this suited Elise to a T, more because she sound so posh, she is the complete opposite to her mummy, common as muck me.

This is a fab book for anyone that enjoys baking or even for people wanting to try their hand at baking.

With recipes for cakes, biscuits, pastries and much more, you will be able to make something different every week, although I can see my hips expanding with all the yummy things to be made.

Each recipe is presented clearly. You can see exactly what ingredients you need, how many it will serve, how long it will take to make and bake and the method of how to make them is broken down, so even a novice would be able to make these without going wrong some how.

What really makes this book stand out is that there isn't just recipes inside. It tells you how you can present your cakes at things like tea parties, how to make invitations to your party, how to wrap up your cakes and biscuits so that you can give them to people as presents. The girls are looking forward to making a few of the cakes and biscuits during the Summer holidays and I am now thinking about making a few and giving them to people as gifts at Christmas.

Each of these books that I have reviewed I would recommend to different people. Well written, beautifully presented, just all round quality. They have now all found a place on our bookcase!!

Disclaimer : I was sent these books free of charge for reviewing purposes, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Do as I say not as I do

I am sure many of you have found yourselves saying "do as I say not as I do" to your children at some point. It is of course one of those sayings that my mum used to say to me and I always swore I would never use, funny how things change when you "grow up".

The photo below gives you one clear example of this :

That's right, clearly mummy was very good at topping the kids up with their factor 50 sun cream throughout the day but not so great at applying it to herself and now I'm suffering the consequences, one word, ouch!!!

A few other times spring to mind :

* You need to wear a coat or you will catch a cold - says mummy as she walks out of the house in just top and leggings because as you know us mum's are immune to the cold, right?? 

* You need to drink all of your drink or you'll get poorly - says mummy as she sips on her one glass of water a day.

* No you can't have sweets for breakfast - says daddy as he is munching away on a chocolate bar.

Do you see a pattern forming here?? I think as parents, we always try to set a good example to our children but we aren't perfect by any means and I think we, like our kids, try to learn from our mistakes. I think sometimes it is just the rebel child in me coming out, you know because my mum now can't tell me what to do now, she just looks at me and shakes her head after I've done it.

So while we are on the subject I would love for you to tell me things you have said to your children as you continue to do the complete opposite, come on I know you've done it!!!

xxxx