We're Going On A Flower Hunt

If you haven't seen by now, I am lucky enough to be an ambassador for Ben and Holly and this Summer they have set up the Little Explorer challenges for everyone to get involved in, each week with a new theme. Last week was all about flowers. So whilst the sun was shining on Friday we decided to go on a flower hunt at our local park.

Time to Plant Some Flowers

Last year we were lucky enough to join in with the Britmums #KidsGrowWild Challenge, the girls were sent a lovely gardening set and together using the seeds provided, we had to plant some flowers in the garden. Below is a picture of them from last weekend finally beginning to bloom :

This year we managed to join in with yet another challenge from Britmums and funnily enough we decided to grow some more flowers, the difference this time, was that we planted them in cups and let them grow indoors for a few weeks.

A Winter Adventure With Barny

It is no secret that this Winter has been rather wet and windy, making it sometimes difficult to keep the children entertained, especially when they have been stuck inside for so long dreaming of the great outdoors. Britmums and Barny wanted to celebrate children's curiosity so have set a winter little adventure challenge for us to take part in.

We were sent two packs of the delicious Barny sponge snack in scrummy new flavours strawberry and apple.

These yummy snacks gave the girls some much needed energy to embark on the small adventure I had planned for them.

Homemade Valentine's Flowers

Valentine's day is here, did you remember, are you in need of a last minute gift or perhaps your children want to make something special?? Take a look at my short tutorial on how to make some homemade Valentine's flowers.

You will need :

* Straws

* Paper

* Pencil

* Scissors

* Glue

* Double sided tape

* Ribbon

* Craft Feathers

Can A Plant Make You Smile?

Everyone knows that you can't be good at everything. I for one am useless when it comes to looking after plants. However The Joy of Plants made a suggestion that having a house plant around could improve my lifestyle and could help me reach a higher level of thinking, well I just had to give it a go and test the theory didn't I.

I received some beautiful orchids. Now I'm fairly sure you will all agree these are stunning to look at. I placed them in the middle of our dining room table. Our lounge, dining room and kitchen is all open plan so you could see and smell the plant from every room.

I have to admit that it put my daughter's in a good mood when they got home from school. The funny thing is, they are always asking me to buy flowers whenever we see them in the shops but I've always said no because I felt I would be wasting my money (you know because I can never manage to keep them alive).

Well with my lovely orchids, I also received the book pictured below. As a plant novice, this book helped me to look after the flowers, it gives you advice on things such as when to water and how much.

I wouldn't say that having a house plant has dramatically changed our lives but it has definitely brightened the mood. I have had comments from friends and family on how pretty the orchids are and the kids have been more than happy in helping me with the task of watering it. It definitely adds a pop of colour to a some what dull dining room table.

Now, 3 weeks on and the leaves are still green but all the orchids have dropped off, remember I am rubbish, I repeat rubbish at looking after plants, however I have been informed by I think reliable sources, that the plant is still alive, it is just that the flowers have finished blooming, hooray I hear you all cry. I think I might, just might be brave and go and get another plant to have upstairs too.

So as I keep on looking after my gorgeous flowers, you can have the chance of winning yourself a lovely house plant all of your own by popping over to the joy of plants facebook page. They are running their Dr Plant campaign and every month they are giving away house plants to 5 lucky winners! This month you could be the owner of a potted Gerbera, think sunshine.

What I would like to know is, do you regularly have plants in your house, do you feel that they improve your mood??

xxxx

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

Getting Green Fingers #KidsGrowWild Challenge

I have to admit I am not not very green fingered, I tend to leave the gardening up to Daddy Hazelden. However my children have always been very keen to plant flowers in the garden, they have grown sunflowers and watercress previously at school.

So when the opportunity arose to take part in the #KidsGrowWild challenge with MoneySupermarket and BritMums, I jumped at the chance.

In the post we received a really lovely gardening kit, this contained everything we would need to get us started. The kit included a fork, a trowel, a pair of gardening gloves, a watering can, 3 packets of different seeds and labels to help you indentify the plants once they had been planted. All of this came presented in a beautiful bag, which my girls have now placed in their dressing up box.

The gardening kit arrived at a perfect time because the children were on half term and it just happened to be a gorgeous sunny day.

We found a little corner of the garden that seemed to have the most sunshine on it and proceeded to dig.   As we began to do this, the children discovered all of the bugs and worms that lived in the earth, we also found a lot of ants. My 3 year old, Gracie wasn't too sure what to make of all the insects.

The girls took in turns to dig and after a little while we had managed to get rid of any weeds and make a nice patch to put the seeds in. We decided to use two of the packets of seeds and leave the sunflowers for another day because we needed to buy a pot to put these in. I helped by opening the packets and pouring the seeds into their hands, they then sprinkled the seeds everywhere and then covered them back up with the mud that we had dug up.

Their favourite part of the process was watering the seeds. Again they each took it in turns and they have been watering the seeds every couple of days, just waiting for them to start growing. I am surprised at just how patient they have been. As you can see from the picture below, the kids obviously did a good job because we have little plants sprouting from the ground, I think I am just as excited as them to see the flowers growing, it will be nice to have a good splash of colour in the garden!!

The kit we were sent was an ideal size for all the children. It allowed them all to get involved, and get out in the fresh air, much better than being indoors and watching the television. It was also nice being able to explain the whole process of plants needing sunlight, water etc to be able to grow, although my 7 year old did seem to have a better knowledge of this than me!! The kids are looking forward to planting the sunflowers, as soon as mummy finally remembers to go and buy that pot!!!

*This post is an entry for BritMums #KidsGrowWild Challenge*

Every Mum Would Like Flowers On Mother's Day

As a mummy myself there is nothing that I like better on Mother's Day than a homemade card from the kiddies and some nice flowers, it really brightens my day.

This is why I always like to buy my own mother and mother in law a bunch of flowers as a treat for Mother's Day. Trouble is year on year everything gets more expensive, including the bunches of flowers and I am sure there are alot of you like me that are on a strict budget, so worry about how you are going to afford the extras.

Well worry no longer, Aldi have brought out a lovely range of flowers for Mother's Day to suit everyones budget.

Prices range from £5- £20. Here is just one example :

Wonderful Mum Bouquet £15

All of their lovely flowers are available from today as part of Aldi's special promotions, why not pop along to your local store and take a look. 

xxxx

Disclaimer, I have not been paid for this post, all opinions are my own.