You can read about our views on staying in the Butlin's Gold apartments in Skegness, but I felt that the entertainment on offer needed a post of its own. It was one of the biggest shocks of the holiday. My brother in law joked as to whether we had been to a knobbly knees contest. This view of Butlin's is one that I am sure many people still hold and couldn't be more out dated. The shows that we saw were fantastic. On our first day we watched Thomas and Friends. Big man openly admitted that he is too big for watching Thomas the Tank Engine on the TV but that the show was really good. He was also keen to have his picture with Thomas when the show finished.


Mike the Knight and Fireman Sam all captured the boys attention. It was busy and the boys sat at the front whilst my husband and I stood at the side as the seating was all taken most days. Strangely our Fireman Sam toys have been pulled out of the cupboards since we have returned! Here is a little peek of the show.


Even better than the daytime shows were the evening ones. I had not appreciated how popular these would be. I was keen for big man to see Dick v Dom as I was sure he would find them funny. The show started at 7.30 with doors opening at 6.45. My husband thought I was mad when I said we should get there for 6.45. Thankfully he went along with me as we only just got in! It was in Reds which is a nightclub venue and we ended up sitting on the dance floor. It was well worth it though and a highlight of the holiday.

The next night was Scooby Doo. I foolishly thought that this would have less appeal to people. As we walked to dinner I stopped to ask a Redcoat whether it would be busy. He smiled and pointed at the queue coming out of the Skyline Pavillion and said that some people had been queing since 4. The show started at 7.30. We managed to squeeze in but it was packed and we had to sit on the floor and couldn't see well. At the interval some people behind us were leaving as their children were tired. Unfortunately so were our younger two. My husband stayed with big man and they both enjoyed the show. There are a limited number of B line passes which you can purchase so that you can get into the shows early to secure a table. For a family this adds up and you still need to get there early. Unless Butlins put on extra shows, the only advice I can give is that you get there reasonably early in a hope to get a table as this will make the evening much more enjoyable.


When it comes to water parks I am quite picky. We are lucky have one a few minutes drive from our house so I use this as a comparison. Splash Waterworld didn't disappoint. There were a number of pools, rapids
and a variety of waterslides. We went at the end of the day so it wasn't too busy, although when everyone tried leaving at once there was a wait for changing rooms.

One of the best things about Butlins is that most of the things you do are included in the price of your break. Inside the Skyline Pavillion there are a couple of small fairground rides. Big man wasn't going to miss out on these and insisted on joining his younger brothers!



Outside is a bigger fairground. The only problem we had here was juggling the three children as it was often a 1:1 adult child ratio. Big man enjoyed some of the bigger rides just as much as Daddy!


There are two arcades in butlins and one holds a soft play area. The boys enjoyed an hour running around in here one afternoon when it was a bit chilly.


You can't visit Butlins without going to the beach, even in Februaury. On the entrance to the beach was some Giant sized models. The boys enjoyed playing hide and seek in the "Giants Playground."


Once on the beach, big man was happy with a stick to entertain him!


One of the hardest things about going to Butlin's is accepting that you can't do everything on offer. This is what we chose to do, considering the ages of our children, but there is so much more. Tribute bands, wrestling, Water wars for teenagers, use of the spa, the list goes on. Most of the activities are included but there are some with extra charges if you wish. Yesterday I found out that middle man was disappointed that we didn't make it to the Bob the Builder show. Today when the advert appeared on the TV, little man's face lit up and he said Butlin's. The boys are already asking to go back and I am already looking at day visits! So, if like me and a lot of my friends, you thought Butlin's was just cheesy shows and not much fun, maybe you should think again. In my opinion it is fantastic family fun.

As part of our role as Butlins Ambassadors 2013-2014, we spent February Half Term at Butlin's Skegness staying in a 3 bedroomed Gold Apartment. As any family of 5 or more will know, there is a reduced choice of options for larger families to stay together in one apartment so we were really pleased that this was not an issue at Butlin's.

Gold apartments at Skegness benefit from an early check in from midday with you being able to get into your apartment from three o'clock. On arrival at resort you are greeted and shown where to drive through for your check in. Gold apartments are situated at the far end of the resort and the apartments are built in a New England Style. On entering the apartment we were happy to see that they were comfortable and clean. We were left some welcome snacks and beverages as well as a small amount of cleaning products and a small toiletry bag. The boys were immediately happy with a large cupboard to hide in. This was particularly helpful for storing suitcases.


Things we liked about our apartment:
Flat screen TV's in the lounge and main bedroom with free view.
A dishwasher to save time washing up.
House keeping included. This was fantastic as it meant towels were changed and beds were made properly. Even better was that they emptied our dishwasher and put the plates and cups back were they were stored.
I really liked that the pictures in each room were pictures of the resort and Skegness beach. I am a sucker for personal touches like this.

Other things to consider:
The Gold apartments are a good 10 minute walk from the centre of the resort. This isn't really a problem, but with our little ones short legs the walk ended up being nearly double this.
The bed wasn't the best I have slept in, but it wasn't the worst either.
You only get 15 minutes free wifi a day, and if you are on Vodafone the 3G signal is patchy at best. O2 was fine though.


Although our apartment was self catering, we opted to have the premium dining plan. This meant that we could eat in either The Yacht Club or The Deck restaurants situated in the Skyline Pavilion. You are given dining cards on check in and these are punched at breakfast and dinner. Staying in half term, I expected the restaurants to be busy. They were. but not overly busy and you were seated within a couple of minutes. The Deck is a much larger restaurant and serves a larger variety of food, so we generally ate there. There was lots of choice with many dishes being freshly cooked for you. At breakfast there was a pancake and omelette station. Whilst there were may healthy options to chose from (fresh fruit, yoghurt, cereals) I love a cooked breakfast. These weren't full of grease and the fried egg was still runny. There was also a selection of pastries and croissants. Drinks included tea and coffee as well as juices. For dinner there were many choices including a carvery, curry or Chinese, pasta and grill. The cakes for dessert were delicious and my husband was very impressed with the cheese.



What we liked about the premium dining:
I didn't have to cook! That is always good.
There was always something that the boy's would eat.
On arrival at dinner there were often characters there to greet you such as Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder.
There was lots of fresh fruit. Middle man made sure he had a green apple every breakfast and dinner and was very pleased when he saw there was water melon.
It saves you money compared with eating out in different restaurants every night.

Other things to consider:
By having the premium dining plan, it means that you don't really get to experience the other restaurants on site.
If you want to see the early evening shows you need to have eaten by 6.30 at the latest so it can all seem a bit of a rush.
Drinks that are included are fruit juices and tea and coffee. If you want alcoholic or fizzy drinks you will need to pay for these at the bar.
I wasn't a fan of the tea and coffee from the machine. The hot chocolate was good though.
The Pasta station is a lovely idea with your meal being cooked while you wait, but in busy times it is really slow.
If you are like me and have no will power you will over eat a lot.

Staying in a gold apartment and having a premium dining plan is the most expensive option for staying in Butlin's, however, there are other apartment options available and a standard eating plan meaning you can eat in The Coast restaurant. If you choose to self cater then there is a Spar supermarket located in the Skyline Pavilion.

So our accommodation was nice and there was a good range of food to eat using the premium dining plan. However, we spent very little time in our apartment due to the entertainment on offer. I feel I can only do this justice if it has a separate post, so click here to read about it.




We were guests of Butlin's for this 4 night break as part of the ambassador programme.

I think it is fair to say that we have all experienced a broken heart at some point in our lives. Benenden Health have put together this infographic to show the effects it can have from gaining weight to checking your ex's social media sites.


Where do broken hearts go Infographic by benenden health

When my husband works away, I often feel bad as I make all three children have their bedtime story together. However, a survey by Aquafresh Kids, which asked over 1000 Netmums about their bedtime routine has revealed that modern day parents are reading more frequently to their little ones than when they were kids themselves. Almost three quarters of parents (70%) telling bedtime stories to their children more than five nights per week and half (50%) reading every single night.
 
In comparison, only a third (37%) of today’s parents were read to at least five nights per week as a child and almost a third (29%) admit they were never read a bedtime story at all. 
 
In a world of texts and tweets, where speed is key, over one in ten (11%) parents admit to abbreviating popular tales to make them shorter and snappier. 8% claim to cut out unnecessary details in order to finish the story quicker. I must admit that on occassions I have been guilty of this if the book is on the long side. Usually though the boys point out that I have missed a bit!

Whilst mums tend to be the head storyteller in the family, for 26% it’s actually dad who is their child’s favourite bedtime story reader and for 5% it is grandma or grandpa. As Dad is out at work all day in our house, if he is home, he tries to make the story his time and get some time with our boys.

 Despite bedtime stories becoming shorter and snappier, the art of storytelling is still as popular as ever and, as well as telling tales before bed, nine out of ten (90%) UK parents are using stories to distract their little ones during other activities:

-      8% read their little ones tales whilst they’re in the bath

-      3% tell them tales over breakfast

-      2% recite stories when brushing their child’s hair

-      1% tell their children stories during toothbrushing.

Dentist Tina Tanna explains: “Getting your little ones to brush their teeth for the required two minutes, can be a stressful for both of you, so it’s important to make it as fun and engaging as possible. The Aquafresh Kids Little Teeth toothbrushes are designed using fun animal characters to appeal to little ones and using a brushtime story, two minutes in length and fun and snappy in tone, is another great place to start.” This is not something I have thought of doing before, but I think it is a great idea.

Aquafresh Kids kindly sent us some samples of their kids range. I had no idea that they did mouthwash for ages 6+ and big man is very happy with this. Middle man was over the moon with his crocodile toothbrush, especially as I told him it would be great to take on our trip to Butlins due to the crocodile head protective cover.

I must admit I have hated the weather so far this year. Far too cold and wet for my liking. I haven't taken the boys outside as much as I would like, but as the Sun was shining on Sunday we headed to the park for a winter adventure. Little man knew exactly what he wanted to do. He headed straight over to the grassy edge and rolled his football up and down again and again.



Then he went to join his brother's at a game of "What's the time Mr Wolf?" And I was allowed to join in as Mummy Wolf too. It was cold, it was muddy but it was worth it to see their smiling faces.





This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Winter Little Adventures Challenge’ sponsored by Barny, individually wrapped bear-shaped sponges with a hidden filling. Find out more about Barny here. 

I am often impressed with big man's scientific knowledge, but sometimes he gets a little confused. This week in the car he was talking about planets with middle man. Middle man had just said that Pluto was a planet.

"No, Pluto is not a planet, it is a dwarf planet...."

I turned to my husband and gave an impressed look.

"That mean's it has a lot of small people on it."

I turned to my husband and chuckled.

People who know me will know that I love a bargain. Most of my weekly shop is made up of half price and BOGOF offers. When my husband proposed to me many years ago, money saving was the last thing on my mind. For some reason I was more concerned if he had asked my Father for my hand in marriage. He had and I said "Of course!" However, it appears that a romantic proposal such as this can also be the route to a bargain. The infographic below shows some of the savings that can be made when you are a couple.


 
Be smart with your energy choices: switch now and get a cheap electricity deal! Of course in my case we went on to have three energetic bundles of joy who help us to use our money in other ways. How have you found that you have saved money as a couple?

I can safely say that the boys have enjoyed the Tracker Bars that we have been sent to review. So much so it ended in me saying that they weren't allowed anymore as they came out holding another bar and smiling sweetly at me. We were sent the roasted nut, white chocolate and chocolate chip. All really tasty. They weren't too big and ranged from 125-127 calories per bar (all nutritional value can be viewed on their website.) The only problem with them is that due to them containing peanuts, they are not something I would be able to put in lunchboxes. They would however, be a good treat to take on a picnic.

I have been offered a months* supply of tracker bars to give awat to one of my readers. Just fill in the rafflecopter below. UK entrants only. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Fancy winning a £100 Show and Stay voucher or a Stay and Play break at a theme park? Just click here to answer a quick survey and your chance to win.


Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

We were given some samples for the purpose of this review but the opinions here are my own.

If you like our blog and love entering our giveaways, please vote for us in the Family Fun category of the  MAD Blog Awards.  Thanks!

A couple of weeks ago we recieved January's Degustabox.  If you haven't heard of them before, they are a monthly subscription box containing food and drink. For £12.99 a month including delivery you will recieve a box containing 10-15 suprises.

Here is what was in our box:



Go! Kombucha China White Tea. As I recieved my box on Chinese New Year, I felt I would give this a go. Whilst I would imagine it is not eveyone's cup of tea (excuse the pun) I enjoyed it. Not enough to buy it again, but it was pleasent and I enjoyed giving it a go.

Dorset Cereals Berry Granola. In the marketing material I was given this was described as a heavenly mix of traditionally bajed oats, zingy blackberries and raspberries. I think this is a pretty good description. I loved it and would certainly but this in the future.

Goody Good Stuff: These are children's sweets suitable for vegetarian, Halal and Kosher diets. The children enjoyed them and I would keep them in mind if I needed to buy sweets for such diets in the future.

Maggi's So Juicy and So Tender range: These have been great to prepare easy and tasty meals after school. The children particularly enjoyed the BBQ chicken.

Jules Destrooper Butter Crisp biscuits: Tasty!

Zico Chocolate Coconut water: Not something I would ever have thought of trying myself, but apparently it is an excellent low calorie option with great hydrating qualities. One taste of it took me back to my university days and I can highly recommend a glass full of this with a shot of Baileys in.



Quinola Mothergrain Express: This can be eaten cold in salads or heated in the microcwave for a couple of minutes. My husband turned his nose up at this but when I partnered it up with Thai Green Chicken Curry (recipe below) he was more than happy to eat it!

I was also lucky enough to receive a "suprise" item. This was a limited item sent out to customer that completed one of their surveys. The surprise was some Garofalo spaghetti.



1 Packet of Quinola Mothergrain Express
2 small chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 packet of mangetot
1 carrot cut into strips
1 pak choi
2 tablespoons of thai green curry paste
1 tin of coconut milk

Stir fry the chicken until brown on the outside.
Add the thai green curry paste, coconut milk and carrot. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the mangetout and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Finally add the pak choi and simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve with Quinola Mothergrain Express (just heat in the microwave for 2 minutes)



All in all I enjoyed the contents of my Degustabox. Some of the products I would purchase again, others I wouldn't. However, it was nice to try some new products.

Weekend Box is a fortnightly box of children's activities aimed at 3-8 year olds that fits through your letter box. Each box contains something to EAT, something to MAKE,something GREEN and something to EXPLORE.

Each activity card explains what you need to do and the accompanying paper bag contains the things you need for the activity.

The main reason I started blogging was to record the little things in our lives that I would otherwise forget. This time last year I wrote about middle man turning 3. I can hardly believe that I am sat here now, ready to get out his presents for his fourth birthday. I am pleased to say that a year on he has been much more pleasant. Attending preschool from 8.30-3.30 may have something to do with it! We then came home and made a lego fire truck he was given at his party. The hose came off a lot but he played so nicely pretending to rescue a dog.

Yesterday when I picked big man up from school he was beaming from ear to ear with his coat hanging off his shoulders. There on his school jumper was an equally smiley gold star.

Wow what fantastic achievement could this be for? Great reading, fantastic maths, counting to twenty in Russian?

"I did a really good impression on a penguin Mummy"

So that is my proud-ish Mummy moment. If you are ever in need of an Emperor Penguin impersonator my boy is the person to ask. To be honest when he showed me, I was rather impressed with his puffed out chest and slow waddle. I think that is known as Mother's love.

My boys may get themselves covered in mud after running around the park, but luckily they love bathtime. We were sent some H and A Finding Nemo Bubbly Bath to review so we set to running a bath straight away. When it come to child friendly bubble baths, there are a few things I look for as a parent. Does it make good bubbles? Does it smell nice? Does it hurt them if it gets in their eyes? Is middle man allergic to it? Middle man has sensitive skin so we have to be careful with the products we use on him.

The H and A Bubbly bath did well on all accounts. The smell isn't too strong, but is pleasent. Bubbles need a bit of stirring of the bath water to create but that is pretty normal. The bubbly bath is hypoallergenic and middle man was fine with it. I was also really pleased that they didn't get upset if they got the water in their eyes, so top marks for that. I shall now be buying their soft and gentle shampoo to try as it says that it is tear free too and we always seem to manage to get that in their eyes when they wont tip their heads back. The boys were particularly happy that Nemo was on the front as we love all things Disney. With an RRP of £2 for a 300ml bubble bath, I think it is a reasonable price for a newborn or children with sensitive skin.

The Bubbly Bath was Bubbly!

Thinking everything about you is perfect


Helping you learn and grow

Wanting to spend time together having fun



Spending what seems like hours playing "What's the time Mr Wolf?" Just to see these faces.


Showing you the world so one day you can go and explore for yourself.

Big man often asks me what it was like in "olden days."

By this he means the eighties/nineties/anytime before he was born in 2007.

At first I was a little put out by this, but then I thought about how much things had changed. When Minority Report came on at the cinema, I thought it was a great film, but was never going to happen. Now I am on the computer, and adverts are popping up of things I might like to buy based on recent searches. God forbid I might try and surprise my husband for his birthday. If he logs onto our laptop he can see which Superdry t-shirts in the men's section I have been looking at. He knows my Dad isn't into Superdry and I certainly don't have enough hours in the day to have an affair. I have a smart meter that beeps and tells me off if I have the tumbledryer, washing machine and dishwasher on at once. Infact you can even get an app for your mobile so you can control your heating and hot water when you are out and about. No more getting into a cold house and keeping your coat on until it warms up. Now we are moving into a world where minority report is becoming a reality.

So thinking about it, I can see why big man asks about the "olden days" as life has changed so much. When I was his age our phone was stuck to a wall and could not be moved. I used to live in a world where rather than solely rely on your mobile to meet freinds, you had to be where you said you would be at a set time. You would use maps to find where you would meet so there was no worry of a lack of 3G signal. If you wanted to find things out you would take a trip to the library. You washed up by hand. TV's were small. Some were black and white. You went out to go shopping and the only man to bring daily food to your door was the milkman. There was no Mario and Sonic to entertain you. For a fun we would spend weeks programming our ZX spectrum to come up with a basic flying game. It was a very different world. Not better or worse, just different. So those are my memories of the olden days. What are yours?

Middle man decided that he would like a minion birthday cake this year so I decided that I would also have a go at making some minion party bags. I purchased some yellow bags from e bay and then set to decorating them. I started by adding a blue foam strip, which were in a craft planet goody bag, to the bottom of each bag.


To make the eyes I drew around a penny added a black pupil and used a brown crayon to make the iris.


I then drew a large white circle using the mouth of a plastic cup and cut this out. I used the yellow paper from a spare bag to make eyelids. I then cut a strip of foil, scrunched it up and put it around the eyeball. The eye was then stuck in the middle and this was stuck onto the yellow bag.

I finished the bags off by using pipe cleaners as hair and a variety of expressions using black foam for the mouths.


Middle man seemed pleased with them, except he wanted some two eyed ones! His cake will therefore be a two eyed minion instead. Some children are just hard to please!

This week middle man has been noticing the difference between boys and girls. After he was rather alarmed recently that my willy had disappeared, he has been trying to get things straight in his head.

He seems to be adopting big man's "hair analysis" to help him. Pointy up hair is a man. Pointy down hair is a lady. It doesn't always work, little man breaks the rule, but it helps. On the way to the park the other day he also decided to loudly communicate his other way of telling the difference between men and women.

" Mummy, you are wearing knickers, right?"

I was very quick to reply that "Yes that's right and you are a boy, so you are wearing pants." Well I didn't want the whole park to think I had gone commando!