Over Easter we visited the Limak Atlantis Hotel in Belek. Looking for all inclusive hotels for a family of 5 is challenging, so I turned to Suzanne from 3 children and it and she recommended Turkey. I had been concerned that the room would be small so was nicely surprised when we opened the door to a large 2 roomed apartment with two bathrooms.



There was a super king bed and twin bed and a sofa bed for a third child. They had set up a cot for little man so we used that instead. The shower was the best I have ever had in any hotel. There was a free mini bar in each room. This contained soft drinks and a couple of cans of beer. There was also a safe.

The sunbeds on the beach were free of charge as were some watersports. We took out the pedalo and big man and Daddy went in a Kayak.

There were many swimming pools but not really any kids splash pools. There was also an indoor pool which was never too busy (even on the day that it rained.) There was a shallow pool by the apartment that we used as this was warmer.

We also plucked up the courage to go in the colder pools and use the waterslides which was lots of fun.
It was still the "winter" season so not all of the restaurants in the hotel were open. The main buffet restaurant had a wide variety of food which changed on a daily basis. Breakfast included make to order omlettes and squeeze your own orange juice. I could have happily eaten here for every meal. However, the Turkish a la carte restaurant was free of charge once per week so we booked for this. I can honestly say that I had the best kebab ever! Possibley the nicest piece of lamb I have ever eaten. After having such a nice meal here we also booked into the Italian a la carte restaurant. This carried an extra 9 euro charge per person (only adults were charge as the children had kids meals) Once again another fantastic meal. We also paid extra to have a bottle of wine from the cart. The man goes round all the restaurants trying to get you to upgrade from your all inclusive house wine. The bottle recommend was nice and a reasonable price. There are also snack bars and you can get ice cream cones from one of these.

There were 2 playgrounds for the children and climbing frames on the beach as well. The boys loved all of these.

Our boys didn't go to the kids club, but we did go to the evening mini disco that they enjoyed. On the final night we also went to a Samba night which included some good dancers.



We did have one day of rain so used this to go into Belek. There really isn't anything there other than lots of shops selling fake clothing. It was something to do on a rainy day but I wouldn't particularly recommend going. I did, however, have a proper Turkish apple tea here so I was happy.

Excursions wise there was nothing that our children would have been interested in. The ones that looked interesting were a couple of hours drive away, so if you have small children it really is a resort type holiday. It is such a nice resort though this is fine.

We had a lovely time at Limak Atlantis and I will definitely consider other hotels in Turkey after this and the Limak chain.

Fill a bucket with a couple of scoops of sand. Then pass it to your Mummy and demand that she fills it to the top for you.

“Why is it called Good Friday when Jesus died then?” asked big man.

 “Good question” I replied with no answer as I was thinking exactly the same.

“The Easter bunny will get frightened if I wake up when he is delivering my eggs so I must try and stay asleep. Or at least keep my eyes shut.”

Oh great. Although we had had a lovely week away and had spent the whole of Saturday afternoon and evening travelling back from Turkey, I was going to have to be the Easter rabbit and hide eggs round the boys’ bedrooms, when all I really wanted to do was have a cup of tea and go to bed.

So our Easter consisted of chocolate. Way too much of it. I have zero self control and if there is chocolate in the house, I will eat it. Our all inclusive hotel had already had a bad effect on my ever increasing waistline and now the Easter chocolate is not helping things either. It appears however, that I am not the only family member who has no self restraint when it comes to chocolate.

You would think that a Mum of 3 would not make such a rookie error, but I did.

I blame the 2 hour time difference. I went to check on the boys before going to bed and at first glance in the dark, thought that little man had been sick. Then I turned the light on to find his chocolate covered, face, bed, walls.....  I contemplated licking him clean but much to his disgust, opted for a bath. Oh well at least that’s one less egg that will be adding to my waistline.

"Ok big man, I think you need to put things into perspective" I said as tears rolled down his eyes.
"Is everyone alive?"
He sniffed and nodded
"Is everyone healthy?"
He wiped away more tears and again nodded.
"Ok then, so it's not the end of the world is it?"
"We can always buy you a new one. It was only a pound from the One Stop Shop."

"But...." he sniffed some more.

Little man was looking mischievous. Afterall it was all his fault. From what my husband tells me, little man quite purposefully and slowly dipped big man's calculator into the swimming pool.

"But, I really wanted to know what 40 plus 40 was."

"Ok it's 80, now lets stop the tears and see if it drys out and works and if not we will buy you a new one when we get home."

And do you know what it dried out and worked. Harder sums were completed and I am amazed by the quality of this £1 calculator!

When it comes to sharing, my boys aren't the best. Little man just refuses to share, shouting "mine!" as his defense. Big man is better at sharing. He knows that like it or not it has to be done, but he prefers it if he can "share" by having the thing first. However, it is middle man that has made me laugh this week with his views on sharing.

"Will you share with little man please middle man?"

"Share!?!   Never!"

I was a little taken back by his response until he continued

"Sharing means you have to cut things in half."

I have been a bit slow writing this one up! A year and a quarter to be precise. Middle man still is a spiderman fan, and for his third birthday I made him this cake. I know you can buy really nice spiderman faces in the shops, but there is something in me that says I need to make it myself  (although I did cave in and by a Spongebob cake for Daddy's birthday as I didn't have time to make one.)

The cake is really easy to make, however if I made one again I would make the face thinner as by time I had iced him, Spiderman needed to go on a bit of a diet.

Start by baking a round sponge twice and sandwiching it together with buttercream and jam. Then cut a face shape and cover in red roll out icing. I then iced a black line down the middle and cut out eye shapes from paper that I could use as a guide for the correct size later.




I continued with the black icing as webbing. Here I found it helpful to score the icing with a knife when I was doing the straight lines.




Lastly I cut around the eye templetes onto layered black and yellow icing.


Middle man was happy with his cake!

I have always like Duncan Bannantyne on dragons den, but I must admit I have often been dubious of the spa days he offers at his health clubs. Although they are packaged as spa experiences, just reading through the advert, it made it sound like a massage in a gym.

This year however, I was "lucky" enough to win an experience for two at a raffle. My sister is always helping me out, so I asked her if she would like to join me. Booking was simple and although we couldn't get into the London one, we headed off to Banbury for some relaxation.

Well it certainly was an "experience." As predicted a pretty mediocre gym with a few treatment rooms to make it a "spa" I had requested separate treatment rooms but we were shown in together. The therapist didn't even offer to change things when I said it wasn't what I was expecting. We then had our chocolate back massages. This was nice enough. Then onto the head massage. Here I got confused. My sister appeared to be having one too. Which was odd seeing as she was booked for a pedicure. Time must seem longer than I thought and it must have been part of the chocolate treatment.....

Surely you wouldn't be given the wrong treatment?

Then they left? I turned to my sister - curls everywhere! Hmmmm odd pedicure.

I thought I must have booked it wrong. I checked. I hadn't! There was no one on spa and the girl at the front desk couldn't have cared less.

We had a microwaved curry (again not screaming spa to me) a chat and we left. I had a lovely time, but only because I was with my sister and we could chat and laugh about it.

We did go through to the heated loungers after our massage but they didn't have enough for the guests they had ( 5 loungers and 7 guests.) This is not a spa experience. It's a massage in a gym. When I returned I looked at trip advisor and it seems that this is a pretty usual experience at Bannantynes!

A customer survey landed I'm my inbox. Now this is what really gets my goat. Don't ask me to spend my time filling in your survey, telling you how badly wrong you got it and then don't even acknowledge that I had a bad experience. After 3 weeks I don't think I will hear back and to be honest if they offered me a free massage I wouldn't bother anyway!

Personally I think their experiences are a joke - it certainly made us laugh!

Recently we were sent some DC Super Friends books for review and they have been a big hit. Big man isn't usually very interested in early reader books as they don't grab his attention. However he was keen to read these to his brother as he knows that middle man likes the Super Friends.



We received the Crime Wave  and Hero Havoc reading books. I am no expert but comparing them to big man's reading books from school I would say they are around a stage 6.


I intended the wipe clean activity book to be for middle man, but big man had started completing it before I could stop him. As he needs to practice his writing, I wasn't going to complain. As it is wipe clean middle man also got to use it, however, he opted to trace the words with his fingers. Along with writing there are puzzles to complete as well and the boys have completed and enjoyed these.



The sticker book appeals to all the boys including little man and we are saving this for an upcoming plane flight.


Finding books that keep my boys engaged in reading and writing is a challenge but these books have worked really well so I would certainly recommend them. Random House publishing have also offered a chance for 2 of my readers to win a set for themselves too. Just complete the rafflecopter entry below. UK entry only, Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recently, docrafts sent me the Simply Gorjuss ultimate card kit. I have always enjoyed card making. However, with 3 small people to look after, I don't do it as often as I used to. This is why the card kit is good. You have everything you need to easily make the cards. All you need in addition are some sticky pads and double sided sticky tape. The kit contains a whopping 32 cards in 8 printed designs all with envelopes. There are then 20 die cut decoupage sheets in 5 designs that can be mixed and matched as you wish.  There is also some ribbon and gems included.


The decoupage pieces are labelled so that you can easily see how to layer them.


Pretty much any combination of the toppers and cards works nicely together. Here are some of the desgins I made one evening.



I think this is a great kit for a beginner at card making as it provides pretty much everything that you need to get started. I also think it is great for a busy Mum like me or anyone that enjoys card making as it is good value at only £14.95 (it works out as just under 47p for a beautiful card.)


I was given the pack for the purpose of the review but the opinions here are my own. I have also reviewed some of the docrafts baking range which you can read about here.

On Sunday we headed up to the Science Museum in London to watch the relaunch of The Energy Show. It is currently on at the Science Museum until 11th April when it starts it's tour around the country. I took big man to watch it last summer, but when I asked if he wanted to go and see it again he jumped at the chance. I had initially agreed just to take him again as there is some quite high level science in it and I was worried that middle man would be scared. However, big man had got middle man so excited about seeing it that I had to ask if I could bring him along too.


If you saw the show last year, then it is the same story with a couple of different experiments and even more Star Wars jokes. Big man whole heartily approved of this. The finale even included an experiment played to Star Wars music. There was a slight hiccup with one of the experiments not working (trust me as a Science teacher it doesn't matter how often you practise things go wrong in experiments) but the actors made a joke of it and the show went on.

Middle man (4) was pleased he saw the show (although was scared at times) and big man (6) sat chuckling at the show. If you have a child that loves science or one that isn't keen but is at secondary school, I would recommend that they see the show. It demonstrates the different types of energy in an engaging way.

Big man was keen to show middle man some of the experiments in the launchpad. Whilst we watched the show little man enjoyed some Science with Daddy.


Whilst we were are the museum we also visited the Flyzone studio.  Here you are able to have your photograph taken on green screen as astronauts, fighter pilots or red arrows. This was good fun, even if my husband and I felt like Mr and Mrs Blobby in our suits.

Here we are visiting the moon.


We had a fantastic day and would like to thank the Science museum for out complimentary tickets to The Energy Show and our photo on the moon.

E-Cloths are microfibre towels which claim to have enormous cleaning power. Infact they state that they remove 99% of bacteria from hard surfaces using only water. If you want to know the Science bit just click here. I was recently offered a chance to review one of their products so I chose the Shower Pack. This comes with 2 clothes. A Shower Cloth with suction cup to hand it in the shower and a glass and polishing cloth.

I must say I find the idea of not spraying chemicals onto the shower area odd as it is not something I am used to. However, having the cloth in the shower does mean you can just give it a quick wipe down when you are in there, so it keeps on top of things. If there are more stubborn stains I imagine it takes a bit more elbow grease than if you sprayed the surface with a cleaning product and let the chemicals do the work. However, I do like the idea of using less chemicals.


I was initially disappointed that the glass and polishing cloth couldn't be hung up with the shower cloth. For it to work it mustn't be too wet. However, now I have used it and seen how good it is, I don't mind at all. I effortlessly cleaned the bathroom mirror with nothing but a spray of water and it has never looked so good! With 3 small people in the house we have lots of little hand prints on the glass doors and in the conservatory, so this cloth is perfect.

So far I am really impressed with the product. They can be rinsed through daily and then put in the washing machine from time to time. The shower pack costs £9.49 which I think is a good price for 2 cloths when you will be using less bathroom cleaner. I have been given a second shower pack to give away to one of my readers so that they can try it out for themselves. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today we have been out and about in Portsmouth and Southsea. At about an hour an 20 minutes drive away, I can't believe I haven't been here for years. For a start I wasn't aware how good the outlet Gunwharf Quays was! Unfortunately the boys weren't up for shopping so I just had a quick window shop, before heading to the Spinnaker Tower (review to follow!)

It wasn't the best day to be looking at the views, but the boys had fun on the glass floor.


We then had a wander around the waterfront.


I nearly had a heart attack at the cost of a phone call made from a box. I am not sure that the boys even understood what the box was for!

How much!?!

We then headed to Southsea to watch the Hovercrafts.



Followed by some stone throwing in the sea.


The weather was dull and dreary but it was great to get outside and the boys didn't even seem to notice.



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Having had the Degustabox delivered for a couple of months, I was actually excited when I received a text saying that my delivery was due the following day. Although sometimes the boxes can be a little random, it is a really nice way to try different products. Degustabox have also changed their courier to DPD. This is by far my favourite delivery company as you are given a predicted arrival time down to an hour in addition to being able to view where the courier is currently working. This is fantastic if you have to quickly pop out when the delivery is due as you can see how many more stops they have to do and whether you have time. Anyway, enough of what a fantastic courier DPD are and onto what was in this months box.

Mexican Dave's Legendary Tortilla Chips: These were great. So great infact I didn't have chance to try out the recipe suggestion in the box as my husband and I gobbled them up. Why are they so good. They have a cheese falvour to them, but it isn't too over powering.

Shaken Udder Milkshakes: We were given three different flavours and I used them when we went in a picnic. The boys liked them and it makes a change to juice cartons. There was also a coupon to get a 3 pack free and adults milkshake to try as well.

Tyrells Sweet and Salty Popcorn This was a packet from a multipack so it was quite small. It tasted lovely but personally I would have liked more popcorn in the pack.

Chocolate Chai Latte: I initially turned my nose up at this. But now I have tried it I love in. Not as sweet as hot chocolate and not as boring as tea. It's probably a bit like marmite - love or hate - but I love it.

Tea Latte Sachet: This was nice but not as good at the Chocolate Chai Latte.

Organico Durum Wheat Pasta I am no expert when it comes to pasta, but my husband thought that this had something better about it than the standard tesco pasta that I usually buy.

Organico Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce a nice pasta sauce.

MOMA! Porridge These came in handy serving size containers. On the pricey side but could be taken to work.

Schwartz Flavour shots We really enjoyed these. They just make the flavour part of the meal a bit easier. They contain oil and herbs and have a recipe printed on the back of the cardboard packaging for you to follow.



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.



Chicken, Bacon and Herb Pasta - serves 4

3 cups of Organico Drurm Wheat Pasta
2 chicken breasts diced
4 slices of bacon chopped
1 onion chopped
12 cherry tomatoes
A schwartz flavour shot: Italian creamy herb tagliatelle
A tablespoon of soft cream cheese
2 tablespoons on greek youghurt.

Put the pasta on and then using the flavour shot fry the chicken, bacon and onion. When these have started to brown, add the cherry tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the  cream cheese, drained pasta and the greek yoghurt and serve with garlic bread.


We received the box for the purpose of this review but the opinions contained here are my own.

I am currently kicking myself for signing up to another term of swimming lessons for the boys. Wednesday evenings fill me with dread and my blood pressure reaches sky high limits. The only reason I continue is that swimming is a life skill and I like to think that at least big man could swim out of trouble. Knowing him though he'd be underwater swimming right into it!

So why do I hate swimming lessons?

Firstly the time. We spent a good five and a half years devoting every weekend to swimming. A 30 minute lesson took half a day. Now we have changed to an after school class. The problem with this is knowing when to feed them! I have decided to feed them as soon as school finishes so that they don't eat their own arms off on the car journey back from  the swimming pool.

Then there is the hell that is the changing rooms. All packed into the ladies where people tread on your bag to blow dry their daughters hair. Middle man refuses to dress and undress himself, whilst little man thinks its fun to try and hide in the lockers.

Next comes the viewing platform. Firstly it's so hot I wonder if I have hit the menopause early. Then I find I am stuck next to competitive mum blowing kisses to her kids over the barrier. I am usually shouting at big man as to which group he has gone and dropped his brother off in.

Then the class starts. A time to relax.

No.

Little man wants to be there as much as I do. He likes climbing up and down the seating area and getting in everyone's way. I have tried to take toys and he isn't interested in them. Other children's toys are however, very interesting to him. He tries to walk off with them, whilst some poor child starts crying at their Mum. I look over at my water babies. Middle man is fluttering his eyelashes at some young girl helper so that she loads him up with floats and pulls him round the swimming pool. Infact I have just realised that he has been given the same badge as his 2 year old brother, so I am wondering if he has made any progress in 2 years. (We probably already have that badge from a previous swim school!) I turn to watch big man. Big man is underwater, not listening to instructions. He definitely hasn't progressed in 2 years. Infact by switching swim schools he has probably got worse. I turn to little man to realise he has run out the door whilst I have been looking at the other two....

And then the lessons are over. Deep breath as there is still more to get through. Mothers blocking the way so you can't get your kids. Children left shampooing their hair for 15 mins while their mums continue to chat. Your bag being stepped on so a little girl can get to the hair dryer and little man trying to hide in the lockers.

Every week I put myself through this. Thank God I have 2 weeks off til the hell starts again.





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Living in a house of blue, I don't often get the chance to make pretty cakes. However, thanks to these lovely cake cases from Docrafts, I made my Mother in law some pretty cupcakes for Mother's Day. I was sent a elegant cupcake kit and a piping nozzle set.


I started by baking some cupcakes in the cases provided. These are slightly bigger than usual and are more of a muffin size. I just used a simple recipe of 8oz self raising flour, 8oz caster sugar, 8oz butter, 4 eggs and half a packet of chocolate chips. This made 16 cakes.


I then used some ready made frosting and had a go at piping it. Once I got the hang of it, it was really easy. I think this set is fantastic for someone like myself that likes baking. Obviously you can do far more with it than I have in this post, but I can see it being used lots in the future. The card that comes with the pack is worth holding onto as it shows you what eat nozzle does.


I then added some decorations and finished the cupcakes off by putting them inside the wrappers. This is where my photography doesn't show off the product as well as it should. The wrappers are pearlescent on the outside. I think that they would look beautiful if you are planning a princess tea party and are perfect for any special occassion.

It is not often that I ask for help, unless it comes to voting in Blog Awards. Last year I was lucky enough to be a finalist in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards and I would love to be one again this year. Competition is really tough so every vote counts. If you haven't yet voted and would like to vote for me in any category, I would like to say a big thank you! I think that my blog probably fits best in the family category, but I will leave that for you to decide.  You can vote for me here.

Things you need to know are:

Blog Name: A Strong Coffee

Blog URL: https://astrongcoffee.co.uk

Blogger's twitter ID @astrongcoffee1

Blogger's email: [email protected]

Why do you feel this blogger deserves to win this category? You will need to come up with something here!

URL of your favourite blog post. This is going to depend on what you like, but here are a few of my own favourites from the past year that you may or may not choose to use.

The Future URL of post: https://astrongcoffee.co.uk/2014/03/the-future.html

Fly High URL of post: https://astrongcoffee.co.uk/2013/07/fly-high.html

Through the eyes of my phone URL of post: https://astrongcoffee.co.uk/2013/10/the-gallery-through-eyes-of-my-phone.html

Why I am looking forward to the summer holidays URL of post: https://astrongcoffee.co.uk/2013/07/why-i-am-looking-forward-to-summer.html

Minion Cake Tutorial URL of post: https://astrongcoffee.co.uk/2014/03/minion-cake-tutorial.html


Thank You!

This year we visited Butlin's for the first time. You can read our reviews on the accommodation and entertainment, but I felt a tips post may be helpful if you are planning to go for the first time too. This is based on staying at Skegness, but I am sure most of it applies to the Bognor and Minehead resorts too.

1. If in doubt, take a buggy. Little man rarely uses his buggy these days and we weren't sure whether to take ours or not. Thankfully we did. The site is huge and there is a lot of walking involved. There are many places you can park your buggy inside the Skyline Pavilion.

2. Download the Butlin's app before you go. This will give you the show times so it is great to have to hand. I kept forgetting to take my guide with me and didn't realise there was an app until the penultimate day.

3. Get to the popular shows early at peak times. We went to see Dick V Dom and the Scooby Doo show. Both were extremely popular and not everyone was able to get in. To get a table you need to get there really early and be prepared to queue. Alternatively you can  pre order a B line pass. These are pricey but worth considering if you have older children and are planning on going to the evening shows.

4. Splashwater World seemed busier in the mornings so go there in the afternoon.

5. The outside fairground was much quieter in the morning than in the afternoon.

6. If you have friends and family nearby, why not get them to come and visit for the day. My Mum came to visit us and the boys loved showing her round and taking her to their "Butlins house." Day guests also benifit from half price entry if they are visiting you. My Mum who is a senior only cost £6 for the day (10am - 6pm) Prices vary for the time of year and the resort so check the website for more details.

7. If you play the arcade games you will win tickets. These need putting into machine to count them and then can exchanged for prizes. Big man was keen to get some sweets with the few tickets he had and we made the mistake of doing this on the final day when the queues were really long. If can, try and exchange them the day before you leave when the queues are shorter.

8. Accept that you won't have time to do it all. Pick out the things you really want to do and focus on them. There is so much on offer, you will not be able to do everything in one stay.

9. If you don't want to self cater, consider a dining plan.We had the premium package and there was a great variety of food. There are a variety of plans to suit different budgets.


I hope this is helpful if you are planning your first Butlin's break, and I hope you have a fantastic time like we did. If you have been before, what are your tips?