If you follow me on instrgram, you will probably have worked out that we live near to Legoland Windsor and go there a lot. The boys love it there just as much as I do. We were really pleased to see that they have opened up Bricks restaurant, located within Legoland Hotel, for lunches during the summer holidays. You don't need to be a guest of the hotel, you just need to be visiting Legoland Windsor and can go in between 11.30 and 2.30 for a character lunch.

Now when I say character lunch it is important not to think of Cafe Mickey as Legoland don't do it Disney Style, but if you want the odd character walking around that you can have your photo taken with then it is nice enough.

You enter the hotel at the bottom of the park. On our way in we met Sir Studley.




There are two places you can eat inside the hotel. Bricks and the Skyline Bar. The lunch menu at Bricks is £14.95 an adult and £6.95 for a child over 3. If you have an annual pass you can recieve a 20% discount in this. It is partivularly good as it is a self service buffet with drinks included.

I must admit that having eaten in Bricks a number of times before, I was slightly disappointed by the selection of food and that there were no colour in table cloths. Having said that I enjoyed my meal and had a chicken salad.

The children had lots to choose from, including an ice cream machine for dessert

Whilst eating our meal we had a pirate come and visit us.


Big man had left to play on the x boxes, but he was happy to find him again later for a photo.


Although it expensive added onto the price of a day visit, I think it is really nice to take advantage of these lunches if you are and annual pass or merlin pass holder. And if you do go a small tip - go to the toilets and wash your hands in the child's sink, it will make you smile.

As the summer holidays are finally upon us, it draws me into a reflective mode. I can hardly believe that big man has completed Year One. It seems like yesterday that my baby had started reception. I was worried about him making friends. Not being able to read or write anything but his name. I am proud to say that he has come on in leaps and bounds and really is his own little person who is excited and intrigued by life. My worries now have turned into how I am going to take him to his friends birthday parties and what will happen when he reads the "I believe in Santa" signs at Christmas. I mean why wouldn't you!?!

I also get a little upset. Another year has passed me by so quickly. It is only a year until he leaves infants. I think a picture of the wall chart will be necessary on his last day. I am hoping that he has done some growing.



This year middle man starts in reception too. How has that happened? I do worry about how he will cope with 5 full days but I know deep down he will be fine.

So what have I learnt whist big man has been at school?

Firstly, it is always a good idea to buy the correct sized clothing. I can laugh about it now, but I was pretty upset when I thought that big man would start on his first day without a jumper that fitted!



There is no point in buying a whole wardrobe of school branded clothing. As much as I would love too, it costs a fortune and will just get stained in pen/mud/who knows what. Luckily you can get great quality unbranded uniform for a fraction of the cost. George at ASDA even have a 100 day guarentee on their clothing so if you do get it wrong, you can easily exchange.

There is more to life than spending hours sewing in name labels. I still have about 75 sew in tags from when big man started nursery. A sharpie pen does the trick and there is no risk of jabbing a needle into your finger.

The little person that you take in and worry about on their first day will soon adapt to their new environment. They no longer need their Mummy to help them make friends. They will develop a longing for learning which requires your best friend to become Google. I honestly don't know how my Mum coped with all the questions and no internet to find the answers. They will continue to make you prouder than you thought possible as they start on their journey to become an adult.

I am an anti pet person. Why? Well a variety of reasons. Firstly, I get very attached to things and when it comes to a pet being ill, I am not sure that I wouldn't spend our life savings keeping our hamster alive, for it to die a few days later. I am not good at picking animals up. You may remember my terror at holding a lamb earlier this year. Animals have legs and can move and I have a fear of them running away from me and getting lost. Also animals can't go on holiday with you. I like the idea of being able to go away and not having to find someone to come over and feed my pet rabbit.

However, in May, I started to warm up to the idea a little. When Suzanne from 3 children and it was looking for her gecko to have a home for a week, I jumped at the chance. I knew big man would love him.

FYI if you are leaving your pet gecko with someone who is a bit anti animals there are a few things you shouldn't say. For example, telling them that his tail may fall off if you frighten him may scare the life out of them. Stories of crickets escaping are again not that great. Saying, if he dies, don't worry, just makes you worry that you may kill him.

So we had Reggie for a week. In that week I went from this:




to this:




Maybe, just maybe the "I'm never having pets lady" is slowly starting to change her mind.

Do you love pets or share my fears? Please tell me I am not alone.

If you have seen my posts about the fun we have had at Butlin's this year through the ambassador programme at Skegness and on our day trip to Bognor-Regis and are thinking of going yourself, I thought it might be helpful to do a comparison. Whilst Butlin's are essentially the same there are some things worth considering to enable you to make the right choice. So here are my thoughts.

1. Size of the complex. The site at Skegness is huge, whereas Bognor is more compact. If you have anyone in your party that finds walking a problem then Bognor might be a better choice. If you chose Skegness and you have small children a pushchair is a must.

2. Sand or Stones? The beach at Skegness is sand, the one at Bognor is pebbles. Both are nice, but worth knowing. You could build sandcastles near the sea at Bognor though.

Skegness Beach in February

Bognor Regis in May

3. Swimming. The Splash Waterworld's at both sites are fantastic. I loved the one at Skegness as it has a separate toddler pool which is quieter for them. My husband preferred the one at Bognor as it has a wave machine which Skegness doesn't have.

4. Fairground Rides. There are a few more under 5's fairground rides at Bognor and it also has the Helter Skelter that is pictured in their advert. This is important to a 4 year old.

After having complained there was no Helter Skelter in Skegness, middle man wouldn't go on the one at Bognor! Little man liked it though!

5. Hotel or Apartment. Bognor has a choice of hotels, as well as apartments. Whilst we found our stay at the Gold Apartments at Skegness really good, the hotels at Bognor look fantastic. There are 3 to choose from and they have the benefit of extra sessions at Splash Waterworld. Even better is that there are rooms available for larger families. As a family of 5, this is a bugbear of mine, so I love the fact that both the Ocean and Wave hotel can accommodate our family.

So in conclusion which Butlin's comes out top? Well to be honest they both do. I have a slight preference towards Skegness due to the sandy beach and Splash Waterworld. My husband's preference is towards Bognor-Regis due to the smaller site and their Splash Waterworld. The kids? Well they really don't mind as it is Butlin's and therefore lots of fun.

Do you have a favourite Butlin's and if so which is it and why? I would love to know your opinions too.

I can't quite believe the summer holidays are nearly here. I will be taking a step back from the blog, because quite frankly it is hard work looking after 1 1/2 children but 3 is even more tiring! I have however, got lots of stuff planned and with blog about them as an when I can. Here are some of the things I hope to do.

1. Have a water fight. When it's hot we love a water fight in the back garden so this is likely to happen more than once.
2. Look after caterpillars and butterflies. We enjoyed our caterpillars and butterflies so much last year that I have ordered some more.
3. Go to Woodside Animal Farm
4. Visit Cadbury World
5. Have lunch at Brick's restaurant
6. Have a Space themed day with lots of sparkly moon sand
7. Have a Spongebob Day
8. Camp outside
9. Make a Chinese dragon
10. Make a castle
11. Have a dinosaur themed day
12. Go along the South Bank and spot the book benches
13. make pizzas
14. Have fun at the beach
16. Toast marshmallows
17. Make whoopie pies
18. Make ice cream/lollies
19. Have a party
20. Visit Diggerland
21. Make giant bubbles and bubble snakes
22. Make moon dough and playdough

I will add to this as and when I think of something. Have you got any good ideas to keep the kids entertained?

I then used icing to make the wheels and wing mirrors.

I then finished off my cake using some cake angels decorations and and writing icing to add the last bits of detail.



So what would you buy if you won the lottery? I think I would start by a rather luxurious holiday to relax and think about it.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been to two Sport's Days. I wasn't looking forward to them, mainly as I used to hate sports day as a child. However I was pleasantly surprised and remembered that I actually liked Sports Day when I was in Infant school as it was all about the taking part and being part of a team. No one really cared who won, and that was kind of nice. Big man's was first. They started with a warm up to Happy and then rotated around the different games. Big man showed such determination with the egg and spoon and I was greatly impressed. I was infact wondering if he was somehow cheating as he was so good. However, after speaking to my husband, it appears it is some Fairweather trait, as he was very good at this as a similar age.

Middle man's sports day was in combination with his school fete. They had clearly been practising. Middle man was off to a great start and then this happened.

Some posing for the camera, followed by a wave!

Infact in every race he started well. Then he got near to us and smiled. As we cheered him on, he got slower. The more we cheered "go middle man!" The slower he got! He may not have won any races, but he stole my heart with his smiles for the camera!

Big man is still enjoying drawing and I am loving the little pictures he is making. I love that everything he draws is happy and that there are often the words "I Luv Mummy" on them and a couple of hearts.

He was really pleased to join in with this month's draw with me, as it is his favourite subject - Space.

Here is his rather lovely picture, that makes me smile every time I look at it. I love that he has labelled the moon too! (My little scientist in the making.)

This month's Degustabox really was a mixed bag. Individually, all the products were nice, but not all things that I would normally buy.

Be Fast Breakfast: These were banana milkshakes intended for breakfast on the go. Nice but I like to have my cereal.

Shaken Udder Milkshake: We had these in a previous box. They are nice and a bit different for the kids on a picnic.

VeeTee Rice: We have bought these before and I will continue to buy them. Sometimes it is really handy to have rice in 2 minutes!

Lambrini Strawberry: I would never have thought of buying this, but it tasted nice. A bit on the sweet side for my liking though.

Elizabeth Shaw: These ameretto sticks tasted like chocolate and marzipan, so I was happy.

Estrella: Neither my husband or I really drink larger, but it was nice enough.

Bear Alpha Bites: The boys seemed to like these

Urban Fruit Pinaepple: Liked the idea of this but really didn't like the taste. Far too sweet.

Madagascan Vanilla Grinder: Great addition to my baking collection!

If you would like to try a Degustabox for yourself they have provided my readers with a discount code: BP8EP meaning you will be a £3 saving off of your first box. That means you will get a surprise box delivered for just £9.99




I decided to get middle man helping me make the pear dessert, as it is nice and easy to make. You will need:

1 packet of chocolate digestives
100g butter
150ml double cream
200g of soft cheese
Madagascan Vanilla Grinder
150g icing sugar
2 tins of pears.

Start by making the base. Smash the digestives into small pieces and combine with 100g of melted butter.

Press into the bottom of a springform cake pan and put into the fridge to cool.

Make the topping by whipping the cream, then adding the cheese, icing sugar and vanilla to taste.

Cut the pears and layer on the digestive base.

Top with the cheese mixture. Enjoy!



I was given a Degustabox for the purpose of this review but the opinions here are my own.

Regular readers will know that I like making and decorating cakes, but have only taught myself and don't really know how to do it properly. So last weekend I booked up for a course at Cake Your Day in Badshot Lea. There are a number of courses offered, but as a Cath Kidston fan, I couldn't resist some cupcake designs featuring stawberries and flowers.

We often get wrapped up in day to day life where our little world is so important. We don't always see the bigger picture. Sometimes it takes nature to show us what a tiny part of the world we are. The Grand Canyon is a perfect example. Even when you are there it is difficult to appreciate the size. A helicopter looks like a bird. An amazing landscape that gets you thinking. I think that the Grand Canyon is a perfect example of the great outdoors.

Ryvita have recently sent me some of their products to try out their new recipes. When I saw the ice cream sandwich recipe I knew exactly which one I was going to try. I have used the Ryvita Fruit crunch before, for one of the nicest breakfasts so I was pretty sure I would like it. You can view the full recipe here, or red on for my condensed version. Here is a picture of what you need.


Making them is simple. Take 2 Ryvita fruit crunch Crispbreads and spread on raspberry jab.
Next add the ice cream. I used Vienetta as you can slice it (and it also adds some chocolate.)

I then squashed 4 raspberries on top,

It was a lovely yummy grown up treat that I will happily make again. For more recipe ideas you can visit the Ryvita website.


The lovely people at Ryvita are offering one of my readers a prize of 2 packets of Fruit Crunch Ryvita, so that they can have a go at this recipe too. All you need to do is fill in the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/ryvita-fruit-crunch#sthash.984grnlA.dpuf

I was sent some Ryvita samples for the purpose of this post but the opinions here are my own.

A couple of weeks ago I took middle and little man to In The Night Garden Live. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea as neither watch the TV show. Middle man is too big for it and little man gets made to watch Spongebob as that's what his brother's like. He has read the books though and enjoys these. I had also intended to only take little man but as the dates worked out, middle man came too. At £19.50 a ticket (no reduction for children, and a baby over 6 months needs a ticket) it is not cheap. However, we had taken the boys a couple of years ago so I knew it was a lovely show.

If you are thinking of going, sign up to their newsletter as they will send a discount to you. It's only 5% but it's better than nothing. I booked tickets a couple of days before (just incase the kids got ill) and most dates had availability. As it is first come, first served basis for seating, it doesn't matter if you book tickets late. I didn't feel the extra cost for premium seating was necessary (these are the first 4 rows) All standard seats are a good view. You can book to see Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy after the show, at a cost of £15 a character. Again I couldn't justify this cost.

We went to the Old Deer Park venue in Richmond. There is a car park directly opposite the show dome. As you enter the giant inflatable done there are pretty lanterns hanging from the ceiling.


As you are waiting for the performance to start, there are projections to keep your little one (and you) amused.



The show is really well done, using a mix of projection, puppets and characters. We saw the Pinky Ponk Show. The story is basic and Makka Pakka washes faces. The character Makka Pakka came out to wash the Pontipines faces but the puppet came out to wash Iggle Piggle's. I liked this as it always made him the right size! The show is noisy because small children can sit still or keep quiet but it doesn't distract from the performance. I was actually shocked at how much middle man enjoyed it. I guess that as it is theatre it takes an older child to appreciate it more. The show is really nicely done and at 40 minutes it is just the right length for a young audience.


So in the end I was pleased that I took the boys as they both enjoyed it. The only sad thing is that it will probably be the last time as they are growing up so fast.

Last week I set myself 5 objectives for the summer. I am pleased to say that even though I have been poorly, I seem to be doing a better job than last year.

I had a big clean at the weekend and big man's room is now looking much better. Now the challenge is to get him to keep it like this. So far it is not too bad and I keep sending him to tidy - which usually means I go up to find him colouring.


I tidied a couple of pictures, putting them into frames. Space family photo for big man's space room and the Moshi Monster's one for middle man.




I have said yes to a couple of small food reviews to make myself do some cooking and OMG I am glad I did as the plum crumble I made was delicious and will certainly be made again.


And finally I went to the garden centre and bought a few plants to brighten up the garden.

My new favourite flower in the garden.

So all in all I am feeling rather smug with how well I have done this week. Let's just hope that my determination continues!

When Tara set this weeks theme for The Gallery, I thought it would be easy. I thought I would just look back for the oldest picture on the computer and write something about it.

Whilst looking for such a picture I found out a few things:

1. Our really old photos don't seem to be in date order. I think we have scanned photos in meaning they have gone out of order.

2. I was a lot thinner than I ever realised I was.

3. I used to sleep a lot and by the look of things my husband thought it would be a good idea to take pictures of this

4. There are a lot of unflattering photos that I need to go through and delete

5. I took a lot of photos when I went skiing. I think that snow scenes are very pretty.

So I decided after this that I would have a look on Facebook instead. Here is a younger me.


I was just a few days off of turning 30, and I thought a good way to celebrate was to hurl myself out of a plane at 15,000 feet strapped to a stranger. To be perfectly honest, I dislike flying so much, it wasn't that much of a decision to hurl myself out of the plane. I was happier out than in. The fact I had a man videoing me meant I felt I should smile rather than look totally terrified. It was an amazing experience, but I'm not sure if I will have the courage to do it again. Having little ones to look after means you worry more. Although having said that I did Google, how likely it was to die on a tandem skydive the night before I jumped. If I remember correctly it was less likely than getting struck by lightening. As I had made it to 29 without too many thunder storms to be scared of, I felt the odds were in my favour.

So that is how I celebrated my third decade. Now I need ideas for my fourth. I am thinking that maybe a nice relaxing holiday is in order rather than something as exhilarating as a skydive. What do you think?

Recently Jordans sent me some of their Crunchy Oat Granola with Raisins and Almonds so that I could try out one of Edd Kimber's new recipes which he has created to celebrate the Jordans garden at the RHS Hampron Court Palace Flower Show. I went for the Cherry Plum Crumble with Cobnuts recipe. Well I say i went for that one but I forgot to purchase the cobnuts or hazelnuts so it was more of a plum crumble. You can see Edd's recipe here, but here is a quick run through of how I made mine.

Ingredients

For the Fruit:
A punnet of plums
50g caster sugar
A tablespoon of plain flour

For the Crumble:
125g or Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola with Raisins and Almonds
60g caster sugar
60g of plain flour
50g of unsalted butter

I started by chopping the plums and coating them in the flour and caster sugar.

I then rubbed the butter, flour and sugar together before adding the granola. I then placed this on top of the plum mixture.

This then went in the oven at 160 degrees for 35-40 minutes. It was a hit with all the family. I even liked it and I am not keen on raisins! I am sure that if I had followed the recipe properly it would have tasted even better but this was pretty good.


Jordans have kindly offered 2 of my readers a packet of Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola Raisin and Almond, so they can try some recipes for themselves. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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I received a packet of granola for the purpose of this post but the opinions here are my own

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/jordans-crunchy-oat-granola-2-winners#sthash.Q90KjsPM.dpuf