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Now the boys have returned to school it's time for me to get organised. One thing I find hard is dinner time. I don't know about you, but making meals from scratch after school is hard work. There I am peeling a carrot and world war three erupts in the living room over some Duplo. I need to start meal planning and bulk cooking, rather than getting to 5 o'clock and thinking about what we are going to eat.

With winter coming up, I think casseroles and pulled pork will be on the menu. These take little preparation and can be left to cook, combined with some Birds Eye vegetables they make a lovely comforting meal.

I am also intending on buying larger joints on offer in the supermarket and using it in a couple of meals. Last week I cooked a ham. First night we had this as ham, egg and chips and then the rest went into a chicken and ham pie. I also made a large cottage pie which we ate and then froze so two meals there.

I think every household needs to have some staples in for last minute cooking too. I am hoping that I'm not the only disorganised Mum in the world? For me, I like to have eggs, jacket potatoes, baked beans, Birds Eye frozen vegetables and some Birds Eye fish fingers and nuggets. Sometimes meals need to be quick and easy so it's good to have them covered.

How do you plan your after school dinners? Are you as organised as I long to be? Have you any tips you can share?

This post is an entry for #Afterschoolchefs Linky Challenge, sponsored by Birds Eye. Learn more on the Birds Eye Facebook page.

I was starting to wonder if it was going to happen. At 6 3/4 big man has finally lost a tooth last week. He was beaming from ear to ear when he presented me with this on finishing school.

I then had a very intricate story of how it fell out and how surprised his entire class were. Apparently one of the girls had informed him that the tooth fairy leaves a whopping £2 on her first visit. Queue moans of the rate of inflation from me and my husband. You could see big man planning his trip to the sweet shop.

At night he put his tooth in a special cushion and stuffed it to the side of his pillow. We didn't want the tooth fairy having a tough time finding it.

The next morning excitement was high. His friend had been right and he also received a note.

It read:

Wow Big Man! You have taken such good care of your teeth. Well done! I noticed on my way in that you have a keepsake book on your wardrobe. On this occasion please put your tooth in there. Don't worry though you are still rewarded. Please don't spend all of it on sweets. They are bad for teeth. 

Regards Lara (Your tooth fairy) 

After a discussion that I had forgotten all about that book, we went to the top of his wardrobe and found the pouch for his tooth. We then agreed that he should probably wait until a new tooth fell out before he wrote a reply. With that he set to trying to find a new tooth to wobble.

This weekend we were lucky enough to enjoy a family film night and fajitas thanks to Santa Maria. I decided to choose Rango. It's a story about a theatrical chameleon who finds his tank dropped in the highway leaving him stranded in the dessert. Middle man got abut upset at this as he thought it was Reggie the gecko and started panicking that he would get hurt. Luckily all was fine and Rango found himself in the extremely dry dessert looking for water. It unravels that a rather mean tortoise was in control of the water and kept the villagers at his mercy with hope that water would come. This film is really suited to slightly older children as the plot is a bit difficult for younger ones to follow. There is also a fair bit of fighting and a rattlesnake with a machine gun tail! Big man enjoyed this Wild West themed movie, and as a kids movie I quite enjoyed it too.

After cuddling up on the sofa we got to enjoy some Fajitas. Just incase you were wondering Santa Maria is the new name for Discovery. My husband and boys were so keen on the nachos and onion and garlic dip that I didn't even get a chance to photo them!

We love the squeezy salsa and guacamole as it's so handy to have them in the fridge, if like us you enjoy fajitas on a regular basis.

Santa Maria have kindly offered one of my readers a selection of their products so they can see how good they taste for themselves. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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Don't forget to enter my other giveaways here!

- See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/santa-maria-fajita-selection#sthash.t75USYdV.dpuf

We were given a selection of Santa Maria products and DVD in order to write this post, but the opinions here are my own.

Zip Stix have challenged bloggers to show off their stunts using Zip Stix. These pocket money toys are a bit like small slap bands and the idea is that you can use a launcher to perform stunts with and knock over objects. Unfortunately, I seem to have got old and lost the ability to operate such simple things. Luckily big man found it much easier than me with a little practice. Here he is showing how to use them.


They are a simple toy that my boys seem to like. There are 72 zip stix in total to collect. Just set up your stunt, place your zip stix in the launcher and press down on it to get it to roll up and fire.



I think these would make a great stocking filler with Christmas coming up. Big man recommends getting a pack which has cones in as he likes knocking these down.







We were given the Zip Stix pack for the purpose of this review but the opinions here are my own.

It's that time of year again where Mother's like myself go practically insane worrying about where to book for their little ones to see Santa. It is ridiculous, the amount of hours I have put into looking into places in the past. I guess the problem is that we all want to make it special for ourselves as much as our little ones. The years when they actually believe in the magic are few and far between. Companies know this and you bet they will come up with every way possible to eek every last penny out of you. Is it worth the worry and stress? No. Is it worth researching the venue. Categorically yes. We have had some different experiences over the last few years so I thought it would be good to share the good the bad and the damn right ugly with you.

Big man was born in November 2007. He happily slept whilst being cuddled by a work colleagues of my OH by Santa. At one and two I hadn't even thought about a grotto visit. I was shocked when friends were booking grottos. We left it. Big man was none the wiser. I mean what 1 year old understands about Father Christmas?

At 3 I still wasn't into the idea. We took him to a garden centre where Santa sat in a shed. He was actually a really good Santa. He gave middle man a stocking even though we hadn't paid for him.The only problem was big man was scared of Santa. He stood there in awe unable to move. He looked so frightened in the photo they took we chose not to part with a tenner. I was actually kind of relieved that we hadn't spent lots of money on a grotto.

Then something happened. I had a third child and with it came guilt over everything. This is when I was obsessed that we must go to meet Santa even though I had quite literally just had a C-section. We chose The Watercress Line. It was nice in the fact that I could sit down. Father Christmas came through the carriages handing out presents. He needed reminding about little man. It was OK. Nothing fantastic. The boys liked it, so I suppose that is what counts.


The following year we went to Peppa Pig World. This was a lovely day. Mainly, because the park was quiet. The grotto part was fine. Lots of animated animals, but not really my thing. If you have a Peppa Pig fan and live in driving distance I would recommend this for a 3-4 year old. I just liked the pretty lights and Peppa style Santa that they put up. (Yep it doesn't take that much to please me!)



Last year we had the very best and very worst of grottos. You can read my review on Lapland UK  as well as my top tips. You need to remortgage to go there, but if you can afford it then it is fantastic. Well if you are lucky with the weather and realistic with your expectations. It is a theatrical production where the actual meeting with Santa is just a very small part. We had a lovely time and thankfully I came away understanding why it cost so much, rather than thinking I had been ripped off.



We then won some tickets to a brand new children's festival The Little Welly. We made the decision to not go and see Santa here just enjoy the festival. It was an eye opener on how a company can spin things to look good when actually they are a wash out. I have no doubt that the intentions of the organisers were to create a fantastic Christmas experience but with the wind and rain it was a muddy mess that had little atmosphere. So there is my take on the grottos I have been to. Are they worth it? Now that is a hard one. Children are believers for such a small amount of time.

So what is my advice to you?

Firstly do your research. Word of mouth tends to be the best recommendation. You may be worrying about where to go from September onwards, but your children won't. They will be happy whether they go to a winter wonderland or a garden centre.I you don't have. It is not worth spending money you don't have. Christmas is expensive enough as it is. Do you know what, I doubt your children will even care if they don't go. It is the pressure that we put on ourselves to be "perfect" parents that is the problem. Last but not least, be prepared that little ones won't be into the idea at all. Father Christmas actually commented on my top tips post saying that he had a sleeping baby surrounded by adults. Sometimes it is worth waiting.

So there is my take on grotto's. What is yours? Do you love or hate them? What is the best one you have been to?

Turtle Power is back! With the The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film hitting UK cinemas on the 17th October, Green's Turtle-Tastic Cake kits are currently being launched in Asda.

We love a competition in this house and love Cadbury chocolate. To celebrate their Win a Banger Competition, we decided to have a competition all of our own thanks to a #CollectiveBias campaign. There is no way that my boys are ever going to turn down a chance to have some chocolate and this party game is a winner. I headed off to Sainsbury's to gather my ingredients. Some squirty cream and Cadbury chocolate. I decided the Cadbury Twirl would work well. If you want to try the game too you will also need a blindfold.


The idea is simple. Make a cream "pie" with the squirty cream and add half a twirl to the middle.

Then blindfold your first competitor. Middle man was keen to have first go. Once blindfolded, a team mate directs them where to go to pick up the chocolate with just their mouth.


Big man was the winner he just dived in, middle man came a close second.


Little man was disqualified for refusing to wear the blindfold and then using his fingers.


I may have slowed Daddy down a little by pushing the chocolate a bit deeper into the cream.


In last place was me! It seem's I have trust issues and was worried that I was going to have my head dunked. (Possibly my own fault by being slightly evil to Daddy.)



We had lots of fun and it is a great party game. Maybe you could use it if you are planning Halloween party next month. The boys love it as at the end of the day everyone wins, as they get some tasty Cadbury chocolate.

If you love competitions too, with no purchase necessary, why not enter the Cadbury Win a Banger competition. The main prize is to take part in a rally to Barcelona, but there are thousands of other prizes to be won, including some yummy Cadbury chocloate. You could have a go at this game yourself. All you need to do to enter is to be over 18 and fill in your details. The hardest part is answering the question: which is your favourite bar? After a lot of deliberation I chose the Twirl, although I do love a Boost too.

Do you love a competition? Have you got any great ideas for kids party games that you can share?

As you know if you are a regular reader, we enjoy having the food subscription box, Degustabox. I was a little disappointed this month that the courier had changed. This would have been problematic if we weren't in for delivery, but by luck we were so it was OK. I was happy, however, with the selection inside the box, including a new "Degustabox Fridge" Coupon. I had mixed feelings about this. I love the idea....but.....the coupon could only be redeemed at Sainsbury's or Waitrose and had a short expiry date. Making a special trip to find out it wasn't in stock would have annoyed me. A longer expiry date so I could put it in my wallet and use it when I passed a shop would have been better. As it turns out we managed to get the last packet of MOMA'S Wild Berry Bircher Museli. It was nice enough but expensive in my opinion.

Mexican Dave's Tortilla Chips: We had recieved a different flavour in a previous box so knew these would be good.

Berry White Organic Drink: Nice enough, but not something I would go out and buy.

Schartz Flavour Shots: Again different flavours of these have been in a previous Degustabox. I find these great for a quick dinner on a week night.

Fever Tree: I don't really drink ginger beer or tonic water so these aren't for me.

Lindt: I really liked that these chocolates were individually wrapped. I love Lindt chocolate so it was a winner.

Cawston Press: This kid's blend was really good. Not overly sweet. Little man wasn't as keen because of this but as a Mum that hates sugary kids drinks I think this just needs some time for him to get used too.

Brioche Pasquier: I am familiar with their brioches but these were pain au chocolat's and the au lait brioche. The boys enjoyed them.

Dr. Oetker: I thought that these edible wafer cupcakes were going to taste horrible. It is not something I would have purchased until now. They actually tasted good (like sweet rice paper) and they boys thought they were great.

If you would like to try Degustabox for yourself, I have a discount code CIFAW meaning that you recieve a £3 discount on your first order.




I have made my own salsa a number of times, but this was my first go at guacamole. it left me wondering why I had never tried it before. It is so easy to do and tastes amazing. Word of warning is that it is really rich so you won't want huge amounts of it.

For this I used:

2 small ripe avocados
Half a chili chopped
Half a clove of garlic
A handful of fresh coriander chopped
The juice of a small lime.

Scoop the flesh out of 2 ripe avocados and mash with a fork.



Finely chop the garlic and chili and mix into the avaoado

Squeeze the juice of a lime and mix.

Finely chop a handful of coriander and mix this in too.



This tastes great with Mexican Dave's tortilla chips and just as good in a fajita!

It seems only yesterday that I kissed big man goodbye, got into the car with my husband and headed to the hospital in a nervous but excited state ready to meet my gorgeous middle man.

As you may have noticed we are particularly keen on the Fruit Crunch Ryvita. From one of the best breakfasts I have ever had to a grown up treat, there are loads of recipes to try. My only issue with them is crumbs. Until now, I have kept them in our cupboard and they somehow manage to get knocked over and crumbs go everywhere. Now, however, Ryvita have solved my problem by releasing a limited edition tin designed by Ben De Lisi.



I think it looks great and would fit into most kitchens, looking stylish. The tins can be purchased from the Ryvita online store for £7.49

Ryvita have kindly offered me one to giveaway to one of my readers. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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- See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/limited-edition-ryvita-tin#sthash.FpO2LXe0.dpuf

Well where did those 10 weeks go? I set myself 5 goals 10 weeks ago and here is my update. I have to confess once again I have not done as well as I had wanted. Partly due to life getting in the way. It turns out that I am in my usual style I have managed to get a tropical food poisoning bug without going anywhere tropical! So the last few weeks have not been that successful as I haven't been up to doing that much. But what have I achieved? Well I put some colour into my garden.



I have made my own playdough and bubble dough. Both so easy to do, I wonder why I have never done it before. Tidying the house is a work in progress but I feel as though I might get there at some point. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Our bedroom is certainly tidier after I won an ottoman from Emma in Bromley. As for crafting, I have neglected that goal. But when you don't feel good you don't have the concentration to do much. I have however, got some ideas for Halloween from Pintrest so watch this space.

The goal I have done best on is cooking.

I have made  plum crumble



I have made some Whoopie Pies


Lego Cupcakes


Mojito Style Ice lollies


and Lemon and Chocolate Drizzle Shortbread



So maybe my gold for the autumn should be to go on a diet!