Our taxi dropped us off at the Waterfall at Dubai Mall and as we were heading for our trip up the Burj Khalifa we walked straight there. Our first proper look at the Mall was from floor 124. I looked at my husband and said I had expected it to be bigger. He agreed. 

I can only assume that the height of the Burj Khalifa distorts your perspective. You are looking at huge skyscrapers that appear tiny in comparison. Walking around the Mall itself I can tell you it is huge!

At 1 and 1.30 each afternoon the fountains dance to music. As we felt the boys couldn't really stay up too late to watch the night shows (which I imagine are even more spectacular) we decided to watch the shows at lunchtime. Each show consists of the fountains dancing to one 

piece of classical music and is similar to the fountains outside the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Due to the time of day it gets really hot and you do not need to get there early to see them. 

We then decided to explore the Mall. There is every shop you can think of and more.

We loved sitting outside the Aquarium and watching the divers. 

We then headed to the taxi rank. Easier said than done! This is when we really realised the scale of the Mall. The fact that the rich can get a taxi around the Mall should have been a clue! 

The upside in getting lost is we found an ice rink.

And a statue or two of some camels.

I think a trip to Dubai would always include a trip to the Mall and if we are lucky enough to go again I would love to see the fountains at night.

Well what can I say. Each month, I get excited as my text arrives to tell me that my Degustabox delivery is on it's way. This week March's box arrived and I was not disappointed. A fantastic selection of products which we have loved tasting. Here are my thoughts.

Jordans Lighter Granola: We have tried this before and I like the fact that it is 30% less fat than standard granola. It would be fantastic in plum crumble.



Juiceburst: I really enjoyed the cranberry drink and would look out for this when I am out and about.

BBQUUE: We were given the original flavour and as we were having ham I marinated it in this. The taste was quite subtle. I will be making chicken skewers for the BBQ next and will add more sauce.

Lindt: Easter is not Easter without a Lindt bunny, but these mini eggs make a close second. I love lindt chocolate and I really enjoyed these. Look out for the chocolate brownies I have made with these coming up next week.

Bassetts: Jelly Babies Berry Mix. Genius! All my favourite flavours of jelly babies without the yellow and green ones that I usually end up giving the boys.

Sour Patch: I am not a particular fan of sour jellies but if they are your thing then they taste good.

Crabbies Fruits: I turned my nose up at these at first. I then opened the Raspberry and Rhubarb and did a u-turn. Lovely, refreshing and I will be buying these in the future.

Kent's Kitchen: This is a brand that has been in previous Degustaboxes. I have always enjoyed them and hope that this will be as good.

Natvia: As chance has it I have just reviewed this product. You can see the 3 ingredient chocolate cake that I made.


Brioche Pasquier: These French Bread croutons have a flavour and are a great new snack idea.

If you would like to try Degustabox for yourself, I have a discount code which gives you a £3 discount on your first order. Just enter the code CKMTL to get your box for £9.99

As my little blog has turned 3 this month they have also offered me a box to giveaway for April. Just complete the Gleam widget below. Good Luck! Full terms and conditions can be seen on the widget but please note that all entrants need to be resident in mainland UK (excluding Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and Islands) and over 18.

Degustabox April

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My favourite post of last year lists what you need to know if you are expecting a boy. In short they are messy, muddy, and obsessed with collecting sticks. I put the latter down to primal instincts regarding the need for fire. As far as I can tell, boys aren't as emotionally complicated as girls. They will randomly play with others in the park. There is no need to even know their name. It will often involve racing, finding sticks or a ball. What you see is what you get. There is no hidden meaning to anything. As long as you keep them fed and watered they are happy. I believe that the collective term is a bundle of boys.

When I recieved this book I have to say I initially panicked about what I had agreed to review. I opened the book and inside was a recipe in French. Now whilst I miraculously managed to gain an A grade at GCSE, I must admit it was a few years ago and I am a little rusty. Thankfully I then looked to my left and saw the same recipe in English. Phew!


Flicking through the book I was really impressed. The recipes are aimed at being easy enough for children to follow, but they are also tasty too. I am really keen at teaching my boys to cook. They enjoy it and all of them are happy to try something new if it is something they have cooked themselves. Recipes range from croque monsieur to roasted cauliflower to apple tarts with almond frangipane. However, it was the cheese fondue that really caught my eye and I decided to order in the ingredients so that we could make this.

The recipe was really simple.

Big man grated 250g of comte and 250g of gruyere cheese.



We melted 45g of butter in a pan and added 2 cloves of chopped garlic.

Next we added a cup of white wine, 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock and then the grated cheese.

Some salt and pepper finished it off.

I cut up some cubes of baguette and we tucked in.



It was a success with everyone.

We will certainly be making some more of the dishes in the book.

The book is £12.99 from Amazon and I think it is a lovely book for any child that is keen on learning to cook. I have also been offered a copy to giveaway to one of my readers. Just complete the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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When the Co-operative challenged me to make an Easter centerpiece I had a think about what Easter meant. To me it is a time to be spent with family and signals new beginnings. A Spring style dessert would be fresh and exciting. To my children Easter is all about the chocolate eggs. I therefore decided I would try and combine the two with this more adult looking cake from the outside but with a surprise chocolate egg middle.


Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1lb of Co-operative unsalted butter
1lb of Co-operative self raising flour
1lboz of caster sugar
8 Co-operative medium free range eggs

Lemon curd

3 bags of Co-operative solid milk chocolate foiled easter eggs

For the frosting:
8oz of Co-operative unsalted butter
300g of icing sugar
150g of white chocolate

To finish:
1 packet of Co-operative raspberries
1 bar of Co-operative Fairtrade dark chocolate


You will need to start by making four 8 inch round sponge cakes.


Mix the eggs, caster sugar, and flour together with the butter. I find it easier to melt the butter. Divide the mixture into four and bake at 180C for approximately 15 minutes. Once cooled you will need to cut holes in three of the sponge cakes.


Place the three layers on top of each other with a generous layer of lemon curd sandwiching them together.


Fill the hole with foiled Easter eggs before placing the last cake layer on top.


To make the frosting you need to cream the butter and icing sugar together. Next heat the white chocolate in the microwave at 400W for 2 minutes. Take out, stir and repeat for 20s intervals if necessary. Mix the white chocolate into the butter icing.

Using a blunt knife spread the butter cream all over the cake.


Next I melted half a bar of Co-operative fairtrade dark chocolate and poured it into an icing bag. I cut a small whole at the end and piped the chocolate on the top.


Lastly I added the raspberries with some more drizzled chocolate.


And when you cut inside....



Will you be making an Easter centrepiece dessert? If you are looking for some baking inspiration then take a look at the recipes on the Co-operative site.






I was provided the ingredients for this post by the Co-operative Food.

"Mummy can we have a bunny rabbit?" 

"No."

 "A cute puppy?" 

 "Definitely not."

 "A goldfish that goes ob ob ob?" 

 "No no no!" 

I often feel bad about saying no to pets. I have even wavered for a short time thinking it is a good idea. Then this weekend I was reminded why it would be a bad one. 

The class mascot, travelling piglet came to stay. 

Middle Man has been banging on about the beloved travelling piglet for weeks now. He was over the moon that one of his friends was able to bring him to his birthday party. The countdown for our week began. 

"He gets given out in alphabetical order Mummy, we will get her soon, I'm so excited!" middle man exclaimed often. 

"I'm pretty sure she is a he" I often exclaimed (and yes I have Googled just to double check.) 

Anyway this Thursday was the day that the school felt the need to punish me. Out bounced a rather excited middle man clutching the dreaded bag. Yes my Mother's Day treat was to entertain a grubby soft toy and then write up his weekend. The one weekend where we had nothing planned. 

Middle Man started off well. He loved travelling piglet. He took him around the park. "What was that piglet?" he asked holding piglets snout to his ear. He came home and pretended to brush his teeth and cuddled him in bed.

It seems that that one night was enough for middle man. Whilst he was still happy to do things with piglet when reminded, he did require a lot of reminding for the rest of the weekend. Infact his brothers were far more interested in entertaining piglet than he was.  

In the world of middle man, piglet did not need to do lots of exciting things to be happy. He had a picnic, visited Legoland and went to the park. That was enough. The rest of the time he was sleeping.  

I suppose what I had forgotten is that it is tiring to be a soft toy, and at the end of the day it doesn't take much to make a 5 year old happy.

So I gave up trying to think of exciting things for piglet to do as he had already done enough. 

I treated him to a lovely pamper session and now the once grubby but now sweet smelling pig can go and tell middle man's class about his adventures.

Now please excuse me as I have to print off pictures and write a journal for a small pig. Now whose homework was it again!?!

When I was pregnant with big man I hadn't really given a huge amount of thought about being a Mother. I was rather fixated on how the hell I was going to get a huge baby out of my body. Luckily modern medicine sorted that out for me, leaving me with a beautiful bundle of blue joy who was totally dependent on me. I had no idea what to expect.

You might have guessed that I enjoy baking. However, I am not that adventurous and mainly stick to simple cakes that I know will work well. I don't often bake bread. However, when Baking Mad got in touch and asked if I would like to take part in the Allison;s Dough Tree campaign, I thought it would be a great chance for me to see how easy or difficult it would be to make homemade bread.

I had a quick look at the recipes on their site and decided that the Wholemeal Wreath reciepe looked reasonably easy for a beginner like myself.

You will need:

400g of Allisons Very Strong Wholemeal Flour
100g of Allisons Stong White Bread Flour
1 Allison's Easy Bake Yeast Sachet
1 1/2 tsp salt
50g melted butter
1 tbsp of muscavado sugar
300ml warm water

I mixed all my ingredients together and then kneeded by hand for around 15 minutes.

Next I placed the dough in a bowl and waited for it to double in size.

Shaping the wreath was actually quite easy. I made a long sausage shape about 50cm long and cut it down the middle leaving it joined at one end. I then twisted the two pieces and joined it back onto the end piece.

Next I baked it at 200C for about 35minutes. It was lovely served warm with butter.

I was really pleased with how the wreath turned out and it was really easy to make. I am now going to try some of the other recipes on the site. The Italian Stuffed Stromboli has particularly caught my eye!

Do you bake your own bread? If so what would you recommend I try next?


I was given an Allison's hamper for the purpose of this post.

"Would you like to review our delicious cakes through the post?" Well who wouldn't I thought. Send me cakes offers "Grown up cakes for everyone" delivered to your door. They are letterbox friendly so there is no waiting in for the postman. Sounds good doesn't it?

As it turned out the postman never posted my cakes as he was knocking with other packages, but the pacakage was letterbox friendly. It was also wrapped in a plastic outer-bag to protect it from the elements.

On opening the box, it was filled with delicious looking cakes all individually wrapped. A leaflet listed the cakes included along with their ingredients. It was pretty easy to work out which cake was which. I did what any good reviewer would do. I put on the kettle made a cuppa and set to tasting. First off was the lemon and strawberry jam sandwich.

I don't know about you, but often when I go to a cafe I see a nice piece of cake and it never tastes as good as it looks. This was not the case with these. Every cake and slice tasted amazing. The slices were just the right size to enjoy without being too much. They were moist and full of flavour.

The leaflet included advised that the cakes should be eaten within 5 days. There was no chance in this house that they were going to last that long. Once my husband realised how tasty they were he decided it was also a review job for him!

We received the ultimate bake box at £22. I think that this is a fair price considering the quality of the cakes and services like this always come at a premium. It would make an excellent gift, for anyone that has a sweet tooth. They have a few different cake boxes to chose from and gluten free cakes can also be delivered.

This morning I mentioned to big man that it was Mother's Day on Sunday. I jokingly asked him if what special things he planned for me. "Oh I don't know" he replied. He turned to my husband and asked "Daddy, what have you arranged for Mother's Day?" So that pretty much guarantee's that there are no plans for Mother's Day treat as yet. It does pose the question, what does a Mum want on Mother's Day?

Well I can only answer for myself here. I certainly don't want a soft cuddly toy saying "I love Mum." We have enough soft toys in the house to open our own shop so we do not need any more. To be honest I am quite easy to please. A bottle or two (read case) of Prosecco would never go wrong. Tesco have some fantastic deals for a start. Breakfast in bed would be pretty nice too. Nothing fussy, a bowl of porridge (has to be Ready Brek) and a cup of coffee will do me nicely. Maybe a box of chocolates, Malteasers have always been a favourite. A big box would be required as I can guarantee that my boys would want to help me enjoy that present.

What I would really like is to be woken by 3 happy faces (after 7.30am) all keen to show me the cards they have made. Little man will undoubtedly have a heart on his as he "knows" that girls like hearts and pink. There will probably be glitter and stick people galore. They will all be smiling. As long as I am not asked to choose the best card, everything will be fine. Why is it that boys are so competitive?

It would then be nice to get out of the house. Sunday is my day for cleaning so for one day a year it is nice to get away from this. A walk in the park, some fresh air and if we are lucky some sunshine. Dinner cooked by big man is always nice. His beaming smile as he produces a plate of food he has lovingly made is worth more than anything money can buy.

So, it seems that I am quite easy to please, and if my husband reads this he can stop worrying about having to come up with some spectacular day filled with expensive presents. What do you hope for for Mother's Day?

Do you have a Transformers fan? Transformers Prime Season Two Complete Box Set lands on shelves with a crash and a smash from 23rd March 2015.

Prime Season two sees the Transformers post Autobot-Decepticon war. Deceitful Megatron recruits Orion Pax into the Decepticons by menacingly leading him to believe that the Autobots are evil. However, cracks soon form in his ranks as the evil leader struggles to keep his troops in line after the murder of Breakdown and departure of Starscream and Airachnid.

Meanwhile, Autobots Jack and Arcee travel to Cybertron to restore leader Optimus Primes’ memory using the super-computer, Vector Sigma. Reluctantly resigning himself to the fact that his arch nemesis is beyond saving, Optiumus accepts he must destroy Megatron at any cost.

The Autobots and Decepticons compete to find Cybertronian artifacts placed on Earth by Alpha Trion. Trion orders them to locate the elusive Omega Keys which will activate the Omega Lock and ultimately could restore Cybertron to its former glory, allowing the autobots to return to their rightful home at long last…

TRANSFORMERS PRIME: THE COMPLETE SEASON 2 BOX SET is out on DVD on 16th March. You can pre-order it from Amazon here. I also have a set to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. Just complete the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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When it comes to Christmas or end of the school term, I see lots of posts about lovely homemade gifts. So when Dr. Oetker provided me with a rather lovely selection of their chocolate, I decided to try making their double chocolate bites as I thought these would make a great gift in the future. The recipe was really simple and you can find the full recipe here.

I started by crushing a packet of shortbread, mixing it with butter and then adding this mixture to melted chocolate. I used the white, milk and 56% dark chocolate.

I then put the mixtures into the freezer to cool down so that they were hard enough to roll into balls.

Lastly I drizzled melted chocolate over the top.

So they were pretty easy to make, but what did they taste like? As these were a test batch, I let my boys try them. Let's just say they didn't last a day! I will certainly be making them again as gifts.

If you head over to the Dr. Oetkers website there are lots of lovely chocolate recipes for you to try. They are also running a competition on twitter. To enter just tweet @DrOetkerbakes a photo of a chocolate bake  you've made with #evenbetterbakes and tell them who you'll be sharing it with, for the chance to win a deluxe hamper of chocolate products. The full terms and conditions can be found here. Now what will you bake?

100 Family Adventures is written by the Meek Family and is all about swopping screen time for green time. My boys are far too happy infront of the TV so this book appealed to me as a way of inspiring us to get out more. It contains a range of activities for the less adventerous (like myself) to those exploring types who would relish sub zero camping. (I'm afraid that is a step to far for me!)

I particularly liked the bushcraft survival section at the beginning of the book as I think I could take elements of that to use with my boys. I am not sure how any of us would cope with project 39: going without electricity for a day, but this might be a fun thing to have a go at in the summer holidays.

If you are looking for inspiration to get out and about more with the kids then this book has plenty of ideas which I am sure they would love. The book retails at £14.99 and can be purchased from Amazon. I am lucky enough to have a copy to giveaway to one of my readers. just complete the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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Whilst staying in Dubai we decided to take the boys up the tallest building in the world. Well up to floor 124 with a brief lift change at 125. We had pre booked tickets on their website before our stay. This needs doing as there are times slots for viewing and just turning up costs more if there is availability. Children under 4 are free so we didn't need to pay for little man. You are allowed through 10 mins before your time a slot. You then walk through screens talking through the building of the structure. There is then a video where Tom Cruise is doing some amazing stunts off the building. Next you go into a dark lift that whizzes you up the 124 floors.

There were two things that hit me about the view from the top. Firstly, you couldn't see as far as I expected. I was expecting to see The Palm. You couldn't. Infact you could only just see the Burj Al Arab in the distance.

Secondly, it really hit me how much your perspective was distorted. There were numerous small buildings which were actually large skyscrapers. They just weren't as tall as the one we were in. 

It was interesting to see and a one off experience. Apparently one where you then need to go and buy a variety of snow globes in the gift shop! Unfortunately middle men's camel in a baseball cap snow globe didn't make it a full week without him smashing it. Hey ho, we will just need to go back again. Oh and as it is number 3 on the list of place to take selfies, I took my fair share - it is probably up to number 2 now!