Yesterday I was lucky to attend the press day at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, and see the Henri Le Worm community garden. Henri Le Worm is a character created by Olivier Blanc (son of chef Raymond) and Charlotte Salt. He has his own website and app which are aimed at encouraging children to engage with food and nature. The app is narrated by Simon Pegg and has a number of games as well as recipes that your little ones can help cook.


Creator Olivier Blanc said that he had modeled the worm on his father and he is featured on the children's menus at Brasserie Blanc. Henri and his amazing cooking adventures brings to life the journey of plot to pot.

The garden was created by former Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins. It was designed with children in mind. He advised that it is important to get little ones interested in the environment and that he often uses a dalek composter when he talks to school groups to engage them. Little man loved the garden and made himself at home by watering the flowers.


All the children were excited by the chickens. Little man has loved chickens ever since we stayed on a farm this Easter. Infact it is activities like this that the team are keen to encourage. Speaking to Raymond Blanc he advised how taking children to Pick Your Own farms, growing their own vegetables and exploring nature are all things we should encourage to help them understand the environment and where their food comes from.



The garden had some fantastic bug houses and little man loved the wormery, Shouting "Wakey up worms!"


We were then treated to a cookery demo from Raymond Blanc. He talked about using seasonal and locally grown produce. He advised us to be careful with the amount of salt and sugar we add to our food. Instead of salt, he suggested using herbs, lemon or vinegar to add flavour instead. He prepared some wonderfully flavoursome and fresh dishes that can be easily made at home.



Seeing the garden and listening to the ideas behind it, really did get me thinking. As a busy Mum I am often guilty of choosing a prepared meal rather than cooking from scratch and it is the added sugar and salt in these dishes that concerns me. I shall be making an effort to involve the children in preparing meals as well as encouraging them to grow more of their own food. We have a bumper crop of potatoes thanks to big man this year so that is a start.


If you are off to the flower show this week and want a sneaky peek at some of the fantastic show gardens you will see then here are some of my favourites.







We had a lovely time at RHS Hampton Court Flower show and I will be making some of the fantastic recipes that we were shown and those from the app too. Watch this space. You can download the app on itunes and android and Henri Le Worm can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Now that is one worm who knows his social media. Thanks to the whole Henri le worm team for inviting us.

How do you encourage your children to learn about the environment and the food they eat?

My Little Pony fans will be excited to learn that My Little Pony:Putting Your Hoof Down is out on DVD and digital download on 6th July!

Sick of being pushed around by others, Fluttershy goes on an assertiveness class. She is thrilled with her new found confidence but when her friends Rarity and Pinkie Pie confront her about her recent behaviour she takes it the wrong way. She retaliates by insulting them and then distraught by the upset she has caused she locks herself in the cottage.

The story looks at the difference between being assertive and being a bully. The concept is tested when the course leader Iron Will pays Fluttershy a visit and demands payment for his services...

You can pre order the DVD from Amazon now. I also have a copy to give away to one of my lucky readers. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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- See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/my-little-ponyputting-your-hoof-down-dvd#sthash.4VqWKvfZ.dpuf

I am a massive Harry Potter fan, so you can imagine my excitement at attending a preview event at Warner Brother Studios Tour. I really was like a kid in Honeydukes. This summer from 20th July to 6th September, visitors to the studios will be able to find out about how the prop department made the sweets and treats in the film. What do you think to these. Which do you think are real bakes and which are prop fakes? My boys found it hard to work out and I don't want to give too much away and spoil it for you if you are going this summer.




You will also be able to purchase Butterbeer ice-cream in the Backlot cafe. We enjoyed this caramel tasting ice cream. The Butterbeer itself is a love or hate thing. Personally I liked it. To me it tasted of Coke Tab (remember that from years ago?) with caramel froth on top. Little man was not convinced by it though. Love or hate, you will get a Butterbeer moustache.


The whole tour is a Harry Potter fans dream. I need to go back with an audioguide. There are photo opportunities galore. Some free, some you have to pay for (they start at £12 for a single photo.) The boys were so keen on riding brooms I couldn't say no. I wont lie, I was extremely pleased when little man asked if I would share his broomstick! One thing to note is that green isn't the best colour top to wear to the studios! I hadn't even thought about the green screens when I packed middle mans' clothes and he went invisible without a cloak.



Middle man had me in hysterics when he insisted on wearing a seatbelt on his broom! Which they have. Who knew!


The boys had passports to stamp as they went round the tour which kept them entertained whilst I dreamed of having a science lab like this.


I am pleased to say that this scene is marginally less scary than watching it!


In the Backlot there are lots more photo opportunities, including Privet Drive, the knight bus and a bridge walkway. The boys were a bit over excited by it all, and they weren't in photo posing mood.


Finally you see some of the masks used, walk through Diagon Alley and last but not least a model of Hogwarts. As you leave the tour your walk through a room filled with wand boxes of the cast and crew.


We had a fantastic time at Warner Bros. Studio tour and it is certainly a place I would like to visit again. Ideally with my husband so I can get in some of the pictures. I had originally thought that the tour was a one time only kind of place, but my children all took different things from it and I now have the urge to rewatch all the films. If you want to go over the summer holidays don't forget that it is a pre-booked tour and you can't buy tickets at the attraction.



Are you a Harry Potter fan? Have you been on the studio tour yet? What would you be most excited about seeing?



We were invited to a preview event at Warner Bros. but bought our own broom photos. All the opinions are my own.

Big man is nearly 8 and I am pleased to say loves reading. Writing and spelling, not so much, but he will happily spend his evenings reading and chuckling away to Tom Gates, rather than go to sleep.

When I saw the Timmy Failure series I thought that this would make a good edition to his growing library. The series is aimed at readers 8+ and tells the story of a  boy called Timmy Failure. Timmy is the founder of the "best" detective agency in town - Total Failure, Inc. He has a polar bear partner and is said to be perfect for fans of Wimpy Kid and Barry Loser.

Big man and I read the Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made together and there were moments where he was laughing out loud. He did, however, find some of it confusing. The book is American so there are a few language differences. For example it uses Mom rather than Mum and names sweets like Hershey's. This is fine, but as big man hasn't heard of these it made for slightly harder reading. The writing style is also in short chapter that flick around and this can take a while to get used to.

Timmy Failure: Now Look What You Have Done is the second book in the series and is now availiable in paperback. It opens with Timmy breaking his leg after trying to remove a "smartest person in the world" sign. It goes on to him deciding that he will crack his biggest case. A school competition to find a stolen globe. But he misses the deadline due to a stopped watch.... He now starts to investigate this injustice with the help of his Great Aunt.

When it comes to books, big man is like me. He needs to be in the right mood to read them. Me saying read this so you can review it, doesn't cut it. At the moment he is into his Tom Gates books and that is it. I think in a few months to a year though he will enjoy reading these books. The illustrations are fantastic and add to the humour.

I am pleased to say that Walker Books have offered one of my readers a set of the Timmy Failure books for themselves. Yes that also includes the third book, Timmy Failure: We Meet Again. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!


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ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/set-timmy-failure-books#sthash.RNjF3Kdc.dpuf

As Sunday was Father's Day, Parragon gave us a book for Dad to review. Project Dad is a book filled with activities that Dad's will find fun to do with the kids. From building bug hotels, making kites and constructing a catapult game, there is something for everyone. Is it just confined to things you can do with Dad? Not at all. I have looked through the book and am quite excited at the thought of doing some of these activities over the summer holidays. My boys are always excited about empty cardboard boxes so I think a trip to Costco is in order so that we can have a go at constructing a drawbridge castle.


There are templates for making planes and shadow theatres, so the kids will not get bored with all the ideas contained in the book.

Obviously Father's have girls as well as boys and there are a variety of tasks that all children will enjoy doing. I went straight to the recipe section of the book and will be making the dinosaur fossil biscuits in the holidays with the boys.

We decided that we would make the fizzy pink cupcakes which look like little milkshakes.



Little man chose some pink fairy case cases and we made up a standard cupcake recipe. The key here is that we put it in 10 cases rather than the 12 that I would normally do. This meant that the cake was higher in the case.

We then made up the buttercream using 4oz of butter, 8oz icing sugar, 1tbsp lemon juice and pink food colouring.



We swirled the icing on the top of the cupcakes and then flattened off the top. The edges were then rolled in some sugar balls. Big man may have put his on the top too!  Finally we cut some straws up and stuck them in the cake. I think these are fun and would be great for a summer party.




Project Dad is full of lots of fun activities and can be purchased from Amazon. Parragon are kindly giving away a copy to one of my readers. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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Earlier this year we made over middle man's room with all his favourite superheros. he loves DC Super friends and I know that he will be excited by the new DCKids and Warner Bros' new You Tube channels. With favourites such as Batman Unlimited, DC Super Friends and Scooby-Doo he will be in his element.


Here is a little peek into what you can expect.




To celebrate the launch of the new You Tube channels, DCKids and Warner Bros are offering you the chance to win a mystery prize! The value is £40 and the staff at DCKids and Warner Bros will be picking the winners through the rafflecopter that is embedded here. There are five prizes in total and they are giving away and they are running it along a number of UK Blogs (so some of you mat have already entered on a different blog.)  All you need to do is enter on the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!


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This is little man. He is a cheeky little devil. It is no wonder as he is our third and last child.

He may give me a hard time but he is only getting his own back. After all he is cursed with being the third boy. 

What is this curse? 

Well here is a glimpse into how little man sees the world. 

1. He looks at photographs of days gone by and exclaims things like "big man wear my coat!" or "middle man wear my top" Obviously he is a little shocked that his brothers are wearing his clothes. He has not yet worked out that he lives in hand me downs. 

2. He is resigned to the fact that he is too little for everything. When the answer to a "Can I?" question is no, he will assume that it is because he is too little. 

"Can I go to big man's football club?" 

"No you are too little."

"Can I eat this chocolate?"

"No it's 9am"

"Me too little?" 

"Yes" 

3. He thinks that it is perfectly acceptable to befriend someone by bundling them. This generally only causes a problem with younger first born children. 

4. He has learnt to play on his baby status. Babies are cute right? Little man has grasped this fact and plays it to his advantage. Middle man pretends to be a dog. Little man bounds over saying "me baby dog!" Middle man pretends to be an alien. Little man trumps him with baby alien status.

Clever.

This cute status runs into playing with older children. He looks up at an older child, pretends to be cute and before you know it "me legs not working" and they are carrying him around.

5. He is surrounded by pictures of people that look like him on the walls but who are not him.

"That me Mummy?"

"No, it's your brother."

Note to self must update some canvases. 

6. He knows that he has to go to bed first. There are only so many toilet and drink requests that can be had whilst trying to work out what amazingly exciting things his brothers are up too. His payback is to be first up at stupid o'clock and play with electronic toys.

7. Little man has never had organic vegetables puréed for him. With my first born I spent my evenings boiling up organic carrots and freezing them in ice cube trays. By the time middle man came along, carrots where banned for their staining abilities. By the time little man came along he ate food straight from the pouches!  

8. When he asks for toys from the TV it goes on a birthday list. Actually it does for all the boys now. It comes to his birthday and I really wished I had actually written down the list.

9. Someone has already done everything first. I feel sorry for little man, but unless he starts doing back flips on a tight rope, then it has probably been done before by one of his brothers. All the boys attended the same nursery but he deals with his place there in a Hitler style fashion. We go to pick him up and before anyone has stepped out of the nursery door he is screaming at his brothers that there is "No running in my school!"

10. He does less classes. Big man was enrolled in baby college, music, signing, football, swimming. You name it he did it. Not the same if you are the third child. He does do swimming lessons but that is mainly so I have less to worry about on holiday. 

And with that, I had better make sure that I am nicer to little man. After all it could be him that chooses my nursing home. With all this evidence it will be the cheapest one he can find!