Middle man's main aim of the summer holidays was to make gingerbread men. Nice and simple and great for one of the many rainy days we seem to have had recently.

This gingerbread recipe has no eggs, and therefore is quite dry when you are kneading the dough. But it does mean that any left overs can be made into cookie dough ice cream!

You will need:

250g butter
200g soft brown sugar
7tbsp golden syrup
600g plain flour
4tsp ground ginger
2tsp bicarbonate of soda

lots of sprinkes and icing to decorate.

Heat the oven to 200C.

Melt the butter sugar and golden syrup.

Stir this melted mixture into the dry ingredients.

As there is no egg used in the recipe you may need to add a small amount of water to get it to the right consistency.

Roll out and cut out the shapes you require.

Cook for around 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.


Decorate with icing and sprinkles. This activity actually bought piece and quiet to the house for a good 20 minutes. Partly from the concentration in icing their shapes and partly from eating them.

Summer is officially here, and that means it is time to start enjoying all the outdoor wonders that the UK has to offer, come rain or shine. In celebration of summer, DickiesStore has put together the ultimate outdoor activities guide. From the UK’s best hiking trials, fishing spots and outdoor adventures to the best country retreats to take the kids- it’s all covered here! Click on the map below to find the nearest outdoor heaven to you.
  I’ve teamed up with the guys at Dickies so that you can win a pair of their Landmaster Wellies (worth £57) so that you can make the most of your outdoor adventure, no matter the weather or season. Just complete the Gleam entry below. UK entrants only. Good Luck!



ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/pair-landmaster-wellies#sthash.XszWgoQ2.dpuf

When little man started pre school, I loved the idea that he had a uniform. Until he came home! I am still not quite sure what he gets up to there but it is a very messy experience! His white polo shirts are stained and look anything but smart. To be honest, I was going to throw them away and buy new ones, until Vanish asked if I would like to try their stain removal products.


Considering these were old stains, I figured I had nothing to lose. I wasn't really expecting Vanish to work. I was actually quite surprised with the results. I left the shirts to soak in the Gold Oxi Action for an hour and then put them in the wash with a Vanish Power Shot.


I was really pleased with the results and will be using these products on fresh stains in the future.

Vanish have offered one of my readers the chance to win a bundle of stain removing products for themselves. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

When I told my husband that I had been offered the chance to review the BISSELL SpotClean Portable Spot Cleaner to review, he joked that his Nan used to rave about BISSELL. Well now I have one, I can understand why!

The SpotClean is a portable machine that can be transported around the house to where it is needed. It is small enough to fit on the stairs and can even be taken outside with an extension reel to clean the car.

It requires a small amount of assembly to start, which is just attaching the clips for the nozzle and cable. In the box are the 2 trial sized stain cleaning products that you need to use for the machine, the Oxygen Boost and Spot & Stain 2x concentrate, so that you can get using the machine immediately.

I decided that I would start with my rather stained rug. The flash of the camera makes it look even worse than I had realised. I used the measuring levels on the first jug to add the required amount of water and cleaners.


I sprayed the stains and then used the brush to really get into them. Considering these are old stains I was amazed at the result.


Here is what came out. Eewww!


I have to say that this started a bit of an obsession. I have now gone over all the stains on the carpets upstairs and have completely done the stairs. The carpet here is pretty old and worn but it is amazing the difference that using the BISSELL has made. I also thought I would try our dining room chairs. Again I achieved great results with just one use.


As the BISSELL SpotClean is portable I thought I might give my car a treat.


The BISSEL SpotClean Portable Spot Cleaner has an rrp of £129.99,  which I think is good value. The Spot & Stain 2x concentrate is £8.99 and the Oxygen Boost is £9.99, however, they have a 3 for 2 offer on at the moment which again, makes it quite reasonable. After my initial clean of the house and car with it, I expect I will only use it as and when something gets spilt. It is small enough to store and simple enough to use that it will be easy to get out when accidents happen. Having read other reviews, it is meant to be particularly good with cat sick so may be worth considering if you have a pet.

At Christmas my friend introduced me to the world of flavoured icing and last week I went to the local cake shop to buy some myself. Sugar and Crumbs do lots of different flavours and here I chose the black cherry to make a Black Forest gateaux style cupcake

Makes 12 Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
2 eggs
3oz self raising flour
1oz of cocoa powder
chopped glace cherries (optional)

For the frosting:

250g Sugar and Crumbs Black Cherry icing sugar
125g softened butter
1 tbsp milk
A few drops of red food colouring.

Fresh cherries



Start by making the cupcakes. Pre heat the oven to 180C.
Cream the butter and caster sugar.
Mix in the eggs, flour and cocoa powder.
Chop some glace cherries in half and mix in.

Divide the mixture between 12 cupcake cases and cook for around 15 minutes.


Once cooled make up the butter cream up as per the instructions on the pack. Add a few drops of red food colouring.


Pipe onto the cupcakes and add a cherry to each one.

Top with breadcrumbs and more grated Mexican cheese and melt under the grill.


Enjoy!

I hardly had room for dessert by I managed to fit some in! It was the first time I had tried key lime pie and the warm chocolate chip cookie was lovely too.

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to Ripley's Believe It Or Not! to see their new Wonderland Gallery. It was our first visit to Ripley's and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We took the lift to the first floor and saw a collection of weird and sometimes wonderful artefacts. Giant chairs, a knitted life sized car, and some stuffed two headed animals were some of the first things we saw. Whilst the boys were "oh look a two headed lamb" and taking it in their stride, I wasn't 100% sure about it all. Then we watched a holograph explaining about Ripley and onto some more of the exhibition.


A picture of Micheal Jackson made out of sweets (complete with gummi bear face) first took my interest. Then there was Whitney made out of casette tape, and toast art. A computerised graffiti wall kept the boys entertained!

There were some statues with extraordinary facts - one was of a man who made a hole in his head to put a candle in when it was dark!

There was an upside down room which reminded the boys of the Twits.


The Wonderland Gallery is a special Pop Up this summer and big man was happy as he has been doing Alice in Wonderland in school. The boys went down (through) the rabbit hole and entered the wonderland of Alice.


Here is my Madhatter having a cup of tea.


The Ames room is very clever. If you get two people in there you can make one look like a giant and the other one small. Unfortunately the boys were too taken by the mirrors to get a good photo!

The mirror maze is great for every age and you really do need to walk with your hands infront of you.


There were bits of the tour that we went past quickly with the boys. I wasn't ready to explain to big man about the electric chair and I was a bit unkeen on the shrunken heads.

Some of the minatures gallery were amazing. I particularly liked the bible scences painted on pumpkin seeds.

Big man found out how cold the water was when the Titanic sunk and that he has a lot of growing to do if he wants to be the worlds tallest man!


Middle man found that he wouldn't like to be in a black hole.


Finally on the basement there is the laser race. A Mission impossible style laser room. From my time in that room I learnt that there was a reason that Tom Cruise didn't take his shopping bags and three children in with him on a mission. We broke a lot of lasers!

It took about 2 hours to go round and I actually really enjoyed it. It kept the interest of my 5 and 7 year old and my 3 year old was happy most of the time too. Tickets cost £26.95 for an adult on the door but there are savings if you book 14 days in advance and under 4's are free. If you are like me and love your Tesco Clubcard Rewards you can currently get a Ripley's ticket for £8 in vouchers and they are via e mail.

We were also treated to lunch at Bubba Gumps which is just a short walk from Ripley's. I can recommend it there too and you can read all about that tomorrow.

Ripley's have kindly offered a Family ticket* to giveaway to one of my readers. Just complete the Gleam entry below. Good Luck!

Ripley's Believe It Or Not!

*Family ticket is for 2 adults and 2 children.

Open to UK residents over the age of 18 only Entries will be moderated, so please make sure that you comment if necessary. There is one prize of a family ticket to Ripley's Believe It or Not! London. The ticket is valid for a family of four and will need to be used within a year of receipt. No cash alternative. No bulk or automated entries. If you have already won the prize on a separate blog giveaway with the same promoter they reserve the right to redraw a new winner.  The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will be notified by email (make sure you leave your contact details) and will have until 17th September to respond with their address. If they fail to respond a new winner will be drawn. No PO Box address Competition closes on 17th August at 12.00am . 


- See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/family-ticket-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-london#sthash.MQGR42Y3.dpuf##