I have wanted to join in me and mine for ages. Why haven't I? Well this lot. My boys are at the age where getting a decent family photo of the five of us is near impossible.The boys pull faces, spill stuff over themselves before a picture and don't see the need for socks. Ever. I think they may be Hobbits.

So I am a little late to the party. It was Sara who convinced me to give the project a go. Every family is different. Life isn't picture perfect all the time. It is certainly going to take some doing to make one photo like that here. Infact I have written before about how I prefer to see a balance. My boys have personality which shines through. Middle man likes pretending he is a dog. Big man thinks it is funny that he crosses his eyes. Little man just wants to be like his brothers and will do whatever it takes to fit in.

February has whizzed by. Middle man turned 6 and the half term went past in the blink of an eye. I fear that March may hurtle past even quicker. So the odd photo of us together will be nice to look back on. It may take longer than I hoped to get a new "about me" photo. One without my husband having a skylanders bag coming out of his head. But we will give it a go and see what happens. They are my perfectly imperfect family.

I hadn't been particularly fussed about visiting Madam Tussards with the boys as I wasn't really sure if they would like it. However, as we have bought Merlin passes this year (so effectively didn't need to pay to go) then we thought we would give it a go. Some friends had been and liked it and it was at worst a day out in London.

We went into the first hall and it was pretty busy. Loads of adults having their photos taken with wax models. A lot of which I didn't know and so the boys had no chance. I did start to think we had made a mistake in going. However, things picked up and we found some models we knew. And posed for pictures. OK, maybe I was more excited than the boys at having my picture with One Direction!


The sports section was fun and the boys liked the small section of Kings and Queens. The You Tube section meant nothing to them, but there was someone looking familiar next to Alfie and Zoella.


We made a beeline past the chamber of horrors as we didn't feel it would be good for the boys.

The spirit of London ride broke the experience up and was enjoyable enough.

Then at the end there is a Marvel 4D movie which takes place in what was the planetarium. I enjoyed this even if it took be a second to realise there wasn't a kid kicking me in the back of my seat, it was one of their effects.

Last of all was the Star Wars part which was a bit disappointing. I am not a major Star Wars fan, but the boys like it, but it was mainly scenes to look at. It was also pretty busy as the whole of the 4D cinema had emptied in there.

All in all the visit was much better than I had expected and if you have younger children like us and Merlin passes it is worth having a wander round. Like most Merlin attractions however, it is expensive if you don't have a pass or an offer.

As part of Iceland's #PowerOfFrozen campaign they challenged me to go into store, have a look around and create a recipe. I was impressed by the range of products on offer and even more impressed with the prices. It makes sense really. Freezing products means less waste and therefore savings are made and passed onto the customer. I stocked up on frozen fruit, vegetables, rolls, and prawns.

However, it was the wagyu burgers that caught my eye. I had absolutely no idea what a wagyu burger was. As part of Iceland's specialty meats range (Keize), the wagyu burgers are made from 100% grass fed New Zealand wagyu beef. The burgers are packed full of flavour and succulent.

As a child I loved the tales of Peter Rabbit and his friends. 2016 marks 150 years since the birth of Beatrix Potter, who has captured imaginations around the world with her beautifully illustrated stories. In celebration of this anniversary, Beatrix Potter fans can enjoy a special DVD boxset collection of these stories. Abbey Home Media will release this set on Monday 7th March.


This superb three DVD box set features the complete collection of the classic Peter Rabbit episodes which lovingly recreate the enchanting Beatrix Potter stories. With timeless animation and wonderful music, children and adults alike will be enthralled by mischievous Peter and his friends including Benjamin Bunny, Mrs Tiggy Winkle, Jemima Puddle Duck, and Pigling Bland. Based on the original and authorised editions, the stories feature the characters that have won the hearts of generations, and makes a perfect gift in time for Easter. I also think it would make a thoughtful First Birthday or Christening gift, that would be enjoyed for many years to come.

You can pre order The Beatrix Potter Collection from Amazon.

I am pleased to be able to offer one of my lucky readers a chance to win the set for themselves. Just complete the Gleam entry below. Good Luck!

Beatrix Potter DVD Boxset

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 the Beatrix Potter DVD Boxset. 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 to respond with their address. If they fail to respond within a month a new winner will be drawn. No PO Box address. Competition closes on 13th March at 11.59 


UK competitions at ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/beatrix-potter-dvd-boxset#sthash.zT9ywW1R.dpuf

Anyone that knows me, will know that I am a crafty person and I love entering competitions. So it is a shame that I am promoting this one to my readers and wont be able to enter it. You may remember that a few weeks ago I told you that Yakult are celebrating their 20th anniversary. This week they have launched their "Every Day Inspiration Challenge." The idea is simple, all you need to do is get your creative ideas flowing and get crafting with the iconic little Yakult bottles.

Maybe you could make some skittles, create Star Wars figures, or even place the upturned bottles on top of plant canes to act as eye protectors. Yakult have shared some pictures with me in order to get you thinking of what you could make.



The competition will be judged by the celebrity gardener, David Domoney, and editor of Yours magazine, Sharon Reid.

So get your thinking caps on and get drinking Yakult. The competition ends on 13th March and you can find all the details of the Every Day Inspiration Challenge here.

The winner will recieve a fantastic prize of £500 of Hobbycraft vouchers with two runners-up recieving £250 Hobbycraft vouchers each.

Good luck! What will you make?

Maya the bee soft toys

Open to UK residents over the age of 18 only Entries will be moderated, so please make sure that you comment if necessary. There are 2 x prizes of the soft toy bundles pictured. 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 and needs to respond within a month or a new winner will be drawn. No PO Box address Competition closes on 21st March at 11.59 

More competitions at ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/2-x-maya-bee-plush-bundles#sthash.iT9QrFUN.dpuf

This year, we saved A LOT of Tesco vouchers and exchanged them for Merlin passes. So for Daddy's Birthday we headed to the South Bank, London to see what Shrek's Adventure was all about.

Shrek's Adventure is situated on the South Bank at the previous entrance to the Sea Life London Aquarium. We went in half term and it was essential to pre-book our time slot. I booked a week before and most of the morning slots were gone. We opted for a 1-1.15 time slot. They were sold out on the day so it was busy.


Once inside there was initially a lot of queuing. This was quite annoying. We queued to have a photo. Then went up in a lift and queued for another green screen shot. It took 50 minutes until we actually started the tour properly. Once started, I am pleased to say there were no hold ups. It is worth noting that pushchairs need to be left.


You are greeted by Princess Fiona and the tour is extremely interactive. Don't worry you wont get asked to do anything awful. but the audience is used in the routine. You take a magical bus ride (aka a 4D cinema ride) to the land of far far away. Your child needs to be 90cm to take the ride. Donkey is driving the bus and accidentally kills a witch who is the girlfriend of the evil Rumpelstiltskin.

The story is a little scary for younger children who get absorbed in it.  Little man (4) was fine. Middle man (6) was really quite concerned that the witches were going to capture us. We had pre warned him that they were actors but that didn't make a difference. He ran to get away! Without giving too much away you are guided in a group of 40 through a number of rooms, each with an actor. You are trying to get back home, away from the witches. The special effects they use are great.

Once you have escaped you get to meet Shrek (where you can take your own photo) and then onto the Dreamworks room. Here there are lots of photo opportunities with your favourite Dreamworks characters.

Zoom zoom zoom big man's going to the moon!

"I held her good!"

Daddy would have dropped these if they weren't attached to the wall.

You are then presented with a book of your green screen photos if you want to purchase this. It is really nicely presented but the same 3 photos are just put on different backgrounds. For non merlin pass holders it is a whopping £30 for this plus a couple of keyrings. We chose not to buy this.

We enjoyed our afternoon and is certainly worth booking if you have Merlin passes. It is on the pricey side if you don't.

Have you been yet? What did you think?

Middle man is a massive Skylanders fan, so choosing the cake for his 6th Birthday was easy. Well it was once I had looked at Pinterest. I went for a portal of power cake.

I started by making a standard sponge and sandwiching it together with Betty Crocker's vanilla frosting. I then spread frosting around the whole cake and placed in the fridge whilst I rolled out the white fondant icing.

I then roughly measured 1/8 of the circumference. I used this to cut out 8 of the shapes below out of ready coloured grey icing.


I used edible glue to stick these onto the cake. I made marks on them to add detail and also glued on some icing balls around each arch.


I mixed a small amount of white icing with the grey to make a slightly lighter shade. In then rolled these into the struts and added detail.



Lastly I added the figures from the game using a little icing. I was careful not to add loads of water as I am not 100% sure how they work and didn't want to break them. I think it is with magnets and either way the white icing held them in place and didn't hurt them in any way.

Middle man was over the moon with his cake and I was pleased that it didn't take hours to make.

Hello Nature

Last week we went out for dinner. It was quite a fancy restaurant. We were the only family.

Middle man had a good look around and assessed all the diners.

"They are on a date!" he announced nodding in the direction of a couple who were doing just that.

We were quite impressed with his knowledge and I was keen to find out more about middle man's ideas on dating. This would also keep him distracted from going over to the couple and quizzing them on their intentions.

So I asked him if he thought their date was going well.

"Yes Mummy I think it is. I think they will go out again."

"Oh right" I said "where do you think they will go?" I inquired.

"I think he might take her to the park" he replied.

"And he might buy her a present."

"Oh that would be good. What might he get her?" I asked.

"He might get chocolates or flowers" he said. I nodded, pretty impressed that my 6 year old knew some ways of impressing the opposite sex even if the local park may not be a dating venue of choice for many.

"Oh and a hat, and a coat and some pink fluffy shoes. Girls like those lots." he smiled.

I smiled too and then distracted him further with selfies.

Every Christmas when I was little girl we made Rum truffles. I absolutely loved them and decided that I would have a go at some Baileys ones. Oh my they are good! The recipe is simple and you could add any flavour to suit your palette.

To make the Baileys truffles you will need:

200g milk chocolate
120ml double cream
2tbsp Baileys
1/2 tbsp butter

To decorate:
cocoa powder
chocolate vermicelli

Break the chocolate up into pieces and melt in the microwave, Check every 20s and give it a stir.

Heat the cream in a saucepan and whisk occasionally until boiling. Then mix into the melted chocolate. Stir in the butter and Bailey's. Allow to cool before placing in the fridge for 3 hours.

Trust me it is worth the wait!

Pour cocoa powder and chocolate vermicelli onto a plate.

Roll a teaspoon on the ganache mixture into a ball and cover in the cocoa and vermicelli ,

Put back into the fridge to chill. Then enjoy!

I have to admit, I had never really thought about using pesto on a pizza before. Tomato puree, BBQ sauce but never pesto. That was until Sacla sent me some of their goodies. Let's just say I am now converted! This pizza is easy to make and tastes delicious.

To make 2 large pizzas you will need:

For the dough:

500g strong white flour
1 x 7g sachet of yeast
2tbsp olive oil
1 dessert spoon caster sugar
1 tsp salt
300ml warm water

For the topping:

Sacla Classic Basil Pesto
Forestiere Mushrooms sliced
Rocket
Parmesan

To make the base, mix the dough ingredients together and knead for 5 mins. Place in an oiled bowl and leave to double in size.

Knead again for 5 mins and then roll into shape.

Cover the base with thinly sliced mushrooms. Drizzle a little oil over the mushrooms and place in an oven pre heated to 220C for around ten minutes.


Take out of the oven and cover in rocket and shaved Parmesan.

I was tempted to use the tomato pesto but I am so pleased I trusted my instincts and went with the basil pesto as it really complimented the mushrooms.


If you are looking for a light lunch option, then I can highly recommend scrambled eggs with truffle pesto.

Sacla UK, first introduced Pesto into the UK 25 years ago. To mark their Birthday they want to promote it's versatility. If, like me, you only use  pesto as a stir in sauce then check out some of their recipes. It can be used in marinades, stuffed in chicken with mascarpone, to flavour breads and they even suggested stirring it into freshly made popcorn.

What would you use pesto for?