As the saying goes, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes." Well that is the saying that I go by. Little man seems to think that shorts are the perfect choice for any weather. I swear this boy has a built in heater or something. I do my usual mother thing and say that he needs a coat and usually end up carrying it around myself.

Whether it's rain or shine, I have come to learn that it is best for us all to get outside in the school holidays. There are just so many reasons for this. For a start there are no screens outside, just fresh air and nature. With most of us not getting enough vitamin D through the colder months, department of health experts are recommending taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of Vitamin D.


With that in mind Bassetts have sent us their 3-6 years Multivitamins + Vitamin D & Calcium to give us a helping hand this winter. Little man was very excited as they were specially for him. The older two? Well they have asked me to buy the next level up. The vitamins cost £5.50 for a pack of 30 pastilles. Little man sees them as a treat as they are peach and apricot flavour. This means he reminds me he needs to take one a day.

So with Vitamin D ticked off our list thanks to Bassetts, we can focus on family fun and make the most of what the season has to offer.

With that in mind, we have been exploring the woods. Middle man has finally learnt to ride his bike and now he has got it, that is all he wants to do!


Little man has been set the challenge of gathering natural items for his homework, and a bit of leaf throwing had to be included!


We have also made the most of the season with a scarecrow hunt too.



Our friends at Bassetts Vitamins have also created a fab code that you can use to get £2 off one pack of the NEW Bassetts 3-6 Yrs Multivitamins Peach & Apricot + Calcium 30s at Boots.com! All you need to do is sign in as normal, apply the code BASSMVS2 at the checkout and embrace #NoDullDays! You can only use the code once per transaction, and the code can only be redeemed on the first 5,000 valid claims until 23:59 on 12th November. *


How do you make the most of all that the season has to offer so there are never any dull moments?



*Subject to Boots T&C's.

If you are off to Kidzania London soon, you are sure to have a frightfully good time. We have just come back from a fun filled day thanks to Snazaroo. It was our first visit and I was unusually disorganized. I put a shout out on Facebook and Twitter just before we left and got some great responses so thought I would put together my 5 top tips to ensure you have a good time if you are visiting soon.

This mainly illustrates that Mummy internet shops and they weren't used to shopping from a list!

1. Prebook parking. 

My friend suggested this, but as I read it 10 mins before we were leaving we didn't. The advantage of doing this is that it only costs £6 for the day rather than the £8 if you pay on arrival. You can do this by signing up to Smart Parking and pay before you arrive.

2. Go to the things you really want to do first.

This tip was from a lady I was talking to whilst waiting in a queue for the drum session. She had been before and suggested that activities like Firemen are really popular and best done early. Infact, when we go again (the boys are very vocal that we will go back!) I will book into the 9.30 slot. We had tickets for 10am which was good, but as the hours ticked by the queues did get longer as more people arrived. It is to be expected in such an attraction, especially at half term, but it was more pleasant earlier in the morning. Out of the activities my boys did, the courier and newsroom were the biggest hits.

3. If you see a short queue make the most of it!

I feel like we were really lucky in that as it was our first visit, the boys didn't mind what they did. This meant that if we walked past something with a short queue we did it. This enabled big and middle man to work in a newsroom and little man to play the drums. If they had had a fixed idea of what they wanted to do we could have spent half our time in a queue.



4. Get a spooky makeover at Snazaroo

Snazaroo offer face painting at Kidzania. Usually this will cost 15 Kidzos, however, this Halloween, it is free! As facepainting is often an added expense on a day out, its not something they would do often I would have been happy for them spending their Kidzos on it under normal circumstances (see tip 5!) Little man decided to be a vampire.


I was impressed with the face-painter who was really good and really quick! When I saw the queue I was worried it would take a long time but she advised it only takes her 3-4 mins a child.

Middle man was my little devil.


And big man wanted a witches nose added so was a goblin/wizard! The make up artist advised that it is less busy before 1pm.


Snazaroo are also running a chance to win some products and Kidzania tickets this Halloween. You can find the details here. Snazaroo want to see your made up monsters doing the Halloween dance in the KidZania Theatre. This was the last activity the boys did and I was really impressed with how well the group did at learning a dance in less than 20 mins. I think middle man really is born for the stage.



5. Pay for activities rather than save your Kidzos.

Another tip from a friend and yet again, great advice. At Kidzania the children can earn money for doing jobs. At the end they can use the money they have earnt to buy something from the shop on the way out. However, some activities mean they have to pay money to take part. My friend suggested that the latter was the best way to use their Kidzos, as even if they work really hard for 4 hours they won't be able to cash it in for much more than a pencil or party bag style toy. Therefore if there is an activity they like the look of they may as well spend their Kidzos on that instead. My boys did this on the Cadbury's chocolate making which meant they got a small chocolate at the end too which made them smile. My boys came out with between 60 and 75 Kidzos. The cheapest thing to buy was a pencil at 45 Kidzos then there are a couple of things for 75. Lots of items are much more and children are encouraged to save their money and cash it in on another visit.



I will be writing a more in depth review of our day over on A Strong Coffee To Go in the near future, but if you are off there this half term, this will certainly help your day go smoothly. Enjoy!

Life is passing me by at the moment and baking along with the bake off  just hasn't been happening. As I read somewhere that meringues were featuring on this weeks show (I may well be wrong though) I decided that I would make an Eton Mess for Halloween: A Ghoulish Mess.

A completed Rubik's Cube is a wonderful sight. This is probably the one and only time I will see ours like this!



 If you are a fan of Rubik's puzzles then you will be interested to know that this years UK Speedcubing Championship takes place in Stevenage between 27th and 29th of October. You can find out more details at the UK Cube Association.

John Adams, makers of the Rubik's cube, sent us one of the new design 3x3 cubes. If like me as a child you may have carefully peeled off the stickers and replaced them so you could complete the cube. you may be disappointed. (OK, I am hoping that this was quite a normal thing to do and all you readers aren't going to look down at me now.) The new cube has tough tiles with new super durable bonded solid plastic tiles. So wave goodbye to cheating!


There is also a new mechanism, meaning that the twirls and turns are smoother, faster and stronger than ever. Whilst my younger two boys are happier with their Rubik's Junior puzzles, my 10 year old is enjoying trying to solve the 3x3 Rubik's cube. It has an aged guide of 8+. I have so far been unsucessful. Big man is showing more promise and can easily complete a couple of sides. I don't think we will be making the UK Speedcubing Championship this year, but who knows in years to come.....

Rubik's have a whole range of puzzles and you can find out more by visiting the John Adams Website.

Are you a fan of the Rubik's Cube? Did you have an old style one with stickers? If so, did you cheat a little too?

There is still time to enter my Rubik's Junior giveaway!

With Christmas on the way, I have a lovely giveaway for the little ones in your life: Milkshake! Vrand New Besties DVD.




Milkshake! Brand New Besties DVD

There are 2 main regrets that I have over my childhood. Firstly, I never managed to get a Blue Peter badge and secondly I never completed my Rubik's cube. I even bought a book to tell me how too! Imagine my delight when I was sent Rubik's junior puzzles for the boys to review.

I have been wanting to try making chocolate fondants for a while now. Thankfully baking alongside The Great British Bake Off has given me the perfect excuse.