Mummy and Me June 2018

So another month goes by, I have been super super busy this month and I have no idea where it has flown. I have only just realised that its nearly the end of the week and this is my only blog post I have written.

We have had some fun opportunities this month for photographs but somehow I have not managed to get any pictures of me and Lily again. Just a few selfies and on one I am barely in it. 

So this months mummy and me photo's we have a good morning selfie. I do love my morning snuggles! And we have one from a fair where Lily was watching a magician and finding it hilarious. 

The sun is out and it is about to become summer holidays so I plan for many more trips out with Lily. Hopefully the perfect opportunity for pictures. 

Here are this months mummy and me pictures.

Hope you got some great mummy and me pictures this month. 

My Sunday Photo 24/06/18

My Photography Post June

I am delighted to say that last month I actually managed to get out and about and do some photography that I love shooting. 

One of my favourite things to shoot is events and so I decided to head over to the Haworth 1940's weekend to shoot the events that were happening. You may have seen in my Mummy and Me Photographs that I attended the event dressed up on one of the days. But I also attended it on one of the days with my camera to get some photographs.

I mostly like to photograph people and so that is what I ended up taking pictures of the most. I took so many that I love, and can't place them all here so I have had to try and choose my favourites for you.

So here are 10 photographs from this years 1940's Weekend. 

1. The girl on the Bike 

2. MR Winston Churchill

3. Lady of War 

4. 1940's Beauty

5. Happy Family 

6. We Sell Knickers in the Street 

7. Taking a Break 

8. 1940's Performance 

9. Home Guard 

10. Little 1940's Girl 

Which of the pictures do you like the most? 

A Review of One Dog, Ten Frogs, By Orchard Toys

Wonderful News! We have another amazing game from Orchard Toys to tell you all about. 

It is called One Dog, Ten Frogs, and is a super fun game revolved around counting. 

We were sent one to try out!!

Lily as usual could not wait to get playing this game, she knew it was Orchard toys as soon as she saw the box and asked to play it straight away. She is always playing her Orchard toys games so she thinks it is brilliant when she gets a new one to play. 

The game comes with 30 circular cards. On the cards are the numbers 1 to 15 and there are 2 of each card. As well as having the number on it, it also has a picture of animals, so number 1 is a red dog, and number 10 are ten green frog. It also come with 2 jigsaw pieces that when you put them together creates a number board showing the numbers 1 to 15 with a picture of an animal next to it. 

There are 2 ways to play, you can either lay the cards upright so you can see what is on them, or you can lay them down face first so then you can't see which is which. 

We decided to lay them down so we didn't know what we were picking up.

The idea behind the game is that you pick up one card, then you count how many animals are on the card. You then need to pick up another card and count the animals on that to see if they are a matching pair. If they are, you collect the 2 cards. If not you place them face down again. 

After you have collected all the cards together, the winner is the one with the most matched pairs. You then can get the number line and place all your matching cards in order.

So here is what we thought to the game. 

Firstly, as usual, the quality of the game is brilliant. Hard cards which aren't easily bent, and also designed so colourfully with friendly characters. 

We then also found the game really simple to play. Which is nice if you want something quick to get out and play.

Lily really understood how to play the game, she understood taking turns and also understood that she had to turn 2 cards over at a time.

But she did get a little bored with the counting, as when she picked one up, she was very eager to pick another one up and quickly noticed they wern't the same. So although she enjoyed the game, she didn't exactly enjoy playing it how it was meant to be played with the counting aspect. 

But I do think it is still a great game to help with numbers, as playing she will start to recognise numbers and when she does decide to do some counting it will really help her with that.

What she did really enjoy, was making her own number line. She mostly matched up the animal characters but as I was helping her, I was pointing out the numbers being the same as on the number line and she counted with me.
I would count the ones we had done, 1, 2, 3... and then ask her what number is next to encourage her to think. 

Overall its a really nice game if you are looking for a game to help teach your children how to count. 

The game is aimed at children 3+ and there can be up to 4 players involved. 

The game is £10.00 and can be bought from the Orchard Toys website. 

What do you like about this game ? 

My Sunday Photo 17/06/18

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Series 3 Review

Lily has always loved the larger Hatchimals, but her new love has to be the Hatchimals CollEGGtibles. she has always loved collecting things and so these little cuties are just a nice new thing to collect.

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles series 3 is now out and so we were lucky enough to be sent some from Spin Master to review. 

We were sent a brilliant bundle witch surprise packs and larger packs with 12 Hatchimals inside. 

Lily was super happy when she saw the bundle. She just could not wait to open them up. She has had a few surprise bags before and so knew what they were all about. The surprise bag was the first thing she wanted to open. 

The one single surprise blind bag is £2.99 and you get one Hatchimal inside an egg. Lily ripped it open straight away to see which one she got. 

After she has opened it and found a cute little Hatchimal inside, she wanted to open more. So I gave her the large dozen egg carton, which is £24.99 and has 12 Hatchimal inside, and also gave her the mini 2 pack egg carton which retails at £4.99.

I love that these come in egg cartons, its such a nice way to be presented and Lily loved opening them up to reveal the eggs inside. 

Inside, there are 10 eggs and 2 little extra Hatchimals that aren't inside eggs. Each egg has a cute little Hatchimal inside and also each egg is covered in coloured speckles and has a heart on the front. 

The different coloured speckles are to show which group the Hatchimal inside belongs to. So you could have purple speckles for the Jungle set, or you could have a pink one from the Garden set. You can find out which Hatchimal belongs to which set by looking on the little collectors leaflet that comes with each set. After seeing which set the Hatchimal comes from its then time to open it. 

First you need to rub the little heart on the front, you will soon see that it changes colour. When it has changed colour this means your Hatchimal is ready to hatch and you press in the little heart to crack open your egg. Lily did struggle with the initial first crack of the egg, so I did this for her, and then she pulled off the rest of the egg to be able to pull out each Hatchimal. As she did this, her face was brilliant and she said "wow", and "awww" to each on she found. 

I then let Lily have the last lot of eggs. This was a 2 pack with a nest and a 4 pack with one bonus character. The 2 pack is RRP £4.99 and the 4 pack with bonus character is £9.99. Lily was super pleased she had even more eggs to open!

Inside the eggs, you also have a chance to hatching Twins and there may be 2 little Hatchimals in one egg. We were really lucky to find some that had 2 in one egg which Lily was delighted to see. 

After you have opened all of your Hatchimal, you can then check them against the check list on the little leaflet that comes with. Under each picture of the Hatchimal there is a little wings symbol, and the wings symbol colour determines if the Hatchimal is common or rare or ultra rare or limited edition. We ended up getting some rare ones and a limited edition one which we was very impressed with.

The Hatchimals are so cute and the little nest that comes in one pack is a great place to sit your Hatchimal in. Lily's collection looked great when we put them all together.

My favourites were the really colourful ones, and some were also just so adorable too. 

Then there is even a FREE app to download, where you can hatch new hatchimals over at Hatchtopia which has different areas to explore! Then when you’ve hatched them, you need to look after them, keep them happy, and play with them. It sounds great fun!

These toys are aimed at 5+ but Lily absolutely loves them and wants more. They can be bought at most toy retailers and if you want to find out even more about them then head over to the Hatchimal website.

Would your child enjoy collecting these?

Painting with String

Something I haven't done on the blog for a while is write about painting with house hold objects. We have painted with quite a few different things over the years and there is a list of some I have blogged about here. 

So today I decided that we would find another thing around the house we could paint with and I found some string. 

This is such an easy activity to do and also so effective. With house hold painting it is always a gamble to if the objects we use will work, and this worked quite well. 

So, choose your paints, get some string and away you go. 

I placed some paint on a plate for Lily so then she could dip her sting into the paint. She dipped different parts of the string into different colours, and then we wiped the string a long the card. It created a really nice streaky pattern.

Lily preferred to dip the ends of the string into the paint as this was easier for her. After the had done this with a few different pieces of string, we had created a really nice pattern on the card. I think it was very effective. 

Then after you have finished the painting, keep hold of your colourful pieces of strong as these will definitely come in handy for other activities. 

So, here are a few photographs of todays activity. 

Would your children enjoy this activity? 

My Sunday Photo 10/06/18

Fathers Day Gift Guide

It isn't long until Fathers day, and if you are anything like me or my partner, we are only just thinking of ideas of things we could get our dads. 

So this is where I have come to help. I have a guide to some great gifts that would be perfect for Fathers day! There are lots of options below and none of them break the bank either! 

Hope you find my guide helpful and find some perfect gifts for the dads in your lives. 

1. BRITA fill&go Active XL Reusable Bottle - £16.50 - *Buy Me Here*

The Brita fill&go Active Water Bottle features the BRITA MicroDisc and ActivSelect® technology, a durable filter that reduces chlorine content and taste impairing substances in regular tap water. Built in a classic active shape, the Brita fill&go Active Water bottle allows for great-tasting water on-the-go. Perfect for the active dads who love to go walking, running, cycling or going to the gym. 

2. Best of British Beer Gift Set - £15.50 - *Buy Me Here*

So many dads love a nice drink of beer, so this selection is just the perfect gift for them. Each gift set contains 3 x 500ml bottles of beer and comes packed in a branded box.

The three different beers will be chosen from the ranges of British Beers most popular award winning breweries,  If you're not sure what type of beer you are looking for, select the mixed range or you can choose your Dad's favourite style from the options.

You can also request a free handwritten gift card when you check out of the website.

 3. Dobell Silver Dupion Tie - £9.99 - *Buy Me Here* 
All dads love a nice tie, especially if there is a formal occasion coming up. It would be lovely to buy a tie for your Dad that when that formal occasion happens he can wear his special tie that you bought him. This tie from Dobell is is made from a smart dupion fabric and is perfect to wear with a suit or with one of Dobel's waistcoats. 

4. Braun Multi Groomer - £34.99 - *Buy Me Here* 

Ultimate control for precise face & hair styling and body grooming with head-to-toe precision.

8 different attachments allow you to create your unique style with effortless precision, whether you're clipping hair, tidying ears and nose areas, trimming the beard or grooming the body. Everything a dad would need to keep himself styled are right inside this box and so this would make the perfect gift. It also comes with a free Gilette razor. 

5. Gillette Fusion5 ProGlide Chrome Edition Razor - £9.99 *Buy Me Here*

If you wern't looking to get your dad the full kit and wanted something with a slightly lower price then there is always this slick looking chrome razor made by Gillette.
Gillette Fusion5 ProGlide Chrome Edition razor features 5 anti-friction blades for a shave you barely feel. With FlexBall technology, ProGlide responds to contours and gets virtually every hair. The Precision Trimmer on the back is great for hard-to-reach areas such as under the nose and sideburns. 

6. Star Wars Crate for Superfans - £31.99 - *Buy Me Here* 

I know so many dads who are star wars crazy would love this gift. How amazing would it be for your dad to open this gift and then own all it takes to be a star wars superfan. Included in the box is a Chewbacca Mini Light, an R2-D2 Torch With Sound, a BB-8 Projection Torch, a The Last Jedi Keyring, a set of The Last Jedi Coasters, a Last Jedi Glossary Heat Change Mug, a set of The Last Jedi pin badgers and another set of Accessory Stickers from the same film. 

All of this is presented in a large themed gift box and makes the perfect gift for Fathers Day. 

7. Sugru Mouldable Glue Activity pack.  - £10.00 - *Buy me Here*

From dormitories to first apartments, this Sugru kit gives practical solutions to everyday problems around the home. Organise utensils in the kitchen, stationery at your desk, shoes in the hallway and appliances in the bedroom, every room in the home gets a Sugru makeover.

Inside the kit you'll find: 4 x 5g single-use packs of Sugru in Black, White, Grey and Red, A booklet with 14 awesome hacks and ideas, 3 x picture frame D-hooks to hang pretty much anything anywhere, A humble toothpick to create perfect cable grips, A Sugru Remover tool + handy tin for easy storage. It makes the perfect gift for dads who just love to fix things around the house. 

8. Big Beer Big Man 2ltr Monster Beer Bottle - £24.99 - *Buy Me Here*

Large 2 litre Monster bottle (4 pints) of 4.5% pale ale and has a swing top lid so the bottle can be closed to save some for later! The beer is an award winning pale, golden ale brewed in Staffordshire. Delivered in an inflatable airsac to protect contents during transit. This monster is the perfect gift for beer loving Dads. You can also personalise it with a message at the bottom making it an even better gift. 

9. Sebamed for Men - £12.44 - *Buy Me Here* 

Here are some grooming products that are perfect for dads on fathers day. The first is a hair and body wash which the pH value 5.5 stabilises the skin’s natural acid mantle to defend against environmental influences. The second is an after shave balm which has natural ingredients that have been formulated for normally, slightly dry or slightly oily skin on the face and neck. They are the perfect way to treat your dad to some quality skin care products. 

10. Jumbo Games Legend of the Track Jigsaw - £11.99 -  *Buy Me Here* 

Here is one for the Dads who just love a good puzzle. Jumbo Games has a selection of themed puzzles that are just perfect for dads. This Legend of the Track jigsaws shows a nostalgic image of a busy starting track of a race in the 1940's. The scene has been painted by Vic Miclindon and made into a 1000 piece jigsaw to enjoy putting back together. The perfect gift to keep you dad entertained for hours. 

11. Jeans from Get the Label - £24.99 - *Buy Me Here*

Treat your dad to a brand new pair of jeans, there is a ton of choice on the Get the Label website from Jack Jones to Levis, Crosshatch to Diesel.
These Jack Jones jeans that are featured here have a classic 5 pocket design, a button fly, belt loops to waist, leather branded patch to the rear, comfort fit with regular rise, and are made from cotton comfort fabric. 

Which of the items in my Gift Guide would your dad like the most?