Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
Having seen the huge 'gingerbread cottage' that Domestic Goddesque made for her girls to play in, when I was emptying the box from my Jenny Craig parcel today there was only one thing I could do with the partitions: transform them into gingerbread terraced houses – the urban version!
Cleaning's not glamorous.
You didn't need me to tell you that, we all know how unglamorous it is when we have our hands in buckets of cleaning fluids scrubbing the kitchen counters or the bathroom floor. And I'm pretty sure that I am not the only person in the land to have buckets of swishy-wishy, miracle cleaner underneath the bathroom sink, am I? But they don't actually do it for you, they can loosen the dirt but they won't do it on their own.
When it comes down to it, and with the best intentions in the world, the only thing that really will get something clean is elbow grease; scrubbing and wiping.
I was sent some products from Scotch-Brite to test out and on first impressions they seemed to be just another collection of scourers and sponges.
And this is the main point that I want to make: A scourer is a scourer is a scourer, right? My husband would have you believe that as he picks up the value range from the supermarket which need throwing away within a few uses, mainly because they've disintegrated or the dye is coming off the green sponge. I know (because I'm the person who uses them for cleaning as opposed to dishwashing) that if I want the sponge to last and be economical, then slightly more expensive and better quality sponges and scourers last longer and do a better job.
As you can see the PR was very kind and labelled the cost for me per item and per pack.
In all honesty, the last item is a little more than I would be prepared to pay, however I will certainly consider the other two items in future because the few pence more saves money and time in the long run.
I was provided with these items for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
Before you can write you need to be able to read, and before you can read you need to be able to speak.
Developing oracy in young children is essential: it helps them communicate with the world, express their emotions, desires and intentions, and encourages social interaction.
"Mummy, I'm trying to concentrate!"
"Actually mummy, that's a hexagon not an octagon."
The Boy talks. A LOT! And yes I'm aware that I sound like every other mum out there who's proud of their child and wants to 'show off', but that's not my intention. I talk a lot, and I have always chatted to The Boy no matter what we're doing. It shows because he chatters away nineteen to the dozen, and is quite confident to start a conversation with someone and explain his thoughts. I put a lot of this down to the parent-facing pushchair that we used to use and the fact that his baby car-seat was next to me on the front seat. We were able to communicate all the time.
Last week I spent time in the nursery unit in school, and it was an eye-opener for me to see 'elective mute' children, among other children who had difficulty articulating the most basic of needs and thoughts. It made me realise that just because The Boy has difficulty pronouncing 'l' or 'r' correctly, it doesn't mean that he has difficulty with his speech. My time there compounded the research conducted which shows that in some areas of the UK, over half the children starting school don't have the skills they need to learn, make friends and succeed.
I was sent a fantastic activity set a few weeks ago called 'Chatting With Children' by I CAN (The Children's Communication Charity). The pack contains a parent guide to the enclosed games designed for 3-5 year olds to support speech, language and communication development. The guide describes why oracy is so important, and that there are specific key skills needed for learning to talk:
The games are on a set of cards (about the size of a paperback) and can therefore be used at home or out and about. The set allows for games to be dipped in and out of, as required, but they are designed to be used every day and a six-week programme has been included. I really like the programme (and cards) because it is split into an activity for each area of Oracy skills, one for each week with a theme assigned like food, animals or clothes.
This set of cards above are some of the activities suggested for the week on 'Animals' and include: 'Name The Animal' (applying information to previous knowledge), 'Guessing Game' (listening to information and drawing conclusions), 'Let's Draw' (learning positional language), 'Story Relay' (linking sentences to make stories), and 'Secret Action Signal' (encouraging eye contact).
I think this is an excellent set of cards to help prompte Oracy with young children. Even though The Boy talks for Britain, we still love having a go at the games and it has helped him to develop deeper Oracy skills; essential to help him when he starts school next year.
The I CAN Chatting With Children pack is available directly from I CAN for £7.99.
I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
My absolute favourite cuisine is Italian food. I've never been happier than sat in a restaurant on the Isle of Capri trying to choose between all the pizzas, pastas and risottos, let alone the sumptuous desserts and liquers.
And it stands to reason that if I can't be on the Amalfi coast, then if you hand me an Italian cookbook and put Dean Martin on, I'm going to be just as happy.
The ASK Italian Cookbook contains a variety of easy-to-prepare recipes straight from the ASK Italian kitchens. Over 100 recipes have been contributed by the chefs who work there, plus TV chef Theo Randall, author Carla Capalbo and plenty of other experts to create this new Bible of mine for starters, mains, sides and desserts. There are even ideas to make with children.
What makes this one different?
For every one of these cookbooks bought in an ASK Italian restaurant, £4 of the £15 will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. If you buy it through a bookshop or another third-party retailer then a minimum of £1 will be donated. Over the past few years ASK Italian have raised money to build a ward kitchen and an adolescent recreation and dining room in the hospital's new Cardiac ward, they hope to continue to raise funds to help with physical and emotional support of patients and their family.
I've had a go at one of their recipes: ravioli di spinaci e ricotta.
Ok, so it's not ravioli because I've tried making that before and the results weren't worth a mention. However the sauce is straight out of the book and it took me a matter of a few minutes to cook. In fact, it took me longer to find the bottle of white wine than it did to make the entire sauce. And it tasted delicious. I can't wait to try the salads and puddings.
ASK Italian is just one of three companies who have chosen to support GOSH, The White Company and Disney are two others. Look out for specially marked products to help support the charity.
My son has spent four nights in a children's hospital, and it was the worst 96 hours of my life. He left there healthy and happy because of the attention given to him. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to have a child who needs long-term health treatment.
GOSH needs to raise at least £50 million every year to help rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital, buy vital equipment and fund research to pioneer new treatments and cures for childhood illness. Through donations and special product purchases, they provide hope to very ill children and their families.
For more information log on to www.gosh.org
I received this book free for the purpose of this post. I have since made a donation of £10 to GOSH.
I've done a vlog! I'm only putting these words in because otherwise it doesn't feel right!
I was sent this set for the purpose of this review for Izziwizzi Kids Playfest. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
One of the most captivating CBeebies programmes at the moment is 'The Adventures of Abney & Teal' during the tea-time slot. It's been a part of the schedule for the past year or so and completely captures our imagination; it's often the last programme we watch before the television is turned off (for the screen-free hour before bed) and I think it's a lovely calming programme to end the day with.
Abney and Teal are two of the characters who live on a series of islands, in the middle of a lake in a park in a busy city. They have fun and games, plenty of hijinks with their other friends Neep (a small burrowing creature), Bop (a seal type of creature who lives in the water), the Poc-Pocs (a set of 7 comma-shaped wooden objects or seed creatures), and Toby Dog (a melodeon-playing dog who always sits upright on the same place on the lake's mainland shore).
I love roast potatoes; they are the best thing since sliced bread (and in my estimations, that's quite high!). The perfect roast potatoes have a golden, crispy skin with the slightest sheen to them and crunchy bits hanging off the edges, while the inside is melt in your mouth soft and fluffy.
My mouth is watering…
So how do you turn the common potato into the above? By using these:
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I was sent the potatoes and the sea salt to try the recipe.
Hamley's opened (the only other branch of their fabulous toy store outside of London) in Cardiff last Thursday so we went in to see it today. An hour later we left having had a brilliant time and with many mental notes made of potential Christmas presents.
