In My House by Alex Hourston

I have to make an apology in advance, I love being able to read or use an item before telling you about it but life has caught me on the hop a bit recently, combine that with having just started a new book when this landed on my doormat and you may see why I've not got round to reading this pre-released copy of Alex Hourston's 'In My House' yet.   However I hate to delay any review by more then 2 weeks, and always aim to get something up before a book is released, so what I'll do is to tell you all about this book and then pop back with my verdict  on it just as soon as I have managed to open the cover and enjoy the story.   My aim is for this to happen before its official release on 21st May 2015, Sorry!

If you've get hold of the book when it's released I'd love you to share your opinions.

From the description given it sounds just like my sort of book, I love a good mystery and tales of suspense which is why I was eager to get my hands on a copy.  Fairy tale happy endings and predictability, whilst having their place, are nothing compared to a book that makes you think and question your own ideas.  I can't wait to get started, in fact I flicked through it to get an idea of what the writing style was like and had to stop myself from reading too much in the last few chapters so as not to spoil the ending..

Capturing precious moments with CanvasPop

I take so many photos of the boys and recently started having professional ones taken, the only

trouble is my husband takes so long to put them up that the boys have changed considerably by the time it's hung.  For this reason I've always avoided canvas prints.    Don't get me wrong though I absolutely love them.  When I left my final teaching placement the children, under teacher supervision, made me 2 gorgeous canvas' (one patterned one hand prints) that hung in my room until they sadly got damaged in a house move a few years ago :(

I may have got a little too excited when, last week, CanvasPop approached me and asked if I would like to try their service (for free).  It didn't take me long to reply to them (and check they did actually mean lil' old me!).... then I had to find a great photo.

I don't know about you but it's becoming increasingly more difficult to get my 2 boys in the same photo, and when I do to get them both with happy faces and not one looking like he is being strangled or wants to be somewhere else.
  I was stuck, I didn't want to go too far back (they change so much), I looked back over the last few months and really surprised myself at just how few pictures I do have of them both together (and how bad some of my photo's really are). I did manage to find one, after deliberation over whether I really loved it and seeking friends approval (this was not a decision to be taken lightly) I sent off my photo.

Flowers from Tesco

I don't get flowers very often :(  usually Valentine's day and sometimes my birthday but more often than not it's only when my husband had done something very very bad and thinks that's the way to make it up.  Honestly my kids buy me flowers more (usually with my money lol).  So when Tesco sent me a £5 voucher to try their selection I couldn't think of a more deserving person to treat.

My local Tescos has a great range so I was spoilt for choice, from beautiful seasonal bouquets to hand-tied finest* designs their flowers are sourced from British and international growers.  Whether it's seasonal favourites like daffodils, sunflower or lillies to more premium exotic ranges from Holland, Kenya or Colombia there's sure to be something for you to fall in love with in all the colours of the rainbow.  They also offer a freshness guarantee which varies depending on which bloom you choose (up to 14 days on some).  

I choose a glorious bunch of lillies and roses which offered a 7 day guarantee. I must admit with some of the buds already open, and the sell by date very short (had I bought on the 9th of March they'd not have survived the 7 days), I was dubious about this claim.

I took them home, cut the bottoms of the stems to freshen them up and added the sachet of food to the water in my vase before arranging them.

Lush: 29 (High Street) Gift Box

I've not got one exciting Lush product to tell you about this week but the whole 29 (High Street) gift

box.  I was ever so lucky to have won this set recently from the Sheffield High Street store, you may have noticed some of the products creeping onto the blog on my #ThankLushItsFriday posts but here's the whole box in all it's glory.  at £119.95 it's a lot of money to spend in one go but if you love all the 24 products in it then it makes a perfect birthday gift or to treat yourself.
The products themselves come to around £88 when bought separately but you do get more of some of the items then you can buy in store, 3 exclusive products and a beautiful box that you can refill time and time again.

The gift box was designed by MinaLima with vintage luggage in mind and is a journey through Lush's history, they have even names it after their first shop: 29 High Street, Poole! Inside it's full of all time favourites, some classics, exclusive surprises and new innovations.

  

  

The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn - Spaceman

I'm a 90's girl (born in the early 80's) so Mr Benn was a big part of my childhood TV ... and as such he is one I've been able to get on DVD for my children to enjoy just as much as I did.

The story was very simple and followed the life of Mr Benn, an ordinary fellow living an ordinary life in an ordinary house - at Number 52, Festive Road.
Mr Benn's life though is far from boring, he'll be off on a walk and suddenly begin to wonder what life could be like in the past as a red knight, a hunter, a Gladiator or a caveman.  Perhaps he wants to explore other places as a cowboy, a pirate,on a magic carpet or (in this book) a spaceman.

You simply cannot watch children all the time

We've recently been a victim of a crime, the only problem is it was our 3 year old (possibly aided and abetted by his 6 year old brother).

Let me start by saying Noah is a smart arse.  I'm not blowing my own trumpet here but this is a 3 year old who can not only read, recognise and 1:1 match his number 1 - 1000 (yes he can count this high) but has also started to read simple words.  He is far too bright for a 3yr old and it's come back to whack a hole in our pocket.

Before any of the haters start my boys do not spend all their time unsupervised in front of technology but sometime sitting them in front of the TV for an hour while you do the housework or have a shower is a very important part of parenting.

Lush T-Shirts

How many times have you been to a networking event and wished you had a custom designed T-shirt to advertise who you are?  Well it's almost as if Lush T-Shirts have read your mind.

Lush: Bunch of Carrots - Bubble Bars

Happy Easter.  Last week I brought you Fluffy Egg, part of Lush's Easter range, well this week we all tried out the Bunch of Carrots (or rather 1 of them).

Our #budgetholiday ......... Keswick

Gosh my holiday seems so long ago now but I just remembered I barley made a dent in telling you all about it.

So Saturday, when we went to Grasmere  we also took a trip to Keswick to visit another place I remembered visiting with my mum ... The Pencil Museum.

The museum is home to the worlds first pencil, the longest coloured pencil, a giant, an escape artist’s
pencil and much more.  The museum explores, as you would expect the history of pencils and in particular the famous Derwent pencils.  Hubby really likes history so the displays were right up his alley whilst me and the boys completed an activity form (with our free Derwent Pencils).  They enjoyed playing the games they found and exploring all the different types of pencils including watercolours.  They requested some in the shop but the cheapest ones in store were around £20 and therefore a little out our price range!

Shoutykid 2 by Simon Mayle

Last year Harry Riddles made his debut in Shoutykid 1 - How Harry Riddles Made a MEGA-amazing Zombie Movie.  If you didn't read it yet my review is here.  Ben loved it from beginning to end. So when I was asked if we would like to review the 2nd title in the series (out March 26th) the decision wasn't a tricky one.

Shoutykid 2 - How Harry Riddles mega-massively broke the school, Harry has far bigger concerns than fighting Zombies (even tho he is "the BEST gamer World of Zombies has ever seen") and the cyber-bullies his dad wants him to take up.... Sport!!!   Harry's dad manages to persuade him to join the school football team, but unfortunately they aren't very good.  This leads Harry to write to some stars of the football world like Sir Alex Ferguson

Mavala nail varnish

Finally got round to painting my nails with the pastel colours from my Mavala 'delicious' set I won  along with some Clipper Tea last month.

Lush: Fluffy Egg

I am a sucker for pink products and Fluffy Egg is pretty pink egg shape topped with a flower that has been part of the Lush Easter range for many years now.  When you couple it with it's lovely sweet smell it had to go in my basket.  Of course one the boys saw it and found out it smelt of  bubblegum (Lush say candy floss but we all think it smells more like bubblegum) they had to have one too.

50 books that every child should read by 16

At the beginning of the month, to celebrate World Book Day, a survey of 2,000 readers by Sainsbury's found that the classic books parents grew up with are popular choices to read to their own kids.  It's certainly true in this house with Magic Faraway Tree, Famous Five, Flat Stanley and Roald Dahl tales already hitting our read pile before Ben is even 7 years old.

Something that really shocks me - where are the Mr Men, Thomas the Tank Engine or Topsy and Tim books?  I lived on Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Kids/ Twins/ High/ University books and Naughtiest Girl in the school series shame none of them have hit the top 50.  What favourites did you have that are missing from the list?

How many have you read or are planning on reading with your children?  

I have taken the list and rearranged it but if you want to see the original order it's here.

Make it Monday: Pasta recipies

I was never a fan of pasta, wouldn't touch it.  That was until a couple of years ago when the meal hubby was having smelt soo good that I tried a bit and soon polished off the rest that was left in the kitchen.

The boys go through fads, currently Noah loves pasta (depending on what phase the moon is in and whether he has woken up on the correct side of bed) and Ben hates it.... that was until we were asked to try Tesco Finest pasta.  I'm not sure it was the flavour that converted the boys or the really cool shapes it comes in.

To me pasta is pasta, and when on a budget you eat as cheaply as possibly so we always go for the 30p value packs, Tesco finest comes in at £1.70 a pack, after this trial tho the taste is completely different and I am very tempted to make the switch permanently.

The Gruffalo Experience, Meadowhall

We really love the Gruffalo in this house, whether it be the book  or going through the woods (Sherwood Pines or Thorndon) on a Gruffalo Hunt.  So imagine how excited I was when I found out that Unit 10 Eventive and Magic Light Pictures were bringing him to Meadowhall in a world premier of the Gruffalo Experience.

Lush: Bubblegrub

Today's #ThankLushItsFriday is another from the Mothers Day Range - however in my eyes, being based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar books, it's aimed at children (well they deserve a treat, they don't get to choose their mummies!).  My 2 boys are self-confessed Lush addicts.  We cannot walk past a shop without the request of "can we go in Lush?"   They openly flirt with the staff and lay on the innocent smiles enjoying the fun of trying new bombs in the waters or smelling as many products as possible,  And the Lush staff are always on hand on fill their days with colourful bubbly excitement, needless to say we never leave empty handed and never have an argument when I say those immortal words "bath time".

So today's post is over to them as they tell and show you about Bubblegrub in their own little way.........

Dreamworks: Home

I neeed a pet Boov .... well I need one in particular ... let me introduce you to 'Oh' a simply ohh too cute little Boov

Sorry, I may be jumping ahead of myself - a Boov is a species of alien race who can not only control gravity but also change colour depending on their mood (wouldn't life be so much easier if your child turned green when they were lying or yellow when they were scared).  They feature in the new Dreamwork's animation 'Home' which is released this month.

Swizzels Matlow .... helping to make #sweetmemories since 1928

Ok so I'm not THAT old (no offence to anyone who is), but I have grown up with Swizzels Matlow
sweets and now my children are growing up with them too. So they may not be growing up with all the range I used to have but the old favourites still remain like drumsticks and love hearts alongside exciting new ranges like squashies.

It's great being a mum as you get to experience so many adventures and experiences with your kids, each one a memory that will remain, but memories are almost always attached to something else - a smell, a colour or even a sweet can take you back to a time and place that you might have forgotten about.

World Book Day 2015

After last years bad mum experience of World Book Day (see here) I was determined to be a better mum this year.

But what to send them as?  I draw the line at Superhero costumes - there may be books about them but that is not the reason the kids would be wearing them.  Same goes for princesses (equal opportunities and all!)... I don't do 'making' costumes as working full time combined with parenting and blogging doesn't leave any time to get the sewing machine off the shelf let alone consider making something.

So I did what every mummy in this situation would do (I went to Asda).   We get a lot of our outfits from there, do you remember Ben's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one he wore on his birthday?  (yup George at Asda).

  

lush: Ultraviolet

With it being Mothers Day tomorrow I felt it only appropriate to put a review of one of their limited edition bubble bars, Ultraviolet, as today's #ThankLushItsFriday post.

I was introduced to this rainbow shaped bubble bar at the recent Gorilla Perfume launch (which you can read about here) as a perfect accompaniment to Kerbside Violets.   I didn't really like the perfume and I'll be honest, was not convinced I was going to like the bubble bar.  However I was pleasantly surprised.  The Ultraviolet bubble bar smells far more like Parma Violets (you remember those fab childhood sweets) then flowers.

Our Albelli Photobook - July to December 2014

Mad Hatter’s Party – Children’s Activity Day - 14th March 2015

We're really looking forward to attending the Mad Hatter's Party on Saturday ....... if you live in Sheffield would love to meet you there to celebrate 150 years in Wonderland and the Children's Hospital Charity.

With it being the 150th years anniversary of the Alice in Wonderland book, what better reason is there to have a wonderland themed event?!

Try #OneLittleChange from Tesco

With Christmas now a distant memory I've almost managed to finish off the chocolate and goodies that have been scattering the house for the past few months. We've had countless take aways and meals out due to holidays but now it's time now to get back to exercise and eating healthier before December rolls around again. 

If you are like me the temptation is to try and completely overhaul my bad habits, cutting out all fatty foods and chocolate but before too long the need for these treats becomes overwhelming and I end up having a couple of massive 'pig out' days.  Tesco agree that it's not good to cut out everything and that it's the little changes that add up to a big impact, for example don't walk up all 11 flights of stairs on your first day, start a floor lower every time,  have an apple instead of chocolate or have one less glass of wine a week.  Once the changes have started it's easy to take more steps to feel healthier. 

I was therefore really please when I was asked to be part of the Tesco Orchard #OneLittleChange programme so I could see how the changes made to their foods can assist me to change my lifestyle. 

Lush: dragons egg

I'm in love,  this has to be my favourite bath bomb ever.  With its rich citrusssy smell, 'rose petals', goldy orange colour and glitter it's perfectly relaxing.

On the exterior dragons egg is a white sphere with pretty speckled bits in it, don't pass it over as boring it's far from it...when you drop it into the water it's secret centre is revealed along with it the fragrance of Jasmine, Bergamount and Lemon Oils.

All bath bombs are hand made so it would stand to reason that no 2 are alike. I treated myself to one a week ago (before knowing I'd won the 29 high street gift set) and it released loads of 'rose petals' (red rice paper) that floated on the surface as I soaked, this one only seems to have 2 in.  The other point to note is the popping candy listed in the ingredients. Unlike Fizzbanger that made that distinct crackle while it exploded neither of these did, not even a little bit, obviously it's not essential to the product but it does make bath time more fun 😊

Would I Buy It Again?   Too right I would, in fact I may just stock up next time in case Lush decide to discontinue it.

Dragons egg is priced at £3.35.

Best Book for ...... Reading as an adult when it is designed for children

The award for this one has to go to Harry Potter by JK Rowling.

If you haven't heard of it (who am I kidding) Harry Potter is an orphan who starts his journey as an ordinary 10 year old boy with magical powers living in a 'Muggle' or non-magical world.  He finds out on his 11th birthday that he is in fact a wizard.  As a wizard he was invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where much of the 7 books take place.   As the books progress, each one documenting a year of his life, we see Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger grow up and develop magically as well as socially and emotionally. They face all the challenges teenagers face such as changing friendships and exams, and some not to ordinary - the greatest challenge of all, Voldermort.

Best Book for ...... Keeping kids entertained

With world book day fast approaching I thought I'd do a little mini series on books for all occasions,  First up let me tell you about the Factivity Series by DK books. 
The first thing to strike me about these books is their similarity (in look only) to the old FunFax's (anyone who was a kid in the 80s/90s is bound to remember the endless fun these brought).  Factivity books bring the same fun to children now with their range of activities.

They aren't new to the market but new titles are being released frequently.  The boys were sent x titles by DK to keep them busy on holiday, and busy they were, the books were used everywhere - on the train, on the bus, in the caravan.

HuntFun - a great way to get kids walking and considering their surroundings.

Do you remember in my post about Ambleside I mentioned that we'd explored the area with a HuntFun treasure hunt?  Well let me tell you some more about it.

The boys love to be out in the open air and we often try and find a walk to do at the weekend, or make our own scavenger type hunts so when I saw you could buy treasure hunts (treasure not included) I started to find out more, they kindly sent me a couple of printable ones, Ambleside and Windermere, and I bought another for Carlisle.   Needless to say being the organised person I am I forgot to print the hunts out so they sent me a link to access the clues on my phone so we could still complete it.

Huntfun say that their hunts will open your eyes to so many things you would ordinarily just walk straight past!  I was dubious, I'd lived in Ambleside for 3 years there wasn't going to be much I didn't know was there.  I cannot believe how wrong I was.  The trail took me to a church just minutes from where my old house was that I didn't know even existed.

Our #budgetholiday ......... Grasmere

image from Wikimedia Commons

Grasmere is sooo cute, it is the prettiest little village with just a handful of gift shops, galleries and cafes and probably the most amazing gingerbread you've ever tasted.

It's just 4 miles from Ambleside and accessible by bus or car, Grasmere was made famous by William Wordsworth.  Dove Cottage, his home from 1799 to 1808 with his sister Dorothy, is now a tourist attraction and brings in crowds of tourists every day.  William and Dorothy's graves are also in the village alongside his wife, Mary, and children, Dora, Catherine and Thomas.

Death, Decay and Renewal ... not as dark and morbid as it sounds

With a name like that posh drinks and candles you would be forgiven for thinking this post is going to be sinister, depressing and upsetting...... well lets add some happier words......

not convinced................. How about now??

Nothing Lush could be bad and this post is all about their new, volume 3,  Gorilla Perfume range which (as you may have guessed by now) is called "Death, Decay and Renewal".

Our #budgetholiday - Park Resorts - Fallbarrow, Bowness

We were a little concerned when we arrived at Fallbarrow Park that we had gone to the wrong place.  I had stayed here when I was very little and it was owned by South Lakes, hubby had even worked a shift here in the bar (as he worked at one of their sister sites White Cross Bay 10 years ago).  It's safe to say Park Resorts have not tried to make it their own.  The signs remain as they always were and the staff wear the same old uniforms. When we entered the site the entire reception/ entertainment complex was dark and surrounded by machinery and workmen.  A sign informed us the reception doors were closed and to use the other doors, helpfully pointing us in the wrong direction ..... until a workman, seeing our confused expressions, explained we were not the first ones to go wrong and told us where to go.  We noted the following day new signs had been erected to make finding the reception much easier.

  

Our #budgetholiday ......... Ambleside

Ambleside is a must when you are in that part of the lakes, especially when, like me, you lived there for 3 years.  It's more a town then a village with more outdoor shops than anyone will ever need, quaint little cafes, tons of B&B's, a large park and a good sprinkling of pubs, not to mention a Boots The Chemist (where I worked in my student days), a Tesco Metro, Co-op and Spar shop.

Sob - we've returned from our #budgetholiday

But here's an overview of what we got up to...........it involves quite a lot of food :)

It's going to take me a while to write a post covering everything but when I do get them written I will link up to them from this post.




Friday

Was mostly spent travelling, which was a breeze thanks to DK Books.  We checked in at Park Resorts, Fallbarrow in Bowness and had a quick cup of tea before heading out to see how Ambleside had changed in the few years since we had last been.
  Tea was a lovely meal in the Ambleside Tavern (formally The Sportsman/ 'Sporties' my old dancing venue when I was at University there)

Mini Microwave Flapjacks

I had a huge sugar low today and came home craving chocolate brownies, but I was too lazy to get

the mixer out and the sieve etc.... which was when I discovered Microwave Flapjack.

Now given the mess I make everytime I try to make flapjack in the oven I was scared..... but I needn't have been, it was soo easy.

Overheard on public transport, 5.2.15

Some Parents never fail to amaze me in their attitudes, never more so then when they contradict themselves. .. and this mum was no exception.  I won't repeat the conversation word for word as she must have repeated some phrases to her mate 10 times   I'm sure you'll get the idea tho.

 

She was retelling a scenario from a few days ago where her 9 year old daughter was playing music from her phone on the Tram.  She admitted that she agrees music should not be played in this way and headphones are appropriate, however they were only going one stop (so that makes it ok).

Our Budget Holiday - Step 2: Planning the journey

Well all our holiday is booked and I must remember to go and pick up the tickets from the train station.  If you missed Step 1 of my #BudgetHoliday series then you can catch up here.

The next step is to plan the train journey, because when you have kids nothing is as simple getting on a train and reading your book until it gets there.  Especially when the journey takes 3 hours (each way) and the kids happen to be 3 and 6.

They do have tablets, portable dvd players and ds's but to be honest I quite enjoy the 'family time', that and you are never guaranteed a seat - let alone one with a plug socket (and these things do seem to eat the battery). 
  On the other hand we are on a train with 2 small boys for a 5 night holiday - there is a limit as to how much we can carry..... I have learnt that lesson!

My aim on journey's is for each boy to have their own rucksack with everything they will need for the journey (including their favourite soft toy, drink and a snack or 2).  This is no easy feet, especially when you think the 3h journey involves 2 or more trains, and but here is my guide as to those little extras that either I have used historically or have spotted online that can make a very long journey fly. 

Overheard on public transport ....

Followers will know already, we don't own a car, Everything we do, everywhere we go is reliant on public transport;  bus,  tram sometimes train and very occasionally taxi.  What I hear and see on these journeys sometimes make me laugh,  cry or cringe. ... With this new blog series I'd like to share some of those experiences with you.

Today's gem of wisdom came from a school girl on the Tram .....

" it's so much easier to do on the Tram, much easier then on a bus .... and is impossible to do it in a car"

What was this she was discussing with her friend?  Where best to apply her makeup of course!

Fresh Fish Friday

Ben loves Fish and Chip Friday at school.  Sometimes it's fillets, sometimes fingers but you can

guarantee one thing - I bet it's not Fresh.  You just can't beat the taste of fish shop fish at the seaside can you?

Or so I thought.

We rarely buy 'real' fish at home anymore due to the cost.  I used to love fresh plaice fillets with a jacket potato (in fact it's one of the things I cooked many years ago in GCSE food technology) but when you are working to a budget and weighing up the cost of a small piece of fresh fish vs a bag of frozen portions it's a no-brainer.  I was really excited then when Tesco, the 2014 Meat and Fish Retailer of the Year Award,  asked us to try their range of fresh fish as part of the 'orchard food' panel.

Toffee Cream Tart

We love old school type desserts and this week I had real cravings for Toffee Cream Tart ...... so I made one.

I am the worlds worst pastry chef so I kinda help myself along a bit and buy a pre-made pastry case.  If you are making your own then you'll need to find this part of the recipe as I've not included it.  These instructions are only for the Toffee Cream filling.

Our Budget Holiday - Step 1: Planning

It's been a long time (over a year) since we went on a proper holiday.  Yes we had a couple of nights away at a time in a hotel (normally a budget one), we went camping but not a proper 5 nights away in a caravan type of holiday.   And I am suffering withdrawal symptoms.

So I set about looking for something for February half term.  of course with it being February a lot of the caravan sites aren't open and the hotels are pricey but that didn't stop me.
   Yes we could have just had a couple of nights somewhere and had a biggie later in the year but who knows what 2015 will bring, and we'd like to get more use out of our tent this year (and maybe get a bigger one) so hopefully as weather improves we'll use that for our time away.

Hubby's work are a nightmare when it comes to signing off holiday and only agreed this weekend he could have the time off - but the Friday/ Sat/ Sun at the beginning not the end.

The next question was where to go.  Initially I wanted to go to London but the outlay on that was extortionate so I sulked.  I spent 2 days sulkily trawling the Internet and asking twitter for some inspiration.... then it struck.

We still have hubby's families Christmas presents here (don't ask) so lets kill 2 birds with 1 stone and go see them (but not for too long)..... that means a road trip to the Lake District (we've not been up there in about 2 years) and a trip to my old uni haunts and see how much everything has changed in 10 years.

Tortilla Pizzas

The kids love pizza but I'm always trying to make meal times that bit healthier (and cheaper),


I bring you quick and easy Tortilla Pizzas that the kids can help make themselves.

Merlin Passes - are they worth it?

Last year we forfeited a 'proper holiday' and bought Merlin Passes.  For 3 of us (Noah was only 2)  it cost us about £300.  So we made the most of them.

We went to:

Legoland Windsor (1 and a half days).  post 1  post 2
Alton Towers (2 and a half days)  post 1   post 2
Legoland Manchester (4 times - I think)   post
Sealife Manchester (2 times)

my husband just committed the ultimate sin

Picture the scenario..............

The wind is howling.......... the rain is literally bashing against the windows...... it's 6.45am ....... and
the kids are already awake.

After trying to ignore them and go back to bed (like any good mum) I gave up and eventually got up.

I went downstairs and made myself a cup of tea.

Flashback Friday - Look and Read (part 1): Through The Dragon's Eye.

I was going through the bookcase last weekend to work out what to read in our Chapter Book Challenge when I uncovered my old copy of Through the Dragon's Eye.  Slightly battered and every bit it's 23 years old but there none the less to enjoy with my kids,  But it wasn't the book that sparked my love of Through the Dragons Eye (tho at least I couldn't see scary Charn in text) but the TV
series,  The 10 x 20 minute episodes of Look and Read, shown in the Music Room when I was in Primary School.

 Once a week we would file into the little room, sit cross legged on the carpet and eagerly await the tales from Pelamar on our BBC VHS (not live as I was only 7 when it first aired in 1989 and I am sure it was the juniors, possibly year 6 when we watched it).  My teacher always brought the teachers notes in with her, a folder of activity and helpful hints for the 'working out' elements.  Not that I can ever remember her opening and using them.  Thanks to YouTube I can now share the enjoyment with my 2 boys

what happens when Lush get their labelling wrong??

I was soo excited, hubby had bought me some Lush goodies for Christmas.  Still being a novice I don't know their products inside out and, like I assume you would, follow the instructions on the packets when using.

So tonight, after a hectic day at work and needing to relax, I got one out of it's packet.  The instructions told me to "crumble half a bar under a running tap to enjoy a mountain of uplifting bubbles"  (it also told me it was orange and zesty but my brain didn't link that the product I had in my hand was not orangy).

Chickywiggle's Bookshelf - 2015

I have decided to make better use of my Bookspot tab so am going to keep my ongoing list of what is on (and off) my bookshelf here.

Yes my list has reduced considerable, and noo you're right I've not read them all.  But I figured a lot of them have been there for 5 years or so and if I've not read them by now then lets be honest I'm not going to now.  

I have my favourite authors with books I've still to read and kept a few extras that I might read, but otherwise I'm going to try and sell or swap them.... so if you fancy taking a look.....

The Chapter Book Challenge 2015

Last year we really enjoyed joining in with Child-Led Chaos' 300 Picture Book Challenge, it really made us think about just how much we were reading.  However it took a long time to keep track of everything and. as you will have noticed, we forgot to record it quite a bit.

This year the boys are a bit older and we are moving onto bigger books, that's not to say we won't be reading Thomas, Topsy and Tim, Elmer, Puddle Lane and all our other favourites (Noah is still only 3 after all) but it does mean we can crack on with some of out Chapter (or books with lots of various stories in) books.

My aim is to read at least 26 of these with the boys, initially I was going for 52 but that's pushing it a bit as quite a few would take longer then a week to read.
I've made a start with the list from those that are already on our shelves but it's not complete yet as I want to leave room for ones they might choose themselves or ones we may encounter on our journey this year.

300 Picture Book Challenge ...... the year is over.

Ermmm I'm not entirely sure what happened to November, for some reason I have not logged any books.  We did read I promise you but I have absolutely no idea What or How Many!!

So Lets pretend November didn't exist and fast forward to December.

December I introduced the Book Advent Calendar.  1 (or 2) books with a Christmas theme wrapped up and under the tree for the boys to find and read every day.