Silent Sunday April 28th

Featured Post: Garden Wish List

The summer is fast approaching, and this year, my garden furniture and accessories are firmly in need of some upgrading. As well as a new table, chairs and umbrella, and perhaps a sun lounger too if I can persuade hubby, I am also hoping to invest in some outdoor lighting to see us through those summer evenings as although it's fantastic to sit outside during the day, there is something magical about sitting outside at night.

I had a browse of the John Lewis website, and decided to create a wishlist of things that I would like for the garden. Some may be a little ambitious, but hey, a girl can dream right?

Here is my Wishlist: 

The Garden Room

The Garden Room has to be at the top of the list for my garden. Although I may have to wait until we have a slightly bigger garden, one day, one of these beauty's will be mine to hide away in or use for whatever purpose I deem it necessary to. I love the thought of a room at the bottom of the garden! I can just imagine having a space that was my very own!! (rather than the house which is the kid's domain!)

The Entertainer

Entertaining in the garden is something we love to do. We eat outside as much as possible when the weather is nice, and so this table would make a fantastic addition to our garden. I can just envisage having family and friends round, cooking a fantastic meal and everyone sitting at the table, enjoying a nice glass of wine and sharing a meal - fantastic!

The BBQ

Although we do tend to eat mainly vegetarian in our house, come the summer, hubby is just as eager to show off his manly talent for cooking the meat, as the next guy, and so he would be in his element with this BBQ. Who knows, I might be able to persuade him to get the veggie kebabs on there too!

The Atmosphere

Evenings spent in the Garden in the good weather are all about creating the right atmosphere. These colourful candle burners could transform any garden into an atmospheric evening retreat. I would love to have them in my garden!

What's not to love about these gorgeous butterfly lights! I can just imagine sitting outside on warm nights with these twinkling above me. I'm sure that the girls would love them too! These are  a definite on my wish list.

There does reach a point in the evening when the sun starts to disappear and some decent, more robust lighting is needed to keep the party going. I think that this outdoor candle-style lantern looks stylish for both summer and winter. I want two!!! If you are interested, the full range of John Lewis outdoor lighting can be found here

So that's my garden wishlist for this year. I might ave to save up for the garden room, but I think the butterfly lights and the candles may just be manageable! 

What's on your garden wishlist?

Disclosure: I received payment for writing this post. All views and opinions are my own. 

Silent Sunday 21st April

School Allocation Day

Today, is finally the day that we find out which primary school youngest will be going to. As she is a sibling, it will hopefully be a bit more clear cut than the first time around two years ago when we anxiously waited for eldest's allocation, however, you can never be sure! It seems strange to be talking about primary school for youngest, as she still seems so tiny. It will be the end of an era in September when she goes off to school and my day time is child-free after six years.

I remember exactly where I was when I found out about eldest's allocation. Driving home from a conference in Sheffield, I had pulled into the motorway services and was sitting in the driver's seat, sick to my stomach with an equal measure of anticipation and dread, trying to access my emails on my mobile, using something which vaguely passed for an internet signal, but was pretty patchy.

Thankfully, eldest got her first choice, although even after allocations I continued to question whether we had made the right decision and chosen a school which would be a good fit for her, despite being happy with our choice - you've got to love parenting guilt!

Personally, I don't think that the task of choosing a school does get easier the second time around. Even though the natural choice is typically the same school as your eldest child goes to, different schools suit different children, and so there can sometimes be that nagging doubt as to whether a school will be able to nurture a child with a completely different personality to the first, and whether your second child will thrive as well in the school, living in the shadow of the first.

I think it depends on the personality of the child, and how happy you are with the school, whether you would decide to send your kids to the same school, or to different ones. I always remember a boy at my school, who had a twin. Both twins went to separate schools as the mother wanted them to be seen as individuals rather than a pair - an interesting concept. After a lot of contemplation about youngest's school application, we opted for the same school as eldest is at, as youngest's outgoing personality means that she should be able to hold her own and form her own identity within the school, rather than just being someone's sister.

Once the application has been made, I don't think that the wait gets any easier either. I have been just as nervous between January and April this time, as I was a couple of years ago. Although as our school is not highly over-subscribed, I am not anticipating that there would be a reason she wouldn't get in, However, one can never be certain until allocation day.

For anyone receiving school allocations this week, I really feel for you! If you don't receive your first choice on allocation day, then don't lose hope, as circumstances change between now and September. People may move, change their choice of school, opt to go via the private/independent system, or may decide not to take up the place for a number of reasons. You can also lodge an appeal for a place and fight through the panel.

The best piece of advice I can give having gone though it before, is that if you really want a certain school, (or a safety net), stay on the continuing interest list of the school's you were interested in. Even though we were happy with our choice of school, being complete school novices, and taking a gamble on a school we knew nothing about (and which doesn't report results as it is so small) we wanted to have a "safety net" and so kept eldest's name on the continuing interest list of two schools we had also wanted her to go to. A place finally came up for her at one of the schools, towards the end of her reception year. I had kept open the flexibility to move her, and had I wanted to, I could have, and would have, although we eventually decided that the grass wasn't necessarily greener at this supposed "outstanding" school, and so she stayed where she was. However, it was reassuring to know that we could have moved her to a different school if we were not happy with the first.

Good luck to all of those receiving their school allocations this week. For those in the local LEA, I too will be on tenterhooks at 6pm. I hope that you all get the school you were hoping for!!!

Featured Post: Choosing a Family Car - The New Honda CRV 2013'

When you have kids, the likelihood is that you will find yourself swapping that sporty, zippy, fab looking car for a more practical, family orientated car. Yes, whilst your (or your partner's) bump blooms, and you peruse the baby equipment shops, the realisation slowly suddenly dawns that the brand new all singing all dancing cost-more-than-your-monthly-salary buggy will not fit into the boot of your current car. In this post, we look at what to consider when buying a family car, and find out more about the new Honda CRV 2013 - one of the choices to consider when buying a family car.

What to consider when buying a family car
There are quite a few things to consider when buying a family car. Things which you considered important in a car pre-kids such as leather seats, alloy wheels, sun roof, bluetooth and mp3 functionality, may no longer apply, or may still be as important as ever, but practicality and functionality generally takes priority over the more superficial elements of a car. Here are a few things which we found important when purchasing our family car:

Boot Space
Boot space is a big factor when you have kids, especially in the first couple of years. It's important to consider as I said before, whether the buggy will fit comfortably. It's also important to ensure that the buggy does not take up the whole boot - can you get your weekly supermarket shop and the buggy in the boot? Also consider the type of journeys you may be making by car. Could you get all of the kit for a weekend away, and the buggy in the car? Is there room for the kid's bikes when they are older? Do the back seats lie flat to make more boot space if necessary?

Car Seats
Ensure that you choose a car seat which fits correctly into the car, or a car which will fit the car seats you already have. Make sure that there is enough room to manoeuvre so that the first stage rear-facing car seat is not touching the front passenger seat. Consider forecasting in advance. Could you get more than one car seat in the car if needs be? What about more than two?

Fuel Economy
With an extra person to pay for, it is useful to consider whether the fuel consumption of your new car is going to be economical, or eat into your bank balance. It is also useful to consider whether you prefer a diesel or petrol engine, and how many miles you think you might drive a year.

Roof Rails
Does the car have the ability to have roof rails fitted for that extra space in years to come? With all seats full of passengers, you need a way to transport cases and luggage on that family road trip!

Appearance
Even though you want a car to be practical, ultimately, you still want your car to look good, to impress your pre-baby (don't understand the need for so much space) friends. Cars like the new Honda model can still fit that criteria. Available in various colours, the Honda still has enough fantastic features inside and out to impress.

Comfort
As a parent, you end up spending a lot of time in the car, whether it's driving the babies round to help them sleep when they are little, settling in and hanging out for an hour whilst baby sleeps during their nap, or ferrying kids back and forth on the school run as they get older, you need to feel comfortable in your car. Consider whether the car has the comfort features you are looking for. Some nice features to have may include heated seats, arm rests, wipeable seats, and perhaps even in-car entertainment to keep you all pacified on long journeys, and enough sockets to keep everything charged.

Buying a family car is a huge investment, so try to choose carefully, consider what is really important to you personally, and take your time, making sure that you choose the model which is right for you. 

Disclosure: I received compensation for this post, which is in association with Honda.

Silent Sunday 14th April

Story Hunt: A Low-Cost Kids Day Out...

During the Holidays, it can sometimes be tricky to try and think of ways to fill the time, especially if the kids are having more than a week off school. The holidays can also take quite a hit on your bank balance if you are spending out on activities each day. A quick trip to the local children's farm can set a family back the best part of £40 with lunch, a day trip to the aquarium or a theme park can cost even more. Even a quick swim can cost at least £10 these days. 

Sometimes, it is good to come across an activity which actually turns out to be more low cost than first thought.

Last Friday, eldest and I embarked on a day out with the intention of visiting the Roald Dahl Museum. When we got there, we discovered that the waiting time was too long to go in. The person on the entrance very helpfully pointed out the Roald Dahl Village Trail - a short walk which takes you around the local area of Great Missenden where Roald Dahl lived. 

Roald Dahl was inspired by the scenery and everyday occurrences around him. He carried around with him an 'ideas book' for his stories, and would write and sketch ideas as he went about his daily life. 

As I'm sure you are aware, eldest loves writing stories, and so inspired by Roald Dahl, she came up with the idea of going on her own story hunt as we walked in his footsteps around the local village. Armed with her very own 'story ideas book' which we purchased in the museum gift shop, eldest decided that she wanted to walk around the local area, and let the scenery inspire her and give her ideas for her stories.

I was actually really impressed with how much eldest used her observational skills as we followed the map route through the High Street and up to the local church. The things that she saw were things that I would not have ordinarily noticed, and she came up with imaginative ways to incorporate them into her story. We found some Ivy, and so she decided to call her main character Ivy, and another character 'daffy' after some daffodils she found. We crossed a bridge, which she sketched and came up with an idea for. Some lights in a shop reminded her of chandeliers for her castle. A passing helicopter provided inspiration, as did the beautiful church we visited. 

We had a fun afternoon together walking around the area enjoying the outdoors and looking for story ideas.  Eldest is hoping that our walks to sketch story ideas will become a regular occurrence. I think that they are a great way to inspire kids to use what they know, and what's around them as the foundation for their stories, poems, drawings, or even photo's and videos. It also gets them out in the open enjoying some fresh air, and best of all, it's a low-cost way to spend an afternoon giving kids confidence in what they enjoy doing. 

Eldest is currently working on her finished story, which she will share once it's completed.

Do your kids go on story hunts or similar? We would love to hear about them if you decide to go on one!

We are entering our story hunt activity into the Sunday Showcase

Silent Sunday 7th April

Review - Shake It Up: I Love Dance

My girls are huge Disney Fans, especially eldest who has recently made the move from cartoon Disney to the more real life action filled kids programmes. Eldest loves the show "Shake It Up" - a show about two high school students and best friends, "Rocky Blue, and CeCe Jones". CeCe (played by Bella Thorne) and Rocky Blue (played by Zendaya) have always wanted to be professional dancers. They finally get their big break when they land jobs as backing dancers on a local TV dance show “Shake It Up, Chicago”. Now, into it's third season, Shake It Up sees Rocky and CeCe re-auditioning for their spots on the show and trying to balance their dance lives with their school and social lives.

To co-incide with the third season, Disney have recently released the series' third soundtrack - Shake It Up: I Love Dance. The new soundtrack is packed with lots of fresh, upbeat, music which kids will love, including hit tracks from Zendaya, Bella Thorne, Bridgit Mendler, Coco Jones, plus a special REMIX of the theme song performed by Selena Gomez (which eldest especially loves).

Eldest was really impressed by the pink sparkly cover. Her favourite songs as well as the Shake It Up theme song, are "Beat of My Drum" and "We're Dancing". As parents, we like this soundtrack because it features fantastic pop music, but without the suggestive unsavoury lyrics of some pop songs - so we don't mind eldest listening to it. Eldest says "You need to buy this new release because there is lots of great music which all kids will love" - an honest review from a real life Disney obsessed kid!

Disney's Shake It Up: I Love Dance is available from Amazon  priced around £11. Here is a preview of one of the tracks on the soundtrack "Contagious Love".

Disclosure: Album offered in consideration for review

A Visit to the Beach

There's nothing like a visit to the beach to blow away the cobwebs - especially if you visit the beach in the wind and the snow as we did over the Easter weekend.

Easter typically marks our return to the family holiday home, as it opens for the season. The kids have been eagerly awaiting the start of the holiday season since Christmas, and so were really excited to learn that the time had finally come to make the first trip of the year.

The holiday home is close to the beach, and even though we warned the girls that swimming costumes and buckets and spades would be surplus to requirements, they were eager to get to the beach and onto the sand as quickly as possible, and once there, they had a fantastic time running along the beach and seeing the sea. We also went to the amusement arcades and they won a teddy each on the grab machines, which made their day.

During our beach visit, all was going well until Mummy 'someone' suggested playing a game which involved playing chicken with the waves as they lapped against the shore. The girls had great fun running away from the waves, and were really enjoying my super cool fun Mummy game, until one rather over-zealous wave crept up upon us......

Hubby caught the before shot:

He didn't manage to catch the after, which included both girls laying in a pool of sea water fully clothed, covered in sand and screaming in discomfort and disbelief, in a scene which would have earned us quite a tidy profit on You've Been Framed. 

Cue all of us hot footing it back to our base a couple of hundred yards away, hubby carrying youngest who was drenched head to foot and crying at the top of her lungs, and me carrying eldest, whose suede boots had expanded so much she couldn't walk in them and who was making noises of an equally high decibel to youngest. 

Luckily, a hot shower, and easter eggs helped the girls to recover, but I think Mummy's fun beach game has been consigned to the scrap heap for the moment.

Don't you just love the holidays!!