Getting Crafty For Mother's Day

There are so many gifts on the market for Mother's Day this year and although I would love anything that my boys got for me, I love the fact that you can buy crafty items and make them yourself. What's better than a homemade card?

So when Cuticura got in touch asking if we wanted to receive some items for the perfect Mother's Day gift, in support of the Cuticura’s ‘crafty creations’ charity campaign supporting The Princes Foundation for Children and The Arts, I couldn't wait to receive them so that we could get crafty. 

Education through play and learning is paramount to The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, who believe that every child has the right to be inspired by the arts. “Engaging with a variety of the arts from a young age has a hugely positive effect on children; nurturing vital skills like self-esteem, confidence and communication. By learning through play, we give children the best opportunity to learn, grow and achieve,” says Jeremy Newton, Chief Executive of The Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts.

We received a 'Paint your own mug' set and a Mother's Day card which needed to be finished and a host of Cuticura products. I knew that the hand washes would come in great handy after the activities to get us back squeaky clean. 

Starting with the card, I asked Thomas what he would like to put on the front of it and he decided on a flower but since the card came with stickers, he wanted a butterfly on it too, pointing out that butterflies land on flowers all the time so it would look 'perfect' like that. 

We had a bit of a practice first on some paper, trying out finger painting and brush styles and eventually settling on using the brush for the flower and pressing the colour on sideways in a triangle shape to do the petals. Thomas decided on the colours and was on his way painting, choosing to also add a couple of butterflies on the sides too. 

After the front had dried, Thomas started on the inside. He wanted to write 'I Love You' inside but then picked to have a heart sticker instead of the word love. 

We then moved on to the cup and again did a bit of practising on some paper fist as Thomas wanted to do stripes and we wanted to make sure that they were straight. 'Pink and blue stripes will look lovely' according to Thomas and so he got on to painting the stripes onto the cup and doing a matching purple handle. 

Since the cup was hard to write on, I did the text for him by painting the word 'mum' on it in red and then we left it to dry. 

It was such a nice activity to do with Thomas and great to see his creative side. Here are our finished creations:

Our First Family Holiday

The last Holiday we had was when Thomas had just turned one year old, nearly 4 years ago. Charlie has never been away. 

I have always wanted to get the boys out to different places and to try and have as many seaside breaks as we can but it always ends up coming down to cost. 

Whenever we do have spare money to book somewhere, something breaks and it ends up going on that instead. The dryer went, then the camera and last month the boiler too. Everything just adds up and means we are skint. 

We managed finally to get a bit of spare money together and book a short break during the April school holidays which we then thought we would have to cancel as my husband has to work. 

After much compromise we worked out that we could go away for an extra short break, only 2 nights, without affecting the hubsters job and at least have a few days away. 

So, in 2 weeks, we go on our first seaside break and I for one, cannot wait. 

It might not be some sunny paradise but it's perfect for us. I can't wait to take the boys to the beach, paddle in the sea, play in the amusements and eat as many fresh doughnuts as we can, and that's just me haha. 

Our first ever family holiday, a few days away. Away from work, school, routine and my blog. 

Riding, Scooting and Jumping The Days Away

Now the weather has finally cheered up, we have been able to get out and play more often and the boys have loved it. Been able to play in the garden without our coats on, lapping up the sunshine whilst having fun riding around. 

Boys are very rough though, I never knew how rough they actually would be until I had 2 of them. Throwing themselves around, jumping in the mud, rolling along the floor, all of which I don't mind, but, it does mean that their clothes can get ruined quickly. 

Then we come to the age old battle of, do we buy nice clothes that will be more expensive and better quality, or cheap clothes which aren't as good quality but it doesn't really matter if they get ruined? I go for the first option...

I am a very frugal buyer and regularly search for outlet stores in the UK which sell designer brands but at a fraction of the cost. These shops usually sell the older season ranges, all still very much in style, still fab quality, but at around 70% off the retail price. 

This way, we all get to wear nice quality clothing and because I haven't spent a fortune I don't have as much of a heart attack when one gets ripped of stained. It means that we can all, ride, scoot and roll to our hearts content without worrying. 

I have loved having this good weather and cannot wait till summer. Getting to go out more, play at the beach, paddle in the sea, ride our bikes, play on the scooters, I cannot wait to get out and about.

- featured post

Toddler Training Toilet Seat from Splashdirect

If you're a regular follower of my blog, you will know that I am currently potty training Charlie. Well, I say potty training but he actually prefers the toilet so it's more toilet training. The only problem that I found is that every time he needs the toilet, I have to dig out the child seat and fix it to the toilet and, although I don't mind doing this, it can get a bit annoying when we are in a rush. 

Splashdirect have come up with an idea to combat this though, the Toddler Training Soft Close Toilet Seat, from Infinity, is a 2 in 1 toilet seat. It has a base seat which is for adults and regular use and then it has a top toilet seat which can come down and has a smaller hole so is perfect for youngsters. 

Made with High Grade Pressed Strong Thermoplastic the seat fits our toilet perfectly and it has the added benefit of being a soft close seat. This means that you can gently tap the top of the seat and it will slowly close, avoiding that horrible bang when it hits the toilet and it also protects tiny tots fingers from getting caught as it closes.  

The seat itself is super easy to fit. You basically fit the clips and screw it to the toilet and that's it, simple! But that's not where it stops. 

The seat has Fix-Clip Hygienic Mounting whereby you can simply twist a clip and the whole seat will come off from the toilet so you can give a deep down clean underneath where the seat would be. It then easily clips back on with no fuss. 

No need for a screwdriver to fit it or remove from the toilet basin, and makes fitting a new seat even easier as you can just un-clip the old one a fit a new one with a simple twist of the clip. 

Not only is the seat aesthetically pleasing but it is also practical, eliminates clutter and the need for an extra child seat in the bathroom and will blend in with your bathroom décor with ease. I am now contemplating buying another so that we have one in our downstairs W.C. and one upstairs in the bathroom. 

Pop over to the Splashdirect website where you can purchase the Toddler Training Soft Close Toilet Seat.

Personalised Peppa Pig Book from Penwizard

Penwizard was formed in 2004 when they decided to develop products using 'web to print' technology, linking customers' data to a digital printing press, in this case, your children's details into their very own personalised book. 

They produce a range of personalised children's books including Adventure Books, Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom, Noddy, Fifi and the Flowertots and Roary the Racing Car. 

Thomas loves Peppa Pig and so when they asked us to pick any softback book from the website, this was our first choice. Peppa Goes to Your Childs Party! is a fully personalised story which can be altered to match in with exactly what your child looks like and their name too. 

You can personalise it to include:

• First name and surname
• Hairstyle and colour
• Skin tone
• Eye colour
• Age of child in balloon (ages 1-9 only)
• Optional personal message

I worked my way through the options on the website, filling in Thomas' information and then going through to checkout to pay and it all felt so easy and straight forward. Confirmed the order and that was it, a few days later the book turned up. 

A full colour gloss cover  which had Thomas and Peppa on the front, Thomas' name also appeared and a balloon with the number 5 to signify Thomas' age at the party (he will turn 5 shortly). The book if filled with 24 full colour pages following the adventure of Thomas planning and having his birthday party. 

The premise of the story is that your child (Thomas in this instance) helps Mr Zebra deliver all the invitations to his birthday party around the village, stopping by various houses, including Peppa's, on the way. You then celebrate with Peppa and friends at the biggest bash of the year!

Overall, I am impressed with the quality of the book and the fact that you can also purchase more personalised books to create your own collection is great too.

You can buy the Personalised Peppa Pig book from the Penwizard website and also check out the other ranges they do too.