LEGO Friends Flash Mob to Celebrate Summer!

School’s out and the summer holidays are finally here so what could be more fun than celebrating the summer sun with a bit of dancing!  Strictly Come Dancing star Kristina Rihanoff, performed  in a flash mob style routine to 'Surfs up!' from The Disney Channel's newest film “Teen Beach Movie”, on Brighton pier in conjunction with LEGO Friends to celebrate the start of the holidays.

The routine featured 100 young girls aged 10-12, all recruited from the Stagecoach theatre arts school.  The audience definitely enjoyed the high energy, fun-filled show!  It was the perfect way to start the summer fun rolling. You can watch it below.

              

To find out more about LEGO Friends visit www.legofriends.co.uk   

Fruit Shoot Get Your Skills On

Fruit Shoot is launching Get Your Skills On, a campaign designed to give kids the chance to learn the latest cool skills ranging from street dance to free style basketball to urban percussion.  We received a Skills Pack to try out which included tutorials from Fruit Shoot's resident Skills Crew.

Freddy and Kizzy tried very hard to master the art of Parkour.  They also tried break dancing, keepie uppies and an Ollie on the skateboard.  They haven't mastered these new skills yet, so instead, especially for this post, they practiced some skills on the trampoline.  Kizzy learned how to do a tuck, pike, straddle combo and Freddy did 10 seat jumps!!

                           


Now the summer holidays have started for us, we will be attempting to improve on the elusive, yet-to-be-mastered skills and learn some cool new tricks to impress each other with! 

This September, Nickelodeon’s Fruit Shoot Skills Awards are going to be held.  They recognise and celebrate talented young people from across the UK with serious skills, from Breakdancing and Skateboarding to BMXing and Soccer Freestyling.

Your children will also be able upload a video of the best skills they’ve learnt  - to be in with a chance of being shortlisted for the Breakthrough Award at the annual Fruit Shoot Skills Awards, which will be shown on Nickelodeon.  So get your kids to get their skills on and give it a go!

Find out more at and upload your video at fruitshoot.nick.co.uk/

International Friendship Day

July 30th is International Friendship Day, a day to celebrate friendships and remember all those people in your life that make everyday so much happier.  You can say thank you to your friends today or indeed any other day of the year by giving a card or present.

Hallmark have a host of great range of Friendship gifts available online including personalised sweet jars, mugs, chocolate bars and cards.  So why not treat your best friend with a thoughtful pressie to remind them how much you appreciate them.

As a Hallmark Mummy Blogger panelist, I was sent some cards to send to my best friends to celebrate International Friendship Day.  The quality is great and there is a design that will please everyone.  Whether you like flowers, teddies or something more contemporary or humorous, Hallmark's got it covered! Take a look online for gift ideas for all occasions.

hallmark.co.uk

New Playmobil Magazine

Playmobil have launched a brand new comic for little ones to enjoy.  The first edition is all about pirates and comes with a free Pirate figure on the front.  It is a bright and colourful magazine with a pull out poster inside. There are prizes to be won, stories to be shared and lots of activities to enjoy.  Aimed at 4-9 year olds this magazine will engage kids who will enjoy the themes based on Playmobil playsets. They will be learning whilst having fun and letting their imaginations run wild through the pages of this fun packed magazine!  The next edition is all about the Police!

It is a great tie-in to the Playmobil brand and at £3.99 a month is great value as it will include a new figure to add to your collection.  As Playmobil Playologists, we were sent the first editiion and it's coming with us on holiday to keep Freddy entertained!

It's available now in major supermarkets and newsagents.

playmobil.co.uk

Be A Knight, Do It Right DVD Review

MIKE THE KNIGHT™ SET FOR MORE AMAZING ADVENTURES IN

BRAND NEW DVD ‘MIKE THE KNIGHT™: BE A KNIGHT, DO IT RIGHT!’

"Saddle-up and explore the enchanted realm of Glendragon with CBeebies favourite Mike the Knight! Join his companions Sparkie and Squirt and trusty steed Galahad, as the young knight-in-training embarks on more marvellous missions. Available from Monday 29^th July with an RRP of £12.99, Mike the Knight: Be a Knight, Do it Right! includes seven exciting episodes from the popular pre-school series."

We were very excited to review this DVD as we have recently enjoyed meeting Mike the Knight at Warwick Castle, and my own little knight in training Freddy is a big fan!

In this brand-new DVD, Mike sets out to be the best knight he can be.  In one episode,The Triple Trophy Triumph,  Mike discovers that winning isn't everything when he attempts to win three trophies in one day.  Other episodes include The New Castle, The Big Parade, The Knightly Welcome, The Wild Boar, The Great Rescue and Peace and Quiet.  Plenty of fun for little Mike the Knight fans this summer.

I really do like the life lessons that little ones learn as they watch Mike the Knight.  They learn all about things such as fairness, helpfulness, friendship and kindness through watching Mike doing his best to do it right. 

Little ones can learn to do it right, just like Mike, with a host of chivalrous DVD extras. This includes a modern-day version of the chivalrous code, a reward chart and a host of other downloadable activities. For more information on Mike the Knight visit www.miketheknight.com or connect with Mike online through Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/miketheknightofficial

 

https://twitter.com/MiketheKnightUK

                  Mike the Knight™: Be a Knight, Do it Right!

     Release Date:                        29 July 2013

     RRP:                                     £12.99

     Running Time:                        84 minutes (approx)

               

     Format:                                  DVD

                 Certificate:                             U

     Available from:                      All good retailers and www.amazon.co.uk

                

Granola Rock Cake Recipe

Jordans have sent me some products to inspire me to create something yummy in the kitchen.  So using their delicious Super 3 Seeds Granola with cranberries, I made some Granola Rock Cakes, based on the rock cakes my mum used to make when I was a child!  They are very quick and easy to make.

Ingredients

125g butter

125g soft brown sugar

1 egg

200g plain flour

1/2 teaspn baking powder

125g Jordan's Super 3 Seeds Granola

Method

Cream together the fat and sugar.

Beat in the egg.

Add flour, baking powder and granola.

Stir well.

Blob onto baking tray evenly spaced.

Cook at 180 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

The rock cakes are very oaty and the seeds and cranberries are delicious additions!  They are a tasty and healthier alternative to cookies.

Cupcake Charms Set

Bake It/ Shrink It Cupcake Charms from Great Gizmo's  4M range allows children to create, bake, and shrink their very own cupcake jewellery charms! 

Each kit includes 20 pre-cut cupcake shaped shrinking sheets with four colour pencils so you can start designing and colouring them in straight away. No fiddly cutting out required!

The rough side of the cupcakes need to be coloured in using colour pencils.  Kizzy and Freddy did this together, as he wanted to help his big sister.

When they are all coloured in, they are ready to bake in the oven to shrink them down.

You need to put them onto a baking sheet covered with foil and put into an oven at 160 degrees.

The cupcakes curl up and then flatten out very quickly. Cook for a further 30 seconds and allow to cool.  Freddy loved watching them through the oven door and was very intrigued to see them shrink into the cupcake charms.

The shrunken cupcakes are quite thick and hard and the colour is intensified by the baking process.  Each cupcake charm then needs to be attached to a metal ring. They come with a pre-cut hole which makes it easier, but the metal rings need to be prised open, threaded through and then squeezed back shut.  This was very tricky and fiddly and quite hard on the fingers, so Kizzy got her dad to do it for her!

The charms can then be made into jewellery.  The set includes beads, string, ear-ring attachments and chains to make your own jewellery designs, or the charms can be attached to the cute cupcake display stand which is included in the set. 

On the stand, it makes a pretty ornament for a girly bedroom.  Kizzy decided to do this as she liked the look of the charms on the stand, but she still has all the jewellery making accessories if she ever decides to have a go at making a cupcake design bracelet in the future.

The set costs about £10 and contains everything needed to create 20 colourful, cupcake shaped charms.  Some adult supervision is required for the baking and help will be needed to attach the rings.  It's a nice craft activity that will keep youngsters happily entertained and the end result is something they will be proud of.  It is versatile in that the activity can be extended to include making key rings, earrings and bracelets using the charms.  It allows kids to be really creative!

Don't Move ... Improve! A Kitchen Renovation for £50!

In these times of austerity, money is very tight.  UK homeowners have been gradually reducing their DIY spend since 2008.  Working longer hours has reduced the free time available to do DIY projects.  However, making the effort to do DIY can improve the look, feel and functionality of rooms in your home. 

We were challenged by moneysupermarket.com to carry out a cut price room renovation in hope of becoming a home improvement hero with a budget of just £50.

For me, a brand new kitchen would be top on my list of dream home improvements, but without a budget of thousands of pounds, I need to get creative and revamp my space as cheaply but effectively as possible.

Revamping the Units

You can change the whole look of your kitchen cabinets by changing the door handles on your units and drawers.  I found some brushed steel bow dimpled handles on Amazon for just £25.25 for 20, complete with fixtures.  They brighten up the units and modernise the kitchen, giving the illusion of it being new.  They are easy to fit, screwing in to the original holes.

They make such a difference to the overall look of the kitchen.  I love the curved design, they are much nicer and more ergonomic than our original handles.  Buying in bulk on Amazon saved us some money too.

A lick of paint is something that can totally change the ambiance of a room.  Our off-yellow paintwork was looking tired and dull.  New paint can totally freshen up the room and give it a new feel.  We have gone for a Mediterranean theme and used Olive paint on the walls and brilliant white on the ceiling.  The colour scheme was inspired by a utensil pot that I really liked in Homebase that cost £1.93 on their sale rack.  It sometimes helps to find an object to use for inspiration if you don't have a clear colour theme in mind.

We already had the decorating equipment and white paint so we just needed to get the Crown Olive Green Kitchen Paint which cost £22 in Homebase.

Top Tips for Painting

Choose a colour that reflects the mood you want.  You could go for something warm and homely, chilled and relaxed or vibrant and energetic.

Use Tester pots to make sure you like the colour before you commit to the change.

Use a proper kitchen paint which resists grease and mould to give a finish that will stay looking good.

Stir your paint well before you start to paint to ensure it is well mixed.

Use cheap masking tape on the edges of the walls to get a clean line.  It is much easier and much faster than trying to do it freehand, and gives a straight, neat finish to your paintwork.

Don't wash all your brushes and rolls.  Wrap them in clingfilm overnight and they will be ready to go next morning.  This saves time, effort and means you only need to clean your tools once.

Do a good old 'snagging' after you have finished.  Get someone with a fresh pair of eyes to spot any bits of paint you've missed or smudges you've made.  You can go paint-blind after staring at the wall for hours so it's good to get someone to help with the quality control!

Decluttering and Storage

Decluttering doesn't cost a penny!  It is the biggest home improvement you can carry out and it's absolutely free to do.  Getting rid of old, unwanted stuff and finding sensible storage solutions for the things you are keeping is a great way to update your space.  Charity shops are always pleased with donations so you will be helping others too!

I used old plastic boxes in my cupboards to separate the food items such as herbs & spices, cake decorating bits and nuts & seeds.  Keeping all the similar items together makes it so much easier to locate the things you need and keeps everything tidy.

In organising my kitchen work surfaces I doubled the work area available.  My microwave had been taking up much needed space as I had put it near an  electric socket which was away from my other electric appliances.  By adding a socket extension block to the other plug socket I now have all my electrical equipment together and have loads more free space. It really gives the illusion of having a much bigger kitchen...improving for free!

I have had a brand new toaster and kettle in the garage since Christmas.  It was the perfect opportunity to bring them out and complete our new kitchen.  

So here is a quick before and after shot which show how we improved our kitchen for £50 and a bit of hard work and reorganisation!

Before

After

Shopping List

Cupboard Handles £25.25

Olive Paint £22.00

Olive coloured Utensil Holder £1.99

TOTAL

£49.24

Sammy's Great Escape

Sammy's Great Escape is the sequel to A Turtle's Tale - Sammy's Adventure.  Sammy and his best friend Ray are now grandfathers, helping to get their hatchling grandkids safely to the ocean.  Just as they are helping little Ricky and Ella on their way, poachers swoop in and catch them in a net.  They are transported to a spectacular underwater aquarium in Dubai where they meet up with the kingpin of the place, Big D along with his eel henchmen, who want to enlist them in an escape plan that Big D has been hatching.  Sammy and Ray aren't convinced by the Godfather-esque seahorse's plans and make their own breakout plan.  Meanwhile little Ricky and Ella turn up and they want to help free their grandfathers.  This sets into motion a series of narrow escapes and thrilling adventures full of danger until they are eventually reunited.

Sammy's Great Escape has some interesting characters including a lobster suffering from a personality disorder, a crazy seagull, a rather odd and ugly blow fish, an adorable baby octopus and two very cute baby turtles.  The plot includes some perilous moments along with some laughs along the way.

You can't help but make comparisons to the classic Finding Nemo, but if you put that aside, this is an enjoyable watch for the family in its own right.  It had some nice messages within the storyline, those of friendship, perseverance, good triumphing over bad and never giving up.  The story is very simple and predictable with no great plot twists, meaning little ones can follow it easily. It's colourful and lovely to look at with a heart warming ending.  My favourite part of the film was the soundtrack.  Featuring The Clash, Bob Dylan and the B52's, it was right up my street!

Sammy's Great Escape is a lovely film for the little ones with a rocking soundtrack to keep mum and dad happy too!

The film is available to purchase now from good retailers such as Amazon.

The Ugglys - Your Gross Best Friend

In an ugly town, there's an ugly pound that's home to the ugliest pets around!

The Ugglys are electronic, interactive ugly-pup-pets that come alive in your hands!  We were sent one to try out. It may not be the cutest looking toy with his bloodshot eyes and slimy, drool covered face, but it is unique, fun and totally hilarious to children with a penchant for toilet humour.  The head is made from pliable rubber and it has detailed features.

Your Uggly comes alive as you put your hand inside him (like a hand puppet)! This activates his sounds and animates his face. You can then gross out your friends and family as your Uggly performs his best tricks!

Open his mouth wide and he will let rip with a burp, Squeeze his mouth shut and he’ll let out a thunderous fart! Or, just squeeze your Ugglys head to make some wacky faces!  Change the pitch by turning a stud on his collar or press the fly to hear it buzz. Leave him unplayed with and he will start snoring. (Thankfully there is an easily accessible, external off switch!) It is a real gross-out toy which the majority of kids will enjoy playing with.

                            

There are 30 gross sounds that emit from this ugly pug which will make him your grossest best friend!  You even get to Ugg-dopt him by filling in the Ugg-doption Certificate which is a nice touch.

The fact that it is essentially a hand puppet will increase the play value of this toy, making it more than just a novelty item. This brings scope for some interactive role play and imaginative games, that just happen to include gross noises!

Character Options' Ugglys are aimed at boys aged 5 and up (although my girls enjoyed playing with him too, as they still find funny noises very funny!) and require 3 AAA batteries (demo batteries only included).

Find The Ugglys on Amazon and at other good retailers RRP £29.99.

***

There is a national competition  to enter funny pictures of your dog into 3 different categories:

1 Damned Uggly

2 Outrageously Hilarious

3 Pukey Cutie

20 winners from each category will win an Uggly Electronic Pup-pet, and one grand prize winner from each category will win a trophy and a certificate, an Uggly Electronic Pup-pet, 5,000 swapits and an iPad Mini!

 www.theugglysawards.com

Smurftastic Treats from HARIBO

We are very excited at the prospect of seeing Smurfs 2. Freddy is a big fan of the little blue men and of course the golden haired Smurfette.  So when he saw that HARIBO were making Smurfs sweets, he was pretty thrilled by the prospect of trying them.  Lucky for him, he was sent some packs to test out.  

Featuring Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Gutsy, Brainy and Grouchy on their very own licensed bag, they are a must for Smurf fans. These tasty , fun characters come in raspberry, strawberry and lemon flavours and are available now in time for the release of The Smurfs 2 at cinemas from July 31st. 

Freddy liked the fact that they were blue with coloured heads!

On the promotional pack you’ll also see details of a ‘smurftastic’ competition to win hundreds of tasty treats and official Smurfs movie merchandise. Prizes include bags of HARIBO Smurfs, The Smurfs DVDs, The Smurf 2 magnet sets, movie posters, and PS3 video games as well as Sony Cyber-shot digital cameras. You can also get more information at www.haribo.co.uk/smurfs.

New York Bakery Co Bagels - Spread the News

New York Bakery Co has launched its first ever crowd sourced recipe book filled with delicious and inspiring bagel recipes from fans across the UK available to download absolutely free from the New York Bakery Co Facebook page.

The bagel experts invited bagel fans across the UK to submit their favourite recipes for the chance to inspire the nation and be published in a recipe book.

The free recipe book features 20 of the most popular suggestions from Manhattan Start-Up to Rocket Man to offer an exciting and versatile range of ideas for every eating occasion.  

Feeling inspired by the recipes and having some bagels to review, I came up with our own lunchtime creation.  Melted cheddar cheese, fried eggs and ketchup on a lightly toasted plain bagel.  We called it the Free Ranger!

So why not download the free recipe book and get creative in the kitchen to come up with some lovely lunches and super snacks of your own using the very yummy and extremely versatile New York Bakery Co Bagels?  Find out more on at:

www.facebook.com/newyorkbakery

My 'Grow Your Own' Update!

It's been a couple of weeks since we planted our seeds for our 'Grow Your Own' challenge with Ice and The Organic Gardening Catalogue.  Although the weather has been akin to the Sahara Desert recently, we have tenderly watered our crops and waited patiently to see some evidence of our seeds germinating and exploding into life.  Suddenly over the last couple of days things have started to happen. Tiny leaves have burst through the soil and my troughs and pots are holding the promise of future crops.  We are a little excited to see our own salad leaves and rocket growing. I am already planning what meal they will join as a tasty and healthy side salad.  We are wondering if the beetroots and radishes will form under the soil.  I am enjoying this 'grow your own' project!  It is teaching the children where their food comes from, and is a small step towards living more sustainably.

Before They Grew

Beetroot Seedlings

Radish Seedlings

Salad Seedlings

Meanwhile in my little potted garden, we have had a crop of strawberries.  Delicious red strawberries fresh from the garden, what could be better?  We have had a little competition from the slugs, but mostly our small crop has been perfect.  Placing the straw on the soil has proved a good way to keep the majority of slugs off.  I must have picked the equivalent of a couple of punnets over the last few weeks from two plants.  Not bad for the first year of growing our grown.  Lots of runners have formed so next year there will be more plants and hopefully more fruit!  We are planning to train them to grow along the edge of our garden as it is well sheltered and out of the way of Freddy's garden toys.

Strawberry Plant

Homegrown Strawberries

My potato plant has grown massively but is struggling to not end up wilting under the midday sun.  Keeping it well watered is helping, I just hope it has got the energy to form potatoes.  I so want the children to taste freshly picked spuds that they have grown themselves!

The Ice campaign promotes sustainable living and growing your own is one way of doing this.  In the long term I can see it also being a way to save money when weighed up against the cost of buying organic produce. Even someone with a small garden, or even a well lit balcony can create a potted garden using pots, troughs and grow bags.  I know with my small garden project I will never be able to be self sufficient, but just to get a few lovely baskets of fresh, chemical free garden produce is a wonderful prospect!

Jack the Giant Slayer Review

I have to confess that I have become more and more of a Nicholas Hoult fan as time has gone by.  I adored Warm Bodies, after all what's not to love about a zombie love story!  So when I received Jack the Giant Slayer to review I was already in a good place to enjoy it.  But I didn't think I'd enjoy quite as much as I did.  I thought it was going to be a bit of a Sunday afternoon kids' movie.  But I was very wrong.  Jack the Giant Slayer is an intensely action packed, dark fairy tale, which actually had me on the edge of my seat.  I got really into it!

The film has all the ingredients needed for a re-telling of the classic children's fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk:  a brave and clever farm boy, an adventurous princess/damsel in distress, a noble king, brave knights, a treacherous villain and his murderous sidekick, dark magic and an army of evil giants.

Jack unwittingly sets into action an event which opens a gateway into the sky domain of the giants and reignites an ancient war between the giants and mankind.  The creatures, that Jack thought only existed in legends, are really fearsome beasts who want to reclaim the lands that they lost centuries before.  Lead by a sinister two headed giant, voiced by Bill Nighy, the ferocious giants capture the princess and a rescue mission is undertaken to save her. A battle ensues that threatens to destroy the kingdom and Jack finds himself fighting alongside the king to save the day and protect humanity from this terrible threat.

The CGI giants are really hideous and brilliantly detailed.  Their ferocity is quite extreme and they are happy to pluck up a human and bite their head clean off.  It is really quite violent with a very high body count (although you don't see any actual blood or gore it is obvious that people are being eaten, crushed or thrown to their deaths). There is a lot of sustained threat and tension throughout the story.  So this film is definitely not for little children.

For me, the star of the show was Ewan MacGregor who was perfectly cast as the brave and noble knight Elmont.  His delivery of the lines was perfect and his sarcastic wit was just so British.  The bad guy Roderick, played by Stanley Tucci, was the villain that we loved to hate.  A human whose own agenda trancended everything, and who was prepared to do whatever it took to achieve his aims. His evil smile was perfect. Great casting!

The very end of the film was a stroke of genius, bringing the story into the 21st century and making the audience truly believe in the magic of fairy tales.

I would highly recommend this film to families with older children. Grab some popcorn and have a thrilling family film night!

        


Out to buy now on DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray.  The film also contains an Ultraviolet copy to add to your collection which can be streamed or downloaded to mobile devices.

Greener Cleaning with Method

Cleaning is not a glamorous job, but it is an essential part of everyday life.  Although not an exciting chore, it can be made so much more pleasant by choosing the right products.  Products that work for you and for the planet, which are non-toxic, safe and environmentally friendly.  Products that smell delicious and which are packaged in beautifully designed bottles.  Products that are efficient, effective and which fight dirty!  Products that help you to clean happy!

method products fit the bill!

Harnessing Powergreen Technology, using plant-based solvents and surfactants which tackle tough soils, each product is specifically designed to deliver a mighty cleaning punch.  They are bio-degradable and non-toxic and leave behind no nasty residue.  This makes method super safe in households, especially important where there are young children present.

I was sent some method products to try out. At first glance you can see these products are different.  They look gorgeous, colourful and modern.  You won't want to hide them away under the sink that's for sure!  As soon as you open the bottles to use them, the natural fragrances come flooding through.  Using them shows that they are efficient and effective.  Knowing that they are safe and non-toxic is a real added bonus. Green cleaning has never been so attractive.

method Ultra Concentrated Washing Up Liquid - Cucumber
The crisp, cool and refreshing fragrance of cucumber with a hint of citrus is the perfect scent for a summer's day as you wash up after a barbecue!  The pump action dispenser makes it easy to squirt out the exact dose onto a sponge or into the sink, mess free!  I love the tapered bottle showing the crystal clear green liquid inside.  The washing-up liquid tackles greasy dishes in a natural way and is kind to your hands, especially important to me as I get dermatitis from using harsh chemicals.  I absolutely love the scent of this product, it's so unlike the harsh chemical, lemony fragrances of some of the market leaders.  It bubbled up brilliantly well on my sponge and did a great job.  (Approx £3)

method Daily Kitchen Cleaner - Clementine
The citrus fresh, clementine scent is a delight to your senses from the very first squirt.  It's bright and cheery and makes cleaning the surfaces a far more joyous experience.  I love its orangey smell and the way it cuts through the greasy spills.  Knowing it leaves nothing toxic behind is reassuring when preparing food for the family. (Approx £3)

method Gel Hand Wash - Sweet Water
Naturally derived, paraben free and heavenly scented with the fragrance of grapefruit, lemon leaves, jasmine and lily of the valley, this hand wash comes in a gorgeous teardrop shaped bottle with a pump dispenser. It looks so attractive in the bathroom!  The kids absolutely love this and are washing their hands more often than usual just to get a dose of this gorgeous smelling hand wash! (Approx £2.49)

So now I can clean happy and join in the fight against dirty with method!

method's range includes surface cleaners, washing-up liquids, bathroom products, laundry products, handwashes and some specialty products all designed to do their job brilliantly and naturally.

You can find method products at Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado, John Lewis, Homebase, B&Q, Co-op, Booths, Superdrug, Amazon and independent stores.

Join in the method revolution for people against dirty:

 facebook.com/methoduk 

@methodUK

 www.methodproducts.co.uk

A Taste of Sunshine with Island Cuisine

The sun is shining across the UK and we are basking in positively tropical temperatures.  So it seems fitting to enjoy the taste of sunshine in our meals too.  Drawing on the influences of Asia, Africa and France, Island Cuisine sauces add a flavour of Seychellois to your cooking.

The range of four tasty sauces are free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives and are veggie friendly.  The flavours are:  Yellow Creole Curry, Green Creole Curry, Red Creole Curry and Sweet and Spicy Creole.

We were sent a Red Creole Curry Sauce to try out.  It is a blend of tomatoes, chillies and onions with specially blended herbs for a well rounded, medium hot dish.

The jar suggests making a fish based curry, but as we are vegetarians we went for Black Eye Beans and vegetables as a base for our meal.

Instead of serving it with rice, I mixed the rice into the sauce to make a one pot meal.  It worked really well and was very tasty indeed!  It was not too spicy and all the children enjoyed it.

Island Cuisine is available in the North and the Midlands at Tesco and in Sainsbury's stores in London. RRP £1.99.

For further information visit www.islandcuisine.co.uk

Freddy's Playmobil Pirate

Ahoy there me hearties!!  Freddy has got a new Pirate toy from Playmobil to welcome him into the Playogolist programme which we are proud to be a part of!!  The detailed little figure comes complete with a treasure chest, a monkey, a gun, a sword and a lot of gold doubloons!  Everything a pirate needs!

Here is Freddy talking about his new toy and playing a little game with him.  I love toys that inspire imagination in young children, and Playmobil does just that.  We can't wait to add to our Playmobil collection.  I can just imagine the fun Freddy will have creating scenes and acting out stories!

           

Playmobil is currently hosting a competition to find a child aged between 3 and 10 to be the voice of Playmobil in their Christmas ads.  To enter simply make a film of your child talking to camera and send it to PLAYMOBIL@onechocolatecomms.co.uk as a video file or YouTube link by August 4th. Don’t forget to include the entrant’s name, age, telephone number and address. 

Adventures at the Cheshire Ice Cream Farm #countrykids

We spent a lovely few hours today at one of our favourite places, Cheshire Farm  - The Ice Cream Farm.  It is completely free to enter to see the animals and use the huge range of outdoor play equipment.  Other outdoor activities cost just £1 making it a very affordable day out. (There is also a huge indoor soft play area and a Games Loft which cost extra.) And of course there is the ice cream parlour with over forty flavours of ice cream to choose from!

Here is what we got up to...

Hopscotch.

Crazy golf which costs just £1 for nine holes and was great fun!  We even got some holes in one!

Quad Bikes which are £1 for two laps.  Freddy loved this.

the kids played on the outdoor wooden play equipment, great for testing your balance.

Kizzy tried out the Monkey Bars!!

Freddy was happy to get a helping hand from his big sister!

Swinging.

More swinging!

Freddy enjoyed practicing his skills on a digger. (£1)

Panning for Gold for £1.  We found Fool's Gold, Rose Quartz, Tiger Eye, Agate and Jasper which was bagged up for us to take home.

And of course we had to have an ice cream cone each...Raspberry Pavlova for Fred and Chocolate Fudge Cookie for Kizzy!

It is a lovely place for some outdoor fun for my Country Kids!