Why Mums and Netflix are the Perfect Mix!

March has brought us Mother's Day and International Women's Day so Netflix have challenged us kids from Inside the Wendy House to write a guest post to honour our Mum and give her a day off from blogging. This #lilStreamTeam post is brought to you by us - Ella 19, Kezia 13 and Freddy 6 and is all about why we think our mum is as good as Netflix. 

Why is Mum like Netflix? - by Ella

• Like Netflix, Mum is available for us 24/7. Anytime day or night.
• Mum is entertaining...she makes us laugh, we have a lot of fun and makes our life action packed.
• Like a Netflix Night In, she gets all of us together for quality family time.
• Like a Netflix documentary, Mum is a mine of information and knows a lot of random stuff about all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
• Like binge watching a Netflix series, we can spend hours with Mum and not get bored.
• Mum fills our needs - whether we feel sad, are in a crazy mood or need a good laugh - she can give us what we need to cheer us up or calm us down.
• Streaming on Netflix reminds me of Mum because both are efficient, flexible and get the job done!
• Mum is an original - just like a Netflix Original Series.
• In our home, everybody loves Netflix and everybody loves Mum.

As many fascinating facts as a Netflix Documentary

Which Netflix Character is Mum like? - by Kezia and Freddy

Regina Mills 

Once Upon A Time is a favourite Netflix TV show for us to watch together and Mum reminds me a lot of Regina Mills. I'm not saying she is an Evil Queen or anything, but like Regina she would do anything for her family. She'll do whatever it takes to keep us all safe and looked after. She will unleash her inner evil queen if she has to. She is a real hero. (And like Regina she also fancies Robin Hood!)

I wish my Mum had Regina's magic. Imagine what could be done with that purple, swirling power. She could conjure up 5 Seconds of Summer in our living room for a private concert. But instead of dark magic, Mum has the power of love and can help us to achieve things, look after us, keep us fed, share our problems and dreams and talk to us about anything. She's got our backs and she doesn't need a magic wand to make us feel loved and protected. Like Regina, mum wants us all to have a Happily Ever After and will do everything in her power for us to get that.

If Mum was Regina Mills from OUAT.

Mummy Pig

One of Freddy's favourite shows on Netflix is Peppa Pig, where Mummy Pig is the hardworking mother of the family. He picked Mummy Pig as the character most like our mum. She has to deal with Daddy Pig and her two little ones, keeping everyone in line. She sorts out family problems, helps friends and neighbours and spends time with Grandma and Grandpa Pig. Mummy Pig also likes cake and computers. This is why we think our Mum is a lot like Peppa's mummy!

Freddy says "My mummy and Peppa Pig's Mummy are both nice and kind!" How sweet :)

Mummy is a lot like Mummy Pig

Mums deserve to have nice things and letting her pick what to watch on Netflix, snuggled under her fleecy Netflix blanket for a well deserved rest is a good way to show her you care. Even if that means binge watching How to Get Away With Murder, having a documentary marathon or watching some film she used to love in the 80s (when all you want to do is watch Pretty Little Liars - who is A?!?!)

Well mum, I hope you like this post as much as we enjoyed creating it. We love you millions!!  Thank you for being so awesome!!!

Ella, Kezia & Freddy

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

What we're watching on Netflix #NetflixStreamTeam

We're in our first month of having Netflix and it is not an exaggeration to say that it has totally revolutionised the way we watch our TV. Having a whole library of box sets and films ready to view 24/7 means we are never at a loss of what to watch. There is so much choice and each of us has our own profile where we can set up lists and get recommendations of what to watch based on our viewing history.

Here are some Netflix recommendations of things we are enjoying this month, one for the grown-ups and one for the kids:

Once Upon A Time

My girls and I are absolutely loving this series - so much so we are already up to season 3! The story revolves around the fairytale characters of the Enchanted Forest who have been transported to the 21st century because of a curse meted out by the Evil Queen Regina. The characters have no memory of their past lives and are destined to live the same day over and over again until Emma Swann arrives in their little town of Storybrooke.

The episodes tell the story of their present day adventures and struggles alongside flashback episodes which serve to develop the plot and the characters. It is brilliantly dark, with some fabulous twists on the traditional fairy tales we know and love.

Our favourite character is the wonderfully enigmatic Rumplestiltskin aka The Dark One played by Robert Carlisle. He is brilliant as the cowardly, simple man turned darkly magical villain. His storyline is one of the most compelling, combining his strong love for his son with his fear of being powerless. This dilemma leads to some powerful story telling.

There is a huge cast featuring some well known faces. We are forever checking out IMDB to find out what other things the actors have been in.

Larva

This cartoon from Korea has utterly captured Freddy's imagination and is his recommendation for the top Netflix TV show for kids. It features Red and Yellow, a pair of larvae who live together alongside a handful of other creepy crawlies. Each episode features four 2 minute short cartoons starring the greedy, food obsessed pair. Yellow is a bit slow and foolish and often receives abuse from his smaller, more impetuous friend Red in their quest for full bellies. Their relationship may be competitive and contentious, but when it comes to the crunch they are best friends.

They eat or play with things they find that fall through the grate of their underground home and search for food in the house, which they sometimes spend time in.  They also try to avoid their adversary the hungry frog and stay one step ahead of Black the stag beetle and Brown the dung beetle. There is no dialogue but the two limbless creatures manage to convey a full range of emotions through their own brand of visual slapstick humour using their facial expressions and tongues!

Larva is truly weird but strangely compelling to watch!  It is full of visual gross out humour involving snot, poo, burps and farts - this is obviously something that Freddy finds hilarious. There is also a lot of slapstick violence with bugs pummeling each other and fighting over food. But there is also a message of the importance of friendship that sometimes provides some heartwarming moments for the grubs.

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New on Netrflix this month is the third season of Orange is the New Black, brand new drama Sense8, season 6 of Pretty Little Liars and horror film Insidious. On June 26th a new original show Dreamworks Dragons: Race to the Edge comes to Netflix.

Red Riding Hood Purse from Totally Funky

I am currently immersing myself in the excellent series Once Upon A Time on Netflix and loving every minute of it!  It is a great story involving all the favourite fairytale characters from the stories of our childhoods, who have been cursed and sent into the 21st century with no memory of their true pasts or identities. It is pure escapism and dark fantasy at its very best. 

With my new found love of fairytales, I was delighted to receive a brilliant delivery from Totally Funky, the online gift store selling cute, quirky and unique gifts that are bound to make you smile. 

I received a Red Riding Hood wallet from the Once Upon A Time range of bags (no relation to my new favourite TV show however!), featuring characters from the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

The design features simple, doodle style drawings of the characters from the story, Granny, Red Riding Hood, the Huntsman and the Big Bad Wolf. I love the simplicity and how effective the design is at conveying the story. There are some lovely details including use of phrases from the story, Granny and Red zip attachments and the Once Upon A Time tag. The 'What big teeth you have - all the better to eat you with!' motto, adds a little element of darkness, a nod to the sinister edge of the original fairytale that has inspired the design.

The wallet has a zip fastening, opening up to reveal two compartments, each with several slots for cards and notes, with a zipped compartment for coins in the centre and a popper down flap covering a handy front pocket, all with an illustrated fairytale lining. 

The purse is 20 cm long, making it spacious and a good size for everyday use. It is just so pretty and really unique. I love it. There is a matching handbag as well, which is equally cute and quirky with added bows, tags and patches. The Once Upon A Time range also includes Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and The Gingerbread Man bags, each made with the same delightful attention to detail. 

The purse is made from PVC with a cotton lining and costs £21.99.

You can find this gorgeous purse, the other Once Upon A Time products, along with a great selection of other cool items and great gift ideas from www.totally-funky.co.uk.