Things We're Loving - Kids' Edition

Another month has passed us by and I am looking at the things that I have loved from the last few weeks.  This month I am concentrating on the best kids' stuff, sharing my picks of the clothes, books, films, music and games that I think are worthy of a mention!

First up, if you haven't seen it yet, take the kids to see Wreck It Ralph.  It is one of my favourite Disney offerings for years.  The story of video game characters living and working together in the arcade is absolute genius.  The message of acceptance and being the best that you can be, whoever you are, is heartwarming.  Freddy aged 3 loved it and continues to quote from the film, re-enacting his favourite scenes!  10 year old Kizzy and 16 year old Ella were equally enthralled by the story of Ralph as he tries to become more than just the bad guy.

My girls love to read and enjoy discovering books to escape into.  My two eldest girls were fans of Jacqueline Wilson, so it was inevitable that Kizzy would follow suit.  She is currently reading The Dustbin Baby which is the story of 14 year old April who was abandoned in a bin by her mother following her birth. It is a powerful and emotional story which engages readers as they follow April's quest to discover the mysteries of her past. I love how Jacqueline Wilson portrays her feisty  female characters, as being strong enough to survive against a backdrop of sadness. Empowering stuff.  This book makes excellent reading for ages 9+.

With Comic Relief coming up, we have visited Sainsbury's to stock up on our Di-NOSE-Saurs and also to buy the new One Direction single One Way Or Another.  It was just £1.99 and proceeds go to Comic Relief.  I love the video which they filmed themselves, donating the money they saved to the charity.  What lovely lads! (Especially that cute little Harry Styles!!)

After Kizzy visited the fashion cupboard at Girl Talk magazine's offices in London she has been exercising her mini-fashionista muscles to come up with trendy ensembles.  One of her favourite items at the moment is the 2 in 1 Shirt Jumper from New Look's 915 range which is £14.99.  With its attached collar it looks fashionably smart and perfect for the Spring season.  Kizzy assures me that collars are 'in' at the moment but the real beauty of this top is you don't have to iron a whole denim shirt!

When it comes to boys clothing, graphic T-shirts never go out of fashion and I love these two from Lands’ End.  I love the glow in the dark angler fish tee (as does my little Octonaut fan) and the simple 'Hey' design which really stands out in its simplicity. They are £9.95 each which is a good price for a quality t-shirt that will withstand the testing of an active boy like my son. Freddy has a big collection of t-shirts with slogans on.  They are just so easy and practical to wear with jeans and a zip-up hoodie or a jumper.

Land's End have gifted me with a voucher to try out these T-Shirts.

Our latest favourite game is the horrifically addictive Candy Crush Saga which I have on my phone.  You have to link up rows of three or more of the same sweet to remove them from the grid in an attempt to remove all the jelly or to release ingredients.  It's an old formula, but because it is all about sweeties, it seems so much more exciting!  I am not very good at it, but I am a trier, albeit a trier with no strategy, no vision and no foresight.  When I get through a level I'm pretty certain it's more luck than judgment, but the feeling of achievement is not diminished. As always, the kids are better than me!  They instinctively see the patterns and use strategies to clear the sweets. Kids and technology just work so well together. Candy Crush Saga is free on Android, iOS and Facebook.  So at least I'm not wasting cash on my new addiction.

Freddy has been playing Reading Eggs which I think is a brilliant program for introducing little ones to early reading skills.  I am so impressed with how well he can progress independently through the levels and how his letter and sound recognition is improving.  I'm hoping that through playing on the games he will soon be on the way to being a confident reader. Especially as Infant School beckons.

So that's the things we have enjoyed over the past few weeks here Inside the Wendy House.  I look forward to seeing what things we will be discovering next month!

Celebrating #GoodWork in Ghana with #TeamHonk

My Digital Postcard from Ghana

This is a digital postcard sent from TeamHonk (www.mammasaurus.co.uk; www.aresidence.co.uk; www.mummybarrow.com) during their travels with Comic Relief in Ghana celebrating #goodwork. 

For the past 25 years the money raised through Red Nose Day has been changing the lives of the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa. Let’s Keep Up the Good Work. Find out how at rednoseday.com

For other digital postcards please do check out the linky on www.teamhonk.org

Limited Edition Red Nose Day Pez

Global confectionery phenomenon PEZ is flipping its lid for Red Nose Day by creating three specially-designed sweet dispensers, customised with this year’s ‘Dinosesaur’ Red Nose Day characters.

PEZ dispensers featuring the three pre-hysterical Red Nose Day characters, who go by the names of Dinomite, Triceytops and T-Spex, will be stocked from today by a range of UK retailers, including Sainsbury’s, TopShop and B&M Bargains, in the run up to Red Nose Day on Friday 15 March.  A donation of 5p from every PEZ Red Nose Day dispenser sold will be donated to Comic Relief.  They will certainly be creating quite a Jurassic Lark!

The limited run of the special Red Nose Day PEZ characters means that they are likely to be highly sought after, especially among PEZ collectors enthusiasts and those looking to do their bit for Red Nose Day.

We were sent one to have a sneak peek at and they really are fabulous!  It's great to see a brand like PEZ getting behind Comic Relief and helping to raise money for this fantastic cause.  I'll definitely be buying my kids their own Red Nose Day PEZ characters this year - along with a nose and a load of other official merchandise.  It's a fun way of contributing, getting involved and getting the kids excited about Red Nose Day.

To get you in a Comic Relief mood, I'll leave you with my favourite dinosaur joke:

Why did the Archaeopteryx catch the worm? 

Because it was an early bird! 

Ha ha!!

Seriously Good Sauces

Seriously Good Cooking Sauces are now available in two different ranges, Italian and Indian. I was offered the chance to try one variety of each range to test Inside the Wendy House. 

The Italian Bolognese and Red Wine sauce is a rich, authentic tomato sauce flavoured with 12 year old balsamic vinegar, red wine , thyme and sundried tomatoes. 

The Indian Butter Chicken Sauce is a rich, mild butter sauce finished with spices, lemon and cream.  Tumeric, garam masala, coriander, clove, paprika and cumin provide authentic depth.

Gordon Ramsay has lent his expertise to this range and his face is on the jar labels!  At least 10p from every jar goes to Comic Relief to help people living the toughest of lives in the UK and overseas.  However...Gordon doesn't get a single penny!!

The sauces are made with top quality ingredients and can be simply heated up, served and enjoyed!  Just add your favourite ingredients to make a mouthwatering meal in minutes.  

We were sent a jar of each of the two flavours mentioned above.  The package design was fun and the lids clearly displayed their link to Comic Relief.  It's such an easy way of giving to charity just by buying a brand that supports a good cause.

As vegetarians, we used Quorn as our added ingredient to make our meals.  We made a Quorn Mince Bolognese with sundried tomato pasta.  The sauce was very intensely flavoured and smelled very authentic.  It was so easy to just heat through and serve and the finished result was delicious.  We made Butter Quorn Fillet (rather than Butter Chicken!) with basmati rice.  The sauce itself was suitable for veggies so we were able to enjoy this Korma style dish.  It was creamy and mildly spiced.  Perfect for my children's palettes. We all enjoyed both meals.  They tasted like "real" food which is important to me when using convenience products. 

The ingredients list had nothing artificial in it and it was reassuring to know that Gordon Ramsay is the man behind the brand!  In fact Ramsay was the one who cooked up the idea of Seriously Good sauces following a trip to Tanzania in 2002 for Comic Relief.  He decided to use his profile to help raise money for Comic Relief all year round and Seriously Good cooking sauces were born. So if you want a delicious, convenient cooking sauce that helps support the fantastic work done by Comic Relief...this is Seriously Good!!