Playing and Learning with Faber-Castell

Freddy returned to school last week, and after a slightly shaky start is settling down well into Year 2. It is a big jump for him to go from a class where play was the focus into a class that consists of children in both years 2 and 3. Hopefully though, he will do OK and get more confident and discover loads of new things that will ignite his passion for learning.

At home, I think it is important to maintain the momentum and support his formal education with some fun creative activities, so when Faber-Castell sent him a bundle of art goodies, we were very pleased to test them out. Faber-Castell allows children to explore their creativity through the world of colour and their products are individually designed to suit the child's age and development.

The products we received came from the Connector range, which all benefit from having connectable attachments keeping component parts together. We received the Connector Clip Colours, a Jungle Adventure Creative Craft Kit with Connector Pens and a Connector Paint Box.

The Clip Colours Connector Pens have special lids that clip into each other, keeping the pens attached to one another. This is extremely handy to avoid the problem of rolling felt tips, especially when in the hands of a six year old on an arty mission. 

The tips are quite fine and the colours are vibrant, making these pens lovely to use for both colouring in and drawing pictures or designs.

The connectors are used for creativity rather than practicality in the Jungle Adventure craft kit. The pieces clip together in a way that makes them great for modelling. The set comprises of some art sheets featuring cut out animal body parts, which can be coloured in using the 12 pens that are included in the set, and attaching them together with the 20 Connector clips and 50 caps to make a giraffe, a bird and an elephant model. Full colour instructions are included, for completing the project. There is also a background that can be coloured in to create a fun jungle scene. The set gives tips on how to colour in using different techniques such as using squiggles or dash lines. The Connector pieces can be used in a lot of different ways in other creative projects that children will enjoy discovering. At £7.99 this is a good value set, also available in Desert and Ocean Adventure themes.

The Faber-Castell Connector Paintbox is really lovely. It contains twelve blocks of colourful water soluble paint, a tube of white paint and a retractable Clic & Go paint brush in a palette with a lid.

Each individual block of paint can be removed from the palette and they can be joined together using the connectors on their edges. This enables the artist to put together a set of colours of their choosing or order them in the palette to suit their needs. The brush is great as it retracts into the handle keeping it safe from damage when not in use. The underside of the lid of the box can be used to mix paints, which is handy, and the lid clips on securely for storage. Prices start at £10 for the 12 paint palette.

The Faber-Castell products will certainly inspire little artists to create some works of art, but are also suitable for older, more serious creative kids.

Stockists include www.stonegift.com where you can find the range of Faber-Castell Connector products.

Testing some new products from the E-Cloth range.

I am a big fan of e-cloth. I love their range of environmentally friendly cleaning cloths and products for the home and for personal use (the hair turban is still one of my favourite beauty must-haves!)

I have been trying out two new products in the range, the Kitchen Whizz and the Natural Mineral All Purpose Cleaner.

The Kitchen Whizz is a handy little pad made with long fibres and scrubbing stripes that is ideal for a quick clean in and around the kitchen sink, taps, draining board and work surfaces. You simply dampen it, wring it out and then give it a whizz around the surface that needs to be cleaned. Like other products in the range, you don't need any harsh chemical products as the fibres pick up dirt and residue and remove 99% of bacteria using just water. It can be machine washed to keep it hygienically clean and is guaranteed for three years.

The Kitchen Whizz resembles a scouring pad but it much softer and nicer to use. It really does a good job of cleaning, and gets into hard to reach areas. I love how it brings stainless steel up to a lovely shine. It was also great for whizzing over the hob, bringing it up clean and shiny.

At just £2.99 it is a real bargain.

Sometimes, you get a tough stain that nothing seems to shift. I sometimes find such marks on my work surface made by a rusty can that has been put down for recycling or a glass ring stained with red wine. There are also sometimes hard to shift stains on PVC door or window surrounds or water marks in the enamel sinks. When you need a little extra cleaning power, the new Plus by e-cloth Natural Mineral All Purpose Cleaner is a natural and bio-degradable product with the power to remove grease, stains and stubborn dirt with ease.

The tub of cleaner comes with a sponge and a red general purpose e-cloth to make cleaning up really simple and effective. You simply clean with the damp sponge, making a foam with the paste and rubbing in a circular motion, wipe away the residue and then buff dry with the cloth to get a sparkling finish. The cloth also removes over 99% of bacteria.

The product dissolves and lifts away stubborn stains brilliantly and impressively. It's great on stainless steel, enamel, ovens, pots and pans, showers, bathrooms, BBQ's, garden furniture, cars, caravans, trainers, plastic...in fact it'll tackle loads of household cleaning jobs.

The paste cleaner lifted some really stubborn stains from my outdoor PVC window sills. Ian had tried to use a spray cleaner before with no effect, but the paste and cloth worked a treat. I powered through the water marks and limescale build up around the sink and on the shower screen and tray and even shifted some pen from a doll's face. This cleaner really works.

At £9.99 for the 300g tub of cleaner, the 32cm x 32 cm general purpose e-cloth and the sponge, it is a great value buy, which will last for ages and make your chemical kitchen cleaners redundant!

Both products along with the full range of excellent e-cloth products can be found at
www.e-cloth.com where postage and packing is free on UK orders over £10.

A Mexican Fiesta with Veetee Rice

Veetee have sent me a hamper of products and challenged me to make something delicious using their microwaveable rice with a world cuisine theme. As a big fan of Mexican food, I decided to use the Spicy Mexican Style Rice as a base for two vegetarian dishes that are quick and easy to make and are totally family friendly, bringing a taste of Mexicana to my home for everyone to enjoy.

Mexican food is colourful, vibrant and deliciously tasty, with a smoky warmth and a kick of chilli heat. Eating it conjures up images of Latin American fiestas, plazas selling street food, Mariachi bands playing and the chilled vibe of the 'manana' lifestyle. Mexico seems to embody a passion for life that is reflected in the cuisine itself.

I really enjoyed creating Smoky Bean Burritos and a One Pot Mexican Spicy Rice and Quorn Chicken dish using the Veetee rice, which were both very much enjoyed by the family. Having the Veetee rice pre-cooked and seasoned makes it an excellent ingredient for adding to dishes, saving time and adding flavour. Here are the recipes.

Smoky Bean Burritos

8 large tortilla wraps

1 onion chopped

1 carton of chopped tomato with garlic and chilli

1 tablespoon smoky chipotle sauce

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of chickpeas

1 pack of Veetee Spicy Mexican Style Rice

grated mature Cheddar cheese

Fry the onion in a deep frying pan.

Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and add beans, tomato puree and smoky chipotle sauce.

Cook for about 10 minutes until slightly reduced and combined.

Microwave the Veetee Spicy Mexican Style Rice for 2 minutes on high.

Add to the pan and stir through.

Take each tortilla wrap and put a big spoonful of the bean and rice mix into the centre.

Top with grated cheese.

Fold into parcels to make the burritos.

Put in an ovenproof dish.

Top with a little more grated cheese and pop into a pre-heated oven at GM 6 for 15 minutes.

Serve with salad, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. They are also delicious cold!

One Pot Mexican Spicy Quorn and Rice

1 pack of Quorn fillets defrosted

1 tablespoon of smoky chipotle sauce

oil for frying

1 handful of frozen peppers

1 pack of Veetee Spicy Mexican Style Rice

Chop a packet of defrosted Quorn fillets into chunks.

Fry in a little oil and add a tablespoon of smoky chipotle sauce to coat and season.

Add a handful of frozen mixed peppers and cook through for about 3 minutes.

Add one packet of Veetee Spicy Mexican Style Rice and stir fry for a further 3-4 minutes until piping hot and combined.

Serve with freshly boiled corn on the cob.

Veetee Heat and Eat microwave rice is available from most major supermarkets with an RRP of £1.49. Available in Spicy Mexican, Thai Jasmine, Peri Peri and Pilau flavours, which are suitable for vegetarians. Each pack serves  1 as a meal or 2 as a side, or it can be used as an ingredient in recipes.

www.veetee.com

I See Me Personalised Story Book

What child wouldn't want to own a storybook where they have a starring role?!  With I See Me! children aged up to 8 years old can see their own name and photo featured in a beautiful personalised book, designed to celebrate their own uniqueness.

One from the range of over 40 books available from I See Me! is the very lovely book that Freddy received personalised just for him: "Freddy's Very Own Trucks and Things That Go". With lively, rhyming text and full colour illustrations, it takes a child on an adventure where animals use a variety of different vehicles to deliver the letters of their name to a construction site. Each personalised vehicle begins with one of the letters of the child's full name and the story culminates with the child being able to see them erected as a giant sign dedicated to them.

The hardback book contains paper that is thick and glossy, giving the book a top quality feel. We love how the vehicles had Freddy's name on them and how children can see the arrival of each letter delivered by land, see or air by the hard working animal characters. Even if the child's name contains multiples of the same letter, there is a variety of different vehicles so the book doesn't repeat itself. Freddy has four D's in his full name and even though the dump truck delivered two of them, the text was different both times, acknowledging that it had returned with another D so there is no repetition of pages. 

The front of the book has a personalised dedication to Freddy featuring a photograph, making this book a lovely gift and keepsake that will be treasured forever. The back features an encyclopedia of 'things that go' with pictures and information on each vehicle, which will add some useful words to a young reader's vocabulary. 

This book is great for encouraging kids to read and little ones will be able to discover the letters in their full name, learning to spell it in a fun way. Each page is rich in detail and even the youngest child will enjoy listening to the story and looking at the lovely illustrations. Having the personalisation throughout the book also helps build a child's self-esteem and confidence.

Other books in the range feature princesses, pirates, fairy tale characters, outer space, sports and animals. There are books for big brothers and sisters, ones to celebrate new babies and titles for Christmas and birthdays. Each one is beautifully printed especially for the child, featuring the child's personal information and photo. The personalisation differs from title to title with some stories featuring the child's hometown, best friend's name, birth date and favourite colour in addition to their name. Some books even give the option to customise the character in the book to personalise skin tone and  hair colour. Others include the child's photo throughout the book. These options make each book completely unique, making reading them a special experience for every child.

I See Me! is an award winning and much loved American company that specialises in these wonderful personalised books as well as a range of personalised gifts. The site is very user friendly, allowing you to see inside the books before you commit to buy.

Books can be shipped to the UK for approximately £6.50 postage and packing with a two week turnaround time. My Very Own Trucks book retails at £23.

I See Me! Children's Personalised Books will make a lovely gift for any special occasion and really will be treasured for years to come.

www.iseeme.com

Twenty Years of Change

Twenty years is a long time.

So many things have happened.

So much has changed.

My three youngest children were born, and along with their two older siblings, have become the wonderful people they are today.

Ian and I got married, cementing a relationship that began when we were still in school.

Princess Diana died in that terrible Paris car crash. The princes have grown into fine men breathing new life into the royal family and a new generation of baby royals have now taken their place in the monarchy.

The Spice Girls formed and split up. Take That split up and then reformed. The Rolling Stones and Meatloaf are still going strong.

Hollywood lost Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Christopher Reeve and Patrick Swayze way too soon.

We've seen the meteoric rise of the internet, WiFi, smartphones, smart TVs, laptops, smart watches, iPods and iPads.

Our entertainment has been dominated by Minecraft, PS3s and PS4s,World of Warcraft, X Boxes, Netflix, Sky TV, X factor, Big Brother, Pixar and GTA.

We've watched The Matrix, Avatar, Minions, Frozen, Wreck it Ralph, Twilight, The Avengers, Monsters Inc, Jurassic World - all in glorious high definition.

The Simpsons, Eastenders, Casualty and Corrie are still running, but we have said farewell to Top of the Pops, Friends and ER.

Binge watching box sets has become the thing to do. Breaking Bad, Scandal, The Walking Dead, House of Cards, Once Upon a Time and Dexter - how I have enjoyed you!

We read Kindles instead of books. Harry Potter brought magic in to the muggles' world. Fifty Shades of Grey brought erotica (albeit poorly written erotica) into the mainstream.

We have YouTube, digital photography, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Pinterest and Twitter. We are connected 24/7.

Starbucks and Costa serve us skinny decaff pumpkin spiced lattes and double shot caramel macchiatos.

The 2012 Olympics saw Team GB win golds galore as London became the place to be.

We fell in love with the Blade Runner Oscar Pistorious and were left shocked and disgusted by his violent fall from grace.

My family all became vegetarian and we've witnessed Quorn become a staple product in supermarkets. All but one of us remain true to our plant based diet.

There have been terrible wars and natural disasters, which have shaken our world to its core.

We've witnessed examples of humanity and inhumanity in equal measure.

I have become a very proud Nana and Grauntie as new babies are born into our family.

Our family has evolved as wings have been spread and good-byes have been said, but home is always where the heart is.

So much has happened. So much has changed.

And it's all gone on without you here to see it or be a part of it.

Twenty years without you.

It still hurts.

It always will.

I miss you Carol.

How we celebrated Ian's birthday

Ian and I have been together forever. We've known each other since we were 12 and been married for 18 years. So we've celebrated plenty of birthdays and special ocassions together. Yesterday my wonderful husband turned 47. 

Over the years, the way we choose to celebrate the big events in our lives has evolved. Rather than being a couple who buys presents for each other, we prefer to do it differently and don't do gifts. Being gift-free eliminates so much stress and takes away the potential for disappointment. The expectation of him buying you the perfect present or you getting him something that ticks all his boxes, can lead to so much unnecessary tension. If you fail to read your partner's mind or find something that they think somehow proves your love for them, it can literally ruin your big day. And yes I speak from experience. Once Ian surprised me with jewellery. The lovely little box promised so much, but the plain gold chain inside (lovely as it was) disappointed me dreadfully. Did Ian think I was plain, unfeminine and unworthy of anything fancy? My response was irrational, ungrateful and frankly pathetic. It put a downer on a special occasion and made me feel like a horrendous human being for my ingratitude. 

Also, with the current economic climate being what it is, buying costly but unnecessary items is literally draining cash out of the family coffers. Extravagant gestures don't impress me. Love and appreciation can be expressed without a big price tag. Ever since we chucked out this expensive tradition, we have been free to express ourselves without relying on material things and expensive surprise gifts. (However my mum still asks us every year what we've bought for each other and looks so disappointed when I say "Nothing!")

This year we decided that a few days away together would be a nice way to celebrate the long weekend leading up to Ian's birthday. Our Veggie Vacation in Leicester proved to be a gastronomical delight of vegetarian proportions. We had some fun shopping, picking up some band merchandise from HMV, novelty t-shirts from a quirky printing shop, some goodies from The Disney Store and some Minecraft stuff from Forbidden Planet. We also got to spend some quality time with Ian's big sister Debbie while we were there, which was lovely. 

The next day we went to Alton Towers, staying overnight in the new Enchanted Village accommodation. As Merlin Annual Pass holders we often visit Alton Towers and always enjoy ourselves. Our little lodge in the village was just so adorable, looking like something a hobbit would inhabit in the Shire. The attention to detail, from the wooden log cushions to the beautifully decorated kids' bunk room to the fairy door in the wall, was just magical. We loved it!

Two days in the park was plenty of time to do everything we wanted to do. The queues are still pretty short on the big rides, although CBeebies Land is quite busy. The girls were able to hit the rollercoasters, while Ian and I did the kid friendly rides and attractions with Freddy. It's a great day out for all of us.

After our few days away, we came back home ready to treat Ian to his annual birthday meal. Ian is an absolute rock star to us, so a rock music themed dinner party was our plan. The girls and I designed a Mexican buffet style meal with a rock twist, using rock group/food puns alongside some gothic Ozzy Osbourne 'Prince of Darkness' style decor. Iron Maiden beer fitted the theme perfectly. Blasting out some Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin on vinyl and wearing rock band T-shirts completed the evening.

Ian's birthday has been fabulous and we have had a lovely time. It has been a great way to end the summer holidays. Next week Ella will be back at university and Kezia and Freddy will be back at school. The prospect of going back to reality isn't filling me with much joy, but I have some plans to make the most of my time being here at home on my own again. Kezia's 13th birthday is in October so I'm going to start planning for that and Christmas is only a few weeks away!! Any excuse for some more family celebrations!

A Veggie Vacation in Leicester

When you think of cities for a gastronomically themed UK break, I doubt that many people would think of Leicester in the first instance. However, we have just returned from a weekend in the city to celebrate Ian's birthday, enjoying the wonderful food on offer for vegetarian families like ourselves. The Veggie Vacation is one of the Stay, Play and Explore short breaks that you can enjoy in Leicester. Each break includes a hotel stay with breakfast at the Ramada Encore in the city centre, as well as some additional experiences all included in the price.

The Veggie Vacation includes a choice of three out of five experience options. You can choose between a three course meal and hot drink at Mirch Masala; a cocktail making class with two drinks each at 33 Cank Street; buffet lunch and drink at Shivalli; afternoon tea at White Peacock and a consultation and shop tour with arm massage at Lush. You can pre-book your three choices before you travel and print off your voucher online to take with you on the day.

It was great to have an all-inclusive package to look forward to, helping us to plan our weekend, knowing that most of our food was taken care of and pre-paid for. As vegetarians, it was lovely to be able to take the hassle out of eating out. All the experiences offered provide a tried and tested vegetarian option (and in some cases vegan), so we knew we could enjoy them with confidence.

Our first port of call in Leicester was the White Peacock where we had booked a vegetarian afternoon tea. The place was lovely with attentive staff and stylish decor. It was a real posh treat! We were served tea or coffee followed by a slate plate of quartered or fingered sandwiches with fillings such as brie, cucumber, egg, feta & roast pepper and grated cheese with fruity pickle. They were elegantly presented. A pair of two tiered plates of cakes followed including warm tonka bean and saffron scones with clotted cream and fruit compote, salted caramel panna cotta, strawberry tart, chocolate and parma violet cream cake, chocolate truffle and iced fruit and almond cake. There was plenty of food to go round and it was all in easy to manage portion sizes, meaning we got to try everything.

Mirch Masala is a completely vegetarian restaurant serving food from India, Mexico, Indo-China and Italy. The menu is staggeringly huge and we were utterly spoiled for choice with their huge array of starters and mains from around the world. Usually in restaurants we get to choose between two or three options at the best, so having a whole menu at our disposal was brilliant. However it took us ages to choose, but thankfully our waiter was very patient and on hand to answer our questions. We finally decided on an eclectic mix of world cuisines including Chinese dim sum, Mexican nachos, Italian lasagne and Indian curries.

The food was really very good and the portion sizes were massive. Leftovers were boxed up and returned at the end of the meal to take home for later. Mirch Masala is a real gem in the city centre for vegetarians and vegans alike, with reasonable prices, great choices, good food and excellent service.

Shivalli was our destination for our lunch on Sunday. From the outside the restaurant looks quite unassuming, but once inside it was lovely. The buffet of Southern Indian curries, rice, dosa, appetisers, popadoms and salads looked and smelled so appetising. We were shown to our table and brought drinks and a jug of water. We loved that we could select our choices from the buffet in little silver bowls and serve ourselves at the table. One pet hate of mine is having a plateful of mix and match food on my plate, so this worked so well, allowing us to savour each dish. In addition to the buffet, which had some incredible tasting veggie curries, we were also brought some freshly prepared pancakes filled with spicy potato curry and some puffy breads. Everything was divine and the attentive, friendly service made this a wonderful experience.

In addition to our fantastic food, we also enjoyed shopping in some of Leicester's quirky and independent shops (and in their big shopping centre too). It is a really nice city and there was lots going on with buskers and street performers doing their thing as well as the Sky Ride cycle event taking place. The Ramada Encore was a good place to rest our heads. The rooms were clean and well equipped with tea and coffee making, a hairdryer and big TV. The bathroom was superb with a huge walk in, wet room style shower. We had a selection of Lush samples in our room to test out too, which was a real treat.

Overall, we had a brilliant weekend. The cost of the Veggie Vacation with overnight stay, breakfast and the three experiences per person is just £129 for two adults sharing. Such a great value way to explore a new city!

We had two rooms, one for Ian and I and one for Ella and Kezia, and we also took Freddy with us, who slept in a sofa bed for a supplement of £15. (He was too young to go to the White Peacock as that is for 12's and overs, but was welcomed everywhere else. This gave us the chance to take Ian's sister, who doesn't live too far from Leicester, for an girlie afternoon tea with us, while Ian took Freddy to Costa for his lunch, so it worked perfectly for us. )

With Family Fun, Family Adventure, Heritage, City Treats, Gourmet Taste and Richard III vacations also available, there is an option to suit most people's needs.

Find out more about these exciting short breaks in Leicester at www.stayplayexplore.co.uk.