The Gruffalo's Child at Lighthouse, Poole - Review

One of the first books I bought for Elliot when he was born was The Gruffalo and then The Gruffalo's Child. He has grown up loving the stories and The Gruffalo has become a big part of our lives with trips to see him and even Gruffalo themed birthday parties!

We were meant to see The Gruffalo live show last Summer but unfortunately had to sell our tickets (fellow blogger Laura at Life with Baby Kicks went instead!) as we couldn't make it up to London. 

I was over the moon then when I saw the the live show of The Gruffalo's Child was coming to my favourite, and very local theatre at the Lighthouse, Poole. Needless to say, I snapped up tickets straight away :)

Having watched The Gruffalo's Child on DVD countless times, I was intrigued to see how it would be adapted for the stage. 

When we arrived at the theatre, we were shown to our seats and Elliot was excited to see we were in the front row and very close to the stage. As we were waiting for the show to start, he noticed somebody on stage peering round the tree branch at him...it was only the Mouse! She came down to chat some of the children in the audience and Elliot was desperate to show her his toy Gruffalo! 

When the Mouse jumped back on stage and the lights went down, Elliot was transfixed! With the Mouse narrating the story and including the lines from the book, the show begins in the cave where we meet The Gruffalo and his child. She is feeling bored and despite her Dad's warnings that "no Gruffalo should ever set foot in the deep dark wood", she sets out on an adventure and bumps into some familiar faces along the way....

© Tall Stories

The show features a small cast of 3 and the actor who plays the Gruffalo also plays the snake, the owl and the fox. We have such clear ideas of what these characters should be like after reading the book and seeing the film but the show put a brand new spin on these - who knew the snake could dance! 

The costumes are simple but The Gruffalo Child's furry suit was amazing and so colourful, being so close I could see all the detail and I was really impressed!

© Tall Stories

The show has some musical numbers which are SO catchy, I've had one of the songs stuck in my head since the weekend! The songs really help to bring the story alive and the children really enjoyed clapping along. 

The Gruffalo's Child is a really great show for 3+ kids and definitely a must for any fans of the book, or theatre in general. The show lasts for an hour without an interval so younger children would definitely enjoy it but might get a bit restless sitting sit for that long. Elliot was just starting to get fidgety so it was just the right length of time for us! 

For more tour dates and fun stuff, check out the Tall Stories website here

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Wyevale Garden Centre

Last year I remember reading my friend Jeni's blog (The Poole Mamma) and she took her family for breakfast at their local Wyevale Garden Centre to meet the Easter Bunny.

At the time I thought this sounded brilliant fun for little ones so I was really pleased to see that Wyevale Garden Centres were running the same event this Easter.

Wyevale Garden Centre

We have several Wyevale branches close to us in Dorset but we booked breakfast at our local one near Verwood, purely because the date and times worked for us. Our slot was 9.30am on Easter Monday so it was something to look forward to after the busy weekend!

The cost of the event was £7.99 for adults and this covered a "Great British Breakfast" with unlimited tea or coffee. For children is was £9.99 and this was child's breakfast plus lots of Easter activities and treats.

When we arrived at the garden centre we found the restaurant and were taken to our table by Alice in Wonderland who was very chatty and friendly. Elliot was excited to see an Easter activity and colouring sheet on the table but even more excited to see a little cup of mini eggs! (They didn't last long...)

There were 5 other families on the event too and it was nice that it wasn't over booked, the service was great and the staff couldn't do enough for us.

Our breakfasts didn't take long to arrive and they were really nice. I'm not a massive fan of a cooked brekkie (unlike my husband!) but all the food was cooked well and very tasty. Top marks for having the baked beans in a separate cup too, these went straight to hubby!! Elliot's breakfast was great value - he had sausage, scrambled egg, hash brown, beans, mushroom and toast. It was a big portion and he couldn't finish it!

Once breakfast was eaten, "Alice" invited the kids to join in with the Easter trail. They were given crayons and answer sheets and they had to find the clues hidden around the garden centre. The clues were really simple and Elliot enjoyed shouting out the answers! The children were given a cream egg and little bag of Haribo sweets for finishing the trail.

The Easter Bunny made an appearance then and was waiting for the kids as they got back into the restaurant - cue lots of excited children!! They were given the option of a cuddly bunny or a chocolate bunny. Unfortunately Elliot just couldn't make up his mind and we had some tears when he realised he wanted a cuddly bunny and not a chocolate one! Luckily one of the other children swapped with him but you know what toddlers are like, he'd changed his mind again 10 minutes later!

Just before the tears...!

The last activity was decorating an Easter biscuit. Elliot was given some toppings plus a giant bag of buttercream icing - his finished result was more icing than biscuit I think! The staff were on hand with takeaway boxes so we could take it home with us.

The whole event lasted 90 mins and I think it was really good value for money. Despite the tears Elliot enjoyed himself and said his favourite part was meeting the Easter Bunny!

The Easter events have finished now for this year but Wyevale do lots of family events throughout the year so it's worth keeping an eye on their website. 

BOYS MICROFLEECE HOODIE FROM TRESPASS - REVIEW

Recently we were contacted by Trespass and were asked if we'd like to review something from their website. They have a brilliant range of outdoor clothing for the whole family but I decided to pick something for Elliot to test out seeing as he'd probably get the most wear out of it.

The Trespass website has so many nice things for little boys but I finally decided upon a boys fleece hoodie in green. I thought it would be really handy to have something he could wear under a coat as a second layer. 

When the hoodie arrived I was pleasantly surprised. On the website, the hoodie looked to be a lightish green colour but in reality it was a bright vibrant green and much nicer than the picture advertised. The material was soft and light and felt really good quality. 

Elliot immediately wanted to wear the hoodie and it was a great fit. I ordered age 3-4, not really knowing what the sizing was like but it was pretty much spot on. 

Although the material is light, it features the Airtrap system to I know that it will do a great job of keeping Elliot warm. 

We have tested the hoodie out lots since it arrived and it has been Elliot's jacket of choice recently. The weather has been getting milder so he has been wearing it over is clothes as an outer jacket but on chillier days, he wore his navy gilet over the top to keep him toasty. I think the hoodie looks great paired with the gilet and the colours really suit Elliot! 

The hoodie has been washed several times and hasn't lost any of the quality, no bobbles or loss of colour. It also dries really fast which is really handy. 

I'm really pleased with the hoodie and I would definitely recommend taking a look at the Trespass website for outdoor clothing. My only gripe is that the ladies sizes stop at an 18 (XXL) but hopefully this is something they might expand in the future. 

Disclaimer: We received the product for the purpose of the honest review. All views are my own

Tackling A Weighty Issue with Slimming World

This blog post is a bit of a break from the norm for me, I never really write about personal issues nor do I really share them on social media. Weight/diets are always a touchy subject for me so it's madness that I'm sharing it on my blog but I just really wanted to write about Slimming World and how it's helping me tackle a weighty issue!

I have been overweight for as long as I can remember and I have always loved food. Like, really loved food! I've always been a yoyo dieter, I go to a slimming club and lose a few pounds...then I lose focus and quit. Only to rejoin with my tail between my legs a few months later! I have lost count of the times of I've rejoined Slimming World or Weight Watchers over the years but my will power just gets the better of me and I've failed every single time. The problem is, every time I rejoin I'm a few pounds heavier so my weight has just been going up and up.

When I got pregnant, my weight meant I was classed as "high risk". I was petrified that the midwife would tell me off and my weight would be made an issue of. I needn't have been worried, the midwife was very nice about it and I was never made to feel awful. My pregnancy was a happy and healthy one, I had no complications and apart from a few queasy early weeks, I felt absolutely amazing. I only gained around 9lbs too which I was so relieved about because throughout the pregnancy I acquired a love for tubs of chilled custard! I did even intend to stick to Slimming World whilst pregnant but found that too much of a challenge when all I wanted to do was eat!

7 months pregnant and ironically lighter than I am now! :-/

After Elliot was born (all 10lb 13oz of him), I was actually back to my pre-pregnancy weight. This is amazing I thought...then Christmas happened. And lots of eating. And then I started making new mum friends and lunches started happening. And cake mornings. And nights out involving copious amounts of wine. Basically, that first year of parenthood was spent socialising with Elliot and stuffing my face! I wouldn't change it though, I have a lovely close knit group of Mum friends who I couldn't have got through the newborn days without :) But I do kind of wish I'd gone easy on the cakes!!

I think because I've always been "the chubby one" I've just kind of got used to it and tried not to let it bother me. But it did. I became a bit camera shy and there aren't too many photos of me and Elliot, I always made the sure I was the one taking photos too because at least then I could weed out the unflattering snaps first and make sure the ones going on social media were ok!

I've never enjoyed clothes shopping but it's rubbish when you're above a size 18 and can only shop in certain shops. This combined with a lack of fashion sense means that my day to day outfits don't really vary alot - jeans, tshirts and hoodies are my thing! I have branched out over the last year to include a variation of shirts over leggings but to be honest, I could do with a day out with Gok Wan to sort me out!

In January of this year, I decided to join another slimming class. My weight was at an all time high and it was beginning to affect my health. My snoring had reached new levels (sorry hubby!) and I just had no energy. I'd gone up another dress size and I had really just had enough!

Arghhh this is so hard to include this because I'm mortified by the way I look but this is me at my very heaviest

I thought I'd give Slimming World another bash and I found a morning class which was perfectly timed with dropping Elliot at pre-school. A couple of my friends decided to join too and straight away I had a different feeling about it. It was actually fun to stay for the class (Slimming World call this Image Therapy) and everyone was so friendly. The SW consultant Lorna was really nice and made us all feel so welcome.

I lost 5lbs in that first week and it gave me a massive boost to actually stick with it. I was enjoying the food and the whole family were benefiting with me cooking more from scratch. My friends and I also had a "Fat Fighters" whatsapp group which was really useful for support and seeing what the others were having for dinner!

10 weeks later and I am now 2 stone lighter. I can't quite believe it to be honest! I've had some blips, I chickened out of weigh in one week and got a telling off from my friends, I then struggled to get back on it until my next weigh in. Then there was the week I had a giant gain after eating too many Easter eggs....and it wasn't even Easter yet!! I've since learnt that it's 44 syns per Easter egg so it's no wonder I gained what I did, I'm not buying anymore eggs this year!

This is me, taken yesterday so the most recent photo I have. 2 stone lighter -  Onwards and upwards! 

I feel so much better for losing 2 stone but I know I have a long way to go. In an ideal world I'd like to lose another 6 stone at least but that just sounds so massive so I prefer to take every half stone at a time.

And if you catch me eating any Easter eggs, please feel free to give me a slap ;) 

Pop! Pop! Pinata! from Hasbro Toys - Review

We're big fans of games in our house and it's something that we enjoy doing together as a family. As Elliot is only 3, we're a little limited in what we can play as although he might understand how to play it, he might not have the patience for it!

Pop! Pop! Pinata

Recently we were asked to review a brand new game from Hasbro called Pop! Pop! Pinata. I'd actually seen a few adverts for this on the Nick Jr channel and Elliot had expressed an interest in it ("We have to get that!" he said) so he was excited to start playing once it arrived.

What it is?

Pop! Pop! Pinata is a fun game for 2-4 players and is recommended for children of 4+ due to the small parts. The aim of the game is to collect the most prizes - very simple!

The game was really easy to assemble, it took just a few seconds to attach the pinatas ears and tail and the prizes were poured into the back of the pinata. No batteries are required and you don't need to use  a screwdriver to remove from the packaging! 

How do I play?!

After you have assembled the pinata and poured in the prizes, the players take it in turns to spin the pinata to mix the prizes. When it stops spinning, you hit the party button. 

The number of prizes will depend on how hard the button is pressed. If you hit the button gently, the pinata will stay closed but a few prizes will come out. If you hit it hard then the pinata will pop open and the prizes will pour out. 

It's then a mad scramble to collect as many prizes as you can in your cup - the player with the most prizes wins! 

I tried and failed to get a photo of the pinata popping but here's what it looks like!
(Photo Credit - Hasbro)

What did we think?

The game is really simple to play however I did find our games were over incredibly quickly. Once the party button had been hit hard, the pinata released the prizes and once we had collected them in our cups that game was over. The temptation for kids to hit the button hard was just too strong so pretty much every game was over in seconds! 

Elliot really enjoyed playing the game and he was very keen to collect all the pieces and reset the pinata for the next round. He is a big fan of Pop Up Pirate and I think that's why he enjoyed Pop! Pop! Pinata, there's that element of surprise and it really makes you jump when the pinata opens! 

RRP - £16.99

For more information and stockists, please visit Hasbro

Disclaimer: We received the product for the purpose of the honest review. All views are my own

Easter Crafts with Baker Ross

The Easter holidays can seem a bit of a long stretch if the weather is wet but why not use it as a good excuse to get some Easter arts and crafts done with your children?

Baker Ross have a huge range of seasonal items including lots of craft kits which are perfect for rainy days! And most of the kits contain everything you need so really handy for kids of all ages...and Mums that aren't very crafty! (That would be me!!)

We are part of the Baker Ross network so we were sent a box of Easter goodies to review. There's always a bit of excitement when the postman brings a Baker Ross delivery and Elliot couldn't wait to see what goodies we had!

The first thing he spotted was the Spring Bird Foam Stickers (£2.99 for 120). We have lots of stickers like these in our craft box and they are always really popular. The backing is really easy for little fingers to peel off and he loves nothing more than sticking them on a piece of card to make a picture.

Excuse the half eaten biscuit on the table!

We then decided to try out a couple of the craft kits. We were sent the Easter Bucket Buddy Kit (£3.60 for 3) and the Easter Honeycomb Decoration Kit (£2.75 for 5) and these were both a really great simple craft activity for Elliot.

He enjoyed colouring the decorations although the hardest part was stopping him from pulling off the crepe paper! Once coloured in, there was a little sticker which we peeled off and the honeycomb effect appeared.

The Easter buckets were also really simple. All the bits were ready to stick on so I just left Elliot to it. His finished Easter chick bucket looked more like Sloth from the Goonies but he was proud of it! He said he can't wait to put all his Easter eggs in it :)

Some other Easter bits we were sent were Chick Plastic Eggs (£1.99 for 10) and Easter Stampers (£3.60 for 10). We are a big fan of the stampers and we have quite a collection already. They can be used with paint or an ink pad and make a really fun activity. The plastic eggs are going to be used for an Easter Egg hunt but I know that Elliot will play with these afterwards too, knowing Elliot he will full them with plastic spiders and bugs!!

Finally, we were sent the Easter Egg Sand & Glitter Art Decorations (£2.75 for 10) and the Pastel Coloured Sand (£9.99 for 6). You peel off portions of the egg to reveal a sticky surface which you can then pour the sand onto. We have done something similar to these before and it was a real hit with Elliot and his friends so I'm looking forward to testing this kit out. We haven't had a chance to use them yet so will be saving this activity for a rainy day over Easter!

As always, I'm really impressed with the quality of the crafts and I love the fact that everything you need to complete the kits is included. I'm not a natural arts and crafter so these are a lifesaver for me!

For more information and lots more cool things, check out the Baker Ross website

Disclaimer: We received the products for the purpose of the honest review. All views are my own

Easter Gift Guide for Kids + Skateboard giveaway!

It doesn't seem 5 minutes since Mother's Day but Easter is just around the corner. Whether you're a fan of chocolate eggs, or prefer to give presents at Easter, read on for some fab gift ideas with all budgets covered. And if you fancy winning the skateboard that features in this gift guide, see below.

Top Row:
- Lego Painting Easter Eggs, exclusive to Tesco (£6.99) - You can pick up this limited edition Lego set from Tesco this Easter. It has been created by Lego as a healthy alternative to chocolate eggs and is bound to keep the children busy whilst stimulating their imagination.
- Little Helper 3 in 1 Table (£49.99 - This little table is actually 3 products in 1 which makes it a great buy. Perfect for pre-schoolers it is an art table, sandpit and reversible blackboard. On offer until 27th March!
- Born Gifted Personalised Eggcup (£8.99) - Kids of all ages love boiled eggs, so why not treat them to one of these gorgeous ceramic egg cups for Easter. The cups can be personalised with names up to 12 characters too.

Middle:
- Scandi Sweetie Eggs from Scandikitchen (£8.95) - For an alternative to chocolate Easter eggs, why not give one of these lovely eggs from Scandikitchen. The shells are made from pretty papier mache  and filled with yummy pick n mix sweets such as fruity fish and liquorice.
- Twirlywoos Chickedy & Chick Character Pack (£4.99) - These cute little figures will help children develop fine motor skills and encourage their imagination.
- Archeofun T-Rex & Triceratops Kit (£14.99) - One for the budding paleontologists, you can dig into the blocks of earth to discover the fossils which can then be put together to make dinosaur skeletons. They glow in the dark too!

Bottom:
- Play-doh Cake Party (£13.97) - Play-doh is always a popular choice with little ones and this Cake Party set will keep them amused for ages! Use the cutters to make cakes, swirl Play-doh frosting on top and show off your creations...just don't eat them ;)
- Enuff Pow Complete Skateboard (£34.95) - Perfect for beginners or intermediate level riders, this is a great gift idea to get your kids out and enjoying the Easter holidays. For a chance to to win your very own skateboard, follow the Rafflecopter details further on down the page...
- Crackin' Egg Co Hard Boiled Eggs - For something a little healthier for your Easter egg hunt, why not include these hard boiled eggs from the Crackin' Egg co. Twinpacks come with a range of different flavour sachets to give extra flavour. I'm useless at cooking eggs so perfect for people like me ;)

Giveaway

If you fancy winning your very own Enuff Pow Complete Skateboard from Skates.co.uk then follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Week in Pictures - 11th March 2016

It feels like Spring has finally sprung here in Dorset and we've had some beautiful sunny days this week...although these were followed by some really grotty torrential rain days booo! 

Here's what we got up to....

Top Row:
- Mother's Day and I thought I'd try and get a nice photo of Elliot and I. No chance, selfie mode turns Elliot into a gurning monkey so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em ;)
- A spontaneous visit to one of our favourite National Trust properties, Kingston Lacy and it was so warm in the sunshine. It was also pretty deserted being a weekday so we pretty much had the place to ourselves!
- Kingston Lacy was in full bloom with all the daffodils out

Middle Row:
- I smashed my next target at Slimming World on Monday, have lost 26.5lbs in 8 weeks so far! Have a long way to go but need to stay motivated and keep going :)
- Elliot's been getting up really early for the past few weeks but usually plays in his bedroom while we snooze (I can't face a 6am start!). The other day he came in with my boots in his hands, he tapped me on the head and said "I'm playing Andy's Dinosaur Adventures!". Not sure the hi-vis jacket is quite what Andy wears though!

Bottom Row:
- Wednesday was so rainy and we had a couple of hours to kill before Elliot's swimming class so we went to soft play. We were there so early that we had the place to ourselves!
- Elliot just loves dressing up, here he is doing his best pirate impression
- Elliot said he was cleaning the dinosaurs teeth here!

Hope you've all had a great week xx

Drumond Park's Og on the Bog Review & Giveaway

I don't know about your children, but Elliot loves toilet humour. He finds anything to do with bums and farting hilarious and if you tell him a poo joke you're his friend for life!

When we got offered a chance to try out Og on the Bog by Drumond Park I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be a hit in this household.....!

What Is It?! 

Og on the Bog is a game for 2-4 players and for children 5+ however Elliot is only 3 and enjoyed it too so I wouldn't let the age recommendation put you off.

The aim of the game is to steal 3 loo rolls from Og (based on 4 players, 2 and 3 players must collect 4) but you have to be careful as Og will hear you and you need to do it without him noticing!

The game is really easy to set up and the instructions are easy to follow, a definite plus point when playing with younger children who don't have a lot of patience ;) You will need 3 AA batteries and a screwdriver to open the battery compartment though.

How Do I Play?

Excuse the lunch debris scattered around!!

Each player starts with one loo roll. The first player spins the spinner and there are 3 outcomes:

- The red cross means you have made a noise and it is not safe to try and steal a loo roll. Therefore your turn is over and the next player spins
- The hand holding the loo roll means you can steal a loo roll from any of the other players!
- The green tick means you are good to go, you can now try and steal a loo roll from Og.

You first have to press down on Og's front step to see if he has heard you. If he says anything (like "What's going on out there!" or "Is that someone after my loo rolls?!") this means he has heard you and your turn is over.

If Og farts or grunts then this means he hasn't heard you and you can steal a loo roll. Be careful though as you need a steady hand!

If Og does a giant trump, his bog will explode and you have to put two of your toilet rolls back. Play resumes once his bog has been put upright again!

What Did We Think?

If you're offended by ogres and bodily functions then this might not be the game for you but kids will love it! Elliot was a little scared the first time Og's bog exploded though so bear this in mind if your little ones are a bit nervy. Although once he saw Og on the bog he found it hilarious and the scare was forgotten.

The rules are very straight forward and the games don't last too long. Og on the Bog is a bit different and is bound to appeal to all ages!

RRP - £22.99
For more info - http://www.drumondpark.com/

Giveaway!

If you fancy winning Og on the Bog for yourself, please see below for the Rafflecopter details:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

X Files, Pancakes and Purple Dresses #LittleLoves

Thought we'd join up with the #LittleLoves linky today, here's what we've been loving this week

Read

I finally managed to finish The UnMumsy Mum book this week - what a funny read!! I've loved Sarah's blog from the start and couldn't wait for her to release her book. I don't get a lot of time to read so I've been dipping in and out of it but really impressed, hope she writes a second!

We met Sarah a few weeks ago on her book tour, Elliot made quite an impression by dive bombing a chair just as she started her talk!

Watched

I have been loving the X Files being back on our screens! I was a massive fan back in the 90s and it's just as good as it once was. Love the chemistry between Mulder and Scully!!

Mulder and Scully - Season 10 Image Credit

Slightly different from the X Files but we caught up with Taskmaster this week. I'd never heard of it before because I don't watch the Dave channel but I've got a Greg Davies filter on my Virgin box that records anything he's in (I love him!) and this popped up. Basically 6 of his comedian mates have to do silly tasks - sounds really crap but it's hilarious!!

Made

I've been following the Slimming World diet for the past 6 weeks. I had a bit of an iffy week last week and just couldn't stop eating things I shouldn't (like a whole easter egg, whoops). But I'm back on it now and have been eating lots of yummy healthy meals like my absolute fave, Slimming World pancakes. Always craving chocolate though ;)

Wore

I am so not into fashion and literally have no idea what I should be wearing but I can't get enough of checked shirts, leggings and boots at the mo!

Had a blessing to go to on Sunday so it was nice to dress up smart for once. Elliot had a brand new outfit and I wore a dress from the Dorothy Perkins Curve collection, it's one of my favourites and so comfy. Love the colour too. I wish I had more purple things in my wardrobe!

had to crop this pic so you wouldn't see the underpants hanging on the radiator ;)

Heard

I seem to have had question overload from Elliot this week and I feel like all I've heard is his little voice asking me about the human body, and what blood is! Or whats a bone. Or what's behind my forehead. Or what's sick. Or do trees have hearts. Or what are cheeks. You get the general idea! I love that he's so inquisitive but the constant questions....are all 3 years like this?!!! 

Music wise I've been listening to loads of 80s stuff this week, it just makes me happy! At work on Friday my husband was listening to a Spotify playlist for shops....he said it would make customers spend more money but god it was dreary. Switched it over to some 80s classics when he was busy, you can't beat a bit of A-ha to get you in a good mood! 

Lastly...

Had a fun trip to our local aquarium in Bournemouth this week - they have a special half price offer for Dorset residents at the mo so it only cost me £6 as Elliot went free. Bargain afternoon and Elliot enjoyed spending time with his friends. 

So cute! 

Hope you've all had a great week xx