Joshua Captures the Colour in Travelsupermarket.com's Kids Capture the Colour

Ever since we found out about Travelsupermarket.com's Kid's Capture the Colour competition which is being judged by some fabulous bloggers, both boys have been carrying a camera with them EVERYWHERE and have taken hundreds of photos!

 

Nine year old Joshua's top photos are shown here. It is interesting to see just how important his brother and sister are to him as they featured in so many of his photos. If you were to chat with him, he would more likely tell you that the most important things in his life are his toys and playing computer games - so it was really special to see these photos speak louder than words. He might not always be able to express his emotions verbally because of his Aspergers, but with a camera it is clear to see just how much he loves his younger brother and sister.

 

Blue

It was no surprise to see that Blue Bear features in the 'blue' photo as Blue Bear is pretty much a fully fledged member of the family. It is the bear that Joshua chose for Daniel on the day Dan was born and he is probably the most loved bear in the universe.

 

Green

Josh spotted this green car on a showroom forecourt and pulled his camera out saying "I want a car like that". When I pointed out that a car like that costs as much as a house, I think he may have changed his mind!

 

Red

This photo that Joshua took of his brother with a big red monster at the Lollibop festival immediately evokes memories of summertime fun and a fabulous day out. That is one of the wonderful things about photos - by capturing that moment, you can relive those happy memories time and time again. 

 

White

I can't really find the words to go with this photo because to me it just speaks for itself. Joshua took it on a calm day (i.e. when he was feeling calm) and it was one of those perfect summer days where we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything so could just stroll along by the river and just enjoy the day.

 

Yellow

We love the spot colour of the yellow sunglasses in this photo and how they stand out against the background. It is also special to us because the photo itself will remind us of the summer that Josh went everywhere with his camera as you can actually see the reflection of him in his green t-shirt taking the photo in the lens of the sunglasses.

This is 9 year old Joshua's entry into Travelsupermarket.com's Kids Capture the Colour competition. These are his top 5 photos that he has taken this summer for this competition.

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Nuby Flower Child Plate, Bowl and Cutlery review

As I got distracted last time I sat down to write up a Nuby review, here I am to tell you about Nuby's  new style Flower Child range.

The plate and bowl are both aimed at babies from 12 months and over and the cutlery is recommended for toddlers over 18 months.

The pretty packaging and pretty design on the items themselves appealed to T when she first saw the plate, bowl and cutlery set.

She is at the age where she is wanting to be independent with feeding herself and the shallow style of plate and wide design of bowl made it easy for her to be able to see her food and reach into it too.

The cutlery is a nice size for older babies and toddlers as the end of the spoon is around the size of a teaspoon and so holds a good amount of food unlike some smaller spoons that T finds frustrating to use now that she is a little older. Yet the handles are short to help manoeuvrability. The stainless steel ends make it easy to be able to scoop (for the spoon) and plunge (for the fork) into food to successfully pick the food up using the cutlery.

T doesn't yet have the skills to use the knife at all but it was nice having it to use as a lot of her food does need cutting up now that she eats a lot of 'normal' meals (rather than baby food) so it was good to have a dedicated knife for me to use to cut up her food for her.

Both the bowl and plate are dishwasher safe (top rack only) which is always useful. They are both also microwavable (The packaging on the plate was a bit confusing as it warned against using in the microwave - but Nuby have double checked and assured me that the plate IS safe to use in the microwave too).

The plate and bowl design look long-wearing and if they follow the high standard of the previous plates we have had from Nuby then we should be able to get plenty of use out of them. For example, the Monster Plates we reviewed last November are still going strong. Despite being used daily, the pattern has stayed bright and clear on the plates as you can see:


The Nuby Monster plates we have been using daily since last November have stayed looking bright!

Then time for pudding:

 

 

The Nuby new style Flower Child Feeding bowl is currently priced at £2.99 from Nuby. The Plate is also 2.99 and the cutlery set is £3.99. As always, please check prices yourself prior to purchase!

 

Disclosure: We were sent these items free of charge as Nuby bloggers for the purposes of review. All opinions are our own.

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Nuby Every Step of the Way: Our year of being Nuby bloggers

Look out for our reviews coming up!

We recently received another lovely bundle of goodies to review from Nuby in our role as Nuby bloggers. We are nearing the end of our wonderful year of being Nuby bloggers and I have found myself reminiscing and remembering the products that we first reviewed for Nuby around a year ago.

I think of how much T has changed in that time from when we first found out that we had been selected as Nuby bloggers and that first bundle of goodies arrived, to seeing T get her first taste of solids using the Nuby Nibbler.

Her first bath toys and lots of further bath toys were all from Nuby and we were really impressed with what great value and quality the bath toys were!

Nuby products saw T through teething, and more teething as well as the first steps of weaning, and T's first use of cutlery for learning to feed herself. Their innovative Snack Keeper helped prevent those spillages with baby-led weaning and at snack times, and their gorgeous bandana style bibs helped keep T dry from all her dribbles.

Nuby helped T's transition from bottles to beakers over the past year and lots lots more. You can click on our 'Nuby Blogger' badge on the side bar to see more reviews.

So as I sat down to write up a review for one of the latest products we had been sent, I realised that Nuby really has been with us 'Every Step of the Way' just like their strapline says on some of their products.

So as I got side-tracked into reminiscing and feeling nostalgic, I guess the review will have to wait until another day. But I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to Nuby for a wonderful year and to say how lovely it has been working with them to review their products. They have also very kindly offered to provide some goodies for a giveaway at Christmas time, so keep an eye out for that!

 

Disclosure: As Nuby bloggers we receive and keep a selection of Nuby products for the purposes of review. No payment is received for this post and all opinions are our own.  

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Today is Compassion Sunday

Today is Compassion Sunday, where hundreds of people will be standing up in churches across the UK to say a few words about how people like you and me can make a difference to the lives of children around the world.

A few years ago, that is exactly what we would have been doing. Giving a talk or presentation to either our home church or another in the area speaking to perhaps a couple of hundred people about the difference sponsoring a child has made to our lives as well as the sponsored child's life giving them the opportunity to receive food, healthcare, education and lots more at a cost of only 70p  a day.

We don't currently have a 'home church' and I was thinking what a shame it was that this year we won't be able to speak out on behalf of those children and then I suddenly realised.... We may normally speak to a church congregation of anywhere from around 100 people to several hundred people, but our stats pages show us that this blog reaches several thousand people, so here is our little way of taking part in this year's Compassion Sunday.

What can be bought for 70p? Not even a cup of coffee these days in most places. Perhaps a pack of crisps? A can of cola? A daily newspaper? It doesn't stretch very far in the UK.

And yet that 70p a day could save the life of one of the 19,000 children who die each day from preventable causes.

I always think of those 19,000 children as  being almost invisible to us because they are largely ignored by the media and by us. I question whether we would stand by and allow this to happen if those 19,000 children were our children, our neighbours children, our friends children? If we were to wake up to find 19,000 children here in the UK gone each day? There is NO WAY that anyone would stand by and let that happen, and yet somehow because it is elsewhere and we don't have to see it everyday, then we do manage to turn a blind eye and let it carry on.

In the current economic climate, for some of us, it may well mean making compromises to our lifestyle. We may have to give up that odd meal out or that bar of chocolate, but at least many of us do have that option and we are not sat here wondering where our next meal is coming from or how to choose which of our children to feed with the next piece of food that we manage to obtain.

And if you are someone who already sponsors a child and so thinks this is not relevant to you, I would say thank you that you are doing something already but I would urge you to also consider if it is at all possible to save the life of a second child.

We have not been asked to write this but chose to do so because we have loved sponsoring the 4 children who we have come to consider as part of our family and we think it is unacceptable that in this day and age so many children are dying daily from preventable causes. To find out more about child sponsorship and Compassion Sunday visit www.Compassionuk.org

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My big night in - Bring a skill you love, learn a skill you dream of

If I had £750 to spend thanks to #TwoLittleFleas,
Here's how I'd plan a big night in for me.

(Well not just for me but also my friends)
This golden ticket invite I would send:

I love to learn new things but don't have the time,
to spend hours on a course or even tutorials online.

What better than friends coming together to share,
the things that ignite their passion, about which they care.

A few simple projects planned, easy to make,
Perhaps something to paint, sew, craft or bake?

 
Sharing nibbles and drinks, have a giggle and laugh,
Whilst making scented candles or soap for the bath?

So many ideas, so many talented chums,
I know they'd love to join in as they're all busy mums...
Who normally get very little time to themselves,
As they are so busy looking after their little elves.

As an added bonus everyone gets to go home with something they've made as a gift,
Having learnt new skills and given their confidence a lift.

This poem describes my idea for my big night in.

It has been inspired by my friends who have so many talents and skills that often go unnoticed in their day to day lives. This is a chance for us all to get together and have fun and share and inspire each other.

By learning some simple crafting tricks or to make little gifts you could end up saving yourself a small fortune in the run up to Christmas! (You may even find a new passion or discover a talent that could one day earn you a fortune)

The budget would go towards buying the materials and utensils for the big night in as well as some food and drink.

The materials would be for a small (quick and achievable) projects in some of the following areas: jewellery making, floristry, sewing, crafting e.g. cards or scrapbooking, baking / cake decorating, soap making, candle making.

 

 

The food would be inspired by dishes from around the world, because as well as being talented in arts, crafts and other skills, many of my friends are from different places and I always love tasting food and drinks from different countries and cultures.

This post is an entry into Two Little Fleas Blogger Competition over at Little Stuff.

Two Little Fleas is a bingo review site, but it is actually a lot more than a bingo review site. I was interested to see that you can find lots of inspiration and ideas about all sorts of things (not just bingo). 'The Hub' area is filled with ideas for things like Arts and Crafts, family fun ideas for games, and other interesting tips.

All photos in this post are our own.

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Big Huge Massive Mummy Fail!

See this...

Can you guess what it is (or should I say was...?)

It is D's prized possession - A Moshi Monsters Zack Binspin Mash-Up card. Not just any Zack Binspin Mash-Up card but a RAINBOW FOIL one.

And mummy put it through the washing machine because I forgot to check D's trouser pockets!!!

Now that is a massive mummy fail moment.

Do I dare link up to Wot So Funee this week? D certainly did NOT find it funny - so will he be even crosser at me if he sees it linked up?

Oh well, let's put the badge in and I'll decide on Tuesday.

 



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T at 17 months - a taste of new things

In the past month T has had a taste of play dough and glue. Quite literally in both cases as she couldn't resist putting some in her mouth!

Thankfully she seems to have got past the phase of putting small objects in her mouth but I guess sitting at the table for gluing and also to do play dough led to a bit of confusion.

 

Exciting new words this month too! Chocolate was one learnt quickly when she spotted daddy having chocolate spread, pointed to the jar and said 'coclet'. 

'Uh oh' is often followed by 'dropped it' when she has dropped something.

When we told her it was bad to drop things she started to say 'bad bad' (bah, bah).

She is able to ask for milk by saying a word that sounds a cross between 'more' and 'milk' and tapping on my chest. This is a new experience for me as I stopped breast feeding both the boys before the age of one and before they could 'ask' for milk. 

In the past few days, T has started to say her brothers names. D's being easier for her than J's name. She will also say certain animal sounds; woof, quack, moo, ooh ooh (monkey), roar (lion), bah, hiss. She will actually try copying most animal sounds including a cute wolf howl!

I think our recent trip to Longleat helped with the enthusiasm for animals. She even learnt how to say tiger although she always says it in a whisper.

Feeding the giraffes at Longleat

Seeing the lions at Longleat

She also tells us when she is stuck (tuck, tuck). Even if it is at times when she is supposed to be stuck i.e. strapped into buggy or high chair.

 

Banana is the other big word. Not sure if it is because she likes eating bananas so much or if it is because her brothers have watched the despicable me 'banana' mini movie so many times!

It never ceases to amaze me how much babies learn and how quickly they develop in their first couple of years. It was a year ago that we had our lovely visit to Green People and look how much she has changed in a year! 

 

And here she is today with some of her favourite Organic Babies and Children Products from Green People...What a difference a year makes eh?

 

Have you entered our giveaway to win a Moshi Monsters Katsuma Unleashed game for Nintendo 3DS ? Enter here.

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Wot So Funee - Going Bananas!

A few weeks ago we had a lovely day at Lollibop and one of our highlights was seeing Dick and Dom on the main stage.

One of the games they played which included audience participation was the banana race where the giant inflatable bananas were sent to the back of the crowd by being passed over the heads of everyone and back again to see which would be the fastest: Dick's side of the audience or Dom's side of the audience.

Well our family ended up divided because J had access to a raised platform due to his special needs along with me to look after him, so we ended up on Team Dom. But Daddy, D and T were left on Team Dick's side.

The bananas were thrown into the crowd and off they went with both teams getting off to a good start. When Team Dom's banana got to us, J promptly threw it back to start it's speedy journey back to reach Dom.

J's speedy action throwing the banana back

But when Team Dick's banana got to the back, it somehow ended up on 'our' side and J got hold of it and well...held it.

And then held onto it some more.

All this while Team Dick's side are shouting for the banana to be thrown back and on stage Dick and Dom start mentioning the little boy who is holding the banana.

Eventually J did throw it back but I think he did enough to sufficiently sabotage Team Dick's chances. Now this is beginning to sound a little like Radio 2's confession time because this is the bit where we need to plead forgiveness.

Forgiveness from Dick and Dom for ruining their banana race. Forgiveness from Team Dick for spoiling their chances at winning (they were pretty pants at the game so I don't think they would have won anyway) and forgiveness from any other bloggers that were there on the day who were on Team Dick's side. I have this massive fear that I am going to stumble upon someone's review of the day where they describe their whole day ruined by the banana-saga!

So now we have confessed. It was us. Me and J who were utterly guilty of sabotaging Dick and Dom's great banana race at Lollibop 2013.


Hoping to link up with Actually Mummy's Wot So Funee. (I have scheduled this post for Tuesday so hope I'll remember to pop back and link it up to the linky)





Have you entered our giveaway to win a Moshi Monsters Katsuma Unleashed game for Nintendo 3DS ? Enter here.

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Exciting news and Giveaway: Katsuma Unleashed game for 3DS

As regular readers will know, our boys are HUGE Moshi Monsters fans and Moshi seems to get a mention in many of the blog posts we write. When J hears us telling others about how much he loves Moshi, he usually interrupts to point out that he is the worlds BIGGEST Moshi fan. Even younger brother D can tell just how much J loves Moshi Monsters and so doesn't try to rival his position as No.1 fan but goes on to describe himself as the second biggest Moshi fan in the world.

So you can imagine our delight and excitement at being able to tell you that we are now...Official Moshi Monsters bloggers!!!!

One of the things that J is most excited about is the upcoming release of a new Moshi Monsters game for DS and 3DS called Katsuma Unleashed. The game is released on 11th October and we've been counting down the days. Here's the trailer to get you really excited about it.

When our boys first watched this trailer they were shouting out words like 'cool' and 'awesome' so you can imagine the excitement that is building in this household in the run up to Katsuma unleashed being released.

And here's something exciting for you...the lovely people at Moshi Monsters are kindly offering one of our blog readers the chance to win your very own copy of the Katsuma Unleashed game for Nintendo 3DS.

Just fill in the rafflecopter form below. (If it is not appearing properly, then try refreshing the page.) The only compulsory entry is to leave a blog post comment below telling us what you think of the Katsuma Unleashed trailer and fill in the rafflecopter box telling me you have done so. Please don't leave anonymous comments as we need to be able to check you have completed your entry. All comments are moderated so may take up to a few days to appear. UK entries only please.

If you are not sure how to use Rafflecopter, there is a great guide over at SuperLucky.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Bonus entries:
Did you notice on the rafflecopter form that you can get up to 10 bonus entries by drawing a picture of Katsuma (or your favourite Moshi character) and posting it on our facebook page. This is a random draw so drawings won't be judged but it will earn you bonus entries into the draw so make sure you fill in that box on rafflecopter as well as posting the picture to our facebook page.


Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

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Draw with me linky - September 2013

This month's Draw With Me linky is now live over at This Mummy Loves with the theme of 'Movies', and J loved seeing Maisie's drawing of Despicable Me 2 characters. As it was the last film he saw at the cinema too, he decided to draw Minion Dave!

He loves drawing but often doesn't have the patience to colour things in. Sometimes he prefers them to look 'comic style' in black and white and sometimes I think he struggles because his fine motor skills are affected by his ASD and so I think the colouring stage is a bigger struggle for him because of this. Whatever the reason, I really liked his black and white drawing so here it is linking up with Draw With Me.

D has just started school this week after nearly 3 years of home-schooling so he was just too exhausted to draw anything at the moment, so he hasn't joined in this time, but I'm sure he will in future.

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