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Disney | Disney Store Wisdom Collection - Mulan
Last month I started to collect the new Wisdom range from The Disney Store. On the 18th of every month Disney Store will release a new addition to the collection. Last month was from the movie Dumbo and this month it is Mulan. The collection is limited release and each collection features a soft toy, a mug, a journal, a t-shirt and a pin set. I will be collecting all 12 soft toys over the year, however I'm not sure what other parts of the collection I will buy it will just depend on whether I like them or not.
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Review | Panda The Cloud Bamboo Duvet
Disclosure - We were gifted products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
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AD | Donated Blood Saved My Life ... Twice!
Disclosure - This is a paid post in collaboration with Smart Cells
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AD | How To Beat A Cold
Disclosure - This is a paid post in collaboration with Coldzyme
You many have read recently that I was struck down last week with cold/flu symptoms and it completely wiped me out. I felt so ill and although I did need antibiotics in the end there are ways that you can try and beat cold / flu symptoms at home. Here are our top tips on how to beat the common cold.
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Tonsillitis After A Tonsillectomy
A few weeks ago I said to John how lucky we were that we got through Christmas and New Year without any illnesses. There is usually one of us if not more that gets wiped out by a cold or worse the flu, but this year we survived. I spoke too soon. Last week I woke during the early hours of the morning feeling awful. I was hot but cold, I had a headache and my throat so sore. I went to the bathroom and took two paracetamol and hoped that in the morning I would feel better, I didn't.
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Review | New PJ's From The Pyjama Factory
Disclosure - We were gifted products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
Disclosure - This is a paid post in collaboration with Scuderia
For many years I have been interested in cars. When I was younger, and still to this day I dreamed of owning a high performance car, whether it be a classic Ferrari 308 or the more modern Lamborghini Huracan. Sadly, the cost of buying a supercar puts limitations on what I can do, however I have been saving and will continue to save to see what I can afford when I come to retirement and don't need to spend all my pennies on everyone else!
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Closed Giveaway | Norm Of The North DVD
To celebrate the release of Norm of the North - Keys To The Kingdom which is available to download today, I am giving 3 of my readers the chance to win a copy of the DVD which will be available to own on 18th February.
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Review and Giveaway | Gelli Worlds Dino Pack
You may have read recently that we had lots of bath time fun playing with Zimpli Kids Gelli Baff and Gelli Slime. Little J absolutely loved it so was very happy to receive a Gelli Worlds Dino Pack last week to play with.
Building and Creating ·
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Review | Strictly Briks
Disclosure - We were gifted products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
Little J loves building and creating and the past few weeks he has been doing plenty of that playing with Strictly Briks. We hadn't heard of the brand before so were eager to find out more and what they had to offer. We were sent a selection of items and have had so much fun using our imagination to build some impressive creations.
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The Lego Movie 2 - The Second Part ·
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Review | The LEGO Movie 2 - The Second Part LEGO Sets
Disclosure - We were gifted products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
We are huge fans of LEGO whether its building and creating using our LEGO Bricks, playing one of the many LEGO console games we own, visiting The LEGO Land Discovery Centre or settling down for a LEGO movie night. It's fair to say that LEGO plays a huge part in our lives and like most we cannot wait to see The LEGO Movie 2 - the Second Part that opens up in cinemas this weekend.
Baylis and Harding ·
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Pink Fizz and Elderflower Collection ·
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Valentines Day Gift Ideas | Baylis and Harding Pink Fizz and Elderflower Collection
Disclosure - We were gifted products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
Valentines Day will soon be here and if you are looking for some gift ideas then I wanted to share with you the Pink Fizz and Elderflower Collection from Baylis & Harding. I have been using Baylis & Harding products for years and they always smell amazing. I recently was sent some samples of this collection and I wasn't disappointed.
Days Out In the North West ·
Mersey Ferries ·
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review ·
Spaceport
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Days Out | A Trip On Mersey Ferries
Disclosure - We were gifted tickets on the River Cruise Explorer for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
On Sunday we braved the cold weather and took a trip on Mersey Ferries. As a family we have been going on the ferry for years and it's one of our favourite days out. When I was younger you would board the ferry and take a round trip with amazing views of Liverpool and also The Wirral. Now there is so much more to do than just a ferry ride. You can enjoy a River Explorer Cruise which includes attractions at Seacombe and Woodside.
As we live in Liverpool we boarded the ferry at the Pier Head. Our tickets were already booked so we headed to the collection desk which is just inside the terminal building. Boarding for the ferry begins ten minutes before the departure time. From the Pier Head, departures are on the hour.
It was really cold on board the ferry but there are seating areas indoors with lovely views and the smell of fresh coffee coming from the onboard cafe.
Our ferry time was 11am and we had a packed lunch so we ate it as we sailed over to Seacombe, the first stop on our River Explorer Cruise. The journey from Pier Head to Seacombe is 20 minutes.
At Seacombe there are three attractions. Spaceport, Play Port and Cafe Cross The Mersey.
Spaceport is a minutes walk away from Seacombe Terminal and you can purchase a ferry and spaceport combined ticket online which can save you a few pounds. We have been to Spaceport in the past and we were looking forward to Sci-Fi Icons which is a collection of Star Wars Memorabilia on display. We all love Star Wars so it was a bonus that the collection was available to see when we visited.
Upon arrival the receptionist kindly informed us that the Space Dome Theatre Show was about to begin. We headed past the 'space' attractions on the ground floor to the rear of Spaceport to enter the theatre. The theatre was in the shape of a dome and when sitting we were slightly reclined so we could view the ceiling. The show was 25 minutes long and all about space and planets. it was narrated by Rupert Grint and we all really enjoyed it. It did get us all thinking whether we are alone in this galaxy or are there aliens out there?
Once the show was over we headed to the Explorer 1 Space Ride. You are sat in a Simulator watching the TV screen in front as you are zoomed through space on what looks like a rollercoaster as the seats move from side to side. It was lots of fun and we all really enjoyed it.
We headed upstairs after the ride to view the Star Wars section. There were so many costumes, props and memorabilia to view. All the costumes looked so realistic. Little J and I played a game of 'guess the character?' and ' does he have a gun or a lightsaber?' He got every question right, he does like his Star Wars.
John was interested in all the old toys and can remember having some of them when he was little. If only he still had some of them, they are collectors items now and worth a small fortune.
Although learning about Space and seeing the Star Wars Collection was fun, little J liked the interactive games the most. We all played a quiz and i was shocked by how many he got right, I'm sure most were guesses but who knows he may be a Space whizz.
In total we spent just under 2 hours in Spaceport, which included the 25 minute dome show and 4 minute ride. I suppose you can take as little or as much time as you like but keep an eye on your watch as the ferry leaves at twenty past the hour so if you just miss it you will have an hour wait.
Play Port and Cafe Cross The Mersey are located in the Seacombe terminal building. The cafe offers a wide variety of food and drink and there was plenty of seating available. Play Port is an indoor children's play area and it is not included in the price of your ticket. It is currently £3.20 Mon-Fri and £3.95 at Weekends, Bank Holidays and School Holidays. Although little J wanted to go and have a play it was very busy so it maybe popular with locals.
Next stop on our ferry trip was Woodside and the U Boat Story. When we collected our tickets we were told that the U Boat Story was included in the standard River Explorer Cruise price however it was closed. We were disappointed as there was no mention of this on the Mersey Ferry website and I had visited the site before we left to check the ferry was running despite the cold weather. The U Boat experience was closed due to ice so they cannot open it to visitors.
We had no reason to leave the ferry at Woodside so we stayed on and made our way back to the Pier Head. The boys played word games using a pen and pad little J had purchased in the Spaceport shop.
We had a lovely day on the ferry and Spaceport. It was a shame U Boat Story was closed but hopefully we will be able to visit it another time.
The River Explorer Cruise is a 50 minute round trip excluding any time you spend at the attractions. You can purchase your tickets online which saves money and they have to be booked before midnight the day before you plan to visit.
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Michelle
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AD | I Love My Kitchen
Disclosure - This is a paid post in collaboration with Fishpools
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Simply Be
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Snow White Disneybound Outfit
Disclosure - This is a paid post in collaboration with Simply Be
I have started writing down some Disneybound ideas for our visit to Walt Disney World this year and first on my list is Snow White. For those that don't know what Disneybounding is, let me explain. As an adult you are not allowed to wear any Disney costumes whilst visiting the parks so the idea behind Disneybounding is you choose 'normal' clothes that are the same colours as your favourite characters. You are then able to dress up as a character of your choice without wearing a costume.
When you think of Snow White what colours do you see? Most say red and yellow when actually Snow wears a blue top and yellow skirt. The colour red is only on the bow/headband and the belt around her waist.
Here are a few ideas for the perfect Snow White Disneybound.
The red headband with bow is the perfect start to a Snow White Disneybound. I think above everything else she wears this is what everyone remembers.
Finding the perfect colour blue was hard but I love this from Simply Be. The Colbalt Blue Top has strap detail at the front, is the perfect colour and I love the length. It will allow you to tuck in to the skirt and add a nice red belt too.
The Junarose Pleated Velvet Skirt is the perfect choice for a Snow White Disneybound. I absolutely love the detail on this skirt. It's elasticated waist too so will sit nicely on your hips. It's mid length so would be ideal for all visits to Disney whatever the season.
Finishing off with a pair of red flats. When visiting Disney its important to wear comfortable shoes and in my opinion flats are a must. I love how these also have a red bow on the front too.
To finish I would probably add a red belt. If you are heading to Disney in the Winter Season you could always add white gloves too.
Have you ever visited Disney and created a Disneybound outfit? I am really looking forward to sharing some more of my Disneybound ideas with you soon.
Michelle
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Jumbo ·
National Puzzle Day ·
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Giveaway | Celebrating National Puzzle Day With Jumbo
Today is National Puzzle Day. I absolutely love doing jigsaw puzzles and have done since I was little. It's been a while since I did an 'adult' puzzle, I just do simple kids ones with little J these days but I still love them. I have teamed up with Jumbo and I am happy to announce that I have a special 'National Puzzle Day' giveaway for my readers.
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Disney | Disney Store Wisdom Collection - Dumbo
On the 18th January 2019 Disney Store released the first collection of a series of 12 from their new Wisdom range. The collection is limited release and each collection features a soft toy, a mug, a journal, a t-shirt and a pin set. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to collect this series but after seeing Dumbo I fell in love and so it looks like I will be collecting all 12 over the year.
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Zimpli Kids
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Giveaway | Gelli Baff, Slime Baff and SnoBall Play
You may remember a few months ago we had lots of bath time fun with Gelli and Slime Baff. Little J loves anything slimy and gooey so he absolutely loves having a Gelli bath each week and I'm sure your little ones will too so I am giving you the chance to win a set.
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Home and Garden ·
Milton Antibacterial Products
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Giveaway | Milton Antibacterial Products
There seems to be a lot of bugs and sickness going round lately and I only just said to John that I think this is probably the first Christmas that no one has been ill. We have been doing our best to keep our home clean as sometimes, especially when the kids are off school we can become a little lazy with the cleaning. We have been using Milton Antibacterial products recently so our lack of sickness could be because of them but either way it's such a relief that no bugs hit our house.
I often get updates from The Disney Store about new products that they have arriving in store soon. I love browsing the new arrivals and often find myself spotting a 'must have' item that I have to buy there and then. Although I don't want to buy this particular item I spotted the other night it did catch my eye and encouraged me to write this post. Disney have released a huge collection of their movies on dvd and blu ray containing 55 movies. Now this boxset is their classics and doesn't include Pixar or films such as Mary Poppins but it got me thinking out of the 55 movies how many had I seen.
So the collection begins at the start and that film is Snow White which was released in 1937. I've only ever watched Snow White a few times but Snow herself and the dwarves are probably some of the more well known characters.
Next there is Pinocchio which was released in 1940, Fantasia also released in 1940, Dumbo 1941 and Bambi 1942. I think I have only watched these once in my whole life but out of these four Dumbo is my favourite. Dumbo and Bambi both pull on your heart strings something that Disney do in almost every movie nowadays.
The next six movies in the collection, Saludos Amigos 1942, The Three Caballeros 1944, Make Mine Music 1946, Fun & Fancy Free 1947, Melody Time 1948 and Ichabod & Mr Toad 1949. I haven't heard of any of these before and don't really have any interest in seeing them but if they were on TV I may give them a watch.
The next 13 movies in the collection I have seen and some of them are favourites. Everyone knows the story of Cinderella which was released in 1950. I love the story and the movie however out of all the princesses she is my least favourite. I'm not actually sure why but she doesn't really interest me.
In 1951 Alice In Wonderland was released and although I like the film it was very wacky and I would say well ahead of it's time.
Peter Pan, 1953 and Lady & The Tramp, 1955 are two of my favourites. Everyone loves Peter Pan and Tinkerbell is one of my all time favourite characters. It's odd just how popular Tinkerbell became as she doesn't speak in the movie but in terms of merchandise I have tons of Tinkerbell items.
Sleeping Beauty 1959, 101 Dalmatians 1961, The Sword in the Stone 1963, The Jungle Book 1967, The Aristocats 1970, Robin Hood 1973, The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh 1977, The Rescuers 1977 and The Fox & The Hound 1981 are next in the collection. I have seen them all and remember very clearly watching The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh almost every day when I was younger. I Just loved it when he floated up to the bee hive singing 'I'm just a little black rain cloud'.
Not seen any of the next three films. The Black Cauldron 1985, Basil The Great Mouse Detective 1986, Oliver & Company 1988.
Next to be released was The Little Mermaid 1989 and I think this was the point when I became obsessed with Disney. I absolutely love Ariel and the idea of there being mermaids under the sea when I was 9 was just magical.
It was quickly followed by Rescuers Down Under 1990, which didn't thrill me too much but then we had a run of 26 movies which made me 100% sure I was a Disney fan.
Beauty & the Beast 1991, Aladdin 1992, The Lion King 1994, Pocahontas 1995, The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996, Hercules 1997, Mulan 1998, Tarzan 1999, Fantasia 2000, The Emperor's New Groove 2001 and Atlantis 2001 where all released over a 10 year period.
Beauty and the Beast is another favourite of mine and I could watch it over and over again without getting bored. I do have one problem with Beauty and The Beast and that's when the Beast turns back to a human, I was slightly underwhelmed. If I'm honest I would prefer the Beast!
The Lion King was another movie to make you cry within the first few minutes. Mufasa's death is probably one of the saddest things ever. Still makes me well up thinking of it.
In 2002 Lilo & Stitch was released and it is a favourite with all of us here. Stitch is crazy and funny and probably one of my favourite characters that isn't a princess.
Treasure Planet 2002, Brother Bear 2003, Home On The Range 2004 and Chicken Little 2005 followed and although they weren't the best movies they are still watchable.
The Wild was released in 2006 and we loved this movie. If I remember correctly it was either released at the same time as Madagascar or just after and it didn't do as well. I actually refer The Wild to Madagascar but that wasn't a popular verdict.
Meet The Robinsons 2007 and Bolt 2008 again were two movies that went under the radar a little as audiences were waiting for a long overdue princess movie. Luckily in 2009 The Princess & the Frog was released. Not only was this the first Princess movie in over 10 years, Tiana was the first Princess to be of African - American heritage.
In 2010 Tangled was released and to this day is my all time favourite movie and Rapunzel is my favourite princess. I absolutely loved the movie when I first watched it and have seen it so many times over the last 8 years. I have an ever growing Rapunzel memorabilia collection which I love. Tangled ticked all the boxes for me, The story, the songs and I just love Mandy Moore who provides the voice for Rapunzel.
Wreck-It Ralph was released in 2012 and we've actually watched it again recently awaiting the new movie Wreck It Ralph 2 to be released.
Frozen took the whole world by storm in 2013. It was the first time that a movie had two princesses and the story wasn't about finding or loving a prince. It was about sisterly love. If you have no idea what Frozen is or you don't know all the words to 'Do you wanna build a snowman' or 'Let it go' then I'm guessing you have been living on another planet.
We have only just watched Big Hero 6 for the first time a few weeks ago even though its 4 years old. Little J is really enjoying watching movies at the moment and he picked this. We loved it and Baymax is just the cutest.
The last two Disney classic movies were both released in 2016, Zootropolis and Moana. Moana is another one of my favourites. The songs are great and I really love the storyline.
So that is the complete Disney classics movie list. I have highlighted the ones I have seen in green and the ones I haven't in blue. I have seen 41/55 which is quite good. There are quite a few in the early days of Disney that I know I will not watch but if I watch any of the others I will pop back and update.
How many have you seen?
Michelle
Fortnite ·
Gaming ·
Keeping Your Children Safe Online ·
Online Gaming ·
Online Safety ·
Parenting ·
Technology
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Are Your Children Staying Safe Online?
Everyone has heard of Fortnite, the online multiplayer shooter phenomenon that even allows players to play across different consoles in the same game. Maybe your child is playing Fortnite right now, do you know who they are playing with, what they are hearing or being told, the ages of the people they are playing with? Probably not - in fact I would say definitely not. After all the Battle Royale game is based on 100 people online together on one map, playing in teams or alone - and these 100 people could be from anywhere in the world.
Fortnite is very popular here. Both big and little J love the game, and I also play from time to time. We have spent plenty of money on the games virtual currency V-Bucks, which allows the purchase of visual upgrades to your characters skin, glider, pickaxe and of course allows you to buy the famous dances which are fast taking over the world. So although we are fully aware of the online risk, we are prepared to manage that risk, because we understand it, and know which options and settings are safest for little ones.
However, this morning we found that Little J was in a game, on a team with two other small children and one Eighteen year old man who seemed quite happy chatting away to three five or six year olds. I am not saying there was anything wrong with that as it stands, however the risk is always there. We dont know who he is, where he is from or why he wants to chat to young children, but we decided to end the game there and move to another setting. What would you have done?
So below is a guide to the 'safest' settings on Fortnite for your children, and whilst there will still always be online risk, you can help to eliminate that risk by using the guide.
Options Within Battle Royale
Battle Royale has a constantly changing set of modes, with different game objectives and ways to play, however they all share some fundamental underlying online options that are customisable within the mode.
Solo Mode
This is as it sounds, you play alone within the game and are playing against 99 other players. Here, you can choose whether your gamertag is displayed or not, and you can choose to be in a 'party' with other gamers or not. The 'party' connects gamers using mic's connected to a headset or the controller so that they can talk about the game.
Here, the safest online options are to hide your gamertag and not connect to any party. This will increase the chance of remaining anonymous within the game.
Other Game Modes
Here you can see some of the other available game modes at the time of writing. Food Fight and Disco Domination are new game modes, with the same idea of having a number of players online together. Within these modes players can join a squad of other players to make up a team, usually either teams of four or fifty.
The important thing to notice about the options within both modes is just above the accept box when you start the game. There are options that say either Fill, or Don't Fill.
The Fill option will put you in a team and connect you directly to those players in the team. So whether you have a mic connected or not, you can hear what the other players are saying though the TV or your headphones. In addition if you are mic connected then they can hear and talk to you.
The Safest option here is to make sure that Don't Fill is selected - this will reduce the chance of being connected to other gamers and should mean you can remain anonymous online.
We have always been careful to monitor who both Little J and Big J are connected to when playing online, whether they are playing Fortnite or any other game. Online safety is becoming more and more topical by the day as more people have access to devices, and more people are choosing to spend time online rather than go out.
Do your little ones play Fortnite? If you have any other online safety tips, please let us know.
John
Christmas has been and gone and it's now 2019. We hope you all had a magical Christmas and a Happy New Year. Our Christmas was busy as always, it was nice to be off work so I could spend time with my family and make lots of new memories. Today is our official back to work and school day so it's nice to look back at our December.
What is it about Slime that makes kids just love it? Is it the fact that it's gooey, slimy, gross or all three? Little J absolutely loves slime and has various pots of it dotted around the house in a variety of colours and textures. I'm not a fan of it myself but I have to say when we received some Slurpees Snot Suckers I did find playing with it quite enjoyable as did little J.
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Prestat ·
The Perfect Mum's Night In ·
This Works
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Collaboration | The Perfect Mums Night In
Christmas can be a stressful time for everyone but I personally find it so tiring. I don't know whether it's a Mum thing but I like to take charge and make sure everything is perfect for the big day. If like me you need to have a relaxing evening before the festivities begin then check out my recommendations for the perfect Mums night in.
Home and Garden ·
review ·
Silk Bedding Direct ·
Silk filled pillows
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Review | Silk Filled Pillows
This weekend we will be putting our Christmas tree and decorations up and I can't wait. I have started to add a few Christmas themed bits around the house already including my festive place mats and Christmas bedding. We were recently sent some Silk Filled Pillows which we have added to our 'Walking In A Winter Wonderland' bedding and our bed has never been cosier.
Chester Zoo ·
Christmas 2018 ·
Days Out ·
Experiences ·
The Lanterns at Chester Zoo ·
Travel
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Christmas 2018 | The Lanterns at Chester Zoo
On Sunday we headed over to Chester to experience The Lanterns at Chester Zoo. We have never been before but some of the family went last year and loved it so they booked for us all to go this year. I had no idea what to expect so I was really surprised when we got there to see lots of animals made out of lights.
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