03/08/201503/08/2015 by jo

Project 365 – Week 31

Sunday 26th July. Drove to Guildford to watch Inside Out at the cinema. H really enjoyed it, I cried several times (proper tears falling from my eyes in a ‘I am so obviously crying’ kind of way) and I think Shaun liked it too. We went to GBK for lunch beforehand, where H got to do a spot of colouring in while waiting for our burgers.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 26, 2015 at 5:39am PDT

Monday 27th July. I’m taking the train home to Wallington at the moment, having to pick H up from Holiday Club, which she’s enjoying and is with lots of her friends. Spotted this at Waddon. Keeping all options open there.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 27, 2015 at 7:09am PDT

Tuesday 28th July. My new super healthy regime (more to come on that before the month is out) meant I spotted this ad on our local bus stop. NEW MARMITE! Now it may or may not be common knowledge, but I have a Marmite Archive which has different varieties from over the years. Shaun (Vegemite lover) does not understand it, but he doesn’t need to as people who eat Vegemite have not been spoilt like us Marmite lovers.

Wednesday 29th July. A pile of Dictonaries and Thesauruses I ordered in for some mums at school to save on shipping – to be handed out this weekend. I like to keep busy!

Thursday 30th July. The sky looked great tonight.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 30, 2015 at 12:43pm PDT

Friday 31st July. We’re team Frozen – H’s goodies arrived today. She’s been doing some of the activities on the cards and seems really motivated by it which is good! You can sign up here, and it’s to help encourage your child to do 10 minutes of exercise every day – while H is pretty active anyway, this is giving us a bit of variety.

Saturday 1st August – Wember-leeeeeee! Finally made it – it has been just over six years since we last went (when York City were in the League Two play off final and H was six months in my tummy) – she loved it, enjoyed the mexican waves, and only got tired right at the end (so I was kind of glad Notts County didn’t equalise) – but soon perked up when she spotted the playground right next to the stadium – though she was tired and grumpy on the journey home.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Aug 1, 2015 at 6:52am PDT

30/07/201527/07/2017 by jo

H Loves Football – and We Can Play

The FA has launched a new campaign, We Can Play.

We can play is a new campaign from The FA.

When you’re in my vicinity and share living space with me, there isn’t a lot of choice – football is a part of it.

When Shaun first came to the UK we saw York City play – vs Hull City. He adopted Hull of course. We allowed him to change his team just the once, as long as it was Tottenham, which he duly, eventually did.

So, when H was born football was going to be her game. When she was a baby she watched games with me. She had no idea what was going on, but has grown up with it from birth. I was on maternity leave for the 2010 World Cup – talk about good timing! As soon as she could speak, the names Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Harry Redknapp were taught. She even made a Gareth Bale out of Hama Beads. Harry Kane is her hero at the moment, and rightly so.

Once she turned four I took her for lessons with Crystal Palace which started out well but didn’t end as well as I’d hoped. She enjoyed playing, and that was all that mattered to me. But when she stopped enjoying it, tearfully asking if she could stop, we had a break. Her friends had all gone to different clubs and it wasn’t the same.

Introducing H-oddle – Tuesday football time #crystalpalacefoundation

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on May 6, 2014 at 7:53am PDT

All this time I’d been looking out for England Women games to go to, having missed one in Brighton by a matter of hours – so when they got to play at Wembley vs Germany, I booked us tickets – at last! Except on the morning of the game H was sick – properly sick. We couldn’t go as she was too unwell so caught it on television instead.

Fast forward to May of this year, and H had a training session with Casey Stoney, the former England captain – and she got back her love of playing the game. I asked around for clubs to play at, and found our local Carshalton Athletic – who are brilliant. Other girls go, the coach wants to set up a girls’ team, and things are progressing in a really positive way. Girls go free to encourage them to join in – one week we had seven girls; enough for a team!

We’ve gone almost every week and H loves it. Her friends all come along too – all girls. They really fight back at the boys to get the ball and aren’t fazed by it. They’re happy when they score goals and not happy when they lose. They take it all incredibly seriously, and it’s great to see. H plays because she wants to play, not because she has to. It’s different.

Back at Carshalton Athletic now the new all-weather pitch has been laid. Girls still go free #WeCanPlay #carshaltonathletic #kidsfootball

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 25, 2015 at 3:06am PDT

This weekend we’re going to the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley – we bought tickets way back when we spotted the game on the big screens outside the ground (on the way to Wembley Arena for Disney On Ice), catching the last days of Early Bird prices – so that’s £23 for the three of us. Notts County v Chelsea – and we’re going as neutrals as we still haven’t chosen a Women’s team to support.

The Women’s World Cup has made such an impression on H. Of course girls can do it too, but when you’re five you need to see it, and that’s what the World Cup did. The fact we came third and have players H remembers means that she wants to name her new Build a Bear, Fran Kirby! It could have so easily been a Frozen character. Football and Frozen are on the same level for my daughter now.

It makes me sad to see some of the England squad have full time jobs, but I love where it is coming from. It’s people playing football because they want to, not in it for the money, but that’s just what they do. If only the men’s game had more players like Harry Kane. He has a fantastic attitude and is a great role model with no scandals to speak of.

Things are changing with the women’s game. H is part of a new generation of girls who will have it easier playing football, because people like Casey Stoney fought to play games back when she was young.

It’s normal. It’s going to get better. This is why we support the #WeCanPlay FA Campaign. You can sign up to receive a newsletter and there’s also a handy link to find your local club.

30/07/201529/07/2015 by jo

A Healthy Me – July

Hurrah! Things are changing. I seem to have a new-found energy and am bounding into everything, although it has caught up with me a bit this week, resulting in an almost 12 hour sleep on Monday night.

I am losing weight! MyFitnessPal is working (when I remember to do it), and the days I do workouts I’m told I’d be under 15 stone in five weeks. Now, whether I am or not, it’s motivating me and that can only be a good thing.

So… Weight. I’ve lost 3lb! Which is good news. Now 13 stone 6 again, and it’s wobbling between the 6 and the 5, so hopefully the rest will follow soon.

Cholesterol spots. Visited the optician for an eye check, she checked the back of my eyes as far as diabetes issues go, and it all came back good. She mentioned the spots, and I didn’t realise, but you can get a cholesterol test done at the chemist now, so I’m going to get mine checked again when I find somewhere locally.

Exercise. Here’s where it all goes a bit bonkers. I didn’t realise all the classes in the gym are free (I assumed you paid), I have a gym buddy or two, and have been doing my Wednesday Workouts, Tuesday Pilates, Friday Pilates and as of this week, Legs, Bums and Tums Mondays. It’s still early days, but it makes such a difference to have someone to go with, even if we’re just pulling faces at the back as it’s SO hard. My abs are thanking me too by aching constantly. I was sent a Foam Roller (affiliate link) to review on Amazon a few weeks ago which I’m also incorporating into my routine at home – mainly to help while planking as I find that really tough. My upper arms and wrists are not strong (as witnessed at last months Pole Fitness class). I’ve got my Powerball Techno (affiliate link) out again which helps take the RSI pain away – I’ve had it for a few years now and swear by it.

Food. Much better, occasional biscuit (singular), no chocolate around period time like I can do, and generally a much better diet. Of course, using MyFitnessPal and logging all exercise (including walking) means I can earn an occasional biscuit so I don’t have a guilt trip about it. I think my Spiralizer-a-like is already not working properly, but I’m not sure if it’s the vegetables, so will give it another go… serves me right for not buying the real thing. Maybe. My meals every day for work are Sainsburys ‘Be Good to Yourself’ egg and cress sandwiches, and a pack of Quavers (from a multipack), as they’re low calorie – this means I’m spending £1.25 on my lunch every day rather than meal deals, which makes a LOT more sense.

So yes, there’s July. Bring it on, August!

29/07/2015 by jo

The Amazing Human Body Detectives by Maggi Li

The Amazing Human Body Detectives is a new book by Maggi Li, the Art Director of the fabulous Okido magazine. We reviewed some of Maggie’s books before, as well as being Okido subscribers, so were delighted to be sent a copy to review.

The Amazing Human Body Detectives is the latest Maggi Li book from Pavilion, and is targeted at children aged 5-8, encouraging them to learn more about the human body.

In H’s case, this has become essential bedtime reading, and she’s telling me facts she has picked up from the book, which says to me she’s enjoying learning from – which is half the battle.

I know that as H is going into Year 2, they’ll be doing a lot more learning about the body, and labelling parts – this book couldn’t have come at a better time. Like Maggie Li’s last book, there is a detachable part on the cover which helps enhance the book, with additional facts. This time it’s a magnifying glass, and you’re able to remove it from the cover (keep the sticky tape to fasten it back, it doesn’t tear the cover). Each page is dedicated to an area of the body, and is packed full of facts.

My particular favourite was the section on bogies. I made H sit and read it, and then asked her lots of questions about what bogies consist of. Once I knew she was listening properly, I asked whether she’ll still be picking her nose… not any more, apparently!

H really enjoyed getting the magnifying glass out and reading the facts. I love the illustrations – we’ve been subscribers to Okido for nearly two years now, and I love their clear, simple illustrations – these books follow the same pattern, and have the same feel. Your child is going to learn by reading this book, and it’s fun (which is what learning should be about). We love it!

The Amazing Human Body Detectives by Maggi Li is available now, and has a RRP of £9.99.

We were sent The Amazing Human Body Detectives by Maggi Li for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own.

27/07/201526/07/2015 by jo

Join Dora and Friends for a Sing-a-Long Summer

H grew up with Dora the Explorer, and now enjoys watching Dora and Friends on Nick Jr. Read on to find out about some exciting things happening this summer!

Dora and Friends have a new range of toys available now at Smyths Toy Superstores. We were sent a selection of Dora and Friends toys, and H is getting a lot of play from them. The Dora Smartphone (rrp £9.99) looks just like Dora’s from the tv show. You can press the screen and receive calls and voicemails from Dora and Friends, as well as pretending to take photos of friends, and use the Map App!

We received two kinds of charm bracelets – the Dora Magic Adventure Charm (rrp £7.99) and Magic Charms Bracelet (rrp £9.99), both of which have easily removable Dora-related charms (backpack, Perrito, a camera). You also get a small Dora figure in the Adventure Charms pack. The Magic Charms Bracelet has Dora and Friends (Alana, Kate, Emma and Naiya) on there, with extra sections where charms can be added. You also get two additional bracelets to add charms.

But how to collect the extra charms? We received a Dora and Kate doll (rrp £10.99 each), and both come with a mysterious charm which can be added to the bracelets. Both dolls are dressed in an outfit inspired by Dora and Friends, and has soft hair and poseable arms and legs.

Sing-A-Long Dora Tour

Across several Smyths Toys stores in the UK there’s going to be a Dora Sing-a-Long tour – which will feature a booth, where you can sing to your favourite Dora song. Look out for some booths in shopping centres too – you can also have the chance to meet the character in some stores and have your photo taken – please see the dates below.

Smyths Toys

Waterfields Retail Park, Watford (Dora Costume Character) – 27^th July
Westwood Cross Shopping Park, Thanet – 28^th July
St. David’s Retail Park, Swansea – 29^th July
Crown retail park, Leeds (Dora Costume Character) – 31^st July
Clifton Moor Retail Park, York (Costume Character) – 3^rd August
Ravenhead Retail park, St.Helens – 5^th August
Halls Mill Retail Park, Bury – 6^th August
Middle Engine Lane, Wallsend – 10^th August
Glasgow fort shopping park, Glasgow (Costume Character) – 12^th August
Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen (Costume Character) – 14^th August

Sky stands

Centre MK, Milton Keynes – 25^th– 26^th July
White Rose, Leeds – 1^st– 2^ndAugust
Intu Eldon Square, Newcastle – 8^th– 9^th August
Bon Accord, Aberdeen – 15^th– 16^th August

Tune in to Nick Jr’s Sing-A-Long Summer every day from 10am-1pm to sing the songs from the shows, which feature words along the bottom of the screen. I may have caught H singing along to Wallykazam on more than one occasion…!

Competition

If you can’t make it to any of these appearances, never fear. There’s a competition online where you can submit your own song which runs from July 27th to August 16th. All you have to do is upload your child singing a Dora song, over at Nick Jr or at their Facebook page.

We have been sent a box of Dora toys for the purpose of this campaign.

26/07/201501/01/2019 by jo

Inside Out – Movie Review

We bought tickets today for Inside Out, the new Disney-Pixar film which was released in the UK this Friday just gone.

Inside Out is about the emotions inside 11 year old Riley’s head – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger who live in Headquarters. Riley’s parents move from their happy home in Minnesota to San Francisco. Where she once thought positive things, the more negative emotions take over – and when sadness keeps touching happy memories, Joy becomes concerned, which leads to both Joy and Sadness being sucked out of Headquarters and into Riley’s long-term memories.

They need to make their way back to Headquarters, but it isn’t straightforward. In the meantime, Fear, Anger and Disgust control Riley which doesn’t go so well either.

Are there any scary bits?

While this is graded U there are parts which could be classed as mild peril – a giant clown appears (worth mentioning as some kids have a fear of clowns), but overall it isn’t scary. If you have a fear of broccoli, however…

Are there any sad bits?

Yes! I sat there with tears streaming down my face, though for H she seemed more accepting of it. It’s along the lines of a character who sacrifices themself.

Are there any funny bits?

Loads. Plenty for adults too – and for fans of The U.S. Office you’ve got Phyllis voicing Sadness (so perfect), Mindy Kaling (Kelly) voicing Disgust, and Rashida Jones makes an appearance as the Cool Girl’s emotions. It works on both levels so well, heartwarming, funny and sad.

It goes without saying there’ll be merch opportunities everywhere for these characters, which are in the Disney Store right now. The end leaves it open for Inside Out 2, though nothing has been confirmed (to be fair, it has only just come out and it sounds like Pixar aren’t in a hurry). I recommend going to see it – some younger kids may need parts explaining to them, but overall we found it easy to follow, H was laughing out loud so many times, and I had a good old weep at least three or four times (I’m a softy).

Watch one of the trailers here

25/07/201526/07/2015 by jo

Project 365 – Week 30

Sunday 19th July. Today I messed up. I want to take H to a game of football before we go to Wembley, so decided on a friendly that Crystal Palace ladies were playing. We turned up at Bromley’s ground, only to find we were two hours too late – it was a 1pm kick off. So we kept on driving, making the most of our English Heritage membership, driving to Eltham Palace instead. The day was saved, but no football.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 19, 2015 at 9:13am PDT

Monday 20th July. H’s last day of school for the year. One of my late days at work, though I realised I was on holiday club hours, so made it to the childminders’ place for 3pm, a bit earlier than we expected. So good for it all to be over, even if H has several weeks of holiday club for the holidays. School’s out!

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 20, 2015 at 7:56am PDT

Tuesday 21st July. H’s birthday present sorted. Ordered from Sports Direct on Sunday, arrived Tuesday. Now hidden away for another month.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 21, 2015 at 7:06am PDT

Wednesday 22nd July. Did our second video for the Collins Picture Atlas review. It went much more smoothly, as in, H spoke well whereas I waffled on and made myself sound foolish. But I think a bit of perspective is in order. It was only a few years ago we all realised Mexico was part of North America. I’ve said that at work we need an atlas with each continent and country correctly defined. So this atlas would be pretty handy in that respect. But I didn’t want to actually *say* that. So I just said something else badly. Here’s H reading it.

Thursday 23rd July. We went to the pub after work to hand over the cushion we’d crocheted. I can’t crochet so didn’t join in, but was there in spirit. I think the pub loved it – it was our little tribute to Andy, the bar manager who died recently from Sepsis. He was so supportive of our little group – even if he kept forgetting to book our meetings in the diary 🙂 I’ll miss having my indie music chats with him. H and J from next door walked back home nicely together afterwards.

Friday 24th July. Wet. Not helped by standing on a wobbly paving stone at Sutton Station and this happening.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 24, 2015 at 7:00am PDT

Saturday 25th July. A busy day. We started with H’s football class, my eye test and new glasses, going lavender picking at the local harvest, then back to Carshalton Athletic to watch a friendly. We FINALLY got to a game. Attendance 102 and H loved it – and was focused on the game for quite a bit of the time which was great and sets my mind at ease for next weekend at Wembley. Phew.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on Jul 25, 2015 at 7:33am PDT

24/07/201524/07/2015 by jo

Nothing But, lots of low calorie snacks!

Nothing But are a new range of snacks, with freeze-dried fruit and vegetables. We were sent a selection to try.

Nothing But are a new range of snacks to me but sound ideal (and very low calorie). Being someone who often sits at my desk wanting to eat (rather than needing to eat), reviewing these sounded a good plan. So I enthusiastically accepted their very kind offer!

A day later my samples arrived – packets of Pea & Sweetcorn, Mange Tout & Red Pepper, Strawberry and Banana and Apple & Fig. They didn’t have stock of the Pineapple & Grape but I’m on the lookout for a packet.

So what exactly are Nothing But snacks? They’re freeze-dried fruits and vegetables with nothing added, just the water taken away. They’re very low-calorie – and they’re healthy – counting towards your five a day (at just one portion). They’re small enough to fit in your bag, but the biggie for me, how do they taste?

I’m a vegetable kind of girl, so started with Mange Tout & Red Pepper (26 calories per pack). They’re interesting – the mange tout had a strange texture having been freeze-dried, of the two I definitely preferred the red pepper. They were kind of crunchy, without leaving crumbs – tasty too!

Apple & Fig (45 calories per pack) were my second choice – as I do like a lot of dried fruit, so would freeze-dried work too? Actually, these were delicious! I wanted more in the pack, and was scrabbling for crumbs when they finished – really tasty and the two flavours work well together. I have bought freeze-dried apple in the past, and this was exactly as you’d expect – there isn’t much that changes!

Strawberry & Banana (34 calories per pack) were next. I’ll often buy dried banana in snacks, and have tried dried strawberries too, so I thought I knew what to expect, but again, delicious! The freeze drying made the fruit feel a little more crumbly – definitely one I’d buy again, and possibly even as an alternative to dried bananas.

Finally, I saved what I thought would be the best until last; Pea & Sweetcorn (76 calories per pack). It did not disappoint. Dried peas and dried sweetcorn – and of the four varieties I tried, you get the most in these packs. OH they were good. The sweetcorn wasn’t too dry either, as I wasn’t sure whether they might end up that way – so was pleased with that. The peas were as you’d expect, and having peas and sweetcorn together is the kind of thing you’d never go wrong with.

So my overall view? I would definitely buy these Nothing But snacks again. Pea & Sweetcorn for the quantity you get, and Strawberry & Banana as a healthier alternative to what’s on offer in other places.

With my current trying-to-be-healthy regime, the Nothing But snacks fit in perfectly – with each bag being low-calorie.

Their website is over here. You can find the snacks for sale at Holland & Barrett, and their website has more information – http://www.nothingbutsnack.com/ – as well as a handy snack finder to see if you have a local stockist.

I was sent a selection of the Nothing But snacks for the purpose of review, all opinions are my own.

22/07/201522/07/2015 by jo

Collins Big Cat Reading Lions Books

Recently we were sent a selection of Collins Big Cat Reading Lions books. I requested Stage 5, which is aimed at 7-8 year olds. This is the independent reading at home level, which H has been for a long time. She’s also a free reader at school, and I know this is a suitable reading level for her.

The biggest issue for me was making sure the books aren’t too grown up – she is still only five. Luckily our school has a mixture of books, from Rigby Star, Oxford Reading Tree and Collins Big Cat – so we were already familiar with the range, and they were ones I preferred of the three, especially for facts. As it is, the books are absolutely perfect for H, and she read them all in an evening – and answered questions about them all when asked too.

I like that it includes Great Expectations. I can’t help wishing some of the books I had to read when I was older had been put into simpler forms then to read the fuller versions later on may have helped my understanding a little better – so was really encouraged to see this included, as I know it will help H.

We’ve done a video review. Sorry about the shade covering half of her face!

We were also sent the Collins Picture Atlas, which is lovely, bright and colourful and breaks down each continent onto several pages, with facts and pictures. With H being half Australian learning about the world is something she’s really interested in. Oh, and she hasn’t really seen millions of kangaroo’s (maybe hundreds?) here’s our video review!

The Collins Big Cat Level 5 books are targeted at Year 4 (age 7-8) and are a six book set, with three fiction books and three factual ones. There is more information on their website over here. They have a rrp of £24.00

The Collins Picture Atlas (affiliate link) is available to buy now – and hopefully you can see a few of the pages on our video, and how lovely and colourful it is. It currently retails at Amazon for £8.99.

In summary, I found both books to be ideal for H. She might only be five, but has the reading ability for the Big Cat books. The Atlas is definitely right for her age range, and had plenty on it which she enjoyed learning about. I highly recommend both!

We were sent all the books for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

19/07/2015 by jo

Eltham Palace

We lived in New Cross for years, and travelled through Eltham many times, but never went to Eltham Palace. Shaun has English Heritage membership for the family via his work, so we got to visit today – and what a glorious day!

Eltham Palace sounds very out of place. Eltham isn’t the kind of place you’d imagine a palace (sorry Eltham residents, I can only go on the few times I’ve been there) but it’s hidden away and has an interesting quirkiness to it. The house has been restored back to the 1930’s, when the Courthald’s lived there- Stephen and Ginny. You can wander around several rooms and get a feel of the place – and indeed, one room, the map room has recently restored maps which would have been used by them to plot their travels.

Eltham Palace has a much longer older history which is touched upon, but most of what’s on offer dates back to the 1930s, and two parts which H loved the most. Both involve dressing up – of course.

The main hall has the more regal costumes (and the court jester hat) – H enjoyed trying them on, though some people laughed at how cute she looked which made her feel a bit conscious of herself. Although on saying that, once she wore her princess gear she happily paraded around!

In the basement there’s much more dedicated to the war – as this was the area the family would shelter, as Eltham suffered badly when London was bombed. Down there are many uniforms and hats to try, as well as the original billiards table you could probably have a go on – it’s all set up!

H finds information about the war interesting, and indeed has decided history is her favourite subject at school so this appealed a lot. We probably spent the longest in the basement, though a lot could be to do with dressing up!

Eltham Palace has a little map for over 3’s, where you spot things in each room (usually an animal) and get a stamp, with a letter on each stamp, to work out a clue. H cracked the code pretty easily and got two chocolate gold coins and a sticker which pleased her a lot! It’s free, and definitely worth doing to keep your child interested.

Eltham Palace outdoors

The gardens are good for a wander around and sit down too – on a Sunday at the moment there’s jazz on until 4pm too – so it was quite busy as we got there, but glorious weather.

As well as Eltham Palace and Gardens, the area you park your car, where the shops and cafe are, also has a fabulous play area. H spent a lot of time there trying to master the climbing rails there – and coming out with blisters. Whoops! The nice lady in the restaurant gave us a couple of plasters as she was quite upset. But she had a brilliant time – I think she was so fixated on being able to do it she worked through the pain until it blistered! At least it shows she’s determined!

Eltham Palace play area What I liked the best about Eltham Palace, is that it stays open until 6pm on a Sunday. Proper non-Sunday-like opening hours – and on a day like today it was just right – wandering around and having a fun time. I’d highly recommend a visit to Eltham Palace if you’re in the area anyway.

The English Heritage site is here. Eltham Palace reopened in April 2015 with five new rooms to explore. We had a brilliant time!

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