12 Things i would rather do then be watching UEFA euro football !

I am not a football fan , i come from a long line of none football fans so when the euro rolls around i can't help it. I really dislike the game ( don't get me wrong i don't mind playing football in the park on a weekend or small teams for fun )

Im talking about the big boys the players that get paid mega bucks did you know that Lionel Messi earns an eyewatering £336,000 a week!! thats £2,000 and hour £33 a minute, He is the same age as me and his earnings are well... shocking but this isn't a post about footballers wages its about things i would rather do then watch 90 mintues of the euro football

take a look at this website to find out other footballers wages

1- take a nap ( 90 minutes is the perfect nap length )
2 - have a bath with 90 minutes id have time to wash my hair & shave my legs! bliss
3 - go to the park with Bodhi and play football together
4 - defrost my freezer
5 - go food shopping
6 - hoover my stairs ( this is my most hated house work job )
7 - weed the garden
8 - write a blog post / film a video
9 - read a book , like a real book with pages!
10 - waste 90 minutes on social media
11 - put together IKEA flatpack
12 - poke my eyes out with spoons!

will you be watching the football this month?

Lullaby Baby - nursery rhymes 123 - album review

Who doesn't love music ? we listen to a really wide range of music in our house and four year old Bodhi loves music , he is always dancing around to the radio or singing along to CD's in the car.

We was very kindly send two album for review by Nursery Rhymes123 we was send one album with 11 nursery rhymes on including classic children hits such as The wheels on the bus and Incy windy spider i kept this CD in my car and we both enjoyed singing along and they are sung really well and the songs are kept pretty short. Bodhi's favourite had to be Row row your boat and hickory hickory dock.

Nursery Rhymes 123 began in 2010 as a collaboration between BAFTA award winning director and father of two Dan Smith, and UK based singer songwriter Martha Bean. Having been frustrated with the lack of good quality Nursery Rhymes available on YouTube, they both wanted to create some beautiful music ( with animations ) that parents could bear to listening to on repeat.

I think they have done a great job as some of the rubbish Bodhi watches on Youtube is pretty shocking and most of the signing is in a really odd Indian accent or really cheesy America one.

The next is lullaby Baby this has 21 beautiful lullabies to help your little ones to sleep, This has been put to the test with now the lighter night and the muggy heat 9 times out of 10 Bodhi is asleep by around track 6/7 its a lovely calm mix of songs perfect for babies and children to help them relax at bed time.

To accompany the release of Lullaby Baby, you can watch you are my sunshine on the NurseryRhyme123 youtube channel. the track has been brought to life by animation expert Anne Wilkins.

The album is available to purchase on iTunes for £7.99 or you can also listen to the album on Spotify. It's available on all other download & streaming sites including Amazon, Google Play and apple music.

In my view £7.99 is a really fair price for what you get the album also has 12 instrumental tracks and if it helps a fussy baby/child is sleep or even to relax if stressed or angry ( we have used the lullaby album a few times when Bodhi is having time out ) then it is worth every penny!!

Please check them on out on youtube or visit them online

Ikea Stress

I love buying things second hand for many reasons, the biggest is the saving money, so when i saw on a local Facebook selling page the same Ikea bed id been lusting over for Bodhi for a bargain £20 i knew i had to have it !! only problem was the seller was moving house at the end of the week and Chris couldn't go get it before then ( no way i could have fitted it all in my little car ) so i asked if i could pay another £10 for them to bring it over and yesterday afternoon it arrived , 

Well this is when the stress started ! The photo below is from the Ikea website of the bed they stock... BUT they used to also stock the same bed with blue or pink ( the bed we have got is the blue model ) so i was thinking i was being smart by downloading the instructions for the white bed thinking they would be the same ( i was very very wrong ) it seems that our blue bed is Ikea bed 1.0 and said white bed in photo is Ikea bed 1.1 so yeah.... it was a little bit like trying to cook a recipe by only using the photos as the instructions are in a different language ! 

With a lot of help from my mum, dad , husband ( and Bodhi ) we got the bed made in a little over three hours! Bodhi is so please with his big boy bed and it is pretty big !! it takes up nearly all of the box room , So it looks like the change over of bed rooms will be bumped up the to do list. 

The bed new from Ikea would have costs 

£130 for the bed frame ( KURA reversible )

£12.50 for the bed tent 

£35 delivery or who knows how much if we had driven to pick it up (can't go into Ikea for just one thing knowing me i'd have spent over £30 on candles and meatballs )

plus for the mattress ( we got the mattress within the £30 over all cost ) 

So over all buying second hand we saved over £150 this saved money will be put towards the new carpet for the boys room, so yes it was a huge pain in the bum and without my families help I'd still be making the sodding thing but it is done now and Bodhi is over the moon to have it so its worth the stress in the end! 

#ToddlerApprovedTuesday ( simple sand play )

Sometimes the best play ideas are they most simple ! now the weather is starting to play ball and we have some lovely sunny afternoons. All i did was to dump some of Bodhi's play sand ( you can get bags of this play sand from pretty much every shop going even pound land sells small bags ! ) onto his tuff spot tray, I added a few rocks from the garden and also some rose petals, I places his big trucks on top of the sand to start his imagination going.

Once Bodhi was home from morning nurseery the weather had really picked up so was a perfect time to go and play with the sand, i sat with Bodhi ( who is 4 1/2 ) and we played all sorts of pretend games, we played builders / dinoursars with rock eggs / castles and monsters / digging for treasures

                                       

                       

Linking up with  #ToddlerApprovedTuesday some times its just best to keep things simple , less is more as they say! Body has really enjoyed this no set up sand play afternoon in this tuff spot tray.

kiddylicious New Crunchy range

When Kiddylicious asked if Bodhi would like to try out the new crunchy range i knew he definitely would, we was both very pleased when a box arrived filled with goodies not only the new crunchy grapes and crunchy peas & sweetcorn but also bags of fruit wriggles and smoothie melts for him to try.

Bodhi has had the fruit wriggles in the past and always enjoyed them , they are a low sugar snack/treat isn't something i would let Bodhi have everyday but they are great for keeping in your handbag/change bag for an out and about snack , they are also pretty much messy free so perfect for travel snacks. We took some on holiday with us last summer.

Bodhi was very keen to try the smoothie melts as he loves smoothie drinks, these little flat shapes melt on your tongue and they are very tasty ( yes i did try them! ) again perfect size bag for a little on the go snack.

Lastly Bodhi tried the new crunchy range, wasn't a hit for him, They are very crunchy and taste like the fruit and veg but i just don't think Bodhi liked the texture. Always good to try new things tho and i am sure others will really enjoy them.

I have stocked up on the smoothie melts as Bodhi will often ask for them when offered a snack, They range from 50/60p per bag but are often on muilt deals in super markets

Thank you to Kiddylicious for sending us these snacks to try 2/3 thumbs up from Bodhi

Winter meals into summer meals

In our house the family favourite meal has got to be pie ( steak or chicken ) we all just love it, clean plates all round, but when the heat starts to pick up the thought of sitting down to eat a steaming hot pie isn't my ideal summer dinner.

simple things like adding a side salad rather then veg or swapping your roast potatoes for maybe a jacket or a new potatoes salad with fresh herbs and mayo and the best thing of all ? eat your dinner out in the garden ( pure bliss )

One of our most loved pies is the wild Beaver pie from Brockleby's Pies these can be ordered online via the website but Chris loves to visit county fairs and Brockleby's are often at our local ones ( Bedfordshire area )



these pies are amazing they are so full of meat its unreal they have a wide range of filling from the normal chicken to more unusual fillings such as venison i am keen to try one of the sweet pies either apple pie or apple & blackberry pie

what is your family's favourite meal? is it more of a winter or summer meal? id love to know in the comments.

Half term ideas

I'm pretty new to this half term lark, Bodhi only spends half the day at school in nursery the idea of spending the whole week together is at first a lovely one that soon turns into fear.... Bodhi is four and half and very active and always wanting to play/learn/make and do ! This is normally filled in his three hours while at school. So last night I came up with a few idea of things we could do together that one won't brake the bank and that also mean we spend some time together. ( also the weather is shocking this week so that's really rubbish as I had planed a week of playing in the garden ! )

Build a bed cave/den - this we have done this morning , we have had breakfast and read books under the covers of my bed
Play Lego/playdoh/etc - play like this is great for popping in and out so you can still do the house work and have a hot cuppa and play eith your child
Arts & craft - use what you already have in at home to save a few ££ make art work for local family then go visit them with said art work
Baking - again just have a look at what you have in and get making ( can always look on Pinterest for help )
Netflix / DVD - great way to get some cuddles and I have sometimes even grabbed a little power nap while the boy watches toy story 3 for the 1000 time
Library - most will having events/story telling on within the holidays best to check out and find out what's on
Leisure centers / soft play - great when the weather is rubbish but may be very busy with every other child from your area
Shopping - it's a weekly thing that we all need to do , if you are taking your child with you make it fun for them or you will both get stressed, shopping lists , I spy, etc and if all else fails a bribe of a treat at the end of the shop always works for me !!
Poundshop - give your child a few ££ and let them pick a few items I really do love the poundshop can pick up a new book , DVD , toy and a snack for under a £5 ! They have lots of garden play items in stock now always if the weather improves.


If the weather improves then get out and about while it's nice !! Trips to the park on scotter/bike walk in the woods just getting some fresh air will feel great after a few wet house days, pack a picnic and make a day of it.

Meeting up with friends is also a good idea, either having a play date or meeting up at a local farm or play place. Mums can have a grown up chat while the kids run wild.

What ever you do over half term , take a deep breathe and remember they will soon be back to school !!