smart-doh review

*** sorry i keep calling it play - doh !! *** this is so much softer and nicer to play and shape with the PD !

Once you’ve gone Smart, You’ll never go back!

A super‐squidgy, fun, therapeutic dough that teaches children through play and helps to unleash their inner creativity and imagination. Watch them mould, pummel and knead the soft, silky dough into a variety of different masterpieces, while working their little hand muscles to improve their fine motor skills, coordination and concentrating ability.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/smartdoh

https://www.instagram.com/smart_doh/

https://www.facebook.com/smartdohltd

we was very kindly sent this gift by the maker of smart-doh and i will be placing an order for more soon no doubt, the colours , smells and textures are amazing! I've made my own doh in the past but its always been a little bit naff! the huge range of colours and smells i want to get them all ! i am full of cold this week but even i could smell the mint doh its lush! Bodhi and i spent most of this afternoon playing and shaping with the cutters/roller and play mat we was also sent along with the x3 tubs of doh.

Smart Doh contains natural oils that are absorbed through the skin and moisturize whilst being handled. My play dough range is extensive and includes a wonderful smelling collection of dough infused with organic certified pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils.
Smart Doh provides a reassurance to concerned and caring parents knowing what their child is playing with is all natural and chemical free unlike the play dough available on the market which contains kerosene and boraxParents are now more concerned than ever before about what comes into contact with their child’s skin. I want to make chemical free play dough widely available and aim to provide assurance that the dough is suitable to handle for strict vegans, vegetarians and peace of mind so parents need not worry about their children handling or touching food after playing with this dough.Smart Doh is 100% non‐toxic and fully complies with EN71 safety legislation. Suitable for ages 3 and up, it is available in fun, assorted colours.



Please go and check these guys out they are just starting out and who doesn't love a tub of lovely soft smart - doh !

Prices start from just £2.50 for a tub and you can also buy cutters/rollers and play matts all from http://smartdoh.com

no rest for the wicked ( man flu v mum flu )

So i am sick, 'man flu' well 'mum flu' ( whats the differences? man flu you rest in bed and you get taken care of, mum flu you still feel like crap but have to just get on with it )

Saturday - Took Bodhi to a birthday party in a hall with a bouncy castle , i had a really bad headache and felt pretty rough but thought getting out would do me some good, come the afternoon i told hubby that i was going for a lay down as my body needed to rest

Sunday - I was at work 8-5 and i struggled , but i did it i came home and wanted to DIE! but i didn't

Monday - Bodhi went to school and i went back to bed, my parents picked him up after school and took him for the afternoon and made us dinner so that was lovely!

Tuesday - again Bodhi went to school and i went back to bed, had a very lazy afternoon and then i went to work

Wednesday - ( today) i had a rubbish nights sleep, still full of snot/headache/earache and just feeling yuck. was feeling another relaxed morning but NO Bodhi came in at 6:30 saying he was also poorly and like a mug i believed him.... ( he even talked me into to letting him have breakfast in bed! )

its now 11:30 am and I'm done in, on the count down for bed and yeah, waiting for the asda man to come and bring food and treats. so yeah point of this post? ( isn't really much of one but i haven't uploaded in nearly a week and i don't like that ) i have lots of things that need finishing and filming but I'm so snotty & my voice is horrid so that's not going to happen , so my 'tips' for how to cope with you being poorly while looking after a child.

1 - if you can ask for help ! partner / parents / friends / anyone! you need to look after yourself and last thing you want to do is to pass on your germs to your child.

2 - ipad/netflix Bodhi doesn't get much screen time so if i offer him the iPad while we are in bed he will watch for a good hour or so , in that time nap/shower/puke what ever you need to do.

3 - leave the house work. it really doesn't matter! do what needs doing like plates to eat from and clean pants , but don't push yourself.

4- sleep and lots of it I've been going to bed once Bodhi does at 7pm its lovely it really is.

5 - if you have one have a look in your birthday box for any thing that will keep your child happy ( and you ) such as puzzles/new books/new DVDs

6 - play 'doctors' with your child you be the doctor 1st and explain that your child must 'rest and be nice and quite ' then when its your turn they 'should' copy and tell you that you need to rest and lay on the sofa!

i am praying that my head will stop feeling like cotton wool soon and Bodhi will be back to school tomorrow

Diy photo frames, Bedroom facelift

Is your bedroom in need of a little face lift? mine was! after we painted and wallpapered one wall back in January but i felt like the painted walls needed something more.. after putting up a few frames with photos in i remembered i had x2 old canvas frames , I popped to B&M and headed for the wall paper section , Our bedroom is in a woodland theme with browns and greens, when i spotted the sliver birch printed paper i knew it was what i wanted. I took a few small samples for my project and soon got to work

Laying the paper print side down simply over the lay the wooden frame ( these can be picked up in pound land and other shops for low cost ) you don't need to take the canvas off i had already done this on my as i no longer liked that i had panted on them. 

Once in place you will need a stapler to hold the wallpaper in place into the wooden frame, Don't go mad with staples tho as its only paper and will hold with just a few, make sure you pull the sides tight to not get a flappy finish.

When finish you can hang your new works of art on your walls, I am so pleased with the out come of these frames and i now feel that our bedroom is 100% finished I have had lots of compliments on the frames and i will definitely be making some for Bodhis bedroom in the summer. 

Organix , Simple , Tasty , child friendly recipes

When Organix got in touch with me asking if id like some products sent to Bodhi i said yes straight away, From when Bodhi was tiny we have brought their products.

Starting from 4-6 months  ( stage 1 ) with smooth fruit pots and baby rice / porridge. We baby lead with Bodhi so didn't fully go in for the rices and porridge but the little fruit pots are fab! a great way to get your child to taste new and different fruits, they them move onto stage 2 with lumps and so on until we get to the stage Bodhi is now at the 12 months + this range is huge! Full of tasty treats that are not full of sugar and E numbers

This is the range we got sent out in the post and Bodhi was really keen to get tasting right away the gingerbread men were a clear winner in both mine and Bodhi's view, just the right size and full of flavour and no chocolate bean buttons in sight!! Bodhi thought it was great that his biscuits had different farm animals on and requested one of each for snack time during a playdoh afternoon 

Over on the organix website they have pages and pages of fun easy child friendly recipes to make and do at home with your child one of these recipes is these Easter biscuits ( Who wouldn't love them all year round tho right? ) They are super tasty and really easy to make , you can even freeze the mix for another day and top with what ever you like.

I am looking forward to trying out other recipes from the website and spending more time making yummy foods with Bodhi , we will also still be picking up items from the Organix range , They are stocked in all supermarkets and make perfect snacks for lunch boxes, days out , trips to the park and play dates to share with friends.

Paint by numbers

Who would have thought that something as simple as a paint by number kit from good old pound land would give me a chilled out afternoon during the easter holidays , I picked it up on a whim purely down it to being farm related as this is the theme Bodhi is covering this term at nursery school. Body has never done a paint by numbers before but i thought now that he is four and can recognise numbers i thought it would be a nice crafty project.

Bodhi was very keen to get started , He didn't fully understand the idea of only painting the parts with the same number all at the same time ( he is really into making the big old painty mess that then finishes with the black paint covering the LOT ) 

He soon got the hang of it and really enjoyed making his painting match the one on the packaging, the kit came with everything we needed. Paints / brush the paint by number ( on a canvas board ) and even a test sheet printed on paper ( we used this with felt tips after and it went in Bodhi's Easter scrapbook )

I only helped with the sheep feet the rest was all him, I am so proud that he worked all of the numbers and colour matching. I will defiantly be picking up more of these if i can find other designs , Two big thumbs up from us for this Paint by number kit from pound land, It has pride of place hanging in Bodhi's bedroom. Don't be scared to try out new things with your child even if Bodhi had painted the whole thing in green, Who cares?? it was a £1 and i got to drink a cup of tea while it was still hot and reply to some emails without mum guilt. 

Baby Bodhi is starting school in September !

Today is the day that we find out about lower school addmisions, I am SO pleased to say that when my inbox pinged the email stated that Bodhi has been given a place at our first choice school. This is also the school he attends nursery at and we also live in the next street to it, we moved house in 2011 while I was pregnant with Bodhi and one of the things I loved about the house we live in is that it was so close to a lovely little school 

So you could say I've been waiting for this email for over four years ( cause well I have ! ) I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't got the place we wanted ( pleased I don't have to even have to think of that tho ) some people arnt so lucky, in our area last year the schools changed from lower , middle , upper and became junior the to secondary school meaning Bodhi will be spending the next 7 years learning at this school. 

Bodhi started nursery last Easter so by the time he starts school he will have had a year half with in nursery doing only 9-12 he has a solid group of friends and I am starting to become friends with some lovely mums ( and dads ) I am crossing my fingers that they all will also join the boy in September 

My heart is a little sad that my baby boy and my old child will be going to full time school come September.. But on the other hand I know he is ready and I am ready for it he loves nursery and really enjoys learning at the moment his favourite things are letters and writing , I can't wait to start doing home work projects , book reviews the works with him and watch him become a little man. Today is a happy & sad day 

Pigs in mud - #ToddlerApprovedTuesday

With the weather picking up I've been thinking of ideas that Bodhi and i can make and do together, over the easter holidays he was given 'home work' on the theme of on the farm. He has always loved the cornflour play when we used to visit playgroups so i thought why not give it ago to play in the garden.

 For our pigs in mud mixture - mix cornflour and water with a little chocolate milk powder ( or you could add brown poster paint ) and add plastic pigs, for a a great sensory experience.

 I also thought this would be a great simple play idea to share with others so i am linking up with #ToddlerApprovedTuesday

We spend pretty much all day in the garden playing with the "mud" adding grass flowers and other items from the garden, the mud soon turn into a magic potion and in the end was used to water my flowers ( thanks for that Bo )

the trays i have used did the job fine but really only a one time use really but i did get x3 in a pack from pound land , I am due some amazon vouchers in return of some work i am doing within the next month or so , i am thinking of treating Bodhi to a tuff spot tray for only £14,95 i think this is a bargain! and we can think of 100 uses for it ( thanks to pintrest )

A new kitchen #TileMountainFacelift

We have lived in our house for over four year nows and to me it still doesn't feel like a home, one of the main reasons for this is the kitchen! the kitchen should be the heart of the home the place you cook eat and spend time as a family. As it stands my kitchen? its rank! i have no cupboard plints so i am for ever on my hands and knees sweeping up god knows what that finds its way under the cupboards, the walls are wallpapered ( who does that in a kitchen ?? ) and the layout is ALL wrong.

We are planning to make over our kitchen this summer also knocking out under the stairs to make a downstairs toilet ! ( My life long dream of being a home owner ) so when i headed about a blogger competition that title mountain had going i knew i had to try! with the chance to win vouchers for floor or wall tiles. 

Pinterest is one of my closest friends it knows all my wants and needs in life, so it really was my go to place for my ideas. If you don't use pinterest ( you really should ) its like a modern way to mood board and keep a note of all your design ideas and wish list items 

Follow Jess & bodhi's board Kitchen make over on Pinterest.


one of my biggest hates in my kitchen is the floor, A few year ago our bathroom flooded and water came into the kitchen and from that the floor has lifted in places leaving lots of toe subbing and swearing , So i DIY a "temperately" job with some tape and its doing the job for now? i long for the days when i can look down at a beautiful tiled floor ( maybe even with under floor heating ) and enjoy keeping it clean and lovely.

This leads me on to my 1st of many wish list items from tile mountain, Flooring! We are looking to get a simple white kitchen units with wooden worktops and we have both said that a black tile floor would look great and also be hard wearing and long lasting.

This is the lack district modular black floor tiles and i love that you can play around with the layout rather then just squares, I really like how in the photo above that it divides the rooms by the flooring as our kitchen leads out into our large hallway. This floor tile will also be perfect to also use in the toilet room. 

Now I'm the kind of person who loves the use of colour ( i studied fine art at college and Uni ) I love all things bright and bold. My husband on the other hand is more of a beige kind of guy and he has to live in the house swell ( even if i do spend a lot more time in the kitchen then him ) so we have spoken in great length about tile colours 

These are the two we both liked and i am in love with the shapes of both the hammered silver glass pebbles and the hammered Hex Aqua mix i think these could both work really well and i am still keen to use a dark grout with either of these. 

I Can not wait to turn out little house into our forever home! 

Randomise Game Review

from the moment Randomise dropped onto my door Matt i have been itching to play it, the perfect time time over the Easter weekend with my inlaws! we teamed up boy V girls rules are very easy to follow even four year old Bodhi understood the basics of the game, we grabbed paper and pens ( not needed if you are going to play act & describe ) this is a perfect travel game for car/train/plane etc the size of the game is also very compact so can be popped into a bag for ease

the 1st few rounds we all stuck to describing just to get a feel for just how odd some of the outcomes could be " bubbly ant having a sword fight " between the laughing and the miss guesses the points soon started adding up and i felt brave so i gave draw a try. 

I was very disappointed that no one guessed i had drawn a thin moose looking in the mirror!! the mother in law went down a father Christmas route and even with the arrows she just wasn't getting it ! next four year old Bodhi took his turn and he wanted to draw for Daddy and Grandad.

With 45 seconds to spare they guessed that Bodhi was drawing a tall sheep having a bath! he was so pleased, we all really enjoyed playing this game i am looking forward to playing it again with different groups of friends and family, The Randomise Game is £9.99 from  amazon I think this is a fair price as it has endless play and hours of enjoyment to be had. They are very active one social media and a real fun bunch of people! why not pick up a desk of randomise cards for yourself and see if you can do any better then my moose!

 

Simply washing powder review

Simply washing powder ( pure hypoallergenic & sensitive ) 

I was very kindly sent two packs of Simply washing powder to review as a mum washing clothes is a part of every day life, my washing basket is never empty. I also have eczema and so does Bodhi, i was very keen to try both of these products. i have been using the pure hypoallergenic powder for my towels & bed sheets as this is often what flares up my skin when using new products. i was very please to find no flare on myself or Bodhi. Our washing is smelling clean and fresh and very soft. The sensitive powder has become my new everyday replacement washing powder and i doubt i will go back to my old non-bio type gel.

the sachet film is soluble and unit dosed only one is needed per wash ( unless you have some really dirty clothes ) the sachet just needs to be popped into the back of the draw so it gets maximum water exposure.

Simply can be brought from Sainsburys and also Holland and Barrett if you are looking to buy online you can get both Simply pure & Simply Sensitive from amazon they are very well priced per wash and great pack size.

i would defiantly suggest Simply to anyone who has sensitive skin or eczema and also to parents, but they are not just aimed at this group of washers anyone who washes clothes would be making a smart choice to move over to Simply. They are clinically tested and proven to outperform leading brands without the added chemicals that can damage your health and environment. 

Now spring has come i am so pleased to be getting washing out on the line to dry, nothing smells better then fresh clean washing that is safe for mine and my families skin. 

who would have thought i'd be so happy about doing my washing ( and yes that is a empty washing basket in the photo !!! ) 

The cost of Easter? Aldi

FEED YOUR FAMILY FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF AN EGG THIS EASTER

working with Aldi and with my own views it is shocking at just how much we are spending out for bank holiday meals and four day weekends! i spent over £60 on four days worth of food ( sadly not from Aldi as i just didn't have the time to get over to my local store) Aldi managed to feed a family of four for a shocking £15.19 thats £3.80 per head and this included wine, i will often spend £3 on a meal deal for a sandwich , drink & crips! i know what i would rather, this is also cheaper for a meal then a supermarket easter egg that  most people piled trollies high with. 

My plan is to make more time to meal plan and to shop in my local Aldi more often once a week rather then my two/three little shops a week that soon add up to around £6-£80 a week for out food shop. my goal is to bring this budget down to £40 a week ( this is for a family of two adults a very hungry four year old and also feeding a cat & tortoise ) 

This Easter, at Aldi, customers can feed a family of four for a mere £3.80 per head – cheaper than a single luxury Easter egg in most UK supermarkets – and to celebrate, the supermarket has commissioned a life-sized chocolate dining table, complete with a lamb roast dinner and all the trimmings.

 Aldi’s edible and intricately crafted ‘Chocolate Roast’ includes all the components customers would expect to see on a Easter celebration table including a Whole Leg of Fresh British Lamb (£3.79 per kilogram) and Good Housekeeping Institute approved Specially Selected Hot Cross Buns (99p, 4 pack), as well as cutlery and plates.

 Accompanied by fluffy Maris Piper potatoes (£1.89, 2.5kg), garden peas (69p, 907g), fresh carrots (45p, 1kg) and Bramwell’s Mint Sauce (39p, 180g), this mouth-watering table also includes a bottle of Aldi’s Exquisite New Zealand Pinot Noir (£6.99, 75cl) all of which, can be picked up in store, for less than a twenty pound note!

 Tony Baines, Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying at Aldi, said: “At Aldi our everyday low prices reflect customers continued demand for best value, good quality products, particularly around family celebrations such as Easter. 

 "We are proud that for the cost of an egg in other supermarkets, you can feed a family of four with delicious, quality British products, showing once again we are the supermarket that won’t be beaten on quality or price.”

 Master chocolatier, Jen Lindsey-Clark, spent three weeks creating Aldi’s ‘Chocolate Roast’ which has been made from a whopping 50 kilograms of melted Aldi Moser Roth Premium Easter Egg (£2.99, 185/195g).

 Jen said: "Aldi certainly set us a challenge with this very quirky commission. It has been great fun moulding and carving all of the classic Easter roast features. I'd say the trickiest item was the Ashfield Farm British leg of lamb which took 4 days, 4 moulds and 2 kilos of chocolate to complete.

“We’re all really pleased with the final sculpture - it has got to be the ultimate chocoholic's Easter lunch.” 

Earlier this month, Aldi won Good Housekeeping’s price comparison* for the cheapest Easter supermarket shopping basket beating nine other supermarkets including Morrisons, Asda, Lidl and Iceland.

To find out more about the range of products available at Aldi this Easter, visit aldi.co.uk


                         ( This is a collaborative post with Aldi, my views are my own  )

Mum time is important!

So it's Monday, Monday's my husband goes out from 6-9ish so once Bodhi is in bed ( by around 7 ) I have 2 hours to myself. Me time , time that I can do what ever I want ( well within reason as Bodhi is asleep ) what would you do ? What could I do ??? Ideas ..... 

Bubble bath

Watch rubbish on TV

Watch rubbish on Netflix 

Housework

Go to bed mega early

Change hair colour

Pluck eyebrows

Write a blog post

Write lists & ideas for blog posts

Social media 

Pinterest 

Make Phone calls

Eat ice cream

Read

Watch YouTube

Meal plan

Online shopping

Online food shopping

What did I do tonight ? Well I had a bubble bath ( washed hair & shaved my legs !! ) while watching greys anatomy on Netflix on my iPad, then I have painted my toe nails sorted my eyebrows and now I am writing this post and after this my plan is to spend some time looking on Pinterest for kitchen ideas while watching modern family. Then hubby will be home and it will be time for walking dead and we can eat ice cream together !! Bliss 

Do you make time for yourself ? If not you really should even if it's just 10-15 minutes while dinner is cooking I'll sit in the kitchen and catch up with social media and ram a chocolate bar in my gob !!! 

Much love fellow mums!