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 )