Bike rides and Shiloutte photos

If there is one thing I have always enjoyed is bike rides.

There is something about the simplistic nature of getting on a bike and just riding off.


I remember when the eldest two got their first bikes and I was so very pleased when they peddled off into the distance with a new sense of freedom, memories of my own childhood and how riding my bike was the greatest thing.

Then last year, when my youngest got a new bike and learnt to ride without stabilisers proudly following his brother and sister.  My heart once again surged with pride. His legs going as fast as possible to keep up.

Over the winter the bikes have not made many appearances, but the other day we got them out, checked them over and have been riding them again. Mikey has loved going on his bike and we've been riding to school each day this week.

Boys and their bikes make the best photos too,  at the weekend when Mikey wanted to go to the park for a ride after tea, after a dull and miserable day, I grabbed my camera and off we went. The late afternoon moody skies were perfect and I just loved the photographs I captured.

School trips and packed lunches

We were asked to trial Flora butter products as a part of a sponsored shop insight study on behalf of Collective Bias Social Fabric community. I decided to swop my normal butter for Flora to pack a healthy lunch for my youngest on his school trip to the science museum. With a busy day out it is essential that children have something healthy to keep them going.

I often struggle with what things to pack into a lunch box, so I had a look over at the Flora website which has some great recipes and ideas  perfect for healthy snacks to go in lunch boxes.

The website has a great selection of sandwich fillings which I hadn't thought of trying before with the children such as Pawn and cucumber or curried chicken and apricot. All these sounds lovely but when out on a school trip I wanted to ensure that we went with something I know Mikey likes.  I decided to pack him up a Tuna Salad sandwich, making it even healthier by using Flora spreads.

Flora spreads are made using a blend of natural seed oils and contain healthy omegas 3 and 6 also boasting that Flora has 70% less Saturated Fat than butter, switching from Butter to Flora means you can make your lunch boxes healthier without your children even noticing. I must admit we are all huge real butter fans but Flora Buttery really does taste as good, so you can have it without the guilt that comes when you use real butter.

After deciding on our fllings and eager to give Flora a try, Me and Mikey headed off to our local Sainsburys which is a smaller than average shop to grab the lunchbox essentials, including Mikey in the shopping always makes him eager to eat everything in his lunchbox.I took lots of photos while we shopped,  you can take a look at them in my Google+ album

I wanted  to ensure Mikey had a healthy lunch and so we brought plenty of salad, tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce, coupled with tinned Tuna and sweetcorn for the filling. Of course the best part  of a packed lunch, according to children, are the snacks to go along side the sandwich. Mikey picked out some Fromage Frais tubes and some flapjack bites along with an apple to finish off his lunch.

If I'd of been more prepared  I would of baked my own flapjack using Floras new Cuisine which has 45% less saturated fat than olive oil, but for now Sainsburys ready made flapjack fit the bill, I will however be giving the flapjack recipe  on Floras Website a try when we are not on a time scale for a school trip.


Mikey was really happy with his lunch box and couldn't wait to go and explorer the science museum this morning.  I was happy that he had plenty of food to ensure he could enjoy the day without hunger getting in the way.

When he returned home this afternoon the lunchbox was empty and Mikey had had a lovely day, he returned home full of stories of the things they had seen.

The Birmingham science museum is a great place for a school trip,  Mikey  favourite part of the day was the play area which he said had a water area and lots of cars to fix. He was also eager to show me the souvenirs he brought home which included a postcard with a picture of an old Electric Tram which they had all seen at the museum.

ThinkTank looks a fantastic day out not just for school trips but as a family too, after Mikey being so excited about all that he saw I have looked at the website and found that lots of the hands on workshops are available to everyone at a reasonable price. It is certainly somewhere I will try to take all of the children too this summer.

If you have a school trip  or a family day out that you need a picnic lunch for coming up and wonder what sandwich fillings to try then do check out the recipe on Floras website and make a sandwich a really satisfying healthy meal choice for everyone in your family.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Family ties that are broken

Today is my Grans birthday, I have written before about my Gran, the wonderful memories I have and the sadness it brings to see her grow older and unable to do the things she once so loved.

The pain in her eyes is ever present and it doesn't help matters that the relationships between my mum and and my uncles is strained to say the least.

Trouble from years gone by pops up and haunts them all. As families go ours is rather broken.

But at the centre of it all is an elderly lady.

A lady who no matter what, has always helped and cared and tried her best.

8 years ago we held a surprise party for my Gran for her 70th Birthday

It was a rare get together which saw half of the family in the same room. Where everyone managed to smile and get along, just for the day. I wrote and printed out a poem for her that day:

The years since have not been kind. A fire destroyed not only my Gran and Grandads possessions but burnt even more bridges between their feuding children. Jealousy, Greed and lack of communications making small problems into huge mountains. The traits I despise most coming out in all those people I am closest too.

This weekend has been a tough one, my Grandad has been unwell and rushed to hospital.

Not only is there now worry about his health, but also the care that is needed for my Gran in his absence.

Every time something is brought up the family ties that should hold people together in a time of need are there strangling anyone who tries to do some good.

Today, my Grans birthday, but no party, the same set of family from 8 years ago once again in the same room but not under such pleasant circumstances.

Tomorrow is another day, and life passes too fast.

If only those that matter most could realise that the thing that ties them all together, are worth so much more than the bitter squabbles and angry words.

Sonic Blasting Iron Man 3 - Review

Iron Man is a hugely successful Marvel super heros character along with the rest of the Avengers and all the super heros are always popular with children and adults alike. With the release of  Iron Man 3 film in cinemas right now it seems Iron Mans popularity won't fade any time soon.

So when we were sent a huge 15 inch Iron man figure to review my boys couldn't wait to have a look.

The box is a good size, and iron man is clearly visible in all his glory.

The figure comes needing a slight bit of assembling - just simply clipping on his two feet, and he requires 3 AA batteries which do not come included.

The similarities to the action figure that children will be familiar with is amazing, and you can see the attention to detail on this figure.  The eyes and centre of chest light up blue and he makes great action firing sounds.

Iron Man comes with enough bullets so that you can afford to loose a couple (and that happens within a few minutes normally!) the firing sonic blasting arm works really well it turns and pops out a bullet every few seconds, the bullets fire a fair distance but are not powerful enough to cause damage to people or breakables so its a safe toy to play with indoors.

This figure is a great toy and one that my boys have picked up a fair few times, and hes been packed up for trips to grannies too which means he is well approved of.  He also makes a great display model, standing steadily by himself he is perfect to display on a shelf, so has appeal to the older super hero fans too.

Priced fairly average for a figure of this size at around £29.99 from all good toy shops, Iron man 3 sonic blasting figure would make a nice present for all the Avenger Super Hero fans.

Silent Sunday

Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Jigsaw

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been popular since the 1980's it has had peaks in its popularity throughout my childhood and now it is popular again.

The fun story of mutant turtles fighting crime is one that appeals to children from all generations, with lots of toys and themed products to match the new release of TV episodes which are currently showing on Nickelodeon. Its easy to see why children love these turtle heros.

We were sent a Ravensburger Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Jigsaw puzzle to have a look at.

This puzzle is aimed at children aged around 8 years old, it has 200 pieces and once complete is approx 36 x 49 cm which is a lovely size.

The picture depicts all four of the turtles along with the baddies including Shredder!

This puzzle is great quality like all Ravensburger jigsaws and it really is a perfect boredom buster for those horrible rainy days.

My 6 year old enjoyed having a good go at completing this puzzle and managed with my help, but the age of 8 is about right if you want them to complete this alone. The pieces are around 2 cm each and there is a large dark area on this puzzle making it slightly harder than some others in the ravensburger range.

If you have a Turtle fan this would be perfect present, something that will be enjoyed and after you have finished you could even glue it and hang it on the wall.

We really loved this puzzle and its one we have redone several times. Why not pop over to Ravensburger Puzzle club to see all the other puzzles being reviewed. And Follow Ravensburger on Twitter to be kept upto date with new releases and competitions.

Silent Sunday