Peppa Pig World & Paulton’s Park

By in Days Out & Holidays, Other Reviews 15 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

On the weekend, we decided to take the kids to Peppa Pig World. We don’t normally go to theme parks without planning in advance and getting our tesco club card rewards ready, but the boys have really got into Peppa Pig lately and we really fancied a family day out so we decided to just go for it! It comes to £98.00 for a family ticket which is quite expensive! This is for 4 people, our youngest was free as he is under 90cm. Booking online would have saved £12 from that so would definitely be the better option, but unfortunately we didn’t plan in advance this time! This admission covers the whole of Paultons Park, not just the Peppa Pig World.

I don’t know whether there is any concession price for children receiving DLA and their carers, as some other theme parks do have. We didn’t ask and the website only mentions that wheelchair & Mobility Scooter dependent guests are admitted free of charge – so whether they do take other disabilities and conditions into account, I am not sure. I would be interested to know, if anyone has asked them let me know in the comments! I am also not sure whether they operate a Qbot system like some of the Merlin Parks but the queues were very short on the day we went, so it really wouldn’t have been needed at all. We did not have to wait more than 5 minutes for any ride.

When we arrived at Paultons, we went straight to Peppa Pig World. The first ride the children chose to go on was the Windy Castle which you can see in the background below. It’s actually a little scarier than it looks, it goes quite high! My 4 year old was a little scared while riding on it, but the little ones were fine. It gives you a good view of the whole Peppa Pig World so it is a good choice to go on this first. All 5 of us were able to sit together in the carriage and there was no restrictions of height or age.peppa pig world

The children also went on the following rides:

Grandpa Pig’s Boat Trip – this is a very gentle and calm ride, not scary at all for any more sensitive little ones. They go round and round in a boat on real water, with a slight up and down motion. Only 4 were allowed in each boat, so we had to split up and have one parent per boat to take all the children. Again there is no restriction on height or age on this ride, just a recommendation that it may not be suitable for under 12 months. All 3 of my children enjoyed this ride.

Grandpa Pig’s Little Train – Again there is only 4 allowed in each carriage, so we had to split up for this ride, and there is no restrictions so all of the children were able to go on this ride and they all enjoyed it. My boys are mad about trains so this was very popular with them. You can see my 3 year old below, excited to go on this train ride!

peppa pig world

Daddy Pig’s Car Ride – Only the 3 and 4 year old went on this ride, with their dad. I never went on it as I was keeping an eye on the little one sleeping in the buggy, but my 4 year old tells me it was one of his favourites!

George’s Dinosaur Adventure – This was the other definite favourite. Again only my 4 and 3 year olds went onto this, the 4 year old riding alone and 3 year old together with Dad. They really enjoyed this one.

There are 2 other rides in Peppa Pig world – Peppa’s Big Balloon Ride and Miss Rabbit’s Helicopter Flight (which you can see here in the background below), which they didn’t chose to go on. There are also loads more in the main Paulton’s Park, including some much more advanced and thrilling rides for the slightly older children. My husband did try to persuade the 4 year old onto the Cobra ride, but he didn’t go for it (which I was glad – I would be so nervous seeing my little boy on such a big ride!)peppa pig world

Some of the other rides that were suitable for my 4 year old in the main park were the Flying Frog, the Astroglide slides, the Raving River and the Wave Runner. There are also plenty more, if you have time.

Back in Peppa Pig World, there are quite a few attractions to see other than just the rides. One of the main favourites with all 3 boys was the George’s SpaceShip Playzone. It is an indoor soft play area. There are loads of slides, and different sections for different age groups (baby, toddler and slightly older). I can imagine this would get packed out if it rains!

The playground in Peppa Pig World is also really nice. It’s very spacious and really well designed. We did this at the end of the day and the children would have been happy to spend much longer in it, if the park was not closing. Because it is so big and spread out, I don’t think it would get too over crowded so is fine for even little ones newly toddling around. Some pics below to show just a little bit of what there is!peppa pig world playgroundpeppa pig world playgroundpeppa pig world playgroundpeppa pig world playgroundpeppa pig world playground

(Excuse the lack of shoes, he threw them out of the buggy half way through the day and we never found them! This child is a nightmare for always chucking his shoes!!)

In Peppa Pig land you can also go inside Peppa Pig’s house (shown below, outside and inside!) – just note there is no buggy or wheelchair access for this.

peppa pig world

peppa pig world

The characters inside the house move and speak.

peppa pig world

You can also see the camper van, but not go in it. Still, the boys enjoyed looking.

Other attractions in the main Paulton’s park, which we had not known about before but enjoyed, were all the animal attractions.

Throughout the park, as you walk around there are various exotic birds you will see – flamingos , cranes, emus and even more. Apparently there is a meerkat section too, which I have now seen on the website but did not spot while we were there.paultons park zoo

There is also a penguin section which is located inside Peppa Pig World and you can see the penguins at their feeding time. There is a ramp which allows access for pushchairs, and there they have windows to see underneath the water so you can see many penguins coming past and diving to eat the fish.

Going through the gardens and the birds section was really peaceful and quiet. I found this brilliant, for my 3 year old. He has ASD and although he really enjoys these type of theme parks, after a little while I felt like it was starting to get a bit much for him and he was starting to melt down a bit. Lucky that I was able to put him back into the buggy and take him to spend some time quietly looking here.

My favourite bird was definitely the Toucan – so beautiful!paultons park toucanpaultons park dinosaur land

Another nice and quiet area in Paultons is the Dinosaur Land. You go through the path and there are so many models of different dinosaur species which you can see, among the real trees and mud. This would be great for any dinosaur enthusiasts, and is quite educational too. My younger two really enjoyed looking and pointing at these dinosaurs. 4 year old was busy on the astro slide, but I know he is scared of dinosaurs so maybe its better he missed out!

At the end of the day, tired out but enjoyed themselves!peppa pig worldpeppa pig world dinosaur

My 3 yr old loving his new mr Dinosaur!

Overall I would say it was a good day. It’s a shame we didn’t plan and get the slightly cheaper tickets as I’m not sure its the best value at the full price but there is lots to do and the children definitely enjoyed it. The next day my 4 year old came home with a note he had written in school: “Mum, I like you. Can we go to peppa pig land again one day” So I’m sure we will be back – after all how can I say no to that? 🙂

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Choc Soreen!

By in Food, Other Reviews 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

I was really happy to be chosen by Mum Panel to help out in their campaign to spread the word for Soreen’s 75 birthday! I loved Soreen Malt Loaf as a child, and have to admit I still do, so was quite intrigued at the sound of their new limited edition item – Chocolate Soreen!

My boys are very keen on chocolate, so I knew they would be eager to try it out too. It looks just like chocolate cake, so they viewed it as a treat and enjoyed eating it up. It is really squidgy and you can taste the choc chips in it, it has plenty of flavour. Sometimes there might be ideas that you think sound good but when you try it they are disappointing. This is not one of them, it is really nice!

This chocolate malt loaf is limited edition so if you want to give it a try, you better get in quick!

If you are tempted to give it a try there is a fab competition up here with a chance to win one of 75 loaves of choc Soreen. It ends on Wednesday so be quick!! And if you don’t get lucky then don’t worry – you can still pick it up from supermarkets:

Chocolate Loaf is available from the following stores, for just £1 and when it’s gone it’s gone!

  • Asda (in most main stores, about half of all Adsa stores) for 6 weeks,
  • Morrisons from 20th May for 3 weeks
  • Sainsbury’s from 23rd May for 3 weeks

As well as the special chocolate loaves, we were also sent some packs of the lunch box loaves in original and banana flavours. I hadn’t seen these before but they are so convenient! I think I would buy these rather than the full sized loaf in the future, as I’m always trying to get more variety for my boy’s pack lunches and these are really handy to have in, so you could put one in the pack lunch now and again. It will give them plenty of energy! They are a really ideal size, and all individually wrapped. I have a couple of banana lovers, my 3 and 1 year old, so they have really enjoyed the banana flavour, and my 4 year old would definitely go for the chocolate as his favourite.

I have been handing out Soreen to all my friends and family and still have lots more to give out. So far it seems to be going down well! It’s a shame the chocolate loaf is only around for such a short time – but we will just have to enjoy it while we get the chance!

Funky Giraffe – Review and Giveaway

By in Competitions, Other Reviews 73 Comments

Funky Giraffe are a great company, which started out with bibs but have expanded into baby and toddlers clothes too and now have quite a vast range! I was surprised to see how many different items were available when I recently checked their website, so it’s definitely worth having a look. I am going to order a t shirt and play-suit for my youngest to try out, because I’m interested to see if the clothes are as soft as the bibs.

Funky Giraffe really do have the softest bibs I have come across and I have heard other mums say the same! The lining is really fleecy and lovely. You can tell it must be so comfy for a baby or toddler to wear. The first time we tried the bandana bibs I was so impressed, as I had tried other makes before which didn’t have this kind of lining and difference is really noticeable. They are a fantastic quality.

Since then I have got more to give to friends with younger babies and I have even got some waiting for a friend’s baby who is not even born yet! (I like to think ahead 😉 )

My youngest is 20 months now and getting a bit big for the regular bandana bibs, but when I was asked to choose some items from the website to review, I noticed they also have XL bandana bibs. Funky Giraffe were kind enough to send me a choice of three of these for him to try out. I chose the Nautical Blue, the Stripes R Us and the All American Boy. There are loads to choose from but I think these colours coordinate very well with a lot of his clothes.

funky giraffe

The XL bibs are a perfect fit on my little boy and cover a decent area of his top, which helps to keep his clothes nice and dry while he is drinking. Otherwise he has a tendency to end up with his top slightly damp if he drips some of the drink onto himself. The bibs washed very well and I actually tumbled dried too and they were absolutely fine.

Here he is, modelling the XL Bandana Bib in “Stripes R Us”:

Great for keeping him dry when drinking juice

funky giraffe bib

or milk!

funky giraffe bib

And just for posing in and looking stylish!

funky giraffefunky giraffe

Another thing that’s different about Funky Giraffe bibs is that they always have designs available for special occasions. Whether its Christmas, Halloween, Valentines Day, or Mother’s Day – they will always have something to fit for the occasion. So of course with Father’s Day coming up, they couldn’t forget the Dads!

These are the Dad themed designs available and they cost £4 each or can be included in the 5 for £11 offer including free postage and packaging, which works out really reasonable!

funky giraffe fathers day bibfunk giraffe fathers day bib

Now onto the Giveaway!

I’m really happy to have the chance to share this with you. As you can see, I do really recommend this brand of bibs. If you have not tried them before, it’s a great chance to see what is so good about them. Or if like me you have already discovered Funky Giraffe bibs then why not take the chance to expand your babies collection!

Shown below is the section of 2 bibs that are up for grabs for one lucky reader. Enter via the raffle copter just below here:

funky giraffe bib funky giraffe aeroplane bib

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Round up of our #HealthySnackChat

By in Competitions, Food No Comments Tags: , , , , ,

Today we ran our first Twitter party, on the topic of #HealthySnackChat. It went brilliantly and we were so happy to see how many people came. I’m proud to say, we were quickly trending and stayed trending throughout the majority of our party hour which is a great result especially for our first time! Thanks to all of you who came, and to my co-hosts @etspeaksfrom, @redrosemummy and @thebrickcastle.

For those who missed it, there’s no need to worry as the people at Cult Content have done a fantastic summary so you can catch up on some of the useful tips and ideas that were put forward during the chat. Have a look here!

I will definitely be trying out some of the suggestions from the other mums who took part. Freezing bananas sounds like a good one, and I would love to have a go at preparing Bento boxes for the boys.

I’m lucky that two of my boys do eat a lot of fruit and are always happy to try new healthy snacks, but my middle boy is not. He has a pretty limited diet, which is probably due to his ASD and other feeding issues that he has had since being a baby. Although it’s hard for him to try new things, I can’t give up so new ideas are always useful as you never know what may work. Hopefully one day we will get him eating some more new things (and preferably healthy ones!)

There was definitely a lot to think about from our chat, and it’s always interesting to see the different approaches that other mums use.

We also had some brilliant prizes to give away thanks to SA Fruit and Change4Life. Here is the winners list again, in case anyone has missed it:

Winners for the mini prizes are
@charliechinuk
@AttachmentMumma
@lifewithasd
@mymummysworld

Winners for the rucksack are
@cherylp59
@thesoupdragon44

Congratulations to all our winners, and thanks again to all those who helped make our first twitter party a real success!

I hope we will be able to bring you more twitter parties in the future, so keep checking back on the blog (you can subscribe by email on the right hand side if you really don’t want to miss anything! 😉 ) and also on the Facebook page. Keep an eye on the other 3 host blogs too!

Graco Evo Mini in Pictures

By in Competitions, Days Out & Holidays, Other Reviews 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Here’s a collection of pictures of the Graco Evo Mini in action on a few of our days out!

Here is my little tester (2o months), relaxing in the buggy at the funfair. It was quite a rough terrain, bumpy grass and some gravel too but the Graco Evo managed well with it and didn’t become too difficult to push.

graco evo mini

Here he is again, a little more close up.

graco evo mini

A view from above! As you can see the harness is a 5 point harness with padding on the straps. All five pieces become separate when unfastened and you slot the top and side parts together before clicking into place in the centre.

graco evo mini

A view from the side. The hood is folded back here as it was nice weather on that day, so this allows more visability for my little boy to see the world from his seat in the buggy. When you do want to use the hood, it is a generous size and extends quite far forward to give a good coverage.

graco evo mini

Here he is relaxing and easily able to look around and experience all the sights from in the buggy. This was at a model village local to us (Beaconsfield) The pathways are quite narrow there as you go around the attraction but we had absolutely no problems with getting the buggy through anywhere.

graco evo mini at mini village graco evo mini at mini village

A good place to relax and have an ice cream or drink! He was comfy enough in the buggy and happy to sit and do this.

graco evo mini baby eating icecream

graco evo mini

Also comfy enough to fall asleep at the end of a busy day out!
baby sleeping in graco evo mini
baby sleeping in graco evo mini

Looking forward to the next adventure with our new Graco pushchair!

Disclaimer: We are testing this pushchair as a part of the Graco Ambassador Competition and were provided with the item by Graco to enable us to take part.

Graco Evo Mini Pushchair Review

By in Competitions, Other Reviews 12 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

We have been testing out the new Evo Mini pushchair from Graco for the past month, as part of the Graco Ambassador competition.

Graco Evo Mini Grenadine

This is a light weight and easy to fold single buggy. It’s been great for us, especially on days out as it’s so small to fit in the boot of the car, and easy and quick to fold and unfold.

As soon as we opened the box and put the buggy together, we were really impressed with it. Even my husband who is not really interested in prams commented that it did look really good quality and a great piece of kit. He was also very happy with how quick it was to put together, it only took a few minutes and didn’t take a lot of concentration to do. That was also a relief for me, as I still remember how much of a pain our double buggy was to put together.

It comes in two colours. Grenadine, which is shown above, is the colour we were sent. The other is a turquoisey shade called Latigo Bay which is also lovely. I really like the bright colours, it looks nice and cheerful – a big difference from my normal black and grey pushchair.

Onto the technical side of it, I have put the dimensions and weights here for you to see:

Weight Length Width Height Folded Length Folded Height
6.2 kg cm 48.3 cm 102 cm 79.8 cm 22 cm

It really does feel very light weight, easy to pick up and lift and also feels very light when pushing so it is easy to steer and can be pushed easily with one hand.

The wheels are quite small and are plastic rather than being tires like my usual buggy, so I wondered how this would compare and whether it would be a problem. It was absolutely fine, as the buggy is very light it did not really need heavy tires for the steering and the ride felt very smooth and pleasant, unlike some of the cheaper umbrella single buggies I have tried which give you quite a rattly feeling as you push it along the pavement. The only time I had a bit of difficulty was with pushing it over gravel, but even that the buggy coped fairly well. Overall you really can tell it is well made and good quality.

The seat was very comfortable for my toddler. It has plenty of padding and he was very happy to sit there and also comfortable enough to sleep. We had to adjust the length of the straps quite a bit to accomodate him and once that was done, he was fine. It does recline to lie flat, but as my toddler is a bit older at 20 months, he doesn’t prefer to do that. It is easy to change the positions if you want to.

I was also really impressed with the size of the basket under neath the buggy. It does seem to be bigger than many I have seen. You can easily fit in all the children’s bags and coats with no problem. I managed to fit everything in that was needed for my three boys on days out, and it did not feel like a squash everything fitted in comfortably.

I really like the buggy and would recommend it for anyone looking for a good light weight single.

The next thing for me will be to try it out with a buggy board on the back and see how well that works.

If you fancy having one, you could try entering from this competition through the Gurgle website – here, or the Evo Mini can be bought exclusively from Mothercare. It costs £179.99 which is a reasonable price, having bought some of the very cheap umbrella strollers before I feel money is better spent getting a decent one like this as at least it will last and feels so much easier and more pleasant to push, gives you so much more storage space in the basket and just makes life easier.

I have put up another post here to share some of our pictures of days out with the Graco Evo Mini.

Father’s Day Giveaway from Gumigem

By in Competitions, Other Reviews 44 Comments

To celebrate Father’s Day coming up soon, I have a great new giveaway sponsored by Gumigem!

Some of you might be familiar with their teething bangles and necklaces, which are worn by mums for baby to enjoy and teethe on.

However, you might not have been aware they also do a more manly range of jewelry for dads.

gumigem dogtag

 

I have 1 set of Gumigem Covert Dog Tags to give away, as shown in the picture above. These are teething dogtags for daddies designed with both dad and baby in mind! These are a great way of adding some extra closeness between dads and their little ones. RRP £12.50 – postage and package is just £1.95. Available at www.gumigem.co.uk

When my children are teething they always like to be carried around a lot. These necklaces are ideal as the baby can grab onto them and chew on them by themselves whilst you are carrying them round. My husband said it looks great for hands on dads, so would make a great gift to benefit both dad and baby at the same time.

I know many mums have found that the dads find it easier to bond and connect with their children once they get that little bit older and more interactive, rather than during the small baby stage. The closeness of wearing these teething tags, and being able to help out more in comforting their teething little one and soothe their pain, will be great for dads.

If you want to find more about Gumigem you can catch them on twitter @TeethingGumigem or on their Facebook page.

If you would like a chance to win a set just in time for Father’s Day, enter via the raffle copter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Sensory play with rice and lentils

By in Play 10 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

As the weather is finally getting nicer, we are able to play out in the garden after school. This gives a great chance to do some more messy activities. The activity we did today – Sensory play with rice and lentils – I wouldn’t have wanted to do inside the house, as it can be a bit hard to keep it all contained.

intheplayroom.co.uk-3

But out in the garden without needing to worry about mess, the boys had a lot of fun!

IMG_5838More

#HealthySnackChat – Our Twitter Party

By in Competitions, Food 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Next Monday (22nd) we have something exciting coming up! A twitter party hosted together by me and 3 of my fellow bloggers:

Et Speaks from Home (@etspeaksfrom), Red Rose Mummy (@redrosemummy), and The Brick Castle (@thebrickcastle)

SA Fruits have been kind enough to provide us all with a selection of their delicious fruit to try out, and has also sponsored TWO family picnic rucksacks (for 4 people) to give away for our Twitter party!

safruitsprize

We will be talking about healthy eating for children and families, different healthy snack ideas and also giving the opportunity to win plenty of extra surprise prizes so we would love it if you join us on twitter at 10.30-11.30 on Monday the 22nd, with #HealthySnackChat.

In our package of South African fruit, we tried a selection of apples, pears and plums. These South African fruits are all available from April til September in supermarkets throughout the UK. You can also have the chance to win mini footballs, frisbees and boomerangs every time you buy South African Fruit! See here for the details.IMG_5740

These fruits were all lovely to eat just as they are. The Royal Gala Apples were very sweet and flavoursome and the Angeleno plums were very tasty and juicy, enjoyed by my children and myself.

We also used the fruit to make a small fruit salad as my 4 year old enjoys chopping the fruits and mixing them in a bowl, it’s a nice activity for him and I find it helps the children to feel really enthusiastic about eating the fruit. We sometimes make fruit kebabs too which is a really simple and fun idea for the children to do with different fruit.IMG_5743IMG_5744

The fruits can also be cooked and used in a variety of different recipes, and there are examples and ideas on their website at www.beautifulcountrybeautifulfruit.co.uk, so why not have a look!

To be in with a chance of winning the picnic rucksack, RT the tweet linked below:

HERE

Hope to see you at the Twitter party! #HealthySnackChat

T&C below for the competition:

Terms and Conditions:1. Open to UK residents only.
2. One picnic rucksack will be won by someone tweeting the #healthysnackchat promotional tweet between 00:01 on Monday 15th April and 10:00 on Monday 22nd April.
3. One picnic rucksack will be won by someone tweeting one of the #healthysnackchat party tweets between 10:00 and 12:00 on Monday 22nd April.
4. Small prizes will be won by participants in the #healthysnackchat party every fifteen minutes during the party’s running time. 10:30-10:45, 10:46-11:00, 11:01-11:15 and 11:16-11:30.
5. Winners will be chosen at random from all qualifying tweets.
6. Winners will be chosen by @etspeaksfrom, @redrosemummy, @TheBrickCastle and @ummziyad.
7. The picnic rucksacks prizes will be sent direct from the PR company, winner’s details will be passed on to them for prize fulfillment. Small prizes will be sent by @etspeaksfrom.
8. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
9. Winners will be notified via Twitter DM, you must be following one of the following Twitter accounts to be notified – @etspeaksfrom, @redrosemummy, @TheBrickCastle and @ummziyad.
10. Please kindly follow our sponsor @SAFruits too.  Thank you.
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