Superheroes never go out of fashion and most kids have their favourite....Elliot's current fave is Spiderman. With the exception of Supergirl and Wonderwoman, most of the Superheroes have been male but there's some new girls in town!
If your kids are looking for action-packed girl power, look no further than DC Super Hero Girls. DC Entertainment's latest animated series features a dynamic group of Super Heroes on their journey of discovering the power of their unique abilities and friendships. What I love is how dynamic the characters are, from strong and fearless to edgy and fun - there is a character for everyone!
If your kids can't get enough of the series, the DC Super Hero Girls YouTube channel makes it easy to watch their favourite characters, on-demand and from any device.
For even more fun, there is an extended online experience on the website where kids can play games, download free printable activities and much more.
DC Super Hero Girls are giving you the chance to win a £100 Visa giftcard...what are you waiting for!
Well the Easter holidays seem to have gone on forever but Elliot still isn't back to pre-school til Friday, eek!
Here's a little peek into what we got up to this past week...
Top Row:
- Last Sunday I had the absolute pleasure of singing with G4 with the choir I belong to. It was the highlight of my year so far and the G4 boys were so lovely!
- The boys had a day out by themselves last weekend and went to Marwell Zoo. They had a great time but Elliot was soooo tired. He was tired before he'd even got there as he'd been up since 6am and then him and my husband walked 8 miles round the park!
- The Marwell Zoo trip really took it out of Elliot and he's been tired all week, we've had lots of car naps!
Middle Row:
- The weather has been abit iffy this week but Tuesday morning was absolutely lovely and we managed to have a picnic outside. It was so warm but when we drove home 10 miles down the road it was torrential rain!
- Elliot loves animals but he's got a particular soft spot for my parent's cat Davey. Davey is such a big softy and loves Elliot!
Bottom Row:
- We took a little trip to Toys R Us yesterday and bought Elliot his first bike. We weren't sure whether to go for a balance bike or a proper little bike with pedals but he tried out both and we decided on the pedal bike in the end. He's been practicing out on our road but needs to learn to pedal and look up at the same time!
- Thanks to a competition on the DorsetMums Facebook page, we had some free tickets for the Royal Signals Museum in Blandford, Dorset. I thought it might be a bit boring but actually, lots of the displays were really interesting and it was a really good visit. I'll be doing a proper review on this later on this week :)
- We decided to visit one of our favourite National Trust properties, Kingston Lacy, today. We had a free afternoon so decided to make the most of the dry weather - and luckily for Elliot they were still running Easter hunts! Everytime I visit I get a photo of Elliot in front of the house and I love to look back and compare to see how much he has grown. I love his face in this one!
We have a really busy week coming up and I'm keen to make the most of the time Elliot isn't at pre-school! Hope you've all had a lovely weekend x
I have mentioned this before on the blog but I belong to a local choir called Just Sing. We meet once a week to practice and we sing a wide range of music including pop, rock and musical theatre.
Back in January, one of our lovely ladies Beverley heard about a competition that was being run by vocal quartet G4. Cast your mind back to 2004, G4 were crowned runners up on series 1 of The X Factor and they went on to have 3 very successful albums. The group split up in 2007 but are now back together and about to embark on their "Back for Good" tour.
For the tour, G4 were looking for choirs to sing with them on stage and unbeknown to Just Sing, our name was put forward by Beverley. Fortunately for us, G4 liked what they heard and we were invited to sing with them on their opening night at the Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole - how exciting!!
We were given the exciting news in February and the concert was April 3rd so this gave us just over 8 weeks to learn 5 new songs including complex harmonies. The set list was very different to our usual repertoire but everyone in the choir rose to the challenge and we set about learning our lines.
The next 8 weeks went by in a blur and I seemed to be singing "Barcelona" in my sleep. As well as our weekly rehearsal, I practiced in the car...in the kitchen...in the shower...anything to learn those harmonies! My 3 year old son even got in on the act, he'd join in if I sang in the car and on several occasions he belted out "One Day More!" in the supermarket!
In the week leading up to the concert, we had two rehearsals and then all of a sudden, the day of the concert arrived. There was a flurry of activity on social media from lots of the choir members and everyone was so excited!
Although the concert wasn't due to start until 7.30pm, we had to arrive early for a run through with G4. Nerves started kicking in a bit then, especially as we had to wait for our sound check. Nothing like playing the waiting game to get the butterflies going!!
At just after 5pm, 100 members of the Just Sing choir took our places on the Lighthouse stage and we were off. It was so interesting being there for the soundcheck and seeing what goes on behind the scenes. We ran through our songs with G4 and it was definitely a different experience to singing in a school hall! It was slightly tricky as we couldn't really hear what we sounded like so we just had to sing and hope for the best! I took a video whilst we were singing You Raise Me Up, all you can hear is me singing though, oops!
Once our rehearsal was over we had a little bit of time waiting for the 7.30pm curtain call so it was a chance to mingle with choir friends, take photos and generally get excited!
When it was finally time to go on stage again, I felt so nervous and had major butterflies. But as soon as we walked out onto the stage and saw the audience the adrenaline kicked in and I just couldn't wait to sing. And sing we did!
Credit - Mike Lancaster
G4 were incredible! I've seen them live before but this time around was something else. The vocals were crystal clear and the harmonies just gave me goosebumps, especially on songs such as Bring Him Home and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
As well as singing with G4, Just Sing got the chance to perform two songs by ourselves. Our choir leader Kelly chose Sing and Halleujah. Sing has always been special to Kelly, it inspired our choir name and we have always loved singing it. Halleujah is another favourite and it never fails to give me goosebumps when I hear it!
G4 did several medleys which meant they could cover more songs and this was a great idea, loved the Queen medley but the musical medley just blew me away!
Just Sing sang a total of 5 songs with G4 and the highlight for me was probably Nessun Dorma. I never thought in a million years that I'd be up on stage at The Lighthouse singing in Italian so it was very surreal but wow, what a song. There's a part of the song where the choir sings the chorus and what made it for me was when G4 all turned around to watch us sing, what a magical moment!! The song is very emotional anyway but I'm sure I wasn't the only choir member to be feeling a little choked up at that point!
Barcelona was another highlight, we had worked so hard to get the harmonies perfect and it was probably the one I was most worried about. There is a certain note that I always struggle to find but it went off without a hitch and sounded incredible from the video below:
The concert ended with a mass singalong to some classic rock songs and the atmosphere was just brilliant, we didn't want it to end.
G4 did a meet & greet after the concert and it was lovely for us to be able to meet them and say thank you for such a great opportunity. They were absolutely lovely and so friendly - and very happy to take selfies!
The choir ended the evening on a high with drinks in a local pub and everyone had enormous smiles on their faces...not just because of the drinks ;)
It was such a fantastic night and I really enjoyed myself. Singing with 99 other people, from all walks of life, young and old was a moment I will never forget.
Thank you to G4 for letting us sing with you and thank you to my fellow choir members for being amazing!
I've been blogging for almost 2 years now and I like to think I've got the hang of it! But there's certain things that only a blogger would understand. Clare at Emmy's Mummy has started up a new linky and she has invited fellow bloggers to link up their "10 Signs you know you're a blogger" posts.
1. No parcel can ever be unwrapped without photos being taken first. Elliot knows that he's not allowed to play with certain things until I've taken photos and he even says now "Mummy do you need to take a photo first?!"
"Waaaaait! Mummy needs to take a photo!!!!! "
2. You have notebooks full of blog ideas and to-do lists...to-do lists that are never completed!
3. You plan days out based around places you've never visited and blogged about before - if you end up visiting somewhere you've already written about, you feel like it's a wasted opportunity
4. Your blog social media takes over your personal one - once upon a time I had my own Twitter account but it has been severely neglected and pushed to one side so I can concentrate on my blogging account. Nowadays the people I follow are fellow bloggers, brands I admire/work with and the occasional friend!
5. You pretend not to be concerned about the stats and tell yourself that you blog for yourself and that's all that matters. But when the Tots100 scores get updated you can't help but feel disappointed with the chart placing!
6. You have a pile of random bits that has been sent to you, it either needs reviewing or needs to be found a home. Currently I have a pile of things in my spare room, random things like an anti-snoring ring and collection of kids toys!
7. Your friends and family know all your news before you tell them because they read it on the blog!
8. Everything is potential blogging material - potty training? Let's write a post! Been out for the day? Lets review it! Eaten something yummy? Instagram it!
9. You get genuinely excited when you get an email in your blogging inbox, who knows what opportunity it could be!
10. Your evenings are spent ignoring your partner while you tap away on your laptop. I don't know how other bloggers manage to blog in the daytime with children around, I don't get a moments peace until 7pm!!
I love this time of year when all the shops start getting in their new stock for the Spring/Summer range. I have seen so many nice things but it seems crazy to think about buying shorts when we're only just into April so I'm resisting on that front!
T-shirts is one of my weaknesses though, Elliot looks so cute in a cool t-shirt and jeans and his wardrobe is full of them. But I couldn't help but pick up some new ones this week. Thought it was only fair to update his wardrobe for the new season ;)
Please excuse the photos, I had good intentions of taking lovely photos but the t-shirts were worn and were dirty before I'd had the chance to take anything decent!
I love the Morrison's clothing range for kids, everything is great value and always washes really well. I picked up this croc t-shirt, I think it was only about £4 but it was an instant hit with Elliot! It goes really well with his green Trespass hoody that has been worn constantly recently.
Pirate t-shirt - Morrisons
Apologies for crap picture but this is the only one I took of him wearing it! Loved the nautical vibe of this one, and Elliot loves pirates. Again, this t-shirt was under a fiver but it's such great quality - it feels really soft and I'm sure it will wash well!
Gruffalo t-shirt - TU @ Sainsburys
It's no secret that we love the Gruffalo and when I spotted this t-shirt in Sainsburys I had to get it for Elliot! Because you can never have enough Gruffalo t-shirts....! Love the colour of this one, thought it was very summery.
One of the first books I bought for Elliot when he was born was The Gruffalo and then The Gruffalo's Child. He has grown up loving the stories and The Gruffalo has become a big part of our lives with trips to see him and even Gruffalo themed birthday parties!
We were meant to see The Gruffalo live show last Summer but unfortunately had to sell our tickets (fellow blogger Laura at Life with Baby Kicks went instead!) as we couldn't make it up to London.
I was over the moon then when I saw the the live show of The Gruffalo's Child was coming to my favourite, and very local theatre at the Lighthouse, Poole. Needless to say, I snapped up tickets straight away :)
Having watched The Gruffalo's Child on DVD countless times, I was intrigued to see how it would be adapted for the stage.
When we arrived at the theatre, we were shown to our seats and Elliot was excited to see we were in the front row and very close to the stage. As we were waiting for the show to start, he noticed somebody on stage peering round the tree branch at him...it was only the Mouse! She came down to chat some of the children in the audience and Elliot was desperate to show her his toy Gruffalo!
When the Mouse jumped back on stage and the lights went down, Elliot was transfixed! With the Mouse narrating the story and including the lines from the book, the show begins in the cave where we meet The Gruffalo and his child. She is feeling bored and despite her Dad's warnings that "no Gruffalo should ever set foot in the deep dark wood", she sets out on an adventure and bumps into some familiar faces along the way....
The show features a small cast of 3 and the actor who plays the Gruffalo also plays the snake, the owl and the fox. We have such clear ideas of what these characters should be like after reading the book and seeing the film but the show put a brand new spin on these - who knew the snake could dance!
The costumes are simple but The Gruffalo Child's furry suit was amazing and so colourful, being so close I could see all the detail and I was really impressed!
The show has some musical numbers which are SO catchy, I've had one of the songs stuck in my head since the weekend! The songs really help to bring the story alive and the children really enjoyed clapping along.
The Gruffalo's Child is a really great show for 3+ kids and definitely a must for any fans of the book, or theatre in general. The show lasts for an hour without an interval so younger children would definitely enjoy it but might get a bit restless sitting sit for that long. Elliot was just starting to get fidgety so it was just the right length of time for us!
For more tour dates and fun stuff, check out the Tall Stories website here
Last year I remember reading my friend Jeni's blog (The Poole Mamma) and she took her family for breakfast at their local Wyevale Garden Centre to meet the Easter Bunny.
At the time I thought this sounded brilliant fun for little ones so I was really pleased to see that Wyevale Garden Centres were running the same event this Easter.
Wyevale Garden Centre
We have several Wyevale branches close to us in Dorset but we booked breakfast at our local one near Verwood, purely because the date and times worked for us. Our slot was 9.30am on Easter Monday so it was something to look forward to after the busy weekend!
The cost of the event was £7.99 for adults and this covered a "Great British Breakfast" with unlimited tea or coffee. For children is was £9.99 and this was child's breakfast plus lots of Easter activities and treats.
When we arrived at the garden centre we found the restaurant and were taken to our table by Alice in Wonderland who was very chatty and friendly. Elliot was excited to see an Easter activity and colouring sheet on the table but even more excited to see a little cup of mini eggs! (They didn't last long...)
There were 5 other families on the event too and it was nice that it wasn't over booked, the service was great and the staff couldn't do enough for us.
Our breakfasts didn't take long to arrive and they were really nice. I'm not a massive fan of a cooked brekkie (unlike my husband!) but all the food was cooked well and very tasty. Top marks for having the baked beans in a separate cup too, these went straight to hubby!! Elliot's breakfast was great value - he had sausage, scrambled egg, hash brown, beans, mushroom and toast. It was a big portion and he couldn't finish it!
Once breakfast was eaten, "Alice" invited the kids to join in with the Easter trail. They were given crayons and answer sheets and they had to find the clues hidden around the garden centre. The clues were really simple and Elliot enjoyed shouting out the answers! The children were given a cream egg and little bag of Haribo sweets for finishing the trail.
The Easter Bunny made an appearance then and was waiting for the kids as they got back into the restaurant - cue lots of excited children!! They were given the option of a cuddly bunny or a chocolate bunny. Unfortunately Elliot just couldn't make up his mind and we had some tears when he realised he wanted a cuddly bunny and not a chocolate one! Luckily one of the other children swapped with him but you know what toddlers are like, he'd changed his mind again 10 minutes later!
Just before the tears...!
The last activity was decorating an Easter biscuit. Elliot was given some toppings plus a giant bag of buttercream icing - his finished result was more icing than biscuit I think! The staff were on hand with takeaway boxes so we could take it home with us.
The whole event lasted 90 mins and I think it was really good value for money. Despite the tears Elliot enjoyed himself and said his favourite part was meeting the Easter Bunny!
The Easter events have finished now for this year but Wyevale do lots of family events throughout the year so it's worth keeping an eye on their website.
