Trendy Tot Thursday - sponsored by The Gruffalo!

Today's outfit could pretty much be sponsored by Sainsburys!! Everything you can see in the pic, plus his tshirt underneath was bought there. It is my favourite place to buy little boys clothes, everything is such great quality and it is even better when they have their 25% discount offers! And as you can tell, we love the Gruffalo :)

The coat is great because it's not too bulky. I prefer to layer him up underneath rather than have it get too hot with a big thick winter coat - the only thing I would change is make is slightly longer as his bum is always on show!!

The trousers are perfect for a day at the farm like we had today, they don't show the dirt too much and they also tuck into his wellies. I struggle getting his wellies on with jeans!

Old El Paso Review

Lets start by saying that I'm not a very good cook! I can rustle up something edible but I lack imagination. My husband can go to the fridge and pick out random items and create something amazing but I just don't have that skill! When Old El Paso contacted me and asked if I'd like to review some items I jumped at the chance! Mexican is a favourite in our household and it was about time we graduated from fajitas :)

We were sent sweetcorn relish, cool sour cream topping, tortillas, roasted tomato and pepper fajita mix, original beef taco mix and guacamole mix.  (The taco kit and the nachos I bought to go with our mexican feast)

We decided to give the taco mix a go and it really couldn't have been easier. I just cooked the mince up with some peppers and added the spice mix with a bit of water. It smelt really good and I couldn't wait to try it! 

I served up the beef with the soft tacos - I've always struggled eating the crunchy tacos (I make far too much mess!) so these were great and really tasty. The corn relish and the sour cream topping were both really nice and made a welcome change to mayonnaise which is what I usually squirt on top! I was planning on trying the guacamole mix too but the advacados I bought were rock hard and definitely not ripe enough to mash up. Will save this for another time! 

We had the fajitas a couple of days later and it was good to try something a little different to the smoky bbq ones that we usually have. The packet mix said medium spice but I like the fact you can make them to your taste by just adding as much spice mix as you like. We like a bit of a spice so I used the whole packet and it was really nice, although Elliot did say "bit spicy mummy!".....didn't stop him gobbling his fajita up though! 

The Old El Paso mix kits are really handy if you're after a quick dinner. I don't usually have alot of time in the week to make a big meal from scratch so these are a godsend! 

What's your favourite Mexican dish? 

Disclaimer: I received the items in the first picture for the purpose of this honest review. All views are my own...and the food really was tasty! 

Silent Sunday

National Storytelling Week 2015

You may not know it but this week was National Storytelling Week! Having a bit of a bookworm for a son I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some of his favourite books. And he has a lot to choose from!

These are just a selection of his current favourites.....I say current because you know how fickle toddlers can be!

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The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
It will come as no surprise to you to see The Gruffalo in amongst these favourites! Our first copy got ruined because we read it so much so I bought Elliot a shiny new copy which celebrates Gruffalo's 15 year anniversary.

If you haven't heard of the Gruffalo (where have you been?!) then it tells the story of a little mouse who goes in search of a nut to eat but comes face to face with a fox, a snake and an owl who want to eat him! He manages to outwit them by making up a story about the fearsome Gruffalo....and well I won't ruin the ending! Elliot love love loves this story and he can practically recite it off by heart now. He loves it when I tell the story using different voices (our Gruffalo sounds a bit piraty but thats my Dorset accent coming through....!) and he joins in with all the animal noises. His fox noise is hilarious!! I'm not surprised this book is so popular because it's such a lovely story and very well written, the author's rhymes are very clever!

Charlie Cook's Favourite Book - Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Another classic from the Gruffalo author, this one tells the story of Charlie Cook who is reading his favourite book about a pirate, but the pirate is reading a book about Goldilocks, who is reading a book about a knight.....etc etc. It's basically a book within a book within a book and so on! There's lots to look at and Elliot never gets bored of me reading this to him.

Monkey Puzzle - Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
This one is a about a little monkey who has lost his mummy and tries to find her with a well meaning butterfly who isn't actually very helpful! I think we've read this a lot too because Elliot joins in when I'm reading....his favourite line is "no no no, that's not my mum!"

Room on the Broom - Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Sorry, another one from Julia Donaldson!! This is a funny story about a witch who manages to lose her hat, her bow and her wand. They are found by a dog, bird and frog and they all ask to ride on her broom....which is fine until it snaps in half! As if this wasn't enough drama for her, she also has to avoid being eaten by a greedy dragon with a liking for witch and chips. The illustrations really bring this story to life and Elliot loves joining in with the "buzz off.....thats my witch!" line :)

Dinosaurs Love Underpants - Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
If you ever wondered why dinosaurs became extint then look no further! Elliot was drawn to this book because of the dinosaurs but it's actually a really funny story, complete with bright colourful illustrations. There's a few books in this "pants" series but this is our favourite...and who doesn't want to see pictures of dinosaurs wearing frilly bloomers!

Dinosaur Roar - Paul Stickland & Henrietta Stickland
This is a book about opposites and features lines such as "Dinosaur Roar! Dinosaur Squeak...". There aren't many words but the pictures more than make up for it and it's great fun doing voices to match the dinosaurs!

 The Tickle Book and The Bedtime Book - Ian Whybrow & Axel Scheffler
We spotted these books in Tesco and noticed they were illustrated by the same man who does all the Julia Donaldson books that we love. They are great fun and each page features lots of rhymes, tabs to look under, things to pull out. The story in each book is a bit bonkers but that just adds to the fun!


What books do your children like to read again and again? 

First Snow Day!

We live on the South Coast and we don't get snow very often. When we do get snow, its usually no more than a few centimetres and gone as soon as the sun comes out! The last time it snowed Elliot was only a few weeks old so we didn't go outside, I remember spending the day in my pyjamas drinking hot chocolate ;)

I might have been tempting fate but I recently purchased a snowsuit for Elliot and a sledge, just in case! Well, how excited were we to wake up to the garden covered in snow - yesssss, the snowsuit would get at least one wear this year!!! Elliot couldn't believe his eyes and kept asking if we could build a snowman, and he also said he saw a polar bear in the garden......um ok!
After a quick breakfast we wrapped up warm and went outside to have a play - it was pretty chilly! We built the worlds smallest snowman and threw a few snowballs, and Elliot had a bounce on the snow filled trampoline which he thought was fun. And then we went to Costa for a well earned hot chocolate :)

That's enough snow for me, roll on Summer!

Braving the cold at The New Forest Wildlife Park

Despite the chilly weather conditions we decided to venture out of Dorset and visit The New Forest Wildlife Park which is located as the name suggests in the beautiful surroundings of the New Forest.

We paid £10.50 per adult and Elliot was free as he is under 3. This is really good value when you compare to other wildlife parks in the area. There was plenty of parking when we arrived and the Woodland Restaurant looked very inviting as we approached the entrance! More on that later...

Our first animal encounter was in the shape of an otter and it was fun to watch him jumping in and out of the water. Elliot loved it because the otter kept coming right up close to the glass so he got a great view of him! The park has several different types of otter, many of which are rescue otters.

The park is wheelchair and buggy friendly but we did have to jump over a few big muddy puddles yesterday so wellies are definitely a good idea! (That Peppa Pig has a lot to answer for!!)

The park has different keeper talks throughout the day and we were in time to catch the giant otters being fed. The park was really quiet so we were able to chat to the keeper and he was very informative, telling us about how fussy one of the otters is. Apparently he's a real fan of trout and will turn his nose up at other fish that is offered to him! We also met two smaller otters who just couldn't wait for their dinner, one was trying to bury under his enclosure to get to the fish and the other was climbing the fence and making a really loud squeaky noise, you could almost hear him saying "I'm hungry!! Feed me now!"

The wildlife park has two types of deer and we met a couple of the Fallow Deer who were roaming around in the deer encounter area. Elliot automatically said they were bambi's! We also saw lots of different varieties of owl, including my favourite the Barn Owl.

Next up was a creature that I definitely didn't expect to see in the New Forest - bison! One of them was stood right next to the fence scratching his head on a tree and it was pretty amazing to see him up close. Elliot however was not a fan! He refused to go near it and just hid behind my back!!

If adventure playgrounds are your thing then you will have loads of fun swinging and climbing in the "Go Wild" play area. Elliot was a little young for this section (aimed at kids 6+) but we did have a laugh watching Daddy on the zip wire...and then falling off the zip wire haha! Fortunately for Elliot there was a mini Go Wild playarea for little 'uns which had plenty of things to keep him busy - he loved playing in the sandpit with the buckets and spades!

We were lucky enough to catch the Lynx keeper talk and it was interesting to hear that a reintroduction to the UK is being considered. I've never seen one up close before and their ears are amazing!

We also saw some "big black pigs" (wild boars!) and Elliot really liked watching these, especially the one who had an itchy back and kept rubbing it on a tree!

Sadly we didn't spot any wolves in the Wolf enclosure (or werewolves as Elliot calls them) but we did see lots of other creatures including wallaby, ram, polecat, badgers and a fox!

On our way to the toddler playground we spotted 'Bug -ingham Palace' , a bug hotel which kids can help build. Elliot loved picking up sticks and finding holes to poke them into. Dread to think what was lurking inside!

Our day ended with lunch in the Woodland restuarant where the boys tucked into jacket spuds and a yummy panini for me. Everything was reasonably priced and freshly made. Managed to resist the cream teas!

A quick stop in the gift shop for a rubber rat (Elliot had the pick of the animals and he wanted a rat?!) and we were on our way to Dorset.

We really enjoyed visiting the park and will definitely return in the warmer weather when the Butterfly House is open. We liked the fact it wasn't busy and there was lots of space for an excited toddler to run about! Perhaps next time my husband won't be so quick to go on the zip wire though ;)

Weekend Baby Style

This is our first time taking part in the Weekend Baby Style but I really like Elliot's outfit today and I couldn't resist linking up!

Grey skinny jeans - Primark

Skull socks - H&M

Back to the Future Tshirt - George @ Asda

Dinosaur hoody - Nutmeg @ Morrison

I love buying retro/80s tshirts for Elliot and this one is his Daddy's favourite film! I bought it last January and the smallest size I could get was 2-3, Elliot has been wearing it since then but it has only recently started fitting him well! 

The hoody was a recent purchase - Elliot loves dinosaurs so I knew it would be a hit. It's good to layer him up in this chilly weather so hoodys are useful. 

The jeans look nice but unfortunately as with most Primark stuff the sizing and fitting was a bit iffy. He's wearing aged 3-4 and the length is fine but I'm forever hoisting them up to keep his bum covered!