My Sunday Photo 06/05/18

Glam Goo Accessory Pack Giveaway

Love making slime? Love all things fashion? Slime just got fashionable with brand new Glam Goo! 

The trend for slime shows no sign of slowing down with over 3 million instagram posts and countless videos on Youtube engrossing children up and down the country. Now, there’s a new way to way to customise slime and it’s the hottest fashion accessory on the high street. 

With Glam Goo you can customise, decorate and even wear your own slime. Start with your Glam Goo – that’s our special clear slime (it’s made with love) – add in your choice of slime decorations – how about some Unicorn Tears or Cloud Crunch?! – colour and scent, mix, and your slime is ready! 

Play with it to get into zen mode or take your slime with you in cool fashion accessories. With endless combinations to create – how do you Glam Goo? 

Out now you have -

GLAM GOO DELUXE PACK – RRP £29.99

The Glam Goo Deluxe pack has everything you need to make slime fashion your own. Customise and store your favourite slime creations in your purse or ring. Includes a container of Glam Goo (clear slime), a glitter purse and double ring, three slime decorations – Cloud Crunch, Daydreams and Unicorn Tears, two colours – Electric Blue and Pinky Promise, one scent – Violet Vibes (lilac), and one mixing spoon.

GLAM GOO FANTASY ACCESSORY PACK – RRP £14.99

The Glam Goo Fantasy Pack comes with two wearable accessories to store your slime in – a heart necklace and rainbow charm. Includes a container of Glam Goo (clear slime), three slime decorations – Mermaid Wishes, Cosmic Dust and Unicorn Fuzz, two shimmer colours – Mint Skies and Magic Hour, and one scent – Rose Mist. 

GLAM GOO CONFETTI PACK – RRP £14.99

The Glam Foo Confetti Pack uses exciting Fluffy Slime and comes with two wearable accessories to store your slime – a bow bracelet and bunny charm. Includes a container of Glam Goo (fluffy slime), two slime decorations – Dance Mix and Rainbow Party, two shimmer colours – Have Fun and Happy, and one scent – So Peachy! 

Glam Goo is available from Smyths, Toys R Us, The Entertainer, Argos, Asda, Tesco, and all good independent toy retailers

Enter below for your chance to win an Accessory Pack!
There will be 2 winners. 

Win a Glam Goo Accessory Pack

Monthly Book Roundup - What We have been Reading in April

Each month I write about which books we have been reading during the month. I usually introduce Lily to 4 or 5 new books each month while at the same time reading some of our favourites. We have story time each night and always read 2-4 stories, depending on how tired she is. 

You can read all the other book roundups from the last 2 years here. 

Another month and so here is another selection of books. This month Lily chose most of her stories and they all happened to be fairytale classics. All but one that I chose, and I chose that story as I felt it had a nice spring feeling to it. 

So here are our 4 choices of books for this month - 

1. All together Now by Anita Feram 

This was my favourite story to read and even my partner said it was one of his favourites. So that really means its a good one. This was the story I chose for Lily because I felt it had a nice spring feeling to it. The story features a bunny, a little duckling and a mouse. They all have a special little song that they love to sing, and that little song/rhyme is placed at the start of the story and the end. The story is all about how the bunny, little ducking and mouse became a family and talks about which parts of the little song is all about them. It is such a sweet story to read and I find it quite a relaxing one to read for bedtime. The rhyme that is sung is very sweet too. The illustrations are full of flowers and it really is a nice book to read at springtime. I would recommend looking on Ebay to buy this book. It doesn't cost much and really is a lovely story. 

2. Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Miles Kelly Edition 

Incase you don't know, the story of goldilocks is all about a little girl who stumbles across a house which 3 bears live. She eats their porridge, breaks a chair, and sleeps inside the bears bed, then she gets caught by the bears and runs away. This edition from miles kelly is such a nice edition. It is illustrated really well and tells the story nicely. Though the story does slightly differ at the end when the story doesn't tell you about the beds being to hard, too soft and just right. The front cover also has glitter on which is something that Lily loves. If you are looking for a Goldilocks and the three bears story then this one is great. You can buy this from the Miles Kelly Website. 

3. Little Red Riding Hood - Miles Kelly Edition 

Lily also chose another Miles Kelly story this month and chose Little Red Riding hood. Incase you don't know this classic story. It is all about a little girl going to visit her grandma. But before she does she meets a wolf and tells that wolf she is going to grandma's house. He sneaks there before her so then he can try and eat little red riding hood. In this edition, grandma hides in the wardrobe before the wolf comes in. Little Red riding hood turns up and there are the usual words spoke of "Grandma, what big ears you have" "All the better to hear you with" and then the woodcutter comes and saves the day by chasing away the wolf. Again the book has lovely illustrations and it really is a nice edition of the story. It also has some glitter on the front cover which made Lily very happy. You can buy this book from the Miles Kelly Website. 

4. The Big Sad Wolf and The Mean Little Pigs, as told by Humphrey Bookworm - By Laura Wood

If you love the story of the 3 little pigs then you will love this version with a twist! The story is the same classic story about the 3 little pigs and their houses getting blown down, only the wolf is actually friendly, has a cold and actually wants to make friends with the pigs. But the mean little pigs won't let the wolf into their house and when the wolf sneezes he accidently blows down their house making the pigs not want to be his friend even more. Humphrey bookworm is a worm that loves to eat books and then tell the stories to his little friend. He says that there are always 2 sides to every story and this was a different tale to the one you usually hear.
I love this book, what a great idea to tell the tale but in a different way and also what a nice lesson to learn in life to see what things aren't always what you think they are. Lily loved this story and it ended up being her favourite. You can buy this story from Amazon. 

Which of the above books do you like the sound of? 

Mummy and Me April

This month with the weather changing we have managed to get out and about more and so had a few more opportunities to get some pictures taken. 

So here are 3 for you from this month. One is when we had a great day out at the beech one sunny monday. Though it was still a little draughty so we were in our warm clothing still.
The second was from our walk to Gawthope Hall last week. Lily still has to be in the right mood to capture a picture with her and for the one at Gawthope she was being fussy but we still managed to sneak this one where we are looking at each other.

The last, is because Lily has had a real energy for climbing and jumping on me this month and so fun selfies have had to be taken! I think the quote for this is "ouch" 

Hope you managed to get some nice photographs out and about this month, and I look forward to the warmer weather bringing me more photograph opportunities. 

My Sunday Photo 29/04/18

10 Amazing Flap Books by Walker Books plus Giveaway

Who doesn't love flap books?
Flap books have always been one of my favourite types of children's books and something that I have always introduced Lily to since she was a baby. She now has a really good collection of flap books and they are some of her favourite books.

There is something really exciting about flap books and I love the element of surprise about them. They are also a perfect way to get your child involved in interacting with the story. 

So here are 10 brilliant flap books all from Walker Picture Books - 

1. Caterpillar to Butterfly by Francis Barry £7.99

What an amazing flap book with a difference. This book goes along the story of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly and as it does you unfold a flap. Eventually as it is all unfolded, it has turned into a big flower shape with a beautiful butterfly in the middle. It is such a lovely book with the cutest illustrations and also a lovely rhyming storyline. The book is a hardback and is recommended for ages 2+. 

2. No Nancy No by Alice Tait £7.99

Have an adventure in London, all while lifting up the flaps and causing a little bit of mischief. Nancy is having a day out in London and seeing the sights. But she can't help but cause mischief. Each page has part of the story and then you lift the large flaps to see exactly what mischief she has got up to.
I do love how large the flaps are and its so exciting wondering what she could have possibly done to cause trouble. The illustrations are great and after spending lots of time in London I can say that they are drawn to perfect detail. you almost feel like you are in London! It's recommended for children aged 3+ and available in paperback or hardback. 

3. Are you My Mummy? By Mary Murphy £5.99

This is such a cute little flap book that is perfect as for a child's first flap book collection. A cute little puppy is running along looking for its mummy. It keeps meeting animals and asking "Are you my mummy" the animal replies with "No" and then you have to lift the flap to see who is the baby of that animal. Until the last page, where the Puppy asks "Are you my Mummy?" and the reply is "Yes, your my lovely puppy". This book is recommended for ages 0+ and is a hardboard book. 

4. Peepo Baby By Sebastien Braun £5.99

This is such a good book for babies because which babies don't love playing peepo. The babies are all hiding behind something and the writing asks "Who is hiding behind the?" Then you lift the flap and "Peepo!" There is the baby. It is super colourful and also a hardboard book. Perfect for babies and recommended for 0+.

5. Kiki and Bobo's Birthday Surprise By Yasmeen Ismail £7.99

6. Kiki and Bobo's Sunny Day By Yasmeen Ismail £7.99

Introducing the lovely characters of Kiki the Cat and Bobo the dog who are the best of friends. Both books involve a wonderful story about them spending time toggether and along the way you lift many flaps to find surprises and lovely illustrations to aid the story.
In the story Birthday Surprise. Kiki is planning a lovely surprise for Bobo's Birthday, she plans a party and cake, but in the end the actual surprise is that its actually her Birthday. The story has lots of flaps that are all relating to birthdays.
In the story Sunny Day, Kiki and Bobo both go to the beach and have lots of fun building sandcastles, collecting shells and swimming in the sea. Lots of the flaps are all beach related and its the perfect summer story.
I was really impressed with the amount of flaps in these stories. Sometimes you would open a flap and then there would be another flap underneath to open. I highly recommend these books. They are recommended for children aged 3+.

7. Who is the Biggest? by Petr Horacek £5.99

Although the title suggests that the books are all about things that are big and small, thats not the only thing included with this book. It's all about opposites and so we have things like slow and fast and noisy and quiet and short and tall. It will have one word with a picture of an animal on one page and then under the flap it will have the opposite with a picture of a different animal. As always the illustrations from Petr Horacek are brilliant and really make this book lovely. It is recommended for children aged 2+.

8. Who is sleeping? by Petr Horacek £5.99

Another lovely illustrated book by Horacek. This book asks who is sleeping and you lift the flap to find out who. The animals are all peeping out from the flap so this gives the children the opportunity to guess. This is another hardboard book so perfect for little hands and I think parents and children will both enjoy the pictures. Again this is recommended for children aged 2+. 

9. Surprising Birds by Elo £8.99

There isn't much words inside this book so it is more about the pictures. Each page shows an interesting looking bird. It is interesting because of its shape, pattern and colour. Each flap you lift, will have the word of the colour underneath and somewhere under the flap will be that colour. For example under one birds wing is a chick that is yellow. It is a lovely book to learn all about colours and children will love lifting the flaps to reveal which colour is underneath. This book is a hardboard book and recommended for children aged 3+.

10. Big Dog, Little Dog by Elo £8.99

This book is another book all about opposites and you lift the flaps to see the opposite. For example we have a short dog, and then you pull out the flap to make a long dog. The dogs are all really interesting colours and patterns which make the book really nice to read and will encourage your children to want to take a look inside. It is also a hardboard book and is recommended for children aged 3+.  

Lily and I have really enjoyed all of these books but I think her favourite have been the Kiki and Bobo Books. Lily is 3 and so all the above books are appropriate for her age but the books aged 0+ she has also really enjoyed reading independently. 

From a mums perspective, I really love the No Nancy No Book because of all the lovely illustrations of London. 

This is such a lovely selection of flap books and I hope that you find one that you like. Head to the Walker Picture Books Website now to buy your favourites.

Walker Picture Books would love to give one lucky person the chance to win 2 of the books from above. The choice will be yours to which books you would like. To enter for the chance to win some beautiful books enter on the Gleam App below.

Win 2 Flap Books from Walker Picture Books

When to Introduce Where Meat Comes From to our Children

When should we introduce the concept of where meat comes from to our children? 
And how should we do that? 

Unless a child is brought up to be a vegetarian, then like Lily your child has probably been eating meat for a while now. Lily has eaten plenty of meats, chicken, beef, lamb, pork and she enjoys them all. But one thing I haven't yet taught Lily about is where that meat comes from. 

Myself, I obviously know that meat comes from an animal. I can't remember what age I learnt this, and i'm not even sure who taught it me, or if it was something I just came to realise over time. But I have grown up knowing that beef is from a cow, lamb from a sheep and pork from a pig. For me when I eat these meats, I must admit, I never actually relate the food I am eating to the animal. I don't eat beef thinking oooh this is a lovely bit of cow, and so somehow there has been a disconnection between the eating of it and the knowing of what it is. I think it is because of this disconnection that I actually manage to eat meat, because knowing me, If I thought about it too much I would end up becoming a vegetarian. 
This does make me wonder though that if I taught Lily about it now, would she end up making too much of a connection. She loves her animals, and telling her that her beef comes from a cow might cause questions with answers she could not understand. But there is also the other side of it all where I wonder should I tell her so then she can make her own decisions about meat. 

Then there is the question of how would I teach her about it and this is where I move onto the brilliant Taste N Tell Discovering Food books. 

Taste N Tell currently have 2 books out which are both about discovering foods. Inside they talk about the food and where it comes from. So for example we have the Discovering Fruit book which would show you an apple and that the apple has come from an apple tree. There is also a Discovering Vegatables book which would show you a carrot and that the carrot has grown in the ground. The books both have characters that you discover with and have fun illustrations and rhymes to support the learning about the food. Then the books all have a special pot included which you can place a piece of that food inside for your child to get out and discover.

The idea behind the books is that your children get to try the food whilst learning all about it at the same time. Which I think is a brilliant concept and works really well. 

But after making the fruit and vegetable book, the next type of food that Taste N Tell are looking to teach about, is Protein, and so they are looking to produce a book called Discovering Protein with Beefy Bear. 

But of course this book would be talking about meats, and if they were to be set out like the other discovering food books then it would show an image of the animal that the meat came from though taste and tell have decided to use a silhouette of the animal rather than a photograph. With the book being for ages 1-5 years, it then asks the question what would be an appropriate age for a child to learn about where meat comes from and would a book like this be the best way for them to learn about it. 

This is where I ask you my readers to fill in a very short survey that Taste n Tell are conducting which asks about these questions. We would really love to know your view on introducing the concept of where meat comes from to your children. 

As a thank you, at the end of the survey you will have the option to be entered into a giveaway to win the Book 'Discovering Vegatables with Veggie Vole'. 

Please Click the following Link to begin filling out the survey. 
Click here to Begin

Also feel free to leave your comments below with your opinion on the subject. 

*Competition Terms and Conditions*

- Entrants must reside in the United Kingdom.- There are three individual prizes available for this prize draw. 
- Three winners will be chosen at Random and contacted by email. Each winner will receive one Taste 'n' Tell 'Discovering Vegetables with Veggie vole' Starter Pack.
- Competition and Survey closes on the 31st of May.

- Personal details will only be used for this prize draw, and will not be used for any other purpose.