New for 2015 - #SeaStars! Opens Easter 2015 at the Birmingham Sea Life Centre #Review #DaysOut

New for 2015 - Sea Stars! Opens Easter 2015 

at the Birmingham Sea Life Centre

There's a brand new Sea Stars feature at the Birmingham Sea Life Centre this Easter. This new exhibition lets you get up close and personal with their newest friends. Discover their Pop Up bubbles and peek-a-boo holes which let you marvel at the variety of shapes, sizes and colours of the world's largest Sea Stars. It's all very new and exciting.

We went along to check out the new Sea Stars for ourselves yesterday and I have to say, the kids had a wonderful time. The new exhibition features Pop Up bubbles which let you get inside to get a different view of the Sea Stars. From inside the bubbles you could see them from underneath, showing you their incredible details like never before.

There's lots of Peek a Boo holes which let you look inside their tanks to see them from lots of different angles. Inside their largest tank was a giant male star who had been rather excited on his first day. You can see him above in his somewhat 'cloudy' tank which he had made that way by himself when he released his fluids in hopes of attracting a female. The lovely man we spoke to, told us all about it. It was really interesting and great to see as apparently they don't do it very often. He just so happened to do it on that day - I think he was feeling a little shy and trying to hide on his first day. Either way he was great!

Also at the Birmingham Sea Life Centre this Easter Half Term you can join the SpongeBob Hunt which will be running from March 27th - April 19th. Help SpongeBob find his friends who are hidden throughout the Sea Life centre so that they can go on their most super-heroic adventure yet to find the missing Krabby Patty formula. There's also a Sponge painting activity room where the little ones can create their very own sponge painting masterpieces. My youngest two loved painting with sponges, it was great fun.

There really is lots to see and do at the Birmingham Sea Life Centre this Easter. With the new Sea Stars and the SpongeBob Hunt, there's lots to keep the children entertained. As well as the new features there's still the old favourites to enjoy too. We always stop by to say Hello to Big Bad Barry (The fish from Ben and Holly) who's in the large tank. The Rays and other Fishes are always getting up to mischief that we love to watch.

Last but not least is our favourite part of the Birmingham Sea Life Centre, the Gentoo Penguins. My little ones and I love watching the Penguins, they're always happy to entertain the crowds with their silly antics and super swimming techniques. WE could happily watch them for hours which we often do as they're just such super characters.

If you're in Birmingham or even just outside, the Birmingham Sea Life Centre is definitely worth a visit. There's lots of wonderful creatures to be seen and lots of family fun to be had. There's something for everyone and suitable for all ages. We love our local Sea Life Centre and are so lucky that it's so close to our home. The magic of the Sea is never far away!

Out of all the wonderful Sea creatures we have to say, we loved the new Sea Stars. They were so pretty and it was really great to get up close and personal with them. We can't wait to go back and see them again soon. What's your favourite Sea creature?

Make Bath Time Fun with the New kids bathing range available now at Tesco #Review

Make Bath Time Fun with the New kids bathing 

range available now at Tesco

There's a brand new kids bathing range available now at Tesco. They're sure to make bath times fun for your little ones. With all your children's favourite characters on offer, there's something to please everyone. From Frozen to Big Hero 6, to Minions plus more. 

For the Frozen fans there's the Disney Frozen Bath and Shower Bubbles which costs just £2.00. It's hypoallergenic and designed specifically for children’s delicate skin. For added fun value it's got a hint of glitter. Perfect for any little Frozen fan.

For the Big Hero 6 fans (like me) There's a Big Hero 6 Bath & Shower Bubbles which again costs £2.00 and has also been designed with children in mind. It's hypoallergenic, mild and kind to skin. It's sure to make bath times much more fun or at least it has here.

We've been using both of the new Bath and Shower Bubbles over the past week and have to say they've both been a huge hit with the children. Lily loves the glittery Frozen one whilst Ryan adores the Big Hero 6 one. Bath times have been a bubbly blast of fun.

The new kids range doesn't just include bath bubbles but it also has a new range of cute hand washes to help you get your little ones to wash their hands when you need them to.

There's a rather cute Despicable Me Hand Wash which again costs £2.00. This cute little hand wash has been designed for children aged three years and over and features pictures of their favourite minion characters on the bottle. The best bit about this hand wash is that it giggles every time they press it so the kids won't want to stop washing their hands.

Last but not least there's the Squid soap as featured on their new advert which costs £1.99. The Squid Soap is suitable for children of all ages so it's great for young and old. When you press the soap dispenser, a small dot of ‘squid ink’ is squirted out onto their hands. To remove the ink, the children have to wash their hands for at least 30 seconds. Once the ink has disappeared they are left with squeaky clean hands, ready for their next adventure. It's a really cute idea as it lets the children see the soap and know when it's all been washed off. Both Ryan (aged 4) and Lily (aged 7) loved this one, the added use of colour made washing their hands so much more enjoyable. Getting them to wash their hands has never been so easy. I used to have to ask them 3 times before they would go but now they do it first time. To me that's a great result so I am very happy with both  of the hand washes.

The new kids bathing range is not just fun but it's also very reasonably priced so it might be worth checking it out. I know where we'll be going when we need some more.

Disclosure: We were sent our samples in return for an honest review.

#SilentSunday 22/03/2015

Silent Sunday - 22/03/2015

#Letitgo With the New #MagicSnowSleeve from Flair #Review

Let it go With the New Magic Snow Sleeve from Flair 

Frozen Fever has taken over my home once again this week as my 8 year old Lily has been trying out a very exciting new toy from Flair called the Magic Snow Sleeve. It's basically a magic sleeve that attaches to their arm to give them the powers of Queen Elsa herself. Shooting snow is the one thing that every little Frozen fan out there wants to do and now they can. At first I was a bit worried about the 'mess' factor but after seeing the joy it brought to my daughter. I am happy to say, the mess just didn't matter at all and in fact it was much easier to clean up than I had imagined it to be. The snow is like a form of white foam silly string which is easy to pick up when cleaning it away. It's not wet or sticky or messy at all.

As well as the new Magic Snow Sleeve Lily was sent a gorgeous Frozen dress from Rubies' to enhance her Frozen play pleasure. Together with her new dress and her snow shooting powers, she was in absolute Frozen heaven! I have one very happy little girl.

The Magic Snow Sleeve is really simple to put together. Inside the box you get your material snow sleeve to wear on your arm. You get a plastic sleeve which then straps around your arm using it's velcro strap to keep it in place. You get one can of Snow spray and also a water bottle which gives you the choice of either spraying snow or water. You can only use one at a time but it's a great idea that means you can still use this toy to spray water if your snow runs out. We went for the snow spray to start with as you can imagine. You simply remove the lid and then click the can into place on the plastic sleeves frame. Once on your arm you set of the spraying action by pushing up on the lever. It's very easy to do and lots of fun. Lily took a few seconds to get the hand movement right but once she had mastered it, she was off and loved every minute of her snow spraying spree.

My little Frozen fan Lily loves her new Magic Snow Sleeve and Elsa dress, who knew spraying snow could be so much fun. Lily is now looking forward to the Frozen sequel even though it could be a while before that gets made and released. The next movie may be a good while away but the new Frozen Fever short film is out from the 27 th March. I know we are very excited about this, like every other Frozen fan out there is too.

The Magic Snow Sleeve costs around £30 which is quite a lot but then again this is an official Frozen toy so I can imagine that these are going to be very popular. The idea behind the toy may be very simple but for every Frozen fan out there that wishes they could make snow like Queen Elsa does, it's the perfect toy solution. Lily loves it!

Let It snow! #Frozen #Elsa #Snow

A video posted by christine taylor (@v82chris) on Mar 18, 2015 at 9:04am PDT

Disclosure: I was sent my samples in return for an honest review. 

Make this Mothers Day Perfect with the Roberts Bakery Perfect Breakfast in Bed Guide

Make this Mothers Day Perfect with the 

Roberts Bakery Perfect Breakfast in Bed Guide

Just incase you've forgotten, It's Mothers Day tomorrow. What will you be doing to celebrate your Mum? I've bought my Mum a 'useful' gift of a new handbag which I know she will love.I  don't like to go overboard with all the commercialism, there's no need for fancy gifts or spending money that you don't have. Mothers Day is about showing our Mums just how much we love them and just how grateful we are for everything they've done for us.

For me, making breakfast in bed is the perfect way for younger children who maybe can't afford to buy their Mum a gift, to show her just how much they care. Anyone can do it, it's quick and easy and nice and simple for even the youngest of children to have a go at.

Roberts Bakery have put together a nice little guide which I just had to share:

I can't wait for Mothers Day tomorrow, It's been a long time since I've had breakfast in bed. My idea of a perfect breakfast is a nice cup of tea with a runny boiled egg and soldiers. 

The lovely people from Roberts Bakery sent me a rather lovely little breakfast in bed set this week to help make all my Mothers Day dreams come true. I can't wait!

If my Mothers Day breakfast tomorrow looks anything like what I created above, then I will be one happy Mummy. My children are all aged 12 and under but I'm sure that together they can manage to create one breakfast. It may not be a the best tasting breakfast (last year they over loaded my toast with butter) but it will be the perfect breakfast and very much appreciated. A little time and effort goes a long way to showing your Mummy how much you care. It's not just men whose stomach is the way to their heart.

Whatever you're up to tomorrow to celebrate your Mum, I hope you have a wonderful day. 

New Schleichs Novelty Mini Dinosaurs #Review

New Schleichs Novelty Mini Dinosaurs

 Schleichs have got a new range of novelty Mini Dinosaurs. There's 10 new Mini Dinosaurs to enjoy, there's everything from the huge Tyrannosaurus rex, vicious Velociraptor and slow Stegosaurus. Each one is a mini replica of the giant beasts we all know and love.

My little man was sent a small selection of the new Mini Dinosaurs to play with this week and I have to say, he's been one happy little boy indeed. He may be only 4 years old but he's already developed a small obsession for these four legged creatures. These little fellas may be small but their play potential is much bigger. Each one is very detailed and looks just the like the real thing. They're textured and painted really well, Ryan loves them.

I kind of knew that Ryan would love them but I was a little surprised when his big sister Lily took a liking to them too. The two of them have been playing their own games with their new mini friends for hours. They're great small toys for children with big imaginations.

If you have a little one who loves Dinosaurs then these are a must have. They're very sweet, size wise but great fun to play with. My two have been having a Roaringly good time!

Disclosure: We received a sample of these toys in return for an honest review.

Want to become Vue cinemas official Children’s/Family Movie Reviewer? #Competition

Want to become Vue cinemas official 

Children’s/Family Movie Reviewer?

Vue Cinemas are looking for their next People’s Pundit for Family: Could you be their next film critic? The search is now on and it's very easy to enter.

All the information you will need to know is right here online at VUE but let me explain a little about how it's all going to work. Vue are looking for someone who's maybe a big kid at heart or just really good with words. They want someone who's going to be able to tweet a film review in just 1 tweet, that's just 140 characters which is pretty tough.

If you'd like to be their People’s Pundit for Family, then all you need to do is head over to Twitter and tweet them ( @vuecinemas ) a review of your favourite family film using the hashtag #vuepeoplespundit. You'll need to be a super-sharp writer and make each and every word count as you'll of course only have 140 characters –  Do you think you can rise to the challenge?  I know that I am definitely going to have a go!

You have until Friday 20th March to dazzle them with your reviews, after which they will select their favourite 25 finalists who will then get to attend a screening of the forthcoming Disney epic Cinderella which in itself is a great prize for the final 25.

After the screening, the 25 finalists will submit their reviews of the film and then all go onto a new and improved social voting app where the person with the most votes will reign supreme. (I'm not a fan of voting competitions myself but I have been reassured that the voting process will be monitored very carefully to make sure vote buyers or cheats don't spoil it for others. I'm happy to take in part in which case).

The winner will not only receive a review spot on their blog, but a Gold Vue cinema pass which entitles the winner plus a lucky friend to see a limitless amount of films for 12 months.

The Terms and Conditions: Please do read them.

1. Entrants must use #VuePeoplesPundit to enter with their review of their favourite family movie.
2. The closing date for entries is 23:59 Wednesday 18th March.
3. On Thursday the 19th March we will collect 25 of our favourite entries and invite them to their local screenings of Cinderella at Vue.
4. After the screening, you can vote for your favourite review via the Vue website.
5. Reviewers will then have until 23:59 Tuesday 21st April 2015 to collect as many votes as possible.
6. The reviewer with the most votes will win and become Vue’s official Family film critic and be awarded with a 12 month Vue guest pass.  

If you are going to have a go and enter - Good Luck! x

A Phone with a Rescue Plan - Perfect for Mothers this Mother's Day ( KAZAM Tornado 348 ) #Review

A Phone with a Rescue Plan - Perfect for Mothers this Mother's Day. ( KAZAM Tornado 348 ) 

The stunning new KAZAM Tornado 348 is the world's slimmest phone at just 5.15mm thin whilst it's screen is a whopping 4.8" of AMOLED screen perfection. It's definitely a good looking phone but what makes KAZAM different from the other phones on the market?

First off KAZAM offers a Free Screen Replacement service incase you break your screen within the first twelve months. Not only will they fix your phone but KAZAM will repair it for you for free and return it to you, typically within a week which is pretty quick.

The KAZAM Tornado 348 is more than just an ultra-slim smartphone. Its straight clear lines and slightly rounded corners give it an elegant design and minimalistic style perfect for us women. You'll not just want to use it but you'll want to wear it like a fashion accessory!

The next thing that makes KAZAM phones different is their KAZAM Rescue service which is a telephone service there to help you with your every need regarding your new phone. It's a simple 6 step service which makes setting up your phone really easy. So easy in fact that even us non-technology using Mums could do it all by ourselves. The 6 steps include:

Step 1 - Call their contact centre on the provided number.

Step 2 - Launch the pre-installed KAZAM Rescue application on your Smartphone.

Step 3 - Entering a six digit PIN which will be provided by KAZAM.

Step 4 - KAZAM will then be able to access key information from your device, to more efficiently diagnose any issues.

Step 5 - KAZAM will attempt to fix the issue by changing settings or update your software.

Step 6 - And that’s it!

Once completed (or at anytime) you can terminate the session. KAZAM does not retain any information from your device. It's a great service which makes getting a new phone a whole lot less scarier. Having someone to talk you through things on the phone is a great service. It makes you feel supported and really does make your set up much easier.

The last feature that makes it different from all the rest is the opportunity to register your KAZAM Android Smartphone with them to upgrade from standard 2 year warranty, to an extended 3 years. Warranty is a great thing to have as you never know what the future holds for you and your new phone. It's one safety net that always comes in handy.

I really like the KAZAM Tornado 348, it's great looking, super thin and on Android which is a must for me. I am a huge Android fan and would happily recommend this Operating System to anyone and everyone. Android phones are fully customisable and really easy to use.

The KAZAM Tornado 348 will cost you around £249 which makes it a middle end priced phone. It's not at the top end prices of £500 plus like the Samsungs and iPhones but it's not at the low end prices either. I've already mentioned how cool it looks but it's also high powered with it's Mediatek True8core processor which provides an outstanding user experience. The 8 cores work independently of each other for maximum multi tasking, or together when you need the extra power. That sure sounds good to me.

The KAZAM Tornado 348 is run on the Android 4.4 Operating System called KitKat. KitKat offers a more polished design, improved performance and some new features to provide a truly immersive experience. With an up to date OS, you really can't go wrong. 

The screen is made from Gorilla Glass 3 which offers a strong yet stylish looking screen. Gorilla Glass 3 has a high resistance to shocks and scratches which is always a good thing. But remember even if you do break or scratch your screen, you can get your free screen replacement within the first 12 months which is great news.

The smartphone’s edging and internal parts are made of aluminum alloy which makes the device nice and  lightweight at just 95.5 grams whilst also being very durable. The metal frame is damage resistant which helps to prevent bending and breaking.

One things that us Mums like to to with our phones is take lots of pictures of our kids and families so the Tornado 348’s 8 megapixel camera will be perfect for you. It will allow you to collect many colourful photographs in your gallery as well as many likes on social networks. 

Overall, I was really impressed with the KAZAM Tornado 348. It looks great, performs well and has those extra added features of an extended warranty, free screen repair service and of course the wonderful Rescue Service which is always available if and when you need it.

The KAZAM Tornado 348 would make a lovely Mother's Day gift as the phone is great and it's extra friendly customer service is just what us Mums need from time to time.

Our Blaze and the Monster Machines Party was a huge success! #NickJrBlaze

Our Blaze and the Monster Machines Party

 was a huge success!

It's been a long day here but I'm happy to say our Blaze and the Monster Machines party is now over and everyone who attended had a wonderful time. We played lots of games, did puzzles and had a go at lots of different science experiments. We all had a blast!

We started our party off by watching the worlds premier of the new programme itself. Blaze and the Monster Machines was on Nick Jr at 4pm and then there was a second show at 4:30pm. We tuned into both and have to say the show was a huge hit with all the kids.

It's a nice interactive show which asks the kids to join in and shout out their answers at the Tv. The main characters have to solve lots of problems using maths and science which is a great way of introducing them to the kids. Everyone really enjoyed the first two episodes and are now eagerly awaiting the rest. I know I am, the show was really interesting.

We used our countings skills to count up the buttons and used our navigational skills to help Blaze find his way safely through the maze which was lots of fun

We used lots of boxes, sticks, stickers, plasticine and other pieces to create our very own Monster Machines. This was a really popular activity which really gave them the freedom to create whatever they wanted. Once made, we then raced them across the living room floor.

Once we'd made Monster Machines out of boxes we then got to make some more but this time we used chocolate bars and yummy sweets. Again this activity went down very well with the kids but this time we didn't race them, we ate them. Yum!

We played a good old fashioned game of 'Sink or Float' which got very messy but was lots of fun. The kids were asked to guess what would sink and what would float. We then popped the items, ranging from plastic balls to heavy stones into the bucket to see what happened. It was great to see the kids faces as they learnt through play.

Last but not least we had a go at some science experiment toys. We had a magnetic car that saw a car being pushed or pulled by a magnet. We also had a balloon controlled hovercraft which was very exciting. Who knew that you could make a hovercraft fly across the table by balloon power. The kids had a great time trying them out, it was great to see.

Wow, we sure have had a busy day but a great time at our party. To finish off each guest received a nice goody bag to take away with them. I think everyone had a good time, I know my own children did and I sure did too. Learning through play is my favourite kind of play so today has been a good day for us here. I hope you all had fun too.

If youwant to find out more about Blaze and the Monster Machines you can visit Nickjr.co.uk for more fun Blaze and the Monster Machines activities and games.

Ravensburger's Eiffel Tower 3D Puzzle by Night #Review

Ravensburger's Eiffel Tower 3D Puzzle by Night 

 This "Night Edition" Eiffel Tower puzzle uses LED technology to create 3 different coloured lighting effects. It's aimed at children aged 12 and over so it's not for the little ones. The completed puzzle will glow with a warm white, blue or red light, automatically changing to make this an effective and dramatic addition to any room. The puzzle uses unique hinged plastic pieces, which slot together to build a sturdy and strong building, there's no glue required! The Eiffel Tower puzzle has 216 high quality plastic pieces and measures 44cm tall when complete. Each puzzle piece is printed with a number on the reverse side, so you can either assemble the puzzle by eye, or just by following the numbers. The puzzle comes with a printed base board, so it can be displayed easily on a shelf or table top. 

I'm not very good with jigsaw puzzles so I kind of cheated and gave it to Grampy to do as he's a big jigsaw fan. He was more than happy to have a go at building this one for me.  This is what he has to say about it: "It's a nicely made jigsaw, the pieces were sturdy and well made and fitted nicely into each other. The numbers on the pieces helped as it allowed you to separate them into the three distinct parts of the tower which saved a lot of time. On building the tower I soon realised that each piece was duplicated by four (one for each side) which made it less challenging as once you had found where one fitted, you could straight away fit the same piece on each side. The concept was good but I don't think it would be challenging enough for a pro jigsaw fan. It's quite easy to put together and didn't take much time at all to complete" I think overall he did enjoy it but it was a little easy for him.

Now that Grampy has had a go, My Lily who's 7 is dying to get her hands on it and have a go for herself. If it was too easy for Grampy, it might be just right for Lily. Lily's been a puzzle expert since she was about 3, she's always loved doing puzzles and has become really good at them so I think this one would be perfect for her, even if she is a little young for it. It's a lovely puzzle of a great building so what's not to love.

Disclosure: I received this sample in return for an honest review.

Dressing Up with Asda George #WorldBookDay

Dressing Up with Asda George 

World Book Day 2015

We love dressing up here in the Mummy Of 3 Diaries household so World Book Day is always a fun  one to take part in. Sadly for us, our school decided not to take part this year so we dressed up at home and had fun here instead. I wasn't going to let them miss out on their favourite dressing up day of the year now was I ... No way.

George from Asda have a wide range of Fancy Dress costumes available all year round. There's costumes for babies, toddlers, big kids and even grown ups. There really is something for everyone. This year I let my youngest two pick their own costumes and I have to admit, I was a little surprised by their choices. They didn't pick what I thought they would have. In fact they chose completely different costumes this year.

Lily who's now 7 normally goes for a 'bigger is better' style Princess dress but this year she wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of Oz Dorothy fancy dress costume is a very pretty but simple dress which comes complete with sequin and bow detailed red slippers. From the moment it arrived, Lily was in love with it. It costs just £12.50 which is a great price for this dress and slippers set. The price may be cheap but the quality of this costume is definitely not. The dress feels really nice and the detailing is delightful.

My little man Ryan went for a Captain America costume which is also a first for him. He'd normally pick a Pirates or Animal type costume so this one made for a nice change. This cool Captain America fancy dress costume comprises of a padded all-in-one suit, a face mask and every hero’s must-have – the shield. Ryan loved this costume, although I do kinda get the feeling that the shield is his favourite part. He hasn't put it down since it arrived. Again this one only costs £12.50 which I think is fantastic value for money.

Both my children were delighted with their costumes from George. Costumes in our house are not just for World Book Day but for every day. I'm really pleased with the quality of these costumes, the prices are really great too. They got a firm thumbs up from all of us.

I definitely know where I will be shopping next time we need some new costumes. 

Disclosure: I received costume samples in return for an honest review. All the opinions expressed are 100% honest and all my own.

Our Party Box - What's Inside! #NickJrBlaze

Our Party Box - What's Inside! #NickJrBlaze

With just two days to go, we're all getting very excited here. Our party box has arrived and I'm excited to show you what's inside. There's lots of fab goodies for our party activities and even some goody bags for our little guests to take home with them afterwards.

Our Blaze and the Monster Machines party is taking place this Friday the 6th March between the hours of 3:45pm and 5:45pm. I do hope some of you might join us.

Just incase you're as excited as we are, here's what was inside our box.

There's enough goodybags for 6 guests and each one contains a Nick Jr colouring book, Nick Jr themed umbrella, packet of sweets and a packet of themed plasticine. 

You might spy a rather large plastic bucket in there, that's for our 'Float or Sink' experiment game which we will be playing at some point. There's lots of other things in there for our party, there's one activity where we will be making our very own monster machines from chocolate bars which I'm sure will go down very well.

Remember there's going to be a huge party on Twitter for everyone at home to join in with. There will be lots of prizes to be won throughout the two hours so I hope to see lots of you there. I'll be there tweeting away from our own party here at home letting you know how it's going. I know we're all very excited here and I do hope that you're all excited too.

If you can't wait that long to find out more about Blaze and the Monster Machines you can visit Nickjr.co.uk for more fun Blaze and the Monster Machines activities and games.

We're Having A Blaze and the Monster Machines Party! #NickJrBlaze

We're Having A Blaze and the Monster Machines Party! 

There's a brand new show coming to Nick Jr, Blaze and the Monster Machines and we're having a party to celebrate. The very first episode is set to launch on Friday March 6th at 4pm. We're very excited to watch and find out what's it's all about, I'm hoping you might want to join us too. As well as watching the new show, we're going to be having a party. We'll be playing lots of games and doing lots of fun activities throughout. There will be a host of other lovely Mummy bloggers doing the same at their homes too. We'll all be coming together on Twitter for the live main event and you can join us too.

You can Join the Party by following @UKMumsTV and @NickJrUk on the day and tweet us what you think of the new show. There will be lots of prizes up for grabs, you can follow the #NickJrBlaze hashtag to see all the tweets about what's going on.

So save the date and come along to have some fun. Friday March 6th 3:45pm - 5:45pm.

If you can't wait that long to find out more about Blaze and the Monster Machines you can visit Nickjr.co.uk for more fun Blaze and the Monster Machines activities and games.