Build A Bear Workshop

Today we have been to the Build A Bear Workshop at The White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds. The boys have been ever so excited about this visit and they haven't stopped asking when we are going so I was ever so pleased to tell them today was the day they got to make bears.
When we arrived at the store we were greeted by a lovely staff member called Claire. She told the boys all about the wonderful bears or animals that they could choose and explained how the bears were made. the hardest bit was for the boys deciding which teddy they wanted to make as you can see by Callum's face it was a tough decision.

Eventually Callum chose a teddy to be made, Nathan a monkey and James wanted a dog teddy.

Once the boys had chosen their teddies the lovely Vicky came to help them. We were shown the different sound buttons that a teddy can have in it and even shown a special heart that when pressed sounds and feels like a real heartbeat. Callum decided he wanted The Smurfs sound button in his teddy and as Nathan was having a monkey he decided that he wanted the monkey noise too. James on the other hand wasn't very fussed by the noises so he didn't have one put in his teddy.

The next step after putting the sound button in the teddy is stuffing, now to me this is one of the best bits and I'm pretty sure both Callum and Nathan would agree with this as they both enjoyed watching the huge fluff machine spinning round and round, plus they got to help out with this bit.

Now once the bears are stuffed comes the bit that is probably the most important bit of all bringing the teddies to life. Each of us took a little heart in our hand and had to do exactly what Vicky told us to do, we placed the hearts on our noses, heads, knees and tummys. The reason for this was to help the teddies become wise, playful and loving. One last thing to do to the hearts was to kiss them and make a wish, I'm not sure what the boys wished for but I know my wish although a secret is only a wish a mummy could make!. The boys placed their hearts in each on their teddies and then Matt and I also placed the hearts we were holding in with them too. Once this was done the teddies were sewn up.

The boys were then told that they could choose an outfit for their teddies, Nathan chose some lovely Lightning Mcqueen Pyjamas and slippers whilst Matt helped James chose a fisherman's outfit (definitely more Matt's choice than James' I think). Callum didnt want an oufit for his bear but instead chose a bed for his teddy to sleep in. There are many different types of clothes and accessories for bears these can be purchased in store or online here. It was definitely hard work for the boys deciding what to pick as there is so much variety.

We helped the boys to make birth certificates for their teddies, we chose them a name each, Cheeky Monkey, Rover the dog and Bobby Bear. We were given the bears in big boxes so we could take them home and we all had our photo taken with our new teddies (in their boxes).

The picture we had taken

Here are the finished teddies complete with outfits (and bed)

As you can see from Nathan's picture below he loves his monkey very much.

We have loved every second of our visit to the store and will definitely be going again soon. The staff are wonderful and cannot be praised enough by us. They made the boys laugh got them to do things they wouldn't normally do and made us feel really welcome in the store. I honestly don't know how they have the energy to keep smiling and bouncy all day long but they do. It is really nice to see this too as sometimes when I visit a shop even when aimed at children I get the feeling the staff would rather be elsewhere, and in my opinion when you work in this type of atmosphere you must be willing to help your customers and make it an enjoyable experience for them. For this reason I am rating the staff at the Leeds Build a Bear Workshop with a fantastic 5/5, we also give the experience of building a bear a 5/5 too. We will be highly recommending our friends to try this but definitely telling all our local and close friends to go see Vicky and her staff in the Leeds store.

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HappyLand Ready to Play Funfair Set

The boys have been playing with a fabulous toy over the last 3 weeks. The lucky little devils were sent the HappyLand Ready to Play Funfair Set from Early Learning Centre (ELC). The set is priced at £60 and is suitable for children aged over 18months.

The funfair set is made up of a carousel, a big wheel, a pirate boat ride, a spinning rockets ride, a train, a bus and a ice cream van and several figures. The set can be play with separately or added to other HappyLand sets. The set does require batteries so that the carousel and big wheel have sound effects. Both have on/off switches and two different volume levels. The good thing about this is that you don't need to have the sounds switched on for the children to still enjoy playing with the Funfair, the boys always make their own noises and are always pretending to make the figures talk to each other and very rarely had the sounds turned on.
The boys love the set and have had lots of fun playing with it. Although the play set is aimed at children aged 18months + Callum has enjoyed playing with his brothers and I'm pleased to say they are learning to share more and more. The set is big enough for them all to play without fighting over bits or figures.  James loves nothing better than to sit the figures in the bus or train and send them flying down the room, he also loves placing the figures on the carousel or big wheel and make them spin round and round, it makes him chuckle which is really lovely to hear. Whilst Callum and Nathan thought it would be fun to see who could spin the big wheel and the carousel the quickest.

The Funfair set is priced at £60. I do think this is a reasonable price to pay as you do get lots of toys for your money. This would definitely be a toy that I would happily buy for a main birthday or Christmas present for one of my boys. We would highly recommend the Funfair play set to anyone with young children, it will give you hours of fun and you won't be disappointed. We give the Funfair a magnificent 5/5 rating.

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Leib: Resto & Aed (Tallinn restaurant review)

I'll be doing a series of photo reviews of various restaurants here and there. 

Photo: Liina Vahter

Leib: resto ja aed (this translates as Bread: restaurant and garden) is probably one of the most atmospheric and stylish outdoor dining areas in Tallinn right now. We've had an exceptionally lovely summer with long, warm, light nights, and not much rain - and I've had the pleasure of spending few evenings at this place. The photos here are taken in late July, when my dear friends Emma & Michael were visiting from Edinburgh and I was keen to show that summers in Estonia can be so much nicer and warmer and drier than they were ever in Scotland :D

Leib was opened earlier this summer, when a group of young food and wine enthusiasts took over the former Scottish Club. There are two guys behind the restaurant - Kristjan Peäske (one of the best sommeliers in Estonia) and Janno Lepik (has worked in London's Babylon and Rhodes WI), and their mission is to serve simple food that's made from best and freshest ingredients and doesn't cost a fortune.

They've done well. The food is excellent and indeed, not over-priced. The service is extremely friendly and confident, the atmosphere really enjoyable. I'm worried a lot of the charm is based on their excellent outdoor seating area, but I do hope the place is just as charming when they move indoors for the cooler months.

Rabbit fritters with red wine mayonnaise:


The bread:


Puff pastry tart with rocket/arugula and ricotta cheese:


Fish of the day: pan-fried European perch with sautéed vegetables:


Pan-fried free-range chicken breast (may sound simple, but finding a free-range chicken in Estonia is quite a feat!):


Strawberry soup with ice cream:


Crème brûlée with rye bread crumbs:


Caramel kissel with blackcurrants and oats:


On a previous visit I enjoyed a cold clear tomato broth with herbs and curd cheese pudding with crispy rhubarb sauce, grilled lamb's liver. Definitely worth a visit, whether it's just the food or a glass of wine with something light alongisde. You'll find Leib's contact details here.

Eesti lugejatele: Nami-Nami foorumis on Leib: resto ja aed teema siin, nende Facebooki fännilehe leiate siit.

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Wax beans in garlic butter

Wax beans (aka yellow string beans) are thriving in our garden this year, and we've been eating lots of them lately. Here's one of my favourite ways of preparing them - which also happens to be one of the easiest recipes ever :)

Using savory is by no means compulsory - the beans are lovely with just garlic butter. However, the flavour of savory complements the beans really well - note that in German, the herb is called Bohnenkraut or 'bean herb' :)

Wax beans in garlic butter

wax beans
butter
garlic
some fresh (summer) savory leaves

Trim the beans, then blanch in salted water for 5-7 minutes, until al dente. Drain thoroughly.
Meanwhile, peel the garlic clove(s), cut the garlic into thin slices or chop coarsely.
Melt the butter on a frying pan, add the garlic and sauté for a minute over moderate heat.
Add the drained beans, fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, until the beans are soft and seasoned with garlic butter.
Sprinkle with savory leaves and serve.

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Curious Caterpillar Activity Pull-along Toy

We were sent a lovely Curious Caterpillar Activity Pull-along Toy from www.littlebirdtoldme.co.uk. The toy is suitable for children aged 6months+ and is priced at £16. It can be purchased here.

The toy is made up of a caterpillar and an apple, it is a very cute looking caterpillar that lives in a brightly coloured apple. The caterpillar and apple are made up different textured materials and activities like a bell, a squeaker, mirror and crinkly bits too. James thought it was great making the caterpillar rattle and squeak at the same time.

Everything on the toy is designed with safety in mind, the pull cord has a Velcro fastening so it can come undone, the wooden wheels are removable too so  the toy can be played with without them.

James loved the caterpillar, even though he is slightly too big for the toy himself he still loved pulling it around the floor and making the caterpillar move in and our of the apple. He also enjoyed taking the wheels out of the apple and rolling them on the floor!. He has given the toy to our neighbours to play with as both Charlie and Spencer took a shine to it when they came to play. As they are younger than James they are sure to get a lot more use and play out of it. We would definitely consider buying this toy for some of our younger friends. We give this a fabulous 4/5 rating.

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Ladybird Big Noisy Book: Farm Hullaballoo!

The boys have been sent a big noisy book from Ladybird called Farm Hullaballoo!. The book is targeted at children aged 3 - 5 years old, it is priced at £10.99. It can be purchased here.

Although the book is aimed at children aged 3 - 5 years all 3 boys love it. Callum loves reading the story to Nathan and James and both Nathan and James both love pressing the sound buttons to hear the animal noises. The story is well written and is made up of easy to read words for children who are learning to read. Nathan cant read on his own yet but he is starting to associate pictures with words so this book has been great for him to see words and have sounds together.

The book is fun but full of facts too so is great for a child that is learning about farms and farm animals. I would highly recommend this book to both nursery's and parents. We give it a well deserved 4/5.

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Jackson Reece Baby Wipes

Jackson Reece has come a long way since they were created in 2003. Winner of many baby awards over the last few years (including gold award in 2010/2011 in the Mother and Baby Awards)  just shows how popular they are with parents today. They are a natural wipe that contains no Alcohol, Lanolin, Parabens, Benzoates or soaps - all which are used in baby wipes and are known to cause irritation and drying of skin. Instead the Jackson Reece wipes are made from vegetable or plant extracts. The wipes are biodegradable as is the packaging - which is a first for any baby wipe company in the world.

I was very kindly sent some packets of Jackson Reece Baby Wipes to review. I am lucky that all 3 boys have reasonably healthy skin, we have had very mild eczema cases with Callum and Nathan when they were younger but this has only ever caused them discomfort when the weather has changed as the temperature seemed to trigger it off.  James on the other hand has never had eczema but has suffered with nappy rash and this has always been at its worst when teething, we've had bleeding blisters on his bottom and he's hated nappy changing with a passion and would cry in pain when we had to wipe his bum. I can honestly say that since using the Jackson Reece wipes we've not had any problems with his skin at all. We have been using the Jackson Reece toilet wipes with Nathan and he is finding it easier cleaning himself with the moist wipes than using toilet roll.

The wipes have a refreshing but gentle scent to them, only organic Lavender, Tea Tree and Aloe Vera are used in the wipes. The wipes are very soft but thick so are easy to clean even the dirtiest of bottoms. I had my reservations about the wipes actually being any good as when I have purchased organic wipes in the past I found that they didn't work well and weren't wet enough to actually clean any mess. I have changed my opinions on this type of wipe and will definitely use them again, The Jackson Reece wipes are plenty wet enough and even keep their wetness well within an opened packet.

The wipes are available in packets that contain 72 wipes and can be purchased from all good retailers including John Lewis, Superdrug, Mothercare and from many online retailers too. They are priced between £2 and £3 depending on where you buy them. They are available in 3 different varieties, scented, unscented and toilet wipes. For more information about Jackson Reece see their website http://www.jacksonreece.com/home.htm.

I will be recommending these wipes to all my friends as not only are they kind and gentle to a babies skin but they also help us do our bit for the environment by being biodegradable. I would rate these with a fantastic 4/5.

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Born Free Twist n Pop Cup

James has been reviewing lots of products over the last few weeks and the most recent one has been a new cup. The Bornfree Twist n Pop Cup is suitable for toddlers aged 12 months+. The cup is available in 4 different colours and can be purchased from here, it is priced at £4.99.

The cup is easily disassembled for cleaning and is non spill. The cup has a straw that is easily taken out to clean and a twist top so that when out and about the straw can be closed within the cup. The cup will hold 400ml of liquid so is great to fill and take out for the day. We took the boys out for a walk in the woods today and the cup came too. I know that I can store it under the pushchair or in my bag and it wont leak.

The cup is really easy for James to drink out of as the straw reaches to the bottom. This is the first time he's had a cup that doesn't have a spout and he loves it. We would highly recommend the Twist n pop cup to all our mummy friends who are making the transition with toddlers. We rate this with a well deserved 4/5.

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What I Dream of Owning Most...

I have been tagged by Charlie Monsters Fun House and Hex Mum to tell you about the things I dream of owning:

1.  An Apple Ipad 2

This would be so that I can blog wherever I am and can keep in touch with all my lovely friends and followers on both Twitter and Facebook easier. Plus it would mean I'm not sat at the computer constantly.


2. A Mamas and Papas Sola Pushchair

I love this pushchair and would love to own one, it is really funky and looks great. James maybe two but we do lots of school runs and take Pepper and Yogi out for walks everyday so we still use a pushchair lots on a daily basis.

3. A top of the range washing machine and dishwasher as in our house these are the two appliances that are used the most and are definitely on their last legs from all the use. I am dreaming of the day when I can replace them :).

4. Last but not least I would love a piece of signed Jenson Button memorabilia, in our house he is the best F1 driver and is the only one we all follow, we would love to meet him one day but would be happy with a signed tshirt or cap until then.

I am tagging Lindy Loves and Mummy of 3 Diaries xxx

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The best ever marinated olives (aceitunas aliñadas)

Well, I don't actually know if that title holds true, but when I made these olives recently, then my dear K stated that these are better than anything he's ever had before (read: shop-bought marinated olives). I loved them, too.

I had few friends over for a tapas night recently, and wanted to serve aceitunas aliñadas. I browsed tens of recipes for Spanish-style marinated olives, and finally came up with this version. I had run out of sherry vinegar, so used a mixture of Spanish red wine vinegar and some dry sherry instead, but feel free to use sherry vinegar instead. As far as the olives are concerned, try to find Spanish ones that are unstoned - these have much more flavour compared to the stoned olives. I used Spanish hojiblanca olives, but arbequina, sevillano, manzanilla (f. ex. Campo Real), arauco would all work well, too.

These last for a week in a fridge, if not longer.


PS If you've got a favourite marinated olives recipe, I'd love to hear about it! Feel free to leave a link to your recipe in the comments section.

Marinated olives, Spanish style
(Marineeritud oliivid)
Serves four to six as part of a tapas table

about 200-250 g olives (in brine, drained weight)
1 Tbsp Spanish extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine viner + 1 Tbsp sherry)
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed in a mortar
1 thyme sprig, leaves only
1 rosemary sprig, leaves only
0.5 tsp dried red chilly flakes
1 or 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Place the drained olives into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir.
Leave to macerate for at least couple of hours before serving.

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Our mushrooms

Last year we were picking morels (and turned them into a spectacular morel tatin), this time it's pennybuns :)

Which mushrooms are you picking from your own garden? ;)

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HTC Cha Cha Mobile Phone

I have been so lucky over the last fortnight, as I have very kindly been sent a HTC Cha Cha mobile phone to review from the lovely people over at 3.

The phone can be purchased for £199 on pay as you go or can be bought on a contract for as little as £20, more information on this can be found at http://threestore.three.co.uk/.
I have to say I was worried about being able to use the phone when it arrived as the reception can be very hit and miss even though we live in a large town, but I have to say it held so well in and around the area where I live as we usually have problems keeping reception. 3 kindly sent me a sim card loaded with £10 but I also had unlimited data and texts plus 300 cross network minutes that i could use. I have found that even being on the net most of the day and texting reasonably often i still haven't used my limits. I am extremely impressed by this as it has always been a concern of mine in the past with previous phones.

The Cha Cha is one of the latest smartphones brought out by HTC. It runs the android operating system. From the android market you can download 1000's of apps many of which are free so that you can customise the phone with fantastic ringtones, backgrounds and games, one favourite in our house is Angry Birds it is just far too addictive and I don't have enough time in the day.

I have listed the main phone specifications here.

Battery life.

Standby: 350 Hours

Talk Time: 350 Minutes

Camera.

Resolution: 5MP

Flash Type: LED

Size/Weight.

Depth: 10.88mm

Height: 114mm

Width: 66.5mm

Weight: 120g

Connectivity.

Bluetooth

Cable

WLAN

Network.

FM Radio

Band: Quad

Java

Features.

FM Radio

GPS

Java

Loudspeaker

Music Player

Video Player

Voice Dial

I was asked to review the phone so that it tied in with some research carried out by 3 back in March. The research focused on Mums and what it means to be a modern mum. This may sound rather boring but in fact the figures when broken down are quite interesting. It wasn't until i saw this information that i realise just how much us mums do on a daily / weekly basis for our families, don't get me wrong I would never swap my place with anyone but now I can see just why I am so tired at the end of a busy day. The graph below shows the activities which an average mum does each day.

The research showed that mums spent an average of 10 hours a day doing household tasks. If us mums were paid for this work we would earn £37,000 a year. The saying "a mothers work is never done" is certainly true as we work all hours round the clock cleaning, cooking and caring for our families.

3 have also been very busy working with mums over the last few months and even held a competition to find the best family app for use on a smartphone. the winning app was Family Quest, this is an app that aims to bring families closer together by helping out doing weekly chores. More information about this can be found on 3's Facebook page. 

I do have to admit that the Cha Cha has been an amazing addition to my life over the last two weeks, It has meant I can keep in touch with my friends whilst out and about or whilst doing the chores. I admit to being one of the worlds noisiest people and have ended up sitting at the pc for hours talking to my best friend when I should of been doing something instead, with the Cha Cha it is so easy as you can log into your Facebook chat and if anyone wants to talk to you it just pops up on screen. It is also easy to log out of too so if you find yourself too busy talking instead of doing your weekly shop you can log out quickly. 

The Cha Cha has been named the Facebook phone and this is because it has Facebook button that allows you to post a status or a picture (from the camera or already taken pictures) straight to your wall or that of your friends, it is so much quicker and easier than doing it through a Facebook app on other smart phones.

I would highly recommend this phone to my mummy friends or any of my friends in fact, it is small and compact and has lots of things to suit everyone. It is reasonably priced and looks very stylish. I would give it a rating of 5/5.

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Marinated pork tenderloin

In principle, this recipe is very similar to my favourite fish dish of this summer, grilled salmon in balsamic and chive marinade and Nigella's grilled steaks with lemon and thyme. You first cook a simply seasoned piece of meat or fish till done to your taste, and _then_ marinate it. Slice and serve. Perfect for hot summer days (when you don't want to switch on your oven) or some casual weeknight entertaining (when you're too busy to prepare the dish after a long day's work).

Again, the recipe is adapted from the Swedish Lantliv Mat och Vin - one of our recent favourite food magazines out there (the others being French Regal and Finnish Glorian Ruoka ja Viini). I used white port instead of white wine, and I bet it would work with Marsala or Madeira just as well (if you prefer using wine, take 200 ml wine and 100 ml water).

Marinated pork tenderloin
(Marineeritud seafilee)
Serves four to six (or more as part of a buffét)



1 pork tenderloin (about 500 g)
butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade:
100 ml white port
200 ml water
0.5 Tbsp salt
3 bay leaves
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Heat the butter on a frying pan over a moderately high heat, add the pork fillet and fry until golden brown on all sides. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes, until the meat is cooked. Season generously with salt and pepper, leave to cool a little.
Place all the ingredients for the marinade into a small saucepan. Bring into a boil, simmer for a few minutes.
Place the meat into a suitably sized container, pour over the marinade. Cover and place into a fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until the flavours develop.
To serve, take the meat out of the marinade, and cut it into thin slices.

Beautiful, oh-so-easy and you can use your preferred herbs.

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The Fearsome Beastie Book

Callum was sent the Fearsome Beastie book to review. The book is written by Giles Paley-Philips and was published May 2011. The book is written in rhyme and priced at £5.99, it can be bought from Amazon and all other good bookshops.

The book is well illustrated by Gabriele Antonini. The print is of a good size and is easy enough for a child to read and callum could read the whole story without much help. He liked that the book rhymed and laughed quite a lot of the time.

This book isn't the best I've ever read but then I am 27 years old, Callum on the other hand thought it was great and has told his friends about the monster story book he received through the post, he loves reading it over and over again and even asked his new teacher if she would like to read it to the class when they go back to school in September. She has agreed and he has said he that he will take it in. Callum rates this book 3/5 as it has great pictures and is easy to read.

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MAM Learn to Brush Set

James was lucky enough to be sent the Learn to Brush Set from MAM. The set can be bought on-line from the MAM website and is priced at £6.12. You can buy one of three different colours, pink, green or blue. The set comprises two toothbrushes, one training brush and one first brush, it also contains a shield that can be used to make sure your child keeps their brush away from the back of their mouth.
The training brush is designed so that you can use it whilst your child holds the brush too. Both brushes has soft bristles. The handles are rounded so they are easier to grip.

James is now at an age where he is becoming very independent and him letting us do anything for him is such a task. The Learn to Brush Set is great for toddlers of James age, even though it can be used from 6 months plus or before if babies first tooth has already appeared.
We used the training brush first with him so that he could hold the handle too and he loved it, any brush we've had before always has had a short handle so he has always grabbed it from us, brushing is teeth has always been a nightmare for us.
After we have brushed his teeth we have given him the first toothbrush with the shield in place and he now practices brushing his own teeth. We will continue with this for a while longer yet but it has been a lot easier to teach him in the last two weeks than it has ever been with both Callum and Nathan and even James up until receiving this set.

We are really pleased with this product and would highly recommend it to all our mummy friends. We give this a 4/5 rating. It is something I would have liked to have had when I first started teaching my boys to brush their teeth as it has made the job a lot easier with James.

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MAM Baby's Bowl & Baby's Fork and Spoon

The lovely people over at MAM sent James the Baby's Bowl & Baby's Fork and Spoon sets.

The Baby's Fork and Spoon set and the Baby's Bowl are available to buy from the MAM online shop and are priced at £3.10 and £5.10. Both are suitable for babies aged 6 months plus. Both are BPA free.

 The bowl comes with a lid and suction cup so it can be stuck to a highchair or table. As the bowl has a lid it can be used whilst out and about or to store food in. The bowl also have a two tier design which makes it easier for a small child to pick food up out of the bowl.

The cutlery is made from soft non slippery plastic so it is easy for small hands to hold. They are curved so that it is easy for toddlers and babies to get used to holding cutlery properly.

Overall I am really pleased with both these two items I reviewed them together as I thought it was easier as we were using them at the same time. I would highly recommend them as would James as he has not used anything since at meal times. We award these MAM products a well deserved 4/5.

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