Month: August 2013

Brioche French Toast with Blueberries and Maple Syrup – Breadmaker Recipe

How to make brioche in a breadmaker

The Great British Bake Off is  well underway and Tuesday evenings see Twitter alive with #GBBO once again. For bloggers this is all well and good, but #GBBO means something different to them this year. For awesome cake bakers Mummy Mishaps and The Crazy Kitchen have launched their own campaign to find the best baking blogger, in the Great Bloggers Bake Off. Now Mummy doesn’t bake a lot, and isn’t a huge cake fan (I know, I keep telling you, I must be adopted!), but this week’s theme was bread, and she’s pretty nifty with the yeast, albeit via the medium of …

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A Just So Festival Review – Not your average camping trip…

The Just So Festival feels funky and colourful

This year we attended our first festival as a family. Prior to my arrival, M&D spent a fair bit of time at festivals, by all accounts being carefree and jolly, though how that’s possible without the presence of a fun-loving child, I have no idea. Anyway, they’ve been in enforced festival-hibernation for 8 years, and this was the summer they intended to go back to their grass roots – literally. We started with Magic Summer Live – a music festival, breaking ourselves in gently with just one day. That ticked, could we manage a whole weekend? We donned our wellies …

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Pets with human names

Over the bank holiday weekend we were camping. We had the best time, kids that got on well, with the natural friendship that comes from seeing each other week in, week out since birth. Friends that know us so well that we can bicker with our partners, yell at children who’ve disappeared to a new friend’s tent without telling us, and eat their Cheerios when ours are all gone. And with whom we laugh. First night there, and we were all woken at 2am by a male voice shouting for Amber. It started in the distance, and over the next …

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10 tips for kids to help with times tables: Wot so Funee?

Image credit I’m doing ok with my times tables. Mummy comes in to test my class on their progress, so she knows that compared to the rest of my class I’m doing well. I know my 2/3/4/5/9/10/11 tables by rote, by random question, and by division question, so it’s all good. However, my best friend has completed every single one of her times tables challenges, and received 25 house points to boot. I find this unacceptable, and so I’m adamant that my goal on return to school in a week’s time is to nail those pesky stragglers 6/7/8 and 12. …

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Pocket money

She was probably about 9. Those were the days when 9 year olds were allowed to go to the shops on their own, with just an instruction not to speak to the strange man from round the corner if they happened across him. (Out of interest she found out via Friends Reunited many years later that he had in fact been convicted of one of those offences, the question being “Was it any safer then than it is now?”). But that is not the point of this story. She was off to spend her pocket money, just as she did every Saturday …

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Kids comic strips: Wot so Funee?

A couple of years ago, on holiday in western France, in an attempt to keep the kids still on the beach for slightly longer than the five minutes we were used to expecting, Actually Daddy inadvertently invented a kids comic strips character. That day we had eaten ham baguette for our picnic lunch… The kids comic strips that endure The story of Ham Baguette Man was an instant hit, and as Mummy curled up with a Jodi Picoult and pretended to doze, the Bug and I begged Daddy daily for the next instalment. He didn’t really mind, he is rather …

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What floats my boat – a Center Parcs family post

This year we are a Center Parcs family. What that means is that me and the Bug bang on and on and on about “when are we going back to Center Parcs, Mummy?” while Mummy daydreams about the 3 blissful hours she spent in the Aqua Sana spa there, not having to listen to such stuff. It also means that we get to feature Center Parcs on our blog, whilst having a go at the fun challenges that they set us. All good so far. However, several of the challenges this year for the Center Parcs family team have revolved …

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Stitched up by a Mermaid Letter! Wot So Funee?

Ha! Something tells me GG has sussed the provenance of the mermaid letter that arrives with decreasing frequency at our house. At last! I can stop adding that to my to do list! And what’s more, she’s totally stitched herself up for several months to come. You see, we found this on the mat, on the Bug’s birthday: So wrapped up is she in the illusion, she’s given herself extra work too: *Sniggers*  Now, if you have your own post to link this week, grab the badge code from the sidebar, and click the link below to enter your post …

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Telling Tales

Are your children fond of telling tales to get themselves out of trouble? Do you love it, or does it wind you up? I myself am perfect, and never do anything wrong in my opinion, but if your children are forever telling tales, I have some really good news for you today. What is Telling Tales? We’re working with M&S uniform today to bring you the outrageous excuses children come up with for getting their clothes dirty. All day long on Twitter, you can tweet their excuses using the #TellingTales tag. Why would you do this? Well, apart from the …

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Tips for dealing with mean girls

Are you a bully? Some types of bullying are less obvious than others

  My darling girl, the time has come for me to tell you about girls. Girls are complicated creatures – I know you’ve got that nailed, you are complicated yourself! Girls can be wonderful, loyal, warm, supportive, nurturing, caring, and funny. They can share everything with you and make you feel like the best person in the world. But they can bring you down with a word – no, a look – and they can destroy your confidence. If you let them. Mean girls: they can be total bitches. I want you to be better than that. You are already better than …

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Give Me 5 Minutes, I’ll Give You The Truth About Book Editors

Hi all, Bug here. I don’t often write on the blog; I don’t often write at all – it’s not my favourite think. So when my first book came home in my folder of accomplishments from my year 1 work, Mummy was surprised to find my first book in there, complete with front cover and jacket blurb. I’ll admit it’s an epic achievement. I pulled out all the stops, avoided sticks for an age (!), and applied myself to my writing. Mummy was so impressed she published it. She edited it first – she so missed her rightful career, that one! Click …

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5 things you never knew you could do in London for kids

We live close to London, so we’re lucky to have it on our doorstep whenever we’re stuck for something to do. From lunches in Chinatown, to cycling practice in Regent’s park, via an hour (or several) in Hamley’s. Our children are so lucky to have this city available to explore. And yet more often than not we go to the usual places, the obvious sites, missing the many hidden jewels that London for kids has to offer. So this holiday we decided to explore some of the secrets of London for kids. London for kids: Stratford This week we visited The …

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Warning: These 5 Mistakes Will Destroy Your Boys Birthday Parties

Yesterday was the Bug’s 6th birthday party. It’s tough having a birthday in the middle of the summer holidays, and there is always someone who can’t make it to the party, so we try really hard to make sure my brother has a good time. Last year we made some mistakes, so this year we opted for something entirely different. He enjoyed both parties, but the adults needed wine with their curly ham sandwiches on both occasions. So with the benefit of hindsight, here are the 5 mistakes we think you should avoid: Do’s and don’ts for boys birthday parties …

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