Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
Last month, on the 8th February, marked the yearly National Kite Flying Day by many kite flying enthusiasts. We were so lucky to try out this Kitedrone Twinstar Hot Rods from Character Options, especially at this time of the year, when it is quite breezy and with clear skies.
Busy families are rapidly cottoning on to the fact that fake grass is one of the easiest ways to make their gardens low maintenance and family friendly.
But with so much on offer out there, and such variation, how on earth do you even begin to pick the right one for you?
Outdoor cushions are a great way to add a splash of colour to your garden furniture as well as being functional by providing great levels of comfort. This spring, we are furnished with these stunning bright red Sloane & Sons outdoor cushions.
Sloane & Sons was founded by Gerry Sloane in 1989, and a local business based in Burton on Trent. They began by manufacturing cushions and soft furnishings and has now been manufacturing and supplying essential products for the home and garden for over 25 years. This was the first time I had heard about them and I’m very pleased to know that they are so local to me. It’s also good to know that they still make and produce all of their outdoor scatter cushions and garden bench cushions here in England.
It is becoming more and more common for people to install security systems for their home, business and other places of interest, to protect themselves, collect evidence and allows them to report any suspicious activity. We have been wanting to get a security system for our home for peace of mind and as a deterrent for any potential criminals.
Nerf fan alert! Have you seen this brand new N-Strike Elite AccuStrike RaptorStrike? Nerf have done it again by making another awesome blaster for their fans! This blaster is part of the AccuStrike Series, which features darts designed for greater accuracy. This blaster is perfect for indoor and outdoor Nerf battles with your family and friends. This has to be one of the best of all their non-motorised blasters!
Glider Refresh Glider XL deluxe from Yvolution are designed with a unique “lean-to-steer” steering mechanism which helps the user to learn how to steer correctly. This self-propelling mini scooter is perfect for first time riders that allows younger children to comfortably enjoy scooting at their developmental stage. It is suitable for aged three to eight and for up to 50kg.
Most parents of primary school children will have come across Heelys and in fact, at my children’s school, it seems like every child has a pair! They are the trainer style shoe with the skateboard-like wheel in the heel. They are an ingenious, cool looking skate-shoe that enables children to transform an ordinary walk into a much more lively and interesting journey altogether.
After much stormy weather, last Saturday, we finally had a beautiful morning that we decided to go for a walk in the park. We live within easy reach of Sutton Coldfield but have never been to Sutton Park before. Sutton Park is a large urban park. Most of the park is a National Nature Reserve and large parts are also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Chessington World of Adventures Resort’s Explorer Glamping is opening to the public on the 27th May 2016 and includes 35 permanent tents! There are 31 round ‘Glamping’ tents comprising of one double bed and two singles which are able to sleep four. There are also four premium ‘Amboseli Tents’ with a double bed, and separate second sleeping area with three single beds and additional living space.
The sun is out, and just in time for the Easter weekend! With the lovely weather, we decided to visit the National Forest Adventure Farm. As we arrived, the car park was really full. Luckily, we managed to park without having to walk too far. There were so many activities like Easter treasure hunt, Easter Eggspress, lamb feeding and many more! They also have plenty of indoor soft play areas that are suitable for various ages.
Last week, while I was at Britmums live, Project Dad from Parragon Books came just in time for Mr C to try out with both children. This book will give dad some ideas of what to do together with their children.
The book contains 20 exciting projects for outdoor and indoor activities. The outdoor activities are: build your own bug hotel, build your own natural shelter, how to build a campfire, classic glider, make your own explorer kit, have a garden camp out, scavenger hunt, create a nature scrapbook, kite and a day at the beach.
Conkers is a great family-friendly centre, in the National Forest with indoor and outdoor play areas, discovery zones and an amphitheatre. This coming 13th July 2015, they will open the High and Low ropes course which we are looking forward to go on. The High Ropes course has 15 aerial sections to complete while the Low Ropes course are for junior visitors to take on 10 different elements of adventure.
Although it rained non-stop, it didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves with the Bush Craft Survival session, Barefoot Challenge and other outdoor activities. After meeting up with others, we were divided into groups and were given a map to locate our own survival equipment.
A little while ago, I took my children to visit National Adventure Farm to make a scarecrow. We are no strangers to the farm as we are only 30 minutes away, driving up the A38, and is located in Burton upon Trent, within an hour drive from Stafford, Stoke, Nottingham, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester etc. There is plenty of free parking plus disabled parking right at their entrance.
A big congrats to them for breaking the Guinness World record for the largest display of scarecrows! This month is #SpudFest. They have planted half an acre with over 11,000 potato plants which should produce up to 10 tons of spuds. Each weekend this September when you visit with your child, they will be given a bag to fill up with as many potatoes as the bag can take! It was awesome!
Mr K was having a lot of fun digging while Ms C was happy to pick up those potatoes on the soil that were already pre-dug. This was such a great life experience for children to learn about agriculture and how the potatoes grow.
Pumpaloons is a pumping race game which is great for indoors or outdoors. It is suitable for 2 players aged four onwards.
Explore the wonderful world of butterflies with this Interplay’s My Living World Range, Butterfly World. This is a hands-on nature study kit that contains all the equipment required to observe and study the fascinating life cycle of butterflies.
