Wedding Plans
Posted on August 27, 2009
OK folks I need your help. As some of you already know, Wal and I are getting married. We’re thinking sometime in May, during half term so our friends can come to the wedding. I would like a destination wedding which is the reason for a half term wedding date. Somewhere in Northern Portugal, perhaps a winery? Or maybe in Madeira although I watched 2 minutes of Kerry Katona on telly this evening and she was going on holiday to Madeira so she might have just ruined it for me.
So you’re wondering where/why I need help. I am ashamed to say that I don’t know nuthin’ bout weddings. I think Wal and I might just go to a registry office and do the legal deed then off somewhere for the party. What do I bring? Do I need wedding favors? A cake? A dance? A DJ/Band? I just want a really chilled out weekend drinking some fab wine w/ friends and family in a super cool winery. Basically not very ‘wedding’ like. Anyone have any suggestions of places to go or wedding ideas? Anything would be great. I don’t really want to start buying wedding magazines as they’re geared for the more traditional bride and that is something I am not. Wal and I have been together for a while, we have child together so all that wedding malarkey just seems a bit silly to me.
Is May too soon? How far ahead to we have to plan these things? Oh mah gawd I don’t have a clue… help!
Oh and a recent photo of Squidge…
I think I’m a country girl
Posted on August 23, 2009
This weekend I did something I never in a million years thought I would do, I participated in and won a snail race. I have said this before and will say it again I am a city girl through and through. I’d never seen a tadpole until recently. I’ve never ridden a horse. The first time I was stung by a nettle I freaked out thinking I had been bitten by a bug. Yes folks I am citified, my idea of wildlife was killing the roaches that crawled up the bathtub pipes in my high rise dorm building.
Squidge and I drove to Allostock in Cheshire on Saturday to join in on a family fun day. I dream of living in a big house in Cheshire so I jumped at the chance. The little village of Allostock is beautiful (and if my rightmove app is anything to go by veddy veddy pricey) and we had a fantastic time. Squidge ran around singing, dancing, decorating biscuits, staring at Shetland ponies, eating ice cream and picking the winning snail.
The city girl in me was a bit icked out by the bucke o’snails but Squidge just reached right in there and pulled one out.
She chose #38, we named him Bolt.
Bolt was a bit on the hefty side. I was going to have her pick another one but though hell it’s only 30p! We set our snail on the table along w/ the others and the race started. They were feisty little buggers which amazed me a little. Still, at the end of the day they were snails so we wandered off for a bit while the race went on. When I went back to check on Bolt he was in the lead– holy freaking slime ball! This is the point in the story were you see how pathetically competitive I am. A girl, no older than 10, was helping her snail along by waving some lettuce in front of her snail. I thought to my self OH HELL NO IS ISN’T!! Please visualize my best Shanaenae. Yes folks I took piece of lettuce and BRIBED little ole Bolt to the finish line. Booyah!!! All joking aside Bolt was going and wasn’t all that interested in the lettuce
So that’s the story of how this city girl won a snail race and came home w/ a bag of marbles. Good thing too as I think I might be losing mine.
Paperpod Rocket
Posted on August 23, 2009
Toy: Paperpod Rocket
Retailer: On-line
Web Link:http://www.paperpod.co.uk/index.htm
Price: £29.95 (+ £5.95 postage)
Score out of 4:5
Initial thoughts: I was a bit skeptical when I saw the box– it’s not the type of thing I would buy just because of its size AND cardboard! I was worried about the quality. I do love anything that Squidge needs to use her imagination to play with so I was keen to get into the box and assemble it. If you’re like me and a bit challenged in the flat pack department you might need some help. Luckily for me I had a friend who whipped it together in no time. Once it was up we had a hard time keeping the kids away from it. We set them up w/ markers and crayons and they had a fantastic time doodling on the rocket. If you have a crafty child this rocket will keep them entertained for days and days just decorating it. Our 3 were a little impatient and after a few doodles it was time to blast off!!
We Liked: It was a bit out of the ordinary and the kids just really took off and let their imagination run riot. If you have a child who is mad about space/planets then this will really get them excited. It’s made of some pretty sturdy cardboard. It’s made from recycled materials and is recyclable. CREATIVITY! CREATIVITY!! CREATIVITY!! No princesses, trains or explorers and it can be anything your child wants it to be. I would buy one for this reason alone.
We weren’t keen on: It’s size. If you struggle w/ space like I do then this is not the toy for you. Although it’s angled so it does fit easily into a corner and being cardboard it can easily be disassembles and stored away. I’m of two minds with this one– some of the things I love about it are also the things that I am not keen on. It’s a bit pricey for a cardboard toy BUT our three played w/ it for ages and ages. If you have the room for it then it is well worth the £35.
Overall: It’s creative. It’s fun. If you’re looking for something that will stimulate imaginations and increase role playing the range of Paperpod products fits the bill. The fact that it’s not “branded” is a huge bonus for those of us that try to find alternative products for our children. I think it is made in the UK– I had a good look around their website but couldn’t find anything that said differently. I’m always looking for locally made products so if it is in fact made in the UK it is another reason to buy.
I did submit this review to a fab new UK toy review website Great Toy Guide . I feel that although a lot of the toys can be purchased in the US it is nice to have one that is UK based and from what I can see some of the toys will/are by small toy companies so YAY for independent/ organic/green toy companies.







