Sea Life Centre Visit

Today the children and I took a trip to the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham.

As it is the last day of the school holiday I thought it would of been a nice treat to take the kids somewhere and get them out of the house for a bit.

When we arrived at the Sea Life Centre the queue to get in was fairly long but as we'd already got our annual passes we were able to walk straight past the queue and straight in which pleased the children indeedy.

The children couldn't wait to get in a see the penguins, they loved seeing the penguins, they stood there watching them walk along the ice and swim around and around in the water.

After we'd watched the penguins we continued our walk through the centre which took us up the ramp way and past some lovely different coloured fish in the tall fish tank and some small sharks, stink rays and star fish at the top of the ramp way before we entered the zone where the children saw all kinds of sea horses, star fishes and the huge tank containing rather large sting rays.

Next on our adventure the children were glued to watching the otters play fight in their swimming pool (so the children called it lol).

We next went in to the 4D cinema and watched 20,000 leagues under the sea, which all three children loved, so much so that they wanted to stay and watch it again.

After watching the short 4D film we walked through the terrapin enclosure we made our way to the lift and down to the 360 degree ocean tunnel where the children were amazed by all the fishes, sharks, sting rays and of course the giant turtle swimming around, above and below them.

We ended our day as we started by watching the penguins swimming about in their enclosure, the kids laughing and pointing out every time the penguins swam in our direction.

Our First Trip Away Together (part one)

During the half term holiday I took my girlfriend to London for a few days for our late Valentines Day celebrations.

We got to London at around 5pm on Wednesday night and made our way from Euston Station to our hotel which wasn't too far away to be honest.

On route we stopped off at King's Cross Station to take my Harry Potter fan of a girlfriend to see the famous Platform 9 3/4, as expected the area it is situated in within the station was really busy with fan wanting their photo taken pretending to go through the famous Platform wall and the souvenir shop was really busy too.

Well once we had finished there we made our way round to our hotel in the lovely welcoming London rain and rush hour traffic. 

We finally arrived at our hotel after taking the wrong turning (yes I turned right instead of left and almost took us back to the station lol) we got to the hotel and checked in, well i say checked in, it took almost half an hour to check in as the receptionist could find my booking thanks to my double barrelled surname lol.

We finally settled into our room for a bit before getting ourselves changed and heading out for a bite to eat and a much deserved drink.

We wondered round the streets looking for somewhere to eat, no where really took our fancy to be honest so we popped into a little proper pub I'll call it, not one of these new fancy wine bar thingies, a proper pub for a drink to get out of the bloody rain.

After a nice drink and a lovely conversation talking about many things in our separate pasts we headed back to our hotel, as Hayley was still hungry at this point we ordered some late night supper (which took over an hour to turn up as they'd forgotten to process her order) then we went to bed as we'd got a busy day planned for the next day.

To read part two of our trip to London click here, do enjoy. 

Batman v Superman Product Review

Mum's and Dad's alike over the ages have grown up watching the many different tv and film versions of batman and superman, each being one being that bit different from the last film or the last tv show.

I grew up watching both the batman and superman films, firstly seeing Michael Keaton star as batman back in 1989 and around the same time I was probably introduced to  Christopher Reeve playing Superman in the films and I've carried on following and enjoying both characters right through to watching Christian Bale playing the role in the last batman film in 2012 and Henry Cavill playing superman in 2013 film.

Now brings a whole new issue to the child within who grew up supporting and pretending to be both Batman and Superman alike as now I'm having put in front of me:-

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

I mean come on all through my childhood life I've been one character then the other, then the opposite one then back again (you get my drift) now I'm seeing a film being brought to the big screen of my two childhood heroes fighting each other, I can't choose sides that's crazy.

Film aside for now, what this means though is more toys, games and collectibles will be released for this new film.

One new set of collectibles released by Schleich is the 

Batman v Superman figurines.

Yes I have been lucky enough to be sent one of these packs, I recently received the Batman v Superman pack, they retail at £14.99 and for both figures this is a great price.

As you can see from my photos both figurines are high quality hand painted figures with extremely lifelikeness to both Batman and Superman.

If I would have to choose my favourite it would have to be Batman..  No Superman... No no really I can't choose but as character figurines go I love them both.

I was sent this product for review purpose and all my opinions are fully my own.

The Beatrix Potter Collection - Review

My children were recently lucky enough to be sent the Beatrix Potter Collection DVD box set to review.

To be honest they love watching Peter Rabbit on Cbeebies so when this DVD arrived in the post they couldn't wait for me to put it on for them to watch.

When I showed them the dvds collection to which they could choose to watch from they each chose a different one, typical children eh one DVD player to watch the dvds on yet they wanted to watch all three at once.

Well we opted to watch the DVD titled

The World Of Peter Rabbit And Friends

The children chose to first watch the episode titled

The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny

This story is about the mischievous adventures of Peter and Benjamin in Mr Mcgregor's garden. 

Although the children were a little confused at first as this was not the Peter Rabbit they watched on Cbeebies they all really enjoyed this episode, as you can see from my picture below JR was glued to the episode as were my other two to be honest.

The DVD the children chose to watch first consists of three stories

 

The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny

The Tales of Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs Tittlemouse

The Tales of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck

and the DVD runs for approximately 77 minutes.

At the time of this review this DVD collection was retailing online for between £6 and £10. 

I think that this is a really good price for three DVDs and nine episodes of these wonderfully animated stories.

All opinions and views on this review are completely mine.

Worry Eater - Flint Product Review

Hello everyone my name is Flint and I'm a eater of your worries and nightmares.

All you have to do is simply write down whatever is worrying you or causing you to have nightmares, feed them into my zip mouth and let me eat them up and hopefully help you to overcome your worries and/or nightmares.

My friends TP and JR did exactly that a few nights back after they were struggling with a few worries they each had.

After talking them through with their Daddy they each wrote them down on their individual pieces of paper and popped them into my mouth for me to eat, yummy yum yum 😋.

Whilst my little friends were soundly sleeping I ate up their worries and by doing so I hoped that would help them overcome their worries and what was causing them to feel sad in the process and thankfully after a good night's sleep and passing their worries on to me they woke the next day feeling much better and happier knowing their worries had been shared with me so they didn't have to keep their worries to themselves any longer.

They each now know that if they have any worries or anything is upsetting them from now on not only can they share them with Mummy or Daddy but I'm always here to eat up those worries or concerns they have and help them overcome them.

Flint belongs to a friendly group of characters brought to you by the creative mind of Gerd Hahn.

At the time of writing this review Flint was currently retailing between £15 and £20.

Do I personally think this product is worth the price tag?

Yes, without a doubt I do.

I personally think that seeing my two boys sit with me at bedtime and tell me what was worrying them and then have them knowing that their new worry eater friend will be their to help them overcome any future worries and possible nightmares is worth every penny.

I also think that encouraging them at a young age to know it's ok to share their worries is a good thing and if introducing something like the worry eaters into their lives to help them do so works then I think Flint is a winner all round.

This product was sent for review purpose and all the details within this review are mine and mine alone.

Wall Murals

Have you ever sat back in your living room, lay back on your bed or leant back in your office chair and thought 

"aren't these walls pretty boring, they could really do with a new lease of life brought to them".

Well if you ever have and or are thinking about redecorating your walls you've probably by now already thought about what new wall paper you want to put up or what new colour to paint your walls, but have you ever thought outside that decorating box and thought about wall murals?

Some of you no doubt have but the rest of you are now thinking no i hadn't upto now but its something else worth thinking about doing.

Wall murals can be used on any wall in any room in your house or your office, they come in different sizes and many many different designs.

They range from colourfully painted houses 

to friendly fun animal characters for children's bedrooms or playrooms,

From a picturesque beach scenes 

to tranquil moon scenes for your bedroom

 through to maps of the world to bring life to your office meeting room.

One company that offers a vast array of designs for wall murals (images, posters and wall stickers too) for every room in your house or your place of work is myloview.

Myloview are a team of professionals, who love interiors...

"The idea of our brand is based on the pursuit of beauty, which could occur in the near human space - at home, at school and at work.

Myloview a vibrant positive energy team of experienced professionals in their activities primarily guided by passion. We follow, looking, peep global trends in design, but also create our own original designs. 

With us, your interior will be truly unique.

We are a young company that is growing at a very fast pace. The international prestige of the brand myloview is constantly growing, so you should trust us."

I recently too thought outside the traditional decorating box and added a new lease of life to my bedroom wall with a myloview wall mural, they have so many designs to choose from but eventually I went with a tranquil moon and mountain scene.

This product was very easy to mount to the wall, you just simply peel the backing of the image and stick it to your wall. I will say it does take two people to complete the job, one to remove the backing as the other person correctly sticks the image into place.

As you can clearly see the product is of fine quality and once mounted to the wall makes the wall of my bedroom look awesome.

Christmas Cleaning Tips

Have yourself a merry, healthy Christmas!

Christmas is an exciting and sociable time of year.

Follow these top tips to ensure you and your family enjoy the festivities whilst practicing good health & hygiene practices around the home.

Clean- Keyboards, door handles and chopping boards are among the most germ ridden items in the home. Give all surfaces a clean before guests arrive - anti-bacterial wipes will save time and give you peace of mind.

Hands – Christmas can be a busy time from answering the door to carving the Turkey, it is easy to forget to keep hands clean. Using an anti-bacterial hand wash will help keep hands bacteria free. 

Reduce – Reduce the risk of spreading germs by keeping items such as dirty tea towels and dirty underwear separate in the wash load.

Include- Include an anti-bacterial laundry cleanser in your wash alongside your normal detergent. Dettol Anti-Bacterial Laundry Cleanser allows you to wash at low temperatures, whilst killing 99.9% of bacteria.

Swap- Ditch the dish cloth and use anti-bacterial wipes to clean down surfaces. Home hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley explains: “The cloth is often the dirtiest item in the home. We have found billions of bacteria on cloths, including those which could cause illness, and those that indicate faecal contamination”.

Thaw –Defrost your turkey thoroughly. Some turkeys can take up to 48 hours to defrost dependent on size so make sure you plan well in advance. Never rinse your turkey under the tap as this can spread harmful bacteria such as Campylobacter which causes food poisoning.

Mess – The warm, humid atmosphere in bathrooms is a breeding ground for bacteria – not just around the toilet but lurking on handles, bins and baths. Prevent a messy bathroom by using a bathroom spray like Dettol Power & Pure Advance Bathroom, with no need to rinse it also kills 99.9% of bacteria.

Air – Freshen the air around your home with a disinfectant spray. Not only will it leave your home smelling fresh it will also help prevent the spread of seasonal sickness bugs.

Store- Store your turkey and other raw meats in separate containers and keep at the bottom of the fridge. This will prevent meats and their juices mixing and limit the likelihood of cross contamination and food poisoning.

My Visit to Valencia pt2

This is where I will tell you all about our adventures on Thursday whilst we were in Valencia.

 

THURSDAY

 

Thursday started off for me at 5am, I was awaken by something but at the time I wasn't too sure what it was, then I realised it was my brother snoring his head off, cheers for that oh sweet brother of mine lol. I can't complain really as it's payback for all the years I snored as a kid on holiday.

 

Well eventually we got up and as we didn't have to check out of our room till 12 we decided to take a walk through the park and over to the City of Arts Sciences buildings.

 

What mighty impressive architectural buildings they are too. The one is nick named the eye because at different angles it looks like a giant eye.

 

 

As we approached said building we happened to noticed men climbing up the side of the building, climbing up the side of a building doesn't sound too impressive but take a look at the picture below, I think that looks impressive to be fair.

 

 

 

Well we finished our walk round these impressive building and made our way back through the park and back to our hotel.

 

 

On our way back we did however go past this awesome playground, how I wished my children were with me at the time we'd of all loved going on this amazing playground.

 

Yes as you can see its a giant playground in the shape of Gulliver from Gulliver Travels.

 

 

As it was nearing 12 we checked out of our room and started our walk back across town to the coach station to head home, being with my brother this was no quick simple route back neither but to be honest I'm glad it wasn't.

 

We didn't go the simple route we walked down this road and down that road following my brothers Street maps until we came to a point he was aiming for which to be fair was worth aiming for.

 

He aimed for a market at one point and we ended up stumbling across this beautiful building which happened to look like a train station but ended up being a local market hall, it was truly beautiful both inside and out.

 

 

Next his travels took us down many streets, down one particular Street he ended up spoiling his niece and nephews in the Disney Store, yes I went all the way to Valencia and ended up shopping in a Disney Store lol.

 

His last little adventure lead us down a few back streets and side alleys and it brought us out in front off the hugely impressive Town Hall but outside the Town Hall was a lovely winter wonderland with a big adults ice skating rink and a funky little kiddies one too.

 

 

Well we eventually found our way back to the coach depot, boarded our coach and headed home.

 

Well that was our journey to Valencia, we really enjoyed ourselves and a little note if anyone is going to visit Valencia use a street map and explore the back streets and take in all the history and see all the beautiful old buildings don't just jump on a bus or in a taxi you'll miss out on so much.

My Visit to Valencia pt 1

On Wednesday and Thursday last week whilst on holiday in Benidorm visiting my brother he decided it would be fun to board a coach and spend them in Valencia.

 

I've never been on holiday to somewhere before and spend days somewhere else so this was going to be a new adventure for me and I was so looking forward to it.

 

I'm going to break down the two days at this point so it's not a massively massive post lol.

 

WEDNESDAY

 

Wednesday rolled round and we made our way up to the coach station to catch our coach to Valencia, although the coach station is only a handful of years old it's just been left to look horrible and abandoned which is such a shame as it has so much potential.

 

Anyhow we boarded our coach and began our hour and a half journey up the country to Valencia.

 

 

We eventually arrived and my brother planned our route to our hotel on his phone, "we need to follow the park all along here to the big Island then it'd just over there" he said pointing to his map, he made it sound so simple lol.

 

Well we followed this path along the park until we came to a very old Bridge with what looked like a castle at the end of it, obviously being intrigued we had to go and cross the bridge and investigate, it would of been rude not to lol.

 

 

The bridge itself was a beautiful crafted piece of history which led up to an amazing old gate way to the old part of the city.

 

 

With its huge high walls and massive thick wooden gates, you can only but imagine the significance it once played in that part of the cities history.

 

Well we walked through the old streets and courtyards past many beautiful old buildings including some truly beautifully decorated centuries old churches until we came out onto a main road where in front of us stood a grand looking train station and only in Spain would this happen built next to it was a massive bull fighting arena.

 

 

We followed my brothers map on his phone which led us down various streets and obviously at no point did we get lost {Hehe} until we came out at a massive eight lane road island where my brother informed me our hotel was over the other side of this crazy busy island.

 

Well we eventually crossed all the roads needed to get to our hotel, we checked in and crashed for a bit until it was time to make our way to the Mestalla, Valencia's ground to watch them play Lyon in the Champions League. (read about that here).

 

Well that was our Wednesday sorted now onto our Thursday adventures lol.