Things To Do This Easter In & Around Newcastle

Schools will be breaking up for the Easter holidays tomorrow (some have already broken up) and I have been thinking of what to do with my children during the time of school. I had great plans to go on egg hunts, enjoy an Easter pantomime, visit the beach for fish and chips and see Peter Rabbit at the cinema. However, my little boy woke up yesterday morning covered in chicken pox, so it looks like most of our plans sadly won't be happening now. 

If you are still looking for some ideas of what to do this Easter in and around Newcastle then read on to see some of the things we had planned. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring Money Saving Journeys

This week on Other Bloggers Family Lives I am featuring Kerry who blogs at Money Saving Journeys. Kerry blogs about saving money, making money, meal planning and budget travel, so let's find out more about the family behind Money Saving Journeys. 

Easter Gift Guide

My children get so many chocolate eggs at Easter, mainly from family so this year I have been looking for gifts that are a bit different for them. So I decided to do a quick Easter gift guide featuring some gifts and sweet treats that are perfect for Easter but make a nice change from a regular chocolate egg. 

1.) Peter Rabbit Movie Giant Floor Puzzle

We are planning on visiting the cinema to see the new Peter Rabbit Movie this Easter half-term as it looks like the perfect Easter family film. This Peter Rabbit the movie Giant floor puzzle looks great fun and makes a nice change from chocolate this Easter. My younger children are aged 3 and 4 and they are big Peter Rabbit fans so they are sure to like this puzzle. It is recommended for children aged 4+ and is from Jumbo Games. You can buy it online from Amazon for £9.99. 

Smyths New Baby Catalogue

When I was pregnant with my children I would spend hours browsing catalogues and magazines to see what equipment I wanted to buy. I loved looking through an actual catalogue rather than looking online as I could look at things with my partner and circle anything that caught my eye. So when the new Smyths baby catalogue popped through my letterbox last week I was eager to have a read. I am not pregnant and I don't have a baby anymore but I do have a three-year-old who is in need of a new car seat and I had heard Smyths fit your car seats in store for you - perfect. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring The Helpful Hiker

This week on Other Boggers Family Lives I am featuring Lauren who blogs at The Helpful Hiker. Lauren blogs about the great outdoors, walks, camping and family days out feature regularly on her blog. So let's find out more about the family behind The Helpful Hiker. 

Yeti In My Spaghetti & Don't Rock The Boat Games Review

My youngest two children are just starting to take an interest in board games, they got a few for Christmas and they love nothing more than playing a family game together. We only have a couple of games that are suitable for them to play and they often get bored of playing the same few games over and over again, especially as we have been housebound with chicken pox and illness so far this month. University Games kindly sent us two new family board games to keep the children entertained whilst we were housebound with chicken pox, perfect timing! 

The two games we were sent were Yeti In My Spaghetti and Don't Rock The Boat. 

February 2018

I know that February is a short month but it seemed to pass by so quickly this year, now we are more than half-way through March. February was a quiet month for us, we did not do a lot as it was cold, the other half was working a lot over half-term and we were busy saving for our upcoming holiday in May. At the moment all we seem to be doing is saving, first, we were getting work done to the house, then paying the holiday off, then saving for the holiday and buying lots of new clothes and now we have to save our wedding next year too.

Bizzy Bubs Toy Review

My little girl Sophia is almost 5-years-old now and the kind of toys she is interested in playing with is starting to change lately as she grows. One thing that she is really starting to take an interest in is baby dolls, she says she wants to be a babysitter when she is older and she is baby obsessed at the moment. So when we were recently sent two of the new Little Live Bizzy Bubs toy dolls, I knew these would be something she would enjoy playing with having previously seen them advertised on TV. 

Sophia already has two of the Little Live toys, she received the bird and hatching chick for her birthday last year. We were sent two dolls from the new range - which has just launched for Spring 2018, we were sent two dolls which retail at £14.99 each. Each doll has its own personality, making them perfect for children to collect. There are four dolls in the collection Poppy, Primmp, Polly Petals and Snowbeam, we were sent Polly Petals and Poppy. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring The Smallest Of Things

This week on Other Boggers Family Lives I am featuring Amy who blogs at The Smallest Of Things, which is a family lifestyle blog. Amy blogs about life with her two young daughters, reviews and snippets of her family life. So let's find out more about the family behind The Smallest Of Things. 

Time To Vote For Your Favourite Entry To Win The Ultimate School Trip With Jet2Holidays

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Back in January, I blogged about an amazing competition Jet2Holidays were running in which nine classes of school children could win The Ultimate school trip to Majorca. The prize was an all-expenses-paid weekend staying at the amazing looking Sol Katmandu Park and resort in Majorca with CBBC favourites Dick & Dom. To be in with a chance of winning a place - on what sounds like the best school trip ever, children had to come up with a promotional piece about Sol Katmandu Park and Resort. 

There were so many amazing entries and now the shortlist has been announced with five schools from each of Jet2's nine UK bases shortlisted. Now it is up to the public to vote for our favourite entry and one school from each of the nine regions will go on to win a place on The Ultimate School Trip this April, how exciting! 

Date Night At Chaophraya Newcastle Review

On Thursday evening myself and the other half headed into Newcastle for a very overdue and much needed 'date night'. Grandma was on babysitting duty and we were looking forward to a few hours of childfree time and to enjoy a meal in peace. Our destination for the evening was Chaophraya Thai restaurant on the top floor in Eldon Squares Grey's Quater, right next to the monument in the city centre. You may remember I actually visited Chaophraya last November to take part in their cooking school classes with my friend Laura, so I knew it was the perfect location for date night with it's luxe feel and on-trend decor. 

I Am Getting Married

If you read my blog then I am sure you will probably have guessed by now that I am getting married next year. I have mentioned it on my blog a few times but I have realised that I have never actually written a post about it, so some of you may have missed it. Anyway back in June (I know, ages ago!) my other half eventually proposed after almost six years of being together! The proposal was not at all what I wanted and he brought the wrong sized ring, but I still said yes. 

Other Bloggers Family Lives Featuring A Journey To A Lifetime

This week on Other Bloggers Family Lives I am featuring Carol who blogs at A Journey To A Lifetime. Carol blogs about family life as a mum of three, budgeting and money saving tips. So let's find out more about the family behind A Journey To A Lifetime. 

Finding A BabySitter For The Wedding With Sitters

Next year myself and the other half are getting married and I honestly did not realise how time-consuming planning a wedding would be! We have so many different appointments to go to, from visiting our venue, menu tasting sessions and meeting suppliers and that's before we get started on dress shopping and suit fittings. As a mum of three, taking my children along to these things is just not possible or practical and we are finding it a juggling act having to arrange with family who all work themselves to look after our children, especially as my youngest is only three and not yet at school. 

My Little Pony Glitter And Glow Princess Celestia Review

As I mentioned when we recently reviewed a My Little Pony Equestrian Girl doll last week, my little girl Sophia is a huge My Little Pony fan. She has a castle and all of the ponies, she spends hours playing with them in her bedroom. So she was very happy to add another pony to her collection recently when we were sent My Little Pony: The Movie Glitter and Glow Princess Celestia to review. She already has a small Princess Celestia that glows, which she got off her grandma, but this is a much bigger version. 

Cat Happiness With Whiskas

We have had our family cat Marmalade since he was a kitten and my eldest daughter begged me for a pet. He has been a part of our family for eight years now and my youngest two children have grown up with him in their lives. Marmalade is an indoor cat and he always has been as he would run back in when we tried to let him outside as kitten, so we always have him around. As such he has such a quirky personality, sometimes he is so loving and content purring on my knee or happy looking out the window, other times he likes to be left alone and will curl up for a nap out of sight and he goes off and hides - normally behind the fridge if someone visits he does not know. 

As Marmalade is an indoor cat I often wonder if he is happy, does he get bored being indoors with no other cats for company? Is he content staying indoors? These are things that I ponder often.

Things I Loved In February 2018

Can you believe that it is the start of March and we have snow? How crazy is that! I wish I could say I was outside enjoying the snow with my children but sadly I am stuck indoors with a poorly Jacob, he has tonsilitis and it has totally wiped him out. I am currently typing this whilst he snuggles up to me on the sofa sleeping. It is so unlike him to be unwell and I think this is the first time he has ever actually been properly unwell. 

Anyway, February seems to have flown over super fast and it does not seem so long ago since I wrote about January, so let's have a look at some of the things that I loved from the month gone by.