As a #BostikBlogger, we received another excellent craft box this month and decided to make a Chinese dragon mask. This was a first for us although five year old POD loved the idea of making something she could actually wear! There are many elaborate creations out there but given we’re not skilled cardboard designers, we opted for a rectangular box we could adapt as a base.
We lived in South East London for some time, twelve years in all. London Bridge was our gateway to central London but located just a stones throw away from there is Borough Market. It’s changed a lot since we moved to Surrey in 2010 and if you’ve not been before, you really must pay it a visit. I got to experience it again recently albeit briefly, thanks to a travel and street photography workshop. A small group of us had an incredible day being pushed out of our comfort zones. From freeze framing London buses and capturing strangers to a lot of camera tinkering. One on one time with the photographer was invaluable and she quickly recognised the kind of images I love to create. Taking in Borough Market was certainly one of the highlights location wise.
There’s chocolate then there’s the melt in your mouth, shut your eyes to savour every mouthful kind of chocolate. Hotel Chocolat always falls into the latter category with their iconic Easter collection offering something for everyone. From giant Easter eggs, milk chocolate eggs and extra thick eggs to dark as well as white chocolate variants. Or perhaps you fancy a Scrabbled Easter Egg, a Caramel Easter Egg Sandwich or a Nibble & Peck?
POD has been learning about the Great Barrier Reef at school over the last few weeks. Suffice to say its resulted in her asking lots of questions about the ocean and when we’re going on holiday! POD really enjoys travelling regardless of whether we’re on a plane, in a boat or on a train. She seems to relish that almost as much as the holiday itself. Journey’s are certainly made easier as she has such a wonderful imagination. Just this morning she was describing how the Rice Krispies on her spoon was an island of Krispie people!
We always thought POD would thrive when she started reception last September as she’d been ready for school for months. We’d made the decision to keep her at nursery until she was four – three seemed way too young for her to start. Hindsight is a wonderful thing however and had we known what the last six months would entail we might have done things differently. That said, there’s a big difference between nursery care (from 8am to 6pm) and pre-school (10am to 2pm) – the latter just wouldn’t have worked for us.
We’re big fans of bubbles in the Dove household. POD adores them and her giggling as she darts about popping them is so infectious! It’s an easy way to make a five year old very happy although I rather enjoy bubbles myself if I’m honest! The Funrise Gazillion Tornado (available from Tesco) is a mega bubble blower which is battery operated and pumps out hundreds of bubbles a minute. POD has wanted a bubble machine for ages so she was almost beside herself when she saw it!
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What with POD’s gymnastics, drama and swimming classes, there’s regularly a need to recharge while on the move. More often that not it’s a case of grabbing a bottle of water and a banana although the two do get separated at times. We’ve lost a few bottles in the past and find ourselves scrabbling for change to purchase water from a vending machine. But those clever folk at Character Options have devised an innovative means of keeping POD’s drink and snack together. Snackeez is genius! It’s a cup with a flip top container for snacks so it’s perfect for days out, classes and for use in the car too.
Annabel Karmel MBE has been a firm favourite in our household since POD was six months old. These days she loves nothing more than helping out in the kitchen. She has her own apron although we often experiment with utensils as they’re designed for adults rather than children. The Casdon Annabel Karmel Mini Cupcake and Baking Sets however are specifically designed for kids aged five and over. These sets are just two of those available from Casdon, there’s a full range available.
Recent weeks have seen POD finally settle in at school, a huge relief if I’m honest, progress to the next level in gymnastics and embark on drama classes. Not only that, we’ve seen some notable changes at swimming too. Obviously I totally blame myself for her getting the fear a couple of years back. Three dives was three too many in her first lesson back after I broke my wrist and she quickly got the fear. We pursued the course to the end of term but often had to leave before class finished because she was so scared. She’s such a daredevil too so it seems so odd saying that now.
With Easter coming up next month, we’ve been busy pulling together a few craft ideas. From cards and lolly stick friends to wooden spoon creatures and a pipe cleaner chick. All of these are pretty straightforward and created with the help of five year old POD.
