The love of shopping in our house has continued to increase as both of my girls get older but their individual styles are coming out more and more, whereas I appear to have less and less influence. My eldest is now "too cool" for pretty dressses and fairy prints but my youngest adores pink and sparkly and those things considered traditionally girly. That is why we have fallen a little bit in love with the brand, Their Nibs. 

Their Nibs design beautifully crafted children’s fashion with bespoke prints, luxury finishings and unique attention to design details. You can get lost in their delightfully English website while you browse around the nightwear, vintage-style girls dresses and bohemian homeware and it was difficult to choose just one piece.

We are big fans of the "PJ Saturday", so the Fairy Print Pyjamas were the perfect choice for my very own little fairy and we have consequently had numerous debates over her actually wearing them out of the house.

I wanted to give a fair review of the fabric and how they washed, but that became a challenge as the 4 year old loved them so much, that she didn't want me to actually wash them! Thankfully I managed to get her into some other clothing (as I really did need to leave the house) and got the pyjamas into the washing machine. They washed beautifully and barely needed ironing (although I still debate over whether I should iron PJ's) and they were soon being worn at every opportunity again.

I love the "skinny" leg styling of the pyjamas as this is a style that is a favourite in our house and it suits her slim waist as many pyjamas swamp her and she ends up only wearing the top. 

The pyjamas are £20.00 and for the quality and beautiful design that you get, I think that it is reasonably priced. When ordering online you can choose 'Send as Gift' for gorgeous gift wrapping and it is little touches like this that make you want to buy from this established brand. Spring 2016 see Their Nibs expand their collection with new Homeware and Ladies Nightwear lines and with existing celebrity fans of their clothing ranges, we are quite sure that we need to be buying a new bedset before the celebrities start buying them all!!

Their Nibs provide you with beautifully crafted alternatives to children’s high street fashion with bespoke prints, luxury finishings and unique attention to design details. What is not to love?

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One of my moms famous pieces of advice to me as a child was “Only boring people get bored”. It certainly worked for me as I never wanted to be boring! Fast forward to now and I find myself using the phrase to my girls and although the children are probably enjoying their much needed time off school far too much (and finding the places I have hidden the chocolate), it is essential to keep their brains well exercised and their body moving, (especially when they come looking to their parents for ideas).

Here are some tricks that I have found to keep the family engaged and enjoying a stress free term time break. 

Set up an imagination station.

Pre holiday - stock up a designated area for messy, creative, an much needed for you alone time play. It can be packed with inexpensive colours and paper, but also lots of household items such as cardboard boxes and empty bottles. These will not normally get used up first by our non Blue Peter generation of kids – the idea is that with scissors and glue you can send them back to their ideas station when the ‘I’m bored’ ever get used. Having basic themes like space, movies, or robots, and sending them away to construct on their own, can give them extra confidence and encourage independent thinking. 

Printables.

Quick, cheap and easy to have pre-prepared. There are lots of free downloadable activities to print and do online. Discover a wave of activities that you would never have thought to design on your own. Giving your child the space to craft and built together reinforces social skills and keeps their mind active on positive endeavors.

Educational Quizzes

Trying to get the children to do even the slightest bit of extra work can be a challenge for parents but with online quizzes that are designed to be educational doesn't mean to say that they can't also be fun. This isn't necessarily a "free" option but with a site such as Education Quizzes, you can play and try certain quizzes free of charge as often as your child (or you) wishes. Subscription costs just £7.50 per month and when a subscription is taken out, every quiz on the site is playable and the student will then have a permanent record of which quizzes were played, when they were played and the scores achieved. I particularly like that they use multiple choice quizzes for revision because apparently they provide the fastest route to success. The quiz format constantly makes you think and concentrate so that the user moves forward quickly and doesn't feel pressurised, which is good for pre-teens with a desire to get through work as quickly as possible!!

Indoor science sessions.

Science activities can be expertly disguised as games by any willing parent and may be as valuable as the science leant in the classroom. Volcanoes are easily manifested with the help of some baking soda and vinegar and scientific gloop, in all sorts of varieties, can be whipped up from common kitchen ingredients. Simply Google ‘kitchen science experiments’ and you will find a wealth of easy ideas online. These activities help to foster skills that your children will need most when they head back to school.

Create a multimedia journalist.

What better way to celebrate time together as a family that to document it – well the good, argument free bits. Whether they decorate a notebook, keep a diary, film a Vlog, make a cartoon or create a photo album, it is a rewarding way for the children to practice their communication skills. Undue thanks will (hopefully) come later down the years, having encouraged them to catalogue their childhood ‘boring’ experiences.

Encourage Entrepreneurship.

Have your children pick out old clothes, toys, and games that they no longer use, that you have been longing for them to grow out of. Make a big deal out of all their efforts and show that it is going towards making some extra cash for everyone. Whether you choose to brave a car boot sale together, or get the children to construct a well thought out Ebay campaign, get them making signs, price tags on items, and thinking about money management skills. It is a great way to end the holiday with a reward for all your hard work in rest and play together.

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The Easter break is the perfect time for a family day out - the weather is getting a touch warmer and it feels like you can taste summer coming in the air. Our former baby blogger was looking for somewhere to go with a 1 and 2 year old, somewhere outside in the fresh air with plenty to entertain and with an Easter theme, so when we were invited to Hatton Country World, we thought that they could give their perspective. We have always been big fans of Hatton (especially Pumpkin Week) but for the Easter holidays (from the 19th March until the 3rd April) all children can take part in an Easter Egg Hunt. Throughout the holidays there will be the Easter Bunny Hunt and chocolate treats for all those finding a full complement of bunnies!

So I will hand the reigns over to them .....

 

 

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Spring is in the air and spring cleaning always seems to be something we look at over the Easter break. We are presently updating our kitchen as part of my DIY project for this year but the kitchen is one of the rooms in your house that require a lot of storage space and getting the right balance of cupboards and space is important (and so I have enough space to hide away all my clutter). If you have a small kitchen, you might lack this ever important space; however, there are a few creative ways in which to create extra surfaces, or storage options. Below are just five easy ways that require very little cost or effort and can help you get that extra space that you need.

1)    Get a rolling cart

Although they do take up some space, a rolling cart is an excellent way of creating extra space if you do not have space for an island. Because they are on wheels, they can easily be moved around and they are smaller than an island. If they are not in use the whole time, they can be folded away out of sight, but can create a great deal of storage when required.

2)    Over the sink chopping boards

Over the sink chopping boards are perfect if you have very little counter space. You can have them made so that they fit comfortably over your sink, creating another surface area that you can use. It is also a useful storage area for the chopping board when the sink is not in use.   They look great, and are practical and very cost effective.

 3)    Have a clear out

Although this is a fairly obvious one, clearing out anything you no longer require is an excellent way to make more space. You have to be brutal, and really sensible, throwing away anything that you no longer use, or are broken, and you will be surprised at the amount of space you achieve by doing this. Seeing you de-cluttered kitchen will be a good incentive for you not to buy more than you require as well.

 4)    Build shelves

Building shelves is another excellent DIY solution. Put up shelves in spaces that are free and are not being used for anything else and you can create a lot of extra space for yourself. You will be surprised at just how much you can keep in a relatively small area with the addition of a few shelves. Think about the area between the worktop and the cupboards, or above the fridge and cupboards, as this is often valuable space that goes to waste. Put the items that you will use less frequently on the higher shelves for ease.

5)    Make the most of your corners

Corner cupboards often waste a lot of space, and can be inaccessible resulting in people not using them, wasting valuable space. So, instead, why not create an area that is easy to get to, and install a lazy Susan? This is essentially a spinning basket, allowing you to spin and clearly see the contents of your cupboard allowing you to make use of the space, and get to everything easily.

Article provided by Lakestone UK

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