Mummy & Moose
clapping, napping and yapping our way through the day

Sort It Out review and giveaway

We were sent this product in exchange for our honest review. All opinions are our own.

We recently had our first glamping experience and by happy fortune we were also sent the Sort It Out game to review. It seems to me that camping/glamping/holidays-with-a-distinct-lack-of-electricity and board games are natural bedfellows so the game was brought along to help us enjoy/survive evening family time.

We were lucky enough to be given a copy of Sort it Out to use in a giveaway too. Stay to the end of the post for your chance to WIN!

Sort it out

sort it out game

What’s in the box?

Inside the Sort It Out box you will find

  • 1 Game Board
  • 4 Moving Pieces
  • 4 Playing Boards
  • 20 Coloured Pegs
  • 250 Topic Cards
  • Instructions

How is it played?

It’s all rather colourful and play is suggested to suit anyone aged 12+.

The first massive difference to most other board games is that everyone plays all at the same time when each card is drawn. The card has a question on it. Players then need to sort the answers into what they believe to be the correct order on their playing boards using the corresponding coloured pegs.

This could mean that you get to show off your in depth knowledge of the periodic table or perhaps the monarchy… or it could mean that despite never having watched an episode in your life, you correctly answer the age order of the Kardashians. Either way, it’s a win. For every coloured peg placed in the correct position on your playing board you are able to move forward 1 space on the game board. Easy peasy.

What did we think?

Well, Sort It Out certainly provided a distraction during the evenings of our glamping trip. We had a lot of fun playing the game with 13 year old Bess. She did struggle with a couple of cards but then, so did I! A great thing about this game is that I found that I picked up facts I hadn’t previously known along the way.

I quite liked that the gameplay wasn’t massively long and found it easy to set up and learn the rules. We will definitely be playing Sort It Out again and I think that it could be even more fun if it is played in teams! You can find SORT IT OUT at Argos

Win

For your chance to win your very own copy of Sort It Out, enter the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions
  • This giveaway is open to all UK residents only, and you must be over 18 years of age to enter.
  • ONE winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter and announced on this page.
  • The winner will be contacted by e-mail within 7 days of competition ends. If they do not respond within 28 days another winner may be chosen.
  • Your details will be passed to Paul Lamond Games, but will not be passed onto any third parties by Mummy and Moose.
  • The prize will be sent directly to the winner from Paul Lamond Games.
  • Any damage to the prize is not Mummy and Moose’s responsibility.
  • The company reserves the right to substitute the prize for one of a similar type/value if the prize above is not available.
  • Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.

 

 

 

 

Avenue Q at The New Theatre Peterborough – View from my seat

I was gifted tickets in exchange for my honest review.

All opinions remain my own (with slight influence from the bad idea bears)

Avenue Q is not like your average musical

When I was invited to the recently rebranded and refurbished New Theatre, Peterborough to watch Avenue Q this week, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew there would be puppets. I knew there would be songs. It was made pretty clear that it would be rude. That was the extent of my knowledge about the show.

What’s The Story?

The show centres around the residents of Avenue Q.

There is Princeton, a bright-eyed graduate who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account.

Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fiancée Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his closet gay Republican roommate Rod.

An Internet ‘sexpert’ called Trekkie Monster, Lucy the Slut (yes, really!) and a very cute kindergarten teacher named Kate Monster.

Avenue Q first opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2003, before transferring to Broadway later that year where it won three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. In 2006 it transferred to the West End where it ran for five years before touring the UK. It has appeared in more than ten countries all over the world. This show is really popular and with good reason!

Family night out?

Although it all looks like an episode of Sesame Street, do not be fooled. It is definitely not for kids. I would say 14 and up would be absolutely fine if they aren’t particularly sensitive.  I was going to bring 13 year old Bess along but I have to be honest and say I was glad I decided to wait and take her next year. One particular scene was about as graphic as a scene with puppets could possibly be – and utterly hilarious. That said, I would have no qualms about listening to the soundtrack with her.

After years of watching shows like The Furchester Hotel and imagining the characters dropping the F word (Oh come on, as if you haven’t imagined Flop finally snapping at Bing!?) I feel like this show is aimed directly at me and people like me.

I went to see the show with my Mum and we both found it to be laugh out loud funny. The 2 and a half hour runtime (with 15min interval) absolutely flew by. I loved the characters and the way that the whole thing played out. Despite some of the gags and songs being very close to the knuckle, Avenue Q has a real feel good quality about it.

I have been humming “Everyone’s a little bit racist” for near on 24 hours now. The underlying message of the show is that life is short and that everything,even Boris Johnson, as the cast sang (to applause) is only for now and if you can fit the word Schadenfreude into a musical number, you definitely should.

Avenue Q is playing at The New Theatre, Peterborough until Saturday 28 September.

New Theatre

I decided to attend my first show at New Theatre with my Mum who happens to have arthritis and a blue badge. My first memories of being here were of seeing Peter Pan in this building at what was then the Odeon at Christmastime when I was very young (probably with my Dad, while Mum ran round the shops I imagine)

Sometimes Mums limited mobility can pose a bit of a problem but New Theatre appear to have it covered! We were able to park very close to the theatre and there was an accessible entrance with a lift to avoid the steps at the front of the building. There was a disabled seating area on the upper level and disabled toilet. We hadn’t been assigned seats there but it’s useful to know for the future. New Theatre, Peterborough also offers complimentary tickets to essential carers for disabled visitors

Our seats

I was a bit worried when I saw that our seats were to the side. In some theatres your view can be somewhat restricted – sometimes by a huge amount.

For this performance we had been assigned seats P8 and P9 which come under the slightly less expensive price bracket. I would definitely choose these seats again.

View from seat P8 New Theatre Peterborough

View from seat P8 New Theatre Peterborough

 

They were roomy enough for my size 22 bottom and had loads of legroom. Mum was pleased that her seat on the aisle was angled in such a way that she felt well supported and could stretch out if need be. Our view of the stage was great with no restriction really at all.

At one point I did go to seat P1 to see what a seat with a restricted view would be like. I took a photo of the stage from P1 and as you can see, the restriction is really minimal.

I am really excited to see what’s next for  New Theatre, Peterborough. It’s such an iconic building in our city and I cannot wait to make new memories here with my family.

View from seat P1 New Theatre Peterborough

View from seat P1 New Theatre Peterborough

 

Back To School And Cream of Tomato Soup Recipe With Piccolo Tomatoes | Ad

This a paid collaboration. All opinions remain honest and my own. 

Moose isn’t keen on vegetables. My two eldest lulled me into a false sense of security by eating pretty much anything I put in front of them. I thought I had it all worked out as I watched my darling little ones gobble down salads or curries or the odd stir fry.

Then Moose came along to humble me.

He has shown me that just because you think you know what you are doing as a parent. Just because something worked for one child (or two) it definitely does not necessarily mean it will work for all.

So. With Moose I have had to be crafty with veg. I have had to plan out how to hide vegetables in meals. How to pack as many nutrients into a meal as is possible – and also how to just accept that he will eat vegetables when he is ready and in his own way.

When I was approached recently by Gautier Semences, the providers of piccolo tomato seeds to British nurseries and asked to write about Piccolo tomatoes I took it as a challenge.

How could I best use them in a way that Moose would eat them.

Piccolo tomatoes are a small vine tomato, they have a sweet taste which means that they appeal to younger palates – and older ones with a sweet tooth like I do! They are originally from Latin America and were introduced to Europe during the 16th century. The French called it the “apple of love”.

Piccolos are low in calories but high in nutrients such as vitamin C and Lycopene which is an antioxidant said to help prevent heart disease and certain cancers!

My delivery of Piccolo tomatoes was sent from Glinwell Nurseries which are not too far from us. Although I am far from green fingered I do still prefer to buy British fruit and veg where I can to keep my carbon footprint low and to be able to watch Panorama specials with a clear conscience because I know I am doing what I can.

Piccolo tomatoes are so versatile.

My delivery arrived while the children were at school. I couldn’t wait to get started though! The first meal I had with the tomatoes was a simple cheesy pasta dish which I added a few roasted piccolo tomatoes to. A really easy way to add nutrients to a lunch and what goes together better than cheese and tomato? In my opinion, pretty much all veg taste better when roasted.

After school I showed Moose the tomatoes. He wasn’t quite brave enough to try one raw but he was excited to help me make soup!

We had so much fun getting all of the ingredients together and making a lovely cream of tomato soup which was packed full of vitamins. Moose scoffed the lot! I can’t think of anything more enticing after a day back at school than to sit down to cream of tomato soup and fresh bread. Knowing that this was my own take on a classic and didn’t have any nasty additives in it was even better!

I prefer to remove the skins from tomatoes before making soups or sauces with them. There is a really easy trick to this (thanks Mum). You have to score an X into each tomato, pop them into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute and then transfer to an ice bath or very cold water. The skin comes away really easily.

Cream of tomato soup

Ingredients

  • 800g Piccolo tomatoes
  • tbsp butter or some spray oil
  • 1 red onion (I used ready chopped frozen onion)
  • Carrot (I used a tin of sliced carrots I found in the back of the cupboard. Drain them though)
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • Basil leaves to taste (I used 3)
  • 400ml Chicken stock

You could also add roasted peppers but I didn’t this time.

Method

  • Fry off the chopped onion in the oil/butter for a few minutes until softened- add the carrot if not using the tinned variety.
  • Add the squashed clove of garlic (don’t bother chopping it, it will be whizzed up later anyway)
  • Add the tomatoes and basil leaves and simmer on a low heat. I left mine for around 20 minutes. You can cook down a bit more but I know that nutrients are lost with a longer cooking time.
  • Pour in the chicken stock
  • Simmer for a few more minutes
  • Use a stick blender to get rid of all of the lumps (aka evidence)
  • Season and add a dollop of cream or creme fraiche if you forgot the cream and your rubbish corner shop only stock creme fraiche <fume>
  • Present your finished soup to your darling child and rub your hands with glee while they eat up all of their veg without complaint.
  • Help yourself to some yourself because you made it with spray oil so it is very Slimming World friendly. Hurrah!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Arrows week 36 2019

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

Each week I like to (try and) link up to a series called Living arrows which is about celebrating childhood. You can find out more here

The first photo this week was taken on a trip we made to our local farm. Moose had a real issue with his nerves (or so I thought) and always seemed to hesitate when trying new things – especially physical things. Since he started wearing glasses to correct a lazy eye he seems to have become a bit braver. Maybe it wasn’t his nerves after all!

The second photo is of Bess and Moose on their first day back to school. Summer flew by and now I have a little boy in year 1 (which seems so much bigger than having a little one in reception somehow?) and Bess is starting year 9. Year 9 means the beginning of GCSE’s for Bess. GCSE’s! Already! The school has decided to stretch what was a 2 year course in my day (aka eons ago) to a 3 year course. I think it will be a good thing for the students but time will tell on that one..

 

 

Living Arrows

Getting prepared for Back To School with Ace | gifted

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last month or two, you must have seen the latest cleaning craze which has hit social media. The likes of Mrs Hinch and (my personal preference) The Queen of Clean have been everywhere and so, the Zoflora has been out out for many a Mum and Dad.

The thing is though

I am not a naturally organised person. Cleaning is not how I express myself or what I consider to be any kind of fun. With that in mind I wasn’t feeling too enamoured when I was sent some Ace cleaning products recently – I mean, sure, I was happy to try them out of course. If anyone could pose a challenge it would be my adventurous 4 year old, Moose!

But me and cleaning? it was all a bit, meh! I have 3 children so stains are not a stranger in our home but I have always been a bit disbelieving of the claims of some of these cleaning products – mainly due to experience.

The day after our products arrived, my 4 year old son arrived home after school and it was like the planets had aligned. He got changed into his play clothes and when he handed me his polo shirt I had to laugh, I have no idea what he did at school that day but it was MESSY! It just so happened that I had been sent Perfect timing.

Exhibit A

The first thing I did was to soak the shirt in a mix of COLD water and Ace for whites. It has to be cold water because hot water decomposes the active ingredient of bleach in the product and renders it ineffective. I didn’t know that either until pretty recently and I am 36 and have kept 3 other humans alive, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t know either.

After a while of soaking (it was going to be about half an hour but I was distracted and ended up coming back to it about 2 hours later – oops) most of the stains were gone. I then just popped the shirt into the washing machine and let it do it’s magic along with a little capful of the ACE for whites to give it a bit of help.

This was the result. Before and after – just for you!

So the shirt is again like new. I know this won’t last, there will be more stains and plenty of them. All marking out how Moose has played that day. Now that I know I have a cleaning product which works, that seems a more pleasant prospect than it had previously.

To help with your stains at home, head to ACE clean UK to find out more.  ACE can also be found in Tesco, Sainsbury’s Morrisons and Waitrose

Long live stains and creativity and pushing the boundaries – and thank goodness for ACE!

We received some Ace products in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are honest and our own.