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

Win A Warwick Castle Family Pass!

Get a frightfully good deal this Halloween with a special sale from Warwick Castle.

Book online by 23 October for visits until 4 November and save up to 40 per cent.

or you can enter below to WIN Family Ticket for some spooky half term fun!

Dare to be scared?

Lure your friends and family to experience the ‘Haunted Castle’ with entry from £15 per person for eerie evening escapades or from £16 per person for dastardly day-time fun. Enhance the scare factor by adding a visit to the Castle Dungeon for an additional £5 per person for evening visits or £6 per person for day visits.

For a truly scary experience, the Haunted Castle will be open until 10pm on selected dates during the Halloween season which runs from 20 October until 4 November 2018.

For Scaredy Squires

Youngsters flock to the Haunted Hollows each Halloween to scamper along the spooky woodland trail, giggling as they go, and to weave their way through the Horrible Histories maze.

 

Dead Centre Stage (open from 11am) offers live-action performances, stories and shows throughout the day. While back at the castle, Witches Tower replaces The Princess Tower. Hear firsthand from a cast of horrid hags who tell tales of ghosts and the unexplained. Just don’t ask them what they did with the princesses…

Daring Dukes

New for 2018, the Escape Room – an actor-led attraction set within the medieval gaol – challenges friends and strangers to work together against the clock on a quest to save a tortured soul from the Wars of the Roses (additional £5 ticket required).

Venture into the castle, the centuries-old walls exuding a sense of foreboding, to find the new House of Wax scare maze. Skirting the ghostly glare of the lurking wax figures, their sallow eyes piercing the disorienting darkness, be prepared for a gut-wrenchingly grim finale…fire and wax don’t mix!

 

Fire jousting returns, promising an awesome display of horseback heroics. Out on the battlefield on River Island, fearless knights wield their flaming lances in a skillful showdown.

 

Brave Knights (over 10 years only; parental discretion advised)

Outbreak 1369 drags pitiful plague victims from their medieval resting place in the fetid bowels of the castle to torment the living. Stomach churns and teeth chatters – punctuated with screams of terror – are to be expected.

Try to keep calm in The Castle Dungeon, a live-actor experience that plunges victims into the deathly darkness of the Middle Ages, when the people of Warwick were at the mercy of the plague, malevolent monks and unscrupulous ‘surgeons’.

The Halloween Spooktacular Sale runs until the clock strikes midnight on 23 October so book quickly! Visit www.warwick-castle.com to reserve your ticket.

Enter our Giveaway to WIN a Family Ticket to Warwick Castle at Halloween – for use during Halloween – 20 October until 4 November 2018

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Ada Lovelace Day – STEM Festival Peterborough

Today is Ada Lovelace day!

You have probably heard of Ada Lovelace but you might not be entirely clear on why she is famous or who she really was. Here are some facts you might not know about her but you definitely should!

ada lovelace

Her father was Lord Byron

Yes, that Byron. Ada’s Mum and Dad separated in 1815 when Ada was 3 months old. The mad, bad and dangerous to know poet sadly (or not so sadly, depending on your point of view) died when Ada was 8.

It was said to be that, because Ada’s Mother wanted to avoid her daughter inheriting Byron’s reckless artistic temperament, she pushed her daughter into the study of mathematics. 

She wasn’t really accepted.

Ada had to publish her work under her initials, as women were not seen to be intellectual.

Although Ada’s mother had succeeded in providing her daughter with the best education and had passed onto her a real thirst for knowledge. She hadn’t done quite so well when it came to teaching her how to be a lady in victorian England.

In an 1835 edition of the New York Mirror (Ada would have been 20) was written: “It is said that Ada Byron, sole daughter of the ‘noble bard’, is the most coarse and vulgar woman in England!” Even Babbage, her good friend, was said to have described her as having “a good deal of the Byron devil”! 

She’s buried next to the Father she never knew

She died from cancer in 1852 – at just 36 years old. At her own request, she was buried next to her well known father in a Nottinghamshire churchyard.

It took a while for the world to catch up

Lovelace’s ideas about computing were so far ahead of their time that it took nearly a century for technology to catch up. While Lovelace’s notes on Babbage’s analytical engine gained little attention at the time (they were originally published in 1843), they found a much wider audience when republished in B.V. Bowden’s 1953 book “Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines”. As the field of computer science dawned in the 1950s, Lovelace gained a new following in the digital age.

There’s a computing language named after her

The US department of defence computer language is named Ada. Each October, Ada Lovelace Day recognizes women in maths, science and engineering, who the British Computer Society then award the ‘Ada Lovelace medal’ to.

You can read more about Ada Lovelace by following the links below:

https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-ada-lovelace 

https://www.biography.com/people/ada-lovelace-20825323

GET INVOLVED

An official event for Ada Lovelace day, Peterborough STEM festival returns in 2018 for it’s 3rd year. It will be held at the Kingsgate Conference Centre, Peterborough on October 13th, from 9.30am until 4pm.

Promising fun activities to celebrate and experience the wonders of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This event is FREE to enter and suitable for the whole family. You just need to book your FREE tickets here:

https://www.peterboroughstemfestival.co.uk/

Autumn Fun Outdoors – Phlat Ball and Fun Sports

I am not an active parent. Despite reading all of the media warnings about screen-time for children and the importance of keeping their little bodies physically active, I am often guilty of looking out of the window and using the weather as an excuse to stay indoors and pop a movie on or play video games.

It’s a bit rubbish on my part I know but there we are. Not that I am not offering an apology, but I have been thinking about it a bit more now that both children are going to school and the long days of time together (where I could be complacent about really how much time we had) are over.

So now those long days have been shortened down to 4 hours after school. Don’t get me wrong, I know I am fortunate to have even that. It’s not much though, is it?

In a way it has improved the quality of our time together though. Because, I think, that clock is ever ticking I am determined to make the time count. So, I have been quite strict with myself and imposed a no laptop rule for ME between 3pm and 8pm. I instead spend that time concentrating on being present for Moose and Bess.

This week

We have been out in the garden this week simply playing with toys. It has been really lovely to spend time with Moose just playing without the rigmarole involved with going somewhere else!

It has been so nice this week to make the most of our outside space. Moose loved playing with the Phlat Ball V3 Flash he was sent as well as his boom bat and other toys.

Inside the ball are suckers so the ball can be squashed into a flatter frisbee style shape. We played a game of hot potato with it, when the ball pinged back to shape whoever was holding it was out!

Moose had so much fun with it and loved the flashing lights too. You can find Phlat Balls at Smyths

We also found a Minion space hopper in the shed which Moose had a lot of fun playing with and for his birthday he received a scooter and helmet. He has had a little practise on the scooter every day this week.

We hear a lot of chatter in the press about how children today have forgotten how to be children and play without the aid of technology but I disagree. Given the chance I think most children enjoy being unplugged*.

*Eventually. Even if they do initially protest that you have ruined their lives by turning their tablet off.

 

5 Winter Wardrobe Must Haves – #Qblogger

IT’S HERE!

I absolutely love this time of year for clothing. You can tell within around 2 minutes of meeting me that I am hardly what you would call fashionable but I know what I like. What I like most is layering, natural fabrics, items which are easily cleaned and comfort! I am in my thirties and I like feeling comfortable dammit!

Last week I was invited to a QBlogger get together at Queensgate Shopping Centre with other local bloggers to take part in an autumn/winter challenge. We were to meet at Carluccios restaurant for drinks and nibbles where we would be handed our very own challenge!

There were a lot of canapes to choose from and I loved trying the bruschetta with pickled walnuts. I also sampled the house red so that I could personally recommend it to you (which I can – it was delicious).

My challenge

Inside my envelope was a letter detailing what I had to do next. I was instructed to head to Oasis, Marks and Spencer and New Look and find 5 staple pieces for my winter wardrobe.

So, in no particular order. Here they are…

Coat

It’s getting colder, you need a coat. I am seeing different takes on the check patterned coat all over the place at the moment. This one from New Look is a really great price at £39.99.

Jumper

£40

Who doesn’t love a bit of ochre on a grey day? This cable knit jumper from Oasis and is available from XS to XL.

£35

I really like animal prints but it seems like it has been stepped up a gear this year. Bold hot pink animal prints look awesome. Well, I think so anyway. This jumper is from M&S.

Hat

bobble hat

from £15

Bobble hats are my favourite. Not only are they a practical solution on a cold day but they also hide a bad hair day too allowing you extra time in bed. Double win.

These bobble hats are from Oasis.

 

Boots

One of the best things about the colder months has to be the skirt, tights, boots combo, surely?

These boots are from New Look

Scarf

I do love a scarf. Chunky knit, silk, bright, pastel… There is something for everyone and the best part is that they all fit!

Here is a selection of some of my favourites from M&S.

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

Kinetic Sand

I have a confession to make. Even though I know that tactile play is incredibly good for a child’s development I avoid messy toys… like sand.

kinetic sand

Imagine my joy when we were sent a bag of sand to play with

Moose was genuinely thrilled, the idea of indoor sandcastles made him positively giddy in fact. Me? not so much. It’s not so much that I hate cleaning but I already hoover 3 times a day because someone (me) made the interesting life choice to adopt a turbo shedding hound so adding more “stuff” to clear up is never my first choice.

Inside the box

You will find a 1.5kg bag of sand as well as 8 plastic sandcastle moulds and a set of instructions. The box itself forms part of the playset which I thought was handy as it helps to contain the bits.

The instructions tell you how to fold the box to allow for play but our flap kept coming loose. It made no difference anyway.

What did Moose think?

He loves the stuff. He spent ages just touching and playing with the sand at first. It feels a bit like wet sand but because of what I can only presume is magic, it sticks to itself and leaves no mess. NO MESS!

It’s non toxic and gluten free so good for any little ones who have an intolerance to gluten but who are prone to sticking everything into their mouths. Moose has a friend who fits this description so it’s nice to know they can play with the Kinetic Sand without that added worry.

We found the moulds really easy to use and Moose was happy after a little while of playing together to just sit and build his sandcastles by himself. I would say that with supervision this toy would be fine for a preschooler but 4-6 would be the ideal age range I think.

I thought that the sand provided was plenty but you are able to purchase more sand separately and in lots of different colours too!

Would we buy it?

The short answer is yes. I have already put another set on the Christmas list and I think it would make a great present for other peoples children too! The price of this set was £19.99 which considering it’s claim to “never dry out” is pretty good considering the hours of play value I am sure Moose will get out of it.

This is how much I found on the floor after an hour of Moose playing with it. Not bad!

We have decided to store the sand in plastic tubs just to make sure it stays in the best condition.

We were sent the set in exchange for an honest review.