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

Father Christmas at Sacrewell Farm

Moose and I can often be found at Sacrewell farm. He absolutely adores the place. Whether we are running around in the maze, spotting peacocks or saying hello to the Pigs, Moose always has lots of fun! So when we were invited to visit Father Christmas here we were only too happy to oblige! 

 

Our day

Booking in advance means that you are given a time to visit. This is a great idea because small children are bad enough at being patient at the best of times let alone when Christmas is involved! We arrived 2 hours before our allotted time. You are welcome to arrived as early as you like but I felt that Moose might be a bit too tired if we came along any earlier. On arrival I paid for our tractor ride and after a little play with the trains in the foyer we made our way into the farm. 

Our first stop at the farm is always to say hello to the goats. Then we moved on to the rabbits and after that Moose was a little cold so we popped into the play barn so he could burn off some energy in the warm. 

The play barn is included in the off peak £4.55 farm entry fee for children and when you consider that is less than the price of some soft play admission it does make it a bit of a bargain! 

Father Christmas 

Father Christmas at Sacrewell this year has his grotto in Hutton barn. Having no previous experience of Sacrewell at Christmas I have no way of being able to tell you whether this is the best place for him but I loved it. The winding walk up to barn was lit with fairy lights and the stable outside had been commandeered as a craft activity area which was a great idea. 

Inside the barn were lots of Christmas trees and fairy lights. There was also a table with some story books and mince pies to pass the time as we waited. I can confirm that the mince pies were yummy.

Further along was another crafting table and some Christmas themed photo props which were great fun. 

 

I am always a bit anxious about taking the children to see Santa. I am a self confessed Santa snob. I want the big man to be authentic. I want him to be THE Father Christmas. A young lad in an obviously fake beard who rushes the little ones through is my idea of Christmas hell. We only have a few years when our little ones truly believe so this stuff is important! 

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Moose froze

He was so excited while we were waiting to go in to see Father Christmas (see above for photo evidence) but unfortunately as we entered, Moose’s shy side kicked in and he stood frozen to the spot.

Father Christmas not only looked the part but he was so lovely and patient with my shy boy. Even producing from his pocket a chocolate coin to try and win him around! 

He chatted to him for some time about what he would like to receive at Christmas and Moose managed to murmur that he would really like a Batman costume. Santa then gave him his gift and Moose happily accepted it. I cannot stress enough what a big deal that was – I had expected him to run a mile. This Santa clearly knows how to play his role and I was really impressed! 

Sacrewell is not the cheapest Father Christmas to visit. The price is £7.50 per child in addition to the cost of entry. However, there is a lot to do (even in December) at the farm. You can easily spend many hours here. Especially if your children are perhaps a little older. 

tractor toy

Moose has played with his tractor every day since he received it from Father Christmas! We really enjoyed our visit to Sacrewell and cannot wait to see what 2018 brings for the farm.  

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We were invited to visit in exchange for an honest review. If I didn’t think it was a great grotto I would tell you – even at the risk of being added to Santa’s naughty list

Gifts for Older kids 2017

It can be a challenge to shop for older children who aren’t really young enough for toys . Whether they are 11 going on 27 or a relative you don’t see often we have some great ideas!

 

giftguide

1 Wise(ish) words for everyone *

Each unique book of Wise(ish) Words is crammed with stunning design where you choose the style and colours and to what extent you’d like the wise(ish) words to be heartfelt or cheeky, and hit create. You can edit at every stage to lovingly tailor the book’s mottos and maxims even further for the child you have in mind.

2 Telescope*

Navigate the stars using the ‘Star walk 2’ smartphone app – winner of an apple design award. A night sky guide app for smartphone. Use the enclosed adaptor to Mount your smartphone on the telescope, making it easy to use the app to find and identify the stars. Comes with 2 eyepieces 16.6mm, 8.3mm, erector lens (21x microscope, diagonal mirror). for ages 8 years and over.

3 Smiggle Stocking Fillers*

Who doesn’t like stationery? Why not fill their stocking with a selection of Smiggle goodies

4 Heelys*

Heelys have wheels in their heel, allowing a wearer to walk, run or roll, by shifting their weight to their heel. Heelys provide a huge amount of fun and can even be turned into normal shoes by removing the wheels. Skates.co.uk has a fabulous buyers guide which makes selecting the right pair a lot easier

5 Liquid Lava Putty*

You won’t be able to keep your hands off Liquid Lava Putty!

Stretch it, squish it or simply let it ooze through your hands. Liquid Lava Putty is super versatile and tons of fun to play with.  Break it up then stick it back together again – the possibilities are endless!

6 Mermaid Tail

Who wouldn’t want to have an actual mermaid tail?! With the added magic monofin you will cutting through the water like, well, a mermaid in no time!

7 Pass the Pigs

Pass the pigs is a great choice for older children, check out our review for more details!

*samples received for me to try out before inclusion

Sleeping Beauty Pantomime at Key Theatre Peterborough

We had never taken the children to a pantomime before so when we were kindly invited to watch Sleeping Beauty at the Key Theatre we were happy to accept! 

I have been to see other productions at the Key. However, as much as I love the theatre I don’t get the opportunity to go as much I would like to. I am definitely intending on changing this in 2018! Call it a resolution if you like. 

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We awoke on the morning of the pantomime to find that overnight the snow had settled covering our street in a blanket of white. As beautiful as the snow looks it’s not really practical when you have things to do.

I did wonder whether the pantomime would go ahead at all but one look at twitter and it became clear that it would take more than a bit of dodgy weather to stop this show. 

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The show must go on

We got to theatre a little later than planned thanks to a bit of trouble with the parking machine. Parking at the theatre is chargeable. 

Collecting our tickets from the box office was simple and the queue was thankfully a fast moving one. We hurried to our seats and waited excitedly for the show to begin! The Key Theatre do have booster seats available but thanks to its gradient seating and the small person in front of him, Moose didn’t need boosting.

key theatre

As any parent of large age gap children knows, it is sometimes difficult to find an activity which entertains both children at a similar level. The pantomime can definitely be added to that (short) list. 

From the moment that Fairy PD walked out onto the stage both Bess and Moose were hooked. I had been a bit apprehensive that 135 minutes would be a bit much for Moose to sit through but he was utterly transfixed by it all. 

theatre

Carabosse (the bad fairy) was a surprise hit with both of the children. When asked who his favourite was, Moose said the bad fairy because he liked shouting BOOOOO. Bess loved her Taylor Swift parody. She really was a fabulous character and probably my favourite too!

135 minutes could have been a bit long

As I said previously, I had my doubts. To be honest I wasn’t sure MrG would like it. He is quite grumpy about these things and has said in the past that he doesn’t really “get” the appeal. Even he was laughing at the carefully constructed adult jokes which flew straight over the children’s heads and although he did say he felt like there was a lot of music (no less than 15 songs) I caught him humming along… 

In the interval Grandma Chicken (not a panto character, just a nickname for my Mum created by Bess which stuck) bought some goodies. We were pleasantly surprised that the prices for snacks were really very reasonable. The children had a pack which cost £3.50 and contained; popcorn, fruit shoot, packet of buttons and a pot of ice cream. I had some popcorn £2 and a bottle of coke £2. Moose ate his in the correct way by tipping the chocolate buttons into the popcorn. He gave me his ice cream as (and I quote) “it was too cold”. Kids are odd. 

There were also flashing wands and swords available. I decided not to buy one as Moose hadn’t spotted them and I was pretty sure him having one would result in some kind of injury (to someone else) but they too were not badly priced at less than £5 each. 

 

If you haven’t booked tickets then I think you should

It’s a very traditional family friendly panto with the usual audience participation and funny lines to shout.  The Panto follows the story of Aurora who is cursed at her naming ceremony by Carabosse (the spurned former fiance of the King) and is sent to live with the 3 good fairies as their niece until her 18th birthday to escape Carabosse’s curse. There to help along the way was Jingle the Jester. 

The cast were all fabulous! Jingle the Jester and Queen Iona Trumpet especially were very funny. I was really impressed by the set and costumes too! It all felt really polished – Bess wasn’t sure whether Carabosse getting the giggles was part of the show but it was amusing nonetheless.

We found the show to be fun, engaging for all ages and really a great way to introduce the children to the theatre. I will feel a lot more confident taking Moose to future productions. 

Will we return? Oh yes we will!

queen igotta trumpet

Disclaimer: We were given tickets to watch the pantomime in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 

Qblogger

A couple of weeks ago I joined a few new blogging friends to complete my first challenge as a QBlogger for our local Queensgate shopping centre. 

The whole QBlogger event was shrouded in secrecy

All I had been told was that we were to assemble (much like the Avengers) at Hotel Chocolat and await further instruction. 

 

You know you are about to embark on something rather exciting when it starts with a very indulgent hot chocolate and an envelope with a wax seal! 

 

Inside the envelope was a letter outlining my task for the evening ahead. I had to go shopping! Specifically I had to search the Queensgate shops for an outfit suitable for an evening dining with my Mummy friends. I thought about my Mummy friends and decided to look beyond the fact that we would be most at home necking a quick kebab (sorry ladies) in favour of a more civilised approach to the task at hand.

 

So, back to the hot chocolate. It was absolutely delicious and topped with an enormous amount of chocolate cream. While we all enjoyed our treat I took some photos of Hotel Chocolat’s gorgeous Christmas range. 

I love the tiddly pots (tubs of chocolate buttons in dark, caramel or milk) and I will definitely keep them in mind for a treat for Moose the next time we come for a mooch in town.

I need one of these wreaths. Pistachio, white chocolate and cranberry. The perfect trinity of flavour!

 

 

This is just a small selection of what is on offer this Christmas at Hotel Chocolat – don’t get me started on what look like the best advent calendars ever!

The Queensgate shopping centre is undergoing some really exciting changes at the moment but it is all still business as usual. I really love how colourful the new seating is though I have to admit, I still miss the sunken seating outside John Lewis!

I had to get my skates on

To say I am not the most natural of shoppers would be a little bit of an understatement. I am afraid that I am the classic stereotypical Mother who really only spends money on myself when it is necessary. What I lack in experience though I more than made up for in enthusiasm! The opportunity to spend on myself guilt-free? Yes please.

The first hurdle I had to overcome was finding a store which stocked my size. With the current reshuffle of shops it is admittedly a bit of a challenge to find a lot of choice for larger ladies in Queensgate while sticking to a budget. It’s not that none of the shops sell clothing in my size, it’s more that it is pot luck finding it to be on the rack! Usually I get around this by ordering online and collecting my purchases from the store.

By this point I had 1 hour to complete my challenge. Luckily New Look has a brilliant curves range which I was really impressed with.

I managed to spot a gorgeous suedette jacket and a charcoal top with sparkly silver detail (to add the requested touch of glam) and both were well within budget!

For me Autumn and Winter should be all about comfort and that means choosing fabrics which not only look nice but feel great too. I found a gorgeous mustard chunky knit scarf in Primark which definitely fitted the bill.

By the time I had located the scarf our time was up! I couldn’t believe how quickly it had flown by and how much fun we had completing the QBlogger challenge.

Our evening wasn’t over yet though, we had to meet the other bloggers at Turtle Bay restaurant. I cannot pretend that the prospect of meeting at one of my favourite restaurants didn’t fill me with glee!

Turtle Bay

Upon entry to the restaurant Jaymee and I were welcomed by the lovely Becca and Leigh and I was introduced to the other bloggers present; Rachel from Helpless Whilst Drying and Laura from Loved By Laura.

A little after we arrived we were joined by Sabina from Deepin Mummy Matters

turtle bay

I just love the food at Turtle Bay so I was not disappointed to have so many lovely dishes to try. Pictured are the Just Jerk Platter and the Goat Curry with Festival Dumplings and Rice and Peas. Delicious! 

Despite feeling incredibly nervous about my first QBlogger event it was lovely to meet everyone and have a good chat! Before we knew it was time to retreat back to our cars and head home.

I have to be honest, I really dislike being in photographs but I felt like I should show off my lovely New Look jacket so here is me looking aloof (it’s actually awkward more than aloof but I went with it), and a fence and some very autumnal leaves. You’re welcome. 

I naively thought that my purchases would remain my own. Moose had other ideas and the morning after our challenge he immediately adopted my chunky scarf for himself. I have since negotiated its safe return.

Thank you so much Queensgate for an exciting evening and for making me part of such a fabulous group of people!

 

New Years Resolutions

I don’t really do resolutions. Usually. I also don’t tend to open my life up to the world and his wife but the advent of this blog has proved me wrong on the latter so what do I know? No time like the present to give it a go, right?

I have decided that 2017 is going to be all about clawing back a bit of the me that I miss. Clichés ready? Then let’s do this..

1.Change My Body Shape

My weight doesn’t bother me. The number on the scale and the number on the little tag in my clothing. Maybe it should, its a big number, but it really doesn’t. At the moment I am uncomfortable in my skin and if I am truly honest it is interfering with my mood, how I play with my kids and…my marriage. I am not going to whine on about it but I know it has to change. Going for a walk each day is how I will begin.. and not eating chocolate for breakfast for a change (maybe)

2. Blog for Myself

The world of blogging is one I am easing myself into. I have met some incredible people and I have read some amazing posts – I feel like I am learning a massive amount and long may it continue. But I have been tying myself up in knots worrying about what people think of how I write and trying to censor myself here and there. I can’t even tell you why really, to appeal to the masses? hmm I don’t think I have ever even liked the masses so I am not certain why I would want to do a thing like that.

3. Eat Less Meat

I like meat. A rare steak is a beautiful thing to behold. I do think though that to be healthier I need to reduce my intake and also, this goes hand in hand with being a bit more creative in the kitchen. I can cook, I would love to actually be good at it though and I want to learn to cook at least a couple of meat-free dishes per month. If you have any good recipes for me, feel free to leave them in the comments section!

 4. Watch Less TV

I enjoy TV. I can watch hour upon hour of, well, pretty much anything. That’s the problem. A lot of it is amazing but most is actually quite dire. I think know that time could be better spent elsewhere, so that’s my plan! I am hoping to fill those extra hours by dedicating more time to working on the blog and also by doing some online courses.

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5. Sleep More!

This is my favourite resolution. Sleep is so underrated. I am lucky now that Moose sleeps roughly 11 hours a night but he has dropped his afternoon nap so if I have any hope of not turning into a perpetually irritated old hag I need to make sure I catch up on the ZZZZ’s too. Usually I can grab 5/6 hours a night. I am not someone who can be happy on less than 7. I need to sort it out!

New plan is.. Moose in bed for 19:30, half hour doing some kind of tidying up, 2.5 hours of either work or blog and bed for 10:30 where I will read an actual grown up book without pictures for half an hour! Part of this new routine will definitely mean cutting out the caffeine. Either its going to be great, or my family are in for a miserable few months. Watch this space!

6. Visit Edinburgh

I have never been. I have always wanted to go. I’ve no idea why it has taken me this long? So this year I would love to visit Edinburgh Castle and if anyone has any other suggestions feel free to comment below.. the planning begins!

7. Go On More Adventures

I am an indoors person. The sofa and my laptop and a nice cup of coffee.. I love until I don’t. I am prone to bouts of melancholy and this is amplified when those walls start to close in. I need to get up and get out more with Moose and I know he would want that too if he ever looked up from playing with his dinosaurs long enough to notice.

So that’s my 7. Couldn’t reduce it to 5 and 10 just feels like too many all at once. 7 is rather a good number I feel. It’s a given that I will keep you updated as to how I get on and who knows, it might just be the best year ever.

I would love to know your resolutions for the coming year so tell me! I am nosy!!  

Wishing you good health and happiness throughout 2017

Mummy & Moose x

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