Wednesday 25 July 2018

The Perils Of A Long Hot Summer

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The Perils Of A Long Hot Summer


I'm a grandmother and can remember the last long hot summer in the UK. It was 1976. I was twenty and had not long moved to Wales after spending a year in Greece. All the summers of my childhood were long and hot, I can't remember a cold wet one before I moved to Wales. I grew up in Hertfordshire, in the East of England just north of London. It has warmer, dryer summers and colder winters than the west.

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Monday 23 July 2018

Boxwild Children's Big Bird Gift Box - Review


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Boxwild Children's Big Bird Gift Box - Review 

We love feeding the birds in the garden and every year we participate in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch so we were delighted to be given a Boxwild Children's Big Bird Gift Box to review*. 

The parcel arrived and Bear couldn't wait to open it, it was packed beautifully and was full to the brim. We had a wooden bird box, four tiny pots of paint and a paintbrush. There was also a bird feeder, a scoop and two packets of wild bird food. The bird food is a special mix for either blue tits or Boxwilds blend for other songbirds, such as dunnock, robins and blackbirds. The packets are illustrated with the birds that would usually feed from the mixture. The contents are clearly marked on the packets and along with a mixture of seeds, both contain peanuts and wheat.

Bear chose the bluetit mix, he couldn't wait to try the scoop. We struggled a little to scoop the seeds directly from the bag but once poured into a bowl it was easy. 

I loved the quality of the items. Everything looked well made, the bird box was joined well and no rough parts or splinters. The bird feeder was of similar quality and quickly replaced my old, rusty one. 

The food mix was a good mix of seeds and pellets with no dust. I usually buy the premium brands and this looked equal if not better than those.

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Bear loved filling the bird feeder with the metal scoop


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Once we had the bird feeder in place we started on the bird box. I didn't give any instructions to Bear,  I just told him to paint it however he liked.

The gift set comes with four small pots of paint. Red, blue, yellow and green. The pots are really small, I doubt if there is enough to fully cover the exterior but this didn't stop Bear. I was very impressed with how carefully he painted the roof. He chose green, a good choice I think. Then he chose red, and painted around the entrance hole. I must admit it did look like something from a Tarantino movie but I bit my tongue and let him continue. A little bit of yellow and blue and we had a rainbow house.

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Bear concentrating hard and trying to be careful.


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The red around the entrance may not be to everyones taste haha!
Bear thought the birds would love it because it is so colourful

As Bear was adding more colours he declared;

the birds are going to love this! It's so colourful

Yes! 

I think he's right, it is colourful and quite delightful.

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The finished box - perfect for a family of blue tits

Bear loved this gift set. I wouldn't hesitate in recomending it as a gift or just as a craft for your child to enjoy. We spent ages talking about birds, what they ate, where they slept and so on. It was so much more than just a bird box to paint.

Boxwild do all sorts of gift boxes, suitable for adults and children. Pop over to the Boxwild website and I am sure you'll find something you love. Our box cost £28.

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* Disclosure - We were given the gift box for the purpose of this review. All opinions are honest and our own.



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Sunday 22 July 2018

Where have we been?

Where have we been?


We have been very quiet on the blog for the last few weeks. Not intentionally, there just doesn't seem to be any time to do all the things we love.

Bear

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Bear has two days left at pre-school and goes to nursery in the big school in September, he had his very first sports day a couple of weeks ago and came second in his race. We were expecting tears as Bear is very competitive and hates to lose at anything, but he was an angel, he said quite philosophically, "I did my best, Nanny" and no one can ask for more than that.

Bee

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Bee is growing every day. He is an absolute darling. I have never seen such a happy, content baby. He is weaning using the baby led weaning method, and this really suits him. He absolutely loves his food and is now quite adept at feeding himself. He still needs practice with his spoon and fork but he's an expert with his hands. It's such a shame he has multiple allergies; dairy, eggs, soya, white fish, but we are hoping he will grow out of them eventually.

Bee can stand just resting a hip or his bottom on something but hasn't taken that magical first step yet (he's eleven months). He has also started saying a couple of words.

mum mum
bubbles
milk
hello

He also likes to point and grunt, we think he wants us to tell us what everything is so that's what we do.

Grandad and Me


I would like to post more often on the blog, and to do that some may be short and just quick updates. I started this blog to record Bear growing up, I'd like to do the same for Bee and looking after two during the week doesn't leave me with a lot of time. How parents manage when they have them all day, everyday I have no idea!

If you are keen on baby led weaning I have a couple of posts on the way that may help beginners get started, I am no way an expert, just going to share a few tips that I have picked up along the way.

Grandad and I have been visiting North Wales and were taken with how beautiful the area is, and how friendly everyone is. It was also great to hear Welsh spoken everywhere, it would be great for Bear as he tells me Welsh is just for school!



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