New Brighton

Wow has it been a hot day, I know it was forecast but I was not prepared for it! It certainly didn't help that our dog ate the paddling pool.

Today I took a trip to New Brighton with my friend, her little lad and Oscar. 

I've never been there before so didn't quite know what to expect, apart from the usual sea side things like amusements and doughnuts, every beach trip needs doughnuts and ice cream in my view. 

Anyway New Brighton isn't too far from us, it's an easy 1hr away. We travelled in my friends car, both the boys in the back and chatted away, we soon arrived.

We parked up and at first had a bit of a panic as the tide was in, which meant no beach! After walking on the seafront we did however find a nice sandy spot with a couple of lifeguards on duty, it was a small corner next to Fort Perth Rock which is an old coastal defence battery that was used during the Napoleonic period to protect the docks of Liverpool, I'll have to visit it next time for sure!

Once we hit the beach my friends boy was in the water straight off, Oscar yelled ouch and ran out never to go near it again. We kept ourselves busy by making a few sand castles and he knocked them down like a scary monster. I think we stayed on the beach for and hour and a half before we decided to go for lunch.

New Brighton has undergone a massive redevelopment to pull tourists with a new cinema, travelodge, casino, ice cream parlour, chimi changas, prezzo, Starbucks and many more restaurants too. I hadn't seen it before this developement, my firend told me it just used to be a large grassed area. To me before it must have been a nice small seaside town, the attraction was the beach, still is,  and it wasn't over shadowed by amusement arcades or towering buildings. The new changes to me fit in nicely, I coudn't really imagine it without as the new restaurant/bars looked really popular. It has gven the area something for everyone, it's on the promenade too so you can easily spend a day or even more there, espcially with the new Travelodge.

Even with so much choice for lunch we still went for the traditional Seaside Cafe.

The Seaside Cafe. Source wirrelwebsite.co.uk

We ordered fish and chips, the kids had chicken nuggets, chips and beans. The meal came to us really quickly, the portion sizes we brilliant and it was so delicious, a proper seaside fish and chips. I was stuffed and had to pass on pudding, which is usually unheard of for me. The whole meal inuding a tea for two (kids meal came with a juice) was £17.80 and for the portion sizes I'd say this was a  pretty fair price. 

After lunch we decided to head home, I noticed an arcade and small amusement park on the promenade as well as a super bowl and laser quest. I've always enjoyed laser quest but with two young ones in tow it wasn't to be! 

We came in through Wallasey so for drive home we took the coastal road and I spotted a cute looking miniature golf which I'm sure I'll visit next time I'm that way. My two eldest children love crazy golf, their not too good at it but they do enjoy it so it'll be somewhere to visit with them!

Having never been to New Brighton I was pleasantly surprised, it's nice and small but had plenty to do and explore and there weren't crowds of people. I didn't visit the amusements arcade or the amusement park but from today's impression I'll be back to explore some more! I'd definitely be up for crazy golf and laser quest with my eldests, if I can get them off the beach that is! One things for sure though, I'll definitely be going back to The Seaside Cafe, good food and great value.

I'll leave you with this picture of Oscar, he loved the sand just not so much the cold water! 

Where do you like to visit the seaside and what's your favourite thing about it?

A visit to my local children's centre

My youngest, Oscar (Oz), will be two next month and  recently with less work commitment I've been venturing out with him to visit friends and family.

Today how ever I decided to visit my local children's centre. These are located nationwide and offer a free service that includes stay and play sessions with snack time for 0-5 years (and 0-11 years in the school holidays), breastfeeding work shops, weigh in sessions, advice work shops, first aid work shops and much much more! 

Nantwich & Rural Children's centre. Source cheshireeast.gov.uk

I honestly only really went to a children's centre properly with my first born for regular weigh in sessions and then with Oscar for weigh ins too, I never thought about anything else they offered until now. 

A post came up on my Facebook with activities for July/August for my local centre and I shared it. One of the mums from school noticed and cut a long story short we have now booked in for a day trip to Llandudno together with our kids which will be great fun. 

Whilst I was at the centre booking for the trip I had a tour and was really impressed. They had a fab sensory room for babies and lots of toys for the older ones to play with, was spacious and seemed really popular with the staff being really approachable, so I made a vow is return with Oscar.

Today we went to the stay and play session which runs from 9:15 til 11:00 AM, I invited my sister along with her daughter who is the same age as Oscar as I felt she'd enjoy it too and I wasn't wrong! They were shy at first but once introduced to a few toys they were both well away and enjoying themselves. Oscar who normally doesn't like to share was happy to have another boy sit and play with him. We spent the first hour or so with the trains and then outside where there was a hut, a play trough with diggers in and what I think was rice crispies and also a few ride on toys.

Outside play area. Source chesireeast.gov.uk

 Next was snack time, the children were sat at small tables with bowls of food to pick. They were given grapes, cheese cubes, bread sticks, bananas, apple pieces, oranges and a cup of water or milk. Oscar sat down nicely and really enjoyed all of the snacks, he sipped his water and was really good throughout. After they'd finished we all helped tidy up and went through to the sensory room for a story and then we sang a few songs. Oscar didn't really enjoy this part though, he just wanted the toys.

I'd really recommend all mums and dads visit a children centre at least once, if you don't like it then fair enough but I know I get cabin fever just from spending a day at home, I'm always needing to do something and it normally has to be out of the house. Not only that but it gave me a chance to meet other mums, to socialise and for Oscar to play with children of his own age. He gets shy easily so I feel taking him along to these sessions not only helps him build confidence but will hopefully also help prepare him for when he eventually attends preschool. I also found that he really enjoyed the huge array of toys (what child wouldn't!) and they have a messy substation too, I know sometimes it's not always possible to get out paints and other messy items for toddlers at home as it usually ends up all over so it gives them a chance to get mucky but without the worry for mum and dads of how much mess and how to clean it as its all in one place and the lovely ladies are on hand to help with the cleaning!

Check out your local children's centre, they're free and you'll be surprised at what they offer for parents and children.

Birthday present shopping

Tomorrow marks Evan's (my eldest son) birthday! He will be 5 years old and boy is he looking forward to it. It's a school day sadly but that's not dampened his spirits as he has sports day, so all the children get to arrive at school in their PE kits and stay that way all day. Something I know I would have liked in my school days as it means less time in the classroom!

In the run up to his birthday I've asked him over and over what he'd like but being Evan he just simply said "Mummy, just get me anything". It's sweet that he's not fussed and that I don't have the most expensive toys on my list to buy but it also made it quite diffcult as I had relatives asking what to buy but here was me not sure myself.
In the end I resorted to asking for cash or I'd try and complement their gifts with a gift we'd purchased already and that went down well.

So here are a few of the gifts I've found for Evan who really didn't have a clue what he wanted so I used my trusty Argos catalogue to find them.

 1. Disney Planes Aircraft carrier £16.99 (usually £24.99) Argos
I originally was going to order a Chad valley version with various vehicles but this one caught my eye as it was on sale and it has a section to store the planes in and to be honest it looks more appealing. I always check reviews for every product I buy and this one had a fab star rating of 4.5 out of 5. I caught it on a sale and had hoped to have bought a plane to go with it but weirdly Argos don't sell them, odd considering they sell the carrier! Luckily I found one in Sainsburys also on sale for £3.99!

2. Lego City Camper Van £14.99 (Usually £17.99) Argos
Evan got a lego set for christmas and he really enjoyed building it, yes it's been destroyed a few times but the main thing is he enjoyed it so I figured I'd get him a set. I wasn't sure which one he'd want but whilst looking through the catalogue I saw this one and instantly knew it was for him as he has a bit of a love for camper vans (just like his Mam). I was lucky again on this one as it was in the sales, I particulary like that you get two figures, a couple of tiny mugs and a canoe! he's going to be playing with it for hours I'm sure.

3. Scooter £19.99 Aldi
This was purchased a month ago by my nan after I suggested it as a gift for Eleanor (my daughter), my nan picked one up for Evan too for when his birthday came around. It was purchased from Aldi, a place a love to shop and look over their bargains on their centre aisle, it won't be on sale there now but they always bring them back.
 The scooter is quite large and would suit from age 4+, the wheels are large and it's very smooth when you ride it compared to the old scooters the kids have which feel every bump. It comes with a kick stand and can be folded for easy transport. My daughter loves hers and I'm sure Evan will too.

4. Spiderman pull cord helicopter £4.99 B&M
I've bought these a couple of times for the boys birthday presents in Evan's class at school. They always went down well and Evan's always asking if he can have one so I got one. They are very much like the pull cord faires you can get but on a larger scale. I haven't seen it in action yet but I'm pretty sure we will be going to the park to use it for fear of it flying into one of our neughbours gardens.

5. Lego Classic box £12.99 Argos
My sister bought this for him, I suggested it as I knew we would be buying a Lego set and thought this would be great to help him build whatever he wanted. It's a fairly small box but has enough Lego in to get him started.

I really hope he likes the choices, he'll more than likely recieve plenty of cards and probably a bit of money too! so no doubt he will be buying himself more Lego or likely more planes for his carrier! Either way I always enjoy present shopping, not so much the cash vanishing but the look on their faces when they see what they've got makes up for that.

Magical Orlando Tag Competition

My friend Natover at Twice the Mum posted a competition blog post today and after reading it I couldn't resist doing it myself.
You can find all details about the competition here, it does end on the 7th (tomorrow) though so be quick!

To be in the run to win a prize you need to make a post by answering several questions which are Harry Potter, Disney and Marvel orientated. I'm a lover of all three so it should be fun!
The prizes that could be won are as follows:
Prize #1: £100 of Disney Store vouchers – just in time for Christmas!
Prize #2: Benny Space Ship LEGO – as seen in the LEGO movie
Prize #3: Classic Disney and Universal DVD bundle
Prize #4: The Harry Potter book collection – this year’s edition
Prize #5: Minion Monopoly – the classic board game, with added minions!

Pretty cool prizes, even if I don't win it will have been fun writing another post, I never really expect to win when I enter anything as i've yet to win anything.

So here goes!

1. Which Hogwarts house would you be sorted into?

I'm not sure really, the sorting hat would know! I'd probably end up in Hufflepuff, I'm not overly smart and where as I can be brave in the right circumstances I don't feel I'd be Griffindor. Slytherin? I don't think that'd be for me either, I'd not fit in very well, I'm quite cheerful, probably curse me for being annoyingly happy and I'm not overly ambitous, soooo Hufflepuff it is!

 2. Name a Disney character you’d like to have dinner with.

Source

It has taken me so long to think of something, but after a shower I've decided on a picnic under Grandmother Willow with Olaf, I know thats technically two but I can't decide between them both. Grandmother Willow was always one of my favourite parts of Pocahontas, shes so wise and has such a funny side to her which I loved. Olaf...well he is funny, sweet and completely daft (A bit like me...the daft part I mean) and I could make a little snow man out of his flurry! 

Source

 3. Which Marvel superhero power would you choose?

I'd like Precognition, knowing the future and being able to help before something happens. It's not perfect I suppose as there are always two outcomes and you may not know the outcome of your choice until the future has been realigned to your decision I guess...if that makes sense! All I know is I'd find that more useful to me, to help change things for the better or stop a young life being cut short.

4. If you could bring back one dinosaur breed from Jurassic Park, which would it be?

Probably the Thyreophora's like Apatosuarus, Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. All herbivors and they were huge too! I think they'd get in the way in todays world and we'd end up with alot of broken buildings, squished cars. It would be amazing to see one though mainly because of their size.

5. You can ride a dragon at the Triwizard Tournament and visit the Owlery at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but where else would you go on a school trip to Hogsmeade?

Zonko's joke shop or maybe Tomes and Scrolls, the book shop.

6. A scene in any Disney, Harry Potter or Marvel movie you wish you could experience?

Source

 Quidditch match at Hogwarts, I couln't pick a particular one maybe the 1st match on 2nd year against Slytherin, Lockhart messing up on the broken arm fixing too!


7. Name one item from any Harry Potter, Disney or Marvel movie would you want for Christmas.

Source

 It's a more recent Disney object, i'd like the Amulet of Avalor which is Given to Princess Sophia by King Roland. "With each deed performed, for better or  worse, a power is granted, a blessing or a curse". I would like have powers like speaking to animals, becoming a mermaid when needed and what i liek most is that it punishes you if your not so good!

8. Name one unforgettable experience/moment you’ve had at the Orlando Parks.

Sadly i hav not yet been to Orlando, I;ve dreamed of it for some time and I will go that I know but it will be a few years down the line. There isn't one thing I'd like to see as it's all so amazing and different from what I seen before as I've never visited the states at all. I know for sure that I'll be visiting The Wizarding Worled of Harry Potter as I;m a tad obsessed!


That's it, so simple! all you need to do now after completing you post is to tag at least one blogger and tweet using the hashtag #FloridaTixTag, go on!!

I'm going to tag my Chris (My hubby) over at Just Another Blog Really he may do it and he may not!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Hollie
xx

Festive feeling

The first of December! As like every year our tree was up last night as to wake and open advent calendars with the lights on and feeling Christmasy. 

I will always enjoy putting our tree up, the kids even have their own little tree to decorate which they love doing. 

The main tree is decorated by us all really, we all get together and place on various decorations, my youngest who is one even helped out by passing me the baubles. 

This is our tree, it's got lots of colourful baubles and a few decorations made in November and those little things kids make in preschool too. I'll always put them on the tree, my mum did too for years, I don't think she has them now though but I do remember putting them on when I was younger.

We also have lights outside the house, nice bright multicoloured ones that flash, we've put them around the porch, I'd love more lights really but presents are a priority!

I've always enjoyed walking past houses with lots of lights and decorations, last year we took a drive round to see them all and the kids really enjoyed it. Most put charity boxes outside which I think is fab, Christmas is after all a time of giving. 

This will be the first of many blog posts, I want to get back into writing them to keep our family and friends up to date and I really do love to blog it's just finding to time and inspiration. Christmas has given me lots inspiration though so it's a perfect time to start back up.

What Christmas decorations to do have/want and are they up yet? 

1st wedding anniversary

Yes a year has past since our wedding and it went way too quickly!

Your first anniversary is paper, my mother in law gave us money and my best friend made my husband (Chris) a paper aeroplane and me a paper swan! I had a lovely day yesterday, we didn't do anything out of the ordinary during the day, didn't even bother with cards or presents for ourselves as we were going out in the evening anyway to celebrate.

When we wed last year we were promised that on our first anniversary we would receive a full 3 course meal free of charge at our wedding venue. I wasn't too sure what to expect as the only time I've really eaten there was our wedding, which was yummy.

My bestie turned up to look after our little ones at about 18:45, we had a quick chat and opened her card and then after kissing the kids good bye we left for our meal at The Lincoln Hotel. 

On arrival we were directed to the restaurant at the back of the hotel, the rooms were cosy and inviting with out 4 maybe 5 tables in each room. We were shown to our table of two, on the walls were pictures of the Lancaster Bombers, pilots and propellers. All these are a favourite for decoration in Lincoln due to its history. 

Our table was neat, had fresh flowers and a candle burning.

The menu consisted of about 5 starters, 7 mains, 5 desserts and a cheese selection. When offered a drink I stuck with my favourite which is an Archers and Lemonade and Chris, not being much of a drinker and especially not a beer or wine fan, chose just lemonade.

Our starter was delicious. We decided to share a selection of breads with feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, olives, butter and garlic butter. One of the bread rolls was chocolate and chilli, not my favourite that's for sure as I felt it was a weird mix. The other rolls were warm, crunchy and delicious and were whole grain and white breads.

The restaurant wasn't packed out, I think two tables and ours were the only ones being used whilst we were eating.

 My main was tough to choose, I had the options of duck, rib eye steak, tagliatelle, risotto, and a vegetarian option. I chose a well done rib eye steak and I was not disappointed, it was mouth watering. The Stilton cheese side really complemented everything, I could of eaten a hell of a lot more even if I felt full!

Chris opted for Duck, he said it was very chewy but moist, he's used to shredded duck from the chinese so a stark difference. He loved it either way and cleared his plate pretty quickly.

We also were served seasonal veg in a bowl on the side which consisted of carrots, new potatoes and green beans.

Our server was Carolina, she was lovely and had us chuckling now and again. The people really enjoyed her character too.

Now for dessert I was unsure, there were lots of choices but in the end I went with a Creme caramel with ginger biscotti.

 It was nice, very similar to a custard cream, not something I'd normally go for but It was nice.

Chris chose a strawberry semi-fredo and seemed surprised to find in half frozen which was amusing. 

He did really enjoy it though! I'm not a fan of strawberry flavoured anything really so it didn't appeal to me at all.

After we went to pay our bit which was just £5 for drinks and that was it!

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, the delicious breads with feta, garlic butter and sundries tomatoes and mainly the steak. I said to Chris I wanted to go back again, the steak was just so good. 

If we had of paid it would of come to £53 which to us seemed reasonable. The food was great, the service was fantastic and it left us feeling like we could come back any time and maybe try something different. One of the other starters was pigeon breast, at first I thought of the pigeons in town and it put me off the idea but after seeing another couple have it I became curious as to what it tasted like.

All in all a fab time at The Lincoln Hotel! 

We also saw Thor: the dark world afterwards and loved it, how couldn't Thor is amazing!

Favourite 5's

I visited my best friend Natty yesterday, she hasn't been very well so I hoped it would cheer her up, and that it did! You'll find her blog at But a mask, she blogs about her life, being a new mother and sometimes even reviews.
We got chatting, with my husband, about our favourite things and whether each of us knew the others. In the end we decided we should both do a blog about our favourite five things as, for me, I can never have one! I'm just to greedy.

The categories are some that we decided on together so here we go!

Movies:

1. Pearl Harbour - I have loved this movie since my early teens. My favourite part has always been the two planes passing inches between each other. It's such a sad movie and really gets you thinking, luckily the ending makes up for it.
2. Inception - A recent favourite, this movie totally confused me at times but I loved it. Leonardo Dicaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are fantastic in this movie and I kinda have a crush on Joseph now!
3. Peter Pan - The 2003 version. I know compared to my other choices this seems odd but I really adore it. With it being actors it's just so much more different than the original and I just really loved it.
4. Lord of the rings - Could watch these over and over, shame they are so long!
5. Hunger Games - Really lived up to it's book, not may films manage that.

Tv Shows:

1. Under The Dome - Cureently watching, again some of the acting is a bit off but I still like it.
2. Lost - Now finished but I really enjoyed the twists.
3. Hollyoaks - Only just got back into this (again thanks to my sister) and I'm hooked.
4. Person of interest - my sister got me into this. The acting of one guy can be a bit shoddy but it's still awesome.
5. Game of Thrones - I love this show, however the nudity does make me cringe.

Books:

1. Hunger games - All of them! These books are amazing and I barely put them down.
2. Harry Potter - Again, all of them! I started reading these when I was quite young. My mum had bought them for Christmas for my sister, who never reads, I was so upset. In the end she realised Mick wouldn't read them and so I got them! I read the first book in a night and was then hooked.
3. P.S I love you - Unfortunately the movie was not nearly half as good but the book stays as one of my firm favourites.
4. The Alchemists secret - A mystery and deceitful book. I really couldn't put it down.
5. The secret garden - only read this recently having seen the film loads, prefer the book by far.

Food:

1. Bolognaise/Lasagne - The spaghetti, sauce, mince and delicious garlic bread. Just delicious.
2. Cakes - I'm awful. I just really am, cakes are my weakness. At the moment I love cheesecake, even tried making my own with Natty.
3. BBQ - I love the taste of barbecued food, burgers, skewers(with halloumi) and ribs.
4. Chippy chips and a battered sausage, I also love the gravy you get from the chippy.
5. Sunday Roast, the whole hog. Meat, two veg, roast potatoes, yorkshie puds, stuffing and mint sauce mmm

Actors:

1. Robert Downey Jnr - Fricking amazing.
2. Joseph Gordon - Levitt - Used to watch 3rd rock from the sun with him in, next time I saw him acting was 10 things I hate about you and then Inception (which is where I think he really caught my attention).
3. Chris Hemsworth - My favourite by far is him as Thor.
4. Nicolas Cage - I've always liked the films he's in...no so much face off though.
5. Paul Bettany - Love him more now for his role as Jarvis in Iron man.

Actresses:

1. Jennifer Lawrence  - Never new she was Mystique in X-men, really first saw her act in Hunger games and thought she was amazing, not only that but she is a hilarious woman!
2. Meryl Streep - She's utterly amazing in whatever she does.
3. Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey, Harry potter, she is amazing in both.
4. Ellen Page - From Juno and Inception.
5. Jennifer Love - Hewitt - Loved her in Ghost whisperer.

So there we go! My fav's