Raisie Bay - Page 293 of 318 - A Family and Lifestyle Blog

Update on the School Situation

August 2, 2013 by Anne Sweet 3 Comments

You may remember a little while back that I was thinking about new schools for my children as we are soon moving house. Well, after contacting the schools I found that they were all pretty much full up! So I went further afield, something I didn’t really want to do as it would involve public transport, but again, it was difficult to find places. Ironically, the closest school does have places for Star and the Little Man but not Boo, so it looks like it will be my first choice. As far as Boo is concerned, none of the eleven schools I have tried so far have places for her. By law she will be provided with a place which could possibly be a couple of bus journey’s away, and a different school to her siblings.

Another spanner in the works is the fact that come September the LEA are changing things so that the schools themselves handle all applicants for school places. This means things could be even more difficult as they will be thinking about their schools not about the child. It could be a lot more difficult to get places.

After speaking to someone at Schools and Admissions I have been advised to submit my application forms to them so they can get them over to the schools before September and we will be on the waiting list. The problem is, I have until 20th August to do this with proof of my new address. Just to complicate things even more, we’ve just heard that the contractors will not be handing over the house until the 2nd of September. This is the third date we’ve been given so far so it could even be later.

So, what do I do?

I will submit my forms with my new address and if they require proof try and delay them. Hopefully, it won’t be an immediate request and we might just be in the house in time.

I’m going to put both girls down for the nearest schools and hope that we will be near the top of the list for Boo as we are very close to the schools and her sibling will be there (hopefully)

I will choose the other school that had a place for Star and then pick the next nearest which had no places at all. Then I guess it will be a complete lottery if we get any places at all.

If it comes down to applying for schools in September then I will have the backing of the girl’s current/previous headmaster who has offered to speak to the schools on my behalf.

So, while most parents are out buying new uniforms for their children to go back to school I’m feeling lost. I don’t even have a school for my girls and everything seems all down to chance. As a person who likes order and control in my life it’s driving me insane.

Home schooling as been suggested to me and to be honest I’d love to give it a try, but I don’t have the backing of the family. The Dad will not even hear of it and Eldest Daughter thinks it would be a big mistake. I know from experience that home schooling is not easy, so without the family backing me I don’t think it’s an option.

At present my biggest nightmare would be having to accept a school place miles away. I don’t mind walking if it’s near enough but I’ve tried every school in walking distance without any luck. On my current budget I’m not even sure I could afford the bus fare.

Actually that is not my biggest nightmare, that would be having the girls in different schools miles apart, and then the Little Man in a different nursery.

The whole situation is currently a nightmare and I just want to wake up and know what is going to happen in September.

Princess Adventure Puzzle Party – and Party Linky

July 31, 2013 by Anne Sweet 21 Comments

I love birthday parties, we’ve done practically everything over the years, bouncy castle, pool party, playcentre, karaoke, face painting. With having five children I’ve had chance to experience a lot.

I like to get in on the action, only once have I hired someone to do the party for me. However, now having three littlies with birthdays just weeks apart (and with me not getting any younger) I’m finding it all a little harder and any help is welcome.

For Boo’s 6th birthday last weekend I had help in the form of a Mega Princess Adventure Puzzle Party from Tall Tales Puzzle Parties.

I invited ten children but not all turned up, that is, sadly, quite common with parties held during the school holidays.

I usually end up spending weeks getting all the things I need sorted for a party like this but with the Puzzle Party Box I had everything I needed, I just had to sort food. The box comes with plates, dishes, cups, napkins, table cover, cupcake stand, banner, party bags, craft supplies, puzzles, prizes and sweets. Also there was a crown and sash for the party princess and badges for the guests.

This party comes with full instruction and taught me something I’ve not tried before. The party bags are handed out empty at the beginning and then sweets and gifts are added to the bags throughout the party so they go home full. Such a good idea and it really works, I’ll definitely do this again.

I made the cake myself. I tried to get it to fit into the theme of Puzzle Princess.

The party food

We started the party with a game. Provided in the box were a packet of little pictures. Before the party I’d glued one of each of the pictures onto five boxes and put them around the garden. Then the children were given a picture and had to find the right box to put them in. They then came back for more pictures. To make this a competitive game you should put the child’s name on the back and then count up how many they got correct. The children at our party were happy just finding the boxes and running around. When the pictures had all gone I gave them all a party bag with a pen to write their name on.

The next task was a spot the difference puzzle which the children enjoyed doing and then they were rewarded with a packet a sweets for their party bags.

I was also provided with puzzle pieces after each task which go together to make the final certificate. Seeing as you get the completed certificate at the end I didn’t bother with these. I suppose had the children been a little older it might have worked but I was partying with a group of hyper active, over excited 6 year olds!

The second puzzle was a maze and the children were given two to complete. Again they did this with vigour and were really excited. Their reward was a sticker book for their party bags.

My instructions now told me to break for the craft activity but the children were keen to eat so we got stuck into the party food first.

After the feast the children wanted to do the craft activity in the garden so I took the crown tiaras and all the craft things into the garden where they had loads of fun. (Bonus, no glitter in the carpet!)

The children had so much fun making the crown tiaras, a few of them said this was their favourite part of the party. The results were amazing.

After the craft session we got back to solving the puzzles. Next up was finding the hidden stars which the children completed and were rewarded with a another packet of sweets for their party bags.

Then it was time for a game of bingo. Each child had a picture bingo card and I held up a series of pictures one at a time and they had to cross them off their cards. They really enjoyed this game and I carried on until they all had completed a card and won the next goody for their party bag which was a ‘diamond’ ring.

To finish off there was an anagram game. Before the party I’d hidden a series of letters around the room for them to find and assemble into two words BIRTHDAY PRINCESS. The letters were in two colours and the children split into two groups to find either red or blue letters. They were all winners though and the prize was to open the special box and present the new Princess of Puzzletania (the birthday girl) with her crown and sash. All the children then received a badge to say they had completed the puzzles.

Boo and her friends had a fantastic time. I loved the structure of the party which meant there was no boredom. The whole event lasted about an hour and a half, then the children had a little time to play on the swings in the garden (and I got a well earned drink and snack)

The party was very different to anything I’d done before. We usually have party games like musical statues or pass the parcel, I thought the children would miss them but they didn’t even ask.

I found that having everything I needed supplied in one box saved me a lot of stress and time before the party. All I’d done in preparation is read through the simple instruction sheet. Other boxes available include Dinosaurs, Fairies and Pirates. Or there are many others to chose from if you are providing your own table wear. If you are interested in hosting your own puzzle party do check out the website and you can use the code PARTY13 at the checkout for a 15% discount.

I’ve decided to make this post into a linky because I’d love for you to share your posts about parties and or celebration cakes. There are no real rules, posts can be old or new so long as they mention a party (of any kind, although please be aware this is a family site) or feature some kind of celebration cake. So please link up your posts and tell your friends. Feel free to add my party badge below for others to see and join in.

I was provided with a Mega Princess Party in a box for 10 children. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Party Party

July 30, 2013 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

With so many birthdays in the summer I am always on the look out for party outfits for my littlies. With Next you never had to look far and here are a few of my current favourites.

First up is this lovely floral dress which you can also buy in kahki. It’s lovely and summery and both my girls think it’s great. Made in cotton it would be lovely, cool and comfortable to wear as well as being pretty.

From Next in sizes 3-16 yrs £10.50 to £15.50

What little girl doesn’t love sequins and tulle. This is a proper party dress and a big favourite of Star aged seven

From Next in sizes 3-16 years £28-£34

I love spots and I love this black spotty dress which would be great for Boo aged six years.

From next in sizes 3 months to 6 years £22-£24

Finally for those real special occasions this dress is just beautiful. I love the beautiful beading on the skirt and the flowers on the shoulder strap.

From Next in sizes 3-14 years £28-£35

Of course no outfit is complete is complete unless you have gorgeous shoes too. Here are a couple of my favourites.

From Next £11- £14

from Next £24-£30

Not wanting to miss the Little Man out, he loves to party too. How about this gorgeous outfit?

From Next in sizes 3 months to 6 years

Now, lets get this party started!!

This post was written for the Next Network. I have received no payment or products. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cross And Blackwell 4kids Fruit and Jelly Pots – Review

July 29, 2013 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

We were sent some Toy Story Fruit Pots for kids by Crosse & Blackwell 4Kids to review. They arrived in a lovely Toy Story lunch box, perfect for back to school. (If we ever find one!)

My Littlies are big fruit lovers but no so keen on jelly, in fact Star doesn’t eat jelly at all, so I was interested to how she would react to these little pots.

The pots arrived in a Toy Story lunch box

Packaging

The pots are the perfect size for lunch boxes, if we were not moving house soon and I was not on a complete ban from hording, I’d have definitely kept the pots for future craft projects. After removing the colourful Toy Story cardboard outer you find a little plastic spoon which is folded to fit neatly on the lid. The spoon clicks open and my littlies had no problem in doing this. The film lids had to be tugged off and these proved a little more difficult with all three littlies leaving some film behind that I had to pull off. No1Son (25 yrs) also had a little trouble removing the lid.
The litttlies loved the Toy Story images which inspired their initial excitement in the product.

Flavours

Peach in Strawberry Jelly
Peach in Peach Jelly
Mandarin in Orange Jelly
Apple in Raspberry Jelly
Mixed Fruit in Strawberry Jelly
Pineapple in Pineapple Jelly

The pots are packed with pieces of fruit and the jelly is made with fruit juice. The combinations are really tasty but the peach in strawberry jelly was the least favourite one.

Two of the flavours

What the Kids Thought

Star, 7 years, is the one who doesn’t like jelly. She was happy to give one of the pots a try though and went for the apple in raspberry jelly. She managed to pick out all the pieces of apple leaving the jelly behind. That was quite a good result though because normally she wouldn’t touch anything with any amount of jelly in it.

Boo, 6 years, loves fruit and jelly and was keen to get stuck in. She started with peach in strawberry but wasn’t keen on the flavours, so instead she had peach in peach jelly which she loved. She managed perfectly fine using the little spoon that came in the pack.

The Little Man had the fruit cocktail in strawberry jelly and used the little spoon. He made loads of mess but he generally does make a mess with whatever he eats. He did eat most of it though, leaving behind just a little jelly.

I had the mandarin in orange jelly which was really delicious and refreshing. The jelly had a slightly different texture than usual jelly, probably because it’s made from fruit juice. It was also a little sweeter than usual but at least that was natural sugar not added.

No1Son tried the pineapple in pineapple jelly which he wolfed down and said was delicious but the jelly ‘felt’ different.

The Little Man couldn’t wait to get stuck in!

Verdict

Overall these pots were a big hit, I’d consider buying them. They are great for lunchboxes and picnics and I love the little spoon that comes with them. Maybe a little too sweet for every day but if they were to replace a chocolate bar or crisps then they would be much better choice. Each little pot contains one of your five a day so great for those who are not keen on eating just fruit. There are a good range of flavours so something to suit everyone. They do work out a little more expensive than a piece of fruit and as my children love fruit I’d probably just buy these as an occasional treat rather than an every day one.

If I were to change anything it would be the film lid, it should be a little easier to remove for little fingers.

We were sent a lunch box containing six Toy Story fruit pots to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own (and that of my littlies)

Sports Day at the Castle

July 24, 2013 by Anne Sweet 6 Comments

Earlier this year I wrote about the Castle at the End of the Road and this week I was really excited as the girls school (at the end of our garden) had their sports day at the castle

It was a brilliant day, the kids moved around in classes taking part in each event. This meant we had a lot of running from one side of the castle to the other as our girls are in different classes. Both girls tried really hard and Boo managed to come second in the horse racing. The day was split up with a lovely picnic lunch right in the middle of the castle grounds. It was such a lovely way to end the school year, and of course it was my girls very last day at their school as they will be going somewhere else after summer and we move house.

I’ll let the photo’s tell the rest of the story, as you can probably tell, the batteries ran out on my camera and I had to take some photos with my phone instead, that’s why the colour looks different in some pictures.

Sports Day at the Castle

The Little Man wasn’t taking part so we took a few pics of him posing around the castle.

My favourite event was the horse racing.

photo credit, Weoley Castle Ruins

I’m sharing our wonderful sports day with Coombe Mill and #countrykids, please click the badge to see many other fantastic outdoors with kids posts.

I’m also Linking up with Ethan’s Escapades Small Steps Amazing Achievements because my little Boo managed to win a badge for second place. Also for Star who took part and really enjoyed herself despite coming last in everything because of her disabilities. Two real champions xx

Subscribe to blog via Email

Sports Day at the Castle

Footer