Monthly Archives: October 2014

Keeping your kids teeth healthy this Halloween 12

 in parenting  tagged parenting / teeth / teeth cleaning by

Halloween is becoming more and more popular and my boys are at the age where they love trick or treating and lo9ve eating all the sweets and tweets they get. However, there is a negative side to all these sugary foods and drinks that they get and it is important for me to help them keep decay at bay. Bupa are also aware of this and a recent survey by them revealed that nearly half of mums (46%) are worried that their child might be addicted to sugar. This research also found that 50% of mums have used the story of the Tooth Fairy to encourage their kids to brush their teeth. more »

Melted wax poppy craft, a remembrance day activity 15

 in crafts  tagged art / childrens craft / craft / flowers / Hyperemesis Gravidarium / kids craft / remembrance / remembrance day by

Here’s an easy poppy craft, which is a great Remembrance Day activity for children. We have made a display of poppies and a paper plate poppy wreath, but you can use the same technique to make a poppy brooch by added a pin on the rear or a display of poppies for your home, church or school.  The mini mad’s will be taking the poppies to my mum’s grave in remembrance of her. These poppies were inspired by the fab wax paper flowers at Homegrown Friends. How to make melted wax poppies with KidsMaterials:

10 Kid friendly apple recipes – Cooking with kids 10

 in recipes  tagged apple recipes / apples / grow your own / kids in the kitchen / recipes. apple by

We live in a new build house, well I say new build, it was when we moved in eight years ago.  One of the first things we did to our garden was plant an apple tree.  We have watched that tree grow each year hoping for apples and finally this year we got more than the three we have previously had from it. The boys have been desperate to pick the apples for over a month and we have had to hold them back.  Eventually they had a fun afternoon picking all the apples they could and eating a fair few too.  MadDad had to hoist them up to pick them more »

3 Brilliant Tablets for Tweens and Teens 13

 in Review  tagged HUdl2 / kids review / KObo / Kobo Arc / Kobo Kids Store / reviews / tablets by

As much as I advocate for screen free time we are quite a technological family and I do allow my boys time on screens and they both adore technology, but totally agree with Sunshine and Hurricanes that technology is a privilege not a right.   Over the last few months the MiniMads’ have been reviewing tablets and we want to share with you our top 3 tablets for tweens and teens. But I also believe that my boys should have access to tablets and technology and we have been putting them to the test over the last couple of months and I want to share with you our top three tablets more »

Scratch Paper Fireworks and Make your own Scratch Paper 22

 in crafts  tagged bonfire / crafts / firework / firework art / guy fawkes / kids activities / kids crafts by

Do you remember making your own scratch paper when you were younger?  Well I certainly do and it is great fun to make with your kids and perfect for Firework pictures too. Whilst we were making the fireworks we talked about how dangerous they are close up, but how colourful and beautiful they are. I love how the boys made a completely different picture from the same starting point. How to make your own scratch paper

Jam Jar or Mason Jar Halloween Lanterns 28

 in crafts  tagged crafts / halloween / halloween crafts / kids activities / kids crafts by

With the darker nights and the clocks due to go back, we love brightening up The Mad House and one way we do that is with Jam Jar/Mason Jar Lanterns or tealight holder. These Halloween lanterns are really easy to make Look great too, so I have teamed up with Betta Living to show you how you can reuse any old jars that you have. What you need to make Jam Jar or Mason Jar Halloween Lanterns

Orlando with eight and nine year olds (not Disney) 17

 in Holidays abroad / travel  tagged florida / Legoland / Orlando / Seaworld / universal by

Can you believe that it is nearly a year since we all went on holiday to Orlando.  We spent 2.5 weeks in Florida with my Brother, Sister in Law and Niece and I just realised that I never actually shared anything about our holiday! We had an amazing time and the boys loved every minute of it.  So what apart from Disney did we do!

The perfect family weekend in London with 8 and 9 year olds 16

 in travel / UK Holidays  tagged family / family fun / London / travel / weekend away by

As a family we love London and we love visiting, however, as we reside in the frozen North of England it is a long journey and sometimes weekends can be stressful and hectic.  Not anymore as thanks to Superbreak we had the perfect family weekend in London and I want to share with you what made it so special. Make it for all the family What made this weekend so perfect (even with Mini feeling under the weather) was there was something for everyone in the family.  We talked about what we all wanted from the weekend before we started planning and discovered that we all wanted to do different things. more »

The power of printing without a computer – Canon Pixma MG7150 Review 9

 in Review  tagged crafts / kids / kids crafts / parenting / printer / printing / review by

We use a lot of technology in the Mad House and one thing that we have been trying to do more lately is less reliance on screens, so having the ability to print activities, colouring pages and papercrafts without even turning on the computer or tablet is amazing. For the last three months we have been using the Canon Pixma MG7150  for our printing requirements and one of the benefits of this printer is its LED screen and ability to print directly from the printer using a series of child friendly menus without even turning on the PC.  The amazing thing is that this piece of technology has actually reduced the boys more »

Autumn/fall leaf sun catcher 19

 in activities for children / Age 5-7 / art / Autumn/Fall / childrens craft / crafts / Screen Free / Seasonal / Tween  tagged autumn / autumn activities / autumn crafts / fall / fall activities / fall crafts / kids crafts by

The Autumn sun is a lot lower in the sky and now is the perfect time to make some wonderful Autumn/Fall leaf sun catchers. The boys and I have such fun making these sun catchers and they are really effective and look beautiful when the sun shines through them singing the colours on to walls. Materials Cardstock – we used black leaf template Coloured Cellophane (this is one of the reasons we save sweet wrappers) glue

Autumn sun catcher. Make a beautiful cellophane sun catcher to celebrate fall. The black background really makes the autumnal colours pop. This is a super fun DIY craft activity for kids.

15 Tips for washing your kids hair 20

 in parenting  tagged bathtime / fun / hair washing / parenting by

We have all been there.  The screams and tears over hair washing and that was just me not the boys!  Well I am here to let you know that it gets better and now at eight and nine my boys can wash their hair on their own and we no longer have any issues so here is what worked with us to make washing kids hair much easier. 15 Tips for making toddler hair washing less stressful

Autumn/Fall watercolour resist leaf garland 24

 in crafts  tagged autumn / fall / kids crafts / leaf crafts by

Inspired by Fun at Home with Kids fall watercolour resist leaves we decided to get our new glue gun out and make an Autumn/Fall watercolour resist leaf garland. We were sent two glue guns (one low melt, which is perfect for crafts and younger children and one high melt from Glue Guns Direct).  We decided to try the coloured glue to make the outlines.   Materials required: Card Glue gun Watercolour paint brushes Cord

Walk to school month with Kia – tips for making mornings less stressful for all the family. 23

 in parenting  tagged parenting / school / walk to school by

October in Walk to School month and I am joining in with Kia in trying to encourage you to get walking to school. I am lucky with the fact that the boys school is within walking distance and now that they are eight and nine they walk or scoot to school on their own, so mornings are so much less stressful for me.  My biggest tip is to remove all the obstacles from the morning that make life hard. Tips for making mornings less stressful for all the family

Get a Birds Eye View and Win a Samsung Smart Camera 58

 in competition  tagged camera / competition by

In conjunction with  Birds Eye I have a Samsung WB350F Smart Camera (White, 16.3MP, Optical Image Stabilisation, 3 inch LCD) to giveaway to celebrate the modern British mealtime and their Birds Eye View exhibition. Birds Eye have been on a quest to document the modern British mealtime with photographer Martin Parr. To help them understand mealtimes today, Martin’s been visiting households across the country, from people who entered a competition to have Martin visit and photograph their meal times, delving into our nation’s food habits along the way. The tour concluded with Martin’s findings and the best images from this competition being presented at A Birds Eye View’ exhibition in London earlier more »

October is now Crocktober – share your favorite slow cooker recipes 17

 in cooking  tagged cooking / crockpot / recipe / slow cooker by

I am a huge fan of my slow cooker or crockpot as they are known in the US and Autumn is the perfect time for getting it out and using it.  I love that I can  prepare everything, put it in and then forget about it until dinner time. I love that I can pop all the ingredients in for a soup and when we return from Junior football on a cold Sunday there is a meal ready and waiting. One of the things that I do every time we have a roast chicken is to make stock with the carcass, some veg and leave it in the slow cooker overnight. more »

September Small Stuff 9

 in Uncategorized by

September if a month of bittersweet for me.  I love the going back to school feeling, but miss my boys after a long summer together.  It has also been filled with lots of small stuff that has filled my heart with joy. We started the month with a family trip to Lightwater Valley just before school started.  The weather was glorious and the park was pretty quiet, which meant lots of rides were enjoyed.