Sunday Book Review: Hobbit and Hello Kitty Annuals

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The nice people at Harper Collins kindly sent us a couple of annuals to review. My children usually get an annual each from Father Christmas so they were excited to get ones a month early with the promise that Santa would still bring one on his sleigh!

The Hobbit an unexpected journey annual 2013

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last couple of years you will know that one of the most keenly anticipated film events will finally be with us in December! My children have grown up with Lord of the Rings and have had the Hobbit read to them. Needless to say we are all excited about the film - just hoping I can take both to the cinema to see it but awaiting the final certificate....

In the meantime we had an argument over which child was the official reviewer of this annual as both my 9 year old daughter and 6 year old son claimed it! In the end I decided it would be my son who would try it out.

The book has plenty of snippets and photographs from the story and the film and my son recognised a few of the characters from Lord of the Rings:

The book is appealing to both children and adults and would be great for any fans. There are plenty of activities and puzzles to while away the Christmas holidays:

Definitely one to put on your list to Santa!



Hello Kitty annual 2013

This is ashamedly girlie with its bright pink cover! It is full of snippets from Hello Kitty:

There are also quizzes and activities for girls to do on their own or with friends:

If you have a slightly older Hello Kitty fan say 7 or up then they will have a lot of fun with this annual. It has great advice on friendship which is very important to this tween age group. In fact it would be a great basis for a sleepover.



I am sure that both of these will be very popular this Christmas but The Hobbit one would be the one I'd like to find in my stocking!

#SilentSunday 25th November 2012

Giving your children freedom

In the modern world with news appearing regularly about child abduction or worse its hard to know how much freedom to give your children. You want to find a balance between giving them independence and keeping them safe.

When I lived in Hastings my children were younger but it was also 4 times the size of Kendal. If we were in town I'd keep my children close by as it was always busy. Our house was on an inner ring road where most traffic didn't keep to the 30 limit. I could never let my children out the front without me.

Since moving up to Cumbria we have found things different. For one we live in a cul de sac on a quiet estate where children can play in the street or the local park with minimal supervision. Once they had shown they had road sense they could cycle on the closest roads or run errands to the post box. They know exactly how far they are allowed to go and it's nearly always with a friend.

The town itself is much quieter and its only on special occasions that it gets crowded. It's much easier to see the children from a distance and it feels so much safer. I have been building up letting my children have more freedom and responsibility whilst in town. Things like my daughter going into a shop or library on her own.

Today there's was the next step. As we were doing the advent fair at our church on the edge of the shopping area I sent my daughter to McDonalds on her own to get breakfast. It's only a few minutes walk and the roads she crossed are either quiet or have a crossing. As it was early in the day it was even quieter than normal. I have to admit to thinking about her the whole time she was gone but it gave her a feeling of being thought of as responsible and grown up.

How do you strike the balance with your children or do you find that you clip their wings to ensure they stay safe?

Once a week take a peek

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Isn't it funny that just the mention of head lice can make your head start itching! That's exactly how I was when I received a box of Hedrin's new treat & go mousse for head lice...

 

Like most parents we have had the experience of little visitors brought home from school or nursery and shared around. Treatment of the whole famiky has not been a pleasant experience! This new dry application mousse seems a whole lot easier should we once again have little bugs brought home.

In the mean time Hedrin have this advice for parents:


Check

• Check children's hair once a week
• Use a proper detection comb - teeth no more than 3mm apart
• If live lice found check treatment advice
• If live lice found check rest of family

Treat

• Only if live lice
• Use clinically proven treatment
• Treat for recommended time

Complete

• Repeat treatment after 7 days to kill any new lice from eggs
• Checks again after a week

There are four main treatment types:

 

1. Non-pesticide treatments have an eradication rate of 100%
2. Pesticide treatments are the traditional methods but lice are building resistance so eradication rates are 33% or less
3. Wet combing with conditioner twice a week for 2 weeks is 38-57% effective as its easy to miss a few
4. Alternative treatments haven't been fully tested yet scientifically

Stats provided by Hedrin

If you've stopped having an itchy head go to Once a week take a peek for more information!

 

Reasons to be Cheerful: Thanksgiving ( #R2BC )

 

I may not be American but there is no reason to not celebrate the things I am thankful for whilst Michelle prepares to jet off with operation Christmas child!

1) My Health

Finally after nearly 3 weeks I feel like I'm almost 100% back to health again! I've been feeling really tired and run down and everything has got behind... Now I'm trying to catch up on the backlog of housework that didn't get done when I was ill... The house is slowly improving...

2) My Daughter

She has been so much less of a roller coaster girl this week. Maybe it's a sign she is growing up that she can control her emotions better. On our Santa Dash at the weekend she was so keen to do her bit that she ran off like a rocket! Maybe channelling her worries about her dad into fundraising for cancer charities is doing her good. She has also had some moments of being very helpful round the house..

 

 

3) My Son

He seems to be maturing at a faster rate since turning 6! Yes he still has tantrums sometimes and can lash out but these are happening less often. His love of reading is just growing and growing and he is reading books which are advanced for his age.

 

 

4) My Books

It's the time of year when I sell the most usborne books. I now have 4 bookings over next 3 weekends. So I'll be busy but hopefully I'll shift lots of my stock!

 

5) Future Plans

I can blame Michelle for pointing me in the direction of Butlins! I've now booked a bargain short break for early next year. This is something to look forward to after the New Year. Our family camping holiday to France in the summer is also booked. Nothing fancy but the first time my children will have been to one of the countries I love best - better renew my daughter's passport and refresh my French!