review – Page 2 – Mediocre Mum

A Year in Review 2013

Normally I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, so trying to remember everything we did in the previous year can be challenging. Another reason that I love blogging as I can easily reflect on the previous year to remind myself of all the things we’ve done and how lucky we are.

I’m pleased to announce that this year we haven’t had any major deaths or dramas after the previous years. It’s been uneventful in that way, which I’m thankful for, but still a rather jam packed year.

We started off last year on a positive with hubby getting a new job and his contract has just been renewed for another year. I’m still struggling with us both working from home but grateful that he is around more and can help out with more of the child care.

Our daughter turned 6 this year, I can’t believe how quickly the time is going but she’s doing extremely well in school and growing into a delightfully inquisitive little soul with a great sense of humour. I finally succumbed to having a birthday party this year. We did something a bit different and had a sledging party and by all accounts it was a success. We also surprised her by updating her bedroom to a big girl’s room.

As a mum it’s important to have a bit of ‘me time’. This year I’ve been lucky to get away on a few occasions on my own. I celebrated my birthday in Bucharest, Romania in October, learned how to Surf in Newquay in the spring and went quad biking in Iceland just before Christmas.

We’ve also had a few days and weekends away as a family this year. A family ski lesson at the Snozone in Milton Keynes, Glamping at Cuckoo Down Farm with friends, driving through the animals at the Midland Safari Park, scrambled around Warwick Castle, climbed through the canopy at Go Ape, got soaked at Legoland and rather dizzy at Thorpe Park.

As always we made our yearly trek home to Canada to visit friends and family. We had great weather, thoroughly enjoyed North Bariere Lake and another highlight was the Outdoor Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong.

We finished of the year with our first trip away for Christmas at Coombemill Farm in Cornwall. It was absolutely perfect and will post about it soon.

We don’t have any major plans but we didn’t last year and it seemed to work out, looking forward to seeing what 2014 holds for us!

Wish you all the best in 2014

My Top 5 Tips for Making the Most of Legoland Windsor

We’ve been wanting to go to Legoland for sometime as our daughter is at the perfect age for it, she’s 5. We went on the weekend and had an amazing time. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the day.

1) Don’t be a ‘Nobby No-Mate’

I’m always moaning that places don’t give breaks to families of three. However, on this occasion I had 4 tickets and managed to persuade a mum at school to allow me to ‘borrow’ her son for the day, still a bit in shock that someone would leave their most prized possession in my care. It was perfect, he had a fabulous time and my daughter had someone to share the excitement with.

2) Do it Backwards

When you first walk into the park, everyone naturally migrates to the right, working their way down the hill, starting with the Land of Vikings. However, if you head left when entering the park and work your way down the hill towards MiniLand, where 40 million pieces of Lego have been used to recreate well known places, such as London, you’ll miss the masses.

Plus, this means that you do Land of the Vikings, where you’re bound to get wet, at the end of the day and not the beginning, so you don’t have to walk around with a soggy bum all day! Unless you’ve been clever enough to bring a rain poncho!

3) Jump the Queues

If you’re feeling a bit flush, you can rent Q-Bots for the day. It allows you to book in a time slot for your chosen ride so you don’t need to stand in the queues, prices start from £15.

We were very lucky when we went. Firstly, it was fairly quiet, in terms of theme parks, so the queues really weren’t that bad. We were also lucky enough to have special VIP tickets which allowed us to access the Q-Bot entrances, we felt a bit guilty at first doing this, but got over it fairly quickly as it meant we got to go on a lot more rides.

4) Catch a show

This was pure chance and I can’t take credit for it. Just before 12, the little ones started getting hungry so we headed to Lego City for a bit of lunch. People were starting to gather but we had no idea what was going on. We chose to eat at the Burger Ranch, which had typical Theme Park food, but had tables that overlooked the Lagoon and the Lighthouse and unbeknownst to us we practically had front row seats to the Pirate Show!

5) Bring your Swimming Kit

Originally we were invited to celebrate the opening of Duplo Valley Splash and Play, the new water park. We did bring swimming kit for the kids but we honestly didn’t think they would go in as the weather hasn’t been very good. However, the sun popped out and they were determined.

It’s an amazing splash park, contained so you don’t have to worry about them escaping with a very comfortable viewing area for the parents. The best bit was the giant bucket tipping and absolutely flooding the place.

Thanks to the Team at Legoland Windsor for an amazing day. Something we’ve wanted to do for a long time.

I wasn’t allowed to wear white as a child and now I can see why?

What mother in her right mind would let her daughter dress in white on Easter Sunday? Hmmm….let’s think about that; a day where kids can eat chocolate from the time they get up to the time they go to bed, coupled with chocolaty fingers and a very bad habit of using her clothes instead of a serviette.

To make matters worse we went on to the Annual Cadbury Easter Hunt at Ashridge Forest, we always have a great time, you get a map and clues to solve with an Easter Egg at the end but unfortunately, it was a mud bath this year. It’s a flipping miracle the clothes weren’t ruined!

Outfit by

The Blue and White striped sweatshirt is Joules from Elfin Clothing (£27.95) and the white leggings (£12.50) are from Polarn O Pyret an all time favourite.

Luckily, they will live to see another day!

Disclosure: both the top and trousers were complimentary

Ask Italian has had a facelift and a new menu

If you’re on a diet I wouldn’t recommend going to Ask Italian for lunch. It’s not that the food is exceptionally fattening, but I couldn’t stop eating and the Prosecco Brut was flowing.

We were invited down to try out the new menu. Award winnning Italian Chef, Theo Randall, has been brought in as a consultant chef and has helped to transform the restaurant. They felt the restaurants were looking tired and wanted to, not only give the restaurants a face lift, but also to match the menu to the new look.

The team, including Theo, had recently been to an remote area outside of Naples, Italy where they discovered Panzerottini, a small dough ball stuffed with Turnip Tops. However, he knew that if he put Turnip tops on the menu in the UK they wouldn’t be that popular so they’ve modified them. You can choose between Chilli and Cheese or Pancetta.

We had a chance to make them ourselves. I was rather impressed that I didn’t manage to ‘balls’ it up. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of spice but weirdly I preferred the Cheese and Chilli. It’s the perfect starter and great for sharing.

Then we sat down for the most amazing feast. The food just kept coming. I wish they’d warned us!

Spaghetti Al Pomodoro

Prima Pizza – stone-baked with longer, crispy bases

Dessert Sharing Board – for those that can’t decide

I think they’ve nailed it! Simple Italian food with quality ingredients. Thanks to Ask Italian for a yummy lunch!

Pictured with me making dough balls is Clare from The Vegetarian Experience and Heather from Hef’s Kitchen.

Big Flowers Tunic and Butterfly World

I always struggle when I shop for my 5 year old daughter. When I hit the High Street I become increasingly frustrated with the tat that is on offer. Why do retailers subject us to Hello Kitty? Do people really buy it? I’m always on a quest for good quality clothes, simplistic but still with a hint of style.

I tend to find myself, when shopping online, leaning towards Swedish Clothing companies for kids. They seem to have just what I’m looking for; quality and style. Two of my favourites are Polarn O. Pyret and Me & I.

I don’t mind paying a bit more for quality.

Last week, during school holidays we went to Butterfly World which is local to us. Madame, insisted that she

“needed something bright to wear so that the butterflies would be attracted to her”

She chose the Big Flowers Tunic from Me & I. Which made perfect sense, butterflies like flowers, right?

Another added bonus, when eating chocolate the tunic is rather forgiving and hides some of the mess.

With spring teasing us, I had a little play with putting together an outfit based on the Tunic. This season calls for layering. The jacket and shoes are from Vertbaudet, another favourite and the leggings are from Polarn. However, it was a bit of a dream as the outfit would cost about £100 and I can’t justify spending that much on a 5-year old. I’m not known for my fashion sense but what do you reckon?

Disclosure: The Tunic was compliments of Me & I.