Remembering Summer

Last year we went back to a beautiful spot in France, today I am remembering our beautiful holiday and thinking about the sunshine and happy memories with the children.

We spent many a happy hour by the lake on the inland beach...

Building sandcastles...

Splashing, exploring and looking at wildlife...

Bonjour Monsieur Grenouille...

These are the moments that we treasure, these are our magic moments etched on our memories forever...

Black & White Photo Project Week 29

I am currently reviewing these beauties, these were as they came out of the box.

Olive Wishlist

I have been swooning over the gorgeous items over at Olive now for some months, I need to revamp my wardrobe for work and play so here are just a few of the things I would choose.

Olive Wishlist by themummydiary on Polyvore

Real leather lunch bag / Buckle Detail Chelsea Boots, Beige / Slim- Fit Zip Detail Dress, Check / Shirts Long Dress, Camel / Wool Boy Trouser, Khaki / Feather Print Dress, Green / Brixton Messer fedora hat, Black / Chiffon Layered Boucle Top, Black / Multi Print Balloon skirt, Beige / Pleated Mini Skirt, Beige / Short-sleeve crew neck jersey, Grey

Cold Inner City Farm Fun

In Nottingham, we are lucky enough to have a city farm, I have mentioned it on the blog before and it is a wonderful place to visit. In the winter, everything has pretty much died down on the plant front, although we did spot some carrots and broccoli. The goats and sheep were definitely up for being fed though...

I love this rather fleecy chap, he was super inquisitive...

I am not a fan of feeding the animals so leave this up to the kids and my husband...

I loved the ice on the plants, it made them look very pretty...

Although pretty much in the centre of Nottingham, Stonebridge is a wonderful place to explore farm life, you wouldn't guess you were in the city centre...

Linking up to Magic Moments on The Olivers Madhouse.

Black & White Photo Project Week 28

Whilst trying to choose a picture for this week I remembered the gorgeous windmill from last week, against the blue sky it really stood out and I think it looks just as stunning in black and white.

My Daughters Favourite Book

At the moment, my daughter has me reading this book to her every night. It was a charity shop find, I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to get it for her.

Not only is it by the renowned childrens author Enid Blyton, it is also about a mouse, and we love a good mouse story in this house.

I love the name plate in the front of the book, it's so 80s!

My daughter really enjoys reading this book with me, I think she enjoys both the story and the pictures! I love that I can read with her an author that I enjoyed so much when I was younger.

The drawings in this book are really beautiful and even though this book is almost 30 years old it is still as fresh and inviting as it was back then.

Do you have a favourite book at the minute?

Our Snow Fun Day

A few weeks back, we were lucky to have some snow.It was a lovely sunny day, so we headed to a favourite spot of our,s Rufford Abbey. We had lots of fun running about in the snow and trying not to fall over!

The lake was frozen over and the trees looked stunning with their vibrant colours against the blue sky and white snow, icicles hung from the benches, sparkling in the low sun.

We stopped for hot chocolate and the children loved being in the sledge being pulled along by daddy, sliding down the embankments.

We had lots of fun on our snow day, here is a video we made as part of entry for the Argyll Holidays Active Family, we are in the final six of this competition and are super excited that everyone loved our fun snow adventure.

Linking up to country Kids on Coombe Mill.

Science Museum Fun

On New Years Day, as we did this time last year, we headed down to London and visited the Science Museum. There was no traffic about which made the car journey fly by, and except for a slightly busy circle line, the tube was relatively quiet too.

First up we got to explore the launchpad area, this area is perfect for younger children to explore and learn all about science.

Here we are looking at how magnets work and how different lenses change how things look. 

Looking at ice, water and sand and how they all react! This bit was really interesting, I loved the pattern on the glass with the frozen water.

And finally in the launchpad section we watched dry ice on water, it was like it was dancing or ice skating, really beautiful

Once we had finished exploring the launch pad area, we made our way downstairs to the area for under 6's. The children spent ages playing with water, using different pumps and paddles. There were even waterproof smocks provided so no worries about walking around with wet children!

Next to the toddlers hands on science/play area in the basement of the museum, there was an exhibit of household items throughout the years. We had a lot of fun looking through the old objects from the first cooker, hairdryer and televisions, right through to their modern day equivalents.

Finally we looked at the Making the Modern World area, here we got to see the first x-ray machine, after recently watching The Knick in which it showed the first machine being used in the hospital it was really interesting to see one up close. I also recently had an MRI so it was fascinating to see inside the machine and how it worked.

We had lunch in one of the cafes at the museum, which wasn't too expensive, a box of food for the children, with a sandwich, some fruit, veg, a cake and drink cost £4.99. There were also plenty of spaces to eat around the museum if you wanted to take a packed lunch.

On the whole, we had a great day out at the museum, there was something fun for everyone to do and best of all, admission is free, although they do appreciate donations!

Black & White Photo Project Wk 27

Our visit to Green's Windmill in Nottingham last weekend was a really lovely experience, I loved the millstone and bags of flour.

Visiting Green's Windmill

After a cold foggy start in Nottingham today, the sun soon came out. So, we headed over to Stonebridge City farm for a wander round and to see the animals, then onto Green's Windmill in Sneinton.

I haven't been to the windmill since I was about seven, I can remember going with school but haven't been back since.

At the windmill, there is a science centre with lots to explore, including how magnets and electricity work, as well as an area for under 5s. They also have tea and coffee and biscuits available. 

You start the tour after climbing to the top floor of the windmill. From there you get beautiful views over the rooftops and sights of Nottingham, including the castle and the council house.

You get to see the cogs, mill stones and the hoppers where the grain goes. It is a fabulous insight into the workings of a windmill, with videos on each floor to tell you what happens it is perfect for younger and older children.

It was great to see how everything worked and we even got to bring some flour home. Their flour is organic, tastes great, and is local too.

Sat on the top of the hill overlooking Nottingham this is a beautiful landmark that represents 100s of years of Nottingham's history. It was wonderful to look round and see this with the children and show them what visited when I was younger.

Black & White Photo Project Wk 26

On our trip to Rufford Abbey we got to witness this beautiful scene, I love the reflection on the icy water.