Hannah and The Mini Beasts: November 2017

Monday, 27 November 2017

... Feeling Festive ...

So I know its only November buuuuuuut we've put our first tree up!

I know, I know its early!

I'm usually one of those people who mock the people who put up their trees in November but I just couldn't help it.

We went out to Next last week to have a coffee and a browse around the Christmas decks and check out the Christmas PJs and whilst walking round we saw this light up star and the thin tree.

We were thinking we weren't going to be able to get a tree in the lounge this year as we had a move around in the summer and there was no longer the space for a tree but seeing as this one was thin we decided it would fit perfectly beside the fireplace.

We went home and measured the space first to make sure it would fit and then ordered it for next day delivery and because it was Black Friday we got free delivery :)

It fits perfectly and I'm completely in love with the star.

We've also decide we probably won't decorate this tree aa it looks nice enough with just the lights on.

We do however need something to cover the bottom of it, as I'm not really a fan of the stand.

We'll buy our real tree the second week of December, we're hoping to get an 8ft one this year.

Whilst in store I couldn't find any Christmas PJs but thankfully online they had a good range to pick from.

The twins & Ru got gifted some from Mothercare for a piece of writing a did for them about Noah's first Christmas (I will be sharing it on the blog v.soon) so I only had Noah to buy for.

So now all the boys have their new Christmas PJs for Christmas Eve, I also have a very sweet Christmas Eve box which was gifted from Mothercare to fill up with goodies and everyone including Jon and myself have Christmas Jumpers/t-shirts for Christmas Day.

I also couldn't resist buying Christmas PJs from Primark for Jon and I.

I feel this year my Christmas spirit has tripled and I just can't wait and everything festive I see I want!

The boys are all writing their letters to Father Christmas tonight and we have decided that this year we are going to have a little more self control over presents, as usually we go OTT and they get far too much and they never know what to do with it all.

So Santa will make them something they want and fill up their stockings then Jon and I will get them

something they want, something they need, something to read and something to wear.

This will save us a small fortune and hopefully they won't be overwhelmed by having too much.

As everyone in the family spoils them and there really is no need for us to buy them 10+ presents each.

We've told them this and they all seemed more than happy about it and have all been thinking hard about what they really really want.

I'm not sure I'll be sharing any Christmas gift guides this year, I've just come to the end of my big to do list of reviews and I have a couple more to arrive but other than that I think I'm done with reviews for the rest of this year.

I want to focus more on them having fun in the run up to Christmas and not being in undated with toys to review as last year made it hard for family members to buy for them as they already had so much.

So I think I'll just be sharing festive fun posts with you such as writing about all the boys 1st Christmases, What's going inside their Christmas Eve box, Festive bakes, Festive makes and family time.

Have you got a tree up yet?

Saturday, 25 November 2017

.... Tidying Up With Dusty ....

Real Workin’ Buddies Mr. Dusty is a fun way for kids to learn to clean up their toys!

Dusty can eat it up, sweep it up, and dump it out!

Dusty has a motorised mouth to eat up bigger toys, plus lights and sounds too!

Dusty the Super Duper Garbage Truck has a fun personality with over 50 phrases and works on both carpet and hardwood floors!

Features

3 ways to play! Sweep It Up! Eat It Up! Dump It Out!
More than 50 phrases
Works on carpet and hardwood floors!
Fun sound effects!
Makes cleaning fun
Motorised mouth!
Working Light!
Batteries Required: 4 x AA (Included)

When I heard about a toy that tidied up I was more than excited about trying it out.

The boys love playing but are a little resistant when I suggest tidying up after themselves, so I was rather keen to seen if Dusty would be my secret weapon to combating this!

The boys were all very impressed with Dusty and were keen to play with him, when I threw down a pile of Lego they looked at me like I was going crazy.

When I told them to drive over the Lego bricks they really thought I had lost it.

After staring at me for a while and trying to decide if I needed to be taken away by the men in the white coats they decided to do as I said and drove Dusty with cheeky smiles over all the bricks...

Their faces were priceless,

They couldn't believe he actually ate it all up!

All the boys liked Dusty but Rupert was the one who really took to him and claimed him as his own.

Rupert can spend ages making a mess and then cleaning it back up again.

He loves munching up the bricks and then dumping them out again and he finds it hilarious when Dusty burps.

Dusty would be a super present to find under the Christmas Tree!

Available from Smyths Toy Store

RRP £34.99

Tidying up his room with Dusty #tidywithdusty review will be up on the blog later! @norton_pr #christmasgifts #atoythatcleans #fun #ukparentbloggers

A post shared by Hannah (@hannahandtheminibeasts) on Nov 23, 2017 at 11:44pm PST

Thursday, 23 November 2017

... Hunstanton Lighthouse ...

On Sunday we decided to pop into Hunstanton for a family Costa Coffee trip, something that doesn't happen often as usually its only me and Jon who going into Costa but seeing as we had nothing planned it sounded like a good way to spend the morning.

The boys were brilliant and they all enjoyed a chocolate baby chino and were very nicely given a flake and a marshmallow!

Which I think made their day.

Jon and I enjoyed our normal coffees and it was nice to be out spending some time with the boys away from the house.

As it was such a beautiful day we decided we would go and see the lighthouse.

We've only ever driven past it before so it was nice to get out and stretch out legs and let the boys run riot which I got some snaps!

The boys all played chase and whilst running after Ru we met a lovely couple with some gorgeous dogs that we all made friends with.

After a while the boys all started to complain their hands were cold so we headed back to the van and drove home to warm up and watch Cars 3.

It was actually one of the best Sunday's we've had in a long while and it didn't cost more than £10.

The boys all had fun, and it was nice to just get out and about rather than spending another Sunday moaning about being bored and not having anything fun to do.

Both Jon and I decided we needed to make a thing of Sundays and just getting out in the morning to somewhere local like our beach or to Hunstanton is something we really need to start doing as we all benefit from it and then Sunday afternoons are really easy going!

Wednesday, 22 November 2017

... 3D Mini Scenes with eZee Beads ...

My 3rd instalment for the John Adams Craft Club and this time its for 3D Mini Scenes with eZee Beads.

The eZee Beads 3D Mini Scenes set lets you create charming 3D scenes using just beads and water!

Whats inside the box;

Over 1200 beads,

Bead storage,

Bead tray,

Plastic pegs,

Water sprayer,

4 Design cards.

Designs include owl, duck & ducklings, frog on a lily pad, snail & cute rabbit.

Makes 5 free standing mini scenes

Recommended age 5+

I decided to sit down with Ru after nursery whilst all the other boys were still at school and design our first ever 3d mini scene.

I let Ru pick which design we would do and he chose the cute little bunny.

The thought of making a pink bunny made him very happy and he sat there clapping whilst I sorted out all the beads into the bead storage pot.

Once the beads were all in a separate section we started on our design, Ru would get the right coloured bead and hand it to me.

Occasionally he did place the bead but he seemed to enjoy picking out the beads and watching me do the hard part.

We started with the green base and worked up, making sure all the beads were down before we sprayed them with water.

Once Ru had made sure every bead was covered in water we made our flower stalk using the bead pegs provided.

After spraying the beads with water it is recommended you leave them to dry for at least 30 minutes.

We left ours for around an hour and by that time it was really easy to peel the design away from the bead board.

Once the design was dry and peeled off the board Ru watched me turn it from a flat design into a 3D mini scene and he was more than impressed.

He was beaming from ear to ear and couldn't wait to hold his little pink bunny.

Both Ru and I were very pleased with the outcome and we can't wait to make more!

eZee beads 3D mini scenes would make a super Christmas present.

You can find it in Tesco

RRP £14.99.

Have you checked out the JA Craft Club's Facebook page yet?

It features lots of craft tips/ideas, competitions, reviews and a whole lot of other fun things.

Why not check it out here!

Monday, 20 November 2017

...Wedding Photos...

We just received our professional photos!

Over 700 of them, I'm not sharing them all but he a just a handful of my favourites.

Jon and I both hate our photograph being taken so we were extra judgemental over all the ones of ourselves but the more I look at them, the more I start to like them.