Disclaimer – All items were sent in return for inclusion That time has come quickly around again where we are all rushing to finish our back to school shopping ready for the new school year…
View PostI dont know about you, but I always get a bit anxious when I go to a new play centre for the first time. Will it be clean? Will it be stupidly busy? Will food and drink be overpriced? Will there be somewhere to sit? So when I was invited to join my friend and sister with all our kids, my anxiety was a little high. However, My Play Town Role Play Centre immediately put me at ease. This place was very clean, it wasn’t overly busy, food and drink prices were reasonable and there was plenty of places to sit.
The Centre runs three 90 minute play sessions a day at 9.30am, 11.30am and 13.30pm, which you can book online. They also limit the number of children attending, to ensure all children get the most out of their play time. After each session finishes, they close their doors to restore the town back to normal. We arrived early and saw them wiping down the equipment with dettol wipes ready for the next session of discoverers. I love that they do this in between sessions to stay on top of cleanliness. There are plenty of places to sit and watch your children play and you can even join in on the fun. Socks must be worn in the play area, which if needed, can be purchased for 50p.
The cafe has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5, so you have complete piece of mind that your food and drink is being prepared in a clean hygienic environment.
While we didnt try any food as we had just recently had lunch before we arrived, it looked really lovely. For £4.00 kids can have a sandwich, drink and 3 items of their choice:
Off-Peak: £6
Peak*: £6.50
Off-Peak: FREE
Peak: One FREE adult per paying child
Off-Peak: FREE
Peak: £3.75
* Peak prices apply to weekends and school holidays
Pre-walkers are Free (if accompanied by a paying adult or sibling)
The kids had an amazing time and not once did any of the kids come back to where we were sitting to say that they were bored. All the children in the session were engaging with each other, playing shop keepers and hairdressers, doctors and vets, and it was really interesting to watch how they were all interacting. I am definitely going to be bringing my kids back. It is a 35 minute drive from where we live but in my opinion, it was totally worth it. If you are looking for a reasonably priced, interactive few hours with the children, then I highly recommend you give Play Town a go.
***We paid to come here, this is not a collaboration***
Lydia saw Blume dolls for the first time a few weeks ago when we popped into our local toy shop to buy a bucket and spade for her school trip. She didn’t have a clue what they were but the packaging had immediately caught her attention and she wanted one. So I was super happy when we got offered the opportunity to review them on my blog.
With 22 to collect in series one, Blume dolls are a new and exciting collectable toy with an unboxing experience like you have never seen before. There are 10 surprises included in each pot and with just a few sprinkles of water, you can watch your doll magically Blume before your very eyes.
Blume dolls have already been declared the hottest surprise toy for 2019 by Good housekeeping and we are about to find out why.
The outer packagings is wrapped very tightly so you will need a pair of scissors to help remove it as there are no easy tear lines.
Inside the lid, there is a little pink watering can, stickers and an instruction/ collectors guide. You will need to peel off the foil lid to uncover a brown cover.
Now you are ready to grow your own doll.
Fill up your watering can and sprinkle it over the brown lid/cover as directed below.
Now, sit back and watch your doll magically sprout out through the top like a real flower.
I love the element of surprise they give the kids and I think no matter how many times you do it, it will always be this exciting.
Once you have sprouted your magical doll, open up the pot and remove the mechanism to reveal more surprises awaiting inside.
Each pot contains a clip-on outfit, handbag and a cute little friend for your doll.
You can keep the Blume pot to store your accessories safe inside and decorate it with your new stickers to make it homely.
Each doll comes with its own level of rarity – adorable, rare, super rare and the mystical doll called Leilani
We unboxed left to right: Tate (Adorable) Sedona (Adorable) Celine (Adorable)
Each doll comes with a cute little outfit which you can mix and match with the other dolls, you can even swap their hair. Some dolls hair are stuck on so do not try and pull too hard or you will end up ripping the hair as I did.
The dolls do not stand on their own easily with the weight of the hair, but when it’s taken off, depending on if your dolls hair detaches, they can stand on one foot. (See photo above with the doll wearing a purple top.)
The big hair is a really cool feature on the dolls and they come in all different colours and styles. Another clever thing about these dolls is that their hair is foam so it can be squished. Squishies are huge in the toy industry right now so incorporating this into the creation of these dolls was a really clever idea.
Blume dolls series one are available to buy from all good toyshops. They retail at £9.99 each and are suitable for ages 3+
“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” – Kahlil Gibran
Summer holidays have officially started for Leo but the girls still have today and tomorrow to go until we can start our holidays together, I am really looking forward to no school runs for the next six weeks but dreading the chaos that comes with it. Yesterday I went on my usual weekly food shop and I stocked up snacks and picnic-ey type foods so that getting out the house and having lunches sorted was a lot easier. I have set myself a mini-goal to visit the part at least once a week during the school holidays, let’s see if I can do it.
Emily found out that she had passed her very first ballet exam last week which was awesome and she is very happy to receive her Rosette in September. We took the kids to a special party on Saturday night to celebrate 21 years of Harmony majorettes, I remember being there when it all started 21 years ago and it really makes me happy to know that Lydia is now part of something that was such a huge part of her mum’s life.
Saturday day time we went to David’s parent’s house for a family gathering where his Dad, two sisters and their kids all get together for a big catch up as they don’t live in Peterborough. It was lovely seeing them play with their cousins and catching up with the family.
On Sunday we took the kids and Rosie to a local park to get some fresh air. Leo went off with David to walk and play ball with Rosie whilst I stayed in the sandpit and paddling pool with the girls.
Here are some of my favourite photos from the week.
With Emily’s last day in reception closing in I have been feeling really emotional. My mum shared a poem that was floating around the web a while ago just before Emily started school last year. I read it and it made me cry ALOT and then it has always been niggling in my mind every day since because it is true.
From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,
you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
When you have freedom and time,
And nothing, in particular, to worry about.
You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,
And days will run into days that are exactly the same,
Full of feedings and burping,
Nappy changes and crying,
Whining and fighting,
Naps or a lack of naps,
It might seem like a never-ending cycle.
But don’t forget …
There is the last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed
your baby for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.
One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down,
And never pick them up that way again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
Then never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.
One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus”
and do all the actions,
Then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.
The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realize.
So while you are living in these times,
remember there are only so many of them
and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.
-Author Uknown-
Our family has finished growing in numbers now and this makes me extra sad because I am experiencing my last times.
-Our youngest child, Emily started reception last September 2018 and that was the last time I will have a child starting primary school.
-She is turning 5 at the end of July and that will be the last time I will ever have a 4-year-old.
(Emily on her first day of school)
