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Igloo Mania Board Game Review – Brainstorm

Evie loves a good board game and with this very wet summer we’ve had Igloo Mania has been a firm favourite already. We have loved playing it already particularly as it’s reminding us just how cold it can be despite it being August. Penguins are a big hit here too. Igloo Mania is from Brainstorm Limited games and is suitable for ages 5+. It’s a relatively quick game and it does require a bit of easy to follow assembly before playing. It may be advisable to set it up in secret, unlike us, than have to deal with “is it ready yet” every five seconds. I honestly think if I’d been a clever parent and hidden it away with a big reveal so we could play instantly I wouldn’t have been slightly insane when playing…anyway, I digress. It is actually quite fun.

You’ll need 2-4 players for this which makes it ideal for our small family. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The game comes with an Igloo mound that you build around with little ice blocks, penguin character sticks for the players to remove bricks and a little Eskimo proudly standing at the top of his Igloo. As mischievous penguins it is your job to remove the bricks without making the Eskimo fall off his perch. Adam likes to play strategically removing blocks from various places on the Igloo. Evie likes to do them in a line which meant each time we have played she has made the Eskimo fall. Whoever makes the Eskimo fall collects the rest of the ice blocks and the person with the least amount of ice blocks wins. Evie hasn’t won yet…

The game is fun and a smaller version of Jenga really. It’s quite cute in its design and Evie really likes it which makes it a nice big hit for us. The game is easy to follow and has an easier mode for younger players which I think is designed to keep them playing longer. It’s as if the creator knew what small children might do (take all the ice blocks in a line for example) and make quick work of the game. We all like it and it’s nice to have a new game to play through the summer holidays and year long. Igloo Mania makes a great rainy day game and quick work of shedding boredom. A great game we’ve all enjoyed playing and will continue to do so.

Disclaimer: We received Igloo Mania in exchange for this feature. All opinions remain my own

August 9, 2017
A Visit to St Michael’s Mount, Marazion, Cornwall

I think it was the sunniest day of our trip to Cornwall that we were lucky enough to visit St Michael’s Mount. St Michael‘s Mount is located in Marazion which is about 40 minutes from Helston by bus. You can get the number 2 bus towards Penzance from the Blue Anchor stop in Helston. If you just want to visit the village at the bottom or stroll across the causeway, there’s no need to pay. When tide is high you can get a boat over which is a few pounds. We were able to walk there and back on the day we visited in July 2017. We walked across the causeway to visit the Mount which opened around 10 o’clock. It only takes around 10 minutes to walk across the causeway over there are a lot of cobbles so it’s not very accessible for wheelchairs or pushchairs. St Michael’s Mount is closed to the public on Saturdays to give the residents on the mount and the family living in the castle a day to themselves so it’s wise to plan your visit accordingly.

St Michael’s Mount is a national trust site so it’s free for members to visit and for those that are visiting from the day you can buy tickets from the ticket office. There are family discount tickets available. We made our way up the steep climb towards the castle after collecting our tickets. On the day we visited there was story time on the lawn every hour, on the hour. You can take a look at the website for more events happening on the Mount.

On a sunny day like it was on our visit, storytime would be the perfect way to enjoy the scenery before the climb up to the castle or to help recover after with an ice cream. I feel I need to exaggerate the climb towards the castle a little bit because it is incredibly sleep. The climb is relatively steep so wearing proper walking shoes is ideal. You might even want to consider a trekking pole. Hiking and walking activities happen all over Cornwall so it’s something you could use throughout your holiday.

There are handrails all the way up to the top however the path is full of broken stones and cobbles. I wouldn’t recommend this climb to those who are not fully mobile. Any babies or young children that may struggle with the walk will need to be carried as you will not be able to get pushchairs up this hill. There is a buggy park at the bottom. I think I struggled more on the way down than on the way up but I am aware I’m very, very clumsy so falling over is a frequent experience for me. There are gaps in the cobbles and it’s quite easy for small toes to slip between and cause slips and trips. I can imagine walking up these cobbles after it’s been raining can be a real challenge. I feel St Michael’s Mount is a place to visit on a dry day.

St Michael’s Mount is located in a really unique setting. I really enjoyed walking across the causeway to visit the mount. During high tide there is the chance to get a boat ride back however we were still able to walk back. You can easily check the causeway opening times on them St Michael’s Mount website. I would definitely suggest having a look at the website to help plan your visit. You need a few hours to visit the mount to fully enjoy and appreciate everything it has two offer. There are a few shops and places to eat we enjoyed lunch in the sail loft.

As well as being a national trust site the castle is a residential home and there are parts of the castle that are off-limits. You can get a ticket to include visiting the castle and the gardens surrounding the mount. The tour through the castle is a one way walk and it can get very busy and crowded.

I feel we enjoyed the sites and scenes and had enough time to appreciate everything the castle had to offer.

My daughter also enjoyed taking part in the children’s treasure hunt which led to her getting a gold medal. She was very pleased with herself. After exploring the castle we Took a slow walk back down towards the Sail Loft. Here we had a delicious lunch for £29.95 this included a ham and honey mayonnaise sandwich a new Lynn crab sandwich and a children’s lunch bag. For this type of attraction I think the food was good value as it was very tasty. The staff at the Mount were incredibly helpful and made for a pleasant trip.

I think the best thing about St Michaels Mount is the stunning scenery which can be seen from all angles. The castle is very high up and you can really get a gorgeous view of Marazion bay.

After our lunch we took a stroll down to the village with our ice creams which were really tasty. Evie enjoyed a chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, Adam had mint with chocolate chips and I enjoyed raspberry and white chocolate. You can get ice cream just outside the sail loft. The ice cream was so lovely and we really enjoyed them sitting just on the grass outside the ticket office watching other people paddle in the sea. We also got to try the passionfruit sorbet which was really delicious and would recommend this option if it’s particularly warm to cool down, it was quite sweet but very, very refreshing and I really recommend it.! The two boys working in the Ice Cream hatch were very friendly and great at recommending flavour choices. On the way back we enjoyed a stroll along the beach paddling in the sea before catching our bus.

Our trip to Cornwall has been really lovely and a very special family holiday. We have enjoyed lots of sites and St Michael’s Mount has been a real highlight. For anyone that is visiting South Cornwall particularly close to Helston or Penzance then I really recommend a trip to Saint Michaels Mount particularly if you’re already a national trust member.

Disclaimer; we received three tickets to Saint Michaels Mount Castle and vouchers for ice cream in exchange for this review. All opinions remain my own.

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August 1, 2017
Our Family Holiday at Mullion, Cornwall

We are home after our trip to Mullion, Cornwall! Holiday’s really make you feel refreshed don’t they? It’s one of the main reasons why I want the ultimate work, life and travel balance. We have just enjoyed a seven night break at Park Dean Resorts Mullion Holiday Park in Cornwall. It was a great week. To watch what we got up to, take a look at my little vlog I put together. Our last holiday like this was on Isle of Wight and we had a lovely time so of course we had pretty high expectations.

I remember announcing the holiday a while a go as our next family holiday destination. Mullion Holiday park has plenty of mobile homes, caravans and space for pitching and touring. When it comes to camping you want to make sure you have all the right supplies so it’s worth checking out camping equipment reviews to ensure you have the best of the best.

Cornwall isn’t really that far, a few hours by car and we checked out the transport links before we booked. As a non driving family we left around 11.30am on 21st July arriving at the park after many train delays, missing a bus and forking out for a taxi at around 7.30pm where we were greeted by the friendly reception team and collected the key to our caravan. On arriving we were given our holiday admin paperwork, entertainment schedule, pool opening times and activities. We were pretty close to everything which was good as the last thing we wanted to do was look for our holiday home with all the luggage and be right at the other end of the park. The sun had just come out when we arrived, I took this to be a sign of a good week. After putting our luggage in we headed straight over for dinner and enjoyed a tasty pub grub style meal together.

I had a lovely fish n chips tea and Adam enjoyed the Steak and Doom Bar Pie. We shared some bread and oils too which were very tasty.

We had a pretty busy week planned and were going to be running around Cornwall all week with our family bus pass. It was £52 for a week for two adults and as many kids as you had with you which was pretty good. It saved us a lot of money as we headed out pretty much every day.

The holiday park is quite small but features a good sized family resturant, takeaway, shop, indoor heated pool, outdoor pool & splash zone, play park, arcade and evening entertainment lounge. We had a good week, the place was pretty clean and we tried to sample as much as we could really. Mullion holiday park is situated just outside Mullion village, 7 miles south of Helston and around 3 miles away from Lizard Point which is the most south you can get to in the UK. In Helston you’ll find a large Sainsburys, Tesco and Lidl for food shopping which is very handy. We decided we were going to cook most nights so on the Saturday we headed back into Helston for some time at Flambards and a quick shop. We got back later in the afternoon and headed to the entertainment lounge for the kids disco. E really surpised me as she didn’t feel like joining in very much but instead watched what was going on with her slush puppy. She did have a lot of fun with the 2p machines though and won herself some sort of dino fish from one of the grab games.

On Sunday we headed down towards Lizard Point for a picnic and the weather was super sunny and lovely. E walked around the rockpools with Adam and they found a family of crabs. E was a bit disapointed because the crabs were too small apparently. Well, pleasing children is pretty hard to do anyway right? There are lots of lovely beaches in Cornwall. Otis and us have some great advice on beach days and rockpooling.

We headed back up to Helston after lunch for some ice cream and a play in the big park there by the lake before heading back to Mullion and jumping in the pool. It was lovely to have a swim and a play in the sunshine and I’m pretty surprised I had the confidence to get in to be honest! Monday we spend the day at St Michaels Mount which is absolutely worth a visit. There are loads of places to go hiking around Cornwall so it really does make for an adventurous holiday. With gorgeous, rocky coastlines you want to make sure you have all the right hiking equipment.

We ended up missing our bus back from Helston but after grabbing some drinks from Lidl we only had half hour to wait and chose to do that in the park. We stayed a little later in the entertainment lounge and watched some of the show for the night which was a bit of fun. By half nine E was actually tired (never happens at home…) so we headed back to the caravan for the night.

We had a lazy day on the Tuesday after a few full on days making use of the facilities on site. A good swim and a play in the soft play area with a costa coffee was just the relaxing time we needed. E headed into the outside park later on in the evening before our regular routine of arcade and evening entertainment. A few times we tried to order some drinks and cocktails but the bar staff in the star gate lounge either couldn’t hear us or just didn’t really understand our orders. This was really frustrating to be honest especially when the entertainment staff and DJ kept recommending drinks and the bar staff couldn’t really complete the order. It’s also worth noticing that there are new menus around and not every drink featured will be available in every park. However, rather than being politely informed about drinks being unavailable we were met with shrugs, blank stares and often rude remarks. It was a real shame to be honest as it’s something we will take away from our holiday and has kind of tarnished it a little. I hope it’s just a teething and training issue with whatever changes are taking place and it was simply a case of wrong place and time.

On Wednesday we headed into Falmouth on the bus which took around 45 minutes from Helston in search for a cream tea. We found the perfect place in Dolly’s Tea Room and Gin Palace. It was a really delicious cream tea and we will absolutely head back to Falmouth for a child free weekend in the future to sample more of those delicious gins on offer.

We came home to enjoy our evening meal and the evening entertainment. By this point I was starting to feel a little unwell with a scratchy throat. Now I’m home with a full blown cold which is very annoying. Thursday was our final day and another lazy one at that, mostly due to me feeling unwell but we still got out for a play, a swim and packed up our caravan so we could leave bright and early the next morning. Checking out was simple and we left around 8.50 to catch our bus. Reception wasn’t yet open so we dropped our keys into the post box just on the side of the door. It took eight long hours to get home and we’re glad to be back!

Mullion is a nice little holiday park and has good connection routes with the rest of Cornwall. There is plenty to see and do nearby including some absolutely stunning beaches and I wish we had a chance to get to some of them. We will absolutely visit Cornwall again and I would consider Park Dean Resorts as a good choice for self catering accomodation.

July 29, 2017
Health Concerns Women Should Know About

This is a collaborative post.

As women, there are many specific health concerns and conditions to look out for which need a lot of attention. The more you know about your own body, the better off you are, as you can then make all the right steps towards living as healthy a life as possible. In this post, we are going to look at a number of female health issues. Some of them only apply to women, while others might be problems that men can experience too, but which have particular implications for women which you need to know about. Taking care of your own health is hugely important, so make sure that you are doing everything you can to keep on top of it. With any luck, you will then lead a long and healthy life.

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Urinary Problems

Something which is particularly common among women is urinary tract problems. There are many of these, and they all vary slightly, but by far the most common – and one of the most frustrating to experience – is cystitis. This is actually inflammation of the bladder, and anyone who has experienced it will tell you that it can be both incredibly painful and very annoying to have to deal with. If left alone, it can also become a much more serious issue, so it is important to watch out for this. Typically, cystitis first shows as a persistent need to urinate, coupled with a constant feeling of discomfort in the pelvic floor. You might find that once you start urinating, you then need to keep doing so at regular intervals – but if you hold it in, you will experience more pain. This situation is frustrating, but there are solutions to this problem. One of the best natural treatments is cranberry. Drinking cranberry juice (ideally fresh) will probably help you out with the pain a great deal. You can also get your hands on specific cystitis medicine, which can help greatly. However, mostly it is just a matter of waiting for it to pass – a process which can take days. If it persists, or you start to experience greater pain or pain elsewhere such as in your side, you should visit the doctor.

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Ovarian Cancer

One of the most terrifying thoughts for many women is the idea of developing ovarian cancer. Clearly, cancer of any kind is always serious, but when it comes to this particular kind it can be particularly worrying. This is because it is usually discovered quite late, meaning that it is harder to treat. You will likely have to undergo a good deal of chemotherapy if it does develop and from the ovaries the cancer can spread quite fast. There is little you can do to prevent cancer, except keep an eye out for it by having regular visits to the gynaecologist. Choose them well, however – many gynaecological claims center around a failure to discover cancers, so you want to make sure you can trust your doctor as much as possible.

Breast Cancer

Although technically men can also develop breast cancer, it is much more likely in women. This is in fact one of the most common types of cancer in the world. It is therefore hugely important that you know the early warning signs, so that you can get it checked out and hopefully treated as early as possible. Checking your breasts for lumps (which can also appear in the armpit region), having bloody discharge from the nipples, an inverted nipple, a sore or painful breast, or a sudden or noticeable change in the size or shape of a breast are all clear signs of potential cancer, and should be checked out at your earliest convenience. You should also make sure that you are going for regular screenings anyway, just to be sure that you are doing everything you can to catch it early if it does arise.

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Birth Control

If you decide that you want to use birth control, knowing which one to go for can be one of the trickiest decisions you’ll have to make. There are so many options out there now, and it is up to you to work out which you think would be most suitable for you. Many women are now moving away from the pill somewhat. The pill is incredibly effective, but it is also full of plenty of hormones, and it can cause you some health problems in later life. You might find that it interrupts or exacerbates your menstrual cycle, especially with the mini-pill, or that it causes acne or even depression. Make sure you are happy with your birth control option – it is your body.

June 27, 2017
5 Things Your Child’s Bedroom Should Have
This is a collaborative post.

Are you wondering how you should design and decorate your child’s bedroom? It’s not always easy to come up with ideas for what their room should look like. You want it to be suitable for their age, but you also want to do something creative and interesting that they’ll love. If you’re struggling for ideas, here are the 5 things that you should always remember to include.

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1. Personalised Features
Having a few personalised features in the bedroom is always a good thing in a child’s space. You could have their name spelled out on the wall, for example. This is definitely a good thing, and you should do what you can to be creative with it. There are so many things you can do, so don’t stick to boring or conventional options.
1. A Stimulating Theme
There should be one overarching theme in the bedroom. This is what many of the best child’s bedrooms have. It could be a space theme or a racing car theme or a princess theme. You know your child and what they are most interested in, so it’s up to you to find a theme that can pull the room together and make it captivating. You can have a lot of fun with this, so try to be creative and come up with interesting ideas.
1. Storage Options
As a parent, you already know how important storage options are in the home. They’re even more important when you have a small child. They accumulate so much stuff that you have to find a space for. It’s not easy storing all those toys away securely and neatly. Look for creative storage options and make sure that everything that your son or daughter owns has its own place.

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1. The Best Bed Linen
Bed linen is always going to be important, but you want to get the best for your child. For a start, you need to think about the comfort. There are all kinds of comfortable and high-quality options at Richard Haworth. You also need to think about the appearance and design on the bed linen. Does it fit in with the overall design for the room? Is it fun and appealing to a child? Is the colour one that your child likes?
1. A Desk
As your child grows up, they will have an ever greater need to use a desk in their bedroom. It will give them a space where they can do their homework. But it can also be used for fun things as well. For example, they might take an interest in art, and their desk can be a very important part of that. Find a desk and a comfortable chair that will last for a long time and give them that vital space.

If you embrace each of the five things above, you will be able to create a bedroom for your child that’s both suitable and stimulating. They’ll enjoy spending time in there and get a lot out of it.
June 27, 2017