We were lucky enough this year to be picked as Bloggers Extraordinaire for the Little Fun Fest at Red House Farm at Dunham Massey near Chester. We had an absolutely brilliant time when we visited Little Fun Fest at York Maze last year, so I knew we were in for a real treat again.


This is Manchester, so naturally it was raining, but we're used to that and it was really quite warm and the ground wasn't very slippy, with loads of straw just in case, so it didn't dampen the day.


First we went into the barn and watched the Baby Ballet for a few moments and said 'hiya' to Mrs Hannah (Karen from Grumpyishmum) who had moved inside after her marquee blew away before everyone arrived!


Then we went over to watch Harry Potter and Professor McGonagall. My boys really liked the Harry Potter area last year and still have the wands they made, and it was actually what my 5 year old was looking forward to most.


What we didn't expect was that he'd be pulled out of the crowd to be a magician's assistant and have a sword put through his neck! Now Harry Potter really is his ultimate hero!

Children can't resist a mirror!

On our way to the main field we stopped to chat with the Crushed ladies, who were clearly having a great time in spite of nearly losing their marquee in the wind earlier.


And we visited the Big Top to watch the Altrincham Children's Show Choir belt out some great songs - here singing 'I Predict A Riot' by The Kaiser Chiefs


The main field was absolutely full of amazing activities - everything we had a go on was FREE! My boys couldn't believe it when they'd had a funfair ride and then I let them have another, and another, and another....


My 5 year old wasn't so keen on the pirate ship though....


Time for lunch and because it had been dry for a while and the sun was trying to peep through, we went and sat in the play area to eat our Mrs Hannah's lunch boxes. We had a couple of visitors during lunch! One of the nicest things about Fun Fest is the way all the celebrities and characters wander about and talk to the children.



After lunch it was back over to the main field and a chance to try a couple more free activities.

The only problem with a bouncy slide in the drizzle is cold feet!

 Next it was time for the official 'meet and greet' with the celebrities and stars.

Cat Sandion from CBBC

Flynn and Rapunzel from Tangled

The 'smoulder'

2 Frozen Princesses and someone else.

My youngest didn't like the 'official meet and greet'. He doesn't like it when people are dressed up or 'off the TV' and clamps down. He's okay straightaway afterwards, but he won't join in at the time. But something magical happened.....


Dr Ranj came over to talk and take a photo....


And he was concerned. He didn't like that our 4 year old wasn't participatory and looked sad...

And so he sat with him for several minutes, and he talked to him, and he laughed, and he made jokes....and eventually my littlest boy came round...


Dr Ranj didn't have to do that. He could have just moved on. Some of the other celebrities had already left, and he'd had a long day. We wouldn't have thought twice if he'd gone, but instead what he did was he gave up 10 minutes of his day for my son. He showed what an incredibly lovely man he is and went far beyond what anyone would expect. Thank you Dr Ranj.

Then it was over to the Big Top for the Gunge Tank. The victim was decided by a Balloon Pumping contest. One contestant was Laura from Tired Mummy Of Two who works with Little Fun Fest, and the other, after many calls to the audience for volunteers was a man named Duncan. It was very competitive....


Laura won! Her balloon popped first, which caused panic for Alex Winters and The Mad Hatter. They'd tried to fix it so that she lost! Poor Duncan was in for a gunking......to make it worse his own son pulled the string!


It was hilarious and my boys really got into it - shouting and cheering and having a real laugh. Duncan was a really good sport.


After the Gunge Tank it was time for the characters and celebrities to come and dance with the crowd. My boys were shattered and didn't want to to stay, so we went outside and waved goodbye to everyone as they came past.

We had a fantastic day and the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Little Fun Fest is an amazing event, especially for children aged around 2 - 8ish. Small children don't understand that everything costs - they see it, they want it. At Little Fun Fest it's in with the cost of the ticket - it IS free. If they want to ride on the tea cups 15 times or bounce on the inflatables for 2 hours it won't break the bank.

Everyone involved with Little Fun Fest is lovely. They all give everything to make sure the children have a great day. Spiderman jumps around all day, Alex Winters wanders through the crowd checking everyone's having a good time. Harry Potter must wave that wand a million times and the Disney Princesses never stop smiling. There is so much to see and do that you won't be able to do everything, and you won't spend a moment bored. We'll be back again next year and I'd recommend it to anyone with young children.

We received our tickets free of charge as Bloggers Extraordinaire. The 'official meet and greet' is by invitation only, but you can meet all of the characters and celebrities as they walk around on site during the day. In April 2014 a family ticket for 4 cost only £64, which is definitely well worth it. Children 18 months and under are free.

On Tuesday I posted about the Egg Hotel and Hospital at my children's school, and the challenge the younger children have to look after their decorated eggs. It was only right to post an update!

Ben 10 Egg was first. He came back at lunchtime, and I bow my head in shame. I underestimated my youngest son's ability to be careful, I apologise. Only 2 visits to the Egg Hospital all week! In fact Ben 10 was looking pretty darn good from the front.


Not quite so great on the back - but there's no egg white showing.  He did really well. Total bill 58p.


'Darwin from The Amazing World Of Gumball' Egg didn't fare quite so well. 3 visits to the hospital!


And a total bill that doesn't add up because he seems to have slept rough Monday night with no Hotel charge that day....Total bill 53p


There was quite a lot of shell left in his tank....and he must have taken a Humpty Dumpty style leap at some point during the week. Still no white showing really though. 


I'm really proud that my boy's eggs survived the week 'helping' them in pre-school and reception, and so are they - story of the day was that 'James' and 'The Girl Charlie' didn't have anything left to take home....It's lovely to know that my little boys can hold an egg carefully at story time and carry it outside into the foundation garden. I think I got off lightly with my Accommodation and Medical Bill!

(All money paid by the parents is donated to charity - and it's one of the best £1.11's you could ever spend).

Green Toys are a brand new launch in the UK. They've been introduced by the people behind Bigjigs Toys, and they are almost entirely made from recycled milk containers.


I'm very proud that we've been given the opportunity to be among the very first people to try them out and I've chosen to introduce you to Green Toys by showing you the Dump Truck - or Dumper Truck as they're more traditionally known in the UK.

Beanies Coffee set bloggers an Easter baking challenge - use Beanies coffee in your recipe and showcase the different flavours available, and what can be done with them.

It was actually really hard to choose because the range is massive, but I decided on Vanilla Coffee, Cinnamon and Hazelnut Coffee and Death By Chocolate Coffee, and I've chosen to use these to make a classic that always entertains, but is considered outdated and rarely seen these days...



Baked Alaska has several steps and that can make it seem really complicated, but it's not really. You just need sponge, ice cream and meringue put together in the right way. 

Mine is an adult recipe, it has coffee and 2 units of alcohol. It's not suitable for young children without adaptation. As my young children don't like the smell of coffee anyway, it's not a problem and they can have their own version.

Vanilla Coffee Ice Cream

 

I wanted to cheat and make a really simple ice cream using whipped cream, and I'll be honest, I've had 3 attempts and haven't quite got it right. The taste is gorgeous and I've removed any 'grainyness' but I'm not entirely happy with the texture as it's a little brittle. However it works really well in Baked Alaska (you actually couldn't tell at all).

Ingredients

200ml Full Fat Milk
3 Heaped Teaspoons Beanies Ground Vanilla Coffee
5 Heaped Teaspoons Sugar (50g)
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons (45ml) 40% proof alcohol e.g. Vodka
600ml Double Cream


Method

Heat the milk and 3 heaped teaspoons Beanies Ground Vanilla Coffee to almost boiling for a couple of minutes, stirring in the sugar and salt. Remove from the heat, cover lightly and leave in a cool place to steep for at least an hour.

Whip 600ml of double cream.

Add your alcohol to the coffee mixture and then sieve to remove coffee granules before adding it to the double cream. Whip it in gently until evenly mixed. Your mixture should now be fairly runny, but thick. Unsurprisingly just like melted ice cream.

Place in a suitable lidded container and freeze. Stirring shouldn't be necessary, but if you do stir it after 30,60 and 90 minutes you should remove any possibility of some of the coffee settling to the bottom.

Excuse the spoon!

The alcohol is to help prevent your ice cream setting to a solid lump and having crystals of ice throughout. When I didn't add it my ice cream tasted slightly grainy.

Death By Chocolate Coffee Sponge

I'm using a square 9inch cake tin and a 2 egg cake mix.

Ingredients

125ml Milk
3 Heaped Teaspoons Beanies Ground Death By Chocolate Coffee
120g Caster Sugar
120g Butter
2 Eggs
120g Self Raising Flour



Method

As with the ice cream this is made using an infusion, but of 125ml milk and 3 heaped teaspoons of ground coffee. Prepare that in advance as before by heating and leaving to steep.

Preheat the oven to 160c/320f/Gas Mark 3. Grease your cake tin and line.

Cream together the Butter and Sugar. Add the Eggs bit by bit, mixing in between. Add the Flour. Add the cooled Milk and Coffee mixture.

Bake for around 20-25 minutes until the cake springs back when you lightly press the top. Leave to cool.

 

Cinnamon & Hazelnut Coffee Italian Meringue

 

This was really a trial, but what we ended up with worked really well. I'm first using an Italian Meringue as that is made using beaten egg whites and sugar syrup, so it makes adding brewed coffee really easy. The recipe I'm using is freely available online including on BBC Food. HOWEVER, because you add coffee rather than clear water it actually doesn't whip up and hold shape as it should and will separate and lose volume, which is why you have 2 mixtures that you add together.

Meringue part 1

Ingredients

150g Caster sugar
50ml Strong brewed Beanies Ground Cinnamon & Hazelnut Coffee
2 Free-range eggs, whites only

Method

Prepare an infusion of coffee using 2 heaped teaspoons of ground coffee and 50ml water. Heat until near boiling for a good 5 minutes, leave to cool for at least an hour before you sieve to remove grounds. 

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and peaks form when the whisk is removed.

Heat the sugar and brewed coffee in a saucepan. Use a spatula to make sure no sugar is on the side of the pan as it'll be grainy in the meringue, and stir well throughout to prevent sticking and burning. As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 121C/250F (after around 3-4 minutes of boiling if you don't have a thermometer) remove the pan from the heat.

Immediately pour the sugar syrup in a steady stream into the egg whites whilst whisking very gently. Don't let the stream of syrup touch the beaters or splash on you in any other way as it's vicious and takes no prisoners. It'll stick to your skin and burn you badly. Continue beating the mixture for about 5 minutes until it's tepid, smooth and shiny.

Italian Meringue With Coffee mixture after 24 hours

This mixture should be left until cold before use, and will thicken on cooling before separating slightly. It can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to around 24 hours until needed.

Meringue part 2

Because the coffee meringue won't retain shape I found this was necessary. Do this step only when you're ready to assemble the Baked Alaska.

Ingredients

2 Eggs, whites only

Method

Whip the egg whites until really stiff - good enough to turn the bowl over. Add to the cooled coffee meringue mixture by folding together, don't whip it furiously as you'll lose stability.

Assembly of Baked Alaska.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6


Place the cake on an ovenproof dish or tray. Pile the ice cream on top leaving a gap around the edges. I just dropped mine out of the flimsy plastic container it was in, it's more normal to remove it with a spoon.


Cover with the meringue, making sure it completely covers all of the ice cream and reaches the cake all around. I didn't risk a piping bag, so mine's a messy nest. Ensure you have a plateau on the top to add Easteryness afterwards.


Bake for 8-10 minutes until just golden brown.


Add Easter treats....and serve immediately.

Everyone liked this. The meringue carried the flavour really well, the ice cream was still well frozen as it should be and the coffee tastes were quite light, but distinct. The different flavours of coffee made for an interesting variety of smells. I'd have made my own job a lot easier by using instant coffee, which would have been easier to adjust for strength too, but the ground coffee is a really nice treat for us to enjoy as a drink, and I prefer a fairly subtle coffee taste to let all the flavours of the other ingredients come through.

I do think it looks more like a dinosaur nest than a bird's nest though.... but it's still Easter eggs!

There are points in everyone's life when we realise we have to be a bit grown up and adult. With Blog On and Britmums Live coming up, it was time to get business cards.

I was offered the opportunity to review StressFreePrint, and the timing is perfect. I must admit I thought it would be a bit blah and boring and I wouldn't really have a lot to say other than, "Ooh, look, new business cards. Shiny". I was very wrong. I didn't actually realise what I'd let myself in for.

First of all I had a phone call to discuss my needs, what information I'd want on my cards and explain how everything would be done, and to let me know that Susana would be personally responsible for sorting my order. I felt really quite spoilt.


My partner and I couldn't find the original high resolution image for my Brick Castle logo, so it didn't get off to the best of starts. The image I had (above) is fine for websites, but wasn't good enough to print nicely and my partner has been working long hours, coming home and sleeping, so he didn't get a chance to redraw it. I panicked, StressFreePrint didn't.

"Not a problem" they said, "we'll do it". And they did. Within half a day. They even amended it slightly for me....and it's so much better. I actually shed a tear with delight and whooped a bit - well, okay, a lot.

They sent me 3 different card designs to look at - all of which were far better than anything I could have come up with myself with what I had. I just had to choose which front and back I wanted. This is the front image I chose, using my usual background as a background image to keep everything consistent and familiar.


They checked and double-checked it was all okay and I was happy, and advised me on the best finish for my cards. 350gms silk paper with matt lamination on both sides. This is all Dutch to me, so it was great to actually have the expert explain it.

I was informed when my cards were ready for printing, and then when they had been dispatched, and they arrived within 4 days of my order being finalised. I could also track exactly what was happening at every stage of design and print, and my parcel delivery, using my online account on their website.


I was actually very excited when my package arrived - the photo of Keith included is exactly what I'd expect from them, it really seems like an incredibly friendly place to work, and I was told everyone's names all the time. 


I'm incredibly pleased with my business cards. They're lovely. Good thick card with a really nice feel to it. The coating is splash-proof, so even handing out a couple last weekend at Little Fun Fest in the pouring rain I wasn't giving people a soggy bit of card that was going to be useless to them.

The colours are really bright and true to the original, and the printing is sharp.  I can't fault them at all and I'm going to feel very proud handing them out. And very grown up!


StressFreePrint are a lovely bunch of really helpful people and nothing is too much. Prices start at only £29.99 for 1000 business cards and putting together your order online is really simple - as long as you haven't lost your artwork! They can print onto virtually any size or shape you wish, including stand up cards, and have a range of finishes and papers including recycled.

As well as business cards they print just about anything, A1 posters start from only £2.49 and A3 leaflets from £48 per 1000, and 50 Christmas cards with your own design and words printed on recycled paper would cost you less than £62. Having the designers create your image for you adds around an extra £50, which is very fair price for a professional's time and ideas, and they do a great job.

At Easter my children's school have an Easter Egg Competition. Not with chocolate, but with boiled eggs. The whole school take part and it gets really competitive. People have even had to be disqualified because their eggs were clearly entirely the work of the parents...

All of the children from year 1 and up make a huge pun-fuelled diorama, complete with boiled egg characters. I'm proud to say we've previously had 2 class winners - The Abominable Eggman and Egg-Cercise - both of which then sat on a shelf in the living room for just slightly longer than I could bear before we were able to discretely remove them to the bin.

Because my 2 little ones are in the Foundation Stage of school they don't have to make a stunning miniature land of 'L-Egg-O' or 'Egg-citement' just yet, but still effort is expected, by not only the school, but the other pupils. The little ones in Foundation have to decorate their egg and then take it to school and care for it for a whole week.

So on Sunday night at about 5pm when we suddenly remembered, it was all systems go....

The 5 year old wanted to make Darwin - the goldfish from 'The Amazing World Of Gumball'.

Colour blindness may have played a weeny part, he actually spent ages getting just the right colour for his fish...and painted it egg-coloured. Brilliant.


He drew a very sweet little face and then some overly-large teeth which did confuse us a bit, but hes very happy with it. An empty Ferrero Rocher tub and some tissue paper and voila, a tank.


Our 4 year old is a bit of a breakeriser. He can think about things in a different room and they're already broken. The idea of him caring for a boiled egg for a week isn't a reassuring one. He wanted to make a Ben 10 egg, and my partner immediately had a plan.


 Inside, nestled in bubble wrap. Ben 10 Egg himself....


So off we went to school, I carried them all the way. I gave them back to my children inside the school, as they were going into class. Delivery successful...

The precious eggs spend the time children are working in the Egg Hotel, where they also spend their nights. At designated times the children take their eggs with them and hold them carefully, or carry them to a new location. It's a great exercise in being careful. Should any minor disasters happen the eggs have to go to the Egg Hospital, where they have plasters very carefully applied by a teacher. The parents are charged for visits to the Hospital and stays in the Hotel, and the money goes to charity. Last year cost me 65p.


This year, with 2 eggs to worry about I actually cheered when found out that both eggs survived Monday unscathed. It was short-lived.

By the end of day 2 today we have had 3 visits to the Egg Hospital and in spite of his protective case, Ben 10 was looking decidedly shattered. I think by Friday I'm likely be taking home 2 lumps of white boiled egg and a handful of plasters....but at least we'll have a cool Ben 10 pot for storing treasure......I hope....

UPDATE - Here's how the week ended!