We've been sent Make, Bake, Cookies from Parragon Books for review, and here's how to make swirly rainbow cookies with your children. Super easy and very attractive...


As soon as I got an email from Parragon Books to tell me I was going to be sent Make, Bake, Cookies my mouth started watering. We very often make cookies for dessert and snacks, and get through a couple of batches a week if I ration them well.


Cookies are perfect for baking with children and encouraging a love of cooking, understanding of where food comes from and the effort involved. They always bring a sense of pride and achievement and delight the rest of the family. With this in mind I handed this one over to my 14 year old daughter and 5 year old son...

When I was asked to have a look at Stew magazine for curious kids I had to point out that I don't have any children in the recommended age range of 8-12, but it really intrigued me and I was keen to have a look. That 'tween' stage is really quite tricky to cater for and there isn't much around really, so it's nice to see that someone is filling the gap.

"Stew is a bi-monthly print magazine aimed at 8-12 year olds who love to read, write, draw and think. It aims to support the school curriculum by including informative features in each issue on the arts, science, history and world affairs. There are also short stories, book reviews and even an age-appropriate agony column.

The magazine tries to challenge and stimulate its readers in an entertaining fashion, and one of the ways it avoids being stuffy and didactic is through its use of original and stunning illustrations on practically every page. These give Stew a distinctive look while providing a platform for some superbly talented art school students and graduates".

Two of our children turned 16 in the last few months and are now mid-way through doing their GCSE's. 13 years of education compacted into 7 hellish weeks of revision and exam.


Our entire household is in a kind of 'pause' while it all goes on. No-one wants to put a foot wrong, but it's far too easy to say the wrong thing. Even the little boys know to stay out of the way and not disturb them when they're in their rooms revising....


Today they have both had their last full day at school.....




Sigh.......

I was asked if I wanted to test the Persil Small & Mighty with it's new formula and Stain Eraser Ball, and as I generally use Persil Non-Bio Small & Mighty anyway, I felt it was something I was more than happy to do. They claim it should remove the need for lots of different products in your cupboard, as their Small & Mighty liquid can do the job alone. Not only that, but it can do it at lower temperatures and even in a quick wash.


I was sent a Stain Kit, and a bottle of Biological Persil Small & Mighty. I'm always a bit scared of different wash powders and liquids, as a couple of my family have sensitive skin, but it's good to try new things periodically as technology and skin alter.

I'm not usually one for soppy films, but I love 4 Weddings and a Funeral. It always makes me cry though, and it's not for the story, it's for Charlotte Coleman, the lady who played Scarlett. I'd grown up with her, she was my hero. She played the girl in Wurzel Gummidge, she was Marmalade Atkins, she was the TV star of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and she was lead female role in 'How Do You Want Me?' which never got the viewers it deserved.

She died 7 years after filming 4 Weddings, aged only 33 and alone in her own home, from an asthma attack. Sadly she's not alone, over 1,200 people die from asthma in the UK every year. 

My ex has asthma, the father of my 3 older children, and my oldest child had mild asthma for a couple of years as a child. We were very fortunate, none of our 3 children inherited their father's asthma, and my son never had a nasty attack anywhere, including at school. Lots of children aren't so lucky.

"More than two thirds (68%) of children with asthma across the UK have had an asthma attack whilst at school"*

I've been a First Aider in a College and a Playgroup, and I was a Childminder for 7 years. I'd be mortified to be in a position where a child was seriously ill, I knew how to help and even had access to what I needed, but were legally unable to do anything.

"86% of children say they have been without their own inhaler because they have forgotten, lost, broken or run out of it"*

Asthma UK, the UK's leading asthma charity, are campaigning to have a spare asthma reliever inhaler placed in the first aid box of every school. It would be for use only in emergencies by children who have forgotten or lost their own inhaler.

At the moment it is against the law for schools to hold or oversee the dispensing of any medicine not prescribed for a specific child. An exception has been made regarding Bronchiodilaters (relievers/Ventolin/Salbutamol) for the RNLI and the Armed Forces, so it's easy to add schools to those exceptions.

I really feel that when a child has been prescribed such a common medicine that they would be in charge of themselves anyway, and which can be the difference between life and death, there can be no harm for the school staff to be allowed to take the initiative in an emergency. I would rather they did if it was my child.

The Government has opened a consultation on Inhalers In Schools and need responses from the public to gauge if we think it's important or necessary. You only have until 30th May. You can give your opinion and support the campaign by completing the short comment form here (link removed as out of date)...
UPDATE - Tuesday 15th July 2014

In today’s health questions in parliament, the Secretary of State for Health Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP confirmed that the law will change to allow schools to keep spare emergency inhalers. A statutory instrument to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 will be laid later this week and the change in the law will come into force on the 1 October. 

Kay Boycott, Chief Executive of Asthma UK adds, “It is absolutely vital that every child with asthma has an asthma action plan. These help parents to understand their child’s symptoms, how to know if their child’s asthma is getting worse and what they need to do about it. Children who don’t have an action plan are four times more likely to need to go to hospital for their asthma – you can download a plan from www.asthma.org.uk”
*Asthma UK Survey of 1815 people (153 children (aged between 5 and 18 years of age) and 1662 adults) from across the UK, online between 13 and 22 January 2014

I was not paid for this post.

I have previously reviewed HealGel Intensive and HealGel Eye and I found them both to be brilliant, so I really was very keen to try HealGel Face. HealGel say:

"HealGel Face is an exceptional anti-ageing formula designed to smooth, firm and replenish to give instantly plumper, revitalised looking skin.

This step-changing complex acts like HealGel Intensive to rescue unhappy skin, but then takes its transformative effect to the next level.  Arnica and Madecassoside are suspended in liposomes with powerful peptides and biodynes to initiate a uniquely soothing and collagen boosting process.  HealGel Face also contains a unique blend of Omega Oils to replenish dehydrated skin and restore elasticity.  To this another vital dimension is added; a powerful three part hyaluronic acid complex provides a plumping and tightening effect."

I wasn't expecting the miracle transformation that I had with the HealGel Eye, but I felt sure I'd definitely be pleased with the result, and I am. After 6 weeks of use every evening and most mornings I really see and feel an improvement in my skin.


Just as with the other HealGel products, a tiny bit is all that is needed and the cream goes on really well and sinks in very quickly. It has a lovely smell and actually feels relaxing. 

In the mornings I wake up naturally around 7am. My partner gets up first and brings me a coffee at 7.30am. Around this time my 2 small boys wake up and run into my room to tell me how much they love me, before returning to their room and getting dressed. Then we go downstairs and join the teenagers at the kitchen table eating breakfast....in my TV advert dreamland...

Actually what happens is the alarm goes off at 6.45am and I swear about the fact that it can't actually be morning yet. That's on a good day. Often before my alarm goes off one of my youngest children has already come into my room with his most malevolent Donnie Darko eyes and jabbed at me until I can feel the burn, before pressing all the buttons on my phone until it lights up and informing me "see, it says it's morning time".


I use the bathroom and go downstairs. Kettle on, uniforms for the youngest laid on the sofa - because if I let them get changed in their room on a school day I don't see them until 8.25am, when they come downstairs wearing only a pyjama top and ask if I can 'put together this track' or something equally ridiculous.

I make a brew for myself and my partner, and a packed lunch for my 5 year old. I contemplate a beautiful Bento - ahhh - and make the usual ham or cheese and pickle sarnies. Upstairs my partner showers and wakes up the teenagers.

When he gets downstairs he shouts at the youngest 2 to 'get dressed' for  the first time of around 12. Our 5 year old every day without fail states he can't get dressed until he's had breakfast and comes into the kitchen to collect cereal or toast, or if he's lucky a breakfast bar and a glass of orange before staring at it for approx. 12 minutes without eating anything. Sometimes his brother joins him, but usually they operate as a tag team, taking it in turns to stare at their breakfast in an effort to cause as much frustration and delay as possible.

By 7.45am hopefully we've already seen at least 2 teenagers, and another returns from their paper round and joins in the competitive bathroom hogging contest. Occasionally this ends in all-out war, but usually someone cries before then and my partner gets to practice his loudest 'because I say so' voice.

I make sure I've at least heard everyone 'be awake' before allowing my partner to escape to work, where he spends 9 hours sleeping in a comfy chair, and occasionally browsing the internet.

I spend the next half hour trying to remain calm, whilst alternating cries of "have you got dressed yet?" and "come on, it's getting late?", whilst trying to find non-existent clean shirts and tights which should have been washed but instead have spent the last few days languishing on a bedroom floor. I pull magic black pens and protractors out of thin air and hopefully know the location of every last bit of homework down the side of a sofa or under the kitchen table.

Most of the teenagers leave somewhere between 8am and 8.35am. I have given up trying to work out exactly when they should leave, how fast they can walk to school, or whether they take lunch or eat it when they get home. They're 16, it's an important lesson for them to be hungry all day while their lunch sweats on the kitchen table.

At 8.33am I tell the 2 little boys they need to put their coats on and discover who hasn't put their socks on. Then we play 'hunt the shoe' for the next 7 minutes maximum. If we exceed this limit then I fetch the wellies.


At 8.40am I leave one teenager still in the house and, whilst ignoring the cries of "my socks aren't right" we walk to school. I carry the coats.

I get home at around 9.15am and have my 20 minutes of peace. I can't actually manage without breakfast, I always eat it, but I choose to wait. I put the kettle on and the first load of washing, tidy the table and sit down with a brew, something to eat and a sense of contentment that another morning is ticked off and we're nearer the weekend.....


I do actually eat breakfast bars, and in fact belVita are my favourite. They are really tasty and don't need a pint of water to wash them down! They're incredibly handy in your bag if you're going straight out, and a bit of a lazy treat at home. I like the Fruit And Fibre ones best, but most of the kids go for the yoghurt crunch.

And it's my first time.....and actually, as it gets closer, I am a bit scared.

It's very far out of my comfort zone.

Going to London is a big deal for me. Leaving my family to fend for themselves for a whole weekend is a big step. My partner is still recovering from his Meningitis, as I think his recent plummet from good health with Tonsilitis showed, and he gets incredibly tired.

Cheers for the help loading the dishwasher guys....

Teenagers can be great, or they can be moody and completely unhelpful. Two small boys tend to see these sort of situations as opportunities to be exploited to the fullest.....

However, once I'm on that train travelling down with Pippa RedRoseMummy and MyMummy'sPennies Jen, I'm sure I'll put all that out of my head and I'll enjoy my first weekend away in FOREVER....

I'm actually not sure at which point I'll be able to relax into it and be me - probably around about 4pm Saturday! It's going to be amazing seeing so many bloggers in one place at once. I've been to Blog On twice now, so I'm not a complete novice, but this is so much bigger and far away from home.

I seem to have answered a lot of 'about me' questions recently, so my apologies if you've heard all this before, but the questions that go with the linky seem as good an introduction as any!

With Lancashire Lass Karen, I'm the one with my eyes shut and a shiny forehead...

Name: Jenny
Blog: The Brick Castle
Twitter ID: @TheBrickCastle
Height: 5ft 2ish
Hair: Blonde and really, really curly. On a damp day by11am I look like a cloud.
Eyes: Blue/Green depending on the light.
Is this your first blogging conference?
No, it will be my 3rd, but my first big one.
Are you attending both days?
Yes. It'd be foolish to go all that way and not stay.
What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2014?
I'm looking forward to meeting some more of the bloggers who I've read and spoken to online, and the sessions look incredibly interesting.
What are you wearing?
Probably similar to what I'm wearing now! I'm not incredibly adventurous I'm afraid. Once you've met me 3 times you'll start recognising me by my outfit.
What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2014?
I want to meet people and put faces to blogs, and learn from people who are more experienced than I.
Do you have any tips to pass on to others who may not have been before?
My tip is that you should totally go and speak to Jenny from The Brick Castle because she's never been before either! 

If you are in the Manchester area and wondering what to do with the children over half term then the Imperial War Museum North has put on a week of activities which might be of interest.....especially if your children like Amazing Animals!

We had a brilliant time there last half term visiting their Spies, Disguise and Ways To Hide exhibition, and I have no doubts that Amazing Animals will be equally as fascinating.

There are free activities every day which cater for even the youngest children, so everyone can have a great day out discovering all about the unusual roles of animals in the First World War - from horses and carrier pigeons to rescue dogs.

A mobile pigeon loft in the First World War

Lottie And Dottie Sow Carrots is our latest from the Orion Books Early Readers in the blue band. The Early Readers are available in two bands. Blue band is for children who are ready to join in reading and following words with another person, and red band is for children who are more confident to read alone.




Actually, it turns out this is possibly our favourite book so far! It has mild peril and excitement and it's written mainly in dialogue between the 2 sisters, which means reading is really exciting with all the intonation and animation in the voices.



The story is the tale of 2 sisters who sow some carrots, but it's so beautifully written and informative that it genuinely fascinated my little boys. The illustrations are lovely and the characters have very sweet expressive faces, with the little sister always looking inquisitive and a little worried until the end.


This is a great book, and afterwards your child will understand a lot more about gardening and growing plants, or they will have had that knowledge reinforced without even realising. I'd heartily recommend it.

Lottie And Dottie Sow Carrots has an RRP of £4.99 and is published by Orion Books.

All of my book reviews can be found here.