A Halloween party at the beginning of October might seem a bit strange, but heck it was fun! We were given a budget by Poundworld to buy all the necessary equipment and some food and drink to keep our guests happy....well, happy in a Halloween way....


The fun started way before the party - which child wouldn't want to be able to choose a whole £30 worth of goodies from the Halloween aisle in Poundworld! You simply can't carry it all!


The boys had a brilliant time choosing, and we could really go a bit wild. Best half hour I've spent in ages. Holographic glasses were first in the basket, followed by a rubber hand...naturally...

It's often the case in stores that they only have a good supply of school uniform during the big Summer school holidays. The problem with this is that children don't stop growing after August, and they fall over and tear their trouser legs or draw all over themselves with whiteboard marker all year round.


School uniform from Tu Clothing at Sainsburys is available all year round, and if they don't have your size or colour in stock at your local store, or your kids don't fancy going on an exhilarating school shopping trip, you can order whatever you want online.


We've been sent a few items to try. My children's uniform is a pretty straighforward white polo shirt and black trousers, and we've also been sent some plain white t-shirts for P.E.

Released this week is the Pirate Ship Sticker Book. Written by Jim Pipe and Claire Sipi, and illustrated by Maria Taylor, it has all you could ever need to know about pirate life in the 18th century, with added stickers!


Recommended for children aged around 6+, the 48 page paperback book takes you on a trip aboard The Scurvy Dog with Captain Skull and his pirate crew. Your child can read all about what life was like for those on the ship, above and below decks. No gruesome detail is spared, and there are stickers to use to complete the images.

Our latest review and giveaway is for one of our favourite games companies, Drumond Park. Their brand new game Crazy Claw is definitely one of the most active games you'll play. Suitable for 2-4 players aged 5+, this type of frantic game with great props is exactly what will delight most children.


Inside the box is everything you will need, including the actual Crazy Claw 'arcade machine' set up, 12 balls with press-out cardboard prizes and a fantastic grabber, plus instructions.

I've been a fan of Weleda for many years. I even visited their premises in Heanor for a funday about 20 years ago. The company started out as a pharmaceutical laboratory in 1921, and this medical background underpins their Organic, natural, sustainable and holistic products which care for your body, mind and soul, and your environment.


Back 20 years ago I had some joint problems and the Arnica Massage Balm was invaluable. Over the years I have made good use of Weleda hayfever and sleep (Nux Vom) homeopathic medicines, and their Bath And Body Oils are truly relaxing. Although I'm kind of beyond 'baby products' now, the Weleda Calendula Nappy Change Cream is still the household favourite 'sore cream' for underarms, rubbing wellies, chafed feet or anywhere else it might be useful.

Architect Academy is written by Steve Martin and illustrated by Essi Kimpimaki. It is a very different kind of children's fact book in that it teaches you the basics of architecture and building design. As you travel through the book, the activities work as a 'course', but aren't just like school work, this is more 'lessons with that supply teacher you really liked'.


Inside the front cover you get the first clues that Architect Academy is different, as half a press-out model bridge cut from card greets you before you even start to read.


The contents page was a bit daunting, with topics such as Construction Maths, and Drawing To Scale, but they are presented in a fun and personal way, and your child won't necessarily even view them as learning. Designing a floor plan for your own imaginary house was the kind of thing I loved when I was young.

I'm not well known for wearing make up, but I am well-known for being super-busy and never having enough time. These two things do sometimes go together. My routine to get ready for the day pretty much involves dampening may hair and putting some clothes on, maybe flapping a bit of powder at my face. I am a woman though, and actually I do like to look as good as I can, so getting into the habit of a 5 minute make up routine sounded right up my street.


ReCover founder Annabel Jardella was a Hollywood make up artist for 25 years, and has also worked extensively on camouflage make up.

"Using colour theory Annabel has created a carefully edited range of targeted colour corrective products to neutralise a range of skin challenges. The pigment packed formulations ensure complete colour correction yet with a super fine layer."

I haven't used foundation in years, and my concealer is mainly used to hide the suitcases I have under my eyes, so I've been trying out ReCover: Correct And Conceal Red and really enjoying the results.

Blog On MSI is a blogging conference held in Manchester, and this year for the first time as well as the Spring Blog On, there was a special edition last weekend bringing Christmas to September.

We're very lucky in that we get to hold the conference in the top floor of the brilliant Museum Of Science and Industry - my kids love it there, and they have some amazing events - for anyone visiting Manchester they have a Science Festival running all through half term 20-30 October.

I said beforehand that I was there for the people - and it was the people that made it what it was. The atmosphere was awesome. I did actually speak to more to brands though than ever before too though, and met 3 people I've been speaking to online for over 3 years, as well as the inventor of one of the products I reviewed a few months ago - Simbrix.


Christmas was with us from the start with the gorgeous decoration - and we were met by the person who puts tons of work to make Blog On happen - Alice from Life As Alice Blog. 


Sim and I had a job to do on the check-in desk, but Steph was able to sneak in with us (she'd stayed overnight at my house and it would have been rude to dump her outside by the door in a strange town).

One of the newest toys from Hasbro is the Transformers: Robots In Disguise Power Surge Optimus Prime and Aerobolt. Suitable for children aged 5+, this is a big toy which does actually transform really well from robot to vehicle in 5 memorable and fairly intuitive steps.


Our box was a bit crumpled from it's journey, but the Transformer itself is fine. Made almost entirely from strong plastic, it's a sturdy model, only the 'bonnet' which hooks on as a backpack lets it down by falling off sometimes.

My youngest child is absolutely obsessed with Minecraft, and we have 5 players in the house, so I was intrigued by the idea of a fiction book for children. Diary Of A Minecraft Zombie Steve 3: The Lost Temple by MC Steve is a book for independent readers aged around 8+, so it's stretching my 6 1/2 year old, but he's been very determined to read it himself.


The book is set out as you would expect a diary, day after day, and each date has 2-4 pages. This breaks up the text and makes it seem less intimidating for newer independent readers.

The story is that of a Zombie named Steve from the game Minecraft. He works as an architect and wins a huge contract to develop the Isle Of Mists. When he sets off to carry out his work, his boat goes astray and he finds himself thrown into an adventure.