This month has been a pretty rough one for us, I know a lot of people are tired and worn out and we are all ready for Spring - although I really wouldn't complain about a few days of proper snow that the kids can play with. We seem to have had a month of drizzle and sleet and overnight snow that's vanished by morning. Even worse we had a day of snow that was all gone by 3.30pm - so harsh on the kids in school!

Not 20. Not having a birthday, not going out for a drink. Not giggling and opening presents. Not putting on make up and doing your hair. Would you be away at Uni? Would you have a partner, a fling? Would you have a part time job, would you have used some of your birthday money to go out and celebrate? Would you have been grabbing everything life had to offer you and grinning that huge smile? Would you have complained that sundae isn't technically cake, and made sure we had another later this week? Probably.

Happy birthday El.  We miss you, we'll always miss you xxx

Here is a compilation of activities and events that are on this February for families in the Northwest UK, Manchester, Liverpool area. Half term has really caught me out this year as my kids don't break up until Friday, but some children are already off, so apologies to anything that's already started! I'll keep everything in start date order, add more as I get them in, and try to italicise anything that is already over...

If your children are anything like mine then they love small rubbery blind bag collectibles, especially when they are a bit gross and horrible. Flush Force fits the bill perfectly, with a collection of 150 different characters who hide in small plastic toilets...and start at £3.49 for a pack of 2. We've been sent a selection of the Series 1 sets to review.


Included in our bundle are the Bizarre Bathroom with 8 Flushies, the Filthy 5-Pack, the Number 2 Pack and the Collect-A-Bowl Stash 'N' Store Case with 4 Flushies.

Probably the most famous shipwreck tale of all time, the story of the Titanic is fascinating to adults and children alike. The Story Of Titanic For Children by Joe Fullman is an excellent factual book which my 9 year old has poured over since it arrived.


This is a beautiful book and it's full of gorgeous illustrations and photographs. It is honest, but doesn't glorify or overplay any of the tragedies which happened when the Titanic sank. It is full of fascinating details and facts, as well as personal accounts and even sketches drawn by survivors.

If you are anything like me, it was around 3rd January when you realised you hadn't even got a calendar, let alone anything sensible to keep a diary in! My daughter loved the Stigu planner I got from BlogOn last year and had bought herself another this year, so I was more than happy to review for them.


We've had several different Stigu Stationery products over the last few years and they're nice because they are a bit quirky, but they're designed to be attractive, effective and helpful on top of doing the intended job. They have simple wellbeing tips on each page that aren't condescending or twee, they are just reminders that you should relax and play as well as work...

It's easy for me to feel bitter and angry about the state of Children's Mental Health services in this country at the moment. I have every reason to believe it's a failing system that is understaffed, underfunded and consequently takes a long time to access and for any action to be implemented.

Last October the Care Quality Commission published a phase one report on children's mental health services. The full review and recommendations will be published next month. They've already found that because many different agencies can be involved, access to CAMHS and other services can be difficult and incredibly time-consuming. I could have told you that. So probably could anyone who has ever wanted to access CAMHS services.


Over the past 4 years we've learned far more about children's mental health services than we ever would have believed. Our family has been given an immense amount of help, for which I am eternally grateful. We had extreme circumstances and jumped to the top of the queues at first, and in the subsequent months we've had to wait patiently with everyone else and at times watch our young people deteriorate, completely impotent and unable to pull them out by ourselves. We've seen the holes in the service, the lack of knowledge-sharing, the time-pressure, the wrangling for financing from different departments in order to make things happen, and the waiting for red tape and meetings to sign off plans and be able to move forward.

I cannot fault any of the professionals we've met. I don't have a bad word to say about any of them because they were every bit as frustrated as we were. Their job often seems more about admin and knowing who to speak to than it is about clinical care and spending time with the people who need it.

Hearing Things is a great party game from Hasbro that can be played really quietly! It's very different to other games we have, and loads of fun. It's also one that can create some risque answers so, unless you can be very careful with what you say, best for older players.


Packaging is entirely card and inside the box you have the headphones and pack of 150 Phrase Cards, as well as instructions. You'll need 2 x AAA batteries to power the headphones, and learning the rules could hardly be quicker.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie was released on Digital Download on January 30th and we were among the first people to watch it in the comfort of our own home. We had already seen the movie in the cinema, but everyone wanted to watch it again and we were sent a bundle of goodies by Warner Bros to make a movie night of it!


We are big fans of the LEGO movies and we have really enjoyed them all. Ninjago is a LEGO theme with your traditional ninjas and dragons mixed with amazing technology and mechanics. It's an excellent theme and Ninjago are the most played with LEGO sets here.  There is also a Ninjago TV show, as well as books and of course the 4D cinema and Ninjago City Adventure play area at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre. We are in very familiar territory and even I know all the names of the characters.

The first UK publication of 13th Reality: Journal Of Curious Letters by James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner, will be released by Sweet Cherry Publishing next week and we were lucky enough to be given an advance copy to review. This is a book full of intrigue and mystery, as we join Tick Higginbottom and try to work out 'what on Earth is going on?'.


I have to start by saying the package we received was gorgeous - the boys and I loved it and it was just perfect for this book. We knew this was going to be something special. We had a puzzle to solve before we even opened our copy! It really set the scene for reading the book.,,