We were invited along to be among the first people to try out the food at Carpocci's. This unique pop-up restaurant opened it's doors to Media City customers in Manchester on Wednesday and will be here until September 22nd, before it moves off around the country.


I wasn't really sure exactly how a pop up restaurant might work in September in Manchester, but I knew we all like Italian food, and Capocci's promised traditional Italian food full of flavour and a warm family dining experience.


My first fear was quashed, Capocci's was very easy to find, right next to the Media City Metrolink. Seating is outdoor, but I my second fear was also quashed - there is a roof and you are actually snugly tucked in, so you really aren't sat in the wind and weather.

Today I got up and had a wash, got dressed and made a brew. I checked my two boys were dressed and were at least thinking about having breakfast.
I had the radio on, Radio X with Toby Tarrant because Chris Moyles is on holiday again. It was one of those mornings you end up running up and down stairs loads of times because you've forgotten something, and when you get there you can't remember what it was, so you go back down and instantly remember.
I made the kids sandwiches (we've only got cheese, so no choices today) and packed their lunchboxes into their bags. Then a moment's peace. I sat down for 20 minutes with Facebook, coffee and a slice of toast.
Time for school. We spent a good 5 minutes trying to get everyone out of the door with the correct footwear, coat and bags, and then had to turn back for a forgotten pair of glasses when we were 200 yards up the road. Dropped the kids off, came home, fed the pets.

It was entirely mundane.

We recently reviewed the So MAGIC DIY Wonder Magic Garden for Canal Toys and now they've sent us the So Slime DIY Slimelicious Station for review. Suitable for age 6+, this is a scented-slime making kit with enough ingredients and decorations to make 16 little pots of imitation ice cream slime...


Everything is housed in a sturdy box, which can easily be used for storage if you don't make all of your slimes at once. It's an exciting parcel to open.


Included in the kit are a lot of parts, which are easy to distinguish:
Slime Station
4 Mini shakers
Scented Slime powder
2 Tools
Stickers
3 Tubes of colour
Instructions
6 bags of decorations
3 decorative straws

Vanilla Underground call themselves the home of officially licensed merchandise for all the family and to prove it have sent us a big bundle of items - including something for everyone here. Favourite TV, movie, book, music and game characters on pyjamas, t-shirts, stationery, backpacks, lunchboxes and more...


I gave Vanilla Underground a rough idea of what sort of things we like, plus some sizes, and so our package was mainly a surprise parcel. It was a pleasant surprise too - we were delighted! First up, our 9 and 10 year old boys. Minecraft Pyjamas for the pair of them.


A big hit - I've already washed both pairs twice. No runs, loose threads or shrinkage, I'm pleased with the quality. My 10 year old's pyjamas are quite thick too, ideal for Winter despite the short sleeves. The same goes for the 5 Nights At Freddy's pyjamas in the photo below - great cold weather lounging pyjamas.

Modelling so that you can actually see the pictures on the pyjamas isn't their strong point...

I really like OKIDO. My boys have enjoyed their magazines for many years and now they are branching out with a range of kits and games. We've been sent the OKIDO Which Way? Coding Board Game to review. Everything OKIDO do brings together creativity with science, making it not only rewarding and fun, but educational and really accessible to all children - whatever their ability or gender.

Which Way? Coding Board Game is a bit young for my own children, so I enlisted help from some of the children who play in my garden all Summer, but they don't appear in the photos or video.


I'm really impressed right from the start. This is a game which teaches young children to think 'like a coder' and prepares them for genuine computer programming and use. The design is simple genius, a line-following robot car with a magnetic board and track pieces, which are designed to replicate blocks of computer code.

This Summer toy manufacturer Jazwares have released a brand new range of Angry Birds toys to tie in with recent Angry Birds 2 movie release, and we've been sent a bundle for review. We've been sent 1 x Feature Plush, 1 x Game Pack and 1 x Catablind (Splat Ball)...


Excuse the pyjamas! Summer holidays are for relaxing... and throwing things at the door! I will start with the Splat Ball, or Catablind. We've been sent a green Angry Bird Piggy and he's proven very popular with my youngest.


I always discourage my children from throwing these at the ceiling, but somehow they always 'accidentally' end up there. At least we are in no doubts that it sticks well!

We've really enjoyed being Bandai STEM Ambassadors over the last 6 months, and the final tasks they've sent have been perfect for the Summer holidays. We've been sent National Geographic Gemstone and Shark Tooth Dig Kits and Ultimate Play Sand - a miniature sand pit with 2kg of colourful sand that never dries out and comes complete with 4 mini sand moulds...


The Bandai National Geographic STEM Kits are complete kits for children aged around 8+, and they contain everything you need, including tools. Each kit contains a Learning Guide, which is a short booklet full of images and information about the items you'll discover in the kit. They're brilliant, concise and always teach me something new.


The Dig Kits come complete with a double ended excavation tool, small brush, magnifying glass, instructions and a learning guide.


Dig Kits are packaged in a cardboard box, with a cardboard tray insert which can be used as a work surface. They keep all of the mess fairly well contained and can be recycled after use. Your fossils and gems are hidden in a decorative plaster block.


The Gemstone Dig Kit contains 3 real gemstones - Tiger's Eye, Quartz and Amethyst - and they're very pretty. They're also nicely varied, so children can tell instantly which is which. Once excavated you can clean them off by rinsing under water (put the plug in first), and then they catch the light really well. Or, as in our case, you can proudly show off just how carefully you exposed them!


The Shark Tooth Dig Kit contains 3 real fossilised shark teeth - Crow Shark, Otodus Shark and Sand Tiger. There's a fascination in our house with exceedingly long-lived animal species, so it's particularly interesting to us that although our Sand Tiger Shark tooth might be 100,000,000,000 years old (one hundred million), Sand Tiger Sharks still exist today.


My boys are 9 1/2 and almost 11, so I've been really pleasantly surprised at the amount of use the Ultimate Play Sand has received. This is a really neat little sandbox kit which works very well to keep everything tidy and safe.


The tray in the Ultimate Play Sand kit is plastic, but it is also your miniature sandbox, so it's definitely not single-use. Also included are 2lbs of play sand which never dries out, never makes dust and leaves your hands clean, plus 6 clever little sand 'castle' moulds.


These aren't just any old sandcastle, the moulds are actually 6 historical buildings, something my older boys really latched on to. All week ancient civilisations have been battling it out in my living room...


The sand is kinetic sand. Brightly coloured and fascinating to watch trickle out of your hand, it only sticks to the other sand. Very easy to scoop or sweep up and shouldn't ruin your carpet. It's actually quite mesmerising and incredibly relaxing to play with - whatever your age...










No entries are mandatory, but each action performed earns you extra entries into the random draw. The giveaway will end at midnight Sunday 29th September, full terms and conditions are at the bottom of the Gleam form. For a link to help if Gleam is new to you, or to see my other UK giveaways, see my Giveaways Page...

National Geographic Gemstone Dig Kit Giveaway (age 8+)

ZunTold Publishing’s next release is the third instalment in the hilarious Gangster School series by Kate Wiseman, Gruffles And The Killer Sheep, and we've been sent a copy to review as part of the Book Tour to promote release on 2nd September.

Recommended for children aged 6-13, although this book is third in a series, it also works as a standalone story. Characters are introduced gradually and the setting becomes obvious and understandable within the first couple of pages.


Gruffles is the stinky pet dog belonging to Charlie Partridge, a pupil at Blaggard's School For Tomorrow's Tyrants. His best friend is fellow pupil Milly Dillane and neither of them particularly want to beome master criminals. Fortunately they get plenty of chances to hone their skills protecting their school and it's pupils...

This month for the Asmodee Blogger Board Game Club we've been sent a great family dice game for 2-6 players. Portable, easy to learn and fun to play, Dice Academy is all about thinking and acting fast, knowledge isn't always an advantage.


Dice Academy is housed in a very small and sturdy box with a magnetic closure. It arrives shrink-wrapped and inside has a plastic insert to keep your 10 special dice safe between play, but everything is kept neat and small. The only game components are the dice, which are all different.

Ellen Lives On is a young adult novel by Lynda Haddock which opens with the loss of a parent to suicide. This is a positive and empowering book, which offers real support to young people in the same situation, but obviously it has darker moments and for some readers it may be a hard read at first.

Ellen is 15 and returns home from school to find her front door blocked and no response from her mother inside. She calls on her neighbours for help, they ring the police, and her life stops. Just like that.


Instantly reading this book, it's obvious the author Lynda Haddock understands. She explains very well the confusion and dream-like state you enter. The way you are no longer in control and life happens to you. Everything you expected is turned on it's head and the plans you had made for years just don't count any more.

The police are in charge of your home, social workers and other people you barely know direct you. Strangers know who you are and express their sympathy for you in the street. And when you are told it'll never be the same again, it really won't.