Inspiring Literacy and Creativity + Giveaway

When it comes to screen time we don't watch an awful lot in our household and while the kids are still young we have restrictions but we do love a trip to the cinema for a day out and there is always something special about watching a movie on the big screen. When I heard about the new Star Wars films coming out I knew it would be one for the boys as John is a big fan of the original series and while I had my apprehensions about it I didn't want to stand in the way of a father and son connection as John has relieved his youth and passed on this enthusiasm for film to our son. So it was with much excitement when Egmont sent us some fantastic books to inspire reading and creativity at home. Also our eldest has a real fascination with space and I think Star Wars just has that natural attraction for the fantastical and incredible. With our eldest learning how to read we are always encouraging him to do this on his own steam at home but it can be hard finding things t......

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Embrace the Force this Fathers Day

No longer are the days when the popularity of Stars Wars was mainly among adults who were old enough to see the original trilogy or the tail end of it. Of course the films have a massive cult status and have always appeal to fans of all ages but never has there been such an influx and renewed excitement with younger children as there is now with Disney taking the reins of the new films. My is now versed in all things Star Wars and has been teaching me all about At-AT's, storm troopers and the force. Star Wars has always been the exception to the rule but even so its great to see it's enthusiasm and love cross so many generations which is why something Star Wars related makes the perfect Fathers Day present, especially one that can be done together as a family. My 5yr old loves to build lego's and models so I knew these Star Wars activity book and cardboard models from Egmont would be the perfect thing to give his Dad this Fathers Day as this would provide a......

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#MyDisneyLife

Meeting Mickey Mouse at Disney World in Florida I have always been a dreamer and a believer in fantastical things, amazing adventures through magical lands on horseback encountering trolls and dragons and good always defeating evil in the end. I was one of those kids who easily got lost in the world of make believe, my imagination often ran wild and I would happily re-enact these adventures in my bedroom for hours on end. As you can imagine growing up I was a huge fan of Disney films and books as they had everything I could want in a story and seeing them come to life in such a vivid away on screen instantly captured my attention. Growing up in South Africa we had limited access to the most recent collections and anything that came out in the cinema in places like the UK and US would only make it to our screens around a year later so when we came to visit family in Wales we would stock up on a few classics and then I would spend the next two years watching them ove......

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Room - The stunning must-see film of 2016

Imagine life as you know it exists within the four walls of a tiny room? Imagine having your freedom taken away from you, to be confined to a small space and to bring an innocent child into that but you can only keep the reality of your situation hidden for a limited amount of time. Room is based on the novel by Emma Donoghue and is incredibly moving, even more so if your a parent as you cannot help but connect with Ma who is played by Brie Larson and has been nominated for an oscar for here stella performance in this film. I was lucky enough to watch a preview of Room before its release and can honest;y say I was drawn in right from the start and shed a tear or two as Jack and Ma bravely hatch a escape plan and then have to come to terms with what has happened to them and readjusting to life outside Room. The UK film distributors StudioCanal have been kind enough to offer one of our readers the chance to win an amazing hamper of goodies including - Soundtrack of Room......

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Night out or night in?

Me on my way to a date night at the Theatre last year We have been trying to save money for the last one year to move onto another slightly larger house project. Hence, our night outs have swapped to night ins. Turns out it is not only easy on my pockets, but also pretty fun. In fact Saturdays night ins can be pretty entertaining with some nice food, snacks, maybe a glass of wine (or two) and one or two movies and what more could you ask for? It also means some quality time spent together as a couple, which can be pretty rare when you have two kids. Bring bubbly into the home I love indy films as well as dry comedies while John likes more of the action style films or anything from the 80's (I know, don't ask). We try to be pretty health conscious and try not to binge on junk for but instead have a good bottle of something and maybe a few light dips and a small bar of quality dark chocolate, I mean it is Saturday night after all. Enjoying some homemade M......

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We can all be the boss of our own destiny

It's feels good to be in control  I am continually grateful that through the recession both John and I have managed to become sucessfully self-employed and making it work. John was stuck in a dead-end job so he decided to go back to college, retrained and is now working as the Head Barber at a top Barbershop in Cardiff. The day I gave birth to Mr A was also the same day I was meant to start my final year back at Uni, I had to have an emergency c-section which meant I could only go back to Uni 6 weeks later but they were very supportive and I was allowed to do a lot of my work from home, allowing me to successful and exclusively breast feed my son throughout my final year and finish my course and graduate later that year. I thought I had a fairly clear business plan of what I wanted to do but being very hands on with my son meant it change direction and for the best as I now get to work from home, freelance writing, blog writing and occasionally photo-editing while looking afte......

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The Age of Believing

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - an original disney production  In our house we believe that everything in moderation is the best way to approach most things and so far it has seemed to work fairly well. For example we don't do TV during the week but we allow for some light watching over the weekend and "movie" night on Sunday as John is a huge cinema and film buff and to deny him the satisfaction of watching a film with the little man would be unfair. It's something that ends our weekend and is quite relaxing and since it's only once a week it's a special time, so when we were asked to take part in the "age of believing" challenge which involved watching the original 1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks disney film we couldn't wait. I had't seen the film in full before and I wondered if it would be too much for the little man but he absolutely loved it and at various points throughout the film he burst into laughter, which is a good sign. The bo......

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Cardiff Comic Con Family fun

My brother, Mr A and John enjoying Cardiff Comic Con So I'm sure when people think of Cardiff that a Comicon Convention is not the first thing that springs to mind so we really were not sure what to expect, all we know is next year we are going to throw it out there with some costumes, because at the end of the day why not? The original R2D2 and Darth Vader sitting next to each other and a well dressed enthusiast Now the Cardiff Comic and Film convention really is still a fledgling in the world of this sort of events and I am sure that year on year it will grow bigger and stronger but the turn out was pretty amazing with Motorpoint Arena packed on both days. It did't have as many big names at the same events in London but still had some good draws with The Hoff (yes the Hoff!) Brian Blessed, a few Hobbits for good measure, Doc from scrubs - whom I was lucky enough to high-five, Ken Baker (R2D2) and Dave Prowse (Darth Vader) and my favourite Miltos Yerolemou from ......

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Travel Throwback - Snowboarding Silence

So a couple of years ago before I tore my ACL, I went with a couple of friends from Falmouth University on a snowboarding trip to Val d'isere in France. It was an amazing 10 days of pure snowboarding fun and a few nights of partying to boot. Over the duration of the trip, of course I took loads of photos but back then technology was not as reliable as it is today and I remember everyones camera's not working in the -16 degrees temperatures out on the pistes, which is why I love the two images below, they were taken on my old 1970's Pentax Asahi film camera and they capture a sort of silence and beauty about boarding off piste with friends. I am still in the process of re-scanning these negatives and will share more with you soon, also joining up with the lovely Travel Tuesday linky over on The Compass Rose ...

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