Panasonic Smart Network HDD Recorder with Twin HD DMR-HWT250EB review.

Manufacturer’s Description: Enjoy a variety of content with this Freeview Play compatible Recorder. 4K Video Playback lets you play 4K content via a USB connection. Internet apps, such as those, for NETFLIX and amazon instant video are also supported. And TV Anywhere lets you watch and record programmes both at home and while you’re away.

I must admit I enjoy relaxing of an evening when the children are finally asleep and the mounting chores are ignored to watch my favourite shows. However with only a basic freeview box and no TV subscription services when busy life gets in the way so I don’t get to sit down to watch my shows I often miss them. Whilst I can at times catch up online on my laptop I can’t always rely on this as not all channels offer this catch-up service online. Another downside to basic freeview is that there is no guarantee that shows Bug likes will be on the TV when he is enjoying a bit of TV time after being busy and having adventures.

As it can be disappointing to miss my favourite shows I was keen to test out the Panasonic Smart Network HDD Recorder in the hope that it would be the solution to me missing my favourite shows and Bug’s disappointment at not getting to watch the children’s shows he wants when he wants.

Our home, our story - #MyHomeStories

I believe a house becomes a home through the memories and experiences you have there. As you live your life and put your stamp on your house, the house you live in becomes intertwined in the memories of your life.

As I look around our home memories of events and milestones achieved are sparked. Our home is the backdrop to our life, as well as being a roof over our heads it is a safe, special place that we can make memories, enjoy family life and express our characters through DIY and home décor.

As the saying goes ‘if these walls could talk’ it would have a lot to say.

Our home has our story.

New school shoes.

With Bug growing ever so quickly and shooting up like a beansprout it feels as if I am constantly having to update his wardrobe with new clothes and shoes as he has - in what feels like a mere nanosecond - already grown out of his not so old clothes and shoes.

Even though we are not quite half way through the school year yet as Bug has had a growth spurt I have had to update his school uniform. As well as getting new trousers and shirts for my growing boy, as his feet have grown overnight (well it feels as if they have) and jumped up a shoe size a new pair of school shoes is also need.

With it being the middle of the school year not all shops have a great range of school shoes available which has limited our choices a little. But thankfully Brantano, who are experts in kids’ school shoes and realise that children’s feet grow all the time, have a wide range of school shoes available for us to choose from all year round.  

Thanks to a huge choice of school shoes available in a variety of comfortable styles for boys and girls alike from a wide range of brands including Clarks, Start-Rite and Hush Puppies we have found that Brantano is a great place to shop for school shoes.

As well as providing a great variety of styles and brands, we love that many of the shoes are available in half sizes and a range of widths so that we can get the best fitting shoes for our growing boy so that he is comfortable all day long at school. Plus as they offer a free kids shoe fitting service we can be sure that we are getting the right size shoe for his growing feet.

With Bug being a boisterous boy who is wild at playtime and hard on shoes it is great that they stock shoes with scuff resistant toes for extra durability as well as other useful extras such as antibacterial treatments to help keep feet healthy, odour free.

To Baby, With Love books.

As we love books and enjoy imparting our love of the written word to our children both Lee and I are passionate about reading to and introducing books to little ones from a young age. Books are part of our daily life and were introduced to Bug and now Jelly Bean when only month’s old. From early on reading stories to our little ones became a lovely time for bonding and introducing them to books, words and stories.

Reading to Bug from when he was month’s old is something we have all enjoyed and now at nearly 5 he is a little bookworm. He still loves storytime with us and is relishing learning to read himself.

Now that we have a young baby in the house again our bookshelf is once again filling with baby books which sit nicely next to Bug’s books for pre-schoolers and young children.

Thanks to Little Tiger Press Jelly Bean has a lovely new set of baby books to fill his space on the bookshelf.

In February 2016 Little Tiger Press are publishing 4 new titles in the To Baby, With Love series – Wishes For Baby, Peekaboo Baby!, Hello Baby!, and Goodnight Baby!

Rockin’ Baby Child To Child Charity.

I’ve written before about Rockin’ Baby’s amazing charity initiative Child To Child where for every item of Rockin’ Baby clothing purchased the company donates an item of clothing from their colourful Hero collection to children from impoverished backgrounds in Uganda. As I think the concept is amazing and I admire Rockin’ Baby even more for their fabulous charity initiative I was delighted to hear news about them making a clothing drop of the donated clothes to children in need.

World’s First Child To Child Kidswear Charity makes inaugural clothing drop with Rockin’ Baby donating their first 2000 items of clothing from their Hero collection of clothes to underprivileged and disadvantaged children in Uganda.

As part of their Child To Child Mission in parternship with ChildFund International, Rockin’ Baby have handed out 2000 brand new items of childrenswear, including brightly coloured and comfortable shorts and t-shirts, to children in villages across Kampala.

Thanks to the sales of their first childrenswear collection, which launched in Autumn/Winter 2015 Rockin’ Baby are able to help make a big difference to the lives of children across the world, starting by helping desperate children in Uganda, by providing them with much needed clothing.

Freezin' fun with Penguins.

Today we awoke to the first frost of this winter. Whilst other areas of the country has seen the frost and snow before now, until today the closest we got to winter’s harsh frost has been a bitter chill in the wind. As winter has finally made its appearance and the days have turned icy cold and the nights frosty it seemed fitting that Jelly Bean was dressed up in a wintery themed outfit.

Inspiring thoughts of snow and cold, this super cute Freezin’ Christmas 2 piece was the perfect for our first frosty winter day.

The adorable penguin evokes thoughts of winter. The penguin is a lovely design with the rosy red cheeks and red feet standing out from the lovely grey of the penguin and the crisp white top.

First term university blues.

A few years ago – more than I would like to admit even to myself as then the reality of my aging would really hit me – I went to University and soon dropped out.

During my A-levels the time came to consider my future. In all honesty I did not have a clue what I wanted to do. Having made a success of my education so far, getting good grades and enjoying doing so I naturally leaned towards carrying on my education by going to university. As I wasn’t sure what ‘career’ I wanted to follow I really struggled on deciding what course to choose.

Whilst I loved art and seemed to have a natural flare for it I let myself be drawn away from choosing an art course as I sadly had a number of people subtly suggest that it would not lead to a proper job. Even though my mum encouraged my art I ignored her support and felt pressured by teacher’s and career advisors to choose a more reliable course (their opinions I might add and definitely not mine now).

Having always loved children I decided that teaching would be ideal for me. With my aspiring career finally chosen I applied for teacher training courses for primary aged children. After viewing, applying to and being offered a place in a number of different universities in Wales I eventually chose a university not far from home.

The first term of university was a mixed bag of feelings for me.

Whilst on the one hand I loved the learning and prospect of becoming a teacher I felt a like a fish out of water and the pressure of being a good student and a future good teacher too much.

The university and course I chose was also the same one that a number of my friends from school chose. As a number of my friends were also on the same course I was fortunate enough to already have friends at university. Whilst it was great to have old friends at university, it was different from our time at school. I found we all soon drifted apart, our group of school friends was no longer a group. My friends were no longer as friendly with each other and found other friends. I found myself still friends with everyone and drifting from group to group but not really firm friends with anyone in particular and not really making new strong friendships. I don’t think it helped that I had chosen to travel to university from home where I had recently set up home with my then boyfriend rather than live on campus as my school friends had chosen to do.

The Giant Wiggle – Action for Children event.

Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar™ by taking part in The Giant Wiggle to help vulnerable children and Action for Children

Leading UK charity Action for Children is teaming up with The World of Eric Carle™ and the most read children’s book in the UK, The Very Hungry Caterpillar™, to get children’s centres, nurseries and other groups throughout the country to host Giant Wiggle events during the week of 21st-27th March 2016.

The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep casting call for film about book plus giveaway!

Since those first early days a little over 4 and a half years ago Bug has always been a poor sleeper. When he was a baby he was the ideal candidate for being the spokesbaby for showing that the saying ‘slept like a baby’ commonly should not mean that sleep was good as he hardly ever slept, waking often during the night…..that was if he even got to sleep!

Fast forward 4 years and he still has issues with sleep. Bug often fights going to sleep, finding every excuse under the sun to delay bedtime and even once in bed he seems to find a struggle to switch off and slow down to relax to sleep.

As Bug finds it a task to calm down for bedtime we are always keen to try out tips and tricks to make bedtime an easier and calmer experience so that he drifts off to sleep earlier without any drama. With that in mind we cannot wait to try out the ground-breaking, No.1 bestselling book ‘The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep’.

Whilst we wait for our copy of the book, if you like us have problems with your child’s sleeping then I have some news for you about the book that boasts being a new way of getting children to sleep.

Ladybird Books are on the hunt of parents who have problems with their child’s sleeping. They are looking for parents to road test the book ‘The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep’.

Stickertastic decorating – Ten Stickers.

I’ve written before about how we are slowly decorating Bug’s bedroom and making it into a cool bedroom decorated in a style inspired by the things he loves such as superheroes, cars, Minecraft, lego and animals.

Unfortunately though as we rent we are limited with how we can decorate. To add some colour and character to his walls to go along with the colourful accessories we have for the room such as themed bedding, eye-catching ornaments and vibrant storage, we have been looking at the cool stickers on Ten Stickers.

As Ten Stickers have a vast range of sticker designs and their stickers are created using the latest technology for cutting and printing on high quality vinyl material we have been looking at what awesome stickers we can get to liven up Bug’s bedroom walls.

With a HUGE love of superheroes these superhero themed wall stickers would be a huge hit with Bug who would love to have his favourite heroes watch over and protect him and his room.