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This day I love.......

Whenever we travel I always pack both girls a book each.  Reading a book takes the girls into an imaginative world and seems to help pass the time on our journeys.  The books act as more than something to read, often we use them to discuss certain themes or concepts and sometimes we use them to play games.  For our recent visit to York we were able to take with us two new books from Maverick.

Our first book was 'As Nice as pie' by Gary Sheppard and Tim Budgen.  A rhyming book with bright colourful cartoon like illustrations.  The girls did get a little worried the first time we read the book as to what would happen to the birds, but on subsequent readings find it rather funny.  I won't say as it may spoil the book.  I think the book is a great way to illustrate the importance of not taking someone for granted and not to take advantage of their kindness.

The second book was 'Stone Underpants' by Rebecca Lisle and illustrated by Richard Watson.  This book has crept into most bedtimes now.  My eldest can often be heard reading it out loud in her bedroom to her teddies, or to anyone who will listen.  The story is really light-hearted and a joy to listen to my daughter read.  For a book to engage her this much it is certainly something special.


Thank you Maverick books for sending over the new titles for us to read.
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Early readers from Maverick books are a great way to make the transition from a picture book to independent reading.  My girls are already familiar with the stories and this then gives my daughters confidence to read the words on the page.

My eldest has started to get very shy when reading out loud either in public or a group of people.  She takes great pride in her work and we fear it is that she is scared of making a mistake.  Early readers have been helping her over come this shyness.  She knows the stories already and has listened to me read them many times.  It seems to be giving her the confidence she needs to speak louder in a group environment.


With my youngest she is starting to blend sounds and the Early readers range is a great transition for her.  Early readers are much more the size of an ordinary reading book, and she feels really grown up when we read them together.  I encourage her to blend some of the sounds together and we spot letters in the book.  

We have written in the past about the Early Readers range from Maverick book and we are pleased to say that our collection has grown to incorporate 5 new titles, which we have been sent.  The new books still adopt the same format and follow the picture books but are adapted for early readers.  Early readers are a great way to encourage independent reading and learning and make a welcome addition for my girls to read. 


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There was a cold chill in the air today.  A wet and windy day lay ahead of us, but that was not to deter us from getting out.  Today the girls had a very important appointment to make, they were meeting Father Christmas.  Unfortunately for us a tractor and my getting lost made us a little late, but the wonderful staff at Brodsworth Hall kindly moved our appointment.

Brodsworth Hall is actually on our doorstep but yet we have never visited before.  A large mid Victorian country house surrounded by sweeping gardens, it really was a hidden gem that I wish we had discovered before.  I can imagine the gardens a delight to explore in the Summer months and would have loved to have done so today but it was simply too cold to do so.



The cold air perhaps gave the audience with Father Christmas more of a festive feel to it, either way there was something magic in the air.  The girls gathered with other children on the carpets in the great Hall and awaited the arrival of the big man himself.  There was soon the sound of jingle bells coming from the roof top, and a Ho Ho Ho bellowed out from above.  Father Christmas made his way down the sweeping staircase to greet the children.

There Father Christmas sat by the large Christmas tree and told all the children a story full of magic and wonder.  The children all sat engrossed and with wonder in their eyes as the big man in front of them captivated their imaginations.  Father Christmas made sure that at the end each child got to meet him and gave them all a gift.


What an amazing place for the children to meet Father Christmas.  We are hoping to visit again in the Summer months to explore the gardens more.

This day I love an audience with Father Christmas 
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Usually when our Parragon Book arrives I show the girls are we read them that night.  This months Parragon Book is slightly different.  I opened the envelope and was simply taken away by the beauty of the book.  The silver on dark blue, the details and every aspect of the book is simply beautiful.  I have decided to put the book away and give it to the girls for Christmas.


Whilst I am unable therefore to do a review in the traditional sense, as I cannot tell you what the girls think as they have not seen it, I can tell you that I love this book.  I keep taking it from its hiding place to sneak a look and read one of the eight classic stories by Hans Christian Anderson.  I adore everything from the illustrations in the book to its classic look and feel.  I am looking forward to seeing the girls faces on Christmas day when they open the book for the first time and watch their faces become enchanted by the classic stories.  I cannot wait to snuggle up on the sofa with them and read them the stories.

I apologies therefore that I cannot do a review as I normally would but this is a book that was too good and too beautiful for now.  This is a book that had to be given to the girls as a present and one which I hope they will treasure forever. 
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My daughter is about to start her second year at school.  I remember this time last year worrying about everything, about how she would cope and looking back I had no need to worry.  My youngest will start school next week, just mornings for now but it is a big step.

Having gone through this once before I sort of know what to expect, although every child is different.  This time I feel much better prepared at supporting them with their learning at home.  The books my daughter used to come home with from school were uninspiring and as a result she did not want to read them.  In order to support her I bought some early reader books with much more interesting stories, and she loves to read those.  

Her younger sister also has started showing an interest in reading these books, and I think if you make the stories interesting they want to read more.  Maverick books have launched their Early readers which have been carefully adapted from the original picture books by the author and Catherine Baker, an educational specialist.  There are also a host of learning resources available to help both teachers and parents on

http://www.maverickbooks.co.uk/activities/learning-resources/

This adaptation means the girls are already familiar with their favourite stories and love that they then have independence in reading the books themselves.  


The girls love the Maverick Early Readers books that much that I often find them playing libraries with them.  They set up the library then check out a book, read it and then return it!

Maverick Early readers

We were sent the Maverick Early readers for review.  All words are my own opinion. 
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Nemo and the giraffe is a new children's book written by Lee Hunter. The book follows the adventures of Nemo, a wonderful little cat and his best friend giraffe. Giraffe has always been with Nemo and goes on all the adventures with him and even helps him when he gets scared.

Nemo and the giraffe

The book covers a lot of different topics within the one story but all with the theme of friendship between Nemo and his giraffe. The great thing about the book is it helps children to see friendship and how friends are there to help and support each other. The illustrations in the book are soft and delicate and add swarming touch to the stories.

Nemo and the giraffe is a lovely book to read especially at bed time.
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My youngest daughter loves going on adventures, she loves to explore and discover new things. Like most children she loves travelling on buses, trains and airplanes. On one of our trips we went to London for the day and she was amazed by the whole city. She could not believe the amount of buses that kept going past, each one brought about it a whole new excitement. She loved that we got to travel on lots of trains, the underground. She really loved all the tunnels in the underground station. London through the eyes of a child is a magical place.

Perhaps rather fitting for my daughter she was given a wonderful gift of Binky Bear and the book Binky Bear goes to London. The story follows Binky Bear and his adventures in London as he tries to have tea with the queen. Sounds like something my youngest would do. There is even a map in the book so that you can follow Binky Bears adventures. My youngest would love to follow the Binky bear trail and hopefully on our next trip to London we can do.

The rhyme in the book makes it particularly enjoyable to my daughter at the age of 3 and she loves to listen to the beautiful story whilst cuddling her Binky bear. The story is beautifully illustrated so to bring the story to life. Binky bear makes a wonderful gift and a perfect birthday present for my youngest daughter.

Binky bear gift set

Binky bear was sent for us to review, all words are my own opinion 
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Miles Kelly have recently released a range of sticker play books.  There are currently 4 titles in the series:

Little Red Riding Hood
Cinderella
The Wheels on the Bus  
Old MacDonald had a Farm

The sticker books are beautifully illustrated and the stories are easy to read.  The stories really engaged both my girls aged 4 and 2, and the activities were a perfect way to gain their interest.  The story books are double sided and fold out to become a play mat.  The girls and I sat down in front of our book so we could read and take part in the activities.

Miles Kelly sticker books

Each sticker book contains 50 vinyl stickers which can be reused.  The sticker activities cover words, colours, shapes, numbers, which offers a great range for the girls.  The use of the stickers for these activities helps to develop cognitive and fine motor skills and helps to play a vital role in school readiness.  As the stories are fun the girls want to engage with them.  My eldest loves to read the words and my youngest takes part in activities such as recognising shapes and colour.  

Once we had read our books and completed the activities we could fold the books back up and store them away neatly.  The Miles Kelly Sticker play books are a great way to learn using fun and imagination.

We were sent 2 Miles Kelly sticker books for review.  All words are my own opinion. 
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I have joined weeks 8 and 9 together as we were on holiday in week 8 and so could not get the post live for the end of the week.  Here is the past two weeks

Sunday

Sunday lunchWe had Sunday Lunch out.  It was a real treat and the food was lovely.  We are looking forward to visiting again


Monday

reading a bookMy youngest is taking a real interest in reading.  I caught her cuddled up reading a book to herself.  It was very cute


Tuesday

the dogsWe had a Teksta Newborn to review and this picture made me giggle.  I managed to get all of them to sit together.


Wednesday

hair dressersIt was a wet and miserable day, I managed to get the girls a last minute hair dressers appointment.  My youngest actually sat in the chair for more than 5 minutes which is a first

Thursday

on the trainWe began the first of 4 trains on the 5 hour journey to Brighton to visit my sister.  The girls did get a little fed up, but I cannot blame them really.  My youngest decided I had to wear the Trunki Toddle Pak.


Friday

afternoon teaAfternoon tea by the sea, the girls loved it.  Cakes and sandwiches, with a glass of milk.


Saturday

playing on the beachIt might be raining but that is not going to stop us from having a good time on our holidays.

Sunday

Back from holiday, tired following the long train journey and feeling under the weather.  There can only be one thing for it, Mr Potato head play


Monday

Some days you just need a walk through the woods to clear your head.  
Tuesday

cuddly dogsI caught the dogs all curled up together on the bean bag.  They looked very cute


Wednesday

So proud of my eldest, a badge in gymnastics and star of the day at school.
Thursday

doctor dress upToday was our Doc McStuffins twitter party.  Everyone had a great time, there was cake, games and flashing shoes.  My eldest loves to dress up and loves Doc McStuffins so it was a great day for her.
















Friday

Youngest selfieI love this selfie my youngest took.  She was playing with my camera and I came across this.  



















Saturday

watching tv
I have an assignment deadline for my course on Friday which means I am frantically trying to get everything finished.  It did mean I had to resort to electronic baby sitting methods.  Judging by the giggles coming from the girls I do not think they mind too much.




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We were very kindly sent three books from Maverick books

Preposterous Rhinoceros by Tracy Gunaratnam
RoboPop A Dad in a Box by Alice Hemming
Daniel O'Dowd was ever so loud by Julie Fulton

The girls love reading and book deliveries are met with great delight in our house.  They could not wait to get started on the books and immediately chose to read RoboPop.

RoboPop makes the girls laugh.  They love the story and they love looking for Dad hiding on the pages as he watches RoboPop.  It is a lovely book to read and a great one to practise your robot voice.  Daniel O'Dowd was next on our list.

Daniel O'Dowd was ever so loud, the book is beautifully illustrated to match the rhyming story.  The story follows Daniel who is very loud.  One day disaster is approaching Earth and it is up to Daniel O'Dowd to save it.  The girls love listening to what he does and the story is very captivating. 

Finally Preposterous Rhinoceros has to be my favourite of the three.  The story follows Rhinoceros who wants to read the bed time story to the animals.  Rhinoceros has never read the story before and so he must learn how.  This book is so lovely and with a daughter learning to read is such a great story to tell.

Three really lovely books which the girls enjoy reading, thank you Maverick books
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The girls gave me a lie in this morning and so I was feeling refreshed.  We had a lazy morning and took our time getting ready.  After lunch the girls and I took the dogs for a walk.  We had to of course stop to feed the ducks

feeding the ducksthe ducks

The wind started picking up and the temperature seemed to drop very quickly.  My eldest said she was cold so we headed back to the car to go home.

We got home and decided the best way to warm up was to put on our PJ, have a warm drink and read some of the stories from our December Parragon Book Buddy book. 

Christmas story bookeldest reading

We had been sent A treasury of Christmas stories and songs.  This is a beautiful hard back book containing 6 Christmas stories and 12 classic rhymes and carols.  The girls love that there are songs in the book too.  It is a really beautiful book to read at this time of the year and one that was needed to warm us up.

This day I love Winter walks and winter stories. 
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It has been a very wet weekend.  The rain has hardly stopped since Friday and the house is so cold we have had to put the heating on.  The girls did not sleep well last night, I think it was down to the cold and after a 4.45 am refusal to go back to sleep, today needed to be a relaxed day.

The wet weather did give us the perfect excuse to try out our shadow puppet kit.  The girls have been experimenting with shadows and noticing them more, so with it dark outside the opportunity was perfect.  I set up the theatre and a light and the girls took there seats ready for the show to start.

shadow puppet theatrethe shadow puppets lined upgirls ready to watch


We had been provided a great selection of puppets to use.  We could however have made our own from black card and a wooden stick, but I like these.  They were well made and came with a rather handy stand, meaning you could line up in order the puppets as you needed them for the story.

moving the puppetthe puppet show

I made up a story that related to the stories the girls already know, in order to get them to interact.  I moved the puppets to get the shadows to be bigger and smaller and experimented with using more than one puppet at a time.  The girls loved it and sat really still listening.  It was a lot of fun to interact this way.  After, I let the girls have a go themselves and showed them what happens to shadows as you move the object closer to the light.  The girls had a good look and put on their very own show.

choosing the puppets for the show

I tried to capture the show and them experimenting with the shadows by making them bigger and smaller, my camera kept loosing focus due to the dark room, so apologies for not the best video.


My youngest became fascinated with the light and started to wonder how shadows worked.

playing with light

It was really great watching them interact with each other as well as use their imagination to make up a story.

The girls loved the puppet show and we will be doing this again on another rainy day. 

Another good thing about rainy days, is that when the rain does stop [even if for a short amount of time] there are plenty of muddy puddles to explore.

Splashing in muddy puddles

This day I love Shadows and mud

Our Puppet kit was kindly sent to us from Swinton Insurance.  They have collaborated with Britain's got talent winners Attraction for their fantastic new advert.  The girls love watching this advert too and I think they are hugely talented.



The puppets and theatre were sent for review.  All words and opinions are my own. 
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Having two very young children 3 and 1, I fully understand the pressures to try and get them to brush their teeth. My youngest prefers to suck the toothpaste from the toothbrush and my eldest would much rather brush for about a minute then sit and chew the toothbrush. Aqua fresh recently sent me an email which I found interesting.

I love to read with my kids but I've never before thought about reading to them whilst they brushed their teeth. The idea is that picking a story that lasts around 2 minutes keeps the children interested and they brush their teeth for 2 minutes. I gave it a try and found that the children where engaged in the story I was reading them, and stopped thinking about their teeth. Actually this proved to be great because they brushed their teeth and it made it fun for them.

eldest getting ready to brush teeth

The great thing about the aqua fresh range is that their products are fun and stand out. The bright colours of the milk teeth range appeal to my youngest and the fun animals appeal to my three year old. My eldest really loves that her tooth brush has a special lid and stands up by the sink. My youngest tooth brush is perfect for her tiny teeth. The brush is incredibly flexible and soft, which is great for protecting her soft gums.

Aquafresh toothbrushes

The girls are really enjoying brushing their teeth and listening to stories at the same time. They are eager to brush their teeth thanks to their fun aqua fresh tooth brushes. I am a happy mum knowing their teeth are very well cared for, with such a specially designed range for each stage of their teeth development.

The girls were sent an aquafresh toothbrush and toothpaste each for the purpose of this review.  All words are my own.
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Jonty the Dinosaur could not go to sleep, is it because, he is cold? is he hot? is it too noisy?  This is a beautiful interactive story app for iPad, priced at £2.99.

main screen

The app allows children to interact with the story, via the Read it to Me button.  Unless you would prefer no interaction in which case select auto play.  A particular favourite of my daughters is the add to story mode.  In this you can add certain elements in to the story like an aeroplane flying past the window.

The music on the app is very pleasant and calming, which is great.  The colours and illustrations are also of a calming nature and encourage children to 'have a go'.  My daughters love to help with the pizza.

interacting with storyscreen shot from app

I love that in read it myself mode if your child becomes stuck on a word you can press it and it is read out loud for you.  I think this is a lovely way to encourage reading.

aids reading

The app is currently available for iPad but soon will be available for eBook, Kindle Fire and other Apple devices.  The app collects no personal information, is completely add free and contains no in-app purchases.  It also does not transmit any personal information.  

Everything about the Jonty the Dinosaur app has been thought out thoroughly including the loading page. 

loading page

 This truly is a beautiful app to own and one which my girls really enjoy

Jonty the Dinosaur website

For the purpose of this review I was provided with a code to download the Jony the dinosaur app free of charge.  All words and opinions are my own.

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When I was younger I think I asked for every animal there is as a pet.  As I got older I think I have owned most animals as a pet, when I say most I mean your standard, hamsters, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits.  Nothing exotic and never a pet itch.

Mossy Monster wants a pet itch.  The family try all sorts of tactics to take Mossy mind from wanting a pet itch.  They go to the zoo, get out soft toys and even try imaginary pets.  Nothing takes his mind from wanting an itch, so him and his sister hatch a plan.

Some of the tricks they try are rather clever and I wish I had thought of them.  I am glad that the book is about monsters as at the end of the book the monsters teach the pet itch to bite.  I can therefore explain to my daughter that we don't bite only monsters or pet itch do.

Overall it is an enjoyable book to read and my eldest does bring it to me to read to her, which shows her enjoyment.

The pet itch is by Elli Woollard and Elina Ellis and published by Maverick books.  It can be purchased through Amazon. 

the pet itch

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Bunny goes everywhere with my daughter.

He goes to nursery, on every trip, in the car and of course to bed.  Bunny is her favourite thing in the whole world.
bunny in the car

Bunny attempts to get in the bath and the shower and much to my daughters annoyance has to sit on the side.

Bunny has his nappy changed, his fur brushed and even sits at the table.  Bunny is her best friend

bunny for dinnerchanging nappy

Imagine what happened when we lost bunny.  He was no where to be found.  We searched everywhere.  Emptied the laundry bag, checked all the bins, there was no bunny.  

We looked in the car, rang nursery, checked the street, the garden and even the fridge.  No bunny.

No bunny anywhere.

There were a lot of tears.  Where was bunny?  Our dog looked on wanting to help but not understanding what was happening.  

We went to fetch a cloth to clean up, there was bunny fast asleep in the towels.  We found him.

My daughter said ' Its just like my book Mummy'

My eldest had remembered a book we have been reading, 'The bunny that could not be Found' by Angela Mitchell.  She was right it is just like the book.  It goes to show how much she must enjoy reading it and how much she is taking in if she can relate a real life example to a story book.

the bunny that could not be found

I love reading the book to her too, I find it a very amusing story and one which I am more than happy to read to her.  

I am so please my daughter has a passion for reading and is thinking about situations and relating them to the real world.  I am also glad that just like the book we found bunny!

This day I love bunny.


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baking cakes

Sunday

After the excitement that was Britmums Live, all I wanted to do on Sunday was spend some time with the girls.  My eldest wanted to make cakes and so we spent the afternoon baking.  A fantastic way to spend some quality time together

playing in den

Monday

The girls wanted to build dens after exploring the garden and looking at all the dens the animals had made.  They took their chairs under the table and even built a space to put their car.

busy bee

Tuesday

My eldest came across a plant full of bees and started asking questions about bees.

eating noodles

Wednesday

A long day at work meant I had to make a quick dinner before bathing and putting the girls to bed.  My youngest just decided to play with her noddles, but it was fun to watch.

reading, drinking and on the phone

Thursday

I just love the look of concentration on my daughters face.  Phone in one hand, drink in the other whilst reading a book on her chair.

rolling the ball

Friday

My youngest has really taken to rolling balls backwards and forwards.  Apologies for the blurred picture she would not stop moving and my phone could not keep up.

watching butterflies

Saturday

Thanks to #lovecravendale the girls, their Grandma and I visited the tropical butterfly house in Aston and had an amazing day.

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About me

About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

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