Our stay at Premier Inn

After our busy first day at Legoland we were shattered and couldn't wait to sit down for a bit and chill!


As part of our mini-break package we could choose which hotel we wanted to stay in; we chose the Premier Inn Bath Road, Heathrow. You can choose hotels nearer to the Legoland complex but we decided that a little drive would be good.

You can so tell that we are not used to being in a big city as when we pulled up at the hotel I was in awe. Yes I`m used to seeing hotels in Bournemouth but nothing there is the size of this Premier Inn,it was huge!! And to add to my awe the hotel had a 24hr Costa coffee shop, 24hr bar and best of all, a Ben And Jerry's ice cream vending machine, amazing!!!

My new best friend!!

We had a large quad/family room with a huge king size and two single beds, the room was plenty big enough for all of us and I have to say that the beds were amazingly comfy.

Included in the price was the cost of breakfast so all we had to pay for was our dinner.

When we checked in we were informed that if we ate in their in-house restaurant, Thyme, between 5pm and 7pm for every full priced adult meal purchased we could have an all you can eat kids buffet with ice cream for pudding FREE...result!!!!

England were playing in the World Cup that night so decided to have an early dinner to miss the rush.

Hubby ordered his usual of the biggest burger on the menu whilst I treated myself a gorgeous rump steak with a cheese and bacon topping; it was amazing, the diet can be forgotten for one night right???

Hmmmm,steak with cheese and bacon topping

The ultimate full house burger

Filling up of the unlimited kids buffet

Once we had finished our beautiful dinner we decided to go back to our room instead of sitting in the bar as it was getting busy with the pre match build up. I had hoped that the boys would crash out with exhaustion, but oh no they were full of beans and decided that they wanted to play Skylanders, of all places under our massive bed!!

Sunday morning we woke to the news of England`s defeat so hubby and the kids skulcked down to breakfast, again the quality was amazing.....all you could eat continental and cooked breakfast. Hubby was very impressed with it all but especially the sausages as he likes a good sausage and these were amazing!

My personal favourite bit of the breakfast was the unlimited Costa coffee....I do love a good latte in the morning.

The only downside of our stay, if you can call it that, was that I didn't sleep very well due to people banging around above us. On check out we were asked if we had slept OK. I informed them why I hadn't and had been kept awake till the early hours. Luckily the boys and hubby slept right through.

They were amazing about it and offered us a full refund of the room cost, no questions asked. Now that is what I call 5* customer service.

Our whole experience of Premier Inn has been an amazing one and we will definitely be booking with them again in the future.

We booked this hotel with no input from Premier Inn and have written this review with no compensation from Premier Inn. This review is an honest account of our stay.

Our trip to Legoland Windsor Day #1

After months and months of nagging, sorry asking politely, from Alfie and Jacob to go to Legoland Windsor we finally gave in and booked a surprise weekend away for them.

We decided to book a combo deal which gave us a two day ticket with an overnight stay in the hotel of our choice, we chose the Premier Inn @Heathrow. After lots of advice from friends who had been there previously a two day visit seemed the best option.

So first thing Saturday morning we told the boys we were off on a long journey...they were so excited to be going on a long journey as our new car has inbuilt DVD screens in the headrests and we told them they can only be used on long journeys!!!! They didn't even ask where we were going until about an hour and a half into the journey as the film had run out. It turns out it was perfect timing as we were getting to the point in the journey where the sign posts for Legoland were appearing.

Their faces when they figured out where we were going was priceless!!

The boys were literally running up to the entry gates and had to grab them to stop them trying to run through the turnstiles. Once inside we grabbed a map and started to plan what order we would do the park in over the two days. I am so glad that we went for the two day option as I don't think we could of done the whole park in one day, there was so much to do and see!!           

I`m not going to waffle on as to which rides we did in what order but am going to show you a small collection of my many photos (over 600 photos taken over the two days) tell you our story and show how much fun we all had.

The boys enjoying all the Star Wars characters

Waiting to have a go on the Fire Academy 

These photos dont show how much fun we had and sadly I didnt get a photo of us on every ride as some where water rides and I daren`t get my new camera out and wet!!!

My review of our hotel for the night and day #2 of our Legoland trip to follow, pop back and see how day 2 went xxxx

Silent Sunday 29.06.2014

PetShop Review and Giveaway

Who doesn't like to spoil their pets??

Be it the feline, canine, rodent, small furry or aquatic variety we all love to spoil them.

Even though I work within a pet shop I am forever forgetting to get the cats and rabbit food and am always running out...not anymore. Since I have found PetShop my cats no longer go hungry!

PetShop is an on-line pet store catering for all of your pets needs. Stocking all major brands of food and accessories to keep you pets happy.

Ordering is very simple and delivery is free on orders over £19.99, which is great considering that some on-line stores require an order of over £50 to qualify for free delivery. It means that you don't have to buy massive amounts of food in one go.

 Plus their new service called Bottomless Bowl is a brilliant idea, a service which you tailor to your requirements with regular deliveries of your pets food, ensuring you never run out again!!

The guys at PetShopBowl were kind enough to send my two cats Izzy and Paddy a little goody bag to treat them. 

Included in my goody bag was - 

Canagan Grain-Free cat food

James Wellbeloved cat pouches

Moggy Laser Toy

Dreamies cat treats

Both Izzy and Paddy are usually fussy eaters so was very surprised when they both tucked into their bowls of the Canagan Grain Free biscuits!! I apologise for the bad photos of the cats; they eat in our rather dilapidated utility room, hence the rusty radiator and rubbish in the background!

What you looking at??

YumYumYum

You looking at me?

As you can tell from the above photo Izzy wasn`t in too impressed with me sat on the floor taking photos of her whilst eating.....how dare I!!

The James Wellbeloved pouches went down a storm too, I didn't get a chance to take a photo of them being eaten till they were already gone.

Both cats are getting on a bit now but are still kittens at heart and had hours of fun running around the house after the laser pen.

To try and grab yourself £50 to spend at PetShop just enter the rafflecopter widget below.

Good luck!!

To enter:

• Fill in the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be by comment, Facebook, twitter etc
• Please read the rules below
• Closing Date:  13th July 2014
• If there is no form hit refresh (F5) and it should appear
• If still not working please check that your computer is running Javascript
• You need to complete the mandatory entries first - Leave a comment and tweet about the comp.
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf making it really easy to enter
• Really want to win the prize? Come back every day for bonus entries via twitter

Entry restrictions: 

Entrants must be 18 years or over. Entrants must be residents of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Employees of PetShopBowl and their agents, families and suppliers are not eligible to enter. 
One will be picked at random from the eligible entrants. The competition ends on 13th July 2014. The winner will be notified by Jeni Wood via email no later than 15th July 2014. 
The £50 voucher will have to be claimed in one single purchase at petshopbowl.co.uk, any remaining unspent amount will not be available after. 
The voucher cannot be used in conjunction with any other voucher on petshopbowl.co.uk 
Upon entering a competition, or during correspondence with PetShopBowl regarding the competition, you give permission for your email address to be added to our email list. 
By entering the prize draw you agree to comply with these T&Cs 
The promoter of this prize draw is: PetShopBowl Limited, company number 07328710, registered office: Unit 5 Hatton Rock Business Park, Hatton Rock, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 0BX

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Marwell Sunset Party in the Park

Last week the Wood clan were invited to attend Marwell`s Sunset Party in the Park.

It was an opportunity for us to take a stroll around the wildlife park `after hours`; the park normally closes to the public at 6pm, but we had access from 6.30pm - 9.30pm.

It was a great chance to see the animals in the evening when they are usually more active so had a better chance of seeing them. I have heard so many stories of friends travelling miles to an animal park only to not see a single animal out as it was the wrong time of the day.

That was not a problem on this visit, we saw loads of animals. The day had been quite hot and muggy so with the evening drawing in the temperature had dropped a bit which had made the humans and animals more comfortable!

A chocolate pooing pigeon!!

`Velma` the Velociraptor

As an added treat to seeing the animals, various performances were put on around the park, these included flame throwers, a pair of massive penguins walking around (people in costumes, not real!!) and a pair of pigeons who would randomly squat down and poo out chocolates...it was hilarious to see all the kids running to the pigeons whilst squatting down to see what was being deposited!

The Rise of the Dinosaurs exhibition was a must see for the boys as they are dinosaur mad! The statues were amazing and the details on every single one were exceptional.

Available from the main information office is an adventure map detailing a trail to follow around the park with the aim to find all the featured dinosaurs on a map. The boys were thrilled to of found them all.

Along side the static dinosaurs, `Velma` the living Velociraptor was walking around the park, amazing all the children. I have to say she was amazing.

Whilst visiting the giraffes we found the fossil dig on the dinosaur trail, the kids were having so much fun we had to drag them away!!

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are making plans to go back during the summer holidays to see the animals again and visit the few areas we missed this visit due to there being too much to see in one day!!!

There is another Sunset Party in the Park scheduled for the 5th of July so if you want to have a fun and adventurous evening with the family you can book tickets here.

Other local bloggers who attended the event have written about their experiences - my bestie theprmummy, and the lovely Chelseamamma and CharlieMoos.

Our tickets to the Sunset Party were provided free of charge by Marwell Wildlife, we were not required to write a blog review but I felt that we had too good a time to keep quiet!

Making memories

Yesterday was a very emotional day for Jacob and I; a significant milestone was reached as we found out which class he would be in when he starts reception in September.

This has finally made it hit home that my little boy isn't so little any more and is growing up.

Sadly he has been placed in the opposite class from all of his pre-school friends, but luckily isn't completely alone as he has a friend called Harry to play with. I am hoping that he and Harry become as good friends as Alfie and Chloe, Harry's older sister, have become.

On a positive note we had Jacob`s last pre-school day out to Farmer Palmer's Farm Park, a lovely play park and working farm that is set in the beautiful countryside on the Dorset coast near Poole and Wareham.

We had a blast and it was lovely to see Jacob playing nicely with all of his friends on the wooden play area, pet the guinea pigs, ride in the tractor trailer around the farm and interact with all the farm animals.

Enjoying our tractor ride together

It wasn`t only the kids to have all the fun, myself and Emma AKA theprmummy had a go on the go-cart track and may of had an accident or two...how was I supposed to know that the adults cant sit on the back??!!

Before we headed home after a tiring day we decided to calm the boys down by taking a trip on the woodland walk, the boys loved trekking along the path trying to find the next information point, they cant read it yet but were still wanting the information to be read out to them.

If you are looking for a day out with the kids then Farmer Palmer's is the place for you. 

Don't worry if the weather isn't as nice as it was yesterday, there is a huge indoor soft play centre to keep even the most demanding child happy!

How the wind blows!

This is a completely random post so I apologise!

I`m just having a quick soak in the tub whilst the kids are asleep and the hubby is at football.

Laying here I`m enjoying listening to the hustle and bustle of life outdoors; children playing, dogs barking and people eating al fresco in this gorgeous weather.

One thing I have noticed is that depending on which way the wind is blowing depends on what I can hear.

If it is blowing one way I can here the gate shutting in the local park and the kids playing; and if the other way I can hear the sheep bleating and cows mooing in the fields a few roads away. MENTAL!!

Like I said a random post but thought I`d share.

Have you noticed the same?? Can you hear certain things if the wind blows a certain way???

Diono Cambria Car Seat Review

Bella Kidz is a newly launched parenting website who`s aim is to help all parents at any stage on their parenting journey.

The website is a treasure trove of advice and guidance regarding educational issues, health and childcare, as well as regular competitions and details of activities in your local area.

Bella Kidz philosophy is that family time together is essential. That is why the Bella Kidz team focus on content that recognises the importance of family time.

A new section of the website is the review section. Products in this section are relevant to you so car seat, pram, highchair, toys, bath essentials etc will be included, not torch, ladder or battery reviews!!!!!!

I have been asked to review a car seat suitable for this new section and was sent the Diono Cambria.

Product Specifications 

• RRP £79
• group 2/3 car seat 
• suitable from 4-12 years
• large interior dimensions to provide optimum space for growing child
• absorbing EPA foam side panels to absorb any side impact
• `Y` strap at back of seat secure seat in position
• one handed adjustment of extendible headrest to accommodate growing child 
• easy wipe fabrics
• two snack/drinks holders

What we thought



We have been through our fair share of car seats and my first thought of the seat was how well padded the seat was.

Previous seats we have had have been quite sparse on padding which has resulted in the boys complaining of sore bottoms on long journeys. Not a problem with this seat!!!

The side impact sections are lovely and thick and the headrest area is super soft and padded.

Installation of the seat is easy and made even safer with the addition of the `y` shaped anchor strap which goes round the headrest, through the fold in the main seat and then clips behind in the boot. This added addition makes the seat super rigid so in the event of an impact the seat shouldn`t move forward at all.

`Y` strap

The fabric feels of a good quality and is wipe clean which is great for the inevitable spillages of juice or if you are really unlucky the odd splat of vomit!!

This weekend we took a trip to Legoland which is 2 hours away from us so decided that this was the perfect time to try the seat out.

Both the boys were arguing who was going to sit in it and as its suitable for both the boys age groups they took turns.

The seat was a great success and both boys fell asleep on the journeys there and back, they both looked comfy and didn't complain of sore necks on wakening which they have done in the past.

For a mid-range price value car seat this is a great one to choose and I will definitely be recommending this seat to my friends in the future.

Below is my first video review of a product...hope you like it!!!???





This product was given to me free of charge in exchange for an honest and personal review.

Silent Sunday 15th June 2014

A Great Day At The South West Blog Social Meet 2014

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the first South West Blog Social based in Exeter.

I did the drive down to Exeter from Bournemouth with the lovely Emma AKA The Pr Mummy and Joanne Dewberry.

Cue lots of girly giggling, nattering and getting lost USING the sat nav!!!!

I will never be listening to that thing again...took us miles off of course and kept telling me off!!!!!!!

We arrived at The Oddfellows, a lovely pub just of the main High Street, with slight nervousness and anticipation of what we would experience.

The pub was lovely and already buzzing with chatter and networking between bloggers from all over the country.

The day consisted of many talks to help us bloggers achieve our best; my favourite was hosted by Maria McCarthy who gave us tips on how to get our work published in magazines and even how to get a book published, something that is on my bucket list.

The event wasn`t just about learning it was also about having fun, mingling with other bloggers, and being pampered.

Part of our amazing goody bag for attending was an envelope containing the business cards of a few local businesses with some amazing offers on.

The first to catch our eye was the card of The Real McCoy, who were inviting us bloggers to visit the shop, have a nose around their amazing selection of vintage clothes and in return we could chose one of their silk scarves.

We set off down the High Street trying to find the shop. On our way there Joanne starts screaming and runs off across the road, we had no idea of what she was doing and found her with her face against a shops glass window shouting "its my book!!"....she had only gone and found one of the shops that are stocking her book, Crafting A Successful Small Business. It was safe to say she was ecstatic!!!!!

Once we found The Real McCoys a good half an hour of giggling and random photo taking ensued!!!

For some reason I had the giggles really bad and could`nt manage to look at the camera!!!

After leaving The Real McCoys we looked for the lovely studio of Erin Cox; a very talented jeweller who hand makes beautiful pieces in gold and silver. Erin has been extremely generous and offered each blogger who attended the blog meet up a gorgeous hand made silver necklace worth £35!!

Here are a few examples of the amazing jewellery available in store in Exeter and available to order on-line.

All in all the whole day was a great experience and a huge well done to the organisers...Jodie Dewberry (no relation to Joanne Dewberry!!) and Albertine Brandon. I hope they repeat this great event next year, I`ll be there!!!

Jodie and Albertine