An audience with Astronaut Tim Peake in Manchester

On Saturday we set off an an out of this world adventure at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (known locally as MSI). We were part of a small audience with astronaut Tim Peake – something the small boy was beside himself with excitement about.

Tim was there for a very special event, a trailblazer for the Manchester Science Festival. He was there to talk about his adventures on board the International Space Station.

Tim Peake

Aspiring astronauts hoping to follow in Tim’s footsteps were able to hear him speak about his experiences in orbit and quiz the spaceman on what life is really like on board a space station.

Tim returned from the six month long Principia mission in June this year. During the mission Tim carried out a spacewalk and ran the London Marathon in space. His mission has inspired thousands of British schoolchildren to learn more about space – the small boy and his class grew some “space seeds” at school which had been sent from the International Space Station, and for several months we keenly followed Tim’s adventures in space.

As you can imagine, the room was filled with school children excited to see their astro-hero, the interviewers did a fine job of asking him about his adventures in space, illustrated for the most part by photographs which Tim had taken.

Tim Peake

After the fascinating interview (which was live streamed if you want to watch it for yourself) the audience of children were given the chance to ask Tim questions. There were some really good questions, but the one about space toilets really stuck with me. Apparently 90% of the urine is recycled into drinking water, with the remaining 10% being bagged up and disposed of in the trash.

Tim Peake

As an adult I was incredibly excited to be in the same room as Tim Peake, but the small boy, who is just 5 years old has now met someone who is a real hero. He will remember this day for the rest of his life, and I hope he will be inspired, if not to go into space, but at least shoot for the stars. As Tim says, there’s no direct route to being an astronaut, but working hard and having fun are a big part of the journey.

The small boy had managed to bag himself a front row seat for this audience with British Astronaut Tim. You can watch a short video of our morning below –

Tim Peake’s appearance in Manchester was part of a seven-date UK tour organised by the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency and was the trailblazer event for the Manchester Science Festival 2016.

Manchester Science Festival 2016 marks the end of the city’s year-long role as European City of Science, and runs throughout half-term from Monday 20 October – Sunday 30 October.

You can read my preview of the Manchester Science Festival here.

Tim Peake

For more information and full event listings for the Manchester Science Festival 2016 visit their website.

Our Summer Bucket List 2016

With the summer holidays just one week away it’s definitely time for me to turn my attention to how I’m going to keep my lively and lovely 5 year old entertained during the summer holidays. We need a summer bucket list!

I say summer, it’s mid-July and we’ve seen precious little sign of the sun, or indeed the ‘not rain’ we tend to associate with the summer months. I am not at all hopeful that the next couple of months will be wall to wall sunshine. I’d like some sun and some warmth at least. I’m not a sun worshipper, but I do like a lazy evening in a warm beer garden. Plus it’s great to see the boy and his friends splashing about in a paddling pool to cool off.

Summer, where art thou?

After school today I sat down with the boy for a serious chat about our summer holiday plans. He didn’t take it especially seriously and came up with this plan for the summer holidays…

Go swimming
Play
Go to the park
Go to the ice cream van

I put a little more thought into it, based on what we had planned already and what I think we would like to do during our time off together and came up with this…

OUR Summer bucket list:

Go on holiday and find somewhere new to explore
Camp at the Just So Festival
Visit the Lake District and show the boy some of the sights and places I explored as a child
Have a spa day
Put the tent up in the garden and have a camping day
Be by the sea
Explore down by the river with the boy
Have a picnic with some of his friends in the park
Indulge in a spot of beer gardening
Make jam
Go on a bear hunt
Find some happy.

There. It’s as simple or as complicated as that. It’s a loose plan but most of it is achievable. It doesn’t all require sunshine, but it would be nice if it could be arranged. I’ll let you know how we get on.

Summer Bucket List

Having a Legoland Manchester birthday party

As the mother of a 5 year old child it’s fair to say that most of his weekends (and consequently our weekends) are taken up with various birthday parties. These days class protocol dictates you find one or two children with birthdays in the same month and throw a joint party. This cuts down party costs for the families of the birthday boy or girl and means that guests only need to buy one present (which will be divided up between the birthday children).

Last year parties tended to be whole class affairs, but this year the boys and the girls have largely split up into smaller friendship groups. Soft play is still very popular, trampoline parks are on the rise, but for the boys in Ben’s class, the big dream is a Legoland Manchester birthday party.

Having a Legoland Manchester birthday party is what most of the boys in his class want. A few weekends ago we went along to a party to celebrate a couple of his classmates turning 5.

Legoland Manchester birthday party

Each child who attends gets to take an accompanying adult, so it is in many ways like a normal visit to Legoland. You go in and the group has their photo taken and you head up to the “factory tour” which is always entertaining. Once you’re through that it’s onto the Kingdom Quest ride (my favourite bit) and then on into the discovery centre itself.

When we went, all the kids raced through Miniland (past Blackpool Tower and other attractions made from Lego) and straight through to building the Lego racers. The parents grabbed a coffee (party entry came with a voucher – a godsend!) whilst all the boys got stuck in. After around 45 minutes we were summoned to the party room where the kids tucked into a lunch of sandwiches, crisps, fruit and juice.

Legoland Manchester birthday party

It was time for some party games. There were two hosts from Legoland who were really engaging and professional. They kept the party flowing nicely, an eye out for any health and safety issues the parents might have missed and they were great at getting all the kids up and involved in the party games. Think musical bumps, musical statues that kind of thing – great fun and the boys all had a great time.

Then the cake came out. Legoland provided the cake, though I guess you could bring your own if you wanted. It was one of those rainbow cakes, different coloured layers sandwiched together with buttercream. It was really, really pretty (I now want to bake one) and it was a good cake; light and moist. I liked it a lot, almost as much as the kids.

Legoland Manchester birthday party

After we’d all eaten our colourful cake, everyone queued up to go on the Merlin’s Apprentice Ride and then it was time for everyone to say goodbye.

It’s worth noting that once the party is over you can stay for as long as you’d like afterwards. We stayed for a little while, enjoyed the Fire Academy (soft play area), headed to the brand new Lego City Builder area for a while and then for an obligatory turn around the shop (I might have bought MYSELF some Lego).

Legoland Manchester birthday party

As something of a kids party veteran I can say that I thought the Legoland Manchester birthday party was well run, efficient and the boys had lots of fun. I think it is a nice touch to offer parents a coffee and leftover cake and sandwiches. I like the fact that once you’re in you can stay for as long as you want afterwards too. The food was good, the cake was great and there is very little organisation and input required for the parents throwing the party.

Prices per child are £17.50/£22.50 depending on when you go. Whilst this is not cheap, I do think that is does represent good value for money, especially as you can stay until it closes if you want and enjoy all of the attractions in Legoland Manchester.

Packages for a Legoland Manchester birthday party currently start from £17.50 per person (£22.50 at weekends) and more details can be found on their website.

Having a Legoland Manchester birthday party

Note: We were attending a party of a classmate and I thought I’d write up the party experience.

Travel Toys: Jungle Snakes & Ladders Mini Game from Orchard Toys

One of the latest releases from Orchard Toys is their new range of Mini Games. The games are mini because they are small and very portable, making them ideal for travel or to slip into your bag for days out.

There are six new mini games to choose from –

Build a Beetle
Dinosaur Dominoes
Little Bus Lotto
Penguin Pairs
Jungle Snakes & Ladders
Crocodile Snap

The games vary, but generally they are for children aged 3+ and are based on classic games. We were sent the Jungle Snakes & Ladders game to play with, so I slipped it in my bag and took the boy out for a milkshake and a game or two.

mini games

The Orchard Toys Jungle Snakes & Ladders mini game rather cleverly is a 6 piece jigsaw puzzle which you put together and it forms your classic board game. The box also contains four counters (for up to four players) and a dice.

First of all the boy really enjoyed putting the puzzle pieces together. The board is lively with lots going on and he enjoyed following the numbers to ensure he was putting the pieces together correctly. He liked the monkeys and he’s re-christened the game “Monkeys, Snakes & Ladders” which seems factually accurate if nothing else.

The board is colourfully printed thick card, the usual thickness of Orchard Toys games, but with the practicality of being able to “break it up” and fit it into a small box. The game is really colourful and well illustrated in a way which wouldn’t put off older children or adults so much.

Like the Orchard Toys games, the Jungle Snakes & Ladders mini game has some very helpful educational benefits including –

Developing Personal and Social Skills
Encouraging Number and Counting Skills

And that has certainly been evident every time we’ve played the game. As well as reinforcing turn-taking in game play, we also have used it to practice counting and learn to deal with the disappointment of sliding down a snake. He may have also practiced his cheating and I practiced calling him out on that. Cheaters never prosper!

These mini games cost around £4.99 and are excellent value for money. They are light and compact, so I can just stick it in my bag and take it out with us. They’re brilliant for days out and holidays and are a fantastic travel game for children and families.

Note: Orchard Toys sent us this game for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.

Family friendly fun at The Printworks Manchester

Filling the days during half term and the long summer holidays with interesting a varied things to do can be a bit of a hassle. It’s nice to punctuate our afternoons at home and visits to the local park with some proper trips out. The Printworks in Manchester invited the small boy and a friend to spend some time there this half term, taking in a movie, going for lunch together and generally hanging out and having fun.

We were at the 10.10am showing of Thomas & Friends: The Great Race and the cinema was largely empty, we sat in the premier seats which were red leather and very comfortable. Lots of leg room and space to stretch out if you need to. Off-peak tickets are a reasonable £4.50 for adults and £4 for children, so it’s not quite as bank breaking as my local cinema.

The Printworks

We’d booked in at the Odeon cinema to see Thomas & Friends: The Great Race. The boys are both big Thomas fans and we (Tobi’s mum Sarah and I) were a little worried that it might be a bit young for them, but this was perfectly pitched. Both boys sat beautifully throughout the film, quietly munching through little bags of popcorn and this gentle story of those really useful engines kept them very happily entertained. They both gave Thomas & Friends: The Great Race the double thumbs up at the end!

Thomas & Friends: The Great Race is a must if you’re a little Thomas fan, full of excitement and adventure, the film tells the story of the preparations on Sodor for The Great Race and how our plucky hero Thomas saves the day in more ways than one. The film introduced a whole raft of international engines including a charming Indian tank engine called Ashima. There might have been something in my eye at the end. I’m such a sap!

The Printworks

After the film we spotted that The Printworks had set up a number of giant games to play with, so with a bit of time to kill before we went for lunch, we got stuck in. Ben was immediately drawn to the giant Lego bricks and eventually had to be forcibly parted from them. Tobi went in and played Connect 4, Snakes & Ladders and finished off with an epic game of Draughts. The giant games were brilliant, both boys loved them and it burnt off a little bit of energy before lunch.

There are so many family friendly restaurants to choose from at The Printworks, but we opted to try the all you can eat world buffet at Peachy Keens. The Monday-Friday lunchtime price is very reasonable at £8.99 per adult and £4.49 per child plus drinks.

Peachy Keens is up some stairs near the Hard Rock end of the building, climb the stairs or go up in the lift and you find a very unpromising looking grey door at the top, I did have to look around to check I was going the right way. Beyond the door opens up into an all you can eat paradise with food from all over the world to choose from.

The Printworks

We were shown to a table and ordered drinks and we set the boys up with their starter snacks. There were lots of colourful and fresh salad dishes to choose from as well as spring rolls, samosas, chicken, ribs and other nibbles. We loaded up our plates and got stuck in. The food was fresh and hot, and lots to choose from, so however fussy you or your kids are they’re bound to find something tasty for them.

Moving onto the main course you could choose from Chinese, Indian, Thai, English food, Italian pasta and pizza. There are several stations set up where you can have a meal prepared to your specifications made in front of you, and there are row after row of ready prepared meals to help yourself to as well as a fresh bread station (try the garlic naan, you won’t be sorry).

I headed to the pasta station with Ben and watched as the chef made him a fresh dish of penne with pesto and cream for his lunch. I fancied something a little spicier so I opted for noodles with a vegetable Thai green curry which was delicious. It had a kick but it didn’t blow my head off, something I appreciated and I’d definitely have this again. I liked the fact that all the food was labelled so you knew what you were having and all the veggie options were clearly labelled too.

The Printworks

Tobi went for pizza with a side of veg and Sarah had a selection of the Chinese dishes available on the day. We all enjoyed our lunch mains and it was time for pudding. Being lactose intolerant pudding is an increasingly depressing thing for me, but there were a few options open to me so I managed a sweet nibble and that was enough.

The boys went for ice cream with sauce and sweets with marshmallows smothered in chocolate from the chocolate fountain. Sarah chose a small selection of the little puds and declared the passion-fruit mousse delicious.

The Printworks

I liked Peachy Keens, the staff were helpful and very chatty with the boys, it was as clean as a whistle and I liked the really big range of foods available, even on a fairly quiet Tuesday lunchtime, though it had filled up by the time we came to leave.

We’d all thoroughly enjoyed our day out at The Printworks. The cinema was a real treat and the boys were brilliant, they loved the games although that was a one off, and the all you can eat meal at Peachy Keens was a lot of fun and excellent family for money, especially on family days out. It’s definitely a day out we’ll be repeating again. Dinner and a movie, you can’t beat it!

We were treated to our day at The Printworks in return for this review. All images and opinions are our own.

My tips for surviving family festivals in the UK

If you’re off on a day out, or you’ve got tickets to a family festival or event, it makes sense to plan ahead and prepare yourself for all eventualities. In the UK “all eventualities” essentially means prepare yourself for the weather, all of the weather.

We live in Manchester, which is not known as the rainy city for nothing (though it doesn’t actually rain as much as you’d think). We try to get out and about as much as we can, which often means standing in a muddy field getting rained on, but still managing to squeeze some fun out of our precious family time together. Here are my tips for surviving and enjoying outdoor events in the UK.

Check the weather forecast. This will give you a vague idea of what the weather is likely to do on the day of the event or festival. Although if it says it’ll be sunny I’d still stick a brolly in the car just in case.

Pack a Picnic. Regardless of whether the event has food on offer or not, I always pack some emergency provisions. At the very least a couple of bottles of water and enough snacks to tide a hungry tum over until a pulled pork burger can be foraged from the nearest street food vendor.

Plan your day. Check out what’s on, what time it’s on and where it is. If there’s something you especially want to see or do, then it helps to know where on the festival site it’s happening and when. It’s often worth printing out a little map of the site and an events listing, or taking a screenshot on your phone to refer to if you need to.

Take something to sit on. Festivals, events and days out can be a loooong day and you can guarantee there won’t be enough seating for everyone. Take something to sit on. A picnic blanket with a waterproof backing is invaluable, but if you don’t want to carry that around, a bin bag for each family member to sit on works just as well and is much lighter and easier to carry. I have a bad back so can’t sit on the floor, so I take a little camping chair to sit on and my son often climbs on my knee for a cuddle. I wouldn’t be without my chair.

Wear suitable clothing. Rain or shine if you get a couple of thousand people in a field you will need to wear wellies or good stout walking boots. If driving rain is predicted and you’re still going to the event, then pack a mac and wear waterproof clothing. Be prepared to get wet and have dry clothes waiting in the car.

surviving family festivals

Take a change of clothes. If you’re going in your car it’s easy to pack a change of clothing and leave that and a cosy blanket in the car. My son always snuggles under a blanket on the way home and we wouldn’t be without it. The thought of being able to change at the car if you need to can get you through an afternoon of dampness.

If you can’t take a change of clothes (including dry socks and shoes) to change into for the drive home, then I’d recommend packing a pair of dry socks sealed in a plastic bag. Dry feet can make the difference between abject misery and a tolerable bus ride home.

Bring a brolly. We keep a big golfing umbrella in the car as well as a small one to slip into my bag. When we arrive at the festival we make the choice which, if any to bring with us. If it’s raining then the golfing umbrella, especially when teamed with my camping chair makes a nice little shelter from the rain, and when it’s very sunny the brolly offers a little shade.

Use sun cream. Even if it’s cloudy in the UK, you can catch the sun by standing in a field all day. Slap on the factor 30 and top up regularly. Wear a sun hat and keep hydrated.

Bring some baby wipes. As a parent I’m never more than 2 metres away from a pack of baby wipes, they are an everyday essential and invaluable at events and festivals. From cleaning sticky fingers before lunch, dealing with the worst of the mud, for toilet times and for making yourself presentable for the journey home. We don’t leave home without them.

Take cash money. Festivals and events can very easily be done on a budget, but once you’re in you’ll have to buy everything you need and it probably comes at a premium. We tend to pack a picnic and then buy some treats like ice cream when we’re there. Just don’t turn up thinking you can pay for everything with your card, cash is king and most events don’t have ATMs on site.

If you’re prepared for the changeable and sometimes really miserable UK weather, you’ve thought about food, transport and you’ve planned your day then hopefully your family day out will go off without a hitch. Maybe I’m a bit odd, but I’ve started to have low expectations of what an event or festival will be like before I get there, that way I’m rarely disappointed and often surprised and enchanted by what happens on the day.

I have a bit of a go with the flow attitude to life and almost everything I do, which does mean that you can sometimes find me dancing in the rain. You can’t control the weather, but you can control how you prepare to spend a day in that weather. Come rain or shine you will find us having fun in a field somewhere this summer and I hope you won’t let a little rain stop play either.

Do you have any top tips for surviving family festivals and events?

surviving family festivals

Creative Kids – Trying Out The BIC Drawy Book

I like to think of us as a family in touch with our creative side. We often spend an afternoon painting, drawing or crafting together and I’ve always encouraged a love of creative pursuits in the small boy. We were sent the new BIC Drawy Book to test out and it unleashed a new and exciting creative adventure for the boy and me.

All three of us had spent the week snuffling, wheezing and coughing, the small boy getting the worst of it with yet another ear infection. Friday was an inset day so I decided we needed a day of rest and some gentle crafting, so out came our new bag of BIC Drawy goodies and we set to work.

BIC Drawy

We were sent a BIC Drawy Book pack to play with, it contained a special colouring in book and a set of felt tips. The book is linked to the app, so you scan in the page to unlock a virtual experience. It is priced at £9.99 and you get the drawing and activity book , a packet of good quality BIC felt tips and access to the App. We didn’t get as far as trying that out, but what we did do left the small boy in wide-eyed awe.

First off, I should have read the instructions before we unpacked everything. I needed to download a free app (available from the Apple Store and Google Play) which did take a few minutes. Once the app was downloaded we opened it and followed the easy instructions.

BIC Drawy

We created a profile for the small boy and turned the volume up. There is only one story available at the moment, ‘Marty and the Alien’ which is suitable for ages 5+ and suited us down to the ground. There were three difficulty settings, but we chose the easy option to begin with.

The story opens with the engaging tale of Marty, a boy who wants to go into space, an alien lands in his garden and before you know it he’s in a rocket and zooming off to Planet X. Along the way the app has various activities which you need to complete, they’re all explained and my 5 year old soon got the idea and wanted to do them without my help.

Throughout the story the app pauses and asks you to draw certain objects, photograph them with your tablet or phone and then it uses the images you’ve drawn in an animation. You can add stickers and embellishments to your drawings too.

BIC Drawy

They suggest that you draw the outline of your picture in black felt tip on white paper and then colour it in as you wish. The small boy could hardly contain himself as he saw the rocket he’d just drawn fly through space dodging asteroids and space debris, and he virtually rolled around laughing when the alien ate the cheese he’d drawn and did a cheeky burp afterwards. He was genuinely upset when we’d finished the story and we had to do it all over again from the start.

Despite being skeptical at first – I had to draw the first drawing for him and show him how it worked – he loved this BIC Drawy Book set. I loved it too, it was very well thought out, the story was engaging and it’s a great way to encourage creativity in kids. It can often be a little bit more difficult to encourage boys in particular to pick up a pen and get creative, but once he understood how it worked there was no stopping him.

I feel like we’ve only touched the surface of BIC Drawy and the app, there are several more levels of Marty and the Alien to explore, and we’ve not even really looked at the accompanying book yet. There’s a good deal of learning to be had from this too, for those interested in space there’s a part of the app where you can find out more about the planets in our solar system and there’s a quiz to test your space knowledge. On top of that it also develops their fine motor skills, concentration and creativity.

We were very impressed with BIC Drawy, we think it’s got so much potential. The boy is very happy with the existing story, but if they could develop a range of these then he’d be very happy indeed. I can’t wait for him to go to bed so I can have a go by myself – always the hallmark of a great product!

BIC Drawy

You can find out more about BIC Drawy by visiting their website.

Note: We were sent the BIC Drawy Book for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Mummy? How do you spell f**k?

The inevitable has happened. The small boy has uttered his first major swear and it didn’t end well for him.

Picture the scene. It’s bathtime and the boy is splashing about and playing with his foam letters, spelling out words and the names of his friends at school.

“Mummy, how do you spell f**k?”

“Erm, can you say that again please, I didn’t quite hear you.” *Quickly beckons husband into the bathroom*

“F**k” he replies. Husband and I exchange slightly panicked glances.

We knew this day would come, but we weren’t expecting it to happen just yet. He is only 5 and we try very hard not to swear in front of him, though it turns out husband is quite the potty mouth when he’s driving.

I remember my first swear. In the car on the way home from something when I was about 8 years old I said that “I was knackered”. As soon as we got home I was chased into the house by a red faced parent wielding a wooden clog to spank me with. In spite of this I have grown into a creative and enthusiastic private swearer.

We dealt with the boy’s verbal transgression without resorting to a beating. We figured it was one of those “teachable moments” so we pulled up our parenting socks, sat him down and had the conversation about naughty words and why he shouldn’t say them. We asked him where he’d heard the word and he said one of the boys at school had taught it him. We were secretly relieved that neither of us were the one who taught our son how to swear (we were very f**king relieved in fact).

There were a few tears before bedtime, a punishment sanction of his Lego ( for giving excessive cheek during our discussion) and a discussion about how it’s not nice to say rude words which might upset people. We quietly congratulated ourselves on a tricky parenting situation handled appropriately.

The next morning he woke up, lesson learned and enjoyed the day with us. At bedtime, snuggled up with a story he sighed and happily said…

“I’ve been a good boy today Mummy, I’ve not said f**k or anything like that”.

*facepalm*

kids swearing

Review: OXO Tot Toilet Seat Trainer & Drinking Cups

Toilet training can be a difficult time for everyone involved. A little over two years ago we began to potty train the boy. He was three and a bit, we waited until he was ready and he pretty quickly got the hang of it. I don’t want to embarrass him in later life, but going for a wee was not an issue, but having a sit down visit to the bathroom caused problems for a long time. We eventually cracked it (more or less), but now he’s a strapping, long legged five year old and he’s way to big for his potty, but his bottom is way too petite for the toilet.

The practical and innovative design brand OXO have a range of baby and toddler products (known as OXO Tots) which have been designed for use by little hands, as well as to be easy to clean and use for parents. They have recently launched the “Sit right toilet seat trainer”, priced at £15 it has a non-slip edge which keeps it stable on virtually any size toilet seat. Plus it has soft side handles for them to grip onto to steady themselves.

oxo tot

The seat has a good sized shield at the front to prevent spray and splatter and it is smooth, so it’s easy to clean after use. It is light-weight, so should you wish to take it with you, perhaps when visiting friends, it’s not to heavy to carry. The sit right toilet seat trainer also has a flat base, so you can stand it up next to the toilet ready to put onto the existing toilet seat when you need to.

As you can see the toilet seat trainer sits snugly on top of our existing toilet seat. We have two toilets and the one pictured has a non-standard seat and we have previously struggled to find a toilet seat trainer which would fit it.

He really feels comfortable on the toilet seat trainer, it doesn’t slide about and he’s able to climb on top of it easily. Once he’s sat down, the handles make him feel secure and he can relax and do what he needs to do. Once he’s finished he knows to take the training seat off and leave the loo free for the next person.

We’ve been searching for a toilet seat trainer like this for a while now, we’ve tried other brands but they didn’t fit our toilet properly and they didn’t have the handles, which seem a simple feature, but sitting on a full sized loo for a small child can feel really high up and daunting. I really do feel that after months of hunting we have found the right toilet seat trainer for the boy.

Oxo Tots also sent us a 200ml sippy cup with handles and a 300ml twist top water bottle. The small boy still enjoys a drink of milk in the morning while he’s getting up and ready, he’s still using a sippy cup for this because he likes his sippy cups and it saves us having to mop up a cup of milk every day, because inevitably he’ll get distracted and it’ll spill everywhere.

The OXO Tots sippy cup is suitable for use from 6 months old and has nice chunky handles to hold. I know he’d have loved using this when he was smaller, and he likes it now. It is available in a range of colours, is dishwasher safe and had a leak-proof valve which stops it leaking when it’s tipped up.

oxo tots

The OXO Tots twist top water bottle is the kind of thing he uses most often at home and at school. More grown up and befitting a five year old boy, but still with the spill-proof practicality that we find helpful. It has the signature OXO Tots mixture of style and practicality which mark out these products. I find them all very visually appealing and really pleasing to hold and use too.

I think for us the toilet seat trainer is a game changer and if he’s happy and comfortable using it then that’s half the battle. As for the cups, my only regret is we didn’t try them sooner. I think the grippy handles are great for tiny hands, the non-spill really is non-spill and they’re the kind of practical and stylish thing I’d buy anyway. Good work OXO.

Note: We were sent the above items by OXO Tots for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Dear son, on your 5th birthday…

Dear Ben,

I’m writing this here because you know what your dad is like for putting things in a safe place and then losing them forever. I’m sorry, I’m going to get all squishy about you now, I’m not sorry actually, because you should never be sorry for loving someone.

Dear Ben, today you are five years old. In your head you’re a big boy now, able to do everything yourself, apart from dealing with buttons, zips and fiddly yoghurt pot lids. I look back over the last five years and see what an incredible feat of development childhood is, how you’ve gone from completely dependant on me for everything, to where you are now, shouting at me because you can’t get into your pudding quickly enough.

You are awesome. You take so much of life in your stride. For most of what you can remember of your life I’ve been “poorly” or in chronic pain as the doctors call it. You can’t remember me chasing you around, swinging you over my head, rolling around giggling with you. I can.

I don’t think you mind (yet) that I can’t do those things any more, and you help me out, taking my shoes off, doing my bending and lifting for me, fetching and carrying for me. You’re a star. At five years old people think you shouldn’t have to “care” for someone else, but caring for other humans we love is part of life and part of loving someone. Selflessness seems to be an increasingly rare quality, and my son, you have it in spades.

You are so full of love for everyone, you tell me you try and play with everyone in your class so no one feels left out, that you love everyone in your family best, and that you love dogs. Really love dogs. It’s a very good thing to love dogs Ben, dogs will be your best friend for life if you let them, you’re never lonely if you have a dog.

I can’t believe that you’re five now. Just like I won’t believe it when you’re 10, or 18 or 21 or buying your first house. Time is a horrible thing, it moves too fast when you want to grab it and hold it to your chest, like a tiny little baby, or a five year old boy, or a grown up lad with his first broken heart.

Time ticks on, runs away from you, the trick is to make the best of each moment, you might not get it right, but good enough with no real harm done is often the best you can hope for. Life is far too short to be unhappy, so be happy and if something is stopping you from being happy, change it.

Ben, you fill my heart with so much love and happiness, your dad too. I hope you have a brilliant birthday, that you like your new bike and all of your presents, and that you enjoy having all the people who love you best around you on your special day. Keep being brilliant Ben, because you are.

Love you to the moon and back!

Mummy xxx

5th birthday