via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1LUl4mj
суббота, 17 октября 2015 г.
пятница, 16 октября 2015 г.
Audio books for the half term break
Here in Scotland we’ve already started the October half term break. We’re spending the first half on a staycation in Scotland and for the second half we’re driving to The Netherlands to visit family. For the girls, they’ve lived most of their lives abroad so they are used to long journeys and because of this we’ve built up quite a fair selection of audio CDs. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of our favourites.
1. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (narrated by Sophie Aldred) – An absolute classic and beautifully read.
2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle (narrated by Gwyneth Paltrow) – Florence loves this book! It’s one of her current favourite bedtime reads and when we’re travelling she loves listening to it as she follows along with the book.
3. Mr Wolf’s Pancakes written and narrated by Jan Fearnley – Such an entertaining read and again the girls love following along with the book.
4. Mr Gum by Andy Stanton (narrated by Kate Winslet) – A brilliant series! Such silly stories and Kate Winslet reads them with such wonderful energy!
5. My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards (narrated by Jan Francis) – This was one of my favourite books as a child and I’m thrilled when Helena chooses to listen to this one. Jan Francis impressively reads this story and captures the naughty antics of the little sister perfectly.
6. Gangsta Granny written and narrated by David Walliams – Such a fun book and the audio book has Helena hooked.
7. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverley Cleary (narrated by B D Wong) – I used this book as a class reader a while back and rather selfishly bought this for the girls as I wanted to listen to it in the car. They do love it and Helena is keen to read more Beverley Cleary books now.
8. The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (narrated by Kate Winslet) – Helena has just started reading the Enid Blyton books and I was so pleased to see Kate Winslet also reads this one. I could listen to her voice all day long!
9. The Just so Stories by Rudyard Kipling (narrated by David Thorn) – Most of our audiobooks I buy or are rented from the public library, but I downloaded this one on the iPod because I loved the narrators voice and couldn’t find a hard copy of it at the time. Both of the girls are smitten with these stories. Florence doesn’t understand the morals yet behind each story but she stills loves hearing about how the whale got his throat.
9. The Borrowers by Mary Norton (narrated by Rowena Cooper) – A new one for this journey which we’re all excited to listen to. We haven’t read the book yet so I’m intrigued to see what Helena thinks of it.
We have listened to loads more we love, like the Winnie the Pooh series, Pippi Longstocking and a few by Dick King-Smith. I’m always on the look out for new audio books so please share any you love to listen to below!
Happy holidays and safe travels!
Vanessa xx
from kid games toys http://ift.tt/1hI96hm via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1LxbEeu
четверг, 15 октября 2015 г.
Family photos by Marisa Vitale and some highlights from Los Angeles
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we spent a week in LA back in September and stayed in the beautiful home owned by Peter James and Marisa Vitale. Marisa is a talented family photographer and offered to snap some photos of our family while we were in town. I jumped at the chance to get a rare photo of all six of us and to document the start of our family’s adventure, all of us so full of excitement… and admittedly a few jitters. We met Marisa at Temescal Gateway Park fresh from an afternoon at the beach (notice Ivy’s hair is still wet!), and went for a short walk under the big oak trees while she snapped photos. I’m so happy to have these photos and thought I would share some favourites here with you. My kids, especially the boys, are getting so big. It’s funny how sometimes you don’t notice until you see it in photos.
Also, a few of you have asked for LA tips so I thought I would share some of the things we did while we were in LA (mostly Venice beach). We spent a lot of time with Michael’s family in Pasadena so we didn’t have as much time to explore the city as tourists, and we were also on a budget so we didn’t eat out as often as we wanted to. : ) But in any case, here are the highlights:
To See/Do:
- Temescal Gateway Park (where photos above were taken): A pretty park with lots of paths to explore. Just off Sunset Blvd.
- The beach! We spent a lot of time at nearby Venice Beach because it was within walking distance of our house. We also went to the beach near Temescal Canyon and Sunset Blvd which was less crowded.
- Boogie Boarding: you can rent boards from the beach-front vendors on the boardwalk. My kids loved this!
- Venice boardwalk: we spent an afternoon watching the skateboarders and street dancers. It was quite a scene with all the music and people!
- We also walked down Abbott Kinney Blvd just to check out how much it’s changed since we last lived in LA. We have a policy of not taking our children into shops if we can avoid it, so we didn’t go into any of the shops, but it was fun to see so many great new shops there. (Burro looked really cute from the outside, and there’s even now an Aesop on Abbott Kinney!) Speaking of shopping, I kept hoping to have the opportunity to sneak into General Store for a little peak around but I never made it in. It looks SO cute (and oh my goodness, the website! dangerous!!).
- We didn’t make it here, but Marisa suggested we check out Tonga Park in Santa Monica with cool native plants, water features, benches, etc. There’s also the nearby Santa Monica solar-panelled LED ferris wheel within walking distance.
- While I was in LA for the ShopUp, Michael took the kids to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (which they loved) and the Arboretum (which, despite the heat, they found very interesting to see all the different plants and trees).
To Eat:
- Superba Food & Bread: This is located (dangerously) around the corner from the house we rented. Great for picking up bread and croissants (and coffee) in the morning, but they also have a wonderful menu for lunch and dinner.
- Whole Foods Market on Lincoln Blvd: We did most of our grocery shopping here. Just behind the store is Ozone park with two different playgrounds (for big and little kids) on opposite sides.
- Groundworks Coffee on Rose Ave: Great spot for coffee in a charming little spot.
- Cafe Gratitude: Unfortunately we never made it to this restaurant but I had so many friends tell me to eat here. It’s a well-known restaurant amongst those seeking organic, vegan and locally-sourced foods. Looks so good!
- We got a babysitter one evening and met Michael’s family downtown LA to celebrate his sister’s birthday at The Factory Kitchen for delicious Italian food.
That’s all I can remember, but please feel free to add more tips in the comments below. I’m sure families travelling to LA would appreciate all the recommendations!
Courtney x
from kid games toys http://ift.tt/1LOEx1z via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1MGaq1j
A day with Ladida
I recently was asked by Ladida to select autumn outfits from their amazing collections for each of my kids — a task I took upon me with pride and pleasure! Autumn is such a beautiful season, the colours of nature are so, so pretty and the low, warm sunlight makes everything even more stunning.
I selected outfits for each of my kids that reflects their personal style and character, but I also made sure they go well together as a ‘set’ — without matching them exactly! Here goes:
For Casper (3 since yesterday!):
- This Navy Alien tee by Paul Smith is just too cute. The mouth/zipper opens and there’s a tongue inside!
- Cute stripy hat and scarf by Dutch label Kidscase. So fun and so cosy!
- Beautiful slim fitting cords by Bonton – just love that mustard colour.
- Sweet socks with the signature Paul Smith stripes.
For Ava (5):
- Stripy hat and scarf by Kidscase to match her little brother.
- Pretty teal blue corduroy Bonton dress, super adorable!
For Pim (8):
- Fun glasses hat by Emile et Ida
- A bow-tie, of course, for Pim! (This specific one by Milk & Soda is sold out, but here’s another cool one).
- Stripy Paul Smith socks to complete the look!
- Mustard yellow slim Bonton cords, just like his little brother.
- Absolutely gorgeous gauze shirt in an amazing teal blue, by Bonton.
For Sara (10):
- Fox skirt by Emile et Ida — which tween girl wouldn’t love this?
- This blue Neige shirt has a subtile black polka dot, very pretty.
- Bonton mustard yellow panda shoulder bag.
Today I’m taking over the Ladida Instagram account, where you can see my kids dressed in the outfits above. I hope you enjoy!
xxx Esther
from kid games toys http://ift.tt/1PiCt8C via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1G7qisu
Подписаться на:
Сообщения (Atom)