My Little Big Town kindly sent us three books for review; the Monster Book of Colours, Monster Book of Numbers and Where’s the Scone?

Given their handy size we’ve taken these books on lots of days out with us, though I think I’d have preferred a hardback book at the rrp of £4.99 the size does make them very portable.

Where’s the Scone? Is Beth Dexter-Smith’s first book, it tells the story of a party where all of the animals bring some food, counting from down from ten to one in rhyme. The characters are beautifully illustrated, really great fun and there are ‘hidden extras’ to spot on each page, three ladybirds, seven dragonflies… The characters are a great mix of popular favourites like apes, bees and swans, but I best liked the nine bream licking icecream and Joss loved shouting ‘where’s the scone…s’gone!’

More fun characters show up in the Monster books, Three Yips, Nine Jib jabs, a Fuzzblot, Noop-Noop, Twiddlypuff and Chubba. Joss loves words so enjoyed the sound of the monsters and did a lot of talking to herself about them when she pored over the books. For me the Colours book is great, clear bright pages, the Numbers book is brilliant up until it reaches ten, but I found it a little hard to understand why the book jumps from 10 to 15, 20, 25 and 50 when so clearly aimed at a younger audience. I don’t want this to detract from Calvin Innes’ illustrations though, as these are a hit with Joss.

Disclaimer: We received these books to review, all views are our own.

Takeaway fakeaway – chickpea curry with naan bread

The lovely folk at Egmont kindly sent us a copy of Something Special Mr Tumble’s Big Book of Counting to review, Joss is a big fan of lift the flap books and although she doesn’t see a lot of Mr Tumble on TV she recognised him straight away!

This book is great for the stage she’s at, she can recite her numbers 1-5 but doesn’t have the concept of counting yet, so this is a lovely book to start to reinforce some of the skills she has, whilst having fun.

Each number appears on its own on a large colourful page and encourages the child to trace its outline with their finger, which tells me that it’s a book that grows with the child as they learn to recognise numbers and also to write them in time to come, then there’s a short rhyme, followed by a scene under the flap with lots of fun things to count, Joss liked the bakery page best!

As you can see she was a bit excited here, I think it’s that there is something new to spot each time we read the book! With bright colours and thematic pages this would make a lovely gift for a toddler regardless of whether they have seen the Something Special show or not, I love the size too, large enough to sit together on the floor or sofa and have a really good pore over the pictures to see what we can spot.

Thanks Egmont and Mr Tumble!

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of this book to review, all views are our own.

I’m linking this into Read with Me, as I haven’t picked up anything but uni books this week! Hope to have time to start my novel next week!

I started my nine month secondment this week, I’ve taken up a really interesting research post and am finding my feet at the moment. This meant a first overnight stay leaving Joss in Daddy’s fun and capable hands, thankfully they enjoyed themselves and I am reaping the benefits of having a handle on my anxiety as it went really well and I didn’t feel the crushing guilt I expected to.

Continuing my search for joy in the mundane with Project 365 we have:

20 Grapefruits: I just love them

21 A splodge in the puddles at the Coast brings out the kid in me too, linking this one into Small Steps Amazing Achievements as this was Joss’ first muddy puddle (or muddle) jump

22 A country walk is always bracing and clears the mind

23 A great hotel room with good curtains, something I aspire to, there’s something about the heavy fabric that appeals to the old fashioned girl in me!

A much needed cut and colour was had this week, I had to put my book away and make do with the salon’s trashy mags though, reading Caitlin Moran’s Moranthology had me snorting behind the pages, if you haven’t read her comparison of David Cameron to a Gammon Robot I urge you to do so with haste! Not the best selfie, not the best blowdry either but then who can repeat the perfect locks that the hairdresser seems to be able to create?

This was followed by two foodie treats, a slice of really good bread with loads of butter for Joss and slightly less for me (museli bread, absolutely amazing stuff) and joy in the mundane for Joss, taking a biscuit off to eat in your favourite lazy chair whilst swinging your legs back and forth…note the sticky finger marks on the wall that I keep scrubbing at, nothing better than getting your greasy paws all over the house post-biscuit.

A busy, nay manic few days so here’s a quick rundown, quickly folded towels represent joy at reaching the end of the washing basket (really?! not happened for a loooong time), a picture from Joss at the childminder’s house is always a joy to return home from work to, and a calendar created at baby group by her own fair hands, I loved the way she got the paint on her palms and slapped them down on the paper shouting ‘wow wow wow’ and later saying thank you to another little girl for sharing her fruit with Joss (very proud Mammy moment right there)

A hastily taken snap on the local Metro, and Joss’ first journey without being sat in the pram or buggy, I guess it marks that she’s a big grown up toddler and I’m a more confident Mam!

We took the sling and she asked to jump down when we were waiting at the station, how nice to be 20 months old and inspect every seat carefully peering at folk before deciding the seat nearest the door was just right for drinking a bottle of water, clacking your boots together happily and shouting ‘door open!’ ‘door close!’ with every stop!

Late last year I had been doing a lot of reading around parenting and mindfulness and realised there were aspects of maintaining a positive outlook that I found quite difficult. For a lot of years I have been an avid follower of the Action for Happiness movement, particularly their excellent information leaflets and posters for developing a happier outlook.

It was with interest that I read about their Do Happiness tool kit with Do Something Different, a 32 day happiness programme designed around your own needs to guide you through a range of actions via email or text to explore and boost your own happiness.

At £15 for a 6 week programme and the option of joining a waiting list if you cannot afford to pay, and the option of buying as a gift there are a range of accessible options for getting started.

I have just completed my six week course. My personal programme was designed around anxiety, and the programme is clear it is not a clinical intervention but a complementary one, it was a good time for me to start as I have been receiving some therapy in this area.

Each day I received two emails, a daily DO activity and an appropriate quote to guide and encourage.

Each day I logged into my personalised Do Zone and left feedback on the activity, I was asked if I completed the Do activity, to rate how different it was and rate my enjoyment, leaving some personal feedback with the option of sharing with others.

I thoroughly recommend getting involved in all aspects including sharing and reading the feedback left by others as it gave new perspectives I hadn’t considered, and as people shared their interests and things they enjoyed it sparked new ideas for me.

The daily activities were varied and enjoyable, from turning off the TV for an evening, or replacing a chore with an enjoyable activity, to complimenting a friend or asking someone what had gone well for them that day, the tasks were achievable and bite-sized but pack a punch when followed on a daily basis.

I found that towards the end of the programme I opened up more when others asked how I was doing, and was more interested and less self-involved when talking to others.

I also realised that I found it challenging to do the tasks that were focussed around letting go of unhelpful habits, for example I found it difficult to replace a chore as I have been finding it difficult to relax lately, and the programme helped me recognise this and try to ease off a little.

Six weeks was a good chunk of time in which I’ve made some really positive changes and I enjoyed the new challenges and interests that the programme sparked each day, I’m feeling a bit more reinvigorated and have learned a lot about myself, positive outcomes considering I had been feeling more than a little flat and feel that with the guide of the programme I’ve achieved much of this for and by myself.

So why not Do Something different today?

The programme entry page can be found here

Disclaimer – I received a complimentary sign up to review the programme