Pirates Assemble!!!

We love all LEGO but the Marvel Super Heroes LEGO combines two of the things that played a huge part in my childhood. With the second Avengers movie due to be released in the next few weeks, LEGO have done what they do best and have released this range to accompany a movie that is going to be huge. With a great range of new figures spanning over these six kits they are a great addition to any super hero fans collection and this ever expanding range looks to get even bigger with the release of many new Marvel films over the coming years.

The LEGO age of Ultron kits from this range include:

The Avengers Quinjet City Chase (76032)

Attack on Avengers Tower (76038)

The-Hydra-Fortress-Smash (76041)

Avengers Hydra Showdown (76030)

Iron Man Vs Ultron (76029)

The Hulk Buster Smash (76031)

And if you are feeling a little flush (maybe we'll own it one day).

The Shield Helicarrier (76042)

(Gifts from the Pirates Heroes not included haha)

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

We've spent years trying to get Opeie to favour one toy in hope that he will have a little buddy that he takes everywhere. I've always thought it was cute when a child has a companion  that must go everywhere with them. I had kind of hoped it would have been the cat in the hat toy we got in Florida a couple of years ago or his Paddington bear but sadly no. Opeie has however found himself a sidekick thanks to an unexpected gift from nanny and grandad.

Rose the cat came into our lives about 5 weeks ago and since her arrival she has been everywhere with opeie, keeping him company and meeting his friends. It's 3am at the moment and I've just been in to check on him and as expected, Scrunched up tight in his arms is Rose.

A couple of days ago Opeie informed us that yesterday was Rose's birthday and he wanted to buy her a present. So while we were seeing friends yesterday afternoon we popped to the shops in search of a gift for Opeie's beloved cat. 

Yesterday we made her a party hat, sang happy birthday to her and gave her a special birthday dinner. She even got to go out on a long scooter ride with us which Opeie loved, she was shattered after though and fell asleep on Opeie's helmet, to cute!

I think Rose is here to stay, with all the toys that the boys have its great to see that Opeie has become attached to one that is clearly more important than any of the others.

"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose."

Although sometimes I may not notice Polly much around the house as she sleeps a lot and she's not an overly affectionate cat, she has become an amazing addition to our family. I've said many times before I am not a pet person but Polly puts a smile on everyone's face and i couldn't imagine her not being around.

I don't tend to use Facebook much but over the last few months when I have popped on there to check messages etc I have been greeted with some adorable paintings of cats looking rather dapper.

My friend Genna is definitely somewhere on the crazy cat lady spectrum. I mean if you are a cat owner that spends your free time painting pictures of cats there's got to be an element of crazy in there somewhere, right? She doesn't stop at cats though, Genna spends much of her spare time  painting pictures of peoples much loved four legged friends.

Queen of h'Arts has become a great little hobby/business venture for Genna, immortalising your furry family members on to mugs and beautiful custom prints. Each Kitsch print can be painted in a colour scheme of your choice and includes a cute accessory which is Genna's personal touch making each painting that little more interesting.

Clearly it was imperative that Polly was to own a print of herself painted by this very talented yet slightly unhinged crazy cat lady. I mean if you own a cat and your friend paints pictures of cats its a must. If you're a pet lover and you want a print of your four legged friend that's a little more interesting I definitely recommend checking out Genna's site http://www.queenofharts.org.uk.

Meeeeooow!!!

A bit of a belated short holiday post but we hope you all had a great Easter. Opeie spotted this Lindt bunny while we were out so i thought i would put this picture up for Nanny Roo.

Enjoy your chocolate eggs (if you haven't polished them off already).

"If baking is any labor at all, it's a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation."

Cooking is a big thing with Opeie, his block of chocolate sandwiches and hot boiled egg cakes are to die for. Of course, I am talking about his play food but we don't limit his culinary ideas to just role play. I like to think that I let the boys get involved with all the things I do, I think it's important for them to experience all the things that I do no matter how mundane. Opeie is quite partial to a spot of hoovering.

When it does come to food preparation though he is always excited at the prospect of getting involved. Making smoothies or green juices (hulk juices as he calls them) is what he enjoys most these days and I love that he just wants to be a part of everything we do.

He makes it quite clear daily that he is 'a big boy' and when a product comes along that is used by adults but has been scaled down for big boys and girls he is pretty much in his element. When our recent Bigjigs toys play patrol mission arrived, Opeie's little smiley face said it all. I could have written a glowing review just on that expression.

The young chefs baking set is a perfect product for a little chap who loves Mary berry and the great British bake off. With everything you need included for a miniature baking session it was time to get our hands dirty. Because of all the dietary issues in our house, cooking and baking is a great bit of education for Opeie, using different types of flour and being able to discuss why we don't use dairy etc.

Opeie was loving having utensils made for his hand size, i hadn't really thought about how difficult it must be using our whisks etc until this baking session. Bigjigs toys really did cover everything, mini rolling pin, whisk, tins, trays, cake cases, measuring spoons, cookie cutters and my personal favourite the mini oven glove (which we only used putting the cakes in the oven). Opeie had been desperate to get started on his baking session and with his young chefs baking set Bigjigs toys had helped him become even more a part of what was going on. All we needed to add were the ingredients and a chair to stand on.