Saturday 9 April 2016

Carrot & Apple Bites


The Zebra has a thing for biscuits right now, so we whipped up a batch of healthy biscuits that I can also have as part of my breakfast! 


Ingredients:
50g seeds (we used a mix of flaxseed, chia and quinoa)
40g wholemeal self raising flour
35g porridge oats
1/2tsp grated ginger
1tsp cinnamon 
40g chopped dried apricot 
100g grated cooking apple
50g grated carrot 
20g chopped pecans 
20g coconut oil
60g honey 
5g orange zest
1tbsp orange juice 
10g grated coconut 

****preheat oven to 180degs


The best tip I can give for cooking with toddlers is get everything ready and prepared before letting them in the kitchen!


Gently heat the coconut oil until it melts and then stir in the honey, orange zest and juice. Leave to one side.


The best thing about the recipe is its so easy! Apart from the grated coconut, add all the remaining ingredients into one bowl. Mix well and then add in the warm coconut oil and orange.


Split the mixture into 6 or 12 biscuits and place on a greased tray. 6 biscuits mean they have around 200 calories each. 
Sprinkle on top the grated coconut.


Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. 


Once they've cooled, all you need to do is enjoy and not feel any snack-guilt! 

Wednesday 6 April 2016

Paper Flowers


When the sun comes out, so do the flowers!


Lots of bright, cheery materials for this flower craft!


Paint lots of different colours onto a sheet of bubble wrap...


Then press a piece of card or paper onto it to get the bubbley paint print!


Cover another piece of paper with pva glue...


Then shake on some glitter - Make sure the glitter is set to sprinkle not pour!!!!


Once everything has dried, wrap the tissue roll in the glitter paper and bend to form the flower holder 


Make some holes and poke in pipe cleaners for the stems 


Cut flower shapes from the bubble wrap prints, and then fix to the pipe cleaners with a bit of sticky tape!


Quick and easy and will last longer than a real bunch 🌺

Monday 4 April 2016

Springfields Fun Park


A big thank you to Springfields for our recent invitation and the fun-filled day we had at their park! 


Growing up in Cornwall, Springfields was always my favourite place to visit - even spending my birthday trips here! 
However, I held back from visiting with the Zebra due to local feedback that the park had become run down and unloved. 


Before arriving it was great to find out that the park had not only changed ownership, but that there had been a lot of restoration work carried out over the winter.


First impressions of the park were great! The ticket office is inside the big play barn, a bright and colour soft play area filled with all sorts of activities - the Zebra was champing at the bit to get in and explore...


There is a 2 story play structure which the Zebra was soon climbing and jumping all around. 


The Enchanted Wood is a psychedelic  experience of miniature houses and slides in trees... 


Like any good soft play area there are some big slides to whizz down! The Zebra is to small for the drop slide but was brave enough to take on the waves all on her own! 

What we liked most about the play barn is all the imaginative and pretend play activities - some of our favourites were the houses, kitchens and buses! 


We left the playbarn just in time to see the baby lambs being bottle fed! The children are given a bottle and allowed to actually feed them which is so adorable. We arrived a little late so wasn't able to hold a bottle, but one of the staff members let the Zebra meet and stroke a baby instead. 


There are lots of other animals to feed as you walk round the park - but please buy the proper food on sale at the ticket office! 


With the sun out and only a few clouds in the sky, it was time to really explore the grounds of the park. I'm glad to say it did not seem run down in any way, with lots of different areas all in good condition - some even seemed brand new.


The first part of the park had some big, enclosed trampolines which the Zebra spent a long time bouncing on! There are also lots of wooden play centres which give a great natural feel to the park. The bell in the front of the train was a big hit with all the little people and the pirate ship has a wonderful slide.


Once the Zebra spotted the ponies, no amount of playgrounds would keep her distracted! It was great to see the ponies brought up and brushed down in front of the children, showing the basics behind pony care. 
There was a pony grooming session later in the yard but we unfortunately missed this!


There are two different options for the pony rides: £2 around the paddock or £4 around the lake. I can't help but feel the prices are a little high, especially as we was at a nearby centre the same week which did similar rides for £1. 


There are no complaints from this Zebra about the actual pony ride! She adores the horses and was a natural in the saddle. We did both the paddock and lake walk, both times the staff were so friendly and good with the Zebra, and both walks are very pretty. 


It's not just ponies that you can ride - there is also a great train ride that goes around the park. The tour guide was fantastic and got all the children signing as well as talking through the sights of the park 


At the far end of the park, is an island with a moat. I have vague memories of this being a bunny mountain many years ago with rabbits roaming free - it would be interesting to see if any one else remembers this! 


After our recent success with a canoe, I thought it would be just as easy in a row boat... It really wasn't!! 


I might not be much of a sailor, but the Zebra really enjoyed bouncing from bank to bank, and it was so pretty I didn't mind much either 


Once back on dry land, we crossed the bridge for a play on the island. The big mountain has stairs to climb which give this amazing view over the park - and then a slide all the way back down!


From the top of the slide we spotted another great wooden play area - this one was an assault course! Again, it was in great condition with a brand-new feel to the area. 


In fact, this seesaw was the only older piece of equipment we came across - not that it stopped us having fun!

 
There are also some swings hidded just behind the big trees here that we almost missed! 


One thing we couldn't miss was the entertainment from the alpaca field... There is a daily "meet the alpaca" session, but the keepers need to try and catch the three of them first which was rather funny as the they are quick and cunning and had a good game of chase.


Someone who wasn't so tricky to catch was the sheep who thinks she's an alpaca! She happily trotted down the path ahead of us and then roamed the grass while we got to pet the alpaca. 


After exploring all the grounds, we found ourselves back at the yard outside the playbarn. Inside here were some sleepy baby piggies and lots of fluffy bunnies. There are "pat a pet" sessions in the rabbit room with the softest bunnies ever!


We stopped for lunch at the cafe in the play barn. It was a busy day during half term so it took 15 minutes to que up and order our food. The Zebra had a lunch box which we could take to the table with us, but we had to wait another 15 minutes for the sandwitch.
I had a cheese and vegetable crumble, which wasn't much to look at, but was actually really tasty (that's what really matter when it comes to food!)


By the cafe was a room set up for crafts, which is perfect for my arty one. There wad two big tables with lots of great materials and ideas for Spring crafts! It wasn't cold inside, but the Zebra refused to take her coat off...


As it was half term, there was the wonderful Rosie and her face-painting. She was so good with the Zebra, turning her into a fairy princess! 
Rosie is independent to Springfields and you can find her here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosieswonderland/


We truly had the most fun day at Springfields - apart from the Zebra being unimpressed with my rowing skills! 
We arrived at 10.30am and only left at 4.30pm as lack of naps would have resulted in tantrus if we stayed any longer... There was more than enough to keep us happy and busy all day long, and we look forward to heading back again in the future.

If you would like to find out more or arrange your own visit, please visit Springfields Facebook page or website:

https://www.facebook.com/springfieldfunpark/



Friday 25 March 2016

Lappa Valley Steam Railway & Leisure Park


We were very lucky to be invited to spend the day here at Lappa Valley Steam Railway!


We have never visited Lappa Valley before so I had no idea what to expect, but I'm very pleased to say we had an amazing time! 
There is a huge variety of activities that kept us busy for an entire day, it's not just riding on a train! The whole park is clean and tidy, the staff friendly, and Lappa Valley is very suitable for toddlers. 


When we arrived, the grounds looked very clean and neat, and we could see a glimpse of a fun play park as well as a steam train.


On first impressions it looked small. Teeny tiny. But how wrong I was - when we went into the ticket office, we found out this is just where we catch the train to the leisure park...


The train was ready to depart, so we quickly ran past the initial park and took our seats. The Zebra was so happy on the train, copying all the different noises and waving at everything and anything!


After the journey through the countryside, we pass a lake and arrive at the park. There is so much more to do here than just ride about on trains and we didn't know where to start...


The park is set around old Cornish mine works so there are some spectacular building to see. 


There is lots to do here, but first we really wanted to ride the other trains! The Zebra made a bee-line for the electric engine...


All aboard and we are away. I was worried the Zebra would try and stand up or jump out, but she loved it so much she sat transfixed in her seat the whole time. For such an active, wiggly toddler this is nothing short of a miracle.


All change!! After doing a couple of laps on the electric train, it was over to platform two and another train carriage ride!


We went down another beautiful country track, and ended up in a big grassy area with a funky looking play park.


The train makes a short stop to allow us to have a play. Once here, you have the options of jumping back on after 5 minutes, waiting an hour for the next train, or there is a short nature trail that winds back to the platforms.


Once we returned it was time to get our crazy golf on! It's great to see no extra charge or deposits needed - just baskets to grabs balls and clubs from.


The Zebra may be too young to really get the hang of the game, but she gave it a good go!! The scenery here is amazing, and we got to wave at the trains as they passed by.


Next to the crazy golf is the boating lake. Again, I was unsure if I should trust a toddler, but the Zebra adored sailing around the lake and I'm so glad we used the canoe.


There's a little island in the middle which we sailed around. In amongst the reeds are some clear water patches where we saw lots of tadpoles! The Zebra was very pleased to see so many "Fisssssssh"


Back on dry land, and we swap our oars for wheels. Again, it's free to use the tractors and the track. In fact, the only activity in the whole park that had an additional fee was the eclectic ride on cars by the platform. 


One of the Zebras favourite things was the merry-go-round style swings - she never normally sits in a swing for more than 30 seconds but she would have happily stayed all day in this one.


And how cute is this playhouse?


The majority of the park is outside, but there is a small wooden building filled with toddler friendly soft play and toys. 


There are two main options for food and drinks - The Whistle Stop Cafe serving drinks, cakes and cold lunches, and the Carriage Cafe serving hot lunches.


The Whistle Stop had lots of very yummy looking home made treats on offer.  We did try some Victoria sponge cake in the afternoon and it was delish!


As the Whistle Stop sells no warm food,  we had to buy the Zebras lunch bag and then walk over to the Carrage Cafe. 


Unfortunately the food was the only minor disappointment of the day. As well as the food being split half way across the park, the menu was rather limited. 


The Zebra had a great selection inside her bag with good, tasty treats, and also a lovely pack of crayons for colouring. However, the only option for the sandwich was a cheap white roll and she ended up just picking the cheese out and leaving the bread.


I know I can be fussy with food due to my clean foods lifestyle, but there wasn't anything on the menu I felt I really wanted. I went with the tuna melt, which was okay, but was served with a very sad looking salad. 


As the name would suggest, the Carriage Cafe is set inside an old train carriage - it was fun to eat lunch feeling like we were on a train. Outside is a very smart decking area with great furniture, and although it didn't rain, I didn't quite trust the weather enough to eat outside...  


Other than the trains, my favourite thing about Lappa Valley is the huge variety of playground activities. I lost count of how many slides there was, and the Zebra spent a good couple hours of the day running, climbing and playing. 
Nowhere felt crowed either, with lots of space to just run and enjoy. There really was a cornish countryside feel to the whole park. 


In fact, the Zebra spent so much time running about, she was barely able to stay awake on the train home...


Although she did manage to perk up for a quick play in the park at the ticket office before heading back to the car!


A totally enjoyable day, very toddler friendly and big approval from mum. 
We had such a good time that we actually returned a couple days later with a friend and her little boy... 

If you are looking to go more than once, there are annual passes available, as well as special offers on return visits.

To book your visit, or find out more about the park, please visit their website or Facebook page:

http://www.lappavalley.co.uk