Singing with Jo Jo Siwa

We were recently sent a Bodalicious Bow and Jo Jo Light Up Microphone

Both are available from most high Street toy shops. The microphone retails at around £14.99 and the the bow retails at £9 99

So what did we think?

Well peanut loves all things JoJo so the bow went down a treat. My personal opinion is that at £9.99 it's a little bit expensive for a hair accessory but she really enjoyed using it. Its like a normal bow but with the addition of a rainbow coloured hair extension attached.

The microphone was really good fun it works exactly as it was supposed to it has a lot of sayings from Jojo it also ticks all the glittery sparkly boxes for peanut. Check out our video here

Overall if you have a Jo Jo fan in your house these will be a welcome addition to your collection. I love that the mic can be used as a mic and a speaker and that it plays the whole of Boomerang so the kids can still listen to a 'proper song' even if they arent connected to a MP3 player

*we were sent these items free of charge, all thought are our own

How To Make A Jo Jo Bow

*We were sent these items FOC and this post contains affiliate links

Its actually not that hard to learn how to make a Jo Jo Bow if you have a Deluxe Jo Jo Bow Maker 

I'm not even joking this kit is awesome and once you have the knack its easy peasy, you could be making your own bows for parties and gifts before you know it!

We show you how in this video

COMING SOON

But first of all what is a Jo Jo Bow? Oh you can't have missed the Jo Jo Bow craze, even if you aren't a dance mam' They are huge hair bows as worn by Dance Moms Jo Jo Siwa (Jo Jo is the child not the Mom) are you following? Lots of school age children are wearing them and they hit the headlines this year when some schools banned them as a distraction!

Anyway this is a jo jo bow

Not unlike  a Fergie bow, if like me you are a child of the 80's/90's

The deluxe bow maker retails at £19.99 in most toy shops The box contains all you need to make lots of bows plus extras like, diamante's and key rings

Bow maker 

There's even a bow holder

To start its best to have a few practice runs before you commit to chopping any ribbon !

It feels like the bow isnt going to turn out right but I promise if you just follow the instructions you will be left with a beautiful JO JO, just like this 

So what did we think? Well peanut is age 8 (nearly 9) and needed some help with the finishing, just to get the tie of the cotton and ribbon tight enough, but she has real pride in the fact that this is a home made bow and she was instrumental in most of its creation! 

Is it worth the money? I have to say yes, there is plenty enough to make 4 big bows plus small ones  more and you can easily buy extra gross grain ribbon to keep making them once this supply has gone. considering a pack of two bought in the sale would set you back around £8 and you have all the extras in this I do think its good value for money

Peanut is loving Jo jo right now and  has spotted loads of Jo Jo roducts. Shes going to e really pleased with this brolly , and as much as I hate following the crowd I like Jo Jo's encouragement to be true to yourself and be kind

You can read about the Bodalicious Bow and Jo jo Microphone in our other review here

Pretend to Bee Children's Costume Review

We love a bit of role play at Monkeyfeet HQ so when 'Pretend to Bee' asked if we would like to try one of their role play outfits I said a definite yes! Termite is all about playing Doctors and Vets at the Moment and I know her reception class will be having a Doctor theme role play area soon so we chose this Medic outfit

Now termite is in age 5-6 clothes from most stores so we chose the size 5-7 for this outfit and as you can see its a generous fit so we will get lots of wear out of it, it even fits The Golden Child who is in 7-8 years normally

The medic outfit is priced at £15.95 and having seen the quality I'd be happy to say its good value for money and I'd definitely buy from them in the future. The material is sturdy and the outfit is well made. You all know what I'm talking about when I say some kids dressing up is just awful, cheap flimsy fabric and awful stitching that will come loose at the slightest tug ? Well this outfit is thankfully not like that at all.

Termite played Doctor to her (genuinely poorly) sick sister and her (not so genuinely poorly) sick Brother. She even went to get her Doctors bag and took a history!

Pretend to bee have a huge range out role play outfits including some great career outfits and Nativity Costumes , you know its the season for getting your kids in awesome dress up though right?

I think Pretend to Bee are a fab resource for primary schools and parents alike. They offer free delivery on orders over £25 and next day delivery on orders placed before 3pm Monday  to Thursday

You can connect with Pretend to Bee on Facebook and Twitter and you can order on their website 

Also check out these Santa JimJams for little littles that come in a jam jar! On sale right now at only a fiver!!

Cajun Chicken Recipe

I get sooooo bored of plain old chicken that I'm always willing to try something new. This is a totally made up recipe  totally made up but tastes great and can be tweaked to be free on Slumming World

Ingredients

2 tsp Onion powder
3 tsp Garlic powder
2tsp Cayenne pepper (this makes it quite spicy, adjust to taste)
3 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Cumin
Pinch Salt
Pinch of Pepper

3 large chicken breasts cut into small slices or chunks

Sliced carrot
2 peppers cut into chunks

A zip lock bag
A roasting bag or tin foil
Olive oil or fry light (SW free)

Preheat the oven to 180 or Gas mark 5

Combine all spices in the roasting bag
Add veggies and meat to the bag and shake well and rub mix into the ingredients to ensure everything is evenly coated

Roast for 45 minutes at 180 60 minutes if just roasting in foil

I serve this with nice n spice veggie rice check the recipe here 

Let me know what you think when you try this recipe, we loved it at Monkeyfeet HQ

Why Family Theatre is Winning This Half Term

I make no bones about my love of theatre, I love taking the kids and sometimes watch them and their reactions as much as the actual show. Theatre is such an amazing experience and I feel privileged to be able to share it with my kids

But this half term there really is so much choice across my favourite North East venues

The Customs House have Wendy the Witch and the Long Lost Spell running from Monday, October 23, to Wednesday, October 25, with shows at 2pm. Tickets, priced £7.50. Will Wendy escape the Goblin Kings Curse ? The Customs House also have Harry Panto and the Chamber Pot of Secrets on Thursday, October 26, at 1.30pm and 6pm and There will also be Halloween-themed crafts in the October Half Term Mini and Mega Maker Arty Spooktacular on Monday, October 23. Children aged 11 and under will create squashed toads, paper pumpkins and monster puppets between 11am and 2pm, while children aged 11 to 13 will tackle a different creepy creative challenge between 2pm and 4pm. The cost is £2 per child and grown-ups are required to stay with their children for the Mini Makers session between 11am and 2pm, while Mega Makers, between 2pm and 4pm, is a grown-up free zone

Tyne Theatre and Opera House have the ever popular Liz Pichon and The Tom Gates Brilliant Bands Tour on Friday at 1pm, Join Liz as she presents TOM GATES BRILLIANT BANDS AND DOODLE LIVE TOUR, a hugely fun-packed & INTERACTIVE monster drawing event with live music! Bring a pencil and paper, learn to doodle just like Tom and hear DUDE3 Tom’s FAVOURITE band in the whole WIDE world play some excellent tunes. There’s stories and music and a chance to meet Liz and the band after the show

Northern Stage Have loads of shows to choose from but our top pick its the beautiful BalletLORENT's Rumpelstiltskin. BalletLORENT have a truly special place in my heart, my biggest babies experienced their first ever ballet with this company and it was a most magical performance (search youtube for 'BalletLorent Underneath the Floorboards'). You definitely will not regret choosing to take your family to one of their performances

And last but by no means least

Alphabetti Theatre have 'Walter' Showing between 24th October and 3rd November (check venue for times) £8 er ticket A play with people and shadows written by Steve Byron & directed by Ali Pritchard Leaving his wife Rosie and daughter Ivy behind on Tyneside, Bob enlists with the 9th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. After a short training he is posted to the front lines of the Western Front. Walter, Bob’s precious champion homing pigeon travels with him.Bob soon witnesses the true horror of war culminating in a big push over the top into a bloody battle over territory. After a fierce fire fight lasting for days, Bob becomes pinned down, injured and with little chance of rescue. It is up to Walter to carry an important message across the trenches and the battlefields, above the mud, blood and across the waters.
Embarking on an “adventure to end all adventures”, Walter must face dangers at every turn, but with bravery and determination to fulfil his master’s one final wish.

So these are our Theatrical choices for half term which do you fancy?

Why I Love Kazoops

Monty and Jimmy Jones are back with brand new Kazoops Adventures!

I've written before about Kazoops and how we love the cheerful colourful episodes but I was reminded this week of exactly how brilliant Monty's adventures really are!

So kazoops returned to our screens and I happened to sit down to watch 'Car Trip last night with the kids, Id just finished telling the man how sick and nervous I was to be returning (albeit for a day) to work in a 'proper for someone else' job! The kids were asking me if I hated working for other people and it was hard to explain

The as fate would have it this episode shows Monty and Jimmy jones join Monty's Mum for work, they find it super exciting but mum doesn't then they sing a lovely song about appreciating the parts of your job that are great, enjoying the parts of work that make you smile an

d remembering ow it used to be to see your job with new appreciation. Suddenly I remembered that actually I love theatre, i love dealing with customers (mostly) I enjoy the challenge and I like to make a difference. So I was all ready to go with a new sense of excitement!

If you haven't yet watched an episode with your little people please give it a shot it really is such a lovely cheerful programme

Kazoops is on Cbeebies weekdays at 3.45pm and you can catch up on iplayer, you can connect with Kazoops on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 

I have been paid to write this post, all veiw are my own and are genuine

Words Fail Me

Many of you will know that last year we lost the kids' lovely Nana. I posted about taking a break and healing and to be honest since then my blogging has been sporadic and if I'm honest a bit crap.

I've been vowing to 'get back to it' for months but somehow it's gotten harder and harder to start writing and it's become scary now!

I love blogging. I love getting messages from my readers to say they've enjoyed something I've wrote and I still have a desire for it but in dealing with the grief of my family and its effect on my husband, he who is the rock, the safety net, the calm and logical one, I've lost the safety blanket of our calm, content and smooth running life, and with that comes anxiety which in turn makes me think

'do people even read my blog'
'why would anyone want to read my ramblings'
'am I ever going to be as good as...'
***let me insert here, I truly beleive in  'comparison is the thief of joy' and try hard to push this one away
'but I'm rubbish'

'I don't know what to say'

'What will people think'

Mostly though my best writing happens as monologues in my head and I never believe it translates well to actual words. And so as soon as I'm faced with a computer I freeze!

I currently feel like my life is in chaos and have felt this way for a while, I cant seem to get a handle on things and writing gets pushed to the bottom of the pile, behind looking after my kids and my husband, trying to be a good wife and mother and a good housewife and cook. Balancing the many activities that we do and all of the other stuff I take on because I'm as mad as a box of wasps! But all of this makes me anxious and when Im anxious I'm critical of myself and I don't lie so surely the things I tell myself (that list above is just for starters, must be true!

So as today is World Mental health Day I figured its the perfect day to say, I've been a crap blogger because I've been fighting with anxiety, even saying that makes me anxious!

But I'm taking a gentle approach to healing and I will get back to writing because it's time now to get back to it or stop completely and it's dawned on me one thing I love to do ,and do every day, is cook. So for a while, to flex my writing muscles, I shall be bringing you recipes and hopefully the good, non food, stuff will follow (including my letter to Termite for her 4th birthday, poor third child never gets the good parenting!)