Now TV Kids Pass


 
When I was growing up, there wasn't much selection when it came to TV choices. It resulted in watching endless amounts of reruns that we had recorded onto VHS and pretending we were Scooby and the gang in our front room. I'm glad that in the time that has passed between me being young and Max growing to love shows of his own that there is a bit more of a selection. And now there is even more to choose from thanks to the Now TV Kids Pass. 

We are massive fans of Now TV already, me and Scott as parents have logged countless hours of shows as we work from home (I've just finished Grey's Anatomy whilst Scott is obsessed with the Daily Show!). So when we found out that Now TV were launching it's own Kids Pass we knew it was going to be cracking. We don't have any paid for TV packages so Now TV is a perfect addition to our home. 

Now TV is a fantastic service that is available on your TV, laptop, tablet or other devices and runs on a monthly subscription. We use our Xbox to access it but also watch on our phones and tablet when we aren't at home. Within Now TV there are several different packages you can sign up to including entertainment, movies and sport.

For £2.99 a month for the Kids Pass, you have access to a treasure trove of channels and shows to please even the most picky of TV fans. They include channels such as CBBC, Milkshake, Boomerang and Cartoon Network. Within this you have access to series and shows galore. The best bit about it? You can cancel the payment whenever you want as you aren't tied in to any pesky contracts. We love this as it gives us the flexibility to add packages in the months that we know we will get the most use out of them.
 

 To celebrate the release of Now TV Kids Pass, Max was sent a box full of goodies to get him in the TV watching mood. Like most kids, Max absolutely adores delving into another world through his TV screen so we couldn't wait to get started. At the moment, his favourite thing to do is snuggle up in his Adventure Time blanket with a mug of tea (in his Now TV mug of course!) and watch either Adventure Time or one of the many Scooby Doo shows that are out at the moment.

The user interface of the Now TV Kids Pass is worth the £2.99 a month alone. With an adorable space theme and cute aliens all over the place, Max absolutely adores the characters and gets super excited when he logs into the Kids Pass section. One thing I love is that once you are in the Kids Pass section it's a lot harder for the kids to leave it which is a bonus as it means they won't be putting on Game Of Thrones by mistake!

I'm loving reliving a bit of my childhood with him by watching Scooby and the gang but can definitely say that my mystery cracking skills are a bit rusty! We are also really enjoying discovering new shows and channels to love. We don't have any TV packages through any other providers so it's great to go on adventures with Finn and Jake, swoop into action with the Powerpuff Girls or fight bad guys with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

We are absolutely loving the Now TV Kids Pass and will definitely be investing in the £2.99 a month for the foreseeable future. It's a great investment to know that Max is enjoying and discovering a whole host of content that he wouldn't get on our normal TV alone! Thank you so much Now TV for introducing us to this fantastic service, we can't wait to have another slumber party!




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The end of Reception

 

Next week marks the end of Max's first year at school. I honestly can't believe I'm writing that as it feels like only yesterday that we took him for his first day. In the space of a year he has grown from a preschool kid to an intelligent little boy in the blink of an eye. 

We were given his school report yesterday and reading about how he is excelling in most aspects of school, how he loves playing with his friends and how he loves to learn. I love that Max runs to school each morning with a spring in his step as he can't wait to learn, that he comes out of school full of knowledge, stumbling over his words to tell me all the things he did. 

He's made the best group of friends, spending weekends together, going on treasure hunts and playing games in the playground. I can't believe that he's flourished in front of my eyes. Sadly he's not got his best mates in his class next year, it's not a worry as he's got "the coolest teacher" and he can't wait to broaden his horizons and learn more. 

I can't believe it's the end of reception and I can't wait to see my little man grow in year one.

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Skinfix Review


Ever since Max had his accident we have been on the lookout for the perfect range of lotions and washes that wont irritate his skin. We've spent months trying to hunt down some great fragrance free products that are full of natural ingredients and we've found a range! Introducing Skinfix Inc, a Canadian company that are taking the UK by storm.

We were recently sent their Skinfix gentle baby set. We opted for the baby set over the adult range due to it being kinder on Max's healing skin. The set comprises of an eczema balm, nappy balm, hair and body wash and gentle lotion.

All of their products are packed full of natural ingredients, full of soothing oils and made without peanut and tree ingredients so they are suitable for nearly all skin types. They have deliberately chosen to make their lotions thicker by not adding water to keep the formula more concentrated. The formula is one which has been used for 150 years which holds lots of promise.

We have been using the products for the past month and I can honestly say that I love them. As a family we have all been using them for everything from eczema to Max's burn with fantastic results. Max's back is looking softer and the skin tones are blending together, the eczema on my legs has cleared up completely.

Thank you Skinfix for letting us try out your fantastic products. They can be purchased at Boots and start at £8.99.
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WB Studio Tour: Making of Harry Potter

 
At Christmas we received the gift we had been waiting for. The one we had been patiently begging for. A letter from Hogwarts. The whole of the Castle clan had been handed their invite to the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour and we could not wait!

Roll forward almost 6 months and we bundled Max up in the car, completely oblivious to where we were going and head on up. As soon as we drove into the car park Max's face erupted into a smile of pure excitement and glee. We met up with the rest of the family and Max cast spells on everyone as he walked in with Tom.

 
It's hard to describe how magical the studio tour is without spoiling some of it. But it's set across two sound stages (J and K) with an outside area between. It's set out in a way that you can walk around and not miss one bit. Which is great as you can get easily distracted. It can take 3-4 hours to go around the tour and we chose a late afternoon slot so Max could sleep on the journey home. 

You have to book tickets in advance, which is perfect as there are no long queues and there is a set amount of people browsing the lot at any one time. There is more than enough space for a picnic in between the two sound stages but you can't have food or drink as you are walking around.
 

The tour was more than what we could have hoped for. Max absolutely loved seeing the sets and the props of all his favourite things. He spent ages pondering over which wand was his favourite, what broom he should have and what bed would have been his in the Gryffindor dormitory.

It's amazing what small touches can bring to a tour like this, there are fantastic interactive displays that require you to wave your hand, cast a spell or even sit on a broom. Max and some of the others absolutely loved flying against the green screen on a broom whilst I loved how the crammed all 9 of us into the flying car.

Be sure to talk with the guides, they are amazing at making your trip extra special. They marveled over Max in his costume, gave us bits of trivia even we didn't know and absolutely love sharing their knowledge of the films.  


Once on the back lot you can view lots of the vehicles used in the film (Hagrids bike, Knight bus etc) and at the moment you can go into Privet Drive. We loved popping in there, the fireplace full of letters is magnificent! At the back lot you can also try some Butterbeer which we all found out was definitely not for us.

One of Max's favourite parts of the tour was seeing Diagon Alley, looking at all of the shops and telling me what he was going to buy from where when he goes off to Hogwarts. I loved seeing all the creatures, prosthetics and small things. There's something amazing about seeing how one series of books has created a whole entire world and I was blown away by the fine attention to details from the sweet boxes to newspapers. We held a moment silence when we saw Dobby and almost jumped with fright when we saw Aragog!

 

The studio tours is one of the most amazing tours you can do. Even the people in our party that weren't really fans were in awe of it all. There is so much to do that you will be talking about it for months after. The castle at the end is just a stunning finale to a fantastic day out (be prepared, you might cry!). It was one of those days out that we will remember as not just a fantastic insight into the world of Harry Potter, but also memorable time spent with family.



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