Saturday, 26 December 2020
Dennis' Terrible Truth
Dennis and his Beanotown friends have found out some astonishing news! Earlier this month, the Beano released an edition for grown ups. Yikes! I bet that must've upset kids who love the antics of Dennis and co., but hey, you're as young as you feel.
Tom & Jerry Cheese Cake
I found this recipe for a cartoony cheese cake while scouring the internet. I'm sure Jerry will like it!
I'm Such A Fool....
What have I done?
I'm putting up this blog entry to apologize for what I did earlier. I tried to do my Best Of The Year blog post early, but I couldn't because I got too stressed out and behaved like a stupid, whiny baby. I'm no supposed to do so, but why? Boxing Day started out normal, but as it progressed I became whiny and stressed out. I realize weekends are for taking the day off, but it brings tears to my eyes over what I've done. From now on, I won't do it again, I promise.
Instead, I'll show you the best moment of this week. How does that sound? Good? Glad to hear it. Tune in next week for my 'Favourite Thing' of this week!
Fun With I.B.F.Fs: A New Generation
As we exit the rainy days of Boxing Day and into the New Year, there'll be lots of fun adventures with I.B.F.Fs: A New Generation coming to my blog, both as stories and as plot details. While you're waiting for the new adventures - and Scream Street coming back on the 4th January - do these activities with your child, or if you're still a disabled adult who is creative, loves to make stories, never grows up and never will have a child - like me for instance. Each of these activities is themed around a certain I.B.F.Fs: A New Generation story, so you can have fun with me, Luke, Resus, Cleo, Luella, Six, Bluey, Bingo, Love Monster, Tiniest Fluffiest Bunny, Dog, Pug, Nothing, Hover and Feather.
War Child - We find out Rusty is deployed and, with Jack's help, help him find ways to cope without his dad for now by preparing a daily routine at home and at his school.
Bluey's Zoo - Inspired by Bluey's toy animals, we decide to have a go at being zoo animals ourselves, with Bluey as a zookeeper. But there's a catch: whenever Bluey shouts "Shamdoodle", we must swap places. This results in a really catastrophic mess indeed!
Breastfeeding - The mums gather in the town hall to find out why they breastfed their children.
Waiting For Lunch - It's the annual Bring Something Barbeque and, as everyone brings their own delicious dishes to the park's annual gathering, I wait with my friends and we drift off into a dream where we find a whole table of ginormous food which we can tuck into! That is, if Bandit the Giant doesn't spot us...
- Further tying into the theme of giants, check out this story of Jack & The Beanstalk, told through vibrant illustrations and in a child's own words, for inspiration.
Learn With Bingo - Bingo and her friends from Kindy teach us the alphabet, colours, shapes and numbers in this I.B.F.Fs story geared down to toddlers.
Handy Hands - A poem about the many uses of hands, according to me and my friends.
- To engage in more poetic sing-along action song fun, watch this video with Alex Pascall's song 'Handy Hands'. Join in at home!
Bluey Breaks The Rules - We engage in a game of basketball, but Bluey doesn't know how to play. We use all our knowledge and teamwork to teach her, and eventually Bandit and Chilli join in on the action.
- After this photo album make, play a game of basketball if you happen to have a basketball court outside in your garden, then wind down with this lovely book about a bilby.
Some Guys Have All The Luck - The relationship between Luke and me continues to grow, and the other I.B.F.Fs feel something is a bit suspicious about the way we act, thinking Luke doesn't have the courage to tell me he loves me. The kids work together to make Luke admit his feelings to me.
A Snuggly Adventure - The I.B.F.Fs and I spend an entire day dedicated to what we like to do best - snuggling! It is absolutely true, because I feel some beds my friends sleep in aren't too comfortable, so I try to find a place for us all to get comfy in.
Survival - The I.B.F.Fs and I go on a camping trip and hear about the legendary treasure of Hullaroo Mountain, which is just a few miles away from the campsite. With assistance from Muffin, Socks and Rusty, we need all our wits and skills to survive in the wild if we want to reach the mountain and find the treasure...but we get lost! Luckily, knowing nature, Nothing has the solution...
Body To Body - Luke, Resus, Cleo, Luella, Six and I are impressed with how Bluey, Bingo, Love Monster, Dog, Pug, Nothing, Hover and Feather and some members of the neighbourhood all go around without any clothes on, so we whip our clothes off and try to live life like the dogs, cute animals and lions that inhabit the town.
- Watch the Teletubbies episode I got the name for this story from before you start your charades game.
Robots, Milk & Cookies - The I.B.F.Fs and I spend time at Chloe's house, where we play at being robots. Curious Chloe wants to know one simple question: do robots like milk and cookies? We go to Dr. Skulley's house for answers, and surprisingly, he has an answer in the form of a robot he invented...that is powered by milk and cookies!
- Check out this recipe for chocolate chip cookies and serve them with milk for after you've done this activity!
Playschool Drama - Bingo, Lila and Missy play at tea parties at Kindy, but then a wizard, played by Lila, appears and starts 'turning Missy into stone'! Can Bingo save her?
Stick With Imagination - When a new spa opens up in town, Uncle Rad, Frisky, the gang and I find a place in the clouds where we can make our own spa, just by using our imaginations. There, we are greeted by a wise guy in a shimmering purple suit which treats us to any kind of luxury we fancy, including a saucy hot tub session for Uncle Rad and Frisky!
Bluey Goes Irish - It's St. Patrick's Day, and Bluey finds a leprechaun's hat on the table while helping her family prepare. The moment she puts it on, she turns green, speaks in an Irish accent and cannot stop doing jigs! The I.B.F.Fs and I must find a way to turn Bluey back to normal, but only Eefa's fairy bread has to do the trick...
Romantic Evening - Luke and I are spending time at my house while Aunt Trixie and Muffin have come to babysit. We are too indulged in our romantic fantasies, but Muffin and Trixie keep disrupting them, so we try to find someplace where we can share the love without any interruptions.
Light & Heavy - While having an after school snack at my house, we discover my strawberry mousse is light and fluffy and, realizing I'm doing light and heavy projects for my science homework, we try to find as many light and heavy things as possible and do an experiment seeing which is light and which is heavy.
Walking With Bluey - Set in prehistoric ages when animals still had sabre teeth, the gang and I join Chloe in an attempt to find a dinosaur in our area. The journey is long, but we're in for a surprise...
The Night Guardian - On a backyard campout, I tell the gang a tale about a mysterious figure who dwells in the world's jungles and rainforests, lives in a healthy, balanced diet of fruit and wishes the world's children goodnight. Upon hearing a strange noise, we head out onto the town to search for it...but get scared ourselves! Luckily, Sharptongue is there to reassure us that the moon will be there to guide us if we are ever worried.
Never Too Young To Have Fun - While spending time with Bluey, Bingo, Muffin and Socks at Nana's house, I ask Nana a couple of questions about what life was like when she was young. Nana responds in great detail, and we are all fascinated by it. When Sharptongue arrives with Nothing and Hover, she tells us stories of her youth, when she was a cub.
Messy Shampoo - I find many uses for my messy shampoo bottle on a trip to the swimming pool.
Bluey's Magic Carpet - My mum and I take a trip to the local hardware store, where I join Bluey and Bingo on a quest to find the elusive 'magic carpet' hidden just down the escalator. On the way, we have fun switching on all the lamps, hiding in the kids' section and even tricking Bandit into believing there are ghosts haunting the carpet section!
Pinot Grigio - The I.B.F.Fs and I are having fun on the beach when suddenly we notice Sir Otto, Dr. F, Quickmane and Powerstrike enjoying a drink. Quickly we find out the drink they are using is alcohol, and we become worried with Dixon that they might get drunk, until with advice from Bella Negative, we learn that it's an alcohol free drink that matters.
Morning Lie In - A poem about our lie ins on weekend mornings.
The Balloon - We use our circus balloons on a playdate at the park with Chloe, Muffin and Socks to learn about kindness and sharing.
Public Humiliation - It's been a horrible day for me and Luella - I get gum in my hair, while Luella is too late to go to the toilet and wets her pants! After school, we eventually manage to find a difference in one another and get over our embarrassing day, and the day after that we help Aunt Trixie when Muffin throws a tantrum in the supermarket.
Joking Around - Uncle Rad and Frisky take me and the gang on a day out. We go to the cinema, we go skating and we play football...but Six doesn't know how to joke around!
Summer Fete - The gang and I look forward to the Summer Fete. There's bubbles, face painting, games, delicious treats, pony rides and, most fun of all, a bouncy castle!
Power Rangers Iced Biscuits
Inspired by the iced biscuits I saw one of the villains in Power Rangers: Dino Supercharge eat, make and share these Power Rangers cookies with your loved one on your next date - if you are a lion and your boyfriend happens to be an elegant blue owl!
Andy's Animal Of The Week - Arctic Foxes
Who is clever enough in frigid conditions to not only find a way to keep warm and fight off predators like a pro, but also use a tea tray as a sledge? Andy, of course. Sandwiched between hearing him narrate Snow Babies on CBeebies and seeing him perform in concert later on on CBBC during 'Andy & The Band', now's the perfect time to learn about Arctic foxes from the expert behind ruining Walking With...footage.
Love Monster Valentines' Day Activity & Iced Biscuits
No one can take away my love for Love Monster!
Introduce your child to Love Monster the best way I know how - first with a lovely literacy activity featuring a big pink box monster, then spice up teatime Love Monster style by making monster-shaped iced biscuits! Click the link below to get started:
Or print out those fun Love Monster colouring sheets on the CBeebies website.
Shaun's Cafe
I was looking for and thinking about a craft for me to theme around the Shaun The Sheep episode 'We Wish Ewe A Merry Christmas', and I stumbled upon this article themed around a Shaun cafe in Tokyo, made to celebrate Aardman's birthday in 2016. Check it out:
Scream Street Bites - Night In
ME: Guys! Pizza's here!
LUKE/RESUS: Yeah, pizza!
ME: Aaaah. Nothing like lounging in front of the TV with a pizza takeaway on Boxing Day and watching CBBC.
LUELLA: Er....erm...is your pizza tomato and cheese?
ME: Yeah, no bits.
LUKE: Care to share a melted pizza topping kiss?
ME: Later, Luke, after we've eaten the last piece.
RESUS: My god, this pizza is soooo good!
LUELLA: Much better than cobweb and gherkin pizzas, I tell you. Imagine the amount of gas Farp passes.
CLEO: No, we don't want to talk about that. I'd prefer a pink crazy straw in my Coke.
ME: Okay, but since you've defeated the Grumpus today, don't tell me your burps sound like-
CLEO: [burps]
ME: The Grumpus. Six! Still stuffed from eating that pizza?
SIX: It's so good. You should seriously check out the effects normals brought onto this.
ME: Good on you. Now, who wants the last sli-hey! Who took the last slice of pizza?
[Dig and Lulu are eating the last two slices of pizza. They burp.]
RESUS: Lulu!
ME: Oh my god, does it always have to be Dig?
AT BEDTIME....
CLEO: Next time, just order sausage rolls as a substitute for pizza.
ME: Okay, but we've passed more gas out of our mouths than Farp on Christmas Day when he eats a whole plateful of sprouts, I think I can't take it anymore!
FARP: That's offensive!
ME: FARP?! What are you doing here?
FARP: Just thought I'd join you........any leftover pizza?
Watch The Grumpus on iPlayer:
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
I've just made an amazing discovery while online: pink chocolate chip strawberry-flavoured cookies! Could you believe it? That's sure to add a bit of flavour into your day, and to bring berry delight to any tea party - a pinkilicious one, by any chance. Click to check out the recipe:
Make sure to have these pink cookies with milk! That reminds me of a story featuring the berry sweet little girl, Strawberry Shortcake:
Make A 'Dennis & The Beanostalk' Mobile
Remembering CBBC specials isn't always easy, especially when it comes to Christmas episodes like Dennis & The Beanostalk. Make a mobile with images from Dennis & The Beanostalk which you can print out and turn into felt shapes, such as the rat, the Beanostalk itself, the giant Walter and so on an so forth. Bring mischief into your bedtime forever with Dennis and Gnasher!
Watch 'Dennis & The Beanostalk' on iPlayer:
Make Danger Mouse 'The Snowman Cometh' Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies & Chocolate & Vanilla Dessert
After watching 'The Snowman Cometh' this Boxing Day morning, you may need something to put your appetite on. Christmas is a time for doing whatever you want, chief! Danger Mouse and Penfold's favourite thing to share on Boxing Day is vanilla chocolate chip cookies with a nice sticky chocolate and vanilla dessert. You can make them yourself with these recipes - in fact, who doesn't fancy dipping vanilla-flavoured chocolate chip cookies into a chocolate and vanilla dessert?
Watch 'The Snowman Cometh' on iPlayer:
Another Dream-Hopping Visit To Ludo
In Australia, the Bluey episodes they're airing for Boxing Day today are 'The Pool' and 'The Beach'. In a Boxing Day dream, I once again visited Ludo to watch Bluey with the staff. The episodes I saw included 'Daddy Dropoff', 'Horsey Ride', 'Favourite Thing', 'Cafe' and 'Escape'. I then interviewed the staff about what their alternate episode names were, followed by me telling them my stories 'Blueberry Pancakes' and 'Stick With Imagination' inspired by the Bluey episodes 'Cafe' and 'Escape'. Have you ever created a story based on Bluey?
Make your own 'Escape' flipbook if you've never seen the episode before:
If you live in Australia, watch Bluey on ABC iView:
Scream Street Bites - Luke's Winter Evening
LUKE: I'm so glad you invited me on a date, Sybil. On that perfect day, too, there's snow everywhere!
ME: Yep, it's such a lot of fun!
LUKE: Sybil....SNOWBALL FIGHT!
[Luke throws a snowball at me. I laugh, and throw one back at him. We begin laughing as we chase each other in the snow, throwing snowballs at one another, until Luke leaps onto me, and we roll down a snowy hill. Once we reach the bottom, we laugh loudly and kiss.]
LATER, AT HOME...
ME: Aaaah...there's nothing like playing in the snow and then coming inside to a nice hot mug of cocoa. [sips] Aaaaaahhh.
LUKE: Sybil, I still feel cold from all that snow. And tired, too.
ME: I knew this would happen - this always occurs every time Luke plays outside in the snow. I'll tell you what, Luke - I'll treat you to a nice hot bath, then we'll change into our pyjamas and snuggle into bed together. How do you like that?
LUKE: Great!
IN THE BATHROOM...
LUKE: Why did you make the decision to dim the lights, let the bath overflow with bubbles and light the place with electronic candles?
ME: So I can set the mood.
LUKE: Really? (relaxing) Aaaaah. We've defeated the Grumpus four times this week, four times.
ME: You, Resus and Cleo. Your friends from Scream Street are the noisy ones. We get to spend time together this time. It is a hard Winter night after all. And we're away from your boss-around mum and your panicky dad, so there's plenty of time to be together.
LUKE: Time for a bubble massage.
ME: That's something Luella would do to Resus if they'd share a bath together.
[Luke begins to massage bubbles all over my body, while I sigh softly. We then embrace and kiss deeply]
LATER, IN MY BEDROOM...
ME: Luke! Got into your pyjamas yet?
LUKE: I'm in! I'm coming!
[Luke enters my room and snuggles beside me in bed. He lays his bare feet on my legs, and I giggle, so I lay my bare feet on his legs, and he giggles.]
LUKE: Oh my god, they're so cold!
ME: And to think we sneak a peek at our presents on Christmas Eve! We're alike!
[Luke and I tickle each other, until we collapse on the bed, exhausted.]
LUKE: This is the best Winter date ever. I don't think anyone would notice. By the way, someone is watching our battle with The Grumpus right now as we speak.
MEANWHILE...
[Alston and Bella Negative are watching 'The Grumpus' in their house.]
ALSTON NEGATIVE: I think I just said (bad B word) on TV.
Happy Boxing Day!
Watch The Grumpus on iPlayer:
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