Spiky hair, don't care...

Ace has needed a haircut for a while, for the last few weeks he has had permanent bed head. Yesterday evening, I announced with absolute certainty that I was going to get Ace's haircut while Honey was at school the following day and I'm pleased to say that the mission has been accomplished.

Way back when Ace was a few months old, a new Barber's shop opened on our walk into town. I know this because someone handed me a leaflet as I walked past 'for when the little man had a bit more hair'. I'm pretty sure the leaflet ended up in the recycling box as I was expecting Ace to be a little Phil Mitchell like Honey was and not grow much hair until he was 2. Wrong! He turned 18 months today, this was his second haircut and the barber took off more hair today than Honey had on her whole head at this age!

Barber n Bar is a vintage style Barber's shop on Winchcombe Street in Cheltenham. Its sleek black and red decor, comfy sofas and upbeat music give the place a cool yet relaxed vibe and they offer haircuts, colours and grooming treatments for men and boys. What's more, they also have a fully stocked bar! 

Ace was a really good boy, after repeatedly taking off the gown and initially wanting to get down from the chair, he settled down to watch some Peppa Pig on Daddy's phone while the barber worked his magic. Our barber's attention to detail was phenomenal and it looked as if he cut each hair individually, he even used clippers to shape Ace's hair round his ears and styled his hair with some luxurious pomade!

The name doesn't make it sound like the most child friendly place on Earth, but we honestly couldn't have been more impressed with how they accommodated Ace, especially at such short notice. 

Here's a quick roundup of what we loved:

- Super talented barber!
- Bar stools at the perfect height to pop your backpack down on and chuck your sling over.
- Plenty of room inside the shop to put your buggy if needs be.
- Child sized gowns.
- Booster cushions.
- PS3 (although Ace was more interested in Peppa ;-).
- Loyalty card scheme (collect 8 stamps for a free haircut).
- 30% off a child's haircut Monday to Thursday.
- FREE kids drink.
- FREE haircut for a child under 10 with a paying adult (Mon-Thurs).

Find Barber n Bar on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and follow to stay up to date with all their offers!

Ace wears... The Adventures of Ace t-shirt by Sophia and the Fox

Keeping it clean...

This is a little bit different for me, a lady called Nicole got in touch via the blog and asked if I'd consider publishing a guest post. As you know, I'm a huge fan of fostering independence and a sense of responsibility in children so when I read her article, the obvious answer was yes! Nicole just loves cleaning. She loves it so much that she turned her passion into a business  and now runs N3 EOT cleaning team. She is a firm believer that kids should be taught about cleaning chores and what better way to do that than by turning the cleaning into a game? 

Kids Can Help You With The Cleaning 

Tips and Tricks to Turn Cleaning into A Game

- A guest post by Nicole Gardiner - 

Let's be honest, have you tried to involve your kids in doing some chores around your home? Often, this attempt can lead you down a blind alley, which is no surprise at all, since most people do not find cleaning enjoyable. However, there is still hope! In order to  encourage your kids to help you more with household duties, you may need to attract their attention by turn everything into a game.

I strongly believe that kids should be taught to clean up after themselves. From an early age, they need to know that everybody at home has duties and these duties have to be carried out. Of course, the younger the child is, the easier the chores will need to be, but you may be surprised by how much kids are capable of doing to help when it comes to cleaning!

As we all know, every child is unique and feels motivated and encouraged by different strategies. Some kids prefer to follow a task list when cleaning and others prefer the cleaning to be turned into a fun game. Some kids need silence to perform at their best and others cannot be productive without listening to music. As I said, every child is unique and you know your child best. 

I am here to make everything a little bit easier for you and for your kids as well and will share some ideas to help children get more willingly involved in the cleaning process. Hopefully you will find these strategies helpful and you will be pleased with the results.

Let's try this. Grab a laundry hamper and walk around your home. Everything which is not where it should be, you put it inside. You may ask what kind of trick this is? Pay attention. When the children come back home from school, ask them to separate their own belongings from the hamper and put them back where they belong before they can watch TV, for example. Some may call it bribery, but it really does work. Try it!

Here we are for another trick, this one's called the colour game. Can you guess what it's all about? Tell your kids to look for everything black in their room. As they locate a black item, they have to put it in the place where it is usually kept. Continue the game by telling them to look for everything yellow, pick it up and again put it where it belongs. See? This can be very funny for little ones and it will also help them learn about colours. 

Every time your children are about to clean their rooms, set a time limit. If they are done before the timer goes off, you can give a reward to your little champions. They love to be appreciated and feel helpful. This will also motivate them to work more efficiently and quickly, without wasting precious time or getting distracted.

You do not expect your kids to be born taught, do you? You have to explain them what their duties are and how they are supposed to get them done. You know that they cannot clean a room in the same way as you so a good idea is to clean with them in the beginning so that they can get used to it and will know how you expect something to be done. 

Following these simple tricks and ideas will help your children learn about responsibility and you will have a cleaner home. There's no need for tears or screaming, cleaning can be fun!