Back To School With Tum Tum Tots!

Would I even be able to genuinely call myself a blogger if I didn’t write at least one post with the words ‘back to school’ in it?! I’m not, however, good at back to school for a number of reasons.

1) I’m not generally an organised person – I have grand ideas but I never manage to pull them off. It’s not me. I am the Mum ironing hems with my hair straighteners last minute (not any more since my GHDs went kaput – cheers for that GHD, VERY helpful!) and foraging in the local shop on the way to school for a fruit based snack because I haven’t been to the supermarket yet! I kid you not but my kid’s PE kits (same as last year, no new outfits for my big two this September) get washed on the last day of any holiday if they’re lucky!

2) I hate them going back. It genuinely gives me the antiques roadshow feeling thinking about them leaving me and trotting back to the grind. They deal with it much better than I do so I bury my head in the sand and try not to think about it. They got new school shoes this year because I bought them in the first week. I wouldn’t have been able to bring myself to do it at any other point because it would have been too much of an indicator that the holidays were on the way out! I see the posts from other Mums opening bottles of cheap Cava to celebrate their offspring’s return to normality but you’re more likely to find me face planted in the Prosecco because I am so miserable that the holidays are over!

3) I HATE making packed lunches. Hate it. I mean ordinarily I would force them to have whatever’s on offer at school instead, how bad can fish fingers be? BUT… That was before I witnessed the kids school dinners for myself AND spoke to pretty much every single one of their friends hoping and praying for just one of them to say ‘yeah, I love the school dinners!’ Sadly… I did see for myself that the daily slop is truly revolting and I haven’t heard one even mediocre account from anyone about them. I couldn’t possibly force them to stomach the revoltingness (and the fish fingers… Yes, they even manage to ruin them somehow, they are wet apparently. I am not a great cook but seriously, what do you have to do to a fish finger to cook it so that it comes out of the oven wet?)) so instead have to make their lunches myself.

And that’s what brings me on to Tum Tum Tots… So! Occasionally, just occasionally I will get some kind of wind on which will see me creating themed perfect packed lunches. We are talking sandwiches cut into shapes with cookie cutters, vegetables carved into ‘stuff’ and bento style fodder which would make even the most middle class, yummiest, mummiest, bread baking, cake making, Boden wearing mama fear for her skills… BUT! Unfortunately, although slightly more common than a blue moon, this kind of adrenaline to be prefect doesn’t happen often and packed lunches instead usually see me scrabbling around in the cupboards for nut free food (I always seem to have Ferrero Rocher which would make an excellent snacked size lunch accompaniment I’m sure you, AND the Ambassador will ALL agree but alas they are school banned and last time I popped one in I got a yellow post it note of shame – considering they are both allergen enemies AND chocolate – sorry but if it ain’t a bar then in my book it’s fair game but I’ll give them the nuts and in the cupboard the golden balls will stay!) which is both in date and savoury enough to pass for a ‘proper lunch’! IF I find a can of tuna and a long lost pack of wraps then I consider myself flying high as one tin generally makes enough wraps for two days and then I am sorted but more often than not we buy an ‘Attack A Snack’ on the way to school with a Capri Sun…

Only some adorable little creature told Florence that she only gets an ‘Attack A Snack’ (it’s an over priced, heavily processed pack with ham, wraps and ketchup) because her Mummy can’t be bothered with making her lunch now that she has the baby to look after…

Oh hello invitation to battle… I have missed you old friend!

Firstly I explained the glaringly obvious to Florence who was hurt by these words – That little darling’s Mummy has told her this because the kid has gone home and said ‘Florence has an ‘Attack A Snack;, can I have one too?’ and her Mummy who has nothing to do all day other than fluff her hair and prance about in active wear has thought ‘shite… They’re bloody expensive… But I remember wanting stuff like that when I was at school… How can I take the heat off me saying no without being a bad guy… Oh I know, I’ll put the blame on Florence’s Mum instead and make out like she doesn’t love her kids because she buys them processed, over priced novelty lunch fodder’!

I see where you are lady… I see you, so stop hiding! You’ve now raised the gauntlet. You wanted great lunches. You’re getting them and when your kid sees what’s in store for my two this year you will have to weep… I win. Hands down and I’m not sticking picks with eyes on them into Mini Babybels either… This is easy AND impressive! In fact you don’t even have to weep, but you will have to rush out and buy what we’ve been trialling for all our summer picnics and what will make lunches so much easier from now on! Hell to the flipping yeah bee-artch!

Now the food inside them doesn’t even have to be impressive. Cut up cucumber, carrots, shop bought hummus (the kids and I have established that my home made attempts are in no way worth having) but when served in the Tum Tum Kids Dipping Pot Separator it looks SO much more fancy. Little pot in the middle for the hummus and a separate side for stuff to dip into it. LOVE this pot SO much!

What you could also see in these pictures is the Nesting Children’s Snack Boxes which are absolutely brilliant! I mean they’re just pots of course BUT their lids actually stay on and don’t leak and they stack inside each other meaning they take up less room in the cupboards. I have so many plastic bits and bobs in my cupboards that believe me, this is enough to make me dance around the kitchen! They also have bugs on them (and they do other designs) which are bright and colourful. Just a nothing aside really when you consider how useful these pots are but I like pretty things and these are that!

Now, look closely in the picture of our picnic on the beach because what you will also see is the insulated ladybird lunch box! You know my kids are Florence Mary Ladybird, Jimmy Buster Bumblebee and Raffie Rocco Cricket right?! So I kind of love bugs… And anything I see with a ladybird, bumblebee or a cricket (we’ve not actually found any crickety bits yet but I’m hopeful), we have to have it. It helps that this is actually an item which is, you know, helpful! I put the drinks and yogurts in this bag all summer to keep them cool and it’s got loads of space in it, surprisingly so in fact!

But that’s not my favourite picnic/packed lunch item from Tum Tum Tots… Oh no! That prize goes to the Thermal Kids Food Flask which I am going to buy a second of for Jimmy (Florence has claimed this one) as it now means two things… ONE, My kids can have a hot lunch in the form of soup or pasta or left over roast chicken or I dunno, anything that fits in a pot and you would want warm and TWO, Pasta with butter and cheese is like one of my go to quick meals when there’s nothing left in the bloody fridge (we’re not too poor to buy food we are just to lazy to go and buy it) and now they can have it for lunch too – hoooooooooraaaaaaaah! My only issue would be that the paint work has scratched and chipped rather easily but I’m still going to buy a second, it’s not enough of a problem to put me off the product!

I am very, very impressed with the Tum Tum Tots pots and products and I do think they will make my lunch time making life much easier as well as looking the part! Heck, I might even take the ‘Attack A Snacks’ out of their packets and decant them into one of these – jokes! But IN YOUR FACE JUDGEY SCHOOL MUM, IN YOUR FACE!

We were sent a selection of Tum Tum Products.