Judith Viorst’s, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has won a George G. Stone

Center Recognition of Merit and a Georgia Children’s Book Award.

We have all had that day where we wake up on the ‘wrong side of the bed’ and things just don’t go our way,

and for Alexander, it is just one of those days.

Getting out of bed, he trips on a skateboard and drops his sweater into a sink full of water. At breakfast,

Alexander’s brothers Nick and Anthony reach into their cereal boxes and pull out amazing prizes, while all

Alexander ends up with is cereal.

Then, on the way to school, he doesn’t get the window seat in the carpool. At school, his teacher doesn’t like

his drawing of an invisible castle (which is actually just a blank sheet of paper) and criticizes him for singing

too loud. Then his friend Paul reduces Alexander to third best friend and there is no dessert in his lunch.

After school he goes to the Dentist and Alexander finds out he has a cavity, then the elevator door hurts his

foot and his brother Anthony pushes him into the mud, then his other brother Nick calls him a cry baby for

crying, to top it off, his Mum catches him in the act of punching Nick.

If that wasn’t enough, at the shoe store, they’re sold out of Alexander’s choice of sneakers, so his Mum has to

buy him plain white sneakers, which he’ll refuse to wear.

But things don’t stop there, at Dad’s office; Alexander makes a mess of things when he fools around with everything

there getting to the point where Dad tells him not to pick him up from work anymore.

At home, Alexander’s bad day is far from over. The family has lima beans for dinner, there is kissing on TV, at bath

time the water is too hot, he gets soap in his eyes and he loses a marble down the drain. Then when he gets out of the

bath he has to wear his least favourite pyjamas…and it still doesn’t stop there.

At bedtime, Alexander’s nightlight burns out, he bites his tongue, Nick takes his pillow, and the family cat chooses

to sleep with Anthony.

The book teaches children that everyone has bad days and that there are better ways of dealing with your problems than

just getting upset.

You can find this book in your local bookstore or online at amazon.com

In the Valentine’s spirit, we asked the stylist from alexandalexa.com to pick out her Top 5 Love Tops for kids

from alexandalexa.com:

1

Juicy Couture:  Posie Pink Tee, £45.00

2

Quincy: Grey Tee with ‘I love motorcycles’, £46.00

3

Fabric Flavours: Blue ‘Little Miss Giggles’ Tee, £15.50

4

Mayoral: White Longsleeve with “Love Music” Print, £16.50

5

D&G Junior: Navy Sleeveless Heart Tee, £78.00

In an attempt to really search out the top London restaurants

for your kids, we decided it shouldn’t be us quickly aging adults

that judge the place, but rather representatives of your children,

mini-critics will call them, to visit and test the restaurants of

London for themselves.

Because most British children are used to just one type of food at

home, we decided we will try to take our mini-critics to restaurants

from different places around the world, so their meal experience

can also double as a little mini vacation, allowing your kids to get

a glimpse of another culture.

To start this new way of reviewing restaurants, we decided to take our

mini-critics, aged 5, 8 and 11 to Wahaca to try Mexican food.

Before we went, we took a look at the website, which is very interactive

and kept the kids and I busy for 15 minutes as there is a lot of

information, colour and fun to get through.

Though there was quite a que when we arrived, due to Wahaca’s

strict no-booking policy, the atmosphere is incredible, energy is

all around you, from the vibrant colours in the decor to the bubbly

conversation of patrons around you, the open kitchen and the bustling

waiters. there is a large bar/seating area, where parents and caregivers

can grab a drink for themselves as well as fun alchol free drinks for the

little ones while you wait.

There is a large bar/seating area, where adults can grab a tasty mojito

or margarita for themselves and get fun alcohol free drinks for the little

ones. During our wait, my mini-critics and I  we were able to pick what

we were going to eat, while sitting comfortably on a fabric bench in the

waiting area.

We ordered some traditional Mexican drinks as well to keep the excitement

up while we waited. Our 11 year old tried Horchata, a Mexican classic made

of dairy free almond and rice milk with a touch of cinnamon, our 8 year old

went for an one of an Apple & Strawberry flavour Chogworth Valley Juice,

while our 5 year old went for a very exciting….water.

After about a 20 minute wait, which flew by, our friendly waitress patiently

helped us choose the perfect meal, because our mini-critics had not tried

Mexican food outside of the odd melted cheese on Doritos version of nachos,

we chose to get the ‘Wahaca Selection’ which is a assortment of their favourite

plates, the selection included 3 pork pibil tacos, 3 seasonal vegetable tacos,

2 huitlacoche quesadillas, 2 herring tostadas and 2 chicken taquitos with

green rice and black beans. Each of the items are served in small portions,

perfect for tiny hands trying something new and all of the items were thoroughly

enjoyed by all three children…except the herring tostadas.

Though these particular mini critics are fans of fish like Salmon, the Herring tostadas has more

of an ‘adult’ taste about them. We rectified the situation by ordering the Black Bean Tostadas which

had re-fried beans, avocado salsa, Lancashire cheese and fresh tomato salsa, which were enjoyed much

 more.

During the wait for the food, the kids were kept busy with the menu, which is made of paper and can

be coloured on (if you bring your own pencils!), the food came very quickly though, and in intervals

so that you were constantly getting something new just as you had finished the last dish.

Due to the taste difference of the food, we also spent a lot of time talking about what the kids liked

and disliked about the tastes, how to pronounce each item and so on. There was no need for

entertainment as the service itself is entertaining enough.

For puddings we went with ‘Churros y Chocolate’ and ‘Chocolate Ice Cream (with a touch of spice)’,

the Churros were consumed quietly with lots of “mmmm’s” from all three mini-critics, but the chocolate

ice cream with the ‘touch of spice’ was met with a furrowed brow of disgust and an embarrassed

under the breath admission of “it burns my throat, Holly” politely whispere by the youngest of our

mini-critics.

The kids had been learning about ‘going green’ at school and we were all very impressed when we found out

that the interior is designed with mostly recycled wooden interior, lamps made out of tomatillo cans dotted

with bottle caps, wooden crates packed with fruit and tubs of chilli plants. To top it off, the ingredients used

to make the food is fresh, free-range, sustainable, ethically sourced and/or produced locally produced locally.

When you leave the resturant, you matches full of little chili seeds, so when the spring comes, the kids can plant

the seeds in their back garden and grow their very own chilis!

As a result of our visit, my mini-critics and I give Wahaca 5 out of 5 Stars for food taste and variety, service,

atmosphere, social responsibility and child friendly-ness!

You can viist Wahaca online at www.wahaca.co.uk or visit them at their locations in Covent Garden, Canary Wharf

and White City (Westfields Shopping Centre).

Store bought valentines cards may be a quick fix if you are running out of time, but if you have some spare moments this

weekend, why not get stuck into a craft that will double as both a card and a gift?!

This cute idea is great for little budding gardeners and will surely be appreciated by parents.#

What You Will Need

Packet of seeds

Double-sided tape

Card stock or Construction Paper

Markers

What to Do

1. Cut a pot shape from folded colour card stock.
2. Attach the packet of seeds and transplant it with double-sided tape to the card-stock pot.
3. Cut out hearts or other shapes and write a message, fastening it to the card stock.