Skip to content
The Amazing Adventures of Me
  • Parenting
  • Crafts
  • Play
  • Lifestyle
  • Wellbeing
  • Home & DIY Projects
  • Celebrations
  • Days out
    • Midlands Days Out Guides
  • Food
  • Education
  • Theatre Reviews
  • Family Travel Adventures
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Work with me – Social Media Strategy Account Manager
    • Media Kit
    • Contact

Health and Wellbeing

Real-life reflections on physical and mental wellbeing as a parent. From weight loss and fitness journeys to gentle self-care and mindset shifts, this space is all about looking after yourself while looking after others.

How to mourn the loss of a loved one

September 17, 2025September 16, 2025 by Lavania Oluban
A boy in a red jumper labelled "MATT" stands beside an adult on a sunny pavement.

Losing someone close to you is one of life’s hardest experiences. Whether their passing was expected or sudden, the grief can feel overwhelming and unpredictable. There’s no right way to mourn, nor is there a set timeline. While nothing can erase the pain, small steps can bring clarity and comfort as you begin to adjust. … Read more

Categories Blog Posts, Health and Wellbeing Leave a comment

My Self-Care Glow-Up as a Single Mum

May 5, 2025 by Lavania Oluban
A woman in a blue dress stands on a wooden walkway, with sheep grazing in a field and a clear blue sky in the background.

Before I became a single mum, I didn’t even have the time to think about self-care. I let myself go, because honestly, I didn’t feel good in myself. I was stuck in a cycle of emotional exhaustion, sarcasm, and trying to please someone who barely noticed whether I’d made an effort or not. I didn’t … Read more

Categories Blog Posts, Health and Wellbeing, Lifestyle, Parenting, Parenting blog posts Leave a comment

Greetings, fellow brummie mummies, parents and adventure enthusiasts! I'm Lavania, the driving force behind "The Amazing Adventures of Me." If you're on the hunt for family-friendly escapades and hidden gems in and around Birmingham, you've just stumbled upon your new favourite hub!

  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Recent Posts

  • How to Be More Involved in Your Child’s Education
  • Helping Your Child Develop a Growth Mindset
  • How to Boost Your Child’s Creativity?
  • What Admin Do I Need to Do When I Move Into a New House?
  • The Benefits of Drama Lessons in Schools

Archives

A children's adventure journal, red rubber boots, and an orange backpack with art supplies rest on a stone wall, with white flowers and greenery in the background.
Click to buy our NEW adventure journal and join us in having an amazing time!
An image of a woman smiling in a store.

the_amazing_adventures_of_me

Creatively Parenting a little whirlwind
👩‍👦#teacher (DT food specialist)
📍#Birmingham
🍴#food
🎲 #toyreviews
🚗 #daysoutwithkids
🪲 #cricut ambassador

Fig & FavourIt was a fab idea to pause @figandf Fig & FavourIt was a fab idea to pause @figandfavour yesterday for an early lunch. Every time I drive past I think to myself I must stop and try the place out because it looks nice and the car park always seems full.I don’t know why I waited so long - the boys were delighted with their pizza - they dont skimp on the toppings at all - pepperoni for days.My lamb flat bread was spot on, everything fired in their pizza oven to give that smoky authentic flavour, and generous dollops of tzatziki meant that I could savour every mouthful.You know the food is good when you decide to swap meals and try each others….. the chicken satay flatbread was just as tasty!!It was pouring with rain and we were stuffed - we couldn’t help but drool over the ice cream on the way out - next time we will save some room!!Reasonably priced, varied menu, efficient service and a lovely vibe to the place - not an “ad” - just a genuine shout out for a place I think you should visit if you’re out and about that way.
Spooky Cute 🎃 adThe Haunted House and pumpki Spooky Cute 🎃 adThe Haunted House and pumpkin trail is now open @webbsgc Hagley. The perfect spot for little ones to enjoy the festivities of spooky season. You enter the haunted house and explore several rooms with excellent staging and some really cute interactions with witches and wizards before choosing your own pumpkin in the courtyard to carve.It’s not too spooky so this is perfect for little ones and there’s plenty of spots to get some cute pictures in costumes.Great if you want to embrace the fun but don’t want to bring the mess home…. They have all the tools and stencils you could possibly need and you can take your time to get creative.Open throughout half term - tickets £13 for children includes pumpkin making / £5 for adultsWe also received a discount voucher for the winter season at the neighbouring bird sanctuary.My top tip: make sure you take the time to explore the garden centre afterwards - they’ve got some cute Halloween bits and also have got some fab Christmas bits out already too!
Day of the dead adventure golf 💀adThis eveni Day of the dead adventure golf 💀adThis evening we visited @aztec_adventure_thelostvalley for a spooky season activity with a twist. Step into a neon underworld of skulls, spirits, and spectacular holes.This Day of the Dead themed course is as spooky (or as silly) as you make it.With 18 holes to play, facts and info at every hole and plenty of photo-ready moments, it’s a hauntingly good way to spend an evening with tweens over half term if you’re looking for a way to embrace spooky season.Recommended for ages 5+
Tickets are £7.50 each if you book ahead / £9 for on the day You can play the course in groups of max 5 people.
Open this weekend and all half term 10am-4pm.Costumes are optional… and don’t worry, we’re not hanging around to haunt the place…. But we did get up to some mischief at heights whilst in the valley - stay tuned for more 👻
We were in digbeth recently - Arlo likes to scoot We were in digbeth recently - Arlo likes to scoot and shop and visit the floodgate (amongst other fab venues) and I got chatting to a person randomly who asked me for directions who was not a Brummie.Turned out they paid someone to give them a tour of the area to take photos of all the graffiti murals and had lost their group - I couldn’t quite believe it (still not quite sure if it’s an  amazing business idea or a bit of a rip off).They were a worried at first when I told them to follow me under a dodgy looking bridge and through a dingy looking alley but I guess because I was with Arlo they trusted me enough to show them a couple of our favourite spots.Constantly changing and always amazing.I hope the gentrification of this area doesn’t take away from one of the last places left with this vibe, Oasis market gone, Snobs is not the same, no ramshackle at the old academy, goodness knows what’s happened to rackhams and let’s not talk about Moseley ❤️‍🩹But hey, we’ll be able to pay extortionate prices to go to London on a train ten minutes faster when the station is finally finished 👍🏼
Autumn leaves 🍁Another little autumn craft a Autumn leaves 🍁Another little autumn craft activity idea from the archives for you today.If you’re the type of person who is obsessed with leaves then this one’s for you. Just go out and collect a bunch of them on an autumn walk and look out for a nice stick too. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve had to admire a good stick - ever since Arlo was a toddler!We used a little flower shaped stamper on these that I got for £1 in a bargain bin near the till @hobbycrafthq - they have all sorts of shapes. We use the little shapes in craft activities - gluing and sticking them to art projects or just sprinkling them around like confetti on our window sill.Then we tied up the decorated leaves with some string and attached them to a nice stick and hung our mobile on display. This is something we repeat every year but this was the first and I love the rainbow colours of the leaves.
Food tech lessons!A few pictures of dishes from Food tech lessons!A few pictures of dishes from my classroom, - I’m always super proud of the pupils, especially during exam season when they go to so much effort.When I remember my own food lessons I cringe, I think I remember making scones and maybe having two other lessons but that’s about it.I think it’s vital that all children have access to a good education which enables them to develop confidence in the kitchen and also gives them the skills and knowledge to make healthy and informed food choices.So two questions for you…..1. what do you remember cooking in food tech lessons at school?2. What do you think pupils should be cooking in school now?Pics show:Vegetable soup with bread roll
Lasagne (ragu and roux based sauces)
Swiss roll (home made jam)
Ravioli (home made pasta)
Potato bake
Stuffed peppers
Mini savoury tarts (shortcrust pastry)#foodinschools #foodtech #foodtechteacherlife #foodlover #foodinspo #gcsefoodpreparationandnutrition #gcsefoodtech #gcsefood #foodtechnology
Get your craft onI love looking through the mem Get your craft onI love looking through the memories which crop up on my photo albums every morning and these little gems just appeared back from 2020. This period of my life feels like a hazy distant dream - so many days filled with random activities to keep busy whilst at home.Anyway - I thought I’d share because there’s so many pine cones and leaves around right now that this is the perfect activity which will keep you busy. Head out for an autumn walk to gather some nature treasures and then after an afternoon nap set up a station with some paints and get your paint on.Back in 2020 everything was rainbow themed and I’m totally here for it!
Which furReal pet do you think we adopted? /adT Which furReal pet do you think we adopted? /adToday we visited @smythstoys to visit the @officialfurreal petting zoo demo zone. Ever since we first saw these @blogonuk at the beginning of summer Arlo has been asking for one in particular but today he spent over an hour with the team testing out all the different features.From Maggie the highland cow who follows you around chasing her bottle to Coco the panda who somersaults around the place when you stroke her head and JJ the pug who loves to jump up and play.They each have so many different buttons and sensors to learn and figure out how they respond, it’s like learning to train a real pet. They make so many cute little noises too - I have a feeling that these are going to be at the top of Christmas wish lists for many children this year.I’ll reveal which furReal pet we bought home with us and share a full review with you soon! 🐼 🐮 🐶#furRealPettingZoo #furReal #IsThisfurReal #justplay
The new Harborne MileIf you’re a Brummie of a The new Harborne MileIf you’re a Brummie of a certain age then you’ll know what the Harborne Mile used to be - an epic bar crawl which took in a dozen pubs and bars along the High street.These days Harborne is popular with millennials for an entirely different reason. My sister was dancing around her handbag when I took her to my favourite charity shop for the first time.Along the High street are eleven charity shops, each with their own unique offerings and on many an afternoon I’m content with starting at one end of the high street and taking my time to visit each for a browse.There something for everyone, pocket money treats, vintage clothing, kitchen treasures and plenty more bargains to be had with purchases going to many a good cause.@oxfamgb
@oxfam_books_harborne
@oxfamharborne
@barnardosretail
@teampdsa
@pdsaharborne
@the_bhf @bhf_harborne
@acornshospice
@cr_uk
@headway_uk
@suerydercharity
@relovedbrum
@brumshospice
@frenchicpaintMy latest blog post shares my hints and tips for each store!
https://arloriverrex.com/the-new-harborne-mile-a-charity-shop-crawl-for-millennials/
Halloween Farm /ad 🎃Cattows farm have done i Halloween Farm /ad 🎃Cattows farm have done it again - their @halloweenfarmuk event has everything you could possibly want to do on a family day out to embrace the fun of spooky season!Entry to the farm starts at just £3 if you just want to get yourself a pumpkin and take cute photos (and they have sooo many different props all over the place for this)All the different activities are individually priced so you can build your own bundle and pay as you go or for £19.99 go for an adventure pass to do everything.I think this represents great value for money as we were there the whole day and the kids aged 8-13 were happy enough to try everything.Our highlights included:⛳️ mini golf in the corn fields - the kids got really competitive
🎪 the spooky circus USA - with a high octane 🏍️ finale which impressed the pre teen!
🎃 the huge pumpkin patch - not to miss!
🍬 trick or treat street - sooo many sweets and an amazing animation team with just the right level of spookiness.
🏰 Rodeo Ranch - a huge tent filled with inflatable castles, slides and more!
🐎 the cowboy town show - shout out to the stunt team as they were awesome!The only thing not included with tickets was food and fair ground rides - I did notice the vendors had kids meals on offer - chicken and chips meal £6 with very generous portions.
Follow on Instagram
© 2025 The Amazing Adventures of Me • Built with GeneratePress
A children's adventure journal, red rubber boots, and an orange backpack with art supplies rest on a stone wall, with white flowers and greenery in the background.

New! A journal just for kids who love big adventures!

Introducing "The Amazing Adventures of Me" - A fun filled kids journal designed to help little explorers record their big moments, silly stories and awesome ideas. With some hints and tips for grown ups to help plan and plenty of journal pages to fill in. 

This is perfect for recording memories of road trips, school holidays, travel, weekend activities and more. 

Great for curious kids aged 5+ 

Buy the journal now

Never see this message again.

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.