"See the boys and me mean business Bustin' out dead or alive"

It has been a while since I have written a post about the music that is keeping Opeie entertained. He still surprises me daily with his eclectic taste. It makes me so proud as music is a big thing with me and Mrs M and the songs we love shaped the first few months of our relationship. I usually pick songs from 5 bands that we have been listening to but the last few weeks have been dominated by one band, and one of my own personal favourites at that.

When I was a young boy, I remember many car journeys with my dad listening to Thin Lizzy. Their songs were etched permanently in my head. Sadly i no longer have a relationship with my dad, and these distant times are some of the few good memories that I have left. Despite the negative feelings, it is still nice to have these musical encounters come full circle. Thankfully my relationship with Opeie is completely different to the one I had with my own dad and my view of parenting has me putting him first with everything I do.

Anyway back to Opeie's top 5, starting with Jailbreak, the Thin Lizzy song that Opeie can be found screaming to while pretending to play the guitar, a true Rock star in the making.

Opeie has a strange love of Shakespeare (well as much as a toddler could anyway), bizarre for a three-year-old I know but i will fully embrace anything he is interested in. When he first heard Romeo and the lonely girl he picked up on the character name in the song, and the track became a firm favourite...

Its not all about the epic guitar solo's and instrument thrashing, like his dad he is a sucker for the more mushy songs including running back and Southbound. He really does get in to his music its so cute.

And of course Opeie's top five wouldn't be the same without 'The boys are back in town'. Which is also Seth's favourite Thin Lizzy song. Opeie soaks up any music I introduce him to and he knows what he likes which is great. I will continue to send great music his way and who knows one day i might even be listening to his albums, Rock on!

"With a mini series you can give the story a proper sense of pacing, aproper sense of closure."

It's that time of year again when I can be found sitting in a toy isle feeling up small plastic bags. People expect it more at the toy stores but when I'm in the supermarket sitting on the floor surrounded by packets i get some pretty funny looks. Yes you've guessed it, the latest series of LEGO minifigures (Series 12) have hit the shelves and I've had my eyes on some of them for months, since I first saw  images online and in the LEGO club magazine.

My friend Steve is a big collector of these sought after little chaps and I've helped him with his collection along the way. I'm not a collector myself and the boys are like me, with each new series it's more about new parts, hairstyles, accessories and body parts. I love them, you can spend ages creating an epic building and it can come out looking amazing but sometimes it's the minifigures you use on the build that really make it stand out.

After seeing the images a while ago it was all about the pig for me. The animal ones are always the first to grab my attention, I'm still after the bumble bee from a few series back. What surprised me though is that when I opened up the wizard it was instantly my favourite in the series.

The Goth was also a figure of interest for us, mainly for the hair. Me and the boys like to make minifigures of our friends and the parts on the goth (or Gother as Opeie calls her) will come in very useful. Opeie and Seth were really interested in getting hold of the rockstar too as my friend had given them the girl rock star a few weeks back.

I've written about this over many posts but one of the great things about the minifigure series which I don't think it's written about enough is the educational value of Lego. It's great for honing your children's fine motor skills but the release of historical figures and characters from literature over the minifigure series means that the boys know who these famous characters are long before covering them from an academic point.

Last weekend at Madam Tussauds Opeie ran over to a waxwork and said "daddy I want my picture taken with Shakespeare". I wouldn't have had a clue who that was at 3 and that's all because of LEGO.

The boys got a brief lesson about the three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and their moto 'one for all, all for one'. Again this was because of LEGO's character choice from series 12.

Today's trip to the shops got me the two other characters we needed for our LEGO collection the Princess for me (I think it's about time our very own princess's minifigure got some royal attire) and for Opeie the lifeguard. Next On my bag feeling mission is to go searching for the gamer for Seth.

I was excited to talk more about the tech side of the Series 12 minifigures but sadly...

With each minifigure purchased there is a code inside for you to redeem online so that you can take your new character into the online LEGO minifigure game. I'm really looking forward to this to be available on either Mac or Tablet as i think it is something that Seth will really be interested in. Each character has special stats and abilities to be used in game. The game can be played for free but you can also pay for extras for your characters to up your game and give you the advantage. You can also pay to become a member giving you access to other extras. It all sounds awesome, hurry up and make it for Mac LEGO.

Its going to be a busy week or so of bag feeling, i love the excitement. Now to start thinking about all the things were going to use these guys on.

"Uh-oh. Toxic levels are off the charts. We're talking class 1 sludge: Fatal if swallowed, poisonous if inhaled, corrosive to the eyes and extremely hazardous to skin"

New LEGO!!!! It's one of the few things that will never lose its appeal! The great thing about LEGO is the way they reinvent themselves, they are continuously releasing new themes and products. It seems like the LEGO movie is still fresh in peoples minds especially with the release of the DVD. Since it made its way onto the big screen there has been some new Themed ranges, the Simpsons characters have made their way to the LEGO world, Guardians of the galaxy movie kits have ended up in the boys room and yet they have still managed to design and release a completely new concept.

I spotted LEGO Ultra Agents in the shops a few weeks back and as with all kits i was firstly dragged in by the minifigures. Seth is a big James bond fan so this range was always going to be on his wish list. Secret agents and a great selection of villains throughout the six kits, whats not to like. To kick start our collection, Ultra Agents Riverside raid. What i love about the smaller LEGO kits is they are pocket money prices and great for a gift without going all out. A goodie, a baddie, a vehicle and something to knock over, all you need to start making up your own LEGO scenario's.

Opeie was desperate to open the box when it arrived so as the weather was lush we took it outside to build. As with all kits built Opeie is the Minifigure builder, So Agent Max Burns and Adam Acid was his job to build. Its great how the range has a back story and it seems that all the bad guys names are based around harmful disasters. Opeie loved the green toxic coloured face, i think the look oozed 'proper baddie'.

The first part of the build is a boat for your Ultra Agent to get around on. One of the things i love most about the newer kits coming out are the weapons on vehicles. When playing with the boys and having battles the new stud shooter blasters (like below) and the spring action darts that have been on the new Marvel kits have made roleplaying with our LEGO so much more fun and the boys find them a lot easier to use than the flick darts.

 The second part of the build is a wheeled base meaning the vehicle when playing can be used on land and in the water which is great as Seth is a stickler for the rules. I like to pretend that vehicles can go on any terrain but not Seth, if its a boat it stays in the water, but give it wheels and you add a little more fun to the game.

 The greatest thing about Lego is the versatility during play, being able to swap and change the design of your creation is such a big thing. Plus each Theme works perfectly side by side. What other toy range could have Abraham Lincoln kidnapped by new super villian Adam Acid?

Only to be rescued by an unexpected super team of Spider-man, Santa, Spongebob and William Shakespear, Only in the LEGO world.

To top of this great kit there is a supporting App than can be downloaded for free, a moving interactive comic with in story games to entertain you when you're not physically building. Its a perfect way to find out more information about the characters and the back stories behind each kit. The technology side of things shows just how far this classic and timeless toy has come and Opeie had lots of fun playing the game and then acted out the story by himself.

The other five kits available from the range as expected are fantastic with the Ultra Agents mission HQ being the set Seth keeps looking at. Opeie has informed me that he likes Toxikita's Toxic Meltdown (or the 'green lady baddie set'). 

Agent Max Burns protected the civilians today and Astor city is safe once more.

Bad guys lose again!!