• clothing - competition

    Win a £30 Zalando fashion voucher

    You may remember that last year I was lucky enough to try out Zalando, a new online clothing store for men, women and children featuring well-known brands, for myself. If you fancy trying it out – read on! Zalando online shop is perfect for browsing when you have 5 minutes to yourself, especially when you can’t face getting to the shops through the snow! Post-pregnancy my figure is slowly coming back so I’m on the lookout for a whole new wardrobe. There’s a great choice of women’s clothing and there are a few coats I really like, such as this…

  • potty training

    Potty parenting?

    I was really shocked to hear on the news today that a significant number of children are starting primary school who haven’t been potty trained. I’ve read lots of blogs which have shown me how hard potty training can be but it’s definitely on my to do list this year. Big Brother will be 2 next month and is showing some signs of being aware when he needs a clean nappy. Although I won’t be rushing him into it I definitely aim to have him potty trained by the time he starts school as I know it’s my responsibility, not…

  • competition - Tech!

    Safer Internet Day with NETGEAR (and giveaway)

    It’s Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 7 February. This is organised by Insafe each year in February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world. More information can be found at:http://www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/safer-internet-day NETGEAR urges people to remember that in our increasingly “connected” homes, parental control should encompass all devices that are internet-enabled. Rob Wells at NETGEAR outlines the five golden rules so we can ensure we can protect our families in the connected home: 1. If it’s connected to your home network – it’s connected to the…

  • baking - Cath Kidston

    Biscuits fit for a Queen

    There’s a  whiff of patriotism in the air today at the gingerbread house thanks to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I picked up some fantastic new cookie cutters at the weekend from Lakeland. The 3 crown cookie cutters are, according to their website, the ‘crowning’ glory of any afternoon tea table, cookies made with our trio of cutters will lend a regal air no matter what the occasion. Perfect to help celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I absolutely love them and knocked up a quick batch of gingerbread biscuits. The image of the finished biscuits in the Lakeland magazine look amazing…

  • birthday - Gingerbread house finds - vintage

    Gingerbread house finds

    I have very little to show for all the time I’ve spent browsing my local charity shops recently. Big Brother goes to nursery in the next town where all the decent charity shops are but it seems the more often I pop in the less I find. So this weeks find is small but beautiful – vintage pink and white candles in their original box. Maybe it’s something to do with having a baby girl but my eye is now drawn to pink things. I love these as they remind me of vintage birthdays (my own!). They were made by…

  • baby - baby products - toddler - weaning

    Yummy Plum products for babies and toddlers

    We’re big fans of Plum and I relied on ready made food a lot when I started weaning Big Brother as I wasn’t confident at all! Plum have recently introduced some new products which we were happy to try. Pumpkin Pie and Strawberry Cheesecake Oaty Chomps bars (RRP £1.99 for five 20g bars) combine fruit or vegetables with oats and quinoa, great for a mid-morning toddler snack. The small, individually wrapped bars are convenient for on the go feeding and provide the complex carbohydrates that are crucial for babies development.  The moist textured, handy size bars have been created to…

  • Christmas - crafts - handmade

    Hand print painting!

    I love making personalised cards. We made our own wedding stationery, Christmas cards and announcement cards when both children were born. This year we wanted to make a ‘thank you for our Christmas card’ featuring both their hand prints so got out the paints… We knew Big Brother had a limited attention span so got everything ready to make it as simple as possible. We bought ready made blank cards, envelopes and pots of paint. We put a dollop of paint on an old plate and used a sponge to paint on his hand, then put his hand firmly on…

  • competition - playing - toddler

    Scootrix giveaway

    BB likes nothing more than taking his scooter out for a ride. It’s great exercise for him and a lot of fun!  Scootrix launched in November 2011, offering a fantastic range of accessories to personalise children’s scooters.  Kids love the look of their newly decorated scooters and parents love the fact that they can easily tell which one belongs to their child. The innovative scooter accessories are available to purchase from The Handpicked Collection, John Lewis and Micro Scooters. Perfect goodies for party bags, Scootrix Wheel Whizzers and Scootrix Plates were designed by parents as a fail-safe way to identify…

  • baking - gingerbread

    Home-baked treats for your Valentine

    I don’t normally go overboard with Valentine’s Day but this year I haven’t been able to stop baking. I’ve been whipping up batches of cakes and biscuits and working on improving my decorating skills. They say the way to a man’s heart is via his stomach so I baked some heart shaped gingerbread for my husband, and decorated them with Renshaw’s Ready to Roll coloured icing in red for the ultimate home-baked treat. The icing was simple to use, just roll out and cut the required shape with a cookie cutter. I kept the icing in place with a brush…