• Queen cakes
    baking - Mother's Day crafts

    Queen cakes for Mother’s Day

    March 4, 2013 - By 

    Are you doing anything special for Mothers’ Day this year? We’re hoping to visit our local Farmers’ Market before enjoying a family lunch at the local pub. I thought I would make something special for afternoon tea using Whitworths baking sugars – traditional Queen Cakes. Queen cakes for Mother’s Day The recipe for Queen Cakes is quite simple. You will need: 110g  unsalted butter 110g caster sugar 2 eggs 110g self raising flour 60g glacé cherries How to bake Queen Cakes Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, add in the eggs, then fold in the flour. Add…

  • baby products - holidays

    A weekend away

    March 4, 2013 - By 

    We treated ourselves to a weekend away visiting my sister on the Isle of Wight. We didn’t need beach towels but the cold weather didn’t stop us enjoying the trip and the children had an amazing time with their cousins. There was a boat trip, long pub lunches, face painting for the toddler, and some rare child-free hours for me to go charity shopping which was really lovely and much appreciated. Staying in a hotel is never easy with two young children. Our routine goes out of the window and mealtimes and bedtimes slip. The children did go to bed…

  • film review

    Film review: The Sapphires

    March 1, 2013 - By 

    I admit to having a bit of a soft spot for Chris O’Dowd so I was happy to review The Sapphires in which he plays a prominent role. Based on a true story, this feel-good comedy follows the dreams of four soul-sisters struggling to make it big in 1960s Australia and is being released in time for Mother’s Day. The synopsis is as follows: talented sisters Gail, Cynthia and Julie, and their wayward cousin Kay, have killer voices and attitudes to match. Performing in a talent show contest they catch the attention of Dave Lovelace (Chris O’Dowd), a down-on-his-luck Irish…

  • baby products - competition

    Disney Baby giveaway

    February 28, 2013 - By 

    Disney Store has launched its all-new Disney Baby collection, with eight key ranges which incorporate some of Disney’s most loved characters. These key ranges include gorgeous clothing, accessories and adorable soft toys. The latest Disney Baby Collection from Disney Store incorporates a travel theme of ‘love around the world’ with Mickey and Minnie Mouse packing their bags and flying off to visit their friends from around the globe. To celebrate the launch of the new baby collection, Disney Store are giving away your choice of 2 beautiful Baby bundles. Simply visit here to enter….. you have until Saturday 23rd March…

  • Hand print lilies for Mother's Day
    crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade - Mother's Day crafts

    Hand print lilies for Mother’s Day

    February 27, 2013 - By 

    It’s Mothers Day and I have a lovely easy craft to share with you which is perfect for little hands – let me know if you try it for yourselves! You will need: pencil scissors white and green paper straws yellow pipe cleaners sticky tape Hand print lilies for Mother’s Day First trace around your child’s hand on a sheet of white paper. My toddler adores using his hands in crafts and this really made him giggle for some reason. We drew around his hand four times and then I cut them out. Carefully curl the top of the paper…

  • competition - sleeping

    Win a kids bed set with the bedding company!

    February 26, 2013 - By 

    One of the fun things about moving has to be the chance to decorate and buy new furniture! Ages ago my husband gave me a planner and I have been busy collecting wall paper samples and tearing out ideas for colour schemes and colourful  themed bedrooms for the children. We’re toying with the idea of moving the toddler into a bigger bed and of course Little Sis will be in her own bedroom too. I was recently contacted by the bedding company who specialise in bedding for grown ups and children. They sell a huge range of pillows, duvets, bed…

  • crafts - handmade - Handprint art - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Hand print birthday cake

    February 24, 2013 - By 

    I just love the way a hand print can be made into anything you want it to. Yesterday Daddy celebrated surviving another year of being a father of two so we thought we would make him a very special card. We carefully painted the palm of the toddlers hand one colour and each finger a different colour to represent a birthday cake and candles. It was actually quite easy and fun, until I turned my back and the toddler started dipping his fingers into the paint pots! Fortunately we had two beautiful hand prints drying so it didn’t matter 🙂…

  • book review

    Follow the Yellow Brick Road!

    February 23, 2013 - By 

    One of my favourite books as a child was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Did you know it was so popular that he went on to write 13 more Oz books? This was one story I couldn’t wait to share with the children and I have been able to thanks to a new, beautiful pop-up version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It has had a makeover at the hands of Stella Gurney, with illustrations by Lorna Freytag, and ties in with a new version by Disney. 2013 is the year of Oz with  live action…

  • book review - moving - sleeping

    Musical beds

    February 23, 2013 - By 

    No not us, but Little Sis. For the last 15 months she has quite happily shared a room with us, but it’s time for her to go. Not that I don’t love having her with us but I want her to go straight into her own room when we move. Last year we had our spare room subdivided so she does have her own room. We just need to remove our guest bed and move her cot in. It’s been freshly decorated so it’s all ready for her. We moved her brother into his own room when he was 6…