Getting to Grips with a Rope Swing

With a little bit of sunshine managing to breakthrough at the weekend, Freddy took full advantage of the garden.  Dressed in his LEGO Movie onesie and his customised Skribbies hi-tops, my little man decided to master the art of the rope swing.  The girls, when they were younger, never really managed to do much more than hang off it clinging on for dear life with both hands, but Freddy had bigger plans.  Climbing up the ladder to the platform of his slide and swing set, carrying the rope with him, he launched himself off the edge with the rope wrapped around his waist.  Like a miniature Tarzan he flew through the air, coming perilously close to the frame of the play equipment he had jumped off, but undeterred by the dangers of his new game.  He has continued to experiment with his rope swing and it has become his garden toy of choice.  Sometimes he lands in a heap but springs up declaring "I'm OK!" before brushing himself down and doing it all over again.

It is so wonderful to see Freddy back to his old self, healthy, happy and full of energy enjoying the garden and the great outdoors.  After so many weekends being written off due to ill health, I am looking forward to making the most of the improving weather and enjoying some family fun!

Egg and Chips with a Chocolatey Twist from Hotel Chocolat!

Egg and chips is one of life's guilty pleasures, that is sometimes exactly what you need to satisfy a comfort food craving.  A perfect British classic, reminiscent of childhood teatimes spent dunking your chips into the runny yolk!  This year, Hotel Chocolat have recreated this childhood favourite, making the perfect Easter gift for anyone who shares my love of egg and chips.  They sent me one to try, which came in one of their Hotel Chocolat classy, stylish, black ribboned gift bags!  

The sunnyside up egg has a gorgeous yellow yolk filled with runny salted caramel and the egg white is made from creamy white chocolate speckled with vanilla seeds.  The eight chips are made from mellow milk chocolate filled with salted caramel. Beautifully presented, this is an ideal alternative to a traditional Easter Egg.  It is cute and quirky, with a real sense of fun.  Definitely one of the more original gift ideas that I've seen this year, and knowing that it is from Hotel Chocolat guarantees that it is top quality.

I love the attractive presentation of the Egg and Chips and the sturdy packaging makes this a good choice if you are sending someone an Easter gift this year.  It's a lot less fragile and more compact than a hollow egg.  It's a lovely take on a classic teatime treat, that will definitely delight anyone lucky enough to receive it!

You can buy the Hotel Chocolat Egg and Chips instore or online priced at £14.00.

www.hotelchocolat.com

Poundland Mother's Day Treats

Whether you are looking for some great value gifts for Mother's Day or if the kids are looking at buying something for mum with their pocket money, make sure you check out Poundland.  This year they have a great range of gifts all priced at their super value £1 price tag.  We were sent some to take a look at, ahead of the big day, which this year falls on March 30th.

Everything you need from gift wrap, gift bags and presents are available to buy in store for £1 each.  I particularly liked the 'World's Best Mum' wine glass, which would go brilliantly well with a bottle of mum's favourite wine. If your mum prefers a nice cup of tea to wine, then there is a boxed floral gift mug that could be given along with some homemade cards stating 'I promise to make the bearer of this token a cup of tea!'. There is a really cute glass photo frame which would look lovely if you popped in a photo of yourself with your mum. The porcelain tea light holder has holes in it to shine out the word 'mum' in candlelight.  Perfect for a scented tealight.

I love how the Poundland gift ranges make it so easy to buy gifts for Mother's Day. Paying just £1 for a gift means no one has to overspend or blow their budget in order to treat their mum. I like to add a couple of Poundland gifts to go alongside the other things I buy, so my mum gets lets of goodies to open on the day. The quality of the gifts is all very good and the large gift bag is very sturdy and just right for popping in your pressies for mum.  Other gifts available include oven gloves, tea towels, notebooks, teddies and charm keyrings.  There is also a special Mother's Day cupcake set which includes cases and picks, so you could treat your mum to some home made cupcakes especially for her!

20% Off Melissa & Doug Toys from Ocado

We all associate Ocado with being a high quality online supermarket with home delivery on our grocery shopping. But did you know that they also sell toys including brands such as Playmobil, Mega Bloks and Sylvanian Families?  Plus at the moment, Ocado have a promotion running on their range of  Melissa & Doug toys with 20% off all purchases made until April 8th!

Melissa & Doug toys are beautifully made, well designed and with a traditional feel that both children and grown-ups will love. They are innovative, fun and educational.

We had a lovely Ocado delivery man bring us some of the Melissa & Doug toys to celebrate the 20% off promotion.  We received a Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Cone Playset, a Habitats Reusable Sticker Pad and a Dinosaur Stamp Set.

The Melissa & Doug Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Cone Playset consists of two wooden cones and a selection of different coloured ice cream scoops with a magnetic scooper.  Little ones will love indulging in some Ice Cream Parlour role play serving up cololurful ice cream combinations.  This is brilliant for their social interaction and also helps develop their fine motor skills.  It is also a great toy to introduce patterns and sequencing as little ones try to make your orders. After they have finished playing, everything packs away into the sturdy, plastic ice cream tub, which is a great idea when it comes to tidying up.  This toy is usually £18.99 but is on offer at £15.19.

The Melissa & Doug Dinosaur Stamp Set is a great activity allowing little dinosaur fans to create pre-historic scenes using the ink pad and eight stampers.  The set also includes coloured pencils, with everything stored in a lovely wooden box with a cool dinosaur design on the side.  Freddy loved the mix of dinosaurs which includes the T-Rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops and the volcano stamp adds some background to children's designs.  Usually £8.47, with the 20% discount you can buy it for just £6.77.

I love the Habitats themed Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pad!  It comes with five scenes and 150 stickers featuring animals from the farm, prehistoric times, the jungle, the desert and the ocean.  The strong vinyl stickers can be repositioned again and again onto the glossy, full colour backgrounds.   It is an educational activity helping children to learn about different animals and their habitats, but if little ones want to have fun by putting a Diplodocus next to a cow on the farm, then they can!  Anything goes when a child's imagination is put into action.  On sale at just £3.99 this is a bargain that will keep the kids entertained for hours!

With Easter coming up, why not buy a Melissa & Doug toy from Ocado as a gift for someone special?  It will last a lot longer than a chocolate egg!

Find out more at Ocado.com.

Help Your Kids Engage with Nature this Spring

Do you know your Ash from your Elm?  Or your Sparrow from your Starling?  If the answer is no, then you are not alone.  According to a survey conducted by CBeebies show Tree Fu Tom many parents are stumped when their little ones ask them questions about nature.  When they see a flower in bloom or hear a bird singing in the tree, many parents are unable to identify what they are.

Help is at hand!  We can all brush up our knowledge ready to tell our children about the wonder and excitement of nature, as we explore the plants and wildlife in our parks, gardens or woodland.

Join in with a live WebTV show here tomorrow (Thursday 20th March) at 2pm, where Zoologist and nature writer Jules Howard will reveal some interesting facts about nature in Britain and guide us through what to look out for this spring when we are in the great outdoors.  Polishing up our own knowledge can help us to open our children's eyes to the wonders of nature this springtime.

Show date:  Thursday 20th March
Show time:   2pm

Win a lovely 10th Anniversary Edition of How To Catch a Star

There once was a boy and the boy loved stars very much...

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of  Oliver Jeffers’ debut picture book, the much-loved How to Catch a Star. Published in 2004, this gorgeous picture book is loved by children all over the world, and has achieved huge critical and commercial success. Oliver and HarperCollins are proud to mark the anniversary in style with an exquisite gift edition,featuring a letter from the author and previously unpublished drawings.

10^th Anniversary of Oliver Jeffers’ How to Catch a Star

Oliver Jeffers has won the New York Times Best Illustrated Books Award, Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Irish Book of the Year and The Blue Peter Book of the Year.

Ten years on, How to Catch a Star’s beautiful illustrations and enchanting story continues to win the hearts of children aged 2-7, and is a humorous celebration of joyful ingenuity and the belief that anything is possible.

We were sent a copy and it is absolutely lovely.  Freddy loved it and we read it over and over again, talking about the stars and whether we could really catch one!  The simple style of the illustrations is so effective and the storytelling is full of warmth and gentle humour. How to Catch a Star is a lovely edition to any child's bookshelf.  We also received some glow in the dark stars which Freddy absolutely adored.  After reading the book we stuck them on his bedroom ceiling so he could watch them as he fell asleep.  Some gorgeous activity sheets extended the How to Catch a Star experience.  We also watched a video of Oliver Jeffers, who looks like a really cool guy!  Overall, I think that How to Catch a Star has been elevated to the title of Freddy's new favourite book!

Open and print this colouring sheet!

Out on the 27 March, How to Catch a Star is available from Amazon for £12.99

We have a copy of the How to Catch a Star 10th Anniversary Edition to give away. To enter simply answer the following question, leave your answer as a comment along with a way for me to contact you if you are the lucky winner!

Which Oliver Jeffers book is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year?

a)      The Day the Crayons Quit

b)      The Incredible Book Eating Boy
c)       How to Catch a Star

Ends at midnight 26/3 when a winner will be drawn at random.  UK only. One entry per person.  Good luck.

Freddy's 'Chocolate Crispy Crackle Cakes'

Freddy enjoys helping out in the kitchen, whether he is baking cakes, washing up or decorating biscuits, if it's messy and fun...he is happy!  He has been busy helping make some no-cook chocolate and cereal cakes, using some Jordan's Country Crisp with Strawberries and some Asda Little Angels Organic Sultanas and Raisins that we were sent to try out.  It's such a quick and easy kid friendly recipe. Perfect for little ones to treat Mum on Mother's day with some yummy treats!

To make 10 'chocolate crispy crackle cakes' you need:

150g milk chocolate (melted in microwave on Medium)

1-2 cups of cereal (we used Jordan's Country Crisp with Strawberry Cereal and Special K)

Raisins, sweeties and sprinkles to decorate.

Once the chocolate is melted, little ones can mix the cereals in independently and spoon the mix into ten cupcake cases in a tin.  

The mix can then be decorated with sprinkles, dried fruit or sweets before being put in the fridge to set.

Once they are set they are ready to eat!  The strawberry pieces add a delicious fruity flavour, which works well with the milk chocolate.  Decorating with raisins adds some dried fruit goodness into your child's diet (but Freddy loves to add Hundreds and Thousands too!)

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We were sent the Little Angels Organic Raisins which cost 40p for a snack size pack, perfect for lunchboxes.  Also available are Raisins & Sultanas and Raisin & Apple, plus fruity Organic Oaty bars at £1.99 for 5 bars in apple, strawberry, banana and apricot flavours. They are yummy, organic and a healthier choice when it comes to snacking.

Jordan's Country Crisp with Sun ripened Strawberries contain nothing artificial.  They are made using wholesome oaty clusters, nuts and freeze dried strawberries.  They are available in good supermarkets priced around £2.69 for a 500g packet.