Relationship breakdowns, What about the children?

How difficult is it when relationships break down? as a young child, I think most people would say they dream of the perfect family, two point four children, a dog, a marriage, but in this day an age things are never that simple, people are quick to have children with people they think they know or as an accident/mistake/nice surprise its not wrong, I will be the first to hold my hands up to this, but long term it makes life difficult as some of these relationships will work and some just don't for many reasons - infidelity, personalty clash, age there are so many reasons relationships break down, which is hard when its just the normal person with no ties but each other.

What happens when there is children involved? - Many couples stay friends, many can be amicable for the sake of the children, share the parenting, share responsibility and then for others its a down right battle every step of the way, there are the dads that are fighting every corner for the rights to see there children or mums for that matter and then there are the few that just are not bothered if they see there children again the latter I myself can never understand.

But is it right to force someone to be in your children's lives if they don't want to be? whether it is a mum or a dad if that person doesn't want to be there for a child surely long term its going to cause that child more damage, or is it better to have them there no matter how rubbish you think the other person is as a parent giving the children the chance to learn for themselves - I honestly don't know the answer to this question its something that is personal to yourself, what I do know is that whatever the situation between yourself and the other parent the best way forward is not to argue - although you might not be arguing directly in front of the children they pick up on tension they feel your moods, they feel your pain, no matter how little or young you think they are trust me they know.

I do think that both parents deserve a fair shot no matter how much you dislike the other - this isn't about you anymore its about the children no matter how bad you feel, no matter how much you think they will be better off without that parent unless they have committed a major crime or have neglected them or are likely to (which has to be proven) I think they deserve to see there children and your child wont understand if you stop them seeing there parent, as far as they are concerned they love each parent equally so for there sake you need to put your differences aside, even bite your tongue if you have to, Always remember Children come first.

How can things be made easier?

• Work together - This means co-operating sort out the best arrangements to suit each other remember your both human and need each other to support each other lifestyle for example its no good trying to get the other party to agree to have your child a certain day if they have to work or have other commitments.
• Talk - When you have children especially younger children its hard to find out what there day has been like or what time they have eaten - or even if they have been to the toilet, sometimes you have got to exchange words, if you really feel like you don't want to talk to the other person or feel like you cant, you could try introducing a memo book or communication book which is solely used to write what the children have been doing or you could talk through a family member or friend that is completely neutral on both sides.   
• Keep cool - There are going to be times on both sides that you really want to scream and shout about things but seriously ask yourself what it is actually going to achieve long term, its not is it sometimes being a little tactful is the better way forward and might make things better in the long run.
• Remember Your Child has feelings - You may think that the other person is the worlds worst human, you may hate them or resent them for different reasons but all children know is that person is a person they love, don't make them feel like its wrong to like them or to talk about them and don't cloud there own views, let them make there own its important to put your differences aside for there sake. 

Any relationship breakdown of any form is difficult, I hope my list above helps you to think about your own situation, its so easy to get caught up in a battle of words and actions but ultimately when there is children involved its only them that matters - no matter how hard that is to swallow.

How have you coped with a relationship breakdown? Did you get caught up in the battle or arguments? and what has happened/is happening now I would love to hear your thoughts?  

           

The #Chokeables, How to save a child from choking

As you all probably know by now, my job is as a registered nurse, however I am only trained in general nursing although when it comes to choking there isn't really that much difference in the skills you need, I do think its really important that as many people as possible know how to give treatment in an emergency situation like choking and St johns ambulance are trying to help spread the word of just that.

Everyone should have the skills and confidence to know what to do in an emergency. Knowing basic first aid can be the difference between life and death – and every week they hear of new people whose lives have been saved because someone nearby knew what to do. 40% of parents asked by SJA have witnessed their own baby choke and when almost four-fifths don’t know what to do in this situation so they have made a short memorable video, The Chokeables – featuring the voices of David Walliams, David Mitchell, Johnny Vegas and Sir John Hurt – that shows people how to help a choking baby.

In The Chokeables, the celebrities take on the characters of animated objects that could potentially choke babies: a small princess toy, a pen lid, a jelly baby and a peanut. They've joined together because they've had enough and want to show how easy it is to save a choking baby's life. In just 40 seconds you can learn how to give first aid to a choking baby. 

You may well have already seen this video and you might know what to do if someone starts to choke but other people might not so its well worth sharing it with friends and family spread the word, you never know it might help you to save a life one day.

To find out more about the #Chokeables campaign and St Johns Ambulance you can visit there page here

St Johns Ambulance are also giving you the chance to win a first aid kit.

This compact and handy first aid kit is great for use in the home or travelling. Filled with the essentials you will need for common accidents, it ensures that you are prepared for any minor emergency. Always a great and handy thing to have around.

Just enter via the Rafflecopter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

The first entry on the rafflecopter form to leave a comment on the post is mandatory

All other steps on the rafflecopter form are optional.

Only one entry form per person is allowed (however, you can tweet with the bonus click entry daily or use the free entry to increase your chances).

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

Once the Rafflecopter picks a winner, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within 28 days, the prize will be allocated to another person.

The giveaway will begin on the 05/10/15 and will close on 19/10/15 at midnight.

Having fun and getting families active with Soreen

Over the summer we were invited by Soreen malt loaf to a fantastic sports event encouraging children and adults to get active, we love Soreen, and the boys love the smaller snack size cakes for there lunch boxes, meaning we were really excited to be involved. We were also really excited to meet the lovely Alex Danson – Olympic-medal winning hockey player who launched the Soreen Squidgy Fun campaign. The event was held close to home at Loughborough university So myself and the boys travelled along to it to find out what it was all about.



I am personally not the biggest fan of sports nor was I the best at school when it came to sports I always felt very self conscious about doing them - and making a fool of myself, which is probably one of the reasons I have always battled with trying to loose weight myself, so when it come to the boys I want to encourage them to be as active as possible they are both going to be doing swimming lessons very soon and have both just taken up dance lessons - which I am embracing after all children learn from there parents - I am doing my best to join in with anything and everything they want to do even if it means conquering my own self conscious fears.

The boys are very active Adam more so than Liam, but this is maybe because Liam is facing his very own struggles with life. I do take them to the park often and they are always on there scooters or a bike, well Adam is anyway, however I do try to encourage Liam as much as possible to get involved, they both always have lots of energy to use and the more activities they do the better, in my opinion this is where Soreen Squidgy Fun comes into play the afternoon was spent learning about how to keep the whole family active through playing games.

Getting Active

Soreen have joined up with the Youth Sports Trust to encourage families to join together have fun and get active. Soreen have put together some seriously fun squidgy games that you can Download For Free and play anywhere no matter what the weather, you can play them inside or out and you don't need any expensive equipment or expensive memberships to clubs, just everyday things most people have lying around the home.

The first game the boys played was the "Grab and Go" the idea of this was you ran to the end of the pitch as fast as you could collected and object and ran back to your station (which was a little round dot on the floor) then the person with the most objects at the end of the game won. unfortunately Liam had a little bump with another child and ran straight into them, this knocked his confidence a bit so he decided to sit the rest of the game out, however Adam was having a great time I don't think he quite got the hang of it though as he was steeling everyone Else's objects! It was great fun though and although Adam was the clear cheat it didn't matter as the whole point is that children are getting active and having fun.



After this game we played another, which involved the children taking it in turns to jump the stepping stones, which was simply a rope with round circles laid on it, now at home this could also be easily done with some string and paper as the stepping stones. The older children really got into taking it it turns but the little ones like Liam and Adam were quite happy just running and jumping from step to step in fact this seemed to keep the little ones interested for quite sometime - but all great for exercise and keeping fit.




Next we cooled down with a little bit of yoga lead by the lovely Alex Danson. To end the day we met a another very special person it was Mr Squidgy ..... YaY! I have to admit I have never seen the boys quite so excited they absolutely loved him he came out and said Hi and the boys were all over him, he was there to encourage them to carry on being active he got all the children running round and after that they turned on the music and they all did a bit of dancing - not forgetting a little conga added in at the end!





Soreen and the kids youth trust were really good throughout the afternoon there was plenty of Soreen given out to keep everyone well fulled and plenty of drinks on hand as it was a gloriously hot day. The whole idea of the games, dancing and little bits of running are all really, really simple ideas you can use at home to keep the whole family active and not only that to have lots of fun! Our house always seem to be full of lots of children, I will definitely be using the "Grab and Go" game to keep them entertained its well worth having a go at its great fun!

   

Disclosure, we were invited to the Soreen event in return for this article - we loved being a part of the day.

Jack at six months old

This post is a little bit late, but this month Jack hit his six month milestone and he is livelier than ever even after his little blip and the meningitis scare he gave us, he has started to grab - well try and swipe things out of your hands if your not quick enough to move them and like most babies seems to have a love for the television remote or my mobile phone.

He is not only roiling over from to back he is managing to get half way across the living room by rolling and shuffling - I think this month I am going to be investing in a play pen as the boys seem to leave all there lego and cars all over the floor, Jack thinks its great - i am constantly picking things up and moving them so he doesn't eat anything he isn't suppose to!

Jack is now well on the weaning path as you can see by my previous weaning posts and so far not a complaint about anything, he seems to like everything he is given in fact he is screaming and reaching out when I am having my dinner.



He is also not sleeping so much in the day time now I think he thinks he is going to miss out o the action of what the boys are doing - he sleeps now from 19.00 till around 7am the next day and even then he doesn't moan he waits for his breakfast patiently. I think Jack is going to be a really inquisitive little boy all the while he is watching to see what everyone else is doing and if I am holding him he wants to get down and play along side the boys.

He has grown another size in clothes and has now gone into 12-18 months he is a bit chubby but he is so tall I cant keep up with his sizes, also he hair is starting to change colour and the bits he has rubbed off has gone blonde well white blonde, I think at the rate his hair is growing he isn't going to make it to his first birthday without a haircut!

Babies first toys from VTech

I love VTech, toys my boys had a lot of toys by VTech whilst they were little and still have a few bits now In my experience V-tech toys as a whole have been educational, reliable, well played with durable and as a whole all round great toys.
Now Jack is coming to six months old and is starting to play, it seems only natural to go with brands we know we trust and what is more that he as a baby is going to learn the most from and V-tech fits just that.

All three of my boys have had as one of these as there first toys the VTech Moosical Cow, I must admit its one of my favourites priced at between £10-14 dependent where you purchase one from you cant go wrong with this singing little wonder.

This is a fantastic interactive toy. The cow is around seven inches tall a great size for little hands Jack loves it. It has 2 flashing buttons which can be pressed - a red circle which displays the first letters of the alphabet A,B,C and a Green triangle which displays numbers 1,2,3. There is also a spinning blue square in the centre. The on/off button is located on the cows chest in the shape of a heart. The toy plays 7 melodies;

• The Alphabet Song
• Hickory Dickory Dock
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
• Pop goes the weasel
• The farmer and the dell
• Old MacDonald had a farm
• Row, Row, Row you boat

The Moosical cow has has 4 phrases,

• I am a cow, come play with me
• Learning colours and shapes, Yippee
• ABC and 123
• We'll have so much fun, you'll see

The toy is designed to develop motor skills. The cow is soft, very squeezy and loves hugs, it can be carried easily by the plastic ring which holds 2 textured stars. The only down side to the moosical cow is that there is a automatic shut off if the toy is not touched or played with after forty five seconds. I think this is a little too short and find myself  having to turn it back on for Jack, Otherwise this is a great little starter toy for babies.

Other toys available from VTech for children 6+ months are,

Tiny touch tablet – This cute little tablet is perfect for those aged 6-36 months and features nine light up activity buttons for lots of fun learning. Children can learn their a-b-c’s and 1-2-3’s through sing-along songs and take virtual pictures. RRP £14.

Musical rhymes book – With six interactive pages featuring classic nursery rhymes and two fun modes of play this musical rhymes book will keep little ones engaged for hours on end. RRP £14.99.

My 1st Car key Rattle - An adorable car shaped rattle which also comes in pink for baby Charlotte's everywhere, it plays eleven melodies and three sing-along songs. With a flashing light-up window and realistic horn button babies are introduced to car concepts, colours, music and sensory and tactile stimulation. RRP £10.99

You can find out more information about VTech and there products at www.vtech.co.uk you can also chat with them if you have any questions online on there Twitter page or over on there Facebook page

What is your little ones favourite VTech toy I would love to know!?

#Weaning Week, Baby led Weaning

Baby Led weaning has been around for years most parents do this without even knowing they are doing it, the confusing thing about baby led weaning is probably just by the name of it, So what is it? it basically means no purees, no ice cube trays, no food processor, no potato masher, no baby rice, no strange fruit and vegetable mixtures its just you and your child, eating food that you enjoy with you and your family.

The difference between baby led weaning and traditional weaning, is only in the order that children learn to eat, with a puree, they learn to swallow first and then chew, which works fine until they meet a lump. With baby led weaning, the babies learn to chew first and swallowing might come some time later.

How to get started with baby led weaning. 

The best time to try giving your baby finger foods, is when you and your family all sit down to eat. Remember never use this method before six months not only will most babies not be able to pick there own food up but there digestive system wont be ready and they won't know how to chew.

The easiest foods for babies to pick up themselves are the ones that have a natural handle about them like broccoli as they have a long stork, carrots that have been cooked so they are soft cut into stick shapes, you could even try bananas cut into strips so they are easy for your baby to hold.

Your baby might not eat them to start off with and just play with what you put in front of them, they might just suck on them but eventually once they learn what they like they will eat them. This method will also help them to learn how to use there pincer grip this is where they hold food in between there forefinger and thumb but to start off with they will just clasp food in there fist.

What are the benefits of baby led weaning.

By using the baby led weaning its encouraging your baby to try food for themselves they learn quicker about different tastes and textures, they learn how to handle food and eventually learn how to use there pincer grip effectively. It will also help to feel more independent and part of the family. Hopefully this will be fun, increase your babies confidence and your baby will develop a positive attitude towards food.

Money Habits to teach your children

It’s amazing how quickly children grow – one minute they’re tiny babies, depending on you for absolutely everything, and the next they’re fully fledged little people, setting out on the adventure of growing up.

And, because childhood seems to be a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of time, it’s not only important that you cherish every second of it, it’s also vital that you start instilling into your little ones the attitudes and behaviours that will put them in good stead when they venture out into the big, wide world.
Recently, I’ve been trying to make a concerted effort to teach my children good money habits. Don’t get me wrong, it’s something that I’ve always tried to do – but now I’m making a solid and conscious effort to get it right!

A friend of mine recommended this really great money advice video from Mrs Moneypenny – she’s got some great tips, and they gave me a really good starting point.

Set a good example It goes with out saying that the majority of your children’s spending habits will come from you – so make sure you practice what you preach and set a good example.

Pocket Money

The amount of pocket money that you should give your child is a question that I’m sure has been troubling parents all over the world for decades, if not more.
The fact is, there is no easy answer to this question; it’s completely down to your personal preference (and your budget, of course).
Mrs Moneypenny suggests giving your child one pound for every year of their life – so if they’re 10, give them £10 per week or month, if they’re 7, give them £7. I’m trialing this approach with my little ones and it seems to work really well, especially when they get a pay rise on their birthdays!

Budgeting

When it comes to teaching them the importance of budgeting, it’s never too early! I think it’s so important and it sets them up to be good money-managers in their adult life, so I’ve always encouraged my kids to save their pocket money and budget it, so that they can afford the things they want – whatever they may be.

One thing I hadn’t thought of though is getting them to split their pocket money three ways. This is one of the things Mrs Moneypenny suggests and it’s something that I’m definitely going to introduce in my household.

The way the concept works is by getting your little ones to split their money into three parts – one third to spend on something they want now, one third to save for something they might want to buy or do in the future, and one third to give to charity. This sounds like a great way to teach them good saving habits and I can’t wait to give it a try!

A few years in the future…

Although it’s probably not one for your toddlers, when your children start to reach their early teens, it’s a good idea to start introducing them to the concept of their credit report. This might sound strange, and to be perfectly honest it’s not something I’d considered before I discovered Mrs Moneypenny, but when you think about it, it’s a really worthwhile activity.
After all, it’s one thing telling your children about the impact that their financial decisions can have upon their future, but it hits home far more if they can see it for themselves. So take some time and go through their report with them, explain the things that can affect it, and how a negative report might well cause them problems in the not too distant future.

#Weaning Week, Food Choices

Food choices when weaning your baby can be a minefield, knowing where to start can leave you scratching your head in this post. I am going to tell you about different food options the best foods to start with, home made food and supermarket based foods.

Where to start and first foods?

 - Baby cereals and baby rice - a good place to start when giving your baby food for the first time is with these foods they are plain and just give your baby a feel for what the different texture is like.

 - Sweet vegetables - Babies naturally have a sweet tooth so give them the sweeter vegetables they will love them and they are a healthier option. vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips.

 - Mashed fruit - again its sweet babies love nothing more than mashed banana, cooked apples and pears or you could even try something a bit more exotic like avocado.

 - Ripe fruit - If your baby is able to pick fruit up give them some soft ripe fruit such as strawberries or melon

Don't ever add sugar or salt to your babies food.

Ready prepared baby food.

If you head towards the baby isles in the supermarket there is a mass market for ready prepared baby food and to be honest its always pretty useful to have some about it can make life easy when you are travelling about with a little one or several little ones in tow.

 - When buying any ready prepared food always check food labels if the food is not primarily made for babies it can be very high in salt and sugar, check and change to healthier versions if possible.

 - It seems obvious but check "use by" and "best before" dates.

 - check the seals on any of the packaging have not been broken.

 - choose the food that contain no added sugars or sweeteners, again you can do this by checking labels.

Foods to try.

Once your baby is established on there first foods you can start trying to introduce other food options into there diet foods such as,

 -  lentils (dhal) or pulses

 - mashed up meat, fish and chicken.

 - mashed rice, noodles or pasta.

 - full fat dairy products such as yoghurt's, fromage frias or custard.

Recipes

If you cook a lot of food at home try making meals so they are universal, meaning you are not cooking separately for the family and your baby main meals can be easily adapted to suit your baby as well as the rest of the family. most of the baby websites around such as Hipp Organic, Ella's Kitchen and Cow and gate have there own recipe sections to help you along with making your own food. Also Ella's Kitchen have several recipe books available that focus on baby made meals only.

  

#Weaning week Hipp Organic #Review

As part of my Weaning week feature we were sent a fantastic bundle of baby foods from Hipp Organic. Hipp Organic have been a big part of our lives since I was pregnant with Liam at which time I joined up to their baby parenting club where they have some top tips and good advice. From joining there baby club this has followed on to using there products when Liam was weaning right the way through to now when its Jacks turn to start weaning. I do actually love there products there is a huge variety in choice flavours and different age ranges to suit babies.

If you don't know Hipp Organic, they're are a brand that create good, healthy, nutritious food for babies and toddlers. They pride themselves on creating meals that babies will enjoy and that will help them grow and learn to love good food.

Hipp Organic sent us an array of there lovely products, here is what they sent

• Creamy Porridge (box)
• Apple juice with mineral water
• Pear banana and kiwi Pouch (Pouch)
• peach apple and banana muesli with yogurt (Pouch)
• Cherry apple and banana breakfast (Pouch) 
• Mild tomato and chicken curry (pouch)
• Vegetable and chicken risotto with peas (pouch)
• creamy rice breakfast (jar)
• spaghetti bolagnase (jar)
• Pumpkin carrot and apple spaghetti (Jar)
• Carrot salmon and dill risotto (Jar)
• vegetable lasagne (jar)
• Just fruit pear, banana and kiwi (flavoured yoghurt's)

As you can see from the list there is quite a variation in the products lots of different flavours and tastes coming in all different packaging and this isn't even half of the products they make, there is so much variety to suit all.

In the past I have always had the baby jars for the older boys, with that fact in mind and that Jack has only just started weaning, we tried out the pouches that we were sent. 

The very first thing we tried was the Cherry, apple and banana breakfast - Cherry can sometimes be a bit sour so I was a bit unsure as to how Jack would be with the flavour, I had no need to worry it was a huge hit as he enjoyed every spoonful of the pouch. I loved the ease of the pouch the food was really easy to squeeze from the packet, I like that you can screw the tops back on so you can use half the packet the next day. I must say the breakfast smelt delicious and Jack ate every last bit and was looking for more! 

We also have tried the, pear banana and kiwi pouch and the peach apple and banana muesli with yogurt both of which were hits for Jack he really loved them, over the next few weeks we are looking forward to trying the other products we have been sent and incorporating the jars with the lumps in - watch out for a follow on post to see how we got on with lumpy food.

Hipp Organic is a fantastic brand of baby food, there website is also a place where you can gain lots of information and view all of their products, we will definitely be continuing to stock up with Hipp Organic products we love them!      

we were sent the lovely Hipp Organic products for the purpose of this review all opinions remain honest and my own.

#Weaning week Do's and don'ts, and food safety

When it comes to weaning there are some Do's and Don'ts rules that I live by and some are common sense others just give you food for thought I hope this helps you along with your little ones Weaning Journey.

• Do - be prepared for mess, all children make a mess its a natural part of exploring and playing, invest in plenty of bibs and if you have a carpet you don't want ruining get a plastic mat to put underneath or even a sheet it just makes cleaning up easier after.

• Do - Offer plenty of variety of food, weaning is an exciting time its like having new toys, experiment rotate flavours they will love it.

• Do make sure baby is always in an upright position when they are eating, whether it is on your knee in a seat or in the high chair they will always need to be upright this is important for digestion and swallowing.

• Do - give baby's small portions around the size of there own fist is a good measurement to go by

• Do - offer baby small bits of food from your plate so they feel like they are part of meal time it also gives them the chance to try different things.

• Do - Offer your baby a drink of water in a beaker they may only have a little sip and need guidance with it to start off with but like with everything it will get easier and they will learn how to hold it better over time.

• Don't - expect your baby to like or even swallow the first food you give them weaning is about being patient some babies will take time to get used to the change others will just love it from the off.

• Don't - rush, weaning is a slow process always give your baby plenty of time for there meals, don't be tempted to try and hurry them along.

• Don't - ever leave your baby alone at meal times, or unattended in a high chair it is dangerous.

• Don't - expect your baby to finish every piece of food you give them, like us they wont always want it all, they may feel full or they just might not like it.

• Don't - give babies foods that pose an obvious danger to them like nuts, meat with bones, honey for children under one or anything raw like shell fish.

• Don't - offer babies fatty foods, things that are high in salt, sugar or spices all of them can be damaging to your babies health.

• Don't - Ever start trying to wean your baby before four months

Food Safety

keep things clean, aways make sure you wash your hand before preparing any food. once your baby has had there food make sure you wash their dishes in warm soapy water - once your baby has reached six months you don't need to sterilise there weaning equipment, but you do still need to sterilise there bottles.

Cooking and re-heating food, always make sure your babies food is cooked thoroughly and is piping hot then leave it to cool down before serving. If you are going to give your baby meals from the freezer make sure it has been thoroughly defrosted before cooking them. A lot of baby meals can be microwaved, take care when using this method for cooking, microwaving food can leave hot spots so you need to make sure you have stirred the food properly to get rid of these then leave the meal to cool this makes sure the heat is the same throughout the meal. no matter where you are serving the meal from always make sure you check the temperature before serving it to your little one.

Check your food labels, always check the "use by" dates and or the "best before" dates. check the food you are giving to your baby is within there age group this is usually clearly displayed on the packaging or in the book if you are cooking from scratch. It is also best to check salt content as well all baby food should have less than 1g of salt, as salt is not good for young children and babies and can cause health problems.

Food storage, make sure you don't keep any opened baby jars or packets for more than 24hrs and keep them safely stored in the fridge where they will be kept fresh. If you are cooking from scratch make sure the food is properly cooled down before putting in the fridge or freezing label the food with dates and make sure it is in a dish or container that has a lid.   

Keep calm and colour in! #Win Zen Art Therapy for adults

Colouring books have become increasingly popular over recent years, they are relaxing can help keep stress levels minimal and if it is someone elderly it can help to regain the use of their fine motor skills - colouring is becoming an upcoming craze amongst adults.





Children have known for years that settling down to tackle a nice bit of colouring-in is a relaxing way to unwind and it looks like us grown-ups have finally caught on! Cool, Calm, Create is pre-school specialists, Redan Publishing’s first magazine to target adults and will hit the newsstands on 30th July, providing a monthly shot of art therapy to frazzled parents up and down the country.

The new magazine offers 68 pages of intricate colouring and doodling spreads designed to help focus the mind and aid relaxation. Using a bespoke blend of patterns, mandalas and tangles, issue one has a marine and ocean theme and comes with a free cover-mounted gift of 5 colouring pencils, making it the perfect gift to pick up and go and an ideal travel companion for summer holidays.

Calm, Colour, Create Magazine will retail at £4.99 and is aimed at anyone with an interest in colouring. It will be available on selected newsstands from 30th July, 2015.

I have three copies to give away. To win yourself a copy of the lovely book simply enter via the rafflecopter below. Good Luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions:

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

all steps on the rafflecopter form are optional however you must complete at least one to be entered . Only one entry form per person is allowed (however, you can tweet with the bonus click entry daily as well to increase your chances).

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

Once the Rafflecopter picks a winner, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within 28 days, the prize will be allocated to another person.

The giveaway will close on 4th August 2015 at midnight.

Cheer up a friend send a gift through text, with Parcelgenie

How nice is it to spread happiness in peoples lives? How nice is it to send people a little gift to let them know how much you are missing them, thinking about them, or just want to put a smile on there face?



Well the new Parcelgenie/textgenie App lets you do just that!

"Parcelgenie! The Worlds first Instant gift messaging app lets you send real, little gifts to friends and family, No address needed!"

Parcelgenie is an instant gift service that you download as an app on your phone, available on Android or IPhone, however if you don't have either you can also order online. They have a range of gifts, all really reasonably priced. They start at £1.99 & go up to around £8.00, There are ten gifts to choose from including a good luck charm, some pretty ladybird lovebugs and their eat your blues away (a blue sweet selection). The gifts are mainly food / sweet based, It will be interesting to see if they will add a wider selection to suit more people, but for now I think they’ve a really nice little range to start off with. Plus you can also add a personalised note card!

Once You have chosen the gift you want to send the app automatically connects to your contacts in your phone, so you simply connect and choose who to send it to. You don't need the person's address as once you've arranged for it to be sent, the Parcelgenie texting app sends a text to the recipient saying you have sent them a gift & asks them for their address details. Then you get a message saying it has been dispatched. Simple as that.

When Parcelgenie contacted me to ask me to try out their new service, I bought my mum, the horse shoe good luck charm, as she hasn't been very lucky lately so fingers crossed it brings her more luck, the charm came all wrapped up in a cute little box and came the very next day after ordering. which is a great service.




I also bought a few other gifts for friends as the gifts are all lovely little things and I wanted to see what they thought, they all loved there little gifts the only negative to the service is that when they received the text all but one of my friends sent me a message asking if the gift was from me or if it was a spam message.

With the app payment is really simple, you can pay by card or by Paypal, the app links straight to your Paypal making payment quick easy and simple!

Other little gems to the app include a shake the parcel game - this gives you one shake a day to receive a gift or discount code, there is also an electronic reward card for each gift you send you get a stamp once you have six stamps Parcelgenie sends you a surprise little gift to say thank you which i think is a lovely idea!

Not only that all first time users get 50% discount off there first text order!

Go check out their range of gifts for your favourite people and let me know what you think. I really love this idea and love the gifts I will definitely be continuing to use the app.


You can find out more by visiting them here at Parcelgenie or Txtgenie  or by following them on Twitter .

Disclosure, I was sent two gift codes to review the above app, all opinions remain honest and my own.

#Review Fireman Sam Diecast Vehicle set

This week we were sent a lovely three piece set of Diecast vehicles from the fireman Sam range, both Liam and Adam have been huge fans of fireman Sam for a long time, they sing along to the theme tune, they often rein-act scenes from the TV program usually ending up in one of them pretending to be naughty Norman and doing something naughty.

When the set arrived I knew it would be very popular and they haven't quite got the hang of sharing with each other so luckily there are three vehicles included in the set and both Liam and Adam choose there favorite each and have put the other one to one side for when Jack gets older, but not before having a play with all three first.

As you can see from the box above you get three vehicles, Jupiter the fire engine which is a hot favorite in my house! then there is Venus usually driven by penny the boys like this one because in the series it carries rescue equipment, and last but not least there is Neptune the rescue boat.

This is a fantastic set, great to keep you little ones, aged three plus, entertained for hours using there imaginations to re-create the rescue scenes from Fireman Sam. this little set gets a big thumbs up from my boys, they absolutely loved them and they haven't put them down since I gave them the Fireman Sam Vehicles!

These products were sent to me for the purpose of this review all opinions remain honest and my own          

First friends magazine review and #giveaway

As of late the boys have gone crazy for children's magazines, every time we go to the shops they will ask for one. When we were asked to review First Friends magazine I jumped at the chance knowing that the boys would love looking at something new.

When the magazine arrived, First thoughts on the cover were its brightly coloured, eye catching and has a cute little free gift of a plate and cup set in theme with the hungry Caterpillar. The magazine is very much unisex and both boys and girls alike will love it, The magazine is aimed at children aged 2-4 years old however Liam is five and loved it just the same, the first edition of the monthly First Friends magazine is published on the 8th July and it is priced at £2.99

The magazine focuses on lots of different children's characters, so if your child has a preference for one over the other there really is something to suit all. My boys automatically recognised Wolley and Tigg on the front and were excited that they were featured as they love that programme.

The magazine consists of 27 pages packed with activities, stickers and learning stories all of which will help with a child's development, my boys particularly like the stickers they loved hunting through the magazine finding which stickers went on which page.

The magazine also features a height chart to record your little ones growth, and a pull out poster with spot the dog featured on it, a competition to win a gruffello Trunki, and the magazine also features some creative making ideas for keeping your little ones entertained.

Over all the boys loved the magazine, there was plenty of variety to keep them occupied and stimulated and plenty of activities to keep them busy when we have an afternoon at home

For your chance to win a fantastic first copy the First Friends Magazine (three to giveaway) just enter through the rafflecopter widget below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions:

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

all steps on the rafflecopter form are optional however you must complete at least one to be entered . Only one entry form per person is allowed (however, you can tweet with the bonus click entry daily as well to increase your chances).

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

Once the Rafflecopter picks a winner, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within 28 days, the prize will be allocated to another person.

The giveaway will close on 17th July 2015 at midnight.

Forget terrible two's, Think traumatic three's!

As parenting goes, I feel like with Adam every stage that he enters he is like my first child and I have never tackled or come across the "phases" before just because Liam didn't hit his milestones like children his own age were, he didn't do the singing and dancing the laughing at silly things when he was younger - However Adam, is he is just your average three year old child nightmare.

I haven't really hit a period like this before where I can honestly say I really don't like my child at the moment, but at this moment he is pushing every single boundary and Adam has been since he started nursery, you see Liam is a child that is a leader, its basically his way or the highway, where as Adam is a follower I'm not really sure which is worse to be quite honest.

I try not to argue with Adam because he has a very stubborn streak - probably like myself he just doesn't give in, it doesn't matter what I ask him to do he is "Tommy opposite" at the moment.

I find myself having to ask him to do things five maybe six times before he will even attempt to do what is being asked of him and even then it is usually half a job. I will say to him "pick your toys up babe its nearly dinner time.................. and here is Adams responses

-Adam

• "But my hands are full", 
• "But I'm tired" (forces yawn), 
• "can you help me mummy" 
• "I didn't do it" (he is the only child in the house) 
• "I have a cough" 
• "my leg hurts"
• randomly forces a cry because he doesn't want to do it
• asks to go upstairs because he is naughty
• "No"
• "I don't want dinner" 
• " I want Daddy" (turns on the water works)

You see, this is what it is like regularly, it doesn't matter what I ask ,he always wants to the the opposite, and it is driving me mad, clothes, shoes, dinner, breakfast, to what socks he is wearing to school, he insists on going to bed in his sunglasses and hat and if you try and get him to do any different he has always got something to say.

Not only that, he is going through the phase of he done this or she has done that, he likes to especially tell people about my "wrong doings" like he knows when his dad used to live here he didn't like me drinking out the bottle of Pepsi so when his dad rings he makes sure he tells him what I have been doing, or when my mum rings he will tell her, my mummy still has her pyjamas on you seriously cant get away with anything.

he notices when things have been moved, he notices if there are new things in the house, yes he is observant, not such a bad thing, but when it is gifts for other people you can be sure he will be telling them what you have got for them.

As I said previously Adam is a follower so a lot of his bad habits are easily picked up from school don't get me wrong Adam isn't perfect,  but there are things he has never done before then suddenly just starts doing them, like this week he came home and was stamping his feet when he was asking for something, he also started banging his head on the wall - he only did this once because I think he realised it hurts. I don't think it makes me a bad mummy to say I had absolutely no sympathy for him at all!

I really do think the Threes are far more traumatic than the twos not only do they still know the "No" word but they also know how to get around things, so they think they have the upper hand, or Adam certainly does anyway, I am glad these age phases don't last, hopefully he will grow out of this phase quickly but getting the discipline right for a child that seems to think he rules the roost at the moment is more difficult than you think!