Father's Day Giveaway - Win Covert Dog Tags from Gumigem

In the run up to Father's Day I will be bringing you a few posts with gift suggestions for your little people to treat their daddies with.
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Polarn O.Pyret Spring/Summer Collection - A Review

I'm a Mummy with very firm ideas on what I like my children to wear. I won't bore you with my 'rules' but, once I find a brand that I like I stick with it. One of my 'go to' brands for bright, colourful children's clothes is  Polarn O.Pyret. I find this Swedish brand to tick every box as far as design, quality and functionality is concerned.

Polarn O.Pyret pride themselves on making good looking clothing which makes life easier. They try to make the best examples of each item of clothing they sell, offering truly unisex items putting function, fit and versatility above gender stereotyping. I especially love that they offer effective layers and realise that some children run hot (like mine), whereas others feel the cold and will need the warmth of an extra base layer. They have a stated aim to provide clothing that can be handed down, from brother to sister, withstanding wear and tear. I'm continuously passing on clothes to my nephews that Bud grows out of as so little of it is truly unisex so there isn't any point in keeping it for Little Miss. We obviously need to buy more Polarn O.Pyret so I can save all Bud's clothes for her!

Recently Polarn O.Pyret sent Bud and Little Miss some items from their Spring/Summer collection to try out.  We received the Creatures Short Sleeve All in One Pyjamas for Little Miss and the Happy Days T-Shirt and Jean Shorts for Bud.

The Pyjamas have been wonderful for Little Miss. They are soft and comfortable, made from 95% Organic Cotton, with short sleeves and legs, perfect for Summer sleepwear. They have a bright and colourful butterfly print with a strawberry red leg and sleeves trim. I like that the sleepsuit has poppers all the way down the suit which makes it easy to put it on. The round neckline is very comfortable too and the seams are really soft against her delicate skin.

Monday 22/4/13 - Sunday 28/4/13, Photos 173-179 of Project 365

Welcome to the Tefal Innovation Panel

A few weeks ago I applied to join the Tefal Innovation Panel which was being launched in partnership with the Mumsnet Bloggers Network assuming I'd never be chosen but crossing my fingers in the hope that I would be. Imagine my surprise when, during our visit to Kiddicare Aintree a few weeks ago, I got a message inviting me to join the panel with a rather exciting request to join them in Windsor for the day.

Last Thursday Little Miss and I got up very early to get the 7am train to London and on to Windsor to attend a meeting at the headquarters of Groupe SEB, the parent company of Tefal UK. We had the pleasure of travelling with Tina and lovely Syd from The Mother Geek who, as well as being excellent company, also helped me to have the confidence to navigate the London Underground with a pram!

On arrival we were welcomed by the team and introduced to the company with a very interesting presentation. Groupe SEB is the parent company for Tefal, Rowenta and Krups and has its global headquarters in France. The company has a long history dating back over a century and pioneered non-stick technology when Marc Grégoire a frustrated fisherman wanted to make sure his line didn't snag when reeling in a fish. His wife was intrigued by the reel coating he developed and wondered if it would work on her pans and non-stick cookware was born. They also took us on a trip down memory lane with a look at some of their old advertising campaigns, including the Scientists.

Following this introduction we were taken through to the amazing  kitchen where we were treated to four demonstrations of the Tefal range.

First was Linencare. Now, let's get something straight here. I don't iron. I can iron but I hate it so we tend to hang up a lot of things while they are damp in the hope that the creases drop out by themselves. I really thought nothing about an iron could get me excited. How wrong I was. The brand manager, Chetana Raj treated us to a demo of the steam generator irons and I was amazed! The irons do look rather space age but the steam that they generate cuts ironing time in half and makes ironing hassle free. I was sold as a few of my fellow bloggers (including other ironing deniers like myself) took to the board and made very short work of the sample garments available for us to try out.


Next we were shown Tefal's range of cookware. This is probably the area I was most familiar with, I even own a couple of items already. Stefan Kaczmarczyk talked us through the range and showed us the unique Thermospot that was added to frying pans in 2000. Contrary to popular belief this doesn't glow when it reaches the ideal temperature of 190°C but instead the concentric lines vanish and the spot turns red. He also discussed the exacting standards of their partnership with Jamie Oliver and showed us a pan that the chef rejected fourteen times before agreeing on the fifteenth version. He uses Tefal ranges in his cookery programmes and won't put his name to anything that isn't right. Stefan cooked an egg without oil in one of their pans with excellent results. The non-stick technology really does live up to its name. We were also shown how easy it is to clean burned milk off the non-stick coating. Quite handy for me as I often burn things!


The Actifry demonstration was next. I was quite excited to see this as I've heard really great things about these appliances but was yet to see one in operation. I thought that the Actifry was, essentially, a replacement for deep fat fryer and just good for food that you would normally cook in these. André Silva was quick to explain that the Actifry is so much more than that. In addition to chips you can cook casseroles, stir fries, curries, desserts and more. The Actifry is the UK's number one small appliance and uses a unique paddle to stir the ingredients while cooking and ensure that everything cooks evenly. André explained that he uses his Actifry everyday and doesn't actually own an oven! Tefal have just launched the Actifry 2-in-1 which allows you to cook two different dishes at the same time - great for chicken and chips!


The final product shown was one I had investigated when I was reading up on Tefal prior to our day with them - the Fresh Express. Let me explain something, I hate grating cheese and I hate chopping onions. I do one or the other almost every day. Just imagine if there was a device which meant that I didn't have to do it? This is where the Fresh Express comes in. Maria Montero showed us the UK's number one food preparation product. It works brilliantly with different cones for grating, slicing and grinding. It can grate cheese or slice an onion in seconds! Seriously, every kitchen should have one.


Following the demos we were treated to a very healthy lunch featuring dishes that had been made using the appliances while we were being shown them. Just fantastic! The marinaded chicken and homemade coleslaw were terrific and showed the capabilities of the Actifry and Fresh Express really effectively.


Tefal have launched a new campaign called Fresh Week which is asking families to give up processed food for the week commencing 13th May. If you make your pledge on their website you will have the chance to win a Fresh Express and a Riverford Organic Fruit and Veg Box to help you achieve it. I've made my pledge and I'd love it if you would consider doing the same. I'll be posting about Fresh Week again nearer the time.
I'm delighted to say that I have received a Tefal Actifry, Steam Generator Iron and Fresh Express Max to try out at home and I will be sharing my thoughts on all of these very soon. We also brought home a 21cm Tefal Frying Pan and a One Egg Wonder, both of which have transformed the way I use a frying pan! The One Egg Wonder has me frying eggs which was previously just a job for Red Rose Daddy.

I'd like to thank Tefal for making us so very welcome in Windsor and I'm really looking forward to working with them over the next year.

Look out for the posts from my fellow panellists - The Mother Geek, Seasider in the City, Crazy with Twins,  Mum in the Madhouse, Boo, Roo and Tigger Too. Madame Gourmand, Recipe Junkie, Romanian Mum, Jacintaz3, Emmy's Mummy and Attachment Mummy

Disclaimer: We were invited to spend the day with Tefal and our expenses were covered. We received the Actifty, Iron and Goodie Bag as gifts. All opinions are honest and unbiased. 

Welcome to the Tefal Innovation Panel

A few weeks ago I applied to join the Tefal Innovation Panel which was being launched in partnership with the Mumsnet Bloggers Network assuming I'd never be chosen but crossing my fingers in the hope that I would be. Imagine my surprise when, during our visit to Kiddicare Aintree a few weeks ago, I got a message inviting me to join the panel with a rather exciting request to join them in Windsor for the day.

Last Thursday Little Miss and I got up very early to get the 7am train to London and on to Windsor to attend a meeting at the headquarters of Groupe SEB, the parent company of Tefal UK. We had the pleasure of travelling with Tina and lovely Syd from The Mother Geek who, as well as being excellent company, also helped me to have the confidence to navigate the London Underground with a pram!

On arrival we were welcomed by the team and introduced to the company with a very interesting presentation. Groupe SEB is the parent company for Tefal, Rowenta and Krups and has its global headquarters in France. The company has a long history dating back over a century and pioneered non-stick technology when Marc Grégoire a frustrated fisherman wanted to make sure his line didn't snag when reeling in a fish. His wife was intrigued by the reel coating he developed and wondered if it would work on her pans and non-stick cookware was born. They also took us on a trip down memory lane with a look at some of their old advertising campaigns, including the Scientists.

Following this introduction we were taken through to the amazing  kitchen where we were treated to four demonstrations of the Tefal range.

First was Linencare. Now, let's get something straight here. I don't iron. I can iron but I hate it so we tend to hang up a lot of things while they are damp in the hope that the creases drop out by themselves. I really thought nothing about an iron could get me excited. How wrong I was. The brand manager, Chetana Raj treated us to a demo of the steam generator irons and I was amazed! The irons do look rather space age but the steam that they generate cuts ironing time in half and makes ironing hassle free. I was sold as a few of my fellow bloggers (including other ironing deniers like myself) took to the board and made very short work of the sample garments available for us to try out.


Next we were shown Tefal's range of cookware. This is probably the area I was most familiar with, I even own a couple of items already. Stefan Kaczmarczyk talked us through the range and showed us the unique Thermospot that was added to frying pans in 2000. Contrary to popular belief this doesn't glow when it reaches the ideal temperature of 190°C but instead the concentric lines vanish and the spot turns red. He also discussed the exacting standards of their partnership with Jamie Oliver and showed us a pan that the chef rejected fourteen times before agreeing on the fifteenth version. He uses Tefal ranges in his cookery programmes and won't put his name to anything that isn't right. Stefan cooked an egg without oil in one of their pans with excellent results. The non-stick technology really does live up to its name. We were also shown how easy it is to clean burned milk off the non-stick coating. Quite handy for me as I often burn things!


The Actifry demonstration was next. I was quite excited to see this as I've heard really great things about these appliances but was yet to see one in operation. I thought that the Actifry was, essentially, a replacement for deep fat fryer and just good for food that you would normally cook in these. André Silva was quick to explain that the Actifry is so much more than that. In addition to chips you can cook casseroles, stir fries, curries, desserts and more. The Actifry is the UK's number one small appliance and uses a unique paddle to stir the ingredients while cooking and ensure that everything cooks evenly. André explained that he uses his Actifry everyday and doesn't actually own an oven! Tefal have just launched the Actifry 2-in-1 which allows you to cook two different dishes at the same time - great for chicken and chips!


The final product shown was one I had investigated when I was reading up on Tefal prior to our day with them - the Fresh Express. Let me explain something, I hate grating cheese and I hate chopping onions. I do one or the other almost every day. Just imagine if there was a device which meant that I didn't have to do it? This is where the Fresh Express comes in. Maria Montero showed us the UK's number one food preparation product. It works brilliantly with different cones for grating, slicing and grinding. It can grate cheese or slice an onion in seconds! Seriously, every kitchen should have one.


Following the demos we were treated to a very healthy lunch featuring dishes that had been made using the appliances while we were being shown them. Just fantastic! The marinaded chicken and homemade coleslaw were terrific and showed the capabilities of the Actifry and Fresh Express really effectively.


Tefal have launched a new campaign called Fresh Week which is asking families to give up processed food for the week commencing 13th May. If you make your pledge on their website you will have the chance to win a Fresh Express and a Riverford Organic Fruit and Veg Box to help you achieve it. I've made my pledge and I'd love it if you would consider doing the same. I'll be posting about Fresh Week again nearer the time.
I'm delighted to say that I have received a Tefal Actifry, Steam Generator Iron and Fresh Express Max to try out at home and I will be sharing my thoughts on all of these very soon. We also brought home a 21cm Tefal Frying Pan and a One Egg Wonder, both of which have transformed the way I use a frying pan! The One Egg Wonder has me frying eggs which was previously just a job for Red Rose Daddy.

I'd like to thank Tefal for making us so very welcome in Windsor and I'm really looking forward to working with them over the next year.

Look out for the posts from my fellow panellists - The Mother Geek, Seasider in the City, Crazy with Twins,  Mum in the Madhouse, Boo, Roo and Tigger Too. Madame Gourmand, Recipe Junkie, Romanian Mum, Jacintaz3, Emmy's Mummy and Attachment Mummy

Disclaimer: We were invited to spend the day with Tefal and our expenses were covered. We received the Actifty, Iron and Goodie Bag as gifts. All opinions are honest and unbiased. 

Design a Swimsuit to Win with Myleene Klass and Littlewoods

Myleene Klass has teamed up with Littlewoods to design a new swimwear range for 2013 which can be found in the Littlewoods Holiday Shop. To celebrate this launch Littlewoods have launched an amazing competition to win a family holiday to Barbados!

To enter the competition simply head over to the Littlewoods Facebook page, make sure you 'like' it and then have a go at designing your very own swimsuit. The app will take you through each step of the design process and you can swap and change until you are happy with your final result. It's really easy to use and lots of fun. I've been having a play with it today and this is the swimsuit I came up with. You can even add accessories for the perfect beach look.

Design a Swimsuit to Win with Myleene Klass and Littlewoods

Myleene Klass has teamed up with Littlewoods to design a new swimwear range for 2013 which can be found in the Littlewoods Holiday Shop. To celebrate this launch Littlewoods have launched an amazing competition to win a family holiday to Barbados!

To enter the competition simply head over to the Littlewoods Facebook page, make sure you 'like' it and then have a go at designing your very own swimsuit. The app will take you through each step of the design process and you can swap and change until you are happy with your final result. It's really easy to use and lots of fun. I've been having a play with it today and this is the swimsuit I came up with. You can even add accessories for the perfect beach look.

#HealthySnackChat Round Up

Today I hosted a Twitter Party with three other bloggers which aimed to discuss healthy snacks for children. We more than succeeded and the conversation flowed freely. We trended within fifteen minutes and stayed within the top three on my UK trends for the rest of the hour. At times it was quite amusing as we were trending as #HealthySnackChat right above #Suarez, which, of course, refers to Luis Suarez biting Branislav Ivanovic at the weekend. I can confirm that footballers do not make a decent snack and it isn't too healthy either!

The lovely people at Cult Content have produced a summary of the content using Storify which recounts the party much better than a quick blog post ever could.

We had some terrific suggestions, like freezing softer fruits to offer a different texture, or dipping dried banana into Nutella for a treat. We also had photos of some gorgeous little ones eating their healthy snacks and some beautiful Bento boxes from Capture by Lucy.

Some fantastic prizes were on offer and I'm pleased to announce the winners.

The two picnic rucksacks were won by @cherylp59 and @thesoupdragon44

The four runners up prizes were won by @charliechinuk @AttachmentMumma @MyMummysWorld and @LifewithASD

Congratulations winners, enjoy your prizes! Thank you to everyone who joined in the interesting discussion.

Monday 15/4/13 to Sunday 21/4/13, Photos 166-172 of Project 365

Huzzah for a Homemade Mike the Knight Birthday Cake

Bud loves Mike the Knight. He follows the exploits of the tiny knight and his friends in Glendragon closely and I knew we were expecting some toys and playsets, in addition to a helmet and sword just like Mike's in his birthday presents. I was determined to make his birthday cake this year and, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, I wasn't surprised when he requested a Mike the Knight cake. I googled lots but only saw very professional cakes so had to come up with my own idea. This was the finished result, read on for how I made it.


Roll out your contrasting icing colour on an icing sugared surface and cut out the letters of your child's name. These can be placed into the gap underneath the flowers. If you don't have alphabet cutters you could try doing it freehand or even piping using softer icing. I made up some icing using a little icing sugar mixed with water and used this to stick the letters on to the cake.

Huzzah for a Homemade Mike the Knight Birthday Cake

Bud loves Mike the Knight. He follows the exploits of the tiny knight and his friends in Glendragon closely and I knew we were expecting some toys and playsets, in addition to a helmet and sword just like Mike's in his birthday presents. I was determined to make his birthday cake this year and, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, I wasn't surprised when he requested a Mike the Knight cake. I googled lots but only saw very professional cakes so had to come up with my own idea. This was the finished result, read on for how I made it.


Roll out your contrasting icing colour on an icing sugared surface and cut out the letters of your child's name. These can be placed into the gap underneath the flowers. If you don't have alphabet cutters you could try doing it freehand or even piping using softer icing. I made up some icing using a little icing sugar mixed with water and used this to stick the letters on to the cake.

#healthysnackchat Twitter Discussion

Getting Bud to eat fruit has never been an issue for us, thank goodness. He will try most fruit and starts each day with a mixture of it depending on what we have in. He loves apples although he does have a somewhat alarming habit of eating the whole thing and just handing me a stalk. As Bud isn't overly keen on vegetables (he will eat cucumber and that's it at the moment so he has it with every meal, alongside a new vegetable to try) I try to keep our fruit bowl well stocked so he can snack on that rather than reaching for our Easter Egg stash.

I know that helping our children to eat healthily is a big issue for a lot of parents. We all want to feel that they are eating well and getting a balanced diet. Snack time can be a particular minefield with hidden fats and sugar in many shop bought snacks and a lack of inspiration which means that I, certainly, reach for particular favourites that I know he will eat.

Next Monday, 22nd April at 10:30am I will be joining with three other bloggers, Jenny from The Brick Castle, Eileen from ET Speaks from Home and Anna from In the Playroom, for a chat about healthy snacks on Twitter, in association with SA Fruits. We'd like you to share your hints, tips, recipes and advice on the healthy snacks that you offer your children. SA Fruits have supplied us with two Picnic Rucksacks to offer as prizes. One will be won by someone tweeting the promotional tweet, and one during the party. There will also be some smaller prizes to be won during the party.


SA Fruits supply the UK market with a range of fruit and can be found in supermarkets all year round. They sent us a range of fruit to try out which we've all been snacking on this weekend. We received Comice Pears, Red Williams Pears, Royal Gala Apples, Sonogold Plums and Angeleno Plums.


 I loved the Red William Pears, they were so tasty and sweet. The Royal Gala Apples were a big hit with both Bud and Little Miss as I pureed one for her. 




We don't often buy plums but both varieties we were sent were lovely and sweet with none of the tartness that sometimes puts me off them.



For a chance to win a Picnic Rucksack simply retweet this Twitter status. 

Magpie Monday - A Trip to the Church Fleamarket

I've been a fan of the Magpie Monday linky over at Me and My Shadow for quite some time. I guess I'm inherently nosy and I also love a good car boot sale, jumble sale or charity shop. I've been meaning to link up for ages but haven't really had any bargains worthy of a post in quite some time.

This weekend one of our local churches hosted their fleamarket. They do this every six months and we always try to attend as, in addition to the chance of a bargain, they also serve a great cup of coffee and wonderful cream cakes too. We have to take advantage of this when we go, after all it raises essential funds for the local community!

Last time the event was hosted I came away a little disappointed. I got a couple of small things but nothing worthy of a blog post but I was very pleased this time.

The first stall as I went in caught my eye straight away as it was selling a mixture of kitchen items. I immediately spotted these two flan dishes. I have fond memories of soup cups with recipes printed on them that my Nanna had when I was a child and these are from the same range. I've no idea what it is called (if anyone else knows please tell me) but they are a reminder of her and useful too. £1:40 bought me both of them.

As we moved around the fleamarket I was really pleased to see lots of interesting items, much improved on last time although nothing caught my eye until I got to a stall which was mainly selling shoes and socks. All were brand new but gave the impression of having been tucked away in a wardrobe somewhere. My eye was drawn to a blue shoe box which contained a beautiful pair of turquoise, suede toddler shoes. On closer inspection these were revealed as a brand new pair of Babybotte shoes. A brand I'd vaguely heard of in the 'I'd never spend that amount of money on a pair of children's shoes' kind of way. When I asked the price and was told £3:50 I very quickly parted with the required money. I'm not sure when they will fit Little Miss (they are a UK size 4) but I am so pleased with them. They are beautifully soft suede and have clearly never been worn. The soles are unmarked and the ankle straps looks like they have never been fastened.


My final bargain of the day was from a stallholder's 25p box. I spotted a bag of what I thought was ribbon. On closer inspection it was actually trimming and binding for clothes. There was masses in the bag and I'm sure I'll find ways to use them in some of the various sewing projects I have planned. Red Rose Daddy got a dutch style plant pot from the same box but I have no idea where it has vanished to so no photo of that. Making order from the tangled bag will probably take a little while, is it strange that I will probably quite enjoy it?


I was so pleased with our bargains from this particular fleamarket, I just wish I could find a more regular source of them!

I'm finally linking up to Magpie Monday. Simply click on the badge to find out more and read the other linked up posts.

Sunday 7/4/13 to Sunday 14/4/13 Photos 158-165 of Project 365

#164 Saturday 'Bumblebee' - We had lovely weather today and had all the bedroom windows open. When Red Rose Daddy went into close them he was greeted by very loud buzzing and this enormous Bumblebee. I wish I could show you the scale but it was about the size of a ten pence coin. He got it into a glass and released her into the garden. Bumblebees are very precious to gardeners so he was hopeful that it was none the worse for her ordeal.

#165 Sunday 'Glasses' - We went to the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre with Blogs Up North today and couldn't resist taking in the new Legends of Chima film that we saw a preview of in March. Little Miss sat on her Daddy's knee for the showing and looked so sweet when we tried the 3D glasses on her.

Vital Baby Weaning Set - A Review

We seem to have reached the weaning stage with Little Miss so quickly. I remember being a little impatient for Bud to get to the magic six months and being slightly frustrated when he got a bad cold which prevented us from introducing solids until a couple of weeks after he got there. One of the important things when starting weaning is to ensure you are well prepared and having the correct tools in place is an important part of that. Vital Baby have been producing infant feeding products since 2005 and aim to provide fun, safe and innovative ways to make mealtime fun for parents and their babies.

We received a Vital Baby Weaning Set to try out with Little Miss. With both her and her big brother I've adopted a mixed approach to weaning. I tend to combine elements of the finger foods of Baby Led Weaning with purees and porridge. Little Miss gets a mixture of tastes and textures every day.

The Vital Baby Weaning Set is a BPA-free plastic bowl which comes complete with lid and spoon. The spoon fixes securely into the lid when not in use and the lid locks on to the bowl to offer a self contained unit which allows you to easily transport homemade food if you are out and about. A really nifty touch is the fact that the spoon has a cover which allows you to confidently put a dirty spoon back in your bag without the risk of food going astray or having to search for somewhere to wash the dish and spoon up.


This is the set we use whenever we need to take food for Little Miss with us now, whether homemade or a pouch. I think it is an excellent design from a parent's perspective with a lip to hold on to rather than trying to balance the base of the bowl on your hand when feeding. We're really pleased with our Vital Baby Weaning Set and I'm set to invest in one or two more for a weekend away we have coming up.

Pink Lining Queensdale Tote Changing Bag - A Review

I love bags. They've always been a little bit of an obsession for me and I have quite a collection. When I became a mummy three years ago my handbag obsession turned into a keenness for changing bags. I must have had five or six. It can be surprisingly tricky to find the 'right' bag to tote everything you need for yourself and a baby around and this got even worse when I started potty training Bud and he needed lots of spare clothes to be put in the bag too. My existing bag of choice just wasn't cutting the mustard.

Pink Lining Queensdale Tote Changing Bag - A Review

I love bags. They've always been a little bit of an obsession for me and I have quite a collection. When I became a mummy three years ago my handbag obsession turned into a keenness for changing bags. I must have had five or six. It can be surprisingly tricky to find the 'right' bag to tote everything you need for yourself and a baby around and this got even worse when I started potty training Bud and he needed lots of spare clothes to be put in the bag too. My existing bag of choice just wasn't cutting the mustard.