Stock up on Ella's Kitchen pouches

Stock up now on these fabulously handy pouches from Ella's Kitchen whilst they are a third off at Sainsburys.
Offer valid until 28th September 2011.

Win Green Closing Down Sale

Last chance to get your hands on the wonderful play houses by Win Green. They are closing after 10 years of business and are having a farewell sale this Thursday 22nd September at Fulham Town Hall, 10am-2pm.

My best ever hand-me-down

This wonderful Mr Tickle t-shirt actually belonged to my husband. It is the St Michael brand purchased from M&S circa 1976! My mother-in-law passed it on to her daughter and her four sons wore it. It was then passed on to me and worn by my 3 sons. 35 years later it is still a brilliant white colour and my boys have been very proud wearing the same t-shirt as their daddy wore as a boy!

The perfect kids water bottle

I think I've finally found the best water bottle for my boys to take to school. It not only looks stylish, it doesn't leak, it goes in the dishwasher and has a handy clip for fixing to the book bag.  It comes in an array of cool colours and the easy to use pop up spout adds some fun to drink time!


The Campus Pop-Up Drinking Bottle is made in Germany by Rosti Mepal and is currently available at Aspace priced £8.

Summer clothes for children

Typical. After weeks and weeks (months?) of rain, the sun has come out with a vengeance. There's never a happy medium, is there? Today is absolutely roasting... and none of us has any suitable clothes.

We went out panic-buying summer shoes and shorts yesterday, but if you've got more sense than us (and I bet you have), you should have a look at the lovely clothes available on Nappy Valley. From teeny Converse to Ralph Lauren playsuits, you should be able to find something to get you through the next couple of months (or weeks).

Do you use a playpen?

Playpens have rather fallen out of favour, haven't they? I could be wrong, but I don't know anyone who uses one and I think it might be because parents think they're too restrictive (same reason you don't see baby reins so much anymore). But I think they're really useful for those times when you just need to keep your child in one place - even just for a minute!

We recently went "glamping" (glamorous camping, in case you're not familiar with it) and I reserved a travel cot with the intention of using it as a playpen because the trouble with tents (however "glam") is that they don't lock. And keeping a 2-year-old contained is really hard work! And Joe was perfectly happy in his playpen, as long as he had something in there to keep him entertained.

I think the playpen pictured is rather lovely. It's from Mothercare and can currently be found on Nappy Valley for £50. And if that one's not your style, there are plenty more.

Babylicious review - yummier than mummy makes at home!

I was excited by my third baby starting to eat proper food but daunted by the prospect of having to cater for him every mealtime along with the hungry appetites of my two other boys and hubby.  Keen to find quick, nutritional alternatives to endless days of puree making, I was delighted to discover the Babylicious baby food range available from Ocado.

The Babylicious range consists of freshly frozen baby food products for stages 1 and 2 of weaning. The products are made just as you would at home with no additves, or added salt or sugar.

Barney (above) who is 9 months, tested all 10 of the stage 2 meals ranging from Tomatoey Bean Casserole to Lancashire hotpot. Every meal was a winner - if the food wasn’t coming quick enough, I was greeted by flailing arms and legs in anticipation of the next spoonful.

What is great about these meals is that they take just 3 minutes in the microwave to prepare. They really do taste delicious – I would happily finish the bowl (if there was any left!) and you get to give your little one a wonderful variety of different wholesome dishes that would take hours to prepare at home.

The Babylicious range is currently available from Ocado and selected Asda stores.