Mummy and Me - November 2016

This month has passed by and we have had some big events! Its been Lily's 2nd Birthday! We had a huge party and lots of family meals and all sorts of fun. I took loads of pictures of Lily, and my family, but no body thought of grabbing any pictures of me. So unfortunately the Birthday event passed by without a pic of me and Lily. From now on I really need to make sure people take some pictures. We did have a great day out on the sunday of her birthday though and joined in with Bing in the Hamley's toy parade and thats where I got these 2 photographs. 
The one with Bing and Flop also has my mum in it holding Lily. 

4 Ways to Help make your Child's Party Fun! Plus Giveaway.

As you may have read in yesterdays post I had some great help in making Lily's second Birthday party the best party it could be. If not you can head here and read all about it. 

So today I have a great giveaway for you from 4 different companies to help make your child's next birthday a brilliant one! 

This prize is worth just under £100 and below is all about the 4 great companies that provide ways to make your child's party fun. 

1. Party Bags and Supplies - £30 to spend on their store. 

Party Bags and Supplies does exactly what it states in the title. It provides you with exactly what you need for a party. Wether it be decorations, cups and plates, tablecloths, balloons, or party bags they have a huge range of things to make up the perfect party. On the Party Bags and Supplies website everything is all about making your party just what you want it to be. You can easily make your party a themed party with all the different selections of characters and themes they have available. We were sent the Peppa Pig bundle which had a table cloth, cups, napkins and plates inside. Then we had 8 fun filled party bags also in the theme of Peppa. With this prize you are sure to pick up what you need for your child's next party. 

2. Caketoppers - Box of 6 Peppa Pig Cupcakes - Worth £8.99

I love the Cake Toppers website and think its perfect for all your cake needs. I straight away found the perfect cakes for Lily's party. Cake Toppers makes cakes with themes, personalisation and also you can place a photograph on the top if you would like. One great thing about Cake Toppers is that they are also available for last moment orders. Who knows when your own baking disaster may happen a few days before a party and your really needing cakes. Can't have a party with out some cake In my opinion. These cakes are particularly tasty to, as you will read in the main review linked at the top. Im sure your child is sure to love the Peppa cupcakes that Cake Toppers have on offer in this prize. 

3. Heavenly Organics - Hamper of Food Worth £30

With all the children at the party loading themselves up on sugar and going crazy, its really nice that Heavenly Organics do these sugar free tasty snacks for children. Not only are they sugar free but they also have no artificial colourings for flavours and no preservatives. Your children are really getting the good stuff here. The perfect thing about Heavenly organics being used as party food is that the children really won't know the difference between the food with the not so good stuff in, compared to the healthy food that Heavenly Organics offers. Their food is really inviting, especially the veggie waffles which are really colourful and so look great placed out on a party table. These snacks are a new must for your next party and I can assure you from my party that they will definetly go down well. Heavenly will be sending the winner a hamper with a selection of their yummy healthy snacks. 

4. Eat Sleep Doodle -  Large Doodle Tablecloth Worth £40 

There is always so much to do at parties. Eat Sleep Doodle have just provided one more thing that I think is the perfect activity for any child's party. No matter what the age. All children love to draw and so this Doodle table cloth is such a great way to have fun at a party. For Lily's party I placed the tablecloth away from where they would be eating, but I think for older children it would be a great way for them all to be sat around this party table and as they eat their party food they can doodle away and maybe even design their own placemats. The doodle cloth when bought can be used over and over as its washable. Its something that can be brought out for every party year after year. No body gets bored of drawing. I think that this is a great new activity for parties and one lucky winner will get a large tablecloth sent to them perfect for the next party they hold. 

For a chance to win all of this. Enter on the Rafflecopter below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions 

1 Winner will receive 4 prizes

Prize amounts to around £100

Uk Only

Companies will supply the prize

Lily's Birthday Party

As you may all know, on the 18th of November was Lily's Birthday and so on the 19th it was only right that we threw her a big birthday party!

Last year we had a small party at home and so this year I decided I wanted to go all out and hire somewhere to have a bigger party. 

So I hired the local cricket club and then and got my friend who is a DJ to organise some fun kids disco music which was very kids holiday camp/Cbeebies and disney. I then also hired a ball pool, and building blocks. I also borrowed a slide from my friend. 

I invited around 30 adults and 20 children, though not all could make it. 

I decided to have a theme to the Birthday party. Really I wanted to have a BING party but I couldn't find enough Bing themed things to fill out and decorate a big hall with, so I changed the theme to Lily's other favourite character. Peppa Pig. 

I decorated the hall with Peppa balloons and banners and was lucky that I could have one thing that was Bing themed and that was the cake. Which was made by my lovely mother in law. Lily was super impressed with the cake and got very excited to see Bing on it. 

To keep in with the theme of Peppa Pig I got in contact with Party Bags and Supplies who were happy to send me their Peppa Pig Party Pack. In the pack there was a tablecloth, 8 cups and 8 plates, napkins and party bags. The Peppa design was really fun and colourful and had plenty of pictures of Peppa on. It fitted perfectly with the party and was also great for the other children their as they also love Peppa Pig. The tablecloth was nice and large and also plastic so if anything was spilt on it, it could be wiped up. They table laid out the Peppa items really looked great and It was used to the are where the children's fod was and I think it really made that area stand out.

The plates were of a really good size to fit plenty of food on and the cups held just the right amount of juice for a kids party.

The party bags were filled with loads of fun items, and also stickers which are Lily's favourite things. I was pleased with what was inside of them and I think the children who received them will be happy to. I know for sure that Lily has been playing with hers this week and loving the items inside. The only thing i felt like was missing from the party bags was bubbles! Can't have party bags without bubbled and I think I would of preferred these to one of the items in the bag.

Also to keep with the theme of Peppa Pig I got in contact with Cake Toppers. I knew that they had a great selection of lovely little cakes and you have to have cakes at a party! Upon browsing their website I found that they sold Peppa Cupcakes and I felt these were perfect for the party. They sent me 15 mini Peppa Cupcakes with lots of different Peppa and George pictures on. I know for sure that these went down so well at the party as I blinked and they disappeared. All the children grabbed them and wanted them straight away and my nephew was really excited to be able to have a george cupcake. I was lucky enough to make sure I got one for me and Lily to eat. The size of them are perfect for a 2 year old. Just enough cake and perfect for their tiny hands. The one I tried was delicious, perfectly baked and full of sweet flavour. It was a lovely classic sponge with thick yummy white icing. They were a perfect little addition to the party. I think I would recommend buying double the amount to how many children are coming as I think the children could of quite happily eaten 2 of these and in fact I think some children didn't get one as some may have gone back for another one. 

Another thing that the children really enjoyed at the party was the juices that were supplied by Appy Kids Co. They sent me 9 drinks that were all fruity flavours. Some of the flavours include Apple with Summer Berries, Orange , Tropical, Orange and Carrot, Forest fruits and Golden Apple. Again these just shot from the table. I blinked and all the children were grabbing them and wanting one. The fun characters design on the juice carton really appealed to them and it was great to have some Peppa ones there to keep with the theme. Lily really seemed to enjoy her juice and I got to try some of hers and there was lots of flavour and they were really tasty and so refreshing. The great thing about these juices are that they are 100% natural, have no artificial colours or preservatives, they are low calorie and low sugar. It was great to know that I was providing the children with juice at the party that wasn't bad for them and not full of sugar. I definetly would choose these again for a children's party.

One thing at parties that children do end up eating is lots of sugary foods and so I had in mind some really healthy snacks that I thought would be great for a birthday party. I got in touch with Heavenly Tasty Organics who we taste test for and asked if they would like to provide some snacks for the party. I think with all the sugary non healthy food that is at the party its great to have something on the table that children will love but that will also be healthy for them to eat. Heavenly sent me some packs of Beetroot and Carrot waffles and some breadsticks for the party.They are all sugar free and have no artificial colours of flavours. They looked great on the table. Especially the waffles as they are so great in colour. That really attracts children to want to eat them. I noticed lots of children with these on their plates and so they definetly got chosen to eat. I heard back from some parents that the children were really enjoying chomping on the breadsticks to. I really think they make a great addition to any party and make a perfect replacement to things like crisps and salty crackers. 

Lily really enjoyed all the things I had planned for the party. She really enjoyed dancing to the music and mostly enjoyed building with the building bricks I hired. All the other children spent most their time jumping into the ball pool. 

But I felt that the party could have one more fun activity that the children would love. I got in touch with Eat Sleep Doodle who I noticed have a really fun doodle table cloth! Lily is a huge fan of drawing, and so I knew she would enjoy this. I decided to dedicate a table just to the tablecloth as I know that toddlers can't concentrate on 2 things at once. So I placed out the felt tips and put the table into the corner. The table cloth is a really good size and covered the entire table. As you can see in the background of the pic above. It took a while for children to understand they could draw on it but as soon as they did the table was full of doodles and squiggles. At one point there was 3 or 4 children around the table and all having a good draw and as it comes with 10 pens they all could have a choice of colours. Lily also spent ages on it doing some drawing.
The great thing about the doodle cloth is that the children can cover it with marks and colour it and then you can wash it and use it again and again. It was definetly a fun activity for children at a party and also great that I can get it out on our table at home for Lily to doodle on. We also found some nice Birthday messages on it that I have taken photographs of before washing it to re use it. 

Lily and all the other children had a brilliant time at the party. I really think that all the brilliant brands I have just mentioned really did help bring this party together providing so many different elements of excitement and fun. Im so glad I threw Lily a big party this year and there will definetly be more of them in the future. 

What do you think to the companies that helped create the perfect party for Lily? Would you have a themed party? Have you ever considered using any of the above companies and if not would you for the future? 

Head back tomorrow to enter a great giveaway where you could win a brilliant party bundle which includes some of these fab companies. 

My Sunday Photo - 27/11/16

Birthday Gift Guide and Giveaway - Toddlebike

We have now come to the last of Lily's 2nd Birthday Gift Guide Review and Giveaway and I have a great toy to tell you about. 

Its the Toddlebike! 

We were sent the red Toddlebike for Lily to try out and me to review. 

Lily has never been a big fan of ride ons. She has tried a few at different playgroups but maybe been on them for a few moments and then got off them. But i've heard such great things about the Toddlebike that I was interested to see if she would like this. Also with her turning 2 years old it may be something that she is starting to be a little more interested in. 

The Toddlebike is a perfect gift to get a 2 year old. They are now so active and a bike can really help improve their gross motor skills. 

We were sent the red Toddlebike. 

So let me tell you a little about the Toddlebike.

Firstly its made in Europe and made with C-E Approved materials so you know you are getting quality. It can be used from 18 months old, perfect for when they are mobile and started walking. Its great as it fills the gaps for before a child is ready for a balance bike but also when they may be to old for their baby ride ons.

The Toddlebike is designed so that its easy for young children to use with a compact design and narrow wheels which helps the child to balance and learn to steer and move the bike. 

Its also designed so it can be used indoor or outdoors. 

So what did I think to the Toddlebike?

I love the design. I think the sleek and slim design to it makes it child friendly and something they wouldn't be scared to go on and try. I think the bike looks really neat and simplistic which is all a child needs really when it comes to their first bike. I think she size is great to. It really is the perfect size for a toddler. 

So how did Lily get on with it? 

Firstly I was right in the fact that she would be a little more interested in this bike than a normal baby ride on. As soon as I got it out she wanted to sit on it. 

At first I had to put her on to it, she couldn't figure how to get on. Then she started to learn but would do it near the couch so she could hold onto it while she got on. Eventually she got the hang of it and now can easily get onto the bike. 

It took her a few days to start to understand how to move her feet to move the bike. But eventually she was pushing herself along. Sometimes with 2 feet at once and sometimes in more of a walking movement. She used the Toddlebike loads around the house before we decided to give it a go outside.

We have laminate flooring in our home and it moved along great. I also gave it a try on the carpet in the hall way and it moved just as well on that to. 

Our first trip outside Lily was a little unsure about going on it. I found a quite spot around the back of the building that we live in by some garages. Its quiet around there and there are rarely cars. Eventually she decided to get on it and push herself around. She seemed to really enjoy pushing herself along on it and spent quite a while on it. 

For some reason Lily doesn't seem to sit on the seat though and sits on the middle part. She can reach the handle bars from the seat but must find it more comfortable to be closer to them. She seems happy doing it that way so I let her carry on. Maybe as she grows she will move onto the seat. 

I can't comment on if it is comfortable for her to sit on, as I haven't sat on it myself, but with the amount she goes on it I would say it is. 

The bike must be really easy for them to use. Lily hasn't fallen of the bike once which is great. 

One great thing about the Toddlebike is the fact it is really light, weighing less than 1kg it means Lily can pick it up and move it to where she wants to ride it. She has a thing about pulling things up kerbs and steps and so this is something she kept doing with the bike because it was so light to carry. 

After using it outside, as its plastic it was really easy to wipe clean with wet wipes so it can be brought back into the house and used again. 

Im really happy to see Lily love the Toddlebike. After her not taking much interest in other ride ons its great that she really enjoys this one. I can see her getting a lot of use out of this bike. 

The Toddlebike is a really great price of £23.95. I actually expected this bike to cost a lot more and so would really recommend one for your toddler. Its really good value for money. 

You can head to the Toddlebike website to pick up yours now. 

Now time for our last of Lily's 2nd Birthday Giveaways.
For your chance to Win a Toddlebike, enter on the Gleam app below. 

Win a ToddleBike

Terms and Conditions

1 Winner

Uk only

Pr to supply Prize

Prize May or May not arrive before Christmas

It's not over yet! Head back Monday to read all about Lily's Birthday party and have a chance to Win a Party Bundle.

Birthday Gift Review and Giveaway - Little Tikes Toys

For the 5th of Lily's 2nd Birthday Gift Guide, Review and Giveaway we have 2 brilliant toys from Little Tikes. 

We were sent a Light 'N Go Movin Lights Monkey and a Catch me Crabbie. 

Little Tikes has a huge range of toys that are perfect for a 2 year old. At 2 they are just starting to understand the world and finding new things exciting. At 2 years old they also have a ton of energy and these 2 toys are both perfect to help burn off your toddlers energy. 

They both make such great gifts for a Birthday present, being so colourful and happy they are bound to make any child smile when they open them. 

So first we tried out the Catch me Crabbie. 

This toy is a interactive toy that will really keep your toddler on their toes. It is really clever and has a motion sensor that see's your child approaching and then moves from side to side, just like a crab. 

As it moves from side to side it plays really lively music and starts to clap its claws. 

To get it started you press the botton on the top, which is really easy to press. As soon as you do it kicks in moving straight away. Lily got REALLY excited by this toy and her favourite thing to do is run away from it giggling. She then almost tries to sneak up on it but then it see's her and moves again and the running and giggling starts again. 

Lily has pressed this toy on so many occasions through out each day of giving it to her which shows she really likes this toy. 

Its really easy for her to pick up and carry around and you can tell that if dropped it is made really well and will withstand it. Lily put it on her toy box to play with it and it fell off multiple times and survived. 

I think this toy is great to be played with in so many ways, you can chase it, copy it, run away from it, and its sure to keep little ones entertained for quite some time. 

This toy is part of the Lil' Ocean Explorers series and costs £14.99 to buy. 

Secondly we tried the Light 'N Go Movin Lights Monkey. 

I love this monkey and find it so cute and cheeky with its big eyes and cute little smile. 

To play with this toy you press his shoe laces and then he dances about with his lantern that lights up the floor as he moves. 

The monkey has 2 modes. Chase mode and dance mode. In chase mode your child gets inspired to follow the monkey and he moves around flashing the colourful light on the floor. Then in dance mode your child is encouraged to move and dance along with the monkey while he sings and dances. 

The dance mode has 50+ sounds, songs and silly little phrases that your child will love. 

Lily really loved this monkey and was dancing along with him as soon as he was out the box. She has always loved pressing buttons and so loves to press his shoe laces to make him dance. She is made a little jump though with how fast he suddenly moves when you press the button and so prefers to move away from him a little to dance. The buttons are both really easy to press and I didn't have to show Lily to press them, she could tell that they were buttons to be pressed. 

There are a few tunes that are Lily's favourites such as heads, shoulders knee's and tales, and she loves ones that goes "shake shake shake shake shake". I love watching Lily dance and it really does get her moving and burning off that energy! Which is perfect seen as the weather isn't as great recently and we arn't able to go out for as long. 

The monkey is really cheeky to and does things like Ner Na Ner Na Ner ner! Which always puts a big smile on Lily's face! 

The monkey doesn't just talk when you press its laces, every 10 seconds or so it will move and say something encouraging your child to go back and play with it. 

The lights are also great and really colourful. Our living room is really bright so its a little difficult to see in there and so we took it into the bedroom which is darker. Lily loved trying to follow the lights with her hand and it really gave the dancing a disco feel to it as the lights moved around. 

This toy is part of the Light 'n Go range and is £29.99

Both toys I would really recommend as fun toys that will keep your children amazed and amused and going back for more. 

Now its time for the 5th of Lily's 2nd Birthday Giveaways. We have a Catch me Crabbie to give away. 

For a chance to Win, Enter on the Gleam app below. 

Win a Catch me Crabbie From Little Tikes

Terms and Conditions

1 Winner

Uk only

Prize to be provided by PR

Prize may or may not arrive by Christmas

Head back tomorrow for another Great Giveaway! 

Birthday Gift Guide Review and Giveaway - Bing Surprise House

For our 4th Birthday Gift Guide Review and Giveaway we have something from Lily's Favourite Tv character. Bing! 

Lily is a little bit Bing mad and so when we were offered this toy to review I knew that Lily would love it. 

Introducing Bings's Surprise House. Recommended for ages 2+ its the perfect gift for any Bingsters 2nd Birthday. 

This toy is great and Lily was super excited when she first saw it. She wanted it out to play with right away and shouted BING!!! 

Lily has really loved playing with this toy so far. Firstly its so inviting for children who love Bing to play with as he is sat right outside the house. When you click the bench Bing moves and then he also talks and says well known catch phrases from the show. The bench is really easy to press to make Bing move. 

Then there are 2 windows and a door. Behind the door is flop and when you hit the door bell is rings, when you press it hard enough the door flings open to reveal flop and then flop talks. Lily did struggle to press the door bell a little bit, and I did find that as the door bell has a little bump on it, which is symbolising the door bell and it actually hurt my finger a little to press it. So Lily actually preferred opening the door by pulling on it. Which has always been one of her favourite things to do anyway. 

Behind the lower window is Pando, and when you push the cat from one side to the other the window opens and reveals him and then he talks. The cat is quite easy to move from side to side and sometimes Lily will use the cat to open the window but also enjoys pulling the window open herself. 

The final window has Sula behind. To open this window you pull the chimney and it opens to reveal her. Again she then talks a Sula catchphrase. Lily was very able to pull the chimney and the window comes open really easily. Lily did also love just pulling the window open herself though. 

Lily is getting really clever with knowing her characters now, and so this toy is really going to help her learn their names. 

I think the best part of the toy is all the sounds and the characters talking with all the lines from the show. It even sings the rainbow song. Which me AND my partner end up singing along to haha. The sound quality is really good and you can hear it really well. 
It also plays music from the Tv show in the background. 

Over all its really good fun and has so much going on in one toy. 

If we weren't sent this to review and saw it in shops we would have definetly bought it. 

You can buy this for £20 and find it online or in stores now. 

Now its time for the 4th of Lily's 2nd Birthday Giveaways.
Enter on the Gleam App below to Win a Bing Surprise House 

Win a Bing's Surprise House Toy

Terms and Conditions

1 Winner

Uk Only

Pr to send Prize

Prize may or may not arrive before Christmas 

Come back tomorrow to see another Great Toy Giveaway! 

Birthday Gift Guide and Giveaway - Nuby Bath Time Toy Bundle

For our 3rd Toy review for Lily's 2nd Birthday Gift Guide and Giveaway, We have some wonderful bath toys from Nuby. 

Lily has always enjoyed her bath times and we have always had lots of toys for her to play with. But its great that we were send some brand new bath toys for Lily's Birthday to review. Bath toys are one that that after a while do need updating and getting fresh ones.

Bath time toys are a great thing to think about when buying for a 2nd birthday. All children have baths and so its always such a great toy to buy. I think if you are shopping for a child that isn't your own, bath toys are a great way forward as you can't really go wrong. 

Nuby has such a great range of Children's bath toys. We were very lucky to be sent some to try out. 

We were sent - 

• The Heat Safe Duck in Pink
• The Submarine
• Kissy Fishy
• Stacking Cups
• Alphabet Letters and Numbers
• Bathtime Fishing Net

The first item we tried was the Heat Safe Duck. This toy is always a winner. Firstly its fun and colourful and all children love a rubber duck in their bath, but secondly its also for safety by making sure the water isn't to hot for your child. Which is something we still need to be thinking about for 2 year olds. Lily loved the duck and before she got into the bath she couldn't wait to chuck the duck in. SPLASH!
The way the duck indicates the heat is on the bottom. It displays the word HOT. This word is in a light blue colour on a dark blue background. If the water gets to hot then this word turns to a clear white. As my water was the right temperature (shown in the photograph) it didn't do this so I tested it by running it under a tap of hot water. The good things about this indicator is that it doesn't need any batteries and so you will be able to always rely on it working. You can buy this for RRP £2.80 and can also get it in blue. 

The second toy we reviewed is the Kissy Fishy. This toy is super cute and is 2 very brightly coloured fishes kissing each other. Lily was attracted to playing with these straight away. To play with them you pull them apart and there is a piece of string attached to both mouths and they swim to each other when you let go. Lily found the fishes quite easy to pull apart and enjoyed watching them swim together but I did find she struggled to get a good grip on them due to there round shape and being slippery and wet. The good thing about Lily being 2 is that she kept trying until she could do it. But she did also love watching when we did it for her to.
These are on the website at RRP £7.99.

Next we tried the stacking cups. Lily has had a set of non Nuby ones since she was a baby and always loved them, so it was really nice to be able to give her some new fresh ones. I must admit the ones I got before were a cheap make and you can really see the different in quality in these new Nuby ones. For starters they are much more colourful and have funky patterns on and secondly the water seems to drain from them a lot slower and a neater way. Which is much better for young children as by the time they have filled the cup and picked it up they want to see the water coming out at the bottom.
There are 5 cups in the pack and each one drains the water in a different shape with different amounts of holes in the bottom. Lily really loved these and was filling the cups up and letting the water drain from them onto her hands. The stacking cups are RRP £5.99 which is great value for how good they are.
 

After that was the Fishing Net. I think this excited my fishing partner just as much as Lily and he couldn't wait to show her how to use it. The net comes with 4 water creature shapes that you need to scoop up and catch in the water. These don't sink right to the bottom of the bath tub but they float just at the surface of the water, making it easier to catch them. Lily really enjoyed doing this as it was a real challenge for her. As Lily still sits in a bath seat we needed to keep the fishes quite close to her so she could catch them but when we did she did a great job and managed to catch them quite a few times. I think this is the most fun toy out of the bundle. I also love the design of the net. Its super colourful and really easy for Lily to hold. This is also £5.99 to buy which again for the amount of fun you have with it, its a great price. 

Next up was the Alphabet Letter and numbers. Lily is currently really into her counting so these are going to be great to use to help that. The set comes with letters A-Z which are all different colours with different patterns and the numbers are the same with 1-9. The letters and numbers when wet stick to the side of the bath. You can make fun words or learn the alphabet or learn to count all in the bath. I know we will definetly be sticking up 1 to 9 at the next bath time. I firstly had to show Lily what to do and I stuck the word fun onto the bath. Eventually Lily started to stick them on herself, though of corse she is a little young to be forming words yet. She actually decided to use the fishing net from the fishing set to collect the letters out of the bath and place them on. These are sold at RRP £5.99 which I think is a great price for the amount you get. 

Last but not least was the submarine. I love the design of this toy, its really cute and nice to have a pink one for Lily. To make this toy work you pull the cord at the back and it moved through the water. The string was actually really easy for Lily to pull herself which is great and it doesn't make to much of a loud noise which is also great as Lily doesn't like anything with to much motor noise. I must say though that the submarine seems to work in areas without bubbles and is needed to be placed in a bubble free area and Lily actually preferred moving it with her hands through the water as that way it moved a little faster. But as long as she enjoyed it I feel she can play with it which ever way she likes. This is also a very great price of £5.99 to buy and you can also get it in yellow. 

You can but all of these toys from the Nuby Website. 

Now time for the 3rd giveaway of Lily's 2nd Birthday giveaways. Enter below on the Gleam app for your chance to Win this Nuby Bath Time Bundle 

Win a Nuby Bath Time Bundle

Terms and Conditions 

1 Winner

Uk Only

Pr to supply Prize

May or may not arrive in time for Christmas

Please Head back tomorrow to find another great giveaway!