We’re back from our half term stay with my Mum and I have to say, I’ve thoroughly got the holiday blues… It doesn’t help that the weather outside where I live is cold, grey and wet today… It’s the sort of day where you just want to curl up and dream of the summer. So I am.

I mentioned in my post on Friday that we have already planned a couple of little breaks for this year as well as a big family sun trip towards the end of the year. But the sun holiday is not for ages so I’m rather hoping we get some good British weather before then! And especially hoping for some on our two little stay cations!

The staycation we’re all really looking forward won’t be ruined even if it does to a typical Blighty and rain however! It’s to Haven in Dorset you see and although the sun shining would give it an extra special sheen we shall be so buy when we’re there with all the activities and fun that even if it’s pelting down we shall still be able to have lots of fun!

I chose Rockley Park as our Haven resort as it just seems to have something for everyone! My Mum will be coming with us and her and I will enjoy time in the spa (actually so will Jonny he LOVES a spa treatment or several!) and she will also enjoy walking round the local sights like the Corfe Castle ruins and having a mooch around the historic market town of Shaftesbury.

Jonny will also like the exploring and we’re big beach fans so I’m sure we’ll spend a bit of time at the coast too which is just a stroll away… Florence adores being at the sea-side and I’m sure Jimmy will be just the same! Even if the weather is COLD we’ll go down for some fun on the sand – we are British after all, you have to be prepared to picnic regardless don’t you!

The children will be in their element I’m sure! There’s a brilliant swimming pool with loads of exciting water activities and other child friendly activities on dry land too! In the evening s there will be fun and entertainment and I just know it’s going to be some good old-fashioned family fun! I’ve never been to Haven before but I’ve heard such good things about it that I haven’t any doubts about it at all, there are just some brands you automatically trust aren’t there and for me, Haven is one of them. A good reputation has to be built from something good after all!

Once you book with Haven you can register on their website www.myhavenholiday.com and then you can check out your holiday whenever you like! Great for me on days like today when a bit of looking forward to a holiday is just the order of the day! On the site you can do all sorts of things like view the accommodation you’re booked in, see what’s on in the local area, find out info for getting there and also for your arrival. There’s also a facility to click a button and get in contact with the park directly should you need to email any questions, which is great as I’m sure as it gets nearer to our trip I may very well have some. As well as all this (and more) there’s a Kids Zone where little ones can down load games and pictures to print off and colour-in, in preparation for their holiday! It’s really got me in the holiday mood! Now, without meaning to wish time away, roll on summer!

There is a luxury spa at Rockley Park – Can’t wait!

I have not been paid to write this post.

 

From very early on I established a bath after supper and before bed routine for Florence. It is, I hasten to add, the only routine I have ever put in place and continued with and Jimmy has just followed suit. I’m just not the kind of Mum who does routines in general I guess but we do usually stick to this one and it works. It helps them relax and unwind while having a splashing good time before getting in their jammies and going to bed. Ok, so the bed part might not come for hours, especially if like yesterday they’ve had long sleeps in the car during the day (Florence has ten minutes and it will give her about 2 more hours worth of power) – she was up till 10pm last night, but even knowing actual bed time might be far away, I still run them the bath for after they’ve eaten.

We like to take our time over it and really enjoy it and it has always been something that in our house is Daddy’s time with them. Most of the time they still go in the baby bath – together – they’re both quite dinky and this saves on water, but for a real treat we run the big bath for them and they can pretend to go swimming! Actually our bath is really big so they almost CAN go swimming! Toys are always a really big part of their time in the tub and we have lots of nice ones but every so often we like to change and have something new. Florence has a baby dolly who goes in the bath and they love cups, bubbles, bath crayons, light up bath toys and more… I’m always on the look out for something extra special.

Florence has relatively recently got into spelling. As well as play reading and writing she likes to play ‘I Spy’ and is very good at it too! She pronounces the letters well and knows what letters words start with so it’s a great game for her but she doesn’t yet know what letters look like. I mean, she knows what general letters look like but she hasn’t really been able to tell one from the other yet although it’s coming. I want to encourage reading for her and learning to spell and I want to do it in fun ways, she is only three after all! With her new-found skills and desire to learn coupled with her love of bath time the Munchkin Bath Letters and Numbers are an ideal choice for us!

The set contains one of every letter of the alphabet and ten numbers between 0 and 9. They stick to the bath when wet and are made from soft yet durable and non toxic foam. Last night I ran the pair of them a BIG bath and wrote their names on the side (using a bit of artistic licence as needed more than one of some letters)!

I had great fun arranging the letters!

The little ones thought it was going to be great fun!

And it was!

An EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Florence enjoyed spelling and playing while Jimmy just liked touching and splashing with them and I like the fact that after the bath they didn’t require any drying and just were dry immediately and ready to be popped in our bath storage box which might have to gain a friend soon due to our growing collection of exciting bath toys like these! I like the look of the Munchkin Bath Scoop, it sticks on the wall in a similar way to one we have already and it can be used to scoop the toys up at the end of the bath too!

The letters and numbers are just another in a long line of Munchkin bath toys that we enjoy playing with. The Star Fountain is one of my favourites and my Mum bought the heat sensor Grippy Dots for her bath when we stay and I love the fact one of them tells you if the water is too hot! A great one for babies Jimmy’s age is the Baby Bath Ball which has a small ball toy inside it to rattle around. This can be played with in the bath where it floats or just regularly as it can be rolled along the floor. We think it’s great in the bath as the water can be strained through it which is great fun! Small enough, soft enough and easy enough for little hands to grip and tiny teeth to chew! We think it’s great!

The Munchkin Baby Bath ball!

I have not been paid for this post but I was sent the bath letter, numbers and ball from Munchkin for the purpose of this review. 

 

For a while now I have wanted a steamer to clean certain things in the house. After getting my Vax Bare Floor Pro which we reviewed a while back and seeing how well it cleans the floors with very little effort it confirmed to me that steaming might just be the way forward. For things like grouting in the bathroom where I’m otherwise spending hours with a toothbrush scrubbing away! The cooker as well, that takes ages and you know what, it never really ends up looking as clean and shiny as I want it to. I’ve also thought it would be really great to have something to steam my clothes with, the really delicate ones that can’t be ironed for example!

A long time ago I bought one from Argos, I can’t remember the brand now but it wasn’t Vax and it didn’t work well so from then on, after I returned it, I kind of presumed they were a bit of a gimmick. It was only after using the floor steamer from Vax that I thought actually, they might work if bought from the right brand. So… I decided to try out the Vax S4 Grime Master as it is a hand-held steam cleaner which promises to work on a variety of different surfaces including windows and upholstery and is only £49.99 (with a 2 year guarantee – as ever from Vax).

The Vax S4 Grime Master!

I’m happy to report that it does everything I want it to (including steaming clothes) and is VERY easy to use. I’ve used it to clean all manner of surfaces and as well as doing the job in each case it also makes things very quick. Simply fill it with water and that’s all you need. Obviously this means it is very kind to the environment too as no detergents are used. The temperature of the steam is enough to kill the germs and bacteria so really there is no need. Only occasionally when cleaning the hob have I given it a quick wipe with soapy water after the steaming has dislodged the grime then a wipe and another steam. For windows, tiles, clothes etc it’s only ever needed the steamer. And I have to say, that’s only if the cooker is really bad!

Just fill with water using the measuring jug provided!

What the Grime Master does is loosen all the grease and dirt in a second, meaning you can simply wipe it away or indeed use one of the 7 attachments that it comes with including a window tool and upholstery tool cloth. It even comes with a measuring jug to fill it up with water.

Some of the attachments!

So, how can I show you just how quick and easy it is to use? Well, last week I asked my Mum not to clean her over top at all for the duration of our stay in preparation for me to clean it with the Grime Master just before we left! She wasn’t very happy but agreed as I thought her range oven would be an ideal surface to show case the benefits of the steamer – and it was!

So, here goes…

This is the grimy, greasy and let’s face it, quite disgusting oven hob I started with. A weeks worth of cooking with no cleaning built this up. My Mum was almost hopping with annoyance as she loves her range cooker and usually keeps it pristine!

It has a red and green light to let you know when it is on (red) and ready to use (green) and takes only a short while to be hot enough for use. There is also a button you can click across to the right so that it can be locked when not being used!

Choose your desired nozzle attachment and steam! This loosens all the dirt and grime in seconds!

You can then simply wipe away…

To be left with a bit of a gleam actually!

This was a job which should have taken half an hour minimum, with masses of elbow grease and probably some nasty chemicals. There was one tiny area which required a drop of soapy water on the cloth (this was a weeks worth of grime) but aside from that was cleaned entirely with a steam for a couple of minutes and a 30 second wipe!

I asked my Mum if she would part with the money for this one and she gave it the full thumbs up – she’s also now a big fan of the bare floor pro floor steamer and is quite a Vax fan herself thanks to me introducing her!

I was not paid for this post but I was sent a Vax S4 Grime Master for the purpose of this review.

This information has come to my attention so thought I would share…

Educating the children of London for 110 years!
London Early Years Foundation celebrates success this March

 

2013 is a momentous year for the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) as the most respected social enterprise in the Capital celebrates providing first-class day care and parenting support for 110 years. The registered Charity, which reaches out to a diverse mix of families across London will be celebrating its success by offering parents with nursery aged children the chance of winning FREE childcare for a whole year. Visit the Open day at one of the many nurseries across London to be in with the chance of winning and see first-hand the Ofsted rated ‘outstanding’ nursery. For more information visit www.leyf.org.uk.

With 24 nurseries now making a difference in six London boroughs (from Westminster at the heart of the capital to Barking and Dagenham in the East), the organisation has pioneered childcare in London. Looking after nearly 2,000 children per year, this organisation is shaping future generations with its innovative approach to childcare.

To celebrate 110 years of great childcare, the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) is giving away FREE childcare for a year to one lucky family. For a chance to win, parents need register online at www.leyf.org.uk/110, visit a nursery and complete an application form before March 31, 2013.

As the UK’s most well-known childcare social enterprise, LEYF was founded by Margaret Horn MBE as the ‘Westminster Health Society’ in 1903. Judged ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, the award-winning nursery group now employs over 350 staff and continues to inspire future generations of children and parents with its progressive approach to childcare.

Providing high quality day care and parenting support to a diverse mix of families across six London boroughs, LEYF helps more than 2,000 children each year enjoy the benefits of a great Early Years education in its 24 community, Children’s Centre and workplace nurseries.

June O’Sullivan, LEYF CEO comments: “We are thrilled to be celebrating 110 years of great childcare; bigger and more importantly stronger than ever before.

“We have always been known to push boundaries when it comes to protecting the interests of children and parents, and this just means we can bring our distinct brand of quality of childcare to even more families, especially those that need it most.”

How parents can enter in three simple steps:

1.     Register online to attend a 2^nd March LEYF Nursery Open Day at www.leyf.org.uk/110

2.     Come along on the day (or another more convenient day during February or March)

3.     Complete and return a nursery application for their child before 31 March

As part of the main celebration event in June, the registered charity also plans to bury a time capsule at its Marsham Street office where it opened its very first community nursery in 1930.

“The time capsule will contain examples of family life as we know it today,” explains June, “along with thoughts from staff, parents and children on how families might look 100 years from now – with all the fun, fears and challenges that’s likely to represent.”

For more information on the history and work of LEYF, the celebration events or to attend a LEYF Nursery Open Day on Saturday 2 March and be in with a chance to win FREE childcare for a year, visit www.leyf.org.uk/110.

I have not been paid to post this article in any way.

Having made our own puppet theatre this weekend, we decided that we really needed to have some home made puppets to go with it! Well, any excuse to get some glue and glitter out eh, and that’s just me!

Florence loves decorating wooden spoons and we decided we would make our puppets using some as they are very cheap in the supermarket but when we got there we found some wooden spatulas for just 28p (Asda) and thought they would work even better!

Florence sat down at her little table with the spatulas and a bag of her craft making stuff, googly eyes, glue sticks, tissue paper, glitter and jewels and made four of the best puppets I’ve ever seen!

She got started doing the faces using the googly eyes, sticking on paper and drawing with felt tips!

Next she made arms with fluffy pipe cleaners – I helped with this bit!

After a few finishing touches…

We had some pretty fine puppets all ready to perform in our theatre!

Daddy and Florence set about rehearsals (we do things properly obviously dhhhharling) and then Jimmy and I were ushered in to the room to enjoy the first of their production companies offerings – ‘The Three Little Pigs’. Starring the spatula puppet quad!

The show went down a storm with some truly excellent puppeteering and voice work from Daddy and Florence and Jimmy and I were whooping and cheering at the end! Can’t wait for the next show!

The show was fab!

I particularly enjoyed the huffing and puffing from The Big Bad Wolf’s character!

The stars of the show even took a bow at the end!

And then once the curtain came down it was time for bows from the stars behind the scenes!

We love craft work and this particular project has been lots of fun as well as proving to be very entertaining afterwards! Wonder what we can make out of wooden spoons and a cardboard box next?!

Last night Florence and Jonny were playing a new made up game of ‘Puppet Show’. They were just using the puppets and toys at my Mum’s and making up stories and performing them to each other in the play room.  It was so inventive and clever and making them laugh in bucket loads so this afternoon I decided we would use an old box and make our own proper puppet theatre for their brilliant shows to be performed in!

We used:

A large cardboard box

Red and white tissue paper

Blue crepe paper

Gold and silver star sequins

glue and scissors

It was so simple and easy to do and only took us about half an hour. Florence had great fun making it with me and when we finished she was delighted with the result and immediately performed for us a made up show about a wiggley worm called Dora!

This is how we did it:

We got an old box big enough for Florence to climb inside then we cut up some red and white tissue paper into strips!

Next we glued them in candy stripes all over the box!

To make the window we drew round a small box and cut out inside the lines.

Thrilled with her new puppet theatre so far but we just had one more job to do… Make the curtain!

We cut out a piece of blue crepe paper slightly bigger than the window and glued gold and silver star sequins all over it!

Then we glued one edge to the top edge of the window and hey presto, we had a curtain! When the show starts we can simply lift up the curtain and fold it over on to the roof of the puppet theatre!

Florence’s very first performance in her new puppet theatre, ‘Dora the Wiggley Worm’!

Next we’ll have to make some puppets to use in our performances. Florence had the brilliant idea of using wooden spoons to decorate into characters! Seems like a great idea to me, basic wooden spoons are only about 30p in the supermarket and we can decorate them with googly eyes, tissue paper and other bits and pieces! Fab!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Askamum love my blog, ooo-errr how exciting!

Writing this particular post is sticking in my throat a bit as currently I’m having a bit of a ‘set to’ with my husband and it’s all about how great he is! I have to give him some brownie points, despite him having annoyed me, as this week I have kind of realised quite how much Jonny does around the house…

So… We came away this week to stay with my Mum and usually while I’m here she does loads for us and it’s a bit of a holiday for me. No wonder I really enjoy coming eh! She cooks, picks the clothes up off the bathroom floor and then the next time I see them they’re clean (AND ironed – something I never do), entertains the children while I have an afternoon nap, takes Florence to the park and the library… I basically get to revert to my teenage lifestyle and it’s great… Unfortunately, this time my poor Mum has been really poorly as we passed on our germs and she hasn’t been able to do much of anything really the poor thing!

This has meant that where I would usually be getting more help than usual, I have actually had none at all! For a whole week now I have had to do everything for myself and the children and of course look after my Mum a bit too. Now I’m not complaining, not at all! I’d do anything for my Mum and of course would do everything and anything for the children without blinking too but it has made me realise that where I usually think Jonny has a bit of an easy ride, he does actually do quite a lot!

This week I have had to cook ALL the meals, do ALL the entertaining, get everyone bathed and ready for bed then up again in the morning and dressed. I have had to do the entertaining and game playing, tidying up etc and it’s been quite exhausting doing that 24/7 without a break! I totally haven’t appreciated Jonny doing the bits he does at all and I feel a little bit bad really…

So, I usually complain that as soon as Jonny comes home he disappears into the bathroom for half an hour WITH the newspaper! Seriously, I don’t know any woman who would want to do this but men seem to use it as ‘me time’! I have failed to notice however, that as soon as he comes out he plays with the children and keeps them giggling until we all have tea where he will then feed Jimmy so that I can eat my own – sometimes he even makes the tea too!

I am also often annoyed that Jonny will NEVER get up in the morning! We have this thing where I say to him ‘If you get up now I’ll be able to go back to sleep, please don’t talk or I won’t be able to and then I may as well get up anyway’. He usually responds with ‘But if you’re gonna wake up anyway, you may as well’ and argues the point until, well, I may as well. It really irritates me… But… I think I sometimes fail to notice that what Jonny DOES do is stay up late with Jimmy when he just WON’T go to sleep… I have this thing where I can (although I may not want to) get up early but I find the extra late nights especially hard to take. He never expects me to stay up on those days and will always do it so I think I might have to start giving credit for that too!

He also does the bath straight after tea, mostly does the bed time story and does the washing up on occasions. (As well of course, as doing the things I call the ‘manly jobs’, fixing, replacing batteries, loft duties, new light bulbs, sorting out the TV and computer problems and the like…) When the children have gone to bed he ideally would use the time to play guitar but he now mostly has to do uni work as he’s doing a degree on top of full-time work. In fact, I’m starting to wonder what it is I do, do?! (obviously I am joking!)

So, despite the fact he has majorly annoyed me right now I am going to try to remember he does DO his bit and more! Much more than lots of my friend’s husband’s in fact and he doesn’t often complain about it either! He has annoyed me today because this week he’s been having a bit of a ball and frankly I have been working really hard with no help. He’s been playing his guitar, listening to music, having a few beers, playing guitar a bit more, watching football and having a few more pints in the pub. He’s been to band practice, slept all night long with no interruptions and had loads of time to read… I obviously haven’t and never do which is fine but I asked him, the other day, to not go out with his mates when he gets up here Friday night and asked if WE could perhaps go out on a date on Saturday. He rang me up and said ‘I’m not going out Friday, don’t worry, I’ll be there to help’. Great I thought then he hit me with the fact he’s changed his ‘mate date’ to Saturday night instead… he’d forgotten I wanted to go out for a drink with him myself… Well, I’m afraid I’ve put him very firmly in the dog house but writing this post has actually made me feel a little thawing towards him so perhaps by the time he gets up here he’ll be half out of it again… (And if he DOES take me out Saturday night and ditch the boys then he can have a little halo to shine I think)!

My Jonny: Bit of a helpful husband actually, brilliant Daddy, funny, kind, sometimes a bit thoughtless but can be forgiven and an amazing musician – We’re very lucky to have him!

MY LIFE WITH 2!

We’ve all been a bit poorly for what seems like ages now. First the children had a sickness bug, then we got the same but WITH flu (and when I say flu, I really mean it)! Next I got sinusitis and now Florence and I have ear infections while Jimmy has conjunctivitis. I guess it’s just that time of year so boy are we looking forward to some sunshine!

It should (fingers crossed) be sunny by Jimmy’s birthday and I’ve booked his party venue, a lovely hall in Epping that has a garden so I do hope the sun shines by then! We’re going to have a mad hatter’s tea party for him and I’ve lots of plans around the theme from what finger sandwiches we’ll have to the cake stands (I’m going to make them with old plates) we shall put them on. I know he won’t remember it at only one year old but it’s important to me that we throw him a proper party. We had a lovely one for Florence jointly with one of her little pals and I love looking back at the photos, she had a ladybird cake with little ladybird cup cakes around it and Jimmy’s will be the same but with bumblebees – perhaps with hats on!

Me and my gal at her first birthday party!

The party will be the weekend after his birthday because for the actual day we shall be in Camber Sands staying at Pontins! This could quite possibly be awful judging by the reviews I’ve read on Trip Advisor or, as we’re hoping, absolutely lovely… We shall see! We got it through ‘The Sun Holidays’ so it’s only cost us £9.50 per person, if it’s truly terrible then we shall just come home again I guess and if it is actually really nice then I’ll have to write my own review – there’s not a lot of love on Trip Advisor that’s for sure so they could do with a good one! I didn’t check views before I chose… Silly me!

We have also been planning other holidays and Haven have invited us to come and stay for a review trip in late June which we are all tremendously excited about! There just seems to be so much to do for Florence’s age range and we’ll all LOVE the swimming as the pools at Haven look fab on the website! Jimmy will be walking by then and able to join in some of the activities and hopefully by June at least the sun will have to be out?? But then this is England I guess. Still, even if it tips it down there’s so many things to do there that I know we won’t get bored! My Mum’s coming with us too so Jonny and I might even be able to go for late drinks after the children go to bed as she says she’ll babysit for us!

We love going away with my Mum as we all get on very well. An extra pair of hands is always handy and it just kind of works for all of us. We have frequently been to Portugal together, even before the children came along Jonny and I spent a fortnight on the Algarve with my Mum and this year, fingers crossed we’ll go again and the children will love it! My Mum makes it her treat to us which is amazing as otherwise we’d never be able to afford it and she says she definitely wants to go again this year because Jimmy will still be under two and travel for free, who am I to argue?!

All this bitterly cold weather is making me dream of last year’s holiday which my Mum took us on!

Despite the cold weather and the sickness we have still be having some fun. For half term we have come up to Norfolk and Florence has been very busy getting crafty and playing games! We’ve not done much but we went swimming with my sister-in-law and nephew and have been to play in the park a few times. The ear ache and snotty-ness haven’t managed to completely hinder us thankfully!

Just before we left, a week ago, Jimmy had started to sort of stand on his own for a tiny bit. He would tentatively let go for half a second then fall down! He’s come on leaps and bounds this week and is now letting go for 3 or 4 seconds before he holds on again or bumps on his bottom down! How can you be proud of someone learning to stand? I don’t know but I am! Ridiculously so! It’s very hard to catch on my camera because I didn’t pack my super-duper Nikon D3200 (Jonny’s bringing it up this weekend as he is driving up tonight and we’ll all go back together on Sunday) and my phone has some sort of delay with pictures! By the time he’s doing it, I’ve got my phone on camera mode and taken the picture he’s down again!! But… I did manage to get one of him on his way to his bottom again!!

A very determined baby boy!

Despite, the bitter cold outside and the feeling under the weather-ness for us, we’ve had a lovely time in Norfolk! Florence said one day, ‘It’s a good day to do nothing’ and that’s kind of how the week has been. Swimming with their cousin Arthur, a bit of park time and lots of cuddles and fun at my Mum’s!

Well, that’s it from me this week, see you next week but in the mean time follow me on Twitter @rocknrollerbaby

Well, do I have a great competition to offer one of my readers here! I can now offer one lucky family a ticket for an exclusive screening of the upcoming animation movie ‘The Croods’! To be held on the 10th March (a whole 12 days before general release) in London! To celebrate the release of this year’s biggest family spectacle THE CROODS, opening on 22nd March 20123 and featuring the voice talents of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone, we have a great competition for you! We’re giving one lucky winner the chance to attend a glitzy preview screening of this adventure-packed animation with loads of fun-filled family entertainment in the cinema foyer before-hand! The screening takes place on Sunday 10^th March and the winner will receive four tickets so they can take their very own prehistoric brood with them! From Twentieth Century Fox comes DreamWorks Animation‘s THE CROODS, a prehistoric comedy adventure that follows the world’s first family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always shielded them from danger is destroyed. Travelling across a spectacular landscape, the Croods discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures — and their outlook is changed forever.  THE CROODS is released in cinemas March 22nd 2013.  Check out the trailer here! To win this amazing prize for you and your family simply answer the following question: Who voices Grug, the over-protective Dad, in THE CROODS?

• Nicolas Cage
• Homer Simpson
• Ryan Reynolds

Email your answer with your name, address and telephone number to rocknrollerbaby@hotmail.co.uk by midnight on 3rd March 2013 with ‘The Croods’ as your subject line.

You can also find THE CROODS on Facebook.

T&C’s Travel & accommodation is not included. Winners must be able to attend the screening on the morning of 10th March 2013 in London and may need to be available to collect their tickets on the same day. Winners must be 18 yrs and over or accompanied by an adult. No alternative prize will be offered if the winner is unavailable to attend. The Editor’s decision is final and binding on the entrants. No correspondence will be entered into. Winners will be notified by email or phone. I was not paid to promote this competition but I was offered a family ticket to the screening to offer as a prize to a reader. For more information on the competitions I run and our other news please follow me on Twitter.

Alcohol is such a lovely treat but these days I like to stick to only drinking once in a while. One reason is that with two small children who want to get up early, being dehydrated from drinking alcohol doesn’t really work and the other reason is just that it’s so bad for you! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going teetotal or anything, I definitely enjoy a drink but I’m just not as into drinking as much as maybe I used to be. Saying that it doesn’t feel great to be drinking water when everyone else is having a glass of wine or fizz and I feel a bit of a plumb clinking glasses for toasts without something special in my glass. I’m certainly not going to force myself to drink alcohol so that I don’t feel silly clinking a glass of squash though and have decided to just get myself something soft but special instead.

With summer coming up I couldn’t have found a better option in Bottlegreen’s, Acacia Blossom Sparkling Pressé. New to the Bottlegreen range this classy sparkling but soft drink is perfect for a celebratory, alcohol free toast! Being sold exclusively in Waitrose stores as of this month it’s an absolute steal at just £1.29 for 275ml. I love it as it has a really fresh and crisp flavour while at the same time is really thirst quenching. I mentioned it’s great for summer because I could totally imagine sitting out on the patio on a balmy evening, enjoying a glass with my family after a BBQ.

Because it is sparkling it is also the perfect drink for me to take to a friend’s when she has a dinner party. My friend, unlike me, IS teetotal and when we take a bottle of wine to her delicious feasts we’re obviously not taking anything as a treat for her – this will be just the ticket and it’s certainly special enough to do that with while ordinary soft drinks possibly aren’t? It comes in a glass bottle synonymous with Bottlegreen and would look lovely and inviting on any dinner party table.

It’s also bang on trend with Acacia set to be THE ingredient of summer 2013, it’s fragrant, delicate and really delicious to sip! What a great find. I’d happily be the designated driver and have this as an alternative drink!

I’m a sweetie fan… I can’t help it I just am. I like chocolate too but not anywhere near as much as I like sweets… Jonny’s the chocolate head in our house and could consume vast quantities of it given the chance, in fact Florence and I often say to each other ‘don’t leave chocolate out or Daddy’ll hoover it up’! Florence, being a combination of the two of us seems to like both in equal measures – and lots! And Jimmy, having only had the odd chocolate button so far certainly seem to be the same!

But… We don’t need to eat chocolate and sweets everyday or we’d be the size of houses and we do like to be a bit healthy, especially during the week and leave the mega treats for the weekend. But, how do you stop those sweet cravings and satisfy them without actually having something naughty?

Think I’ve found the answer… Nākd bars and products! Made from nothing else but raw fruit, nuts and a hint of natural flavouring these bars and snacks are 100% natural and a great unprocessed alternative to regular chocolate and sweets.

The bars are yummy and absolutely suitable for the whole family! Jimmy thought he was having a mega treat by the look on his face and he particularly liked the Rhubarb and Custard flavour which is new to the range. I did too, it was lovely and tangy! We weren’t overly keen on the chocolatey ones but the fruit ones are absolutely yum and both the children think so too! Other flavours which sound like we’d like them are Cashew Cookie, Berry Delight and Pecan Pie to name but a few! They come in packs of 18 and can be ordered from www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk as well as being widely available in leading supermarkets and health food shops! Nothing, for us, is a substitute for chocolate but the fruity flavours here are absolutely going to be part of our healthier snacks for the week. They give you that sweet hit but are actually not bad for you at all and even quite good for you really, some of the bars even provide one of your five a day!

They also make oatie bars, protein bars and flap jacks as well as infused flavour raisins which we think are delish! The children have been enjoying Orange Infused Raisins which frankly are like a little bag of sweets but are just raisins with as little natural flavouring! They’re really soft and juicy which makes them the perfect finger food for Jimmy and Florence is more than happy to have a little pot of these instead of some sweets – result! Great snack foods for children (and the rest of the family) and knowing they are having nothing bad makes it all the more satisfying!

I have not been paid to write this post but I was sent a selection of the products to try for review purposes.