• Each bag has 85 calories 
• Hoops and Crosses are made from 56% wholegrains and have no artificial colours or preservatives 
• A healthy balanced diet should include wholegrain but some 27% of children in the UK don't get any at all! 

I was shocked at those statistics but judging by my daughter's demolition of them, I won't have to worry about their lack of wholegrain with the Hoops & Crosses. My youngest daughter has always had organic "crisps" from the baby range but has never been a huge fan of the subtle flavours, whereas with the Hoops & Crosses, you could see that she was delighted by the Roast Beef flavour. The girls have only tried the Roast Beef flavour so far but there are Salt & Vinger and Prawn Cocktail flavours too, so I am sure that we will be purchasing those on our next shopping trip.

All in all, they get a big thumbs up in our house ..... and as for the monkey, well he is sitting on top of one of our kitchen cupboards, reminding us all to add Hoops & Crosses to our shopping list as they are perfect for lunch boxes too!

Disclaimer : We were sent one packed of Hoops & Crosses to review and have been paid a small fee for our time. Even without this payment, we would recommend Hoops and Crosses regardless.

The Baby Show is on the horizon and we know lots of lovely friends and family who are expecting this year and who can't wait to go to the show. When you are planning for the arrival of your new baby, there are countless things that companies will try and entice you to buy but here are our top ten things you really DON’T need to purchase for your newborn baby.

1.      A Nappy Bin

I had one of these in my eldest daughter’s nursery and after the initial purchase, you have to buy cartridges of scented bin liners (to take away the nappy aroma), when more simply, practically and reasonably, you can just take the nappy and put it in the outside bin!

2.      A Baby Wipe Warmer

I still remain baffled by this. Most parents I know, want to change a nappy as quickly as possible and will have removed, wiped and replaced a nappy in the time it takes to warm a baby wipe. Trust me, your baby would rather have a clean bottom than a slightly warm one.

3.      Shoes

Babies do not need shoes. They will not be dancing, running, walking or even standing for at least the first 6-9 months of their life, so trying to wrestle shoes onto a small babies foot is neither practical or essential. Shoes are not necessary and it makes it even more special when you go and purchase their first pair of shoes for when they really do need them.

4.      A baby bath

Let me explain that you have to fill a baby bath and then move it … resulting in water splashing everywhere. You don’t need it. Supervision is needed with children in the bath, regardless of how big or small they are, so just use the normal bath and save your pennies and flooring!

5.      Designer Clothes

Your baby will look adorable in a designer outfit but from experience, babies grow so quickly that you are better off putting the money into a savings account for when they will actually appreciate designer wear.

6.      Blankets

This seems to be the top baby gift, aside from clothing but it is recommended that babies do not sleep with a blanket until they are at least 12 months old, so they will just gather dust in the nursery.

7.      Interactive Toys

There is no doubt that toys form an integral part of a young person’s life but as a baby all they will do for the first few months is feed, sleep and fill their nappy. Toy’s don’t seem to form part of this routine for a while yet!

8.      Nursing chair

This is essentially a comfy chair in which you can feed baby. If you have a comfy chair, you do not need this.

9.      Matching nursery furniture / decoration

Baby will undoubtedly be in your room for the first few weeks and he/she really won’t care if their bedding matches the wallpaper. Save your money for when they try and decorate the wall themselves and you need to buy replacement paint!

10.  Electronic breast pump

I have used one. It is akin to being a cow in a milk production factory. Expressing breast milk is a necessity for a lot of mums but a manual pump is kinder and certainly less noisy when you need peace for your sleeping baby.

Do you have anything you would add to the list?

Today has been glorious hasn't it? It reminded me of long summer days when I was a child! What I don't remember is my mom constantly lathering me with suncream every hour like I seem to be doing with my own girls. Yesterday they were playing in the sand pit, so when it came to putting the sun cream on, it was like they were getting a mini exfoliation too!

The NHS recommends that you use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 but the higher the SPF, the better. They also remind you to make sure the product is not past its expiry date as most sunscreens have a shelf life of two to three years. I remember my Dad thinking factor 8 was high when we holidayed abroad as children and even using a tanning oil on the last few days. ( My mom is oblivious to expiry dates ... don't let me start on the tins we found when they moved house ... so the tanning oil was undoubtedly giving no protection whatsoever).

Awareness of skin cancer has made us all more conscious of looking after our skin, I shudder at the amount of sun bed sessions I had in my early twenties and the long term effects it has had on my skin. My girls get lathered in Factor 50 suncream to protect their beautiful skin as they are both fair English Roses and I am happy for them to stay that way but when they are babies, it is always best to keep them out of the sun wherever possible as babies skin is so delicate.

I was shocked to learn that there are almost 100,000 cases of non melanoma skin cancer diagnosed in the UK each year. This makes it the most common type of cancer by far and this type of cancer tends to be under reported. The actual number of cases could be more because non melanoma skin cancers are easy to treat and cure, they are often left out of national cancer statistics. *

I know that looking tanned and glowing is the ultimate goal for some sun worshippers but at what cost? I also know I probably go overboard with my daughters, especially on days like this. I love the sun and I do love having a sun tab but I am much more careful with my own skin as I get older with the only tanning I get, coming out of a bottle!!

What about you?

*research by Cancer UK.

This weekend saw the start of my eldest daughter's 8th birthday celebrations with an ice skating disco party. When I was 8 years old, I think the most "glamorous" thing any of my friends did was have a party at McDonalds as that was a "treat" when I was young, so an hour on the ice, plus food, party games and a disco was certainly not something my parents would have entertained. My folks always worked hard to give us everything we needed but maybe not everything we wanted as they felt it was important to establish values and appreciation and I do worry that sometimes I go over board with my girls.

My daughters birthday is not actually till next week but so far she has had her birthday party with her friends, a bbq with family friends and that is without the plans for a get together with all the family planned for later in the week. On top of this there is the presents ..... let's not get started on that list.

If I total up the cost, I would have to add up:

• The birthday party = excessive but they loved it
• The party bags = filled to the brim with girlie treats
• The cupcakes = just because
• The party outfits = she actually wore 4 different outfits yesterday (apparently you need a different outfit for skating, disco, bbq and a spare!!)
• The BBQ food = well the sun was out, it would have been rude not to!
• The birthday cake = again, her choice! You have to have a cake don't you?
• The presents = I can't mention them yet .... just incase she reads the blog ;-)