Category: Reviews

1. End of Year Teacher Gifts

   Posted on 9:00pm Thursday 4th Jul 2013

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   There are some massively differing views on the end of year Teachers Gift, so before I go any further I need to confess something. I am THAT mother. You all know the type, the kind that happily does a collection at the end of term and the type that other mums either love or hate. I admit that I like or organise and co-ordinate, being a PA for over 15 years means this is part of my make up but when my eldest daughter was in Reception class at her new school, she had two teachers and two teaching assistants and I can tell you now, Christmas that year was expensive! So when one of the other mums suggested doing a collection, I thought it was a great idea and somehow assumed the role of organiser.

   Some of the mums at school don't contribute and arrange their own thing whilst some are just eternally grateful not to have to think about it. Whichever camp you fall in, either works for me.

   Over the years the teachers have had a variety of gifts, from handcrafted plant pots, personalised plaques to the trusted gift voucher and this year will be no different. The donation to a collection doesn't always mean that the gift loses its personal touch.

   When we were approached by Asda to review their range of teachers gifts, I was interested to see what a large supermarket chain could offer in terms of the personal touch, so when these items landed on the doorstep, I was pleasantly surprised.

   

   My daughter has a love of cuddly toys (her bedroom stands testament to this), so she absolutely adored the cuddly cow and we thought that the mug was a nice touch for their teaching assistant. The range is much bigger than this with pen pots, keyrings and sticky note pads but with all the items under £5, it won't break the bank.

   I firmly believe that a teachers gift should be a token of appreciation, whether that is a handmade card, a well thought out present or a gift card, every school and every teacher is different. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Maggy Woodley a few weeks ago and managed to get a very personalised signed copy of her book Red Ted Art for our teacher, which will be part of her end of year gift from the class.

   So whilst some of us mums may not be as craft minded as others (or indeed as Maggy Woodley), the gift is always very personal, thought out and given with thanks.

2. Plum Baby : Little Foodies : Review

   Posted on 2:13pm Monday 24th Jun 2013

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   We are all about providing natural solutions on the Lilypad blog but as parents, we are realists too. With my eldest daughter, I remember cooking, steaming, pureeing food till it was packed into every possible container and space in my fridge and freezer as I wanted her to have the most natural, organic food choices but when my youngest daughter arrived, I realised that becoming a frenzied cook, this wasn't always practical and I found Plum Baby!

   I have loved the ease of their foods, how natural they are and ultimately how much my daughter loved them. So I was a little sad as we went through our baby led weaning stages that we moved away from these foods but delighted when Plum asked us to review their new range of products the "Little Foodies" range!

   The sales blurb tells us that; "When Plum polled more than 2,000 of their Plum parents online, they found  that 65% of them were concerned about the impact of early-years eating on a child's future health, and no wonder - studies have shown that what we feed little ones in the first few years can have a real impact on their eating habits for life. That's one big reason they decided to offer these super-nutritious meals for older tots, complete with at least two of a toddlers daily portions of vegetables - because the sooner our kids learn to appreciate the wonderful flavours of veg, the healthier their choices will tend to be later on. The Little Foodies meals are full of exciting flavours, from savoury ragu to tangy tagine, and are carefully crafted to encourage little ones to love their food. They come in convenient, easy-to-serve dishes to encourage tots aged 1-3 years to feed themselves, and the chunky texture (including chewy bits like whole raisins and peas) will help them develop the jaw and tongue muscles they need for good language development".

   So what did our tiny tester think?

   Well she definately has her Dad's taste buds for good flavour and has never been huge fan of bland foods, so the Little Foodies range has been a huge hit. The stronger the flavour the better. She generally turns her nose up at "baby food", much prefering to eat the same as her big sister, which ultimately goes towards helping her co-ordinatinon (and cleaning of the kitchen floor 3 times a day).

   There are four delicious flavours in the range but our tiny tester adores the Vegetable Biryani with Wholegrain Rice. You don't need to be meat free to enjoy it but it is perfect for young vegetarians as it is a gorgeous mixture of spinach, tomatoes, onions, raisins and chickpeas, flavoured with coconut and mild Indian spices. The good news for busy mums is that it also contains 3 of your toddler's 5-a-day portions of fruit and veg!

   The texture of the Little Foodies range means that the little one thinks she is eating "grown up" food and we have definately not had the plate pushed away once during our reviews. (this is a big achievement, trust me) and we have had shout for "more".

   Mums like me want food that is healthy, natural, not full of preservatives, quick and easy to make but full of goodness for our children. It seems like a tall order .... but sometimes it is about being "Little".

   The Little Foodies range get a big thumbs up from this mum and my tiny tester!

    

3. Where do you buy your children's shoes?

   Posted on 1:24pm Thursday 30th May 2013

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   It is no secret that I have a love affair with shoes. I couldn't even tell you when this happened, whether it was wearing glamorous dancing shoes during dance shows as a teenager or it goes back as far as tottering around in my mums high heels when I was a really little girl but whenever it started, I have never stopped buying shoes since (this post may help towards buying more shoes, which doesnt really help my addiction).

   I will often buy shoes "just incase", you know the snow boots that will be really handy if we have 6ft of snow or the running shoes in case I ever need to go running (disclaimer, in the unlikely event that I go running, I have proven that you can do this in heels), so it is fair to say that I probably have a pair of shoes for every occasion.

   It is therefore unsuprising that both of my daughters love shoes and unfortunately they are both cursed with my "fat feet" (and when I say mine, I actually mean those inherited from my mother), so shoe shopping can be a little exhausting at times. My youngest daughter has a high in-step, so alot of styles don't actually fit her and we have spent many hours in Clarks trying different styles, colours, types of shoes so we know now the ones that fit and the ones that don't. Unfortunately stocks in the shops can sometimes be limited, so when we were introduced to Bells Shoes, I was delighted that they stocked Clarks shoes and even more so to find designs that weren't in the high street shop. Take a look;

   

   
   

   Our shoe story by littlelilypadco featuring shoes

   Running our own online store means that shopping online is a perfect solution for me and I particularly like the ease and flow of the Bells Shoes site. I will obviously still go and get my daughter's feet measured in store but having shoes delivered to my front door sounds like heaven to me!

   

4. WIN a set of 7 Crawlerz Romper Suits

   Posted on 8:40pm Tuesday 28th May 2013

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   Crawlerz baby boy and baby girl clothing are designed to actively encourage your child to crawl. Their Patent Pending Anti-Slip Grip will give your child the added help needed to promote their development. Available in a Range of Funky Styles for ages 3-6, 6- 9 and 9-12 months.

     

   We love this concept and the Crawlerz range haven't yet launched in the UK so be one of the first people to try them by entering our competition to win a set of 7 rompers .... that is one for every day of the week!

   a Rafflecopter giveaway