Category: Views & Ramblings

1. Things we love this month

   Posted on 1:07pm Monday 30th Sep 2013

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   We often do reviews on the Lilypad of great products that we are sent to try but sometimes there are products that we buy, are given or have always used, that deserve a mention or credit for being generally fab! So we have decided to start a things we love series and this is what we love this month ....

   Aqua Maris Junior Nasal Spray

   We have had this sitting in the cupboard for months and thankfully have had no reason to use it but with the change in temperatures lately and being back at school, it came as no surprise to find that the cold bug would be back too! I loved the nasal spray for babies so I knew I would love the junior version, the only problem this time is having a "junior" child wrestle with you to try and stop it going up her nose. The whole family ended up doing it to prove that it didn't hurt and it became quite hilarious to watch. So this gets a big thumbs up from the whole Lilypad family for clearing your nose and making us all laugh too! ( and at £4.50, it has got to be cheaper than a constant use of tissues!)

   

   Johnsons Foaming Baby Shampoo

   Everyone has their preferences as far as shampoo's are concerned and Johnsons is the name that resonates with most parents, so we were quite excited to try their new foaming shampoo. Bath time is a big deal in our house, it is the part of the day where everyone seems to end up in the smallest room in the house, getting soaking wet, drinking imaginary cups of tea (with added bubbles) and having our hair done in the bathroom salon! The good news is that it has the exclusive JOHNSON’S® Baby NO MORE TEARS® stamp of approval, which means its gentle and mild for delicate eyes and won’t cause stinging and tears. The girls thought the foaming shampoo was brilliant, even more so that they could use the pump themselves, the bad news is that it didn't last all that long because they kept pumping it.

   

   Munchkin Bentos Box

   Back to School means back to packed lunches (which I dread) but was quite excited to receive the Munchkin Bento Box to review. Inspired by the Japanese ‘Bento’, create a lunch box full of variety for your little one with the Click Lock™ Bento Mealtime Set from Munchkin. At £7.50 it is not cheap but it keeps food separate and fresh so sandwiches, fruit, yoghurts and other items can all be stored neatly and compactly in one place. Unfortunately as we have a growing girl, the lunch box seems more suited to younger children as the compartments are relatively small ( although this will be great for the little one going to nursery). My daughter generally likes plain and simple lunches (she is a creature of habit) but we have seen some great bento lunch box ideas here.

   

   Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream

   I recently bought some of the Weleda face products. Over the years I have tried all sorts of different skincare products from high end to high street but after receiving a sample of the Weleda face cream, I knew I needed to buy some. The sales blurb told me that that counteracts fine lines, dryness and dull skin (which is a bonus for me) but it made my skin feel amazing and is fabulous under makeup, so is perfect for busy mums like me!

   

   We also love .....

   Autumn ...... you can't buy it but you can feel it all around us. Autumn makes me think of warm cozy nights in front of the fire, of gorgeous colours everywhere from leaves on the ground to woollen scarves. We may be saying goodbye to Summer but Autumn is pretty fabulous too!

   What do you love this month?

    

2. Memories of my childhood

   Posted on 12:01pm Sunday 29th Sep 2013

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   When I was a child my Dad always had a project, the project was always a car and his favourite saying was "it will be finished by Christmas". To be honest I am not sure any of those projects were ever finished by Christmas and I have very vivid memories of parts of hot rods in our back garden (the scrap man would have had a field day) but Classic Cars and American Hot Rods were a big part of my childhood.

   For the purpose of this post, I asked my mum for some photos and she couldn't remember where they were (we are talking over 30 years ago before the age of digital cameras) so I went looking on the internet for my Dad's car club and was amazed to find some forums showing the cars from 1987. We used to go to roadshows a few times a year, with a group of my parents friends and their children and while the men showed the cars, the women and children would set up "camp". I remember as children we used to go off for the day, exploring the campsite, fishing by the rivers and going on the fair rides. I never once remember any one of us having a mobile phone or a fear of anyone and anything.

   My Dad has loved building those cars and aside from my mum being frustrated by engine parts and grease, he never had to worry about deadlines and I am pretty sure that he never had specialist car insurance on those cars either. But that was back in the days when life seemed much simpler. I know it is easy for me to say that, I was a child and I hope that my daughters look back on their childhood and remember when life was uncomplicated and simple.

   For now, I am spending some time browsing through the internet looking at pictures that remind me of that simple childhood and wonder whether this Christmas maybe the year that his current project gets finished.

   

   What evokes memories of your childhood?

   Thank you to my parents friends for this amazing image!

   

3. Let us tell you a story ... Part 6

   Posted on 7:39am Saturday 21st Sep 2013

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   When I was at school, a group of friends and I would often write stories and each write a different part. Fast forward 10 or 20 (ahem) years and an amazing group of writers have decided to tell you a story. We have no clue how it will end as we are each telling a small part. The story was started by Tired Mummy Of Two.. and from there you can simply click through to read all that has been happening so far. Today, it is my turn to continue  - I am taking the baton from Life At The Zoo.

    

   Laura didn't know quite what else to say to the handsome man, who seemed to have made himself quite at home in her house. Somewhat annoyingly her faithful pooch seemed to have taken quite a shine to him, so he politely excused himself (and the dog) while she pulled the covers over her head again and tried to piece together the events of the previous evening.

   "What on earth happened" she thought to herself?

   She recalled the dancing, there was lots of dancing and laughing, not forgetting the copious amounts of wine and after about the fourth tequila, it all got a little hazy. But there was something niggling her, something that wasn't quite right.

   Suddenly she sat up in bed, a cold shiver went over her, she remembered seeing Robert by the pond. She shook her head and instantly regretted it. Her head hurt. Seeing Robert? What was she thinking? 

   That was impossible, Robert was dead. 

    

   So what did happen to Robert? Find out the next part of Laura's story tomorrow over at Five's a Fellowship

   

    

4. Road Safety for Children : Featured Post

   Posted on 9:01pm Friday 20th Sep 2013

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   Learning new adventures is all part of being a child isn't it? 

   Learning to roll over, to crawl, walk, run and ride a bike. Bike riding has been very topical in our house this summer, with big sister finally letting go of the stabilisers and little sister making her first attempts to ride a bike, courtesy of the fabulous Strider Bike and whilst they are safe riding in the confines of our gardens, I wouldn't want them out on the road just yet.

    

   For over 60 years, children have wobbled their way through the Cycling Proficiency Test, now called Bikeability, and there are 3 levels that children can take. Level 1 helps new riders (like my girls) to control their bike before they move on to developing on-road skills at the next level. Level 2 is usually tackled by children in Years 5 or 6, before they leave primary school but then level 3 teaches children how to ride in different and more challenging traffic situations, and is usually completed by children of secondary school age (so I have a little time before I start worrying about them being on the road because the last thing I want to be worrying about is road traffic accidents and whiplash injury). 

   The little one is still a long way off from finding her feet (or her pedals) on the bike and she is just as happy to go down to the main road and watch the traffic go past. I genuinely thought my other half had gone a little bit mad when he suggested going to watch the cars one morning but she loves nothing more than waving to the trucks, farm tractors and cars as they go past and getting them to honk their horns!

   So I don't think I need to worry about her learning the dangers of the road, as whilst she may only be little, she seems quite competent at commanding the traffic from the pavement.