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I remember when my eldest daughter was born, every single person that walked through my front door was made to wash their hands or use hand gel before they came within breathing distance of her. She was never ever dirty, to the point where my mum told me that I was being ridiculous and she would never develop immunity to anything because I wasn't letting her be exposed to anything for longer than a second. After realising that she was right (mums usually are .... that's what I tell my own daughter now), I began to relax.

I can't categorically state that I relaxed in every aspect and I can vivdly remember cooking, mashing, pureeing and storing food like my life depended on it and only the most naural and organic products would pass through her lips. I was officially the food police! I recall going on a caravan holiday with my best friend and her suggesting that we get the children fish and chips for dinner, I remember feeling a little panicky as my daughter had never had chips before, so I rustled up some rice and vegetables to go with the fish ....... she must have thought I was bonkers (but then again she has known me forever so probably knows this to be true anyway).

Fast forward to today and my youngest daughter has learnt to eat through baby led weaning and has today eaten pasta and vegetables for lunch, followed by an apple. However she then starts shouting at the cupboard. She wasn't cross with the cupboard, she does however know that is where we keep the chocolate, high up in the cupboard where little hands can't get hold of it. My mum now warns me about the little ones sweet tooth but this time, I think that I am the one that is right. My youngest daughter eats very well, she eats healthily and with a varied diet but when she sees her big sister (and "maybe" mummy too) eating chocolate, it feels wrong to deny her a small taste. Don't get me wrong, she would totally gorge herself if she could but at the end of the day, don't you always want what you can't have? My Nan would have told me that "a little of what you fancy does you good" and despite being so strict with my eldest, she will still ask for chocolate the same as the next child.

As I said at the beginning of this post, mummy is usually right but now that mum is me, I am no longer going to be the food police, I am simply going to be mum!

 

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As parents, we always strive to provide our children with the essentials in life but also luxuries and treats that bring a smile to their faces. My eldest daughter is currently a huge fan of the "onesie", now love it or hate it, you cannot escape how popular the onesie has become, so when we were asked to review one from the www.kigs.co.uk website, I happily agreed.

The Kigs website says that they sell kigurumi (animal onesies) for both children and adults and I have to admit that they have a fantastic range. I chose the kids giraffe costume (as I knew my daughter would love it), which comes in a spotted yellow giraffe hide pattern in an adorable warm fleece material.

Now the kigurimi are essentially costumes which makes it a great website if you are going to a fancy dress party but in our house, they have been a favourite of the sleepovers! My daughter is currently enjoying the new craze in the world of a 7 year old for going (and having sleepovers) and the Giraffe Onesie has been the envy of her friends (and their mums).

I have to be honest and say that at first, my daughter was a little unsure because of the baggy design and the fact it had "no feet" but once she put it on and felt how comfortable it was (not to mention how much her friends loved it too), I have struggled to get it off her to wash it! (thankfully it washes at 30 degrees!)

So that's why this review is part of our Love Is .... series of posts, because what's not to love when a great product puts a big smile on your child's face?

 

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We love our Water Babies classes and can't shout about them enough but I had to share this week about "chasing the duck". My precious little one has a definate affection for ducks and she plays with her own in the bath, shouting "quack, quack" at every given opportunity.

So the Water Babies class that we attend are run by "wbchasetheball" (their twitter and facebook name), so chasing the ball or the fish as part of our lessons was undoubtedly inevitable. Last week Nanny said that when "chasing the fish", all our little fish kept saying was "quack quack" .... obviously not the noise that a fish makes but THIS week, we had a duck to chase and she was in her element. 

I love hearing the stories of how confident she now is in her lessons which are a far cry from the cold, shivering little baby who cried in her first lesson. It makes me so proud to hear how she is the one that the swimming teacher uses to demonstrate the next activity in the water as she is so comfortable.

So I will continue to shout about how amazing Water Babies are  .... and I am sure the little one will keep shouting "quack quack" at anything in the water that bears the slightest resemblence to a duck! I can't wait to hear about next weeks quack-tastic adventures!

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t is not every day that you get an email offering to send you chocolates in the post to review but as chocolate is a fairly dominant feature in my every day life (due to my small chocolate addiction), this was certainly not something I was going to turn down.

I think chocolate is a very personal thing and the first thing that struck me about Chocolates by Genevie is that in a chocolate assortment box there is an option to tailor your order for the chocolates you love the most. I do not like white chocolate, I know it is personal choice but I think that there is something very wrong with white chocolate, so loved that I could request that none were included in my selection.

The website told me that the Red Heart 12 Chocolates, would be supplied in a classy red satin box with a heart shaped clear window (which does make it an ideal gift for valentines day!).  They are also despatched in a special outer box that is letter box friendly, so when I opened the front door and saw a little box on the mat, I knew exactly what it was and couldn't wait to open it.

The box contains 12 mouth watering mixed Belgian chocolates and they were sat snugly inside the box, undamaged by their travels through the Royal Mail postal system so you could absolutely send them direct to a loved one. I picked a moment when I knew I wasn't going to have to share MY chocolates with small children (obviously for the sake of their teeth) but I have to say that they are definately chocolates for grown up's. They are delightfully rich and indulgent and with a higher cocoa content, with less sugar, you are most definately experiencing a premium taste sensation.

With different colours and shapes of boxes, there is a style to suit everyone, so sending Chocolates by Genevie doesn't just have to be for valentines and sending chocolates for no reason, would show what "Love Is ....."