Regular readers will know that we have a tiny terror who loves nothing more than sneezing food on me whilst feeding and I kid you not when I tell you that I have been covered in a multitude or porride, purees and mashed up food! Now the little one is already expressing preferences for food (although she will pretty much try anything) but the range available from organic baby food brand, Plum does appear to be a particular favourite! We are therefore excited to tell you about some news direct from Plum themselves!

Back in June,  Plum, ran a competition to win a sought after place at the first ever Plum Cookery School. Five lucky mums were invited down to Buckinghamshire where the Cookery School opened its doors to reveal some of the tasty secrets behind Plum’s recipes and offered expert advice to support parents through the weaning process. (any mum will know that this is never an easy time)  The cookery school was made extra exciting with two special guests, celebrity chef Rachel Allen and child nutrition expert, Beverley Glock, who were both absolutely fabulous as you will see in the new weaning videos.

Plum’s new weaning videos are designed to ensure that other mums can take advantage of Rachel and Beverley’s advice whilst learning lots of cooking tips, eating fabulous food and having many of their weaning worries resolved. Click below to see the Plum Cookery School action in the third of Plum’s weaning videos. This video covers stage three of weaning, where Beverley Glock cooks up two tasty dishes, including a Beef Stroganoff that the whole family can enjoy.

And, if this video has got tummies rumbling and you can’t wait to learn more, all you need to do is head on over to Plum’s You Tube channel (www.youtube.com/plumbaby ) where you can watch all four episodes!

If you haven’t yet tried Plum products I’d urge you to do it, they taste amazing (even for mums licking the spoon too - purely for research purposes of course) . Plus, with a free coupon available to download on Plum’s Facebook Page, now is your perfect time to introduce baby to Plum! They are going thick and fast though and they only have 10,000 to give away, so do hurry! www.facebook.com/plumbaby 

Go do it now .....Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for which I received compensation .... but we love Plum enough and would have shared anyway!

It goes without saying that a new baby means major change – and preparing the space needed for a new arrival, can be stressful. Where do you put everything – not only the crib and other furniture, but also the gifts and toys from well-wishers, including that very odd looking cot mobile your Aunt sent? With over 61% of people in a Big Yellow survey admitting to hoarding useless items around the house and just under a third (26%) of us having a whole room in our home filled with junk, you're not alone if the thought of decluttering a room to create a nursery fills you with dread. But the good news is, it doesn't have to be a nightmare. Here are our top tips:

The first step is to decide what needs to be kept, stored or removed for good. Before deciding this, however, assess your storage. If all your cupboards are already heaving, it's a good idea to consider other storage possibilities – unused space that can be harnessed in a garage for example, enclosed staircases or in an attic. Remember that damp and pests can damage your stored things so invest in making the storage space sound and make sure to regularly check items once stored. A wardrobe – with its small footprint, is excellent for storing soft items allowing you to hang, fold and stack effectively. Think laterally when it comes to storage – a lot of unused space is either at our feet or above our heads (note: when going vertical: make sure not to store heavy things too high, and don't store anything you regularly use above your eye-line). Also remember that your storage will be subject to small, inquisitive fingers shortly, so make sure everything can be locked away or is outside of reach.

Terry from www.prestigedoors.co.uk said: ‘Finding storage room in an already full house can be difficult, one simple solution is to use an open garage as a storage room as well as parking, all it needs is the addition of a garage door.’

Now you've organised your storage space, you can start to fill it:

Storing Books

Books can be surprisingly heavy if too many of them are stacked together so the best way to pack these is to use small boxes for efficient use of the self storage space. Stack smaller books over larger books and make sure that they’re arranged horizontally (never vertically) because it can damage the spine.

Storing Clothing

Clothing should be stored in wardrobe boxes, on hangers, to retain their original shapes. Keep out of season clothes accessible, as you may need to store your clothing for longer than anticipated. Finally, place some moth balls inside the boxes where you store your clothes to prevent any damage.

Storing Mattresses

If you're turning your spare bedroom into a nursery, you may want to store a mattress or two. Wrap your mattresses in the special bags available at self storage facilities like Big Yellow and DIY stores. These not only prevent them from losing shape but protect them from absorbing moisture as well. If you store it for longer than a year, change the plastic covering once annually.

Furniture

A thorough waxing with wood varnish will protect your wooden furniture from moisture, while dismantling flat packed items will prolong their life. Avoid scratches to the components by placing cloth or old carpet between them. Sofas with hard wearing upholstery such as leather or micro-fibre can be stored upright – saving on floorspace – however those finished in delicate materials will be safer stored horizontally. Wrapping your sofa in plastic sheeting will give it extra protection.

Writing on all sides

Write down what each box contains and to what kind of room it belongs. Don’t just write it on one side, as sometimes it may be stacked in such a way that your label will be hidden from view.

This guest post was provided by Drew Davies who writes for Big Yellow Self Storage. To help declutter a room to turn into a nursery, Big Yellow has a range or storage rooms or lockers (from as small as 9 sq ft) that will help create the space you need.

Disclaimer: Financial compensation was received for this post

The Olympics have been amazing, they have captured my 7 year olds attention and suddenly I have toned athletes on my TV rather than the less aesthetically pleasing cartoons that usually grace the flat screen. (I am obviously not complaining here). All the hype surrounding London 2012 prior to the games was mainly about cost and security, with a reported £27 million being spent on the Opening Ceremony and this sparked a debate on my facebook page about value for money. With clarity, I was informed that  the NHS overspends by more than £27m a week which makes the Olympic ceremony excellent value for money especially when it has regenerated a really poor area of London and generated so many jobs in a period of recession.

The Opening Ceremony was truly amazing and it demonstrated what was truly great about Britian. So what did the closing ceremony bring? It was a testament to the truly eclectic mix of modern British music, the Ceremony featured more than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 schoolchildren from the six east London Host Boroughs, once again demonstrating that when it comes to the crunch (the none credit variety) , the people of our country are prepared to pull together.

If you have read my most recent blog post, you will see that loss has featured within my closest circle lately and seeing Gary Barlow find the strength to get up and perform, despite his recent personal loss, shows that he too is an inspiration.

So the games were marketed to "Inspire a generation" and I genuinely think they have done this on so many levels. So lets get on our bikes and get outside. Lets inspire our children to run, play and ride a bike, like these here at Leisure Lakes Bikes.

So once again, the Lilypad are proud to be British!

Could we afford to host the Olympics? Probably not! Was it worth it? Absolutely!

I think hate is a really strong word and not one that features often in my vocabulary, well aside from "I hate my hair today" or I hate how my bum looks in this" but you get the picture? When I was younger, I decided that if I held onto disdain, dislike or indeed hate, it would eat me up and do me no good, so one day a good friend and I decided on the "hate basket". It was a place to throw things that annoyed us, upset us or indeed those things that we hated.

It is obviously metaphorical as I dont have a basket big enough to put a whole human being in but it always made us feel better to "throw" someone or something in the basket. For a while I had people "sitting" on the edge of the basket, knowing I could push them in there if they pushed me too far but for a long time the basket has been empty.

So during this past week, there have been a catalogue of things that have happened to people very close to me and it would be insensitive of me to share their pain, as they are not my stories to tell, but we have had to say goodbye to people we have loved. So the hate basket that has been empty for so long, now has the "long black hooded cloak" and I am putting the lid on it tightly.

There are no more words.