Outdoor Adventure Campaign by Poppy Cat and Woodland Trust

Little man is a Poppy Cat fan, and since he met Poppy Cat at John Lewis, he loves Poppy Cat even more!

The UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, the Woodland Trust, is partnering with the popular Nick Jr. series, Poppy Cat, to launch an outdoor campaign for pre-schoolers with an ‘adventure’ platform for its VisitWoods website for one month from tomorrow, 19^th April 2013.

VisitWoods.org.uk hosts information on over 11,000 UK woods that are open to the public.

Poppy Cat Mystery Trail

Poppy Cat content has been created for the site with downloadable activity materials focusing on ‘Mystery Trail Adventures’ – available for children aged 2-6 years to engage them during family outings to the woods.

Poppy Cat Mystery Trail Adventure Pack

We were sent a cool ‘Poppy Cat Mystery Trail Adventure Pack’ to support the launch with the Woodland Trust’s VisitWoods.org.uk campaign.

To support the Woodland Trust partnership and allow Poppy Cat fans to continue the adventure at home, Nick Jr. will air nature-themed Poppy Cat episodes every day from the 18^th April at 7.15pm for two weeks.  There will also be campaign content at nickjr.co.uk alongside Poppy Cat clips, games and activities.

Poppy Cat Mystery Trail

Poppy Cat, starring the voice of Joanna Page (Gavin & Stacey), is based on the award-winning books created by Lara Jones. Poppy Cat’s heroic gusto and unquenchable curiosity propel each experience often leading to unexpected discoveries.

For more information on the Nick Jr pre-school series or the Woodland Trust Poppy Cat campaign, please visit www.poppycat.com / http://www.visitwoods.org.uk,

Older brothers and sisters can also discover more age appropriate activities via the Woodland Trust’s Nature Detectives initiative – naturedetectives.org.uk.

You can follow Poppy Cat on Twitter and Poppy Cat on Facebook.

The products were provided free of charge for review purposes. However the opinions expressed in this review are honest and my own.

Make Your Own Chocolate Pizza Kit by Prezzybox

Make Your Own Chocolate Pizza Kit

Prezzybox is the online gift shop with gifts and gift ideas for everyone, where you can find unique and personal gifts and gadgets guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face!

On Valentine’s Day, we reviewed their Love Hearts Tea Lights and Heat Changing Love Mug. They were so cute!

On Mother’s Day, we tried a Mini Cupcake Maker that makes perfect, beautifully cooked mini cupcakes in a matter of minutes – It was a success!

Melting the Chocolate

Now we were sent a Make Your Own Chocolate Pizza (RRP £12.95), which arrived in a cool pizza box.

Once it arrived, we couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and start making our very own chocolate pizza.

The kit contains: milk chocolate buttons, white chocolate curls, jelly beans, rainbow drops, pizza pan and a recipe card.

Decorating the Chocolate Pizza

You only need a microwavable bowl, spoon, apron and an adult to supervise as chocolate could get hot.

It was extremely easy to make. First little man placed the milk chocolate buttons in to the bowl and microwave for approximately one minute or until the buttons have just melted.

The melted chocolate was carefully poured into the pizza pan, sprinkled with white chocolate curls and decorated with jelly beans and rainbow drops.

Decorating the Chocolate Pizza

The chocolate pizza was placed in the fridge for 2 minutes, then removed from the fridge to be sliced while soft and still in the pizza pan.

The chocolate pizza was returned to the fridge and left until set hard, approximately 15 minutes.

Chocolate Pizza

The chocolate pizza was then removed from the pizza pan and enjoyed! The whole family loved the chocolate pizza as it was very tasty.

I must say it was very enjoyable to make it and little man did most of it on his own (apart from melting the chocolate).

I love how colourful and bright the chocolate pizza was. It was like a rainbow!

You can create your very own chocolate pizza and tailor it to the lucky person who’s going to receive it.

You can then let your creativity fly! Sprinkle on some creamy white chocolate ‘cheese’ and add chocolate beans, jelly beans.

Little Chef and Chocolate Pizza

Since it is your chocolate pizza, you can add anything else you might have on to your pizza base to create a heavenly pizza treat made to order.

The diameter of the finished pizza is 7”/17cm and we sliced it into 8 yummy pieces of chocolate pizza.

Chocolate Pizza

Once the chocolate pizza finishes, you are left with the pizza pan so you can just buy more chocolate and decorations and carry on the fun!

Little man has already mentioned that he wants to make some chocolate pizza with marshmallows next time.

Make Your Own Chocolate Pizza would make a lovely gift to any chocolate lover, children and grown-ups!

You can follow Prezzybox on Twitter and Prezzybox on Facebook

The product was provided free of charge for review purposes. However the opinions expressed in this review are honest and my own.

If Only I had 1 Million Nectar Points #pinforpoints

Market Stall

What would you get if you had 1 Million Nectar Points?

I would spend them on my family, each one of us would get nice treat.

Let’s start with little man as it is his birthday this month. As he will be 4, I believe he deserves at least one present for each year of his life.

Little man loves playing, so I’m sure he would love a Market Stall to play in rainy day. Trike when the weather is nice.

He would also love a Sand and Water Table to have fun all year round.

His fourth and final present would be a cool Toy Workshop. I’m sure he would be delighted with his birthday presents!

Tumble Drier

For hubby, I would get a Car Stereo as we never replaced ours when it got stolen. Hubby loves playing game, so he would appreciate a PS3 to have fun with his mates.

I would love a Health Grill to make tasty food for my family, a brand new Pan Set and a cool Coffee Machine.

We really need a tumble drier as we don’t have one, so it will be top of my list!

The whole family would enjoy a nice big 3D Smart TV, Home Cinema and 3D Glasses to have fun over the weekend while watching family movies!

Gas BBQ

As summer is approaching, we would love a gorgeous Garden Furniture Set and Gas BBQ together with Hostess Server to entertain our friends!  Little man and his friends would enjoy taking into turns in the Ride On Car and the Fire Station.

Of course, we need music in any party, so little man would provide the entertainment with Keyboard and Kids Drum Kit. A Karaoke Machine would make it complete!

That’s how I would spend a million Nectar points. How would you spend yours?

You can check out my Pinterst board here for inspiration!

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash: Live Show Tour Dates Announced

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash

By now, you might be aware that little man loves Peppa Pig, I share this post: “Little Man’s Hero: Peppa Pig”. Recently, we have also hosted a Peppa Pig Party and little man had a great time with his friends.

Last year, we went to West End Theatre Christmas Season: Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt and the whole family enjoyed the live show. I was delighted to find out that there is a new show coming out this year.

Little Man’s Hero: Peppa Pig

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is a Brand New & Biggest Ever Show on tour from October 2013 Including fourth West End Christmas Season.

Peppa Pig Show in London

Fresh from the huge successes of previous tours Peppa Pig’s Party and Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt comes Peppa’s brand new show, Peppa Pig’s Big Splash. Opening at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford on 24 October, this touring production will travel throughout the UK and into Ireland until summer 2014. The tour will also include a fourth consecutive Peppa West End Christmas season (details will be announced in due course) and it will be the biggest ever to date.

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash

The nursery roof is leaking and Peppa and her friends need to fix it quickly. They set up a fete to raise the money for Mr Bull to do the repairs. There’s plenty of fun to be had as Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig, as well as Danny Dog, Pedro Pony and Suzy Sheep put up bunting, run stalls and organise a great day out.  There’s also a Champion Puddle Jumping competition judged by Mr Potato where everyone gets wet and Peppa needs to find her Golden Boots. Another all-singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and muddy puddles is guaranteed for all the family.

Peppa Pig returns live on stage with puppets and brilliant sing-a-long songs from BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson. Richard Lewis adapts and directs this brand new show, following his previous successes with the first two Peppa Pig stage shows and the the current Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom tour.

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is produced by Fiery Angel and Limelight Productions (Fiery Light), the team also behind the recent tours of LazyTown Live!, Roald Dahl’s The BFG, the previous two Peppa Pig tours and the current tour of Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.

Check out Check out Peppa Pig Live website for more information and to book your ticket!

You can follow Peppa Pig Live on Twitter and Peppa Pig Live on Facebook.

If Only I’d Known…

9 Months Pregnant

There are so many things I knew before my first pregnancy. My parents live in Brazil, so unfortunately I didn’t have my mum around to give me advice throughout my pregnancy and she didn’t have the opportunity to share her own experiences before I gave birth.

By the time my mum arrived from Brazil, I had already given birth to our gorgeous little boy.

9 Months Pregnant

If Only I’d Known…

• That in real life, being pregnant and massive is not as glamorous as they picture in magazines and books. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed being pregnant and I will do it all over again, but a big bump gets quite uncomfortable towards the last trimester.

• 

  One Day Old

  That “morning sickness” does not happen only in the morning. Instead it should be called “all day sickness”. I felt quite sick while pregnant from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I found out that mini cheddar would make me feel a bit better, so I kept some by my bedside and reached for a couple as soon as I opened my eyes each morning.

• That strangers treat you like friends when you have a bump. I lost count how many people approached me and asked questions about my bump, whether I knew what it was. Once I actually wanted to reply “I hope it is a baby, not a cat” (I blame my pregnancy hormones), but instead, I had a big breath and I thought it would be more sensible to say “it’s a boy”.

• 

  One Week Old

  That on the other hand, the only place nobody seemed to notice I was pregnant was on my train journey to work each morning. No matter how big I was and the “Baby on Board” badge I was proudly wearing, I wasn’t offered a seat on the train. As it was the rush hour and the train was so crowded, I had to ask to sit down or my bump would be squashed. They would eventually get up, but not before giving me a look.

• 

  If Only I’d Known.. How Much I Would Love Him!

  That no matter how much you plan your pregnancy and birth, most likely it will not go according to plan. In my birth plan, I wrote that I wanted my son be born in a birthing pool with no pain relief, listening to classical music. Instead, I had two epidural and also a few complications when my son’s heart stopped while in labour. Eventually I was rushed to have emergency caesarean, I was put to sleep and didn’t see my son’s birth.

• That being in labour is not the most glamorous event of a woman’s life. Before giving birth, I’ve never thought that I would be with my legs open in a room with different doctors, midwives and nurses looking at my private parts.

• That I should make the most of any help offered.  I have always wanted to do everything on my own, but after my c-section I had to learn to sit down and relax a bit more, ask for help when needed and accept any help offered.

No matter how my pregnancy and labour went, I wouldn’t change it for the world. My baby boy is the best thing has ever happened to us and we love him to bits!

This month, LittleStuff has teamed up with Aptaclub, who have launched a brilliant new ‘Preparing for Birth’  app to support Mums through the last trimester of pregnancy. The app is designed to help mum stay organised through editable checklists and answer questions with tips and advice. It also comes with a contraction timer and birth announcer.

I’m so glad I came across this amazing app as we are currently trying for our second child. It would be brilliant to have much information this time as I will be planning one pregnancy while looking after a small child. Why don’t you also download the app?

This post is Lilinha Angel’s World’s entry into the Aptaclub ‘If Only I’d Known…’ competition

Silent Sunday

Buyagift Young Authors Competition 2013

I thought I would share this fantastic competition from Buyagift.

“Could your child be the next J.K Rowling?

Do they enjoy books and stories of all stripes and types? We´re delighted to announce Buyagift´s first Young Authors competition – a chance for budding writers to see their work made into their very own professionally finished book.

With the Easter holidays upon us, we thought it would be a great to keep young creative minds occupied over those long weeks off. We´re looking for stories submitted by children up to the age of 10 on the theme of: The Unexpected Gift

The stories will be judged by famous children´s writer Giles Paley-Phillips, the
award-winning author of The Fearsome Beastie, and leading picture book blogger
Emma O´Donovan. Take a look at her blog here.

The winning tale will be published, illustrated and printed into three limited edition books for you and the kids to keep – all of which will paid for by us.

We´ll also be printing 100 copies to be sold on our website, with all profits going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation ® UK.

We will also be choosing a runner up, and will award them with a children´s gift experience on us worth £100.”

HOW TO ENTER

Entering is simple. All you need to do is email us with your story – either in a .doc or .txt format, to writeyourownstories@buyagift.com.
All stories need to be with us by 23.59pm on Monday 3rd June. We would also ask that you submit their full name and age.

For more information, check out http://www.buyagift.co.uk/youngauthors

Good Luck!

Half Term Fun Ideas: Top 3 Holiday Tips

Hope you are all enjoying the Easter holidays, it has been very busy at work so sadly I wasn’t able to take any time off.

The kids will be off for another week, so in case you are running out of ideas, I thought I would put together a little list with suggestions of tried and tested activities.

1. Crafting

Crafting with Old Petals

Little man loves crafting, whenever we are home, he starts drawing, painting and crafting. For Valentine’s Day, we created cards with old petals.

You could use a similar idea to make cards out of Easter egg boxes and wrapping. If your house is anything like mine, you will still have lots of Easter eggs to go through. They would also be used to make cupcakes.

2. Baking

Baking with Children

I think baking is one of the best activities ever invented. Not only it keeps children busy and entertained, everyone can enjoy the lovely results afterwards.

Before you pick up the apron and chef’s hat, check out my Top 5 Tips for Baking with Kids.

Butterfly Cupcakes

Over the weekend, we made a lovely Butterfly Chocolate Cupcake, it was very easy to make and very tasty too. As you can add your own filling, it is a versatile recipe and you can adapt it to suit your tastebuds.

If you fancy something different, you could make some lovely sweets made of dried powdered milk, or perhaps some Banana and Chocolate Mini-Muffins using leftover Easter eggs.

The Fruity Flapjack Bites make a perfect afternoon snack, they are made of oats and raisins for a healthy snack.

3. Family Day Out

London Zoo

We enjoy staying home but sightseeing is also lovely.

The British Library offers several London exhibitions and there is always something interesting to go and see. You could also check their events, tours and permanent galleries for a fun afternoon!

We have recently been to the London Transport Museum and it was a lot of fun. Little man enjoyed driving the buses and trains, perfect for train-mad kids!

Sea Life London Aquarium

We have also been to London Zoo and we had a very enjoyable family day out.

The zoo is quite big, so I would suggest arriving early and taking a packed lunch and snacks with you, so you can make the most out of your day.

Our latest visit was to Sea Life London Aquarium where little man went face-to-face to a shark.

He was so excited and even fell off from the bench. It all happened so quickly that he thought the shark would cross over the glass and get him. It was an unforgettable day!

Whatever you are up to, enjoy the rest of your Easter holiday!

Silent Sunday

Baking with Kids: Butterfly Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Nick Jr Easter Pack

We enjoy baking, it is always a lot of fun making cakes and eating afterwards!

I have previously shared my Top 5 Tips for Baking with Kids, baking is a great way to spend quality time with children.

Nick Jr sent us an Easter pack with a selection of items including a brand new Nick Jr colouring book, Nick Jr chef’s hat and silicone cupcake cases.

Crack the egg into a small bowl

Little man was very excited when we received the pack and he couldn’t wait to be one of Dora’s Little Cooks.

We adapted the recipe below found at Nick Jr website to make our butterfly cupcakes.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (makes 8)

Pour egg into big bowl

Ingredients:

• 110g soft butter
• 110g caster sugar
• 80g plain flour
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1 medium egg
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 tbsp fromage frais
• 8 raspberries.

Mixing the cupcake mixture

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat it until it goes pale and feels lighter.

Put the flour in a sieve and shake it gently over the bowl until it has all fallen through.

Sift the cocoa and baking powder into the bowl in the same way.

Crack the egg into a small bowl. Make sure no bits of shell fall in. Pour into the big bowl.

Measure out a teaspoon of vanilla essence, then mix everything together.

Heart Shaped Chocolate Cupcakes

Place the cases on a baking tray and spoon a little of the mixture into each one.

Bake the cake for around 15-20 minutes or until they have risen.

Place the cupcakes on a Dora serving plate, top with a blob of framage frais and a raspberry.

You could also use another fruit on the top such as a strawberry or cut the cupcake in half and sandwich with a little raspberry jam.

As the heart-shaped silicone cases were a bit bigger than the cases in the recipe, we doubled the recipe, so there was enough mix for 12 cases.

Butterfly Cupcakes

Butterfly Cupcakes

I always wanted to make butterfly cupcakes, so it was a perfect opportunity to try and make some.

Once the cakes are completely cool, use a small pointed knife to cut a circle around 2.5cm width out of the cake leaving a cavity in the centre.

Butterfly Cupcakes

Cut the round in half and set aside. Now fill the centre of the cake with your filling of choice, we used raspberry jam in the middle.

Return the two pieces of cake to sit on top like butterfly wings. We add a drizzle of chocolate buttercream.

Dust with icing sugar to serve and Enjoy!

You can make vanilla and chocolate mix into butterfly cupcakes. Next time, we will be trying vanilla cupcakes instead.

Butterfly Cupcakes

You can choose any filling for your cupcakes. Next time we will try some vanilla buttercream with a dash of raspberry jam on top.

The butterfly cupcakes are extremely easy to make and we all loved the final result: cute little cakes shaped like butterfly wings.

They certainly flew off the plate!

Thank you very much Nick Jr for our lovely Easter pack! 🙂

The Easter pack was provided free of charge, however I was under no obligation to write this post. The opinions expressed in this review are honest and my own.