Simple Bakes , Gluten free snacks 100% vegan

We always used to pick up the same snacks with each weekly food shop and to be honest it was getting a little dull, When wellabys got in contact with new product simple bakes i couldn't wait to try them and i knew the rest of the family would also be keen to try. Lots of things about this product ticked a lot of boxes for me, the 1st being that they are gluten free. I have tried to cut gluten out of my diet but its really hard! so when you find a snack that's not only gluten free but also 100% vegan friendly and nut / egg and dairy free they can be enjoyed by most ! 

They come in 3 tasty flavours spicy chilli , smokey BBQ & pinch of salt and pepper I did find that the spicy chilli was a little bit too spicy for my own taste but hubby Chris loved them ! they are the perfect snack for what we call in our house " snack o'clock " this is around 8/8:30 after the children are in bed and you fancy something while watching rubbish on TV! we both really enjoyed the smokey BBQ flavour ( i had to crop out husbands hand from the photo below ) and the pinch of salt and pepper we ate with soft cheese one weekend lunch time. 

These are also great for dipping into soups and Bodhi who is nearly 6 has been taking a few in his lunch box each day , He really likes the smokey BBQ flavour , You can pick up a bag of these simple bakes from selected Waitrose stores across the UK Each 120g bag has an RRP of: £1.79. i feel that for a gluten free product this is amazing value ! 

I will be buying more simple bakes for over the up coming festive period for sharing with friends and family safe in the knowledge that they cam be enjoyed by all. A big thank you to wellabys for sending us these tasty treats to try and to feed back our options its 2 big thumbs up from us all . 

Piccolo - Organic Baby food - Taste test & review

Pouched baby food isn't just for babies as Bodhi & i found out after being sent a box full of the Piccolo range to test out, piccolo is an amazing brand with fanatic values , They give back via 10% of all profits to help fund food education, in partnership with the NCT , they provide practical support to parents when it comes to baby and child nutrition. 

The range starts with stage 1 from 6 months plus, these are 1st taste with a huge range of mix of flavours from mango,pear & kale and cherry & yoghurt. Bodhi really enjoyed the yoghurt based pouches and these become great for after school or after swimming for a on the go snack, No mess or fuss. They also have a pure range within stage one, these are much more simple flavours with mango, pear, plum and banana these i feel are more for the younger market, we added ours to Bodhi's morning porridge and he loved it !

Stage 2 starts to introduce a much wider range of flavours and textures with some fantastic menu options from lamb ratatouille, sweet potato beef ragu we didn't test any of these options as Bodhi is way past this stage in his eating, They look full of flavour and something i would have brought for him when he was at the right age for them. 

Piccolo is now stocked online and in stores you can find a full list of where to by on the website where-to-buy with prices from £1-£1.60* I would like to thank Piccolo for sending us pouches to try and letting us share our feedback with you guys. 

*Prices taken from Morrison's 16/11/17 

Thinking of getting a pet rabbit ? our family is growing

Last week we added a little furry family member to our house hold, We did a a baby rabbit on hold from my sister but sadly that little one died. We already had the hutch and it needed filling! I headed to my local pets at home with five year old Bodhi, I knew as soon as i saw the rabbit that it was the one ( and i told Bodhi so ) We found out that rabbit was a girl and 12 weeks old. After a few questions and some advice we paid for Rabbit and took her home.  We called her Reese ( due to her fur colour looking like a peanut butter cup )

Tips on keeping your Rabbit calm once brought home

1) Nothing to eat but hay & water for the 1st 24hours after coming home ( rabbit stress eat and this can make them very poorly )

2) leave them alone in hutch/run for 1st 24hours , Moving house is a big thing and they need some time to adjust

3) Don't pick them up, bunny's love fuss and strokes but few will like to be picked up off the ground, They are prey and will think you are going to hurt them.

4) let them come to you, sit in the run with them , or let them come into the house to run around they will come to you to sniff and check you out.

5) reward with healthy treats but don't over feed or your bunny will get fat and lazy 

What to feed your Rabbit 

While your rabbit is young they should be fed on JR nuggets and 80% of their daily food intake should be from Hay , Hay is very important for keeping your rabbit healthy and it helps with keeping teeth ground down, Do not be tempted to over feed with the nuggets a small handful per rabbit is more then enough. We was very kindly send a bag of selective JR from the brand supreme pet food, this along side hay will be Reese's Breakfast , lunch and dinner. When she is older she can move onto adult food and for this she can try out Natures feast Rabbit food mix with nuggets/grass and veg. these can both be brought online via supremepetfoods & naturesfeast or from all good pet stores / supermarkets and homeware stores.

 

Natures feast also very kindly sent us a bale of hay for Reese and she really liked this, its full of dried flowers , perfect for these winter months when not much is growing in the garden for her ( she has been enjoying eating the fallen leaves tho ) Garden forage RRP is £5 and something i will be buying again, you could even mix it in with plain hay to make it last longer.

Treats 

Like i said before you don't want to over fed your rabbit with treats same as you wouldn't over eat treats yourself, 1-2 small treat items a few times a week is more then enough for a young rabbit. Ive been giving Reese a treat after she has been out in her run , or when she comes to give me cuddles. Hand feeding treats is a great way to bond with your new pet. They will trust you and see you as a giver of food.

Reese seems to really enjoy these treats from supreme pet food, the garden sticks are RRP of £2.99 and the crunchers are £2.49 RRP these are both slightly larger treats and she will take them from out of my hand to fed. 

Snack selection from Nature's feast are smaller items so these have been given once she is back inside  of her hutch into her food bowl , These RRP at £5 you can also treat your rabbit with a small amount of rest fruit and veg, but so fair Reese hasn't wanted to try ! But i will keep trying with her. 

Housing & exercise 

A rabbit needs a safe warm and dry place to call home, Reese is an outside rabbit she has a double height hutch with her bedroom in the higher level , I clean her hutch out everyday and give her fresh water morning and night. Rabbits also need to run around and to get exciersize, She is out in her run in the day time and them out in the garden with myself or Bodhi. (we are mindful of next doors cats!)

In her bedroom we use a mix of hay/straw and she makes herself a little nest out of Kaytee clean and cozy forage & fun bedding , this stuff is amazing and also comes with chew treats to hide within the bedding , The bedding is by the brand kaytee was also sent to us to try out with Reese. its 99.9% dust free with odor control. Its perfect for using within the bedding area of your rabbits hutch. The forage and fun encourages foraging behaviour and comes in apple orchard or vegetable garden. Can be brought online via amazon.

over view 

Rabbits are a lot of work and can live anything from 8-12 years, They are not a pet to buy without giving it real thought and planning. They also need trips to the vets for injections to keep them safe from sickness ( Reese has her's booked in for next week ) They need feeding and cleaning daily and to be let out to play and run around. They are very rewarding as a pet when treated right, I see Reese as a family pet but really while Bodhi is a little younger and in the winter months the day to day care of her will come down to me, This is fine by me as i am very much looking forward to bonding with her over the next few months. 

Thank you to Supreme pet foods / Natures feast & Kaytee for sending items for us to test out with Reese they are items received in exchange for my feedback and blog post. 

Halloween Party host from home

We love Halloween in our house so i said Bodhi could invite a few friends over for a Halloween party  while they had half term from school, This ended up with x5 5 year old friends and then x6 little brothers and sisters plus the x4 mums! so we had a pretty full house!!

we was SO lucky with the weather on the day of the party , It was dry and sunny so i opened up the doors onto the garden so they kids could run around and play. We also had a few games and crafts planed. few tips if you are thinking of hosting a little party for Halloween or any event.

1- Time the party for after lunch time, This way the children should be in better moods then if they needed feeding. We did a few snacks and this kept everyone happy. Also something to keep in mind if you are inviting younger children who will still need to fit in nap time.

2- Don't stress if no one wants to play games or so the crafts you have planed, Remember they are children and they will be happy just running around ( we had balloons in the garden this was a huge hit )

3- Don't feel the need to have too many sweet treats on offer, Kids who are full of sugar will most likely then turn into little rat bags!

4- State a end time for the party or it could well drag out for hours! Much better to have a few hours of fun then everyone leaves before children ( or parents ) get over tried.

GAMES

eyeball toss - now this pretty much is beer pong ..... but without the beer really! i picked up a bag of eyeballs ( any pingpong type balls will do ) get the children to line up and try to get the ball into the cup, Its harder then it looks trust me! The children enjoyed picking up the eyeballs from the floor when they was waiting in line.

roll the dice game - Lots of different ways to play this game, We kept it simple and they sat around the table with a paper cup each and a spoon, taking it in turns to roll the dice , if someone rolled a 6 they could use the spoon to try and move sweets from the bowl into their cup ! but only using their mouth, the other players keep rolling and once someone else rolls a 6 they then get a turn. All of the children got a turn but some did better then others in moving the sweets ( I had extra sweets to give out at the end so it was fair ) 

We used the sweets from the game to decorate biscuits , This kept them all quiet and it gave me a chance to make the mums a cup of tea, The last craft we did was something i had half done before the party by cutting an apple in half and painting orange and printing onto paper this left the print of a pumpkin, The children drew pumpkin faces on to the prints to take home.

Everyone had a good time and all of the children said how much they enjoyed the games and arts & crafts , i did also make them a little party bag each to go home with, I filled these with items that i picked up after last Halloween so really only cost me penny to fill, only thing i brought new was the sweets! 

So that was our little Halloween party and no doubt i will be hosting one again next year ! I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and please leave a comment if you have been to any Halloween parties or events this year.

1st time Hosting a Babyshower

When i found out that my sister in law was due a baby i knew i had to host a baby shower for her, She is the kindest most giving person i know and i wanted to do something nice for her! only problem was so did so many people !! ( I think in total she had x6 baby showers ) So i wanted to do something for her and baby that was a little different with out the spending going crazy. 

Her shower was very close to her due date ( As it turned out she gave birth two days after the baby shower! ) so i came up with the idea of a spa day / afternoon tea theme hosted from my house. 

I kept things really simple by inviting family and close friends that everyone knew everyone as sometimes i find with baby showers ( and hen parties ) that too many women from different social groups just don't blend well, A lovely lady came and did gel nail for us all and all the guests paid a few pounds each towards mumma bear having her nails and toes done, This was a lovely way for mum to be to feel good about herself before giving birth and lefts face it you get to a point in pregnancy when you can't even see your feet anymore let alone reach down to paint them ! 

food and drink was spilt between the guests i found this really helped to keep the cost down as if i had paid out for all of the food and drinks i would have blown my budget, I brought ready made cakes x12 for £6 from morrisons and other pink basked items ( As we know she was having a little girl ) I also found some lovely baby shower items in pound land and on amazon ( IF ordering the cheaper items from amazon or eBay give your self lots of time some of my items took around six weeks to come ) 

 i was very kindly sent samples to give out to the ladies from Sudocrem, Sudocrem Care and Protect Cream. The cream has been specially designed for baby’s delicate skin, protecting it against the causes of nappy rash. It has gentle yet effective and can even be used on newborn babies. And for mothers, Sudocrem have also launched a Skin Care Cream which has been designed to soothe little rashes and dry patches of skin and it fits in perfectly with a daily skin care routine. It uses the same key ingredients as Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream just in different proportions. It’s also the perfect size for travelling and popping in the change bag, Ive been using mine on my hands are they get super dry this time of year and it is really helping me. Sudocrem can be found in all good retailers and supermarkets , Its a well known brand and one that all new mums should know about , The guests loved having items to take home with them and i added in a face mask and wash cloths to each plate setting for the arrival. ( more information about sudocrem can be found on the website ) 

As for gifting I was very kindly sent items from gift pup they sell a huge range of personalised items ranging from the lovely soft teddy bear seen below to photos gifts or engraved glasses, We was sent a i-love-you-coco-teddy-bear with the words our little girl printed ( as know one never baby girls name ) these are £16.99 and also we had two mugs printed one for mum and one for dad theses are £8.99 and i love the game over mug perfect for dad to be who lets face it don't really get a look in when it comes to baby showers. The site has many gifts that are perfect for a baby shower or newborn gifts and the website is simple and easy to use and the items only took a few days from order to dispatch. 







Everyone had a lovely afternoon and it was a really relaxed baby shower , Mum to be said it was just what she needed and really enjoyed herself and loved all of her gifts and popped her sudocrem in her handbag ready for little ladies arrival. I would like to thank both sudocrem and Giftpups for sending the items for the baby shower in return for inclusion within the blogpost. 

My advice .... Do what you feel the mum to be will enjoy ! try to not stress out and don't go over the top with food or games ( you'll be too busy talking about babies to play them )

Should you take your child to a Funeral ?

Funerals are a hard thing to deal with at any age, But when is the right age to take a child to one? my nan passed away at the end of August and Bodhi ( Who is 5 1/2 years old ) was very close with her.

We visit her most weeks in her care home and to him she was another nanny rather then a grand-nan.
Towards the end of my nan's live she grew more Frail and sleepy i stopped taking Bodhi to visit a few weeks before she passed as i didn't want him to remember her like this. So when i told Bodhi that Granny had died he was sad but he understood that it meant she was no longer in any pain.

In 2016 we lost of a lot of family members so death was something we had already spoken about with Bodhi and we explained it that they had gone to live in the clouds ( as both myself and husband Chris doesn't really believe in God or the after life in terms of heaven and hell )

When i asked Bodhi if he wanted to come and say good bye to Granny he did have a few questions.

" will we see Granny ? "
" Do I have to cry ? "
" will i miss school "
" Can i stand up and say some nice things about Granny "

my answers

" No, ( this idea had come about thanks to American cartoons such as simpsons who have open casket funerals ) Granny will be inside of a casket so we won't see her "

" If you feel like you want to cry then thats fine, It's also fine if you don't cry "

" Yes you will miss the afternoon of school " ( to this he did a little happy dance and i *might* have gotten cross )

" why don't you tell me what you'd like to say and we can write it down and someone else can read your words out? " The thought of 5 year old Bodhi standing up in a funeral talking about his Granny was too much ! I'd have broken.


So when the date of the funeral came around we sent Bodhi off to school as normal and reminded the school office that i'd be picking him up after lunch. Once i picked him up we got him half changed ( School trousers and shoes are perfect funeral wear ) I had ordered him a plain black school jumper for £3 from asda online He looked smart but was comfy.

ON the drive over we spoke about what would happen at the crematorium and told him that it would be like a school assembly, with time for listening and some signing and you had to sit still and not talk. Bodhi asked if we would have to sit on the floor like in school !

The funeral was very short and only lasted around 20 minutes and Bodhi sat really well and held my hand, I was so proud of him and how grown up he was behaving. He didn't cry but he did tell me later that he was sad when listening to all of the stories about Granny.

Afterwards we headed to a local pub and had a little buffet dinner , Now this was when things started to go down hill as i was busy talking to family so didn't take too much notice of what Bodhi was eating , Turns out x3 cookies a cream tea scone , slice of carrot cake and a strawberry tart will send your 5 year old on a sugar rush.

We looked at photos of Granny together and he spoke to family about things he remembers about her and over all i feel that we did the right thing in taking Bodhi to say his goodbyes, Over all though ? Its 100% down to the child.

tips

1) Make sure your child has eaten before the ceremony
2) make sure your child has been to the toilet before the ceremony !!
3) talk to your child , explaining what till happen on the day. I forgot to say about the curtain and Bodhi why they were shutting
4) make sure you have the support of your other half or family on talking your child, IF your husband thinks its a bad idea to take them and they end up having a melt down, they will not help and pull that horrid " I told you so face "
5) do what you think is right for your family and children if you don't think they are ready to be in that kind of environment then don't take them.

I hope this might help others and if you have just lost a loved one then i am sorry.

#ChileanEasyPeelers

One of Bodhi's many nicknames is 'fruit bat' He boy loves his fruit ! I have to keep the fruit bowl stocked at all times but this isn't such a bad thing.

Most mornings after his breakfast Bodhi will help himself to something out of the fruit bowl, Now that he is five nearly six he can peal an easy peeler no problems and loves the fact that he can!

I myself try my hardest to eat fruit but sometimes a busy day gets in the way and before you know it you've gone all day with out eating! I will take fruit with me to my evening job to keep me going.

I try to buy fruit that is in season as not only is it cheaper but i find the fruit tastes so much better when you buy it at the right time of the year, Our Chilean easy peelers are full of flavour, nice and juicy and sweet.

 Bodhi " I love peeling my own fruit , I wish mummy would let me eat all of these in one go. Two thumbs up from me ! "

About Chilean Easy Peeler

The demand for Chilean easy peelers are growing in the UK as the convenient, seedless fruits are sweet in flavor and a hydrating snack, perfect for families.

With year on year growth of 32% in tonnes sold in the UK, the amount of Chilean mandarins sold last season reached over 2,000 tonnes. The predictions for this year’s crop are even greater.

Available in supermarket shelves from September to November, the delicious fruits are the ideal snack for back to school season.

1. Easy peelers are great for children's lunch boxes. Young children love doing things for themselves and easy peelers help them do just this. With easy peelers, children are also less likely to need teachers help to peel these, so they are more likely be eaten rather than left in lunch boxes. Older children love a snack they can grab before studies or while they’re on the go.
2. Easy peelers are a great source of water - they are about 87 per cent water. Children should be encouraged to drink water but eating foods with a high water content such as citrus fruit may help to keep them hydrated too. These are especially great to pack on hot or busy days, or when children are taking part in sports, to help keep hydration levels topped up.
3. Easy peelers are low in calories, fat and a good provider of vitamins and minerals. In particular, they help to provide children with fibre, folate, vitamin C, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
4. Easy peelers save mums time in a morning and as we know time is precious. No more peeling, cutting and slicing when making your child’s lunch boxes - just pop in an easy peel mandarin!
5. To make peeling even more fun, attach a sticker on the peel in a morning when making up your child's lunch box. Easy peelers can also be packed into picnics, passed out and eaten at sporting events or practice, given as a treat and presented to your child when you pick them up for a healthy energy and juicy fluid boost.

This post is an entry for the BritMums #ChileanEasyPeelers Challenge, sponsored by Chilean Citrus Committee.