Today I'm launching a great giveaway to get you into the festival mood. The sun has been here, the t-shirts are coming out, and I for one am looking ahead to lazy Summer days and music while I lounge on the grass and enjoy the fresh air. Braided bracelets, beads and feathers will be everywhere by mid-July and Interplay are giving you the chance to make your very own personalised festival jewellery.

It's that time of year when we start browsing handkerchiefs and wondering when ties went out of fashion, and then resort to some 97% dark chocolate like every year because we know he'll be really pleased with it anyway... It can feel a little bit lame, so here are some ideas that think outside the box a little bit more..

Scruffs Hardwear. The entire Scruffs range is designed to be hardwearing and long-lasting. Scruffs are a brand we've reviewed for before, and their Scruffs t-shirt is just as good quality. Heavyweight cotton, nicely printed and really very good for an £11.99 t-shirt.


Scruffs don't only sell clothing though, they have a range of useful accessories, from belts and gloves to bags, and even shockproof, water-resistant watches at £19.99. Ideal for a Dad who likes his sports or DIY, or has a manual job and needs something a bit tougher. It's very big, it's very orange! If big orange watches aren't his thing, then how about a Bottle Opener Belt at £11.95?

It's no secret that our youngest family member loves vehicles, playing outdoors and getting messy, so I knew a review of the John Deere Big Scoop Excavator would be perfect for him. I kept it a secret until the rain went away too, as I knew he wouldn't be able to resist taking the excavator outdoors...


I wasn't wrong, he was very impressed. This is a big excavator - around 50cm long when extended, and designed for children aged 3 and over. My youngest is 5, and loves this sort of toy as he can be rough with it and get it filthy without getting into trouble.

Drumond Park are one of our favourite games manufacturers and this one is very different! Designed for 2-4 players aged 4+ there is no board, there are no counters, no timer. Instead we have a snarling spring-loaded dinosaur and a whole nest full of baby dinosaurs that you are trying to pinch!


Drumond Park's Dinobite only requires 2 minutes assembly. Attach the dinosaur to the main part of the model and insert  2 x AA batteries, switch it on and you are ready to go. The batteries power the sound, which plays dinosaur style jungle noises throughout, and the timing to release the dinosaur.

It's been a long while since we reviewed any Orchard Toys, but we still play them all of the time, and our youngest received a couple of new ones for his 5th birthday. He's been a reluctant reader and writer, so we were sent Match And Spell so that we could see what he was really capable of!


Orchard Toys Match And Spell is suitable for 1-4 players aged 4+. Your child could possibly gain from it even younger, as no knowledge of letters is needed before you begin.

Last year was my first visit to Britmums Live. I was scared and it was so huge, but actually, once I got there I found it was pretty darn awesome. Everyone was friendly and lovely, and my only regret is that I didn't get to meet all of the people I'd hoped to meet.


Although I was nervous last year, it doesn't come close to this year. While everyone else is out choosing outfits and fretting about looking okay, I still have a Hernia operation to look forward to this week (please God let it happen this time - 3rd time lucky), so I can't even begin to know what shape my belly is going to be in 3 weeks time. I won't be able to lug a big bag around with me, so if you see someone wearing the same crumpled badly-sized outfit twice, it'll probably be me.

I also have a far more important reason to be nervous. This year I'm not only going as a Blogger, I have been asked to read one of my blog posts in the Bloggers Keynote on Saturday afternoon. 

I can't tell you how proud I am that one of my posts has been chosen for the Bloggers Keynote. I work very hard at my blog, far more hours than a full time paid job would require, and I always give my best. It's a very bittersweet moment for me though, because the post I'll be reading is about Elspeth.

I don't know if I can read it all, but I'll try, and I will have brand new Mum Pippa from Red Rose Mummy standing beside me to take over if I falter, and a sea of lovely people who have been there for me all along in the crowd. I do know what I'll be wearing though, and it'll be the dress Elspeth helped me choose for Britmums last year. She chose well. I'm 2 1/2 stone lighter, but I think it'll still do the job. She blogged herself, she read my blog, and I know she would be proud were she here.

Thanks again to Jen from MyMummy'sPennies for the photo

Last year my sponsor was the fabulous Drumond Park, and this year I have been part sponsored by the PR company who work with Drumond Park, Langshot Communications. Behind Langshot Communications are two awesome ladies who have become good friends over the last couple of years, and I'm very proud to be associated with them. If anyone else wants to sponsor me for the rest of my costs, please get in touch, I'll be more than happy to discuss it with you.

Nerves and all else aside, I am looking forward to Britmums. I am looking forward to thanking lots of the people who have supported us in our darkest times, and collecting some of those hugs I've been promised. I am looking forward to meeting some of the PR's who help make this blog interesting and varied, and I'm looking forward to learning from the speakers and hearing the other bloggers read their posts.

Don't be shy, say hiya.

The Beach Book is one of the latest books to be released by Frances Lincoln Publishers, and will be available to buy from June 4th. Written by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield, it is full of ways for your children to spend their time safely around water.


Whether your water is a river, a lake or an ocean, there are loads of fabulous ideas in this book. Fiona and Jo  have previously had great success with The Stick Book, The Wild City Book and The Wild Weather Book, and I think The Beach Book will be just as popular.

No-one wants to have to tell their innocent, wide-eyed little people anything bad. We don't want to crush a single one of their dreams, but death is our only inevitability and they will encounter it, most likely completely unexpectedly and at a time when you aren't in a good position to have to try and explain it to them.

When their loved one dies your child will exhibit all kinds of unusual behaviour. Every example I give in this post, we have been told is absolutely normal and to be expected, so hopefully it will be helpful and maybe save you asking or worrying yourself.


Children fall into several distinct groups, and you will see that very clearly in their behaviour and what they say:

• Children under 2 will generally not be able to appreciate what has happened. I didn't have children under 2 at the time of our loss, so I won't talk about them in this post. 
• Children between around 2 and 7 will be able to grasp an idea of death and permanence. 
• 7 to 17 year olds will all behave in much the same way, and it is only once they are over this age that they react in the same way as adults. 

When we were first told this we thought it unlikely, but we did see that in our experience at least, it was true.

We were due to be going to the Geronimo Festival last weekend, but unfortunately my hernia operation was cancelled a second time, and it would just have been too much, so we arranged to send a deputation in our place (their review will be coming up in a few days time)...


Missing out on Geronimo meant we could still take advantage of the gorgeous weather, go North to the Lake District and watch my partner's parents take part in a Horse And Pony Event. We don't get to see them very often as they live 200 miles away, so it really was a lovely opportunity.

It's no secret my two young boys love My Little Pony DVD's, we've reviewed a few in the past and they're always popular. The latest release from Hasbro Studios is My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - Baby Cakes, and it is in the shops and available on digital download from Monday 25th May.


Baby Cakes cointains 5 episodes from Friendship Is Magic season 2 - Baby Cakes, Hearth's Warming Eve, The Last Roundup, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and Read It And Weep. The DVD is suitable for children of all ages, with a Universal rating, and a runtime of 1 hour 45 minutes. If you are lucky, your version will even have free badges!