Win an Olly the Little White Van Prize Bundle

With the Easter holidays only a month away, how would you like to win an Olly The Little White Van prize bundle, as pictured below:

In the bundle you will receive:

Olly the Little White Van, Catch Me If You Can DVD, RRP: £6.99

A beautifully CGI animated preschool series voiced by children's TV superstar Justin Fletcher.  Charlie has entered the Bumpton Go Kart Race and he is racing in a computer controlled kart built by Stan, when the kart malfunctions and will not stop! Olly helps with the rescue mission. Featuring 13 Episodes -  Catch Me if You Can, Bird Watching, Roadside cafe, The Bumpton Rally Driving School, Olly the Cat, My favourite Flavour, Shady Lane Rock N Roll, The Grand Unveiling, Best In Show, Zoo Hill and Olly Cleans Up.

The Olly and Friends Playset RRP: £14.99

The playset includes a floor map of Bumpton, Olly die cast van (60mm), Stan and Mick plastic figures.

Olly The Little White Van Mini Figures RRP: £5.99

Featuring Stan, Mick, Mario, Fireman and Dan!

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Closing date:  24th March 2013

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Jelly Egg - A whole new shopping experience

When I was approached to review a new website called JellyEgg I was intrigued to find out what they had to offer.

What I found was a funky website that offered Men's, Women's and Children's clothing and accessories with brands such as Crocs, The Muck Boot Company, Kiddimoto, Totz and many many more.

I offered an item to review and chose the Crocs Skylar Toning Flip Flop.

I have never considered the Crocs brand for me, but I love their products for kids as they are the perfect shoes for the beach.  I suffer from arthritis in both feet and have found FitFlops really help reduce the pain in my feet but they are pricey and get ruined when I go to the beach, so wanted to find out if Crocs had the same healing effect.

As it is winter, and it has been freezing, I haven't got to wear them outside the house yet, however I have been wandering around the house him them.  They are so light and comfortable it is like walking on air and I have had no niggles or pain so far.

The Crocs Tone Skylar Flip combines the comfort of Crocs' and the benefits of toning in a classic sandal profile. The innovation lies in the three-part patent-pending Crocs Tone sole.

• Sculpted outsole creates a rocker-effect while you walk that initiates key muscle activity to provide toning benefits
• Toning ring provides stability and support
• Comfortable, lightweight croslite footbed provides all-day comfort
• FREE UK Delivery

I am hopeful that they will continue to be comfortable as I start wearing them out and about and they are the perfect substitute for my FitFlops for trips to the beach as they won't get ruined!

We were also sent a Batman Buffs original Headwear to review.  Both my 12 year old and 4 year old love this, so I am going to have to invest in another one!!

The junior Buff is a multifunctional accessory, it will keep the cold out, keep the warmth in, and best of all it looks very dapper indeed! We love these Buffs, and the kids love 'em too, keeping warm has never been so cool!!

There are so many ways to wear it - as a neck scarf, a face scarf, a hat, a bandana - you name it!

For more information, news and offers, check out the Jelly Egg Facebook Page or you can follow them on twitter @JellyeggLtd

JellyEgg is offering my readers a very special offer - simply enter CHELSEA15 at the checkout and get a 15% discount!

Managing Gestational Diabetes

Following on from my post about being diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes I thought I would tell you a bit more about the problem itself.

Gestational Diabetes (GD) is a type of diabetes that some women can develop during their pregnancy.  During pregnancy the body needs extra insulin, a hormone that controls the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood.  With GD, your body does not produce enough insulin so your blood glucose is too high.  This can cause problems for both mum and baby, as the extra blood glucose can cause the baby to grow too large and subsequently make delivery more difficult.

Healthy eating can control blood glucose levels and it is normally recommended that dietary changes and keeping active can control GD, although sometimes, and in my case, you need additional insulin to treat it.

8 Steps to Eating well with Gestational Diabetes

1. Limit sugar and sugary foods and drinks - drink water, low calorie squash or diet drinks and don't add sugar to tea and coffee.  Limit fruit juice, smoothies and milk shakes to one small glass a day and choose wholegrain cereals for breakfast.  Desserts for treats only!!
2. Avoid Large Meals - It is a fact that large meals increase your blood glucose level
3. Eat three regular meals a day - Spreading the food eaten during the day can prevent large changes in blood glucose levels
4. Choose healthy snacks - Snacks can be nutritious - choose raw vegetable sticks, natural yoghurt, Dried fruit and nuts, a small portion of fresh fruit, low fat crisps, twiglets or popcorn etc
5. Eat 5 a day - servings of vegetables, salad and fruit.  I have swapped potatoes for sweet potato, green veg is fine but Grapes, Apples and Oranges are very high in natural sugar!
6. Drink plenty of fluids - but sugar free as point 1
7. Test you blood glucose - aim to be under 7.5mmol/l
8. Keep a food diary - that way you will know what your triggers are and you can see how your food choice and meal pattern affect your blood glucose.

One of the things that surprised me most was the sugar content of some foods you buy everyday at the supermarket.  Most packaging now contains information about the sugar content and some even has a traffic light system to display it.  High Sugar content (> 15g per 100g) is Red / Low Sugar Content (<5g per 100g) is Green.  Sugars can also be listed by different names - Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Dextrose, Honey, Syrup, Invert Sugar and Malt Extract - so you have to be vigilant!

It isn't just sugars to look out for though - starchy foods can increase your blood sugar too.  This is because Starch is a type of carbohydrate that is digested into sugars.  Foods that contain Starch are  - Pizza, Pasta, Noodles, biscuits, crackers and pastry.  the advice is to choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods as they are a good source of fibre.

The best diet to follow to help with GD is The GI (Glycaemic Index) Diet.  Foods with a low GI contain slowly absorbed carbohydrate, which can help prevent blood glucose levels increasing quickly after a meal.  As well as improving the blood glucose levels, low GI foods help you feel fuller for longer so can help with weight control.  In fact, with my last two pregnancies I put on no extra weight (always a bonus).

Low GI food include:  Oats, muesli, porridge, Multigrain bread, pasta, lentils, beans and peas.  Most supermarkets do help and label their foods based on GI too!

My first week of testing has gone quite well.  I have had a couple of high readings, but mostly I have kept well within the target levels I have been set.  I keep glucose tablets with me, in case my blood sugar levels get too low, which is a really horrible feeling - you get hot, sweaty and shaky, but thankfully it has all been OK so far.

I will keep you posted...........

The Perfect Man (when you're 8)

All the way back in 1982 aged just 8, I discovered my (then) ideal man.

He was tall, dark, handsome, brooding and drove the most remarkable car.

I must have watched every episode at least half a dozen times, as the series was repeated over and over again as I was growing up.  If you've never seen or heard of Knight Rider - where have you been?

The series starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight - a modern day hero fighting crime with the aid of his advanced, artificially intelligent almost indestructible car, called KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand).

Ok, so the fashion wasn't the best (it was the 80's), but to 8 year old me he was perfect.  He fought on the side of the good guys, had a good sense of humour - he had to - he drove a talking car and could flirt his way out of trouble!

I was very lucky to have visited Universal Studios around that time and actually got to meet KITT (and talk to him), sadly I was only photographed with David's cardboard cut out, but I was more than happy at the time!

I was devastated when Knight Rider finished, but by 1989 David was back - this time as Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch.

Baywatch was an action drama all about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles and they were led by David Hasselhoff.  Whilst the series was filled with the "body beautiful", he remained my favourite as he seemed more real - well none of this waxed chest nonsense!

In Baywatch

I always looked forward to my fix of Baywatch  - perfect weekend TV escapism.

I still enjoy seeing him on TV and admire the fact that he is not afraid to send himself up.  First there was "Hanging out with the Hoff" with Scott Mills, where he came across as a bit mad, but a loving father nonetheless and now he can be found acting the fool with the likes of Keith Lemon in Celebrity Juice.

Is he still my idea man? - well probably not, but I think he be a very interesting dinner guest!

This post has been written in conjunction with Gala Bingo to celebrate their new Scratch Hoff Scratchcard.

Justin Fletcher - The Best of Friends Album - Review

I cannot believe it was a whole year ago that I interviewed Justin Fletcher about his new album Hands Up.  I remember being so nervous, but he was charming and really chatty.

Hands Up was, and has been, the music choice for the kids for the last year so it was a relief when I found out that he was releasing a new one.  Much as I love him, and the reaction his album gets, I can recite the Hands Up album word for word!

Track One and the album title is his new single "The Best of Friends (Best Friends Forever)".  Whilst it isn't as mad and fun as Hands Up, it has a lovely tune and sentiment about it.  If I am honest I didn't like it at first, but after a few listens I have found myself singing along, and the main thing is - the kids like it!!

The Best of Friends Album was a saviour during half term as we had a couple of long car journey's.  Justin has kept to his winning formula and added a disco beat to children's favourites, only this time, there are more songs rather than Nursery Rhymes.  The track listing is:

1. The Best of Friends
2. Rockin' Robin
3. Ugly Duckling
4. Ten Green Bottles
5. Jump Jive An' Wail
6. This Old Man
7. Reach
8. Pop Goes The Weasel
9. We're Off to see the Wizard
10. One Man went to Mow
11. You're a Pink Toothbrush
12. The Clapping Song
13. Zip A Dee Doo Dah
14. There's a hole in my Bucket
15. Bibiddi Bobbidi Boo
16. Sing a Song of Sixpence
17. Let's Go Fly a Kite
18. If Only I Had a Brain
19. The Prune Song
20. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Isaac was so excited that The Ugly Duckling was featured as it is his favourite song that Daddy sings him.  Eliza goes mad for the Clapping Song and we are trying to learn the routine now (not an easy one for a 2 year old and even Mummy gets confused).  Daddy loved One Man went to Mow, probably as it's a song sang on the Chelsea terraces and I love Bibiddi Bobbidi Boo.  That said, the whole album is fun and Hubby and I found ourselves singing along to songs that we have grown up with!

If you are after an album for the kids to enjoy in the car, at home or even away - this is for you.  I guarantee you'll be singing along in no time!

Justin Fletcher - The Best of Friends is out 4th March.

Upton Country Park

I hadn't been to Upton Country Park in years (apart from a Craft Show), so when I saw they were advertising a new playtrail in Half Term, I just had to check it out.

It was a freezing cold day, but I wrapped the kids up warmly and off we set.  It only takes about 15 minutes to get there from my house so we were all excited that we would have a playtrail much closer to home.

The first thing to report is that was free parking - always a bonus, however there was no signage which directed you to the playtrail so we ended up wandering around the grounds of Upton House and squelching in the mud!

Exploring Upton House

Squelching in the mud!

We saw the first splashes of colour meaning Spring is on its way......















and carried on our search for adventure!

We soon stumbled across the education centre and realised we had been walking around the wrong side of the park.  The first pieces of the Playtrail were just behind it.

Isaac just about managed to climb on this one, but Eliza had to be lifted and there was a big hole in the middle, so I was paranoid she was going to fall through it, as there were lots of big kids charging around!

Next up was a tunnel which had been dug out from tree stump and the workmen you can see was still hammering in nails!!

Lots of the area was still cordoned off with orange barriers, but there didn't look like there was anymore play equipment.  I asked the workmen for directions for the rest of the equipment and we headed off.

It was quite a hike to the woods where the rest of the playtrail was apparently situated, but the kids had fun crunching in leaves and picking up sticks and we were rather excited when we saw these.

Picture courtsey of https://www.facebook.com/uptoncountrypark

I have to admit that we were very disappointed by what we found, and many of the other visitors felt the same way.

I was expecting to see equipment similar to that found at Moors Valley, but in reality nothing was suitable for under 8's - not great when you have two 2 year olds and a 4 year old with you - even the 10 year old was disappointed!  What equipment there was, was tiny and could only accommodate a couple of children at a time and it was so spaced out and not signposted that you had no idea which direction or path you should be going.

We did find a den made from sticks, but I am not sure if it was part of the trail as it certainly didn't look secure.

Isaac was more keen on climbing a fallen tree and running down the hill!

The only play equipment we found were these:

and a rope swing........

The pathways were very, very muddy and boggy in places which you would expect this time of year which made pushing a buggy through very hard going.

That said, the children mostly enjoyed it but more because they got to run around in the woods rather than play on any equipment, but we didn't stay too long as it was absolutely freezing!

Leaf Angels

I will be going to Upton Park again, when it gets warmer as apparently there is a great water play area in the Gardens in the summer months and I am intrigued as to what the Education Centre offers, but unless you have big kids - the play trail is no good!!

For more information, check out their facebook page.

Personalised Chelsea Business Card Holder

Do you ever have a nightmare shopping for gifts for a special occasion - Mothers Day, Fathers Day, birthdays etc

GiftsOnline4U have a fantastic range of personalised, unusual or sporting gifts.

Being a family of Chelsea fans, I often buy something for the kids or hubby that bears our teams crest, but recently I have begun to run out of ideas.  GiftsOnline4U have a fabulous range of Chelsea Gifts and I was lucky enough to be sent the personalised Chelsea Business Card Holder to review.

Hubby is forever moaning about his business cards taking up room in his wallet, or getting creased in his jacket pocket, so this was the perfect solution.  It is slim enough not to take up much room in his pocket and measures 9.5cm x 6cm.  It will comfortably hold 10 Business cards in it.

The business card holder comes presented in a black box emblazoned with the Chelsea crest in silver which looks really striking:

I was really pleased with it and am pleased to report that hubby is too.

It made the perfect gift from the kids and can be engraved with any message you choose, up to a maximum of 60 characters, all included in the price of £20.99

Of course they don't just do Chelsea gifts and you can view the full range of football gifts here.

Don't forget Mothers Day is coming up on 10th March - they do gifts for her too!

For more information and offers, you can find GiftsOnline4U on Twitter and like them on facebook.

Half Price Indian SuperMeals Baby & Toddler Cookbook Reader Offer

AVAILABLE FOR ONE WEEK ONLY!!

Back in October I reviewed Indian SuperMeals; Baby & Toddler Cookbook by Zainab Jagot Ahmed  which is a delightful book detailing flavoursome recipes for babies and young children.  The best thing about it is that most of the recipes can be adapted to adult tastes too - I just add a little more spice!

Then back in December I cooked the Saffron and Date Kheer (or as I prefer to call it Rice Pudding) for the children.

"Although this recipe is suitable FOR BABIES FROM 7 MONTHS ONWARDS it really is a gorgeous, luscious rice pudding that the whole family can enjoy together.

Containing saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, this scrummy delight is subject to a range of health benefits. Saffron contains the compound ‘crocin’, important for good memory and can actually help baby’s ability to learn new and exciting things. Dates are also impressive, with antioxidant power close to that of blueberries; they are a concentrated source of calories, great for boosting energy; fibre-rich helping to keep bowels healthy and are a wonderful source of minerals, potassium, selenium and calcium."

Ingredients:

30g (1½oz) white basmati rice — washed, drained
550ml (1 pint) of whole milk
3 saffron strands
Sprinkle of ground cinnamon
15g (½ oz) fresh dates — deseeded, finely chopped

It was so simple to do to, and the kids loved helping me!

Place the rice in a pot, pour in half of the milk and stir, you will need to save the other half for later.   Bring the milk to the boil gradually on low heat; this will take 5-10mins. Let it simmer (uncovered) until all of the milk has been absorbed by the rice. It will be thick and creamy.

Remove from the heat and mash the rice. 

Return to the heat and pour in the remaining milk. Add the saffron, cinnamon, dates and stir. Simmer (uncovered) on low heat until the milk has reached a thick, rich, gooey consistency. If it becomes too heavy just add some extra milk and stir.  Let it cool slightly and serve!

Eliza and her friends got stuck in straight away and they had clear plates by the end of their lunch!

Indian SuperMeals: Baby and Toddler Cookbook is normally available from WaterStones and Amazon priced from £3.99, but I have an exclusive offer for readers of my blog:

• Indian SuperMeals: Baby & Toddler Cookbook - Half Price - only £1.99 was £3.99
• Offer is not available anywhere else!
• Limited period only - 1 week - From Mon 25th Feb - Sun 3rd March
• Offer is only redeemable though Autharium.com 
• iPad & iPhone not included

It's really easy to redeem too, simply click on this link, Click on ‘buy book’ and enter chelseamamma in the discount coupon box (visible on your shopping basket screen). Then click ‘checkout’ and complete your order as normal. The discount will automatically be applied at the checkout.  

The Baby Show

If you follow me on twitter then you will know that I attended The Baby Show at London's ExCel yesterday.

Sadly I ended up having to drag the kids up with me, which isn't ideal on a three hour journey, but they were very well behaved and were excitedly pointing out London landmarks as we drove through.

We arrived at The Baby Show at about 11am and started making our way around the exhibitors.  It was extremely busy and having been couped up in the car for so long, the youngest two were desperate to stretch their legs and explore on foot.

Thankfully one of the first stands we came across was HappyHopperz, where the children we encouraged to try out the bouncy animals.

Stretching our legs on the HappyHopperz

We are already proud owners of a Happy Hopper, so trying to convince the kids we didn't need another one was a challenge - until we saw they did an XL version for older children and even adults - Kian was in his element, and we ended up going back and buying a blue cow version at the end of our visit, as Isaac was just about big enough to use it too!

Next up, I came across FittaMamma and was immediately drawn in.  I have been suffering with backache for the last couple of weeks and know from experience that this is bound to escalate as my pregnancy continues.  I have been looking for something to help support my growing bump, that will help me be more comfortable when we go on holiday in April as I am likely to be on my feet a while.  They introduced me to the High Support Top and Support Leggings, which I subsequently invested in and will report back!

I then zipped across to the Stokke stand where I met the ever lovely @geekisnewchic, @innocentcharmer, @MrInnocentCharm and @danielleGparker (who has the cutest baby ever who was happily snoozing in a gorgeous bright pink Xplory).  Sian advised me to pop the kids into the free creche for some uninterrupted browsing, which I duly did, only to be called back 20 minutes later as Eliza was crying for me!

It did however give me a chance to lust over the Stokke Crusi, Xplory, Sleepi and Tripp Trapp for a while.

Next up was a trip to see the ever so lovely Charlotte from the award winning MiaTui.  She had an amazing offer on that if you bought any bag, you got a free Amelie too.  It would have been rude not to, so I invested in the Blue Steel Sofia Bag.

MiaTui

We continued exploring and found products from the brilliant - like Trunki (I want the autographed Gruffalo Trunki)....

Isaac choosing his next purchase

To the bizarre - like these Bunk Cots from a local firm TheBunkCot, which caused a lot of negative comments on my Instagram feed - which I think is because the drop side was down and a poor camera angle!  Personally I think they are a great idea if you haven't much space!

Bunk Cots

As a Britax Mumbassador I also made a bee-line for Britax to have a nose at their new addition - The Affinity which is gorgeous.  Isaac has decided the baby needs a blue one!!

Britax

I had my Britax B-Agile double with me, and ended up giving a test run to a couple of people, even showing them how it was folded as theirs was out on the stage at the time of my visit!!

The kids favourite stand of the day was Fisher Price as they got to chill out and relax in a giant bouncy chair, whilst I checked out all the goodies.

I now have a list a mile long of things I want for the baby, and it is probably a good job I only had limited funds yesterday otherwise I would have had a car full of goodies to bring home.  I  love Huddle and Bliss, SnuggleBundl and Skibz.

I am not sure how I managed to miss a few stands out that I had been meaning to visit, but having little distractions with me, plus my baby brain didn't help!

My only other purchase was this Widgey Nursing Pillow, which I think is perfect for twitter addict me!!

I must give a special mention to BumpkinBabies who took the most beautiful photograph of the three kids I had with me.  I just wish I were closer to book them in for a full sitting!!

Would I go again?

Yes, but I would make sure that I had no kids with me, as it was very busy, very hot and they were a distraction I didn't need!