Inside the Wendy House

When you are a 4 year old, playing make believe games is a big part of what you do! One minute you can be a superhero fighting crime, next a train driver en route to the seaside. Role play games can be inspired by using props, which help bring to life the games that are born from a child's imagination.

Bigjigs sent Freddy a box of wooden groceries featuring solid wooden blocks, beautifully painted to represent a range of familiar food tins and packets. Each one has the product name and an image on them, and make perfect creative stimuli for role play games involving shopping, cooking or kitchens. From budding chefs to little shopkeepers to busy mums and dads, the scope for pretend play is as big as the child's imagination itself.

Freddy arranged his groceries to create his very own grocery store. He loved 'selling' the cans and packets to his sisters, his dad and to me and shouted out "Come buy your food here!" like a seasoned market trader. We enjoyed going to Freddy's shop and we paid for our shopping in his currency of choice... chocolate coins!! Playing shopping games is a great introduction to understanding money, although Freddy's prices were super inflated...£101 for a cornflakes, tomato sauce, cookies and orange juice! I know prices in the shops are expensive, but thankfully they aren't this bad yet!

For children, playing games based on the things they see grown-ups doing, helps them to make sense of the world around them, encourages empathy and teaches important social skills. Role play exercises children's minds, allowing them to grow and develop while having fun.

Role play is just one of the ways that the Bigjigs Groceries can be enjoyed. Little ones can practice colours, counting, 3D and 2D shape names, letter recognition and reading the 'food' related words. Freddy also loved stacking the similarly shaped blocks into towers and organising them by shape and size.

Bigjigs range of role play toys includes a wonderful range of gender neutral products including kitchens, market stalls and village shops along with a host of food accessories, fruit, vegetables, bakeware, scales, tills, shopping baskets, kitchen appliances and cookware, all beautifully crafted in wood.

Taking an interest in food through role play provides an opportunity for parents to talk about healthy eating with their little ones and lets future budding chefs cook up a (mess free) storm in the playroom!

Find out more about role play toys on the Bigjigs website.

This Friday, join me for a Zack & Quack Twitter Party from 3.45pm to 5.45pm.

The party is timed to coincide with the Nick Jr UK premiere of their brand new show Zack & Quack at 4.30pm. We'll be sitting down to enjoy the show and Tweeting about what we think.

Zack and his friend Quack love to make things out of bits and pieces in their pop up paper world, so the theme for this party is arts and crafts.

As well as washing the show, we'll be getting crafty and making models using boxes, glue, glitter, paper plates and pompoms. It might get messy!

Throughout the party, you can join the party hosts, @NickJrUK and @UKMumsTV on Twitter and if you join in the fun using the hashtag #zackandquack you could win some great prizes.

Twitter parties can be lots of fun so I hope you will join us to celebrate the premiere of Nick Jr's new show Zack & Quack!

Playground crazes and the latest toy fads have always been a big part of children's lives. From the early days of hula hoops and jacks through to the emergence of Pokemon cards and Power Rangers, there always seems to be a must have toy that kids simply can't do without. These toys and games have defined our childhoods.

As a children in the 70's I remember the fad for having a tennis ball in the leg of an old tight. We'd stand against the wall and bounce the ball from side to side, swinging it from one side to the other. Looking back it seems a bit pointless, but at the time it kept up entertained and amused for hours. In a pre-technological age, I guess we had to get our fun where we could find it!

We played marbles and I recall all the names of the cats' eyes and steelies that we used to covet, as we played for keepsies. Pom-pom and tig were favourite games and we used "ip dip sky blue" as a way of picking who was "it" and we crossed our fingers and called "cray nights" to protect ourselves from being caught. We kiss-chased and we double-dutched and we played elastics at play time.

All these fads I remember with a fondness, but one playground fad still haunts me to this day.

As I became a mum, back in 1988, I was thrust back into the world of must have toys. We collected football stickers, Pogs, Tazos, Corinthian big headed football figurines and those souvenir coins that came free with petrol. We read Goosebumps books and bought Mighty Max and Polly Pockets sets galore. We saw the re-emergence of the yo-yo with all its tricks and we saw the comeback of the Rubix Cube.

However, it was the invention of the Tamagotchi that I will never be able to get out of my mind.

In about 1997, the keyring sized gadgets from Japan swept across the UK. Children were adopting the virtual, pixelated pets, hatching them and raising them by pressing buttons to feed, exercise and clean up after them. If you failed to successfully manage the life of your Tamagotchi, it died.

Understandably, my children became obsessed with their Tamagotchis. They were forever feeding them and shovelling their virtual poop. From morning to night, the Tamagotchis hung from the waistband of their trousers so they were on hand to fulfil the needs of their electronic pet. But then the reality of having to go to a school where Tamagotchis were banned reared its ugly head!

Consequently for six hours a day, my children were unable to care for their pixel pets, so who would be landed with the responsibility of Tamagotchi care...yes, it was me. With two Tamagotchis to watch over as well as all the other things that I had to do in a day, the pressure was immense. On picking the kids up from school, their first question was whether their Tamagotchis were OK. The audible sighs of relief upon seeing the happy little critters on the teeny tiny screens only added to my great sense of responsibility.

I did my best, I really did. But one day I just forgot. I forgot to check if they were hungry or soiled or needed playtime. I set the things down and got on with some housework and that was enough to make my son's prized possession keel over and give up the will to live. The sight of the little Tamogotchi ghost and the headstone displayed on the screen, where once was a smiling digital pet made me panic. What would I tell the kids? I'd let them down. I was a virtual pet murderer.

On picking up my kids I was crestfallen, guilt-ridden and with my head hung low I admitted my crime of gross neglect. I confessed: "I've killed your Tamagotchi," my voice wavering with the enormity of my betrayal and my failure to fulfil a promise to keep the thing alive.

But in true form, my son just shrugged and said, "I'll get a new one."

Thank goodness for the flippancy and resilience of young kids along with their desire to get a newer, shiner model. They are always after the next best thing!

This post was inspired by the Oxford Open Learning and their Amazing Crazes timeline of nostalgic toys.

This Valentine's Day, if you are looking for some cute, quirky and great value gifts to treat the man in your life, then it's time to defy convention. Forget about looking for tacky toys or novelty presents in expensive gift shops, florists or jewellers...check out Sports Direct. With hundreds of products available online or in store, you'll find perfect presents for your other half...even if he isn't that sporty! Many of the items are under £20 so you'll find some top bargains too.

Here are my five fab finds that Ian would love to receive on Valentine's Day.

Lee Cooper Hi-Top Trainers £12.99

I love a man in a pair of canvas hi-tops. They are playful and bring back memories of being young and carefree. They remind me of summers spent having fun, being impressed by him doing tricks on his skateboard whilst looking casually and effortlessly cool. You're never too old to embody the inner skater boy! Give these to a guy to let him know that you love him heart and 'sole'!!

Superman Classic Folded Wallet £14.99

Let him know that he is your superhero with this fun take on a sensible gift. Wallets are always a really acceptable present because, after all, we always need somewhere to keep our cash and cards safe! This one is perfect for fans of comic books, embellished with classic comic strip artwork and bearing the Superman logo. With the resurgence of DC and Marvel, many man have a secret (or not so secret) hankering to be a superhero...and this Valentine's Day, I'll happily be Lois Lane to Ian's Superman!

Arsenal Mini-Football Table £17.00

Whether he supports Chelsea, Man Utd, Spurs, Liverpool or Arsenal, re-enacting on pitch action with a mini-football table can be most cathartic. The near misses, the great saves and the goals will never be as much fun than when played out together through the medium of table soccer. It's a chance to embody the Premier League players and get a bit competitive. What's not to love?

DC 3 Pack of Pyjama Bottoms £11.00

I love lounging around, snuggling on the sofa and watching a good film together. In fact that would be my ideal way to spend Valentine's Day evening, after enjoying a delicious meal for two. Cracking open a bottle of red and settling down with a movie, feeling all comfy and cosy is a wonderfully relaxing way to round of the evening. If you throw these super cool DC PJ bottoms into that mix, the night just gets even more chilled. I love the Iron Man, Thor and Hulk, Spidey & Captain America designs. And as previously mentioned, many men love the whole superhero thing, making these a fantastic gift idea. Perfect to cuddle up in!

Calvin Klein Two Pack boxers £19.99

They are classic, sexy, snug fitting and something that every man should have in his pants' drawer. The hot pink trimmed CK's are the perfect Valentine's Day underwear. The waistband peeking out over the top of his jeans is a designer fashion statement boldly declaring that this guy is confident, smooth and isn't afraid to flash his pants in public. A great gift that is practical, while still be a little frivolous and cheeky!

Find these gifts and more at SportsDirect.com.

My Valentine's Day planning is underway. Although currently riddled with a really heavy cold, I have my fingers crossed that I will feel well enough to celebrate the day according to our family tradition - a romantic dinner for the whole family to enjoy together! It's a great excuse to do something special and we enjoy extending the remit to include the children, and not just focus on myself and Ian. We'll have plenty of years when it's just the two of us when the kids leave home, so we prefer to include them while we still can!

I have got a load of Valentine's Day decorations to decorate the dining room and a planned menu for a three course meal with Red Velvet Cupcakes to follow.

It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling to give token Valentine's Day gifts to my loved ones. But I still like to retain my thriftiness and like to get a bargain. Homemade cards, framed photographs or home baked treats make wonderful and thoughtful gifts. Even if you have a budget of just £5, there are some lovely bargains to be had this year. Here's a few suggestions.

If your other half is a film fan, then why not add a DVD to their collection? Whether you think they'd enjoy a good rom-com or if they'd prefer an action film, Aldi has a great range of films starting at just £2.99. Perfect for a Valentine's Movie Night. Just add popcorn, chocolates and a glass or two of wine for a great budget night in.

Don't forget the kids! There are some lovely films in the Aldi range for little ones too. So you can enjoy a family film night, or let the kids watch a movie in bed while you enjoy some uninterrupted time together!

For a sweet toothed loved one, how about this chocolate heart from Asda? Just one of a range of confectionery gifts starting at just £1. A lovely way to show someone that they make life sweet!

This net of chocolate bees are perfect for your honey! They make a really cute decoration when scattered across the dining table. Tastier than table confetti!

These bricks from Asda are a fun way to get the message of love across. They are a novelty gift that could double up as a quirky alternative to a card. Simply write your own message on them with Sharpie marker for a personalised keepsake. They are just £2.

Make breakfast in bed for your loved one and start the day with a smile. These toast stamps are a playful way to say 'I love you' and start the day in a romantic mood.

For just £1 you can treat someone you love with a gift box of HARIBO Heart Throbs. They also make brilliant and cheap toppers for homemade cupcakes.

Instead of dining out this Valentine's Day you could save a fortune by eating in. If you don't feel like cooking

something from scratch, you could get in a Valentine's Meal Deal. Lots of supermarkets have meal deals allowing you to dine at home in style. Asda have a deal on their Extra Special range for two to dine for just a tenner, available online and in store in selected stores. It's so much cheaper to eat at home and you also save on transport costs and babysitting - plus no one has to be the designated driver!

However you decide to celebrate, I hope you have a really happy Valentine's Day!

We received the items featured from Aldi and Asda to review.

Lyle's have a new, easy to use, mess free Breakfast Bottle to add to their range of Golden Syrup products. The handy sized bottle has a flip top lid and non-drip valve making it easy to squeeze some delicious Golden Syrup over your pancakes or porridge in the morning. It will bring a smile to breakfast time, especially welcome at the moment with this awful weather we are having!

Freddy loves to start the day with a bowl of porridge topped with a golden syrup smile. The girls love it on American pancakes. The new Lyle's Golden Syrup Breakfast Bottle is much easier to use than spooning from a sticky jar or tin and makes a minimal mess, even in the kids' hands.

Lyles have come up with some great recipe ideas to liven up your morning porridge. How about serving with juicy blueberries, hazelnuts and a squirt of golden syrup? Or how about pomegranate and berries or even a sticky toffee apple topping? You can find details of these and other Golden syrup recipes on their website at www.lylesgoldensyrup.com.

The new Lyle’s Golden Syrup Breakfast Bottle is available now in Tesco, Asda and Ocado stores nationwide with an RRP of 1.75 (340g). I received a bottle for the purpose of this review.

In today's world, we are all under threat from potentially dangerous situations involving the internet. Our identities, our bank details, our online credibility, our precious photographs, our music collections and our hardware itself are all risk from online crime and viruses. But potentially more damaging than any of that, is the risk to our own children's safety.

Thankfully, there are things we can do to protect ourselves from such risks and keep our families safer online. For TalkTalk Broadband customers, HomeSafe provides a simple way to keep control over the websites accessed by the household. Any type of site deemed unsuitable can be blocked across all devices connected to your TalkTalk broadband. This means you can prevent your children from accessing sites that feature gambling, pornography or other unsuitable content whether they are on their phones, laptops or PCs.

HomeSafe also features a Homework Time setting where you can set a time where children are banned from accessing social media and gaming websites to prevent them procrastinating online when they should be doing their homework. Useful if this is a bone of contention in your household!

HomeSafe is incredibly easy to use. You simply access your TalkTalk account online and switch Kids Safe and Homework Time to ON. There is also a Virus Alert which blocks infected websites to prevent you from getting a virus on your devices by accessing dangerous sites.

The beauty of HomeSafe is its simplicity. You are in complete control from the moment you switch the protection on, giving you confidence and peace of mind when the kids are online. It's a great free service for parents who want to keep their family safe from some of the potential risks of being online.

For £2 a month you can upgrade to the Super Safe boost which also protects your identity, bank details and other information from security threats and detects and removes existing infections, keeping you protected wherevr you are connected online.

You can test how internet savvy you are by taking the Internet Age Calculator quiz. The Internet Age Calculator puts your online knowledge to the test by asking eight questions about the online world to give you an internet age based on research of 1,000 7-14 year olds.

I did quite well and got the same score as a savvy teenager! You can take the test here.

For top tips on how to keep the family safe and to find out more about TalkTalk's range of services, take a look at their website atwww.talktalk.co.uk.

We are trialing TalkTalk as part of their Family Blogger programme.

At last, a weekend where the sun was shining and we were all germ free! It was absolutely wonderful to head out for a lovely walk and play in the fresh air. Freddy donned his wellies and made the most of the weather as he climbed, ran, slid and jumped to his heart's content. I hadn't realised just how much I have missed the great outdoors, and we fully intend on making the most of all the local places we are lucky enough to live near.

Today's adventure was to Bridgemere, which includes Britain's largest Garden Centre and covers 50 acres of land on the Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire borders. There are extensive gardens to explore which have lovely play areas for the kids to enjoy. There is also a restaurant, a cafe with a soft play area and some great shops. Freddy was delighted to spot one of his friends from school and had a lovely play with him in the indoor play area while we enjoyed a nice hot drink. It's lovely to see him so sociable and joining in with the other kids. He used to be so shy and reserved, now he gets stuck in and makes new friends wherever he goes. It reminds me just how far he has come!

Hopefully we will see many more lovely weekends where we can enjoy many more lovely family days out.

Freddy: Is orange a good thing to eat?

Me: Yes, oranges are healthy things to eat.

Freddy: Is candy bad for you?

Me: Yes, it's unhealthy to eat too much candy.

Freddy: Is it because candy is sharp on the edges and goes down into your neck and cuts your throat and then blood drips down inside you and goes into your legs?

What goes on inside my boy's mind?????

It's been cold and wet this winter, and we've suffered from an extensive list of minor ailments that has made me think I should just hibernate my family away until springtime. The start to 2014 has on a whole been quite glum, but for the first time I have had a glimmer of hope for brighter days and better health. After the onslaught of storm after storm after storm, something magical happened this weekend. The wind dropped, the rain stopped and the sun shone again. Not only was mother nature being kind with the weather, she also saw it upon herself to allow myself and the kids to feel well after weeks of battling various viruses and spreading germs among ourselves in an elaborate game of pathogenic pass the parcel.

It's amazing how a little winter sun can lift the spirits and energise the soul. So, dressed in our cosiest woollies and armed with some snacks to keep us going, we headed off to have some much overdue family fun in the great outdoors.

Freddy has only just got himself back on track after struggling with a nasty virus that lead to a secondary infection and a problem with his glands. But in the last few days, we've seen him go from strength to strength and a day in the sunshine proved the perfect tonic! His big sisters also benefitted from getting away from being stuck indoors and had great fun unleashing their inner child and getting down to some fun and games. You are never too old to simply get back to basics, put away your electronic gadgets and devices and enjoy enjoy the simple pleasure of being outdoors.

Days out don't have to be elaborate or expensive. Simply being outside sparks a child's imagination, giving them the freedom to explore, challenge themselves physically and look at their surroundings with their natural curiosity. Little ones can discover mini-beasts that scurry away when their leafy homes are disturbed. They can spot little plants pushing up through the soil and buds bursting from the branches of once dormant trees. They can splash in muddy puddles, emulating the favourite pastime of Peppa Pig, and watch as they create little waves and ripples around their feet. Simply feeling the sun on your skin and the gentle breeze tickling your face is a joy, and something that we have all greatly missed.

Freddy was free to embrace his little outdoor winter adventure and he loved every minute of it!

And when all that playing, exploring, discovering and challenging left the kids feeling a little peckish, a quick Barny cake bar filled with apple or strawberry filled them up sufficiently and gave them the energy to play some more!

“This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Winter Little Adventures Challenge’ sponsored by Barny, individually wrapped bear-shaped sponges with a hidden filling. Find out more about Barny here.”

I love displaying my favourite photographs in my home. Liberating the virtual images from my hard drive and creating beautiful works of wall art is a wonderful way to showcase much loved pictures.

I've been given the chance to make a canvas with Canvas Design and I chose a photo of my three girls and Freddy taken at the Alton Towers Scarefest last October. I love the autumnal colours, the detail, the composition and the kids' faces as they smile for the camera in front of them.

The end result is absolutely brilliant. This photo does not do it justice. The colour, the print quality and clarity of the canvas is wonderful. It is well constructed with a deep pine frame and a tight cotton canvas, and comes ready to hang. The service is speedy and efficient with 48 hour delivery and the online prices are really competitive. Prices start at just £7.99 for a 6 x 6" canvas and delivery is free.

A bespoke canvas would make an excellent gift for Mother's Day or any other special occasion.

You can get a big 15% discount off when ordering from Canvas Design using the code BLOG15

PLUS this is your chance to win your very own canvas from Canvas Design using an image of your choice.

To enter simply fill in the Rafflecopter entry form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Little Fun Fest is back for 2014 promising top class fun for little funsters and their families...and I am delighted to have been chosen as one of the Little Fun Fest Bloggers for this year!

The Big Top plays host to some brilliant entertainment from children's TV favourites alongside workshops, puppet shows, music, storytimes, face painting, rides and games to keep little ones thoroughly entertained.

Providing a perfect festival experience for little ones, the Little Fun Fest promises to be a wonderful weekend where children are surrounded by music, magic and fun in the beautiful setting of Dunham Massey on April 5th and 6th. I'll be there with 4 year old Freddy who is very excited about meeting Dr Ranj!

Look out for more information, a competition and an exclusive discount code coming soon to Inside the Wendy House. Early Bird tickets are available to buy now online.

Find out more at www.littlefunfest.co.uk.

Pop Chef is the funky gadget that allows you to make 'pop out treats in seconds'. Consisting of six shape cutters that attach to the device, it allows you to cut shapes from food, like melon, cheese, bread or apple, and then pop them out of with a squeeze of the popper. It is safe and simple to use and allows you to have fun with food and create some fancy food bouquets and sandwich masterpieces.

You don't need to use sharp knives or cutters so Pop Chef is perfect for little ones to experiment and create edible food creations. I let Freddy make himself some mini cheese sandwiches. He chose the heart shaped cutter and was able to cut and pop out the shapes to make an adorable quadruple decker treat which he stuck onto a skewer and thoroughly enjoyed! I liked that the Pop Chef was simple enough for Freddy to use independently, and it encouraged him to eat his sandwich with gusto. He is a very fussy eater so anything that gets him actively interested in eating gets a thumbs up from me!

For Valentine's day, the girls made some heart shaped cookie treats. They cut the shapes out and made cookie lollies and iced a little 'I <3 U' message on some. We used some to decorate desserts making an attractive decorative effect.

The Pop Chef would be an excellent way to add interest to fruit salads or to regular salads by including stars, hearts and flowers to the mix. It would also be useful in cake decorating, allowing you to cut shapes from fondant icing to use as cupcake toppers. It would be far less fiddly than using a metal cutter on a work surface, as you don't have to handle the icing shapes.

I used the Pop Chef to add some heart shaped cut-outs to the top of my Mushroom Pie. It is lovely to use for pastry as the pop out function keeps the shape perfectly intact. The bulb allows you to pop the cut foods out of the cutting tube really easily so you don't have to handle them. No more having to scrape them up from the work surface or poke them out of cutters with knives. I look forward to experimenting more with this gadget, because quite frankly it's a lot of fun!

Pop chef is a great way to involve the kids in the kitchen, developing their creativity and encouraging an interest in healthy eating by making fruit and vegetables fun. With some practice, kids could make some elaborate fruit bouquets by threading shapes onto skewers and arranging in a pretty display. a great idea for parties!

It comes with six shapes, the popping bulb, a pack of skewers and a recipe booklet. For approximately £10 it is good value for money and a really fun way to get the kids involved in food preparation.

Find out more here: Pop-Chef

Fans of Lalaloopsy will love the new issue of 'Love From...' magazine that is available in shops now. Each edition includes two separate magazines, a craft activity, a free stationery or accessory gift and character stickers, giving little ones loads to do.

The main magazine features educational content for girls aged 4-6, with stories, quizzes, puzzles and posters. The second magazine includes craft ideas, colouring pages and drawing tutorials and is printed on matte paper. Each issue focuses on a favourite licenced character.

We received a copy of the Lalaloopsy edition of the Love From...magazine. It is really lovely and the branded bag was packed with fun things for little girls to do.

The craft activity was a door hanger set complete with glitter glues. There were also lots of colourful stickers and a cute little stationery set with a sparkly bag and pencil, sharpener, rubber, notepad and little bag.

The magazine featured a lovely tutorial to make a cookie ingredients jar as a gift. It included a recipe, cut out labels and instructions.

The craft magazine is packed with things to colour in, doodle and draw and the matte finish makes it easy for children to colour and cut the paper. Colouring in on glossy paper with felt tips makes such a mess!

The format of Love From.. magazine is really good and there is lots to keep little girls busy!

Zack & Quack is the new hit TV show on Nick Jr featuring Zack and his duck friend Quack who, together with the help of their friend Kira, enjoy adventures and solve problems in their pop-up paper world. To celebrate the premiere we were invited by UKMums.tv to host a crafts party to coincide with the showing of the first episodes. Armed with mountains of cardboard boxes, glue, stickers, paper plates, cardboard tubes and lots of imagination, the party guests made their own creations inspired by Zack & Quack!

There were cardboard cameras, paper plate faces, decorated treasure boxes, iced biscuits, origami Belly Up frogs and a brilliant box racing car! Crafting is always so much fun and kids love to get creative.

The Zack & Quack show itself kept a roomful of boys and girls totally engrossed! They all really liked the animation and the humour had them giggling. The stories were fun and the children loved how Zack solved his problems by making things out of paper in his pop up world. It was definitely a big hit.

Look out for Zack & Quack on Nick Jr at 4.30pm on Fridays. You can also check out the Nick Jr website on www.nickjr.co.uk/shows/zack-and-quack where you'll find lots of craft ideas and activities. You can also watch clips from the show and meet the characters.

Whatever the occasion, Baker Ross has a great range of craft products, which will inspire the kids into making some brilliant creations. With Mother's Day fast approaching, we received some lovely items from Baker Ross, perfect for making homemade gifts for mums, aunties or grandmas on their special day.

There were wooden trinket boxes, wooden jewellery trees and flower pots ready to be decorated using the range of stick on gems, rose stickers, bows and pearls. We also received pre-printed cards that were ready to decorate with felt tips and other embellishments plus the items needed to try our hand at Decopatch. Such lovely ideas for treating mum on Mother's Day!

The children enjoyed the craft activities, working together to create some really lovely, quality craft items that would make really acceptable gifts. The complexity of the activities can be suited to the age and ability of the child. At 4, Freddy was able to stick stickers and colour in with felt tips independently and he was very proud to show off his finished pieces!

11 year old Kizzy was able to do more intricate designs, adding embellishments and personalising items to her own taste. 17 year old Ella tackled the slightly more fiddly and much more messy Decopatch and did a great job making a floral jewellery tree.

I love the wooden keepsake trinket boxes. They have a hinged magnetic lid and are made really well out of quality wood. They can be painted, varnished or decorated with stickers to create a personalised design. At just £4.98 for six boxes, this is great value. Kizzy chose to decorate hers using acrylic flower jewels (£3.99 for 180), satin bows (£2.99 for 72) and pearls (£2.99 for 120). Freddy used the felt rose stickers (£2.99 for 90). Decorating keepsake boxes is a great idea for an activity at a children's birthday party and would give guests a lovely gift to take home with them.

The wooden jewellery trees are just £2.75 for a pack of two. They are free standing and have branches so you can hang your jewellery on them to keep it safe and tangle free. They are ideal for decorating using Decopatch, choosing from the varied designs of paper available from Baker Ross and sticking pieces on the tree using special glue with a stiff brush. The Decopatch paper is £3.49 for 3 sheets and the varnish glue is £5.99 for a 150ml pot. The finished effect gives a colourful, shiny and water resistant finish.

Kizzy liked the au naturel wooden look of her jewellery tree and simply added self-adhesive pearls to decorate it. Maybe she was being a bit lazy, but the end result looks lovely covered in her necklaces and rings!

The Design Your Own Flowerpot Kit consists of 4 pots, each with a paper insert which can be decorated to make a pretty end result. Planting the pot up with a houseplant would make a very nice gift for Gran. The Flowerpots are £4.96 for 4.

The pre-printed Mother's Day cards are such an excellent idea. They can be decorated with paints, felt tips or crayons and lend themselves brilliantly to the addition of googly eyes and hair accessories. At £1.99 for 8 they are an excellent price. there are also some pop-out heart cards at £2.56 for 8. Both sets include envelopes so the handmade cards will be ready to send to a loved one.

As ever, I have been really impressed by the quality, range and value of the Baker Ross products. The children all loved creating some lovely craft pieces and did a great job learning new skills and using their creativity.

You can find all the products mentioned above and hundreds more at the Baker Ross website, where you can order online and see some inspiring ideas for art projects. Check out the Baker Ross blog for arty inspiration!

Follow Baker Ross on Twitter @bakerrossltd for special offers, craft tips and giveaways!

My children have packed lunches at school and I like to make sure they eat healthily but still enjoy what they have, especially important with my fussy 4 year old Freddy.

Cawston Press sent us some of their new Kids' Blend juice cartons to try in Apple & Summer Berrries and Apple & Blackcurrant flavours. Consisting of ripe pressed fruit and water in a 60/40 ratio, they are a lighter, milder tasting juice yet still give you one of your five a day. They contain absolutely no added nasties and are sweetened only by naturally occurring sugars making them a perfect drink for little ones!

They come in handy slimline 200ml cartons with a straw so are perfect for when you are on the go with the kids.

The flavour of the juice is pleasant, refreshing and natural tasting. Kizzy and Freddy both enjoy it and I am happy that they are having a drink which is free from potentially harmful artificial sweeteners. Being mixed with water, the juice isn't too harsh on their teeth, unlike pure fruit juices. So it ticks all the boxes for me.

Apple & Pear and Apple & Mango flavours are also available. Find them in Sainsbury's and Tesco for £1.79 for a three pack.

There are twelve quirky, cube shaped pets or'Cupets' ready to be brought to life via a free downloadable app, in this new range of interactive toys from Flair. We were sent Alpha the Cupet Wolf and we have been looking after him, feeding him, bathing him, playing ball games with him and entering the amazing Cupets virtual world with him, for a couple of weeks now...and do you know what? We have grown to love him!

The Cupets themselves are small cube shaped toys with a face on one side and a QR code on the top. The toy comes to life when used with the app which is available on Android and iOS. By inputting the code you can access your Cupet, bring him to life using augmented reality and play with him within the game on your phone.

Cupets need taking care of, much like the old Tamagotchis of the 90's. You give them food, love, rest and exercise to keep them healthy. As you look after your Cupet, he uplevels and unlocks more features on the app. There are a few fun games where you can earn coins which can be exchanged for food, accessories and medicines. One is a lot like the very addictive Temple Run and I may have spent a lot of time on it in an effort to beat my high score! They can be played offline which is a bonus, so are good for keeping Freddy entertained whilst out and about. In addition to this, you can earn achievement medals for fulfilling certain care criteria.

He's a bit dirty and not very happy!

With a bit of attention he is now bright eyed and bushy tailed!

You can even teach him to read!

He enjoys playing dressing up too!

Augmented reality brings him to life.

You don't actually need the physical Cupet toy to play on the app, except for when using the AR function. The augmented reality feature is a bit of a novelty but we can't get our Cupet to do much apart from simply sit there and look cute or poop! For us the app is the thing we really enjoy and the physical Cupet provides the initial code to access that.

If you have more than one Cupet unlocked they interact and it opens up more game possibilities. I am sorely tempted to get another one for Freddy!

You can take photos using the app and share to social media. Here is one of Alpha holding up a 'Freddy' sign which Freddy thought was very cool!

The Cupets cost £6.99 each which gives you the physical cube toy and the access code for the free app. Find out more here: www.flairplc.co.uk/Cupets

I have been trialing the LighterLife Fastpacks as part of a 5:2 diet programme. Overall my experience has been mostly positive. I found I lost an average of 2-3 lbs a week if I ate well for the remaining five days of the 5:2 plan and I found that I felt pretty satisfied during the 600 calorie fast days. If I ate a bit too much on the five days I maintained my weight and didn't put any extra on. It is very easy to follow and is an effortless and fuss free way of ensuring you get all your RDA of nutrients without exceeding the calorie count.

You can take a look at my earlier posts on the LighterLife 5:2 plan and on the LighterLife fastpack food.

I liked how convenient the plan was, you can choose which days you want to fast on and you can even take the Fastpacks with you away from home (kettle and microwave access is needed for some food preparation). It works well around the family as you can eat together five days a week, making a dieting mum less of an issue for impressionable youngsters. You can also work around special occasions where food is on the agenda, so you don't have to miss out on any events because you are on a strict inflexible diet.

The only negative I found was that I increasingly found that I missed fresh food. As my five day diet improved, I found the call for 'real food' did too. Don't get me wrong, the food is not at all unpleasant. In fact it is all really well flavoured. But as a vegetarian much of my regular diet consists of fresh fruit, vegetables, pulses and lentils so the fastpacks are quite different to what I usually eat when I'm on a health kick. But I kept telling myself it was only two days a week and the benefits were clearly evident from the onset. And so the convenience and reassurance of the programme outweighed this minor negative.

I'm not very keen on shakes as meal replacements if I'm honest. Although these are quite filling, they just feel like a drink to me - not a meal. So I was impressed to see LighterLife Fastpacks having the variety and including the meals which gave me the psychological benefit of having something proper to chew on for my dinner. I was pleased that both the carbonara and bolognese are veggie friendly and tasty.

What the 5:2 diet did really well was give me the discipline that I sometimes lack when it comes to making decisions about eating. Knowing that I could get by and not be hungry on 600 calories made me reassess my food intake. This has lead to me being far more pro-active about healthy choices. I have found the LighterLife Fastpacks to be a good short term solution for a 4-6 week diet that is incredibly easy to manage and which provides all the necessary nutrition. It is good to kickstart a healthy eating regime or to lose a few excess pounds before a special occasion. It is also a really useful tool for ideal weight maintenance.

One thing I would like to see is a variety Fastpack box available. At the moment the packs contain four of the same product. It would be nice to see a day's food with a porridge, a soup, a meal and a bar available to purchase as a unit. That would make it more accessible to anyone wanting to do a one off short term 5:2 programme and try a variety of the foods available.

I thought the spaghetti bolognese was a really good diet meal that I would be tempted to enjoy as a low calorie lunch in its own right. Also the Toffee bars would make a great everyday, low calorie and nutrient rich snack for when my sweet tooth needs sating. So these products have potential to find their way into my diet even if I'm not doing the 5:2.

There was only one time that I really struggled which was the week when Freddy was really ill. I was stressed, hadn't slept for nights and felt lousy. Restricting calories when feeling like this did not work, leaving me feeling worse and very irritable. Commonsense really tells you that at times like this the diet has to take second place to simply getting yourself through a hard time.

And if I ever have to remind myself why it is important to keep my weight down and eat healthy I just need to look at this before ~~mugshot~~ photo. I know selfie #2 is a bit blurred but the lack of extra chins is still clearly evident! The LighterLife Fastpacks were just the kick start I needed after the excesses of Christmas and helped me avoid the comfort eating that often accompanies the miserable January weather.

For more information on LighterLife and the 5:2 Fastpacks go to www.lighterlifefast.com

Fastpacks are available in Superdrug stores and online.

Dear Internet,

You and I have had a very healthy and happy relationship for years. You entertain me. You make my life easier and more interesting. You are always there when I need you; reliable, accessible and reassuring. You are a wise friend and an expert that I look up to when I need advice. Through you I have found many friends and discovered some wonderful and inspiring ideas to enrich my life. You give me a creative outlet and gave me a new lease of life when I needed it most.

I want too for my children to enjoy the wonderful resource that is the online world. I want them to be free to play, chat, read, watch videos and run through the myriad paths of knowledge and discovery with joyful abandon. But sadly I know there is danger lurking out there. These dangers are my biggest fear.

Because, dear internet, you have a dark side. A side that terrifies me. And when it reared its ugly head I felt powerless and horrified by its emergence as it run amok in our life.

You see I have a daughter. A beautiful, intelligent, talented, amazing daughter. But a daughter who has become a little bit broken because of you. A daughter who has suffered at your hands, or moreover at the hands of those who use you to to abuse, bully and destroy others.

A daughter whose vulnerability was exploited through the use of cruel words, insults and instructions on how she should kill herself, which wormed their way into her psyche. Messages sent by weak, cowardly people intent to cause maximum pain and suffering. With the ease of anonymity and the ability to do and say things that they would never have the courage to say face to face, they were able to chip away at my daughter's confidence with no thought of the consequences. Begging them to stop only served to fuel their venom, as they descended like a pack of hyenas waiting for the kill. Exploiting weakness and breaking down defences with words meant to hurt. Cruel, cutting words typed anonymously on a keyboard by pathetic perpetrators who hid behind an anonymous facade to attack her for whatever sick and twisted reason it was that motivated them.

Thankfully she survived. She weathered the storm and came through the other side. She had support. She found the courage. It stopped. We moved on and put this episode behind us. But you never forget. She didn't come out unscathed. She was hurt. Violated by their hatefulness. The scars on her wrists will be a constant reminder to her. And to me.

So dear internet, although I love you, I wish you had the power to prevent these anonymous bullies from having the unencumbered freedom to hurt others because they are somehow different to them or are a threat to their own insecurities. Virtual bullying. Cyber bullying. It's no less dangerous, no less damaging than any other form of mental abuse. Just ask the families with children who didn't come through the other side. Those who didn't have the support to get through it. Just ask those that mourn teen suicide victims. Those kids that were psychologically beaten down and forced into doing the unthinkable as their only way of escape.

We can try to equip our children with the emotional tools to deal with this kind of violation. But sometimes, despite our best efforts, it manages to worm its way into a child's mind, paralysing them with shame and degradation. Hitting a nerve that makes them powerless to stop it. With the wisdom of age, we know that victims could easily disconnect their wi-fi, switch off their phones and turn their back on the source of their pain. But many vulnerable youngsters have their own deep inner insecurities stoked and can't simply walk away. The hate directed towards them reflects the self-loathing that grows from the constant belittling and berating they suffer online. They cannot separate the two. It's a form of self-harm to suffer at the bullies' hands. It's a vicious circle. A cycle with potentially fatal consequences.

This dark side is my biggest internet fear. I fear it because I have seen it. The helplessness. The relentlessness. The violation. I fear it because it just too easy for the trolls and the bullies to execute their cowardly attacks from their virtual hideaways, ruining lives and invading the personal space of their vulnerable victims without a second thought. Tearing down confidence, shattering trust and trampling over the remaining fragile sense of self, from the comfort of their own bedrooms armed with only a keyboard and a frightening lack of empathy or humanity.

Anyone, anywhere can become a victim. The next prey. And it can escalate fast. And it is utterly merciless. I may fear it, but it has made me more vigilant. Stronger. More aware. Ready to react if ever again I recognise the signs. I just hope and pray that I never, ever have to see it again.

Yours,

Wendy

“This post is my entry into the Check and Secure challenge. For more advice on family safety online, see Mums on Security.”

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