Last weekend before leaving for our long summer holidays in the Czech Republic, we drove to the beautiful town of Windsor, to visit the Legoland. It is just half an hour on the motorway from us, but unfortunatelly, there was so much traffic it took us much longer than expected. Both girls were very excited as they haven't been there before.
When we arrived, we picked up our press tickets and started exploring the wonderful Legoland. Isabelle and her cousin were amazed at all the sculptures made only of Lego. They all looked amazing. I cannot even imagine how long it must have taken to put these together. As we arrived just after lunch, we thought we would have plenty of time to explore the whole of Legoland, but even leaving almost at the closing time didn't give us enough time. So one thing to remember when going, make sure you spend there the whole day, it is definitely worth it.
There are so many attractions, for different age groups, which proved that both girls, one aged 4 and one age 15 were having fun all the time. I think the best is to show you a few short videos from our visit, to give you an idea what to expect. Trust me, they are worth watching!
The above video was shot when we were exloring the MiniLand
The last attraction I must mention is the new Atlantis Submarine Voyage, which was definitely the highlight for me and my niece. Isabelle was a bit scared at first, as there were little sharks swimming around, but I think she loved seeing all the colourful corals and fish. It was definitely worth queuing and can imagine, that the next time we are back, we will check it out again!
Mums and dads everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief this summer as Fisher-Price opens its first ever airport play area and shop. Bringing some welcome moments of calm to stressful travel time and long delays, the Fisher-Price play area will serve some of the 18 million passengers and 1.2 million families who pass through the south terminal every year. Designed for tots from newborn to 5 years, the play area and shop will open on the 28th July, just in time for the busy summer holidays, and will stay open until 28th October.
Fisher-Price Sing & Go Choo Choo (second prize)
Animals are amazing and so is this musical choo choo! Place any of the animals in the engine car to hear happy animal tunes. This engine is motorised and features lights, music and sounds as it goes, encouraging baby to follow along. Complete with 3 animal friends, each chunky figure is full of rewarding activities like movable clicking joints, textured feet, rattles and teethable ears.
Priced around £35
Suitable from 6 months +
Bounce ‘n’ Spin Zebra (first prize)
Babies will be bouncing around with excitement with this fabulous zebra! The Bounce & Spin Zebra bounces up and down and spins around when baby sits on it, keeping them active. 5 energetic songs play and when baby bounces there are fun sound effects to encourage him to keep moving! Handlebars feature fun activities and two Go Baby Go characters provide extra fun.
Priced around £57
Suitable from 12 months
How to enter?
Fisher-Price have just opened a new play area at Gatwick airport to try to combat some of the stress of summer air travel. To celebrate the launch of this new play area I have teamed up with Fisher-Price, and they have donated a Fisher-Price Bounce n Spin Zebra and an Amazing Animals Choo Choo Train to All Baby Advice readers. All you have to do to win one of these is:
Leave a comment on this post, including a way of contacting you in case you win (e-mail address or twitter ID (compulsory)
and for extra entries (max 3) you can:
click this button to show you like this competition
and let me know you did so
comment on one of my non- competition/ non- gallery posts and let me know which post you left your comment on
mention this competition on Twitter including @Kahanka and the URL of this competition post in the tweet and come back here and let me know you did so, and leave your twitter name too.
Please use a separate comment for each entry!
Maximum 4 entries!
Only entries that have completed all the compulsory entry requirementswill be counted!
Thank you!
Terms and Conditions:
The closing date of the competition is 30/08/2011
The winners will be chosen at random from all entrants.
The winners' names will be made available on this page and on Twitter. If the winner does not respond to our request for a postal address within 5 days, a redraw will take place.
Competition is open to residents of the UK and Ireland only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.
The All Baby Advice decision is final - please don't quibble.
And the winners are:
First prize
Second prize
Congratulations to @ellielucky(lorna.peppiatt) ( first prize) and hana (Mfjuice@gmail.com) (second prize)
Please e-mail me your name and address at allbabyadvice@yahoo.co.uk
Only entries that completed all the compulsory entry requirements were counted!
If you asked me a few years ago, I would have probably had no idea what you meant by social media. I wasn't using Facebook, Twitter or blogging back then. But the situation these days is very different. Why has it changed? I think that becoming a mum and being at home has had a huge impact on my social life. Also moving from Sydney to London meant that most of my friends weren't around and I had to find or look for new friends, which was completely different once having a baby.
I was very lucky as my mum came to stay with us in London when Isabelle was just 6 months old and was looking after her during the day, while I was setting up a website. I was learning the HTML code and learnt how to create a website using Joomla software. At that time I knew nothing about blogging, so what I set up was a baby website based on my and my friend's tips, recommendations on products, and I had also incorporated affiliate marketing and was expecting to make some money within a few months. I also spent a few months researching SEO, what keywords to include, etc, and managed to get page rank 3 soon after launching my website. Unfortunately, there wasn't much traffic getting to my website, which meant not much money!
Then daddy told me about Twitter. I checked it out and couldn't understand how that could help to promote my website. But then I didn't give up. I read a lot about Twitter, and Twitter strategies, etc, I did my research and suddenly a new world opened up to me. I came across many parenting blogs, mummy bloggers and I also started writing my All Baby Advice blog, which soon was getting much more traffic than my website which took me 6 months to build! Anyway, we all learn by making mistakes, and I only wish I had started blogging straight away instead of designing the website, but on the other hand, I had also learnt a lot about the HTML code, SEO and other things which are very handy for my blog these days.
The last one to mention is Facebook. I was keeping Facebook for my family and friends for a very long time. I just wanted to keep it private. Also the amount of time I spent on Twitter and blogging meant I kind of had not that much time left for being on Facebook. Recently I explored Facebook a bit more and found out you can promote your blog on so called "page" from your account, which is completely different. This means I still have my private profile for my friends and family, but can also promote my blog to my readers.
I have to admit I love social media and am getting addicted to it more and more. The only time I kind of turn off is when we go on family holidays, as my family is still the most precious and most important thing to me, but I can tell you, it is not always easy to switch off!
A while ago I was sent the Zumba Fitness for a review. From following my Fitness Tuesday you know I was very excited about Zumba a while ago, until I went to check out a Zumba class at my local leisure centre. That was a fiasco, and for the first time in my life I left a fitness class in the middle.
Since then I have had a few conversations about zumba on twitter, and many people have suggested the instructor was the reason why the lesson was so bad. Anyway, when I was sent the dvds, I was excited again, and Isabelle and my niece Caroline were too.
And what did we think about it? I think it's brilliant you can learn all the steps separately, at your own speed. All the basic steps are slowly and clearly explained and showed, and even my 4 year old Isabelle followed the instructions without any difficulties, just check out the video.
And what did we get?
Zumba Fitness Basics and 20-minute express
Zumba Fitness Sculpt & Tone
Zumba Fitness Cardio Party
bonus DVD - Zumba Fitness live and Flat abs and total-body transformation guide
bonus toning sticks
I can tell you, that I don't usually do any exercises according to dvds in front of a telly, but this can be a great start for learning Zumba at your own pace. I will definitely be spending more time doing so after our long holidays at my parents' weekend house in the Czech Republic.
I am very pleased that our little collection of Richard Scrarry's books has grown again. This time we were sent the Best Busy Year Ever. As usually it is full of wonderful illustrations, and this time it tells children all about the different times of the year. I believe this is a great way how to show your children the difference between seasons and what activities can be done when. It also gave me a few tips what to do this summer.
I can just say that this is another great book which will keep your little one entertained and will educated at the same time, a great book for pre-schoolers.
I normally don't ask a company for a product for a review, but I have seen so many people talking about the Totseat, especially now in summer, that I just wanted to check it out too and find out if I will be another fan.
When the tiny parcel arrived, it ticked the first box, as it is very compact and can be taken absolutely anywhere with you. I really like the idea it can fit on any chair. I tried it on our dining chair, and also on a round chair at my friend's place, and both times it was really easy to put on. The best thing to do is to watch the video on their website or read the instructions.
Unique benefits of the Totseat:
thanks to its pioneering design and simple but effective safety features, the Totseat fits dining chairs of literally any shape and size!
central to the Totseat design is the fact that little ones get to sit in an adult chair at the table, just like everybody else
Totseat is suitable for children of between eight and thirty months old. The child must be able to sit unaided before using the Totseat.
comes with a lifetime guarantee
So, what is the verdict? I think it's the best travel seat I have ever seen. Not only you can choose from so many funky designs, but it is also machine washable, and very compact and light. It has passed all the necessary safety tests and Totseat donates 10p from every Totseat sold in the UK to Child Accident Prevention Trust. This will be definitely added to my "travel essentials" list.
As the summer holidays have just started, we are off to spend them away from London, with my family and friends in the Czech Republic. Isabelle is very excited and am sure that she doesn't really understand that she will not be seeing daddy for quite a few weeks...I am excited too, but very sad at the same time, as this will be the first time he will not be spending a few weeks with us there. Well, life is not always easy. I will come back for 10 days, which will be nice for daddy I am sure, at least he will not feel that lonely, and also we will have a chance to go for a dinner or to the cinema together.
I am looking forward to spend a lot of time with my family at our weekend house by a beautiful lake, and just hope the weather will be kind to us. I am also planning to focus on Isabelle's swimming, she has improved so much, and can swim for a bit without any armbands or anything, so now the focus is going to be to extend the time and am sure that by the end of the summer, she will be even more confident.
This doesn't mean I will stop blogging for a few weeks....cannot imagine that really, as blogging is so important to me, and luckily ma parents have an Internet connection there. I will probably have even more time as Isabelle will be looked after all the time. I am looking forward to being spoiled by my parents and enjoy real holiday.
There was no way I would resist testing a Snugabub, a very new product invented by an Australian mum, which according to their studies helps babies sleep up to 4 hours longer at night and reduces the risk of SIDS. I had a few volunteers for this task, that's how popular this was. That's what happens once you hear about a product that can give you more sleep at night!
Anyway, using the fitted sheet is very easy. If you watch the video, it gives you clear instructions and also shows you how to position you baby. You can chose from 3 different sizes, 0-6 months, 6-12months and 12-24 months. The Snugabub sheets are made with 100% pure percale cotton because the more natural the fabric the greater its breathability. The double pick 250 thread count cotton used has been carefully chosen for its incredible softness – perfect for sensitive new baby skin – and anti pilling properties.
The sheets are designed specifically for babies and have 4 key aims in mind: 1. To ensure that baby stays in the safe sleeping position – on their backs at the foot of the cot 2. To ensure that bedding stays securely in place to minimise the risk of entanglement 3. To ensure bedding is the correct size for babies with no excess material. 4. To allow babies to sleep sounder for longer, feeling ‘snug’ and secure.
Fitting instructions: • fit the base corners of the sheet around the bottom of the mattress. • tuck the tailored side furthest away firmly under the mattress. • place baby in position; on their backs and with their feet at the base of the cot, ensuring the sheet is under arm to shoulder height. • tuck the side closest to you tightly and securely under the mattress to make baby snug. • to remove, simply untuck the side closest to you, leaving the sheet ready and in place for next time.
And how did Snugabub did in our test? Well, my friend confirmed that fitting the sheet was a piece of cake. She liked the fabric and agreed there was no extra material left after tugging in her son. She found that her baby slept better, which meant not waking up that often, which resulted on extra 2 hours of sleep on average. That's what I call a result! More sleep means happy parents!
I have been fighting this flu for over a week now, and there are days I am better and then I just feel like I have to use the time and take Isabelle and my niece somewhere nice. We were given some tickets to the Willows Farm Village, originally we were invited for this weekend, as there are many new and exciting things happening. Unfortunately we will be packing for our long summer holidays then, so we went on Wednesday instead.
This wasn't our first visit, as we live just half an hour from there. The last time we went Isabelle was about 2.5 years old, and it was around the Easter, so you can imagine how busy it was. This time, we went in the middle of the week, after lunch and the weather wasn't great either, so I expected almost no people to be there. To my big surprise, there were still quite a few people, but the amount was bearable, we didn't have to fight over toys or queue, so both girls really enjoyed it and I did as well. Just check out my video, to get the feel of what you can do there.
Summer Spectacular Event
Parents can keep their children entertained this sizzling summer holiday at Willows Farm Village, near St Albans, Hertfordshire during its Summer Spectacular event running 23rd July to 4th September 2011.
Willows Summer Spectacular can be enjoyed by families who are looking for an action-packed day out. New activities to try for 2011 include the JCB Young Drivers Zone with mini-JCB diggers and tractors available for children to pedal around a miniature track, and the Rabbit Racers sit on ride.
Returning for another summer is Willows A-maize-ing Maze, grown from maize seeds and open all day for children to explore. The whole family can take part in this adventure and as children find their way through the maze they can search for the names of Willows friendly scarecrows, with a £100 Willows voucher prize draw entry for every completed form.
Children will also be spoilt for choice with all day adventure play activities with unlimited access to inflatable play on the bouncy haystacks, fun fair rides, frisbee golf and the agility play trail to name just a few of the activities. There are also nine different shows daily to enjoy during Summer Spectacular, with something starting every half an hour, from Daft Duck Trials and the Sheep Show, to Sing-a-long-a Woolly.
Willows Summer Spectacular will hold summer sports day races twice daily, where children can test their balancing skills in the egg and spoon race and bouncing talents in the space hopper race. Certificates will be given to all children who take part.
And if the sun decides to have some time off there is plenty of indoor play including Woolly Jumpers indoor play barn, Captain Chicken’s Egg Dodge and Young Chicks Activity Area.
New for this year, Willows Farm Village has teamed up with Kids Play Childcare to offer an Ofsted registered summer holiday camp which runs in conjunction with Willows Summer Spectacular event. Parents can leave their children for a day of fun, where they will be supervised and catered for from 8.00am to 6.00pm. Children can make new friends as they enjoy hours of playroom fun, shows, rides and outdoor activities with all drinks, snacks, lunch and dinner included in the daily package.
I cannot believe today was the last day of Isabelle's pre-school. I can still remember when she started last September, when she talked about her new friends and I had no idea who they were. Isabelle was very lucky and had some fantastic teachers and made some very good friends. She loved going there and am sure that she will miss her friends during our long summer holidays. Luckily she got into the same school, so she can be looking forward to re-uniting with her friends in September. I still cannot imagine her being at school for the whole day. I know I have many plans what to do with the time, as the few hours I had while she was at pre-school went always so quickly...but one thing I know for sure is that I will miss her so much. I know I cannot stop the process of her growing up, but there are moments like today when I secretly wish I was able to do so, and she would just stay like this for a bit longer.
Anyway, we are very excited about our summer holidays with my family and friends in the Czech Republic. I will manage to come back for 10 days to spend a little time with daddy, and then daddy should also come for a few days to see us over there. I know how much he will miss us, but this is the only time Isabelle can spend a lot of time with her cousins, grandparents and other family. I am sure we both will miss him so much, but hopefully we will be on the phone quite often or on the skype. It is all very exciting and sad at the same time, just the same like the last day at Isabelle's pre-school.
I cannot believe our Isabelle will be starting school this September. Last week we had a reception induction meeting, and one of the points discussed was a school uniform. A few days later I went to the shops and bought her most of the clothes needed. One thing I didn't have to buy were shoes, which is usually the most expensive item. We were sent some absolutely gorgeous shoes from VIVOBAREFOOT.
Isabelle doesn't like black colour, but she couldn't protest this time, as she has to wear black shoes for school as everybody else. The shoes we were sent are called Pally, and also come in other beautiful colours, but as I wanted some very good quality shoes for her to wear to school, I asked for the black version. When she was opening the box, and saw how nicely each shoe was packed in its own shoe bag, she loved them even though they were not her favourite pink colour. Then we started exploring the texture of the inside, the sole and the surface of the shoes. The shoes come with VIVOBAREFOOT patented ultrathin puncture resistant sole, which offers all the health benefits of barefoot plus protection. You could see that the shoes are of a very high quality, from the stitching, lightness and the look of them. I really love the idea behind designing the VIVOBAREFOOT shoes, and believe that these shoes will be looking after my daughters feet really well.
VIVOBAREFOOT are strong advocates of the fact that kids’ feet need plenty of space to grow in their shoes. The company has teamed up with Tracy Byrne, a leading podiatrist who specialises in Podo-Paediatrics, to create a fun and colourful animation that explains the science behind our shoes, how it benefits children, and why barefoot really is best.
It is estimated that 80% of foot problems are attributed to misshaped and inflexible shoes.
Because of the high proportion of cartilage and other soft tissue, the developing foot can be deformed under the persistent pressure of wearing incorrectly shaped or rigid shoes.
The child’s foot does not fully mature until age 18–19 for girls and 20–21 for boys and growing evidence supports that children’s shoes should be designed on the barefoot model.
As a mum of course I don't like when my daughter doesn't feel well, and am sure that it's the same for all parents. I was used to a completely different health system when living in the Czech Republic. When I wasn't feeling well, my mum used to take me to see a pediatrician. I also spent a few years living abroad later on and it took me a while to get used to different health systems. But that was just regarding myself, not my daughter. When it comes to your child, you really think differently. I still remember my husband telling me not to go to the doctor as he would not give our daughter anything anyway. I went anyway and the scenario was exactly as predicted by my husband and I finished up in tears.
It was very difficult for me to get used not getting any medicine from a doctor for Isabelle, as she was too young. Of course I am talking about minor illnesses like colds, coughs, nothing serious, but I still wanted to make her feel better and do maximum for her. Maybe it was because I remember as a child being given syrups, drops, etc to make me feel better. I am not complaining at all, and I got used to it after a few years living here, as this is our home now. There are still a few medicines I bring from my visits back home, as I believe they really help Isabelle, but I have also learnt that there will be times I will not be able to do anything to help her. That sometimes time and rest is the best medicine. I actually think that the ideal would be something in between. I have also seen my Czech friends who were definitely just overcautious about things I wouldn't worry about thanks to living here.
Our Isabelle is a very lively child, and she just seems to be full of energy all the time, so the first sign that there is something wrong is that she seems tired. The worst times we have had so far were when she had chicken pox. Our poor Isabelle had a severe case, and it was a real struggle for me not being able to go outside with her as she could spread the contagious illness. I will never forget the sleepless nights, sleeping with her in her bed and cuddling her so much. And then, after a few days, it was over. She started eating normally, and was also interested in doing silly things. That was the sign for me that she is much better. What a relief! Nobody wants their child not to be well, and isn't it the nicest feeling once they are back to their normal selves?
Not long ago I was sent a very interesting product, that was designed by a mum, Francine Lyle, who was trying to keep her twins entertained. It is the Bondie Bird Playwrap. When you check out the above imagine, it will give you an idea of what are all the activities your little one can be doing. It is suitable from newborn, and is designed to be worn around a parent's shoulders. But that is not the only way it can be used!
wrap it around your baby's waist
suction it to a high chair or table top
in the car, or on a plane - wrap it around the head rest, or suction to the window as a sunshade
hang it from your baby's cot
I think it's a brilliant kind of travel playmat, which you can always pop in your change bag, and it will keep your little one entertained for ages. There are so many different shapes, textures and sounds to explore. You also don't have to worry it will get dirty, as it is machine washable. All toys are removable and can be used separately. I also liked that the inventor has thought of two extra clips to attach your baby's favourite toys and that it comes with a travel bag. There is something to entertain babies from newborn up to the age of 18 months. All in all, I think it's a great product, which many parents would really appreciate when out and about!
Special features include:
squidgy cow with mirror
textured tags & ribbons
natural wooden necklace with rotating circles
jingly bells
crinkly butterfly with squeaker
teething ring
fun fur bean bag with fun fringe
machine washable cotton base, colours and patterns of cotton base promote baby's eye development
interactive peek-a-boo mirror
suction cups
travel bag included
comes with two extra clips to attach baby's favourite toys
I cannot believe that almost a year ago I started my Fitness Tuesday (20/7/2010). It is funny to go back and look at how many people wanted to be involved at the beginning, and how many are involved these days, but that's not the most important thing to me. I am so proud I managed to record my fitness progress week by week. Especially, as one day I will be reading the posts about how I was training for the London Marathon, how I felt, how desperately I wanted to get to the finish line, and I did and am very proud of it.
Not all of you are crazy about running like me, but we were trying to encourage each other to do at least some kind of exercise to keep fit, which is very important even for mums, there is no excuse, as everybody can so some exercises even at home, and that was what we were focusing in the first few weeks.
From twitter (@Kahanka) I know that there were a few of you, mostly tweeting about your progress, which resulted in not many people commenting, but you know what, I don't mind. I am very happy to have the progress of my fitness tracked here and am looking for more wonderful weeks and posts about keeping fit.
Last Saturday we were invited to a fabulous event organised by my favourite brand Adidas. If you followed my training for the London Marathon 2011, you could have noticed I very often and proudly wear the three stripes clothes, and the trainers I chose for training and running the Marathon were also from Adidas. I have to admit I love the style, but most importantly the fabrics and cuts they use for sportswear. When I started running in my new Adidas shoes, it felt like having cushions inside them and I didn't have even one blister after running the Marathon in 5 hours and 1 minute!
But enough about my love for Adidas, and now more about the really well organised event I attended with daddy , Isabelle and her 15 year old niece. I have managed to shot a short video, to give you a little preview of the products you can soon see in the shops. So just sit down, relax, and take notes....!
Adidas and Disney have teamed up once again to launch a new kidswear range, this time to celebrate the release of Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2, in UK cinemas from 22 July. Children can look forward to a colourful collection inspired by new Cars characters Finn McMissile, a secret agent from the UK; Francesco Bernoulli, Lightning McQueen’s top rival from Italy; and Shu Todoroki, a race car favourite from Tokyo. Star race car Lightning McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater from the original Cars movie also features as part of the collection. Expect a mix of fun stitching details, woven badges, special zippers, double piping and prints to give life to each character. The footwear makes use of the Cars 2 logo, cool upper graphic details and clear rubber outsoles visibly showing the different character themes. Cars fans can also enjoy a range of matching accessories in the collection such as trucker caps and quilted and padded backpacks with lively prints and the iconic Adidas 3 stripes.
This autumn/winter Adidas presents a kid’s collection featuring the London 2012 Olympic Games official mascot, Wenlock. The range remains true to the greatest sporting event on earth by presenting playful, vibrant, apparel across two ranges: Mascot Rainbow and Mascot Champion. The branded Mascot Rainbow collection features Wenlock and is designed for children aged 3-6 years. This leisure apparel collection incorporates colourful 3-Stripe pieces which highlight the rainbow heavily featured in the Wenlock and Mandeville short animated films. Available for both boys and girls, the range features crew t-shirts, track pants and top in pale pinks, jade greens, blues and oranges to add to its appeal. The Mascot Champion collection will appeal to older children (aged 8-12 years) with classic, sporty elements featuring the London 2012 Olympic Games logo and mascot Wenlock. The outfit-driven concept led by apparel can be worn for any occasion, whether it’s going out to meet friends, for after-school sports classes, or just hanging out at home.
All children can now own a part of the London 2012 Olympic Games history with this unique, sport inspired collection from Adidas.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Adidas for organising such a great event, filled with children's activities ( face painting which was admired not only by Isabelle, but also by her 15 year old niece, balloon sculpting, meeting the London 2012 Olympics mascots by me...as Isabelle didn't really want to) and refreshments ( a need for daddy). The girls were really nicely surprised by Adidas goody bags, and both of them couldn't believe they had also received Adidas trainers. Check them out!
A fish and a snake by my 4 year old daughter Isabelle
My 4 year old daughter Isabelle is a very lucky girl. She lives with her mummy and daddy, and has everything she needs and more. Not every child is so lucky. I have been contacted to raise awareness of a new project called Heart For Art, which should show to the children who live in Foundation 18 that there are many people who care about them and their lives! We send them images from our world, our hearts and they send us what the world looks like to them.
Foundation 18 is the group home where the kids live in Indonesia. Foundation 18 has 9 girls in the group home aged 3 – 13 and 24 more children in the education outreach program. They take a family into the program so if there are 3 kids, 2 school aged and one toddler, they provide for all of them. Foundation 18 pays for the cost of their education, gives them clothing and a monthly staple food donation (usually 10kg of rice, sugar, eggs, milk powder, formula for babies, water, oil etc). These children still live with a family member, usually an uncle or grandparent, but still get the benefits of the program. There’s a long culture in Bali of sending children to orphanages when there are living parents simply because the parents can’t afford to keep them. Foundation 18 refuses to take children who have families, if their home is safe.
How can you help?
*To get involved with Heart For Art we all just need to make something for these kids and get it sent to them! Sending the kids some stationary supplies they could use to write back would be cool but not a requirement.
To get more information, please email HeartForArt18@gmail.com. UK address is: Lerner Farrington, Attn: Heart For Art, 18 Suffolk Rd, Lincoln, LN1 2UG, UK The Australian dropoff is: Cate Bolt, Attn: Heart For Art, PO Box 239, Glass House Mountains, Qld 4518, Australia
*Web Hosting Services: Wanna self-host, want discounted rates and know that the cash from your hosting service will go to an amazing cause? http://www.project18.org.au/blog-hosting/
*Make a purchase from the Project 18 Inc. shop or Etsy shop.
It's been a while since the last time I have been writing about Isabelle's language improvement here. For a very long time, I wasn't able to tell if one of the languages she speaks is dominant or so called her mother tongue. As she was born in London, and her dad is English she speaks English and because I am Czech and really wanted her to speak it too, she does. As I have mentioned, I couldn't tell for a long time if she thinks in English or Czech, but I can tell see more and more as she is getting older and her speech develops, that she thinks in English, as sometimes she translates it into Czech the way she would say it in English, which can sound really funny.
When she speaks Czech she has no accent, and if she doesn't know the word in Czech she uses the English word and sometimes adds a funny Czech ending to it...which sounds really funny. It always helps when we have my mum over here or someone else from the Czech Republic, as she needs to speak more and more in Czech, and usually after long summer holidays her Czech is perfect, without any mistakes.
For the past week we have had my 15 year old niece here, who studies English at school, and is also trying to practise it here. It is sometimes really funny to listen to both of them. Isabelle has improved again just after a week of her cousin's presence and we will soon be off to the Czech republic for long summer holidays. When we are over there, I always try to speak to her in English, just to remind her, but maybe I wouldn't have to do so as she is 4 years now and masters both languages.
Everybody admires how quickly she switches when talking to her dad in English than talking to her cousin in Czech and back to me in English if I speak in English to her or in Czech if I speak in Czech to her. Children are like little sponges, they learn so quickly. I would love if she studied more languages in the future and will definitely encourage her in doing so.
I have always been interested in plants, flowers and gardening, and am very pleased that Isabelle is getting more and more into it too. When I was sent a pink children's gardening tools kit, I wasn't delighted just by the very cute look of it, but also how compact it was. Isabelle already has a few gardening tools, but as they were bought by daddy, they are not pink, so I knew that she would love this set from the first sight. As she will be spending most of the summer with her grandparents in the Czech Republic, we are taking it with us. My parents have a huge garden, and am sure that my mum will be doing a lot of gardening and Isabelle will be happy helping in her new pink gloves, maybe digging out some potatoes for dinner.
The kit contains a pink bucket, fork and trowel, 2 seed markers, gardening gloves and handy bag. What I really liked about this kit was that you get everything you need nicely packed together.
Gardening gloves are made of 92% cotton and 8% vinyl and measure approx 8 cm x 17 cm
The gloves can be cleaned and air dried and fit up to age 10 yrs
The trowel and fork are made of metal and wood and measure approx 7 cm x 18 cm x 2.4 cm
The metal bucket measures approx 13 cm x 14 cm x 13 cm
How to enter?
For your chance to win a garden activity kit in pink ( pictured above) supplied by Find Me A Gift, follow the instructions below:
Leave a comment on this post including a way of contacting you in case you win (e-mail address or twitter ID) (compulsory)
and for extra entries (max 2) you can:
comment on one of my non- competition/ non- gallery posts and let me know which post you left your comment on
mention this competition on Twitter including @Kahanka and the URL of this competition post in the tweet and come back here and let me know you did so, and leave your twitter name too.
Please use a separate comment for each entry!
Maximum 3 entries!
Only entries that have completed all the compulsory entry requirements will be counted!
Thank you!
Terms and Conditions:
The closing date of the competition is 16/08/2011
The winner will be chosen at random from all entrants.
The winner's name will be made available on this page and on Twitter. If the winner does not respond to our request for a postal address within 5 days, a redraw will take place.
Competition is open to residents of the UK and Ireland only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.
The All Baby Advice decision is final - please don't quibble.
And the winner is:
number 52
Congratulations to @smilinglikesuns
Please e-mail me your name and address at allbabyadvice@yahoo.co.uk
The winner was chosen by Random Number Generator and Only entries that completed all the compulsory entry requirements were counted!
The Three MiFi is the ultimate mobile broadband gizmo. Letting you connect up to 5 gadgets, the MiFi gives you super fast broadband speeds on the go so you can make the most of your free time. You can literally turn your handbag into a WiFi hotspot!
How to enter?
To celebrate Three’s On the Go mums campaign, All Baby Advice is offering you the chance to get your hands on a MiFi, for your chance to win, follow the instructions below:
To enter, simply visit the Three Facebook page and vote for your favourite On the Go app and come back here and leave a comment on this post with your choice and including a way of contacting you in case you win (e-mail address or twitter ID) (compulsory)
and for extra entries (max 2) you can:
comment on one of my non- competition/ non- gallery posts and let me know which post you left your comment on
mention this competition on Twitter including @Kahanka @ThreeUK and the URL of this competition post in the tweet and come back here and let me know you did so, and leave your twitter name too.
Please use a separate comment for each entry!
Maximum 3 entries!
Only entries that have completed all the compulsory entry requirementswill be counted!
Thank you!
Terms and Conditions:
The closing date of the competition is 14/08/2011
The winner will be chosen at random from all entrants.
The winner's name will be made available on this page and on Twitter. If the winner does not respond to our request for a postal address within 5 days, a redraw will take place.
Competition is open to residents of the UK and Ireland only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.
The All Baby Advice decision is final - please don't quibble.
Rio have got some exciting activity going on with Nickelodeon who are running a competition inviting families to bring the Rio Carnival Spirit into their homes and upload a video of their party to the special Rio Hub seen here; www.nick.co.uk/rio
Your party could be with friends or family, a birthday party, BBQ, pool party, anything as long as you're having fun! The best parties will be used to create a UK exclusive piece of VAM on the Rio DVD & Blu-ray release this October.
The competition is open until 22nd July so spread the word to your friends and family for their chance to feature on the Rio DVD & Blu-ray.
Preparing for the summer holidays and keeping your kids busy isn't an easy task. Before having our daughter I had no idea how stressful it is just to find the right place, not mentioning the travelling itself. I have to admit that the first few holidays when Isabelle was little, were not that child friendly, and had no child entertainment, which at that time wasn't such a problem. I used to say we wouldn't be going to the places with all the children entertainment, as that wasn't kind of what we liked. But the last holiday just proved, it's not about me and daddy, but mostly about Isabelle.
On our first beach holiday, we went to Cyprus, and we had a lovely villa on the beach to ourselves. The sea was just 50 metres away...but no swimming pool. I didn't mind, daddy did a bit, as he doesn't go swimming in the sea that much. Isabelle was 9 months old, so she enjoyed splashing in the sea and playing with the pebbles. I loved it, but now I know, that this place wouldn't be suitable for our family holiday again, as Isabelle would be definitely bored there. She needs other children to play with and all the entertainment too.
The next few holidays were very similar, but at least this time I booked a place with a pool, which I agree is a great plus, as our little dolphin loves swimming and playing with daddy in the pool. She also made some friends there. But then when we walked through a close by resort with all the childrens' entertainment, she almost cried and could not understand why we were not staying there. I really hated the place, as I prefer a private villa, but I had to come to a conclusion, we would have to start going to places like that too. What wouldn't we do for our Isabelle?
I am very lucky and am still at home with Isabelle, so can just pack the bags and leave for the whole summer holiday. We usually spend them with my family and friends in the Czech Republic. Isabelle loves it, and gets a chance to practise her Czech properly and enjoy the time with her cousins, grandparents and everyone. For me it also means, I can do a lot of things I cannot do here in London, as we don't have any family around. Daddy usually comes and stays with us for 2 weeks, but as he has just started his new job, this will not happen this year. Hopefully he might fly over for just a few days, otherwise Isabelle will not see him for such a long time.
I know you might ask, why don't I spend more time here, in London or somewhere in the UK, but the summer in the Czech Republic is usually hotter and also we stay at my parents' beautiful weekend house by a lake. I can go running to the woods, swimming or cycling, wild mushroom picking and many other things. I am very excited about our holidays and cannot even express how much Isabelle is.
And what are your plans for this summer? How do you keep your children busy for so many weeks? Do you go on holidays abroad or do you prefer staying in the UK? Any tips on travelling with kids? I would love to hear them all!
One thing I learnt when living in Australia was how important it is to protect my skin from the harmful effect of the sun's rays. Living in sunny Sydney was amazing, and the first summer I literally spent almost every day on the beach. I was making sure I was using suncream with a high factor 30+, which I never used while living in Europe. I came across a few people who told me stories about how not using any or enough factor had almost destroyed their lives.
Isabelle is quite lucky as she has olive skin, partly thanks to daddy's caribic roots, but I also have olive skin, so I have never had a problem with getting sunburnt easily. When she was tiny we were keeping her away from the direct sun as much as possible, which at that time wasn't that difficult, but as she was growing, we had to think more and more about protecting her skin as she was on the move.
When I was sent the new Ultrasun samples, I was really excited, as we will be soon off for our long summer holidays in the Czech Republic. The summer there is usually much hotter than here in the UK, and she will be spending most of the time at the weekend house with my family.
And what did we think of the Ultrasun products? We tested the medium 15SPF ultralip, the high 30SPF super sensitive family formula, the very high 50+ ultra sensitive extreme formula and the after sun cooling and hydrating formula. The first thing that really appeals to me is that you need to apply the formula only once a day as ultrasun bonds to the skin cells to create a water-resistant barrier, isn't that fantastic? That means that you don't have to worry about re-applying. I also like the fact you can use it for the whole family as it is suitable from newborn. It is free from preservatives, emulsifiers and perfume to reduce the risk of allergy, these non-staining products provide the ultimate protection against UVB rays (responsible for sunburn) and UVA rays (responsible for premature ageing and long-lasting skin damage). All products were very easy to apply and one 150ml bottle should give protection for one adult for up to two weeks and a child for up to four weeks. So our verdict is: WE LOVE ULTRASUN!
This week's gallery theme is so close to my heart, can you guess? It's travel. I am not going to give you a list of places where we have travelled so far, but can tell you one thing, that travelling has always been a huge part of my life and I really miss not being able to travel as much as we used to these days. Anyway, to get the above picture, we had to travel to a caribic island Barbados. It was a great holiday for me and daddy only, while our darling was looked after my parents. I can still feel the heat of the sand and the smell of the sea...Hopefully we will go back again soon, probably with Isabelle this time!
Don't forget to check out the rest of the gallery posts!
This week, I am giving you a short video how you can keep fit while playing with your children at a playground. It is important to keep them also involved in helping you keep fit, and there is nothing easier than enjoying some climbing and running around with your little ones. We had a great time with Isabelle and her cousin, who is currently visiting us!
And how did you do last week?
Don't forget to come back every Tuesday and add a link to your post on how it went, leave a comment here and please visit as many of the others' posts as you can & comment on them too. We are here to help each other. Can't wait to see all your comments & posts.
And if you like, you can add our "Fitness Tuesday " badge to your blog. Thank you ;)
When one of my friends asked me if I wanted to go to this press event as she wasn't feeling well, I happily agreed. We were in London anyway, and I was curious about what they have on offer.
I have to say that it was really well organised. From the beginning they were looking after me and Isabelle really well. When we got to the room with all the new products, Isabelle almost ran to the gorgeous pink wooden buggy and spent a long time playing with the new kitchen and sweet shop. There were a few other things that caught her eyes, so check out my video above and you might get some interesting ideas for presents for your children.
I have to say I was stunned by Mothercare autumn and winter clothes collection, and really fell in love with a few of their cardigans, jackets and jeans. It's true the colours didn't appeal to Isabelle that much, as they were not bright pink, but hopefully this "pink" phase will go away soon. I don't mind pink, but sometimes it's too much, and the new collection is exactly what I like. Check out the video, it's worth it!
Last Friday, was a very important day in our lives. Daddy was working from home, so he was able to join me and Isabelle at the reception induction meeting. I was quite nervous, as I knew there would be a lot of information and also the groups they would be going to revealed.
Isabelle and all the other children were left with their future teachers, while all the parents were gathering in the school hall. After we got our seats with daddy, I went to get our information pack. There were 4 groups, Isabelle was in the last group with a seashell on it. I was eagerly looking for her best friend's name to be in the same group. It wasn't! I found one of her very good friend's name there and also the name of the girl I was mentioning in a post not long ago... I was in tears. Well, what can I do? I went back to daddy and told him. He kind of didn't say anything. Later on, Isabelle's best friend's mum sat next to me and I told her the girls wouldn't be in the same group. She didn't look happy either, but we kind of didn't know what to do about it. It's not that Isabelle plays only with her best friend, they are 4 girls always playing together, and now, one of them is left out, Isabelle's best friend.
When we picked Isabelle up from the reception class, she was keen to find out her group. When I told her she wasn't in the same group as her best friend, she told me she would throw the paper in the rubbish bin and that she wanted to be in the same group as her best friend. I was in tears and kind of didn't know what to say. I was trying to explain she would still be with her other friends and that we would be seeing her best friend after school anyway, but she was devastated and cried and cried.
That afternoon she slept for a long time and was very unhappy. Daddy and me agreed we wouldn't be asking the teachers to move them together, as it should make Isabelle stronger and also give her more opportunities to play and learn with other children. Was that what you would do? Have we done the right thing? Should we go and talk to the teachers? Would you?
Last Tuesday we headed to London for the big press event, called Christmas in July. Isabelle was so excited about being on the tube again. When we got there, she told me she thought it would be really boring for her. I told her she was very lucky as we would be exploring the best toys, games, gadgets that weren't in the shops yet, and her little eyes blinked quickly and she started to be excited again.
I am not going to name all the brands included, but the ones I thought were of interest to me and Isabelle you can check out in my short video above. It was a great event and we spent a few hours there, caught up with a few of our mummy blogging friends and had a lot of fun. Check out the video, there are some amazing products that will be released soon!
Organix have sent me their newly launched Mighty Meals for a review, real food for growing toddlers in five wholesome big chunky organic meals. One of my friends' baby girl was testing these and she seemed to really enjoy them.
You know my love for ORGANIX and their products, as they were great when out and about when Isabelle was younger, and I was always sure I was feeding her good food. Organix guarantees there’s nothing added you wouldn’t use in your own kitchen. That’s nothing artificial, they’re just full of goodness so they taste as they should - of their real ingredients, so your little one has a nutritious and tasty start to their lifetime adventure with food.
These are the new 5 recipes:
· Organic Hearty Lamb Hotpot: with chunks of potato, carrots, whole peas and pieces of lamb. Hazel says: “it could be passed off as homemade”.
· Organic Pork Meatballs: whole meatballs in a chunky organic tomatoey, chickpea and sweet potato sauce. Christine says: “it smells as it should and tastes delicious”.
· Organic Creamy Chicken Pasta: pieces of chicken and sweetcorn in a cream and cheddar cheese sauce with whole pasta shells. April says: “proper looking food that tastes great and easy for toddlers to eat by themselves”.
· Organic Tomatoey Beef Bolognese: organic butternut squash, carrot, whole pasta shells and beef in a yummy tomato sauce. Lettie says: “lots of lumps and chunks so my daughter can experience different textures”.
· Organic Spinach Falafels: organic mixed bean and sweet red pepper sauce with whole spinach and chickpea falafels. Janina says: “looks good, easy to prepare, proper ingredients”.
Organix Mighty Meals cost £1.99 each (200g portion) and are ideal for toddlers from 1 - 3 years.
How to enter?
Organix have donated the 5 new reipes for 2 All Baby Advice readers,
for your chance to win, follow the instructions below:
Leave a comment on this post including a way of contacting you in case you win (e-mail address or twitter ID) (compulsory)
and for extra entries (max 2) you can:
comment on one of my non- competition/ non- gallery posts and let me know which post you left your comment on
mention this competition on Twitter including @Kahanka and the URL of this competition post in the tweet and come back here and let me know you did so, and leave your twitter name too.
Please use a separate comment for each entry!
Maximum 3 entries!
Only entries that have completed all the compulsory entry requirementswill be counted!
Thank you!
Terms and Conditions:
The closing date of the competition is 30/07/2011
The winner will be chosen at random from all entrants.
The winner's name will be made available on this page and on Twitter. If the winner does not respond to our request for a postal address within 5 days, a redraw will take place.
Competition is open to residents of the UK and Ireland only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.
The All Baby Advice decision is final - please don't quibble.
And the winners are:
numbers 8 and 29
Congratulations to@cherylp59 and @VictoriaJayne23
Please e-mail me your name and address at allbabyadvice@yahoo.co.uk
The winners were chosen by Random Number Generator and Only entries that completed all the compulsory entry requirements were counted!
When is the right age for your child's first sleepovers? I have no idea, but Isabelle has been asking for quite a few months now. As I cannot see a reason why not to let her do it, I tested it when I was on a blogging event 3 weeks ago. My friend's husband was looking after 3 children that night, and Isabelle was so excited that when I tuned up at about 10.30, I was told that she had just fallen asleep. Apparently they had a very good time with her "boy" friend.
Anyway, I wasn't planning the next sleepover just 2 days later, but I received tickets to the IMAX and really wanted to go. We never go anywhere with daddy as we have no babysitting, and when my mum flies to London to stay with us, we usually have many plans, but never fulfill them. This time I decided it was time to ask one of my friends to do me a favour, and she was absolutely fine with Isabelle staying overnight. We had her son before Christmas for a few days and nights, and Isabelle loved sharing her bedroom with him, so they both were very excited they would be having another sleepover.
This was Isabelle's first proper sleepover. The next morning daddy went to pick her up, and they went swimming together. When they got home for lunch, I couldn't wait to see her, cuddle her and squeeze her. When I answered the door she just acted like she saw me a few minutes ago, but then she realised I had tears in my eyes and was asking why. I explained that it was her first sleepover and then she was telling me all about it. When I spoke to my friend, she just confirmed that Isabelle was well behaved and they had no problems at all. I was very pleased, and now we are entering a new era, the sleepovers era!
Is it strange that both Isabelle's first sleepover buddies were boys??? Anyway, she really wants her girl friends to come and stay over night, so we have to do so soon, as we will be spending most of the summer in the Czech Republic. How exciting!
When I saw the new Lifft Slings Goes Limited Edition, I thought of one of my friends, who has had a baby not long ago. She was looking for a sling that was completely different. As you know, my Isabelle is 4 years old, so I cannot be testing it with her, but luckily I have a few friends with babies and toddlers, who willingly help me with testing and then I let them keep the samples.
We were sent the khaki and black colour from their classic range for this review, but aren't they all just gorgeous (Olive, Mocha, Soft Rose and Cool Amethyst - pictured above)? So if you don't know much about this sling, you should know the Lifft Slings, are the only baby slings known to be scientifically proven to improve posture. Before testing it, we watched all the videos on their website. This really helped us understand how to use the sling, which is by the way, very easy. I was surprised that the sling comes in different sizes, which means you choose the size that suits you. This is great, as there isn't any extra fabric if you are tiny, but it also means, your partner will probably not be able to use it. Let's face it, dads are usually much bigger than mums, arent's they? But you can always get him another in his size.
Anyway, not only it was very easy to put on, and to place the baby in it, but according to my friend, it felt very natural and comfortable at the same time. From my point of view, it also looked very stylish and we had a few mums looking and checking the sling out.
