Bizzy The Butterfly - audiobooks for babies & toddlers

Storytime is an important part of childhood; for the memories that are created as well as the childs development and learning. whether it's a tale told out loud from a book, from memory or listening to an audiobook, there is nothing like the magic of a story.

Little One LOVES storytime. She's learned over time to listen and she loves to 'retell' it later in the day and talk about the characters. It's wonderful to see her imagination almost bursting out of her as she excitedly recalls parts of the story and decides what might happen next.

Baby Girl is only 10 months old but she has had books introduced into her playtime and bedtime since she was very tiny. She loves to listen to my voice, and watch as I turn the pages of the book - she is at the grabbing age so that bit's becoming a little more of a challenge, that that's all part of learning too.

I have recently been introduced to 'Bizzy the butterfly' stories. These audio stories are especially for babies and toddlers, and are perfect to listen to in the car, as part of a bedtime routine, or ...well, at anytime, really! In fact, as the story is very interactive you could incorporate it into a fun activity; movement or craft, are just a couple of ideas. The time of day dictates the 'activity' for us. In the night-time we have catapillar fingers and during the day we use our whole bodies to pretend we are the Creepy Crawly Co-operating Caterpillar. This weekend saw us looking for caterpillars in the garden, once we'd finished our storytime, and next weekend we plan to create a collage picture with colourful flowers, Bizzy the butterfly and the co-operating caterpillar. I'm looking forward to that, just as much as Little One!

The stories combine the spoken word with beautiful, gentle music and they provide young children with the opportunity to use and develop their imaginations whilst having fun. We were sent the audio story, 'Bizzy the Butterfly and the Creepy Crawly Co-operating Caterpillar’which is the first title in the ‘Bizzy the Butterfly’ set of audiobooks, and I have to say, as someone who is not a big fan of audiobooks in general, I loved it as much as the littlies did! It is absolutely perfect to listen to in the car, at bedtime or when you want the kiddies to unwind. As much as it is interactive, it's also a very soothing  gentle story, Little One was found tapping her feet to the music, sucking her thumb and almost drifting off to sleep, the first time we listened. The narrator speaks with a gentle and soothing voice and I happily listen along with Little One and baby Girl. 

This story is all about working together, helping each other, and 'co-operating' to achieve a goal. We love it, and can't wait for our next Bizzy the butterfly story!

The stories are available as audiobooks and ‘bookeos’ for you to download and enjoy with your child. 

'Bookeos act like a video, but look like a book. They enhance the music and the story with the visual stimulus of added games and learning using the delightful illustrations.'

I adore the use of multimedia to create these stories. It brings a whole new dimension to story time, grabbing children's attention and keeping them engaged as they learn and sing along. Absolutely brilliant! 

Bizzy the Butterfly also has a shop where you can buy all sorts of Bizzy the Butterfly goodies. For more information, visit www.bizzythebutterfly.co.uk

Disclosure: I was sent an audio story free of charge for review purposes. I have not been compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

Ecover's Message In Our Bottle campaign

Most of us are aware that our seas are becoming, more and more polluted. Plastics pollute the sea from littering, industry and waste from Landfill; Ecover have pledged to make a change. Their aim is to create a fully sustainable and recyclable plastic that will minimise the use of raw materials in their bottles. They also aspire to include waste plastic from the sea in the production of their bottles by 2014 - This, in my opinion would be incredible - not only will it ensure a greater use of recycled plastic, but it will help to clean up the sea at the same time.

Ecover's pledge:

'We pledge to constantly innovate, evaluate and future proof our products; from the ingredients we choose, the processes we use to the bottles in your home. 

We're hooked on plastic - future proofing our bottles with the clever mix of Plant-astic, Recycled Plastic and reclaimed Sea Plastic will set new standards in packaging, closing the loop in everyday recycling making it the easy choice for you. 

Our pledge to you is that we will never stand still when it comes to sustainability. 

Philip Malmberg, Ecover CEO'

Ecover have created this infographic to show the impact of the use of plastic bottles in the UK and what Ecover can do to reduce this.

Cleaning the seas, one bottle at a time. Visit The-Splash for more information and to read our pledge.

I fully support Ecover and their Message in Our bottle campaign. You can read more about it here.

Disclosure: I have not been paid to write this post.

An hour of couple time thanks to @dreams_beds

The fantastic peeps at @dreams_beds wanted to know what we would do with the hour we lost when the clocks 'sprung' forward recently. Sleep would be nice, a leg massage would be lovely; but what I really wanted to do if I could 'snatch' back that hour was to go for a gorgeous lunch and spend an hour actually talking to my husband.

With work, meetings and other exciting occurrences (side note: read with a slathering of sarcasm) we, like many couples, resemble passing ships in the night. I can't actually remember the last time we spent time together outside of our home so when Dreams Beds said they would like to treat us to lunch so we could reclaim our hour (of sorts; they are good, but not Doctor-Who-type good!!) I could've kissed them!

Last week, the hubster, Baby Girl and I visited Wahaca in Stratford, London for a mexican treat.

It was Baby Girls first proper visit to a restaurant and she was amazing! The atmosphere was lovely and relaxed which was odd in such a busy place, but it was SO good to spend time together; to eat ( we did A LOT of that) to chat; to just feel like we had no worries other than to decide what to order next... Just for that one hour. It was bliss!

I have to tell you about the food - if you love mexican food you simply must visit Wahaca. It's now my favourite place to eat and I can't wait to go back.

We ordered the Wahaca selection which is a selection of favourite dishes from the menu. A selection it was, but O to the M to the G, the dishes just kept on a-coming! If you don't know what to order, or you're not sure if you'd like certain things, I'd recommend that you have a try of this as you get to try a "little" of everything.

My favourite by far was the Pork pibil taco; not only did it look magnificent with its bright pink hue, but it tasted to die for. I also loved the Huitlacoche quesadilla - If you don't know what that is, don't google it before you try it, I almost made that mistake but I can honestly say, hand on heart, it is gorgeous! Mmmmm yummy!

We also had sides of Spicy hot slaw and Sweet potato chunks and Tortilla chips with guacamole to start - all of which were very nice, indeed. The drinks were amazing too; as we had baby girl with us and we went quite early, neither of us had anything alcoholic but that really didn't matter - we both highly recommend the Virgin mojito!!

On to dessert. I got a tad excited over the dessert menu - I wanted it all, but with mentions of 'dense chocolate cake' and 'peanut butter ice cream , the Chocolate tres leches cake won without too much deliberation. Hubby chose a refreshing mango sorbet which was set upon by Baby Girl with muster. I think hubby got some of it!!!! Hee hee!

An absolutely wonderful way to spend a much-needed hour off.

Thank you so much Dreams Beds!

Give them a Twitter follow - @dreams_beds

Disclosure: Dreams Beds paid for us to have a meal together. We have not been compensated in any other way. Our thoughts on Wahaca and their food are completely our own - this is not a review and have not been asked to write anything by Wahaca.

Working on getting my sleep back!

As a Mum of 4, I have slowly become accustomed to the unattractive bags under my eyes; the zombie-like traits and the need for intravenous caffeine, but now I'm getting on a bit; I would really like my sleep back, thank you very much!

Baby Girl is 10 months old now, and still gets me up 2 or 3 times a night. Sometimes she's too cold, or she's lost her snuggle lion. Sometimes she's hungry/thirsty or just wants a cuddle. That's fair enough, I'm her Mum and that's what I do, but recently, I started to wonder if it was too light for her. Even if it's dark outside, the street lighting can keep me awake, so it was a possibility.

We thought about having a blind rather than curtains, but worried about the safety aspect of the cord near the baby. Then, a dear friend told me about the safety mechanisms that you can fit yourself, or have fitted for you if DIY isn't your thing. I found some online after a bit of googling, and there are various different types available from reputable companies such as Web-Blinds.

Well, now we have the light issue under control and I've also taken the liberty of buying Baby Girl some new lightweight sleep bags (any excuse to go shopping!) Just look at this one from George - isn't it cute? She tends to kick her blankets off and then as the temperature drops during the night, she gets chilly and it wakes her up, so these are great for her.

I can't do much about her wanting to nurse. I love breastfeeding and we both get so much from it, so I just have to hope that she starts sleeping through by herself. If I'm really honest I do enjoy those moments where it's just us, but a few extra hours in between would be most welcome!

When did your little ones sleep through? Did a blackout blind get you a few more z's?

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I love babywearing

I love going out and about with Baby Girl in her wrap; arms free and feeling close to each other. 

We went out together on the tube with daddy yesterday and it was wonderful. Baby Girl even had a snooze on me on the journey home, which was adorable as I could feel her breathing, almost like a purr - as content as content can be.

I was putting all my photos onto Dropbox yesterday because my phone was complaining that my storage was almost full *cough* 2000 photos *cough* and I came across these two that I had snapped a couple of months back when we all ambled over to the park, kids on their scooters, Baby Girl in her wrap, warm and snug and absorbing the wonders she saw around her.

I adore trees; they always look beautiful whatever the season - and look! Blossom! A reminder that the sunshine wouldn't be far away....Yay!

One of my most favourite photos; it's actually my Twitter avi! - Baby Girl looking very serious as she watched the world go by.

I liken Babywearing to breastfeeding; it has that same closeness I feel when I nurse her, and it's certainly helped with it too. That's not to suggest that babywearing is only useful to those who breastfeed, of course. Not at all, I firmly believe that having that physical closeness is just as beneficial, regardless how baby is fed. Baby Girl feels warm, and safe in her wrap; she hardly ever cries when she's in there and the lioness in me, feels like I'm  suitably protecting my cub.

It's not just about nurture though, Baby Girl benefits from constant interaction too. I am always talking to her, kissing her; stroking her face. It also allows her to socialise with others without it being too scary for her. Strangers will smile, or talk to her, and she will always smile back *heart-melting moments ahoy* She sees the world for herself and I love that.

I honestly believe that babywearing improves my mood too. I can't help but smile when my baby is close. There may be scientific explanations and  hundreds of proven benefits for  it, but these are the reasons that I love to babywear!

Just in case you're interested, I use a woven wrap from Uptown Mum. Stretchy ones were no good as Baby Girl got bigger, as woven wraps don't stretch as much, meaning she doesn't wind up at my knees! 

Do you babywear? Or do you plan to?

Cool Family Activities for the Summer - Guest Post

When the children are off school for 6 weeks of Summer it can be difficult to keep them entertained without spending an arm and leg. Nowadays it is simple and easy to search for things to do online, so there are no excuses. From local events found on directory websites, activities promoted via social networking sites, and specialized events sites - you have an array of scouting tools at your fingertips, in order to be able to get out and about as a family for as cheaply as possible.

Do not be scared to compare places, activities and events depending on their prices, as long as it is an activity, and gets you out of the house, with a change of scenery, you will all have something to experience.

Another option is monitoring online competitions, which are often advertised via social media, such as this one from Wow247 where you can win an annual merlin pass allowing you entry into over thirty attractions for free for four people (normally costing £146!). This also means exclusive offers on short breaks within resorts such as Legoland and Chessington Hotel.

You could also find some free activities online to do such as arranged woodland park explorations to identify animals, trails and their habitats. Check out the top film releases and buy a family ticket to receive a discount.

If it’s enjoying your own home that you want to do then get baking with the kids, teaching them about ingredients, shopping for a recipe and culinary skills. What better excuse to invite friends and family round for a tea party afterwards to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Hopefully, you’ve been inspired to keep your eyes out on the Internet for discount deals, as well as competitions and free activities to keep you all busy over the holidays for a realistic price.

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Navigating the Empty Nest - A guest post from across the pond

Empty nest syndrome is hard to shake. We’ve built our lives around the lives of our children. Changing diapers, wiping noses, and bandaging scraped knees have gotten us this far, which makes the moment our child gets accepted into a university miles away from home pretty bittersweet. We've always wanted the best for our kids and we groomed them into the fine young adults they are. Coping with their departure when we've been there every step of the way is daunting. We call them relentlessly, just to check in. Of course, they prefer we text them, it’s a lot less meddlesome.

It’s tough to let go and takes some soul-searching to understand we've done our job at parenting. Every step of our child’s development has led to this point. We must let go so they can experience adulthood and learn all the lessons we did when we were their age. Sure, we’d do anything for them, but it’s time to step back and let them make their own lives. Giving our kids their freedom allows them to grow outside the scope of our watchful eye. It also allows us to go on, knowing we've succeeded in our duties as their guardian.

We want the best for our children, possibly even more so when they're away at school. They should have the finest things in life, as they've enriched our lives more than we ever thought possible. Our kids are who make us shine. Rightfully so, they should have only the best furnishings for their home away from home. We trust Pottery Barn quality for decorating their dorm room. Purchasing gifts of furniture, bed ensembles, and more is so conveniently affordable with a Pottery Barn coupon code. Plus, it allows us to leave an indelible mark on their first foray into the real world.

Our children should have the comforts of home and we'll have peace of mind knowing they’re happy with their new surroundings regardless if they’re studying long hours or sleeping snug in their beds. Providing them with luxury is possible with the wide array of discounted offerings at NerdWallet, where we can find hundreds of coupon codes from national retailers. Plus, when it finally comes time to book a trip to visit them at their school, NerdWallet provides us with a variety of travel tips so we can find a cup of java at the airport or locate ground transportation options once we arrive.

Meeting our children on their college campus is a wonderful feeling. Even though we've been in constant contact with our kids since the moment we parted ways, a few months can seem like a lifetime. We’re proud of our kids and to see their successes away from home makes our hearts swell. We've waited so long for moments like this.

When they ask if we'd like a tour of their campus and dorm room, we nod with a smile of satisfaction. This is what we’ve worked so hard for and now we can see the fruits of our labor. Our kids are equally happy to see us, their joy expressed across their faces. They, too, know the effort we've put into shaping them has finally paid off.  And when it’s time to return home again, we’re all left with knowing the kids are just fine without us. The nest may be empty, but our babies are never far from home.

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