There is a new member of the Cadbury Animals family - introducing Cadbury Mini Animals Dinosaurs!
Cadbury Mini Animals Dinosaurs are tasty bite-sized mini dinosaur biscuits half covered with delicious Cadbury milk chocolate. With Travis the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Trudy the Triceratops, Terry the Pterodactyl, Spike the Stegosaurus and Daisy the Diplodocus, children can discover the gang of five prehistoric dinosaur friends, share their adventures and learn about their existence in a world millions of years ago Plus, there is a sixth mystery dinosaur to be identified too! One of the best things about the Dinosaur cookies in my opinion is that they are egg free and allergy friendly! There are very few biscuits/cookies Blondie Boy can eat off the shelf so it is great to see not only are there no eggs in the ingredients, but no traces of egg either! We have to be really strict with Blondie Boy's allergy so it is great to have this peace of mind. Blondie Boy has a lunch box at school full of egg-free treats so that when other students bring cakes in for their birthday he isn't left out and I'll be adding Cadbury Mini Animals Dinosaur to his stash. He absolutely loves them but I'll let him tell you that himself! Cadbury Mini Animals Dinosaurs launched in Asda stores on 23rd August at a special price of £1, and Sainsbury’s on Sept 2nd at 1/3 off. This is a sponsored post but we really do love these cookies! I couldn't get a toddler to lie about cookies if I tried :)
Blondie Boy is a big fan of Mickey Mouse and his Clubhouse friends so when we were offered tickets to see Mickey's Magic Show at Glasgow's Braehead Arena we jumped at the chance. We'd never taken him to any sort of live show before so we didn't know how he'd react but he was super excited about the show before we went. He told everyone he was going to see Mickey even the waitress at lunch!
We got to Braehead Arena in plenty of time to look around at what goodies were on offer and find our seats in plenty of time. There were lots of toys, treats and everything with Mickey on it under the sun as well as a chance to get a photo memento of the day. Normally that is not something I would do but Grandma, who's a big of a Disney fan as BB, was with us and really wanted to get BB a treat. As you'd expect snow cones are £7, but you get to take home a Mickey mug with it--thing aren't cheap but they aren't too extortionate.
Our seats were right up front on the floor so we had a great view of the stage but as most of the tricks were on a large-ish scale there weren't any bad seats. Blondie Boy had his own seat but chose instead to swap between his Grandma, Dad and my laps throughout the show.
You aren't allowed to take any photographs or videos during the show but I snapped this one of Blondie Boy just as it started and I think it sums up what he thought. He was totally in awe as the show began and clapped and shouted the magic word and danced along throughout the show.
The show includes Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald as well as a host of Disney Princesses including Cinderella and Belle and two of Mickey's Illusionist friends. One of the cooler tricks in my opinion was the homage to Fantasia where brooms dance and Minnie levitates.
The show was just a little bit long for Blondie Boy, he is only 2 1/2, and he needed to run around and let off some steam during the intermission. Even though he did get ants in his pants when we went to leave he kept saying he needed to see Mickey again. It was a lovely afternoon out but I'll let you hear from the one who matter most about what he thought:
Probably not the world's most elaborate or verbose review but he's two what do you expect :) If you couldn't make it out he said "I love you Mickey and Minnie" at the end and it is totally true. Thank you so much to Disney Mums UK for our tickets; Grandma is already talking about taking Blondie Boy to Disney on Ice: Passport to Adventure when it comes this autumn.
Mickey's Magic Show is on tour throughout the UK with dates remaining in:
Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd July 2012
The NIA, Birmingham
Wednesday 25th – Sunday 29th July 2012
The Lowry Theatre, Salford
Wednesday 1st August – Sunday 5th August 2012
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Wednesday 8th – Saturday 11th August 2012
Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield
Tuesday 14th & Wednesday 15th August 2012
Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
Friday 17th – Sunday 19th August 2012
The Brighton Centre
Thursday 23rd – Sunday 26th August 2012
Echo Arena, Liverpool
Wednesday 29th August – Sunday 2nd September 2012
Transatlantic Blonde were provided tickets to the show for review but all opinions are our own. Do you seriously think I could make a toddler tell anything but the truth?
Okay so I'm going to be honest. This week I've looked a hot mess. I was sick the first half of the week, then Blondie Boy was sick and finally NotBlondeHusband got the crud. The three of us have been in some form of PJ's pretty much not stop. It has also been super cold and foggy so you wouldn't really want to leave the house anyway.
Today however was bright and sunny (but still really cold) so I took Blondie Boy up to Drumpellier Country Park to play on the playgrounds and see the water fowl. He loves slides and the playground had three different ones (plus two that were too big for him) for him to try out. So this week it not what I wore but what he wore; he's cuter to look at than me anyway :)
I have no idea why one leg is tucked in and one is not; apparently my son thinks he's gangsta. I know I'm kinda copping out this week so here's a super cute video of him sliding down one of the slides! He started the whole "ready, steady, go" thing on his own but of course I had to prompt him once the camera came out :)
On a final note I'd like to ask if you link up that you please comment on at least two other linked posts; it can be this and another post or two other posts---basically I don't want this to just be a place to link I want it to be interactive. Plus it is just polite to say "hey" right?
Yesterday Blondie Boy, his Grandma and I walked 6 miles along the Ayrshire coast, a little bit more than the average 6km women and children walk to get water often from unprotected water sources, for Water Aid. You might have seen some of the photos I tweeted along the way and I hope you followed the tweets of the Coast Along Ambassadors, too (you can catch up by searching #CoastAlong on Twitter). We had a lovely afternoon (except for the part where Blondie Boy pissed all over me) and I'm so glad we were able to take part.
I've put together a short video of our day and uploaded some photos as well. You'll hear me say it in the video but I can't imagine having to walk that far to get water (and not necessarily clean water) and then lugging it back with your children.
1.4 million children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation - 4,000 child deaths a day or one child every 20 seconds. Yes you heard me right, diarrhoea kills more children every year than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. How is that possible in today's world? Diarrhoea should be something annoying but not something that kills you.
A hugethank you to everyone who has donated so far (including SnugBaby for Blondie Boy's Sling) and if you haven't yet please do consider donating; even £1 will make such a difference in helping get access to clean water and improving the lives of the 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water.
2010 has been a year of big changes with Blondie Boy's birth and I'm looking forward to the new changes 2011 brings, including a new job that will let me be a work-at-home-Mom! I hope you've all had a fabulous 2010 and thank you to all my readers. If you haven't commented before please do and I look forward to sharing 2011 with you all.
Age - eleven months, 1 day (I missed 10 months so don't shout)
Weight - We were snowed in last Thursday and away before that so haven't gotten him weighed since well I'm guessing a month ago. He's is over 20lbs, but by how much I dunno.
Height - 29 1/2"
Sleeping habits - He sleeps from 8:30-9:00pm/10pm to 9-9:30am roughly. He recently has done a few after midnight nights much to our shagrin.
Eating habits - Eating 9oz when he wakes up and at bedtime and 2-3 meals depending on when he naps and snacks. He's now had bits of chicken and fish and loved them both. He also has a new love of Cheerios. He will sit at your feet with his mouth open until your share your cereal with him. As long as its non-allergenic food he can pretty much eat what we eat now.
Favorite activity - playing with Emma, singing Itsy Bitsy Spider, saying "So Big," skyping, drumming things, throwing things and signing "please" when he wants you to give him your dinner
Milestones (including those since 10m) - Clapping, Walking (with his Walk 'N Ride), 3 teeth now, "please," sharing his pipka, dancing
Firsts (including those since 10m)- Clapping, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, snowman
We had 63 valid entries for this giveaway and I'm really excited for our winner as the Walk 'N Ride is something Blondie Boy really loves! Blondie Boy lets you know who the winner is below!
Please be in touch within 48 hours with your contact information or another winner will be drawn. Congratulations and for those who didn't win the Step Start Walk 'N Ride is available online and at many fine retailers.
Keep your eyes open as I'm launching a fabulous giveaway from Soap & Glory later this week that is open to entrants worldwide!
Beth over at Laugh Until You Cry does a linky called "On a Positive Note" to start Monday and the week off with something to make you smile. Today I got Blondie Boy his first balloon and I'd say it was a positive.
I love to bake and make appetizers, but I do not cook meat. Yes, you read that right, I do not like cooking meat as I'm vaguely paranoid I will poison someone by not cooking it all the way or it will end up dry and nasty from being overcooked. So when we decided it was time to introduce Blondie Boy to meat, it was NotBlondeHusband's job to do the cooking.
So today's post is a guest post of sorts by my very own NotBlondeHusband:
When introducing meat to BB’s diet, cottage pie seemed like the perfect way to go. It has minced beef but also the more familiar tastes of mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, so it’s not all new.
When I looked for a recipe I found plenty for older babies but, since he’s only just 8 months and has eczema, tomatoes, garlic, fried onions and fresh herbs are no goes right now, so I invented my own. While I was making his it seemed to make sense to make an adult friendly version for us too, so I did. For both I used:
• 500g (17.6 oz) organic minced beef • 700g (24.7 oz) organic new potatoes, peeled • 400g (14.1oz) tinned chopped tomatoes • 1 small carrot, chopped, 4/5 roughly for you, 1/5 finely for the baby • 1 clove garlic • 1 small white onion, diced • 60g (2 oz) frozen peas (roughly, I used a generous handful) • 1 low salt vegetable stock cube, or approx 400ml of low salt vegetable stock ( I used Heinz baby stock cube) • 60g (2oz) mashed turnip (What we call turnip in Scotland is called swede in England, or rutabaga in the US. You could substitute butternut squash or any other root vegetable puree if desired, even a pre-packaged one) • 3-4 tablespoons milk • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Firstly split the minced beef, 4/5 in a large saucepan for the adults, 1/5 in a smaller pan for the baby, and brown it.
Once browned, take the smaller pan off the heat for a moment. To the large pan add the diced onion, then crush and add the clove of garlic. Sautee for a few minutes until the onions are lightly browned.
Make the vegetable stock and add 300ml to the large pot and around 100ml to the small pot, basically just enough to cover the beef. Add the carrots and the peas to both.
Add the tomatoes and herbs to the large pot and season with salt and pepper. Since tomatoes are off the menu for BB I had to find a substitute to thicken and enrich his. We cook and freeze vegetables for BB anyway so I threw in two cubes of frozen mashed turnip, which worked perfectly. As mentioned above I’m sure pre-cooked, store bought vegetable puree would work just as well.
Bring both pots to the boil and simmer uncovered for 35 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by about a quarter.
Boil the potatoes and drain. No need to split them!
Add the milk and butter and mash. No salt or pepper!
Pour the contents of the two pots into appropriately sized oven proof dishes and cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. If you wanted you could use more milk in the potatoes to make them thinner and easier to spread but I prefer to keep them thicker to make sure it doesn’t seep into the gravy below.
Forget about them! I made mine in the morning and we ate in the evening. They keep fine in the fridge.
Adult version
Baby version
When you’re ready to eat preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Grind sea salt and pepper on top of the adult dish. Cook the adult one for around 30 minutes and the baby one for around fifteen minutes, until you can see the liquid bubbling. I then turned the oven up to 220c (425F) and put the adult one back in for another five minutes because I like the top brown and crispy but this is optional. It has the added benefit of giving the baby version some time to cool.
Enjoy! I found that the adult version was plenty for four good portions. We split the baby version into eight portions, gave BB one and froze the other seven to reheat later.
Sleeping habits - He sleeps from 10-11pm to 8-9am roughly.
Eating habits - Eating 8oz 4 times a day, but we've started cutting one out in favor of more food today. He's also had toast and homemade cinnamon rolls. He's going to get to try some organic ground beef/mince later this week. He still loves rice cereal but is almost equally as fond of banana yogurt and mango yogurt.
Favorite activity - Splashing, crawling, singing, talking, skyping, phones and general naughtiness.
filmed on a Kodak Zi8
Milestones - He's started crawling and repeats sounds like "boom boom boom," "da da da," and "ma ma ma" back to you.
Firsts- crawling, owie (see left of his head below)
I've seen a couple bloggers doing "Things I Don't Want to Forget Thursdays" and just about everything I capture on video of Blondie Boy I don't want to forget and this is certainly one of them.
We had 22 entries to the Hipp Organic Giveaway, so we decided to write out the entries and let Blondie Boy pick the winner. Just so y'all know I do check-up and see if you actually are following, tweeting and disqualify any entries which can't be verified. We don't tolerate shenanigans in the Blondie household!
Without further ado the winner is.....
Video filmed on a Kodak Zi8.
Congratulations! Please be in touch within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn.
Congratulations and for those who didn't win Hipp Organic goodies are available for online and in most large grocery stores and pharmacies.
I've mentioned it before, but Blondie freaking *LOVES* rice cereal. To be specific he loves Hipp Organic Rice Cereal. The kid would lick the bowl clean if I let him and dive bombs the spoon when we give it to him.
So when I got the chance to review more Hipp Organic products I jumped at the chance. I'm really picky about what Blondie Boy eats and I prefer that everything is organic and contains minimal ingredients. Hipp products totally fit the bill.
Since Blondie Boy loves rice cereal so much, we figured we'd give the Hipp Organic Apple Rice Cakes which only have 4 ingredients (Organic rice, organic wholegrain rice, organic apple juice, thiamin-vitamin B1) a try; please ignore my annoying voice.
He liked eating them when I broke them up in little pieces, but he equally enjoyed holding a whole rice cake and mashing it with his gums. The latter method was a bit messy and not a lot was ingested, but I'm guessing it felt nice on his gums.
Being the good Mom that I am, I tasted a rice cake myself and umm YUM! I love Cinnamon-Apple Rice Cakes (which you get in the US, but not the UK) and these were just as tasty, but with natural and healthy organic ingredients. The rice cakes also come in Tomato and Red Pepper and Carrot and Pumpkin flavors.
We've got lots of other Hipp Organic goodies to try out with Blondie Boy is older and I can't wait!
The lovely people at Hipp Organic are going to give one of you the chance to try some of their yummy rice cakes yourself!
To enter:
Comment on your favorite finger food and to who'd get to try the rice cakes!
Extra Entries:
-Follow my Blog publicly and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)
-Follow me on Twitterand tweet about the giveaway and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)
-Follow Hipp on Twitterand tweet about the giveaway and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)
-Join the Hipp Baby Cluband comment to let me know (1 extra entry)
-Blog about the giveaway and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)
Make sure to leave each entry in a separate comment.
This giveaway is open to UK readers only. A winner will be drawn at random on August 26th at 12:00 GMT. Winners must contact me within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn.CONTEST CLOSED.
GOOD LUCK!
Transatlantic Blonde was provided this product to review.
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