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With the nice weather finally trying to make an appearance, it is time to start moving the activities we do with our children outdoors.

You can read Chantelle's blog here for more tips and follow her on twitter and Facebook.

Kate from Family Fever had a look at the New Petite Star Zia Evolve!

I recently heard about the new Zia Evolve travel system from Petite Star, and thought I would take a closer look.

Now, to me, this seems like the ideal product for parents who want a pushchair that will last them right from birth through to the point where a pushchair is no longer required.

To start with you can use the Zia Evolve as a cosy, padded pramette which allows your baby to be facing you – eye contact is so important in those first few months, and being able to chat and smile with your baby is wonderful. And with no separate carrycot to worry about, folding the pushchair is a breeze!

 It also comes with a car seat which can be attached to the frame, so if you are nipping in and out of the car you can simply click and go without disturbing your baby.

The Zia Evolve then transforms effortlessly into a lightweight pushchair when your baby is ready to face the world! This is often the point at which parents trade in their heavier, newborn pram for a stroller, but with this pushchair there is no need to do that! It is super light to push and compact when folded – everything you would need for an older child.

Not only that, it is also the complete package – coming with every accessory you need. The Zia Evolve package comes with a car seat, liner, footmuff, pushchair apron and raincover all included in the price, so you don’t need to worry about the extra expense of buying additional bits and pieces. All you need to add is baby!

The Petite Star Zia Evolve comes in a choice of 2 colours – Grey or Teal and is priced at £299.98 – great value when you know it will be the only pushchair you will ever need!

Read more from Kate on her blog, and follow Family Fever on twitter and facebook.

Kate from Family Fever gives us 5 ways to keep the kids entertained during the holidays through baking!

One of our favourite activities, especially during the school holidays, is baking. The children enjoy making all sorts of treats, both sweet and savoury – and of course, they enjoy sampling them too!

Below I have listed my Top 5 ‘Baking with children recipes’

DOUBLE BERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients: 

300g plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

125g caster sugar

50g butter

3 eggs

4 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspooon vanilla essence

150g natural yogurt

100g blueberries and 100g raspberries

 

Method

Preheat oven to 200*C/Gas mark 6. Mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Melt the butter, and then add this to the flour mixture. Add the eggs, oil, vanilla essence and yogurt and blend with a fork until just mixed. Stir in the berries.

Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases and bake for 15 minutes.

APPLE SCONES

Ingredients:

1 apple

75g butter

375g self raising flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

75g caster sugar

1 egg

150ml milk

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 200*C/Gas Mark 6. Peel and dice the apple. Heat 25g of the butter in a saucepan and add the apple – cook gently for 5 minutes until the apple is soft.  Put the flour, cinnamon and 50g of the sugar into a bowl. Cut the remaining butter into small pieces and add to the flour mix, then rub together with your fingers to make crumbs.

Add the apple and the egg and stir to make a dough, adding the milk slowly to make the right consistency. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Place on a greased baking tray, brush with milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

ANIMAL COOKIES

Ingredients:

175g butter

75g caster sugar

275g plain flour

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180*C/Gas mark 4. Cut the butter into small pieces, then put in a bowl with the flour and sugar. Rub between your fingers to make tiny crumbs. Squeeze the mixture together to make a dough.  Place the mixture between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper then roll out thinly. Peel off the top piece of paper, and cut animal shapes with cookie cutters.

Place these on a greased baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes. You can then decorate with icing pens, sweets, sprinkles etc.

FRUIT SALAD PIZZA

Ingredients:

300g strong white flour

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 teaspoon fast-action dried yeast

25g butter

1 egg

125ml warm water

Jam and fruit of your choice for topping

 

Method

Brush a flan tin with some oil. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Melt the butter, and add to the flour mix along with the egg. Slowly mix in the water until you have a soft but not sticky dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes (kids love this bit!). Place the dough in the flan tin and press over the base. Spread the dough with jam (approx. 4 tablespoons).

Top with the chopped and peeled fruit – we like to use apples, plums and peaches but you can use whatever you fancy.

Leave in a warm place for about half an hour to allow dough to rise, then brush the top of the flan with some melted butter and sprinkle with some sugar. Bake for 15 minutes at 180*C/Gas mark 4 for 25 minutes.

CHEESY MUFFINS

Ingredients:

100g cheddar cheese

125g cornmeal (if you don’t have cornmeal, use the same quantity of plain flour instead)

175g self raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

150ml milk

2 eggs

2 teaspoonsDijonmustard

4 tablespoons sunflower oil

Salt and pepper

 

Method

Preheat oven to 200*C/Gas mark 6. Grate the cheese, and mix with the cornmeal, flour and baking powder. Add the milk, eggs, mustard and oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir together until just mixed.

Spoon into 12 muffin cases and bake for 15 minutes.

 

These are our all time family favourite baking recipes, and we make them over and over again. The only problem is, that they never last very long!

Hope you enjoy giving these a try, and let me know which is your favourite!

Read more from Kate on her blog, and follow Family Fever on twitter and facebook.

Kate from Family Fever shows us 5 simple ideas for keeping the family fed!

Finding meals that the whole family will eat can be tough, especially if you have fussy eaters! I have put together my 5 Family Favourites for you to try.

1.      Breakfast can be boring, so why not try something new? My children love these BANANA AND APRICOT BAGELS and they are so quick and simple! Toast a wholemeal bagel. Mix together some cream cheese and dried apricots and spread on top, then simply add some slices of banana – delicious!

2.      A favourite lunch idea of ours is TUNA AND POTATO SALAD. Cook some new potatoes. In a bowl mix together a squirt of lemon juice, a clove of crushed garlic and a chopped red onion. Add the cooked potatoes and leave to cool. Then add tuna, tomatoes and cucumber. Stir it all up and serve. Everyone in the family loves this, and it’s great served in lunchboxes too!

3.      Another quick and simple idea is TRAFFIC LIGHT OMELETTES. Stir fry some red and yellow peppers and some spring onions and put to one side. Beat together eggs and milk and pour into a large pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes then sprinkle over the pepper mixture. Place under the grill for a further 1-2 minutes until set then serve. The children love the traffic light effect of the red and yellow peppers and the green onion!

4.      To introduce fish into your diet, try some SALMON WITH SPRING ONION MASH. Peel and chop some potatoes and boil. Cook the salmon in a pan over a high heat for 2-3 minutes, turn over and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash with milk and finely sliced spring onions. Serve with the salmon and some broccoli for a really healthy, tasty meal.

5.      An absolute, hands down favourite with my children – MEATBALLS AND SAUCE. Mix together chopped onion and garlic with some lean lamb mince, and shape into balls. Heat some oil in a pan and brown the meatballs on all sides. Remove and put to one side. Add some more onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add a tin of tomatoes, 2 tbsp of tomato puree, 200g sliced mushrooms, 100g peppers and 150ml water. Bring to the boil then add the meatballs. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Serve with spaghetti or pasta shapes. When I make this there are always clean plates from everyone!

My children also love fruit smoothies, and it’s a great way of getting some of their 5 a day into them. Simply add any fruits you like into a blender with some milk and yogurt and whizz it all together!

I hope this has given you a few new ideas to try, and I would love to hear what you think if you give any of them a go!

Read more from Kate on her blog, and follow Family Fever on twitter here. 

Mummy Blogger Natasha reviews the Petite Star 2 - in - 1 Adventure Walker

When I was asked to test out the Petite Star 2 in 1 Adventure Walker I was excited.  I would have been even more excited if I could have fit in it myself, but Shyloh trying it out on my behalf would have to suffice.  I think Shyloh was suitably impressed too. is was meant to be a Christmas gift, but I don’t think either of us could wait, so it got opened early.  It was surprisingly easy to assemble (which was good as I’m about as DIY minded as Mr Bean), and we were soon up and running, so to speak.

First thing that caught Shyloh's attention were the flashing lights and noises, neither of which were overbearing, but kept her entertained.  I do wish we would have got one of these earlier (it’s suitable from 6 months as a bouncer), as it would have freed up my arms in the early days.  But for now she was skating around the place like a sugared up bat out of hell, laughing her head off.  I would say, the walker is only really suitable for hard wood or laminate flooring (like all walkers really) – she got somewhat frustrated on the carpet.

The walker has 3 different height settings, which is really handy when her friends come over to play and they also want a go.  And the bike-shaped handle bars are removable so that I can pop snacks or other toys on the tray.  All in all I was really impressed with the 2 in 1 Adventure Walker.

Nursery Value are currently offering 10% off all their products so don’t miss out!

Buy the Adventure Walker here for just £59.99

As we're soon approaching National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (25th June) I thought it only apt to write a blog about how my life has changed now that my boobs seem to be permanently out. It was always my intention to breastfeed, but I never really realised how hard it would be to get the hang of, and quite how difficult the whole process would be. I guess I imagined it to be something along the lines of; boob out, whack her on, jobs a good'un, but it didn't quite go like that.

I might as well take you back to the beginning - the birth of my wonderful monster. She latched on as soon as she came out, and almost instantly a feeling of utter pride washed over me. I found it amazing how this tiny thing, barely an hour old, seemed to know exactly what to do. Unfortunately, my euphoria was short lived, for by the time we got round to her third feed, it was like she'd forgotten. Plus, my nipples hurt like mad (sorry to any men reading this, but you have to know, it can be bloody painful at the start!). I asked a midwife for assistance, as I was deeply hormonal (not surprisingly), and concerned that Shyloh would starve... I was told to massage my breast and collect any drops that came out into a syringe. I immediately started sobbing, and it wasn't until the next duty midwife came along that she suggested laying down to feed her, which worked a treat. Obstacle number one over.

The early days are quite a blur, but I remember it being very tricky to get the hang of what I was actually supposed to be doing, and how best to teach Shyloh. Thom would have to make me a little bed of a million blankets on the living room floor so I could lay down every feed (glad we grew out of that!), and the cats would always want to lay with us. I felt like I was always breastfeeding in the early days, and to be honest I probably was, for there was a point where Shy would feed every 1.5 to 2 hours. We went to a breastfeeding clinic, and bless Thom, he had to sit there with a dozen women all with their baps out... probably would have been a pleasant experience for him under other circumstances! I also leaked like mad, I would be feeding off of one boob and the other would start gushing... ok, that's probably too much information, but you need to know these things!

I've had to feed in some pretty interesting places. Remembrance Day, slap bang on the 2 minute silence, Shyloh starts wailing so I resorted to feeding her on the floor of the cobble stoned market square in front of hundreds of veterans. During an interview... yes, you read right. Not only did I have to show my bits to four men I would potentially be working for, but baby then decides to puke everywhere. Suffice to say, I didn't get the job. I've had to walk through countless shopping centres, supermarkets, town centres, parks, restaurants etc with Shyloh attached to me. Great fun.

Thankfully, pretty much everyone has been really open and supportive when it comes to breastfeeding in public places, and my friends are used to me being half naked in front of them by now. My best friend was slightly uncomfortable to begin with, when I'd have to feed Shyloh he would sheepishly avert eye contact, slowly head towards the door whilst saying, 'I think I'm going to go see what Thom is up to' (bless him). I've had another friend, who is a glamour photographer and therefore used to boobs of all shapes and sizes, sit pretty much on top of me whilst I was feeding, stare at my boobs, going 'that's amazing, doesn't that hurt, why is she pulling like that, how many holes does it come out of, does it squirt everywhere or trickle out, what colour is it, that's sooooooo amazing!!'. I guess some people would have been traumatised by the barrage of questions, but I was really pleased that he was interested and wanted to know more about it all.

Not to say that everyone is in agreement. My mother, of all people has been a pain, and frequently asks me when I'm going to stop as it's an 'inconvenience' (grrr!). Once, in the very early days, she proclaimed 'that's not how you do it', and proceeded to shove my boob into Shy's mouth. I have had to bite my tongue on several occasions, and in the end sent her an email with information on breastfeeding so that she could stop coming out with ludicrous comments such as, 'you're milk isn't good any more', 'there is no point doing it after six months', and my personal favourite, 'if you carry on it's just selfish'. I have felt like slapping her in the face with a breast pad before, but I remind myself that it was all very different in her day.

There is a lot of support out there for women who want to learn more about it, or are struggling to get to grips with it. I don't think I could have coped without the breastfeeding cafe and the friends I made there. There are also groups, such as Le Leche League, who were a massive help when my milk production went down. For anyone who is thinking of breastfeeding, I would advise it wholeheartedly - I'm not going to bang on about the benefits as I'd be here all day, but I would say don't give up, it's hard work, but so so so worth it in the long run. I love the bond I have with Shyloh, and I will always remember this time fondly. It's been eight months now and I'm 'still' breastfeeding. An no, I have no intention to stop just yet. Why should I? There is so much contradiction when it comes to the how long to breastfeed for, but I believe that it's down to the individual. As far as I'm concerned, Shyloh will stop when she's ready. Ok, I may have to consider reevaluating this if she's coming home from middle school and asking for a feed! And anyway, if I stop now, I'd have to start buying milk to put it Thom's tea! Ha, just kidding Thom! Or am I? :) 

Any business needs a USP (unique selling point) whether it be a fizzy drink company or a toilet manufacturer, each and every business needs to make itself stand out from its competitors. Here at NurseryValue we believe that we have found a niche in the market that puts us one step ahead of our competitors and keeps our level of customer care/satisfaction at the highest level.

As you may already be aware, NurseryValue is not your usual e-commerce website that supplies products from one particular business sector (baby nursery goods). Instead, it has formed a close bond with an actual manufacturer of baby products that are sourced in the Far East. The manufacturer is ‘Petite Star’, famous for the Zia and Kurvi pushchairs.

Petite Star products can be found in national chain stores all around the country, like Toys R Us, Mothercare, Argos and Boots. Also, Petite Star supply smaller independent stores up and down the country, alongside various online e-retailers. All these stores buy from Petite Star and supply these products to the consumer via their own medium, whether it is a shop floor or an internet site.

NurseryValue however is different, we have created a strong bond and excellent working relationship with Petite Star over the years and we are now classified as ‘The trading arm of Petite Star’. We allow Petite Star to sell directly to the public, which is a rare privilege open to us.

Working with us, we have Petite Star’s trained technicians that deal directly with any repairs through NurseryValue and we also have Petite Star’s fully qualified customer service team on standby who know our products better than anyone, and can help to resolve almost any issue with them.

Shopping with NurseryValue guarantees you expert customer care; Petite Star’s trained technicians ready to deal with any issues you have, and; a direct line to the manufacturer of some of the country’s most sought after prams, pushchairs and all round nursery goods.