Playpennies

Seriously, Bin Weevils?!! Who on earth decided that Bin Weevils would make GREAT toys for kids and managed to persuade some top toy execs that it was a winning idea?!

I've not come across them before (or if I have, I've managed to erase them from my memory!), I can't say they appeal very much, and I can guarantee that my youngest son probably loves them - I'll have to ask him.

However, if you know all about them and are in the market for some, then you need to head over to Amazon - you'll be able to bag yourself some Bin Weevil bargains.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Bin Weevil bargains 

There are  three Bin Weevils up for grabs for a decent price - talking plush ones, for £4.05 instead of £14.99.  Apparently, having asked my good friend Google, the whole Bin Weevil things came about from a short on Nikelodeon (where else!) and spawned an entire culture all of its own.

You can create your own Bin Weevil online, interact with other Bin Weevils, play games and chat.  It sounds a bit like Moshi Monsters to me, only more disgusting sounding!  They're certainly not my cup of tea, but if they're yours - well, your child's, at least - then good luck to you!

Thanks to Netto1 at HUKD

The Fish Colours Mix and Match Peg Puzzle from Melissa and Doug has a pound off at Debenhams and is selling for £4 but the code GZ79 gives you 10% off, and comes with free delivery. It's also £4 at Amazon, but Debenhams is obviously a little cheaper.

• Colour match with Melissa and Doug

There's something about fish and fishing games, my daughter loves. She's always attracted to them. I don't know why, but I know she'd have loved this game a few years ago, and probably even now!

This wooden peg puzzle, featuring 10 colourful fish, includes ten interchangeable pieces, allowing children to make a different school of fish every time. I guess the idea is that they colourmatch, but they can also fit into the other fish-body-hole bits, so you can make colourful fish.

The names of the colours are under the pieces, so should help with word recognition too.

Not a bad little travel toy or gift for the price.

Thanks to xposure at HUKD

There have been a few Celebaby bits and pieces I've been meaning to tell you about - none of them are earth shattering news, but they've all made me smile one way or another, and for various reasons.

So, as we know, David Tennant and Georgia Moffatt are expecting their second baby together; well, I had to laugh at speculation in the press that the couple might have been giving clues as to the gender of baby number two, based on what they were wearing!

David was wearing a BOY LONDON t-shirt and Georia was wearing a navy BLUE maternity dress, when they paid a visit to an Early Learning Centre store. WELL, that must mean they're expecting a little boy then! I mean, surely they didn't just grab something out of the wardrobe to wear that day.  DAFT!

Britney Spears has recently revealed she'd like to add a little girl to her family of two boys, with her new man. She also mentioned that she wouldn't be surprised if they don't follow in her showbiz footsteps, saying, "They do like attention, so I think they would probably be a little good in the limelight. We're taking baby steps at this point as far as agencies and stuff like that goes, but they're little comedians, so we'll see."

Frankie Sanford (one of the Saturdays, in case you didn't know) still hasn't had her baby yet - it feels like her pregnancy has gone on FOREVER. And did you see the picture in various newspapers of Kim Kardashian's very swollen feet, bulging out of a pair of clear shoes?  It was quite gross, and enough to put you off your lunch!

Tesco are selling this Moomba Lion and Friends baby gym for half price - £24.35 instead of £48.75.  Just to give you a quick comparison, Amazon are currently selling it for £39 and say the rrp is £65 - look!

• Click HERE to take a look at the Moomba Lion and Friends baby gym *

I have to say, I really like the look of this Moomba Lion and Friends baby gym - I've bought three different ones in my time, written about plenty more, and I know when one 'talks' to me...this one does.

It looks different with it's not quite so in-your-face bright colours like the majority of other baby gyms have.  Its mat looks suedey soft (I'm sure suedey isn't a real word, but for the purposes of this post, I'm making it one!) and the Moomba lion cushion can be removed.

It has the usual four corner play arch with the obligatory dangling toys, one of which is always a mirror, and its suitable from birth.

All three of my children spent plenty of their early months laying underneath a baby gym, they loved it and I'd recommend one to anyone who's expecting a baby or already has a little one.

You can arrange to collect your Moomba Lion and Friends baby gym, for free, from your local Tesco store, or you can lob them an extra £3 and have them deliver it to you instead.

Thanks to Khio77 at HUKD

Use this The Disney Store promotional code to get 20% off a £50 or more spend. It worked doesn't work with items that are already on offer, or with any other discounts or promotions I am afraid.

Click here to use your Disney Store online promotional code*

• Discount: 20%
• Minimum spend: £50
• Promotional code: CLOUD20
• Expires: 26th May 2013

To use this code, go to the Shopping Basket page and enter it in the box under Special Offers and Discounts. It will be applied automatically to your order.

You'll also see any other discounts that are applied to your order listed under the box. I tested the code out on several items, to a total of £50. The code took £10 off and as the delivery charge is £4.95 this is also effectively giving you free delivery and a bit more besides.

Thanks to leeds_united_afc at HUKD!

Vertbaudet has an offer on at the moment with £15 off a £20 spend. They also have a number of discounts with loads at 20% off and a few at 50% off too.

Take £15 off £20 spend and buy something nice for the summer

• Discount:£15 off £20 or more
• Expires: 30 July 2013
• Valid on:Full price items
• Promotion Code: 4600

Both Amazon and Tesco Direct have a sale on the Casdon Morphy Richards Kitchen Play Set. Delivery is free at Amazon, but £3 from Tesco, unless you can do click and collect, then it's free too. So, whichever you go for depends on when you want it and whether you want to be able to leave the house for it or not.

• Casdon Morphy Richards Kitchen Play Set from Amazon
• Casdon Morphy Richards Kitchen Play Set from Tesco Direct*

This play kitchen set is a complete set of kitchen appliances with contemporary styling, which looks remarkably similar to the real deal.

It consists of a fillable coffee maker which allows water to pour into the coffee pot, kettle with level gauge indicator, toaster with 'pop-up' toast and an extensive range of colourful crockery, cutlery and even play food.

"This Morphy Richards Kitchen Set has been specially designed to be true to life, right down to the last detail so your little cook will really feel part of your world while developing essential life skills", says Amazon.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

Zooplus is offer a tennis ball on a rope FREE when you buy a large bag of Hill’s Science Plan dog food. Plus they’re discounting the large bag of Hills dog food from £38.59 to just £36.90. With a variety of flavours to choose from this deal is a must for dog lovers plus you and your best friend will get some exercise and outdoor time.

• Click here to get woofy food from ZooPlus*

Hill's Science Plan dog food is of only the best quality. It strictly avoids harmful nutritional excesses and sets high standards in canine nutrition. It contains everything an adult, senior, junior, overweight, or active dog needs. Aside from the many tasty flavours (according to my Labrador), Hill's dry dog food range also offers special diet variants, such as Oral Care and Sensitive Skin.

My vet put me onto Hill’s when I go my Lab puppy and since then he’s gone from strength to strength. Studies have shown that good nutrition can help stave off canine diseases like hip dysplasia giving your canine family member a longer, healthier life. Talking about a long life – exercise and fitness are vital for your dog (and you!) so this tennis ball on a rope is not only fun, it’ll provide you both with hours of exercise and bonding time. It’s easy to throw and because of the attached rope you'll be able to avoid contact with the slobbery ball by picking it up by the rope instead! As I have discovered with my Lab, no toy is indestructible so you’ll need to supervise your pet with this toy and check the toy regularly for damage to avoid potential injury to your pet.

So get out into the Spring sunshine, breathe the fresh air and spend a bit of time with your best friend this weekend!

I just love this super simple idea for attracting butterflies to your garden. So simple and well, sweet.

New season new savings! Get an incredible £19.90 off these cute girls’ Lelli Kelly Cuori sandals from Shoes.co.za. Previously £44.90 they’re marked down to an unbelievable £25! With this kind of saving and the wide variety of shoes on offer at Shoes.co.uk you can shop for the whole family online and, if you’re prepared to wait 48 hours, delivery is free!

• Click here to delight your kids at Shoes.co.uk*

New this season from Lelli Kelly is the pretty navy Cuori Sandal. Patterned with hearts, these sandals feature interchangeable straps to give a choice of summery flower petals or a smart bow, perfect for a party! Lovely and comfy to wear, the uppers are made out of leather allowing little feet a bit of give as they grow.

I don’t think Imelda Marcos loved shoes as much as I do and my daughter is following closely in my footsteps. As soon as she could walk she’s been wandering around the house in my heels (always the red ones – strange..) Shopping with her is a nightmare – actually getting out of a shoe shop with only ONE pair of shoes is a nightmare which is why I love shopping at Shoes.co.uk. Their fashionable range of shoes, boots, sandals, trainers and outdoor footwear makes it so easy to buy shoes for the whole family – and I don’t have to deal with a tantrum in a shoe shop! So don't let your little girl miss out on a pair of these this summer.

I'd forgotten about camcorders. And digital cameras for that matter. Ever since I first got my smartphone, I just stopped using them. Why would you need to carry a separate recording device around with you when you have one on your phone, already in your pocket?

Panasonic showed me why. The company sent in the Panasonic HC-V520 full high-definition (HD) camcorder for us to review. Read on to find out more!

Toys R Us have a half price bike sale going on at the moment - bikes for little people and bikes for big people too.  So if you're in the market for a bike, or even a family of bikes, get yourself over to Toys R Us and bag yourself a bike bargain!

• Click HERE to take a look at all the half price bikes *

A childhood without bikes in it, would be a very deprived childhood indeed...at least, that's what I think.  I remember three of the bikes I've owned in my lifetime, clear as day, and they were all birthday presents.

The first one was for my fifth birthday - it was lilac and it had a little carrier thing on the back (I put my tea set in it once and pretended I was off to have tea with the Queen; I fell off that day too and can still see my tea set strewn all over the street).

The next bike I remember was my Raleigh racer - you know, a proper racer with the drop handlebars - and it was called a Whisper.  In fact, that bike is still hanging up on the wall in my mum's garage! That bike racked up some mileage - I used to ride it to school, so six miles a day, five days a week (rain or shine, I'll have you know!), for two years.  It was my 14th birthday present.

The last bike, was a present to myself four years ago - and it felt VERY weird, riding a bike again. You know that saying, "...it's like learning to ride a bike: once you've mastered it, you never forget," or something like that anyway; well, I can tell you that you might not forget, but you're certainly a bit wobbly for good while, before you get the hang of it again.

Prices start from £49.99, and go right up to £109.99 for a Muddy Fox (they've always been cool) and there are biking accessories available too.

Happy biking!

If you get yourself over to Red House Books, you'll be able to pick up a copy of the fabulous Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters for £6.49, rather than its list price of £12.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at The Jolly Postman *

I wish my postman was jolly! There is a standing joke among all the people who live in the same little cluster of village houses as me: we have THE most miserable postman in the whole wide world, ever! It's now become somewhat of a sport to be EXTRA jolly and cheerful when we see him, because it really seems to make him even more grumpy.

Anyway, back to the book where the posty really IS jolly!

The Jolly Postman is one of my favourite children's books. It's written and illustrated by the genius pairing of Janet and Allan Ahlberg (who, I swear, have been around forever - at least from when I was a little girl!) and is just the most wonderful story - I can, hand on heart, guarantee that your child(ren) will love it.

The postman's bag contains a letter of apology for the three bears from Goldilocks, a postcard from Jack for the giant, a solicitor's letter on behalf of Little Red Riding-Hood for the wolf who ate grandma, and lots more - it really is the most clever and wonderful story.

It's not just me who loves this book either, here are a couple of reviews from other people:

As good as I remembered!!! I had this book when I was young, and have got it again for my two boys. It's rhyming text, and things to find in the envelopes, that are delivered to many characters we all know from children's stories and fairy tales, make this book a firm favourite at our house.

I remember having this book when my children were small (along with many other Ahlberg books). It was a delight to read with them and one I would heartily recommend to anyone to share with their children.

Happy reading The Jolly Postman!

Home Bargains are selling this cast iron garden chiminea for £29.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the cast iron garden chiminea *

This has brought back some really wonderful memories for me - let me explain:

My ex-husband and I bought a cast iron chiminea almost identical to this one; we enjoyed sitting outside in the garden (that we'd painstakingly turned into something beautiful, from nothing) in the evenings with a glass of wine.

This was great all the while the evenings were warm, but we didn't want to have to go in the moment it got a bit too chilly, even with jumpers on.

So we invested in a chiminea - we'd looked at fire pits and the like, but with small children (the teenagers were little then) and animals roaming around, we decided that something enclosed would be better.

And it was, before bedtime we'd sit outside with the kids, in front of the roaring chiminea, and they'd drink hot chocolate.  They'd go to bed, and we'd open the wine - they were peaceful and happy times.

This one isn't very tall, only 90cm, but they don't need to be huge to throw out a large amount of heat - ours was only small too. I'd recommend one to anyone.

You can collect your chiminea from your local Home Bargains, or you can have it delivered - although goodness knows what the delivery charge would be, as it's not light!

Happy chimey-dooing! (the kids used to call it 'the chimey-doo)

Got a couple of teenagers in the house? A few pre-teens? It's been a long hard week. You might be, like me, considering putting your feet up and just NOT cooking at least one night this weekend. Well, use this Pizza Hut promotional code to get  50% off orders of £15 or more.

Click here to use your Pizza Hut promotional code*

• Discount: 50%
• Minimum spend: £15
• Promotional code: EMAYX9ACB
• Expires: 20th May 2013

To use this coupon code, buy your pizzas. On the final page, headed ‘Here You Go’, before you get to checkout, enter it in the voucher codes box. The discount will appear immediately on the page.

It worked on a medium sized gluten-free pizza and a side salad, the total of which came to £16.98. The code took £7.49 off making it £9.49 in total.

As far as I can tell the code  won't work on meal deals.

Thanks to gamer852 at HUKD!

Argos have on offer a Baby Polar Gear Little Ones Bottle And Insulted Food Cooler for £4.99, reduced from £9.99 and with free delivery.

• Go out prepared with a cool bag*

The insulated Baby Polar Gear Little Ones Bottle and Food Cooler with adjustable shoulder strap is ideal for drinks and foods for little ones. It apparently has a roomy interior, which fits all types of food pots, sipper cups, drinks and snacks.

It comes complete with freezable ice pack to keep contents cooler for longer.

The lid opens on three sides, so you won't have trouble getting things in and out  and it has a front pocket. There's also a quick release clip so there's no danger of getting it caught on anything.

It has sponge clean PEVA lining, so it can be kept nice and clean, and a mesh sponge pocket on the inside of the lid acts as convenient storage space for spare wet wipes.

Thanks to kellyhorserider1 at HUKD

Bambino Direct have discounted the Britax Eclipse car seat from £129.99 to just £89.97. That’s a fabulous saving of £40.02! The Britax Eclipse car seat is the ideal solution if your car has limited fitting space (i.e. a 3-door or smaller car). It’s forward facing with improved side impact protection through deep softly padded side wings and can fully recline without disturbing your child.

• Click here to get safe with Bambino Direct*

It also features a 5-point safety harness with one-pull adjustment and has Performance chest pads to reduce your child’s forward movement in the event of an impact. But by far the biggest feature for me is that its light making the transfer of seat from my car to my husband’s easy and bruise-free.

Suitable from 9 months to 4 years, the Britax Eclipse car seat’s cover can be removed and washed so no more grubby car seat that draws comments from your mother when she gets into the car with you! The Works offers free delivery to your door or you can collect from their showroom in Huddersfield. So keep your child safe (and comfortable) on the road this summer and enjoy the journey for a change!

We have aMelissa and Doug Stacking Train (£14.99) that my daughter has played with since her first birthday, almost three years ago. It's such a great set though, that even though it's not new, I still want to tell you about it.

The Melissa and Doug Stacking Train is made up of an 'engine' and two carriages. They all interlink and connect through slotted in pieces, which is great because the carriages don't unhook during normal play.

The three carriages have 15 building blocks which can be mixed and matched and played with in a number of different permeation.

There are a couple of great things about this set for your 1- 4 year old child. At a very young age, just stacking the blocks are fantastic for fine motor skills, and building towers are a good developmental milestone. As they get older, children can build colours together, shapes together, like by like, then later following the pattern to create the train on the box,  so this whole set really provides a myriad of learning opportunities.

The colours are great, bold and bright, and my kids love the train. It keeps them engaged.

Melissa and Doug are  normally great toys anyway, but this one has really lasted very well. It's been beaten and battered and abused in the care of two little girls, but it is still in pretty much as new condition.

Finally, the bricks are a great size because they fill up little hands, but are by and large too large for little mouths.

The Stacking Train by Melissa and Doug is an all round favourite for girls and boys.

The Works is offering a ’10 books for £10’ on selected kids books. And considering that each book retails for between £4.99 and £9.99 EACH, that’s a saving of up to 85%

• Click here to delight your kids with The Works*

The Works has a HUGE range of kids books, audio books, art materials, jigsaws, CDs, DVDs and adult fiction and non-fiction books. Their current ’10 kids books for £10’ offer applies to a selected range of books from ‘The Worst Princess’ and ‘My Giant Fairytale Sticker Book’ to the Octonauts series.

The favourite part of my day is lying next to my daughter reading her a bedtime story. Unfortunately her bookshelf is a little limited and she keeps choosing the same books over and over again so I try to make it interesting for myself by embellishing the story slightly. Previously she used to find this hilarious but not that she can read I’m pretty much snookered.. With this fabulous deal from The Works my little princess can now be entertained by a whole range of new kids books which she can actually read to me for a change! And with free delivery for orders over £25 there are a couple of things on the website that I’ll be adding to her order for me!

Mothercare has reduced the price on the HappyLand Zoo by half. It was on sale for £60 but now it is a mere £30 which is a lovely saving on a really cool toy. I wish I had a little one to go with it!

• Click here to get playing with Mothercare

The HappyLand Zoo kit is great for teaching kids about animals and learning new words. Toys like these also inspire imaginative and creative play which is brilliant for developing minds and encouraging independence and problem solving.

The zoo also helps to develop hand-to-eye co-ordination skills, motor skills and lots of fun skills. The set needs a pack of four AA batteries, which are initially included. This set is suitable for kids from 18 months old and it comes with eight animals, three HappyLand people, one gift shop, one zoo entrance/animal enclosure, one monkey tree swing, one penguin slide and pool, and one train.

It is so sweet and you can add onto it with other items from the HappyLand range.

Thanks to cobman at HUKD!