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Learning About Caring.. With Care Bears

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Our eldest daughter Izzy is growing up to be a considerate, loving and caring girl – albeit with a side of stubborn thrown in. One of the things we have been trying to teach her lately is about caring for other people – mainly her younger sister. They are at an age where the rough and tumble games that they play can easily end up with one of them getting squished or falling over and we are trying to encourages the important role she has as an older sibling in caring for her little sis.

It’s with great timing that I was sent a lovely little Care Bear this week from Vivid Toys- we were sent the Cheer Bear .. Cheer is much needed in our home at the moment and it’s a cute, bright pink plush beanie bear. She has a rainbow across her belly and apparently can always find a way to cheer her friends. Let’s hope that last bit is true!

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I grew up with Care Bears.. Like me they were born in 1983 and were extremely popular amongst myself and my siblings. I pored over my older siblings well thumbed books and eagerly watched the cartoon and film as I grew older. The message behind most of the stories is simple. Care for others. Not a bad message to install into your child.

I had a childish thrill when it arrived and I kept it as a surprise bedtime treat for Izzy on a day when she had behaved especially well – it’s now firmly tucked up in bed with her. We have chatted about it the last two nights prior to bed about how we should care more and be nice even when we don’t really feel like it.

Each Care Bear has a tummy symbol that represents his or her personality. Care Bears have been going strong now for almost 30 years and are back to appeal to a new generation of Care Bear fans!

There is a new toy range and an animated series currently airing on Tiny Pop. The range consists of a new cuddly collection of beanies and full size toys featuring a host of instantly recognisable Care Bears characters old and new.

We watched the original movie on Netflix last week and I think I enjoyed it even more than she did.

Is it weird that I almost want to buy the Yellow funshine bear for myself? It’s too cute and I’m a bit in love with yellow right now. It’s daffodil season after all.

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* We were gifted this bear from a rather wonderful company.

A Gift Guide For Mothering Sunday

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Always stuck for gifts for Mothering Sunday? I know I am, normally I take my mum shopping for clothes or give her vouchers or money to choose something nice.

Here are a few of gift ideas for all kinds of mums this year, from the traditional to unusual!

Something gold and sparkly?

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Maybe your budget can’t stretch to a Gold necklace but how about this Blue Nun sparkling Gold Edition white wine, complete with distinctive fine flecks of delicate 22 carat gold leaf?

Designed with all the glitz and glamour of special occasions in mind, the iconic brand, owned by Langguth Wines in Germany, has used their passion, heritage and expertise to create a delicate, subtle quality sparkling white wine with a lovely light fruitiness (alc 11.00%). Retails for approx.£9.00

Aldi have a great selection this year from slippers, to pretty cosmetic bags and beauty products such as hair dryers.

I love the Remington hairdryer ( £15.99) which was badly needed here after my old one burned out at the grand old age of 15year old.

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As well as the set of 3 cosmetic bags:

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Maybe you have a mum who loves to cook like me? In that case how about a Brilliant Reading Rest?

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This product which is available from around £19.95 can be found in a variety of BRILLIANT colours such as hot pink and duck egg blue. Perfect for use in a kitchen and workshop.

Another product ideal for kitchen gadget fans is this Cookie press from OXO Good Grips

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This press is perfect for making batches of cookies and comes with 12 stainless steel cutter attachments for hearts, flowers, snowflakes and more. It can be purchased online for £26.00.

Looking for gifts for children to make or give:

Sugru Have some great ideas on their site, like this mug:
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Out of the pack, Sugru feels like play-dough, and it’s that easy to use too. It bonds to almost any other material and cures just by exposing it to air. Its durable cured properties mean it’ll stay strong and securely bonded anywhere from the freezer to a steamy hot shower, from the home to the great outdoors.

Or perhaps they would like to give a teddy with some ever lasting flowers?:

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This 12″Tatty Teddy Tatty Teddy holding a flower pot with ribbon and ‘beautiful Mum’ wording makes a lovely Mother’s Day gift or birthday gift!

Here are a few products which I think are ideal for the mum who needs to relax, and who doesn’t?

Nelsons Arnicare® Arnica Bath & Massage balm
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This product is available from a variety of supermarkets and retails for approximately £8.15 – I love it and used it far too quickly! It smells divine too.

This Elle Macpherson Aromatherapy Foot Spa from Homedics is the perfect relaxation at home device for your tired, aching feet.

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Mood boosting LED lighting and aromatherapy mist and oil make this the ultimate luxury when it comes to foot therapy. The innovative design allows for both integrated hydro and vibration massagers and acu-pressure nodes that stimulate reflexology points. Functional inter-changeable pedicure attachments are included to meet indispensable beauty needs for picture perfect feet. It retails for £74.99 and is available from Amazon.

With the feet taken care of let’s move onto the hands with some gorgeous nail polishes from Nella Milano:

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Nella Milano offers stunning colour rich nail lacquers that are effortlessly stylish, elegant and long lasting. Nella is steeped in sophistication and takes inspiration from the Italian fashion capital of Milan. I tried out of one of the pink shades recently and loved it.

Or you could even go a bit further with a Rokit Gel Polish Kit which retails from £99.99:

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Rokit launches a brand new gel manicure kit that promises a rok-hard, high shine and salon quality finish from the comfort of your own home, with a simple one step application.
The brand new and unique Rokit Gel Polish Professional Kit makes gel nails even easier by reducing a typically five stage process to an easy one step application. Just polish and cure for shiny, salon quality nails that last up to 14 days.

A more unusual gift would be the Easy Lock:

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Mums will be in good company with celebrity Mums such as Fearne Cotton, Mel B, Abbey Clancey & Davina McCall owning one too!

The lock, priced at just £24.95, is as light as plastic, as strong as stainless steel, and can be fitted in seconds. It is small enough to fit in a pocket, and also the only lock of its kind in the world to allow individuals to open the door slightly, to check a caller’s identity, or to take a letter, whilst maintaining total security. I’ve purchased one for my sister who travels often for work and often feels a little wary of opening her hotel door.

And a special treat for a Downton Abbey fan?

How about this board game from Destination Board Games:

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Become your favourite character from the extremely popular show and become immersed in the world of Downton Abbey. This game retails at £24.95.

And finally a gift for the fit mum or the want to be fit mum like me. A TomTom Runner GPS Watch:
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The TomTom Runner GPS Sport Watch is the ultimate motivational tool to get into running – as opposed to running after the kids! All you need to do is set a distance, time or calorie goal, then check progress on the extra large screen. You can then receive alerts when you are halfway there, almost there and on hitting the target. With different watch strap colours including black and turquoise, you can pick a watch to match mum’s taste. Priced £99.99 from Sweatshop, Runners Need and John Lewis.

For me, right now as a mum. A busy mum, a loved mum. All I really need is a hug and a card. Anything else is a bonus!

What do you like to receive for Mothering Sunday?

*Some of these products were gifted for the purpose of this feature.

A Mothers Day Main from Tate&Lyle – Glazed Chicken

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Balsamic-Sugar Glazed Chicken

This balsamic and sugar glaze keeps well in the fridge and is a useful addition to have to drizzle over roasted vegetables – be they English roots or a Mediterranean medley of peppers, courgettes and onions.

Serves: 6
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 1hour 40 minutes

for the stuffing
1 medium onion, peeled & finely chopped
25g (1oz) butter
40g (1½oz) fresh breadcrumbs
125g (4½oz) cream cheese
1 heaped tbsp chopped tarragon
2 heaped tbsp chopped parsley, plus extra for serving
1 lemon, zested
salt & freshly ground black pepper

for the chicken & vegetables
1.6k (3½lb) chicken
3 tbsp olive oil
3 medium red onions, peeled, root discarded & thickly sliced across into 3
3 medium onions, peeled, root discarded & thickly sliced across into 3

for the glaze
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 rounded tbsp Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Light Muscovado Sugar
salt & freshly ground black pepper

You will also need a piping bag with a 4cm (½”) plain wide nozzle and some kitchen string for trussing the chicken.

Gently fry the onion for the stuffing in a small pan with the butter over a low heat for about 10-12 minutes until softened. Tip into a bowl to cool, then add the breadcrumbs, cream cheese, tarragon, parsley and lemon zest. Season well with salt and pepper and transfer to the piping bag.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan200°, 425°F, Gas 7.

Put the chicken on a board, cut the string to untruss it. Then, at the neck end carefully push your fingers from side to side to loosen the skin from the bird to make a pocket for the stuffing. Be careful not to split the skin, or the stuffing will ooze out. If you do, just stitch it up with a needle and thread, remembering to remove it later. Carefully pipe the stuffing between the breast and the skin, patting it down so that it is evenly distributed. Re-truss the chicken with a new length of string. Transfer the chicken to a large roasting tin, drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, season and cover with foil.

Roast the chicken on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour, basting with the juices once or twice.

Meanwhile, combine the balsamic vinegar and Tate & Lyle Light Muscovado Sugar together in a small pan over a low heat, stir to dissolve and then simmer for 1-2 minutes until slightly reduced and thickened.

Rub the onions with the rest of the oil, keeping them together in their slices, and season.

Remove the foil from the chicken, arrange the onions around the bird and cook for another 20 minutes, turning them halfway. Brush the chicken with the balsamic glaze, drizzle the rest over the onions and roast for a final 10 minutes until the chicken is glazed and bronzed, and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a fine skewer. The onions should be tender and nicely caramelised. Remove them to a plate to keep warm whilst you rest the chicken for 10-15 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Carve, scatter with a little parsley and serve with all the pan juices.

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Funky Mothers Day bibs from Funky Giraffe – competition

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I have a cute little competition here for my lovely readers. A set of 3 bibs from Funky Giraffe designed especially for Mothers Day.

Funky Giraffe was set up in 2009 by Yasmin Drury, having worked for a major retailer she was all too aware of the cost of production and the massive mark up charged by companies. As a mum herself, she knew what she wanted for her son and set out to produce funky designs at a reasonable price.

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Funky Giraffe only use fabric made to OEKO-TEX standard 100 for baby garments. They print their own items and only use water based inks, (while solvent based inks are legal, they come in big tins marked with a big X and Harmful, as bibs get chewed this did not seem right). The company only use inks that are completely non toxic.

Find out more about Funky Giraffe:
www.funkygiraffebibs.co.uk
Facebook – Funkygiraffebaby
Twitter -@FunkyGiraffebib

To enter leave me a comment on the blog, tweet me @writingforfun using #mothersdaybibs or like my Facebook

Or do all 3 and get 3 entries. This is a short competition to make sure you get your prize by Mother’s Day so entry will close at 11am March 7th 2013 and winner will be chosen at random from all entries.

Good luck! I kind of want to win myself! Xx