LivingwithKids

OK, I realise your kids will probably be making a card for their dads this Father’s Day (June 20), and quite right too. But if you would like to treat him to something else, too (either from them or yourself), here are some suggestions – they’ve all been road tested on Man of the House, so they’re 100% male approved.

Clinique Happy for Men Groom Happy Set. I love the smell of this cologne and after shave balm – light wood notes spiked with citrus, very manly. (£33, available from John Lewis)

A gorgeous photo book from PhotoBox (from £19.99) – you (or your children) choose the pictures and the captions to make a really personal and lovely gift, simples.

Some rather yummy (and very masculine) pampering products. The Father’s Day Collection from Elemis includes full size Ice Cool foaming shave gel, Deep Cleanse Facial Wash, Energising Skin Scrub and Daily Moisture Boost, all in a stylish black wash bag (£25, from timetospa).

A Thorntons chocolate football shirt, iced with a personal message (£4.49). Well, it IS the World Cup.

And a bottle of single malt whisky. Buy them a bottle of Talisker, The Singleton of Dufftown or Dalwhinnie (available from Oddbins) – and they'll get two VIP passes to a free malt whisky master class at 20 locations around the country.

*Don’t forget you get savings back for your kids from the above retailers and many more through KidStart. If you’re not a member, click here to join.

We all know how expensive shopping for baby products can be – which is why I was so pleased to hear that Boots has some fantastic online offers right now. You can save up to 20% on selected nursery and safety products, car seats and highchairs, and there are fab deals on essentials including Huggies and Pampers Baby.

Plus KidStart members get an exclusive 10% off selected Baby products on orders over £50 before 30 June. For more info, click here.

Unless you’re planning to leave the country for the next month or so, there really will be no escape. No I’m not talking about Big Brother (yet) but the World Cup, of course.

Now obviously Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland did not make it into the World Cup, but there is a dizzying array of England-themed goodies on offer. Here are some of my favourites:

These babygros (£7 and £8) and bibs (£5) from Mothercare are very cute.

I also love the soothers (£2) and baby bottles (£3) from Tesco.

To ensure you don’t miss a single ep of Grey's Anatomy or any of your other favourite shows that clash with an ‘important’ game then you might want to get Sky.

They’ve bought out some new limited edition boxes just for the World cup designed by Wayne Hemingway, Phil Daniels and Gerald Scarfe. (For more details click here).

So, what's the offside rule again?

We’re HUGE fans of Where the Wild Things Are in this house - the book and the film. And to celebrate the release of the movie on DVD, we’ve teamed up with Play.com to offer you the chance to win three sets of exclusive merchandise.

The prizes include: A childs fuzzy monster suit – as worn by the character Max in the film A Where The Wild Things Are Kite A Where The Wild Things Are T-Shirt A Where The Wild Things Are Wacky Wobbler Bobble Head

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to send your answer to the following question from your KidStart registered email address with your name, address and daytime telephone number to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date 14 June. (Please note that entries from non-KidStart members will be disqualified. If you’re not a member, click here to join).

Q: Who wrote Where The Wild Things Are?

Good luck - let the wild rumpus start! 

So farewell then, James 'Sawyer' Ford. You  (and your physique) kept us entertained for six fabulous, if not always coherent seasons of Lost. Don't worry, in case you haven't seen it yet, I'm not going to spoil it for you. But for me, that was the most satisfying series finale I think I've seen. Bar none. I laughed, I cried, I clung on to the edge of the sofa. And even though there were many questions left unanswered, I will miss Jack, Hurley and the rest.

I was very disappointed with the end of Ashes to Ashes - sorry, I know so many of you are huge fans, but for me it was terribly predictable. Heroes just seemed to fade away (possibly because they didn't know that would be the final episode).

No 1 Son argues that Friends had the best ending ever. But even though I loved it, the characters didn't stay with me in quite the same way as the Lost crew. I'd love to know what you think.

And meanwhile, apparently the boxed set of the entire series of Lost will contain 14 minutes of bonus footage. You can preorder now from Play.com. I know I'm going to.

Kids love collecting things and of course we’ve gone through every possible playground craze in this house. But one thing that’s never wavered is the love for Lego, so these collectible Minifigures were an instant hit.

There are 16 to collect (although you don’t know which one you have until you open the packet, and you have to put them together yourself, which adds to the excitement. I mean for the children, obviously, *ahem*).

Not sure about the dodgy looking moustache on the magician – the caveman and the ninjas are our favourites.  £1.99, available from Argos.

And if your children are fans of Chuggington they’ll love this Wilson Carry Case (£14.99), available from Toys R Us. You have to buy the engines separately (and at £5.99 they’re not cheap, but they’re made from die-cast so at least they’ll last).

When we had No 1 Son we didn’t have much money, and while we bought everything new, our pram was a very ordinary one from Mothercare. I think it cost around £120, and it did the job until he was ready for a buggy.

Being honest, even if we’d had the money, it probably wouldn’t have occurred to us to spend £500 on a pram.

Some items – for example aTripp Trapp highchair or a Little Helper funpod – I can understand why you’d invest in.  They grow with your child and they’re design classics, the kinds of things you would definitely pass on.  And of course you should never use a second-hand car seat or cot mattress.

But is a very expensive pram really so much better than a cheaper one? Does a baby care whether they’re wearing a designer babygro? Isn’t the most important thing that your baby feels loved and secure?

I’d love to know what you think - and what items should new parents splurge on, and what items should they save on?

I’ve only recently discovered Pumpkin Patch and already I'm a huge fan. The company originated in Auckland, New Zealand and specialise in sensibly priced really cool baby, kids and maternity wear perfect for summer holidays. I'm not just saying it because Man of the House is a Kiwi - their stuff is gorgeous!

The boys’ collection includes the floral shirt (£14), button-up mock tee (reduced from £10 to £4.99), cargo shorts (£15), stripe tee (£13) and reversible caps (£6).

And the girls’ collection include this printed tiered floral dress (£20) and rose print chiffon dress (£13.99, reduced from £20).

Right now they’re offering 30% off clothes for ages 5-11. PLUS you get 5% back for your kids if you shop through KidStart – just click here for more info.

As you know I’m a HUGE fan of Annabel Karmel, MBE so I’m very excited about her brand new cookbook, Top 100 Pasta Dishes (RRP £9.99, available from Waterstones and Ebury Press). It’s packed full of healthy, yummy meals for the whole family, including mouth-watering recipes for babies and toddlers. There’s a huge variety of recipes ranging from Spicy Sausage Meatball Pasta to my personal favourite, the Japanese-inspired Stir Fried Beef with Noodles.

Here are two recipes for you to try – plus, below, win a copy of Top 100 Pasta Dishes!

Baby vegetable pasta Annabel says: ‘As your baby gets older it is important to encourage him to chew, so dice vegetables instead of pureeing them. Frozen peas and sweetcorn are good standbys to keep in your freezer.’

Ingredients
50 g (2 oz) baby shell pasta
10 g (V oz) butter
50 g (2 oz) onion, finely chopped
30 g (1 oz) carrot, finely diced
30 g (1 oz) red pepper, finely diced
30 g (1 oz) frozen sweetcorn
30 g (1 oz) frozen peas
10 g (V oz) plain flour
250 ml (9 fl oz) vegetable stock
2 tbsp basil, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
30 g (1 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

Method
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and pepper, cover with a lid and sauté for 10 minutes until nearly soft. Add the sweetcorn and peas and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the flour, then add the stock, stirring until thickened. Simmer for 3 minutes, then add the basil, lemon juice and Parmesan. Stir in the drained pasta. Serve.

Salami, red pepper and mozzarella pasta Annabel says: ‘Most children like salami, so here is a simple recipe that you can put together in about 15 minutes.’

Ingredients

180 g (6 oz) pasta shells
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 small garlic clove, crushed
50 g (2 oz) thinly sliced salami, roughly chopped
150 g (5V oz) cherry tomatoes, chopped into 8
75 g (3 oz) mozzarella, cubed
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Method

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Drain. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the pepper for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and salami. Fry for another 5 minutes. Add the drained pasta, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella and season. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

*Competition: WIN a copy of Top 100 Pasta Dishes!

There are 10 copies to be won in our fab competition. All you have to do is send an email from your KidStart registered email with ‘Annabel Karmel’ in the catchline and your full name and address, plus your answer to the question below, to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date May 28. (If you’re not a KidStart member, click here to join.)

Q: How many recipes are there in Annabel’s new cookbook?

Now I'm not *really* a football fan. I have a team I support (Chelsea, since you ask) and I do watch the World Cup - when England are in it. I love having a big barbecue with the whole family and settling down to watch a big game and saying in the middle 'what's the offside rule?' and 'which team is winning?' (Just to annoy the males, obviously. I understand it really *cough*)

Of course the rest of my family are actually proper footie fanatics - No 1 Son has even been a mascot at Stamford Bridge - so this summer I imagine we'll be spending a lot of time in front of the box. And if you're thinking of getting a new TV then Argos  have the most amazing competition on at the moment. They're offering the chance to win £5000 worth of goodies including TVs, laptops, games consoles, sofa and BBQ, plus lots of footie stuff!  To find out more about how you could win simply click here.

And not only that, KidStart are giving everyone who shops at any of their retailers between now and 11 June the chance to win a 42" LG LCD TV from Argos worth over £1000! To find out more, click here. Good luck!