Sunday Photo: Church from Midsomer Murders

Win a Disney Princess Hearts and Paws Duvet Set

I saw this super-cute duvet set recently and, as I am surrounded by small boys and not one girl in sight, I thought I would buy it to giveaway as a prize for one of your little ladies instead. I hope it finds a good home. Just a straightforward Rafflecopter to enter and, as always, all UK residents are most welcome to enter. Non-compers, prolific compers, committed compers, addicted compers, compers who would enter for a used teabag, I don't care, it's a competition, enter it!! #CompersWelcome

Finding a Great Dentist for Nervous Children

L, who is 9, has been struggling with severe dental phobia for most of his life and I made it my mission this year to finally tackle it, before his adult teeth started to suffer. It is actually really hard to take your little boy somewhere that you know fills him with fear and dread, to the point where even the word 'dentist' causes physical distress and tears, so I hadn't been as strict as I should have been with his six monthly check ups. I did take him, but not as often as I should. No one knows where the phobia came from, I had never expressed fear of the dentist and had taken him since he was a toddler, but it gradually got worse over time.

6 Things Men will Never Understand about Women

A Guest Post by the Permanently Perplexed Husband, Phil

Why Does it Take Them so Long to Get Ready? 

Tell a man he's going out and he goes into a well used routine: Shower, shave and dress, quick glance in the mirror, 'Tom Cruise has got nothing on me', done. Ready to go out the door in 12 minutes, like a military operation. Two hours later he's still waiting downstairs, with thoughts like 'What are you doing up there?' and 'Why do you never make that much effort for me!'

Meeting Jacqueline Wilson and a Hetty Feather Review

A Guest Post by Jade...

I have read almost every Jacqueline Wilson book as a child and consider a select few as childhood favourites: The Dustbin Baby, Cookie and The Illustrated Mum. I have always admired her way with words, particularly the way she is able to approach difficult subjects in a thoughtful, and often positive, manner. I had always said as a child that even if I was an adult, the oldest in the queue for her autograph, I would run to the front just to meet her. Someday I would…

A Train Poem that Parents Might Relate To!

A little boy obsessed with trains,

Knows all the types and all their names,

Every buffer, piston, funnel,

Every chuffer, sleeper, tunnel.

Excitement builds as the big day dawns,

Expectant face and stifled yawns,

No bus for us, it’s the train today,

A rare treat to start our holiday,

Bacon, Egg and Cream Cheese Bagel

This is quite possibly the most delicious breakfast roll you will ever eat. The sweetness of the cream cheese and the saltiness of the bacon are the perfect taste combination and the egg adds a wonderful texture to the finished dish. It only contains four ingredients all of which are widely available. Like all my recipes, it is astoundingly easy to make and the longet time is spent cooking the bacon and boiling the eggs, after that it's ready in moments.

7 Circumstances that will Brighten Your Day As A Parent

1. Waking Up to Find it Isn't 5am.

Nothing beats that blissful feeling when you open your eyes for the first time that morning and see actual daylight. It changes your whole perception of life, filling you with an exuberance that could conquer the world. You may even go so far as to make actual breakfast, instead of settling for yesterday's pizza leavings. Whatever age your baby stops waking at night, there is nothing more joyful than the inner triumph of having acheived a 'normal' person's sleep. Celebrate the moment. I don't care what anybody says; if it isn't daylight, it isn't morning. Fact.