Competition: Win a personalised Peppa Pig Book + discount code for Mummy Alarm readers

Starting school can be a daunting time for youngsters but now the idea of school can be introduced with this personalised Peppa Pig book by Penwizard. Whether your little ones are going to school, nursery or playgroup - you can make their first day a special one by sending them on their very own Peppa Pig adventure.

 

In ‘Go to Playgroup’, your child stars in the words and pictures with Peppa, Rebecca Rabbit, Danny Dog, Candy Cat, Suzy Sheep, Zoe Zebra and all the Peppa characters that they know from their favourite series. Creating your child's very own Peppa Pig story couldn't be easier: Simply add their name and then personalise the illustration to include their eye colour, hair colour and style and skin colour. Choose whether they go to school, nursery or playgroup and even add your very own personal message, for the ultimate personal touch.

If you would like to create this unique personalised book starring your child as they start school at simply visit www.penwizard.co.uk and fill in their details. Readers of Mummy Alarm save £3 on all Peppa Go to School purchases until 30th September 2011. Simply enter the discount code 362589 when you are checking out.

How to enter:

1. If you want to win a personalised Peppa Pig book, leave a comment telling me what you loved most about school. - REQUIRED

Please, use separate comments for each bonus entry. Failure to do so will result in only one entry per person. 

For extra entries: 

2. Follow @caro_mad on Twitter & tweet: "I want to a personalised Peppa Pig book with @caro_mad. You can enter here:http://bit.ly/ns4b2Q"
3. Comment on one of my non-competition posts and let me know which one you commented on
4. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm via Google Friend Connect
5. Follow Mummy Alarm via Networked Blogs
6. Like Mummy Alarm on Facebook

7. Share this competition using the Google+ button below

Terms & Conditions:

The closing date of the competition is 14/09/2011
The winner will be chosen at random.
The winner's names will be shown on this page.
Competition is open to residents of the UK only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions
Loquax - The UK Competetion Portal

Mummy Alarm Competition: Win 10 Write & Spell Books from ZooBooKoo

If your little ones are anything like me when I was in my first years of school, the summer holidays won't stop them from wanting to practice what they have learned during the last term. But don't fear, Mummy Alarm is here to safe your sanity by offering 10 lucky readers a prize that will keep your little brainiacs occupied and give you a well deserved break.

Win a new Write & Spell Book from ZooBooKoo for your child and choose between the Reception Words Write & Spell Book for school starters or for slightly older children the Year 1 & 2 Write & Spell Book with the next 50 high frequency words. The write and wipe 8-page booklets have a sturdy backing to lean on and come with a dry wipe pen. Both booklets contain over 50 high frequency words which form the target learning aims for all Year 1 & 2 students and help your little ones to catch up or prepare for an exiting new year at school. With Write & Spell Books children can practice again and again without killing a whole forest, perfecting their spelling and their cursive handwriting. Being the perfect A5 hand-bag size, they are great on the go, too.

How to enter the competition:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what your favourite word is - required

2. Visit ZooBooKoo's Facebook Page and tell them why you think your child should win and come back to tell me you have commented on their page - required

For extra entries:

3. Comment on one of my non-competition posts and let me know which one you commented on

4. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm using the email form in the right hand corner

5. Follow @caro_mad on Twitter and tweet "Win 10 Write & Spell Books with @caro_mad. Enter here: http://bit.ly/nFXmWb - Pls RT #win #comp"

6. Like Mummy Alarm on Facebook

7. Use the +1 button below and share on Google+

Please, use separate comments for each entry. Failure do to so will result in only one entry per person.

The closing date of the competition is 13/08/2011
The winners will be chosen at random.
The winners' names will be shown on this page.
Competition is open to residents of the UK only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

Mummy Alarm Competition: Win 2 copies of 'Shoot the Baby"

Shoot the Baby is a beautifully presented book offering advice on how to take great photos of babies and toddlers – and we have two copies to give away. Ideal for the amateur photographer, it is packed with tips, advice and composition ideas, presented in a light-hearted style to help parents to capture the best of those precious first years. Shoot the Baby bridges the gap between novice photographer and keen hobbyist - a market which hasn't been addressed by photography books to date. The advice and ideas in the book work with a full range of cameras from mobile phone to digital SLR. No additional expensive equipment is required to take advantage of the tips to create stunning baby photos.

The book is split into two key sections: top tips and composition ideas – with beautiful images used throughout. The tips are written succinctly in list format and cover a range of topics such as planning, lighting, props and how to encourage a winning smile.
The second half of the book - ‘The Subject Matters’ - gives fully illustrated ideas for suggested shots and key milestones to capture such as the first haircut, tooth, birthday, Christmas – and shoes.
Shoot the Baby’s humorous style and winning images mean it can be enjoyed by anyone who loves children; photographers and non-photographers alike. Published by Vero Press, Shoot the Baby is available on www.amazon.co.uk and www.shootthebaby.co.uk at a cost of £12.99.

How to enter the competition:

1. If you were a paparazzi, which celebrity would you like to take a picture of and why?

For 2 extra entries:

1. Follow @caro_mad on Twitter and tweet "I want to win a copy of 'Shoot the Baby' with @caro_mad. You can enter here http://bit.ly/jWdC0P"
2. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm's RSS Feed
3. Leave a comment on a non-competition blog post and tell me which post you commented on.

Please, use separate comments for each entry. Failure do to so will result in only one entry per person.

The closing date of the competition is 11/07/2011

The winner will be chosen at random.

The winner's name will be shown on this page.

Competition is open to residents of the UK only.

The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions.

Competition: Win Amanda Ursell's Baby and Toddler Food Bible

The list of what foods to introduce to your child and when can be daunting. To offer guidance and advice to parents all across the UK, the country's leading nutritionist, Amanda Ursell, has written her 'Baby and Toddler Food Bible. It contains information on: 

• weaning
• what to feed your child from 6 months to 1 year, and year by year until 4 years
• fussy eating, and how to handle it
• allergies and intolerances
• whether shop-bought baby foods are OK
• top nutrition for mums on the go
• 200 easy, nutritious recipes.

Mummy Alarm has teamed up with Amanda and her publisher Hay House and offers one reader the chance to win a copy of her new book. 

To be in with a chance to win, simply leave a comment telling me why you want to win a copy of the 'Baby and Toddler Food Bible'. 

For 2 extra entries:

1. Follow @caro_mad on Twitter and tweet "I want to win Amanda Ursell's 'Baby and Toddler Food Bible' with @caro_mad. You can enter here http://bit.ly/f3tclP"

2. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm via e-mail. 

Please, use separate comments for each entry. Failure do to so will result in only one entry per person.

The closing date of the competition is 30/06/2011

The winner will be chosen at random.

The winner's name will be shown on this page.

Competition is open to residents of the UK only.

The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

The Prize Finder - UK Competitions 

Review: Love You Mum by Gillian Campbell

I'm not normally one for self-help books, I really don't like the guilt trip that most of them send you on, however when I was asked to review Love You Mum by Gillian Campbell I thought it might be a good idea to have a read through it. 

There are millions of books that tell you how to raise your children, how to get them to have the perfect sleep routine and and and. This books different: It tells you how to be a mum – a mum that is happy in her role, a mum that goes to bed with a smile on her face and a mum that is in charge of her life.

Love Your Mum is divided into several chapters like Understanding Who You Are, Building Habits or Parenting with a Truth and helps you to analyse yourself and your feelings towards motherhood using exercises that really get you thinking. After working through them, you will clearly be able to say what kind of mum you are and what kind of mum you really want to be.

We all are grumpy from time to time or think we could do better when we look at the 'perfect' lives of others, aren't we? But why don't we just change our habits? No motivation? No idea where to start? Let me tell you, Gill Campbell will give you a kick up the bum that will get you going. Regard her as a good friend or even better, your personal trainer: she'll hold a mirror in front of you and she'll show you ways on how to deal with the ups and downs of being a mum.

Gillian herself says: “The book is for Mums who perhaps end more days wishing they hadn’t snapped at their kids and their partners more than they had laughed and loved the challenges they faced. Those who dive into the escape of a glass of wine, an internet site or a reality TV show at the end of each day, rather than spending time with their partner or putting steps in place.”

If that sounds like you, pop into your local book shop or visit Gillian's website www.theonlymum.com to get your copy of “Love You Mum”. The book costs £12.95 but it might change your life.

World Book Day: My favourite children's book

It's World Book Day in a couple of days and I thought this would be the perfect chance to share my favourite children's book with you.

As some of you might already know, I grew up in Germany, so I guess you won't be surprised to find out that my favourite book has a German title. It's called “Lustige Geschichten” (“Funny Stories”) and was written and illustrated by the Russian author Wladimir Sutejew. I don't know if there is an English version of the book but if you've got the chance to find it in English, I highly recommend getting it for your little ones. I absolutely adored this book and will definitely get a copy for my little girl.

“Lustige Geschichten” contains thirteen lovely stories whose main characters are a little duckling, a bug, a wolf, a fox, a bear, a swan, a little squirrel, three little cats and many more animals. All of them go on their own little adventures or experience life in many different ways. The stories are suitable for kids of a very young age. They are short, they are beautifully illustrated and they are written in a way that captures both children's and their parents' attention. My mum loved reading this book to me as she knew how much I loved it and when she didn't have the time to read it to me, I just sat down in my little arm chair and read it to myself – at least it looked like that to others, because I knew all the stories by heart. My parents even painted some of the characters on my bedroom wall so I could have them around me at all times – I loved my new wall decoration that much that I got my bright red crayon out and helped them colour the characters in. They weren't impressed, I can say that much, but they still let me read the book to my little sister so I guess they weren't that mad at me...

But what about you? What was your favourite book or which book can't your little one live without? If you want to share your book tips, use the Linky below to link to your book posts and let us collect as many must-reads as possible.