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Before anyone jumps up and down on me about Scotland, the title is a little bit of a joke. I am engaged to a Scotsman and I can reassure you that they are very friendly!

However, the nice folk over at Scottish Friendly have also put together a helpful guide and video to help answer questions about the new ISA's that the government have recently announced. Saving for our children's future has always been important to us and with the Chancellor announcing in his budget that from 1 July 2014, ISAs will be reformed into a much simpler product, the New ISA (NISA), we thought it was time to look at it again. 

Apparently, all existing ISAs will automatically convert to a New ISA. Meaning those already saving and investing into an ISA will benefit from the changes. So it really is "nicer".

I know that there are lots of families consciously save for the future, whereas others believe in living for today by spending what they earn and I suppose I fall somewhere in the middle. My love of shopping for myself and the girls (and the Scotsman too), is no secret but I am always aware of that rainy day or "college" fund in the distance and an ISA gives me the freedom of saving but with easy access in case I need it!

Scottish Friendly

 also have a handy video that tells you more:

 

 

So what about you? Do you save for the future or live for the now?

 

This is a collaborative post but we thought that as money saving is so much of a focus for parents, that we wanted to share!

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It is no secret that there is a love of shoes by the girls on the Lilypad, so when we got the opportunity to review the Skribbies shoes, we jumped at the chance! Skribbies is a UK based company founded by Jennifer Duthie. The idea behind Skribbies came when Jennifer was reminiscing about the sweeter days of childhood. Jennifer wanted to develop a product for kids that was more versatile and would allow kids to keep on customising and as a result, Skribbies was born.

So what is in a Skribbies box? The 8 year old takes her first leap into (a very shy attempt at) vlogging. 

I have to admit I *may* have teased her with the box until the weekend and I purposefully didn't look inside either, so we were both thrilled with the contents. The Skribbies come with 6 pens in varying colours, monster stickers and a wristband.

 We made sure that there were no distractions (i.e 2 year old sister) to encroach on her artistic talents and she got to work straight away.

She couldn't decide between the stickers or the pens so ended up using a little bit of both. The Skribbies come with a handy wipe clean cloth (that doubles up as a funky wristband for art on the go) so if you don't like what you have done, you can simply wipe away.

Uh oh ... then the peace was shattered as the 2 year woke from her nap and insisted on getting involved! The chunky pens were the perfect size for her, much to her sisters dismay.

 Et Voila!

 You can just imagine how delighted the 8 year old was when the 2 year old found the cleaning cloth ...... (action shot to follow)

I am told by the ever critical 8 year old, that the trainers are really comfortable to wear and she loves showing them off when we go out.

She is a bit of a creature of habit, so once she has a design she tends to stick with it ..... until her sister gets hold of them of course.

My mum was a little worried at encouraging the children to draw on their shoes but they both understand that they are a special design and you can only draw on the Skribbies. At £39.99 they are not the cheapest shoes you are going to buy for your child but certainly not the most expensive either and with the ability to change the look whenever you want, it is a great way to encourage their individuality too.

We love them ..... what do you think?

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As the Lilypad is full of gorgeous hand crafted items, it should come as no surprise that we love Hobbycraft, so when we were asked if we would like to run a competition with them, how could we resist?

After scouring through the crafty delights, we found it so difficult to select a prize so being huge fans of Snazaroo facepaints, we thought that the Snazaroo Mini Starter Kit would be a great prize for the competition.

The Man on the Lilypad has some fancy art degree (disclaimer : am not in anyway jealous of his ability to draw, paint, create) so any excuse to do face painting in our house is welcomed!!

So would you like your very own kit? Simply enter below:

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Terms & Conditions

UK Entrants Only.
The winner will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 3 working days by email
Hobbycraft will be responsible for the despatch of the prize
By entering this competition, you understand that your details will be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
There is no monetary equivalent.
Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
End Date19/04 /2014 at 12am

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It is no secret that my girls love the water and approach it with enthusiasm but even though there are 6 years difference between my girls, how they approach the changing rooms are a totally different story.

 

Toddler : Happy to run around naked for long periods of time in the changing room, avoiding getting dressed at all costs.

Tween : Would rather put her clothes on over a wet swim suit, than actually get naked in front of anyone.

 

Toddler : Thinks a towel is something you wear on your head and zoom around in.

Tween : Cannot be seperated from said towel and sits in a cocoon until forced to get ready.

 

Toddler : Will happily chat to anyone .... whilst naked.

Tween : Avoids eye contact with anyone in the changing room.

 

Toddler : Will contentedly ask to go to the toilet and walk over the wet floor to do so ..... whilst naked.

Tween : Would not even consider walking on a wet floor in the toilet .... incase it was something other than water.

 

Toddler : Will ask a stream of questions about anything, including other peoples boobs.

Tween : Do not even mention the word boobs if you want any kind of conversation for the rest of the day.

 

Toddler : Will try and help you fit everything into your swimming bag .... even if those things don't always belong to you.

Tween : Will repeatedly leave goggles, swim hats and other items in the changing rooms.

 

Toddler : Cannot wait to get out of the changing room and buy something from the vending machine.

Tween : Cannot wait to get out of the changing room and buy something from the vending machine.

 

Oh .... maybe they are not so different after all.

What are your children like in the changing room?