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It takes a lot to get me up and out of the house before 9am on a Sunday morning – luckily enough my early hour traipse into the West End with a toddler to attend The Croods gala screening was well worth it.

Joined by the likes of  Elen Rivas, Olympic athlete Steve Backley, Gaby Roslin and their broods, we all had the chance to enjoy ‘fun in the foyer’ – face-painting, balloons etc – before heading into the 3D screening.

If you’re looking for a film to take your little ones to I would highly recommend this offering from DreamWorks, the makers of How To Train Your Dragon and Madagascar. The ‘pre-historic’ animated comedy follows a stone age family as they finally venture out from the cave that has always been their safe haven. In my mind it was the perfect mix, appealing to both adults and children – I mean I laughed so many times I lost count and hell, I even almost shed a tear at one point (yeah, I said it).

Admittedly 3D screenings with toddlers who lose quickly lose interest in wearing 3D glasses is a challenge, but mine managed at least 40 minutes before deciding to discard them…

With characters voiced by Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener, each of them had something about them to draw you in, but when it came to my three year old, the star of the show was definitely the sloth and his catchphrase ‘dun, dun, daaah!’

So basically, I loved it, my daughter loved it – watch it.

IT may seem that normal life has been put on hold at the moment.

But when you’re a mum, you still have kids who want to go out to experience new things and explore.

After six months behind closed doors, options may seem limited, but it’s always good to have a look at things which take you outdoors while allowing you and the little ones to stay safe.

We recently enjoyed a trip to Vauxhall City Farm and I was impressed by the measures being taken to ensure social distancing and general post lockdown safety.

The space is small but perfectly formed and the kids absolutely loved the chance to feed the animals. I thought we would be in and out in ten minutes, but I simply could not drag both my three and ten-year-old away.

Entry to the site is free with a voluntary donation and food for the animals is just £1 a bag.

The kids also loved the chance to walk around the farm’s community garden following our own recent endeavours into growing fruit and veg at home.

Staff are constantly communicating to ensure there are only a certain number of visitors inside the farm at any one time, which means that entry numbers are limited and queues can form when busy.

There are also lots of handwashing stations and a one-way system in place to help with social distancing.

www.vauxhallcityfarm.org

IT seems us girls have never had it so good as Disney’s latest offering portrays yet another feisty ‘princess’ showing us just how she handles things.

Don’t get me wrong, Moana is also great viewing for the boys but as a mum to an easily influenced little girl, this trend is certainly something that has my backing.

Without giving too much away, the animation sees a young Hawaiian girl embark on an adventure to find a demigod and save her people from a curse.

With music, great one liners and tears (mine!), my daughter absolutely loved it. And so it seems Disney may have yet another hit on their hands.

X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger voices Moana’s mother, but the real stars of the film are Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as demigod Maui, whose interaction had the audience in stitches.

Check out the clip below for a little taster – you’re welcome..!

Just days after the Rumour Has It singer gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, she now has the second delight of having a dress named after her.

Peaks of London, who specialise in creating fashionable items of clothing for breastfeeding mothers, have christened a piece from their S/S13 collection, the Marilyn Adele dress.

Yay for Adele, now what do I have to do to get something named after me…?

Anyway, the elegant dress for special occasions is perfectly designed to allow breastfeeding mothers the best of both worlds – the chance to not look like a dowdy frump while giving hungry babies easy access.

And while the dress doesn’t come in Adele’s signature black, the style – over the knee, with a cinched waist and mid-length sleeves – is very much something you could imagine her wearing.

The Marilyn Adele dress retails at £150 www.peaksoflondon.com