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Don’t worry, I’m not about to launch into a rant about the effect pregnancy has on your figure or discuss ‘birthing hips’! Instead this week I had the great opportunity to catch new Cuban dance production Ballet Revolución.

When an invitation dropped into my mailbox, it didn’t take long for me to decide my response – hot, bare-chested dancers flexing their toned limbs to the sounds of Ricky Martin and Shakira? – count me in!

The Sadler’s Wells production running at London’s Peacock Theatre is fairly far removed from any typical night at the ballet, but not completely, as these dancers clearly have the skills to compete with any top ballet company. And instead of pirouettes, tutus and scrapped back buns, it was more a case of pirouettes, hip thrusts, hotpants and dreadlocks to a soundtrack of Ricky Martin’s She Bangs and Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie, not to mention some more recent hits such as Chris Brown’s Yeah 3x and Beyonce’s If I Were a Boy, performed by a talented live band.

The tempo of the production continued to pick up pace throughout the performance brilliantly showcasing the mix of ballet, contemporary and hip hop. By the end of the night, it was hard not to want to join in and shake a hip or two.

At the Peacock Theatre, London until May 19 – definitely worth booking a ticket!

WHENEVER we go to playgroups, at some point my toddler will make a beeline for the pretend kitchen areas.

He loves the role play of making me a cup of tea or something to eat! So it was great to try out the Hape Pop-up Toaster Set at home.

It definitely came at the right time for us as we were stuck in the house as my son had a viral infection. #funtimes
So it was a great distraction for him as we pretended to make breakfast together. Sometimes I was lucky enough to be served breakfast on the sofa!

The classic wooden set comprises of seven pieces including a toaster that pops up two slices of bread, a plate, knife, butter and honey pot.

I absolutely adore wooden playsets, for me they’ll always have the edge over mass produced plastic toys – although don’t get me wrong, you’ll still find lots of plastic toys in my home too!
Made to last, they’re the sort of thing you pass down from child to child.

Toys like this are great for your little one’s imagination  – it makes you realise how much they actually watch you while you’re at work in the kitchen!

The Hape Kitchen and Food range also includes a Tea Set for Two and even a Coffee Machine – very millennial!

Available to purchase from Hape’s Amazon store.

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.

I have what you’d call a love/hate relationship with my daughter’s hair. I love it when it looks neat and tidy, I hate it when I have to plait, wash or comb it – and so does she.

When she was younger I could almost get away with doing it while she slept, but as she’s got older we’ve gone from me chasing her around the house with a comb in my hand, to her sitting down for half of the ordeal before deciding she’s had enough. Oh, and did I mention how she hates to have water or shampoo touch her hair?

With her kinky afro hair I’m always on the lookout for any brands claiming to have an ‘easy comb’ or ‘detangling’ effect to make at least one aspect of the hair-dressing procedure less harrowing.

I’ve  recently been trying Mini Naked De-tangler Shampoo and while it wasn’t an obvious choice – ie not aimed at afro-haired children – I was surprised (and glad) to see it did the job. Part of the Naked range, but specially for little ones, it’s almost completely (97%) made from natural ingredients.

Admittedly I wasn’t too keen on the smell when I first started to use it, but I think that may have been the combination of lavender oil in the ingredients alongside aloe vera – I’ve never been a fan of lavender and it always takes me a while to get used to the aroma!

It retails at about £3 which isn’t too bad, especially as afro hair doesn’t need to be washed every day  – which is quite lucky really as I don’t think I, or my daughter, could cope with the trauma!