There are some big benefits to blogging and one has to be the lovely parcel of children's books for us to review that arrived from Bloomsbury Children's Books last week. Four books which were all very different, but all equally lovely, and each deserves its own separate review here on the blog. I've decided to start with Spider Sandwiches which has to be the most fantastically bonkers book of the lot! Illustrated by Sue Hendra, who also was responsible for Doug the bug that went Boing which we reviewed here last week, the artwork in Spider Sandwiches is ... read more
Archives for September 2013
Review : Post-it Super Sticky Notes
Did you know that Post-it notes were pretty much invented by accident? Someone working at 3M was trying to come up with a super-strong adhesive and instead invented a reusable, pressure -sensitive one instead. Not knowing what to do with his new invention, but sure that it did have a purpose, he just made sure he told lots of people in the company about it until one of them came up with the idea of using it to hold a piece of paper inside his book to mark the page, and the rest, as they say, is history. Nowadays Post-it notes are everywhere. I always have a stack on the kitchen counter next ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Bruno Cuddly Toy
In addition to being sent the Bigjigs Road and Rail Overhead Platform there was also this cute little guy in the parcel - Bruno! I mean how can you not fall completely in love with him? Bruno's got lovely textured fur, making him irresistible for little hands to play with. The mix of colours is also attractive to the eye and stimulating for younger children. He also rattles when you shake him. When we opened the box it was instantly declared that Bruno should be for Master C, but it seems like Little Miss C is also rather fond of him. She was particularly keen to show him our ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Road and Rail Overhead Platform
They always say that one of the biggest tests when reviewing something is asking the question "would I have bought this myself?" and that's a very easy question for me to answer here as we actually bought Little Miss C the Road and Rail Overhead Platform for her birthday earlier this year! That means we've actually had a good few months to review this properly and it's quite telling that when LMC saw it in the latest Play Patrol package from Bigjigs her response was "oh wow, another platform". Our train set building has had to slow down a bit lately as it's ... read more
Doug the bug that went Boing! – Sue Hendra
Recently Little Miss C has been complaining that we don't curl up and read together in the daytime any more and sadly she's right. Sitting quietly and trying to read a book is a bit tricky when you've got a one year old trying to climb up on to your knee. It was therefore perfect timing that just the two of us are home this afternoon and my postman brought along a copy of Doug the Bug this morning to review. LMC loved the last Sue Hendra book that we were sent to review (Keith the cat with the magic hat) and Doug is no different in gaining her ... read more
Review: DC Super Friends Magazine
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my dislike of things being aimed at one gender over the other when the target audience is so young. It's something which seems to have struck a chord with many parents - both those with sons and daughters. I wasn't going to let whether or not my kids fit into the desired gender demographic stop me from reviewing something which I thought they were going to enjoy though so I was intrigued to see what Little Miss C would make of the DC Super Friends Magazine which I mentioned in my original post as being aimed at pre-school boys. Basically, ... read more
Review: Sudocrem Care & Protect
If anyone tries to tell you that teething nappies don't exist then they're lying. And if they want proof then they're very welcome to come round here and change a few for me! Master C's teething big style at the moment and it therefore seemed rather appropriate timing to receive an email asking if I wanted to review a new product from Sudocrem to help prevent nappy rash - Care & Protect. I think there are very few mums in this country who haven't used Sudocrem at some point on their children's bottoms - I know my mum certainly used it on mine - and the distinctive ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: First picture book
Friends are wonderful people. Friends who turn up on your doorstep unexpectedly on a Saturday evening with a gift for you are even more wonderful. The friend who has made sure that the gift is a pile full of amazing vintage Ladybird books, some of which you've never even seen before, are quite simply the best. It's therefore with huge thanks to Kirsty from Damson Lane that I bright you this week's Ladybird Tuesday - First picture book. Somehow series 704 (Picture Books) had just completely passed me by until this beauty came into my possession on Saturday. A series of five books ... read more
Great Bloggers Bake Off Week 5 – Rocky Road
There's been a bit of a gap in my involvement in the bake off, mainly due to all the stresses and extra work involved in LMC starting pre-school, Master C starting nursery and Mr C starting a new job - all in the same week! Week 5 is tray bakes and biscuits though and that's exactly my thing. Now, I first blogged about this recipe way way back in 2008, not long after I started blogging. I still make it regularly and still say it is one of the nicest things ever! The recipe originally came from Nigella Lawson, although I have to say that I have absolutely no confirmation as to to which ... read more
Gardening for beginners – September (Early Autumn)
I've not had time to say much on here lately about what we've been up to in our garden, mainly because ever spare moment has been spent actually doing stuff out there rather than writing about it. There are some big changes happening though, especially in terms of moving things around. We used Mr C being off work for a few months to kick start some plans that we've had for a while for the lower part of our garden. The shed has been moved, new paths are planned and Mr C's also in the middle of building some new raised beds. If we get that far then there are also plans to ... read more