It's just over a month now since I wrote about setting up our new aquarium from Swell, so I thought it about time to let you know how we are getting on and tell the tale of finally getting some aquatic residents in our tank. Mr C has become the main fish keeper in the house (whilst I'm just in charge of feeding them!) so I'll let him do the story-telling this time... We took a sample of water (in a baby food jar) with us to our local trusted fish shop, where they tested it for free and declared it fit for fishy habitation. Water testing is important, and becomes more so once ... read more
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
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
Review: Walkers Might Lights
I was a strange child when it came to food. I hated chips. Disliked crisps. Would only eat one particular chocolate bar and nothing else. For months my poor mother had to feed me a diet of cold mushroom soup and baked beans as I refused to eat anything else. I remember going for playdates at school friends' houses and getting upset as I didn't like the snacks that their mums offered us. I did say I was a strange one. When it comes to my kids I'm keen that they eat a varied diet. Yet fruit and veg is important and I'm keen that it's a balanced diet, but I also want them to ... read more
Meet Ralph – my little Scotch friend…
Isn't he a cutie? Ralph is here to brighten up any desk, either at home, work or even at school and he's a Scotch Magic Tape dispenser making him super useful too! Little Miss C has recently developed a love for sticking things with tape and I've found that Scotch Magic Tape is by far the easiest for her to use when she's doing some crafting. It doesn't get all scrunched up in the way that other tape does and it also keeps its flat shape better, making it easier for little hands to deal with. Previously she was trying to get it out of one of the standard clear plastic ... read more
Review: Kiddy Charts
Months ago (yes - sorry Helen!) I was asked to review Kiddy Charts and jumped at the chance. At the time I was also attending the parenting course that I've written about before here and a whole section of the course was focused on reward charts of different forms and the pros and cons of using them with different children. It seemed the perfect background to give Kiddy Charts a good rigorous review. So, what exactly are Kiddy Charts? Via their very easy to use website you can create and personalise your own Reward and Chore Charts, Progress Charts, Care Charts (so that ... read more
August Tassimo Blogger Challenge – Costa Caramel Latte
I've blogged before about the Tassimo machine that I'm putting through its paces as my role on their bloggers network. Each month we're sent a new challenge to complete and I have to say I'm rather fond of the August challenge. Along with a pack of their new Costa Caramel Latte T-DISCS was this simple instruction: "brew yourself a delicious drink, sit back and relax" I'm a big fan of simple instructions like those - especially when life's busy with the kids - so I did exactly as they told me to. I had actually already bought a pack of the ... read more