There's many a joke that can be made about "training" your children to help with the housework. To be honest it's when Little Miss C is capable of making me a cup of tea in a morning that I'll be really impressed! Joking aside though, little children do love copying what mummy and daddy are doing and they want to help with everything too. If you're parent you'll know that this "help" isn't always as useful as it could be. LMC's efforts to help me sweep up leaves in the garden resulted in the piles of leaves being spread around again with the ... read more
Review: BigJigs Farmyard Crossing and Fruit & Veg Train
I have frequently written and spoken about why I love old fashioned toys. They are often made to last in a way which some modern plastic toys are not and I also love the simplicity of them which I think encourages children to use their imagination whilst playing. There are some companies that do this really, really well and in my mind BigJigs are one of these companies. All their toys are made to last and also beautiful to look at. I was therefore thrilled to be asked if Little Miss C and I would review something from the BigJigs Road and Rail range, especially since we bought her ... read more
Elevenses
In some ways Little Miss C is a very girly girl. She loves playing in her little play kitchen and one of the Christmas gifts that she loved most was a tea set that we bought her. We often have pretend tea parties together and I don't think it's coincidence that two of her first words were "cake" and "tea". The tea parties aren't all make belive though. Most mornings after a good play session or a quick trip out I do try to make sure that we stop and sit down for a spot of elevenses together. By that stage of the day I need a cup of tea (normally Earl Grey these ... read more
VTech My Laptop
If there's one thing that children want to do more than anything else, it is to do whatever their parents are doing. Any parent who has ever tried to use a laptop whilst a toddler is in the room will know that they will very quickly run over and start trying to press buttons - normally whilst you're in the middle of something rather important! At just 18 months old Little Miss C could already get past the screen lock on my iPhone and before than she managed to launch various applications on Granny's computer too. We were beginning to think that it was time to get her some ... read more
Designs and Such Christmas Tree
I was delighted to recently be asked to review something from new local St Albans company Designs and Such. They are an online craft store that sell both craft kits and also one-of-a-kind handmade items which would make lovely gifts. Being a crafter myself it seemed logical to test out one of their kits and I was sent the Trio of Feltivity kit to make for Christmas. I should add here that time constraints mean that I've only completed one of the trio so far - the chirstmas tree - but watch out for the other two completed projects later in this advent craft month here on ... read more
Julie Slater & Son Notebook
Hello. My name is Mrs C and I am a list writer. There I've said it. I write lists and I love doing so. I have lists for everything. What meals we're having this week; what shopping I need the next time I place an Ocado order; what jobs need doing around the house; craft projects that need finishing; what I plan to buy people for Christmas and what I'd like to receive at Christmas. I always have several lists on the go - sometimes on post it notes stuck in strategic places, sometimes on scraps of paper in the bottom of my handbag and some of them written in notebooks that can be ... read more
VTech Toot Toot Drivers Garage
It's as if Christmas has come a bit early for Little Miss C this year. I came home from town the other day with her buggy weighed down with the Toot Toot Drivers Garage to review from our lovely local toy shop, Cuthberts. The Toot Toot Drivers range comes from VTech, and as you would expect from them combines bright colours and noises to attract the children, with interactive elements to help them learn through play. The vehicles are a lovely size to fit into small hands, and also talk and sing in response to pressing a button on them whilst the Garage provides a fantastic centre piece ... read more
Little Books
When I was sent a couple of sets of Little Books to review by GMC Publications I just knew that they were the perfect thing to save for our holiday. If you've got flights to endure with a little one they these are perfect to take with you. We decided to have one box set for the journey out to Madeira and then to save the second one for the journey back and that worked really well for us. Little Miss C loves books of all sorts and now that she's talking more and more, books where she can point at things and saw what she sees are ideal. We were sent Gyo Fujikawa's ... read more
Carla Daly Children’s Wall Art
Decorating a young child's bedroom can be tricky. You want something that's bright and colourful for them to look at, with some educational value, and also doesn't look too, well, childish. I was delighted therefore when I was emailed by Carla Daly and asked to review some of her Children's Wall Art. We were sent a Kid's map of the United Kingdom and I was delighted to unwrap it when we arrived back from holiday. The map is in a simple style and clearly shows the countries that make up the UK, along with some of the major cities. Overlaid are a variety of animals (all ... read more
Avon calls on you to Bake for Breast Cancer
Nearly 48,000 women in the UK are affected by breast cancer every year. There are very few of us who don't know someone effected by this awful disease or other types of cancer. All of us want to help find a cure, but for many of us the best we can do is to donate money to the scientist who are working hard to understand the disease better and to develop drugs to fight it. You can help to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer by hosting an Avon Pink Pamper Party and Avon have made it even easier to raise money through a bake sale with their Crusade Baking Set. The set ... read more