I've been sat waiting to review Ollie's Christmas Reindeer since the publisher sent it out, but just couldn't bring myself to do so too early in the year. I've now seen the first house with a Christmas tree in the front window so I guess that means it's time to properly embrace Christmas! Ollie (who slightly confusingly, to me and Master C at least) is a little girl, that is woken from her sleep on Christmas Eve by a jingling noise. She follows the sound out into the snowy forest and is delighted to come across a lost reindeer. She climbs onto his back and together they set off on an ... read more
Christmas at Aldi from 17th November
I love an Aldi bargain! I am utterly useless however at realising what is coming into store when though so often it's only when my sister gets in touch and tells me that I need to get there the next morning that I realise when certain lines are coming in. That's not the case with their Christmas range though. This is due in store tomorrow (Thursday 17 November) and I was delighted to be sent some samples from the range to try out at home. Now - the honest bit about being a blogger. I'm sat here today on what has to be the sunniest day of November so far in St Albans. Trying to test out ... read more
Kazoops! Just Imagine – Volume 1
Both Master C and Little Miss C have been huge fans of Kazoops since it appeared on CBeebies earlier this year. They love joining Monty and his pet pig Jimmy Jones on some epic imaginary adventures. I was thrilled therefore to hear that the music from the series was released on 28th October as an album called Just Imagine - Volume 1'. Featuring 20 songs from the first series of Kazoops it is available digitally and you can either download the whole album or just individual tracks from it. As soon as I started playing it on my laptop Master C started dancing around the living room and ... read more
The Great British Bake Off Range at Debenhams #GBBO
Who doesn't love the Great British Bake Off? With the series 7 final tonight, it's fair to say that this year there's probably been more publicity than ever, especially about whether or not Channel 4 have been had by spending millions on a tent and Paul Hollywood. Whatever happens in future years the Bake Off (and Mary Berry in particular) will always be a British tradition as far as I am concerned. Although ironically WI meetings always seem to clash with when it is on live, I do make sure I see each week's show and make a real point of staying off social media until I get to catch up so I ... read more
Laser Hair Removal with HlA Studio
Laser Hair Removal is one of those treatments that I think a fair few people initially shy away from because they've heard stories, often secondhand, about how much it can hurt. I certainly know that for me it was the main reason I never really investigated it further as a hair removal option. As a busy, dark-haired, mum of two I decided to reconsider my options and set up an appointment for an initial consultation for laser hair removal with Piper at HlA Studio and I'm so pleased I did. The whole experience, and Piper herself, put me completely at ease and gave me full confidence in HlA ... read more
Review: Ravensburger Thomas Giant Floor Puzzle
Master C is absolutely train mad at the moment. One of his favourite things to do when out is pretend to be a train and make everyone with him be his "carriages" and run behind him from station to station. Every night I tuck him upon bed under his Thomas the Tank Engine duvet and most nights we're reading Thomas books as bedtime stories. It's therefore no surprise at all that he was delighted to sent this Thomas Giant Floor Puzzle to review by Ravensburger. With 24 pieces this puzzle is just about the right size of puzzle for Master C to tackle on his own now. He's had some jigsaws ... read more
Roo The Roaring Dinosaur: Best Playday Ever!
I think we first discovered Roo The Roaring Dinosaur when we were sent his first book to review last year. For some reason that review never got written up, but it really should have been as he's utterly delightful! I'm therefore determined that Best Playday Ever! will get the review it deserves. This time Roo is joined by his new friend Erik, a big, friendly and extremely clumsy polar bear explorer. Too shows Erik around his island and they have great fun together, even if clumsy Erik does get into a bit of a mess in doing so. When they get to the top of the old volcano they look out to ... read more
Happy Hooves, Yuk! – A. Bogie and Rebecca Elliott
If there's anything that my kids love, Master C in particular, then it has to be something disgusting. I'm wondering if that's why he is such a fan of Happy Hooves, Yuk! which we were recently sent to review. It's a lovely story of friendship, kindness and really disgusting food. In this funny story Pig realises he is hungry and thinks that it's highly likely that some of his friends will be hungry too. He decides to make a yummy spread for all on them on the farmyard and he sets about decorating everywhere and collecting together some delicious food to serve up. Only, what Pig thinks of as ... read more
Handstand – Lisa Stickley
There's been a flurry of children's books arriving chez C recently and it's been timed perfectly with Master C started at the school pre-school and a new rhythm to our days together. We have less than two hours at home together in an afternoon now before we have to head out again to pick up Little Miss C from school, and how to fill that time best has been a bit of a challenge. He needs a bit of down time and to zone out in front of the TV for a while, but I'm conscious that if I'm not careful the whole time can be spent like that, which isn't really what I want. Instead I'm trying to ... read more
Review: Brio Fire Station and Rescue Helicopter
In some ways Master C is such a stereo-typical boy. I never really got the boy / girl difference thing until I had one of each and the first time I found Master C crawling around the kitchen floor pushing a car in a way that I'd never seen Little Miss C play. It was really strange and almost a light bulb moment about the fact that boys and girls do indeed have something different inside their brains which means that they play in different ways. When it comes to emergency vehicles Master C is obsessed. If something goes past us on the walk to school with a siren or flashing lights then ... read more