We love all things nature based in this household, so when we were asked to review the Nick Baker's Bug Safari from Interplay I just knew that it would be perfect for Little Miss C. Her dad writes at UK Nature Blog and is forever finding interesting bugs and other creatures in the garden so this was a perfect opportunity for her to do similar. So, first of all here's what you get when you unbox it: Bug tongs Tweezers Field lens Viewing pot with magnifier lid Brush Instruction booklet with insect identification details in it LMC rushed out int the garden with it all ... read more
Frozen Magic Snow Sleeve Review
If you ask Little Miss C what her favourite film is then I can tell you that she would answer within a heartbeat that it was Frozen. Heck, even if you asked two year old Master C you'd probably get the same response. There's something about the magic that Disney have created that has made it a huge huge hit with children and with the new Frozen Fever film due out on the 27th March, and promises of Frozen 2 to follow, there's no doubt that this obsession is going to run and run. LMC jumps on absolutely anything Frozen related and at the moment her bedroom looks like a shrine to Elsa and ... read more
Getting crafty with Interplay Fairy Cards
Little Miss C loves crafting at our kitchen table and she's very fortunate that we have a huge amount of craft supplies in the house, and a recycling box overflowing with materials that can be repurposed into something else. But, since she started school full time in September we're finding it harder to fit doing something creative into the school day as I often can't face giving her free rein with the supplies as the clearing up job so we can eat tea at the table is just too much to face. I was really pleased therefore when we were asked to review Fairy Cards by Interplay as it meant I ... read more
Review: The Sticker Club
So, whilst it seems that boys go mad for diggers, I think the equivalent thing for little girls has to be stickers and Little Miss C seems to have been obsessed with them since she was very young indeed. At first it was the physical act of just sticking them anywhere that exited her. Since then it's moved on to how the stickers actually look and then spending ages creating pictures with them, or using them to decorate things. I remember when I was a child collecting stickers and actually being too afraid to stick them on to anything in case it ruined my collection. I also recall sticker ... read more
Review: My First JCB Big Wheelers Joey JCB
What is it about little boys and diggers? When Little Miss C was younger she'd always point them out if we walked past one, but with Master C it's a whole different level of enthusiasm. We've been known to go for walks just for the sole purpose of walking past some road works or a building site so he can sit in his buggy and watch the diggers and other building vehicles go about their jobs. Is it the bright yellow colour? (Pretty much the only colour he can identify - or is that a related thing too?) Or maybe the flashing yellow lights on top? Or is it the digging action? Whatever the reason ... read more
Imaginative play with Fafu
Before having children I had a dream about how I wanted to bring them up. Inspired greatly by SouleMama I dreamed of long days with them playing outside in all weathers, ignoring anything with an electronic screen in favour of spending hours and hours lost in games of their own imaginations. The reality is a little bit different, but I do still try to take things back to the simpler way of doing things and to encourage Little Miss C in particular to just let her imagination lead her play whenever it can. I'm always on the look out for products and brands that work in this way - ... read more
Review: Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
Little Miss C loves watching Ben and Holly on TV and since buying a magazine with free Ben and Holly toys on a while back has regularly been acting out Ben and Holly stories. When I received an email about the new Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets that were being released I just knew that she'd love to help me review them. There are three Magical Playground Playsets, a slide, a roundabout and a swing, and we were sent the roundabout and swing ones to review. Each playset comes with a Holly figure, which appears to be fine, but LMC's first questions was "Where's Ben?" When I ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 25 – Off to London to play with GoldieBlox
After all yesterday's Lollibop excitement Sunday started somewhat slower. Mr C and I were actually woken by our alarm rather than a screaming child and it was 8.30 before either of them got out of bed. Lollibop really must have exhausted them more than I'd realised. Our Sunday morning was mainly spent at home with me trying to catch up on the housework whilst Little Miss C caught up with Frozen (again!) and Master C happily played with his toy cars. We then dashed to town quickly to pick up some school trousers that we'd ordered and to shoot into the supermarket to stock up on a couple of ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 5 – Fun in Luton
Yes, you did read that title correctly, and no it's not one that I ever expected to write either. When I started keeping track of what we're getting up to this summer I did realise that we couldn't go out and do an amazing day trip every day, and nor did I want to. Sometimes the simplest of things can be the most rewarding, and sometimes something that might have appeared very mundane actually turns out to be quite exciting. We started today without any real plans and the only things that we had to get done were to get some food shopping in and to buy a birthday present for a little boy ... read more
Imaginative play with Schleich
Here in the C household we've been huge fans of Schelich ever since Little Miss C received her first animal as a gift when she was about a year old. They really are the most amazing quality animals and beautifully realistically decorated. Even the undersides of them are given the same attention as the upper surfaces - something that you definitely don't see on other makes. Our animal collection has seen hours and hours of play. They've been thrown around the living room, covered with dirt in the garden, pushed down the garden slide, bathed in puddles and chewed on as teething toys ... read more