Last week saw me venture into that there London for the launch of a new picture book - South, by Daniel Duncan. Now, nearly seven years into this parenting journey I think I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to children's picture books. Across Little Miss C and Master C's bedtime stories, I must have read hundreds of picture books together. Some of them have been good. Some of them have been bad. Occasionally you'll get one that totally stops you in your tracks, and that's exactly what happened when I first read South last week. It's so hard to put my finger on exactly what it is with ... read more
My New Room – Lisa Stickley
I was rather excited to see a new book from Lisa Stickley arrive for us to review last week. We met Edith in her last book, Handstand, and she appears again in My New Room. Designer Lisa Stickley has a style that has already become instantly recognisable here and as soon as Little Miss C saw My New Room she went looking for our copy of Handstand to put with it on her bookcase. In My New Room, much as the title suggests, it is time for Edith to move into a new bedroom with a "Big Bed". It's a step that many children go through, and sometimes it can be a bit of a scary one, especially if the ... read more
Interplay Pocket Microscope
For absolutely ages now Little Miss C has been obsessed with the idea of becoming an explorer and naturalist of some kind. She loves nothing more than being outdoors and hunting for insects and bugs. We have so many bug hotels situated around the garden - many of them made from old shoeboxes and other things pilfered from my recycling bin. It therefore seemed perfect to ask her to review the Pocket Microscope from Interplay. We've had handheld magnifying glasses before in various kits, but this is the first time that she's had a microscope to play with. In the box you get the microscope ... 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
How To Save a Superhero – Caryl Hart & Ed Eaves
We first discovered Albie a couple of years ago when a copy of Plunge into the Pirate Pool arrived for us to review. At the time Little Miss C had just finished a learning theme at school on the subject of pirates and it fitted in perfectly with that. It disappeared off to school for a while, before coming back home and being one of those books that seemed to crop up quite regularly at bedtime. Since then LMC's reading has moved on a lot and Master C has become the Albie fan. The Pirate Pool is a book he asks for by name and has recently been a regular in the pile that he presents me with ... read more
Review: Tile – the ultimate phone, wallet and everything finder
Back what seems like a lifetime ago I headed off into that there London to the PC World Currys Christmas in July event. As I've mentioned before, the goodie bag from that particular event was fantastic and, alongside my friend and newly recruited gadget reviewer Kyle, I'm slowly working through the contents and trying to get reviews up here. One thing that intrigued me in particular was Tile - described a bluetooth tracker that can help you find your keys, phone, or anything else that you may have lost. Now, the last tracker of any sort that I reviewed was one of those things that you ... read more
Peppa’s Alphaphonics Campervan
I'm pretty sure there isn't a child in the country that doesn't recognise Peppa Pig. Heck, my two seemed to know who she was before they'd even watched the programme on the television. No idea how, but that's the power of Peppa. We've had a few Peppa Pig related toys over the years and they've always been fondly played with by both children. What we've not tried before is linking Peppa in to a bit of learning, but that is what we were encouraged to do in reviewing Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan - and what a mouthful of a name that is. Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan is designed to help ... read more
Meeting Num Noms at Bella Italia
My kids really love nothing more than coming on one of Mummy's work trip - mainly because they usually seem to involve food and getting to play with toys! I often wonder how they describe what I do to their friends and what sort of a warped version of events their teachers get. Thing is that the recent Num Noms Party at Bella Italia involved lots of food, activities and the biggest pile of Num Noms you have ever seen. Now I'll be honest and say that Num Noms had completely passed me by until now, but Little Miss C is no where near as ignorant as I am and instantly started jumping up and ... read more