Adventures of an English Mum - Reviews

Win a copy of Grease Dance for XBox Kinect

2012-01-08T18:51:00.000Z

Shake out your hair, turn up your style, put on your face and release your inner rock and roll party queen. Get ready for those "Summer Nights" with a return to Rydell High! Chick and I love the Grease film and like nothing better to sing along, so how much fun is it to be able to dance along too??

With over 20 familiar songs to sing along to including You're the one that I want, Greased Lightning and Summer Nights as well as all your favourite dance routines to learn.

· A full duet karaoke experience is available in Karaoke Mode, with 20 songs to choose from including additional Rock and Roll songs from the 1950's.

· Pick your partner, twist and shout, shake it out and rock around the clock for hours of fun in Dance Mode which enables you and a friend to dance simultaneously to your favourite Grease songs and Rock and Roll classics!

· Up to 8 players can join in the fun of Party Mode, where the game pits players against one another in a team based dance, karaoke or even minigames session.

· Take my Picture! Grease makes incredible use of the Kinect camera to allow you and your partners to view your best moves at the end of the dancing session!

To celebrate the recent release of the Grease game I have a copy to give away. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment below letting me know which is your favourite song from the movie ‘Grease’. Entries close on Friday, 13^th January at 5pm. Good Luck J

Pirate Snakes and Ladders and Ludo

2012-01-08T18:37:00.000Z

The Blurb: Two games in one! Old favourites are given an exciting pirate twist on this double-sided playing board. Raise the anchor and set a course for the buried treasure in snakes and ladders, or join the pirate fun on the ludo board on the back!

Suitable for 2-4 players.

I absolutely love these and would thoroughly recommend them. It’s a double sided set which we have played with constantly and it only costs £8.99.

The set is bright and colourful and can be played by the whole family although due to the small pieces it’s recommended from age 5. The design is predominantly aimed at boys but Chick had no issues in playing with a ‘boys’ toy!

Would make a fabulous birthday or Christmas present and comes highly recommended from the Brooks household!

Teacup Piggies

2012-01-03T19:36:00.000Z

The blurb: Teacup Piggies are everyone's best friend! Dress them, feed them and take them wherever you go. These cute interactive piggies talk and laugh and oink and each has her own unique personality.

Each piggie says over 25 different phrases. Lay them on their side and they go to sleep and gently snore, feed them with their bottle and hear them drinking! Each set contains:

· 1 x Teacup Piggie

· 1 x Teacup

· 1 x Feeding Bottle

· 1 x Birth Certificate

I can see why these may be attractive to children but if I’m honest it’s not something that I would buy for Chick. They are cute and interactive and they talk an awful lot but don’t say anything interesting. I don’t mind their American accent but it does get kind of annoying after a while. I think part of my problem with these is that they cost £15 but don’t really do much.

Chick gives her opinion in the video:

Given how much she says that she likes it, she really hasn’t played with it that often at all. However, she is seduced by all the other accessories that you can buy to go with it and would really like the limo. I guess if you buy some of the other sets the kids would play with them a lot more.

Available to buy in-store and online from Toys R Us at £14.99. The limo retails at £24.99.

Bop It XT

2012-01-03T19:32:00.000Z

The Blurb: Move to the groove and compete to the beat! Bop It XT takes Bop It gameplay to a whole new level. All your favourite actions are here, bop, twist, pull, spin, and flick. Now you have a shake action too! Six different actions - things are going to get manic!

A great game for children's parties. Adding to the excitement is a taunting, yet hilarious, electronic announcer directing your every move. The better you get the faster it goes, and when you miss a beat you'll hear about it! Practice alone and play at parties, it's a game you are compelled to beat!

This is kind of the new and improve Bop It. It has more functions and buttons than the normal version. We are big fans but Chick struggled to get to grips with this initially as it had so much going on but the more she has played with it the better she has got. After School Club were kind enough to help us out with the review and the video is of them trying to score more than 10 ;-) (Apologies that most of the video is sideways!!)

Retails at £17.99 from Toys R Us and is available online or in-store. It’s aimed at ages 8+ and as I say Chick struggled initially so I think that is about right, although younger children could play.

Galt Magic Science Kit

2011-12-18T19:31:00.000Z

This fun Magic Science set contains 10 Magical activities for the trainee wizard! Make your own mysterious, shimmering magic wand, learn about famous wizards and cast spells as you mix up bubbling, colour changing, glowing potions in your test tube cauldron!

Set Contains:

· 3 test tubes and stand

· 1 clear tube wand

· 2 wand caps

· Citric acid 20g

· Bicarbonate of soda 50g

· Red cabbage juice powder 3g

· Cross-linked polyacrylamide crystals 28g

· 12 colour tablets

· Zinc sulphide 2g

· Pair of goggles

· Medium and small scoops

· Pipette

· Purple paper

· Star stickers

· Goldenrod paper

· Science and activity guide

My little Scientist has had most of the Galt Science sets and they’ve all been a huge hit. As Chick has so many of these sets we gave this one to After School club to review and they came up with the attached video, complete with child falling off his chair in the last 10 seconds!!!

Retails at £12.99 and is aimed at ages 10+. Available from Toys R Us instore and online.

Lalaloopsy Silly Hair Play Doll

2011-12-18T19:05:00.000Z

The blurb: Girls will love these gorgeous Lalaloopsy Silly Hair Dolls! When their last stitch was sewn they came to life, taking on the personalities that come from the fabrics that made them.

Jewel Sparkles was made from remnants of a real princess' dress. She is very graceful, a little bit bossy, and loves to dance and wear sparkly clothes. She also has a Persian cat.

Chick is probably a little bit too old for this now but it doesn’t change the fact that she loves it!! Our doll is a ‘Jewel Sparkle’ doll and what I love about her is that she looks kind of like a rag doll but is actually really sturdy!! Throw in a cool website and Chick is a massive fan!! The other thing that I like about this is that it encourages kids to use their imagination and in this day and age I think it’s a good thing!

She comes with a brush, hair accessories and a little cat that has a curly tail that matches the doll’s hair. I much prefer this to the old fashioned styling dolls with the grungy hair that gets all clumpy when you’ve brushed it few times. Jewel has plastic hair that doesn’t tangle and can be curled or straightened and then twisted back around. Add bows, ribbons or hair jewels for more fun.

Aimed at 4+ years and retailing at around £39.99 (although TRU have £10 off at the moment!!) I think this will be a big hit with girls everywhere this year so get yours now before they sell out. A whole range of extra Lalaloopsy accessories are also on sale. Available from Toys R Us online and instore. Remember to check out the hundreds of brilliant reviews over at the Toybox.

Pumpaloons

2011-12-16T20:29:00.000Z

The blurb: Race your opponents to pump air into your 3ft tall inflatable characters which bob and weave as the slowly rise up. The first pumpaloon to fully inflate and sound its whistle is the winner! A great game for 2 – 4 players.

This is a brilliant game and should definitely be on Christmas lists across the land. It’s super easy to set up and put away and can be used by all ages. We’ve challenged most people to try and beat us and had some great fun. Chick has also inflated the pumpaloons and dressed them as mini people in a whole variety of fashion outfits!!!

As the blurb says the game is a race to inflate your Pumpaloon first and can be amazingly competitive but in a super fun way. The only downside that we found was that one of the pumps wasn’t great but the manufacturer sent us a replacement for it and it’s been fine since.

We would both highly recommend this and I’m pretty sure we’ll be using it on Christmas day when the whole family is together. It retails at £14.99 which I think is a good price considering how much we’ve used it. Available online and instore from Toys R Us.

Scraperfoil Gift Set

2011-12-11T17:41:00.000Z

The blurb: The Scraperfoil Gift Set by Reeves includes three Scraperfoil titles, which can be mastered by scraping away the pre-printed outlines and by adding some individual touches of your own. Each pack contains: 3 pre-printed board, 2 scrapertools, 1 practice piece with full set of instructions, all presented in stylish silver packaging to compliment the range.

The idea is that you scrape off the grey print to get to the silver underneath. Once it’s done you get a lovely silver ‘etching’. The pictures are quite detailed and I found that you had to concentrate but it wasn't too difficult.......Chick unfortunately wasn’t interested in doing this after the first 5 minutes, but to be honest she isn’t a big fan of concentrating!!!

You may remember back in July that we reviewed the ‘RainbowScraper Foil’ kit and were distinctly unimpressed with the scraper as it was plastic and didn’t work very well. Thankfully the scraper that comes with this set is made of metal and it makes a real difference to the detail of the pictures.

The set came with 3 different pictures and 2 scrapers so could be shared. I think this would make a lovely present for slightly older children and is suggested for ages six years and up. Retails at around £11.99 and available instore from Toys R Us.

Hello Kitty at WHSmith

2011-11-29T14:22:00.000Z

I'm generally quite picky about what I choose to review, and the majority of things I do say yes to are for Chick. She is one very lucky girl, (as her bursting at the seams bedroom will attest too) but she has one true love in the world which is stationery!! If you tell her that she can roam the aisles in WHSmith just looking at paper, pens, folders and rubbers then she is a very happy girl..... and if you let her move onto the book section or actually buy her stuff then it makes her weekend!!

So when WHSmith asked me if I would like to review some of their 'Hello Kitty' stationery I didn't think about turning it down for a second!! I actually love the 'Hello Kitty' range anyway as their products are perfect for girls of Chick's age. They are useful, bright, pretty and she thinks that they are grown up but I like the fact that the images are all so innocent and lovely, whilst bright and funky. So when this little bundle arrived I was really delighted:

So colourful and lovely!! We got a really cool pen that has some kind of mini slide show on top, a little figurine and a folder.....which will be useful for keeping the reams of paper in that my lovely girl writes on every day!!!

We also got an address book, a notebook and a pot of pencils which I've actually put away for her Christmas stocking but I know that she will be more than thrilled with them on Christmas morning:

May need to buy a couple more of the folders to keep her future masterpieces in though :-)

Monopoly Electronic Banking

2011-11-22T15:41:00.000Z

The blurb: Monopoly is the classic property trading board game. It’s the game about dealing in big money and getting rich quick! Swipe your bank card to transfer money - it couldn’t be easier!

Starting from the famous “GO” space, move around the board, buying and selling properties, building apartments and hotels as you go. Watch out for players landing on your property – they owe you rent! And don’t forget to collect £2,000,000 every time you pass “GO”! That’s right, £2 Million… on your Bank Card!

The places have changed to reflect the real London of today that we all know and love – from Bishopsgate to Kensington Palace Gardens. Choose from a range of new movers including a mobile phone, roller blade, or even a cheeseburger!

I’m a firm believer that every family should own at least one version of Monopoly. It’s great for some good old family rivalry and also for use during power cuts!!!

What I like about this version:

Updated board so Chick recognises the places in London

Updated counters....I’m all for a bit of moving forward

Being able to collect rent from the properties.....bring it on.

Having high rise buildings

Makes it a much quicker game

Collecting £2 million every time you pass go!!! I like having so much money!

What I don’t like:

There is no cash!!! What?? The fun of Monopoly for me is getting everyone else’s wads of cash! A bank card just doesn’t give you the same thrill!! However that may just be me as Chick doesn’t appear to be unduly bothered!

Updated counters....I’m all for a bit of moving forward but I much prefer the dog and the top hat to the skateboard or mobile phone!

The game includes:

· 1 x Gameboard

· 1 x Banker Unit

· 6 x Movers

· 2 x Dice

· 32 x Green Apartments

· 12 x Red Hotels

· 28 x Title Deed Cards

· 16 x Chance Cards

· 16 x Community Chest Cards

· 6 x Monopoly Bank Cards

· Game Rules & Instructions

The only extra thing that you need is two AA batteries to make the cash machine work.

Aimed at ages 8+ which I feel is right. Obviously younger children can play with some help and guidance. Available from Toys R Us at £21.99 and thoroughly recommended for Christmas!

Hello Baby Direct - Jelly Kitten Skidaddle Giraffe

2011-11-21T12:31:00.000Z

hellobabydirect.co.uk is an online nursery shop selling a wide range of nursery furniture, baby toys, travel and safety products and range of other goods. Now obviously Chick is a bit old to need any baby toys or nursery furniture but I do have a baby Niece who we love to spoil so hellobabydirect sent us this very cute, soft, stripey Jelly Kitten Skidaddle Giraffe:

Chick has loads of Jelly Kitten stuff from when she was younger and even though it’s been played with a lot it’s all still in great condition. The giraffe is the sweetest thing and comes with a Velcro loop to hang it from a pushchair or cot. It also has two rings on each foot that make a clinking sound which little ones will love.

Looking around the website there are hundreds of products to choose from and all the big names are there too including Phillips Avent, Tomy, Little Tikes, Polar Gear, Tutti Bambini and Safety 1^st to name but a few. Even better is that delivery is free on orders over £50 so you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your lounge!

Jack and Jill Game Giveaway

2011-11-20T10:33:00.000Z

The blurb: Race up the hill and be the first to reach the well in this fun Jack & Jill counting and colour matching game. Roll the dice to climb the hill and be the first player to reach the well to win the game. But be careful, spin the spinner and you might fall down to the bottom and have to start all over again!

I’ve always been a big fan of board games, not just for the kids but for the whole family. I’m a big fan of spending quality time together playing. Obviously it doesn’t always end happily especially when I’m a competitive Mum and Chick is an only child ;-)

This game is a perfect board game for younger children. It’s bright and colourful and easy to play. It also has different levels of the game so you play either by colours or by numbers according to your child’s development level.

Available to buy instore or online from Toys R Us at £8.99.

To enter all you need to do is check out the Toys R Us page on Facebook and have a look around at the amazing reviews in the Toybox and then leave me a comment here letting me know that you've done so. Alternatively you could copy and paste the following on Twitter:

I’d like to win the Jack & Jill game with @TRUToyologists and @AdventuresEM at http://adventuresofanenglishmumreviews.blogspot.com/

Closing date is Sunday, 27th November at 5pm. Good Luck :-)

Shark Chase Game

2011-11-19T14:32:00.000Z

The Blurb: Are you ready for the Shark Attack? Players scramble with excitement and fear as they roll the dice looking for their colours. The motorised shark chomps and chases all the fish around the game board! Each player tries to out-swim the shark and their friends to be the last surviving fish to win the game! Suitable for 2-4 players.

This is a really easy game to set up - which is always a bonus. It’s bright and colourful and very easy to play and Chick really enjoys playing this. We’ve played it several times and it’s always accompanied by lots of shrieking and laughter. Chick filmed the video so it’s a bit shaky:

It needs 2 AA batteries so isn’t too expensive to run. It’s aimed at ages 5+ but smaller children could definitely play with a bit of help setting up the game. The only downside from my point of view is the price. I think for what it is £19.99 is a lot of money. Having said that however we have played with it quite a lot and Chick likes it and would give it 4 out of 5.

Available online or instore from Toys R Us. Don’t forget to check out all the fabulous review over on the Toybox before you think about buying the kids Christmas presents.

Pinypon Travel Pack Gift Set Giveaway

2011-11-17T14:25:00.001Z

Do you fancy winning a couple of new toys in the run up to Christmas??? We just received the last Toys R Us Toyology box for this year (booooo hiss) and I have two great prizes to giveaway.....one today and another tomorrow!!

PinyPon Travel Pack Gift Set

Pinypon loves to travel! She loves to visit all the trendy cities - such as New York and Paris and it's much more fun when you travel with a friend! There's so much to see and do.

Contents:

2 Pinypon Dolls

1 Pet

30 Accessories

3 Postcards

Sets are available from Toys R Us instore. To enter all you need to do is check out the Toys R Us page on Facebook and have a look around at the amazing reviews in the Toybox and then leave me a comment here letting me know that you've done so.

Closing date is Sunday, 27th November at 5pm.

Susan Lewis - One day at a time giveaway

2011-11-08T20:26:00.000Z

As I mentioned over on the main blog yesterday I have FOUR copies of Susan’s latest book to giveaway which isn’t even released until Thursday!!!

The blurb about the book:

She was only nine when her world fell apart. The struggle to understand took a lifetime. In 1960s Bristol, Susan's family was like any other with its joys and frustrations, and fierce loyalties. Then tragedy struck and left a legacy that was to last a lifetime. Susan was only nine when her mother died.

A year later she was sent away to school. She didn't want to go, and didn't understand why she had to. In her struggle to cope with an uncertain world - a world where nothing seemed to make sense any more - she pushed away the one person she loved best, her father. It wasn't until adulthood beckoned that she realised that, in order to turn their relationship around, she had to learn to love - and trust - again.

This is Susan talking about writing the book and how difficult but therapeutic it was to write:

To enter all you need to do is pop over to Susan’s Facebook page and say hi and then leave me a comment below letting me know that you’ve done so.

Closing date is Sunday, 13^th November at Midnight and winners will be chosen at random after this time. Good Luck!!

Pinypon 6 Figure Set

2011-10-26T21:55:00.000+01:00

The blurb: This great PinyPon 6 Figure set is perfect for hours of creative fun. Comes complete with 4 Pinypon dolls, 2 pets and 30 accessories.

Pinypon dolls can be customised with the latest accessories and hair styles giving them a completely different, unique look.

To go with the Pinypon caravan that I reviewed last week, we also received a bonus pack of six Pinypon figures. They come with all kinds of accessories and are all mix and match.

They are quite sturdy figures that are all interchangeable. You can change the hair, faces, clothes and make them male or female. I really like the whole Pinypon set as it encourages imanginative play and although these are relatively pricey at £14.99 think that the kids will definitely get the use out of them.

These would be better as an addition to one of the other sets i.e. the caravan or the car but they can be used as a stand alone toy too. Available online or instore from Toys R Us.

Pinypon Caravan

2011-10-20T19:15:00.000+01:00

The blurb: Take your Pinypon doll and her pet on a caravan adventure. This pretty flower caravan comes complete with a surfboard, a boat with a slide, deck chairs for relaxing in and even a little pool with a shower that really squirts out water.

Pinypon dolls can be customised with the latest accessories and hair styles giving them a completely different, unique look.

Includes:

· 1 x Caravan

· 1 x Pinypon Doll

· 1 x Pinypon Pet

· 2 x Deck Chairs

· 1 x Table

· 2 x Surfboards

· 1 x Pool with working shower

· Sheet of Stickers

When I first saw this in the box I thought about giving it to my old friends at the hospital as I presumed that Chick was too old for it. Turns out I was completely wrong!! She caught a glimpse of it when I was trying to do something else and had it away and open quicker than I could say ‘no’!!!

Out of everything that we’ve had so far this has definitely had the most use. I’m not sure if they have a clever advertising campaign (as Chick knows all the words) but according to her, the buzz on the playground is that these are the toys to ask for at Christmas.

The set is mainly plastic and seems well made. It comes with a few annoying little pieces but actually is pretty cool. Everything folds up and can be put away inside the caravan so it stores very easily.

Chick loves that it’s compact but also everything else about it. The fact that you can add water and make the shower actually work, the fact that the dolls come with different hair, faces, clothes and accessories. Every time she’s had a friend round they’ve had the set out and been role playing. As I say I thought that she’d be too old for it but I can’t recommend it highly enough from her point of view.

The set is aimed at ages 4+ which I think is fine and as I say Chick is almost 9 and has used it constantly. Smaller children could use the caravan and dolls but you would have to take out the tiny pieces.

Retails at £24.99 and is available from Toys R Us online or instore.

K'Nex Dinosaur Model Set

2011-10-19T20:47:00.000+01:00

The blurb: The K'Nex Dinosaurs 20 Model Building Set is packed with 326 parts to build a T-Rex, Brontosaurus, Pterodactyl and more. Then bring them to life with the motion-activated sound brick!

Instructions and building ideas are included for over 20 different dinosaur models, ranging from beginner to more challenging. Or, use your imagination and create your own dinosaur.

This is an amazing set and although it doesn’t interest Chick at all, I think it’s definitely a worthwhile investment. We gave it to some friends to test and they said:

Pros:

- Batteries are included

- Easy to use and can be used with other sets (i.e. Lego)

- Great for boys and girls that love dinosaurs

- Good price

- Makes a roaring sound (even though it’s a bit feeble!!)

- Durable and solid

Cons:

- Some fiddly parts for younger children

- Instructions aren’t the best and aren’t included for all the dinosaurs – although are downloadable.

- More bits to tread on ;-)

It’s aimed at ages 5+ which we both thought was fine. Older children can obviously complete the dinosaurs on their own and need much less parental help. The set retails for £19.99 which is really reasonable for a set of this kind. Available instore or online from Toys R Us.

B.I.G Powerhand

2011-10-18T17:31:00.000+01:00

The blurb: The B.I.G Power Hand is a cool new way for boys to roleplay. This over-sized hand moves just like a real hand, allowing them to pick things up, scratch their backs, and just about anything else they can do with their real hands. The B.I.G Power Hand open up a lot of imaginative play possibilities. The B.I.G Power Hand features a form-fitting glove with an adjustable strap, spring-loaded joints for life-like articulation, an opposable thumb and rubberized grips on the fingers for enhanced gripping power.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a girl but I truly don’t understand the appeal of this!! For review purposes I roped in not only Chick but her Uncles Nick (27) and Ben (19) and cousin Sebastien (21) so that we could get a few different points of view. Much to their disappointment none of the grown up boys could get their hand into the extremely small glove (even more frustrating for Nick after it had taken him 10 minutes to try and get it out of the box!!) although it fitted Chick (8) perfectly.

It’s made mainly of plastic and moves via the use of strings attached to the glove and the joints of the fingers (as you can see in the picture above). It’s not at all difficult to use and after a few practise finger wiggles Chick could pick things up and move them around. She played with it on and off for a couple of days but since then it’s just been left on the floor. You can buy extra accessories for the hand to customise it but I would see first how much they used it.

Available to buy instore from Toys R Us. Don't forget to check out all the other amazing reviews on the Toybox.

Hello Kitty Mini Playhouse Giveaway

2011-09-27T22:08:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the lovely people at Toys R Us I have this lovely little prize to giveaway:

Hello Kitty 15 piece+ mini dolls house play set. Compact dolls house carry case opens out to reveal dolls house with bathroom and bedroom on upper level and downstairs living space. On hot summer days Hello Kitty can enjoy the outdoors with the fold out pool, sunbeds and garden terrace. Contains Hello Kitty, Mama and Papa characters and furnishings for you to arrange in her house.

I know that it's very early to be mentioning Christmas but this would be a great gift to put away and send to Santa. To enter just leave a comment below and then check out the amazing Toybox.

Competition ends Friday, 7th October at 5pm. Winners will be announced after this time.

The prize will be sent towards the end of the month and hopefully within 28 days.

Harumika Dress Form Set

2011-09-26T21:28:00.000+01:00

The blurb: The Harumika Designer Dress Form Set allows girls to show off their cool fashion sense and their designer aspirations. As with all the Harumika sets, no sewing required. Girls can create their own personal style with two stand-out designer dress forms, which are decorated with cool stamped art in an assortment of signature colours: pink and white or black and silver. Just use the colourful signature fabrics and fashion accessories as well as the stylus design tool that locks the outfits in place to create a new design every time.

Harumika is quick and simple and doesn't require any sewing, glue, or scissors. The secret lies in the silicon strip on the back of each mannequin which holds fabric in place.

This is a great idea that I’m sure most girls would like and I’m not entirely sure how I haven’t seen them before. In the set that we received were two dress makers dummies, material to make outfits, bling to dress it up a little and a poker:

You use the material to make all kinds of outfits, styles and fashions without any sewing or gluing at all. The only downside to this is that once you’ve made your fabulous creation you can’t actually keep it. There is however a Harumika website which is really cool and you can upload pictures to the site to show off your outfits.

Chick is a huge fan of this set, as well as the website and gives it an 11 out of 10. She would have liked a bigger choice of fabric with it but you can buy extra packs or use other material that you have laying around and cut it into smaller pieces and use that.

We would both highly recommend it as we’ve spent ages together trying to outdo each other with our designs. Gotta love a bit of competition in the Brooks household. Available to buy from Toys R Us online and instore. Retails at around £19.99

Smelli Gelli Baff

2011-09-25T14:44:00.000+01:00

The Blurb: Turn your bath into goo with Gelli Bath! Ideal for paddling pools and bathtime, Gelli Baff turns water into goo, and back again!

Simply run your bath, add Gelli Baff and watch in amazement as your boring bath water magically turns into a brightly coloured thick goo! When the fun's all done, simply add the sachet of dissolver powder and the goo disappears as magically as it appeared.

This was a lot of fun although we should have used less water to make a deeper colour and to make it more gooey!! Ours was a lovely bright sunshine colour that seriously smelt like popcorn.

The crystals didn’t melt ever so well but actually this just added to the horrible stickiness of it all. Brilliant for kids to mess around in and for a fun bath time but definitely not for getting clean.....Chick had to have a shower after to clean it all off but massive amounts of fun!!

The second sachet is to melt the gunk so that you can rinse it away. It didn’t work quite as I thought it would but enough to rinse it away without any major traumas and also without any stains on child, towels, bath mat etc so that’s a bonus!!

Would make a great stocking filler or a little extra. Retails at around £4.99 available from Toys R Us online or instore. Remember to check out the Toybox for all the great reviews from the Toyologists.

Rio

2011-09-19T21:05:00.004+01:00

Feel the rhythm...hear the beat... and let your spirit soar! From the makers of ICE AGE comes a high-flying animated comedy for the whole family. Blu is an exotic pet bird who believes he's the last of his kind. But when his owner learns about Jewel, Blu's female counterpart in Rio de Janeiro, they set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Even though he's never learned to fly, Blu befriends a group of wise-cracking city birds who help him find the courage to spread his wings and follow his destiny!

Chick and I are a teeny tiny bit excited to have been invited to a special Carnival party screening of Rio. It's being held at London Zoo and not only do we get to see the film, we also get a 'meet the macaw' experience. I say 'we' but obviously I'll be hiding away and just taking pictures of Chick.

Sneak preview is below and I'll obviously let you know what we think of it after the screening!!!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules

2011-09-17T12:49:00.000+01:00

Chick has been desperate to see this ever since it came out on the cinema and we just never made it. Imagine the bonus Mummy points I got when this turned up in the post before it was even out at the shops!!!

The Blurb: Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules follows the escapades of wise-cracking pre-teen Greg Heffley as he begins seventh grade at middle school with his 'un-cool' best friend Rowley Jefferson. Having survived the Summer holidays at the hands of his chief tormentor and older brother Rodrick, events take an interesting turn when they must deal with their parents' misguided attempts to make them bond.

Greg and Rodrick are bribed to spend time together with 'mom bucks' which they can trade in for real money, and Greg's diary chronicles the trials and tribulations along the way. Forced to endure Rodrick's reluctant attempts teach him to play along with his band Loaded Diper, attempting to cover up a wild party that Rodrick throws while their parents were away and surviving his brother's romantic advice, can the pair ever reconcile their differences to become anything but sworn enemies?

I can honestly say that we both loved this film. Chick watched it about 10 times during the first weekend of us owning it and I had to bribe her to watch something else. Greg and Rodrick are typical brothers in the way that they fight and are mean to each other but as the film develops and they are forced to spend time together, you can see that they do actually like each other too. The ending made my heart melt a little!

Chick’s favourite part of the film is before the opening credits where Greg is trying to impress the new girl at the skating rink and manages to fall over, get carried away by his Dad and fall into a birthday cake. Mine is probably the scene where the boys are visiting their Grandpa in the nursing home and Greg runs around in his pants! Hilarious!!

We both give it 11 out of 10!!! Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 is available to buy on DVD and Blu-Ray from Monday, 19^th September.

I Love London Lunchbox

2011-09-12T21:09:00.000+01:00

DotComGiftShop recently sent me this rather lovely almost retro lunch box to review:

Originally I thought that I would let Chick use it but when it arrived it was more the size of a large sandwich box rather than what I would consider an actual lunch box and so couldn’t fit in everything that she needs to take for lunch.

It is however the perfect size for me. I can squeeze in my cracker bread, cheese and fruit. I love that it fits into my handbag so I don’t need to take an extra bag in with me.....I already lug around far too much rubbish. It’s also dish washer safe which again is a huge bonus for stressed out Parents everywhere!

It’s great as a gift or as a reminder of London and I may have to buy the matching tea towels!!! Available to buy from the DotComGiftShop at £4.99.

Tesco Books

2011-09-11T15:44:00.000+01:00

I’m a huge lover of books, as most of your probably know by now, so when Tesco launched their new books blog I was very excited. As part of this Tesco are running an experiment and what they are looking at is grouping books by how they make you feel.....so ‘books to carry you away’ or ‘books to turn your heart in somersaults’.

I was sent a list of books to choose from and having read every single book in my usual category (books to turn your heart in somersaults *ahem*) I thought that I would strike out in a different direction and choose from the ‘books to make you think and talk’ list. Radical, huh??!

So I chose ‘The Bookseller of Kabul’ by Asne Seierstad and a couple of days later this lovely package arrived:

Yes, I know I’m very lucky. The chocolate is A-MA-ZING!! It’s handmade and is dark chocolate with ginger.......as you can see I started it before I even thought to take a picture!! It's not something I would ever have thought of buying myself but completely delicious! Also a bookmark and a notepad.

What this space for my review of how the book made me feel.......although I can say that having read the first chapter it's already made me think!!!

Galt Nail Art

2011-09-09T21:31:00.000+01:00

Although very much a science geek, my little Chick is also a girly girl so when we received this kit she was of course thrilled. We decided that we would make the most of it and have a girly pamper session together on a Sunday afternoon. The results of which you can see in the slide show:

I would buy and have bought Chick sets like this before. I was really impressed with this. It's great for parties and to give away as presents. The nail varnish is in fab colours and I must admit to being a fan of the sparkly....the silver may have disappeared to my make up bag!!

It comes with seven nail varnishes, tattoos, an emery board, holographic stickers and nail gems. Available to buy from Toys R Us online and instore. Don't forget to like the Toybox on Facebook so that you can check out all the other fab reviews.

Horrible Science Explosive Experiments Review

2011-09-05T21:07:00.000+01:00

Chick has had a few of these kits now and she absolutely loves them. I thought that we would share this one with her Holiday Club to see what other kids think of the kits. They decided to make 'super snot' and really enjoyed themselves!!

I think the video tells you everything that you need to know about the kit!!! It's aimed at ages 10+ and retails for around £15.99. Available instore and online from Toys R Us.

The bloggiversary winners are.................

2011-09-04T21:37:00.000+01:00

I used a random generator to pick the winners and they are as follows:

Day 1 - Casdon Toy Dyson:

The winner is Rachel Vreony

Day 2 - HMS Belfast Tickets:

The winner was Laura Pugh.

Day 3 - Fyrflyz:

The winner was Anna Aird.

Day 4 - Olivia Rubin Scarf:

The winners were Cupids Bow and Robyn Clarke.

Day 5 - £50 Argos Voucher

The winner is JoJo :-)

The winner of the £15 Tesco school voucher is:

ShelleyBird76

Thank you so much to everyone that entered. If you are a winner please e-mail me at adventuresofanenglishmum@gmail.com stating which prize you won and your name and address. I will then give you more information on when your prize will arrive.

Review - Reeves Painting by Numbers Artist's Starter Set

2011-08-27T14:26:00.000+01:00

The blurb: Complete with everything the eager artist needs to start painting their pictures, this Reeves Painting By Numbers Gift Set is a great way to be introduced to painting.

The Contents: Easel, Numbered painting boards, 21 paints, 2 brushes, Brush pot, Mixing palate.

The Good:

Value for money

Quality set and would make a great present

Variety of pictures

Choice of colours and options for blending etc

Easy to store and very quick to get out and put away again

Makes great pictures to frame

The Bad:

Very detailed pictures

Small, fine areas to paint

Lots of blending

Quite time consuming

Overall:

Chick and I both really liked this. I was amazed by the quality of all the items included but especially by the picture boards themselves. It was super easy to store in the box it came in and was great for getting out and quickly putting away again when Chick had enough.

The only downside for me was that Chick got bored with trying to paint all the tiny parts of the picture and waiting for long enough for the full picture to be ready. As I’ve said previously we both have problems with co-ordination so I think is our problem rather than with the kit. I highly recommend it for any budding artists out there.

This is aimed at ages 8+ and I think that younger children would probably struggle with this unless they are a perfectionist and patient enough to complete all the fiddly bits. Available instore from Toys R Us.

Back to School with Tesco – Win £15 of school uniform

2011-08-26T23:41:00.001+01:00

This Giveaway is now closed. Please keep checking back for more great giveaways.

Chick is obsessed with all things back to school. It starts before she’s even finished for the Summer. She gets a back to school ‘look book’ from Tesco and then carefully pours over each item marking off very carefully what she would like!! Once this painstaking part is over we then have to trek the aisles of Tesco making sure that it all lives up to her very high standards!!!

As she is so obsessed with it, I tend to be one of those horribly organised people that has all of the uniform ready, with names written on each item, stacked up and ready to go and this year is no exception. Chick saw an advert on the TV when Tesco were running the £15 bundle offer and we bought one of those and got her winter coat etc.

Another great thing that Tesco have this year is the ‘buy one, give one’ campaign. Basically you buy an item of uniform from their fair-trade range and Tesco donate a full uniform to a child in Sri Lanka, Kenya or Bangladesh. I love this scheme as we generally can’t afford to give a vast amount to charity but I feel that this helps in a positive way.

Last year Tesco sent us a box of school uniform and we were lucky enough to receive another box yesterday, with some fabulous items enclosed. Chick is obviously over the moon with her uniform haul:

I think my favourite thing (apart from the fair-trade polo shirts) was this awesome tag which accompanied the box......how lovely and thoughtful:

For those of you that still have a few bits left to buy Tesco have given me a £15 voucher to giveaway. To enter just visit the Tesco website and then leave me a comment telling me which items of uniform you still need to buy. Closing date is Friday, 2^nd September at 5pm. Good Luck :-)

*A huge thank you to Tesco for sending us the uniform and a £30 voucher for me to buy something for myself!!!

Bloggiversary Giveaway Day 5 - £50 Argos Voucher

2011-08-19T08:34:00.001+01:00

This Giveaway is now closed. Please keep checking back for more great giveaways.

To celebrate my bloggiversary the lovely people at Argos have very kindly agreed to donate a prize for this giveaway worth £50!!!!

I'm sure all of you have heard of Argos but for those that haven't.....you pick up a catalogue instore, decide which goods you would like to buy and then either order online or visit the store to collect your goods.....simple!! I don't know about you or your children but Chick religiously uses the Argos catalogue to compose her birthday and Christmas lists!!!!

I spent ages looking through the book trying to decide what would be a lovely prize to giveaway.....some toys maybe? Or a new barbie for Chick or some lovely characters from sylvanian families. Then it occurred to me that with Christmas not being too far away a gift voucher would be a brilliant idea because then you could spend it exactly as you choose!!!

To enter the competition all you need to do is leave me a comment below telling me exactly what you would buy from Argos if you won the £50 voucher. A winner will be picked at random. Good Luck :-)

Closing date is Friday, 2nd September at 5pm.

This prize has been supplied by Argos and will be despatched within 28 days of the winner being announced.

Bloggiversary Giveaway - Day 4 Olivia Rubin Scarves

2011-08-18T08:29:00.004+01:00

This Giveaway is now closed. Please keep checking back for more great giveaways.

Something that you probably don't know about me is that I'm a bit of a Fashionista. I know that I don't look like one but that's only because I've never been skinny enough!!! When I was young I used to pour over magazines, staring at the clothes and wishing that I had enough money to buy designer items. I don't mean like trainers and track suits but more elegant tailoring.....weird I know!! I think maybe it's where my shoe obsession comes from....

So talking about shoes....I'd seen Olivia Rubin's designs around for the past few years now and loved them with their funky patterns. When I heard that she was doing a project with Bold 2-in-1 I got quite excited at the thought that I may finally be able to own something of hers. Imagine my joy when the lovely Vicki contacted me and asked me if I would like an Olivia Rubin scarf and not only that but did I want to give two away to my readers!!! I think she may still have the teeth marks from how quickly I bit her arm off to say yes!!!

As I said Olivia has teamed up with Bold 2-in-1 and the floral freshness of Rose Blush & Peony. Olivia says 'The stunning flower markets in London inspired my design for the exclusive scarf for the launch of Bold 2-in-1, infusing all the vibrant shades into a key accessory'. The washing powder has a unique scent release technology which means that even after 3 weeks in storage in your wardrobe you will be able to smell the scent of Rose & Peony.

Eeeek so back to the excitement of actually owning something bona-fida designer.......this is the lovely box it arrived in and all covered in rose petals too:

I also took lots of pictures to try and show you just how beautiful the scarf is:

ermmmmmm........and this is me rocking the look......attached to my bag as you never know what the weather is going to be like from one minute to the next!:

So now over to you.......To be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is leave me a comment below telling me how you what outfit you would accessorise with this scarf. You could also follow me here or over at my main blog :-) Simple right???

Closing date is Friday, 2nd September at 5pm. Good Luck :-)

Bloggiversary Giveaway Day 3 - Fyrflyz

2011-08-17T10:43:00.001+01:00

This Giveaway is now closed. Please keep checking back for more great giveaways.

We received our very own Fyrflyz back in July in our first Toys R Us box. Billed as a spinning light show, mixing art, fun and action! You can swing, spin and twirl them around to make a light show or special effects in your hands which we didn't have much luck with when we first tried them!! You can read our initial review here. Since then Chick had practised some more and can now make a few more shapes and a bit of a light show:

They are aimed at ages 8+ which I think is about right....especially if your children are as uncoordinated as Chick and I!!! They retail at around £7.99.

I have a pack of Fyrflyz to giveaway courtesy of Toys R Us. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what you think you and your family would enjoy most about them. You can also check out the brilliant Toys R Us Toybox application on Facebook.

Closing date is Friday, 2nd September at 5pm. Good Luck :-)

*This giveaway is courtesy of the Toys R Us Toyology programme.

Bloggiversary Giveaway Day 2 - HMS Belfast Gun Turret Experience

2011-08-16T09:00:00.001+01:00

This Giveaway is now closed. Please keep checking back for more great giveaways.

We have a family ticket on offer for you to go and explore the HMS Belfast. It's a floating museum on the Thames in London and is part of the Imperial War Museum. I'm very excited about this giveaway mainly because we are going to experience it on our next trip to London and it's awesome that I can giveaway a ticket as well.

They have recently added the new gun turret experience to enable children and grown ups alike to get a feeling of what it would have been like to fight at sea. It uses lights, imagery, sound, smoke effects and movement to recreate the cramped turret with its crews at action!!! I give me about 2 minutes before I get scared ;-) This video gives you a brilliant whistle stop tour:

The ship is based just a short walk from London Bridge and Tower bridge and you can explore all 9 decks!!!

The ship saw action in the Second World War and the Korean war and is bought to life through temporary exhibitions, displays and historic spaces all put together with the help of Royal Navy Veterans and eye witness accounts from the Imperial War Museum.

All images courtesy of the Imperial War Museum

To enter this giveaway all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. You can also check out the Imperial War Museum website or follow them on Twitter.

Closing date is Friday, 2nd September at 5pm. Good Luck :-)

*This prize is a family ticket to the HMS Belfast only and does NOT include travel or accommodation. The prize is for two adults as children go free.

Bloggiversary Giveaway Day 1 - Casdon Toy Dyson

2011-08-15T15:47:00.004+01:00

This Giveaway is now closed. Please keep checking back for more great giveaways.

The blurb: The hottest vacuum cleaner to date from the Dyson stable, the Casdon version features an imitation vortex that spins coloured beads making it look and sound like it's really working. The detachable wand has working vacuum action which can pick up small pieces of paper or poly beads. The toy also includes detachable tools on board. Height 69 cm. Requires 4 x C batteries, not included. 3 years +.

Chick and her friend Miss.C both used to have one of these when they were younger and what they both liked about it was the fact that it did actually pick bits up off of the floor......only small bits admittedly, but they enjoyed helping with the housework. It's aimed at ages 3+ due to the small pieces contained inside (I guess!!) but I would have had no problem with Chick using this at a younger age.....supervised of course!

The Dyson retails at around £20 and the model that I have to giveaway is actually grey & yellow so a little more unisex than the model shown in the pictures.

To enter you just need to leave a comment below explaining how you would review this item......it's as simple as that.

You can also check out the brilliant Toys R Us Toybox application on Facebook. Closing date is Friday, 2nd September at 5pm. Good Luck :-)

*This giveaway is courtesy of the Toys R Us Toyology programme.

Labyrinth Game from Ravensburger

2011-08-13T00:15:00.004+01:00

The blurb: With Labyrinth, gain the advantage over the other players by inserting the extras tile to move walls and open passages of the labyrinth. Learn cause and effect, planning, association, recognition and taking turns.

I decided that this year we would again try and share the toys that we were given with Chick’s holiday club and after school club. They played the game and filmed the video:

The Leader of the club says that she really enjoyed playing the game and so did the kids. She especially liked that fact that whilst the kids thought that it was fun it was great for making them think and for planning the moves ahead. Holiday Club gave it 10 out of 10 as not only have they all enjoyed it but have played it almost every day since I gave it to them!!

Chick says: I really love this game. It’s quite tricky because you have to work out where to put the pieces to get your treasures but its fun.

The game is aimed at ages 8+ but I don’t see why younger children couldn’t join in and play with some help. It’s easy to assemble and once the rules are explained is pretty easy to follow. You can also step it up a gear and employ serious strategy to win!!! Available to buy in-store from Toys R Us.

Badge It!

2011-08-11T21:10:00.000+01:00

The blurb: Now you can make your own very own metal badges. Choose an image of your favourite pop star, pet, friend or anything cool and use it to make your own badge.

The badge It! set comes with the badge maker, and enough stuff to make 15 badges. Refill packs are sold separately.

I’ve saved this one for a while as I knew that Chick would be really excited to play with it. Yesterday when she fell down the stairs and hurt herself I decided that it would give her the distraction that she needed and boy was I right!!!

We started off with all of the bits that came with the set and reading the instructions.....except I didn’t read them properly and the first badge was a write off!!! Whoops!

I love this as it’s really simple to assemble, easy to make (if you read the instructions) and doesn’t require any batteries. I guess that I would like more of the badges in the initial pack as Chick has used at least half of them already but can’t complain too much!! These are the images are the ones that came in the pack:

Chick absolutely loved this and today I had strict instructions to print off pictures of her, her friends and any small pictures that I could find of The Wanted, JLS and One Direction!!! Obviously being as I appear to not wear the trousers in this house I did exactly what I was told and printed off the pictures and she has spent tonight making them too!!!

The unit retails at around £20 which I would definitely pay for this although had I bought it for a present would probably have grabbed a refill as well. It’s aimed at ages 6+ although I see no reason why younger children couldn’t make them with some help. Available in store from Toys R Us. Remember to check out the fab new Toybox application on Facebook!!

Persil Small & Mighty

2011-08-09T21:13:00.002+01:00

The one thing that I'm not generally fussy about is washing powder. I buy whichever is cheapest or is on special offer in the supermarket and I'm happy with that but I do always buy powder. I try and do my bit to be green and wash everything (apart from whites) on as low a temperature as I think I can get away with!!

When Persil asked me if I would review their new Small and Mighty product, they said that by using colder washes I could save 5-10p per wash and use the quicker washes with the same results. Now as you know my little Chick is very accident prone and this isn't just her tripping over her own two feet but also is her dropping, spilling things etc! When she's been painting she ends up with more on her clothes than on her pictures so I thought that I would put this to the test and see if it worked for us.

As I said I don't normally use a liquid but I was willing to go with it and see and I have to say that I'm a total convert. As it's a concentrated liquid you only need a small amount and you can use it in the drawer or put it in with the washing. I've been doing half and half. The thing that I love the most about Small & Mighty is the smell....it's absolutely divine! You can smell it whilst it's washing and drying but also once you are wearing the clothes.

It washed all of our usual stuff on much lower temperatures with great results. I often use the quick wash for my work clothes and again it worked perfectly with another plus being that I'm saving time and money on each wash. I will definitely be buying this when my free bottle runs out!!

Available from all the usual supermarkets and retails for around £4 for a regular bottle.

Rainbow Scraperfoil Kit

2011-07-25T22:15:00.000+01:00

I was so excited when we received this in our Toys R Us box as I remembered getting one of these for Christmas when I was young!! Now obviously being the grown up that I am, I let Chick have it first and start it off.

The idea with these is that you get a blackboard with a silver picture printed on it. The set comes with a scraper and the you scrape off the silver to reveal the lovely rainbow colours underneath and make a gorgeous picture.

The problem that we had with it is with the scraper. It's made out of plastic and because the edges aren't sharp enough it's really very difficult to scrape off the silver. Also the black comes off too so its impossible to keep the edges neat and Chick got majorly frustrated with it and gave up!!!

I carried on with it for a while and I have to say that I'm with Chick....it's REALLY frustrating........also very unhelpful when you have OCD!!!

We finished it though and as long as you don't look too closely then it's kind of cool. Chick much preferred the spare blackboard that came with it although her designing lasted about 10 seconds before it was all used up!!

This gets a 2/10 from Chick and unfortunately the same from me.

Available to buy from Toys R Us instore. If you already like Toys R Us on Facebook then please check out the new Toybox application where you can find all the latest reviews from the Toyologists.

Connect 4 Launchers

2011-07-17T13:03:00.000+01:00

Chick and I are both massive fans of competitive games so when we saw this in the box we were both quite excited. It's basically a new version of the traditional Connect 4 except that you need to launch the counters instead of dropping them into a grid:

If you made it all the way to the end of the video then please excuse the state of me......I forgot in the excitement of winning that I was still make up free and in my PJ's!!!

It's made from sturdy plastic and needs no batteries which is always a bonus!!! Available from Toys R Us at £16.99.

TP Activity Forest Swing Single - A Toyology Poem

2011-07-14T22:26:00.000+01:00

A Toyology Poem

My name is a TP Forest Swing

And joy to Chick, I do bring

I’m a single wooden swing that will provide hours of fun

With a plastic seat the perfect size for a bum!

Made from Scandinavian redwood

You can imagine how I look good

My timber is guaranteed for five years

I’m smooth, so no splinters to cause any tears

To put together was no simple feat

But I’m perfect for a Summer’s day heat

Mummy needed some help to assemble my frame

So asked some friends and turned it into a game

Set amongst the grass and the flowers

You can swing for hours and hours and hours

My price tag may seem a little high

But I feel like I can almost touch the sky

Mummy says it worth the money

To see all the smiles from her little hunny

----------------------------------

The awesome TP Forest Swing retails at £99.99 from Toys R Us. The double swing set is also on offer at the moment for the same price! Remember to check out the Toy Box app if you are on Facebook where you can see all the Toyology reviews in one place :-)

Galt - Make Your Own Lip Gloss

2011-07-11T21:00:00.000+01:00

I have to admit to being a huge fan of these ‘make your own’ kits and I tend to buy them a lot for Chick’s friends birthdays. Mainly because they are reasonably priced, cute, easy to make and girls just love them so when I saw this in our Toyology box I knew it would be a big hit.

It comes with a lip gloss base, colourings, pearlescent pigment to make everything shiny, 3 bottles, the measuring cup, mixing spatula and guide. It also has written instructions and a picture guide.

These are super easy to make and Chick managed all on her own with no help from me. She had lots of fun making these and has been carrying ‘her’ lip gloss around in the pouch that comes with it. It’s also done the rounds of school and after school club so I’m sure that they are thrilled with me!!! The only downside for me is that it tastes absolutely disgusting but Chick gives it 9 out of 10 for fun!!

Available in store from Toys R Us. Remember to head on over and check out the amazing new Toybox application where you can see all the reviews in one place.

Children's Globe Puzzleball

2011-07-10T21:45:00.000+01:00

I love when you happen across an educational toy which is also totally fun and that the kids are completely into. So, when we received this from Toys R Us both of us were very excited:

The instructions are pretty easy and it's cool that it comes with normal worded instructions as well as images, rather like an idiots guide which is very useful for Chick and I. The first 6 or 7 pieces of the puzzle are already assembled to make things easier for you. The next few pieces fitted in quite easily but they are some trickier ones as it's made of plastic and so they aren't so easy to fit in. Once you get used to it and you find a rhythm then they slot in pretty easily.

The pieces are all numbered and we found the easiest way to put the puzzle together was to put them in number piles:

I tried to take a picture of the numbers and arrows which point you in the direction of the next piece but the writing is just so tiny that my camera wouldn't pick them up!! You can also obviously go down the traditional puzzle route and just look at the pictures!

It took Chick about 35 minutes to get to this stage but mainly because we kept stopping to chat about the different animals and Countries on the globe!

The last piece was definitely tricky to fit in but I helped with it and we managed in the end. I'm a huge fan of this product and cannot recommend it highly enough. We had a lot of fun putting it together and now that it's finished Chick is still looking at it and talking about it and it has in pride of place in her bedroom.

It's aimed at ages 8+ which I think is perfect. Younger children would be able to manage but I think may find it quite difficult. It retails at £19.99 and I will definitely be buying it for a few birthdays this year.

Children's Globe Puzzleball

2011-07-10T21:44:00.000+01:00

I love when you happen across an educational toy which is also totally fun and that the kids are completely into. So, when we received this from Toys R Us both of us were very excited:

The pieces are all numbered and we found the easiest way to put the puzzle together was to put them in number piles:

It took Chick about 35 minutes to get to this stage but mainly because we kept stopping to chat about the different animals and Countries on the globe!

Fyrflyz

2011-07-08T19:43:00.000+01:00

Fyrflyz are billed as a spinning light show, mixing art, fun and action! You can swing, spin and twirl them around to make a light show or special effects in your hands.

Now, I have to admit being a bit puzzled by these at least until Chick started playing with them. Yes they look very pretty when you are spinning them around but that is the sum of all the action. Of course part of the problem may be that in the Brooks household we actually have no co-ordination and therefore tend to end up in a tangled heap or hitting ourselves in the head with them! I wish that I could say it was just Chick that had this problem......

Chick isn't sure what she thinks of them but she does say that the light is very bright!!! I think she would be more impressed if they didn't tangle so easily. This is a video of Chick in action:

Now being the internet savvy person that I am (ahem!!) I thought I'd better do some more research and sure enough if you check out Fyrflyz on You Tube there are much more co-ordinated people making the most amazing light shows. In summary these aren't for us.......but don't let that put you off what could be a great product for your kids.

These retail at £7.99 which I think is quite reasonable and are aimed at the 8+ age range which is about right. Available online or instore from Toys R Us.

Vertbaudet Review

2011-07-04T20:19:00.000+01:00

When the lovely Alan from Vertbaudet contacted me to ask if I would be interested in reviewing an outfit for Chick, I nearly bit his hand off! We've been customers of theirs since before Chick was born and a good chunk of her baby clothes came from them as did some of her lovely nursery furniture.

Vertbaudet are a french based retailer that specialise mainly in baby and children's wear but also sell a range of maternity clothes and nursery goodies. They have an amazing website here but you can order from their catalogue too. Alan offered us £30 to spend on some clothes for Chick, so we spent a lovely evening pouring over the website and discussing which clothes she might like. In the end she decided on a top and jeans as she grown out of most of hers:

I think they were both a good choice. They are well made, comfortable and have washed really well. I did order a size too big for her and I'm so glad that I did as they fit her perfectly. This is a close up of the jeans and belt:

She can wear them full length, as she has in the picture, but they also transform into cut offs with the help of a handy toggle and button. Super versatile in this bizarre British weather we are having at the moment! This is the top:

The jeans are awesome but I have to admit to being completely in love with the top!!! It has the nicest pattern:

How cute does Chick look? Although obviously I am slightly biased!!

The top starts at £16.00 and the jeans from £17.00 but they are both in the Summer Sale that is happening right now! Go check out the website as I'm sure you'll find lots of items that you will love!!

Moon Dough Giveaway

2011-07-02T20:26:00.001+01:00

As you know we received our first Toys R Us box a couple of weeks ago and we've been busy playing, constructing, playing and filming the fun that we've been having in order to bring you some (hopefully) great reviews!!! To kick off proceedings I thought that we would start with a lovely giveaway!!!!

I have this fab Moon Dough Ice Cream Sundae set to giveaway! Unfortunately Chick thinks that she's too old to play with stuff like this now but I would still love to get my hands on some!! The cool thing about Moon Dough is that it doesn't dry out.....nothing worse than buying a similar product and finding that the kids have left the lid off and it's ruined. It's possible to stack it, cut it, mould it and stick it.

Included in the set is a playmat, coloured dough, scoops, cones and moulds so that your kids can create their own ice cream sundaes.

I love that it's so bright and colourful as well as unisex.

The Moon Dough Ice Cream Sundae set retails at £14.99 and is available to buy on the Toys R Us website.

To review the toys last year we did slideshows, videos and written reviews but I would love to be a little more creative this year. So to enter it would be fabulous if you could leave me a comment with any great or creative ideas that you have for reviewing the toys. Alternatively you could just offer to review this and share it with us all!! You should also pop by the Toys R Us Facebook page to keep up to date with all the news, competitions and of course to check out some of the amazing reviews from the other Toyologists.

Competition will close on Friday, 15th July at 5pm and winners will be announced soon after. Good Luck :-)

Toyologists 2011 - Box 1

2011-06-18T22:27:00.000+01:00

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay it's finally that time again and box number 1 has arrived. As last year Chick is allowed to keep this box and then we'll give away as much as possible to the local hospital! This is Chick opening box one :-)

Catch up with all the reviews from this year's Toyologists here.

Precious Memories - Sterling Silver Name Pendant Giveaway!!!!

2011-06-14T22:11:00.000+01:00

The lovely Glenda, who is also a fellow Toyologist, runs the most amazing business called Precious Memories which she set up in 2005. Her company makes fabulous keepsakes including baby hand and feet castings, jewellery and baby bump casts......I really wish that I would have had something like that done when I was pregnant with Chick.

I am running an awesome competition courtesy of Precious Memories and one of you lucky readers could be fortunate enough to win this:

A sterling silver pendant, with a name of your choice engraved, which can be hung from a necklace or bracelet worth £20.

Soooooo what do you need to do to enter????

Just visit the Precious Memories Facebook page and leave a comment telling them that I sent you. Then come back here and let me know that you've done so. Simple, right?

Closing date is Friday, 24th June at 5pm.

Good Luck.

Speedo Sea Squad

2011-06-13T12:15:00.000+01:00

The first time that I took Chick swimming I think she was about 8 weeks old and just looked sooooo cute in her little tiny swimsuit. I'm not sure if it's because she started so early but she's always loved swimming even though she was never overly confident. Swimming lessons are mandatory at school and actually her confidence has grown a lot since she started with the lessons, which is fabulous.

Recently Speedo have set up a new Sea Squad learn to swim project, which is obviously aimed at getting parents and children to learn to swim. The website is full of useful bits and pieces and has a section just for kids where they can play games, print off posters and door hangers, join the Sea Squad themselves or learn all about water safety. Rebecca Adlington (Olympic gold medallist) also lends her support and gets involved with the site. Chick and I love that it's so bright and colourful.

As part of the learn to swim site Speedo can e-mail you advice about teaching your children to swim depending on what stages they may be at, from babies onwards. There are three levels starting with 'Start Splashing' and then moving onto 'Start Swimming' and finally 'Get Confident'.

To help with Chick's confidence, Speedo sent us a kick board and some cool dive sticks which we've been using at the pool. I did try and get a sneaky shot at the pool but the lifeguard saw me and told me off (whoops!!) so we had to take a picture at home instead:

More information can be found over at the Speedo website.

HP Virtual Focus Group - Week 5 - Decision Time......

2011-05-15T22:21:00.000+01:00

So I'm aware that it's taken me more than 5 weeks to get all these reviews written and for that I would like to thank HP for sticking with me and being ever patient. For the last challenge it's time to embrace my creative side. I love making collages and have been doing these more and more. What I liked from the HP photo creations though was a collage cube. All you need to do is upload the pictures, the system places them for you and lets you edit them if necessary and you print out this:

Cut around it, follow the very simple instructions that print off at the edge of the template and you end up with this nifty little photo cube:

I still need to stick mine together and tidy it up but I'm sure my Mum & American Mom would really appreciate these as gifts or just to keep on their desks.

As it's now the final week I also get to decide which printer I want to keep and I have to say that it hasn't been an easy decision.

The Kodak printer is unbeatable for the picture quality and the ease of printing the pictures off.

The HP is smart, good looking and pretty much all touch screen and the only down side for me is that the pictures aren't quite such high quality as the Kodak.

If I'm honest I probably wouldn't use it for printing pictures as I take so many it's much cheaper to have them done professionally. Therefore the HP is the winner for me and I'm very happy that I get to keep this little baby:

Please feel free to ask any questions as usual :-)

Book Review: The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman

2011-05-14T10:53:00.000+01:00

Jennie Copeland thought she knew the recipe for a happy life: marriage to her university sweetheart, a nice house in the suburbs and three beautiful children. But when her husband leaves her, she is forced to find a different recipe. And she thinks she’s found just what she needs: a ramshackle house on the outskirts of the beautiful Talyton St George, a new cake-baking business, a dog, a horse, chickens…

But life in the country is not quite as idyllic as she’d hoped, and Jennie can’t help wondering whether neighbouring farmer Guy Barnes was right when he told her she wouldn’t last the year.

Or perhaps the problem is that she’s missing one vital ingredient to make her new life a success. Could Guy be the person to provide it?

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I'd never heard of Cathy Woodman before but this sounded just like my kind of book and I'm always interested in discovering someone new! As the blurb above says the book is about Jennie starting a new life after a divorce with her 3 kids. She moves to a gorgeous house in what sounds like an idyllic village in Cornwall....jealous much? She also has a very gorgeous and rugged neighbour to make friends with.

I loved the main character and as the story is all told from her point of view that's probably a good thing! It's an easily readable book and flows very nicely and gently through the move and the setting up of Jennie's cake business. Each chapter is named for a completely delicious cake or dessert most of which made my mouth water at the thought....not sure it's such a great read when you are on Weightwatchers ;-)

The picture that is painted of the family is all very pleasant and the two girls sounds like absolute sweethearts. The only downside of the book for me was the son Adam who starts misbehaving and being generally horrible and I didn't like the way the situation was dealt with.....having said that I don't have any teenage boys so it may be true to real life!!

To celebrate the publication of The Sweetest Thing, Cathy is running a 'bake off'. The prize is £100 worth of Lakeland vouchers. To enter you just need to post a picture of your baked goods to this Flickr group......again not very helpful when you are trying to slim.....yum!!!

So grab yourself a copy of the book for some inspiration and then get baking!!! Good Luck!!

Review - Photobox.co.uk

2011-04-23T11:00:00.000+01:00

I may have been a little bit excited when the peeps from Photobox contacted me and asked if I would like to review their service. I absolutely love photos and am one of those sad people that still likes to have actual prints in my hand as well as photos all over the house.

The deal was that Photobox would give me£40 credit to spend on whatever I wanted from their site. Well.....therein lies the first challenge. Did I want a photo book, prints, cards, mugs, canvas or pop art. It took me about a week of looking through the site to decide which product to choose and then once I'd chosen the product how on earth was I going to choose a picture that I loved???

In the end I decided to have this picture made into a canvas:

It was one that I took when I started doing Project 365 last year and remains one of the best photos I've ever taken. So I uploaded it to the site at the push of a button, ordered the canvas I wanted on Monday and then waited.

They e-mailed me immediately to confirm my order and then yesterday I got another e-mail saying that it had been despatched already!! At 8.30am this morning a lovely Postie dropped off my canvas and it is fabulous!!!

It already has pride of place on my shiny new red wall:

I can't thank Photobox enough and I am amazed at just how easy and efficient the service was. I'll definitely be using them again!!! Another great thing that I noticed whilst I was ordering the canvas is that when you are paying it tells you if there are any special offers or discounts on the site that you may benefit from so I had a look and ended up getting a bigger canvas for the same money I originally had to spend! An extra brownie point to Photobox for that!!!

*Disclosure - As stated above Photobox gave me a £40 credit for their site for me to spend as I wished.

Book Review: The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell

2011-04-22T22:41:00.001+01:00

In a hospice in Bury St Edmunds, a man called Daniel is slowly fading away. His friend Maggie sits with him every day; she holds his hand and she listens to the story of his life, to his regrets and to his secrets. And then he tells her about the children he has never met and never will, conceived with women he never even touched. Four of them, apparently, two boys, two girls. His legacy, he calls them.

Lydia, Robyn and Dean don’t know each other. Yet. And they are all facing difficult challenges. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood and although she is wealthy and successful, her life is lonely and disjointed. Dean is a young man whose life is going nowhere. Robyn is training to be a doctor, just like her father – a man she’s never met. When she falls in love with a man who is like her in every way, she needs to be sure. It's time for her to open the envelope her mother gave her on her eighteenth birthday.

And Daniel’s children slowly find their way into each other’s lives…

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I’m sure that most of you remember my terrific excitement last year when I was invited to a blogging event at Random House and I actually got to meet Lisa. At the time she said that she was looking to move into writing darker characters and to maybe take her writing in a different direction and I have to say that she has done

and this is definitely my favourite book of hers. She should write all future books in a similar style.

I can’t tell you how quickly I read this book....well actually I can.....it took me four and a half hours! I just couldn’t put it down. Now because I had a preview copy it didn’t have a normal cover and so I didn’t read the blurb above before I got stuck into it and for the first few chapters didn’t see where the book was going! (In my defence I read most of it laying on a blanket in the park in the glorious sunshine and didn’t have the info sheet with me J

The characters have so much depth and the story just races along leaving you eager to read the next chapter to find out how it will all end. I found also that it threw up some really interesting questions about the circumstances surrounded the conception of the four and what this would mean in a real life situation. There was a twist that I didn’t see coming which kept me on my toes and I love that the book shows how

dysfunctional all families are even when they look normal from the outside!

The book is released on the 12^th May and I suggest you pre-order your copy now......I can’t recommend it highly enough and am now going to thoroughly read it for the second time to see what I missed out on whilst I was speed-reading through it!!

If you are a fan of Lisa's you can find her on Facebook too :-)

HP Virtual Focus Group - Week 4 - Extra Resources

2011-04-14T21:04:00.000+01:00

Apologies for being so behind with the weeks but I've been busy working and enjoying the sunshine!! Week four's challenge was to investigate some of the extra resources that come with the printers. As you know they are both Wireless but you can also print some extra activities directly from the printer instead of having to go through a laptop or PC.

The HP has a very stylish and funky display screen to check out the extra features:

As you can see from some of the pictures you can print Suduko, Crayola pictures or even directly from Snapfish. This is a great resource for Chick as she can print them as she pleases without any help from me although I do keep secretly disconnecting the wireless so that she can't keep printing off vast amounts ;-)

The Kodak screen and extras seem like they are out of the Ark in comparison:

They are all helpful things as there is a shopping list and reminder list but they just aren't as much fun and Chick isn't remotely interested.

For this reason alone I think that the HP would win this challenge but it also has one other amazing trick that gives it definite brownie points..... It has its own e-mail address! Now that might not sound very impressive but what it means is that you can e-mail the printer directly from wherever you are in the world and it will do your printing without you being around!! I think that's amazing cool and this week's winner for me is definitely the HP!!

Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have about the printers and if I can't answer them then I'll put them to Thom from HP who is a printing guru!!!

Book Review: To Marry a Prince by Sophie Page

2011-04-04T21:21:00.000+01:00

Bella Greenwood isn’t a fairytale girl. If pushed, she’d probably tell you that her perfect wedding would involve a handful of close friends and family. But as she’s never met anyone she’d like to marry, it’s a moot point.

Until, in a midnight garden, Bella is helped out of an embarrassing situation by a tall, dark, handsome man with laughing eyes. And suddenly her life changes for ever, because the man is the world’s most eligible bachelor: Prince Richard, heir to the throne.

Richard sweeps her off her feet, and before she knows it they’re engaged. Which is when Bella’s problems really begin. Suddenly she is public property, and as if it isn’t enough to have her every move watched – while also learning to curtsy and negotiating the etiquette of how to address her future mother-in-law – she soon finds herself embroiled in bridesmaid politics, a right royal hen night, and a wedding dress controversy that causes a national scandal...

Can this ordinary girl survive the preparations for her very own Royal Wedding?

------------------------------------

I’ve always been a big reader but these days due mainly to time constraints I’m a bit fussier about what I read. Generally I only get to read for about 20 minutes in bed and because of that I like to read things that are quite light and easy going and this fits the bill perfectly.

I started reading this one day when I was at home ill and I have to be honest and say that I devoured it in one sitting!!!!! I loved the style that the book was written in and if I could write like this I’d be over the moon.

The lead character Bella is fun if a little straightforward and her relationship with Richard is lovely to read about.....if only it was really this simple to land your Prince ;-) I also really like the fact that the plot line focuses on Bella’s dysfunctional relationships with her Parents and doesn’t rely just on the romantic nature of the story to move it forward.

Of course with the wedding of the decade only being a few weeks away you can’t help but keep Wills & Kate in mind when you are reading especially towards the end as the wedding planning begins in earnest. I don’t think that necessarily a bad thing though!!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it would definitely make a good beach read. To Marry a Prince will be available to buy from 7^th April at around £5.99! Go reserve your copy now!

The Winner Is................

2011-04-01T18:24:00.000+01:00

Thank you sooooooo much to everyone who entered my competition to win The Dodo Household Stuff Book. The winner is comment number 3:

Congratulations to HEATHER Y!! Could you please e-mail me your address by Monday, 4th April at 5pm. Commiserations to those of you that didn't win but to ease your pain Lord Dodo has agreed that from today until Midnight on Friday 8th April you can have 25% off The Household Stuff Book. Please enter the code 11PR at the checkout to get your discount!!

HP Virtual Focus Group - Week 3 - Photos

2011-03-19T17:17:00.000Z

Ok so we are now into week 3 of the virtual focus group. I am completely up and running and now Wireless (through a wireless dongle!!) which is very exciting! This week it’s all about the photos. Now as most of you know I’m a big fan of the photos and spend a lot of money on getting copies printed off. I currently have a whole memory card of full of pics waiting to be printed so this was quite a good challenge for me. Both printers have the awesome capacity of being scanners as well as printers so I’ve been getting to grips with that this week.

Another thing that both printers have is the ability to print straight from the camera memory card or from a USB. Again super easy on both and not much to choose between them. The Kodak wins slightly on this as my memory card wouldn’t fit into the HP so it’s much easier personally to print photos directly onto the Kodak. The next biggest test then is in the quality of the print and the colours that they produce. Each comes with their own specific paper and these are ones that I printed off and then scanned in:

What do you think? I prefer the one on the left which is from the Kodak print because the colours are much brighter and it keeps the focus of the picture much more than the HP does. Another thing that I didn’t like about printing pictures on the HP was that you could see the lines of printing and that didn’t happen on the Kodak. I printed at least 15 off on each to compare the quality.

Ok so with that done the lovely Thom from HP, who is our printing guru, suggested that we do the ‘water test’. It involves using the photos from above and submerging them in water to see what effect it has on the durability of the paper and the quality of the print:

Immediately the colour started to slide off the HP paper and when I took them out and rubbed the corner of the picture, this is what happened:

Again the colour slid straight off the HP paper but the Kodak held its own. As a final test I turned them upside down and lent then on the towel to mop up the excess water. When I put them back they looked like this:

For this task I have to say that the Kodak definitely came out on top. I would've expected them to perform about the same with this so I'm really surprised that the HP paper did so poorly. I'm wondering if the fact that the Kodak prints had a while longer to dry had anything to do with it???

If you have any questions about the tasks or the printers then please feel free to ask!

Dodo Household Stuff Book Giveaway

2011-03-18T11:29:00.000Z

Please watch the Vlog above to find out how to enter the giveaway to win a Dodo Household Stuff Book worth £18.95!!!

As you can see from the video the household stuff book is fabulous and really helps you to get organised. I love that I can keep all the important stuff securely in one place rather than thrown in a drawer somewhere!! If you aren't lucky enough to win the giveaway you can buy your very own copy here. They also sell extra pages for the stuff book so you can add to it over the years or if you have a large family.

Lord Dodo on Facebook

Lord Dodo on Twitter

You can also follow me here if you would like to :-)

Only open to UK entries only sorry!!

Nutella Breakfast

2011-03-15T20:32:00.000Z

A few weeks ago I was invited by Nutella to attend a ‘breakfast briefing’ at Stockley Farm in Cheshire and I could take Chick along with me. As it was during half term I said yes that would be fabulous!! We were very

much looking forward to the day out and to meeting up with some of my fellow bloggers.

Before the big day the lovely Scott who was co-ordinating the day sent us this little surprise:

A lovely basket of fresh bread and a jar of Nutella. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Now I’m sure some of you are thinking Hmm….Nutella, what a terrible thing to feed to your child! Well you are entitled to your opinion but Chick is a big fan and as with everything in life it’s all about moderation. Nutella contains less than sugar than

jam!!

Did you also know for example that 1 in 4 children go to school without any breakfast at all??? Isn’t that a ridiculously high figure?! I would much rather Chick went to school having had Nutella on toast than not eating anything at all.

Unfortunately we were unable to make the day out at the farm as Chick had an ear infection and didn’t feel too great but I know everyone else had a great time. They got to cook with a Chef and had a breakfast briefing with a Psychologist and a Dietician and the sun even managed to shine down at the Farm!!! What a shame we couldn’t go......maybe next time J

HP Virtual Focus Group - Part 1 The Set Up

2011-03-09T22:46:00.000Z

What seems like ages ago now, I was asked if I would like to take part in a virtual focus group for HP. It involves them sending me two printers and testing them out. I get to say what I like and dislike about each one after each week’s challenge.

Now in typical Emma style I’m late in getting started.....partially because I was late receiving them but also because I’ve been having far too much fun living life. It may have also had something to do with the fact that I’m technophobic and was worried about putting them together!!! Something that I should have thought about before offering to take part is exactly where I would store two printers in my teeny house...... The first thing that I will say about both is that there is a lot of packaging! Each little bit is taped down and comes in separate bags as well as in huge boxes.

I started with the HP Photostart Premium:

It is very stylish and sleek and looks lovely. It has touch screen technology and was fairly easy to set up although it did take about 45 minutes. I struggled with fitting the ink into the spaces but I think that’s just because it was the first time and I needed to figure it all out.

Next up was the Kodak All-in-One Printer:

I'm not quite as keen on the appearance of this one as it looks quite clunky next to the HP. The screen is really easy to use and navigate. This took about an hour to set up although most of that time was just waiting for it to configure. What I really liked about this was that it only had two ink cartridges that were very simple to fit and I think they will be cheaper in the long run.

Both printers scan and copy as well as print and are set up to use wireless but there is a slight problem in that I don’t have it! Neither printer comes with a USB lead which I was very disappointed with and had I gone out and bought either one would be really quite cross that it wasn’t included and didn’t state that clearly on the box. As it stands at the moment they are all set up and ready to go and I’m waiting for the two USB leads to arrive so that I can actually start printing!!!

Watch out for the printer challenges over the 4 or 5 weeks!!!

Copella Wedges

2011-02-28T21:38:00.000Z

Chick takes lunches to school with her every day (apart from Friday because that's chip day!!!). So when Copella asked me if they could send us some of their new wedges I was all for not having to buy drinks for this week's lunch. Now if Chick could choose what she wanted to take to drink it would be either something fizzy or full of E numbers and we generally have the same discussion every week in the supermarket as to why she can't drink that rubbish!!!

We received a box of four Apple & Elderflower wedges which retail at around £2.49 and also come in English Apple variety. Each carton is one of your five a day (which Chick doesn't need to know ;-) and have no added colours, sweeteners or flavours.

All of the apples in the Copella drinks are freshly pressed and bottled at their farm in Suffolk and have been for the last 40 years. The name of the Company comes from the first letters of Cox's Orange Pippins which are the main type of apple used in the juice and also from the founders daughters name, Carmella.....I think that's pretty cool!!!

So what did we think? Well, I love the fact that they are convenient and I can just put them into the lunch box with no messing around. I'm also quite a fan of the fact that they are one of our five a day and have no added nastiness. The only downside that I can come up with is that they are quite pricey for four compared to some supermarket own brand juices.

Chick is the main juice drinker in the house and she says that she can't taste the elderflower but they make her tongue tingle and she loves them!!

Available from all of your typical supermarkets. For more information about the juice and the fabulous Boxford Farm please visit the Copella site.

eyePad Review and Dodo Pad 50% off discount code!!!

2011-02-24T12:59:00.002Z

As you know I'm being sponsored by the lovely people over at Dodo Pad to go to CyberMummy. A few weeks ago they sent me their newest product, the very cool eyePad:

The eyePad is a funky little notepad that is similar to a very popular mobile phone!!! It's a great size to have in your handbag or on the telephone table for note taking. I would love to say that I keep it in my handbag and use it for scribbling stuff down but I managed to keep hold of it for the grand total of 10 seconds before Chick stole it away from me!! She has pretended that it's her mobile, filled most of the pages with doodles and told everyone how great it is! I think I'm going to have to buy in bulk and put them in her party bags in November as it definitely has the cool factor.

Do you fancy buying one for yourself?? Well the Dodelightful people at Lord Dodo HQ have agreed that you, my lovely readers, can have 50% off their products* until 5pm on Friday, 25th February. You just need to enter the code AP10 at checkout!!! Happy Shopping!!! The best thing is that they ship all over the world so all of my readers can get involved and bag a bargain :-)

*A couple of products are excluded from this offer as are sale items. Disclosure - As stated Lord Dodo sent me an eyePad and are also sponsoring me to go to CyberMummy.

Air Hogs Zero Gravity Car

2011-02-03T21:33:00.000Z

Chick got this for Christmas and I think that my Cousins may have been more excited than Chick when she first opened it. The boys and Chick played with it for most of Christmas day (in between pints of Guiness as below!!)...over the walls and the floor and mainly getting in everyone's way!!!

As you can see from the video we were struggling to make it work but finally got it going properly once we had charged it all up. The only downside to this toy is that the run time is only about 10 or 15 minutes and it takes half an hour to charge up. You can also buy a Mini version which is pretty cool! I think that my daughter may have a career in TV presenting!

Available from Toys R Us from £14.99

Halogen Oven from Clifford James

2011-02-02T20:14:00.001Z

The lovely people at Clifford James sent me a Halogen Oven to review. It came last week and with the thought of cake baking in my head took it out of the box with great excitement. My excitement was swiftly replaced by terror as I took in the space age item in my hand, which was quickly returned to the box! It has sat in the corner of the kitchen for a week staring at me in disapproval as I use my plain old boring oven. Over the weekend I decided that I needed to man up and just use it! Thankfully it comes with an idiots guide for use which even I understood!

The halogen oven is billed as 'a revolution in cooking' using the technology of halogen to perfectly cook almost any meal. It can be used for baking, defrosting, cooking, roasting and steaming and unlike a microwave will brown food too. The fat from the food can drain away and it also has a built in self-cleaning function which I'm sure no-one will argue over!!! The instruction booklet that comes with it is very useful and gives you guide times for cooking meat, bread and pies. I would've preferred it to come with a cook book as well but this is available for £9.99 extra.

So far I've managed to bake cakes in the oven which were ok but not perfect so I obviously need to spend a bit more time on them and maybe rotate them next time. I also made chicken and vegetables which was more successful than the cakes although I'd probably do the veg for less time. The great thing about cooking the meat was that all the fat got caught at the bottom so the meat wasn't sitting in it. I've seen some fabulous halogen oven recipes and once I've used it a little more am thinking of trying Asian Ginger Beef which sounds absolutely gorgeous!!!

The only downside to the oven is that it didn't actually come with the stand to put the lid on. You can buy it for £6.99 but it would have been much more useful if it came as part of the package. It was a real pain either trying to hold the lid when sorting out the food or trying to find something heat proof to rest it on. I guess if I would've actually bought the oven then I would have purchased this too and would definitely advise you to do so if you purchase one.

So would I buy a halogen oven? If I had a more spacious kitchen then yes. It's easier than putting on the normal oven and messing around with that but I still think that conventional is easier for bigger meals. For smaller things i.e. pizza, bread and cakes we will probably use this from now on. Also there are suggestions that the halogen ovens use much less electricity than a conventional oven and in these difficult times anything that saves you money must be a good thing!

The halogen oven is available to buy from Clifford James at £39.99

CyberMummy Sponsorship

2011-01-24T20:47:00.000Z

Some of you may have noticed on Facebook and Twitter that I'm a teeny bit excited to have a sponsor for CyberMummy. For those of you who have never heard of it....CyberMummy is a British Bloggers conference held in London on June 25th! I went last year and met some amazing people and generally had a tremendous time. This year I'm lucky enough to be able to attend courtesy of the dodelightful people at Dodo Pad.

I've been lucky enough to review a couple of their products before and I'm sure that some of you will remember the fabulous giveaway I ran with their amazing academic wall planners. They have a fabulous and funky range of diaries, wallplanners, filofax refills and much more. All of their products are covered in doodles, facts and limericks and there is also plenty of space for your own doodlings!!!

The very clever people at Dodo Towers have also just released a new product....the eyePad which is great and I'm going to be trying to get my hands on one as soon as possible:

I'm really pleased to working with such a great company that have such fabulous products. Obviously from now until June I'll be working very closely with Lord Dodo and his staff to bring you reviews and news from Dodo Towers. I would love if you could show your support for them (and me) by following them on Twitter or by 'liking' them on Facebook. Exciting times ahead in 2011 :-)

Review - Zoobles

2011-01-16T21:52:00.000Z

When I received an e-mail from Spinmaster (the Company behind Moon Dough, Bakugan and Bendaroos) asking if we could test their latest new toy we of course said yes.

The toy in question are called Zoobles and are aimed at girls ages 4+. They come as individuals or Twobles as well as playsets. Each one is different and with over 150 to collect there is something for all little girls. Basically they are tiny, cute little characters that roll into a ball and then pop up when you least expect it.

They come with their own homes called Happitat's and this is what transforms them from a colourful ball to a tiny character. When you pet or stroke the Zooble they react by blinking their eyes or waggling their ears and tails! They will retail at around £5.99 for the singles and are being released in the UK tomorrow!!!

So what did we think? It took us a while to figure out how to make everything work but then we aren't the smartest cookies!! It's quite cute and something that I would buy for Chick or would certainly let her buy with her own pocket money. This was ours but I can't remember what it's name was as I threw away the packet (such a bad reviewer ;-):

Chick thought that it was fun but it has a limited appeal on it's own. I would suggest buying at least a Twoble pack so that they can interact with each other and you can swap and change them around. I also like the fact that you could collapse it down to a ball which then fitted inside its 'Happitat! I'm all for toys that almost tidy themselves away!

To find out more visit the Zoobles website or 'like' their Facebook page!!!

Disney Princess Shaker Maker

2011-01-06T20:46:00.000Z

Chick has been after one of these for ages so I was really pleased when we were sent one and I wrapped it up and gave it to her for Christmas. I would happily buy this and Chick was really pleased with the end result although I thought she looked like a drag queen rather than Cinderella!!!! A few thoughts:

- It's quite messy especially when you are removing the figure from the mould so make sure you have a covering down.

- The Instructions weren't very clear but that may just be me having a blonde day!!! Once you understand how it all fits together it is super easy and the kids don't need too much help to be able to get on with it.

- Be very careful when you are taking the mould apart that you don't break the figure (Whoops!!!)

- The painting isn't as easy as it looks on the box :-)

Available to buy from Toys R Us at £9.97

Review - Cuponk

2011-01-05T20:08:00.000Z

We’ve had Cuponk sitting on the toy shelf for a while now just waiting for us to play with it. As you can see from the video it’s fun but also quite difficult and it just seems a bit of a pointless toy to me. If Chick wants to play with a cup and a ball then I’m pretty sure I can find one of each at home without paying £9.99 for the privilege!!! Even the tricks aren’t something that you couldn’t think up on a rainy day but we may have gotten a little competitive trying them out :-)

As the ball wasn’t bouncy at all Chick couldn’t get the ball into the cup and we ended up just playing our own game with it. I wouldn’t buy this but notSupermum had a different view and the boys at her school loved it!!! Check out her review here!!

Available to buy from Toys R Us at £9.99

Reviews from the Children's Hospital - Crayola Magic Lightbrush, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Car & Figure, Fisher Price Trio, Tipover Game & Rush Hour Game

2011-01-02T16:30:00.000Z

I'm sure that you all remember my visit to the Children's hospital a few weeks ago, well they have played with the toys now and these are the thoughts of the Children and Playworkers.

Crayola Mess Free Magic Lightbrush £15.97:

6 year olds view: So fantastic, excellent brilliant paints. 10/10

It’s clever how the brush lights up over the paint pots..

Not sure why you’d use this instead of just normal paints because you can’t use this toy once the gel runs out and need special paper.

Ben 10 Figure - Ultimate Big Chill £4.94:

6year olds view: “Cool” “ amazing” “ brilliant” “wings can flap, arm & legs move. Back piece comes off, face moves.” 10/10

Initiates imaginary play well.

Quite bendy, could be easily broken. Need the diskmatrix to be able to use the Disk alien.

Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Mark 10 Car:

6 year olds view 10/10.

Quite a sturdy toy. Aids imagination.

Need to have other Ben 10 toys to get full use. Instructions could be clearer about how parts fit together.

Fisher price Trio £19.99:

6year old view 8/10.

Allows child to initiate own construction ideas.

Would need more parts to make the bigger models. Step by step instructions would be useful instead of pictures of constructed ideas for a 6year old.

Tip Over Game £12.99:

6 year olds view 5/10

Difficult game to understand for a 6year old.

6 year old lost interest in game quickly. Developed own version of game.

Rush Hour Game £12.99:

11 year old review 9/10

Able to play with individually or with others. Different levels to suit varying abilities. A good brain challenging game that could become addictive!

Reviewed as part of the Toys R Us Toyologist programme.

Giveaway - My Littlest Pet Shop Blythe

2010-12-30T20:17:00.000Z

I'm sure that most of you with Children are fed up of looking at toys already but I also know that some of you have birthdays coming up in January!! Even if you don't have Children you may be a collector of the Blythe dolls so really everyone can be a winner ;-)

The set that I'm giving away is the Autumn Glam version. It comes with the Blythe doll, pet, doll stand and other accessories. Chick really likes this set but she has had so many toys just recently that we have no room left for anymore!!! It would be great either on it's own or used with the other Littlest Petshop sets.

To enter you need to 'like' either Toys R Us or myself on Facebook and leave a comment on the page stating that you would like to win. Available to buy from Toys R Us at £12.97

Closing date is Friday, 6th January 2011. Good Luck!