Dodo Pad Diary

I’m sure that most of you remember how much I loved the academic year planner from Dodo-pad!! In fact, I loved it so much that I have a worn copy full of scribbles hanging on my kitchen wall and one by my desk at work. Well, now I have discovered the 2011 Dodo-Pad Diary or as Lord Dodo describes it.....a combined memo-doodle-engage-diary-message-ment book.

It’s the same bright colourful design with each A5 page being a week and the opposite side of the page being for doodling, pictures, quotes, phone numbers and any other info you may need. Each page is decorated with a different theme and pictures. For instance July 5^th in 1686 was the publication of Isaac Newton’s Principal of Mathematics and the quote by Magnus Pyke is:

If it squirms, it’s biology;

If it stinks, it’s chemistry;

If it doesn’t work, it’s physics;

If you can’t understand it, it’s mathematics

My favourite quote is from TE Lawrence on reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover:

“Surely the sex business isn’t worth all this damned fuss? I’ve met only a handful of people who care a biscuit for it”

Obviously not a major part of the swinging sixties there huh?!

If you are looking for a different Christmas present this year instead of the same dull old diaries I thoroughly recommend that you check out the Dodo website and look through their ranges! I’ll be buying these for my cousins who are at Uni.

The diary retails around £11.50 and is available from the Dodo website, John Lewis, Waterstones and WH Smith.

Play That Tune

This game is just so much fun!!! It comes with a plastic musical piano floor mat and we were fighting over who would get the first turn!! You get 50 'tune' cards with it and I really like the mix of music.....nursery rhymes, pop songs and classics like 'Happy Birthday'. It was good as it meant that both Chick and I knew some songs!  The cards are really clear so could be used by any age and it's pretty simple to pick up.

You are supposed to use the timer and play the notes actually in a tune but seeing as we are both tone deaf we didn't bother with the timer. There are also score cards which would work better in a family group! As there are just the two of us and Chick can't co-ordinate between looking at the cards and playing the notes it doesn't look like so much fun in the video but we are taking it to my Mum's at Christmas for the whole family to play!! I look forward to watching my 81 year old Grandma play Lionel Richie ;-)

I would definitely recommend this and Chick likes it too but it would be better with more players! Available from Toys R Us for £19.99

Reviewed as part of the Toys R Us Toyologist programme.

Review - National Geographic Land & Sky Telescope

I imagine you've gathered by now that we are Science Geeks in the Brooks household so imagine our joy when this beauty arrived in our last box. The National Geographic land and sky telescope is perfect for Chick's age because it's simple to put together and really lightweight. It also only costs £12.99 which is an absolute bargain!

Chick is quite lucky in the fact that not only does she have one set of Grandparents but we're very close to Nelly's family so we get her Parents too who Chick calls Grandpa and Nanny. They have an awesome cabin on the river so when we went there at the weekend Chick wanted to take this with her and let Grandpa help he find stuff. This is them trying it out....even in the cold and rainy night:

They both had good things to say about the Telescope but because the weather wasn't so good Grandpa is coming around tomorrow night for a star gazing session!! Bless him!!  

If I was being fussy the only downside would be that it didn't come with a star gazing book which of course was the first thing that Chick wanted to do with it but generally this gets a huge thumbs up from the whole family!

Don't forget to check out Toys R Us on Facebook to see all the other Toyologists review and some fabulous ideas for Christmas!!!

Review - Barbie Glitterizer Wardrobe

This Barbie Glitterizer Wardrobe is ideal for budding fashionistas! From the new movie, Barbie A Fashion Fairytale, this fabulous playset adds glitter and sparkle to your doll’s outfits, accessories and your own personal items in 3 simple steps! Basically you put stickers onto the clothes etc, put them in the Glitterizer and hey presto they come out all sparkly!!  In the set there is the wardrobe, a Barbie, a couple of outfits, stickers and of course lots of lovely  glitter!

I gave this to Chick as her main birthday present and she absolutely loves it. We were lucky enough to have been sent lots of Phillips batteries alongside the toys so I didn't need to worry about remembering them!!

The glitter does get absolutely everywhere and we were sparkling more than vampires in the sunlight but I guess that's part of the fun! Chick has added glitter to lots of her Barbie accessories!! It only comes with a small pack of glitter but you can use any kind.

This retails at £49.99 but is still on sale at Toys R Us at the moment. It's quite expensive but I was going to buy this as her main present anyway!

Chick says: I think it's very glittery and Barbie looks really stylish but it needs some more outfits!

Mega Blocks - Dragons Universe

We received the Mega Blocks Dragon Universe Dual-Blast Hunter Dragon and the Universe Egg -Blackheart. I gave these to my lovely Cousin Mr.E to test as Chick wasn't interested because she's 'not a boy'!!! Mr.E's Mum said:

My son Mr.E. (age 7) really enjoyed playing with these, so much so that he's added them on his Christmas list as he would like more!!

I was impressed with how easily Mr.E. could follow the instructions and made them up himself. It was also nice that the batteries were already included and that there is an on and off switch.

I think the are value for money and it's good that you can add to the sets.

Mr.E's description of these:  Brilliant, excellent, fantastic fun to play with, easy to build.......amazing......would like more!!

The Dual-Blast Hunter Dragon is available from Toys R Us at £24.97. The add on sets are available from £9.97.

This is Mr.E and Chick on her birthday:

Review - Micro Pets-i

The Micro Pets-i move, walk, sing, chase the ball and act as if they have a mind of their own. They interact with each other and play games together. Each one has their own 'special' talent! This is Chick & The Punk reviewing them:

My opinion: The first thing that you will want to know about these as a Parent is exactly where the off switch is!!! Within 10 minutes of the kids reviewing them, I was begging them to turn them off because they just don't stop squeaking.  The kids claim to love them but since they first opened them they actually haven't touched them!!

I guess they would make ok stocking fillers if you don't mind the £9.99 price tag. Would I buy these for Chick? No, probably not but then I'm tight and she has far too many toys anyway :-)

Would you like the chance to become a Toyologist from now until Christmas? Them make sure you enter the fab competition that Toys R Us are running until 21st November.

Review - Bop It

Those of you that are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter may have noticed that I was a teeny bit excited to have received this in our latest Toyologist box!!

It's loud, infuriating, completely addictive and we LOVE it and highly recommend it!!! 

Available from Toys R Us at the cool and very reasonable price of £17.97.

Would you like the chance to become a Toyologist from now until Christmas? Them make sure you enter the fab competition that Toys R Us are running until 21st November.