Fun with Aqua beads

My 5 year old daughter was brought some Aqua beads for her birthday in May this year but quickly used them all up and was always asking for more, So come Christmas when everyone was asking me what she wanted one thing I told people was Aqua beads, Lucky for my daughter when opening her presents Christmas morning there was a box of Aqua beads from her Auntie and Uncle, she didn't get round to playing with them Christmas day but Boxing day she did and since then it has been every evening.

There a little fiddly to use so I always sit with her in case she wants my help, What you have to do with them is you get a board that you place the beads you want onto it following the picture thats placed under the board, When thats done you spray it with water and wait for it to dry, when its dried you simply peal it off the board and its done, Some of them require other bits being stuck onto them to make them 3D.

My daughter loves them that much that she has asked for even more for her next birthday, Which I will quite happily buy for her as it keeps her quiet for hours at a time.

Christmas day

So the day I had been waiting for had finally come, I was so excited to see my kids faces on Christmas morning, Only I felt it was ruined some what due to some noisey neighbours when they arrived home gone 2am and slammed there car door only to wake my two oldest kids up, I tried so hard to get them back off to sleep but it just wasn't happening,
So me and my husband decided we would let the kids open there stockings and there present from santa, Hoping that they would go back to bed.

It worked until my son walked past the Christmas tree and saw cars wrapping paper so in the end we just let them open them all, They were over the moon with what they got, My son got lots of Disney cars things and other toys but sadly the other toys haven't been played with yet as all he wants is his cars toys, My oldest daughter got lots of Zoobles, Moshi monsters and many more bits, My littlest girl got mainly clothes as she already had a lot of toys, But the toys she did get she loves.

By 5:30am the kids got tired again so we managed to get them back into bed, So after very little sleep me and my husband finally managed to get back into bed and try too catch up on some lost sleep, Finally at 9:30am we woke to the sound of the kids playing with there new toys in there room.
So we got up and started to take a lot of the toys out of the boxes, Why do they have to tie them into the boxes with loads of ties and tape? My son got a Disney cars dressing up outfit and insisted on having it on, He also got a cars back pack which he refused to take off all day.

My oldest daughter decided she wasn't going to get dressed so she stayed in her pj's all day, While we put our youngest in a new dress we had got her for Christmas.

My 5 year old was dying to get her Lego out and play with it we had to insist that our youngest was in bed when she does, So when our youngest was in bed having her nap my 5 year old was very quick to get her Lego out to play with, So I sat with her for a while sticking the stickers onto the correct bricks so she could then play with it.

Sadly due to the present I brought my husband I have hardly seen him as he has had his face glued to his kindle reading a book, But its a small price to pay after what he brought me, A new net book just for me to use for my blogging and other things I do on the internet.

When it comes to Christmas dinner I always cheat and buy everything preprapared and a turkey crown to cook from frozen, I do it this way so I have more time to spend with my family because when I was kid I always remember my mum only being around when we opened the presents and then it was straight into the kitchen to sort the dinner out, So we hardly spent anytime with her.
After a long day we finally had all the kids fast asleep by 7:30pm, So I decided it was time for a bath them bed myself.
And when I was in bed trying to sleep all I could think of was where are we going to put all these new toys.
I hope you all had a great Christmas

Silent Sunday

MAM Bite and Relax Phase 2 Teether

I was lucky to get the chance to test out and review the new MAM bite and relax phase 2 teether, When it arrived it was unlike any teether I have ever seen, The two green parts are for chewing and the white part is for holding and to stop baby putting it to far into there mouth, The teether comes in a special box that is also used as a steriliser,
So the first thing I did before giving it to Jovie to have a chew on was sterilise it,

Its very simple to sterilise all you need to do is fill the box up to the line (25ml) pop the teether in, close the box and then pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes, When its done you need to let it cool before giving it to your baby.
So once it was sterilised and ready to go I gave it to Jovie and right away it was a big hit, Its light weight so she could hold it with ease and the shape of it ment she could hold onto it very easy, She has spent a good few hours at a time chewing on it and even got upset when we had to take it off her so we could feed her.

The bite and relax phase 2 is designed for the back teeth so baby can easily reach the back gums with out any problems, The teether itself also has various different textures.
Like all MAM products its BPA free
This teether is a must have for teething babies and as soon as its released in shops I will definately be buying a couple of spare ones.

At this moment in time it's not avalible to buy in shops or online but if you join there facebook page here You will be kepted up to date with when its avalible.

Silent Sunday

Money saving with Poundland

Being a stay at home mum of 3, While my husband works but isn't on the best wage, all I can think of is ways to save money, I'm sure theirs a lot of people out there in a similar position to us, Where come the last week of the month we are always worried about if we will have enough food and petrol to see us through till the next pay day, When Bottle PR contacted me with comparison charts and asked if I would like to use it on my blog I jumped at the chance, I admit I do go to my local Poundland a lot but I never realised that I could buy a lot of things I would normally buy from my supermarket in there.
So I was sent a chart showing me just how much I could save by going to Poundland I was also sent a box full of the products that we used in the comparison chart, So I will be going through them one at a time for you all to see.

The first thing is a box of 6 luxury crackers, The crackers are a nice size, When I think of crackers being a pound all I could think of was really small ones that you would put on a Christmas tree, Each cracker contains a joke, hat and a novelty gift, Just what you need in a cracker, Now the price for a pack of 6 luxury crackers from Asda would cost you £3.75, from Sainsburys £4.99 and from Tesco's £5.00.

Next up is a 200g box of Jacobs biscuits for cheese, I always thought for food items to be so cheap that they must be near there sell by date but I was wrong, They have a normal shelf life just like ones you would get from a normal supermarket, I was also expecting them to be broken but again I was wrong not a single one was broken, If you was to buy this box from Asda it would cost you £1.85, From Sainsburys £1.85 and Tescos £1.85

A pack of 30 Christmas cards, I was expecting some really thin quality card but again proved wrong, The designs on the cards are really nice, I would definitely buy more cards from Poundland as my oldest daughter goes to school and we must have spent a small fortune of Christmas cards for her, To by a 30 pack of cards from Asda they would cost you £1.50, From Sainsburys £2.99 and from Tescos £2.00

A pack of 3 Nestle Walnut Whips, Again these had a long shelf life so no need to worry that they would go out of date soon after buying them, They wasn't broken and the box wasn't damaged in anyway, If you was to buy them from Asda you would pay £1.53, Sainsburys £1.53 and from Tescos £1.59

A box of 170g of After Eights, Once again long shelf life, The box isn't damaged and the After Eights were all intact, If you was to buy a box of After Eights from Asda you would pay £1.50 for 300g, From Sainsburys £2.25 for 300g and from Tescos £1.50 for 300g

8m roll of Christmas wrapping paper, I was expecting it to be thin and tear easy but I have used some to wrap up a few presents and not had a problem with it, Even looking at the pattern on it you wouldn't think it would have cost just £1, If you was to buy 8m from Asda you would pay £1.50, In Sainsburys £1.99 for just 4m and in Tescos 70p on offer for 5m

10m x 45cm Aluminium foil, This is just the same as any foil I would buy from any supermarket, Its no thinner than any other and the packaging is just the same as any other I would buy, If you was to buy this from Asda it would cost you £1.49, Sainsburys £1.82 and Tescos £1.46

A round charger plate, Its really nice quality and doesn't look cheap, a perfect little extra to have around the house over Christmas, To buy one from Asda it would cost you £1.50, Sainsburys £1.99 and Tescos £1.80

38 x 30 Turkey roaster, I used this the other night not for a turkey though, I was expecting the food to stick to it again proved wrong, It doesn't feel any thinner than ones I have brought in the past, To buy one from Asda it would cost you £1.50, Sainsburys £5.25 and Tescos £1.50

2FT Christmas tree, I have been looking round myself to get a small tree to sit on our breakfast bar, But couldn't find one I liked for a cheap price, I didn't want to pay lots for it as we already have a big tree so this would just be a extra decoration, The tree is a really nice size and easy to put the stand together and whats more its pink, My daughter really wanted a pink tree so it has the thumbs up from her right from the start, To get one from Asda it would cost you £3.75 for a 3FT tree, Sainsburys £6.99 and Tescos £5.00 for a 3FT tree.

Now if you total them all up you should see this:
Poundland £10
Asda £19.87
Sainsburys £31.65
Tescos £22.40

As you can see there is a big saving for going to Poundland and it has made me realise that I can buy much more than I already do at Poundland.

All products from Poundland were brought on 29/11/11 from Asda 29/11/11 from Sainsburys 28/11/11 and Tescos 28/11/11

John Crane Ltd, Lilliputiens

John Crane were looking for people to review there Lilliputiens toy, So I got in touch and was very lucky to get the chance to test it out with my son, It arrived very quick and well packaged, As soon as I got it out of the packaging my son was all over it, My Husband was also very impressed with it and quickly found a place to display it.
Since its arrival My son has not left it alone and gets all moody with us when we don't go with him to play with it.

This toy is made from fabric that has a stiff layer inside to keep it fairly ridged, Its attached to a wooden pole with rope on for easy hanging, It has the numbers 1-31 stitched onto it for dates where you have a frog with a square cut out of its belly so you can velcro it over the date you need, There is also places to stick the days of the week, You mood, The weather, The season and birthday cake for when your birthday is, Down the side has the months stitched on, With places to stick your season and birthday cake,
There is also two little pocket type ones to stick on where you can put what activities you have done for the day.

I have found this very good for helping my son to learn and would recommend it to anyone with a child around his age or higher, You can find out more about John Crane Ltd on there facebook page Here Also you can visit there blog here

John crane Ltd currently have an advent running through December, Where each day there will be a new deal, Things like Money off, buy one get one free deals and even random giveaways so make sure you join there facebook page to keep up to date with there newest offers they have on.

Silent Sunday

Addictions

I admit I have a fair few addictions now and its costing my husband a small fortune, My first addiction is for cloth nappies I started off with about 20 with my son and then as soon as I found out I was having a girl my collection just grew, I now have to many to count and it has got to the stage where I'm letting my son use them on his teddy bears.

As you can see the box I keep them in is over flowing and then the pile is ones that I'm waiting to put together I also have a few in the nappy bucket and of course one on my daughter, My husband has told me no more nappies, But some how I have managed to add more and more to them by either buying them with out him knowing and then telling him once I have brought them or from winning them, Most of my nappies are from Baba + Boo but I also have some from other companies too, One of my more recent ones to arrive came from FuzziBunz Europe and its one of my favorite ones now.

I have to admit when I first got it I was a little unsure of it as it was much different to my normal ones, even though it is a birth to potty like my others, But with this one you have elastic to adjust instead of poppers to adjust.


On to my next addiction Baby leg warmers, This addiction started because I didn't want to cover up my lovely nappies with tights, So every time my daughter is wearing a dress she will always have her leg warmers on,

Again this is only a few of them as there is some in the wash and she also has a pair on today, She almost has a pair to match every dress she owns I still think she needs more though and I'm sure I can get my husband to let me buy more as he loves to show off her nappies just as much as I do.


This next addiction has only really started but I'm sure its going to get worse, Baby headbands,
I started off with just one now she has five and 6 she will be getting for Christmas and there is also one in the post,

I only really started getting headbands because I was getting a little fed up with people saying whats HIS name, even though she has a pink pushchair and dresses on, But since she has had her headbands on not one person has said whats HIS name, I'm sure this collection will soon grow as I have seen lots of really nice ones out there.

And onto my final addiction baby bandanna bibs, Again this started off with just three and I have been adding and adding to this over the months, The photo only shows a few of them as theirs lots in the wash and she has one on. (Very dribbely baby)

I have also got a gift pack of 3 dribble bibs that will be going in her stocking for Chritmas, These are another thing I just cant stop buying.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do when shes to old for all these things, Hmmm maybe another baby.

Silent Sunday

Zing: Ickee Stikeez

I had never herd of Ickee Stikeez before so was very interested to see what they was when they arrived, The come You can buy them in foil packs where you can't see what ones you get and you can also buy packs of 6 where you can see what ones you get,
I was sent 3 foil packs each containing 3 Ickees with podz and 3 Ickeez koinz, I opened up one pack and inside this is what I found,

Each Ickeez comes hidden inside its pod and each koinz you get has the name of the Ickeez you have in the pack,
The koinz have code on them that can be used on there website here
There is 24 different Ickeez to collect and I can see them being a big hit for children to take to school and swap doubles with there friends.

My daughter was very excited when I showed her them and quickly started showing me the things she could do with them, One thing she pointed out to me was that they stick to glass and other shiny surfaces, Which so thought was great fun, She also spent hours rolling them about in there podz.

They got a big thumbs up from my daughter and they also get a big thumbs up from me as they have kept her entertained for hours each day.
With Christmas right around the corner I have to point out these will be perfect for stocking fillers, As you can buy them in a pack of one for just 99p from Toymaster, Sainsburys, Amazon
Or the foil pack of 3 for 2.99 from Tesco, Toys R Us, Amazon and of course there is the 6 pack for £4.99 from Toymaster, amazon, Toys R Us.
I have since gone out and brought some more for my daughter for her Christmas stocking and know she will be over the moon when she opens them.

Silent Sunday

Sudocrem Mousse, Name the Moose Competition

Sudocrem are going to be launching some great new products soon and are holding a very special competition to win £500 of toys r us vouchers and a personalised santa sack worth £150 for one lucky winner, So what are you waiting for head on over to there facebook page, Like it and enter the competition to name the mousse.

You can find there facebook page here

Good luck to all of you that enter.

Silent Sunday

Christmas is coming YAY

This was last years tree, I haven't got mine up just yet

I'm so excited this year for Christmas, For me Christmas is all about the kids, Every year my husband asks me what I want and every year all I say is nothing as I would rather the money spent on our kids,
I have already started buying presents for everyone because most years we leave it to the last minute and panic, so I didn't want that happening again.
Me and my husband have agreed that this year we will be making the Christmas dinner as simple as possible and not to buy a huge turkey, Even though I always make pies and curries out of the left overs we still have loads go to waste.

I will be putting my Christmas decorations up on the first Saturday of December so my oldest can help with the tree, Each year I like to put the tree in a different place in our living room, So I have been looking for the best place to put it and found it, The thing is now I know where its going I want to put it up now, I also buy more and more decorations each year, I'm sure I will be getting complaints from my neighbours soon as I keep buying lots of lights for outside, I even said to my husband I want the outside lit up so bright that we wont need street lights on (oh the cost of the electric).

This was my lights two years ago,
last year I added more

Keep an eye out for more Christmas related posts, From things to cook to things to make with the kids.