Bubabloon Review

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This week we have been trying out BUBABLOON. As soon as I read about BUBABLOON I knew instantly my monkeys would love it. My living room floor is always home to a selection of balls and balloons as well as a small goal so they can play football indoors. 

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Plasticine Fun

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Remember the days before iPhones and iPads? When you received a toy and didn't wonder 'What does this do?' I remember those days and I remember having lots of fun playing with dolls, board games and plasticine. Actually plasticine was one of my favourite toys, I loved being creative and making lots of figures. We always had a supply of plasticine in our house because it would provide me with hours of fun, no batteries required.

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Brewers Fayre Birthday Meal

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To help celebrate having two birthdays back to back in May, we had a lovely family meal at Brewers Fayre. We have been to Brewers Fayre many times over the years and like most pubs and restaurants they are constantly improving the menu so it was nice to try out their Chef's Counter.

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Project 365 Days 123 - 129

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Double birthday celebrations this week for big J and I. I cannot believe he is a teenager already, where does the time go?

We had a lovely week of presents and parties.

123/365 - The birthday celebrations have begun
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#Win World Class Fragrances - Perfumer's Choice

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I am so excited to be able to give my readers the chance to win World Class Fragrances. I have reviewed some of the perfumes in the past but the new Perfumer's Choice is their most luxurious and prestigious collection yet. Perfumer's Choice offers elegant fragrances, luxurious quality at affordable prices.

Four of my readers will win 2 perfumes each of their choice from the new Perfumer's Choice collection below. Which one's will you choose if you win?

No.3 Jean - Marie

Woody, Spicy

A sparkling fresh Citrus Grapefruit top note enhanced with invigorating Corriander and Incense lift the elegant heart of Cedarwood and exotic spices - Black Pepper, Nutmeg and Cardamon. The base notes are a sophisticated accord of Vetiver and Patchouli enriched with warm tenacious Amber notes.
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Monthly Review Round Up - April

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Last month we tried out some great products.

Little Dish


Little J has been trying out Little Dish meals this month. Little Dish have a range of toddler meals that are perfect for 1-3 year olds. Each meal has 100% natural ingredients, low in salt and sugar. Little J has tried Little Dish meals before but  he has just tried the new meal Shepherd's Pie with British Lamb.

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#Win Heroes Of The City Goodies

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A few friends and fellow bloggers have been talking recently about Heroes Of the City. I hadn't heard of it until last week but I am glad we checked it out because little J loves it. 

Heroes Of The City can be found on YouTube which features episodes following the adventures of Paulie Police Car, Fiona The Fire Engine and lots more.

Each episode is perfect for babies, toddlers and preschoolers teaching them the importance of friendship and what we can achieve if we help each other.



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Pampers Celebrates #Everybaby

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As you will know little J has just become a fully fledged toddler when he celebrated his 2nd birthday last month. Amongst the planning of his presents and how we were going to celebrate I found myself thinking back to his birth, it was his 'birth' day after all. We had waited for little J for so long and I was so nervous, scared but ultimately excited to meet him. Due to our previous history I was induced and although at the time I thought it would take away the surprise of going into labour, it didn't really.

I was induced first thing on the Tuesday and he came almost 48 hours later on the Wednesday evening. I loved being in labour, although while I was experiencing it, I wanted it to be over with as soon as possible, at the end I got little J and it was worth all the pain. I had a smile from ear to ear that day and he has made me smile everyday since.

On the same day that the nation celebrates one special birth, Pampers partners with award winning director to celebrate #everybaby

 
Looking back to 2013 - Little J
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Project 365 Days 110-122

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I missed project 365 last week but I have doubled up this week.

Here's our last two weeks in photos

110/365 - The sun has been shining today so after school we headed straight in the garden.
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#Win A Maya The Bee and Willy Plush

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Little J does love sitting down on his cosy chair and watching TV. We are quite lucky that so far he does watch a variety of programmes so we are not watching the same show over and over again. I remember when big J was little we had to watch the Barney movie every day for about 6 months, we knew every word by the end of it. 

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The Transition From Cot To Bed

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I'm not quite sure how it happened but Daddy and I were just talking about little J's room and the next minute we were building his toddler bed. We have had his toddler bed for a little while. We saw it online, liked it and it was on offer so we bought it. To be honest I had no idea when we were going to move little J from his cot to his bed but I wanted to buy it anyway.

toddler in his bedroom

I had googled a few weeks ago about looking out for signs to show when your child is ready. One major sign is them being able to get out of the cot or having a pretty good go at getting their leg over the bars. Little J hasn't done this but he is very tall and this was my main concern. When he stands he does tower over the top. Another sign is not being able to settle in the cot. Up until very recently little J has always slept in a sleeping bag but he has started to look uncomfortable and restricted. We decided to stop putting him in the sleeping bag and he did seem more settled. He obviously wouldn't be able to wear the sleeping bag once he was in the bed anyway so it was time to lose it.

So despite him not showing any sure signs of being ready for the transition we decided to give it a go anyway. We built the bed together, he stayed in the room and watched as it was put together. It didn't take very long and I am really pleased we chose the Disney Cars Toddler Bed

I had read some reviews of toddler beds where parents had said they are a waste of money and eventually they need a bigger bed anyway but I think it is perfect. Its just the right height off the floor so he can climb in and out easily.

We weren't sure what to expect on the first night of him in his own bed. Obviously we knew he would be excited and having the freedom to get in and out of the bed was going to be a novelty, but hopefully that would wear off.

Toddler in his bed

Toddler in his bed

Toddler in his bed

We kept his usually bedtime routine and when it was time to go up to bed we tucked him in, kissed him goodnight and walked towards the door. He seemed fine at first but when we shut his new toddler gate he screamed. He was really upset and was trying to get out. This lasted minutes before he went off and played in his room. We left him for five minutes at a time and then went back in, walking him to his bed, tucking him in, kissing goodnight then leaving. Before we had even closed the gate he was out the bed and playing again.

I did a google search looking for the best way to deal with this but there are so many ideas, tips and advice and to be honest I think you just have to do whats right for you. We did let this continue for longer than I had hoped but on one of the times Daddy went in he didn't get out the bed, he just snuggled in to his teddies and started to drift off to sleep. Phew. He was asleep but for how long?

I actually thought we would hear footsteps during the night or him playing with his toys but he didn't actually get out the bed till morning. I was quite shocked. He did wake a few times during the night but he has been doing that anyway as he is cutting his second molars.

Night two was a little different, we did his bedtime routine as usual but instantly after putting him to bed he was up and out playing. I am not sure whether its right to just let him play so I popped him back in straight away. Infact every time he tried to get out I put him back in. He found this funny at first then he got a little frustrated. I thought eventually he would give up and he did but he gave it a good go. I think this lasted over a hour of me just putting him back in to bed.

I think we will just have to see how this goes. We will keep this going for a few weeks. and we have kept the cot accessible just incase we have to set it up again. If he does have to go back to his cot I won't see it as a step back just he wasn't ready and we will try again when he is a little older. The age range for moving in to a bed is huge. 18-42 months is the average age, little J is only 24 months so we may have gone to early or he may be fine. Only time will tell.

Michelle
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#Win A Family Ticket to #TudorsOnTour

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WIN TICKETS TO A FAMILY FESTIVAL FIT FOR ROYALTY - TUDORS ON TOUR

His Royal Highness, Henry VIII, is set to leave London for the first time this May - and to celebrate - we have five sets of family tickets up for grabs, for a three day spectacular of joust, crafts and dress-up, as Historic Royal Palaces present, Tudors on Tour!


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I Got My First Tsum Tsum

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Last year when we were in Disneyland Paris, Tsum Tsum's were everywhere. In every shop there were huge displays of these little cuties. I had no idea really what they were other than there were lots of them in all different characters.

For those that have no idea what a Tsum Tsum is.

 Originally from Japan, Tsum Tsum stackable plush  come in your favourite characters. Collect them all to build a tower of cute and cuddly friends
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