I Am The Queen Of Connect Four

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Disclosure - This is a collaborative post
Connect Four is probably the first game I ever remember playing when I was little. I used to play it with my dad all the time. I loved it and still do, over the years I have become an expert at it. Without blowing my own trumpet I haven't been beaten yet. Big J enjoys playing lots of versions of the game, Original, Launchers, Travel Size, Connect 4 online even Spongebob but I'm still the Queen of all of them. 

*looking back to 2012*

So my next challenge was to become the queen in the GIANT version. I have played the GIANT version once or maybe twice whilst we were visiting a castle in the Lake District. They had it in one of the stately rooms. It was mainly for the children to play with but the competitive side of me wanted to have a go and I did but there wasn't much of a challenge as I was playing a younger big J at the time.  I remember thinking how amazing it would be to have a GIANT version of the game. Perfect for the garden and when having family and friends over. Once we got home it completely slipped out of my mind until last week when we were sent the GIANT version to try. 
Wow, its huge. Its stands 1.1m and we love it. I'm sure everyone reading this will know what Connect Four is but if you don't its very simple but very very addictive.
The game is designed for two players, yellow and red, although you could play in teams if you wish. You sit or in the GIANT version stand on each side of the game. All you have to do is drop your counters in turn into the game and try to get four in a row. It can be horizontal or diagonal but you must remember to block your opponent too. Once you have four in a row you win. Simple.
Daddy set the game up in our living room for us to have a try. It was an easy set up and within 10 minutes it was up and ready to play.

Its so much fun on the GIANT version, I'm not sure why it feels different when its the same game but it does. We have played it so much over the last week so we have left in assembled in the front room. Although its weatherproof and durable for the winter months I like having it indoors at the moment so we can play even when its raining outside.  Little J has enjoyed it too, he likes to empty the counters by pulling the lever at the side. He then flings all the counters all over the floor so we have to then go on a hunt to try and find them under the table and the sofa. He also likes to be picked up and pops them in the slots. He does this for all the counters until every hole is full. 
What We Liked 
Everything really. Its Connect Four, whats not to like? It's a classic game on a GIANT scale. The fact that you are standing to play makes it more exciting. Sounds strange but it does. The plastic is durable and weatherproof, hopefully without any damage to the colours. You can buy replacement counters. This is a big thumbs up because I don't know how many games we have had to throw away over the years due to missing pieces. 
What Could Improve
Although I love everything about it the only thing I could really say under this section is the price. Currently £189.99 which may seem a little steep for a game. There is a section on each side of the game that holds the counters although they seem to fall off very easily. It may have been better for the holder to be enclosed rather than open.
So the question is am I still the Queen of Connect Four? Oh yes, still undefeated. I am really looking forward to including this in our garden games over the next few months and will be challenging everyone who will play with me. 

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We Found Love

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I don't usually listen to the radio because I always have a CD in the car but one day last week I did. I'm not a big fan of the radio mainly because I'm not a fan of current music so I would rather listen to what I want and not what the radio chooses to play. Anyway the two presenters of the morning breakfast show were having a conversation about Love. They said there has been a recent survey which confirmed that the most popular place to find love was at the gym.  Really? the gym? I couldn't imagine anything less romantic. I don't go the gym now but when I did I used to be red faced and sweaty and couldn't wait to get home to take a shower. Looking for love would have been the last thing on my mind.  Anyway they asked their listeners to ring up to share where they found love. There were some lovely stories of people finding love in all weird and random places. Out for a stroll with the dog, on an aeroplane, at a concert and even cleaning someones car.

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Project 365 Days 61-67

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Its been a lovely dry week this week so plenty of chances to head out in the garden for some fresh air.  

61/365 - My week got off to a very good start when I lost albs. I started slimming world the week before and I am really enjoying it. I don't actually feel like I am on a diet and I am amazed with my weight loss. I know when you start dieting you always lose more in the first week but its really motivated me to do good.

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Our Own Eiffel Tower

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I will always remember the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, I was blown away. I remember looking up and just thinking WOW. Although big J and I were desperate to go up, Daddy was not as excited. 

*looking back to 2007*

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Win a Family Trip To Blackpool Tower Circus

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In all my 30+ years I can honestly say I have never been to a circus before. How sad is that. When I was younger I was scared of clowns and I always associated the circus with clowns. As we are Merlin Pass Holders I am now going to make an effort to visit the circus at Blackpool Tower. I have been reading some great reviews and I will definitely plan a trip this year. If you like the circus then you will love my competition as I have a family ticket to the Blackpool Tower Circus Easter Extravaganza. 

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I Need To M.E.A.T and Greet McBusted

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I haven't blogged about my love for Mcbusted for a few weeks so I suppose now is a good time to give them a mention. Last week I was browsing through my emails when I came across one from the McBusted boys, well it was just a mail shot but it was very exciting.

*photo copyrighted to McBusted*

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Daddy keeps up with the new Panasonic TV technology

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It wasn't long ago that Daddy had set his alarm on his phone to remind him about the XBOX One Convention. It was streaming live across the world to show off the new console that was eagerly awaited by millions. I remember how exited he was when it started to stream from the xbox 360 on to our TV. If I remember rightly there was a man showing off all what this new console could do. I'm not up on technology but I do remember thinking "wow! A console can do all that?" Daddy on the other hand is very in to technology he loves it, he needs it and he is always wanting to upgrade. Consoles, phones, computers, TV's, everything that can be upgraded really. You may remember he went to Play Expo last year. He took big J and they had an amazing time. Everything was retro and mainly arcade machines so I couldn't think of anything that he would see there that he would want...I was wrong.

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Baby Tips - Sleep

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Last month I became an Aunty for the very first time, its so exciting. Baby A is absolutely gorgeous and I knew as soon as I saw my little nephew I would become all broody and want another baby. I love babies and I would have lots if I could but for now I am going to concentrate on being the best Aunty ever. When you hold a new baby you can never remember your own being 'that small'. Little J looked huge compared to Baby A and it made me smile because it really wasn't that long ago that he was just a baby.   I started thinking back to the first few days we brought little J home. He was such a good baby and was never any trouble at all really. He was such a routined baby right from the start, he loved his sleep. Thinking back I know that made the first few months so much easier than we could ever of hoped for.   When we had big J almost 13 years ago now we didn't really have a clue what we were doing. He had no routine really and because we were working, trying to save for a house we used to try and squeeze in as much time as possible so we didn't miss out seeing him.  Looking back now it was a tough time with very little sleep but we did okay and he did grow out of it eventually.  I think being a parent for the second time you do learn from your mistakes and we made sure with little J that we were well prepared. Here are a few things we used. Although he was a perfect little sleeper I'm sure these helped get him in to a routine and have full nights sleep .

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Big J Trys An Experience Prize Thanks To Weetabix

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Weetabix and Red Nose Day have teamed up to offer 9 amazing experience prizes in their pick a nose competition. Big J is lucky to be trialling one of the prizes that is on offer.

Big J was chosen to trial the Karate Konk training experience. The prize is 3 months Karate lessons plus a full years karate membership.

Once we had found a karate club that was close to home we were ready to join. The classes run for 1 hour and there are different sessions depending on ability. Big J is a beginner as he has never done Karate before.

 

We arrived as requested 20-30 minutes before the session started. Big J filled out his registration forms. He was shown the time table of different classes available. There was karate, kung fu and kickboxing. Big J chose kickboxing.

There was a shop on site for selling everything you might need. There was so much choice.

Once we had signed up we were shown around and big J starts next week. he is really looking forward to it. He has never shown an interest in anything like this before but after having a look round he is really keen and excited.

There are so many amazing experiences to be won on the Pick Your Nose competition, this is just one of them.

You could also win a trip to a Planetarium, The Zoo or The Aquarium plus more and there is also a mystery prize.

All you need to do to enter is buy a special pack of Weetabix and enter the unique code here for your chance to win. Also Weetabix will donate 5p from every pack to Comic Relief, helping people across the UK and Africa. 

Make sure you keep an eye out for more posts about big J's karate experience.

*we were asked to trial the above prize in return for a blog post. All thoughts and any opinions are our own*

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Early Morning Fun In The Park

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 Trying to get a soon to be teen out of bed on a Sunday morning can be nightmare so we usually have to wake big J up 30 minutes before he actually needs to be up. I usually give him a nudge and then ten minutes later another nudge and then usually on the 3rd and final nudge he will eventually get out of bed. I think theres nothing better than waking bright and early on a Sunday morning and heading out to the local park. Once big J was up and dressed, we wrapped up warm and off we went. 

Little J was very good and put on his all in one on and even his hat, which is a first. He usually takes it off within seconds of it going on his head. Also big J wore his coat. Sounds a silly thing to say but for whatever reason big J hates wearing a coat and somehow thinks that a tee and a hoody is suitable when its -2 degrees outside.

We have quite a few parks local to us but we decided to go further afield to Sherdley Park. Its not too far. We left the pram at home and brought little J's bike instead just incase he got tired.

As soon as we got there little J was desperate to get out the car. He loves being outside, we all do. The ball and the bike came along too and for the first half of our walk we kicked the ball up and down the hills. Little J was really good on his feet today. Sometimes he can be very wobbly and fall over but he was almost running down hills and his balance was perfect.

Big J however wasn't so good on his feet, he fell over a few times which I think was on purpose just so he could roll down the hills. Little J thought it was hilarious although I was panicking incase he rolled in dog poo.

Little J went on bike and we went on a walk next right round the park. We walked past the farm which was closed, but we saw some chickens, goats and donkeys. 

We came to a huge mud hill on our walk which Daddy and big J had to climb up. I think little J wanted to climb up too.

There is a play area in Sherdley Park, the boys had a go on the swings, slides and big J had a climb on the climbing frame. 

When we got to the play area I started to feel the cold so we didn't stay too long. I'm really looking forward to warmer days. I love being out and about. Most of our adventures don't cost anything. We always take a packed lunch and plenty of drinks. In the summer we will buy ice creams and little treats but for days like today we didn't spend a penny. I always find these days the best. All we needed was a ball and a play area and we had lots of fun, lots of laughs and quality family time together.

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Project 365 Days 54-60

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I hope everyone had a nice week last week. We did and as usual it went by so fast so I'm glad I was able to take a few photos to remind us of the week we just had.

54/365 - Little J really wanted to go in the garden so we wrapped up warm and headed out. Theres not a lot to do out there yet but he seemed to have lots of fun pulling bits out of our garden box. 

55/365 - Big J is starting kick boxing so we visited tonight to sign up and prepare for next week.

 

56/365 - My blog has had a makeover and I absolutely love it. Thanks to Jade Marshall Design

57/365 - Daddy and big J went to see Everton play tonight. They won 3-1 so it was smiles all round.

58/365 - Little J looks forward to his big brother coming home from school.

59/365 - Little J has started to enjoy playing with water in his kettle making cups of tea for Mummy

60/365 - We headed out bright and early to Sherdley Park today. Lots of football an running up and down hills.

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Our February Monthly Review Round Up

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I know February is only a short month but I just feel like its flew by so quickly. It doesn't seem like a month ago since I was writing my January Review Round Up. This month we have been trying out some products that I hope you will like as much as we do.

Top of our review roundup this month is something we were all very excited about. We had the chance to have a listen to Justin Fletcher - Just Party before it is released. We are huge fans of Justin and have been since big J was little. I can't believe just how great he is with the kids and he has so many shows on cbeebies - little J loves him. So last week we popped Justins album on in the car and all four of us couldn't help but sing along. The first track Just Party is a new track and it is really fun and little J loves it. He spins around the room dancing to it. Its a real get up and dance party track. I wasn't too sure whether Justin would be any good singing Let It Go but he does a pretty good job.  The highlight was The Macarena were Justin has changed the words to sing about getting ready for a party. Its catchy and its lots of fun. 

Overall the album is really good. There are 19 tracks in total and we didn't skip one. Its had us all singing along and little J has been dancing all week. The album is definitely one for Justin fans, the kids will love it. Just Party is available to buy from March 2nd or you can preorder now HERE ******************** I'm not a big fan of giving little J a bath, I do it if I absolutely have to otherwise its Daddy's job. I panic if little J starts to stand up incase he slips and although he's having fun splashing around and pretending to swim I am having a panic attack incase he goes under the water for too long. Also I have the worst judgement on how hot/cold the bath should be. I am more than happy sitting in a cool bath myself but sometimes I make it just that little bit too cold for little J. 

This month we have being trying out the very cute Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Thermometer. It does exactly what it says in the title. Ray displays the temperature of both the bath or room on its LCD screen display.  The ideal temperature for a bath is 37 degrees and if Ray reaches a temperature of 39 degrees the display blinks HOT As a room thermometer the ideal temp is 19 degrees. Ray displays both ideal temperatures on his display for your information.

Little J loves Ray in the water and will swish him about so he doubles a bath toy too, well he does for us anyway. For more information on Ray and the other products available from Brother Max you can click here to visit their website. I have teamed up with Brother Max to offer my readers the chance to win a Ray Bath and Room Digital Thermometer so make sure you check out my competitions page HERE. *******************

We were sent a My Buddy Box to try out this month and I can honestly say I love it. More and more shops are now charging for carrier bags and whilst I don't mind paying the odd few pence for a bag, it just annoys me that I always forget to bring one of the hundreds I have at home. I do try and recycle the carrier bags and use them again but I am rubbish at remembering to keep a few in the car. On a recent shopping trip I brought the My Buddy Box and popped it in the car. It folds up to the size of a folder or small laptop case but when you open it, its a huge big box. Perfect for popping in your shopping. It can be used for loads of things really but for me its going to stay in the car and stop me from bringing home more carrier bags that I don't need. To find out more about My Buddy Box you can visit the website here. ********************

With Mother's Day approaching I thought I would include this beautiful heart shaped photo frame as a gift idea.  The frame can hold 7 photographs, 3 hold size 3x3ins photographs and 4 hold 3x2.5ins photographs. The heart design just makes it extra special and it would be perfect to fill the frame with special memories, maybe photos of the children or grandchildren. This would make a perfect present for any Mummy out there.  ******************** *we were sent the above items to try, all thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own*

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#Win a Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Digital Thermometer

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This month we have been trying out Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Digital Thermometer which you can read all about here. Brother Max have kindly offered one of my readers the chance to win their own Ray in my competition. 

Ray is perfect for measuring the temperature in both the bath and room. It has a LCD display. Visible warnings if the bath is too hot.   and  comes in a choice of 4 colours. To win your very own Ray all you have to do is answer this question.
 How many colours can you choose from? 
Please leave your answer as a blog comment and when you do you will be able to earn extra entries by completing the options on the app below. Good Luck

Brother Max Ray

Terms Competition closes on Monday 14th March 11:59PM Entrants must have a valid UK address Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified All entrants and entries are checked and verified. All entrants must follow the mandatory step and answer the question as a blog comment. 1 lucky winners will be chosen at random by the Gleam application. Mummy2Monkeys will contact the lucky winners within 1 day of the competition closing The winner must respond within 7 days. If no response a new winner will be chosen. The prize is Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Thermometer There is no cash alternative.

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