Blogoversary Competition 3: Buzz Lightyear

I've recently been sent a fabulous Buzz Lightyear (Andy's Collection) to review and The Boy, Mr. TheBoyandMe, and me adore it! My nephew was in awe when he saw it, and that was pretty much the attitude of this household too. It is the ultimate Toy Story character, and would make a perfect present for your Little One for Christmas.

Well, thanks to Mattel I am able to offer a Turbo Glo Buzz Lightyear (RRP £44.99) to one of you lucky individuals!

Light up Buzz for lift off with three cool glow zones that can be activated at the touch of a button. With a light up chest plate, a retractable helmet and an anti-gravity belt, Toy Story Turbo Glo Buzz Lightyear really talks with fun phrases and observations as he updates his mission log. (Suitable for ages 4+, although The Boy is 2 and loves his!)

How cool is that?

To be in with a chance of winning this your very own Buzz, then please complete all the requirements of the Rafflecopter form below:


Blogoversary Competition 2: MiaTui

Back in April of this year I was lucky enough to receive my first MiaTui bag for review. The Amelie was amazing and I loved using it as a change-bag; it made life so much easier with everything organised into sections and looked amazing!

In the Summer, I was lucky enough to receive the Grace bag to review, consequently I went onto buy another in a different colour because they are just so gorgeous!

The range has expanded and now includes  iPhone carry-cases and purses:

A gorgeous purse which has a detachable hand strap and wrap around zip. 

Includes 8 credit card spaces, a zipped coin compartment and 6 spaces for cash and receipts.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these stunning purses (you choose which one from the five colours) courtesy of MiaTui, then please fill in all elements of the Rafflecopter form below:



Blogoversary Competition 1: ToyJeanius

As everyone surely knows by now, I am a massive fan of ToyJeanius, the wooden toy online store with the owner who genuinely cares about her toys and customers! ToyJeanius has been with me all the way through my blogging journey and I'm really proud to be one of her team of Toy Genii who now regularly review and test her products. Several more are on The Boy's Christmas list.

I'm really pleased to be able to announce a fabulous first competition to celebrate my first blogoversary courtesy of my favourite independent toy store.

You can be in with a chance of winning this amazing Chunky Wooden Clock Puzzle by Boikido.

The chunky numbers on this hand-made wooden toy are removable turning the clock into a puzzle, but also enabling you to teach your little ones simple numbers and sequencing. Suitable for ages 3 years+ and carrying the CE mark, this is a great toy for your little ones who are curious about clocks and the time.

To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous clock puzzle courtesy of ToyJeanius, then please fill in all elements of the Rafflecopter form below:




Christmas Crackers (For Pre-Schoolers)

I've got some recommendations for you. Hope you don't mind? I will try not to overwhelm you with daily posts, but there are some products that I'd like to share, starting here today with my recommendations for presents under £15 for Pre-Schoolers.

Who Loves Me

These personalised flashcards are an absolutely gorgeous way to communicate with your toddler or baby. They are incredibly easy to make on the Who Loves Me site: simply upload a photo, input a name, choose a symbol (from one of forty+) to go on the back and type a sentence about that person. We've had these made for The Boy with me and hubby, and both sets of grandparents included, as well as my sister's children. I'm intending to supplement these with pictures of his other cousins and aunts and uncles.

Not only do they help your little one to remember who people are, but they can be used to help language development and, for the more curious amongst us, creating a little family tree. Made from thick card, with a very deep finish to the colour; these are long-lasting and excellent quality.

Price at £1.99 a card, £11.99 for 8, £17.99 for 16

Orchard Toys

These fantastic tangrams are very sturdy and made from thick cardboard (75% recycled materials). They are an ideal toy to help develop awareness of shapes and colour, promote problem-solving and logical thinking, with the aim being to use them to create a variety of different picture. Think fuzzy felts but on a bigger scale and less likely to get broken.

A pre-cursor to mathematical development and spatial awareness, these are a cracking addition which I know that The Boy is going to adore playing with!

Priced at £2.25

Personalised Peppa Pig Book

Obviously, I've blanked out The Boy's name with baubles!

For us this is going to be the perfect Christmas book. The Boy is starting at playgroup after Christmas (eek!) and he adores Peppa and George. What better way of explaining to him what will happen and encouraging a positive attitude to it than getting his favourite porcine to tell him all about it in a personalised Peppa Pig book! Creating the book is easy; simply select the gender, hairstyle, hair colour, eye colour, skin colour and input your child's name, and the rest is done for you. For those children who have already started playgroup and are going onto Nursery, Pre-School or 'proper' school, those options can also be selected. There is also the option to have a message printed on the first page.

I love the story, it really promotes the first trip to playgroup as a positive experience, with your child featuring on every page, being the centre of attention and shown to be really clever. Now, do they do one for mums to help cope with the trauma?

Available from Prezzybox for £14.99

Eric Carle's ABC Game

The Boy absolutely adores the ABC song, sings it at least eleventy billion times a day and can recognise the letter in his own name. The next step is to try and encourage letter recognition from different parts of the alphabet. His curiosity has been piqued with the alphabet magnets on the fridge. He asks what the letters are.

The Eric Carle ABC Game involves both upper and lower-case letters of the alphabet. The object of the game is to be the player who collects the most animal cards. The 52 spaces on the board feature all the letters of the alphabet in both upper and lower case. Every time a child lands on a letter space, they have to look at the cards and find the animal who’s name begins with that letter (Big “A” is for Big Ant, little “a” is for little ant). The correct letter is printed on the back of each card to check the answer is correct. By using the spinner and counting up to four spaces, they will also reinforce their counting skills.

Priced at £6.99 RRP

Fingerprinting Art Set

This nifty little art set is fun with a difference. Using the ink pads to print the tips of their fingers onto the paper, little ones can then use one of the twelve different stampers to create animals, people, plants, etc. There are coloured pencils included to add more detail to the images. Endless possibilities for pictures and creative play, this is bound to go down a treat with children aged three years and upwards: being allowed to get mucky? Great fun!

Available for £7.95 from Prezzybox

And because you lot know me only too well, this list of recommends would not be complete without a gem from the lovely ToyJeanius!

Animal Habitat Puzzle

This beautiful duo-puzzle is perfect for teaching your little-ones how to match up an animal to its habitat. With the trademark vibrant Djeco illustrations, each of the ten puzzles is made up of two pieces; one piece has a picture of the animal and the other has a picture of their usual home. It's made even easier for younger children because the background colour of the matching pieces is the same. Depending upon your little one's stage of development, you can use just a few of the duos or all of them, with small children being able to match the puzzles by colour, learning the names of the animals and their habitats as they do so.

I love Djeco products for the quality and sturdiness, the timeless appeal and the ingenuity of their products. You can get 10% of this product (or any others that you fancy from ToyJeanius) by entering the code 'TheBoyandMe' at the checkout!

Available from ToyJeanius for £6.95

A Girl's Best Friend?

Earlier in school I was told off by a colleague and friend. She had glanced down at my hand and was worried to see my engagement ring missing. Don't worry, my wedding ring was still there but the sparkly number was absent.I explained to her that I don't wear it every day, and that's been the case since having The Boy. Initially it was because I didn't want to catch him with it, but after a few nappy changes I realised it because I didn't want to spend forever cleaning it of bodily fluids!

The friend reprimanded me and told me I should wear it because it's a beautiful ring and she's right, it is. It's not a rock, it's not a cluster, it is a simple solitaire. A ¼ carat diamond solitaire engagement ring purchased on 21st July 2001 following a (fairly) romantic proposal the night before on Barry Island beach. Now before you have Gavin and Stacey visions, let me set the scene: late evening, waves rolling gently on the sand, moonlight shining down, and best of all, the funfair was closed! For a 23 year old, it was romantic.

The next day, after he'd shocked my parents by asking their permission, we headed into town to pick a sparkler. Little did I know that you tend to have to order engagement rings; I thought the shop would stock all the different sizes. More fool me! After looking through a few trays, then going back and forwards to the window display a few more times, I finally found the 'me' ring: a rubbed-over, emerald-cut, square solitaire diamond ring in a white-gold band. And the best bit? I was the same size as the rings they kept in stock for the examples so I did walk out with a beauty on my left hand!

It's not the only piece of diamond jewellery that I'm lucky enough to own. Over the years we've been together, Mr. TheBoyandMe has been kind enough to bestow a solitaire diamond necklace on me, and a 1920s style pendant with little diamonds inlaid. Both of them are so pretty, but again since The Boy I haven't worn my pretty jewellery. Well I think it's time to crack out the sparkly stuff and the forthcoming Tots100 Christmas Party is a good excuse!

And one day, I will own one of these, the perfect and ultimate diamond necklace:

This is a sponsored post. However, I do want that necklace and maybe if I write enough of these…