Reviews | TheBoyandMe

Pink Lining: Bramley Tote (Review)

July 1, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 3 Comments

Bags.

I'm a bit partial to them really. In truth I've got more than I need, and my mum roles her eyes when I take delivery of another. However bags, as with jewellery and shoes, are never about whether you need them or not. Bags make me happy, probably because they don't complain if I eat an extra chocolate bar or not, and therefore I ignore my mum's rolled eyes and enjoy their wonders.

I was recently sent one of the new season of Pink Lining bags for review.

I was lucky enough to review a Queensdale Tote last year and adore it; the delicate all-over design, and the detailed embroidery of beach huts and bunting on the pockets were a winning combination for me over the Summer months. I've also recently spent several months tracking down a rare Black Cabs Queensdale Tote, and it's fair to say I love the design of the Queensdale.

However, Pink Lining have discontinued this design in order to keep their range fresh and therefore I was asked if I'd like to review a Bramley Tote instead. I'm not a big one for change, but this bag is fantastic! I chose a Bramley Tote: Cream Bows on Pink. While the Bramley Tote doesn't have the front feature pockets like the Queensdale did, it does have the missing factor in so many bags: zips!

No-one wants to show off a messy bag with children's half-eaten chew bars, wet wipes, and ladies personal products, nor do they want to advertise the exact location of their purse, keys or phone. A zip is a must and the Bramley Tote has these in abundance with one main section and two large side pockets.

Pink Lining change bag

The main section has: a thermo-insulated bottle pouch (as with other Pink Lining bags although this one is detachable); a changing mat; a zipped plastic wet bag; two large, side pockets which are ideal for wet wipes and nappies, or in our case a colouring book and pencils; two smaller slim pockets ideal for a phone or iPod; key fob; pen loop; and a detachable mirror. Once all these pockets are loaded up, there's still plenty of space for a tablet PC, purse, make-up bag, children's snacks etc. And the best bit is that the long zip hides away all this chaos into a classic, attractive bag. On the outside of the bag are two zipped pockets; one large enough for ladies personal products, and the other large enough for a complete change of clothes for a child, or a tablet PC.

The straps are wide and thick-woven fabric so they are comfortable to wear; they are also detachable which makes it easier to hang from the handles of a pushchair, with metal clasps and reinforced metal holes on the bag. The bag, as with all Pink Lining bags, is made from 100% cotton canvas laminated with EVA coating which makes it wipe clean with a damp cloth and detergent.

I took this bag with us when we went to London recently for the Britmums blogging conference and on 'me' days I could fit the various bits I needed into the bag with no problem (purse, iPad, make-up bag, drinks, notebook, etc.), and this was easily added to on the 'mummy' day with snacks, The Boy's cardigan and his entertainment.

Do I love this bag? Yes.

Would I pay £75.00 for it? Honestly I'd think two or three times before entering my card details, but actually yes I would.

You get what you pay for, and we went through two of those free Pampers/Boots change bags before I realised that the reason they kept breaking was because they were rubbish quality. Pink Lining bags are well made, very well made, with well thought out designs which cater to a modern woman's needs as a mum and person in her own right. And they last well; I'm forever slinging this bag around and dumping it on the ground whether it's sand, tarmac, mud, paving or grass. The four metal studs on the bottom of the bag prevent the fabric from becoming scuffed easily.

The best bit about this though is that Pink Lining currently have the Cream Bows on Pink Bramley Tote in their sale with 30% off: £75.00 down to £52.50. Now that, I would definitely pay for this bag.

I was sent this bag for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Sodastream Summer Drinks (Review)

June 18, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 4 Comments

One of the best parts of Summer is the prospect of the cool Summer drinks full to the brim with springs of mint and chunks of strawberries, vying for attention with the clinking ice-cubes in the tall glass.

Summer Drinks

Yep, a bit like that…

Therefore when Sodastream sent me their new collection of Summer flavours to review, I was more than happy to give them a good try out. Light and tangy, the fruity drinks are perfect for a refreshment on a warm day or a balmy Summer's evening.

Flavours like Pink Grapefruit, Elderflower, Lemonade, Orange, and Peach and Pear are ideal at this time of year.

I've been experimenting with some of the flavours and really like the Peach and Pear syrup, and I've knocked up an Elderflower spritzer using this syrup.

Sodastream flavours

Sodastream always goes down a treat with my family at our clan gatherings; they like the light and invigorating fruit flavours and with a Sodastream they are so easy to whip up at the drop of a hat. We don't keep bottles of fizzy drinks in this house (we don't have space for it to start with), and aside from that the chances are we never have the one we want. 750ml Sodastream syrup bottles make up to 6 litres of fresh soda, equal to 16 cans, and three bottles take up the same space in a cupboard as a normal 1 litre bottle of lemonade or cola, but produce six times as much.

From £3.49 a bottle of syrup, they are also cost effective saving a few pounds on conventional brands. With over 50 flavours in the Sodastream range, there's certainly something for everyone.

I was sent a selection of the syrups to try, my opinions are honest and unbiased.

AppCards: Card Games For Mobile Devices (Review)

June 10, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe Leave a Comment

We are a big fan of games in this house, both tangible board and card games, and those on the iPad. Therefore when I were offered a selection of 'appCards' to review, I jumped at the chance to try out something that crosses over from one to the other.

AppCards are a perfect game to take on journeys or holidays, as well as for use in the house, as they take up such little space. The pack of cards and the tablet or smartphone is all that's needed to play. We were sent 'Sound Bingo', 'Colour Slam' and 'PimPamPet' to test out and took them with us when we went on holiday to Dorset recently.

appCards

We had a go of 'Colour Slam' because I always take age guidelines on games like this with a pinch of salt, but I'd agree that it's best suited to children aged around the '8+' guideline; my 7 year old nephew and 10 year old niece love it. It's a very bright and funky game for the 'tween' generation, and fun to play with friends. It involved each player having four cards and trying to colour match the combination shown on the screen. Good fun for 8+ age bracket.

appCards Colour Slam

'PimPamPet' is one that foxed me I'm afraid, and that's more to do with my inability to understand games like this. In this word and general knowledge 'beat-the-clock' game which involves being provided with a topic by the app on the mobile device, and then using the seven cards from your pile to come up with an associated answer. However, there's an added level of 'robbing' from other players which led to this Leo the Lion becoming frustrated. Again this game is for 8+, and possibly not stroppy mummies who've not slept well!

appCards PimPamPet

The best one for us (as a family with a pre-schooler) was Sound Bingo. In this, there are four different coloured sets of cards, which makes it like a bingo board. Up to four people can play and each choose a colour which they select on the app, this lets the app know which colours to throw into the random generator of sounds. Players lay their cards out face up and the app plays an unknown sound. The player who has that sound declares it, and they swipe the screen on the mobile device to confirm. Once they have all their cards claimed, then the shout 'bingo'. This is a very simple and easy game, perfect for the 4+ age recommendation.

appCards Sound Bingo

AppCards are produced by Jumbo (the company behind the jigsaw puzzles and the iPieces games) and cost £9.99 each, available from a variety of retailers.

I was sent a copy of these products for the purpose of this review, my opinions are honest and unbiased.

Room On The Broom DVD (Review)

June 1, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe Leave a Comment

Sometimes there comes a adaptation of a children's classic story which is so wonderful that it becomes as well known as the original story itself, standing in its own right. And if it is a vehicle to introduce new fans to the writer's talent, then I'm all for television or film adaptations. Over the past few years there have been two wonderful adaptations of the classic Julia Donaldson stories, The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child which have brought new fans to her wonderful story-writing; and they films themselves have been so beautifully produced that they will stand the test of time.

Last Christmas saw a different Julia Donaldson book being adapted by Magic Light Pictures (the team behind The Gruffalo); Room On The Broom, and we settled down to watch it, as I'm sure did most other families with pre-school children. The newest production from the team pulled in 7.6 million viewers, no mean feat!

Room on the Broom DVD

The story follows a witch and her cat, who becomes increasingly annoyed with her kindness when she allows a dog, a bird and a frog who have helped her retrieve things she has lost to ride on her broomstick, making it top heavy. The broom is destroyed by a fire-breathing dragon who threatens to eat the witch but the creatures band together to impersonate a monster and save her.

Narrated by Simon Pegg, and featuring Gillian Anderson as the witch and Rob Brydon as the cat, the cast also boasts the vocal talents of David Walliams, Timothy Spall and Martin Clunes, amongst others. The production team have very cleverly read between the lines of the story, searching for and highlighting the humour in the story, particularly with the facial expressions of the cat. There are some very humorous moments, mostly involving the cat and in my eyes they are completely engineered for the adults' entertainment. For example, in one scene the characters are searching for something almost impossible to find, and the cat reaches into an enormous haystack and pulls out a needle.

While not quite as well known, or possibly as classic as The Gruffalo, Room On The Broom is just as entertaining and as previously mentioned helps to introduce the literary wonders of Julia Donaldson to new fans.

Room on the Broom was released on DVD on 18th March 2013, courtesy of Entertainment One

For more information please go to www.Roomonthebroom.com

I received a review disc for the purpose of this post, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Kids Stuff: Crazy Soap (Review)

May 31, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 1 Comment

Last year when I went to the MAD Blog Awards, I received a can of Crazy Soap in my goody bag, which was put to good use with The Boy during messy play sessions as the mouldable foam was great fun to make shapes with.

Crazy Soap (for those not in the know) is a bathtime product designed to make bathtimes more enjoyable for all involved while gently cleaning the skin. There are several items in the range; the original crazy soap, body paint and bath goo. The crazy soap comes in white or pastel green foam, the paint in red or blue gel-type substance, and the goo is vibrant yellow. All are paraben free.

Now while all are PH balanced formula to gently cleanse and moisturise delicate skin, unfortunately The Boy has very sensitive skin and eczema so I was unable to use the products in the bath with him, as they are intended. However, a few weeks ago it was a beautifully sunny bank holiday Monday and he had the paddling pool out, so I decided to let him have a play with the products, to see how much fun they are.

Crazy Soap

As you can see the foam is great fun, and he had a brilliant time making icebergs in the water, then clapping his hands and it flying all over mummy! He also really liked the body paint and how the colours could mix together to make purple. If there were a few more colours (green, orange, yellow?) then it would be even more fun at bathtimes. The bath goo he didn't particularly like because it was a bit too gloopy for him and he didn't like the sensation.

The full range of Crazy Soap products can be found here and are very reasonably priced and available from supermarkets. These are designed for use with children and have been formulated to be gentle and kind to skin, but I did find that his very sensitive skin couldn't cope with it. We also tend to use unfragranced products, but the gentle zest of these were a pleasant aroma on a Summer's day of garden play.

I was sent these products for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Vivo Barefoot Neo Trail Running Shoes (Review)

May 30, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe Leave a Comment

Over to Mr. TheBoyandMe for this one, as he's been lucky enough to receive a pair of swizzy new trainers to review.

It was one of the strangest offers I've had recently: "Would you like to review a pair of sports shoes?". Although I was a keen long-distance runner in the past, it's been almost 20 years since I managed any notable distance; these days, my exercise is a daily cycle ride into the middle of Cardiff. So my main concern was, "will I be able to cycle in them?"

My choice was the Vivo Barefoot Neo Trail, a lightweight running shoe designed specifically to give the same overall sensory feedback to running barefoot, but with additional features such as a puncture resistant sole for rugged terrain. Trying them on for the first time highlighted how different they felt to my normal footwear – the shoe enveloped my foot entirely giving little opportunity for it to slip around inside, but was also extremely flexible giving almost as much movement with it as without.

Vivo Barefoot Neo Trail Running Shoes

Cycling with them on was an absolute pleasure: the 5mm lugs are designed for rough terrain rather than pedals but gave me no problems, whilst the 3mm base and lightly-cushioned EVA insoles meant that more of my effort was going into the bike instead of compressing bits of foam together and, as a result, I've discovered that I'm now regularly passing 30 mph on the flat! As part of the overall ethos behind VivoBarefoot's designs they're not completely waterproof, and the one time the heavens did open I was wringing out my socks afterwards, but the shoes themselves never felt soggy or weighed down as a result.

I told TBaM many years ago that I would take up jogging when I see a jogger looking like they're enjoying themselves. This has still yet to happen, but if it does at least I've got something to wear for it!

We received this product for the purpose of this review, all opinions are honest and unbiased – he doesn't know how to lie!

Tree Fu Tom Pyjamas (Review)

May 28, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 3 Comments

The Boy has become quite the fan of Tree Fu Tom, which surprises me as this time last year he didn't really like it at all. However, he can often be found chanting the theme tune, and once or twice lately, I've even spotted him doing some magic tree fu moves.

Therefore when he was sent these Tree Fu Tom pyjamas to review, he was more than happy to try and resemble the 'little flying boy' that has enchanted so many children.

Tree Fu Tom pyjamas

What do you think of his tree fu moves? Will the little flying boy have some competition on his hands?

These soft and lightweight pyjamas are attractive and bright, which means The Boy loves them. The bottoms are snuggle style, his favourite, and made of 60% cotton and 40% polyester, while the short-sleeved top is 100% cotton (exclusive of trims). The front of the t-shirt is lightly printed with a design, there's no rubbery overlay to it which I often think adds to the heatrashes and sweating at night-time.

The pyjama set by the BBC and Fremantle Enterprises is available from Clothing at Tesco, and is currently in the sale from £9-£5; a real bargain for a set of quality Summer pyjamas.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

A Hit Of Happiness

May 28, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 3 Comments

There's something we don't have in this house and that's biscuits. Not because I don't like them, but because once a packet is opened we ~~won't~~ ~~don't~~ can't stop eating them until the last crumb has been fought over. It's not a pretty sight to be honest.

However, someone must have known that it was coming up to a stressful time of year in school for me, because they've sent us some biscuits to help me relax after a busy half term. Not only that, but they thought about the types of things that make little boys happy as well, and that is bubbles and a good, silly DVD.

HIT biscuits

On Friday we took delivery of a beautifully presented box containing a selection of Bahlsen 'Hit' biscuits, a Lorax DVD, a Bananagrams game, and a trio of bubble wands for The Boy.

This is a perfect collection of things to take away with us when we go on holiday with my parents later this week; a game to play in the evening while The Boy is sleeping, a DVD to watch in the car on the way down to Dorset, and some bubbles to blow on the beach at West Bay. And even more importantly, the all important family favourite chocolate biscuits to keep in the car as munchies while on our way to build sandcastles!

Thanks Bahlsen for our lovely Hit of Happiness!

My First Hama Maxi Beads (Review)

May 23, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

I've known of Hama beads for quite some time; when I first started teaching in 2001 the after school club used them frequently as an activity, and I will confess that occasionally I could be found skiving from my marking and making a flower badge with a child helping me out and giving me tips. I've also seen various 'compatible' brands to the more well-known Hama beads but I haven't come across any suitable for children under five years old until recently.

The problem with traditional Hama beads is that they are very small and fiddly for younger children. While they are able to pick them up fairly easily (after all they only have little fingers themselves), placing them in the correct place on the template proves more challenging for children with developing fine motor skills. The Maxi Hama Beads, which we were sent by Play Merrily, are ideal for children of The Boy's age (three-four years) because they are twice the size of the original beads, which also means that the pegs on the template aren't so difficult to use.

We were sent the My First Maxi Hama Beads set, along with a pack of 500 extra Maxi Hama beads in pale colour mix.

maxi hama beads

The pack contains beads in a variety of colours, and three templates to use (a lorry, an aeroplane and a boat) along with four plastic stands to display the finished artwork, ironing paper and a sheet of designs to help create the masterpieces.

The Boy couldn't wait to get started on making one and eventually chose the lorry to start with. I placed the whole set up on a tray which meant it could be easily set aside to complete another time, the projects aren't large and they aren't complicated, three year olds have a limited attention span and I knew he wouldn't complete it in one sitting. The maxi beads are much easier to use than the traditional size, and he found no difficulty in placing them on the right peg. The added bonus in this activity is the mathematical development as he had to count out how many pegs he needed to fill with a colour, assess length and direction.

On the larger patches of one colour, I did need to help him fill in those sections, but he found following the plan very easy. And it was only after two sessions of 15 minutes each that we'd finished his lorry artwork.

Of course, the choice then is whether or not to empty the template out and reuse the beads another day, or to iron them and keep the creation. We decided to keep it, and using the ironing paper I had quickly melted one side of the Hama beads, ensuring they joined together. I personally always melt both sides as I find it makes it stronger and less prone to damage, which did mean it needed to be left a little longer out of his reach to cool down. However, it creates a very sturdy 'sculpture' indeed which he loves to play with and examine.

Hama beads, especially the maxi ones, are useful in other activities too like threading with pipecleaners, which is a great fine motor-skill activity. In fact, Hama beads are a marvellous play resource to promote hand-eye co-ordination and manual dexterity. A big 'thumbs up' from us!

We were sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.