Bedding by Kings & Queens: The Specialist Duvet Company (Review)

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I can't think of a single person in the world who wouldn't name sleep as one of their favourite pasttimes or a bed as one of their favourite places (and not like that!). I think it was Gloria Hunniford who said (in an advert promoting a mattress company) that you should invest in good quality shoes and beds, because if you're not using one then you're using the other. It's why we spent £500 last year on a really good quality mattress, because every parent out there knows that every second of sleep is a treasured moment and should be enjoyed as much as possible.

However, it's not just the thing that you sleep on but what you sleep under that can ensure a good night's sleep and so we were recently sent new bedding for all of us to try out. I know, I needed to spend more time sleeping for the purpose of a review. It's a hard life, hey?

First up were pillows from the Silk Indulgence range by Kings & Queens, The Specialist Bedding Company. Mr. TBaM and I were sent these, but seeing our heads on them would be slightly boring and so I asked The Boy to see how fluffy and comfortable they were.

bedding

I think it's safe to say that they passed the crash test he subjected them to, and having then had a pillow fight with him I can verify that they are very soft and fluffy indeed. With 5% of the filling being silk I'm not really surprised.

Next up was the Silk Indulgence duvet from Kings & Queens in king size and 4.5 tog thickness which is perfect for hiding under and making dens, as well as ensuring you head off to the land of nod with a smooth ride.

bedding

It shocks my mum that we still have both windows in our bedroom open every night (even if only a fraction) but I find that a cooler room gives a better night's sleep. We've just switched back from our 7.5 tog duvet to the 4.5 tog duvet featured above, and it is very comfortable indeed and really keeps its shape. The Silk Indulgence duvet is available in single through to super kingsize, and with a choice of 4.5, 10.5 or 13.5 tog. Certainly something for every sleeper!

The Silk Indulgence range uses Kings & Queens' Smartfil® advanced fibre technology which is "four times finer yet plumper than ordinary hollowfibre fillings and has been blended with silk here for added indulgence; allows 30% more air to circulate around the body, creating greater warmth efficiency and a fresher sleeping environment; has been uniquely blended and tested to ensure greater durability than standard hollowfibre."

Kings & Queens duvets, pillows and mattress toppers are available from Tesco Direct, Littlewoods, Grattan and JD Williams.

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

Sammy's Great Escape (Review & Giveaway)

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Last week I took The Boy to the cinema for only his second time, more significantly his first time seeing a film in 3D.

Having to wear the special glasses confused him at first, and he was reluctant as he hates things on his head. That was until the film started; he sat bolt upright and reached out to grab the fish swimming towards him. He then pulled the glasses down, looked at the blurred image, pushed them back up again and tried to grasp the fin of the turtle lazily transversing the ocean.

It was magical.

The film, Sammy's Great Escape, was really very good, entertaining and brilliantly animated throughout with worthwhile rendering into 3D, but seeing my son think that he was under the sea with the marine life was enchanting. I thoroughly recommend a trip to take your little ones there.

©2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved. © 2012 AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 YEARS SPRL PARADIS FILMS SARL EAGLE PICTURES

©2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved.
© 2012 AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 YEARS SPRL PARADIS FILMS SARL EAGLE PICTURES

"Sammy and Ray, leatherback turtles and friends forever, are enjoying an atoll’s water and sand, shepherding new hatchlings Ricky and Ella out to sea. Suddenly, a poacher swoops in and ships them off to be part of a spectacular aquarium show for tourists in Dubai. The kingpin of the place, Big D the seahorse, enlists them in his plans for a great escape. But with their new friends Jimbo the bug-eyed blob fish, Lulu the snippy lobster and a whole family of penguins, Sammy and Ray hatch breakout plans of their own. That is when little Ricky and Ella arrive, determined to break in to rescue them. After a series of thrilling adventures and narrow escapes, our heroes head south to meet up with Shelly, Sammy’s first and only love."

To celebrate the release of Sammy’s Great Escape, in cinemas February 15th, Warner Bros. Pictures and TheBoyandMe are offering one lucky reader the chance to win an ‘Adopt a Turtle’ pack from the Marine Conservation Society.

The pack contains:

  • A cool cuddly turtle toy
  • Talk Turtle – the MCS newsletter on turtle conservation work – delivered twice a year
  • A fact sheet and pictures of turtles in the wild
  • A personalized adoption certificate

To be in with a chance of winning this pack, please complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Marine Conversation Society is a leading UK charity working to protect sea life. Leatherback turtles like Sammy and Ray are critically endangered, but you might be lucky enough to see one when they visit UK seas to feast on jellyfish.  The ‘Adopt a Turtle’ pack helps protect sea turtles in the UK and overseas. Find out more at mcsuk.org/adopt.

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Reading Eggs (Review)

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phonics development

A few months ago I was asked if we'd like to trial the Reading Eggs program; a web based program designed to help children prepare for school by developing their awareness of phonics, or as a booster for children who are struggling to engage with reading skills.

I'd heard about the subscription service but in all honesty, having spent a long time trying to find iPad apps with decent pronounciations of phonics to help The Boy, I was more than a little sceptical that it was just going to be another American voice mispronouncing 'm' and 't' and, quite frankly, winding me up.

I was wrong (not something I admit readily!).

Creating the account is easy; there is the ability to register for a free 14-day trial (with no credit card information entered at all) and the child's name is entered before selecting whether they have some reading experience (allowing for a test to be done placing the child at the right point in the system) or starting from the beginning. I chose to start him from the beginning, because although he has a good awareness of the alphabet and most phonics, I wanted to give him the opportunity to really benefit from the program.

When the child first enters into the land of Reading Eggs they are presented with a map of their progress with a pathway snaking through the land, cute characters and graphics aplenty. They are then taken onto the first of the letters with several different games to help them practise their recognition of the letter, and to practise the formation.

reading eggs 1

The Boy really enjoyed working through the vast majority of the games on each lesson; spotting the letter in a wordsearch format (both upper and lower case), identifying the specified letter in each word, finding the letter as it moved around the screen, etc. These were the most effective games for him. He also liked the challenge of trying to improve his time on forming the letter quickly, there are a few time challenges like this which work really well in challenging the user.

Every child has different preferences of course, and The Boy was a little frustrated with the game where he had to drag the word against the correct picture; drag and drop with a mouse is difficult for a 3-5 year old (luckily we have an infant sized mouse we can use) and the game needs to be completed twice, which he found frustrating having struggled to do it correctly once. However, this game is not on every level and is one small aspect which for my son was frustrating, others may like it.

reading eggs

I've noticed a vast improvement in his awareness and reading ability since starting on the program. He hasn't reached the end yet but when he does we'll be able to assess his reading age to see how he's progressed. I do think that Reading Eggs has helped him hugely with his phonological awareness, and ability to decode words then segmenting the phonics back together to create a word.

Accessing the parental dashboard, The Boy is currently on level 30, and has a reading age of 5 years with a sight vocabulary of 12 words and knows 74 of the 237 phonic skills. I feel very happy with his literacy development, and reassured that he hasn't suffered from not going to state nursery this year.

As both a primary school teacher and a parent, I can't recommend the Reading Eggs program highly enough.

I was given an extended short-term subscription in order to review this service. My opinions are honest and unbiased.

Boots Mini Club Clothing (Review)

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I was recently asked if I'd like to be sent an outfit for The Boy from the new season at Mini Club clothing from Boots. As it's one of the clothes shops of choice for The Boy, I readily agreed and waited for the outfit eager to see the colours and styles available.

I'm quite a fussy mum when it comes to dressing The Boy. When he was a baby it was easy because most boys clothes were the soft blues and coffee browns that really suited his colouring, yet the minute he turned two everything became garish and brash. Bright, lurid colours don't suit The Boy, he always needs a muted tone of each colour as he's so pale. This is one of the reasons why I like Mini Club; the colours are understated and suit The Boy perfectly. It's also one of the few places that gets the sizing right; he's a tall boy with a long, skinny body and broad shoulders yet everything always fits perfectly.

boots mini-mode

The Boy was sent:

  • a fleece-lined green hooded gilet (£14.00) – the gilet seemed a little short in the body but I suspect that was the style, it also didn't completely cover his large head (bless him!)
  • lightwash jeans (£10.00) with an adjustable waist – far more appropriate for a pre-school boy than elasticated waist jeans as they fall down on him
  • two pack long-sleeve striped tops (£9.00) – really nicely designed with contrasting stripes on each arm to the body, and an excellent length in the body and sleeve.

I think he looks really trendy in this outfit and it's definitely one that I would have chosen for him (we love stripey tops). The colours are perfect for him (especially as his favourite colour is green) and the prices are extremely reasonable.

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

A Young Harry Potter (Costume Review)

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harry potter dressing up

How cute does he look?

A few months ago we were sent the Wonderbook: Book of Spells to review and ever since The Boy has been obsessed with spell-casting. We bought him a magician's wand for Christmas and he brandishes this in our direction at various points during the day, but it's one of those black and white jobbies that is used by a magician with black hat and tails. His preference is for incantations rather than conjuring.

I know! Three and a half, who'd have thought he'd be so fussy when it comes to magic?!

"Expelliarmus!" "Wingardium Nevinosa!" (he can't say it properly) and "Accio daddy!" are just a few of his favourite spells, along with "ComeToMeus" (thank you Grandad!). He has no idea who Harry Potter is but he adores wizarding.

Therefore when I was offered the chance to review a costume from Fancy Dress Ball I had no hesitation in choosing this Gryffindor cloak, wand and set of glasses for The Boy. While he may not have much of a clue at the moment as to the wizarding significance, he thinks he's marvellous and a proper wizard now; the wand is much better and he likes looking like daddy with the glasses. This Harry Potter get-up is perfect and it's one of many costumes available under the Fancy Dress Ball’s world book day costume section. Don’t forget to mark your calendar as World Book Day is on the 7th March 2013.

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

TheCoffeeandMe: EightPointNine.Com Designer Coffee

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In my twitter profile it says (amongst other nonsense):

"Mum, wife, part-time teacher, full-time coffee-worshipper."

…and so I suppose it was always going to be a matter of time before I was asked to review coffee.

coffee

Eightpointnine are a coffee company who use FairTrade beans and create gourmet coffee, designed by and for you.

You'll notice the title of this post, as above in the left photograph, is called 'TheCoffeeandMe'? That's because they provide the option of naming the customised coffee; I didn't choose the name, in fact I forgot to name it so they did it for me. Nice touch hey?

Using a sliding scale to choose between fresh or spicy, light or rich, provides the perfect choice of coffee; mine contained 87g of Sumatran and 63g of Brazilian to reflect the mellow and spicy blend I requested. Following this selection, there's the option to configure the order with the grind (espresso, filter, cafetiere or beans), delivery day, and as a repeat or one-off order.

eightpointnine

For those less decisive coffee drinkers, there is a weekly subscription service where EightPointNine select and hand-blend a top class roast from their range of FairTrade beans showcasing the best coffees from around the world.

At £5.89 a bag it is more expensive than we'd usually buy however, the quality is superb and for a special occasion, or even as a present, it's a decadent treat.

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

Barratt's Children's Shoes (Review)

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We were recently invited to choose a pair of shoes for The Boy from the range of infants shoes available at Barratt's.

Barratt's is not actually the first place I'd have thought of going to for pre-schoolers' shoes, and I guess that's the point of the review. I can't be the only one with the misconception that they only sell ladies' fashion shoes or men's trainers, and browsing the site, I was pleasantly surprised to see the brands sold.

In the end, I opted for a pair of Hush Puppies for The Boy.

Hush Puppies for children

These leather shoes are excellent quality with the all-important (for me) notch cut out the back meaning the hard leather doesn't dig into their Achilles' tendon causing damage. They also have two very easily adjustable velcro straps meaning that The Boy can put them on by himself and they don't tend to slip as he's wearing them. The soles aren't that rigid and allow him to bend his feet properly while walking, even more important for The Boy as he does have a tendency to 'flap' (something that would see my mother raising her eyebrow firmly in my direction, and I of course wouldn't know what she'd be trying to insinuate).

My only criticism is also a positive. Inside the box were three sets of insoles, carefully wrapped up but with no explanation whatsoever. It's only from Googling the text on the bottom of the insoles that I've since found out that they are a 3D Fitting System which allows for different width insoles to be placed. Red = E fitting, yellow = F, blue = G. Unfortunately, I had The Boy using a yellow insole not a blue one for a short while until I managed to find the relevant information. This concept is genius because many children require a different fitting on each foot; these insoles accommodate that need. It would have been good to have some paraphenalia on it though, or something obvious on the website explaining it.

These Hush Puppies leather casual shoes (Whale) retail at £32.00 a pair, which I've always found to be an average cost for quality shoes for The Boy; it's certainly comparable with Clark's and the brand is just as good meaning that I won't be automatically heading there in the future to buy his shoes.

I was given credit to purchase these shoes for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Byron Bay Cookies (Review & Giveaway)

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I have an incredibly sweet tooth and am a bit of a sucker for anything biscuit shaped. I normally refrain from buying them apart from for a coffee session, and because our baby and toddler group is a) a bit rubbish and doesn't get how these things work and b) full of working mums, no-one ever turns up so I'm forced to eat them all myself. FORCED!

Therefore when Byron Bay Cookies asked if they could send me a selection of their finest, I scrambled to my keyboard to say, 'Yes please!' and then eagerly awaited their delivery. Turns out they don't appear instantly though, so I was pleasantly surprised (because I have a memory like a sieve and forget) to see 'a selection' had been delivered a few days later.

Byron Bay Cookies

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Prezzo Lighter Menu (Review)

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prezzo banner

I was invited to sample out the 'Lighter' menu at Prezzo this weekend, and it was a very much welcome intermission from snowball fights and building an army of snowmen using rapidly freezing snow.

We often visit Pizza Express for a family treat on the weekend as the children's menu is such good value, but I'm not too keen on their lighter options as they seem a little uninspiring. As we're creatures of habit, we'd never ventured into a Prezzo restaurant before, I must admit that I'd thought them to be more of an adult restaurant, and hadn't realised that they had such a good children's menu with an extensive selection of child-friendly meals available.

I was there to sample the lighter options menu, which was launched to kick off the New Year for a limited period and comprise a starter, four main courses and a dessert, each under 600 calories each.

prezzo banner

This limited edition menu (available until 4th February 2013) comprises of: a starter of chunky tomato and oregano soup; four main courses – buffalo mozzarella flatbread, super detox salad, grilled vegetable flatbread, chicken Andria; and a dessert of a choice of sorbets.

I was really pleased to see that the main courses contained four vegetarian options, it's often the healthier option anyway, and although I am not a fan of tomato soup I was happy to give it a go.

prezzo starters

Starters:

  • Me: chunky tomato and oregano soup (130 calories)
  • The Boy: Garlic bread with cheese (from children's menu)
  • Mr. TBaM: Mozzarella in Carrozza (Mozzarella cheese deep-fried in breadcrumbs served with pomodoro sauce)

I was really pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture of the soup. The tomato soup I've had in the past has usually come from a tin, or of a similar consistency: like thick passata, gloopy and overwhelmingly strong in one taste. This soup was so far removed that it was a pleasure to eat. The chunkiness proved that it had actually once contained whole tomatoes (something I am normally left wondering!) and the oregano really added an extra dimension to the dish. I suspect that there may have been some form of spice or chilli in there as well because, as well as it retaining its warmth, it also had a mild, spicy glow. It was a huge portion and I managed two-thirds of it before having to admit defeat.

prezzo mains

Main Course:

  • Me: grilled vegetable flatbread (482 calories)
  • The Boy: Penne Carbonara (children's menu)
  • Mr. TBaM: Pollo Carbonara (Seasoned chicken, pancetta bacon and spaghetti in a creamy grana padano cheese sauce)

I was astounded with my main meal. The quality of all three was excellent, but mine was really superb. The flatbread was the perfect size and depth with the right amount of tasty vegetables; aubergine, courgette, peppers, onion and mozzarella drizzled with basil pesto, served with a side salad and low calorie Italian dressing. The pesto over the top added another layer of flavour that made the pizza-style bread lip-smackingly delicious. It was also beautifully presented on a wooden board that I knew my woodturner father would have approved of!

As an aside, it's worth nothing that quality of the meat in the other main meals was excellent; the ham and bacon were thick quality like gammon, and off the bone not processed. The chicken in the Pollo Carbonara was large chunks that were tenderly cooked.

prezzo puddings

Dessert:

  • Me: Lemon sorbet (129 calories)
  • The Boy: chocolate ice-cream
  • Mr. TBaM: Honeycomb Smash Cheesecake (Blended and topped with crunchy honeycomb pieces coated in chocolate)

I tend to find that sorbets can be either wishy-washy in flavour or basically an ice-cream labelled incorrectly. Lemon sorbets can be so sharp to eat that I normally admit defeat amidst a gallon of water trying to revive my tastebuds. Not the case with this one which was delicately flavoured to truly clean the palette after a delicious meal. It was very enjoyable. I'll admit that I only ate half of it before having to surrender it to Mr. TBaM, as lemon sorbet is his favourite pudding.

While I was not there to review the restaurant as a whole (my remit being the 'Lighter Menu') I do need to point out how impressed I was with the branch we went to (St. Mary's Street, Cardiff). The blanket of snow over south Wales ensured that Cardiff's trade experienced a quiet day generally, and this obviously meant that there were more staff to serve the tables in the restaurant. However all staff were friendly and courteous (even when I had to answer a phonecall at the table), chatting easily to The Boy. Yes, they knew I was there to review the menu (and yes I felt like the food critic in 'Mystic Pizza'), however I could see from the surrounding tables that the quality of the food and service was consistent across the board. It was a pleasure to find a decent selection of healthy meals for children, food that didn't patronise their young appetities.

The value of this meal and drinks was approximately £59.00 which is a little more than we would normally spend on a three course meal for the three of us. However, the quality of the ingredients and cooking combined with the excellent service and pleasant surroundings means that we will be returning to Prezzo in the future. And I will be trying out the lighter options which are available on the normal menu because this has proven to me that it's the calories that are reduced, not the taste!

The meal and drinks were complementary in order to review the lighter menu; this does not affect my opinion in any way.

Kiddy: GuardianFix Pro2 (Review)

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We've recently been sent the Kiddy Guardianfix Pro2 carseat to review with The Boy.

Since we were sent the Cruiserfix Pro earlier last year, The Boy has been incredibly comfortable in it and really enjoyed sitting in his 'big boy' seat. The Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro is a Group 2/3 seat for the weight range 15-36kg and age range of 4-12 years, which I've previously highlighted is a big age range. However, it adapts well to accommodate the different needs of different ages with an adjustable back and a leg rest which extends for comfort. I'm pleasantly surprised at how The Boy manages to fall asleep in it easily, far more easily than I'd anticipated.

However, the Guardianfix Pro2 is capable of covering an even greater age range.

I'm a sceptic when it comes to seats that can accommodate a 9 month old right up to a 12 year old. I don't see how it's possible as they have different needs based on their physiology. However, Kiddy have recognised this and have measures in place to accommodate the younger user when using the Guardianfix Pro2.

Younger users (9 months to 4 years approximately/9-18kg) must use the Kiddy Impact Shield:

"The original kiddy impact shield is made of highly shock-absorbing materials and offers the best impact protection in the event of a head-on collision. The risk of dangerous neck injuries is reduced by the fact that the impact forces are directed into the impact shield, and this prevents the baby's head from being abruptly thrown forward or backward, as in a child seat with a conventional shoulder harness."

kiddy carseats

It slots in easily to the front of the seat, there are gaps under the arm rests where it fits, and fits securely over the child's abdomen distributing the impact. The adult seatbelt feeds through the red clips either side. As you can see, The Boy is off the age where he needs to not use this anymore (it's not age based though, it is weight determined and he is over the required 18kg) and so we have removed that and just use the Guardianfix Pro2 as the Cruiserfix Pro is used.

kiddy carseats

The adult seatbelt feeds safely through the guides and through a red seatbelt guide towards the top which is adjustable along with the back to accommodate height differences.

Like the Cruiserfix Pro, the Guardianfix Pro2 has a pull out leg rest (very useful when he falls asleep) and an adjustable back. It also has the Kiddy K-fix Connectors which connect the child safety seat to the standardized fastening system ISOFIX. (This seat can be used without the ISOFIX connectors, as it is when used in my mum's car which doesn't have that system).

kiddy carseats

I'd like to reiterate the point that I made in my first Kiddy review:

"I review a lot of things, and I have been told that they have often sealed the deal for parents looking for information on a specific product. When it's a jigsaw puzzle, a play house or a toddler meal then that's fantastic and makes reviewing worthwhile. When it's a matter of safety, and for the protection of your child, don't take my word on whether it's safe or not. Please look at a proper breakdown on the safety of the Kiddy Guardianfix Pro2, like this one on Which?."

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

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