ToyJeanius: Haba Tack Zap On Duty (Review)

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Even though The Boy is getting older and therefore more independent in his choice of toys, I still try and steer him towards the quality end of the spectrum; wooden toys that encourage creative play. Haba is a brand that caters just for that.

As an online wooden toy specialist, ToyJeanius was more than happy to send me something that she thought The Boy would really enjoy playing with; something to get his teeth into.

The Haba On Duty tack zap game is a toy which involves laying out brightly coloured, wooden, pre-shaped pieces to create a picture, and then tapping them into place (through the pre-drilled) hole using the tacks and light hammer onto a thick corkboard. The theme of this set is construction/emergency vehicles and provided inside the box are three heads, four wheels, two tracks, eighteen other pieces and enough tacks to nail them in. (There are other Haba tack zap games which could be used alongside it to create different scenes.) There is also a handy pamphlet with nine templates to follow if inspiration is needed.

For The Boy, this is an ideal toy as he can either copy the templates or make a picture up himself, and he pretends to be Grandad hammering as he's playing it. The corkboard is of a good quality that the tacks don't fall out, giving them a little press first when tapping them in is something I'd recommend as it gives a grip to start off with. The tacks obviously have a point to them, but they aren't dangers and the wooden hammer is just the right size for little hands. I would say that it's to either do one piece at a time, or lay them all out and push a tack into place, as otherwise the pieces bounce all over the place when hammering them down.

This toy has given The Boy hours of fun, and as it is for 3-7 year olds I can see it lasting for a few years yet!

The Haba On Duty tack zap game is available from ToyJeanius for £14.95. Readers of this blog can receive a 10% discount by entering TheBoyandMe at the checkout.

We were sent this item for the purpose of this review. Our opinions are honest and unbiased.

Little Dish: New Recipes & A New Look

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As I've said many times before, I'm fussy with the food that I let The Boy eat, always have been. In his first year I cooked everything from scratch for him so that I could guarantee the contents and quality of the food. When it came to loosening the reins a little there were very few brands that I trusted, but I genuinely always trusted the quality of the ingredients in the Little Dish meals. Now I'm back to work part-time and my mum is feeding him, I do tend to buy the ready meals as a standby, to make it easier for her if she's not up to cooking from scratch.

Recently, Little Dish have refreshed their ready meals, both visually (by introducing the 'zoo crew' to the packaging) and recipe-wise, and have a fantastic range of eight ready meals to choose from (all suitable from 12 months+). The range includes The Boy's favourites of Chicken and Butternut Squash Pie, Pasta with Cheese, Peas and Brocolli Trees, and Spaghetti and Meatballs, but also has a mild Chicken Korma too. The Boy always enjoys the flavours of these meals, and wolfs them down!

Little Dish

However, The Boy's utmost favourite meal is cheesy pasta with ham so I'm really pleased that Little Dish have done it again and produced a brand new range, this time it's fresh, free-range egg, filled pasta!

These (child) bite-size pasta come in two flavoure: Mini Tortellini with Cheese and Tomato, and Mini Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta, and are perfect for little ones and their little tums. I also like that it gives you the freedom of which sauce you can use to accompany it and add vegetables (or ham!) as appropriate. I knocked up a bowl of Mini Tortellini with Cheese and Tomato in a cheese and ham sauce, and The Boy couldn't get enough of it!

The pasta is made with 100% natural ingredients, and cooks in just three minutes which makes it ideal for tea-time, weekend lunches, play-dates or eating in a hurry. The 230gm packets contain between 2-4 servings, depending upon how big your child's tummy is, and are ideal to keep in the fridge on standby!

Little Dish Filled Pasta is available from Waitrose and Ocado.com, priced at £1.99.

I was sent samples of these products to try, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

'Dark Shadows' DVD (Review)

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I'm a sucker for a Johnny Depp film, especially it's a Tim Burton film. By and large, they are (combined with Helena Bonham Carter) a pretty talented trio who can virtually guarantee a film's success. Therefore I'd been hankering after watching Dark Shadows for a while, and when I was sent it to review I was extremely chuffed.

Dark Shadows follows the tale of Barnabus Collins (Depp) who was a Liverpool-born, aristocratic young batchelor in America in the 18th century. His wealthy family had founded Collinstown and they lived in a spectaculorly gothic mansion full of secret tunnels, grandeur and adoring servants. Angelique (one such maid) fell deeply in love with Barnabus following a fling and when he rejected her for his true love, the little witch set about destroying his life, family and fortune, casting a spell causing his beloved's death and him to become a vampire. Once the local town's people heard he was a vampire, he was captured and entombed for just under two centuries deep beneath the ground.

Cut forward to 1972 and the mansion is a shadow of its former self with his remaining descendants trying hard to maintain some form of status quo against the poverty they live in, enforced by Angelique's business which has taken over Barnabus' beloved town. Until one day, when the foundations for a restaurant of the golden arches is being dug, and the workmen discover a box with a blood-thirsty vampire inside. What happens next in the film is a case of vengeance and determination as Barnabus tries to salvage his family's name against the twists and turns of every truly dark Burton film.

There are some surprise appearances in this film, and big names with it. Eva Green, Johnny Lee Miller and Michelle Pfeiffer are main characters throughout, alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter. Eva Green makes for a truly wicked and dastardly witch to Johnny Depp's vampire, Helena Bonham-Carter is… a bit mediocre if I'm honest; I don't really see what her character adds to the film at all. I liked the relationship between Barnabus and his female descendant, Michelle Pfeiffer, and she does a pretty good job in the film. Johnny Depp is good in the film (when is he not?) but he doesn't quite cut it as a blood-sucker for me, I'm too used to him being mischievious or slightly whacky and seeing him as a comedic killer in this vampire comedy just seemed a bit strange. Especially when his appearance in Sweeney Todd actually gave me nightmares.

Dark Shadows is a good film. It's not one of the terrific trio's best, but it's certainly watchable and enjoyable; I will watch it again and I will chuckle and gasp in all the right places because the combined cast and storyline is amusing.

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

Power Rangers: Samurai (Review)

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My six year old nephew has gone all retro in his toy tastes and adores the revival of the Power Rangers toys that dominated the playground when I was a child.

We were sent a few of the products for him to try:

Boy Cousin loved the poseable and moveable functions of the Pink Super Samurai Power Ranger action figure, and it fitted brilliantly onto the disc cycle he was also sent to review. The Samurai minifigures had no moving parts, but the added bonus that that can be popped into his pocket for playing with at any time.

He was also sent the Disc Cycle to test and thought this was brilliant, it really made role-play a lot easier and meant it wasn't dominated by sparring between the characters.

All the Power Rangers: Samurai toys had a big thumbs up from him and are very reasonably priced, making them ideal stocking fillers. The only criticism was my from my sister, that the minifigures smelt quite rubbery.

We were sent these products for the purpose of this review. All opinions are honest and unbiased.

Petite Harumika

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I may be a mummy to a boy but I still know what's 'big' in the world of girls' toys thanks to my two nieces, one of whom is obsessed with Harumika, the 'Girl's World' of the 21st century but with added fashion designer power.

We were sent one of the Petite Harumika Romantic mannequins for her to review.

Designed to be clipped onto a key-chain, pencil case or bag, this miniatureHarumika measures in at 7cm tall and comes with a stylus tool, one piece of pretty material, four accents and a sheet of gem stickers for decoration. It's just the thing to play with in a spare five or ten minutes and can easily slip into any young lady's bag.

I'm impressed with how such a simple toy allows for such great fun. My niece is nine and reached that age where she's not a child anymore but also not a teenager; it's difficult for girls of this age nowadays. The Harumika toys allow her to explore the concept of fashion and being a teenager while still actually playing with dolls. Thumbs up from me and from her. The only criticism she had is that it would have been helpful if there had been a little bag to keep all the bits in so they don't get lost or dirty.

The Petite Harumika range is available from most high-street toy retailers and online. It's priced at £7.99 RRP.

I was sent this for the purpose of this review, our opinions are honest and unbiased.

 

Lego Heads (Review)

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A few months ago, The Boy received his first batch of Lego to play with and was quite enthusiastic about it. Admittedly he's still quite young for proper-sized Lego at the moment, but it's actually the first time he seems to have shown an interest in construction; conventional toddler building blocks did nothing for him at all.

However, last week we were sent some amazing giant Lego storage solutions which have been designed and created by Room Copenhagen (under license from Lego). They have developed a range of giant Lego head tubs and storage blocks to save mums and dads the world over from suffering 'stepping-on-Lego-bricks-with-bare-feet-itis' (a well known condition affecting parents).

To celebrate Hallowe'en, The Boy was sent the small Pumpkin head and Skeleton head, and a black storage box.

Lego storage

As you can see, one of the best features of them is that they actually stack on top of each other just like the 'real' Lego blocks. The Boy was completely enamoured with the storage heads and block, and has put all of his Lego into the black box with the heads on top.

The problem is, he doesn't have very much Lego at the moment…

Lego storage

… I'm sure that will change in time, and the box will be overflowing!

We were sent these products for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Pink Lining At The MADs (Review)

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About a month ago now, I hopped onto a train to London to enjoy the MAD Blog Awards presentation dinner in a swishy hotel.

As the dinner was formal, I needed to wear something suitable for a cocktail party and dutifully shoes my sparkly top, trousers, shoes, etc. and laid them all out ready to pack up for the overnight stay. black cabs bag

Yes. That's an iron. I do things like this when I go away; I take an iron.

Luckily, I had been sent a rather beautiful, and highly appropriate, Black Cabs overnight bag from Pink Lining to transport my necessities. Measuring 62(L) x 26(H) x 26(W)cm, I'll be honest that I was sceptical that I'd get all of that lot above into the bag. However, in it went with ease and with room to spare for a few bars of chocolate in case of a midnight feast!

The bag was the perfect size for an overnight trip. Everything I needed (including the iron, along with hair straighteners, toiletries, 'party clothes', pyjamas, outfit for the next day) fitted in to a very manageable bag which was light and easy to carry. It's a stylish bag, with a hard wearing, wipe-clean exterior and the distinguishable 'pink lining' interior. It certainly looked the part in first class on the train, and in the taxi.

The Pink Lining Black Cabs overnight bag is available for £55.

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

Tree Fu Tom (Review & Giveaway)

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I have always adored the quality of the television programmes on CBeebies, in my opinion they are worth the license fee alone! Sometimes I have a little quibble about the scheduling, but 98% of the programmes are absolutely fantastic and we really enjoy watching them together.

This year's there's been a wealth of quality new shows starting on the channel and one of them is Tree Fu Tom. I looked forward to it starting and was sorely disappointed, and surprised, when The Boy didn't take to it. I don't think it helped that in the first episode there was a giant (slightly alarming) mushroom chasing some of the characters. Since then he's refused to watch it.

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The Footprint Of A Stegosaurus! (Review)

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I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who has a list of things that they can't wait for their children to have? And yes, most of the things on said list are there because either I didn't have them as a child, or they came out about two years too late for me to get away with having.

Like flashing shoes.

You know the ones, the little LEDs that light up when your child runs? Surely they're even better if the light is flashing through the eyes of a dinosaur?

How cool are these shoes?

On the Dinosoles Stegosaurus shoes, the lights don't just flash in a random place. Oh no, they flash through the eye of the steogsaurus on the out side of the shoe, and the entire amber eye on the in side glows upon movement.

I cannot convey in words how much The Boy loves these shoes.

These shoes are…

dinosaur shoes

Dinosoles are a fantastic range of dinosaur inspired shoes with a variety of styles featuring flip-flops, hi-tops, skater shoes, sandals along with the more conventional style we went for. The designs are really captivating, the soles thick but flexible, the velcro is easily adjustable (although I would say parents need to check they're done up tight enough) and the quality of the materials is 'top-notch'.

As a mum who believes in quality shoes for infants, I have only ever bought Clarks' shoes for The Boy. However, I am really comfortable with the standard of the Dinosoles shoes that The Boy wears and wouldn't hesitate to buy another pair, especially when (at £24.99) they are £10 cheaper than equivalent Clarks' shoes.

The Boy was sent these shoes for the purpose of this review. My opinion, and his love of them, is honest and unbiased. Aside from the fact that they've got flashy lights; that might have swayed my opinion somewhat. Do you think they make them in an adult 8?

Discounts At Boden (Review)

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Having worked in a large high street store for three years, I am not a fan of clothes shopping. At least not for myself. I much more prefer the luxury of sitting back on the sofa, turning on the laptop and doing my shopping through the Internet. I'm still not so keen on buying for myself, but I am rather partial to buying extremely cute clothes for The Boy.

I've heard a lot about Boden over the past two years, but I must confess that I'd never really considered them as I had considered them a little more expensive than I could afford. While they are just outside my price range, in reality they aren't that much more expensive than Next or Marks and Spencer, and if you can find a discount code for a company like this before purchasing online or instore, then it's even better. My Voucher Codes is one of those places that supplies codes for frugal mummies such as myself.

I was asked if I'd like to try some of the much talked about Boden clothing, and of course I jumped at the chance to deck my little man out in good quality clothing. I chose a beautifully thick Guernsey fisherman style jumper for him, a pair of vintage jeans and (this is what he loves the best) a tomato ketchup top. He's addicted to the red sauce and I couldn't let that one pass by!

The Guernsey jumper is incredibly thick and soft, with 80% lambswool it's unsurprisingly warm. The distressed jeans have a zip which completely flummoxed The Boy at first (he's used to pull-up trousers) but he managed them really easily, and the grin on his face when he saw the ketchup t-shirt was fantastic.

The order (including postage and packaging) would have initially been £74.00, but applying the MyVoucherCodes discount brought it down to £61.40. This would have given a saving of £12.60 in total; 10% discount and free delivery. I will definitely be checking on MyVoucherCodes for fashion discount codes before purchase online or instore in the future!

To take advantage of the 10% discount code available on all orders at Boden (plus free delivery), nip over to My Voucher Codes before 28th October 2012.

I received these items for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

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