Read With Me Scout - Review

Rocket was sent a Read With Me Scout from LeapFrog a while ago to review and being the book worm and cuddly child he is, it is amazing!

 Scout is a loveable interactive green puppy dog that is aimed at ages 24 months to 5 years, so a nice wide range making him a lasting companion that can be passed down to brothers or sisters!

Scout comes with his own set of 5 books which are programmed for Scout to read to you by pressing the corresponding colour to the book on his collar, he also asks questions about the book, making him a fun friend for your little one. Rocket absolutely loves pressing Scouts interactive pressure points and being told he is Scouts best friend!

There are 5 interactive spots on Scouts body - Kiss his cheek and he will tell you that you are his best friend, his left paw activates the songs and the right paw gives more responses.

There are 70+ different questions over the course of the 5 books, all which have a different theme to them for learning : Rhyming, Learn about, Narrative, Pattern and Concept - all presented by an exciting Scout stories!

Rocket has just turned 4 years old so is well within the age range that Scout is aimed at and I've honestly never seen a boy love a toy so much! Scout is literally his best friend, he is obsessed. Even to the point where when we are out in the car, he says he misses him and that we have to go home to him - its cute! He also gets brought out to show his friends during play dates!

Scout gets a big thumbs up from us, a fun, loveable, cuddly educational pup with a mind of his own!

You can also buy Read With Me Violet for the little ladies!

Saints and Slimmers ready meals review

A while back we were sent a couple of ready meals to review by Saints and Slimmers.

Saints and Slimmers is a company with a website that tailor different diet plans and sell diet products at a very reasonable cost.

The 3 that we were sent were : Chicken Satay, Sweet and sour chicken and Chilli con carne.

S&S : Our Chicken Satay combines juicy chicken, herbs and soya sprouts in a delicious spicy peanut sauce and comes with a separate serving of white rice to leave you feeling completely satisfied. At only 473 calories, our Chicken Satay diet ready meal provides a high level of your daily protein requirements and is low in fat and fat saturates. Stores at room temperature until you're ready to eat it and cooks in just three minutes. Great at lunch time or in the evening.

Our review : The chicken Satay has to be my favourite that I tried out of the 3, I was expecting it not to have much flavour, as I guess when it comes to 'diet food' I kind of expect cardboard tasting meals. However I was not disappointed with this meal as it had alot of rich flavour to it and despite its portion size I was satisfied after.

S&S :  Our Chicken Sweet and Sour diet ready meal is filling and full of flavour, yet it contains just 461 calories. Low in saturated fat and a good source of protein, this delicious Chicken Sweet and Sour will leave you feeling satisfied. The tasty chicken, pineapple, tomato, peppers, onion, carrots and celery, in a gently spiced sweet and sour sauce goes perfectly with the supplied portion of plain rice. Cooks in just three minutes and can be stored at room temperature until you're ready to enjoy it.

Our review : I actually really enjoyed this one too, it tasted very similar to a sweet and sour chicken meal you would have from a Chinese takeaway (which is fab considering the low calories!)

S&S :  Our Chilli Con Carne diet ready meal, with its juicy minced beef, tasty red kidney beans, tomatoes, onions and fine spices isn't short on taste, but it is short on calories. In fact, it contains just 416, but still leaves you feeling satisfied and full up and it can help your diet plan when you combine it with our meal replacement bars or shakes. It even comes with a separate portion of rice. Ready to eat in just three minutes and can be stored at room temperature until you're ready to enjoy it.

The hubby's review : (I didn't have this one as I'm not a chilli fan or of things spicy but my husband wolfed it down no complaints and said it wasn't different to any other chilli con carne that he had had before so it was OK for me to go ahead and get more ;) )

A quick summery : I love that these meals have a long shelf life on them and they don't need to be refrigerated - on top of that they cook in just 3 minutes so they are perfect for meals on the go or if you don't want to worry about food. We will be stocking up on these meals and trying the others too.

Britax DUALFIX Review

We have been reviewing the DUALFIX car seat from Britax for a good month or more now and I'm really excited to share my experience with you all.

Having Hypermobility Syndrome is hard enough at the best of times but dealing with the extra relaxin hormone from pregnancy, I really suffered after Bee was born in November.

The biggest problem I had was taking the baby car seat carrier I had in and out of Rockets pre-school as not only was it heavy, it also involved me awkwardly trying to navigate the think corridors of pegs, coats and other people trying to pass - as well as an energetic 3 year old! I was in alot of pain and also pulling my shoulder out of its joint regularly. This made me not even want to venture out and left me with constant flare ups on top of having to deal with a newborn.

When Britax sent me the DUALFIX as part of the Mumbassador scheme I was desperately excited to try it! Its a fabulous design of smooth curves - my immediate thought was how it looked like something out of Men In Black!

Its an extremely heavy seat as it needs to weigh a lot for the swivel action. I had to wait til my husband got home so he could install it, but that was relatively easy as it pops straight into the ISOfix slots in the car. (The ONLY thing I am sad about is that it can't go in the front as it needs the ISOfix, but that isn't the seats fault!)

Having  seat that you can place baby in facing the door is simply amazing for me, especially after struggling sideways with our past seat. All you have to do is secure little one in the comfortable 5 point harness then press the button located behind the seat and swivel the seat with your right hand and you will hear it click into place... easy!

I think its great that it comes with a recline feature, although this can only be used when the seat is rear facing. I find the recline very comfortable for Bee.

Also, the rotate feature means you can completely turn the seat round (obviously not whilst the car is driving) but if you needed to you could access baby easily from the back seat.

Now when I drop Rocket off at Preschool it takes me seconds to remove Bee safely and I have the freedom of carrying him in with me which is so much easier!

Of course I have only had rear facing experience with Bee so far but I will update the review as he moves to forward facing.

Although this seat is on the more costly side, I would really recommend it for anyone that has joint problems like I do, it really does give you that extra help you need as a parent with chronic pain  - plus the smiles you get from your baby as you put them in facing you is heart warming!

The fact that it suits up to 4 years old also makes it a worthwhile investment.

Visit the BRITAX website and you can find them on TWITTER and FACEBOOK.

Some facts about the DUALFIX -

• Rearward facing from birth to 18 kg allows you to keep your child rearward facing even longer. Choose rearward facing or forward facing for your child from 9 - 18kg – offers you the choice of position that best fits you and your child 
• 5-point safety harness with one-pull adjustment distributes the impact forces out across the strong bones of the body and into the seat, plus it allows you to perfectly adjust the harness to your child’s size and keep them secure in the seat no matter what collision you have
• 360° seat rotation makes it easy to move the seat between rearward and forward facing without re-installing and also place your child in and out from the side
• ISOFIX system allows direct connection to the car’s ISOFIX anchorage points for a simple and safe installation
• Multiple recline positions allow a comfortable sleeping position for your child that you can adjust without disturbing them
• Newborn insert provides extra comfort and support for your baby
• Height-adjustable headrest and harness with easy singlehanded adjustment allows the seat to grow with your child without the need to remove and re-thread the harness
• Deep, softly padded full side wings provide optimum Side Impact Protection for your child along the entire seat
• Performance chest pads reduce your child’s forward movement and energy that occurs in the event of an impact
• Installation indicators confirm the seat is installed correctly
• Quick-remove washable cover eliminates the need to remove the harness when washing the cover, therefore ensuring the harness is always installed correctly
• Belly pad for your child’s comfort
• Softly padded cover keeps your child comfortable in their seat
• Rearward facing from birth to 18 kg allows you to keep your child rearward facing even longer. Choose rearward facing or forward facing for your child from 9 - 18kg – offers you the choice of position that best fits you and your child

Group 0+ & 10 – 18kg(≈ Birth – 4y)

	H	W	D	Weight
	78 cm	45 cm	53 cm	14,7 kg

Skibz Bibs Review

We were sent one of Skibz bibs to road test with Bee a few weeks ago now. The design we were sent is the Cowboy Star original dribble bib in red and white (you can buy it HERE).

When Rocket was a baby I didn't know much about bandana style bibs so completely missed out, but since Bee has been here, they are pretty much all the style that he wears now.

My first thought was that at £8 each, they were a bit on the costly side for us but after comparing them to other dribble bibs around, the quality speaks for itself.

Skibz are made of 100% cotton are exceptionally thick with brilliant absorbancy. I can get twice as much time out of Bee wearing his Skibz than I can from a supermarket brand dribble bib.

At the moment of course, Bee is still very young (he is 12 weeks old) but he constantly has his hands in his mouth so his clothes do get soggy - which is why we love the Skibz as it looks like part of his outfit and firs snug around his neck comfortably. There are 2 popper choices on the Skibz so it can grow with him which is great.

They also wash well so I predict it will have a long lasting job to do when Bee turns into a teething
dribbler!

If you head on over to the Skibz website, you can see all the fabulous different designs you can choose from, as well as other awesome products that they sell.

We are very pleased with Skibz and as teething approaches, we will be stocking up!

You can follow Skibz on FACEBOOK, TWITTER and on Instagram ( @SkibzBibs )

Britax B-MOTION 3 Review

 

As part of the Britax Mumbassador scheme we were sent a B-MOTION 3 to put through its paces

and review (excellent timing as Bee had only been born the week before so we got to take it away and use it!)

We chose the stunning Chilli Pepper model as I loved the red colour which is very eye catching and rich.

Unboxing the B-MOTION3 took around 10 minutes and it really wasn't that difficult to assemble. I was impressed with the quality of the fabric and how sturdy and solid the buggy felt.

One thing I love is its multi positioning feature (with Bee being a newborn the lay flat position is a must) but you can also adjust it to any position you like which helped massively when Bee needed his head elevated due to his cold.

Having a 6 foot (odd) husband, we often find with pushchairs that the handlebars are way too low and cause him discomfort to push, but Britax have really thought this through and the B-MOTION3 offers a height adjustable bar meaning that whoever pushes baby, whether tall or short, can be certain that its going to be a dream to push.. and it really is!

Having air filled rubber wheels and rear suspension you can just about go anywhere with this buggy. Pushing over bumpy terrain in the countryside is absolutely no problem and feels smooth for baby. You also have the option of locking the front swivel wheel if you need to (for those perfectly straight roads)

We live out in the country so quite often take walks down stony paths and fields and its the first buggy I've pushed out there with such ease to be honest!

Another great feature is that you can fold it one handed. It also supports itself freestanding on the ground so you don't have to worry about fiddling with different settings. That also helps keep the buggy clean when stored. It's just as easy to unfold and use straight away too. I did find it took a couple of times opening and closing to get used to it as it was slightly stiff due to being new (and the fact I have a joint problem so everything is harder for me!) but after that it really does go up in a matter of seconds.

I adore that its got a massive shopping basket underneath, storage is a parents best friend and that's where other buggies are a let down! I was able to fill it with the baby bag, coats, rain cover and shopping so that is a fabulous plus.

With the storage it also has a very handy big pocket on the back of the buggy, I love the generous size and how convenient it is to get to baby essentials without having to bend to the shopping basket and dig for what you are looking for.

The seat is very spacious (If my almost 4 year old wasn't as tall as he is then he would fit in there quite happily) there is plenty of room for a growing child to fit comfortably.

The Britax B-MOTION 3 is suitable from Birth to 17kg (4 Years) and weighs 11kg.

It is also avaliable in Neon Back.

Megson - Review

When I found out about reviewing the new album from Megson (When I was a lad) I was excited to hear something that was away from the 'norm' of what Rocket and I are used too.
 Rocket has grown up around music and is a very musical 3 year old who loves to sing and dance but I can't say he has ever been around Folk music! - until now!

Megson are a husband and wife duo of musicians who, after the birth of their little girl, decided to embark on a new project and came up with the album 'when I was a lad'.

Containing both original and traditional children's folk music, the album of 11 songs is a perfect mix for young and old alike. Rocket loves listening to the music in the car and I'm thankful that its a chilled out and almost relaxing album which after listening to it once it's familiar but after listening a few times you know all the songs!

One other thing I love is their accents! I'm a southerner and the way they sing 'ducks' tickles me ;)

I would really recommend everyone listen to this album if you have youngsters, its fun to get singing along and Rocket even thanked me for letting him listen today!

You can buy a copy from HERE :)

This album was sent to us for purpose of review, all opinions are my own and truthful.