Bigjigs Play Patrol - Play Agents at the ready! - Review

The postman came a calling with an exciting parcel for my Bigjigs Play Patrol Agents Emmy and Harry.

What arrived?

I will let you see for yourselves as well as Emmy reaction:

 

As you can see Emmy was sent a Breakfast Tray to play with.

What's in the box?

• Wooden tray with puzzle inlays
• Knife, Fork & Spoon
• Plate
• Bowl
• Cup
• Butter
• Toast
• Jam
• Cereal
• Egg Cup
• Milk
• Juice

All of the pieces are made of chunky wood and the pictures are painted onto the wood as apposed to stickers which can easily peel off.

They are really well made, all easily identifiable through lovely pictures in eye catching colours and a perfect size for little hands to hold.

Combining role play, imaginative play and puzzles all in one this is a gorgeous item and it has been played with daily since it arrived.

This toy really does promote learning through play - helping to encourage:

• Shape matching
• Hand-Eye coordination
• Gross motor skills
• Role Play

Priced at £24.99 this brings a whole new meaning to breakfast in bed.


Play Patrol Agent Harry was sent a Bell Tree, which is a novelty take on a rattle.




Made to look like a may-pole with ribbons and bells, all safely attached (Harry has tried to chew them off and pull them off however has failed).

It is brightly coloured and makes a wonderful noise of jingly bells when shaken or can act like a hammer as Harry likes to do.

It's easy to grasp by either the wooden handle or by the ribbons and is a great distraction toy when harry gets upset or impatient sitting in his high chair.

This toy is £5.59

You can follow Bigjigs Toys on Facebook and on Twitter.

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Water Babies - Baby swimming lessons, week 1

I started taking Emmy swimming from around the age of 8-9 weeks old.  We joke that at night-time she turns into a Mermaid as she is so at home in the water - our little water baby.

I had always intended to do the same with Harry however having 2 young children finding the time has been rather hard.

He has been swimming a few times and really enjoys it however it isn't a regular thing and this is rather saddening as I feel he is missing out.

Luckily for us, our local Water Babies has swimming lessons on a Sunday afternoon meaning no more excuses, we are signed up and either myself or Paul WILL make sure he attends all term (10 weeks). 

Harry's lesson is at the Marriott Hotel in Cheshunt, this is a lovely pool and the hotel is actually where I spent my Wedding night many years ago!

We received Harry's welcome pack around a week before our 1st lesson.  Inside was all the information we needed before turning up, including where to go, what to wear and a brief guide to the classes.

What to wear:
Well for me that's easy - swimming costume - I've only one which fits so that's sorted!
For Harry - His outfit is a little more complex - He is required to wear a disposable swim nappy with a neoprene Splash About swim nappy on top and then a Splash About baby wet suit on top to ensure he doesn't get cold.  I disposable swim nappies already and the neoprene one as I brought them for Butlins so all I needed was the wetsuit which can be brought direct from Water babies and send with your welcome pack (you can also buy online).

We arrived rather early today, keen and excited (just myself and Harry), last week should have been the 1st week however the pool was too cold so the lesson was cancelled.  We were given an introduction to the class, shown where to change and all set about getting ready. 

I've learnt some lessons from today which I will remember for next week:

• Have my costume on already as it saves time (I actually already did this today)
• Pop all my clothes into the locker
• Take Harry's car seat poolside (while he is still in the baby car seat it provides somewhere to seat him while I shower and change)
• Get Harry changed both before and after the swim poolside as it's easier than struggling in the changing room.

How cute does my little man look?

All set and ready to go!

Once in the water we introduced ourselves, there are 7 of us in total in my class.

We learnt the swim position using extended arms to swim our babies around the pool.

We bobbed, we sang, we introduced our babies to having water put over their faces and we also dunked them for the first time.

Harry splashed, he kicked, he giggled and smiled and I'm pleased to say he LOVED it, no tears, just a very happy boy!

Roll on week 2 as I think I've another water baby in the making.

You can find your local Water Babies class by looking at their website: www.waterbabies.co.uk
We are swimming with Water Babies Herts

Fresh Express Max - Review

It doesn't happen very often that's for sure however I've found a kitchen gadget which makes me want to cook just to use it!

I have been hunting out recipes which I can try which require chopping, dicing and slicing and I've made and tried new foods just so I can play with the Fresh Express Max.

So what is it?
Well it's a grater, a dicer and a chopper all in one.

It has 5 different cone attachments so you can easily prepare fresh fruits and vegetables with ease and within seconds you can have a large pile of prepared foods ready for cooking or just ready to eat.

OK, I do have lots of other kitchen gadgets which can do all of the above - cheese graters, sharp knives, Nutmeg grater (no idea when I acquired that one) and even a few gadgets which do similar brought from catalogues claiming to save time and effort but which in reality are just a pain to wash up and come in many many parts.

This however does what it says on the box! and it does it effortlessly and quickly too.

We have made coleslaw, soups, grated cheese, grated nuts and even grated chocolate for our cakes.

It has a large feeding tube so you don't have to cut the food up too much before you feed into the top (as you can see in the above picture I just cut the onion in half before slicing it for my coleslaw).

I used to buy pre-grated cheese from the supermarket especially when we were making pizza's as it was quicker then Emmy trying to help grate the cheese, now however I am happy to let her do it.  She can put the cheese into the top herself, place the bowl underneath and press the button and seconds later we have a bowl full of grated cheese - effortlessly! 

It is safe for children to use too as the blades are on the inside so even if Emmy was to place her hand inside the cone as it was slicing it wouldn't cut her.

It's also very easy to clean as all the cleanable parts can go into the dishwasher and storage is easy as the 5 cones all stack inside themselves and are stored at the front of the machine and the cord hides away too.

This gadget doesn't live hidden away in my kitchen cupboards as it is used SO often it has pride of place on the worktop.

It has also come in very useful as Harry is weaning at the moment so preparing his fresh meals couldn't be easier - and because the veg is now cut so finely it also reduces the cooking time too.

Money Saving Code:
To coincide with Tefal's Fresh Week if you like Tefal UK's Facebook page you save 25% off any Fresh Express from their Home & Cook ecommerce site. 

Here is the link so you can save money should you want too!
https://www.facebook.com/TefalUK/app_448589555162496#!/TefalUK/app_448589555162496



Disclosure:  I am member of the tefal Innovation Panel and recieved this item free of charge, all thoughts expressed are my own and are unbiased.  I was not asked to review this item however I chose to do so.

A good old fashioned debate - To Pre-school or not to Pre-school?

Emmy LOVES pre-school, she has been attending for a while now.  She was 3 in February so now recieves her 15 hours of government funding.

Now being only just 3 I have NO intention of sending her to pre-school for all of those 15 hours - this is for a few reasons:

• I am at home so would feel bad sending her to school when I'm at home anyway
• She gets very tired still
• We can still have playdays with our other pre-school age friends
• There are far too many years to come when she HAS to attend every day
• I enjoy having her here with me

I was advised by Emmy's school to put her name down for the full 15 hours even though they know I have no intention of sending her to all of those 5 sessions. 

I have always make it very clear that she can not manage 5 sessions a week yet and we will build up gradually in our own time.

The school are fine with this, they are happy, Emmy is happy and this situation works for us.

I do give Emmy the choice too - She loves going so when I ask her in the mornings she will often say Yes she wants to go and we do.  I'm happy to be led by her and take her lead (although I do insist she goes at least twice a week).

Now I'm passing over to you to debate this one:
Am I wrong in putting her name down for all the sessions and not using them?

Points to consider:

• I was advised to do so
• The school isn't full so I'm not taking a space which is needed by someone else