The Amazing Spider-Man from The Disney Store

This week, Spud has been recovering from his toe op.  I say recovering but apart from the day he had it done and the day after, you wouldn’t actually know he had anything wrong with him.  He’s been running around, climbing, wrestling and playing like nothing’s happened.  The only problem is, until we go back to Alder Hey next week, he can’t wear proper shoes and has to be careful not to get his dressing wet so we have been inside for most of the week.  He is also, understandably, not at nursery until next week when it will have healed a little more and be better able to cope with the risk of one of the other 25 children treading on his toes.

Soooooo, how excited were we when we received a rather large package from The Disney Store to review???

Well, since Spud is a little obsessed with all things Superhero, the fact that the box contained this popular Arachnoid cheered him up no end…

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a Spider can…

I think you might just be able to tell how much he liked carrying out this review ;)

This is the Spider-Man Red Battle Strike Racer.  It was assembled in seconds and Spud and Pooh Bear both really liked it.  It comes with it’s own Spider-Man who holds on to the web whilst sat in the racer and when you press the spoiler down…

Spud’s long face was due to me making him keep still for a photo when he wanted to play :D

…he pops right out!

The Red Battle Racer is recommended for ages 4 and up and I was worried about it not being robust enough for my boys.  Spud is four this year and Pooh Bear is not yet two.  I am very pleased to report that despite my worries, the car has held up brilliantly.  They have played with it every day and fought over it and it is still in impeccable condition.  The Web is detachable but goes back on easily and the only negative point is that when Spud took Spider-Man off the web, I had to keep putting him back on as Spud isn’t able to do that yet.  I am sure it won’t be long before he is able to do it all by himself.

Both boys are Superhero crazy at the moment so I doubt this will be the last addition to their collection and as their first Super-car, it’s brilliant.

For more great toys, pop over to The Disney Store where they have just about every Disney toy you could want or imagine..

***Disclosure: We were sent the Spider-Man Red Battle Striker for the purposes of this review and as always, our thoughts and opinions are honest and unbiased***

Justin’s Annual 2013

You might remember a month or so ago we enjoyed reviewing Justin’s Funny Faces, well, we’ve also been sent his new Annual.  The annual is packed full of stories and activities and also over 50 stickers!   It’s priced at RRP £7.99 which when you think the average children’s magazine is over £3, is really excellent value for 61 pages crammed full of activities.

We’ve had the Annual a few weeks now and we keep going back to it.  Pooh Bear loves the bright, colourful pages and the stickers and Spud enjoys doing the puzzles, stickers and the craft/make ideas.

We also used Justin’s Chocolate No-Bake Fridge Cake recipe to make Witches Hat treats for Halloween (although no-one else really got a look in once Scatty Dad found it in the fridge!).

Justin’s Annual 2013 would make a brilliant educational, fun Christmas present for pre-schoolers and would keep them busy over the school holidays especially if the weather is wet or if you’re visiting friends and family who don’t necessarily have toys for the little ones to play with.

You can purchase the annual from 1st November in the UK in all good book shops and online and you can follow Justin on Twitter too.

 

Disclosure: We were sent Justin’s Annual 2013 for the purposes of this review but as usual, all thoughts and views expressed are honest and would be the same had we paid for the product ourselves.

 

Miamoo Skincare Review and Giveaway

A little while ago I came across Miamoo Skincare on Twitter and Facebook. Miamoo was founded by Saira Khan who you might have watched in the first series of ‘The Apprentice’ and more recently a documentary showing her family’s journey to adopt her daughter Amara.

Spud has very dry skin and outbreaks of eczema and has had steroid and paraffin based creams on prescription since he was born and his eczema was first triggered (I will elaborate on what I believe did this at a later date). It was getting close to Christmas 2011 and there was a great offer on the Miamoo range using a code publicised on the Facebook page. I hopped over to the main website and was intrigued at the tagline ‘No Nasty Chemicals’ and ordered the Splashy Wash, Fresh Locks Shampoo, Huggy Lotion and Baba Oil.

I can honestly say, we haven’t been back to our GP for any lotions and potions since December 2011 when our Miamoo products arrived.

We actually only used to bathe Spud once a week and no more because even with the bath oils from our GP, it would completely dry his skin out.  After each bath, we would slather him in the tub of thick, greasy prescription stuff and his skin would still be dry and itchy by the next morning.

Poor Spud.  Pooh Bear has avoided eczema thus far and his skin has always been silky smooth.  I could quite happily sit and stroke his soft belly all day and I am really glad to report that after regular use of the Miamoo wash products, lotion and oil, Spud’s skin is actually really soft now too!

A brilliant attribute of the Splashy Wash is that you get lots and lots of lovely bubbles in the bath :)  Prescription bath oils do NOT make ANY bubbles and I was quite sad that the boys were missing out on this simple pleasure.  A bath without bubbles is like tea without cake!

We had a week or so when we ran out of Miamoo products recently and you could really tell the difference with Spud’s skin.  After a couple of baths in just plain water, his skin and his legs especially were rough and dry.

The range smells lovely too and the Fresh Locks Shampoo leaves the boys hair so shiny and soft.  Spud is always getting comments on how gorgeous his strawberry blond hair is after a bath :)  You only need a tiny amount of the shampoo at a time and I like to wet the boys’ hair, massage the shampoo in then leave it on for a few minutes.  Both boys had really bad cradle cap which still recurs if we don’t use the Fresh Locks Shampoo so we can’t live without it.

I have concentrated mostly on the bath products for the pictures in this post but the Huggy Lotion and Baba Oil are also important additions to Spud’s skincare regime.  We don’t usually use them all over Pooh Bear but he has a patch of dry skin on his face which is kept at bay and just bathing him in Miamoo products seems to suit his skin for now.  The Huggy Lotion is really thin and very easily absorbed especially when compared to other creams we have used.  You might wonder at first whether it will actually work if you are used to the thick creams like we were but it really does and it doesn’t leave your hands feeling all sticky and horrible.  Spud’s skin condition isn’t so severe that we have to use the Baba Oil every night but we do use it after baths, which we now have every other night thanks to Miamoo.  His skin is still soft the next day.

I actually think that not using steroid creams and replacing it with twice daily applications of Huggy Lotion has vastly improved Spud’s skin and we now only cream him once a day.  My sister has suffered from eczema since she was little and I remember her being covered in cream and my parents putting boxing gloves on her hands at night in an attempt to help stop her scratching!  I had envisaged this future for Spud too but it looks like we might have avoided that outcome and I truly believe it is with the help of Miamoo and Saira’s crusade.

The Miamoo website is a wealth of information as is the Facebook page.  Saira tweets and updates facebook personally and she is really passionate about skincare and really knows her stuff.  There are lots of skincare tips which take the form of bullet points meaning that they are easy and simple to read and follow.

Customer service is lovely and very personal and it is so nice to buy a product that not only works for us but is produced by such a lovely lady and her team.  If you have any questions, Saira is always very enthusiastic in her response and suffering with sensitive skin herself she genuinely cares about yours and your baby’s skin.

You can buy the Miamoo range from the website and the price has just been lowered making it really affordable.  It is also available on the highstreet at Boots (and on their website) and on Ocado.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***GIVEAWAY ENDED***

So, how would you like to win a fabulous Travel Goodies set to see for yourself how brilliant the Miamoo range is????

The Travel Goodies set contains miniature:

Splashy wash, fresh locks, huggy lotion, baba oil, spritz and wipe , cheeky cream and a cotton cloth are in a clear plastic wallet.

It’s a great way to try out the range without buying the larger bottles and it would also make an amazing gift for pregnant ladies and new mums too.

Carrie – was picked at random using the number generator Random.Org

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning, please visit the Miamoo website here and comment on this blog post telling me:

Why you think Miamoo products are kind to skin and which product you would most like to try.

For extra entries:

‘Like’ the Miamoo Facebook page here

‘Follow’ Miamoo on Twitter here

Tweet ” I would LOVE to #win a @Miamooskincare travel set with @Scattymumofboys #kindtoskin #nonastychemicals #babies “

If you are using an extra entry, please leave a comment telling me which extra entries you have taken advantage of.

The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday 12th September and will be drawn shortly after.  Any entries made after this date will not be counted.

The giveaway is limited to UK residents only.

Please ensure you have provided an email address when you comment (it will only be visible to me) and I will contact the winner before announcing on the blog.

The prize is non-transferable and will be posted direct to the winner by this blog as soon as contact it made.

Immediate family of employees of Miamoo skincare AND relatives of Life, Love and Living with Boys will not be permitted to enter this giveaway.

Please also refer to the T&C’s page at the top of this blog page.

N.B. We were sent products for the purpose of this review and also the Travel Goodies giveaway prize but we had already fallen in love with the Miamoo brand and this review has been written honestly.

Tummy Time and Interaction with PlayDuvet®

This morning, Pooh Bear and I went to ‘Tickle & Giggles’ at our local Children’s Centre.  This is the third week we’ve been but when I originally booked us on to the 5 week course, I had absolutely no clue what it entailed but judging by the name, it was going to be fun!

Turns out the course, for 4 – 18 mth olds, is all about the importance of Tummy time and how that helps with the development of their tummy, back and neck muscles.  This strengthening of their core muscles in turn helps with crawling, walking and also their speech.  Lying down with your baby Face-to-Face is important for speech and communication and it’s really lovely seeing their little faces react to you.  As current advice is for babies to sleep on their backs, 30 minutes of Tummy Time a day can help avoid Flat Head Syndrome.

For the hour we are in the room, we sit, lie, crawl, kneel and sing on half a dozen or so different mats and blankets – some thicker and more comfortable than others on the hard floor…

This is where I think they could really do with a…

 PlayDuvet^®

In a sentence, the PlayDuvet^® is simply that.

A duvet you can play on, well, a special duvet anyway…

The idea is, you buy the PlayDuvet and then fill it with a standard double duvet and it is a fabulous, large, soft play mat the whole family can enjoy.

Like a lot of families now-a-days, we have laminate floors downstairs and this can be a real problem when babies start to roll, crawl and even when they’re walking.  The PlayDuvet^® ensures a soft, safe (fully CE marked) warm landing and is great for all stages of development.

In addition to providing a play area, the PlayDuvet^® is covered in bright and contrasting colours, shapes, tags, and crinkly fabrics all designed to stimulate babies and children.

A real bugbear of mine with regards to products and toys for children is when they say ‘surface washable only’ on the label.  Who designs these products knowing the first thing children are going to do is slobber on, chew, put their mucky fingers all over and puke on said product???  The PlayDuvet^® has been thoughtfully designed and is as easy to clean as a normal duvet cover and you can also buy a waterproof cover to go between the PlayDuvet^® and the double duvet so you can give babies and toddlers nappy-free time without worrying about little puddles soaking the duvet.  You could have some water play on the mat or as Spud likes playing ‘Piplinks’ (Picnics), we could actually put water in his tea set and not worry about water going all over the floor.

The last point I am going to mention about the  is that it is fully portable and comes in it’s own drawstring bag so you can take it on holiday or round to a friends house.  This also makes it nice and compact to store, although I doubt you would put it away very often.

The PlayDuvet^® would be great for any children’s groups, children’s centres, childminders, parties, nurseries, schools, holiday homes and anywhere children and babies congregate to play.

I came across PlayDuvet^® on Twitter and Nic who runs the business has a young family and they, like many families today are just waiting for that big break which will see their business really take off and grow.  I know how strong the power of social networking can be and I would love if everyone who reads this post shares it with their followers on Twitter and friends on Facebook and spreads the word about PlayDuvet^®

 Please ‘like’ the PlayDuvet^® Facebook page and follow on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

Review Disclaimer:  I have not received any payment in return for this review.   It has been written out the goodness of my heart and I would love for it to be shared as this is a great product :)

 

YUMBOTS! Review

Spud and I have been doing a lot of baking in the past week and he really loves getting involved with the mixing and distributing the mixture etc.  His favourite part though is sampling the end products which is why we were really excited to receive a set of YUMBOTS! from Find me a Gift.

According to Find Me a Gift, “Yum Bots Silicone Cupcake Moulds are a set of 4 silicone cake moulds in the shape of mini tasty robots. Simply fill them with cake mix, cook them in the oven and decorate them as you wish. Perfect for kids parties the robot cupcake moulds add a touch of sci-fi or a robot theme to any dining occasion.

Get the children excited about baking and get them involved with a fun day of cake making, thanks to our Yum Bots.”

There isn’t much more I can add to that description if I’m honest except…

The YUMBOTS! were easy to use and you can either pop the cupcakes out of the moulds or leave them in the YUMBOTS! and use a spoon.  This is a really great way for kids to eat the cupcakes and means you have less crumbs to tidy up after especially if you have a toddler who finds cupcakes a little big and crumbly.

Spud loves Robots and Cake so these really are the best of both worlds and I can see us using these for years to come as they are really durable and a dream to clean.  They are also more environmentally friendly than paper cases since you can reuse them and they don’t produce any waste products.

I can highly recommend Find Me a Gift. The website is really easy to navigate and unlike other gift sites I have visited, is uncluttered and pleasing to the eye.

There are loads of special offers and at the time of writing, the YUMBOTS! in particular have £2.00 off their usual price. They have gifts priced from 79p for goodness sake so what are you waiting for?

Register and you can build a wishlist, write reviews and upload photos and videos of the products to help other customers decide on a gift.

Every purchase you make earns you loyalty points towards future purchases and the UK Based Customer Service is second to non.

If, like Scatty Dad, you only remember birthdays the day before, you can take advantage of the ‘Same Day Dispatch’ when you place your order before 4pm :)  If you don’t like leaving things to last minute, why not sign up for the Reminder Service to receive emails before important dates and order in plenty of time.

The Gift Finder is the most detailed I have ever seen and when I inputted all the info required to get Scatty Dad a present this is what was suggested:

A Sticklebook Shelf!

…which is actually a really good present for him and I really will be purchasing a couple for our bedroom!

You can keep abreast of special offers and giveaways on the Find Me a Gift Twitter and Facebook pages too.

———– GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED ————-

Now, here’s the exciting bit!!!

The really lovely people at Find Me a Gift have promised to send one of you lovely readers a box of YUMBOTS!  I personally love the Retro gifts, but to be in with a chance of winning, I would like you to visit their site and comment on this blog post telling me what you would like to buy your Mum for Mothers’ Day.

To help you along, HERE are the Mothers’ Day Gifts

HERE are the fab Retro Gifts

and HERE is the extensive gift finder

The competition is open to UK residents only and you have until Midnight on Monday 19th March to enter after which a winner will be drawn at random using Random.Org

 

It is not a condition of entry that you do so, but you might like to keep in touch with me via Facebook to be the first to hear of new competitions.

Find Me a Gift have given us a set of YUMBOTS! but all reviews are written with honesty and integrity.