Spongebob Squarepants Earplugs

I received these to review as part of my subscription to The Baby Website – you can read my review over here.

SpongeBob Earplugs

I seem to remember joking about how when Shaun and I had children that we’d find that we’re both sitting watching cartoons while our child reads books. It hasn’t quite happened like that, though we have introduced her to cartoons we like. One of these is Spongebob Squarepants – if only for singing the song more than anything (who can resist shouting it out? Oh, just me? Ah.). We’re not yet ready to leave the world of Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly and Dora, but Spongebob is slowly working his way in.

The earplugs resemble a carefully moulded blob of blu-tack – and I had no idea how successful they’d be. I have tinnitus so use earplugs a lot when I’m anywhere that’s likely to be loud – so I’m used to the kind which stick in your ear, though am conscious putting ones like that into H’s ears aren’t a good idea.

From birth I’d bought a pair of Kidproof ear defenders which she’s happy to wear, but when you’re out they’re fiddly to carry as well as everything else. These earplugs are small and come in their own case – and fit perfectly into a bag without taking up room.

SpongeBob Earplugs

We got to try them out at the local firework display, and they did the trick – in fact H asked to wear them! The only problem we had was her hair getting stuck in the sticky stuff, but it was easily removed – just a bit difficult in the dark. If you do try them and your child has longer hair, it may be worth tying it back.

You can buy the Spongebob earplugs at all good stores, including Boots. They cost approximately £3.99.

I was sent the earplugs to review, all opinions are my own.

App Time – Peppa Pig Theme Park

Peppa Pig Theme Park

Just in time for Christmas there’s a new Peppa Pig app from P2 Games – and while it’s similar to previous games, we’re liking the choices you have when playing – there’s ten different games in total, which have different levels of difficulty within their own game – so you could have a timed game vs in your own time, number of laps, and so on. This time it’s Peppa Pig’s Theme Park and the games are all related around rides you’d find at the Theme Park – though not Peppa Pig World.

H is (as ever) obsessed with the sticker pages – but this time you have to earn coins to pay for your stickers which I quite like – then you head to the ‘shop’ and ‘buy’ your stickers. H has got her head around this, and has been having a good play on certain sections, not even necessarily ones she’ll earn more.

Peppa Pig Theme Park

One part reminds me of the old Simon games from the 80s – though this time there’s six colours and you need to remember the sequence. At first I wondered if it would be a bit too advanced for H, as while she has good concentration she does get distracted – but I found she can easily do half of the game before asking for help. If you get a sequence wrong you get a cross (rather than a tick for doing it correctly), but if you then do it correctly it wipes the cross, so as long as you get ten correct you’ll get the coins at the end.

Peppa Pig Theme ParkThere’s also a driving game which is a bit different to others I’ve seen – in that you turn the wheel and point the arrow in the direction you want to go, which H navigates well. I did the game and found it was tricky enough to dodge the muddy puddles, but again, H picked it up straight away – a bit more challenging but not in a bad way.

Peppa Pig Theme ParkThere’s the food part – this time you’re making candyfloss (or fairy floss if you come from Australia) in the colour each character asks for. You simply spin the stick around the barrel (as Madame Gazelle) and load it up with the sticky stuff. Do too much though, and it’ll explode and the x reappears – so it’s all about stopping in time. Of course your character then gets to eat it.

Another favourite is the train ride – simple enough but enough buttons to press you can be doing more than one thing – you’re letting people on and off the train (as long as you stop the train in time), and that’s about it – H likes this one as she likes to let me know which characters she’s let onto the train.

Other games are

Water cannon – Peppa loves water games! Can you help Peppa to use the water cannon to hit the objects? There are lots to ducks and boats to hit! Don’t forget to fill the balloons too!

Hot air balloon – Peppa and George are going on a hot air balloon ride.  Can you help to steer the hot air balloon and collect the coloured balloons?  Collect as many as you can and then count the ones you have collected by popping them!

Peppa Pig Theme Park

Bumper cars – Peppa and her friends really love to play on the bumper cars.  Can you steer the car and help Peppa to bump into the other cars? (I like this one, H couldn’t quite get her head around cars bumping into each other)

Tea cup ride – Peppa and George really enjoy the tea-cup ride!  Join in the fun with Peppa and her friends!

I’m one of those people who like to read the credits, and spotted a reception level at school tested this app, which I find pretty sweet – and I’m guessing that it’ll have got a big thumbs up too.

Peppa Pig Theme Park is available now at the App Store priced £3.99.

We received a code to review this app – all opinions are our own.

App Time at Mum Friendly

We Love Books – When I Dream Of Christmas

When I Dream Of Christmas

We were sent ‘When I Dream Of Christmas’ a while back, though have only recently started to read it nightly – it’s a perfect book for bedtime, short and silly funny facts about Christmas which make H laugh. Her favourite at the moment is the stockings page – things like smelly socks seem to be extremely funny for a three-year old!

When I Dream Of Christmas

I really like the illustrations – there’s lots going on in every picture, as well as extra bits to count if you fancy staying on a page a bit longer (how many snowflakes? Count the baubles? How many trees? And so on) – and silly facts “Mistletoe is best avoided if your grandad likes eating onions and has a tickly moustache” (which I changed to daddy, so H nearly fell off her chair laughing).

Do you have an iPod, iPad or iPhone? You can currently get the eBook of ‘When I Dream of Christmas’ for free (check before you click in case it is charged again and my link is out of date) at the App Store, so you can even try before you buy!

When I Dream Of Christmas

When I Dream of Christmas is written by Oakley Graham and illustrated by Patricia Yuste. The book costs £5.99 and is available from Amazon or Top That Publishing, plus all good book stores.

I can see this being a book we’ll read every Christmas for a good few years – and H loves announcing each page as we get there. She also loves the cover as “it’s all sparkly!” – a winner in our house!

We were sent this book to review, all opinions are our own.
We Love Books at Mum Friendly

Making SaltDough Christmas Decorations

Yesterday was a miserable Saturday, though we made it out for a bit of shopping – but it was the kind of day you’d stay indoors, so I did a bit of googling and found a recipe for Salt Dough Christmas Decorations by Kirstie Allsop. Even better, you can microwave them, so they don’t need baking in the oven.

So, what to do?

A cup of flour, half a cup of salt, and half a cup of water, mix the lot together and you’ll get there. It was sticky for a while so I added extra flour and salt which helped.

Saltdough Decorations - roll it out

After it was ready, we rolled it out onto a board and got our old faithful Christmas cookie cutters out. They’re quite small, so I think we need to be looking at bigger ones for next time… We also made an M, a D and an H (mummy, daddy and H) which we could do whatever we felt like doing with.

Saltdough Decorations - all cut outOnce they’re done, I put a sheet of greaseproof paper on the microwave glass plate, and arranged the shapes – and made a hole through each one (I had no cocktail sticks so used the end of a corn on the cob holder).

It says to microwave for two minutes, but I felt like these needed longer – they were still a bit soft later on, so were left to dry overnight.Saltdough Decorations - drying out

Overnight the shapes weren’t properly dry so we microwaved them a little longer which helped, then I got my watercolour paints out and mixed a few colours  painting the tops of trees green and the trunks in brown. I’m not sure why I bothered as once the paint had dried we gave up trying to do intricate designs and just got a pile of glitter and painted glue onto the shapes (we used Tiger’s £3 stuff) and dipped it in there, before threading each shape onto some cotton for next weekend (when they’ll either be part of a chain or on their own individual cotton).

This is the result : Saltdough Decorations - the end

It was a really simple straightforward task to do, and the painting was fun. There were no rules other than they’re going on the tree next weekend – and I’m pleased with the results!

Hooky Knitters Carshalton

Do you live near Carshalton? Are you aware of our fantastic family-friendly pub The Sun? Can you knit or crochet? If so, and you fancy meeting up once a month, the Hooky Knitters, a group set up by Rachel (who has now moved away from us sadly) are still running.

Hooky Knitters Carshalton

We’ve also got a project running with The Sun – we’re knitting them tea cosies for their teapots to serve Pimms Winter!

I have to add here that I’m not a good knitter – I can knit, and doing this project is the first time I’ve followed a pattern. We have all levels of knitters and crocheters, from experienced to just starting out – everyone is welcome – it’s a social thing.

We have a Facebook group which has all our meeting dates, which generally fall in the middle of the month on a Thursday, there’ll be a table booked for 8pm.

Come and join us! We’ve one last meeting for 2012 which will be a Friday – which may be noisy due to it being a Friday – before things go back to normal from January. We hope to see you there!

(n.b. we are not the fabulous knitters who did the Jubilee ducks and the halloween cobweb around Carshalton Ponds – we look on in envy)

Polesden Lacey’s Restaurant Gains Two Local Authority Awards!

Polesden Lacey in snow ©National Trust Images Nick Meers

Polesden Lacey is one of our local National Trust places, and the one we go back to the most often – and have often eaten here. The food is SO good and delicious, although there’s often big queues! They’re also doing Christmas meals (on December weekdays) so if you’re looking for something a bit different, why not consider Polesden Lacey? (then have a brisk walk around the grounds afterwards, or do a bit of Geocaching!)

Enjoy a two course Winter Warmer lunch at Polesden weekdays during November (excl 28-30), January (excl 1 & 2) and February. Three courses for £22.50, or two courses for £19.50, but hurry places are going fast!

Their Courtyard Restaurant is celebrating after receiving accolades from not one, but two local councils.

Surrey County Council recently promoted the popular restaurant to Silver level as part of its Eat Out Eat Well scheme, which rewards those caterers who make it easier for their customers to make healthy choices when eating out. Polesden is one of only four catering establishments in the whole of Mole Valley to have reached Silver level or above.

In addition, Mole Valley District Council gave both the coffee shop and restaurant the highest possible rating for its annual hygiene inspection after turning up unannounced during a very busy half term lunchtime!

For more information and to book, please call 01372 452048 or see www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesdenlacey

Polesden under snow ©National Trust Images Nick Meers

App Time – Hollywood Photobooth

I was approached and asked if I’d like to review the Hollywood Photobooth app, and after reading the press release I absolutely had to – as it looks like a lot of fun (H wanted to join in too). Several costumes from various Hollywood films, and you can photograph yourself ‘wearing’ them? I’m sold!
H wears Anna Karenina
My only photo taking gadget is my iPod – what can I say? To choose an outfit, then turn the camera and point it at me, or to point it at someone else is pretty good fun. Also, you get some fun facts about each costume. One niggle, if you scroll too quickly through each costume on my iPod, I found it would often crash the app – so I found loading it then waiting for half a minute seemed to help. My iPod was bought in April so still fairly new – be aware of this.
The press release mentioned Dorothy’s blue gingham dress from The Wizard of Oz, and I was sold – I’m a sucker for that film (see also: The Sound Of Music). Alas, you don’t get that costume to stick your head on, but hopefully soon…  I did see Mamma Mia for the first time recently… and I reckon this could be good fun at parties…
Mamma Mia
The V&A will bring the glamour of the Hollywood Costume exhibition to app users this autumn with Hollywood Photobooth, a new camera overlay app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Hollywood Photobooth will allow anyone to instantly ‘wear’ the costumes as immortalised by some of the most iconic film characters from a century of Hollywood filmmaking.
Face view on V&A app

a spot of Charlie Chaplin followed by Meryl Streep in Out Of Africa…

This light-hearted and playful app features 16 specially photographed costumes ranging from Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp suit, to Viola de Lesseps stunning dress, headdress and jewellery in Shakespeare in Love worn by Gywneth Paltrow. Users can also adorn their costume with essential accessories: from the Blues Brothers’ cool ensemble with the all-important sunglasses and hat to the combat armour of Gladiator’s Maximus worn by Russell Crowe. Right up-to-the-minute, the app also includes costumes from the latest movie releases such as the dress worn by Keira Knightley in Anna Karenina.

Charlie Chaplin info

Photos taken by Hollywood Photobooth can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Hollywood Photobooth has been created in partnership with Ribui, a leading digital publisher specialising in the creation of augmented reality and 3D apps and interactive books for smartphones and tablets.

EDITED TO ADD – the latest update is now compatible for iPad 1 – you can use photos in your library – so everyone can play! 

Hollywood Photobooth is available at the App Store now – for only 69p!

We received a code to review the app, all opinions are ours and honest.

App Time at Mum Friendly

App Time – Mog the Forgetful Cat

Mog app from HarperCollins

Mog the Forgetful Cat is a wondeful Judith Kerr book – and one I’m sure most people are familiar with. Back in the summer I decided to buy this app, as while it’s nice we read to H, she is left on her own from time to time (like when I’m cooking), and it’s nice for her to be able to read books rather than just play games. This app is fabulous – as you can record your own voice to the Mog book, so essentially you are reading to your child and of course there’s Judith Kerr’s illustrations.Mog App - game

Each page is interactive, and as well as being read by you (or Geraldine McEwan if you’d prefer), there’s some fun extras too. There’s a game – although that’s suited to a child that can read (or learning to) as it doesn’t speak the words (which would be handy!) – you have to match Mog’s expression (sad, happy, surprised, cheeky, sleepy) and if your device supports it, you can take photos or add one from your library.Mog App

We don’t own the first Mog book (shame on us!), although do have several Judith Kerr books – so know that H enjoys reading them. She has been known to sit and read the book several times on this app!

The app is available for £2.49 from the App Store from Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.

App Time at Mum Friendly

Souptastically Souper – a Minestrone Kind of Day

We hadn’t thought ahead as far as our evening meal goes – I’ve been coughing all afternoon and the last liquorice teabag had been used – we were all just lying low, a lazy day, resting. So it was with joy I spotted this recipe over at Thinly Spread and adapted it with what we’ve got in the cupboard – and it was so easy to do.

You need….

a tin of chick peas
small bits of broccoli
half an onion
a sweet potato chopped
six small baby potatoes, peeled and chopped
frozen sweetcorn (50g)
frozen peas (60g)
baby pasta (60g)
three heaped teaspoons of low salt bouillon

passata and some italian herbs and spice for the end

Stick them all in the Soup Maker pan, top up to the maximum level with water, set to the chunky setting and 28 minutes later is your almost-minestrone. I added some passata to cool it down (which was a good thing as H decided to stick her arm in Shaun’s bowl, so it wasn’t as hot as it could have been and she’s fine – phew) and make it more tomato-y which worked quite well, though overall there wasn’t much taste to it, though the veg was good – so if you wanted more, maybe add garlic or some chili.

It was nice and filling, anyway – and the first time we’ve tried soup with pasta all cooked in the pan. H ate all hers too which to me is a very good sign! I’ve not worked out WeightWatchers points yet, but I reckon no more than 2 or 3.

Minestrone Soup

Making Money, Part One

So short you missed it, I’m sure. I spilt the tiniest bit of water onto my MacBook keyboard and it stopped working. This is not a good thing when you’ve lots to type about, especially when mid-sentence you start typing complete nonsense even though you’re hitting the right keys.

Fast forward to the end of the week and here we are with a new MacBook Pro – which is lovely. We’re doing the Amazon Family deal so got free next day delivery, plus they’re selling the MacBook Pro for £100 less than Apple does in their store – anything to save some money!

purple keyboard protectorNow we’re on a quest to sell things and make money back to cover the costs of the new laptop (and I’ve also bought a thermoplastic cover for it to protect against future spills – like I’ll have any liquids anywhere near this computer right now!!) – so the first stop is Music Magpie.

We’ve used them for a few years now – I often find I have the problem of too many CDs – and sometimes I need to get rid of some. All you do is put in the barcode and you’ll get a value. I used to sell CDs via Amazon, where I’d get more money but you’d have to wait for someone to want to buy your it rather than getting a (lower) value instantly – plus Amazon is a good backup when Music Magpie don’t want your CD or don’t have it in their databases.

All you do is put in the barcodes, package up the CDs, print out the packaging labels you’ll get emailed (or posted) and take them to your local post office or pickup point, and wait for the money to be credited to your account. In the past we’ve taken payment by cheque, however this time I’ve opted for a bank transfer.

It’s really easy to do, and even better, I’ve now got a bit of space. Oh, and it’s a good use for all that Amazon packaging I seem to be accumulating too….

Do you have any good suggestions of places to sell things and raise a bit of cash?
Let me know in the comments!