21/10/201331/03/2018 by jo

Hotter Shoes

Hotter Shoes are a new brand to me, so when the opportunity arose to try a pair out, I had a look around the website. Almost every review of them tells of how comfortable they are, so I had to give them a go!

I have back problems, almost every day I’m in pain and while it’s manageable it’s annoying. I need shoes which give me good support. Throughout this year I’ve been wearing running shoes constantly – mainly through being late for the train every morning or getting to Clapham Junction from Wandsworth in eight minutes – so for running I need the support. Outside of that, I need shoes I can walk around in and feel comfortable which is where Hotter Shoes come in.

The Hotter Shoes website has a handy sizing guide which you print out and measure. I did it with help from a workmate – and I seem to be around a size six! I generally buy size 8 shoes, and when I’ve asked in shoe shops have been told “just try what fits” – I haven’t been properly measured in years, so that was a big surprise. In fact, I was so unsure about this lower size I ordered a seven just in case, and opted for the Leanne design. They’re extremely comfortable – and my back feels supported and comfortable which is the most important thing I need.

As I’m constantly running for trains, I should have chosen more appropriate shoes – so I found myself wearing these for daily tasks, like school pickup when I’m not rushing as much. I’ve also worn them when we’ve been out and about outside, and have found them extremely comfortable. The threading areas around the laces are also well stitched; many’s the time I’ve had that part come away, these are nice and strong.

I like that the shoes have removable insoles – did you know that to keep shoes fresh and non-stinky, that if you remove the insoles and let them air, then your smelly shoe problem is unlikely to happen?

The thing I’m the most happy about with Hotter Shoes is knowing I followed the measuring guides and found a pair of shoes which fit me comfortably. I’ve also found a local shoe shop that stocks them and I know I’ll be buying more – and I’ll be investigating the pairs which are better suited to running – for trains, that is – I’m not quite ready for Couch to 5K!

If comfort is your thing, head over to Hotter Shoes – there’s a good choice! Don’t be afraid to order online – using the measuring guide you’ll almost definitely find your shoes fit you so much better than some of your existing ones!

You can follow Hotter Shoes on Facebook and Twitter, keep an eye out for their sale items. You spend a little more but for the comfort it’s worth it. Look out for them in your local shoe shops too!

We were sent a pair of shoes for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own!

20/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Lucozade Revive – A Revival Challenge

I was sent seven bottles of Lucozade Revive and given the task of a revival challenge – when I’m flagging during the day, try a bottle and see how it goes. I accepted of course.

Lucozade Revive is available in four flavours, and each bottle is less than 50 calories. There is caffeine in there and it became my substitute for coffee at work. Every morning I drank Lucozade Revive instead.

My honest opinion? I wouldn’t drink it every day; I stopped drinking fizzy drinks a long time ago, though way back before H was ever in existence I’d drink Diet Coke with Lime which this reminded me of. I can’t think why it does, as only the Strawberry flavour has Lime, and I couldn’t taste it.

So, what is there to say about Lucozade Revive? It’s low calorie. That is a bonus, though there are sugars and sweeteners. If you don’t mind that, you won’t mind this drink.

Did it become a good caffeine replacement? Actually, yes. I found I wasn’t snacking as much at work either – and didn’t drink any coffee at all last week (I usually need a minimum of one cup and recently had been having three large mugs of filter coffee).

Lucozade Revive is packed with energy-releasing b-vitamins (B3, B5, B6 & B12), which claim to help you keep going throughout the day. I’d say that did happen – one bottle and I didn’t need anything else.

Would I buy Lucozade Revive again? As a Diet Coke replacement, almost definitely. I don’t drink fizzy or energy drinks very often at all, usually going for a large cappuccino. As a daily drink, probably not. My daily drink is water, and I’m not as good at drinking it as I should be.

Finally, the flavours. Lemongrass with Ginger – this one felt quite lime-tasting. Interesting, though the taste stayed in my mouth for quite some time. Cranberry with Acai – I don’t remember tasting the cranberry element at all, again a bit of an aftertaste. Orange with Acai – this reminded me of Fanta, but subtler – not bad. Strawberry with Lime – a nice taste, subtle again and not too overpowering, though a bit of aftertaste. The Lucozade Revive I tried with an aftertaste was a little bit lime-y.

In summary, I would say if you’re given the option to try Lucozade Revive and like Diet Coke or other fizzy drinks with sweeteners then try it out. Be aware the caffeine content isn’t mentioned anywhere – though I have since been told it’s 10.5mg per 100ml and 40mg per 380ml for the Orange and Acai flavour – according to the Coca Cola caffeine counter a cup of filter coffee would have 140mg of caffeine so that is much lower. A can of Diet Coke is 42mg for a 330ml can.

I was sent seven bottles to try – all opinions are my own and honest.

20/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Up and Down the Stage Play – a new Theatre Experience

The Ga Ga Theatre Company are a new company who have adapted one of Oliver Jeffers books into a show for children. Yesterday we headed to Clapham Picturehouse to see Up and Down the Stage Play – and had a lovely time!

‘Up and Down’ is one of H’s favourite books and the sequel to ‘Lost and Found’. It’s fun to read and a fine story about the value of friendship – the penguin wants to fly, finds a way, loses the boy, realises penguins aren’t meant to fly and realises that he’s happiest with the boy anyway.

So how do you make this into a great stage show?

Keep it simple – lots of plain dialogue – “up”, “down” and occasional questions – a parachute over the audience that the adult help move as the boy and the penguin play while staying faithful to the book. Both actors were excellent, great facial expressions and straight away you knew it was the boy and the penguin, I didn’t feel like it took time to get used to it.

There are just the two actors and a simple musical score. Questions such as “Have you seen the penguin?” encourage the children to join in and point or shout which way they saw it go. There’s lots of waving and including the children in the show which had H overcoming any shyness she might have initially had. I liked the attention to detail – things in the book which are seen in passing feature, and of course there’s a game of backgammon in there!

‘Up and Down’ has a really simple set – boxes which have various props or convert into the boy’s plane, and in the background the artwork from the book projected onto the screen.

‘Up and Down’ the stage play lasted about 40 minutes without an interval, and mixing live theatre with projections and original music worked really well. It’s suitable for babies and children up to the age of seven. Under 2’s go free.

‘Up and Down’ is showing right now at the various Picturehouse venues around London until early November. The Ga Ga Theatre Company are planning to do more shows like this, so keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages – they have a Pinterest board too which I hope are ideas for future shows!

We were given tickets to review the show, all opinions are our own. Apologies for the quality of the photos, I didn’t want to take many so we could sit back and enjoy it!

18/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever!

It’s back and as big as ever! says the back of Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever – and it’s not wrong.

Imagine your biggest book. Now double it. Double it again. You may now be close in size to Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever. It is HUGE.

We’ve mentioned before about our love of Richard Scarry’s books – memories from my childhood have flooded back on opening them – pictures showing the lives of the creatures who live in Busytown. There are so many activities you can do on each page – spot things, spell things, learn to read some words, play i-spy – the list is endless. We can happily cuddle up and read through several pages of the book while getting some serious learnng in there too. The fonts in the book are good, and the pictures a delight. You can let your imagination do a lot of the work, the scenes from lots of everyday events, from airports to shops, homes, to buildings with everything labelled in that Richard Scarry way.

Oh, and Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever is the biggest book I’ve ever seen. Don’t let me understate this fact. The product dimensions (according to Amazon) are 60 x 39.8 x 1.2 cm

At £24.99 it doesn’t come cheap, but as a classic I’d get it – with Christmas coming it’s the kind of thing I’d think of as a special present – and actually you can get it on Amazon at the moment for £16.49 which I think is a pretty good price. There are only fourteen pages, so if your child is a confident reader they’ll get some use of it, but it may be more suitable for a younger child. Personally I think we’ve so much to get through with H it’s going to last us a long time, and I’m sure I was seven or eight when I stopped looking at my Richard Scarry books as much, so potentially H will be the same.

Anyway, for me, a book I can hide behind and sit with H talking about the contents is a winner.

We were sent a copy of Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever! for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own – H brings out the book to show all her friends when they come to play, which I think shows how much she loves it!

16/10/201326/03/2018 by jo

Topsy and Tim Are Coming to Cbeebies!

When I was a little girl I was a huge Topsy & Tim fan, massive. I remember my 1970’s books – and I was pretty delighted to find one a few years ago at a car boot sale. Fast forward over thirty years, the books are still in print and now H is also a huge fan, so imagine my surprise when I spotted there has been a tv series made! Topsy and Tim are coming to Cbeebies!

Series 1 of Topsy and Tim will start on Monday 11th November at 5.30pm on CBeebies and is on every weekday afternoon!

~~Right now I can’t find any start dates other than November~~, but right now I know one little girl who will be beyond excited when I tell her what I’ve found out. There is one other thing you need to know – June Whitfield will have a role!! This may make me a little more excited than I should be, but really, June Whitfield! Topsy and Tim are coming to Cbeebies!!

Considering the books were first published in 1959, and the editions I’ve since bought, there hasn’t been a huge amount of updating to the books really – a few bits here and there but nothing too drastic. The books are over fifty years old – and in fact are still going strong. ‘Topsy and Tim Meet Father Christmas’ was published this week and it’s on the list to buy before Christmas.

What more is there to be said about this? We’re beyond excited this is happening, with real people rather than cartoon-y, and hopefully on tv at a good time after school as well! Topsy and Tim have covered so many scenarios that we’ve faced with H they’ve become a good way to help explain things (though as Alex pointed out earlier, there isn’t a book about death).

On the BBC website they say “While the stories of Topsy And Tim are told and shot from the perspective of the five year old characters as they capture everyday childhood experiences. I hope audiences will enjoy and identify with both dramas.” (there’s also a piece on Katie Morag)

So yes, SOON! Did I mention Topsy and Tim are coming to Cbeebies?

BBC Article here

Oh, and don’t get me started on The Clangers too – how excellent is all this?

11/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

How To Lose A Lemur by Frann Preston-Gannon

How To Lose a Lemur is a new book by Frann Preston-Gannon, published by Pavilion Books. ‘Everyone knows that once a lemur takes a fancy to you there is not much that can be done about it’. So Very True.

How To Lose A Lemur is a fun book – the story of a boy who is followed by lemurs, who desperately tries to escape them; but they’re everywhere. He hides up a tree, disguises himself, rows off in a boat, takes the train, climbs a mountain and takes to the air in a hot air balloon (as well as a few more things), but STILL those pesky lemurs won’t leave him alone. Then he gets lost. Fortunately the lemurs are there who help guide him back home via all the places he’d been to escape them.

We’ve already read the book several times. The language is nice and simple and she’s able to work out words in it; the font is clear too. The illustrations are lovely – a mixture of hand and computer painted artwork. Add to that a story with a message about the value of friendship aimed at 2-5 year olds and really this is the kind of book most children will enjoy.

It’s quirky like an Oliver Jeffers book, with elements of ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’ at the end retracing their steps – with a happy positive message at the end.

How to Lose A Lemur is out today, 10th October 2013 and available in all good bookstores (I saw it well stocked in Waterstones earlier today).

We’ll be checking out more of Frann Preston-Gannon’s work now as I feel like these books could be our cup of tea – her previous two books are The Journey Home and Dinosaur Farm. Add to that there’s more Lemur books to come – ‘How To Love Your Lemur’ and ‘When Lemurs Come To Christmas’ – we can’t wait!

We were provided with a copy of the book for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. The link above is an affiliate link.

08/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Room on the Broom App

Julia Donaldson has written some brilliant books, most of them our favourites. Today saw the release of the Room on the Broom app at the App Store, a fabulous choice of games which bring the characters from the book to life.

The Room on the Broom app keeps the spirit of the book, and with H learning phonics and how to spell at school now, this is a fun way to help expand her learning.

There are a few games on this app though I wish there was an option for the words to be read out – fortunately H worked most of them out anyway, but if she’d had some guidance from the game (yes, I understand I’m the one who is meant to guide her) I think that would be a great addition.

Within each game you can play with the Witch, Cat, Dog, Bird, Frog and Dragon.
Join the stars – A join the dots on a broom, you fly through the air and connect all the sparkly stars then once they’re joined work out which image it looks like.
Find the hat – The Witch has lost her hat! Is it behind the tree? Help Dog find the hat in the very familiar looking woods.

Windy day collecting game – It’s a windy day and Cat needs help collecting a few things – the wind makes it go faster and faster as the game progresses while you collect golden leaves at the same time. Collect a certain amount to increase your overall medal! (this game was great for children who can’t read – a very good visual one)
Find the bow – The Witch has lost her bow! This game is identical to the ‘find the hat’ game – if you liked that you’ll love this!
Find the wand – The Witch has lost her wand! Same as the previous two games, plenty of fun and challenges to find it in less than a certain number.

Drawing with stars – You have a set number of stars in the cauldron to make a picture. Tap the witch when you’re done and she’ll fly your pattern – like your own home-made dot to dot!
Dragon loves chips – The Dragon wants Witch and Chips for tea and you need to help him. Choose the wrong food and he’ll let you know – he’ll have to make do with dragon chips, but that’s okay.
Fly the magnificent broom – You’re on the broom, assembling the letters of the chosen word – direct the broom up or down to get the correct letters and get the empty letter space to touch the letter to add it. Once one word is complete you get to start a new one.

The Room on the Broom app requires iOS6 and upwards.

The game is lots of fun, there’s plenty to do and it’s keeping H’s attention which is key for me – and she’s learning (especially on the last game). The illustrations are true to the book which makes it even better!

The Room on the Broom App is recommended for ages 3-7 and is available now at the App Store.

The official Room on the Broom App page is here

We were provided with a code to review this app, all opinions are our own.

07/10/201326/03/2018 by jo

Back To School?

H has now completed two full weeks at school. We are no longer in back to school mode, so I thought it might be handy to make a note of things we’ve found out since she started.

• some children may find it harder than others to settle and it’s horrible for the parent. You don’t know how your child gets on once they’re through the doors, but a traumatic drop off can make a horrible day for you. If your child is friends with another, why not try to arrange to meet up with them at drop off time so they’re walking in together? It may be they’re getting to the playground and feel quite intimidated by it.
• you will be bombarded with letters. At BritMums I got a Personal Planner and ordered it to start from September so I can log everything school-wise in it to keep organised. It’s a different kind of calendar to our everyday one, as I can make notes about school dinners so I know how many weeks we’ve paid for, and make sure all important days are properly logged. I’m finding the Personal Planner a big help. I’ll write more about it soon and will have a giveaway so you can win one as well.
• If your school is anything like ours, your child’s PE kit will stay in school until half term. Oh the horror! I asked H if she folded her kit when she puts it away to be told “I just push it in the bag, that’s okay isn’t it?” – I’m making a mental note to teach her how to fold things a bit better! *dreads half term*
• Your child will probably tell you absolutely nothing about school. This is normal. We are only finding out about what she’s done via other parents (and vice versa). H is finally starting to tell me some things which is nice. Bear in mind they’re using a lot of brain power at the moment with learning – they’ll find it tiring, and probably won’t want to talk about their day (much as we do when we’ve had a hard day at work). It’ll happen.
• The only thing which gets H out of her uniform at the end of the day is to tell her she can watch Lazytown if she gets changed. This may be bad parenting but it works. I get to do some work while she watches too, so it’s win-win. Except Cartoonito have changed their schedules. Damn you.
• I now know why people give their uniforms a wash before wearing. H’s cardigans and sweatshirts are red – and we have the red fluff balls on all our clothes.
• Buttons. Bravo you lucky parents whose uniform is adorned with zips, take pity on us buttoned ones! Never before has a buttonhole felt so difficult to someone so small – and there’s the peer pressure of PE and doing it without asking for help. I’m considering sewing some buttonholes and buttons on fabric for her to sit playing with. I realise this may be the dullest toy ever though.

• Books. You will be bombarded with books, lots of phonics. Lots of stories. If you’re really lucky your books won’t have words in them so you’re describing the pictures. They exhausted me! Fortunately we’re on words now, but as a parent I can see we didn’t talk about pictures in books as much as we could have. Reading words and not looking at what else is going on in the book is easy to do when you’re busy. Take five or ten minutes to stop and read and talk about the book – even if it’s only six pages. We’d read five or six books and get through them in that time – we’ve slowed right down. Everything is slowing right down.
• There will be songs your child sings that you don’t know. YouTube is usually your friend.
• You can never have too much uniform. Already one pair of tights has a hole.
• If your child is starting reception, you’ll be like most of us and grumble about the long settling in and short hours. Actually having come out of it, it made sense why they do it – everyone does it (it’s not like some kids stay longer and others are sent home – everyone goes home at the same time). Now the first full week is over she’s less tired than she was (but still tired). After school clubs won’t be offered for the first term as they like children to settle in first – I’m hoping for a couple after Christmas when I’m sure she’ll be ready.

• Bumps in the playground. Yesterday H came home with a big graze on her knee after a boy pushed her over. We have some wipes and plasters ready in a first aid kit so patched it up and it’s healing now. In fact you may need all sorts – check you’ve got the basics in anyway, as in, antiseptic wipes, plasters and bandages – it’s better to be safe than sorry. Fortunately we have a super new First Aid Kit so we’ll be fine!
• Don’t forget vitamins. For ALL the family!

Boots have put together a Back to School chart with loads of handy hints from other bloggers – you may want to have a read and get prepared now, especially if your child is set to start next September. Nursery has taught us some of these things, but it doesn’t hurt to have another read and there are many things I’d never thought about before now.

We were sent a first aid kit from Boots for this post, but all content is mine.

02/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Party Bags

The party season never goes away, fun times. As a parent I had no idea about party bags when we did H’s 1st birthday party – everyone got a piece of cake (I think – I hope!) and a balloon (ditto) and that was it – luckily it was her first so it wasn’t like they’d expect much anyway, but as other first birthday party invites came we entered the murky world of party bags.

I’m no expert, so thought I’d add my top tips that I’ve picked up so far. I managed to get H’s party bag contents from ebay this year and I think I did pretty well – though could do better.

• Crayons. Everyone gives crayons, and you may find you end up with a tub full of the things. Never fear, as you can always melt them down and make jumbo crayons. See also : pencils. I try to avoid both as I know lots of people do them.
• Bubbles. You can’t go wrong with bubbles, although if you get a lot of parties that can also be a lot of bubbles – we currently have ten tubs in the cupboard from various bags. Keep to smaller tubs and they’ll run out faster! We need some activities for old bubble tubs… We got Magic Bubbles once – they never pop (or are difficult to, anyway) – one bubble lived for over three months in a cobweb in our house (oh the shame)
• Jigsaw puzzles. Almost every one we’ve had has been flimsy and difficult to put together and has been thrown away. If possible try to see the quality of them before you buy. There’s a reason they’re cheap…
• Noisy things. A winner! There’s a lot of choice and we found getting H to practice blowing into a party streamer or duck quacker helped her learn to whistle quicker. We’re still working on the whistling, but it’s definitely a skill they’ll pick up.
• Bouncy balls. You can never have too many of these, mainly as they’ll bounce over the fence so there’s a good losing potential here. This is an added bonus for parents who would like some of the party toys to ‘disappear’…
• Balloons. We had four balloons from parties in our front room. Sadly they met their end (two possibly via a pair of scissors, me bad), which were replaced by more balloons. They grow like weeds, and we’ve had some interesting party bag ones – the rocket balloon is currently a favourite and lasts for ages too. The rocket balloons are at the pricier end for party bags, but do seem popular – with the parents AND kids!
• Mini games. We love mini games! H got a mini connect 4 which she’s had a good play with, and one of those puzzles where you move the tiles around to make a picture which she’s had a lot of enjoyment from.
• PlayDough. Home made is good, as is shop bought. Home made is easier but shop bought takes less time. There are loads of deals for the stuff out there – I saw a buy one get one free for three tubs locally (but if you’ve got 24 kids at the party then it could work out pricey).
• Puzzle/colouring in books. These are always a winner, and I also found some magic paint ones (where you use a brush and water and the colours appear) – they usually work out about 25p each too.
• Random things. Olympics fever last year meant H had several medals in her party bags which are still played with. If the party is near a big event, why not think of something that links in with that?

Ultimately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. This year with H’s monster theme I’ve managed to spend well under a pound per bag and still put around six things in there – I’m quite pleased with myself, and only one of them is of an unpredictable quality…

01/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Know Your Egg Codes

A funny thing happened the other night. I was cooking tea and got some eggs we had left over that we’d bought from a local farm shop, and saw this :

I had no idea eggs were graded, it isn’t the kind of thing I’d notice or talk about, so out of curiosity as I’m a geek for a barcode (I can bore people senseless talking about how a barcode is generated), so I checked my egg codes. To be greeted with this :

Whoa. Let me repeat that. I bought some eggs from a farm shop who say on their website the eggs are freshly laid by their hens, yet they’re classed as caged? I wasn’t sure if the inside of the box could be relied upon and whether it was one being reused (I’ll check when I next go there) but I’m confused. The hens you see on the farm surely can’t generate that many eggs, are they all on show for us customers who aren’t thinking about what we’re buying? Surely not?

This needs further investigation. I contacted them via Facebook but so far no reply.

Do you know how to check your eggs? It’s a universal code, and you can trace how far your eggs have travelled with this link here. The ones I bought were laid in Horsham which isn’t that close to the farm shop I bought them from, so I suspect they’re buying the eggs in. I won’t be buying eggs from them any more, especially with their site claiming they’re freshly laid on the farm. Hmm.

After further reading, caged hens are no longer allowed in this country, but that doesn’t explain why these eggs are graded as a 3. The mystery deepens… does anyone have an eggsplanation?

This all unravelled one night on Facebook, and I’m glad I know about egg codes now and how to identify them – hopefully you will now too!

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