Bullseye Rock N Roll Ride On Horse

I bought this for Christmas for my 6 month old daughter, when I came across it on offer for £30 in Smyths I couldn't resist even though it is for 12-36 months. 

I didn't really think she would enjoy it much but she LOVES it! She holds on to he handlebars and loves being pushed around. 

Pressing either one of his ears results in a neigh and a tune played, there are about three different tunes. It can turn from a wheeled ride on toy to a rocking horse so is quite versatile. At the moment Macy is only interested in being on wheels and the faster the better!! The only one downside was putting it together as the instructions weren't overly clear.

Merry Christmas!

I have been a bit lax with my blogging in the run up to Christmas, it's been a busy few weeks! We've been to Munich to see the markets having taken a trip out to Fussen to see the castle & Nuremberg to see their market - I will back track and do some reviews.

We had a photo shoot with Water Babies, when you book they fail to mention how much the photos cost which is horrendous in my opinion. We bought them though as it's something we won't do again and aren't having another.

Macy is sitting up unaided, has two teeth, is doing well with her weaning and am sure is going to skip crawling and walk lol!

So Merry Christmas everyone!

Make It Your Race Casting

Make It Your Race is currently being aired on DMax in Italy, videos are being added to the teamabarth YouTube Channel and recently the videos from each country's casting has been added. So here is the casting from the UK.

Happy Halloween

Happy halloween, Macy & I have enjoyed baby yoga!

Bio flow Magnetic Dog Collar

My old shepherd cross collie (Dizzy) has worn one of these for years and I remember a time not long ago when mum said she seemed to be a lot worse on her back legs. I then remembered I had taken her collar off to wash her, always wondered whether it was still making a difference and it obviously was.

Recently Cas (my rescue collie) had started to get really stiff on her back legs and on a couple of occasions they collapsed from under her, she is almost 14 now. So I ordered her a bioflow collar, she has been wearing it for 2 weeks and the last week she hasn't lost her legs and seems to be a lot less stiff. They are an amazing product and would recommend to anyone :)

Nipper Clipper & Timmy Tickle

We were asked by Mumsnet to review the above nail clipper developed by inventor Tom Pellereau.

The idea is that you download the Timmy Tickle app to distract your baby whilst cutting their nails with the Stylfile Nipper Clipper.

I found the actual nail clipper a bit big and bulky, I have a baby nail clipper which is a lot easier to use. The Nipper Clipper has a spy hole which is designed to make it safer. However I couldn't actually see anything through the spy hole, as the clippers are so bulky & I regularly clip my babies nails so they aren't stupidly long, they got lost under the bulk of the nail clipper. I also thought looking at the design they wouldn't be able to catch her skin but I still did - someone needs to invent clippers where you aren't able to catch their skin.

The app is a great distraction, I downloaded it on my iPhone and iPad and found the iPad better as it is bigger and I can stand it up in it's case.  There are different settings where you can have it on auto or you can have it so it responds to gurgles or even so that it responds to words. 

The app is an octopus who changes into a pirate, vampire, strawberry and more. There are gurgles and music to accompany it. My 14 week old found it interesting enough for me to be able to do one hand at a time, normally I wait till she is asleep! I do worry however about the amount of time she spends in front of the tv or iPad, so she doesn't normally watch the iPad ever. There is a warning under how to use about not letting them watch it for more than 20 minutes, I do think this warning should be more obvious and be shown at the start of the app.

All in all I probably won't use the nail clippers until she is a big bigger, however I will probably use the app as it's only going to be once a week she watches it and it isn't for long. The app is free.

I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network Research Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.

Dairy Milk Pebbles

We were asked via Mumsnet to test these out and to decorate a cake with them.

Well I made a millionaires shortcake tart and had planned to decorate with a pumpkin face, however I ran out of yellow pebbles to fill in the gaps and this was the result lol!

I wasn't overly impressed with them as they were only yellow, purple and brown. As I generally make chocolate things the brown ones aren't really of any use as they don't show up!

In terms of how they tasted, well they are the same concept as Minstrels but Minstrels are much nicer! Quite a few were chipped as well so didn't look great.

Overall if I wanted something like this to eat I would much rather have Minstrels and if I wanted something for cake decorating I would buy Smarties. Not something I will be buying.

Hovercrafting at Hoverdays

I bought an hours experience a while ago and finally got round to booking it. I have always wanted to have a go on a hovercraft as I thought they looked great fun!

We were at Hoverdays in Shropshire and had booked the hour's experience which normally costs £79 per person if there are 1-3 people, but if you have a group of 4 or more it goes down to £40 pp.  We had 4 laps each which doesnt sound like much but actually it was plenty.

I hadn't realised that you actual knelt on them - I assumed you just sat down and turned the handlebar to steer.  That isn't the case, it's all about your bodyweight and you really have to lean into the corners to turn them, as I am not that heavy, I really had to throw my body about!!

We had 2 laps and swapped over and then had our other 2 laps, this was plenty as unless you were pretty fit it killed your legs!!  They were great fun, not easy to steer - I ended up in the long grass on quite a few occassions!!  However if you couldn't control it, you would just run into the long grass which brought the craft to a halt, you then just jumped out and could easily bring the craft back onto the course. 

I would recommend it to anyone (as long as you don't have weak knees), it's great fun and I should imagine once you have the hang of it they are even better fun!  Here's a short clip of Mark, we took Macy with us so didn't get anymore as she had a bit of a whinge at this point!!

Macy's First Holiday

To Spain, we were all full of cold - typical!!

She didn't cope too badly on the plane, struggled with the landing as must have hurt her ears - she had had her bottle when we took off.

The pool was too cold for her to swim in which was a shame but towards the end we realised we could drop the temperature of the hot tub and use that as there weren't any chemicals in it. She really started to kick her legs and enjoy it - she's a bit of a show off and likes an audience!

Her favorite part of the holiday was a trip to the fair as she loved all the pretty lights in the dark, daddy tried to win her a toy but didn't succeed.

Here's her 3 month birthday picture!

Abarth Make It You Race Final

What an amazing opportunity however I think it was just a bit too much too soon.

Macy and Mark were not able to come with me to Italy which is fair enough. We thought we would be able to fly them out and they could stop close by so that I could see them each evening, fair enough they weren't allowed at the track. I had said yes to taking part in the finals believing we could work it like this.

However our location was kept a secret until we arrived in Italy so it wasn't possible to fly them out as we didn't know where we were stopping. It wasn't until we reached the hotel which was quite a distance from the airport an was fully booked that I realised it would be virtually impossible to fly out to me as I couldn't see there were any other hotels nearby.

None of the English team had arrived and I found out I was sharing a room so I couldn't even have a proper conversation with my family on skype. I admit I completely broke down, after all Macy was only 2 months old and I hadn't left her for a full day let alone anything else. I had nobody to talk to at dinner as everyone was with their own teams speaking in their native tongue. I felt so alone and the thought of being away from my family any longer was breaking my heart.

You will see what happens when the programme is aired in November on DMax. 

Came away with some super comfy racing boots, I want to wear them 24/6, love them!!

Oh and I never even thought I would be driving a left hand drive car! Took me ages to get used to it, all I could think of was where was the gearstick and nothing else!!

Italy Here I Come - Abarth Make It Your Race Finals

Well yesterday I found out we have been selected as one of four to go through to the Make it your Race Finals in Italy next week!!

We had got through to the final ten on Sunday evening which was a Go Karting 40 minute race. I didn't do very well in that, I haven't got much experience Karting so I was a bit disappointed in my performance. Doesn't matter now though as were through to Italy - hooray, its a dream come true!!

The finalists can be found here.

The first episode from last year to give you a taster is here.

Make It Your Race Day 2

I was hoping yesterday would be all about driving so I could show I can drive, it was, hooray!

We started off with the ball on the bonnet again, only the course was a lot longer so you were able to get more speed up, I found it a lot easier as the course was more spread out and you could see where you were going a bit better. I didn't feel I did too badly, probably about an average sort of time round the course.

Next activity was racing the single seated round the oval track, one word - AWESOME!!  That was until I broke the car and had to be towed back in lol! I lost power and the oil light came on - obviously I overworked her! Reaching speeds of around 130mph in what is just a bigger, more powerful go kart effectively was amazing! Again I didn't feel I did too badly but didn't think I maintained my distance from the pace car overly well.

After lunch we were interviewed in front of the camera as the MIYR Competition is all being televised in a reality style show, so you have to look good in front of the camera. I am quite confident in front of the camera, it's only plastic & glass - what makes that so scary??

Skid pan was next which was great fun and a really useful activity to take part in as you never know when you may have a skid - on the road or on the racetrack. Again I did okay, not brilliantly and not awfully.

Finally we had a bit more track driving in the Abarth which was great, I had a different instructor from yesterday and have therefore learnt a lot about track driving with two different perspectives. Am looking forward to applying what I have learnt next time I am on the track.

We are all waiting to hear who will be the final 4 to go through to the final in Italy. I think I was pretty average with my driving so we shall see, would be amazing to go, but if I don't then I have learnt a lot and had a fantastic weekend!!

Abarth Make It Your Race Semi-Final

I was invited as one of 50 Semi-Finalists to attend the Semi-Final for Make It Your Race (I posted my entry on a previous blog post). This involves two days of activities at Rockingham Motor Speedway, only you have to qualify as one of the top 24 to go through to the second day.

Well today was day one. Mark came with me and brought Macy so we booked a hotel for last night and tonight knowing it would have been too early a start this morning to get Macy ready and at the track in time. With a late finish today I didn't fancy the idea of a long drive home and thought we could spend tomorrow looking round Rockingham Castle.

The day started with a reaction test, seeing how many lit buttons you could press in 3 minutes. Sounds easier than it is when you short as the lights are quite high and far apart!

Next activity was taking an Abarth out onto the track - yes great fun, brilliant to have some instruction as well, I really learnt a lot.  A nice buffet lunch followed.

The afternoon started with a computer simulator, never been any good at these as am not a great computer game fan! I didn't put in a great time but it wasn't the worst in my group.

Wheel change was next, I have only changed a wheel with help from mark, never on my own so this I was most worried about. I struggled at first as the wheels are heavy!! And the airgun sent vibrations right through my carpal tunnel (suffering this evening now!) However I did okay I thought.

Finally we took a car round a slalom balancing a ball on the bonnet and had to make sure it didn't fall off. I took it steady to make sure I didn't lose that ball!!

The results came in and to my surprise I have got through to tomorrow! I didn't feel I did too badly but didn't think I would be in the top 24 so am really thrilled!

Our cheeky monster!

Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner - Bathroom & Toilet

I reviewed this product for Mumsnet:

- How easy or difficult did you find the Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner to use?

I found it really easy to use, you just unscrew the top a little and it opens up the dispenser. You then use a sponge, paper towel or whatever you want and place it on top, pushing down to dispense a shot of cleaning solution. I did find that when I didn’t cover it up fully it squirted across the room, but soon learnt from my mistake!

- How effective did you find Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner?

Very effective.  I used it on ceramic sink and toilet - it cleaned up grime and limescale really well. I used it on the mirror and glass shelves where it left them streak free without having to polish off.  I tried it on some dirty grout however it wasn’t effective on that.

- Did you find that you used Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner more regularly than your other cleaning products or not? If so, how often did you use Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner?

Yes as I can use it on the mirror and glass as well, meaning I don’t have to have two products out. Also it doesn’t have a strong smell to it so it doesn’t leave my hands smelling like bathroom cleaner! I feel like I am not wasting anything as it dispenses just the right amount of solution.

- The RRP for the Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner is £2.99, do you think you'll be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not why not?

Yes I would like to try the kitchen cleaner as I tend to have more areas where I would need a touch up cleaner – more spillages etc in the kitchen. I would like to see the product refillable as it seems a shame to have to throw away the dispenser.

- Mr Muscle Touch-Up cleaner is currently available for the kitchen and bathroom. Would you like Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner for other areas of your house? If so, which areas?

A carpet cleaner version would be great.

- What did you like most about Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner?

The design looks good, no strong smell & you don’t feel like you are wasting any solution.

- If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Mr Muscle Touch-Up Cleaner to your friends/family? If so why? If not, why not?

Yes

 



Codsall Cupcakes

I want to say that if you are looking for a novelty cake I would highly recommend Codsall Cupcakes.

They are very accommodating - I asked whether they could make the cake an amaretto cake and make 'Alice' out of marzipan - despite this being a difficult product to work with, it was no problem at all.

We all loved the cake :)

One Month Old!

Happy one month birthday gorgeous girlie!

Mamas & Papas Starlight Swing Review

We picked this swing up last night, two things sold it to me. One being that it is cream - I am not keen on all these bright colours for big things like swings, I just think they look a bit gaudy. The other being I like the pretty LEDs.

So the swing has different speed settings depending on the weight of your baby, they reckon it will last till they are about 6 months or earlier if the baby is able to turn and get out etc. It's a good feature as you can start it off nice and slow for them to get used to it.

There is an option to play them lullabies and there are four different lullabies you can play and are also able to turn the sound up and down. Another feature I love is that you can plug your mp3 player into it so you don't have to have one of the built in lullabies, great stuff! Macy has been listening to Pink's Glitter in the Air :)

The swing can be put on a timer for 6, 10 or 15 minutes and the back rest has different height settings so they can be sitting bolt upright or a bit more reclined.

My favourite feature is the canopy with the built in LEDs. Macy loves to watch the lights, you can set them on random chase or they light up in rows of lights. You can vary the speed of the lights so they can be flashing really quickly or have them on a slower setting.

We love this swing! However the only thing I would say is it could do with a newborn head support, it does have a good harness which can be adjusted but I just felt we needed to support her head a bit better. I used a head support from her bouncer in it. 

Acid Reflux

Poor little Macy is 4 weeks old tomorrow and we have just come back from the doctors who diagnosed reflux. We have some infant gaviscon to try, 1/2 a sachet in each of her bottles. 

Poor thing has really been suffering, it's getting to the stage where she doesn't want much milk as it is hurting her so much :( She is so uncomfy after a feed.

We are trying everything to help her - feeding her upright, propping her head up when in bed, we're going to get a swing which has been recommended.  We tried cutting out lactose which only made her worse! Can't yet feed her the thicker milk as it wont come out of the slow flow teat and she finds medium/vari flow too fast! She is also having a cranial osteopathy session tomorrow.

Any other tips would be gratefully received!

Water Babies Swimming

I was keen to get Macy confident in water as soon as possible. I grew up a fairly confident swimmer having started swimming lessons when I was about 7 but have never been keen on swimming under water. I always felt sorry for mum who couldn't join me as never learnt to swim (has now had lessons as an adult). I think the later you start the less confident you are. I also want her to be confident if she were to ever fall in etc.

So I discovered Water Babies where babies can learn to swim from birth. We had our first lesson Monday at 3 weeks old and second lesson today. We're on the beginner summer school which is a more condensed course of 8 lessons (opposed to 10) twice a week.

Macy wasn't keen on her first lesson and started off crying most of the time but towards the end she actually had fallen asleep! Today she was used to it and we didn't have any crying, she really enjoyed it! So far we have swum them under water a little and been taught how to hold our babies in the water and put them into a swimming position to teach them to swim.

I would recommend the course as it is great fun and is going to really teach them important skills.

As Macy is so young she has I wear a wet suit but normally it would just be a disposable swim nappy with a happy nappy over the top. The course is quite expensive but I think it really is important.

Buyagift's Next Pet Model

I have just entered Buyagift's Next Pet Model, it's a great cause as they are donating £1,500 to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.  A great cause, Cas and I performed a freestyle display at their annual event several years ago and had a really good day out. 

 

 

Between the 29th July - 30th August, Buyagift.com are on the hunt for furry fashionistas. Your pet could be the next Cindy Clawford or an up and coming Miranda Purr, or perhaps you've got the next Bunny Hicks at home - all you need to do is send in their photo to find out - the competition is open to ALL pets!

The funnier, the more original and more inventive the snaps - the more likely they are to make the grand-final and eventually become: Buyagift's Next Pet Model.

What's in it for you?

A professional pet photoshoot in London (or a photographer sent to you).

A pet pamper day at a top London spa.

A selection of pet accessories.

So head along to Buyagift's Next Pet Model NOW! :)

Purina's Pro Plan Duo Delice Review

We were asked to review the new Purina Pro Plan Duo Delice dog food. We were sent a 2.5kg bag of the Chicken & Rice, first off I loved the bag - it made life very easy as I didn't have to find any scissors to open it, there was a tear off corner. As well as this there is a plastic reseal strip to keep the food fresh which saves having to store it in an airtight container.

The food is "a unique combination of crunchy kibbles and tender shredded pieces" - I wouldn't say it was overly unique as we usually feed Supadog Beef Casserole which used to have beef pieces in it which were crunchy but turned chewy when hot water was added, HOWEVER this food no longer has the beef pieces in it which my dogs loved. So it is perhaps unique now?

The protein content is quite high at 25%, I have a 13 year old, 10 year old and a 7 year old who can’t take much exercise due to a condition he has.  So it wouldn’t be a food I would choose to feed as my dogs aren’t overly active so they need to be on around 20-22% protein at the most.  They offer a salmon and a beef variety which is the same level of protein, which is a shame as it would have been an idea to vary the protein levels per flavour.

 

The food was nice and smelly and included plenty of shredded pieces of meat – so often dog food companies will skimp on the best bits!  My older collie has to have water in her food and this food still maintained it’s crunch and the meat remained tender.  The kibble was big enough for the german shepherd to still crunch and not swallow whole, yet I think a small dog could also eat as the pieces aren’t huge so it would be suitable for all sizes of dogs. 

All of our three dogs enjoyed the food and the chewy meaty bits did slow them down which is a good thing as the german shepherd suffered a torsion over winter so anything that slows her down is a good thing! 

Here is a video review:

Overall I would recommend the food, I wouldn't personally feed due to the protein level of the food however that is just my personal preference.  Otherwise the dogs loved it and I thought it was a good food.

It's a Bibble Review

I came across these bibs I think via a recommendation on a foum somewhere.  I wanted something that looked good and soaked up milk dribble for my newborn and these seemed to meet that criteria.

I ordered 10 for £20 as I just couldn't make up my mind on designs - they were all so pretty!  They arrived just a couple of days later - fantastic service.  My daughter had arrived hours before the bibs arrived so the timing was spot on.

They are fabulous bibs and I use them every time I feed, the material sort of ruckles up under her chin so it catches any dribbles and she doesn't spill milk under her chin.  No matter how soaked the top layer gets, the bottom fleece doesn't get wet and ruin her clothes.  They look pretty cool, I love the bandana style and they come in sooooo many colours there will be something to suit everyone - you won't be able to decide which to have!!  Finally they don't swamp a newborn and have two adjustable poppers for growth.

Visit them at their website or on facebook.

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine Review

We decided to buy the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine as we were given lots of conflicting opinions on how to make bottles up so we thought if we do every bottle fresh we can’t go wrong!  So we put our hands in our pockets and forked out a best part of £100 to buy this gadget!!

I have to say we wouldn’t be without it and friends who have had babies have said they wished this had been about when they had a newborn.  I was a little annoyed when it arrived as it is not able to make 3oz feeds which is what they recommend for a newborn, we had to make up 4oz feeds so we ended up wasting a fair bit.  This information isn’t detailed anywhere so I emailed Tommee Tippee to complain and they did say they agree it should be detailed in the product information, the reason the machine can’t make 3oz feeds is to do with the hot shot of water and the water then required to cool it – the measurements for this can’t be made smaller than 4oz.

So basically this machine has a reservoir to hold your water, in which is a filter which will need changing every 3 months (the machine will let you know when it needs changing).  There is a dial where you choose the size of the feed from 4oz upwards.  You take a bottle and add the formula, then place the bottle under the water dispenser, press the button and it dispenses a boiling hot shot of water which is designed to kill any bacteria in the formula.  You then give this a swirl in the bottle to make sure the formula is dissolved and put the bottle back under the dispenser for the machine to deliver the remaining water which makes up the correct feed and ensures the milk is then at room temperature.  All of this takes about 2 minutes, so when you get up in the middle of the night you can make a feed freshly and quickly every time! 

 

Some reviews say it is bulky and takes up a lot of room but personally I felt it was quite compact and doesn't really take up that much room, it is quite slim.

 

I wouldn’t be without it, here are the pros and cons:

Cons

·         The audible signal to confirm water has been dispensed is quite loud – we live in a bungalow and the bedroom is only across the hall from the kitchen so it tends to wake up the person who has stopped in bed!  Some people will put the machine in their bedroom or the nursery (save going to the kitchen) so I think this is something everyone will find a little annoying.

·         The smallest feed you can make up is 4oz – very wasteful when you have a newborn.

·         Struggles in hotter climates – the machine flashes indicating water is too hot and will not let you make a feed up, we just added a couple of ice cubes into the reservoir.

Pros

·         Makes up every feed fresh.
·         Feed is made up in a couple of minutes.
·         Feed is always exactly the right temperature.

Newborn Photography

I wanted to have a go at taking some proper shots of Macy, I am not one for the posed shots really, I prefer them natural with the hat props etc. Macy discovered yesterday she likes to roll over onto her side, it is where she is most comfortable, so this is how we shot. Here are the results, my favourite is the top one :)