Tag: Gifted

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review, reading

Wonderbly Personalised Childrens Books – Review

Posted on by Amy

I often wondered whether Ellie would lose the passion she has for stories as she grows up or whether it will continue to bloom. It seems quite clear to me that as she’s getting older she still loves to listen to stories, she particularly loves ones with unicorns, cheeky characters and most of all books with her name in.

We have recently been given the opportunity to review two books which have been gifted to us by Wonderbly; “I Love Daddy This Much” and “The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name”

For those who don’t know; Wonderbly is a publishing company specialising in personalised children’s books for all ages. These books make your child the star of their own story. You can even personalise the illustration to look similar to your child too!

The process of making your Wonderbly book couldn’t be simpler. The website is well designed and easy to navigate. You can search for books by age, bestsellers or you can browse through them all! There are so many wonderful titles to choose from.
First of all you need to decide on the name, the gender and the features of the main character.

You can then personalise some of the books even further:

Once you’ve chosen the format (paperback, hardback etc), the recipient and the cover colour (available on specific books) you can then dedicate your book. This appears on the inside of the book.

“I Love Daddy This Much” is THE perfect Father’s Day gift for both Dad and baby/child! It’s a beautiful story all about how much Daddy is loved, who wouldn’t love this as a gift? They also do I Love You/Mummy/Grandma/Grandad This Much too!
Ellie has loved reading this with her Dad and giving him lots of cuddles when she does. She has even started repeating some of the phrases to him when she tells him she loves him. For Ellie, she was so excited to see a girl with ginger hair the same as her and her Daddy and then to see her name written across the pages was great too.

“The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name” is another wonderful story using Ellie’s name throughout the book. Ellie has just started recognising her name and is now able to write her first name without any visual support which is amazing as she is now able to recognise her name in stories too. She gets very excited when she sees it written on the page. This story helps the character follow a trail to find the letters of her name and links them to different animals. Each story is completely individual, Ellie’s story won’t be the same as Jason’s story as they would meet completely different animals.

You can find all the Wonderbly titles at their website: http://www.wonderbly.com/uk
You can also follow them for news, shares and the odd competition too!
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Disclosure: I was gifted these two books in exchange for an honest review by Wonderbly. All views, opinions and images are my own.

Posted in Gifted, product review

MooGoo – Review

Posted on by Amy

Ever since Ellie was a newborn she has suffered with dry, eczema prone, sensitive skin and regularly has breakouts. She gets it from her Dad. Her skin becomes very sore and itchy and can feel quite leathery at its worst. We’ve tried lots of creams in the past and although they all seem to work in the short term, eventually her skin becomes immune to it and it makes no difference.

We have very kindly been gifted MooGoo’s Soothing MSM Moisturiser to try out and have been using it for just over a week now and i’ve been really surprised by the results in such a short amount of time! The moisturiser is suitable for babies and adults and we’ve all been fighting over it in our house!

First of all, since Ellie’s early diagnosis of CMPI i’ve always been weary of creams that contain ingredients such as cow’s milk and other dairy products. We are lucky that her CMPI doesn’t affect her too much now and she is able to tolerate more dairy products but I still look for products that are dairy free. Despite the name “MooGoo” their products including their MSM Moisturiser is dairy free which is great for us! Their products are free of Paraffin, Paraben and Phenoxyethanol which can be found in other creams suitable for babies and are completely natural.

Recently Ellie’s eczema and dry skin has flared up, due to the spring/summer weather we’ve been having and although she’s got a steroid cream prescribed I try not to use that very often so I reached for our sample of MSM moisturiser and after a few days it has started to calm down, it’s less itchy and doesn’t stink when we apply it (which other creams can do). It’s really simple to apply; apply to damp skin after a bath and then as often as required. This has now become as much as a routine to her as anything else she loves the independence of rubbing it in herself too which I feel content in the knowledge it is safe for her to do.

When applied it’s left our skin feeling refreshed, moisturised and so soft! I don’t suffer with dry skin or eczema but have been using the cream on my face and it’s so much softer and feels great! It smells amazing too, with ingredients such as sweet almond oils and coconut oils as well as honey and aloe vera you can just imagine how great it smells on your skin!

I will definitely be using MooGoo again and would 100% recommend it to anyone wanting a lightweight moisturiser!

You can of cause find out more about MooGoo and purchase their products at https://moogooskincare.co.uk/

You can also purchase MooGoo for yourself from Holland & Barrett, Wholefoods Market and independent pharmacies.

Disclosure: I was gifted a sample of MooGoo’s Natural Soothing MSM Moisturiser in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own based on our use of the product.

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review

Review – Doddl Cutlery Set

Posted on by Amy

We have recently had the chance to work with Doddl to use and review their cutlery set. Ellie is 3 now and is confident in using a spoon and fork when eating however she’s suddenly decided she doesn’t like the feel of the plastic children’s cutlery we currently use and had started eating with her fingers again!
When the cutlery arrived Ellie got so excited about having her very own knife she couldn’t wait for tea time!

This Doddl cutlery set contains a Fork, Spoon and Knife.

The cutlery sets available from Doddl are suitable from 12 months upwards and are designed to suit children up to 5 years+. I loved that these sets contained a knife as I’ve only ever come across sets with a spoon and fork and Ellie is eager to try and cut her own food up, a skill many children don’t have by the time they reach school age.

The cutlery is designed with large metal ends for the spoon, fork and knife (a big hit with Ellie) and a short BPA Free plastic handle, the handles are designed to be shorter to help toddlers grip and have more control over their cutlery.
The cutlery itself has soft grip circles on the handles, typically where children would hold the cutlery, this develops an effective way to hold it ready to move on to adult cutlery.

Since using the cutlery Ellie is growing in confidence using her special knife, I was concerned to begin with as I worried about her cutting herself but Doddl have worked hard to ensure their products are fully safe to use and are functionally sharp, meaning although they are sharp enough to cut food they will not hurt a child using them. Of cause, being watchful of them when they eat is something we all do its just handy knowing they are safe if you do happen to be multitasking like all parents do.

Ellie can now cut her own fish fingers, chips and carrots up which gives her a huge sense of independence that all toddlers need, she loves feeling like she’s grown up like we are. It’s certainly made our meal times much easier!

Another big plus to the Doddl cutlery is the cleaning! They are so easy to clean, we’ve used Ellie’s for a few weeks now and I’ve not had any issues with food getting stuck in between the prongs in the fork or food getting stuck between the plastic handles. They are dishwasher safe (if you are lucky enough to have one…I’m the dishwasher in our house) but they can be cleaned easily enough by hand too.

The Doddl range also includes a Fork and Spoon set, a baby specific set and you can purchase the knife separately too! The also offer a handy carry case which is perfect as we have taken our cutlery with us whenever we have eaten out, it’s changed the way Ellie eats in cafes and restaurants so much. All of these can be found in various colours, ours is in Raspberry Pink, at www.doddl.com or you can head to Amazon UK to purchase them too. I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Disclosure: I was gifted a set of Doddl cutlery in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own. #gifted #AD

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review

My-Picture.co.uk Review

Posted on by Amy

I’m the sort of parent who seems to have her camera on all the time. I’m always trying to take a picture of Ellie. Part of it is because I know how important photographs are more so since losing Jason and only having a certain amount of pictures of him and never being able to take more but also because I am the sort of person who just takes hundreds of pictures! I remember coming back from a weekend break with Luke and having over 2000 pictures to sort through!

I’m also the sort of person who likes these pictures in the physical form and not just on her phone. So I was very excited when I was offered a collaboration with My-Picture.co.uk who were very generous in giving me £50 to spend as I wished!

It didn’t take me long to know I definitely wanted to order a canvas, after reading some of their customer reviews my mind was made up! My living room has quite a large chimney breast wall so I opted for the 60cm x 40cm print (this also was the best fit to the dimensions of the photo I chose). The ordering process was really straightforward, I simply uploaded the photo I wanted, chose the canvas size and entered my details. I liked the fact I could customise my canvas by choosing the frame thickness and what the edging looked like.

For my canvas I chose the 2cm thicnkness and to have a white edge instead of the photo being stretched. There is also the option to add text to the canvas however I did not do this.

The canvas print now hangs proudly above our sofa and takes pride of place on our wall. It’s lovely to walk in and see them. The photo quality is great, even with pictures taken on my mobile and they are so light they hang on the wall with a single nail. The canvas itself is made from spruce wood making it sturdy enough to support the canvas print.

As well as canvas prints My-Picture.co.uk also offers a range of photo gifts such as personalised cushion, blankets mugs and even towels! I also chose to order one of their personalised photo puzzles to include in Ellie’s Christmas Eve box. I used a picture taken of our family visiting Santa as I knew it would be a special puzzle we can do at Christmas for years to come. The puzzle is made from a sturdy cardboard and is complete with a glossy finish. There are 88 pieces stamped with a photo of your own choice.

I would highly recommend My-Picture.co.uk and I am already planning to use them again for birthday presents for both our parents within the year. If you’d like to check them out yourself I’ll drop their social media links below 🙂

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Disclosure: I was gifted a gift voucher to purchase a product of choice by My-Picture.co.uk in exchange for an honest review. All views, photographs and opinions are my own.

Posted in clothing, Gifted, product review

Cookie Dough Kids

Posted on by Amy

When Ellie needs new clothes I try and shop small as much as I can but it isn’t always easy to do. Shopping small means you are giving someone else a paycheck but with that usually means products are sometimes more expensive BUT they are handmade, take more time than mass-produced clothing and have so much love poured in to them.

I was recently approached by Kirsty from Cookie Dough Kids via my Instagram page who wanted to send Ellie a t-shirt of our choice for an honest review. Of cause with Ellie just turning 3 and her clothes are no longer fitting I jumped at the chance! While browsing the website I found myself struggling to choose a t-shirt…there were so many wonderful designs I could have picked all of them! I decided to go for a personalised tee that shouted out Ellie from the minute I saw it. Not only were there lots of designs to decide on, I then had the task of choosing the colour of the tee and the colour of the text! I’m such an indecisive person that I messaged Kirsty and asked her to send us a surprise, I do love surprises when our happy post arrives and fully trusted Kirsty to make the decision for me. She knows her products and her customers so well that it made sense to me.

Daddy and Ellie #besties

Our t-shirt arrived in great time which considering the prints are all handmade and needed to be personalised I was really surprised!
It was packaged well, wrapped in beautiful tissue paper. The t-shirt itself is great quality, slightly big on Ellie but as she’s only just sized up gives her plenty of room to grow and means she’ll get lots of wear out of it. It’s machine washable, which considering as soon as Ellie got dressed she had her chocolate from the advent calendar and got chocolate on it (ARGH!!) was a life-saver. I’ve washed it and the chocolate has come out and the print hasn’t faded or cracked either!

You can get your own custom design or one of their many designs over on their website www.cookiedoughkids.co.uk or you can check out their instagram where you could DM Kirsty and have a chat with her about what you’re looking for.

Disclosure: I was gifted the t-shirt by Cookie Dough Kids in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.

Posted in days out, motherhood, Mum Blogger, mummy blog, product review

Nuby Trendz

Posted on by Amy

Ever since Ellie was first born I have loved Nuby Products. In the hospital we used the First Infant Milk Starter Kit which used Nuby teats. Since that day Ellie refused any other branded bottle and on her second day at home we had to go to Boots and buy a set of Nuby bottles for her to drink her formula out of. Ever since then our Nuby purchases have grown; from bottles to bath toys to cups and cutlery. Anything we needed, Nuby has provided!

So you can just imagine the happy dance I did when Nuby asked me* (*Okay…Ellie) to review their Trendz range. Trendz has everything a child will need heading to preschool, nursery or school in September and the bold, exciting designs will definitely make them stand out with their friends (and be easy to describe IF they end up misplacing them in the dinner hall.)

The first product I want to talk about is the Trendz #Grande Water Bottle. This bottle is a perfect size, 540ml, for days out and dare I say it… for going Back to School (sorry Teachers and TAs!!) I really loved the pop-open spout which is also no spill, Ellie has loved feeling independent enough to open the bottle and close the spout herself and it is suitable from 18months+. We’ve made good use of her new bottle over the past two weeks and I can honestly say it is super durable, odour resistant and it doesn’t stain! There are literally no marks left from the juice unlike other children’s bottles we’ve used in the past. It also comes with unicorns and rainbows on it any anyone who knows me knows how much I love a rainbow design!

We were also really lucky to be sent Nuby’s Trendz Double Lunch Bag. Ellie loves the design as it is covered with sweet treats and it is the perfect size to take on our Summer Holiday picnics.
The lunch bag is insulated keeping the food/drink inside cool for up to 5 hours!! Again, thinking of those children who will be starting nursery/school in September, thats perfectly long enough to keep their sandwiches fresh until lunch time. I was able to fit 4 bread rolls, 3 bags of crisps and a couple of Ellie’s favourite snacks in the two separate zipped compartments which meant we only needed to take the one lunch bag out on our adventures.

Finally the Trendz Mini BackPack with Reins (in the same super sweet Treat design). Ever since the mini backpack arrived Ellie has wanted to take it EVERYWHERE. Any time we need to go out in the car she has filled it with her favourite toys and put it on her back ready to go. She calls it her adventure bag.
She really is so cute!
This mini backpack is perfect for Ellie’s age as it comes with easy to attach reins which means any toddler can have free roam without the worry of them running off. We haven’t used the reins as Ellie doesn’t leave our side when we are out however I love that they are an option if we needed them!
What I really loved about the mini backpack was the reflective strips on the straps which I hadn’t actually noticed until I’d taken a picture of her with the flash on! Its such a simple thing but makes me feel so much safer knowing that if we ventured out in the dark that I could see her and so could any vehicles that may be driving past us.
Ellie has walked around quite happily with her bag on her back; it is light-weight, soft and has padded straps so she doesn’t really notice it’s there. I tested out the pockets by putting her #Grande Water Bottle which fit perfectly in the side and didn’t stop Ellie from wanting to wear her backpack.

I am definitely not ready for this one to start Nursery yet (she doesn’t actually start until January…phew) but she is and she can’t wait to take her backpack and lunch box with her!

Nuby currently has a “Back To School” promotion running on their website and you can get a Bargain Bundle for as little as £20! These items come in the treats design you can see in our pictures or a super cool robot design. Like this one:

If you don’t want to order from their website (currently offering FREE DELIVERY with a spend of £15 or more) then the Trendz range will be available from Morrisons from September 2019 too.

Disclosure: The Trendz Mini Backpack, Lunch Box and Grande Water Bottle were gifted to us by Nuby UK during a Giveaway which I ran over on my Instagram page. We were under no obligation to write a review. All views and opinions are my own. This is not a paid ad.

Posted in Ellie, Gifted, motherhood, mothering a rainbow, Mum Blogger, mummy blog, parenting, Play, product review, Toddler Development, Toddler Play

Nursery Rhyme Play

Posted on by Amy

For a while now I’ve been trying to figure out a way to bring Ellie’s love of nursery rhymes in to her play. She sings all day long and knows so many nursery rhymes, more than I know and verses I’ve never even heard of. I’ve always been envious of those parents who have the time to pre-plan activities for their babies and toddlers because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do with Ellie. Being a teaching assistant and working in a school based nursery during my pregnancy with Jason makes me even more aware of all the things that will give Ellie an advantage when she starts nursery and I am always surprised by the amount of children who grow up not knowing their basic nursery rhymes! I asked a child in my class the other day (year 2) about one of Ellie’s favourites and they didn’t know it. I find it really sad that children aren’t given the opportunities to learn them (I’m not judging or criticising…just makes me a bit sad).

I got in touch with Dee who runs The Little Sensory Box about one of her subscription boxes that will be released soon; I loved one of the items (I loved them all but one in particular) and wanted to know where she got it from and whether I could purchase one from her for Ellie. She very kindly offered to send us one to test out for her and I jumped at the chance to work with such a wonderful small business again that I definitely said yes please!

**FYI – Our review of The Percussion Box is available to read here**

This is where I finally let my creative juices flow. I wanted to build a themed activity around one product and I am so pleased with the outcome that I wanted to share it with you all. Please be nice as this is the first themed activity I’ve ever really done but I would love more ideas if people want to share!

I based the activities around the nursery rhyme 5 Currant Buns and focused on the different activities Ellie would enjoy doing. I tried to make it fun and create something we could revisit too. I had planned so many different things that I decided to run with this over the weekend as Ellie’s attention span isn’t very long and I didn’t want to force her to take part for too long as I knew she’d never come back to it otherwise.

Again, working in a school has encouraged me to fit in some type of learning and 5 Currant Buns is a great rhyme for counting forwards and backwards and we have even looked at matching numbers and missing numbers while messing around too. The first thing we did was explore the glove we were gifted from The Little Sensory Box Ellie already knew the song so she was keen to sing it as soon as I introduced the glove to her. She counted the numbers, pretended to eat the buns off my fingers and joined in with singing. We used the puppet alongside some pictures I printed off Twinkl and laminated so that I could write the numbers on to help with Ellie’s number recognition.

Ellie is confident in recognising numbers to 10 so I knew she would find this easy however I know that constant repetition in mathematics is a good thing so I decided to do this anyway. Eventually my aim is to use the cards but have Ellie write the numbers.

We also used the puppet and the laminated bun cards to role play the rhyme. I laminated a penny coin that I also printed off the internet and everytime someone pays with a penny Ellie would role play it and take her bun away. We later developed this again and used playdough to make the currant buns for her to take away too. She loved adding the playdough and cupcake cases as it gave her something else and encouraged her play to last longer.

Another activity I printed off was some colouring sheets that linked to the rhyme; Ellie loves colouring so I knew this would be a hit for her. She recognised the currant buns and the penny and started singing it again, asking for me to sit with the glove while she coloured. It was a lovely, calm activity before her bedtime that really helped settle her (and wasn’t messy which was a win for me too!)

We came back to the rhyme the next day and did some baking. I had planned on making actual currant buns but as I don’t like them I decided on biscuits instead. It would have been a waste and I found a Paw Patrol Biscuit kit for 85p in our local Home Bargains which persuaded me and we all love chocolate biscuits in this house. Ellie really enjoys baking but it feels really stressful while she is still so little so it’s something I tend to try and do as little as possible which I hate as I love baking too. I hope that it will be one of our mummy-daughter things when she gets a bit older that we enjoy doing together as I’ve dreamt of baking with my children for so long. I found the biscuit kit was probably aimed at just the right timing for Ellie as she was engaged right up until the end where she almost launched herself off the worktop giving me a heart attack and never wanting to bake again! LOL! All was fine and Ellie helped mix, pour and squish the biscuits. Double bonus points for the fact that they have Paw Patrol on them and she couldn’t wait to put the edible stickers on the top and eat them.

We’ve had such a lovely weekend and I know it is something I definitely want to do again. Having a plan has helped us all this weekend and I’ve felt that Ellie has enjoyed playing more. We have also dodged our Saturday meltdown sessions YAY!!

The Nursery Rhyme Glove will be available in The Birthday Box (available soon!!) and can be added to the Subscription Boxes which are already available to purchase. The baby’s first year subscription boxes focuses on key development stages and will arrive in four boxes throughout the first year and the Birthday Box can be added to finish the years subscription off perfectly!

To find out more about the subscription boxes and The Birthday Box, subscribe to The Little Sensory Box or follow them on Instagram 💖

If anyone has any other ideas for nursery rhymes/story play that doesn’t cost the earth please share them!! All my ideas would cost me more than I get paid unfortunately.

Disclaimer - I was gifted the 5 Currant Bun hand glove from The Little Sensory Box but was in no obligation to promote. All views and opinions are my own.

Posted in Gifted, product review

Stickerscape – GIFTED

Posted on by Amy

I have been toying with the idea of updating Ellie’s room a bit, we decorated it to be used as a nursery but actually never used it as a nursery. I remember choosing a lovely yellow paint so that we wouldn’t have to repaint as Ellie got older but I have found her room just seems a bit too generic now. She hasn’t been able to put her own mark on it and I’ve been wondering how to do this without changing the colour of the walls. I then got in touch with Mike over at Stickerscape who has been working hard to promote their new range of Space Wall Stickers and after searching through their vast range of stickers I knew this would be a great start to making her room more of a toddler’s bedroom rather than a nursery.

About Stickerscape
Proudly manufactured in the UK, the multi award-winning wall stickers at Stickerscape are produced at their Hampshire base. Their products are high quality and designed especially for children. They can give any nursery, bedroom or playroom a truly fantastic make-over and transforms plain walls into colourful, fun backgrounds which in turn can support and develop an exciting, imaginative play! The wall stickers are designed and made from the highest quality materials which will remove cleanly leaving no damage to paintwork! The range of designs will suit any purpose and all personalities. They even have popular children’s themes such as In The Night Garden, Peppa Pig and Thomas The Tank Engine. There are also plenty of designs that can be personalised (including some of those favourite characters!)

How did we get on?
Ellie spent a few hours with my parents today so I took this opportunity to look at the design we chose and I have been desperate to get it up but so nervous as I’ve always believed wall stickers are really hard to put up! I decided to do a bit of research before I got started and after reading the instructions that came with out kit I knew I needed to watch it being done before I attempted it. I really was so worried I’d get it wrong and ruin the design. I found this fantastic application guide that Stickerscape have put on Youtube.
After watching a couple of times I felt so much more confident about the whole process.

Oooh I haven’t told you what design I chose have I! I decided to go for a Constellation Wall Sticker which can be found here and retails between £12 – £15 depending on size. I cut out the bear first and then cut each star out separately so that I could make the design more unique. The great thing about a lot of the wall stickers available is that they come in “kit form” which means larger stickers are easier to apply and there is more flexibility to how you apply them. There are three layers to the stickers which make it easier to apply; there is the backing paper, the actual sticker and then the transfer film. For me, having the two separate sheets of paper on either side definitely made it easy to apply as I wasn’t worried about damaging the actual sticker while applying or moving it.

I have to admit the stickers were really easy to apply; my husband had convinced me wall stickers were worse than wallpapering and we have had to boycott them even though I’ve ALWAYS wanted one. Once we’d decided where to put the bear I then followed each step to achieve the end result. I’m glad I watched the video above because it states you must clean the wall before applying which makes sense however the instructions given didn’t say that so I probably would have never thought to do it.

As the instructions stated I used a plastic card (a costa gift card no less!) to make sure the backing paper released the sticker and then placed it on to the wall. I was surprised that I could do this by myself but had hubby ready and waiting just in case; for much larger stickers 2 people would be much better to hold the larger stickers across the space. I then left it for a few minutes (about 5) and prepped the smaller stars and mentally placed them where I would want them. I then used the plastic card again to ensure the sticker was smoothly in place before removing the transfer paper.

This was the part I was most worried about yet actually as long as you don’t rush it, you don’t come up with any major issues. I would definitely recommend taking your time to ensure there are no creases. The stickers are delicate and may still be attached to the transfer paper; if this happens just go slow, I went back over the part I had missed with the card and then attempted the process again after a couple of minutes.

I repeated the process with the individual stars placing them around the constellation and not too low that Ellie can pick them off herself! I found these were easier to press down with my hands rather than the plastic card as they were nice and small.

The finished product is really impressive, I couldn’t believe how quickly it changed the dynamic of her room. I couldn’t wait to show Ellie my hard work when she got home and her reaction was the best! She loved her bear and we’ve talked about the stars and how they will help her sleep better (i’ll try anything for a full nights sleep!). The value for money is great, the finished product looks more like wall art than stickers which is due to the quality of the vinyl.

I am so pleased with the stickers and how they have turned out. I’d 100% recommend them to friends looking to brighten up a child’s room especially because I found it so easy to apply and i’m as creative as a doorknob.

You can check out the full range of Stickerscape wall stickers on their website here – http://www.stickerscape.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwhWUQKl01H/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1m0fk5wvuqixm

Disclosure: I was gifted the Bear Constellation wall sticker from Stickerscape in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.

Posted in baby clothing, baby fashion, clothing, fashion, Gifted, lavender sun, motherhood, parenting, product review, toddler fashion

Top 5…(GIFTED)

Posted on by Amy

Things I look for when buying toddler clothes.

There are certain things I look for when choosing clothes for Ellie, especially now she is getting bigger and the clothes need to last much longer and here is my top 5 things I look out for when I need to buy her new clothes:

1. Durable – Does it wash well? Do any stains remove easily? This is a huge one for me as Ellie is a messy child; she spills her tea most nights and always wants to drink the milk from her cereal bowl in a morning. I am always looking for clothes that wash well, retain their shape and dont shrink when tumble dried 🙈 Now Ellie is in 2-3 clothes I want them to last her as long as possible.

2. Appropriateness – This one for me only seems to be an issue with girls clothes. I find girls clothes (even at age 2) are far too “grown up” for their age. Crop tops, thin material, see-through, spaghetti straps, I could go on. Boys clothes are so much more appropriate for their age, I went through a time when Ellie was a baby where I would only buy boys clothes because they weren’t so stupid looking but now Ellie is older it’s silly but I want her to look like a girl, pretty in pink with a frilly tutu. Clothes I would have hated being put in and I’m sure one day she will hate me for too!

3. Quality – I have already touched on this but the quality of girls clothes in particular is usually quite shocking. The generally use a thinner material which can sometimes look see-through and therefore end up not lasting very long at all. I always look for the quality of the clothes which is why I usually opt to buying Ellie’s clothes in person rather than online.

4. Price – This isn’t a reflection on the product itself but I do find the price of clothing has a huge impact on whether I buy it or not. I am a teaching assistant and so is my husband so our income isn’t much, especially as I currently only work part time. I believe that Ellie is still young and has no concept of how much clothes can cost or that she would need to look after them so I try to spend as little as possible.

5. Usability from Ellie’s perspective – Can she remove it herself? Ellie is just beginning to remove her own clothes confidently and occasionally put them on, I am now more conscious of whether she is able to do these herself. If it has buttons I know she’s not going to be able to do these herself and I want to build her confidence while she is learning.

I was approached by Lavender SUN Co who I have worked with previously (see old review here) to review their toddler range. I was so impressed with the baby items I received that I knew I wanted to collaborate again. This time I opted to review an outfit, which I loved from the second I saw it. I found a lot of the choices for toddlers didn’t fit in to my liking (mainly because they were quite girly and I am not) but the outfit I chose suited us perfectly.

Click to visit shop!

This fairytale 2 piece outfit is absolutely gorgeous!! The skirt is such a great quality and as it is elasticated I know it will fit Ellie for quite some time. I ordered this outfit in age 3-4 and there is plenty of growing room in the grey skirt yet it fits nicely now too (just a tad long as Ellie is quite short for her age).

#OOTD

The top is fairly thin but as I wanted this for the summer I know it won’t be too warm for her. It fits well and the pattern is so cute. Ellie loves finding the butterflies and counting the flowers she can see. I must admit, the top already fits fairly well and I am unsure of how long she will fit in it but again it is true to size and Ellie is just a short, dumpy girl like her Mama is so tops are already getting slightly small in age 2-3years.

I love that she is able to put the skirt on and remove it herself effortlessly and that the top has no buttons and as her confidence in dressing herself grows she will be able to put it on herself in no time at all. There are no buttons or fastenings to deal with which is great!

In regards to it being durable, the first time Ellie wore her new outfit we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at my grandparents house and she managed to get spaghetti bolognese sauce, chocolate and grass stains on the WHITE top and I was sure there would be stains. I removed the top as soon as I could and used some Oxy Action stain remover spray from Tesco and a quick 15 minute wash on its own and it has come amazingly clean, no stains or slight discolouring, it still looks brand new.

I couldn’t fault the customer service of Lavender Sun Co and the website was so easy to use, changing from. British Pounds to US Dollars was quick and meant I didnt need to figure out the difference in price myself.

If you want to have a look at the fantastic outfits available then head on over to Lavender Sun Co or to their instagram page.

Disclosure: I was gifted The Golden Key in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own. #gifted #AD

Posted in Gifted, Mum Blogger, mummy blog, parenting, product review

The Golden Key (gifted)

Posted on by Amy

It is no secret that I LOVE books, specifically children’s books. I haven’t sat down and read an adult book in years, which bothers me terribly at times but I just find reading with Ellie brings me more joy than if I was reading on my own.

Her love of stories is far bigger than mine, she is always asking to read, sits and demands 10 books at bedtime some nights and usually finds some to read during the day too. I love that she loves to read, I never say no because I work with plenty of children who don’t enjoy reading and choose not to. I don’t want that for Ellie. I want her to develop a storytellers imagination, to divulge herself in to a story that she just can’t put down. I want her to enjoy reading as much as I used to (Jacqueline Wilson being one of my favourite authors growing up!) and I can’t wait to share all the classics with her as she grows.

I literally jumped for joy when I received an email from Bang On Books asking if I would consider collaborating with them and reviewing one of their personalised books. It has been a dream of mine to develop my blog and social media enough to be able to share items that I love and this is DEFINITELY a book we both love!

The process of making the personalised book was so easy. Bang On Books has a bright, colourful and user-friendly website that guides you through the process of creating your own personalised book. You can add a photo, choose what the character looks like and write a personalised message for the inside.

3 simple steps to creating the a book your little one will love!

I chose The Golden Key as Ellie loves sea creatures and adventurous stories, I could have chosen Unicorn Oo which seemed a bit more girly however I was drawn to The Golden Key because the picture on the website showed a girl character rather than a boy (very well done!!) and I quickly remembered it didn’t matter which seemed more girly but what mattered is which Ellie would enjoy more.

I was surprised at how quickly the book was processed and posted out, it seemed to take only a few days from ordering (late night shopping is THE best!) to it being delivered and I got a little giddy when I realised what was waiting for us on the doorstep.

The Golden Key (written and illustrated by Hannah Walton) is beautifully illustrated and colourful. Each page gives you something to look out for (Ellie’s favourite is finding the “naughty ocapus” hiding. She asks to read “Ellie’s book” at least once a day since it arrived. She loves seeing her own face turn in to the character of Ellie and I love that we have a book that captures her at 2 years old and we have already made memories of her imagining herself on a swashbuckling adventure with Sailor and his crew!

The Golden Key is a lovely story based on a protagonist character being kind and brave enough to help Sailor find his lost golden key. It has pesky pirates, adventures on a turtle and a GIANT octopus who in Ellie’s view is very naughty. I find that Ellie’s attention span is small (she is only 2 and a bit) and long stories can be a bit tedious to read at times and at 44 pages long I assumed this would be the case for The Golden Key but the story and the fact that she is the main character keeps her attention right to the very last page, she loves it!

You can follow them on social media and order via the website linked below.
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Disclosure: I was gifted The Golden Key in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.