Choo choo - All aboard the LEGO DUPLO Number Train!

LEGO DUPLO Number Train

Jack was lucky to be sent a LEGO DUPLO Number Train to test and review. He had lots of fun building his very own toy train, then turning it into a cool number tower. He was very proud when he had finished and loved counting along each of the carriages; recognising each of the numbers.

A very proud Jack!

Watch out; Here comes the Number Train!

There are bright colourful bricks to make up the train carriages, with selected bricks featuring numbers from 1-10 to help develop basic counting skills during play. What better way to introduce children to numbers? The additional bricks will stimulate young imaginations, so why not make a number tower, station or a platform? Plus, every train needs a driver, so guide the train with the driver and let his dog guard over the station.

Odd numbers one side; even numbers the other.

1, 2, 3!

Bright blocks full of numbers!

Offering so many different ways to play, LEGO DUPLO is perfect for stimulating creativity and encouraging learning through role play amongst pre-schoolers ages 2-5 years. Designed for small hands and big imaginations, the colourful bricks are the ideal introduction to creative play and building, enabling a different adventure every day.

The Original Pillow Pet now has a website in the UK!

The lovely people at Mookie toys sent Jack a Pillow Pet for his expert opinion. He instantly jumped up and down when it arrived and asked if he could take him to bed that night! We were sent a cuddly penguin. The Pillow Pet is easy to wash, a quick cool wash in a white pillow case, left to air dry and they are good to go again. 

Pillow Pets are the new premium quality plush toy made of ultra-soft and cuddly chenille but with a clever twist. When the hidden strap is released underneath, the cuddly creature transforms from a toy into a soft pillow, making the Pillow Pet a perfect travelling pal, naptime buddy and all round snuggly friend.

There are eight super-cute Pillow Pets available exclusively from Mookie Toys.  The range includes Silly Monkey, Playful Penguin, Comfy Panda, Snuggly Puppy, Magical Unicorn and Wiggly Pig, not forgetting Ms Ladybug and Bumbly Bee!  And especially for Easter, Cuddly Bunny, Thumpy Bunny, Puffy Duck and Fluffy Bunny.

Pillow Pets will become a must-have for all ages; from toddlers to teens and expectant mothers to grandmothers.  Snuggle up with your very own Pillow Pet, catching forty winks has never been more fun! 

Beware as there are a number of companies out there selling counterfeit pillow pets.

How to know if you have an Original Pillow Pet?

• Facial disfiguration – The original Pillow Pets have extra cute little faces, don’t settle for anything less!
• Tags – Our Pillow Pets should have the Pillow Pets™ tag attached to them.
• Stuffing – Our Original Pillow Pets should be stuffed to the brim, making them extra snuggly for tired heads!
• Distributors – On the label, Our Pillow Pets should have the official UK distributer Mookie Toys.
• Label – This should show details of the correct fire testing regulations.

Giant Jenga Game

Garden Games asked if me and Jack would be interested in reviewing a Giant Jenga Game they had. Of course we said yes! I love Jenga and couldn't wait to see how much bigger this would be to the standard one you can buy in the shops. Once the order had been placed I was kept informed as to when the item had been picked and dispatched. I would highly recommend ordering from Garden Games. They were quick and kept me informed each step of the way. They have a wide selection of reasonably priced garden toys on their website.

Mega Hi-Tower from Garden Games

A few days after ordering Mega Hi-Tower it arrived well packed in a large cardboard box - my goodness it was heavy! I opened it, unpacked it and me and Jack set to work building a tower inside the house as it was a typical English day outside! The bricks were packed nicely in a strong water-proof zip bag which had a strong carry handle. The bricks are made of a high quality wood and are a perfect shape to hold and handle.

I opted for us to build a tower as Jack is a little to young to understand how to play Jenga plus; I thought if it fell then there wouldn't be much room to move out the way and I didn't want any accidents! I can see this being a big hit with all the family when the summer comes!

After Jack had used all of the 58 bricks we decided to build some tunnels for his toy train to go through. The wooden bricks are easy for him to handle and stack in a number of different ways. He really enjoyed building the tower and the tunnels for the trains. This really helped him used his imagination.

I then thought about what else we could use the bricks for and I came up with building a chair for Jack to sit on. We called it King Jacks thrown. He really enjoyed helping me build it and took a lot of time and care placing the bricks in the right place making sure he didn't knock any down.

I would recommend this for any family as there is so much fun to be had. This will defiantly be used a lot more when the summer comes at parties and BBQ's. You will defiantly be seeing a summer review!

Thanks to everyone at Garden Games!

Mookie Scuttlebug Review

Note: Watch the cute video at the end of this post!
Jack was sent a Scuttlebug to test and review. When it arrived I expected loads of bits of put together. The box it arrived in was small and lightweight, I thought bits may have been missing! I opened the box to find the Scuttlebug neatly folded up.

I removed it from the box and read the instructions which were included; all you needed to do was unclip the front wheel, lock it into place and do the same with the two rear wheels and the bike was ready to use! It literately took seconds to put up and put down (obviously you reverse the technique)!

The bike itself is sturdy and very light weight. Jack is able to control the bike with the handle bars. The height of the bike is perfect for Jack. He loves wizzing around the yard and house on it! The Scuttlebug has specially designed wheels which make it suitable for inside and outside. The wheels provide a smooth and noise free ride.

The Scuttlebug helps develop balance and steering skills. This is a big plus as Jack is learning to control the bike while he is having fun. I have already noticed him steering the bike in the direction he wants to go. The manufacture recommends this bike is suitable for children aged 18 months to 3 years (maximum weight is 20kg) I wish Jack had one of these bikes when he was younger! We have a big bulky bike stored in the garden; I can't fold it or put it away so it just sits there getting wet and slimy! Jack has never really seemed interested in it. The Scuttlebug folds down flat which means I can store it easy.

Jack loves the eyes on the Scuttlebug and he always wants to ride it whenever we go anywhere; because it's lightweight I don't mind him riding it out and about. If he gets tired it's not to heavy to carry. The colours are very bright and the design is a Bumble Bee. There are different colours and designs.
I would defiantly recommend this to my friends and I hope Jack doesn't grow out of it too quickly.

Very Lazy; Posh Sausage Casserole Review

Very Lazy; Posh Sausage Casserole cooking concentrate

Have you ever come home from a long day at work and wondered what to cook for dinner? You obviously want to eat something healthy and something which won't take forever to cook as you have tired and hungry little ones. Look no further; why not cook a Posh Sausage Casserole?
Very Lazy have come up with a fantastic solution. They have done all the preparation for you; all you need to do is add the sausages and an onion then add the jar of cooking concentrate.

All you need is sausages, an onion and a jar of Very Lazy cooking concentrate

I was a little unsure that this would taste nice and cook in one hour. After all, I didn't make the sauce or add the flavour. Well, I tested it out one evening when I returned home from work and Jack was tired and hungry after a long day at nursery. I set to work to prepare something yummy!

Start time: 6:10pm

I started by frying the sausages in a little oil until they turned golden brown. I then chopped and fried the onion until soft.

Onions and sausages sizzling in the pan!

Once the onion and sausages have been cooked I then transferred them into a small casserole dish. I added the jar of sauce plus the same jar full of water, put the lid on the casserole dish and popped it in the oven. 

Sausage casserole before going in the oven

While this was cooking I went and bathed Jack. The hour flew by and when we were done we came downstairs to a wonderful smelling sausage casserole. I popped a bag of microwaveable rice in for a minute while the casserole cooled. I served it with rice as I thought this was a lighter and quicker option; you could serve it with whatever you fancied. I even sprinkled a little parsley on the top to give it the posh restaurant look!

Finish time: 7.20pm

This cooking concentrate surprised me. I thought it would be bland with no flavour or to over powering. I will eat my words; this was one of the best cooking sauces I have ever used! It was truly a Very Lazy way to cook a sausage casserole; but didn't skip the lush flavour. I will defiantly be buying more of these cooking concentrates.

Nûby Grip'n'Sip cup review

Jack was sent another cup from Nûby to review. This one is called Grip'n'Sip. It holds 10 oz or 300 ml. It's suitable to use from 6 months. Jack is nearly 2 and loves drinking from this cup. The handles allow him to hold onto the cup easily and the soft silicone spout allows him to drink easily. It is a very light weight cup even with 10 oz of liquid in.


The teat is Vari-Flo which means it allows the child to control the flow of their fluid by using their own sucking strength. So, the stronger the childs sucking action the wider the teat opens. The teat is removable and can be replaced if it becomes danmaged. You can buy the replacement teats from their website for only £1.99.

I put the cup through a tough test! I hung it upside down for about 5 minutes to see if it was really spill proof. For the first few seconds a little fluid did come out of the air valve hole, but soon stopped. There was no major spills or leaks while it was hung! Overall I think this is another fantastic cup from Nûby.

I have three of these cups to give away (two pink and one green). To enter all you need to do is comment on this post and I will use random.org to select three winners. This give away will end on 30th November at 10am. 


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Nûby No-Spill Convert-a-cup Review

The lovely people at Nûby kindly sent me a Convert-a-cup for Jack to review. It claims to be spill proof; this was something I was eager to test! The video below shows just how easy it is to assemble the cup into the beaker with handles; there are also pictures showing each stage the cup converts too.

I am amazed that a single cup can convert into four different cups which cover each stage of  a child's transition from a bottle to a open top cup. Which means you only ever need to buy one cup! Each stage a different piece is removed or attached. It can convert from a beaker with handles to a beaker without handles; a cup with handles to a cup. The cup itself is BPA free and is very light weight even with liquid in. It can hold 240ml. The handles allow smaller hands to grip it easily and should only be used with children over 6 months.

The cup encourages natural drinking action and oral development. The teat has Touch Flo technology which means as soon as your child puts the spout into their mouths and starts drinking; only then is the liquid released. The teat and top of the cup are all one piece and made out of silicone. A fully flexible lid is something I have not seen before and was quite surprised by it!

Convert-a-cup teat and lid

I was a little worried the lid may fall off or even leak as it doesn't screw into place; but the lid just snaps over the cup and forms a tight vacuum seal around the top of the cup. There was no liquid coming out of the teat or the edges when I shook it!

I even shook the cup and still no drips!

Jack loved drinking from this cup and even shared it with Iggle Piggle! This Nûby cup will help Jack to learn how to drink sensibly from an open top cup. There is no need for me to worry about him dropping a glass onto the floor! A perfect cup and I would definitely recommend this to anyone parent trying to encourage their toddler to drink from a "big boys cup"!

Jack sharing his juice!

Hipp Organic Product Review

The lovely people at Hipp Organic sent Jack a few products to review. Unfortunately he can't type words yet; so he asked me to document his thoughts on them!
When the postman delivered the box we opened it with excitement; Jack was a little overwhelmed at all the yummy food! We were given seven products to review. These were:

1. Little Nibbles: Organic crispy biscottes (Stage 3 from 10 months)
2. Little Nibbles: Organic crumbly rusks (Stage 1 from 6 months)
3. Little Nibbles: Organic carrot & pumpkin rice cakes (Stage 2 from 7 months)
4. Cheesy leek & chicken macaroni (Stage 3 from 10 months)
5. Mediterranean ratatouille with gnocchi (Stage 3 from 10 months)
6. Scrumptious lasagne (Stages 3 & 4; 1-3 years)
7. Chunky vegetable pasticcio (Stages 3 & 4; 1-3 years)

Hipp Organic Products

As you can see the organic carrot & pumpkin rice cakes are not in the image above; Jack couldn't wait to open them! I was unsure how they might taste as I have never seen carrot and pumpkin used together. I tried one myself and it was yummy! Jack certainly enjoyed eating them. The rice cakes contain a blend of carrot and pumpkin juice concentrate and contain no added salt or sugar. Hipp Organic have a special snack range called "Little nibbles". All products in the Hipp Organic range are prepared using the finest quality organic ingredients. The organic crispy biscottes are fantastic! Jack enjoys his as a snack with fruit. They look like mini toasts; but are twice-baked wheat biscuits. Jack also enjoys munching on the organic crumbly rusks. I feel confident to give these to him as I know there is no added sugar; unlike the unhealthy biscuits you find in supermarkets.

Munching on Carrot & Pumpkin Rice Cakes

Because I am on a diet I worry what Jack is going to eat for his dinner as I am not cooking a meal just for him! I found that some baby meals don't look or smell very nice and Jack doesn't enjoy eating them. I was unsure if Jack would enjoy this lasagne. I put the heart shaped pot into the microwave for a minute. I couldn't believe it when I cooked the scrumptious lasagne; not only did it smell wonderful it actually tasted like lasagne should! This is because there are no artificial flavours or ingredients.

Hipp Organic; Scrumptious Lasagne

Tonight, I tried out chunky vegetable pasticcio. I had no idea what this was but from the picture I guessed it was a vegetable pasta dish. Again, I microwaved this meal for a minute and it smelt wonderful. I wish I could have eaten it! Jack enjoyed this meal more than I thought he would. There was no need for me to worry about Jack having a healthy meal as this meal was full of vegetables.

Enjoying chunky vegetable pasticcio

We used the smaller pots of cheesy leek & chicken macaroni and mediterranean ratatouille with gnocchi for lunch. They are the perfect size to pop in a handbag or changing bag. Each pot is gently steamed cooked for optimal goodness. Each pot contains organic rapeseed oil with omega 3; which is important for the development of your baby or toddler. This is something which not many baby products can offer. I will most defiantly be buying some more from this range.

Stage 3 Wholesome Pots

We would like to thank everyone at Hipp Organic for sending us these lovely products to review. I think Jack had the better end of the deal!! We will definitely be adding these to our trolley next time we go shopping! You can find many more of the Hipp Organic range on their website; and even order food (I didn't know this!)