Category: Reviews

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Spend Vouchers, Get Rewards!

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Every time you spend money at Tesco, you build up points which will be converted to money off vouchers.  Your points build up in-store, online, at petrol stations, and even using the credit card.

When you have managed to collect 150 points, they are converted into a Clubcard voucher worth £1.50 which will be sent you in your Clubcard statement. The more points you collect, the more vouchers you’ll get back!  Your statement also contains money-off and extra points coupons for products and services that Tesco think you like.

You can spend your Clubcard vouchers in-store, at Tesco petrol filling stations, online at Tesco.com and at Tesco direct.  Simply use them at the checkout and their value will be taken off your shopping bill.

You can get even more from your vouchers by spending them on Clubcard rewards. They have hundreds to choose from, ranging from holidays to meals out, hotels to cinema tickets.   The Clubcard rewards scheme really is a Scottish Mum Blog favourite.

As a family, we have lots to be grateful to Tesco Clubcard Rewards for.  Before Christmas last year, they doubled the amount of vouchers I had built up over a couple of years and hadn’t yet spent.  It meant that I had £300 to spend on toys and games that I was not expecting, and made my boys very happy over the festive season.    

The promotions for offers such as double voucher rewards come and go very quickly, so you do need to keep an eye out for them coming around.

I am a Tesco customer so telling you about Tesco and their Clubcard Deals is an easy thing for me to do as I love the scheme.

Two years ago, I used Clubcard vouchers to visit Diggerland in Durham, which meant that we all got entry for a full day to the theme park, and the trip from Aberdeen to the Lake District was complete, as I had used vouchers to get entry to the South Lakes Animal Park. 

I have been surprised at how good the Tesco deals are.   I often use a few pounds of mine to buy some cinema tickets to treat the family to Cineworld movies as well.  We do build up our vouchers as the local petrol station is a Tesco one, and it means that our points add up with fuel purchases.

For some deals, every £10 of vouchers could give you 4 x the amount in value with the reward company.  The video shows you just how to claim your vouchers.

It is worth checking out the deals on offer and participating in the scheme.  I love being able to go online to my Clubcard account and checking how much I have to use.

I also use the IPhone Tesco Clubcard App and it has come in handy on the rare occasions I have been without my keychain with my clubcard on it in store – the staff simply swiped the barcode from my phone.

This year, I can’t decide whether to hold out for another deal like last Christmas, or to spend vouchers that come in on summer treats.  There are so many to choose from, and they are really good value.  What do you think?

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Viral video by ebuzzing

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A “Dolphin Tale” Film Review

We were sent Dolphin Tale from Warner Brothers to review.

I am not quite sure where to start with this film.

It’s based on the Real Life story of Winter the dolphin.

Sad, funny, poignant and a lesson on overcoming disability when she has to learn to live without her tail.

I had half an eye and half an ear to the TV when it began, but from the moment the lovely dolphin caught up in ropes appeared on screen, I was hooked into following the rest of the story to see how it unfolded.  This very young dolphin was only 2 months old when she became tangled up in the ropes and cage of a trap.

There was one heartstoppingly scary moment where my hands were cupped over my mouth at the helicopter,  but you will have to watch it to see what happens.

Harry Connick Jnr is easy on the eye for any mum over a certain age so it was easy watching, and Morgan Freeman is brilliant in anything that he is involved in.

I don’t want  to go into too much detail about what happens in the film as it would  spoil it for you if you decide to watch it.

Funny moment, sad moments, and plenty for kids to identify with.

It is a winner and we highly recommend watching it.

Winter stars as herself in the film and she is a pretty good actress for a dolphin.

I spotted the film for sale at Amazon for a good price, and when the film is finished, children can go online to watch Winter in her real life tank.  There are 4 webcams in total and a history of Winter’s life from the moment she was found.  I had a thoroughly enjoyable hour working through the website and reading the actual story of how her life has moved along.

 

 

 

 

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Sand Art Home Packs from Kids Bee Happy

Sandra from Kids Bee Happy sent me some sand art packs to review.  My children whooped with delight considering they absolutely loved the sand art at our Christmas Party last year (that sounds such a long time ago).

The little packs come in boys or girls style pictures and the transformers and car pack was a huge hit here.

In the packs, there are 10 tubes of sand, two little sticker pickers to take the coloured paper off the picture to reveal the sticky bit to put the sand on to.   A sheet of instructions is very welcome and makes the project easy to follow, and with little pictures to show you what colours could be used, it is lots of fun.

These keep my kids happy for several hours, and they’ve enjoyed them thoroughly.  We found it easier to have a piece of white paper with a fold in it to shake the excess of each colour of sand on to.

Once they’ve shaken off the sand on to the paper, I can then slide what’s left back into the little bottle it came from so that it doesn’t get used up too quickly, and there seems to be plenty of sand with each pack to do all the sand art that’s needed.

There are little tabs and laminate pockets so that if you have a laminating machine, you can preserve the picture for the future.  I am just sad that our little trusty machine gave up the ghost a few weeks back.

That doesn’t stop them being popular though and the sand art pictures now adorn bedroom walls.   Once again, a lovely thank you from @kidsbeehappy on Twitter for such a fabulous experience.

You can buy them at Kids Bee Happy for £8.99 per pack.  Perfect for any birthday present, or just as a standby for rainy days.

 

 

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A Christmas Tale – 26 Gorgeous Children – A Party – Special Needs

Saturday was a revelation.  A group of parents run a special needs club at the weekends, with the support of a school and the grateful advice and help from the National Autistic Society.

We borrow a school premises and open up to children with ANY type of disability up to the age of 14 in Aberdeen –  not just those on the autistic spectrum.   We also accept siblings, as there was nowhere that any of us could go with all our children to play, or be involved in activity sessions.

The mix of excitement, christmas coming, a certain man in a red suit, and lots of sugary chocolate is not always a recipe for success, so I met the day with a certain feeling of elation and caution for how it might proceed.   We are all volunteers and we don’t get paid.  I think  it is important to mention that up front, as there is sometimes confusion over how we all fit in to the structure.

There was a lot of excitement last week because of the party, and arrangements had been in place for quite a while.  We received a lovely offer from Kids Bee Happy who provide parties using sand art to come along, which I eagerly accepted.  The lovely Lorraine from Aberdeen arrived with a couple of tables and was soon in constant demand.

Be very aware, that this is no mean feat to undertake for anyone, let alone a  fledgling business.  It takes a confident entertainer to enter a room with such a large proportion of special needs children.  If your products don’t cut the mustard, you will hear about it very quickly from them.

The sand art had generated a buzz of expectation, as it is a new childrens activity, both to me, and to the other parents from the group.  We were all keen to see how it worked – and how our children would respond to it.

It was fabulous.  Children who usually have little or no interest in sitting still for long periods of time were concentrating and working on the projects.   The tables are set up as a unit which contains 6 bowls of different coloured sand.  All in all, there were 12 colours of sand that the children could choose from.

The children (and many of the adults) chose from the racks of pictures that they would decorate with sand.   This is a very hands on and engrossing task to get to grips with.    With lots of pictures to choose from, age groups from 2.5 – 45 were kept amused.   I even noticed one granny having lots of fun.

  To make the sand art, using a nail, or a little stick, the artist peels each section back on the picture one at a time.  That opens up a section which is sticky.  Little fingers then choose a colour of sand and carefully spoon it onto the picture.  When the picture is shaken, the sand remains on the picture for a fabulous colour effect.

It can take anything from about half an hour to 45 minutes to complete a whole picture.

Our children did pieces of their pictures at a time, then laid their pictures aside and came back to them after eating, or running about.  The fact that they could dip in and out throughout the party make it the perfect activity.   Just watching the concentration on their faces was amazing.

Some children did several pictures, and when they were finished making their creations, the pictures were laminated to take home as souveniers.

The finished and laminated pieces of art have a little hanging tab at the top.  I think they would be perfect to add a little calendar to the bottom and give to relatives and friends as presents.

Lorraine liked this santa picture, as the child who did it used all different colours of sand for the background.

This is a new business for Lorraine in Aberdeen, and she was constantly in demand from parents, who were asking her for cards for future childrens parties and school functions.

Everyone agreed that the sand art was a lovely and welcome surprise which would keep children entertained again and again and again.   We really all recommend it for any function, school fete or party.

For such a large group of special needs children – they did themselves proud.

 The concentration levels and interest was amazing, and many parents were delighted to see their children enjoying such a time consuming and high concentration requiring activity.

Poor Lorraine was inundated and we over-ran terribly due to how much everyone was enjoying it.  She certainly had to work very hard.

We also provided a bouncy castle, plenty of food and the local magician, Garry Seagraves Magic.

 I had seen Garry work while I was in the oil industry at functions, and now, as a parent, I have seen several of his magic shows that are tailored towards children.   He also had experience of giving shows to special needs children – and with the trademark leather trousers, long hair and trusty rabbit Basil, the children all seem to gravitate towards him.

He was the natural choice for our kids.  I don’t think there are many parents of primary age children who have not seen one of his shows as he is quite the celebrity to local under 12’s.

The red man arrived to hand out some presents, and photographer duties were sadly lacking as I managed to miss getting a picture of him – my excuse is that we had to sort out our pressie mishaps when some labels came adrift.

 All in all, it was a successful party.  We over-ran and we owe a great deal of thanks to all the entertainers, volunteers, helpers and even the school janitor who never, ever complains about what we request of him for the club.  He was not due to be in Aberdeen at the weekend and came all the way back  to open up for us when our weekend cover janitor could not make it in.  That’s dedication.

Disclaimer:  The parents of all children included in this post have given permission for their images to be used.  Sand Art was provided by Kids Bee Happy, and was a most welcome addition to our party.  It is one that we will definitely repeat in the future.

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Thank you to Warner Bros. for the lovely Xmas Gift.

Last week, the postman delivered a lovely surprise from the team at Warner Bros.  The box was a little battered and bruised from the long journey to the Scottish Mum Family up in Aberdeen.  I left it sitting until the boys came home from school, as it was addressed to us all as a family.

When my mini people arrived home, the first thing they came across was the box.     There was much excitement and bright lit up eyes about what could possibly be in it for them.

They opened the box, and what was in side was delightful.  A gorgeous hessian sack, tied with ribbon and with a jingly bell attached.  Lifting the sack up gave the jingle jangle that signalled christmas had made it early to the Scottish Mum household with the first seasonally wrapped pressie to hit our home.

Inside was a collection of lovely DVD’s for us to watch.  They pulled them out.  Some of the DVD’s were Yogi’s First Christmas, Polar Express, Scooby-Doo and the Lake Monster, Bugs Bunny Christmas Tales, Happy Feet, Yogi Bear, Ben 10, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

At first, I thought they might think the films were too young for them, but they have been happily working their way through them and discovering some old favourites.   It just goes to show that you never get too old for a good old cosy up on a cold night and putting on a good family film.

The gorgeous Scooby Doo Mystery Machine seemed to be simply a toy car, but on closer inspection, it turned out to also be a holder for all 41 episodes of Scooby Doo in a Limited-Edition Deluxe Set.   They also included 2 bonus live action movies and 4 episodes of the new Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc, Show.

It was a gorgeous gift and considering I was expecting to just see Polar Express arriving, it was a very welcome and unexpected surprise.

Thank you very much Warner Bros.
Kind Regards

Scottish Mum Blog

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Fitting In Nicely With Society

With a special needs child who can’t fit in with crowds, we struggle with the regular family holidays where children were meant to fit in with groups of people.  He was never made to be held in a small apartment, or to sit by a pool, or even to be able to join in with childrens’ clubs that are often a huge feature of mum and dad chilling by the pool and letting someone else look after teenies or tweenies.

The day we discovered caravanning was a total fluke.  After a disastrous trip to Disneyland Paris, we took stock on the way home.  Our trip began with a car breakdown in Glasgow while driving from Aberdeen to Paris.  It didn’t get better while we were away, when middler struggled to cope with any and all queues in Disneyland.

The complex we stayed in was not special needs friendly, and unless you were willing to spend a fortune, there was nowhere to go and play.  It was a disaster.

After a rotten few days, we decided to head for home early using the scenic route.  We stopped off near Le Havre and as it was a lovely day, we settled on the beach for a few hours.

Middler had a whale of a time on the near empty beach and on going to a supermarket, we decided to buy a tent on the spur of the moment.   With much trepidation, we found a local campsite close to the beach.

We pitched our tent.   We had our car, a tent, and two blow up beds.   Nothing to cook on, and nothing to eat off.  All the kids were in seventh heaven and had a whale of a time.   Nobody stared at middler when he did something silly or said something out-of-place.   At the time, I put that down to being a different language and that they had no idea what he was actually saying or doing.

When we got home, I booked us a static caravan up at Grannie’s Heilan Hame to see if the caravan environment was for us.   The man of the house was working, so I drove up from Aberdeen with the three kids and the dog.  They all loved it.

The next week we got home, we decided to just go and “look” at caravans to see if we would prefer a touring caravan as I didn’t fancy going to the same place all the time.

That “look” at second-hand caravans saw us walk away with a van for that year, and the following year we went back for one with a better layout for us.  We chose a triple bunk at the back.  Yes, it’s messy back there at times with three children.

          

Thus began our adventures into Caravanning…..

People on caravan sites are just fabulous.  I have rarely come across anyone who doesn’t show understanding for children with special needs.  We book sites where the childrens’ park is close by, or overlooking where we are parked in the van.  The boys  always find someone to play with, and adventures are always on our doorstep.

River Adventures

I prefer quieter sites to the big commercial ones, and with the boys growing faster than I can believe, I know that we will need to visit more of the big facility sites in the next few years for variety.  In 2012, we’d like to head down to France with the van, but that will depend on how the year goes.

There really is not that much to owning a caravan.  After deciding you want one, it is just the simple mechanics of getting one that your car is able to tow and getting out there and having fun.   My boys friends go on holiday once or twice a year, but we go away as often as we can, and in summer this year, we spent 5 out of the 6 weeks of school holidays on a site.

People buy caravans from upwards of a few hundred pounds, but you do have to try to find one that fits your family and isn’t damp.  It can be done on a budget, or for a fortune.

I loved the camping lark, but I was determined to have my comforts to do it.   If camping / caravanning was going to be our holiday future, I really couldn’t do without my hairdryer, kettle, cooker, bathroom or comfy bed.

Chilling Out Making Shadows on the Roof

Chilling Out Making Shadows on the Roof

Call me soft, but there is nothing better on a cold windy day than to be wrapped up warm and cosy inside the van listening to the rain pitter patter on the roof, and wondering how on earth those hardy campers in tents manage to do it.

Diggerland

We pondered over a motor home v a caravan.  For us, the benefit of a caravan and being able to leave it on a site while we had fun touring in the car won over the prospect of having to pack everything away to take a motor home everywhere we went.    Caravans also have less maintenance, and the prospect of cheap caravan insurance swung the decision for us.

We have had huge adventures in the last three years.   I have shared lots of them on my blog, but I’ve gathered some of the pictures taken while we were away to show you here.   We love the van  If we every had to sell her, we would be devastated.  It really is a second home for us.   We prefer Caravan Club sites to the Independent ones as having the security of wardens appeals to me if I take the boys away on my own.

Cool Dog

Our caravan is my own little corner of adventure.  What’s yours?

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Disclaimer:  This is a featured post.

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Christmas Twinkling Tree Lights

When Christmas Trees and Lights asked me to try a set of lights, I just had to say yes.  I like twinkly things you see.  They sent me some lovely Multi Function LED Lights that are for both Outdoor and Indoor use.  There were 120 bulbs on the string and a box that has a switch to toggle the different functions of the lights.

My set are coloured, and they can flash in combination, or in waves, sequential, slo glo chasing, flash, slow fade, twinkle/flash and constantly on.

We had our tree up with the plain white lights that came with it.  We are not a real tree family, but we do like our tree to look nice in the evenings.

These LED lights use little power and last longer than regular lights.   They cost £13.99 at the moment as they are on offer.  They also come in a handy little plastic tub that the lights can go back into for next year.

How did they shape up.   Well, when I added them to our tree with white static light on and switched them on, the kids all shouted coooool in unison.  I think that says it all really.

Christmas Trees and Lights also have some gifts, and THIS ONE is quite cool really.  I remember the one that my grandparents used to have in their hallway which was rented.  I wish I had kept it really, but the pink version looks better than the black.

Some of the effects are in the pictures I took.  I found it really difficult to be able to get an image that shows how well the lights show up the tree.  This is how our tree started off with just the white lights that it comes with.

To get a decent effect, I took pictures in the dark.

Disclaimer:  I was provided a set of LED Lights for this review.

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My Kate Benjamin Black Leather Studded Duffel Bag – and a 20% Discount Code for Accessories Direct

I had a lovely offer through my e-mail recently.  Most offers from PR’s that I accept are centred around my children or gifts, but every so often, one comes along that I really can’t resist taking the opportunity to accept for myself.

I was given a document with an option to pick three items that I liked from in order of preference.   I made a quick decision that this campaign was tailored just for me (ok don’t burst my bubble) and eagerly returned my choices to the PR.

I opened my pack to the feel of a lovely designer dust bag covering whatever contents there were inside.  I was immediately impressed and impatient to see what lovely creation that I had been sent.   I had been sent the lovely Kate Benjamin Black Leather Studded Duffel Bag (opens link in new window) and I knew I was in heaven.

I was surprised to see that all three of my choices were from the Kate Benjamin range, so I must have been destined to receive one of her fabulous designs.

REVIEW

Now down to the nitty gritty that all bag lovers want to know.

I have to say I was delighted to receive my first choice from the sheet, and was able to really appreciate the bag.  The Kate Benjamin Black Leather Studded Duffel Bag retails for £175.00 and the attention to detail impresses.

The first thing that struck me was the wonderful smell that emanates from a new leather bag.   The bag is a mixture of suede and leather and with the most exquisite gilt buttons, hoops and fastenings.

Can you tell I am completely besotted by this bag?   Maybe this incredible feeling of elation at a lovely item is something that only an appreciator of bags can understand.  I know that my sister in law, who is a handbag connoisseur is going to be green with envy when she spots it.

Now for the picture of my real, actual bag with its dust bag.  I so love this.  I’ve shown the inside lining which has a lovely shade of  fuchsia and is beautifully finished throughout.

   

The body strap which is detachable makes it the prefect bag for me.  When I am shopping or out with the boys, I like to have my hands free to carry other things.

The outer bag is 100% Leather and the gorgeous Inner is 100% Cotton.  I can see I am going to get a lot of use out of this lovely, lovely piece of perfection.

Accessories Direct also have gorgeous jewellery, hats, purses, umbrellas, fascinators, slippers, gloves, wallets, scarves, gifts for all.  I actually love this Linden French Multi Striped Bunny Rabbit, and I wish we had someone in the family with a child young enough to give it to.

DISCOUNT FOR BLOG READERS

To go with my post reviewing this fabulous bag, Accessories Direct have allowed me to give my readers a huge 20% off non-sale items from the website.  All you have to do to get this discount is to enter this exclusive code when you buy.

“FESTIVE”

The discount code is valid until 9th December 2011 and I would recommend buying early to avoid the Christmas post rush.

And if you sneak over to their website (opens link in new window) you will see they also have a Facebook Promotion going for the 12 Days of Christmas which looks fabulous.

 

Disclaimer:  I was provided with the Kate Benjamin Black Leather Studded Duffel Bag by Accessories Direct to review.

 

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Just Dance Kids on the Wii & Giveaway

Just Dance Kids by Ubisoft came to us recently through a lovely contact who wanted us to try it out and review the Just Dance for Kids game.

The disc has lots of kids favourites – including :

  • Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
  • Hokey Cokey
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Jingle Bells
  • Crocodile Rock
  • Shake Your Groove Thing
  • The Shimmie Shake
  • Intuition
  • Despicable Me
  • Positivity
  • Follow The Leader
And lots lots more.  All the songs are at Just Dance Kids on the website.

It just goes to show that sometimes, kids are never too old to enjoy something that they’ve been given.    Here they are with the Gummy Bear Song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F1cJNadpkQ

My boys had a lovely afternoon playing all the songs on the disc, and we had an afternoon with friends, and their cousins over who were all younger and were tickled pink to be able to dance about to the tunes.  I wish I could have videoed them all when they were doing it, but my boys happily went on before bedtime and I managed to sneak up behind them and get the videos.

They really enjoyed going back to some of childrens songs and singing along to the older ones they knew as well as some of the more recent ones. Littlest said it was good fun being a “kid” for the day.   When you dance to the tunes, you build up a score that means you can challenge your friends and family to see who gets the blue score and is the winner with the highest score.

The screen has a cool icon that means children can skip the song themselves if they want to change the routine, and don’t have to go back into complicated menus to find the next songs.  It’s a little touch that pre-school children who don’t yet read will enjoy as they can shuffle through the songs to please themselves and choose from singers like Michael Buble, the Wiggles, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.

The children here mostly played three at at time – all lined up in a row, and all having an individual score.  The game also lets them play against each other in teams to see who comes out on top.   It’s a neat feature.

My boys are getting older and we have some more games on the way to review, so we have decided that someone else should get the benefit of this disc to have fun with over Christmas.  We certainly enjoyed it.

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If you’d like us to send you our review copy, just leave a comment with a way to contact you – and tell me which song you like best from the playlist and why.    The full playlist is on the website – and remember this is a copy that has been opened and used for a whole day.

Just Dance Kids

Disclaimer:  We were provided a copy of the Just Dance Kids Game for  the Wii to write this review.

 

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Lightening Strikes with Wowee’s Light Strike Assault Strikers and Accessories

A fabulous offer which was perfectly timed for the birthday of the  littlest boy of the family.    Scottish Mum Blog jumped at the chance to take up Wowee Light Strike Product review and eldest did his first youtube bit – his nerves get less and less as the time goes on.

The box arrived a few days before his birthday, and as it came around 8pm at night, littlest sadly saw the huge box that ended up sitting in my garage for the few days.    There were all sorts of questions and guesses around what could be in such a big box and it was quite nice to see that he didn’t storm the garage in the dead of night to open the box.

Recommended for age 8 +, these are the products that my boy has hankered after for a while now.

In the box they provided

– Assault Striker G.A.R.-023 with target
–  Assault Striker S.R.-143 with target
– An Intelligent Targetting System
– Rapid Fire System Accessory
– Scope Accessory
– Enemy Scanner Accessory
– Refractor Launch System Accessory

I could talk about these for ages as they are all flashy lights, fabulous sound systems and the only thing we were missing to make it a fully fledged laser tag type set up was the jackets.    I can see the jackets being on the Xmas list this year.  The boys were over the moon to be playing with this set, and I don’t blame them.   Flashing lights, pretend guns and safe targets lets them play at superheroes and cops and robbers all day.

You need a lot of AA batteries though for everything so make sure you stock up on them if you buy these and take them home.   We’ve been using ours a lot and the original Duracell batteries seem to have coped well.

The simplest way to let you see what the guns to is to show you elders first attempt at you tubing his opinion on something.  He’s done pretty well for a first attempt, and for someone who struggles doing talks in front of groups.  Forgive the video for being a little dark, but he’s so proud of what he’s done, that he wanted it to be posted online.

Disclosure – We were given the Light Strike products for this review.

 

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Special Birthday Film Night

Last week there was a little boys birthday in our house.  Thanks to the lovely Claire from Cheshire Claire, and talking to her about the successful film night that she had for her son’s birthday a few weeks ago, I decided to copy her and have a few friends over to play for littlest (ahem, sit and quietly watch a film was the plan).

There was much excitement for the planning of the party to come and littlest spoke of nothing else for about a week before the actual day.

The invitations went badly when a few of the children he asked turned him down flat.  School has been difficult for him recently and living with his brother is not easy, so I was sad to see him being distressed about it all and I decided to make it extra special for the boys who did manage to come.  I asked a few boys whose mothers I know and who do actually like my boy, rather than the popular crowd he would like to be in with.  With a few confirmed film nighters, it was down to me to arrange the quiet peaceful night to come.

I had strict orders of what had to be done for the party.   There were to be no brothers in attendance which I thought was fair for him, since he carries a heavy burden day-to-day with his older brother – and at times he is expected to act older than his years.

We started off with some fireworks.  Apologies for the poor quality photos for this post, but we were all so busy having fun that photos took second place to being mum for the night and I think that just set the boys off into mischievous mode.

I ordered a huge “beast” pizza from our local Snappy Pizza place and I wish I had managed to get a picture of the HUGE box, but alas, the kids dived in far too quickly for me to be able to get any worthwhile photos as I dished out and served up slice after slice of monster pizza, but I did manage to snaffle elders plate as he sneaked upstairs with his pal and their plates of swag from the party food.

This plate is for an 11 year old, and he came back for a double helping.

Now, onto the quiet part of the night.  Was film night as nice and quiet as I had imagined it?

I’ll let you decide that for yourself while you listen to the shy and retiring children play with the fabulous Hexbug Nanos that  we were provided to brighten up littlests night.  You will need your sound on to appreciate the peaceful and calming environment of the evening.

Did they watch a film – not on your Nellie.

The boys were here from 4pm and all picked up at 8.30 so it was a looooong party.  After they all left, I scooped out a lovely tub of ice cream and whipped up a sauce of condensed milk, the Nutella spread that was so thoughtfully gifted to us, and added  Smarties and Fudge.

Wickedly sinful, but perfect end to the day.  Yum.

And to the wonderful PR that provided us with the Nutella and the Hexbugs to make his party go with a bang, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The Hexbug Nanos made the night extra special.

Scottish Mum
x

 

 

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Leapfrog LeapPad Explorer – How does it shape up?

We were sent the LeapPad Explorer to review a couple of weeks ago, and because it was so close to middlers birthday, I held off giving it to him until the big day as I didn’t want him to have something so major so close to his birthday.

What is the LeapPad Explorer

It is a tablet device for kids.  That’s it in simple terms.   The age ranges goes from 4 – 9, but I suspect there are many children in the 2 – 3 age group who would get more benefit from one of these than using mum or dads Ipad or Iphone.  They have more information and there is a video you can watch of it here.

It uses apps based around learning, reading and creativity.   A built-in camera which takes photos and videos is included and gives it an authentic tablet experience for children with an attached stylus to help little fingers.   It even has a shake to move ability in some of the games for motion.

Out of the box.

The tablet has 4 apps and the LeapPad really needs to be connected to the Internet to get it to work completely.  It took us about 15 minutes to update the tablet and another 10 minutes to download the apps.  I have to say that we did have some leaplet cards we had bought for our Leapster Explorer and they work in the app store for the LeapPad which was a nice bonus.

We downloaded a full game that took £20 of money worth in cards, but it is the same price in Amazon so that was ok.   There are some E-Books for £5 and some smaller game apps for £5 or less.  The nice touch that I felt was missing when I reviewed the Leapster Explorer earlier in the year, is that you can now buy the apps online, just like in Itunes and they download onto your LeapPad automatically when you log into the account.

Another aspect that I found appealing was how all the apps and games from the Leapster Explorer are transferrable to the LeapPad Explorer so that if you bought a game for one device, it downloads onto the other as well.  For me this is a MAJOR bonus and VERY like how Itunes works with their Ipods, Ipads and Iphones – it’s a nice touch from a games manufacturer.

Testing

Well, I haven’t had much in the way of testing for this lovely little gadget.  Middler has rarely put it down.  At 10, he has special needs and has yet to learn to read and write his name properly, but he is drawing, playing and taking pictures constantly and he loves that it looks like a Tablet computer.  We have the Leapster Explorer with all the same games now and littlest has even been known to sneak one of them away to potter about on, even though he pretends that he is too old for it.

Owning the LeapPad

For me, it is preferrable that my son uses the LeapPad and leaves my phone alone.   On my phone, he tends to delete things I’d like to keep and with the LeapPad he is learning new things each time he uses it.

It’s a thumbs up from us.

Disclosure – We were given the LeapPad Explorer for this review.