Fun And Games This Afternoon

Thursday afternoons are officially Mummy/Poppy time. With no Preschool or toddler groups, Poppy is home and little Rosie has a nice long nap for about 3 hours. This means we have lots of time to play!

Traditionally these afternoons are messy and we usually end up baking or painting and gluing. Today however, Poppy was not feeling 100% (she is a bit run down and has a bit of a cold ). Instead of doing the usual activities, she chose to get some games out that are usually hidden away when her Sister is around!

One of her favourite games is Family Lacing a fantastic wooden threading toy from Djeco. We brought it as a Christmas present from Toyjeanius and it has brought hours of fun. We would definitley reccomend it to others and she couldn't wait to get it out.

Basically the set includes 16 colourful wooden pieces, 4 bright coloured laces and 12 cards. The aim is that you copy the designs on the pictures.  It is aimed at 3+ and Poppy is able to do it pretty well. The pieces are a good size for little hands and fingers and the the holes are wide enough for them to thread the lace through. She grasped the idea quickly and easily and has great fun with it.

Here she is today:

Another great wooden Toy that gets the thumbs up from this house.

We also played with several other games and puzzles and Poppy enjoyed a lovely afternoon. She is lapping up the attention from this designated special time with me. I do play with her everyday but just knowing she has special time with me alone seems to be making all the difference.

Karen x

In Search Of The Perfect Dolls House

I am in search of a pretty wooden dolls house, but not just any dolls house....no little Miss has put in a Christmas request!

Poppy would like a pink wooden dolls house with blue windows and flowers above the door....aaaahh so specific!!

Nanny and Gramp's have a small carry one at their house that was brought almost two years ago and not sold any more. She loves it and now wants a bigger version at our house.

I have scanned the internet and not found one quite like this although there are some beautiful ones out there.

I have been on twitter and pointed in the direction of some lovely dolls houses but none have been quite right. Someone even suggested I buy one and paint it but I am really not that crafty and would hate to ruin something so expensive.

I am sure she would love any of them but I want it to be perfect!

Any help will be appreciated.

Karen x

"This Is The best Toy Ever" Says My Little girl!

I was terribly gutted that I missed Toyjeanius advertising for toy testers and only found out when she announced the successful ones. However, I have been in luck because she has been watching my pink and girly blog since then and has been on the look out for something appropriately girly for my little ones to review.

I was told to expect a surprise and was sent this fantastic toy:

Stylish Eve Wooden Magnetics by Djeco:

This is a 29 piece wooden magnetic dress up set that costs a very reasonable £12.95 and is for children 3+.

We were thrilled with it. Appropriately for our home, it came in a pink sturdy box with a magnetic lid.  This looks appealing, keeps all bits safe and tidy and is easy for little hands to open. The wooden magnetic pieces include Eves head with different hair colours and a variety of outfits including  pretty dresses, a skirt, jeans and a jumper. There are even shoes and accessories to compliment, including handbags and her favourite teddy bear.

As a little girl, I remember having the old fashioned paper dressing up dolls but this is far better and will last much much longer. It also means younger children can use it as it is much less fiddly than the paper versions.

This is a great toy for developing imagination. Poppy has really enjoyed making up stories about what Eve is wearing and where she is off too next. It has kept her busy for hours.

Don't just take my word for it though...here is a little video clip of her using it:

As you can see in the clip, we used ours on a magnetic board but you could use it on a fridge or anywhere you have a magnetic surface. The pieces all feel very sturdy and are a good size for little hands. Poppy is just three and has had no difficulty with it at all.

Poppy even announced that it was "THE BEST TOY EVER"! which is high praise indeed. We give it a huge 10/10.

For a wide range of beautiful toys including traditional wooden ones then head over to Toyjeanius yourself.

Karen x

Playing Mummy, She Thinks Ironing Is Fun!

After blogging about how much I wanted to be a toy tester here, I think Helen over at The Crazy Kitchen took pity on me and kindly decided to share some of her luck and work load by asking my little girls and I to help her out with this another Toys R Us Toyology review and do a guest post. We were of course delighted to be able to help.

We were asked to review this Casdon ironing set which includes an adjustable Beldray ironing board with storage tray, a Morphy Richards Iron and a clothes horse with 4 clothes hangers. Its aimed at children ages 3-8 years and is available in-store at Toys R Us for a very reasonable £20.

The girls had great fun unwrapping the package when it arrived and Poppy in particular was very impressed. She couldn't wait to start playing at "being Mummy".  This surprised me at first considering Daddy does all the ironing in our house but never mind!  

I went to find some of Rosie's old clothes and she quickly set up this game where she washes the clothes in her washing machine (not included), hangs them on the line to dry and then irons them.  The whole process takes approximately two minutes and she plays it about 100 times a day! I am actually amazed at how much she enjoys it and how busy it keeps her.


Here's a little video clip we have done for you:

The actual board is quite sturdy and adjusts to three different heights.  Its great and she loves it so that's all that matters. The iron doesn't actually do anything. It is not an all singing all dancing one that takes batteries and lights up or make noises but to be honest Mummy quite likes that and Poppy doesn't seem to worry. The only problems she has, is her younger Sister keeps knocking over her clothes horse but this is just a side effect of having a Sister. We give it a massive 8/10 and would definitely recommend it as a great gift for little ones.


Karen x