Posts tagged review
The Worst Princess and Other Gorgeous Picture Books Review and Competition
3521 month ago
The lovely people at Simon and Schuster have really been spoiling MissB by sending us some gorgeous picture books. We love books in this house and can never have too many. I’m going to share a few more of their lovely books with you here and if you make it through to the end of this post there is a lovely competition for you to win a bundle of all the books mentioned – how lovely is that?
The Worst Princess – Anna Kemp & Sara Ogilvie
“Once upon a time, in a tower near you,
Lived a sad princess; the Princess Sue.
“Some day,” she sighed, “my prince will come,
But I wish he’d move his royal bum.”
“But when Princess Sue’s prince finally does arrive, he’s not quite what she had in mind. He’s surprised to discover that Sue wants to ride horses and battle dragons; he just wants her to wear pretty dresses and stay indoors. Find out how the feisty princess escapes the clutches of her twit of a prince in this funny twist on the traditional princess tale.”
I love this book, let’s face it, in this day and age the traditional role of “princess” is pretty much dead and I’m all for MissB reading the more traditional story books but this one is much more my style. A bit of feminism and a sense of humour. MissB loves the lovely illustrations and the “scary dragon” (she has an obsession with monsters, dragons and dinosaurs at the moment). In fact when I read this book I actually find myself chuckling as this is SOOO what MissB would be like if she were the princess herself 
Jump On Board The Animal Train – Naomi Kefford & Lynne Moore
“The giraffes hooves click as he moves,
The elephant’s feet plod down the street,
The tiger’s tail swishes the rail,
The bear’s paws pad on the floor . . .
And they follow us as we go!”
Join one little boy on a fantastic journey to meet the train. He’s joined by bears, elephants, tigers and a whole menagerie of other animals but, when he finally meets the train, there’s an even more exciting surprise in store.
MissB is a huge fan of aminals (as she calls them) of all kinds and so any book which contains them is sure to be a hit. A lovely element of this book is the split pages which reveal the hidden animals as you go along. We had lots of fun trying to search for the animals and guess what they were before turning the flaps. MissB has named the little boy MasterB as he does look a little like her brother so it’s now been renamed MasterB’s animal train bless her.
Norman The Slug With The Silly Shell – Sue Hendra
“Norman is a slug who longs to be a snail – if only he could find a shell!”
Kids will laugh out loud at Norman’s crazy antics as he goes to hilarious lengths to find a shell of his own. But will he be satisfied once he finds one, or will his dreams get bigger and bigger and bigger?
What you can’t tell from the picture above is that the cover of this book is sparkly. I tell you nothing makes a book more appealing than a sparkly cover As soon as MissB saw this book she was bouncing up and down. I absolutely love the illustrations in this book, they are bright, beautiful and fun. The story can’t help but make you laugh and MissB loves us reading it to her before bed. The author obviously knows exactly the silly kind of story that appeals to young children
Barry The Fish With Fingers And The Hairy Scary Monster – Sue Hendra
This is another book by Sue Hendra, the author of Normal The Snail With The Silly Shell. She also has another book called Barry The Fish With Fingers which I haven’t read but I think based on the two books I have read of hers I’ll be adding it to my list of must buys
Yet again the cover is nice and sparkly and the illustrations in the book are beautiful. The number element of them playing hide and seek is always nice to see, we are currently learning numbers and any chance to count with MissB is a boost and of course my little monster obsessed daughter loves the hairy scary monster that they find in the old wreck. You can’t beat books that have silly but simple story lines, lovely illustrations and sparkly covers – they have got it SO right with these
Competition
The lovely people from Simon & Schuster Children’s Books have offered a bundle of ALL of the above books for THREE (yes THREE) my readers to win. Here’s what you need to do to enter:
You can do all of the actions below or just 1 of them but please make sure you leave a separate comment for each action you take or your entries will not be valid & please make sure you leave a way of contacting you either email or twitter, Thank you x
* Leave me a comment telling me you’d like to be entered
* Like Me on Facebook http://facebook.com/kneesupmotherbrown (there is a link on the right sidebar!)
* Follow me on Networked Blogs – see link on the right sidebar!
* Tweet the following “I’d like to win a bundle of picture books from @simonkids_uk and @dawnie_brown in this lovely giveaway at http://wp.me/p2dS23-1f8 “
* Subscribe to the blog via email (form is over on the right sidebar!) – please note if you were previously subscribed to the blog you will need to subscribe again as I lost you all when I transferred to self hosting 
Good luck! UK entries only please. The winner will be drawn by random.org on Sunday 13th May at 8pm x
Blade and Rose Leggings Review
21 month ago
I love receiving clothes to review, it’s one of those things that I rarely say no to as with two small children who are growing upwards and outwards at an alarming rate, we have a job to keep them in clothes 
So I was delighted when we were asked to review some Blade and Rose leggings.
“Blade and Rose provide innovative, funky, high quality baby leggings. Designed by mum of two Amanda Peffer who was inspired by her own little girl who always had her bum on show. These leggings combine modern funky designs with top quality yarn; they are lovely and soft and have an extra thick waistband for comfort.
The brand’s name Blade & Rose is a combination of Amanda’s two children’s middle names, she developed the concept whilst on maternity leave whilst constantly arranging her baby girls dress’s so the tight gusset wasn’t on show and hence she was inspired to look for alternative solutions.”
There are currently 5 different designs from Fairy Princess, Cupcake, Strawberry, Star and Daisy. I chose to receive the Daisy design as I have a bit of a teal obsession
MissB’s staple wardrobe is leggings and tops as we don’t really do “girly” or dresses so it’s lovely to find some interesting leggings which can be both girly but also practical for a toddler who treats the whole world as a climbing frame. It also helps immensely at this age when she likes them aswell (oh yes we’ve just reached the age where she has started wanting to choose her own outfits 
)
As we are currently going through potty training at the moment, I’ve found the leggings are fab as they are lovely and soft and easy to get up and down, which they have been about 294 times in a 10 hour period. At least with them being so easy for MissB to take up and down herself it saves me having to get up and help every 5 minutes They are also machine washable and having washed them twice now they are still looking lovely. One slight bug is that they can’t be tumble dried like most of their other clothes but they are made of yarn and they do dry pretty quickly without the drier so it’s not a huge issue for me. I just need to separate them from the washing before I chuck the rest in the dryer.
Overall I really like the leggings, they look good, wash well and the price is really reasonable too The leggings retail at £9.99 each and come in the following sizes 0-6months, 6-12 months, 1-2 years and 2-3 years. I got the size 2-3 ones for MissB who is almost 2.5 and pretty leggy for her age (one day she will be all leg like me lol). They fit her absolutely fine, I was worried initially that they may have been too short but once I put them on they were fine
They have also just launched a Denim Smock dress, which looks perfect with all Blade & Rose Leggings and this retails at £24.00 and is available in 7 sizes from 0-36months.
Happy Feet Two Review
01 month ago
MissB has now reached the age where she enjoys watching animated films and so when Warner Bros. sent us a copy of Happy Feet Two to review I couldn’t wait to let her watch it MissB absolutely loves penguins (well any type of animal really) and throw in singing and dancing and what’s not to love I’ve already seen Happy Feet and loved it so I was expecting great things and I wasn’t disappointed!
“The sequel to “Happy Feet,” the Academy Award®-winning animated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica in superb 3D. Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven—a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model.
But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father’s “guts and grit” as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures—from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals—to put things right.”
We put this on our DVD player in the car whilst we were off out on a long drive (we have 2 screens, 1 for MasterB and 1 for MissB) and they were both engrossed. In fact I wish I’d been watching it rather than driving judging by the laughing coming from MissB in the back We later watched it at home and MissB sat mesmerised by it, she found the singing penguins hysterical! Anything which means I get to sit and have a hot cup of tea whilst the children sit quietly being entertained definitely gets thumbs up from the Brown household You can buy Happy Feet Two in various formats from all the usual retailers or on Amazon of course, the link is just below
Stories of Motherhood Review and Competition
152 months ago
I love books of all kinds and so when I was asked if I’d like to review a copy of Stories of Motherhood, I was happy to oblige
“Stories of Motherhood is the latest title in the Everyman’s Library’s Pocket Classics series and is a wonderful collection of short stories celebrating all aspects of motherhood.”
I love this book! It contains 17 short stories ranging from over a century. Some that make you laugh, some that make you smile, some that make you cry and some that make you realise just how precious being a mum is. As all of us mum’s know far too well, finding time to sit down and read is a challenge at the best of times so the great thing about short stories is that you might actually get through them before the baby starts screaming again or the toddler breaks something else
“Authors include Barbara Kingsolver, Alice Munro, Willa Cather and Colm Toibin. Lydia Davis and Harold Brodkey explore dizzying encounters between young mothers and their newborn babies, while Colm Tóibín and Lorrie Moore portray adult children grieving for their lost mothers. Ron Carlson probes the forging of a bond with an adopted infant; Barbara Kingsolver gives us a sparring mother-and-daughter pair whose overlapping pregnancies lead them to common ground, and Aimee Bender offers a loopy fable of maternal connection in which a woman gives birth to her own mother.”
The book is hardback and it has one of those fab silk bookmark ribbons in it (I love these – means I don’t need to find a bookmark and I don’t loose my place when I have to get up for the 50th time in half an hour lol). The book looks lovely and is guaranteed to make any mother smile. If you don’t get it for yourself then I’d highly recommend it as a Mother’s Day gift, it will make a lovely keepsake
Stories of Motherhood is published on 8th March 2012 and will be priced at £10.99 (I found it available to preorder here on Amazon at £8.58!)
The publishers have kindly agreed to give away a copy of Stories of Motherhood to TWO of my lovely readers, I’m ending this competition a little earlier than I usually do on Wednesday 14th March at 8pm so that you will be able to receive your copy in time for Mothers Day
How to Enter
You can do all of the actions below or just 1 of them but please make sure you leave a separate comment for each action you take or your entries will not be valid & please make sure you leave a way of contacting you either email or twitter, Thank you x
* Leave me a comment telling me you’d like to be entered
* Like Me on Facebook http://facebook.com/kneesupmotherbrown (there is a link on the right sidebar!)
* Tweet the following “I’d like to win a copy of Stories of Motherhood @dawnie_brown in this lovely giveaway at http://alturl.com/xyztd “
* Subscribe to the blog via email (form is over on the right sidebar!) – please note if you were previously subscribed to the blog you will need to subscribe again as I lost you all when I transferred to self hosting
Good luck! UK entries only please. The winner will be drawn by random.org on March 14th at 8pm x
Pillow Pets from Mookie Toys Review
02 months ago
by DawnieBrown
in Reviews
MissB has an obsession with pillows and cuddly toys at the moment and so when Mookie Toys asked if we’d like to review one of their new Pillow Pets we were off course happy to help When this rather lovely chappy turned up in the post you can just imagine how thrilled she was!
“Pillow Pets are the new premium quality plush toy made of ultra-soft and cuddly chenille but with a clever twist. When a 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, the range includes Billy Monkey, Playful Penguin, Comfy Panda, Snuggly Puppy, Magical Unicorn and Wiggly Pig, not forgetting Ms Ladybug and Bumbly Bee! These will be joined especially for Easter by Cuddly Bunny, Thumpy Bunny, Puffy Duck and Fluffy Bunny.
We think Wiggle Pig is fab! He is super cute and so so soft. MissB absolutely loves him and carries him around everywhere. Underneath Wiggle Pig is a velcro tab which unfastens to allow him to change into a pillow. A great thing about the velcro is that it has a cover so that when it is unfastened it doesn’t pick up every bit of fluff and cat hair that is around in our house
Once unfolded, Wiggle Pig becomes a super fluffy, super squashy pillow which is lovely. I’m secretly rather jealous as I’d quite like a Wiggle Pig of my own
MissB loves snuggling down on the sofa with Wiggle Pig in an evening whilst she is watching TV and he frequently ends up going up to bed with her too
Pillow Pets have a RRP of £19.99 and can be purchased at Toys R Us and on Amazon
I found the following deals on Amazon
The Britax B-Agile, the full review!
25 months ago
As you are probably aware I’m a Britax Mumbassador and I’ve been putting the B-Agile through it’s paces for a while now and it’s time for me to give you the full review
In the last couple of months I’ve been using the B-Agile during the week whilst MissB is in nursery and I just have MasterB. Obviously at the weekends I have 2 children and so we need to use a double when out and about Here are the highs and lows of the B-Agile. If there is something I have missed and you’d really like to know then please leave a comment and I will answer it for you
1) Initial Assembly, well it took me a while to actually find the instructions on how to assemble the B-Agile (in fact for about 10 minutes I thought they hadn’t been included) so I started to put it together without reading them. To be honest this was hardly rocket science, insert 4 wheels, unfold and attach hood. It must have taken me all of 6 minutes (5 minutes in, the instructions fell out of the pushchair whilst I was trying to unfold it so this gave me a little clue )
Easily assembled and ready for action!
2) Unfolding and Folding the B-Agile, again this is hardly rocket science either, unclip the storage lock and it pretty much unfolds itself, you just sort of unfold it and everything clicks into place in about 30 seconds. So simple even my husband can do it (and trust me, with 5 other pushchairs he struggles to unfold that is a real plus!)Folding is also surprisingly simple. You just push in a button and lift the handle which is built into the seat and it just folds itself up, then make sure the storage lock has clicked into place and voila. I was most impressed at just how easy to fold and unfold the B-Agile is! Below is a quick video demo of me folding and unfolding the B-Agile to give you an idea of just how quick it is
3) Size of Puschair, considering how light and compact the B-Agile feels, the seat is surprisingly roomy. It’s a bit like an armchair. The seat is really deep and both MasterB and MissB seemed very comfortable in it. When it comes to actually pushing it, it feels light and easily manoeuvrable.
MasterB found it very comfy
and so did MissB (she claimed the first proper test ride!)
4) Handle Height, now this is something I always note about pushchairs as I’m 5’10″ and my husband is 6’3″ so we tend to have issues with low handle heights on many pushchairs. The height of the handle on the B-Agile is a bit on the low side for my personal preference and it is a shame that it does not adjust at all but I’m guessing most people will find it an ideal height as they must choose that height for a reason
5) The Hood, this is pretty impressive, it clips on securely and seems nice and sturdy. The hood has a rather nifty zip panel to extend it out even more with a mesh panel in the middle. MissB quite liked the sunroof aspect of it. There is also a peek window so you can check on baby. The back of the hood can extend all the way down when the pushchair is reclined flat so that when lying flat baby is still shaded from the sun. There is also a handy little pocket on it, ideal for storing a purse or muslin cloth. One small minus point to the hood is that when zipping the mesh panel back into the hood, it does occasionally catch the mesh in the zip if you aren’t careful and a couple of times I’ve had a bit of a battle with the zip trying to uncatch the mesh.
the mesh fold out panel in the hood
6 ) Shopping Basket, this isn’t the roomiest of shopping baskets but it’s not a bad size, when the pushchair is reclined flat it is a little difficult to get things in and out of it though.
7) Recline, you recline the pushchair through a toggle system at the back of the seat which is pretty simple and it reclines fully back which is handy when MasterB is asleep as you can adjust the seat smoothly and not disturb him. It does require 2 hands to recline and push back up as the toggles can be a bit tricky but on the whole I’d say it is a fab recline function.
8 ) Smoothness of Ride, so far we’ve taken the B-Agile around our test walk, this is basically a gravel track which is only really suited to pneumatic wheels and I have to admit it fared ok, it wasn’t the easiest to push up the hill compared to the Quinny or the Phil&Teds but let’s face it those pushchairs are designed for more off road use. However when on the pavements and around town the B-Agile is much smoother and easier to handle than either of the Quinny or P&T. I’m pretty impressed with how well it coped to be honest as some pushchairs I’ve tested, I’ve almost had to carry up the track . The B-Agile really excels in areas with flat floors such as supermarkets, shopping centres and smooth pavements. On these surfaces it really is extremely light to handle and maneouvre.
MasterB chilling out when we took the B-Agile shopping
9) Accessories The B-Agile doesn’t come with any accessories except for car seat adapters. You can buy a carrycot, cosytoes and bumper bar all separately.
10) Cost The cheapest I have seen the B-Agile for sale at is around £200 which as a lightweight stroller which you can attach a car seat to and can be reclined flat and so cater for newborns isn’t a bad price. However if you want to make the B-Agile into a full travel system you will need to also buy various accessories which you should factor into the cost. I’ve seen the carrycots available at around £100, the cosytoes at £40 and the bumper bar for around £30. To be honest the lack of bumper bar doesn’t bother me at all as I would never use it, the only thing I’d consider a necessity is a cosytoes especially with the weather getting colder.
OVERALL OPINION So after all that, would I consider the B-Agile a good buy? Well yes I think I would. It is a fantastic lightweight stroller, easy to maneouvre, easy to fold/unfold. The only small downsides are a) lack of accessories it comes with, b) it doesn’t have a parent facing mode (but I can’t think of any one piece strollers that do to be honest and c) the handle height isn’t adjustable. As with all pushchairs there are always going to be a couple of minus points and the real point to consider is do they put me off buying the pushchair and the answer is no. The good points by far outweigh any negatives and so the B-Agile gets a big thumbs up from us
Maclaren Twin Techno Review
28 months ago
Having a baby and toddler means a double pushchair of some kind is essential. Especially when there is only a 14 month age gap! When I asked Maclaren if we could test out their Maclaren Twin Techno, I was delighted when they said yes and I couldn’t wait to get out and take it for a test drive
We already have the Phil&Teds Explorer which I have really loved up until recently but since MasterB has become too big to lie down in it, I have had a few issues
He will happily sit in the double kit on the back but I always feel sad for him as he can’t see where we are going. It also means that when he falls asleep I can’t recline the seat and so he looks uncomfortable sleeping sitting up. My other main issue is that with the double kit on the back, there is no longer any room in the shopping basket and with a toddler and a baby you NEED somewhere to put everything.
I had opted for an inline double initially as I was worried about being able being able to get out and about with a tandem and we wanted pneumatic wheels for when we go out walking.
So did the Maclaren Twin Techno change my opinion of tandems and could it solve the issues I have with the Explorer? Well here is what we thought!
Size
When the Maclaren Twin Techno arrived, I admit to feeling rather nervous when I saw the size of the box, it was HUGE! However after unpacking it became apparent that the pushchair is anything but.
It was nice that the pushchair arrived pretty much fully assembled, all we needed to do was unfold it and attach the hood – simple!
The actual size of the pushchair when folded is great, it takes up far less boot space than the Explorer does and leaves me plenty of room for shopping etc. I admit we are lucky enough to have a big boot in the 4×4 but if I notice a difference then so should everyone.
Unfolded the pushchair actually seems much smaller than expected! I was expecting it to be much wider than it is but it is actually only 76cm wide compared to the Explorer being 62cm. We’ve taken it out quite a bit over the last couple of weeks and have rarely had trouble fitting through doors. Admittedly we can’t fit it down all the aisles in our local co-op and it is a squeeze through our front door and I’m sure there will be some shops around Durham we will encounter problems with but I have been impressed with how little trouble we’ve had so far!
I love showing off my beautiful babies side by side, and MissB and MasterB love sitting along side each other too
Unfolding
Now this is the first umbrella fold pushchair I’ve ever used and so it did take me a while to figure it out. The mechanics are easy enough, unclip storage locks, unfold and then push down the red thingys (not a technical term!) at the back. I still find it tricky pushing down the red things to be honest but it’s getting easier, it may be due to the fact that a) it’s new and a little stiff and b) I haven’t got the knack of it yet I love the fact that it’s all in one piece though and I don’t have to faff around attaching double kits etc.
Folding
Now this is really simple and I can manage it fine. Simply put on lock, kick up the red things, press a black lever and fold forwards until storage locks click in place. Please note when folding forwards however that the storage locks are on the outside as I usually have to unfold again to release them as I always forget to check
Shopping Basket
There is plenty of room in the shopping baskets under both seats and it is easy to fit everything we need for 2 under them. The access to them can be a little restricted when the seats are fully reclined but to be honest you get this with most pushchairs anyway
There are also 2 handy pockets on the back of the hoods which are great for putting in snacks, muslins etc which you frequently need
Accessories
The Twin Techno also came with head huggers and cosy toes, bottle holders and a raincover. I really like it when everything comes with the pushchair and you don’t have to go out and buy them separately!
Handle Height
Now this is something I always mention in pushchair reviews as it is important to us. My husband is 6’3″ and I am 5’10″ and we really dislike having to stoop over to push a pushchair. The handles on the Twin Techno are fixed which to us usually means low. Again I was surprised here as the handles are a very comfortable height for us and with them being angled inwards it doesn’t feel like I’m pushing a double.
The handle height is great for Daddy even at 6ft3
Comfort
Now the seats on the Twin Techno aren’t the widest you will find and I was concerned that MissB (aged 21 months) might find herself a bit cramped in them. The first time out in it she fell asleep though lol which she rarely does so she must have found it comfy
I also love that you can recline the seats independently so that when MasterB falls asleep I can just recline his seat and let him sleep comfortably.
Well they obviously both found it comfy!
Smoothness of Ride
The Twin Techno doesn’t have pneumatic wheels and I was concerned that it would make the pushchair a bit like a bone shaker but to be honest it fared really well, even over the unsurfaced gravel tracks we regularly walk. Admittedly pushing it up a gravelly bumpy hill for 1km was hard work so I handed over the steering wheel to Daddy lol.
It can’t have been that uncomfortable for the passengers as by the time we got to the top of the bumpy hill they were like this
Sleeping babies, a rare sight indeed!
OK so the ride in the Twin Techno will never be as smooth off-road as the Phil&Teds with it’s pneumatic tyres but on the plus side we are also never going to find ourselves with a flat tyre either and as long as the passengers are happy then so am I!
Value For Money
At approximately £220 we think the Twin Techno is fantastic value for money. It can be used straight from birth, is really functional and basically a fab product! OK so you can’t attach car seats to it and it isn’t parent facing but for what it is, it’s excellent!
Bearing in mind we paid about £500+ for our Phil&Teds with double kit, soft carry cot, car seat adapter and even had to pay extra for a rain cover!
I asked my husband what he thought value wise and he agreed, for what it does it beats the P&T hands down when it comes to value for money
Overall Opinion
We absolutely LOVE the Twin Techno and the Brown family wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to anyone with twins or a baby and toddler. Big thumbs up from us!
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The Britax B-Agile – Our first impressions!
18 months ago
If you haven’t already heard, I’m now a Britax Mumbassador and our first mission is to test out their brand new pushchair the B-Agile
Well I’m delighted to say on Friday our B-Agile arrived and I’ve had a few days to play with it now so I thought I’d share a few of my first impressions
1) Size of Box, when the box arrived, I admit I was a little surprised at how small the box was. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting but something a bit larger. My first thought on seeing the box was that the pushchair must be in about 100 pieces as there is no way it could fit in the box like that. The size of the B-Agile is quite mind boggling though which I will explain shortly
2) Assembly, well it took me a while to actually find the instructions on how to assemble the B-Agile (in fact for about 10 minutes I thought they hadn’t been included) so I started to put it together without reading them. To be honest this was hardly rocket science, insert 4 wheels, unfold and attach hood. It must have taken me all of 6 minutes (5 minutes in, the instructions fell out of the pushchair whilst I was trying to unfold it so this gave me a little clue )
Easily assembled and ready for action!
3) Unfolding the B-Agile, again this is hardly rocket science either, unclip the storage lock and it pretty much unfolds itself, you just sort of unfold it and everything clicks into place in about 30 seconds. So simple even my husband can do it (and trust me, with 5 other pushchairs he struggles to unfold that is a real plus!)
4) Folding the B-Agile, this is also surprisingly simple. You just push in a button and lift the handle which is built into the seat and it just folds itself up, then make sure the storage lock has clicked into place and voila. I was most impressed at just how easy to fold and unfold the B-Agile is!
5) Size of Puschair, considering how light and compact the B-Agile feels, the seat is surprisingly roomy. It’s a bit like an armchair. The seat is really deep and both MasterB and MissB seemed very comfortable in it. When it comes to actually pushing it, it feels light and easily manoeuvrable.
MasterB found it very comfy
and so did MissB (she claimed the first proper test ride!)
6) Handle Height, now this is something I always note about pushchairs as I’m 5’10″ and my husband is 6’3″ so we tend to have issues with low handle heights on many pushchairs. The height of the handle on the B-Agile is a bit on the low side for my personal preference and it is a shame that it does not adjust at all but I’m guessing most people will find it an ideal height as they must choose that height for a reason
7) The Hood, this is pretty impressive, it clips on securely and seems nice and sturdy. The hood has a rather nifty zip panel to extend it out even more with a mesh panel in the middle. MissB quite liked the sunroof aspect of it. There is also a peek window so you can check on baby. The back of the hood can extend all the way down when the pushchair is reclined flat so that when lying flat baby is still shaded from the sun. There is also a handy little pocket on it, ideal for storing a purse or muslin cloth.
the mesh fold out panel in the hood
8 ) Shopping Basket, this isn’t the roomiest of shopping baskets but it’s not a bad size, when the pushchair is reclined flat it is a little difficult to get things in and out of it though.
9) Recline, you recline the pushchair through a toggle system at the back of the seat which is pretty simple and it reclines fully back which is handy when MasterB is asleep as you can adjust the seat smoothly and not disturb him. I haven’t quite mastered how to do it with one hand yet but I’m sure I’ll figure out a way.
10) Smoothness of Ride, so far we’ve taken the B-Agile around our test walk, this is basically a gravel track which is only really suited to pneumatic wheels and I have to admit it fared ok, it wasn’t the easiest to push up the hill compared to the Quinny or the Phil&Teds but let’s face it those pushchairs are designed for more off road use. However when on the pavements and around town the B-Agile is much smoother and easier to handle than either of the Quinny or P&T. I’m pretty impressed with how well it coped to be honest as some pushchairs I’ve tested, I’ve almost had to carry up the track
I think I’ll leave it at that for now, overall first impressions are good and so far the B-Agile gets a thumbs up from the Brown household
Funky Giraffe Bibs Review
38 months ago
The lovely people at Funky Giraffe Bibs have sent me some of their lovely bandana bibs for MasterB to review.
The bibs are made using soft cotton fronts and a fleece backing to wick away any moisture and keep necks and chests dry. To me this is essential at the moment as MasterB is just starting teething and proving to be a real dribble monster so he is permanently wearing a bib! The bandana bibs are shaped to fit around baby’s neck and have 2 press stud fastenings so that they can be adjusted to fit your baby.
Looking at their website there are 100′s of beautiful designs so you are guaranteed to find one to match any outfit and with the prices being 4 for £8.50 or 10 for £19.50 including delivery I think that’s a bit of a bargain compared to the price of many bandana bibs on the market today!
Now the practical part (because I’m always practical really ), the washing instructions on the bib does say 30 degree wash only but as with all my washing I chucked them in with the rest of my brights at 40 degrees and then into the tumble drier and they came out perfectly fine (OK so I like to live dangerously )
Along with the bibs we were also sent some Antibacterial handwash and some citrus soap by a lovely new company called Bubble and Balm
They say “The anti-bacterial handwash is naturally formulated using a blend of plant-derived oils and glycerine, and is free from triclosan, sulphates and artifical colours and fragrances. The essential oil anti-bacterial formulation is effective against MRSA, E Coli and other nasties. The hand wash contains Fairtrade sugar from Malawi – sugar acts as a skin softener and mild cleanser”.
Now I don’t exactly know what all that means but I like the sound of natural and Fairtrade! Oh and it smells lovely!
The citrus soap also contains Fairtrade sugar, lots of lovely natural stuff and is free from sulphates, artifical colours and fragrances. The aluminium tin also doubles as a handy soap dish to avoid those soggy soap marks you get! I love this soap and it smells lovely and fresh
Wooden Toyshop Review – Melissa and Doug
28 months ago
I’ve been sent some beautiful Melissa and Doug wooden toys to review by Wooden Toyshop. When they chose me to review some of their products and asked me to choose what I wanted up to a value of £40, I was amazed at just how much I could get for that amount Though with my love of wooden toys I could happily have had one of everything from their website
The first item I chose to receive was this fabulous Melissa and Doug Shape Sorting Clock.
I know MissB is a little young for learning to tell the time yet, but she loves puzzles and shapes and has already grasped the concept of fitting each shape into the right hole. It’s a toy that will last her ages as we will then move onto numbers, colours and time telling. The clock is beautiful quality and with the moving hands and the “half past, quarter past” markings on the dial it should make teaching the time great fun over the next few years. The added bonus with beautiful wooden toys is that once MissB has outgrown it, MasterB will be able to inherit it too I couldn’t believe it was only £9.95!
I also chose this lovely Melissa and Doug Jumbo ABC
This puzzle is fantastic, it is about A3 sized and is lovely and bright coloured. It’s great how when you take the letters out of the puzzle, underneath is the letter so it helps MissB to identify where each letter goes. There are also illustrations for each letter such as Alligator, Bear, Cow etc. MissB loves finding all the illustrations. This toy will make learning the alphabet loads of fun and is a big favourite of MissB’s already I thought it was great value at £13.49!
My favourite item that we were sent was this Melissa and Doug Farm Cube Puzzle.
Now I admit, it will be a while before MissB is able to complete this puzzle by herself as it is quite tricky even for grown ups The puzzle is 16 blocks, each with part of a different picture on each side. The puzzle can make 6 beautiful farm animal pictures and is proving hours of entertainment. At the moment our favourite game with MissB is seeing how quickly she can guess which animal we are building. Handy hint, the coloured borders make it slightly easier to put the pictures together!
I absolutely love this puzzle and think it is an absolute bargain at £9.95. You can buy simpler puzzles for younger children but we like a challenge in this household
After choosing all of those beautiful toys I still had a little money left over from my £40 budget and so I chose this lovely Pull Along Duck and Duckling for a bargain price of £5.95! Super cute isn’t it!
I’m absolutely amazed at just how many beautiful wooden toys I could get for £40 and could easily spend all day on their website. My husband is obsessed and is already eyeing up their marble runs for when MissB is a little older
julie davies
They all sound gorgeous, but I would choose the grapefruit, lavender and frankinsence cleanser, orange blossom toner, and grapefruit, […]
1 hour ago
Margaret
I'd pick the Orange and Ginger Cleansing Lotion as i love the smell of orange and ginger.
2 hours ago
helen rhoads
I would choose the Grapefruit cleanser
2 hours ago
Claire Toplis
Please enter me . great fans of Horrible histories here !
2 hours ago
laura banks
please enter me @loz09 my son would love this
2 hours ago
