Kids Bits

The only thing I feel like doing when India falls asleep on me is of course online shopping ...FOR HER. I can't help it, I'm obsessed. Anyways I pulled together my favourite finds, just click the image to shop!

Toy Review Tuesday - Explore Nook Bamboo Construct And Roll

Packing: 1

DIY Difficulty: 0
Love At First Site: 9

Play Time: 8

Home Styling: 9

Breakability: Sturdy AFFFFF

Worth It?: 10 

Hands up if you buy toys more for you than your kids?

This is no exception, although you may have to play a bit of rough and tumble to get the marbles first.

 I've grabbed this information from their website as there's no point me trying to reword something that's already said perfectly.

''This amazing natural resource is OPEN-ENDED so a child can truly use their imagination to explore and play!  It’s used differently each time children play with it, allowing for multiple purposes in play. Children use this resource in a variety of ways fostering children’s creativity, allowing them freedom and choice. One day it’s being used for exploring and investigating how things roll and another day it’s being used in pretend play. Limitless play opportunities. The best learning resources have no boundaries!It is so important every child gets the opportunity to play with concrete resources that deepen their understanding for future learning concepts they will need, to succeed. This resource will give your child the opportunity to build a solid understanding of foundational maths and science concepts (STEM).As they construct their own bamboo tracks they learn about how things move, known in scientific terminology as ‘force and motion’. It has a lot more scope than traditional marble runs with more opportunities for children to practise problem solving, experiment with angles and weight as they investigate rolling a variety of objects. If you’re serious about children learning through play then this is one natural learning resource that you must have in your block corner or child’s play room.''

I don't really know what more to say as I have absolutely no bad points about this toy, it feeds every beige bamboo desire I have for my home on top of being a toy India will sit and play with for 40 minutes straight. She will keep going back to it laughing and giggling away.

They've marked this at 3yrs + but at 18 months India loves it, so don't let that put you off. You can get a few extra years of play out of it that's for sure!

The only thing I could possibly say if I'm really trying to nitpick is that I'd love there to be more stands and pegs just because I always have something bigger and larger than life mapped out in my mind. I had the same issue with the Way to Play roads too but that's down to my greediness as you certainly get what you pay for with these!!

The design is quite compact I even took it to the New Forest for our Easter party where the older kids took over and made easter egg ramps. It's just the perfect addition to any toy collection for outside and indoor play.

Here is the link below - 

http://www.explorenook.com.au/product/bamboo-construct-roll/

My Banana Bread Recipe That I Stole From Pinterest.

I can't lie to you guys, I didn't make this recipe up.

However, I think banana bread is a pretty universal thing so there's no shame here.
I thought I'd share it as it's damn tasty.

-INGREDIENTS-
1/3 cup melted butter
3-4 Ripe bananas, peeled. ( i usually use whatever I have left, the riper the better )1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar 
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

 Preheat the oven to 175°C  and butter up a 4x8-inch loaf pan.
In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas. I like to keep one banana till the end so there are tasty lumps throughout the bread - but each to their own.
 Mix in the baking soda, sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 175°C, or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
( I actually pour my batter into two separate cases just so Tom can take one to work and I have one all to myself )

 

Toy Review Tuesday - My Shiny Shop Playon Crayons

Packing: 1

DIY Difficulty: 0

Love At First Site: 10

Play Time: 8

Home Styling: 8

Breakability: 2

Worth It?: 9

Something a little smaller today! India loves being creative and it makes me so happy seeing that little spark in her eyes when she's in her own world of imagination, it would be nice if that world didn't spill on to my beautiful wallpaper, however that's just me being a grumbly mum. 

So what is the review on? Playon crayons by Studio Skinky, you can get them in pastels and primary colourways 
( Pictured: we have both and are from My Shiny Shop ) 

Question is, is a crayon really worth a review? When is a crayon more than a crayon?! 
At £11 these are a little more on the pricier side from the cheap little packets you can pick up however they are strong and it would take some real effort to snap or break when they're pressed down, even Indias teeth failed, I know right. No one wants to get in between those jaws! There are no leads to break, or wear down, so no need for sharpeners - those things are like bobby pins?! Where the hell do they go?!

Playon Crayons really do make a great first crayon for little babes as they are a perfect size and shape for small chubby hands to easily grip and hold or even wear as a finger puppet if were getting creative.  
The way that they are shaped encourages a better ‘pencil grip’ getting those fine motor skills going. 
They have a beautiful pigment and go on the paper smoothly without leaving any residue or a slimy/oily feeling on the hands.
They are non-toxic and the packaging is 100% recyclable. Wahoo!

Did I mention they're stackable?! Endless play. The fact that you can actually turn them into a game or part of a sensory activity set up makes that extra money worth it. We currently have them sitting pretty in rainbow order on her shelves. Yup that's right! They made the shelves!

I love these and would highly recommend them to anyone. 

Fun Breakfast For The Easter Holiday!

Reusable Nappies

So here's the thing, I want to write a crazy good blog post on how you should switch to reusable nappies because they are the bomb and maybe you're a little like me making some ridiculous narrative like you're gonna be covered in poop all the time and your washing triples. Guess what... I'm shit at writing blog posts however I can pop that disgusting bubble you're imagining because it isn't half as bad as you think!

When it comes to babes it's easier to stick with what you know. Everyone has a million opinions, there are also so many options ... why would you go with the rogue one? The one that's saving the planet? Duh just that, let me through this figure at you - 8 million nappies are sent to landfill every day in the UK alone, which are estimated to take 500 years to decompose PER NAPPY.

I want to start this off by saying i'm not perfect and i don't 100% use them all the time. That's okay, we have to remember that you have to be real with your situations and do the best you can do. Making small changes are better than making none!

I think the main thing you think of is having to deal with poop, which yes isn't very glam but you've probably done at least one rodeo with an explosive poop nappy which can only desensitise you to everything else in life, right?! I don't think anything can phase you after that. 

We actually use liners inside the reusables, due to her pooing solids now its nice and easy just to plop that in the toilet. I have read reviews about parents having poo knives or spatulas which i find hilarious but honestly scrape or shake that poo down the toilet and give it a rinse off. It's really not a big deal. 

Fun fact - technically, you’re supposed to put the poo down the toilet with disposable nappies too, so that faecal matter doesn’t go into landfill, and spread diseases. I found that out over on mamalina's blog so if you're interested in this post you should defo go over and check her out! She's much better at all this than me.

So now we've moved on from poo, what next? *I've only used Bambino Mio ones so my experience has only been with them. Which by the way are absolutely awesome. I make sure the inside lining is pulled out and the velcro tabs are folded together, I then simply put them in a lined laundry bag then when I'm ready just shake them out into the washing machine, It's really no hassle. I don't tumble dry them as this would ruin the velcro tabs, just simply lay them out on a rack overnight ready to be used the next day. 

India loves them. The painstaking task of putting of her in a nappy stops! She picks out whatever print she fancies and will stand there, like the queen that she is waiting for me to put in on! So they must be comfy for her versus the 'normal' pull-ups.

What happens if you're out? Just get a watertight small bag! Pop the nappy in that until you get home. 

Theres no soacking poo stained clothes in the sink as they're much better at keeping that poop in or even those midnight runs to the shop because you've run out of nappies. 

Just buy 3 and use them every couple of days, you will be shocked. The worst thing that happens is that you'll hate them ( totally won't happen ) and you can resell them! Plenty people buy second-hand ones online as they actually get more absorbent the more they're washed!

I would highly suggest the Bambino Mio ones. 

''The award-winning miosolo is a simple, stylish and super soft all-in-one reusable nappy which is as easy to use as a disposable! The nappy is onesize* meaning it will grow with your baby from birth to potty training.''

Hope this has helped a little and if you have any questions feel free to ask me :)