Moshi Monster: Moshlings Review

G has reached the age now where she is discovering the latest trends. Moshi Monsters has become all the rage at her school and she has invested a lot of her pocket money on the collectible figures.

I am not usually the type of parent that encourage my children to use the computer but I do think every so often is a problem especially since ICT is playing a large role in the school curriculum now. She has not yet discovered the Moshi Monster website but I'm pretty sure it wont be long until she asking for membership. Until that day comes she has been keeping her self busy using one of the Moshi Monster app on my iphone.

We were sent the code for this app by their PR and the instant it was downloaded G got stuck in making stickers. The PR had told me that the app was a must have for all Moshling maniacs! The app includes over 60 Moshlings and 100 stickers to customise the little pets and create your own unique versions of the characters! You can read all about the wacky little critters and discover where to find them in the main Moshi Monsters game.

I demonstrated how to use the game once, so she was able to work out what each button did. She then had no problems finding her way round and saving the pictures of her creations. We then emailed the pictures over and printed them off for her to keep in a little album.

 The game was easy to use and has kept G busy while in the car or when shes chilling at home.

The app has many features but G enjoyed these ones the most:

· Over 60 Moshlings to discover

· 100 digital stickers to customise your Moshlings

· Essential Moshlings information - read about their personalities, habitats and much more

· Save your artwork at the touch of a button

Moshi Monsters is for 6-12 year olds and the app is for iPhones and iPads. Just click here to find it. The app is available for just 69P so what are you waiting for!!

Creating an inviting book corner, Part 1

Now we are settled into the new house, I have started to rearrange the living room to allow the children more corners to hide and play. I love the fact that my children love to find little gaps to sit and play. A private quiet space where they are less likely to be interrupted.

Its now time to make these spaces feel inviting and that's where the real fun begins! I've been searching Pinterest again for more ideas and decided to start with the book corner first.

I'm going to go with a garden/forest theme. The unit is a lovely low down white one and I already have a canopy which I will be adapting to fit in with the theme.

Source: google.co.uk via Adele on Pinterest

I love the way this idea has vines and animals hanging from canopy. This would be a lovely way to get the children involved and add some of their art work.

Source: childhood101.com via Linda on Pinterest

This fantastic idea would make a great way to help children find titles which they would like us to read at a glace.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love how clean and clear this area looks. The white walls help pull your attention to the decorative arrangement and purpose of the area. I'm looking for a good quote to add to our space once the walls have been painted too. If you have any good suggestions please feel free to let me know below.

Silent Sunday

Princess Playdough

This week we took the Play dough pledge. The idea of the pledge run by the Nurture store, The imagination Tree and Sun hats and wellie boots is to try something new with play dough.

At the moment our theme is 'Pirates and princesses'. This has been a really fun topic and the children have got really involved. Our idea for the pledge was to try incorporating a new material with it. I looked around for some craft gems but was unable to get them in time so instead I picked up some pretty flowers.

I made some no cook play dough from an old recipe using 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 1 table spoon of oil and 1 cup of water. Then added some pink food colouring, glitter and a natural rose oil for a sweet smelling fragrance.

The table was laid out with just the play dough and flowers for the children. When they first came in A asked 'whats this?' and I explained that this was their princess playdough. To which they both reacted with WOW!

They both loved trying to pick out the glitter at first and then moved on to see how many flowers they could squash into the playdough.

 Little man made a cake fit for a princess.  He flattened down the playdough with the palm of his hand and then laid the flowers on top.

A made a lovely princess pie. She flattened a piece of playdough and placed the flowers inside before wrapping it back up again.

The activity went really well and the children loved making patterns and explore a new material.

Sensory Gloves

Today I tried some thing new with the children. I have not used this idea since nursery and its a real hit with babies and toddlers. Sensory gloves can be made up using just about any ingredients and tied at the top. For these ones we used:

• Peas,
• porridge and water,
• red and yellow ice,
• green corn flour and water,
• spaghetti.

The children loved this new activity, they spent ages trying to work out what was in each of the gloves. A especially like the one containing peas. She enjoyed picking them up individually and rolling them in between her fingers. Little man on the other hand liked stacking them up and swapping them over.

The porridge also proved a firm favourite.

The children started to use describing words such as cold, slimy, wet and squashy. This one was such a hit that we are going to try it again next week with different ingredients.

Please note that this activity must be supervised as it could be a potential choking hazard.

Silent Sunday

Review: Halos N Horns

Little man and G have both suffered with Eczema since they were born. Unfortunately it has never been in little patch but a full body covering and in Little mans case even on his scalp. Because of this we have always been very careful of the bath and body products that we use. Halos N Horns is a great brand which we have used for years. Their products were designed by a mum whose child suffered with Eczema. She believes that as parents we should wash our little angels to get rid of nasties, not put more on.

We were very lucky to be offered two of the Halos N Horns products to review. These were both ones which we had not tried both so we excited to give them a whirl.

The Mango Melon shampoo and conditioner was my favourite. The fragrance was strong and refreshing and seemed to last in their hair till the following day. Little man also liked this one and was trying to smell the bubbles which ran into the water when I washed his hair.

In G's hair I found that it was easier to brush her hair after bath time and it dried leaving her hair lovely and thick. The following day her hair was still very difficult to brush with out a detangler brush.

The Berry Burst shampoo and Detangler was a better product for G. It was easily washed out and her hair was easy to brush even the day after it was washed.

This is probably the one I would use from now on, I'll do any thing to avoid those tears when it comes to brushing G's hair in the morning.

 

You can buy Halos N Horns products from most big supermarket for around £2.69. The range also includes bubble baths and toothpaste.

Their website http://www.halosnhorns.co.uk/ for tips for fun with children and activities such as colouring pages. You can also request a free booklet full of hoilday fun ideas.

***We were given Halos N Horns products for the purpose of this review. All opinions are our own.***

A home or hospital delivery

Last week we had our first meeting with the Midwife. Having this appointment really helped to make it sink in. The Midwife was fantastic and didn''t seem to mind that Little man was running around investigating every thing in the room. The blue book is huge now, so not very good for sticking in your handbag. It was filled with so many questions and information but I was shocked that they no longer give out any information to help parents with any questions they may have as they go through their pregnancy.

A question the midwife did have for me was whether I was planning a home or hospital delivery. Now in any normal situation I would have said Hospital. The safety of having a large team and all the equipment to hand is something I find reassuring. Not to mention the rest as well as tea and toast on tap!

However when I went into labour with Little man nearly three years ago, it only lasted for 2 hours max and I'm concerned that this time round I may not make it there in time. I have an image in my head that I will be giving birth in the back of some mans taxi!! So may be home birth will be the way to go this time.

We have a long time yet to make a choice but I'd love to hear your experience of a short labour or home birth to help us decide what might be better.

Children's top five books on recycling

Since moving into a house and having a door step recycling service I feel it is important to encourage children to take part in the process and learn more about why we recycle.

A great way to teach children about recycling is through reading and below there are a few favourites which will help to strike young ones imagination and have a little fun with along the way.

Rubbish and recycling-A fantastic and informative book to teach children and about recycling. Children aged 6 can even read this book independently. The book covers all materials which can be recycled. Rrp- £4.99

The Adventures of a plastic bottle- This is a good factual book which helps children understand what happens to plastic bottles when recycled. It is fairly lengthy, but it is detailed and with some good diagrams. This book will help any child who is covering recycling at school and the illustration work wonders at grabbing their attention. RRP- £3.99

The art of recycling-  A great book which is packed full of fun and educational ideas to have crafting fun with children aged 7-11. Crafts include activities such as sock puppets, cardboard castles and bottle bugs. £7.99

Peppa pig recycling fun- A great book from the pepper pig collection. This is a great story for three year olds and as children get older they will be able to read this short story them selves. £3.99

Micheal recycle- Good rhyming text tells the story of Michael Recycle, a flying caped crusader with a colander on his head who fights for the green cause and encourages a dirty town of lazy. A fantastic story for little boys £5.99