Category: Reviews

1. Love Is .... giving them a life skill

   Posted on 8:46pm Sunday 9th Feb 2014

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   Love Is ..... learning a life skill.

   I talk alot about baby swimming. We are huge advocates of Water Babies and both my girls love being in the water so when I was asked by Konfidence to review one of their Warma Wetsuits, I jumped (or is it dived) at the chance.

   I say it regularly but learning to swim is a life skill.

   It makes holiday's more enjoyable.

   It makes my girls more confident.

   It stops me worrying about them (less) when we are around water.

   But wearing the right thing in the water isn't always easy with two particularly fussy young ladies. My eldest has had about 4 swimming costumes in the last 6 months, they have been too tight, too baggy, too itchy, too strappy (I kid you not). The little one is much easier to keep happy, although one thing we have found is that she is happiest when she is warm, so a wet suit is perfect for her.

   

   I love that Konfidence are a family business who started trading in the UK in back in 1998 with the plan to design, manufacture and distribute the Konfidence Jacket buoyant swimming aid for children. Since then, they have grown their range of products with children in mind and I can honestly say, their vision totally translates into great design.

   I am sure that there are the cynics that will say a wet suit is just a wet suit surely? Trust me, this is not always true when there is a toddler and swim nappies involved! We have tried a few different styles, from the velcro wraps that make nappy changing easier to the high street versions but when you have a potty trained toddler, you don't need that option any more.

   

   The Warma Wetsuit is perfect for us, the 2.5mm flexible neoprene was specifically chosen to provide necessary warmth in and out of the water whilst still allowing great freedom of movement for swimming. The little one needs to fill out a bit as the legs are a little bit baggy at the moment, which causes hilarious waterfalls out of her wetsuit as she gets out of the pool, but it is so easy to get on and off (which is super helpful when trying to undress a 2 year old).

   We are thrilled with the wetsuit and at £19.99 (although it is currently on offer) it is affordable too. However, we are delighted to be able to offer one of our readers the chance to win one of these fabulous Konfidence Warma Wetsuits.

   All you need to do, is enter below .....

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

2. Why we love Joules : Review

   Posted on 7:05pm Sunday 26th Jan 2014

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   It is no secret that I have a love affair with shopping.

   It is no secret that I have two adorable daughters.

   It therefore comes as no surprise then that when I buy something, I usually have to buy two of them and whilst there is 6 years difference in age, from time to time, they do like to dress in similar clothing. (Not all of the time, obviously, as the 2 year old can still get away with cute bunny ears on her dressing gown but that is considered not cool by the 8 year old!).

   So you can imagine my delight when we were asked to review items from the new Joules range. I have to be completely honest and admit that I always thought that Joules was all about delightfully bright wellington boots and attire for country folk and whilst this may have been part of its original creation, the colourful range and beautiful prints are perfect for my "floral" named girls. 

   We choose the gorgeous quilted jackets from Joules and when I say we, I really mean me. I loved how they have a classically British look but the burst of floral lining gives them a beautifully girlie look.

   The quality goes without saying, the jackets are warm and it may sound silly but the zips work and the children can use them! I cannot tell you my frustration with childrens coats where the zips get stuck. This may sound like a small thing but when you are on a strict morning schedule, those few minutes dealing with a zip matter! Also trying to wrestle a toddler out of a jacket with a stuck zip is no fun .... but I digress. 

   

   
   

   Why we love Joules by littlelilypadco on Polyvore

   Joules clothing isnt high volume, low price, it is all about quality, style and standing the test of time. Unfortunately for me, I have now found other things on the site that my girls will look adorable in, I just don't need to let them see the horse print attire as knowing my two, they will want a horse to go with it!

3. On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me ....

   Posted on 7:45am Monday 2nd Dec 2013

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   ...... not turtle doves but outfits for girls I love (it kind of rhymes).

   When we were asked to review the F&F Christmas range, we jumped (or is it leapt like the lords?) at the chance, we love clothes and we love Christmas, so it was a match made in heaven.

   Typically, my eldest daughter had to make her own choices ....... she is 8 after all! (what am I going to do when she is 18???) but I was pleasantly surprised at her request!

   

   
   

   On the second day of Christmas by littlelilypadco featuring metallic cap toe shoes

   
   

   

   Both dresses have roses in the design, a flower that is very personal to us as a family, but each design is very different. As a mom, it's good to know that they are machine washable because my children are like magnets for dirt ... no matter how careful they are!

   The quality is amazing for the price and it just goes to show that supermarket style can rival the high street any day of the week .... usually saving enough money to buy the matching shoes too! This works for me on lots of levels, saving money and having some spare for shoes! 

   If I am honest, F&F is not somewhere that would immediately spring to mind if I was thinking about party dresses but they have a fabulous range of Christmas attire for all ages, including jumpers and some brilliant nativity costumes too!

   

   So on the second day of Christmas, I will happily pass on the turtle doves and have two fabulous party dresses for my gorgeous girls instead. It doesn't rhyme but it works for me!

4. Kelo- Stretch Cream : Review

   Posted on 8:24pm Wednesday 9th Oct 2013

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   As part of our Baby Blog, our new mum blogger has been reviewing the Kelo-Stretch Cream. Kelo-Stretch™ (125ml, £25.99) launched in April 2013 by speciality pharmaceutical company Sinclair IS Pharma and it has been specifically formulated to prevent and correct stretch marks. Stretch marks affect as many as 75% to 90% of pregnant women.¹ They can also appear during adolescence or be a consequence of rapid weight gain or weight loss. Stretch marks may also be caused by hormonal disorders

   So after months of testing, here is what she thought .....

   Pitter-patter of tiny feet, a new bundle of joy that you can’t wait to meet;  what a dream to be a new mum.  Stretch Marks…. not such a dream! But, there is help at hand, in fact there are a lot of products out there that claim to prevent or help existing stretch marks and I am sure that like me, most pregnant woman are rubbing lotions and potions into their growing bumps religiously (and mine was definately growing).

   So how do we know what really works, why do some pregnant woman get stretch marks and some don’t? I put KELO-STRETCH cream to the test through my pregnancy, it features a unique dual formula to address the main causes of stretch mark formation and there is a LOT of science and evidence behind it.

   

   I applied it as per the instructions twice a day from the 4^th month of pregnancy. It sank easily into the skin on application which was a blessing when dressing for work in the morning as you don’t want to be hanging around waiting for your skin to dry off.  It’s also fragrance free, which for me was a true positive because I had made the decision in my pregnancy to be as ‘organic’ as possible and stopped wearing perfumes etc.  For this reason it does have a slightly ‘medicated’ smell about it but that doesn’t stay around for long and gave me confidence that the product had been developed to work rather than just smell good. It claims to increase elasticity and hydrate the skin and I must say that my skin always felt plump and smooth.

    

   So, the million dollar question – did it work? I can happily report I have zero stretch marks! I am still using it now post pregnancy just to be sure, but not one in sight. Will I ever truly know if it was the KELO- STRETCH cream preventing them? Possibly not, but if I am ever blessed with another pregnancy I certainly won’t be taking a chance – KELO-STRETCH cream will be top of my list!